Screenplay / Fresh Memories

Fresh Memories

By

Paul Ayers

INT. CLUTTERED KITCHEN. DAY

Sunlight is pouring in through the curtain less windows onto the kitchen table as Tyler is sitting across from his grandfather as they are drinking coffee and look to be in deep conversation.  

                                TYLER
                So what do you think it’s going to be like?

                                GRANDPA
Tyler the only time I ever left this town was to fight overseas, and I guarantee that if college is anything like that your mother wouldn’t have even let you apply. Besides, if I were you I’d be more interested about some of the pretty young girls down there.

                                TYLER
                Well that’s definitely a plus, but I’ll know when I find the right girl for me.

                                GRANDPA
                Son, the right girl for you is any one who can cook and clean because I’m not sure how long you can last on noodles and last nights pair of jeans.

                                TYLER
                Don’t knock ramen noodles, that’s the only thing I cant mess up too bad., Buy if I could ever found someone like grandma I’ll be lucky.

                                GRANDPA
                She was a special woman, but how do you even remember that much about her, she died when you were a kid and she was in and out of hospitals for most of that tie.
                        
                                TYLER
                That’s not what I remember, I just remember you two sitting at this table at breakfast and looking at each other like you were in on some joke that no one else could understand. Don’t get me wrong I love Granny Donna, but I’ve never seen you smile with her like that.

                                GRANDPA
                What we had was something special that’s for sure, I’ve loved your Granny Donna for the last 15 years but I guess your right that my true love left me a long time ago. She was the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen.  It was the first time I saw her smile when I knew it was over for me.  It lit up the room, it’s the little things like that that you hold onto for the next 40 years. But love, but you can never stop living your life, never stop loving and meeting new people.  Even though she left I knew that she wouldn’t want me sitting around and giving up on life without her.

                                TYLER
                What was it like for you when she was diagnosed?

                                GRANDPA
                Tyler, the day she was diagnosed, it wasn’t just her, every single pain and tear she felt I felt right along with her. And it wasn’t just the fact that I knew she was leaving me, but when you truly, and I mean truly love someone when you see them crying you’ll do damn near anything in your power to stop it and there was absolutely nothing I could do but just slowly watch her leaving me.

                                TYLER
                Listen Grandpa, I didn’t mean to bring all of this…

                                GRANDPA
                Don’t you dare apologize for talking about her. I miss her every single day, but she was and still is the best thing that ever came into my life and it feels good to talk about her with you again.

His grandpa reached at his neck and lifted up his rusty dog tags tat Tyler had always recognized hanging around his neck ever since he was little. He then reached behind his neck and unclasped the chain and put the tags in his hand and held them out to Tyler.

                                GRANDPA
                The day I got back from my last tour, I gave these to your grandmother and told her that my leaving days are over, and the day she left me she gave them back. The way I see it, its your turn to do the leaving so I want you to have these and the day that you meet a girl whose smile lights up the room you give those too her. And try and hurry it up because I don’t want to be one of those old great granddads.

After a brief moment Tyler held his hand out as his grandfather dropped the tags and leaned over with tears in his eyes and hugged his grandson.

EXT. COLLEGE COURTYARD. DAY.

Tyler is a few years older as he is walking through a packed field of students as he talking on a cell phone.

                                TYLER
                Yeah, mom this class might kill my GPA but apparently if I’m ever going to graduate I’ve got to take it. But anyways how is everybody doing, I know I haven’t been home in a while, but I just get so wrapped up in things down here.
                                MOTHER
                We’ve all been doing fine. Your granddad had a rough couple of weeks but everything is slowly getting back to normal.

Almost instantly Tyler’s heart sank as he stopped walking and took a deep breath.

                                TYLER
                What’s wrong with grandpa, is it his heart again?

                                MOTHER
                No, Tyler its not that, he’s just been having a hard time recently but its nothing you should be worried about, I told you its all over now.

                                TYLER
                Listen I know your hiding something, so either you tell me what’s going on or I can be there in 4 hours if traffic is with me.

                                MOTHER
                It’s nothing Tyler, him and granny have just been having some problems recently.

                                TYLER
                What do you mean problems?

                                MOTHER
                Tyler please, I promised your father you wouldn’t find out.

                                TYLER
                Tell me now or I’ll have grandpa tell me himself.
                
                                MOTHER
                Tyler watch your mouth when your talking to me.

                                TYLER
                Mom, I’m sorry but you cant just say something like this and not tell me what happened.

                                MOTHER
                Don’t tell your father I told you, but they almost got a divorce last week.

                                TYLER
                What? You’ve got to be kidding me. What happened?

                                MOTHER
                It’s nothing now Tyler, they just had an argument and its over now.

                                TYLER
                Listen you’ve always been honest with me, so that would help right now.

                                MOTHER
                Well its just that somehow your grandmother heard that your granddad was cheating on her.

Then a new look of utter confusion found its way to Tyler’s face.
                        
                                TYLER
                Who told her that, why would somebody lie to her like that?
                        
                                MOTHER
                She hasn’t said who it was.
                
                                TYLER
                I can’t believe somebody would say something like that, grandpa has loved her ever since Grandma died.

                                MOTHER
                Tyler, its time you knew the truth.

                                TYLER
                The truth about what.

                                MOTHER
                It’s not a lie. Everyone has known about this for years now, I honestly thought you had an idea or I’d have never told you.

                                TYLER
                It’s not true, he’d never do that.
                                MOTHER
                No, it’s the truth, apparently he stopped earlier last year and has been faithful since then, but I guess his lie found him.

Then a dreadful thought crossed Tyler’s mind as he took a deep breath before speaking another word.

                                TYLER
                Did he cheat on my grandmother?

                                MOTHER
                I just told you, yes everyone has known about this for years, it doesn’t make him a different person, he’s the same man he’s always been to you, he loves you so much.

                                TYLER
                No that’s not what I asked. When my real grandmother was sick for years and laying on her deathbed while we all watched her fade away and die, was he cheating on her.

                                MOTHER
                Tyler that’s not the point.

                                TYLER
                (With a grave sound in his voice)Tell me the truth.

                                MOTHER
                Yes.

Tyler then closes the cell phone and sits down at a nearby bench as hazy images and memories start to flow through his mind. While seeing these images in his mind Tyler hears different messages replaying in his mind.

INT. CLEAN KICHEN. DAY.
A 5 year old Tyler sits at the kitchen table with his grandfather and grandmother on either side of him while eating breakfast. Tyler is looking at his grandmother as she looks lovingly toward his grandfather as he returns the gaze and Tyler begins giggling as they look back to him.

                                        TYLER’S VOICE
                        But he loved her so much.
        
        INT. BEDROOM. DAY.

        A still young Tyler is standing at the edge of his grandmothers deathbed as she looks down at him while he is holding her hand crying. His grandfather is in the room with his hand on Tyler’s shoulder.

                                        TYLER’S MOTHERS VOICE
                        It doesn’t make him a different person, he’s the same man he’s always         been to you, he loves you so much.

        INT. BEDROOM. NIGHT.

        Tyler’s grandmother is lying alone on her deathbed lying quite still and looking at a picture of her and Tyler’s grandfather.
                                        
                        TYLER’S VOICE
                        While we all watched her fade away and die, was he cheating on her?

As she is looking at the photo outside of the window Tyler’s grandfather is seen standing beside a car talking quite closely to another woman as he then leaned in and kissed her.

                                        TYLER’S MOTHERS VOICE
                        Yes.

        INT. BEDROOM. NIGHT.
        Tyler is laying down in bed back at college with his head facing he ceiling and his cell phone in his hand.

                                        TYLER’S MOTHERS VOICE
                        He’s still the same man he’s always been.

        
        EXT. LAKESHORE. TWILIGHT.
        Another vision of young Tyler standing on the water banks alongside his grandfather while his grandfather is helping him with his fishing pole as they are laughing as the sun is going down in the distance.

        EXT. DRIVEWAY. DAY.
        Teenage Tyler is standing outside with his mother and his grandfather as his grandfather hands him a set of keys and points to a nearby car as Tyler throws his arms around him in thanks.

        INT. CLUTTERED KITCHEN. DAY.
        We revisit the scene of Tyler being handed the dog tags as they hug each other.

        EXT. COLLEGE GROUNDS. DAY.
We see a present day Tyler sitting on a bench with a pretty young girl as he looks at her and asks her a question as she smiles happily and he pulls the dog tags off of his neck and places them into her hand as they embrace.

        INT. BEDROOM. NIGHT.
        Back to Tyler lying on the bed with cell phone in hand.

                                        TYLER’S MOTHERS VOICE
                        HE loves you so much.

                                        TYLER’S VOICE
                        That’s not what I asked, was he         cheating on her?
        
                                        TYLER’S MOTHERS VOICE
                        Yes.

        INT. BEDROOM. NIGHT.
        We again see the image of Tyler’s grandmother lying in bed staring at the picture as outside the window his grandfather leans in to kiss another woman although this time as they kiss it seems much slower and somehow more deliberate.

        EXT. GRAVEYARD. DAY.
        A small group of mourners are crowded around a freshly filled grave as rain is falling on the fresh dirt as members of the crowd begin to turn around and whisper to each other.

                                        MOURNER
                        Is that really him.

                                        MOURNER
                        I didn’t think he’d show.

                                        MOURNER
                        I hear they haven’t talked since he found out.

A man and woman both dressed in black walk up a hill and walk through the crowd untouched as we see it is an older Tyler standing beside that same girl from the earlier vision. In the girls arms is a young baby boy blinking up at her as she’s shielding him from the rain. She looks back at Tyler who wipes his eyes and then leans in and kisses her on the cheek and looks down at the baby and reaches at the blankets covering him and from around the baby’s neck he pulls off the dog tags.

                                TYLER
                        Thanks for everything.
                
He then leans down and lays the tags on top of the tombstone and pats the tombstone as he turns around without even glancing at any of the onlookers and he turns around and puts his arm around the girl and they walk back down the hill as the onlookers huddle back together in the rain.

                                        
                                        
        

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