So, are all good women and children ready for a serious bowling tournament?

Valerie: This should be interesting.

Kimberly: Oh YEAH!

Katie: Bow-ing! Bow-ing! :D

Lauren: You betcha!

*The twins cheer.*

Maxine: We're gonna cream you guys!

Daphne: I'll keep score. ;)

Jenny: We're the bowling queens!

Jordan: Huh?

(We open in a typical bowling alley. A couple of groups of people, mostly men or teenagers, run down the lanes and play games. There's a bar, a small restraint/fast-food type place, a row of vending machines, and an area where equipment is rented. The Westminster Abbies, girls, and kids walk in with bags. The Abbies wear yellow bowling shirts with purple trim that say "Abbies" on the back. Emma, Lauren, and Valerie wear blue shirts with white trim that say "Guardians" on the back.)

Katie: (She runs past her mother, excited) Yay! Bow-ing! Bow-ing! Let's go! :D

Kimberly: We are SO gonna kick your rears.

Lauren: Yeah, right.

(Valerie, carrying Jordan on one hip, goes over to the desk to rent shoes for the group.)

Emma: Come on, guys. Val will probably bring our shoes over in a few minutes.

Katie: (As she and the twins follow their mothers and friends to two lanes in the back) "This is so cool! I love watching Mommy and all the aunties bowl!"

Little Mick: "Yeah! This is gonna be fun!"

"Katie: And it's an easy game, too. It's not like baseball or basketball, where you have to run around or chase a ball. All you have to do is roll those big balls down the floor to hit some little white stick things at the end!"

Jordan: (As he and Valerie head to the alley with the shoes) "Can I play, too?"

Katie: (Frowns) "I don't know. Those balls are really big!"

Valerie: Ok, girls, I have our shoes. We're ready to win now.

Maxine: Sure you are.

Lauren: This is gonna be fun.

Katie: We gonna win! We gonna win! :D

Emma: (Hugs Katie) That's the spirit, sweetie!

Kimberly: That's not fair! You're turning the kiddies against us!

Lauren: There's nothing wrong with good-spirited competition.

Katie: Here! (She tries to pick up her mother's brown ball with gold sparkles...with very little success) Bawl, Mama!

Emma: (Takes the ball before Katie can hurt herself) Thanks, sweetie, but I've got it.

Katie: (Goes to the twins) "What'cha doin? Helpin' your mommy?"

Shelly: "Yeah!" *holds up one shoe*

Little Mick: *holds up the other* "We got her shoes!"

Katie: "You guys gotta be excited! Your mommy's gonna have a baby! Do you know if it's a brother or a sister yet?"

*Both shake their heads.*

Little Mick: "Mommy and Daddy said they wanna be surprised!"

Katie: "It's not gonna be both, is it?"

Shelly: *shakes her head* "Nope. Daddy made sure to find that out."

Katie: "I'm glad our daddies are makin' movies now. Papa says they're gonna be big movie stars, like Robert Redford n' Paul Newman!"

Little Mick: "Cool!" *pauses* "Who they?"

Katie: (Giggles) "Movie stars! Mama talks 'bout them! They made a western movie called "Butch Cassidy n' The Sundance Kid!"

(The girls have their shoes on and are beginning the game. Emma goes first. Katie watches her mama as she lines up, runs, and lets her ball go. Her ball goes straight through the middle and hits five pins. Emma makes a face and shrugs.)

Katie: Go Mama!

Emma: (Sighs) Mama just hit five pins...and she's going to have to try for a split, which isn't easy. :p

(Emma goes again. The ball just barely hits one pin before hitting the gutter. Emma makes a face.)

Emma: Darn it!

Katie: I help! (She runs down the alley to try to knock the pins down, but Emma grabs her)

Emma: No you don't, Katherine Martha Nesmith! There's a machine that knocks down those pins and puts them back up again. You don't need to be playing around over there! (Even as she says those words, a machine does indeed pick up the pins and sets them back up)

Little Mick: Cool! Lookit that! :D

Jordan: (From the white, rounded seats where he is cuddled on a blanket) "Wow!" :o

Katie: "The sticks just disappeared!"

Lauren: All right now, if I get tired, I'm gonna start having the twins roll my ball for me. *gathers her ball and prepares to throw it*

(Katie giggles; Emma and the Abbies chuckle.)

*The twins cheer for Lauren. She steps up and starts her stride, then lets the ball go gently. It does a somewhat slow roll down the lane and starts going to the right. Lauren waves it back to the left. When it reaches the end, it knocks down 6 pins. Lauren does a *whew* motion.*

*The twins jump up and down, cheering again.* :D

(Emma and Valerie cheer, too. Katie and Jordan grin.)

Jordan: "This is cool! Lookit that ball go!"

Emma: Second turn, babe. Get the rest of those pins.

Lauren: *gathers her ball from the return* Look out pins, here comes my ball.

(Emma and Valerie double over laughing.)

*Lauren steps up and lets the ball go in the same manner again. This time it veers to the left. Lauren rolls her eyes and motions it to go right. It doesn't, and drops right into the gutter.*

Lauren: Darnit!

Emma: Rats!

Katie: Yay!

Emma: Not "yay," sweetie. The ball is supposed to hit the pins, not miss them.

Katie: Oh.

Kimberly: (Grins) Yay!

(Daphne elbows her.)

*Lauren sticks her tongue out at the Abbies sits down again.*

Valerie: My turn now! (As she picks up her gold-colored ball) It's a shame the guys couldn't stick around for this, but Peter said he and the others were going to work on the script for the movie with the producer, director, and that odd Jack Nicholson fellow.

Lauren: I don't trust that Nicholson fella. He seems...I don't know...

Valerie: Insane? (She lets her ball go...and it hits all the pins) Strike! All right!

Jordan: (Claps) "That's my mommy!" :D

Katie: Yay, Mama?

Emma: Big yay! If you knock down all the pins, you get the most points AND a second turn!

Katie: (Jumps up and down) Yay! :D

Lauren: *grinning* Show off. ;)

Valerie: Watch me get a spare! (She once again lets the ball go. It hits three pins on one side, hardly a spare but points) Well, it's something.

Jordan: "My mommy's the best!"

Emma: (As Maxine takes her basic black ball) There's something about that Nicholson guy I just can't put my finger on. He seems nice enough, but...

Valerie: Peter says his aura is unusual and very strong, but he CLAIMS it's not evil.

Emma: Peter is not the world's best judge of character.

Maxine: We're up next! Here come the winners! (She does indeed get a strike on her first try) See?

Valerie: I didn't like them going up there, but Peter said Jack claimed the atmosphere is conductive to the kind of movie they want to make.

Kimberly: Um, what kind of movie DO they want to make? Have they even decided yet?

Emma: No.

Lauren: Knowing the guys, they'll each have their very own different ideas and will probably end up arguing over them.

Emma: Mike wants to make a western.

Valerie: I KNOW Peter wants to do something anti-war...

(Maxine isn't as lucky the second time around as her ball doesn't get up enough speed and hits the gutter.)

Valerie: What was that "see?"

Maxine: God da...(sees the kids, just ends up making an angry noise)

Lauren: Mick's idea will probably involve a tank or something...

Daphne: Davy wants to do a dance bit at some point...

Jenny: (As she picks up a multi-colored ball) Micky is the last person who needs to be in a tank.

Lauren: You're telling me.

Kimberly: So they're gonna make an anti-war western musical with a scene where someone drives a tank?

Jenny: That's not a movie, that's a bad "Laugh-In" skit. (She lets the ball go. Unfortuantly, it hits the gutter straight off) Aw man!

Valerie: Peter says they don't want to do something like their specials. He keeps talking about being "revelent" and showing everyone that they're "with it" and not just some silly band on TV doing silly things.

Emma: How do they expect an musical, anti-war western with a tank chase scene to find an audience?

Valerie: That's what I was wondering. I don't think the boys thought that far ahead. They just want to make movies.

(There's another "awwww!" Jenny has only hit three pins. Kimberly's up, smirking as she strides to the alley with her green ball.)

Katie: "I can't wait to see our daddies at the movies! Papa says he might even take Jordan n' me to watch the movie being made!"

Jordan: "Jus' like all the movies on our TV at home!"

Shelly: "I bet they'll be great!"

Katie: "Papa keeps saying how he wants to make a movie just like John Wayne does, with horses and cowboys and bad guys n' stuff! John Wayne is soo cool!"

Jordan: (Shakes his head) "Daddy said the movie is going to tell people how bad the war the grown-ups always talk about is. Daddy doesn't like war stuff."

Katie: "War's no fun! I want John Wayne!"

Jordan: "I don't wanna see a war movie, either. I'd rather see Daddy play his guitar or the piano."

Little Mick: "I wanna see action!"

Katie: "Who's Jack Nic-o-son?"

Jordan: "Daddy says he's going to help our daddies make the movie."

Katie: "I wish our daddies could go bowling with us, but Mama says they're only gone for the weekend. When they come home, we'll be movie people!"