Two Straws

06/07/2023

COFFEE SHOP EXT. - MORNING DRIVE

The sun is rising on a crisp morning as a man pulls up to the drive-through window of a coffee chain. The barista hands him a single iced coffee with one straw. The man politely asks a question.

MAN

Can I have one more straw, please?

The barista obliges with a smile and hands him another straw

HOME INT. - THE ROUTINE

The man enters his home to find a woman sitting at the kitchen table working on her laptop, surrounded by papers. He places the iced coffee between them and hands her one of the straws. She gives him a loving smile and he returns the gesture with a small hug.

HOME EXT. - JUST ANOTHER DAY

The scenes from day one replay, only this time the woman looks increasingly exhausted. The scene is captured through a window.

HOME INT. - A WORRISOME DISCOVERY

The man walks in the door and finds the woman holding a stack of documents with tears in her eyes.

BOOM DOWN SLOWLY

He gently takes the papers from her, sets the iced coffee on the table, and sits down to comfort her, placing the two straws in the drink.

COFFEE SHOP EXT. - HOLDING ON

Once again, The man is at the drive-through window, getting the two straws. The barista can be seen going through the classic interactions of a drive-through from afar.
MOVE TO CLOSE-UP

The man seems out of it and detached from his surroundings.

2.

BARISTA
Two straws?

MAN
Huh? Oh... yes please.

HOME INT. - THE STRUGGLE

The man walks into an empty, quiet house. The woman is asleep in a chair at the table, wrapped in a blanket. The man sets the iced coffee on the table, places the two straws in it, and watches over her as she sleeps.

COFFEE SHOP EXT. - A GLIMMER OF HOPE

The man is at the drive-through again, requesting the second straw. The routine must go on.

HOME INT. - PILE OF STRAWS

The man enters the house and there's an eerie silence. The woman isn't at the table. There is a small pile of unused straws at the kitchen table where the woman typically sits. The man slowly adds the newest straw to the pile, a final acknowledgment that she's gone.