Neil LaBute, Plays 2

by Neil LaBute

  Drew He was. You guys were … you spent, like, the whole summer with him! / Practically, anyway.

  Terry Uh-huh. / Except for camp – when the folks made me go away to a fucking scout jamboree.

  Drew Yeah, except for that.

  Terry But by then I was, you know – I did a complete one-eighty on the guy. So …

  Drew nods at this while Terry catches himself, not sure how to proceed. He takes a beat.

  At that point – the last week or two before I left – he was being all different towards me. I had this bad feeling … so I tried to tell you, to warn you to be careful. And now you’re telling me that he was … / You know …

  Drew … Yeah … / Yes.

  Terry … that it was already too late.

  Drew I’m sorry … I know he was a big influence on you, so …

  Terry Fuck it. If that’s true then he deserves whatever shit gets told about ’em. (Beat.) … I can tell these people that much if it’s gonna help you.

  Drew It would. It’d help a bunch …

  Terry And what’re they saying about all this? Huh? About you and him?

  Drew Well, you know …

  Terry No, I don’t. I do not. That’s why I’m asking …

  Drew It’s what I’m saying … I’m saying it right now – they blame most all of my behaviour in the last year or so on it. / These memories that’re coming back up for me – the trauma. That it sorta … I dunno, froze me, I guess, kept me in this perpetual age … like a teenager … all acting out and shit, because of it … that what he did to me – all the sexual stuff he tried – had a real effect on my development and is now sort of just pouring out …

  Terry Huh. / I can see that – No, that’d make sense.

  Drew Yeah, and so … you know, we’re now getting to the bottom of all this and I think it’s gonna make a real difference with the judge, on the drunk driving charges and probably some of the other stuff, too – even the coke I was carrying! / Yeah …

  Terry That’s great, then. / Good.

  Drew But that’s not why I’m doing it – I mean, I really do want to get to the bottom of this … / To put it behind me, what happened. (Beat.) I really do, man. I wanna get past all this shit that I’ve been living with. And doing.

  Terry Sure. / No, I mean, yeah … I can believe that.

  Drew Good. I’m glad.

  Terry nods and wanders off, thinking for a moment. Drew lets him have some space but doesn’t take his eyes off of him.

  You OK there, bro? I mean …

  Terry Hmm? Yeah. No, I was just …

  Drew We can head back if you’re …

  Terry No, I’m just … the whole fucking Todd deal is (Beat.) I mean, no offence, but if any other word had come outta your mouth I probably would’ve been gone. You know? / I’m serious. (Makes a whoosh.) History!

  Drew Totally understand. / No, I get it.

  Terry Sorry, but you have not turned out to be the most trustworthy fellow I know. At all. (Beat.) But what ya said there, that story of yours … even though it makes me wanna, I dunno, shoot somebody in the goddam face … I believe you.

  Drew Thanks, bro. (Beat.) Sorry. Terry.

  Terry Yeah. (Beat.) And I suppose ya know why, don’t ya? Hmm?

  Drew What?

  Terry I’m saying you know ‘why’ I’d feel that way, right? Obviously.

  Drew … No …

  Terry Bullshit, no. I wouldn’t be here if you didn’t have some idea. You are fucking transparent as hell, little brother …

  Drew Terry …

  Terry I’ve called you a lotta shit in your life but I never once said you weren’t smart. Like a fucking fox, buddy, I don’t think we have to argue that fact. (Beat.) Never would’ve asked me to this place if you didn’t have some notion ’bout my history …

  Drewthinks about this – it now looks like the all-or-nothing moment. Terry doesn’t even blink.

  Drew … I guess.

  Terry You ‘guess’. Huh.

  Drew I mean, yeah, I suppose I must’ve had some … always figured that you had your reasons for … you know. The things you said to me. Back then …

  Terry Right.

  Drew But, Terry, honestly – I’m not sure that I put two and two together or anything, just had a sense that …

  Terry Come on! You’re a fucking lawyer! Used to be. (Beat.) Drew, I’m trying to tell you something – make this a little easier for you to live with. Some shit I’ve never told anybody else. / I mean nobody.

  Drew What? / Bro, then honestly … what?

  Terry I mean, Jesus Christ – did all that schooling, passed the Bar thingy, you are one smart guy – you really think I just got up one morning and said to myself, ‘Hey, this Todd fellow might not be so great after all?’ Huh?! ’S that what you think?!

  Drew I, I, I …

  Terry I spent the entire summer with the guy, Drew. Every waking minute … You think he tried anything with you that didn’t happen to me? I mean, grab me a piece a fucking stationery off your walnut-topped desk there and I’ll spell it out for ya … I mean, goddam …

  Drew turns and looks at his brother – Terry plunges on.

  Yeah, now ya got it … see, that’s not so hard, is it?! Pretty damn obvious, really, if somebody had taken ten seconds to give a shit about me. / Back whenever …

  Drew Jesus Christ. / I’m sorry … / I just … fuck, that’s so …

  Terry It’s OK. / Don’t worry about it.

  Drew … Terry … please let me …

  Terry I mean, why start now, huh? Waste a’ fucking time. (Beat.) So …

  Terry looks over at his brother, his face a blank slate. Drew tries to hold eye contact but looks away. Silence.

  What do I gotta do? (Beat.) Drew.

  Drew Huh?

  Terry These people. What do I gotta say?

  Drew Just go over some details, fill in a few of the blanks that I’ve left open – you’re, like, a couple years older and you can probably remember him a bit better. / Physically, I’m saying.

  Terry Uh-huh … / I can give ’em a pretty fair rundown on the guy, if that’s what they’re searching for. Looks and all that. / Guy used to call me ‘buddy’. Remember that shit? Would always call me his ‘buddy boy’.

  Drew That’d be a big help. / Sure, I do.

  Terry Yeah, well, I can fill ’em in with a few tidbits like that.

  Drew Cool. Thanks, bro.

  Terry OK. Bro. (Beat.) I’ll, uhh … yep.

  Drew moves over and tries to say something but stops. Instead he gives his brother a hug. Unexpected – it’s definitely a one-sided affair.

  Drew That’s so great, dude, honestly! / Very nice of you … Thanks.

  Terry No problem. / Least I can do …

  Drew Awesome.

  Terry Yep. (Beat.) So, should we – where are these guys at? Back at the …?

  Drew Yeah, the administration building down by the gates there – it’s that Tudory-looking deal.

  Terry Alright. / Fine.

  Drew Good. / You wanna eat first?

  Terry Umm …

  Drew We can just grab a sandwich …

  Terry I guess. Don’t you wanna get this over with?

  Drew It’s … I’m in here now, so it’s OK if we wait a little. No rush.

  Terry I’ve got that game, though …

  Drew True, but that’s not till – (Looks at watch.) – like, six, you said.

  Terry Right. OK, great.

  Drew Sweet – I wanna show you off a bit! My bro, the working man.

  Terry What’s that mean?

  Drew Nothing … bunch of assholes up in here, you know? I want ’em to get a look at a real man … a guy who could’ve been … you know …

  Terry What? (Waits.) Been what? Go ahead.

  Drew Nothing. I just mean … a dude who listens to his own drummer and that shit. You know what I’m saying …

  Terry Huh. (Beat.) You got show-and-tell today? That what’s going on here?

/>   Drew Come on, Terry, I’m just saying … I’m proud of you, isn’t that OK? / (Beat.) These people are all fucked up for one reason or another … it does ’em good to see somebody who is well adjusted. Holding down the same job most his life, served his country, doing regular shit – you’d be, like, an inspiration for a lot of guys. / Some ladies, too.

  Terry Sure. / OK, Drew, enough. (Beat.) Let’s take it a little easy with the family reunion crap …

  Drew What’re you talking about?

  Terry I’m saying I’m gonna do this, and that’s fine, but let’s not pretend we’re all ‘buddies’ and shit …

  Drew What’d I say?

  Terry Nothing, no, you just – fuck, Drew, you don’t know me. Moving toward forty years old and you don’t have a fucking clue who I am. Alright?

  Drew I just wanted to introduce you …

  Terry Which is OK, nice … just don’t ask me to act a certain way, smile my ass off to people that’re … fuck. (Beat.) I’m not at all excited with the idea of sitting with a doctor and talking about my stuff, and I got a shitload, believe me. Stuff that just about strangles me, give it half a chance, so … that’s …

  Drew What? Tell me, Terry … please?

  Terry Drew, don’t do that little boy bit a’ yours or I’m gonna smack you so fucking hard … goddam it!! Listen to me, what I’m saying here. OK? (Beat.) I’ve spent most of my adult life hiding, hiding in plain sight by being quiet and doing my work and never raising my hand. For the most part I live like some fucking shadow. I pay taxes and take the night shift and drift through shopping malls and movie theatres with my head down and like I’ve got somewhere to be.

  I was a good kid when I was young, most folks would tell ya that, but our old man beat all of that goodness out of me and now I am just OK and OK’s pretty dangerous when it gets pushed even slightly in the wrong direction.

  Drew … That’s not true, Terry. You’re a … I mean, you’re a good guy.

  Terry Fuck you. Don’t call me that. YOU DO NOT KNOW. What’s happened to me and I mean all of it – Dad and Todd and my years over in – they changed me. Got all this … turmoil inside and I never know if I’m gonna just explode and rape somebody or grab a guy by the throat or maybe beat the fucking life out of a person for no good goddam reason. That’s me, Drew, who I am, and that’s why I live like I do. (Beat.) You know I’m capable of it, right? I said, right, Drew?

  Drew stares at his brother for a moment before nodding.

  Drew … Yeah. I do. / Yes.

  Terry Alright, then. / (Beat.) Wanna know why I’m working the baseball deal this season? Huh? To try and prove to myself that I’d never do that to some kid, what happened to us. Really. That is why … it’s not for my love a’ the game, believe me!

  Drew OK, that’s … I didn’t mean that we had to … just shake a few hands is all.

  Terry Fine, no, that’s OK, but I’m gonna need ya to ease back on the ‘Isn’t my big brother cool?’ shit right now. / Yeah? We’re good?

  Drew Fine. / I wasn’t trying to be …

  Terry No, I know.

  Drew Seriously. / You’ve just … you’ve been that guy in my life, ya know? A bunch more so than Dad ever was, and … that’s …

  Terry OK, Drew, fine. I’m just telling you. / Sure, no, I get that. I do.

  Drew Seriously! You have always been a real flagpost for me, even when I was acting like an asshole, didn’t call you for months – still admired you. Honest. (Beat.) I don’t always know how to say that sorta shit … feelings that families or, like, a relative’d have but I do get it.

  Terry Thanks. / That’s … thank you.

  Drew Yep. / (Smiles.) So, come on, turkey sandwich on me, then we’ll go find my shrink and fill ’em in on Todd Astin …

  Terry OK. Sounds good.

  Drew throws an arm around his brother and smiles.

  Drew … Shame we can’t find the fucker.

  Terry Yeah, why’s that?

  Drew … Oh, nothing …

  Terry What?

  Drew Just … (Shrugs.) Whatever.

  Terry No. Why?

  Drew Because I’d … you know … I’d wanna beat the shit outta him, I guess. If I could get my hands on him again …

  Terry Ahhhh, you never punched a guy in your life. Not that I’ve heard of, anyway …

  Drew OK, well … fine, then I’d have you step in for me. / You do it.

  Terry Ha! / Just like the ol’ days, huh? I fought every battle you ever had as a kid.

  Drew … I don’t know about that …

  Terry Any bully, fucking beatings from the ol’ man … all of it. / I ran interference for you every day of our lives, growing up …

  Drew Yep. I know. / Second you stopped, my whole life went to pot …

  Terry Literally! (Laughs.) / Anyways …

  Drew Exactly! / Anyway, you could kick his ass … that’d be so sweet!

  Terry Thought you wanted to let it go …

  Drew Yeah, well … nothing wrong with a little ass kicking. For old time’s sake. (Beat.) Fuck ’em up a little, like you did over there in Kuwait to people. / Come on, man – chestful of fucking medals?

  Terry Uh-huh. / Yep … for being a punk and pissed off. I was a fucking dick when I was in the service, trust me.

  Drew Anyway … it wouldn’t bug you so much if it was Todd Astin, right?

  Terry … I dunno …

  Drew Come on, bro, be honest! After what we’ve both gone through?

  Terry S’pose not, no. (Grins.) Wouldn’t hate that myself.

  Drew Hell yes. I’d murder the dude, you gave me half a chance …

  Terry Yeah?

  Drew I mean … if I could get away with it, sure. (Laughs.) Then yeah …

  Terry Huh.

  Drew Drop his ass in a dumpster and I’d still be able to sleep like a baby at night …

  Terry I doubt that.

  Drew ’S true!

  Terry That’s a lot of big talk, Drew … but I think you’d puss out in the end. / You’re more of a ‘puss-out’ type …

  Drew Dunno. / You might be surprised … I might just do something that’d bewilder the shit outta you …

  Terry Maybe. Figure you might sue ’em – if you were still a lawyer, that is …

  Drew You might be very surprised what I’d do to that guy, Terry. (Beat.) Took away a part of me that’s not ever coming back, so … no, I don’t think I’d weep if that son-of-a-bitch ended up the bottom of a lake somewhere.

  Drew shakes this off and gives his brother another hug. He motions toward a distant building, starts off.

  Come on, let’s get you fed …

  Terry Alright.

  Drew Maybe we can start a food fight or something … / Have a little fun …

  Terry Sure. / OK. (Beat.) Hey, Drew?

  Drew Yeah? / It was … what do you mean?

  Terry Where did all this happen … times he came to you? / I just wanna …

  Drew Why?

  Terry I just … in case they ask me, I should know some details. Right? / I mean, if I’m …

  Drew … I guess. / No, that makes sense. Sure. (Beat.) … ’S the tree house. You know … that one tree fort we built, like, down past the creek? (Beat.) He’d meet me up in that … in the dark’s where we’d do it – usually when you were off on your paper route. He’d get me to … he’d get all up close to me and then he’d, he would ask me to take his, make me hold on to his … you know, thing and then I’d have to, I … would do all these – with my mouth I had to, to … you know. He would put his … his dick in my – (Cries.) He would make me suck on his cock, Terry … that’s what he did. He forced me to! Forced me as I’d lay there staring up at the trees. And he … he’d … (Waits.) ’S that enough? I mean …

  Terry Course.

  Drew I’ll go on if you want me to, but it’s … you know …

  Terry No, Drew, that’s OK … I just … / ’S fine.

  Drew ’Kay. / (Wipes his eyes.) I’m glad.
>
  Terry Let’s get a sandwich and then I’ll go tell ’em about it. (Beat.) I just need a second to myself to … you know, take all this shit in. That alright?

  Terry waits for his brother to agree. Drew nods at this.

  Drew Yeah. (Smiles.) I’m gonna run ahead and get in line. The best items’re usually snapped up pretty fast … all the desserts and stuff.

  Terry Great. / Right behind you …

  Drew Cool! / Thanks a lot, bro.

  Terry You bet.

  Drew I mean it, though. Honestly.

  Terry I know ya do.

  Drew Thank you …

  Terry … Sure.

  Drew runs off down the path and disappears. Terry stays for a moment, standing perfectly still – after a moment his phone rings.

  Without warning Terry brings out his phone and rips the cover right off the thing. He drops the pieces to the ground and pulverises the rest of it with one shoe. Completely shattered now.

  Terry looks down without emotion and picks up the pieces. Plops them into his pocket. Remains where he is. Silent.

  Sound of traffic and the woods.

  Two

  The grounds have now been converted into a kind of play area – not for children but families. It’s a double green for a putt-putt course, with two tubes that run from one level to the next. A hole with a mini-flag down below.

  A teenager – Jennifer – in shorts and a tank top, ass pointed out as she works her arm up into one tube. Searching.

  After a moment, Terry appears. Dressed casually and with a putter in one hand. Jennifer notices him watching her – she gets to her feet. Wipes her hands off on her shorts.

  Jennifer … Go for it.

  Terry What’s that?

  Jennifer You can go ahead and play through. / Don’t worry about me …

  Terry Nah, that’s OK. / No, finish, it’s alright. I can … I’m waiting for my car to get done anyway. I’m getting it ‘detailed’ over there at the … ‘Glimmer-King’, is it?

  Jennifer Yep. They do a good job … (Beat.) But I’m just, you know, doing the Ajax thing right now, so …

  Terry nods. Watching her. Staring almost, but he catches himself at the last moment and looks away.