Speedy, Meri & Me Martha Rose Crow

 

ACT 9: WORK WILL SET YOU FREE

 

CAMERA SEES A PHONE BOOTH AND SLOWLY ZOOMS TOWARD IT AND INSIDE IT TO SEE DIVA TALKING

ON THE PHONE.

 

DIVA (narrating) When I told my mother that I was with Speedy, she said

 

CLOSEUP OF MOTHER PREACHING.

 

MOM Does he know the Lord? Has he confessed Jesus Christ as his personal savior?

 

CLOSEUP OF NICE, OLD DUTCH LADY

 

DIVA When Speedy told his mother that he was with me, she asked

 

SMOM Geef zij om jou?

(Does she care about you?)

 

TWO-SHOT OF SPEEDY AND HIS MOM.

 

SPDY (nodding shyly and sweetly) Ja.

 

CLOSEUP OF SPEEDY'S MOM.

 

SMOM Dat is goed.

 

DIVA(narrating) She didn't care that I was married or a few years older than him. All that mattered was that I cared about him.

 

MOVING TWO-SHOT OF DIVA AND SPEEDY AS THEY RIDE THEIR BIKES THROUGH ALKMAAR

NEIGHBORHOOD RIGHT BEFORE THEY GET TO THE HIGHRISE.

 

DIVA(narrating) One time when we went to visit her in the retirement home

&nb sp;

THREE-SHOT OF SPEEDY, SPEEDY'S MOM AND DIVA VISITING.

 

DIVA (narrating) I saw a little picture in the corner of a photo frame. It was dirty and badly creased.

 

 

TWO-SHOT OF SPEEDY'S MOM & DIVA.

 

SMOM Dat is mijn broer Doris. De Nazis vermoorden hem in Bergen-Belsen.

 

ONE-SHOT OF DIVA PICKING UP PICTURE AND LOOKING AT IT CAREFULLY. THREE-SHOT OF SPEEDY,

SPEEDY'S MOM & DIVA.

 

SPDYMy mom says that is her brother Doris. He died at the concentration camp Bergen-Belsen.

 

SMOM (tears in her eyes) De gebruikelijke route van de Nazis was van husi naar huis om de manne lijke bevoking van zestien

tot vijfen veertig te latenwerken in hunfabriek in Duitsland. Wij verstopten hum onder de vloer in ons husi, maareen heer pakte

ze hem in Zaandam van de straat. Maar daarna hebben wij niks meer van hem vernomen.

 

SPDY My mom says that the Nazis used to go house-to-house, taking all the men from sixteen to forty-five to German y to

work in war factories. They'd hide him under the floor in their house, but they caught him on the street in Zaandam and they

captured him. No one in the family ever never saw him again.

 

SMOM Er is alleen nog een foto van hem over.

(Its the only picture any one in the family has of him.)

 

ONE-SHOT OF DIVA STILL LOOKING AT THE PICTURE.

TWO-SHOT OF DIVA AND SPEEDY.

 

DIVATell your mom that I can fix this picture and make it look like new with my computer.

 

TWO-SHOT OF SPEEDY AND HIS MOM.

 

SPDY Diva heft de foto opgeknapt alsof hij net nieuwe is.

(Diva can fix this picture with her computer and make it look new.)

 

SMOM(worried) Het is het eenigste die ik heb. Zij zal de foto altijd bij haar hebben. (Looks at Diva and smiles)

(Its the only one I have. She can take it with her.)

 

DISSOLVE TO DIVA SITTING AT HER COMPUTER IN A CORNER IN THE LIVING ROOM, RIGHT NEXT TO THE

COUCH MERI SLEEPS ON. DIVA SCANS THE LITTLE PICTURE, CLEANS IT UP AND PRINTS A LARGE,

PERFECT PICTURE OF DORIS.

 

DISSOLVE TO SPEEDY'S MOTHER'S FLAT. SPEEDY TAKES THE PICTURE OUT OF HIS BACKPACK AND

GIVES IT TO HIS MOTHER. SHE GASPS IN SURPRISE AND BEGINS TO WEEP.

 

DIVA (narrating) This was the beginning of my part-time job of resurrecting the dead through photography. Speedy's mother

showed some of the residents of her apartment building Doris' picture.

 

GROUP SHOT OF SPEEDY'S MOTHER SHOWING SOME OF HER FRIENDS DORIS' IMPROVED PICTURE.

 

DIVA (narrating) Almost e very Dutch family lost a family member in that war. Most of them are like Speedy's mother and have

only one photograph left, and it Is usually in real bad shape.

 

 

 

TWO-SHOT OF SPEEDY DRINKING COFFEE WITH HIS MOTHER AS DOOR RINGS. MOTHER OPENS DOOR

AND ITS ONE OF HER OLD LADY FRIENDS WITH AN OLD PICTURE IN HER HANDS. THE OLD LADY TAKES

IT OVER TO SPEEDY AND STARTS TO TALK, ALTHOUGH THE SPEECH IS MUFFLED.

 

DIVA (narrating) The friend of Speedy's mother wanted me to fix the picture of her grandfather who died from starvation

during the Long Winter. This was the Winter of '44 and '45 when the Allies had Holland cut off in the middle. Northern

Holland couldn't get food shipped to them. People had to eat tulip bulbs. At least 10,000 Dutch died from starvation. Her

grandfather Claus was one of them.

 

DISSOLVE TO DIVA SITTING AT HER COMPUTER IN A CORNER IN THE LIVING ROOM WORKING ON THE

PHOTO WITH HER COMPUTER.

 

DIVA (narrating) So I fixed it for her.

 

TWO-SHOT OF SPEEDY'S MOTHER AND FRIEND. SPEEDY'S MOTHER GIVES HER FRIEND THE PICTURE. SHE

HOLDS IT TO HER HEART AND BEGINS TO CRY.

 

DIVA(narrating) She gave Speedy's mom ten euros to give me for the photo. After that, I got more work. The people in her

building heard about the photos and started bringing their photos to Speedy's mom's house to be fixed.

 

SHOT OF DIVA SITTING BY HER COMPUTER, SURROUNDED BY SEVERAL OLD PHOTOS.

 

DIVA (narrating) I fix these old photographs of the dead for the living. I never charge for it, but people usually give me

something.

 

C AMERA SHOTS OF OLD PHOTOS OF DUTCH PEOPLE WHO DIED.

 

TWO-SHOT OF MERI AND DIVA PLAYING BACKGAMMON IN THE LIVING ROOM. PHONE RINGS.

 

DIVA (narrating) Sometimes the escort agency calls Meri.

 

MERI I've got a job! I've got to get ready!

 

DIVA (trying to hide her worry and unhappiness) We'll finish the game later. (Puts game away on shelf)

 

DIVA (narrating) I hate prostitution, but I won't tell Meri how to live. It's one of the few ways Meri can make some money since

she doesn't have papers.

 

ONE-SHOT OF MERI WALKING INTO THE LIVING ROOM IN A TUXEDO COAT. SHE HAS A BLACK SILK

SHIRT UNDERNEATH AND BLACK SATIN HOT PANTS. THE BLACK LEATHER BOOTS STOP AT HER KNEES.

 

DIVA (narrating) When Meri comes back, she'll have a good story to tell, plus she'll have money for food and some smoke. She

is a share bear. She knows that Speedy doesn't make a lot of money.

 

ONE-SHOT OF SPEEDY PLAYING DRUMS IN BAND.

 

DIVA (narrating) Speedy makes his money playing in the band and fixing bikes.

 

DIVA(narrating) I make my money all kinds of ways, but I draw the line at prostitution, smuggling or stealing. One time, I

unloaded a truck

 

ONE-SHOT OF DIVA UNLOADING A TRUCK.

 

DIVA (narrating) I clean houses

 

ONE-SHOT OF DIVA WASHING WINDOWS IN AN OLD LADY'S HOUSE.

 

DIVA (narrating) and one time, I took care of sheep, including shovelling sheep shit.

 

ONE-SHOT OF DIVA MARKING SHEEP'S HEADS WITH RED AND BLUE PAINT STICKS.

 

DIVA (narrating) Sheep, or schapen, are filthy, filthy animals.

 

 

SHOT OF SHEEP EATING FROM TROUGH, ONE SHEEP SHITS ON THE HEAD OF ONE EATING, THE SHIT

ROLLS INTO THE TROUGH AND THE SHEEP CONTINUE TO EAT.

 

DIVA (narrating) Calling people sheep or 'sheeple' is really an insult. I really didn't like working with them.

 

SHOT OF DIVA CHASING A HERD OF SHEEP IN A FIELD.

 

DIVA (narrating) But I did it to try to make some money to buy food with.

 

TWO-SHOT OF MERI AND ME KNOCKING ON A DOOR. IT OPENS AND A BLACK MAN SHOWS THEM IN.

 

DIVA (narrating) We met this guy who runs his own catering business. We were going to be the only white people serving

food at Surinamese parties. We knew it sounded too good, but Meri and me needed to work.

 

EDDY C'mon. You're on time. I like it when people are on time.

 

DIVA AND MERI WALK INTO EDDY'S HOUSE AND HE SHOWS THEM INTO THE LIVING ROOM. IT HAS A

LARGE, BLACK LEATHER 'L' SHAPED SOFA. HE SITS ON ONE END AND DIVA AND MERI SIT ON THE OTHER

SIDE.

 

DIVA (narrating) His name was Eddy. We had checked him out, too, because there are so many predators around preying on

poor women. It seemed legitimate. He offered us something to drink. Meri and I had a beer.

 

GROUP SHOT OF EDDY GIVING THE WOMEN BEERS.

 

DIVA (narrating) He rolled a strong hash joint and we smoked it with him.

 

THREE-SHOT OF ALL THREE SMOKING. DIVA AND MERI LOOK AT HIM SUSPICIOUSLY.

 

DIVA (narrating) We waited for Eddy to leave the room to talk.

 

ONE-SHOT OF EDDY LEAVING THE ROOM.

 

TWO-SHOT OF DIVA AND MERI.

 

DIVA(whispering to Meri) What kind of a job interview is this? First, the beer, now the joint.

 

MERI(whispering back) I don't like it either. Let's just play along and see what he has to say. Maybe he really wants to give us a

job. Then we'll go.

 

ONE-SHOT OF EDDY ENTERING THE ROOM.

 

DIVASo do you want to tell us about catering? When can we start?

 

EDDY(smiling as if to hide lies) I thought we would watch a movie first, relax a little . . . (Diva and Meri look at each other with

surprise)

 

DIVA (narrating) Before we could say another thing, he turned the light off and MTV turned into the worst porno movie Meri

and me had ever seen.

 

CAMERA SHOWS PART OF TV SCREEN FROM BEHIND DIVA'S AND MERI'S HEAD. THE FACE OF AN OLD

LADY SHOWS THAT SHE IS SEXUALLY EXCITED AND HER ARMS JIGGLING SHOW THAT SHE IS PLAYING

WITH SOMETHING. SHE PUTS THE DILDO UP TO HER FAC E AND LICKS IT BEFORE IT DISAPPEARS INTO

DIVA'S SILHOUETTE.

 

DIVA(narrating) This lady had to have been 70 years old and she was beating off with a vibrator.

 

ONE-SHOT OF EDDY.

 

EDDY (excited) This is one of my favorite movies.

 

TWO-SHOT OF MERI AND ME. THEIR FACES REVEAL THEIR DISPLEASURE.

 

DIVA (narrating) It was obvious that Eddy thought that Meri and me were doing it. It's sad that a woman can't have a bi-sexual

woman friend without everyone thinking that we are fucking.

 

SILHOUETTE SHOT OF MERI AND DIVA. TV SCREEN IS SEEN IN THE BACKGROUND. NOW THERE'S A

YOUNGER GIRL WITH THE OLDER WOMAN. SHE HAS ON BRIGHT BLUE EYE SHADOW AND SHE'S MUCH

SKINNIER. THEY ARE KISSING.

 

DIVA (narrating) He thought that he would show us his movie and that we would get all hot and bothered, want to fuck each

other and then invite him to fuck both of us so he could save us with his cock. Where do these people get these fantasies? He

knew that we were poor and that we needed work, so he was trying to take advantage of it.

 

YOUNGER GIRL IS LYING ON A BED, SPREAD LIKE A 'X'. THE SILHOUETTE OF DIVA'S BIG HEAD IS RIGHT

IN THE MIDDLE, BLOCKING OUT THE VIEW OF HER VAGINA.

 

ONE-SHOT OF EDDY.

 

EDDY (excited) What do you think?

 

TWO-SHOT OF MERI AND ME.

 

DIVA(wryly) Well I think I can see her heart beating. At least from this angle. You can see all the way inside her.

 

ONE-SHOT OF EDDY.

 

EDDY Wait, it gets better.

 

BACK TO SILHOUETTE SHOT OF DIVA AND MERI'S HEADS WATCHING FADED, UGLY MOVIE. OLDER

WOMAN HOLDS UP SHINING, SILVER DILDO. IT DISAPPEARS WHERE DIVA'S HEAD IS. OLDER WOMAN

HOLDS UP A BIGGER, BLACK DILDO. IT DISAPPEARS WHERE THE SILHOUETTE OF HEAD IS, BETWEEN THE

YOUNGER GIRL'S LEGS. SHE STARTS MOANING IN FRENCH.

 

TWO-SHOT OF MERI AND ME LOOKING MORE UNCOMFORTABLE.

 

 

 

 

SILHOUETTE SHOT OF TV AGAIN. THIS TIME THE OLDER WOMAN IS HO LDING UP A GIANT CUCUMBER.

IT DISAPPEARS UNDER THE SILHOUETTE OF DIVA'S HEAD. MORE MOANING AND BEGGING IN FRENCH.

THE TWO WOMEN START TO KISS.

 

DIVA (narrating) Meri and me wanted to leave, but it was very cold, dark and raining outside. Eddy lived out of town and we

didn't have any money left for the bus.

 

THREE-SHOT OF EDDY, MERI AND ME.

 

DIVA (to Eddy) We want to leave. Will you give us a ride like you promised?

 

EDDY Not until the end. It's almost over.

 

TWO-SHOT OF DIVA AND MERI LOOKING AT EACH OTHER MISERABLY.

 

TV SCREEN BEHIND SILHOUETTE OF MERI AND ME'S HEAD. NOW THERE IS THREE IN THE TERRIBLE

MOVIE WITH THE ADDITION OF A YOUNG FAT GIRL. THE YOUNGER GIRL WITH THE BRIGHT BLUE

EYESHADOW IS STILL LYING ON THE BED. THE OLDER WOMAN IS KISSING THE YOUNGER GIRL WHILE

THE NEW GIRL IS HOLDING UP A CUE BALL. SHE PUTS IT BETWEEN THE EYE SHADOW GIRL'S LEGS THAT

ARE MASKED BY DIVA'S HEAD.

 

DIVA (narrating) Meri and me were stranded at Eddy's until the movi e was over. This was a new low for assholes. He could

have been honest up front and told us that he had no job for us, that all he wanted to do was fuck both of us at the same time.

 

NEW GIRL HOLDS UP AN '8' BALL. PUTS IT IN THE PLACE IN FRONT OF DIVA'S HEAD.

 

DIVA(narrating) It was so ugly and degrading. Meri and me saw all kinds of things go into that woman, but nothing come out.

 

NEWER ACTRESS HOLDS UP A GIANT, DOUBLE PENIS DILDO.

 

DIVA (narrating) Predator. Bastard.

 

 

DISSOLVE TO MERI AND ME WALKING DOWN 'LOVE STREET' IN ALKMAAR, EARLY EVENING. MERI

POINTS TO A LITTLE ROOM WHERE A PROSTITUTE STANDS IN A BIKINI.

 

MERI This used to be my little room eight years ago.

 

DIVA How many guys do you think you fucked?

 

MERI A lot. I never thought to count them. (Laughs) A lot.

DIVA You had a license to do this?

 

MERI Ja, I had a license.

 

ONE OF THE BLONDE PROSTITUTES SEES MERI AND MOTIONS FOR HER TO COME OV ER TO HER LITTLE

ROOM.

 

DIVA You know her?

 

MERI Nee, I think she wants to check me out. A lot of these girls are bee sexual. They need love, too. (Laughs as she looks at

the men looking at the prostitutes) I'm the only one looking on this street that doesn't have to pay for it. One of these women will

want to play with me.

 

DIVA Are you going to talk to her?

 

MERI (nodding 'no') Not my type. I like women who are athletic.

 

DIVA AND MERI WALK BY A PROSTITUTE'S BOOTH AND SEE A TALL, BEAUTIFUL, FIT BLACK GIRL. SHE

WAVES TO MERI AND MERI WAVES BACK. MERI GOES OVER TO TALK TO HER. DIVA WAITS IN THE

BACKGROUND. MERI WALKS BACK OVER TO DIVA.

 

MERI (smiling) I'm going to stay the night with her.

 

PROSTITUTE IN BACKGROUND CLOSES CURTAINS, WAITS FOR MERI.

 

DIVA (smiling) Have a nice time!

 

MERI WALKS BACK TO HER NEW FRIEND AND DIVA WAVES TO BOTH OF THEM.

 

DISSOLVE TO NEXT SCENE.

 

 

 

 

 

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