by Sarah Wooley
I told him no I said no she never did that never.
EILEEN Maybe I did
Beat.
RAY What?
EILEEN Maybe I did maybe
Maybe, I worked in the pub
RAY Don’t be ridiculous
EILEEN Why is it ridiculous?
RAY You’ve never worked in a pub in your life
EILEEN I might have
RAY You haven’t
EILEEN How do you know?
RAY I know
EILEEN Are you sure?
RAY Yes.
What’s wrong with you?
Pause.
EILEEN Do you remember when I did that course?
RAY What course?
EILEEN At college
English literature
RAY That was years ago
EILEEN Well maybe I wasn’t at the college
Maybe I made that up
Maybe, I was working
RAY In the George?
EILEEN Yes
RAY You bought textbooks for that course
You used to write essays
EILEEN How do you know?
You never read them
You never showed any interest
RAY But I’d smell it on you
Pubs, they stink
Fags and ale disgusting aroma
EILEEN You never went in the George
I could easily have been there
You wouldn’t know
RAY Someone would have told me
EILEEN Who?
You never speak to people
You never bother with anyone.
RAY Yes I do
Then I did
EILEEN Like who?
RAY What?
EILEEN Like who?
All you wanted to do was stay in
RAY I was tired
Looking after a kid I was tired so were you
EILEEN Tuesdays and Fridays six til nine
That’s when I worked
RAY Six til nine?
What kind of shift is that?
Six til nine
EILEEN Jack Carver was the landlord
I pulled pints
washed glasses
served spirits
RAY You didn’t
EILEEN I took orders
used the till
I knew everyone’s drink and everyone’s name and I brought home crisps
RAY For Patrick?
EILEEN For Patrick
RAY and I didn’t know
EILEEN You didn’t know.
Pause.
RAY Why have you never mentioned this before?
EILEEN Never needed to
RAY And you do now?
EILEEN Yes
RAY So all these years you’ve lied to me?
EILEEN No, I just didn’t tell you that’s all
RAY and that’s not lying?
EILEEN No
RAY not telling is lying
EILEEN It’s not
RAY It is in my book
EILEEN Your book?
RAY My book yes.
Pause.
So, what was I doing while you were out working?
Pause.
Minding Patrick?
EILEEN Yes
RAY Sitting at home looking after him
EILEEN Yes
RAY Playing with him?
Talking to him?
EILEEN (Not looking at him.) That’s right
RAY Playing nicely?
Making up games?
Reading a story?
EILEEN Yes
Yes!
RAY I think you’ve forgotten what Patrick was like
EILEEN What?
RAY Either that or you’ve decided that boy is the better option
She hits him hard across the face.
Jesus!
EILEEN I wish we’d never gone on that holiday
RAY (Still reacting to the strike.) Jesus!!
EILEEN I wish I’d never left him with you
RAY You hit me
EILEEN If only we’d stayed at home!
RAY So it’s my fault is it?
A great place to take a kid that’s what you said
You never stopped going on about it
You saw the advert on television after that you were seduced
EILEEN It was your idea to go abroad
Let’s go on holiday lets get away
It’ll be a new start a chance to
RAY We should have gone away alone just us two
Paris, Venice, Amsterdam
That’s what I wanted
EILEEN (Laughs.) What you wanted?
You didn’t have the right to get what you wanted Ray.
Pause.
Make or break that holiday wasn’t it?
Your last chance.
‘Whatever you want’, you said
‘Whatever you want I’ll do it’
RAY So you blame me blame me because
EILEEN Yes.
Yes I do blame you as it happens
if it wasn’t for all that
We never would have gone
Beat.
RAY (Low.) You overreacted
EILEEN No
RAY You jumped to conclusions
EILEEN No
RAY I never did anything!
Pause.
EILEEN All these years
All these years without friends
RAY You don’t need friends you’ve got me
EILEEN It should have been different.
What was the plan?
Summer fairs, cream teas, get involved in village life
RAY We do get involved
EILEEN What a trip to the post office on a Thursday?
An envelope with a donation for the new church hall?
A church hall you’ve never even seen!
RAY It was you that stopped the socialising
EILEEN Me?
RAY Yes, don’t blame me
You stopped the visits, the drinks, the walks all that was you
EILEEN And why was that?
What choice did I have?
Pause.
I’ve never felt so ashamed in all my life.
RAY No
EILEEN Her coming here and
RAY No
EILEEN turning up
warning me
shouting
RAY Shouting?
She’d never do that
EILEEN Oh but she did
I was standing over there
Patrick was crying
She was yelling at me
‘Can’t you tell your husband to stop obsessing to’
RAY You make it sound
EILEEN Like what?
RAY Like I stalked her!
EILEEN Well, didn’t you?
RAY No!
No you know I didn’t
She just
We had
EILEEN What?
What did you have?
Beat.
That’s right
Nothing
But you kept on
wouldn’t leave her alone
Pestering her and
RAY I didn’t
EILEEN So following her home from work
ringing her at four five in the morning that wasn’t pestering her?
RAY I never did that
EILEEN They were our friends Ray
for years
Bill was your best man
RAY It wasn’t my fault she
EILEEN What?
Was nice to you?
She listened when you complained about Patrick
Smiled when she poured the coffee at the end of the meal?
Laughed at your bad jokes?
She was being a friend
Our friend and you
RAY No
Not just
She encouraged me she
EILEEN Wanted you arrested!
RAY She didn’t
EILEEN She was going to the police
/> That’s what she said
And you stole from her
RAY No!
Who told you that?
Bill?
EILEEN Was it
Was it that time in the garden?
It was summer
We were looking at the plants
The lavender, the hollyhocks.
The weather was warm
She’d made dinner.
You disappeared
She noticed you were gone
She got up
Wondered if you were alright
Was that when?
Were you in her bedroom then?
RAY No
EILEEN Rifling in her cupboards her bedside table stealing her things her
RAY No!
Beat.
EILEEN She sent me a letter
After Patrick went missing
RAY I didn’t know that
EILEEN I didn’t tell you.
She said she’d seen us on That’s Life talking about Florida
About Patrick about
what the police hadn’t done, the campaign
She said if I ever needed anything not to hesitate
If we needed money or
just to talk she
and Bill
they’d be there.
She wanted to forget
She wanted to forgive
But I was too embarrassed too humiliated.
She was offering me comfort and I couldn’t take it.
Because of what you did
How you made me look!
Pause.
RAY It’s him who’s done this
Coming here
Causing trouble
Everything was fine
We were doing fine til he turned up
EILEEN No Ray.
We weren’t doing fine.
We haven’t been fine for years
Pause.
RAY Why didn’t you leave me?
EILEEN I wanted to
I was going to
That holiday was your last chance
But then Patrick went missing and
RAY What?
EILEEN I wanted to be here in case he came back
Pause.
Anyway, you could have left me
RAY But I didn’t
Pause.
EILEEN No
Pause.
RAY I’m sorry
I’m sorry I
But we never talked / and he
EILEEN He’ll be back tomorrow
He’s picking his things up from the hotel then he’s coming here.
You need to go over to the cottage there’s something wrong with the heating
RAY Eileen please love
EILEEN While you’re out
I’ll call the newspaper
Tell them they have got a story
‘Missing boy returns after twenty-two years, mother delighted.’
SCENE FOUR
The same place the next day. A table with buffet style food is being set by Eileen and Clay. They take food / plates etc. to the table during the following dialogue.
EILEEN Like a key turning in a lock
That’s what it felt like
deep down
Sort of…right at the bottom of my stomach
That was the first time
CLAY Must have been turning around, moving
Plates?
EILEEN Over there
You kicked a lot.
And you were very sensitive to noise.
I remember that
The sound of shouting or a car backfiring
you’d kick me so hard I’d be doubled up.
CLAY There are some mountain folk, who believe that when a baby first kicks
It means that the spirit of the child has entered the woman’s body
EILEEN Isn’t that fascinating
CLAY Where I come from, some folk, they’ll believe anything.
Where do you want these?
He lifts up some plastic cups.
EILEEN Over by the drinks.
They can help themselves.
They continue to set up.
I was only in labour for four hours
CLAY That was quick
EILEEN I nearly didn’t make it to the hospital
I nearly gave birth in the car
CLAY Ray’s car?
EILEEN Not the one he’s got now
In those days he drove a Ford Cortina.
CLAY It was red, I remember
That was the car that was always breaking down?
EILEEN Yes
CLAY There was something wrong with the / radiator
EILEEN Radiator
How do you remember that?
CLAY Well it used to make him mad, the radiator
Pause.
So I wasn’t born in the country?
EILEEN No no
You were born in the town
You have dirt in your lungs
The sound of traffic in your ears
CLAY Why did you move?
EILEEN Wanted to be somewhere safe, I suppose.
Somewhere quieter, better for a child
We had friends who lived in the next village
We used to visit
It seemed nice.
Beat.
I missed the town.
We had a flat next to the supermarket then
And when you were little, the woman from downstairs, she used to come up and
we’d sit on the fire escape, fussing you and drinking tea.
I’d sit and stare at you all day and you’d look right back
Always looked straight in my eyes.
Pause.
I didn’t want to move.
Pause.
CLAY I have a son
EILEEN A son?
CLAY Yes
EILEEN Why didn’t you tell me?
CLAY He doesn’t live with me
EILEEN Oh
CLAY His mother she
It’s complicated
I have to go to court
She won’t allow access
She’s…sort of a bitch
EILEEN She…doesn’t let you see him?
CLAY No
It didn’t work out her and me and
this is her way of punishing me
EILEEN That’s awful
CLAY Just want to see my kid you know
I want to spend time with him, have fun
Kick a ball, toss a frisbee
I want him to have all the things I couldn’t.
And he’s growing up fast
I’m missing out
EILEEN How old is he?
CLAY Four
He’s four
EILEEN My grandchild.
Beat.
CLAY Yes
Beat.
Of course yes
EILEEN You were very young, when you had him
CLAY May as well have kids when you’re young
That way you’ve got the energy
EILEEN I was old
Thirty-five
That’s not old now but back then
Everyone used to ask us, when are you going to get on with it?
I wasn’t that keen at first
I hope you don’t mind me saying that
CLAY No
EILEEN Me and Ray we were happy you see just us
Us two.
But we thought we ought to think about it
And Ray said he might regret it if we didn’t
and everyone else we knew was doing it so
Pause.
I don’t know why I hesitated why I
Cause once you were born nothing else mattered.
Pause.
CLAY I’ve got to go back to the states for a hearing next month
EILEEN Next month?
CLAY Yeah
She’s got some hard-assed lawyer
Mine’s a dope
EILEEN I hope I get to meet him one day?
&
nbsp; CLAY Who the lawyer?
EILEEN No your son my
CLAY Yes, I know
I was kidding
I hope you get to meet him too.
Pause.
EILEEN Before you came here
Before you found us
You had another life
I keep forgetting that
Pause.
I know nothing about you
CLAY You know I’m your son
EILEEN Of course but… I don’t know details
How you’ve lived your life, who your friends are or
You haven’t talked about these things
CLAY I don’t want to
EILEEN But I’ve got to have something, do you understand?
CLAY Why?
I’m here now, isn’t that all that matters?
Pause.
EILEEN Every night, before I’d fall asleep, I’d go through a different scenario.
Today Patrick lives in a beach house in Florida
Tomorrow an apartment in New York
A boat on the Mississippi
A loft in Seattle
I’d picture you in every city I’d seen on television.
I’d watch the news
The bigger the event the better
If there was a flood, an earthquake, the Oscars
Anything with a crowd I’d be there
eyes right up
searching the background
looking for you.
Beat.
Remember the millennium celebrations?
Clay nods.
Well I stayed up til five in the morning waiting for Washington
Who’s that guy in the red jacket?
Or that boy there with the party hat and the happy face?
When those reports came in on September the eleventh I stayed up for three days.
I taped it on video
Every member of the crowd paused and pawed over
Every fireman checked out and ticked off
I peered over the shoulder of a woman crying for her dead husband because
that might be you in the blue jumper covered in dust, surviving
But now you’re here
All flesh and blood and I don’t need to imagine anymore
You can tell me what’s real and what’s not.
You can tell me what happened
Silence, Clay looks straight out front or puts his head in his hands.
You’ll have to tell them
They’ll want to know everything
What school you went to what job you had
Did you even go to school?
You see I don’t know
But they’ll want to know it all, in detail, it’s expected
and they won’t be afraid to ask.
CLAY I wasn’t very good at school
EILEEN So, he
did…put you through school then he
CLAY Yes.
But I preferred the holidays
I’d hang out
Climb trees
Smoke
Skinny-dip in the lake
Beat.
You know one summer, me and a friend, this girl, we went fishin’ practically every day
EILEEN You weren’t bored?
CLAY Bored?
What?
Fishin’?
Shit no I loved it
EILEEN Ray tried to take you fishing once