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Steps and Stones
A film by Rhonda Buckley
Lily Belle (Renée Hackett) and Hazel are best friends. They grew up in a small town, Boulevard Crossing, NL, 20 minutes from an abandoned Air Force base. Lily Belle would say a town of used-to-be, sitting in a fog bank where planes don’t fly.
Lily Belle is a singer and guitar player, mainly at the local bar. She hangs onto her mom’s last words “Everyone dies famous in a small town.” That’s the note her mom Pauline wrote, when she left not for the first time, but for the last time she would see her.
Lily Belle and Hazel take to the road to play a few gigs. Hazel skips out and takes the bus out west. Never to return to Boulevard Crossing or Lily Belle. Lily Belle longs for something that is hers. All that comes in her wake disappears. Except Wes. She comes home every night and Wes is always there, sitting on the steps. Loneliness deepens, even as her music gains a following online.
Lily Belle is meant to have closure with her mom’s death, after receiving her mother’s ashes in the mail. She can’t figure it out, she was an adult as a teenager working when her mom left, and now as an adult she is drawn to anything careless, to avoid her true feelings. In a moment of rebellion, she visits a circus and is humiliated by a group of men who burn her guitar in an oil drum to taunt her, while she takes a drunken joy ride on the Ferris wheel. She quits singing and playing guitar. She settles and settles down.
Lily Belle marries Wes, makes her mother’s house a home. Hazel finally returns with a successful life, including a good job and a husband. When they meet again, Hazel is now Lily Belle's boss, reigniting old feelings of abandonment and jealousy. She now has to take orders from Hazel.
Lily Belle can barely use a computer, let alone do an office job. Ephram (Andy Jones), Lily Belle’s protective neighbour, offers support for both women. His quirky presence is a comfort and annoyance amid their struggles. Lily Belle’s late grandmother, Nanny Jo (Mary Walsh), appears as Lily Belle’s voice of reason to pursue music again and she keeps an eye on Lily Belle as a recurring apparition. Ephram and Nanny Jo will help Lily Belle find true happiness.
Hazel does encourage Lily Belle to sing again. Participating in an open mic night, she connects with Aggie, a talented young singer who credits Lily Belle as her inspiration. Aggie invites Lily Belle to join her on Idol, allowing Lily Belle to finally embrace her musical passion later in life, while also reconciling with her childhood friend.
Lily Belle and Hazel reconcile as grown women in a small town. Homemakers, married, live two doors apart. It’s not their dream, but it’s not terrible. They fought as foolish schoolgirls, and in the end, they needed each other. Everyone does die famous in a small town, it's true. It’s only your best girlfriend who is worth hanging on to. Steps & Stones is how two young women grow up and get through, as only best friends can.
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