Bedrooms & Bars

a play in two acts

by Charles Deemer

 

First performed at the Raindog Playwrights' Project in Portland, Oregon, on February 13, 1998. Directed by Charles Deemer.

 

Finalist for the 1998 Oregon Book Award.

 

 

THE CAST:

Quinn, a barfly, ex-teacher, 30s

Deadra, a barfly, 30s

Megan, Deadra's twin sister (played by same actress)

 

THE SETTING:

Table in a bar. Quinn's small studio apartment. A hospital bed. A ferry deck.

 

THE TIME:

The 1980s.


 

ACT ONE

 

 

1/ The Bar, Saturday Night. Early 1980's.

 

(AT RISE: QUINN and DEADRA sit at a table. Each has a fresh drink.)

 

QUINN: Thanks for the drink.

DEADRA: You're very welcome.

QUINN: I'm Quinn.

DEADRA: I know. Deadra

QUINN: I know. Cheers.

DEADRA: Cheers.

 

(They drink.)

 

QUINN: Where's what's-his-name?

DEADRA: I'm not sure who you mean.

QUINN: The guy I always see you with.

DEADRA: You'd think someone like that would ring a bell, wouldn't you? I have no idea who you mean.

QUINN: The guy you go with.

DEADRA: I don't go with anyone.

QUINN: You're in here a lot together. He's always betting on games.

DEADRA: George?

QUINN: George, right.

 DEADRA: He left town last week. He got a new job.

QUINN: You two aren't an item?

DEADRA: Heavens, no. We're just buddies.

QUINN: That's encouraging.

DEADRA: In what way?

QUINN: When you make your move on me, I can say yes without a guilty conscience.

DEADRA: You don't beat around the bush.

QUINN: Bullshit's not part of my nature.

DEADRA: Sorry to disappoint you, Quinn, but I won't be making a move on you.

QUINN: Win a few, lose a few.

DEADRA: Are you always so direct?

QUINN: Always.

DEADRA: At least you're not "a secretive Scorpio." I have this thing about meeting Scorpio men. It always gets me in trouble.

QUINN: Bingo.

DEADRA: No.

QUINN: November 1st.

DEADRA: Please tell me you're kidding.

QUINN: Would I kid about being the sign of the genitals? What about you?

DEADRA: Guess.

QUINN: Actually, I've never asked anyone their sign before.

DEADRA: Don't ask — guess.

QUINN: Not a clue.

DEADRA: You've seen me in here a lot. You should have some impression about me.

QUINN: We've never talked before.

DEADRA: Why is that? Are you shy?

QUINN: You're usually in here with George. And now suddenly you're foot loose and fancy free.

DEADRA: I've always been that. The question is, how come you never talked to me before?

QUINN: We never ended up on adjacent barstools.

DEADRA: Which is surprising since whenever I walk in the door, you're here.

QUINN: Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black?

DEADRA: I see you have a great affection for clichés.

QUINN: Only great writing becomes a cliché. Otherwise we forget it as soon as we hear it.

DEADRA: And you're a student of great writing.

QUINN: I'm a writer of bad verse, which gives me great appreciation for the good stuff.

DEADRA: Do you publish?

QUINN: I don't even send anything out.

DEADRA: That sounds like fear of rejection.

QUINN: I write for myself. It's a very noble tradition.

DEADRA: But you deprive the public of enjoying your work.

QUINN: If you'd read my stuff, you wouldn't say that. I write for an audience of one.

DEADRA: Too bad. If you had a book out, I could take it home to bed.

QUINN: Why take the poetry when you can take the poet?

DEADRA: I'm not picking you up, Quinn.

QUINN: The night's still young.

 

 (A pause.)

 

QUINN: You never told me what sign you are.

DEADRA: Scorpio.

QUINN: Scorpio?

DEADRA: November 5th.

QUINN: Sex and death meets sex and death. I think we're on a roll.

DEADRA: There are variations to that theme. A lot depends on what's in your various houses.

QUINN: And in your house is — let me guess. A live-in boyfriend who hasn't shown up yet.

DEADRA: I have an apartment.

QUINN: Same question.

DEADRA: No live-in boyfriend. No boyfriend, period.

QUINN: This gets better all the time.

DEADRA: Are you hard of hearing? I am not, repeat not, picking you up.

QUINN: Why did you suggest we get a table?

DEADRA: Because I see you in here all the time, and we never talk.

QUINN: We could talk at the bar. I think you wanted to get a table because you have an ulterior motive.

DEADRA: Actually, I do. But it's not what you think. I need a favor.

QUINN: Bingo.

DEADRA: I can't stay at my apartment tonight.

QUINN: Why not?

DEADRA: Let's just say I need a break.

QUINN: From what?

DEADRA: This is where it gets complicated. If you were a gentleman, you wouldn't make me explain. You'd say, "I have a sofa you can crash on."

QUINN: Unfortunately, my very small apartment has only one double-bed. So unless we sleep together, one of us will have to sleep on the floor.

DEADRA: I have no problem with sleeping on the floor.

QUINN: I may want to be chivalrous. What do you need a break from?

DEADRA: House guests. They're driving me crazy.

QUINN: Then kick them out.

DEADRA: I can't just yet.

QUINN: Why not?

DEADRA: One of them hurt his foot. I think it's infected.

QUINN: How many are there?

DEADRA: Two.

QUINN: Sex?

DEADRA: No, I'm not sleeping with them — and I wouldn't tell you if I was.

QUINN: I meant, are they both male or what?

DEADRA: They're a couple.

QUINN: So tell them to go home.

DEADRA: I don't think John should be moved just yet. I've been trying to get him to see a doctor.

QUINN: I'm impressed you're so worried about him. Are you sure you're a Scorpio? You don't seem selfish enough.

DEADRA: Not every Scorpio is fixated on sex and death.

QUINN: Then what's the point of astrology?

DEADRA: It's about acting in accordance with natural energies.

QUINN (Theme from Twilight Zone): Dee-dee-dee-dee dee-dee-dee-dee.

DEADRA: Energies are very real.

QUINN: Whatever. Anyway, sure.

DEADRA: Sure what?

QUINN: You can crash at my place. I'll spend the night with a lady friend.

DEADRA: Thank you, Quinn.

QUINN: No problem. Let me make a phone call. You ready for another drink?

DEADRA: Absolutely.

QUINN: My kind of girl.

 

 (He exits. Deadra watches him go. BLACKOUT.)

 

 

2/ The Bar, Ten Minutes Later.

 

 (LIGHTS UP: ten minutes later, Quinn returns with drinks.)

 

DEADRA: I bet she was glad to hear from you.

QUINN: She wasn't home. I'll try later.

DEADRA: Your girlfriend?

QUINN: Not really.

DEADRA: But you sleep with her?

QUINN: Now and again.

DEADRA: How convenient.

QUINN: We think so. You have a problem with that?

DEADRA: Why should I care what you do?

QUINN: I mean, in general. Do you have a problem with casual sex?

DEADRA: It's not my style, but no, I don't.

 

 (Quinn just looks at her.)

 

DEADRA: You look like you don't believe me.

QUINN: Let's just say I know a couple of your ex-boyfriends.

DEADRA: Who?

QUINN: I don't want to get them in trouble.

DEADRA: I don't know what you think you know about me, Quinn, but I hope you don't believe everything you hear in bars.

QUINN: I know a couple of guys you've taken home. I'm surprised to hear you say it isn't your style.

DEADRA: So you're sitting here because you expect me to take you home?

QUINN: I'm sitting here because you invited me. Not vice-versa.

DEADRA: Because I need a place to crash tonight. Under the circumstances, I don't think I should accept your offer

QUINN: You don't have to get uptight about it.

DEADRA: You don't have to insult me.

QUINN: I'm sorry. I had you pegged as a woman waiting for Mr. Right Now. But you're absolutely correct — I know nothing about you. Maybe you're waiting for Mr. Right after all.

DEADRA: Hardly.

QUINN: Spoken like a graduate from the school of hard knocks.

DEADRA: Aren't we all?

QUINN: How many times have you been married?

DEADRA: Once.

QUINN: Only once, I'm impressed. Children?

DEADRA: No.

QUINN: So what happened?

DEADRA: This is getting a little personal, Quinn.

QUINN: Then I retract the question. Read any good books lately?

DEADRA: Fuck you..

QUINN: I assume you don't mean that literally.

DEADRA: You're insulting me again.

QUINN: How do you come up with that?

DEADRA: The subtext is that since I won't talk about anything personal, let's talk about something trivial.

QUINN: I don't think books are trivial.

DEADRA: I'm talking about the context.

QUINN: Context up your ass.

DEADRA: Maybe you could call your girlfriend again.

QUINN: She's not my girlfriend.

DEADRA: Whoever she is, maybe she's back.

 

 (A pause.)

 

QUINN: I've been married three times.

DEADRA: Three!

QUINN: And lived to tell the tale. Actually it's not as bad as it sounds.

DEADRA: You can spare me the details.

 

 (He ignores this.)

 

QUINN: The first wasn't supposed to happen. I was barely twenty-one and home on leave from the Army. My girlfriend and I were at a fraternity party when her roommate said she's running off to Reno with her fiancee. They wanted us to come along to stand up for them.

DEADRA: My God — and you ended up doing it yourself.

QUINN: You got it.

DEADRA: That's terrible. And number two?

QUINN: I'm not done with number one. You ever been to a wedding chapel in Reno?

DEADRA: Hardly.

QUINN: There is no better cathedral for exhibiting the America genius for marketing. We went to the Little Chapel of Roses. You walk into something that's part mail order house and part convention booth. Brochures and display ads are everywhere. Suddenly this "facilitator" drops on you like flies on garbage and the next thing you know, you're sitting down looking at page after page of photos illustrating your options. Do you want the Simple Podium Ceremony or the Stained-Glass-and-Organ Model? A love sonnet by Shakespeare? An aria from Tristan and Isolde? Ten or twenty or thirty invited guests, performed by the best actors in the region?

DEADRA: So what did you choose?

QUINN: The Pinkie and Blue Boy Special.

DEADRA: What was that?

QUINN: I don't remember exactly.

DEADRA: And you ended up having a double wedding?

QUINN: Exactly.

DEADRA: How did that happen?

QUINN: I don't remember.

DEADRA: You don't remember anything?

QUINN: My memory ends with picking out Pinkie and Blue Boy. I think it may have had to do with the actors who stood up for us. Maybe they wore pink and blue.

DEADRA: I remember my wedding perfectly.

QUINN: Not I. Don't you ever have blackouts?

DEADRA: Never. Do you have them often?

QUINN: Comes with the territory.

DEADRA: That's not a good sign, Quinn.

QUINN: You see any good signs in the world today?

DEADRA: I'm referring to your health. So what happened after the double wedding?

QUINN: We all drove home. I went back to the Army, and everybody else went back to school.

DEADRA: You didn't even have a honeymoon?

QUINN: Didn't have a marriage. Back in Germany, where I was stationed, I sobered up long enough to realize the horror of what we'd done. Fortunately the feeling was mutual. We were able to get the marriage annulled.

DEADRA: So it doesn't count.

QUINN: Not legally. But in the heart, believe me, it was a true mistake.

DEADRA: One down, two to go.

QUINN: Two was the one that counted.

DEADRA: But it didn't last either.

QUINN: Not my fault. Not entirely, anyway. She left me for another woman.

DEADRA: Ouch. How did that make you feel?

QUINN: Like a prickless piece of shit. Actually, it probably would have ended anyway.

DEADRA: How did you meet her?

QUINN: I went back to school after the Army. She was my philosophy professor.

DEADRA: The plot thickens.

QUINN: We didn't get involved until after I finished her class. We ran into each another in a bar one night, and it was love at last gulp. I was the first man she met who could out-drink her.

DEADRA: Was she older?

QUINN: I had a few months on her. I was a returning student and she was a recent Ph.D.

DEADRA: A very bright woman.

QUINN: Bright as they come.

DEADRA: You think bright is sexy?

QUINN: Absolutely. Don't you?

DEADRA: Depends who's wearing the intelligence. How long were you married?

QUINN: Five years. And we lived together four before that.

DEADRA: Nine years is a long time.

QUINN: Tell me about it.

DEADRA: You had no clues she liked women?

QUINN: Sure, I did. But I thought it was all in the realm of fantasy. Apparently she tried it out and decided that's where she belonged.

DEADRA: I'm sorry.

QUINN: The Greeks, Aeschylus and the like, said suffering leads to wisdom. I should've sent her a thank you card for the extra lessons.

DEADRA: Which brings us to marriage number three.

QUINN: The worst of all. Absolute insanity.

DEADRA: What happened?

QUINN: I don't remember.

DEADRA: Quinn, these blackouts should worry you.

QUINN: She was someone at the high school, another teacher, and I think she went on a mission to save me. You know the type?

DEADRA: Addicted do-gooder? Butts into everybody's life but their own?

QUINN: Exactly. I gave her a ride home after a faculty party, she invited me in for a drink, and I ended up staying the three-day weekend. We were married a month later.

DEADRA: You do move fast.

QUINN: It was quickly obvious we didn't belong together. One night I found my belongings boxed up on the front porch. I took the hint.

DEADRA: That's quite a history.

QUINN: I haven't been married in five years. I'm on a roll.

 

 (A pause.)

 

DEADRA: George told me you teach high school. What subject?

QUINN: History. You?

DEADRA: I'm a phlebotomist.

QUINN: Fantastic. What the hell's that?

DEADRA: I draw blood.

QUINN: I thought that was a vampire.

DEADRA: Cute, Quinn.

QUINN: You mean, that's it? You draw blood all day?

DEADRA: Mostly. I also do a little research, which I prefer. But unfortunately drawing blood keeps me busy.

QUINN: Did you know "vamp" comes from vampire? Are you a vamp, Deadra?

DEADRA: Weren't you going to call your sex partner again?

QUINN: You're trying to get rid of me.

DEADRA: I’m tired of being insulted.

QUINN: I wasn't insulting you. You're overly sensitive.

DEADRA: You're patronizing me, Quinn.

QUINN: Hey, lighten up. You call yourself a Scorpio? Where's the thick skin?

DEADRA: You'd better make your phone call.

QUINN: I think I'm changing my mind.

DEADRA: About what?

QUINN: I'll sleep on the floor.

DEADRA: Under the circumstances, maybe that's not such a good idea.

QUINN: You think I'll be in danger?

DEADRA: I'm wondering if I will.

QUINN: From what?

DEADRA: The question is, from who?

QUINN: From me? You think you’re dealing with the King of the Date Rape here?

DEADRA: I didn't say that.

QUINN: Fuck you didn't. No pun intended.

DEADRA: I wouldn't be comfortable with you there.

QUINN: Look, lady, I can go pull peter in the bathroom if worst comes to worst.

DEADRA: What a colorful way to put it.

QUINN: Whatever turns you on.

DEADRA: Are you always this vulgar?

QUINN: You think I'm being vulgar?

DEADRA: What would you call it?

QUINN: Being pissed.

DEADRA: Then I owe you an apology.

QUINN: Damn right.

DEADRA: Some people change personality completely when they drink. I don't really know you, Quinn.

QUINN: The only way I change is that booze loosens me up.

DEADRA: Is that why you drink?

QUINN: What kind of question is that?

DEADRA: I'm just curious. I drink for the social life.

QQUIN: You can find a social life in church.

DEADRA: Not any more. I'm more or less a defrocked Catholic.

QUINN: I figured.

DEADRA: You did?

QUINN: You reek Catholicism, Deadra. You ever think about entering a nunnery?

DEADRA: As a matter of fact, I did. When I was in junior high.

QUINN: What changed your mind?

DEADRA: Smoking cigarettes. I loved to smoke cigarettes.

QUINN: I've never seen you smoke.

DEADRA: I quit. It killed both my parents. Are your parents living?

QUINN: Just my dad. He's in a retirement center in Seattle.

DEADRA: Any brothers or sisters?

QUINN: No.

DEADRA: I have a twin sister.

QUINN: Really? I can't imagine what it would be like to be a twin.

DEADRA: We're not close.

QUINN: You never dressed up alike and the rest?

DEADRA: Sure, in grade school. When we started junior high, my parents divorced and I went with Dad and Megan went with Mom. They were dead before we graduated.

QUINN: Where is she now?

DEADRA: She's the success story of the family. She teaches biology at Harvard. We exchange Christmas cards, and that's about it.

 

 (She notices that Quinn is staring at her in a funny way.)

 

DEADRA: What's the matter?

QUINN: I'm trying to imagine two of you. It's a little mind-boggling. Is your twin married?

DEADRA: Happily so, as near as I can tell.

QUINN: How come you never remarried?

DEADRA: I'd settle for meeting someone who keeps my interest.

QUINN: Like George.

DEADRA: George is a good buddy, yes.

QUINN: What about a romantic interest?

DEADRA: Guys seem to want more than I can deliver.

QUINN: Like what, for example?

DEADRA: Like marriage or something just as serious.

QUINN: And you're not the marrying kind.

DEADRA: Definitely not.

QUINN: A real heart-breaker.

DEADRA: You, of all people, should respect the avoidance of marriage.

QUINN: Touché. I'm losing points here, aren't I?

DEADRA: You're trying much too hard, Quinn.

QUINN: Ah. You like men who play hard to get. I can do that.

DEADRA: Maybe you should make that phone call.

QUINN: Tell you what. If she's not home, I got a buddy where I can crash. Either way, you'll have my pad to yourself.

DEADRA: You're too young to use a word like "pad".

QUINN: My dad raised me on Kerouac and Ginsberg. Here's the key. Let me write down the address.

 

(He'll scribble the address on a bar napkin.)

 

DEADRA: I feel guilty kicking you out of your own apartment.

QUINN: But think how safe you'll be from my crazed Scorpio rapist hormones.

DEADRA: Okay, you win. Sleep on the floor.

QUINN: I don't want to sleep on the floor.

DEADRA: You're sure?

QUINN: Of course I'm sure. If Melinda's not home, I'll head for the Dandelion Pub. I'll find a lonely lady to take me home.

DEADRA: You do that often?

QUINN: Not often enough. So make yourself at home. I think I have leftover pizza in the refrig. Watch TV, play tapes, whatever you want.

DEADRA: What kind of music do you like?

QUINN: I find myself playing the same music my dad listened to. I think I was brain-washed as a kid.

DEADRA: Like for instance?

QUINN: You ever hear of Gerry Mulligan?

DEADRA: Of course. I love him.

QUINN: You ever hear Mulligan with Chet Baker playing trumpet behind him? Like on "My Funny Valentine"?

DEADRA: I love the way they do that.

QUINN: You'll dig my tapes then.

DEADRA: It'll be a treat to hear some decent music. I just have an old radio at home.

QUINN: Shame on you.

DEADRA: I might treat myself to a CD player for Christmas.

QUINN: I've been meaning to upgrade myself. If I go CD before you do, I'll give you my cassette player.

DEADRA: That's sweet of you.

QUINN: I'm a sweet guy now and again.

DEADRA: I can see that. Maybe we could listen to a little music before you go over to your friend's.

QUINN: Some other time.

DEADRA: I should crash early anyway.

QUINN: Don't let me keep you up.

DEADRA: I can't thank you enough for this.

QUINN: What would you have done if I'd said no? Or put down conditions, like sleeping with me?

DEADRA: I don't know. Ask somebody else. I can always stay with my friend Annie, but I'd have to put up with whatever guy she drags home tonight.

QUINN: I need to meet Annie.

DEADRA: No, you don't.

QUINN: May I ask you something else before you go?

DEADRA: Of course.

QUINN: Why me?

DEADRA: Actually it was spontaneous.

QUINN: How do you mean?

DEADRA: If you remember, I was sitting at the end of the bar when you came in, and there was a stool next to me but you didn't take it.

QUINN: True.

DEADRA: Why not?

QUINN: Seemed a little forward.

DEADRA: You really are shy.

QUINN: I hadn't filled my tank yet. I sat down at the bar, and you bought me a drink. Then you suggested we get a table. I assumed you were hustling me.

DEADRA: Really?

QUINN: You don't see why?

DEADRA: I just wanted to talk to you. I see you in here all the time but we never talk.

QUINN: Well, tonight we broke the ice.

DEADRA: That we did, Quinn.

QUINN: Deadra. Did you know the name means sexy?

DEADRA: And what does Quinn mean?

QUINN: Intelligent.

DEADRA: Which you seem to be.

QUINN: Ditto, you. Sexy.

DEADRA: Thank you.

QUINN: I'd better make that phone call. Take care.

DEADRA: Thanks again.

QUINN: No problem.

 

(He leaves. Deadra watches him go. BLACKOUT.)

 

 

3/ The Bedroom. The Next Morning

 

 (AT RISE: Deadra is in bed. She's partially dressed with a cover over her. Quinn enters. He sees that she is still asleep. He moves slowly into the room, grabs a towel that is on the floor, and exits to bathroom. BLACKOUT.)

 

 

4/ The Bedroom. Fifteen Minutes Later.

 

(LIGHTS UP: we hear a shower running. Deadra wakes, sits up. She hears the shower and is confused. She gets out of bed and moves closer to listen to the shower. Suddenly it goes off. She hurries back to bed and under the covers. Quinn enters wearing a robe.)

 

DEADRA: Good morning.

QUINN: Good morning. How'd you sleep?

DEADRA: Wonderfully. Have you been here long?

 

 (Quinn studies her.)

 

QUINN: All night. You don't remember?

DEADRA: Of course I remember.

QUINN: It was incredible, wasn't it?

 

 (She doesn't reply.)

 

QUINN: Maybe just for me.

DEADRA: No. I mean, yes, of course it was. I sure slept soundly.

QUINN: That you did.

DEADRA: I'm feeling just great.

 

(Quinn starts laughing.)

 

DEADRA: I don't see what's so amusing.

QUINN: You don't even remember our wild sex, do you? Be honest.

DEADRA: No, I don't.

QUINN: That's really terrific, Deadra. Cosmic sex and you can't even remember it.

DEADRA: I'm sorry. I'm sure it was wonderful.

 

 (Quinn smiles and shakes his head.)

 

DEADRA: I guess I had too much to drink.

QUINN: No shit, Dick Tracy. I'm putting you on, Deadra. Sexy Lady of the Blackouts. You got on my case about having them, and you have them yourself.

DEADRA: You didn't spend the night?

QUINN: I said I wouldn't, and I didn't. I'm a gentleman and a scholar, in case you haven't noticed.

DEADRA: You found your lady friend?

QUINN: Unfortunately, no.

DEADRA: You picked up somebody at the Dandelion?

QUINN: I slept in the car.

DEADRA: In the car!

QUINN: In the car. I don't recommend it.

DEADRA: Why?

QUINN: I didn't want you to stay awake all night waiting for me to rape you.

DEADRA: I wouldn't've done that.

QUINN: We'll never know.

DEADRA: I'm really sorry.

QUINN: I'll recover.

DEADRA: Let me make it up to you. Buy you breakfast?

QUINN: I'll think about it.

DEADRA: It's the least I can do. Let me shower first. If you don't mind.

QUINN: Be my guest.

 

(She gets out of bed.)

 

QUINN: Where shall we eat?

DEADRA: You decide.

 

 (She grabs the rest of her clothes and exits to the bathroom. Quinn watches her go. BLACKOUT.)

 

 

5/ Bedroom. Half An Hour Later.

 

 (LIGHTS UP. Quinn is dressed. Deadra enters from the bathroom, dressed.)

 

QUINN: Did you listen to Mulligan last night?

DEADRA: I was so tired I went straight to bed.

QUINN: So what about today? Going back home to face the guests?

DEADRA: I'm going to put my foot down. I've got to get John to go to the hospital.

QUINN: Or at least to go home.

DEADRA: He doesn't have a home.

QUINN: He's just visiting?

DEADRA: He and Maggie have been living under a bridge.

QUINN: You put up homeless people? That's remarkable.

DEADRA: I wish I had a bigger place, so I could put up more.

QUINN: Isn't it dangerous?

DEADRA: Life is dangerous.

QUINN: There's a bit of Mother Teresa in you, isn't there?

DEADRA: I can sympathize with them. I lived on the streets myself once.

QUINN: Seriously?

DEADRA: Just to see what it was like. It was horrible, even knowing I could quit and go home whenever I wanted. It's one thing to have an intellectual understanding of what they go through, but try living it yourself.

QUINN: How long were you out there?

DEADRA: Three days. That's all I could take.

QUINN: I'm impressed. How often do you put these homeless people up?

DEADRA: Usually only in emergencies. Or when I feel too guilty about having an empty sofa. I know John and Maggie from the neighborhood, I'm sure you've seen them around. I ran into them during the rainy spell last week, and John had hurt his foot, so I let them get out of the weather. When it stopped raining, they didn't leave.

QUINN: Because you don't have the heart to evict them.

DEADRA: Well, I have to put my foot down.

QUINN: Damn right you do. Deadra, you can't save the world. I hope you know that.

DEADRA: I'm not trying to save the world. I was just letting them get out of the weather for a while.

QUINN: I was going to say you're a person who can't say "No" — except you said no often enough last night.

DEADRA: That's because you quit too soon.

QUINN: I did?

DEADRA: Couldn't you tell I wanted us to come here together? I suggested we listen to music.

QUINN: I thought that was just to listen to music.

DEADRA: I was warming up to you.

QUINN: Now you tell me.

DEADRA: You were in too much of a hurry. Not a good part of your personality, Quinn.

QUINN: I'll work on it.

DEADRA: It's just as well. We wouldn't have gotten any sleep.

QUINN: Probably not.

DEADRA: And I really needed a good night's sleep.

QUINN: Which you got.

DEADRA: Thanks to you.

QUINN: Which I didn't. Thanks to you.

DEADRA: Now you're making me feel guilty.

QUINN: You do that a lot. Would a Bloody Mary make you feel better?

DEADRA: You're having one?

QUINN: My Sunday luxury.

DEADRA: I'd love one.

QUINN: Not here. The Gypsy's open this early. They also serve breakfast.

DEADRA: Then the Gypsy it is.

 

 (BLACKOUT.)

 

 

6/ Bedroom. Two Hours Later.

 

 (LIGHTS UP. Quinn and Deadra return after breakfast.)

 

DEADRA: I know I left it here somewhere.

 

 (She's looking for something.)

 

DEADRA: Maybe in the bathroom.

 

 (She exits — and quickly returns, holding her lipstick.)

 

DEADRA: Tah-dah!

QUINN: Great.

DEADRA: So. Thank you for the good company.

QUINN: Do you have to run off?

DEADRA: I'm dreading it — but I do. I have to tell them to go.

QUINN: So do it.

DEADRA: I will. I really will.

QUINN: You want help?

DEADRA: How do you mean?

QUINN: Moral support. I'll tag along. Make sure you do it.

DEADRA: You don't have anything better to do today?

QUINN: Go to the bar and watch football.

DEADRA: Isn't that what you like to do?

QUINN: It's what I do because there's nothing else to do. So when do we leave?

DEADRA: They sleep even later than me. That's another problem. I have to creep around in my own apartment.

QUINN: Not good, Deadra.

DEADRA: I know.

QUINN: So we'll give them thirty minutes, an hour, and then we drag their asses to the emergency room. Sound good?

DEADRA: Perfect. We'll do it.

QUINN: Absolutely.

 

 (A pause: they look at one another.)

 

DEADRA: What's the matter?

QUINN: I have this sudden urge to kiss you.

DEADRA: I know.

QUINN: How do you feel about that?

DEADRA: I think you talk too much.

 

(They kiss. And again. BLACKOUT.)

 

 

7/ Bedroom. Two Hours Later.

 

 (LIGHTS UP. Quinn and Deadra are dressing after lovemaking.)

 

DEADRA: I feel so damn good.

QUINN: Two of us.

DEADRA: Unfortunately I still have guests at home.

QUINN: We're supposed to take them to the hospital.

DEADRA: Right.

QUINN: So tell me something. Is this a one-time deal or do we have something worth pursuing here?

DEADRA: Don't move too fast for me, Quinn.

QUINN: Okay.

 

 (A pause.)

 

DEADRA: Yes.

QUINN: Yes — as in ...yes?

DEADRA: I want to do this again.

QUINN: Good. Me, too.

DEADRA: But don't push it, okay?

QUINN: One moment of erotic ecstasy at a time.

DEADRA: Don't try to verbalize everything.

QUINN: What I meant is, you're a free spirit. I respect that.

DEADRA: Good.

QUINN: And I'll promise you something. I won't ask you to marry me.

DEADRA: Good!

 

(A pause.)

 

DEADRA: It's always so great in the beginning, isn't it?

QUINN: Beginnings are better than endings.

DEADRA: What happens? Why can't people maintain?

QUINN: The beginning is simple. Man, woman, chemistry, lust, satisfaction. Now we have to get up and go out there and take your guests to the hospital, and who the hell knows what's waiting for us, all ready to pounce on this wonderful biological simplicity and turn it into some complicated head trip. The mind defeats the body every time.

DEADRA: You know what usually ruins it for me? The guy goes out and picks somebody up. We have a great sex life, and he still messes around. Why do guys always do that?

QUINN: Why did my wife ruin a perfectly wonderful marriage by going out and having an affair with a woman?

DEADRA: Because it wasn't so perfect for her after all.

QUINN: So maybe the sex with these guys isn't as perfect as you think.

DEADRA: At least we don't have that problem. Do we?

QUINN: Definitely not.

DEADRA: I want what I'm feeling now to last as long as it can.

QUINN: We can do that.

DEADRA: I hope so.

QUINN: You don't sound very secure about it.

DEADRA: I guess not.

QUINN: What happens if you go out on a limb and trust me not to mess around behind your back?

DEADRA: Trust a man? There's a leap of faith.

QUINN: Trust me. I'm a one-woman kind of guy, Deadra.

DEADRA: With three ex-wives.

QUINN: I married them one at a time, okay? I'm a serial monogamist.

 

 (A pause.)

 

QUINN: And I can trust you, too, right?

DEADRA: When I'm happy, I don't sleep around.

QUINN: I believe you.

DEADRA: Good, because I'll never lie to you. Not even when, you know ...

QUINN: When...?

DEADRA: Everything turns to crap.

QUINN: As it has to, right?

DEADRA: As it always has. With you, too, Quinn. Three marriages, for God's sake. Did you expect to get divorced when you said, "I do"?

QUINN: Of course not.

DEADRA: I rest my case.

 

(A pause.)

 

DEADRA: You know what I really like? You're so easy to talk to.

QUINN: Good.

DEADRA: You're different than I imagined. You're so quiet, I thought you'd be boring. Do you realize how many boring people there are in the world?

QUINN: Most of them on a barstool.

DEADRA: Which is where I usually find you.

QUINN: Touché.

DEADRA: You're interesting, Quinn. That's a gift.

QUINN: I like talking to you, too.

DEADRA: That's going to help us, isn't it?

QUINN: It can't hurt.

DEADRA: I didn't think you liked me.

QUINN: Why?

DEADRA: Because you never talked to me.

QUINN: We never ended up on adjacent barstools.

DEADRA: I thought you dismissed me as just another stupid chick at the bar, like I never read a book in my life.

QUINN: So what have you read lately?

DEADRA: "I'm dysfunctional, you're dysfunctional."

QUINN: Don't change the subject.

DEADRA: That's the name of the book.

QUINN: Great title!

DEADRA: It's an expose of the self-help industry.

QUINN: Long overdue.

DEADRA: Today it's "in" to be an addict or a victim — or both.

QUINN: With a tortured inner child.

DEADRA: And abusive parents.

QUINN: Incest victim.

DEADRA: Date raped in junior high.

QUINN: Can't express feelings.

DEADRA: Especially men.

QUINN: That's who I meant.

DEADRA: Poor self-image.

QUINN: Post-menstrual Stress Disorder.

DEADRA: Shrinking-dick Disorder.

QUINN: Like, shit happens, right? I hate whiners. Why can't people stop wallowing in the past and get on with their lives?

DEADRA: Exactly.

QUINN: Of course, everybody on the goddamn planet is in denial about something.

DEADRA: Usually about being in denial!

QUINN: Absolutely.

DEADRA: What are you in denial about?

QUINN: You don't want to know.

DEADRA: Yes, I do.

QUINN: No, you don't.

DEADRA: Do.

QUINN: Don't.

DEADRA: Tell me!

 

 (She starts tickling him.)

 

DEADRA: Tell me!

QUINN: Okay! Stop it!

DEADRA: What are you in denial about?

QUINN: You tell me first.

DEADRA: I asked you first.

QUINN: But mine's heavier than yours.

DEADRA: Okay. I'm in denial about — how afraid I am that this is going to end sooner than I want it to.

QUINN: Maybe you'll be surprised.

DEADRA: What are you in denial about?

QUINN: Falling in love with you.

DEADRA: No.

QUINN: That I'm bound to eventually

DEADRA: No! Goddamn it, Quinn! Why do you have to go and ruin everything?

QUINN: I knew you wouldn't like it.

DEADRA: Then why didn't you just keep it to yourself?

QUINN: Because it's the truth.

DEADRA: I don't want to hear it.

QUINN: You'd rather I lie?

DEADRA: I'd rather enjoy what we have!

QUINN: Please don't do this.

DEADRA: You did it, Quinn.

QUINN: I'm not in love with you yet, okay? I was only talking about future possibilities.

DEADRA: I would never marry you, Quinn. Just get that idea out of your head entirely.

QUINN: I never asked you! I told you, I never will ask you. I mean it. Deadra, for Christ's sake, you're making a—

TOGETHER: Mountain out of a molehill!

DEADRA: You and your goddamn clichés.

QUINN: I didn't think you'd get so upset.

DEADRA: Because you don't know me at all.

QUINN: True. But I want to.

DEADRA: Don't push any of that Valentine's Day crap at me, okay? No flowers, no candy—

QUINN: Deadra, slow down! Just relax a minute. A moment ago you were marveling at how good you felt.

DEADRA: You ruined it.

QUINN: We can get back to where we were.

DEADRA: The context is different now.

QUINN: It doesn't have to be.

DEADRA: I'm not the marrying kind. That's the first thing you have to know about me.

QUINN: You're a free spirit. Got it.

DEADRA: I don't want you to lay any expectations on me, okay? If we do this, we do it one day at a time.

QUINN: I can do that.

DEADRA: Just don't lay some marriage or commitment trip on me, okay?

QUINN: I promise.

DEADRA: You start doing that, Quinn, you just set yourself up for heartbreak. Look at your own life, with three marriages. Three times you thought it was for eternity, three times it got shoved back in your face. Who needs it?

QUINN: We don't need that, Deadra. You're right.

DEADRA: I just want to go slow with this.

QUINN: We will. We are.

DEADRA: I just want to feel happy for as long as I can.

QUINN: In the present tense.

DEADRA: Exactly. In the present tense.

QUINN: No talking about the future.

DEADRA: Exactly.

QUINN: One present tense day at a time.

DEADRA: Right.

QUINN: I can do that.

DEADRA: I hope so.

QUINN: Deadra?

 

 (He kisses her. At first she resists. Then she gives in, and they enjoy a long, passionate kiss.)

 

DEADRA: Don't do that again, Quinn.

QUINN: Promise. I want you to hear something.

 

 (Quinn puts on the Mulligan-Baker version of "My Funny Valentine." It will begin playing softly in the background.)

 

QUINN: Can you remember the first time you heard this?

DEADRA: Not really.

QUINN: I can, like it was yesterday. I was in the Army. I'm one of the lucky few who had a great military experience. I mean it. When I look at what other guys went through, even if they didn't go to Nam, I really had it made. They sent me to the Army Language School in Monterey; I became a Russian linguist.

DEADRA: That's impressive.

QUINN: It wasn't the job that was so great but the guys I was with. Most of them had degrees in history or literature or philosophy. They joined the Army Security Agency to escape the war and bide time and try to figure out what to do with their lives. It was like having a hundred big brothers, all of them giving me great books to read.

DEADRA: I never heard of the Army being like that.

QUINN: One night after we'd made it back just before curfew — we were stationed in Germany, and it really pissed everybody off that the Army had curfew but the Air Force didn't. This particular night, we came back to the billets just before curfew and, as we usually did, we drank a few beers that somebody had snuck in from the NCO Club, and we listened to records. That's when a buddy of mine, Donovan, put on Mulligan-Baker doing "My Funny Valentine." Man, it really hit me. I'd just figured out what a stupid thing it was to get married and had sent her — this woman who was my wife, for God's sake! — a letter about it. I'd get her letter the next day, saying that we needed to annul the marriage, the same thing I'd written. Our letters crossed in the mail.

DEADRA: You were on the same wavelength.

QUINN: Donovan put on "My Funny Valentine," and I just started weeping. Bawling like a baby. It was so goddamn beautiful, so incredibly lyrical, fragile, delicate — everything that my life wasn't.

 

 (Deadra embraces him. Then Quinn pulls back, and they start dancing to the music.)

 

QUINN: Today my life feels very simple and very beautiful.

 

 (A pause.)

 

QUINN: May I ask you something?

DEADRA: Don't talk, Quinn. Don't ask anything, and don't say anything. Just hold me close. Just dance.

QUINN: I can do that.

DEADRA: Then shut up.

QUINN: I can do that, too.

 

(Deadra stops dancing.)

 

DEADRA: Quinn? Please don't ruin it.

 

(Quinn raises both hands, a gesture of surrender. He takes her in his arms again. They start dancing.)

 

(FADE TO BLACKOUT as they dance.)

 

 

8/ The Bedroom. The Next Morning, 3 A.M.

 

(Dim lights. Deadra is in bed, asleep. Quinn is sitting up at the bedside table, eating something)

 

DEADRA: Quinn?

QUINN: Hmm?

DEADRA: What are you doing?

QUINN: Umm-hmm!

DEADRA: Is something wrong?

QUINN: Umm-UMM! It's great!

 

(Deadra slides over beside him.)

 

DEADRA: What're you eating?

QUINN: Peanut butter and pickles.

DEADRA: What?

QUINN: Peanut butter pickles! Want to try one?

 

(He prepares a peanut-buttered pickle for her.)

 

DEADRA: Couldn't you sleep?

QUINN: I'm famished. This is fantastic, here.

 

(He shoves the pickle at her.)

 

DEADRA: Quinn! What is it?

QUINN: I told you. A dill pickle with peanut butter spread on it.

DEADRA: It looks sickening.

QUINN: Don't judge it. Try it. Open up.

DEADRA: No!

 

(He grabs her face, playfully trying to open her mouth with one hand in order to shove in the pickle with the other.)

 

QUINN: Where's your spirit of adventure?

DEADRA: It'll make me sick!

QUINN: Just try one bite.

DEADRA: Stop it! I'll try, stop, I promise I'll try.

 

(Quinn stops.)

 

QUINN: One bite.

DEADRA: Just one.

 

(He holds out the pickle for her to bite.)

 

DEADRA: Let me hold it.

QUINN: You don't trust me. I'm crushed.

 

(He gives her the pickle.)

 

DEADRA: Just one bite ...

 

(She takes a small bite. She tastes it,)

 

DEADRA: Oh my God ...

 

(She takes another bite.)

 

QUINN: Good, right?

DEADRA: Umm-hmm!

QUINN: I'll make more.

DEADRA: Quinn, this is amazing!

QUINN: Stick with me, babe. Your taste buds will go places they've never been before.

DEADRA: This is incredible! Why haven't I ever heard of it?

QUINN: You hang around with the wrong crowd. Ready for another?

DEADRA: Yes!

QUINN: Come and get it.

 

(He holds the pickle in his teeth, half of it sticking out for Deadra to take. She comes to him and takes the exposed end into her mouth. They start chewing their own end of the pickle, their lips moving closer, until they touch in a kiss. Suddenly they are kissing passionately and falling back onto the bed — as the LIGHTS FADE TO BLACKOUT.)

 

 

9/ The Bedroom. Morning, 11 A.M.

 

 (Quinn sits up in bed, writing.)

 

QUINN: You're witnessing history here. I wrote my first sonnet.

DEADRA: Congratulations.

QUINN: That's not the historical part. I may actually read it to you.

DEADRA: Please do!

QUINN: I think it's kind of fun.

DEADRA: I'd love to hear it.

QUINN: Sonnet for an audience of two:

 

(He reads the sonnet with much energy:)

 

QUINN: To take my heart, please take my warts as well!

I'm not a perfect man — but still I grow

when most men at my age freeze what they know,

and growth leads where not you or I can tell.

Sometimes I belch! Sometimes I fart and smell!

Sometimes I wake you up before the dawn

and lead you to the kitchen arm-in-arm,

where peanut-buttered pickles ring our bell.

I don't mean all the stuff in marriage vows.

I mean the human truth from A to Z,

and if you find, my dear, that your heart bows

this way — then I'm for you, and you're for me.

What is life without a little fun?

Let me know if you think you're the one.

 

(Quinn grins.. Deadra looks at him seriously. BLACKOUT.)

 

(END OF ACT ONE )


 

ACT TWO

 

 

1/ The Bar. A Month Later.

 

 (AT RISE: Quinn joins Deadra at a table in the bar. He carries a drink. She already has hers.)

 

QUINN: Sorry I'm late.

DEADRA: Quinn, I think we should talk about tomorrow.

QUINN: You're not getting cold feet on me?

DEADRA: Yes, I am.

QUINN: Deadra, we've been through this a million times.

DEADRA: Three or four.

QUINN: It's not a big deal. You don't have to meet him if you don't want to.

DEADRA: It would look rude not to.

QUINN: Then meet him.

DEADRA: It feels like you're taking me home to meet the family. That you want your father to approve of me.

QUINN: Okay, I'll cancel.

DEADRA: Why can't you just go see him alone?

QUINN: We go together, or we don't go.

DEADRA: I don't like that attitude at all.

QUINN: It's not about seeing dad anyway. It's about getting away together. It's about enjoying Seattle. Going to the public market and taking a ferry ride.

DEADRA: You know you have to see him if you're there.

QUINN: I can see him alone! Jesus Christ, Deadra, why does this have to be such a big issue with you?

DEADRA: Because you're going too fast for me. I'm not ready to meet your family.

QUINN: So screw it. We won't go.

DEADRA: You're not listening to me.

QUINN: The point is to enjoy Seattle together. I can't do that if I'm up there alone.

DEADRA: Why don't you go see your father? I have some things I want to do this weekend anyway.

QUINN: What things?

DEADRA: Does it matter?

 

(No reply.)

 

DEADRA: You don't own me, Quinn.

QUINN: I never said I owned you. Jesus.

DEADRA: You have expectations of me.

QUINN: You have expectations of me, too.

DEADRA: I'm beginning to feel...

QUINN: What?

DEADRA: Pressured.

QUINN: Pressured. Great.

DEADRA: It's how I feel.

QUINN: Deadra, you'd fuck up a wet dream.

DEADRA: That's a wonderful thing to tell me. Why in the world do you want to spend any time with me if all I do is fuck up your wet dreams?

 

(She gets up to leave.)

 

QUINN: Sit down. Please. I regret saying that.

 

(She sits back down.)

 

DEADRA: You damn well should regret saying it.

QUINN: Deadra, I'm aware of the fact that you need one hell of a lot more space than I do. I'm trying to give you that. I really am. Please try to give me a little slack here. I'm not a tyrant. I'm not into owning you in any way. I'm certainly not your husband and never will be.

DEADRA: Then you'll go to Seattle alone?

QUINN: Is that what you want?

DEADRA: I know you're looking forward to seeing your father. Admit it.

QUINN: Admitted.

DEADRA: Then go see him.

QUINN: I just thought we could kill two birds with one stone and make a weekend of it. I didn't know you were busy. If you'd've told me, I never would have suggested the trip.

DEADRA: It's not something I have to do. Just something I need to take care of sooner rather than later.

QUINN: Fine.

DEADRA: What I have to do is clean my apartment. Even though I spend most of my time in your apartment lately, I still pay rent and it's beginning to look like a pig pen over there. I need a day to clean it. I'm going to let some people stay there for a while.

QUINN: Homeless people?

DEADRA: Don't look at me like I'm crazy. Maggie's pregnant. She can't sleep under a bridge in her condition.

QUINN: What's this Mother Teresa complex about?

DEADRA: Pardon me if I care about people.

QUINN: The homeless problem is much bigger than your ability to solve it, Deadra.

DEADRA: I don't think in grandiose terms like that. I'm simple-minded — the rent's paid on an apartment nobody is using, and other people desperately need a roof over their heads. I don't find that very complicated.

QUINN: But why do you have to clean it? It can't be worse than living under a bridge, no matter how dirty it is.

DEADRA: I would never invite guests into a dirty apartment!

QUINN: Deadra, I don't want to argue about it with you. I was looking forward to showing you Seattle, okay? I'm as simple-minded as you are.

DEADRA: And I'd love to go to Seattle with you sometime.

QUINN: Right.

DEADRA: Why don't you believe me?

QUINN: If you wanted to see Seattle so badly, I think you'd jump at a chance to go.

DEADRA: I have to have a certain order in my life, Quinn. I can't drop everything and play house with you every weekend. Especially after spending all week with you.

QUINN: Then clean it tomorrow.

DEADRA: I will.

QUINN: I probably should clean mine, too.

DEADRA: I wasn't going to bring it up.

QUINN: Thanks a lot.

DEADRA: What about visiting your father?

QUINN: It can wait.

DEADRA: Then may I make a suggestion?

QUINN: Why the fuck not?

DEADRA: God, you get bummed out easily.

QUINN: Who's bummed out?

DEADRA: You are! I thought this weekend was special, like it was your father's birthday or something. If it isn't, then how about this? We do Seattle next weekend instead.

QUINN: You'd come with me?

DEADRA: Of course. But I'm not sure I want to meet your father yet. We'll play that one by ear when we get there.

QUINN: That's fair.

DEADRA: You don't mind waiting a week?

QUINN: Of course not. Why the hell didn't you say this in the beginning?

DEADRA: Your energy was in charge, Quinn.

QUINN: Week after next it is. Toast.

 

(They clink glasses.)

 

QUINN: And tomorrow we'll clean our apartments. Meet for dinner?

DEADRA: Sounds good.

QUINN: Amazing.

DEADRA: What is?

QUINN: I thought we were having a fight.

DEADRA: Well, we were getting in the neighborhood.

QUINN: If you'd've just asked if we could wait a week, we wouldn't've had to go through all that.

DEADRA: I told you as soon as I could get a word in.

QUINN: Not true.

DEADRA: Quinn, you were on your little hurt-feelings trip and I was trying to change the subject.

QUINN: Deadra...forget it.

DEADRA: What?

QUINN: It's not worth pursuing.

DEADRA: If we start letting something fester, Quinn, we're headed for trouble. What were you going to say?

QUINN: I was going to say, I now am going to say, that you and I are too much alike sometimes. Both bull-headed as hell. That's Scorpios again, isn't it?

DEADRA: No doubt.

QUINN: I'm sure glad we have great sex. I can put up with almost anything.

DEADRA: I hope you don't think that's a compliment. Because I hate it when you say things like that

QUINN: Let's change the subject.

 

(A pause.)

 

QUINN: How'd your day go?

DEADRA: You don't want to know.

QUINN: Now I really want to know.

DEADRA: I got fired.

QUINN: What?

DEADRA: I got canned.

QUINN: That's terrible. What happened?

DEADRA: First, it's not terrible. It's probably a blessing in disguise. The hospital belongs in the Middle Ages. This saves me from quitting.

QUINN: What was their reason?

DEADRA: They pulled a surprise drug test a week ago. I flunked

QUINN: Then challenge the results.

DEADRA: I flunked it, Quinn. Fair and square. They found marijuana. I usually have a joint in the can every morning.

QUINN: You smoke pot at work?

DEADRA: Don't look at me like the Moral Crusader. I know you drink at lunch because I've been there.

QUINN: It's not the same thing.

DEADRA: Pot's better for you than booze is.

QUINN: Pot's illegal.

DEADRA: So's oral sex in many parts of this wonderful country. Does it stop anybody? Does it stop you?

QUINN: So what are you going to do?

DEADRA: I can't believe you asked that.

QUINN: I'm trying to be supportive here.

DEADRA: By treating me like an idiot? I'm going to get another job, Quinn. I have two interviews Monday.

QUINN: I didn't mean to imply you weren't going to get another job.

DEADRA: And you're not going to support me financially, ever, so don't even ask.

QUINN: Never crossed my mind.

DEADRA: One interview's with a clinic I really, really want to work for. Cross your fingers for me.

QUINN: I will.

 

(A pause.)

 

DEADRA: What is it? You're dying to ask me something.

QUINN: You really smoke pot every morning?

DEADRA: Most mornings. You have a problem with that?

QUINN: No. I just didn't know.

DEADRA: Do I know everything about you? Of course not.

QUINN: It doesn't affect you at work?

DEADRA: Of course it does. That's why I do it. It calms me down. It helps me get through the day. You disapprove, don't you?

QUINN: Not really. I'm just surprised.

DEADRA: Shocked.

QUINN: Yes, a little shocked.

DEADRA: A whole lot shocked.

QUINN: Not a whole lot. Just — shocked.

DEADRA: Do two martinis at lunch affect how you teach in the afternoon?

QUINN: No.

DEADRA: You're sure about that?

QUINN: I don't teach, Deadra. I sell magazines.

 

(Deadra is shocked to hear this. She waits for more but none is coming.)

 

DEADRA: What're you talking about?

QUINN: I lost my teaching job two years ago.

DEADRA: George said you're a teacher.

QUINN: Everybody in here thinks I still teach. I never got around to telling anybody.

DEADRA: What happened?

QUINN: They found a pint of vodka in my desk. Actually they were pretty nice about it. I resigned, and it stayed out of the papers.

DEADRA: Why didn't you tell me?

QUINN: I just did.

DEADRA: Why didn't you tell me before?

QUINN: I didn't want to disappoint you. Who wants to go with a guy who sells Sports Illustrated and Better Homes & Gardens?

DEADRA: Oh, Quinn...I bet you're a great teacher.

QUINN: Killer teacher.

DEADRA: You can find another position.

QUINN: Probably. Just haven't had the energy to look yet. You really don't want to stay at the hospital?

DEADRA: No way. Ever since it was sold, they run it like a business. To hell with the patients. I'm glad to get out. I should be celebrating.

QUINN: To your getting the job at the clinic.

DEADRA: To you finding another teaching job.

QUINN: When I'm ready.

 

(They clink glasses and drink.)

 

QUINN: To going to Seattle in two weeks.

 

(They clink glasses and drink.)

 

DEADRA: To us. May we always be able to talk openly to one another.

QUINN: To telling the truth.

DEADRA: All of it.

QUINN: And nothing but.

DEADRA: No matter how much it hurts.

QUINN: No matter how much.

 

(They clink glasses. BLACKOUT.)

 

 

2/ The Bar. 10 Days Later.

 

 (AT RISE: Deadra sits at a table. Quinn stands behind her, his hands over her eyes.)

 

QUINN: Guess who?

DEADRA: Someone with warm hands.

QUINN: Animal, mineral or vegetable?

DEADRA: Animal. Very.

QUINN: Masculine or feminine?

DEADRA: Definitely masculine.

QUINN: Species?

DEADRA: Homo sexappealinus.

QUINN: Very good.

DEADRA: Homo sounds wrong. Macho sexappealinus.

QUINN: Macho? Give me a break.

DEADRA: You're right. Mascu-sexappealinus.

QUINN: -ah, -um.

DEADRA: What?

QUINN: I was declining it. Mascu-sexappealinus, mascu-sexappealina, mascu-sexappealinum.

DEADRA: Where did you learn Latin?

QUINN: In college.

DEADRA: I learn something new about you every day, Quinn.

QUINN: Quinn! You know who it is!

 

(He removes his hands, bends over and kisses her.)

 

QUINN: Happy birthday.

 

(He sits down.)

 

DEADRA: You remembered.

QUINN: I can do that sometimes..

DEADRA: I've never been big on birthdays.

QUINN: There's a first time for everything.

 

(He takes a present out of his sportscoat pocket, a ring box.)

 

QUINN: Happy birthday, Deadra.

 

(He holds out the ring box but Deadra doesn't reach for it. Quinn puts it on the table in front of her.)

 

QUINN: Open it.

DEADRA: I don't want a present.

QUINN: Come on. I went to a lot of trouble to do this.

DEADRA: This is not a good surprise, Quinn.

QUINN: What's the matter with you?

DEADRA: I can tell what's going on here, and I don't like it one bit.

QQUIN: You have no idea what's in the box.

DEADRA: A ring.

QUINN: Deadra—

DEADRA: Goddamn you, you have no right giving me a ring!

QUINN: It's not a ring, okay?

DEADRA: You always have to screw everything up!

QUINN: Hello? It's not a ring!

DEADRA: You always make everything so complicated!

QUINN: Calling Deadra! There is no ring in that box. Repeat, there is no ring in that box.

DEADRA: It looks like a ring.

QUINN: It's a box I found in a dumpster, for God's sake.

DEADRA: It's a ring box, Quinn.

QUINN: Fine, it's a ring box — but it is not a ring! Now will you open the goddamn thing so we can move on with our lives here?

DEADRA: You shouldn't have gotten me a present.

QUINN: I'm sorry, but I did. It will never happen again. Will you open it, please?

 

(A pause. Then Deadra opens the box. She takes out a folded sheet of paper. She looks at it.)

 

DEADRA: You wrote me a poem?

QUINN: Another sonnet.

DEADRA: I'm sorry I got angry. Do I get to hear it?

QUINN: Of course. It's your birthday present.

 

(She hands the paper back and Quinn prepares to read:)

 

QUINN: It's not as good as the other one.

DEADRA: Quinn...

QUINN: The skyline hangs above the bay, a mist

of mystery as in a dream, and we

stand close upon the ferry's deck and kiss,

and I feel all the world as it should be.

These are moments that my heart holds dear.

When you are near, somehow I am alive

more than I've been, and everything is clear

to me: I know for what I want to strive.

Yet I don't want my love to burden you,

a chain around your heart, presumption of

your time. The things that I would hope to do

for us are full of caring and my love.

I love you for each moment that I have

and ask from you such love as you can give.

 

(A pause. Deadra is very moved.)

 

QUINN: What do you think?

DEADRA: No one ever wrote me poetry before.

QUINN: I kept thinking of our ferry ride in Seattle, and this what came out.

DEADRA: It's beautiful. Goddamn it.

QUINN: "Goddamn it"?

DEADRA: Yes! You have no right to give me something so beautiful.

QUINN: Holy Christ.

DEADRA: Quinn, when you do this, it makes me feel like I'm supposed to do something in return.

QUINN: That's your problem, Deadra. I'm making no demands here.

DEADRA: That's not true.

QUINN: I'm not!

DEADRA: You want romance, Quinn.

QUINN: Doesn't everybody?

DEADRA: No! I don't.

QUINN: Come on.

DEADRA: I'm serious. You write this, and I'm expected to live up to some romantic image of how it was in Seattle, for just a moment, on a ferry ride.

QUINN: Deadra, listen to what I wrote: "I love you for each moment that I have, and ask from you such love as you can give." Get it? "Such love as you can give." That is not a demand. That leaves you a free spirit, Deadra, so get off this fixation of being pressured to do something, okay?

DEADRA: You're asking me to love you. Isn't that what you wrote? "Such love..." You want me to love you.

QUINN: Of course I want you to love me.

DEADRA: I told you how I feel about that.

QUINN: That the word "love" is hugely misused. We agreed about that.

DEADRA: So we weren't going to use it, remember?

QUINN: I was writing a love poem, Deadra. The word "love" is usually included.

DEADRA: You had no right to write me a love poem. It puts me on the spot.

QUINN: Well, excuse me!

 

(He tears up the poem and drops the pieces on the table.)

 

QUINN: There. Happy birthday anyway. How about a different present? How about a triple vodka collins?

DEADRA: Every time I'm honest with you, you get mad.

QUINN: Deadra, did you enjoy Seattle?

DEADRA: Of course I did.

QUINN: And the ferry ride?

DEADRA: It was a really magical night.

QUINN: Then what's wrong with trying to commemorate it in a sonnet? It's a very old tradition.

DEADRA: Quinn...

QUINN: You know what I think? You, my dear, are afraid to be happy. You're afraid of how good I make you feel. You're afraid of all this.

DEADRA: Don't do it, Quinn.

QUINN: But why? Why would somebody be afraid of happiness? Man, I have been asking myself that for a few weeks now. Why is Deadra so afraid of happiness? Because she's been hurt. Because she's been hurt really badly. So badly that she's spending all of her energy making sure she never gets hurt again, and one way to do that is not to let anyone get too close to her because if they can't get too close, then they can't touch her, and if they can't touch her in her most intimate places, in her heart of hearts, then that means they really can't hurt her. You've got a bullet-proof shield around your heart, Deadra. And when I get too close, when my love starts bouncing off the shield, then you panic and lash out at me.

 

(A pause.)

 

QUINN: Am I close?

DEADRA: No, you're not.

QUINN: Bullshit.

DEADRA: I didn't want to have to tell you this, Quinn. You're forcing my hand here.

QUINN: Good. No secrets, Scorpio. Put all the cards on the table.

DEADRA: I hate doing this. It's going to sound so goddamn maudlin.

QUINN: I'll bear that in mind.

DEADRA: You bastard.

QUINN: Whatever, Deadra. Are you going to level with me or not?

DEADRA: It didn't have to be this way. If you'd just respect my space and stop trying to go so fast.

QUINN: Deadra, I love you. Everything that you're about concerns me.

DEADRA: I don't want you to love me.

QUINN: That's clear enough. Do you have something new to add?

DEADRA: Yes — but it's going to sound like a soap opera.

QUINN: Life is a soap opera, Deadra. Where have you been?

DEADRA: Promise not to interrupt til I'm done.

QUINN: Promise.

DEADRA: This is going to sound so goddamn sappy.

QUINN: I won't laugh, okay?

DEADRA: About five months ago I went in for my routine physical and they found some things that weren't good. Don't ask for details because I'm not going to tell you. I shouldn't be telling you this much. The point is, there's really nothing they can do for me, so they figure I have six months to a year...I'm like a ticking time bomb here, Quinn. That's why I can't be in a serious relationship with you. When I explode, I don't want to take anyone with me.

QUINN: Deadra...

DEADRA: I'm sure this is much harder for you than it is for me. I just got dealt a bad biological deck or something. It happens to people all the time.

QUINN: Is it cancer or what? There must be some kind of treatment.

DEADRA: I said there's nothing they can do.

QUINN: I wish you'd've told me earlier.

DEADRA: We shouldn't have gotten involved. I'm just going to hurt you.

QUINN: Hurt happens. I'm going to take time off from work.

DEADRA: Quinn, don't.

QUINN: I can get a loan, I can borrow money. We'll take a trip. Go to Mexico or someplace.

DEADRA: Listen to you.

QUINN: I'm serious.

DEADRA: I know you are. That's the problem.

QUINN: Goddamn it, I love you! I want as much of you as time will let me have.

DEADRA: Where were you five or ten years ago?

QUINN: In this bar, Deadra. Where were you?

DEADRA: In Nebraska.

QUINN: Does your sister know?

DEADRA: No.

QUINN: I'm glad you told me.

DEADRA: How can you say that?

QUINN: How do you think I'd've felt learning this after you're gone? Worse than now, believe me.

DEADRA: I hate this conversation.

QUINN: This is reality. It's not a soap opera, Deadra. It's what is happening with you, and that affects what is happening with me.

DEADRA: Which is exactly what I didn't want to happen.

QUINN: I'm glad you told me.

DEADRA: Nothing can ever stay simple, can it?

QUINN: This is getting very simple, Deadra. We're down to the nitty-gritty here.

DEADRA: We don't have to decide anything right now, do we?

QUINN: Of course not.

DEADRA: Good. I've had enough of this for one night.

QUINN: No problem.

DEADRA: What time is it?

QUINN: Eightish.

DEADRA: I told Annie I'd stop by.

QUINN: Meet you here later?

DEADRA: Sure.

QUINN: How long will you be?

DEADRA: I don't know. Not long. See you later then.

 

(She gets up to go. Quinn stands.)

 

QUINN: Deadra? We'll do the best we can, okay?

 

 (Deadra looks at him. BLACKOUT.)

 

 

3/ The Bedroom. Later That Night.

 

(AT RISE: Quinn is finishing dialing a number on the phone.)

 

QUINN: Annie?...This is Quinn. Is Deadra there?...She said she was coming to see you....Hours ago. Around eight. ...Listen — do you know where else she might be? Some other girlfriend's or something? ... Thanks...No, I'm all right. Talk to you later.

 

(He hangs up. He stares across the room. BLACKOUT.)

 

 

4/ The Bedroom. The Next Afternoon.

 

(AT RISE: Deadra is putting clothes she's left at Quinn's apartment into a large, plastic garbage bag. She carries it out of the apartment. BLACKOUT.)

 

 

5/ The Bedroom. A Week Later.

 

(AT RISE: Quinn is on the phone.)

 

QUINN: Seattle?...Did she give you her return address?...Annie, I have to get in touch with her....I'm worried about her, Annie—...Annie, listen to me. I just want to get in touch with her, okay? Just to see how she's doing.....Because I'm worried about her!.....I didn't know you knew....What do you mean?... No.... No fucking way. She wouldn't do something like that to me....I don't believe you....Annie, I don't know what trip you're on here, but that's bullshit. Deadra would never lie to me....No way! She'd get an Oscar if that was true....Bullshit!

 

(He slams down the phone. BLACKOUT.)

 

 

6/ The Bar. Four Months Later

 

(AT RISE: Deadra sits at a table, sipping a drink. Quinn appears behind her. He looks at her, trying to gain his composure. He comes to the table and sits down.)

 

QUINN: Deadra.

DEADRA: Hello, Quinn.

QUINN: Long time, no see and all that. What's it been? Three, four months?

DEADRA: Too long.

QUINN: I'm surprised you let me know you were in town.

DEADRA: I wanted to talk to you.

QUINN: Well, I'd suggest picking up where we left off, but I don't exactly remember our last conversation. Something about you stopping by Annie's and meeting me later.

DEADRA: Don't make this harder than it has to be.

QUINN: You never showed. Worse, you disappeared. I stop by your apartment, it's being lived in by your homeless friends. Next thing I know, Annie tells me you moved to Seattle. No explanation, no goodbye, nothing.

DEADRA: I'm so sorry.

QUINN: Pardon me if I take that with a grain of salt.

 

(A pause.)

 

DEADRA: Can I buy you a drink?

QUINN: No thanks.

DEADRA: You're turning down a drink?

QUINN: I haven't had a drink in three weeks.

DEADRA: That's hard to believe.

QUINN: My doctor didn't give me much choice.

DEADRA: What's the matter with you?

QUINN: I have cancer of the liver. Oh, I'm sorry. You control the market on that one, don't you?

DEADRA: Quinn, please.

QUINN: We're not here to talk about my health.

DEADRA: You're right, we're not.

QUINN: So why the phone call?

DEADRA: I wanted to see you.

QUINN: Why?

DEADRA: I thought we should talk.

QUINN: Why?

DEADRA: Quinn — I hardly know where to begin. It's so good to see you. It really is.

QUINN: Cut the crap, Deadra.

DEADRA: You're still angry at me.

 

(He just looks at her.)

 

DEADRA: You really hate me, don't you?

QUINN: No. I'd like to, believe me. But I don't. I marvel at you.

DEADRA: I can't live with myself, thinking you hate me. I want to explain why I had to do it that way.

QUINN: This ought to be good.

DEADRA: I was falling in love with you.

QUINN: Was that so terrible?

DEADRA: Yes, it was. For you, who can't remember getting married, maybe that's hard to understand. Loss of memory is a wonderful gift sometimes. Unfortunately, I don't have it. I remember what it was like being in love, and I promised myself never to go through that again.

QUINN: You got hurt, so you're gun shy. Is that it?

DEADRA: You make it sound so commonplace.

QUINN: You're not the first person to get hurt in a relationship, Deadra.

DEADRA: Don't patronize me. I was happily married, and I remember it. I remember my wedding, which was everything I imagined it should be, which was straight out of my little girl's dreams. We honeymooned in Hawaii, in Maui, and it was more romantic than I thought possible.

QUINN: So what happened?

DEADRA: I need you to know this, Quinn. Maybe it will help you understand a few things.

QUINN: You've got the floor.

DEADRA: I was doing part-time work for the Red Cross then, which put me on the road sometimes. Tim taught at the University in Eugene, in the English Department. We gave the most incredible parties, filled with bright and interesting people. My job occasionally took me out of town, and I was going to be on the road for our fifth anniversary. It didn't seem to bother Tim, but it bothered me. So I made arrangements to get home early, surprise him. I had about a three hour drive to get back and I left after work, expecting to get home in time to take him to dinner, maybe go out dancing afterwards. But I had car trouble on the way, and to make a long story short, it was past midnight before I got home. But now I was determined to surprise him more than ever, so I went to an all-night supermarket and bought champagne and flowers, and I let myself in and tiptoed into our bedroom and lit a candle — and that's when I saw her. She must've been one of his students, she looked so young. She was on my side of the bed, asleep in his arms, and he had his mouth open but for some reason wasn't snoring, together they looked like the happiest couple on the face of the earth. Quinn, I didn't know what to do. I just stared at them for the longest time. Then I leaned forward and blew out the candle and walked out of the bedroom. I never went back.

QUINN: Jesus.

DEADRA: I got in my car and drove back to southern Oregon. I filed for divorce the next day.

QUINN: You didn't talk to him first?

DEADRA: I didn't see the point. I was lifeless, Quinn. I had nothing to say to him. I had nothing to say to anyone.

 

(A pause.)

 

QUINN: How do I know you're telling me the truth now?

DEADRA: You can't imagine how much it hurts me to hear you say that.

QUINN: Why should I believe you?

DEADRA: No reason, I guess.

QUINN: Look at the line you gave me, Deadra. An incurable illness, of all things. It proves the old saw, doesn't it? If you're going to lie, go the whole hog. Nobody will believe you could possibly make up something that extreme.

DEADRA: You were going much too fast for me.

 

(A pause.)

 

DEADRA: So what do we do now?

QUINN: That depends on where we are. And I have no idea where we are.

DEADRA: Can we start over?

QUINN: Deadra, you live in Seattle now. Don't you?

DEADRA: No.

QUINN: Jesus.

DEADRA: I told Annie to say that so you wouldn't come looking for me. I moved across the river. I got the position I wanted at the clinic.

QUINN: Well, fucking congratulations.

DEADRA: I was hoping we could start seeing each other again. I miss you.

QUINN: Where the hell are you coming from now?

DEADRA: Desperation.

QUINN: You're something else.

DEADRA: I want you back in my life.

QUINN: I don't know if I can do that.

DEADRA: Can you think about it?

 

(A pause.)

 

DEADRA: Please?

QUINN: I can think about it.

DEADRA: Can we talk on the phone?

QUINN: Maybe.

DEADRA: Here's my number.

 

(She'll write it down on a bar napkin.)

 

DEADRA: I'd like to have you over for dinner.

QUINN: You're moving too fast for me, Deadra.

DEADRA: Now you know what it feels like.

QUINN: Is that what you're trying to do?

DEADRA: I'm trying to get you back in my life. I'm trying to tell you I made a mistake.

 

(A pause.)

 

DEADRA: I was afraid you wouldn't meet me.

QUINN: I almost didn't.

DEADRA: So do you feel like a movie or something tonight?

QUINN: I have other plans.

DEADRA: I see. Is she anyone I know?

QUINN: I'm having dinner with a buddy.

DEADRA: And afterwards?

QUINN: I'm going home.

DEADRA: I must sound as desperate as I feel.

QUINN: You do.

DEADRA: I can't help it.

QUINN: I'm flattered. Puzzled but flattered.

DEADRA: Why should you be puzzled?

QUINN: You rejected me, Deadra.

DEADRA: No. I never did that. I ran from you. It's not the same thing.

QUINN: It felt like rejection.

DEADRA: I want to make it up to you.

QUINN: I have to think about all this.

 

(A pause.)

 

QUINN: I've got to get going.

DEADRA: It's wonderful seeing you again. Please call me.

QUINN: I phoned every hospital in Seattle looking for you.

DEADRA: Lucky you, it's only a local call after all.

 

(He stands up. She stands up. Quinn offers his hand. Deadra embraces him.)

 

DEADRA: I love you, Quinn.

 

(He breaks the embrace and leaves. She watches him go. BLACKOUT.)

 

 

7/ The Bedroom. Deadra's Birthday.

 

(AT RISE: Deadra is in bed, sleeping. Quinn is surreptitiously dressing. Deadra opens her eyes.)

 

DEADRA: Quinn? What're you doing?

QUINN: I'm going for a walk.

 

(She turns on the light. She wears a night gown.)

 

DEADRA: Why?

QUINN: I'm not sure.

DEADRA: Is something the matter?

QUINN: It's not working, Deadra.

DEADRA: How can you say that? I had a wonderful birthday. Wonderful dinner, we made wonderful love.

QUINN: I don't trust you.

DEADRA: About what?

QUINN: About this. About what's happening here. I don't exactly know what's happening here, is the problem. The past few months have been — weird. I don't know how else to put it.

DEADRA: Weird? You could've fooled me.

QUINN: We can't recapture the past.

DEADRA: I thought we were doing a pretty good job at it.

QUINN: I've been thinking a lot about what I want, Deadra. The first thing I want to do is get healthy. That requires a lot of change, and sitting in a bar watching you get drunk isn't cutting it. Maybe the person I'm becoming isn't someone you want to be around.

DEADRA: That should be my decision.

QUINN: I can't party the way I used to.

DEADRA: I can't either.

QUINN: You did a pretty good job last night.

DEADRA: It's my birthday, for Christ's sake. So what are you saying? Suddenly you don't want to be around me because I drink?

QUINN: That's part of it.

DEADRA: Then I'll quit.

QUINN: Don't be ridiculous.

DEADRA: I'm willing to make sacrifices here, Quinn. Accommodations. It would be nice to see you do a little of that in my direction.

QUINN: You don't really want to quit drinking, Deadra.

DEADRA: Quit telling me what I want.

 

(A pause.)

 

DEADRA: What a terrific birthday. The scarf you gave me didn't mean anything to you?

QUINN: It's not what I planned to give you.

DEADRA: Great. And what was that?

QUINN: It doesn't matter.

DEADRA: Of course not. Apparently nothing about me matters any more.

QUINN: I planned to give you another sonnet. I've been writing a lot of them lately.

DEADRA: Why didn't you give it to me?

QUINN: Because it says goodbye.

DEADRA: I see. You wanted to make sure you got laid first. So let's hear it. Read the goddamn thing to me.

QUINN: I didn't bring you here to get laid.

DEADRA: Read the sonnet, Quinn. You owe me that goddamn much.

 

(He takes a folded piece of paper out of his pocket, unfolds it and reads:)

 

QUINN: If our lips should never meet again;

if your arms should not around me wrap

in such a way to tell me of your ken;

 

(He stops and crumples up the poem.)

 

QUINN: You drink too damn much.

DEADRA: Spare me the sermon, Quinn!

QUINN: We're alike, Deadra — a couple of barflies. It's like a prolonged suicide.

DEADRA: Don't lecture me about dying. I think I know a hell of a lot more about the subject than you do.

QUINN: Whatever you say.

DEADRA: Quinn, look at this.

 

(She takes her purse from the bedside table, opens it and takes out bottles of pills.)

 

DEADRA: Here's all the crap I have to take to get through the day.

QUINN: What's all this?

DEADRA: They're supposed to make my last few months more comfortable.

QUINN: What are you talking about?

DEADRA: I told you the truth the first time, Quinn. I'm a time-bomb.

QUINN: Bullshit.

DEADRA: Think what you want.

 

(He's reading the bottles of pills.)

 

QUINN: I never heard of this stuff.

DEADRA: I can't imagine how I'd get by without them.

QUINN: What the fuck are you talking about?

DEADRA: I'm trying to tell you how it is with me.

QUINN: That you're dying?

 

(She nods her head, yes.)

 

QUINN: Christ. Don't you know Annie told me the whole story? You give guys that line to keep them from getting too close.

DEADRA: Annie told you exactly what I asked her to tell you.

QUINN: Bullshit.

DEADRA: Believe what you believe, Quinn. All I can do is tell the truth.

QUINN: Why would you tell me and then change your mind?

DEADRA: I told you because I wanted you to know me. To know me truly. But I wasn't prepared for your reaction, Quinn, and I panicked. The only way I knew how to change your energy was to make you believe I was lying to you. So that's what I did.

QUINN: I don't believe you.

DEADRA: As soon as I fled you, as soon as I got as far away from you as I could, I knew I'd made a mistake. I couldn't do what you wanted, I couldn't ride into the sunset with you for a few months — but I learned that I couldn't live without you either. I wanted you in my life. So this time, I hadn't planned to tell you the truth at all. I was going to enjoy you as much as I could in the time I had left.

QUINN: You're a total fruit cake.

DEADRA: Don't hate me for telling you the truth.

QUINN: I'll be back tomorrow morning at ten. I want you out of here. I want you out of my life.

 

(He turns to leave.)

 

DEADRA: How did it go? "If our lips should never meet again..." I bet it was a beautiful sonnet.

 

(Quinn doesn't respond. BLACKOUT.)

 

 

8/ The Bedroom. Five Weeks Later.

 

(AT RISE: Quinn is on the phone.)

 

QUINN: Annie, listen to me. I'll say it again as clearly as I can. I don't give a shit. She's not a part of my life any more. I don't want to know what you're telling me. Do I make myself clear?....Is this like before, you're just saying what she wants me to believe?... Okay, then, what's the name of her doctor?....Do you have his phone number?....

 

(He writes down a telephone number.)

 

QUINN: I don't know what I'm going to do. I'll think about it.

 

(He hangs up. He stares at the phone. He picks up the phone number he wrote down and stares at it. He starts dialing. BLACKOUT.)

 

 

9/ Hospital Room. Three Days Later.

 

(AT RISE: Deadra is in bed, napping. Quinn sits in a chair nearby. Deadra stirs.)

 

DEADRA: Was I sleeping long?

QUINN: Half an hour.

DEADRA: And you stayed. You're sweet.

QUINN: I'm here for the duration, Deadra.

DEADRA: I may last longer than everybody thinks.

QUINN: Good.

DEADRA: And maybe not.

QUINN: We'll take it one moment at a time. I brought goodies.

 

(He'll get up and go to his backpack on the floor. He'll take out a small bottle of vodka, a can of mix, and a glass. He'll mix Deadra a drink.)

 

DEADRA: You spoil me.

QUINN: That's the idea. I probably shouldn't be doing this, but I figure a couple more won't phase your liver one way or the other. One vodka collins coming up.

DEADRA: What if the nurse comes in?

QUINN: What's she going to do? Kill you?

DEADRA: I love you.

QUINN: Here we go.

DEADRA: Aren't you joining me?

QUINN: I think I quit.

DEADRA: Good for you.

QUINN: Let me rephrase that. I hope I quit.

DEADRA: I hope so, too. Cheers.

 

(She drinks.)

 

QUINN: Okay?

DEADRA: Perfect.

QUINN: We aim to please.

DEADRA: Quinn, you're incredible.

QUINN: I have my moments.

DEADRA: I like to imagine what you'll be like as an old man. Very distinguished looking, I bet.

QUINN: I imagine things, too. What it would've been like to meet you five, ten years ago.

DEADRA: You wouldn't've liked me then. I was a mess. More than now, as hard as that is to believe.

QUINN: Being a mess is part of your charm.

DEADRA: Messes aren't pretty, Quinn.

QUINN: In your case, messy is sexy.

DEADRA: Only you would think that.

QUINN: You look beautiful.

DEADRA: I'm so tired.

QUINN: Go back to sleep if you want.

DEADRA: Will you hold my hand?

QUINN: With pleasure.

DEADRA: Can I save the rest of this for later?

QUINN: Of course.

 

(Deadra gives him the glass, which he puts beside the bed. He takes her hand.)

 

DEADRA: Quinn, I want you to do something for me.

QUINN: Name it.

DEADRA: I want to be cremated. I want you to take my ashes on that ferry and put me in the Sound. Don't let Megan do anything else. It's really important to me. Will you do that?

QUINN: Promise.

DEADRA: Whenever you take the ferry, you can say hello.

QUINN: I'll be taking it often.

DEADRA: I'm glad....I'm so tired.

QUINN: Take a nap. I'll be right here.

DEADRA: I love you, Quinn.

QUINN: I love you, Deadra.

 

(She closes her eyes. Quinn holds her hand. BLACKOUT.)

 

 

10/ Ferry Boat Deck. A Week Later.

 

(AT RISE: Quinn has just finished dumping Deadra's ashes into the Sound. Her twin sister, MEGAN, looks on.)

 

QUINN: What do I do with the box?

MEGAN: May I have it?

QUINN: Thanks.

 

(He gives the box that held the ashes to Megan.)

 

MEGAN: Are you okay?

QUINN: Not really.

MEGAN: I don't know how I feel. She brought so much destruction to herself. I think I stopped having feelings about that a long time ago.

QUINN: She did the best she could under the circumstances.

MEGAN: You really think so?

QUINN: Of course I do. She was a remarkable woman.

MEGAN: Had you been together long?

QUINN: No.

MEGAN: When you told me where she wanted her ashes spread, I was surprised. I didn't realize Seattle was so special to her.

QUINN: We had an unforgettable time here. We took this very ferry.

MEGAN: I see.

QUINN: I wrote her a poem about it, a sonnet. "The skyline hangs above the bay, a mist of mystery as in a dream..."

MEGAN: The skyline is beautiful, isn't it?

QUINN: The weather was different. There was a layer of fog on the ground, making the skyline look like it was hanging above the water.

MEGAN: May I ask you a personal question?

QUINN: I'm getting vibes here that I'm going to have to defend her. I don't think this is the time or place for that.

MEGAN: Everything that happened to Deadra, she brought on herself.

QUINN: I don't think that's true.

MEGAN: She started abusing her body in junior high and never stopped.

QUINN: What are you getting at?

MEGAN: She was an alcoholic, and she died an alcoholic's death

QUINN: Deadra had a lot of pain to cover up.

MEGAN: She gave me that same crap for years. It was one of her many excuses to drink.

QUINN: You never caught your husband in bed with another woman

MEGAN: She told you that happened to her?

QUINN: I'm sure she never confided in you. She told me you two weren't close.

MEGAN: She brought on the destruction of her marriage just like she brought on everything else.

QUINN: I don't believe you.

MEGAN: Her husband and I were very close. As a matter of fact, for a while I was a little jealous that she'd met him first. He told me everything

QUINN: Like what?

MEGAN: He'd gone out of town to a conference to deliver a paper. He was scheduled to be gone for their anniversary, but was able to move himself up on the program so he could come home and surprise her. He walked into the house with champagne and flowers and found her with one of his students, both half-naked and passed out on the sofa. That was the beginning of the end.

QUINN: She told me she was the one with champagne and flowers. She found him in bed with one of his students.

MEGAN: Deadra lived in her own little fantasy world. She'd say whatever it took to feed it and keep it alive. I'm sorry to be the one to tell you.

QUINN: No, you're not. You're enjoying this.

MEGAN: I can see you loved her very much.

QUINN: That doesn't change anything, you know. That she screwed up the marriage. That all happened in the past. It has nothing to do with us.

MEGAN: You two were good drinking buddies, I take it.

QUINN: Yes, I'm a drunk. That's what you want me to say, isn't it?

MEGAN: Alcohol doesn't encourage clear perception, Quinn. That's all I'm trying to point out here.

QUINN: I'll tell you how clear Deadra's perception was. She let homeless people stay in her apartment. She couldn't stand the thought of them living under bridges, especially in bad weather, especially when she learned a homeless woman was pregnant. So she opened her door for them, no questions asked, and gave them a dry, warm place to stay. If it takes a drunk to do that, then we need more goddamn drunks in the world.

MEGAN: She really did that?

QUINN: Yes, she really did that. Have you ever done something that noble? Or come even close?

MEGAN: I can't solve the world's problems.

QUINN: That's exactly what I told her. And she went ahead and invited them in anyway. Which is more than you and I have done. So who the hell are we to criticize her?

MEGAN: You have no idea what causes I support.

 

(No reply.)

 

MEGAN: This isn't easy for either of us.

 

(No reply.)

 

MEGAN: Will you be going right back to Portland?

QUINN: I have to be at work tomorrow.

MEGAN: What do you do?

QUINN: Does it matter?

MEGAN: I'm just curious.

QUINN: I teach.

MEGAN: Really?

 

(A pause.)

 

MEGAN: Elementary school?...High school?

QUINN: No, I teach in a goddamn university, just like you do. I have a Ph.D. and I teach American literature. I'm also writing a book on the history of the sonnet. Anything else you want to know?

MEGAN: I didn't mean to make you angry.

 

(A pause.)

 

MEGAN: Very well then. Have a safe trip home.

 

(She starts away.)

 

QUINN: Megan?

MEGAN: Yes?

QUINN: Give her some slack. She did the best she could.

MEGAN: Deadra never did the best she could.

QUINN: She wanted the world to be a much better place than it was. She suffered that it wasn't.

MEGAN: You're a hopeless romantic if you believe that.

QUINN: What's wrong with being a romantic?

MEGAN: Goodbye, Quinn.

 

(She starts away again. Quinn calls after her.)

 

QUINN: Wait a minute.

 

(Megan ignores him.)

 

QUINN: I said, what the hell's wrong with being a romantic?

 

(Megan is gone. Quinn turns and stares out at the audience. BLACKOUT. The play is over.)