Buried Child (2 page)

HALIE'S VOICE:
It is. It truly is. I would've thought these days they'd be racing on Christmas even. A big flashing Christmas tree right down at the finish line.

DODGE:
(Shakes his head.)
No. Not yet.

HALIE'S VOICE:
They used to race on New Year's! I remember that.

DODGE:
They never raced on New Year's!

HALIE'S VOICE:
Sometimes they did.

DODGE:
They never did!

HALIE'S VOICE:
Before we were married they did!

DODGE:
“Before we were married.”
(DODGE
waves his hand in disgust at the staircase. Leans back in sofa. Stares at TV)

HALIE'S VOICE:
I went once. With a man. On New Year's.

DODGE:
(Mimicking her.)
Oh, a “man.”

HALIE'S VOICE:
What?

DODGE:
Nothing!

HALIE'S VOICE:
A wonderful man. A breeder.

DODGE:
A what?

HALIE'S VOICE:
A breeder! A horse breeder! Thoroughbreds.

DODGE:
Oh, thoroughbreds. Wonderful. You betcha. A breeder-man.

HALIE'S VOICE:
That's right. He knew everything there was to know.

DODGE:
I bet he taught you a thing or two, huh? Gave you a good turn around the old stable!

HALIE'S VOICE:
Knew everything there was to know about horses. We won bookoos of money that day.

DODGE:
What?

HALIE'S VOICE:
Money! We won every race I think.

DODGE:
Bookoos?

HALIE'S VOICE:
Every single race.

DODGE:
Bookoos of money?

HALIE'S VOICE:
It was one of those kind of days.

DODGE:
New Year's!

HALIE'S VOICE:
Yes! It might've been Florida. Or California! One of those two.

DODGE:
Can I take my pick?

HALIE'S VOICE:
It was Florida!

DODGE:
Aha!

HALIE'S VOICE:
Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful! The sun was just gleaming. Flamingos. Bougainvilleas. Palm trees.

DODGE:
(To
HIMSELF, MIMICKING HER.)
Flamingos. Bougainvilleas.

HALIE'S VOICE:
Everything was dancing with life! Colors. There were all kinds of people from everywhere. Everyone was dressed to the nines. Not like today. Not like they dress today. People had a sense of style.

DODGE:
When was this anyway?

HALIE'S VOICE:
This was long before I knew you.

DODGE:
Must've been.

HALIE'S VOICE:
Long before. I was escorted.

DODGE
: To Florida?

HALIE'S VOICE:
Yes. Or it might've been California. I’m not sure which.

DODGE:
All that way you were escorted?

HALIE'S VOICE:
Yes.

DODGE:
And he never laid a finger on you, I suppose? This gentleman breeder-man.
(Long silence.)
Halie? Are we still in the land of the living?
(No answer. Long pause.)

HALIE'S VOICE:
Are you going out today?

DODGE:
(Gesturing toward rain.)
In this?

HALIE'S VOICE:
I'm just asking a simple question.

DODGE:
I rarely go out in the bright sunshine, why would I go out in this?

HALIE'S VOICE:
I'm just asking because I'm not doing any shopping today. And if you need anything you should ask Tilden.

DODGE:
Tilden's not here!

HALIE'S VOICE:
He's in the kitchen,
(DODGE
looks toward left, then back toward the TV).

DODGE:
All right.

HALIE'S VOICE:
What?

DODGE:
(Louder.)
All right! I'll ask Tilden!

HALIE'S VOICE:
Don't scream. It'll only get your coughing started.

DODGE:
Scream? Men don't scream.

HALIE'S VOICE:
Just tell Tilden what you want and he'll get it.
(Pause.)
Bradley should be over later.

DODGE:
Bradley?

HALIE'S VOICE:
Yes. To cut your hair.

DODGE:
My hair? I don't need my hair cut! I haven't hardly got any hair left!

HALIE'S VOICE:
It won't hurt!

DODGE:
I don't need it!

HALIE'S VOICE:
It's been more than two weeks, Dodge.

DODGE:
I don't need it! And I never did need it!

HALIE'S VOICE:
I have to meet Father Dewis for lunch.

DODGE
: You tell Bradley that if he shows up here with those clippers, I'll separate him from his manhood!

HALIE'S VOICE:
I won't be very late. No later than four at the very latest.

DODGE
: You tell him! Last time he left me near bald! And I wasn't even awake!

HALIE'S VOICE:
That's not my fault!

DODGE
: You put him up to it!

HALIE'S VOICE:
I never did!

DODGE
: You did too! You had some fancy, idiot house-social planned! Time to dress up the corpse for company! Lower the ears a little! Put up a little front! Surprised you didn't
tape a pipe to my mouth while you were at it! That woulda looked nice! Huh? A pipe? Maybe a bowler hat! Maybe a copy of the
Wall Street Journal
casually placed on my lap! A fat labrador retriever at my feet.

HALIE'S VOICE
: You always imagine the worst things of people!

DODGE:
That's the least of the worst!

HALIE'S VOICE:
I don't need to hear it! All day long I hear things like that and I don't need to hear more.

DODGE
: You better tell him!

HALIE'S VOICE
: You tell him yourself! He's your own son. You should be able to talk to your own son.

DODGE:
Not while I'm sleeping! He cut my hair while I was sleeping!

HALIE'S VOICE:
Well he won't do it again.

DODGE:
There's no guarantee. He's a snake, that one.

HALIE'S VOICE:
I promise he won't do it without your consent.

DODGE:
(Afterpause.)
There's no reason for him to even come over here.

HALIE'S VOICE:
He feels responsible.

DODGE:
For my hair?

HALIE'S VOICE:
For your appearance.

DODGE:
My appearance is out of his domain! It's even out of mine! In fact, it's disappeared! I'm an invisible man!

HALIE'S VOICE:
Don't be ridiculous.

DODGE:
He better not try it. That's all I've got to say.

HALIE'S VOICE:
Tilden will watch out for you.

DODGE:
Tilden won't protect me from Bradley!

HALIE'S VOICE:
Tilden's the oldest. He'll protect you.

DODGE:
Tilden can't even protect himself!

HALIE'S VOICE:
Not so loud! He'll hear you. He's right in the kitchen.

DODGE:
(Yelling off left.)
Tilden!

HALIE'S VOICE:
Dodge, what are you trying to do?

DODGE:
(Yelling off left.)
Tilden, get your ass in here!

HALIE'S VOICE:
Why do you enjoy stirring things up?

DODGE:
I don't enjoy anything!

HALIE'S VOICE:
That's a terrible thing to say.

DODGE:
Tilden!

HALIE'S VOICE:
That's the kind of statement that leads people right to an early grave.

DODGE:
Tilden!

HALIE'S VOICE:
It's no wonder people have turned their backs on Jesus!

DODGE:
TILDEN!!

HALIE'S VOICE:
It's no wonder the messengers of God's word are shouting louder now than ever before. Screaming to the four winds.

DODGE:
TILDEN!!!!
(DODGE
goes into a violent, spasmodic coughing attack as
TILDEN
enters from left, his arms loaded with fresh ears of corn,
TILDEN
is
DODGE
‘s oldest son, late forties, wears heavy construction boots covered with mud, dark green work pants, a plaid shirt, and a faded brown windbreaker. He has a butch haircut, wet from the rain. Something about him is profoundly burned-out and displaced. He stops center with the ears of corn in his arms and just stares at
DODGE
until he slowly finishes his coughing attack,
DODGE
looks up at him slowly,
DODGE
stares at the corn. Long pause as they watch each other.)

HALIE'S VOICE:
Dodge, if you don't take that pill nobody's going to force you. Least of all me. There's no honor in self-destruction. No honor at all.
(The two men ignore the voice)

DODGE:
(To
TILDEN.)
Where'd you get that?

TILDEN:
Picked it.

DODGE
: You picked all that?
(TILDEN
nods.)
You expecting company?

TILDEN:
NO.

DODGE:
Where'd you pick it from?

TILDEN:
Right out back.

DODGE:
Out back where?!

TILDEN:
Right out in back.

DODGE:
There's nothing out there—in back.

TILDEN:
There's corn.

DODGE:
There hasn't been corn out there since about nineteen thirty-five! That's the last time I planted corn out there!

TILDEN:
It's out there now.

DODGE:
(Yelling at stairs.)
Halie!

HALIE'S VOICE:
Yes, dear! Have you come to your senses?

DODGE:
Tilden's brought a whole bunch of sweet corn in here! There's no corn out back, is there?

TILDEN:
(To
HIMSELF.)
There's tons of corn.

HALIE'S VOICE:
Not that I know of!

DODGE:
That's what I thought.

HALIE'S VOICE:
Not since about nineteen thirty-five!

DODGE:
(To
tilden.)
That's right. Nineteen thirty-five. That was the last of it.

TILDEN:
It's out there now.

DODGE
: You go and take that corn back to wherever you got it from!

TILDEN:
(Afterpause, staring at
DODGE.)
It's picked. I picked it all in the rain. Once it's picked you can't put it back.

DODGE:
I haven't had trouble with the neighbors here for fifty-seven years. I don't even know who the neighbors are! And I don't wanna know! Now go put that corn back where it came from!
(TILDEN
stares at
DODGE,
then walks slowly over to him and dumps all the corn on
DODGE
’s lap and
steps back,
DODGE
stares at the com then back to
TILDEN.
Long pause.)
Are you having trouble here, Tilden? Are you in some kind of trouble again?

TILDEN:
I'm not in any trouble.

DODGE
: You can tell me if you are. I'm still your father.

TILDEN:
I know that.

DODGE:
I know you had a little trouble back there in New Mexico. That's why you came out here. Isn't that the reason you came back?

TILDEN:
I never had any trouble.

DODGE:
Tilden, your mother told me all about it.

TILDEN:
What'd she tell you?
(TILDEN
pulls some chewing tobacco out of his jacket and bites off a plug.)

DODGE:
I don't have to repeat what she told me! She told me all about it!

TILDEN:
Can I bring my chair in from the kitchen?

DODGE:
What?

TILDEN:
Can I bring in my chair from the kitchen?

DODGE:
That's not a chair. It's a stool. Milking stool.

TILDEN:
Can I bring it in here?

DODGE:
Sure. Bring it in here. Bring it on in here. Just don't call it a chair when it's a stool,
(TILDEN
exits left,
DODGE
pushes all the corn off of his lap onto the floor. He pulls the blanket off angrily and tosses it at one end of the sofa, pulls out the bottle, and takes another swig,
TILDEN
enters again from left with a milking stool and a pail,
DODGE
hides the bottle quickly under the cushion before
TILDEN
sees it.
TILDEN
sets the stool down by the sofa, sits on it, and puts the pail in front of him on the floor.
TILDEN
starts picking up the ears of corn one at a time and husking them. He throws the husks and silk in the center of the stage and drops the ears into the pail each time he cleans one. He repeats this process as they talk. After pause.)
Pretty good-lookin’ corn.

TILDEN:
Golden.

DODGE:
Hybrid?

TILDEN:
What?

DODGE:
Some kinda fancy hybrid?

TILDEN
: You planted it. I don't know what it is.
(Pause.)