Page 16 of Holly Jolly July
Int. Jenna’s Apartment - Day
Annie hands a cup of coffee to her sister.
Jenna takes a sip, then coughs and sputters. Jenna eyes the coffee, face contorted with disgust.
JENNA
What happened? Why did you go here instead
of Brewed Awakening?
ANNIE
I may have offended James, and he may have
refused service to me.
JENNA
Annie! I rely on that place to live. (beat)
I guess I can go down there and get coffee.
I’ll just have to jump into the shower quickly
while Henry is napping, and—
Baby Henry starts squalling in the next room.
Jenna sighs, rubs her eyes, exhausted.
JENNA (CONT’D)
Never mind. I guess I can get Henry dressed
after I feed him and take him with me. It’s
better than drinking this swill.
ANNIE
No, it’s okay. I came here to help you, not
to make your life harder. I’ll go apologize.
Mind if I take this?
Annie gestures to an extra Christmas wreath on Jenna’s counter.
Int. Brewed Awakening Café - Day
Annie enters the café, which is quiet and empty.
The barista is cleaning the espresso machine.
ANNIE
Hey, is your boss here? I was hoping to
apologize for my behaviour earlier. I
brought him a gift.
BARISTA
You... brought him a gift?
ANNIE
Yeah. He must have a reason for hating
Christmas so much. But instead of taking
the time to understand him, I was rude.
I guess that’s what I get for trying to
interact with people prior to being
caffeinated.
BARISTA
Wow, no one’s ever come back to
apologize before.
ANNIE
Does James scare off a lot of customers?
BARISTA
Everyone’s afraid of him. His customers,
his remaining family, even the Small
Business Association, they all avoid him,
which only makes everything worse.
I’m worried he might lose his business.
ANNIE
Why would he lose his business?
BARISTA
Every year the Small Business Association
invites him to their Christmas party, and
every year he refuses. As good as his coffee
is, community support is important in this
town. I’m sure there are a lot of other
great businesses who would love to be in
a prime location like this, but they’d
be more community-oriented. And if James
loses the business, he loses the apartment.
Barista points up to the ceiling.
ANNIE
He lives upstairs? So does my sister.
BARISTA
Oh, your sister must be Jenna? With
the cute baby?
ANNIE
Yeah! Do you know her?
BARISTA
I’ve seen her around. James avoids her.
ANNIE
Oh. Why would he do that?
BARISTA
He has a thing with babies.
ANNIE
What kind of weirdo doesn’t like babies?
They share a laugh.
ANNIE (CONT’D)
What’s your name, by the way?
BARISTA / KATE
I’m Kate.
ANNIE
Annie. How long have you worked here?
KATE
I’ve been here forever. I remember
way back before, when James would
decorate this place. He made the best
Christmas cookies, spent hours icing them.
ANNIE
He can bake?
JENNA
(nodding)
He was an excellent baker. He’d bake
dozens and dozens of cookies to sell in
the café and give all the leftovers
away at the Small Business Association
Christmas party.
ANNIE
I can’t imagine him at a party.
JENNA
Believe it or not, he used to be the life
of it. And he’s an excellent dancer. He’s
lost sight of what Christmas means, it seems.
ANNIE
Maybe he just needs to be reminded
of the true meaning of Christmas.
KATE
(smiling)
I think you might be right.