by David Hare
Ingrid (voice) I thought I might be.
Donald (voice) I shan’t make it home tonight.
Ingrid (voice) I expected that.
Donald (voice) The Millers have given me a lot of paperwork, so Mona and I will need to go see them tomorrow.
Ingrid (voice) That’s great. I knew you’d be able to help her.
Donald (voice) Yes. I think I can.
Ingrid (voice) Are you at the Algonquin?
Donald (voice) Not yet. I will be.
Ingrid (voice) Good. Give my love to Mona.
Donald (voice) I’ll pass that on.
Ingrid (voice) Don’t forget. ’Bye, Donald.
Donald (voice) ’Bye.
Part Three: Ingrid
FIFTEEN
The garden at Yellow Rock Farm. There is a blaze of daffodils growing wild. Ingrid approaches with a trug. She looks at the flowers thoughtfully, then after a few moments she reaches down and, with secateurs, she neatly cuts them, with surgical precision. She lays them in the trug and moves on.
SIXTEEN
The living room at Yellow Rock Farm. The place is transformed by the change of light. Sunshine streaming in the windows, the snow long gone. Donald is reading the Torrington Citizen as Ingrid comes in at the back, carrying the trug, loaded with daffodils.
Ingrid Daffodils.
Donald Thank goodness.
Ingrid What a winter.
Donald Yes.
Ingrid Over at last.
She goes to get a vase, but continues talking.
I sometimes wonder whether they’re a domestic flower. Whether they should be cut at all.
Donald Hmm.
Ingrid My mother always said there was something sad about cut flowers. But daffodils especially.
Donald I don’t think so. They cheer the place up.
Ingrid returns with a vase, and starts filling it with flowers, cutting their stalks evenly with scissors.
Ingrid You’re enjoying Manhattan? The trips you’ve been taking?
Donald It’s not about enjoyment. It’s about work.
Ingrid Mona must be grateful.
Donald She is.
Ingrid You’ve been so often.
Donald It turned out to be more complicated than it looked.
Ingrid I’m sure you’re dealing with it.
Donald If you like you’re welcome to come with me.
Ingrid You’re going again?
Donald No choice.
Ingrid just looks at him.
Why don’t you?
Ingrid You know perfectly well.
Donald Tell me.
Ingrid I’ve never felt comfortable in the city. To be honest, I’ve never needed it.
Donald I don’t know how you can say that.
Ingrid All that agitation. It’s a substitute, isn’t it?
Donald Substitute for what?
Ingrid For life.
Donald It is life.
Ingrid Is it?
Donald Just with more intensity.
Ingrid I’m happier here.
Donald I think charity would grind to a halt altogether in Lakeville if you weren’t around.
Ingrid starts arranging the vase.
Ingrid My father had an apartment on Park Avenue, remember? He never used it. It didn’t interest him.
Donald I liked your father. I remember him saying, ‘I don’t know why I’m the surgeon in the family. It should be Ingrid. She’s more accurate.’
Ingrid That’s Daddy.
She smiles, thrilled at the remark.
Big apartment it was. You never saw it?
Donald No. He’d sold it by then.
Ingrid I was going to live there when I went to study art. That was the idea. I thought I was going to paint. But then I met you.
She is not looking at him.
Donald And do you remember what you saw in me?
Ingrid When?
Donald At the beginning?
Ingrid Why are you asking?
Donald Ingrid.
Ingrid You don’t really want me to say?
Donald Yes, I do.
Ingrid What did I see at the beginning? Same thing I see in you now.
Donald And what is that?
She looks at him a moment, then shrugs.
Ingrid I saw a man I could live with.
There’s a moment’s silence.
You asked. I’m telling you.
Donald Just that? Nothing more?
Ingrid In my book, that’s quite something.
Donald What are you saying? You mean you chose me?
Ingrid I think I did.
Donald Did I have anything to do with it?
Ingrid Do you want the honest answer?
Donald Yes.
Ingrid Not much.
Ingrid smiles.
You had a pleasing modesty. I liked that. Something about the sports jacket you were wearing.
Donald The jacket?
Ingrid As if you didn’t care what people thought of you.
Donald You chose me because I was badly dressed?
Ingrid Not at all. Because you were carelessly dressed. It’s different. It was a good sign. You weren’t calculating.
Donald And when you got to know me better?
Ingrid I knew who you were the moment I met you.
Donald That doesn’t make me sound very interesting.
Ingrid I mean it as a compliment. I’ve always been chaos-averse. Nothing you’ve done has ever surprised me.
She just looks. Donald is quietly angry.
Donald I took the bench out.
Ingrid Yes.
Donald Did you notice?
Ingrid I saw you’d done that.
Donald From the barn. I always take it out. Every spring. When the weather gets warm.
He throws a glance towards her, but she is working on the flowers, not reacting.
I’ve been meaning to ask you. About the cigarette butts. Why did you pick them up? Why did you do that?
Ingrid I thought they looked untidy down there.
Donald Untidy?
Ingrid Yes.
Donald Was that the only reason?
Ingrid They were yours, weren’t they?
Donald You know they were.
Ingrid I thought they must have been.
Donald Does anything ever escape you?
Ingrid I didn’t want Lieutenant Olsen to be distracted. He might have been misled. That’s why I picked them up.
Donald puts down the paper angrily and goes across to get a scotch.
Donald I’m going to have a drink. Do you want one?
Ingrid doesn’t answer.
Just saying, but I’m going to have to go back to New York.
Ingrid Yes you said.
Donald I’ve sorted out Mona’s finances, but now it’s her apartment.
Ingrid What about it?
Donald She wants to downsize.
Ingrid Does that make things difficult?
Donald It’s a question of probate. It’s complicated.
Ingrid carries on with the flowers.
Ingrid You haven’t forgotten Easter? The girls.
Donald I’ll be back by Easter.
Ingrid We promised them we’d go hiking, now the weather’s warmer.
Donald Good.
Ingrid It’s the girls I worry about. I want them to grow up strong and true. Like oaks. I want nothing for myself, but for Cecilia and Mildred I want everything. As far as I’m concerned, they can’t have enough. I’m not talking about money. I’m talking about a certain quality to things. Call it openness. Call it honesty.
There is a silence.
Yes, Donald. I love this part of the world. The way of life. Everything’s slipping away. And I like the idea of a place which still has value. Where I was born.
They are staring at each other now.
Donald About the cigarette butts.
Ingrid What?
Donald You picked them up, you said.
Donald You brought them in.
Ingrid That’s right.
Donald And you intended to throw them away? Funny how you didn’t.
Ingrid I forgot.
Donald Not like you.
Ingrid I was going to.
Donald But?
Ingrid But I never got round to it.
Donald You wanted me to find them, didn’t you? You wanted me to know who’d saved me.
For the first time, Donald raises his voice.
‘Call it openness! Call it honesty!’
Ingrid Sometimes I’ve noticed there’s an unkindness in you, Donald. It’s part of your make-up. But I’ll tell you something about that. If you really love someone, you love everything about them. You love them for their faults as well.
Donald Meaning?
Ingrid And because of that, you get to a point where you can’t be hurt. However hard the other person is trying, you simply can’t be hurt. Regardless.
Donald Regardless?
Ingrid Yes.
Donald Not in code, Ingrid. Tell me. Specifically.
But Ingrid just smiles.
What do you think happened that night?
Ingrid I don’t know.
Donald But you want to know?
Ingrid If I wanted to know then I’d ask.
Donald You prefer not to know because you prefer to think the worst.
Ingrid Is there a worst?
Donald You think I was derelict? You think Ray died and it’s my fault?
Ingrid I’ve never said that.
Donald No, but you quite like that, don’t you? It suits you, doesn’t it? Keeping me where I belong. Always in the wrong.
Ingrid looks at him, nodding.
Ingrid You’re like many men. You live in your own idea of life. It’s the only place you’re happy. You don’t live in life itself. It doesn’t bother me. I’ve dealt with it. So have the girls. We always will.
Donald Because you think no one else will take me? No one else wants me?
Ingrid Other people want you, I’m sure. You’re a catch. But none of them will live with you.
There is a silence. Ingrid holds up the vase.
How are the flowers?
Donald Great.
SEVENTEEN
Torrington, Connecticut. An intercom conversation in the dark.
Donald (voice) Hello. Hello.
Dodd (voice) Where are you?
Donald (voice) Where do you think, for goodness’ sake? I’m outside. It seems to be locked.
Dodd (voice) It is locked.
Donald (voice) What I’m asking: can you open it?
Dodd (voice) Are you in a car?
Donald (voice) I am. I put it in the marked space.
There is a slight silence.
Well, are you going to let me in?
EIGHTEEN
The offices of the Citizen, Torrington. Mr Dodd is leading Donald into the deserted room, which is archaic in feel: a small traditional pre-war local newspaper. Mr Dodd is in his seventies, tall, scrawny, from another age.
Dodd It’s Saturday. We’re not open.
Donald Well, it was you who asked to see me, if you remember.
Dodd Are you going somewhere?
Donald And then I have to fight to get in.
Dodd You’re in now.
Donald I have no reason to be in Torrington except to come by. It’s been a long time.
Dodd You’ve had a lot going on. I understand. You’re in good health?
He has sat down in the editor’s chair, and picked up proofs without thinking. Donald nods.
Donald You?
Dodd Oh – How old are you?
Donald Forty-five.
Dodd You’ve passed the halfway mark.
Donald Some time ago.
Dodd smiles to himself, as if satisfied.
I’m glad we’re back in touch.
Dodd Were we ever out?
Donald I was surprised when you didn’t call.
Dodd When?
Donald When you ran the story.
Dodd Oh. Had no need to.
Donald You reported it, but you didn’t call to talk to us.
Dodd Talk to you about what?
Donald I lost my best friend.
Dodd I knew that.
Donald Perhaps we could have given you some facts.
Dodd I had the facts.
Donald Not all of them.
Dodd If you say so.
Donald Well?
Dodd I didn’t want to look too closely because I wasn’t sure what I might find.
Donald Then at least to see if we were all right.
Dodd It’s your life.
Donald And what exactly do you mean by that, Dad?
Dodd is stubborn, silent.
Dodd Have you come across the county to pick a fight with me?
Donald No, I haven’t. It’s just when you say ‘It’s your life’ I’m pretty sure what you’re getting at.
Dodd (shrugs) It’s your life.
Donald You alluding to Mona?
Dodd I didn’t know she was called Mona.
Donald Then who told you I had a girlfriend?
Dodd Very few people who don’t tell me. Everyone knows. Everyone’s known for months.
Donald Have they?
Dodd All the trips you make to the city.
Donald They’re waiting at Millerton Station, are they? Checking me out? Checking me in?
Dodd They say she’s the widow of your friend Ray.
Donald They’re right.
Dodd And he died in a blizzard at your place. I have the right man, don’t I?
Donald blushes, unable to answer.
Dodd I own a newspaper. I’m at the centre of the community.
Donald What community? There is no community. A few people pleased with themselves because in 1954 they read a book. And in 1955 they went to the opera. And that makes them better than all the peasants who live to the west.
Dodd If you don’t like it here, you know what to do.
Donald I’ve lived here all my life.
Dodd Then maybe it’s time to think about moving on.
Donald And when exactly did you ever move on? At least I don’t live in a museum.
Dodd is furious, and his voice is more intense.
Dodd A man died. It’s not me who puts two and two together.
Donald Then who is it?
Dodd The entire adult population of Canaan, Lakeville and Torrington.
Donald What business is it of theirs?
Dodd That’s the very question, same question I put when people ask me. As they do.
Donald What else do they ask?
Dodd ‘Are you going to divorce? Are you going to live in New York?’
Donald I’ll tell you.
Dodd I didn’t ask you, so I don’t need the answer.
He lights his pipe and sits back.
Donald Dad, I’m beginning to think this visit may be a mistake.
Dodd I know why you’re here. You’re here because Ingrid came by.
Donald Ingrid?
Dodd Yes.
Donald Ingrid came here? She never told me.
Dodd Doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.
Donald When?
Dodd When you were away.
Donald What did she want?
Dodd And now suddenly you’re interested. Never cared about people unless you could get something from them.
Donald Tell me: did she talk about Mona?
Dodd And that’s it. That’s what you want to know.
Donald Information, Dad, that’s your trade. Not withholding it.
Dodd looks at him with contempt.
Dodd I remember the first day you brought Ingrid here. She was standing where you’re standing. Came from Litchfield. Even owned a horse. Your mother and I thought you were making a mistake. We were wrong. You can be mistaken about people, you see. Ingrid wouldn’t dream of talking abou
t whatever your woman’s called. She wouldn’t stoop to it. Not with her own father-in-law. She turned out one of the best people I ever knew.
Donald You mean, not a disappointment, like me?
Dodd I didn’t say that.
Donald Ever since Stuart died. If you want to feel adequate in life, never have an older brother who dies in the war.
Dodd I won’t hear a word against Stuart.
Donald No, exactly.
Dodd is not yielding an inch.
And your idea of goodness, Dad, it’s keeping quiet, is it? Is that what goodness is? Saying nothing? Putting up with things? Does that make you a good man?
Dodd I’ve never claimed to be good.
Donald Editing the Citizen for forty years?
Dodd Forty-six.
Donald The same newspaper. The same opinions. Do you think anyone reads your pathetic newspaper any more?
Dodd I’m getting near the end, I know that.
Donald ‘This vulgar development threatens the essential character of Torrington.’ ‘The community has expressed its view and now it’s the responsibility of its leaders to act.’ Please! Do you think anyone gives a damn? It’s over! Do you think that stuff makes sense any more? Why am I trapped? I’m trapped because my father was trapped. And my girls will be trapped after me.
Dodd I can see your affair is bringing out the worst in you.
Donald has raised his voice.
Donald It’s not an affair.
Dodd So you say.
Donald Mona’s everything I never had for forty-five years.
Dodd Your mother would not have been happy.
Donald My mother was never happy. Least of all with me.
Dodd Well then.
He shakes his head.
Ingrid didn’t talk to me. No. She sat in the chair you’re sitting in now and she said not a word. Not a word for you. Not a word against. She didn’t need to. She and I know.
Donald Know what?
Dodd Who you are.
Donald is furious.
Donald I’ve been a good husband. And most of all, I’ve been a good father.