Sunday, August 31, 2025

scene 56

scene 55

INT. DINING ROOM - NIGHT

Ruth, Wanda and Hunter seated at the table of the same wood as the old hutch buffet. Chandelier, Curtains closed across window, view into dark kitchen, framed oil on canvas still life featuring peaches in a wooden bowl on a wooden table lit from light through window. Bottle of red wine and photo album on table, they each have a glass less than half-empty. Hunter swirls his, sips.

RUTH: Is the wine alright, Hunter?

HUNTER: It's great. I've never had a Texas wine. What's the grape?

RUTH: Tempranillo, native to Spain. Used here because it does well in heat.

HUNTER: Are you an oenophile?

RUTH: Oh my, I haven't been called that before. But yes, I guess a little. You?

HUNTER: Not so much. I'll have a glass with dinner now and then but I'm pretty much a beer guy. Barb's folks are oenophiles with a well stocked cellar.

RUTH: Well living in Paso Robles puts them close to some great wines.

HUNTER: They've got a well stocked cellar. Have either of you been to California? 

Wand and Ruth look at each other, Ruth nods.

WANDA: Disneyland when I was eleven. We stayed at the hotel and spent a day in San Diego. Coronado Island specifically.

RUTH: Disneyland and the hotel also, for Charlie's tenth birthday. We spent a day in Newport.

HUNTER: Doing what?

RUTH: Well, the pier, the peninsula, the ferry to Balboa Island where we had lunch, the ferry back and rides at a place I think was called the fun zone.

HUNTER: Still is.

WANDA: How many times have you been to Disneyland?

HUNTER: Twice when I was a kid. We could see the top of the Matterhorn from the roof. And the day before Christmas when Chloe was twelve.

WANDA: Do you know what her eighteenth birthday present will be?

HUNTER: A car.

RUTH: Does she know this?

HUNTER: She does not.

Ruth and Wanda look at each other, Wanda nods.

RUTH: She probably wouldn't want anything to do with an old pickup truck. 

Hunter stares at Ruth and Wanda staring at him.