(David approaches pilot Jack Ridley as the heavy bombers await their next op.)

DAVID ASHTON
What're you up to, Skipper?

(Jack chuckles but does not answer.)

DAVID
Do you think we'll be scrubbed again?

JACK RIDLEY
Hard to tell.

DAVID
(looking at the sky)
Well, it can't be weather this time. What do you reckon it is?

JACK
Well, it's pure speculation, of course, but, uh...they probably heard it's your last op. "What could we find to give Ashton a really rough ride?" they're thinking. I wouldn't be surprised if they came up with something pretty grisly.

(Jack stands up, takes his RAF cap and coat, and begins walking.)

JACK
Oh, come on...waiting around here.

DAVID
(walking along with him)
I was out at Robbie's last night, Jack.

JACK
Oh, yeah?

DAVID
Yeah. You used to go out there quite a bit yourself at one time, didn't you?

JACK
Yes, I did.

DAVID
You've got two kids, haven't you?

JACK
(puzzled)
Yes...?

DAVID
What? One of each?

JACK
No...both boys, actually.

DAVID
My divorce is going through.

JACK
Oh.

DAVID
It's funny. I wasn't telling anybody. Now I'm telling everybody. Conscience, I suppose. I want somebody to tell me I'm not the bastard I really thought I was...that it happens to everybody.

JACK
It happens to quite a few...the temptation, anyway.

DAVID
Yeah, well, I'm a sucker for temptation. Do you know, I've never said no to temptation in my life. Gee, I've treated a lot of people badly...not just my own wife.

JACK
(uncomfortable)
Dave, you don't absolve yourself by talking about it. You just make it feel a bit easier for the moment. It's a way of making excuses, really, and if there aren't any, what's the point?

DAVID
Settle for being a bastard, you mean?

JACK
(laughing nervously)
Well, I suppose I mean...better luck next time.

(Peter Bryant comes out of a hangar.)

PETER BRYANT
Oh, uh, Jack. The Wingco* was looking for you.

*[Wing Commander]

JACK
Oh, that means it's on.

PETER
Oh, no, it doesn't, old man. It's definitely scrubbed.

DAVID
(annoyed)
Oh! Wouldn't you know it?

PETER
(laughing)
The weather's never been the same since we had WAAF med officers, hey?

 

(from "Breaking Point" by John Finch)