Runaway Bride

 EXT. SOFTBALL FIELD - LATER THAT DAY

 CLOSE ON:

 The slow, loopy pitch of a softball.  A bat connects.

 NEW ANGLE:

 A big wholesome man, CORY, runs for first base.  He just beats
 out the throw.  Bob, acting as umpire, yells, "Safe!"  Happy,
 Cory turns to the stands and waves.

 ANGLE ON:

 Maggie and Peggy, cheering loudly.  Peggy tries to whoop harder
 than Maggie, but that would be tough.  From firs base, Cory waves
 back to them.  The two women sit back down and Maggie takes back
 up with their conversation.  Maggie is still al steamed up.

       MAGGIE
  Okay, he's on base.  Can we talk about
  my life now?  -- Ike's going to turn
  that tattoo stuff into a big deal --
  that I was never serious about Gill,
  blah blah.  He's totally out to get me.

       PEGGY
  For what reason?  Some personal
  satisfaction?

       MAGGIE
  That's what he says, but if he thinks
  that I don't realize he's writing
  another article, then he's an idiot.

       PEGGY
  It's probably because you got him fired.

       MAGGIE
   (sarcastic)
  Ya think?

       PEGGY
  Not that he doesn't deserve to get
  fired... Look!  Cory's going for
  second!... Sneaky!

 ANGLE ON:

 Cory as he runs for second base and with a slide beats the throw
 for the force out.  The women jump and cheer -- Maggie, again,
 the most boisterous.

 ANGLE ON:

 Dennis recognizes Ike as he walks up.  Dennis tells Ike that he
 is going to marry Maggie some day and shows Ike where Maggie is
 sitting.

 ANGLE ON:

 Maggie spots Ike as they sit back down.  She groans.

       MAGGIE
  There he is.  Snoop Doggy-Dogg.

       PEGGY
  Where?

       MAGGIE
  Over there.  Ten o'clock.  He's talking
  to our little Dennis.  Dennis will turn
  into one of those "sources say" things.

       PEGGY
  He looks better with that stuff out of
  his hair.  He's an attractive man.

 Ike finds Maggie in the crowd and leaves Dennis.

       MAGGIE
  I'd say you've been in the sun too long. 
  You handle him, okay?  I could use five
  minutes off from that creep.

 Before Peggy can protest, Maggie climbs down off the bleachers
 and goes and stands near the dugout near the rest of Cory's team.

       PEGGY
  Okay, that's fine.  I can do that.

 Ike comes up to Peggy.

       IKE
  Hello, Peggy Phleming, "not the ice-skater".

 Ike indicates the seat next to Peggy.

       PEGGY
   (protesting weakly)
  That's Maggie's seat...

 Ike sits down comfortably.

       IKE
  ... And this is Maggie's beer.

 He starts drinking it.  ON THE FIELD, Cory is getting ready to
 steal third.

       IKE (cont'd)
  That your  husband out there?  Cory
  Phleming, a local radio announcer.

       PEGGY
  Have you listened to his morning show,
  "Wake up with ballplayer"?

       IKE
  Not yet.  I had a phlemless morning.  I
  hear he's a pretty good ballplayer.

       PEGGY
  This game is pretty important to him. 
  He made all-stars in high school, you
  know.

       IKE
  That must have made you proud.

 Peggy takes a small sip off her soda.

       PEGGY
  He was going with Maggie back then.
   (quickly)
  He was never one of her... I mean, they
  were never going to get... They just
  dated for a while.

 Cory dives in for third and makes it.  The crowd goes wild. 
 Peggy yells and jumps in.

       PEGGY (cont'd)
  Good job, honey!

 But Maggie's whoop sails out above it all.  Cory waves.  But not
 at Peggy.  He directs his delight at Maggie, who jumps up and
 down by the dugout.

 Ike looks between Cory, Maggie and finally, Peggy.  Peggy jerks
 her waving hand back down to her side and sits down.  Ike
 pretends not to have noticed.  The two watch as Maggie and Cory
 smile at each other.

       IKE
  It's nice that they're still friends.

       PEGGY
   (looking at Maggie
    and Cory)
  Oh, sure.  That was a long time ago. 
  See, she's not a man-hater at all. 
  She's very supportive of men...

 Next BATTER hits one to deep left field and it lands in the grave
 yard.  Cory scores, greeted by Maggie.  Ike and Peggy watch as
 Cory and Maggie belly-bump and high-five each other in
 celebration of Cory's play.  No looks at Peggy.  Ike keeps an
 empathetic silence, seeing that Peggy is truly hurt.

       PEGGY (cont'd)
  I'll be back in a second.

 Suddenly, Peggy stands, pushes past him and runs down the steps. 
 Maggie looks up just in time to catch Peggy's exit.  Ike pulls
 his tape recorder out of his pocket and starts speaking into it.

 Maggie shoots Ike an accusing look, walks up to him in the
 bleachers and sits next to him.

       MAGGIE
  You've been here for three minutes. 
  What did you do to her?

       IKE
  You can turn that finger around.

 Ike does an on-the-button imitation of Maggie jumping excitedly
 at Cory.  Now Maggie sees what he's getting at.

       MAGGIE
   (defensive)
  You misinterpret everything.  We've all
  been friends our whole lives.  But
  that's the types of relationship you
  wouldn't understand.

       IKE
  Obviously, I'm not the only one who
  doesn't understand it.  The USS Maggie
  leaves quite a wake... Excuse me.

 Ike walks away.  Alone, Maggie tries to seem enthused.

       MAGGIE
  See, I cheer good.  What is he, a cheer
  critic?

 EXT./INT. STREET/BAR - LATER - DUSK

 Sitting in front of Inn Hale Bar, we see the BARTENDER
 pantomiming holding the reins of a wildly galloping horse.  We've
 seen something like this before.  Maggie's wild ride away from
 her last wedding.  Ike laughs with Bartender just as Maggie
 drives by the bar and sees this.

       MAGGIE
   (to herself)
  This guy never stops.

 INT. ATLANTIC HOTEL - NIGHT

 Maggie walks up to the front desk of the hotel, where Lee is
 sleeping with his feet up.  She knocks his feet off the counter.

       MAGGIE
  Lee, hey, wake up.  Give me the key to
  the reporter's room.  I want to snoop
  around.

       LEE
   (handing her the key)
  Okay.  Second floor.

       MAGGIE
  Thanks.

       LEE
  Don't take anything big.

 Maggie moves up the stairs towards Ike's room.

 INT. ATLANTIC HOTEL - HALLWAY - MOMENTS LATER

 Maggie walks towards Ike's room, checks that no one sees her and
 enters.

 INT. IKE'S HOTEL ROOM - CONTINUOUS

 Maggie lets herself in the modest room and turns on the lights
 on.  She spots on audio cassette on the desk near the door.  She
 holds the cassette up to the light to read the hand-written
 label.  It says "Miles Davis" on it.  She pockets the tape.  She
 walks to the living room.

 MAGGIE'S POV:

 Ike has placed post-its on a framed picture, using the frame as a
 bulletin board.  Post-it notes lay out the information he has
 gathered under headings and subheadings.  Parents "Mother"
 deceased, subheaded by "Walter" and there is one for "Brian",
 "Gill", and "Bob".  Maggie smiles and shakes her head.  She rips
 one post-it down and reads it to herself.

       MAGGIE
   (reads)
  "How does she get all these guys to
  propose?  She's not that beautiful."
   (snorts)
  Bite me, paper boy.

 She begins ripping many of other post-it off the picture frame.

       MAGGIE (cont'd)
   (as she takes post-its)
  Rude...

 She's ripping them down, fast and furious, then shoves them in
 her shoulder bag.

 INT. ATLANTIC HOTEL HALLWAY - CONTINUING

 Ike comes down hallway as Harvey puts his shoes out to be shined.

 BACK INSIDE THE ROOM

 Maggie, looking around, discovers the wedding video on the
 coffee table and grabs that, too.

       MAGGIE (cont'd)
  Thief!

 THE SOUND OF A KEY IN THE DOOR makes Maggie jump.  She flees to
 the bathroom, and shuts and locks the door.  Just as Ike enters,
 he sniffs and looks around the room, instantly knowing something
 is up.  He sees all his notes gone and a glimpse of Maggie as she
 closes the bathroom door.  Ike is steaming.  A BUMP sounds from
 the bathroom.  He goes over to the door and tries the handle. 
 It's locked.  He starts to pound on the door.

       IKE
  All right, I know you're in there...
  You steal my research... You're messing
  with the first amendment now.  Open up. 
  Open up.  You got no place to go.

 INT. IKE'S HOTEL BATHROOM - CONTINUING

 Ike's wrong.  Maggie is already trying to open the first
 bathroom window.  It's stuck.  She climbs over the bathtub,
 opens that window and starts to climb out.

       IKE
  I want to have a very serious discussion
  with you as to why you're such a pain in
  the ass.

 We HEAR Ike slamming his body against the bathroom door.

 As Ike breaks in, he runs to the window and yells after her.

 EXT. IKE'S HOTEL WINDOW - CONTINUOUS

       IKE (cont'd)
  That's breaking and entering.  I'll call
  the sheriff.

       MAGGIE
  You do that.  And remind him he's
  bringing the wine to the luau.  Thanks.

 She disappears around the ledge of the building and runs off. 
 Ike's neighbor, Harvey, sits reading near his window.

       CUT TO:

 EXT. MAGGIE'S HOUSE - NIGHT

 Establishing.

 INT. MAGGIE'S HOUSE - NIGHT

 CLOSE ON:  A CASSETTE PLAYER.  We see the familiar handwritten
 label: "Miles Davis."  "Kind of Blue" plays as Maggie listens in
 a chair, looking shell-shocked, surrounded by the post-its she
 stole from Ike's room.  We see as she reads them: "Father, two-
 fisted drinker," "Peggy, best friend, but Peggy doesn't totally
 trust Maggie," "Bob" -- doesn't love him.  Overwhelmed, she
 finishes reading the last note, leans back, puts her feet up on
 the table, deep in the mood of the melancholy music. 

 The CAMERA MOVES on the last note on the floor next to her chair.
 It reads: "SHOWS NO REMORSE".

 FADE TO BLACK.

 FADE IN:

 EXT. MAIN STREET/BEAUTY PARLOR - NEXT DAY

 It's early morning.  Mrs. Pressman hands Peggy a cup of coffee
 to go.  Peggy walks to the beauty parlor, unlocks the front door
 and goes in.

 INT. BEAUTY PARLOR - DAY

 Peggy enters and starts about her opening duties.  She turns on
 the lights and turns and sees her friend, Maggie.

       MAGGIE
  Do you think I flirt with Cory?

 Peggy stops in her track.  Maggie is sitting curled up in a salon
 chair.  She looks like she hasn't slept.

       PEGGY
  Good morning to you, too.  You look good.

       MAGGIE
  Thank you.  Do you think I flirt with
  Cory?

       PEGGY
  Yes.

 Maggie looks miserable.

       MAGGIE
  I don't mean it.

 Peggy moves to the salon mirror near Maggie with her cup of
 coffee.

       PEGGY
  I know.  I think sometimes you just
  sort of spaz-out with random excess
  flirtation energy and it just lands on
  anything male that moves.

       MAGGIE
  On anything male that moves?  As
  opposed to anything male that doesn't
  move?

 Peggy pours her coffee out of its Styrofoam cup into a ceramic mug.

       PEGGY
  Like certain kinds of coral.

 Peggy sits in the salon chair next to Maggie.

       MAGGIE
  I'm going to kill myself.

       PEGGY
  Why?

       MAGGIE
  Because you think I'm all like... "Hey
  man, check me out".