JANICE
Terry? I don’t know. He’s an engineer. Not the most talkative guy in the world. I thought I could make it work. It seemed like a good idea at the time…
ERIC
What went wrong?
JANICE
Nothing, really. But nothing went right after a while, either. Another guy I cared more about than he cared about me. (turns, drying her hands)
But it’s different when a marriage goes off the tracks and you have kids. It’s… there’s still something that worked. I love my children. I miss them so much.
ERIC
I can’t seem to get a handle on it. You married. Children.
JANICE
It’s been a quarter of a century, Pierson. You haven’t exactly stayed in touch.
ERIC
All I’ve been doing since I came back here is saying I’m sorry, and it doesn’t seem to be working on anyone. But I am sorry, Janice, especially about the way I treated you. Shit, I didn’t know what was going on — I was numb, crazy. I was a kid! We were all kids. I just wanted it all to go away.
JANICE sits down on the couch. ERIC joins her.
JANICE
I used to call you. You never called back. It was horrible, having to keep leaving messages with those guys in your dorm — I could just hear them thinking, “Oh, no, it’s that pathetic hometown chick that Pierson dropped… ”
ERIC
It wasn’t like that…
JANICE
But you know what the worst thing was? Do you remember that stupid song about the telephone? It was playing every time I turned the radio on that fall. (She sings, a little hoarse)
“Okay, so no one’s answering… so I’ll just wait a little longer, longer… ” I couldn’t get away from that fucking song.
JANICE blinks angrily, fighting tears.
ERIC
I never liked Electric Light Orchestra, anyway. Brent really hated ‘em. Said they’d gone downhill after Roy Wood left the group.
JANICE
Boys. You can talk about guitar solos, but anything else just paralyzes you, doesn’t it?
ERIC
Look, for years there wasn’t a fucking day that went by when I didn’t think about how things went so wrong — with you and me, that night… everything. Over and over. Thinking about how if I’d only done this thing different or that thing different…
JANICE (after a pause)
What are we going to do, Eric? I’m frightened.
ERIC shakes his head, then moves closer to her and puts his arm around her. She relaxes into his chest.
ERIC
I have no idea at all. I’m scared shitless myself. But this feels good. It’s the first thing that’s felt that way for a while. (a beat)
I haven’t really been able to make it work with anyone. Scared I never will. Sometimes it feels like I’m getting paid back for being a shit to you, back then.
JANICE lifts her face to look at him. She has a tear on her cheek. ERIC gently wipes it away with his finger. After a moment, he touches her cheek again, letting his hand stay. She leans forward and they kiss. What starts out careful and tenative begins to turn passionate — JANICE is crying as they kiss, almost climbing onto his lap. Then she pulls away.
JANICE
No. No, it’s not right.
ERIC
If you want…
JANICE
After all these years, I don’t know what I want. But you don’t know me any more, Eric. I’m not the same person, and neither are you. We can’t just fall into bed. We’d be… I don’t know, fucking our past, not each other.
ERIC
Seems like its our past that’s fucking us. In more ways than one.
JANICE slowly moves back against his chest.
JANICE
You’re still pretty funny, you know? Too bad it’s true. (after a moment)
I was so scared.
ERIC
It’s been a weird day all around.
JANICE
No! Back then. That night. I was acting cool because I hated you guys treating me like a wimpy girl, but I didn’t really want to take that stuff…
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. — PIERSON HOUSE, 1976 — NIGHT
CLOSE ON: BRENT’S PALM
YOUNG BRENT is shaking a little bit of something out of a pill bottle onto the cotton wadding in his hand. As we pull back, we see that everyone is sitting in a circle on the living room floor, except TOPHER who is lying on the couch with his feet up.
YOUNG BRENT
Four-way windowpane. Decks are cleared. Ready to beam up, Mr. Spock.
KIMMY (nervously)
I thought acid came in, like, a sugar cube.
YOUNG BRENT
That was in the old days. This is the latest and greatest. Come on, you don’t know who your friends really are until you trip with them — right, Erky?
YOUNG ERIC (singing)
“Oh I wish I was an Oscar Mayer Wiener, that is what I’d truly like to be-ee-ee, ‘cause if I was an Oscar Mayer Wiener… ”
YOUNG BRENT
Five hits. Kimmy, put a record on so we don’t have to listen to fucking Pierson.
YOUNG ERIC (finishing)
“Everyone would be in love with me!”
YOUNG JANICE
You wish. KIMMY
What should I put on? YOUNG BRENT
I don’t know. You got anything decent, Pierson? You got Yes? “Fragile” would be pretty bitchin’.
KIMMY
Here’s a Yes album, I think. It’s hard to read the writing.
As she’s putting it on, YOUNG TOPHER swings his legs down from the couch back and sits looking over the others as the acoustic intro of “And You And I” begins.
JANICE and KIMMY are both clearly nervous.
YOUNG JANICE
They’re so tiny! How long is this going to last?
YOUNG BRENT
A while. I wish I could have got Stringer to get me this stuff earlier — it’s amazing to go, like, to the park. The grass looks alive. YOUNG ERIC
The grass is alive.
YOUNG BRENT
You know what I mean. (to Kimmy)
But wait ‘til you see the stars. They look just… far out.
YOUNG ERIC
They are far out.
Everyone laughs, even BRENT.
YOUNG BRENT (in a bad Brooklyn accent)
Quit bustin’ my balls, Pierson. (holds out the acid; normal voice:)
Okay, boys and girls. Come and get it!
YOUNG TOPHER
Slow down, Zenger. I wanna show you guys something.
YOUNG BRENT
Fuck, Holland, this shit doesn’t even come on for an hour. Let’s just take it and then you can show us.
YOUNG TOPHER (enjoying his mystery)
No, you’re definitely gonna wanta see this first.
There’s a pause: TOPHER’s clearly waiting to be asked.
YOUNG ERIC
Okay, what is it?
TOPHER extends his hand, in a fist, palmside down, then turns it over and uncurls his fingers to reveal five shiny BLACK PILLS.
YOUNG BRENT
What the fuck are those?
YOUNG TOPHER
The. Fucking. Best. High. Ever.
YOUNG BRENT
Looks like speed, man. Black beauties.
YOUNG TOPHER
Oh, no, my little Bent Zengerdenger. This is shit you’ve never seen. Ain’t nobody ever seen this. This… is Black Sunshine.
YOUNG ERIC
Topher, what exactly the hell are you talking about?
TOPHER slides from the couch onto the floor, takes a theatrical swig from the rum bottle, enjoying everyone’s attention. Just to piss them off, he takes an
elaborate time lighting a cigarette, too.
YOUNG BRENT
Come on. Jesus!
YOUNG JANICE
Ooh, the mystery man.
YOUNG TOPHER
Okay, you know the lab? The place my old man works?
YOUNG BRENT
Where you have a job pushing a broom on Saturday mornings?
YOUNG TOPHER (unfazed)
Yeah. That lab. Well, Castillo the fuckin’ head janitor had to go home because he got sick — he was, like, green — and he left me the keys to lock up. Man, normally he’d rather leave me alone with his fuckin’ daughter than even let me touch ‘em, but he was in bad shape, pukin’ his lungs out all over the restroom…