Virtual Moonlighting
Season Eight - Episode 13
Our hero, David Addison, stares distractedly at his half
naked, half shaved reflection in the steamy bathroom mirror. Still damp from the shower, he has the towel
tightly wrapped low around his waist and his ever-thinning hair is combed
back. He is not his usual bouncy,
cheerful, the-world-is-my-oyster self this morning, although he hasn’t noticed
any difference. But for us, the fact
that he is not singing is a dead give away that something is rotten in Beverly
Hills. Well maybe ROTTEN is too strong
a word, but something is off.
Should any one of us step into the scene (and how many of
us would volunteer for that job?) to ask what the problem is; he would deny the
very notion of a problem with a quick, offhand, distractingly funny
retort. That’s the David we have come
to know and love. Oh he might admit
that he got a hold of a bad oyster, drank too much (or too little) or was “up
kinda late last night;” but he would expect us to leave it at that. I wouldn’t bet the farm that we could get
him to agree that he is a little preoccupied, reflective, even pensive today? But of course that could be because he may
not know the meaning of the word “pensive.”
pen•sive
(pĕn´ sĭv) adj. Deeply,
often wistfully or dreamily thoughtful; Suggestive or expressive of melancholy thoughtfulness; reflective
PENSIVE - Ok, not an adjective we would normally use when
describing David, but this morning, with only two paragraphs into the episode,
we know it even if he doesn’t. And you
know it, because I am telling you, David Addison is pensive.
So what does David have to be PENSIVE about? His life is great: he’s got a Beverly Hills
address, partners in his own business that is anything but nine to five, in
love with one hell of a woman with whom he gets to share both business and
pleasure. He’s got friends and
interests (Not sure I would call bowling and blues “interests” but David
would). His life is good. So what is causing this pensive
mood today?
Could it be that he watched his only brother drive out of
the area code yesterday? No. He is
happy for Richie. He is glad that Richie
is – or SEEMS to be – moving TOWARDS something rather than AWAY from something,
which has been Richie’s M.O. his whole life.
So, good for Richie. Go get ‘em,
brother. Will David miss him? Will there be a VOID in his life now that
his brother is a thousand miles away?
Maybe, maybe a little, maybe a little more than David is willing to
admit, but certainly not enough to cause David to contemplate his navel (as it
were) while shaving. (That just sounds
like an accident waiting to happen. I hope
the razor is not too sharp.) So what
else could it be?
It could be that Maddie has her six-month check up today with Dr. Weed. But no, that is not right either. Maddie has been feeling great, better than great (he knows just how great). Her symptoms have all but disappeared. It won’t be forever; he knows that. And they will come back and then they will have to be dealt with, but with any luck that will be years down the road. And Maddie and David are due for some luck, well, for some continued luck. The past year has been interesting at best, rarely a dull moment, but they have never been more solid as a couple. This cohabitation thing is not bad. Hey, maybe that’s it.
Maybe this
SOLID domestic life is finally taking a toll on David: the garbage, the dry cleaning, walking the dog. Maybe the collar is too tight on Mr.
Love-‘em-and-leave-‘em Addison.
No. That’s not right either. David has never been the
Love-‘em-and-leave-‘em type. Oh, he has
known (in the biblical sense) plenty of women, and God knows he still likes to
look, but David has always preferred being a one-woman man. Not the kind of guy that wants to settle
down with an office job, a mortgage and bridge with the neighbors every
Tuesday, but the kind of guy who likes to wake up next to the person he fell
asleep with and know that it will be the same person the next night. He would have stayed with Tess if only … well let’s just leave it at IF. But would they have been good for fifty
years? Don’t think so. He would have
stayed with Gillian if she weren’t …Gillian.
Thank God he was saved from that mess - twice. There have been a few others, not many, that David thought about
making a life with. Well that is not
exactly true either. Not a LIFE, but a
piece of it, longer than a weekend and less than a golden anniversary. But for whatever reason, things didn’t work
out. And now there’s Maddie.
Maddie …Madolyn Hayes … The Blue Moon Shampoo Girl … Cover Girl … the IT girl of the 70’s … Maddie is something special, and not just for the public reasons. Dating a cover girl has more than two advantages, not the least of which is how he looks with her on his arm. He looks down at the vanity covered with her stuff. How she keeps it straight, what goes where, when and why is completely beyond him; but the results are undeniably perfection. Is that enough to keep him coming back for more? Nah, beautiful women are a dime a dozen, particularly in the land where the plastic surgeon is a girl’s best friend. No, it is not what’s on the outside that keeps David from letting his mind wander. It is all the other stuff about Maddie that only David knows; at least he wants to believe that only he knows. She is smart and funny. She challenges him. She is not blinded by his razzle dazzle, but she’s not immune to it either. She makes him want things he never knew he wanted. She is … well she is just great.
Yep, she’s
it for David … THE one … the one and only … probably, more than likely, almost
certainly. He has already spent eight
years of his life with this woman in various on-again-off-again roles: friends,
partners, lovers. The past couple years
the on-again was really ON and the off-again was all but nonexistent. But eight years? Good God almighty. That
has to be a record for David. Heck, it
IS a record for David. Eight years to
be in love with one woman … that is something all right … something to write
home about. Do you want to know
something? He is not done loving this
woman, not by a long road. He’d be the
first to tell you that, if you could get him to be honest. But the fact that his eye (or any other part
of his anatomy) has never wandered is enough for me to believe he is hooked,
and it should be enough for you too.
So, why
the consternation? Why the
pensiveness? What is different about
today, a beautiful sunny spring day in March 1992? Should I tell you? I
should know, goodness knows; it is my story.
Well OK, it’s not MY story, it’s David’s story, but should I tell you
anyway? Is it my place to tell
you? What makes you think I will tell
you honestly without putting my own spin on it? What makes you think I know?
What makes you think because I picked the adjective I know the
motivation? Cause I’m writing this? Ha, you have no idea. The workings of the mind of David Addison
are a mystery to everyone, including him and especially the authors (speaking
for myself alone, of course). We – both
you and I – are just going to have to see how this plays out.
Enter our
other hero – Maddie Hayes.
Maddie: Addison! Get a move on!
David
turns to see Maddie completely dressed and ready for the day, the week, her
life. God, she is quite literally
stunning; absolutely take-his-breath-away, drop-dead, Helen-of-Troy-was-a-dog-next-to-her
stunning. And she is standing in his
bathroom talking to him like she is supposed to be there, like he is supposed
to be there. After all this time, knowing
that he spends his days and his nights with beautiful creature makes him weak
in the knees … sometimes. Sometimes it
gives him just the right amount of humph to … well, you know what that “humph”
does for David.
Maddie:
You are going to be late. What
are you doing?
David: DOING?
What am I doing? You’re NOT
planning on going out of the house like that, are you? Boy oh boy, times sure have changed.
A panicked
look crosses Maddie’s face and she steps into the bathroom to check her self
out in the mirror.
Maddie: What?
Like what? I look OK.
He wraps an
arm around her making sure to not get too close. He does not want to get the
shaving cream in her hair.
David: You look FABULOUS! Too fabulous for we mere mortals.
He touches
her lightly on the cheek with his free hand.
Maddie: Stop it. (She pushes him away but clearly
loves the compliment.) So, you are driving yourself to work today? Do you think you’ll make it in time for our
11:30? Should I call the tow truck now?
David: I’ll be there. The Vette is running like a top.
Ignoring
the hundred or so responses she could make to that statement; she looks back at
the mirror and checks one last time, and cleans up the edge of her lip line.
Maddie: Right … got to go.
She turns and looks at him. He is still not really acting himself. He is watching her with an odd half-grin on his face.
Maddie: You OK?
David:
Great … great great … greater than great great … the great greatest.
Maddie: (rolling her eyes) Great.
Another
short pause while she looks deeply into his eyes. She picks up a towel sitting on the vanity and wipes his mouth of
the shaving cream and then kisses him.
It is more than a see-you-later-honey kiss but not nearly a
see-you-between-the-sheets-in-five-seconds kiss. David is a little stunned.
When she pulls away, she rechecks her make up and starts to walk out of
the room.
David: What was that for?
Maddie: Motivation!
By-ee.
David: (he playfully mocks) By-ee.
He looks
back at himself in the mirror, wipes the lipstick from his mouth, smiles and
finishes shaving with a renewed gusto.
David: (sings) Ain't nothing like the real thing,
baby, Ain't nothing like the real thing,
Maddie stands in Dr. Weed’s office redoing the buttons on
the cuffs of her blouse. She looks … I
don’t know how to describe it. Well,
let’s see. She is not pacing or fidgety
so she is probably not nervous. She is
not checking and rechecking her watch so she is not anxious. Her hands aren’t clenched in tight fists and
her teeth aren’t gnashed together, so she is not mad. Wait! What is that? I
hear something. It is music. It sounds like it is coming from Maddie.
Maddie:
I never feel a thing is real, When
I'm away from you, Out of your embrace, The world's a temporary parking place … Mmm, mm, mm, mm
My God, she is
singing. Maddie Hayes is singing and
humming. She is standing in her doctor’s
office waiting to hear who knows what and she is making music.
Maddie: Say, its
only a paper moon, Sailing over a cardboard sea, But it couldn't be
make-believe, ‘cause you believe in me … Without your love, It's a honky-tonk
parade, Without your love Mmm, mm, mm, mm …
She sounds happy too. It is not just any song; it is a happy
song. She has changed the lyrics,
too. It’s supposed to be “It WOULDN’T be
make believe, IF you believed in me” not “It COULDN’T be make believe, ’CAUSE
you believe in me.” If we leave the
tense thing out of it (changing from a conditional past tense clause to a
present tense statement); and the fact that the line makes no sense with the
rest of the song; it sounds like it’s bordering on positive thinking.
Maddie: It's a
Barnum and Bailey world, Just as phony as it can be, But it couldn't be
make-believe, ‘cause you believe in me.
WOW … Maddie Hayes thinking positively
and singing in the second scene! Not a
first, but certainly a rarity. Not to
be a wet blanket, but I wonder how long this is going to last? When the other shoe is going to drop.
Enter Doctor Weed.
Dr.
Weed: So, Maddie. You seem in great spirits this morning.
Maddie:
I am. I feel great Doc.
Dr. Weed:
Well that certainly fits with what I found.
Maddie:
Nothing, right?
Dr. Weed:
Well not nothing, but certainly not anything to concern yourself
with. It seems that the endometriosis
is being kept in check with the birth control pills. It was definitely a mild case.
You are very lucky.
Maddie:
I feel lucky.
Dr. Weed: (smiles as she
reads the chart) The symptoms will go away with menopause, so we may be able to
avoid any more serious … interventions.
That was not the shoe you heard dropping; that was Maddie’s
mood.
Maddie: More serious?
Dr. Weed: You have read all the information Maddie. In some cases, a hysterectomy is the only
option, but I think we will be able to avoid that in your case.
Maddie:
Good to know.
Dr. Weed:
Have you thought any more about having a baby?
Enter the OTHER SHOE … with a THUD!
Maddie:
A baby … No … Yes … I mean not really.
Dr. Weed:
You and David …
Maddie:
Yes, David and I are still together and things are great.
Dr. Weed:
That is good.
Maddie:
Very good. Business is good and
living together is better than I thought it would be. It is amazing; we sure know how to stay out of each other’s way
when we need to.
Dr. Weed:
Is that good?
Maddie:
It is very good. Working
together all day, sometimes on stakeouts all night, and then sharing a bed
every night … almost every night … it can take a toll on two people if you
don’t know how to stay out of each other’s way when a little peace and quiet is
required.
Dr. Weed:
I suppose you’re right. My
husband gets underfoot more often than I care to admit, but I couldn’t image
how we would do it if we worked together too.
Maddie:
It’s a challenge.
Dr. Weed:
Have you thought about getting married?
Maddie:
Married? No … I mean I suppose
we will eventually … if there is a reason to … but why ruin a good thing.
Dr. Weed:
I don’t mean to rain on your parade Maddie, but you are not as young as
you used to be. To be blunt.
Maddie: (shakes her head) Blunt? Did you miss the bedside manner seminar?
Dr. Weed:
Maddie, we have talked about this before. You are 41 now, right?
You need to start seriously considering having a child … if you want
one. Now, if you don’t then that is
fine, and I’ll shut up. You are a career
woman; you don’t need to have a baby.
We are in the nineties and women don’t need to have a baby to feel
complete. But …
Maddie:
But?
Dr. Weed:
I was there last time Maddie. I
know the pregnancy was unplanned, but I also know that you wanted a child.
Maddie:
(tearing up) Yes.
Dr. Weed:
It was tough on both you and David but you seem to have lived through it
and come out on the other side so much stronger … as a couple.
Maddie:
We have.
Dr. Weed:
So?
Maddie:
So?
Dr. Weed:
What would be wrong with a planned pregnancy? Or two?
Maddie:
Ohhhhh … David and I do much better when things are thrown at us and we
have to deal with them on the fly.
Dr. Weed:
Maddie.
Maddie:
OK.
Dr. Weed:
I am not saying that you have to start TODAY, but you need to address
this issue before Mother Nature takes away your options.
Maddie:
Time and tide, Doctor?
Dr. Weed:
They wait for no man … or woman.
So there
it is. Come back to rear its little
Gerber head. A baby. A baby for Maddie and David. They talked about talking about having a
baby six months ago before she went in for the laparoscopy. What did they agree on then? They agreed that when the time came to have
THAT discussion that Maddie would get to choose the time and place. He said he wasn’t ready to make a plan then
and she said she wasn’t either – BACK THEN.
They needed to get her healthy.
So, now she is healthy. She is
enjoying her health. Is either of them
any more ready today to have this discussion?
Can’t say. But, the ball is in
her court. She gets to choose the time
and place. Does it need to be
today? Does it need to be in this
episode? Does it even need to be in
this season? No. No, it doesn’t. After all she is only 41, she has got at least a few more baby-making
years left in her. They can put this
off for a little while longer.
David comes out of his office dressed in a T-shirt and boxers
(the ones with the letters H-I-S across his butt). He puts his hand to his nose.
David:
Agnes, this is not working. I
still smell like Pauli the grease monkey.
Agnes:
Bert will be here any minute sir.
Bert
bursts through the door with a new shirt under his arm waving a bar of LAVA
soap.
Bert:
This will take care of it Mr. Addison.
Agnes:
What took you so long?
Bert:
It is not easy finding LAVA soap at the Century City Mall.
Agnes:
(annoyed) Gelson’s?
Bert:
Should have mentioned that before I went to Bullocks, Broadway and
Bloomingdale’s.
David
takes the shirt and soap and retreats to his office.
Agnes:
Where is the car now?
Bert:
The tow truck should have gotten to it by now. Miss Hayes will never see it.
Maddie,
naturally, walks in to hear the end of that comment.
Agnes:
Would you go check?
Maddie:
No need, the tow truck is there right now.
Agnes:
Miss Hayes. Here so soon?
Agnes and
Bert hang their heads as if they were caught.
Maddie:
What happened?
Bert:
Fuel line.
Maddie:
David?
They both
nod to his office, just in time to see him enter buttoning his new shirt still
with the creases from the packaging.
David:
(looking down) That LAVA is great … my hands have never been so clean.
Maddie: We should get some for the house.
He looks
up and grins.
David:
Maddie! Didn’t expect –
Maddie: I didn’t expect you to be here so soon
either.
David:
Oh yeah?
Maddie:
What’s that smell?
David:
Smell? Soap? Oil?
Gasoline?
Maddie: It smells like … like … Obsession
for Men.
They both look at Bert; who shrugs his shoulders.
Bert: Agnes likes it.
The whole
staff looks over at Agnes who shakes her head letting them all know that she
doesn’t. Maddie turns and walks into
her own office; David follows. She
drops her briefcase and purse on her desk with a thud.
David: Not a word about the car? No “I told you so”? No, “why don’t you get rid of that piece
of -‘’?
Maddie:
David, it is your little project and if you want to sink all your money
into that big money waster …
David:
It’s a Vette not a BMW
Maddie:
… I have nothing to say to that.
Maddie
takes off her coat and a slip of paper falls out. David grabs it before it has a chance to hit the ground. It is a prescription.
David:
You OK? What’d the doctor say?
Maddie:
She said that I am as healthy as a horse, but I’m no spring chicken.
David:
Did she go to the Old MacDonald School of Medicine?
Maddie:
I’m paraphrasing … again.
He shows
her the prescription in his hand and cocks his head as if to ask, “Why do you
need a prescription if you are healthy as a horse?” Maddie takes the prescription out of his hand and tosses it on
her desk.
Maddie: Nothing.
Changing birth control.
She looks
away quickly to something (anything) that is on her desk; anything to avoid eye
contact with David. He watches her, but
does not say anything. There is a quick
knock on the door and Agnes pokes her head in.
Agnes: Miss Hayes, Mr. Addison, Mrs. Shrueson is
here.
Maddie:
Her appointment is not for another half an hour.
Agnes:
She asked if she could meet with you in private first, before the rest
of the family shows up.
David:
Rest of the family?
Maddie:
Show her in, Agnes.
Agnes
closes the door. Maddie notices that
David is looking at her strangely.
Maddie: What?
We might as well get a jump on this case; we are nearly ten pages into
this episode and have not even met the client.
David:
Maybe this is one of those where there really is no case; it is all
about US. Which means …
He comes
around the desk and gets very close to her face with his.
David:
(whispers) … which means that there would be a gratuitous sex scene on its way.
He leans
in to kiss her quickly.
Maddie: Or a fight.
She smiles
and returns the playful peck.
David: Ooooh … a fight and a makeup. I could get behind that.
He puts his hand on her butt, and is about to kiss her
again, but the moment is broken as Agnes knocks and shows Mrs. Shrueson
in. She is a fifty-ish woman who has a
hard shrewish look about her, kind of like the third grade teacher who yelled
at “the class” all day and sent more kids to detention than she kept in her
classroom.
David: Or
not.
Freeze on David
looking thwarted.
Commercial Break
David takes his position on the credenza behind Maddie as
Mrs. Shrueson makes her way into the room.
Agnes leaves.
Mrs.
Shrueson: Thank you for
seeing me early, Miss Hayes, Mr. Addison.
Her voice is soft and
kind and not at all like the third grade tyrant David was expecting.
Maddie: You know us, Mrs. Shrueson?
Mrs.
Shrueson: Please, call me
Katie. And yes, I have done a little
investigation of my own. That sounds
like I have been stalking you. I can
assure you it is nothing of the kind.
But my siblings and I have discussed hiring a detective for some time
now, and when we finally agreed I wanted to know exactly who could and would
handle our case.
David: We definitely could, probably should, but ‘would’
is never a sure thing around here.
Please sit down.
Mrs. Shrueson Katie: Where do you want me to begin?
Maddie:
Wherever you like.
David:
You can start with what you want us to investigate.
Katie: It is not a what,
it is a who: Nadia Weibchen. She is my
father’s … was my father’s … how shall I phrase this … assistant.
Maddie:
Your father…?
Katie: My father died
about six months ago. I am sure you
have heard of him, S.K. Peare?
Maddie: Of course.
Maddie looks
at David who clearly has no idea who S.K. Peare is.
Maddie: S.K. Peare is one of the most prolific
writers of the past fifty years. He has
written 25 or 30 novels, plays and screenplays. He has won every award: Pulitzer,
Booker Prize, Tony, Emmy, Oscar. He is
considered the Shakespeare of the twentieth century.
David: Oh … THAT S.K. Peare.
Not a clue. David has no idea who this guy is.
Katie: He was so much
more than that. That is the layman’s –
Newsweek’s if you will - point of view.
My father had one of the greatest minds of this or any other
generation. It is pretty remarkable
that he got as far as he did considering where he came from. He was born and raised in Ashland,
Oregon. His father left before S.K. was
born and his mother was a stage manager for the Shakespeare festival.
David:
(whispers) Oregon again … what’s up with Oregon?
Maddie: (whispers back)
Isn’t the writer from Oregon?
David: (whispers back
again) She just told us that. Try to keep up.
Maddie: (whispers back
again) OUR writer!
Katie: Whenever you two are finished.
David: Sorry.
Maddie: Sorry.
Katie: In any event, they were dirt poor but with an amazing amount of
dedication and determination, my father made a name for himself as the leading
authority on Shakespeare and world history.
He paid the bills by writing plays, screenplays and novels. But he was a teacher first and
foremost. He wrote a series of books
analyzing Shakespeare’s plays and how they relate to world history and politics,
but he also wrote many other treatises dealing with global politics, social
reform and the human condition. He was
a formidable voice. He was so much more
than a pop novelist and hack Hollywood screenwriter.
David: Sounds like a busy
guy.
Katie:
Busy? He was obsessed.
Maddie:
Obsessed?
Katie: My father was obsessed
with leaving a legacy.
David:
Legacy?
Katie: He wanted to be
remembered in 500 – 1000 years … a legacy.
Maddie: It sounds like he
accomplished that.
Katie:
One could argue. But that brings
us to why I, and my siblings want to hire you. He left quite an estate, as you
can imagine, not just money, but the rights to his work. Somehow in the last months of his life,
Nadia Weibchen got him to change his will.
We suspect that she rewrote it herself.
Everything goes to her.
Maddie:
What can you tell us about Miss Weibchen?
Katie:
Not much I am afraid and I am not sure that anyone else knows much about
her either. You see, I was estranged
from my father as was my brother and all my step-siblings for most of our
lives. We only got to know him recently,
the last three years of his life. I
don’t believe any one of us even spoke with her on the phone much less met her.
David: Just how many
siblings are you talking about?
Katie: My father had seven children from his four wives and one
from a mistress. At least that is all
we know of.
David: I’d say leaving a
written legacy was not all he was obsessed with.
Katie:
The idea that my father would leave his entire estate to any one person
is ludicrous.
Maddie: None of his
previous wives were ever listed as sole heir?
Katie: My father married
and … worked with amazing women. Smart
and independent and accomplished in their own right. I don’t think any of the women he spent time with or married
expected the relationship to last nor to receive more than their due. My father was constantly taking on new
projects and moving in different directions which usually involved moving to a
different country: Scotland, Denmark, Italy, or Morocco. And with each new project was a new
assistant.
David: None of the women he married followed him?
Katie:
As I said they were accomplished themselves and had different paths to
follow.
Maddie: Including raising
the children he left behind.
Katie:
Yes. As I said, it is ludicrous
to believe that he would leave everything to one woman.
Maddie: You said she was
his assistant.
Katie:
She probably did his typing and she may have handled much of his
business affairs as a secretary would. But
to be honest Miss Hayes, I am sure they were lovers. I’ll bet she is some 30 years old professional student looking
for a free ride. She is probably cute, blonde,
and a psuedo-intellectual … a poodle.
You know, at his age - mid eighties - more power to him.
David: I’d agree with
that.
Katie: I do not argue that she should be
taken care of. She was with him for the
last years of his life and helped him to make some final arrangements, but she
does not deserve more than her due.
David: The rest should go
to his children?
Katie:
No Mr. Addison. The children of
S.K. Peare are all successful. We don’t
need or want his money. Whatever we
wanted from him, he gave us before he died and it wasn’t money, I can tell
you. No, my father had a number of
charities, foundations and universities that he was attached to and it was
always my understanding that his money and his works would be given to them to
manage.
Maddie: His legacy.
Katie:
His legacy does not belong to one woman; it belongs to the world.
There is a
quick knock on the door and Agnes pokes her head in.
Agnes: There is a man in uniform out here.
Katie: That will be my brother.
In walks a
very large man, dressed in an army uniform covered with medals. They all stand immediately.
Katie: This is my brother, General Henry V.
Peare. Finny.
Finny: Well met.
Hands are shaken. Right behind him is a melancholy young man
who could not have been more than twenty or twenty-five. He slips in and sits down in the corner of
the couch without meeting anyone’s eye.
Katie:
The youngest, Lettie. He is from
Denmark and his English is limited.
Lettie: The lady doth protest too much.
A man and
a woman enter who appear to be joined at the hip. She is whispering in his ear and giggling and he is returning the
whisper. They sit very close together
on the love seat.
Katie:
My brother Ro and his new wife Jules.
You may recognize him; he is the hottest young actor in Italy.
Maddie and
David don’t recognize him.
Ro:
Good ‘morrow.
A very large Moorish looking man enters and stands in the middle of the room. He dwarfs Finny.
Katie: My brother Lo.
David: (whispers to Maddie) The black sheep?
Katie:
Lo just flew in from Morocco this morning. Is Mona with you?
Lo: Excellent wretch!
Perdition catch my soul but I do love her! And when I love her not, chaos is come again.
Katie:
(to Maddie and David) She must be at the hotel with their assistant
Cassio.
He moves
over to the windows and turns back toward the room standing like a man at
attention. Finally two more people come
in. They look almost exactly alike
except that one is male and one is female.
The woman is rubbing her hand as if she is trying to get something off.
Katie: The twins, Mac and Beth.
Beth: Out damned spot.
David: I got some LAVA in
the bathroom … works great.
Maddie: Please,
everyone. Sit down. Your sister has been telling us about Nadia
Weibchen.
Mac:
It is a
tale told [of] an idiot full of sound and fury signifying nothing.
Lettie: Frailty, thy name is woman!
Lo:
Hang
her! I do but say what she is: so delicate with her needle: an admirable
musician: O! she will sing the savageness out of a bear: of so high and
plenteous wit and invention:--
Mac:
If it
were done, when ‘tis done, then ‘twere well it were done quickly … that but
this blow might be the be-all and the end- all here.
Ro: A plague on both her houses.
Lo:
Yet I'll
not shed her blood; Nor scar that whiter skin of hers than snow, And smooth as
monumental alabaster. Yet she must die, else she'll betray more men.
Katie:
OK, OK, OK … Can we be a little more constructive?
Beth: Yet do I fear thy nature, it is too full
of the milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way.
Lettie: Though
this be madness, yet there be method in it
Finny: Good God, why do you mock poor
fellows thus?
Katie: I apologize for my family. They are a little upset, as you see. What do you need to know?
Maddie: Let’s start with:
do you know where she is?
Katie:
I have given your receptionist a list of homes that my father owns in
the area. Since he died here in
California, the probate is here as well.
She will not have gone too far.
Ro:
Nay, if
our wits run the wild goose chase. I am done.
David: How long was she
with your father? Have any of you
actually met her? Have a picture of
her? Anything?
Lettie: A little more than kin and less than
kind.
Katie:
I never have but I know that she was with him for more than five years.
Lo: Then must you speak of one that loved not wisely but too
well.
Lettie: What a piece of work is a man, how
noble in reason, how infinite in faculties, in form and moving how express and
admirable, in action how like an angel ---
Katie:
That’s enough, Lettie! Will you
take our case?
Maddie and
David exchange a look. Maddie
tentatively nods to the door as if she were asking if he wanted to discuss
it. David shrugs a “no” he does not need
to. So they turn back.
Maddie: We’ll take the
case. David:
I’m sorry but –
There is a little stiffness in the room.
Maddie: Excuse us for a
moment please.
They exit
and assume the position outside the door.
Maddie: I thought –
David: That is a circus
Maddie. Do you really want to –
Maddie: It is just an
investigation, a simple background check.
David: On a woman they
want to kill.
Maddie: I think that was
just for dramatic effect.
David: OK, it’s your
franchise. I’m just filling out a comment card.
Maddie: Do you really not
want to take this case?
David: Sure, why
not. Need to brush up on my Shakespeare
anyway.
They
reenter the office.
David: We’ll take the case.
Beth: What’s
done is done.
Lo: But
this denoted a forgone conclusion.
Finny: Now are we well resolved; and, by
God's help, And yours, the noble sinews of our power, [the Peare estate] being
ours, we'll bend it to our awe, Or break it all to pieces.
David: Right, well. We’ll be in touch.
Mac: Tomorrow
and tomorrow and tomorrow.
David: Not tomorrow but
soon.
They all
start to file out. Jules pauses and
pulls herself away from Ro for a moment.
She takes Maddie’s hand.
Jules: Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I should say good
night until it be morrow.
Maddie and
David are left alone.
David: Lord, what fools these mortals be.
Maddie: Figures you could
quote Puck.
David: Beware the ides of March.
Maddie: Brevity is the soul of wit.
David: Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Maddie: Lunch?
David: Lead on MacDuff.
David
opens the door to let Maddie exit first.
David: (sings and dancing around) The girls today in society go for
classical poetry, So to win their hearts one must quote with ease … Brush up
your Shakespeare … Start quoting him now. Brush up your Shakespeare and the
women you will wow.
Freeze on Maddie trying to contain her amusement and
failing.
David walks in swiftly taking off his jacket. Bert follows close behind with several large
folders and a couple of books in his arms.
Papers and pieces of papers are dropping all over the place.
Bert:
This is what I have so far, Mr. Addison.
David:
So far?
Bert:
There is quite a bit to know about S.K. Peare. He was quite an amazing man.
David:
Why is that the only adjective to describe this guy?
Bert:
I am sure you have seen his work.
You must’ve seen the “Will Shakelton: Man of the Hour” movies.
David:
Shakelton … and the hundred or so sequels? Hasn’t everyone?
Bert:
He created the character of Will and wrote the first seven books.
David:
There are books?
Bert:
The movies were based on his books, and he wrote the screenplay for the
first three, that’s why all the sequels after the third one suck.
David:
All sequels suck.
Bert:
I don’t know … the one with the cop and the robbers in the building …
what was that called? Anyway, the
sequel at the airport was OK.
David:
So he wrote a couple of movies, hasn’t everyone? What’s all the hubbub, bub?
Bert:
A couple? No, sir. He wrote The Women of Windsor
Park, A Whole Lot of Something About Nothing, The Squall, The Smiling Villain,
The Devil’s Due, Elbow Room, Fate Masters, Bare Bodkin, Discretionary Valor,
The Blinking Idiot, Doom’s Crack, --
David:
OK, OK … I get it. He’s
BIG. But who pays attention to the
writer anyway?
Bert:
No one I guess, unless they are good.
David:
What else have you got?
Bert:
Well, it seems that Mr. S.K. Peare not only wrote books, and movies etc,
but he seemed to write a new will almost every year.
David:
Every year?
Bert:
He was very specific with how he wanted his estate divided. I haven’t gotten a copy of one of the
previous wills, but I have spoken with a woman who used to work for the
lawyer. She, of course, could not tell
me much, but what she did confirm was that the will that is listed as his last,
the one that gives everything to this Nadia Weibchen person, does not sound
legitimate.
David:
How does she know?
Bert:
She says the man was fanatical when it came to which foundation would
get the rights to what work, and how the income for those rights were to be
used etc. She said his wills are more
than 150 pages in length.
Bert holds up a three-page document representing S.K.
Peare’s last will and testament.
David:
I guess that is one place to start.
Bert:
Do you ever think about it?
David:
It?
Bert:
Death … dying … where you’ll go … and what you’ll leave behind.
David:
Not today.
Bert:
Seriously, what kind of impact have we had on the world?
David:
Impact? I’ve had my name on the
wall at the Paradise for high score in darts for the past three years.
Bert:
It’s a sobering thought that when Mozart was my age, he
had been dead for four years.*
David:
Huh?
Bert:
Don’t you want the world to remember you after you’re gone, Mr. Addison?
David:
I’d be happy if the dry cleaner would remember not to put starch in my
shirts.
Bert:
I mean a legacy … something to leave behind … like children.
David:
Children?
Bert:
Yeah … little pieces of you to leave behind for the next generation.
David:
Little pieces of you to fight over your record collection.
Bert:
But I thought that –
David:
Never mind Bert. See if you can
get a copy of the last will … I mean the one before the last and find out who
the lawyer is on this last one. What
have we got on Nadia Weibchen?
Bert:
Miss Hayes is on that right now.
Cut to Maddie’s Office
Cecilia Stansfield is standing by the door.
Ceci:
Ok, well, we’ll do lunch on Friday?
Maddie:
Absolutely. The whole crew of
us: Chloe, Terry, you and I.
Ceci:
I am so glad that Terry is going.
I like her a lot, and I love how you two became friends.
Maddie:
Not the typical story.
Ceci:
When is her baby due?
Maddie:
I think it is late May or June.
Ceci:
I am waiting ‘til the time I can hear that kind of news about you.
Maddie:
Oh Ceci.
Ceci:
The doctor said you were fine.
Maddie:
You know it is a little more complicated than that.
Ceci:
Not much. Have you and David
talked about it?
Maddie:
Not yet. We will. We need to.
Ceci:
You can’t make this decision alone.
Maddie:
I know.
Ceci:
This is a big one Maddie.
Probably the most important decision a couple can make.
Maddie:
I know.
Ceci:
What do you think David is thinking about this?
Maddie:
Honestly? I have no idea. Sometimes I am sure one way and other times
I have no idea.
Ceci:
You two need to talk about this.
A good long, sit down, discuss from all sides type discussion.
Maddie:
I know and we will. I just have
to find the right time and place.
David walks in.
David:
I’ve got the time if you’ve got the place.
Ceci: You see Maddie it is that simple.
Ceci and David exchange hellos and goodbyes and Ceci leaves
quickly.
David:
Something I said?
Maddie:
She has got some committee meeting she is late for. I’ll see her for lunch on Friday and if you
are up for it we are invited up there in two weeks for the weekend. It will of course include a birthday bash
for Miranda.
David:
I remember my fifth birthday … what a blow out that was! We destroyed the house. The clown quit permanently. I think that is when my mother started to
drink. Never seen so much cake and ice
cream in my life and NO girls allowed.
Maddie:
Well times have changed.
David:
No cake? No ice cream? What kind of communist party are you running
here?
Maddie:
This particular five year old needs a date to her party, interested?
David:
You wouldn’t mind?
Maddie: Why would I mind?
David: It is a green-eyed monster, which
doth mock the meat it feeds on.
Maddie:
I’m taking AND THE BARD SAYS away from you.
David: The
quality of mercy is not strained.
Maddie: It droppeth as the gentle rain from
heaven upon the place beneath. It is
twice blest: it blesseth him that gives and [her] that takes.
David: I like the him that gives and the her that
takes part.
Maddie: So will you do it; be Miranda’s date?
David:
It would be an honor.
Maddie:
You’re a good man, David Addison.
David:
Why do I feel like I have just been pimped?
Maddie:
Do you want to know what I found out about Nadia Weibchen?
David:
I feel so used. So dirty.
Maddie:
I wasn’t able to get that much; so don’t quit your day job.
David wraps an arm around her waist and pulls her very
close.
David: Or my night job?
Maddie: (not being able to contain her smile)
No, definitely don’t quit that. Nadia
Weibchen?
David:
Who? What? Yeah, whatcha got?
Maddie:
Well, it turns out that Weibchen is her married name. Her real name is La Ramera. She is from somewhere back east and she is a
graduate student at UCLA, and has been for the past eight years.
David:
What is she studying?
Maddie:
No one seems to have the same opinion about that.
David:
Do we know were she is?
Maddie:
With some dogged hours of footwork, extraordinary sleuthing skills, and an
amazing piece of detective work, I have managed to pin down a location on the
elusive Mrs. Weibchen.
David:
You called her?
Maddie:
First try. She is expecting us
in forty-five minutes.
David:
That is why I have always said that you are the best. Better than the best, the best-est.
Maddie:
Save it Addison, for something you really want.
David: Why then, can one desire too much of
a good thing?
Maddie: Addison!
David:
Consider it saved.
Maddie and David exit.
Commercial Break
Maddie and David are walking up to the door of a condo on
the beach in Malibu. Maddie’s hair is
completely windblown. Since her suits are
now suits and not dresses (i.e. tight wool rather than flowing silk), and don’t
blow much in the wind, her hair is the only thing that is mussed.
Maddie:
This is why I don’t live at the beach.
David: Windblown is a good look for you.
Maddie knocks.
There is no response. She knocks
again. Still nothing. A woman comes jogging up behind them. She is late twenties, very pretty and
slightly overweight. By the way she
holds herself, you can tell she is not impressed with our two heroes standing
on the doorstep.
Woman:
May I help you?
David:
We are looking for Nadia Weibchen.
Woman:
And you are?
Maddie:
Maddie Hayes and David Addison from Blue Moon Investigations. We spoke on the phone.
Woman:
Right. I am Nadia Weibchen
Peare. I did not expect you so soon.
Maddie:
May we speak with you?
Nadia:
Is this about the will?
Nadia starts pacing and kicking her feet into the
sand. She is becoming very upset.
Nadia:
Are they trying to say that I am ---
Nadia explodes with a burst of tears, and rants about
something that neither David nor Maddie can understand. It goes on for a long minute until finally
an older woman comes to the door.
Old Woman: Missus Nadia … Missus Nadia … the baby … she
is crying.
Nadia:
Portia? My baby.
Nadia darts into the house with the old woman
following. The door is left open, and
that is enough of an invitation for Maddie and David. The house is done in very tasteful Southwestern style. It is a large condo, at least it looks
larger on the inside than it did on the outside. The main room – a living type room – has a great view of the
ocean and is covered with kid paraphernalia.
There is a library off to the right and the kitchen/dining area off to
the left. The sound of a crying baby is
heard coming from upstairs, but it is getting closer. Nadia enters the room holding a baby in her arms trying to settle
her down. Nadia ignores David and
Maddie, sits down in the rocker and begins to breastfeed. Maddie is slightly embarrassed, but David is
clearly captivated by the scene and not in any sexual way.
David:
(whispers) Wish I could do that.
Maddie:
David!
David: Not that that … the other that
that.
Maddie:
Huh?
Nadia:
Isn’t she beautiful? She is so
little, so sweet, such a little tyrant when she is hungry. Just like her father.
Maddie:
What is her name?
Nadia:
Portia. She is five months old
today. A little birthday for my girl.
Maddie:
Five months? Who is her father?
Nadia looks up at Maddie with fire in her eyes.
Nadia:
My husband, may he rest in peace –
Nadia bursts out crying again which causes the baby to
cry. Nadia gets up quickly and hands
the baby to Maddie and rushes from the room.
David:
Hormones must still be out of whack.
Maddie tries to settle the baby who doesn’t want to be
settled. She walks her around the room
and shows her different things to distract her from the fact that she did not
get to finish her meal. The baby is
really fussing. Maddie burps her and
bounces her gently, and soon she does calm down. David watches all this with an odd – pensive – expression on his
face. From downstairs comes a little
boy. He walks directly up to David.
Little Boy: Who are you?
David:
I’m David, who are you?
Little Boy: I am Shy.
David:
You don’t seem shy.
Little Boy: That’s my name. I am Shylock K. Peare, but Mama calls me Shy.
David:
I see.
Shy:
Who is that?
David:
That is THEE Madolyn Hayes.
Shy:
Is she your wife?
David:
She is my partner.
Shy:
She is not used to being around babies, is she?
David:
No.
Shy:
It looks good on her.
David is completely amused by this brazen little boy.
David: How old are you Shy?
Shy:
I am five. I am precocious and have
a great vocabulary for someone my age.
David:
(laughs) Yes you do.
Shy:
Is Mama despondent again?
David:
What?
Shy:
Despondent. It means sad or
unhappy.
David:
Yes, I guess she is.
Shy:
She is unhappy a lot; ever since Father passed.
David:
Are you unhappy too?
Shy:
Sometimes. But now I am the man
of the family and I need to be strong for Mama and baby Portia.
Nadia reenters the room with a box of tissues.
Shy:
Mama, should I ask them to leave?
Nadia:
No, my little man. Do you want to
stay and listen to me speak with these people or would you like to go back and
work on your letters?
Shy:
I will stay.
David and Maddie are a little shocked that she would want
her child to be involved in this conversation.
The baby starts fussing again when she hears her mother’s voice. Nadia takes the baby from Maddie and resumes
her position on the rocker and the breastfeeding. Shy sits down next to David.
Nadia:
I am sorry for that outburst.
You can certainly understand why I am a little emotional. My hormones may still be a little “out of
whack,” as you say, but the death of my husband a month before our baby was
born is not something a little Midol will fix.
David is, of course, a little embarrassed that he was
overheard.
Maddie:
We understand. We are just a
little confused. You say that you were
married to Mr. Peare.
Nadia:
Yes. We married six years
ago. I have the papers that prove
it. I was his TA, teaching assistant,
at the university and when he retired I became his personal assistant. Soon we were in love. We married shortly before Shy was born.
Maddie:
It sounds very romantic and a little idealistic.
Nadia:
What is your point Miss Hayes?
Why are you here?
Maddie:
Mr. Peare’s other children, his older children, have some concern over
the validity of the will and of the disposition of his assets.
Nadia:
How sharper than a serpent’s tooth to have a thankless
child.
Maddie:
I realize that this is a bad time to discuss this.
Nadia:
You know, it is really funny that they are trying to take this all away
from me. I have never met any of them
but without me they would never have known their father.
David:
What do you mean?
Nadia:
I influenced S.K. to contact his children. I knew he was not in the best of health and that he only had a
few years left. I knew that the day I
met him.
Maddie:
That didn’t concern you? Knowing
that you would be raising the children alone?
Nadia: (laughs) S.K. was not a man to be put
off. He was … how shall I say this …
vital until the end. He was
eighty-four. We made love the night
before he died. I was eight months
pregnant with his ninth child and we made that kind of love that makes the
angels weep.
A little too much information for Maddie and David but they
don’t comment.
Nadia:
His only regret was that he could not have made it an even ten before he
shuffled off this mortal coil. Not that we did not try. As for raising them, well Miss Hayes, the
raising part was not really S.K.’s forte.
You have met the others, so you know; he did not raise them either, but
because of him they are who they are today.
And from what I understand they are very successful.
Maddie: What do you mean?
Nadia: Everything those children had growing up from
braces to education came from S.K. They
would not be who they were today if it were not for their father.
Maddie: I don’t think they would argue that.
David:
You say that you had a hand in the reconciliation?
Nadia:
After I became pregnant with Shylock, I felt that S.K. really needed to
know his other children. I wrote
letters for him and made phone calls and to their credit they came
running. I thought it was for love of
such a great man and to know where they came from, but now it seems like it was
all for the money.
David: If you were married, why didn’t you
introduce yourself? Let them know
Shy? He is their half brother.
Nadia: Look at me Mr. Addison. I am fifty years, more than fifty years
younger than S.K. Do you honestly think
they would have looked at me as anything more than a gold digger? Do you think they would have understood our
love? I doubt it. Besides –
David: Besides?
Nadia: It was not about me getting to know them; it
was about them getting to know him. If
I were there or if they knew the extent of our relationship it would have
hindered what was important. Now look
at them trying to destroy me. I brought
these vipers together to get to know each other and their father – me – I did
that – no one else. It was me. Do I get a thank you? Do I get any kind of gratitude at all? No, I lose the only man I have ever loved
and his children want to take what little he left me away from me.
David: I would hardly call an estate worth in
excess of 30 million dollars, little.
Nadia: Does money keep you warm at night Mr.
Addison?
Maddie:
They are not claiming the estate for themselves and they are not trying
to exclude you, it was their understanding that the bulk of the estate was to
go to various charities and foundations in Mr. Peare’s name.
Nadia:
As it shall.
David:
Excuse me?
Nadia:
S.K. was concerned that he would … not be around when Portia was
born. He did not know what would happen
so he decided to leave everything to me to make sure that we were provided for,
(as were all his children before these) and he trusted me to dispose … as you
so clinically call it … of his assets as he would have.
Nadia gets up and again hands the baby to Maddie. She enters the study and the sound of
drawers being opened and closed is heard.
Maddie looks down at the baby just in time to see her vomit all down the
front of Maddie’s Donna Karin suit. Shy
quickly gets up and runs to the kitchen for a damp towel and rushes back. Maddie is amused. She cleans off her suit with one hand and continues to hold the
baby with the other even though Shy has offered repeatedly to take her. Nadia comes back into the room with a
fistful of papers, sees the mess on Maddie and tries to hide a satisfied smile. If Nadia could have thrown up on her too she
would have.
Nadia:
Here are all the papers you need to see Miss Hayes.
She takes the baby back.
Nadia:
You tell Katie and the rest of them that if they have a problem with
their father’s wishes, they can call his lawyer.
Maddie:
There has been some confusion about where you can be reached.
Nadia:
You did not seem to have a problem.
Maddie: So you will be staying here?
Nadia:
With a five month old, a five year old and an old Polish immigrant … I
am not going far. Not until the estate
is out of probate.
Freeze on Nadia looking superior,
mean and spiteful.
Cut to the car.
Maddie tosses David the keys as she continues to work on
the stain on her jacket. David opens
the door for her and is looking at her oddly.
Maddie:
We need to stop by the house on the way back, and the dry cleaner.
David has no response.
He just nods slightly.
Maddie:
You have nothing to say? Like ‘Baby
puke becomes you.’
David:
Nope.
Maddie:
Are you OK? You were
suspiciously quiet in there.
David says nothing, but helps her into the car
lovingly. He closes the door and makes
his way around the car slowly looking out over the ocean. He slides into the drivers seat and starts
the engine.
Maddie:
David?
David:
Purrs like a kitten.
Maddie: David?
David: Huh?
Maddie: Are you OK?
David: Sure, I’m great. Home and the cleaners … anywhere else?
Maddie: No.
David: I live to serve.
David focuses on the road, clearly his mind a million miles
away. Maddie watches him silently.
Maddie exits the bathroom wearing only a camisole and
slip. The soiled suit is tossed across
the vanity chair. She goes into her
closet to pull out another suit and is about to put it on when she notices
David standing by the window looking out over the backyard.
Maddie:
Something out there?
David:
(distantly) Miss Me is chasing her tail.
Maddie:
I know the feeling.
There is no response from David. Now Maddie knows something is up. She leaves the suit on the hanger. She walks up behind David and wraps her arms around his waist and
rests her chin on his shoulder.
Maddie: David, would you tell me if something was
wrong?
David: I would.
Would you?
Maddie: I think I would.
David turns to look at her. Very calmly and gently and sweetly he combs his fingers through
her hair as he surveys the details of her face. Without a word he leans in and kisses her. It is a loving kiss with no sense of urgency
or wild passion, just a tender, warm, adoring kiss. She pulls back to look at him and her eyes are full. She wipes them before a tear can fall. He leads her to the bed slowly. She smiles gratefully and he returns
it. Another soft kiss ….
Fade to three hours later.
There are no pillows on the floor and their clothes, or
what was left of them when last we saw them, are laid carefully on the chair by
the bed and the sheets are not in disarray.
Maddie is curled in to David with her head resting on his shoulder and
her arm across his chest. She is sound
asleep. David is awake with both arms
wrapped protectively around her. He
looks contented and happy and present yet far away. Maddie stirs slightly and David tightens his hold. He tilts his head toward hers and closes his
eyes.
Fade to midnight.
Maddie is wrapped in a robe and looking out over the
backyard. The moon has risen and it is
bathing her in a soft white glow.
Behind her we see David stir in the bed and quickly notice that she is
gone. He gets up, grabs his boxers and
joins her by the window.
David:
Can’t sleep?
Maddie:
I’ve been … re-energized.
David:
I did that?
Maddie:
Yes you did.
She turns to him and they wrap their arms around each other
but neither makes a move to leave the window.
David:
So what are you thinking about?
Maddie:
Just at that moment I was thinking about S.K. Peare.
David:
Should I be jealous?
Maddie:
I think he is a narcissistic, self-absorbed, raging egomaniac.
David:
You think that about all men.
Maddie:
Only when it applies.
David:
Does it?
Maddie:
If we are talking about S.K. Peare, then yes I think so.
David: Because he wanted lots of kids?
Maddie:
Because his whole life was about how he was going to be remembered by
strangers. Not his wives or his
children. Yes he gave his kids money
and opportunities that most people only dream of, but again that is all for the
obituary. He focused so much attention
on what he was going to leave behind, I wonder if he ever enjoyed what was
right in front of him.
David:
What made you think of that now?
Maddie:
This afternoon I guess.
David:
That bizarre trip to the beach?
Maddie:
No, after that.
David:
Was wondering if you gave that a second thought.
Maddie:
Second, third … think I am in the hundreds by now.
David:
So our … afternoon delight –
Maddie:
Don’t … don’t joke.
David:
It made you think that this Peare guy was a raging egomaniac?
Maddie:
It wasn’t my first thought and I am not going to connect the dots of my
logic for you…
David:
Never a pretty picture.
Maddie:
… But, a man so obsessed with his legacy couldn’t possibly know how to
make love to a woman such that the ‘angels would weep.’ Nadia has no idea.
David: You do?
Maddie: I do.
David:
I’ll take that as a compliment.
Maddie:
As it should be taken.
David:
So.
Maddie:
So, it is just sad. A man with
such a brilliant mind and incredible talent so obsessed with how he is going to
be remembered and then to have all that foiled by someone just looking for
money.
David:
Sad?
Maddie:
I also think that he did not learn anything from his hero.
David:
Shakespeare?
Maddie:
He got stuck in the sonnet: Not marble nor the gilded monuments of princes shall outlive
this pow’rful rhyme, but you shall shine more bright in the contents than
unswept stone, besmear’d with sluttish time.
David:
Well … Men at some time are masters of their fates; the fault,
dear [Maddie], is not in our stars but in ourselves.
Maddie:
We are such stuff as dreams are made on and our little
life is rounded with sleep.
David:
(Yawning) To sleep, perchance to dream.
Maddie:
You’re tired? I could stay up
all night.
She kisses him on the jaw and then on the temple and then
nibbles on the ear a little.
David:
Ah … there is life left in these joints.
He sweeps her up into his arms and we fade to black.
Commercial Break
Maddie is sitting at her desk. In her hand is the prescription that she got from the doctor on
Monday. She will need to fill it today,
no later than tomorrow. Her eyes are
focused on the paper, but they cannot see what is written there. She is looking past the paper, past her
past, past their past, she is looking at ---
OK … I
need a little interjection here. What
is the problem with Maddie? She is
clearing struggling with this ‘plan to talk to David.’ Why didn’t she talk to him on Tuesday
night? I have never (or rarely) seen
them closer. What about all day
Wednesday. Come on Maddie what are you afraid
of? Now before I go off on Maddie. Before I all start calling her a chicken or
a wimp. “Why doesn’t she just talk
to David?” They are a solid couple;
she would be the first to admit that.
It is not like they are kids and it is not like he is going to go
running for the hills if she brings it up again. In fact, I would go so far to say that he is not going to say
“NO.” Well I don’t think so. I suppose
a baby would cramp his style? Put a
serious crimp in those romantic nights at home with the little woman, or those
raucous nights out with the boys? (When was the last “raucous” night out David
had?) All I am saying its, that it is
not an obvious thing, David saying, “Sure, let’s have a baby.” It is a discussion item, something that they
really need to sit down and hit from all sides. This is not like picking out a car; and it is so much more
complicated than deciding whether or not to take a case. So this is going to have to be a real, adult,
mature, sensitive, considered discussion where they weigh and balance all
options and decide, together, as a couple what is best for them and their
lives. It is my guess is that THAT is
why Maddie is not RUSHING to get into this with David. She’ll do it; she is not afraid; but when
the time is right and not a moment before.
In
Maddie’s defense I am sure she has many things that she needs to think through
on her own first. Maddie is a thinker;
remember? But I don’t think she will
blast off to Chicago again. My sense
is that the first thing for Maddie to do is to decide what her own issues are
and get a handle on them. So, let’s
look at this thing from her perspective.
We all know Maddie well enough now to know that she has thought this
through six ways to Sunday and has come up with every possible bad
scenario. If we leave out the two
horrific concerns (not being able to conceive and not being able to carry to
term), some of her issues may be:
I think Maddie needs to do a little more thinking about
this for herself. And then they will
have to talk about it, seriously talk about it … someday … soon.
David knocks and walks in.
He flops down on the couch without a word. She slips the prescription under a file and pretends that she is
reading what Bert left for her earlier.
She exaggeratedly puts it down.
Maddie:
David?
David:
Maddie.
Maddie:
Did you need something?
David:
Yes, yes I do need something.
Long pause.
Maddie:
And that would be?
David:
I need you … I need for you … I need to tell you … I need to ask you … I
need to talk to you about –
Maddie:
What? Just spit it out.
David:
Well … come on Maddie … you must be thinking about this … you must feel
the same way.
Maddie:
I might, but I don’t know what way.
David:
Do I really have to spell it all out for you?
David gets up and starts to pace the room.
Maddie:
Use small words.
David:
Don’t you think … I mean hasn’t it occurred to you that … Don’t you
think that the time … You must know that I think –
Maddie:
You think what?
David:
You should … we should … we could …
Maddie: Should what?
He tries to read her expression but can’t. He lets out a deep breath and blurts out.
David:
This case is ridiculous. We
should drop it.
OK. OK. I am sorry
… me again. I need to add something
here. Isn’t obvious what is going
on? Isn’t it so clear to you, the
reader? Can’t you read through
it? Is it me or are these two just
imposs ---
There is a quick knock on the door and Bert rushes in.
Bert:
BINGO!
David:
Bingo?
Wait a minute here … FREEZE. Damn it Bert, I was making a point. I was trying to say that Maddie and David … that David and Maddie
… that they … oh bother, I lost my train of thought … UNFREEZE.
Maddie:
Bingo?
Bert:
BINGO! … EUREKA! … WATSON COME HERE I NEED YOU!
David:
Huh?
Maddie:
Huh?
David:
Nadia Weibchen’s divorce was never final and her husband lives in
Tolucca Lake. I have phone records to
prove that they have been in constant contact.
His bank account shows large deposits that do not fit with his …
unemployment claims. The lawyer who
drew up the will is in jail for fraud, and … and this is just too disgusting to
comment on … S.K. Peare had been on a ventilator and enough morphine to keep an
rhino down for the last three months of his life. There is no way he could have rewritten that will.
David:
(whispers to Maddie) Or made angels weep.
Maddie:
Good work, Mr. Viola.
David:
Going to have to promote you to Flatfoot Extraordinaire before the FBI
finds out and woos you away
Bert:
Not a chance sir, thank you.
David:
So, Miss Hayes … another trip to Malibu?
Maddie:
No … I think that HOLIER THAN THOU Ms. Weibchen should meet us on our
terms.
David:
The client Miss Hayes?
Maddie:
The client should be here too.
David: Using that ONE ROOM theory of mine again?
Maddie: Might be a mistake this time.
David nods and starts to leave.
Maddie:
Where are you going?
David:
To make Jello … I was thinking red … but green might be ok too. What do you think … a bathtub or something
larger? I could get a trough.
Maddie:
Swine.
David:
USDA … PRIME.
Maddie:
You are primed all right … you handle the Weibchen and I’ll take care of
the Shrueson.
David is sitting at his desk, and Maddie is pacing behind
him.
David: Are you nervous?
Maddie: Me?
No. Why should I be nervous?
David: No reason, but you are doing some serious
damage to the Berber.
There is a knock on the door and Bert comes in with a
scummy looking man.
David: Mr. Weibchen, I presume?
Bert nods and the two men sit down on the couch. Just before the room gets really
uncomfortable, Agnes knocks and announces Nadia Peare. Nadia saunters in with her “holier than
thou” attitude until she spies Weibchen and Bert on the couch. Her whole body drops about three inches and
she decidedly sits down in the chair by David’s desk.
David: Hoisted by her own petard.
Nadia: You brought me all the way here for
this. I need my lawyer.
Bert: He’ll be out in five to ten.
Katie’s voice comes from the doorway.
Katie: Why don’t you use your husband’s lawyer?
The two women’s eyes meet.
Nadia: Kate the Shrew.
Katie: Nadia the gold digger.
Nadia: Just where do you get off?
Katie: Before you do.
Nadia: How dare you try to shut me out? If it weren’t for me, you never would have
met your father or your siblings.
Katie: I’ll grant you that. But that does not mean that you get
everything.
Nadia: I have two small children to raise.
Katie: Should we do DNA tests?
Nadia: They are his; that is the truth. They are your siblings.
Katie: You are as phony as that marriage license.
Nadia: Those kids will be raised as his
children. So it is mine, all of it,
MINE.
Katie: It doesn’t belong to you. He didn’t belong to you. His work doesn’t belong to you. It belongs to everyone.
Nadia: So I get nothing? Is that what you are saying?
I spent six years of my life with a dying man, for nothing.
Katie: I assumed it was for love.
Nadia: I loved him all right. I loved him. (She shakes her head and
laughs) The ego-maniac, self-absorbed,
narcissistic, arrogant, self-indulgent pig that he was. Yes, I loved him. I couldn’t help myself.
He had a way of making me feel so insignificant and yet the most
important person in the world to him. I
earned that money. I earned my place in
his legacy. I will not have my children
shut out.
Nadia breaks down in gut wrenching sobs again. Mr. Weibchen tries to comfort her, but she
shoves him away with a nasty remark about it being his idea and hating him, but
it was very hard to understand. David
nods to Bert to have him get the EX out of there. Maddie and Katie make eye contact and Maddie signals to David to
leave the two women alone. They exit
too.
Dissolve to hours later in Maddie’s Office
Maddie: Your one room theory worked again.
David: Every time.
Maddie: It was kind of sad that it all had to come
to that. S.K. provided for Nadia quite
well, she didn’t need to have it all.
David: Some people never settle for anything less.
Maddie: At least they worked it out and it seems
like the S.K. Peare foundation will leave a lasting memory of a very talented,
brilliant, complicated man.
David: Do you ever think about it?
Maddie: What?
David: Your legacy?
Maddie: Nope.
I’ve got my hands full with this lifetime. I can’t worry about what is
going to happen after I am dead and who is going to remember me.
David: I’ll remember you.
Maddie: As long as there is not a game on.
David checks his watch.
David: Oh, shoot.
Gonna miss tip off.
Maddie: Go, have fun. I’ll see you when you get home.
David gives her a quick kiss and runs from the room. Maddie sits at her desk for a moment. It is covered with folders. The prescription is poking out from under
one. She tucks it back under and picks
up the phone and dials.
Maddie: Terry? … Maddie … just checking in to
confirm our lunch tomorrow … (laughs) … what was that …
Maddie smiles and leans back in her chair.
Fade to black.
Maddie is collecting her stuff into her brief case. She finds the prescription under one of the
folders on her desk. She leaves it on
her desk and goes into the bathroom to freshen up. David enters and takes her chair at the desk.
David: Some week.
Maddie: Some week.
David:
You hungry?
Maddie:
What do you have in mind?
David:
Always up for Pink’s.
Maddie: Sure.
David:
You don’t sound convinced.
Maddie:
Kind of had something a little quieter with a wine list.
David:
Dr. Brown’s Black Cherry is not gonna do it for you tonight?
Maddie: Not by a long shot – but it’s fine.
David picks up the prescription sitting on her desk and
reads it (not that he understands it any better).
David:
How was lunch?
Maddie:
Great. Ceci is going on a tour
around the world with a new man in her life.
Chloe and Marcus are becoming foster parents. His new book sold. And
Terry is as big as a house, but she has never looked more beautiful.
David:
Is she OK?
Maddie re-enters the room and David drops the prescription
down on the desk and starts playing with her full blue moon (the one Agnes and
the staff gave her last year for her birthday).
Maddie:
She is great. She is expecting a
call from you.
David:
Me? She has Walter.
Maddie:
David.
David: OK, OK, I’ll call.
Maddie:
Walter is a good man … and a good father.
David:
Yeah, so?
Maddie:
So nothing. I was just saying.
Maddie closes up her brief case and stuffs the prescription
into her pocket.
David: We got the check from Katie today …
more than we expected.
Maddie:
Happy customers do tip. It is
sad the repeat business is so bad.
David:
Nature of the beast I guess.
Maddie: OK.
I am ready. I guess it will be
you and March Madness this weekend.
David:
No, not if something better comes up.
Maddie:
I’ll see what I can muster.
Let’s go.
David:
Pink’s?
Maddie:
Sure.
David:
Alrighty then.
David leaps up and runs for the door to open it for Maddie.
Maddie:
I need to stop at the pharmacy before we go home.
David:
Do you?
Maddie:
I do.
Maddie flips off the lights in her office and Maddie and
David are silhouetted in the doorframe.
He catches her arm and she turns toward him.
David:
I was thinking.
Maddie:
You got to stop doing that.
David:
What if we don’t?
Maddie:
Don’t what?
David: Don’t stop at the pharmacy on the way
home.
Maddie:
You mean … NOT go to the pharmacy, ever.
David:
Well I am not suggesting that we boycott prescription drugs altogether,
just this one particular prescription.
Maddie: Oh. … Oh … Oh … I see. Well … um … right … Could we do that?
David:
We could.
Maddie:
We could?
David:
We could.
They are both silent for a moment.
Maddie:
Are you sure you want to do that … not do that ... whatever?
David:
Sure? Am I sure? You’re asking if I am SURE?
Maddie:
Yes.
David:
No.
Maddie:
No what?
David:
No, I am not sure.
Maddie:
But you are still suggesting it?
David:
Suggesting it? Yes ... yes I am
suggesting it. Putting it out on the
table, as it were.
Maddie:
Sure.
David:
Sure, what?
Maddie:
Sure, we do not have to fill this prescription.
David:
So you are sure.
Maddie:
Sure?
David:
Aren’t you?
Maddie:
No. Not sure.
David:
Neither one of us is sure.
Maddie:
Right.
David:
But we are sure we are not going to stop at the pharmacy?
Maddie:
Right.
David:
Is that it?
Maddie:
Sure.
David:
Yeah, sure.
Maddie:
OK?
They pause in the doorway inches apart. David’s smile is seen clearly even in the
dark and Maddie’s eyes glisten in the hall light.
David:
Let’s blow off Pink’s.
HOLD … FREEZE … STOP!!!
Wait just a doggone minute here.
That’s it? That was the BIG
DISCUSSION? Talk about MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. I can’t believe it. Actually, I can believe it. What did I expect from Maddie and David;
mature, dispassionate or sappy dialogue that belongs on MedTV or Daytime,
respectively? Or was I expecting red
roses, moonlight and schmaltzy affirmations of love and maudlin promises of a
brilliant future? ICK! I’d need to go brush my teeth. I should have known better. I have never met two people who talk more,
say less and understand each other better.
They are incredible and it seems like they are on the same page and have
been for a while now. I worry that this
internet medium and the lack of visuals hinders the fans. Maybe it does. Not for me. I have an
overactive imagination, but I could always stand to re-watch these two together
at their best. OK. Well, where were we? Silhouetted in the doorway, inches apart
(God that is such a good look for them).
… Go.
David:
Let’s blow off Pink’s.
Maddie:
Oh?
David:
RUTH’S CHRIS has a great steak.
Maddie:
And a better wine list.
David:
It does.
Maddie:
Do you think we can get in?
David:
I know the bartender.
Maddie:
You know every bartender.
David:
Some call it networking.
Maddie:
OK.
David:
OK?
Maddie:
OK.
It is hard to see because the hallway is so dark, but both
Maddie and David’s eyes brighten, and David leads Maddie away.
David: (sings) Ain't nothing like the real thing, baby, Ain't nothing
like the real thing, Ain't nothing like the real thing, baby, Ain't nothing
like the real thing…
==========================
* It is not Shakespeare but it could have been. I totally stole that line from Tom
Lehrer. A man in need of more
credit. If you ever want to hear
something funny, ironical and downright snide, check him out. There are three CD’s out that I am aware of: An Evening Wasted with Tom Lehrer,
Revisited, and That Was The Year That Was. This man’s humor totally shaped my
own. He is as much a part of my youth
as Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny and Winnie the Pooh.
Interesting how all those stand the test of time.
==========================
The acknowledgements for this one need to be more and I wish
they were, please now that the heart is in the right place if the pen is not. This is my last full episode for Virtual Moonlighting. I am hanging up my Virtual pen and am going
to work on other projects. I will be
consulting through the rest of this season and probably into the next, I have a
piece of the next episode, but pretty much now I am just a fan. So here goes with the THANK YOU’S:
William “The Bard” Shakespeare … no words I have for you as
great as the ones you have given me.
Thank you.
Glenn Gordon Caron, Cybill Shephard, Bruce Willis, Allyce
Beasly and Curtis Armstrong – absolutely the best TV has ever had to
offer. Your team effort was a candle
that burned so brightly it will never be matched again. Thank you for re-runs and here’s to DVD’s! Thank you.
The Virtual Fans (both silent and the one that make the
effort to comment) - Knowing that you are out there reading and with any luck
enjoying is a great motivating factor.
To the ones that take the effort to comment and to Cindy who takes the
time to really analyze, you make it all worth-while. Thank you.
The Virtual Staff (past and present) – you ladies are the
best. We have not always agreed on a
direction but we have always spoke our minds.
Thank you.
Finally to Diane Hopkins – a very very special THANK YOU! These two years we have become so much more
than co-writers. We are more than
virtual friends. Three thousand miles
is a long distance, but the Yahoo chat, the phone lines and vacations make the
distance fade away. You have kept me
honest, God knows you have corrected my grammar, spelling and typing (thank GOD
for English majors). You are always there with an encouraging word (or
197 words). And your Tequila ear is still young. :-) This experience - this run - has been great …
better than great … it has been great great.
Through it all, and after all we have gone through, you have to know that I will have your back for the rest of this season
and for as long as you need it. You know where to find me, and I will be there. Thank
you.
So long. See you all
in the funny papers.
Lizzie