Issue 4 • Winter 2002 • Featured Writer • Drama
Brian ThorstensonThe beginningThe beginning
DARYL with a list. He looks up, scanning his surroundings.
DARYL
Grocery store, grocery store.
DEREK
Next corner, turn left, right hand side.
DARYL
Excuse me?
DEREK
Grocery store, next corner, turn left.
DARYL
Oh, right. Thanks. Still getting my bearings.
I've got this list.
DEREK
Want some help?
DARYL
Could you?
DEREK
Let me see.
DARYL gives the list to DEREK.
Lists are always helpful.
DARYL
Yes, they are, aren't they.
DEREK
Umm... wire, bolts, screws... the hardware store across from the grocery store. Do you
know it?
DARYL
The one with no sign?
DEREK
Yes... soap, sponge, shampoo at that small store back this way, the corner one with...
DARYL
large windows?
DEREK
Yes or the larger one further past the hardware store.
DARYL
Is that the one under the freeway?
DEREK
Just past. An umbrella. Hard to find right now. You won't need one till it rains, though.
DARYL
Thanks so much.
DEREK
No problem.
DARYL
You're like a one-man welcome wagon.
DEREK
Hardly.
DARYL
What then? Some sorta cop or something? Protect, serve, defend kinda thing?
DEREK
No.
DARYL
A fireman. I bet you're a fireman.
DEREK
An art store clerk. I'm an art store clerk.
DARYL
Really?
DEREK
It's not that surprising.
DARYL
I suppose not. Well thank you.
introducing himself
Allen.
a Break, a Rip
DEREK
Allen. His name was Allen?
DARYL
Yes.
resuming
DEREK
introducing himself
Daryl.
DARYL
Think it'll rain soon?
DEREK
Doubtful.
beat
You know I saw you last week.
DARYL
You should have said hello.
DEREK
I didn't know you then. At that moment.
DARYL
laughing
No, you didn't. How odd.
DEREK
You were across the street.
DARYL
I was?
DEREK
Yes. You were...
DARYL
Buying tulips! Ah yes, I remember.
DEREK
Yes. You stopped me.
DARYL
Really?
DEREK
That's when I thought: how odd.
DARYL
Oh.
DEREK
You reminded me of this boy I once knew. I remember him leaning against this tree, dressed all in blue, reading. Something about you reminds me of him.
DARYL
You live around here?
DEREK
Yeah. You?
DARYL
Yeah. You close?
DEREK
Close enough. Above town. On the hill. Would you like to come up? For the view? It's walking distance.
DARYL
That would be...
A trumpet plays the first bar of "What'll I do."
WINIFRED
Oh, lord. That trumpet does play at the most inopportune moments. Now don't go...
The trumpet plays the next bar, more insistently. DARYL starts to leave.
an Ah-Ha moment for WINIFRED
Ahh... interesting.
DARYL turns to WINIFRED.
DARYL
What?
The trumpet plays the next bar, pleading.
WINIFRED
making a note
Very interesting.
DARYL
What? Tell me.
WINIFRED
The trumpet playing. It seems to be a kind of kayvaluha.
DIAMOND
Now she's chattering nonsense.
DARYL
Shh. Kayvaluha?
WINIFRED
From the natives of the Trobriand Islands in British New Guinea. Malinowski, one of my predecessors, made a seminal study there. Usually it was bones -- jawbones in particular.
DIAMOND
Bones! This has nothing to do with bones.
DEREK
How do you know that?
DARYL
What is it? This kayvaluha.
WINIFRED
A relic, of the departed.
DARYL
A relic?
WINIFRED
Yes, only this, this is...
remembering
"The relic brings the departed back to our mind and makes our inside tender."
to DARYL
Yes?
DARYL
Yes.
WINIFRED
This is not an object, though, is it? Not something you can hold in your hand?
DARYL
No.
WINIFRED
Peculiar.
DARYL
What do I do now?
WINIFRED
I don't know.
DARYL
What about these people, from the islands, what do they do?
WINIFRED
They retreat with the relics, sitting alone, speaking in whispers.
DARYL
I see. The half-light.
WINIFRED
Ahh, of course.
DEREK
The what?
DARYL
The half-light.
to WINIFRED
Correct?
WINIFRED
Yes.
the light starts to fade, very very slowly.
DIAMOND
Daryl, are you sure?
DARYL
Yes.
DIAMOND
I should go get... do something... change into...
DARYL
Yes.
DIAMOND exits.
WINIFRED
It's hard to see in the half-light.
DARYL
I know.
A canopy of oak and eucalyptus cover the sidewalk. A crack snakes up the side of a brick building. A man walking towards you stops you still. Seconds pass with no heartbeat.
The lights have faded to just a pool around DARYL.
DEREK and WINIFRED recede into the darkness.
DARYL
I still dream you're here. Funny isn't it. You. Still here. And you haven't been for so long. How long? I don't even remember. Not anymore. You just keep coming back, every night, waking me up, sounding that goddamn trumpet, smiling with that gold tooth. You laugh and blow out your spit valve. I keep telling you to leave. Leave for good. You just laugh and wink and turn ...
Lights up on DIAMOND in a gorgeous sparkling white gown. She hums the opening bars of "What'll I Do" then starts singing.
DIAMOND
"What'll I do, when you are far away and I am blue, What'll I do. What'll I do when I am
wondering who is kissing you, what I'll do."
She continues singing as DARYL speaks.
DARYL
And it makes me so goddamn mad. Because you know. You know it's the one song that you played that would ... that I asked for...that was...
I try to stay mad. I bite down. I clench. I recall small betrayals, I trace the arc of dismissals, I plot the lies. And you keep playing it. Just like you always did. Late at night. By the window. After we made love.
Then...
DIAMOND
"What'll I...."
DIAMOND stops abruptly.
DARYL
And you're gone. Again. Fucking gone again.
pause
The lights start to fade back up.
DEREK
And he's the boy in the backyard, the boy in blue, the boy reading?
DARYL
Allen. Yes, he's that boy.
DEREK
Where is he?
DARYL
I saw him once, after our drive down the coast, our standing on the beach. He was in the subway leaning against an escalator, penciling a newspaper crossword. He was so intent, so focused. He didn't look up, didn't see me.
I don't know where he is. Don't know if he's alive or dead.
DEREK
How could you...
DARYL
The epidemic had just started. It was that time when so many people left us so so quickly. So he could be gone. Or not. I don't know.
WINIFRED
I see.
DIAMOND
I doubt that.
WINIFRED
I think that I am capable...
DIAMOND
Capable?! Capable?!
DARYL
Shh...
DIAMOND
But really. Capable?!
WINIFRED
I see. That's all I said.
DIAMOND
First the spark, now this.
DARYL
Shh...
DIAMOND
She couldn't possibly...
DARYL
Shh...
WINIFRED
I'm not without integrity you know.
DARYL
That's not really what this is about.
Is it Derek.
DEREK
Her integrity? Doesn't interest me much one way or the other.
DARYL
I didn't think it would.
Would you like to come up? For the view?
DEREK
And look at the city? The flickering lights?
DARYL
If you like. The view is...
DEREK
No.
DARYL
...impressive.
DEREK
Look at me.
DARYL looks at DEREK.
I can't come up.
DIAMOND
You have to go up. You go up, I come out, I sing. It's my cue, Derek. You're my cue.
DEREK
He told you we were making a departure.
DIAMOND
You never give my cue. I never get to sing my song.
DARYL
But... this is the beginning. Isn't it?
DEREK
I thought it was but...
DARYL
You're the perfect height. That's what I tell people. From the first moment, I knew you were the perfect height.
DEREK
I know.
WINIFRED
It's one of the first things he told me. See, I have it down right here.
WINIFRED shows DEREK her notes.
DEREK
He tells everyone.
WINIFRED
It's not a small thing it seems to me.
DARYL
No it's not.
DEREK
I know that.
Silence
DEREK exits.
DIAMOND
But...
DIAMOND follows DEREK
DARYL and WINIFRED alone on stage
WINIFRED
We seem to have stumbled on an ending.
DARYL
I wasn't looking for an ending.
WINIFRED
What were you looking for?
DARYL
A beginning, I thought. With Derek.
This retreat, with the relics, how long does it last?
WINIFRED
With the islanders it was several months, sometimes several years. It depended on the departed, on their status in the tribe.
DARYL
I see.
WINIFRED
They weren't entirely alone. There were people, helping. Daily tasks and so on.
pause
DARYL
Would you like to dance?
WINIFRED
Umm...
DARYL
My offer still stands.
beat
You said it didn't signify anything.
WINIFRED
True.
DARYL
Good. So?
WINIFRED
Well I...
DARYL
Daily tasks?
WINIFRED
Yes, I suppose so.
DARYL
A waltz perhaps?
WINIFRED
If you like.
DARYL and WINIFRED assume a dancing position.
Music.
They dance an awkward waltz.
WINIFRED
I'm sorry. It's been some time since I...
DARYL
Let's start again.
They start again. It goes a bit better.
WINIFRED
I'm not really the right height am I?
DARYL
You're doing fine.
They dance a moment in silence, then slowly fall into a rhythm.
WINIFRED
Oh, we seem to be...
DARYL
Yes.
WINIFRED
Well! How lovely. How very lovely.
DARYL
Yes it is, isn't it.
They dance
WINIFRED
Make I ask you a question?
DARYL
I thought you didn't have any more questions.
WINIFRED
Did you go up?
DARYL
When?
WINIFRED
That day. With Allen. Did you go up?
DARYL
For the view?
WINIFRED
Yes.
DARYL
Not that day. It was later.
WINIFRED
Waiting. Hard to do that.
DARYL
It cultivates patience. Makes you hungry.
WINIFRED
Story lines get plotted, myths constructed. You run the danger of falling down a fairy tale hole.
DARYL
That all crumbles with the short sharp shock of another person's flesh, their breathing, their heartbeat.
WINIFRED
And that happened with Allen?
DARYL
That point of attachment? Yes. That's when you can start. That's the beginning.
WINIFRED
The beginning?
DARYL
Yes.
WINIFRED
Oh, I do love the definitive.
The music ends. WINIFRED and DARYL step apart.
Yes, well, my, my.
I really should be going soon.
DARYL
calling off stage.
Derek!
DEREK enters carrying WINIFRED'S bag. DIAMOND follows him.
DEREK
Your bag.
WINIFRED
Thank you. Now...
DARYL
Derek will go with you.
WINIFRED
Thank you but I'm sure I can find my own way out.
DARYL
Won't you Derek?
DEREK
Is that what you want?
DARYL
For now.
DEREK
And later?
DARYL
I don't know.
to WINIFRED
He's a good partner. Have him teach you the two-step.
WINIFRED
Partner? He's only seeing me out.
DEREK
I'm going with you.
WINIFRED
With me. Don't be absurd. I've always worked alone. Always.
DARYL
Sometimes happens when you leap, Winifred. You can't always tell where you'll land.
DEREK
I could be useful.
WINIFRED
Humph. We shall see about that.
DEREK
to WINIFRED
Ready?
WINIFRED
Madagascar calls.
WINIFRED and DEREK start to leave.
WINIFRED
Oh, one thing before I go.
DARYL
What?
WINIFRED
I'm afraid there is something I didn't include in my finding. An omission of sorts.
DARYL
What's that?
(pause)
WINIFRED
I danced.
DARYL
You danced.
WINIFRED
Yes. Nice, isn't it. I. Danced.
DARYL
Clear, succinct, cognizant.
WINIFRED
Yes it is.
Well. Goodbye then.
DARYL
Goodbye.
looking at DEREK
Goodbye, Derek.
DEREK
Goodbye, Daryl.
to DIAMOND
Goodbye. It's your new cue.
WINIFRED
Come on, then. I am on a time schedule, remember?
WINIFRED and DEREK exit.
DIAMOND
Did you just... ? Did he just... ? You just... He's not coming back, is he?
DARYL
Nope.
DIAMOND
You just sent him away didn't you?
DARYL
Yeap.
DIAMOND
With her.
DARYL
Uh-huh.
DIAMOND
Boy when you take a departure, you really take... I mean... hello!
DARYL
Maybe he was never really here.
DIAMOND
Who?
DARYL
Derek. Maybe he was just a memory. Or some re-creation of a memory.
DIAMOND
Auntie Em! Auntie Em!
God, and you say I'm the dramatic one.
DARYL
It could be true.
DIAMOND
Oh, please, Daryl. He was here. And now he's not. It's that simple.
DARYL
Still...
DIAMOND
Still nothing.
DARYL
Well, he'll become a memory now.
DIAMOND
You wear me out. You know that. You just wear me out.
pause
Now what?
DARYL
I'll sit alone, speaking in whispers.
DIAMOND
Well, doesn't THAT sound like just too much fun.
DARYL
I don't think that...
DIAMOND
Oh, please.
Come on. Give me my cue.
DARYL
What?
DIAMOND
My cue, Daryl. We are not going to sit around whispering. You may think that you're going to sit around whispering but whispering is not...
Oh, god!
DARYL
What?
DIAMOND
Now I'm repeating myself. Lord.
DARYL
Diamond, I really don't...
DIAMOND
There's no discussion about this. I'm not watching you -- god Daryl -- Sitting? Whispering?
Get a grip, babe. Besides, I'm all dressed and I've got a number that I never got to do. So c'mon, give me my cue.
beat
It'll be good for you. It always is.
pause
Someone else will come through that door. Eventually.
DARYL
I suppose so.
DIAMOND
So till then?
DARYL looks out after DEREK, then turns to DIAMOND.
DARYL
Goodbye.
Music starts. The lights shift. DIAMOND sings.
DIAMOND
Waltzing through the Fog
I could travel long distances
on that look in your eyes
never walking out my front door,
fading into a sigh.
I tremble at the thought of touching you
fingertip to fingertip
learning complete paragraphs
translated from lip to lip.
I'm waltzing through the fog
and if tomorrow's changed your name
I'll take a pause to recollect
a step to rearrange.
I'll catalogue the memories
of people dear to you and me
shade them in in bright, bright blue
flint and coal of many hues
It's a thought enclosed in leaping,
its a leaning into grace
to recall the small beginnings
where my varied loves are based.
I'm waltzing through the fog
and if tomorrow's changed your name
I'll take a pause to recollect
a step to rearrange.
Listen... it's a desire heard long distance
I'll call it home perhaps
as I waltz through the fog.
waltz through the fog.
I'm waltzing through the fog
and if tomorrow's changed your name
I'll take a pause to recollect
a step to rearrange.
Waltzing through the fog
Waltzing through the fog
as I travel long distances,
travel long distances,
travel endless distances.
A trumpet picks up the last notes of the song and plays solo.
DARYL listens.
DIAMOND listens.
The lights fade.
End of Play.
***
All Pages: See the entire play on one page
Table of Contents: Half-Light Dances
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