INSTALLMENT TWO 



Falmont living room:
 

   George Falmont enters his living room determined to relax with a 
glass of brandy. He often relished moments like this when he drowned out 
all distractions in his life. He is sitting down in his favorite chair and gently sipping his 
brandy when his relaxation is completely interrupted by the voice of his wife Lenore.
 
   He didn't dislike his wife at all, he just wished for occasional 
peace from his wife of over twenty five years.  He had never 
realized how little the two had in common until the awkward silences 
threatened to tear them apart. Lenore stood in his view wearing a sleek,
black outfit from Prada. Her dark auburn hair is styled to perfection and 
her jewelry on display for the world to see.  He knew she was the most 
beautiful woman in the world and that her beauty would summon men from
all over to do her bidding.  In fact, he was one of those men at UCLA, 
where they had first met. 
 
   "Dear, I am so glad you are home.  Did you have a nice day?" Lenore 
asked while clutching her own glass of brandy in one hand and her cell in 
the other. "I have been so busy planning that charity function all day.
It's a horrible job but if I want it done right then I have to do the 
work myself!  Or else, we would all risk being subjected to Misty McDonnell's
Moroccan obsession!" 
 
   "It was a day like any other.  Just a lot of hiring's, firings, and all the 
typical stuff for a day at the office." George joked as he went back to 
reading his newspaper. "Although, I did meet Kenneth Norris' boy today.
He is starting in the Public Relations department on Monday."
 
   "Oh, how is Kenneth doing?  We haven't seen him in over twenty 
years. We must have his son over for dinner one of these nights."
Lenore said. "Oh, by the way, the dean from Henry's school called today
and he wants us both to talk to him about Henry's performance."
 
   "Again!?!?!? The semester only started two weeks ago and he has 
managed to get into trouble already!" George fumed.  He loved his son 
but sometimes he wondered where they had gone wrong with him.  The 
one thing Lenore and he agreed upon was that their twenty year old son
cared more about where the next party was than what major he was going
to select.  Granted, he was never short on dates or friends, but every 
semester, since Henry was fourteen, they were made aware of his aptitude
with his studies.
 
   "You know Henry is a very active person, I am sure he’ll outgrow 
this phase and start to buckle down.  I seem to recall at one time you were
like that." Lenore explained as she settled down in the seat facing George. 
"Besides, if we keep talking to him about it, it’s going to make him 
defensive and he’ll just continue this behavior."
 
   "So instead, you want to ignore it and hope he outgrows this? He has 
been like this since he was fourteen years old!  I’m surprised he hasn't 
burned out or gotten someone pregnant by now.  I think we have to 
intervene, perhaps an internship at my company or maybe sending him to 
study at Oxford like his sister Christina." George stated.

   “Seriously, I don’t think Henry is going to want to study at Oxford where 
his younger sister attends.  I think that would make him feel more ill at
ease." Lenore remarked.  She was about to continue when her phone started
to ring and she noticed that it was the caterers on the other end.  "Listen, 
I have to take this call but sending him off to Oxford isn't the answer since 
he doesn't want to go there.  I think we do need to have a talk with him 
but let's speak to the Dean and find out what the situation is first." 
Lenore leaves the living room.
 
   George leaned back, consumed his brandy and wondered how he 
and Lenore's perspectives had changed.  He hadn't remembered them being on 
opposite ends before when it came to their four children but he knew something 
had changed.



Richardson Home
 


   Chase enters the kitchen and is greeted with the aroma of pasta cooking 
on the stainless steel stove.  He looks around their quaint, French 
influenced kitchen and wonders how he was going to tell his family that he 
was no longer employed.  Sitting down at the table, he pours himself some
coffee and brainstorms his next course of action.  He knew
he had a very nice severance package and that unemployment would kick
in to help out while he looked for a job.  However, he knew 
that there were going to be some changes and he had to assess how they 
would affect them all.  
 
   Just then, Lillian returns to the kitchen with handpicked tomatoes 
from the back storage room.  He marveled at how beautiful she looked in 
her red polka dot Donna Reed dress.  Her dark hair hanging just 
past her shoulders and glimmering in the twilight sun.  Everyday of their 
time together, he thanked his lucky stars that he was with someone as 
warm and personable as Lillian.  She looked up just then and smiled a
radiant smile.

   "Hey there, when did you get home?"  Lillian asked as she places the
tomatoes on the kitchen counter to be chopped for the salad she was preparing.
 "How was your day at work?  Anything new happen?"
 
 "Well, you could say that." Chase replied, trying to come up with the
best way to tell her. "Remember, I was telling you about how the housing 
market woes have hurt my company lately and that our year end 
performance was not up to par?"
 
   "Yes, I do remember you mentioning that to me.  In fact, Gillian was 
mentioning that she had another closing that fell through today.  What brings 
this up?  Did something happen at work today?"  Lillian asked having a feeling 
of what she was about to hear, but hoping for the best.
 
   "Yeah, the company decided that they had to tighten their belts and 
make some cuts to their staff and I was one of the ones cut today."  
Chase stated noting Lillian was not as heartbroken or surprised as he had 
thought. "You’re taking this very well dear. Are you alright?"
 
   "To tell you the truth, I was suspecting something was going to occur.  
Down at the newspaper, they have been writing lots of stories about a 
possible recession especially with the slowdown in the housing market.  
However, I think the real question is how are you handling this?" Lillian 
asked.
 
   "Trying to get my bearings and deciding to just come home and have a 
great dinner with my beautiful wife tonight.  Tomorrow I’ll start hitting the 
pavement for another job since we do have one child in college right now.  
By the way, where is everyone?" Chase asked.
 
   "Let me think…. Gillian is getting ready for a date tonight with Dale, 
Stephen is still at work, and Nina is over at her friend's house studying.  
Don't worry I can volunteer to write some features for the newspaper while 
you look for a job.  I didn't want to tell you this until dinner, but I was 
offered a chance to write full-time for Hope Falls Chronicle."  Lillian 
was very proud of proving herself at work, but at the same time 
not wanting to parade her good fortune on her husband.
 
   "Lillian, that is fantastic!!  I know how hard you have been working and 
it’s paying off.  You did say yes, right?"  Chase exclaimed knowing how 
hard his wife worked completing her degree in journalism and writing 
articles freelance for different local magazines and for the paper. 
 
   "I wanted to talk to you about it first but noting how much belt 
tightening we are going to have to do, I can call up the editor, Malcolm 
Gladstone, and accept his offer.  Afterwards, we can sit down and 
brainstorm some possible leads on jobs for you.  I mean with your 
managerial experience, I’m sure you’ll land something in no time flat." 
Lillian replied as she finished preparing her salad. She kissed her husband on 
the lips and went to call Malcolm to accept the job.  Chase sat there 
marveling at how lucky he was to have met and married her.
 

Oleary's Steakhouse:
 

   Thomas Norris enters Oleary's starving for some food; he felt that he had 
something to celebrate scoring a job at Falmont Enterprises.  He looked 
around at the restaurant he heard people raving about.  The inside of the 
establishment was furnished with dark woods, and the cozy flavor of a rustic hideaway
tucked deep within the mountains, with the fireplaces roaring and the grills grilling 
up a storm.  He was seated at the bar since it was the busiest time of the night and
he hadn't thought to obtain a reservation.  He made himself at home with a Tom Collins 
drink in his hand, and noticed a beautiful woman staring at him from the other end of the 
bar.  As he tried to make out whether she was really staring at him or at someone else, the bartender 
approached him.
 
   "I see that you have an admirer over there." The bartender pointed to
the woman as another Tom Collins was placed in front of Thomas's view. 
 
   "Did she just really buy me a drink?"  Thomas asks surprised at how 
quickly the woman had acted.  He was both flattered and a little put off at 
such aggressiveness.
 
   "She sure did.  If I were you, I'd wave at her and play nice.  She’s 
someone that you would really like to get to know given who her father is." 
The bartender smiled while Thomas looked at her with surprise. "Sorry to
be saying so much without so much as an introduction, but the name is 
Melinda Mitchell.  That woman down there is Elizabeth Falmont, daughter 
of George Falmont." Thomas had a surprised look on his face as he shook
Melinda's hand.   "Yes, she is part of that Falmont family. You should go talk 
to her because if she likes you then you are in like flint."  
 
   "Well, I actually just was hired by her father at Falmont Enterprises." 
Thomas stated while staring at Elizabeth as she got up to go toward her 
table.  “This town must be small if everyone knows everyone around
here.”
 
   "Hope Falls is big enough to be considered a suburb yet small enough 
where everyone knows each other.  Now, I suggest next time going over 
to talk to her instead of me." Melinda said sarcastically as she turns to 
serve the patron next to him.  

   Thomas sits at the bar drinking his Tom Collins wondering what kind
of drama he was going to be getting into.  He thought to himself that he 
should get up and go back to California but was afraid of doing that.  Just 
then, the hostess beckoned to him to follow her since a table was available 
and, with that, all thoughts of leaving vanished.