People Live Here

by George F. Walker

  AMIE is edging closer to JO from behind.

  JO: Whatever that means.

  MARCIE: Well, is this all we want out of our lives? Places like this to live in? Jobs in places like Walmart or shitty strip clubs? Please, honey … things like this don’t drop into your hands for no reason.

  JO: What are you talking about?

  MARCIE: Well, maybe it’s God’s will.

  JO: God’s will. Oh gimme a break, okay?

  AMIE suddenly throws her arms around JO from behind, pinning both of JO’s arms to her side.

  JO: Hey!

  MARCIE gently takes the cheque from JO’s hand.

  MARCIE: There we go …

  AMIE lets JO loose.

  JO: (to AMIE) What the fuck?

  AMIE: I couldn’t help it. It just came to me.

  JO: What? What came to you?

  AMIE: A little pastry shop. You know, cakes, cupcakes, maybe some sweet rolls. I could start something like that for myself.

  MARCIE: Yes, you could. That’s smart thinking, Amie. (to JO) You should try thinking like that.

  JO: Like what? Like starting a pastry shop?

  AMIE: Sure. As long as it wasn’t across the street from mine.

  MARCIE: I was talking about getting yourself into a better situation.

  JO: By taking my kid and disappearing.

  MARCIE: Well, I’d know where you were.

  AMIE: Me too. Look, this sentencing hearing is gonna be rough. Jimmy’s a lying douche and he’s going to say all kinds of shit about you.

  MARCIE: Right. So let’s consider all that. Rocco and the possibility he’s gonna start squeezing me big time for his money, Amie’s pastry shop dream, and the serious amount of prison time you could get … and give those things the weight they deserve. Okay? In the meantime I’ll just put it back where it was, okay?

  MARCIE puts the cheque back. And they all look at it (and each other) again.

  JO’s cell goes off. She answers it.

  JO: (on the phone) Hi … Yeah, I heard … No. It’s never opening again … Well, what’s that’s to you, Jimmy?

  MARCIE: What’s his problem?

  JO: He’s worried I won’t make my support payments.

  AMIE: Asshole.

  MARCIE: Yeah. Tell him you’re worried he’s too stupid to be a human being. That he’s just some kind of dumb animal who has no right being anywhere near his daughter let alone in charge of her well-being. No, let me do it. (grabbing the phone) Listen up, idiot. Don’t worry about your damn support payments. You’ve got no right to be even asking that question … Right. But the judge was an idiot who didn’t take into consideration all the times you were out of work and didn’t contribute a cent … Hey! Hey!! I wasn’t finished, you pathetic turd. Just do your job, take care of my granddaughter, and don’t worry about sucking any more money out of Jo or you’ll be getting a visit from a friend of mine … No. Not one of my “lesbo pals.” This guy will be a whole other kind of scary to you … Yes, you are. Yes, you are afraid of lesbians, you limp-dicked clown. So back off! Or you’ll be having to deal with my pal Rocco and that’s something you might not survive!!

  She hands the phone back to JO.

  AMIE: Rocco? You’re gonna set Rocco on him?

  MARCIE: If I have to.

  AMIE: And how will Rocco be getting paid to do that?

  MARCIE: Well, money might not be a concern, right?

  JO: (on the phone) Yeah, well, she hates your guts, so whaddya expect? Look, put Suzy on, okay? … Just do it. I need to talk to her.

  MARCIE: How she got involved with that fool I’ll never understand.

  AMIE: Me either. And I’ve had my share of fools. Maybe we both should have switched teams like you did. Sheila never treated you bad, did she?

  MARCIE: No. She just died on me.

  JO: (on the phone) Hi Sweetie. How’s my girl …?

  JO heads into the kitchen.

  MARCIE: Look, I need you to share the load on this thing, okay?

  AMIE: Well, who got her in that bear hug?

  MARCIE: Yeah, that was good. But I was talking about persuasion. You need to make it clear that the rewards outweigh the risks.

  AMIE: Even if I’m not sure they do? The risks could be really big and they could come from a lot of different places. The cops. And suppose that Dean Olsen guy’s connected and he finds out that we –

  MARCIE: How long do you think men are going to be paying to have you do what you do for them? Look, that pastry shop thing is nice and all that. It’s a nice idea. But how about just having a choice?

  AMIE: A choice about what?

  MARCIE: To do that. Or to do something else. Just another job. Like maybe you could get that headstone for your mother’s grave you say you want so bad. Or maybe even an apartment of your own instead of that dumpy house you share with all those other “entertainers.”

  AMIE: It’s okay there. I like most of the girls. But yeah, a little privacy would be nice …

  MARCIE: I’m not saying your future isn’t in pastries but –

  AMIE: Yeah, there’s other things too.

  MARCIE: Quality-of-life things. A headstone for your mum would make you feel a lot better about yourself.

  AMIE: Whaddya mean?

  MARCIE: Well, you were basically a shit daughter to her.

  AMIE: I guess.

  MARCIE: No need to guess. You broke her heart.

  AMIE: She told you that?

  MARCIE: Yeah. She told me that a lot. Well, did you expect her to be over the moon about what you did for a living?

  AMIE: No, but –

  MARCIE: Did she ever accept money from you?

  AMIE: No …

  MARCIE: And I know you offered. She didn’t like it, Amie. She didn’t like it at all.

  AMIE: Yeah, okay. But she never tried to make me ashamed of it either. Like you’re trying to do.

  MARCIE: You think that’s what I’m –

  AMIE: There are worse things I could be doing. I’m not hurting anyone. And that’s something, isn’t it? I’ve met guys at the club who brag about how they swing deals that screw a lot of people out of their money. I’m a better person than they are, right?

  MARCIE: Some serial killers are better persons than they are. The point is –

  AMIE’s cell goes off. She answers it.

  AMIE: (on the phone) Hey, Rick … Yeah, I’m there now … I don’t know, I’ll ask. (covering the speaker) He wants to know if Ruben left his wallet here.

  MARCIE gestures something which says, “Are you an idiot?”

  AMIE: (on the phone) No. They haven’t seen it … Who’s asking? … Yeah, but besides you? … How does she know he lost it?

  MARCIE gestures.

  AMIE: (covering the speaker) The cops told his wife it wasn’t on his body. (on the phone) Well, it’s not here, so – … Yeah, I’m sure … Yeah, honest. Jeez … Hey Rick, was Ruben really in real estate? … Just curious … Yeah. Okay, it’s none of my business. Got it … I said I got it! (disconnecting) Snotty little prick.

  MARCIE: He didn’t like that question, eh. So maybe Ruben wasn’t in real estate.

  AMIE: I never thought he was.

  MARCIE: You said just the opposite a while ago.

  AMIE: Sometimes I say the opposite just so I can hear how it sounds.

  MARCIE: You mean if it sounds like the truth.

  AMIE: Yeah.

  MARCIE: And it didn’t.

  AMIE: What didn’t? What I said then? Or what I said just now.

  MARCIE: Then.

  AMIE: Yeah, that was wrong. No way he’s in real estate. But so what?

  MARCIE: So we gotta do this right now.

  MARCIE grabs the cheque and heads for the door.

  AMIE: Where you goin’?

  MARCIE: There’s a bank down the block.

  AMIE: I think this could be a big mistake.

  MARCIE: Well, if I don’t come back, you’ll know you were right.

  MARCIE hurries out. JO co
mes out of the kitchen, putting her cell away.

  JO: She’s got a cold but it doesn’t sound too – Where’s my mother?

  AMIE: Off to the bank.

  JO: (noticing) With the cheque.

  AMIE: I guess she got tired of trying to convince you. What’s up with that, anyway? You’ve always been up for taking a chance on things. Ever since we were kids, even.

  JO: And look where it’s got me. Nowhere. (punching a number on her cell) She probably won’t answer.

  AMIE: That’ll be my bet.

  JO hangs up. MARCIE’s phone goes off in the room.

  JO: That’s hers.

  JO finds it under a cushion where MARCIE was sitting. JO looks at AMIE, who shrugs. JO answers the phone.

  JO: (on the phone) Hi … No, it’s her daughter … Okay … Okay, I understand … Yeah, I’ll tell her …

  She disconnects.

  AMIE: Who was that?

  JO: Rocco.

  AMIE: Rocco, the loan shark? What’d he want?

  JO: He wanted me to tell my mum that after this time it gets much worse.

  AMIE: What does?

  MARCIE opens the door and comes in. Her nose is bleeding.

  JO: (pointing) That?

  AMIE: (looking) Ah, shit.

  MARCIE: I’m going to need a little tending to here.

  AMIE: (heading to the bathroom) I’ll get a wet cloth.

  MARCIE: Good idea. (reaching out to JO) Give me a hand, honey. I’m a little dizzy.

  JO helps her to the couch.

  MARCIE: Must be in shock. (sitting) That guy was very efficient. (off her face) All this took maybe three seconds.

  JO: It was a message. From Rocco. There’s more to come if he doesn’t get his money. How much do you owe him?

  MARCIE: Is it after 2 p.m.?

  JO: Yeah.

  MARCIE: Then it’s just under ten thousand.

  JO: You borrowed ten grand from the guy?!

  MARCIE: Six. But like I said, the interest is –

  JO: Holy fuck, Mum.

  MARCIE: Yeah. It’s a mess. I owe everyone. Plus I still haven’t paid for Sheila’s funeral. And that’s bothering me more than anything. She’d hate owing that.

  JO: Well, she’s dead, so she doesn’t know about it, does she?

  MARCIE: You’re sure of that, are you?

  JO: Yes.

  MARCIE: Sheila was right. A little religion could have helped you calm down and make better choices.

  JO: Has it helped you?

  MARCIE: It came to me too late.

  JO: Yeah. Look, I liked Sheila, Mum. I appreciated that she helped you pull it together after Dad fucked off. But all that God stuff she was into meant nothing to me.

  MARCIE: Why not though?

  JO: Let’s just say I didn’t know how he fit in. So … she didn’t have insurance? I mean, not even enough to take care of the funeral?

  MARCIE: She cashed it in.

  JO: Why?

  MARCIE: To pay for the lawyer.

  JO: Why’d she need a lawyer?

  MARCIE: Your lawyer.

  JO: She paid for my lawyer? I thought I was on legal aid.

  MARCIE: You were wrong. I mean, it ran out.

  JO: I never asked her to do that.

  MARCIE: Not directly.

  JO: Meaning what?

  MARCIE: Well, she knew you spent all your money on booze and weed, so if you weren’t doing that she wouldn’t have had to –

  JO: I was depressed.

  MARCIE: I know.

  JO: I’d lost custody of my daughter.

  MARCIE: Right. So someone had to step up. And that was Sheila.

  JO: Ah, man …

  AMIE returns with a cloth and begins to wipe MARCIE’s face.

  AMIE: This Rocco guy doesn’t fool around, eh?

  MARCIE: Yeah. Under different circumstances he’d be a valuable friend.

  JO: What’s that mean?

  MARCIE: Well, we might need some protection. Suppose the guy who gave Ruben that cheque is not a respectable person. Suppose he thinks he’s not gonna be out that money now. Then he finds out we cashed it.

  JO: Which we haven’t done yet, have we?

  MARCIE: I didn’t even get close to the bank. The guy blindsided me on the sidewalk and just kept moving.

  JO: Well then …

  MARCIE: Yeah. We need to think this through in a whole other way.

  AMIE: So you don’t want to cash it?

  MARCIE: When did I say that? I meant we need to come up with a more detailed plan for when we do. This should have been on my mind all along.

  JO: What?

  MARCIE: That we all have to take off out of here. (to AMIE) Does it really matter where you start baking cupcakes?

  AMIE: I guess not. But I’ve never lived anywhere else.

  MARCIE: Yeah. And look how far that’s gotten you. (to JO) And you and Suzy needed to get away from here a long time ago. Away from your ex. Away from your dealers. And away from all the dead-enders you meet in bars. Yeah. We’ll go somewhere. We’ll all start off as new people. No obligations. Just possibilities. Man, I’m excited!

  Her cell rings. She finds it where JO put it down and answers it.

  MARCIE: (on the phone) Fuck off.

  JO: Who was that?

  MARCIE: Who cares.

  She takes the cheque out of her pocket.

  MARCIE: (heading for the door) Let me try this again.

  JO: Whoa!

  JO moves to intercept her. AMIE stops her.

  AMIE: Let her go. She’s got a point. I mean, I’ve been thinking.

  JO: It’s too late.

  AMIE: For what?

  JO: For you to start thinking.

  AMIE: That’s a crappy thing to say, Jo.

  JO: It’s true. All you’ve done your whole life is follow me. I quit school. You quit school. I started stripping. Two months later you were in that club doing it, too. You just do what I do, so where’s the thinking in that.

  AMIE: Yeah, well I thought it would be better to get an abortion when I got knocked up. I thought it would be better to stop getting thrown in jail by getting off junk. I thought I needed help to do that. And I did.

  JO: Yeah, okay. I’m sorry. But –

  AMIE: We should do what she says we should. I think it’s the best thing for all of us.

  MARCIE: So can I go to the bank now?

  MARCIE’s phone goes off again.

  MARCIE: (on the phone) I told you to – … What? … I don’t know what you’re talking about. What’s your name? … That name doesn’t sound familiar to me.

  JO: Who is it?

  MARCIE: (covering the speaker) It’s Dean Olsen.

  JO: Shit.

  AMIE: Who’s that?

  JO: The guy who signed the cheque.

  AMIE: (to MARCIE) Hang up.

  JO: No. (to MARCIE) Find out what he wants.

  AMIE: Yeah. And then hang up.

  MARCIE: (to JO and AMIE) He wants to talk about it.

  AMIE: The cheque? How do you know?

  MARCIE: He just told me.

  AMIE: Hang up.

  MARCIE: (on the phone) Like I said, I don’t know what you’re talking about … Okay. Go ahead …

  JO: Go ahead with what?

  MARCIE: (to JO) He’s telling me all the things that could happen to us if we don’t give it back …

  JO: You mean he just assumes we have it?

  MARCIE: Yeah.

  AMIE: Hang up. Please hang up. Please!

  MARCIE: (to AMIE) Shh. I’m trying to listen … (on the phone) Can you repeat that last thing? … Really? You think you’ll get away with that?

  JO: Away with what?

  MARCIE: (to JO) You don’t need to know. (on the phone) Finished? … Good. Now let me tell you a little something about who you’re dealing with here.

  AMIE: No. Don’t. Don’t tell him anything. Just hang up!

  MARCIE: (to AMIE) Shh!

  AMIE: (to JO) That name. Dean Olsen. It
sounds familiar. And not in a good way.

  JO: Mum?

  MARCIE: (on the phone) I was born in 1958. I was orphaned in 1959 when both my parents were killed in a car crash. And nothing about my life since then has been easy. I was started … No, I won’t shut the fuck up. You need to know – What, now? … Okay …

  She walks to the window. Looks out.

  MARCIE: I see two men. Which one are you? Okay, so who’s the other one? … Rick who?

  AMIE: What?

  AMIE and JO rush to the window.

  MARCIE: (to AMIE and JO) You know them?

  JO: Yeah.

  AMIE: The one on the left is Rick.

  JO: And the other one is …

  AMIE and JO: Ruben.

  MARCIE: Ruben, the dead guy.

  AMIE and JO: Yeah …

  MARCIE: (on the phone) Okay, what’s going on? … I don’t think that’s a good idea. (to AMIE and JO) They want to come up and talk.

  AMIE: Hang up.

  JO: Is that really your only suggestion?

  AMIE: You got a better one? I don’t think we should have even admitted that they’re actually there. Especially not Ruben. That was a big mistake. Opening up communications was a really fucking big mistake. Guys like Rick, that’s all they need. An opening.

  JO: An opening to do what?

  AMIE: You know what.

  JO: No. What?

  AMIE: Fuck with our heads. That’s what? (whispering) Hang up …

  MARCIE: Don’t you even want to know why the guy who’s supposed to be dead … isn’t?

  AMIE: No … They’re experts at fucking with people’s heads. Even from a distance, like now. Imagine what they can do close up.

  JO: Just tell them we need time to consider it.

  MARCIE: If they can come up?

  JO: Yeah …

  MARCIE: That’ll make it sound like we have something to hide.

  JO: We do.

  AMIE: She’s right.

  MARCIE: Well, I have to tell them something.

  AMIE: No! You don’t. Just hang the fuck up!!

  MARCIE shrugs and disconnects. They are all looking down onto the street.

  JO: They don’t look happy.

  JO’s cell goes off.