Princess Cyd Page #6

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Cyd...

Cyd! Cyd!

- I'm Miranda.

- Katie.

- Cool room.

- Thanks. It was my mom's.

Read it. Read it.

Read it.

- Read it.

- Wait. Really?

Yeah, why?

I don't know, I guess... you

don't really seem like a reader.

F*** you, what does a reader

even seem like?

- Yeah.

- Oh, my God.

Holy sh*t, your aunt wrote this?

I read this in middle school.

What?

Wait a minute. I know that book.

Wait, Aunt Miranda wrote that?

Uh, yeah.

Is that the one about the baby

born in a castle...

The hotel that used to be

a castle, yeah.

And her parents treat her like

a princess and she

starts to develop powers...

Yeah, and she thinks she's magic and

you don't know if it's real or not.

Kind of bad ass.

- What?

- My name.

- That would be correct.

- Wait a minute, let me see that.

- Hi.

- Is she okay?

Yeah. She'll be okay.

- You okay?

- Yeah. I'm fine.

Okay. Good.

I found this.

Well...

My mom used to read this to me,

didn't she?

She did.

You were way too young for it.

You fell asleep every time.

Well, she did it anyway though.

She did it for herself.

She loved that book.

You named her after me?

Check the date.

It's the other way around.

- When do you go back?

- Thursday.

What will I do without you?

Probably what you did last week

before you knew me.

What will we do until then?

Whatever we want.

...if you're doing something...

...I feel like

it's kind of like...

Versatile...

Oh, sure. Um, hey.

One of you is free to use

my shower if you'd like to.

Yeah, I'm just gonna do some emails.

Oh, hey, I'm, uh...

I'm giving this talk in a Q&A downtown

if you'd like to come with...

Who're you talking to?

- Oh, I got burned, didn't I?

- Let me see.

Oh, sh*t. Yes, you did.

- Okay. Okay.

- Did I?

- No, you're good.

- Good.

Wait...

I'm a little gross.

No.

So... I had a brother.

Devin.

He was like

12 years older than me.

He had a lot of mental problems

or whatever and just

a lot of issues.

And he and my mom and my dad

used to get...

into these really big fights.

They thought about sending him away

to military school or whatever but...

they never did.

Anyway...

One weekend when I was really

little and my dad was away...

and after I'd gone to bed...

my brother and my mom got into

this really big fight and...

um...

He shot her.

Oh, my God!

And then himself.

Somehow I slept through

the whole thing.

And the neighbors found them

before I could so I was...

protected.

Anyway, that's the story.

Feel free to relax in

here until we're ready for you.

We'll probably hold the house

for about five or ten minutes

just so we can fill up.

So you have plenty of time.

You can help yourself

to some snacks

and if have any questions,

I'll be right up the hall.

Thank you, honey.

This is interesting.

- Do you want some?

- Hell, yeah.

Trail mix, Aunt Miranda,

you're so big time.

I'm not that big.

Well, maybe, just a little.

Hello? What?

Okay? Are you sure?

It's okay.

Uh, well, I'll come home soon.

Why don't we start

with a simple question.

Are there any simple questions?

I don't think those exist.

Where do your ideas come from?

You would think

that I would have a quick

straightforward answer

to that by now,

but I don't.

You know, I'm tempted to give the

standard... answer that they...

They come from everywhere. They

come from different places...

A feeling of relative...

a place, other works of art,

a concern...

What kind of concern would give

way to an idea for a book?

A concern of the spirit,

I guess.

A kind of unrest.

But I suppose if I'm being

completely honest...

uh, I can't say

that in their essence

that they come from

outside at all.

They come from me.

They are... me.

Each one of them...

sort of... me...

Reformed.

And I was working at the library when I

discovered your book of short stories.

The title of which just fell out

of my head, I'm sorry.

- The Valley of Their Shadows.

- That's the one, thank you.

There were some about those women that...

gave me strength.

How thoughtful, how engaged with

the bigger picture or something...

going through life

with such patience...

and curiosity...

despite seemingly

relentless hardship...

It reminded me of the women in my life...

who I love... a lot.

My grandmother recently...

I don't have a question

apparently,

uh, I guess I just wanted

to thank you...

for honoring them.

Well, thank you.

That... that means a lot.

Anyone else?

We have time for one more.

Thank you.

- Hi! Wow!

- Hello, young lady.

That's my aunt. My aunt Miranda.

Um, anyway, I...

I wanted to ask you what your

greatest pleasure in life is.

Like... joy?

Cake.

There they are.

- Welcome, ladies!

- Thank you.

- Hi.

- Hey, how're you?

- Good, how are you?

- Hey, Cyd.

- Hi.

- Cyd, of course you know,

- and her friend Katie.

- Hey, how're you, Katie.

Uh, well, uh, help yourselves,

we got food...

drinks, we got good people,

good weather... Hey, Brandon!

- What?

- Who you calling what?

Come over here, this is Miranda's

niece, Cyd, that's her friend, Katie.

- Hi, sweetheart. How's your summer going?

- Good.

He's 14. He's 14. He's 14.

Hey, you guys,

let me take your picture.

Yeah, yeah, sure. Come on.

Let's all squeeze in tight here.

Cheese!

- Got it.

- Thank you. Hey, let's get a bite.

Look, I got hamburger,

I got chicken,

I got Polish sausage,

got chicken bots...

Hey, how's the grub?

Burger overcooked...

Oh, you got the hotdog.

Well, hotdog is excellent, I can't

really speak for the burger.

Yeah, I can. They're overcooked.

- Um, f*** it.

- F*** it.

You were right, by the way,

the other day.

About what?

Um, part two and three...

read back through it,

what you said kinda clicked.

Oh, good.

Well, as long as it's for

the book and not for me.

Oh, you know I do it all

for you, don't you?

Hey, I gotta go pick up my brother

from work. Watch Priscilla for me?

Yeah, sure.

Isa, do you know Miranda?

I think we may have met

once or twice at a UFC thing.

- But hi, nice to meet you. I'm Isabelle.

- Miranda, nice to meet you.

I'm actually a fan,

love the new one.

Oh, thank you so much.

Definitely, thank you.

- Don't let 'em get into too much trouble.

- Define trouble?

Oh, shut up.

She's lovely.

She lives around the corner.

That's her little girl.

Divorced?

Yeah.

So is there...

any potential there?

We'll see.

Hey, no, no, no, no. That's

not for playing with. Hey!

Maybe you should

visit me sometime.

- Seriously?

- Yeah, why not?

What would your dad think?

Who cares?

Columbia, South Carolina.

What's it like?

It's fine. Come and see.

Hey! Are y'all girlfriends?

Maybe so.

Cool.

Yeah, they are!

Hello?

- Cyd?

- Yeah, who's this?

It's Miranda.

Oh, hey, you're calling me!

I am.

I just, I wanted to, uh, to

check in and see how you were.

I'm at the beach

with my toes in the sand.

Oh, that sounds nice.

Okay, girls, let's go.

Oh, am I calling you at a,

at a bad time?

Um... No, it's okay, I've soccer practice.

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