She pulls on her loom.

  DOLLY BACK to MWS Caroline. She sits listening. In the midground between the two women, a photograph of Giles.

  CAROLINE

  Are you relieved in some way . . . I mean with all the depressions he lived through . . .

  LILIANE

  (almost violently)

  No . . . he got badly depressed, yes, but when he was happy we had such good times, then he’d get depressed again, but just when I thought I couldn’t stand it another second, he’d wake up full of life, start sculpting, building things, want to go hiking or fishing with Chris . . . he’d bring everybody back to life with him . . . you’ve seen him like that . . . he was wonderful, always laughing and lifting you up . . .

  The physical pain of his absence overwhelms her . . .

  LILIANE

  . . . I could handle the depressions just as long as he rounded the circle; came back to life again . . .

  She sits very still to keep from going to pieces . . .

  HOLD . . .

  CUT:

  INT. CAROLINE’S BEDROOM – LATER THAT SAME NIGHT

  MS Caroline, POV through window, writing at her desk.

  CAROLINE (v.o.)

  Once when I went to visit Lil . . . I remember I was carrying Edward . . . Giles was asleep. When he was depressed he slept a lot. Lil and I sat talking while Sara and Shana and Chris played. We were drinking tea when Giles woke up and came to the table. We said hello, et cetera, then Lil went off to make him some coffee. He kept staring at the children playing. ‘They’re getting big’ was all I could think to say, which made him chuckle and turn and stare at me. ‘What am I doing here?’ he said after a while, almost earnestly. ‘What do you mean?’ I answered. We’d known each other a long time, I was accustomed to his moods. ‘Sometimes I get the feeling,’ he said quietly, ‘that I’m playing house,’ and he looked at the children again. ‘That’s it.’ He laughed in that powerful way of his. ‘I think for a long time all I’ve been doing is playing house . . .’

  She stops writing.

  HOLD . . .

  CUT:

  EXT. FRONT OF HOUSE – MORNING

  WS Shana and Sara in foreground, Liliane in midground, Caroline in background. The girls are outside playing with dolls. Liliane is hanging plants in the hallway. Caroline is seen vaguely in the background feeding Edward.

  SHANA

  What’s her name?

  Sara holds up her doll . . .

  SARA

  Susie . . .

  SHANA

  I don’t like that name . . .

  SARA

  What should I name her?

  The phone rings. Liliane goes to answer it, exiting frame.

  LILIANE (o.c.)

  Hello . . . that’s right . . . hold on . . .

  She crosses into frame . . .

  LILIANE

  Caroline . . . phone . . .

  Caroline comes in carrying Edward, hands him to Liliane.

  CAROLINE

  Hold him a second . . . who is it . . .

  LILIANE

  He sounded impatient, that’s all I know . . .

  Caroline exits frame. Liliane puts Edward down, walks him slowly over to her plants.

  CAROLINE (o.c.)

  Hello . . . oh . . . I haven’t in a while, not since my son was born . . . thank you . . . oh, I know who you are . . . thank you . . . what’s the play . . . could I see a script . . . I’m coming in on Thursday, I could pick one up . . . we’ll talk then . . . all right . . . thank you . . .

  We hear her hang up. She comes back in.

  CAROLINE

  You know who that was . . . Alphonso Gerrell, known in theater circles as the Madman . . .

  (giggling)

  . . . you’re right about his being impatient, he just offered me a job . . .

  CUT:

  INT. HALLWAY – SAME TIME

  MS Caroline, POV behind Liliane. She comes forward, swooping Edward up . . .

  LILIANE

  (back to camera)

  Now . . . when you’d have to commute?

  CAROLINE

  I know . . . though most of the design work I’m sure I could do up here . . .

  She swings Edward . . .

  CAROLINE

  I don’t believe it . . . he kept saying ‘the word is that you’re good . . .’ Me, I kept mumbling ‘thank you, thank you . . .’

  She laughs at herself . . .

  SARA (o.c.)

  Mommie . . .

  Caroline turns around . . .

  CAROLINE

  Yes, Sara . . .

  CUT:

  EXT. FRONT YARD – SAME TIME

  MWS Shana, Sara, POV Caroline. Sara is holding up her doll . . .

  SARA

  Shana thinks I should call her Marta . . .

  CAROLINE (o.c.)

  I thought her name was Susie . . .

  Caroline steps into frame.

  SARA

  (to her doll)

  You don’t like Susie, do you, you’d like me to call you Marta . . .

  SHANA

  (annoyed)

  She can’t hear, dolls can’t hear . . .

  SARA

  (defensively)

  That’s not true . . . is that true, Mommie . . .

  CUT:

  REVERSE ANGLE.

  CAROLINE

  (laughing)

  Ask Susie . . . I mean Marta . . . she should know if she can hear or not . . .

  The girls laugh . . .

  HOLD . . .

  CUT:

  INT. A THEATER – EARLY AFTERNOON

  WS stage. ALPHONSO GERRELL, a debonair man around forty-five (flashily dressed, radiating incredible energy), is playing the piano. Leaning against it but facing away from him is a handsome woman, late thirties, dressed stylishly. She’s listening to Alphonso, who’s talking to three women who are clustered around him.

  ALPHONSO

  (to the women)

  You’re the chorus, yes, but you’re more than that. All her feelings are addressed to you. You’re the women of her childhood, churchwomen . . . deaconesses and usherettes in their white uniforms and gloves . . . old maids who sat alone in their pew, flashy women in derby hats who strutted down the aisle . . . all the unfulfilled longings of the black women she remembers are projected onto you. Try the first number seeing yourselves that way . . .

  The women begin to sing . . .

  THE WOMEN

  (singing)

  Dance, little lady, dance,

  Dance like a child of God

  And bring us sweet roses from Heaven

  Once, oh God, once, before we die . . .

  CUT:

  MWS Caroline entering the theater. She hears the women singing, starts down the aisle . . .

  CUT:

  MOVING SHOT, women onstage, POV Caroline.

  THE WOMEN

  (singing)

  Dance, little lady, dance

  Be the gypsy that we’ve never known

  Take your feet to the sky like a lady

  And bring us roses, once, yes, bring us roses, once

  Once, oh God, once, before we die . . .

  They continue humming. TRACK and PAN to the woman leaning against the piano.

  THE WOMAN

  I only have one memory of my childhood. That’s me, walking down the street one sunny afternoon, daydreaming for the first time. Pain surrounded me on all sides. There was nothing happy going on. But suddenly I saw it didn’t have to be that way inside. I could dream myself, dream how I wanted things to be. Now when I think of my childhood, it appears before me like one long daydream . . .

  CAMERA STOPS MOVING.

  HOLD . . .

  THE WOMAN

  (singing)

  How lovely is the evening,

  Is the evening, is the evening,

  When the bells are sweetly ringing,

  Sweetly ringing, sweetly ringing . . .

  CUT:

  MCU Caroline, POV stage, listening, caught up in it . . .

  THE WOMAN (o.c.)

  (singing)

  Ding, ding, dong

  Ding, ding, dong . . .

  The women join her and repeat it . . .

  ALPHONSO (o.c.)

  Okay . . .

  Caroline looks over at him . . .

  CUT:

  LOW-ANGLE MWS Alphonso, the woman, POV Caroline.

  ALPHONSO

  (to the woman)

  Marie, you have any problem with that speech . . .

  MARIE

  (laughing)

  I’m not sure I understand it but I do know it makes me want to cry . . .

  ALPHONSO

  (nodding)

  There’s a sadness there and a longing . . . I don’t want to probe too much at this point if you’ve got a feel for it . . .

  Marie nods. As if sensing someone behind him, Alphonso turns suddenly around, sees Caroline standing there.

  ALPHONSO

  Caroline Samuels . . .

  CAROLINE (o.c.)

  Yes . . .

  He smiles, turns back to the actors . . .

  CUT:

  MWS Caroline, POV stage.

  ALPHONSO (o.c.)

  It’s after twelve, we’ll meet back here by 1:30 . . .

  He comes into frame, obliterating Caroline. They walk away from the camera, moving into LS, Alphonso plying her with questions . . .

  ALPHONSO

  (back to camera)

  You drove down from the country?

  CAROLINE

  (back to camera)

  Yes, this morning . . .

  ALPHONSO

  (back to camera)

  How long a drive is it?

  CAROLINE

  (back to camera)

  Not long, a little over an hour . . .

  ALPHONSO

  (back to camera)

  You just moved?

  CAROLINE

  (back to camera)

  Yes.

  ALPHONSO

  (back to camera)

  Got tired of the city?

  CAROLINE

  (back to camera)

  Yes . . .

  They disappear out the lobby door.

  HOLD . . .

  CUT:

  INT. A RESTAURANT – EARLY AFTERNOON

  MCU Caroline.

  CAROLINE

  I didn’t know it was a musical, I’ve never done a musical . . .

  ALPHONSO (o.c.)

  Same problems, only people sing . . .

  Caroline laughs . . .

  CAROLINE

  I like what I saw . . .

  Alphonso changes seats, moving closer to her while at the same time entering the frame . . .

  ALPHONSO

  It’s about one woman’s illusions . . . maybe they’re universal, we’ll see . . . anyway, you could call it a musical because it has some nine or ten songs, but it’s really serious drama. The characters literally . . .

  (acting it out)

  . . . fall forward into song out of a need to say things, express feelings that words don’t reach. There’s a violence to the music, a letting go . . .

  He stares at her . . .

  CAROLINE

  I’m eager to read the script . . .

  ALPHONSO

  (switching tracks)

  Why did you move to the country?

  CAROLINE

  (thrown by the question)

  I . . . it’s good for the children . . . I have young children . . . the fresh air is good for them . . .

  ALPHONSO

  Does your husband like it, too?

  CAROLINE

  (flustered)

  My husband . . . no, he’s still in the city . . .

  He stares at her . . .

  HOLD . . .

  CUT:

  INT. BUSY OFFICE – LATE AFTERNOON

  SIDE-ANGLE LS, Rafael. In the foreground, Rafael on the phone.

  RAFAEL

  What does he want me to do, spoon-feed him . . . Christ, man, he’s talking fifty thou, I can’t hold his hand for that . . . tell him to put it in CDs . . . this is fun and games, you know that . . . soybeans . . . they might hit five a bushel . . . that’s the word right now, which puts it at twenty-five per contract . . . of course he could use that, anybody could use that . . .

  In the background we see Caroline enter and come down the hall . . .

  RAFAEL

  . . . that looks good now, too, the upside’s about a buck sixty a pound . . . frost, the Latin guys say frost . . . of course he could but we’d do our best to get him out before then, what more can I say . . .

  By now Caroline is standing in the doorway, watching him. He nods.

  RAFAEL

  Bring him over, we’ll talk . . .

  (chuckling)

  . . . you got a bunch of yo-yos over there, man . . . lunch . . . tomorrow . . .

  He hangs up.

  RAFAEL

  I thought you’d moved to the country . . .

  CAROLINE

  I got offered a job, I came down to pick up the script . . .

  CUT:

  MCU Caroline, POV Rafael.

  CAROLINE

  You sound jive . . .

  (mimicking him)

  ‘. . . we’ll do our best to pull him out, man . . . lunch . . .’

  She laughs . . .

  RAFAEL (o.c.)

  It’s a performance, people get confused if you don’t speak the language . . .

  CAROLINE

  I’m glad at least that you recognize that . . .

  CUT:

  SIDE-ANGLE MWS, both of them.

  CAROLINE

  How are you . . .

  RAFAEL

  I hate that question . . .

  She raises her hand apologetically . . .

  RAFAEL

  How long are you down for?

  CAROLINE

  I’m on my way back now . . .

  RAFAEL

  You need anything?

  CAROLINE

  No . . .

  RAFAEL

  Script any good?

  CAROLINE

  I haven’t read it yet . . .

  RAFAEL

  You’ll have to commute . . .

  CAROLINE

  He said I could do the design work up there . . .

  RAFAEL

  Who?

  CAROLINE

  The director . . .

  He nods, turns toward his work . . .

  CUT:

  MWS Rafael, POV Caroline. He’s turned away from her . . .

  CAROLINE (o.c.)

  I’ll stay for dinner . . .

  He shakes his head no . . .

  CAROLINE (o.c.)

  You look harassed . . .

  RAFAEL

  (irritated)

  I look happy, sad, tired, busy . . . don’t play wife, please . . .

  Silence.

  CAROLINE (o.c.)

  I keep thinking, a little time away and we’ll find the right footing . . .

  RAFAEL

  Maybe you should think about other things while you’re away . . . not me . . .

  He moves toward her . . .

  CUT:

  MWS both of them. Caroline watches while he puts papers in his briefcase . . .

  CUT:

  INT. KITCHEN OF COUNTRY HOUSE – NIGHT

  MCU Liliane.

  LILIANE

  You’re making it up . . .

  She laughs . . .

  CAROLINE (o.c.)

  I swear! It was when he was playing at being a photographer . . . you should have seen his clientele: voodoo queens, would-be models, or porno stars who needed a few shots of their wares . . . he even had a studio, a trashy place I avoided as much as I could. Anyway . . . I go there to meet him one night . . .

  CUT:

  MCU Caroline, POV Liliane.

  CAROLINE

  I’m on my way up the steps and this belly dancer . . . is on her way down . . . I didn’t know then that she was a belly dancer but she looked foreign . . . thick black hair, heavy makeup; she stops me on the steps, asks if I’m Rafael’s wife. I hesitate a minute but finally say yes . . . ‘Oh God,’ she shouts, ‘no woman should own that man . . .’ and she pulls out a knife . . .

  CUT:

  MCU Liliane, POV Caroline.

  LILIANE

  Stop it . . .

  CAROLINE (o.c.)

  I couldn’t believe it . . . I go flying past her like a bat out of hell, banging frantically on Rafael’s door . . . ‘She’s trying to kill me,’ I start screaming . . . ‘One of your female exotics is trying to do me in . . .’ He opens the door and runs out after her . . .

  CUT:

  MCU Caroline, catching her breath . . .

  CAROLINE

  He doesn’t come back for about two hours . . . I don’t know what to do . . . who to call . . . I swear she’s killed him . . . Finally, he walks in with his usual ease . . . ‘Where were you,’ I ask, ‘why were you gone so long?’ ‘I had to calm her down.’ He shrugs. ‘Calm her down,’ I shout, ‘what do you mean you had to calm her down, I’m the one she attacked!’ ‘You’re not emotional like them,’ he says . . . ‘these women take things to heart . . .’

  Her fist hits the table violently . . .

  CAROLINE

  I could kill him when he says things like that! Like I’m not funky enough to feel things!

  She gets more upset thinking about it . . .

  CUT:

  WS Liliane, Caroline. We’re aware now that they’re sitting at the kitchen table drinking tea. It’s late at night. The phone rings, startling them. Liliane goes to answer it, exiting frame . . .

  LILIANE (o.c.)

  Hello . . . that’s all right, just a minute . . .

  She comes back in . . .

  LILIANE

  It’s Mr. Gerrell . . . he apologizes for calling so late . . .

  Caroline goes to the phone. Liliane sits back down, pours herself more tea . . .

  CAROLINE (o.c.)

  Hello . . . no, I haven’t finished it, I had a busy day, I was planning to read it in the morning . . . could we talk tomorrow afternoon . . . I’ll call you . . . all right . . . that’s all right . . .

  She comes back in, stands in the doorway. They look at each other.

  FADE-OUT:

  INT. HIGH SCHOOL HALLWAY IN A DREAM

  WS a group of girls. A younger Caroline comes into frame wearing glasses, a wide old-fashioned dress, and her hair braided and pinned up. The girls whisper . . .

  ONE GIRL

  Here comes Miss Square-But . . .

  ANOTHER GIRL

  That dress looks like her grandma’s, she don’t even have on a bra . . .

  THIRD GIRL