Sunshine State Page #9

"Furman Temple," they'd tell them.

"He'll take care of you."

I know, Daddy.

But what should I do?

-Get the best price you can.

-I can't be the one--

It's all yours, darling.

You're a sensible girl.

You always have been...

...if you don't count marrying

that musician. You'll figure it out.

I'm sorry.

I've already been out in the world,

done my damage. Now it's your turn.

Come on, dogs!

You're supposed to be retired,

not running around!

Hi.

"Score big savings with our

all-American sales team."

-You work here.

-Some of the time.

-What's the problem?

-Who are you buying property for?

-It's mine. My name's on it.

-No, who are you buying it for?

Whose money do you use

to buy it?

Okay.

These people own a lot of things.

-Businesses, real estate.

-They own Exley Plantation?

Technically, yeah.

But if it--

If it came to the point where

they took it over, it'd be different.

-More modest-income units.

-Which you would sell?

-That's the deal.

-What do you get for tricking people?

I'm not tricking anybody. They don't

wanna sell, they don't have to.

They do wanna sell, they get

a decent price. Who do you work for?

-That's different.

-Life moves on. Sh*t gets bought and sold.

A handful of people run

the whole deal. The rest of us...

...do what they say

and get paid for it.

You got out of that neighbourhood

as soon as you could.

I left because I was 15,

and I was pregnant.

That's right.

-You never let me know.

-What would you have done?

Back then?

My life was falling apart.

I wouldn't have been much help.

-And you had other girls.

-Yeah.

When I started to show...

...my mom and dad sent me

to my Aunt Thelma's in Macon.

Then I lost the baby.

And I just kept going.

-You lost the baby?

-A little boy.

I was going to name him Lee.

How did you...?

-How did you get by on your own?

-I lied a lot.

I lied about my age,

my experience.

I hooked up with anybody who was

likely to do me some good.

-You ever have kids after?

-No, I can't.

There were complications.

I was so young.

You must be pretty mad at me.

A 19-year-old football player. He

thinks he has the world in his pocket.

I'd like to smack his oversized head.

Not much of him left to smack.

I was who I was too.

But if we had brought somebody

in the world....

My mama is not gonna sell

her house.

Hello? Anyone here?

-Who's there?

-Terrell Wilkins.

-Who's Terrell Wilkins?

-We brought over Miss Delia's box.

-You can leave it on the front step.

-It's kind of big.

We had to borrow a pickup

to bring it over.

-What kind of a box is it?

-It's a coffin. Made out of pinewood.

-She's getting ready to plant me under.

-It's for a play.

How old are you? You don't sound like

you could be driving a pickup truck.

-My daddy brought it over.

-He a carpenter?

He works at the hospital.

An anaesthesiologist.

-He gives people the gas?

-Yes, sir.

-How old are you?

You over at the junior high?

Do they still have a picture of

two boys holding basketballs?

-They look the same?

-They was my boys.

Dickie and Danny.

They set them some records.

Of course, it was segregated then.

It's a whole new game now.

-You from Delrona or from Lincoln Beach?

-Lincoln.

You got a nice spot on the water?

Do you get out there and swim?

-No.

-You don't know how...

-...or don't you get around to it?

-There's an undertow.

Of course there is.

There's always gonna be one of those.

The trick is, you don't try to fight it.

You swim parallel to the shore

till the pressure eases up.

You struggle with that whole,

wide ocean and you're a goner.

No matter how strong you are...

...no matter how much grit you got...

...you try to take it head on,

it'll pull you under.

Miss Delia?

She's off,

selling away my whole life.

Leave that pine box on the lawn. Give

the neighbours something to buzz about.

Terrell Wilkins!

You can't live on no beach

and be afraid of the water.

-Marly tells me you're an actress.

-More of an impresario these days.

Of course, Marly flirted

with her own theatrical life.

She portrayed a mermaid in a roadside

attraction. Very successfully.

-We should talk money.

-I'm glad you folks have come around.

Whenever there's an economic shift,

somebody gets left holding the bag.

-Stuck with their property.

-After it's been dramatically devalued.

If you'd waited any longer,

I'd hate to think--

Just what are your

development plans, Mr. Forrester?

That's not really my end

of the business...

...but I assume that the whole

beachfront area will undergo...

...some sort of change...

...that would have negatively impacted on

your ability to continue to do business.

-So our development board--

-Out of the goodness of their heart?

We prefer not to destroy anything

when we come in...

...whether it be an ecosystem

or a small business.

That's extremely charitable of you.

However, in view of the fact...

...that we have no crystal ball...

...to inform us on the scope

of your group's future activities...

...I think some sort of continuing

participation would be in order.

On top of your very generous

initial offer, of course.

-Continuing?

-An escalator clause.

I'm not really sure what--

Let's say in five years

you've transformed our beachfront...

...into one of those cash-generating

monstrosities that grace the coast.

We would receive a gross percentage

of the proceeds from rentals.

Or adjusted gross, if you will,

depending on our ability to audit.

Don't gape at me, darling.

I've operated a nonprofit theatre

for 25 years.

-I'm gonna have to get back to you.

-I imagine you will. Cheryl?

Bring Mr. Forrester

a slice of your key lime pie.

I'm told it's exceptional.

Hey, Mama.

What you cooking?

-Lunch.

-You used to always fry your own.

When I was a girl...

...we pulled the feathers off

and threw the feet in a pot for soup.

-Don't do that anymore, either.

-That's too bad.

When you left here,

you couldn't boil water.

-Casserole too?

-I'm taking that to Mrs. Pierce.

-She hasn't been feeling well.

-You buried the hatchet with her?

No! But she's my neighbour.

If anybody comes to talk to you

about selling this house--

-I put all the property in your name.

-But you're still alive.

You've got yourself

a really good man there. Responsible.

You mean unlike me?

-We can't change how things went--

-Growing up here....

The way everybody looked up to

you and Daddy. I had to be perfect.

-Nobody expected that.

-Of course they did.

-When I went off, everybody knew it.

-Nobody knew about that.

Everybody knows everything here.

If you didn't know...

...you didn't want to. How could I come

back here and look people in the eye?

-Your family was here.

-Daddy ran away from his family.

He lived in a sharecropper's shack,

and he was nearly full-grown.

-He was the same age as me.

-He was a man. Times were different.

Both of you had these ideas about

what a decent person was--

You broke your father's heart.

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