by David Mamet
(He prepares to mount her.)
No, wait!
Wait.
I can't see!
No. Wait. (She fights the shell down and maneuvers a little way away from him.)
(Pause.)
I'll go inside. I'll get some stuff.
(Pause.)
Do you want me to go get some stuff? (Pause.)
NICK (of rainwear): This shit is all mildewed.
RUTH: Do you want me to go in and get some stuff?
NICK (to self): How can you wear this?
RUTH: I'll go right in and get it.
(Pause.)
I'll get the stuff.
NICK: No.
RUTH: I will.
NICK: No.
RUTH: Are you sure?
(Pause.)
NICK: Where's the bottle?
RUTH: I don't know. (She looks for bottle.)
NICK: Do you know, there's nothing to do here.
RUTH: Well, that isn't my fault, Nicky.
NICK: I didn't say it was your fault.
RUTH: Yes. You did. There's lots to do here.
We could walk around. I walked around.
There's lots to do. You said that you liked thunderstorms. There's lots of things to do. Don't tell me that.
(Pause.)
You're mad because I wasn't wet.
NICK: No. I'm not.
RUTH: You are. You pushed me, though.
NICK: I ‘m sorry.
RUTH (to self): Yeah.
NICK: I ‘m sorry.
(Pause.)
RUTH: You can't, just because you know, just because you want something. . . . There is a way things are.
NICK: Mmm.
RUTH: You know?
NICK: No. What in the world are you talking about?
RUTH: That you're mad ‘cause I wasn't wet.
NICK: That isn't true.
RUTH: You think that means I do not want you.
NICK: No.
RUTH: You do.
NICK: I know that it doesn't mean that.
RUTH: No, you don't.
NICK: I do.
RUTH: Yeah?
NICK: I know that you want me.
RUTH: I do want you.
NICK: I know that.
RUTH: But you just can't push me around.
NICK: I know.
RUTH: You don't. You're all inside this thing you're in. A shell, or something. You can't see. This is no good. No. If you come up here with me, that means you are . . .
(Pause.)
NICK: What?
RUTH: What? Nothing.
NICK: What did you say?
(Pause.)
RUTH: I didn't.
NICK: Yes, you did. What did you say? (Pause.) You tell me what you said.
RUTH: I said—I said—that when you come up here that means you are committed.
NICK: Oh.
RUTH: Yes. If you are a man. Because I am your guest.
NICK (to self): If I‘m a man.
RUTH: And you know how I want you, so don't tell me you're mad that I'm not wet. Don't tell me that. But you, you do not treat me with respect.
NICK: Will you shut up one second, please?
(Pause.)
You talk too much, Ruth.
RUTH: I don't.
NICK: Why don't you take your walk?
RUTH: Why don't you?
(Pause.)
I'll shut up, you want me to shut up?
I'll shut up. (Pause. Of oar:) Why is this all burnt?
NICK: I used to use it in the Winters when I stirred the fire up.
RUTH: When you would come up here.
(Pause.)
NICK: Yes.
RUTH: When you would come up here with other people.
(Pause.)
NICK: Yes.
RUTH: Oh.
(Pause.)
You frightened me.
NICK: I ‘m sorry.
RUTH: I came here, and then you acted funny.
I thought that we were both in this together.
(NICK drinks.)
May I have some? (He gives her wine. Pause.)
NICK: I ‘m sorry.
RUTH: Yeah. Oh, well. That's alright. These things have to come out.
(Pause.)
NICK: I'm sorry, Ruth.
RUTH: Okay. (They sit down.)
NICK: What have you got for me?
RUTH: I have a lot of things for you. I have so many things.
You don't know. I'm not who you think I am, Nick.
(Pause.)
NICK: What is the present?
(Pause.)
I meant the present.
RUTH: I know what you mean. I am not stupid. Do you want it?
NICK: Yes.
RUTH: Are you sure?
NICK: Yes.
RUTH: Alright.
NICK: What is it?
RUTH: I am going to give it to you. (She gets up.)
NICK: Wait.
RUTH: What?
NICK: I don't know.
RUTH: What? (Pause.) You don't know what?
NICK: I don't know if I want it.
RUTH: Oh.
(Pause.)
Oh.
You are so dumb sometimes. My God.
You are so dumb.
NICK: All of this rain . . .
RUTH: Well, it's raining. That's got nothing to do, rain, with anything.
NICK: We sat out here.
RUTH (to self): We're sitting out here now . . .
NICK: And read.
RUTH: You read books.
NICK: Or told stories. We came up here with our friends.
(Pause.)
RUTH: Are you lonely?
NICK: I would look up at the stars.
RUTH: Uh-huh. (Pause.) Are you lonely?
NICK: I don't know.
(Pause.)
RUTH: Do you want me to go home?
NICK: I don't know.
(Pause.)
RUTH: Why can't you sleep?
NICK: I don't know.
RUTH: Yes. You do. What is it?
NICK: Nothing.
RUTH: Yes, it is. (Pause.) Tell me.
NICK: No, it's not anything. I'm sorry . . .
Come here . . .
RUTH: Are you mad at me?
NICK: No.
RUTH: Do you want to go in?
NICK: No.
(Pause.)
RUTH: What do you want?
(Pause.)
Come on, we'll go inside.
NICK: Why?
RUTH: I don't know. We'll make a sandwich.
NICK: Why?
RUTH: Because if you were hungry.
NICK: Well, I'm not.
RUTH: Okay. Okay. We have to talk.
I have to talk to you. (Pause.)
Gimme some.
NICK: You're drunk.
RUTH: I am not. Gimme some. (He gives her some wine.)
Alright. Siddown. Look: Are you cold?
NICK: Yes.
RUTH: Alright, then. Look. You stay here.
I am going to get you something.
Stay here. (She goes inside, and comes out and hands him a package.) This is for you.
(Pause.)
NICK: What is it?
RUTH: Just open it. (Pause.)
Open it, and then we'll talk.
(He opens it. He takes out a bracelet. He examines it.)
NICK: It's very nice. (Pause. He continues to examine the bracelet.) Is it gold?
(Pause.)
RUTH: Read it.
NICK: “Nicholas. (Pause.) I will always love you. Ruth.”
(A long pause.)
RUTH: Put it on.
NICK (very softly): No.
RUTH: Then go fuck yourself. Look: You don't understand. You don't know me. You don't.
You think that I'm stupid. You do.
You think that. Don't you?
NICK: No.
RUTH: Yeah, you do. You don't know, you don't know a thing. Look. Look. Look,
Nick.
I love you. I love you so much. I just want to be with you. That's the only thing I want to do. I do not want to hurt you.
(Pause.)
Do you want to make love to me?
Nick?
Do you want to make love?
(Pause.)
NICK: No.
(Pause.)
RUTH: You don't want to make love to me?
NICK: No.
RUTH: You know that I want you, Nick. You know that.
(Pause.)
Why do you think I came up with you?
NICK: Why?
RUTH: Do you care?
NICK: Why did you come up?
RUTH: You don't know why I did? Are you dumb?
What do you mean?
(Pause.)
Caw, caw, caw, the gulls fly.
They eat fish?
NICK: I don't know.
RUTH: They either eat the fish or insects. (Pause.)
We eat fish. The fish eat seaweed.
It all dies, the things turn into shells.
(Pause.)
Or deposits. They wash up. As coral.
Maybe they make sand, or special beaches.
They decay and wash away.
(Pause.)
Then they form the islands.
(Pause.)
Nothing lasts forever.
(Pause.)
Don't make me go home.
(Pause.)
I want to live with you. Go put it on.
NICK: I know some things that you don't know.
RUTH: You know what?
NICK: Things.
RUTH: Things.
(Pause.)
You don't know anything.
(Pause.)
You don't even know what's good for you, you come up here with all those others, I don't know, and the only woman who loves you and you don't know shit. You think I'm stupid.
(Pause.)
You never had this. You're the one that's stupid.
NICK: Do you know that you demean yourself?
RUTH: I do.
NICK: Yes.
RUTH: Isn't that too bad.
NICK: It is.
RUTH: You don't have any feelings.
NICK: I have feelings.
RUTH: What are they?
(Pause.)
What are they?
You think that you have feelings.
Why do we come up here if you're so upset the whole time, that's what I would like to know.
NICK: Why?
(Pause.)
RUTH: You asked me, I am your guest up here.
You're bored or what, what am I s'posed to do, go off and drown myself somewhere?
I am your guest.
We could be many things to one another.
(Pause.)
In our friendship.
You have no idea of the possibilities.
(Pause.)
Do you know that?
NICK: Why don't you leave me alone?
(Pause.)
RUTH: I will. (Pause.) I don't like to be in places where I don't feel good.
When's the next bus?
NICK: In the morning.
RUTH: Well, I'm going to take it. So that's it.
So you can just relax. I've had enough of this. (Pause.)
Life goes on.
Drip drip.
Drip drip.
Do you feel better now?
NICK: Yes.
RUTH: Good. (Pause.) I care how you feel.
We have to learn from things. (Pause.) Do you think that?
NICK: Yes. I do.
RUTH: Yes, I do, too. (Pause.)
Many things go on.
We have to learn from them. Good. Good.
Your friend saw Martians here.
NICK: My father's friend.
RUTH: You think that there are Martians?
NICK: On Earth?
RUTH: Yes.
NICK: There might be.
RUTH: But what do you think?
NICK: I don't know, Ruth.
RUTH: Inside our ocean made of air?
NICK: I don't know, for God's sake. (He gets up.)
RUTH: What would you do if you, you know, if you came across them?
You think you'd be scared?
(Pause.)
If you saw a Martian?
Or a ghost.
Some vision?
NICK: Of what?
RUTH: I don't know.
You said that you thought they came among us.
They could do that.
They could infiltrate our people.
NICK: I am getting wet.
RUTH: Please. I have to ask you, they could monitor us.
They could send down members of their company to live here.
They would look like you and me.
(NICK gets up and starts to go in.)
Please. Wait. I'm telling you.
I ‘m telling you this story.
We would come into the kitchen, we would hang our hat up, “Hi, Babe . . . did you have a good day?”
But there wouldn't be an answer.
(Pause. NICK gets up.)
Please, please, I have to tell you this.
Because there was no one there.
(Pause.)
They played upon us.
We had been alone the whole time.
We had wanted it for so long that they came and they knew our desires.
There was no one there.
(Pause. NICK shakes his head.)
What?
NICK: You have no idea what you're saying.
RUTH: I don't.
NICK: Not at all.
(Pause.)
Not at all.
(Pause. They sit for a moment then she gets up to go in.)
Where are you going?
RUTH: In. I have to pack.
Scene 3
Morning
Ruth: It's rotten when you don't feel good. I know.
(Pause.)
Do you want some more coffee?
NICK: No.
(Pause.)
RUTH: Would you like to take a walk?
NICK: It's all wet.
RUTH: We could put our boots on.
NICK: I don't think so.
(Pause.)
RUTH (of jacket): Your Dad wore this in the War, huh?
NICK: No. I don't feel good.
RUTH: I know.
NICK: He wore another one.
RUTH: We could go down by the Point. Down there. (Of oar:) Do these things float?
NICK: Unless they're waterlogged.
RUTH: IS this one?
NICK: No. It's burnt.
RUTH: You're tired.
NICK: Yes.
RUTH: Well, later you can take a nap.
NICK: I think I will.
RUTH: If we go to take a walk, you might get tired out.
NICK: No. Please, no.
RUTH: I'm sorry.
(Pause.)
NICK: I'm not glad that you're going.
RUTH: We don't have to become morbid.
NICK: We can see each other.
RUTH: Back there?
NICK: Yes.
(Pause.)
RUTH: Nicky, Nicky, Nicky.
NICK: No?
(Pause.)
We used to have all these different animals up here.
RUTH: Uh-huh.
NICK: Blue herons. Beavers.
RUTH: I don't think that you had beavers here.
NICK: Well, we did. The herons flew along.
They flew along at sunset. I would watch them.
RUTH: Herons. They still have them?
NICK: I don't know. They fly so slowly.
And their wings touch down and make two circles.
RUTH: Mmm.
NICK: Their feet drag.
(Pause.)
We caught this raccoon one time in a milk crate.
(Pause.)
RUTH: You told me.
NICK: Yes.
(Pause.)
I'll call you up.
(Pause.)
I'll call you when you get back.
RUTH: Mm.
NICK: No?
RUTH: Come on.
NICK: What?
RUTH: You know.
NICK: What?
RUTH: Nothing changes just because you move it somewhere else.
NICK: I'll call you.
RUTH: Yeah. Don't.
(Pause.)
I'm sorry.
NICK: Alright.
RUTH: You know. It gets cold.
NICK: Mm.
RUTH: We put clothes on.
NICK: Uh-huh.
RUTH: Yes. I've got to tell you: We put on clothes, we can not make out what we look like.
(Pause.)
We make mistakes. We all get guarded.
(Pause.)
It's very lonely, and we all get desperate to be warm.
We have to find our lovers when it's warm.
We look at people and we see the things they are.
When they are on the Beach, or when they're happy.
(Pause.)
Some things that look like maybe they'd be good for us.
(Pause.)
It gets real cold up here until the fog burns off.
NICK: Mmm.
RUTH: You need insulation.
NICK: Well, we're right up on the Lake.
(Pause.)
RUTH: Yes.
(Pause.)
NICK: We had talked about it at one time.
RUTH: The thing about fish, they stay down there, it makes no difference to them.
NICK: Waves don't make a difference.
RUTH: What?
NICK: The waves don't make a difference.
(Pause.)
They're on the surface, but they don't affect the water underneath.
RUTH: They don't?
NICK: No.
RUTH: Currents, only, right?
(Pause.)
I don't know, I don't know.
Everything gets over.
(Pause.)
You know?
We all try to be very brave. What do you call it when you try not to show anything?
NICK: I don't know.
(Pause.)
RUTH: We all try to be warriors. Or pirates, something.
They all used to go to sea and rape the cabin boys. The Vikings.
(Pause.)
The worst part, maybe, is just learning little things.
The things about each other. Other people.
(Pause.)
Like if they play the piano.
Until you have taken care of them when they are sick.
The way their sweat tastes.
(Pause.)
Those are the worst things.
NICK: We could call each other up.
RUTH: Oh, you're so sorry sometimes.
NICK: I am.
RUTH: Yes.
NICK: Do you want some more coffee?
RUTH: No.
NICK: You have a hangover?
RUTH: No.
NICK: Do we have an aspirin?
RUTH: I don't know.
NICK: You hungry?
RUTH: No. Are you?
NICK: I don't know.
RUTH: I might have an aspirin in my bag.
NICK: It's all packed.