Unwell Season 3/Episode 6 - The Truthteller
by Jessica Wright Buha
Road trip!
Lies on lies on lies.
Happy New Years.
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Content Advisories for this episode can be found here.
Support Unwell and HartLife NFP on Patreon at www.patreon.com/hartlifenfp
This episode features: Marsha Harman as Dot, Kathleen Hoil as Abbie, Clarisa Cherie Rios as Lily, LaQuin Groves as Dale, Mark Soloff as Silas, Amelia Bethel as Marisol, Isa Ramos as Spikes.
Written by Jessica Wright Buha, sound design by Eli Hamada McIlveen, directed by Jeffrey Nils Gardner, theme music composed by Stephen Poon, recording engineer Mel Ruder, associate producer TH Ponders, Theme performed by Stephen Poon, Lauren Kelly, Gunnar Jebsen, Travis Elfers, Mel Ruder, and Betsey Palmer, Unwell lead sound designer Eli Hamada McIlveen, Executive Producers Eleanor Hyde and Jeffrey Nils Gardner, by HartLife NFP.
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INT. CAR DAY
THE CAR RADIO PLAYS AN OLD FOLKSONG
(OR PERHAPS A BLUES SONG?) FROM THE
20S. THE RECORDING SOUNDS
SCRATCHED.
DALE (over) Right there, listen.
LILY That's great.
DALE Then Mr. Tay with the banjo.
MR. TAY PLUCKS OUT A COMPLICATED
TUNE.
LILY Nice. Hang a left here.
DALE I remember.
SILENCE. BANJO PLAYS ON THE RADIO.
LILY Hey, Dad
DALE
Mmm?
LILY You ever seen a ghost?
DALE Do I believe in ghosts?
LILY No, have you ever seen one?
DALE No. Because I do not believe in ghosts.
LILY I knew one who played a banjeaurine.
DALE Did you.
LILY He was really good. No Mr. Tay, but.
DALE Well, no one's Mr. Tay
OVER THE RADIO, MR. TAY STRUMS. THE
SONG STARTS UP AGAIN.
DALE What, (as Vincent Price) was he scary?
LILY No. He was just a kid.
DALE (shocked/stung/sorrowful) Ah. Just a kid?
LILY I thought you didn't believe in ghosts.
DALE If it's between thinking you're a liar or believing in
ghosts, bring on the ghosts.
LILY Please stay for dinner.
DALE Maybe.
LILY What're you gonna do, watch the ball drop at some
hotel bar in Nowhere, Pennsylvania?
DALE Let's see how things go.
LILY Thanks for doing this. Love you, Dad. (in Dale's voice)
Love you too, Lily.
DALE I love Mr. Tay and his banjo. Need a new word for how I
feel about you.
LILY I heart you. I think you're the coolest kid in school, the
raddest Dad that ever Dad'ed, my absolute bomb
diggity.
DALE BFFs for life.
LILY LAUGHS.
LILY Oh, Dad.
EXT. FENWOOD HOUSE FRONT PORCH DAY
WINTER WIND BLOWS. A CAR ENGINE IS
HEARD IN THE DISTANCE.
ABBIE Thirty seconds.
(chanting) Urban planners, sure as certain
Shape the world we live and work in.
A CAR ENGINE GROWS LOUDER.
ABBIE (chanting) Daniel Burnham made Big Plans.
Chicago's ashes in good hands.
Twenty seconds.
(chanting) Le Corbusier built giant towers
surrounded by a bunch of flowers.
Fifteen seconds. Soon, soon.
(chanting) Elizabeth Plater Zybeck
hates the sprawl
Build a town instead of malls!
THE CAR SCREECHES TO A STOP. THE CAR
ENGINE STOPS. MUSIC IS CUT OFF.
ABBIE (chanting) Robert Moses's BQE
displaced tons of families.
Five seconds.
DOOR OPENS.
LILY It'll be great. There's gotta be some champagne
somewhere in the house.
DALE I can't stay til midnight.
LILY No no no, we'll do it at like, Ten. Eight. Six. whatever
works.
CAR DOOR SLAMS SHUT.
LILY Hey, Abbie!
FOOTSTEPS CRUNCH IN THE SNOW
LILY That's Abbie. They're a grad student in urban planning, one
of the other boarders. Abbie, this is my dad, Dale!
DALE Hey, Abbie!
ABBIE (chanting) Urban planners, sure as certain
Shape the world we live and work in
LILY You okay?
ABBIE I did what I could. Please say I'm done.
LILY You're done. Where's Dot?
ABBIE This is not my specialty.
ABBIE’S VOICE CRACKS—THEY’RE ABOUT
TO CRY FROM SHEER EXHAUSTION.
LILY Abbie!
ABBIE You said I'm done, so I'm done.
DALE (over) Where's Dottie.
LILY (over) Mom! MOM!
THE SOUND OF A RADIO GETS CLOSER.
FRONT DOOR OPENS, REVEALING DOT,
WHO HOLDS A PORTABLE RADIO.
RADIO DJ Clear skies over Lodge County / tonight
DOT
LILY!
FOOTSTEPS RUN. SQUISH OF CLOTHES.
THE RADIO IS MUFFED.
RADIO DJ: 37 in Mount Absalom, 35 in Julian. Looking like good
weather for the / New Year partly
cloudy moving into
the evening hours...
DOT Oooh, that's a nice hug. Nothing like a / Lily hug. Sorry,
got the radio.
LILY Are you okay? You okay?
DOT Yes! Yes, what? Jesus, you're gone for a week. I managed.
Abbie, you shoulda told me everyone was here.
ABBIE WORDLESSLY PUSHES PAST DOT
AND GOES UPSTAIRS.
DOT Okay. What's their beef?
LILY It's good to see you.
DOT You too.
(to Dale) And you! Dale. Wow. Lemme set this down.
A CLUNK AS THE RADIO IS SET DOWN.
RADIO DJ And how, here's a new one from the Vinylettes.
MUSIC PLAYS, THEN IS TURNED OFF.
DOT Worried it was gonna snow. Nope. Clear skies!
DALE Hey Dottie.
DOT Hey.
No Cynthia?
DALE She couldn't leave the plants.
DOT Sure.
Lily, she works at a lab, / doing research on what's
it called?
LILY I know. I know what she does, Mom, I just spent a week
with her.
DOT She's pretty, too. You traded up, Dale. Respect.
Alright, well, I'm sure you have to pee. At least. Before
you drive the ten hours back to Albany. Come on in.
INT. KITCHEN
FOOTSTEPS INTO THE KITCHEN. CAT CLOCK
TICKS.
DOT So! Welcome to Fenwood House. Here's the kitchen,
sameold, sameold I'll
replace the linoleum eventually.
DALE This is quaint!
DOT Don't sound shocked. You've been here before.
DALE Never been invited inside.
DOT Well, you're inside now. Soak up the charm!
CAT CLOCK MEOWS.
DALE Cat clock. My grandmother had one of those.
DOT It's a standard in old lady houses.
DALE It's been a long time, Dottie.
DOT Yeah.
LILY You want some tea, Dad?
DALE I'm okay.
DOT So! How's the stuff?
DALE What stuff?
DOT The doctor stuff.
DALE Good. Still saving those ears, noses and throats.
DOT Our otoGeologist
DALE Otolaryngologist.
DOT Otto, Larry and Googlyeyedist.
Our favorite band.
Played at our wedding.
LILY (rolling her eyes) All right, Mom.
DOT What was their hit song.. let me think.
(singing) You Otto Larry me down and give me an exam
because I love you.
DALE Oh, Dot.
DOT Not dead yet. That's what he's thinking, "Oh, Dot. What
a shame that you'll be dead soon, cause you're so
funny."
THE RADIATORS AND FLOORBOARDS GROAN
DALE No. I was just thinking that it wasn't all bad.
DOT It wasn't! Until it was, in the end. Not your fault. Wasn't
meant to be partnered up.
MORE GROANING
DALE Bathroom's where?
DOT Through there, on the right.
DALE Thanks.
LILY Wait! Dad, dinner?
DALE Okay.
DOT Dinner?
LILY Yeah! I thought I'd host a little New Year's Eve bash.
Invite Mari and Spikes. Everyone could meet Dad.
DOT But you've got to drive back.
DALE I'll stop in Cleveland for the night. I won't watch the ball
drop. Just dinner. You said it's not supposed to snow?
DOT Nope! No snow. Dinner sounds nice.
LILY Great! I'll text Mari.
TAP OF FINGERS ON A SMARTPHONE
SCREEN.
DALE I'm gonna
DOT
Go pee.
DALE Okay.
FOOTSTEPS AS DALE LEAVES.
WHOOSH OF "TEXT SENT" SOUND.
LILY And sent.
DOT Ahhhhhh. Is having Dale here too weird?
LILY No. I think it's great. You got anything in the freezer I
could use as a side?
DOT Maybe?
THE FREEZER DOOR OPENS.
LILY Green beans. Not much.
(shouting up the stairs) Hey, Abbie? Are you eating with
us? Abbie?
DOT They're busy.
FREEZER DOOR CLOSES.
LILY Was everything okay over Christmas?
DOT Sure. Everyone's just in a mood. First Abbie won't talk
to me, then Woody got himself into some sort of panic spiral depression
disaster, and I / just don't know what
to do.
LILY Wait, who? Mom! Who's Woody?
DOT You know.
DOT FLICKS THE METAL RADIATOR.
DOT Woody. Ow.
LILY The radiator's name is Woody.
DOT THE HOUSE'S NAME IS FENWOOD.
LILY Don't act I should've known what your little nickname
meant.
DOT Woody. Fen. Mr. Stiffy.
LILY Okay.
You think the house is depressed?
DOT He's telling me he's depressed. Never seen him like
this I'm
supposed to be taking care of him, and I'm
doing a shit job.
LILY I'm just gonna sum it all up real quick. So the house
talks, and is sad, and it's your job to take care of him.
DOT Well he's always talked, it's just now he's getting chatty.
LILY Chatty?
DOT Well, not in words. Not usually. Mostly he just EMOTES.
He only talk talks
when he really needs to .
LILY He talked to me once.
DOT Yeah, see, there you go! It was important, yeah? Wasn't
about me, was it?
LILY It warned me about
DOT
(correcting her) He warned you.
LILY He.
He warned me about Silas. The one in the night.
DOT Yeah, fuck that dickhead assforbrains
little shit.
Remember Thanksgiving?
LILY Yeah.
DOT Oh, that was glorious. Silas comes in here, all thinking
he's hot shit and then our Woody gives him the ol'
clangarang.
Couldn't run out of here fast enough.
That's our guy. That's our ol' Fenny Woods.
A HUGE SOUND FROM THE FLOORBOARDS AND RADIATOR PIPES.
LILY Oh, wow.
DOT Jesus.
(to the HOUSE) Baby, it's okay.
You know any songs? I can't think of any. He likes
songs.
Ahh, how do you make someone not worry.
LILY He wasn't like this when I left.
DOT Yeah, it only started a few days ago. Christmas? Just
after?
LILY Okay, so something went down at Christmas.
DOT Everything was fine.
LILY Mom.
DOT Nothing happened.
LILY Something happened! What was it?
DOT I don't know what you're talking about.
LILY DON'T KNOW OR DON'T REMEMBER.
DOT SAME. FUCKING. THING.
THE CREAKING FLOORBOARDS, THROUGH THE
WINDCHIMES IN A MINOR KEY, THROUGH
THE MOURNFUL CLANK AND THE HOPELESS
HISS OF THE RADIATORS.
LILY Sorry.
DOT Maybe something happened. There was a... it's a little
cloudy. I dunno. I gotta take my fucking pills.
LILY What?
DOT I gotta take my pills.
LILY You're not taking your pills?
DOT Not currently
LILY
MOM.
DOT But I'm about to!
LILY How long since you've taken your pills?
DOT Here's the thing.
LILY Yeah.
DOT Lily, I think I'm getting better. I do. I honestly do. I don't
feel lost. I don't feel as foggy.
LILY You don't?
DOT And there are some side effects that are not great. I
shouldn't have to deal with those.
LILY Because you're "getting better."
DOT It's not worth the hassle of pills. It's not that bad yet.
LILY So if I go and talk to Abbie, they'll tell me the same
thing?
DOT If I take the pills, it means I'm sick.
DOT I don't need em. Sick people need em. I'm not sick. I
remember things.
LILY Do you remember I love you?
DOT Yes.
LILY Then take them. Okay?
DOT Okay.
FOOTSTEPS IN.
DALE Everything okay in here?
DOT Dale! Dustyass
house making me redeyed
and sniffly.
SO! The grand tour?
DALE Sure.
FOOTSTEPS OUT AS DALE AND DOT HEAD
UPSTAIRS.
DOT (d) House was built in 1899 by Liza Fenwood in the
Gothic Revival style... Hold on, I gotta take a pill real
quick.
LILY (shouting after them) Have fun! I'm gonna start making
dinner!
No, first I gotta pee.
INT. LILY PLAYS THE RUSTY STANDISH SONG ON A RECORD PLAYER FROM S1EP5
LILY (to the house) Mom said that songs made you feel
better.
LILY Well, okay, probably not sad songs.
BACK DOOR OPENS.
MARISOL Hey!
LILY Hey Mari! Spikes, yes! You're in town!
SPIKES Yep got
in, Tuesday?
MARISOL I picked up your chicken. You really want a whole one?
LILY Sure! We'll roast it upit'll
be great.
MARISOL Fridge?
LILY Yeah, thanks.
(FRIDGE DOOR OPENS. CHICKEN IS PUT IN.
DOOR IS CLOSED.)
LILY (shouting up the stairs) Dad! Come meet Marisol!
(to Marisol) Mom's giving him a tour.
MARISOL Oh, has she shown all the creepy mannequins in the
basement?
LILY That's probably the grand finale.
(up the stairs) Dad!
DALE Coming!
FOOTSTEPS DOWN THE STAIRS
LILY Thanks for coming overI
didn't know if you guys do
something special for New Years.
SPIKES Nope, just drink sparking apple juice, listen to
Beyonce's Countdown, and be as far away from my
parents as possible when they kiss at midnight.
DALE ENTERS.
LILY Dad! This is Marisol!
DALE Hey! So great to meet you.
MARISOL You, too! This is Spikes, my niece.
DALE Hey, Spikes.
SPIKES Hi.
DALE So, Marisol, I hear you own a record store.
MARISOL I do, yes.
DALE I gotta ask I'm
sure you hate this question. But what's
your favorite record.
MARISOL No, I love it! (thinking) Hmmm.
DOT What's your favorite guilty pleasure record?
MARISOL (thinking) Oooh.
DOT I know what Lily's is.
LILY I don't have any guilty pleasures, just awesome things I
love with no shame.
DOT Well, when Lily was five years old, she just adored the
song
LILY
Okay, this is embarrassing.
DOT Manic Monday. You remember that song?
MARISOL You know, Prince wrote that.
DOT Really?
DALE Love Prince.
MARISOL No, I love Prince.
DOT I love Prince's ass. Finest in the world! Present
company excluded.
MARISOL Thanks, Dot!
DOT It's true! You have a very nice ass.
LILY Okay, I'm stepping out for some air.
SPIKES Me, too.
MARISOL I think my guilty pleasure is Cyndi Lauper's She's So
Unusual.
DALE Really?
FOOTSTEPS AS LILY AND SPIKES WALK TO
THE BACK DOOR.
DOT You know that song She Bop is about…
DOOR CLOSES BEHIND HER. LILY AND
SPIKES ARE OUTSIDE ON THE BACK PORCH.
THE WINTER WIND BLOWS. LILY EXHALES.
LILY Parents are hilarious.
SPIKES Yeah. Good to see you, Lily.
LILY Good to see you too. Halloween feels like it was a
million years ago.
SPIKES I never said thanks to that man.
LILY To Silas?
SPIKES Is that his name?
LILY Yeah. Thanking him for the?
Oh, / for theSPIKES
Saving me thing. Yeah.
LILY You want to?
SPIKES Yeah, kinda.
LILY We could see if he's around there's
a thing I wouldn't
mind asking him.
SPIKES Okay.
DEEP WOODS DAY
TEN
MINUTES LATER
FOOTSTEPS ON LEAVES.
SPIKES Huh.
LILY What?
SPIKES We're going to the burnedout
part?
LILY Well, we gotta go through it a little bit.
BURNED BRANCHES CRUMBLE
UNDERFOOT.
SPIKES Scary.
LILY Yeah. Well, fires happen.
SPIKES Just that things can change. Like, totally. And not go
back to the way it was.
LILY It'll get back. It'll take a while.
SPIKES It won't be the same.
LILY Mostly the same.
QUICK FOOTSTEPS, ALMOST YOUNG
FOOTSTEPS, JOIN THEM.
SILAS But my dear, you must remember
SPIKES
Oh!
SILAS That
burned grass grows back greener.
No need to fear a cleansing.
LILY Hey, Silas.
SILAS Good afternoon, Miss Harper.
LILY I don't know if we're ready for a cleansing.
SILAS Yes, the children never want to get into the bath. But,
bathe they must.
LILY Maybe the children like getting dirty.
SILAS It may be that the children do not decide.
Said with all due respect, my dear Stella. Wonderful to
see you again.
SPIKES Thanks for saving me.
SILAS My pleasure. I hear a cry, my heart says, "Go."
LILY Where are your dogs?
SILAS We all need to run free every now and again. It makes
us appreciate home.
LILY That's true. Well, we can't stay longI
gotta get a
chicken in the oven before the weather turns.
SILAS Why, this clear blue sky wouldn't dream of snowing,
surely?
LILY The radio said it wasn't supposed to, but better safe
than sorry. Lord, all I need is those two holed up for a
few days. We just stopped by to say hi.
SILAS It's always a pleasure, my dear.
LILY And I got one quick question.
SILAS Certainly!
LILY Do you know if anything strange happened recently with
my mom?
SILAS On Christmas?
LILY'S STOMACH DROPS.
LILY Yeah.
SILAS Perhaps you can help me solve the mystery.
SILAS RUMMAGES THROUGH HIS PACK.
SILAS I believe I have it in my packah,
yes.
RUSTLE AS A SLIPPER IS PULLED OUT.
SILAS Is this her slipper?
LILY Yeah. That's hers.
SILAS Return it to her with my compliments.
SHUFFLE AS LILY TAKES THE SLIPPER.
SPIKES What happened?
SILAS I was walking in the woods on Christmas Dayaround
sunset, it must have been. And I saw a figure walking
ahead of me. It was hard to see through all the snow.
But I came upon this, in the footprints.
SPIKES Lily.
LILY Maybe she was... there might be some reason...
SILAS No.
My dear, Dorothy's decline is hard on all of us. But I
think it'd be best for her to step down. The caretakership
is too important a position for someone / who is
incapacitated.
LILY Okay, okay, hold on, this caretaker thing. Why's it
Mom's job to take care of the house?
SILAS It isn't. It is my job.
LILY Oh.
SILAS And I think it's time to intervene.
LILY I don't think we need to do anything yet.
SILAS Why.
LILY Because I honestly think she's stabilizing. She just
remembered my favorite song from when I was, like,
five.
SILAS The fact remains that she is / behaving erratically.
LILY You talking about Christmas? That was a fluke. Okay?
SILAS EXHALES SHARPLY.
LILY I wasn't there, she wasn't on her meds, it was latewasn't
it late?
SILAS It was.
LILY Stressful day? It's Christmas, gotta
be stressful. And
okay, so maybe it's happened before
SILAS
It is happening often.
LILY Well, I'm telling you it's not gonna happen again.
WINTER WIND THROUGH THE BARE TREES.
SILAS I trust you. Because you're a good woman, and I know
you would never lie to me. And you would never lie to
yourself about Dorothy's mental capacity.
LILY Nope. Not big on lying. Messes things up.
SILAS Indeed. Lilian, if you notice any change in Dorothy, do
be sure to tell me.
LILY Well, she's on her medication, so she's stable.
SILAS For now.
LILY You'll be the first to know if she starts slipping!
SILAS I'm so glad we became friends.
LILY HAS SPENT MOST OF HER LIFE
MANEUVERING OUT OF DANGEROUS
SITUATIONS WITH A SMILE AND A SHRUG.
LILY Me, too! One more question.
SILAS Please.
LILY Where's Wes.
SILAS Oh, my dear Lilian.
SPIKES I[
know where he is]
LILY (to Spikes) Spikes, sorry, hold on.
(to Silas) Just tell me where he is.
SILAS Things have become complicated.
LILY How.
SILAS He doesn't want to come back.
SPIKES What?
LILY If I could just talk to him. If I knew where to find him.
SPIKES I know where he is.
LILY What? How?
SPIKES Aunt Mari told me.
LILY What the hell? Where?
SPIKES She didn't tell you?
LILY NO! WHERE IS HE.
SPIKES St. Louis.
SILAS LAUGHS, GENTLY.
LILY Wes isn't in St. Louis.
SPIKES Okay, so you know where he is. / Why're you asking me
LILY Spikes. Spikes, he's dead.
SPIKES BREATHES IN SHARPLY.
LILY But he was always dead, so he might come back, that's
why we're looking for him.
SPIKES, CRYING, CAN'T CATCH HER BREATH
LILY No, it's okay, he was always a ghost. You were friends
with a ghost, is what I'm trying to say. But that's normal
here that's
not the weird part. He was always dead.
He's okay. But now he's gone.
SPIKES Where?
LILY We don't know. He got upset and vanished.
SILAS He has not vanished. He merely does not wish to join
us anymore. We should respect those wishes.
SPIKES But Aunt Mari said he was in St. Louis.
LILY I don't know why she told you that.
SPIKES Does she know he's gone?
LILY Yes.
SPIKES What the FUCK.
LILY We gotta go.
SILAS Until next we meet.
SPIKES FUCK.
INT. KITCHEN
CAT CLOCK MEOWS. MUSIC IS DIMLY HEARD
FROM THE RADIO OUTSIDE.
MARISOL Is the pitcher just pitching, or does he have to hit the
ball as well.
DOT How hard can it be to hit a fucking ball.
DALE Well, which league are we in.
MARI (laughing) I don't know!
DOOR SNAPS OPEN. MUSIC FLOWS IN.
MARISOL Hey, what do you all think?
SPIKES Aunt Mari!
MARISOL If you took nine famous musicians and made em a
baseball / team
SPIKES
LISTEN TO ME.
MARISOL What?
DOOR SLAMS SHUT.
SPIKES Where's Wes.
MARISOL St. Louis. Right, Lily?
SPIKES HE'S DEAD.
LILY I told her.
SPIKES YOU WERE LYING.
DALE This about your ghost friend.
LILY Yeah.
MARISOL Listen, it's a complicated thing, because I don't think /
he's [truly gone.]
SPIKES He's dead. He's gone.
DOT He is going to come back.
SPIKES Aunt Mari.
MARISOL And, even if he doesn't come back, he'll never be truly
gone, because he's always / in…
SPIKES Don't say in our hearts.
MARISOL 'Kay.
SPIKES What happened.
MARISOL He found out he... wasn't alive and he left.
SPIKES Oh, huh, interesting. Was he hurt that no one told him?
That everyone was lying to him? That people he trusted
were FULL OF SHIT? WHEN'S HE COMING BACK?
DOT (jovial) Hey, no one shouts in this house but me!
SPIKES Mrs. Harper, he's gone.
SPIKES IS CRYING.
DOT He's not gone. I heard his voice.
SPIKES He's not coming back.
DOT He is out there and he is hurting but we will find him
and give him a big hug, okay? Come here.
RUSTLE OF CLOTHING. BIG HUG!
DOT Dale, you want in on this hug?
DALE Definitely.
RUSTLE OF CLOTHING! BIGGER HUG!
DALE It's gonna be okay, hon.
SPIKES BREATHES SHAKY BREATHS. SHE
SNIFFS AND WIPES AWAY TEARS.
SPIKES Thanks, Mr. Harper.
DOT He's a dad. He give good hugs.
DALE I do.
DOT Let's worry about kicking this old year in the asshole,
then we'll continue the search tomorrow. Okay?
SPIKES Okay
DOT Let's see if we can dig up the box of fireworks. Blowing
some shit up: good for what ails ya. After you, Dale.
DALE HEADS DOWN THE STAIRS.
DALE (d) Now this is a creepy basement.
MARISOL Watch out for the mannequins!
LILY (to Marisol) Stop.
DOT We got Piccolo Petes, bottle rockets, I think we've even
got some M80s down there, those are fun. Shall we?
Spikes?
SPIKES I can't go down. I'll go through the door.
DOT You won't. You're with me.
(calling down the stairs) Dale, you see a box marked
"explosives"?
DALE (d) Yeah, it's under the stairs. You shouldn't keep it
there.
DOT You want to see what he's got?
Come on.
SPIKES Okay.
SPIKES FOLLOWS DOT DOWN THE STAIRS.
MARISOL Everything okay?
LILY What the fuck is wrong with you.
MARISOL Whoa, what?
LILY Why did you lie to her?
MARISOL Why'd you all go visit Silas? He is, like, the definition of
a creepy old man.
LILY He saved Spikes AND, / AND, AND
MARISOL Lily, he's so weird.
LILY He is always honest with me.
MARISOL She's a kid! WE worry about the fact that Wes is never
coming back, the middleschooler
does not.
LILY You think he's never coming back?
MARISOL Yeah.
LILY Then why the fuck'd you just tell her he's "not gone."
MARISOL I meant like in our hearts.
LILY Jesus. So what were you gonna tell her when he didn't
come back.
MARISOL He liked it and stayed.
LILY And never said goodbye to his best friend.
MARISOL They weren't best friends.
LILY BREATHES IN AND SLOWLY BREATHES
OUT.
LILY Okay.
MARISOL I had to. What was I gonna tell her?
LILY The truth.
MARISOL Oh, because you're nothing but honest.
LILY I've always been honest with you.
MARISOL Yeah? You have?
LILY Yeah.
MARISOL With Dottie, too?
LILY Yes.
MARISOL Are you kidding me? You're not staying.
LILY Staying... here? You mean tonight?
MARISOL I mean staying here, like in Mount Absalom.
So you gonna stay?
LILY I don't know.
MARISOL Yes or no.
LILY I don't know the future.
MARISOL Be honest with me. Yes or no. Are you staying?
LILY Am I staying here. / Forever. In smalltown
Ohio.
WHERE EVERYBODY LIES TO YOU.
MARISOL Are you. Tell me! JUST TELL ME!
LILY Why would I stay? Why would anyone in their wildest
goddamn dreams think I'm going to stay.
MARISOL No one does.
THE RADIATORS CLANK
LILY I don't like feeling trapped.
MARISOL I guess I just like being with my girlfriend. Who I love.
SOFT SOUND OF SLEET HITTING THE
WINDOWS.
LILY That's a big word.
MARISOL Okay, well, then, just hang out alone, if that's what you
love to do so much.
I'll give you your space.
THE SOUND OF SLEET GROWS LOUDER.
WIND PICKS UP.
MARISOL Oh my God, is it sleeting?
BACK DOOR OPENS. WIND HOWLS. SLEET
SLAPS AGAINST THE DRIVEWAY. THE RADIO
STILL PLAYS.
RADIO DJ Tend to your chores and head on indoors, 'cause it's
gonna be a snowy evening, with freezing rain turning
into a wintery mix that’ll be icy, icy, icy! So cuddle up
with your sweetiepie,
cause this is one winter storm
you’ll….
LILY SHUTS OFF THE RADIO.
MARISOL I gotta go. I gotta go.
LILY Yeah.
MARISOL Spikes! We gotta leave. SPIKES! NOW!
LILY You don't have to go.
MARISOL Well, neither do you.
FEET UP THE BASEMENT STAIRS.
SPIKES What's wrong?
MARISOL We're leaving.
SPIKES But we found the fireworks. Dot
said we can have a
Roman candle fight if we promise not to get 'em in our
eyes.
MARISOL Spikes.
SPIKES Okay. (seeing the snow) Oh, wow, are the roads okay?
MARISOL We're not going far.
Bye.
LILY Sorry I don't have an answer for you.
MARISOL You do. It's okay. Let's go.
SPIKES Bye, Lily.
LILY Bye.
DOOR SHUTS BEHIND THEM. DOT, PLAYING
A KAZOO, COMES UP THE STAIRS.
DOT Found the kazoos! Why'd Spikes leave? What the
fuck's goin on outside.
DALE (off) Dottie? Everything okay?
DOT Come and see!
FOOTSTEPS UP THE STAIRS.
DOT It wasn't supposed to snow. Goddammit.
DALE (d) It's snowing?
DALE COMES UP.
DOT It wasn't supposed to.
DALE This looks bad. Ah. What'm I gonna do.
DOT Stay! It is a boarding house.
DALE Lily?
LILY The radio says it's supposed to get bad. You should
stay.
DALE You really have room for one more?
DOT I'll put you in 3C. Gorgeous view of the cemetery,
closest to the bathroom. And I've got kazoos! And
fireworks and leftover booze from Thanksgiving. It'll be
fun.
DALE Where's Marisol?
LILY She left. Didn't want to stay.
DALE Oh, honey.
LILY It's okay.
DOT We're gonna make this work. Okay? Guaranteed, firstrate,
gradeA GREAT TIME. We got kazoos up the
wazoo.
DOT PLAYS A FEW NOTES ON THE KAZOO
DOT Eh? Eh? Let's do the fireworks now. What d'you say?
Dale, could you bring the box up?
LILY Mom, I don't know if I feel like celebrating.
DOT Oh, I'm not celebrating. I am telling this shitass
year to LEAVE. To get the fuck OUT.
DALE What do you think, Lily Belle?
LILY Okay.
DALE One box of fireworks, coming up.
DALE'S FOOTSTEPS GO BACK DOWN THE
STAIRS. DOT PLAYS A FEW BARS OF AULD
LANG SYNE ON THE KAZOO
DOT (after DALE) Oh, and leave the little smoke snakes!
Thank you!
Why'd I buy those?
LILY Hey Mom, is this slipper yours?
WET SLAP OF SLIPPER ON THE COUNTER
DOT Oh, shit! Where'd you find it?
LILY In the woods. This is what happened on Christmas.
DOT Coulda been.
LILY THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED. Right?
DOT I think things were bad, yeah. Things were real bad. But
you know what's great? This, right now.
Let's just think about now. Now, things are great. NOW,
we're about to set off a shitton
of fireworks with Dale,
and then we're all gonna eat some amazing food, right?
LILY Theoretically.
DOT So let's do it. Quick. Before I forget who you fuckers
are.
LILY Mom.
DOT (calling down the stairs) Dale, how we doing with the
box?
LILY MOM.
DOT What?
LILY When that happens?
DOT What do you mean, when / that happens.
LILY When you forget who I am, it breaks my heart. Okay?
So don't push yourself.
DOT Jesus, it was a fucking joke. I'm not going to forget you.
LILY Oh, you won't?
DOT YEAH I WON'T.
LILY (sarcastic) Okay.
DOT Why're you being so fucking shitty to me?
LILY Celery Fest ring a bell? No.
DOT I wouldI
would never forget you.
DOT IS SUDDENLY NEAR TEARS.
DOT Lily!
LILY Okay. Okay.
You're right. Never. Wouldn't happen.
DOT Do you believe me.
LILY I do, yes.
Yes!
Of course I do.
DOT Okay. Good. Jesuslouiseus.
Freaked the shit outta
me.
DALE HAULS THE HUGE FIREWORKS BOX
UP THE STAIRS.
DALE Here we are. And I'm not stitching anyone's arm back
on, so let's be safe.
DOT Perfect. Let's just grab an armful
DOTBSCOOPS UP AN ARMFUL OF FIREWORKS.
DALE Oh, it's really coming down out there.
DOT Gotta light em quick! Lily, you coming?
LILY Yeah. I just want to get some tea.
DOOR OPENS. WINTER STORM FLOWS IN.
DOT Whoo, that's cold!
DALE Dottie, what're you getting us into.
DOT Let's go!
DOOR SHUTS. LILY SIGHS. THE HOUSE
SIGHS WITH HER: FLOORBOARDS WHEEZE,
THE RADIATORS GROAN,
THE WINDCHIMES RING OUT A COUPLE
LOW NOTES.
LILY Do you think she's getting better?
GROANING FLOORBOARDS, RADIATORS WHISTLE
DOT (off) It's lit! it's lit!
DALE (off, laughing) Dottie, run!
DOT (off) Wooo! (slipping) Ah!
LILY You think he's gonna find out?
FLOORBOARDS SOUND,
SHARP HISS OF THE
RADIATORS, THE WINDCHIMES RING
OUTSIDE THE FIREWORK GOES OFF WITH
MUFFLED YIP/WHISTLE. (PERHAPS IT'S ONE
OF THOSE PICCOLO PETE TYPES?)
DOT (off) Yeah! Sing it!
DALE (off) Out with the old year, in with the new.
DOT (off) HEY OLD YEAR! GO FUCK YOURSELF!
LILY What're we going to do?
THE FIREWORK WHISTLE CRESCENDOS
INTO A SCREAM.