HELEN READS A MAGAZINE WHILE WAITING AT THE NAIL SALON FOR A MANICURE. MARION ELLIS, A STRIKINGLY BEAUTIFUL 60 SOMETHING AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMAN ENTERS.
MARION
Helen!
HELEN
Oh my God!
HELEN JUMPS UP AND THEY EMBRACE
MARION
I missed you and Nezzy so much. I've been so excited about our lunch tomorrow.
THEY SIT
HELEN
I'll bring those blackberry bars that you like.
MARION
If I could cook like you, I'd weigh three hundred pounds.
HELEN POINTS TO HER STOMACH
HELEN
Working on it. I know that the first thing people notice when they haven't seen me for a while is that I've gained weight. And then they lie about how great I look.
MARION
Well, you do look great. I won't lie Baby. I can tell you're up a few pounds...
HELEN
Way more than a few.
MARION
Believe me, if I weren't in front of a camera I wouldn't give a rat's ass. And your face looks lovely. A few extra pounds have that advantage at our age at least.
HELEN
Well, I'm sort of back on the wagon. Cutting down on sugar. Walking now that it's not raining every day.
MARION
Good for you. I know how hard it's been since you lost Pete. Has it been a year?
HELEN
Almost eighteen months.
MARION
You know, I was thinking about him the other day. I remember how you guys used to scream at each other. It was so unbridled. And all of your inside jokes. They way the two of you could laugh. You could just so seamlessly be yourselves. Such a great friendship.
HELEN STARTS TO TEAR UP. MARION PUTS HER ARM AROUND HER.
MARION
Oh Jesus Helen. I made you cry. I'm so sorry.
HELEN
No it's fine. Once in a while I realize I've gone a whole day, or even two, without thinking about him. And then I feel remarkably guilty. Like I'm disrespecting his memory.
MARION
He wouldn't want you to keep grieving.
HELEN
Oh, yeah. He would.
HELEN EXAMINES MARION'S FACE
HELEN
You've had work!
HELEN PULLS BACK MARION'S EAR TO LOOK FOR SCARS
MARION
Yeah. But not that. You know, cutting isn't that great for black girls. Keloids. There's this amazing dermatologist in Manhattan. Had a bit of Thermage. Some micro lippo. A tad of fat transfer. A couple peels. Sort of painful and gross but not too rad.
HELEN
Gorgeous. You know, ten years ago, if I'd had any extra dough, I wouldn't have hesitated a minute. Now I couldn't care less. When does the show start up again? You must be exhausted.
MARION
I go for some costume fittings next week but the first table read isn't until April. I'm gonna finish the Elena Ferrante books and binge watch HBO. And of course, hang with you and Nezzy.
HELEN
Yeah. Nezzy can tell you all about her boyfriend.
MARION
Is she still seeing that guy she met in Indiana?
HELEN
Yup. He was here for New Years and he's coming for spring break in two weeks. She's being a real bitch about letting me meet him. I promised to be on good behavior but she doesn't trust me.
MARION
Gosh. I wonder why...
HELEN
I'm so misunderstood. Was the show fun? How's Cillian Murphy? He seems so intense.
MARION
I love him. Couldn't be nicer. Wonderful to work with. But it's been twenty years since I've done a show. I don't have the stamina I used to. When I did Rent back in the 90s I went out every night after the show. I had a blast. Now, I'd fall asleep the minute I sat down in the Uber. Matinee days were just killer.
HELEN
The review in the New Yorker was astounding. They said your Lady Macbeth was "remarkably nuanced." I wish I'd seen it. I saw the photo spread in Vanity Fair. The sets and costumes were exquisite. Just a tiny hint of Trump Tower. Subtle and not over the top.
MARION
Yeah, they did some tiny tweaks after the election.
A YOUNG WOMAN APPROACHES MARION.
YOUNG WOMAN
Excuse me Ms. Ellis. I hate to bother you but my Grandma loves Beltway. Could I please take a we-fie.
MARION (RISING)
Of course dear.
MARION MOVES CLOSE TO THE GIRL WHO HOLDS HER PHONE UP TO SNAP A WE-FIE.
YOUNG WOMAN
Thanks so much. Granny will be so excited.
THE GIRL EXITS AND MARION SITS.
HELEN (SARCASTICALLY)
Oh...Granny will be SO thrilled.
MARION
And you wonder why Nezzy won't let you meet her beau?
A MANICURIST APPROACHES THE SOFA
MANICURIST
Ms. Ellis, Sally's ready for your mani pedi.
MARION
Can Helen sit next to me?
HELEN
Nah. I'm just having a mani. I'm gonna be in the cheap seats on the other side but we'll see you manana.
THE HUG AND KISS. MARION EXITS WITH MANICURIST. HELEN RETURNS TO HER MAGAZINE.
CUT TO
HELEN SITS ACROSS FROM NICKY, HER MANICURIST, WHO FILES HER NAILS.
NICKY
Your nails don't look bad at all.
HELEN
Work's slow so I'm not messing 'em up too much.
NICKY
Are you friends with Marion Ellis?
HELEN
Oh yeah. For ages. Her boy Alex was in nursery school with Hannah. They're still great friends. He's a spectacular kid. He's in Oxford England now, a Rhodes Scholar. It's like the most prestigious scholarship there is. He graduated from Yale. Got a free ride.
NICKY
You mean he didn't have to pay anything for college?
HELEN
Yep.
NICKY
But isn't she rich?
HELEN
Oh for sure. Beltway has gone into syndication so I'm sure she's getting va-va-voom checks. Plus, Dave, her husband produces the show and about a dozen others.
NICKY
Then why should he get free college?
HELEN
Well, he's extremely smart and worked really hard in high school. And he's African American.
NICKY
Don't your girls owe a ton of money for college?
HELEN
Oh yeah. So do Ian and I. We had to take out some chunky loans.
NICKY
That doesn't seem fair.
HELEN
A lot of people feel that way Nicky, but I get it. If wealth were distributed more fairly in this country every kid would get free college. I hope it's that way by the time your Jack starts college. I was reading this article that scientists have discovered that trauma can be passed through generations though DNA. I probably inherited trauma from the Russian pogroms and The Holocaust. I'm sure you've got some Vietnam War stuff etched on your being.
NICKY
So we should get scholarships too.
HELEN
The thing is Nicky, your people and my people for sure suffered but the big diff is that our ancestors made the choice to come to America. Most of the African Americans in the U.S. are descended from slaves. No choice. Every once in a while there's talk about making financial reparations for slavery but I don't think it's a money thing. I think it's OK for us to make psychic reparations whenever we can. And as far as Marion goes, even if that weren't the case she totally deserves everything on a silver platter.
NICKY (APPLYING POLISH THE HELEN'S NAILS)
I'm gonna do this deep lilac for you today. It's nice for spring.
HELEN
You know best. Have you seen Marion's show? Beltway?
NICKY
Yeah, I watched it a couple of times. She's a senator.
HELEN
She started out as a model. She was one of the first black models in Playboy magazine.
NICKY
Nude you mean?
HELEN
Yeah. She was a knockout. But her bible thumper family wasn't real down with it. She went through a lot of crap. Then she started getting little acting parts. Before she landed Beltway she did a little Broadway but mainly worked for years doing maids and crack 'ho's. She just did a Shakespeare play on Broadway. Macbeth. Do you know Shakespeare?
NICKY
Romeo and Juliet. Leonardo DiCaprio.
HELEN
Macbeth is perfect for these times. All about treachery. Marion played Lady Macbeth. She eggs her husband on to murder the king in a big power grab. But unlike now, she's finally stricken by her conscious and ends up committing suicide. Fabulous part and her reviews were just great.
NICKY
Yeah. I don't think Trump is ever gonna feel sorry.
HELEN
But he didn't expect to be president and I don't think he's gonna stand up to scrutiny. That'll make him sorry. I read something this week about his hotel in Azerbaijan. Very nasty business. I imagine that he won't last and I'm looking forward to watching the rats desert the sinking ship.
NICKY
You know a lot of the Vietnamese love Trump. Even my parents think he's OK. We just don't talk about him.
HELEN
I assume that you and Stephen didn't vote for him.
NICKY
Nah. Of course not.
HELEN
How's Jack?
NICKY
Oh, he's a pain in the butt. But I drive home in traffic every day. I'm tired and in a bad mood usually. I walk in the door and he runs and hugs me and nothing else matters. It's what I look forward to all day.
HELEN
God, I miss that.
NICKY
How are the girls?
HELEN
I had to go to New York a couple of weeks ago. Emma's had an emergency appendectomy. She's fine now. Finishing her thesis so she can graduate in May.
NICKY
Is she still with the bad boyfriend?
HELEN
You know Nic, he's OK. He was going through a hard time when I first met him but I see how good he is for Em. He's not as squishy as George, but I think that they're well matched.
NICKY
What's she gonna do after she graduates?
HELEN
Well, I've manipulated her to come back to L.A. and work for me, at least for the summer.
NICKY
Is she a good cook?
HELEN
Yeah, pretty good. But I'm gonna have her do some social media stuff for me. I haven't done anything with Twitter or Facebook or Instagram. I can't even take a food picture that's in focus. I know that's why business is slow. But I don't think Em will stay beyond the summer. Boyfriend's going to grad school in New York so it's likely she'll end up there. I guess I'm sort of getting used to the girls leaving, leaving, leaving.
NICKY
You have your husband.
HELEN
Yeah. I dis him a lot but he's an incredible comfort, in his quiet, undemonstrative, pathologically rigid way. And you know Nic, he's never boring.
NICKY
Stephen and I just had our 5th anniversary.
HELEN
Congratulations. He doesn't sound boring either. I know he's a good guy. You're lucky. It must be real hard to live with your wife's parents.
NICKY
He's so patient. But one good thing is that the neighbor bugged them to go to the San Gabriel senior center. They have a free lunch there and all sorts of social stuff. I've been trying to get them to go forever but of course they ignore me. Turns out that my parents love it. They're actually meeting people. They even went out for dinner with two other couples last weekend. And remember how my mom freaked out when I said we were gonna put Jack in nursery school?
HELEN
Yeah. But you gotta do that to get him ready for kindergarten.
NICKY
For sure. The other day my mom said that Jack was making her a little tired and that maybe he should go to school.
HELEN
Hallelujah! But sometimes I'm real jealous of your culture where families stick together so tightly.
NICKY
And I'm jealous of yours...where kids are free to have their own lives.
HELEN
I'm getting into the groove of appreciating my daughters from afar. When my best friend and business partner died last year it was a real setback. And then with the election, I completely fell apart. Roughest patch I'd had since my early twenties.
NICKY
You seem good now. Less sad.
HELEN
Less sad. Yeah. I'm watching less CNN. I walk every day. Just me and Fido. It helps. It's so beautiful after the wet winter. There are poppies and lupine covering the hills. The loquats are ripening and the sky's been crystal blue. It all looks fake almost. It's like the universe is offering a gift...
NICKY
Reparations?
HELEN
Exactly.
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