FADE IN
INT. HOUSE, DARK, HINT OF MOONLIGHT - NIGHT
The silence is broken by the pitter-patter tapping sound of
little dog feet as they meander through the house and into
the bedroom. Marie opens her eyes and squints over the edge
of the bed where the Chihuahua, raggedy and elderly, stands
waiting.
MARIE
What're you doing down there? Come
here.
Marie picks up the dog and pulls her into the bed. Small,
black and furry, Chica scratches herself vigorously, then
settles next to Marie.
MARIE
(whispers)
Go to sleep.
Marie studies the ceiling for a moment. She reaches her arm
around Chica. Then glances over at the man who sleeps next
to her. He is an older man with a tidy beard, glasses on
and mouth open. An open book is across his chest. He has
strawberry blonde hair; his beard is white. He snores
softly, then snorts in his sleep. She looks toward the
ceiling again for a moment, stretches her leg across the
bottom half of his body, and closes her eyes. Just then...a
small voice calls out.
MALCOLM
Mom?
MARIE
What is it honey? Go back to
sleep.
MALCOLM
Mom? ....I need you.
She stumbles into the next room. Marie is fully dressed in
torn jeans and a t-shirt. She leans over Malcolm who is in
his small bed. He snuggles a petite brown Chihuahua.
MARIE
What's a matter? You okay? (rubs
her hand across his forehead) Your
head's all sweaty. (pause) You
want me to get in with you?
Without opening his eyes, Malcolm scoots backward in the bed
making room for her, pulling his little dog along with him.
Marie crawls into the wee bed with her son and closes her
eyes. Once again there is the little pitter-patter of
approaching dog feet. She leans over, pulls Chica into the
bed too. Malcolm lay holding his dog, she lay holding hers.
They drift off to sleep in the continued darkness.
CUT TO
EXT. STREET SCENE IN THE CITY. - DAY
Marie drives along Esplanade Avenue in New Orleans from Mid
City towards the French Quarter. The historic homes along
the avenue were obviously once very grand and elegant,
French and Spanish architecture, but now there's all manner
of deterioration in most. An eclectic mix of tourists and
local street people peppers the sidewalk. A small wooden
building on the right is covered with grafitti.
Marie wears sunglasses as she drives with the windows down,
her arm out the window as music plays--Trouble in Paradise
by Tele Novella.
MARIE (V.O)
I had dreams. Sometimes....I even
try to remember them.
I loved a boy. He was sun-tanned
and cajun. My soulmate I guess.
(pause) Even now....I wonder
about him...and everything I had,
you know, a long time ago.
She continues along the avenue, driving, music playing.
CUT TO
INT. REALTY OFFICE IN AN OLD FRENCH QUARTER BUILDING - DAY
She quickly climbs the stairs in an old French Quarter
building which is at once elegant and decrepit. She ascends
past the brightly colored signed Jazz Fest posters, some
black and white signed photographs. She rushes toward the
meeting room, looks in, but no one is in there. She walks
across the hall to another room where a colleague, Michael,
sits at his desk with his back to her.
MARIE
I thought I was late.
She plops down into a soft chair next to him.
Michael speaks slowly, without looking up, in a warm
Southern accent.
MICHAEL
Hi honey. (pause) The meeting
doesn't start until 10, you know~
MARIE
(glances around
for a clock)
Isn't it 10 now?
MICHAEL
(condescendingly)
Well, nobody's here, are they?
(Then quickly adds,) Well, Ann's
here!
Michael motions toward a young blonde woman sitting in the
room whom Marie hadn't noticed. Ann stands, reaches out to
shake Marie's hand. Marie jumps up to shake it.
ANN
(brightly)
Hi I'm Ann with American Mortgage.
I think we met before at an open
house.
MARIE
Oh sure! I always hear good things
about you. Give me your card and
I'll recommend you!
ANN
I just had them made. Here-take a
couple~
Michael is now on his cell phone. He vigorously shoos the
two women away as if they are children. Marie and Ann
quickly scurry out of Michael's office and into the meeting
room.
ANN
I brought this candy basket for
y'all.
She sets the basket down on the large rectangular wooden
table that looks like it used to be in somebody's dining
room. Ann then takes a seat on the far side of the room.
MARIE
Thanks, but....I'm starting to
spread out a little bit in the
middle.
MARIE (V.O)
my whole body really, I need to
get back in shape in case I run
into Al Stewart again....(pause)
although God only knows what he
looks like these days.
FLASHBACK TO
Marie and a rock musician laughing in a hotel room. They
are half undressed. She is younger with wild curly hair. He
speaks with a British accent and swigs from a bottle of
Pepto Bismol.
MARIE
Your body's so pale! Don't you
ever get out in the sun?
BRITISH MUSICIAN
Never. I work every night and
sleep during the day.
MARIE
(playfully)
Well okay but I think you need
some sun!
BRITISH MUSICIAN
(sincerely)
What I need....is a photogragh of
your behind.
MARIE
What for?!
BRITISH MUSICIAN
(as if obviously)
Tape it to the back of my guitar.
They laugh and fall into the bed.
BACK TO
Just then, in the midst of her semi-daydream, James arrives
and sits at the head of the table as he is in charge of the
meeting for the day. Michael, then Roy stroll in. Marie,
slightly self-conscious, sits down in the chair nearest to
her.
ANN
Roy! It's good to see you! You're
always so tan.
You put George Hamilton to shame.
Roy smiles/looks pleased with the attention as if he has a
little crush on Ann.
JAMES
Is this everybody? Is Dorian
around?
No one answers.
JAMES
Marie, do you have anything to
discuss?
MARIE
Well, I usually sit on the other
side of the table, so I'm a little
disoriented.
MICHAEL
I know! You're in my chair!
MARIE
(meekly)
Do you want to sit here?
MICHAEL
(smiles, shouts)
Of course not!
MARIE
Okay, well, I do have a closing
coming up at my listing in the
Ninth Ward, but we had the
inspections the other day, and the
guy found all kinds of things that
are crumbling down, so now I don't
know what's going to happen there…
And I still have my listing in
Chalmette. I've shown it a bunch,
but no takers. It's a really cool
place, too. There's these really
gorgeous Mexican tile floors all
through the house. The owner, this
old guy, Ray, put in all top of
the line stainless steel
appliances and all. Anyway, so
today I'm going on broker tour
with the Chalmette agents.
ANN
(jokingly)
Poor you!
MICHAEL
(playfully)
The Chalmations!
ROY
(musingly)
You know...before the storm their
accent would aggravate the hell
out of me but now I just really
miss it.
MARIE
It's the same accent as ours in
New'Orlins.
MICHAEL
(explains)
Well, yeah, but they're the Yats!
ROY
(whimsically)
Where y'at?
MICHAEL
Makin' groceries at Schwegmann's!
The meeting format begins to digress.
JAMES
When I was younger and dating, my
dad would say something like,
"so you going to the Quarters?"
And I'd say, "Well…no…just the
one!"
Colleagues knowingly laugh and chuckle.
Marie reaches into her tiny overstuffed purse and looks
through assorted scraps of papers.
MARIE
(worriedly)
"Oh God! I forgot about this
traffic ticket!
I gotta go pay this before I get
arrested.
(A beat, then thoughtfully)
I wouldn't manage well in jail.
MICHAEL
What's if for?
MARIE
Expired brake tag.
MICHAEL
They've been setting up a lot of
traffic stops in the French
Quarter,
but I only got a warning.
MARIE
(seriously)
Well the guy who stopped me said
that he would've just given me a
warning except that it's been
expired for two years.
ROY
(chortles)
I think for me it's about 8 years.
CUT TO
INT. DOWNSTAIRS IN THE REALTY OFFICE - DAY
Marie stares at a computer screen in the downstairs part of
the office. Her e-mail inbox is displayed, with messages
such as:
"Open house Sunday-historic gem in the Bywater"
"Learn to meditate with Deepak Chopra"
"Find your inner strength by letting go"
"Improve your focus by clearing away clutter"
"Five tips to re-ignite the excitement in your sex life"
"vitamins for longer life"
"You now qualify for a free scooter chair"
Dorian, tall and elegant, breezes past and stops when he
sees Marie.
DORIAN
(asks, almost
insisting)
Aren't you coming to the meeting?
MARIE
I'm going on broker tour in
Chalmette today;
gotta be there in a few minutes. I
just had to pay a traffic ticket
online first.
DORIAN
Would you like to handle an open
house for me this weekend?
A condo in the Quarter?
MARIE
(excitedly)
Yes, I would!
DORIAN
(quickly rushes
off upstairs,
calling back)
I'll send you the details.
A sharply dressed woman passes by. Marie quickly jumps up
to follow her.
MARIE
Hey Caroline, can I see you for a
second?
CAROLINE
(politely)
Sure Marie. What can I do for
you?
MARIE
(awkwardly)
My dad called me about an
apartment for lease. He wants to
rent an apartment that he saw
listed through our company and I
see that it's your listing.
Marie takes a deep breath then exhales.
MARIE
(continues)
He's a pack-rat, a hoarder, you
know? He somehow manages to break
the plumbing wherever he lives and
he may bring home drunk women.
CAROLINE
(calmly)
Oh that's perfect because the
owner is a slum lord.
CUT TO
EXT. CHALMETTE HOUSE TOUR - DAY
INTERIOR OF AN SUV DRIVEN BY BRAD, A YOUNG MORTGAGE LENDER.
BRAD
(cheery)
Well, let's head down the road,
(smiles, looks over at Marie to
explain...)
"down the road" means toward
Meraux. We were "up the road" in
Arabi. (a beat, then more
seriously) Katrina sure did
change things around here for us.
My mom and dad's house isn't even
there anymore. It's hard on them
and a lot of the old people still,
all these years later. People who
had to move away can't return for
one reason or another.
MARIE
My dad's one of them. He loved it
here. His house was bulldozed in
the aftermath.
MARIE (V.O.)
Of course it needed to be
flattened even before Katrina
because of his hoarding.
CUT TO FLASHBACK
INT. SUPER 8 HOTEL ROOM DURING HURRICANE KATRINA. - DAY
A weary Marie and her husband, Marvin, watch the news
intently from the interior of a small shabby hotel room.
News of Hurricane Katrina is ongoing on CNN. The newscaster
specifically mentions the extreme flooding in Chalmette.
MARVIN
(earnestly)
At least your dad's house is
getting washed out.
CUT BACK TO
CHALMETTE TOUR.
BRAD
(soberly)
Entire neighborhood blocks are
gone. (He points out the window)
That's all green space now.
CUT TO....