OPPOSITES
Susan comes in looking disheveled. Her hair is confused and her shirt has been mis-buttoned. She comes in through the main entrance, we see Frank, he opens his mouth to pass comment but she fixes him with an icy stare and he closes his mouth and lowers his pointing finger quickly. She goes into the lounge where she puts her bag in her locker and then leans against it, running her fingers through her hair.
The camera angle widens and we see that Carter is sitting in a chair having a cup of coffee with his eyebrows raised and a small smile on his face, he coughs to remove the smile as Susan notices him and turns around with a brief shake of his head.
Susan groans and lifts herself from her locker with what seems to be maximum effort. She collapses on the chair opposite Carter.
Carter: Morning.
Susan's head falls to the surface of the table.
Susan: Children are difficult.
Carter: (nodding) hmmm, Suzie got more difficult since she was a baby huh?
Susan: Not really, I mean yeah, I dunno I think I just forgot, you know?
Carter: How can you forget if you never did it before?
Susan: Never did it before? Carter, I looked after her for a year.
Carter: I know, I know, but she wasn't eight then. Its not as easy, I remember being eight, my brother used to torture me for fun.
Susan: Yeah Chloe did pretty much the same to me.
Carter: But Suzie doesn't have a brother or sister, hey, an aunt's the next best thing right.
Susan nods looking at the ceiling with an unsure look on her face.
Susan: I enrolled her in a school yesterday, that's where she is today.
Carter: School? But you don't even know if she's staying, do you think throwing her into a difficult new environment's gonna help?
Susan: I don't know but it keeps her busy and I don't want her to fall behind, She says Chloe forgot to take her to school a lot, so the teachers didn't like her and the kids teased her. How could she forget to take her own daughter to school? I mean she's eight years old, she's not invisible.
Carter shakes his head and looks at Susan with something between pity and respect.
Susan: She's really smart though, I mean she got here, all the way to the hospital from LA on her own, in 1 day. Chloe didn't even notice she was gone for two.
Susan shakes her head, looks out of the left side of her eyes and sighs.
Susan: (looking down at her lap and fidgeting with her sleeves) Chloe's coming up today.
Carter: That can't be easy, did you talk to her on the phone?
Susan: Oh yeah, (nodding and smiling) she put the phone down on me , cause I was telling her how to take care of her own kid, I guess sometimes you just never grow out of being eight huh? (she looks up at him)
Carter: Ah well,,, I gotta get to work, there is a passed out alcoholic in exam 2 with my name on it.
Susan: Have fun. (she returns her head to the table surface)
Carter sticks his head back round the door
Carter: Oh by the way, your uh shirt...
Susan looks up at Carter, then down at her shirt and with a groan bangs her head back down on the table.
Carter: I just thought I should mention it.
Susan waves her hand at him and mumbles almost inaudibly at him.
Later that day and Susan is walking down the hall with a chart in her hand flipping through it, she passes Abby
Susan: Hey Abby could you get me some Demerol for the guy in curtain two?
Abby: sure, hey hows things with Suzie? They still goin OK?
Susan Yeah kinda, I mean Suzie's great and we get along amazingly but I don't know, I guess I'd feel better If my sister weren't coming today, God I am so unprepaired to deal with her right now.
Abby: Well you're talking to the patenter of family problems here, it won't go away till it goes away, you just have to deal with it you know?
Susan: (nods quickly) I know, but if it's chloe, the sooner the better.
They both laugh and go in opposite directions.
Later still and Susan is finishing a shift. She picks up a bag and goes to walk out the door of the lounge when Frank comes in,
Frank: Dr Lewis your sister's at the desk.
Susan's face and shoulders fall. She nods long and slow taking a deep breath.
We see Chloe standing at the admin desk, leaning on it with her arms crossed. Susan comes toward her still taking deep breaths, now with her hands out in front of her a little.
Chloe: Hey
Susan: Hi Chloe.
Chloe: Look I'm sorry about all this, I can't believe she ran away just cause I
said she couldn't come see you, if I'd known she wanted to come that bad I would have let her.
Susan: I think she ran away cause of more than that Chloe, do you even remember the night when she ran away? (Chloe looks down) You had some guy come over and give you something? What did he give you Chloe? Hmmm? What are you on now Crack, E, Speed? What? Which dealers are coming to the house, oh wait, no. You don't live in a house, you live in a by the hour hotel room with your tiny daughter. (Susan sits in a nearby chair) What are you doing to her Chloe? What are you doing to yourself?
Chloe: Done? (Susan rolls her eyes and shakes her head to one side looking at Chloe) OK, she is my daughter Susan, mine. I will bring her up and she will be fine alright. She is not my tiny daughter any more, she is eight years old and she knows right from wrong. (Susan rolls her eyes again) And finally Susan (Chloe begins to leave) She is not now nor has she ever been Your tiny daughter, Ok? Oh and by the way, where is My daughter today anyway, you don't seem to be keeping a very close eye on her.
Susan: (getting up) Well, I know this will be a difficult word for you, but she's at school, you know, learning, where kids are supposed to be Monday through Friday. You forgot that one huh? Just like you forget everything to do with responsibility and leave me to remember right?
Just then Suzie comes in the door.
Chloe bends down with her arms outstretched expecting a hug. Suzie Hunny hey.
Suzie: (with a hurt and unsure look at Susan) What are you doing here?
Chloe: I came to get you, You know, you had a couple days with aunt Susan now
you're coming back home.
Suzie: (Goes up to Susan, takes hold of her hand and gently tugs her down into a crouch) (She says very quietly,) I don't wanna go with her, I wanna stay with you, I thought you said you'de sort it all out.
Susan: well, its not as easy over the phone, we thought mommy better come here so we could talk properly.
Chloe: come on Suzie, we gotta go home now.
Suzie: (shakes her head a little, the says in a tiny voice,) I wanna stay here. I want to stay with Aunt Susan.
Chloe: Don't be silly Suzie now come on we gotta catch the train, you know I'll get mad if we miss it.
Suzie: I don't care, I wanna stay here. I want to stay with aunt Susan.
Chloe: Suzie. Mommys getting mad now, and you know it's not good when mommy gets mad.
Suzie: (Holding Susan's hand even tighter and hiding behind her a little she takes a deep, unsteady breath) I wanna stay here. I want to stay with Aunt Susan, she's nice to me, she takes me to school, they like me at school here, please, let me stay.
Chloe: Come on Suzie we don't have all day. Mommy is very tired.
Suzie: Stop saying that. You're not really my mommy.
Chloe: Oh well if I'm not your mom then who is? Huh? Dr perfect? Your father? Who Suzie huh? Cause I seem to remember nine long months where I carried you around. I think that means I'm your mommy, Oh yeah and the past 8 years don't they count to?
Suzie: (In almost a whisper) seven.
Chloe: what?
Suzie: (looking at the ground) seven, you only took care of me for seven years Aunt Susan took care of me for one. (she looks up)
Chloe: ( with a small almost laugh) Oh, I guess she told you that huh? I guess she just love telling everyone that, to make me sound as bad as possible don't you Susan?
Susan begins to say something but is cut of by Suzie
Suzie: No. You told me. You told me all about it the night you told me I didn't really have a daddy and that I was a mistake. (Suzie begins to cry, she hides her face in Susan's top, Susan strokes the back o her hair and disdainfully shakes her head at Chloe.)
Chloe is lost for words, she puts her hand to her mouth, takes a deep breath into her chest, closes, her eyes and turns to leave. With her back to them she stops
Chloe: I love you Suzie. And I'll always be your mom, (with a small smile) always.
Susan continues to stroke the back of Suzie's hair and watches Chloe with a worried look on her face which tells us that this is not the end.
Hey folks thanks for your reviews, it was really nice of you and no worries JO But you would be surprised at people I am from Glasgow and now live in ahem, Royal Berkshire, People get my wee glasgowisms, and she only really translated Love and stuff, not that complex, Still, It was mostly for convenience, Glad you liked it, hope you like this bit to
mo
Susan comes in looking disheveled. Her hair is confused and her shirt has been mis-buttoned. She comes in through the main entrance, we see Frank, he opens his mouth to pass comment but she fixes him with an icy stare and he closes his mouth and lowers his pointing finger quickly. She goes into the lounge where she puts her bag in her locker and then leans against it, running her fingers through her hair.
The camera angle widens and we see that Carter is sitting in a chair having a cup of coffee with his eyebrows raised and a small smile on his face, he coughs to remove the smile as Susan notices him and turns around with a brief shake of his head.
Susan groans and lifts herself from her locker with what seems to be maximum effort. She collapses on the chair opposite Carter.
Carter: Morning.
Susan's head falls to the surface of the table.
Susan: Children are difficult.
Carter: (nodding) hmmm, Suzie got more difficult since she was a baby huh?
Susan: Not really, I mean yeah, I dunno I think I just forgot, you know?
Carter: How can you forget if you never did it before?
Susan: Never did it before? Carter, I looked after her for a year.
Carter: I know, I know, but she wasn't eight then. Its not as easy, I remember being eight, my brother used to torture me for fun.
Susan: Yeah Chloe did pretty much the same to me.
Carter: But Suzie doesn't have a brother or sister, hey, an aunt's the next best thing right.
Susan nods looking at the ceiling with an unsure look on her face.
Susan: I enrolled her in a school yesterday, that's where she is today.
Carter: School? But you don't even know if she's staying, do you think throwing her into a difficult new environment's gonna help?
Susan: I don't know but it keeps her busy and I don't want her to fall behind, She says Chloe forgot to take her to school a lot, so the teachers didn't like her and the kids teased her. How could she forget to take her own daughter to school? I mean she's eight years old, she's not invisible.
Carter shakes his head and looks at Susan with something between pity and respect.
Susan: She's really smart though, I mean she got here, all the way to the hospital from LA on her own, in 1 day. Chloe didn't even notice she was gone for two.
Susan shakes her head, looks out of the left side of her eyes and sighs.
Susan: (looking down at her lap and fidgeting with her sleeves) Chloe's coming up today.
Carter: That can't be easy, did you talk to her on the phone?
Susan: Oh yeah, (nodding and smiling) she put the phone down on me , cause I was telling her how to take care of her own kid, I guess sometimes you just never grow out of being eight huh? (she looks up at him)
Carter: Ah well,,, I gotta get to work, there is a passed out alcoholic in exam 2 with my name on it.
Susan: Have fun. (she returns her head to the table surface)
Carter sticks his head back round the door
Carter: Oh by the way, your uh shirt...
Susan looks up at Carter, then down at her shirt and with a groan bangs her head back down on the table.
Carter: I just thought I should mention it.
Susan waves her hand at him and mumbles almost inaudibly at him.
Later that day and Susan is walking down the hall with a chart in her hand flipping through it, she passes Abby
Susan: Hey Abby could you get me some Demerol for the guy in curtain two?
Abby: sure, hey hows things with Suzie? They still goin OK?
Susan Yeah kinda, I mean Suzie's great and we get along amazingly but I don't know, I guess I'd feel better If my sister weren't coming today, God I am so unprepaired to deal with her right now.
Abby: Well you're talking to the patenter of family problems here, it won't go away till it goes away, you just have to deal with it you know?
Susan: (nods quickly) I know, but if it's chloe, the sooner the better.
They both laugh and go in opposite directions.
Later still and Susan is finishing a shift. She picks up a bag and goes to walk out the door of the lounge when Frank comes in,
Frank: Dr Lewis your sister's at the desk.
Susan's face and shoulders fall. She nods long and slow taking a deep breath.
We see Chloe standing at the admin desk, leaning on it with her arms crossed. Susan comes toward her still taking deep breaths, now with her hands out in front of her a little.
Chloe: Hey
Susan: Hi Chloe.
Chloe: Look I'm sorry about all this, I can't believe she ran away just cause I
said she couldn't come see you, if I'd known she wanted to come that bad I would have let her.
Susan: I think she ran away cause of more than that Chloe, do you even remember the night when she ran away? (Chloe looks down) You had some guy come over and give you something? What did he give you Chloe? Hmmm? What are you on now Crack, E, Speed? What? Which dealers are coming to the house, oh wait, no. You don't live in a house, you live in a by the hour hotel room with your tiny daughter. (Susan sits in a nearby chair) What are you doing to her Chloe? What are you doing to yourself?
Chloe: Done? (Susan rolls her eyes and shakes her head to one side looking at Chloe) OK, she is my daughter Susan, mine. I will bring her up and she will be fine alright. She is not my tiny daughter any more, she is eight years old and she knows right from wrong. (Susan rolls her eyes again) And finally Susan (Chloe begins to leave) She is not now nor has she ever been Your tiny daughter, Ok? Oh and by the way, where is My daughter today anyway, you don't seem to be keeping a very close eye on her.
Susan: (getting up) Well, I know this will be a difficult word for you, but she's at school, you know, learning, where kids are supposed to be Monday through Friday. You forgot that one huh? Just like you forget everything to do with responsibility and leave me to remember right?
Just then Suzie comes in the door.
Chloe bends down with her arms outstretched expecting a hug. Suzie Hunny hey.
Suzie: (with a hurt and unsure look at Susan) What are you doing here?
Chloe: I came to get you, You know, you had a couple days with aunt Susan now
you're coming back home.
Suzie: (Goes up to Susan, takes hold of her hand and gently tugs her down into a crouch) (She says very quietly,) I don't wanna go with her, I wanna stay with you, I thought you said you'de sort it all out.
Susan: well, its not as easy over the phone, we thought mommy better come here so we could talk properly.
Chloe: come on Suzie, we gotta go home now.
Suzie: (shakes her head a little, the says in a tiny voice,) I wanna stay here. I want to stay with Aunt Susan.
Chloe: Don't be silly Suzie now come on we gotta catch the train, you know I'll get mad if we miss it.
Suzie: I don't care, I wanna stay here. I want to stay with aunt Susan.
Chloe: Suzie. Mommys getting mad now, and you know it's not good when mommy gets mad.
Suzie: (Holding Susan's hand even tighter and hiding behind her a little she takes a deep, unsteady breath) I wanna stay here. I want to stay with Aunt Susan, she's nice to me, she takes me to school, they like me at school here, please, let me stay.
Chloe: Come on Suzie we don't have all day. Mommy is very tired.
Suzie: Stop saying that. You're not really my mommy.
Chloe: Oh well if I'm not your mom then who is? Huh? Dr perfect? Your father? Who Suzie huh? Cause I seem to remember nine long months where I carried you around. I think that means I'm your mommy, Oh yeah and the past 8 years don't they count to?
Suzie: (In almost a whisper) seven.
Chloe: what?
Suzie: (looking at the ground) seven, you only took care of me for seven years Aunt Susan took care of me for one. (she looks up)
Chloe: ( with a small almost laugh) Oh, I guess she told you that huh? I guess she just love telling everyone that, to make me sound as bad as possible don't you Susan?
Susan begins to say something but is cut of by Suzie
Suzie: No. You told me. You told me all about it the night you told me I didn't really have a daddy and that I was a mistake. (Suzie begins to cry, she hides her face in Susan's top, Susan strokes the back o her hair and disdainfully shakes her head at Chloe.)
Chloe is lost for words, she puts her hand to her mouth, takes a deep breath into her chest, closes, her eyes and turns to leave. With her back to them she stops
Chloe: I love you Suzie. And I'll always be your mom, (with a small smile) always.
Susan continues to stroke the back of Suzie's hair and watches Chloe with a worried look on her face which tells us that this is not the end.
Hey folks thanks for your reviews, it was really nice of you and no worries JO But you would be surprised at people I am from Glasgow and now live in ahem, Royal Berkshire, People get my wee glasgowisms, and she only really translated Love and stuff, not that complex, Still, It was mostly for convenience, Glad you liked it, hope you like this bit to
mo