by David Hare
Amy Without interruption.
Esme Amy, I hope I’ve always done that.
Esme looks reproachful.
Amy The truth is … my relationship with Dominic has been pretty fragile. It’s volatile, is that the word? He can be bad-tempered. He suffers from depression quite badly. At times he … well, he’s like … he’s a victim of moods.
Esme is silent, her disapproval clear.
So the point is, I thought, this is really tricky. Do I just go to him and tell him outright? No, that’s going to shock him. And also … I know for a fact he will say to me … look, will I get rid of it?
Esme Amy …
Amy And for me, there’s no question of that. So, all right. It’s like solving a puzzle. I want to keep the baby and I want to keep Dominic as well. So I must work out a way of telling him so he doesn’t feel pressured, so he doesn’t feel, ‘Oh God this is just what I feared …’
Esme is becoming restless.
He said … he has said from the start he wasn’t ready for children …
Esme Oh really!
Amy Mother!
Esme All right …
Amy He said this. From the very first day. The point is, I made him a promise. No children. He said: ‘Whatever else, I can’t face starting a family …’
She stops a moment.
So you must see that does make things difficult now.
But Esme cannot stay quiet.
Esme What was this? Some sort of contract?
Amy Mum …
Esme Some sort of written agreement which he had you sign?
Amy No.
Esme Without any allowance for what might actually happen?
Amy Mother, you promised!
Esme Yes. I promised to give you a hearing. Not to let you throw away your whole life!
Esme stubs out her cigarette and gets up.
This stuff: no children! It’s abstract! It’s all in the abstract!
Amy I know.
Esme But something has happened. It’s actually happened. An event which changes all that. You are actually having the baby. Whether he likes it or not, the baby exists.
Amy Yes, of course. So?
Esme So, I’d have thought it was obvious, the sooner you face him, the sooner you tell him …
Amy No. That’s where you’re wrong. Because I just know – I can feel in my stomach – it’s going to seem like it’s blackmail.
Esme Oh come now!
Amy For him it’ll be like I’m springing a trap.
Amy suddenly raises her voice.
It’s everything he’s feared! I know him. You don’t. I tell him now and at once he’s going to feel cornered …
Esme That is ridiculous! What kind of man is this?
Amy And when Dominic feels cornered, I tell you, I’ve seen him, he turns just incredibly stubborn and ugly …
Esme Well then, you’ve answered my question.
Amy Mother, I’m sorry, but I’m very clear about this.
Amy is reluctant, not wanting to go on.
The fact is, you know, I’d not wanted to tell you … the girl from Cambridge … the one who was with him before … the point is she also … she also got pregnant.
Esme Ah. Now I see what you’re telling me.
Esme has stopped as if at last seeing to the heart of Amy’s problems.
And I suppose we can guess what happened to her.
Amy shifts uncomfortably.
Amy Oh look, I mean it’s not … it wasn’t immediate. It wasn’t like ‘She’s pregnant, I’m off …’
Esme No?
Amy But it’s true. He stopped her having the baby. Then he told me things did start to sour between them. And, pretty soon after, he felt that he’d had enough.
Esme looks hard at Amy.
Esme But Amy …
Amy I know …
Esme You do have to ask yourself …
Amy I know, Mother. I know what you’re going to say. But the answer is: yes. He is the right man for me. I know this. I know it profoundly. In a way which is way beyond anything.
Esme is silenced by Amy’s conviction.
So it’s just a question of what I do now.
Esme sits down quietly at the table.
That’s why I came to you and asked for the money. The money will mean I can be by myself. That means … well, if I have to, I can bring up the baby alone. Of course I will tell him. I’ll tell him eventually. After some months. But what I will not do is bully him into some sort of disastrous alliance – out of sheer circumstance – when the point is, it’s not what he wants.
Esme And what you want, does that count for nothing?
Amy Yes, of course it’s important. I promise you, I’ve thought this thing through. I charge in, I frighten him. Where does that get me? All that happens is, I destroy the whole thing.
Amy reaches across and takes Esme’s hand.
You always said I was the rational one in the family. I was blessed with certainty, that’s what you said.
Esme Yes, I did.
Amy So please, you must trust me. It’s a matter of timing. And the timing is something which I must decide.
Dominic appears at the door. He has a pad of paper on which he has been writing.
Dominic Oh I see. Lord, you’re still talking …
Amy Dominic, my goodness …
Dominic Have I butted in?
Amy No. Not at all. Not in the slightest.
Amy looks nervously to Esme. Dominic is aware of the atmosphere.
We were just chatting. Discussing old times.
Dominic I realised I can’t find the books that I needed. Do you know if they’re in your case?
Amy Oh sure. Let me get them.
Dominic No, don’t be silly.
Amy No really, I know where they are.
Dominic If you’re sure.
Amy It won’t take two seconds. All right, then, Mother? I’ll be back in a sec.
Amy squeezes her hand, then goes out. Esme doesn’t move. The wine is unopened in front of her. Dominic starts to look round the room.
Dominic It’s nice here.
Esme I’m sorry?
Dominic The house.
Esme Oh …
Dominic It’s beautiful. The pictures. Your husband did these? What is it, this one? Oil on canvas?
He is looking closely at one of the oils.
The crosshatch technique. Is that what it’s called? Eggshell. Amy told me he was an artist. I like the style very much. What is it called?
Esme ‘Called’?
Dominic What school was he part of?
Esme What school?
Dominic What movement?
Esme I suppose he gets lumped as an English impressionist. At least, when they auction him that’s what he’s called. But Bernard didn’t call himself anything.
Dominic Oh really?
Esme No. I don’t know to explain this, but it’s simply not how he thought.
Amy appears, with a couple of film reference books under her arm. She looks to see nothing untoward has occurred.
Amy Here we are.
Dominic Oh thanks.
Amy I’ll come up with you. You don’t mind if I read?
Dominic No.
Amy I’ll say goodnight then.
She leans down to Esme and kisses her.
Amy Mother, goodnight.
Esme gets up and moves towards the door.
Esme Dominic, my daughter has something to tell you. In my view, it’s essential she speaks to you tonight. So I’m leaving you here and I’m going to bed.
She stops for a split second at the door.
She’s pregnant.
She goes out. It has all happened so quickly that Amy is lost for a response. Then she runs out into the corridor where we can see her calling upstairs.
Amy Why did you tell him? Mum, what the hell’s going on?
End of Act One.
Act Two
The same. Six years later. It is
a Saturday afternoon in late July. The year is 1985. It is towards the end of a perfect summer day. Benign sunshine is flooding into the room from the windows and from the greenhouse and veranda at the back. Although so much time has gone by, the room appears identical.
Esme comes through the door, wearing a slightly ostentatious satin outfit with a floral motif, and a rather extravagant hat. She is carrying gloves, a bag and a huge bundle of flowers. Although now fifty-five, she is also little changed. Amy is immediately behind her, once more in jeans and a simple shirt. She is only twenty-nine, but motherhood and the passage of her twenties has made a mark on her. She is more confident but her hair is tied more austerely, and there is a wariness, a sense of strain.
Both of the women are in exceptionally high spirits, an ordeal behind them. As at the beginning of the first act, the action is already in train as the lights come up.
Esme Let me take off this hat.
Amy Oh, the hat was just crazy.
Esme Oh, flowers! What flowers!
Esme puts the flowers down on the table to take off her hat. The room is muggy with the day’s heat, so Amy goes to open the greenhouse doors.
I knew from the start the hat was de trop.
Amy Well, it was. People could hardly see past it. All they could see was this enormous saucer on top of your head. Bright green. Even your face looked iridescent.
Esme Well, thank you.
Amy kisses Esme.
Amy Nobody can say you don’t give it a go.
Esme But I carried the gloves, did you notice? I never put them on. That was the clever touch.
Amy I should hope not. Who are you? The bloody Queen Mother?
Esme No. Just auditioning.
They both smile at the truth of this.
Did you see Evelyn?
Amy It’s all right. She’s sleeping.
Esme Well, come on, then, Frank, are you going to come in?
Frank Oh, thank you.
Frank Oddie is hanging around the doorway, but now comes in. In his early fifties, he looks easygoing and amiable in his shirtsleeves, tie and flannels. He carries his jacket. His manner is a touch apologetic, as if out of his natural habitat. Esme passes him as she goes out to hang up her hat and kick off her shoes.
Esme (from the hall) Did we lose Dominic?
Amy He’s taking care of the children.
Esme For once.
Frank, in the middle of the room, loudly addresses no one in particular.
Frank Oh God, all that lemonade!
Amy I told him he had to. For once he’s bloody well got to.
Esme I just hope he wasn’t too bored.
Esme has come back barefoot and is unwrapping the flowers on the table.
I couldn’t tell behind those dark glasses.
Frank Now can we drink something serious?
Esme He has wonderful dark glasses.
Amy Oh yes.
Amy, still opening doors, laughs, while Frank holds up some whisky he has found.
And what’s more, they never come off.
Frank Anyone?
Amy Not even at night.
Esme throws a caustic look towards Frank.
Esme It’s all right. I’ve already warned Amy.
Frank What, that your nearest neighbour’s a soak? I admit I have been drinking a lot. I know. But there you are. I know.
He holds up his hands as if defending himself against an unseen critic.
Esme No one’s worried!
Frank My life has been simply unspeakable. I’m allowed the consolations of drink.
Esme Mmm.
She goes out to the kitchen.
Frank At least at the weekend. I drink more at the weekend. And today after all was a very special day. And you did wonderfully.
Esme (off) Thank you.
Frank (to Amy) Didn’t she do wonderfully?
Esme reappears now, carrying two vases.
Esme Almost fifty-five and opening my very first fête. ‘Our thanks to the people of Pangbourne …’
Amy Oh God!
Esme happily sets about arranging her flowers. Frank is pouring three scotches.
Esme I think now I’ve done it, I actually quite like it. It’s easier than acting. I think I might do it full time.
Frank You wouldn’t know the problems I had persuading her …
Esme I wasn’t sure I was right for the role.
Amy has now aired the room and joins her mother, fetching scissors for the flowers’ stems and handing them to her, one by one.
Frank But you pulled it off brilliantly.
Amy Perhaps just a touch of hauteur. The famous actress, among us, briefly, just briefly …
Esme Well, I had no intention of loitering.
Frank Among us, and then she was gone!
He hands Esme a whisky.
Esme Thank you. I was touched. I hadn’t expected it. The fruit, the vegetables, all the little cakes. These people who turn out and sit at their stalls. All those ridiculous pickles. And those incredible wines!
Amy Did you try them?
Esme I did. That disgusting elderberry. And something – what was it? – parsnip cordial, or something like that.
Amy Rows and rows of jam. Jam coming out of their ears.
Esme Yes I know. And you look at the flowers, the trestles, the tents and you think: just what is this? What is this occasion?
Frank What is it? What do you mean, what is it?
Esme I mean, you do wonder: is anyone fooled?
Esme has filled one vase and is deciding where to put it. Dominic has come downstairs. Now twenty-eight, he looks tidier, more prosperous, at ease in his fashionably casual clothes, and still wearing dark glasses. He is already speaking as he comes in with books in his hand.
Dominic Ah, there you are, Esme …
Esme Oh Dominic …
She laughs and accelerates across the room to avoid him.
Oh God …
Frank Fooled?
Dominic At last, now I’ve found you!
Esme Oh Lord, I’ve been dreading it.
Dominic There’s no reason we shouldn’t do it right now.
Frank What do you mean, fooled?
Frank is standing in the middle of the room, but they all ignore him.
Esme Can’t you see I’m exhausted?
Amy What have you done with the children?
Dominic Don’t worry. They’re happy upstairs.
Amy looks tolerantly at him, then goes to the stairs to listen out for them.
Esme Dominic wants me to give him an interview, you know, for that programme of his.
Frank Oh yes. I may have seen it.
Dominic Today it’s research. It’s for filling in background.
Esme They were thrilled at the fête. They knew you were someone. They knew you were far more famous than me.
Dominic Oh come on …
But Frank can’t let go.
Frank I’m sorry, look, I know that I’m stupid …
Esme Frank isn’t stupid.
Dominic They didn’t think that.
Frank But I do have to point out: the village fête happens. It happens. By everyone’s good efforts. People work to get it ready for most of the year …
Esme I’m sure they do.
Frank It means a great deal to us all.
Esme Yes, of course.
Amy returns and touches Dominic’s arm.
Amy They seem to be quiet, it’s OK.
Dominic What’s all this about?
Frank So what are you asking when you say that you stand there and wonder if anyone’s actually fooled?
Esme has gone to work on a second vase where Amy now joins her, cutting stems.
Esme Why surely, it happens. Frank, I know that it happens. I think we can agree it takes place. And, what’s more, I admit, I found myself moved …
Frank There you are.
Esme But I’m also aware the whole thing is some sort of fiction …
Frank
A fiction?
Esme Yes. Miss Marple! Thatched cottages! Congratulations to Mr Cox on the size of his enormous courgettes! It’s Heritage England. It’s some sort of fantasy theme park, but don’t tell me it actually still makes any sense.
Frank I don’t see why not.
Esme suddenly raises her voice.
Esme Because this is a suburb!
Frank Oh I see, now I get it …
Esme It’s become a rich suburb, like any other, from where people like you, Frank, go to the City all day. You take the train to a place which enshrines your real values …
Frank Oh really now, Esme. ‘Real values’!
Esme And there you do your real work …
Frank So?
Esme So this place is not what it claims to be, this kind of organic community, rigged out with horses and jodhpurs and church choirs and such …
Dominic smiles to himself and sits down with his book at the side of the room.
Dominic Is this some sort of serious argument?
Esme I mean, why get an actress to open the proceedings unless the proceedings are kind of a fake?
Esme has dealt her coup de grâce, but Frank is ready to counter attack.
Frank You know, she says something like this every evening. I come round every evening …
Amy You do?
Frank Well, nearly every evening.
Esme He comes pretty often.
Frank All right, but be fair, we have things to discuss.
Amy What things?
Frank Well, business.
Esme Frank comes to talk business, that’s right.
Frank And always she’s saying this isn’t real countryside.
Esme It isn’t.
Frank She says that life in the country is finished.
Esme It is!
Underneath the banter, real feeling is beginning to show in Esme.
Oh yes, of course, when Bernard was born … even by the time I first came … you could still look out over Berkshire. The glittering Thames. But now … it’s basically Surbiton. But with the extra inconvenience that things are that much further apart. I walk a little bit further to Sainsbury’s. I walk a little bit further to the garden centre. But otherwise, no. I’m living in Surbiton! And it’s only the memory of what has now vanished that has me believing I still live where I did.
She sits down and lights a cigarette.
Frank But that isn’t fair. Everyone’s here in the evening. At weekends they make their life here. And they try to continue traditions which – let’s face it – have lasted for hundreds of years.