Suburban Ways, Episode 101
Written by Dallas Walsh
Story by Mario
Scene – Robinson’s
The smell of the freshly brewed coffee fills the room as Joyce pulls some mugs out of the cupboard and places them on the counter.
“Do either of you take cream or sugar in your coffee?” she asks them as she opens the refrigerator and pulls out the coffee cream before either of her guests have answered her.
“You shouldn’t have gone to the trouble of making coffee,” Margaret replies to her. “But I take both, thank you.”
“Are you sure that Victoria is dead?” Joyce asks Terrence as she passes him and Margaret a cup of coffee. Terrence nods back to her.
Joyce shakes her head. “There has been so much death around here lately. First Martha and now…”
“Just makes you realize how precious life really is,” Terrence replies to her. “Thanks again for the cup of coffee.”
“It was no trouble at all,” Joyce says back to them. “I just don’t know how much more bad news we can handle around here.”
“Let’s hope that this the last straw,” Margaret tells her. “And, I know this will sound terrible, but part of me is happy that this is how it ended. Maybe now, we can all try to move on with our lives.”
“I hope you’re right,” Joyce replies to her as she nods uneasily.
***
Upstairs, Ken sits in his study reviewing some documents. He takes a sip of his scotch, which he knows he shouldn’t be having this early in the day but he can’t help it. He has been under so much stress lately, the booze helps him relax.
He freezes when he turns a page in the file. He feels his heart race inside his chest a little bit. He picks up his glasses and finishes the scotch in it. He shakes his head as the liquid burns as it goes down. He stands up.
“No one can ever see these,” he whispers to himself as he moves closer to the shredder. Just as he is about to shred the document, the telephone rings. He looks back at his desk to the ringing telephone. He shakes his head. “It can go to message. I have to get rid of these files.”
As he turns the shredder on, the red light on his phone turns on indicating that there is a new voicemail awaiting him.
Scene – The Café
“This is nice,” Gladys smiles to Eddie and Lizzie as they sit together at a table. “It is not often enough I get to see my niece and nephew together at the same time.”
“Well, I for one am curious about who this new owner is, aren’t you?” Lizzie smiles back to her mom.
“I am dying to know,” Gladys replies to her. “Whoever it is, they have very big shoes to fill.”
“I’m sure it will be revealed sooner rather later,” Eddie chimes in.
Before anyone can say anything else, Leo Harris enters the café. He looks over at the table where Gladys, Lizzie and Eddie are sitting but he quickly finds himself looking at one person and one person only: Lizzie. He gives his head a quick shake before he moves into find his own table.
***
Jocelyn sits at her own table and takes a bite of her apple pie that she ordered.
She quickly swallows when she hears her cell phone ringing. She reaches inside her purse and grabs it. “Hello,” she says as she feels the blood drain from her face when she hears the voice on the other line. “Mother? Is that really you?”
Scene – The Cub
“What is a beautiful woman like you sitting alone in a club?” Max grins as he comes up to the table where Hannah is sitting.
She blushes at the comment before she moves a piece of hair behind her ear. “I’m actually waiting to meet someone where.”
Max arches his eyebrow and nods back to her. “I suppose that makes sense. I hope he knows how lucky he is.”
Hannah blushes again. “How do you know that it’s a man that I’m meeting?” she flirts back to him.
“Cause, my luck hasn’t been that good lately.”
Hannah can’t help but chuckle a little. “You’re good for a girls ego, you know that?”
Max shrugs. “Good for your ego doesn’t get me very far though,” he winks back at her.
At the door of the club, Mickey stands watching the flirtation between his girlfriend and Max unfold. He tries not to be jealous, but considering how he and Hannah got together, he can’t help it.
Scene – The Badhman’s
“Patrick, please tell me you have good news,” Graham tells his lawyer as he sits at his desk.
Patrick sighs and looks back to his boss. “I wish I did,” Patrick admits to him. “But you know, these things take some time. I am working as fast as I possibly can.”
“That’s not fast enough!” Graham yells back at him as Patrick gulps a little.
Scene – The Robinson’s
“You don’t have to make sure I get inside,” Adele smiles to Richard as he opens the car door for her and she steps out. “It’s more than enough that you took time out of your busy schedule to drive me home.”
Richard closes the door to the car and moves up to Adele. “I wanted to make sure that you got home safely, is that so wrong?”
“Not at all,” she replies to him. “It just seems … odd. You know my Mom could have picked me up from the hospital.”
“That’s not how I treat my patients,” Richard winks back at her.
“Well, then, I suppose I should be lucky that you were my doctor.”
“I think I’m the lucky one,” Richard replies. “Now, come on, let’s get you inside. I don’t want you over doing it.”
Scene – The Club
“Sorry I am late,” Ken announces to Hannah as he reaches her table. “I hope you weren’t waiting too long.”
Hannah smiles back to Ken as she thinks about how much fun she had with Max while she was waiting for Ken to arrive. “Not at all. It sounded urgent on the phone, what’s going on?”
“I thought you should know,” he whispers as he leans in closer to her. “I found the files today.”
Hannah’s face goes stone cold.
“But don’t worry,” Ken reassures her. “I shredded them. No one will ever see what was in those files. Not now, not ever.”
Scene – The Harris’s
“What is this big surprise?” Jean asks Marc and Leo as she paces around the room. Usually, Jean likes surprises but she has been waiting too long for this one to be revealed.
“Patience,” Marc grins back to her as he nods to Leo. Leo quickly rushes out of the room and returns with Jasmine.
“Oh goodness me,” Jean covers her mouth as tears form in her eyes. “Jasmine?”
“It’s me,” Jasmine nods back to her Mom. “Please don’t cry Mom, you’ll make me cry too.”
“I can’t help it,” Jean replies to her as she pulls her daughter into a hug. “I’m just so happy that you’re okay.”
“Just give me another hug, I can never get too many of those, not from you or Ken.”
“All my children together in one room,” a tear falls down Jean’s face as she looks at her children. “I am the luckiest woman in the world to have you three.”
“We are the lucky ones,” Marc replies to her. “To have such a wonderful mother.”
***
The Office
“What did Patrick say?” Joyce asks Graham as she comes into the office and sees Graham sitting at his desk.
Graham sighs and runs his hands over his face. “Not much,” he admits to her.
“This is taking too long,” Joyce replies to him quickly.
“I know this,” Graham tells her. “And trust me, Patrick knows the urgency of this matter.”
“He better,” Joyce tells him. “We can’t hold off much longer.”
Scene – The Inn
A woman walks through the lobby of the Inn and runs her long, manicured nail over the front desk counter. She smiles as she turns around and looks around.
“Yes, this will do just fine,” she whispers to herself as she puts her hands on her hips. “It needs some work but nothing I can’t handle. People won’t know what hit them when I’m done.”
Written by Dallas Walsh
Story by Mario
Scene – Robinson’s
The smell of the freshly brewed coffee fills the room as Joyce pulls some mugs out of the cupboard and places them on the counter.
“Do either of you take cream or sugar in your coffee?” she asks them as she opens the refrigerator and pulls out the coffee cream before either of her guests have answered her.
“You shouldn’t have gone to the trouble of making coffee,” Margaret replies to her. “But I take both, thank you.”
“Are you sure that Victoria is dead?” Joyce asks Terrence as she passes him and Margaret a cup of coffee. Terrence nods back to her.
Joyce shakes her head. “There has been so much death around here lately. First Martha and now…”
“Just makes you realize how precious life really is,” Terrence replies to her. “Thanks again for the cup of coffee.”
“It was no trouble at all,” Joyce says back to them. “I just don’t know how much more bad news we can handle around here.”
“Let’s hope that this the last straw,” Margaret tells her. “And, I know this will sound terrible, but part of me is happy that this is how it ended. Maybe now, we can all try to move on with our lives.”
“I hope you’re right,” Joyce replies to her as she nods uneasily.
***
Upstairs, Ken sits in his study reviewing some documents. He takes a sip of his scotch, which he knows he shouldn’t be having this early in the day but he can’t help it. He has been under so much stress lately, the booze helps him relax.
He freezes when he turns a page in the file. He feels his heart race inside his chest a little bit. He picks up his glasses and finishes the scotch in it. He shakes his head as the liquid burns as it goes down. He stands up.
“No one can ever see these,” he whispers to himself as he moves closer to the shredder. Just as he is about to shred the document, the telephone rings. He looks back at his desk to the ringing telephone. He shakes his head. “It can go to message. I have to get rid of these files.”
As he turns the shredder on, the red light on his phone turns on indicating that there is a new voicemail awaiting him.
Scene – The Café
“This is nice,” Gladys smiles to Eddie and Lizzie as they sit together at a table. “It is not often enough I get to see my niece and nephew together at the same time.”
“Well, I for one am curious about who this new owner is, aren’t you?” Lizzie smiles back to her mom.
“I am dying to know,” Gladys replies to her. “Whoever it is, they have very big shoes to fill.”
“I’m sure it will be revealed sooner rather later,” Eddie chimes in.
Before anyone can say anything else, Leo Harris enters the café. He looks over at the table where Gladys, Lizzie and Eddie are sitting but he quickly finds himself looking at one person and one person only: Lizzie. He gives his head a quick shake before he moves into find his own table.
***
Jocelyn sits at her own table and takes a bite of her apple pie that she ordered.
She quickly swallows when she hears her cell phone ringing. She reaches inside her purse and grabs it. “Hello,” she says as she feels the blood drain from her face when she hears the voice on the other line. “Mother? Is that really you?”
Scene – The Cub
“What is a beautiful woman like you sitting alone in a club?” Max grins as he comes up to the table where Hannah is sitting.
She blushes at the comment before she moves a piece of hair behind her ear. “I’m actually waiting to meet someone where.”
Max arches his eyebrow and nods back to her. “I suppose that makes sense. I hope he knows how lucky he is.”
Hannah blushes again. “How do you know that it’s a man that I’m meeting?” she flirts back to him.
“Cause, my luck hasn’t been that good lately.”
Hannah can’t help but chuckle a little. “You’re good for a girls ego, you know that?”
Max shrugs. “Good for your ego doesn’t get me very far though,” he winks back at her.
At the door of the club, Mickey stands watching the flirtation between his girlfriend and Max unfold. He tries not to be jealous, but considering how he and Hannah got together, he can’t help it.
Scene – The Badhman’s
“Patrick, please tell me you have good news,” Graham tells his lawyer as he sits at his desk.
Patrick sighs and looks back to his boss. “I wish I did,” Patrick admits to him. “But you know, these things take some time. I am working as fast as I possibly can.”
“That’s not fast enough!” Graham yells back at him as Patrick gulps a little.
Scene – The Robinson’s
“You don’t have to make sure I get inside,” Adele smiles to Richard as he opens the car door for her and she steps out. “It’s more than enough that you took time out of your busy schedule to drive me home.”
Richard closes the door to the car and moves up to Adele. “I wanted to make sure that you got home safely, is that so wrong?”
“Not at all,” she replies to him. “It just seems … odd. You know my Mom could have picked me up from the hospital.”
“That’s not how I treat my patients,” Richard winks back at her.
“Well, then, I suppose I should be lucky that you were my doctor.”
“I think I’m the lucky one,” Richard replies. “Now, come on, let’s get you inside. I don’t want you over doing it.”
Scene – The Club
“Sorry I am late,” Ken announces to Hannah as he reaches her table. “I hope you weren’t waiting too long.”
Hannah smiles back to Ken as she thinks about how much fun she had with Max while she was waiting for Ken to arrive. “Not at all. It sounded urgent on the phone, what’s going on?”
“I thought you should know,” he whispers as he leans in closer to her. “I found the files today.”
Hannah’s face goes stone cold.
“But don’t worry,” Ken reassures her. “I shredded them. No one will ever see what was in those files. Not now, not ever.”
Scene – The Harris’s
“What is this big surprise?” Jean asks Marc and Leo as she paces around the room. Usually, Jean likes surprises but she has been waiting too long for this one to be revealed.
“Patience,” Marc grins back to her as he nods to Leo. Leo quickly rushes out of the room and returns with Jasmine.
“Oh goodness me,” Jean covers her mouth as tears form in her eyes. “Jasmine?”
“It’s me,” Jasmine nods back to her Mom. “Please don’t cry Mom, you’ll make me cry too.”
“I can’t help it,” Jean replies to her as she pulls her daughter into a hug. “I’m just so happy that you’re okay.”
“Just give me another hug, I can never get too many of those, not from you or Ken.”
“All my children together in one room,” a tear falls down Jean’s face as she looks at her children. “I am the luckiest woman in the world to have you three.”
“We are the lucky ones,” Marc replies to her. “To have such a wonderful mother.”
***
The Office
“What did Patrick say?” Joyce asks Graham as she comes into the office and sees Graham sitting at his desk.
Graham sighs and runs his hands over his face. “Not much,” he admits to her.
“This is taking too long,” Joyce replies to him quickly.
“I know this,” Graham tells her. “And trust me, Patrick knows the urgency of this matter.”
“He better,” Joyce tells him. “We can’t hold off much longer.”
Scene – The Inn
A woman walks through the lobby of the Inn and runs her long, manicured nail over the front desk counter. She smiles as she turns around and looks around.
“Yes, this will do just fine,” she whispers to herself as she puts her hands on her hips. “It needs some work but nothing I can’t handle. People won’t know what hit them when I’m done.”