Episode 41

Unexpected Offers
PART 1

1 SAN FRANCISCO AIRPORT—DAY

2 Ramón looks at his son on board the plane.
3 RAMON Fasten your seat belt.
4 ALEX (grumpily) Yeah.
5 RAMON Are you gonna be all right?. . . Don’t act like that.
6 ALEX Don’t act like what?
7 RAMON Like this is a big ordeal. It’s not. . . You’ll have a great time. You’ll be back for New
8 Year’s, and we’ll celebrate Christmas then, OK? (The boy nods.) And you’ll get together
9 with Vincent.
10 ALEX Promise?
11 RAMON Yeah, I promise.
12 ALEX And you promise to call me on Christmas day?
13 RAMON Of course I will. And so will Grandma and Grandpa from Mexico.
14 ALEX And you have to promise to give Vincent, Rebecca, and Uncle Alberto their presents
15 from me.
16 RAMON Certainly...
17 ALEX You have to, Dad, right away, so they get them before Christmas. Don’t forget.
18 RAMON Don’t worry. I’ll do it right away.
19 ALEX Today.
20 RAMON I promise. I’ll do it today. Vincent, Rebecca, and Uncle Alberto will have their presents
21 today. It’s time to go. . . How about a smile?
22 Alex gives his father a wide fake grin.
23 RAMON And smile when you see your mother.
24 ALEX Yeah.
25 RAMON All right. I love you. I’ll call you Christmas day! Que Diós te bendiga.

26 THE WANGS’ LIVING ROOM—DAY

27 Vincent is putting a Christmas present under the Wangs’ Christmas tree. Mrs. Wang enters.
28 MRS. WANG Vincent, Alex father came here with this today.
29 VINCENT A gift from Alex! I didn’t give him one before he left.
30 MRS. WANG Alex will be in Los Angeles for Christmas.
31 VINCENT I know. I feel bad for Alex, Mom.
32 MRS. WANG Why?
33 VINCENT He didn’t want to go to L.A. No way.
34 MRS. WANG Well, many times we must do things we do not want. (in Mandarin) Ni bàba hullai le.
35 (“Your father is home.”) We will have our dinner soon. And so go up and wash your hands,
36 please, OK?
37 Vincent heads upstairs to the bathroom. Mrs. Wang goes to the front door, where she greets Mr. Wang.
38 MR. WANG We have to talk.
39 They move upstairs.

40 BATHROOM
41 Vincent is wiping his hands on a towel. He sees his parents walk past the bathroom and enter their bedroom. Curious,
42 he walks into his bedroom and enters a connecting closet.
43 He listens at the connecting closet door. Here, he can hear their voices more clearly.

44 THE WANGS’ BEDROOM

45 Mr. Wang is handing Mrs. Wang a letter.
46 MR. WANG This is the letter we’ve been waiting for.
47 MRS. WANG (concerned) The letter. . . ?
48 MR. WANG Yes. From the company in Taiwan.. . It’s a definite offer.
49 MRS. WANG They want you?
50 MR. WANG They want me to work for them...
51 MRS. WANG In Taiwan?
52 MR. WANG Yes.

53 CLOSET
54 Vincent peeks through the halfway open door. His parents do not realize he is there.
55 MR. WANG Mei-Lin, this may be our golden opportunity.
56 Mrs. Wang turns around to face her husband. She is upset but trying not to show it.
57 MRS. WANG We have done well in United States. We have good life. We have good business...
58 MR. WANG We knew this difficult decision would come.
59 MRS. WANG Vincent, too, he has good life here. He is in good school. He has friends.
60 MR. WANG Vincent’s friends were not always his friends here.
61 MRS. WANG (in Mandarin) Ni cong lái mèi yOu kuãnsü guO nàxië háizi, dul bü dul? (“You have never
62 forgiven those children, have you?”)
63 MR. WANG They hurt our child. . . by calling him names. And those words hurt us, too.
64 Mr. Wang is silent for a minute.
65 MR. WANG Vincent was born here. But to some people in the United States, Vincent will always be
66 a foreigner.
67 MRS. WANG This is our home now.
68 MR. WANG We will adjust.
69 MRS. WANG Well, when do we have to go?
70 MR. WANG Soon. Very soon.
71 We see Vincent’s frightened face in the crack of the door.

PART 2

72 NANCY’S HOUSE—DAY
73 The doorbell rings. Rebecca goes to answer it.
74 REBECCA Ramón! What a nice surprise.
75 RAMON I just dropped by to give you this. It’s a Christmas present from Alex.
76 REBECCA Alex is so sweet. He’s a great kid!
77 RAMON I just put him on a plane to L.A. . . . (Rebecca looks confused.) He’s visiting his mother.
78 REBECCA It must be difficult not having Alex around for Christmas.
79 Ramón looks very lost and upset. He stands there for a few seconds.
80 REBECCA Are you all right?
81 RAMONI don’t know. It just hit me, I guess.
82 REBECCA Do you want to come in...
83RAMON Yeah . . . yeah.
84 Ramón enters. She closes the door behind him. She holds the present from Alex.
85 REBECCA Would you care for anything to drink?
86 RAMON No, no. I really don’t have much time. I have to open the restaurant soon. You probably
87 have a lot of studying to do.
88 He starts to leave.
89 REBECCA No, it’s fine. I have a minute...
90 It is an awkward moment for them, the first time they have been alone together in this house.

91 LIVING ROOM
92 We see Rebecca and Ramón sitting near the Christmas tree.
93 REBECCA It’s heavy. Wonder what it is?
94 RAMON I had to stop by. Alex insisted that I bring you that gift today.
95 REBECCA Kids that age.. . . they get an idea into their heads, and they just don’t let it go.
96 RAMON Yeah, you can say that again.. . I guess sending Alex off to Los Angeles is hitting me
97 harder than I thought.
98 REBECCA I can imagine.
99 RAMON I’ve never been alone at Christmas.
100 REBECCA What about your Mom and Dad?
101 RAMON They’re in Mexico, visiting relatives.., and I’m all alone in the house.
102 REBECCA Well, at least you’ll have your brother.
103 RAMON Alberto said he’s going skiing for the holidays. Aren’t you going with him?
104 REBECCA No. We never talked about it. Anyway, skiing’s not my thing. I’m sure he’ll have a great
105 time.
106 RAMON He makes friends, wherever he goes.. . Are you doing anything special for Christmas?
107 REBECCA No. I’ll be here. It’ll be pretty quiet. Melaku and Angela will be gone. It’ll be just Nancy
108 and me.
109 RAMON What about your brother?
110 REBECCA No, I’m not going to see him. He’s at my uncle’s farm. I’ll call him, for sure. This will be
111 our first Christmas without my dad. I guess we’ll both be without families for the
112 holidays.
113 RAMON We have a family tradition. On Christmas day, I’ll bring food over to the community
114 center in our neighborhood. It’s like a posada.
115 REBECCA A posada?
116 RAMON The posada is a Mexican tradition. During Christmas, we go from house to house and we
117 ask for shelter. We sing Christmas carols, eat, and share the Christmas story.
118 REBECCA It’s a beautiful tradition.
119 RAMON Well, my family has been doing it for years. This year, I’ll have to do it by myself, but it
120 wouldn’t be Christmas without it.
121 REBECCA I should have known that you’d have the true Christmas spirit.
122 The hail clock chimes.
123 RAMON Well, I’d better go.
124 REBECCA Yeah, I should get to my studying.
125 Ramón heads toward door.

126 HALLWAY
127 Rebecca walks him to the door. He turns and talks.
128 RAMON I don’t want to make a fool of myself, but I ... I have to ask you something.
129 REBECCA Sure.
130 RAMON If things were different... I mean if... would you consider… spending Christmas
131 with me?
132 REBECCA (surprised) Christmas with you? Wow, Ramón. . . I don’t know what to say I
133 RAMON I... I figured cause... since we’re both alone...
134 REBECCA (struggling for words) Ramón. . . You are one of the sweetest men I know... and. . . and a
135 wonderful father... and I love spending time with you
136 RAMON That’s what I thought. No, no, I’m sorry I bothered you.
137 REBECCA You didn’t bother me. Because I’d like to...
138 RAMON Have a great holiday.
139 He starts to open the front door. Rebecca stops him short.
140 REBECCA Wait. Please don’t misunderstand me. I didn’t mean that...
141 RAMON No, I understand. Really. . . really I . . . I don’t know why I asked... I just, you
142 know... No, really, I have to go.
143 REBECCA Goodbye. . . Oh, man...
144 This time he leaves for good. Rebecca is left standing in the doorway, confused and upset.

PART 3

145 ALBERTO’S OFFICE

146 Alberto is working on a blueprint, talking with a fellow architect. Ramón appears in the doorway, carrying Alex’s
147 present. He enters.
148 ALBERTO Ramón. What’re you doing here?
149 RAMON Alex made me promise to drop this off—pronto. So, here I am.
150 Alberto looks at the present.
151 ALBERTO What a thoughtful nephew I have. Well, I have a present for him, too.
152 RAMON He won’t be home until after Christmas.
153 ALBERTO You drove him to the airport already?
154 RAMON Yeah. Hey, I gotta go, get back to the restaurant.
155 ALBERTO Hey, I need a break. I’ll walk you to the door...
156 The brothers head out.
157 ALBERTO So. . . I’ve made a reservation at a ski lodge in Aspen.
158 RAMON (without much enthusiasm) Sounds great.
159 ALBERTO What’s with you?
160 RAMON I think I’m starting to hate the holidays.
161 ALBERTO There’s only one answer.. . escape. I told you. Come with me.
162 RAMON And I told you... it’s impossible.
163 ALBERTO You’ve got to do something, brother, before you turn into the Grinch.
164 RAMON I tried.
165 ALBERTO What do you mean, you tried?
166 Ramon looks uneasy.
167 RAMON I think I did something out of line.
168 ALBERTO What was that?
169 RAMON I had to deliver Alex’s present to Rebecca...
170 ALBERTO Rebecca...
171 RAMON And we got to talking. And I told her that I’d be all alone on Christmas. . . and you’d be
172 gone.. . and so would Alex, and Mama and Papa. . . And she said she was going to be
173 alone. . . so before I knew it . . . I asked her to join me for Christmas.
174 ALBERTO So.. . what did she say?
175 RAMON That I was a nice man, and a good father...
176 ALBERTO It’s all true.
177 RAMON It was so dumb to ask her. I realize I was out of line. I meant it in more than a friendly
178 way. And she picked up on that.
179 ALBERTO Hey, you were just lonely. It happens.
180 Alberto looks at his brother; he is realizing that Ramón’s feelings for Rebecca go deep.
181 RAMON This Rebecca thing might be something we should talk about...
182 ALBERTO Definitely, but not now. We’ve both got work to do... and these chats are great, but
183 not on company time.
184 RAMON All right.
185 ALBERTO See ya.
186 RAMON All right. See ya.
187 Ramón leaves, encouraged by Alberto’s gentle persuasion. After Ramón has left, Alberto’s happy exterior changes into
a
188 more serious mood. How does he feel about this incident?