TEXT: 'Now What'. The sound of the TV fades out. Then we COLD OPEN (if that's the phrase – I think it is) on one of those framed, glued-together puzzles hanging on the wall and the first pounding chord of Loki's piano playing. We're

INT. SANGY'S ... what's the other word for 'living room'? Family room? Whatever, it's different from the room Sangy was watching TV in anyway

We hear him singing – "I wanna be loved by you, just you, nobody else but you..." – and Loki's profile comes into view as he rocks and bobs his head. We start to pull back a bit until we see that he's singing to Misty, in a manner that's really not as creepy and disturbing as it comes across in this script, just a kind of 'I'm good natured and will humour the poor old lady' way. Misty supplies the 'boop-boop-be-doo' at the end of the verse and as they start into the second one, we hear Hyde over the music

HYDE (offscreen)
Do you mind if this ends, 'cause I'm watching

the game, okay?

We cut over to see Hyde sprawled out on the couch, having changed out of his wet clothes and into an old purple bathrobe. He holds his jacket in one hand, and rambles and protests about the song. They ignore him.

HYDE
'Cause it's kinda funny, but it's not. It doesn't

sound good. This is bad! This doesn't sound

good, okay?

Ruby wanders in from the living room, cracking open another beer.

HYDE
Ruby, seriously, if you've got a minute, could

you get the Captain and Tenille off the keys here?

They have so much in common –

(makes hissing noises, implying a cat fight)

Ruby pulls up a chair and sits next to Loki as they finish their song. Loki plays random notes under their conversation

RUBY

So Loki, you tell me. How do you do it? How

do you keep – keep - ?

LOKI
Who, me?
(plays a little ditty on the piano, sings over it)
I pick myself up, I dust myself off... I start all

over again.

(finishes with one of those hand-slide-key-things)

Loki and Ruby stare at each other in a cheesy way.

HYDE
Oooo, I feel a medley coming on. Dawkins, we're

friends, we're like – briefing in business – don't blow

this.

Sam comes in carrying a stack of tupperware

SAMWISE
Erik – Hyde. Here's Erik's leftovers and his

erudamn Tupperware he conveniently forgot.

I don't want them rotting here overnight before

he comes in the morning to drag me off Christmas

shop... ping...

He trails off and looks at Hyde, who is gesturing and mouthing quite randomly and enthusiastically about getting Loki to go with Ruby so he'll stop singing.

RUBY
Tonight? I gotta go over to Erik's tonight?

HYDE
Yeah, I mean, my hair's all wet and I can't find

my underwear and who knows what kind of trouble

I'd get into over there.

He saunters over and puts his jacket on Ruby

HYDE
Listen, take my car. The keys are in the jacket

pocket and I got a full tank. GTO, my treat.

(turns to Sam)
Come on, Sam, I got a carcass to pick with you!

Hyde starts to lead Sam out of the room. Sam turns and shouts after Ruby

SAMWISE
Ruby, you and Mr. Dawkins take Aunt Misty

home before they start singing again!

END SCENE

EXT. MISTY'S HOUSE – NIGHT

The car pulls up and Misty gets out, stumbling a bit.

RUBY
You alright?

MISTY
My safety light's on again! Magic!

RUBY

(gets out and pops up next to Misty)
Aunt Misty, where's your key, so I can –

MISTY

I leave it unlocked.

(gives her a kiss on the cheek)
I can manage.

She slowly starts to walk up to her house, gazing at the light like a moth. Loki gets out and stops her

LOKI

Aunt Misty, can I use your men's room? It's

a long ride back home.

MISTY
(smiles at him, leads him up the walkway)
Come on. She's as clean as a whistle.

LOKI

(looks back, whispershouts at Ruby)
You should meet my Aunt Harriet someday.

Ruby chuckles and watches them hobble off. After a moment she gets back into the car and pulls the mirror down, humming the tune Loki played on the piano earlier as she reapplies her lipstick.

RUBY
pick yourself up... dust yourself off... start

all over again.

Loki gets back in, carrying a lamp with many dangly, tinkly things on it.

LOKI
It's mine, you can't have it. She gave it to me.

She laughs. He stuffs the lamp into the backseat and squeals off.

LOKI
Hyde said you were big on cappuccino.

RUBY
Black, I like it black. What else did he say

about me?

LOKI
Well, that you sounded kinda cut off. You know,

sad and hassled on the phone from the airplane.

Kinda shaky. So I figured, you know, take her out for –

RUBY
So then you did come up here to – to, you know –

take care of the pity case.

LOKI
Your brother showed me your picture, alright?

She stops and stares at him. He grins. We CUT TO the car pulling into the parking lot of a DUNKIN DONUTS, then close on Loki as he gets out of the car. He pauses before shutting the door

LOKI

Hey, that picture of you? That was somethin' else.

He shuts the door. Ruby sits there.

CUT TO: INT. DUNKIN DONUTS – NIGHT

A young man, one of the workers, mops up behind the counter. Loki shimmies in

LOKI
Hey. Just two coffees to go, regular, decaf...

doesn't matter.

BOY
We're closed.

LOKI

... no you're not.

BOY
Yeah. We're closed.

LOKI
No no no, you can't be, because I'm standing right

here in front of you. And you're too young to understand

how desperate I am just to have this great date! Because

you think like I thought when I was your age, that there

are a million wonderful girls out there just waiting to

make you happy, right? Wrong. You are so wrong. Now

gimme two coffees, will you?

Ruby storms into the store and up to Loki.

RUBY
Was I naked?

LOKI

... were you what?

RUBY

In the erudamn picture that Hyde showed you.

LOKI
I –

RUBY
Wooow. Shaky. I can't believe he said that. I

am not shaky.

She leaves. Loki exhales. The boy sets two cups of coffee down on the counter

BOY
You just can't stay here –

LOKI

Yeah, you're closed, I know.

He sets the money down, picks the coffees up and leaves.

END SCENE

EXT. ERIK'S STREET – NIGHT

The car cruises down the street

LOKI
You remember how I said that I had this

fantasy about you? It's a simple thing – you

wanna hear about it yet?

RUBY
No.

LOKI

Aren't you even curious?

RUBY

Nope.

LOKI

Why not? I'm letting you climb inside my head.

He pulls over in front of Erik's. She gives him a look and gets out. He follows and they walk up the front sidewalk, talking

LOKI
You don't wanna hear about this fantasy?

RUBY

No. You're weird.

LOKI
I'm weird? I'm weird?

RUBY

Oh yeah.

LOKI

No, the whole world is weird and it is

getting weirder every day.

RUBY
So? You're nuts.

LOKI
I'm nuts! You know what happened in Sweden?

They reach the front porch. Ruby rings the bell.

RUBY
Yeah! No.

LOKI

You didn't hear about this? Doctors cured a deaf

man by yanking a 47 year old bus ticket outta the

guy's ear!

RUBY

Yikes.

LOKI

So don't tell me about cotton up my nose,

thank you very much. And, in the next 47

years, at the present rate of progress, these

new doctors they got, they're gonna tell you

the day you're born what kind of horrible

disease you're gonna die from.

RUBY

Yeah! Or, a virus wipes out humanity as

we know it.

LOKI

Oh – plus – now, now in California, they have

these people that throw birds in your car while

you are waiting at the stop light!

RUBY
No.

LOKI

Yeah! So you better lighten up, because that's

the way it's gonna be every year of our lives,

no matter where the hell we are, until we all just

(grabs her by the shoulders and turns her to face him)

dry up... or blow away... or get hit by a bus.

RUBY
Are you through?

LOKI
No. Give me the erudamn time of day, will you?

He snogs her or she snogs him or whatever it is, they're snogging. They push up against the wall and ring the doorbell some more, not even noticing it or Wyn when she opens the door and stares at them, standing there in her pajamas. No, they keep goin' at it. Wyn clears her throat. Loki glances over, stops. Ruby shoves Loki away

RUBY

Ah, shit! I left all his crap in the backseat!

She stomps back to the car to retrieve the tupperware. Loki awkwardly clears his throat

LOKI

How the hell ya doin', Wyntie?

He wanders off to help Ruby.

END SCENE

INT. ERIK'S HOUSE – NIGHT

Ruby stomps inside the house carrying a mountain of tupperware. Loki follows helplessly behind

WYNTER

Here, let me get that –

RUBY
I can manage.

She swerves out of the way, sending one plastic container sliding off the stack. Loki catches it

LOKI
She can manage. Boy, can she manage.

They walk further into the house. Ruby spots Trick and hands the rest of the leftovers to Loki

RUBY
Hey, where's your grandpa?

TRICKSTER
He's in the basement.

WYNTER
He got so upset he's working out.

Ruby heads down the hallway. Wyn takes the leftovers from Loki and they walk into the living room.

RUBY

Erik?

CUT TO the basement, where Erik is on a treadmill. Spider dances around, still chanting 'step ball change'. Ruby jogs down the stairs and speaks over Spider and the sound of the treadmill

RUBY
Erik? Look, I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

SPIDER
Hi! Welcome to the Spider Fitness Center! Ask

me about our money-back guarantee!

RUBY
(ignores her)
Listen, all I wanna do is stop the carnage. I don't

know when I'll be back and, I feel awful because
Mom and Sam... we don't have to act like we're

ten years old, Erik.

SPIDER
I'm ten years old.

RUBY
I know how old you are, sweetie, so why don't you

just scoot on upstairs so I can speak to your mother

here for two erudamn seconds.

SPIDER
(stops bouncing)
If I ever talked that way...

RUBY
I said stay the hell out of it, Spider.

ERIK
Do not yell at my kid. You've got one of

your own someplace, don't you?

SPIDER

You said a bad word.

(skips upstairs)

RUBY
I'm not perfect. Look, I said I was sorry!

ERIK
(steps off the treadmill)
Oh, that's great. You just think you're so much

better than we are.

RUBY

... what? huh?

CUT TO the living room. Wyn watches as Trickster and Loki throw a football back and forth. Trick throws the ball at Loki and it sails over his shoulder, ricocheting off the wall and onto the floor.

WYN

Do we have to do this in the house?

Spider storms through, pausing for a moment before heading up to her room

SPIDER
Daddy and Aunt Ruby are fighting.

CUT BACK TO the basement. Ruby looks at Erik as he takes laundry out of the washer

RUBY
Erik, you need your head examined if you think

that I think –

ERIK

Don't tell me what I need! Don't tell me what I need!
No, Sam needs his garden, and he needs to lose every

single thing he owns forty times a day and Mom needs

to wash every car in the neighbourhood until her fingers

bleed –

RUBY

what was I saying – I was talking about me here.

ERIK
And they both need to keep me going 24 hours a day, 7

days a week, trying to anticipate every single thing

that could go wrong!

RUBY
So don't!
(Erik stops and looks at her, rolling his eyes)
What's gonna happen? They're gonna explode? They're

getting old. We're all... getting old.

ERIK

That's great. What should I do then, run away? Like you

and Hyde? Yeah! Live it up, no grown up responsibilities.
Just wallow in your own exotic little lives.

He walks away to hang up the shirt that got TURKEY'D!!! earlier. Ruby slowly turns to face him, smiling wryly

RUBY
You don't know the first thing about me, Erik. Nothing.

ERIK

Oh, likewise, I'm sure.
(looks at her)
If I just met you on the street... if you gave me your number,

I'd throw it away.

RUBY
(looks off to the side, hurt. forces a smile)

Well, we don't have to like each other, Erik. We're family.

They look each other in the eye. Erik sighs and gets back on the treadmill

ERIK

Do you mind? This is the only thing I do all day that I like.

RUBY
I'll let myself out.

She walks back upstairs. Erik keeps going for a moment. The corners of his mouth twitch downward. His face starts to screw up. He turns the machine off and sinks to his knees, taking deep, shaky breaths. After a moment he collects himself and starts it up again.

END SCENE