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SING THE BODY ELECTRIC by

Michael Hollinger

3/5/18

Representation: Michael Hollinger Alexis Williams 8123 Cadwalader Ave. Bret Adams, Ltd. Elkins Park, PA 19027 448 W. 44th Street 215.380.1704 New York, NY 10036 [email protected] [email protected] 212.765.5630 © 2016 Michael Hollinger / All Rights Reserved

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CAST

JESS, 17 DORIS, her mom, 40s BLAKE, 18 LLOYD, his dad, 40s CLAIRE, 30s-‐40s Please consider all racial combinations in casting actors, including mixed-‐race families.

SETTING

South Florida, indoors and out.

TIME

The present. Late spring.

…….

NOTES

A (Beat.) lasts as long as it takes to say “beat”; (Pause.) lasts longer; (Long pause.) longer still. (Silence.) is longest. When one character begins speaking before another has finished, the beginning of the overlap is indicated by a slash [ / ]. Thus, an actor with a slash in her or his line should ignore it and continue speaking without interruption, as it is merely a cue for the next speaker. A dash (—) indicates where one speaker is cut off by the next; an ellipsis (...) indicates where a speaker trails off, or searches for a word, not an interruption. A word or phrase spoken in conjunction with “air quotes” is bracketed by asterisks (e.g., *Mr. Nungesser*).

……. “The love of the body of man or woman balks account, the body itself balks account, That of the male is perfect, and that of the female is perfect.” Walt Whitman “I Sing the Body Electric”

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In darkness, we hear the voice of CLAIRE, who has been talking at a leisurely pace for a while and is unlikely to stop anytime soon. CLAIRE Sometimes I feel like I’ve spent my whole life in the dark. I mean about love and sex. Bumpin’ inta things, like a blind person; gettin’ hurt; makin’ the same mistakes, over and over and over… (Out of the darkness, a flame appears, glows for a few seconds, then goes out.) I don’t know what it is about me that seems to attract the assholes, pardon my French. I mean, is there like a neon sign above my head sayin’ “Assholes Welcome”? ‘Cause I don’t know how else to explain it. They just find me. (The flame appears again, glows, goes out, as lights rise slowly to reveal three folding chairs, spaced apart. In these sit, left to right: CLAIRE, BLAKE and DORIS. BLAKE leans on his knees, considering the disposable lighter in his hand. CLAIRE sports a bandage over one eye.) See this? Seven stitches. (BLAKE looks up and out, as if Claire sits opposite him.) I counted every one of ‘em goin’ in. This’ll leave a scar for damn sure, and maybe that’s not such a bad thing, when all’s said and done. (BLAKE looks down at his lighter again.) To have a reminder, right on your body, to keep you from slidin’ down that same old slippery slope. Like a warnin’ light, on your dashboard. Though, to be perfectly honest, I tend to ignore them, too… (BLAKE strikes his lighter again, considering the flame, then lets it go out, repeating this pattern in a leisurely way throughout the following.) ‘Cause love and sex, they mark us, whether we like it or not. Inside and out. (DORIS checks her watch.) My mother was a beautiful woman – skin like a porcelain doll – but she had scars inside, boy, big ones. DORIS (looking out) Claire? (BLAKE looks up.) CLAIRE You’d never know it to look at her, always smilin’, bright as sunshine, but she did. She had some uglies in there. Too much stumblin’ around in the dark. Like me. DORIS Claire? (CLAIRE looks out.) CLAIRE Yeah? DORIS Are you almost finished?

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CLAIRE I was gettin’ there. DORIS Well…we’re almost out of time. CLAIRE Oh – okay. DORIS And I want to make sure that everyone who wants to share has a / chance— CLAIRE Oh, sure. DORIS If you’re done. CLAIRE I wasn’t, but that’s okay. (Beat.) DORIS It doesn’t sound okay… CLAIRE I’m fine; whatever. (Pause.) DORIS Well – okay, then. (BLAKE returns his attention to the lighter.) Um, Blake? BLAKE (looking out) Yeah? DORIS Do you have something to share this week? BLAKE Nah, I’m good. DORIS We’ve still got a couple of minutes… BLAKE I’m good. (Pause.)

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DORIS Okay. (Beat.) Well, then, I guess we’ll just close in our usual way, so… (DORIS stands.) Sit up tall and shut your eyes… (BLAKE shuts his eyes.) Place your palms on / your-‐-‐ CLAIRE Can I finish what I was sayin’, then? (BLAKE opens his eyes. Beat.) DORIS What? CLAIRE My story. Since we still got time. (Beat.) DORIS Um…sure, Claire. Go ahead. (DORIS sits. BLAKE returns his attention to the lighter, striking a flame, considering it, letting it die again, through the following.) CLAIRE I guess all I got left to say is: I am done with this love and sex thing. I mean for good. I can deal with the inside scars; maybe that’s just the price of admission. But once they start showin’ up on your body – like when your eyebrow winds up on the receivin’ end of some guy’s ring? That’s when you say, “Enough a this goddamn, fuckin’ bullshit.” (Beat. She strokes her bandage as lights begin to fade.) Pardon my French. (Fade to black.)

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Out of the darkness, a desk or floor lamp flicks on, revealing JESS, 17, who sits at a dressing table with mirror. She stares at the light for a few seconds, then flicks it off. A few seconds’ darkness, then it’s on again; she stares, then flicks it off. This happens a few more times until, when the lamp is lit, DORIS calls to Jess from outside her door: DORIS Jessie? (JESS flicks the light off.) JESS What. DORIS What are you doing? JESS Nothing. DORIS Then why is your light going on and off? JESS I don’t know. (DORIS enters Jess’s room, allowing a shaft of light in.) DORIS Well…can you turn it back on? JESS Why. DORIS Because I feel like I’m talking to a Black Hole… (Beat. JESS turns the light on.) Thank you. (Beat.) I wanted to know if you’d like something special for your birthday. JESS I already told you. DORIS When. JESS Every day for the last two months…?

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DORIS I meant for dinner. JESS Oh. I don’t care, whatever. DORIS Maybe Szechuan Palace? Not for takeout, to eat there. JESS Why won’t you let me get a tattoo? DORIS You know why. JESS I’m old enough if you go there with me. DORIS I don’t care if it’s legal or not, you’re still too young. JESS That doesn’t make sense. DORIS Once you get one, it’s on you for good. JESS I can go by myself in a year. DORIS Then you’ll go by yourself; and pay for it, too. JESS Fine. (She turns the light out again. Pause.) DORIS Can you turn your light on again, please? JESS Why? DORIS Because we’re not done talking. JESS I am. DORIS Well I’m not.

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(Pause. The light comes back on.) I talked with Mrs. Kane about your grades. JESS Great. DORIS They’re really not that bad. (She removes a folded sheet of paper from her back pocket.) JESS And you’re not mad, you’re just disappointed. DORIS I’m not disappointed. (She unfolds the sheet.) JESS Then why are we talking? DORIS (Referring to the sheet:) Your grade in English is pretty good… JESS I know. DORIS And History stayed the same… JESS It should’ve gone up. DORIS Well, still… JESS He’s just still pissed about that thing I said. DORIS What thing. JESS It doesn’t matter. DORIS If it’s affecting your grade, I think it probably does. JESS It doesn’t. (Pause.)

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DORIS Okay. JESS Are we done? DORIS No, we’re not. The one I actually wanted to talk to / you— JESS Physics. DORIS Right. So what’s going on there? JESS What do you mean? DORIS You went from a C / to— JESS C plus. DORIS Fine, C plus, to D minus. JESS She’s a sucky teacher. DORIS What’s that mean. JESS She’s old, she’s boring, she puts stuff on the tests she never covered in class… DORIS Do you go to class? JESS Often enough to know she’s a sucky teacher. DORIS You have to go to class. JESS I can’t. DORIS You can.

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JESS She’s literally boring me to death. DORIS I had sucky teachers too, you know. JESS And you dropped out. DORIS Of college, not high school. JESS You lasted what, one semester? DORIS This is not about me. JESS We really don’t need to do this. DORIS Do what. JESS Have this conversation, over and over. Just so you can say “I tried.” DORIS That’s not why I’m doing this. JESS Then why are you doing it? (Pause.) DORIS I came in to tell you I got you a tutor. (She refolds and pockets the paper.) JESS Oh, great. (She turns her light out.) DORIS Just through finals. JESS How much are you paying? DORIS It doesn’t matter.

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JESS How ‘bout you just pay me and I’ll promise to bring my grade up? DORIS He’ll be over tomorrow. After dinner. JESS You’re wasting your money. DORIS I certainly hope not. JESS What’s his name? DORIS Why. JESS I have to call him something. Unless you want me to say, “Hey you.” (Beat.) DORIS His name is Lloyd Nungesser. (Beat.) JESS “Nungesser”? DORIS I know, it’s a funny name… (JESS turns the light back on.) JESS Is he related to Blake? DORIS Um…yeah; his father. Why – you know Blake? JESS Duh. He’s a year ahead of me. DORIS Right. JESS Did he hook you up with his dad? (Beat.)

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DORIS I really can’t answer that question. JESS I know he’s in your group. DORIS He told you? JESS I saw his name on your contact sheet. DORIS So much for patient privacy… JESS So now Blake knows I’m tanking in Physics. DORIS I never said that. JESS What did you say? DORIS He mentioned his dad taught Physics, or used to – at the high school -‐-‐ and I asked him whether he ever tutored. JESS Great. DORIS So he’ll be over tomorrow. JESS Fine. (She turns out her light. Pause.) DORIS Do you have homework? JESS I already did it. DORIS What was it? JESS English.

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DORIS What specifically. JESS We had to read a poem. DORIS One poem? JESS It was pretty long. (Beat.) DORIS What’s it called. JESS I don’t remember. DORIS Well, who wrote it. JESS Walt somebody. DORIS Okay. What’s it about? JESS Sex. (Pause.) DORIS Really? JESS You can read it if you don’t believe me. DORIS Of course I believe you; I was just curious, that’s all. (She starts to leave.) JESS Does Blake ever talk about what happened? (DORIS stops, turns back.) DORIS What do you mean? (JESS turns the light back on.)

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JESS In your group. About what happened to him and that girl. DORIS You know I’m not allowed to reveal what patients / say— JESS Right. Cause you’re such a stickler for rules. (Beat.) DORIS What the hell do you want from me? JESS Nothing. DORIS Then why don’t you cut me some slack? You’re not the only one who’s pissed off. Who wishes things were different. JESS For a therapist, you lose your shit a lot. (JESS turns her light out. Long pause.) DORIS You want to get a tattoo? (She withdraws the paper from her pocket and slams it on Jess’s dressing table.) You’ve got six weeks to bring these up. (She exits. Blackout.)

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A garage. Night. Perhaps a single shaded bulb casts a circle of light on and around BLAKE, who kneels, working on an inverted bicycle resting on its seat and handlebars. His father, LLOYD, stands nearby. LLOYD Is that Tommy’s old bike? BLAKE Yeah. LLOYD He just gave it to you? BLAKE I paid him twenty bucks for it. LLOYD Practically a gift… BLAKE I know. (Pause.) LLOYD Probably sell it for a lot more than that. BLAKE That’s what I’m thinking. (Pause.) LLOYD What is it, just three-‐speed? BLAKE Yeah. LLOYD Still… (Pause.) These old Schwinns are tough. I think I rode my first bike for 25 years – well, not the very first, that was a hand-‐me-‐down – crappy old thing, rust all over… (Long pause.) Was that your mom on the phone, before dinner? BLAKE Yeah. (Pause.) LLOYD How’s she doing?

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BLAKE Okay. (Pause.) LLOYD She still up in Jacksonville? BLAKE I guess. Can you hand me the hex wrench? (LLOYD does.) Sorry, big one. (LLOYD does.) Thanks. (BLAKE works. Long pause) LLOYD Did she ask about me? (BLAKE shuts his eyes and drops his hands.) Sorry; I know I shouldn’t— BLAKE That’s okay. LLOYD I just get curious, sometimes. (Pause. BLAKE resumes work.) BLAKE Did Doris call you? LLOYD Huh? BLAKE About tutoring. LLOYD Oh, yeah – thanks for that. BLAKE I didn’t do anything. LLOYD Well, you mentioned – I guess you told her about me. BLAKE Yeah. LLOYD So that’ll be good.

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BLAKE Are you going to do it? LLOYD Heck yeah; not turning anything down at this point. (Pause.) Do you like her? (Beat.) BLAKE Who. LLOYD Doris. As a, you know, a group leader. BLAKE She’s okay. (Pause.) LLOYD Does she get you to talk? BLAKE Everybody talks. LLOYD Good. Good. That’s the whole point, right? BLAKE I guess. (Pause.) LLOYD Do you know her daughter? BLAKE Not really. They just moved down here this winter. She’s in my art class. LLOYD What’s her name? BLAKE Jesse. Short for Jessica, but she spells it like a guy, like Jesse James? LLOYD Okay. (Pause.) I’m gonna go over there tomorrow night, start helping her study for finals. (Pause.) You got finals coming up?

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BLAKE Yeah, a couple. LLOYD Any you’re concerned about? (BLAKE stops working, looks at LLOYD.) BLAKE I think they’re gonna let me graduate. (Beat.) LLOYD Right; of course. (BLAKE returns to work. Pause.) Well. (He turns to go, then turns back.) If your mom calls back, can you let her know I’d like to talk to her? BLAKE She knows that. LLOYD I know, I just-‐-‐ Never mind… (He starts out again.) BLAKE I’ve told her. LLOYD That’s okay; it’s not your— BLAKE I tell her every time. LLOYD That’s fine. She’ll come back when she’s ready. BLAKE You really think so? (Pause.) Cause I really don’t. (Long pause.) LLOYD Yeah, you’re probably right. BLAKE I’ll tell her again, when she calls next time, but…

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LLOYD No, don’t bother; she wants to talk to you. (Beat.) That’s the whole point, right? (Beat. BLAKE returns to work. LLOYD looks up at the shaded light bulb for a few seconds. Lights fade.)

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A small dining room table with four chairs. A small flower arrangement at the center of the table. LLOYD holds a few textbooks, with a carton of eggs on top; DORIS stands nearby, holding a dish towel. LLOYD I know I’m early… DORIS No, that’s fine. LLOYD You were closer than I thought. DORIS I was just drying the dishes. (calling off) Jessie! LLOYD Here, I wanted to give you something. (He holds out the egg carton.) DORIS What’s this? LLOYD Eggs! DORIS I can see that, I just— LLOYD I keep chickens. DORIS Oh! LLOYD Six of them. DORIS How about that… LLOYD All different breeds, too, so the eggs are – open it up. (She does.) DORIS Wow…

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LLOYD All different colors. DORIS That’s amazing. I just assumed they were all white… LLOYD Most people do. (indicating various eggs) But the Rhode Island Reds lay brown ones, reddish brown; the Easter Eggers lay blue and green… DORIS Huh! LLOYD That one’s Judy, she’s a Plymouth Rock. DORIS Let me pay you for these… LLOYD No, no, they’re a gift. DORIS (insisting politely) Really… LLOYD You’re already gonna be paying me. Besides, this time of year, they’re really kicking them out. Blake and I can’t eat them fast enough. DORIS Well, thanks, I’ll-‐-‐ We’ll have them for breakfast. (calling off) Jessie! LLOYD They’re good for dinner, too. JESS (off, distant) I’m on the phone! DORIS (calling off) Tell him to call back later! LLOYD Or whenever.

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DORIS She got a call from her dad… LLOYD Oh. DORIS Yeah. (Beat.) She’ll be down. (LLOYD nods. Pause.) LLOYD Blake and I once had eggs six meals in a row, though I don’t recommend it. DORIS Why not? LLOYD I’d rather not say. DORIS Oh; okay. (Beat. Then, calling off:) Mr. Nungesser’s here! LLOYD You can just call me Lloyd. DORIS I know, but she should— LLOYD When I was at the high school, I had to be *Mr. Nungesser*; this can be more informal. DORIS Well…all right. (Pause.) I better get these in the fridge… (She exits with the eggs.) LLOYD Oh, there’s no rush; they stay good pretty long. DORIS (off) Still… (As DORIS continues speaking, LLOYD looks about the room, takes in the flower arrangement.) Down here, in this heat, everything ripens so fast… (He leans in and sniffs it.)

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I bought a bunch of bananas last week? Three days later, I had to throw them out; they were already mushy. (LLOYD fingers the plastic arrangement, finally lifting the whole thing out and looking inside the vase. DORIS calls out, closer now:) Jessie, come on now – don’t keep him waiting! (Hearing DORIS approach, LLOYD hastily restores the arrangement. She enters.) LLOYD That’s okay; let her talk. DORIS I’m sorry, he always-‐-‐ LLOYD Kids need to talk to their parents -‐-‐ that’s fine. I don’t have anyplace else to be. DORIS Well, thanks. (Pause.) I guess you’ve got a rooster, too, then. LLOYD Actually, that’s a common misconception. DORIS What is. LLOYD That you need a rooster to get eggs. (Beat.) DORIS You don’t? LLOYD Think about it: you ovulate once a month, whether there’s a man around or not, right? DORIS Yeah, I guess. LLOYD Well it’s the same thing with chickens, only once a day, or thereabouts. DORIS Wow; LLOYD Interesting, huh?

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DORIS now I feel stupid. LLOYD No, no – a lot of people think that. DORIS Well…a lot of people are stupid… LLOYD That’s true. (They share a chuckle. It fades.) That’s very true… (They just look at each other. Lights fade.)

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A school art room. BLAKE sits on a stool, drawing. After a moment, JESS enters, regards him from a distance, finally speaks: JESS Hey. BLAKE (looking up) Hey. (He returns to drawing. JESS moves behind him and studies what he’s doing, then:) JESS That looks just like you. BLAKE Thanks. (He continues. Pause.) JESS Did you draw that from a picture? BLAKE At first. (He reveals a photo tucked beneath the drawing.) Then I just started adding stuff. JESS Did she say you could do that? BLAKE What. JESS Use a picture. BLAKE I don’t know; I just did. JESS She told Tina she had to use a mirror. BLAKE Why? JESS I don’t know.

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BLAKE That just seems weird. JESS What’s weird about it? BLAKE Having to look at yourself that long. JESS Isn’t that what you did? (She picks up the photo and looks at it.) BLAKE I guess. But at least I wasn’t looking back at me. (He works. JESS sits on a nearby stool. Pause.) JESS Your dad’s my tutor. BLAKE Yeah, I know. JESS You must be really good at science. BLAKE Why? JESS Because he teaches it. BLAKE I don’t think it works like that. JESS I’m tanking in Physics. BLAKE (looking up) Do you want to be a physicist? JESS God no; kill me now. BLAKE Then it probably doesn’t matter that much. (He returns to drawing. Pause.) JESS I hear you fix bikes.

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BLAKE Yeah. JESS Do people pay you for that? BLAKE Yeah. JESS That’s cool. (Pause.) I babysit. The money’s not great, but at least they have wi-‐fi. (Pause.) I got a job at McDonald’s, back home? But I had to quit after like three days. BLAKE Why? JESS All the cockroaches. BLAKE Seriously? JESS It was disgusting. BLAKE Did you stop eating there? JESS No, I still eat there. I mean, the one down here, on the strip. BLAKE Yeah, me, too. (Pause.) JESS We used to catch them and throw them in the bug zapper, out back. (BLAKE just looks at her.) Well, not me; this kid I worked with, Ricky Schmuck. That was his real name, I swear. BLAKE Damn… (He returns to work.) JESS Sometimes we’d go back there on breaks and watch the other bugs get zapped. You know, the

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moths and beetles, and whatever. They can’t help themselves. It’s like, “Oh, cool, a light, check it out” ZAP! (Beat.) It was pretty entertaining. (Long pause.) Why aren’t you going to college? (BLAKE looks at her.) BLAKE Don’t you have a self-‐portrait to finish? JESS I just handed it in. (BLAKE gives a little nod, then returns to work.) Doesn’t look anything like me, though. On purpose. (Beat.) So why aren’t you going? (Beat.) BLAKE Lots of people don’t go. JESS Stupid people... (Pause.) I heard you got in – a bunch of places. BLAKE Who told you that? JESS Mike Vargas. (BLAKE just nods. Pause.) Was it too much money? BLAKE I just don’t feel like going right now. JESS So, what, you just want to hang around here -‐-‐ fixing bikes and living at home? BLAKE Why do you care? JESS I don’t. I was just wondering. (BLAKE returns to drawing.) What do you think of my mom? (BLAKE looks at her.) She told me you’re in her therapy group. (BLAKE looks at her for another couple of seconds, then resumes drawing.)

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Don’t worry, she’s not allowed to say what people talk about. BLAKE I don’t talk. (Beat.) JESS That’s cool. I wouldn’t either. (The class change bell rings in the distance.) Well -‐-‐ later. (She gets up, starts off.) BLAKE Um… JESS Yeah? BLAKE I’m not done with that. JESS What. BLAKE The picture. JESS Oh! Sorry; BLAKE That’s okay. JESS I didn’t even realize I was holding it. (She holds it out to him.) BLAKE Thanks. (Before he reaches it, she pulls it back.) JESS Psych! (He looks at her.) Just kidding. (She holds it out again. He doesn’t reach for it; they just look at each other. Blackout.)

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The dining room. A store-‐bought “Happy Birthday” banner now stretches across an expanse, with balloons periodically hanging from it. LLOYD, with books, as before, and JESS, both standing. LLOYD Looks like somebody had a birthday… JESS Yeah. LLOYD You, your mom? JESS Me. LLOYD Congratulations. JESS Thanks. (She sits.) LLOYD 16? JESS 17. LLOYD Right. JESS I should have my license by now, but my mom keeps putting off getting the permit. I think she’s afraid I’ll kill somebody. LLOYD Well…I’m sure you’ll have it soon enough. (He sits, setting his books on the table.) JESS Maybe. LLOYD So, last time I suggested you look over Chapter 2 for tonight; did you happen to do that? JESS Not really. (Beat.)

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LLOYD Okay, then, we’ll just start from scratch – see what you remember from class. And if anything seems like you’ve got it down cold, let me know, cause I sure don’t want to bore you to death. (He chuckles.) JESS Okay. LLOYD (opening a textbook) SO…why don’t we start with Newton and those three Laws of Motion – unless you want to start somewhere else…? JESS That’s fine. LLOYD Okay. So the First Law – called “the law of inertia” -‐-‐ is pretty simple: An object at rest will stay at rest, and an object in motion will stay in motion, unless it’s acted upon / by-‐-‐ JESS Actually… (Beat.) LLOYD Yeah? JESS Can you explain lightning? (Pause.) LLOYD Lightning? JESS That’s Physics, isn’t it? LLOYD Well – yeah… JESS Then can we start with that? (Beat.) Unless that would be weird for you… LLOYD Is lightning going to be on your final? JESS I don’t know. She never tells us what’s on the test.

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LLOYD Well, is it something she covered this year? JESS Maybe. I cut a lot of classes. (Pause.) LLOYD Well…sure; I can, we can talk about that. (He sets his book aside.) Um, let’s see: so, everything’s made of atoms, right? JESS Right… LLOYD And atoms are made of particles – protons, neutrons and electrons. JESS Okay… LLOYD And these particles have charges: protons are positive, electrons are negative, and neutrons are— JESS Neutral. LLOYD Yeah – did you learn that in class? JESS It was kind of obvious. LLOYD Right. Anyway, things -‐-‐ like the earth, or…this table, or you -‐-‐ tend to want to be neutral – that is, balanced in terms of positive and negative. But sometimes they lose electrons, giving them a positive charge; or gain electrons, making them negative. You follow? JESS What’s this have to do with lightning? LLOYD We’re getting there. Now, opposite charges attract each other, and the same ones push each other away. I could show you if I had my… (Beat. He looks up at the birthday display, then back at her.) Can I borrow one of your balloons? JESS Sure, whatever. (He stands, removing a white one from the display.)

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LLOYD Okay, now electrons are kind of fickle – they easily move between two things. If I rub this balloon on my head, (He does.) it actually steals electrons from my hair, so the balloon becomes negatively charged, and my hair becomes— JESS Positive. LLOYD Right! Then, when I hold the balloon up to your head, (He does.) that negative charge repels the electrons in your hair, leaving your hair positively charged, so it’s attracted to the balloon. (It is.) JESS Cool. LLOYD Now, let’s say this balloon is a storm cloud. (He pulls a marker from his shirt pocket.) For some reason, and we’re not sure why, (He begins drawing minuses all over one side of the balloon.) its water molecules have lost some electrons, which collect here on the bottom, meaning…? JESS It’s negatively charged. LLOYD You got it. (He rests his elbow on the table, holding the balloon above, and turning the table’s surface into the ground.) So they repel the electrons on the ground, making it… JESS Positive. LLOYD Yep. So now these electrons start getting drawn down to the earth… (With the sharpie, he draws little minuses on his forearm, descending from the wrist on down.) making a jaggedy, zig-‐zag path, maybe with branches coming off here and there, like this… (He draws more minuses, forming a familiar lightning shape.) Until it reaches the ground, or a tree, or… JESS Person… (Beat.)

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LLOYD Right; and…that’s when all this energy gets released -‐-‐ back up the electron path to the cloud. (He draws it on his arm.) And we see a big flash, hear a big sound… JESS It goes up, not down? LLOYD Technically, yeah. JESS Huh. (Pause.) LLOYD And that’s how lightning works. (He sets down the balloon and slides the book back in place.) Now, how ‘bout we look at those Three Laws / of— JESS Is that what happened to Blake? (Beat.) LLOYD Blake? JESS Yeah; when he got struck. (Pause.) LLOYD Um…yes, I guess it was. JESS That’s crazy. LLOYD Well, it all makes sense – in terms of Physics. JESS I mean, it’s like he, I don’t know. Touched the sky, or something. LLOYD That’s a…pretty poetic way of looking at it. JESS It’s more common than people think – especially down here in Florida.

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LLOYD Really. JESS There’s this one guy who got struck like seven times. LLOYD Seven times? JESS I read a whole thing online about it. LLOYD If I were him, I’d stay indoors. JESS I think he must’ve liked it. (Pause.) LLOYD Liked what. JESS Getting struck. Over and over. (Pause.) LLOYD I very much doubt it. JESS Well, why else would he have kept on doing it? (Beat.) LLOYD You think he wanted to get struck ? JESS I don’t know; the site didn’t say. But if he didn’t, he did a sucky job of avoiding it… (LLOYD takes this in, as lights fade.)

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In darkness, the voice of CLAIRE again, in the middle of another long story. It’s group therapy, the following week. CLAIRE Anyway, I got a cousin, up in New Jersey – more like a sister, really -‐-‐ and she flies me up to spend a few days with her and her husband. He’s Norwegian, not that that matters. And Saturday night we go out to a bar and lo and behold, they got a pool table. (Out of the darkness, a flame appears.) Now I can’t play for shit -‐-‐ pardon my French -‐-‐ but I do love me a game of pool. (The flame disappears again.) And me and my cousin are playin’ a round, or whatever you call it, and laughin’ our you-‐know-‐ whats off, when I notice this guy lookin’ at me, sippin’ his drink, you know, just sippin’ and lookin’, sippin’ and lookin’… (The flame appears again as lights rise slowly to reveal, left to right, DORIS, BLAKE and CLAIRE. BLAKE considers the flame, as before; DORIS seems lost in thought. Claire’s bandage is gone, though a scar remains visible.) And we end the game, my cousin and me, and start to head back to our table; but as I pass by this guy he says, “I like the way you hold your man.” Which I only find out later actually means somethin’ in pool. (BLAKE lets the flame go out, continuing the pattern throughout the following.) And we get to talkin’, me and this guy, and play a round, or whatever it’s called, and talk some more, and before you know it, it’s closin’ time. So I say goodnight and my cousin takes me by the arm – ‘cause she knows how I get at closin’ time. But this guy grabs my hand, whips out a pen, and writes his number on the back. And I look at him, and he gives me a smile…and my cousin drags me out the door. (CLAIRE looks out.) Do I still have time? (BLAKE looks up, letting the flame go out. Beat.) Doris? DORIS Hmm? CLAIRE Do I still have time left, or… DORIS (checking her watch) Oh – no, you’re…actually three minutes over. CLAIRE Sorry; DORIS That’s okay. CLAIRE My other group, we can talk as long as we want.

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DORIS Well, I’m glad, / but-‐-‐ CLAIRE Is Blake gonna share today? (Beat.) DORIS I don’t know. Blake? BLAKE That’s okay. DORIS Wouldn’t you like to share something? BLAKE Not really. (Beat.) DORIS Are you sure? BLAKE I’m good. (Pause.) DORIS Okay... Claire, I guess you can keep going, then. CLAIRE I don’t need to, if this is boring… DORIS No – please. CLAIRE My other group liked it. DORIS We’ve got time, so…go ahead. (Beat.) CLAIRE Where was I? DORIS Um…well…

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CLAIRE Right – the number on my hand. Well, we get back to my cousin’s place, tiptoein’ so’s not to wake the Norwegian; and she heads to bed, and I head into the bathroom, where I look at the number on my hand, under the glare of that bathroom light. (BLAKE strikes the lighter again, considering the flame.) Then I look into the mirror and see my scar; then back at my hand again... (BLAKE looks up, now curious about the outcome. Beat.) Finally, I grab a bar of soap and the toilet brush, and scrub the back of my hand till it bleeds, but goddammit, I get that fucker off. (She wells up as she proudly displays the back of her scraped-‐up hand as evidence.) Pardon my French, but I did. I got rid a him good. (She holds back the tears as lights fade to black.)

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Doris’s dining room. LLOYD and DORIS, following another tutoring session. DORIS holds a checkbook and pen; LLOYD holds his books. DORIS You okay with a check this time? LLOYD Sure. DORIS I didn’t get to the bank. LLOYD They close too early. DORIS It’s not that; I just forgot. Got caught up in, I don’t know, something. (She begins writing in the checkbook.) LLOYD “Lloyd” has two L’s – like “llama.” DORIS I know. LLOYD I figured you did, but some people don’t, so I always say that, just in case. DORIS (as she writes) How are things going with Jessie? LLOYD Good! I mean, I think. She’s very smart. DORIS Oh, smart’s never been the issue. (She tears off a check.) As long as she passes, I’ll be happy. (She hands him the check.) LLOYD Well, me too. (He looks at the check. Beat.) DORIS Don’t tell me I spelled Nungesser wrong… LLOYD Huh? Oh, no – perfect.

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DORIS Good. LLOYD I was just— (Beat.) DORIS Just…? LLOYD What does “MHC” stand for? DORIS Oh – Mental Health Counselor. LLOYD Gotcha. DORIS Sometimes you’ll see “MFT” for Marriage and Family Therapist… LLOYD Right. DORIS Lotta ways to slice it. LLOYD When I was looking for somebody Blake could talk to -‐-‐ when things were, you know, scary -‐-‐ I didn’t know where to start. Everybody’s got a different set of letters... DORIS We’re all just trying to help. LLOYD Then I saw your flyer in Gleason’s… DORIS Right. LLOYD And figured, “She looks nice.” (Beat.) DORIS Well – I’m glad you did. LLOYD Me too.

3/5/18

DORIS So, we’ll see you again on Tuesday? LLOYD Sure – long as that’s good for you. DORIS That’s fine. LLOYD I may even have enough eggs to bring over. DORIS Oh, please, you don’t have to— LLOYD I know; I just like it. Would’ve brought more tonight, but…well, I lost two chickens, night before last. DORIS Oh, I’m sorry… LLOYD Thanks. DORIS I hope you find them. (Beat.) LLOYD They’re not missing; DORIS What? LLOYD they were killed. DORIS Oh! LLOYD By a predator. DORIS When you said you lost them,-‐-‐ LLOYD Yeah, no, I realize that now.

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DORIS What was it? LLOYD Raccoon, probably. DORIS How do you know? LLOYD Their heads were gone. DORIS Oh, god. LLOYD Yeah, chewed them clean off, left the rest behind. DORIS That’s horrible. LLOYD Well, it’s my own fault, for leaving the hatch unlocked. But yeah, it’s kind of upsetting – you know, finding your pets decapitated. DORIS Of course. LLOYD Then there’s the blood and the bodies to clean up. DORIS Right. LLOYD And feathers – Jesus! So many feathers… I’m sorry, did that offend you? DORIS Offend me? LLOYD When I said “Jesus” like that. DORIS Oh – no. LLOYD Cause some people down here, they get offended. When you take the Lord’s-‐-‐ DORIS I’m not offended.

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LLOYD Good, good. (Pause.) DORIS Well,-‐-‐ LLOYD They tell you not to name your chickens. It only makes things worse when something… DORIS Sure. LLOYD But I did it anyway, well, Blake and me. Important to have a, I don’t know, feminine presence around the house or something. (Pause.) DORIS What are-‐-‐ What were their names? LLOYD Rose and Tilda. Short for Mathilda. (Doris nods sympathetically.) Both of ‘em two years old. DORIS You must hate that raccoon. LLOYD No, not really. DORIS You must. LLOYD It doesn’t know what it’s doing. It sees a chicken and wants it – that’s not evil. That’s just nature talking. DORIS You’re more forgiving than I would be. LLOYD Oh, believe me, I’m no saint; DORIS Who is? LLOYD there’s plenty of things I hate. And people.

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DORIS Still, you’re able to let go. LLOYD Sometimes. (Beat.) Sometimes. (Pause.) DORIS Well…again, I’m sorry. We’ll see you Tuesday, then. LLOYD Can I just…? DORIS Yeah? (Beat.) LLOYD Do you ever take on private clients? DORIS Clients? LLOYD Patients, whatever you call them. DORIS Patients. LLOYD I know that’s what therapists call them, but you’re a counselor, so I didn’t know… DORIS We’re pretty much the same thing. LLOYD Oh, okay. DORIS Yes, I see patients one on one. LLOYD Would you see me? (Beat.) DORIS As a patient?

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LLOYD Yeah. Only if you have the time… DORIS No, that’s…that’s fine. LLOYD Unless it’s a conflict of interest. DORIS How would it be / a – LLOYD Because I tutor your daughter. DORIS No, that’s perfectly… That’s not a conflict of interest; LLOYD Great. DORIS not at all. LLOYD Because I think I have some issues – is that what you call them? DORIS Call what. LLOYD Issues. Like, *anger issues*? DORIS Oh, sure; that’s -‐-‐ You can call them issues. LLOYD I don’t know the jargon. DORIS You don’t have to know-‐-‐ That’s fine. LLOYD So where would we-‐-‐ Would we meet at the church? DORIS No, here. LLOYD Here? (He looks around.)

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DORIS Not in the dining room. I have a little office upstairs. LLOYD Oh. DORIS I only use the church space for my groups. LLOYD I see. DORIS So we’d meet here. LLOYD So…maybe tomorrow, after school? Or the next day -‐-‐ if you’ve got a slot. I’m subbing all week. DORIS Tomorrow would be fine. LLOYD How long is it, an hour? DORIS Fifty minutes. LLOYD Fifty? DORIS Right. (Beat.) LLOYD Is that typical? DORIS It’s pretty standard. LLOYD Huh. I didn’t know that. DORIS Yeah. LLOYD Maybe I should try that – tutor for fifty minutes and charge for an hour. (He chuckles. Beat.) Just kidding.

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DORIS I’ll see you tomorrow, then. LLOYD Right. (He exits quickly. She looks after him. Blackout.)

3/5/18

The garage. Day. BLAKE stands facing JESS, who has just entered. He holds a bike wheel with one hand. A few tools spill out of a toolbox on the floor. JESS Hey. BLAKE Hey. JESS I wasn’t sure which house was yours. BLAKE This one. JESS Duh. They practically all look alike out here, with the garage and the little awnings… (BLAKE nods.) Same in my neighborhood. I mean, they don’t look like these, they look like each other. (BLAKE nods.) I like yours better, though. At least the colors are different. (Pause.) BLAKE What are you doing here? JESS You said you fix bikes. BLAKE Yeah… JESS I brought a bike. To fix. Unless you don’t have time… BLAKE No, that’s -‐-‐ Sure. (JESS exits.) What’s wrong with it? JESS (off) It’s too small for me. BLAKE I’ll say. (JESS wheels on a small girl’s bicycle with handlebar tassels.) JESS I guess I grew out of it.

3/5/18

BLAKE When’s the last time you rode this? JESS I just rode it over here… BLAKE I mean before that. JESS I don’t know – fourth grade? (She makes a face. He chuckles.) BLAKE That makes sense. (He examines it more closely. JESS looks around.) JESS So this is where you work… BLAKE Yeah. JESS All those tools are yours? BLAKE Some belong to my dad, but yeah, mostly. JESS It’s like an actual bike shop… BLAKE Well, that’s kind of the point. (He studies the bike.) JESS I wish we had a garage. We had one back home. Now we just have a carport. BLAKE Why do you want a garage? JESS So I can start a band. BLAKE That’s cool. What do you play? JESS I don’t play anything. (Beat.)

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BLAKE So…you sing? JESS No. (Beat.) BLAKE Then why do you want to start a band? JESS I don’t know; I just want to be loud. (She looks at him. He smiles, then returns to the bike.) BLAKE This is really a little girl’s bike. I’m surprised you rode it all the way here. JESS My knees kept bumping into the handlebars… BLAKE I’ll bet. JESS So, can you just raise the seat or something? BLAKE I can raise the seat, but it still won’t fit you. You need a new bike. JESS Crap. BLAKE I could sell you a used one, if you’re interested. JESS I don’t really have any money right now; I’m still paying my mom back for my last phone, which I kind of trashed. BLAKE Then maybe a trade…? JESS A trade? BLAKE For this one. (Beat.) It’s still in pretty good shape…

3/5/18

JESS Um…maybe? BLAKE I don’t have any girl’s bikes right now… JESS Oh; BLAKE but some girls ride boys’ bikes. JESS I’ve ridden boys’ bikes. BLAKE That doesn’t bother you? JESS Why would it? BLAKE I don’t know; I’m not a girl. JESS My next-‐door neighbor let me ride his. Not here, back home. BLAKE You want to try one? JESS Sure, why not. BLAKE I don’t usually do straight trades. But this is in really good shape. JESS I hardly ever rode it. BLAKE And I just fixed up an old three-‐speed, used to be my cousin’s. JESS That sounds cool. BLAKE Hold on, I’ll get it. (He wheels the girl’s bike off. JESS looks up at the shaded light bulb, staring at it. Lights fade slightly, rising on:)

3/5/18

DORIS’s upstairs office. A pair of chairs. LLOYD and DORIS have just entered. LLOYD I thought there’d be a couch. DORIS A couch? LLOYD Like, I don’t know, you always see these pictures of people on couches next to a guy with a notepad. DORIS Oh… LLOYD Little goatee… DORIS That’s an analyst. LLOYD Okay. DORIS Like a Freudian. LLOYD I see. DORIS I’m just a counselor. LLOYD Right. DORIS So people just sit. LLOYD Just…sit and talk. DORIS About whatever you want. LLOYD All right, I can do that. (He sits, taking in his surroundings. She sits. Indicating off:) Is that a fountain?

3/5/18

DORIS Yeah. Doesn’t work anymore. (He nods, exhales heavily, trying to calm himself.) You seem nervous. LLOYD Well, I’ve never done this before… DORIS That’s fine. LLOYD I don’t want to get it wrong. DORIS You can’t / get it— LLOYD I know, I know, just kidding. But yeah, I do feel a little self-‐conscious. DORIS Then— LLOYD I can talk, though, that’s not hard. I do that every day, right? (DORIS just smiles and nods. LLOYD smiles, then looks away, nodding. After a few seconds:) Just talk… (He thinks for perhaps five more, then:) Sorry, I’m drawing a blank… DORIS You mentioned anger issues. Last night? LLOYD Right – well, let’s see: Um, I’ve been living alone for a while now – well, me and Blake – ever since his mother, my wife… DORIS Left you. LLOYD Yeah. Did he tell you that? DORIS I…figured it out. LLOYD I see. ‘Cause he doesn’t talk too much at home. Maybe he does in your group, but / not—

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DORIS Everyone gets a chance to share. LLOYD Okay. (Beat.) Alice – that’s the name of my… DORIS Right. LLOYD I guess you could say she cheated on me. Met a guy while she was visiting her mom, and started going up more and more often, for longer and longer stretches. Said the old lady was dying. DORIS She wasn’t? LLOYD Healthy as a horse; she’s like 80 now. Anyway, after she moved out, there was a kind of…hole in the house, in the shape of Alice. Everything connected to her – the shoes she left, the pictures, even this cactus she bought after Blake was born – it hurt, you know, just to look at. And I felt I couldn’t get rid of it, cause I never knew… DORIS When she might come back. LLOYD Yeah. (Pause.) DORIS How long has it been since she— LLOYD Three years. DORIS Wow. LLOYD Three years next month. DORIS That’s a long time. LLOYD Yeah. DORIS A really long time.

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LLOYD Yeah. (Beat.) She came back once, after Blake…you know. But soon as he was better – physically better – she took off again. That was last year. And now there’s still a hole in the house, but it’s not shaped like her anymore. When I come across her shoes, or wedding ring, or water her cactus – which isn’t too often, cause, you know… DORIS It’s a cactus… LLOYD Right. It doesn’t hurt me like it used to. Which makes me think I’m ready to move on. DORIS Good! LLOYD Is that good? DORIS Sounds good to me. LLOYD Well you would know. DORIS What would moving on mean for you? LLOYD Well, I don’t know. I was thinking of getting rid of her shoes. DORIS That sounds like a start. LLOYD She really loves shoes. I’m surprised she didn’t take them all with her, but maybe she just forgot about these. DORIS What else? LLOYD Maybe the cactus, too. But I don’t know, it’s a living thing; I can’t just throw it in the trash. DORIS Could you give it away? LLOYD That’s a good idea. Would you want it?

3/5/18

DORIS I don’t think so. LLOYD You could put in in here, with your dried-‐up fountain – get a little desert theme going… DORIS That’s okay. LLOYD Or maybe the shoes? What size do you wear? DORIS I think you should give them to somebody else, Lloyd; or take them to Goodwill, or throw them away. LLOYD You’re probably right. DORIS And get rid of that cactus, however you want. Replace it with something you really like. Maybe something that flowers. LLOYD Oh, the cactus flowers… DORIS Fine, but— LLOYD Once like every five years. DORIS Something that flowers more often than that. LLOYD Okay, I will. I’ll do it this week. DORIS Great. LLOYD Good. DORIS What else? (He looks at her. Pause.)

3/5/18

Lights crossfade to the garage, where BLAKE has wheeled in the boy’s bike, which has a small hand pump attached to the frame. BLAKE I just replaced the brakes, ‘cause they were pretty worn down. JESS Is Alice your mom’s name? (BLAKE looks up. Beat.) It’s written on all those boxes, so I figured… BLAKE Yeah. JESS That or an older sister. BLAKE I don’t have a sister. JESS Me neither. (Beat.) BLAKE Um…so this even comes with a little hand pump; you know how to use one? JESS You better show me. BLAKE Well, I just filled the tires, but if they get low, you can take this off… (He removes the pump from the frame.) pull out this part here and screw it on the other end. (He does.) JESS Okay. BLAKE Then you screw that end on the valve… (He does.) and pump it up like this. (He does.) Got it? JESS You look like you’re jacking off. (He stops pumping, then laughs in disbelief.)

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BLAKE You’re hilarious. (He unscrews the pump and reassembles it, finally snapping it back into place on the frame.) JESS Why doesn’t she live with you? (BLAKE shuts his eyes. Beat.) You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to… BLAKE She met a guy, and moved in with him. JESS Wow. BLAKE So: you want to try the bike? JESS That must’ve sucked. BLAKE Here. (He holds the bike out for her.) JESS My parents split up, too. BLAKE Sorry. JESS Want to know why? BLAKE Not really. JESS My dad was kind of an addict. (Beat.) BLAKE Okay… JESS Not like “Gotta have it, man…” strung out all the time, but still. He blew through all their savings in, like, six months. BLAKE Damn.

3/5/18

JESS Yeah. He disappeared once, when I was 15? And showed up a week later with this big tattoo of a moth on his chest. BLAKE A moth? JESS Yeah – huge. All different colors… BLAKE Why’d he put a moth on his chest? JESS My mom asked the same thing. He said he couldn’t remember doing it, so she threw him out. (Beat.) He’s better now, though. (BLAKE nods. Pause.) BLAKE Okay, so…why don’t you take it for a spin down the block and back – see how it feels. (JESS looks at him for a moment, then swings her leg over the top and sits.) JESS Feels big. BLAKE That’s because you’ve been riding that baby thing. Just give it a try – you’ll get used to it. (He watches as JESS rides off. Crossfade to:) The office. LLOYD Well – I’ve been thinking I’d like to go on a date. DORIS Okay… LLOYD Not just one, but, you know… DORIS You have to start with one. LLOYD Right. DORIS Baby steps.

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LLOYD Sure. (Beat.) DORIS When’s the last time you— LLOYD Never. Not since Alice left. DORIS Wow. LLOYD And I only ever really dated her. We met in high school. DORIS I see. LLOYD Dated all through college, after college… But now I’m ready, to try it again, with somebody else. DORIS Maybe a couple of somebodies. LLOYD Well, I’ll start with one. DORIS Right. LLOYD Baby steps. (She smiles.) DORIS And…is there a somebody you have in mind? LLOYD Well, it’s awkward. DORIS Why is it awkward? LLOYD Because we have a, you know, professional… DORIS I see.

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LLOYD relationship. DORIS Is she someone you teach with? (Beat.) LLOYD No, it’s you. (Beat.) DORIS Oh! LLOYD I thought you saw where I was going there. DORIS No, I – sorry. LLOYD See, I told you it was awkward. DORIS It’s…not awkward; I just didn’t expect… LLOYD Of course. DORIS I thought you were talking about someone else. LLOYD Yeah, no. DORIS Okay. (DORIS nods. Pause.) LLOYD Would that be a conflict of interest? (She just looks at him. Beat. Crossfade to:) The garage. JESS returns on the bike. BLAKE How’s that feel? JESS Not bad.

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BLAKE You almost wiped out. JESS I’m not used to it yet. BLAKE Maybe the seat’s a little high. Get off, I’ll adjust it. (She does; he bends down to fix it. She watches for a few moments, then:) JESS I heard about what happened to you, on the golf course. (BLAKE continues to work. Pause.) That must’ve been really hard. BLAKE Who were you talking to? JESS I don’t know; somebody. BLAKE Mike Vargas? JESS Probably. (BLAKE considers this.) I don’t believe half the things he says, though. BLAKE Good; you shouldn’t. JESS Like, he said it left these crazy scars on your arm and chest… BLAKE (standing) Here, try this. JESS Said he saw them in the locker room once, and that they were beautiful. BLAKE He said “beautiful”? JESS Maybe just “cool.” Like leaves, or ferns. BLAKE Yeah, well, Mike should keep his mouth shut.

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JESS So it’s true? BLAKE Are you gonna try this or not? JESS I’ll try it; I was just curious. (She throws her leg over the bike.) BLAKE You and everyone else last year. JESS I wasn’t here last / year. BLAKE “Dude, take your shirt off – show us your scars…” JESS And I’m not like everyone else. BLAKE Mrs. Kane had to make an announcement: “Leave him alone, he’s suffered enough.” JESS She actually said that? BLAKE That’s what I heard; I was out that week. (Beat.) So: how’s that feel? JESS Good. (She gets off the bike.) BLAKE Okay – straight trade, then? JESS Can you just tell me one thing? (Beat.) BLAKE About the bike? JESS About the golf course.

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BLAKE I’ve already told you a bunch of things. JESS And I told you about my dad. BLAKE I didn’t even ask about your dad! JESS I won’t tell anyone what you say; I promise. (Beat.) Just one thing. (Beat.) BLAKE What do you want to know? (Beat. Crossfade to:) DORIS’s office. DORIS A conflict of interest? LLOYD Yeah. Because I’m, you know, your patient, technically. (Beat.) DORIS Well, ordinarily, yes… LLOYD Oh; DORIS While you’re still my patient. LLOYD Okay. DORIS But when that relationship ends… LLOYD Right – good to know. DORIS In the meantime, maybe we could have you both over, you and Blake.

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LLOYD Oh – you mean…? DORIS You know, for dinner. LLOYD Yeah, that’d be… Sure! DORIS And then see where that goes. LLOYD Great – that sounds… Good idea. DORIS So…do you want to schedule that now? LLOYD The dinner? DORIS Sure, if you’re ready to-‐-‐ LLOYD Yeah – that’d be great. DORIS Okay. (She gets out her appointment book.) LLOYD Can it last more than fifty minutes? (She looks up at him. He chuckles.) DORIS You’re funny. LLOYD Thanks. DORIS How about Saturday? LLOYD Saturday’s perfect. Better than perfect. DORIS Saturday it is, then. (She writes it in as he watches her. Then:)

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LLOYD I hope it’s okay I brought this up… DORIS Actually, I’m really glad you did. LLOYD Oh – good. DORIS Both because I think it’s a really good step for you… LLOYD Uh huh… DORIS After all you’ve been through… LLOYD Yeah? DORIS The past few years. (Pause.) LLOYD And? (Beat.) DORIS And? LLOYD It sounded like you were going to say something else. DORIS Oh. I don’t remember. (Beat.) LLOYD Okay… (Lights fade entirely on them as they crossfade back to:) The garage. JESS What did it feel like? (Beat.) In that moment, with the lightning. Or the moment before -‐-‐ what did you feel? (Pause.)

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BLAKE My hair started to stand up. JESS Get out. Really? BLAKE Just before. Like when you put your hand on that metal ball at the science fair? JESS That wasn’t me. BLAKE I know, I meant the people that do. JESS That actually happened? BLAKE Yeah, it was weird. I put my hand up to touch it, then…boom. JESS It must’ve been really loud… BLAKE I guess. My ears rang for like three days. JESS No shit. Then what happened? BLAKE Then I felt like I was, I don’t know, getting stung by bees or something, from inside my body. JESS Damn. BLAKE And I saw this…bluish glow around me, just before I passed out. (Beat.) JESS Is that all you remember? BLAKE Pretty much. When I came to, in the ambulance, I didn’t know where I was. Or why I was wearing only one sneaker. JESS Why were you?

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BLAKE They said the other one blew off my body. Some golfer found it a couple days later. JESS Holy crap. BLAKE Yeah. (Beat.) So – you want the bike or not? JESS Somebody said a girl was with you. When you got struck. BLAKE “Somebody”? JESS Yeah. BLAKE Meaning Mike. JESS Maybe. Said her name was Melissa something. BLAKE Marissa. JESS Right. (Pause.) And that she died. (Beat. BLAKE drops his head.) That must have freaked you out. (BLAKE moves away.) Sorry, if this is too personal… (Long pause.) Yeah, this bike’s… Straight trade is fine. BLAKE (still facing away from her) I didn’t even know right away. They wouldn’t say what happened to her. (Pause.) JESS Was she your girlfriend? BLAKE I don’t know; I guess.

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JESS You guess? BLAKE We never talked about it. JESS Either you were or you weren’t. BLAKE Weren’t what. JESS Together. BLAKE Then I guess we were. It’s not like we were engaged or anything. JESS What were you doing on a golf course at night? BLAKE (turning to her) Is everyone from Pittsburgh this nosy? JESS I’m from Philly. BLAKE Wherever. JESS Yeah, pretty much. (She smiles. Beat.) So what were you doing? (Pause.) BLAKE She said she worked there weekends, and that sometimes you could see fireflies, when the weather’s right. JESS Fireflies? BLAKE Yeah. JESS What’s the big deal about fireflies?

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BLAKE You never see them down here. Not like up north. But she said they show up sometimes, near the trees. So I said I wanted to come some night, you know, just to walk around, run around… JESS Fool around…? (Beat.) BLAKE Maybe. (He looks at her. Pause.) JESS And did you see fireflies? BLAKE Yeah – a ton of them, all over. So we just hung out on a green, and talked, and…you know. Whatever. (Beat.) JESS Were you, like, having sex? BLAKE Jeez! JESS You don’t have to tell me. BLAKE You don’t let up. JESS I’m just curious. BLAKE I’ll say. JESS It’s a yes-‐or-‐no question. (Beat.) BLAKE We were just kissing, and stuff. On the green. JESS “And stuff.” (He smiles, then looks away. Pause.) BLAKE Then the thunder started.

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(BLAKE becomes increasingly lost in the memory; perhaps the sounds become real, if distant.) I don’t even hear it at first, she hears it; and says “We’d better go now,” and starts to grab her clothes. But I’m not ready to leave yet. Cause the night’s so dark, and the wind’s kicked in, and feels like it’s coming from all sides at once, like…like being in the ocean or something, when it’s really rough? Just being in the middle of so much… (He searches for the word. After a moment, she offers it:) JESS Power. (He looks at her.) BLAKE Yeah. (Beat.) And every now and then we see a flash, in the distance, and a couple of seconds later boom, then another flash, BOOM. And sometimes the thunder rumbles, you can feel it inside your whole body; other times it kind of explodes, or sounds like the sky’s being ripped in half. JESS Wow. BLAKE And then the rain just dumps on us, like, buckets, and now we’re totally soaked. And I yell, “Let’s go,” and grab her hand, and we book toward the clubhouse, slipping on the grass, and laughing our asses off… (The exhilaration fades as the aftermath drops in. Pause.) JESS And that’s when it happened? (Beat.) BLAKE I felt the hair on my head… JESS Right. BLAKE I reached my hand up to touch it… JESS Yeah. (Pause. BLAKE emerges from the memory.) BLAKE Anyway… (He returns his attention to the bike.) JESS Mike said she looked like me.

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(Beat.) BLAKE A little. JESS He said a lot. BLAKE A lot, then. JESS Is that weird for you? BLAKE Why would it be weird? JESS I don’t know. Maybe if you looked at me and saw her. BLAKE I don’t. JESS Okay. (Beat.) Have you ever gone back there? BLAKE Why. JESS Why? BLAKE I don’t even golf. JESS Not to golf; golf’s stupid. My grandfather golfs. Just to be there again, where it happened. BLAKE Would you go back to a place you almost died? JESS I’d have to. (Beat.) I’d have to -‐-‐ just to prove that it couldn’t kill me. BLAKE You’re fulla shit. (He begins packing away his tools.)

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JESS I did it once – almost drowned at this public pool, near my cousin’s house? ‘Cause I was too little to swim in the deep end. But I went back the next day and jumped in – right off the high dive, too. Totally freaked my mom out. But I didn’t die. BLAKE Well, good for you. JESS That’s why you need to go back; BLAKE I don’t / need-‐-‐ JESS because you let it shut you down. BLAKE You don’t even know me! JESS I know you’re like a straight-‐A student, and got in every college you applied to; but you’d rather stay in this stinky garage… BLAKE Fuck you. (He finishes packing up his tools, preparing to go, but her words stop him, crouching by the toolbox.) JESS And I also know that you weren’t always such a stay-‐inside, hide-‐from-‐the-‐world kind of person. You weren’t with Marissa. I mean, what you did with her sounds like something that someone who wanted to live would do. And I’m not saying what happened was good – it sucked, I’m sure; in ways I probably can’t imagine. But up till then, until that moment, it was the most amazing thing. (Beat.) Wasn’t it. The time you probably felt the most alive, with the wind, and rain, and thunder, rolling around on the grass, and laughing… It may have been the worst, but it was also the best. (Pause.) And if that’s not true, then you can just tell me I’m fulla shit again. BLAKE You should go home now. JESS So it’s true, then? (He stands with the toolbox.) BLAKE Let me know if you have any trouble with the bike. (He starts off.)

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JESS I’d go with you -‐-‐ anytime. After school, or the weekend, or— LLOYD (off) You in here? (BLAKE stops. Beat. LLOYD enters the garage. Seeing JESS.) Oh – hey. JESS Hi. LLOYD I wasn’t expecting to see you. (He looks at BLAKE.) JESS I was just leaving. LLOYD You don’t have to go… JESS I’ve got a lot of Physics to study – you know, all those Laws of Motion… (She hops on the bike.) LLOYD Okay, well…we’ll see you Saturday. (Beat.) JESS Saturday? LLOYD Your mom invited us for dinner. ( Beat. To BLAKE:) That’ll be nice, huh? (He turns back to JESS. BLAKE and JESS look at each other. Lights fade to black.)

3/5/18

In darkness, we hear: CLAIRE And I know some a you probably think I talk too much. Well, you’re not alone. (Lights slowly rise on CLAIRE, alone, in a folding chair. She is at her other group therapy session.) My other group leader’s always cuttin’ me off, shuttin’ me down – not like you, Larry, you always let us go till we get to the point, and I appreciate that, I do. I mean, that’s what we’re here for, right – to talk it out? (Pause.) There’s a boy in this other group tried to hang himself last summer -‐-‐ after his girlfriend died? (looking out) Is that okay to say if I don’t mention his name? (Getting Larry’s okay, she continues:) Guess he felt responsible somehow. Never shares, though – not one word. You know there’s a lot goin’ on in there, beneath the surface, but he just keeps it in, lettin’ the pressure build up. Like a volcano, preparin’ to blow. (Beat.) Maybe I do talk too much, but I’ll tell you this: I’d rather too much than too little. At least I let my pressure off, a little at a time. When that boy blows? It’s gonna be a regular shitstorm, pardon my French. It really is. (Long pause.) So anyway… (Pause. A little sheepish:) I called this guy. The one who wrote his number on me? Not that I could read it anymore – I swear I lost a layer a skin. But it took me so long to get it offa my hand, I couldn’t get it outta my head. So I call him up, and tell him I don’t want to see him, and he says fine. And I say I’m takin’ a break from guys, and he says fine to that, too… (She puzzles. This has never happened before.) An hour later, I tell him I gotta fly back to Jersey, “on business” – which is a baldface lie – and agree to meet him at the bar this comin’ Saturday night. (Pause.) Now I know what you’re thinkin’: “Claire, you promised yourself you wouldn’t -‐-‐ you been down that rabbit hole before,” and I can’t deny it. (She slowly runs her finger over the scar above her eyebrow.) But what can you do when you feel the spark, except light up? However long it lasts. (Pause.) What can you do? (The question hangs in the air as lights fade slowly to black.)

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DORIS and JESS at her bedroom. Night. DORIS Where have you been. JESS What do you mean? DORIS It’s 9:30. JESS Yeah? DORIS On a school night? JESS So? DORIS You can’t just disappear like that; JESS I didn’t just / disappear. DORIS not tell me where you are, not answer your phone… JESS I was babysitting Cindy. DORIS No you weren’t. JESS Yes I was. DORIS I called her mom. (She lets this land, then reveals a small bicycle license plate with “Cindy” printed on it.) Found this in our driveway, thought maybe you’d brought Cindy over here. JESS You didn’t have to call her. DORIS I was frantic! The stories you hear, about teenage girls…

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JESS Mom… DORIS Getting picked up by guys in vans… JESS I’m not gonna get in some guy’s van… DORIS Well I don’t know that. JESS I mean, eew. DORIS Half the time I don’t recognize you, or understand why you do what you do. JESS Well that’s your problem. DORIS No, that’s your problem too, because you’re grounded. JESS Right. DORIS You are. JESS Okay. DORIS Which means you come home right after school and stay home. JESS Fine. DORIS On weekends, too. JESS For how long? DORIS As long as I feel like it. (Pause.) Give me your phone, too.

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JESS Why do you want / my— DORIS If you’re not even going to answer it when I call you… JESS I need it. DORIS No you don’t. Not if you’re grounded. Give it to me. (Pause. JESS hands it over. DORIS starts off.) JESS Why don’t you give me the license plate? (DORIS stops.) I’ll return it to Cindy. DORIS How. JESS When I babysit. DORIS You’re not babysitting. JESS I really am this time – ask her mom. DORIS You’re not babysitting because you’re grounded. JESS This is my job! DORIS It was your job. JESS I work every Friday! She counts on me. DORIS Oh, right -‐-‐ so she can go out with that guy on his boat. JESS I guess. DORIS Well she’ll just have to find another babysitter.

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JESS But I’m the only one she trusts. DORIS Then I guess she won’t get laid this week, and will have to stay home and watch her own little girl grow into a total stranger. (Beat.) I’ll give it to her myself. (DORIS exits. JESS considers this. Lights fade.)

3/5/18

Lights rise on LLOYD, in the garage, staring at a cell phone. At his feet rests an opened cardboard box, with “Alice” scribbled on the side. A range of personal items spill from it onto the floor: shoes, scarves, toiletry items, etc. LLOYD stares at the phone for a long time, then looks away, exhales heavily, shuts his eyes, breathes. Finally, he looks back at the phone and touches a number, placing a call. He puts the phone to his ear and begins pacing. He listens and waits as it rings and rings, then stops, as the call is answered. LLOYD Hi -‐-‐ no, it’s me. Lloyd. (Long pause.) No, he didn’t, I…I found your number on his phone, so…I thought I’d try it. (Beat.) Well…I’m not sure, I guess I… (Pause.) I’ve been going through some of your things, in the garage, and…I don’t know. Wanted to know if you wanted them. (Pause.) Well, there’s some photo albums. From when we were first… And when Blake was little. (Pause.) Some shoes, a, whatsitcalled, curling iron? Your cactus. (Pause.) I can’t do that to a cactus. (Beat.) Because it’s a living thing. (BLAKE enters, unseen by LLOYD. Pause.) I thought maybe I could drive them up there – Blake and me both – this weekend, or next. BLAKE Dad? (LLOYD turns around.) LLOYD (on phone) Or you could come down here… BLAKE What are / you-‐-‐ LLOYD (on phone) I know you said you don’t want to see me…, BLAKE Is that my phone? (BLAKE approaches him, reaching for the phone, but LLOYD moves away from him.) LLOYD (on phone) but I’m not like I was when you left.

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BLAKE (to Mom) I DIDN’T KNOW HE WAS GOING TO CALL YOU. LLOYD (to Blake) Will you just give us a chance to— (on phone) Yeah, he’s here. BLAKE (to Lloyd) I told her I wouldn’t give you / her— LLOYD (to Blake) She knows! (on phone) He just walked in. (Beat.) Why. (Pause. LLOYD holds out the phone to BLAKE.) Can you hand her back to me when you’re done? (BLAKE looks at LLOYD, then at the phone, then takes it.) BLAKE (on phone) Hey. (Pause.) I know. (Pause.) I won’t. (Pause.) Bye. LLOYD Tell her not to hang— (But BLAKE has already disconnected the call.) Why did you do that? BLAKE She doesn’t want to talk to— LLOYD Give me that… (LLOYD grabs the phone.) BLAKE Hey! LLOYD (placing the call again) I told you to give her back to me.

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BLAKE You can’t just take my phone every time / you— LLOYD Who paid for it. (LLOYD listens to the phone ring. BLAKE watches. After a few moments:) BLAKE She’s not going to pick up again. (Beat.) She knows it’s you. (The call goes to voicemail. LLOYD exhales, shutting his eyes.) Now can I have my— (LLOYD hurls the phone out of sight, where it clatters. BLAKE looks off. The he looks at Lloyd, who is ashamed. BLAKE shakes his head and walks slowly off toward the phone. When he has disappeared:) LLOYD I’m sorry, Blake, I just… (BLAKE reenters, looking at the phone in his hand, which is clearly broken. Beat.) Is it…? BLAKE Yeah, pretty much. (BLAKE fiddles with it.) LLOYD I’ll get you a new one. I think we’re due for an upgrade anyway. BLAKE That’s what you said last time. (Beat.) LLOYD Yeah. (Beat.) Well. (Beat. At a loss, LLOYD begins repacking the box with the various items. BLAKE starts off, still checking out the phone. Before he disappears:) How was your group tonight? (BLAKE stops, but does not turn around. Long pause.) Blake? BLAKE I’m not going back. (Beat.) LLOYD What do you mean you’re-‐-‐ Why / not?

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BLAKE Because it’s bullshit. LLOYD Look, I know it may not be fun… BLAKE Did you hear me? LLOYD But it’s not supposed to be fun. BLAKE It’s bullshit. LLOYD Hey. BLAKE She doesn’t. Do. Anything. She just sits there and lets people run at the mouth, LLOYD Well, BLAKE just go on and on and on… LLOYD Maybe that’s how it’s supposed to work… BLAKE What makes you think she knows what she’s doing? (Pause.) LLOYD What? BLAKE You got her name off a flyer. LLOYD Well, yeah, / but— BLAKE So what do you know about her? Like, for real. LLOYD If you want me to check her credentials… BLAKE I don’t care what you do; I’m not going back.

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LLOYD Blake… BLAKE And I’m not going to dinner tomorrow. LLOYD You have to. BLAKE You don’t need a chaperone – go without me. LLOYD It’s rude to accept an invitation and not show up. BLAKE I never accepted an invitation. LLOYD You know what I mean. BLAKE And I’m not interested in her daughter. LLOYD You don’t have to be. (BLAKE just looks at him, nodding slightly, unconvinced. After a moment:) BLAKE Here. (He raises the broken phone.) Might as well put this with the rest of the junk. (He tosses it into the cardboard box, turns, and exits, as LLOYD looks on. Lights fade.)

3/5/18

The dining room. DORIS refreshes some makeup in an unseen wall mirror. JESS stands nearby. DORIS You’re wearing that? JESS What. DORIS Never mind. JESS You said this was no big deal. DORIS It isn’t, it’s just… (Beat.) JESS Just what. DORIS When you invite people over, you put something on. JESS I didn’t invite them. DORIS You know what I mean. (DORIS returns to her makeup. JESS watches her. Pause.) Can you set the table? JESS You bought a new dress. DORIS I needed one anyway. JESS You must really like him. DORIS Who. JESS “Who.” DORIS You mean Mr. Nungesser?

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JESS When’s the last time you wore a dress? DORIS I don’t usually get the opportunity. (JESS watches her.) Make sure the forks match? And use cloth napkins, not the paper. (JESS exits.) He says you’re learning a lot… JESS (off) Did he actually say that? DORIS More or less. (Beat.) Are you? JESS (entering with place settings) What did he actually say? (Beat.) DORIS He said you were smart. (Beat.) JESS That’s fair. (She sets places at the table. Pause.) DORIS Do you like Blake? JESS What do you mean? DORIS You know. (Beat.) JESS He’s okay. DORIS Just okay? (DORIS looks meaningfully at JESS, who doesn’t reply.) Forks go on the left, on top of the napkin. JESS So, is this like a date for you guys?

3/5/18

DORIS What. JESS This dinner thing. DORIS No, it’s just a-‐-‐ We thought it might be nice to get our families together, that’s all. JESS (half to herself) “Our families”… DORIS Well? JESS You mean our little broken family fragments? DORIS You know, you don’t have to be so cynical all the time. JESS I’m not. DORIS Why can’t this just be nice? JESS I don’t know; why can’t it? (Pause. The doorbell buzzes.) DORIS I’ll get that; you go change. JESS Into what. DORIS I don’t care. Something else. (DORIS exits. JESS looks after her for a moment, then exits the other way. Off:) Hi, come on in. LLOYD (off) Thanks. DORIS (off) Hi, Blake.

3/5/18

BLAKE (off) Hey. LLOYD (off) These are for you. DORIS (off) Oh, you didn’t have to… LLOYD (off) I know; DORIS (off) I said, “just bring yourselves”… (DORIS enters, bearing a modest bouquet.) LLOYD (entering) We passed that flower place on Buttonwood, so… DORIS Well, thank you. LLOYD it was easy. (BLAKE enters.) DORIS Is it raining yet? LLOYD No, but soon; you could feel the pressure all day. DORIS Make yourself at home. LLOYD We will. (DORIS exits into the kitchen with the flowers.) DORIS (off) Blake, there’s soda in here, if you want it. BLAKE That’s okay. DORIS (off) And something stronger for your dad… LLOYD I wouldn’t say no.

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DORIS (off) You want a martini? I made a pitcher… LLOYD Oh -‐-‐ sure. DORIS (off) Come on out. (LLOYD exits. During the following, we may hear intermittent, indistinct offstage chatter from DORIS and LLOYD. BLAKE stands, hands in his pockets, looking about the room, as his father did earlier. Like LLOYD, he takes in the flower arrangement on the table, then moves to it, examining it closely. JESS enters, unseen, dressed a bit less casually than before; perhaps her hair has been tamed as well. She watches BLAKE as he reaches out and fingers the plastic petals, then:) JESS They’re fake. BLAKE Oh – hey. JESS Which kind of defeats the purpose, but at least they never die. BLAKE What are they supposed to be? JESS I don’t know; I think they’re supposed to be fake. (BLAKE nods. Long pause.) So this is weird. BLAKE How come. (A burst of laughter from DORIS offstage. JESS simply gestures in that direction as evidence.) DORIS (off) I shouldn’t encourage you. (DORIS enters with the flowers in a vase in one hand, and a pitcher in the other, followed by LLOYD with two full martini glasses. Seeing JESS:) There – that’s more like it. (She pushes the plastic flowers aside with the vase and sets it down.) We’ll just get this old thing out of the way… (She removes the plastic arrangement and exits to the kitchen again.) LLOYD Hi, Jess. (JESS gives a cursory wave.) Don’t worry – I’m not going to quiz you on centripetal force.

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JESS …Okay. (DORIS re-‐enters with a big bowl of some crunchy snack.) DORIS We have a living room, you know; you don’t have to stand in here. LLOYD I want to look at my flowers… DORIS We can move the flowers. LLOYD Sit down, this is nice. Blake, sit. (BLAKE looks at JESS, then sits.) DORIS Well, dinner’s not for a while… (She sets down the bowl.) LLOYD Then we’ll talk, like civilized people. DORIS (sitting) Oh, boy – no pressure… (LLOYD chuckles. To JESS:) You gonna join us? (JESS reluctantly sits. Pause. To BLAKE:) SO – how’s it feel to be almost out of school? BLAKE Okay. DORIS When’s graduation? BLAKE (looking at Lloyd) The 10th? LLOYD 12th. DORIS Wow. Coming up fast. BLAKE Yeah.

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(Pause.) LLOYD (to Jess) When’s your last day? JESS I don’t know. (LLOYD nods. Pause.) LLOYD There it is. DORIS What? LLOYD Thunder. BLAKE That’s a plane. (Beat.) LLOYD Are you sure? DORIS I didn’t hear anything. JESS It was a plane. (LLOYD nods. Long pause.) LLOYD What am I smelling? DORIS A chicken. LLOYD Oh! DORIS I put it in late, so we’ll need to wait a bit. LLOYD That’s fine; we had a late lunch, didn’t we? (BLAKE nods. Pause.) JESS (to Lloyd) You used to teach at our school, didn’t you. (Beat.)

3/5/18

LLOYD That’s right; years ago. JESS Now you’re just a sub somewhere else? LLOYD A couple of places, actually. DORIS It’s all work… JESS Why’d they fire you? DORIS Jessie! LLOYD No, that’s…that’s okay. (to JESS) What makes you think I was fired? JESS Weren’t you? DORIS (to Lloyd) You don’t have to— LLOYD They just didn’t renew my contract. JESS Oh; I heard you were fired. DORIS (to Jess) Why are you— LLOYD Where’d you hear that? JESS I don’t know; somewhere. DORIS You know you can’t believe everything you hear. JESS So what happened?

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DORIS Jess, stop it. JESS What. DORIS You’re being rude. JESS I’m just curious. DORIS You’re not, you’re being rude. JESS He doesn’t have to answer. DORIS I know he doesn’t, / but— BLAKE He slammed a kid against a locker. (LLOYD looks at BLAKE.) Well, you did. JESS Wow. DORIS (to JESS) Are you satisfied now? JESS I guess they don’t want teachers doing that. LLOYD I guess not. (Beat.) DORIS I’m sure you had a good reason. LLOYD I don’t think reason had anything to do with it. He-‐-‐ I caught him cheating on a test and then, when I confronted him, he lied about it, right to my face. That doesn’t justify what I did, but… DORIS Well, we’ve all done things we’re not proud of. (to JESS) Right?

3/5/18

JESS Why did you say that to me? DORIS I didn’t. JESS You looked right at me. DORIS Well I meant it for everyone. (Beat. To LLOYD:) So, do you only teach Physics, or— (Suddenly, a click or other sound as the overhead light goes out, leaving the room in darkness except for the faint light entering from a window.) JESS Uh oh. DORIS Oh, no… LLOYD That’s that storm moving in. DORIS What timing. LLOYD (to Blake) Told you I heard thunder. BLAKE That was a plane. DORIS And me with an electric oven… LLOYD They’ll come back on. DORIS I hope. LLOYD It’s just a-‐-‐ Happens all the time – you know, when there’s, when the wind picks up. Just wait a minute; you’ll see. (Long pause.) I think they put the lines too close together -‐-‐ the power lines? So when the wind gets going, they – actually, I have no idea. (Long pause.)

3/5/18

DORIS Well… JESS Maybe we should tell ghost stories. BLAKE Nice. DORIS Jess, get the lantern from the upstairs bathroom; it might need new batteries. JESS Just wait. DORIS And the flashlight from your room. JESS I like it like this. (The light comes on again.) LLOYD There we go! DORIS Oh, thank God. LLOYD It happens all the time – they’re out, then they’re back. DORIS I was just worried about the chicken. LLOYD I think it’s the power lines. DORIS We had a gas oven at our last house, which is great in the middle of a – oh my God, do you even eat chicken? LLOYD What? Sure. DORIS I didn’t even think… LLOYD Sure, we eat chicken, all the time. Don’t we, Blake?

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DORIS Oh, good. LLOYD We just don’t eat our chickens, ‘cause, you know… JESS Once you cook them, no more eggs. LLOYD Well, that, and they’re kind of like pets now. DORIS Right. LLOYD I mean, you wouldn’t eat your dog… JESS My mom hates dogs anyway. DORIS That’s not true. JESS You said so. DORIS Not all dogs. JESS Just the one I wanted. DORIS It had three legs! JESS So? DORIS So if I’m gonna spend money on a dog, I’d rather it be symmetrical. JESS I said I’d pay for it. LLOYD Hey… DORIS That’s not the point.

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JESS What is the point, then? (Pause.) LLOYD Blake never had a dog either. Allergies. Not his, my wife’s. (Beat. DORIS’s phone rings.) DORIS I’m sorry, I thought I turned that off. (She removes the phone.) LLOYD I do that all the time. (To BLAKE:) Started ringing in chem lab today. DORIS (noting the number) Did you tell Bonnie you couldn’t babysit? JESS Why, is that her? DORIS I guess I’ll tell her myself… JESS I told her. DORIS (on phone) (She answers the phone.) Hello? LLOYD (to Jess) I had a dog as a kid, though – “Bob Barker.” DORIS (on phone) Hi, Bonnie. LLOYD That was his actual name. DORIS (on phone) That’s okay; what’s up? LLOYD (to Blake) I ever tell you about Bob Barker? BLAKE Only like 25 times.

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(LLOYD nods.) DORIS (on phone) I put it in your mailbox. (Beat.) Cindy’s license plate. Sorry, I thought I said that on your— (Pause) Her bike? JESS (to Blake) Want to see my room? BLAKE Huh? (JESS bolts; BLAKE looks at LLOYD, who shrugs.) DORIS (on phone) Why would her bike be here? (BLAKE exits. Pause.) Well, did you check in your backyard, or, I don’t know, somewhere else? You know how kids just drop— (Pause.) Are you suggesting she stole it? (LLOYD realizes he’s now in the middle of an awkward conversation.) Right, but kids say all kinds of things, and half the time— (LLOYD drinks.) Well how ‘bout I just put her on, then? (calling off:) JESSIE? (Pause.) Why wouldn’t she tell you the truth? (Pause.) Listen – I’m sorry you lost your sitter, but that’s no reason to question her honesty. (Pause.) I didn’t ground her because she lied, I did it to keep her home at night. (Pause.) Of course she lies to me, I’m her mother; that doesn’t mean she’d lie to you. (Pause.) Look, I don’t like where you’re going with this, Bonnie; why don’t I have her call you back when you’re not so upset? (Beat.) I can hear you’re upset. (Beat.) Because I’m a mental health professional. (Beat. DORIS shuts her eyes. Pause.) Oh, great, now the power’s out again… (LLOYD looks up.) Did you just lose your lights? We just lost ours, for the second time. Look, I’ll have her call you back later, okay? Bye. (She hangs up, exhales heavily. Long pause. Calling off:) CAN YOU COME DOWN, PLEASE?

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LLOYD Why did you say that? DORIS What. LLOYD About the power going out. DORIS She was starting to get on my nerves. (LLOYD nods, watching her carefully.) Here, let me freshen that up… LLOYD Oh, that’s okay; I don’t— (But DORIS has already refilled his glass, and now refills her own.) DORIS Bonnie’s the sort of person who just doesn’t let up. She’s divorced, too, and frankly, I don’t blame her husband. She can get -‐-‐ (The lights go out again, with sound.) Not again… (Beat.) LLOYD It’s that wind. DORIS I’m so sorry. LLOYD Hey, not your fault. DORIS God knows what my chicken is doing in there… LLOYD Don’t worry about it; we’ll order a pizza. DORIS You didn’t come here for pizza. LLOYD Or Chinese. You like Chinese? DORIS I just wanted this to be nice.

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LLOYD It is nice. DORIS No, it’s not, it’s…well, dark, for one thing… LLOYD Atmospheric. (DORIS smiles. Beat.) DORIS Hold on, let me find that lantern… (DORIS exits. Crossfade to:) JESS’s room, a few minutes earlier. The desk or floor lamp is lit. BLAKE I think your mom’s calling you… JESS Yeah – um. I’m gonna need that bike back. BLAKE What are you-‐-‐ Why? JESS I just do. BLAKE It was too small for you. JESS That doesn’t matter. BLAKE And I don’t have it anymore. JESS What? BLAKE Some guy bought it yesterday, for his kid. JESS Who? BLAKE I don’t know his name. He just—

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JESS Where’s he live? BLAKE I don’t know – he just pulled up in his truck, JESS Shit. BLAKE Said his little / girl had a birthday coming up, so… JESS (overlapping after / ) Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. (Pause.) BLAKE Was that not your bike? JESS Of course it wasn’t my-‐-‐ I borrowed, it from this kid I babysit. BLAKE Borrowed it? JESS She hardly ever rode it. BLAKE Does she know you borrowed it? DORIS (off) CAN YOU COME DOWN PLEASE? JESS She does now. BLAKE So, you basically stole it. JESS I didn’t steal it! BLAKE Don’t freak out; everybody steals stuff. JESS What have you stolen?

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BLAKE I don’t know – tube socks? (Beat.) JESS Tube socks? BLAKE From the back of Gleason’s; in seventh grade. JESS That’s not even stealing. That’s shoplifting. BLAKE What’s the difference? JESS Actual stealing, you get arrested. BLAKE You’re not gonna get arrested… JESS Then my mom’ll ground me till I’m thirty. (The light goes out, with sound. Beat.) BLAKE Power’s out again. JESS Duh. BLAKE Maybe you could buy her another bike. JESS I can’t afford that. BLAKE Or work it off. By babysitting. JESS Her mom’s never gonna take me back! Not after I stole from her daughter. BLAKE Well…you could give her the one I gave you. (JESS looks at him.) I know it’s old, and a little big, and a boy’s bike, but it’s still in good shape. And I could put a bell on or something…

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JESS Let’s get out of here. BLAKE What do you mean? JESS Just for, like, an hour – till my mom cools down. BLAKE I think we’re supposed to have dinner. JESS There is no dinner! The power’s out. (Beat.) Come on – we can take the bike. I’ll sit behind you. (Pause.) Unless you’re hoping to see me get crucified… (Beat.) BLAKE Where would we go? (JESS just looks at him. Blackout.) The dining room. DORIS enters with a portable lantern, the only illumination apart from the dim light entering from a window. DORIS Huh. LLOYD What’s that. DORIS Did you see the kids? LLOYD No – why? DORIS They’re not upstairs. LLOYD Maybe they went outside… (DORIS sets the lantern on the table and exits in the other direction; LLOYD stands and looks out the window.) DORIS (off) Jess? (Beat.)

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Blake? (Pause. DORIS returns.) LLOYD They probably just took a walk around the block. DORIS I guess. Anyway, they’re smart enough to come in when it starts to rain, right? (DORIS sits. Beat.) Sit down; this’ll give us a chance to talk, without the clock ticking. (She slips off her shoes.) LLOYD The clock? DORIS The fifty-‐minute clock. LLOYD Oh – right. (LLOYD sits.) DORIS Cheers. (She raises her glass; he raises his. DORIS drinks; LLOYD just watches her. When she has finished:) LLOYD Listen, what Blake said, about that…incident… DORIS It’s okay. LLOYD I’m not proud of it, but it / happened, and-‐-‐ DORIS Kids just say things sometimes, just to get under / our-‐-‐ LLOYD No, listen. I’m glad he brought it up. (Beat.) DORIS Okay… (Beat.) LLOYD Because I think it’s better if we both try to be straight with each other.

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DORIS Well – sure. LLOYD About everything. (Pause.) DORIS (lightly) Of course. (She drinks. Pause.) LLOYD He-‐-‐ I wasn’t gonna bring this up tonight, certainly not over dinner; but since it’s just the two of us, I thought… DORIS What is it? (Pause.) LLOYD Last night, Blake told me he didn’t want to – actually wouldn’t, go back. To your group. DORIS Oh? LLOYD He said-‐-‐ I won’t say exactly what he said, but he doesn’t feel it’s worthwhile for him. DORIS Well, I’m…sorry to hear that. LLOYD Actually got a little heated about it, which, you might have noticed, is kind of unusual. DORIS I would think. LLOYD Anyway, something he said made me go online and, you know, do a little research. DORIS On what? LLOYD You. (Beat.) DORIS Me?

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LLOYD Your background, professional experience, that sort of thing. DORIS You Googled me? LLOYD Not to stalk you or anything… (Beat.) DORIS So…what did you find? LLOYD Well, nothing at first – almost nothing – till I searched under Jess’s last name. DORIS I go by my maiden name now. LLOYD Right, so I discovered. (Beat.) DORIS And? (Beat.) LLOYD You’ve gotten in trouble for this. DORIS For what. LLOYD Pretending to be a therapist. DORIS I’ve never called myself a-‐-‐ LLOYD “Counselor,” whatever. DORIS And I’m not pretending; LLOYD That’s not what I read. DORIS I just— (Beat.)

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I used to put an “L” in front of “MHC”; meaning “licensed.” LLOYD I know what it means. DORIS And I shouldn’t have. Because I’m not. So I stopped. LLOYD After you got in trouble. DORIS Yeah. LLOYD And is that why you moved, and changed your name? DORIS I needed to get away from my husband. For Jessie’s sake. LLOYD Uh huh. DORIS It was a pretty rough-‐-‐ He was going through this whole… Then she-‐-‐ We lost our house. So, Florida seemed as good a place as any. To, you know, start over. (Beat.) LLOYD So what do you have? DORIS What do you mean? LLOYD In terms of degrees. DORIS Lloyd, you’re making me feel uncomfortable. LLOYD Why? DORIS Like I’m being interrogated. LLOYD It’s just a question. DORIS I know, / but—

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LLOYD I mean, was this your major in college, or…? (Beat.) DORIS I don’t actually have a degree. (Beat.) LLOYD None? DORIS I started a BA, years ago, but— LLOYD Don’t you need something to do this? DORIS Do what. LLOYD Put those letters after your name; claim to be a *Mental Health Counselor*. DORIS Technically, no. (LLOYD processes this, looking away from her. Beat.) But, people say I’m a very good listener… LLOYD Do they. DORIS “Empathetic” – I get that all the-‐-‐ And not just friends, but perfect strangers -‐-‐ people I meet at the grocery, or, or in a waiting room somewhere. I just have this effect on people; right away, they’re spilling their guts. And at some point, maybe, I don’t know, two years ago? This woman in line at the liquor store said, “You’re such a good listener; are you a counselor?” And I heard myself saying, “Yes; yes I am.” I don’t know why. I mean, okay, I was getting divorced, and needed a job, but if she hadn’t asked me specifically, “Are you a counselor?”… It just sounded right. If she had said “therapist,” I don’t think I-‐-‐ I’m sure I’d never have-‐-‐ “Therapist” just sounds so official. But “counselor” sounded like what I was already doing, counseling people, only no one was paying me. So, I figured, why shouldn’t they pay me? LLOYD I don’t know, maybe because you’re a fraud? DORIS I’m not a / fraud. LLOYD Posing as something you’re not?

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DORIS If people get better – and most of them say they really have, the ones who come back, week after week – then what’s the harm? LLOYD And the ones who don’t? DORIS Don’t? LLOYD Get better. (Beat.) DORIS I don’t know who / you— LLOYD Like Blake. (Beat.) DORIS You don’t think he’s better? LLOYD I’d like to know what you think. As a “mental health professional”… (Pause.) DORIS Well…he doesn’t want to kill himself anymore… (Beat.) Does he? (Beat. Crossfade to:) A golf course green. A numbered flag stands nearby. JESS enters, followed by BLAKE. She looks around in wonder. JESS Wow. BLAKE What. JESS You were right. BLAKE About what.

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JESS Fireflies. BLAKE Oh; yeah. (They both look around for a moment, then:) JESS Is this the actual green? BLAKE Huh? JESS Where you and her…? BLAKE Uh – no; that was on the other side, by the lake. (JESS kneels down and touches it.) JESS It’s soft. BLAKE They water it all the time. And fertilize. So it’s like always perfect. JESS Kind of a waste to just play golf on it. (She sits, legs out, arms supporting her, looking around.) BLAKE They even have these special lawnmowers, just for greens. It’s insane. (She watches the fireflies for a few moments, then:) JESS You can sit, you know. (Beat.) BLAKE We shouldn’t stay too long. JESS We just got here. Sit. (He sits a few feet away from her. JESS shuts her eyes and inhales deeply.) I love that smell. BLAKE Yeah.

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JESS What’s it called? BLAKE I don’t know. JESS That before-‐the-‐rain smell. BLAKE Yeah; I don’t know. JESS Yes you do; you’re just afraid. BLAKE Afraid? JESS That I’ll call you a science geek. (He gives her a look, then looks back out. After a moment, he catches a firefly, opens his hand, and examines it. JESS regards him for a long time. Finally:) Was it a night like tonight? (Beat.) When you brought her here? BLAKE Kind of. JESS Windy. BLAKE Darker, though. JESS It’s getting darker. (She looks over at him. He blows on his palm, releasing the firefly. JESS looks out again. Pause.) They’re cruising each other. BLAKE Who. JESS The fireflies. When they light up. They’re saying, “Yo – over here! Look at me!” (She catches one, examines it in her palm for a moment. Then:) I wonder what that feels like… BLAKE What.

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JESS To light up like that. To have whatever it is they have going through their bodies. BLAKE It’s an enzyme. JESS Yeah? BLAKE Plus some other stuff – magnesium, oxygen… JESS Science geek… BLAKE (laughing) I’m not a science geek! JESS I don’t know; that was pretty geeky. BLAKE My dad’s a science teacher, what do you expect? JESS So what’s that smell called? (He looks at her. Pause.) BLAKE Ozone. JESS Right… (She blows on her palm, releasing the firefly, then settles back, looking out again. BLAKE continues looking at her for a moment before speaking:) BLAKE Why’d you bring that up – about him losing his job. JESS I don’t know. BLAKE How can you not know? JESS Sometimes I just want to make something happen. I don’t know why; I just do.

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(JESS grabs another firefly, then examines it as BLAKE continues regarding her. Finally:) BLAKE Is that why you burned down your house? (Beat.) JESS Who told you that? BLAKE Who do you think? JESS Mike Vargas can’t keep a secret for shit. (She blows on her open palm, releasing the firefly.) BLAKE Well? JESS I didn’t do it on purpose. I was just burning some stuff in my room, and threw it in the trash, but I guess they weren’t done burning. BLAKE So your whole house burnt down? JESS Pretty much. BLAKE Damn… JESS My mom was so pissed… (Pause.) BLAKE What were you burning? JESS Pictures, mostly. BLAKE Pictures? JESS Old family pictures. BLAKE You must really hate somebody.

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JESS You don’t burn pictures of people you hate. BLAKE What’s that mean? JESS Never mind. (BLAKE looks out again. Beat. Thunder.) BLAKE We should go. (He stands.) JESS That was a plane. BLAKE No it wasn’t. (Pause.) Come on, your mom’s gonna wonder where you are. JESS You kidding? She’s having the time of her life -‐-‐ listening to your dad tell her all about “Bob Barker.” (BLAKE smiles. Crossfade to:) The dining room. LLOYD How the hell should I know? DORIS Well, doesn’t he talk to you? LLOYD He’s supposed to talk to you! Isn’t that what I’ve been paying you for? What else do you do but sit and talk? DORIS I can’t make people share if they / don’t want-‐-‐ LLOYD So basically he just sits in your circle and says nothing, week after week? DORIS I’m sure he’s listening. At least, I think he is. When other people share. (LLOYD stares at DORIS in disbelief. Beat. Quietly:) LLOYD I trusted you with my son;

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DORIS Lloyd… LLOYD When I didn’t know what to do, or whether I’d come home and find him again… DORIS I know. LLOYD I called you, and you said, “It’s a great group; I’ll get him to open up.” DORIS It’s not as simple / as— LLOYD Remember that? DORIS Yeah. LLOYD Even just seeing your flyer, I thought, “I can trust her.” DORIS You can. LLOYD Well I don’t. Not anymore. DORIS I’m just trying to help people. LLOYD You say that; DORIS I am! LLOYD But who have you helped? DORIS What? LLOYD Name one person. DORIS I’m not allowed to reveal / my—

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LLOYD Just one. DORIS I can’t. LLOYD Because there aren’t any. DORIS No, because it wouldn’t be / ethical. LLOYD Because admit it, you’ve never helped any-‐-‐ And don’t talk to me about “ethical.” You knew what you were-‐-‐ (There is a flash of lightning outside, followed closely by a loud boom.) DORIS Jesus! (Beat.) LLOYD He shouldn’t be out there… (He stands, goes to the window again. Beat.) DORIS I’m not a bad person, Lloyd… LLOYD I never said / you were. DORIS I’m just trying to get by, / like you. LLOYD I’m going to look for them… (He starts out, but DORIS placing a hand on his chest, blocking him.) DORIS Don’t go; LLOYD Move. DORIS not yet. / Just— LLOYD (grabbing her roughly by the shoulders) Our son’s in danger / and all

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DORIS Ow. LLOYD (continuing uninterrupted) you can think / about is yourself DORIS You’re hurting me… LLOYD (continuing uninterrupted) and your goddamn / lying, DORIS Lloyd, you’re… LLOYD (continuing uninterrupted) fucking, cheating… DORIS (terrified) I’m not your wife! (LLOYD freezes. Pause.) I’m not Alice. (Pause. LLOYD realizes what he’s been doing. He releases DORIS. Another flash/boom, perhaps not so close.) LLOYD (shaken) I gotta go… (He rushes out.) DORIS (calling off) Take me with you? (Beat.) We’ll go together, I just need to— (DORIS gets one shoe on, but there is an offstage door slam. She stops, looks off. Crossfade to:) The golf course. Very windy now. Another rumble, louder than before. BLAKE Okay, we really need to go now. JESS Just do one thing for me first.

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BLAKE You always say that. JESS I mean it this time. BLAKE What. (Pause.) JESS Show me your scars? BLAKE No. JESS Come on… BLAKE Why do you want to see them so bad? JESS I’m starting to think they’re not even real. BLAKE They’re real. JESS Or do you just not want to take your shirt off? BLAKE That’s not it. JESS I’d take mine off… BLAKE Right. JESS I would. (Flash/boom. The wind continues to grow, and lightning and thunder increase, as the scene progresses.) BLAKE Come on – let’s get out of here... (He offers his hand to help her up.) JESS Not till you show me your scars.

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(Beat.) BLAKE Fine -‐-‐ I’ll leave without you, then. (He starts off.) JESS You won’t. You’d never leave me here. BLAKE (turning back) I will. JESS You can’t; BLAKE Watch me. (He starts off again.) JESS ‘cause you still feel bad about her. (He stops. Pause.) You know it’s true. BLAKE (turning back) Don’t do this. JESS Look: (She stands and pulls her shirt off over her head.) Not such a big deal. (She drops her shirt onto the green.) See? (Beat.) Your turn. (BLAKE just looks at her, standing there in her bra. Pause.) If you’re waiting for me to take my pants off, dream on. (Pause.) BLAKE You’re really not gonna leave till I show you… JESS You know me better than that by now. (Long pause. Then BLAKE pulls his shirt off, revealing ornate, branchlike scarring over one side of his chest and down his arm. JESS is awestruck:) Oh my God… (She moves to him, taking in the patterns. After a moment:)

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BLAKE They’re called Lichtenberg Figures. The lightning ruptures the capillaries beneath the skin. JESS Did it hurt? BLAKE Not till the blisters formed. Then it itched like crazy. (JESS runs her fingers along the pattern.) They should’ve gone away by now, but I guess I’ve got sensitive skin. JESS Me too. (She looks up at him. Their eyes meet. Another flash/boom, now closer, brighter, and louder.) BLAKE Okay, that was-‐-‐ Let’s go. (He goes to put on his shirt, but she grabs it from him.) JESS Not yet. BLAKE Hey… JESS Not when it’s just getting fun. (She moves away from him.) BLAKE You said “one more thing.” JESS I know, but I always say that. BLAKE Give me my shirt! JESS Come and get it. BLAKE You don’t know what it’s like out here. (He pursues her.) JESS Then show me. (She keeps the golf tee flag between them.)

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BLAKE Jess… JESS You’re not gonna die. BLAKE I don’t care if I die. JESS I’m not gonna die either. BLAKE You don’t know that. JESS Didn’t your dad ever tell you lightning never strikes twice? BLAKE That’s bullshit. JESS Let’s find out, then. (She grabs the flag pole.) BLAKE Don’t do that. (He grabs her wrist and pulls it off, keeping hold of it.) JESS You’re just scared, that’s all. Scared it’ll happen again. Scared it won’t happen again. (Another big flash/boom.) That’s okay; I’m scared, too. (Beat.) We can be scared together. (BLAKE looks at her for a moment, then releases her wrist, clasps her face in his hands, and kisses her. She clasps his head in her hands as they kiss. The roar of the wind, which has built gradually, now feels more like an ocean. There are flashes of light, too, and thunder – booms, cracks, rumbles – as the sound of natural forces builds to a level of great intensity. Then, in darkness, it suddenly stops short. After several moments of silence:)

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In darkness, the voice of CLAIRE once more: CLAIRE Well, my pool game’s gotten better, I’ll tell you that much. ‘Cause I’ve made more’n a few trips up to Jersey, some of ‘em on his dime. And now he’s flyin’ himself down here, for the long weekend. Which is a first… (Lights rise to reveal two folding chairs, with space between them, in which sit CLAIRE and DORIS.) If you’da asked me three months ago would I get involved with another guy I met at a bar, I’d a said you were fulla shit, pardon my French. But I guess love and sex make liars of all of us… (She strokes her eyebrow. Long pause.) First time me and my guy, you know, did it, we’re lyin’ there after, quiet and all. And I really don’t want to break the silence, but I can’t help it, I just gotta ask. So I reach over and start to trace this butterfly he’s got on his chest. Beautiful, like a livin’ rainbow. (DORIS looks up.) And I say, “I’ll bet there’s a story behind this.” And he just smiles, and tells me it’s a “Madagascan Sunset Moth.” Symbolizes transformation. Says he put it there on his body to remind himself that he could change -‐-‐ turn into somethin’ else if he wanted – just like a moth, or a butterfly. (DORIS processes this.) I liked the idea a that so much, I just got a moth tattoo myself -‐-‐ (CLAIRE takes in the rest of her group.) somewhere none a you horny bastards’ll ever see it. (She smiles knowingly.) Gonna surprise him with it tomorrow night. (Pause.) I’m done. (Pause. Then, looking out:) Doris? DORIS (coming back to the present) Yes? CLAIRE I’m done? DORIS Oh! Um…okay. (She collects herself.) Well. As I said last week, this will be our final session. I’m…I need some time, to…well, take care of things. For myself, and my daughter. (In another area, JESS flicks on her desk or floor lamp, revealing her at her dressing table. She looks at the light.) And, I’m sorry not to be able to give you all more notice, but it’s… Sometimes that’s just how things work out. (JESS turns her light out.) In any case, let’s… I think we should close in the usual way, so… (DORIS stands.) Sit up tall and shut your eyes… (CLAIRE does so, as JESS turns her light on.)

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Place your palms on your thighs… (CLAIRE continues to follow DORIS’s instructions.) Relax your shoulders … (JESS turns her light off. Elsewhere, lights rise on the garage, where LLOYD empties a cardboard box with “Alice” written on the side into a heavy-‐duty garbage bag. Several similar boxes are stacked nearby.) Take a deep breath and hold it… (The sound of eight to ten people inhaling. JESS turns on her light.) Then exhale all the dark inside you. (The sound of exhaling. JESS looks at herself in her dressing table mirror. MUSIC begins softly, only gradually rising in volume.) Now take in the light, and hold it… (Inhale. DORIS looks over at CLAIRE.) LLOYD (calling off) I emptied some more boxes! DORIS Then let the darkness out. (Exhale. MUSIC rises. DORIS slowly moves behind CLAIRE.) LLOYD (calling off) In case you need ‘em. DORIS One last time… (Inhale.) LLOYD (calliing off) You need ‘em? (LLOYD lifts the stack of boxes, revealing the cactus sitting on the garage floor.) DORIS And let out the dark. (Exhale. DORIS gently places her hands on Claire’s shoulders.) LLOYD (calling off) Blake? DORIS Now repeat after me: (LLOYD looks down and sees the cactus. JESS turns her back to the mirror, still looking at it over her shoulder. MUSIC continues to rise throughout the following.) I glow from within. CLAIRE/VOICES I glow from within.

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DORIS My body is filled with light. CLAIRE/VOICES My body is filled with light. (LLOYD sets down the boxes and picks up the cactus. JESS lifts her t-‐shirt high up her back, examining the delicate, fernlike patterns that now decorate one side of it.) DORIS (tearful now) I glow from within. CLAIRE/VOICES I glow from within. DORIS My body is filled with light. CLAIRE/VOICES My body is filled with light. (Still holding the cactus, LLOYD stares up at the light above his head. JESS traces the patterns on her back with her fingers.) DORIS I glow from within. CLAIRE/VOICES I glow from within. DORIS My body is filled with light. CLAIRE/VOICES My body is filled with light. (MUSIC continues. Lights fade on Doris, who is now crying; on Lloyd; and, finally, on Jess.)

END OF PLAY