FRANNY (Amazed): Together? I didn’t know you were going to have—
DOLLY: Mom bought us lunch.
FRANNY (To Grandma): Yours, too, Grandma?
(Grandma shrugs as if to say: “What could I do?” Franny starts laughing.)
SALLY: What’s funny?
PHIL (To join in): Where’d you eat?
DOLLY (Looking at Franny): Some place called—Dempsey’s??—
SALLY (Over this, to Franny): And she went to the show, too. Little miss arranger had worked everything out.
(This gets Franny laughing again.)
She’d sent away—
FRANNY: Who paid for—?
DOLLY: Dad.
(A burst of laughter from Franny.)
But Mom’s paying him back.
SALLY: He won’t take money from her.
DOLLY (To her sister): We had seats together. Mom sat next to me. She misses us so much, Franny.
(Franny stops laughing.)
SALLY (After a quick glance at Phil; to Franny and Dolly): What that woman did to your father. You don’t treat a husband like that.
PHIL: She fell in love.
GRANDMA: I think it’s best if we don’t say a word about this to their father.
(Short pause. Franny stands, taking her plate to the counter.)
PHIL: You’re done? You haven’t eaten—
FRANNY: I’m not hungry. (Looks to Dolly)
SALLY (Eating): Your first time in New York. And you arrange tickets, lunch, a meeting with— We’re going to have to watch her, Franny. She’s sneaky. (To Phil) Think of the position she put Grandma in. What could she be thinking?
PHIL (Eating): That she wants to see her mother. That’s all she’s—
SALLY: That woman’s a whore.
(Dolly gets up and takes her plate to the counter, joining her sister.)
(To Grandma) And I’m serious, you’re really going to have to keep an eye on Dolly. If this is how— Lying to us. Stealing—
PHIL: What did she—? (“steal”)
SALLY: Money for the theatre tickets, from her father . . .
DOLLY (To Sally): Mom’s paying that back.
SALLY (Continuing): . . . money for a trip that was supposed to be about—something else. I know we’re not that much older than those two, Grandma, but that only means we (Phil and I) remember what it’s like. At their age. So there are problems, but you have to control yourself. That’s what growing up means, girls. (Back to Grandma) Aren’t I right? (Grandma hesitates, then nods) This is for your benefit, girls, please. I’m not trying to be mean. (To Phil) Am I?
PHIL: No.
(Sally reaches over and touches Phil’s hand. He eats. To Grandma:)
I remember sitting with their (Franny and Dolly’s) father—he took me into his study—after their mother had left. I felt sort of flattered that he chose me, though maybe he was talking to anyone. (Laughs) But I was flattered. And all he talked about was how much he loved those two girls.
(Grandma nods.)
How they’re his life. His two daughters.
SALLY (To Phil): I don’t think he talked to everyone. I think he chose you. Just like my father chooses to confide in you. (To Grandma, explaining) When we visit? You raised two great sons, Grandma. How did you do it?
GRANDMA: Luck, I suppose— (Laughs to herself)
SALLY: What?! (Looks to Phil, then back to Grandma) Tell us what’s funny.
GRANDMA: Those two boys always weren’t so good.
SALLY (A little too excited): My father?!! Oh!!
(She laughs, then suddenly turns to Franny and Dolly at the counter:)
Listen to this, girls. Grandma’s going to tell us about our fathers—when they were boys.
(Franny and Dolly don’t move.)
GRANDMA: They were—wild boys.
(Big whooping laugh and clap of the hands from Sally. Smile from Phil.)
Now they’re—the two most straightlaced men you’d find—anywhere.
(Franny and Dolly certainly agree with this.)
But—
SALLY: Didn’t they fight a lot as boys?
(Clearly Sally has heard these stories before.)
GRANDMA: Fight? They were at each other’s throats.
(Laughter from Sally.)
I remember—
SALLY (Excited, to Phil): Here comes a Grandma story. (Touches Phil’s hand again)
GRANDMA (To Phil and Sally, sincerely): You are such a wonderful couple. (Quickly continuing) When Edward won that red bicycle in the grocery store contest. Robert was beside himself.
(Sally looks back to the girls on “Robert.” Clearly Robert is the girls’ father.)
“Thou shalt not covet thy brother’s bike.” Isn’t that one of the ten commandments?
(Laughter. Grandma obviously isn’t that funny, but she’s getting a great response from Sally. Lights begin to fade. Franny and Dolly remain at a distance, stone-faced.)
Anyway—he “borrowed” it— And there he is riding his brother’s bike, coming down a gravel hill, and he tries to turn— I can still see Edward’s face. I’ve never seen something that red . . .
(Franny and Dolly watch from a distance.)
SCENE 6
Later that night. Jazz music is heard coming from the window. It will play throughout the scene. The room is mostly dark, only a single light is on. Franny and Dolly are alone together. Dolly is holding a letter. Franny sips a beer.
DOLLY: She’s so beautiful. I guess I forgot that. After two years you forget. When I was nearly at the perfume counter—
FRANNY: Dragging Grandma.
DOLLY (Smiles): Yeah. And she came around—
FRANNY (Trying not to sound interested): What was she wearing?
DOLLY: Dark blue dress, with a white print. With straps, little cape. The dress went right below the knee. A funny, wonderful little hat, she wore angled. Mom can wear things that other people . . . Gloves.
FRANNY: White?
(Beat. Dolly shakes her head.)
Dark blue?
(Dolly nods.)
DOLLY: You going to open it? (The letter)
(Franny ignores her.)
She didn’t seem—
FRANNY (Interrupting): What?
DOLLY: I mean after what we’d been told— She seemed to— She started crying, Franny. She started . . .
FRANNY: Mom cries easily.
DOLLY: Does she?
(Beat.)
FRANNY: Yeah. It means nothing.
DOLLY: I thought Grandma was going to have a heart attack.
(Franny smiles.)
I think it took her half an hour before she realized that I’d . . . You know—
FRANNY: That you hadn’t just run into—
DOLLY: Yeah.
(They both laugh, then silence.)
Open it. It’s to you.
(Franny hesitates, then takes the letter and opens it. Finds a photo, looks, then has to close her eyes—the emotion is too great.)
How old are you there?
FRANNY (Suddenly): You know I don’t believe a word she says. And you shouldn’t either. She’s only going to hurt you. If she had wanted to see us—
DOLLY: She said she’s tried. She’s had a lawyer try. She’s even called
Father and begged—
FRANNY: I can’t imagine Mother begging for anything. Certainly not for us. (Starts to put the picture and the unread letter back in the envelope) This was a mistake Dolly—
DOLLY: She asked why we didn’t answer any of her letters.
FRANNY: What letters?
DOLLY: She’s written tons of letters—to both of us, she said.
FRANNY: And you believe her?! Oh Dolly!
(Short pause.)
DOLLY (Picking up the Playbill of My Fair Lady): I can’t even remember the show. As soon as the lights went down, I guess so Grandma couldn’t see or do anything to stop us, Mom reached over and took my hand and held it in hers.
(She hands Franny the Pla
ybill. Franny looks through it.)
Then she pulled it to her, and pressed it against her chest. Then she kissed it. I put my head against her shoulder. She stroked my head. She touched my cheek. I looked up at her. We cried through the whole play. (Beat) At the intermission, Mom went outside to smoke a cigarette. Grandma tried to buy me some candy, but I just followed Mom. Grandma said something about how: “You haven’t given up that awful habit, have you, Jennifer?” The cigarettes.
(Franny nods. She understands.)
Grandma wanted me to go inside with her, but I wouldn’t. Then Mom snapped open her purse—I remember the purse—with thin gold stripes and a gold band—
FRANNY: I don’t remember the purses. (Tries to laugh)
DOLLY: And took out a photo. And said here, Dolly, this is “my man.” (Short pause) That’s what she said, called him—“my man.” Grandma made this awful sound and sort of ran away—for an instant, ’cause she was back in a second, but not before I had a chance to look . . . Back inside, she slipped it into my hand, and I hid it in my program.
(Franny realizing, shoves the Playbill back at her. Dolly opens it and takes out the photo of their mother’s lover.)
Here he is.
FRANNY: I don’t want to see—
DOLLY: Look, Franny.
FRANNY (Erupts): I don’t want to see—“her man!” Get it away from me!
(She pushes the photo away. Hallway door opens and Sally enters, having used the bathroom.)
SALLY: I’m done. Thank God I sneaked in there before Franny, or—(Smiles) But I learned my lesson there.
(Franny ignores her, so she smiles at Dolly as if it was Dolly she’d been speaking to.)
DOLLY (To say something): Think what I go through at home.
SALLY: You must have the patience of a saint.
DOLLY: Thank you. I think I do.
(Sally moves toward her bedroom.)
FRANNY (To Sally): Can I go down to that— (“jazz”)
SALLY: No. The night’s over for you, young lady. And for all of us as soon as Grandma and Phil get back from their walk. It’s . . . (Starts to look for the time, then:) And besides, I’d have thought after your day, you’d be very very tired. (Forces a smile. Then half to herself as she heads for the bedroom) When I was seventeen, I didn’t even know what a diaphragm was!
(Sally goes into her bedroom.)
DOLLY: She knows about— Father called—
FRANNY: I heard—
DOLLY (Over this): They’d found a letter, about how you were going to meet—
FRANNY: So what? Does Grandma know—?
DOLLY: I don’t think she told her—
FRANNY: I don’t care what they think. They’re idiots. They are complete phonies. (Beat) And so is Mom.
DOLLY: That’s not true.
FRANNY: How did she know about my dia—? (Seeing Dolly’s guilty face) Forget it. (To herself, mumbling) Father and his bitch. (Suddenly, hits the chair or sofa) Shit!
(Beat.)
DOLLY: And Mom is not a phony.
FRANNY: Believe what you want.
DOLLY: And by the way—she did say that she’d seen me in the play.
FRANNY: What??
DOLLY: The play I was in. She saw it.
FRANNY: No she didn’t. She didn’t even know about you being in the—
DOLLY: I told her about it. I called her and—
FRANNY: You called her? Mom? When? You didn’t have her number—
DOLLY: I had gotten it out of Dad’s desk. There’s a—divorce file. You know Father, he’s so— (“organized”). I knew it was there. And I found it and I called her and I told her because I thought she’d really really want to know that I got the part of the young girl in Our Hearts Were Young and Gay. I thought she’d really want to know about my costume. Because she always made our costumes with us for Halloween. So . . .
(Franny just watches her sister, who is close to tears.)
And she couldn’t wait to see me in the play, she said. I didn’t ask her, I didn’t make her, it’s just what she said. (Beat) And then she wasn’t there.
FRANNY (Smiles): Yeah.
DOLLY: But she did come. And she asked me if I liked her flowers. I never got any flowers. Did I?
FRANNY: I don’t remember any. What do you mean Mom was there?
DOLLY: Remember the little boy playing the steward on the ship? And how he came on stage all proud and was supposed to be saying: “All ashore who’s going ashore!” but instead shouted: “All aboard who’s going ashore.” And then cried? (Beat) Mom said that was her favorite part. I hadn’t said anything about it, she told me . . . Her favorite—except of course for me. (Smiles. Short pause) How could she have known—?
FRANNY: Father probably told—
DOLLY: They don’t talk!
FRANNY: You believe her?
(Dolly nods.)
That she was there?
DOLLY: In the back, so Father—
FRANNY: So no one could see— (Stops herself) You never got any flowers. They were probably never sent—
DOLLY: When we left today—and we were hugging. Again I thought Grandma was going to die, but . . . We’re hugging and she says how much she loves me. And you. And then she said . . .
(Franny waits and listens.)
—her last words today were— She said: “Don’t trust your father.”
(Pause. The jazz plays in the distance.)
How was your afternoon?
FRANNY: Great. We pretty much wore out my diaphragm.
DOLLY: Is that what happens? They wear out?
(Sally enters in a robe, and goes to the couch to read a magazine. She turns on a lamp, then suddenly realizes.)
SALLY: Oh I know what you two have been doing.
FRANNY: What?
SALLY: You little snoops.
DOLLY: What are you talking about?
SALLY: You’ve had the lights out.
(They look at her, confused.)
So you can spy on . . . (Nods toward the window)
FRANNY: At what?
SALLY: Aren’t they there? (Looks out the window) Across the street. One floor higher. They often “forget” to close their shades. (Looks at the girls. A statement) You haven’t seen them. So what have you been looking at?
DOLLY: We haven’t been looking at—
FRANNY (Same time): What is she talking about?
SALLY: A couple. About Phil’s and my age. They walk around—without—anything. Right past the window. One, then the other. Sometimes one’ll run past, then he’ll hurry behind her. Then you don’t see them for a while. (Looking) I figure off to the left—that’s their bedroom. They have a bathroom, I think. And to get to that they must have to pass . . . (Beat, looking out) That’s the—study or whatever. They’ve got a TV. You see the blue light sometimes. I’ve seen him sit—there’s a chair. When he sits you can see his arm. Sometimes I think she sits with him or—on him. All you see is his arm, and her, like— (Gestures). You sort of imagine what they’re doing. (Beat) Maybe they’re just watching TV. Maybe they’re talking politics. (Smiles) But that’s not what it looks like—with the arms. Once his arm was like— (Turns her back to them), and hers—turned the other way (Facing the girls), and it’s—lower, so she’s, and at a certain moment, they held hands . . . (Beat) You two probably don’t understand, but you will when—
FRANNY: You’re imagining that she’s sucking him off.
(Short pause.)
SALLY: That’s correct. (Looks at Franny) Don’t think you can shock me. You can shock your grandmother. You can shock your father, but I see right through you. I see who you are—and who you think you are. And there’s a real big discrepancy, my dear. (Pause. Looks out the window. Smiles to herself) Sometimes, I think they look at us. We often—forget to close the curtain. And we walk around—Philip and me, like . . . I don’t know when I’ve last worn pajamas or a nightgown. And Philip of course wears nothing. (To Franny) I’m sorry if this—
FRANNY: If
this what??!!
SALLY: I mean—you two are just kids. (Smiles. Notices the beer on the floor next to Franny) Is that a beer you have? Did Philip give you that?
FRANNY: I took it myself.
(Sally nods, thinking.)
SALLY: I remember when I was your age, sneaking my first drink—
FRANNY: It’s not my first—
SALLY (Over this, to Dolly): Swallowing it really fast I thought I was so neat. So grown-up. I wasn’t going to listen to what anyone said, I felt I could do what I wanted. Then the room started spinning, and then there was my father holding my head over the toilet bowl as I barfed up my guts. (Laughs) It’s not easy growing up. I know. Believe me, Franny, I know all about it. I’ve been there. (There is nothing to say. Finally she looks toward the door) How long are Grandma and Phil going to be out?
(No response.)
I think I’ll read in our bedroom. (Picks up her magazine) Goodnight, Dolly. (Looks to Franny, but decides not to get too close) Goodnight Fran. I mean—“Franny.” That’s so cute. (Goes into her bedroom)
FRANNY: What a cow.
DOLLY: She’s OK. She’s gone through a lot.
(Franny picks up her beer and takes a sip.)
FRANNY: Want some?
(Dolly nods. She takes a sip.)
Want your own?
(Dolly nods. Franny goes to the refrigerator, takes out another beer, opens it, hands it to Dolly and lights a cigarette. Then:)
I hate her guts.
DOLLY (Picking up Franny’s letter): You going to read this?
(Franny ignores her, then looks out the window.)
FRANNY: Someone’s turned on the lights over there.
DOLLY: You know she (Sally) told Grandma and me this incredible dream she had. This morning when you were in the bathroom, she told us about what she dreamed last night?
(Franny just nods and continues to watch out the window, sipping her beer and smoking. Jazz plays off.)
She dreamed she’d just moved into a new town. Her family had moved— She was a kid, and they had a dog which they brought with them? And as soon as they moved in, the dog died. (Beat) And her father—I think he says something like, let’s not take it to the vet, that’s just a waste of money. So she’s given the job to bury the dog. But then a neighbor, a new neighbor, because they just moved in and didn’t know anybody yet, says that if she buries it, it’ll only smell up the place, so he says she should cremate it. “What’s cremate?” she asks.
Goodnight Children Everywhere and Other Plays Page 35