Buried Child Read online

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

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

  TILDEN: Picked it.

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

  TILDEN: NO.

  DODGE: Where'd you pick it from?

  TILDEN: Right out back.

  DODGE: Out back where?!

  TILDEN: Right out in back.

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

  TILDEN: There's corn.

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

  TILDEN: It's out there now.

  DODGE: (Yelling at stairs.) Halie!

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

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

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

  HALIE'S VOICE: Not that I know of!

  DODGE: That's what I thought.

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

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

  TILDEN: It's out there now.

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

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

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

  TILDEN: I'm not in any trouble.

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

  TILDEN: I know that.

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

  TILDEN: I never had any trouble.

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

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

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

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

  DODGE: What?

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

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

  TILDEN: Can I bring it in here?

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

  TILDEN: Golden.

  DODGE: Hybrid?

  TILDEN: What?

  DODGE: Some kinda fancy hybrid?

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

  DODGE: I never planted it. (Pause.) Tilden, look, you can't stay here forever. You know that, don't you? (TILDEN spits in the spittoon.)

  TILDEN: I'm not.

  DODGE: I know you're not. I'm not worried about that. That's not the reason I brought it up.

  TILDEN: What's the reason?

  DODGE: The reason is I'm wondering what you're gonna do with yourself.

  TILDEN: You're not worried about me, are you?

  DODGE: I'm not worried about you. No. I'm just wondering.

  TILDEN: You weren't worried about me when I wasn't here. When I was in New Mexico.

  DODGE: No, I wasn't worried about you then either.

  TILDEN: You shoulda worried about me then.

  DODGE: Why's that? You didn't do anything down there, did you? Nothin’ serious.

  TILDEN: I didn't do anything. No.

  DODGE: Then why should I have worried about you?

  TILDEN: Because I was by myself.

  DODGE: By yourself?

  TILDEN: Yeah. I was by myself more than I've ever been before.

  DODGE: Why was that? (Pause.)

  TILDEN: Could I have some of that whiskey you've got?

  DODGE: What whiskey? I haven't got any whiskey.

  TILDEN: You've got some under the sofa.

  DODGE: I haven't got anything under the sofa! Now mind your own damn business! Judas Priest, you come into the house outta the middle of nowhere, haven't heard or seen you in twenty-some years and suddenly you're making accusations.

  TILDEN: I'm not making accusations.

  DODGE: You're accusing me of hoarding whiskey under the sofa!

  TILDEN: I'm not accusing you.

  DODGE: You just got through telling me that I had whiskey under the sofa!

  HALIE'S VOICE: Dodge?

  DODGE: (To TILDEN.) Now she knows about it!

  TILDEN: She doesn't know about it.

  DODGE: She knows!

  HALIE'S VOICE: Dodge, are you talking to yourself down there?

  DODGE: I'm talking to Tilden!

  HALIE'S VOICE: Tilden's down there?

  DODGE: He's right here!

  HALIE'S VOICE: What?

  DODGE: (Louder.) He's right here!

  HALIE'S VOICE: What's he doing?!

  DODGE: (To tilden.) Don't answer her.

  TILDEN: (To DODGE.) I'm not doing anything wrong.

  DODGE: (To TILDEN.) I know you're not.

  HALIE'S VOICE: What's he doing down there?

  DODGE: (To TILDEN.) Don't answer. Whatever you do, don't answer her.

  TILDEN: I'm not.

  HALIE'S VOICE: Dodge! (The men sit in silence, DODGE lights a cigarette, TILDEN keeps husking corn, spits tobacco now and then in the spittoon.) Dodge! He's not drinking anything, is he? You see to it that he doesn't drink anything! You've gotta watch out for him. It's our responsibility. He can't look after himself anymore, so we have to do it. Nobody else will do it. We can't just send him away somewhere. If we had lots of money we could send him away. But we don't. We never will. That's why we have to stay healthy. You and me. Nobody's going to look after us. Bradley can't look after us. Bradley can hardly look after himself. I was always hoping that Tilden would look out for Bradley when they got older. After Bradley lost his leg. Tilden's the oldest. I always thought he'd be the one to take responsibility. I had no idea in the world that Tilden would be so much trouble. Who would've dreamed? Tilden was an All-American, don't forget. Don't forget that. Fullback. Or quarterback. I forget which.

  TILDEN: (To HIMSELF.) Halfback.

  DODGE: Don't make a peep. Just let her babble, (TILDEN goes on husking.)

  HALIE'S VOICE: Then when Tilden turned out to be so much trouble, I put all my hopes on Ansel. Of course Ansel wasn't as handsome, but he was smart. He was the smartest probably. I think he probably was. Smarter than Bradley, that's for sure. Didn't go and chop his leg off with a chain saw. Smart enough not to go and do that. I think he was smarter than Tilden, too. Especially after Tilden got in all that trouble. Doesn't take brains to go to jail. Anybody knows that. ‘Course then when Ansel passed, that left us all alone. Same as being alone. No different. Same as if they'd all died. He was the smartest. He could've earned lots of money. Lots and lots of money.

>   DODGE: Bookoos. (HALIE enters slowly from the top of the staircase as she continues talking. Just her feet are seen at first as she makes her way down the stairs a step at a time. She appears dressed completely in black, as though in mourning. Black handbag, hat with a veil, and pulling on elbow-length black gloves. She is about sixty-five with pure white hair. She remains absorbed in what she's saying as she descends the stairs and doesn't really notice the two men who continue sitting there as they were before she came down, smoking and husking.)

  HALIE: He would've took care of us, too. He would've seen to it that we were repaid. He was like that. He was a hero. Don't forget that. A genuine hero. Brave. Strong. And very intelligent.

  TILDEN: Ansel was a hero?

  HALIE: Ansel could've been a great man. One of the greatest. I only regret that he didn't die in action. It's not fitting for a man like that to die in a motel room. A soldier. He could've won a medal. He could've been decorated for valor. I've talked to Father Dewis about putting up a plaque for Ansel. He thinks it's a good idea. He agrees. He knew Ansel when he used to play basketball. Went to every game. Ansel was his favorite player. He even recommended to the City Council that they put up a statue of Ansel. A big, tall statue with a basketball in one hand and a rifle in the other. That's how much he thinks of Ansel.

  TILDEN: Ansel was a hero? (DODGE kicks him. HALIE reaches the stage and begins to wander around, still absorbed in pulling on her gloves, brushing lint off her dress and continuously talking to herself as the men just sit)

  HALIE: Of course, he'd still be alive today if he hadn't married into the Catholics. The Mob. How in the world he never opened his eyes to that is beyond me. Just beyond me. Everyone around him could see the truth. Even Tilden. Tilden told him time and again. Catholic women are the devil incarnate. He wouldn't listen.

  TILDEN: I don't remember that. I must've been gone somewhere.

  HALIE: He was blind with love. Blind. I knew. Everyone knew. The wedding was more like a funeral. You remember? All those Italians. All that horrible black, greasy hair. The rancid smell of cheap cologne. I think even the priest was wearing a pistol. When he gave her the ring I knew he was a dead man. I knew it. As soon as he gave her the ring. But then it was the honeymoon that killed him. The honeymoon. I knew he'd never come back from the honeymoon. (She stops abruptly and stares at the corn husks. She looks around the space as though just waking up. She turns hard and looks hard at TILDEN and DODGE, who continue sitting calmly. She looks again at the corn husks. Pointing to the husks) What's this in my house? (Kicks husks) What's all this mess? (TILDEN stops husking and stares at her. To DODGE.) And you encourage him! (DODGE pulls the blanket over himself again.)

  DODGE: You're going out in the rain for a little soiree.

  HALIE: It's not raining now, is it? (TILDEN starts husking again.)

  DODGE: Not in Florida it's not.

  HALIE: We're not in Florida!

  DODGE: It's not raining at the racetrack.

  HALIE: Have you been taking those pills? Those pills always make you talk crazy. Tilden, has he been taking those pills? Those teeny little blue pills.

  TILDEN: He hasn't took anything.

  HALIE: (To DODGE.) What've you been taking?

  DODGE: It's not raining in California or Florida or at the racetrack. Only in Illinois. This is the only place it's raining. All over the rest of the world it's bright golden sunshine. (HALIE goes to the night table next to the sofa and checks the bottle of pills.)

  HALIE: Which ones did you take? Tilden, you must've seen him take something.

  TILDEN: He never took a thing.

  HALIE: Then why's he talking crazy?

  DODGE: Crazy. Crazy, crazy, crazy.

  TILDEN: I've been here the whole time.

  HALIE: Then you've both been taking something!

  TILDEN: I've just been husking the corn.

  HALIE: Where'd you get that corn anyway? Why is the house suddenly full of corn?

  DODGE: Bumper crop! Unexplainable.

  HALIE: (Moving center.) We haven't had corn here for over thirty years.

  TILDEN: The whole back lot's full of corn. Far as the eye can see. Like an ocean.

  DODGE: (To HALIE.) Things keep happening while you're upstairs, ya know. The world doesn't stop just because you're upstairs. Corn keeps growing. Rain keeps raining.

  HALIE: I'm not unaware of the world around me! Thank you very much. It so happens that I have an overall view from the upstairs. A panorama. The backyard's in plain view of my window. And there's no corn to speak of. Absolutely none!

  DODGE: Tilden wouldn't lie. If he says there's corn, there's corn.

  HALIE: What's the meaning of this corn, Tilden?!

  TILDEN: It's a mystery to me. I was out in back there. And the rain was coming down. And I didn't feel like coming back inside. I didn't feel the cold so much. I didn't mind the wet. So I was just walking. I was muddy but I didn't mind the mud so much. And I looked up. And I saw this stand of corn. In fact I was standing in it. Surrounded. It was over my head.

  HALIE: There isn't any corn outside, Tilden! There's no corn! It's not the season for corn. Now, you must've either stolen this corn or you bought it.

  DODGE: He doesn't have a red cent to his name. He's totally dependent.

  HALIE: (To TILDEN.) So you stole it!

  TILDEN: I didn't steal it. I don't want to get kicked out of Illinois. I was kicked out of New Mexico and I don't want to get kicked out of Illinois.

  HALIE: You're going to get kicked out of this house, Tilden, if you don't tell me where you got that corn! (TILDEN starts crying softly to himself but keeps husking corn. Pause.)

  DODGE: (To HALIE.) Why'd you have to tell him that? Who cares where he got the corn? Why'd you have to go and threaten him with expulsion?

  HALIE: (To DODGE.) It's your fault, you know! You're the one that's behind all of this! I suppose you thought it'd be funny! Some joke! Cover the house with corn husks. You better get this cleaned up before Bradley sees it.

  DODGE: Bradley‘s not getting in the front door!

  HALIE: (Kicking husks, striding back and forth) Bradley's going to be very upset when he sees this. He doesn't like to see the house in disarray. He can't stand it when one thing is out of place. The slightest thing. You know how he gets.

  DODGE: Bradley doesn't even live here!

  HALIE: It's his home as much as ours. He was born in this house!

  DODGE: He was born in a hog wallow.

  HALIE: Don't you say that! Don't you ever say that!

  DODGE: He was born in a goddamn hog wallow! That's where he was born and that's where he belongs! He doesn't belong in this house! (HALIE stops.)

  HALIE: I don't know what's come over you, Dodge. I don't know what in the world's come over you. You've become an evil, spiteful, vengeful man. You used to be a good man.

  DODGE: Six of one, a half dozen of another.

  HALIE: You sit here day and night, festering away! Decomposing! Smelling up the house with your putrid body!

  Hacking your head off ‘til all hours of the morning! Thinking up mean, evil, stupid things to say about your own flesh and blood!

  DODGE: He's not my flesh and blood! My flesh and blood's out there in the backyard! (They freeze. Long pause. The men stare at her.)

  HALIE: (Quietly) That's enough, Dodge. That's quite enough. You've become confused. I'm going out now. I'm going to have lunch with Father Dewis. I'm going to ask him about a monument for Ansel. A statue. At least a plaque.

  DODGE: That oughta heal things up. A statue. (She crosses to the door up right. She stops.)

  HALIE: If you need anything, ask Tilden. He's the oldest. I've left some money on the kitchen table.

  DODGE: I don't need a thing.

  HALIE: No, I suppose not. (She opens the door and looks out through the porch.) Still raining. I love the smell just after it stops. The ground. It's like the ground is breathing. I won't be too late. (Shegoes out the door and closes it. She's still vi
sible on the porch as she crosses toward left screen door. She stops in the middle of the porch, speaks to DODGE but doesn't turn to him.) Dodge, tell Tilden not to go out in the back lot anymore. I don't want him back there in the rain. He's got no business out there.

  DODGE: You tell him yourself. He's sitting right here.

  HALIE: He never listens to me, Dodge. He's never listened to me in the past.

  DODGE: I'll tell him.

  HALIE: We have to watch him just like we used to now. Just like we always have. He's still a child.

  DODGE: I'll watch him.

  HALIE: Good. We don't want to lose him. I couldn't take another loss. Not at this late date. (She crosses to screen door left, takes an umbrella off a hook, and goes out the door. The door slams behind her. Long pause, TILDEN husks corn, stares at the pail, DODGE lights a cigarette, stares at the TV)

  TILDEN: (Still husking.) You shouldn'ta told her that.

  DODGE: (Staring at the TV.) What?