Juno's Daughters

by Lise Saffran

  Jenny: Did he?

  Lilly: Sure.

  Jenny: Are you okay?

  Lilly: Why wouldn’t I be?

  Peg: Shhhh!

  Stephano: Lead, monster, we’ll follow. I would I could see this taborer; he lays it on.

  Trinculo: Wilt come? I’ll follow Stephano. Exeunt.

  Enter Alonso, Sebastian, Antonio, Gonzalo, Adrian, Francisco, etc.

  Gonzalo: By’r lakin, I can go no further, sir. My old bones aches. Here’s a maze trod indeed through forth-rights and meanders! By your patience, I needs must rest me.

  Trinculo (To Jenny.) I was worried about the tide! Did it ruin the scene?

  Jenny: No, not at all. (Whispers.) So you talked to her?

  Trinculo: To her, with her, and now, about her.

  Jenny: What did you say, exactly?

  Peg: Jenny! You’re on in two minutes.

  Offstage, a man with a long braided beard lifts a three-foot wood tube to his mouth and begins to blow.

  Ariel: What the hell is that noise?

  Peg: Not so loud, the audience will hear you! It’s a didgeridoo. An ancient aboriginal flute made from the branch of a eucalyptus tree and hollowed out by termites.

  Caliban: I love it. It makes me want to dance naked in the moonlight.

  Ariel: Lord deliver us.

  Trinculo: It sounds like a moose. Or a plane taking off. A moose bellowing in the hold of a prop plane while it’s taking off. On gravel.

  Peg: I told Raven he could play. It’s eerie.

  Ariel: If by that you mean my ears are going Eeeeee, then I would have to agree with you.

  Alonso: What harmony is this? My good friends, hark!

  Gonzalo: Marvelous sweet music!

  Peg: Jenny! Lilly! Frankie! You’re on.

  Enter several strange Shapes, bringing in a blanket; and dance about it with gentle actions of salutations; and inviting the King, etc. to eat, they depart.

  ACT II, Scene I

  A bonfire on the beach after the play.

  Captain Jack: Who needs their brewski topped off? Got a pitcher comin’ round.

  Ferdinand: I guess I’ll try some after all. I don’t want to be a party pooper. You said the beer was homemade?

  Esme: Pretty much everything is, on Waldron.

  Winifred: Brewed with real chocolate. Twelve percent alcohol.

  Sally: I can tell. I’m seeing two Calibans. And one is enough for anybody.

  Chad: Who’s our designated driver, anyway?

  Winifred: There are no traffic cops on Waldron.

  Miranda: No clubs, either. And I always go out on opening night.

  Dale: You are out, my girl. Way out.

  Lilly: What are the cast parties like in New York?

  Miranda: Crazy. One time I was dancing with this guy to … you know that song by King Arut? Jolly Rancher?

  Lilly: (Sings.) She know I do anything that she tell me.

  Miranda and Lilly: (Together.) So I say, suck me like a Jolly Rancher.

  Peg: Girls! You’re ruining a perfectly glorious night. After a wonderful performance.

  Ferdinand: I liked the part where you told the audience to move their pillows and blankets because the tide was coming in.

  Winifred: My pants are still damp.

  Captain Jack: The lanterns were spooky at the end. That was a good touch.

  Sally: It was beautiful.

  A howl echoes toward the fire, followed by hysterical laughter and several loud thumps.

  Chad: (Calls out to the dark.) What’s going on out there, you burnouts?

  Miranda: What is that?

  Chad: Caliban and some local boys are having an excellent adventure. Jasper has some blue veil growing in bark mulch on his property.

  Miranda: Magic mushrooms? Aren’t those dangerous?

  Chad: Only to us, if they come near. Would you like to try?

  Lilly: Yes.

  Chad: I wasn’t asking you.

  Miranda: Hmmm. I don’t think so.

  Peg: Chad, you should have told me. Don’t you remember what happened to Puck that first year?

  Chad: Caliban won’t get lost here. No matter how often we tell him to.

  Peg: He better not.

  From deep within the woods comes the sound of the didgeridoo. A low moan growing high and echoing like a metal spring.

  Captain Jack: You better hope that Raven abstained or we’ll be hearing that racket all night long.

  Dale: It was great for the show tonight, though. The Spirits were wonderful also, with their bare feet on the sand.

  Peg: I’m thinking they should go shoeless from now on. Lilly, Jenny? What do you think?

  Lilly: Whatever. Sounds good.

  Peg: And the others? Spirits, speak!

  Dale: Frankie went to bed about an hour ago.

  Chad: I thought I saw Jenny here a while back.

  Lilly: Where’s Trinculo anyway? Wasn’t he here a few minutes ago?

  Dale: He might have gone to bed also. He seemed tired.

  Lilly: Don’t be ridiculous. C’mon, Miranda. Let’s go find him and take him skinny-dipping.

  Chad: (Scrambles after them.) Sounds like a plan!

  Exit.

  Sally: Well, that was a pretty good try, Dale. But Trinculo can probably look after himself.

  Dale: It’s not Trinculo I’m worried about.

  Peg: I’m not sure about that scene when the girls pretend to be dogs. I thought it worked in rehearsal, but tonight I didn’t like it at all. I think they need to be more ferocious.

  Dale: I’ll be sure and point that out to Jenny when she returns from bonking Trinculo in the woods.

  Peg: It’s none of your business whom she bonks, old man.

  Dale: Ouch.

  Ariel arrives from the house with a towel draped around his neck, his skin still damp from the shower. Followed by David, rubbing his eyes.

  Ariel: Hello, fellow tricksters. (Sits down on a log.) Ahh, the lonely ones, around the fire. The poor souls who are not getting laid.

  Captain Jack: I must’ve missed something. Who’s getting laid?

  Ariel: I’ll never tell. (Leans over and stage whispers.) Lilly.

  Ferdinand: But wait a second. Lilly …

  Dale: Hi there, David. Take a nap?

  David: Until Raven started blowing that damn horn again.

  Captain Jack: (To Ariel.) Lilly was just here by the fire.

  David: Yeah, she and Miranda just passed me on the path. (Turns to Jack.) It looked like they had one of your growlers with them, full of brew, in case you want to go get it back.

  Captain Jack: (Rises.) I doubt there’s anything left by now.

  Ariel: Well, then maybe it was Jenny sneaking off behind the boathouse. She had long black hair and was making out with Trinculo, why wasn’t I to think it was Lilly?

  David: Hand me that pitcher, Ferdinand?

  Ferdinand: Sure. I think there’s a clean cup around here somewhere, too.

  David: I don’t need a cup. (Drinks directly from the pitcher.)

  Peg: (Looks at Ariel.) Was that absolutely necessary?

  Ariel: Don’t blame me. You people are not always that easy to tell apart in broad daylight.

  Yelling and loud laughter can be heard from the beach.

  Lilly: (Sings loudly.) Scarcity and want shall shun you.

  Lilly, Miranda, and Chad: Ceres’s blessing is upon you!

  Lilly: Are you out there somewhere listening? I looooove you!

  Sally: I wonder if that means they found Trinculo?

  David: It’s more likely they found the bottom of the growler.

  Peg: (Sighs.) Actors.

  ACT II, Scene II

  In the woods near the boathouse. A lantern swings from a tree. Two people lie on a blanket, bodies entwined.

  Jenny: (Giggles.) You knocked over my beer.

  Trinculo: We knocked it over. I’m not doing this alone, am I? Are you perhaps a figment of my imagination? (Kisses her.) A spirit?


  Jenny: Oh, God.

  Trinculo: That’s what I like to hear.

  Jenny: I shouldn’t be doing this.

  Trinculo: Doing what?

  Jenny: Letting you slip off my tights, for one thing.

  Trinculo: Letting me?

  Jenny: (Raising her hips into the air.) Helping you.

  Trinculo: There you go.

  Jenny: Wait! Did you hear something?

  Trinculo: Like what?

  Jenny: An animal?

  Rustling in the trees and leaves crunching. The long low tone of the didgeridoo can be heard in the distance.

  Trinculo: No. Listen. It’s that godforsaken instrument again. Wa wa wa.

  Jenny: (Singing.) Woke up this morning with a wineglass in my hand.

  Trinculo: (Joining in.) Whose wine? What wine? Where the hell did I dine?

  Jenny and Trinculo: (Together.) Waaa waaa waaa.

  Jenny: Wait. I heard it again. Shush.

  Silence. Jenny sits up, her eyes shining wide in the reflected light of the lantern. Suddenly they are looking into the face of Caliban. He is shirtless, with wild hair and widely dilated pupils.

  Trinculo: Caliban?

  A branch snaps and Caliban disappears. Minutes later the silence is broken by the sound of yelling from on the beach.

  Jenny: That was Lilly.

  Trinculo: Are you sure?

  The yelling continues and suddenly, loud and clear, they can both hear I LOVE YOU, TRINCULO!

  Jenny: I’m sure. (Tugs her tights up past her waist.) I’m sorry. I can’t do this.

  Trinculo: No, wait. I did speak to Lilly, Jen. Just like I promised. I told her I was way too old for her. That it would never work.

  Jenny: Okay, then what did she say? You never did tell me that.

  Trinculo: She’ll get over it, Jenny. I promise.

  Jenny: What. Did. She. Say?

  Trinculo: (Drops his head to stare at the ground.) She said that guys always said that to her. At first.

  Jenny: Terrific. (Grabs her sweater from the ground and pulls it over her head.) I’m going to put my kid to bed. I’ll see you tomorrow.

  Exits.

  ACT III Scene I

  Bright morning sunlight. Jenny is lying in the Burtons’ guest bed where Frankie and Lilly were to sleep.

  Frankie: Mom. Wake up! Lilly disappeared.

  Jenny: (Groggy.) What? Did I fall asleep? What time is it?

  Frankie: Mom. This is serious. None of the search parties could find her. The grown-ups are talking about having a Community Meeting. Winifred told me to wake you up.

  Jenny: Search parties?

  Frankie: Well, me and Dale looked all over the beach. Trinculo, Ariel, and Ferdinand went through the forest, and Jim Burton and Jack hiked all the way up to Point Hammond. Even Miranda hasn’t seen her, and they’re best friends.

  Jenny: Well, she has to be somewhere, right? We’re on an island that’s only 4.5 miles around.

  Frankie: We have a ton more shows! Why would she hide? Is she mad at Peg? Or Dale?

  Jenny jumps out of bed and heads for the door, still wearing her costume from the night before. She grabs her bag on the way out.

  Jenny: Where is everybody?

  Frankie: (Runs after her.) By the fire pit.

  Ten or twelve adults are talking in a group on the beach. Children of varying sizes are running around them, playing tag or pushing each other toward the water.

  Jim: There are still a couple of houses on the east side of the island that we don’t know about. The Strohs tend to be pretty late sleepers, though, and their place was still dark. I doubt she would have ended up there, though, since they have the new baby. No one answered at the Andersons and it looked like Luke had gone out fishing early.

  Arthur: What about Marcus up near Disney Point?

  Winifred: Oh, that seems unlikely. I love Marcus, but he is a little strange.

  Jack: About Disney Point. She would know better than to go swimming around there, I hope? (Turns.) Oh, Jenny. Good. Lilly wouldn’t swim in President’s Channel or anywhere around there, would she? She knows about those currents, right?

  Jenny: (Slowly.) She knows how treacherous the currents are.

  Peg: Jenny, honey. You look like you’ve seen a ghost. This is Lilly we’re talking about, remember? She’ll turn up.

  Dale: Probably in some boy’s bed.

  Jenny takes her cell phone from her bag and begins punching buttons.

  Miranda: I’ve tried texting her about ten times already.

  Trinculo: Did anyone look on Jack’s boat yet?

  Chad: I looked. She’s not there.

  Sally: She’s not in the boathouse either.

  Ariel: Or in the bathhouse.

  Jenny: (Snaps her phone shut.) I’m going up to Disney Point.

  Frankie: Wait a second. This is a mystery and we should do what any good detective would do, which is try to discover a motive. What does Lilly want?

  Peg: Frankie, stop.

  Silence.

  Frankie: (Looking around.) What is it? What are you guys not telling me?

  Arthur: Mmm. Jen? (Clears his throat.) When you’re ready, I can walk you up there. To Disney Point. We can stop by Marcus’s place on the way, just in case.

  Jenny: I’m ready now.

  Trinculo: Me, too.

  Jenny: No. You stay here. Please. (Turns to Frankie.) And you, too. I’ve got one daughter missing, the last thing I need is to lose another one.

  Ariel has been standing outside the circle, next to a tree, watching everything.

  Ariel: I’ll come.

  Jenny: If you want to.

  Arthur: This way.

  Exit.

  At Disney Point there is a cliff, covered with shrubs and jagged stones, jutting out over the sea. Jenny,

  Ariel, and Arthur stand looking down at the water of the strait.

  Arthur: I’ll call everyone to the schoolhouse, then. For a meeting.

  Jenny: Yes.

  Ariel: You’re sure that Marcus guy doesn’t have her tied up in a back room somewhere now? He was an odd one.

  Arthur: He’s harmless. (Looks hard at Ariel.) We’re not big on judging each other, here on the island.

  Ariel: Touché. (Brushes Jenny’s arm with his fingertips.) I was just making light. I’m sure she’s fine.

  Arthur heads down the hill the way they’d come.

  Jenny: What makes you think so?

  Ariel: She’s the original survivor, that girl. Stronger than Frankie. Even stronger than you.

  Jenny: Survivors get depressed, don’t they? They get their hearts broken.

  Ariel: She didn’t do it, Jenny. She’s no Ophelia.

  Jenny: (Staring at the water.) But how do you know? How do you know which ones would and which ones wouldn’t?

  Pause.

  Ariel: Because I was one of the ones who would. Tried, in fact. More than once.

  Jenny: (Turns to him.) Really? That doesn’t seem like you.

  Ariel: It doesn’t seem like me now. (Looks back out at the sea.) The first time was when I was Frankie’s age. Washed an entire bottle of aspirin down with Tang—do you remember that stuff? Had my stomach pumped.

  Jenny: Oh, I’m so sorry.

  Ariel: You’re sorry about a whole lot of stuff, and only some of it has anything to do with you.

  Jenny: I didn’t mean …

  Ariel: It’s okay. I’m just a bitch. (Gives her a sidelong glance.) I’m not sorry about it, though.

  Jenny: (Smiles.) Well, okay then.

  Ariel: Okay.

  Jenny: Shall we head back down?

  Ariel: Yes, we ought to.

  Back at the Burtons’ a circle has formed around a young man in a knit cap, a long underwear shirt, and a pair of raggedy and patched canvas pants. He has a scruffy beard and earrings in each ear. The circle breaks open when Jenny and Ariel approach.

  Peg: Mystery solved, Jen! It was Luke Anderson. He took Lilly to San Juan early this morning on his boat.
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  Winifred: Your parents thought you had gone fishing.

  Chad: Lilly was the release, but what was the catch?

  Luke: She asked me to. Was I supposed to say no?

  Esme: You could have told someone.

  Luke: So, I’m supposed to tell someone now, every time I go fishing?

  Sally: You didn’t go fishing.

  Luke: Whatever. Anyway, it was barely even light.

  Peg: Okay, people. Thanks to Lilly, we’re about two hours behind schedule. Captain Jack has the boat ready. As soon as the first group loads up we can run them over to Orcas.

  Trinculo: Can I do anything to help?

  Dale: You’ve done enough, Tiger. Don’t you think? And been done enough, as well, I should imagine.

  Jenny: (To Luke.) You brought her into Friday Harbor? Did she say anything?

  Luke: (Glances from Jenny to the ground.) She said a whole lot of stuff.

  Jenny: I’m sure she did, knowing Lilly. But did she say she was going home?

  Luke: She said she was going to make a bold declaration.

  Jenny: A bold declaration? What does Lilly have to declare?

  Luke: Her love.

  CHAPTER 11

  Ceres Loves Trinculo

  The wind had picked up on the ride from Waldron to Orcas. When the second group arrived at the ferry terminal they found the first cupping paper coffee cups in their hands and huddling around the entrance to the Orcas Village Store. Peg got a table inside to go over her Waldron notes and Dale snapped the buckles on his guitar case open and hoisted himself, with a fair amount of huffing and puffing, onto a low stone wall that bordered the small patio and outside tables. Ferdinand and Ariel walked up the hill to look around. Chad pulled a Hacky Sack from his pocket and he and David and Sally proceeded to kick it around in the street. Each time it hit the ground they all would pause for sips from the coffee cups that they had lined up along the wall. Dale sat strumming the guitar and trying to remember the lyrics to “Wake Up Little Susie.”

  “We both fell sound asleep, wake up little Suzie and weep …”

  “Wake up, little Suuuusie, waaake up!” sang Miranda and Frankie.

  Dale frowned. “No, wait. Not yet. First it goes, it’s four o’clock something something and we’re in trouble deep …”

  Trinculo came up beside Jenny, who was standing apart from the others watching the ferry make its way across to them from Lopez.

  He inclined his head toward Dale and the girls. “They sound good together.”