Hitty's Arrival - Pt 2

(quiet piano music playing)

Wendy: (quietly, to self) Okay... no matter what I find, I will not freak out. Even if the floor is covered in sawdust... oh, sawdust... oh Hitty! I'll save you!

(yanking open door)

Wendy: I'll save you Hitty!!!!

Hitty: EEEP!

(piano music abruptly stops)

Miranda: Oh for crying out loud! Knock much? Get in here. Way to make a first impression! Oh Hitty, are you okay?

Hitty: Yes... (laughing) just startled me a bit.

Miranda: Wendy, allow me to introduce to you your new companion, Hitty Rosabelle Kleider.

Hitty Rosabelle: Hello.

Wendy: Hi, I am so glad to meet you.

Miranda: So... could I talk to you in the kitchen for a minute.

Wendy: Yeah... that would be good (quietly) Hitty thief!

Miranda: Bess, while we're gone, if you want to plink around on the piano, please feel free.

Hitty Rosabelle: Well, I always thought myself a singer, moreso than a pianist, but I do love the piano (plinking on keys quietly).

Miranda: What on EARTH were you thinking?

Wendy: I was thinking that you'd kidnapped Hitty and I was going to find a pile of sawdust and paint on your floor. Do you know half the house is looking for her? And why did you just now call her "Bess"? You just said her name is Rosabelle.

Miranda: I am strangely offended AND flattered. No, no sawdust. And I'm not telling you, you'll just have to wait and see if she explains her name to. AND I'll have you know I didn't KIDNAP her, I rescued her. You weren't home. Trygve wasn't going to get her out without you here. She could've been stuck in that box for hours! But I rescued her and brought her up here for tea.

Wendy: But... how did you tear open the box? That pull tab thing has to be three times as long as you are tall.

Miranda: I got this entire log cabin up here, on the second floor, by myself, and you're impressed that I opened a BOX?

Wendy: Point taken.

Miranda: All right, now lets go back out there and how about you try living up to some of the nice things I told her about you, okay?

Wendy: Awww... um... okay, thanks Miri.

Miranda: Bess, I think it's time you and Wendy headed out. I know that she'll probably keep you up all night talking, but I think you should get some sleep. I have a feeling that between Wendy and Valentine, you have a long day of being a dressmaker's dummy tomorrow.

Hitty Rosabelle: Thank you so much for your kind hospitality, Miri. I cannot thank you enough.

Miranda: Awww, come back any time and I'll play you some more Gershwin, whether the Quakers would've approved of it or not!

(Hitty Rosabelle and Miranda laughing... Wendy looking puzzled)

Hitty Rosabelle: Are you ready, Wendy? Shall we go?

Wendy: Uh.. yeah. But, oh... I don't have any pjs for you... or even really a bed and...

Hitty Rosabelle: I don't need much, don't worry. It is so good to be here, the details will work themselves out.

(Wendy and Rosabelle leave)

Miranda: Aww, what a nice lady that Bess is. I think she's going to be a really good influence on Wendy... the dork. Barging into my house like that. Sawdust! SAWDUST! (shaking head and laughing) Ah, Bess....

Miranda: ... I'll have to brush up on my Gershwin just for you, dearheart. (starts playing "So Am I")... and then introduce you to a whole new world of music, starting with Tori Amos (starts playing "Snow Cherries from France").... yeah, this is going to be a really good thing.

Welcome home Hitty Rosabelle Kleider!

Hitty's Arrival - Pt 1

Wendy: Hey, Emi. What are you doing out here on the floor?

Emi: Waiting for you! I am so glad you're home! Hitty is missing!

Wendy: Missing like "Didn't arrive in the mail" missing? Because she could come on Monday.

Emi: No, she got here. We found all of her packaging here in the foyer, but no sign of HITTY!

Emi: I've looked everywhere I can think of. There's no sign of her, though we did find the patterns for her clothing and a spare dress not to far from here.

Wendy: Do you think she's lost and wandering the house?

Emi: I don't know... but I've given the kids permission for this emergency and this emergency ONLY to ride their horses through the house to look for her....

(half an hour later)

Quinn: Hey! Shawnee!! Any luck?

Shawnee: Nah, nothin'. I can't imagine where she could be!

Lenore: Hey guys! Wait up! Have you found any sign of her? Me and Maggie haven't found anything.

Shawnee: Nah, nothin'. Quinn?

Quinn: Nope. I've been calling like crazy, and there hasn't been any answer or any sign of her.

Shawnee: Okay, well, we've got a lot of house to cover. Lenore... you and Maggie take the basement...

Maggie: (gasp!... sniffle)

Lenore: Um... Maggie's afraid of the basement. Could we search somewhere else?

Shawnee: Oh FINE. _I'll_ take the basement, you guys take the back hallway. Quinn...

Quinn: All that's left is the kitchen and the parlor. I'll look there...

Quinn: HIIIIIITTTTYYYYY!!!!!

Maggie: Miss Hitty!!! Come out! Come out wherever you are!!

Lenore: Hitty!! We're not playing hide and seek, Maggie! She might be hurt or scared and lost!

Maggie: Oh! Hitty!!!! Come out and don't be scared! Misssss Hiiiiiittttttyyyyy!!!

Shawnee: (quietly) Well hello creepy basement. (sigh) HIIIIITTTTTYYY!!!! Hitty!!! Where are you?!?! Hiiiittttyyy!!!

(about half an hour later)

Wendy: OH! Oh, Emi. I have just had a terrible though.

Emi: What? About Hitty?

Wendy: Yeah... has anyone looked at Miranda's house?

Emi: Uh... no. I don't think so. I'm not even sure where Miranda's house IS. Since she took possession of the cabin, I haven't seen it.

Wendy: Oh dear... I know where it is. She hasn't ordered any power tools or chainsaws or anything lately, has she?

Emi: Uh....

(quiet piano music playing from inside Miranda's cabin... music stops... there is a wicked laugh... and then silence....)

Hitty's House is Miri's House

(Hitty's house... waiting to be moved out of the foyer to it's real location)

Wendy: (thinking) What the... why is the door open?

Wendy: Who's in there?

Wendy: Miri! Awww... you are so sweet. You're cleaning Hitty's house! Why... I've never... what a sweet gesture.

Miranda: Uh... yeah, about that "Hitty's House" thing.

Miranda: I'm cleaning MY house.

Wendy: What?

Miranda: Yeah, MY house. I've been thinking about it and... Hitty isn't going to want this house.

Wendy: Oh really? For reasons OTHER than you're already going to be living in it?

Miranda: Yeah... see this room? This would be the bedroom, right? But she won't if in any of the beds you could put up here. This house is 1/12 scale, and everything on the internet says 1/12 scale is a little too small for Hitty.

Wendy: (quietly) I knew I never should've let you on the internet.

Miranda: Besides, you've read the book, right?

Wendy: Uh... I finished it last night, but I don't...

Miranda: Hitty doesn't want a HOUSE. She wants a CRADLE! She wants to be close to YOU... oh, maybe she'd like a room box, you'll have to ask her. Though she didn't get played with a lot when she was in one of those in the book, so she'd probably rather have a cradle near your bed and to go places with you.

Wendy: You've been reading a lot, but you know she isn't THE Hitty, she's more like a cousin.

Miranda: Yeah, I know. But I ALSO know that most Hittys have some of the original Hitty "spirit" in them... trust me, she isn't going to want this house. But _I_ do!

Wendy: Miri, are you sure? It isn't exactly Foxhall Manor, the one you picked out at Norm's. And it's going to be pretty cozy with you and Vee here.

Miranda: Yeah... I'm sure. And Vee doesn't want to live here. I asked her, and she said she'd rather just stay and take care of Mr. Thorne. So it'll just be me, and it's the perfect size.

Wendy: Well, if you're sure...

Miranda: I am 100% sure, and that means I have a lot of cleaning to do before it'll be ready for me to move my stuff in. So, thanks for stopping by. It's been lovely chatting with you. I'll let you know when the housewarming party is. Now SHOO!

(door closes)

Wendy: Well! (laughing)

About Salem - Pt 5

Syrinx: (sigh) Salem, I've talked to my mechanic and my Ferrari is totaled. You knew what that car meant to me, and I can't imagine what you were thinking. I was certain, when the officer called you Diamandia that you were dead. That he was here to tell me you'd died. And I am very glad that that was not the case, but...

Salem: I am so sorry, Aunt Syri. I am. I'll do anything to pay you back for the car. I'll do all the housework, and clean the bathrooms and I'll have Hana teach me how to cook so I can do that too and...

Syrinx: No, Salem. I can't... I don't want you living her anymore. You're going to have to go back to living with your mother.

Salem: NO! Oh, Aunt Syri, please! No, I can't. You know I can't.

Syrinx: Salem, I am so angry I can barely look at you. You cannot stay here.

Salem: But, Hana said that it was all because of Lacrimosa. Her psychology stuff said I was acting out because I was betrayed...

Syrinx: Really? If you'd like to talk about betrayal, I can tell you all about it. Try having a niece that you love and let live with you who steals the car she KNOWS you love and put all kinds of work into and then totals it. How's THAT for betrayal?

Salem: But, I...

Syrinx: And this has nothing to do with Lacrimosa. She isn't HERE. She did not hold a gun to your head and make you steal my car, Salem. YOU stole my car. YOU wrecked my car. And you have no one to blame for this other than yourself. I'll call your mother and have her come get you. It should take what, an hour for you to pack?


Salem: Please, Aunt Syri. Please, I will do anything. I will work two jobs, with one hand for a while, and I will pay you back for the car. I was completely irresponsible and I am so sorry. I am... please believe me. I'll do anything to show you. I... you're my favorite Aunt, and I... I don't know what to do to make this up to you.

Syrinx: Salem... I am so angry. I cannot believe you would do this to me. I have tried so hard to help you, to support you, and that you would do something so irresponsible... GAH! I don't know what to do with you.

(A voice in Syri's memory)

Rain: ... if you're looking to help her straighten up and fly right, nothing teaches a girl responsibility like horseback riding. I could set her up with a nice little mare, and start her training, and you'd see. She'd be a changed girl in no time!...

Syrinx: Are you serious about working to pay off the car, Salem?

Salem: YES! Oh please, Aunt Syri. I'll do any job. I will.

Syrinx: Well, I might have a possibility for you. You wouldn't have to live with your mom, but you wouldn't be here either. Let me make a phone call...

About Salem - Pt 4

(knocking)

Hana: Hey, Sienna?

Sienna: Oh, hey Hana. Come on in. Make yourself at home.

Hana: Thanks. Am I interrupting anything?

Sienna: Nah, I was just surfin' the web. What's up?

Hana: Syri wanted to talk to Salem alone, so I thought I'd make myself scarce and wander down to see what you were up to. Oh!

Hana: This is quite... artistic. (laugh)

Sienna: (laughing) Yeah, when I'm on the phone I doodle, and I got to spend an unhappy half hour on the phone fighting with financial aid this afternoon. You know how it is.

Hana: (nodding) Oh yeah, I got to do that last semester. Good times.

Sienna: Yeah. So, how IS Salem, anyway?

Hana: She's doing okay. That broken arm is still hurting her a lot, but she says her bruised ribs aren't so bad anymore and it doesn't hurt as much when she breathes. She's been putting that ice pack on them like the doctor said to. She is so lucky she had her seatbelt on. (shaking head, sigh) You haven't talked to her yet?

Sienna: I haven't SEEN her, much less talked to her. I don't know if she's even speaking to me.

Hana: Well, she's been laying pretty low. I think the only reason I've seen so much of her is she really needed help with the ice for her ribs, well, and I don't think it would've gone well had she asked Syri for a ride to the hospital to see Amber.

Sienna: Oooh, no kidding. So how's she handling all of this? Amber's going to be fine, right?

Hana: Honestly, I'm really worried about her, Sienna. She's completely devastated by the whole thing, and even though Amber's going to be fine she just feels so guilty. If her self confidence was waning before, it's non-existant now. And it isn't helping that Syri hasn't said three words to her since she was released from the hospital. I really think... well, I think Syri is throwing her out. I think she's THAT mad.

Sienna: But Salem can't go back and live with her mom, Syri knows that. Where would she go?

Hana: I don't know, and I don't know for sure if that's what their "talk" tonight is about, but I have never seen Syrinx this angry before. I don't know where Salem could go either, but I don't get the feeling Syri is going to let her stay here anymore...

*******

Syrinx: Salem, please sit down. We need to talk.