The Red Letter Plays
Page 13
Mother.
She hurriedly takes up her old shotgun and points it at him.
Hester
My son was good. This is a gun. Run.
She backs him toward the back door and he runs off.
She puts the gun down and goes over to the table to examine the tin cup, the spoon and those letters.
Butchers truck is heard pulling up.
Hester
Trinkets. Maybe from my Boy, maybe not.
(Rest)
My mark looks like a heart. His looked horrid. Like a gash.
Canary and Butcher at the front door.
They hold First Lady between them.
Hester
Come in before yr seen.
Butcher and Canary come in escorting a groggy First Lady.
Butcher
Shes ill.
Hester
Its probably just a dizzy spell.
Canary
Lets sit her in the chair.
They sit her down.
Butcher
Looks worse than a dizzy spell.
Hester
The rich get dizzy all the time. And the richer they are the dizzier they get.
First Lady
He wanted money but I snitched. Ha.
Butcher
Shes been saying that the whole ride.
First Lady
I snitched I snitched I snitched.
Hester
Come with me, madam. Right this way. Come in here and we’ll have our talk.
Butcher
I’ll help you—
Hester
Ive got her. Canary, keep Butcher company.
Canary
Whats this stuff here?
Hester
Just some garbage.
Canary
Theyre letters you wrote to Boy. Says so right here.
Hester
Canary
First Lady
I snitched. I snitched.
Canary
Jamah, Hester, jamah?
Hester
Doht.
Canary
Jamah?
Butcher
No fair you two Talking in front of me. Uh, noonka Talking-mehnavee. No fair.
Hester
A friend of his brought them by. Le traja Scrapeahdepth woah-ya, C-Mary.
Canary
Scrapeahdepth?
Hester
Di.
First Lady
I snitched. I snitched.
Butcher
Dont mind me, I’ll just sit here. Wheres yr radio?
Hester
Stolen.
Canary
Cha Eyeyaya s eh cha Muka vee chet-la Scrapeahdepth ey cocodi Scrapeahdepth. Hester—
Hester
Chet-la eye brack zeemeh. Zeemeh.
Canary
Hester
Canary
Hester
The churchbells announce the hour. 12 midnight.
Hester
Ha! You see what motherlove can do? Get in yr head and make you see all sorts of things.
(Rest)
Come on, maam. Entertain yrselves, we’ll be quick.
Hester and First Lady go into the back room, leaving Butcher and Canary.
Canary
She’ll open the back door. The fresh airll perk her right up.
Butcher
What were you two talking about?
Canary
This and that.
Butcher
She looked troubled.
Canary
Shes just tired.
Butcher
Whatdoyathink theyre talking about?
Canary
Womens things. Private womens things. Motherhood things. Things like that. Not for the likes of me to hear. Or you.
(Rest)
Have a drink. I’ll rub yr feet.
He drinks. After removing his socks and shoes she rubs his feet.
Butcher
You never had a child?
Canary
Not yet.
Butcher
You oughta get married.
Canary
Naw. Not me.
Butcher
Letters she wrote her son. Poor thing.
Canary
Love her a lot. Love her so much that yr lovell fill up the wound shes got. Give it a try, K?
Butcher
I plan to.
First Lady from offstage:
First Lady
Oh!
Butcher begins to move toward the back room.
Canary stops him.
Canary
Dont go in there. Sit here with me. Keep me company. You ever had yr soles read? Lets see: yll live a long life.
Butcher
Will I get married?
Canary
And live happily forever.
Butcher
Whats she doing in there?
Canary
Talking. Let them Talk.
(Rest)
Stay here with me. Please.
Butcher
Canary
First Lady from offstage:
First Lady
Oh!
Canary
Read the letters to me. Go on. We’re her friends. Lets pass the time.
Butcher
“Dear Son, yr 12 today. Thats a lot of years. I thought you would be out long before now. Every time I go to the Fund theres another excuse. What can you do? I take it on the chin and you should too because I know that you get points for good behavior. Next year yll be 13 and back at home and we will spend the next 13 years having one big long birthday party! Wont that—”
Hester comes out. In her haste she forgot to put on her apron and so her dress and hands are stained with blood. She stands there. Horrific.
And trumphant. She tosses her bloody tools in her wash bucket, lights a candle.
Canary
Taht?
Hester
Taht.
Canary gives Hester a kiss on the cheek. Its goodbye.
Canary
Hester, weh Seven-leagues swich tue ee meh. Ya weh tahrum sah Dinkydow, eh?
Hester
I understand.
Canary
Eee sah Le traja scrapeahdepth. Ki bunda-ley?
Hester
Weh race. Pabala weh fihnder. Pabala.
Canary
(Rest)
I guess we can take her home now?
Hester
Please.
Canary goes to load First Lady into the truck.
Butcher puts on his shoes and stands there ready to go.
Hester gets her basket.
Hester
Butcher
Hester
Butcher
As Butcher turns to follow Canary he passes Hester, and she takes his hand. Her blood-smeared hand bloodies his hand.
They hold hands for a moment and then he lets her hand go and, walking out through the back room, very thoroughly wipes the blood off onto his pants.
Hester stands there with her basket.
Hester
Hester
Hester
After a moment his truck is heard pulling off.
Hester hurries around the room stuffing things into her basket.
Hester
Hes not. He couldnt be. But what if he is. Monster. He isnt. But he could be. Although hes not. You know hes not. Just wanna make sure. See that mark again. Yr motherlove is playing with yr mind, thats all. Or it is him. Maybe. What does a monster need. Food. Money. Clothes. More money. I’ll get Butcher to hide him. He wont like the idea at first cause hes law abiding but lovell take care of that. Maybe. Butcherll hide him good. Somehow.
We can hear dogs barking in the distance.
Monster is standing in her front doorway.
Monster
Mother.
Hester
Monster
Monster
Mother.
Hester
; Monster
Monster
Mother.
Hester
Son.
Monster
Theyre on my trail.
Hester
Why would anyone want to catch you?
Monster
Theyve got my scent. She snitched. One of the dogs bit me. But I had my knife and got him good. They bit me but I cut them. I ran but their blood and my blood—. Mother? Mother?
Hester
Yr all grown up. Yr bleeding.
Monster
Theyre bleeding too.
Hester
We’ll turn out the lights and theyll think nobodys home and theyll go away. Theyll go look somewheres else. Theyll go away. Theyll go away wont they?
Monster
I dont think so.
Hester
Theyll come to the door and I’ll tell them I aint seen you. “What the hell would I be doing seeing a villian like that,” I’ll say. Then theyll go away. Then yll run out the back.
Monster
They wont go away. Theyre hunters. They hunt. They can smell me. Theyre hunters and they can smell me. They wont go away. Theyll do what they got to do to catch the Monster.
Hester
Monster
Hester
You used to be so good. What happened?
Monster
Oh—this and that.
(Rest)
Better a monster than a boy. I made something of myself. It wasnt hard.
He sings “The Making of a Monster”:
Monster
Youd think itd be hard
To make something horrid
Its easy.
Youd think it would take
So much work to create
The Devil Incarnate
Its easy.
The smallest seed grows to a tree
A grain of sand pearls in an oyster
A small bit of hate in a heart will inflate
And thats more so much more than enough
To make you a Monster.
Youd think itd be hard
To make something horrid
Its easy.
The sound of dogs barking gets louder.
Monster
When they catch me theyll hurt me. Run me through and plant me in yr front yard so you can hear me scream. They catch me and theyll run me through. You hide me theyll run you through too. I wonder how much itll hurt? Theyll keep me alive and cut me up and I wonder how much itll hurt?
(Rest)
Hear the dogs? Take the gun. Shoot me with it.
Hester
Dont be silly.
Monster
Us killing me is better than them killing me.
Hester
You were always so silly.
The sound of dogs barking gets louder.
Monster
I heard once how they cut one guys balls off and let him watch the dogs eat them and then they cut his fingers off and the dogs ate those and he had to watch. His fingers and then his toes then his feet then his hands.
(Rest)
Please.
Hester
Hester
Monster
Please.
The sound of the dogs barking is very loud.
The Hunters voices are heard.
Hester and Monster sit close together.
They hold their arms side by side comparing their bite marks.
Hester
Monster
Hester
Monster
Hester
Monster
Hester
I have a way to do it that wont hurt.
(Rest)
Give me yr knife. Sit in my lap.
She sits in a chair. He hands her his knife and sits on the floor in front of her with his back toward her stomach.
She gently pets his head. Then, with a quick firm motion, she slits his throat like Butcher taught her.
He dies. She holds him in her lap.
The sound of dogs barking and Hunters voices are now deafening.
Theyre right outside her door. They force their way in.
They stand around looking at Hester and Monster.
The dogs bay outside.
First Hunter
Its him!
Second Hunter
But hes dead!
Third Hunter
Too bad!
First Hunter
Plenty of fun still to be had, though!
Third Hunter
Hes still warm.
(Rest)
Hes ours by rights, gal. Give him up.
First Hunter
If you think yll get any of the reward money, you got another thing coming.
The Hunters leave dragging Monsters body.
Hester sits there alone.
She gets up, drops the knife in the wash bucket.
She lights another candle. She sits down.
Hester
Hester
Hester
Hester sings “Working Womans Song (Reprise)”:
Hester
I dig my ditch with no complaining Work in the hot sun, or even when its raining And when the bitter day finally comes to an end Theyll say—
She sits there unable to continue.
Hester
Hester
Hester
After a moment, the backdoor bell rings insistently.
She ignores it.
It rings again, more insistently.
She gets up and puts on her apron, then wearily sits back down.
After a moment the bell rings again.
Hester
Hester
Hester
She gets up, picks up her tools and goes back to work.
End of Play
TALK Translation
Part One, Scene 1
die Abah-nazip.
The abortion.
Die la-sah Chung-chung? . . . woah-ya.
And her pussy? Her pussy is so disgusting, so slack, so very very completely dried out.
seh tum . . . woah-ya
Yr pussy is all dried out!
teeh tum-ay . . . oromakeum!
You got a respectable good-for-nothing vagina!
falltima . . . woah-ya.
When her period comes she is in hysterics
die Abah-nazip.
The abortion.
Scene 2
Papameh! . . . ma-Ovo!
Pity me! I got my period again!
Meh Kazo-say . . . ee—
My vagina is nice and pleasant and—
Scene 3
die Abah-nazip.
The abortion.
tee-tee . . . Zoo.
They open their legs for anybody and everybody.
Hee la . . . nice-like.
As if their vaginas were their mouths.
Hi-Chungwoah! . . . Baza.
Their vaginas are like common sewers.
Woah-ya dateh.
I totally agree with you.
Scene 5
Le doe-dunk . . . hunter.
You force yrself on yr wife and then you send her to me, Mister Hunter.
Scene 6
Suptah nekkie . . . Noonke!
You and yr slack dried-up prissy pussy! No one would be caught dead inside such a stupid twat! May you never conceive! May yr womb dry up and shrivel! May yr tubes tie themselves in knots! May yr egg sacks be forever empty! May yr breasts shrivel and never ever give milk!
Scene 7
kaltie Bleehc
Chilly twat
Part Two, Scene 14
Weh noonka . . . rum—
I missed my period. I stuck something up there, but—
Weh nim . . . rum—
I took one of them tests. It said “not pregnant,” but—
Weh nam . . . woah.
I dont bother with the tests. Theyre so expensive and my man says, they lie anyway.
Tah humble.
Yr showing.
Tah humble si.
Yr showing too.
Scene 19
Jamah, Hester, jamah?
Hester, whats the matter?
Doht.
Nothing.
Jamah?
What is it?
noonka . . . mehnavee.
I couldnt speak TALK to save my life.
Le traja . . . . C-Mary
He had a very odd-looking scar.
Scrapeahdepth?
An odd-looking scar?
Di.
Yeah.
Cha Eyeyaya . . . Hester.
The look on yr face says the scar wasnt just any scar, Hester—
Chet-la . . . Zeemeh.
It looked like mine, it did. It did.
Taht?
Is it done?
Taht.
Its done.
Hester, weh . . . Dinkydow, eh?
Im going to have to keep my distance from you for a while. To avoid suspicion, you understand?
Eee sah . . . bunda-ley?
What will you do about the man with the odd looking scar?
Weh race. . . . Pabala.
I’ll dash out of here. Maybe I’ll find him. Maybe.
Working Womans Song
Hester, Canary
Words and Music by Suzan-Lori Parks
My Little Army
Mayor
Words and Music by Suzan-Lori Parks
The Hunters Creed
Hunters
Words and Music by Suzan-Lori Parks
Gilded Cage
Canary
Words and Music by Suzan-Lori Parks
My Vengeance
Hester
Words and Music by Suzan-Lori Parks
My Little Enemy
First Lady
Words and Music by Suzan-Lori Parks