The Three Wives of HENRY by Timothy Walden twalden4@juno.com FADE IN: INT. TUTTLE HOUSE - FAMILY ROOM - DAY 2003. HENRY TUTTLE and KATE ARDEN are doing kwa squats with hands on hips. KATE well, HENRY clueless. In his early forties, Henry is tall, a little heavy, and has nice legs. Kate is in her early forties and fit. Both wear loose clothing. KATE Keep your head up and your back straight. Tuck in your chin. HENRY tries. Tucks his chin in too much, then less. Straightens his back slightly. KATE (CONT'D) Keep your knees still, don't move them forward or back. HENRY looks skeptical, tries. HENRY I can't do that. I'll fall over. KATE Keep your shoulders over your knees, and your neck straight so your head goes forward, for balance. Don't go down so far. HENRY tries again. KATE comes over and sits on the floor in front of him. She holds his knees. KATE (CONT'D) Relax. Drop your shoulders. HENRY does. KATE (CONT'D) Start with your feet flat and your weight forward, in the center of your foot. Tuck your tail in and straighten your lower back. HENRY tries. KATE (CONT'D) Now, don't go down too far, so your weight only goes back a little. HENRY tries. HENRY I feel like I'm sitting down. KATE Good, that's what you want. KATEs sits up. HENRY does two more. KATE (CONT'D) Keep your head up, shoulders down, back straight, knees still, and feet flat. Move from your center, breathe from your belly, and relax. HENRY Anything else? KATE Yes, but that's enough for now. HENRY Tell me why I'm doing this again? KATE To reduce stress. HENRY Ah. LISA TUTTLE enters. Lisa is twenty. LISA Hi Mom, Dad. Am I interrupting? KATE Hi Lisa. No, I was just holding Henry's knees. LISA Oh. I'll come back. KATE It's ok. Did you go over the script? LISA Yes. The jelly donut bit is stupid. HENRY Well, maybe they'll change it. CUT TO: INT. JANE AND HARRY'S OFFICE - DAY 1978. HARRY YORK and JANE YORK staring into space. Harry is played by Henry Tuttle. Jane is thirty-four. HARRY I don't know what to write. Do you know what to write? JANE I don't know what to write. JANE goes and sits on a floor mat and does a half forward bend. HARRY looks skeptical. JANE (CONT'D) How about the fake magic object? HARRY What for? JANE sits up. JANE To cure Henry's stuttering. HARRY Henry doesn't stutter. JANE Ah. JANE does a half forward bend on the other side. HARRY How about Anna gets jealous? JANE sits up. JANE Of whom? HARRY Mrs. Atkins. JANE Not believable. Too old. HARRY Ah. JANE does a full forward bend. HARRY winces. JANE How about a guest star? HARRY Who? JANE sits up. JANE Lucille Ball. HARRY Is there anyone who does a good Lucy? JANE Um. How about Jimmy Stewart? HARRY He comes to the door collecting for the Red Cross? JANE Um. Well, we can't do John Belushi. He was only four in 1953. HARRY A baby John Belushi? JANE Samurai toddler? HARRY Um. JANE does a shoulder stand. HARRY looks resigned. JANE sits up. JANE How about Anna gets jealous of Mrs. Atkins's cooking, she doesn't think her lasagna is as good as Kate's beef stew, and tries to make something fancy? HARRY Chicken with grapes? JANE Crepe Suzettes? HARRY Blackened Berliner? JANE It was before Kennedy. HARRY Huh? JANE The way Kennedy used the word "Berliner" during his speech in Germany made it sound like he said "I am a jelly donut." HARRY Blackened? JANE Not stirred. HARRY So Anna sets the jelly donuts on fire and tries to pass them off as crepe suzettes? JANE Um. JANE lies back and does a fish. HARRY tries not to look too interested. TOM enters. In his early fifties, Tom is medium height and thin. TOM Do you have anything? HARRY Yes. JANE sits up. JANE Maybe. JANE walks over to the desk. JANE (CONT'D) Harry, we have the Tom Rush Concert tomorrow. Thank you for going with me. I know he's not your favorite. HARRY That's OK. I don't want you to have to go by yourself. TOM You're going to see him? I tried to get tickets, but they were sold out. HARRY You like him? TOM Yes, I've always been a fan of his. I try to see him whenever he's in town. HARRY and JANE look at each other, then turn smiling to TOM. CUT TO: INT. TUCKER APARTMENT - DAY A kitchenette, table and chairs, small living area, doorway opposite. ANNA TUCKER in the kitchen. Anna is in her late twenties and Italian. HENRY TUCKER enters. Henry is played by Harry York and is Irish. He is wearing a cloth cap. HENRY Hi Anna, I'm home. Henry walks across and takes off his cap. ANNA Hi Henry. How was your morning? HENRY Ugh. Don't ask. I drove all night and didn't enough fares to ... ANNA Stop. The doctor said you have to relax more, or you'll get another heart attack. Here, sit down and let me rub your neck. Does. HENRY starts to relax. He still has a tight and pained look. HENRY That feels good. ANNA You have a lot of tension here. Just let go. Think of somewhere peaceful. HENRY relaxes some more. Smiles a little. HENRY I wanted to do better for you, Anna. All these years and nothing to show for it, except doctor bills, worthless Jersey real estate, and a prison record. ANNA pauses. ANNA That can't be helped now. We should be thankful for what we have, a roof over our heads and food on the table. That's more than a lot of people have. HENRY Yes, you're right. HENRY looks down at the table. HENRY (CONT'D) What did I do to deserve you, Anna? ANNA smiles, resumes rubbing HENRY'S neck. ANNA You're a good man, Henry. HENRY looks thoughtful. MARY ATKINS knocks and enters. Mary is played by Lisa Tuttle. She is dressed for ballet practice. MARY Hi Anna. I'm here for our practice. Hello Mr. Tucker. Am I interrupting? ANNA Hi Mary. No, I was just rubbing Henry's neck. MARY Oh. I'll come back. ANNA It's ok. Just let me give Henry his juice and we can start. ANNA pours a glass of orange juice and puts it on the table in front of HENRY. MARY starts warming up. ANNA joins her. HENRY drinks his juice and watches them. ANNA (CONT'D) You know Henry, you could learn some ballet too, to help you relax. HENRY Me in a tutu? ANNA Men don't wear tutus, they wear tights. HENRY looks at her. ANNA (CONT'D) You don't have to wear tights. Just some baggy clothes to practice in. HENRY Um. HENRY walks over and gets his fiddle. He sits down and plays a tune in double time to their warming up movements. Smiles a little. Relaxes. ANNA smiles. MARY Mother wants to go to the Policemen's Ball next week, like she used to with dad. She doesn't want to lose touch with the guys on the force. ANNA You know how to dance, Henry. You could take her. Pete would have liked that. MARY Would you, Mr. Tucker? HENRY I don't know. I don't think an ex-con would be welcome. ANNA Don't be silly. You know lots of guys on the force, and they respect you. HENRY I talk to them on the street. A formal event is different. I Wouldn't want to make them uncomfortable. MARY It's not going to be all waltzes. They're going to have Irish music and contra dance too. You could sit in with band on some numbers so Morey would have a chance to dance with his wife. You've played with them before. HENRY I'd like to help. I owe it to Pete for helping me straighten out. But it doesn't seem right.