Title: “The Sign (Portugal)”
Scene from the inner life of Dr. Luka Kovac / Joe Jukic
Interior – Small Toronto apartment – Night. The rain whispers against the glass.
Dr. Luka Kovac, a man shaped by war, medicine, and exile, sits in front of an old television. But this is no ordinary evening. Because Dr. Luka Kovac is not just a Croatian doctor on ER reruns. He’s Joe Jukic’s avatar—a vessel for memory, pain, and signs from the divine.
Tonight, Joe needs a sign.
He’s tired. Disconnected. Wondering if the thread of meaning has finally snapped.
He slips in an ancient VHS marked “SCTV – Happy Wanderers”. The tape hisses.
The screen lights up with John Candy and Eugene Levy as the Shmenge Brothers—fake Eastern Europeans playing polka for fake applause.
It’s corny. Offensive even.
But then—he sees it.
A Portugal travel poster, haphazardly pinned in the background:
“Visit Portugal — Land of Music, Land of Dreams.”
He freezes the screen.
The camera never meant to linger there. But Joe—through Luka—sees it.
It’s the sign.
Not just for Portugal.
For Nelly.
Flashback:
A church basement. Fluorescent lights. Cheap lemonade and plastic chairs.
Joe is 14.
He’s got two left feet and an oversized tie.
But he’s holding hands with a girl from Sunday School.
Her name: Nelly Furtado.
They’re square dancing to a cassette recording of “Cotton-Eyed Joe.”
The priest claps in time.
Joe trips over his own shoes, but Nelly laughs and spins him anyway.
Her voice: high, clear, playful.
She smells like cherry lip gloss and hope.
It was just a Confirmation party. But for Joe, it was the last time the world felt innocent.
Back to Present:
Kovac—Joe—whispers:
“Bože moj… it’s her.”
He reaches for his phone. Scrolls past hospital contacts and old war buddies. Finds her.
NELLY – DO NOT TEXT UNLESS IT’S A SIGN
He stares at it.
Then types:
“Portugal.”
“Remember the church basement? Cotton-Eyed Joe? You said I was the worst dancer you’d ever seen. You still owe me a rematch.”
He hesitates. Then hits SEND.
Joe gets up, walks to the mirror, and adjusts his hair with the care of a teenager before a first dance.
Dr. Luka Kovac may have lost love on primetime.
But Joe Jukic just found the courage to reclaim it—with a little help from a Portugal poster, John Candy, and the memory of a girl who danced like heaven was real.
