Aftertaste Page #4

Season #1 Episode #1

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don’t worry about it. Their eyes lock until she sees more people entering the theater and is forced to walk away.

EXT. MCCLOUD CALIFORNIA – EVENING - SUMMER

SUPERIMPOSE:
EVE OF FOURTH OF JULY 2011

INT. KAT’S COTTAGE

Melody Rae and Kat are standing in Kat’s kitchen unpacking groceries.

MELODY RAE:

Well, Shay was just my first boyfriend. I

dated a lot since then, as you know, and yet

here I am, single...again. But I think I know

what I’ve been doing wrong?

KAT:

You know, Melody Rae, to be brutally honest,

considering how many relationships you’ve

had, you should be grateful you never

developed any serious long term

emotional issues requiring a professional

therapist.

MELODY RAE:

Well, first of all, YOU are my therapist.

And secondly, I totally have been afflicted

with emotional issues! True, I didn’t feel

completely damaged until after Kyle, but

after Shay, Tony, Willie and Peter, while

in many ways I grew stronger, I also became

spiritually injured. It’s not that I’m

bitter. I’m not. But my adult experiences

with men have definitely left me with a

bitter aftertaste.

(beat)

In fact, I’ve thought a lot about this. You

know me. That’s what I do. I overthink e v e

r y t h i n g—that is my therapy! Well that,

and getting feedback from you—my official

therapist.

While Kat continues to unpack groceries, and choose a bottle of wine to open, Melody Rae flounders through her large purse on the floor beside her until she locates a small legal pad.

MELODY RAE:

I devised a way to metamorphose my past

trauma into a healing process. I figured

that if I wrote down all the main triggers

that kept me stuck in the past, I’d be

freed.

KAT:

Oh, like how every time you see an old,

faded, white Ford pickup you’re reminded of

Willie and then become obsessed with him

all over again?

MELODY RAE:

I totally do, don’t I? But no, that’s

not the type of trigger I mean. I put more

emphasis on triggers that stir up negative

feelings. Seeing Willie’s truck brings up

the good times I had with him, not the bad.

He sure had the power to make me weak in

the knees. And by the way, thanks for

bringing that up, Kat.

KAT:

Sorry.

Kat giggles and Melody rolls her eyes. Kat then hands Melody Rae a glass of red wine with a red boot charm dangling from the stem.

MELODY RAE:

Carpe diem! Wine first...absolutely. Aw. This

charm is SO me!

KAT:

Riiight?!

Kat shows Melody Rae the pink glittery high-heeled shoe dangling from her own wine glass stem.

MELODY RAE:

SO you.

They both toast their glasses and take a sip.

MELODY RAE:

Okay. Listen to this. Besides attributing a

type of fish to each guy, I decided to

address three senses: smell, hear and taste

because these three senses trigger my past

memories. I assume it’s probably the same

for you. I know that my past surfaces

whenever I smell a specific scent, or hear a

specific song or taste a particular food.

These senses elicit my emotional, spiritual,

physical and mental memory. Do you think

that’s true for you, too, Kat?

KAT:

Totally! Every time I smell vanilla, I’m

right back at the beach house with Troy. He

would outline the hot tub with vanilla

scented candles, light vanilla incense in

the bathroom, and even put vanilla bath salts

in my bath water. The man was a bit too

fond of that smell. So, yeah, I sort of

avoid vanilla scented anything now.

MELODY RAE:

Oh, see! You totally understand. I knew you

would! So, here’s the thing, if I am going

to get on the healthy bandwagon, I need to

tackle these distinct triggers that have

left me with a bad aftertaste, so I can

recognize them and not allow them to

interfere in my potential for a healthy

future. I wrote down every ex-boyfriend’s

fishy nature and then categorically what

smell, music, and food elicit bad memories

of each.

Melody Rae refers to her note pad

Like after dating the slimy sardine, Shay,

I could no longer smell Kretek Clove

cigarettes, or hear the song Lola by The

Kinks, or taste ginger without having a

tart and deceptive aftertaste.

KAT:

Aha! All right, I get it. Now that’s clever.

I like it.

She picked up her wine glass and swirled it around.

MELODY RAE:

You get it! I mean, it’s incontestable. Shay

smoked Kretek Cloves and we were incessantly

eating top ramen like it was going out of

style; adding ginger to stir fry was like

a ritual with us…Oh!

(beat)

You’re gonna get a kick out of the deeper

reason for the song Lola because…well, I

mean…you know that I found him dressing up

in my clothes, right?

Kat spits out her wine in shock.

KAT:

Are you kidding me? Get out of town!

Are you really serious? No, I don’t

remember you telling me that.

MELODY RAE:

I’m totally serious! Get this...I caught him

wearing my strapless red heels with my

white Marilyn Monroe style dress. The one

that I wore for a role I once performed as

a fifties high school student in an acting

class skit. Naturally, the song Lola

instantly triggers the memory of catching

him standing there in my closet. Where he

still is, I suppose.

(beat)

Considering he never left the closet.

They both chuckle.

KAT:

I think it’s ingenious that you created a

list, seriously!

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