INT BEDROOM - DAY
Brian and Barbara in bed, sweaty like the sheet over them and presumably naked. Ceiling fan whirring. Phones on nightstand.
BRIAN: So tell me about Tom Walker and Olivia.
BARBARA: Okay. What I can remember, anyway. They met at the Reno rodeo. Olivia was performing in a revue at Harrah's. Tom had been working on a ranch in another part of the state and in town for a few days before catching a flight to Los Angeles to meet a friend for a motorcycle trip in Mexico.
BRIAN: A revue at Harrah's.
BARBARA: Olivia was musical theatre. She had a degree from Cal State Fullerton. She was there to see someone about an audition for a play at what was then called the Pioneer Theatre and got the revue gig by accident, although I don't recall the details.
BRIAN: How old were they?
BARBARA: Olivia was twenty-three. Tom's age was unknown but estimated to be around the same.
BRIAN: Do we know what kind of ranch Tom was working on?
BARBARA: A cattle ranch.
BRIAN: He was a cowboy.
BARBARA: That was Olivia's description. A cowboy from Texas.
BRIAN: Back to the rodeo.
BARBARA: Where they hit it off well enough that she accepts his offer for a drive around Lake Tahoe the next day. Around the lake Tom drove them in, if I remember correctly, his rental Cadillac Fleetwood Eldorado convertible.
BRIAN: Nice ride. Color?
BARBARA: Per Hunter's telling, she described it as shiny sky blue. White top. Down the entire ride.
BRIAN: Pictures?
BARBARA: One. Olivia forgot her camera so they stopped in South Tahoe where she picked up the instamatic she used to take a selfie of them on a beach near Zephyr Cove. It's a great picture.
BRIAN: That Hunter has.
BARBARA: He does.
BRIAN: That Tom has never seen.
BARBARA: Unless Hunter's already shown him. Handsome man.
BRIAN: Like Hunter.
BARBARA: Yes, although Hunter's features are more like Olivia's. Who was stunning, by the way.
BRIAN: Pictures?
BARBARA: Chloe has them. If you'd like I can have her send a couple.
BRIAN: I would.
BRIAN: Back to the lake.
BARBARA: And to cut to the chase somewhat. A fire near Spooner Lake diverted their ride back to Reno east on fifty to come back through Carson City where they stopped for the dinner that went so well they stayed the night at what was then called The Pony Express Hotel. Where Hunter was conceived.
BRIAN: Birth control?
BARBARA: Olivia used a diaphragm. Ninety-four percent success rate. I don't know if I've ever laughed harder than when Hunter told me that's why he wore number six in high school baseball.
Brian laughs.
BRIAN: What position?
BARBARA: Started out at third base and ended up pitching.
BRIAN: The next day.
BARBARA: Drive back to Reno, where they had breakfast before Tom dropped her off at her hotel before dropping off the Cadillac before going to the airport and flying away, neither numbers or addresses exchanged. When Olivia found out she was pregnant she moved in with her parents in the house in Orange County she grew up in.
BRIAN: Where in Orange County?
BARBARA: Santa Ana. A four-bedroom house at the end of a cul-de-sac with access to Santiago Creek. End quote. That's where Hunter spent his first four years while Olivia went back to school for her M-F-A.
BRIAN: While her parents took care of Hunter.
BARBARA: Yes. Walt and Ingrid. Walt had just retired from his county engineer career and Ingrid from her administrative job with the school district. They adopted Olivia when she was two years old, by the way.
BRIAN: That's a big by the way.
BARBARA: Yeah.
BRIAN: M-F-A in and from?
BARBARA: Drama, U-C Irvine. Which she used to begin the theatre arts program at the high school she graduated from. When Hunter was five she bought a house in Costa Mesa. Six years later she was diagnosed with lung cancer. Olivia was a smoker. Seven months later she was dead. Hunter moved in with Walt and Ingrid, who sold and moved to Trabuco Canyon, where Hunter grew up. And that's where I have to stop, for now. More later if you're interested.
He pulls her to him, wraps her up. She wipes a tear away.
BRIAN: Very.
He kisses her.
BARBARA: I so hope this goes well, Brian.
He strokes her hair. Her PHONE RINGTONES (TBD re Chloe), she picks up, stares at screen, passes phone to Brian, who stares at the selfie Chloe has taken that includes Hunter and Tom.
BRIAN: Cowboy alright.
[CUT TO:
John and Jan sunset powerwalk.]