happy ever after

The premise of the story centers around Dottie Denham who is nearly a hundred years old. She like many elderly suffers from dementia, she has periods of time when she is simply not in the present. She talks to her deceased husband, makes references to places and people her family does not know. When she nearly catches her house on fire, the decision is made to put her in a home. Her 2 granddaughters and their daughters descend on her and start packing the house up.

Her oldest Mary, it uptight and a bit of a control freak. She has little humor about life and is a bit unyielding. Her daughter, Josie is the polar opposite and is the embodiment of a free spirit. It is to the point that there has been a disconnect between the two. The younger granddaughter is Kim, she is a chronic pleaser. She never holds anything against anyone including her cheating ex-husband. She has not moved past the night he moved out to be with his girlfriend. Her daughter Maisie, is quiet and a bit of a nerd. Being front and center to the dysfunctional relationship of her parent however keep her from having a relationship – of any kind.

Dottie’s dementia is more than simply getting lost, she has created a bridge to her late husband; Nicky. He lives in ‘The Void’, a world that is void of sound and substance until he finds her voice there. Following it, he is led to her and to the past they have shared. Nicky is coming to her daily to usher her to the other side but she simply won’t go. She can’t, not until she has helped the women in her family evolve.

While packing up her possessions, Mary and Kim find a box of forgotten photos. These open the door to a past they never imagined. Dottie won’t apologize; not about the burlesque club or the mobsters she’s known and loved. She knows they might think her life is unimaginable; that her connection with Nicky is unbelievable. But, in the end, she hopes they find it inspirational.

Mary and Kim stubble across a box of photos of burlesque dancers from the 30’s. They initially believe they found their grandfather’s porn, and of course are disgusted. But in the bottom is one photo, carefully hand tinted and it is of a striking woman. She is a burlesque fan dancer and this is her promo still. It is also their grandmother! The discovery of the photo causes Dottie to reveal her full past and how she really met their grandfather. Those stories in turn help the 4 women address issues in their own lives and they find inspiration.