AS THE MOUSE

OVES©

Soap Opera "As The Mouse Moves" - Friday July 20^th 2001
"Mornin' Clark," Tiffany said closing the door to his townhouse where they worked as she walked towards her desk in the living room.
"I wish," he said defeated, staring at the floor as he sat on his sofa.
"What's the matter?" she asked taking a seat at her desk.
"Jan was just here."
"Oh."
"Tiffany it just gets worse and worse," he said looking up and noticing that she looked extremely tired.
"What's wrong with Jan now?"
"Starlene," he said referring to Tiffany's nineteen-year-old sister that was dating Jan's Father.
"I don't know what to do….  Starlene has her own life."
"Jan said that the news reports showed Starlene outside of Gracie Mansion with Stanley and Jan."
"Yeah."
"You've seen it then?" he asked wishing he had watched the news last night.
"Yeah.  I saw it."
"She's furious and says she will see to it that I don't do anymore parties."
"Clark, you didn't get to do the party at Gracie Mansion the other night."
"I know but she says she'll be sure I don't do Amir's parties either," he said worried.
"I'm sorry," she said fighting back the tears. She had stayed up until late last night hoping to see a report on Amir's wife.  The news reporters had teased that they had an upcoming report on her condition.  When they finally gave the report they simply said 'there had been a change in her condition and they would continue to watch the situation.'
"I guess I could call Amir and see what he says," Clark said picking up the cigarette lighter from the coffee table where Jan had left it.
"Maybe…" she said not knowing what to say.
"That might make her angrier, but I have to do something I guess.  Here… Would you messenger this to Jan for me?  She left it here this morning," he said walking over to Tiffany's desk and placing the lighter on top of a stack of papers.
"Sure," she said watching him as he walked towards the stairway and started to go up to his office. He stopped on the stairs and turned to look at Tiffany. "Turn on the TV down here and let me know if you hear anything else about Stanley," he said.
"Sure Clark," she said getting up from her desk and walking to the television and gladly turning on the news.  She glanced towards the empty stairway when she heard his office door upstairs close.  She glanced back at the TV screen and turned up the volume.  The morning news was showing a chef outside of Rockefeller Center grilling a gourmet dinner at nine o'clock in the morning.  Relieved that she had Clark's permission to watch the news, she went back to her desk and took a seat as the news went to commercial break.  She glanced down at the lighter that Clark had dropped on her desk and her heart skipped a beat. She quickly picked up the familiar lighter and turned it over to read the initials….  SD.  It was the lighter she had given her estranged husband Skeeter for Christmas.  Her heart beat so fast she felt dizzy. Jan was seeing her estranged husband just as she had suspected for months.  She quickly picked up the phone to dial Skeeter's number on Bleecker Street.
"And now we're going to Janice at New York University Hospital for an update on the condition of the mayoral candidate Amir Hada's comatose wife," the reporter said on the television as the scene on the screen changed.
CONTINUED MONDAY. MORE SOAP PICTURES BELOW.