tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82584760950900815822024-02-20T01:52:59.904-08:00The Book of Fantastic LiesGeoff Bocciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01993780574888914352noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8258476095090081582.post-61719904326098628792013-08-11T21:42:00.001-07:002014-10-02T10:15:00.778-07:00<h2>
PRETTY CRAZY</h2>
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I wonder what Adam would think. I wonder what sage observation he might make, what unsettling, wise-beyond-his-years statement he might share with me. Then again, he might just simply stab me. Or run off into the evening, not to be heard from for several weeks. But Adam is dead. </div>
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The street lamps are flickering up Helen St. again. No amount of complaint seems to motivate the city to fix them. The placidly rude woman at the city offices seems to think "someone" might get around to fixing them at some point, but there apparently are hundreds of work orders that take priority over such an inconvenience. Hell, there are thousands of things in my own head that would seem to merit my attention more urgently. But I can't stand the damn flickering. </div>
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I'm not really sure what is going to happen this evening. I feel unprepared, about to be tested on an undisclosed subject. Cassie has been so busy, so obviously overwhelmed, I have been hesitant to call her. I only realized yesterday that tonight is the night, so caught up in my own life I have been. I feel guilty for that. This is important, necessary. So much will be discussed tonight. And I don't know shit.</div>
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I pull into the parking lot a bit fast, bottoming out on the asphalt. The headlights flash crazily around, illuminating a few figures standing near a truck. Marla, Tony, and Gwen, the latter with her arms wrapped tightly against her body despite the heat, are standing near Tony's four by four looking unsure and maybe a bit scared. I shut off the headlights so as not to blind them and ease into the spot next to the truck. The trio is watching me, mouths shut, Marla nervously flicking her cigarette repeatedly with her thumb.</div>
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"Hi. Everyone here?", I mumble, closing the car door. </div>
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"Yeah. Inside.", replies Tony, his face and voice pinched and nervous.</div>
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I nod and start off toward the brown brick building, cramming my keys into my jeans. A far-off siren wails, the only sound other than the crunch of my boots on the asphalt. A tightness in my neck reminds me of the stress I am trying so very hard to hide. No use letting anyone see me struggle with the weight of the situation. Everyone is apprehensive and scared, not knowing what exactly they will encounter here. </div>
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I pull the green steel door open with effort. It seems the pneumatic assist is old and worn out. Not much money in the budget to fix such things for a non-profit. I sense rather than hear Marla, Tony, and Gwen behind me, so I wait and hold the door for them. They shuffle past without making eye contact or a sound.</div>
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Inside, the unnatural florescence of industrial lighting makes everyone seem unreal, washed out. Several people are sitting on the floor along the wall to the left. I recognize all of them, though some names escape me. I nod acknowledgement to a few, trying to look neutral and composed. But the tightness in my neck is intensifying. It is hard to swallow. </div>
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I spot a bulletin board and wander over to look at the posted fliers and notes. I am not really reading them, just giving my eyes something to be distracted with. No one is speaking. It is as quiet as a confined space filled with people can be. I do notice one flyer in particular that catches my eye. Someone has misspelled "anonymous". </div>
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After a few minutes, a door swings open along the right wall. A woman steps out, short and squat, a friendly smile pasted on her round face. She is holding a clipboard with hands tipped with an expensive looking manicure.</div>
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"Hello! Everyone please come in. Let's get started.", she says, too loudly for the previous silence.</div>
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We file in obediently. The room is carpeted in cheap glue-down industrial carpet. A couple of dozen chairs are set up in a circle in the rough center of the room. Other folded chairs line the wall at one end, along with folding tables and a small cart with a coffee urn and Styrofoam cups. There is something oddly ominous about the only other feature in the room: a large easel covered in a cloth. Several of the attendees give it a glance.</div>
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"Everyone please sit down. My name is Mary Wollery. I am going to ask a roll call in a moment, so please try to remain seated until afterward. Coffee is over there in the corner, but I ask that you refrain from getting any until after the roll call." She ends with an officious gesture indicating that we should comply quickly.</div>
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After a short staking out of territory, everyone is seated. I find myself between Karen Dormond and Alisha Mallory and directly across from Kevin Arrington. Karen leans forward and whispers in my ear.</div>
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"I can't take this. I'm really freaked out right now, just so you know. I might grab your hand or something. Don't freak out if I do.", she breathes, tickling my ear with her hair. She smells like toothpaste and hairspray.</div>
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Mary takes the roll efficiently and quickly. Barrett Scott and Ellen Kirk are the only absentees. I had run into Barrett a couple of weeks ago. He was coming out of the grocery store with two cases of National Bohemian beer. He had nodded down at one and stated, "Therapy.", his eyes pained despite the smile he forced on his lips. </div>
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"So. I hope everyone is well this evening. I am purposefully not setting a time limit for this meeting, as the first ones often go longer than planned. Help yourselves to coffee. It was provided to us free by Bear Cup Coffee, downtown. we'll wait a few minutes while everyone settles down.", Mary intones, loudly.</div>
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I and several others get up for coffee. I get two cups at first and give them to Karen and Alisha. Alisha takes hers without a sound, scarcely moving her body but for her arm. Karen smiles and says thank you in a forced, ultra-southern way. I return with my coffee and sit. I feel Karen's hand slide under my arm and grasp my bicep. She is squeezing with fair force, a smile plastered on her face.</div>
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Mary sits down near Kevin Arrington and folds her hands on the clipboard in her lap.</div>
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"Can someone tell us why we are here?", she asks, eyebrows raised in an inquisitive way, her overly made-up face shining under the florescent tubes.</div>
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Silence. Everyone is studiously avoiding eye contact. My own breath seems incredibly loud. Karen squeezes my arm even tighter. Mary is glancing around the circle, her eyes resting on each person in turn, her demeanor expectant. </div>
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"Because Mark was a selfish asshole who blew his brains out." blurts a voice from behind my left shoulder, one I cannot immediately identify. Everyone around me turns to look behind me. Karen's grip is almost painful. </div>
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Mary looks suitably calm, however. She, for one, has likely seen this kind of thing before. There are a few tuts and sharp intakes of breath around the room. Rose Coughlin dabs at wet eyes with a tissue. Kevin's face has gone bright pink.</div>
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"OK. Let's try to understand what Leon is really saying. Leon, how do you feel about Mark's absence? Do you sometimes find yourself thinking of him while at the store?", Mary asks, quietly and in a very controlled tone.</div>
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"Naw, I don't think about him. He shouldn't have done that shit. Now the rest of us have to come to this damn meeting and talk about him. He don't deserve it. We should all go back to our houses and chill. We shouldn't have to do nothing on his account.", Leon spits out each sentence like a fighter punching a heavy bag.</div>
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Mary nods as Leon speaks. She looks sympathetic and reassuring. I decide I don't like her. Not even a little. Something in her eyes, a light that seemed to say 'At least I am getting paid for this', lurks somewhere behind the sympathetic surface. A woman doing a job, earning a living, nothing more. I feel depressed, suddenly.</div>
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People start talking all at once, their voices, though muffled by the low ceiling and shabby carpet, are loud, a chaotic swirl of emotions. I glance down at my coffee, frowning. Karen is cutting off the circulation in my arm. Kevin looks like he might explode in a mess of ginger hair and freckled skin. He is practically purple.</div>
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Mary is trying to settle everyone down, her arms making downward sweeps from her shoulders to her waist. I glance over my shoulder and see that Leon is sitting with the chair leaned way back, arms folded across his chest. Some are making conciliatory sounds, others are outraged. </div>
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"Excuse me! Please! People! Settle down, please!", Mary is standing now, arms raised like some biblical figure attempting a miracle. No one is listening to her.</div>
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I lean over to Karen and say in her ear, "Let's go outside and have a smoke. This shit is going to take a while to subside." She nods and reaches down for her purse.</div>
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Outside is blessedly free of people, save for Karen and me. I light Karen's cigarette and my own. The first drag pulls me back down a few feet. Karen's hand is shaking as she pulls on the cigarette, pulling out from her lips with a kind of pop sound. She inhales the smoke deeply and then blows it out in a tight stream. </div>
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"That was fucking ridiculous. I don't want to deal with this shit tonight.", Karen stammers.</div>
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"Yeah, it's not good. People have no idea how to deal with this.", I say, glancing up at the sky. The moon is hiding behind unseen clouds. A few hundred moths are circling the mercury-vapor lights over the parking lot. At least they aren't flickering.</div>
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"Shit, Church, I don't want to go back in there. I'd rather go anywhere else. Can we just leave?"</div>
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"We can do whatever we want. Maybe they'll get calmed down in a few minutes, though.", I say, quietly. My tone is not very assured, despite my best effort.</div>
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"C'mon, Church. Take me outta here. Let's just drive. I don't care where." She throws her half-smoked cigarette down and grinds it out with the toe of her high heeled boot.</div>
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I shrug and turn toward the parking lot. Karen slips her hand between my arm and side, walking purposefully and upright. I glance at her out of the corner of my vision. She looks substantially less stressed as we near the car. Her red hair bounces around her face, the lights glinting off the glitter in her lashes. </div>
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We get in the car in silence. I back out of the parking space and turn the nose to the exit. There is no one on this end of town at this hour. The lights are flashing yellow at the intersection as I guide the car down Holland Ave. I am just driving, no place in mind to go, letting the car drive itself. Karen stares ahead through the windscreen, her eyes distant. We drive for several blocks like this.</div>
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"What do you do when you're not at work, Church?", Karen asks, her voice bringing me out of my head.</div>
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"I read. Listen to music. I write a lot.", I shrug, "Don't know really. I just...do what everybody does, I guess."</div>
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"You write? Like in a journal or...what?"</div>
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"I write fiction. And blog about the things on my mind. It helps me cope with the world. It's my sanity filter."</div>
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"Sanity filter?", she laughs. "I have never heard anyone use that term before."</div>
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"It helps me get perspective. A bit like any hobby, I suppose. Sometimes I just need to download my thoughts, get them out. Otherwise I go a little nuts from thinking."</div>
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"Huh. You are more interesting than you would seem, Church."</div>
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"Gee, thanks."</div>
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Karen laughs and touches my arm. "I mean, usually you just sort of do your job and leave. I guess I never really give my co-workers much thought once they leave or I head home for the night."</div>
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"I'm just giving you guff, Karen. I know what you meant.", I reply, turning onto Sycamore Dr. "What do you do when you leave work?"</div>
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"Oh, I drink a couple glasses of wine, watch shitty TV, go out from time to time. Not much, really. Since I broke up with my boyfriend a year or so ago, I just kind of hang around the house, mostly.", she looks out her window, turning away.</div>
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After a few moments, Karen blurts, "I just don't get this whole damn thing. I mean, why the hell did Mark kill himself? And why the fuck did he have to do it <i>at work</i>!?"</div>
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I don't answer right off. I have to find the thought, the one I really want for this moment. I scan the possibilities, searching for the one that seems most appropriate. I have been doing this a lot more, this analysis of my speech, carefully reasoning before I reply. Mostly so as not to make others uncomfortable with my responses.</div>
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"People do very strange things, Karen. It is futile to try to figure some things out. It takes being there, in some other's mind, living their lives, to really understand why they might do something like that. It takes a level of empathy most of us are not capable of reaching.", I say, speaking in very measured, careful tones.</div>
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"Well, I definitely don't want to be where he was.", she shivers visibly. "That's a level of crazy I don't want to know about."</div>
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We drive a while longer in silence. The air conditioning is barely cooling things down in the tight space. Karen lights a cigarette and cracks the window. I decide to turn off the air and roll the windows down.</div>
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As we cruise past First St., the air starts to seem heavy, pregnant with moisture. Another summer thunderstorm is creeping up on Eastern North Carolina. As I think about the rain, I see a barely discernible flash indicating lightning in the distance, across the river.</div>
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"Hey, Church. Wanna get a drink somewhere? I could use one.", Karen asks, flicking her cigarette into the night.</div>
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"Sure. Where? Any place in mind?"</div>
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"No. Nowhere I usually go, is all. I just can't deal with seeing anyone I know right now. How about The Wheelhouse?" </div>
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"Sure.", I turn right onto Franklin Ave., speeding up to catch the light before it turns. </div>
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We pull up in front of the bar and find a lucky spot, dead out front. We get out just as the first splatters of fat raindrops smack into the sidewalk. Karen holds her purse over her head to protect her hair from the rain. I jog to the sidewalk and under the awning above the entrance to The Wheelhouse. </div>
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As we enter the bar, the jukebox is between songs. There are maybe twenty customers in the place, mostly huddled in tight groups around one of the high, round tables in the center of the room, or leaning against the bar. I recognize a few faces, but only as folks I have "seen around", not friends. </div>
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Karen leans in and says something about white wine and heads off to the small table in the corner, farthest from the door. I head to the bar to order, just as the first chords of <i>Little Pink Houses</i> by John Cougar Mellemcamp, or whatever the hell he is calling himself now, drift out from the jukebox speakers. </div>
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Drinks secured, I shuffle off for Karen at the table. She is applying lipstick using the mirror over the table which reads "Bass Ale". Her lipstick almost matches the color of the letters. </div>
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"Thanks, sug.", Karen smiles, reaching for the glass of Chardonnay I offer her. Her freckled fingers grasp the glass in a casual, practiced way.</div>
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"I used to come here a lot. Back when I used to party a fair bit. The place has changed, though. They cleaned it up.", I say, sipping my bourbon and ginger. I glance around, noticing the changes to the decor. Oddly, there seem to be a number of pictures of foreign leaders on the walls. </div>
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"Oh yeah? You used to party, huh?", Karen asks, eyes shining over the rim of her wine glass. "I figured with all your tattoos and your crazy taste in music, you must have some sordid past."</div>
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Smiling, I reply, "Oh, I have my past alright. And much of it is definitely sordid. I am a reformed hellion. Well, mostly."</div>
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Karen laughs, an easy sound, a little husky, her head back. I sip my drink and light a cigarette. I realize I have no idea what to say. About anything. Anything I think of seems trivial in light of the evening we have had. What does one talk about when death is on the tip of one's tongue? Silence may not be golden, but it is certainly easy.</div>
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"Church, can I ask you how you got that name? Is it because you are born again or something?", Karen asks, with perhaps some apprehension.</div>
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"No, I am not even religious. I got it because of...because some buddies gave me the nickname. Had something to do with something stupid I did."</div>
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"Oh? Do tell.", Karen says, a mildly sardonic look in her eyes.</div>
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"I crashed into the National Cathedral in my car."</div>
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Karen paused, her drink hovering in front of her slightly parted lips. I smile and finish my drink, get up and head to the bar.</div>
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I return to the table, drink freshened. Karen is smiling and smoking. I sit down and lean back in the chair. I am feeling the effects of the bourbon, a relaxation of the tenseness in my neck. The low lighting plays on the rim of my glass, absorbing my attention.<br />
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"I have to say that that was the last thing I thought I would hear you say.", Karen muses, sipping her wine.<br />
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"Yeah. I get that reaction a lot.", I say, still staring at the rim of my glass.<br />
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"What in the world were you doing that you crashed into a building?", she asks.<br />
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This is where things get sticky. This is where I must be very careful, especially in light of recent events. I begin searching my mind for a response. Briefly, I am dragged to a memory, too intense and dangerous to face fully, a screaming, black, terrifying corner of my mind. I feel my hand tighten around my glass, a tremendous effort of will pushing the memory away, rising, escaping its grasp. <i>This is not good. This must be caged. Come back. Back to Karen. Back to life.</i><br />
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"You know, we all do some crazy things when we are young. Mine are just a little crazier than most. I am sure even you have some things you have done that were...ill-advised.", I say, fighting the tightness in my neck, trying to swallow.<br />
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"Sure. I mean, I was young and stupid once. Spent a lot of time with the wrong men and spreading a little drama. But I am mellowed now, older, you know? I don't have time for all the drama."<br />
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"Yeah, drama is for the young and uninformed. It seems we all develop a warning system as we get a little older, a little wiser, that warns of impending drama and craziness."<br />
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"So, what do you really think about Mark? I mean, let's be honest. It has affected everyone of us. I guess I am sad and confused, and a little frightened."<br />
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For a long moment I stare into the candle on the table between us. Mark. Such a wounded human. Quiet, always friendly but reserved, removed from the goings-on around him. But obviously he was very sick. Very broken. I shudder.<br />
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"I am sad that he didn't have someone around him to help him. Obviously, he was in need of psychological help. Again, I don't think anyone can truly know what he felt, where he was coming from. People are not conditioned to deal with that level of pain and despair." Well, at least <i>most</i> people never experience it or contend with it.<br />
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Karen looks pensive, far away. Her hand strokes the glass in front of her, burgundy nails contrasting with the yellow wine. She leans forward, her eyes sad.<br />
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"I guess I feel guilty for not noticing his pain. I wish I could have been more friendly toward him.", Karen says, her lips squeezing tight.<br />
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"You, nor anyone else, could not have done anything for his pain. It is not something anyone can 'fix'. He needed professional help. You and I are not sufficiently trained to help someone that sick. Don't try to project his illness on yourself.", I say, eyes fixed on her face, imploring.<br />
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Karen smiles without humor, leaning back and finishing her wine. I get up and take her glass to the bartender and refill it. I return to Karen, a look of resolve on her face, seeming to have made a conscious decision to change the subject. She takes the glass I offer, sitting upright, legs crossed.<br />
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"So, are you seeing anyone? Is there a Mrs. Church?", she asks, over the rim of her glass.<br />
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"No. I am divorced. I was seeing this woman, but she was very different from me. She wanted different things.", I shrug. "I couldn't always be there for her in the ways she needed."<br />
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"Oh, I see. She was looking for more than just a casual relationship, huh?", she inquires.<br />
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"Yeah. You know, I was fresh out of a marriage, still hurting a little. I didn't want nor need a relationship beyond having a little fun at that point. I was honest with her, but she didn't listen, I guess. Heard what she wanted to hear.", I smile and sip my drink.<br />
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We talk for a couple of hours, sipping drinks, smoking, just relaxing. The bar starts to fill up, the younger crowd in for their mating rituals. I catch Karen's eye as a loud group of file in, obviously drunk already. I make a motion with my head indicating that we should leave. She follows me to the door.<br />
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Outside it is wet. The rain has subsided leaving glittering diamonds on the cars and streams in the gutters. I open the passenger door for Karen and help her in before going to the driver's side. I have only had two drinks over a few hours, so I surmise I am fine to drive. Karen has had a fair amount of wine. Her face is flushed and her eyes bloodshot.<br />
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I ask Karen how to get to her place. She instructs me to take the bridge and head down Fletcher's Creek Road. We ride without speaking. I turn on the CD player, sinuous tones of post-punk dirges leaking out of the speakers, low but louder than the sound of the tires tearing through rainwater.<br />
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As we turn on Fletcher's Creek, Karen shifts in her seatbelt to look at me. I feel her eyes on my cheek. She reaches out and turns the music down.<br />
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"Church...why...how are you so calm about Mark? You seem detached from his...from the situation.", Karen asks, somewhat unsteadily.<br />
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<i>Because I don't care. Because he was just an object in my field of perception, just as all people are. </i>My neck is instantly tight, a steel cable squeezing my throat. I cannot answer, not yet, not until I can push that thought away. I consciously relax my hands on the steering wheel, letting one hand slide to my lap, a feigned nonchalance.<br />
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"It isn't easy. I don't want to explore it too much." <i>Because there is nothing to explore. </i>"He was a very sick man. Nobody wants to contemplate that.", my voice sounds reasonably controlled to my ear. But I never know.<br />
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My rest was interrupted by vivid dreams, like thunderclaps in my subconscious. I stare at the table in front of me through blurred eyes, still shaking off sleep. The coffee in my cup is cheap but strong. Grey skies seep in from the sliding glass door, mist settling on grass blades, becoming dew.<br />
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Last night was strange. Not only because we had all gathered to come to terms with a horrific event, but also because my mind had been treading in places I had not been in quite a long time. Unpleasant places. It seems that there are things within our minds beyond our understanding, beyond our control. Memories, unbidden, crash to the surface, dragging us backwards in time, rarely to bright places, reminding us that "self" is a collection of all the places we have been and our emotions we associate with them. You can't get very far from regret and fear.<br />
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I sigh and stand, moving to the coffee pot for a refill. Karen had been very clear last night when we arrived at her house: come in and we will find our way to the bed. But I had sensed that that was how she dealt with her fear. The fear of loneliness, that human frailty that drives men and women together to share the mild, fleeting warmth of the messy, comfortless bed.<br />
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I glance at the stack of mail on the counter. I am in no mood to deal with numbers right now. The mail will wait. I refill my cup and move to the sofa. My phone, a slab of plastic, glass, and socialization, message light blinking, is resting on a well-thumbed copy of a favorite science fiction novel. I thumb the power button and glance at the screen. Three missed text messages and a voice-mail. I replace it to its previous resting place and lean back, swinging my heels onto the coffee table. The world will wait.<br />
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A strange sound drags me from sleep. An electronic chirp, loud and near, its source is obscured by reflection. I glance at the wall clock: ten-thirty. No pressure. My left foot is asleep, having been crossed under my right. The mild panic of a return to consciousness fades as I stretch and stand.<br />
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I will need to be at work today. Last night will alter the dynamic somewhat. May even have a few call-outs. Likely, emotions will be taut and close to the surface. Not good for me. The surge...<br />
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That chirp again. This time, though, I immediately identify it. The battery in the smoke detector is low. I go to the kitchen and open the junk drawer, seeking a nine-volt battery. Finding none, I slowly close it. A stray sunbeam strikes a metal surface in the drawer. I pull the drawer open again, staring down into it. There, at the front, half obscured by a measuring tape, a rounded rectangular object shifts with the momentum.<br />
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"How the fuck did that get in there?", I ask the drawer. This should not be here. Not in the drawer, not in the house, not anywhere. This was <i>lost.</i> A long time ago.<br />
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My hand reaches for the object almost without my consent. I pause, fingers hovering a few inches above the impossible item. It is a Zippo lighter; brass, battered and scratched, engraved with a symbol too worn to discern. The last time I saw that thing it was lying on the concrete outside a department store, a sticky, bloody thumbprint on its top. I was lying face down, a few inches from it, my arms being roughly pulled, cold steel shocking my wrist...<br />
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I slam the drawer shut, holding the pull, still, breathing through my nose. My jaw muscles are tight, rushes of blue-white adrenalin in my chest, my mind burning...<i>Slow, goddammit! </i><br />
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As I try to calm myself, I turn, leaving the drawer open, I turn and move to the refrigerator. I take a long pull from a water bottle, leaning against the small kitchen table. <i>This is not good; not good and impossible. It cannot be. Please. Please, it needs to be GONE. It needs to not be here. I LEFT IT. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
The smoke detector chirps again. Without looking into it, I close the drawer, gently and purposefully. It is time to shower and prepare for the day. I will need to shave and find a clean shirt. <i>You will need to take some Goddamn meds.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
"Fuck me.", I whisper, moving down the hall.<i> </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<i> ------------------------------------------------------</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
The store is quiet. A few cars dot the parking lot like lost cattle, representing a few early-arrivers. One of the cars belongs to Karen. A good thing; Karen is a natural peacemaker, someone who can diffuse and placate. I will need to let her do a lot of talking today. I also recognize Leon's truck, a beaten Dodge, parked as far as it can get from the building. Also a good thing. Leon is here to do his job, nothing else. The others...<br />
<br />
As I climb out of my car, the other vehicles disgorge their occupants, almost in unison. I keep my eyes on the store, fishing my keys from my pocket, juggling my coffee. The air is thick today, pregnant with moisture, a great blanket of North Carolina humidity, stifling. The sounds of footfalls and jingles of keys are muted behind me by the Southern fall's weight.<br />
<br />
"Hey, Church. How you doing?", Karen's voice, still husky from the morning's silence, asks.<br />
<br />
"I am fine, I suppose. Need about a trashcan full of coffee today, I think.", I reply, unlocking the door and sliding it open.<br />
<br />
"Ha! I already had two cups. 'Bout my limit.", Karen says, brightly.<br />
<br />
"Hey, Boss. Want me to wait out by the roll-up? You can let me in from there. I gotta move those crates.", Leon asks, his voice almost belligerent in it's abruptness.<br />
<br />
"Yeah, that would be great, Leon. We can knock that shit out quick, you and I. We have a lot to do today.", I respond, meeting his eyes. His expression seems to dare anyone to challenge him today. It is almost a relief to see. I know how to deal with that: let's shut up and finish this, speak only to give direction, do the job. We won't be making small talk.<br />
<br />
Safely inside, I turn on the computers and wait for the system to boot. I shuffle through some utterly unnecessary paperwork, the consequence of corporate stooges' demands, completely useless information in a retail store where the job is to deal with people, not numbers. Companies never seem to learn that lesson. Reams of paper needed to say the simplest things: "We suck" or "We rock", in eighty pages.<br />
<br />
<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
</div>
Geoff Bocciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01993780574888914352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8258476095090081582.post-66542571650410407042012-03-03T08:01:00.000-08:002012-03-03T08:01:00.757-08:00The Chaos Factor<br />
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<br />
</div>
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<br />
</div>
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“The Chaos Factor”</div>
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<br />
</div>
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by</div>
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<br />
</div>
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Geoff Boccia</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Feb. 2012</div>
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<br />
</div>
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<br />
</div>
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<br />
</div>
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“The Chaos Factor”</div>
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<br />
</div>
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Present day.</div>
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Black screen.</div>
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SOUND – Husker Du –
Makes No Sense At All.</div>
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Title (blue, gray, red)</div>
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<br />
</div>
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FADE IN</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
INT. SHABBY APARTMENT - DAY</div>
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<br />
</div>
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Minimal furniture.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Several cardboard boxes.</div>
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Short stacks of papers,
photos.</div>
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A bass guitar.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Music, lower volume.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The front door opens.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Enter JANIE. (25ish,
attractive)</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
JANIE</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Greg? Are you here?</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Some banging sounds,
shuffling of boxes.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
GREG</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
(muffled) Minute!</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
JANIE</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Where are you?
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
(indicates boxes and
photos)</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
What is this stuff?</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
ENTER GREG from hallway,
carrying box.</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
GREG</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Just a bunch of shit from
the attic. Band stuff.</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
JANIE</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Band stuff? You mean from
when you were</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
a kid? Like, school band?</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
GREG</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
(pointed glance)</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Yes, gonna dust off the old
Tuba.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
No, my old punk band, Kaos
Faktor.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I told you about that,
right?</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
JANIE</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Um, no.
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>Punk </i><span style="font-style: normal;">band?
Like, Sum41?</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
(laughs)</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
GREG</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jesus
wept. No not that candy ass stuff.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Hardcore.
Eighties shit.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I told
you about this.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
JANIE</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Yeah,
no, you didn't.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
When
you said you were in a band,
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I
thought you meant like marching and stuff.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
GREG
stops rummaging through box, looks slowly up at Janie.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
GREG</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
So the
incessant Ramones and Minor Threat</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
and
Clash records I play were no indication</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
to you
that I was probably not a Glockenspiel player?</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
JANIE</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
(laughing)</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Records.
HA! You don't even have any records.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
You
mean the MP3s you play, old man?</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Never
paid them any attention.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
GREG</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Hand me
that photo album.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
What,
you never heard of them?</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
JANIE
hands over photo album.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
JANIE</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I've
heard of them, I think.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Just
never listened to them before.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I mean,
the stuff you play, most of it</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I don't
really care for.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
GREG</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Get out
of my house, heathen!</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
You
would've freaked if you'd seen me then.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Probably
crossed the street and hoped</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I
didn't get your scent.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
JANIE
sits in chair across from Greg.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
JANIE </div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Why are
you pulling all this stuff out?</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
GREG
shuffles through photos.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
GREG</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Happened
across it while looking for my heavy coat.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
It's
been a while since I looked at this stuff.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sometimes
I just pull it out and go through it.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
JANIE</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Does
this have anything to do with that call you got
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
last
night? The guy, the sick guy?</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
GREG</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
(not
really listening, staring at photo)</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Hmm?
What? Oh, well, probably. He
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
was in
the band. Look how young!</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
JANIE</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Do you
want to go out tonight?</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Haley
and Ryan want to go to the Rubber Room.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
GREG</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Can I
pass? I just don't feel it tonight.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
JANIE</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
(rolls
eyes)</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Whatever.
I'm going out, though.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
GREG</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
(absently)
Oh, have fun.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
GREG
(CONT'D)</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Where's
my damn phone? You seen it?</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
JANIE</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
On the
sofa, behind you.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
You
sure you don't want to go out?</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
JANIE
stands.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
GREG
stands, puts up finger to indicate that Janie wait, dials phone.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
GREG</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
(into
phone)</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jared?
Hey, assclown.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
(laughs)
Yeah, I know...</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
JANIE</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I'm
gonna go get ready.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
JANIE
walks toward door.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
GREG
mouths goodbye, waves and turns away</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
GREG</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
(into
phone)</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
What?
Oh, nah, they're at their Mom's.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Hey,
listen, you get a call from Leo?</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
No
shit, damn shame, man. He says six months to a year.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
So I
was thinking, we should get together, all of us,</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
you
know, one last time, as it were.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
JANIE
looks back angrily, leaves closing door behind her.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
GREG
(CONT'D)</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Don't
ya think? Can you get up with Mikey?</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I'll
call Leo and ask him if he's up for it.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I guess
we'll have to go up to Woodbridge, I</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
don't
think he can travel much.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Yeah,
you guys can drive down together, right?</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Fuck
yes, man. It'll be great, get his spirits up, maybe.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
GREG
sits on sofa, crosses legs, still on phone.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
FADE</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
INTERIOR. POSH APARTMENT -
EVENING</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
JARED spins in chair, phone
at ear.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
JARED</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
What's up, jerk-off?</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
What are you doin'?</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Yeah? Sounds awful. That
shit will kill you, you know.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
(laughs)</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
So, I got a call from Jinx.
You talk to Leo lately?</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Yeah, I know, man. Bad
shit.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
What is it...amyloidosis,
or something?</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I never heard of it before.
But it's taking his ass out.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I can't believe he only has
six months or whatever.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jinx thinks we should get
together, man.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In Woodbridge, 'cause Leo
probably can't travel.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I'll drive, dude. And get
us a hotel room.
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ok, as soon as I know when,
I'll call ya.
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
See ya, fag.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
JARED drops the phone into
shirt pocket. He rotates back and forth in chair. He stands, walks to
a table. Picks up pill bottle, opens it, takes one pill. He looks
into a mirror with dead eyes.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
CUT TO:</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
INTERIOR. DINGY APARTMENT –
DAY</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
LEO sits on bed, hands on
knees, shirtless. He is fighting nausea. His face is pale and lined.
A large bandage covers his right side, below his ribs. With great
effort, he stands and walks to bathroom. SOUNDS of RETCHING. A phone
RINGS.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
LEO</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Fuck. Just a minute,
goddammit.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
LEO staggers from bathroom
to beside table. Picks up phone, checking caller id. Smiles warmly.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
LEO
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
(into phone)</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
What's up, hero?</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Oh, fine. Just doing some
therapeutic vomiting.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
No, the cure, man. Makes me
feel like shit.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
But it looks like this is
my last round of chemo, thank God.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
What? When?</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Oh, man, I'd love that,
sounds great.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
All of you nut jobs? In one
place? I'll warn the mayor.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
No, man, I'll be fine,
seriously. Just get down here. It'll be fuckin' awesome!</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
INTERIOR. CAR – DAY</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Coffee cups</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Duffel bags</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
JARED is driving.
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
MIKEY D. is passenger.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
JARED</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This should be fun, man!
Been a long time since I've seen either of those two.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
MIKEY D.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
(quietly)</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Yeah.
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Long pause.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
MIKEY D.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
What's he gonna be like?
Not all gnarled and fucked up looking, I hope.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I can't imagine him like
that.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
JARED</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Who, Jinx? He's always been
gnarled and fucked up looking.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
MIKEY D.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Don't be an asshole. Leo. I
mean, he is fucking dying.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
JARED</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
You can't be all fucking
morbid when we get there, man. I'm sure that is the last</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
thing he needs. You fucking
ex-junkies are always thinking about death and shit.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
MIKEY D.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I am a recovering junkie,
dude. Not such thing as an ex-junkie. Anyway, what's the
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
deal on his disease or
whatever? No cure?
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
JARED</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jinx told me there isn't
anything left for them to do. He is done. Sucks.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
MIKEY D.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
He can't go to Europe or
India or some shit? I hear they have experimental shit</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
we can't have here in the
States.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
JARED</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I'm pretty sure he's
thought of everything he can. Besides, you don't want to go to
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
some backwards-ass quack
who injects you with elephant semen or whatever...</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
MIKEY D.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
What the fuck, dude?
Elephant semen?
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
JARED</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I read that some psycho
doctor in Bulgaria or someplace was injecting elephant</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
jizz in his patients. True
shit, man.
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
MIKEY D.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Forget that shit, dude.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
JARED</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
You can't. It's elephant
semen.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
MIKEY D.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
(chuckles)</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
You're retarded. Seriously,
I don't know, man. I don't know if I can handle seeing him...</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
dying. I mean, that is
fucking <i>black, </i><span style="font-style: normal;">man, as black
and bad as anything I can think of.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
He was
a killer singer, this crazy screaming lunatic, always jumping all
over the place.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
More
alive than anyone. I don't know, dude. It just hits you in the gut.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
JARED</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
You
gotta stop talking like that. Don't be so fucking selfish. He is the
one dying, not you.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Give
him a good send-off, not a bunch of morbid stupid shit. I don't like
it either, dude, but</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
we
can't go in there and be like “Wow, man, this really sucks! You are
gonna be dead in a few
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
months.
Pass the salt.” Get your shit together.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
MIKEY
D.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
You're
right, I know. Just sucks, is all.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
They
ride in silence for a long moment.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
MIKEY
D.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Elephant
jizz. What the fuck, man.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
INTERIOR.
HOTEL LOBBY – EVENING</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
MIKEY D.
and JARED are standing at the reception desk speaking with the hotel
attendant. MIKEY D. is looking around the lobby in mild
embarrassment, JARED is pulling out credit card and signing hotel
receipts. They both have duffel bags slung on their shoulders.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
JARED</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
(to
hotel employee)</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Can I
get a room on a lower floor?
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
HOTEL
EMPLOYEE</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I don't
think we have anything else, sir. Let me see...</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
(pauses,
types on keyboard, looking at screen)</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
No,
nothing lower, sir. We have a convention this weekend.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
JARED</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
(absently) </div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Oh
yeah? Of what?</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
HOTEL
EMPLOYEE</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The
blind, sir.
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
MIKEY
D.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
(turning)</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
What?</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
HOTEL
EMPLOYEE</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
(smiling
thinly)</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The
blind, sir. Persons who cannot see.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
MIKEY
D.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
(tightly)</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I know
what blind means, thanks. But they have conventions? I mean, that is
surprising. I can't imagine for what. Like a support thing? “Hey,
I'm blind, too. Let's drink coffee and tell blind stories.”?</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
HOTEL
EMPLOYEE</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I think
it's more of a convention for blind persons to see new things to make
their lives a bit easier.
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
JARED</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Feel
things.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
HOTEL
EMPLOYEE</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I'm
sorry?</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
JARED</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Feel
things. You said “see” things. They are blind. You might want to
remember that when someone comes up and asks you for directions to
the can.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
HOTEL
EMPLOYEE</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
(smiling)</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Oh, I
see, yes. So far they have been very easy to deal with.
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
MIKEY
D.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
You
were expecting what, a riot? Attacks on hotel personnel? “Yes,
officer, there is one of the culprits now, wrestling that Ficus tree
to the ground. Pepper spray him!”</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
JARED</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Does
pepper spray work on blind people?</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
MIKEY
D.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I don't
know. Good question. We should ask one of them.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
JARED</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Don't
know how that question will go over, dude. Might make them a tad
nervous if you go over there and ask that. Besides, they can smell
ex-junkies. Excuse me, recovering junkies.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
HOTEL
EMPLOYEE looks sharply up, alarmed.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
JARED</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Oh,
don't worry. He was addicted to gay sex. He's in recovery now.
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
MIKEY
D.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jesus
Christ, Jared! You asshole.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
JARED</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I am
his sponsor. I will make sure he doesn't rub up against any of the
blind people. Or the Ficus
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
trees.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
MIKEY
D.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
He is
kidding.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
JARED</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
That's
true. I can't keep him away from Ficus trees, no matter what I try. I
suppose I'll have to
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
get the
horse tranquilizers. Only thing that can keep a gay sex addict from
Ficus molestation is
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
strong
horse tranquilizers.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
CUT
TO: WIDE SHOT</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
MIKEY D.
turns and walks to middle of lobby, muttering. Jared is completing
the check-in.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
CUT
TO: MEDIUM SHOT</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
A blind
man walks toward MIKEY D. who nods, then winces.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
MIKEY
D.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Good
afternoon.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
BLIND
MAN</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Hello.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
JARED
approaches carrying hotel papers and key.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
JARED</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ok, all
set. Let's get up to the room and...</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
From
behind MIKEY D. and JARED
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
GREG</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Look at
these two degenerates!
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
GREG
walks in. JARED and MIKEY D. turn toward him.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
MIKEY
D.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
(smiling)</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Look at
you, man! You look good, dude. Happy.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
JARED</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jinx!
You old fucker.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
GREG</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
No, not
Jinx. Not for a long time, anyway. Call me Greg, man.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
JARED</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Don't
know if I can do that. It'll take some getting used to.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
MIKEY D.
hugs GREG. JARED spins GREG around, hugs him.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
GREG</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
So you
guys decided to come a day early as well, I see.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
MIKEY
D.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Yeah, I
want to go back to the old stomping grounds, see the sights...</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
JARED</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
And I
can stop in on a client. Haven't seen the guy face-to-face in a
couple of years.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
GREG</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
We
should grab dinner somewhere, then. I wonder if Filomena's is still
open. Get some gnocchi</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
and
some risotto.
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
JARED</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Shit! I
remember that place. You took us there a couple of times. They always
made us sit in the
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
little
alcove thing in the back by the kitchen. Good food, though.
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
MIKEY
D.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I don't
remember that place. Where was it?</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
GREG
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wisconsin
Avenue. Just off M street. Next to the canal.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
MIKEY
D.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Hmm.
Doesn't ring a bell. But, hey, I was fucked up most of the time.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
GREG</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I'm
gonna check in. Meet you guys in the lobby?
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
JARED</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ok,
cool.
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
CUT
TO:</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
INT.
HOTEL ROOM – DAY</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
GREG is
unpacking his suitcase.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
SOUND –
a cel phone RINGS</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
GREG</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
(looking
at caller id)</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Shit.
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
(answers
phone)</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Yeah?
Stop. What, now? Ok...</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Hmm.
I'm sorry, but I am in DC. (pause) Well, that's not my fault. I
should have told you?! (pause) No, that's not how this works. You
said you had to take the kids to your Mom's this weekend, so I
decided to take a little road trip to see Leo. I do not have to “run
things by you”. We are divorced. (pause) Look, I gotta go. Bye.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
GREG
angrily disconnects. He throws open suitcase on the dresser, turns,
walks toward window.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
SOUND –
cel phone RINGS</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
GREG
checks caller id. He looks up, shaking his head.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
GREG</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
(answering
phone)</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Hi,
sweetie! (pause) Well, no, honey, I am in DC. I wish I could. You
know I always want to spend time with you, but I am visiting some
people. (pause) No, Mommy didn't tell me that.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
(pause)
I'm sorry, kiddo. I'll be back in a couple of days, we can be
together then, ok? (pause)</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ok,
honey. Kisses for you and your brother and sister. Bye.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
GREG
makes as though to throw the phone against the wall but checks
himself before he releases.
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
GREG</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
(screams)</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
FUCK!!</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
CUT
TO:</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
INT.
HOTEL ROOM – DAY</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
JARED is
hanging shirts in the closet. MIKEY D. is sitting on the bed flipping
through television channels.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
MIKEY
D.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
So,
Jinx looks good. I thought he would be a little more, I dunno,
stressed out looking.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
JARED</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Well,
it's been a year since the divorce. He's gotten over it.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
MIKEY
D.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Well,
he told me he still loves her, a couple months ago on the phone.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
JARED</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Yeah?
Well, that ship has sailed, apparently. He should get a girlfriend,
get laid.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
MIKEY
D.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
He has
one. Jennifer or something. She is younger. He said she is dumb as a
pair of pink panties.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
JARED</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The
best kind. Is she hot?</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
MIKEY
D.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I
guess. But he says he doesn't want to see her anymore. Says she's too
much trouble.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
JARED</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
They
always are. Plus, with his kids and all, I bet that makes it harder.
He worships those kids.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
MIKEY
D.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Yeah.
They are amazing kids, I mean, really smart and capable.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
JARED</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
And
this surprises you? He is one of the smartest people I have ever
known. Too bad he can't do</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
something
with it. He should be a novelist or a film-maker or a teacher. But he
just can't deal
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
with
the shit in his life.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
MIKEY
D.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Yeah,
he is definitely smarter than the rest of us. But that rage...it'll
kill him eventually. Never
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
met an
angrier person in my life.
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
JARED</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Yeah,
smart doesn't mean shit if you just don't do anything with it.</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>Geoff Bocciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01993780574888914352noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8258476095090081582.post-69308831344282453642012-02-23T12:19:00.001-08:002012-03-03T05:30:27.069-08:00The Pen (short story, unfinished)Light, all syrupy, entered through a small slit in the blinds, full of motes, and settled in a swath across her crib. She could hear the Big Ones but could not see them. They made sounds like a happy song, she thought, and smiled. She also made a sound which surprised her, made her stop and wonder at it. She made a few more to see if she could repeat it but could not. She reached for the light, it felt warm and different. She liked it.<br />
<br />
Movement caught her eye and she turned to see the Big Ones, noisy and fuzzy. They stopped at her crib, like they always did, and made funny noises, like they always did. But there was a new thing: the light glinted off of something on one of the Big Ones, sparkled there, so beautiful. But then it was gone and they reached for her, startling, heart jumping just for a moment, she flew up to meet them and threw her tiny hands into the soft top-part of the singing Big One, ecstatic and peaceful.<br />
<br />
<b>**********</b><br />
<br />
Evie's Daddy was sitting at the big, wooden desk as he always did on Saturdays, hunched over a stack of paper. The papers were the kind Evie was not allowed to touch, the special ones, her Daddy had told her. She and her Mommy had been out at the dance studio all morning and had stopped to get lunch at Mr. Don's place, and had only just gotten home.<br />
<br />
The afternoon sun shone in from the back windows, cutting through the curtains, playing off the sun-catchers Evie had made, colorful and warm. A gap between the curtains allowed a shaft of light to cross her Daddy's desk right where he was writing in his little book. As he wrote, the sun glinted off the pen in his hand, the one he <i>always </i>had, everywhere he went. It sparkled in the beam, almost too brightly to look at.<br />
<br />
"What are you doing, Daddy?", asked Evie, crossing the study to stop at his desk.<br />
<br />
"Hmm?", her Daddy looked up once he finished writing a word. He smiled big at his little girl and reached out to touch her cheek.<br />
<br />
"Oh, just paying bills, little bug. Big, grown up stuff.", he leaned close to her and whispered candidly, "It really is a stinky thing to have to do."<br />
<br />
Evie laughed and hugged her Daddy's arm, "May I hold your pen?"<br />
<br />
"This pen?", he held it up so that the light played off it again. "This is a very special pen, Evie. I got this from a beautiful lady."<br />
<br />
Evie, cocked her head, a smile playing on half her mouth, "Was it Mommy?<br />
<br />
Evie's Daddy laughed and mussed her hair, "You guessed it, li'l bug."<br />
<br />
For some reason, that pen seemed special to Evie. She didn't know why. It just...well it just was special. It didn't need a reason to be special, she guessed. She had never written with it, only held it once or twice, in fact, only saw it from time to time when her Daddy used it. Like when he payed bills or wrote a check at the hardware store or wrote a note to her Mommy. But every time he did use it, she watched it, how it danced, how it sparkled, how it looked heavy and solid and real. And her Daddy always put it very carefully in his shirt pocket, making sure that the clip snugged it to the cloth.<br />
<br />
Her Daddy handed the pen gently to her. She held it, this mysterious instrument, twisting the barrel to make the nib go in and out, felt the ridges that lined it. It was warm in her hand. She glanced up to see her Daddy looking at her, a small smile on his lips, his eyes alive like fireflies. She handed it back.<br />
<br />
"It is very special, Daddy. It is pretty.", she said solemnly.<br />
<br />
<br />
**********<br />
<br />
Evie waited for the school bus, kicking pebbles in the street. It was probably a little too cold to be wearing her light jacket but she hated the big, fluffy one. She turned at an engine growl to see her Daddy backing down the driveway. he waved when he saw her and rolled the down the window.<br />
<br />
"Evie, you little booger! Why don't you get your heavy coat?", he chided.<br />
<br />
"No, Daddy! I like this one.", she said petulantly, stamping her foot on the gravel.<br />
<br />
Her Daddy shook his head, a funny smile on his lips, then turned the truck and drove off. Evie regretted the way she talked to her Daddy. She knew he was just trying to tell her that it was cold outside, and now that she thought about it, it was pretty chilly. She felt the wind find the gap in her hood, chilling her, causing her to shiver and jam her hands into her pockets a little deeper and shrug her shoulders to cover her neck. She was about to walk back to the house to get a heavier coat when she saw the bus coming up the street, a loud, yellow caterpillar coming to haul her to her friends and lessons.<br />
<br />
-------<br />
<br />
When Evie got home that afternoon the sun had warmed the world a bit and she ran up the driveway, jacket tucked in her backpack, excited to see her Mommy and tell her about her day. She noticed that there was an unfamiliar car in front of the house and the front door stood open. She paused in her sprint, wondering at these things, these signs. For a moment, she had a cold feeling in her tummy. <i>Something is not right, here. This is not the routine. </i><br />
<i><br /></i><br />
Evie pushed the door wider and stepped into the foyer. She could hear voices in the kitchen, muffled, low, like when Daddy was talking to Mommy early in the morning so as not to wake her up. One voice was deep, a man's voice, sounding very soothing and a little sad. Evie had never heard this voice before. She wondered to whom it belonged.<br />
<br />
When she steeped into the kitchen, Evie saw her Gramma sitting at the little table, holding a glass of water. She looked red-eyed and tired and sad. A man stood by the kitchen sink, very solemn looking but he smiled when he saw Evie. Well, he smiled with his mouth. Evie slowly took her backpack off and let it slide to the floor.<br />
<br />
"Hi, sweetie.", Gramma said, extending her hands and flapping her fingers, beckoning her to a hug.<br />
<br />
"Where is Mommy?", Evie asked, falling into her Gramma's arms. She felt a tiny kiss on her head.<br />
<br />
"She...she is at the doctor's, sweetie."<br />
<br />
"Is she sick?", asked Evie, worried now.<br />
<br />
"No, honey, she is fine. She is there to see your Daddy. He was...in an accident. The doctors are helping him get better. Don't worry, I am sure everything will be fine.", her Gramma spoke very quietly, soothingly.<br />
<br />
Evie pulled back to look at her Gramma's face. She couldn't be sure, but she felt that her Gramma was telling a little lie. When she looked in her Gramma's eyes, they were wet and glistening. Evie buried her head in her Gramma's neck and cried.<br />
<br />
"Shhh, Evie, shhh. It's going to be ok. Shhh.", Gramma stroked her hair, whispering to her. "It's ok, baby, it's ok."<br />
<br />
The man leaning against the sink cleared his throat and said, hoarsely, "I should head on out, Mrs. Freddo. I will have someone call you from the, uh, from the doctor."<br />
<br />
"Thank you.", Gramma replied, squeezing Evie a little bit tighter.<br />
<br />
The rest of the afternoon Evie spent with her Gramma. She fell asleep for a little while and when she woke up, Gramma was sitting right there next to her on the sofa, staring at her. It was starting to get dark outside and Evie felt a little shiver.<br />
<br />
"I am hungry, Gramma. When are Mommy and Daddy going to be home so we can eat dinner?"<br />
<br />
Gramma's face looked very pale. She didn't blink, she didn't move at all. She looked frozen, a little scary.<br />
<br />
"What would you like to eat, sweetie? You want some pasta? How about some soup? Soup is nice on a cold night.", Gramma was barely audible, her voice small and tight. She still didn't move.<br />
<br />
"I guess soup. I don't care.", Evie replied. She was spooked by the strangeness in her Gramma.<br />
<br />
Gramma stood, slowly, and walked woodenly toward the kitchen. She paused along the way to pick up a tissue that was on the floor and passed through into the kitchen. Evie could hear the clang of a pot and then the whir of the can-opener. After a few moments, she smelled something cooking. She stayed on the sofa, tucked in the afghan, eyes wide, staring at a dust mote descending through a beam of light from the foyer, agonizingly slow. Evie imagined that it was a tiny explorer from some far away and very small place parachuting in to the wilds of the living room, mapping it for future explorers.<br />
<br />
Her reverie was broken when Gramma spoke from the kitchen. It was so oddly quiet in the house. Gramma didn't even raise her voice to call her for dinner. She padded into the kitchen in sock feet, very hungry now. Gramma had set a bowl on the table with some crackers and a glass of juice.<br />
<br />
"You aren't hungry, Gramma?", asked Evie, climbing onto the vinyl chair.<br />
<br />
"No, honey, I'm not. I think I'll just sit here with you and have some tea.", Gramma replied, smiling with her mouth but with a dull eye.<br />
<br />
Evie ate, crushing her crackers and dropping them into her soup. She was so hungry that she didn't speak, just steadily spooned soup, pausing to sip from time to time from her juice glass. When she was finished, Gramma took the bowl and placed it in the sink along with the pot she had used to heat the soup. After a brief pause, she threw the dish rag in after the dishes and leaned on the sink, eyes closed tightly, breathing slowly.<br />
<br />Geoff Bocciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01993780574888914352noreply@blogger.com0