Juno's Daughters (17 page)

Jenny made sure the girls had their hoodies and canteens and climbed onto the boat. She was aware of Trinculo watching her and she was aware as well of new undercurrents traveling between the players, like the ripples on a pond after a thrown rock has disappeared. There were electrical charges between Chad and Miranda and Dale and Peg and Sally and David and yes, even between Ferdinand and Ariel, as Caliban had predicted. Their time on Stuart Island had altered their little dynamic in a number of subtle and not so subtle ways; Waldron would likely alter it still more.

The boat bobbed on the open water and most of the company huddled inside to stay out of the wind. Jenny lingered out back and watched the wake fade into bubbles behind them. Sporting a sunburn on her shoulders, Lilly made her way to the rail beside her mother.

“I saw you guys talking on the trail,” she said. “You and Trinculo.”

Jenny reached for the rail. It was cold and wet with spray. Her pulse beat in her throat. Had Lilly seen him holding her hand? She remembered the taste of Trinculo's fingers in her mouth and her knees almost buckled.

“Were you talking about me?” asked Lilly. She looked up hopefully into her mother's face.

Jenny shook her head.

Lilly zipped her jacket and glanced quickly toward the cabin where Trinculo and the others were listening to an explanation of the GPS system. “Did he say whether he liked me?”

“Oh, Lil.”

She reached out and pulled her daughter close. She knew she should tell Lilly what had happened between her and Trinculo, but something more than the fear of hurting her oldest daughter held Jenny's tongue. It was the fear that Lilly's knowing might somehow
prevent
what might happen still. And she wanted Trinculo. She was ready to acknowledge this finally to herself, if not to Lilly. She wanted him so badly that it made her ashamed.

Lilly shivered and Jenny rubbed her hands up and down on the girl's back to warm her. It was her job, she knew, to keep Lilly away from Trinculo and Trinculo away from Lilly, but what, exactly, was her obligation beyond that? Was she supposed to keep him away from herself, as well? She imagined what Sue would say, or Theresa, or any number of other mothers if she asked them:
It would be best
. The engine kicked into gear and the two women rocked on their feet. The wind whipped around the cabin and howled past their ears.

Boy 1:
Geronimo!

Boy 2:
Watch this. Bombs away! (
Splash.
)

Captain Jack:
Look out kids, we're coming in.

Peg:
Listen up, everyone. As soon as we dock you can fan out and find a place to sleep tonight. The beach will be available after the performance. There's a pasture on the east side of the house and then the Burtons have offered a pull-out sofa and a guest bed.

Frankie:
I call the bed.

Jenny:
Your sister will sleep there with you.

Lilly:
Mom! You're even going to micromanage where I
sleep
?

Jenny:
Yes.

Lilly:
Typical.

Jenny:
You both brought your toothbrushes, right?

Frankie:
Sure. But oh, crap. I can't believe it.

Lilly:
What? What did you forget?

Frankie:
The plastic garlands. For Miranda's and Ferdinand's hair during the wedding scene.

Peg:
We'll just have to use real flowers. We have about an hour and a half before we need to assemble on the beach. Esme will give you some string.

Jenny:
Why don't you look in your bag, Lilly? Could you have them?

Lilly:
No. Oh, shoot, I . . .

Peg:
What now?

Jenny:
Did you forget something, too?

Ariel:
Like your diaphragm?

Lilly:
Very funny. And it's none of your business anyway.

Dale:
If it's your weed, Lil, no need to worry. They have plenty of pot on the island. Or didn't you know that Marcus has a hydroponic greenhouse?

Lilly:
Wow. You're all so nice and helpful. I'm really looking forward to being trapped on a barely inhabited island with you for the next twenty-four hours.

Captain Jack:
Esme! Take the rope?

Esme:
Sure!

Boy:
Duck and cover!

Lilly:
Bryce! You got me wet!

Ariel:
Point me to the nearest café and I'll see you all in an hour.

Sally:
Ha. That's very funny.

Trinculo:
No services on Waldron at all, right? No electricity or garbage collection or police?

Jenny:
No crime.

Caliban:
Now this is the life for me. Far away from the backbiting of New York. No smell of urine on the pavement. No honking horns.

Ariel:
No black people.

Ferdinand:
What if someone gets hurt? Are there doctors on the island? Is there a clinic?

Dale:
Clinically speaking, we'll be in isolation.

Peg:
All right. Here we are. Watch your step everyone. Take a look around, actors. This beach will be your stage.

Miranda:
So where do I hide before coming out the first time?

Ariel:
Oh, coming out is a bitch that first time, no doubt about it. Right, Ferdinand? But the good news is that once you're out, you're out.

Peg:
You'll be behind this rock, Miranda. And Caliban, you'll hide over there, behind that one. Ariel, over here.

Frankie:
(
Lifting a piece of driftwood up to Lilly.
) What do you think of this as a loaf of bread?

Lilly:
I'm not eating it.

Frankie:
For the Spirits' Feast, silly. We can use seaweed for a salad. And some cedar bark for pasta.

Trinculo:
The audience sits where?

Dale:
They'll bring blankets and chairs and pillows and sit on the sand.

Peg:
With their backs to the water.

Trinculo:
With the tide coming in, they might wish they went back-to-the-land.

Esme:
Welcome everyone. Who wants to come up to the house? Some neighbors brought snacks over and I can show you the various places to sleep. Remember when choosing a spot that the moon will be full tonight. It will be bright enough to cast shadows out in the open.

Lilly:
(
To Trinculo.
) Do you want me to take you up to the house?

Jenny:
Go with your sister, Lilly. Put your stuff by the bed.

Trinculo:
Wow. Look at that.

Jenny:
What?

Trinculo:
That tree over there. It's been broken in half somehow. Lightning maybe? And there's a round boulder balancing on top.

Jenny:
It's Raven's. He has sculptures all through the woods here.

Trinculo:
And check this out. A mobile of driftwood and clamshells. How cool. What a place! Waldron Island.

Jenny:
Don't.

Trinculo:
But we're all alone, Jenny. In the deep dark woods.

Jenny:
I know, but . . .

Trinculo:
You act as if it's wrong of you to want to be with someone. You're an adult woman. You're single.

Jenny:
Lilly is in love with you. Or hadn't you noticed?

Trinculo:
Lilly is a kid. You don't think I'm interested in her, do you?

Jenny:
You wouldn't be the first.

Trinculo:
I like women a little older than that. Late thirties. (
Raises an eyebrow at her, questioning.
) Forty?

Jenny:
(
Smiling
.) Forty-two.

Trinculo:
(
Leans in to kiss her again.
) Forty-two. Exactly. (
Steps back.
) You don't trust me.

Jenny:
Well, you are an actor.

Trinculo:
Hmm. So if I were, say, a carpenter, I'd have a better chance?

Jenny:
Stop that. David is just a friend.

Trinculo:
Is it Monroe then? Is that the reason? I guess a guy like that might ruin a woman's trust in men.

Jenny:
(
Stands still and stares at him.
) What do you know about Monroe?

Trinculo:
Just what Lilly told me. That he was an asshole.

Jenny:
Lilly told you that? What else did she say?

Trinculo:
That she went to see him once. In Seattle.

Jenny:
She went to see him? She went to see Monroe?

Trinculo:
She said he was living in a dingy apartment downtown. And that he asked her for money.

Jenny:
She's confiding in you, and Lilly doesn't do that often, believe me. This is a big deal, Trinculo. This is serious. (
She places her hand on his shoulder.
) And you have to put a stop to it right now. Tell her, in no uncertain terms, that you are not interested in her. She won't believe me. She just thinks I . . .

Trinculo:
You what?

Jenny:
(
Resumes walking.
) Never mind.

Trinculo:
You like me?

Trinculo:
(
Twirls.
) She likes me. She really likes me.

Jenny:
Talk to her.

Trinculo:
If I do, will you sneak off with me tonight? After the show?

Jenny:
(
Blushes.
) We'll see.

Trinculo:
I'll do it. I'll do it tonight.

Stephano:
Tell not me. When the butt is out, we will drink water—not a drop before; therefore bear up and board'em. Servant-monster, drink to me.

Trinculo:
Servant-monster? The folly of this island! They say there's but five upon this isle; we are three of them; if th' other two be brain'd like us, the state totters.

Stephano:
Drink, servant-monster, when I bid thee. Thy eyes are almost set in thy head.

Trinculo:
Where should they be set else? He were a brave monster indeed if they were set in his tail.

Peg:
(
To the audience.
) I'd move your stuff a foot or two if you don't want to get wet.

Peg:
Don't say I didn't warn you.

Stephano:
My man-monster hath drown'd his tongue in sack. For my part, the seat cannot drown me; I swam, ere I could recover the shore, five and thirty leagues off and on. By this light, thou shalt be my lieutenant, monster, or my standard.

Trinculo:
Your lieutenant, if you list, he's no standard.

Stephano:
We'll not run, Monsieur Monster.