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1INT. DINING ROOM. DAY.

Royal sits at the head of a long table. He is surrounded by his children.

Chas is twelve, with curly hair, dressed in a black suit and tie. Margot is ten, with a barrette in her hair, wearing a knitted LaCoste dress and penny loafers. Richie is eight, with long hair, parted on the side, dressed in a Bjorn Borg- style tennis outfit with a headband.

Chas wears a blank expression, Margot looks as if she is about to cry, and Richie has tears all over his face.

MARGOT

Are you getting divorced?

ROYAL

(gently)

At the moment, no. But it doesn’t look

good.

RICHIE

Do you still love us?

ROYAL

Of course, I do.

CHAS

(pointedly)

Do you still love Mom?

ROYAL

Very much. But she asked me to leave,

and I had to respect her position on the

matter.

MARGOT

Was it our fault?

ROYAL

(long pause)

No. Obviously, we had to make certain

sacrifices as a result of having

children, but no. Lord, no.

RICHIE

Why’d she ask you to leave?

ROYAL

(sadly)

I don’t really know any more. Maybe I

wasn’t as true to her as I could’ve

been.

CHAS

Well, she says --

ROYAL

Let’s not rehash it, Chassie.

An Indian man with salt-and-pepper hair, dressed in pink pants, a white shirt and a white apron, comes in from the kitchen with a Martini on a tray. He is Pagoda.

NARRATOR (V.O.)