Passion Fish Page #4

- Pardon?

- Children?

she wants to know

it you had children.

I don't need an interpreter, Tl-Marie.

I do speak English.

- I never had children.

- What a shame.

- And now you can't.

- Precious, slow down, darlin'.

I thought about havin' them, but

I never really did anything about it.

You were always

so eccentric at school.

she means ditferent.

I knew you'd do somethln'

original with your life.

Didn't we always used to say, "I

wonder how May-Alice is gonna end up"?

Now you know.

Well, what have we here?

We haven't unpacked

the china yet.

Movin' is such a bother.

You haven't moved

in 20 years, Precious.

Well, I can empathize, can't I?

Could you bring some wine?

She is such a jewel.

Wherever did you tind her?

Did her people

work tor your parents?

she works for an agency.

You don't see as much

colored help these days.

- It was the '60s, the riots up north.

- Right.

How ya gonna keep 'em down on the tarm

after they'veurned Chicago?

Did they burn Chicago too?

It's a joke, Precious.

Well, ours down here

have certainly caught...

the "attitude."

Precious and Edward

have A Guatemalan woman.

- Spanish.

- She speaks Spanish.

She's trom Guatemala.

Oh, it's warm.

I thought it was gazpacho.

I wasn't expectin'...

Campbell's?

just a little surprised.

Excuse me.

My husband, Edward,

can't tolerate truly hot soup.

- He's very sensitive.

- Edward? Sensitive?

You are so critical ot him

just because he's faithful and steady.

steady?

He's practically comatose.

- Edward is in pertect health.

- It's a joke, Precious.

Chantelle, I just thought of

somethin' else we need at the market.

I remember

when we were here last.

Your parents, God bless 'em,

were still with us.

- some sort of soiree.

- A slumber party.

Yes, I remember now.

Laurel Pettione was there,

and Stacy Lee Ellis.

And who was that girl?

- That one with the hair?

- We all had hair, Precious.

No, the one with the hair...

who we were so awtul to.

She wore it in that

enormous braid down heR back...

like some sort of peasant woman.

That was me.

Oh, May-Alice...

It couldn't have been you.

It was a picture I had otoan Baez.

Took me hours to get the same eFtect.

Perhaps I misremember.

I'm thinkin' of someone

we just tortured.

That was me.

Ms. Culhane?

It's 2:
15.

It's time For your injections.

Right.

My injections.

Oh, dear.

Have we overstayed our welcome?

It I don't have the spasms,

they only take about an hour.

- We were just passing through anyway.

- And now we know where you are.

Do you think I'll need

the restraints today?

They've been set up.

Excuse us, please.

That was her

with the strange hair...

wasn't it?

I teel like I've been

picked clean by buzzards.

You hadn't seen them in a while?

Not since I boarded with 'em

at Grand Coteau.

I thought that soup bit

was brilliant.

You just open the can and heat it up.

What's so brilliant about that?

Well, I thought, you know...

you were tryin' to

help me get rid ot 'em.

- I can't cook.

- sure you can.

Is there some Rule all black people

gotta know how to cook?

Darlin', down here there's a rule

that everybody got to know how to cook.

- You wanna watch with me?

- What is it?

Bette Davis and joan CrawFord pretendin'

they're the Robichaux sisters.

You thought I looked bad.

Chantelle, do you have to

wear that unitorm all the time?

- I thought you wanted it on.

- It's so "nursy."

I am a nurse...

not an assistant.

I don't know what else to call you.

You're not my servant.

Thank you.

You're not my baby-sitter

or my housekeeper.

I'm not your triend.

You can go out at night

if you want.

No. I'm fine out heRe.

Must be so boring tor you.

It's a job.

It's supposed to be boring.

"Oh, no, Ms. Culhane.

It's never boring working for you."

It you want me

to be that way, I'll try.

No.

You have to be totally

straight with me, okay?

Whatever you got on your mind,

I wanna hear it.

Yeah?

Yeah.

You drink too much.

No, I don't.

Is this the one where

she teeds her sister the rat?

Somebody is poundin' on my house

with a large, blunt object.

He's been doing that

tor a long time now.

Who's he?

He's the guy that I hired to build

a ramp and to fix up the bathroom.

You told me you wanted to,

and I think he's given a good price.

Why'd he have to start so early?

It's past noon, Ms. Culhane.

- Could you call me May-Allce?

- You mean when your friends aren't here?

I mean all the time.

Whatever you want.

How long have

I been wearin' these?

Since Monday.

- I kind of gross you out, don't I?

- Is this a trick question?

Rennie.

Hi.

- It's Rennie, right?

- Yeah.

- Yeah, it's me.

- Wow.

- How are you?

- I'm fine.

I'm older.

How are you?

so, you're a carpenter?

Yeah. Some of this,

some of that.

Oh, Chantelle wondered if you wanted to

come inside and have somethin' to drink.

Lemonade, iced tea.

- Sure.

- Great.

- You have a tAmily, I guess.

- Oh, yeah.

- How many kids?

- Five.

Wow.

I didn't realize

people had that many anymore.

us coon-asses do.

You still go out on your daddy's boat?

I suppose you got your own now.

That's mostly what I do.

Take tourists out on the swamp

and point out the alligators and snaKes.

Beats chasin' around an oil patch,

like my daddy.

Five kids.

I know your wite?

I don't see how you'd have met.

Well...

thanks.

Later you might wanna show me

what you need in the bedroom.

We got all these rails and things

from the gimp catalog...

but I never got 'round

to havin' them installed.

Well, I'll take a look at it.

You know, that's a real nice boat

you got sittin' out tront.

Hasn't been run in 20 years.

Well, oughta have somebody

check it out someday.

Why didn't you tell me

it was him?

Was he somebody special?

At least he's not in jail.

Did you go to school with him?

He's from betore

I went ott to Grand Coteau.

He was real wild.

We all had crushes on him.

But he was, you know...

His daddy wore alligator teeth around

his neck and had all these tattoos.

Rennie'd come over

and sell tish bait to my daddy.

White trash?

It was more complicated

than that.

They was the real

swamp Cajuns, darlin'.

Rennie Boudreau.

Five kids. jesus.

I look like sh*t, don't I?

Hi. May-Alice

isn't here right now.

If you want to leave a message,

wait till after the beep...

and leave your phone number.

May-ALice is always here.

They know that.

And what if it's for you?

I won't be gettin' any messages.

What if the car takes longer

than a day to tix?

stay over, I guess.

Be a nice break for me.

I should tell them

to leave the time they call.

Hi. May-Alice has

crawled into a hole to die.

It you'd like to leave a message,

Forget about it.

Hello?

Is Chantelle here?

No. She went to town.

You the lady she working tor?

Yes.

I don't know when

she's going to be back.

You atraid ot me?

Don't be.

- Is she okay?

- Chantelle?

sure. She's fine.

Happy?

Well, happy? I don't know.

I mean, she seems okay.

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