INT. FLASHBACK 1 (BAR) - DAY
An empty hole in the wall bar. It has a few tables and chairs and a long bar. The only thing worth mentioning is the large collection of fine liquors on the wall behind the bar, which seems out of place here.
Rose stands behind the bar, wiping a glass. On the other side of the bar stands the last woman from the pictures. This is Iris (47). She is Vera's daughter and Rose's mom. She wears a tight skirt and top, but they don't belong on her. She is thin and bony, but not sickly looking. She smokes a cigarette.
IRIS
I'm not going.
Rose makes no reaction.
IRIS (CONT'D)
Did you hear what I said?
ROSE
Yes.
IRIS
So you're gonna go.
Rose looks up, angry, but not surprised.
ROSE
Why?
IRIS
Because she's your grandmother and someone has to go collect
her things.
ROSE
But you don't have to go?
Iris takes a long drag of her cigarette.
IRIS
No.
ROSE
But she's your mother.
IRIS
It's not the same. You know that. I won't ever
go back there.
Beat.
IRIS (CONT'D)
My therapist says that I don't have to go.
Beat.
IRIS (CONT'D)
He says that everyone grieves in their own way and
this is just my way of grieving . . . Or not grieving.
ROSE
Fine.
IRIS
Buck says I shouldn't go either. Besides it's not like
there's a funeral or anything. The bodies already gone. You
just need to go help Bev with her stuff.
ROSE
Do you want anything?
IRIS
No. I don't need anything from her.
Iris takes another drag.
IRIS (CONT'D)
Just take whatever you want. Offer the rest to Bev
and then throw out what she don't want either.
ROSE
You're sure?
IRIS
Yeah. And be nice to Bev. They were friends for
30 years. Lived together for 8. She's probably broken up
over this.
ROSE
I'm sure she is.
RETURN TO:
YOU ARE READING
Mind the Gap
Short StoryThis is an adapted screenplay for a short film based on a story published in the New Yorker in 2011. The story is called "Sun City" by author Caitlin Horrocks. This screenplay was originally written in 2011.
