Home Is Where The Art Is

Hey there, crime kids. Happy Hump Day. It's time once again to take a trip to the dark side, where your most violent fantasies become sins of the flesh, right here, where the hardboiled action is non-stop, at the coolest crime joint in cyberspace ... at That Killing Feeling.

In Chapter 12 of RIDGEWAY, Vivi delivers groceries, blank canvases and boxes of wine to her artist/shop owner boss Sula, but when she discovers that Sula is paralyzed with depression and is unable to paint, she wrangles for control of her business ...


EXT. SPARKS HOUSE - DAY
A big, rambling ranch house
on the edge of a bluff.

The overgrown front yard
sports a garden gnome and
other rural tchotchkes.

A dusty SUV is parked
in the gravel driveway.

A HUSKY BALD MAN (60’s)
wearing overalls and
neon pink sneakers comes lumbering by,
sporting a Bluetooth earpiece.

INT. SPARKS HOUSE - BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS
Spacious, but incredibly messy.
You can practically smell
the ripe aroma of dirty gym socks
on the page.

SULA SPARKS (50’s),
cute but big and bloated,
sits at her desk
cruising the internet.

Takes a sip of wine
with ice in a plastic cup.

Vivi appears.
Big, fake smile.

VIVI
Got ya two boxes of wine.
Put one in the fridge,
the other in the pantry.
Your meds are in
the bathroom cabinet,
dog food’s by the cellar door,
and the new canvases
are in your studio.

SULA
Don’t know what I’d do without you, Vivi.

VIVI
Ya know I’m here for ya.

SULA
We’re family.
(tears up)
I love you so much.

VIVI
Love you, too.

Sula nods.
Takes another hit of wine.

VIVI
I was thinking --
since you’re no longer
coming to the store --
I could take over
some stuff for you --
making the schedule,
paying the bills,
ordering stuff for the shop --
(beat)
If you want.
(brightly)
Give you more time for painting.

Sula makes a face.
Another gulp.
Blinks back tears.

SULA
I can’t paint.

VIVI
What do you mean
you can’t paint?

SULA
I tried, but it’s all bad.
I can’t do it no more.
I just can’t.
I tried -- but I can’t.

VIVI
Enough of that talk.
You’re a great artist.
You hear me? We just sold
one of your paintings
for full price. FULL PRICE.
Five hundred dollars.
Does that sound like
somebody who can’t paint?

SULA
(tiny voice)
Five hundred?

VIVI
Yep.

SULA
No haggling?

VIVI
No haggling.

Sula drains the cup. Belches.

VIVI
Want me to put on a pot of coffee?
(beat)
I could make you a sandwich --

SULA
Get me some lemons.

VIVI
Lemons?
Why do you want lemons?

SULA
Eat a buncha lemons and
you ain’t gonna drink so much --