Scene 4
[The following day, Mary and her mother are playing on the floor at the living room table. Mary is holding the mint green rabbit, while Sherry has a Slender doll. Mary seems to be a little uncomfortable with Sherry's choice of toy, but Sherry feigns unawareness to her feelings. The front door unlocks, and Ib and her father enter the room during their play time. Ib's father is hiding a chuckle through his smile. Sherry drops the doll and walks towards them. When she drops the doll, the lights flicker and the doll disappears into thin air.]
Sherry: Hey Ib, welcome home!
[Ib looks up to her. Sherry runs her hands through the back of Ib's hair and kisses Ib on the forehead.]
Sherry: How are you, sweetie?
Ib: [smiling] I'm okay, mom.
[Ib and Sherry sits down on the floor.]
Sherry: That's good to hear, Ib! And how about you, honey?
Father: I'm feeling great! I never knew that Neil was working at that agency. I was even able to get a discount with Ib's... uh... Ib's...
[He ponders on what to call the procedure. A knock comes from the door, though the door was already open. The person walks in. The person is, unfortunately and tragically, Neil.]
Neil: Do you want the name of the procedure with one word or two words? One word makes it terrifying, while two words makes it sound like magic.
Sherry, Father, & Mary: Two words.
[Ib holds up the peace sign; two fingers. Neil brings up his hands to his face and wiggles his fingers, slowly bringing his arms down to his sides.]
Neil: [with mysticism] Memory-Weaving.
[Ib mildly smiles.]
Neil: There's also a four word name, a twelve word name, and-
[Neil's shoulder gets tapped for space. He moves around, but he does not appear to move in order to make space. Eva fiercely shoves Neil out of the way, causing him to lose balance. The family looks at Neil ponderously.]
Eva: Please disregard Dr. Watts. [clears her throat] Good morning to all of you. [turns to Mary] I am Dr.-
Neil: Smells-like-beans!
[Sherry and Mary's father laugh heartedly, while Ib stifles a chuckle. Mary stays silent and aloof. Eva clenches her left hand into a fist. Her right hand covers her face, reddened with anger and embarrassment. Out of the corner of her eye, she delivers Neil a demonic glare. At once, Neil is paralyzed out of fear.]
Eva: [enunciating every syllable] Ro-sa-lene.
[She clears her throat, and save for a hint of anger, she continues to speak normally, reestablishing her bitter gaze towards Neil every so often.]
Eva: This is Dr. Neil... [pauses] Watts. We are part of the Sigmund-
Sherry: [smiling] I think it's safe to say we can skip all the formalities. After all, at this point, we all have met, right?
[Mary turns to her mother, but she doesn't see her.]
Eva: Oh... alright then. [chuckles nervously] I-It's just that I've gotten used to introducing myself to families like that. [clears her throat] Anyway, we were instructed to speak to Ib and her legal guardians about the operation.
[Terrified, Mary dashes off to her room with the mint green bunny. Ib begins to go after her, but Sherry holds her in place. Neil recovers from his momentary fright, and adjusts his glasses.]
Father: Was "operation" the word you were going to use? Probably scared off the poor girl...
Neil: [grinning] Kind of, yeah. Sorry about that.
[Eva discretely flicks Neil's side.]
Eva: [hushed] Neil! What's with you? Why are you acting more casual than usual this time around?
Neil: [hushed] For starters, no one's dying. No need for sad pianos in this case! And this dad is none other than the super-cool Alaric! Even his name is awesome! We met at a bar that was next to last year's video game and anime convention, AniGame Expo! Didn't even know he had a family... But Mary looks nothing like-
Eva: [hushed] I know you noticed, but we'll discuss it after our last case for today is finished, alright?
Alaric: Guys? You two okay?
[Neil snaps his fingers, giving him two thumbs up.]
Neil: Of course! Anyways, we're here to speak to Ib.
Eva: May we sit?
Alaric: Sure, sit down, sit down. We don't bite. [pauses] Well, we bite food, but you know.
[He chuckles lightheartedly.]
[It only takes a moment for Eva, Neil, Ib, and Alaric to settle down on the couches. Sherry leaves momentarily and returns with a silver platter with white flowery teacups, matching saucers, and a teapot teeming with steam. She places the tea cups and saucers on the table before taking a seat herself. Neil grabs the nearest cup. Ib takes the cup next to his.]
Neil: You make the best tea I have ever had. What kind of tea is it?
[He takes a big gulp without blowing on it, unflinching of the temperature.]
Sherry: This tea is oolong. It's not my favorite, but I feel that it's a pretty good tea to have while having discussions like this.
[Neil starts panting from the scalding tea. Ib covers her smirk. He clears his throat.]
Neil: Ooh... I'll keep that in mind. Thanks Sherry!
[He places the empty cup down. Eva looks at his cup, with mild concern, before grabbing a teacup and saucer of her own.]
Alaric: So, what do you think of the house? Pretty snazzy, if I do say so myself.
Neil: Totally! I'd love to live here. How've you been, by the way? Gotta say, I haven't seen you since AGE.
Alaric: AGE? [pauses] Ohh, you mean AniGame Expo?
Neil: Yup! It's not exactly a creative name, is it?
Alaric: Right? Well, I didn't get a chance to stick around, I'm afraid. I had some work stuff to take care of.
Neil: That sucks, Alaric! It was pretty fun, and it would have been cool to meet you there.
[Alaric raises an eyebrow, before laughing gruffly.]
Alaric: Hah! I forgot that I introduced myself to you with my middle name.
[Neil leans forward towards him, putting his hands on the table.]
Neil: [gasps] Really? I feel so betrayed!
Alaric: Yeah, but my first name is some lame, snooty, rich, uptight type of name. "Alaric?" Now, that's an awesome name that all the Moonbills Cafe employees always misspell!
Neil: That's what I said! And tell me about having an awesome name. You have no idea how happy I am that my last name is Watts. Dr. Watts! I'm like a supervillian!
Alaric: Oh, have you seen that superhero show with that antagonist with that cool name?
Neil: The one with the clown?
Alaric: Yeah! [pauses] Wait, no. The jester, not the clown.
Neil: I don't remember. But the clown, he was evil!
Alaric: Not as evil as the King of Ice!
Neil: Oh please, that sappy dork? There's like ten evil villains over him...
[As the two of them continued to prattle on and on, Eva turns to Ib and Sherry.]
Eva: Hey there, Ib. So, how are you feeling?
Ib: [softly] I'm okay. I'm glad my dad is in high spirits.
Eva: [smiling] Well, I'm sure it's nice for your father to reconnect to an old friend.
Sherry: Dr. Rosalene, once again, thank you so much for taking this case. I apologize for yesterday's outburst.
Eva: No worries! There was this whole protest going on about our company, and while I haven't been directly affected by it, our caseload has been fairly light as a result.
Sherry: [covering her mouth] Oh dear! I'm so sorry!
[Sherry vigorously bows towards Eva. Eva waves her hands for Sherry to stop.]
Eva: Again, no worries, Sherry. It might be unfortunate for us, but because Dr. Watts and myself are more free, that means we can help Ib out. [to Ib] It's a good thing we'll be able to help you out, right Ib?
[Ib nods her head. Eva leans in towards her.]
Eva: So, Ib, did you remember what you needed to?
Ib: ... I didn't.
Eva: Do you know anything about what you need to remember?
[Ib remains silent for a moment, but she shakes her head. She stares at both of her parents, who immediately return the gaze. Alaric shifts in his seat, before getting up.]
Alaric: Hey Neil, Dr. Rosalene. I just remembered something I gotta take care of. Sherry, darling. Mind accompanying me to the kitchen?
[She turns to him, worry clearly present on her face.]
Neil: You're alright with leaving Ib with us?
Alaric: Ha, of course! I trust you! Now, Sherry?
[Alaric whispers something underneath his breath, and she just sighs and nods. They leave to the kitchen without a word. Ib blows into her tea before speaking.]
Neil: [sighs] Well, there goes that conversation about the beautiful art of kicking a spiky-haired hero's butt...
[Eva rolls her eyes before turning to Ib.]
Eva: So, what were you saying Ib? Do you remember anything about... what you needed to remember?
Ib: I do remember... something about them, my parents.
Eva: Your parents?
[Eva blows into her tea, before taking a small sip.]
Neil: Ib, I know me and your pop talked about this whole procedure.
Eva: [suspiciously] Did you?
Neil: [scoffs] Of course! [to Ib] But are you sure it's that important that you absolutely need to have your parents hire us? Is it that important that we have to take a look at you and your memories?
Ib: Yes. Did you see something... weird? With my parents?
Eva: I don't want to... say something and not mean it, Ib. I'd rather you say it yourself.
[Ib places her hands together around the saucer, rubbing her thumbs together.]
Ib: Well... although it involves them, it's mainly about Mary.
Neil: I knew it! Was she adopted?
Eva: [exclaiming] Neil!
[She raises her hand to hit him, but then looks at Ib. She slowly lowers her hand.]
Ib: That's the thing.
[Neil and Eva stare at her.]
Ib: It's something I'm not so sure about. I mean... she's my sister. And it feels like she was always my sister! [pauses] But for some reason, I can't remember her always being my sister. I don't know why I can feel that she was my sister, but I can't remember anything about it.
[She puts down the saucer, but takes another sip.]
Ib: And I'm scared to ask my parents. I trust them, but... I can't talk to them about this. But this is something I want to know. I need to know.
Eva: Would you like for me to ask them?
[Ib spaces out for a moment before turning back to Eva.]
Ib: I guess it would be okay for you to ask them.
Eva: Okay, Ib, I'll ask. Who knows? Maybe they don't expect you to understand, even though you're a really smart girl.
Ib: I don't think they'll tell though-
[Ib registers Eva's compliment. She starts blushing, so much so that she puts down the cup and covers her face with her hands. Eva returns the smile, then quickly gets up towards Neil.]
Eva: [hushed] If I get an answer for this, they don't need us. They need a therapist.
[Neil scoffs. Eva leaves towards the kitchen.]
[Neil looks down at the girl in front of him.]
[She looks away from him.]
[He sighs.]
Neil: So... let me get this straight, Ib. We are here to figure out where Mary came from, right?
[Ib nods.]
Neil: Another mother, I presume? Or...
[Neil immediately shuts up and begins to dig his fingers into the couch's armrest.]
[A cell phone rings from the kitchen.]
[Ib stares into his eyes.]
Ib: I know what you were going to say. But, she's nine years old too. I don't think we would be the same age if my mom... um...
[Ib tries to remember the word that escaped her memory.]
[On the other hand, Neil debates within himself whether to tell her the concept of infidelity.]
[A tense moment passes.]
[Eventually, Eva comes back before either of them comes to a definitive answer to their respective dilemma. She still has the teacup and saucer, though there is a smaller amount of tea inside her cup. Noticing the uncomfortable silence, she shakes her head and sighs.]
Eva: Okay, so what did Dr. Watts say to you, Ib?
Ib: He said Mary could be adopted or my mom is...
[She still continues to ponder on that one word that slipped her memory. Eva glances towards Neil.]
Eva: Cheating?
[Neil returns her gaze with a guilty smile. Ib's eyes light up.]
Ib: Oh, I remember now. It's not cheating. Remarriage.
[Eva sits down, with a reddened face, looking away from Neil. He chuckles softly and triumphantly.]
Neil: Couldn't it be remarriage, if Alaric- I mean your dad, was the one who remarried?
[Ib looks down.]
Ib: No. Neither of my parents did that, or if they did, they did it before I was born and before Mary was born. But adoption, cheating, remarriage... it's none of those. I know that much. [pauses] Mrs. Rosalene, they didn't say anything, did they?
[Eva is taken aback by Ib's choice of name for her. Neil is trying his hardest to not explode in laughter, with minimal success.]
Eva: H-how did you know that I'd come in without an answer?
[Ib pauses to think. While Ib was looking away, Eva fishes a pen out of her pocket and throws it at Neil. It does nothing to stop his manic snickering.]
Ib: I just... know.
[Neil finally stops laughing long enough to catch his breath.]
Neil: [wiping a tear from his eye] Okay, so we know what we have to do. Right, Eva?
[Surprised, Ib turns to Neil, and pans her head towards Eva, her face still showing signs of simultaneous fluster and infuriation.]
Eva: [sighs] Right. We have to figure out where Mary came from. [pauses] Ib, may you go to your parents? Me and Dr. Watts need to speak to each other privately, just for a moment.
[Ib shakes herself before nodding, and walks off to where her parents left, taking the teacup and saucer with her. Eva sighs, now able to breathe and speak normally. Eva begins to slouch lazily on the couch, before turning to Neil.]
Eva: Neil, I ask again. What's with you?
Neil: [mockingly] No clue, "Mrs. Rosalene."
Eva: Can you take this seriously? Something about this... everything is just rubbing me the wrong way.
Neil: Me? I'm totally serious. Super serious. More serious than a math teacher.
Eva: So, tell me, serious one. Why would a little girl need external help to remember when she started having a sister?
Neil: Well, what exactly did their parents say?
Eva: They didn't give me a straight answer, and I might as well as not received one.
Neil: ...Which is?
Eva: Alaric said something along the lines of "Mary's our girl. That's all you need to know." They didn't look pleased when I asked, but then again, who would? I'm not exactly the type of person that'd pry in people's business, unlike you, Neil.
Neil: [scoffs] Which is why you work for Sigmund.
[Eva groans in annoyance.]
Eva: Look Neil, this case is quickly turning into a big mess. I think it might've been better if we didn't take this case after all. I mean, I'd probably would have called it off if I was one of the solo workers.
Neil: Aww, don't I feel special.
Eva: [flatly] Don't push it. I'm your partner because you didn't want to do all the work by yourself.
Neil: Yeah, yeah. Back to what you were saying, I know things are getting pretty uncomfortable. I don't know about you, but I'm more equipped with dealing with old farts passing their way to the afterlife, not these types of domestic issues.
Eva: Ditto. I didn't know what to say half the time.
Neil: That's why I'm joking around a lot more this time. Whatever might ease the tension here.
Eva: You just want an excuse to make your stupid jokes.
Neil: No, I really am! Or... [pauses] Or at least now I am. I'm trying to make things easier for them. You saw all their laughter earlier when I called you "Smell-like-Beans?" It was brilliant!
[Eva rolls her eyes.]
Neil: All I'm saying is that when we're working on the old geezers, there isn't much time left for them to laugh and be happy. This is a little different from our other cases.
[Eva swallows, and nods with acceptance.]
Neil: And about backing out, it's too late. We're legally bound by contract already.
Eva: When we were doing Johnny's or Morgan's case, didn't you want to break the contract? Now would be a good time for that.
Neil: [chuckles] Well, yeah, but that was different. We were both aiming to make Johnny and River happy. Granted, your way was quite a bit more misguided.
[Eva sticks out her tongue.]
Neil: As for Morgan, we had to wake her up and tell her the truth about her husband. I'm all for prying in people's business, but telling them the truth about it right before they die? That's out of my paygrade.
Eva: [blinks] You do know that, if we do figure out what going on with Ib and her family, we'll have to do the same thing, right?
[Neil scratches the back of his head.]
Neil: Yeah, but with Ib, at least to me, she seems so unhappy about her whole situation. And hey, she isn't dying.
Eva: Fair. Not to mention, aside from laughing about a couple of things here and there, she seems really undaunted at the prospect of actually going through the whole procedure. For a nine year old, it's kinda strange how selectively mature she is.
Neil: Weird well-adjusted nine year old or otherwise, at the end of the day, we're here to make her happy.
[A smirk forms on his face.]
Neil: You know, even though they got a discount for a simpler procedure, we're being paid double for this. Double for a much simpler procedure! It's beautiful!
[Neil looks up at the chandelier. The brightness begins to make his eyes water, and quickly swipes at his eyes. Eva facepalms.]
Neil: But trust me, I'll take care of it with the respect I would give any other case.
Eva: [pauses] You mean no respect whatsoever.
Neil: Um... yeah, pretty much!
[Eva shakes her head.]
Eva: If it turns out that Mary shouldn't be here, I think we're going to have a chat with child services. And things can only go sour from there, especially for poor Ib. Although, to her, it really seems like she needs to know. How did they get a contract, anyway? I had to attend a different meeting during your conference.
Neil: Alaric was vague enough to not explain the entire thing, but specific enough for our boss to understand... Or something like that.
Eva: ... Did you stop paying attention during your meeting? Do you even remember anything?
[Neil looks away.]
Eva: That's what I thought. Unbelievable. We should have switched spots.
[She finishes up her tea, and places the teacup and saucer on the table. Neil gets up off of the couch.]
Neil: Anyways, can you get Ib and her family? There's something I need to do here...
Eva: [sternly] I'll let the jokes slide, but remember. No pranks here, Neil. Especially since we're in another family's house.
Neil: Don't worry, sheesh. I was just going to play the piano.
[Eva raises an eyebrow and points at Neil.]
Eva: [flabbergasted] You. Neil. "Sentimentality hater." You play the piano.
Neil: Yup! I may have picked it up after some inspiration from the previous cases.
Eva: I'd say it would have been Johnny's case, but there's been so many pianos in our cases recently. Seems like the soon-to-be departed loves classical music.
Neil: Don't worry, there won't be too many sad pianos here. I play fun songs! [pauses] Though I am still learning.
[Eva shrugs her shoulders and gets up off of the couch, taking the cup and saucer with her.]
Eva: Alright, I'll get her. Want me to get her parents as well?
Neil: If they can, sure.
[Neil walks towards the piano.]
Neil: And, by the way?
Eva: Yes, piano boy?
Neil: This is gonna be... interesting, with all the garbage we saw already. I think I'm gonna need you too, Eva.
Eva: [stammering] Ohh, okay. Umm... Thanks, Neil.
[Eva walks away, flustered.]
[Neil pulls out his phone, and opens a sheet music app. The opening notes of For River begin to play. Eva returns with Ib trailing behind her.]
Eva: Her parents are still busy.
Neil: Well, that sucks. This is the first time I'm playing for other people, and I wanted to showcase it!
[With a brightened look on their face, Ib sits on the floor at the base of the piano, next to Neil. He turns to her, his fingers alternating between the two notes.]
Neil: Hey Ib. The memory-weaving will be next week. So, until then, you should just chill-lax. Okay?
Ib: Okay!
[She starts bobbing her head side to side to the music, smiling and in complete bliss. Eva leans in towards Neil's ear.]
Eva: [whispering] I know this song was in your game, but you do know this is still copyright infringement, right?
Neil: [whispering] Shush. It's not like the copyright holder can sue me, on account of being dead.
Eva: [whispering] Neil, even though I'm going through with this, there are so many unanswered questions right now.
Neil: [whispering] I know, but that's why I'm trying to just let them relax. Even though only about a couple of hours has actually passed, it feels like it's been such a long day...
[Neil's eyes widen as he stops playing the piano.]
Neil: Wait. A couple hours passed. When do we have to go to the next appointment?
Eva: [laughs] Don't worry about that. It was rescheduled for tomorrow, because the family made some prior arrangements that needed to be taken care of. I got a call while talking to Ib's parents. Sorry I didn't tell you.
Neil: I'll make sure to ask our boss to have this betrayal be documented on your permanent record- Great! I lost where I was. I might as well start again.
Eva: You were only playing two notes, how'd you lose your place in the song?!
[Neil, annoyed, ignores Eva's question before returning to the piano. Slowly, his mood lightens up, and the air is fluttering with music and the occasional mistake, which Eva quickly points out. The music calls out to Ib's parents, and they eventually walk in from the kitchen. Neil sits at the piano, playing the several pieces that he learned, as well as barely sight-reading the pieces the family had, and playing off his mistakes as jokes.]
[A couple more hours has passed, and the two doctors stand at the front door. Mary steps out of her room to see the two doctors off, at the request of her parents.]
Neil: So, we'll be heading back. Alaric, it's been awesome, dude.
Alaric: Yeah! We should get together more often after everything's been taken care of.
Neil: Don't worry. I'll take good care of your daughter, and make sure she's remembers everything.
[Neil turns to Ib.]
Neil: By the way, am I pronouncing your name right?
Ib: Although it's supposed to be "Eve," a lot of people call me "Ib." It's fine that way though.
[Eva rubs her chin insightfully.]
Eva: Hey Ib, you can call me Eva, okay?
Ib: It's like my name...
[Eva nods and hums in affirmation.]
Ib: Okay... Eva.
[A cheeky grin forms on Ib's face. Eva sighs.]
Alaric: Y'know, I tried explaining it to Ryan and Felix about her name, but they don't seem to get it. Or maybe it's because they chose to ignore it? I don't know.
Neil: Ryan? Felix? Man, those guys were great! I haven't seen them in forever. We should all meet up again!
Alaric: I know, right? I mean I could also grab Mark too, and we'd be all set!
Neil: [laughs loudly] Oh man, Mark was the funniest guy ever. I really miss his jokes and his constant-
[Eva forcefully pulls on Neil's arm.]
Eva: I hate to break up a reuniting bromance, but we really need to get going.
[Dejected, Neil slumps over and turns his head to the floor.]
Neil: Fine...
Sherry: It was all so nice to get to meet you two. I wouldn't have anyone else working on our daughter.
Neil: [perks up] Alright! Well, see you next time, Alaric, Sherry.
Alaric: See you, mate!
Eva: Goodbye Ib! Bye Mary!
Sherry: Take care, you two!
[Ib and her parents wave. She seems pleased with the two doctors, but Mary morosely turns away and walks towards her room. Alaric lets them out to the porch and closes the door.]
Eva: You know what? We could have just asked Mary.
Neil: Nah. I feel like even if she did know, I doubt she'd tell us, with the way she's been acting. But hey, three fourths of the family think we're the best, so who am I to complain? I'd take a C any day of the week!
Eva: Neil, I'm actually... really impressed. You seem so serious about keeping our patient and her family happy for once. You have NEVER acted this way before.
Neil: Aside from Mary, who seems to pretty much hate us, yeah...
[He begins to laugh maniacally.]
Neil: Good! I aim to make them happy. Remember, this case is worth double, so if we screw up and our pay gets docked for any reason, I'll be furious! And I don't even have to put the jokes away because of Alaric! And trust me, I'll keep joking around once we're in the system.
Eva: Neil...
[Fury flares in Eva's eyes.]
Eva: You are a disgusting human being!
Neil: Takes one to know one!
[Neil giddily runs to the car, Eva walking after him.]