The long drive across the desert to Santa Monica the next day is silent. Reg saw Eric and Susan kiss, but it is unclear how he feels about it.
Reg waits on the beach, outside of Big Dean’s Cafe in the shadow of the famed Santa Monica Pier. Through the storefront window, the meeting with the daughter (Tabitha) seems to be going well. There is laughter, tears, hugs, an exchange of phone numbers.
Eric and Susan walk slowly toward the beach where Reg is waiting. Neither speaks. Is it the daughter? The kiss?
Susan’s face is cloudy as she approaches…she looks through Reg.
“That girl...Tabitha. She’s not our daughter.”
Reg insists. Of course she is. She must be. Eric agrees, then looks confused, concerned.
“A mother knows,” she says. And finally, Reg relents. No. She is not their daughter. She is an actress he has paid to play their daughter.
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