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You've Got Mail (1998)

by Nora Ephron & Delia Ephron.
Based on the novel "The Shop Around The Corner" by Nikolaus Laszlo.
2nd Final White revised, February 2, 1998.

More info about this movie on IMDb.com


FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY


FADE IN ON:

CYBERSPACE

We have a sense of cyberspace-travel as we hurtle through a
sky that's just beginning to get light.  There are a few
stars but they fade and the sky turns a milky blue and a big
computer sun starts to rise.

We continue hurtling through space and see that we're heading
over a computer version of the New York City skyline.  We
move over Central Park.  It's fall and the leaves are
glorious reds and yellows.

We reach the West Side of Manhattan and move swiftly down
Broadway with its stores and gyms and movies theatres and
	turn onto a street in the West 80s.

Hold in front of a New York brownstone.

At the bottom of the screen a small rectangle appears and the
words:

ADDING ART

As the rectangle starts to fill with color, we see a percentage
increase from 0% to 100%.  When it hits 100% the image pops and
we are in real life.

EXT. NEW YORK BROWNSTONE - DAY

Early morning in New York. A couple of runners pass on their
way to Riverside Drive Park.

We go through the brownstone window into:

INT. KATHLEEN KELLY'S APARTMENT - DAY

KATHLEEN KELLY is asleep.  Kathleen, 30, is as pretty and
fresh as a spring day.  Her bedroom cozy, has a queen-sized
bed and a desk with a computer on it.  Bookshelves line every
inch of wall space and overflow with books.  Framed on the
children's classic.  Madeleine.

As Kathleen wakes up, her boyfriend FRANK NAVASKY walks into
the room.  He wears blue jeans and a workshirt.  He's carrying
the New York Times.

			KATHLEEN
	Good morning.

			FRANK
		(as he reads)
	Listen to this -- the entire work force
	of the state of Virginia had to have
	solitaire removed from their computers --

Kathleen gets out of bed and goes to brush her teeth in the
bathroom, and we stay with Frank.

			FRANK
		(continuing)
	-- because they hadn't done any work in
	six weeks.

Kathleen comes out of the bathroom in her robe.

			KATHLEEN
	Aren't you late?

			FRANK
		(continuing)
	You know what this is, you know what
	we're seeing here?  We're seeing the end
	of Western civilization as we know it.

			KATHLEEN
	This is so sad.

She tosses him his jacket.

			FRANK
		(points at her computer)
	You think that machine is your friend,
	but it's not.
		(checks his watch)
	I'm late.

INT. LIVING ROOM - KATHLEEN'S APARTMENT - CONTINUOUS

As Frank walks to the apartment door.  We see a charming room
with a couch, fireplace, books, and a dining table with a
typewriter with a cover on it.

			KATHLEEN (O.C.)
	I'll see you tonight.

			FRANK
	Sushi.

			KATHLEEN (O.C.)
	Great.  Bye.

Frank goes out the door.  It closes.

Kathleen tiptoes into the hall and looks through the fish-eye
peephole watching as he goes down the stairs, disappearing
from sight.  She walks into:

INT. KATHLEEN'S BEDROOM - DAY

And looks out the front window as Frank walks out onto the
street and turns toward Broadway.

He's gone.  Good.

She sits down at her computer.  An expression of anticipation
and guilty pleasure as she clicks the mouse.

INT. COMPUTER SCREEN - DAY

As we see the logo for America On Line come up and Kathleen's
code name: Shopgirl.  She logs on and the computer makes all
its little modem noises as the computer dials the access
number and connects and we hear the machine:

			COMPUTER
	Welcome.

And we see Kathleen, listening for the words she's waiting to
hear:

			COMPUTER (cont'd)
	You've got mail.

And Kathleen smiles as her mail page comes up:

INT. COMPUTER SCREEN - DAY

We see a list of letters:

Big Cash Op: You can make $$$ in your spare time.  OIL MKT: You
can turn $20 into $20,000 THIS REALLY WORKS U CAN DO IT:
Maximize your selling ability nowwwww!!!  NY152 Brinkley

Kathleen hits the "delete" key and the first three letters --
all of them junk-mail -- are deleted and drop offscreen.

Then she selects the "Read Mail" key for "NY 152 Brinkley".

And the letter comes up:
	   To: Shopgirl
	From: NY152
	   Re: Brinkley

Kathleen starts to read the letter aloud:

			KATHLEEN
	Brinkley is my dog.  He loves the streets
	of New York as much as I do --

And now we hear Kathleen's voice replaced by the voice of
NY 152, a man named JOE FOX --

			JOE (V.O.)
	-- although he likes to eat bits of pizza
	and bagel off the sidewalk, and I prefer
	to buy them.  Brinkley is a great catcher
	and was offered a tryout on the Mets farm
	team --
		(continued)

INT. JOE'S APARTMENT - DAY

A dog is sitting on a large green pillow on the floor. This
is BRINKLEY.  The pillow has "Brinkley" embroidered on it.
Brinkley's master, JOE FOX, a great-looking guy, full of
charm and irony, comes into the kitchen and pours himself
some orange juice.  He's half-dressed.

			JOE (cont'd)
	-- but he chose to stay with me so that
	he could spend 18 hours a day sleeping on
	a large green pillow the size of an inner
	tube.  Don't you love New York in the
	fall?  It makes me want to buy school
	supplies.  I would send you a bouquet of
	newly-sharpened pencils if I knew your
	name and address.  On the other hand,
	this not knowing has its charms.

			VOICE
	Darling --

			JOE
	Mmmmmhmmm --

Joe's girlfriend PATRICIA EDEN, in Armani head to toe, comes
into the kitchen and turns on the $2000 espresso machine,
which starts grinding beans.  She's carrying the morning
papers.

			PATRICIA
	I'm late.
		(indicating the newspaper)
	Random House fired Dick Atkins.  Good
	riddance.  Murray Chilton died.  Which
	makes one less person I'm not speaking
	to --
		(she drains a cup of espresso
		 as a second starts to come out
		 of the machine)
	Vince got a great review.  He'll be
	insufferable.  Tonight,  PEN dinner --

			JOE
	Am I going?

			PATRICIA
	You promised.

			JOE
	Can't I just give them money?  That's the
	cause?  Free Albanian writers?  I'm for
	that.

Patricia drains another cup of espresso, looks at him.

		     JOE
	All right, I'll go.  You're late.

		     PATRICIA
	I know I know I know.

She tears out of the kitchen and the door slams behind her.

Hold on Joe, listening as he hears the elevator door open and
close on the landing outside.

IT. JOE'S DEN - DAY

As he comes in and sits down at his laptop computer and logs
on.

		     JOE & THE COMPUTER (TOGETHER)
	Welcome... You've got mail.

And as he starts to read his letter, we hear:

		     KATHLEEN (V.O.)
	I like to start my notes to you as if
	we're already in the middle of a
	conversation.  I pretend that we're
	the oldest and dearest friends --
	as opposed to what we actually are,
	people who don't know each other's names
	and met in a Chat Room where we both
	claimed we'd never been before.

INT. JOE'S ELEVATOR - DAY

As Joe, dressed for work, takes the elevator down with his
elevator man CHARLIE.  There's a certain amount of Good
morning, etc., as the elevator goes down and the voice-over
continues:

			KATHLEEN (V.O., CONTINUES)
	What will he say today, I wonder.  I turn
	on my computer, I wait impatiently as it
	boots up.

EXT. RIVERSIDE DRIVE - DAY

As Joe comes out of his building.

			KATHLEEN (V.O., CONTINUES)
	I go on line, and my breath catches in my
	chest until I hear three little words:
	You've got mail.

And the camera now pans from 152 Riverside uptown to:

EXT. NEW YORK BROWNSTONE - MORNING

			KATHLEEN (V.O., CONTINUES)
	I hear nothing, not even a sound on the
	streets of New York, just the beat of my
	own heart.  I have mail.  From you.

EXT. BROADWAY - MORNING

As Kathleen comes onto Broadway at the corner of 83rd Street
and starts downtown.

Through a long lens we can see Joe, walking into blocks behind
her.

As Kathleen and Joe make their way down Broadway we see the
West Side of Manhattan in the morning.  Mothers and fathers
taking their kids to school, people on their way to work,
dogs being walked.  School buses picking up kids, bakery
trucks dropping off brown bags of bread in the doorframes of
unopened restaurants.

Kathleen stops at a newsstand, says good morning to the
newsstand dealer, and picks up a New York Times.

Metal grates are pulled up to open flower shops, nail salons,
the pharmacy, fish store, the Cuban Chinese Restaurant,
Zabar's.

Joe stops at the same newsstand.  He buys all the papers --
the Times, Wall Street Journal, Post and Daily News.

INT. STARBUCKS - DAY

As Kathleen picks up her coffee, walks out.

EXT. COLUMBUS AVENUE - DAY

As Kathleen walks down Columbus, we see Joe a block behind
her.  She stops to buy flowers and Joe passes her, crosses to
the Ease side of Columbus Avenue.

EXT. COLUMBUS AVENUE - DAY

A building under construction, with plywood board covering
the front and wrapping around the corner.  Joe goes to a side
entrance and enters.

EXT. COLUMBUS & 73RD STREET - DAY - CONTINUOUS

As Kathleen comes around the corner onto 73rd and stops in
front of her store, a children's bookstore called "The Shop
Around the Corner."  It is an irresistibly inviting store.
There are twinkle lights in the windows, framing large
stuffed animals reading children's books: Madeleine, Good
Night Moon, Where the Wild Things Are.  A teddy bear in a
pinafore is reading The Stupids Step Out.  Waiting for
Kathleen in front is one of her employees, CHRISTINA.

			KATHLEEN
	Hello, Christina.  It's a beautiful day.
	Isn't it the most beautiful day?

Christina looks up at the sky as if seeing it for the first
time.

			CHRISTINA
	I guess.  Yeah, sure.

Kathleen unlocks the shop and cranks the grate, which
rises, making a horrible noise.  Two cabs almost collide in
front of the store, with a screech, and one cabdriver starts
yelling obscenities at the other.  Kathleen unlocks the door
to the store.

			KATHLEEN
	Don't you love New York in the fall?

Christina looks at her puzzled.

INT. SHOP AROUND THE CORNER - CONTINUOUS

Kathleen turns the CLOSED sign on the door over to read
"OPEN" and she activates the computer system.  She looks
around, and we see a small but charming children's bookstore,
with wooden shelves, a tiny area where kids can sit and read,
some charming posters and a glass case full of first editions
of the Oz books and Alice In Wonderland, etc.  There's a
playful display of witches, lit with twinkle lights covered
with orange pumpkin globes and a sign reading "The Ten Best
Witch List"  and a collection of witch books -- "The Lion, The
Witch and the Wardrobe," "The Witches," "The Wizard of Oz."
On the counter is a glass jar full of sugar-free lollipops.

Kathleen hangs up her coat in the back of the store and
suddenly stops to daydream.  A smile creeps onto her face.
Christina looks at her.

			CHRISTINA
	What's going on with you?

			KATHLEEN
	Nothing.

			CHRISTINA
	You're in love.

			KATHLEEN
	In love?  No.  Yes.  Of course I am.
	I'm in love with Frank.  I'm practically
	living with Frank.  Do you think you
	could get our Christmas mailers out this
	week?

			CHRISTINA
	By Monday I promise.  I have a paper due
	Friday.  Now what's going on?
		(she looks at Kathleen)
	I'm just going to stand here till you tell
	me.

A beat.

			KATHLEEN
	Is it infidelity if you're involved with
	someone on E-mail?

			CHRISTINA
	Have you had sex?

			KATHLEEN
	Of course not.  I don't even know him.

			CHRISTINA
	I mean cybersex.

			KATHLEEN
	No!

			CHRISTINA
	Well, don't do it.  The minute you do,
	they lose all respect for you.

			KATHLEEN
	It's not like that.  We just E-mail.
	It's really nothing, on top of which I'm
	definitely thinking of stopping because
	it's getting --

			CHRISTINA
	Out of hand?

			KATHLEEN
	Confusing.  But not really.  Because it's
	nothing.

			CHRISTINA
	Where did you meet him?

			KATHLEEN
	I can't even remember.
		(off Christina's look)
	The day I turned thirty I wandered into
	the Over Thirty Room for a joke, sort of
	and he was there, and we started
	chatting.

			CHRISTINA
	About what?

			KATHLEEN
	Books.  Music.  How much we both love New
	York.  Harmless.  Harmless.  Meaningless.
		(starts smiling)
	Bouquets of sharpened pencils.

			CHRISTINA
	Excuse me?

			KATHLEEN
	Forget it.  We don't talk about anything
	personal.  We made a rule about that.
	I don't know his name, what he does or
	exactly where he lives, so it will be
	really easy to stop seeing him, because
	I'm not.

			CHRISTINA
	God, he could be the next person to talk
	into the store.  He could be...
		(as George walks in)
	George.

GEORGE PAPPAS, in his twenties, one of Kathleen's
salespeople, is a cute guy who has no idea that he's supposed
to look in the mirror when he gets dressed.

			GEORGE
	Morning.

			CHRISTINA
	Are you On Line?

			GEORGE
	As far as I'm concerned, the Internet is
	just another way to be rejected by a
	woman.

BIRDIE walks in.  She is in her seventies, has white hair,
and is tiny, like a little sparrow.  She is the store's
oldest employee, having worked there for over forty years,
and serves as a accountant as well as salesperson.

			KATHLEEN
	Good morning, Birdie.

			BIRDIE
	What are you all talking about?

			CHRISTINA
	Cybersex.

			BIRDIE
	I tried to have cybersex once but I kept
	getting a busy signal.

			CHRISTINA
	I know, I know.  One Saturday night I was
	really depressed about not having a date,
	so I thought, no problemo, I'll go on
	line and I won't be lonely, but I
	couldn't get on, there were hundreds of
	thousands of people who didn't have dates
	trying to get on.
		(MORE)
	You have to wonder which is harder,
	getting a date or getting On Line when
	you don't have a date.

			GEORGE
	Getting a date is harder.

We hear the bell jingle as TWO WEST SIDE MOTHERS come in with
two KIDS IN STROLLERS.

			KATHLEEN
		(to the kids)
	Jessica and Maia, how are you today?

We hear the sound of the garbage truck.  Kathleen goes out
the front door to:

EXT. SHOP AROUND THE CORNER - DAY

As the commercial garbage truck pulls up and TWO GARBAGEMEN
start to load her trash.

			KATHLEEN
	Hey, you forgot to pick up the garbage
	last week and I got a ticket.  And you're
	late today -- I could have gotten
	another.

			GARBAGEMAN #1
	We were here, there was no garbage.

			GARBAGEMAN #2
	Yeah.

			KATHLEEN
	Of course there was --

			GARBAGEMAN #1
	What do you think, I don't want to pick
	up garbage?  You think I go up and down
	the street picking up garbage, I'm not
	going to pick up yours?  What's the
	matter with you?

			GARBAGEMAN #2
	Yeah.

Kathleen is standing there, tongue-tied.

			GARBAGEMAN #1
	You don't even bundle it right, you're
	supposed to bundle it and leave it near
	the curb, you leave it near the store
	and you use cheap garbage bags, they
	smear all over the place, and then I got
	to pick it up with my shovel --

INT. SHOP AROUND THE CORNER - CONTINUOUS

As Christina, who's helping one of the customers, looks out
the window as the harangue continues.

EXT. SHOP AROUND THE CORNER - CONTINUOUS

			GARBAGEMAN #1
	And now you're busting my chops.  You're
	just another garbage pick-up to us, okay?

			GARBAGEMAN #2
	Yeah.

As Kathleen continues to stand there, speechless.

INT. SHOP AROUND THE CORNER - CONTINUOUS

As Kathleen comes back into the store.  Christina is ringing
up a sale.

			KATHLEEN
	That guy went ballistic on me.

			CHRISTINA
	I hope you told him off.

			KATHLEEN
	Not exactly.

Another customer enters the store.  The bell jingles.

EXT. CONSTRUCTION SITE ON COLUMBUS - DAY

A little truck carrying a knife sharpener, its bells ringing,
passes the building under construction.

INT. CONSTRUCTION SITE - DAY

WORKERS, ELECTRICIANS, MASONS, CARPENTERS, etc. in the
process of building what looks like a large store.  Wires
hanging everywhere.

			KEVIN
	The electrical contractor called.  His
	truck hit a deer last night, he won't be
	in 'til tomorrow.  The shelves are late
	because the shipment of pine had beetles.
	And there's some question about whether
	we're installing the stairs in the right
	spot --

			JOE
	That sounds great.

			KEVIN
	Testing one two three four.

			JOE
	Is the electrician here?

			KEVIN
	I just told you -- he hit a deer.

			JOE
	I hear nothing.  Not a sound on the city
	streets, just the beat of my own heart.
	I think that's the way it goes.
	Something like that.

			KEVIN
		(beginning to glean something)
	Did you and Patricia get engaged?

			JOE
	Engaged?  Are you crazy?

			KEVIN
	I thought you liked Patricia --

			JOE
	I love Patricia.  Patricia's amazing.
	Patricia makes coffee nervous.
		(suddenly all business)
	Are we still on schedule?

			KEVIN
	We open two weeks before Thanksgiving.

			JOE
	I guess we should announce ourselves
	soon.  Tell people we're coming.

			KEVIN
	This is the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
	The minute they hear they'll be lining up
	--

			JOE
	-- to picket --

			KEVIN
	-- the big bad --

			JOE
	--chain store --

			KEVIN
	-- that destroys --

			JOE
	-- everything we hold dear.  But we'll
	seduce them with our square footage and
	our deep armchairs and our amazingly
	swift checkout lines and our discounts
	and our...

			JOE & KEVIN
		(the trump card)
	-- cappuccino.

			JOE
	They hate us in the beginning, but we
	get them in the end.  Meanwhile we
	should just put up a sign -- Coming soon,
	a Foxbooks Superstore and The End of
	Western Civilization As We Know It.

INT. FOXBOOKS - WORLD HEADQUARTERS - DAY

Joe is in the office with his father, NELSON FOX, and his
grandfather, SCHUYLER FOX.  The office has been recently
redecorated; everything is new and a little overdone.

On the wall we see the Foxbooks logo.

			JOE
	Kevin and I are both a little concerned
	about the neighborhood response --
		(suddenly notices the garish
		 couch)
	What is this fabric?  Does it have a
	name?

			NELSON
	Money.  Its name is money.

			JOE
	Gillian selected it.

			NELSON
	Of course.

			SCHUYLER
	Your father is getting married again.

			JOE
	Oh, great, congratulations, Dad.  Why?

			NELSON
	Who knows?  Why does anyone get married?

			JOE
	Love.

			NELSON
	Yes, that is one reason.

			SCHUYLER
	I think you're a damn fool.

			NELSON
	Dad, Matthew is four.  It would be nice
	for him if his parents were married.

			SCHUYLER
	Annabel is eight and I'm not married to
	her mother.  I can't even remember her
	mother's name.
		(he laughs merrily)

			JOE
	I have a very sad announcement to make.
	City Books on 23rd Street is going under
	...

Nelson, Shuyler, and Joe high-five each other.

			NELSON
	Another independent bookstore bites the
	dust --

			SCHUYLER
	On to the next.

			JOE
	And I'm buying their entire stock --
	architecture, New York history -- for the
	new store.

			NELSON
	How much are your paying?

			JOE
	Whatever it costs, it won't be as much as
	this exquisite mohair episode.
		(indicates the couch)
	We're also going to have a section on
	West Side Writers --

			SCHUYLER
	-- as a sop to the neighborhood.

			NELSON
	Perfect.  It'll keep those West Side
	liberal nut pseudo-intellectual bleeding
	hearts --

			JOE
	Readers.  They're called readers.

			NELSON
	Don't romanticize them.  It'll keep them
	from jumping down your throat --

			SCHUYLER
	What's the competition?

			JOE
	One mystery store.  Sleuth, on 86th and
	Amsterdam.  And a children's bookstore.
	The Shop Around the Corner.  Been there
	forever.

			SCHUYLER
	Cecilia's store.

			JOE
	Who's that?

			SCHUYLER
	Cecilia Kelly, lovely woman.  I think we
	might have had a date once.  Or maybe we
	just exchange letters.

			JOE
	You wrote her letters?

			SCHUYLER
	Mail.  It was called mail.

			NELSON
		(fondly nostalgic and kidding
		 it slightly)
	Stamps.  Envelopes.

			JOE
	Wait.  I've heard of it.  It was a means
	of communication before I was born.

			NELSON
	Exactly.

			SCHUYLER
	Cecilia had beautiful penmanship.
	She was too young for me, but she was...
	enchanting.  Her daughter owns it now.

			NELSON
	Too bad for her.

As a DECORATOR walks into the office carrying a pile of
upholstered pillows, and Joe turns to look at them.

			COMPUTER VOICE (OVER)
	Welcome.  You've got mail.

			JOE (V.O.)
	My father is getting married again.  For
	five years he's been living with a woman
	who studied decorating at Caesar's
	Palace.

			COMPUTER VOICE (OVER)
	You've got mail.

INT. SUBWAY - DAY

Kathleen looks up from her book as a butterfly flies through
the subway car.

			KATHLEEN (V.O.)
	Once I read a story about a butterfly in
	the subway, and today I saw one. I
	couldn't believe it.  It got on at 42nd
	--
		(continued)

The train comes to a stop.  The butterfly flies out.

			KATHLEEN (V.O.)
	-- and got off at 59th, where I assume it
	was going to Bloomindale's to buy a hat
	that will turn out to be a mistake.  As
	almost all hats are.

EXT. H & H BAGELS - NIGHT

A flour truck is unloading flour into a hole in the ground.

			JOE (V.O.)
	Did you know that every night a truck
	pulls up to H&H Bagels and pumps about a
	ton of flour into the ground?  The air is
	absolutely amazing.

As Joe comes around the corner and sees the dust filling the
air.  It is amazing.

			KATHLEEN (V.O.)
	I guess I've read Pride & Prejudice about
	100 times --

INT. JOE'S KITCHEN - DAY

As Joe reads a copy of Pride and Prejudice.  He can't stand
it.

			KATHLEEN (V.O.)
	-- and every time I read it I worry that
	Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy are not going to
	get together -- but the truth is whenever
	I think about my favorite book I always
	think about the books I read as a child --

INT. SHOP AROUND THE CORNER - DAY

As Kathleen takes a copy of Homer Price off the shelf.

			JOE (V.O.)
	Did you ever read Homer Price?  My all-
	time favorite children's book.
		(continued)

She opens it to the illustration of the doughnut machine that
won't stop making doughnuts.

			JOE (V.O., cont'd)
	There's a doughnut machine in it that
	won't stop making doughnuts, they just
	keep coming down the chute just as
	regular as a clock can tick.

EXT. KRISPY KREME STORE - DAY

			KATHLEEN (V.O.)
	Have you been to Krispy Kreme?
		(continued)

Joe, eating a doughnut, looks through the window at the huge
doughnut machine as the doughnuts roll down the chute just as
regular as a clock can tick.

			KATHLEEN (V.O., cont'd)
	There's a doughnut machine right in the
	window that makes 110 dozen doughnuts an
	hour.

EXT. STARBUCKS - DAY

As Joe leaves with his morning coffee.

EXT. COLUMBUS AVENUE - NEW YORK - MORNING

Joe goes to his painter at work: COMING SOON is as far as he's
gotten.

EXT. STARBUCKS - DAY

She enters Starbucks.

INT. STARBUCKS - DAY

As Kathleen buys her morning coffee and listens to everyone
ordering.

We can hear the sounds of Starbucks: "Short decaf cap,"  "Tall
mocha latte."  "Grande lowfat regular."  Etc.

EXT. COLUMBUS AVENUE - A HALF HOUR LATER

The painter is further along on the sign.  It now reads:
COMING SOON, A FOXBOOKS SU --

Kathleen walks past the construction site.  She doesn't
really pay attention to the sign painter.

We see two police cars barreling up 75th Street, followed by
a television news truck.

EXT. BROADWAY - CONTINUOUS

The police cars and TV truck barrel uptown.

EXT. 101st STREET - CONTINUOUS

They turn left onto West 101st and stop in front of an
apartment building on the block.  There are more police cars
and a horde of television reporters with microphones, etc.

George emerges from the building as a newscaster broadcasts.

			TV REPORTER
	The body of a woman was found this
	morning on the roof of a New York
	building...

As George comes out of his building into a horde of REPORTERS
with microphones, cameras, etc. and listens to the reporter,
who, seeing George, sticks the microphone into his face.

			TV REPORTER
	Here is a resident of the building.  Your
	name, please?

			GEORGE
	George Pappas.

			REPORTER
	Did you see or hear anything unusual last
	night?

			GEORGE
	No.  I didn't go out.

At that moment, George sees a young woman.  This is MEREDITH
CARTER.  He is struck dumb.

			REPORTER
	The victim was red-haired, about thirty-
	five, wearing a jogging suit.  Did you
	encounter anyone by that description
	in the building?  Sir?

George hasn't heard a word.

			REPORTER
	Have there been any wild parties
	lately?

George doesn't answer.

			REPORTER
	Could it perhaps be one of your
	neighbors?

George continues to stare at the beautiful woman.  As he
does, she notices him.  She stares back.  The reporter,
ignored, finally turns away.

			REPORTER
		(to camera)
	As you can see, no one here knows
	anything.

He continues to stand there, dumbstruck for a moment.
Meredith Carter starts to walk away.

EXT. NEW YORK STREET - DAY

As George walks along Broadway, past the sign, which now
says: "COMING SOON: A FOXBOOKS SUPERSTORE".  He sees it.

INT. SHOP AROUND THE CORNER

Kathleen and several CUSTOMERS in the store.

George walks in and goes to the back to hang up his coat.
Christina is unpacking boxes.  Birdie is at the desk.  George
looks at Christina meaningfully.

			CHRISTINA
		(totally mystified)
	What?

			GEORGE
	The coup de foudre. I had one. I
	never believed in them, but I just had
	one.

			BIRDIE
	Is that the thing where you get cold
	suddenly, bang?

			CHRISTINA
	No, that's the coup de vieux.

			BIRDIE
	I had that.

			GEORGE
	The coup de foudre is where you get
	love suddenly, bang.  A thunderbolt.

			BIRDIE
	I had that too.  Only I had it in
	Seville, where it was called ,el
	estruendo de amor.

			GEORGE
	I don't know her name, or anything about
	her.  I may never see her again.

			CHRISTINA
	And if you ever do meet her, you'll find
	out all the horrible details, and that
	will be that.  She'll turn out to have
	pictures of the Virgin Mary all over the
	walls.

			GEORGE
	I won't care.

Kathleen sticks her head into the back.

			KATHLEEN
	Can someone help me out here?

			CHRISTINA
	George had a coup de foudre.

			GEORGE
	And Christina's making fun of me.

			KATHLEEN
	Don't let her.  I believe in this, I
	completely believe in this.  It happened
	to Madame Bovary, at least six times.

			CHRISTINA
	And she was wrong every time.

			KATHLEEN
	Yes!
		(beat)
	Who was she?

			GEORGE
	I don't know.  She was standing outside
	my building with the police and the
	reporters.

			KATHLEEN
	What police and reporters?

			GEORGE
	Someone died.

			KATHLEEN
	Who?

			GEORGE
	I have no idea about that either.
	They found her on the roof.

			KATHLEEN
	A dead body.  That's so sad.  But
	you fell in love.  That's so great.

			GEORGE
	Oh.  One other thing.

EXT. COLUMBUS AVENUE - DAY

The sign is now complete and it says: "Coming soon, just
around the corner.  A Foxbooks Superstore."

Kathleen and George and Christina stand there looking at it.

			CHRISTINA
	Quel nightmare.

			KATHLEEN
	It has nothing to do with us. It's
	big, impersonal, overstocked and
	full of ignorant salespeople.

			GEORGE
	But they discount.

			KATHLEEN
	But they don't provide any service.  We
	do.

George and Christina nod.

INT. BARNEY GREENGRASS - LUNCHTIME

Kathleen is having lunch with Birdie.

			KATHLEEN
	So really it's a good development.  You
	know how in the flower district, there
	are all these flower shops in a row so
	you can find whatever you want.  Well,
	this is going to be the book district.
	If you don't have it, we do.

			BIRDIE
	And vice versa.

INT. KATHLEEN'S APARTMENT - DUSK

Kathleen in the kitchen, unloading groceries.  Frank is
standing there, plugging in an Olympia Report deluxe Electric
typewriter.

			FRANK
	When you are finished with Foxbooks, the
	Shop Around the Corner is going to be
	responsible for reversing the entire
	course of the Industrial Revolution.

			KATHLEEN
	That is so sweet, Frank.  Thank you.
	That is so sweet.

			FRANK
	Hey --

He holds his arms out.  They hug.

			KATHLEEN
	Although...

			FRANK
	What?

			KATHLEEN
		(over his shoulder, she notices
		 the typewriter, breaks from
		 the hug)
	What is that doing there?

			FRANK
	Listen to it.  Just listen--

He strikes a key.  Practically swoons.

			FRANK
	The Olympia Report deluxe Electric
	Report.  As in gunshot.

			KATHLEEN
	That sound is familiar.

			FRANK
	Now listen to this.

He puts his ear to the typewriter.

Kathleen listens too.

			KATHLEEN
	That whirring?

			FRANK
	The gentle and soothing lullaby of a
	piece of machinery so perfect --

			KATHLEEN
	I know where I've heard it before.  I
	know.

She whips a cover off the other typewriter on the table.
It's the same machine exactly.

			FRANK
	I needed a backup.

			KATHLEEN
	Don't you have another one at your
	apartment?

			FRANK
	I might, I might.  So what?

			KATHLEEN
	You're turning my apartment into a
	typewriter museum.

			FRANK
	I'll stop.  I'll try.  I probably can't.
	I see one and my knees go weak.  Anyway,
	what were you starting to say?

			KATHLEEN
	When?

			FRANK
	Before.

			KATHLEEN
	Nothing.

			FRANK
	Come on.

			KATHLEEN
	I don't know.  I was just wondering about
	my work and all.  I mean, what is it I do
	exactly?  All I really do is run a
	bookstore --

			FRANK
	All you really do is this incredibly
	noble thing --

Kathleen nods.

			KATHLEEN
	But I don't know if I --

			FRANK
		(stopping her)
	Kathleen --

			KATHLEEN
	But I just --

			FRANK
	You are a lone reed.

Kathleen looks puzzled.

He sticks a piece of paper in the typewriter, starts typing.

			FRANK
	You are a lone reed waving in the
	breeze standing strong and tall in
	the corrupt sands of commerce.

He whips the piece of paper out of the typewriter and hands
it to her.

			KATHLEEN
		(reading from it)
	I am a lone reed.
		(tries it on again)
	I am a lone reed.

Clutching her piece of paper, she wanders into the bathroom.

INT. BEDROOM - DUSK

We hear the sound of a typewriter begin to clack away in the
next room.

Kathleen walks past her computer, looks at it.  Then she goes
over to the window, looks out at her street at dusk.

EXT. KATHLEEN'S STREET - DUSK

A group of schoolgirls in uniform, in two straight lines,
walk past with a tall woman.

INT. KATHLEEN'S BEDROOM - DUSK

She goes over to the bookshelf and pulls out a copy of
Madeleine by Ludwig Bemelmans and opens it to the
illustration of the twelve little girls in two straight lines
marching through the streets of Paris.  She looks at it, then
looks up, lost in thought.  We hear the sound of the computer
keys.

			KATHLEEN (V.O.)
	Sometimes I wonder about my life.  I lead
	a small life.  Well, not small, but
	circumscribed.  And sometimes I wonder,
	do I do it because I like it, or because
	I haven't been brave?  So much of what I
	see reminds me of something I read in a
	book, when shouldn't it be the other way
	around?
		(continued)

And hold on her as she thinks about this.

In the other room, we hear Frank typing.

Kathleen goes to the computer, turns it on.

EXT. KATHLEEN'S BUILDING - NIGHT

As we see Kathleen, through her curtains, a small figure
barely lit by her computer.

			KATHLEEN (V.O., cont'd)
	I don't really want an answer.  I just
	want to send this cosmic question out
	into the void.  So goodnight, dear void.

INT. DRIP - DAY

Drip is a cafe on Amsterdam Avenue with Fifties-style couches
and chairs in cozy seating arrangements.  Kathleen is
standing at the front counter with Christina, getting drinks.

			CHRISTINA
	I went to the Foxbooks Website and you
	can buy anything.  They ship it to you
	in a day.  Maybe we should get a website.

			KATHLEEN
	My mother would never have wanted us to
	have a website.  "Every book you sell is
	a gift from your heart."  She always said
	that.

As they walk toward the back of the cafe, Kathleen notices a
stack of loose-leaf binders on the table.

			CHRISTINA
	What if they put us out of business?

			KATHLEEN
	It's out of the question.  We're a
	fixture in the neighborhood.  We're
	practically a landmark.
		(indicating the binders)
	Men For Women, Women for Men, Women for
	Women -- what is this?

			CHRISTINA
	You fill out one of these forms and they
	file it in the book and if someone wants
	to meet you, they arrange it.

			KATHLEEN
	What a stupid way to meet someone.

			CHRISTINA
	Compared to the Internet?

			KATHLEEN
	My little thing on the Internet is just
	a lark.

			CHRISTINA
	So it's still going on?

			KATHLEEN
	And I do not plan to meet him.
		(indicating the book)
	Why do I get the feeling that you are in
	here somewhere?

Christina flips the book open to her application.

			CHRISTINA
	I came in here one night and drank too
	much coffee and filled one out.
		(off Kathleen's look)
	Well how am I supposed to meet someone?

			KATHLEEN
	You are a runner.  Some day you will make
	eye contact with another runner and --

			CHRISTINA
	No one ever even looks at me.  They
	don't.  On top of which, who are they?
	They could like the symphony.  I could
	never fall in love with someone who
	likes to go to the symphony --

			KATHLEEN
	I know.  What are you supposed to do
	there?

			CHRISTINA
	I don't know.

			KATHLEEN
	Sit.  You're supposed to sit.

			CHRISTINA
	I could never fall in love with anyone
	who smokes cigars either.

			KATHLEEN
	I'll tell you what I hate.  Big fat legs
	like stumps.

			CHRISTINA
	Yeah.  I hate that too.

			KATHLEEN
	The worst, the worst -- I could never,
	under any circumstances, love anybody
	who had a sailboat.

			CHRISTINA
	Neither could I.

			KATHLEEN
	If I had to get up on Saturday morning
	knowing that I was about to go down to
	the pier and unravel all those ropes and
	put on all that sunblock --

			CHRISTINA
	All that talk about the wind.

			KATHLEEN
	And then you have to go out on the boat,
	and you sail and sail and sail until you
	are bored witless, and then, only then,
	do they say, let's turn around and you
	realize the trip is only half over, only
	it's not, because the wind has changed --

			CHRISTINA
	It hasn't changed.  It's died.

			KATHLEEN
	So then there's more talk about the wind.
	While you just float up and down trying
	not to get nauseous.  And when you
	finally get back, you have to clean up
	the boat.

			CHRISTINA
	Why don't people have boat maids?

			KATHLEEN
	I know.  There're all these people who
	wouldn't be caught dead polishing a
	doorknob in their house but put them on
	a boat and they want to rub down
	everything in sight.

EXT. 19TH STREET BOAT BASIN - ANOTHER DAY

Joe is on his sailboat.  He is polishing his brass and
whistling.

			ANNABEL
	Joe --

Joe jumps off the boat onto the dock to greet his
grandfather's daughter ANNABEL, 8, who is coming toward the
dock with GILLIAN, his father's overdecorated 32-year-old
fiance, her son, MATTHEW, 4, and the Nanny, MAUREEN.

			JOE
	Hello.
		(picks up Annabel)
	Annabel, how are you today?

			ANNABEL
	Great.

			JOE
		(picks up Matt)
	Hey, big guy --

			GILLIAN
	Don't I get a hello?

			JOE
	Hello, Gillian.

			GILLIAN
	Kiss me.  I'm going to be your wicked
	stepmother.

Joe gives her a peck on the cheek.

			JOE
	Who is this?

			GILLIAN
	Nanny Maureen.  I brought her in case
	you couldn't handle the kids.

			ANNABEL
	Maureen's getting a divorce.

			JOE
	I'm sorry to hear that.

			MAUREEN
	It's my own fault.  Never marry a man
	who lies.

			JOE
	That is so wise.  Remember that, Annabel.

			ANNABEL
	She taught Matt to spell his name.

			MATT
	Fox. F-O-X.

			JOE
	Excellent, Matt.
		(to Maureen)
	Good work.  You can have the day off.
	I'll take over from here.
		(to Gillian)
	You must be late for something.
	Volunteer work at the Henry Street
	Settlement.  Packing bandages for
	Bosnian refugees.  A course in
	Chinese literature at Columbia.

			GILLIAN
	I am.  I'm having my eggs harvested.

EXT. STREET FAIR - DAY

There's a block street fair with little booths, sausage
sandwich concessions, etc.  Annabel and Matt have been to the
makeup booth.  Annabel is a cat and Matt is a pirate.
Annabel is carrying a goldfish in a baggie as they walk toward
Broadway.

EXT. KATHLEEN'S STORE - DAY

As Joe, Annabel and Matt walk past.  There's some sort of toy
miniature princess in a pointed hat sitting outside the store
and a sign lit with twinkle lights: Storybook Lady today 3:30.

INT. KATHLEEN'S STORE - DAY

Kathleen is sitting on a stool reading to a group of CHILDREN,
including Annabel and Matt, who are crammed into her store.
Joe is watching, along with some PARENTS as Kathleen reads
from a Roald Dahl book.

INT. KATHLEEN'S STORE - LATER

Matt is sitting on the floor reading a book.  Kathleen is
showing Annabel a copy of a book called Betsy-Tacy.

			KATHLEEN
	This is her best friend Tacy, whose real
	name is Anastasia, and then in the next
	book Betsy and Tacy become friends with
	Tib, whose real name, I am sorry to tell
	you, is Thelma.

In another section of the store:

George is showing Joe a first edition of Swiss Family
Robinson from the glass case.

			GEORGE
	The illustrations are hand-tipped,
	which is why --

			JOE
	It costs so much.

			GEORGE
	It's why it's worth so much.

Joe smiles and turns to see Kathleen and Annabel at a whole
shelf of Betsy-Tacy books.

			ANNABEL
	I want all of them.

			KATHLEEN
	That might be an awful lot for your dad
	to buy at one time.

			ANNABEL
	My dad gets me all the books I want.

			KATHLEEN
		(looking over at Joe)
	Well, that's very nice of him.

			ANNABEL
	That's not my dad.  That's my nephew --

			KATHLEEN
	Oh, I don't really think that's your
	nephew --

As Joe approaches.

			JOE
	It's true.  Annabel is my aunt.  Aren't
	you, Aunt Annabel?

Annabel nods solemnly.

			ANNABEL
	And Matt is --

			KATHLEEN
	Let me guess.
		(to Matt)
	Are you his uncle?

			MATT
	No.

			KATHLEEN
	His grandfather?

Annabel and Matt start giggling.

			KATHLEEN (cont'd)
	His great-grandfather?

			MATT
		(shouting with glee)
	I'm his brother.

			JOE
	Annabel is my grandfather's daughter.
	And Matt is my father's son.  We are an
	American family.

He smiles at Kathleen, who finds herself smiling back.

Annabel suddenly sneezes.

Kathleen takes a handkerchief from her sleeve.  It's an old
fashioned hankie that's embroidered.  She offers it to
Annabel, who instead wipes her nose with her hand and then
looks at the handkerchief, a little puzzled.

			ANNABEL
	What is that?

			KATHLEEN
	A handkerchief.  Oh my, do children not
	even know what handkerchiefs are?  A
	handkerchief is a Kleenex you don't throw
	away.  My mother embroidered it for me --
	you see?  My initials and a daisy,
	because daisies are my favorite flower.

			ANNABEL
	Orchids are my favorite flower.

			KATHLEEN
		(to Joe)
	You know what else children don't know?
	They don't know what a telephone booth
	is?

Joe is looking at Kathleen.

			JOE
	Who are you?

			KATHLEEN
	Kathleen Kelly.  I own this store.
	Are you are?

			JOE
	Joe.  Just call me Joe.
		(quickly)
	We'll take these books.

He gets the one Matt is reading.  And the two other Kathleen
has gotten for Annabel.

			KATHLEEN
	These are wonderful books.  As Annabel
	gets older the characters in the books do,
	too.
		(to Annabel)
	You can grow up with Betsy.

			GEORGE
	You're going to come back again, aren't
	you?

			JOE
	Of course.

			GEORGE
	This is why we're never going to go
	under.  Our customers are loyal.

			KATHLEEN
		(by way of explanation)
	They're opening a Foxbooks around the
	corner.

			ANNABEL
	Foxbooks!  My Daddy --

			JOE
		(gently putting his hand over
		 her mouth)
	-- likes to buy at discount.  Don't tell
	anyone that, Annabel, it's nothing to be
	proud of --

			MATT
		(spelling)
	F-O-X.

			KATHLEEN
	That's amazing.  You can spell fox.  Can
	you spell dog?

			MATT
	F-O-X.

		     JOE
	Matt, look at this dinosaur book.
	Wouldn't you like a dinosaur book?
	Annabel, maybe you could read this to
	Matt while I wrap things up here.
		(moves them to a corner, to
		 them quickly)
	Sit down, read, and don't listen to
	anything I say.

Returns to counter and gives Kathleen some cash.

		     JOE
	And the dinosaur book too.

		     KATHLEEN
	The world is not driven by discounts,
	believe me.  I've been in business
	forever.  I started helping my mother
	here after school when I was six years
	old.  I used to watch her, and it wasn't
	that she was selling books, it was that
	she was helping people become whoever
	they were going to turn out to be.  When
	you read a book as a child it becomes
	part of your identity in a way that no
	other reading in your life does.
		(stops herself)
	I guess I've gotten carried away.

		     JOE
	You have, and you've made me feel...

He can't finish the sentence.  He looks at her and sees,
behind her on the shelf, a picture of a woman who is
unmistakably Kathleen's mother, with a young Kathleen.

		     JOE (cont'd)
	Enchanting, your mother was enchanting.

		     KATHLEEN
	She was.  How did you know that?

		     JOE
	Lucky guess.

		     KATHLEEN
	Anyway.  She left the store to me, and
	I'm going to leave it to my daughter.

		     JOE
	How old is your daughter now?

		     KATHLEEN
	Oh, I'm not married.  But eventually.

She smiles at Joe...

		     KATHLEEN
	So Foxbooks can...

		     KATHLEEN AND GEORGE TOGETHER
	Go to hell.

		     KATHLEEN
		(handing him his books)
	Here you go.

		     JOE
	We ready?

Annabel and Matt join him at the counter.  Kathleen gives them
each a lollipop.

		     ANNABEL
	Bye, Kathleen.

		     KATHLEEN
	Goodbye, Annabel.  Bye, Matt.  What
	about cat?  Can you spell cat?

		     MATT
	F-O-X.

INT. AUDITORIUM - DAY

Someplace like the auditorium at the Museum of Broadcasting.
PATRICIA EDEN, Joe's girlfriend, who is the editor-in-chief
of a New York publishing house called Eden Books, is standing
at a podium at a sales conference.  In the audience are sales
reps, wholesalers, etc.  There's a screen behind her with
pictures of the authors being flashed on it as she speaks.

		     PATRICIA (cont'd)
	And now, the book you've all been waiting
	for, the book it's been my dreams to
	publish.  The legendary Veronica Grant
	has written her memoirs --

There's a burst of applause as a photograph of Veronica Grant
flashes on screen.

		     PATRICIA (cont'd)
	-- and I'm happy to report it is just
	crammed with tragedy.
		(she laughs gaily)
	Just kidding, but seriously, it's all
	here: poverty, addiction, divorce,
	tracheotomies --

We see pictures of Veronica at eight with her sharecropper
family, Veronica at 14 with her first child, Veronica with a
series of husbands, Veronica in a wheelchair, etc.

		     PATRICIA (cont'd)
	-- her third husband beat her up, hip
	replacement, and an amazing face lift
	where all the injected fat fell to her
	chin.

Now we see a blow-up of the book's jacket, with a picture of
Veronica on it and the title: "Am I Rising from Ashes, or Did
I Just Forget to Dust?"

		     PATRICIA (cont'd)
	This book is fabulous.  And even if it
	weren't, it would sell like crazy,
	because Veronica is going to plug it to
	death on every talk show in America.
	This book...

Patricia bursts into tears.

		     PATRICIA (cont'd)
	I'm sorry.  I can't talk about it without
	crying.  Veronica and I have so much in
	common -- well, not all the sad parts --
	but we were both famous by the time we
	were 29 and, believe me, that's rough.
		(wipes her nose with a Kleenex,
		 pulling herself together)
	Anyway, I just want to say that I'm
	especially thrilled to be publishing it.
	Veronica lives in my building and we met
	in the elevator.  By the time we had
	traveled from the eighth floor to the
	first, we had a deal.  First printing:
	one million copies.

Everyone applauds enthusiastically.

INT. AUDITORIUM LOBBY - A SHORT WHILE LATER

Patricia is leaving, still surrounded by colleagues and sales
reps congratulating her.  She is the soul of graciousness.
Her assistant, Sarah, comes up.

		     SARAH
		(quickly)
	You have a dentist appointment in twenty
	minutes.  So you should leave soon...

		     PATRICIA
	What's my car number?

		     SARAH
	Car?  You didn't say anything about a car
	--

		     PATRICIA
	Are you an idiot?  Of course I need a car.
	God!

She walks toward the exit.

EXT. 57TH STREET - CONTINUOUS

Patricia in the pouring rain, trying to hail a cab.  She
spots one across the street.

		     PATRICIA
	Taxi!  Taxi!  Taxi!

She whistles -- a longshoreman's whistle.

The cab makes a U-turn, but instead of stopping for Patricia
it stops about twenty feet ahead for a MAN in an overcoat who
gets into it.

		     PATRICIA
	Excuse me -- what are you doing?  This is
	my taxicab.
		(to the driver)
	Don't take him.  I am telling you right
	now, and I am memorizing your number,
	don't take him.
		(to the man)
	Who the fuck do you think you are?

		     MAN IN OVERCOAT
	Are you going uptown?

		     PATRICIA
	Yes.

		     MAN IN OVERCOAT
	Get in.  I'll drop you.

INT. TAXI - A MINUTE LATER

As the cab turns onto Eighth Avenue, starts uptown.

Patricia is dialing her cell phone.  She's elaborately
ignoring the man who stole her cab.

		     PATRICIA
	Veronica, it's Patricia, you should have
	been there, it was unbelievable, we're
	going to sell truckloads of your book.
	Call me.

She hangs up, folds up the phone, puts it back in her purse
as the cab moves on.

		     MAN IN OVERCOAT
	Are you an editor?

		     PATRICIA
	Yes.

		     MAN IN OVERCOAT
	I am a rabbi.

		     PATRICIA
	Oh, my God, I said fuck to a rabbi.  I'm
	sorry.

		     MAN IN OVERCOAT
	I hope you don't mind my asking, but are
	you Jewish?

		     PATRICIA
	Yes.

		     MAN IN OVERCOAT
	You should come to our temple.

		     PATRICIA
	I'm not really religious.

		     MAN IN OVERCOAT
	Oh, I am surprised, you seem like a very
	religious person.

		     PATRICIA
	You're kidding, right?

		     MAN IN OVERCOAT
	We are at West End Avenue and 83rd
	Street.  Every Friday night, we have a
	joyous time, everyone dancing, everyone
	singing.  Also some wisdom.  Perhaps you
	have heard of us, we are known as The
	Singles Temple.

He smiles at her.

		     MAN IN OVERCOAT
	It's a very good place to calm down.

The cab stops.

		     MAN IN OVERCOAT
	Oh, look, I am already here.  Very nice
	to meet you.
		(gives the cabbie money)
	Take this woman to her destination.

He gets out.  Closes the door.  A beat too late:

		     PATRICIA
	Goodbye.

EXT. KATHLEEN'S APARTMENT - NIGHT

Frank comes up the stoop.

INT. KATHLEEN'S APARTMENT - NIGHT

Kathleen is dressed up for a party.

Frank walks in, looks meaningfully at her.

		     FRANK
	I saw him.  I actually saw him.

		     KATHLEEN
	Who?

		     FRANK
	I can't believe it.  I saw William
	Spungeon.

		     KATHLEEN
	I thought he was in Mexico.

		     FRANK
	Maybe he's in Mexico, but today he was in
	New York.  The most brilliant and
	reclusive novelist in the history of the
	world is here, in this neighborhood.  He
	may be living on this very block.

		     KATHLEEN
	Where did you see him?

		     FRANK
	I was on the subway --

INT. SUBWAY - DAY

		     FRANK (V.O.)
	-- and this musician got onto the train --

Frank is sitting on the subway, reading the Village Voice.
The door between the cars opens and a man playing the
clarinet enters the car.

No one looks up except Frank.

		     FRANK (V.O.)
	-- and I suddenly saw him, sitting
	directly across from me doing the
	crossword puzzle.

		     KATHLEEN (V.O.)
	How'd you know it was him?

		     FRANK (V.O.)
	He looked exactly the same as his high
	school yearbook picture, which happens to
	be the last photograph ever taken of him.

Frank takes out his billfold on the subway, pulls out a piece
of paper.

CLOSE UP - FOLDED PIECE OF PAPER

As Frank unfolds a newspaper clipping of a yearbook picture
of William Spungeon at 17.

Frank compares the photo of Spungeon with the person sitting
across the way.  They don't look remotely alike except that
the boy in the picture and the man on the subway are both
wearing the same style glasses.

The subway stops at 79th Street, and William Spungeon gets off.
Frank follows.

EXT. BROADWAY - CONTINUOUS

As Frank comes out of the subway station and looks around.

		     FRANK
	So I followed him.

Frank sees Spungeon cross 79th.  He follows.

EXT. H&H BAGELS - CONTINUOUS

Frank follows Spungeon, who hurries into H&H Bagels passing a
HOMELESS MAN holding a paper cup at the door.

		     FRANK (V.O.)
	He went into H&H and bought a bagel
	with everything.

EXT. H&H BAGELS - A MINUTE LATER

As Spungeon leaves the store, passing the paper cup, which we
now realize that Frank, in dark glasses, is holding.

Spungeon drops his newspaper in a garbage container.

		     FRANK (V.O.)
	He dropped his crossword into the
	garbage and I rescued it.

Frank plucks the puzzle from the trashcan, follows Spungeon.

INT. SPORTING GOOD STORE - CONTINUOUS

Spungeon at the counter in the shoe store.

		     FRANK (V.O.)
	Then he went into a sporting good store
	and bought tube socks, 6 pair for $7.99.

We see Frank, peeking out at him from behind a stack of
running pants.  Suddenly he's distracted by a couple of
joggers.

		     KATHLEEN (V.O.)
	William Spungeon and tube socks.

		     FRANK (V.O.)
	I know.  I don't want to dwell on it.

Frank looks back at the counter.  Spungeon's gone.

		     FRANK (V.O.)
	And then I lost him.

INT. KATHLEEN'S APARTMENT - THAT NIGHT

Frank waves the crossword puzzle in front of Kathleen.

		     FRANK
	Do you know what this is worth?

He takes an empty instant-frame from the closet, puts the
puzzle into it and sets it next to the typewriters.

INT. JAPANESE RESTAURANT - NIGHT

As the two of them eat dinner.

		     FRANK
	What I was thinking as I was trailing him
	was that eventually I would have the
	courage to say hello to him, you know,
	not in a horrible, intrusive or slavering
	fan-slash-acolyte kind of way, but more
	like, "Hi."  "How ya doing?"  "Have you
	ever thought about trading up in the sock
	area?"  "Who knows, maybe he's read my
	work -- and then we'd become friends, and
	eventually I'd introduce him to you --
	you know how much he loves children's
	books, there's a whole long section in
	Relativity's Smile about The Wizard of Oz
	-- and then maybe he'd come out of hiding
	so he could help save the store.

		     KATHLEEN
	What are you talking about?

		     FRANK
	From Foxbooks.  I mean, if things got
	tough, he could help rally support --

		     KATHLEEN
	It's never going to get to that.  The
	store is fine.

EXT. STREET - NIGHT

As they walk along after dinner.

		     FRANK
	I don't even know why you would say that?

		     KATHLEEN
	Neither do I.  It just flew out of my
	mouth.

		     FRANK
	There's enough business for us all.

INT. ELEVATOR - NIGHT

As they go up in an elevator.

		     KATHLEEN
	I mean, we're fine.

		     FRANK
	You're more than fine, you're absolutely
	fine.

		     KATHLEEN
	We're fine.

The elevator opens onto:

INT. VINCE MANCINI'S APARTMENT - NIGHT

A publication party for an author named VINCE MANCINI.  A mix
of book people, journalists and various other media folk.

		     FRANK
	Hey, Vince.  Congratulations.  You know
	Kathleen Kelly.

		     VINCE
	How are you?

		     FRANK
	Guess who I saw today on the subway?
	William Spungeon.

		     VINCE
	I thought he was in Mexico.

They start chatting.

Across the room, Joe is with Patricia, who is telling two
other people the story of meeting the rabbi in the taxicab.
Joe looks over and sees Kathleen.  He suddenly looks
stricken.

Shifts his position so Kathleen can't see his face, but
sneaks a look.

		     PATRICIA
	Would you get me another drink, sweetie?
	I'm all out.
		(continues chattering)
	So then the rabbi says, "It's a very good
	place to calm down."  Isn't that
	hysterical?

They all laugh.  Joe moves over to the bar.

		     JOE
	Absolut on the rocks.

As he is waiting, Kathleen comes up next to him.

		     KATHLEEN
	A white wine, please.
		(very friendly)
	Oh, hello.

		     JOE
	Hi.

		     KATHLEEN
	Remember me, from the bookstore?

		     JOE
	Of course I remember you.

		     KATHLEEN
	How's your aunt?

		     JOE
	Good.  She's good.
		(gets his drink)
	I have to deliver this.  I have a very
	thirsty date.  She's part camel.

Kathleen laughs.

		     KATHLEEN
	Joe.  It's Joe, isn't it?

		     JOE
	And you're Kathleen.

Joe vanishes into the party.

INT. VINCE MANCINI'S APARTMENT - NIGHT - A MINUTE LATER

		     VINCE
	I can't believe you were talking to Joe
	Fox.

		     KATHLEEN
	Joe Fox?  As in --

She can't even finish the sentence.

INT. VINCE MANCINI'S APARTMENT - A COUPLE OF MINUTES LATER

Joe is standing at a table of food, his back to the room.

		     KATHLEEN
	Fox?  Your last name is Fox?

Joe spins around, looks at her.

		     JOE
	F-O-X.

		     KATHLEEN
	God, I didn't realize.  I didn't know who
	you --
		(she trails off)

		     JOE
	-- were with.
		(quoting)
	"I didn't know who you were with."

		     KATHLEEN
	Excuse me?

		     JOE
	It's from the Godfather.  When the movie
	producer realizes that Tom Hagen is the
	emissary of Vito Corleone --
		(continued)

Kathleen is staring at him.

		     JOE (cont'd)
	-- just before the horse's head ends up
	in his bed never mind --

		     KATHLEEN
	You were spying on me, weren't you?  You
	probably rented those children.

		     JOE
	Why would I spy on you?

		     KATHLEEN
	I am your competition.  Which you know
	perfectly well or you would not have put
	up that sign saying "Just around the
	Corner."

		     JOE
	The entrance to our store is around the
	corner.  There is no other way to say it.
	It's not the name of our store, it's
	where it is.  You don't own "around the
	corner."

		     KATHLEEN
	Next thing you'll be using twinkle
	lights.

		     JOE
	Twinkle lights?

		     KATHLEEN
	Little white Christmas lights that
	twinkle.  I use them in my window and on
	all my displays, as if you didn't notice.

		     JOE
	Look, the reason I came into your store
	is that I was spending the day with
	Annabel and Matt.  I like to buy them a
	present when I see them because I'm one
	of those guys who likes to buy his way
	into the hearts of children who are his
	relatives.  There was only one place to
	buy children's books in the neighborhood
	-- although that will not always be the
	case, and it was yours, and it is a
	charming little bookstore.  You probably
	sell $250,000 worth of book a year --

		     KATHLEEN
	How do you know that?

		     JOE
	I'm in the book business.

		     KATHLEEN
	I'm in the book business --

		     JOE
	Oh, I see, and we're the Price Club.
	Only instead of a ten-gallon can of olive
	oil for $3.99 that won't even fit into
	your kitchen cabinet, we're selling cheap
	books.  Me a spy.
		(beat)
	Absolutely.  And I managed to get my hands
	on a secret printout of the sales figures
	of a bookstore so inconsequential and yet
	full of its own virtue that I was instantly
	compelled to rush over and check it out
	for fear it would drive me out of business
	--

Kathleen stares at him.  She's speechless.

		     JOE (cont'd)
	What?
		(off her look)
	What?

Kathleen shakes her head.

Frank turns up.

		     FRANK
	Hi.  I'm Frank Navasky --

		     JOE
	-- Joe Fox.

		     FRANK
	Joe Fox?  Inventor of the Superstore,
	enemy of the mid-list novel, destroyer of
	City Books -- tell me something:
	How do you sleep at night?

Patricia joins them.

		     PATRICIA
	I use a wonderful over-the-counter drug,
	Ultrasom.  Don't take the whole thing,
	just half, and you will wake up without
	even that tiniest hangover.  You're Frank
	Navasky, aren't you?

		     FRANK
	Yes.

		     PATRICIA
	Your last piece in the Independent, the
	one about Anthony Powell, was brilliant.
	I'm Patricia Eden, Eden Books.  Joe, this
	man is the greatest living expert on
	Julius and Ethel Rosenberg --

		     JOE
	And this is Kathleen Kelly --

Kathleen glares at him.

		     FRANK
	You liked my piece.  God, I'm flattered.
	You know you write these things and you
	think someone's going to mention them and
	then the whole week goes by and the phone
	doesn't ring, and you think Oh, God, I'm
	a fraud, a failure --

		     PATRICIA
	You know what's always fascinated me
	about Julius and Ethel Rosenberg is how
	old they looked when they were really
	just our age.

Everyone is stopped dead by this observation and looks at
Patricia, who smiles at them all.

		     PATRICIA
		(to Frank)
	I'm so happy to have finally met you.  We
	will talk.  Have you ever thought about
	doing a book?

		     FRANK
	Oh sure, it's passed through my head.
	Something really relevant for today like
	the Luddite movement in 19th century
	England.

At the same time:

		     JOE
	Patricia --

		     KATHLEEN
	Frank --

INT. KATHLEEN'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

As Kathleen and Frank get into bed.

		     FRANK
	I really like Patricia Eden.  She's a
	very nice person.

Kathleen doesn't respond.  Frank turns out the light.

		     FRANK
	She needs educating, that's all.

A beat.

		     FRANK
	She's hopelessly driven by money and
	power, but there's a hope for anyone
	who's that familiar with my work --

On Kathleen, as she turns away from Frank and lies there,
eyes open.

INT. JOE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

As Joe and Patricia get into bed.  Brinkley is already on the
bed.

		     PATRICIA
	I had no idea that Frank Navasky was so
	down-to-earth.

Joe doesn't respond.  Patricia turns out the light.

		     PATRICIA
	You read his stuff, you think he's going
	to be so obscure and abstruse.

A beat.

		     PATRICIA (cont'd)
	He's always talking about Heidigger and
	Foucault and I have no idea what any of
	it's about, really.

Joe gets up.  Brinkley follows.

		     PATRICIA (cont'd)
	Where are you going?

		     JOE
	I'm not really tired.

INT. JOE'S DEN - NIGHT

Joe writes on his computer.  Brinkley on the floor next to him.

And cut between Joe and his computer screen.

		     JOE (V.O.)
	Do you ever feel you become the worst
	version of yourself?  That a Pandora's
	Box of all the secret hateful parts --
	your arrogance, your spite, your
	condescension -- has sprung open.
	Someone provokes you, and instead of
	just smiling and moving on, you zing
	them.  Hello, it's Mr. Nasty.  I'm sure
	you have no idea what I'm talking about.

INT. KATHLEEN'S COMPUTER SCREEN - DAY

And cut between screen and

INT. KATHLEEN'S BEDROOM - DAY

As Kathleen reads the end of Joe's letter.

Kathleen hits the Reply key and starts to type:

		     KATHLEEN (V.O.)
	I know what you mean and I'm completely
	jealous.  What happens to me when I'm
	provoked is that I get tongue-tied.  My
	mind goes blank.  Then I spend all night
	tossing and turning trying to think of
	what I should have said.

INT. JOE'S COMPUTER SCREEN AND JOE'S DEN - NIGHT

As he replies:

		     JOE (V.O.)
	Wouldn't it be wonderful if I could pass
	all my zingers to you and then I would
	never behave badly and you could behave
	badly all the time and we'd both be
	happy?  On the other hand, I must warn
	you that when you finally have the
	pleasure of saying the thing you mean to
	say at the moment you mean to say it,
	remorse inevitably follows.  Do you think
	we should meet?

INT. KATHLEEN'S COMPUTER SCREEN AND BEDROOM - DAY

Kathleen stares at Joe's letter in her computer.

She's frozen.

		     KATHLEEN
	Meet?  Omigod.

She sits staring at the letter.  She has no idea what to do.

EXT. 75TH STREET & COLUMBUS - DAY

As the iron gates on all the stores start to open, just the
way we saw them open in the opening sequence of the movie.
The pharmacy.  The optician.  The cosmetics supply store.
The video store.

And now, finally, we see the new grate on the new Foxbooks
Superstore start to open upwards.  This is the finest grate
on Broadway, no question of it.  It's electric and almost
soundless.  We see a sign saying, OPENING DAY.  35% OFF ON
ALL BEST-SELLERS.

People on the street notice the store.  One walks in...

CAMERA follows him...

INT. FOXBOOKS SUPERSTORE - DAY

The inside is beautiful.  Gleaning staircase, a cafe,
comfortable chairs to sit, a bank of cashiers, everyone
decked out in gray alligator shirts with a fox where the
alligator should be, a rope for the checkout line, and seven
cash registers with seven cashiers.  Of course, books, books,
books, as far as the eye can see.

MATCH DISSOLVE TO:

INT. SAME SCENE - LATER THAT DAY

The store is jam-packed.  Joe with his father Nelson, his
grandfather Schuyler, and Kevin, the store manager.

		     JOE
	No pickets, no demonstrations.

		     KEVIN
	The neighborhood loves us.

		     NELSON
	They're wondering where we've been all
	these years.  They're wondering how they
	ever did without it.

		     SCHUYLER
	It's a hit.

They admire their own store, walk through the downstairs and
start up the staircase to the second floor.

		     NELSON
	How's the children's book department?

		     JOE
	It's early yet.  School isn't out.  And
	there's that children's bookstore nearby
	--

		     SCHUYLER
	Cecilia's store --

		     JOE
	Her daughter's --

		     NELSON
	We'll crush it --

		     SCHUYLER
	She was enchanting.

And as they walk on upstairs, several mothers with children
come up the stairs behind them.

EXT. BROADWAY - MORNING

A little group of children dressed as Pilgrims walk down the
street as Kathleen comes around the corner to buy her morning
paper.  Joe is at the newsstand.  She turns and pretends to
be staring at a wall until he finishes buying his paper and
walks on.

		     KATHLEEN (V.O.)
	I don't think it's a good idea for us
	to meet...

INT. STARBUCKS - ANOTHER DAY

Joe is putting sugar into his coffee at the sugar counter as
Kathleen comes in.  He pretends he didn't see her.

		     KATHLEEN (V.O., cont'd)
	I love our relationship.  There's a lot
	going on in the day-to-dayness of my life
	and there's something magical...

INT. SHOP AROUND THE CORNER - DUSK

We see Kathleen and George at the end of the day, counting
the receipts.  Birdie is using a calculator to total them.
Christina is shelving books.  There are Thanksgiving
decorations -- cardboard turkeys and pilgrims, books on
colonists like Myles Standish.

		     KATHLEEN (V.O., cont'd)
	... and thrilling about this island in
	cyberspace I have with you.  SO PLEASE
	DON'T ASK ME AGAIN.

		     BIRDIE
	About $1200 less than the same week last
	year.

		     KATHLEEN
	That could be a fluke, right?

They look at each other.

		     BIRDIE
	Or not.

		     KATHLEEN
	Their store is new.  It's a novelty.  But
	it will all shake out.  Do you think I
	should put up more twinkle lights?

		     BIRDIE
	That's a lovely idea.

		     CHRISTINA
	What if we have to fold?  I'll never find
	another part time job and I won't be able
	to pay the rent and I'll have to move to
	Brooklyn.

		     GEORGE
	The joy of rent control.  Six room for
	$450 a month.

		     CHRISTINA
	We know.  You've told us a million times.
	I can't believe you're bringing it up at
	a time like this.  It's like bragging
	because you're tall.  Birdie never brags
	about her rent and she pays even less
	than you.

		     BIRDIE
	Ten rooms.  I just rattle around from one
	to the other.

		     KATHLEEN
	Hey, guys.  We are not going to fold.

The door opens, and Meredith Carter, the woman George had
swooned over in front of his building, walks in.

George stares, frozen in place, as she walks up to him.

		     MEREDITH
	George Pappas?

		     GEORGE
		(I have died and gone to
		 heaven)
	Yes.

		     MEREDITH
		(flashing her badge)
	Detective Carter, 23rd precinct.  I'd
	like to ask you a few questions.

Kathleen suddenly sees George, following Meredith out of the
store.  He's in a complete daze.

		     KATHLEEN
	George?  Where are you going?

He goes out the door.

LAURA MARGULIES, a well-known children's book author, enters
as George leaves.

		     LAURA
	Kathleen, are you surviving?

		     KATHLEEN
	Laura!  We're so excited about your new
	book.  When should we schedule your
	signing?

		     LAURA
	Oh, it's being published in January.
	Are you going to be in business in
	January?  I'm so worried.

		     KATHLEEN
	We're doing great, aren't we?

		     CHRISTINA
	Great.

		     BIRDIE
	No difference whatsoever.

		     LAURA
	Thank God.  Well, you know you can count
	on me.  For anything, support, rallies.
	Picket lines.  We can get the Times to
	write something.  Or that nut in the
	Independent --

		     KATHLEEN
	What nut in the Independent?

		     LAURA
	Frank Navasky.  This is just the sort of
	thing that would outrage him.

She smiles brightly.

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY

George and Meredith are sitting in a booth.

		     MEREDITH
	Mr. Pappas, I'm investigating the murder
	of the woman found on the roof of your
	building.  Do you live alone there?

		     GEORGE
	Do I live alone?  Yes I do.  Do you live
	alone?

		     MEREDITH
	Yes.

George takes her hand in his and looks at it as if it were
the eighth wonder of the world.  He starts stroking it,
caressing it...

Meredith pulls it away.  A beat.  Then she gives it right
back to him.  He continues stroking.  They stare at each
other.  He puts her fingers into his mouth.

	MEREDITH
		(overwhelmed)
	What are you doing?

		     GEORGE
	I don't know.  I have no idea.

		     MEREDITH
	You have to stop.

		     GEORGE
	I can't.

She utters a little moan.

INT. GEORGE'S APARTMENT - A SHORT WHILE LATER

They come into the apartment.  She throws herself into his
arms.

EXT. RIVERSIDE DRIVE PARK - DAY

As Christina runs, desperately trying to make eye contact
with men running in the opposite direction.  No one will look
at her.

INT. ZABAR'S CHEESE DEPARTMENT - NIGHT

The place is mobbed -- the usual crush the night before
Thanksgiving.

Kathleen, pushing a shopping cart, is trying to wedge her way
through the crowd in the cheese department.  As she reaches
across three people to grab some Brie, she sees Joe walk into
the store.  Quickly, she turns her back so he can't see her.
She stands there frozen.  A beat...

Peeks around, doesn't see him anywhere.  Cranes her neck this
way and that.  No Joe.

INT. ZABAR'S CASHIER AREA - CONTINUOUS

Kathleen, now wearing dark glasses but looking not at all
disguised, looks around and spots a short line and makes a
beeline for it.

At that moment, Joe comes from the Appetizing Department and
gets on the line she was heading for.

Panicked, Kathleen retreats onto another line and stands with
her back to him.

INT. SAME SCENE - MOMENTS LATER

The CASHIER totals up Kathleen's purchases and Kathleen hands
over her credit card.

		     CASHIER
	This is a Cash Only line.

		     KATHLEEN
	What?

		     CASHIER
	Cash Only.

		     KATHLEEN
	Omigod, I only have a credit card.  Is
	that okay?

		     PERSON BEHIND HER IN LINE
	Of course it's not okay, there's a sign.

		     CASHIER
	There's a sign.

		     PERSON IN LINE
		(to the person behind her)
	She doesn't have cash.

"She doesn't have cash" is repeated all the way down the
line.

Joe turns to see what's going on.

		     ANOTHER PERSON
	Get on another line, lady.

		     JOE
	Oh, hello.

		     KATHLEEN
	Hello.

		     JOE
	Do you need some money?

		     KATHLEEN
	No, I don't need any money.  Thank you
	very much.

		     CASHIER
	Get on another line.

		     JOE
	Hi.
		(off her nametag, big smile)
	Rose. Great name.  Rose, this is
	Kathleen, I'm Joe, and this is a credit
	card machine.  Happy Thanksgiving.

Rose just stares at him.

		     JOE (cont'd)
	Now it's your turn to say happy
	Thanksgiving back.

		     ROSE
	Happy Thanksgiving back.

Joe looks at her, winks.

		     JOE
	Mississippi is a hard word to spell.  How
	do you spell it?  I-T.
		(big smile)
	Now take this credit card and put it
	through the machine, zip zip.

The cashier, completely charmed, takes Kathleen's credit
card.

Kathleen is appalled.

Everyone on the line signs irritably and audibly.

		     JOE
	So you're fine.

		     KATHLEEN
	Fine.

		     JOE
	Happy Thanksgiving.

As Kathleen signs the charge slip and the cashier exasperatedly
starts to put her groceries into a bag.

INT. JOE'S FATHER'S APARTMENT - THANKSGIVING DAY

An elegant East Side apartment.  Schuyler, his youngish
French wife, YVETTE, Nelson, Gillian and their child Matt,
and Joe are sitting and listening as Annabel sings Tomorrow.

		     ANNABEL
	The sun'll come up tomorrow, bet your
	bottom dollar that tomorrow, there'll be
	sun --

Joe is on a loveseat with Matt.  Gillian lifts Matt up, sits
down in his place next to Joe and plunks Matt into her lap.
Nelson is already seated in a chair in front of the loveseat
and can't see her without turning around.

As she continues singing, Gillian moves her hand next to
Joe's leg.  Joe edges away.  He looks around the room, sees
Nanny Maureen standing behind the couch.  He stands, offers
her his seat.  She sits.

INT. KATHLEEN'S LIVING ROOM - DAY

A much more informal Thanksgiving dinner. We see the
leftovers on a sideboard near a round table in Kathleen's
living room.

Kathleen, Frank, Birdie, Christina, George and George's new
girlfriend, Meredith and TWO OTHER FRIENDS are standing
around the upright piano.  Birdie is playing a Christmas
song, and everyone is singing.

As the singing continues, over, we cut to:

EXT. FOXBOOKS SUPERSTORE - DECEMBER DAY

As the Christmas decorations and twinkle lights go into the
window.

Birdie walks by the store.  She stops to look at the
customers inside, and then notices a sign in the window:

"Book Signing January 10 - Best Selling Children's Author
Laura Margulies."  There's a picture of Laura Margulies.

EXT. SHOP AROUND THE CORNER - DECEMBER DUSK

Kathleen is in the window decorating a little tree with
lovely decorations from a box.  Two people are carrying a
tree home, there's the sound of church bells.

Kathleen looks up as a couple of people walk past the store,
carrying Foxbooks shopping bags.

Then she unwraps a pair of ruby slipper ornaments, and as she
starts to hang them on the tree we hear the sound of the
computer.

		     KATHLEEN (V.O.)
	This is such an odd Christmas.  I find
	myself missing my mother, who's been dead
	for ten years.  New York at Christmas is
	so loaded with all the things we used to
	do --

INT. NEW YORK STATE THEATER - 1972 - DAY

As Young Kathleen, dressed in a little velvet dress, sits in
the audience next to her mother watching the ballet.

		     KATHLEEN (V.O. cont'd)
	-- going to the Nutcracker --

EXT. ROCKEFELLER CENTER SKATING RINK - 1972 - DAY

		     KATHLEEN (V.O. cont'd)
	-- ice skating at Rockefeller Center,
	where I was knocked into a 6-year-old
	maniac --

A SIX-YEAR-OLD BOY knocks into her.

		     YOUNG KATHLEEN
	Hey, watch out --

		     SIX-YEAR-OLD BOY
	Me watch out, why don't you watch out?
	I'm not sliding around like a baby.  You
	think I come here to skate with babies?

Young Kathleen's jaw drops and she stands there tongue-tied.

		     KATHLEEN (V.O.)
	My first experience as a speechless
	person.

Her mother skates up and takes her hand.  The boy skates off.

		     KATHLEEN (V.O.)
	I always miss my mother at Christmas, but
	somehow it's worse this year since I need
	some advice from her.

And we hear the sound of another computer.

INT. JOE'S DEN

As he replies to Kathleen.

		     JOE (V.O.)
	My mother took me ice skating too --

EXT. ROCKEFELLER CENTER SKATING RINK - DAY

We see a little boy, YOUNG JOE, 8, skate past holding someone's
hand --

		     JOE (V.O., cont'd)
	-- although my mother did not skate.  The
	nanny skated --

And we now see JOE'S NANNY, a young Sonja Henie, who suddenly
peels off into a series of triple lutzes, as JOE'S MOTHER
absently reads a copy of Vogue in the spectators' section.

INT. LINCOLN CENTER THEATER - 1972 - DAY

		     JOE (V.O.)
	And I was in the Nutcracker.

We see the stage now.  There's Young Joe, among the children
at the Christmas party.

		     JOE (V.O., cont'd)
	So was my nanny.

As JOE'S NANNY #2 pirouettes past.

		     JOE (V.O., cont'd)
	Different nanny.  By the way, I'm
	surprised you aren't a writer.  Although
	you probably are a writer and don't
	know it.  Are you a writer and I don't
	know it?

INT. JOE'S APARTMENT - 1972 - NIGHT

Young Joe, at the dinner table with his father.  A wide shot
of a big room with a huge table and servants.  Joe looks very
small at the table as he eats his soup.

		     JOE (V.O., cont'd)
	My mother died when I was ten.  I was
	staying with my father, who is not famous
	for intimacy, and whose way of breaking
	the news of her death was to tell me she
	would not be coming to pick me up as
	usual.  It was a car accident, and I
	don't know where she was going or who she
	was with, and I assume what I owe her is
	my tendency to cover almost any emotion
	with a joke.  A useful gift, unless you
	want to know what you're feeling.  She
	was very beautiful.  People toss that
	word around a lot, but my mother was.

The camera moves closer to the dining table.  We see that
tears are rolling down little Joe's cheeks.

INT. JOE'S DEN - NIGHT

Joe stops typing.  He is surprised to find his eyes watering.
A moment of confusion as he cannot believe he has moved
himself to tears.  Shakes his head, shakes the emotion off.
Starts typing again.

		     JOE (V.O., cont'd)
	Ancient history.  So what kind of advice
	do you need?  Can I help?

INT. KATHLEEN'S BEDROOM - DAY

Kathleen in bed with her laptop reading Joe's letter.

She starts to type a response.

Suddenly there's harp arpeggio and an Instant Message
flashes on screen.

From NY 152

CLOSE ON KATHLEEN - TOTAL SHOCK

ON SCREEN AS WE SEE THE MESSAGE

		     JOE (V.O.)
	I had a gut feeling you would be on line
	now.

INT. JOE'S BEDROOM - DAY

Joe is in bed with his laptop.  And cut back and forth
between them and their computer screens as they type Instant
Messages to one another.  Possible split screens.

		     JOE (V.O., cont'd)
	I can give you advice.  I'm great at
	advice.

		     KATHLEEN (V.O.)
	I don't think you can help.

		     JOE (V.O.)
	Is it about love?

		     KATHLEEN (V.O.)
	My business is in trouble.  My mother
	would have something wise to say.

		     JOE (V.O.)
	I'm a brilliant businessman.  It's what
	I do best.  What's your business?

		     KATHLEEN (V.O.)
	No specifics, remember?

		     JOE (V.O.)
	Minus specifics, it's hard to help.
	Except to say, go to the mattresses.

		     KATHLEEN (V.O.)
	What?

		     JOE (V.O.)
	It's from The Godfather.  It means you
	have to go to war.

CLOSE ON KATHLEEN - LOOKING AT THE COMPUTER

		     KATHLEEN
		(to herself)
	The Godfather?

She starts to type.

		     KATHLEEN (V.O.)
	What is it with men and The Godfather?

		     JOE (V.O.)
	The Godfather is the I Ching.  The
	Godfather is the sum of all wisdom.  The
	Godfather is the answer to any question.
	What should I pack for my summer
	vacation?  "Leave the gun, take the
	cannoli."  What day of the week is it?
	"Maunday, Tuesday, Thursday, Wednesday."
	And the answer to your question is "Go to
	the mattresses."
		(continued)

CAMERA ON KATHLEEN - CONSIDERING WHAT HE SAYS

		     JOE (cont'd)
	You're at war.  "It's not personal, it's
	business.  It's not personal it's
	business."  Recite that to yourself every
	time you feel you're losing your nerve.
	I know you worry about being brave, this
	is your chance.  Fight.  Fight to the
	death.

INT. JOE'S APARTMENT - DAY

Patricia comes in as Joe is waiting for Kathleen's response.

		     PATRICIA
	Look what I bought.

Joe types "Ciao" and signs off.  Looks up to see Patricia
showing him a Plexiglas menorah.

		     PATRICIA
	I was just passing this store on Columbus
	Avenue and it caught my eye.

		     JOE
	What is it?

		     PATRICIA
	A Menorah.
		     JOE
	It doesn't look like a Menorah.

		     PATRICIA
	I know.  I don't know what came over me.
	I don't even celebrate Hanukkah.

INT. KATHLEEN'S BEDROOM - DAY

As Kathleen logs off, Frank comes in.

		     KATHLEEN
	Frank, I've decided to go to the
	mattresses.  Do you think it would be a
	gigantic conflict of interest if you
	wrote something about us?

INT. THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER - DAY

It's January.  The store is more crowded than we've seen it.
Frank is there with several copies of the Independent.  The
phone is ringing off the hook.  Christina and George are
fielding calls.  Birdie is reading Frank's article.

		     BIRDIE
		(reading)
	"Kathleen Kelly and her mother Cecilia
	Kelly have raised your children.  If this
	precious resource is killed by the cold
	cash cow of Foxbooks, it will not only be
	the end of Western civilization as we
	know it, but the end of something even
	dearer: our neighborhood as we know it.
	Save the Shop Around the Corner and you
	will save your own soul."  Frank, that's
	charming.

		     FRANK
	You think it's a little over the top?

		     BIRDIE
	Just say thank you.

		     FRANK
	Thank you.

		     CHRISTINA
		(calling to Kathleen)
	Channel 2's outside.

INT. BACK ROOM - THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER - SAME TIME

Kathleen is primping in a tiny wall mirror.  She takes a deep
breath.

		     KATHLEEN
	In a second.

		     GEORGE
		(from the other room)
	The Village Voice is coming.

		     KATHLEEN
	Omigod.

Frank sticks his head in.

		     FRANK
		(in shock)
	It's him.

		     KATHLEEN
	Who?

		     FRANK
	God. It is God.

INT. SHOP AROUND THE CORNER - CONTINUOUS

Kathleen comes out of the storage room.

William Spungeon is standing there.

		     WILLIAM SPUNGEON
	I'm William Spungeon.

		     KATHLEEN
	I'm very pleased to meet you.  I'm
	Kathleen Kelly.

Frank is practically levitating.

		     SPUNGEON
	I knew your mother.  Although she knew me
	only as W.  That enormous bookstore is
	obscene.

		     FRANK
	I'm Frank Navasky.  I carry your picture
	in my wallet.

He pulls it out.  Spungeon looks at him like he's crazy.

		     KATHLEEN
	We've organized pickets.  Channel 13 is
	doing a special.

		     SPUNGEON
	I'd be glad to talk to the press if it's
	all right with you.  They've been trying
	to interview me for years.

		     FRANK
	The press?  I'm the press.

		     KATHLEEN
	You'd allow that?  For me?  For the
	store?  That's incredible.  Although you
	wouldn't have to be photographed.  I
	respect that.  If it's television, they
	could just put one of those blurry dots
	in front of your face.

		     SPUNGEON
	No television.

		     CHRISTINA
		(referring to the TV crew)
	They're waiting for you --

		     FRANK
	I know all your books.  Phaelox the
	gnome, the little man who comes from
	nowhere... and is going nowhere...
		(quoting)
	"Where did you come from?"  "Nowhere."
	"Where are you going?"  "Nowhere."

		     SPUNGEON
	Cool it.  I'm starting to break out in
	hives.
		(to Kathleen)
	Here's my phone number.

		     KATHLEEN
	I had no idea William Spugeon had a
	phone.

		     SPUNGEON
	Adios.

He gives a little wave and leaves.

		     FRANK
	This is historic.
		(beat)
	Do you realize what I've done?  By
	writing that piece, do you realize?
	I've brought William Spungeon in from
	the cold. Holy shit.  I am completely
	amazing.

At that moment a TV REPORTER sticks her head into the store.

		     TV REPORTER
	Kathleen Kelly?

Kathleen takes a deep breath, walks out the door.

EXT. SHOP AROUND THE CORNER - A FEW MINUTES LATER

		     CHANNEL 2 TV REPORTER
	Are you ready, Miss Kelly?

		     KATHLEEN
	Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes.

		     CHANNEL 2 TV REPORTER
	What?

		     KATHLEEN
	Never mind.  I'm ready.  Shoot.

INT. TELEVISION SCREEN - THAT NIGHT

		     CHANNEL 2 TV REPORTER
	We're here in front of the Shop Around
	the Corner, the famous West Side
	children's bookstore now on the verge of
	having to close its doors because the big
	bad wolf, Foxbooks, has opened only a few
	hundred feet away, wooing customers with
	its sharp discounts and designer coffee.

		     KATHLEEN
	They have to have discounts and lattes,
	because most of the people who work there
	have never read a book.

And pull back now to reveal that we're in:

INT. GYM - NIGHT

Five TV sets are on, over adjoining treadmills, Joe and
Kevin are on two of the treadmills, walking and watching.

		     JOE
	She's not as nice as she seems on
	television.

		     KEVIN
	You've met her?

		     JOE
	She's kind of a pill.

		     KEVIN
	She's probably not as attractive as she
	seems on television either.

		     JOE
	No, she's beautiful.  But a pill.

		     KEVIN
	So you don't feel bad about basically
	destroying her livelihood not to mention
	her legacy not to mention her raison
	d'etre.

		     JOE
	It's not personal --

		     KEVIN
	It's business.

		     JOE
	Right.  Exactly.

They look up at the television.

INT. TELEVISION SCREEN - CONTINUOUS

Joe onscreen, with a super: Joe Fox, Vice-President Foxbooks.

		     JOE
	I sell cheap books.  Sue me.  I sell
	cheap books, and as a result -- listen
	to this, because it's really bad --
	more people can buy books.

The show immediately cuts back to the newscaster.

On Joe and Kevin.

		     KEVIN
	That's what you said?

		     JOE
		(outraged)
	That's not all I said.  I said -- I can't
	believe those bastards -- I said we were
	great, I said people can come and sit and
	read for hours and no one bothers them, I
	said we stock 150,000 titles, I showed
	them the New York City section.  I said
	we were a goddamn piazza where people
	could mingle and mix and be.

		     KEVIN
	A piazza?

		     JOE
	I was eloquent.  Shit.  It's just
	inevitable, isn't it?  People are going
	to want to turn her into Joan of Arc --

		     KEVIN
	-- and you into Attila the Hun.

		     JOE
	Well it's not me personally, it's more
	like it's the company --

		     KATHLEEN
		(on the television)
	And I have to say, I have met Joe Fox,
	who owns Foxbooks, and I have heard him
	compared his store to a Price Club and the
	books in it to cans of olive oil.

On Joe, reacting.

EXT. SHOP AROUND THE CORNER

A small rally is taking place, with picket signs.  Kathleen
is standing on a small speaker's platform, along with the
Borough President.

		     KATHLEEN
	My mother used to say to me that every
	book you sell is a gift from the
	heart...

EXT. FOXBOOKS - DAY

As 20 CHILDREN march in front of the store, holding little
makeshift picket signs and singing songs.  "One, two, three,
four, we don't want this Superstore."

Customers go right through the line and into the store.

INT. FOXBOOKS SUPERSTORE - DAY

We can hear the pickets marching and singing outside --
although the store is full of customers anyway.  The Fox men
-- Joe, Nelson and Schuyler -- are sitting in the cafe.
Nelson is holding a copy of a weekly newspaper, which has the
old high-school yearbook picture of William Spungeon on the
front page and a headline: William Spungeon Emerges from
Hiding to Support Bookstore.

		     SCHUYLER
	Who is this Spungeon anyway?

		     JOE
	He's a writer.

		     NELSON
	Well, I've never heard of him.  And
	neither has anyone else in this place.

INT. TV SET - NIGHT

As we see SIDNEY-ANN STRONGIN, a young and attractive PBS
talk show hostess for a show called Inside Media.

		     SIDNEY-ANN
	The New York Literary world was shocked
	this week when William Spungeon, the most
	famously reclusive author since J.D.
	Salinger, announced that he was coming
	out of hiding because of his loyalty to a
	small children's bookstore on the West
	Side of Manhattan.  Discussing this
	tonight is a man I happen to think of as
	one of this city's most underappreciated
	assets, Frank Navasky.

		     FRANK
	Thank you.

		     SIDNEY-ANN
	This all happened because of you, didn't
	it --

		     FRANK
	Well, I knew William Spungeon loved
	children's books so I wrote a provocative
	column --

		     SIDNEY-ANN
	Your specialty.

Frank laughs.  Sidney-Ann laughs.

		     FRANK
	And it kind of smoked him out.

INT. KATHLEEN'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

As she and Frank watch the television show.

		     FRANK ON TELEVISION
	Technologically speaking, the world's
	out of hand.  Take the VCR.  The whole
	idea of a VCR is that it makes it possible
	for you to tape what's on television
	while you're out of the house.  But the
	whole point of being out of the house is
	so you can miss what's on television.
	Radio.  Now there's a medium I can get
	behind.

		     SIDNEY-ANN ON TELEVISION
	Well, we're on television... and you're
	good at it.

		     FRANK ON TELEVISION
	Thank you.

Another little moment between them.

		     SIDNEY-ANN ON TELEVISION
	The bookstore.  Tell us about it.

		     FRANK ON TELEVISION
	Are you planning to collect radios?

		     SIDNEY-ANN ON TELEVISION
	Do you think I should?

		     FRANK ON TELEVISION
	The Shop Around the Corner is a true New
	York treasure.

		     SIDNEY-ANN ON TELEVISION
	As are you.  I'd love to have you back.

		     FRANK ON TELEVISION
	Any time.  Are we done?

		     SIDNEY-ANN ON TELEVISION
	Not at all.

		     FRANK ON TELEVISION
	Because I just want to say that the only
	show I do watch is yours.

		     KATHLEEN
		(appalled)
	Omigod.

		     FRANK
	Hey, I was just being polite.  Okay, I
	admit, I slobbered all over her.

The show continues.

EXT. SHOP AROUND THE CORNER - DUSK

As we see Kathleen flip the open sign to closed.

INT. SHOP AROUND THE CORNER - DUSK

George is talking to Kathleen and Birdie, who is toting up
the week's receipts.

		     GEORGE
	And I can't decide whether to put
	sausages into the meat sauce or just
	chopped meat.  Last time I made it,
	Detective Carter and I never even sat
	down to dinner because --
		(he makes some sort of hand
		 gesture indicating that sex
		 prevented them from dining)
	and last night, I made margaritas in the
	blender, and I took the ice cube and --

		     BIRDIE
	Spare us.

George goes out the door.

Birdie looks at Kathleen.

		     KATHLEEN
	Don't tell me.  Not the slightest
	difference?

Birdie can't bring herself to answer.

		     KATHLEEN (cont'd)
	How could that be?  All this publicity
	and not one bit of difference?
	Oh Birdie, what am I going to do?  What
	would Mom have done?

		     BIRDIE
	Let's ask her.

She opens the locket hanging around her neck.  There's a
picture of Kathleen's mother inside it.  Birdie holds the
locket up to her face.

		     BIRDIE
	Cecilia, what should we do?

Birdie holds the locket to her ear and listens.  A pause.

		     KATHLEEN
	Birdie?

		     BIRDIE
	Shhhh.
		(after a beat, shrugs)
	She has no idea, but she thinks the
	window display is lovely.  Good night
	dearie.

Birdie smiles and picks up her shopping bag, goes out the
door.

EXT. SHOP AROUND THE CORNER - NIGHT

It's starting to rain.  Kathleen lowers the grate over the
store.  As she turns to walk away, William Spungeon steps in
her path out of the shadows.

		     KATHLEEN
	Oh my goodness, hello.  What are you
	doing here.

		     SPUNGEON
	Loitering.  Lurking.  Skulking.
	Stalking.

He laughs.  So does she.  Dramatically, he whips out an
umbrella and opens it over the two of them.

		     SPUNGEON (cont'd)
	You look very beautiful.

		     KATHLEEN
	Thank you.  But I'm a wreck.

He touches her cheek suddenly.  Kathleen starts.  Then he
blows on his hand.

		     SPUNGEON
	An eyelash.  It's gone.

Kathleen relaxes.  They start walking.

		     KATHLEEN
	Are you writing another book?

		     SPUNGEON
	I'm in the home stretch.  I'll be done in
	approximately six more years.

		     KATHLEEN
	Should I discount?

		     SPUNGEON
	It's about a man on a quest for knowledge
	who meets a woman he cannot resist.

		     KATHLEEN
	If I discount I have to fire someone
	because I can't discount with this
	overhead but whom could I fire?  I
	couldn't fire anyone.

Spungeon suddenly puts his hand through Kathleen's hair.  She
stops, frozen in place.

		     SPUNGEON
	You have your mother's hair.  Thick,
	wild, the color of Nebraska wheat.

He grabs her and tries to kiss her.

		     KATHLEEN
	What are you doing?  Let me go.

He backs her into a wall.

		     KATHLEEN
	Stop it.  Are you crazy?

She kicks him in the shins, wiggles free and runs away.

		     SPUNGEON
		(calling after her)
	If you change your mind, you can E-mail
	me.  Hermit@AOL.com.

INT. COMPUTER SCREEN - NIGHT

The mail form says "To:" and Kathleen types in "NY 152".

The form says "Re:" and Kathleen types in:  "Advice"

EXT. KATHLEEN'S APARTMENT - NIGHT

Rain is falling.

		     KATHLEEN (V.O.)
	I need help.  Do you still want to meet
	me?

EXT. JOE'S APARTMENT - NIGHT

Rain is falling.

We hear the sound of the computer.

		     JOE (V.O.)
	"Where?  When?"

INT. NUT SHOP OF BROADWAY - DAY

George, Kathleen and Christina in the shop.  Kathleen is
buying more lollipops.

		     KATHLEEN
	We're meeting in a public place.

		     CHRISTINA
	Well don't go anywhere with him.  Don't
	even go out to the street with him
	afterwards.  Get a dial cab to just sit
	there and wait for you.

		     GEORGE
	Did you tell Frank?

		     KATHLEEN
	There's nothing to tell.

		     CHRISTINA
	But did you tell him?

		     KATHLEEN
	He's away.  At the 32nd anniversary of
	the Chicago Seven trial.

		     GEORGE
	And he's gone to a place where there are
	no phones.  Do you even know this guy's
	name?

Kathleen shakes her head no.

		     CHRISTINA
	And you're going to meet him in a bar?

		     KATHLEEN
	Not a bar.  That place on 83rd with the
	cheesecake.

		     GEORGE
	And he will wear a flower in his lapel,
	and you will be carrying a copy of Anna
	Karenina with a rose in it.

No answer.

		     CHRISTINA
	Oh God, no.

		     KATHLEEN
	Not Anna Karenina.  Pride and Prejudice.

EXT. FOXBOOKS - NIGHT

As Joe and Kevin walk out of the store and start downtown.

		     KEVIN
	I suppose she's carrying a copy of a book
	with a flower in it.

Joe doesn't say anything.

		     KEVIN
	Not really.

		     JOE
	Really.

		     KEVIN
	Which Jane Austen is it?

		     JOE
	Pride and Prejudice.

		     KEVIN
	She could be a real dog.

		     JOE
	I know.  Look, I'll just stay ten
	minutes.  I'll say hello.  Drink a cup of
	coffee and split.  I'm outta here.

He looks at Kevin.

		     JOE (cont'd)
	Walk me there, okay?

EXT. 83RD STREET - NIGHT

As the two men walk toward Cafe Lalo, the European cafe on
West 83rd Street.

		     JOE
	What if she has a really high, squeaky
	voice?  I hate that.  It reminds me of
	those mice in Cinderella.

		     KEVIN
	What mice in Cinderella?

		     JOE
	Gus-gus and oh shit, I can't remember the
	other one.  Why am I compelled to meet
	her?  I'm just ruining a good thing.

		     KEVIN
	You're taking it to the next level.  I
	always do that.  I always take a
	relationship to the next level, and if it
	works okay I take it to the next level
	after that, until I can finally get to
	the level where it becomes absolutely
	necessary for me to leave.

		     JOE
	I'm not going to stay long anyway.  I
	already said that, didn't I.  Christ.
	I'm a total wreck.

As they reach:

EXT. CAFE LALO - CONTINUOUS

Joe stops and looks at Kevin.

		     JOE
	Kevin, this woman is the most adorable
	creature I have ever come in contact
	with.  If she turns out to be even as
	good-looking as a mailbox, I will be
	crazy not to turn my life upside down
	and marry her.

		     KEVIN
	She could be a real dog.

		     JOE
		(a total panic)
	You go look.

		     KEVIN
	Me?

		     JOE
	Just go to the window and check her out.

		     KEVIN
	You're pathetic.

Kevin goes to the window and looks inside.

EXT. CAFE LALO - NIGHT

Joe and Kevin in front.

Kevin looks in the window.

		     JOE
	See her?

		     KEVIN
	There's a beautiful, whoa, a very
	beautiful girl.

		     JOE
	Yes.

		     KEVIN
	But no book.  Let me see, let me see...
	Wait a minute.  There's a book with a
	flower, so it must be her.

		     JOE
	What does he look like?

		     KEVIN
	There's a waiter blocking, I can't see
	her face.  He's serving her a cup of tea
	and she's putting in three spoonfuls of
	sugar --

		     JOE
	Well, why shouldn't she?

		     KEVIN
	No reason.  Unless she has hypoglycemia.
	Oh, he's moving.

		     JOE
	Can you see her?

		     KEVIN
	Yes.

		     JOE
	And? --

		     KEVIN
		(clearly frustrated)
	She's very pretty.

		     JOE
	She is.  I knew she would be.  She had
	to be.

		     KEVIN
	She looks... I would say she has a little
	of the coloring of that Kathleen Kelly
	person.

		     JOE
	Kathleen Kelly of the bookstore.

		     KEVIN
	Why not?  You said you thought she was
	attractive.

		     JOE
	So what?  Who cares about Kathleen Kelly?

		     KEVIN
	Well, if you don't like Kathleen Kelly,
	I can tell you right now you ain't gonna
	like this girl.

		     JOE
	Why not?

		     KEVIN
	Because it is Kathleen Kelly.

Joe elbows Kevin aside and looks.

		     JOE
	Oh, God.

A long beat.

		     KEVIN
	What are you going to do?

		     JOE
	Nothing.

		     KEVIN
	You're going to let her just wait there?

		     JOE
	Yes.  Yes I am.  That's exactly what I'm
	going to do.  Why not?

		     KEVIN
	But she wrote the letters.

		     JOE
	Good night, Kevin.  I'll see you
	tomorrow.

He walks away, leaving Kevin.

Kevin stares after him.  Then he walks away in the other
direction.

INT. CAFE LALO - CONTINUOUS

Kathleen, sitting alone, at a table for two, is drinking her
tea.  She's starting to feel a little foolish.  She checks
her watch.

A loud, boisterous group comes in and sits at the table next
to hers.  They're laughing.  A man from the group grabs the
empty chair at Kathleen's table.

		     MAN
	Do you mind?

Kathleen jumps up.

		     KATHLEEN
	Oh, yes.  I'm expecting someone.
	Please.

She takes the chair back.  Sits down again.  She watches the
group as they playfully fight over the menus.

She checks her watch again.  Then she opens her copy of Pride
and Prejudice and looks at it.  She can't focus.

A man comes into the restaurant and she looks up hopefully at
him.  But he's going to meet another group of people.

As he passes her table, he knocks the book and the flower
onto the floor.

		     KATHLEEN
	Oh!

She jumps up and rescues the book and flower as if they were
precious china.

In the window, now, behind her, Joe appears.  He watches, as
she rearranges the book and the flower.

He disappears from sight.

A beat...

He walks in the door.

		     JOE
	Kathleen Kelly.  Hello.  What a
	coincidence.  Mind if I sit down?

		     KATHLEEN
	Yes I do.  I'm expecting someone.

Joe picks up her book, looks at it.

		     JOE
	Pride and Prejudice.

Kathleen grabs it back.

		     KATHLEEN
	Do you mind?

She places it back on the table, puts the rose into it.

		     JOE
	I didn't know you were a Jane Austen
	fan.  Not that it's a surprise.  I bet
	you read it every year.  I bet you just
	love Mr. Darcy, and that your sentimental
	heart beats wildly at the thought that he
	and whatever her name is are really,
	honestly and truly going to end up
	together.

		     KATHLEEN
	Would you please leave?

Joe sits down.

		     KATHLEEN
	Please?

		     JOE
	I'll get up as soon as your friend comes.
	Is he late?

		     KATHLEEN
	The heroine of Pride and Prejudice is
	Elizabeth Bennet and she's one of the
	greatest, most complex characters ever
	written, not that you would know.

		     JOE
	As a matter of fact I've read it.

		     KATHLEEN
	Well, good for you.

		     JOE
	I think you'd discover a lot of things if
	you really knew me.

		     KATHLEEN
	If I really knew you, I know what I would
	find -- instead of a brain, a cash
	register, instead of a heart, a bottom
	line.

Kathleen is shocked at herself.

		     JOE
	What is it?

		     KATHLEEN
	I just had a breakthrough, and I have to
	thank you for it.  For the first time in
	my life, when confronted with a horrible,
	insensitive person I actually knew what I
	wanted to say and I said it.

		     JOE
	I think you have a gift for it.  It was a
	splendid mixture of poetry and meanness.


		     KATHLEEN
	Meanness?  Let me tell you --

		     JOE
	Don't misunderstand me, I'm just paying
	you a compliment.

He lifts the book off the table.  Kathleen grabs for it.

		     KATHLEEN
	Why are you doing this?

She manages to get the book, leaving Joe with the rose.

		     JOE
	What have we have?  A red, no, crimson
	rose, tucked into the pages.  Something
	you read about in a book, no doubt.  One
	of those books with a lady in a nightgown
	on the cover about to throw herself off a
	cliff.

She holds her hand out for it.

		     KATHLEEN (cont'd)
	Give it to me.

Joe puts it between his mouth and his nose like a mustache.

		     JOE
	It's a joke to you, isn't it?
	Everything's a joke to you.

She grabs the rose.  Puts it back in the book.

		     KATHLEEN (cont'd)
	Please leave.  I beg you.

He stands up, walks from the table, sits down at the very
next table, with his back to her.

The door to the restaurant opens.  Kathleen looks at it
hopefully.  A pleasant looking man, who's immediately joined
by a pleasant looking woman.

For a moment, Kathleen looks just a little droopy, as if the
wind has just gone out of her sails.  She takes out her
compact, looks into her mirror.  She slides it over to look
behind her, at him, just as he's looking sideways at her.  He
turns away suddenly.

Then she blots her lipstick with her handkerchief.

		     JOE
	You know what the handkerchief reminds
	me of?  The first day I met you --

		     KATHLEEN
	The first day you lied to me --

		     JOE
	I didn't lie to you --

		     KATHLEEN
	You did too --

		     JOE
	I did not --

		     KATHLEEN
	I thought all that Fox stuff was so
	charming.  F-O-X.

		     JOE
	I never lied about it --

		     KATHLEEN
	"Joe.  Just call me Joe."  As if you were
	one of those stupid 22-year-old girls
	with no last name.  "Hi, I'm Kimberley."
	"Hi, I'm Janice."  What's wrong with
	them?  Don't they know you're supposed to
	have last names?  It's like they're a
	whole generation of cocktail waitresses.

She stops herself -- it's a tangent she never meant to go off
on.  But Joe has stood up and seated himself back at her
table.

		     JOE
	I am not a stupid 22-year-old girl --

		     KATHLEEN
	That's not what I meant --

		     JOE
	And when I said the thing about the Price
	Club and cans of olive oil, that wasn't
	what I meant either --

		     KATHLEEN
	Oh, you poor sad multimillionaire.  I
	feel so sorry for you.

The door opens and a large and very attractive TRANSVESTITE
in a boa comes in the door.

		     JOE
	I am going to take a wild guess that this
	isn't him, either.  Who is he, I wonder.
	Not, I gather, the world's greatest
	living expert on Julius and Ethel
	Rosenberg, but someone else entirely.
	Will you be you be mean to him too?  Will
	you start out sweet as sugar candy and
	then suddenly, miraculously, like a bolt
	from the blue, find that sharp little
	tongue of yours?

		     KATHLEEN
	No, I won't.  Because the man who's
	coming here tonight is completely unlike
	you.  The man who is coming here is kind
	and funny -- he has the most wonderful
	sense of humor --

		     JOE
	But he's not here.

		     KATHLEEN
	If he's not here, he has a reason,
	because there is not a cruel or careless
	bone in his body.  I can't expect you to
	know anything about a person like that.
	You've nothing but a suit.

A beat.  Joe gets up.

		     JOE
	That is my cue.  Good night.

Joe leaves.

EXT. KATHLEEN'S APARTMENT BUILDING -- LATER THAT NIGHT

Kathleen comes down the street.  She drops the rose in the
trash can.

INT. KATHLEEN'S APARTMENT - A MINUTE LATER

Kathleen comes in, drops the book on the table, takes off her
coat and goes immediately to the computer.  She clicks on
American Online.  Waits impatiently to connect.  Looks with
anticipation at the mail box.

THE COMPUTER SCREEN - NO MAIL

Hold on Kathleen as a tear starts down her face.

She takes her handkerchief out of her sleeve and wipes her
face and blows her nose.  Then looks at her handkerchief and
tosses it over her shoulder.

She goes over to the bed and turns it down and slips out of
her shoes.

Then she lies down on the bed, fully clothed.  She reaches
up to turn out the light.

INT. JOE'S APARTMENT - NIGHT

As Joe turns on his closet light and hangs up his jacket.
The computer is on the desk, and the light on it illuminates
the room.

Patricia is in the next room, eating matzos.

		     PATRICIA (O.C.)
	So I said to her, "If you think I will
	even talk to you about paying that kind
	of advance for an author whose last book
	is being used as trivets all over the
	world, you are completely crazy."

On Joe's face, barely bearing.

INT. FOXBOOKS SUPERSTORE - DAY

As Kevin and Joe walk through the store.

		     KEVIN
	But underneath that disagreeable exterior
	she could turn out to be --

		     JOE
	A real bitch.  Let's not talk about it.
	I'm going back to the office.  You must
	have work to do.

		     KEVIN
	Not really.  This place is humming like a
	top.

EXT. SHOP AROUND THE CORNER - DAY

As Kathleen comes around the corner.  Christina is waiting.

		     CHRISTINA
	What happened?

		     KATHLEEN
	He never came.

		     CHRISTINA
	He stood you up?

INT. SHOP AROUND THE CORNER

As Kathleen puts her purse into the drawer.

		     KATHLEEN
	I think something happened, something
	terrible and unexpected that made it
	impossible for him --

George walks in.

		     GEORGE
	What happened?

		     KATHLEEN
	He wasn't able to make it.

		     GEORGE
	He stood you up.

		     KATHLEEN
	What could have happened?
		(continued)

George looks suddenly stricken.

		     KATHLEEN (cont'd)
	Why didn't he come?  Maybe he showed up,
	took one look at me and left.

		     CHRISTINA
	Not possible.

		     KATHLEEN
	Maybe there was a subway accident.

		     CHRISTINA
	Absolutely.

		     KATHLEEN
	A train was trapped underground with him
	inside.

		     CHRISTINA
	And no phone.

George continues to look stricken.  He's starting to shake
his head.

		     KATHLEEN
	Or an automobile accident.  Those cab
	drivers are maniacs.

		     CHRISTINA
	They hit something and you slam right
	into that plastic partition.

		     KATHLEEN
	His elbows could be in splints -- so he
	can't really dial --

		     CHRISTINA
	Or he could be in the hospital in one of
	those semi-private room with like --

		     CHRISTINA & KATHLEEN
		(together)
	-- no phone.

They look at George.  Still shaking his head.

		     KATHLEEN
		(to George)
	What?

George hands them a New York Post.  They look at the cover:
COPS NAB ROOFTOP KILLER

		     KATHLEEN
	What are you saying?

		     GEORGE
	It could be.

Dead silence.

		     GEORGE (cont'd)
	He was arrested two blocks from the
	cheesecake place.

		     CHRISTINA
	Is there a picture?

There it is.  It's of a man with his jacket pulled over his
head.

They all look at it.

		     CHRISTINA
	So that explains it.

		     GEORGE
	He was in jail.

		     CHRISTINA
	And there was a phone --

		     GEORGE
	-- but he got only one call and he had to
	use it to call his lawyer.

		     CHRISTINA
	You are so lucky.

		     GEORGE
	You could be dead.

		     KATHLEEN
	Are you crazy?  This man couldn't
	possibly be the rooftop killer.

		     CHRISTINA
	Remember when you thought Frank might be
	the Unabomber?

		     KATHLEEN
	That was different.

		     CHRISTINA
	How long did you sit there all alone?

		     KATHLEEN
	Not that long.  Joe Fox came in --

		     CHRISTINA
	Joe Fox!

		     KATHLEEN
	I don't want to talk about it.
		(closes her eyes)
	Let's get to work.

They look around.  There's no one in the store and nothing to
do.

A pause.

		     KATHLEEN
	There must be something to do.  There's
	always something to do.

They hear the jingle of the front door.  They look hopefully
toward it.  It's only Birdie.

		     CHRISTINA
	He stood her up.

Hold on Kathleen as the computer sound begins.

		     KATHLEEN (V.O.)
	I have been thinking about you.  Last
	night I went to meet you and you weren't
	there.  I wish I knew why.  I felt so
	foolish.
		(continued)

INT. KATHLEEN'S APARTMENT - NIGHT

As she types.  And we cut from her face to the screen as we
hear a voice-over:

		     KATHLEEN (V.O.)
	And as I waited, someone else showed up,
	a man who has made my professional life a
	misery, and an amazing thing happened --
	I was able, for the first time in my
	life, to say the exact thing I wanted to say
	it.  And of course, afterwards, I felt
	terrible.  Just as you said I would.

INT. JOE'S APARTMENT - LATER

The E-mail from Kathleen continues as Joe reads.

		     KATHLEEN (V.O.)
	I was cruel, and I'm never cruel.  And
	even though I can hardly believe what I
	said mattered to this man -- to him, I'm
	just a bug to be crushed -- but what if
	it did?  No matter what he's done to me,
	there's no excuse for my behavior.
	Anyway, you are my dear friend, and I so
	wanted to talk to you.  I hope you have a
	good reason for not being there last
	night, but if you don't, and if we never
	really connect again, I just want to tell
	you how much it has meant to me to know
	you were there.

Joe sits there a second.  A moment of intense ambivalence.
Then he hits the Menu key and signs off.

		     COMPUTER
	Goodbye.

Joe stands and leaves the room.

The computer sits there.

Hold on the computer.  We hear him open the refrigerator
door. We hear him close the refrigerator door.  He passes
the den without even looking into it.  A moment later he
comes back into the room, stares at the computer.  He starts
for the bedroom, changes his mind.  Circles the computer.
He's going to go cold turkey if it kills him.

Fuck it.  He sits down.  Sign on.  Starts to type.

		     JOE (V.O.)
	I am in Vancouver.

He stops... Hits the delete button and erases the message.
He starts typing again:

		     JOE (V.O.)
	I was stuck in a meeting, which I
	couldn't get out of it, and there was
	no phone.

He backspaces to erase "there was no phone."

Screen now reads: I was stuck in a meeting, which I couldn't
get out of it.  Joe sits there thinking for a moment.  Then he
starts typing.

		     JOE (V.O., cont'd)
	The electricity went out in the building
	and we were trapped on the 18th floor and
	the telephone system blew too.

He stops and looks at it.  Then he types:

		     JOE (V.O., cont'd)
	Amazingly enough.

He sits looking at it.

Then he deletes the whole thing.

Sits looking at the blank screen.

		     JOE
	Fuck you.

He clicks the Yes box.

Then he starts to type again.

		     JOE (V.O.)
	Dear friend: I cannot tell you what
	happened to me last night, but I beg you
	from the bottom of my heart to forgive me
	for not being there.

He deletes "for not being there."

Then types again, after "to forgive me".

		     JOE (V.O.)
	-- for what happened.  I feel terrible
	that you found yourself in a situation
	that caused you additional pain.  But I'm
	absolutely sure that whatever you said
	last night was provoked, even deserved.
	And everyone says things they regret when
	they're worried or stressed.  You were
	expecting to see someone you trusted and
	met the enemy instead.  The fault is
	mine.
		(continued)

EXT. NEW YORK STREET - DAY

As Kathleen and Christina walk down the street together.

		     JOE (V.O., cont'd)
	Someday I'll explain everything.
	Meanwhile, I'm still here.  Talk to me.

		     CHRISTINA
	Did he say anything about meeting again?

		     KATHLEEN
	Not really.  It doesn't matter.  We'll
	just be like George Bernard Shaw and Mrs.
	Patrick Campbell and write letters our
	whole lives --

They go into an apartment building.

INT. BIRDIE'S APARTMENT - DAY

A large rent-controlled West Side apartment.  Birdie is
pouring tea.  There's a plate of cookies.

Christina is looking at the picture of Birdie as a young
woman, dressed in a sort of Carmen Miranda getup.

		     CHRISTINA
	Where was this taken, Birdie?

		     BIRDIE
	Seville.

		     KATHLEEN
	When you had the thunderbolt?

		     BIRDIE
	Yes.  What did you decide, dearie?

		     KATHLEEN
	Close.  We're going to close.

		     CHRISTINA
	Close.

		     KATHLEEN
	Although it feels like such a failure.
	It feels like I'm quitting.  It feels
	like... Mom...

She closes her eyes.

Birdie sits down on the loveseat next to Kathleen, puts her
arms around her.  Hold on them.

		     BIRDIE
	Keeping the store open doesn't keep your
	mother alive, although sometimes I think
	we all think it does.

Christina looks over at the picture of Birdie.

		     CHRISTINA
	Who was it, Birdie?  That you had the
	thunderbolt over?

Birdie shakes her head.  She's not going to tell them.

		     CHRISTINA (cont'd)
	It's so romantic.

		     BIRDIE
	But it wasn't meant to be.

		     CHRISTINA
	Why not?

		     BIRDIE
	He ran Spain.

		     CHRISTINA
	Spain?

		     BIRDIE
	The country.  He ran it.  That was his
	job.  And then he died.  Just as well.

INT. SONY LINCOLN SQUARE THEATRE - NIGHT

As Frank and Kathleen go up the escalator, on their way to a
movie.

		     FRANK
	She fell in love with Generalissimo
	Franco?

		     KATHLEEN
	Don't say that.  We don't know that for
	sure.

		     FRANK
	Who else could it have been?  It was
	probably around 1960 --

		     KATHLEEN
	I mean, it's not like he was something
	normal, like a socialist or an anarchist
	or something --

		     FRANK
	It happened in Spain.  People do really
	stupid things in foreign countries.

		     KATHLEEN
	Absolutely.  They buy leather jackets,
	they go see Flamenco, they ride in
	gondolas, they eat in restaurants where
	guitarists sing Malaguena sola Rosa, but
	they don't fall in love with fascist
	dictators.

They enters one of the theatres.

INT. THEATER - CONTINUOUS

As they find seats and sit down.  A trailer is playing.

		     KATHLEEN
	Birdie is a very kind person, she's
	practically my surrogate mother.

		     FRANK
	Well she's out of her mind.

		     KATHLEEN
	She is not.

		     FRANK
	I could never ever be with anyone who
	doesn't take politics as seriously as I
	do.

The person in front of them turns around.

		     PERSON IN FRONT OF THEM
	Do you mind?

		     FRANK
	A hot dog is singing.  You need quiet
	while a hot dog is singing?

The two of them sit there.

		     KATHLEEN
	I have something to tell you.  I didn't
	vote.

		     FRANK
	What?

		     KATHLEEN
	In the last mayoral election, when Rudy
	Giuliani was running against Ruth
	Messinger, I went to get a manicure and
	forgot to vote.

		     FRANK
	Since when do you get manicures?

		     KATHLEEN
	Oh, I suppose you could never be with a
	woman who gets manicures.

		     FRANK
	Forget it.  It's okay.  I forgive you.

		     PERSON IN FRONT OF THEM
	Shhhhhh.

		     KATHLEEN
	You forgive me.

Hold on them a beat.

Kathleen stands and walks out of the theatre.

INT. SONY LINCOLN SQUARE THEATRE ESCALATOR - NIGHT

Kathleen on the down escalator.  Frank scrambling to catch up
with her.

		     FRANK
	What's going on?

Kathleen's upset.

		     FRANK (cont'd)
	Hey.  What is it?

EXT. COLUMBUS AVENUE - NIGHT

As they walk uptown.

		     FRANK
	Look, this has been a big week, you're
	closing the store --

		     KATHLEEN
	It's not that, Frank, really it's not.
	It's just... Frank...

		     FRANK
	I know, that was terrible of me.

		     KATHLEEN
	What was?

		     FRANK
	To jump all over you when I'm the one
	who's really...  Oh, God, I don't know
	how to say this --

		     KATHLEEN
	What is it?

EXT. COLUMBUS AVENUE - NIGHT

As we see Kathleen and Frank being served drinks in a glassed-
in extension of a restaurant.

INT. COLUMBUS AVENUE RESTAURANT - NIGHT

As Kathleen looks at Frank, waiting for him to begin.

		     FRANK
	You're a wonderful person, Kathleen.

		     KATHLEEN
	So are you.

		     FRANK
	And I'm honored that you want to be with
	me because you would never be with anyone
	who wasn't truly worthy --

		     KATHLEEN
	I feel exactly the same way about you.

		     FRANK
	Oh, God, don't say that, please, that
	just makes it worse.

		     KATHLEEN
	What?
		(he shakes his head)
	You don't love me?

Frank shakes his head no.

		     KATHLEEN
	Me either.

		     FRANK
	You don't love me?

Kathleen shakes her head no.

		     FRANK
	But we're so right for each other.

		     KATHLEEN
	I know.

A long beat.

		     KATHLEEN
	That woman on television, right?
	Sidney-Ann.

Frank nods.

		     FRANK
	I mean, nothing's happened or anything.

		     KATHLEEN
	I think she's a Republican.

		     FRANK
	I can't help myself.

Kathleen pats him.

		     FRANK (cont'd)
	What about you?  Is there someone else?

		     KATHLEEN
	Oh, somewhere out there, I'm sure.
	Somewhere --
		(she throws up her hands)
	In cyberspace.

EXT. KATHLEEN'S BUILDING - NIGHT

As Frank, carrying a typewriter, walks out off Kathleen's
building and puts it into the back of a taxicab.

EXT. SHOP AROUND THE CORNER - DAY

As a sign goes up in the window: "Closing This Week: All
Stock 40% off."

INT. SHOP AROUND THE CORNER - LATE THAT DAY

The store is crowded.  People are buying stacks of books.
We hear brief snatches of conversation: Birdie telling a
customer she's planning to travel, Christina saying she's
finally going to have to finish her dissertation, George
saying he's been offered a job at Foxbooks but even though
it's okay with Kathleen, he wouldn't work there if it were
the last place on the earth.

There is a frantic, rummage sale atmosphere.

Kathleen, busy at the cash register, looks up for a minute at
her beautiful store being ravaged by vultures.  We hear the
sound of the computer and hear her voice-over:

		     KATHLEEN (V.O.)
	My store is closing this week.
	I own a store.  Did I ever tell you that?
	Probably not.  It's a lovely store --

As a woman dumps a huge stack of books on the checkout table.

		     WOMAN SHOPPER
	This is a tragedy.
		(yelling across the shop to her
		 husband)
	Honey, grab a copy of The Trumpet of the
	Swan.

		     KATHLEEN (V.O.,cont'd)
	-- and in a week, it will be something
	really depressing, like a Baby Gap.  I
	am being amazingly brave --

		     WOMAN SHOPPER
	What are you going to do with yourself?

		     KATHLEEN
	I don't know.  I'm going to take some
	time.  I have a little money saved.  I'm
	almost looking forward to it --

		     KATHLEEN (V.O.,cont'd)
	I am so cheerful I would make Pollyanna
	throw up.

		     SECOND SHOPPER
	I came here every Saturday when I was a
	little girl.  I remember when your mother
	gave me Anne of Green Gables.  "Read it
	with a box of Kleenex," that's what she
	told me.

		     THIRD SHOPPER
	She's looking down on you right now.

		     KATHLEEN
	I'm sure she is.

		     KATHLEEN (V.O.,cont'd)
	I have promised myself I'm not going
	to cry.

A FORTH SHOPPER approaches the counter with a stack of books
up to his chin, and manages to slide the stack on the
counter.

		     FOURTH SHOPPER
	We should bomb Foxbooks.

		     KATHLEEN
	It's not their fault.  The truth is, the
	world is just... different.

She starts ringing up the sale.

EXT. FOXBOOKS SUPERSTORE - NIGHT

As Kathleen walks home.

		     KATHLEEN (V.O.,cont'd)
	Soon we'll just be a memory.  In fact,
	someone, some foolish person will
	probably think it's a tribute to this
	city, the way it keeps changing on you,
	the way you can never count on it, or
	something.  I know, because that's the
	sort of thing I'm always saying.  But the
	truth is, I'm heartbroken.  I feel as if
	part of me has died,  and my mother has
	died all over again, and no one can ever
	make it right.

She stops in front of the window, watching the customers
lined up to buy books.

EXT. FOXBOOKS SUPERSTORE - NIGHT

As Kathleen enters and looks around.

She goes up the stairs.

INT. FOXBOOKS SUPERSTORE - CHILDREN'S DEPARTMENT

As Kathleen walks into it.

It's huge, of course.  With its reading area, and stage, and
room for displays, and child-size furniture, and so many
books and so many customers.

Kathleen sits down on a little child-size chair, completely
wilted.

KATHLEEN FROM ANOTHER P.O.V.

And now we see Joe watching her, from a distance.  She doesn't
see him.

A woman browsing, stops a sales person.

		     WOMAN SHOPPER
	Do you have the "Shoe" books?

		     SALESPERSON
	The "Shoe" books?  Who's the author?

		     WOMAN SHOPPER
	I don't know.  My friend told me my
	daughter has to read the "Shoe" books,
	so here I am.

		     KATHLEEN
	Noel Streatfeild.  Noel Streatfeild wrote
	Ballet Shoes and Skating Shoes and
	Theater Shoes and Movie Shoes...
		(she starts crying as she tells
		 her)
	I'd start with Skating Shoes, it's my
	favorite, although Ballet Shoes is
	completely wonderful.

		     SALESPERSON
	Streatfeild.  How do you spell that?

		     KATHLEEN
	S-T-R-E-A-T-F-E-I-L-D.

		     WOMAN SHOPPER
	Thank you.

As she walks away.

		     KATHLEEN
		(to herself)
	They know nothing, they know absolutely
	nothing.

ON JOE

as he watches her.  We hear the sound of the computer.

She starts out of the store.  And hold on him.

		     JOE (V.O.)
	I'm sorry.

INT. JOE'S COMPUTER SCREEN

A screen which says Reply and which now reads "I'm sorry."

INT. JOE'S OFFICE - DAY

On Joe at his computer, staring at the screen.

		     JOE
	Asshole.

He backspaces, deleting.  Starts typing again.

		     JOE (V.O.)
	I'm sorry.  I don't know what to say.
	Truly I don't.  And anything I do say
	will sound trite.  I hope you feel
	better.

He sits there, appalled at his own triteness.

EXT. JOE'S STREET - NIGHT

As a taxi comes down the street and stops in front of Joe's
building.

		     PATRICIA (V.O.)
	What I was thinking was she'd probably
	make a great children's book either.

		     JOE (V.O.)
	Why would you think that?

They get out of the cab.

		     PATRICIA
	She knows everything.  She has flawless
	taste.  She's famous for it.
	The salesmen swear by her.  If she likes
	it, it sells.  Period.

INT. JOE'S LOBBY - CONTINUOUS

As they enter the lobby and walk toward the elevator.

		     JOE
	So you're going to offer her a job?

		     PATRICIA
	Why not?  What else has she got to do?

		     JOE
	Now that she's destitute --

		     PATRICIA
	Thanks to you.

		     JOE
	Well, I can't imagine her working for
	you.

		     PATRICIA
	Why not?

		     JOE
	She has a horrible personality, she's...
	nice to everyone all the time.  It's
	exhausting.  And her staff turnover is
	... non-existent.  They've been there
	forever.  Until... recently, when they
	all found out they were going to lose
	their jobs.

		     PATRICIA
	Thanks to you.

The elevator door is closing.

		     PATRICIA (cont'd)
	Hold the elevator!

They get in.

INT. ELEVATOR - CONTINUOUS

		     JOE
	Hello, Charlie, Veronica.

		     PATRICIA
	Last time, we rode in an elevator, we
	made the deal of the century.  What is
	going to happen this time?

		     CHARLIE
	Miss Grant's going to get me a part in
	one of her movies, that's what's going
	to happen.

		     VERONICA
	In your dream, Charlie.

		     PATRICIA
		(back to the conversation with
		 Joe)
	I love how you've totally forgotten you
	had any role in her current situation.
	It's so obtuse.  It reminds me of someone
	... Who?  Who does it remind me of?
		(thinks for a moment)
	Me!

The elevator suddenly stops.

		     PATRICIA
	Shit.

		     VERONICA
	Shit.

		     JOE
	It is stuck?

		     CHARLIE
	Could be.

He pushes the open button.  Nothing.  Turns the key, hits the
open button, flicks the emergency switch.  The he starts
hitting the buttons in every possible combination.

		     JOE
	Charlie, what are you doing?

		     CHARLIE
	Bang the door.

		     PATRICIA
	Really.

Joe bangs the door.  Nothing.

		     CHARLIE
	I hope this thing doesn't plummet to the
	basement.

		     VERONICA
	Can it do that?

		     JOE
	No.

He picks up the phone.

		     JOE
	This is Joe Fox.  Who is this?  Hi, Juan.
	We're stuck on the sixth floor.  There
	are four of us --

		     PATRICIA
		(grabs the phone)
	-- and if you don't get your ass up here
	in two shakes and get us out --

He hangs up.

		     JOE
		(to Veronica)
	Are you all right?

		     VERONICA
	It's hot.

Joe hands her his handkerchief.

		     CHARLIE
	Everyone should jump in the air.

		     PATRICIA
	What?

		     CHARLIE
	We jump.  The elevator thinks that no one
	is here and it opens.

Everyone stares at each other.

		     JOE
	One -- two -- three --

They all jump into the air.

They all land.

Nothing happens.

INT. ELEVATOR - A LITTLE LATER

Patricia is sitting on the elevator floor, polishing her
nails.

We hear the fire department banging outside...

		     VERONICA
	If I ever get out of here, I'm going to
	start speaking to my mother.  She slept
	with Oscar, and maybe it was Oscar's
	fault, I don't know, and then she sold
	the story to Inside Edition.
	That could have been Oscar's idea, too.
	Who knows?  But I divorced him.  I wonder
	what she's doing right this minute.  I
	think of her... whenever I hear about a
	new pill.  Ecstasy, Zoloft, Fenphen, I
	just think, I hope Mama knows about that.

She takes out a tissue and dabs at her eyes.

		     PATRICIA
	Maybe you can make up on Rosie.  That
	would be so great for the book.

		     CHARLIE
		(trying to figure it out)
	If I ever get out of here...

		     PATRICIA
	If I ever get out of here, I'm having my
	eyes lasered.

		     CHARLIE
	I'm marrying Oreet.  I love her.  I
	should marry her.  I don't know what's
	been stopping me.

He takes out his wallet and looks at a picture of Oreet,
shows it to Joe.

		     JOE
	If I ever get out of here, I'm going to --

He stops, he looks at Patricia who is fishing through her
purse.

		     PATRICIA
	Where is my TicTacs?
		(looks at Joe)
	What?

The firemen crowbar open the elevator door.

EXT. 79TH STREET BOAT BASIN - NIGHT

Joe and Brinkley walk out on the dock toward Joe's boat.  Joe
is carrying Brinkley's pillow, his laptop and a suitcase.

He boards his boat and goes below.  A light goes on.  We hear
the sound of the computer.

		     JOE (V.O.)
	I came home tonight and got into the
	elevator to go to my apartment.  An hour
	later, I got out of the elevator and
	Brinkley and I moved out.  Suddenly
	everything had become clear.
		(continued)

INT. BOAT - NIGHT

A small sleeping area with a berth and a little table, where
Joe's laptop has been hooked up to the phone.

Joe is on the narrow berth, as is Brinkley.

		     JOE (V.O., cont'd)
	It's a long story.  Full of the personal
	details we avoid so carefully...

Joe puts Brinkley on the floor, on his pillow.  Brinkley
jumps back onto the berth with Joe.

INT. KATHLEEN'S APARTMENT - DAY

Kathleen is making tea.  She starts toward the bedroom.  We
see her computer, now hooked up in the living room, where all
of Frank's typewriters used to be.

		     KATHLEEN (V.O.)
	I wonder whether change isn't a kind of
	infection.  You start with one thing --
	something you never ever thought would
	change and it does --
		(continued)

INT. KATHLEEN'S BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS

		     KATHLEEN (V.O., cont'd)
	and the next thing you know even your bed
	is in a different place.
		(continued)

Kathleen enters the bedroom and we see the entire room has
been rearranged.

She gets into bed and turns on the television set.

EXT. SHOP AROUND THE CORNER - DUSK

The bookshelves are empty.

		     KATHLEEN (V.O., cont'd)
	Six months ago, when you and I first met,
	I knew everything about myself -- what I
	would be doing for the rest of my life
	and even the person I would be doing it
	with.  Now I know nothing.

On the door is a small sign.  "After 42 years, we are closing
our doors.  We have loved being part of your lives."

Kathleen turns out the light in the store and opens the door.

The little bell over the door jingles.

Kathleen reaches up on her tiptoes for the bell and detaches
it.

Then she comes out of the store, carrying the bell.

Kathleen locks the door and reaches down to operate the grate
for the last time.

The grate starts to lower.

Kathleen looks at her store, one last time.  Then she walks
off, carrying the bell.  We hear it jingle in the night.

And hold on The Shop Around the Corner, and it slowly turns
into a computer-enhanced version of itself.

And then, suddenly, it vanishes with a poof, leaving an empty
screen.

EXT. A BLUE SKY WITH A BIG COMPUTER SUN SHINING IN IT, AND PAN
DOWN TO:

A COMPUTER VERSION OF COLUMBUS AVENUE

The trees sprout leaves and birdies start to tweet.  And the
scene turns into a real version of:

EXT. COLUMBUS AVE. - FOXBOOKS - MORNING

INT. FOXBOOKS SUPERSTORE - DAY

George is now the head of the children department at the
store and he is sitting in the children's section on an itty-
bitty chair.  His staff is sitting on little itty-bitty
chairs too.

		     GEORGE
	Then, in the 19th century, Caldecott
	revolutionized the publishing of
	children's books by the introduction of
	color illustrations --

We see:

THE STAFF

Several are dozing.

EXT. RIVERSIDE DRIVE & 72ND - DAY

Joe walks past the Eleanor Roosevelt statue.  He's with
Annabel and Matt:

		     JOE
	What about going to the Children's Zoo?

		     ANNABEL
	I don't want to go to the Children's Zoo.

		     JOE
	Okay.  The Staten Island Ferry.

		     ANNABEL
	I want to go to the Storybook Lady.

		     MATT
	I want to go to the Storybook Lady.

		     JOE
	Well we can't go to the Storybook Lady.

INT. JAPANESE NOODLE RESTAURANT - DAY

Annabel is sitting in her chair, staring glumly at a bowl of
Japanese soup and noodles.

		     JOE
	I'll read you a story.

		     ANNABEL
	Where did she go?

		     JOE
	She had to close her store.

		     ANNABEL
	Why?

		     JOE
	She didn't have enough business.

		     ANNABEL
	Why?

		     JOE
	Well.  Her store was very close to our
	store, and you know our store sells books
	at a slightly lower cost --

		     ANNABEL
	Why?

		     JOE
	Why do we sell at a lower cost?  So more
	people can buy books.

		     ANNABEL
	Why couldn't she sell that way too?

		     JOE
	Because she's small and we're big.  How
	about we go get some candy?

		     ANNABEL
	So now she's gone and it's all your
	fault.

		     JOE
	It's business, Annabel.  It's not
	personal.  How about we go get so much
	candy you'll be bouncing off the walls
	for days?

		     MATT
	What's personal?

		     ANNABEL
	Personal means that she's gone forever,
	and now we'll never get another book from
	her as long as we ever live.

She burst into tears.  Matt bursts into tears too.

		     JOE
	Remember the man who worked with her?

		     ANNABEL
		(a wail)
	No.

		     JOE
	Well I hired him.

		     ANNABEL
	You killed the Storybook Lady.

Matt throws himself on the ground, crying.

Annabel sobs hysterically.

INT. FOXBOOKS SUPERSTORE - DAY

George is wearing the same pointed hat Kathleen wore as the
Storybook Lady.  There's a sign that says: Storybook Person.

Several children are listening.

We see:

ANNABEL

She's glowering.

INT. KATHLEEN'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

Kathleen is in bed with a huge box of Kleenex.  She has a
terrible cold.  Her nose is red, her eyes are watery.  On the
bedside table are a huge assortment of atomizers, pills, etc.

We hear the sound of computer keys clicking.

		      JOE (V.O.)
	Why haven't you written?

	     	     KATHLEEN (V.O.)
	I have a cold.

INT. JOE'S OFFICE - DAY

We see Joe on his computer.

	     	     JOE (V.O.)
	How's your cold?

	     	     KATHLEEN (V.O.)
	My ears are blocked, my nose is clogged.

INT. KATHLEEN'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

She's drinking cranberry juice.  Joni Mitchell on the stereo.

The sound of computer keys clicking again.

	    	      JOE (V.O.)
	Are you feeling any better?

	     	     KATHLEEN (V.O.)
	I'm lying in bed listening to Joni
	Mitchell and drinking cranberry juice
	which I am sorry to say is the exact same
	color as my nose.  I keep thinking about
	my future.  What future?  What am I
	going to do?

EXT. 79TH STREET BOAT BASIN - LATE AFTERNOON

As Joe is walking Brinkley back to the boat.  A limousine has
pulled up near the pier and the driver is unloading bags.
Joe stops to see the passenger: his father, Nelson Fox.

		     JOE
	What are you doing here?

EXT. 79TH STREET BOAT BASIN - DUSK

Next to Joe's boat is a larger yacht.

INT. YACHT - NIGHT

In the main cabin Joe and Nelson are having drinks.  Nelson
lifts his glass in a toast.

		     NELSON
	To us.

		     JOE
	Father and son, together at last.  That
	happened with Gillian?

Nelson ignores the question.

		     NELSON
	I've stayed here after, let's see, your
	mother, Laurette that ballet dancer --

		     JOE
	-- the nanny --

		     NELSON
	Was she the nanny?  I forgot that.  How
	ironic.  Then there was the ice skater --

		     JOE
	-- also the nanny --

		     NELSON
	Really.  How amazingly ironic.  Sybil the
	astrologer.

		     JOE
	Whose moon turned out to be in somebody
	else's house, as I recall.

		     NELSON
	Just like Gillian.

		     JOE
	Gillian ran off with someone?

		     NELSON
	The nanny.

		     JOE
	Nanny Maureen?  Gillian ran off with
	Nanny Maureen?  That's incredibly
	ironic.

		     NELSON
	True true.

		     JOE
	There's no other word for it.

		     NELSON
	Who did you break up with?

		     JOE
	Patricia.  You met her.

		     NELSON
	Would I like her?
		(cracks himself up)
	Just kidding.  Isn't this great?  Have
	some peanuts.  Of course I have to live
	out of a suitcase for a least three
	weeks, and then there's the inevitable
	legal hassle, more of your inheritance
	down the drain.

		     JOE
	Don't worry about it.

		     NELSON
	I won't.  But then I get to meet someone
	new.  That's the easy part.

		     JOE
	Oh, right, a snap to find the one single
	person in the world who fills your heart
	with joy.

		     NELSON
	Don't be ridiculous.  Have I ever been
	with anyone who fits that description?
	Have you?

		     JOE
	On to the next.

		     NELSON
	Isn't it a beautiful night?

Hold on Joe.

EXT. KATHLEEN'S STREET - DAY

Joe, on his way to Kathleen's apartment building, carrying a
bunch of daisies, wrapped in cellophane.

Joe goes up the stoop to her building and looks at buzzer.
Sees Kelly, 3A.  He presses.  Nothing.  Presses again.

		     KATHLEEN
		(voice clogged, through
		 intercom)
	Who is it?

		     JOE
	Joe Fox.

INT. KATHLEEN'S APARTMENT - SAME TIME

Kathleen, in her pajamas, at the intercom, horrified.

		     KATHLEEN
	What are you doing here?

		     JOE
	May I please come up?

		     KATHLEEN
	It's really not a good idea.

Someone else walks up to the door, unlocks it and walks in.
Joe follows.

INT. KATHLEEN'S APARTMENT - SAME TIME

		     KATHLEEN
		(into the intercom)
	I have a terrible cold, can you hear it?
	I'm sniffling and not really awake --

EXT. KATHLEEN'S APARTMENT - CONTINUOUS

As Kathleen continues to talk through the Intercom to an
empty stoop.

		     KATHLEEN'S VOICE
	and I'm sleeping practically twenty-four
	hours a day, and taking echinacea --

INT. KATHLEEN'S APARTMENT - CONTINUOUS

		     KATHLEEN
		(into intercom)
	-- and vitamin C, so I would really
	appreciate it if you would come some
	other time --

There's a knock on the door right next to her.  Kathleen
practically jumps out of her skin.  She looks through the
peephole.  There he is.

		     JOE
	Kathleen?

		     KATHLEEN
	Just a second.

She puts on a robe, runs frantically about picking up various
scattered wadded-up Kleenexs, opens the front door.  Joe is
holding a bunch of flowers wrapped in paper.

		     JOE
	Hello.

		     KATHLEEN
	What are you doing here?

		     JOE
	I heard you were sick and I was worried
	and I wanted to --
		(he hears voices)
	Is someone here?

		     KATHLEEN
	Just the Home Shopping Network.

		     JOE
	Bought any porcelain dolls?

		     KATHLEEN
	I was thinking about it.
		(beat)
	You put me out of business --

		     JOE
	I know that --

		     KATHLEEN
	And now you turn up with flowers?  Did
	you come to gloat?

		     JOE
	No.

		     KATHLEEN
	To offer me a job --

		     JOE
	No, I wouldn't think of --

		     KATHLEEN
	Because I have plans, I have lots of
	offers.  I've been offered a job by --
	well, actually by --

		     JOE
	My former?

		     KATHLEEN
	Former?

		     JOE
	We broke up.

		     KATHLEEN
	That's too bad.  You seemed so perfect
	for each other.
		(she claps her hand over her
		 mouth)
	I don't mean to say things like that.  No
	matter what you have done to me, there is
	no excuse for my saying anything like
	that.  But every time I see you --

		     JOE
	Things like that just seem to fly out of
	your mouth.

		     KATHLEEN
	Yes.  I'm sorry.  I'm starting over.
		(sharply)
	Thank you for coming.  Goodbye.
		(she says it again, a little
		 more nicely)
	Thank you for coming. Goodbye.

She starts to the door.

		     JOE
	I bought you flowers.

		     KATHLEEN
	Oh.
		(trying as hard as she can)
	Thank you.

She takes them.

He takes them back.

		     JOE
	Why don't I put them in water?

He heads for the kitchen.  A beat, while she stares after him.
Then follows.

INT. KITCHEN - DAY

When Kathleen gets to the kitchen, Joe is checking the kettle
for water.  Turns on the stove.

		     JOE
	You're sick.  Sit down, please.

He pulls out a kitchen chair.  Kathleen sits.  She's a little
woozy.

		     JOE
	Vase?

		     KATHLEEN
	Upper left.

He gets out a vase.  Fills it with water.

		     JOE
	George says hello.  He told me you
	weren't feeling well.

		     KATHLEEN
	How is George?

		     JOE
	Great.  He's revolutionizing the place.
	No one is allowed to work in his
	department who doesn't have a Ph.D. in
	children's literature.

He unwraps the paper around the flowers.  Daisies.  Puts them
in a vase.

		     KATHLEEN
	I love daisies.

		     JOE
	You told me.

He puts the vase on the kitchen table.  Kathleen plays with
the petals.

		     KATHLEEN
	They're so friendly.  Don't you think
	they are the friendliest flower?

		     JOE
	I do.

		     KATHLEEN
	When did you break up?

		     JOE
	Oh, a couple of weeks ago.

		     KATHLEEN
	Everyone is breaking up.  You.  Me.  This
	other person I know broke up with someone
	in an elevator.  I think it was in an
	elevator.  Or just outside it.  Or after
	it.  It got stuck.  I think.  And suddenly
	everything became clear.  When I saw you,
	at the coffee place, I was waiting for him
	and I was --

		     JOE
	-- charming.

		     KATHLEEN
	I was not charming.

		     JOE
	Well, you looked charming.

The teakettle whistles.  Joe turns off the burner.

		     JOE
	Tea?

		     KATHLEEN
	Upper right.

He gets out mugs and teabags and pours the water.

		     KATHLEEN
	I was upset.  And I was horrible.

		     JOE
	Honey?

Kathleen nods.  He puts in two spoonfuls, gives it to her.

		     JOE
	I was horrible.

		     KATHLEEN
	True.  But I have no excuse.

She picks up the daisies and carries them into:

INT. KATHLEEN'S LIVING ROOM - DAY

Joe follows her.  They both sit.

		     JOE
	Whereas I am a horrible person and have
	no choice but to be horrible, is that
	what you're saying?

		     KATHLEEN
	No I am not saying that because I am done
	saying horrible things, even to you.

		     JOE
	You did it again.

She claps her hand over her mouth.

		     JOE
	I put you out of business.  You're
	entitled to hate me.

		     KATHLEEN
	I don't hate you --

		     JOE
	But you'll never forgive me.  Like
	Elizabeth.

		     KATHLEEN
	Who?

		     JOE
	Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice.
	She was too proud --

		     KATHLEEN
	I thought you hated Pride and Prejudice.

		     JOE
	-- or was she too prejudiced and Mr.
	Darcy too proud?  I can never remember.
		(beat)
	It wasn't personal --

		     KATHLEEN
	-- It was business.  What is that
	supposed to mean?  I am so sick of that.
	All it means is it's not personal to you,
	but it's personal to me, it's personal to
	a lot of people.
		(she shrugs helplessly)
	What's wrong with personal anyway?

		     JOE
	Nothing.

		     KATHLEEN
	I mean, whatever else anything is, it
	ought to begin by being personal.

Kathleen stands up, picks up the daisies.

		     KATHLEEN
	My head's starting to get funny.  I have
	to go back to bed.

They walk to...

EXT. KATHLEEN'S BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS

Kathleen puts the daisies next to the bed and gets into it.
She fluffs up the pillows, pulls up the blankets, surrounds
herself with Kleenex and Evian and sneezes a gigantic sneeze.

		     KATHLEEN
	Why did you stop by?  I forget.

		     JOE
	I wanted to be your friend.

		     KATHLEEN
	Oh.

		     JOE
	I knew it wasn't possible.  What can I
	say?  Sometimes a person just wants the
	impossible.  Could I ask you something?

		     KATHLEEN
	What?

		     JOE
	What happened with that guy at the cafe?

		     KATHLEEN
	Nothing.

		     JOE
	But you're crazy about him --

		     KATHLEEN
	Yes.  I am.

		     JOE
	Then why don't you run off with him?
	What are you waiting for?

A long beat.

		     KATHLEEN
	I don't actually know him.

		     JOE
	Really.

		     KATHLEEN
	We only know each other -- oh God, you're
	not going to believe this --

		     JOE
	Let me guess.  From the Internet.

		     KATHLEEN
	Yes.

		     JOE
	You've Got Mail.

		     KATHLEEN
	Yes.

		     JOE
	Very powerful words.

		     KATHLEEN
	Yes.

Joe sits on the edge of the bed.

		     JOE
	I'm happy for him.  Although -- could I
	make a little suggestion?  I think you
	should meet him.  No.  I take it back.
	Why meet him?

		     KATHLEEN
		(starting to get sharp again)
	I hardly think I need advice from someone
	who --

He reaches out and gently claps his hand over her mouth.  And
holds it there.  It's unexpectedly tender and sexy.

		     JOE
	I concede I bring out the worst in you,
	but let me help you not to say something
	you'll just torture yourself about for
	years to come.

She starts to smile and he removes his hand.

They look at each other.

		     JOE
	I hope you're better soon.  It would be
	a shame to miss New York in the spring.

Joe stands.

		     KATHLEEN
	Thank you for the daisies.

He starts for the door.

		     JOE
	Take care.

		     KATHLEEN
	I will.

		     JOE
	Goodbye.

		     KATHLEEN
	Goodbye.

We hear the door close.

Hold on Kathleen.

EXT. CENTRAL PARK - DAY

Christina is running.  She sees a good-looking MALE RUNNER
coming toward her.  She has no hope that he will notice her,
and starts to look away as they get close to one another.

		     MALE RUNNER
	Hi.

		     CHRISTINA
	Hi.

He passes her.  Christina can't believe it.

She does a little dance of joy.

Camera pulls back as we see her by the reservoir on a
beautiful morning doing her little celebratory spin.

Then she resumes her morning exercise, running on.

INT. THE SINGLES TEMPLE - FRIDAY EVENING

Patricia comes in.

The place is packed.  There are hundreds of young Jewish New
Yorkers singing folk songs and dancing the hora.  The Rabbi
is dancing among them.

Patricia sees the rabbi, leading the dance.

The rabbi whirls madly toward her, like a human dreidel.

		     RABBIT
	Shabbat shalom!

He grabs Patricia's hand, and to her surprise, they go
whirling off together.

INT. KATHLEEN'S BEDROOM - DAY

Kathleen at the computer, typing.

		     KATHLEEN (V.O.)
	I have been thinking about this and
	I think we should meet.

She clicks the send button and then exits from American On
Line.

On her computer screen we now see the standard screen with
several icons: American On-Line, Word, Recycle Bin, etc.

She clicks Word.

She goes to File: New.

There are several choices of format.

She stares at the choices.  Then she clicks Book format.

A blank page appears in the computer.

She starts to type:  "Once upon a time there was a little
girl named..."

She pauses for a moment and looks around the room.  She sees
the flowers that Joe brought her.

And then she types: "Daisy."

As she goes on typing...

INT. JOE' BOAT - NIGHT

On Joe typing.

		     JOE (V.O.)
	We should meet.  And we will meet.  But
	I'm in the middle of a project that
	needs...
		(he pauses to think of the
		 right word)
	... tweaking.

A look of calculation on his face.

EXT. STARBUCKS - DAY

We can see Kathleen through the window, drinking a cup of
coffee.

And now we see Joe walk into Starbucks.  He waves at her,
pretending surprise at seeing her.  Has he been watching the
store and waiting for her to come in?  We'll never know.

INT. STARBUCKS - A FEW MINUTES LATER

He's sitting next to her at the counter in the window.

		     JOE
	Tweaking?

		     KATHLEEN
	That's what he said.

		     JOE
	He's probably married.

		     KATHLEEN
	That's a terrible thing to say.  It's not
	possible.

		     JOE
	Have you asked him if he's married?  Have
	you said, "Are you married?"

		     KATHLEEN
	No.

Joe looks at her, shrugs.

INT. KATHLEEN'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

As she types:

		     KATHLEEN (V.O.)
	I know this is probably a little late to
	be asking, but are you married?

INT. JOE'S OFFICE - NIGHT

As he answers:

		     JOE (V.O.)
	Am I married?  What kind of a question is
	that?  How can you ask me that?  Don't
	you know me at all?  Oh wait, I get it.
	Your friends are telling you the reason
	we haven't met is that I'm married.  Am I
	right?

INT. SIDEWALK CAFE - ANOTHER DAY

Kathleen and Joe having nachos.

		     JOE
	So he didn't exactly answer.

		     KATHLEEN
	He did too.  He nailed me.  He knew
	exactly what I was up to.  Which is just
	like him.

		     JOE
	But he didn't exactly answer, did he?
	Did he?

		     KATHLEEN
	No.

		     JOE
	Maybe he's fat.

		     KATHLEEN
	I don't care about that.

		     JOE
	You don't care that he might be one of
	those guys who's so fat he has to be
	removed from his house with a crane?

		     KATHLEEN
	That's very unlikely.

		     JOE
	Why else do you think he's putting off
	meeting you?  Although... maybe that's
	not it.  Maybe...

		     KATHLEEN
	What?

		     JOE
	Never mind.

		     KATHLEEN
	What????

		     JOE
	He could be waiting til he's paroled.

		     KATHLEEN
	Oh, you won't believe this, there was a
	moment when George thought he might be
	the rooftop killer, which was completely
	ridiculous --

Her voice trails off, as she considers whether it could be
true.

		     JOE
	What's his handle?

She shakes her head.

		     JOE
	Come on, I'm not going to write him.  Is
	that what you think?

		     KATHLEEN
	NY 152.

		     JOE
	One five two.  One hundred fifty two.
	Very interesting.  He's 152 years old.
	He has 152 hairs remaining on his head.
	He's had 152 moles removed and now he
	has 152 pockmarks.

EXT. FARMER'S MARKET ON BROADWAY - LATER

As they walk past tables of bread and flowers, etc.

		     JOE
	His combined college board scores.

		     KATHLEEN
	His IQ.

		     JOE
	The number of women he's slept with.

		     KATHLEEN
	The number of times he's seen The
	Godfather.

		     JOE
	That's the first good thing I've heard
	about him.

		     KATHLEEN
	His address.  No, no, no.  He would never
	do anything that prosaic.

On Joe, looking a little wounded.

		     KATHLEEN (cont'd)
	The only thing I really care about
	besides the married thing... and the
	jail thing... is the boat thing.

		     JOE
	The boat thing?

		     KATHLEEN
	I could never be with anyone who has
	a boat.

		     JOE
	Oh.

		     KATHLEEN
	So that clinches it.  We'll never be
	together.  I'll take care of these.

He picks up a mango, squeezes it.

		     JOE (cont'd)
	I could never be with anyone who likes
	Joni Mitchell.
		(singing, imitating Joni)
	"It's cloud's illusions I recall, I
	really don't know clouds at all."
	What does that mean?

Joe waits for Kathleen to say she likes Joni Mitchell.

But Kathleen doesn't say anything.

She starts intently picking over apples, trying to find some
she wants.

		     JOE
	How's your book coming?

EXT. BROADWAY - DAY

As they walk away from the market, going uptown.

		     KATHLEEN
	There's a children's book editor I know,
	from the store, and she's excited to
	read it.  When I finish it.  Who would
	ever have thought I'd write?  I mean,
	if I didn't have all this free time, I
	would never have discovered --

She stops, realizing what she's saying.

		     KATHLEEN (cont'd)
	The truth is, he was the one who made me
	start thinking about writing --

		     JOE
	Mister 152 Felony Indictments --

		     KATHLEEN
	Mister 152... insights into my soul.

		     JOE
	Yes.  Well.  Can't compete with that.

		     KATHLEEN
	Well.  I keep bumping into you.  Hope
	your mango's ripe.

		     JOE
	I think it is.  Want to bump into me
	Saturday?  Around lunchtime?

EXT. COMPUTER SCREEN - NIGHT

As Joe types.

		     JOE (V.O.)
	How about meeting Saturday?  The first
	day of spring.  4 P.M.  There's a place
	in Riverside Park at 88th Street where
	the path curves and when you come around
	the curve, you'll find me waiting.

INT./EXT. SATURDAY - GREY'S PAPAYA - THE FIRST DAY OF SPRING

Kathleen and Joe are putting mustard on their hot dogs.

		     JOE
	Today?

		     KATHLEEN
	Today.

		     JOE
	Whoa.

		     KATHLEEN
	I know.  In Riverside Park.

		     JOE
	Isn't that amazing?  Maybe I've seen him,
	and I don't even know it.

EXT. COLUMBUS AVENUE - DAY

As they walk uptown, eating their hot dogs and drinking
papaya drinks.

		     JOE
	He could be the Zipper Man.

		     KATHLEEN
	Who's that?

		     JOE
	This guy on Amsterdam who repairs
	zippers.  You'll never have to buy new
	luggage.

		     KATHLEEN
	Stop teasing.

		     JOE
	Timing is everything.  He waited until
	you were primed.  Until you knew there
	was no other man you could ever love.

		     KATHLEEN
		(almost believe it)
	Yes.

		     JOE
	Sometimes I wonder...

		     KATHLEEN
	What?

They stop walking, they look at each other.

		     JOE
	If I hadn't been Foxbooks and you hadn't
	been The Shop Around the Corner and we'd
	just met --

		     KATHLEEN
	Don't.

		     JOE
	I would have asked for your phone number
	and I wouldn't have been able to wait 24
	hours before calling and asking, "How
	about coffee, drinks, dinner, a movie,
	for as long as we both shall live?"

		     KATHLEEN
		(almost a swoon)
	Joe...

		     JOE
	And then we would never have been at war.

		     KATHLEEN
	No.

		     JOE
	The only fight we'd ever have is what
	video to rent on Saturday night.

		     KATHLEEN
	Who fights about that?

		     JOE
	Some people.  Not us.

		     KATHLEEN
	We would never.

A long beat.

		     JOE
	If only...

		     KATHLEEN
	Please.  I have to go.

She doesn't move.

		     JOE
	Let me ask you something?  How come
	you'll forgive him for standing you
	up and you won't forgive me for a
	little tiny thing like putting you
	out of business?

Kathleen looks at him.  Shakes her head.

They look at each other.

		     JOE
	Oh how I wish you would.

It's all Kathleen can do not to forgive him.

It's all Joe can do not to kiss her.

		     KATHLEEN
	I really do have to go.

		     JOE
	You don't want to be late.

She's in agony.

He turns and walks away.

After a moment, she does too.

EXT. KATHLEEN'S APARTMENT - LATER

As we see Kathleen come down the street and walk into her
house.

EXT. KATHLEEN'S APARTMENT - LATER

As she comes out of the apartment house, having changed her
clothes.

EXT. RIVERSIDE DRIVE - LATER AFTERNOON

As she comes toward the entrance to the park.

EXT. RIVERSIDE DRIVE PARK - LATE AFTERNOON

As Kathleen comes down a path in the park, near 88th Street.

She comes to a stop.

Looks around.

A young woman in running clothes passes by.

A young father pushing a baby in one of those strollers
runners use to push babies in.

Kathleen looks at her watch.

Suddenly she hears a noise.  A dog barking.

And Brinkley comes around the corner.

		     VOICE
	Brinkley!  Brinkley!

And hold on Kathleen as she sees.

JOE

And she starts to cry.

And he comes to her.  And puts his arms around her.

		     JOE
	Don't cry, Shopgirl, don't cry.

		     KATHLEEN
	I wanted it to be you.  I wanted it to
	be you so badly.

And as they kiss, we hold on them.

And crane up and away as we see them, a couple kissing in the
park on a beautiful spring day.

A dog is leaping around them.

And as we get further and further away from them, the screen
turns into

CYBERSPACE

And the dog turns cartwheels and flipflops.

And we tilt up to see the clouds and the sky

and hear the sound of computer keys, clicking, clicking,
clicking

				FADE OUT
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