Color & Context

INT - KELLY’S HOME: FATHER’S STUDY - NIGHT

FATHER stands facing a large window that looks out onto the front yard. His back is turned to Kelly where she stands just inside the door, wary and hesitant.

Father is a distinguished older man in his mid fifties with impeccably combed graying hair. His dress, his office, his stature even are all carefully tidy, pristine, reserved, picture perfect icons of a very controlled, careful life.

Again, Kelly is the oddity in the picture with her colorful clothes and her slightly rumpled hair.

FATHER
I don’t understand why this is so important to you. What do you think that you’ll get out of this, Kelly? Love? Acceptance?

Father turns towards Kelly.

FATHER
You don’t even know if she’d want to see you. What will you do then?

Kelly steps farther into the room, still unsure of herself as she approaches the edge of his desk.
KELLY I don’t know, dad- I just want to know her. Know why.. Did I cry too much? Did she not want me?

5.

Perturbed, Kelly looks around the room, trying to focus on anything that would hold back the tears welling in her eyes.
 

KELLY
There’s a piece of her in me. I need to know who that is

Father interrupts with an edge of ferocity as if this was a repetitive theme in their conversations.

FATHER
She does not define you, Kelly. You are all that you’ve lived, feel, dream. Who birthed you has nothing to do with that.
 

She isn’t a disease that you carry or a cross for you to bear, Kel. This is "your" life.

Tears spill down Kelly’s cheeks.

KELLY
(softly)
Then let me go find her and put this to rest..

Father sits at his desk, obviously upset, but very overtly and strangely ignoring Kelly’s tears. He organizes objects on his desk instead of looking at her.

FATHER
I don’t want to see you get hurt, Kelly. You wear your heart on your sleeve and..

Father lets the sentence trail off, seemingly lost in thought for a moment. He finally looks up to Kelly, who waits anxiously for what he’ll say next.

FATHER
I love you. I love you very much. You know what you need to do, so you’ll do it. I’ll be here waiting for when you get back.
 

Kelly steps up to her father and wraps her arms around his shoulders, lying her head on his. He hugs her arms where they drape around his shoulders.

Both are silent and lost within their own thoughts.

6.

INT - KELLY’S ROOM AT HOME - DAY

Kelly’s bedroom is a feminine space caught between the whimsy of a teenage girl and a young woman. Mementos and memories clutter available space.

Kelly sits on her bed and packs a SMALL BACKPACK for her trip. She places a FRAMED PICTURE OF SHE AND HER FATHER into the backpack.

She hesitates over adding a FRAMED PICTURE OF HER ADOPTED MOM in the backpack. She turns the picture face down and leaves it there.

EXT - DRIVEWAY KELLY’S HOME - DAY

In the driveway is an EARLY 80S MODEL MUSCLE CAR with DALE at the wheel and Martine in the front seat. Martine opens the door as Kelly approaches and gets out.

Martine moves the seat to get into the backseat, leaving the passenger seat for Kelly with a knowing smile.

Dale is a early 20s male with dark hair styled in a throwback 1950s style. He wears a plain white tee with the sleeves rolled up and jeans.

Kelly tosses her backpack in the backseat next to Martine and climbs into the passenger seat. She’s all smiles as she buckles her seat belt.

As she finishes, she’s startled when Dale thrusts a KEYCHAIN WITH A LUCKY RABBIT’S FOOT dangling off of it into her face.

DALE
Road trip rule: gotta kiss it for luck.

Kelly balks at the offered rabbit’s foot.

KELLY
Don’t be stupid

Martine leans over the back of the seats, agitation written on her features.

MARTINE
Let’s just get this car on the road, people. I was dreaming of lucky sevens all night.

Kelly glares at Dale. Dale continues to dangle the keychain, unmoved.

7.

DALE
It’s me or the rabbit, honey. It’s not like you’re paying for gas.

Kelly grimaces and kisses the rabbit foot, then sinks back into her seat, disgusted. Dale smirks and starts the car, revving the engine triumphantly.

DALE
All right ladies, let’s roll!

Martine laughs with delight as the car backs out of the driveway and turns onto the road.

INT - KELLY’S HOME: FATHER’S STUDY - DAY

Father watches the car pull away with a worried expression on his face. In his hands he holds the picture of Kelly’s mother that she’d left face down in her room.

MONTAGE - EARLY ROAD TRIP LEAVING PALISADE - DAY

--EXT - IN CAR - EARLY AFTERNOON - Kelly turns on the radio, which plays a lighthearted pop song that Kelly and Martine sing to while Dale just grins and drives.

Kelly’s tension visibly starts to dissipate as they sing.

--EXT - EARLY AFTERNOON - The car passes by a sign stating that they were leaving Palisade, Colorado.

--EXT - IN CAR - EARLY AFTERNOON - Kelly looks out the window at the mountains and trees outside the window, which are more dry and dusty now than those in Palisade.

--EXT - IN CAR - EARLY AFTERNOON - Kelly leans her head against the window, knees drawn up under her as she attempts to get comfortable. She closes her eyes for just a moment.

--EXT - IN CAR - EARLY AFTERNOON - Dale reaches over and lightly touches Kelly’s hair as she sleeps in the seat beside him.

INT - BOYFRIEND’S CAR - DAY

Young mom leans into the hand that reaches out to touch her hair. She smiles over at her BOYFRIEND, the driver, with love and admiration.

Her returns the look with a catlike smirk, puts his arm over her shoulders and lays on the speed a little more.
8.

Boyfriend is a pretty-faced dark-haired boy in his late teens dressed similarly to Dale in a white shirt with rolled-up sleeves and jeans.

Young mom looks very much like Kelly would in the very early 80s, with her hair loose and her clothes still on the verge of 70s bohemian.

EXT - VEGAS DINER EXTERIOR - EVENING

Boyfriend parks his car- a shiny black EARLY 70S VINTAGE MUSCLE CAR- in front of a truck stop diner. The boyfriend and Young mom get out, coming together at the end of the hood to enter the diner together arm in arm.

They’re relieved and happy just to be together.

INT - VEGAS DINER DOORWAY - EVENING

Stepping into the diner, young mom sees a GROUP OF TEENS that she isn’t pleased about seeing. Upon noticing the couple, they stop talking and laughing to openly watch as boyfriend puts his arm around YOUNG MOM'S shoulders.

He leads her to a table away from theirs where their backs are towards a large plate glass window looking out over the desert.

BOYFRIEND
Ignore ’em, babe. They’re just jealous.

Most of the group of teens continue to gawk, except for one MALE TEEN who gets up from the table without a word and walks towards the back of the diner.

INT - VEGAS DINER REAR - EVENING

The male teen beelines for a payphone by the bathrooms which gives a mostly unobstructed view of the table where young mom and boyfriend sit across the dining room.

He drops some change into the payphone, dials a number and puts the handset to his ear. What he says is inaudible. He looks towards young mom and her boyfriend repeatedly.

Young mom notices him on the phone and her expression falls flat.

9.

EXT - VEGAS DINER DOORWAY - EVENING

BIRTH DAD steps into the diner’s door and stops, surveying the room. In his hand he holds a LENGTH OF IRONWOOD, tapping it against his side like a tire thumper.

Birth dad is a solidly built man in his late forties with thinning, silvered hair parted carefully at the side. He wears a white button down short sleeved work shirt and black slacks: crisp.

His gaze stops on young mom and boyfriend. Birth dad yells something inaudible. Everyone in the diner turns their attention to the doorway, stunned.

Past his form, boyfriend stumbles to his feet quickly, chin raised with defiance. Young mom gets to her feet more slowly, the expression on her face is one of tearful denial.

EXT - VEGAS DINER EXTERIOR - EVENING

Birth dad muscles the boyfriend to the side outside of the diner while  young grandmother leads young mom to the car by the upper arm.

Young grandmother is a callous woman dressed meticulously in a modest tweed business jacket and skirt, hose, pumps. Her hair is perfect, her makeup a severe red lip an nail.

Young grandmother opens the back driver side door to her 70S MODEL FORD SEDAN, obviously incensed over the entire ordeal. Her voice is all iron and barely contained anger.

YOUNG GRANDMOTHER
Get in.

YOUNG MOM
Please, daddy, don’t hurt him! Please!

YOUNG GRANDMOTHER
(yells hoarsely)
I said get in the car Janice!

YOUNG MOM/JANICE
 (yells back)
You have no-

Before Janice can finish her sentence, mother backhands her into the car window. Janice cups her hand to her mouth, blood dribbling out through her fingers. She’s stunned.

10.

Young Grandmother shoves Janice into the back seat and slams the door shut. Ever so purposefully, mother rounds the car and sits primly in the front seat passenger side.

Janice watches out the back window as her father roughs up the boyfriend with the stick. She begins to sob. Young grandmother notices her crying in the rearviewr view mirror and scowls.

MOTHER
Whatever happens tonight

Mother turns to look over her shoulder at Janice as if she were the lowest of the low.

MOTHER
-this is all your fault.

The driver's side door opens and father gets in, sweaty an wheezing slightly. He deposits his beating stick beside mother’s legs and closes the door.

Without a word he starts the car and backs up, then turns away. He adjusts the rear view first to see Janice collapsed in the backseat, then the boyfriend getting to his feet in the parking lot behind them.

INT - DALE’S CAR - LATE AFTERNOON

Kelly startles awake as Dale shakes her shoulder gently. He backs up a little, his lower half outside the open driver’s door when she jolts awake.

DALE
Hey: it’s okay. Just me.. I thought you might want a pit stop before we get on the road again.

Kelly rights herself in the seat, appearing confused for a moment. She looks out the windshield to see a truck stop diner. It’s not the same as in her dream, but it’s similar enough.

EXT - UTAH DINER: PARKING LOT - LATE AFTERNOON

Dale steadies Kelly as they walk towards the diner. He passes her off to Martine who greets them at the door, concerned.
11.

INT - UTAH DINER: BATHROOM - LATE AFTERNOON

Kelly splashes water on her face while Martine sits on the counter next to her, holding her hair away from her face.

MARTINE
You were white as a sheet, sweetie. I don’t think you should try to sleep in the car again..

Kelly splashes water on her face one more time then takes a deep breath and pats her face dry with paper towels.

KELLY
It was just a bad dream.

Martine clips Kelly’s hair up off of her neck as Kelly dries her face with a paper towel.

MARTINE
If you say so, girl. Bad dreams don’t ever wake me up in a panic.

KELLY
I’ll be fine. Can you just.. order me a coke or something? Some french fries? I’ll be right there..

Martine nods and leaves the restroom. Kelly stands in front of the mirror with the paper towels still held close to her face. She looks up into the mirror, but the woman in the mirror isn’t her.

Janice stares back at her- identically positioned- with the towels to her face. They both recoil, stumbling backwards, only when Kelly stumbles back, she slides on water spilling over the sink.

Kelly grabs onto the counter’s ledge and pulls herself back up, only now she only sees herself in the mirror. On the verge of hyperventilating, Kelly pulls herself completely upright.

She reaches out to touch the mirror hesitantly- fearfully. Nothing happens. Kelly starts to shake hard.