(The living room of Edgar and Mildred Furnald, middle-aged Midwest empty nesters. They sit on their well-worn Midwest sofa drinking coffee across a coffee table with Mark Zuckerberg.)
EDGAR: BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU SAY MARTHA. WHO KNOWS WHO HE’LL TELL.
ZUCKERBERG: THAT’S WHY I’M HERE, EDGAR. I NOTICED YOU DELETED YOUR FACEBOOK ACCOUNT. I’M AFRAID YOU FEEL I’VE BREACHED YOUR TRUST.
EDGAR: YOU’RE A REGULAR CARNAC, KID.
MILDRED: LOOK AT HIM, EDGAR. CAN’T YOU SEE HE’S SORRY?
EDGAR: ARE YOU SORRY?
ZUCKERBERG: IF NECESSARY.
EDGAR: NICE TALKING TO YOU.
(Edgar gets up and opens the door. As he walks he limps a bit. Zuckerberg types on his smartphone.)
EDGAR: WHY ARE YOU TYPING?
ZUCKERBERG: I THINK YOUR FRIENDS JERRY AND WILMA WOULD WANT TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR BUM LEFT KNEE.
EDGAR: MY KNEE IS MY BUSINESS.
ZUCKERBERG (still typing): AND YOU, MILDRED. I’M SURE YOUR SON LARRY WOULD WANT TO KNOW YOU’VE LOST A FEW POUNDS. RIGHT, EDGAR?
EDGAR: I LIKED HER WITH MEAT ON HER BONES.
ZUCKERBERG: AND THE TWO OF YOU WOULD WANT TO KNOW THAT HAROLD AND ELSIE’S DAUGHTER CAME OUT AS A LESBIAN.
EDGAR: GOOD LORD.
MILDRED: I’VE GOT TO CALL ELSIE.
ZUCKERBERG: WHOOPS. YOU’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT. FORGET ABOUT IT.
EDGAR: ANOTHER MISTAKE?
ZUCKERBERG: I’VE MADE ALL KINDS OF DIFFERENT MISTAKES.
MARTHA: WE ALL HAVE.
ZUCKERBERG: COULD I USE YOUR BATHROOM?
MILDRED: OF COURSE. DOWN THE HALL ON THE RIGHT.
(Zuckerberg stands up quickly and knocks over the coffee table, breaking the coffee mugs. Then he’s gone.)
MILDRED: GOODNESS, HE MOVES SO FAST.
EDGAR: AND HE BREAKS THINGS.
(There’s a knock at the door. Edgar opens it and Romero, Edgar’s boss, walks in. He’s built like a linebacker.)
ROMERO (waving his smartphone): WHAT’S THIS ABOUT A BUM KNEE, FURNALD? YOU RUNNING SOME DISABILITY SCAM?
EDGAR: NOTHING’S WRONG WITH MY KNEE.
(The sound of breaking glass. Zuckerberg rushes in with a bloody white towel wrapped around his left hand.)
ZUCKERBERG: ABOUT THE MIRROR IN YOUR MEDICINE CABINET …
MILDRED: ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?
ZUCKERBERG: DON’T WORRY. I PUT EVERYTHING BACK WHERE IT WAS. YOU’D NEVER KNOW I WAS THERE.
MILDRED: YOU LOOK KIND OF PALE. MAYBE YOU’D BETTER LIE DOWN. HELP HIM TO THE BEDROOM, EDGAR.
ROMERO: I’LL GIVE YOU A HAND. ON ACCOUNT OF YOUR … BUM KNEE, AND ALL.
(Edgar and Romero help Zuckerberg down the hall to the bedroom. There’s a knock on the door. Mildred opens it. Larry, the Furnald’s son, enters.)
LARRY: MOM, YOU HAVE A VAGINAL YEAST INFECTION?
MILDRED: LARRY. I’M YOUR MOTHER.
LARRY (waves his smartphone): WHY DO YOU HAVE VAGISIL IN YOUR MEDICINE CABINET?
(Mildred blushes.)
LARRY: YOU SHOULD SEE A DOCTOR.
MILDRED: IT WAS TWO YEARS AGO.
(Edgar and Romero return from the bedroom.)
LARRY: DAD?
EDGAR: LARRY?
LARRY (waving his smartphone): I HATE YOU FOR KEEPING MOM OVERWEIGHT BECAUSE YOU LIKE FAT WOMEN.
(Zuckerberg enters from the bedroom.)
EDGAR (pointing at Zuckerberg): BLAME HIM. YOUR MOTHR GETS ON FACEBOOK AND STUFFS HER FACE LIKE IT’S A THANKSGIVING TURKEY.
ZUCKERBERG: MILDRED, THE HEADBOARD IS FINE. YOU CAN HARDLY SEE THE GASH.
MILDRED: MY GRANDMOTHER’S HEADBOARD?
ZUCKERBERG: IT ALL HAPPENED SO FAST. I WANTED TO SEE WHY YOUR MATTRESS WAS LUMPY.
(There’s a knock on the door. Mr. DiCarlo a silver-haired gentleman enters.)
DICARLO: EDGAR, MILDRED.
EDGAR: ROMERO, THIS IS DICARLO, OUR BANKER.
ROMERO: HAS FURNALD BEEN MAKING ANY UNUSUAL DEPOSITS LATELY?
DICARLO: I’M HERE TO APOLOGIZE, EDGAR. I FEEL I’VE DONE SOMETHING TO BREACH YOUR TRUST.
EDGAR: IS THERE SOMETHING IN THE WATER?
DECARLO (waving his smartphone): WHY ELSE ARE YOU KEEPING CASH IN YOUR MATTRESS?
ROMERO: I KNEW IT.
ZUCKERBERG: THERE WILL ALWAYS BE CHALLENGES THAT I DON’T THINK ANYONE HAS ANTICIPATED BEFORE.
(As he exits through the front door the doorknob comes off in his hand.)
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Very delightful. Now I need to go and delete my Facebook account.
Hi Mary…
Thanks for the comment. As for deleting your Facebook account, I hope you have better results than Edgar and Mildred. You might want to think about not answering the door. 🙂
–jay
Yep… reminds me of the conversation we had with Mark when he dropped by to visit US the other day. Wanted to know what kinds of books I’ve been writing and why I hadn’t yet paid him for the week-long add that dod not increase sales of The Alamo Taqueria (but had garnered a few threats.)
Hi Nick…
Oh, good grief. If you had a conversation like this in real life you’ve got to get a new set of friends. Either that, or turn on the recording app on your smartphone and start your own humor blog.
–jay
If Beckett were alive today…
Hi Joe…
If Beckett were alive today I doubt he’d have a Facebook account.
–jay
Jay….It is fabulous to see you posting again! Time spent reading/listening to your stuff always is time well spent. Best regards, and rock on! – Your buddy, Radio Dave
Hi Dave…
Thanks so much. Always good hearing from you as well.
–jay