Dennis Lehane - Coronado

BOBBY Big music town, Coronado? I hadn’t heard.

GINA You know how it is. It’s all big music if you think you can play.

[ BOBBY throws back his shot. ]

BOBBY And if you can’t?

GINA You find out, don’t you? One way or the other.

[ BOBBY nods. He smiles at her. She smiles back. A curious, comfortably awkward beat. ]

GINA Well, I should…

BOBBY Sure. You go ahead, um…

GINA Gina.

BOBBY [ Offers his hand. ] Bobby.

GINA [ Shakes his hand. ] Nice to meet you, Bobby.

BOBBY The same, Gina.

[ GINA has a little trouble letting go of his hand, but eventually she does. ]

BOBBY And, hey, Gina?

GINA Yeah?

BOBBY I’m thirsty as all hell tonight. Fact, I’m fixing to howl at the moon. So keep ’em coming, yeah?

[ GINA smiles a broken smile. ]

GINA You bet, sweetie. But you promise me something?

BOBBY Sure.

GINA You let ol’ Gina tell you when you’ve had enough. Okay? It’s been raining nickels out there the last half hour. You hear it?

BOBBY I hear it.

GINA And the weatherman says it’s going to rain all night. The roads get slick. Real slick. And I want you getting home.

BOBBY Okay.

[ She nods and he nods back and she walks off into the darkness. BOBBY spins his empty shot glass as the rain clatters on the roof.

A song comes on the jukebox and BOBBY watches a YOUNG WOMAN appear and start to sway to the beat. A MAN comes up behind her, and she leans back into him. For a few moments, it’s purely sexual, and then she turns in his arms and looks straight in his eyes and mouths the song’s refrain to him, and he looks back at her, helpless and emboldened and in love.

Lights fade on the rest of the bar.

BOBBY watches them with a mixture of enjoyment and envy and heartbreak. When it gets to be too much, he turns away. He spins his empty shot glass again. He looks back at them and gives it all a small, sad smile. He turns back to the table, spins the shot glass.

Lights down on BOBBY.

Only the MAN and YOUNG WOMAN are lit as they dance. They can’t take their eyes off each other.

Lights down on the MAN and YOUNG WOMAN.

The song ends abruptly.

The rain takes over, clattering…

…and faintly, the sound of BOBBY spinning that shot glass.

Lights out. ]