Please enjoy the continuing saga of Mayvene and the "Sycamore Hill" cast while I'm away on vacation. Serializing a television script seemed as good as any idea I had for filling up the blog while I'm away.

When we last left off, Mayvene heard the "body snatchers" (paramedics) arriving at her condo complex, where only those 55 and older can reside. Today, we learned who died, but that's not as interesting as the people left behind.

Act One

Scene A

FADE IN:

EXT. MAYVENE’S CONDO

MAYVENE OPENS HER DOOR AND STEPS OUTSIDE. PARAMEDICS BRIAN AND JOE RUSH PAST HER AND SHE FOLLOWS THEM INTO THE NEXT BUILDING. OUTSIDE A UNIT A CROWD IS CAUSING A COMMOTION, INCLUDING NEIGHBORS JOANN, MAGGIE, AND GERTIE. MAYVENE FOLLOWS THE PARAMEDICS INSIDE…

INT. BILL’S CONDO

INSIDE LINDA IS DISTRAUGHT. SHE’S ABOUT 65, WEARING

A NICE SWEATSUIT AND FULL MAKE-UP. HER HAIR’S BEEN DONE.

BILL HAS SLIPPED OFF A DESK CHAIR AND IS ON THE

GROUND, DEAD. HE’S ABOUT 80, ALSO IN A NICE SWEATSUIT. AN OLD-FASHIONED TYPEWRITER IS ON THE DESK WITH A SHEET OF PAPER IN IT, SHOWING A FEW TYPED SENTENCES.

             LINDA

He’s dead! Bill is dead! What will

I do? Mayvene, what will I do without

him?

                   MAYVENE

Oh, Linda!

MAYVENE goes to hug her as paramedics work on BILL.

POLICE OFFICER DAN ENTERS, professional but

weary.

                MAYVENE

Hello, Dan. Sorry to see you again

so soon.

              POLICE OFFICER DAN

         It’s that time of the month!

                 JOANN

      (to neighbors in doorway)

      Haven’t used that phrase in years.

          POLICE OFFICER DAN

         What happened?

               LINDA

I was at the hairdresser getting a

rinse. I came back here to make Bill

lunch. Bill (catches her breath), Bill,

my Bill, was just starting a new story

for the Sycamore Scribes. He liked to

write about The Big One.

          POLICE OFFICER DAN

The big what?

The PARAMEDICS try to stifle a snicker.

             MAYVENE

The war, for goodness sakes!

Brian and Joe, do you always have

to giggle at times like these?

PARAMEDIC BRIAN

Sorry, Mayvene.

The PARAMEDICS lean over BILL’s dead body to

cover their laughter.

          LINDA

(sobbing)

The story he’s typing is about Iwo Jima, days two through four.

        MAGGIE

(to JOANN in doorway)

     Another laugh riot from Bill.

          LINDA

I walked in about fifteen minutes ago,

and…THIS IS HOW I FOUND HIM! DEAD!

DEAD! What am I going to do?

The neighbors ooze into the room.

     POLICE OFFICER DAN

What was the deceased’s last name?

LINDA starts blubbering. MAYVENE takes charge.

MAYVENE

Guthrie. G-u-t-h-r-i-e.

       GERTIE

(to neighbors)

Is Mayvene spelling names again?

      MAYVENE

(to officer)

I believe he was 80 years old. He

has two sons, one lives in town,

the other one, (to LINDA), where

does the other one live?

                LINDA

(sobbing)

In Las Vegas, but his wife won’t even

speak to me. She thinks I’m trying to

grab Bill’s money.

CU CROWD OF NEIGHBORS

    JOANN

(to the others)

She is.

POLICE OFFICER DAN quietly discusses details with

MAYVENE and LINDA and PARAMEDIC BRIAN.

                   JOANN

Reminds me of when Bob died. I woke up,

turned over, and (pause), he was … gone.

                    MAGGIE

Well at least he went quickly, Joann.

Sam suffered for so long, you can’t believe

the stuff he was coughing up at the

end. Balls of phlegm THIS big (motions

with hands).

                     GERTIE

Henry fell over from a heart attack.

                    MAGGIE

I didn’t know that, Gertie. I’m sorry.

   GERTIE

For what? I hated the sonofabitch.

   MAYVENE

(sternly to the neighbors)

Gertie, Joann, and Maggie! Do you have to

go into that again right now? Can we get

through one day, ONE INCIDENT, without

recounting how our husbands died?

LINDA starts sobbing again.

       POLICE OFFICER DAN

(motioning to PARAMEDIC BRIAN)

Brian says he doesn’t have his

wallet on him. I’ll need it, ma’am.

           LINDA

Why?

        POLICE OFFICER DAN

To give to the next of kin.

               LINDA

But I am the next of kin!

          POLICE OFFICER DAN

Ma’am, you were not married to the

deceased.

Awkward pause.

           MAYVENE

  Linda, get the wallet. Dan is just

    doing his job.

      LINDA

(reluctant)

But Bill lets ME keep his wallet. Do

I have to give you the credit cards, too?

     POLICE OFFICER DAN

Definitely, ma’am.

LINDA sobs and begins digging into her purse for the wallet.

IRMA ENTERS. She’s about 90, in a wheelchair, pushed

by her Filipino nurse, CLAIRE.

            IRMA

Joann, what happened?

           JOANN

Bill died, Irma. I can’t tell whether

Linda’s more upset about living without

him or living without his money.

         IRMA

Honey, it’s the money. That man’s breath

was so shockingly bad, let me just say I’m

glad I could depend on my Depends

whenever he spoke to me.

           MAYVENE

Irma, please!

(end for today)

Up next…rumors about Rudolph van Ryan, and what is GTA?

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