from Sunday River
by Eric Diekhans
Set in 1946, Sunday River is the story of Reed, a 15-year-old
pastor's daughter who becomes enmeshed in a torrid friendship with
Hester, a 16-year-old newcomer. Reed's relationship with Hester is
a metaphor for a postwar society plunged headlong into a strange
new world that it never imagined. In the following passage, the
girls have just gone to bed after playing a game of Bloody Mary
with Reed's eclectic mother, Helen.
INT. REED'S BEDROOM - LATER
Moonlight streams through the window, casting soft blue
shadows. Reed and Hester lie in bed under the covers.
REED
Are you still scared?
HESTER
No, are you?
REED
Of course not.
HESTER
Your mom's all right.
REED
Yeah. Especially when my dad isn't around.
HESTER
Do they love each other?
REED
I never thought about it. Don't your parents?
HESTER
Maybe. A long time ago.
REED
Why'd they get married?
HESTER
She was beautiful and he was
a doctor. You know how it is.
Reed doesn't.
REED
How do you know you found the
right person?
HESTER
I don't know. You think a guy
is going to be nice but he
turns out to be a jerk.
That's why I like the bad
ones.
( laughing)
Expect nothing and you won't
be disappointed.
REED
Have you had a lot of
boyfriends?
HESTER
(shrugging)
Five.
REED
Five! That's a lot.
HESTER
Five that count.
REED
What do you mean, count?
HESTER
More than just kissing a boy
in the coat closet.
REED
( shocked)
You've kissed boys in a coat
closet?
HESTER
Where else would you kiss
them?
Reed looks away, embarrassed. But her curiosity pushes
her forward.
REED
Have you ever done anything
else with them?
HESTER
( wryly)
Like go to the movies?
REED
No!
She hesitates a long time before…
REED
You know, like in the book.
There is a long silence.
HESTER
Two of them.
REED
( blurting out)
That's a sin!
HESTER
Why?
REED
You're supposed to be married.
HESTER
If you really like the guy,
then it doesn't feel that
way. At least not till after.
Reed is shocked and intrigued.
REED
What's it like?
HESTER
Sometimes it hurts. But when
it's right… Have you ever
been on a roller coaster?
REED
No.
The girls are quiet for a while. Then…
HESTER
Do you want me to show you?
REED
What do you mean?
Hester scoots closer to Reed. She moves her hand to
Reed's face. Reed shrinks back.
HESTER
I'm not going to hurt you.
Hester gently touches Reed's face. Reed pulls away,
giggling with embarrassment.
REED
I can't.
HESTER
( teasing)
You can't what?
REED
I just can't. It's too…
HESTER
Weird?
REED
Yes.
Hester puts her hand down and returns to her side of
the bed.
HESTER
You don't have to.
REED
( quickly)
No, I do. I want to.
HESTER
Are you sure?
Reed wavers, then nods.
Hester slides back to her. She touches Reed's face
again. Reed titters, but bites her lip to control it.
REED
Go ahead.
Hester gently strokes Reed's hair, her cheek, her
eyelids.
Reed begins to relax a little. She closes her eyes.
REED
It feels good.
HESTER
You can tell what a guy is
like by how he touches you.
REED
And how he kisses.
HESTER
How do you know that?
REED
I heard it in a movie.
HESTER
It's not like the movies.
Hester leans forward and touches her lips to Reed's.
Reed's eyes fly open in surprise.
REED
Why did you do that?
Hester is perfectly calm.
HESTER
Do you want me to stop?
Reed thinks about it.
REED
I don't know.
There is fear and desire in her voice.
HESTER
If you get scared just tell
me. I'll stop.
REED
( quietly)
Okay.
Hester puts her hand under the blanket and moves it to
Reed's breast.
HESTER
He can touch you here.
Reed starts to shiver uncontrollably. She pulls the
blankets tightly around her.
REED
I'm cold.
Hester wraps arms and legs around Reed.
Reed's shivering subsides.
HESTER
Stop now?
REED
No.
Hester's hand is a ripple moving down Reed's stomach,
below her waist.
HESTER
He can touch you here.
Panicked, Reed leaps out of bed.
REED
Don't do that!
Reed paces back and forth. Hester sees the fear in
Reed's eyes.
HESTER
Because God will punish you?
REED
He will.
HESTER
Then why did he make it feel so good?
Reed stops and considers this.
REED
My mom says it's a gift from God.
HESTER
So if it's yours, then you
should be the one who gets to
decide what to do with it.
Reed slowly climbs back into bed. Hester reaches out
her hand again, but this time places her open palm
against Reed's forehead.
HESTER
Gilda.
Reed takes Hester's hand and slips it under the covers.
HESTER
Are you sure?
Reed nods her head.
REED
Gilda.
Hester moves her hand down again.
REED'S FACE…
tells it all.
First apprehension.
Then surprise.
Finally pleasure.
Hester witnesses all these changes. Her breath caresses
Reed's cheek.
Reed closes her eyes tightly, bites her lower lip, and
emits a low moan.
Reed opens her eyes again, amazed.
HESTER
Well?
Both girls crack up, trying but failing to stifle their laughter.
EXT. BANCROFT HOME - EARLY DAWN
The moon has set. The sky is now a dull gray.
INT. REED'S BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS
Reed's eyes pop open.
She is sprawled next to Hester, who still sleeps
soundly. The covers are twisted and tangled, mostly on
the floor.
Reed rolls over, her back to Hester.
She comes face to face with a picture of Jesus on her
nightstand.
They stare at each other, neither saying a word.
In the distance, a rooster crows.
A wave of guilt washes over Reed's face.
Reed vaults out of bed. She throws on her bathrobe and
slippers. Pausing to take a last look at Hester's
peaceful form, she turns and flies out of the bedroom.
INT. HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS
Reed scampers through the hallway, down the stairs…
EXT. BACKYARD - CONTINUOUS
…and out the back door.
Crushing a trail in the dew-soaked grass, she heads towards the nearby…
EXT. WOODS - CONTINUOUS
Reed races down the path, scattering birds and
squirrels in her wake.
She loses one slipper, tosses the other aside.
Finally, she reaches her destination.
EXT. RIVERBANK - CONTINUOUS
Slipping and sliding down the slope, she pauses a
moment to slip off her robe, then plunges, pajamas and
all, into the cool, clear water.
Reed dives under. The water calms.
Her head breaks the surface, hair dripping wet, eyes
filled with the river and tears.
Eric Diekhans is an award-winning screenwriter, television producer, and filmmaker. His dramatic coming-of-age screenplay Sunday River won the 2004 Illinois/Chicago Screenplay Competition, was a semifinalist for the Nicholl Fellowships, and placed in ten other competitions. His work was featured in the Chicago ScriptWorks screenplay reading series and at the 2003 and 2005 CineStory Writers Retreats in Idyllwild, California. In 1999, he was the recipient of an Illinois Arts Council Artists Fellowship in screenwriting. Diekhans is co-founder of a long-running screenwriting group and a contributor to The Writing Group Book, published by Chicago Review Press.
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