EXT. WOODS - NIGHT

Pearl and Walker make love in a makeshift outdoor bed, Pearl on top.

Pearl (through heavy breathing): What are we doing?

Walker (through heavy breathing): At this moment?

Pearl: Does this just end after Labor Day?

Walker: Do we have to talk about this now?

Pearl: Yes. (beat) I need a plan.

Walker stops his movement but remains inside her, trying to catch his breath.

Walker: I thought you were tired of the box you're in. You want to put us in a box too?

Pearl gets off of him.

Pearl: I want to know where this is going. Am I just gonna wave goodbye to you on Labor Day and say "see ya around"?

Suddenly it thunders.

Walker: You think you'll know the answer to that if we make "a plan"?

Pearl: I've got a husband, two kids, a mother-in-law who knows about us - I need some direction here!

Walker: Well, I can't give that to you. You've gotta figure out what you want.

Pearl: There's two of us here, Walker. What do you want?

Walker: I want you. Right here. This moment.

Pearl: That's not reality

Walker: So what's reality, Pearl? A lifetime guarantee?

Pearl: I'm not asking for that. I just want you to take some responsibility for what we're doing here! My life isn't like yours, Walker. You don't have other people depending on you -

Walker: You have no fucking idea what my life is like! But if that's how you want to see it, Pearl, O.K. - I'm the free spirit, and you're the trapped housewife who needs me to rescue you.

It starts to rain. Pearl goes to gather her clothes.

Pearl: Fine. Forget plans. Maybe I'll be waiting for your bus next time or maybe I won't.

**********

INT. BUNGALOW BEDROOM - NIGHT

Pearl's asleep.

Walker: (Outside) Pearl!

She stirs.

Walker: (Outside) Pearl! It's me!

Pearl groggily sits up and squints towards the window, seeing Walker through the screen.

Pearl (whispers): What are you doing here?!

Walker: I don't wanna lose you, Pearl.

Pearl: Ssshhh.

She moves to the window and taps a moth off the screen.

Walker: You asked me for a plan. Well, I had a plan...Me and my brother - we were gonna start a constructing business, fix up old houses around here. And once we made enough money so Mom could take care of herself, he and I were gonna head out to California, start a new life... But then Billy came home in a body bag - now I can't even get mom out of the house - and I'm here selling blouses.

Pearl: I'm sorry... I didn't realize...

Walker: The thing is - the thing is that since I met you, Pearl - everything's better. (beat) I don't wanna lose you. We need to work this out.

Pearl touches the screen as if touching his cheek.

Pearl: Marty will be here tomorrow.

Walker: I know.

Pearl: After the weekend...

Walker: O.K.

Pearl: O.K.

Walker: I love you, Pearl.

Pearl reacts, surprised. She kisses him through the screen.

INT. WALKER'S BUS - NIGHT

ON PEARL

Cacking a hit off a joint, trying her best to hold it in. She and Walker sit together in a big pile of blouses. The radio softly plays "Dock Of The Bay."

Pearl (taking a toke): I was the runner-up of the Erasmus High School "Brooklyn Day" Essay Contest. (Holding in the smoke) Renee Feinstein only won 'cause she wrote hers in the shape of Brooklyn. A cheap gimmick.

She exhales, coughing.

Walker (taking joint): So did you want to be a writer when you grew up?

Pearl: A journalist. (cracking up) Can you imagine? "Pearl Kantrowitz, Girl Reporter."

Walker: Why not?

Pearl: Things happen, you know? And then...things don't happen.

A sad look crosses Walker's face.

Walker: You should write, Pearl.

Pearl: I do sometimes. I mean, nothing important to anyone else...I write in this diary I bought Alison for her birthday a couple of years ago. She never used it, so I kept it for myself.

Walker (flirtatiously): Have you written anything about me?

Pearl (flirting back): None of your business. (beat) So, are you doing what you want to be doing with your life?

Walker: At this moment I am.

A beat. She kisses him, then takes the joint.

Pearl: Who were you before you were the Blouse Man?

Walker: I was the Go-Cart Man.

**********

EXT. FUN FAIR/GO CART AREA - NIGHT

Pearl and Walker screech around the track on go-carts, racing each other, laughing. The amusement park is closed. Walker crashes into Pearl and then she swerves to the side, gets behind him and crashes into him. He speeds up, then U-turns so they're heading right for each other. Pearl swerves at the last second to avoid him. Finally, Walker slams on the brakes and Pearl follows suit, laughing hysterically. They lean over and kiss, then Pearl climbs onto Walker's lap. Walker steps on the gas, startling her. She holds on to him, laughing as he tears around the track. Pearl's sneaker falls onto the track, and as Walker spins back around, he drives over it. Pearl cracks up.

Walker locks up the gate to the go-cart area, and Pearl hangs on him, still stoned.

Pearl (seductively): Hey, Walker - will you do something for me?

QUICK CUT TO:

A DOUBLE SCOOP CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM CONE WITH CHOCOLATE SPRINKLES

WIDER - EXT. POPPY'S ICE CREAM PARLOR - NIGHT

Walker hands the cone to Pearl through the open window of the bus. She tastes it, in ecstasy, when suddenly she hears:

Neil: (Outside) I didn't even finish!

Rhoda: (Outside) You'll eat it on the way home.

Pearl hands Walker the cone and ducks.

ANGLE - RHODA AND NEIL exit the ice cream parlor with takeout bags.

Neil: How am I supposed to eat a hot fudge sundae while I'm driving?

Rhoda: Trust me, O.K.? We have to get home right now.

Rhoda sees Walker on the side of his bus, holding Pearl's dripping cone.

Rhoda: Well, hello Mr. Blouse Man.

INT. BUS - CONTINUOUS

Pearl's on hands and knees as she crawls towards the back of the bus, then into the dressing room and closes the curtain.

EXT. BUS - CONTINUOUS

Walker smiles hello and raises the cone in greeting.

Walker: Beautiful night, isn't it?

Rhoda: Gorgeous.

Rhoda smiles coyly, then leads Neil to their car.

INT. BUS - A MOMENT LATER

Pearl: They're gonna tell Marty.

Walker: They didn't see you.

He holds out the cone. She doesn't take it.

Pearl: I'm committing adultery, aren't I?

Walker: You don't have to call it that.

Pearl: What would you call it?

Walker: Engaging in an unconventional form of self-expression.

A beat.

Pearl: I'm committing adultery.

EXT. WATERFALL - DAY

Pearl and Walker fuck with wild abandon, clothes askew, standing against the rockface of a mountain leading up to a waterfall. We hear the loud sound of the waterfall rushing down, and see the spray of water beside the mountain. Pearl's against the damp, black rock, digging her nails into Walker's back, pulling on his hair. They kiss passionately as if trying to devour each other.

EXT. WATERFALL - LATER

Pearl sits with her back up against a boulder. Walker lying on his back with his head in her lap. He has a weed in his mouth, and Pearl runs her fingers through his hair. Pearl soaks up the sun on her face.

Walker: I missed you.

Pearl: Me too.

Walker: I didn't think you'd come back.

Pearl: I love my husband, but it's like we're in this box together. No air, no windows.

Walker listens to her.

Walker: I'm sorry.

Pearl continues to play with his hair.

Pearl: I don't know anything about you.

Walker: You know enough.

Pearl: I don't know who answered the phone when I called your house.

Walker: (after a beat) My mother.

Pearl looks surprised. Suddenly, Walker jumps up.

Walker: Put your shoes on.

Pearl: What?

He quickly slips on his sandals.

Walker: Come on.

Pearl puts on her shoes and Walker takes her hand, rushing around to the base of the mountain.

Pearl: What are we doing?

Walker starts climbing up the side of the mountain, taking Pearl with him.

Pearl: I can't climb mountains! I'm from Brooklyn.

Walker: Yes you can.

THE MOUNTAIN - LATER

Pearl huffs and puffs as they reach the top, Walker pulling her up. The roar of the waterfall is so loud that they have to raise their voices to hear each other. Pearl looks out at the view.

THEIR POV

A spectacular view of the Catskill mountains.

BACK TO PEARL AND WALKER

Walker: See what you would have missed?

Pearl: God. It's gorgeous.

He moves to the edge of the cliff and holds out his hand.

Walker: Ready?

Pearl's horrified.

Pearl: Are you crazy?

Walker: We'll be together.

Pearl looks down.

HER POV - The water looks very far below them.

BACK TO PEARL, panic-stricken.

Pearl: I can't.

Walker: You can. I know you can.

He takes her hand and tries to lead her to the edge.

Walker: Come on. On the count of three.

Pearl emphatically shakes her head NO. Walker puts his hands on her shoulder, trying to calm her down.

Walker: O.K., O.K. Should we just climb back down?

Pearl looks down at the water again, wanting to be able to do this.

Pearl: You go first.

Walker looks at her, then walks to the edge. He extends a hand to her. Pearl shakes her head NO. Walker looks out at the view, exhales, then jumps, yelling as he soars through the air and plunges into the water.

ON WALKER

As he emerges from the icy water, exhilarated. He looks up at Pearl.

Walker: It's fantastic! You'll love it!

Pearl looks down at Walker, then looks back behind her at the alternative.

ON WALKER

Walker: It's up to you, Pearl. You can struggle your way down the mountain - or you can fly.

PEARL

Stands at the edge, scared shitless. She takes a deep breath, then jumps, screaming her lungs out as she soars through the air. She submerges under the water, then surfaces, screaming in exhilaration, jumping into Walker's goosefleshed arms.

**********

(After Walker picks a drenched Pearl up on the bus.)

INT. BUS - CONTINUOUS

Pearl climbs on board, dripping. Blood seeps through her wet grocery bag. Walker reaches back into his built-in supply cabinet, and pulls out a neatly folded towel.

Walker: This might be useful.

Pearl: Thanks.

She takes the towel and starts to dry her face.

INT. BUS - MOVING - DAY

Walker drives the bus on a country road. Pearl sits next to him in a makeshift passenger's seat. She is extremely uncomfortable, and adjust her wet curlers.

Walker (indicating the curlers): Looks painful.

Pearl: My husband comes up tonight.

Walker: And he likes you this way?

Her look says "very funny."

Walker: How do those things work, anyway?

With one hand still on the wheel, he reaches for a curler and gently eases it out of Pearl's hair. Pearl tenses as he does so. Walker inspects the curler, then undoes his pony tail and fumbles as he tries, one-handed, to roll a lock of his hair onto the curler.

Pearl: No. This way.

She adjusts the curler. The heat between them is palpable. She snaps the curler into place, then sits back into her seat. The bus chugs up The Hill into The Bungalow Colony.

Walker: So now what?

Pearl: What?

Walker: How long do I need to wait?

Pearl: Oh - at least a few hours. It's better if you sleep with them.

A beat.

Walker: You slept with those?

Pearl: You get to used to it.

The bus pulls to a stop outside The Main House. Walker tries to take the curler out but it's tangling in his hair.

Walker: Could you? Wouldn't want to lose any of my hair.

Pearl: You've got plenty.

He cocks his head in her direction. She hesitates, then deftly un-clips the curler and slides it out of his hair.

Pearl: Well...(indicating her bloody grocery bag) My brisket's leaking.

She drops the curler into the bag.

Pearl: Thanks for the ride.

Walker: Any time.

Pearl exits the bus.

EXT. BUNGALOW COLONY - CONTINUOUS

The rain has stopped as suddenly as it started, the sky clear and blue. Pearl walks up the path toward her bungalow, one lock of hair hanging free.

EXT. WALKER'S HOUSE - DAY

Pearl's at the front door of this brown wood-frame house and Walker opens it. She puts her arms around him and her head on his chest. He strokes her hair.

INT. WALKER'S HOUSE - DAY

In a dark old-fashioned room with antimacassars on the furniture, Cynthia Jerome, 50, watches The Jack LaLanne Show.

A once attractive woman with sad, tired eyes, her depression seems to permeate the room, as does the cigarette smoke from her chain-smoking. There's an overflowing ashtray beside her. Pearl tentatively waits in the doorway as Walker approaches his mother.

PEARL'S POV

A crucifix over the fireplace, and, on the mantel, a framed photo of a young man in a soldier's uniform, with a purple heart inside the frame. He resembles Walker.

BACK TO SCENE

Walker: Mom - this is Pearl.

He beckons for Pearl to come forward.

Pearl: Hello, Mrs. Jerome.

Mrs. Jerome keeps her eyes on the TV.

Walker: Mom - can you say hello?

Mrs. Jerome: Hello.

Walker gives Pearl an apologetic look.

Pearl (still trying): Nice to meet you.

INT. HALLWAY - DAY

Walker leads Pearl down the hallway, where her eyes linger on a framed Christian Sampler on the wall. They pass a young man's tidy bedroom, then enter Walker's room at the far left end of the hall.

INT. WALKER'S BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS

A portable stereo plays the Door's "Crystal Ship". Walker's room is a lush oasis in this otherwise austere house: candles are lit, incense is burning, a sea-green velvet bedspread tops a large waterbed, a thick shag rug cushions the floor, the walls: the Jefferson Airplane, Hendrix, an anti-war rally in Monticello. There's an attractive hash pipe and a pyramid shaped candle on a velvet-topped nightstand.

Pearl surveys the inviting surroundings. On the wall above the dresser is a Draft notice declaring Walker "JA: Registrant deferred by reason of extreme hardship to dependents." On the velvet-topped dresser is a framed picture next to a roach clip and a package of red licorice. Pearl picks up the photo: Walker, around age 12, with his arm around the boy (then 8) seen in the previous picture. They're dressed like pirates.

Walker lights the candle on his nightstand, then crosses to Pearl and takes her into his arms.

Walker (gently): How does California sound?

Pearl looks at him, uncomprehending.

Walker: Me, you and your kids get into my bus - we'll camp across the country - sleep under the stars - find a place in San Francisco and start a new life.

Pearl doesn't know what to say.

Walker: It's a plan, Pearl.

She attempts a smile, then gently breaks the embrace.

Pearl: What about your mother? She'll be all alone.

Walker: I've been taking care of her for so long - it's not doing either of us any good anymore. I'll find someone to help her, make sure she has everything she needs - but I need to move on - and I wanna move on with you.

Pearl listens, feeling overcome with weariness. She crosses to the waterbed, sits cautiously and it sloshes.

Pearl: I think...I think I need to rest for a few minutes. Is that O.K.?

Walker: Sure.

Pearl lies down on the bed, shutting her eyes. Walker watches her for a moment, then covers her with a blanket.

EXT. KANTROWITZ BUNGALOW - DAY

Lillian carries Daniel. Screaming and crying, towards the bungalow.

INT. BUNGALOW - BATHROOM - DAY

P.A. ANNOUNCER (Outside)
Attention Pearl Kantrowitz. Please return to your bungalow immediately. Pearl Kantrowitz, please return to your bungalow immediately.

Lillian has Daniel on the edge of the sink, and gingerly removes his shirt. Alison rushes in, out of breath.

Alison: I can't find her. I looked everywhere.

INT. WALKER'S ROOM - LATER

Pearl, sleeping on her side, opens her eyes abruptly. She turns onto her back and sees Walker asleep beside her, facing away from her. She sits up and looks around the room.

Pearl: Walker?

Walker: Hmmm?

Pearl: Can you take me home?

EXT. BUNGALOW COLONY/INT. WALKER'S BUS - DAY

Pearl and Walker kiss goodbye in his bus. There's a sudden banging on the window and Pearl jumps: Mrs. Dymbort is at the window. Pearl opens it. We don't hear what's said, but Pearl jumps out of the bus and starts running, Walker following.

**********

EXT. WALKER'S HOUSE - DAY

It's a sunny early morning, and Walker's crossing to the side of his bus with a box of blouses. Pearl approaches, holding his washed red t-shirt.

Pearl: Hi.

Walker turns and smiles.

Walker: Hi. How's Daniel?

Pearl: Better...He's O.K.

Walker: Good.

He puts down the box and starts to move towards her to kiss her. Pearl holds out the shirt.

Pearl: I can't go.

Walker is silent. He takes the shirt.

Pearl: My family...I just...

Walker: I'm in love with you. I want you to come with me.

Pearl: I know. (beat) I love Marty. I love my children. I've hurt them...I need to try to make things work...I want to.

A beat.

Walker: What you and I have, Pearl...It can't just be erased.

Pearl: It won't be.

She touches his arm. They stand there for a moment.

Pearl: What will you do?

Walker: I'm not sure...Maybe I'll go anyway. It's time, you know?

Pearl fights tears. Walker reaches over and gently touches her cheek.

Walker: I'd rather sleep under the stars with you, Pearl.

Pearl puts her hand over his, closes her eyes for a beat, then opens them.

Pearl: I have to go.

He nods. Pearl moves towards him and they embrace for a long time. Walker looks at her, then kisses her. Pearl lets the kiss happen, then breaks the embrace.

She starts to walk away, then turns back around.

Pearl: Walker? Do you think I made a fool of myself?

Walker: How do you feel?

Pearl: I felt beautiful.

He looks at her, confirming her answer. She smiles and walks off.