Characters - john- a
older black man who appears like he’s is in his fifties, he is a large man with
thick gray facial hair which connects into a thick gray beard. he is wearing
round glasses and also wearing a white button up shirt as well as black slacks
with dress shoes.
Jill-.a older black woman who looks
like she is in her fifties. She is also slightly large but smaller than her
husband john, she has gray hair that is concealed under a decorative patterned
scarf. She is wearing round glasses and is wearing a red body length robe along
with black slippers.
Setting- the kitchen of john and
Jill’s home and they are at the table eating dinner having a conversation
discussing
fixing
their car which needs to be fixed up, fixing the the back fence, their neighbors
and relatives and more.
Jill- when are you going to get the
car checked out.[as she picks a scoop of mashed potatoes off her plate with her
spoon in her right hand and takes a bite]
John- when my paycheck gets here on
Friday and i go talk to Henry in person at the old auto shop down
the road i talked to him over the
phone yesterday and i planned to call him tomorrow afternoon.[ as he takes a
large bite of the fried chicken leg on his plate [crunch] ]
Jill- you said that last week
and that old car is still in the driveway- [ as she swallowed and dug her spoon
in mashed potatoes to prepare for another bite]
.
John-. The process is taking a bit
longer than the usual we have more expenses to pay this month but i will get to
it like i said and it will be done.[ as he took another bite of the fried
chicken on his plate [crunch]
Jill- alright i will believe it when i see it
have you at least gotten down to thinking about getting the back fence fixed [
as she made a gesture pointing it in its direction] that neighbor dog keeps
sneaking in and out peeing in and digging up my garden.[ as she frowned at him
and took another bite of her mashed potatoes]
John- [letting out a long sigh as he
frowned back at her] i asked that neighbor boy to tell his parents to at least
keep the dog away from the fence until i fix it.[ as he placed his hands on the
table and stared Jill in the eyes]
Jill- you know damn well know these kids these
days always do the opposite of what you ask you should have went to his parents
directly.[ as she moved her spoon from the mashed potatoes to the yellow corn
beside it and filled up the spoon]
.
John- after i fix the fence in the
morning i will go talk to them before i leave in the morning.[as he he removed
his hands from the table and reached into his right pocket pulling out his
touch screen mobile phone]
Jill- yeah you better do that before i
leave some chocolate as a nice treat or allow Jerome and Maurice to bring they
bad juvenile delinquent asses over to shoot that damn dog with a pelet gun like
they do those strays in their neighborhood.[ as she prepared another spoonful
of corn as she chewed her corn]
John- i told their asses to stop doing
that shit before they end up in juvenile hall or get kidnapped by a animal
rights group.[ as he looked through his phones calender evaluating the dates
and planned business on those dates]
Jill- did you just not hear me these
kids always do the opposite of what you ask, you should have went to Dashawn
and Felicia.[ as she then put her spoon down and reached for the small glass of
red wine placed strategically next to the plate].
john - i always tell them to
discipline those boys and redirect that damn energy their super charged hard
headed asses cant seem to burn out.[as he clicked the power button on the phone
and placed it on the table next to the plate]
John- you know them two always too
busy running around, in and out them stores buying them spoiled brats more junk
for them to brake and overpriced clothes to tear up.[ as he reached and grabbed
his glass of wine and took a sip]
Jill- [ as she smacked her lips from
her sip of her wine enjoying the flavors on her palate while returning her
glass to the table] them two will get it together when they get tired of
burning money they need to put that money up for a college fund or bail money.[
as she gave a sarcastic smile]
Jill- just make sure you get to that
fence in the morning before my threats becomes reality[ as she chuckled and
gave a fiendish smile] my garden is not a dog park[ as she grabbed her glass
and started to take a sip of her wine].
John- i hear you honey[as he took
another sip of his wine and then placed the glass on the table once again] i
got the nails and wood needed in the garage and i will be straight to the
neighbors afterwards [as he gave her a warm smile].
John- [as he made a telephone gesture
with his hands] i will call Henry’s tomorrow afternoon and get it done.
Jill- you should have bought that car
he offered you last time we were in this situation.[as she grabbed the piece of
chicken on her plate preparing to take a bite]
John- i was going to until i saw it
was going to be a bigger problem than the one we have now-
Jill- what is exactly wrong with the
car is the problem major or minor?[ as she made shrugging gesture with her
shoulders and lifted her arms slightly]
John- well honey originally it was a bad
hose under the hood but it eventually became a problem in the computer system
and now its a problem with the catalytic converter.[ as he grabbed his spoon
and dug it into the yellow corn on his plate than took a bite].
Jill- how much is going to cost for
repair of all that?[ as she chewed her chicken and stared at him]
John- we talked a few estimates but
did not come to a solid conclusion due to the fact of us agreeing on a few more
inspections for more errors or problems to make sure there is not anymore so we
could come to a final estimate.
Jill- do not let him beat you out of
our money![ as she continued to eat her chicken].
John- i am aware of that i have been
braking my back to get this money i will be damned i let him beat me out of
it.[as he continued to eat the corn on his plate]
Jill- well let’s change topic and come
back to that tomorrow how is work going on? [ as she placed the bone of the
chicken on the plate]
John- well it’s been a larger work
load for the entire company since the wildfire everyone is putting in 110
percent and working to the bone.[as he continued to shuffle down the corn on
his plate]
John- i had to give more approvals for
more shipments of supplies and medicine than i had to do in years and a lot of
the younger guys are out in the toxic rubble saving who they can delivering
supplies and medicine [as he put the spoon on the plate where the corn once
was]
Jill- the news said this is the worst
wildfire we have ever had in the history of the state and that the air quality
is going to be harsh for a long time.[as she grabbed her glass of wine and
finished it]
John - they are right i am seeing the
effects first hand i went to the hospital to check for medicine and saw a man
who was exposed to the toxins in high levels and he developed a rash that
covered his entire body in painful inflamed blisters.[as he grabbed his cup of
wine and began to finish it]
Jill- that sounds horrible the lady at
the pharmacy said the toxins were causing rashes and blisters along with deadly
respiratory illnesses in those exposed in high amounts. [as she placed the now
empty cup on the table]
John- i had to wear a full body
quarantine suit along with a gas mask just so i could enter the hospital.
Jill- for good reason your lungs and
immune system could not handle that neither could mine really nobody’s could.
John- i grabbed few breathing masks
and more gloves but the medicine was already in use or was going to be needed
immediately.[as he reached for the halfway empty bottle of wine and grabbed it]
Jill- they also mentioned that on the
news as well we are limited on resources so we are suppose to be receiving
assistance's from other states.
john- [ as he poured the wine in the
cup] the news is hopefully telling the truth because i have not heard a thing
and we need all the help we can get.
Jill- i also heard they are now in the
process of figuring out the cause of the wildfire.[ as she stood up from her
chair and she placed her silverware on the plate]
John- i also heard that, i was told
that by a colleague he said he was told that they believe it was a faulty power
line that was outdated that sparked near a tree then spread from the tree to
the dry grass beneath.[as he stood up from the table and he placed his
silverware on the plate]
John- [as he walked away from the
table carrying his plates and silverware to the nearby sink] The plant life up
near the main damaged areas was not being maintained properly.
Jill- [as she walked up to the sink
next to john and putting her plate along with her silverware into the sink] on
the news they say they believe the storm we just had was the cause and that a
stray thunder strike struck a field full of old grass and dry vegetation which
started it.
John- so it is either a stray thunder
strike or a faulty power line also i heard arson as a possibility.[ as he
placed his dishes into the sink and started the water for the dishes awaiting]
Jill- [ as she opened a drawer and
pulled out a half bottle of blue dish washing liquid] I also heard it could
have possibly been a careless cigarette smoker who just tossed their cigarette
butt or embers from the cherry of the cigarette when they were ashing it.
Jill- i also heard a group of
teenagers were having a bonfire type of thing and they did not know what they
were doing and instead of getting help just ran away from the scene.[as she
handed the bottle of dish washing liquid to john]
John- [as he took the dish washing
liquid from Jill and began to pour a portion of it into the warm running water
in the sink] that is also a possibility considering all these kids these days
do not take time.
John- [as he placed the dish washing
liquid bottle onto the counter and proceeded to wash the awaiting dishes] i
also heard from the woman at the grocery store, i think her name is Catherine
that some kids were playing with fireworks.
Jill- [as she walked to the kitchen
table and grabbed the wine bottle than she poured another cup of wine, emptying
out the last of the wine in the bottle] i guess everyone is trying to figure it
out.
John- rightfully so because everyone
is caught up in this mess.
Jill- the news said the air quality is
so poor due to the homes burned along with plastic trash animal bodies etc
pretty much everything contributes to this poor air.[as she took a sip of her
wine]
John- that sounds about right because
everything the fire burned is in the air and honestly the fire burned countless
things.
John- the rain from the storm was
suppose to clear it up but it did not do as much as was hoped.[as his hands
shuffled under the soapy water].
Jill- it did not do much at all we
still have to wear face masks and sanitize everything.[ as she took another sip
of wine and placed the glass on the table].
Jill- i talked to the lady at the
pharmacy she told me that if this continues she want be able to give people
their medicine if she runs out of her supply.
John- a lot of drivers have not been
able to get to town due to roads being fire damaged so they are creating new
routes for them to take and relying on planes along with helicopters to bring
in the supplies.
Jill- well i guess she does not know
that-
John- -she would not know because they
are giving out all types of information that changes every second of the day
due to new developments.
Jill- all i know is this is terrible.[
as she walked to the garbage can with the empty wine bottle in hand and dropped
it into the garbage can]
John- i could not agree more we need
some type of miracle.[ as he began to put the soapy newly cleaned dishes to the
side into a pile to be ready to be rinsed]
Jill- on to a less depressing topic
what did you think of the chicken.[ as she made her way back to the table and
sat in her chair]
john- it was spectacular as ever it
was another one of your trademark creations[ as he continued to stack the soapy
newly clean dishes for rinsing]
Jill- i used a new seasoning that i
just came up with out of my last batch of peppers and herbs.[ as she grabbed
her glass of wine and took another sip]
John- i could tell it was a bit
different but i could not quite put my finger on it. [ as he stacked the last
dish onto the pile and began to drain the sink]
Jill- i used black peppers and this
new herb called green dragon which gave it a naturally mild spicy taste.
John- it did have a bit of a extra
kick to it that added more flavor to it.
Jill - i am not sure how good this
next harvest is going to be considering how this damn dog keeps tainting my
garden and how i have to pretty much remove all the tarnished plants.[ as she
took a sip of her wine and placed the glass on the table]
john - the neighbors are gonna have to
pay us back for the damage that little monster has caused i will mention that
as well.[ as he began to run the water and placed the dishes under the water
for rinsing]
Jill- i already did when i talked to
them last time and they agreed to pay me something for my troubles but i have
yet to see something.
John- i will have to remind them
tomorrow when i get around to that fence after i talk to Henry about the car.[
as he continued to rinse the dishes under the running water]
Jill- alright we will see anyways what
did you think of the yellow corn and mashed potatoes i got them from Felicia.
[as she grabbed her glass of wine and took another sip then placing it back on
the table]
John- they were spectacular as well i
would have never known Felicia made them if you did not tell me.[ as he opened
the cabinets and began to place the dishes in one by one]
Jill- if you say that she must have
finally gotten the recipe down after so much trial and error.
John- you could not really expect her
to be on the same level as you when it comes to cooking so soon without trial
and error.
Jill- your right i have been cooking
for so long i forgot that it is second nature for me and a hassle for others.
John- you taught me how to cook when
we first got together and it came out all burnt and hard.[ as he gave a big
smile showing all his teeth and shiny gold tooth implanted among the teeth at
the top right of his mouth]
Jill-[ as she smiled back at him
showing her teeth] you sure did burn the life out that cornbread and we just
had to toss it.
John- it is a good thing you know how
to cook or we would have for surely starved if you left it up to me.
Jill- i could not stop laughing while
i was cooking because you were so sure you had it and when you saw the result
your facial expression was priceless.
John- i could have sworn i had the
right temperature and everything. [as he continued smiling while putting the
last of the dishes in the cabinet]
Jill- this is a bit different she has
been learning to cook from me since she was fifteen and she is twenty one now,
it took her six years to finally get it down.
john - it takes time to get anything
right plus that was not her only interest at the time so i give her a past.[ as
he closed the cabinets and opened the drawer placing the clean silverware in
the drawer accordingly]
Jill- i know it took me nearly half my
life to learn a lot of things so i do not hold it over her head i just do my
little bit of talking smack here and there but i am proud of her.
Jill- i honestly wish i grabbed some
more of it to use tomorrow night but i will see if, she has any more left
tomorrow morning.[ as she grabbed her glass of wine and took another sip]
John- that is not a bad idea it is
definitely worth eating again.[ as he reached under the cabinet and pulled out
a fresh bottle of wine]
john- [ as he put the bottle of wine
on the counter and opened the cabinet then pulling out another glass cup] it is
a better option then letting me cook again.
