COURT APPOINTED
A Novel

Court Appointed
      Based on the Novel by Priscilla Audette
      @2015 by Priscilla Audette
     
      Contact: James Clois Smith Jr., Sunstone Press / (505) 988-4418
     
      Log Line: Hope, an attractive divorced woman of a “certain age,” works with elderly clients (who in a past age would have been revered and respected, but who in our society are warehoused in facilities), and while easing their journeys toward the end of their lives finds a new lease on life for herself.
     
      Act I
     
      It is the present. HOPE NIGHTINGALE walks down a corridor of a nursing home. She visits LILA, a bed-ridden Alzheimer’s client who is angry, uncommunicative, and hooked up to a stomach tube for nourishment as she can no longer feed herself. It is apparent that Lila’s current near-vegetative state is long-standing. She will never “get better” but will continue to endure as she has been for a long time to come.
                                                                  Fade to:
      After the visit, Hope sits in her car regaining her equilibrium.
                                                                        Cut to:
      Hope rolls BONNIE, who is in a wheelchair, down a hallway heading toward a lounge area of a facility where Bonnie’s husband, PETER, and his driver, DAN wait. They converse about Hope’s boss, MORGAN, who is a controlling conservator with a God-complex who almost diabolically manipulates clients’ lives.
                                                                        Cut to:
      Lunch with DARLING, Hope’s well-liquored friend and sounding board, fills in the back story of Hope’s life. Darling is funny, witty, and lends whimsy to Hope’s more serious existence.
                                                                        Cut to:
      During Hope’s appointment with DR. LEE, her acupuncturist, we learn of the work-related stress Hope is under bowing to Morgan’s dictates.
                                                                        Cut to:
      Hope’s visit with MR. G, a client who is a WWII veteran, reveals Hope as a caring individual when it comes to her clients. At the same time, when Hope takes exception to the way the VA is dealing with her client and blows up, we see her as someone who will stand up for her clients in whatever way she can. After her diatribe she calls Morgan to fill him in on Mr. G’s situation.
                                                                        Cut to:
      Hope sits on her balcony in a chase lounge. The stress of a job where clients fail and die is taking its toll and she is nearing burnout.
     
     
     
      ACT II
     
      Hope meets ANN and entourage in the hospital. Ann, a favorite client who does not have dementia had been placed under conservatorship ten years before after a failed suicide attempt. She evolved into an agoraphobic who still wants to die, but with 24/7 caregivers she has no opportunity to take her own life. Ann is diagnosed with cancer and will need radiation treatments.
                                                                        Cut to:
      When visiting HECTOR and WREN, Hope learns that Wren’s heirloom diamond engagement ring, that hasn’t been off her finger for 60 years, is missing. Wren, who had been first hospitalized and then institutionalized for her Alzheimer’s, is on so many pharmaceutical drugs that she is completely uncommunicative and unable to help herself in any way. Her husband, Hector (like David) continually fights the system (Goliath) that has placed both of them under conservatorship to save his wife. He wins an occasional battle but is ultimately destined to lose the war.
                                                                        Cut to:
      Hope stops to visit FAITH. Faith, Hope’s primary side-kick, is her sister who owns a clothing store. We get more back story of Hope’s life and a deeper understanding of her challenging job which is a balancing act of following Morgan’s orders on the one hand while trying to do what’s best for her clients on the other hand.
                                                                        Cut to:
      Hope gets SARAH’S shopping list. Sarah is another agoraphobic as well as being Hope’s youngest client – only in her fifties. Sarah’s next-door-neighbor, who is also her landlord, GARY finds Hope attractive. An artist, he gets her to pose for him. A potential love interest, the relationship dies on the vine when she detects his Oedipal issues.
                                                                        Cut to:
      SHIRLEY, a feisty woman, lives with MAGDA. Hope’s visit with Shirley is a respite from that of other clients for while Shirley has dementia, she is still on the ball enough not to be institutionalized. A pet parrot, who perches on top of his cage with an ever-open door, occasionally sings out: “I love you, Shirley.” This scene depicts aging at its finest – or at least as fine as it can be considering.
                                                                        Cut to:
      ELLEN is starving herself to death. Her story is aging at its worst in juxtaposition to the above scene with Shirley. Ellen’s daughter, STEFFANE, who was responsible for getting her mother saddled with a conservator, now regrets her decision, but it is too late. That Ellen’s situation had been wholly preventable is what makes this scene tragic.
                                                                  Fade to:
      A flash back – Hope meets Darling for dinner after just meeting Ellen. She shares her rage that this normal healthy woman could have her life stolen from her on the say-so of a jealous daughter. Hope’s meetings with this friend are a mental health break from the heartbreaking job of dealing with all her clients from day to day.
                                                                  Fade to:
      Back in the present, Hope stands next to Ellen who is sleeping in her hospital bed. She is a mere bag of bones who barely breathes. It is apparent that she will soon be dead. Hope slowly walks from the room.
                                                                  Cut to:
      Hope stands out on her balcony observing the night sky and pondering deep, philosophical questions.
     
      ACT III
     
      Hope is driving. She pulls over to answer her phone. Morgan tells her that a client, BEATRICE, has fallen and hit her head. She is in the hospital dying. Hopes first thought is that this was no accident. She fully believes DUKE, the husband is responsible.      
                                                                  Fade to:
      Flashback of Hope visiting Beatrice and Duke for the first time: Beatrice is a battered wife with a husband wily enough to stay under the radar. Hope picks up enough from the visit to know not to trust Duke.
                                                                  Fade to:
      Still a flashback: Hope in the hallway outside Beatrice and Duke’s apartment with her phone to her ear. As she walks down the hallway she speaks to Morgan sharing her concerns about Beatrice and her safely, or lack thereof.
                                                                        Cut to:
      Back to the present: Hope entering the hospital and asking the NURSE to see Beatrice. The nurse tells her the woman has just passed away.
                                                                        Cut to:
      Hope is driving home and is almost there when she smells SMOKE and as she rounds a bend sees a fire raging on the hillside behind her condo.
                                                                  Fade to:
      Hope stands on the balcony holding vigil until it is contained.
                                                                  Fade to:
      In the morning the balcony is covered with dust and ash – perhaps some foreshadowing of things to come. Hope’s phone rings. It’s Morgan. Mr. G is to be placed in a nursing home. Hope hangs up the phone as sadness makes her droop.
                                                                        Cut to:
      Hope visits Mr. G to find out what went wrong before she takes off to find the nursing home.       He is completely bedridden and close to death. Hope calls Morgan trying to get hospice involved instead of taking the ninety-nine year old to a facility. Morgan tells Hope that the decision has already been made.
                                                                  Cut to:
      Hope, in her car, sits in front of the nursing home. She calls Morgan and Morgan says he’ll make arrangements to have Mr. G moved immediately.
                                                                  Cut to:
      The next morning Hope visits the facility and discovers that Mr. G, a Jewish man who has eaten kosher all his life, has bacon on his breakfast plate. She loses her temper with the staff only to discover that her request that “no pork products” be put in his chart is a moot point. Morgan has arranged for Mr. G to have a stomach tube inserted the next morning.
                                                                  Cut to:
      Hope is in Dr. Lee’s office with a raging migraine. They discuss the toll Hope’s stressful job is taking on her health and well-being.
                                                                  Cut to:
      Hope on her balcony raging at the universe about the unfairness of Mr. G’s situation.
                                                                  Fade to:
      Early morning Hope is asleep. The phone rings; it is Morgan. Mr. G died in the night before the stomach tube surgery could be performed. Hope is relieved that he is no longer suffering.
                                                                  Cut to:      
      Mr. G’s funeral: Hope participates in the Jewish tradition shoveling three shovels full of dirt onto the casket that is in the ground. As she heads back to her car her phone rings. It is Morgan who tells her she has a new client and to get in gear and go visit him. She tells Morgan she doesn’t want to take on any more clients. Morgan convinces her to accept this new client.
                                                                 
      ACT IV
     
      GENE is a young man, relatively speaking. With most of Hope’s clients in their eighties and nineties, this seventy-something man who has no dementia is like a breath of fresh air. That he is being tromped on by the system is something that ignites Hope’s ire.
                                                                  Fade to:
      Gene is walking Hope to the door of his facility saying good-bye. He suggests she try bending the rules a bit to help him out. While she balks, he senses a chink in her armor.
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      Hope is having lunch at a favorite watering hole when the phone rings. Morgan’s secretary, TANYA, tells Hope to get over to Sarah’s ASAP as the cops are there.
                                                                  Cut to:
      Hope pulls up in front of Sarah’s apartment building and parks behind a police car. She looks up and sees two POLICEMEN on the landing talking to Sarah. Hope gets out of her car and heads up the stairs to the landing overhearing Sarah asking the cops to help her get out from under conservatorship.
                                                                  Fade to:
      Hope is talking to one policeman on the landing while Sarah talks to another just inside the apartment with the door open. Hope is explaining Sarah and her proclivities to the policemen while at the same time keeping tabs on Sarah and her conversation with the second very attractive cop. When all has been hashed out, the cops take their leave.
                                                                  Fade to:
      Hope and Sarah leaning on the railing of the landing looking down on the cops as they walk back to their patrol car. Both are admiring the attractive cop’s behind.
                                                                  Cut to:
      Hope does yoga on the floor of her living room. The phone rings and it is FRANKLIN, Ann’s second in command at the corporation she began when she was a young women. He tells her Morgan is going to have a stomach tube inserted in Ann with the full sanction of Ann’s sister, EDNA. They hatch a plot. Hope has been battling Ann’s sister, EDNA, about this issue, but it is a losing battle. Edna and Morgan will win and Hope knows it.
                                                                  Cut to:
     
     
      A meeting is taking place in a sitting room in the hospital where Ann lays dying. Hope, Franklin, Edna, LUCY, who is Ann’s care giver, the DOCTOR and a social worker are all in attendance. The upshot of the meeting is that Hope and Franklin’s hands are tied. Ann will get the stomach tube. Hope gets into one of her rages and storms out of the hospital.
                                                                        Cut to:
      In the hospital’s parking garage Hope is accosted by a MUGGER. In her state of mind she goes on the attack and the result is that he is knocked out. Hope notices she’s been cut. She calls 911 hoping the police will arrive before the culprit comes to. When the police arrive they are the same ones she met at Sarah’s. The attractive cop, CLIFF, and Hope make arrangements to meet for dinner at some future time.
                                                                  Fade to:
      Dr. Lee’s office where Hope gets a tetanus shot after having her cut bandaged. The doctor tells her she need to go home and rest. Hope says she has one more stops to make and then she will.
                                                                        Cut to:
      Hope meets with Gene on the rooftop garden area of his facility. He tells her he has a plan to get out of the conservatorship. He asks for her help. She says shell consider it.
                                                                        Cut to:
      Hope and Faith are on her balcony that evening drinking wine. They talk about signing documents so their sister, Charity, who is the antitheist of her name, can’t take over their end-of-life decisions the way Edna has done with Ann. The also discuss Gene and if Hope can help him with his situation. In addition they discuss Cliff who is a potential new man in Hope’s life.
                 
      ACT V
     
      A series of vignettes of Hope and Cliff getting to know one another: At dinner on her balcony, eating in a restaurant, at an art museum, and culminating in a scene of the two of them having a comfortable dinner on the balcony. They notice a house lit up like a beacon across the way built into the hillside. They decide to go and investigate it.
                                                                  Fade to:
      Hope and Cliff are in his car parked a ways away from the lit up house. They realize it is only a party going on. But as they are parked, and the night is dark and inviting, Cliff pulls her toward him and kisses her. Her phone rings – Ann has died.
                                                                        Cut to:
      Ann’s funeral is huge. People overflow out of the chapel and down the steps. FRANKLIN gives the eulogy. The chapel bells start ringing and clanging. Hope looks at her watch and it is only 20 of the hour, a strange time for church bells to ring.
                                                                  Fade to:
      Outside the chapel Hope visits with Franklin, his wife and sister and Lucy – Ann’s caregiver. All share their appreciation with Hope for all she did for Ann during the time she was Ann’s case manager. Hope tells them that she is getting ready to submit her resignation to Morgan. She just has to find the right time to do so.
                                                                        Cut to:
      Hope has just arrived home. Her phone rings – it is Morgan. They discuss Ann’s funeral. Morgan had arrived late and couldn’t get in so waited outside for most of the service, then decided to head back before it was over. When Morgan’s phone rang and Morgan was answering, it flew out of Morgan’s hand and crashed face down on the sidewalk smashing it. Then the church bells started ringing and ringing. Hope is laughing as Morgan shares this with her. She says it looks like Ann was letting Morgan know just how she felt about Morgan, her nemesis, being there at the funeral.
                                                                        Cut to:
      Hope and Cliff are having a BBQ at his house. It is a ranch style house nestled near a hillside. Cliff suggests to Hope that he build a second story and add a balcony. Hope is stunned.
                                                                        Cut to:
      Hope is helping Gene with his sting to retrieve his records from the facility where he has been placed. After their success, they meet on the rooftop to debrief. An EXPLOSION is heard coming from the direction where Hope lives. She takes off to investigate.
                                                                        Cut to:
      Hope stands on the sidewalk watching as her condo goes up in flames. A gas fireplace in the condo next to hers exploded causing a fire that is gutting the entire building. Cliff arrives giving her moral support. Hope makes a phone call appraising Morgan of her situation.
                                                                        Cut to:
      Cliff drops Hope off at Faith’s house. Faith takes her under her wing and pulls her through the doorway.
                                                                  Fade to:
      Hope and Faith on her back patio drinking and talking about the fire and what it means to Hope. Hope falls apart realizing she has lost everything except for the clothes on her back. Faith reminds Hope that she owns a clothing store and grabbing her keys, suggesting a midnight shopping spree.
     
      ACT VI
     
      Hope and Faith are in an attorney’s office signing papers that will prevent their sister from making end-of-life decisions for either one of them.
                                                                  Fade to:
      Leaving the attorney’s office, Hope’s phone rings. It’s Morgan offering Hope a new client. She lets him know that she will not only not be accepting new clients, but that she is giving him her official notice. She will finish out the month, but he’ll have to have his other case manager take over from there.
                                                                        Cut to:
      Hope is in Faith’s dining room recording her client notes on a laptop. Cliff arrives and takes her outdoors to show her the mobile home he is considering buying for them. Hope realizes her new life sans clients and all the stress of that job is in the process of becoming a reality for her. Cliff and Hope agree that after her last day of work tomorrow, she will move out of Faith’s house and in with Cliff beginning their journey together.
                                                                  Cut to:
      Hope is visiting Hector saying good-bye to him and to MARY LOU, his caregiver. He sleeps through her entire visit, curled up in the fetal position. Hope knows the end is near. She tells Mary Lou that she will continue to visit even though she is no longer on the clock.
                                                                  Cut to:
      Hope visits Lila, coming full circle with visiting her very first client last – the client who hasn’t changed and who is probably not going to change for years to come. As Hope walks out of the room the focus is on Lila laying in bed with her eyes squeezed shut blocking out the whole world.
                                                                  Fade to:
      Hope is walking down the hallway heading for the exit. The closer she gets to the door the bigger the smile that spreads across her face.
     
      END