Scene 15

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15girltalk

Lucille sits in the near dark, the dead body of Althea sprawled grotesquely before her. A light glows in the corner. Amanda’s voice is offstage.

Amanda

It’s done. Even shot through the head, she was turning to fire, her breasts reaching for me, before she fell …. It was close. I hadn’t imagined a gun would be so loud … It was horrible.

Lucille

The important thing is that it’s done. She couldn’t have been allowed …

Amanda

Lucille, it was so terrible. Her lying there like that, her beautiful eyes staring up at nothing, all that blood … Tell me true, did you ever have the life’s blood of another woman on your hands?

Lucille

(stands, takes a dirty throw rug and casually tosses it over Althea’s body) No … How did you figure all this out, anyway?

Amanda

I didn’t figure anything, the spirits really did guide my footsteps. Or was it you?

Lucille

Not me, babe. All out of the blue. Jake? Or, or …

Amanda

Does it matter?

Lucille

Guess not. Hey, are you okay?

Amanda

I’m okay. Jake asked me to stay.

Lucille

Intriguing. Will you?

Amanda

Dunno. Maybe. It has possibilities. I think so. I’ll miss Nancy, she couldn’t … Maybe someday. (tears well up)

Lucille

I’d be worrying about you. Jake’s enemies will become yours and you’re not trained for this. You’re no politician. You’re no gunfighter. Those people play daggers under the table all the time. … You care too much.

Amanda

And you think that makes me weak. … Oh yes you do. But does caring make you weak? The rest I can learn … Besides, he amuses me. He amuses me a lot. Lucille, be straight. With yourself, I mean.  I think I’m reading you pretty clear. I think maybe now you’re the one caring too much. Caring about what this might do to me. That my heart might get hardened, that I’ll become like them …

Lucille

Well …

Amanda

… or worse, that I might become like you. And you love who I am and how I am right now. Eh?

Lucille

There could be a, umm, a grain of truth to that.

Amanda

From Lucille of the godalmighty Supreme Revolutionary Headquarters, I’ll take that as guilty, guilty, guilty. But I’m not even who I was this morning. I can’t undo this day. I chose this day. Eagerly. Wouldn’t undo it even if I could, even if what I’ve done is now tearing my heart out. Which it is. Just like things you’ve done are tearing yours out.

Lucille

You couldn’t possibly know …

Amanda

Look, I’m not doing this without you. But if you stay with that “couldn’t know” bullshit, you’re throwing out Chicago! Us white monsters couldn’t know the heart of you Black savages or vice versa?

Lucille

It’s just that you haven’t … you aren’t …

Amanda

Precisely. And that’s the wall that will kill us all. Who cares if I could possibly know? Knowing is way over-rated anyhow. Look, I have no idea what I’m capable of. I’m just thinking I might get closer to … I could learn things. Maybe things we have to know, maybe things that are too horrible to know. Lucille, what do you know about the tower?

Lucille

Nothing really.

Amanda

Good. Trust me, keep it that way. (Lucille’s eyes widen in horror) I’m sorry, I guess you can’t. But suppose I stumble on some way out of this forced death march. I’d pay a heavy price for that. And as I may have mentioned, Jake does amuse me.

Lucille

And suppose nothing happens.

Amanda

Isn’t that your line? I don’t know. Lucille, I got a feeling I’m in for some rough times, but the only thing I really need to know is that you’re with me.

Lucille

I’m with you. Can’t say I like it, but I’m with you all the way, cuz I know you’re with me all the way.

Amanda

Besides, maybe it’ll be fun.

Lucille

Fun? You are crazy.

Amanda

We’ve already established that.

Lucille

And suppose you reach the center of Jake’s machine and there’s nothing there. With fewer of us every year and the tower crumbles and you go to your grave ground up in the gears. Then what?

Amanda

(pause) Then I roast in hell forever. (light in corner goes out)

Lucille

You and me both, sister. You and me both.

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