DAISY FOOTE  |  From Bhutan

Scene Three

(Lights come full up on the prison.

FRANCES and WARREN are at the table. It is their third visit. WARREN shows his sister a cross tattooed on his hand.

Lights half up on the kitchen.)

FRANCES
Why a cross?

WARREN
Because it was recommended to me.

FRANCES
Recommended?

WARREN
By my cellmate. He’s a Jesus freak, he likes to read the Bible to me at night before lights out.

FRANCES
And you let him?

WARREN
When he first asked, I said, thanks but no thanks, that I really wasn’t the religious sort. Then the next morning after I’d come back from breakfast, I found this big pile of shit in the middle of my bed. I got off easy. He’d cut another guy in the throat for saying “Jesus Fucking Christ” in front of him.

(FRANCES looks horrified.)

WARREN
He didn’t kill him, Lady. It was a warning, just like I knew the shit in the bed was just a warning. So I let him tattoo the cross on my hand and I let him read the Bible to me at night and hope that’s as far as it will go.

FRANCES
Can’t you complain to someone?

WARREN
And who would that be?

FRANCES
A guard.

WARREN
The same guard who probably saw him take the shit but didn’t say a word about it? Besides, you don’t want to get a reputation as the guy who’s always complaining.

(MARY enters from the stairs. She starts to sweep.)

FRANCES
Has Ma seen it yet?

WARREN
No.

FRANCES
What are you going to tell her?

WARREN
I won’t have to tell her anything because she won’t ask. Just like I know she’ll never tell me anything, no matter what I ask her. “Did they ask you to leave the bank, Mary? Did Jimmy force you out?” “Oh no, I’ve always wanted to work with groceries, it’s been a dream to sort meat.”

MARY
Do not tell him her family threatened to pull their accounts if I wasn’t let go.

(FRANCES turns to MARY.)

FRANCES
You don’t know that for sure, Ma.

MARY
Don’t tell me what I know, Frances. I know these people won’t be happy until they’ve turned the whole town against us.

(FRANCES turns back to her brother.)

FRANCES
Did it hurt?

WARREN
Like hell. It’s a home-made set up—walkman for the power, needle stolen from my cellmate’s job at the upholstery shop. Dye from our crafts class. Some guys in here, they’re covered from head to toe, they go for the pain, a way to compare—

FRANCES
Compare to what?

WARREN
Being in here.

(Silence.)

FRANCES
They’ve started putting up the houses on Daryl Rush’s land. Huge McMansions with these windows and towers all over the place. The one that’s being built on top of the hill behind the old farm house, that’s going to cost a million dollars. It’s going to have a pool with it too . . .

(Cutting her off . . .)

WARREN
Have you thought anymore about college?

(FRANCES shrugs.)

WARREN
Well have you or haven’t you, Lady?

FRANCES
I’ve thought about it.

WARREN
And?

FRANCES
I’m not sure. I mean if you really want me to stick around . . .

WARREN
I do, Lady.

(Silence.)

WARREN
How’s everything at home?

FRANCES
Fine.

WARREN
So tell me something about it . . .

FRANCES
What do you want to know?

WARREN
I don’t want to know about houses being built.

FRANCES
I thought you’d be interested. We used to sled on that hill when we were kids.

WARREN
Last night, what did you do last night? Start with after school. You come home and then what?

FRANCES
I didn’t go home at first. I went over to Nora’s. She’s had the flu, so I cleaned up a little, made her some soup.

WARREN
Doesn’t she have anyone else to call?

FRANCES
She calls me.

WARREN
Don’t you ever wonder about what she did in life that she has nobody else but you to call?

FRANCES
No.

(Silence.)

WARREN
So Mrs. Letemkin has the flu?

FRANCES
She’s been sick all week. But yesterday, she was starting to feel better, so she made tea.

WARREN
I thought she was sick.

FRANCES
She was starting to feel better.

(MARY starts to prepare dinner.)

WARREN
And then what?

FRANCES
She made the tea, I put out the cups and saucers. We just sat around and talked about this new Thomas Hardy biography she’s reading.

WARREN
And then what?

FRANCES
She showed me some more pictures of Bhutan, the monastery she was staying in while she was there. And some other pictures of her old apartment in New York.

(Silence.)

WARREN
And then?

FRANCES
I went home. Mary got home from work. We had supper. I did my home work, we went to bed.

WARREN
Where was Aunt?

FRANCES
She didn’t come over.

WARREN
Why not?

FRANCES
I don’t know.

WARREN
She didn’t show up here last week either.

FRANCES
She’s really busy with temp work and trying to find a full time job.

WARREN
You’re not lying to me, are you lady?

FRANCES
No.

WARREN
I asked Ma about Aunt and she said she had the flu. You say she’s been busy looking for work. You’re both fucking lying.

(MARY turns to FRANCES.)

MARY
Don’t you say a word to him, Frances. I mean it. I’ll tell him, when the time is right, after my next meeting with the lawyer and I can give him some good news.

WARREN
What’s going on, Frances?

(More silence.)

WARREN
I’ll go crazy, Frances. I swear . . . I’ll go stark, fucking crazy if someone doesn’t start talking straight to me soon . . .

(He BANGS his fist on the table.)

WARREN
Frances . . . please . . .

FRANCES
If I tell you, you have to promise you won’t tell Mary.

WARREN
I promise.

FRANCES
Week before last, Mary found out that Aunt had gone up to Carl’s house . . .

(Lights come up on the Conroy Kitchen. One Week Earlier.

MARY and SARA are in the middle of a fight.)

MARY
I won’t have people in this town talking about us any more than they already are. Warren’s new lawyer said we need to keep a low profile.

SARA
I needed to talk to Carl.

MARY
Why didn’t you just call him?

SARA
I tried that. But she wouldn’t let him come to the phone.

(FRANCES leaves her brother and walks into the kitchen. WARREN remains at the table.)

MARY
She wouldn’t let him? All six feet and two hundred pounds of him and she wouldn’t let him.

SARA
She tricked him into sleeping with her, she got pregnant and now he feels guilty about leaving. And she knows it too . . . she knows he can’t stand her. She was yelling at him from the second floor. “Call the police, Carl, call them or I will.” He yelled back at her, told her to shut her goddamn mouth. He was so freaked out . . . I could see how much he hates her.

MARY
“Boo hoo I love you, Sara, my wife doesn’t understand me. Boo hoo, my wife’s knocked up.” And how exactly did that part of it happen . . . if he hates her so much . . .

SARA
You encouraged me.

MARY
I did not.

SARA
You kept saying he only married her to get back at me. That it was only a matter of time. And it would have been too. It would have been if Warren—

FRANCES
Let’s just have supper and watch some TV.

MARY
You’re blaming Warren for your problems with Carl?

FRANCES
Ma . . . come on . . .

MARY
I will not let her blame your brother for her miserable life. I won’t let her do that.

FRANCES
She’s not blaming him. Tell her, Aunt. Tell her you’re not blaming Warren.

SARA
I’m not. (looking at MARY) I’m blaming her. She’s the reason it’s been so hard. Why I left my job with Dr. Hodges. People I’ve known my whole life, people I’ve always had a good laugh with . . . can’t look me in the eye anymore. Because of her . . . because of how she’s handled this whole thing. Like going up to Joe White in the post office last week. Asking him why he hadn’t been in touch with Warren. And then screaming at him when he didn’t have the right answer. He said the post office was filled with people, but she didn’t care.

MARY
You don’t know anything about that . . .

SARA
Tell me, Mary. If it didn’t happen that way, I’d like to know.

MARY
Joe White has been working for them . . . he’s done all the plumbing for their new addition.

SARA
Who?

MARY
Anna Matthews’ parents.

SARA
It’s a job, Mary . . . he took a job.

MARY
He’s never gone to see Warren. He said he would but he’s never gone. He was Charlie’s best friend . . . they were like brothers . . . and now he’s turned against Warren . . . against Charlie’s son.

SARA
No one is against Warren, Mary. You’re the one. Never one word to that poor girl’s family.

MARY
What the hell do I have to say to them?

SARA
Sorry, Mary. Sorry your daughter is dead.

MARY
It was an accident. And when Warren has his new trial, people will see that. Anna Matthew’s parents will see that. And do you think they will say anything to Warren? Do you think they will apologize? I don’t think so.

SARA
Is this what this lawyer is telling you . . . that he’ll get Warren a new trial?

MARY
Why the hell do you think I hired him?

SARA
He’s lying to you, Mary. He’s charging you a lot of money and lying to you. There’s not going to be a new trial. Warren confessed. He stood in front of the police and then he stood in front of the judge and he told them both that he was to blame.
That he’s the reason she’s dead, Mary. He killed her.

(MARY hauls off and punches, not slaps, but punches SARA in the jaw. SARA falls to the floor.

FRANCES goes to her.)

SARA
I’m all right, Lady, I’m all right.

(SARA gets up off the floor.)

SARA (Cont’d)
I went to Carl’s yesterday to tell him I was leaving town. I wanted him to come with me. But he’s not going anywhere. He’ll stay with her, they’ll have a bunch of kids and when he’s drunk he’ll say my name. (to FRANCES) I’m sorry, Lady. I’m so, so sorry. (kisses her) I can’t stand myself anymore, I really can’t.

(And leaves.

FRANCES turns to her mother who won’t look at her.

FRANCES starts back for the prison waiting room.)

MARY (calling after FRANCES)
Would you please tell Nora Letemkin that your brother isn’t a reader. If she asks me one more goddamn time for a list of books. Just tell her please—he doesn’t read.

(FRANCES joins her brother who sits in brooding silence, and then:)

WARREN
I’ll talk to her, Aunt. Just tell her I want to see her and I’ll straighten everything out.

FRANCES
What are you going to tell her?

WARREN
That she’s not going anywhere. That her and Ma . . . you and me . . . we have to stick together. Now more than ever.

FRANCES
I don’t think she’ll change her mind, Warren.

WARREN
She will.

(Silence.)

FRANCES
If you could tell me about that day, Warren. About you and Anna . . . what happened. . . .

(WARREN stares at her.)

FRANCES
I feel responsible too, Warren, that’s why I need to know. I need to know my part in it. I won’t say anything to Mary or Aunt or Mrs. Letemkin. Whatever you say will stay right here in this room. But I need to know, Warren, I really need to know.

(He stands.)

WARREN (calling to guard)
Visit’s over.

FRANCES
Why can’t you just tell me?

(He walks away.)

FRANCES (calling after him)
Warren . . .

(The guard puts the handcuffs on him and leads him away.)

FRANCES (more to herself this time)
Why can’t you just tell me?

(Lights come down.)  

   Contributor’s notes
   Scene One
   Scene Two