POSE

Four o'clock?

Hello? Yeah, this is Blanca.

Ma'am.

-Hello, ma'am? -Sorry.

You said there was acetone and isopropyl alcohol

on the premises.

You are aware that thosesubstance are highly flammable?

The kind of stuff that could blow a place up.

Yeah, of course. But this was a nail salon.

Those kinds of chemicals are needed for my business.

I'm not a careless person, and I don't smoke,

so ain't no lighter flames or cigarettes in here.

When was the last time you ever heard of a nail salon

blowing up out of nowhere?

Excuse me.

What happened to my building?

This is devastating. How will I recover?

What are you doing here?

My name is on the deed, sweetheart.

I was in the car heading to my summer cottage

when I got the call that my property had burned down.

-Isn't that terrible? -Yeah.

I put all of my savings into this salon, and somehow,

I didn't know that insurancewas needed to cover the supplies

and furniture and all of my stuff!

It went up into smoke just like that.

You live and you learn.

Going toe-to-toe with you,

I learned what protecting yourself really looks like.

You taught me that.

And for that, I will be grateful.

After our squabble,

I raised the insurance coverageon this building.

I just had a feeling something like this could happen.

Come next spring, I'll triple the rent, attracting tenants

that will breathe a breath of fresh air

-into this ghetto enclave. -Yeah, this place

is right on track for a much-needed makeover.

How I will miss our conversations.

I will relish all summer the thought of you back home,

in your grim little Bronx walk-up, filing acrylics

in the sweltering 100-degree August heat.

The category is...

Live...

Work...

Pose!

Leaving already?

My usual 3:00 is gone for the summer.

The whole summer?

This business is seasonal.

Didn't you know?

It's not like the piers.

Most of the clientele here take their vacation in August.

The whole town clears out.

Shouldn't you be checkin' on that dude in your room?

Oh, shit!

I almost forgot.

Has it been three hours already?

Three and a half.

Do you need a spanking or a beating of some kind?

No.

Just leave me a little while longer, please?

I have other business to attend to.

I'm a woman of the world.

I don't want to stay here all day long.

Then leave.

I don't care.

Come back in the morning.

I just like being left in isolation.

No sight, no sound,

feeling nothing but the pain of being in one position

and the warm sweat under the latex.

May I ask what exactly is the point of this?

Why pay to be left alone whenyou can be left alone for free?

I'm not paying to be left alone.

I'm paying to feel the pain of anticipation.

I'm not leaving you here all night.

I don't have good experiences

with leaving people to their own devices.

Okay.

Can I come back tomorrow, though?

I thought you were a bigwig on Wall Street.

Aren't you leaving town like the rest of them?

I got a great place at the beach,

but I almost never go.

I like it better here, where it's...

really hot.

Beach house, you say?

["Everything" by Jody Watley playing]

Oh, my gosh, it's so hot.

Hey, I know. Is the window open?

A popsicle in this heat

is like throwing a snowball in hell.

Do you ever stop complaining?

-No. -Well, then, now's a good time to learn.

Here, girl.

Girl, I can't believe the salon is gone.

Come on, tell 'em what happened.

I can't prove anything, but...

I think she set the place afire herself.

-For the insurance. -Arson?

I'd do the same if I owned that shithole.

-Elektra! -Sorry, daughter.

I'm crazy from this heat.

-That's okay, I appreciate y'allcoming over to support. -I hope so.

I feel like I'm being fucked by Satan himself

in the seventh circle.

Are the authorities investigating?

I ain't got no power.

This isn't the first time any of us have met

with adversities.

This tenement in August, for instance.

Oh, my gosh. You can't give up, Ma.

I never thought my modeling career would be what it is,

but you encouraged me.

If I could do it, you most definitely can.

No, it's not about that.

I spent my life savings on that salon.

So, Ma, just save again and getanother one. You be a'ight.

Will you stop saying it's all right?!

My opportunity came and went.

Everything I live for, my kids,my salon, it's gone.

It's all right, girl.

I think she's having a heat stroke.

Bitch, would you stopcomplaining about the damn heat?-ANGEL: Shut up!

We are all hot.

I am in purgatory.

It feels like someone turnedthis thermostat up to "inferno."

-Well, you're the one with the air-conditioning. -Right.

-Why-- How come we're not in your crib? -Yeah. Shit.

Because even with a window air-conditioning unit,

it's beginning to smell.

Smell? Why?

This old lady from the Caribbean has a fish fry,

and it wafts through the hallways.

The stench intensifies when the thermostat hits 85 degrees.

Well, what we need to do is take a trip down to the beach.

The water will cool us off.

Well, good, 'cause I need a vacation.

That's a good idea.

Let's do a girls' trip.

For real? A girls' trip?

Yes. Look at the year we've had.

We've lost Candy,

and Blanca ruined her house and lost her business and...

-Okay, where are we going? -I have just the place.

Ladies, pack your swimsuits

and meet at my house tomorrow morning.

You're not scared people gonna try us if we walk down

a New York street in swimsuits and heels?

I have a Hertz rental car waiting for us outside.

O.J. himself would approve.

Work.

What's that smell?

Pine.

I'm a woman who likes her scented candles.

Excited?

Yeah, I've never been on a road trip before.

I feel like we about to go in aChevy Chase movie or something.

Darling, if you'regoing to be a successful model,

you have to learn how to travel, and how to travel well.

Rule number one is to always look your best.

What you tryin' to say?

Uh-huh.

Perfection.

I simply cannot stand it when a woman boards a plane

without a full face of makeup.

Oh, I feel you.

Lulu! What's taking so goddamn long?!

Come out already!

You guys.

Oh, dear God.

What the hell is wrong with her?

I feel so... fat.

Hey, stop it. You look damn tasty.

Not slumped over like that, she doesn't.

-Stand up straight. -

It's one thing to be on the polein a dark club,

it's another thing to let it allhang out under the naked sun.

I mean, what if I get clocked or something?

Girl, please stop it.

The only thing that they clocking is

you being a beautiful woman.

Give me some of that Lulu attitude.

You're right, I do look pretty tasty.

There we go.

Wait a minute. Wh-What is that smell?

Pine.

-Scented candles. -

That's Blanca.

Mother.

Somebody please fetch me my nerve pills.

Well, hello to you, too.

Where's your swimsuit?

I will not be seen in public

with you looking like Elly May fresh off the farm.

This is all that I got.

Of course it is. I suppose I canlet you borrow something

from my guest closet.

No, I'm comfortable in this.