The Price of Staying

Episode summary

Episode 3. A conditional offer gives Mara hope of paying for a repair, until she discovers what must happen before the money is hers.

Transcript

The Price of Staying

The Houses We Carry, episode 3. Fifteen vertical sequences, sixty panels.

Sequence 1: An answer in her pocket

Mara stands beside Ivo and Edda as they examine household drawings on the terrace. She holds a chipped blue-and-white cup. Her phone displays an offer notification beside the cup on the table. Ivo looks up at her. Mara puts the phone into her jacket and turns towards her teal doorway.

Phone: "OFFER RECEIVED" / "FUNDS HELD"
Ivo: "Good news?"
Mara: "Possibly."

Sequence 2: Behind the door

Inside her kitchen, Mara puts the phone on the table. A green travel case stands beneath an empty tool rack. She listens to a voice call. A close view shows the offer's release condition. Mara holds the phone near her mouth and looks towards the open doorway, where Ivo is visible outside.

Solicitor, on the phone: "The buyer has lodged the deposit."
Phone: "RELEASE CONDITION" / "INDEPENDENT CERTIFICATE"
Mara: "Can it pay for repairs first?"

Sequence 3: A narrow promise

Mara listens with her head resting on one hand. Electronic speech balloons connect the remote voice to the phone. She picks it up to ask another question. The phone returns to the table as the solicitor answers. Afterwards, Mara sketches a support beside a damaged foundation in her notebook.

Solicitor: "Send an estimate. I'll check the terms."
Mara: "Before the certificate?"
Solicitor: "Before a decision. Don't place an order."

Sequence 4: Something she can arrange

On a dry raised walkway, Mara shows Tamsin a proposed support. Tamsin examines the notebook. Mara points towards a nearby repair shop with lifting straps and an anchor sign. She walks towards it while Tamsin remains behind with her clipboard and a red tag.

Mara: "A temporary support. Could it buy us time?"
Tamsin: "For assessment. It doesn't clear the crack."
Mara: "I'll get a price."

Sequence 5: The repair desk

Mara enters the repair shop. Kes, a freckled woman with a copper braid, works behind its wooden counter in a navy apron. They examine Mara's notebook together. Mara counts the required services on her fingers. Kes indicates three sample components on the counter: a ribbed ceramic base, a metal bracket and a dark ring.

Kes: "Supply only?"
Mara: "Delivery. Fitting. Inspection."
Kes: "Then we price all three."

Sequence 6: The word held

Kes slides an estimate across the counter. Mara shows her the phone's funds notification. Kes raises an open hand to interrupt the assumption. Mara looks down at the estimate. The components remain in the shop.

Paper heading: "ESTIMATE"
Mara: "The deposit should cover it."
Phone: "FUNDS HELD"
Kes: "Held isn't available."
Mara: "Keep the quote open. Please."

Sequence 7: The cost outside

Mara sits alone on a weathered harbour bench, studying the folded estimate and drawing. Her phone shows that her passage deposit is due today. She folds the paper over the screen, then raises the phone for another call.

Phone: "PASSAGE DEPOSIT" / "DUE TODAY"
Mara: "I have the estimate."

Sequence 8: The condition

Mara listens on the bench, the phone against her ear. The solicitor's voice uses jagged electronic balloons; Mara's question uses an ordinary speech balloon. Her face tightens as she hears the condition. A final close view shows four connected houses in her notebook, her hand resting across the smaller three.

Solicitor: "I checked. The funds stay held."
Mara: "Until the work passes?"
Solicitor: "Until your house is certified on its own."

Sequence 9: The money arrives afterwards

Mara stands beside the bench, still on the call. A close view shows her listening to the answer. She sits again and studies the estimate, speaking the implication aloud. Her hand finally lies flat on the paper beside the dark phone. A distant pedestrian walks along the harbour.

Mara: "After disconnection."
Solicitor: "Yes. That is this buyer's condition."
Mara: "Then it can't pay for getting there."

Sequence 10: No order

Back in the repair shop, Mara opens her empty hands above the estimate. Kes crosses out a reservation box on a separate sheet. She hands the estimate back to Mara, who leaves holding it against her jacket. The components remain on the counter.

Mara: "I can't place it."
Kes: "Nothing's been ordered."
Kes: "Keep the figures."

Sequence 11: Who gets to know

Mara returns to the terrace. Ivo is drawing repairs while Edda gathers cups. Mara places her papers and phone beside them. Ivo looks up, pencil still in his hand. Mara sits and answers him directly while Edda listens.

Mara: "I've had an offer for the house."
Ivo: "You told them about the line?"
Mara: "Yes. They want it disconnected."

Sequence 12: Her failed solution

Mara unfolds the estimate and its foundation drawing. Edda questions her with a cup between her hands. Mara points at the proposed work and explains. Ivo leans back, looking at Mara; she lowers her eyes instead of denying the implication.

Mara: "I tried to pay for a support with the deposit."
Edda: "For which house?"
Mara: "Ivo's. I thought I could fix it first."
Ivo: "Then leave."

Sequence 13: Still a choice

Mara sits between the neighbours, her hands together above the drawing. Edda puts her cup down and meets Mara's gaze. Mara opens both hands beside the estimate and phone as she answers.

Mara: "The money only comes after we separate."
Edda: "You can want to go."
Edda: "We still need to know what you're offering."
Mara: "A price we can't pay yet. And the truth about it."

Sequence 14: A common list

Tamsin joins the table with her clipboard. Mara raises a hand to clarify the status of the estimate. Tamsin lays the drawings alongside one another. Ivo pushes his repair drawing towards the centre while Edda clears space and the others watch.

Tamsin: "Is this an order?"
Mara: "Only an estimate."
Tamsin: "Then it goes with the other options."
Ivo: "I'll finish the repair list."

Sequence 15: The place she leaves open

Neri sits safely at a separate table with binoculars, a map and a bird sketch. They look out towards the flats, then add a channel line beside the bird drawing. Inside the kitchen, Mara slides her green travel case under a bench. In the final view through the doorway, she carries a chair towards the neighbours' table. Ivo makes room. Her phone and folded papers remain indoors. This sequence is silent.

End of episode 3.