An easel silently stands, as though waiting for Philip's mother to produce another of her impressionistic abstract paintings. Philip was the vice president of engineering for Kurzweil, the company that produced the haunting electronic music for the movie. Philip played a part in the film. It's the day before the grand gala party kicking off the Show House. Shop vacuums vie for space with elegant antique silver sets.
Carpenters scramble to finish molding details.
Gardeners install plants and brick pathways. The pagers and cell phones that Sue and Philip wear on their hips are relentlessly beeping, insisting on last-minute decisions that only they can make. Satisfied with that answer, the carpenter hustles off to another part of the house. He looks excited, proud, sleep deprived. Sue looks at the tiny gnats trapped in a freshly painted door stoop and bursts out laughing.