Episode 9
FADE IN
Once again the unexpected has happened. One of DP’s regular lottery numbers has hit and he is treating Jolene to a rare night out. Instead of their usual haunt at Maf’s for a shot and a beer, they have gone to the Tip Top Tavern on the edge of town next to the KOA to blow the entire $25 – excepting, of course, the portion that DP has already “reinvested” in tickets for next week’s draw.
the TipTop specialty is "Harleycakes"
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DP will even order a Box-O-Wine for this special occasion.
DP and Jolene often enjoy a WTB® Box-O-Wine
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The Tip Top’s specialty is “Harleycakes”, a pancake-like mélange named for Shvoo’s late husband Harley. These were his favorite, and some say Harley suggested the recipe as part of pillow talk with the TipTop cook with whom he was rumored to have had a liaison. Harley may have had a predilection for short-order cooks, as there was a sausage special at Maf’s which was briefly named for him as well. After his unusual death wherein the autopsy was inconclusive and Shvoo was cleared, she was allowed to collect on his nearly five thousand dollars insurance and has lived comfortably ever since.
DP is intrigued by her recent attentions and his mullet tingles at the idea, but he is understandably cautious. He is also curious and a bit apprehensive about hints she has dropped that a dream that was anonymously submitted to her Trading Times “Dream Weaver” column may contain a secret about a possible connection to Radish’s father Sonny.
what can this dream mean?
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The TipTop has recently recovered from a run of hard luck. After the mysterious fire it was rebuilt better than new and business was just coming back when the county health inspector discovered salmonella. Happily, it was just the one case. Unhappily, it happened to the inspector himself. The place was shutdown for a few months until DP’s father, Red, visited the inspector to “ ’splain things” to him, as Red put it later.
The TipTop is run by Mamie Rey, long time friend and fellow high school cheerleader with Shvoo, Jolene, Nonna and Mona.
the best of friends - once
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Mamie and DP dated briefly many years ago, which is why she turned to him for help with the inspector. The relationship ended when she went to Venezuela with the Peace Corps and gained brief notoriety as the girlfriend of a Contra rebel leader. She later asserted to the federal committee that she had no knowledge of Commandante Felîpé’s politics, that he was “just a guy with a neat accent and an ammo belt.”
Mamie: "I know nothing."
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Mamie was also present, and perhaps somehow involved, with the unfortunate incident with Mona’s mother’s Airstream.
the infamous Airstream
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She lately has been wondering – and cunningly asking – about Shvoo’s apparent interest in her old flame DP. We do not yet know if she, herself, is once again feeling the tug of nights not so long past in the back of the pickup. It has also not yet been revealed to us that one of her long time friends may be the hidden investor who helped finance the rebuilding of the TipTop after the devastating fire.
We enter the scene as Mamie arrives at the table to greet the celebrating couple.
MUSIC UNDER
