Past is Prelude

SYNOPSIS ACT 1 Claire Holland is a former Human Resources Specialist who quit her job to open a cat café with her wife, Gillian. Things were going very well for them. The café was busy, their home life was going well. Then a series of bad luck events happen starting with street construction that shuts down access to the café. The women struggle to change the dynamic of their business to keep their regular customers. The second incident is when Gillian is injured in a car accident. A crappy policy Claire had purchase to satisfy a bank loan was woefully inadequate to cover Gillian’s medical bills. ACT 2 A third bad luck incident to wreak havoc on their finances happens when a leaking roof requires a roof replacement. That takes what little money they had in savings. Claire considers selling the café because the mounting debt has her scared. Lori Whitaker, Claire’s best friend, offers to help but Claire is determined to fix her own finances. Susan, Claire’s former assistant at the Human Resources office comes to the café with an unusual offer. She must take twelve weeks of family leave to deal with her mother’s dementia. Could Claire be her temporary replacement? The $50,000 for twelve weeks of work is too enticing for Claire to refuse. She takes the offer without consulting Gillian ACT 3 Despite Gillian’s anger at her, Claire goes to work in the Human Resources office. After the first week, Claire is brought in to help her boss fire an employee. The fired employee becomes an active shooter in the office. He takes Claire hostage, then shoots her before killing himself. Gillian and Lori wait to hear of Claire’s status at the family care center set up for families affected by the mass shooting. Lori explains to Gillian that Claire’s family suffered a financial catastrophe that resulted in the family being homeless. It’s the fear of being homeless at the heart of Claire’s decision to go back to work and fix her financial situation. After a few days in the ICU Claire does recover from her injuries. The street construction has ended. Claire’s employees, customers, and her LGBT support group raise the money to keep the café open and pay off Gillian’s medical bills. A grand reopening party welcomes Claire when she leaves the hospital NOTES This script was about women in their 50 and 60s because life is risker for them at their age Also, these women live in and are active in a greater LGBT community. That is where they find their support. This film is a sequel to Covid Plays Cupid but would be fine as a stand-alone film.