Mary
by Tanea Lunsford '09
The following excerpt is from Mary,
a play which was a winner in the 2008 San Francisco
Young Playwrights Festival. See the News page
item for May 8, 2008, for details and links.
Scene 1
Mary waits a beat before running to the
phone. She cautiously looks around so as
not to get caught on the phone by her mother.
MARY (anxiously)
Hello? Mrs.
James, may I speak with Marvin please? Oh,
it's Mary. Is he okay? Tell him it will
just be a minute. Thank you. Hey Marvin,
you sound fine, oh well I hope you get better.
I miss you... (Gary enters but Mary doesn't
notice) I know I just saw you today, but .....
okay well I'll see you tomorrow .... Hey, I think I
love you Marvin ... hello? (hangs up smiling)
GARY (drunk)
Young love... (Mary
is startled) I almost can't remember what it
feels like to be that young and stupid ... I know it
sho' did feel good though ... Mary, show me how it
feel -- (advances toward Mary)
MARY
Did they put
something in your drink tonight? You talkin'
nonsense, my mama is expecting you, she say you got
paid today.
GARY (slurring)
Ain't none left,
they laid me off ... say all the old employees ain't
no good no more. No good, Mary. No good!
I been a garbage man for seven years. SEVEN
YEARS, Mary! Sweating and stressing over that
damn job, and what they do, lay me off first chance
they get!
MARY
I'm sorry to hear
that, Gary. But I got to clean up the kitchen
and my Mama is expecting you upstairs, so --
GARY
Your Mama so surly.
She wasn't always that way though, you know .... she
used to be a soft woman (sitting down at the
kitchen table, defeated while Mary cleans).
She used to wake me up with kisses on my face every
morning, and not just my birthday like she do now.
Most days seem like she don't want to kiss me at
all. It ain't been too long we been together.
What, 'bout three years now? Feel like we
ain't going nowhere, feel like we always stuck in
the same place. I roll over in the middle of
the night and she be there looking so pretty,
moonlight hitting her face all nice. And I
shakes her awake sometime -- so full of love for
her I gets excited. I be waiting for her to
open her eyes and when she finally do her face
wrinkle up and she ain't pretty no more, be looking
just like this (very angry expression, livid)
and all I do is roll over 'cause I be 'fraid she
gone wring my neck. 'You working twelve hour
shifts, Gary? You got a son in 'Nam right now,
Gary? No ... if Jesus call, take a message,
hear? Don't you eva wake me up again!'
That's just what she say ... always so surly.
I be wondering how somebody that pretty be so mean,
and so quick-damn firecracker that lady is, guess
that's why I love her so much, she --
MARY
Listen, Gary.
My Mama is expecting you upstairs -- don't want to
keep that pretty, surly woman waiting.
Takes her diary out of
the cabinet.
GARY
You don't wanna
hear my problems.
MARY
I got my own
problems, Gary.
GARY
Them lil' problems
you write in your lil' diary about? Your lil'
problems? You living with a woman who always
make you feel like less of a man every chance she
get?! Huh Mary?
MARY
I'm living with the
same woman you talking 'bout 'cept I ain't no man.
GARY
You work a fourteen
hour shift, Mary?! You collecting people's
junk all day? You swimming in people's waste
all day?
MARY
Nope. And you
don't either, now that you dun went and got yourself
fired.
GARY
(Jumps up from the table, grabs Mary at the neck.)
Oh you little smart
ass -- that's why your little boyfriend don't love
you back. 'Cause you surly and no body ain't
ever gonna love you.
MARY (yelling)
Gary you let me go!
You drunk! You let me go -- I'll kill you, I
swear!
GARY
(Realizing what he is doing but still has too
much pride to apologize)
It's a curse in
this here house. Or maybe it's just you women.
Y'all damn women, mean as all hell bottled into two
little bodies. If it ain't no curse, I curse
you right now -- I get everything that follow with
that nasty attitude, I hope you end up old and
lonely just like your Mama gonna be once she push me
so far.
Helen rushes in with her gun, robe, and hair scarf
on.
HELEN
What's going on in
here! What's all that racket?
Mary hides under the table. She writes in her
diary there.
GARY
Ain't nothing,
Helen, go back to sleep. Put that thing away!
HELEN
I don't wanna have to shoot nobody! Where is Mary?
GARY
Looks around drunkenly confused
She was here a
minute ago. And you hush all that foolish
talk, lady. Who you gon' shoot standing there
in your night clothes?
HELEN
You if you ain't
careful. You drunk Gary?
GARY (falsely,
impatient)
That ain't no way
to greet your man! "You drunk Gary?"
What happened to "Hey Gary, I missed you"?
HELEN
Hey Gary, I missed
you where you been?
GARY
Now that's more
like it -- I been out.
HELEN
So you drunk Gary.
GARY
Yup.
HELEN
I thought so.
Where's your check Gary?
GARY
Whatever happened
to questions like "Gary when I'm gone see you
again?"
HELEN
Gary, where is the
check? You spent up that check on booze, Gary?
GARY
See I knew you was
gon' ask that --
HELEN
Gary did you spend
the money getting drunk!
GARY (quickly)
Mmhhmm. But only 'cause I knew you was gon'
ask that question and I wanted to be able to say yes
to at least one of the things you would ask me.
HELEN (not quite
appalled, disgusted)
Gary, that is one
of the stupidest things I've ever heard. You
make me sick.
GARY
What ever happened
to things like "Gary you make my heart sing"?
HELEN
Wasn't never none
of them things, Gary. You never made my heart
sing, Gary. You always busy breaking it!
GARY
Aww woman, don't
talk like that, you gon' make an old drunk cry.
Ain't nothing worse than an old drunk crying.
HELEN
Yes it is too: an
old drunk crying, broke, and homeless. That's
what you gon' be next time you decide to come up in
here causin' a ruckus without no check, hear?
GARY (dramatically)
Yes Ma'am!
HELEN
Now stop all that
loudness, come on to bed.
GARY
Now that's what I
like to hear, you gon' show me how it feel to be
young and lighthearted?
HELEN
I forgot how to do
that fo' I stopped calling my old man 'Daddy.'
Honey I am fresh out of lightheartedness. I am
a heavy old woman -- and you is a weighty old
drunkard -- we too much to even dream of something
light. Baby all I got is heartache and anger
--
GARY
I don't want none
of that, I don' had my share of that already.
HELEN
Then you better
just get ready for bed and enjoy the body heat.
GARY
You a surly woman.
HELEN
You preaching to
the choir, my brotha.
GARY
Dammit woman I
don't know what I see in you.
HELEN
I could ask the
same thing about you, but that just wouldn't be nice
now would it, Gary?
GARY
Goodnight woman.
HELEN
That's right,
goodnight man.
END OF EXCERPT
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