YOU'VE GOT MAIL


BY
Nora Ephron & Delia Ephron

based on:
The Shop Around the Corner
By Nikolaus Laszlo


2nd final white revised February 2, 1998




	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