Beloved Page #33

A LOUD CRASH wakes her up. Followed by a LOUD FRUSTRATED

YELL. Her face registers fear. She realizes where she is,

what time it is...and begins organizing breakfast...

She places the dress neatly on the chair, then grabs a cloth

and wipes away the crumbs and dirty plates from supper,

placing them in the sink...

She opens a pantry cupboard to reveal BARE SHELVES except for

a SINGLE EGG and a bowl of HOMINY GRAINS about 1/4 full. She

searches in a panic for more food - anywhere - opening

cabinets, doors - places that never stored food. She realizes

there is none left.

INT. DENVER'S ROOM - MORNING.

Denver finished dressing. She has been able to maintain a

semblance of order about her person and room..

But as she steps out into the second floor hallway, we see

the same disarray as downstairs...

She passes by Baby Sugg's old room and discovers;

BELOVED, sprawled across the bed, half naked. Her belly is

huge, her body unwashed. She looks, and behaves, like a wild

animal...

A broken lamp lies on the fall - pushed over by her leg as

she shifted in bed. Her feet, overhanging the bed, are still

touching the bedside table where the lamp sat.

She is awake now - making a small hole larger in Baby Sugg's

old quilt.

DENVER:

You shouldn't be in here?

Beloved jolts her head up to Denver. She doesn't like being

looked at unawares...

BELOVED:

What do you know about it? I sleep where

I want.

DENVER:

You best leave that quilt alone. That was

grandma's quilt.

Beloved looks at Denver, then at the quilt - then abruptly

tears the hole apart with one strong pull.

Triumphant, she gets out of bed and exits, passing Denver;

BELOVED:

Breakfast ready? I'm hungry!

INT. KITCHEN - MORNING.

Sethe has prepared all the food that was left and placed it

on one plate which she sets on the table. She stands at the

stove, with her back to us, picking crusted pieces of food

off the bottom of the pan.

Beloved moves straight to the chair in front of the place and

begins to eat, shovelling the food into her mouth.

Denver sees her mother covertly eating the burnt pan crumbs,

as she pretends to wash the dishes.

SETHE:

Morning.

DENVER:

Morning, ma'am.

Sethe turns, not realizing Denver was there as well. Their

eyes meet. Sethe wonders if her daughter saw her eating the

pan crumbs. She smiles;

SETHE:

You hungry?

Knowing there must be nothing left, Denver answers;

DENVER:

No, ma'am.

Sethe looks relieved.

DENVER:

I'll finish those. Why don't you sit

down?

Denver crosses to the dishes, taking the pan from her mother.

Sethe nods and crosses to the table, to sit down.

But as she sinks into the chair, Beloved kicks it away;

BELOVED:

You don't sit with me!!

SETHE:

Baby, don't be like that.

BELOVED:

You don't sit with me!! I don't sit with

people who leave me!

SETHE:

Don't talk like that. Your mama loves

you.

BELOVED:

I had another dream last night.

(as she eats)

The dead man laying on top of me and I

had nothing to eat. And the ghosts

without skin stuck their fingers in me

and said Beloved in the dark and b*tch in

the light..

SETHE:

Don't say those things. You forget about

those dreams..

BELOVED:

You gave me the bad dreams. You left me

behind...

SETHE:

Mama told you - I'd give up my own life,

every minute, every hour of it to take

back one of your tears baby...My children

my best thing. You my best thing!

BELOVED:

You're weren't nice to me..you didn't

smile at me..

SETHE:

That's not true. I told you, I had to get

you out, make you safe...so's you and me

could be together on the other side,

forever..

DENVER:

Ma'am...

No one pays attention to Denver.

BELOVED:

LIAR!

Beloved flings her plate at Sethe, hitting her hard across

the eye..the plate breaking...

DENVER:

MAMA!

SETHE:

Hold back Denver - I'm fine..You..you go

on upstairs. I'll do the cleaning up.

DENVER:

But mama..

SETHE:

Go upstairs I said!!

Sethe's harsh tone is only for Denver. Denver exits the

kitchen, afraid to leave them alone...

As she moves from the kitchen, she hears;

BELOVED (OS)

I want somethin' sweet.

SETHE (OS)

We don't have nothing sweet no more,

baby.

BELOVED (OS)

Not for me, you don't! You don't let me

eat the pies...

SETHE (OS)

No. Since mama lost her job, we don't

have no more pies..

Denver walks up the white stairs...

INT. BABY SUGGS' ROOM - DAY.

Denver has straightened up her grandmother's room. Cleaned

away the broken pieces of the lamp. Gathered the remnants of

the quilt..

She holds the quilt as she sits on the bed, facing the

headboard. SHE REMEMBERS:

MEMORY:

INT. BABY SUGGS' ROOM - A DAY REMEMBERED.

Baby Suggs, near death, lying in her bed, chuckles and

coughs;

BABY SUGGS:

You mean I never told you about your

daddy? About the Bodwins who let me rent

this here house while I do my shoe

repairing? About your mother's feet, not

to mention her back? I never told you all

that?

A NINE YEAR OLD DENVER shakes her head.

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