by Neil LaBute
Betty You don’t know anything …
Bobby I know it can’t be that bad, whatever was the reason this guy left here in such a hurry … I know that you could reach out to ’em and probably turn things around if you wanted to …
Betty No …
Bobby That’s not true! You could!! He’s a kid and he’s probably all mixed up, dealing with you as a woman and, like, a mentor at school, that’s a lot to take in …
Betty I know, but … he’s …
Bobby But you can do it! Call him, Betty, call ’em right now … come on!
Betty I SAID ‘NO!’
Bobby You won’t! That’s all, you won’t, ’cause you’re a stubborn fucking bitch, that’s why …
Betty Bobby, you don’t know what the fuck you are talking about … so just …
Bobby Yes, I do, you’re just being cunty about this, like usual!
Betty I’m not! Fuck! Listen to me, I’m …
Bobby Call him up or shut the hell up about it, OK? That’s all I got to say about this …
Betty I CAN’T CALL HIM UP, ALRIGHT? I CANNOT! I WANT TO, I WOULD LOVE TO, BUT I CAN’T … (Beat.) He’s not … He’s dead. He died, and so I can’t …
Bobby … What? The fuck are you talking about?
Betty I just said it, don’t make me say it any more.
Bobby He’s dead? This guy … your … what?
Betty Yes. (Beat.) He didn’t leave me. We didn’t have a fight and break up, I never for a minute said that to you … No. He died and so … so, I’m …
Bobby Yeah, but … I mean …
Betty He was … two days ago. That’s why I’m here now. Because that happened …
Bobby Oh.
Betty So.
Bobby Shit.
Betty Pretty much.
A rumble of thunder and lightning. The lights flicker on and off. Why not? It’s perfect timing.
Bobby That’s fucking … I’m sorry, Betty.
Betty Thank you.
Bobby No, I seriously am … That’s …
Betty It’s unbelievable, that’s what it is. It is right off the charts awful and, like, it’s like a curse or something …
Bobby No … Don’t say …
Betty Well, feels like it! Like God’s punishing me for being content for one minute … for finally finding someone … who I’m …
Betty has no more to say. She sits there looking blankly at her brother, who seems troubled by the news.
Bobby I mean … Christ. He’s …? (Beat.) Goddam.
Betty That’s why I asked you here. Not for the books or the … the, you know … stuff. In the back of my mind I thought I could go ahead and tell you, but we always get – In the end I didn’t feel safe enough to do that … (Beat.) You know how we are. Two minutes together and we’re … tearing at each other’s throats …
Bobby Yeah. Usually.
Betty Almost always.
Bobby True. But, I mean … this is different.
Betty Is it?
Bobby Of course!
Betty Maybe. Somehow I figured it’d just end up the same stuff for us … Another thing to misunderstand and fight about … and …
Bobby …
Betty I’m sorry I didn’t just say something to you. I am. Please accept that, OK? (Beat.) I’m so used to lying to people – you were absolutely right about that – I’m so good at deceiving folks that I just go there most times now. Right off the bat.
Bobby That makes sense … I guess …
Betty Whether it’s my colleagues or the kids or Bruce calling me up – I’m always so ready to filter the truth through some other … whatever. Doesn’t matter. This is where I’m at in life. (Beat.) … I need to sit down.
Betty goes to a couch and sits. Bobby follows after her.
Bobby You want some water?
Betty No, that’s OK.
Bobby Sure?
Betty Yep. I just need to –
Bobby I got some pot if you want. Do you?
Betty Hmm?
Bobby You know, pot. Weed. Out in the truck if that’d help …
Betty Huh. (Smiles.) Probably wouldn’t hurt any.
Bobby I’ll grab it.
He’s up and toward the door in two steps. He doubles back and grabs up a box of books. Reaches for his coat – holds it over his head.
Might as well do a run while I’m at it.
Betty Sure.
Bobby Save a little time. Don’t worry, I got tarps and shit. (Beat.) Right back, sis.
Betty ’Kay.
Bobby shoots out the open door. Betty sits for a moment, taking in the empty room. Her hand goes to her face, up to her eyes. She covers them.
After a moment, she reaches over and snaps on the radio again. A sappy eighties number fills the room. She looks up and quickly turns it off.
Bobby returns with a joint – lights it up and takes a good toke. He sits back down, passes it to his sister.
Bobby Huh?
Betty … ’S good.
Bobby A kid on my block sells it to me cheap. I buy in bulk …
Betty Hmm. So this must not be one of those … you know.
Bobby No, what?
Betty On your precious list of commandments. ‘Thou shalt not toke.’
Bobby Nope. Not that I’ve ever seen. I try not to read ’em too carefully … (Smiles at her as he hands over the joint.) So – and if you don’t wanna talk about it, then don’t, but …
Betty No, go ahead. It’s probably better …
Bobby Maybe, yeah. (Beat.) So, what happened?
Betty They don’t know.
Bobby Really?
Betty Uh-uh.
Bobby Huh.
Betty Not for sure … he was found over on the other side of the lake. There’s a bend in the path out where the trees overhang the road and, you know … it gets pretty dark, even during the day. He’d been riding – he loved to ride, that’s how he got around, to campus and just as, you know, also as exercise … so he must’ve been out doing that. Cycling.
Bobby OK. And?
Betty And … we don’t know. I spoke to the EMT drivers who brought him in and the police and … all from the position of a teacher and adviser, of course, but … and that’s all they could say. He was found near his bike, down a sort of grassy slope off the road. He’d hit his head on something and his bike was bent, the back tyre, but no obvious cause or time of death.
Bobby So, he fell, right? I mean … that’s …
Betty Probably. There weren’t any tyre marks or some pot-hole that he no doubt ran into, but he was alone out there, dead … in the forest … and it isn’t completely clear …
Bobby Huh.
Betty Yes.
Bobby An animal darted out? Is that possible?
Betty It is. It’s very curvy out there – you’ve driven that part of the road, you know – it’s dangerous.
Bobby Yeah. It can be, sure. Fuck.
Betty Anyway, he’s … That’s what happened. I’m not really able to push for more because it would just … it might seem odd.
Bobby Sure.
Betty So.
Bobby And family? You said he’s …
Betty They’re coming soon. Tomorrow morning.
Bobby Really?
Betty Yes. (Beat.) He’s lying there, all alone in the basement of the hospital and I’m afraid to go see him because it wouldn’t make any sense to outsiders and there might be … you know, questions about it, so I don’t. I’ve left him there all alone and, and I’m ashamed that I’m doing that but I’m also scared of what happens if I go. (Beat.) See? You always think I’m so in-charge and brave … but now you can see what a coward I really am.
Bobby Don’t say that. No, it’s not your …
Betty I know. I’m just saying. (Beat.) Anyway, I got a call at dinner saying they’d be in tomorrow, so I scrambled to get all this done, but … And that’s when I called you.
Bobby This is … fuck, that’s shitty. It really is. I’m sorr
y for you. (Beat.) Honestly.
Betty Thanks. Thank you for … just being …
Betty reaches over and gives Bobby a little shoulder rub. It’s only a moment and they both smile after.
A weird silence between them now. Their faces are close together as they sit there. Bobby reaches over to give his sister a hug. She allows it. They slowly separate.
Their lips brush, almost kissing, but they stop. Wait. They go to do it again but this time Betty pushes away. She starts to get up but Bobby pulls her down.
Bobby No, wait … I’m not … just … WAIT!
Betty Don’t … Bobby … DON’T! NO!! STOP!!
They struggle for another moment and then she breaks off from him. They stand there looking at each other.
What the hell? Huh? I mean …
Bobby Sorry … I wasn’t trying to …
Betty You hear ‘stop’, you better do it.
Bobby That’s not what I was …
Betty I mean Jesus Christ, I’m your sister …
Bobby … I know, Jesus …
Betty I don’t care if we’re smoking pot or not.
Bobby That wasn’t the … No …
Betty You don’t have to touch me, Bobby. God!
Bobby Fine! Whatever …
Betty So fucking … weird … I mean … shit!
Bobby has had his fill of this conversation. He kicks the coffee table over, spilling magazines everywhere. Gets in his sister’s face.
Bobby Hey, hey! Just watch your big fucking mouth, OK? Can you do that for me? (Beat.) You should be so goddam lucky and I mean that. You should have God come down from on high and grant you a fucking wish and it should be me. Me or some guy who looks almost exactly like me – same type of dude if you were at all blessed, you hear me? Huh? I mean, you walk around, so pleased with yourself and sure that you’re some kind of I-don’t-know-what. This lady who everybody wants a piece of, but you know what? The only reason anyone feels like that is because they’re pretty fucking sure they can … have you, I mean. What the fuck, the rest of the county has, so why not them? You act like some fucking graduate degree erases all your history, you’re fooling yourself. (Beat.) I’ve spent most of my life, ever since the first time I walked in on you up in your bedroom there sucking the cock of that kid from our Sunday School – you remember that? Hmm? – I’ve had to watch you make one shit choice after another, the worst motherfuckers you could find usually, and the nastier they were the better. If Dad didn’t like ’em, then that was it far as you were concerned – all the approval you needed. And the little business suits you wear now can’t hide the fact that you’ve got shit for confidence and that you need every guy to like you. Was Dad so bad to you, so withholding, that you had to end up like some cheap fucking whore who’s out on the sidewalk every night, looking for a twenty-dollar blow-job? Guess so. (Beat.) Don’t give a shit what society says about the two of us, brother and sister and keep away from each other … you oughta be happy to have me. Least I’d treat you like a man’s supposed to … not just hoping to fuck you in the ass because you’re too drunk to care. Ya know how many times I had to hear that crap in high school? That my sister was fondly remembered not just as the girl who’d put out but the only one that guys could count on to take it in the shitter. ’S nice. Really nice … (Beat.) So don’t act like I’m fucking … crazy because I might’ve cared about you all these years, wish I could’ve taken you away from that kinda thing – I’m sorry that I love my sister and, and that I’d do anything for her. Act like I’m sick or some shit because I have feelings – seems like I’m in a lot better place than your husband or, or, any of these other guys, ya know? Sounds like it to me. Just another group a’ people who wanna use you, but not me. I never wanted anything for you but a bunch of good things. Nice, pretty things and you being taken care of. I’m the guy who wanted that for you. I am the person who just wanted you to be a little bit nice and show some kindness to me once in a while … to act like you needed somebody. This somebody who’s your own flesh and blood. (Beat.) And you look down your nose at me. That’s all you can do, I so much as give you a hug for too long … push me off like I’m some pervert over at the 7–11 who’s got too close to you up by the register. Well fuck you, that’s what I say to that, Betty. Fuck you. You should be grateful to love me and for me to love you. You really should … (Beat.) ’Cause ya certainly don’t deserve it – that much I know. No fucking way.
He stops now and tries to catch his breath. Looks at her.
Flash of thunder and lightning. The lights go out. Betty is the first to stand. A glance at her watch again as she crosses to the fuse box. Flick of a switch and lights up.
Betty … God, how did it get so late?
Bobby So let’s take whatever else you need and then you can get back. That’s fine.
Betty OK, thanks, yes … Umm, the books and … I’ve set a few things on the bed that I can grab and then … well, also that file cabinet. (Points.) Up there.
Bobby Alright.
Betty That should do it.
She exits into another room. Returns with a small stack.
Bobby Great. (Beat.) And you don’t think …?
Betty What?
Bobby Nothing. I mean, the family is gonna be here, you don’t think they might want … This isn’t against you, I’m just saying it … you don’t feel like they might be interested in a few of his things?
Betty Of course they would be. I hope so.
Bobby But not any of his books?
Betty No, I think … a lot of these are mine he borrowed or, we … you know, bought when we were together …
Bobby I see.
Betty So they’re … I’d rather just …
Bobby You don’t wanna leave any evidence.
Betty Bobby, please.
Bobby I’m not saying anything. I get it … but look at what happened with me. Right? I mean … what if that happened to his mom or dad as they’re standing there? With a picture or whatever. What then?
Betty I’d … yes. That would be awkward.
Bobby So that’s why. Really. Isn’t it? So just say it, then …
Betty What?
He points over at the stack of loose items she’s holding.
Bobby I know you’re doing most of this because of your feelings for the kid, but let’s be honest – you’re covering your own ass. It is only a matter of … whatever until the owner of this place gets nosy and comes down here or, or the police … right? Am I right about that or not, Betty?
Betty … Fine. Yes. That, too.
Bobby Alright. Just so you know it. (Beat.) You oughta try and be a bit more honest with yourself sometimes – ’s good for the soul.
Betty Because it’s important for me to do that now, right? Even after all I’ve told you?
Bobby Just keeping it real, sis …
Betty O–K. Are you done?
Bobby Yep. Mostly.
Bobby looks over and points to a stack of valuables as he speaks:
Lemme ask you this, though: why are you taking that?
Betty … What?
Bobby His laptop. (Pointing.) I mean, isn’t that kinda risky? I get all the rest of it but something like that – how do you know his parents won’t miss that? Wonder where it is and then you’ll have to lie about it.
Betty No, because … that’s not …
Bobby What? You will … You’ll make up some damn story and then you’ll be caught in a –
Betty I bought it for him. Last year. It was his birthday and I bought it for him. So.
Bobby I see.
Betty I bought it for him and so I wanna, you know … keep it as something to remember him by. Is that so hard to understand?
Bobby No, it’s pretty … that’s quite clear. (Beat.) Except you’re lying and I don’t know why …
With a sigh Betty carefully puts down her stack and turns to her brother. Throws her hands up, exasperated.
Betty God, Bobby … what do you mean now?! We need
to get out of here. Can we maybe talk about this after we’ve –?
Bobby Just answer that and I’ll hoist all of this other shit up on my shoulders and be gone. ’Kay? No pointing fingers, nothing.
Betty Fine. (Beat.) What?
Bobby That thing’s, like, five years old. Maybe more. I have the same one and I know what the new ones look like …
Betty Well, good for you. (Beat.) I really don’t know what you’re driving at. What?
Bobby That’s a G4 right there. The new ones are something different. MacBook Pros or some shit. They all have a different design … Up close you can tell, but you gotta know what to be looking for. I fucking hate computers and even I know that.
Betty SO WHAT?
Bobby Why lie to me about it? That’s all I’m saying – just like that … right here at the end? I don’t get it. Can’t explain it …
Betty I’m not lying. (Beat.) Bobby, look at me – I am telling you the truth. I LENT HIM THE MONEY TO BUY IT. OK?
Bobby I don’t care – nobody bought that computer last year, Betty.
Betty How do you know that?! Hmm?! (Beat.) You are so damn … I mean, you’re gonna say that to me now, after I open up to you?! Un-believable!
Betty goes to pick up the stack again but stops when:
Bobby What, you got your boyfriend some used computer? Is that the story?
Betty It is possible, isn’t it? They do still sell them … I mean, people out there, on Craigslist or, or eBay or whatever … IT COULD BE TRUE, RIGHT?
Bobby Maybe. I’d be surprised, though … somebody who rents this guy a place and buys him all this stuff –
Betty I didn’t say that I personally got on … Fuck, Columbo! WHAT IS YOUR POINT?!
Bobby I’m just saying! You paint a certain deal when you’re talking about him, all these glowing memories and then … I dunno. This one just doesn’t fit. And I question it.
Betty stands and looks at her brother. Who is this guy?
Betty What’re you saying to me? I think that … you want to say something so just do. GO AHEAD.
Bobby OK. I will. Because I’m nothing if not a fucking honest guy. Mostly. Try to be.
Betty Just … OK, what? Seriously, WHAT?
Bobby I think you’re still holding shit back from me. Obviously from everybody else but even from this conversation we had here. Tonight.
