JENNY BROCK sits at a chair in front of a large table. On
the table is a blueprint of the proposed design of Jenny's
new house in East Hampton. Opposite Jenny sits KENDRA
SAFFRON, the architect. Jenny is looking at the plans.
KENDRA SAFFRON
So, what do you think?
JENNY BROCK
I don't like it.
KENDRA SAFFRON
It satisfies all your concerns without
adding any additional cost.
JENNY BROCK
I'm not concerned with additional costs.
Do you think I'm concerned with
additional costs?
KENDRA SAFFRON
What I'm saying is that I have added
square footage, together with an extra
bathroom, and by cutting back the
foundation footprint, I have kept the
cost essentially the same.
JENNY BROCK
Where's the pool?
KENDRA SAFFRON
Right here.
JENNY BROCK
No. The lap pool. I want a lap pool.
KENDRA SAFFRON
You said nothing about a lap pool.
JENNY BROCK
I distinctly remember saying I wanted a
lap pool.
KENDRA SAFFRON
You said you wanted a Jacuzzi.
JENNY BROCK
A large Jacuzzi...one I can swim in.
Back and forth, back and forth. I have
to do laps.
KENDRA SAFFRON
Well, we can add a lap pool.
JENNY BROCK
The kind that is inside and out.
KENDRA SAFFRON
Inside and out?
JENNY BROCK
A long one with one end inside the house
and the other end outside the house.
KENDRA SAFFRON
That requires a substantial re-working of
the wall supports...and of course it will
add substantially to the cost.
JENNY BROCK
I told you, I'm not concerned about the
cost.
KENDRA SAFFRON
If you don't mind me saying this, your
husband gave me instructions that he did
not want the total cost to exceed 1.4
million. We are already at 1.38.
JENNY BROCK
I don't give a fuck what my husband said.
We're getting divorced anyway.
KENDRA SAFFRON
Getting divorced?
JENNY BROCK
He doesn't know it, and I'd appreciate it
if you'd keep your mouth shut about the
matter.
KENDRA SAFFRON
It would violate my professional code of
ethics to not advise him of the estimated
costs.
JENNY BROCK
Look, after the divorce, this house is
going to be mine. I'm going to be living
in it, with my Pharaoh hound, Muffy, my
three Van Goghs, and my lap pool. You
fudge the figures so the house gets built
the way I want it.
KENDRA SAFFRON
I can't do that.
JENNY BROCK
Where do you live?
KENDRA SAFFRON
And how is that relevant?
JENNY BROCK
Where do you live?
KENDRA SAFFRON
On 132nd Street and Morningside Avenue.
JENNY BROCK
It's a black area, right?
KENDRA SAFFRON
Not entirely.
JENNY BROCK
Well, it's mostly black, or at least dark
skinned, Hispanic, drug addicts, and you
people remain stuck in that
neighborhood...and do you know why?
KENDRA SAFFRON
No. Tell me. Why?
JENNY BROCK
Because you're not willing to fuck your
husbands.
KENDRA SAFFRON
Excuse me?
JENNY BROCK
I'm not talking about sex. I'm talking
about fuck, as in to screw, to pull a job
on your old man so you get the fruits and
make a killing.
KENDRA SAFFRON
Really. I didn't realize that my people
were "stuck" for that reason.
JENNY BROCK
Absolutely. White people have been
fucking each other for generations, and
that accounts for the fact that we own
homes on Park Avenue and East Hampton and
you're stuck in some railroad flat in
Harlem.
KENDRA SAFFRON
I happen to own a brownstone with my
husband.
JENNY BROCK
A brownstone in Harlem. Really. You
call that living.
KENDRA SAFFRON
I think this meeting is over.
JENNY BROCK
No, you're not listening to me. I read
this in the paper the other day. Divorce
rates for white people are three times
that of blacks. Three times. And
everytime there's a divorce, we women are
in a position to make a killing. Blacks
are way behind in social evolution from
us whites, and it shows in your
neighborhoods and your schools and your
families.
KENDRA SAFFRON
We black people, as you say, have
families, intact families...I think
that's a superior state of social
evolution than the mess you are in.
JENNY BROCK
I'm not in any mess. I'm getting a lap
pool. Do you have a lap pool?
KENDRA SAFFRON
I don't want a lap pool.
JENNY BROCK
This is your problem.
KENDRA SAFFRON
My problem is that I have a privileged
white bitch with racist attitudes sitting
in my office.
JENNY BROCK
Oh, don't pull the race card with me.
KENDRA SAFFRON
I think I will call your husband and
inform him of your plans.
JENNY BROCK
Oh, it won't matter. I'll just deny it.
And he's so gullible. An idiot, really.
KENDRA SAFFRON
You hate blacks, Hispanics, and all men.
JENNY BROCK
White men. I actually like black men.
Well, I'm curious. I can't say I've ever
had one.
KENDRA SAFFRON
This discussion has become ridiculous and
I am being dragged into a conversation
which is not only a waste of time but an
outrage. Can you please leave my office.
JENNY BROCK
OK. OK. I can live without the lap
pool. Just...just don't call my husband.
You know, he doesn't even know you're
black. You don't sound black...you have
a very white voice, at least on the
telephone. So if you call him and tell
him about my intent to give him the dump,
I'm going to tell him your black...and he
won't like that. And if I remember
correctly, he owes you a lot of
money...by last count, about
$45,000...and he won't cut a check like
that to a black person. He's really a
disgusting guy, very racist A pig,
really. You see why I want a divorce.
Forget the lap pool. Just get the damn
thing built so I can move to East Hampton
and start my divorce. That's all I want
out of life.
Jenny gets up and leaves. Kendra sits there, lost somewhere
between befuddlement and anger.
THE END.
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