Interstitial
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.