Wrists and Flowers

(A Play for Three Women)

By James Bartelle

© James Bartelle
7222 Sycamore
New Orleans, LA 70118
504-644-8392
james.i.bartelle@gmail.com

No part of this play may be changed, reproduced, or performed

without written permission from the author.
 Wrists&Flowers

New Orleans.
Late August.
2012.
The day after Hurricane Isaac made landfall.
Afternoon.
The front room of a shotgun-house in the Lower Garden District.
The power is out.
Clouded daylight filters through the windows.
Outside, torrential downpour.
Periodic cracks of thunder and flashes of lightning.
In the middle of the room, a table.
On the table:

A) The board game, Qwirkle, in progress--

including a bag of Qwirkle tiles and a rule booklet.
B) A plastic Mardi Gras cup.
C) A mason jar with some silver and copper coins.
D) An old leather-bound notebook and a pen.
E) A bottle of Four Roses Bourbon, mostly full.
F) An old boombox with a tape deck, playing.

On the Boombox: An old version of “House of the Rising Sun”.

RADIO
There is a house in New Orleans
You call the Rising Sun.
It's been the ruin of many a poor soul
And me, oh God, I'm one.

At rise:
Genevieve and Heather sit at the table.

Genevieve, early fifties, has a brace on her wrist.

She studies the Quirkle game and sings/ hums along with the radio.

Heather, early fifties, writes into the leather-bound notebook in

which she keeps score.

Squirrelly, early twenties, looks out the window.

There is a lost-puppy quality about her.
She shudders.

SQUIRRELLY
Eesh...

1
 Wrists&Flowers
RADIO (CONTINUED)
If I'd listened to what mama said, 
I'd be at home today.
Being so young and foolish, poor girl
I let a gambler lead me astray.
My mother she's a tailor—

The music shuts off abruptly!

Genevieve’s eyes dart toward the radio.

GENEVIEVE
What.

HEATHER
There it is.

GENEVIEVE
Noooooooo, my mixtape!

Genevieve grabs the radio.

GENEVIEVE
NOOOOOOO!
Come on, Rising Sun!

HEATHER
Well, it was inevitable.

GENEVIEVE
You gotta be shitting me!

HEATHER
Hey, swear jar!

GENEVIEVE
Ugh, what...ever.
(Genevieve puts the radio down.)
This sucks.

SQUIRRELLY
What happened?

Genevieve tosses a few coins into the mason jar.

HEATHER
The tape’s too old.

2
 Wrists&Flowers

GENEVIEVE
The tape is fine, it's the fricken batteries.

HEATHER
Already? Dead?

SQUIRRELLY
...Eesh...

Squirrelly goes goes back to looking out the window.

HEATHER
What size does it take?

GENEVIEVE
G, I think.

Genevieve grabs the radio again, taking the battery cover off.

HEATHER
Um, no, that can’t be right.

GENEVIEVE
Three of ‘em.
Or, I dunno-- C?!
They were brand new!

HEATHER
Yeah, brand new Made-In-China Cheapies.

SQUIRRELLY
All batteries are made in China.

GENEVIEVE
Hey, don’t be racist.

SQUIRRELLY
Oh no, I’m not being racist--

HEATHER
She's joking.

GENEVIEVE
All batteries are not made in China.

3
 Wrists&Flowers
HEATHER
Well, these ENTERgizers were.

GENEVIEVE
Yeah, and they've been goin' strong for over twelve hours.

HEATHER
Two points.
Your move.

GENEVIEVE
Ugh!
This is bogus!
(Yellin' at the radio.)
Rising Sun, how could you?

HEATHER
Squirrelly, it's your move.

SQUIRRELLY
Oh, my bad.

Squirrelly returns to the table, takes a seat.

GENEVIEVE
How could you do this to me, Rising Sun, I trusted you!!!
It isn’t funny, we need music.

Genevieve sets the radio down.

SQUIRRELLY
My bad.

HEATHER
Just get your phone.

Squirrelly plays her turn.

GENEVIEVE
Mah phone is dead, baby.

HEATHER
Big surprise.

GENEVIEVE
It woke up dead this morning.

4
 Wrists&Flowers

HEATHER
Why didn't you leave it plugged in yesterday?
Oooh, Squirrelly, nice move!

SQUIRRELLY
Is that six points?

HEATHER
Yep.

GENEVIEVE
This is not my best game.

Genevieve grabs the bottle of Four Roses, pours into plastic cup.

SQUIRRELLY
We can use my flip phone, and just jam out to some sick ringtones all afternoon.

GENEVIEVE
Tempting...

Genevieve death-stares the radio.

HEATHER
When the rain lets up, let's go get coffee and charge phones.
Four points to me.

SQUIRRELLY
I'd be down.

GENEVIEVE
I dunno...

HEATHER
C'mon, you have to call the insurance company.

GENEVIEVE
I'm not in any hurry.
My truck isn't going anywhere.
The tree isn't going anywhere.

HEATHER
Suit yourself.

5
 Wrists&Flowers
GENEVIEVE
I will.
How do you like (Qwirkle move) THAT!?

SQUIRRELLY
Wow, pretty good.

HEATHER
Five points.

GENEVIEVE
No, way, that's gotta be more.

HEATHER
Nope- Two, four, five.

SQUIRRELLY
How old was your truck?

GENEVIEVE
Almost as old as you.

HEATHER
Not true.
About seven years.

GENEVIEVE
I got it right before the storm.

GENEVIEVE/ HEATHER
The other storm.

HEATHER
Your move.

Squirrelly stares out the window.

GENEVIEVE
Uhgh, we need music.

HEATHER
You're move, Squirrelly.

SQUIRRELLY
My bad.

6
 Wrists&Flowers
GENEVIEVE
Hey where's your ukulele.

SQUIRRELLY
Huh?

GENEVIEVE
Didn't you have a ukulele with you?
Where is it?

SQUIRRELLY
It's still in my--
In y'all's guest room.

GENEVIEVE
Well, come on.
Chop chop, Squirrelly, time to earn your keep!

HEATHER
Dude.
Rude.

GENEVIEVE
I'm joking.

SQUIRRELLY
No, it’s fine.
I don't mind. --

HEATHER
No, it’s really not.
It’s rude.
We're in the middle of a game.
(To Genevieve)
Go get your guitar if you want music so bad.

SQUIRRELLY
You play guitar?

Squirrelly sets a Qwirkle tile down.

GENEVIEVE
Nah, not so much anymore.

SQUIRRELLY
Four points, I think.

7
 Wrists&Flowers

HEATHER
She's pretty good.
Yep, four.

GENEVIEVE
Meh.

HEATHER
No, she's actually pretty good.
You're pretty good.
She's just being modest.

Genevieve studies the Qwirkle tiles.

A crack of thunder.
Squirrelly looks out the window.

SQUIRRELLY
Eeesh...
This rain is apocalyptic.
Are coffee shops and stuff open today?

GENEVIEVE
Probably not.
Two points.

HEATHER
Don't be such a Debbie Downtown.
We can find one.
I'm trading in three tiles.
We'll go exploring.

Genevieve grabs the bottle of Four Roses, pours.

SQUIRRELLY
Totally.
I always get so foggy when it rains.
Y’all, I could crush a triple expresso right now.
We never really had hurricanes in Austin, obvi, but we'd get these really wild thunderstorms and
I remember one summer, I was like, ten or eleven, and the power went out in the whole
neighborhood for two full days, and my mom was working nightshifts at the time, so, you know,
she would always be sleeping during the day, but, um, so that summer to keep me from getting
bored, she got me a slippin' slide, which, at the time, I thought I was way too old for, and I just
stuffed it under my bed and kinda forgot about it, but that day, for whatever reason, I dunno,
because the power was out, I remembered and got it out, set it up in the backyard, and slip and
slid in the pouring rain.

8
 Wrists&Flowers
SQUIRRELLY(CONT'D)
For hours and hours and hours.
There were all of these wild bluebonnets growing in the backyard.
And I crushed them all, slippin' and slidin'.
Accidentally.
Throughout the day, a bunch of neighborhood kids came over and it turned into the best day ever.
We had this... tournament.
It was monumental.
Two points.
I haven't thought about that in forever.
Slippin' Slide Day.
And those bluebonnets...
They grew back, but...
That's probably what I'll be doing at the end of the world.
Slip and slide tournament.

HEATHER
Sounds fun.

GENEVIEVE
How do you have a slip and slide tournament?
Eight points for me.
I mean, what determines the winner, was it a race?

SQUIRRELLY
Actually, it was like... who could do the best tricks and stuff?
I don't remember.
We were kids, you know?
Four points--oh, my bad, it's not my go.
Sorry, I'm not—

GENEVIEVE
Well, now that I've seen Squirrelly's tiles.
Let me trade tw--

HEATHER
Hey, it's still my turn, Cheatie!
You lived in Austin your whole life?

SQUIRRELLY
Pretty much.
I started traveling and couch surfing and all that when I was seventeen, but yeah, up until then.

GENEVIEVE
What size batteries are in the flashlight?

9
 Wrists&Flowers
HEATHER
Um no absolutely not.
Not an option.

Heather grabs the flashlight from a nearby shelf.

GENEVIEVE
C'mon, I think they're the same size!

HEATHER
Give it up, not an option.

GENEVIEVE
We don’t need the flashlight in the middle of the day.

HEATHER
What about the middle of the night?

GENEVIEVE
The power’ll be back on any minute.

HEATHER
Great.
When it's back on, we'll plug in the radio and you can lose this game.
Twenty six points!

GENEVIEVE
Holy shit-- crap— fck!
Dammit!

HEATHER
Swear jar!

GENEVIEVE
Man.

SQUIRRELLY
Twenty-Six?
Woah.

GENEVIEVE
How is that even possible?

HEATHER
Wanna read the Rulebook?

10
 Wrists&Flowers
GENEVIEVE
Um. Maybe when we don't have guests?

SQUIRRELLY
Don't mind me.
Eight points.

Genevieve tosses a few coins into the jar.

HEATHER
Nice.

SQUIRRELLY
Do you have a guitar here?

GENEVIEVE
Mmhmm.

Genevieve takes a small drink from the Mardi Gras cup.

HEATHER
It's beautiful, it’s blue.

SQUIRRELLY
Should we play something?

HEATHER
Yeah--.

GENEVIEVE
Nah, I don't think so.

HEATHER
Come on.

GENEVIEVE
We're in the middle of a game.

HEATHER
So, we'll put the game on pause.

SQUIRRELLY
I'm down.

GENEVIEVE
I can't, it's my turn.

11
 Wrists&Flowers

HEATHER
Genevieve.

GENEVIEVE
No, seriously.
(Holds up her braced wrist.)
I can't.

HEATHER
Maybe some other time.

SQUIRRELLY
No worries.

Genevieve studies the Qwirkle tiles.

Squirrelly looks out the window.

SQUIRRELLY
What are those flowers called?

HEATHER
What flowers?

SQUIRRELLY
Those droopy orange ones.
They're a part of your garden, or—?

HEATHER
Yeah,

HEATHER/ GENEVIEVE
Angel's trumpets.

GENEVIEVE
They’re hallucinogenic— Ten points!

HEATHER
They grow all over the city.

GENEVIEVE
Hey, ten points.

HEATHER
Got it.

12
 Wrists&Flowers

GENEVIEVE
You don't have angel's trumpets in Austin?

SQUIRRELLY
If so, I've never noticed them.
They're really hallucinogenic?

GENEVIEVE
Yeah, ya wanna eat some?

HEATHER
Dude.
Rude.

GENEVIEVE
I'm joking, don't.

HEATHER
You are being such a Virgo today.

GENEVIEVE
I am a Virgo!

HEATHER
Squirrelly, what's your sign?

SQUIRRELLY
Huh?

HEATHER
What's your sign?
Pisces?

SQUIRRELLY
Um, Aries.

HEATHER
No way, really?
When's your birthday.

SQUIRRELLY
March 21.

HEATHER
Oh, sure, you're right on the cusp.

13
 Wrists&Flowers
What's your rising sign?

SQUIRRELLY
It’s, um— Honestly, I don't even know what that is.
So, you can trip on Angel's Trumpets, or what?

HEATHER
Apparently.
We've never tried.
We just like the way they look.
My firm was involved in a campaign for the land rights of Indigenous people in South America.
Providing legal counsel and blah blah blah.
And in some of those tribes, the elders dry out the flowers, crush them up and smoke them.
Or boil them into a tea.
For ceremonies, to communicate with the ancestors.
Or see into the future.
Apparently.

SQUIRRELLY
Wild.

GENEVIEVE
Yeah, maybe they could tell us whether or not the coffee shops are open.
(To Heather)
Is it still your turn?

HEATHER
Patience, young grasshopper.

GENEVIEVE
Seriously, don't eat the flowers, they're super-toxic.

SQUIRRELLY
I won’t, haha.

GENEVIEVE
I mean, not unless you wanna kill yourself.

SQUIRRELLY
That's...
...
I’ve definitely seen them before, not sure if it was in Austin, or where.
I just, I didn't know what they were called.
Angel's trumpets...
That's wild about seeing into the future.
...Do y'all have bluebonnets in Louisiana?

14
 Wrists&Flowers

GENEVIEVE
Not around here.

HEATHER
Forty Eight Points!

GENEVIEVE
Shit!

HEATHER/ SQUIRRELLY
Swear jar.
Jinx!

GENEVIEVE
Ya know what, you can both go ffffix your eyebrows!

She tosses a few coins into the jar.

SQUIRRELLY
Woah.

HEATHER
That was way harsh, Gen.

SQUIRRELLY
Yo, I haven’t bathed in, like, several days, but my eyebrows are flawless.

HEATHER
Let's see...
Yeah, they are pretty good.

SQUIRRELLY
Thank you, thank you, I try.

HEATHER
Success.
Your move.

SQUIRRELLY
I, like, always have tweezers on my person.
If the world ended tomorrow, I'd be prepared.
No one wants a post-apocalyptic unibrow.

HEATHER
Truth.

15
 Wrists&Flowers

GENEVIEVE
The world's not gonna end tomorrow.

SQUIRRELLY
Yeah, we got a few months, at least, according to the Mayans.

HEATHER
Well...

SQUIRRELLY
I mean, I don't know for sure, obvi, but...
You gotta be prepared.
Ten.

GENEVIEVE
The only way the apocalypse'll happen is if Romney becomes president.
And honestly, if that's the case, I’m gonna slit my wrists on election night, so, haha...

HEATHER
Morbid.

SQUIRRELLY
That's... not funny...

GENEVIEVE
What?
Oh, no, don't tell me you're a Republican.

HEATHER
Dude.
Rude.

SQUIRRELLY
It's fine, I'm not.

HEATHER
Even if you are, it's none of our business.

GENEVIEVE
I mean, it's sort of our business.
Hosting a Texas Republican Couch Surfer--

HEATHER
Rude.

16
 Wrists&Flowers
SQUIRRELLY
I'm not.
I'm really not.

GENEVIEVE
Oh, thank God, we would've had to kick you out in the rain.

HEATHER
Genevieve!

GENEVIEVE
I'm joking.

HEATHER
It doesn't matter, it's not funny.
(To Squirrelly)
It doesn't matter.

SQUIRRELLY
I mean, I can leave...

HEATHER
No!

GENEVIEVE
No, no, no, sit down, sit down, come on.
I'm just messing with you.
We're not kicking you out in the rain.
Let's keep playing.
Come on, sit down, I'm just being an asshole.
Ooop-- swear jar!

HEATHER
You are in rare form today.

Genevieve throws coins into the jar, takes a small drink from the Mardi Gras cup, pours another.

GENEVIEVE
Nobody else wants a drink?

HEATHER
Not right now.

GENEVIEVE
Squirrelly?
A peace offering?

17
 Wrists&Flowers

SQUIRRELLY
No thanks.

GENEVIEVE
We'll toast to your eyebrows!

SQUIRRELLY
No, I'm good.

GENEVIEVE
You sure?

SQUIRRELLY
Yep.

GENEVIEVE
You visit New Orleans, during a hurricane, and you're not gonna have one drink?

SQUIRRELLY
No, I'm really not supposed to.
But thanks.

GENEVIEVE
Says who?

HEATHER
Drop it.

SQUIRRELLY
I just...
I'm on this medication, and...

GENEVIEVE
Ah, gotcha, sorry sorry sorry, my fault.

SQUIRRELLY
I mean, I'm totally cool, I'm not crazy or anything...
It's just...
It's just not good when it mixes.

HEATHER
Yep, heard.
Noneya.
Drop it.

18
 Wrists&Flowers
GENEVIEVE
Forget I asked.

SQUIRRELLY
No, I appreciate it, I do.
Normally I'd totally be down, but.
It's still sorta new, and.
It's... I'm lame, sorry.

GENEVIEVE
Not at all.

HEATHER
No worries.

SQUIRRELLY
I'm totally cool...
I'm not crazy, or anything.

GENEVIEVE
I mean, we're all a little crazy.

SQUIRRELLY
I'm not.
I'm really not.
I swear!

HEATHER
Hey, it's all right.

Squirrelly gets up and looks out the window.

There is a quiet.
Heather grabs the flashlight, flashing it in Genevieve's eyes.
A crack of thunder.

GENEVIEVE
All right, it's time.
I'm gonna bust open the storm stash.
What do y'all want?
Anything?

HEATHER
Yeah, maybe some jerky or something.
Squirrelly?
Anything?

19
 Wrists&Flowers
SQUIRRELLY
No thanks.

GENEVIEVE
We got a bunch of veggie options.

SQUIRRELLY
Nah, I'm good for now.

HEATHER
Positive, one hundred percent?

Squirrelly nods.

SQUIRRELLY
Thanks.

GENEVIEVE
Let me know if you change your mind, I'll hook you up.

Genevieve kisses Heather on the head, exits towards the kitchen.

Heather puts the flashlight down, joins Squirrelly at the window.

HEATHER
It'll pass.

SQUIRRELLY
Huh?

HEATHER
The storm, it's just slow moving.
...
She has arthritis in her wrist, that's why she doesn't play anymore.
It's not personal.
Plus, she's a Virgo, so.
...
I stopped drinkin' all together for a while because I kind of had to.
I was hospitalized.
Psych ward.
I mean, not for alcohol, but... I'm sure it didn't help.

SQUIRRELLY
No way?

HEATHER
Couple years ago.

20
 Wrists&Flowers

SQUIRRELLY
That would've been the next step for me.
If I didn't start taking this... these meds.
What was it like, did it help?—sorry, that's rude.

HEATHER
No, it's fine.
It was... interesting.
A definite learning experience, and something I hope I never have to do again.
This state has a kind of backward healthcare system.
Well, specifically for mental health.
And women's mental health?, forget about it, it's unforgivable.

Genevieve re-enters with a bag of jerky.

GENEVIEVE
It's borderline criminal.
(Lighter)
I went into the kitchen and flipped the light switch and just stood there, like “why's it dark?”
Force of habit.

She hands the jerky bag Heather who opens it.

HEATHER
Thank you, love.
So, the conditions of the hospital itself, like the building and everything... sketchy.

GENEVIEVE
Also, that place was run like a circus.

HEATHER
I mean, that's a whole separate issue, but yeah.
It was interesting.
I can't regret it, y'know?
Learned a lot about myself.
Some nights there were unbelievably cold – temperature-wise.
Way too cold, the windows were all drafty.
There wasn't enough sealant on them, or whatever you call it.
And they were old.
My bed was right next to a window.
We didn't have enough blankets, none of us.
There wasn't a single patient that said they were warm enough.
It's a basic need.
I asked the night nurse about it and she said “all we got is all we got.”
It was in the middle of the winter so I missed Mardi Gras.

21
 Wrists&Flowers

SQUIRRELLY
Bummer.

HEATHER
Have you ever been here during Mardi Gras?

SQUIRRELLY
Not yet.

HEATHER
It's pure magic.

GENEVIEVE
It actually is.

SQUIRRELLY
It's just, like, non-stop debauchery everywhere, huh, like a city-wide block party?

HEATHER
It's beyond the debauchery.
It's this whole, spiritual, communal, fun, important, bizarro thing and the whole city participates.

SQUIRRELLY
Huh. I definitely wanna try one year. To get out here.

GENEVIEVE
It's the best.

HEATHER
That Mardi Gras I missed, was extra magic because the Saints just won the Super Bowl.

GENEVIEVE
Super Gras!

HEATHER
And, leading up to it, the energy in the city was unbelievable, so when I… snapped the tether…
No one really noticed at first, because everyone was losing their minds.
I don't remember feeling depressed or manic or paranoid.
But I would have trouble sleeping.
...
I had spent some time, traveling to these places for work: Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Mexico...
Jungle places.
It was hard to adjust when I got back.
Well, you travel; you know.
Every place you go to gives you a different perspective about every place you've been.

22
 Wrists&Flowers

SQUIRRELLY
Totally.

HEATHER
So I got back and I just felt... altered.
But I felt like my coworkers hadn't changed at all.
All this talk about urbanization and resource extraction and indigenous political participation...
Blah blah blah.
It felt empty, not connected to the actual people.
And it was frustrating.
The campaign we were working with collapsed and...
It was frustrating.
And I couldn't sleep.
I just felt like my brain was on fire.
It would feel...
I don't know.
Brain flame is the only way I can describe it.
One morning…
I was jogging down St Charles one morning.
Along the streetcar line.
Because it was so cold, I would wear about seven layers of clothes.
But then I would get hot.
One morning, I over heated, or something.
Got ridiculously hot, and my brain flared up.
And I whited out.

SQUIRRELLY
You mean blacked out?

GENEVIEVE
Hey, don't be racist.

SQUIRRELLY
Oh, no, I'm not--

Squirrelly laughs, rolling her eyes.

HEATHER
No, this was different.
I've blacked out a couple times in my life, but this was different.
This was, I had full consciousness, but everything on the physical plane just...vanished.

SQUIRRELLY
Wild.

23
 Wrists&Flowers
HEATHER
And when it rematerialized...
I was in the back of an ambulance with a paramedic drawing blood from my arm.

SQUIRRELLY
Huh.

GENEVIEVE
We're just lucky they don't lobotomize patients anymore, but it's close.
The amount of (sh)stuff they pump 'em full of--
I mean, I'm not saying...
You know, if you're taking something and it's working, more power to you, but...
If I was a doctor, I'd be like “Anxiety? Go smoke a bowl and meditate in church or something.”

SQUIRRELLY
Yo, that sounds ideal, haha.

HEATHER
So we would have these daily... evaluations... each morning.
After breakfast, and meds, and blah blah blah.
And the first morning I was there, the morning after the cold night... I lost it.
Out of the blue, I dunno why.
Let the whole staff hear the inside of my mind.
I mean, I know why, how do you not have enough blankets for your patients?
It definitely felt justified at the time, but...
Also, it was weird, there was this balcony and they wouldn't let anyone outside, except to smoke.
And if you didn't have your own cigarettes, they would give you one to smoke.
The hospital.
Issued patients.
Cigarettes.
That's the only way you could get onto this balcony.
I mean, I could fill this whole jar with every word I screamed at them.
And that was it.
Four or five of them tackled me, gave me a B52, threw me in the solo room and—

SQUIRRELLY
Just for yellin' at them?

GENEVIEVE
That still pisses me off.

SQUIRRELLY
Is that legal?

HEATHER
In Louisiana.

24
 Wrists&Flowers

SQUIRRELLY
What's a B52?

HEATHER
It's a cocktail injection they use on psychotics--

GENEVIEVE
A lobotomy in a needle.

SQUIRRELLY
Eeesh.
How long were you in there?

HEATHER
A couple months.

SQUIRRELLY
In the solo room?

HEATHER
Oh, no, twenty-four hours in the solo room--
--Screamed until I lost my voice--
In the hospital for a couple months.

SQUIRRELLY
That's a long time.

GENEVIEVE
Long enough.

HEATHER
Some people were there for longer.
One girl had been hospitalized forty-two separate times.
And she was way younger than me.
Forty two.

SQUIRRELLY
That's too much.

HEATHER
Way.

Squirrelly looks out the window.

Some lightning and thunder.

25
 Wrists&Flowers
SQUIRRELLY
My mom was in and out of the hospital a few times.
When I was younger.
Similar thing.
So, I don't know if it's genetic or...

HEATHER
Sorry to hear that.

GENEVIEVE
She's alright now?

Squirrelly begins to nod, stops herself, and shakes her head.

SQUIRRELLY
She was, um... she suffered, from, uh, bi-polar disorder?
For a long time.
I mean, like, probably her whole life.
But I don't think she was diagnosed until I was in high school.
So I always just thought she was moody, or something.
Or a lot of times, it felt like I did something wrong.
Like I didn't clean my room or whatever, you know?
And she would get so mad.
Anyway, she was a nurse.
From what I hear, she was a really good nurse.
She worked nights and slept during the days and I think that kinda added to her condition.
The stress of it.
But... last summer she had an injury.
It was…
She worked in a rehabilitation center-- spinal cord injuries and strokes and burns and stuff.
And there was this middle-aged biker chick who had been paralyzed in an accident.
And my mom was taking care of her.
Paraplegic.
And she...
My mom... lifted her wrong out of her bed, or out of her chair and she hurt her neck.
I mean, my mom, like, injured her own neck.
And it was bad.
She ended up--
I don't know what, nerve damage, but after that, she would get these debilitating migraines.
And she was prescribed all sorts of shit-- sorry-- and, um, I think it must've just been...
Too much for her system.
Her mood swings got way worse and she would-- a lot of this I found out from my stepdad...
She wouldn't be able to make it through a shift at work without breaking down sometimes.
And eventually, they had to let her go.
And that was hard.
And super-friggin’ frustrating because I was never around.

26
 Wrists&Flowers
SQUIRRELLY (CONT'D)
I was traveling a lot at the time, couch surfing, and.
And I would get these calls from her, late at night or early in the morning, sobbing.
I couldn't do anything about it.
So, um, I was staying in Nashville of all places, and, and, actually, that’s where—
Um, anyway, I got a text from my stepdad early in the morning.
Like, really early.
Like, the sun hadn't even come up yet early.
It just said “Call me.”
And I knew right away--
Or, definitely a part of me knew right away, and...
I know it sounds crazy, I know.
But before I even called him back...
I heard Mom's voice saying “You have to forgive me in order to let me go.”
I mean, she had tried once before, that I know of, when I was still in high school, but.
She.
She shot herself in the head the night before.
My stepdad woke up and found her.
In the backyard.
...
In the middle of all those bluebonnets.

There is a quiet.
Only the sound of rain and wind, rolling thunder in the distance.

HEATHER
You sure you don't want anything?
To eat.

SQUIRRELLY
Um...

HEATHER
You gotta eat something.
A granola bar, or something?

SQUIRRELLY
Um...
Yeah, sure, I'll take a granola bar.
If it's not too...

GENEVIEVE
It's not too anything.

Genevieve kisses Heather on the cheek, exits towards the kitchen.

27
 Wrists&Flowers
HEATHER
I'm so sorry, about your mom.

SQUIRRELLY
Yeah, me too.
Anyway, she was born in Nashville originally so that’s where I’m heading back to.
To take her ashes to the Cumberland River, and… sorry.
I didn't mean to bring everything down.

HEATHER
No, don't...

SQUIRRELLY
I totally just destroyed the momentum of the game.

HEATHER
Honestly, that was all Genevieve.
I'm sorry, she... she's just upset about her truck and she has absolutely no filter.
Which is rough, because she's going to start substitute teaching in elementary schools.
Plus she's a Virgo, so.

SQUIRRELLY
It's really fine, it’s not the end of the world.

Heather picks up the flashlight.

HEATHER
You know what the word “apocalypse” means?

SQUIRRELLY
End of the world?
Or destruction?

Heather shakes her head, smiling and opening the flashlight.

HEATHER
It's from a Greek word meaning revealing… or unveiling, really.
It's like drawing the curtain back to let more light in.
I don't think the Mayans were predicting the destruction of the Earth...
Maybe just the end of the world that we're used to.
A complete paradigm shift.
Astrologically, it's connected to the re-emerging of the Divine Feminine.
So, naturally, as that happens, a lot of the rigid patriarchies will collapse.
And blah blah blah, it’s inevitable.
And everything that's left over can be considered post-apocalyptic.

28
 Wrists&Flowers
SQUIRRELLY
Are you sure you never tried the angel trumpets?

They laugh.

HEATHER
I know, it sounds crazy.

SQUIRRELLY
No, it makes sense… to me, anyway.
Not that that makes it any less crazy.

Heather removes the batteries from the flashlight.

HEATHER
There's this Mayan phrase that I came across in Mexico and it just stuck with me.
In-Lak'ech-Ala-K'in.
Have you heard it?
Traditionally, it was used as a greeting, when travelers would meet each other on the roads.
Even total strangers.
But it ended up being more of a philosophy, a moral code, really.
In-Lak'ech-Ala-K'in.
It means I'm-Another-You, You're-Another-Me.

SQUIRRELLY
Huh.

Heather restores the flashlight, keeping the batteries in hand.

HEATHER
You're strong.

SQUIRRELLY
I don't know...

HEATHER
You are.
You're strong.

SQUIRRELLY
Thanks.

GENEVIEVE
(off)
Ugh, I did it again.
Got into the kitchen, flipped the light switch on, waited in the dark.

29
 Wrists&Flowers

Genevieve re-enters.
A box of granola bars in one hand and a guitar case in the other.

GENEVIEVE
Here.

She tosses the box of granola bars to Squirrelly.

SQUIRRELLY
Woah, thanks.

GENEVIEVE
Grab your uke.

SQUIRRELLY
Huh?

GENEVIEVE
Your ukulele.

Genevieve sets her guitar case down, opens it.

HEATHER
What about your wrist?

GENEVIEVE
We'll see what happens.
Chop chop, Squirrelly, I’ll teach you something.
Still up for it?

SQUIRRELLY
Obvi.

Squirrelly exits to the back room.

Genevieve takes off her wrist brace, gets the guitar and a tuner.
Heather moves to the window, looking out, eats a piece of jerky.

HEATHER
Oh, Gen, your poor truck.

GENEVIEVE
I know...

Genevieve begins to tune the guitar.

30
 Wrists&Flowers
HEATHER
That poor oak tree.
That tree is probably two hundred years old.

Genevieve nods, flexes and stretches her wrist...

Squirrelly re-enters, ukulele in hand.
Squirrelly tunes the ukulele along to the Genevieve's guitar.

SQUIRRELLY
I haven't been playing for that long, so I'm not the best, but...

GENEVIEVE
That's alright my wrist is jacked, so we'll just do the abridged version.
It's real simple, look.
Am,C, D, F and Am, C, E, E7.

SQUIRRELLY
Am, C… D…

GENEVIEVE
F… A, C, E, E7 and it just repeats.
And then, at the end of each verse-
Am and E7 alternate.
And that's it.

SQUIRRELLY
That's it?

GENEVIEVE
Yep, there's no chorus, no bridge, verses are all the same.
Got it?

SQUIRRELLY
I think so.

GENEVIEVE
Great.

Genevieve strums the opening of the song.

Squirrelly joins in soon after on the ukulele.

GENEVIEVE
There is a house in New Orleans
We call the Passing Storm.
It's been the shelter of many a lost soul
And me, oh God, I'm one.

31
 Wrists&Flowers
GENEVIVE (CONT)
If I listened to what my lady said, 
I would’ve never gone away.
But I was a young and foolish girl
And I was led astray.

Now Heather, she’s a gardener,

She sews those summer seeds.
My sweetheart grows those angel trumpets
Down in New Orleans.

She fills my glasses to the brim,

And passes them around.
My green thumb Queen, my everything. 
Wears flowers for a crown.

And the only thing that Squirrelly needs

Is to slip and slide all day
You know she’s near her destination cause
She’s slip sliding away.

Go tell all the couch surfers

To do like Squirrelly’s done.
Take shelter down in New Orleans
In the

GENEVIVE/ SQUIRRELLY

House of the Passing Storm.

GENEVIVE
With one foot on the platform, 
One foot on the train.
Come back down to New Orleans
To greet the falling rain.
Your life is just beginning,
Like a baby, newly born.
You can always stay in New Orleans 
In the

SQUIRRELLY/GENEVIEVE/ HEATHER
House of the Passing Storm.

As the song finishes, Heather applauds.

Genevieve flexes her wrist.

32
 Wrists&Flowers
GENEVIEVE
And that's it.

SQUIRRELLY
Amazing.
…
Wild.
...
Thanks.

There is a quiet.
Only the sound of rain and wind.
Rolling thunder in the distance.
Heather hands the flashlight batteries to Genevieve.

Lights fade to black.

33