I See You Made an Effort by Annabelle Gurwitch

Author:Annabelle Gurwitch [Gurwitch, Annabelle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781101634721
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2014-03-06T00:00:00+00:00

THIS IS FIFTY

Int. a Bedroom in Los Angeles—Late at Night

It’s not the suburban Los Angeles bedroom you’ve seen in romantic comedies like Knocked Up or This Is 40. This bedroom didn’t have a set designer. It’s not designed. It’s furnished.

The furniture, including a makeup vanity, armoire and set of drawers, is from the Art Deco period, the combined effect almost achieving the look that was once referred to as “shabby chic,” a trademark style that emphasizes the allure of timeworn objects, though in this case it’s a bit more shabby than chic. In just the right light, it might resemble a modest Parisian hotel room in an outer arrondissement, but in full sunlight it’s more akin to a B and B outside Fresno, raisin capital of the world. An upholstered armchair that looks as though a pack of lions has been sharpening their claws on it sits next to an unused cat scratching post.

CLOSE ON: Five different TV remotes piled on a leather ottoman at the foot of the bed. One for the TV, one for the DVD player, one for the cable, one for a VCR that hasn’t been in use since 2001, and one belonging to a laser disc player, a technology that never really took. Each of the occupants suspects there might be a slim possibility that the signal from one of these remotes is doing something that makes the entire system work. It would sound cliché to note that three out of the five devices are flashing 12:00, but you know they are. The VCR simply reads: —:—.

CAMERA PANS ACROSS the foot of the bed.

A large comfy-looking California king dominates the room. A closer look reveals what appears to be a line down the middle of the bed. It is actually where two comforters meet. Each side has its own blanket.

CLOSE ON: Her nightstand. We see a plastic night guard container, a pair of tweezers, a jumbo-sized half-empty bottle of over-the-counter acid reflux medication. The top is gone, having been misplaced during the mad rush to get the bottle open. An assortment of reading that includes: You Can’t Sell Your Teenager on eBay, So Don’t Even Think About It; The Blue Zone Diet—Eating Your Way to a Longer Life; Anger Management for Couples—Yes, You Need it, Too, Not Just Your Partner. Two pairs of reading glasses resting next to each other. A package of AA batteries.

OPEN WIDER TO REVEAL: His nightstand. History books. Nazi: A New History of the Third Reich; Nazi: A New History of the Third Reich, Part II; and How the Third Reich Has Been Reinterpreted in New Historical Accounts. A small pyramid of crumpled receipts, an open box of Breathe Right strips and two pairs of reading glasses.

A Teenage Boy enters the bedroom to speak to his Mother.

The Mother is reading her dog-eared copy of You Can’t Sell Your Teenager on eBay.

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