Page 22 of Holly Jolly July

Ext. Brewed Awakening Café - Day

Annie is walking by the café and peeks through the windows to see James talking to several people in business suits.

Annie ducks around the corner when the group walks outside.

This has gone on long enough.

BUSINESSWOMAN 2

Your little fiasco the other day nearly

made the paper. Not the local paper,

the provincial paper! Do you know

what that would have done to us?

JAMES

As I explained, it was a one-time

occurrence, and won’t happen again.

I had an unruly customer disturbing

the peace.

BUSINESSWOMAN 1

This isn’t a one-time problem, James.

And the incident with that woman is

just the tip of the iceberg.

JAMES

What do you mean?

BUSINESSWOMAN 2

You’re hurting our community, James.

BUSINESSMAN 1

All of the businesses rely on each

other to bring customers in. When a

cornerstone unit like yours doesn’t

hold up its end of the bargain, it

hurts the rest of us. People are going

into the city to shop in malls rather

than downtown because they are more

festive. We can’t afford to keep sending business away.

BUSINESSWOMAN 1

I know Christmas is a hard time of year

for you, but this is Hemlock Grove.

Everyone here loves Christmas!

BUSINESSWOMAN 2

If you refuse to be part of our community,

then we will find someone who is. We’ve

invited some prospective new tenants to

the party on Saturday.

JAMES

What do you mean?

BUSINESSWOMAN 1

If you can’t turn all this around and

prove to the community that you still have

a place here, then we will find someone

else better suited for it.

JAMES

You can’t do that. We’ve been here...

I’ve been here since the beginning.

BUSINESSWOMAN 1

All good things come to an end.

JAMES

Trust me, I know that better than most.

BUSINESSWOMAN 2

We’ve been patient and understanding,

but we have to do what’s right for our

community. If that means making a difficult

choice, then that’s what we’ll have to do.

The businesspeople walk away down the street.

James takes deep breath, shakes his head, and then walks into the café.