FADE IN:
INT. MURIEL'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
A painting hangs from a twisted picture wire, facing the wall: canvas stretched over wood, with a few errant drops of paint. No identifying information.
We can't see much in the dark--NOAH and MURIEL murmur indistinctly in the shadows. They kiss, and murmur some more. Only the occasional phrase is discernible.
NOAH
Why is it--?
MURIEL
Because it's just for me. I turn it around like that whenever I have anyone over.
Rustling, in the dark. They are almost invisible.
MURIEL
It's my only possession.
NOAH
Oh? What about...?
Muriel laughs.
MURIEL
Just stuff.
NOAH
Just stuff.
MURIEL
Yeah. It's the only thing I have that--it was made only for me.
NOAH
Oh.
They kiss.
NOAH
Can I see it?
Muriel doesn't answer. They kiss again.
LATER
Noah sits on the edge of the bed and dresses perfunctorily.
Muriel is asleep in bed, facing away from him.
EXT. MURIEL'S APARTMENT
Noah stands by the closed door, finishing a cigarette. He looks up at the moon.
There's a distant sound swirling in the night sky.
He crushes the cigarette under his shoe, then turns to go back inside...
...but he's locked out.
He pulls out his phone and sends a quick text, then trudges off to his car.
INT. MURIEL'S BEDROOM
Muriel's phone buzzes once and lights up the room for a few seconds. She rolls over in bed.
INT. NOAH'S CAR
Noah drives in silence, his headlights punching two bright cones into the dense night.
Noah's phone rings over the car's speakers, and a number pops up on the car's infotainment screen: MURIEL. He answers.
NOAH
Hey. Sorry to ditch out on you, I didn't want to wake you up.
MURIEL (ON PHONE)
No, it's okay.
The lulls in the conversation are oppressively silent.
MURIEL (ON PHONE)
Listen... I just want to be honest with you.
NOAH
What do you mean?
Muriel sighs.
MURIEL (ON PHONE)
The sex. ... I mean, I wasn't having sex with you.
Noah laughs. Muriel laughs too, but she sounds strained. Guilty.
MURIEL (ON PHONE)
No. I wasn't! I was... I was fucking someone else. ... You were just the one who was there.
NOAH
...oh.
Traffic lights emerge from the dark and swoop past the car in dizzying rhythm.
MURIEL (ON PHONE)
...I had a really good time...
NOAH
Yeah. Me too.
INT. NOAH'S KITCHEN
RYAN sits at the kitchen table, sipping coffee.
The deadbolt flips open and Noah enters, nodding a silent greeting to Ryan.
RYAN
How was the date?
Noah tries to formulate an answer. Ryan reaches over to the counter and grabs an empty mug.
RYAN
I mean, it must've gone okay, what time is it?
NOAH
It was... I don't know. It was good, I guess.
Ryan pours Noah a cup of coffee and pushes it across the table toward Noah.
Noah hesitates for a moment, then takes the bait and sits down.
NOAH
How are you? I feel like we haven't talked in a really long time.
RYAN
Oh, poor. Tired. You know what?
NOAH
What?
RYAN
Now that I think about it, I'm actually really unhappy. About pretty much everything.
NOAH
Oh. Sorry.
RYAN
It's whatever. I think it's probably okay.
NOAH
You sure?
RYAN
I got a new phone.
LATER
Noah sits in the dark, still sipping his coffee. Ryan is nowhere to be seen.
Through the window across from him, something flickers in the dark distance. Heat lightning, maybe.
He finishes the coffee and gazes at the sediment in the bottom of the mug.
INT. THE CORNER - DAY
A nondescript neighborhood bar, of the type that proliferate in Milwaukee. Not a lot of business, mid-day. Noah stands at the far end of the bar, washing glasses.
Muriel enters and sits at the other end of the bar. She glances expectantly over at Noah, but he doesn't seem to notice her.
Eventually, she speaks up.
MURIEL
She doesn't love him.
Noah pours a drink and walks it down to her.
MURIEL
He's just with her because it's easy.
NOAH
I don't really want to hear about it.
She accepts the drink wordlessly.
INT. MURIEL'S BEDROOM - LATER
Noah is in bed with Muriel again.
He can't help but notice that she isn't looking at him. Her eyes drift up to the ceiling instead.
He tries not to think about it, but he can't help himself.
NOAH
What was his name?
MURIEL
What?
NOAH
His name. Tell me.
MURIEL
John...
NOAH
You can call me his name. If you want.
For the first time, her eyes meet his.
MURIEL
Oh... John...
MORNING
Noah opens his eyes. He squints, watching the world smear and blur, then opens them again.
MURIEL
Good morning...
NOAH
Hey...
Her face streaks into abstraction as Noah squints at her.
MURIEL
I'm just gonna move to a different state. Start over. Start fresh. It's like, too many bad memories in this place. You know?
Noah doesn't say anything.
MURIEL
Los Angeles.
NOAH
Is that where he is?
MURIEL
Since last summer.
The picture still faces the wall. Noah squints at it.
Muriel notices him.
MURIEL
It's still just for me.
NOAH
Okay.
MURIEL
It's only ever for me.
NOAH
Okay.
MURIEL
It's important.
INT. NOAH'S KITCHEN
NOAH
I kind of like it. Not just because the sex is better when she calls me John, but also because I like feeling how much she loves him.
RYAN
Sure, sure, I can see... that...
NOAH
Not like I am him exactly, not like she loves me exactly, but like I'm a part of it.
RYAN
And I guess you get to be someone else for a while, that's probably nice.
BLACK SCREEN
MURIEL (ON PHONE)
Hi, John!
Noah hesitates, then decides to play along.
NOAH (ON PHONE)
...hi!
MURIEL (ON PHONE)
Doing anything tonight?
NOAH (ON PHONE)
What's up?
INT. MURIEL'S BEDROOM - EVENING
Muriel digs through her closet while Noah tries on a shirt. It's a bit too small for him.
NOAH
The sleeves are a little short...
She emerges from the closet with a hoodie and takes an appraising look at him.
MURIEL
It's not bad.
She tosses him the hoodie.
MURIEL
Let's go!
INT. RESTAURANT
Noah and Muriel sit across from each other in a cozy restaurant, finishing their dinner.
They don't speak, but it's a companionable silence.
ANGIE is heading for the exit when she spots Muriel and changes course.
ANGIE
Muriel?
MURIEL
Oh my gosh, Angie!
They hug.
ANGIE
It's been so long! How are you?
MURIEL
You've met John, right?
Noah smiles.
ANGIE
Oh... is...?
MURIEL
What's wrong?
ANGIE
Didn't you used to date...?
MURIEL
No, no, this is him!
Angie's smile falters.
ANGIE
Oh...
MURIEL
What have you been up to?
NOAH (V.O.)
I never felt about anybody the way she feels about John. Maybe that's sad, I don't know. But at least I can help her by being John as much as I can.
RYAN (V.O.)
I put the rent check on the fridge.
INT. MURIEL'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
Muriel is fast asleep. Noah lies awake next to her.
He stares at the still-hidden painting.
NOAH (V.O.)
I guess I’d never been in love with anyone. Except maybe Muriel, now. But it wasn’t the usual kind of love. It was the kind of love that was on the back of a painting, not the front.
INT. MURIEL'S APARTMENT - DAY
Noah watches Muriel butcher a pineapple.
MURIEL
I'm gonna end that marriage.
She’s really going after it. She doesn’t seem to have much of a plan.
MURIEL
I can do it.
NOAH (V.O.)
It was tough because she was mad at John, but she was also mad at me, because I was John, and she was also mad at me because I wasn't John, not to the degree that she needed me to be.
NOAH
How can I help?
THE NEXT DAY
Muriel's apartment is practically empty. She shoves clothes into her suitcase. The painting--still facing backwards--still hangs on the wall.
Noah stands back and watches.
MURIEL
I told Leroy I'd have everything out by the end of the week. Can you just leave the key under the mat once you have the place cleared out?
NOAH
Yeah.
Muriel looks up at the otherwise-empty wall.
There's no way this painting will fit in her suitcase.
NOAH
I can send it to you, once you have an address...
Muriel shakes her head.
CUT TO:
LATER
Noah hangs back and watches as Muriel sloppily wraps the frame in birthday gift wrap, then throws the rest of the roll in the trash.
MURIEL
You can have it. Just promise.
NOAH
I promise.
INT. NOAH'S BEDROOM
Noah ties a rag around his head to form a makeshift blindfold. He looks around the room, checking to ensure that he can't see anything.
Now safely blindfolded, he pounds a nail into his wall. It goes surprisingly well, given his blindness.
He lays the painting face-down on the floor and removes the wrapping paper.
He lifts the painting up, presses it face-first against the wall, and hooks the picture wire over the nail.
He takes a careful step back, then unties his blindfold to inspect his handiwork.
He steps up to the painting, straightens it a touch, then steps back again to gaze at it.
NOAH (V.O.)
I guess some part of me doesn't want to know.
ANOTHER TIME
Noah sits across from the painting, a plate of food in his lap.
He eats while watching the painting, the way he might watch TV.
The door is half-open, but Ryan knocks anyway before poking his head in.
RYAN
I have something to show you.
NOAH
Hm?
RYAN
Come with me.
INT. RYAN'S CAR
Ryan drives through darkened city streets. Streetlights swoop down at them as they drive past.
Noah's window is down. He stares out into the dark, wind blowing into his face.
The radio is off. Neither of them speaks.
EXT. LAKE MICHIGAN - NIGHT
Ryan's car is parked in a deserted lot by the lake.
Noah and Ryan sit side by side on the trunk, staring out at the dim horizon, listening more than looking.
Quiet at first, but growing gradually louder, something--or things--swirl and shriek over the lake.
There might be a bright, aurora-like wisp accompanying the sounds, or it might be nothing at all.
RYAN
My dad used to bring me out here all the time.
Noah smiles. This is the most like himself he's ever felt.
NOAH
Do you think they're really ghosts?
Ryan takes a bite of his sandwich.
RYAN
What else would they be?
CUT TO BLACK.
THE END