THE WINTER'S TALE 2018: LEYLA AND VELVEETA
A sad tale's best for winter.
Saturday, September 22, 2018
Sunday, August 19, 2018
EPILOGUE: CHORUS
A CHORUS representing the passing of time cries:
A shadow has engulfed the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and threatens all of humanity.
The stench of the tyrant Trump burns our nostrils as his folly rots the fabric of the land, for he is the worst of human impulses unchecked.
The diseased jelly of Trump's brain could not and would not abide and contain the envy of Obama and the good deeds of men. The only greatness Trump could grasp was at the expense of civilization. Like a foul plague he took us down to his level and again, no one did anything about it when they could have.
Chapter Nine: VELVEETA
At BAYLORD’S
MALL, uniformed men unloaded crates. With her birding equipment Layla heard everything.
An
undercover ICE vehicle pulled up.
“We’re not
operational. No meds,” Doyle waved her on. Doyle and Chance were the initial
skeleton crew.
“Get
operational. We got a John Doe and a tender
one named Velveeta. We have a sting
to get back to muy pronto,” Officers Monica White and Doris Warwell were impersonating
mothers who needed babysitters.
“Velveeta?”
Doyle snickered.
“Doris enjoys
making up names for the detainees, what can I say?” Officer White chuckled.
Chance slammed
the baby on the stainless-steel table where the grocery store butchers used to prepare
meat. He hosed off the baby with ice cold water. Her strong cry altered into a
broken bleating sound. He threw her into the freezer and went back to the loading
dock.
Layla shuddered
from the horror. She reasoned it was only going to get harder to escape with
each passing moment. She crawled on her belly, inching towards the fire escape
then realized she had forgotten something. Before she could turn off her phone,
her Eric Clapton “LAYLA” ringtone echoed through the atrium.
~ the end ~
Chapter Eight: AND THE WIND BEGAN TO HOWL
The hills and canyons of Palos Verdes Estates were brown from the drought. Atticus literally hit the ground running when he replaced Milo. He knew he would be richly rewarded for his loyalty to Lee Baylord.
Atticus ran to the gardener’s quarters. Luis was on the phone talking to his son who was extremely upset because tonight was his first gig at the COMEDY AND MAGIC CLUB in Hermosa Beach and he wanted his dad to be there.
Atticus ran to the gardener’s quarters. Luis was on the phone talking to his son who was extremely upset because tonight was his first gig at the COMEDY AND MAGIC CLUB in Hermosa Beach and he wanted his dad to be there.
Luis never went anywhere. He tended the
grounds of the Baylord Estate and then kept to his little cottage at the bottom of
the hill.
“For God’s
sake, papa, ICE is not after you.”
“My English
is not so good.” Luis confessed.
“They don’t
arrest you for that,” the comedian assured his father.
“Someone is
beating the door!” Luis exclaimed.
“I sent a
taxi. Papa, don't make me beg.”
Luis opened
the door. Atticus thrust a screaming baby into his arms.
“Take the
child. I have to stop the boss from killing his wife,” Atticus disappeared into
the darkness and took the shortcut back to the main house through a wooded area
across the dry creek. A coyote pack began to howl.
Luis waved
down cars on the poorly lit street. His speech deteriorated as his blood pressure soared dangerously
high.
Off in the distance he heard blood curdling screams.
A car stopped
but sped off when the driver saw how Luis was drooling, the baby in his arms was
wailing and a man in the distance was screaming as if he was being skinned
alive.
Atticus was
ripped apart by starving coyotes.
Luis
staggered to the bus stop. Everyone on the bus called the police. ICE intercepted.
~ To Be Continued ~
Saturday, August 18, 2018
Chapter Seven: THE POLICE REPORT
“My wife is missing.” Thomas Latham told the police officer.
“You say Layla
made you dinner. Her phone is always off so it doesn’t scare away birds. She
was gone all day. She came home to make you dinner and left again.” The officer confirmed the information.
“I didn’t actually see her,” Thomas blushed.
“Then how do
you know she made you dinner?” The officer raised an eyebrow.
“Who the
hell else would make me dinner?” Thomas blurted. He had to admit it probably wasn’t foul play. What
kind of kidnapper lets you come home and make dinner then resumes the
kidnapping?
***
~ To Be Continued ~
Chapter Six: PLEASE STAND BY
Back at BAYLORD’S
MALL Layla asked her little birdie friend if she should make her move, go home
and tell Thomas what a day it had been.
Thomas wasn’t dead. She wasn’t that
kind of a widow. She was a 24/7 cable news widow.
Ever since Trump took office Thomas
was glued to the television. Just as she was about to go, three refrigerated
semi-trucks pulled up to the loading dock.
***
~ To Be Continued ~
Chapter Five: SEE HOW THEY RUN
Back at the
restaurant everyone nervously waited for Lee. They didn’t dare cut the cake
even though the children begged.
“A toast to investing
in Trump.” Archie, one of the richest investors raised his glass.
“Don’t let
it get to you. Take care of your family. I don’t smoke, but I made a fortune in
tobacco in the 1970’s. You don’t have to believe in something to make money
from it. The trick is to move on when it gets too hot. You don’t go down with
the ship if you plan right.” Archie explained to a fellow investor who was
upset by how the evening was going.
Lee arrived
and sullenly ate two slices of cake and three scoops of ice cream. He glared
Paul and left without saying good night.
“Milo, take me
to the airport now,” Paul held his sleepy son. Floyd rested his head on his
father’s shoulder.
“Take me
with you,” Milo begged.
“What?” Paul asked.
“He told me to poison you.” Milo exclaimed.
Milo and Paul left so fast they didn’t notice Lee eavesdropping. Only Floyd saw Lee’s seething face. He held onto his father with all his might.
Another of Lee’s men exited the men’s room. Lee yanked him close.
“See, Atticus, see how they run? I heard everything they said. Drive me home, Atticus,” Lee walked out of the restaurant.
“Yes sir,” Atticus quietly accepted the promotion.
***
~To Be Continued ~
Friday, August 17, 2018
Chapter Four: THE PETAL STORM
The sound of
the bus woke Layla.
“The
government is leasing properties like this for top dollar. Your properties are
approved. All you have to do is sign. You get to serve your country and make a
mint. This is perfect for you, Paul. You still want to go to the airport?” Lee’s
voice boomed through the courtyard.
Paul nodded
yes.
“Madelaine,
work your magic, convince Paul to stay. I get a hell of a finder’s fee and Paul
will be set for life.” Lee prodded.
Madelaine
caught up with Paul in the center of the courtyard. A whirling sea breeze dipped
into the atrium and all of the wisteria petals took flight. Madelaine put her
hands in the air and spun around like Julie Andrews in THE SOUND OF MUSIC.
“You simply
must stay, Paul. It’s a sign!” Madelaine laughed. Paul took her hand and spun
her around again.
“You have
bewitched me, Madelaine. I’ll stay and take the meeting tomorrow with Lee.”
Paul laughed louder. The petals swirled round and round. The children laughed
and ran wild screaming with delight. Everyone was laughing except Lee.
“He’s agreed
to stay,” Milo told Lee.
“I offer the
man the chance of a lifetime, a government contract beyond compare and how does
he thank me? He makes a pass at my wife!” Lee burned with irrational jealousy.
On the bus wives
asked their husbands why Lee was so angry.
Husbands told their wives to ignore it.
Everyone welcomed more champagne to calm their nerves.
Lee lingered
in the courtyard complaining to Milo that Madelaine never looked with such
loving eyes upon him. Surely this was more than the moment. Certainly Paul was
Corina’s father.
“The way
Paul held the child and sang, “Corina, Corina, I love you so”, who does that?”
Lee vented.
“He was just
trying to be witty, sir, I’m sure that’s all it was.” Milo suggested.
“Poison him after
he signs the documents tomorrow and drown the baby tonight.” Lee fumed.
Layla dropped
her camera. Both men looked up. The storm bird fluttered down from the roof and
landed on the potted bamboo plant, bobbing about as the wind lifted and lowered
the branch. It began to rain hard.
“Let’s go.”
Milo urged.
Lee called
Otto, his son’s bodyguard and ordered him to keep Max away from his mother.
Layla photographed the bobbing and weaving white-throated needletail as it enjoyed its bamboo
ride in the rain.
She mouthed the words: “Thank you.”
If the storm bird had not distracted the men, they might have discovered her.
She took her phone from her backpack and turned it on. There were a ton of messages she didn’t dare answer yet.
She mouthed the words: “Thank you.”
If the storm bird had not distracted the men, they might have discovered her.
She took her phone from her backpack and turned it on. There were a ton of messages she didn’t dare answer yet.
***
~ To Be Continued ~
Chapter Three: THE MAGA DINNER
A few miles
away from the BAYLORD SHOPPING CENTER, Mr. Baylord was having a MAGA lobster dinner party with his family and a forty
of his richest acquaintances.
***
“Trump has
made me rich beyond my wildest dreams, right Madelaine?” Lee Baylord invited
his beautiful wife to give a supporting comment.
“Lee has
completely stopped nagging me about my spending. It took some getting used to.”
Madelaine smiled.
Paul Rizel, Lee’s friend since childhood, had a lot of empty buildings since the hurricane. He was still a billionaire. It wasn’t like he needed charity. Paul made his fortune in New Orleans and was eager to get home to prepare for Christmas.
“I have a
tour bus outside. We’re going to my repurposed shopping center to see with your
own eyes how a closed mall is more profitable than an open mall. Ladies and
gentlemen, your lives are about to change.” Lee crowed.
“I really can’t
stay, Lee. I should be leaving for the airport now.” Paul insisted.
“Oh daddy,
let’s see the mall. Max says it’s haunted,” Floyd, Paul’s young son begged.
“Our
Maxsimillian is obsessed with ghosts. I must
sit by his bed every night so he can fall asleep,” Madelaine explained.
“I promise we
will look at your haunted shopping center the next time we come to town,” Paul
smiled.
“No. Tonight’s
the night. We’ll have champagne on the bus and I’ll have Milo follow in the
limo. He’ll get you to the airport if you still want to go. I’m betting you
won’t. We’ll have our chocolate cake after the tour.” Lee winked.
~ to be continued ~
Chapter Two: BAYLORD'S SHOPPING CENTER
Layla arrived at the abandoned BAYLORD SHOPPING CENTER in Hermosa Beach at dusk. It had been closed so long that some said it was haunted and would never bustle with life again. It’s security lights still came on at night. A warm halo of light rose from the open-air courtyard. There would be plenty of yummy moths and none of your crowds and commotions of the piers. Surely her new friend, the white-throated needle-tailed swift, formally known as: “hirundapus caudacutus,” and casually known as “the storm bird”, would opt for the Baylord bug banquet.
A cluster of
giant slippery elms surrounded a sprawling camphor tree and blocked the view of
the back entrance to the mall. Layla looked both ways for the security car that
occasionally drove by and then climbed up the camphor tree until she was able
to reach the rusty fire escape stairs. Once upon the roof she found a
comfortable spot with a good view of the open-air atrium.
A mature Japanese wisteria longissimi alba vine snaked around the
entire courtyard like
a great white dragon. It was December 21st and yet thousands of two-foot
long racemes still held their snow-white petals that normally fell off in May. Layla
spied a happy swarm of moths circling a lamp post by a beautiful potted bamboo.
Layla waited for her storm bird and drifted off into a deep sleep.
~ To Be Continued ~
Sunday, July 29, 2018
Chapter One: LEYLA
THE
WINTER’S TALE 2018:
LAYLA AND VELVEETA
“A sad tale’s best for
winter.”
~Shakespeare
"Hey little fella. How did you get here? You’re supposed to
be in New Zealand.” Layla Latham adjusted her binoculars for a closer look at the
bird nestled in a crevice in the cliffs above RAT beach. It took off like a
rocket. It flew 105 mph towards Hermosa Beach. She blasted after it in her
power boat but it was no match for the little bird.
“No matter. I think I know where you are going. I know where I would go if I were you,” Layla
powered down and docked in King Harbor. It began to drizzle. She went home to
pick up her rain gear and more powerful equipment that would allow her to
record sound and images from a greater distance. It was going to be an interesting
evening. It had been nearly two years since she lost her husband Thomas and
birding was how she had come to cope with the loss.
“Oh Thomas, you won’t believe what I saw!” the screen door
slammed behind her. She dropped her backpack on the kitchen table and popped a
frozen dinner in the microwave. There was no answer of course.
~ To Be Continued ~
Sunday, July 15, 2018
PROLOGUE: A SAD TALE'S BEST FOR WINTER
What lives in Asia,
What summers in Siberia,
What winters in Australia,
What suddenly shows up in Hermosa Beach, California?
THE WINTER'S TALE 2018: DRAMATIS PERSONAE
THE WINTER'S TALE 2018
LEYLA AND VELVEETA
Dramatis Personae
Lee Baylord, a California billionaire
Maxsimillian Baylord, Lee's son
Milo, Baylord's fixer
Atticus, Baylord's new fixer
Paula, wife of Atticus
Chance and Doyle, Skeleton Crew of the facility
Paul Rizel, Lee's childhood friend, a New Orleans billionaire
Floyd Rizel, Paul's son
Archie, a Trump investor
Luis, the gardener of Baylord's Estate
Comedian, son of Luis
Truck Drivers
Madelaine, Lee Baylord's wife
Velveeta
Monica and Doris, Undercover ICE Officers
Leila Latham, birdwatcher, bird blogger, chorus
Thomas Latham, Leyla's husband, cable news junkie
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The sound of the bus woke Layla. “The government is leasing properties like this for top dollar. Your properties are approved....
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THE WINTER’S TALE 2018: LAYLA AND VELVEETA “A sad tale’s best for winter.” ~Shakespeare "Hey little fella. ...
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Back at BAYLORD’S MALL Layla asked her little birdie friend if she should make her move, go home and tell Thomas what a day it had bee...