Got my copy of The Dramatist. And there on page 54, my name along with the name of my play, The Best Years of her Life. It's right at the head of the list, not because mine is best (it probably is but that's another story) but because they sort in alpha order.
The notice refers to my reading in Long Beach. You can check it out here.
So here we are at page 60 of MELEK RIK. 30 pages to go. And things are happening right on schedule. The previous parts are here, here and here.
The best thing is, in my mind, I'm starting to plot out my next screenplay. That means I'm in total control.
INT. MADDIE’S BEDROOM - NIGHT
The bloody bat is gone from over the headboard.
EXT. A PATH IN THE WOODS NEAR WHIT & KID’S CABIN - NIGHT
A line of burning torches. Sound of many footsteps on the path. No one speaks. Men’s forms and faces in the flickering flames, half-glimpsed, half-seen.
A CABIN up ahead in the dark. No lights in the windows.
The footsteps stop. Suddenly, we see Maddie’s face in the torch light, every feature, every line in sharp relief. We see the bloody bat.
MADELINE
......Let’s roll!
EXT. MAIN STREET - DAY
The Coeur d'Alene VAN rounds the corner, horn honking. It stops and lets Kid off. He straps on his heavy backpack, waves to the Driver, walks up the road.
EXT. THE PATH - DAY
Kid walks slowly, carefully balancing his burden. Suddenly, a “something’s not right” look on his face. He stops. He sniffs the air.
EXT. THE CABIN - DAY
A single blackened chimney is all that’s left of the cabin.
The Preacher, a cloth against his nose, has just begun shovelling dirt into a grave as Kid bursts into the clearing. Kid throws his backpack down. Kid's face tells us the stench is overwhelming.
The Preacher drops the shovel, grabs hold of Kid, picks him up and throws him into the grave.
PREACHER
......They came looking, you worthless country ......cocksucker. They didn’t find you ‘cause you ......were still out and about enjoying yourself. But ......they found Whit. Wherever he is, he’s cursing ......you with every hellfire breath he has. Cursing ......you 'cause you can’t control your devils. And ......down the road, when you and he meet up, ......I hope he - -
Kid claws at the loose dirt. Whit’s rotting head, leaking ooze from the eye sockets, pops to the surface. He screams.
PREACHER
......I should bury you with him. What the hell ......were you expecting? Did you think that ......boy wasn’t gonna spill the beans on you?
KID
......Please. You got to help me! You got to ......save me.
The Preacher points.
PREACHER
......I’ll do this much for you. The hills are ......that way. I strongly suggest you start ......running.
The Preacher drops his shovel, starts to walk away.
KID
......You bastard! You’re leaving me with ......nothing! You’re leaving me with - -
He stops, turns, as Kid struggles to climb out of the grave.
PREACHER
......I leave you with your life. Which is more ......than you deserve.
INT. A CELL BLOCK IN A PRISON - DAY
Everywhere we see overcrowding, filth and misery. Outside each cell door, a bucket of human waste. Bolivar and the Major walk past the cells, escorted by two uniformed PRISON OFFICIALS. The Major holds a scented handkerchief to his nose. Bolivar scans each cell they pass with a critical eye. He frowns.
BOLIVAR
......That man has a book.
OFFICIAL 1
......It’s a religious book, General.
BOLIVAR
......He shouldn’t have it. Call him.
OFFICIAL 2
......You! Come here!
A PRISONER in Cossack dress comes to the bars.
BOLIVAR
......What does your book say?
PRISONER 1
......It says the rich and the strong already have ......their reward, General.
BOLIVAR
......Show me. Show me the page.
The Prisoner opens to a dogeared page. He holds it up. Bolivar reaches in, rips the page out. They walk on.
MAJOR
......You enjoyed that. You take pleasure in the ......misery of others.
BOLIVAR
......On the contrary, I did him a favor. He was ......operating under the illusion that the world is ......just. I gave him a proof that it’s not.
OFFICIAL 2
......Shall I go back and confiscate the book?
BOLIVAR
......Let him keep it. But tear out a page each ......day. Start with the end and end with the ......beginning. Over time, I expect his sense ......of hope will waste away like that of a ......starving African.
At the far end, the door opens. A MAN pushing a cart enters. The door clangs shut. We hear him calling “Garbage! Garbage!” as he picks up the slop buckets one by one and loads them.
BOLIVAR
......You keep pestering me for a command. ......All right. You have it. Yours to do with ......as you see fit.
MAJOR
......Where, Father?
BOLIVAR
......The Rocky Mountains. And the river ......valleys that empty into the Western ......Sea. Should keep you busy and out ......of my hair for a long time.
MAJOR
......I’ll need an army.
BOLIVAR
......So you will.
Bolivar stops at a cell, signals for the ragged filthy man inside to approach him.
BOLIVAR
......What’s your name, my good fellow?
PRISONER 2
......Tarik, sir.
BOLIVAR
......Have you ever led troops, Tarik?
PRISONER 2
......Never, sir.
BOLIVAR
......Ever served in the army? Ever killed ......a man?
PRISONER 2
......No, sir.
BOLIVAR
......This man is exceptionally qualified, ......uncorrupted by the flawed practices ......of the past. Do you see that man, ......Tarik?
PRISONER 2
......Yes, sir.
BOLIVAR
......That is Matthew, my less than useful son. ......Your job is to help him carve out his empire, ......so he’ll keep his nose out of my business. ......Think you’re up to the task?
PRISONER 2
......I’m your man, sir.
BOLIVAR
......Don’t be my man, Tarik. Be his man. ......Matthew, I give you your first recruit.
Bolivar grins a wicked grin and walks away. The Major stands, hanky to his nose, watching him. Then he turns to the Slop Bucket Man who’s now very close. We see it’s an old, bent, wasted Danny Prophet.
PRESIDENT
......Garbage! Garbage!
Prisoner 2 tugs at the Major’s sleeve. He wipes his nose.
PRISONER 2
......Hope you have a nice thick uniform for ......me, sir. It’s been cold in here. I’ve ......been a bit sick.
EXT. THE BALLPARK - DAY
Ten BOYS, ages eleven to fifteen, play a game of workups. A DOG lies in the shade of a tree. We see Jonah.
KID (O.S.)
......Told you they’d be there. They play ball ......almost every day. I watch ‘em from here.
EXT. A NEARBY HILLTOP - DAY
A platoon of SOLDIERS stands in a grove of trees in combat gear. Nearby, lower down in a gulch, a military HOVERCRAFT rests a foot above the ground, its power system silently purring. Kid stands next to the OFFICER-IN-CHARGE, who scans the diamond with binoculars.
KID
......They’re good boys, most of them. Good workers. ......Good students. They listen to their elders. They ......pay attention. They’ll make first-rate soldiers. I ......know them all and one thing I know for a fact is - -
The Officer-In-Charge turns.
OFFICER
......How about if you just have a big cup of shut the ......fuck up?
EXT. A MEETING HALL - DAY
Twenty old Buses and Trucks parked in a row. Two armed MEN patrol the area.
WOMAN 1 (O.S.)
......It’s that faggot getting even! Shouldda ......killed him when you had the chance, ......Preacher!
INT. THE MEETING HALL - DAY
Guns, coats and hats at the door. The Preacher at lectern.
A frightened, angry CROWD. Some of the WOMEN sob quietly. We see Kenny, Maddie, Tammy and Wendy.
PREACHER
......Kid had nothing to do with this.
MAN 2
......Preacher’s talking through his hat.
PREACHER
......Watch it! I tell you, this ain’t Kid. He couldn’t ......conceive of something this big. Hasn’t got the ......brain. Anyway, he’s long gone. Probably eaten ......by wolves. And even if the wolves didn’t, wasn’t ......him. If he’d of tried, the boys would of beat the ......crap out of him. Or outrun him. One or the other.
WOMAN 2
......Then what happened to our boys?
An shrivelled old MAN with wild eyes and hair below his shoulders speaks up.
MAN 1
......Vampires! Vampires, I tell you. Vampires out ......there. I seen ‘em.
Some of the Women start crying louder.
PREACHER
......How can you say it was vampires? Where’s ......the blood? Vampires need blood.
MAN 1
......There was no blood because they took ‘em ......for later. Use your head, Preacher. They got ......‘em all in a big pit somewhere. When they ......need blood, they pull one out and open a vein ......or an artery. One or t’other.
PREACHER
......How do you explain no sign of a struggle?
MAN 1
......There was no struggle because they use ......mind control. Everybody knows vampires ......disable their victims with telepathic beams ......of mass energy. They marched ‘em off into ......the mist like wooden soldiers.
More of the Women start crying out loud.
KENNY
......Oh shit!
MAN 1
......You go ahead and laugh, Ken Wetzel! ......But that’s how vampires operate! There’s ......books that’ll tell you that. If you ever read ......a book.
He stands up.
MAN 1
......Mark my words, some day, when we least ......expect it, our boys will return and their ......brains’ll be gone and they’ll have the look ......and smell of living death. Mark my words. ......Come on, girls. We’re leaving.
Three twentyish LADIES stand and follow him out the door, leaving behind a roomful of wailing Women.
PREACHER
......All right. All right. Calm down, everyone. ......Let’s think this thing out. Let’s brainstorm. ......Let’s consider the facts.
MAN 3
......What gets me is there was no fight, no one ......got away. How could that be?
PREACHER
......Got a theory. I read in a book about a kid ......who led these other kids on a crusade to ......Arabia. He had a powerful personality and ......all the other kids obeyed him without question. ......He’d walk up to a kid and say, “You’re going ......with me” and the kid would do it.
WOMAN 1
......You saying one of our boys led the others ......off on some wild goose chase?
PREACHER
......Don’t jump ahead, Sarah. Just considering ......the possibilities.
WOMAN 2
......Well, my Clement ain’t no svengali. So don’t ......you even suggest it.
MADELINE
......And Jonah wouldn’t do anything like that, either. ......Anyone who says he would is a liar.
Everybody springs up. Everybody starts shouting.
INT. KENNY’S BUS - DAY Just before sundown. Maddie, Tammy and Wendy sit silently side by side in the front passenger bench. The Bus approaches the motel. We see Maria and two older Boys and a teen-aged Girl, all armed, standing guard outside.
A look of relief on Maria’s face.
INT. MADDIE’S BEDROOM - DAY
Sound of kids playing somewhere outside. The bloody bat in the rifle rack. Maddie sits, stares through open window.
EXT. THE HILLTOP - DAY
Maddie sits and stares at the deserted baseball diamond.
EXT. SOMEWHERE IN THE FOREST - NIGHT
Alan walks. He’s dressed in military camo. He walks softly, carefully, stealthily, like one born to the trail. He suddenly stops. His face tells us he hears something that’s not quite right.
EXT. SOMEWHERE CLOSE BY - NIGHT
Maddie walks softly, carefully, stealthily, keeping the underbrush between her and her prey, as she stalks Alan.
EXT. BACK TO ALAN - NIGHT
Alan slowly takes out his weapon, turns, moves swiftly, silently, catlike, toward Maddie’s position.
EXT. SOMEWHERE CLOSE BY - NIGHT
Maddie watches from her hiding place as Alan bursts through, weapon at the ready. She sees him slowly turning a 360, scanning, surveying. Finally, he puts his weapon away, returns to continuing his walk. Maddie emerges and continues her stalking him.
EXT. THE MOTEL - DAY
Three choppers parked next to the bus.
KENNY (O.S.)
......We thank thee, Lord, for these thy ......gifts received from thy bounty. ln ......the name of thy only begotten Son, ......Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
EVERYONE (O.S.)
......Amen.
INT. THE DINING ROOM - DAY
Back when it was a functioning motel, this room was the cafe. Now it serves as the communal dining space. Maria, Tammy and Wendy each sits at a separate table with her children. Maddie sits alone.
Kenny sits at a table with his three guests, POPS, SONNY and GHOST. Everyone eats silently. Maddie picks at her food.
POPS
......lt's not every man that can live off ......the land, you know? Do your own ......thing in your own time. You should ......be proud.
SONNY
......Can we have some more coffee?
Kenny nods to Maddie. Maddie gets up, pours coffee for the Men and sits back down. The Kids at Tammy’s table snicker at a secret joke.
EXT. THE MOTEL - DAY
Pops, Sonny and Ghost get ready to leave. Tammy, Wendy, Maria and Maddie stand on the porch.
POPS
......The blonde one. She’s barren?
Kenny nods.
POPS
......She’ll conceive. Soon. She’ll have ......a boy.
KENNY
......How’s that gonna happen?
POPS
......................(A wise smile) ......Same way everything in the universe ......happens. Thanks for the food and the ......good company and the alcohol for our ......machines. And thank you for leading the ......prayer.
They rev their choppers and leave. Kenny looks up at the Women.
KENNY
......He says Maddie’s gonna have a ......baby boy.
Maddie laughs. It’s a dark, angry laugh.
EXT. SATELLITE IN ORBIT - NIGHT
SATELLITE TRANSMISSION
......God is great. I bear witness to no god ......but God. I bear witness to...
EXT. A HILLTOP - NIGHT
Alan eats dinner.
RUFUS (O.S.)
......There’s an old motel I want you to ......take a look at. It’s near where ......you are.
ALAN
......Yes, sir.
INT. RUFUS’ OFFICE - DAY
Classical music plays. A portrait on wall of an older, graver Bolivar.
RUFUS
......Stand by for coordinates download. Good ......luck, Major.
Rufus presses a switch. He turns, smiles. It’s a nervous, brittle smile.
RUFUS
......It’s been a good day. I’ve done some good ......work. There haven’t been very many days ......lately where I can say that.
Kid, in an immaculate military uniform, walks to the wet bar.
KID
......A drink, sir?
RUFUS
......A drink. Yes. I think I will.
EXT. THE HILLTOP - DAY
Maddie sits and stares at the deserted baseball diamond.
In the distance, we see the motel. We see Wendy, Tammy and Maria and all the kids, fishing poles in their hands, climb aboard the bus. We see the bus drive off, horn happily honking.
EXT. THE MOTEL - NIGHT A fire consumes the motel. We see Maddie dancing before the flames.
INT. KENNY’S BUS - NIGHT
The Bus races toward the blaze. We see Maddie, bat held like a warclub, the fire behind her enveloping her, making her appear like an avenging angel.
MELEK RIK keeps going. More pages. We're up to about page 47, nearing the halfway point. Soon things will explode, but in a way you never expected...
INT. THE ENTRY HALL OF A PALACE - DAY
Armed GUARDS stand vigilant at each entrance. Sound of a man in boots walking on tile. He's coming closer. Subdued lighting. Soft, plucked-string music. Polished deep red Persian marble. Lights focus on an ornate open casket.
Bolivar approaches. He removes his headdress, stands silently, looking down at the glassed-in MUMMY of a Chinese woman in her early 40’s.
Suddenly, reflected in the glass, the face of MAJOR MATTHEW BOLIVAR, 28, soft eurasian features. He bites his lip.
MAJOR
................................Father.
Bolivar does not acknowledge him.
MAJOR
................................I want an independent command. ................................I want a token of a father's trust.
BOLIVAR
................................Wrong time, wrong place, ................................Matthew. Your mother was a ................................stickler for timing. And she ................................had a sense of place.
MAJOR
................................She’s not my mother anymore!
The Major storms out, pushing a Guard out of the way. Rufus emerges from the shadows.
RUFUS
................................He has a new lover.
BOLIVAR
................................Male or female?
RUFUS
................................Why, female, of course.
EXT. A LARGE BARN - NIGHT
Bright lights inside. We hear DANCE MUSIC. We hear a deep-voiced woman singing over a record. A line of old CARS and BUSES are parked in a field of weeds. In the bed of one pickup, a generator runs noisily. A cord snakes from the generator to a plug at the barn door.
A bus approaches. It’s the same old rattletrap we saw earlier at the motel. It halts near the entrance. The door slides open. Maddie and Tammy hop out. They’re dressed in jeans, cowboy shirts and boots. They grin. The MAN tending the generator calls out.
MAN
................................Kenny! Got any alcohol?
KENNY (O.S.)
................................Might have a gallon or two.
The man holds up a five-gallon gas can, shakes it.
MAN
................................Sure could use some. Running ................................low.
INT. THE BARN - NIGHT
Fifty MEN and WOMEN dance. A dozen teenaged BOYS and GIRLS stand at the wall. Whit, hair thinner and greyer, tends an old CD player. A song like “Wonderful Tonight” plays. A LARGE WOMAN with a powerful voice stands on a raised platform singing along with the song into a microphone. The song ends. Everybody applauds.
LARGE WOMAN
................................Now we got one just for the young ................................folks.
The Men whoop it up.
LARGE WOMAN
................................What song you got, Whitney?
MAN IN CROWD
................................Better be a good one!
Whit waves a CD, inserts it into the player. A few of the WOMEN prod the teenaged Girls to pair up with the Boys, just as a “Crocodile Rock” type song plays.
The Teenagers dance. The Adults clap, urging them on. The Large Woman sings over the song. She’s pretty good. Maddie, a mean look, saunters up to Kid, who sits near Whit, drinking from a flask and trying not to be noticed. She yanks him out onto the floor, gives him a dangerous look. They dance. Everyone appears to be trying hard to ignore them. Kenny gives Tammy a “here we go again” look.
EXT. AMONGST THE PARKED VEHICLES - NIGHT
From inside, we hear a loud fast song playing. A lot of whooping and hollering and laughing. Maddie has Kid pinned on the bed of a pickup. She straddles him, kissing him hungrily. Kid tries pushing her off, but she is relentless.
MADELINE
................................It’s O.K. I won’t hurt you. It’s O.K.
KID
................................Stop it! Goddammit, I mean it! ................................Whit’s gonna wonder where I am.
MADELINE
................................Whit's doing just fine.
Maddie pulls at Kid’s clothes. He gets an arm free and hits her in the face. She hits him back and grabs him, squeezing him hard.
MADELINE
................................Don’t you hit me. Don’t you ever ................................think of hitting me.
................................Shut up. Now drink.
She starts to undo his pants as we hear the crunch of boots close by.
KENNY (O.S.)
................................Let him go.
INT. KENNY’S BUS - NIGHT
The headlights cut through the pitch black. Maddie sits alone in the front passenger bench. Tammy snores two benches back. Kenny turns his head, looks back at Maddie. She turns her head, looks out the window into the pitch black. Kenny suddenly jams on the brakes, bringing the bus to a screeching halt. In the headlights, a mountain lion nonchalantly saunters across the road.
INT. MADDIE’S BEDROOM - NIGHT
The bloody bat in a rifle rack over the headboard. Kenny and Maddie are naked on her bed, having intense, athletic, angry sex. Maddie’s on top, straddling him.
MADELINE (V.O.)
................................When a lion’s in heat, she has sex ................................hundreds of times. It’s not a ................................pleasure thing. It’s a numbers ................................thing. You don’t know which ................................slug’s gonna hit the bull’s- ................................eye. So you keep firing away. ................................Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.
INT. JEREMY’S APARTMENT - DAY
A loud knock. Chloe and Jeremy freeze. The four CHILDREN, three Girls, Maggie, 9; Margie, 10; Maddie, 11; and one Boy, Mackie, 8, stare at the door apprehensively. Another knock, louder. Jeremy nods and recedes with the Children into the next room. Chloe opens the door to two unsmiling POLICEMEN.
................................No one by that name either.
POLICEMAN 1
................................All right. You want plodding? We’ll ................................plod. I need a word with the person ................................formerly known as Jeremy Slezak. ................................I suspect you know where he is. I ................................suggest you produce him ................................immediately if not sooner.
Chloe hesitates.
POLICEMAN 1
................................Take all the time you want. ................................Eventually, we’ll be inside. ................................It’s your choice how we get ................................there.
EXT. A RUDE BALLPARK IN THE HILLS - DAY
The bus is parked along the third base line. Kenny has the hood popped with the engine idling. He fiddles with the throttle. The engine sounds rough. On the diamond, seven BOYS practice barechested. Most are barefoot. They share five mitts. Maddie stands at home plate. She hits a sharp grounder. The Boy at short muffs it.
MADELINE
................................Keep the ball in front of you! ................................Don’t let it get by you! Knock ................................it down if you don’t catch it!
She hits another. The Boy at second snags it.
MADELINE
................................Better! Square your body! Look ................................the ball into the glove!
INT. THE KITCHEN IN JEREMY’S APARTMENT - DAY
Two taped-up cardboard boxes rest on the kitchen table. The two Policemen begin opening them. Jeremy looks nervous.
................................They were together only five ................................months before. Before what ................................happened, happened.
The two Policemen rip the tape off and open the boxes.
POLICEMAN 1
................................Just some papers.
POLICEMAN 2
................................Photo Albums. Shit.
JEREMY
................................I never opened the boxes.
POLICEMAN 2
<...............................What do you know about her?
JEREMY
...............................I met her only once. She ...............................didn't seem the type. I ...............................don't know what she saw ...............................in him. She seemed ...............................nice. Almost sweet.
EXT. THE BALLPARK - DAY
There’s been a collision at home plate. The catcher lies sprawled, separated from the ball. Maddie stands over him. She screams at the top of her voice.
MADELINE
................................If they get the ball to you, ................................no excuse you not catching ................................and holding on! Rule number ................................one! They don't score! I ................................don’t care if your Mom’s ................................coming around third! She ................................goes down! You say "Sorry, ................................Mom” and dust her off. But ................................Mom don’t score!
INT. THE KITCHEN IN JEREMY’S APARTMENT - DAY
Policeman 1 pages through a thick legal document. Policeman 2 looks through a photo album.
POLICEMAN 1
................................Shit!Listen to this. ....................................(Reads) ................................Parties to this marriage have ................................discussed their future plans ................................and desires relating to having ................................children. Both parties hereby ................................acknowledge they shall not ................................have children. This is based ................................upon an analysis of the parties' ................................anticipated family structure, ................................financial situation and the ................................lifestyle the parties anticipate.
POLICEMAN 2
................................Pssst!
Policeman 1 looks up. Policeman 2, grinning, holds up a full-frontal nude pic of Maddie.
POLICEMAN 1
............................... There's your lifestyle.
They laugh.
INT. A LARGE ORNATE HOTEL DINING ROOM - DAY
Early morning. Clasical music plays. A scattering of breakfast eaters. Rufus sits at a corner table, surrounded by empty tables. A WAITER takes his order.
The Waiter nods, leaves. At the far end, we see a MAN in a military uniform walking toward Rufus. He strides with purpose and precision. Rufus looks up, watches him approach. He's expecting him. As he draws closer, we see it’s Alan. Rufus indicates a chair. Alan sits, bolt upright.
RUFUS
................................Captain Wetzel. Congratulations ................................on your promotion. I knew a ................................Wetzel years ago. He was a ................................baseball player. Any relation?
ALAN
................................No sir.
Rufus points to a folder. Alan takes it, opens it.
INSERT: The Folder
An artist’s drawing of a thirty-five year old Maddie.
BACK TO SCENE
RUFUS
................................We got that from a fourteen- ................................year old photo. She’d be thirty- ................................five now. Still pretty.
ALAN
................................Yes sir. Very much so.
EXT. THE BALLPARK - DAY
The Boys play workups. Maddie never takes her eye off them.
MADELINE
................................Play hard! Play the game right!
KENNY
................................My mother was like you.
The Left Fielder heaves the ball toward home plate. It falls short and wide.
MADELINE
................................What’s wrong with hitting the ................................cutoff man?!
KENNY
................................After every little league game, ................................there was one-on-one with mom. ................................I’d come away feeling this high.
MADELINE
................................Made you a better player.
KENNY
................................Made me an asshole.
The First Baseman lets a pickoff throw get by him.
MADELINE
................................You asleep out there?!
KENNY
................................What happened to the game ................................of baseball?
MADELINE
................................It stopped being a game when ................................some of our "heroes" decided ................................to cut corners.
A long smoldering silence.
KENNY
................................Fuck you.
Maddie gives him a deadly serious look.
MADELINE
................................Any time, asshole.
Kenny opens the throttle wide. The engine quits.
EXT. A MAIN STREET IN A SMALL IDAHO MOUNTAIN TOWN - DAY
Jonah stands at the side of the road, He's nervous, but trying to look tough. An rickety old 15-passenger VAN rounds the corner, horn honking. We see the Van is half-filled. A sign in the front windshield: “Coeur d'Alene.” Jonah waves. The Van stops. Jonah speaks with a slight stutter.
JONAH
................................You going to Coeur d'Alene?
The DRIVER rolls his eyes, points to the sign.
INT. THE VAN - DAY
Kid taps Jonah.
KID
...............................Where you going?
JONAH
<...............................Coeur d'Alene.
KID
...............................I meant, where in Coeur d'Alene?
Jonah takes out a scrap of paper.
JONAH
...............................Going to this place. Getting a ...............................throttle and an alternator.
Kid snatches it.
KID
...............................Oh yeah. I know this. The ...............................Chinks. Two Chinese guys. ...............................Everyone says "The Chinks." ...............................How's your Dad?
JONAH
...............................Good.
KID
...............................And Ria? I mean, your Mom?
JONAH
..............................Mom's good.
Kid produces a flask, takes a swig.
KID
.............................Your Mom and Dad and me go way
.............................back. We all came here together on a .............................train. Quite an adventure. Don't know .............................if they ever told you.
EXT. THE VAN - DAY
The Van enters a forested area
JONAH (O.S.)
.............................Uh. Dad said he worked for the ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,government. Back when we had ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,a government.
KID (O.S.)
...............................Oh, so they didn't tell you. Well, ...............................you're a man now. All grown up, ...............................your Dad sending you out alone ...............................on family business. Time you ...............................heard the story. This was before ...............................you were born. There was me ...............................and your Dad and your Mom ...............................and Mister Whitney and your ...............................Aunt Maddie. Here. Have a ...............................sip of this. Anyway...
What would be really cool is if they decided to produce it. They did such a great job with Three Tall Women. And my play was inspired by the Albee play.
Bennett Cohon directed my play, Dead Angel, back in 2005 up in Hollywood.
He spotted my blog on the internet and emailed me, said he remembered Dead Angel, liked it a lot and would I be interested in submitting something for Write Act Repertory's Freeway Series? I sent him Team Player, Thank You and Missing. Information about these plays (and others) can be found here.
A Team Player was fun to write. It flowed out of me like a river. It got readings and productions in 2004, 2005 and 2006. It won a playwrighting award up in Canada.
The best production was in Columbus, Ohio, in 2005 by Madlab. Michelle Batt was the director. Cindy Frazzini, Jim Azelvandre and Robert Stretch performed their parts wonderfully. They got a fine review in the local paper:
Character Breakdown
Cop..............................male, twenty-something
Maddie..................................female, early 40s
Henry.......................................male, early 60s
Technical Requirements
Police uniform, wheelchair, softball bat, softball, 2 softball mitts
(Bare stage. COP standing. Behind him, HENRY,
MADELINE and wheelchair)
COP:
At ten in the morning, Madeline wheeled Henry out to the swimming pool. Like so. (As he describes, MADELINE & HENRY come
forward and demonstrate)
Positioned him on the pool deck at the deep end. Like so. Eased herself onto his lap, strapped herself in. She used one of those expandable belts,
running it under the seat and pulling it tight, securing it over her thighs, like so. Then she switched the motor on and they drove into the pool. They sank together. (MADELINE & HENRY retreat upstage)
The coroner took one look. No sign of forced entry, no sign of violence. Called it murder/suicide. First murder in this town in fifty-one years. I grew up next door to Henry. I recall before Madeline, there was another woman. Then one day, the other woman was gone. (Beat)
Dad and I were in the back playing catch. And there was Madeline, doing stretching exercises. I said in my six year old voice, Are you the new mommy?
MADELINE:
Yep, that's me, little guy. I'm the new mommy.
COP:
She had a terrific laugh. She was really tall. And when she bent over to shake my hand, I thought I caught the scent of the ocean.
MADELINE:
Nice handshake. He's gonna be a little toughie.
COP:
My Dad said, Yup. He's my little baseball player. She gave me her sweatband.
MADELINE:
All real ballplayers have sweatbands.
COP:
I thought, Wow! No one had ever given me a sweatband before. She grinned. Great grin. Then she scrunched down next to me.
MADELINE:
When a lady gives a little boy a sweatband, that's a sign of a special friend. Are you going to be my special friend?
COP:
Sure. You bet And every year, until I was eighteen, I got a birthday present from Madeline and Henry. It was always from Madeline and Henry. Never the other way around. And it was always athletic gear. Like when I was ten, I got a chest protector. I was second string catcher on my Little League team. I noticed right away with the chest protector, I got more innings behind the plate. I started noticing Madeline at my games. Occasionally, Henry came with her. But usually, it was Madeline by herself. She always sat alone and she always watched the whole game. Not like the moms and dads who only watched when their kid was out there. Sometimes I'd get a note. Never signed, but I knew who it was from.
MADELINE:
Choke up, Benjamin, stop swinging for the fences. Benjamin, keep the ball in front of you. Use your knee, Benjamin, use your knee to block the plate.
COP:
She came to my football and basketball games too. Including the big game against Immaculata. Mom and Dad weren't there. But Madeline was. Right at courtside. I'm matched up against a big dummy. I'm eating him alive. His coach's giving him hell. Suddenly, five minutes into the second half, I'm on the floor bleeding from my forehead. Blood in my eye blinding me. I feel Madeline pulling me to my feet.
MADELINE:
Flagrant foul! Eject him, ref! Get that hoodlum off the court!
COP:
The ref hits our bench with a technical because of Madeline. Their coach comes at me and Madeline. I hear her saying.
MADELINE:
Keep coming, I'll drop you like a bag of dirt!
COP:
Meanwhile, my guy's at midcourt snickering like a typical Catholic asshole.
MADELINE:
Number eight marked you. You better mark him back or he wins. Doesn't matter if you scored twenty-seven to his five. He wins if you don't mark him.
COP:
I can't do that.
MADELINE:
Then you're a coward. Do you want to be a coward?
COP:
She gives me a hard shove. At which point my instincts basically take over. I know I got to him. I know I took him down. I know I got my ass kicked. We forfeited the game. I got booted off the team. My Mom cried. My Dad bellyached about how I ruined my chances of getting into Rice or Duke. I didn't care. I wasn't exactly Rice or Duke material. The next day, we're at Neil Homedale's house down in his basement. With my teammates listening in, I called Immaculata. Uh hi, this is number twenty-four, Mountain Lakes High? Would you please tell that dogass number eight, if he wants his front teeth, he can pick them up at twenty-one Hanover Road. Go Lakers! Damn, that felt good!
HENRY:
Damn it all! Damn it all to hell! What do you do when it gets to a point where everything stagnates? Where everyone's in a deep funk? Where nothing seems to advance with a purpose? You ask yourself, is this what it's all about? Is this as good as it gets? You recall how you used to look forward to each dawn as a fresh miracle.
Now, you just want it to end. Because you're too numb and burnt out to care anymore. Maddie was twenty-two. I was forty. She had gorgeous eyes. The first thing she did was knock me down. She was incredible. She was. Well, let's just say she was in a higher league. She was a friend of a friend. She came with Danny Benes' sister, Lynnie. Lynnie and Maddie had this dog-walking business. People too busy to walk their dogs hired Maddie and Lynnie. And speaking of dogs, it was the dog days of August, 1984. Early evening. Sokol versus Scores for the league fastpitch trophy. Sokol's a Czech social club. I'm Czech. Proud of it. Scores is this sports bar that sponsors a team. For a bunch of fat drunks, they're not bad. It was a tough game. Final score, twelve to nine, us. I crushed everything in sight. Four for four. Two doubles. Two home runs. Six ribbies. Read 'em and weep. Afterwards, we all headed back to Scores for the post-game bash. You know the saying. Losers cry. Losers buy. Lynnie sits next to me. "You and Danny had a great game." Her brother Danny went two for four. Lynnie introduces us. "Maddie, this is Henry Slezak. He tells everyone hes a bigshot Republican attorney. So be nice to him, maybe he'll let us walk Reagan's dog." Maddie's sitting directly across the table. I grin. Yeah, I heard about you guys. Walking dogs for Yuppies. Talk about a scam.
MADELINE:
It's not a scam. We do it all. We bathe. We groom. We babysit. Tell all your rich Republican clients.
HENRY:
Do these Yuppies ever actually get to see their dogs?
MADELINE:
'Course they do.
HENRY:
Well, I'm just a simple attorney. Don't have time for a dog. So what did you think of my four for four?
MADELINE:
You were pretty good.
HENRY:
Pretty good? Whaddaya mean? I had an MVP night.
MADELINE:
Their pitcher wasn't exactly making you work.
HENRY:
What are you talking about? He could bring it.
MADELINE:
His pitches had "hit me" written all over them.
HENRY:
Say what?!?
MADELINE:
Hitting is timing. Pitching is upsetting timing. There was no movement on his ball.
HENRY:
I suppose you could do better.
MADELINE:
Better than him.
HENRY:
Tell you something, Lynnie. You got a helluva partner here. She's got some balls. Lynnie giggles. I turn back to Maddie, I bet you couldn't.
MADELINE:
I know I could. I could dust you on two pitches.
HENRY:
Dust me? Youre gonna dust me?!? You hear that, Danny? Bright Eyes here says she can dust me. Danny rolls his eyes. Tell you what, Bright Eyes. If you can dust me, I'll buy you the best steak in town. Just name the time and place.
MADELINE:
First of all, my name isn't Bright Eyes. Secondly, I don't eat steak. But you can buy me a salmon fillet.
HENRY:
You mean, if you dust me.
MADELINE:
I mean, when I dust you.
HENRY:
So how about let's do it right here? Outside?
MADELINE:
You are really pushing it.
HENRY:
That's what I'm good at, pushing it. Okay, winner crows, loser owes. She shakes, strong handshake. I get a bat, two softballs. We gather in the alley behind Scores. Half the people in the bar come out. We pace it off, a piece of cardboard for a plate. I flip her the softballs. Here you go, Bright Eyes, two balls, two pitches. I settle into my crusher stance. She has her game face on, staring me down. For the first time, I focus on the whole Maddie. Inside, it was across a table covered with beer steins, the air thick with smoke. I see she's about five ten, long straight black hair, long legs, long arms, giving me a Sparky Lyle smirk. I give her my Thurman Munson scowl. I spit. She winds up, strides and releases. A riser toward the middle of the plate letter high. Looks easy. I stride into it, beginning my swing, just as it leaps up and flashes past my chin. I pick myself off the asphalt, you trying to kill me?
MADELINE:
Oh gee sorry. Guess it slipped.
HENRY:
Want me to move closer? Make it easier for you?
MADELINE:
You just worry about your hitting, Slugger.
HENRY:
I dig in. Her back to me now. She's holding the ball up to her face, talking to it. Then she turns, gives me an Al Hrabosky Mad Hungarian glare. I counter with my Gary Carter unflappable grin. I'm thinking, she jammed me last time, she's setting me up for the outside corner. She nods,winds up, strides, a little crouch just before she releases. The ball starts out low, rising quickly and heading toward the outside corner of the plate. Aha! Just as I guessed. But, as I shift my body, it tails inside and kind of drops. I pop up weakly to the mound. She one-hands it.
MADELINE:
I'll have that salmon cajun style.
HENRY:
Damn! Was she ever good!
MADELINE:
Damn you, Henry Slezak. Damn you! Damn you! Damn you! No! No, wait. Stop. I didn't mean that. I take it back. I don't want you damned. At bottom, you're as good a man in your way as there has ever been. A wonderful provider. A wonderful lover. A wonderful companion. And a very stubborn man. The word no is not in your lexicon. Does not compute. You bought a dog. Twice a week, you knocked on my door with some canine issue. I said, no, go away. Then the gifts started coming. Gift after gift after gift. I said no, no, no. Take them away. Then you camped on my doorstep. I said, go away. But I had to let you in or you would have caught pneumonia out there. The gifts kept coming. I kept saying no, but you broke me. You're a big attorney. You know how to break people.
HENRY:
I want you on my team, Bright Eyes. We'll be world class.
MADELINE:
World class. You like that term.
HENRY:
So tell me. What's it gonna take to add you to the Henry Slezak roster? (He hands her a pen and a pad)
Here, go ahead. You write a number. Then I'll write a number. Then we'll compare, see if we're in the ballpark.
MADELINE:
Ballpark. Another favorite Henry Slezak term. Then you divorced your wife.
HENRY:
(Holds up a thick legal document)
Look, Bright Eyes. The settlement agreement. I cut Candace from the squad. She's a free agent now. (Turns to the last page)
See that number? That's what it cost to buy out her contract. You wanna know something? I would have paid ten times that amount because.
MADELINE:
Because you were resolved to clarify your life, bring the essential things into sharp focus. You said you were intent on clearing out.
HENRY:
Clearing out the clutter. Clearing out the chaos. I need to revive. Renew. Refresh. Rejuvenate. You're worth the investment, Bright Eyes, because you.
MADELINE:
Because I represent simplicity. Your word, Henry. You were so sure you had me caught in your web. So sure of yourself. So sure of your purpose. And you were right. Who could resist you?
HENRY:
(Takes folded sheet of paper from pocket.
Unfolds it. Hands it to her)
The prenuptual agreement. Hereinafter called, The Agreement. Everyone's using them these days. And they're a good thing. Think of it like a contract to play for a team. Defines your relationship to the team. Outlines your.
MADELINE:
Outlines my duties and responsibilities as a member of the team. Specifies the rules and guidelines of the game.
HENRY:
The ump doesnt say work ball. He says play ball. K. I. S. S. Keep it simple. You got a question, go to the Agreement. Read the guidelines. Read the rules. It keeps things simple. Lets you focus on the game.
MADELINE:
I must admit, I like rules.
HENRY:
Rules are what separate us from the animals.
MADELINE:
Break the rules, suffer the consequences.
HENRY:
Do the crime. Do the time.
MADELINE:
Should Pete Rose be inducted into the Hall? Absolutely not! He broke the rules!
HENRY:
Exactly!
MADELINE:
(Reads)
The parties to this marriage have discussed their future plans and desires relating to having/adopting children. Both parties hereby acknowledge they shall not have/adopt children once married. This provision is based upon an analysis of the parties present and anticipated family structure, financial situation and the lifestyle the parties anticipate having. (He gives her a pen. She signs)
Of course I signed. And the next fifteen years were absolute heaven. Trips to Southeast Asia, East Africa, Peru, the Galapagos Islands, Sweden, Antarctica. Receptions at the White House with President Reagan and President Bush. My Henry, the big VIP, the donor, the political fundraiser. A man to be stroked and treated with respect. I on his arm, tall and thin and bright-eyed, basking in his glory. I could feel heads turning. Could you feel them, Henry? But time passes. That's what time does. You're not forty-one anymore. Three strokes in three years. 1999. 2000. 2001. Ding dong. Ding dong. Ding dong. Like a giant tolling bell. You're dead, Henry. The cupboard is bare. I feel empty, drained, sucked dry. Somewhere it says you're immortal through your daughters and your sons, but Maddie doesn't even have a dog. Because youre allergic to dander, Henry. I pretended the boy next door was mine. I celebrated his birthdays, his graduations, his Bar Mitsvah. I watched him grow. When he graduated from the Police Academy, I almost choked. I almost lost it. I almost said, I'm so proud of you, son. (Beat)
So it's down to you and me, Henry. No regrets except it was much too short a season. But we made a heck of a team, didn't we? Winners. You know what they say about winners. You don't break up a winning team. Look what happened to the Sox after they sold Babe Ruth. But damn you, Henry Slezak! Damn you!
COP:
Damn, you should see it! Town's filling up. Hotel's packed. Funeral's at one. Henry was a mover and a shaker, lots of bigwigs and high mucky-mucks paying their respects. People from the Reagan and first Bush administrations. And because of how he died, the media is here. The whole Department's on overtime. I hadn't seen Madeline for over a year. My job took up all my time. Even so, every now and then I'd get a snippet of information about her. People said after Henry's first stroke she pretty much kept indoors. She insisted on taking care of him personally. But, at the end, I saw that same attention to detail she used to apply to my batting stance. She was meticulous. Every bill paid off in full. The insurance policies laid out on the dining room table covered with post-it notes. A handwritten note directing that Romans chapter five and A Mighty Fortress be included in the funeral ceremony. Madeline's people were Lutherans. (Lights up on a small table on which there's a package. COP goes to package, opens it. takes out letter, scans letter as he says the following)
Then a FedEx to me from an attorney firm. Inside, a short letter noticing me of two trust funds, each amounting to $10,000.00, set up for any children I may have. At the bottom of the letter, in Madeline's familiar script, the following: Remember, Benjamin, you are immortal through your daughters and your sons. (Long pause)
Well, damn it all.
Mountain Lakes is where I used to live. It's an hour by train from Midtown. Delightful place. Deer and turkeys wander through your back yard. Cardinals build nests in your bushes.
There's a small library next to the Post Office. Very homey. Very folksy. In there you'll find a copy of my award-winning short play, Team Player.
Team Player is based loosely on a murder-suicide in Mountain Lakes in 1997. Here's a news article about it:
SYMPATHETIC COP CAN'T BRING HIMSELF TO CALL IT MURDER
Every town should have Charlie McCoy as its police chief, not just Mountain Lakes. He's this silver-haired, professorial-looking guy, a sort of Steve Martin with brains, whose idea of law enforcement includes stopping by to talk flowers with old residents like Betty Schell. He had been doing that for nearly 30 years, ever since he was a rookie, because Betty knew flowers and was willing to help McCoy get his own garden in Boonton in shape. He says he knew Betty well. ''The last time I saw her, I bumped into her at the Foodtown a couple of weeks ago. She was, well, it's hard to explain, she was just a bundle of nervous energy. Like a bee flitting from one thing to the next.'' He uses his hand, darting back and forth, to show what he means. ''She had something important to do and not a lot of time to do it.'' McCoy asked about Emil, her husband, and Betty smiled and said he was doing well.''Just fine,'' he remembers her saying. He also remembers thinking that was sad because Emil wasn't fine. He was 82 years old and he had had three strokes in three years and his strong body and mathematician's mind were gone. About the same time, Dean Mackey found this in the mail: a copy of a deed to two cemetery plots in Hiram, Ohio, a map of the cemetery with the site of the plots marked and a note in Betty Schell's hand. ''Please put this in our folder,'' the note read, according to Mackey, who runs the Mackey Funeral Home, just a few hundred feet from the Foodtown where McCoy last met Betty Schell. He remembers not making too much of the note. His parents and the Schells were friends, and over the years, she would talk about what she wanted and didn't want. There was a folder with very general notes about a funeral.
The Friday before last, Mackey and McCoy met at the Schells' house on Laurel Hill. McCoy got the call about 7 p.m. and had one of his people call Mackey. Instructions, written out by Betty, were left to do that. Neither man will talk about what he saw in the swimming pool or just how a tiny 80-year-old woman managed to strap both herself and Emil in Emil's wheelchair and push the thing into the pool where they both drowned. What they will talk about is what McCoy calls ''the sense of completion'' he found inside the big, beautiful brick house on Laurel Hill. McCoy and his cops and investigators from the Morris County Prosecutor's Office spent four hours in the house. They found not a mote of dust, not a shred of lint, not a smudge, nothing. Dishes were washed and put away. The laundry had been done and folded into closets and drawers. Books and old photographs were dusted and aligned perfectly on shelves. Garden tools had been cleaned and stored. On the dining room table were several small piles of paper, neatly stacked. These were the notes and instructions Betty Schell had left, very detailed, complete with who to call and when and what to say. ''She let us know she was sorry to put us through a lot of trouble,'' says McCoy. ''They had a full and complete life and they were leaving it the way they wanted to. They were leaving it in a way that would cause the least amount of trouble for their relatives and friends.'' Instructions to Mackey were explicit. No funeral was to be held. Instead she wanted friends to gather for a ''time of remembrance.'' Their ashes would be buried near Hiram College, where Betty Woods and Emil Schell met as students nearly 60 years ago. ''She was the sweetest person I knew,'' says McCoy. ''I'll miss her, but I try to be philosophical. I think they were happy to leave together.'' McCoy doesn't buy the ruling from the Morris County Medical Examiner's Office that what happened was a murder-suicide. He knew Betty and Emil well enough to know they communicated. ''What they did, they did together.''
For my story, I changed some things. I made her a trophy wife half his age and I put him in the government working for George Bush. But I kept a lot of things the way they were. And I kept the cop. He has a big role, an interesting one.
The play got a number of productions and readings. Two years ago, someone said it would make a good full-length. So, last September, I wrote the full-length. It's called The Best Years Of Her Life.
************************
Believe it or not, Mountain Lakes is also a term, as in "that girl is sooo mountain lakes." Don't believe me? The Urban Dictionary has an entry:
...a small, snobby, rich, white, preppy suburb of new york that no one has ever heard of. It is filled with big houses and beautiful, rich, bitchy white girls who enjoy shopping. The boys are beautiful as well. If you don't have the newest model of bmw/mercedes/lexus when you get your license, you are looked down on. These rich kids think they can get away with whatever they want so they smoke pot, a lot, even at school....they're pretty smart. They store morphine in their lockers, and have any drug imaginable ready at hand because their parents give them the money to buy it. Beiruit's the name, drinking's the game. On any given night you can find the teenagers, and parents, playing this classic game in their basements. Tournaments are frequent and last up to 12 hours. This small town as an exceptional sports program for having such limited choices of players. Lacrosse players are gods and everyone plays lacrosse, if you don't you are killed. Most live here all their lives, so one has the same friends from when they are two years old, until they die because most return when starting their own families. The high school is made up of mountain lakers, boonton townshipers, and a bunch of deaf kids. yes, deaf kids. This results in most of the high school population knowing sign language. it's awesome. You could probably count the minority race population of the high school on one hand. In fact, there was an article in the new york times about the lack of diversity in mountain lakes. This town is great if you like small towns where everyone knows everything about you, especially what you did last night. If you like privacy, i don't recommend living here...
person #1-"she is so mountain lakes."
person #2-"ohhhh that's why she is so gorgeous, rich, and bitchy."
person #1-"i want to be her"
Other than money, academics, recreational drugs and drinking, the big thing in Mountain Lakes is the Herd, the high school football team. Coach Wilkins is a legend. Just won his 300th game. The cool thing to do is to support the team by wearing their gear. Another thing is to take your expensive video equipment to the game and film the Herd kicking ass.
When you live there, you can't help yourself. Everyone ends up being a Herd fanatic. Even moi.
Oh, speaking of kicking ass, here's the Herd's 2008 record, so far:
Not bad for wimpy, pasty-white rich kids, huh? And by the way, about that last game against Glen Rock? The Herd won, 35-21, at Giants Stadium. How cool is that?
If you suck at football, play lacrosse. That's the other stud sport. Face it. You can't look any cooler than this:
Mountain Lakes. That's where I lived. So the next time you fly over Northern New Jersey, wave. They'll wave back. Unless they're busy playing beruit. Or whatever.
