Last Resort

LAST RESORT A SYNOPSIS WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY KEVIN TAYLOR We open on a small white SUV driving through beautiful fall foliage and up the long driveway to ‘Serenity’ hospice. When the vehicle stops, TINA (late 30’s) rushes around the car to assist her husband DAN (early 40’s). Dan has a wrist brace on his hand and favours it a little as he gets out of the car. Dan says he doesn’t need her help, perhaps a little too sharply. As Tina brings Dan’s suitcase into Serenity, Dan surveys his new surroundings. He looks at the building that he intends to die in with a sense of melancholy. Once inside, the severe looking NURSE CUTTING (30’s) lead them through the building and unceremoniously gives them the rules and regulations of Dan’s new home. After leading Dan and Tina to the door of Dan’s room, they overhear CARL (90’s) moaning in pain and calling for his son ‘Tony’. Carl needs his meds. Nurse Cutting closes the door on his moans, surprising Dan and Tina with her coldness. Once inside the room, Tina feels guilty about leaving Dan behind. He consoles her by telling her that this was his idea and that she can no longer come home from her nursing job to find Dan laying on the floor after one of his brain seizures. Dan is there for ‘pain management’. She agrees but it doesn’t make it much easier for her. Tina gets back into the SUV and breaks down crying before she is able to pull off. Dan wakes up the following morning in his new surroundings with his usual pounding headache and he vomits into his wastebasket. He gets up and shakily walks into the hallway outside his room. Carl starts shouting to ‘Tony’. Dan says good morning to Carl before he collapses to the floor. Carl yells for help and Nurse Cutting and a male nurse RONNY (30’s) pick him off the floor, bring him into his room and put him in the bed. Dan begs for his drugs and Nurse Cutting informs him that he will get his drugs at the allotted time of 8:30 and not a minute early. It’s 8:17 now. Tina brings Dan a picnic lunch and they sit outside in the beautiful fall weather. Dan has his meds now so he’s feeling good and he tells Tina how beautiful she is. Tina is flattered and happy until Dan tells her that he wants her to be happy with someone else when he’s gone. Tina doesn’t want to have this discussion and she’s visibly troubled by this subject. Dan tells her he wants her to be with someone that deserves and appreciates her, but with a much smaller penis. This makes Tina laugh. ‘I knew there was a catch.’ Dan walks back to his room with some pep in his step. When he passes Carl’s door, the old man is calling for his son ‘Tony, Tony!’. Dan decides to poke his head in and say hello. Carl is thrilled to see him, mistaking him for Tony. Dan decides to humour the old guy and they have a discussion about Carl’s time in World War 2 as he reminisces about his wife. Dan learns a valuable lesson when Carl tells him that ‘the heart wants what it wants’ and that ‘if you want something bad enough you can always keep going.’ Carl then realizes that Dan isn’t Tony but he thanks him for listening to him and keeping his company. Later on, Dan hears voices coming from Carl’s room and it makes him smile because Carl finally has some company. When Dan looks outside his door, paramedics are taking Carl’s body away on a stretcher. In shock and suddenly realizing that people are dying at Serenity, Dan takes a walk outside. He passes the ambulance parked outside with Nurse Cutting and the paramedics having a smoke and chatting. Dan walks down to the dock on the lake to process all of this. When he wakes up the next day, reggae music coming from Carl’s old room is making his already splitting headache even worse. When he gets into the shower, it’s even louder. He pounds on the wall. The music is turned down. Then he vomits . A little later, Dan waits for his morning meds when he hears voices next door. When he looks into the hall he sees JEFF (30’s) crying as he walks away from Carl’s old room and its new occupant. Dan feels guilty for watching but can’t look away. Nurse Cutting finally approaches with his meds and Dan runs back to the bed, as if he was never at the door. When Nurse Cutting leaves, a voice from Carl’s new room, (with an exotic Jamaican accent) asks for help with the TV remote. Nurse Cutting can’t help her right now and keeps walking. When the unseen woman continues to struggle with the remote, Dan can’t take it anymore and walks to her door. A striking looking Jamaican woman (ROBYN, 30s) struggles with her TV remote when Dan asks if he can help her. She accepts and is thankful when Dan fixes the problem. She introduces herself and apologizes for the loud music earlier. Dan accepts the apology and says mornings are tough for him. He points to his head. ‘Stage 4’. She indicates to her chest and replies ‘Stage 4’. Dan feels awkward but even moreso when he tells her ‘Enjoy your stay.’ He walks off in shame. Robyn smiles as he leaves. The next day as Dan eats his breakfast he observes Robyn sitting in nothing but shorts and a sports bra in the cold at the end of the dock. He can’t believe his eyes when she actually dives into the cold water! She exits and dries herself off. Dan goes back to his breakfast. Later that day, as Dan makes his bed, Robyn asks him to take her for a walk…outside. Dan is wary as he falls a lot. Robyn insists she would carry him back herself. When he protests again, saying Tina would be there shortly for lunch, Robyn responds they have plenty of time. Dan sighs and says, “I’ll get my coat.” As they walk through the beautiful fall colours on a nearby trail, Robyn insists fall is the best time of the year. Dan says he is more of a summer guy. Dan asks her about the morning swim and Robyn replies that cold weather exposure is good for the body as it makes it tougher and more resilient. When he asks if we all have this toughness, she answers, “You’re stronger than you think.” When she asks about his prognosis Dan says he’s “Just trying to make it until Christmas”. Dan wonders about her situation and Robyn hopes to make it to her birthday on February 2nd. “Groundhog Day” says Dan. “Maybe I will see my shadow and get 6 more weeks of life,” she says. One night Dan hears repeated knocking on his door and he snatches it open only to see Robyn dressed as a cackling witch with a green face. She startles him and then invites him to ‘reverse trick-or-treat’ with her. When Dan says he doesn’t have a costume, Robyn reveals the makeup she used for her face. Dan, his face now painted as a skeleton, accompanies Robyn as they give candy to FLO and DELORES, two elderly women in their rooms. Dan is excited as they approach another room. When they are invited in, Dan scares the shit out of EDWARD (60’s). Edward throws a book at Dan and tells him to “Get the fuck out of my room”. When Dan explains they are bringing him candy, Edward wants no part of it. That is until he sees Robyn. Crusty Edward is all smiles when he talks to Robyn. He is clearly enchanted but surprised to hear that Robyn is a resident just like himself. Edward asks if the rest of her is green too, or just her face? Robyn humours him and asks him if he’d like to see ‘a little chocolate’. Edward is beside himself with desire and then Robyn gives him a chocolate bar. He is disappointed and tells Dan to fuck off once more but still smitten with Robyn as they leave and walk into the hall… …And run into Nurse Cutting who is angry at them for giving the residents candy. After she scolds them she walks off and is still steaming when she sees another nurse (KATE, 20s) at the nurse’s station. Kate tells her to relax as it’s probably the last Halloween for all the residents. Cutting storms off in another huff. October turns into November and Tina meets Robyn one morning at breakfast. She invites Robyn to join them but Robyn isn’t feeling all that good and goes to eat in her room. Dan has a black eye from another recent fall but is excited to be getting his wrist brace removed. Tina asks Dan if he wants anything else when they leave the hospice to visit the doctor. Dan has his face buried in a fast food bag when Tina brings him back from the doctor with his now fully-functional hand. As they chat, the ambulance drives past them, leaving the property. Dan is concerned as he says goodbye to Tina. Who is being taken away? Dan drops his food bag on the dining room table and hurries to Robyn’s room. He knocks. No answer. He lets himself in and sees her room is empty. He is about to panic. Is Robyn dead? As he looks at the made-up bed, a splitting headache hits him and he stumbles out into the hall. Ronny catches Dan before he falls to the floor and steadies him. As Dan leans on Ronny, he looks out the window and to his relief he sees Robyn walking outside with Jeff. The headache loosens its grip on Dan and he actually smiles. He tells Ronny that he’s ok and leaves to go back to the dining room. As Robyn and Jeff enter the dining room, Dan is happily eating his burger. Robyn introduces Dan to Jeff and Jeff thanks Dan for taking Robyn on her walks. Dan says it’s his pleasure and that he actually looks forward to them now. We learn that Jeff is a private pilot and only has one client, but he can’t say who it is. Dan still has a goofy grin on his face as he looks at Robyn, happy to see her alive and well. She asks if he’s ok. He replies that he’s ‘much better now.’ Robyn looks at him strangely and smiles as she leaves with Jeff. The next day Robyn and Dan are out for their walk when Dan wonders aloud if Edward left him anything in his will. Robyn hopes that Edward is resting in peace. Dan implies that Edward was probably masturbating and thinking about Robyn when he passed away. Robyn laughs and calls Dan a horrible person. Robyn tells Dan that she used to be the regional manager for the Jamaican tourism office, Dan tells her he was an accountant. Nothing exciting but he liked for all the numbers to be in their place and for everything to make sense. He also shares that he had signed up to run a marathon before he got sick. Robyn wanted to move back to Jamaica with Jeff for half the year. She misses, family, the food, the culture, and her favourite soda Ting! Dan says that Jeff is great and Robyn says they are lucky to have their spouses. Dan jokingly says that maybe those two should get together after they pass. Robyn’s demeanour changes and Dan immediately regrets what he said. Robyn suggests they go back. Dan curses himself for his stupidity. Later, Robyn looks out her window and happens to see a very emotional Tina leaving the hospice when she meets Jeff in the parking lot. Robyn can’t hear them but Jeff seems to be comforting her before giving her a hug and wishing her well. Robyn is torn as she contemplates what she’s seen. The next day Robyn invites Dan to go to a presentation by the Death Doula the following day. Dan thinks it sounds morbid but he tells Robyn that he and Tina will be there. Robyn then tells Dan that she wants them to try to get Jeff and Tina together. Dan is shocked. He tells her that he was only kidding and she shouldn’t listen to him as he has brain cancer and is literally losing his mind! Robyn thinks they could be a good match and she tells Dan that Jeff always wanted to have children and that maybe Tina could be the one. Her heartfelt plea makes Dan say he will THINK about it. That’s all she needed to hear and she hugs Dan before bouncing happily from Dan’s room. The Death Doula gives an impassioned speech about being on one’s deathbed and not having any regrets or leaving anything unsaid. After Jeff breaks down and cries, Tina comforts him. Robyn holds out her hand as if to say, ‘Are you with me?’ Dan looks at Tina comforting Jeff and he nods and squeezes Robyn’s hand. They are a team. On their next walk they come up with an idea of making a list of things that their spouses love so that they can see if perhaps their interests intersect. At lunch the next day, Dan has come up with list of only 11 things that Tina loves. Robyn’s list for Jeff is 119 items long. Dan has some work to do. On another walk Dan and Robyn come upon an abandoned barn on the property. When they go up into the loft Robyn tells Dan she has a surprise for him. She pulls out a joint and tells Dan that its a special high-grade mix made especially for Jeff’s boss. Dan says that he hasn’t smoked a joint since he was much younger but says that it doesn’t really do anything for him anyway. Smash-cut to Dan, high AF. He and Robyn giggle. Dan asks her to tell him who Jeff’s client is. She won’t say, but she lets it slip that HE is a musician. “Aha! It’s a HE!’ Dan exclaims gleefully. The two continue to laugh and smoke. Later that evening, Dan joins Robyn in her room as she folds her laundry and sways to the reggae music playing on her speaker. After a little encouragement she gets him to get up and dance with her. She shows him some moves and the two of them are having a great old time…until the music is suddenly turned off and Nurse Cutting holds the speaker in her hand. She issues a warning about the music playing so loud with the door open. Dan begins to explain that it was his fault because he left the door open, but she leaves Robyn her meds and she’s gone. They giggle and Dan remarks that Cutting obviously is not a fan of reggae music when he has another seizure. Robyn holds him and sits him down until it passes. They are looking into each other’s eyes for just a moment too long. Dan thanks her for the ‘high-grade’ before going off to his room. One evening, Dan and Tina are watching TV in his room. Tina, on the verge of sleep tells Dan she has to go as she has an early morning tomorrow. They kiss briefly and then more deeply. Dan asks her if she really has to go. Tina recognizes Dan’s sexual energy and says she doesn’t need to go. Dan kisses her again and then excuses himself to go to the bathroom. In the bathroom, Dan goes through a humorous ritual of washing up, checking his breath, brushing his teeth, gargling, checking the odour under his armpits, applying deodorant, and tweezing out a nose hair before going back to see Tina. It’s go time! Tina has fallen asleep by now. Dan sighs and puts her feet up on his lap before turning the TV back on. December has come now and Dan, Tina and Robyn are decorating the Christmas tree in the common area of Serenity as a fire crackles in the fireplace. Dan indicates to Robyn that Tina hates tinsel on the tree. Robyn is surprised and tells Tina that you have to have tinsel on the tree to give it some ‘shimmah’. Dan shows his ritual of simply throwing the tinsel at the tree and letting it ‘cascade down’. Jeff unexpectedly shows up and says he likes Dan’s method better. Robyn is thrilled to see him. Dan looks at Tina to check for any fireworks. Nope. Robyn invites Jeff to dance with her when a slow Christmas song plays. She looks deeply into his eyes and they kiss before Robyn says she has to sit down because she isn’t feeling well. She invites Tina to cut in. Tina declines at first but Robyn is insistent and Dan encourages her also. Jeff and Tina feel a little awkward but they dance as Dan and Robyn look on. They exchange a knowing glance as they watch their spouses dance. Robyn and Dan are smoking another joint in the barn when she wishes him a Merry Christmas. He looks confused. ‘You made it to Christmas’. Dan realizes she’s right. She gives him a hug and they briefly look into each other’s eyes. Almost too long. Dan breaks the tension by handing her the joint. Robyn indicates the next milestone is February 2nd, her birthday. Dan says if he’s alive he’ll be there for it. “If I’m lying I’m dying.” Dan is watching a New Year’s eve event on TV when Robyn knocks on the door at 11:58. She joins Dan for a medicine cup full of champagne that Tina left before she went to work at the hospital. Robyn tells Dan that Jeff flew his boss to Vegas to ring in the new year there. They have a toast to making it to the new year. Dan fills the cups again. “To the diehards!” They touch cups and have another swig. On TV, the ball in Times Square is dropping as it counts down from 30. Robyn rests her head on Dan’s shoulder as his arm is still around her. Dan leans his head on top of hers. Robyn puts her arm around his waist and squeezes him a little and nuzzles her face into his neck. Dan turns his face to hers. She cranes her neck to look into his eyes. ’10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5’ Dan and Robyn lean in closer. Their lips are nearly touching. '4, 3, 2, 1....Happy New Year!’ Auld Lang Syne begins to play in the background as Robyn and Dan kiss. Tentatively at first. Dan says ‘Happy New Year.’ Robyn says, ‘Happy New Year.’ They kiss deeper now. Hungrier. Their arms wrap around each other. Dan kisses her neck and pulls her hair. Robyn moans. ‘Sorry. Did I hurt you?’ She smiles. I’m not going to break. The passion between them deepens. In the foreground, Robyn’s phone vibrates on the coffee table. We see the call is coming from Jeff. Seconds later, Dan’s phone vibrates too. It’s Tina calling. They both ignore their phones and start undressing each other in the background. Later, Robyn lays on his chest and they talk. It feels good to them to feel sexy again. They feel like sexual beings again, not patients. Dan marvels at Robyn’s beauty and she tells him that he should have seen her when she was younger. Miss Jamaica runner-up, 2003! She asks if she is the first black woman that he’s been with Dan says that she may be the first brunette he’s ever been with! “How was it?” She asks. “It was alright.” He says dismissively. She playfully smacks him and they kiss again. Dan wakes the next morning. Robyn is gone but Dan knows it wasn’t just a dream. He smiles at the memory and actually doesn’t have his usual headache this morning. He giddily sings in the shower. Dan and Robyn are having breakfast together and canoodling when Nurse Cutting interrupts. “What are you two up to?” she demands. Dan panics. Does Cutting know about their encounter last night. Nurse Cutting holds up the pills for Dan. “You didn’t want your pills today?” She leaves the pills and walks off. When Robyn asks how he’s feeling today, Dan replies that he’s feeling ‘floaty’. She likes this. Robyn suggests they and the spouses all have dinner tonight. She is determined to play cupid. Moments later FLO’S SON (50s) walks past with his late mother’s belongings. “Life is short.”, says Dan. “Too short.” Robyn replies. They kiss again just as Katie walks into the room. Kate tries to back out of the room but bumps into Nurse Cutting. She stands in Cutting’s way so she won’t see Dan and Robyn kissing. The couple make their retreat. They walk outside Serenity, still feeling the afterglow. Robyn hopes that Kate isn’t a gossip while Dan jokingly looks for a place to bury Kate’s body. “Maybe it’s a sign we need to stop what we’re doing.”, says Robyn. Dan says he can’t live with regrets now and that he was only acting on his feelings for her. He says he feels like a teenager. “A really sick teenager.” She laughs and he shouts “I love this woman!!’, into the trees. They kiss again. That night the four of them all gather around for dinner as Jeff has made a stop for everyone’s favourites. Tina has also done some shopping and reveals white wine and red wine. She’s also brought some non-alcoholic cider if anyone is on medication. Dan and Robyn both indicate that for the moment they are both drug-free. This concerns the spouses but they are happy that the two of them seem a little ‘different’ this evening. Healthier. Happier. Jeff begins telling them a story about his ‘client’. Dan asks “what’s his name again? Robyn cuts off this conversation saying that Jeff is sure to reveal the client’s name if he has any more wine. She changes the subject to the chickens that she and Dan saw on a recent walk. She reveals that Dan thought one of the chickens looked like his grandfather so he named him after his grandfather, Peter. Robyn and Dan have their own shorthand language form being together so much. Jeff is caught a little off guard but adjusts. Tina has no doubt in her eyes though. Something is going on. She knows. After dinner as the two of them clean up, she confronts Dan. “You’re in love with Robyn”, he tries to deny it but she’s not having it. “No one knows you better than I do. No one has been through more, with as many versions of you, as I have!” Dan doesn’t even try to put up a fight anymore. “I guess I am.” She sits beside him. Tina tells Dan about her brother-in-law who had an affair and how her sister wanted leave leave him. “It was all I could do not to tell her how childish she was being. An affair? Who fucking cares? I would have given anything for my biggest concern about you to be an affair and not inoperable brain cancer! But now I have both! So there’s that.” Tina is crushed. After a moment to regroup, she asks Dan if he really is feeling better. He says he is. No vomiting or falling and no headaches for a while either. She says maybe they can book another scan. “Let’s count today as a win’, she says angrily as she gets up to leave. Dan says he sorry. “I’ll get over it,’ she says. “But not today. Today…fuck you.” She storms out. Dan wakes up the next morning. No headache. He’s stands sadly in the shower when Nurse Cutting tells him that his pills are on the counter. When he dries off and comes back into the room, the pills sit on his table. He sits on his bed and reaches under the mattress to retrieve a bag containing about 20 pills that he has been squirrelling away. He adds today’s pills to the collection. He walks slowly past Robyn’s room to listen for any sounds. Nothing. Jeff is in the dining room preparing a plate of food when Dan walks in. Dan is a little nervous as he doesn’t know if Jeff knows anything. Dan thanks Jeff for dinner the previous night. Jeff says it’s the least he can do for him. He is grateful for Dan taking Robyn on her walks and for his friendship. Jeff also says Dan looks like he can ‘walk out of here any day now.’ Kate walks outside with Dan today and Dan confides in her that Tina knows about him and Robyn. Kate isn’t surprised and says that women always seem to know. Dan tells her that Tina also said that they may go back for another scan if he keeps feeling good. Dan tests his legs out a little bit, by at first bouncing on the driveway, then lightly jogging away from Kate. Kate tells him to stop or she’ll get fired. “We’re going to have to kick you out of here,” she says. Dan wonders if anyone has ever left a hospice. Kate says some people have left because they are going back for treatment or because they feel better getting their meds. They don’t last long, she says, but they die on their own terms. Dan is in an MRI machine getting scanned. The smile on his face is a good indication of how he is feeling about his unknown prognosis. Dan and Robyn are in bed making love. It’s not working out. Robyn collapses on top of him and apologizes for not feeling very sexy. He’s fine. He just wants to be close to her. Robyn wonders the his test results might come back. When he says they may come as early as tomorrow she says she will pray for good news and asks him to stay with her tonight. “I’m not going anywhere,” he says. Dan sits on a chair the dock the next day when his phone rings. It’s his doctor. Dan answers after a few rings. He’s nervous. The doctor tells him that he is in remission. The tumours are shrinking and some of them have actually disappeared altogether. As the doctor talks, Dan puts the phone down stands and absorbs what he’s been told. Back inside Serenity, Ronny sees Dan walking on the dock and wonders what he’s doing. Dan is overcome with emotion and suddenly begins sprinting down the dock. Nurse Cutting and Ronny can’t believe what they are seeing and Dan jumps into the freezing water! Dan screams with joy and the shock of the cold water. He’s going to live! Dan goes and tells Robyn his miraculous news. She is thrilled and hugs him and tells him that he is ‘stronger than you think!’ After a beat she tells Dan that he needs to leave now. Not just her room, he needs to leave Serenity. Dan is hurt but Robyn tells him, ‘If you love me the way I think you do, you will check out today and never come back.” She kisses him and tells him to go tell Tina the good news. Dan calls Tina. As soon as she hears Dan’s voice, she knows he’s got news. “I’m gonna need a ride home,” he says. Tina keeps it together because she is at work, but she says she is on the way. As Dan hangs up we cut between him and Robyn who is sobbing next door. Later on Robyn sees Dan’s bag of pills stuffed under her door with a note that reads, ‘Just in case. ~D.’ Robyn picks up the bag and ponders it. It’s February now and Dan rides the train into work. He looks out the window of the train and contemplates his return to normalcy. We see him in his office looking out the window. One of his coworkers snaps him back to attention and tells him how good it is to have him back in the office. Dan needs to get some air. Dan goes for a walk as the snow falls around him. He winds up on a park bench and sits. A runner runs past him. Dan watches the runner for a moment. Dan walks down a street and passes a store with a Ting sign on the wall and then another one in the window. It catches his eye and he goes in. He emerges back on the sidewalk and takes a sip of Ting out of the bottle. It makes him smile a bit. He thinks about it for a second and then goes back into the store. Dan and Tina are standing together and washing the dishes. Dan has just told Tina that he’s going to run a marathon. Tomorrow. Tina admires his ambition but thinks he should train for a marathon first. Dan says he will take his time. He only wants to finish. Tina points out that it’s February and Dan counters saying he will need less water then. Tina wonders “Why not a few more weeks or a month until spring?” Dan snaps back, “Cause spring will be too late! It needs to be tomorrow!” A beat passes. Tina knows. She always knows. “I thought she didn’t want to see you,” Tina says. Dan says he only wants to bring her a Ting for her birthday. He made her a promise. He owes her. “You owe ME!,” shouts Tina. After a second she collects herself. She is grateful Dan is alive and she can’t hate Robyn because Dan is still here, but that doesn’t make it easier to watch him run to her. “What if you start running and never want to come back?” Dan acknowledges that she is right, he owes her. “ I owe you for being my nurse after you got home from being a nurse. For putting everything in your life on hold, helping me fight a battle that I was never supposed to win. I owe you the rest of my life. I need to do this run, but you are the finish line.” He holds her hand and eventually, she squeezes it back. They embrace. Dan is up before the sun the next morning and starts his marathon in the snow. Slow and steady, he runs and the skies clear. He is struggling as he stops and sits on a bench beside the road. He fishes in his bag and brings out the last of his drinks. There is only a few drops left. He considers opening the Ting but he can’t allow himself to do that. He keeps going. Dan stands in front of Serenity, looking at the facade of the building. He walks in the door. Nurse Cutting, Ronny and Kate look up from the front desk as Dan strides in. Kate and Ronny are happy to see him. Nurse Cutting, not so much. Dan is walking right past the desk. Nurse Cutting starts to stand and tell Dan he needs to sign in when Kate puts a hand on her shoulder and tells her to ‘sit your ass down Cheryl’. Ronny tells Dan that Robyn isn’t doing so well and that he should be prepared. Dan stands over Robyn. Her eyes are closed. Is she dead already? Robyn wakes up and reminds Dan that she banned him for coming back. She smiles though. She is in pain. Jeff has gone to get her a birthday lunch. Dan gives her the Ting and she lights up like he’s given her a gold bar. She says that she has a letter for him in her drawer and he retrieves it. ‘Don’t read it now.’ Tina says. He puts the letter in his pocket. Dan asks her if she has his ‘Just-in- Case pills.” She nods and pats the bed. “I thought about it, but I couldn’t do it. I wanted to make it until today,” Dan wonders if Jeff would help her but she says couldn’t ask him to do that. “He wouldn’t be able to live with himself’. A beat as he rubs her hand. They look at each other for a moment. The pain is still in her eyes, but she is sending a clear message. Dan nods. It’s almost imperceptive but he nods. She nods back and squeezes his hand. She rolls over and turns her back to him. Dan reaches under the mattress and extracts the Zip-Loc bag containing the pills. As they make small talk, Dan crushes the pills in the bag . Robyn asks him about this run. He says he is running a marathon and that he is only half-way. She tells him he can do it. Dan says he wishes he was as confident. He stops crushing the pills. She tells him he can’t stop now. ‘You’re stronger than you think.’ Dan gets back to work. When he opens the Ting bottle she hears the air escape. She wants a sip. It makes her body rack with pain as she coughs, but she smiles after. ‘Totally worth it.’ She says she will have the rest with lunch. Dan pours the Ting into a glass over the pills he’s crushed. Dan breaks down in tears. He tells Robyn he loves her. She begins to cry to and tells him that she loves him too. ‘Enjoy your journey’ she says. They hold hands. Dan walks out the front door, puts on his touque, and starts to run, leaving Serenity behind him. Dan stops on the same bench he rested at earlier and opens the envelope. Robyn has put a joint in there it and it makes him smile. He reads Robyn’s note. We hear her voice and see her writing the note to Dan. “My dearest, Dan. Well, if you are reading this, that means you outlasted me. As unhappy as I am to be dying, the thought of you living brings me great joy. What has happened is a miracle, and I don’t just mean how you went into remission. I mean how we were able to connect. Maybe we both felt lost and alone and we clung to each other the way we wanted to cling to life, but I think our souls have known each other for thousands of years and every now and then they meet up. I know it sounds silly but I want to believe there is more waiting for me on the other side and I hope that you, or some form of you will be on the other side someday and we will see each other again. Meanwhile, you can’t waste this second chance that you’ve been given. Now is the time to do all the things you’ve always wanted to do. Believe me, I am not regretting any chances I’ve taken in my life right now, just things that I didn’t do. You are kind, sexy, funny, caring, and a surprisingly passionate lover! Haha! You deserve every bit of happiness that will come your way for many, many years.” Back in Robyn’s room, Jeff is in tears and Robyn consoles him. They both know her time has come. Robyn takes a long drink of the Ting. Jeff lays in bed with her and she holds him on her chest like a child. She looks toward the window and the light streaming in. Dan reads the end of the note. ‘Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that you are wonderful and that you are loved. Robyn.’ Dan wipes away his tears, puts the envelope in his backpack, straps it back on and continues his journey. THE END