Orchid House

(Alone in the orchid house, Henry kneels in front of a newly budded
orchid, his hands on his knees.)
Henry: (quietly) Things used to seem so simple. These
orchids...(reaching forward to gently touch the bud of one) things used
to be easier, simpler.(letting go of the bud) Things have
changed.
(Henry finishes fawning over the first orchid and moves to the next
one. He begins the same process of watering, adding fertilizer,
etc.)
(Emma enters the orchid house. She is waving her arms about and seems
very flustered.)
Emma: Is anyone in he- Sir!
Henry: (gets up) Yes, ma'm?
Emma: First, could you tell me the time? There's no goddamn clock in
this place and I need to be somewhere at a set time.
Henry: 4:23pm, ma'm. (notices her quick glances and her trembling
hands) Is there something wrong?
Emma: No. (begins pacing and thrashing her arms about) Of course not.
What would ever make you think that? (looks him over and notices
something in his appearance that makes her change her attitude)
Oh&;#8230;fuck..fuck&;#8230;fuck(quickly runs her hand over her
bedraggled bun, sighs)&;#8230;Yes, there's something wrong. There's
always something wrong. Everything seems to be so fucking wrong now.
I'm 25, and I already feel like I'm 50. I don't want this job; I don't
want all these goddamn complications. Nothing's simple anymore.
Nothing's simple anymore.
(She sits down on the concrete ground with her knees up. She puts her
attach? case absent-mindedly onto a pile of potting soil beside
her.)
Emma: (softly) I just wish things were different.
(She puts her head in her hands.)
(By this time, Henry is very uncomfortable. He leans down, beside her
feet and begins adding fertilizer around an orchid. She watches him as
he meticulously adds the fertilizer and then waters it. She looks at
his face searchingly. When he notices her watching him, he smiles at
her softly and then turns back to the orchid. She sighs, composes
herself and gets up. She looks at the back of his head while she
brushes the specks of dirt off her clothes and attach? case.)
(Fred enters.)
(Both Henry and Emma look towards Fred.)
Emma: (looking down at Henry) Well&;#8230;Thanks.
(She smiles a little and moves to look at a row of potted orchids.
Henry watches her as she moves around. Fred approaches and taps Henry
on the shoulder. Henry frowns a little and stands up.)
(Henry and Fred pantomime a conversation as Henry points about to
different orchids. Emma watches them from her standing place. She feels
embarrassed now for her "outburst". She begins fine-tuning her
appearance by smoothing out her clothes and redoing her hair into a
tight bun at the back of her head. Even though her appearance is
perfect, she is unable to regain the composure she had before she
entered this greenhouse.)
(She approaches Fred and Henry. Their pantomimed conversation stops and
they both look at her expectantly. She gives Fred a quick glance and
then addresses Henry.)
Emma: (attempting to sound impartial) I'd like to get something small
as a gift for a friend in the hospital. Is there something&;#8230;
you'd recommend?
(Henry passively shows her to a row of orchids. She shows him her palms
and he places a single potted orchid into her hand. She looks at the
flower and then glances at Henry blankly. She nods at him and
leaves.)
(Henry and Fred are left alone.)
(Henry remains where Emma left him, checking the health of the potted
orchids.)
Fred: (calling to Henry while shuffling his feet back and forth)
Henry?
Henry: Yes, Fred?
Fred: You got anything for me to do?
Henry: (nods the affirmative) Yes, actually. There's some orchids in
greenhouse c that haven't been watered yet. I'd appreciate it if you'd
do that for me.
(Fred nods and leaves.)
(Lillian enters.)
(Henry looks up from the plant he is holding and sees her. His whole
body clenches as he sees her. He exhales through his mouth and calms
himself down. He continues to look at the leaves on the potted orchid
in his hand.)
Lillian: All alone again, dear? This isn't healthy for you, you know.
You used to be such a social butterfly.
Henry: (calmly) I haven't been alone. Fred just left to water the
orchids in greenhouse c.
Lillian: Fred? Who's he?...Oh, the part-time worker.
(She mills around, randomly pulling the leaves off some orchids.)
Would you consider him a friend?
Henry: (looks at her levelly) No..not really. All of our conversations
are business-related.
Lillian: I wish you would get some friends, Henry. (traces her finger
on the pot of an orchid) &;#8230;Jessica wouldn't have approved of
you closing yourself off from everyone like this.
(Henry drops the potted orchid he was holding, breaking the pot.)
(A short silence.)
(Henry shakes himself, regains his composure and then bends down to
clean up the fragments. Lillian comes over and places her hand on his
shoulder.)
Lillian: Dear..are you all right?
(Henry nods, but does not look up at her.)
(Lillian recedes to another row of orchids. She fingers a leaf of one
orchid.)
Lillian: I don't know what you're looking for anymore. I used to be
able to figure out what you were thinking, and now..you've changed so
much that I can't even tell if you're angry or sad&;#8230;I just
wish I knew what you want.
(Henry is done cleaning up the broken pot.)
Henry: (quietly) I'd like things to be different.
(He looks up at her, moves the sides of his lips up briefly and goes to
throw away the broken pot pieces. He returns and replants the orchid
into the ground. He carefully digs a small hole with a trowel and
places the orchid's roots into the hole. He pats the soil around it and
adds fertilizer. He waters it.)
(Lillian watches him worriedly from where she stands, her hand resting
on a table of potted orchids. She moves towards him once he's
done.)
Lillian: It's time for me to leave, darling.
(Henry nods and gets up. He walks her to the door. She faces him,
places her hands on his face, looks at him for a long moment before
kissing him tentatively on the cheek.)
Lillian: (still looking up at him) You'll be all right, won't you
dear?
(Henry turns away embarrassed, nods, and she leaves.)
(Fred and Emma enter from different parts of the greenhouse. Emma comes
right up to Henry while Fred goes to a side room and begins collecting
his things together.)
Emma: Sir, I was wondering..if you could tell me a little bit about how
you take care of these orchids. It really seems like something you
enjoy doing. I-(her cellphone rings) Fuck&;#8230;I need to take
this. One moment please.
(Emma exits in order to talk in private.)
(Fred comes out holding a satchel.)
Fred: She asked me outside whether or not I thought you were nice. She
seemed crazy when she first walked in here, but when she asked me about
you, she seemed really..calm or something. She kept talking about how
"simple" everything seemed to be here.
(Henry smiles quietly at Fred and looks over to where she
exited.)
Henry: Your shift's over, isn't it?
(Fred nods.)
Henry: Have a good night, Fred. I'll see you tomorrow.
(Fred smiles, winks and leaves.)
(Henry walks slowly towards the newly planted orchid. He puts on his
gardening gloves and kneels down. He places his hands on his knees and
looks down at the orchid. He seems to be in deep thought. He looks up
to see Emma entering again, clicking her cellphone closed. They smile
softly at each other; Henry bashfully looks down and begins working on
the orchid again.)

The End.