In Medias Res: The Beginning

MASCARAS:

Well there I was staring at paper ...
(lifts glass to air) watching my wine
turn to vinegar as it were ...

JOAN (Smiling):

You can turn a phrase.

MASCARAS:

I said I couldn't write, I'm a wiz at
speaking. Anyway there I was staring
at blank paper, not a stitch of an idea,
and the damn typewriter had cost me
4400 pesetas in Andorra.

JOAN:

So what happened to the great American
novel?

MASCARAS:

After seven months all my money ran out.
Then I spent another month looking at the
"wine dark sea," and then I came home ...

JOAN:

Properly humbled and chastened.
So how did you become a (points
glass of wine towards him) ...

MASCARAS:

Probation Officer? No bread. Tapped out.
Saw a blind ad in the paper asking for
people with experience dealing with people,
took the test, and the rest (sips wine)
is history.

JOAN:

Well, you're wasting your time. But I like
you anyway ...