SUE
It’s a terrible thing to say, but I’m sure it was either Ellen or Brenda who killed him. He drove them to it, them and others, too, and what was bound to happen one day happened. All because of the contempt that northern men have for women of their own race.
ALBERT
That morning I went to see a friend who works at a small hotel not far from here. When I came back, I walked along the beach. It was dawn. The beach was empty except for someone who looked as though he’d spent the night there. As I got closer I could see it was Legba. He looked like a sleeping angel, curled up on the sand like that. His face in complete repose. When I reached him it seemed to me that the night had been pretty rough on him. But even then all I saw was a frail young man. He even looked like he was smiling. I don’t know why, but I sat down beside him. There was no one else on the beach. There was that strange dawn light. The feeling of being nowhere. I began to stroke his hair. He shivered as though he was cold. I lay down beside him and took him in my arms. I can’t tell you how bizarre it all seems to me now. It was like I was watching my double. I remember that light in my eyes. That music in my head. That young body on the beach, almost naked. And no one else about. “Careful,” I told myself, “beware of the sweetness of this skin.” And I . . . kissed him. I kissed Legba. It was the first time I’d ever kissed a man. I kissed him. Everywhere. He responded to my caresses in his sleep, I think it was probably out of habit. I should have got up and run away, but it was too late. I was already caught up in the fiery ring of desire. I hadn’t known that such physical happiness could exist. That morning I ate of the fruit of the tree of good and evil. Strange, isn’t it, that without even asking me any questions you’ve made me bring up all the secrets that I kept hidden in the deepest recesses of my being.
ELLEN
Well, he certainly hid his light, didn’t he, the hypocrite! Every time I went out looking for Legba I’d get this mean look from him . . . Because he was a rival. I wanted to go up to him and slap him in the face. I can tolerate anything but bigotry. Always with his nose stuck in the Bible, the little shit-arse! Now that he’s got a taste for it, as he says, he’s not going to switch to another road. I don’t believe a word of what he told you: the dawn, the light, the music of the spheres, the forbidden fruit, it’s all just shit in a silk stocking. Oh sure, once it was over he had to rush off and do his penance. I’d like to have seen him whipping himself. He’s the worst kind of sadist. And let me tell you something: that’s the kind that can kill.
BRENDA
Of course I can’t go home. I don’t have a home anymore, or a husband. I don’t want to have anything more to do with northern men. I’d like to spend time on other Caribbean islands. Cuba, Guadeloupe, Barbados, Martinique, Dominica, Jamaica, Trinidad, the Bahamas . . . They all have such pretty names. I want to get to know them all.
The Network
(A Screenplay)
INTERIOR BEDROOM. 9:30 AM
Tanya (petite, sexy, brunette) wakes up. She stretches luxuriously in her bed. The telephone rings.
“Hello?” (Tanya’s sleepy voice.) “It doesn’t matter, I was already awake. Who’s this?”
“Guess.”
“Ah, it’s you, Simone . . . What’s up?”
“I got home at six o’clock in the morning . . .”
“I was so tired last night I thought I’d die of exhaustion. Don’t you ever feel like that?”
“You know how paranoid I am, Tanya. I think I’m dying every five minutes. Sometimes I even see myself lying in a coffin.”
“Well, listen to this: here I was, all dressed, makeup on and everything, and just before going out I pour myself my usual glass of rum, no ice, and, you won’t believe this, but I took one sip, one single, solitary sip, and fell back on the bed like I was stone cold dead . . . it was a complete blackout, Simone.”
“When you hadn’t shown up by two in the morning I went looking for you . . . Your house was totally dark.”
“Why didn’t you come in? You have a key! I was here!” (She laughs.
) “Because there’s always a light on at your place. Even when you go to bed you leave the television on. But last night, nothing, complete darkness . . . I thought maybe you’d gone out with someone.” (Nervous laughter.
) “You mean Fanfan? Don’t be silly! His type doesn’t interest me one bit. You don’t have to believe me if you don’t want to, but I was here, Simone. Dead to the world. A complete blackout, like I said. Nothing. Total vacuum.”
“Well, you missed a good time, Tanya. Tabou outdid themselves last night, a real mess. They had a contract for eight thousand dollars, half at ten o’clock and the other half at midnight. Well, Tabou didn’t start playing until one o’clock in the morning. The owner of the nightclub, you know Freddy, he refused to give them the second half of the money. So Tabou only played until three and then quit. Well, the crowd tore the place apart. They smashed chairs and tables, everything they could get their hands on.”
“Tabou only played for two hours! That’s crazy! Why would they do that? Freddy’s always been good to them.”
“I don’t really know what went on . . . It was a crazy night. At around four, Harry took us to a diner out on the airport road to get something to eat . . .”
“Harry Delva!?”
“Harry Delva’s gone, sweetie. He’s got the shakes in some freezing basement apartment in Boston. Coke’s made him as thin as a rail. He sleeps with his guitar, which is the only thing he has left . . . No, I’m talking about the American consul . . .”
“Oh, that Harry . . . He scares me. He’s got the eyes of a serial killer . . . But why didn’t you go to Pétionville?”
“We did, but get this: everything was closed!”
“What do you mean, closed? I thought Kane’s . . .”
“You know that Minouche and Kane . . . Anyway, let me finish my story. So, Harry parked the car in a swamp, and I lost a shoe in the mud.”
“Oh, I wish I’d been there!”
Tanya is doubled up on the bed, a hoarse laugh escaping from her chest.
“Go ahead, laugh, but it was a nightmare. A total nightmare. I spent the rest of the night with one shoe. And to top it all off, I’ve never had a worse meal in my life. It was so dark in there I couldn’t see my hand in front of me. I mean, I couldn’t even tell you what I was eating.”
Tanya is rolling about on the bed, twisted in the silk sheets. The telephone slips from her hand.
“I can’t believe I missed it!”
“Not to mention the mosquitoes!”
“Stop, stop, Simone, let me catch my breath!”
“I’m telling you it was a nightmare, and all you can do is laugh . . . You think it’s funny!”
“Don’t be mad at me, Simone, please. It’ll pass. I wasn’t laughing at you . . .”
Simone seems genuinely upset.
“I have to hang up now, Tanya. I haven’t slept yet.”
“I’m sorry, my sweet, I didn’t mean to—”
Click.
INTERIOR BEDROOM. 10:05 AM
Tanya is sitting on her bed, applying nail polish (fingers and toes). The telephone rings.
“Hello . . .”
“It’s Minouche! Is this a bad time? Anyway, it doesn’t matter . . . Where were you last night? You missed everything, you poor dear. Freddy got into a big fight with the boys from Tabou.”
“Oh?”
“Something about their contract. Anyway, it doesn’t matter . . . Oh, my dear, it was superb. Everyone was there except you. Alta hasn’t told you anything about it? You know what a mean tongue she has, she told everyone that you weren’t there because Fanfan wouldn’t let you go out . . .”
“No one tells me where I can and cannot go, you hear me, Minouche? And certainly not that pitiful little shit, Fanfan. I go where I like.”
“Don’t yell like that, Tanya! I couldn’t care less about Fan-fan, my poor dear; I don’t understand for a minute what it is you see in him .
. . Anyway, it was a perfectly nutty evening. What about you, are you all right?”
“Of course I’m all right. Why are you asking me that?”
“Don’t tell anyone it was me who told you this, but last night Simone let it slip that you tried to commit suicide.”
“She said what?”
“You know what she’s like, that Simone, when she gets on her holier-than-thou kick. Sometimes I want to punch her pretty little face in. I don’t understand why you clasp that vicious little snake to your bosom.”
“Let’s not go into all that again, Minouche.”
“You’re still defending her! Anyway, it doesn’t matter . . .”
“So let’s drop it, then, shall we?”
Long silence (stalemate).
“All right. She said she went out to look for you at about one o’clock in the morning, and found your house in total darkness. And since she has a key, which is something I don’t have, despite our ten years of friendship . . .”
“Never mind that, Minouche . . . go on with your story.”
“Since she has a key, as she never misses an opportunity to remind me . . . No, really, Tanya, why did you give that little bitch a key when you won’t even let your best friend into your house?”
“Can’t you guess, Minouche?”
“Tanya, don’t tell me you’re still mad at me for borrowing a couple of dresses, what was it, five years ago?”
“And all my jewelry, and a dozen pairs of almost new shoes, and eleven evening gowns . . . That’s not borrowing, Minouche, that’s moving me out. So please, go on with your story.”
“Very well, since you refuse to let that little incident go . . . Your friend Simone, who has a key to your house, let herself in and found everything strewn all over the place, which is not like you at all. At first she thought thieves had broken in. But no, it wasn’t that, because everything was there, nothing had been stolen. Then she saw a green pill bottle on the bed. She started screaming, and a woman, your downstairs neighbour, apparently, came in and told her that an ambulance had just left, with you in it.”
Long silence.
“Are you still there, Tanya?”
“So what do you think happened, Minouche? That I tried to commit suicide last night, that an ambulance came and everything, that they had to pump my stomach with a rubber tube, and that I’m here, now, talking to you, fresh as a daisy . . . Is that what you think?”
“Well, fortunately we didn’t go to the hospital. Everyone wanted to, you know. Can you imagine, all of us descending on the hospital in at least five cars. It was Fanfan who said no. He said it was just you and your histrionics, and he wasn’t interested in taking part in it.”
Brief silence.
“He said that?” Tanya asked, her voice flat.
“So we stayed at the club. Where Tabou, let me tell you, dear, outdid themselves. A total mess, but it doesn’t matter . . .”
“Was Fanfan with someone last night?”
“Listen, my dear, I wasn’t paying attention . . . He’s a little shit, you know, and I’ve got better things to do. Are you sure you’re all right?”
“Yes, I’m fine . . . It’s not the end of the world, missing a night of listening to Tabou.”
“No, of course not. So if you’re sure you’re all right, I’ll go. I just called to see how you were. You know, I’ve been a bit worried about you for some time, now . . . You shouldn’t pay so much attention to that little shithead, Fanfan. Anyway, at one point in the evening I saw him with Alta.”
“That slut!”
“Take it easy, Tanya. I’ll call you again this evening. Carole’s going to pick me up in a few minutes.”
“Where are you going?”
“To Kyona Beach. I’ll call again later.”
INTERIOR KITCHEN. 11:23 AM
Tanya is eating a bowl of strawberries and yoghurt. The telephone rings.
“How are you, my dear?” (Serious voice.
) “Listen, Alta, if you want to know whether or not I’m still alive, the answer is yes, and I’m doing just fine, thank you.”
“Why are you speaking to me like that?”
“Let me tell you a few things, Alta, just so you’ll know. First, I am not going out with Fanfan, because I am not accustomed, as you are, to robbing the cradle . . . Let’s just say I sleep with him from time to time, and that it doesn’t bother me in the least if you do, too . . .”
“Are you crazy or what? I call simply to find out if you’re all right, and you jump down my throat. Tanya, you’re becoming a real paranoid. What makes you think I have any interest in Fanfan? He’s not my type, believe me.”
“Then why did you tell everyone that Fanfan never lets me go anywhere?”
“I said that?”
“Yes, you did.”
“Well, I might have said something like that . . . Anyway, it’s true . . . I’ve never understood what you see in him. At first it was kind of cute, Tanya and Fanfan. But now, my dear, you’re making a laughing stock of yourself, being jealous over a man who sleeps with everyone.”
“Who told you I was jealous over Fanfan?”
“Oh, stop it, Tanya, you’re being ridiculous . . . Apparently you tried to commit suicide last night. In any case, that’s what everyone is talking about.”
Click
INTERIOR LIVING ROOM. 1:05 PM
Tanya is feeding her goldfish. The telephone rings.
“Hello.”
“It’s me, Simone.”
“So, I hear you told everyone I tried to commit suicide last night.”
“I never said that, Tanya . . . I knew Minouche would go around saying something like that, that little snake! You know how jealous she is of our friendship.”
“Except for you, Simone, no one could know what happened . . . You must have come in here last night, found the apartment empty, and gone downstairs to talk to my neighbour, who told you that an ambulance had been here.”
“No, I did not go downstairs to question your neighbour . . . She came up.”
“I knew it, Simone . . . I knew you were a nosy little snoop. Minouche may be a thief, but she’s not a liar. You know how much I hate sneaky people, Simone, you know that about me. I’d rather have a thief for a friend than a sneak. So I want my key back. I want you to bring it to me this very day.”
“Why are you treating me like this, Tanya?”
“You know what I’m like, Simone. When someone is my friend, they can take anything they want from me, anything. Everything I have is hers. All I ask in return is that she doesn’t lie to me . . .”
“But you tell lies all the time, Tanya. I don’t understand you . . .”
“I can tell lies if I want to, but nobody else can. That’s just the way it is.”
“Why are you being like this?” (She is crying.) “You know how much I love you . . . I can’t live without you, my darling . . . Why are you treating me like this?”
“I warned you, Simone.”
“Don’t let me go, Tanya.” (She is spluttering.) “You’re the only person who understands me. You’re my mother, my sister, my lover. I love you, darling. I’ve never loved anyone the way I love you.”
“Then why do you continue to lie to me?”
“I’m not lying, Tanya . . . My love, I’m telling you the truth. It’s you I love. I love the way you love me. You’re the only one who can give me an orgasm, I swear. My body is yours whenever and however you want it, my dearest love . . .”
“Come here now.”
“I’m still in bed, Tanya . . . I’ll come around five this afternoon, is that all right?”
“You’re a liar.”
“I want you, Tanya.”
“Then why won’t you come right away?”
“Because I haven’t had any sleep, my dearest.”
“No, I’ll tell you the real reason . . . It’s because you have someone there with you now.”
“No, I’m here alone.”
“If you tell me one
more lie, you won’t even have to bring me my key. I’ll have the locks changed.”
“All right, yes,” (she murmurs), “there’s someone here . . . He’s taking a shower.”
“Who is it?”
“Just someone I met last night.”
“What’s his name?”
“You don’t know him.”
“I’m going to count to three, Simone. One . . . Two . . . Three . . .”
“Fanfan.”
“You slut!”
“He was too drunk to go home. He asked me if he could sleep at my house.”
“Simone—”
“What?”
“You do what you want. You can sleep with a donkey, for all I care, but never, never insult my intelligence. Do you understand?”
“All right . . . But we haven’t done anything yet. He just went in to take a shower.”
“Leave while he’s taking his shower, come here now.”
“Do you think?”
“It’s up to you. I can always call Minouche.”
“I’ll be there, Tanya.”
INTERIOR BEDROOM. 2:20 PM
Tanya and Simone are in bed.
“Fanfan means nothing to me, you know that.”
“Then what’s he doing in your house?”
“It’s your own fault, Tanya.”
“Meaning what?”
“You make me so jealous I get crazy, sometimes . . . I wanted to sleep with him just so I could know what you see in him.”
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