Post by Danielle Basch on Oct 23, 2017 16:59:16 GMT -5
Basch Residence
Carlsbad, CA
Saturday, October 21, 2017
Donovan sits at the desk in his office, his fingers flying across the keyboard as he stares intently at the monitor. His focus is maintained until he hears the front door creak open.
Cerberus: FRONT DOOR IS OPEN!
Donovan: Tell me something I don’t know....
The robotic voice of the house’s computer system echoes through Donovan’s office, followed by the thunderous slamming of the door. Donovan grits his teeth at the sound, which is followed by the sound of his fiancée Danni, muttering obscenities under her breath.
Donovan: Uh-oh... that doesn’t sound good.
He stands up, cautiously stepping out into the hallway, only to be nearly blindsided by a stampeding Danni, who has two garment bags draped over her arm.
Danni: ...piece of shit, deadbeat, fucking ASSHOLE!
He follows her into the master bedroom, where she walks into the closet, hanging the two garment bags on the hook mounted on the door.
Donovan: I could perhaps be asking a stupid question, but... did something happen?
Danni turns around, her face the deepest, angriest shade of red he has ever seen.
Danni: Oh, something happened, alright. You won’t believe who I ran into after I dropped my Mom off at her place.
Donovan: I almost get the feeling I don’t want to know....
Danni: Well, you were the one that asked what had happened in the first place, so now you’re stuck with the answer, whether you want it or not.
Donovan sits down on the foot of their king-sized bed, patting the space beside him.
Donovan: Well, then... have a seat, and let me hear it.
Danni: Okay... you asked for it....
Three hours earlier
LeBlanc Residence
El Segundo, CA
The rear door on the driver’s side of Donovan’s Maserati Levante sits open as Danni secures the garment bags to the roof handle. She carefully arranges the garment bags containing Ruby and Mercedes’s dresses so that they don’t get balled up on the seat. Once she’s done, she shuts the door, dusting her hands off as she smiles at her mother.
Danni: Well, Mom... that’s that. We’re one step closer to everything being done for the wedding. Now I just have to arrange for Ruby and Mercedes to come and try on their dresses to make sure they don’t need any more alterations.
Marie smiles proudly at her daughter.
Marie: Has it finally sunk in, yet? Are the pieces finally coming together for you?
Danni: I’m getting there. I suppose it won’t really feel “real” until I’m on my way down the aisle and I see him standing at the altar. Until then, it’ll probably still feel like I’m dreaming.
Marie looks down at the massive diamond on her daughter’s left hand and can’t help but giggle.
Marie: Sweetheart, you’ve practically got the Rock of Gibraltar right there on your hand. It doesn’t get more real than that!
Danni looks down, turning the ring with her free hand so that the diamond catches the sunlight. A smile stretches across her face almost instantly.
Danni: Yeah, I guess you’re right. Still, after everything that’s happened...
Marie: Don’t do that to yourself, Danni. History isn’t going to repeat itself. Everything is going to be fine this time; you’ll see.
Voice: Fancy running into you here...
The ladies turn around at the sound of the low, raspy voice. Marie is the first to recognize the broad-shouldered, older man with the grey streaks in his otherwise brown, shoulder-length hair. She doesn’t look the slightest bit please. As for Danni, she narrows her eyes as she scans every square inch of his face.
Wait a minute... I’ve seen this guy before....
Marie: I thought I told you never to come here, Luther.
Luther: I know what you said, Marie. I just thought I’d come by, in the hopes that you’d had a change of heart.
He looks at Danni, letting out a barely audible gasp at the sight of her.
Luther: And this must be Danielle...
Danni is angered at the sound of her full first name, as she starts to lunge toward him with a sneer on her face, only to be held back by her mother.
Danni: I don’t know who the hell you think you are, calling me that...
Luther: My apologies. I suppose I should take the moment to introduce myself. My name is Luther Cunningham... I’m your father. You have no idea how long I’ve been trying to find you....
Danni: Spare me! You’ve known about my existence for almost 24 years, and only NOW you bother to come and find me, now that I’ve made a name for myself.
Luther: That’s not true, Danielle. I...
Danni: AND STOP CALLING ME DANIELLE! If you knew anything about me, then you’d know that there’s only one man on the face of this planet that can get away with that, and it sure as HELL isn’t the pig that abandoned my mother when she needed him the most.
She growls in disgust as she turns from Luther to her mother, her hands clenched deep into her hair.
Danni: Mom, I’ll give you a call later. I... I’m going home now.
Marie: Danni, perhaps you shouldn’t be driving when you’re in such a foul mood...
Luther: You might want to listen to your mother. Besides, it’ll give us a chance to...
Danni: Look! Right now, you are the LAST person that should be telling me what to do! And as it stands, you’re not going to like what would happen if I had to spend one more second having to breathe the same air as you!
At that moment, the flashing lights of one of the El Segundo Police Department squad cars rolls up, having heard the commotion on the otherwise quiet street. The brief chirp of the car’s siren catches everyone’s attention as the officer steps out of the car.
Officer: Is there a problem here, folks?
Marie crosses her arms, burning a hole through Luther with her eyes. Through gritted teeth, she answers the officer, without even looking at him.
Marie: Not at all, officer. The... ahem... gentleman was just leaving.
Danni: As was I...
With one final death stare at Luther, Danni hops into the driver’s seat and starts the engine. She drives off, leaving Marie, Luther, and the officer standing there.
Basch Residence
Present
Donovan sits on the foot of the bed with his arms wrapped around Danni, who is still upset to the point where she’s shaking. He rubs her arm in an effort to calm her down, but it doesn’t seem to be working.
Donovan: You could have gotten into an accident, driving in the state you were in. But at the same time, I can understand the need to get as far away from them as you could. And you made it home in one piece; for that, I’m grateful.
Danni finally starts to calm down, letting her head rest on Donovan’s chest as she lets out a deep sigh.
Danni: Now that I’m home, I feel like I could have handled it better.
Donovan: No one can blame you for how you reacted. Like you said, it took him well over two decades just to acknowledge your existence. Now, all of a sudden, he wants to crawl back into your life and play “Daddy”?
He scoffs.
Donovan: That would be like my mother showing up out of...
Danni pushes away from Donovan, a look of foreboding in her eyes as she glares at him.
Danni: Don’t you dare say it, Donny. Don’t even finish that sentence! Between the both of us chasing after championship gold in West Coast Genesis, not to mention the wedding, the last thing we need is more drama.
Donovan pauses, slowly nodding his head.
Donovan: You’re right, Nixy. Wait a minute... is that your phone buzzing?
Resting his hand on the bed, he could feel the short pulse of Danni’s cell phone vibrating in the back pocket of her jeans. She pulls it out, and looks at the screen. Puzzled, she tilts her head to the side.
Danni: Odd... I don’t recognize the number. For that matter, I didn’t even hear my phone ring.
Donovan: Well, if they left a voicemail, it might be important.
Without hesitation, she taps the screen to listen to the message, but as soon as it plays, she tosses the phone onto the bed and heads into the hallway. A few seconds later, she walks back into the bedroom, holding a hammer in her hand.
Donovan: Danielle... what are you doing?
He watches as Danni walks over to the bed, picking up her phone. He stands up, his eyes wide open as he sees her eyes dart back and forth between the phone and the hammer.
Danni: I don’t know how the FUCK that bastard got my cell phone number, but I’m going to make sure he NEVER calls me again!
Carefully, Donovan reaches out, taking the hammer from her hand. He brushes a hand against her cheek, smiling as Danni turns to look up at him.
Donovan: I’ve got a better idea. Why don’t we just go and get your number changed? I was planning on converting my cell phone plan into a family plan, anyway. Might as well go ahead and do it now.
Danni pouts a little, lowering the hand holding her phone.
Danni: Hmph... fine. But the sooner we do this, the better.
Donovan gestures toward the door.
Donovan: No time like the present, eh? And if he still doesn’t back off, we can always look into getting a restraining order. If not for you, then certainly for your mother.
Danni nods her head as she walks out into the hallway, with Donovan right on her heels.
Danni: What sucks is that I was really looking forward to smashing something...
He shakes his head, chuckling as he closes the bedroom door behind him.
Donovan's Voice: Save it for Unscripted, Nixy....