The Estate 4

By Asa Montreaux, pen name Andrew James

Int. House

Vincent: What do we do with the body? What an... animal. What an act he has committed.

Matilda: Now Vincent. Oh. Let's get rid of it. Don't bury it here.

Vincent: In death even his wife to be will not spare him sympathy. Security. Him up and away from her. You have heard it. We care not were.

Security: Yes, Sir. (They lift eh body and carry him out of the room and away from them).

Vincent: Well, I am no scientist. Though I always wanted to be one. Pehaps that's why I had to study something else. Evert the reveler of sicence, what say ye is the cause of death? Stupidity?

Mae: Is he dead or is this some kind fo trick and he's going to come back.

Denise: No. They shot him in the back of the head. He's dead.

Mae: Oh, I see. I see. So my parents said Ican go home whatever actually. Though I might stay longer if the crazy one is gone.

Teresa: That will be fine. I suppose I don't have anywhere to go right away either.

Vincent: Then it is settled. It will be all of us, and suddenly I can handle this prospects. How funny. How quaint and how charming.

Mae: Why did he have to do that before he went and died?

Vincent: (pausing) Perhaps that is who he was, we could just not see it yet. Perhpas we didn't have enough compassion for our mother yet. Perhaps that was why she spoke so crazy.

Matilda: You said yesterday you love him!

Vincent: Well, not really. I never thought any one would do the favour for me.

Matilda: Ha! Ha ha! How wrong he is. How wrong you are!

Vincent: Don't grag us all down with him. I am but a pawn in a long line of events that we will never fully understand. Look. I didn't eve nhave to shoot him in the head. It was like a pre set.

Teresa: Vincent now is not the time to make those jokes.

Vincent: Grief is like a cow and you have to slaughter it and fucking eat it.

Teresa: You're still kidding.

Vincent: I'm a vegetarian.

Teresa: I noticed that.

Vincent: Hence the supplements and drinks, you know?

Teresa: I suppose. I haven't seen anyone as scientific about life as you.

Vincent: That's what I was going for. Neat.

Teresa: I wonder wehre they are taking the body.

Vincent: I had a place in mind. I hadn't decided right when they left though. Perhaps I should call them and inform there where to place the body.

Teresa: I'd thought of that. No. It's better that we don't know. What I really want is closer. I on;y didn't say how scary that man was.

Matilda: What? (A little lost for words)

Denise: It's hard to tell what someone is like. For love people will do all kinds of things. They will say thign even they never thgouth they'd say.

Vincent: I like what she said. What she said.

Denise: Perhaps we should not notify his family. Obviously we don't want to remember his death.

Mae: No. But maybe we should do something. Maybe we should have a gathering. To remember what he was like. To learn from it. There is so much we could learn.

Vincent: I suppose. I would like to say some things. Sometimes you need a chance to repeat yourself. Like the fact that six one is perfect. Perfection is perfection. Excess is only excess.

Mae: Yea. Of course you won't say that specfically.

Vincent: No, no.

Mae: Just about death. About new beginnings.

Vincent: O, o, o.

Mae: What?

Vincent: I don't know. Not about love anyways. Or about Aristotle.

Mae: Please no. About something else. I can't wait to hear what you'll say. About something else. It will be monumental. People will hear about it. We aren't going to not talk about it eventually.

Vincent: (sighs) I suppose I could figure as much. Very well. A week from now. There. In the back. Far away. By the pit. The end of things. The start of us, the start of real entities.

Mae: Denise do you want to stay in our chamber.

Matilda: Maybe that's a good idea.

Denise: Okay. Sure, I'll stay in yours.

Vincent: Wonderful. I'll be by myself while the next husband comes in on the loose.

End scene.

Ext. back grounds.

Vincent: One day they'll stop blaming me for what they did with my rough drafts and research.

Denise: What?

Vincent: Nothing.

Denise: Why are we here?

Vincent: To be together. I think because we are all here, turly, together. It had nothing to with Richard. It makes no difference to anyone how it ended.

Denise: Have you thought of what you are to say?

Vincent: What?

Denise: Have you thought of what you are to say?

Vincent: I've thought it. A lot of things. But I haven't written anything. Haven't prepared anything. I am too preoccupied with other things.

Denise: I'm glad I'm here. It's nice her. You didn't make them.

Vincent: I know. I didn't, right?

Denise: That woman thought you were only skinny from anxiety right?

Vincent: Well, I didn't tell her how hard I work. I'm not anxious. I'm certainly thoughtful though. I hope people will accept me for who I am right now, not whatever they thought I might be come, in a negative sense. This is who I am, whoever they are, whatever they think wrongly about changeability, whatever they misunderstand about the fluidity of identity, and just how ignorant they are of how insignificant most things are.

Denise: Very deep. I am so impressed, look at how impressed I am.

Vincent: Yea, yea.

End scene.

Crowd gathered now. The whole staff of the house, and all of the family and friends previously present.

Vincent: Thank you all for gathering here, with us. (He pauses.)

I guess you know that I didn't particularly want to speak for Richard. Though as you know, I do want to speak for us. We want this occasion to be for all of you, not for Richard. In recognizing his passing, all of our passings are recognized, and we are the forefront of what is going on. We are what is important.

Sometimes, something happens that threatens our feeling of safety, and makes us wonder deep down whether we are as in control as we think we are. This is called shock. I, the youth, are more prone to this. I think that was actually the scardest I've been, when it was just me and Richard were fighting. He was red in his eyes. He wasn't high. He was just crazy. He didn't care if I saw right then. Only one of us was going to make it through.

I think I knew security would be there. Thank you Paul and Frank. It felt like forever, but truly, you made good time. I am sorry Matilda, but they were able to see how crazed he was. This time, I had no one to prove to. They saw for themselves what the situation was. I want to say let not derision pull us apart, but give us strength. My family, I am thankful for you, so please stay strong when I am here, in my absence, through my lows, through the good times, through my leadership, and through my disdain for everything. If anyone else would like to say anything, we have all night.

Vincent walks from the peremptory stage and heads off towards the woods.

Denise: You'll be there to put the bullet in the head, right?

Vincent: What?

Denise: Nevermind. Don't go in there.

Vincent: No. I'm not a fucking dog.

Denise: I can see that.

Vincent: Look at me. I'm a beautiful man. Never mind. Don't answer to that.

Denise: Haha. Okay.

Vincent: If the woods are so scary, what are you doing over her with me?

Denise: Oh. I wanted to talk to you. After what you said, you're okay and everything?

Vincent: I didn't say half of what I'd been thinking. It could have been more hateful. Did anyone else want to speak?

Denise: No, not then.

Vincent: That's good, I mean it's probably a good sign.

Denise: I suppose so.

Vincent: Do you know what I wanted to say?

Denise: What's that?

Vincent: The real murderer's are the one's that cannot sleep.

Denise: I hadn't noticed that.

End scene.

They are back near the pit, where everyone is still gathered.

Matilda: Vincent, where have you been?

Vincent: No where, I have been just fixing things up, around the property.

Matilda: What?

Vincent: Oh nothing. We were just walking together. We were not talking of anything, especially of nothing derisive.

Denise: Yep that's pretty much it.

Matilda: I see this one seems to be your partner in whatever your up to, your crime, I suppose.

Vincent: Nowhere approaching that of the deceased, with respect to you, the only loving person during his life present.

Matilda: I see.

Vincent: No disrespect meant. Of course I am very happy to be here. See, I'm not even drunk?

Matilda: If you stumble, I'm going to lose it.

Vincent: Duly noted. (Walks away to a different part of the party.)

Teresa is sitting by herself. Vincent sits beside her.

Vincent: Hey, how are you doing.

Teresa: Fine.

Vincent: It's not so bad. Have you ever had anything so terrible happen to you, you thought it was a nightmare?

Teresa: No. I don't think so.

Vincent: Do you know what was wrong? When I was twelve I found out my blood type. But it wasn't what I thought. It wasn't what they told me.

Teresa: What was it?

Vincent: It was A. It meant Jamie wasn't my father. I was crushed.

Teresa: Oh. I hope your okay now.

Vincent: Yea. But it meant it wasn't my mom too. She wouldn't tell me her blood yet, but there was no other man. I already had looked into it.

Teresa: What did it mean?

Vincent: It meant a lot of things. It . It meant I had a whole different story. A whole different set

of possibilities, of genetic traits, and I had to work so hard to realize those, for the first time.

Teresa: That's a tough thing to learn.

Vincent: Yea. It's good sometimes thought. Have you seen how bald Jamie is? It's hard to not feel your going bald just being in a room with him.

Teresa: I felt that too.

Vincent: See what I mean! Nothing is wholly good or bad.

Teresa: Like a haircut. Getting a color treatment and they pull at your hair but then it's a nice color.

Vincent: No, not like that. Much more poignant. Much bigger.

Teresa: Ah. So you didn't find out you had cancer.

Vincent: No. Not yet. Haha. Only stage one.

Teresa: What!

Vincent: Hah. See, not that bad. The blood tests were just about my heart condition. My hormones seem to have been a little high, through no fault of my own.

Teresa: So you don't have that anymore.

Vincent: No, it's all better. You know; about the concussions? It's all made up.

Teresa: Really?

Vincent: Really. The first Nanny had been calling the academy. Complaining about how it's unsafe. About how I was having anxiety flashback symptoms. All the time.

Teresa: Were you?

Vincent: Nope.

Teresa: That's funny.

Vincent: Well. It depends what funny is. But the point is. It's not so bad. I am here for you as my sister. Be honest. Say when something's bothering you. And maybe you'll be here for me too.

Teresa: Sounds good. I can do that.

Vincent: I hope so. We can be a good team, now and again. And don't say that.

Teresa: What's that?

Vincent: Don't talk about my marks on tv anymore. I was never deceptive. That woman isn't my mom. She's just upset because she was so rude without thinking about what was going on right in front of her. Please do not do that. Don't mistake yourself into thinking I'm proud. Passing isn't good enough. I odn't know why those engineers are failing, but it has nothing to do with me.

Teresa: I never thought about it. Of course I can stop. I haven't talked to you about that in years. I haven't been in a class of yours ever.

Vincent: That's what I've been saying.

Teresa: Okay.

Vincent: I'll be over her.

Teresa: Sounds good.

Vincent gets up, and goes over and joins Mae and some of the kitchen staff.

Vincent: With all of the staff that we have, we could so have had so many guests. So many parties here.

Mae: That is something that I would so be here for. Who'd have thought we could do thigns differently.

Vincent: Another King has passed. Perhaps only a king to be. Now we know just how

tyrannical, and unfun he was. My it's nice not to have him here.

Mae: Feel free to say that all you want. It doesn't bother me if you say that.

Vincent: It doesn't bother me, that's for sure.

Mae: Indeed.

Vincent: I'm imagining I'm going to see my professors around. It almost feels like a party. My mind is already been back at Uni. It has been a pleasure, Mae.

Mae: Yes. It has, certainly, will I be seeing you again soon.

Vincent: Certainly. I think of you sometimes. I'll think of you more now. I'll never forgot the good and the bad events of our holiday now. Thanks to all of you. I quite enjoyed your cooking, despite the unease in my body.(The kitchen staff are crodially thankful).

Mae: Will you be there for me after this? Maybe we haven't been as close before.

Vincent: Of course. Sometimes I feel I am not your number one man. The compeititon for you is strong. I'm not sure if you noticed that. People are always going for friends. And friends of friends. So complicated. Conscience thus does make cowards of us all.

Mae: I hadn't really noticed that. It makes me feel better. I want to be noticed.

Vincent: I know that. And htat is why I am always letting you go and winning you over again. Who knows how long my charm will last with you.

Mae: Haha.

Enter Denise

Denise: Hey!

Vincent: Hey you. Mind your enthusiasm. Remember the somberness of the occasion.

Denise: What is there to remember. (She kisses Vincent.)

Mae: Mghmm.

Denise: Oh. Sorry. (Laughs)

Vincent: There is nothing to be done. An honest mistake. And look at me, cast between two stones, be angry not at me.

Denise: I'm not angry at you.

Vincent: That makes me happier than you know.

Mae: I hate myself.

Vincent: I noticed that. Get over it.

Mae: Yea I'm not you I guess.

Vincent: Oh don't go and take it so personal.

Mae: Why would I?

Vincent: I don't know. Why would you?

Denise: This is not my favourite part. Vincent. Come along. Your mother wants to see you before she goes off to bed.

Vincent: Is it that late already?

They move over to where Denise is, waiting alone for them.

Vincent: Hi Matilda. How are you doing.

Matilda: I'm doing fine. Thank you for making a speech. You could have been a little more respectful.

Vincent: Well I venture you know the things I thought of saying.

Matilda: I suppose. You seem to have all the things to say and listen to none of what people have to say to you.

Vincent: Look. I am sorry Grandpa said the things he did. People don't understand. It's me. I have some things. But that doesn't mean I don't work hard. Gifts are responsibilities, and that's why they continue to be recognized, because of my hard work, not in spite of results. And if I could make people see that. This would all stop.

Teresa: I just thught your sister was smart. She said she worked so hard.

Vincent: Well she just thtought that was what we were doing. We were in the sand box one day, we were in the pool one day, we were getting into the same chair in law another year, it didn't really make sense, but that's how she saw it. Please don't tell me I don't listen. Please don't tell me that I have a tragic flaw. I am not overconfident. I am not overconfident, and nervous. No. Keep him away from me, always. Am I making myself clear?

Matilda: Alright. I'll think of all these other things as well tonight. Don't expect too much from me.

Vincent: Very well.

Matilda: Good night, son.

Vincent: Good night, mother.

Matilda exits.

Vincent: Shall I give another speech?

Teresa: Maybe not. You might have said enough for now.

Vincent: That so? Very well. Come.

He takes her to the centre of things.

Vincent: To all of you. (He pronounces.) Thanks for coming. I love all of you. Thank goodness for you, and to this world of ours, beautiful, scared by the few that have turned to madness and treachorous villainy, a toast. (They drink.)

Teresa: I see then. That was preferable to a speech.

Vincent: And wasn't it? Come on. Let's return to the castle.

End scene.

Int. Inside the castle. In the sitting room. They are walking.

Vincent: It seems quite here. They seemed to be nervous together in there chatter. They were so anxious about it.

Teresa: I hadn't noticed that before. I hear it now. I hope there are no more ghost.

Vincent: So you believe that it's real now?

Teresa: Oh. Yea. I see what you are saying about that.

Vincent: That's funny. It's reassuring. But sometimes thing have cycles of reoccurence. It might come again that something seems so crazy, and it will be up to me solve it voer again, and that is what I grow so wear of, explainging things to adults over and over.

Teresa: Over and over again. This time I could tell you were trying to break the cycle.

Vincent: I know. I guess sometimes there is nothing to say about it. It's one of those things that people throw at you, cover you up, with all of the things they were going to tell you, say nice things about you, but never actually did.

Teresa: I know what you mean. It's tough what Richard was like. He really was the one who had no idea what he was doing.

Vincent: I think so. It's very scary.

Teresa: What are the headphones for?

Vincent: What? It's just music. There's no one on the phone.

Teresa: You like music?

Vincent: What?

Teresa: You know what I mean.

Vincent: No there's no one on the phone. There's no one I'm leaving out. It's just music. It's what you thought.

Teresa: Why did anyone think that.

Vincent: I'm not sure. It doesn't really make sense.

Teresa: Are you okay right now?

Vincent: I think so. Tell Leslie if she was trying to speak through the big woman, it's not working. Tell her she knows I respect her, and would only ever listen to her.

 End scene.