Previously: Todd: If you want me to insult your driving, I can do that. I was going to wait until you actually run us into a ditch, though. Or, until you forget about the gas gauge, like you tend to do, and we run out of gas.
Tea: One time. That only happened one time and that was years ago.
[Tea smiles as Todd laughs at her previous driving error. They quickly finish breakfast, pack up their things and are soon on the road again.]
[The former spouses are back in their car again. Tea is driving. Todd is looking at their road atlas, calculating how long it will take them to drive to the Grand Canyon.]
Todd: I knew we could do this in one day.
Tea: How far is it?
Todd: Not far.
Tea: We have to drive through an entire state to get there, I'd say it's a little far.
Todd: It's a little state. We can definitely do this in one day.
Tea: How many miles?
Todd: To the Grand Canyon?
Tea: Yes.
Todd: Not many.
Tea: How many?
Todd: Are you hungry? We could find a fast food restaurant with a drive-thru window and eat while we're driving.
Tea: We just had breakfast.
Todd: Oh, right.
Tea: How many miles?
Todd: We could listen to the radio for a while. They should have a salsa station around here, right?
Tea: How many miles?
Todd: Don't worry about it. Just keep driving and step on the pedal some.
Tea: I'm going the speed limit.
Todd: Exactly! Speed it up.
Tea: How long do you think it will take to get there?
Todd: With you driving like an old granny, probably several days.
Tea: You can't keep it from me for too long. As soon as we stop, I'll look at that atlas myself.
Todd: Okay. It's only slightly over eight hundred miles.
Tea: Eight hundred miles?!
Todd: We're practically there already.
Tea: How much over eight hundred?
Todd: Not much.
Tea: How much?
Todd: Maybe fifty or sixty miles.
Tea: Eight hundred and sixty miles?! You want to drive eight hundred and sixty miles in one day?
Todd: Why not?
Tea: Because that's too much.
Todd: If we drive at a decent speed and don't make any unnecessary stops, we'll be there by midnight...maybe.
Tea: We don't need to drive the whole way today.
Todd: Yeah, we do.
Tea: Why?
Todd: Because I want to.
Tea: Well, why do you want to?
Todd: I have my reasons.
Tea: Which are?
Todd: Fine. If we get the driving out of the way today, we can spend the rest of our trip locked in a room, in bed together...doing stuff.
Tea: Is that really why you want to drive so far today?
Todd: It's the reason that will convince you to do it...so, yeah, that's the reason.
Tea: Okay. We'll try it, but if it becomes clear that this isn't working out, we'll stop somewhere and spend the night. Agreed?
Todd: Who decides if this is working out?
Tea: I do.
Todd: No way, Delgado.
Tea: Okay, we'll decide together.
Todd: Do you ever pay attention? We never agree on anything.
Tea: We do...occasionally.
Todd: What have we ever agreed on?
Tea: We agreed that I would come on this trip with you.
Todd: Yeah, and look how long it took you to see it my way.
Tea: But, I did, didn't I? And, I'm glad that I did. I wouldn't have wanted to miss this time with you for anything.
Todd: You've had so much fun, you were ready to pack it in just a little while ago.
Tea: I was upset.
Todd: You're always upset when you're around me.
Tea: That's not true.
Todd: You're breathing changes, your face gets red...
Tea: That's because you excite me. Speaking of a red complexion, though, you should put some of that sunblock on, if we're going to be in this car all day.
Todd: I hate that stuff. It feels all slimy.
Tea: I thought you liked slimy things.
Todd: Only when they're edible.
Tea: I'd appreciate it if you put some on...for me.
Todd: What does my face have to do with you?
Tea: I plan on touching your face a lot while we're locked in that room together for several days. I don't want you to be sunburned.
Todd: I'm trying to get a tan. I hear chicks dig that.
Tea: Well, this chick is worried about you.
Todd: What about you? Shouldn't you have to put slime on your face, too.
Tea: I already did.
Todd: I'm supposed to believe you?
Tea: Do you want to touch my face and see for yourself?
Todd: I shouldn't. You're driving and I don't want you to get all turned on from my touch and run us off the road.
Tea: We could stop for a few minutes and get into the backseat and you could explore my skin as much as you want.
Todd: If you ever manage to get me into that backseat, you better plan on more than a few minutes.
Tea: Really?
Todd: So, this is the part where we change the subject, right?
Tea: I certainly would prefer that to the other option you like so much...the one where you stop speaking to me for hours.
Todd: I forgot about that option. Good idea.
[Several minutes pass silently.]
Tea: Todd?
[Todd doesn't respond.]
Tea: Todd?
[Todd still doesn't respond.]
Tea: I want you to talk to me.
Todd: So you can start a fight?
Tea: Why would I do that?
Todd: I don't know. Why do you always start them?
Tea: I don't. You do.
Todd: I don't start them. I hate fighting.
Tea: We could discuss that.
Todd: What?
Tea: Fights.
Todd: Boxing?
Tea: I was thinking more about your family when you were young.
Todd: Why are you trying to tick me off?
Tea: I'm not.
Todd: If I don't get to say stuff to you that ticks you off, why do you get to bring up stuff that you know ticks me off?
Tea: That wasn't my intention.
Todd: Well, maybe I don't intend to say things that insult you.
Tea: Never mind.
[An uncomfortable silence passes between them for several moments. Tea is surprised when Todd finally speaks again.]
Todd: Did your folks fight?
Tea: Sometimes.
Todd: About what?
Tea: Money and moving back to Puerto Rico, mostly.
Todd: Those are normal things to fight about, right?
Tea: I don't think all parents fight about moving to Puerto Rico, but other than that, I suppose they fought about normal things.
Todd: So, your dad wasn't screwing the housekeeper?
Tea: My mother was the housekeeper.
Todd: Well, then I guess he was screwing her.
Tea: Please, it's my parents we're talking about.
Todd: That's right. You had normal parents. They probably screwed in their bedroom with the door closed, huh?
Tea: Is that another way our childhoods were different?
[There is a long pause as Tea regrets asking her question.
Todd looks out the window at the passing scenery as he answers.]
Todd: Yeah, I guess.
Tea: We can talk more about this but we don't have to, if you'd rather not.
Todd: Whatever.
Tea: What does that mean?
Todd: It means...whatever.
Tea: Does that mean that you don't want to talk about this? Or, that you do?
Todd: Whatever.
Tea: I have no idea how to proceed.
Todd: Did you ever accidentally see your parents doing anything?
Tea: No.
Todd: Really?
Tea: They kept that part of their relationship private.
Todd: Maybe they just weren't screwing anymore. Or, at least not screwing each other.
Tea: I'm really not comfortable...
Todd (quickly interrupting with noticeable anger in his voice): So, it's okay if you probe and probe inside my disgusting memories but you don't want to dig into your own family's dirt? Don't you think that's unfair?
Tea: I'll answer your questions, Todd. I'd just feel more comfortable if you didn't use the word screwing while discussing my parents.
Todd: Fine. Maybe they weren't having sexual intercourse together anymore because they were too busy boffing other people.
Tea: That doesn't sound any better.
Todd: How do you want me to say it? Inserting object P into slot V?
[Tea laughs, helping to lessen the tension for both occupants of the car. She waits a moment to calm down her laughter before continuing their conversation.]
Tea: You may be correct. They may have stopped being intimate by the time I was old enough to notice anything, but I don't think it was because anyone else was involved. My father's life was that building and my mother's was us kids. I don't think either of them had enough time to themselves to be involved with anyone else.
Todd: Did they kiss or do any of that other junk in front of you?
Tea: Not much, that I recall. There wasn't really that much time from when my memories begin until she left. I don't remember them being very physically affectionate, though. At least not in front of us kids.
Tea: Crowded. When I was really young, before my mother left and before my older brothers moved out, there were six of us in that small apartment and only one bathroom.
Todd: And no windows.
Tea: Not one.
Todd: Did you know that was odd when you were a kid?
Tea: When I was really young, it was all I knew so it was normal to me. As I got older, of course, I came to learn that it wasn't normal to most people.
Todd: So, when you were a kid, your dad didn't touch you at all?
Tea: He did, at times.
Todd: But, not to hurt you?
Tea: No.
Todd: And, there weren't many hugs and that kind of stuff?
Tea: Not from my father.
Todd: From your mother?
Tea: Before she walked out on us, yes.
Todd: Your brothers?
Tea: Sometimes...mostly Del.
Todd: And, you had a grandmother, right?
Tea: You've met her, remember? A few days ago you insulted her on the phone.
Todd: I was teasing her. We have that kind of relationship.
Tea (smiling): You do, do you?
Todd: I bet she was a big fan of R.J.'s, huh? She probably treated him like the grandson she never treated me like.
Tea: You didn't give her much of a chance.
Todd: She hated me from the beginning, just like everyone else.
Tea: She did not. She wasn't fond of the way we began our relationship but that wasn't because she hated you.
Todd: Does she have something against lawyers marrying their clients for money?
Tea: Only when that lawyer is her only granddaughter.
Todd: So, you're it, huh? No other granddaughters?
Tea: My father was an only child. What about you? Did you have any grandparents in your life while you were growing up?
Todd: I didn't need them. They're pretty worthless, aren't they?
Tea: My grandmother is invaluable to me. I'll admit, though, that I didn't always appreciate her the way I should have...the way I do now.
Todd: What about your other grandparents?
Tea: I never knew them. My father's father died before I was born and my mother's parents weren't a part of our lives. They didn't approve of the choices my mother made.
Todd: Like what?
Tea: Like leaving home when she was barely an adult to live alone in the big city and, soon after, marrying an older man with children who were already almost grown.
Todd: Were they against her going to New York, too?
Tea: I don't know. They may not have known. I know that my mother stopped speaking to them at some point. I think their disapproval was difficult for her.
Todd: So, why'd she want to go back?
Tea: I guess she missed them more than she thought she would.
Todd: So, she went back when she ditched you?
Tea: No.
Todd: Why not?
Tea: I don't know. There's a lot I don't know.
Todd: Yeah. Parents...who needs them?
Tea: I do. I wish I could have mine back. Starr does. She needs her father.
[Todd can feel his anger rise. He wants to lash out at her but he tries to hold back, knowing that it isn't Tea that he's angry at. He doesn't want to hurt her and cause her to threaten to break up with him for a second time this morning.
After several moments of strained silence, Tea speaks again.]
Tea: Thank you.
Todd: For what?
Tea: For not taking your anger out on me.
Todd: When have I ever done that?
[Tea smiles. She knows that it took a lot for him to control himself and keep his anger from reaching out and hurting her.]
Tea: I think you should be rewarded.
Todd: How?
Tea: I could pull over and you could take over driving. I know that you don't enjoy being the passenger.
Todd: I thought you were about to suggest something else that involved pulling over.
Tea: Getting into the backseat?
Todd: That or eating fried, greasy fast food...whatever.
Tea: I'm not hungry but I wouldn't turn down an invitation to join you in the backseat...or anywhere.
Todd: Because you just can't resist my charms?
Tea: I do seem to have a difficult time with that.
Todd: Maybe you should try harder.
Tea: I'd rather not.
Todd: Whatever. Seriously, though, you're probably ready for a nap by now, right? I could take over for the next ten or twelve hours.
Tea: I'm not tired yet but I'd be okay turning over the driving for a few hours. I'm surprised you allowed me to drive this long.
Todd: I must have been really out of it when I suggested you could drive. It was probably your cooking. It must have screwed up my brain.
Tea: It could be that you're just a generous person.
Todd (laughing): Yeah, right!
[The next town they come to, Tea pulls off the road they're on and enters a gas station. They fill up their gas tank, switch seats and Todd purchases a large amount of junk food, preparing for a long day of driving.
Hours later...
Tea wakes up. She yawns and tries to stretch out her body, uncomfortable from the position she was napping in.]
Tea: Where are we?
Todd: In my car.
Tea: I know that.
Todd: Then why'd you ask?
Tea: Are we in Utah yet?
Todd: We're almost to Arizona.
Tea: We are? How much further?
Todd: Eleven or twelve hours.
Tea (sarcastically): It's just down the road.
Todd: You must be almost ready for your next nap.
Tea: Very funny.
Todd: I'm serious. When you wake up we'll be there.
Tea: I'm not tired.
Todd: That's what you said about two minutes before you fell asleep and that was hours ago.
Tea: I was bored.
Todd: I don't thrill you enough to keep you awake?
Tea: You give me plenty of thrills...when we're not driving.
Todd: You mean all those fights you're always starting?
Tea: I mean when we're in bed together...on sofas together...in bathtubs together...on docks together...
Todd: But not in the car?
Tea: I seem to recall some wonderful moments against the car.
Todd: Are you sure that wasn't with one of your other boyfriends?
Tea: Do you consider yourself my boyfriend?
Todd: Since I'm not twelve...no.
Tea: What do you consider yourself?
Todd: I'm Todd Manning.
Tea: Who am I to you?
Todd: Are you hungry?
Tea: Lucky for you, I am. We can drop this conversation...for now. Stop in the next town we come to and we'll find a place to eat.
Todd: We have a schedule to keep that does not allow for unnecessary stopping.
Tea: Food is not unnecessary.
Todd: Stopping is. Grab a bag of chips and enjoy your dining experience.
Tea: We're stopping at a restaurant. One that doesn't have a drive-thru window.
Todd: No way.
Tea: I need to get out and stretch my muscles.
Todd: You can do that in the car.
Tea: I'm serious, Todd. The only way I'll agree to continue this insane idea of trying to drive so many miles in one day is if we both get out and stretch our bodies, eat something relatively healthy and I take over driving for a while.
Todd: You're not driving again. You'll fall asleep.
Tea: I just woke up from a long nap. Let me drive now while you get some rest.
Todd: I'm not like you. I can't just fall asleep every ten minutes.
Tea: Even if you don't sleep, at least relax for a little while. Rest your eyes. Or, we could talk some more.
Todd (sarcastically): Oh, yeah, that sounds relaxing.
Tea: We need to stop.
Todd: No we don't.
Tea: I need a bathroom.
Todd: No you don't.
Tea: Trust me, I do.
Todd: It's a trick.
Tea: No trick. I do need a bathroom. I was also hoping that we could have a few minutes of some kind of physical contact.
Todd: Why would you want that?
Tea: Because it's been hours since we've touched each other.
Todd: And, your point is?
Tea: Fine. Just stop somewhere with a bathroom.
[Todd knows that she's losing patience with him, yet again. He questions his idea of spending so much time stuck in a car with her with her mood so unpredictable for reasons he doesn't understand.
[Minutes later, Todd pulls off the road they're traveling on and pulls up to the pumps of a gas station.
Tea rushes in to use the bathroom. Todd fills their car with gas again and uses the bathroom himself. After paying for the gas, he returns to the car and finds Tea sitting in the driver's seat. He considers making a scene but instead just scowls as he walks around the car and gets in on the passenger side.]
Todd: You have one hour, Delgado.
Tea: Thank you.
[Tea starts the car and returns to the road.]
Todd: Don't thank me. You owe me now.
Tea: How would you like your payment?
Todd: We're driving the whole way today and no more complaining about it.
Tea: I'll only agree to that if one of us is always awake enough to drive.
Todd: I'm always awake enough for both of us.
Tea: You do sleep, Todd. I've seen you.
Todd: I was just pretending. I wanted you to think I was a normal guy.
Tea: Have you always had trouble sleeping?
Todd: What is it about having a steering wheel in your hands that makes you think you're a shrink?
Tea: If you don't want to talk, you could always take a nap.
Todd: In other words, I'm stuck with you yapping for the next hour.
Tea: You can pick the topic I yap about, if you'd like.
Todd: Okay. In a few days, when we have confirmation that you're knocked up...
Tea: I already told you, I have a feeling that we'll be getting confirmation the other way, in a day or two.
Todd: I trust my sense of things better than yours.
Tea: It's my body.
Todd: It's my life.
Tea: And, you assume that everything in your life has to go against you?
Todd: Everything always has.
Tea: Well, you may soon have to deal with things finally going in a positive direction for you.
Todd: It'll be positive, all right. That I believe.
Tea: I don't mean pregnancy test results.
Todd: I do. You're knocked up. That's a fact. I was wondering if you figured out where you were going to go after we find out.
Tea: With you isn't an option, right?
Todd: We already talked about this.
Tea: I know. I understand your concerns, given your own past experiences, but I wish it could be different.
Todd: It wouldn't be fair to screw your kid up just because we have this pathetic thing between us.
Tea: Love?
Todd: I was thinking that it wouldn't be very gentlemanly of me to just dump you in the middle of nowhere, right?
Tea: So, you will stay with me?
Todd: As long as it takes to take you where you want to go.
Tea: That could take a long time.
Todd: I could drive you to New York and you can spend some time with your grandmother. That way she can see that you're okay and maybe she won't send Del after me with his gun.
Tea: She wouldn't really send my brother after you...I don't think.
Todd: So, you're okay with prolonging this hell a little longer?
Tea: I love the idea of more time with you.
Todd: It's not time for hanky panky. It's just to make sure that you get back to your life okay.
Tea: So, our...activities...would end when the pregnancy test is positive?
Todd: That would be the gentlemanly thing, wouldn't it? It's not polite to screw around with another guy's knocked up chick after you know for sure she really is knocked up, is it?
Tea: I am no one's chick.
Todd: Whatever.
Tea: This won't be relevant anyway because I know that I'm not pregnant. You'll have to find another reason to prevent us from being physically intimate.
Todd: Is that what you think I'm doing? Looking for reasons to keep you at a distance?
Tea: Are you?
Todd: I'm not the one who came up with the idea to have you vomiting that started this whole thing.
Tea: But, I haven't had one moment of morning sickness so there's never been a reason to even suspect that I was pregnant.
Todd: No reason?
Tea: You're the one who jumped to that conclusion.
Todd: What about that little monthly reason that didn't show up when it was supposed to?
Tea: I'm a little late. That's not unusual. It doesn't automatically mean that I'm pregnant. It's probably all the stress.
Todd: So, now you're blaming me?
Tea: We are not having a fight right now.
Todd: I think we are.
Tea: You're wrong.
Todd: You want to fight about that?
[Tea smiles, enjoying his presence even when he's frustrating her.]
Tea: Let's talk about something else.
Todd: Do you want to go back to talking about how screwed up your family was?
Tea: Not really.
Todd: Well, I don't want to talk about how screwed up mine was.
Tea: We don't have to.
Todd: We can't do the silence thing...you'll fall asleep.
Tea: I will not.
[There is again silence as each waits for the other to determine what to talk about.
Several minutes later...]
Todd: I hate this.
Tea: Do you want me to pull over so you can drive again?
Todd: Yeah. But, that's not the worst thing right now.
Tea: What is?
Todd: I have this disgusting urge.
Tea: Are you going to throw up?
Todd: I did eat your cooking.
Tea: Do you need me to stop?
Todd: That wasn't it either.
Tea: I know your urge couldn't have been about getting into the backseat with me, right? You'll have to tell me what it is.
Todd: What makes you think it couldn't be that? I am capable of...
Tea (interrupting): I didn't mean to imply that you weren't. I just meant that I don't expect you to be agreeable to that today. Besides, I would hope that you would never refer to that particular urge as disgusting.
Todd: Some people think that's disgusting...when it involves me. If it was up to them, they'd arrange it so my sailor could never salute again.
Tea: I don't think that your...uh...sailor...is disgusting.
Todd: Yeah, well, you're weird.
Tea (smiling): That's a compliment, right?
Todd: Only you would think that was a compliment.
Tea: Only when it's coming from you.
Todd: You think I'm weird, don't you?
Tea: I think you're unique. I like that about you.
Todd: I can tell how much you like it every time you threaten to walk out on me because you can't stand how unique I am.
Tea: Maybe we shouldn't talk about this.
Todd: You just want to get back to digging around inside my garbage so you don't have to think about your own anymore, is that it?
Tea: Is that what you were referring to as disgusting? Your internal garbage?
Todd: Some of it is really gross.
Tea: I can handle it.
Todd: You've tried. You know that's a really stupid thing.
Tea: What is?
Todd: Trying to dig around inside me without any protection. You'll end up contaminated if you're not careful.
Tea: I'm not afraid of what's inside you.
Todd: You should be.
Tea: Why?
Todd: That's pretty obvious.
Tea: Not to me.
Todd: You've never been very bright when it comes to me.
Tea: I don't want you to be alone.
Todd: I'm always alone. So are you.
Tea: I don't want to be...not anymore. For a long time I did want that. I didn't want anyone to get too close. I didn't want anyone to know too much of the real me. That changed when I met you.
Todd: Because you felt sorry for me?
Tea: Because I could see that you were more alone than I was. Because I know how heavy that weight is.
Todd: Are you calling me fat?
Tea: The weight of your past...the weight of your secrets...the weight of responsibility for things that you were never responsible for.
Todd: It's all my fault.
Tea: What is?
Todd: Everything.
Tea: That's not true.
Todd: Yeah it is.
Tea: How can I convince you...
Todd (interrupting): You can't so give it up.
Tea: Never.
Todd: You'll have to in a few days.
Tea: I will never give up on you, Todd, whether we're together or not. I'll also never give up on the idea that we will be together someday, even if it takes years or decades. You're stuck with my hope. You'll just have to accept that because I refuse to ever give up on you.
[The former spouses continue their journey toward the Grand Canyon. As they approach a small town, Tea notices the steeple of a church in the distance. Todd is asleep and Tea chooses not to wake him as she pulls off the highway and drives toward the small town's only church.
Minutes later, in the church's small parking lot, Tea shuts the engine off. She stares at the beautiful old church for several minutes. She's lost in thought when Todd suddenly awakens with a grunt.]
Todd: Where the hell are we?
[He looks at the building in front of him.]
Todd: Oh.
Tea: I'll just be a few minutes.
Todd: Don't they have a gas station in this town...wherever we are?
Tea: I didn't stop because I needed a bathroom.
Todd: Why'd you stop?
Tea: There's something else I need.
[Tea can tell from Todd's body language that he's uncomfortable.]
Tea: Don't worry. You can stay out here. You can walk around for a few minutes if you need to stretch your legs before you take over the driving.
Todd: I'll just go for a lovely stroll through that graveyard over there.
Tea: I'll try to hurry.
[Tea exits the car and begins walking towards the church. Todd quickly gets out of the car and speaks to her.]
Todd: Delgado?
[Tea stops and turns toward him.]
Tea: Yes.
Todd: You don't have to hurry too much.
Tea: Thank you.
[Tea turns away from him again. Soon she's inside the church and Todd is leaning against the car, waiting for her.
Minutes later...
Tea returns to the car and finds it empty. She looks around and notices Todd in the distance, sitting on a stone bench in the graveyard. She walks toward him. He's wearing sunglasses that prevent her from seeing his eyes but she can tell from the way that he's slightly tilting his head toward the sky that his eyes are closed and he's enjoying the warmth of the sun on his face.]
Tea: Todd?
Todd: Are you done with your business?
Tea: Thank you for waiting. I didn't expect you to really spend your time in the graveyard, though.
Todd: I wasn't going to but you were gone for a long time.
Tea: I'm sorry about that. Sometimes it's hard to think about the time when I'm inside a church.
Todd: That's okay. It gave me a chance to see the sights.
Tea: In the graveyard?
Todd: Why not?
Tea: I don't know. We can go now, if you're ready.
Todd: I'm not quite done here. Sit down.
[Todd places his hand on the bench next to him, letting her know that he wants her to sit next to him. As she sits down, she's surprised when he takes her hand in his.]
Tea: The sun feels good.
Todd: Does it?
Tea: Isn't that why you've been sitting out here sunning yourself?
Todd: I've been sitting out here because you were in that church either praying that you are pregnant or praying that you're not.
[Tea closes her eyes and tilts her face toward the sun, enjoying the warmth on her face and the warmth of Todd's hand holding hers. Todd allows her to avoid his comment for several minutes before he speaks again.]
Todd: So, which is it?
[Tea opens her eyes and looks at him. She reaches out and removes his sunglasses.]
Todd: Hey!
Tea: If we're going to have a serious discussion, I need to see your eyes.
Todd: Fine. No serious discussions. Give me back my sunglasses.
Tea: We should have this discussion.
Todd: No, we should be in that car, driving toward that stupid little hole in the ground you've been so anxious to see.
Tea: As far as I'm concerned we could stop for the night right now.
Todd: No way. I closed my eyes and pretended to sleep earlier just so you wouldn't try to back out of our deal. We're driving the rest of the way today.
Tea: I know you were sleeping.
Todd: Believe what you want to, you always do.
Tea: The answer to your question is...
Todd (interrupting): It doesn't matter.
Tea: It does if it's important to you.
Todd: What you and the big guy talk about is your business.
Tea: I wasn't praying that I am pregnant.
[Todd feels relieved. He didn't think that she was praying for that but he's relieved to know for certain.]
Tea: I also wasn't praying that I'm not pregnant.
[Todd's relief evaporates. He tries to pulls his hand away from hers but she refuses to let go.]
Todd: So, why are we here? Are you feeling guilty about something? Did you need to confess your sins? Is that why you were in there so long?
Tea: Don't do this?
Todd: What?
Tea: Just don't. I stopped here because I saw it from a distance while we were driving toward this town. The closer we got, the more certain I was that I needed to stop. I wasn't in there asking for a certain outcome. I was asking for the strength to handle whatever the outcome may be. We both know that no matter what happens in the next few days, it won't be easy.
Todd: Nothing ever is.
Tea: I wish that I could count on you being there, holding my hand, no matter what I have to face in the future. It's the very fact that I know that you won't be that's the most difficult truth for me to face.
Todd: Is that why you've been so moody? You think I'll ditch you no matter what?
Tea: Will you?
Todd: I don't know. I can't even figure out what went wrong...why I ruined everything and went back and got you.
Tea: You didn't ruin everything by doing that. You made everything okay again...at least for me.
Todd: If it weren't for me, you'd be back there right now. You'd have all your own stuff. You wouldn't have to wear my clothes. You'd have your job, your boyfriend, your friends, your car...all the stuff you care about...all the stuff that matters the most to you.
Tea: What matters the most to me is sitting next to me on this bench. If you had never come back for me, I would have clothes that fit and familiar surroundings but I would also have tremendous loneliness and pain.
Todd: You have that when you're with me, too.
Tea: It's less when I'm with you.
Todd: No.
Tea: Yes.
Todd: Maybe it's different but it's not less.
Tea: Being with you...
Todd: Is a miserable experience.
Tea: If that were true it wouldn't be so difficult to think about having to go back to living without you again.
Todd: You won't miss me. You'll forget about me after a few days.
Tea: I didn't forget about you all those months you were gone. I never stopped missing you.
Todd: We should really stop talking about this unless you want me to start saying stuff that you'll probably be really upset if I say near a church.
Tea: We need to return to the road, anyway. We have a lot of driving still ahead of us today.
Todd: So, you're not going to try to talk me out of driving to Arizona tonight?
Tea: We had a deal. I intend to honor it.
Todd: Well, good.
[Todd stands up. Tea stands up next to him. She hands him back his sunglasses. He puts them on as they walk back toward the car, their hands still tightly connected.]
Todd and Tea have been co-existing in their car for more than eight hours so far this day. They have had some minor disagreements and moments of tension but mostly they've gotten along well, considering how small their shared space is and the serious issues that still loom over them.
Minutes earlier, Tea was pleasantly surprised when Todd pulled into the parking lot of a sit-down restaurant. It's not a fancy establishment but that doesn't matter to Tea. She's relieved to have a break from the car and some time to sit across from Todd and watch him while they dine.
They are currently in the middle of enjoying their meal. Tea is enjoying her meal, anyway. Todd is inhaling his as fast as he can so they can get back on the road again.]
Todd: Delgado?
Tea: Yes, querido?
Todd: You're doing it again.
Tea: What?
Todd: You're staring at me. Hurry up and eat.
Tea: We've already driven quite a distance so far today. I think we can take the time to eat our food at a normal pace.
Todd: That's what I'm doing.
[Todd makes a startled noise as Tea's foot comes into contact with his leg.]
Todd: Don't even think about it.
Tea (playing innocent): Think about what?
Todd: I mean it, Delgado.
Tea: I needed to stretch my leg. All that time spent in that car caused certain body parts to scream out for release. Aren't any of your body parts in need of a release?
[Todd smiles. Tea returns his smile as she feels his hand grasp her shoeless foot. She stops smiling, however, when he pushes her foot away from his body and drops it. She turns her attention to her food, ignoring eye contact with him for several minutes.]
Todd: Great! Now you're ticked off at me again.
Tea: I'm fine.
Todd: We still have a lot of hours of driving ahead of us. We can't get sidetracked.
Tea: Why not?
Todd: I know you. You'll want to stop for the night before we get to our destination.
Tea: Would that be such a bad thing? We could enjoy our evening, get some sleep and drive the rest of the way tomorrow.
Todd: I knew it. You're trying to back out of our deal.
Tea: I think that we should re-examine our original plan for the day.
Todd: Why? This is working fine.
Tea: For you, maybe.
Todd: Are you saying this isn't working for you?
Tea: I wouldn't mind stopping for the night.
Todd: Okay. Fine. You can drive for a little while again. That's what this is really about, right? You've been itching to get behind the wheel again, huh?
Tea: I have an itch but it has nothing to do with driving.
Todd: Well, hurry up and scratch it. I'm going to the john and I'll meet you in the car.
[Todd stands up. Tea speaks to him as he's leaving the table.]
Tea: It's not that kind of itch.
[Todd knows what she's seeking. He chooses to ignore it...for now.
Minutes later, Tea exits the restaurant with the remainder of her food in a bag. Todd is already in the car, in the front passenger seat. As Tea enters the car, Todd can see that she isn't very happy with him.]
Todd: What else did you buy?
Tea: This is the large amount of my dinner I wasn't allowed enough time to eat.
Todd: You had plenty of time. You wasted it by spending so much time staring at whatever it was that you were staring at.
Tea: You. I was looking at you.
Todd: Aren't you tired of looking at my ugly face yet?
Tea: Obviously not. You, however, tired of me a long time ago, if you were ever interested to begin with.
[Tea starts the car. Todd knows that she's having another of her unexplainable mood swings.]
Todd: If you want, I'll drive and you can eat.
Tea: I'll eat later. I'm sure you won't allow me to drive very long anyway.
Todd: Actually, only a couple of minutes.
Tea: Then there's no point in my even starting. We should just switch places here before we start out again.
Todd: No, you go ahead and drive.
Tea: I'm not in the mood, Todd. You can go ahead and drive. You can spend several more hours ignoring me like you did earlier, all because you made the mistake of momentarily holding my hand.
Todd: I didn't ignore you.
Tea: You didn't speak to me for hours.
Todd: I thought you were asleep.
Tea: Let's just trade places and get the rest of this drive over with. Then you can ignore me while I take a long bath recovering from this day.
Todd: You know, if you hate this so much...
Tea: What?
Todd: Nothing. Never mind. Just get us back on the road. We're wasting time.
Tea: I thought you didn't want me to drive.
Todd: I don't but I already told you that you could.
Tea: If it's only for a few minutes...
Todd: It's a few minutes because that's how long it will take to get to our next stop.
Tea: We're staying here for the night?
Todd: No. Of course not.
Tea: Where are we stopping? We don't need gas.
Todd: We're going to that big electronics stores we passed as we were coming off the highway. You can stay in the car and finish your dinner while I go in and get what we need.
Tea: You want to go shopping? By yourself? Without anyone forcing you? Are you sick?
Todd: Sick of you stalling. Start driving.
[Tea pulls out of the restaurant's parking lot and drives toward the electronics store.]
Tea: I can't believe that you, Todd Manning, want to go to a large, noisy, crowded store.
Todd: I don't want to. I don't have a choice. We're gonna need some music if we're gonna be stuck in this car for seven or eight more hours, right? If I let you go in and get what we need it would take you hours. It's just faster if I run in and get what we need.
Tea: You're sure?
Todd: Yeah. That way we both get what we want. You get to finish your food and I get to have decent music to play when I don't want to listen to you yapping anymore.
Tea: Just for that, Manning...
Todd: I'm sure you'll put me through hell trying to talk about whatever but stop at the store first.
Tea: Fine, but you better be prepared. When we get back on the road again I have a question I've been wanting to ask you.
Todd: I'll be sure to get really loud music to drown you out.
Tea: It won't work and you know it.
Todd: Yeah, it hasn't worked any of the other times I've tried it.
[Tea parks near the front of the electronics store and Todd runs in.
Numerous minutes later...
Todd returns to the car. Tea is surprised when he uses his key to open the trunk. Moments later, he gets back into the car, on the passenger side, and is carry several CDs.]
Tea: What did you put in the trunk?
Todd: Shouldn't we be getting back on the road?
Tea: Tell me.
Todd: You're wasting time. I was hoping to get there by midnight.
[Tea pulls out of the parking space and drives toward the highway they were previously on.]
Tea: I looked at the atlas. I don't think midnight is a reasonable target.
Todd: Not with you driving so slow.
Tea: I'm sure you'll be insisting on taking over the driving task in a few minutes, anyway.
Todd: Because of this question you wanted to ask me?
Tea: You're not going to try avoiding it?
Todd: What's the point? You always end up getting your way.
Tea: I do?
Todd: But, tonight I'm getting my way.
Tea: How?
Todd: For one thing, we're not listening to that pathetic radio show you like so much.
Tea: It's not pathetic. It's touching.
Todd: It's a bunch of losers calling in and telling a bunch of sappy stories, then that host chick spouts a bunch of garbage and then they play a bunch of chick songs.
Tea: We don't even know if any stations near here carry that program.
Todd: If there is one guy stuck in a car with one chick anywhere in the vicinity, it's guaranteed that a nearby station will be airing it.
Tea: Is that why you insisted on buying music?
Todd: Yep. I made sure there are no chick songs on any of these.
Tea: Do the ones in the trunk have chick songs on them?
Todd: The trunk? What are you talking about?
[Tea decides to drop the subject since she senses that Todd wants to surprise her with whatever he purchased and placed in the trunk.]
Tea: I get to ask my questions before you start playing your music, right?
Todd: Question...singular. That's all I agreed to.
Tea: Okay. How did you meet your shrink?
Todd: That's it. I give you one question about anything and that's what you choose?
Tea: I didn't realize that my options were completely open.
Todd: Do you want to change your question?
Tea: I am curious how you met him. I can't imagine that you picked someone from the phone book and I don't think you would have asked anyone for a referral. So, how did you meet him?
