The Cuckoo Clock By Paul Gillett

A short story by Phil K Dick

Paul Gillett

905 841 9985 paulkgillett@gmail.com

INT. SHOP - DAY We see CARL, an old nostalgia shop owner, walk towards the back room. The credits roll as we follow him through as he passes by random interesting trinkets, tools, and furnishings of the past. He walks up to a pile of clocks, watches, and time keepers, scours through it, and pulls out a CUCKOO CLOCK. The clock is not very large. It was hand-made, however, and there were countless frets on it, little indentations and ornaments scored in the soft wood. It is clear it has been there for a long time, as it is covered in dust. CARL takes the clock and places it in a box on the counter, where LARRY is patiently waiting. LARRY What do i owe you? CARL Five bucks. CARL takes the money and puts the lid on the box. INT. DINNER TABLE - NIGHT LARRY and DORIS, his wife, are sitting at the dinner table enjoying their meal of steak and potatoes. As DORIS chews on a fatty piece of beef LARRY goes off screen and gets the box, which is now wrapped in brown paper and black ribbon. He places the box on the table beside her dinner plate. DORIS stares at it, her hand to her mouth. DORIS My God, what is it? LARRY Well, open it. DORIS tears off the ribbon and paper from the square package with her sharp nails, her bosom rising and falling. LARRY stands watching her as she lifts the lid. He lights a cigarette and and leans against the wall. DORIS A cuckoo clock! A real old cuckoo clock like my mother had. She turns the clock over and over. DORIS Just like my mother had, when Pete was still alive. Her eyes sparkle with tears. (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

2.

LARRY Its made in Germany. Carl got it for me wholesale. He knows some guy in the clock business. Otherwise I wouldnt have DORIS makes a funny sound. LARRY I mean, otherwise I wouldnt have been able to afford it. Whats the matter with you? Youve got the clock havent you? Isnt that what you want? DORIS sits holding onto the clock, her fingers pressed against the brown wood. LARRY Well, whats the matter? He watches in amazement as she leaps up and runs from the room, still clutching the clock. He shakes his head. LARRY Never satisfied. Theyre all that way. Never get enough He sits down at the table and finishes his meal. INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT DORIS sits on the bed drying her eyes and winding the clock. She sets the hands by her wristwatch. Presently she carefully moves the hands to two minutes of ten. She carries the clock over to the dresser and props it up. Then she sits waiting, her hands twisted together in her lap--waiting for the cuckoo to come out, for the hour to strike. As she sits she thinks about Larry and what he had said. And what she had said, too, for that matter--not that she could be blamed for any of it. After all, she couldnt keep listening to him forever without defending herself; you had to blow your own trumpet in the world. DORIS touches her handkerchief to her eyes suddenly. DORIS Why did he have to say that, about getting it wholesale? Why did he have to spoil it all? If he felt that way he neednt have got it in the first place. (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

3.

She clenches her fists. DORIS He was so mean, so damn mean. She sits looking at the little clock, glad and content. It ticks to itself, with its funy grilled edges and the door. Inside the door is the cuckoo, waiting to come out. NARRATOR Was he listening, his head cocked on one side, listening to hear the clock strike so that he would know to come out? Did he sleep between hours? There is a whirr. The clock shuders and all at once the door openes. The cuckoo pops out, sliding swiftly. He pauses and looked around solemnly, scrutinizing her, the room, the furniture. DORIS Go on, Im waiting. The CUCKOO opens his bill, and chirps quickly, rhythmically. CUCKOO Chirp, chirp, chirp!!! After a moment he retires, and the door snaps shut. DORIS is delighted. She claps her hands and spins in a little circle. He was marvelous, perfect! And the way he had looked around, studying her, sizing her up. He liked her; she was certain of it. And she, of course, loved him at once, completely. He was just what she had hoped would come out of the little door. DORIS goes up to the clock. She bends over the little door, her lips close to the wood. DORIS (whispering) Do you hear me? I think youre the most wonderful cuckoo in the world. She paused, embarrassed. DORIS I hope youll like it here.

4.

INT LIVING ROOM - DAY LARRY is sitting on the couch frustrated and struggling to wind up the CUCKOO clock. DORIS stands and watches, silently critiquing his method DORIS Youre not doing it right. Here, let me do it. She winds the clock. DORIS He doesnt like being only half-wound all the time. INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT LARRY and DORIS sit on the cough, DORIS doing crochet, LARRY reading his paper. LARRY looks at his watch. it reads two minutes past oclock. LARRY Isnt that CUCKOO supposed to hoot now? You forgot to wind the clock. Again. LARRY throws his newspaper down with an elaboraate weary motion and stands up. He goes into the dining-room. INT. DINING ROOM - NIGHT The CUCKOO CLOCK is mounted on the wall over the fireplace. He takes the clock down and makes sure that he has his thumb over the little door. he winds it up. DORIS stands over him as he winds. DORIS Why do you put your thumb over the door? LARRY Youre supposed to. DORIS eyebrow perks up. DORIS Are you sure? I wonder if it isnt that you dont want him to come out while youre standing so close.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: LARRY Why not? DORIS Maybe youre afraid of him.

5.

LARRY laughs. He puts the clock back on the wall and gingerly removes his thumb. When Doris isnt looking he examines his thumb. There is still a trace of the nick cut out of the soft part of it. Who--or what--had pecked at him? INT. BATHROOM - DAY DORIS wipes the steamy mirror. She dries herself and covers her freshly showered body with a bathrobe. We hear a loud DING DONG from the front door. She wraps a towel around her head. INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY DORIS opens the door, and there on the front porch stands BOB CHAMBERS. DORIS Hi BOB steps inside, grinning and gazing at her slim legs below the hem of the robe. DORIS Its all right. Larrys at the office. BOB Fine. .. How nice you look today. DORIS laughs. DORIS Be careful! Maybe I shouldnt let you in after all. They look at one another, half amused, half frightened. Presently BOB speaks BOB If you want, Ill DORIS No, for Gods sake. She catches hold of his sleve. (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

6.

DORIS Just get out of the doorway so I can close it. Mrs. Peters across the street, you know. She closes the door. DORIS And I want to show you something. You havent seen it. BOB looks interested. BOB An antique? Or what? She took his arm, leading him toward the dining-room. DORIS Youll love it, Bobby. She stops, wide-eyed. DORIS I hope you will. You must; you must love it. It means so much to me--he means so much BOB He? He frowns. BOB Who is he? She laughs. DORIS Youre jealous! Come on. A moment later they stood before the clock, looking up at it. DORIS Hell come out in a few minutes. Wait until you see him. I know you two will get along just fine. BOB What does Larry think of him?

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: DORIS They dont like each other. Sometimes when Larrys here he wont come out. Larry gets mad if he doesnt come out on time. He says-BOB Says what? DORIS Looks down. DORIS He always says hes been robbed, even if he did get it wholesale. She brightens up. DORIS But I know he wont come out because he doesnt like Larry. When Im here alone he comes right out for me, every fifteen minutes, even though he really only has to come out on the hour. She gazes up at the clock. DORIS He comes out for me because he wants to. We talk; I tell him things. Of course, Id like to have him upstairs in my room, but it wouldnt be right.

7.

BOB initiates sex and fucks her doggy style over the couch as the CUCKOO listens. We hear LARRYs car door slam. They look at each other, horrified. The sound of footsteps come from the front porch. BOB scrambles to pull up his pants and fasten his belt. LARRY pushes the front door open, grunting. He sets his briefcase down and takes off his hat. Then he sees BOB for the first time. LARRY Chambers! Ill be damned. LARRYs eyes narrow. LARRY What are you doing here? He comes into the dining room. Doris draws her robe about her helplessly, backing away. The smell of sex still on her.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: BOB I - ... That is, we -

8.

He breaks off, glancing at Doris. Suddenly the clock begins to whirr. The CUCKOO came rushing out, bursting into sound. LARRY moved toward him. LARRY Shut that din off. He raises his fist toward the clock. The CUCKOO snaps into silence and retreats. The door closes. LARRY Thats better. LARRY studies DORIS and BOB, standing mutely together. BOB I came over to look at the clock. Doris told me that its a rare antique and that-LARRY Nuts. I bought it myself. LARRY walks up to BOB. LARRY Get out of here. LARRY turns to DORIS LARRY You too. And take that damn clock with you. He rubs his chin. DORIS goes to pick up the clock. LARRY No. Leave the clock here. Its mine; I bought it and paid for it. DORIS turns and walks away. LARRY stares at BOB as he quietly lets himself out the front door. INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT LARRY sits quietly with a neat glass of scotch. The half empty bottle sits on the coffee table. He stares forward, sadly contemplating the CUCKOO CLOCK. The house is dead silent.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

9.

NARRATOR In the weeks that followed after Doris left, Larry and the cuckoo clock got along even worse than before. LARRY looks at his watch. It reads 1 minute after 10. LARRY You lazy thing. You cant even do your job. The CUCKOO peeps out, and tweets once, with a sullen, uncooperative note in his voice, a jarring sound that makes LARRY uneasy and a little angry. LARRY One measly peep. Its ten. Ten Oclock. Preferring the ocasional break of silence offered by the lazy CUCKOO, LARRY takes the clock down and winds it. INT. LIVING ROOM - LATER AT NIGHT LARRY continues with his scotch, the bottle now down to the bottom. He speaks to the CUCKOO. LARRY Listen. I know you can hear me. I ought to give you back to the Germans--back to the Black Forest. He paces back and forth. LARRY I wonder what theyre doing now, the two of them. That young punk with his books and his antiques. A man shouldnt be interested in antiques; thats for women. He sets his jaw. LARRY Isnt that right? The CUCKOO sat quietly in his home. LARRY walks up in front of it.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

10.

LARRY (demandin) Isnt that right? Dont you have anything to day? He looks at the face of the clock. It is just shy of eleven, just a few seconds before the hour. LARRY All right. Ill wait until eleven. Then I want to hear what you have to say. Youve been pretty quiet the last few weeks since she left. He grins wryly. LARRY Maybe you dont like it here since shes gone. Well, I paid for you, and youre coming out whether you like it or not. You hear me? The clock swoops to Eleven oclock. We hear in the distance, farr off, at the end of town, the great tower clock booming sleepily to itself. But the little door remains shut. Nothing moes. The minute hand passes on and the CUCKOO does not stir. He is someplace inside the clock, beyond the door, silent and remote. LARRY All right, if thats the way you feel, LARRYs lips twist. LARRY But it isnt fair. Its your job to come out. We all have to do things we dont like. He stumbles unhappily into the kitchen. INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT He openes himself a drawer at carefully the great gleaming refrigerator. As he poures drink he thought about the clock. He openes the the sink and takes out the hammer. He carries it into the dining-room.

11.

INT. DINING ROOM - NIGHT The room is completely silent apart from the clock ticking gently to itself on the wall. LARRY waves the ammer to the clock and speaks. LARRY Look, you know what I have here? You know what Im going to do with it? Im going to start on you--first. He smiles. LARRY Birds of a feather, thats what you are--the three of you. Are you coming out? Or do I have to come in and get you? The clock whirs a little. LARRY I hear you in there. Youve got a lot of talking to do, enough for the last three weeks. As I figure it, you owe me-The door opens. The CUCKOO comes out fast, straight at him. Larry was looking down, his brow wrinkled in thought. He glanced up, and the cuckoo caught him squarely in the eye. Down he goes, hammer and chair and everything, hitting the floor with a tremendous crash. For a moment the cuckoo pauses, its small body poised rigidly. Then it goes back inside its house. The door snappes tight-shut after it. The man lays on the floor, stretched out grotesquely, his head bent over to one side. Nothing moves or stirres. The room remains completely silent, except, of course, for the ticking of the clock. INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY DORIS, BOB, and the DOCTOR are standing in the living room. They are in mid conversatoin as we come in. DORISs face is tight. BOB puts his arm around her, steadying her. DORIS I see.

(CONTINUED)

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12.

BOB Doctor, can I ask you something? DOCTOR Of course. BOB Is it very easy to break your neck falling from so low a chair? It wasnt very far to fall. I wonder if it might not have been an accident. Is there any chance it might have been DOCTOR Suicide? The DOCTOR rubs his jaw. DOCTOR I never heard of anyone comitting suicide that way. It was an accident; Im positive. BOB I dont mean suicide. Then he speaks to himself under his breath. BOB I meant something else. But no one hears him.