Buried Child (8 page)

TILDEN:
What does he tell you?

SHELLY
: You mean in general?

TILDEN:
Yeah,
(TILDEN
moves around behind her.)

SHELLY:
Well, he tells me all kinds of things.

TILDEN:
Like what?

SHELLY:
I don't know! I mean I can't just come out and tell you how he feels.

TILDEN
: How come?
(TILDEN
keeps moving around her slowly in a circle.)

SHELLY:
Because it's stuff he told me privately!

TILDEN:
And you can't tell me?

SHELLY:
I don't even know you! I'm not even sure
he
knows you.

DODGE:
Tilden, go out in the kitchen and make me some coffee! Leave the girl alone. She's nervous. She's ready to jump ship any second.

SHELLY:
(To
DODGE.)
He's all right,
(TILDEN
ignores
DODGE,
keeps moving around
SHELLY.
He stares at her hair and coat.
DODGE
stares at the TV.)

TILDEN
: You mean you can't tell me anything?

SHELLY:
I can tell you some things. I mean we can have a conversation.

TILDEN:
We can?

SHELLY:
Sure. We're having a conversation right now.

TILDEN:
We are?

SHELLY:
Yes. That's what we're doing. It's easy.

TILDEN:
But there's certain things you can't tell me, right?

SHELLY:
Right.

TILDEN:
There's certain things I can't tell you either.

SHELLY
: How come?

TILDEN:
I don't know. Nobody's supposed to hear it.

SHELLY:
Well, you can tell me anything you want to.

TILDEN:
I can?

SHELLY:
Sure.

TILDEN:
It might not be very nice.

SHELLY:
That's all right. I've been around.

TILDEN:
It might be awful.

SHELLY:
Well, can't you tell me anything nice?
(TILDEN
stops in front of her and stares at her coat,
SHELLY
looks back at him. Long pause.)

TILDEN:
(Afterpause.)
Can I touch your coat?

SHELLY:
My coat?
(She looks at her coat then back to
TILDEN.)
Sure.

TILDEN
: You don't mind?

SHELLY
: No. GO ahead,
(SHELLY
holds her arm out for
TILDEN
to touch,
DODGE
stays fixed on the TV
TILDEN
moves in slowly toward
SHELLY,
staring at her arm. He reaches out very slowly and touches her arm, feels the fur gently, then draws his hand back,
SHELLY
keeps her arm out.)
It's rabbit.

TILDEN:
Rabbit.
(He reaches out again very slowly and touches the fur on her arm, then pulls back his hand again,
SHELLY
drops her arm.)

SHELLY:
My arm was getting tired.

TILDEN:
Can I hold it?
(Pause.)

SHELLY:
The coat? Sure. I guess,
(SHELLY
takes off her coat and hands it to
TILDEN, TILDEN
takes it slowly, feels the fur, then puts it on.
SHELLY
watches as
TILDEN
strokes the fur slowly. He
smiles at her. She goes back to cutting carrots.)
You can have it if you want.

TILDEN:
I can?

SHELLY:
Yeah. I've got a raincoat in the car. That's all I need.

TILDEN:
You've got a car?

SHELLY:
Vince does,
(TILDEN
walks around stroking the fur and smiling at the coat,
SHELLY
watches him when he's not looking.
DODGE
sticks with the TV, stretches out on the sofa wrapped in the blanket.)

TILDEN:
(As
HE WALKS AROUND.)
I had a car once! I had a white car! I drove. I went everywhere. I went to the mountains. I drove in the snow.

SHELLY:
That must've been fun.

TILDEN:
(Still moving, feeling the coat.)
I drove all day long sometimes. Across the desert. Way out across the desert. I drove past tiny towns. Anywhere. Past palm trees. Lightning. Anything. I would drive through it. I would drive through it and I would stop and I would look around and I would see things sometimes. I would see things I wasn't supposed to see. Like deer. Hawks. Owls. I would look them in the eye and they would look back and I could tell I wasn't supposed to be there by the way they looked at me. So I'd drive on. I would get back in and drive! I loved
to drive. There was nothing I loved more. Nothing I dreamed of was better than driving. I was independent.

DODGE:
(Eyes on the TV)
Pipe down, would ya! Stop running off at the mouth,
(TILDEN
stops. Stares at
SHELLY.)

SHELLY
: Do you do much driving now?

TILDEN:
NOW? NOW? I don't drive now.

SHELLY
: How come?

TILDEN:
I'm older.

SHELLY:
You're not that old.

TILDEN:
I'm not a kid.

SHELLY
: You don't have to be a kid to drive.

TILDEN:
It wasn't driving then.

SHELLY:
What was it?

TILDEN:
Adventure. I went everywhere. I had a sensation of myself.

SHELLY:
Well, you can still do that.

TILDEN:
Not now.

SHELLY:
Why not?

TILDEN:
I just told you. You don't understand. If I told you something you wouldn't understand it.

SHELLY:
Told me what?

TILDEN:
Told you something that's true.

SHELLY:
Like what?

TILDEN:
Like a baby. Like a little tiny baby.

SHELLY:
Like when you were little?

TILDEN:
If I told you you'd make me give your coat back.

SHELLY:
I won't. I promise. Tell me. Please.

TILDEN:
I can't. Dodge won't let me.

SHELLY:
He won't hear you. It's okay. He's watching TV
(Pause,
TILDEN
stares at her. Moves slightly toward her)

TILDEN:
We had a baby. Little baby. Could pick it up with one hand. Put it in the other,
(TILDEN
moves closer to her.
DODGE
takes more interest.)
So small that nobody could find it. Just disappeared. We had no service. No hymn. Nobody came.

DODGE:
Tilden!

TILDEN:
Cops looked for it. Neighbors. Nobody could find it.
(DODGE
struggles to get up from the sofa.)

DODGE:
Tilden? You leave that girl alone! She's completely innocent,
(DODGE
keeps struggling until he's standing.)

TILDEN:
Finally everybody just gave up. Just stopped looking. Everybody had a different answer,
(DODGE
struggles to walk toward
TILDEN
and falls,
TILDEN
ignores him.)

DODGE:
Tilden! What are you telling her?
(DODGE
starts coughing on the floor,
SHELLY
watches him from the stool.)

TILDEN:
Little tiny baby just disappeared. It's not hard. It's so small. Almost invisible. Hold it in one hand,
(SHELLY
makes a move to help
DODGE, TILDEN
firmly pushes her back down on the stool,
DODGE
keeps coughing.)

DODGE:
Tilden! Don't tell her anything! She's an outsider!

TILDEN:
He's the only one who knows where it is. The only one. Like a secret buried treasure. Won't tell any of us.
(DODGE
‘s
COUGHING SUBSIDES,
SHELLY
stays on the stool staring at
DODGE, TILDEN
slowly takes
SHELLY
’
s coat off and holds it out to her. Long pause,
SHELLY
sits there trembling)
You probably want your coat back now. I would if I was you.
(SHELLY
stares at the coat but doesn't move to take it. The sound of
BRADLEY
‘s leg squeaking is heard off left. The others onstage remain still,
BRADLEY
appears up left outside the screen door wearing a yellow rain slicker. He enters through the screen door, crosses the porch to the right door, and enters the stage. Closes the door.

Takes off the rain slicker and shakes it out. He sees all the others and stops,
TILDEN
turns to him.
BRADLEY
stares at
SHELLY, DODGE
remains on the floor.)

BRADLEY:
What's going on here?
(Motioning to
SHELLY.)
Who's that?
(SHELLY
stands, moves back away from
BRADLEY
as he crosses toward her. He stops next to
TILDEN.
He sees the coat in
TILDEN
’ hand and grabs it away from him.)
Who's she supposed to be?

TILDEN:
She's driving to New Mexico. She has a car.
(BRADLEY
stares at her.
SHELLY
is frozen,
BRADLEY
limps over to her with the coat in his fist. He stops in front of her)

BRADLEY:
(
To
SHELLY,
after pause.)
Vacation?
(SHELLY
shakes her head “no,” trembling. To
SHELLY,
motioning to
TILDEN.)
YOU taking him with you?
(SHELLY
shakes her head “no.”
BRADLEY
crosses back to
TILDEN.)
You oughta. No use leaving him here. Doesn't do a lick a work. Doesn't raise a finger.
(Stopping, to
TILDEN.)
Do ya?
(To
SHELLY.)
‘Course he used to be a Ail-American. Quarterback or fullback or some thin’.

TILDEN:
Halfback.

BRADLEY:
He tell you about that? Brag on himself?
(SHELLY
shakes her head “no.”)
Yeah, he used to be a big deal. Wore letterman's sweaters. Had medals hanging all around his neck. Real purty. Big damn deal.
(He laughs to himself, notices
DODGE
on the floor, crosses to him, stops.)
This one too. (To
SHELLY.)
You'd never think it to look at him, would
ya? All paunchy and bloated,
(SHELLY
shakes her head again.
BRADLEY
stares at her, crosses back to her, clenching the coat in his fist. He stops in front of
SHELLY.)
Women like that kinda thing, don't they?

SHELLY:
What?

BRADLEY:
Importance. Importance in a man.

SHELLY:
I don't know.

BRADLEY:
Yeah. Ya know, ya know. Don't give me that.
(Moves closer to
SHELLY.)
You're with Tilden?

SHELLY
: No.

BRADLEY:
(Turning to
TILDEN.)
Tilden! She with you?
(TILDEN
doesn't answer. Stares at the floor.)
Tilden! You're gonna run now. Run like a scalded dog!
(TILDEN
suddenly bolts and runs off up left,
BRADLEY
laughs. Talks to
SHELLY, DODGE
starts moving his lips silently as though talking to someone invisible on the floor. Laughing.)
Scared to death! He was always scared. Scared of his own shadow,
(BRADLEY
stops laughing. Stares at
SHELLY.)
Some things are like that. They just tremble for no reason. Ever noticed that? They just shake?
(SHELLY
looks at
DODGE
on the floor.)

SHELLY:
Can't we do something for him?

BRADLEY:
(Looking at
DODGE.)
We could shoot him.
(Laughs.)
Put him out of his misery.

SHELLY:
Shut up!
(BRADLEY
stops laughing. Moves in closer to
SHELLY.
She freezes,
BRADLEY
speaks slowly and deliberately.)

BRADLEY:
Hey! Missus. Don't talk to me like that. Don't talk to me in that tone a voice. There was a time when I had to take that tone a voice from pretty near everyone.
(Motioning to
DODGE.)
Him, for one! When he was a whole man. Full of himself. Him and that half-brain that just ran outta here. They don't talk to me like that now. Not anymore. Everything's turned around now. Full circle. Isn't that funny?

SHELLY:
I’m sorry.

BRADLEY:
Open your mouth.

SHELLY:
What?

BRADLEY:
(Motioning for her to open her mouth.)
Open up.
(She opens her mouth slightly.)
Wider.
(She opens her mouth wider.)
Keep it like that.
(She does. Stares at
BRADLEY.
With his free hand he puts his fingers into her mouth. She tries to pull away.)
Just stay put!
(She freezes. He keeps his fingers in her mouth. Stares at her. Pause. He pulls his hand out. She closes her mouth, keeps her eyes on him.
BRADLEY
smiles. He looks at
DODGE
on the floor and crosses over to him.
SHELLY
watches him closely.
BRADLEY
stands over
DODGE
and smiles at
SHELLY.
He holds her coat up in both hands over
DODGE,
keeps smiling at
SHELLY.
He
looks down at
DODGE,
then drops the coat so that it lands on
DODGE
and covers his head,
BRADLEY
keeps his hands up in the position of holding the coat, looks over at
SHELLY,
and smiles. The lights black out.)