The scene opens up with Butch Parker, in the front seat of his metallic Porsche 911 Turbo, driving down the snow-drenched M8 motorway from Glasgow to Dunfermline, his window-wipers going crazy as he urgently and fruitlessly tries to contact his younger sister. After what seems like the thousandth time he's heard her phone voice asking the caller to leave their name and number, he irritably throws his phone onto the passenger's seat.
(Butch): Christ all-f***ing-mighty…
Around an hour later, Butch pulls into a street completely covered by snow. Several children are playing in their front gardens building snowmen and having snowball fights. Butch manages to park his car in a free space and after exiting the vehicle, he walks up a familiar path to a very familiar house. In the front garden of the house he sees two children, dressed from head to toe in cute wintery clothes, such as scarves, woolly hats and mittens and wellington boots. The boy and girl are throwing snowballs at each other and they turn around to look at Butch walking up the path and their faces light up. Butch's heart melts as he looks upon his niece and nephew for the first time in months and stoops down to one knee as the two children run towards him.
(Jake & Sarah Parker): Uncle Butch!
Butch stems the tears trying their hardest to accumulate in the corners of his eyes and grabs the kids in his arms as they literally jump at him.
(Butch): Hey kids! Have you been behaving yourselves?
(Jake): Yeah, Santa's coming soon, Uncle Butch; have you got us any presents?
(Butch): I know, and of course I have, but they're at Uncle Butch's house so you can't open them until Christmas Day.
(Sarah): Uncle Butch, mummy is all better now! Uncle Sean is here too, are you staying for dinner?
Butch inhales deeply, biting his lower lip as he sets the kids back down again.
(Butch): I'm afraid, I just came to talk to mummy, is she in or is Uncle Sean babysitting you?
(Jake): No, Uncle Sean and mummy are both here.
A familiar voice suddenly sounds out and catches their attention; all three of them.
(Diana): Kids, come inside, it's getting dark.
Sheer disappointment is painted across the faces of both kids.
(Sarah): But mummy, the sun is still out!
(Diana): No back-chat young lady or it will be straight to your room with no TV. You too Jake, let mummy talk to Uncle Butch.
The kids wave to Butch as they disappointedly trudge back into the house.
(Diana): Take your wellies off before you go into the living room.
Diana watches the children enter the living room and steps out onto the front door step, shutting the door behind her. She stares at Butch with pokerfaced expression on her face, her arms folded.
(Diana): Can I help you with something?
(Butch): I've left you like over a dozen messages, we need to talk.
Diana smile sarcastically, shaking your head.
(Diana): Men never seem to be able to get it through the skulls that no matter how many times you call and can't get through, that means the woman doesn't want to talk.
(Butch): Can I not at least come in? Please, Diana.
(Diana): I don't allow murderers in my house. You're lucky you even got a chance to even look at my children.
(Butch): Now come-
Diana interrupts Butch before he can even complete his sentence.
(Diana): Come on what Butch? Hmm? You actually expect me to understand all the atrocities you’ve committed just to help me? I’d rather die a thousand times than live knowing that my survival has come at the expense of…God knows what…
Diana turns away from her older brother, her back to him, as she tries not to think about the horrors and dreadful things Butch did whilst at Senester’s side. Butch steps forward and reaches out to grab Diana’s arm but she flinches, recoiling her arm as if Butch were a leper.
(Diana): Don’t you touch me! Don’t you DARE touch me!
(Butch): Hey look, do you think I’m proud of all the bad shit I’ve done? Do you think it brought me happiness? That it made me feel good inside? Like Hell it did! But it was the only way you were going to get a chance to see your children grow up!
Diana suddenly whips around and slaps Butch hard across the face twice, her eyes welling up with tears.
(Diana): How dare you bring the kids into this! This has nothing to do with them!
(Butch): It has everything to do with them, Diana! I put myself through Hell so that they could have a mother to grow up with!
(Diana): I said my goodbyes already Butch! I was ready to let go and be at peace. I wanted to meet my maker on my own terms; not by the hand of a sociopathic monster with a God complex!
Butch finds himself unable to speak, not sure as what to say next but Diana is in full flow.
(Diana): And what about all the other things you did, Butch? Hmm? Breaking Hans’ girlfriend’s leg? Killing a man aboard Senester’s boat and dumping his body in the ocean? Canoodling in those God-awful Towers with a ####ty mistress whilst Wisdom was left not knowing why her man had abandoned her?
(Butch): I…I…I was in a very bad place, Diana….I was not in my right mind for a very long time. Almost every single person I know and work with turned against me the second they saw me standing beside Senester. Not one thought, “There must be a reason that a guy like Butch is acting this way, I’m gonna give him the benefit of the doubt. Nothing but disparagement and ignorance! I made a choice Diana. That I couldn’t stand to see my niece and nephew grow up without a mother to love them, that I couldn’t let my baby sister die when there was the slightest chance by any means that she could be spared.
Butch feels the volume of his voice raising and tries to calm down but the increased sound of his voice brings Butch’s oldest nephew and former HWA wrestler Sean Parker to the door, who, since his terrible accident at Ring Master 2009 that left him paralyzed, is now able to walk with just the aid of a walking stick. The sight of Sean standing up straight at the front door catches Butch by surprise and he can’t help but smile despite himself.
(Sean): Everything okay Di? I heard raised voices…
(Diana): Fine Sean, I was just heading back inside, are the kids okay?
Sean doesn’t take his eyes off Butch whilst he speaks.
(Sean): They’re fine, just watching TV in the Den.
Diana turns to look at Butch, wiping the tears from her eyes.
(Diana): Don’t ever talk to me as your sister again.
And with that soul-crushing blow, Diana turns around sharply without so much as a look back, walking past Sean and back into the house, leaving Butch standing their, mouth slightly agape. There is a short moment of silence between uncle and nephew before one of them breaks it.
(Sean): How could you do it?
(Butch): Don’t start Sean, I thought you of all people would understand what family means.
Sean scoffs, rolling his eyes.
(Sean): I of all people? I…in fact you know what, you’re not even worth what I have to say…you should leave.
(Butch): I’m not leaving until I make Diana understand why I did what I did.
(Sean): Well you’re going to be waiting a helluva long time, in case you didn’t hear right, she basically doesn’t want to see you again, so please leave. Go, resurrect your precious career and make the fans adore you again just like you always wanted. I hope Ronnie McNeil kills you. Literally.
Sean turns around, awkwardly walking back into the house with the aid his stick.
(Butch): Sean, please.
But Butch’s words fall on deaf ears as the front door slams shut and the curtains in the living room are quickly and hastily drawn. Butch stands there, on the path, feeling the cold creep in as the snow begins to fall again and his head drops as he turns around, heading back to his car, not noticing Diana watching him leave from her bedroom window as the scene fades to black.
Message Thread
« Back to index