Toll House Tales: All Fired Up -105

Portland, Powell’s and Paninis…  Thursday opens with ponderables and leads to a surprise at lunch-time.

FADE IN – BLACK SCREEN WITH WHITE WRITING

Thursday

FADE TO BLACK

DISSOLVE TO:
The screen is dark.  You can hear the sounds of a coffee maker completing its cycle and then the “beep beep beep” signifying that the coffee is done. The words fade from the screen.

FADE IN:
INT. FRAN’S (JOURNAL WRITER’S) HOUSE

Fran is sitting at her table, sipping at her coffee. She slips the elastic band off of her new journal and begins to write.

Fran’s voice is heard reading what is being written.

FRAN

Morning Musings – 10 October

Okay… this is really weird. My ex-boss was in my dream last night. I haven’t thought about that guy in a really long time. I guess once I got over being pissed at him, I never gave him a second thought. It helped that I finally got the scoop on what caused him to pull the plug on the project he brought me in to work on. I finally saw him for what he was –a guy bound by golden handcuffs. He wasn’t committed to the project per se.  It was just his ticket to keeping his job and his place on the ladder (love mixing metaphors). I really thought he was going to be different from the other climbers-but at the end of the day… Oh well. Revisiting this is a waste of energy. It’s all water under the bridge. Still, I wonder what the heck is going on in my subconscious mind to dredge that guy up. I’ve got more important things to think about…like this invite to Oregon.

There’s something serendipitous about this invite… and my sense is that I should just “go for it.”

For sure, I need to make better use of my time today…at least find clever ways to multi-task during those calls. I guess I should consider myself lucky that I don’t have to actually physically be in the room for those meetings– with nowhere to escape…that would suck big time.

Yikes! Where did the time go this morning? Guess I’ll skip reading… Gotta run though because otherwise those back to back calls are going to be totally unbearable. -F

DISSOLVE TO:
INT. OFFICE HALLWAY

In a scene similar to Wednesday (think Ground Hog Day-style), Fran is seen racing down the hallway to her cubicle. As she drops her things and settles down in her desk chair, she looks over and sees TODAY’s sports page left by Doogie with a bunch of “stickie” notes on it: “Braves Spank Cubbies“, “Yanks up 2 games” “Cleveland Rocks!” The last stickie has a “D” with a smiley face in it.

Fran smiles. Then she shakes her mouse to wake up her computer, but it is locked up. So she reboots it and while she is waiting she jumps up on her side chair and checks in on Doogie.

Doogie is deep in concentration… He is typing a bunch of stuff. Pausing. Reading it back to himself. Pausing. Using the backspace key to erase what he wrote. Pausing. He turns to grab a dictionary from the bookcase near his desk when he finally feels and then sees Fran looking over the wall at him with a huge smile on her face.

DOOGIE

What?

Now Fran is laughing.

Doogie is looking down at his tie, and then his buttons and then he tries looking behind his back.

DOOGIE

What? Did I get schmutz on my shirt?
Did I sit on something? Spot on my tie? What?

FRAN
(playfully)

So… hey… like… whatcha working on?

Doogie looks at his screen and then back at Fran.

DOOGIE
(innocently)

Oh nothing.

FRAN

Come on. You’re working yourself up into
a lather over there. In fact that very lather
is so full of bubbles that some have drifted
over to my cube…

DOOGIE

Style points for your description.
Okay– I was just…

FRAN

…Trying to compose an e-mail to Ms. Julie?

Doogie gives a guilty sort of look.

DOOGIE

It’s that obvious?

FRAN

Not to the casual observer… but its me.
And… well… you always futz around for an hour
before you settle into your day-job writing mode.
Today you broke you pattern and yes, I noticed
(she winks at him).

DOOGIE

I thought I could just get something on her radar before her
day got so busy– but I’m having a brain cramp.

FRAN

So stop already. No point in pushing the envelope.
How many times have I told you– what will be, will be?

DOOGIE

Yeah. I know. I just thought…

FRAN
(continues his sentence)

…that you’d get this done before I arrive here?
That the sports section would slow me down so I wouldn’t notice? That…

Doogie pulls a white napkin from his desk and starts waving it.

DOOGIE

Alright already. Look, I’m stopping…

As he closes the window of his e-mail, Fran has jumped down off the chair to answer her phone, unbeknownst to Doogie. He continues to talk as though she’s still there.

DOOGIE

See I stopped writing it.

He turns back around and is shocked to see Julie in his office. He stands up quickly and then sits on the table where his computer is, trying to look cool.

JULIE

Stopped writing what? Am I interrupting something?
I’m sorry. I was just heading to a meeting an thought I’d stop by and say “Hi!”

DOOGIE

Howdy…Good to see you and whoa… (taking off his glasses to rub
his lenses)…indeed… that’s a lovely color on you.

JULIE
(blushing)

Thanks… It is one of my favorites.. it reminds me of…

Just then, Julie’s cell phone rings. She holds up the phone towards Doogie and he waves to her.

DOOGIE

I know… ya gotta go…  No worries. Have a fun meeting!

Julie nearly collides with Fran in the hallway. Fran enters Doogie’s cube with the sports section.

FRAN

What just happened? Did you hit send when I wasn’t looking? What did
you say? How did you get her over here so quickly?

Doogie is just smiling. Now its Fran’s turn.

FRAN

What? Come on… what did you do?

DOOGIE

I’m good. I’m really good. I’m so good that…

Fran eases herself past Doogie, holds her left arm up in a “boxing out” move, and wiggles the mouse to wake up his computer. She then unshrinks his e-mail window and stares long and hard at the monitor.

FRAN

Huh? You didn’t send it… but how?… what made her? What happened?

Doogie sits down and puts his feet up on his desk. Striking a pose, with his hands clasped behind his head.

DOOGIE

What can I say? Or rather, it’s exactly what you said… you know, that bit about “What will be, will be,” right?

FRAN

Sure… fine… whatever. Now how about some details?

DOOGIE

Actually, you’ll find this quite amusing. I thought I was still talking to you so I was just yammering away when I turned around and saw that she was in my cube.

FRAN

Interesting… very interesting. (pause)

Fran is looking on the floor outside Doogie’s cube.

FRAN

Humm… Don’t see a cookie crumb trail (she winks).

DOOGIE

Good one… Speaking of cookies…

FRAN

None left.

DOOGIE

Oh well… (pause)

He points to the Sports Section she’s carrying.

DOOGIE

So what did you think about last night’s games.

FRAN

Oh sure… switch subjects and pretend there wasn’t an ulterior
motive (holds up the paper) for you giving me this to read…

Doogie is smiling ear to ear. And Fran just shakes her head.

FRAN

Okay bright eyes… I’ve got a question for you…

DOOGIE

Sure.  I’ll go first.  I like San Diego
to go 2 up tonight. If they can get a lead, Hoffman will crush the ‘stros.

FRAN

(slowly) O-h- O-k-a-y… That wasn’t
exactly what I was after,but thanks for sharing (she winks).

He gets up and moves closer to Fran, and then leans against his desk, crossing his arms.

DOOGIE

So what’s on your mind.

FRAN

What do you know about Oregon?
Portland in particular?

DOOGIE

Besides the fact that there’s no major league baseball team…
or professional football team for that matter?

FRAN

Yeah… college sports and Nike were the only
things that came immediately to MY mind… which, of course,
got me wondering. (pause) So like what DO those people read about
in their Sports section during the summer?

DOOGIE

Humm… Excellent question. Maybe they just shut it down until the
fall when they can talk college football.

FRAN

No baseball? That’s weird… Maybe they’re Mariner’s fans… which
means…

DOOGIE

(completing her thought)…that they probably forgot about baseball
altogether once the M’s were mathematically eliminated…which I
think happened in May this year.

FRAN

Yikes! Still… to me, a day without baseball is like a day without sunshine…

DOOGIE

…and you’re talking about Portland right? Good one! (pause)
So back to your question, I’ve heard that Portland folks hang out
in a used bookstore called Powell’s.
It’s supposed to be in a huge warehouse or something like that.

FRAN

Used books, huh? What else?

DOOGIE

The brother of a college buddy of mine went to school up in Oregon.  He said that there are movie theaters off campus where you can drink pitchers of beer and eat pizza while watching a film.

FRAN

For real? Sounds like a “grown-up” version of Chuck-E-Cheese…
(pause) That’s a good idea though. There are some movies these days
that would be much better if beer were part of the viewing experience.

DOOGIE

Actually, from what he told me, the movies weren’t new releases.
Instead, they were older ones that you wouldn’t mind seeing on a big
screen.

Fran is writing notes. Powells, Movies with Beer Chasers. Doogie is watching in fascination.

DOOGIE

So I don’t get it. What’s the big deal about Portland? You got a business trip coming up?

FRAN

Actually, remember my friend Gayle? (pause) She invited me up for the weekend.

DOOGIE

This very weekend?! Well how absolutely spontaneous of you… You ARE going, right?

FRAN

Yeah… should be fun.

Doogie sits back down, turns to his computer and starts typing.

FRAN

That’s kind of rude… So are we done here?

DOOGIE

Not at all. You gave me an idea– and an excuse to play around with (pauses) YAAA-HOOOOOO! (he sings it)

FRAN

Heck, I could’ve done that.

DOOGIE

Yodel like the Yahoo! guy? I don’t think so…

Fran tosses the newspaper at Doogie.

DOOGIE

Always with the throwing… like what’s that from anyway? He turns back to his computer and types some more while talking to her over his shoulder.

DOOGIE

The way I see it, If Gayle invited you, she’s probably got a list of
stuff she wants you to see and do.

Fran hears her phone ringing and heads back to her cubicle.

DOOGIE

See ya around! Check your email in a bit. I’ll be sending over some Portland-related links.

He waves and she exits.

DISSOLVE TO:

CLOCK SPINNING QUICKLY (indicating the advancement of time).

Pull back from the spinning clock to see Julie coming down the hallway from her meeting. She knocks on Doogie’s cubicle wall and then settles into one of his side chairs.

JULIE

Hey. Sorry for the abrupt exit before.

DOOGIE

No worries. It happens to me all the time.

His head motions in the direction of Fran’s cubicle.

DOOGIE

You “power women.” Always on the run… in constant motion. What I don’t understand is when you guys eat… I get the “coffee achiever” thing but don’t you get brain dead from going non-stop like that from dawn to dusk?

JULIE

Funny you should mention eating… I was just stopping by to see what you were doing at lunch today.

DOOGIE

Lunch? (he asks surprised) Well (quickly recovering), let’s see. What day is it again?

Doogie is shuffling papers on his desk trying to contain his excitement.

JULIE

Duh! It’s Thursday… (she hold up the Sports section Fran left draped on the chair).

DOOGIE

Sweet! Thursday is Panini Day at the DELL-EE … (pause) I mean… Leigh’s Deli.

JULIE

Right on… panini… sure that sounds good… (pause)

It’s obvious from the look on her face that she has no clue what a panini is, but is playing along.

DOOGIE

So… when can you go?

Doogie is looking up at the clock.

DISSOLVE TO:
THE CLOCK -AS SEEN FROM FRAN’S CUBICLE

Fran is listening to the conference call. A close-up on her phone shows it is in mute mode (flashing red light). Occasionally she clicks forward on a PowerPoint slide presentation (related to the call). Otherwise, she’s preoccupied with what’s in the other windows opened on her computer screen. One window is a travel-related site (Travelocity). In another window, she has Doogie’s email open and from it, she hops over to an article about Powell’s (that appeared in Wired Magazine).

DISSOLVE TO:
INT. POWELL’S BOOKSTORE

Fran is imagining herself inside the huge warehouse-sized bookstore. In sort of a “through the looking glass” fashion, she goes from looking at a picture on her computer screen of the bookstore to actually being in the bookstore… roaming around.

FRAN
(voice over– talking inside her head)

Whoa! This is pretty cool… and hard to imagine… I mean really… a bookstore so big that you need a treasure map of sorts to find your way around? I would probably need a week to explore the nooks and crannies of that place.

Fran has picked up a map at the cash register and is perusing it when a ding is heard.

POWELL’S WORKER
(to Fran)

You better get that.

FRAN

What?

She’s looking around confused. Thinking the worker is referring to the map she replies.

FRAN

Sure. How much do I owe? Ding! The sound goes off again.

POWELL’S WORKER

Come on. Stop fooling around.  I’ve got things to do and so do you.

The “things to do” and “ding” finally register in Fran’s mind and she snaps out of her daydream to find a slew of e-mail in her “In” box.

Plus the conference call has just ended and she manages to quickly release the mute button and say good-bye to everyone. Then she shifts her attention to scanning her messages.

FRAN
(voice-over – thinking in her head)

What? Nothing urgent? Did management take the day off?

Then she sees a message from Gayle that she quickly clicks on to open.

GAYLE
(voice is heard while Fran reads the message)

Things are slow here today so I figured I’d do some research for you. I found some flight options. Looks like seating is wide open. Here are the links.

Hey, I know you’ve got lots going on. It would be great to see you and I’ve got this feeling that this might finally be the time when the sun, stars and moon are all in alignment to make it happen.

But if you can’t, no biggie. At least you can save this message for
future reference. Enjoy the rest of your day –GD

FRAN
(voice over — inside her head again)

She’s so thoughtful and always two steps ahead.

Fran quickly hammers out a replay to Gayle’s message:

Hey, Gayle! Thanks for the info. Just wondering, any chance we can squeeze in a visit to Powell’s?

She hits send and then gets up to stretch. Her stomach emits a growl and she looks at the clock.

FRAN
(voice over — inside her head again)

Where the heck has the morning gone?

Just then she hears another email ding, so she sits back down and scans her “in-box.” This time she sees there’s a message from Doogie with the subject line: Lunch?

As she reads it, Doogie’s voice can be heard speaking the message.

DOOGIE

Hey, Fran! I hope your call wasn’t too heinous. Bet you’re starved. Julie and I are heading over to DELL_LEE Leigh’s for Paninis. Can you break away and join us? Otherwise, let us know what you’d like and I’ll bring it back for you. Cheers! -D

Fran is shaking her head.

FRAN
(voiceover)

Lunch with Julie? That guy really moves fast!

She types a quick response.

FRAN

Would love to join but some idiot scheduled a call that’s supposed to
start at noon. If you can grab me a chicken Caesar salad, that would be awesome.

She hits send. Clicks open another window to get her call-in information, puts her headset on and starts dialing.

FADE OUT.

###

Watch for Toll House Tales: All Fired Up -106