EPISODE # 001
Created & Written By
Casey S. Hutchison
Beneath the calm of Willow Creek,
Where whispered secrets softly speak,
Two families hold their fragile reign,
Bound by love, and touched by pain.
In the seemingly always rainy town of New Haven, a Woman is lying in a hospital bed, her end days closely monitored by a dedicated Doctor, as her son sits next to her, holding her hands in his.
WOMAN: Oh my son, there is so much I want…(coughs) I need to tell you.
GRANT: Mom, it can surely wait.
WOMAN: Look at me, dear, you must be joking if you think there’s any more time for…for…well if there’s any time waiting around for me at this point.
GRANT: I just want to be with you, mom. I don’t want you to strain yourself.
WOMAN: I’m unburdening myself.
GRANT: What is that supposed to mean?
WOMAN: It means that moving forward, I want you to go and spend time with those that will be so blessed to get to know you.
GRANT: I don’t…I don’t understand.
WOMAN: You need to be with your real family, son.
GRANT: You’re my family.
WOMAN: No, I’m the woman who took you from your family.
Grant’s eyes widen, trying to piece together the complex puzzle that is his dying mother’s thoughts. As she pulls his hands closer and kisses them, Grant’s mother begins to deeply breathe, barely being heard as her now faint breaths, which will be her dying breaths, are drawn out by the ever-present sounds of hospital equipment. And it is with these final breaths, that she holds her son close, as a flood of tears fall.
TWO DAYS LATER…
A new day has come to the town of Willow Creek, a town that has accomplished much of its growth in the past 50 years, while still fighting to hold onto the postcard worthy charm that previous generations came to love and are now coming to appreciate when they reflect on the past.
As the town does at this time in the morning, Doris’, the beloved diner, is packed with smiles and caring conversations between friends, family, or even a server and a customer. At the front counter, just as Doris closes the cash register, after handing a customer back their change, Carmen enters the establishment, and makes her way over to her longtime friend.
CARMEN: My goodness, I see your buy one, get one stack of chocolate chip pancakes deal really has worked in your favor.
DORIS: What can I say? My people love my Aunt Virginia’s recipe.
CARMEN: Oh, your Aunt Virginia. I will never forget the one day we had to fit into our prom dresses, and all that lady did was keep giving us stack after stack of pancakes.
DORIS: We worked it off to that Richard Simmons video.
CARMEN: We both know that was just an episode of General Hospital.
DORIS: But I was up and moving.
CARMEN: (laughs) That you were.
DORIS: So, what brings you in?
CARMEN: Well, I have a favor to ask of you.
DORIS: Oh? Ask away.
In order for customers to continue to pay for their meals, Doris and Carmen make their way over to a booth, as Kayleigh, one of Doris’ younger employees, takes over at the register.
DORIS: You of all people usually don’t ask for favors, so I guess you can say that I’m on the edge-of-my-seat right now.
CARMEN: I know, I know. But I realized this morning that I can’t do this alone.
DORIS: You’re never alone as long as you have me, which we both know will be for life. So, what are we doing together? I love our adventures.
CARMEN: I know you do. And this one will probably be the biggest adventure we’ve ever been on. You see, I need your help planning my son’s wedding to Julia Winslow.
At the Winslow Home, a suburban family home built in the early 1990s, Vivian Winslow sits at a desk in the Living Room, enjoying her cup of coffee, and talking on her cell phone.
VIVIAN: Bruce, thank you so much for looking over those chapters I sent you last night. I really think that the two of us have another hit on our hands.
BRUCE: (over the phone) Vivian, we both know that you have another hit on your hands. I’m just your editor. You’re the talented writer that knocks it out of the park each and every time. Don’t you ever forget that.
VIVIAN: Well, thank you for your continued support. Uh, look, my darling husband just walked in the room, so I best be going. But I hope you have a wonderful day.
BRUCE: (over the phone) Right back at ‘ya.
Vivian hangs up from the phone call, as Richard makes his way over to her. The two then kiss before he walks over to the bar cart, to pour a cup of coffee.
RICHARD: I assume Bruce is in love with those chapters you sent him?
VIVIAN: Book eleven in the same mystery/thriller series, and yet he always assures me that the series is just as fresh as it has ever been. And I don’t think he’s stroking my ego. I really think my series can continue to go the distance.
RICHARD: I know that it can. You’ve always been gifted.
VIVIAN: Thank you, dear. Now, enough about me. I can tell you’re tense right now. What’s going on in that head of yours?
RICHARD: I…uh…I…
VIVIAN: Richard, what is it?
RICHARD: I’m worried, Viv.
VIVIAN: About?
RICHARD: I think that my relationship with our son isn’t going to survive after the move I’m about to pull at the hospital. And that’s because it’s going to impact his ambitions and his career the most out of anybody’s.
At the Local Willow Creek Television Station Headquarters, Talia Monroe is in the Production Booth, speaking with legendary WCTV producer, Walter.
TALIA: So, if I cover the No Kings protests from a few days ago, then I have to bail on covering the calls that the elderly have made to our Senators, urging them to back the retirement community bill.
WALTER: I think we know what we have to do, Talia. We have to weigh the pros and cons of both. There’s new information about the country protesting POTUS, and it happens to impact our very community.
TALIA: But on the other end, the elderly truly need our help. But yeah, get together with Margo, and see what the two of you can come up with. Email me story info and scripts, and I promise that I’ll make the decision on a story by five.
WALTER: Sounds good. You’re very smart, kid.
TALIA: Thanks, Walt.
As Walter walks off, ready to accomplish what’s on his to-do list, Talia turns around and comes face-to-face with Cameron.
CAMERON: Wow, I love seeing you in reporter mode.
TALIA: I guess I’m just trying to save the world by telling everyone what matters.
CAMERON: You matter to me, and I would love to tell the world.
TALIA: Oh great, you watched another Hallmark movie with your mom, didn’t you?
CAMERON: Is it that obvious?
TALIA: Kind of.
Talia and Cameron kiss one another, as they then walk over to a small table in the corner of the production booth. The two sit.
TALIA: Why aren’t you at work, by the way? I know that the bus crash from this past week probably still has your family’s hospital packed.
CAMERON: It does, but I got some interns to cover everything. Plus, I wanted to come and see you in your work element.
TALIA: Or you just didn’t want to see your dad.
CAMERON: Talia…
TALIA: Cameron…
CAMERON: (sighs) Look, he knows where I stand. The old man’s ready to retire. I’m smart. I’m full of life. The board loves me. That’s the hospital my great-grandfather built and operated for decades. I deserve to be Chief-of-Staff, following in the line of my great-grandfather, my grandad, and my dad.
TALIA: But this whole thing has caused the relationship with your dad to become strained. And I know the two of you still talk, and I know there’s family dinners, but come on, we both know that you two have been avoiding one another.
CAMERON: That’s his choice.
TALIA: No, he’s just adding fuel to the fire. And if I have to play devil’s advocate in order to get the both of you to realize that both sides make sense, then so be it.
CAMERON: What does that mean?
TALIA: You deserve to be Chief-of-Staff. Not only are you my great and very attractive boyfriend, but you are also a damn good doctor. So, I will fully support you. But your dad is also someone who has been known to make changes, be it changing the nepo game, or doing things differently like actually listening to his patience, funding a clinic for the homeless and those on hard times. All I’m saying is that your dad just wants to make sure that his vision of change becomes his legacy.
CAMERON: I guess we’ll have to wait and see if he loves me and believes in me enough to recognize me as his legacy. And I’m sorry to tell you, but I’m not letting go of that thought.
TALIA: Well, if you don’t, then that thought just might eat you alive. Now, I have to go grab my stuff so we can get out of here. I love you.
CAMERON: I love you, too.
In downtown Willow Creek, at Creekside Apartments, in Apartment 3B, Julia and Mateo are in the Kitchen, assisting one another in making lunch.
JULIA: Alrighty, go ahead and add three tablespoons of olive oil to the two tablespoons of red wine vinegar. And then I can add the salt and pepper.
MATEO: You do always know the perfect amount of salt and pepper to add.
JULIA: I have learned from the best in our couple’s cooking journey.
MATEO: I know your mom was always too busy writing books to teach you how to cook. So, I’m glad that we get to do this thing.
JULIA: You’re being generous, and I love you for that. But we both know that my mom doesn’t even know how to boil a pot of water.
MATEO: (laughs) So I take it that we’re bringing her one of these sandwiches?
JULIA: We might as well.
MATEO: Sounds good to me.
Julia then goes to Mateo, as the two whisk the olive oil and vinegar together. Once finished, they both smile at one another, and kiss.
MATEO: That ring looks really good on your finger.
JULIA: The man who put it on my finger looks really good, too.
MATEO: How long until we have to run a sandwich over there?
JULIA: There’s no time limit, if that makes you happy to hear.
MATEO: Oh…it makes me really, really happy.
JULIA: Is that a whisk in your pocket…
Mateo and Julia share a laugh.
JULIA: Sorry, I heard those words come out of my mouth, and I instantly regretted them. Cooking brings out dad jokes, I guess.
MATEO: I guess so. But hearing your laugh is the best thing on the planet to me. So, I don’t care how many cheesy jokes you make, as long as I get to hear that laugh.
Mateo leans in and kisses Julia passionately once more.
Back at Doris’, in the Dining Area, Doris and Carmen are now drinking cups of coffee and looking at catering information on Doris’ iPAD.
DORIS: I really think that Julia and Mateo are going to love this menu.
CARMEN: I think so, too. And I also think it will come as a surprise how quickly I’m thinking of everything. I just want my son and Julia to enjoy a quiet, simple, and happy life, without having to worry about everything.
DORIS: (clears throat) Interesting way to put it.
CARMEN: Oh goodness, what did I do?
DORIS: I think you already know.
CARMEN: I’m not overstepping, if that’s what you’re implying.
DORIS: Do they at least know you came here to see me today about their wedding? Do they know that we just spent the past hour coming up with a menu for their special day?
CARMEN: Mateo is going to come and visit me today, so I was going to tell him all about our little meeting. I was going to…
DORIS: Sweetheart, I know you mean well, but make sure that you don’t turn into some overbearing mother-of-the-groom type of person. You had to stop me from turning into that person when my Jackson got married. And because of you, I think that his marriage has lasted a heck of a lot longer than if I had interfered before it even got off the ground.
CARMEN: I know, I know. It’s just…
DORIS: You feel the need, because Mateo’s father is not with us.
CARMEN: (softly) Yeah. I miss Luis everyday. And it is my belief that he’s looking down on us, or his presence is there every time I light a candle, and he’s just hoping that our son has the wedding he deserves with such a beautiful girl.
DORIS: And Mateo will have that. But he will also give you permission to help out where needed. And Julia’s voice matters, too. You just have to take comfort in knowing that they were truly made for one another. High school sweethearts to now.
CARMEN: They really are each other’s person.
DORIS: Hang onto that thought. It’ll do you a lot of good.
CARMEN: You promise?
DORIS: I most certainly do, my dear friend.
CARMEN: Does this mean I get pancakes to go? It’d cheer me up.
DORIS: (softly laughs) I think that could be arranged.
Back at the Winslow Home, in the Living Room, Vivian is sitting at the desk once again, typing up some changes to the chapters she had sent her editor not too long ago.
VIVAN: (quietly to herself) Detective Reva Lorne parked two blocks from the warehouse on Delaney Street. The place hadn’t shown up in any of the official files. No permits, no surveillance footage, no digital footprint at all. Yet, the GPS tracker she’d slipped under Carl Brenton’s bumper three nights ago had pinged here twice.
As Vivian continues to type away, her thoughts moving quicker than her fingers on the keyboard, she suddenly hears the front door open and close, and then footsteps.
CAMERON: (calling out) Mom?! Are you home?
VIVIAN: In the living room, dear.
Vivian takes off her reading glasses, places them on the desk, just as her son enters the room. Vivian kisses her son on the cheek.
CAMERON: I hope I’m not interrupting your creative mind at work.
VIVIAN: You and your sister are never interruptions. You know that.
CAMERON: I know, I know, but the burden I’m carrying right now seems like it might be a huge interruption. But I was driving around town after Talia had to cancel our afternoon plans, and I just wanted to come here and see you.
VIVIAN: That incomparable young lady is always on an assignment. I hope when I grow up, I can be just as ambitious.
CAMERON: Mom…
VIVIAN: Growing up is never finished, even if you’re ahead of someone else. And you know that I simply adore Talia. You should really put a ring on it like Mateo did for your sister.
CAMERON: Alrighty, well, I’m gonna go drown my sorrows at The Lounge.
VIVIAN: (laughs) Okay…fine…I’ll stop. Come on, sit. Please.
Vivian and Cameron walk over to the sofa and take a seat.
VIVIAN: Now I assume that you’re here to speak with me about your father. After all, I think even Stevie Wonder can see that what's been going on at the hospital ever since his retirement announcement has bothered you a lot.
CAMERON: ‘Bothered me a lot’ is an understatement.
VIVIAN: Why does it bother you so much, though, son? I know the whole thing about the legacy of your father’s family. I knew what I grew up around. I knew what family I was going to marry into. My mother once told me that when someone gets involved with a Winslow, they then fully understand what’s going to happen in their life. So nothing should come as a surprise. But things often did to me in those earlier years.
CAMERON: But I didn’t get involved with a Winslow, I’m the next generation.
VIVIAN: I know you are. But at the end of the day, don’t you ever wonder why you chose this path? I’m glad that you take the legacy of this family as seriously as you do. But your father and I were never going to place that burden on you. And I’m not saying it’s all in your head. But think about it this way. Your sister wanted to become a lawyer. I’m an author. You wanted to follow in your father’s footsteps.
CAMERON: I guess you’re saying that I shouldn’t be surprised when he throws a curveball, like me being the first Winslow man to potentially not become the next Chief-of-Staff of Winslow Family Medical Center?
VIVIAN: I think that you said that, not me. And I also think you answered my personal question about why it bothers you so much. And what I mean by that, is that I think up until now, you’ve been ignoring that your father is a curveball-throwing-type-of-person. But I’m tired of the two of you thinking that this will separate you two in some chasm type way.
CAMERON: Won’t it, though?
VIVIAN: Only if the two of you make it that way.
CAMERON: I guess time will tell.
VIVIAN: It always does, son.
At Doris’ Home, in the Kitchen, Doris, now exhausted from a morning shift at her restaurant, is brewing a cup of tea. And as the kettle goes off, and as she begins to pour the hot water over the teabag in her favorite Pioneer Woman mug, she suddenly hears her phone buzzing on the counter. A curious Doris then puts the kettle back on the stovetop and picks her phone up. She doesn’t recognize the unidentified number, but she feels the need to pick up the call, anyway.
DORIS: Hello, this is Doris Weller.
DAVID: (over the phone) Dor, it’s me…David.
DORIS: (taken aback) What…what do you want?
DAVID: (over the phone) We both know that I wouldn’t have called after all this time if it wasn’t important. I…I need your help. It’s about Jackson.
DORIS: Jackson? What are you talking about? I texted him this morning. He’s fine. I’m sure of it. So, I don’t know what you’re…
DAVID: (over the phone) Did he return the text?
DORIS: David…
DAVID: (over the phone) Did he return the text, yes or no?
DORIS: Well, no. But I know how busy he gets with Grace and the kids. And it’s a beautiful day, so I know he probably took them to the pool. I look at the weather up there every day, so he just gets some idea. I…
DAVID: (over the phone) Doris, listen. He didn’t come home last night. Grace hasn’t heard from him. You clearly haven’t heard from him. No one knows where Jackson is.
Doris, after hearing the words from David’s mouth, falls back, her mug falling to the floor after being knocked over by her shaking hands.
DAVID: (over the phone) Doris…Dor…are you there?
DORIS: (choked up) Yes, I’m here. But where the hell is our son?
Meanwhile, on the edge of Willow Creek, a pale mist begins to roll across a long stretch of road. Grant Holloway grips the steering wheel of his car tightly, his eyes fixed ahead. The road is empty, lined with twisting trees that seem to bend toward him. Inside the car, the music is turned down to a faint whisper, as Grant reaches forward to turn the dial to another station, not being able to actually pick up on anything after all. He then makes the decision to glance at his GPS.
GRANT: I’ve gotta take the next left, and then I’m in Willow Creek.
Grant leans back in the driver’s seat, exhaling slowly.
GRANT: Let the search for answers my mother never gave me, finally begin.
Grant begins to press on the gas a tad more, as he drives into the afternoon mist ahead, as light rain begins to fall from the clouds. He then drives past a sign that says,
WELCOME TO WILLOW CREEK.
END OF EPISODE 001
