Screenplays – Dawn Bedore Proctor

Short Film Screenplay Non-Fiction

THE RIDE HOME

By

Dawn Bedore Proctor

United States Copyright Office

Dawn Bedore Proctor

SCENE I – The Day Before

EXTERIOR : Moderately upscale residential neighborhood. Well-kept older homes. Madison, Wisconsin in February.

Camera slowly pans in a single home. A light blanket of snow, pretty from a distance. Closer, we see February snow, sparsely coagulated around curbs; dirty and dull with brittle, icy edges. Our view moves through frosty windows inside the dining room.

INTERIOR – DINING ROOM OF HOME

Camera pans up and zooms in close on a badly-xeroxed piece of paper. Moves up to the face of DAWN. Her face is pained, serious as she reads the paper in her hands. She holds her breath, then sighs deeply.

We see the title of the paper:

Sound of door opening and closing. Enter Dean.
DEAN
Hey there, you home?

He enters the room and approaches her for a routine kiss. She moves the paper slightly so he can’t see it. He catches a glimpse and subtly recoils.
DEAN
Is that tomorrow already?

Dawn nods. Dean goes upstairs. Camera returns to Dawn looking at paper alone.

SCENE II – In the Driveway

Next Morning. Driveway next to house. Dawn is packing the car.

NARRATOR – DAWN’S VOICE

There was nothing worse than the ride home. Nothing can hurt that much and not kill you, she thought. But it does. It doubles you over in your seat, trying to keep a universe of hurt under your chest bones, cowering, you are reflected in the windshield, trying to breathe. That was the part she could never believe. That she kept breathing at all.

DEAN

You got everything?

DAWN

Well, yeah, I think I’ve gotten pretty good at this. Cool Ranch Doritos, Double Stuff Oreos, he says he gets cold, so a new extra, extra-large black hoodie. All the magazines he asked for AND they would let him have. Nothing too dirty, but just dirty enough…Maxim, not Playboy, Less of the “essential” parts on display. The hip-hop ones without too many F-words. I hope so anyway. It’s hard to count them without actually reading it.

She checks off items with her fingers (sarcastically).

No food, no soda, no logos, no posters, no stickers, no clothing with logos, no messages promoting drugs or alcohol, no gang colors, no unapproved electronics.

She leans into the car and rummages through a bag on the back seat.

FLASH FORWARD –

INTERIOR COUNSELOR’S OFFICE

Typical bland interior with touches of new age wisdom. Counselor is never seen.

DAWN

Dawn is seated. We never see the counselor, only hear her voice.

Well, we visited Cos again. This time he is up at Winnebago in Oshkosh. They put a drug rehab for teens up there, along with the mental hospital and the prison that have been there forever. I really don’t feel good about this one, but his new social worker insisted on it. It was either that or another stint in jail. Admission had to be voluntary and Cos agreed to go. We all dropped him off last week. I was afraid he would jump out of the car at every stop sign. This was our first visit there.

COUNSELOR (unseen)

How was it?

DAWN Horrible. Horrible. This is the worst of them so far. I can’t believe how far down the ladder he’s gone. You know, we started at Hazelden, one of the best in the country. He got kicked out after three days for smuggling in pot. I mean, how did that even happen? Wasn’t it their job to search him and make sure something like that didn’t happen? But he fooled even them. He’s just so cute, so charming, so sweet. He just doesn’t look like an alcoholic. No one ever believes me when I tell them just how sick he really is. They look at me like I’M crazy. But I told him, “The rooms are going to keep getting smaller and food is going to keep getting worse. It’s up to you how long you stay on this train.”

Winnebago State Mental Health Hospital. You know, each institution is different. It’s like taking a test. You have to follow all the rules. And some of them make no sense at all. What you can bring actually reveals the personal idiosyncrasies of whoever was is in charge at the time, or what is is more likely, rules are a calculated reaction to a single incident or a brilliantly devised loophole no one could have imagined would evolve until it did.

But no matter, you can’t complain. Complaining about the rules might bring consequences I would not be around to see. What if they think defiance of authority runs in the family?

PRESENT EXTERIOR DRIVEWAY –

DAWN (continues)
All of the skateboard magazines. I can’t believe how expensive they are. They know we are slaves to what our kids want and will buy them anything they ask for. Especially now.

DEAN
I feel like a walking wallet.

DAWN
Oh, and the radio. Take a look at this. I had to special order it from a catalogue filled with things only allowed in correctional institutions. Seriously, it’s a real market. A big one, I suppose. Frightening to think about. Someone is making money. A lot of it.

She holds up the radio. The casing is clear and the multicolored wires and bright green transistor boards are a tangled puzzle inside.

Look, it’s embarrassing. Absolutely vulgar. It feels like you shouldn’t be able to see the working parts. They’re too personal. But it’s all they allow. I guess someone figured out how to hide pot in his radio.

DEAN
I’ve come to believe addicts are smarter than average people. And teenagers are smarter than everyone else. So teenage addicts must be the smartest people of all. Let’s get going. It’s a long drive.

SCENE III – The Drive UP

Dawn and Dean get into car. Dean drives. It is an ugly drive. Dawn gazes out the window. They don’t speak. The snow is exhausted in grey, dirty drifts alongside the road. They pass bare patches of blacktop and many run-down county taverns.

DAWN
There is nothing pretty about a bar in the morning. Why are there always a few left-over trucks in front of a tavern so early in the day?

DEAN
I guess they couldn’t drive home. Or didn’t want to.

The trees are leafless. The bare branches and bark disappear into the grey sky. They pass through a four way stop that serves as the center of what can barely be called a town. A huge gas station is very busy, filled with trucks hauling snowmobiles. Men in one piece snow suit stocking up on gas and beer. Along the road smaller houses look abandoned, worn and closeted against the winter. They drive on. Rural gives way to more lanes and chain fast food restaurants. They pass the city limits and drive along the sprawling, predictable frontage roads of Oshkosh. The city retreats to rural again and onto small narrow roads lined with scrubby woods.

Shot of the bag in the back seat.

DAWN
I only hope I got it right. You know, the disappointment on his face when I forget something is devastating. I can’t bear letting him down.

DEAN
You don’t let him down. He is happy just to see you. You know that.

FLASHFORWARD – INTERIOR COUNSELOR’S OFFICE (counselor unseen)

DAWN
So, I put a lot of energy into bringing up a “goody” bag for him. Feeling guilty, I guess. But I was glad to finally have the chance to see him. It just feels like my opportunities to mother him have become so limited. The least I can do is be perfect at the few I have left. But some of the rules are so absurdly arbitrary that only economics could make any sense of them. I wonder if the makers of skater magazines and clear radios are in cahoots. You know, like when the name of the ballpark is Pepsi and you can only get Pepsi at the snack bar? Not to mention the phone system. Those rates are ridiculous! I mean, we do okay so it’s not a big deal, but how are truly poor people supposed to afford that? It’s not fair. Someone is making money. A lot of it.

COUNSELOR (unseen)

What about Dean? How does he feel about it?

DAWN

Dean doesn’t do anything to get ready for the trip. Somehow it is just understood that it’s my job, my responsibility to take care of what needs to be done. That’s the way it feels about Cosmo now. Like he is my job. I mean, he is a stepfather. Maybe that’s just the way it is. You aren’t as invested because he isn’t yours. Not really. I think it’s biological.

Dean’s mother was not happy when he married a divorced woman with a child. Not at all. And she has never made a secret of it. So eventually, Cos and I learned to hang back and I just let Dean do his family things by himself. Cos and I are used to it being just us, anyway. He’s the reason I got sober. I took one look at him and knew he deserved better than what I had become. So, I divorced his drunk of a father and turned my life around. He saved my life really. Now, I guess I feel like it’s my turn to save his. Dean has no idea what it’s like to be an alcoholic and it makes it hard to share these experiences. It’s different for me. I came from crazy and survived insane. Now, I try to protect Dean from seeing the underbelly of life I got to know, and Cosmo knows now, too. Dean is too good, too clean for that. I think I’m afraid that if he knows just how dirty life can be, he’ll leave me.

He tried in the very beginning when all the trouble began, kind of. I was still the one dealing with all the insurance and stuff, making all the arrangements for Hazelden and the places after that. He went on the first jail visit. I think it was a novelty for him. He wanted to see what it was like. But he was repulsed by it. The waiting room is dirty, filled with sad people who just sit and stare, and the staff treats you like shit. He never went again after that. I go alone, now. He always says I am the stronger one in the relationship. He acts like it’s a compliment, but really, it’s an excuse for not doing the hard stuff.

SCENE IV – Arrival

PRESENT TIME – INTERIOR CAR

All alone out in the woods, they finally pull up to two old brick gateways and enter the Winnebago State Mental Health Center. The buildings are long, low, brick and old spread haphazardly over acres. The windows shades are all drawn. There is no activity, no people in sight.

DEAN

Here we are.

He slows, then stops the car at the gates.

DAWN

Staring distantly, speaking slowly You know, we signed the paperwork for this place without seeing any pictures of it and his social worker took care of the admitting. We were pretty strung out. I never imagined Cosmo would end up at a Mental Health Hospital. Back when they called it that. But that wasn’t what it said on the paperwork. That was why I hadn’t been able to identify it. Re-branding. They had re-named all the programs. There’s the high security prison where they put Jeffrey Dahmer. (she points) Now they added a drug rehab. “New Promises” Re-branding. Well, it worked.

They pull up in front of one of the non-descript buildings and sit in the car. They sit, not speaking. They enter one of many low-brick buildings, through a windowless door and pass through the halls of the hospital. A small green sign signals the entrance to the Juvenile Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Program. Inside, the endless maze of hallways is covered in squares of dull white and institutional green linoleum. They pass through a set of doors labeled Private. No Admittance by Authorized Personnel Only. They are routinely and carefully processed, have to show I.D.’s and are searched for contraband.

FLASH FORWARD – INTERIOR COUNSELOR’S OFFICE

DAWN

Once we got to Winnebago, I was reminded of just what a bizarre place it was. This very odd, disjointed collection of buildings without any kind of identification. It’s like they don’t want you to know what is really going on there. And I truly believe we don’t want to know. This is known as the last stop when it comes to psychological problems. But, we were there and it was too late to turn back. Besides, like everyone else who had passed through the gates, we had nowhere left to go.

I think it’s really important to make a good impression at any Treatment Center or jail. The better you look and act reflects on your son and maybe he gets treated with a little more respect. I want the powers that be to see that I am a good person, a good parent. My heart is aching and I want to cry, but I speak politely, and even cheerfully to the staff. Frankly, I feel like a contestant in a beauty pageant or a jobseeker at a crucial interview. I am always searching their faces. Am I missing any opportunity to say something, anything, that might help?

PRESENT – INTERIOR WINNEBAGO JUVENILE DRUB REHAB WARD

They are admitted to the ward and hear the door lock behind them. They exchange glances. Low institutional murmur engulfs them.

DAWN

Now is when I always get scared. Who protects US in here? Why are the parents of criminals treated as criminals too?

She is both eager and reluctant to see the residential corridor, looking for HER son. She walks slowly, deliberately. A sign is posted “YOUR DOOR MUST REMAIN OPEN”. Glimpses through the doors show windowless rooms with single beds empty of personal effects. She notices strange marks on the walls. Dirt, blood, feces?

SCENE V – The Visit

They arrive at an empty porch-like visiting room. Large windows overlook the sprawling grounds and a basketball court surrounded by a high chain link fence. One metal table and plastic chairs. They stand and wait. Enter Cosmo, wearing his best “prison scowl”.

FLASH FORWARD – INTERIOR COUNSELOR’S OFFICE

Finally, we get into the ward where Cosmo is. We are sent to a visiting room and wait for him to arrive. He walks through the door. It’s only been two weeks since I’ve seen him, but I try not to react to his appearance. Instead, I try to gauge his health by the pallor of his skin, I look nonchalantly for marks of mistreatment. Now, this is critical. You must not over-react. Calm and quiet is so important. You are supposed to be here, but you are still the parent of a teenager and preferably invisible. At the mall or in the institution. You are still the mother. You are urgently needed. You are not necessarily wanted. It’s a tightrope. Of course, I am the only one willing to walk it. Dean immediately sits in a chair in the corner. It’s obvious, once again, I am the de-facto director of the show.

So, I begin to talk…happily, warmly, you know, about how good it is to see him and how is he? But I can tell from his face there is only one thing he wants to talk about. When is he getting out of here? What happens next when he is out of here? Can he come home? When will this be over?

PRESENT – VISITING ROOM AT REHAB

DAWN

Hey baby, how are you doing?

She hugs him hard, he reciprocates briefly.

DEAN

Hi guy, good to see you.

Cosmo grunts. They both turn their attention to Dawn.

DAWN

Here you go. Safe and sound.

Pats the bag.

COSMO

Thanks. I don’t have ANYTHING. (Threateningly) Hope you brought what I need.

Dawn takes a place at the table and Cosmo sits opposite her. Cosmo rummages roughly through the bag. Dawn winces.

COSMO

Did you put some money on my account? I need to buy snacks. They don’t serve enough food here. I get cold sandwiches for dinner. I’m starving most of the time.

DAWN

Don’t worry. We will on the way out. (Quickly, feeling guilty)

Cosmo’s scowl deepens.

COSMO

Don’t forget. I really need it.

He pushes the bag aside. Dawn is determinedly cheerful. Dean looks out the window.

DAWN

So, how’s it going? Do you have a roommate? Is he ok?

COSMO

I don’t know. I don’t see him much. He’s got friends from when he was here before.

FLASHFORWARD – INTERIOR COUNSELOR’S OFFICE

DAWN

There’s a strategy to these visits. And you need to gear up, pull up all the energy you have. You have to be on high alert, but look casual, watch for the subtle signals that might give you clues that an outburst is coming so you can take action to divert it. You can’t let any sad, uncomfortable silences sneak in. Stay completely focused. See if you get away with any humor. Avoid sticky subjects, like trust and money, and that most feared specter of all…time. Lost time. Wasted time. The wasted time he now sits in, the wasted time he now realizes is behind him. The wasted time he fears is ahead of him.

PRESENT – VISITOR’S ROOM AT REHAB

COSMO

This place is hell. Not like Madison. We are in the sticks. No newspapers. No good books. No movies. The other guys are idiots. There is no one worth talking to. I am so bored.

DAWN

Oh, so, what do you do all day?

COSMO

We have classes starting really early in the morning, A shitty lunch. Then we have classes again all afternoon. I’ve heard all this before. I don’t know why I have to do this again.

DAWN

Classes on what?

COSMO

The usual; anger management, cognitive thinking, relapse prevention, crap like that. I already know it all. I could teach the classes here better than they do.

DAWN

I’m sure you could. But this beats jail, right?

COSMO

Maybe, I don’t know. There are more rules here than jail. And the nurses are bitches. Telling you what to do every minute. At least the guards in jail leave you alone.

Awkward pause

COSMO

How’s Copper?

DAWN

Oh, really good. He watches for you. He lays on the top of the sofa staring out the big window all day. When HE hears the front door open, WE hear a “thunk” as he hits the ground jumping off the couch. He thinks he’s hiding it from us. It’s funny. But he’s always looking for you. I can tell.

Remembering his dog, a fleeting smile appears on Cosmo’s face.

DAWN

Of course, Dad does all the dog walking. It’s just too cold for me, especially at night.

She turns and smiles at Dean, trying to include him. Cosmo does not acknowledge Dean. Scowls down again at the table. Dawn looks over her shoulder out the wide windows at the basketball court.

DAWN

So, do you get much outside time? Do you get to play basketball?

COSMO

We are allowed out once a day for an hour. I don’t really try to play. A lot of these guys already know each other. Guys from Milwaukee. You don’t want to mess with them.

Long Pause. Cosmo shifts in his chair and makes a slight shift in his attitude. He begins trying to soften them up.

COSMO

I’m sorry I am letting you guys down again. I feel so sick. Sorry, Mom. You deserve a better Cosmo.

DAWN

I just wish there was something more I could do.

COSMO

Nothing has been your fault, believe me, nothing. If you are foolish enough to believe that, then that’s your problem and YOU should get help.

Started out nicely but can’t help but get bitter.

COSMO

I know I can’t drink. It’s not just an idea. It has to be a personal law for me.

He gazes off. A confession. A manipulation.

COSMO

You are not wrong about what I am. I will be so happy to get out of here and come home. I don’t want to ever come back to a place like this. I’m not sure why you put me here.

His deep anger is beginning to show.

DAWN

I hate you being here.

COSMO

Then why am I here? Why don’t you just take me home. Take me home with you today.

DAWN (patiently)

Because you were stealing from us, Cos. Cars, money, my pain meds. I really need those. Who knows what else, I can’t even keep track anymore. You were selling drugs. Breaking into the house. Breaking windows. Breaking down doors. Do you remember any of that?

COSMO

Not really. That only happens when I black out. I don’t remember any of that. And I don’t mean to do anything wrong.

DAWN

Yes, but it does happen, even if you don’t remember it. I’ll be honest with you, Cos. It’s scary. And I don’t trust Levi and Derick and the others. I’m not sure what they will do, even when you are here, we are still dealing with them, every day, every night. They parked a beat-up car outside the house. Levi came to the door and told me it was yours and that you owed them $2,500 for it and I needed to pay them right away. I told them you already had a car. Your Taurus was right there, sitting in the driveway. I pointed to it. They didn’t care. I know it was drug money that you owed them and the car was some kind of scam. They left the car sitting there for weeks, right in front of the house. It was scary. And embarrassing. Then suddenly it disappeared. But something else is going to happen now, I just know it. They don’t know that you aren’t even living there anymore and we are taking all the abuse.

Her voice is rising. Dean is conspicuously silent.

COSMO

His voice rises in turn. Defensively.

Well, I don’t care about what they do. I don’t owe them anything, and I’m not going to pay them anything. I’m certainly not going to do anything again, so I don’t understand why I can’t just leave here and go home with you today. If you don’t want to deal with them alone, then take me home and I’ll deal with it.

DAWN

You can’t leave early. You have to finish the program here. It’s a court order.

COSMO

Eleven more weeks, are you kidding me? That’s bullshit. I never agreed to this.

DAWN

Yes, you did. You signed the papers. You didn’t want to go to jail, remember?

COSMO

Well, I didn’t know it was going to be like this. This is where they put crazy people. Some of these guys are really nuts. I’m not kidding. The other guys are gang members and shit. I’m afraid they’ll steal my stuff when I sleep.

Tense silence.

COSMO

They keep asking me about my feelings. I’m tired of feeling. I just walk around. Waiting to get out of here. You know, alcoholism is as deadly as heroin, but my reason for being here doesn’t get anywhere near as much sympathy around here as these heavy drug addicts. And I am missing so much.

His attitude shifts to blame.

COSMO

I spend so much time drinking, but it’s not my fault. I never had any real role models for this kind of thing. Being a man. How am I supposed to see how to get better? Certainly not from him.

Cosmo gestures Dean’s way.

DAWN

That’s not fair. Dean doesn’t even drink.

COSMO

It doesn’t matter. He just doesn’t GET it, Mom. Only you and I get it. I know it’s asking a lot. My soul stumbled… I just need some love. I need to be home, Mom. I know this is all my fault. I get it now. Please.

Dean remains silent.

Another resident enters. He is wiry, kind of looks like Cosmo. Not a tattooed-up gang-like member. He sort of slinks in and speaks quickly.

AARON

S’up. Cos. These your folks?

COSMO

His body sags. His demeanor changes. Suddenly “street.”

Yo, bro. This my Mom.

Dean is not introduced.

AARON

You going home?

COSMO

No, man. She doesn’t get it.

AARON

Fuckin’ bullshit.

COSMO

No sweat. It’ll get done

AARON

Thas’ right.

Looks out the window for a moment.

Hang, Dude

Slinks out.

COSMO

He’s a meth addict. Can’t trust those guys. They’ll do anything for a hit. I don’t belong here. I want to go home.

DAWN

Well, not just yet.

FLASH FORWARD – COUNSELOR’S OFFICE

DAWN

After I meet Aaron, one of the other (she hesitates) “clients,” I am more apprehensive. Maybe this isn’t the right place for him? What are all the other teens in this ward here for? Are they heroin addicts? Will they get Cosmo hooked? Even I never got that bad. There are some lines you never cross. Obviously, since Aaron had been here before, there are repeat offenders or at the very least, people who have to do the work again. But I ask myself why? Is this just a dumping ground for the incurable? Does this place even work? Was this a terrible idea? Suddenly I am questioning everything. Should I be dragging Cosmo from rehab to rehab? Am I doing the right thing? I look over at Dean and there is nothing there. I can’t help but think about how nice it would be to have someone to talk this over with. But he has checked out. And it’s spilling over into every area of our marriage. I know that but try not think about it. I prefer to remember the vows we made to each other. Til’ death. We are only halfway through the visit and I am getting very tired.

PRESENT– VISITING ROOM IN REHAB

COSMO

(addresses Dean for the first time)

YOU don’t want me home, do you?

DEAN

(softly from his chair by the wall)

Well, I just think we should do what the judge said.

COSMO

You never want me home. You’re the problem, you know. Without you, Mom and I get on just fine. You’re the one being a hard-ass. Some bullshit about tough love or crap you “learned” from your men’s group. You’re all so gay.

DAWN

That’s not true. We are making all these decisions together.

COSMO

Fucking bullshit. He’s a douche and you know it. Remember, Dean? When I asked you if I could call you Dad? How old was I anyway? Five? Four? And what did you say? You said, No. No. To a four-year old. Oh yeah, you told me I could call you “Buddy.” What kind of an asshole does that? I didn’t need a “Buddy.” I needed a father. No wonder I drink.

DAWN

Defends Dean but her voice is small and not convincing.

Cos, come on. That was a long time ago. You can’t use that as an excuse for the rest of your life.

COSMO

Sure I can. If you think this will ever be a family, forget it. He killed it. He killed it right out of the gate. Now, you pretend it never happened. You love him anyway. More bullshit.

Dawn feels the futility. She is defenseless against this truth.

COSMO

(turns to Dean, sarcastically)

Hey “Dad”, take me out of here! I want to be home for Mother’s Day!

FLASHBACK #1

Interior of their Madison home: flying bricks and stones, crashing glass. Indifferent police shrug and walk out the door. The floor, carpet, and couch are littered with broken glass. Dawn stands in the middle of the living room looking at the mess. Dean is in the kitchen, looking over the destruction from a distance. They do not speak.

FLASHBACK #2

Two men are holding Cosmo’s arm on either side. He is limp and barely standing. An unseen man holds a video camera. A fourth man steps up and smashes Cosmo in the face. They let him fall to the ground. The men murmur with satisfaction.

DERRICK

Nice, Man. You done hit that target HARD. (Laughing)
Yo, that jaw is broke for sure.

LEVI

Get the tape, get the tape. Oh, Momma gonna love this movie. This movie gonna shake some coin loose from Momma for sure.

PRESENT – VISITING ROOM

No one has moved.

PRESENT – INTERIOR COUNSELOR’S OFFICE

DAWN

To be fair, he certainly didn’t sign up for THIS gig. Take me, get him. That was the deal. We were a package. He accepted that. But who knew Cos would be so much trouble? He was such an adorable child. Such a great kid. They got along great. Cosmo’s teachers loved him, he had lots of friends and was even winning medals on the track team. We went to the National Junior Olympics! Dean and I went to every meet. It was good. I thought I had found the perfect guy and had the greatest kid. I had gone back to school and gotten my dream job. We were happy. Until that night. The skateboard accident. A visit to the emergency room for a head injury. The doctor tells us “Do you know your son is drunk?” A blackout from the very start. Only 12 years old. But then, it never stopped. A blackout every time. But he would keep moving. Like a shark. Tear through anything in his way between him and his drink. Stealing, breaking, running away. It’s been years now. One nightmare after another. Rehabs, counselors, cops, courts and jail. And now, he hates Dean. Home is a tense place, an unspoken battleground. And I am in the middle, trying to fix everything. Like it’s all my fault. I guess it is.

Sometimes I can’t help but wonder. Would things be different in my marriage if Cosmo hadn’t been part of the package? If it had been just Dean and I, would we have had a chance? I get resentful, I know it. I start to feel that having children is the most over-rated experience in America. The inevitable outcome of falling in love and supposedly the pinnacle of happiness. A family. But in truth, it is nothing but year after year of mind-numbing tasks and relentless worry. A lifetime of sacrifice. There is no out. The denial of your own hopes and dreams. You have to put them first all the time. It’s really hard. But if we let that big secret out, it wouldn’t sell now, would it? Wouldn’t sell diapers, toys, dance classes, computers and college tuitions. Someone is making money. A lot of it.

If they’ve allowed two hours for a visit, you’d better stay the whole time. It’s an insult to leave early, though you’re not sure you can keep it together. When it’s over and the very last minute has ticked away, you force out your last bit of energy into a false and cheerful goodbye with just the right amount of reluctant overtone and steal a hug so brief no can suspect you of passing contraband. Who knows, Cosmo, like Dean, may always find reality too much to take and need to escape. Can I blame either of them? Life is hard. Messy and cruel. Mine was. So I can handle the present. Cosmo isn’t trying to hurt anyone. Dean and I are just collateral damage. And in a weird way, it’s not personal.

PRESENT – VISITOR’S ROOM REHAB CENTER

Everyone in the same place and still silent.

DAWN

Well, do the best you can. I promise to think about what you said. I don’t know if you can get out early or not. But I’ll look into it. I just want what’s best for you. You know that. I just want you to get better. I don’t want you to suffer. Believe it or not, when you are hurting, I’m hurting. Everyday. All the time.

Dean shoots her a look.

COSMO (standing up)

I doubt that. Don’t forget to put money on my account.

Dawn hugs Cosmo. Dean politely says goodbye and approaches Cosmo. Cosmo grunts goodbye and turns away.

SCENE VI – Leaving

Walking back down tiled hallway. (Same shot as entering.)

Dawn stops just outside the building absorbing the waning winter day. Hesitates before getting in the car, she is overcome and fights back tears. She looks up at the waning winter sky.

DAWN

I am leaving my son behind in the hands of strangers. Again. I am leaving them to deal with MY problem. IS this the right thing to do? Why IS he here? Is this the right thing to do? I know we can’t live with him. I know you just can’t do that anymore. I understand. But it hurts so much when he is away. But what will happen when he eventually does come home? I’m afraid. How much worse can it get? What’s the worst that can happen? Dean does not respond. She takes her place next to her husband in the car. The back seat is empty. The bag is gone.

NARRATOR DAWN’S VOICE

Deep inside, she knows, even if her husband does not. If her son does not survive his life, she may not survive his death.
Car drives slowly out of the grounds and passes through the heavy brick gates.

NARRATOR DAWN’S VOICE

We are free to leave. And again, there is only the dashboard, the silence, and the miles of bitter highway. The sad reality of our everyday family life.

FADE OUT

NARRATOR DAWN’S VOICE

I will return soon.

END