Finished my latest finale to Wordplay. I think this is a lot stronger than any of my previous ones, with a reference back to Steven's original love letter, no huge speech on Steven's part when it comes to why he's breaking up with her, and a final interaction between Jenni and Samantha:


STEVEN
I just realized something.

SAMANTHA
What’s that?

STEVEN
You deserve to be with someone who can dance.

She laughs.

SAMANTHA
We’ll teach you how to dance.

STEVEN
That’s not what I mean.

A pause. A look in her eyes combines sadness with terror.

SAMANTHA
What are you saying?

STEVEN
I’m saying I don’t think we should go out any more.

A long silence. Samantha is flabbergasted.

STEVEN
I’m so sorry. I know this isn’t the time or the place, but it’ll never be the time and the place, and ... oh, God, oh no...

Samantha has started BAWLING. Uncontrollable sobs.

He moves to hug her, but she shrugs him off.

SAMANTHA
Don’t do that! Don’t pretend that you can be sensitive when you’re doing this!

STEVEN
I’m not pretending to be anything, Samantha. I’m just...

Samantha breaks down again, sniffling, crying, sobbing.

SAMANTHA
Oh, God. Oh, God. I knew it. I knew I would screw this up! I’ve screwed up every good thing that’s ever happened to me!

STEVEN
You didn’t screw this up.

SAMANTHA
I did! I drink too much, I criticize you, I...

STEVEN
You didn’t screw this up. It’s not you, and it’s not me. It’s just ... us.

SAMANTHA
What the hell does that even mean?

STEVEN
We were perfect for one another once. But that was seven years ago. That was High School. I see you today, and you’re exactly the person I knew you’d become. And I’m not. I look at you and I think, “God, this woman is going to make someone happy.” But I can’t pretend to be that person. It’s not me.

SAMANTHA
You don’t know that.

STEVEN
I do. Samantha, we’ve been together for six months now. For three of them now, we’ve just been driving each other crazy. This isn’t working. And it isn’t going to work. I could pretend that it was, like I’ve been doing, or that we’d be able to fix things some time down the road, but if I do that, we’ll only drive each other crazy. I think that’s what most people would do. Most people are too scared of being alone to extricate themselves from a relationship before it gets really bad. But the last thing I want, literally the last thing, is for this to end with us hating each other. I see us going there, and I don’t think I can take it.

Her tears have never stopped, but she looks him in the eye. She sees his fear, his desperation, and she does her best to compose herself.

SAMANTHA
I don’t think I could hate you. Not unless you were sleeping with Jenni.

A nervous laugh, but a laugh nonetheless.

STEVEN
I’m not sleeping with Jenni.

SAMANTHA
And that girl from work?

STEVEN
Nothing has happened.

SAMANTHA
Will it?

STEVEN
I don’t know. But she’s not why I’m doing this.

The look she shoots him says, “don’t lie to me.”

STEVEN
All right. What I can tell you, truthfully, is that if she weren’t around, that wouldn’t make us happier. We would still have all of our problems.

There’s another silence. She seems more composed.

STEVEN
Are you okay?

SAMANTHA
Stupid question.

STEVEN
Sorry.

SAMANTHA
I will be.

STEVEN
I know.

They hug. She instigates it.

STEVEN
I’m sorry.

SAMANTHA
I know. I’m sorry too.

STEVEN
I know.

Without any more words, they just hold one another.


INT. SAMANTHA’S BEDROOM – NIGHT

Samantha’s PHONE RINGS. She sits, awake in bed, the remnants of a box of Kleenex scattered on her night stand, and answers.

SAMANTHA
Hello?

From here we intercut Samantha’s room with...

INT. BRIDAL SUITE – NIGHT

...Jenni, still in her wedding gown, sits on her bed with a concerned look on her face.

JENNI
Hey. It’s me. I just heard. How are you?

SAMANTHA
I don’t know. I’ll be fine.

JENNI
Will you? I’m so sorry.

SAMANTHA
It’s okay. I’m okay.

JENNI
Do you need me?

SAMANTHA
For what?

JENNI
I could come over, if you want.

SAMANTHA
You could what!? It’s your wedding night!

JENNI
Do you honestly think that matters?

SAMANTHA
Yes! I do! Why are you even calling me?

JENNI
Because I need to know that you’re okay.

SAMANTHA
I’m okay.

JENNI
Are you sure there’s nothing I can do?

SAMANTHA
Just one thing.

JENNI
What’s that?

SAMANTHA
Go fuck your husband’s brains out.

She hangs up, immediately, leaving Jenni with nothing to do but laugh.

Samantha smiles as she rolls back to bed, and goes to turn her light off.

But before she reaches the switch, she has an idea. Getting out of bed, she goes to her closet.

In the bottom, beneath a pile of clutter, is an old shoebox. She opens it, and grabs something unseen out of it.

She goes back to bed, and curls herself up beneath the covers, but doesn’t turn the light out.

Finally, she produces what she acquired from the shoe box:

It is a folded sheet of paper, with the name “Samantha” scrawled on the back of it.

She unfolds it, and begins to read.

And smiles.

FADE OUT

CAPTION: TWO WEEKS LATER

FADE IN

INT. KELLY’S CUBICLE – AFTERNOON

Steven stands in the entrance to Kelly’s cube, watching her work. He smiles, and it takes her a moment to notice him.

Eventually she does. She glances his way, and smiles.

KELLY
Hey.

STEVEN
Hey.

THE END


I think it works.