Dear John (8 page)

SAVANNAH

Don’t look at him, John. Look at me.

John does. They hold eye contact.

JOHN

You just... you don’t understand--

He tries to put his hand on her arm, but she SLAPS it off.

SAVANNAH

You son of a bitch. Don’t ever tell me I don’t understand.

Then she turns and walks away. Tim tries to inch back into the house, pretend like he was never here. But John knows he is.

JOHN

That’s the first time I’ve ever heard her curse.

Alan stirs in Tim’s arms, but doesn’t quite wake.

TIM

She’s angry because she loves you that much. Because she misses you that much. Trust me... that’s a lot better than the alternative.

John watches Savannah get smaller and smaller.

JOHN

So what do I do?

Tim carries Alan to the door, looks back before he leaves.

TIM

You go after her, John.

126       
EXT. SAVANNAH’S FAMILY HOME
-- ON THE DOCK -- LATE DAY

This pier is much smaller than the one in Charleston, but as John comes up behind Savannah, it’s a very familiar sight.

SAVANNAH

Just leave me alone, okay?

John pauses, trying to find the right words. Whether it’s nerves or desperation, he starts to sweat, suddenly has a hard time catching his breath.

JOHN

Whaddaya want from me, Savannah?

Huh? You want me to quit, is that it?

(off her silence)

You’re all that matters to me. Okay?

You are all that matters.

His voice turns intense, his eyes desperate.

JOHN

I just-- I don’t know how I got here.

I don’t know what happened. I just know that I woke up one day and buildings were suddenly falling down and -- I know I had a plan but now I don’t, I know I have no clue what to do anymore, I have no idea what to do, because all I want is to stay here with you, right here with you for as long as I possibly can.

John looks like he’s six years old all of a sudden, anxious and scared and vulnerable. Savannah’s anger quickly melts away. She puts her hand on his face, trying to calm him down.

JOHN

I’m just trying to do the right thing here, but I’ll tell you what, I’m so turned around I don’t have a friggin idea what that is anymore.

So you tell me. Tell me what to do, Savannah. Tell me what you want me to do and I’ll do it.

She quietly wraps him up, holds on as tight as she can. Then she kisses him lightly on the lips.

SAVANNAH

I want you to come with me.

127       
EXT. STABLES
-- DUSK

Savannah leads John inside. The place is empty now.

She pulls John back to the far-most stable, which is different than the others. There are stacks of hay but there are also blankets, a flashlight, a bunch of paperbacks, an old radio.

SAVANNAH

Whenever I used to sneak out of the house, late at night... this is where I’d come.

She looks through the open window at the house she grew up in.

SAVANNAH

Kinda pathetic, huh? Even when I ran away, I never went very far.

Then, finally, she shakes the nostalgia away, turns to John, pulls him down onto this makeshift bed.

John looks through the window up at the house. It’s a distance -- no one can see them here, no one can hear them.

Savannah turns on the radio. The song that starts to play is THE LUCKIEST by Ben Folds (which was released on September 11th, 2001). Then she starts to remove her clothes.

JOHN

Wait... you sure about this?

She nods, pulls him to her, helps to guide him.

127A     Then at NIGHT now, over the music -- images:

-- of them together.

-- of John, going slowly and gently, but--

-- of a single tear falling down Savannah’s face.

As the song continues to play over all the following scenes:

128       
OMIT

129       
EXT. LENOIR ESTATE
-- DAY

-- of John, rolling awake, looking around... realizing Savannah’s already gone up to the house. He’s all alone in the stables, and that worries him.

130       
INT. CAR
-- DAY (MOVING)

-- of John and Savannah, silently driving back to Charleston.

131       
INT. AIRPORT
-- DAY

--of John and Savannah, walking through the double doors --

--where they find Mr. Tyree, uncomfortable amongst all these people, but nevertheless here to say goodbye to his son.

John walks over to him, touched.

JOHN

Thanks for coming, Dad. Really.

Mr. Tyree shrugs. Looks down at ground. John watches him.

JOHN

You gonna be okay by yourself again, Dad?

MR. TYREE

Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?

John pauses... then sticks out his hand. Mr. Tyree shakes it. John smiles, knows this is as emotional a goodbye as his father’s capable of.

Finally John lets go, turns to Savannah. Airport security is still heavy, and this is the end of the line. He struggles to find the right words.

Listen, I... I...

Savannah stops him. She knows what she has to say now.

Forces out a smile.

SAVANNAH

What’s two more years apart after those two weeks together, right?

But she can’t help it -- a tear slips out anyway. She tries to laugh through it. John watches her, concerned.

JOHN

Are you sure? Nothing... nothing’s changed between us, has it?

She pulls him to her, kisses him hard enough for Mr. Tyree to turn away. Relieved, John kisses her back, having already forgotten that she didn’t actually answer the question.

JOHN

I don’t know when my next leave will be...

Savannah nods, understanding.

JOHN

But I’ll see you soon then?

Savannah kisses him again. Knows what her line is here, too.

SAVANNAH

I’ll see you soon then.

132       
INT. MILITARY C-17 PLANE
-- DAY

John lays awake in his nest.

133       
INT. HANGAR
-- STUTTGART, GERMANY -- DAY

Captain Stone walks in, his nose buried in a brief. The pallets are all packed now.

CAPTAIN STONE

Welcome back, guys. Hope everybody had a good--

He stops when he looks up to find a row of his men, all standing at attention. For this crew, it’s a rare instance of military formality. Stone sighs, knowing what it means.

CAPTAIN STONE

So that’s it then? It’s unanimous?

No one answers... until John steps up from behind the other men, joins them on the line. Stands at attention with his team. Stone sighs again, knowing what that means as well.

CAPTAIN STONE

Okay. I’ll get the paperwork started.

Rooster grabs John, putting him in a friendly headlock.

ROOSTER

Hooah! Let’s go light em up! Kabul here we come!

John quickly flips Rooster around, ducking out of the headlock and depositing him on the table behind them.

CAPTAIN STONE

We’re not going to Kabul. We’re going to Harat.

ROOSTER

Harat? Where the hell is Harat?

What the hell’s
in
Harat?

CAPTAIN STONE

Our orders.

134       
EXT. AFGHANISTAN
-- DAY

Shots of the city (possibly archival footage).

135       
EXT. CITY STREET
-- DAY

John and his team walk down the nearly empty street.

135A     
INT. C-17
-- DAY (SECOND UNIT)

An air drop seen from inside the belly of a C-17.

136       
EXT. DROP AREA
-- DAY

Noodles sorts through a kicker pallet. Finds the mailbag, holds it up to show it to John.

137       
EXT. DROP AREA
-- DAY

Another drop. John rips the mailbag open -- smiles when he finds two letters from Savannah.

138       
OMIT

138A     
CLOSE-UPS OF LETTERS BEING WRITTEN
-- (SECOND UNIT)

By both John and Savannah’s hands.

138B     Words fill the entire screen -- words like: OCTOBER 2001 -- BACK IN CLASS -- DECEMBER -- CHRISTMAS IN HARAT --

All over alternating shots of John and Savannah --

138C     
INT. AFGHANISTAN BASE CAMP
-- DAY -- JOHN --

-- rotely assembles a weapon as each piece snaps in with a CLICK, CLICK, CLICK, while --

138D     
INT. STAGE MINI-SET
-- DAY -- SAVANNAH --

--is in class, sitting next to the slide projector again, writing a letter as the slides CLICK, CLICK, CLICK, and the white light turns into a --

138E     
MOON AND THEN MATCHING SUN
-- (SECOND UNIT)

--whatever montage Lasse envisions here over --

138F     
MORE CLOSE-UPS OF WORDS IN THE LETTERS
-- (SECOND UNIT)

SPRING BREAK AGAIN -- IT’S BEEN ONE YEAR -- JUNE 8, 2002 -- MISS YOU -- DEAR JOHN --

139     
OMIT

140       
INT. AFGHANISTAN BASE CAMP
-- DAY -- JOHN --

-- carefully folds three letters from Savannah back into their envelopes and slips them on top of the tidy stack in his footlocker, which is now a good eight inches tall.

140A     
INT. STAGE MINI-SET
-- NIGHT -- SAVANNAH --

-- is in bed, staring out the window at the moonlight while...

140B     
EXT. AFGHANISTAN BASE CAMP
-- DAY -- JOHN --

--sweating in a t-shirt underneath the Middle Eastern sun, wearily walks an AFGHAN he’s training through a target course. The Afghan misses most of his shots as John -- calm but disinterested -- offers guidance (all done over the shoulder as seen in Gavin’s video).

JOHN

Lower. Slower. Focus. Focus.

140C     
MORE CLOSE-UP OF WORDS
-- (SECOND UNIT)

SEPTEMBER -- SOON -- I HOPE -- DECEMBER -- LETTER #103 -- DEAR SAVANNAH -- ANOTHER CHRISTMAS HERE --

140D     
SHOTS OF KICKER PALLETS
-- (SECOND UNIT)

Landing and stirring up dust, until --

140E     
INT. AFGHANISTAN BASE CAMP
-- DAY -- JOHN --

-- rotely disassembles the same weapon as before, CLICK, CLICK, CLICK as he resentfully stares at a few of the others who are lounging around reading letters from home --

140F     
INT. AFGHANISTAN BASE CAMP
-- DAY -- JOHN --

-- trails Noodles as he distributes the letters from another mailbag.

NOODLES

Sorry, man. I’m just handin out what’s in here.

JOHN

Well we’re obviously not getting the whole delivery anymore...

But Noodles hands a stack of letters to Starks, effectively contradicting him. Looks back at John sympathetically...

NOODLES

I don’t know what to tell you.

...who storms away, calls over his shoulder.

JOHN

You can tell me that you’ll look into it, that’s what you can tell me.

140G     
TIGHT SHOTS OF THE KICKER PALLET
-- (SECOND UNIT)

Boxes being cut open... tape sealing the mailbag being ripped off -- shuffling through letters -- nothing left in the bag --

140H     
BLEEDING OVER MORE CU’S OF WRITTEN WORDS
-- (SECOND UNIT)

WRITE ME BACK? -- YOU OKAY? -- WHERE ARE YOU?

140I     
EXT. AFGHANISTAN BASE CAMP
-- DAY -- JOHN --

--wearily walks the same AFGHAN through the same target course, shot from the same over-the-shoulder POV.

But now, not only is he bundled up in three layers of clothing because it’s so cold, but he’s even more disinterested and distracted than before.

JOHN

(rote)

Good. Good. Good. Good.

141       
INT. AFGHANISTAN BASE CAMP
-- CAPTAIN STONE’S TENT -- NIGHT

John makes a spontaneous late night call on the team’s new SATELLITE PHONE. As he types in all the digits --

VARIOUS SHOTS OF SAVANNAH (ALREADY FILMED)
--

Cut to each CLICK of each number being dialed until it RINGS, and RINGS, and RINGS, and then...

142-146
OMIT

147       
EXT. AIR DROP SITE
-- DAY

John, still and silent, stares at a new dropped kicker pallet. Noodles, however, hurries right over, searching until he finds the mailbag.

Finally, John reluctantly walks over. Noodles looks up at him as he approaches.

JOHN

Seriously. It’s been eight weeks since the last one. You’ve gotta have, like, eight or nine letters for me in there, right?

Noodles digs into the mailbag... and pulls out a SINGLE LETTER.

JOHN

Is this the only one? This can’t be the only one.

But Noodles looks away. It is. He hands it over to John.

It’s a familiar sight. It’s got Savannah’s handwriting on it. It’s in her normal clean, white envelope.

But it brings John no comfort. Instead, this lone letter scares him to death.

148       
EXT. HILL
-- LATER

John sits, far enough away from the others to have privacy.

Carefully, he opens the envelope. Unfolds both sheets of paper inside. This one begins as they always do.
Dear John...

He takes a deep breath. And then he reads the rest.

ON JOHN’S HANDS -- as they start to shake.

ON JOHN’S FACE -- as every muscle tenses.

ON JOHN’S EYES -- as he does not cry.

ON JOHN -- sitting perfectly still on this crate, reading and rereading this letter, all alone on the horizon.