TITANIC: AFTERMATH
Chapter Eight
INT. CAL'S LIVING ROOM - EASTER DAY, 1913
Cal and Ruth watch the children hunting for
Easter eggs, aided by the servants.
CAL (VO)
With time, and with a continual effort to
change the world for the better, my feelings of remorse were gradually
assuaged, to some degree. We had just celebrated Easter. As with Christmas, the
children made the holiday brighter.
Ruth enjoys the children, but her happiness
is somewhat forced, as this is her first Easter without her daughter. She's
gotten over some of her class prejudice, having come down a few pegs herself.
Cal is withdrawn and depressed, but forces a
smile when Ruth nudges him, pointing out a child discovering a hidden treat.
EXT. HOCKLEY STEEL OFFICE - AFTERNOON - APRIL
14, 1913
Cal emerges from the front door, greeting the
world with an attitude of forced optimism.
Cal turns his pale face toward the sky. He
blinks at the sunlight, as though its cheerful brilliance is something
strangely foreign, or a vague memory from long ago. He draws his first full
breath in almost a year.
CAL (VO)
Even I couldn't help experiencing some of the
sense of hope and rejuvenation that came with springtime. I set out for my
first walk about Philadelphia that I took just for the pleasure of it. It
seemed that with time, and the company of others, I had begun to recover from
the darkness that had hitherto enshrouded my life.
Cal descends the steps toward the sidewalk,
coughing as he goes. He is getting over a cold.
Cal pauses to defer to passers by. He briefly
glances at three men standing on the opposite corner to his left, then turns
right to begin his constitutional.
Across the street, JOHANN GUNDERSEN (60), and
Olaus Gundersen glance furtively in Cal's direction. The GHOST OF BJORN
GUNDERSEN stands between them, gazing directly at Cal. Olaus nods to Johann as
if to say, "Yeah, he's the one, all right".
Cal averts his eyes as he walks by a theater
displaying a poster of Dorothy Gibson's film, "Saved from the
Titanic".
EXT. NEAR INDEPENDENCE HALL - DAY
Cal proceeds on his walk. The streets and
sidewalks bustle with people who are out to enjoy the glorious spring day. The
sun beams joyfully upon them from a solidly optimistic blue sky.
Yet, at a tram stop behind Cal stand the
GHOSTS OF GEORGE E. WIDENER (50), CHARLES DUANE WILLIAMS (51) AND JOHN B.
THAYER (49), three prominent Philadelphians who died on the Titanic. The
apparitions gaze hollowly in his direction.
CAL (VO)
The day was bathed in an ethereally beautiful
glow, exalting and reassuring each soul that emerged from its winter lair to
experience its radiance.
EXT. 3RD ST. AND ST. JAMES ST. INTERSECTION -
DAY
CAL (VO)
Yet, I felt there was also something very disturbing
about it. I could not place the source of this nagging feeling.
Cal walks through a predominantly Irish
neighborhood, lost in thought. A ways behind him, Johann and Olaus walk past
the GHOST OF TOMMY RYAN. They argue bitterly, Johann pressing forward, and
Olaus trying to convince him to stop.
EXT. SOUTH PHILADELPHIA - CORNER OF 3RD AND
CHRISTIAN ST. - DAY
Cal stops, realizing he is lost. The sun is
now bereft of its former brilliance, having sunken lower in the sky.
CAL (VO)
I soon realized I had taken a wrong turn. I
wondered why I had felt inexplicably drawn to this place.
Poor people glance away as Cal turns toward
them. But the GHOST OF FABRIZIO DE ROSSI, some distance behind him, continues
to stare unabashedly.
Cal turns left, and continues on his journey,
looking decidedly less chipper than when he started out walking. Cal sees
children stare out of a cluttered, poorly lit alleyway. Their world is a place
of unmitigated poverty and dubious sanitation.
EXT. DELAWARE RIVER WATERFRONT AT CHRISTIAN
ST. - LATE AFTERNOON
Cal walks across the street toward the river.
Workmen unload sacks of sugar jute from a ship onto pier 40 south. A ferry
returns workers after a long day's work. Scattered people pack up fishing gear
and leave for home. A one-stack ocean-liner steams up the river.
Cal slows, then stops, realizing where he is.
Despondency sets in, as he gazes out at the broad river. Life around him moves
slowly, as if reality were a dream.
CAL (VO)
I realized I had come to the water. It was
then that I remembered...it was April 14th! It was the night the Titanic hit
the iceberg, one year ago today!
SOUNDS FROM THE SINKING emerge and overtake
the reality around him. Cal is drawn away from the bustling activity, as he
hears the call of another world.
CAL (VO)
I began to feel out of place among the people
going about their daily routines...out of place amongst the living.
Cal fixes his eyes upon the water, as if
drawn in by a vortex.
CAL (VO)
I wished for the river to swallow me up...but
there was no way to execute this plan now. I decided it best I return home as
soon as possible before the hideous apparitions of yesteryear overtook me
completely.
Cal wrests himself away from the water's
hypnotic grasp. As Cal crosses safely back over Delaware Avenue, he catches
sight of the Old Swede's Church across the street. He heads there to find a
moment of solace.
Behind him, steerage ghosts including Bjorn
Gundersen (bleeding from the head), peer accusingly from the darkness inside
the pier.
EXT. OLD SWEDE'S CHURCH - ALMOST SUNDOWN
Cal tries the church's front door, but it is
locked. He turns away, disheartened by this refusal of entry into God's
kingdom.
As Cal approaches the church's graveyard, he
views Swedish gravestone after Swedish gravestone. The eerie monoliths seem to
reach for him, casting tall shadows in his path. He veers away, then escapes
outside a gate.
EXT. OLD SWEDE'S CHURCH COURTYARD - ALMOST
SUNDOWN
As he shuts the gate behind him, Cal sees
Olaus and Johann waiting near the walkway for him. As he moves to step by them,
Johann's eyes pierce him with an evil gleam.
Johann interposes himself in Cal's way. Cal
is jolted back into reality.
Johann reeks with the smell of liquor. He's
become a habitual drinker since his son's death, and time has done little to
assuage his grief. Indeed, he's become increasingly obsessed with each passing
day.
Johann speaks in an ominously low tone, with
a thick, Swedish accent.
JOHANN
I suppose y' think you can get away with jest
about anything, don't you, rich boy?
Johann makes a sudden rush toward Cal, but
Olaus holds him back.
OLAUS
(in Swedish, sub-titled) Uncle, no! There is
no good that can come from vengeance!
Cal recoils with fright, but he is also
intensely curious.
CAL
To what are you referring, sir?
Johann explodes with rage.
JOHANN
It's my boy I'm "referring" to, you
bastard! The one you beat down into the water with an oar! I don't believe
you're any kind of hero, like they say, not one bit!
Stunned, Cal's jaw drops open. His mind
whirls in a twisting maelstrom of emotion.
But panic soon gives way to acceptance, as he
realizes his moment of truth has come. Like a man sentenced to be hanged, he
decides to put himself at the old man's mercy. Olaus stands ready to pounce on
Johann, who seethes and quakes with rage. Cal drinks in the hatred in the old
man's eyes. His heart is pounding, yet he grows increasingly listless, as he
wallows in guilt.
JOHANN
My nephew here says it was you that did it.
It's true, isn't it?
Cal recognizes Olaus from the lifeboat.
Memories flood in. Filled with shame, he chokes on his words.
CAL
Yes.
Before Olaus can intervene, Johann hurls
himself at Cal and deals him a hefty punch in the eye with his left fist, then
swiftly, another with his right.
Cal slams against the gate and to the ground.
His bowler tumbles off, as he clutches his face in pain. Olaus seizes Johann
and wrestles him back.
Astonished, Cal touches his eye. He cups his
hand under his bloody nose. He lowers his hand to look at it. Blood drips down
upon Cal's hands.
Cal's head swims with this graphic image of
guilt. Johann laughs uproariously at Cal while Olaus restrains him.
OLAUS
(in Swedish, sub-titled) No! He's a very
powerful man, this one! It's not worth it!
JOHANN
(in Swedish, sub-titled) I'm an old
man--there's nothing he can do to me! And I'll tell the world his story if he
wants to pick a fight with Johann Gundersen!
Johann wriggles himself free of Olaus' grasp.
Olaus admonishes Johann with a forceful glare.
The old man removes a flask from his pocket,
and drinks in his courage in a bottle. He stuffs the bottle back in his jacket.
JOHANN
Yes, we've got a little anniversary to
celebrate, eh, rich boy?
Cal pulls himself up off the ground and
steadies himself. He removes a handkerchief from his pocket and pats the blood
from his nose, controlling the bleeding.
CAL
Does your son have a family, sir?
JOHANN
(furious) Yes, he had a family! He left
behind his wife and four children with no one to look after 'em! Every day is a
struggle for them now! Why, I'd like string you up right here and now!
Cal stares intently into the old man's eyes.
He removes his wallet from his pocket.
CAL
(faltering) I know they must need some
assistance. Please accept this...I can give you more later. I assure you,
they'll be very well taken care of.
Trembling, Cal removes all of the money from
his wallet and hands it to Johann. Olaus' eyes widen with awe. He's never seen
so much money in one place before.
Furiously, Johann knocks the money onto the
ground. It scatters like so much useless waste over the ground.
JOHANN
I don't want your filthy money! You can't buy
your way out of this one, you weasel!
OLAUS
Don't be a fool, man!
Johann prepares to deal Cal another blow, but
Olaus grabs him and holds him back. Cal retrieves a wad of money from the
ground.
Undaunted, Cal steps up to Johann and stuffs
the money in his pocket. He's willing to get hurt doing his duty, though it's
not bravery that motivates him, but a lack of concern for his own well being.
CAL
Please, sir...put aside your pride for a
moment, and think of their needs. I cannot expect your forgiveness. This is
something I can never...SHOULD never have. But this will make their lives
easier.
Johann stops struggling with Olaus. He gazes
incredulously at Cal, trying to understand his peculiar form of gentleness.
He's not getting the fight he expected, and his energy for this one-way battle
is beginning to wane.
CAL
I owe you more...much more.
Johann thinks Cal wants him to name his
price. The idea that his son's life has a price that a rich man could easily
afford infuriates Johann to the core and sears at his pride. He makes another
start toward Cal, but Olaus holds him fast.
JOHANN
You can't put a price on my son's life!
OLAUS
Come on, Uncle! Just take the money and go!
JOHANN
But he killed my boy!
Johann is reduced to tears. Olaus starts to
drag him away. The old man's words cut Cal like a knife.
Olaus drags Johann off, sobbing and
screaming.
JOHANN
You murdered my son, you bastard!
Cal gapes in horror, seeing how terribly he's
injured Johann.
CAL (VO)
He was right. I was a murderer. Yet, here I
was, getting away with it. In fact, I was living a life of luxury. I was also
living a lie. Anyone I knew...Mrs. Bingham...John Blair...would recoil in
disgust if they were to discover what sort of a monster was lurking in their
midst. I knew I had one last duty to perform. I owed this man my life, nothing
less.
EXT. MARKET - CORNER OF SOUTH ST. AND FRONT
ST. - DUSK
Food vendors pack up their wares while people
finish shopping. Cal hurries toward home. He grabs a fistful of ice from a
bucket of fish on a cart and holds it up to his eye.
EXT. 1811 WALNUT STREET - NIGHT
Max packs up his gardening tools. He looks
curiously at Cal as he brushes past him without a word, trying to hide his
black eye under his bowler.
INT. LIVING ROOM - 1811 WALNUT STREET - NIGHT
Sheila and Mrs. Spivey stop cleaning when
they see Cal walk in.
SHEILA
Oh, my word!
Mrs. Bingham pops out of the kitchen, holding
a wooden spoon. She eyes Cal incredulously as he hurries past.
MRS. BINGHAM
Good God, sir! What happened to you?
CAL
I took a little tumble, Mrs. Bingham. Not to
worry.
Mrs. Bingham stares, mute with disbelief. Cal
gives orders as he disappears down the hall.
CAL
I'll be leaving straight away for a holiday
at the beach. Please have Max get my car ready.
INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT
Mrs. Bingham, Sheila, Mrs. Spivey, and Max
huddle together. Mrs. Bingham is consumed with worry, but covers up for Cal.
MRS. BINGHAM
Well, if the master says he took a tumble, he
took a tumble.
MAX
I say he's been in a bar room brawl! Did you
see his clothes?
SHEILA
And that shiner!
MRS. SPIVEY
I don't believe a word he said.
MRS. BINGHAM
It is not our position to criticize our
betters! Max, do you have his car ready?
MAX
No, mum.
Max hurries out of the room.
MRS. SPIVEY
That's right. Leave it to the upper classes
to do our thinking for us, and see what happens to you! You'll end up at the
bottom of the ocean with fish swimming in and out of your empty skull!
MRS. BINGHAM
(enraged) I'll have none of that sort of
insolence! It's disrespectful of the dead, and of our very way of life!
MRS. SPIVEY
That way of life's the reason all those
people are dead, Mrs. Bingham! People like him can't take care of themselves,
much less anyone else.
MRS. BINGHAM
You are excused from this room, Mrs. Spivey!
Mrs. Spivey storms out. Mrs. Bingham waves a
spoon in the air.
MRS. BINGHAM
It is only Mr. Hockley's kindness that keeps
the likes of you here! Pure kindness!
Mrs. Bingham fumes.
MRS. BINGHAM
Really! Spouting her drivel at a time like
this! She's not concerned for his welfare in the slightest! Why, he's probably
been attacked by a band of ruffians...and he's just too proud to complain...and
doesn't want us to worry about him--
Mrs. Bingham fidgets with her apron, near
tears. Sheila comforts her with a hand on her shoulder.
INT. CAL'S CAR - ON THE ROAD TO ATLANTIC CITY
- NIGHT
Cal drives fast, jaw clenched with
determination.
CAL (VO)
There was only one path for me now. This
thing was my responsibility, and I had to resolve it as soon as possible. I had
already provided for all that depended on me in my will. Mr. Blair would run
the business better than I ever could. So, there was no longer any need for me
to linger here upon the earth.
EXT. STREET'S END NEAR BEACH - ATLANTIC CITY -
NIGHT
Cal bounds out of his car. He flings his
wallet, like a piece of useless trash, into the car. He reaches into the back
seat, and grabs a gun from his suitcase. He regards it pensively, then returns
it to the suitcase. He decides it would be too easy a death, the death of a
coward.
EXT. BEACH - ATLANTIC CITY - 11:30 PM
Cal trudges across the sand toward a pier,
fighting against the wind.
EXT. PIER - ATLANTIC CITY - MINUTES LATER
Cal slows his pace as he nears the end of the
pier. His eyes take in the oblivion of the vast, dark ocean. He removes his
jacket and tosses it onto the railing.
CAL (VO)
It was that time of year again...the days
getting warmer, but the nights still chilly, the water cold.
Cal gazes down to the turbulent waves below,
readying himself to jump.
CAL (VO)
It all came back to me, as if it were
yesterday. I had come home.
A dull moaning rises up over the crashing of
the waves. Pale, ghostly hands reach up from the water. They clench at the air,
then sink back down, as if eager to drag Cal down with them.
CAL (VO)
I planned to swim out to sea as fast and hard
as I could, so I'd never find my way back. The water beckoned irresistibly. I
would not let myself be a coward, not this time.
Cal climbs to the other side of the railing.
He grasps the railing behind him and stares down at the water.
Ready to jump, he breaks his downward gaze.
He looks left to see if anybody is watching. He looks to his right. Cal sees
ANNA LIVINGSTON, standing at the end of the next pier, about 250 feet away. She
holds her hat in front of her. Her dress flutters in the wind, as she gazes
wistfully out to sea, her mind far away.
Cal's concentration has been broken. He'll
have to wait to jump.
CAL
Damn!
Cal returns his gaze to the water below, and
gets lost in his world again.
The SCREAMS become louder and more real,
until individual cries can be heard over a sea of agony. A SPLASH and a SCREAM
rise above the rest. A woman's hat floats into Cal's field of vision, as his
memories fade out.
Cal snaps out of it, and looks disbelievingly
toward the next pier.
The woman is no longer there, but is
struggling in the water. She is not a good swimmer.
THE WATER - ATLANTIC CITY - NIGHT
Cal jumps in with a SPLASH, then his head
pops up. He lets out a gasp, then begins treading water. He turns to swim over
to her.
THE WATER - ATLANTIC CITY - MINUTES LATER
CAL
Here, I've got you!
Anna grabs onto him. Cal proceeds to take her
toward the shore.
EXT. SHORELINE - ATLANTIC CITY - NIGHT
Cal drags Anna up on shore and places her
gently on the beach.
Exhausted, Anna gasps, her eyes closed. She
is a beautiful, delicate lady, but she is plainly dressed.
Cal gives her a little shake.
CAL
(deeply caring) Are you all right?
Anna convulses with a coughing fit, then
flops back down onto the sand.
A nearby vigilant policeman sees Cal poised
over Anna. There appears to be a struggle going on.
Anna glances up at her rescuer in the dim
light. Brought back from the brink of demise, her eyes search his. She has a
look of wisdom and intelligence about her, even in this compromised state. His
penetrating gaze moves her. Cal's dark eyes glisten with profound caring and
concern. Her beauty and apparent depth strike him. Without realizing, he
regards her tenderly.
Anna senses a depth of feeling that is rarely
seen in the eyes of a stranger. She falls in love. Cal turns his head to see
the policeman arrive on the scene.
POLICEMAN
Take that, you scoundrel!
The policeman whaps Cal on the side of the
head with his night stick, near his injured eye.
ANNA
Oh, NO!
Cal falls down beside her, unconscious. Anna
is dumbfounded. She reaches toward Cal with concern.
INT. LIVING ROOM - LIZZY'S HOUSE - PRESENT
DAY
Brock and Lizzy sit close together, on the
couch.
BROCK
So, that's how Cal and Anna met.
LIZZY
Their meeting...this whole story...it's not
like anything I ever imagined. I wish Rose was here now to hear this.
BROCK
Yes, that's the first thing I thought when I
read this. And who knows what would have happened if she knew how Cal had
changed? But I think Rose had somewhere else she needed to be. Didn't you say
she did something special on the first anniversary of the sinking?
LIZZY
Yes, she did. In fact, she also made a visit
to a pier that night.
EXT. CUNARD PIER 54 - NIGHT - APRIL 14, 1913
Penetrating cold and darkness surround Rose's
solitary figure. As she gazes out toward the river, she feels the loneliness
the Titanic herself must have felt one year before, a shrinking tiny speck in
an infinite black ocean. An icy breeze drifts off the water and assaults Rose
mercilessly. She wraps her arms tightly around herself, faltering in her
struggle to maintain a hopeful attitude.
LIZZY (VO)
Anticipating the anniversary of the sinking
made Rose think about her life, and all the plans she and Jack had once shared.
She still needed him terribly.
ROSE
Jack...
LIZZY (VO)
When she called out his name, an odd
sensation came over her...like he was there with her, and would always be as
long as she needed him.
Rose shuts her eyes and stretches out her
arms, leaning up against the pier's railing. Jack's ghost walks up and embraces
her from behind. A warm smile comes to Rose's face.
Rose no longer trembles with the cold, but
quivers with the excitement of being alive.
LIZZY (VO)
She felt comforted, and felt surer that her
decision to move on was the right one.
Rose stands alone, arms outstretched. She
opens her eyes and peers confidently out over the water, like a lone hawk
surveying its domain. Her spirit soars. Jack's spirit has remained alive within
her. They are one and the same.
LIZZY (VO)
So, she decided to let go of the secure life
she had in New York to do all the things she and Jack had talked about. She
needed to go on to fulfill her dreams.
EXT. CONEY ISLAND - DAY (FLASHBACK)
LIZZY (VO)
By that time, she'd met Carl at Coney
Island...under some pretty interesting circumstances, too.
Carl (22) winsomely performs magic tricks for
Rose, cheering her up, making her laugh.
LIZZY (VO)
Rose went to a fair with her friend, Martha,
and her daughter, Elizabeth Bainbridge. She stayed outside while they went to a
show in one of the pavilions.
The sound of screams suddenly erupts behind
Rose, sending a chill down her spine.
LIZZY (VO)
A fire broke out in the pavilion, and Rose
and Carl rushed in to help her friend and her little girl. Luckily, no one was
hurt.
Rose reels around to discover the source of
the commotion. Smoke billows up from the pavilion. Panic-stricken people scurry
out, but Rose's friends are nowhere to be seen. Rose runs inside the pavilion,
followed by Carl.
EXT. CONEY ISLAND - SUNSET (FLASHBACK)
Carl and Rose walk around the deserted fair
grounds, sharing dreams for the future.
LIZZY (VO)
Rose and Carl became close friends after
this. She confided to him that she was interested in becoming an actress, and
he tried to persuade her into joining his traveling show. She wasn't sure what
to do until that night.
EXT. DIGUILIANI'S SHOP - DAY - APRIL, 1913
Mrs. DiGuiliani embraces Rose, and Carl
shakes hands with Mr. DiGuiliani. Mimi, Paolo, and Amy also say their
farewells.
Mrs. DiGuiliani waves her tear-laden
handkerchief as they depart. Mr. DiGuiliani eyes Carl with a friendly paternal
warning to take care of his adopted daughter.
Rose does not see the newspaper under Mr.
DiGuiliani's arm, which headlines Cal's story at the pier in Atlantic City.