Four Strings & A Bow

Four Strings and A Bow By George Kingsnorth Treatment - 17/07/2016 People rush to work in all directions. Among them is Aidan McKenna, approaching 40, in a smart suit. He heads towards a multi-story building with a glass front and disappears inside. For twelve years, Aidan has been commuting to London to work, often only getting home every two to three weeks. Each time he comes home, his wife Sinead, makes his visit special with family and meals with their daughter, Teri. Late one night while in London, Aidan receives a distraught call from Teri to tell him Sinead has been killed in a car crash. Returning immediately to Rostrevor, Aidan finds himself having to integrate with Sinead’s family and his own daughter, now 15. At the funeral, during mass, A group of fiddle players paid homage to Sinead. Aidan is surprised to find a side of his wife he had not known. At home, Aidan finds Sinead’s fiddle and discovers she had been tutoring people and had a YouTube site with her courses. As he grieves, he finds himself watching the videos, and over the following months starts to learn to play Sinead’s fiddle. Still estranged from his daughter, he begins to encourage Teri to learn with him but she refuses. Aidan has to decide weather to return to London to work the with the mortgage covered by insurance and paid off the appeal of commuting is lost on him. instead he decides to remain in Rostrevor and Discover more about Sinead’s life as a fiddle player. As the months go on, and Teri’s 16th birthday draws near, Aidan discovers through Sinead’s videos that Teri have been fond of a particular song so he learns it to play on her birthday. However, when this day arrives and Aidan performs for his daughter all it seems to do is drive her away in tears. Aidan starts to get freelance work as an accountant and begins to meet some of Sinead’s friends. when he reveals that he has been learning to play using Sinead’s video tutorials is invited to a session in a local pub. Another year passes, Teri is it college now 17 in a final year doing a Level 3 course. Out with her friends they enter an Irish pub where Irish music is being played live. Teri discovers Aidan is playing with them and wants to leave her friends dissuade her from doing so. Without revealing to her father that she is there she listens to him playing. The final tune is her favourite one, which again brings her to tears. Teri leaves. At Home in her room Teri pulls out photographs of her mum and she has a video of the two of them playing the fiddle together are playing is the one she did not want played on Teri 16th birthday. Aidan comes home to discover Teri drunk. They argue and Teri leaves the house. Aidan Rings one of the women from the fiddle group to ask her for advice on how to deal with Teri. She invites him round for coffee. Her name is Jennifer. Jennifer, also a widow, had looked after her husband for almost a year when he passed away from Cancer. She is still coming to terms with his death five years earlier. Her daughter, Alice, 22, lives in England, with her partner, and encourages her mum to find a boyfriend. Jennifer is still reluctant to do so but is always there to help Aidan. Teri finds herself getting drunk often. Her college work begins to suffer, and she is so close to finishing, everything could fall apart. She has a boyfriend, who seems to be supportive, but he is the one encouraging her to drink. Aidan is called into college to talk to Teri’s tutors as she draws close to her 18th birthday. When Aidan tries to address the situation with Teri, she tells him he has no control over her and that when she is eighteen, she will be leaving home. Distraught Aidan finds himself being consoled by Jennifer. The two of them get drunk and one thing leads to another, and they find themselves in bed. Aidan’s mobile goes and the mood changes. He gets dressed and Jennifer feels dejected. Aidan drives through a stormy night from Rostrevor to Daisyhill Hospital, Newry. Once there he is led to a ward where he finds Teri, unconscious, badly beaten. A policewoman takes Aidan aside and explains what had happened and that Nick had been arrested for assault. Aidan stays by Teri’s side for days while she is in a coma. Jennifer visits the two of them and apologies to Aidan for letting things go so far. Aidan tells her of his fears of losing Teri. Aidan is sent home to get some sleep as Teri is stable. The nurses inform him he would be called if there were any changes. At home, Jennifer calls to see Aidan. Both share their fears and hurts of losing their partners. There seems to be a healing and once more, without the influence of alcohol, they make love. As they wake the following morning they talk and realise their relationship is growing. Aidan rings the hospital to see how Teri is and is told there is no change. Jennifer gets an idea to play music to Teri to see if that will bring her round. Aidan shows Jennifer the tune Sinead had played for Teri, when she was small, and how each time he had played the piece to Teri, she had reacted badly. Jennifer suggests she plays the piece for Teri to see what happens. In the hospital, Aidan holds Teri’s hand as Jennifer plays the haunting tune. Aidan notices Teri’s fingers squeezing his, but she still does not come round. Aidan and Jennifer try to think of something else they could do. Back at home, Aidan finds a YouTube video of Sinead and Teri playing together. Sinead is singing. At the hospital, Aidan places headphones over Teri’s ears, holds her hand and plays the YouTube video. Initially, Teri’s fingers move. Aidan squeezes her hand and tells her to come back to him, that he can’t lose both her mother and her. The video comes to an end. Teri has still not come out of her coma. Aidan tells her he loves her and begins to weep. Then a voice softly says “Daddy”. Several weeks pass before Teri is allowed home. Her 18th birthday is almost upon them. Aidan asks Teri what she would like, but she says she doesn’t know. She has also been told by the hospital that she is pregnant, but that she hadn’t been raped. Teri explains that she thought Nick loved her and had slept with him but that a few weeks later she found him with someone else. When she confronted him they had rowed and ended up in a fight. She had come out the worse. Teri tells her dad, she would come back to him on what she would like as a present for her 18th, as she also needed to think through what she should do with her life. Aidan, tells Teri about his relationship with Jennifer and is prepared to end it for Teri’s sake to support her but Teri tells him she is okay with it, realising how selfish she had been and that he needed to get on with his own life, as 3 years had passed since Sinead had died. Aidan meets up with Jennifer, telling her of Teri’s pregnancy and his decision to be there for her, but that he also wants to share his life with Jennifer, as Teri is okay with it. Teri asks Aidan if she can have Sinead’s violin? Aidan is initially reluctant as this was the instrument that he had learnt to play on. However, Jennifer persuades him that it is a good thing to do, suggesting that she can help him find a new violin that will suit him. At a musical instrument shop, Jennifer and Aidan test out a range of violins, finding one that suits him and he feels comfortable playing. Teri’s 18th birthday arrives and at the party Aidan presents her with Sinead’s violin. Teri takes the violin out of the case and puts the shoulder rest on, takes out the bow and begins to play the tune her mother and father had played for her. THE END.