(The
sounds of the ocean can be heard. A hotel room on a Mexican sea. A wall of
stars: the constellations or the moon or a vast star map of the cosmos covers the back wall. THE GIRL IN THE RED SHIRT stands at the
foot of the stage, wearing nothing but a shirt the boy owns. The BOY IN BLACK PANTS stands behind her.)
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
Say something.
(Silence.)
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
Say something to me.
(Silence.)
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
I donÕt know why you wonÕt talk.
GIRL IN THE RED SHIRT
YouÕre leaving tomorrow.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
What makes you ask that?
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
I saw a train ticket on your
dresser.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
The train ticket has been there
for weeks.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
ItÕs dated for tomorrow. ItÕs
under the lamp. You tried to hide it.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
I was gonna tell you.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
When?
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
I was gonna tell you, but your
husband has always been around.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
Liar.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
I have to go.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
No you donÕt. You would stay if
you really wanted. You would stay with me if you really wanted.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
I never said I didnÕt want to
stay.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
You would stay with me if you
really wanted.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
I do want to stay with you, butÉ
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
ŅBut.Ó I think I am stating to
hate you.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
DonÕt say that.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
ItÕs true.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
I donÕt care if itÕs true. DonÕt
say that. It hurts me feelings.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
Good. I didnÕt mean that.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
I wanna buy you breakfast in the
morning.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
No.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
Why not?
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
IÕm having breakfast with my
husband tomorrow.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
Tell him your having breakfast
with a friend.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
Is that what we are now? Friends.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
Look at me.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
It doesnÕt matter. I donÕt love
you.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
I never asked you if you did.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
You got rough with me last night.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
You begged me to be rough.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
Not that hard. No girl wants to be
choked. Not with your dirty fingers.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
I used your scarf.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
That doesnÕt make it right. I have
marks on my neck.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
You donÕt have marks on your neck.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
Yes I do. I have marks on my neck.
I can feel them.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
I would like for you to look at
me.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
No.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
Why are you angry?
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
Because. IÕve made a mistake. All
the time weÕve spent together...
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
WeÕve only known each other for
three days.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
Fuck you. I wish you hadnÕt been
so nice to me when we meet.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
I wasnÕt nice to you.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
Yes you were. You just pretended
you were difficult.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
How did I pretend I was difficult?
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
You werenÕt difficult.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
Then whyÕd you say I was?
(Silence.)
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
The way youÕd watch me. The way
youÕd listen to me.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
I didnÕt watch you.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
Then what would you call it?
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
I donÕt know what I would call it.
Anymore.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
YouÕre so weak. YouÕre so God
damned weak. I donÕt want you to say goodbye. I just want you to go. Go fuck
somebody else. Go choke somebody else. Why did you give me money? You shouldnÕt
have given me money.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
Because. ItÕs all I had. And you
asked me to.
(Three days before. Music
begins to play. Perhaps Los Lobos. Perhaps
Al Green. Perhaps Adam Ant. perhaps Bach. BOY IN BLACK PANTS sits in a chair
and sips from a bottle of tequila. THE GIRL IN THE RED SHIRT dances. It is the day before. A glass bowl with gold fish is
located upstage.)
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
I realized that I loved to run
fast at night. So I told my mother I wanted to be a ballerina. I had never seen
a ballet but I had three favorite records IÕd dance to at boarding school: The
Grand Canyon suite, the fight song of Notre Dame, and the something by the
Beatles.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
What something by the BeatleÕs?
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
I donÕt know. I found it in the
half price bin at a strip mall. The cover had four men walking across a street
barefoot. My god! Did you read the paper this morning?
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
I donÕt read the papers.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
Why donÕt you read the papers?
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
I donÕt trust Ōem.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
Well, have you heard?
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
Heard what?
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
We put a man on the moon!
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
WhoÕs Ņwe?Ó
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
Us. America.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
We did that thirty years ago?
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
Yes. And now weÕve done it again.
IsnÕt that wonderful?
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
WhoÕs the fellah?
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
What do you mean?
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
WhoÕs the guy we sent to the moon?
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
His name is Winterson. I bet heÕs
as tall as horse.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
YouÕve studied ballet.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
Why?
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
Your body moves nice.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
When I was eleven I came to New
York and I got myself a scholarship at the school
of American ballet. I didnÕt know
anything technical. I just made up a lot of
stuff and jumped around.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
ThatÕs all dance is.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
ThatÕs not true.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
It is true. I used to see a dancer
when I was young.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
When you were young.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
When I was younger.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
How young were you?
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
Younger than I am now.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
How old was she?
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
Too young.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
How young?
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
Young enough to make me feel old.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
And she was crazy.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
I didnÕt say that. She just made
up a lot of stuff and jumped around. She never listened to anybody.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
ThatÕs miserable.
BOY
IN THE BLACK PANTS
Actually, I loved it. I liked watching
her hop and move.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
I think my teachers were intrigued
by that. That little off beat part of me. I could have been a real dancer if I
had invested the time.
BOY
IN THE BLACK PANTS
What do you do now?
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
IÕm a plastic doll. Am I talking
too much?
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
No.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
What kind of music is this?
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
Hillbilly music. I think.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
Hillbilly music? Is this really
hillbilly music?
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
I couldnÕt tell you what hillbilly
music is any more.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
Why did you come to Mexico?
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
You ask a mess of questions.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
IÕm sorry.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
DonÕt be. I like it. IÕm here
because I like the weather. And everythingÕs cheap. Why are you here?
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
My husband likes to hunt. HeÕs
never killed anything in Mexico before.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
YouÕve got a nice shape to your
body.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
YouÕll make me blush.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
I donÕt care.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
I like your room. The color is
agreeable. ItÕs better than mine. What do you do for a living?
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
I work for the government.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
Which government?
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
Pick one. IÕve worked for a few.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
What do you do?
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
I watch the ocean move.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
Is it wonderful?
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
Yes. But, harder than I thought it
would be.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
YouÕre lying to me.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
What makes you say that?
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
Because, you are. What do you
really do for a living?
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
IÕm a writer.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
What do you write?
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
Speeches.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
Speeches for who?
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
Men I donÕt like.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
Why do that?
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
IÕm very good at writing speeches.
What do you do for work?
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
IÕm a plastic doll. I told you
that.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
I wouldnÕt call you that.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
You didnÕt. IÕm really a whore. My
husband pays me to have sex with him. He likes to put money on the floor in
shapes and patterns and watch me crawl on my hands and knees and pick up
the dollar bills with my teeth.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
Does that turn you on?
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
Does that turn you on?
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
IÕm not your husband.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
Not yet.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
YouÕre a red flag.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
IÕm serious. My husband pays me to
have sex with him. I wouldnÕt do it if he
didnÕt.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
WhyÕd you marry him?
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
He was charming. Once. When we
first met.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
And then he turned off the charm?
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
No. He just got old. He promises
me a plum tree every year for my birthday. But he always forgets. Are you married? I donÕt see a ring on
your finger?
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
No. IÕm not married.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
Are you sure? Married men take
their wedding rings off. They take them off when they
masturbate.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
I wouldnÕt know.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
Do you wanna get married.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
Maybe.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
Never tell a girl Ņmaybe.Ó ItÕs
worse than never.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
Ask me again.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
Ask you what?
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
Ask me if IÕll ever get married.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
Will you ever get married?
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
Never.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
ThatÕs sad.
BOY IN BLACK PANTS
What makes that sad?
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
You will die alone.
(Silence.)
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
I want cake. I want a slice of
chocolate cake.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
I can have some brought to us.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
DonÕt.
BOY IN BLACK PANTS
Why not?
GIRL IN THE RED SHIRT
People will know IÕm in your room.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
I donÕt care.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
IÕm married.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
We arenÕt doing anything.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
We could be.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
But we arenÕt.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
What are you doing here, at the
hotel?
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
IÕm a resident here. Until
something better comes along.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
What would be better?
BOY
IN THE BLACK PANTS
A nice job in the mountains. Where
I can watch the sun set. You know, I am hungry. IÕll get food and bring it.
What do you want? Cake?
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
Maybe. Something sweet. What does
the hotel have?
BOY
IN BLCK PANTS
A few donuts.
Chocolate ˇclairs. Caramel pudding. Peanut butter and peach jam. Moon pies.
Milky Way candy bars. TheyÕve got dozens of those at the front desk. Baked
shortcake with chocolate icing. Vanilla coke.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
Do you know the whole menu?
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
Just the beverages. I try to stay
away from food.
GIRL
IN THE RED SHIRT
I love food.
BOY
IN BLACK PANTS
I hate it. I hate that something
is rotting inside you. I only eat
things that are alive. The food is fresh that way. I only eat live gold fish
now.
&n