Chapter One
On a Spring afternoon
GABBY sits outside on the curb of a residential street corner,
sketching furiously in a large notebook and periodically stealing glances at
something in the distance. Across the street, we see the address of a grand house,
1313, with a lush, overgrown garden and a copper rooftop. GABBY stops sketching
to look at her watch and moves to quickly gather her things. Standing, we see
she is wearing a school uniform. She takes a long, wanting look at the house at
1313 then suddenly takes off on foot, quickly moving past the house, down the
block and down the street.
Two women stand in a well-appointed kitchen, arguing. The
older, well-dressed woman, MAEVE, grabs a wine bottle away from the younger,
disheveled woman, GRACE. GABBY enters the kitchen, tossing her satchel on to
the kitchen table. The two women stop arguing as MAEVE attempts to hide the
wine bottle from GABBY. Neither of the women acknowledge GABBY. GRACE grabs the
bottle back from MAEVE, dramatically pours herself a very large glass of wine,
then storms out of the room in a huff, taking the bottle with her.
Defeated, MAEVE turns her back on GABBY and leaves the room through
a different door.
Evening
Still in her school uniform, GABBY sits on a bed in a sparsely furnished,
monochromatic room. Daylight is fading as she draws in her notebook. She
continues without turning on a light, oblivious to the growing darkness. At
the top of her sketch of a very tiny woman holding a very large wine bottle,
she writes: My Mom Sucks.
Chapter II
The next day
GABBY wanders the busy, noisy halls of a Catholic high school.
Her hair is a mess, her uniform, wrinkled. She looks around, unsure of her
surroundings. She is teased by classmates so she goes into the bathroom to
hide. In a stall, GABBY anxiously bites the sides of her fingers that are
already red, raw and scabby from compulsive biting. Drawing blood, she rifles
through her satchel and finds BandAids. She struggles to wrap and hide her
mangled fingers. Her satchel tips over and the contests spill out,
scattering around her feet. Among the candy wrappers, pens, and random items,
her wallet falls open revealing a photo of a smiling, handsome man in army
fatigues, saluting.
Afternoon.
GABBY slowly walks home from school, passing rows of million dollar homes with
razor sharp lawns framed by bright, beautiful flowers and driveways full of
expensive, shiny cars. She stares up at the trees and smiles at the row
of crows following her down the telephone lines. Reaching her destination, she
sits at the curb, makes herself comfortable and reaches into her satchel for
her sketchbook.
An
excitable man, FREDDIE, and an elegant woman, ROSE, stand peering out the
living room window of 1313, observing GABBY sitting across the street. ROSE is
charmed by the sight of GABBY. FREDDIE is suspicious of GABBY and believes she
is there stalking ROSE’S son, HARRY.
FREDDIE
storms out of 1313 and briskly walks across the street to confront GABBY who
sees him coming and fumbles to make a quick getaway. Amused, ROSE watches
from the window as FREDDIE sternly questions GABBY. ROSE sees GABBY
slowly hand FREDDIE her sketchbook. FREDDIE, takes a long look at the
sketchbook and shifts from grand inquisitor to friendly salesman, shaking
GABBY’s hand. They chat for quite a while as ROSE continues to spy from across
the street.
ROSE
meets FREDDIE at the door, blocking his reentry into 1313. FREDDIE tells ROSE
he is relieved to learn GABBY is not madly in love with HARRY, she’s madly in
love with the house! He goes on to fill ROSE in on all the information he
managed to get out of GABBY, ending with a detailed and dramatic description of
the beautiful sketch of 1313 GABBY is working on.
ROSE smiles knowingly and dismisses FREDDIE, reminding him he
needs to get back to his office and start working on hiring the vendors for her
party.
Chapter III
The next day
ROSE is out tending her front garden, humming Mozart, wearing a
chic outfit with an elaborate hat. She spots GABBY arriving at the corner
across the street, preparing to resume her sketching. ROSE squints, looking up
at a second-story window of 1313 at the west side of the yard. ROSE then
suddenly marches off in the direction of GABBY, tossing her gardening gloves on
the ground.
Upstairs bedroom.
GRACE sits with a drink looking out a window, watching MAEVE
gardening in the beautiful backyard. GRACE’s face is drawn and red from
crying. She drunkenly makes her way into the bathroom and starts opening
drawers and cabinets, desperately looking for something.
Outside.
MAEVE gets a call on her cell phone and carefully removes her
gardening gloves before answering. She is happy and excited to hear from
the caller and takes a seat on a pretty bench framed in colorful
blossoms.
MAEVE tells the caller her sister is driving her mad because
GRACE’s drinking is getting worse and explains she can’t kick her sister out
because GRACE has nowhere else to go. MAEVE tells the caller GABBY is
attending St. Joseph’s High School and believes she’s doing well, making new
friends. There is a discussion about sending GRACE to rehab and the cost, and
MAEVE hints to the caller she could use some extra money to cover for all the
extra expenses of having her sister and her niece staying at the house.
The call takes an abrupt turn and MAEVE shouts into the phone about abandonment
and betrayal and quickly hangs up, throwing the cell phone into a rose bush.
Back in the bathroom.
GRACE lies on the floor, blood pooling around her head.
Back at 1313.
ROSE has confronted GABBY, who stares up at ROSE from the curb. ROSE is direct
and to the point, telling GABBY the next time she wants to come sketch, she
must stop sitting in the gutter and do her sketching from the comfort of the
front garden. GABBY is in awe of the sight of this very beautiful and confident
lady who’s just invited her beyond the rock walls of 1313.
ROSE looks up at the house and points to a second story window,
telling GABBY that is her son's floor of the house and GABBY should not be troubled if
she should catch HARRY staring down at her from the window - adding he is not a
deviant, but just like his dearly departed father, HARRY is a student of the
human condition. GABBY nods her head without speaking as ROSE marches back
toward 1313, back to her gardening.
GABBY dreamily walks the quiet streets, touching the picket
fences and stopping to play with a cat. She is in no hurry to get back to her
aunt’s house and her lonely room. She is smiling, lost in a dream, soaking in
all the peace and beauty around her.
Chapter IV - The House
Two mature white birch trees mark the corner of Star Way and Summer Avenue and the entrance to the house at thirteen-thirteen. The trees, like a pair of old hands with thin, spindly fingers reaching up out of the soil, each bear a plaque strung with wire revealing a name. The tree on the left is Cosette. The tree thirteen feet to the right is Marius.
The walls surrounding the house reach six feet high and are made of blue-grey and white stones, quarried from the Preseli hills of Wales. Inset at the front opening of the wall are four Cordovan tiles of gold and green framed in hammered copper, proudly displaying the numbers, one–three-one-three. Copper, a conduit of heat and electricity, is prominently featured all over the house and grounds.
Two tired but loyal, 18th century gas street lamps bookmark the intricate, pre-civil war entry gate of antebellum cast iron corn stalks and honeybees. The gate, almost always left ajar, suggests “enter...or don’t.”
Through the gate, a path of slate gently winds through an overgrown, dense front garden. The garden is seemingly littered with exotic, painted pots of all shapes and sizes bursting with unusual, bright and robust plants and flowers. A worn, old church pew faces a cracked marble fountain of angels in battle. The chaos of the garden is misleading as a variety of trees and shrubs reveal topiary of animals and odd shapes meticulously maintained.
The house has two distinct entryways. Mid-garden, the slate path splits to a narrower path leading to the east wing of the house, ending at the foot of a grand, wrought iron spiral staircase. A chain strung across the railings prohibits entry to the staircase by a notice scrawled on the back of an old license plate reading: Stairway to Hell. Six sharp twists lead up to the third story and a row of pretty French windows on either side of a shiny black door. A large brass ship's bell hangs above the door frame.
The main pathway continues straight to the slate steps of the modest-sized front porch. Just three shallow steps lead to the landing, spared of any clutter so as not to detract from the spectacular, magical front door.
The massive copper portal, three times the size of average front doors, is rounded at the top and streaked with tears of green, brown and gold patina. The smooth surface is pocked with rusty railroad ties, hammered in to form the shape of a large L in broad, cursive font. The massive tungsten doorknob is the head of Api, the bull deity of ancient Egypt.
At the base of the front door, almost imperceptible, hand written in gold leaf as if by an elf, is the tiniest inscription, “No mere mortals beyond this door!”
(To be continued...)
