A topic best discused over pie...
INT. MEL’S DINER, HOLLYWOOD, CA - NIGHT
BEKI and JEFF are sitting in a booth near the windows. Outside, Highland St. is buzzing with tourists, club goers, and cars. Both are working their way through dessert, each stealing from each other on occasion.
BEKI is dressed in standard street clothes; however, her hair is still slightly set in a 40’s movie actress glamour style, a hold over from her movie shoot earlier that evening.
BEKI
So, you never told me you were an atheist.
JEFF
We generally keep to ourselves about that. We don’t have the recruiting quota the Christians do, so it’s best just not to bring it up.
JEFF takes a bite of his pie and looks up as he realizes there was more to be said.
JEFF (CONT.)
Is this a problem?
BEKI
No! No, I actually know a lot of atheists.
JEFF
I know, you come up at the meetings a lot.
BEKI
What meetings?
JEFF
(in a comically loud whisper)
I’ve said too much already…
BEKI
(laughing)
You know, that will keep you out of the Masons.
JEFF
I’m not sure if that’s your way of encouraging me to stop or continue at full speed.
BEKI
Good point. (Pause) I guess I’ve just had too many things happen in my life that make me keep believing. I mean, I’m certainly done with the church, I just keep God in the picture.
JEFF
A Deist then? That was my last step before atheism. I went Southern Baptist, Methodist, Deist, Atheist. Maybe you’ll shake the last part loose after awhile, I hear it’s pretty common.
BEKI
I don’t know… let me give you an example. While I was at USC, I worked briefly at Hollywood Park as a visitor services helper thingy. Every day when I went home, me and my friend Sharon used to take Normandy all the way home, even past Florence.
JEFF
I think I see where this is going.
BEKI
Well, on the day of the riots, we were sent home and would have passed right through the epicenter where that guy got pulled out of his truck and almost beat to death. However, I was distracted by something on the way home and I missed my turn, and took a whole different street, skipping the hot zone completely.
JEFF
And you think God had a hand in that?
BEKI
What else?
JEFF takes a drink of his gin and tonic and sits back in the booth with a sigh.
JEFF
When I lived on the other side of the Orange Curtain and was working with my friend Kevin at an advertising agency, we were supposed to go to lunch with a client. To add some foreshadowing, whenever we drove somewhere, Kevin always drove.
BEKI
Gotcha.
JEFF
Earlier that day, Kevin tells me that he was invited to the birthday of one of the Forbes kids and he wants to buy one of those farting president Bush dolls that I sell on my site as a gag gift… this was back when I was still small enough to have all of the stock in my apartment.
BEKI hums in agreement through her food.
JEFF (CONT.)
To pull this of, I leave for lunch early to run home and grab a doll and we agree to meet at the restaurant later. So, I get the doll and make it to the restaurant, but no Kevin. I wait a good 20 minutes, and still no Kevin and the client is waiting.
BEKI
Oh my God.
JEFF
Just then, Kevin calls, says he needs me to come and get him. I ask where he is and he tells me the corner of Edinger and something. I leave the client with one of the other people from the agency and head over. Still in the middle of the street is some oversized OC edition SUV and Kevin’s car… which has the passenger side completely smashed in to the point where most of the seat is destroyed.
BEKI
The same seat you would have been sitting in!
JEFF
Exactly. Now, because of this, should I now put my faith in President Bush or little dolls that fart and say funny stuff when you squeeze their fingers?
BEKI
Well, that’s kind of different… you could just as easily say God did it too.
JEFF
And that’s my point… To me, putting our faith is an all seeing being that never reveals himself to his worshipers is just as goofy a concept as putting your faith in a farting doll.
JEFF takes another drink of his gin and tonic.
JEFF (CONT.)
Now, this is not to say that your thinking is wrong… or that mine is right. The take away here is that neither of us will really ever know, so why not go with the theory that skips a lot of the guilt associated with worshiping a higher power?
BEKI
You’re good at this.
JEFF
It comes up a lot. People think I’m challenging their faith, but I’m not… I really don’t care. I’m just explaining how I got there, but questions of faith are a sensitive subject… wars have been started that way.
BEKI
Well, don’t worry, it’s not a show stopper.
Jeff pauses, takes the last bite of pie on his plate, swallows, then looks up.
JEFF
Why not?
-- END --
BEKI and JEFF are sitting in a booth near the windows. Outside, Highland St. is buzzing with tourists, club goers, and cars. Both are working their way through dessert, each stealing from each other on occasion.
BEKI is dressed in standard street clothes; however, her hair is still slightly set in a 40’s movie actress glamour style, a hold over from her movie shoot earlier that evening.
BEKI
So, you never told me you were an atheist.
JEFF
We generally keep to ourselves about that. We don’t have the recruiting quota the Christians do, so it’s best just not to bring it up.
JEFF takes a bite of his pie and looks up as he realizes there was more to be said.
JEFF (CONT.)
Is this a problem?
BEKI
No! No, I actually know a lot of atheists.
JEFF
I know, you come up at the meetings a lot.
BEKI
What meetings?
JEFF
(in a comically loud whisper)
I’ve said too much already…
BEKI
(laughing)
You know, that will keep you out of the Masons.
JEFF
I’m not sure if that’s your way of encouraging me to stop or continue at full speed.
BEKI
Good point. (Pause) I guess I’ve just had too many things happen in my life that make me keep believing. I mean, I’m certainly done with the church, I just keep God in the picture.
JEFF
A Deist then? That was my last step before atheism. I went Southern Baptist, Methodist, Deist, Atheist. Maybe you’ll shake the last part loose after awhile, I hear it’s pretty common.
BEKI
I don’t know… let me give you an example. While I was at USC, I worked briefly at Hollywood Park as a visitor services helper thingy. Every day when I went home, me and my friend Sharon used to take Normandy all the way home, even past Florence.
JEFF
I think I see where this is going.
BEKI
Well, on the day of the riots, we were sent home and would have passed right through the epicenter where that guy got pulled out of his truck and almost beat to death. However, I was distracted by something on the way home and I missed my turn, and took a whole different street, skipping the hot zone completely.
JEFF
And you think God had a hand in that?
BEKI
What else?
JEFF takes a drink of his gin and tonic and sits back in the booth with a sigh.
JEFF
When I lived on the other side of the Orange Curtain and was working with my friend Kevin at an advertising agency, we were supposed to go to lunch with a client. To add some foreshadowing, whenever we drove somewhere, Kevin always drove.
BEKI
Gotcha.
JEFF
Earlier that day, Kevin tells me that he was invited to the birthday of one of the Forbes kids and he wants to buy one of those farting president Bush dolls that I sell on my site as a gag gift… this was back when I was still small enough to have all of the stock in my apartment.
BEKI hums in agreement through her food.
JEFF (CONT.)
To pull this of, I leave for lunch early to run home and grab a doll and we agree to meet at the restaurant later. So, I get the doll and make it to the restaurant, but no Kevin. I wait a good 20 minutes, and still no Kevin and the client is waiting.
BEKI
Oh my God.
JEFF
Just then, Kevin calls, says he needs me to come and get him. I ask where he is and he tells me the corner of Edinger and something. I leave the client with one of the other people from the agency and head over. Still in the middle of the street is some oversized OC edition SUV and Kevin’s car… which has the passenger side completely smashed in to the point where most of the seat is destroyed.
BEKI
The same seat you would have been sitting in!
JEFF
Exactly. Now, because of this, should I now put my faith in President Bush or little dolls that fart and say funny stuff when you squeeze their fingers?
BEKI
Well, that’s kind of different… you could just as easily say God did it too.
JEFF
And that’s my point… To me, putting our faith is an all seeing being that never reveals himself to his worshipers is just as goofy a concept as putting your faith in a farting doll.
JEFF takes another drink of his gin and tonic.
JEFF (CONT.)
Now, this is not to say that your thinking is wrong… or that mine is right. The take away here is that neither of us will really ever know, so why not go with the theory that skips a lot of the guilt associated with worshiping a higher power?
BEKI
You’re good at this.
JEFF
It comes up a lot. People think I’m challenging their faith, but I’m not… I really don’t care. I’m just explaining how I got there, but questions of faith are a sensitive subject… wars have been started that way.
BEKI
Well, don’t worry, it’s not a show stopper.
Jeff pauses, takes the last bite of pie on his plate, swallows, then looks up.
JEFF
Why not?
-- END --