Island In The Hills
Andi Smith
(Susan, Annabelle and Paige are all sitting around the communal breakfast table in the kitchen. Annabelle has her feet up on the edge of the table, painting her toes a wine red color, while Paige reads what appears to be a very thick novel. Susan is going through shopping receipts and credit card statements.)
Annabelle: Mom, I need a new bikini
Susan: Oh! Well let’s see, despite the fact that I spoil you enough, it’s the middle of December, you’ve already stolen half of my mine, and I don’t support lesbianism!
Annabelle: Lesbianism?!
Susan: If I remember correctly, Karen mentioned something about you girls making out in her Jacuzzi last weekend…
Annabelle: Ha, whatever mom- we were just playing…gosh Rachel’s mom is such an uptight bitch
(Susan rolls her eyes)
Susan: This better be a phase
Annabelle: You’re right, it is a phase…more like a trend- like ripped jeans or something. Besides, the boys love it.
(Annabelle hops up out of her chair and walks on her heels away from the table toward the fridge where she pulls a Popsicle from the freezer and starts aggressively biting it. She’s leaning up against the marble counter tops facing the table with a snarky look on her face.)
Susan: So I told Bradley to swing by and grab me tonight on his way to the office party.
Annabelle: Oh, that sexy younger man you’ve been telling me about, the mix between Prince William and….
Susan: Right, so I won’t be needing the car Annabelle… if you want to go out with your friends or something.
Annabelle: Sure! Ya…um that’s perfect…thanks mommy!
(Annabelle runs out of the kitchen and into her room as Susan yells back at her)
Susan: Besides, I told him the Lexus was in the shop!
Paige: (monotone & with attitude) Who’s Bradley?
Susan: Bradley’s the newest addition to our office, I thought it might be nice to have some one-on-one time with him before the party tonight. I figure he might catch on to our unofficial first date when I have him come in for a glass of wine before we go-What do you think; blue mini skirt, cream tank, black jacket? Red mini skirt, cream tank, black jacket?
(Susan sifts through a Bloomingdales bag that’s sitting on floor beside her, grabbing the garments to show Paige)
Paige: Neither.
(Paige looks down at her book & Susan rolls her eyes subtly then yells to Annabelle in the other room)
Susan: Belle darling! My credit card’s here for you on the kitchen table
(Annabelle yells back from the other room)
Annabelle: Oh, and a pack of Newports mom?
(Susan pulls a fresh pack out of her oversized Louis Vuitton and throws it on the table next to the credit card )
Susan: Alright honey- done, and done!
(Susan then directs her attention to speak to Paige while she multitasks, failing to make eye contact as she rearranges the papers on the table)
Susan: You know Paige, it’s just the way the world turns these days…You’re either a filthy rich man like you’re father, trading in for a younger model, or you’re a sexy, lazy man shopping for a classic woman like myself…
Paige: (monotone) Also known as a divorced mother with alimony
Susan: …and I’m in mint condition. You know, like a classic car-
Just another toy they’ve always wanted… It’s really one of the perks to being a bachelor
Paige: What…? (monotone & in question) Just when you think you might be doomed to loneliness, you find yourself in the market for cougars with condos….?
Susan: Paige (She finally looks at her, with a pause) I am a self-sustainable, gorgeous woman…why the attitude?
Notes from Roy:
ReplyDeleteGood continuation of the encounters in this family. Susan's only objection to Annabelle is the lesbian one, while enabling her kind of party-scene attitude. Even providing the Newports. There's a sense of a mother attempting to feel younger by emulating her own daughter.
The ending dialogue between Paige and Susan is very revealing about the pain that Susan has felt and her anger at what has happened to herself and her family. And the kind of response to her husband's faithlessness and second childhood that mirrors his actions. Wonderfully ironic parenting.
In terms of the dramatic story, I wonder what actions or events are going on in Paige's life away from sis and mom. I wonder about her own friends, her romantic life, her life at school, or about any kind of crisis that might be going on away from this family.
Roy