Holiday Workers

1. Act 1

2. 
   

3. INT. BEDROOM - 10:30

4. 
   

5. Sunlight slices through the curtains, painting stripes across the room. PETER, already dressed in a comfortable red shirt and blue jeans sits on the edge of the bed. The only sound is the soft, rhythmic breathing of his WIFE.

6. 
   

7. PETER (V.O.): Today's my wife's birthday.

8. 
   

9. Peter watches her sleep, content.

10. 
    

11. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Let me first send her my Happy Birthday song via FB.

12. 
    

13. Grabbing his smartphone, Peter mines the MV on his YouTube channel. On screen, we see a churning blue sky. A hand extends from the frame, offering something to the birds.

14. 
    

15. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It's my wife's hand. What they chase are Calbee potato chips.

16. 
    

17. On screen, the birds dive-bomb the frame, their wings whistling past her fingertips as they snatch the offered chips mid-air and bank sharply away.

18. 
    

19. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It's a cinematic masterpiece.

20. 
    

21. Peter posts his MV "Happy Birthday 2026" on his wife's FB wall.

22. 
    

23. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): We'll go to Ocean Park. Free day for my wife on her birthday. Always free for me for being a senior Hong Kong citizen.

24. 
    

25. Act 2

26. 
    

27. INT. PANDA'S HOME, OCEAN PARK - 14:00

28. 
    

29. Peter and his wife stand behind the glass, watching the main attraction, the twin cubs and their parents. Then, Peter watches his wife watching them.

30. 
    

31. PETER (V.O.): She's my dear wife.

32. 
    

33. Pausing.

34. 
    

35. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I remember when we were trying to get our own children big.

36. 
    

37. Recalling.

38. 
    

39. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): On the first day of the year of the Horse, our whole party of five go to visit my parents-in- law.

40. 
    

41. Pausing.

42. 
    

43. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): We aren't bad - my elder son, my wife and I are legally qualified. And our daughter-in-law and younger son are medical doctors.

44. 
    

45. INT. GINGER GRILL, OCEAN PARK - 15:45

46. 
    

47. The restaurant is spacious, with large windows. The table is covered in remnants of a late lunch.

48. 
    

49. PETER: Our elder daughter started here. At Ocean Park. Right after university.

50. 
    

51. WIFE: She worked dutifully and diligently.

52. 
    

53. PETER: Then in Tokyo. And now in Seoul.

54. 
    

55. PETER (V.O.): I believe she gets that from me. Always moving, always climbing.

56. 
    

57. WIFE: And our younger daughter found something she actually likes in Tokyo.

58. 
    

59. PETER: Not just a job, but a creative one that she loves.

60. 
    

61. WIFE: All our children are building their own lives now.

62. 
    

63. PETER: That's what we ever wanted.

64. 
    

65. They sit in silence for a while, sipping iced coffee.

66. 
    

67. WIFE: I don't know you drink iced coffee.

68. 
    

69. PETER: I've loved iced coffee since my teens, from my days working part-time at the Castle Peak Hotel over the holidays.

70. 
    

71. Recalling.

72. 
    

73. PETER (Cont'd): 12-hour days. My feet were killing me. But you...

74. 
    

75. WIFE: I was at Dai Dai department store, also 12-hour days over holidays. I don't miss them.

76. 
    

77. PETER: Holiday workers are the stagehands of joy. If they do their job well, no one even notices they're there.

78. 
    

79. PETER (V.O.): 12- hour work days on holidays didn't break us. They built us, tray by tray, sale by sale.

80. 
    

81. Pausing.

82. 
    

83. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My wife could have chosen any man in a tie, and I could have chosen any woman in a skirt. We chose each other because we were both holiday workers.

84. 
    

85. Pausing.

86. 
    

87. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Every successful child stands on the shoulders of my wife and I who worked on holidays.

88. 
    

89. Later, a WAITRESS with a bright, efficient smile brings the bill over.

90. 
    

91. PETER: Everything was wonderful. The service especially.

92. 
    

93. Exiting the restaurant, Peter pulls out his phone.

94. 
    

95. WIFE: What are you doing? We're not done yet?

96. 
    

97. PETER: Almost. Just someting I need to recognize holiday workers, as few would do that.

98. 
    

99. He opens Google Maps, finds Ginger Grill, and taps "Contribute". He types a review across the screen.

100. 
     

101. Act 3

102. 
     

103. EXT. LIVING ROOM - 23:30

105. Peter uses Airdrop to share photos and video clips with his wife.

106. 
     

107. PETER (V.O.): A holiday is a day off for most. For some, it's a day to prove what they're made of.

108. 
     

109. Later, Peter plays a jazzy Happy Birthday song on piano for his wife.

110. 
     

111. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The true spirit of holidays isn't in the celebration. It's in the people who make celebration possible for others.

112. 
     

113. His wife cuts a mango cheese cake.

114. 
     

115. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When we're young, we resent working on holidays. When we're old, we realize those were the days that built everything.

116. 
     

117. The END

118. 
     

119. FADE OUT