Jane Bowles - My Sister's Hand in Mine - The Collected Works of Jane Bowles

(GERTRUDE passes below the balcony on her way to the front door, MRS. LOPEZ tilts a vessel containing rice and pours it on GERTRUDE’S head. )

MRS. LOPEZ That’s for you, bride number one! Plenty more when you go in the car with Solares. Ha ha! Frederica, ándele, ¡tú también!

(FREDERICA, terribly embarrassed, tosses a little rice onto GERTRUDE and starts to giggle. )

GERTRUDE ( Very agitated, ill-humoredly flicking rice from her shoulders ) Oh, really! Where is Mr. Solares? Is he ready?

MRS. LOPEZ My brother is coming right away. Where is bride number two?

GERTRUDE ( Looking around for MOLLY who is back in the summer house ) She’s gone back into the summer house.

( She goes out. )

MRS. LOPEZ I got rice for her too! ( Calling down to the servants who are still lying with their heads under the food stand ) ¡Quinta! ¡Altagracia! ¡Esperanza! ¡Despiértense!

( The servants wake up and come crawling out from under the food stand. )

ESPERANZA ( Scowling ) ¡Caray!

( She takes an enormous comb out of her pocket and starts running it through her matted hair. There is a sound of a horn right after ESPERANZA begins to comb her hair. )

FREDERICA ( Beside herself with excitement ) It’s Lionel back with the automobile, mama! It must be time. Tell the musicians to start playing!

MRS. LOPEZ Yes, querida. ¡Música! ( She kisses her daughter effusively and they both exit from the balcony into the house talking and laughing. LIONEL enters from the lane, hurries across the lawn and into the house, just as FREDERICA and MRS. LOPEZ enter through the front door onto the lawn. MRS. LOPEZ calling to the servants ) Cuando salga la señora Eastman Cuevas de la casa, empezarán a cantar. ( She sings a few bars herself counting the time with a swinging finger and facing the servants, who rise and line up in a row. Calling to MOLLY) Bride number two! Bride number two! Molly!

( She takes a few steps toward the summer house and throws some rice at it. The rice gets stuck in the vines instead of reaching MOLLY inside. After a few more failures, she goes around to the front of the summer house and, standing at the entrance, she hurls handful after handful at MOLLY. Enter from the house LIONEL, and MR. SOLARES. The men are carrying grips. MRS. CONSTABLE is still stretched out in a corner where she won’t interfere with the procession. Some very naive music starts back stage (sounding, if possible, like a Taxco band), as they proceed across the lawn; then the maids begin to sing. While this happens MRS. LOPEZ gradually ceases to throw her rice and then disappears in the summer house where she takes the weeping MOLLY into her arms. )

LIONEL Where’s Molly?

MRS. LOPEZ ( Over the music, from inside the summer house ) She don’t feel good. She’s crying in here. I cried too when I had my wedding. Many young girls do. I didn’t want to leave my house neither.

( She steps out of the summer house. )

LIONEL ( Calling ) I’ll be back, Molly, as soon as I load these bags.

( Enter GERTRUDE as MRS. LOPEZ comes out of the summer house. The music swells and the singing is louder. GERTRUDE walks rapidly through the garden in a shower of rice and rose petals. MOLLY comes out of the summer house and GERTRUDE stops. They confront each other for a second without speaking. GERTRUDE continues on her way. MOLLY goes back into the summer house. )

GERTRUDE ( From the road, calling over the music ) Goodbye, Molly!

( The wedding party files out, singing, MRS. LOPEZ bringing up the rear. She throws a final handful of rice at the summer house, but it does not reach. They exit. MOLLY is left alone on the stage. The music gradually fades. )

LIONEL ( Returning and coming into the garden ) Molly! ( There is no answer. He walks around to the front of the summer house and looks in ) Molly, I’m sorry you feel bad. ( Pause ) Why don’t you come out? There’s a very pretty sunset. ( He reaches in and pulls her out by the hands. He puts his arm around her shoulder and leads her toward the house ) We can go upstairs on the balcony and look at the sunset.

( They disappear into the house and reappear on the balcony, where they go to the balustrade and lean over it. )

MOLLY ( Staring down into the garden, in a very small voice ) It looks different.

LIONEL ( After gazing off into the distance very thoughtfully for a minute ) I’ve always liked it when something that I’ve looked at every day suddenly seems strange and unfamiliar. Maybe not always, but when I was home I used to like looking out my window after certain storms that left a special kind of light in the sky.

MOLLY ( In a whisper ) It looks different …

LIONEL A very brilliant light that illuminated only the most distant places, the places nearest to the horizon. Then I could see little round hills, and clumps of trees, and pastures that I didn’t remember ever seeing before, very, very close to the sky. It always gave me a lift, as if everything might change around me but in a wonderful way that I wouldn’t have guessed was possible. Do you understand what I mean?

(MOLLY shakes her head, negatively. He looks at her for a moment, a little sadly. )

MOLLY ( Anguished, turning away from him ) I don’t know. I don’t know. It looks so different …

Curtain

Scene i

The Lobster Bowl, ten months later.

Just before dawn. The oyster-shell door is open and the sound of waves breaking will continue throughout this scene. MOLLY and LIONEL are playing cards at one of the tables, Russian Bank or its equivalent. They are sitting in a circle of light. The rest of the stage is in darkness. MRS. CONSTABLE is lying on a bench but can’t be seen.

MOLLY You just put a king on top of another king.

LIONEL I was looking for an ace.

MOLLY ( Smilingly ) It’s right here, silly, under your nose.

LIONEL It’s almost morning.

MOLLY ( Wistful ) Can’t we play one more game after this?

LIONEL All right.

( They play for a while in silence, then LIONEL stops again. )

MOLLY What is it?

LIONEL Nothing.

MOLLY I don’t think you want to play at all. You’re thinking about something else.

LIONEL I had a letter from my brother … again.

MOLLY ( Tense ) The one who’s still in St. Louis?

LIONEL That’s right, the popular one, the one who’d like us to come back there.

MOLLY He’s big and tall.

LIONEL Yes, he’s big and tall, like most boys in this country. I’ve been thinking a lot about St. Louis, Molly …

MOLLY Inez says we’ve got bigger men here than they have in Europe.

LIONEL Well, Swedes are big and so are Yugoslavians …

MOLLY But the French people are little.

LIONEL Well, yes, but they’re not as little as all that. They’re not midgets. And they’re not the way people used to picture them years ago, silly and carefree and saying Oo … la … la … all the time.

MOLLY They’re not saying Oo … la … la?

LIONEL I don’t know really, I’ve never been there. ( Dreaming, neglecting his cards ) Molly, when you close your eyes and picture the world do you see it dark? (MOLLY doesn’t answer right away ) Do you, Molly? Do you see the world dark behind your eyes?