Like that joker and his wife from out of town. Always wanted to see the big city. I said you could see the bigger end of the big city with a little more cash. And if they was fast enough, faster than me, and here I slowed down my moves I slowed em way down and my Lonny, my right hand, my Stickman, Lonny could draw a customer in like nothing else, Lonny could draw a fly from fresh shit, he could draw Adam outa Eve just with that look he had, Lonny always got folks playing.
(Rest)
Somebody shot him. They dont know who. Nobody knows nobody cares.
(Rest)
We took that man and his wife for hundreds. No, thousands. We took them for everything they had and everything they ever wanted to have. We took a father for the money he was gonna get his kids new bike with and he cried in the street while we vanished. We took a mothers welfare check, she pulled a knife on us and we ran. She threw it but her aim werent shit. People shopping. Greedy. Thinking they could take me and they got took instead.
(Rest)
Swore off thuh cards. Something inside me telling me—. But I was good.
Lincoln
Lincoln
He sees a packet of cards.
He studies them like an alcoholic would study a drink. Then he reaches for them, delicately picking them up and choosing 3 cards.
Lincoln
Still got my moves. Still got my touch. Still got my chops. Thuh feel of it. And I aint hurting no one, God. Link is just here hustling hisself.
(Rest)
Lets see whatcha got.
He stands over the monte setup. Then he bends over it placing the cards down and moving them around.
Slowly at first, aimlessly, as if hes just making little ripples in water.
But then the game draws him in.
Unlike Booth, Lincolns patter and moves are deft, dangerous, electric.
Lincoln
(((Lean in close and watch me now: who see thuh black card who see thuh black card I see thuh black card black cards thuh winner pick thuh black card thats thuh winner pick thuh red card thats thuh loser pick thuh other red card thats thuh other loser pick thuh black card you pick thuh winner. Watch me as I throw thuh cards. Here we go.)))
(Rest)
(((Who see thuh black card who see thuh black card? You pick thuh red card you pick a loser you pick that red card you pick a loser you pick thuh black card thuh deuce of spades you pick a winner who sees thuh deuce of spades thuh one who sees it never fades watch me now as I throw thuh cards. Red losers black winner follow thuh deuce of spades chase thuh black deuce. Dark deuce will get you thuh win.)))
Even though Lincoln speaks softly, Booth wakes and, unbeknownst to Lincoln, listens intently.
(Rest)
Lincoln
((10 will get you 20, 20 will get you 40.))
(Rest)
((Ima show you thuh cards: 2 red cards but only one spade. Dark winner in thuh center and thuh red losers on thuh sides. Pick uh red card you got a loser pick thuh other red card you got a loser pick thuh black card you got a winner. One good pickll get you in, 2 good picks and you gone win. Watch me come on watch me now.))
(Rest)
((Who sees thuh winner who knows where its at? You do? You sure? Go on then, put yr money where yr mouth is. Put yr money down you aint no clown. No? Ah, you had thuh card but you didnt have thuh heart.))
(Rest)
((Watch me now as I throw thuh cards watch me real close. Ok, man, you know which card is the deuce of spades? Was you watching Links lighting fast express? Was you watching Link cause he the best? So you sure, huh? Point it out first, then place yr bet and Linkll show you yr winner.))
(Rest)
((500 dollars? You thuh man of thuh hour you thuh man with thuh power. You musta been watching Link real close. You must be thuh man who know thuh most. Ok. Lay the cash in my hand cause Link the man. Thank you, mister. This card you say?))
(Rest)
((Wrong! Ha!))
(Rest)
((Thats thuh show. We gotta go.))
Lincoln puts the cards down. He moves away from the monte setup.
He sits on the edge of his easy chair, but he can’t take his eyes off the cards.
Intermission
Scene Five
Several days have passed.
Its now Wednesday night.
Booth is sitting in his brand-new suit. The monte setup is nowhere in sight.
In its place is a table with two nice chairs.
The table is covered with a lovely tablecloth and there are nice plates, silverware, champagne glasses and candles.
All the makings of a very romantic dinner for two.
The whole apartment in fact takes its cue from the table.
Its been cleaned up considerably.
New curtains on the windows, a doily-like object on the recliner.
Booth sits at the table darting his eyes around, making sure everything is looking good.
Booth
Shit.
He notices some of his girlie magazines visible from underneath his bed. He goes over and nudges them out of sight. He sits back down.
He notices that theyre still visible. He goes over and nudges them some more, kicking at them finally. Then he takes the spread from his bed and pulls it down, hiding them.
He sits back down. He gets up.
Checks the champagne on much melted ice.
Checks the food.
Booth
Foods getting cold, Grace!! Dont worry man, she’ll get here, she’ll get here.
He sits back down.
He goes over to the bed. Checks it for springiness.
Smoothes down the bedspread. Double-checks 2 matching silk dressing gowns, very expensive, marked “His” and “Hers.”
Lays the dressing gowns across the bed again.
He sits back down. He cant help but notice the visibility of the girlie magazines again. He goes to the bed, kicks them fiercely, then on his hands and knees shoves them. Then he begins to get under the bed to push them, but he remembers his nice clothing and takes off his jacket. After a beat he removes his pants and, in this half-dressed way, he crawls under the bed to give those telltale magazines a good and final shove.
Lincoln comes in.
At first Booth, still stripped down to his underwear, thinks its his date. When he realizes its his brother, he does his best to keep Lincoln from entering the apartment. Lincoln wears his frock coat and carries the rest of his getup in a plastic bag.
Lincoln
You in the middle of it?
Booth
What the hell you doing here?
Lincoln
If yr in thuh middle of it I can go. Or I can just be real quiet and just—sing a song in my head or something.
Booth
The casas off limits to you tonight.
Lincoln
You know when we lived in that 2-room place with the cement backyard and the frontyard with nothing but trash in it, Mom and Pops would do it in the middle of the night and I would always hear them but I would sing in my head, cause, I dunno, I couldnt bear to listen.
Booth
You gotta get out of here.
Lincoln
I would make up all kinds of songs. Oh, sorry, yr all up in it. No sweat, bro. No sweat. Hey, Grace, howyadoing?!
Booth
She aint here yet, man. Shes running late. And its a good thing too cause I aint all dressed yet. Yr gonna spend thuh night with friends?
Lincoln
Yeah.
Booth waits for Lincoln to leave. Lincoln stands his ground.
Lincoln
I lost my job.
Booth
Hunh.
Lincoln
I come in there right on time like I do every day and that motherfucker gives me some song and dance about cutbacks and too many folks complaining.
Booth
Hunh.
Lincoln
Showd me thuh wax dummy—hes buying it right out of a catalog.
(Rest)
I walked out still wearing my getup.
(Rest)
I could go back in tomorrow. I could tell him I’ll take another pay cut. Thatll get him to take me back.
Booth
Link. Yr free. Dont go crawling back. Yr free at last! Now you can do anything you want. Yr not tied down by that job. You can—you can do something else. Something that pays better maybe.
Lincoln
You mean Hustle.
Booth
Maybe. Hey, Graces on her way. You gotta go.
Lincoln flops into his chair.
Booth is waiting for him to move. Lincoln doesnt budge.
Lincoln
I’ll stay until she gets here. I’ll act nice. I wont embarrass you.
Booth
You gotta go.
Lincoln
What time she coming?
Booth
Shes late. She could be here any second.
Lincoln
I’ll meet her. I met her years ago. I’ll meet her again.
(Rest)
How late is she?
Booth
She was supposed to be here at 8.
Lincoln
Its after 2 a.m. Shes—shes late.
(Rest)
Maybe when she comes you could put the blanket over me and I’ll just pretend like Im not here.
(Rest)
I’ll wait. And when she comes I’ll go. I need to sit down. I been walking around all day.
Booth
Lincoln
Booth goes to his bed and dresses hurriedly.
Booth
Pretty nice, right? The china thuh silver thuh crystal.
Lincoln
Its great.
(Rest)
Boosted?
Booth
Yeah.
Lincoln
Thought you went and spent yr inheritance for a minute, you had me going I was thinking shit, Booth—3-Card—that 3-Cards gone and spent his inheritance and the gal is—late.
Booth
Its boosted. Every bit of it.
(Rest)
Fuck this waiting bullshit.
Lincoln
She’ll be here in a minute. Dont sweat it.
Booth
Right.
Booth comes to the table. Sits. Relaxes as best he can.
Booth
How come I got a hand for boosting and I dont got a hand for throwing cards? Its sorta the same thing—you gotta be quick—and slick. Maybe yll show me yr moves sometime.
Lincoln
Booth
Lincoln
Booth
Lincoln
Look out the window. When you see Grace coming, I’ll go.
Booth
Cool. Cause youd jinx it, youd really jinx it. Maybe you being here has jinxed it already. Naw. Shes just a little late. You aint jinxed nothing.
Booth sits by the window, glancing out, watching for his date.
Lincoln sits in his recliner. He finds the whiskey bottle, sips from it. He then rummages around, finding the raggedy photo album.
He looks through it.
Lincoln
There we are at that house. Remember when we moved in?
Booth
No.
Lincoln
You were 2 or 3.
Booth
I was 4.
Lincoln
I was 9. We all thought it was the best fucking house in the world.
Booth
Cement backyard and a frontyard full of trash, yeah, dont be going down memory lane man, yll jinx thuh vibe I got going in here. Gracell be walking in here and wrinkling up her nose cause you done jinxed up thuh joint with yr raggedy recollections.
Lincoln
We had some great times in that house, bro. Selling lemonade on thuh corner, thuh treehouse out back, summers spent lying in thuh grass and looking at thuh stars.
Booth
We never did none of that shit.
Lincoln
But we had us some good times. That row of nails I got you to line up behind Dads car so when he backed out the driveway to work—
Booth
He came back that night, only time I ever seen his face go red, 4 flat tires and yelling bout how thuh white man done sabotaged him again.
Lincoln
And neither of us flinched. Neither of us let on that itd been us.
Booth
It was at dinner, right? What were we eating?
Lincoln
Food.
Booth
We was eating pork chops, mashed potatoes and peas.
I remember cause I had to look at them peas real hard to keep from letting on. And I would glance over at you, not really glancing not actually turning my head, but I was looking at you out thuh corner of my eye. I was sure he was gonna find us out and then he woulda whipped us good. But I kept glancing at you and you was cool, man. Like nothing was going on. You was cooooool.
(Rest)
What time is it?
Lincoln
After 3.
(Rest)
You should call her. Something mighta happened.
Booth
No man, Im cool. She’ll be here in a minute. Patience is a virtue. She’ll be here.
Lincoln
You look sad.
Booth
Nope. Im just, you know, Im just—
Lincoln
Cool.
Booth
Yeah. Cool.
Booth comes over, takes the bottle of whiskey and pours himself a big glassful. He returns to the window looking out and drinking.
Booth
They give you a severance package, at thuh job?
Lincoln
A weeks pay.
Booth
Great.
Lincoln
I blew it. Spent it all.
Booth
On what?
Lincoln
—. Just spent it.
(Rest)
It felt good, spending it. Felt really good. Like back in thuh day when I was really making money. Throwing thuh cards all day and strutting and rutting all night. Didnt have to take no shit from no fool, didnt have to worry about getting fired in favor of some damn wax dummy. I was thuh shit and they was my fools.
(Rest)
Back in thuh day.
(Rest)
(Rest) Why you think they left us, man?
Booth
Mom and Pops? I dont think about it too much.
Lincoln
I dont think they liked us.
Booth
Naw. That aint it.
Lincoln
I think there was something out there that they liked more than they liked us and for years they was struggling against moving towards that more liked something. Each of them had a special something that they was struggling against. Moms had hers. Pops had his. And they was struggling. We moved out of that nasty apartment into a house. A whole house. It wernt perfect but it was a house and theyd bought it and they brought us there and everything we owned, figuring we could be a family in that house and them things, them two separate things each of them was struggling against, would just leave them be. Them things would see thuh house and be impressed and just leave them be. Would see thuh job Pops had and how he shined his shoes every night before he went to bed, shining them shoes whether they needed it or not, and thuh thing he was struggling against would see all that and just let him be, and thuh thing Moms was struggling against, it would see the food on the table every night and listen to her voice when she’d read to us sometimes, the clean clothes, the buttons sewed on all right and it would just let her be. Just let us all be, just regular people living in a house. That wernt too much to ask.
Booth
Least we was grown when they split.
Lincoln
16 and 11 aint grown.
Booth
16s grown. Almost. And I was ok cause you were there.
&nbs
p; (Rest)
Shit man, it aint like they both one day both, together packed all they shit up and left us so they could have fun in thuh sun on some tropical island and you and me would have to grub in thuh dirt forever. They didnt leave together. That makes it different. She left. 2 years go by. Then he left. Like neither of them couldnt handle it no more. She split then he split. Like thuh whole family mortgage bills going to work thing was just too much. And I dont blame them. You dont see me holding down a steady job. Cause its bullshit and I know it. I seen how it cracked them up and I aint going there.
Topdog / Underdog Page 5
