Flesh & Blood

Description

Julia is exhausted. Tasked with hosting the perfect party for her parent’s Golden Wedding Anniversary she’s been on her feet all day with no help from her brother and golden child Simon. She’s midway through decorating the house when Emilie, Simon’s wife and her best friend, arrives at the door. Emilie asks Julia if there’s somewhere they can chat in private. Here she tells Julia she’s scared for her safety, plans to leave Simon, and needs her help. Simon has frozen her credit cards so she needs Julia to drive her to a train station and pay for her ticket. Julia can’t believe what she’s hearing. Surely she would know if her brother was capable of that? She knows him better than anyone. Emilie tells her to watch Simon at the party tonight. Watch how he responds to her absence and then she\'ll understand how much danger Emilie is in. The party is in full swing. Julia dodges second cousins, next-door neighbours, and well-meaning great aunties so she can get a good view of Simon. She watches as he charms the room. For a moment Julia feels herself falling under his spell. There’s so much she loves about her brother. Could this same man be such a danger to Emilie? But, determined to follow the plan, Julia approaches Simon in the kitchen and casually mentions that Emilie texted to say she couldn’t make it. She’s got a bad stomach bug. Julia watches as something inside Simon shifts. As family members inquire after his wife he becomes more untempered. His behaviour climaxes when a grandchild accidentally bursts a balloon and he starts screaming at them. To avoid making an even greater scene Julia quickly ushers Simon outside. Here Simon directs all this anger towards Julia. He asks her what Emilie really said. What are you not telling me? Julia denies keeping anything from him. Simon doubles down, physically threatening her and accusing her of picking Emilie over him - her own flesh and blood. Face to face he reminds her that family means loyalty above all else. Convinced of the truth Julia flees from the party. She grabs her keys and exits as her Father makes a speech celebrating his wonderful family. Her Mother tries to stop her on the way out and asks ‘Where are you going?’ She tells her to ‘Ask her son.’ We cut to Julia dropping Emilie at the train station. They are silent as Julia pays for her ticket. As the train arrives Julia envelopes Emilie in a hug and promises that she’ll always be her family. Emilie smiles. It’s exactly what she needed to hear. Julia watches as Emilie boards the train. As it departs from the station Julia’s phone starts to ring. She stands motionless letting it ring out again and again. The future fallout of her family can wait.

Biblical Connection

My story is an adaptation of 1 Samuel 20. David, fearing that Saul plans to kill him, has fled. He meets with Jonathan, his best friend and Saul’s son, who reassures David that he’s no longer in danger. He believes his father would never hide something so significant from him. To reveal Saul’s true intentions David devises a plan. He tells Jonathan to attend the New Moon Feast and watch for Saul’s response when he doesn’t arrive. Jonathan agrees and plans to secretly signal to David the nature of Saul’s reaction. At the feast, Jonathan tells Saul that David is in Bethlehem and won’t be attending. Saul flies into a rage, throws a spear at Jonathan, and accuses him of betrayal. Jonathan leaves convinced of Saul’s true motives. He signals this to David and the two say an emotional farewell, making an oath between their offspring before parting from one another. My adaptation adopts the key story beats from the original passage but reimagines the story within a contemporary family context. Saul is now Simon, an abusive husband whose increasingly dangerous behavior has put his wife Emilie at risk. Jonathan is now Julia Simon’s sister and Emilie’s close friend.