Welcome Home: SCENE 3

INTERIOR EXAM ROOM #2 — DAY
NO AUDIO
A. MICHAEL IS EXAMINING THE GOLDEN RETRIEVER ELSIE. MRS. LARSON TALKS, AND TALKS, AND TALKS. A. MICHAEL CONTINUES TO EXAMINE ELSIE, SILENTLY.


CUT TO:
INTERIOR RECEPTION AREA — DAY
ESTRELLA STANDS AT THE COUNTER, TALKING WITH GORDON PATRICK TUDOR.
GORDON IS HOLDING A PETITE PAPILLON, ABIGAIL.


GORDON
This is a sweet one. I wish my Tatiana was as easy to groom.

ESTRELLA
She is a little dumpling. Maybe it’s because her mamma is such a dear.

GORDON
I’m a dear. I deserve a dumpling.

ESTRELLA
Gordon, you and I both know you wouldn’t trade your Tatiana for all the dumplings in the world.

GORDON
That’s true. And she is dramatic.

ESTRELLA
(LAUGHS) And where is the surprise in that?

GORDON
(WISTFULLY) Still, this one would be a perfect partner to go to the nursing home with me.

ESTRELLA
It’s kind of sad that no one visits Abigail and her mom. It’s just the two of them in that house.

GORDON
Alone? (BEAT) Like Mr. Dexter and his Moxie?

ESTRELLA
You have ‘that look’ again.

GORDON
Well?

ESTRELLA
Well, I have to say, Querido, you’re right. (HOLDS UP HER LEFT HAND )Here there are two alone, and there, (HOLDS UP HER RIGHT HAND APART FROM HER LEFT) there are two alone. (BEAT) But Abigail is here today, and Moxie was just in for his checkup last week. So they don’t need to see Dr. Em for another six months. And who knows what life can do in six months?

GORDON
Ah, but they come to me for grooming once a month. I think I can arrange things so their appointments happen to be on the same day.


CUT TO:
INTERIOR TREATMENT AREA — DAY
NO AUDIO
EMILY AND ROBBIE ARE WORKING WITH PAYCHCECK THE GREYHOUND. ROBBIE TAKES THE LEASH AND WALKS PAYCHECK IN A SMALL CIRCLE IN THE TREATMENT ROOM. EMILY AND ROBBIE ARE BOTH DELIGHTED AT PAYCHECK’S PROGRESS.


CUT TO:
INTERIOR RECEPTION AREA — DAY
ESTRELLA IS SITTING AT THE MAIN DESK.
MR. AND MRS. LLOYD WYNTER AND THEIR CLUMBER SPANIEL CHURCHILL ENTER.

MR. WYNTER
I’m just saying, I don’t want to have to take a second mortgage on the house.

MRS. WYNTER
Oh, for pete’s sake, Lloyd. We don’t even know what Dr. Em is going to say.

MR. WYNTER
I’m just saying—

ESTRELLA
Mr. and Mrs. Wynter! And Churchill. Dr. Em is ready for you right now.

MR. WYNTER
Listen, Estrella, before we —

ESTRELLA
(TO CHURCHILL) Hi, gorgeous. Would you like a cookie?


CUT TO:
INTERIOR EXAM ROOM #1 — DAY
EMILY IS SITTING ON THE FLOOR WITH CHURCHILL.
MR. AND MRS. WYNTER ARE SITTING IN CHAIRS, WATCHING.
A. MICHAEL IS STANDING BEHIND EMILY, SCOWLING AT MR. WYNTER.



MR. WYNTER
I’m just saying, if it’s going to take a long time for this to work, well, he’s uncomfortable now and we shouldn’t let him suffer like this, so I think —

A. MICHAEL
What you think isn’t going to fix this dog’s—

EMILY
You’re absolutely right, Mr. Wynter. The condition of Churchill’s skin is showing us some pretty extreme allergic reactions. I’d recommend that we take some blood and send it to the dermatologist. She can tell us specifically what Churchill’s allergies are, and what it will take to get your boy’s quality of life back again.

MRS. WYNTER
How long will it take to find out?

MR. WYNTER
How much will it take?

EMILY
Not long. About a week, usually.

MRS. WYNTER
Then let’s go ahead and do it.

MR. WYNTER
How much is it going to cost me?

MRS. WYNTER
(TO MR. WYNTER) That’s not really the point, is it, dear?

MR. WYNTER
(TO MRS WYNTER) I’m just saying there’s no point in spending a lot of money if it can’t be helped.

A. MICHAEL
(TO MR. WYNTER) Oh, is that what you’re saying?

MRS. WYNTER
(TO A. MICHAEL) If you don’t mind, Doctor.
(TO MR. WYNTER) Lloyd, you know you love this dog, and you know you don’t want him to be miserable.

MR. WYNTER
That’s just what I’m saying.

MRS. WYNTER
(TO EMILY) Of course we want to have the tests for Churchill. Today will be perfect.


CUT TO:
INTERIOR RECEPTION AREA – DAY
ESTRELLA IS AT THE MAIN DESK
CYNTHIA IS STANDING IN THE DOORWAY


ESTRELLA
Everything okay with you and Armando?

CYNTHIA
Just ducky.

ESTRELLA
Are those ducks in a row, or ducks amiss?

CYNTHIA
Why is it that men think the world revolves around them and that you can drop everything just because they say so?

ESTRELLA
Drop everything and do what?

CYNTHIA
Fly to the Hamptons! Just like that! Just fly away to the Hamptons. Poof!

ESTRELLA
You know we will always take care of Gideon and PooDoo here.

CYNTHIA
So you think I’m supposed to go off and leave my dogs for two months just because Armando says so?

ESTRELLA
Two months?! (BEAT) What would you do in the Hamptons for two months?

CYNTHIA
Well, Armando will be painting, so I could sit adoringly and watch him, I suppose.

ESTRELLA
What’s wrong with Armando’s studio here?

CYNTHIA
There is not one darned thing wrong with his studio. Except for the fact that it’s over a thousand miles away from his commission.

ESTRELLA
Commission? Armando has a commission? Cynthia! This is good news! Why didn’t you tell me?

CYNTHIA
(BEAT) He did good, Estrella. His New York show was good. He sold paintings, and he got a commission. Imagine. Just like that.

(CONTINUED)

Welcome Home: SCENE 2

INTERIOR MAYFIELD VETERINARY CLINIC RECEPTION AREA — DAY
ESTRELLA IS AT THE MAIN DESK.
CYNTHIA IS SITTING AT THE SIDE DESK.

SOUND OFF: PHONE RINGS

CYNTHIA
Mayfield Veterinary Clinic. This is Cynthia. Can I help you? … Hi, Baby. How’s the Big Apple? How’s my big boy?

ESTRELLA
Ah, Armando, our resident artist. (TO CYNTHIA) Well, how is he?

CYNTHIA
(TURNS HER BACK TO ESTRELLA) Me, too, Baby. (GIGGLES)

ESTRELLA
When does he get home?

CYNTHIA
You sold how many? … More news than that?

CLIENT MRS. LARSON ENTERS WITH HER GOLDEN RETRIEVER ELSIE.

MRS. LARSON
Hi, Estrella! Hi, Cynthia!

CYNTHIA
(WAVES HELLO TO MRS. LARSON AND CONTINUES TALKING ON THE PHONE) Where? … Armando, you’ve got to be kidding—

MRS. LARSON
(TAKES A POSTCARD OUT OF HER PURSE AND HOLDS IT OUT) Elsie’s here for her checkup, right on time.

ESTRELLA
(TO MRS. LARSON, RELUCTANTLY) Of course she is.

CYNTHIA
For how long?

ESTRELLA
(TORN BETWEEN EAVESDROPPING ON CYNTHIA’S PHONE CALL, AND TENDING A CLIENT AND PATIENT) Hello, Mrs. Larson. How is Elsie doing?

MRS. LARSON
Just Great!

CYNTHIA
Oh, no!

MRS. LARSON
(TO CYNTHIA) Of course she is, honey. Just look at that beautiful coat.

ESTRELLA
Oh, no?

MRS. LARSON
Well, Estrella, of course it is. Elsie’s coat is a show-stopper.

ESTRELLA
(FINALLY OUT OF HER CHAIR AND STANDING AT THE COUNTER FACING MRS. LARSON) Yes, it is. So, what does this beautiful girl need today?

MRS. LARSON
(WAVING POSTCARD IN ESTRELLA’S FACE) It’s right here. Her annual checkup, just like you said.

CYNTHIA
How can you even ask me that? You know I can’t.

ESTRELLA
(GIVING UP, TO MRS. LARSON) Okay then. You just bring that beautiful girl right through here and we’ll get you settled in room two.

ESTRELLA, MRS. LARSON AND ELSIE THE GOLDEN RETRIEVER EXIT.

CYNTHIA
I am happy for you, Armando. … Yes I am. A show in New York, and now a big commission. … I know it’s a big deal … Of course I’m happy for you. But I can’t just leave my job and fly off to the Hamptons.

ESTRELLA ENTERS

CYNTHIA
Have you even thought about the dogs? What about Gideon and PooDoo?

ESTRELLA
What is happening?

CYNTHIA
(TO THE PHONE) I can’t talk about it right now, Armando. … I just can’t. … Well, you’re going to have to wait. (HANGS UP THE PHONE)

CYNTHIA EXITS.

ESTRELLA
(TO CYNTHIA’S DISAPPEARING BACK) What is happening?

CLIENT ENTERS CARRYING A SMALL ANIMAL CRATE.

CLIENT
I don’t usually put them both in one crate, but I knew you wouldn’t make us wait.

(CONTINUED)

Emily Mayfield, part 7: The Search

George gets up to go to the bathroom and sees that Alex’s bed is empty. Alex is not in the bathroom, and George knows that Alex has taken Moon. George screams and wakes up Robert, Suzanna, and Emily. Emily starts to cry because George doesn’t yell. Robert tries to understand what George is screaming about. Suzanna sees the empty bed and realizes that Alex has sneaked out and taken Moon. They go to the corral and Moon is not there. George is hysterical, and the depth of emotion from their “thinking” child shocks his parents.

Robert knows how George feels. He organizes his little army into a search unit. Suzanna, holding Emily by the hand, finds Alex. She immediately picks up Emily so that Emily is facing away from Alex. Suzanna calls out, “Robert, come to the sycamore.” Does she protect the small child in her arms from the possible death of the brother, or does she go to the older child? She stands and talks to Alex as though her every word is being heard. The words are heard by the small child who can only believe her brother is hurt. When Robert arrives with George, Suzanna takes Emily to the house where she can call the doctor and put Emily to bed.

For Emily, the nightmare is not over. She saw her brother, she saw the blood, she heard her mother. She is four and tries to understand. Emily heard her mother's conversation with the doctor. Emily believes Alex is dead and wants to keep her mother from knowing the truth. Emily will not stay in bed. Emily pats her mother to show she is loved. She says, “It’s okay, Mommy, everything is okay.” Suzanna takes Emily into her lap and rocks while she waits for this night to end.

The doctor calls an ambulance, and doctor and ambulance arrive at the same time. Suzanna wants to direct them to the tree, but stays at the house with her daughter. Robert and George have been waiting and talking to Alex, who has not responded. Robert is talking to keep himself from dealing with the possibilities. George thinks Alex is dead because from the first moment that he saw his brother, there was the joy of his being dead: the revenge. George has never seen Alex this still. Even in his sleep Alex was a mover, a wild dreamer.

The doctor comes and takes Alex’s pulse, and he says, “Thank God, he’s still alive.” Robert begins to sob with relief. George feels the guilt of having wished his brother dead, and the relief of it not being so. When the doctor saws off the branch so they can move Alex and the stub, George begins to retch and Robert must return to being a dad. He has George take care of Moon so he can return to his thinking mode.

Robert goes to the hospital in the ambulance and George begs to go, too. Suzanna packs up some food and a bag of toys for Emily and the two of them follow in the car. They wait for the doctor to tell them about Alex. He tells them that two specialists will have to be brought in, one to save the eye and the other to reconstruct. Alex is in the hospital three weeks.

(continued)

Emily Mayfield, part 6: The Fall

Brother Alex is six on this first great night of the stars and the horse. Two years later, as the middle child, the younger brother to the organizer/planner/schemer/horseman, Alex at eight is the doer. Alex wants to ride like the wind on Moon, George’s large brown horse with a crescent on her forehead, but George won’t share Moon. Moon is his only escape from being the older brother.

Alex climbs down from the second story of the Mayfields’ house via the willow tree, to visit Moon in the middle of the night. Moon is waiting. Alex has been told to stay away from Moon without Dad being there. Alex has been warned to stay away from Moon by George or George will tell Mom and Dad about how the fire behind the garage started when Alex was trying out a cigarette he stole from the purse of one of Mom’s friends. But it is night, and Moon is waiting. He shimmies down the tree without incident. He walks across the grass under a full moon. He approaches Moon with soft words and an apple. Moon takes the apple, and while she is munching, Alex puts his bare foot on her hock and quickly throws his right leg over her back. Alex and Moon sweep off into the night, across the farm’s open acres. As they approach the lone sycamore tree, a wind howls; a large branch breaks in the wind, cracks, falls in the path of horse and boy. Moon instinctively jumps and clears the branch. Alex, however, doesn’t see the branch, as his head is raised to the sky in exaltation.

When he feels Moon starting her jump, Alex bails out. He’d rather be in control of his own destiny (read ‘fall’) than trust the horse. Moon clears the branch neatly, feels the absence of her rider and stops to wait.

Alex is not so lucky. His bailout takes him right onto the fallen branch. A sharp stub of the branch rips through Alex’s face, leaving a gash that ends in his left eye socket. Alex faints from the pain and shock.

(continued)