Tina is portrayed by an off-stage actor, and consequently she is never seen. Yet all the characters interact with Tina as if she was sitting in her wheelchair. Her presence is felt throughout the play by a pool of light and by virtue of her breathing. The light and her breathing surface as she enters a scene and fade as she exits. Her dialogue is not a matter of text as it is texture: the range and rythms of her every breath.
| | | The stage is black. |
| TINA: | Steady and anchored. |
| | | Tina's slow, rhythmic breathing is suddenly pierced by the sound of a shrill electric saw. The spinning blade is relentless, unforgiving. As the lights come up the sound of the saw fades, melding with the sound of Doug Ramsay cutting a thin piece of wood with a hand saw. The barn-like structure that serves as a work shed and garage also doubles as a theatre for Tina. Colourful wooden animal marionettes dangle from the rafters, reminiscent of a mobile suspended over an infant's crib. A large, colourful ark-shaped puppet stage is near completion. Doug saws with great intensity, slowly drawing the saw back and forth in stops and starts. |
| TINA: | Laborious and painful. |
| | | Doug looks at Tina in response to her changed breathing. |
| DOUG: | Hey, pumpkin. What d'you think? It's just about finished. A few touch-ups and this ark will be ready to sail. We're talking a first-class show for a first-class daughter. The puppets, they can't wait. The bears are dancing. The monkeys are doing cartwheels. |
| TINA: | Eases back into a steady rhythm. |
| | | Only when Doug is sure Tina is fine does he continue sawing. The cut piece falls to the floor. |
| DOUG: | I'll be Noah again. Keith, he's my son, Ham. |
| | | Doug picks up the cut piece. He examines it and holds it in his hand as if weighing it. |
| DOUG: | You get to watch. You'll watch me round up all the animals, two by two. Well, not all the animals. It's a small ark. Not everyone can get on. |
| | | Doug begins to cut the same length of wood with a singular intensity. He doesn't notice when Sandra enters. |
| SANDRA: | Time for bed. |
| | | Sandra walks up to Doug. |
| SANDRA: | Bed time. |
| DOUG: | I'm not finished. |
| SANDRA: | Not you. Tina. |
| DOUG: | She's not tired. |
| | Sandra walks toward Tina. |
| SANDRA: | She's sleeping. |
| DOUG: | She must have just fallen asleep. |
| SANDRA: | Good timing on her part. |
| DOUG: | Don't...(Beat) Don't take her in yet. |
| SANDRA: | Why not? |
| DOUG: | I want her company. |
| SANDRA: | Even if she's asleep? |
| DOUG: | She's beautiful when she sleeps. |
| SANDRA: | She's beautiful when she's awake. |
| DOUG: | That's not what I meant. |
| SANDRA: | I know exactly what you meant. Bring her in when you're done. |
| | | Sandra walks toward the shed door, then turns back and points to the ark. |
| SANDRA: | What colour is that blue? |
| DOUG: | (Beat) Sky blue, I guess. |
| SANDRA: | I'm thinking of painting Tina's room. Blue trim around her window to go with the red birdhouse. ‘Course, the birdhouse needs a fresh coat but I'll leave that to Keith. (Beat) I may not paint at all. I saw some really funky wallpaper the other day and boom, I'm this six-year old playing dollhouse, thinking of a million possibilities. |
| DOUG: | When exactly did you plan on playing dollhouse? |
| SANDRA: | When Tina's in rehab. (Beat) After the operation. |
| DOUG: | "Salvage procedure." That's what Dr. Kovacs called it. A salvage procedure. |
| SANDRA: | I heard her. |
| DOUG: | Sawing off Tina's thighbone like she was kindling. |
| SANDRA: | Sshhhh! |
| DOUG: | She's sleeping. |
| SANDRA: | And when all this is over I don't want her sleeping in the same old room. Twelve-year olds like a little splash in their lives. |
| DOUG: | She's got a beautiful room. |
| SANDRA: | It's not going to be less beautiful. Just different. |
| | | Doug busies himself with the ark. |
| DOUG: | I don't want you renovating and rearranging. |
| SANDRA: | I'm not gutting the house, Doug. I'm just thinkin' of sprucing up Tina's room. She deserves a little something when she gets back. Maybe a sky blue ceiling with big, fluffy clouds. Or...or a grinning moon with a thousand winking stars. (Beat) Or one wall filled with flowers. Sunflowers with attitude. (Beat) Sunflowers with sunglasses. (Beat) Help me out here. |
| DOUG: | I've got an ark to finish. |
| SANDRA: | You've been going gangbusters. I still think the cardboard ark would've been fine. |
| DOUG: | Not this time around. |
| SANDRA: | All these late nights. I half-expect to find your bed in here one day. (Grins) If I didn't know better I'd think you were having an affair. |
| DOUG: | No lipstick on my collar. Just paint. |
| SANDRA: | You should spend more time in the house. The three of us. (Beat) Dr. Kovacs is going to call any day now. |
| DOUG: | That's why I want Tina nearby. |
| SANDRA: | So do I. (Beat) You want me to give you a hand? Maybe speed things up. |
| DOUG: | I'm fine. (Pause) She's going to be okay. |
| SANDRA: | (Beat) Okay. (Pause) I'm going to wait up for you. |
| DOUG: | Have a nice, hot bath, then. |
| | | Doug picks up a brush and daubs Sandra's cheek with a dab of blue paint. |
| | You're turning blue. |
| | | Sandra smiles as she wipes off the paint. |
| SANDRA: | Blue walls. (Beat) Blue walls with a thousand goldfish. (Beat) Goldfish with red lips. |
| | | Sandra exits. Doug turns to Tina and savours the sight of her sleeping peacefully. He returns to the ark and works with a single-minded intensity, removed from his surroundings.
A change in lighting reflects Doug's move into his own private world, and a shift in time. He doesn't notice Keith walk in. Keith sees Doug is utterly preoccupied. |
| KEITH: | Good morning. |
| | | Keith walks to Tina. Her breathing shifts as Keith sits in front of her. He begins to sand a new marionette he has almost completed: a large-winged dove. |
| TINA: | Even-keeled. |
| KEITH: | (To Tina) I'm making you a mourning dove. (Louder) A mourning dove. |
| | | Doug turns to Keith, who looks triumphant now that he's punctured Doug's thoughts. |
| | For when you wake up in the morning. |
| DOUG: | It's not that kind of morning. The ‘mourning' in mourning dove is spelled with a "u". As in mourning and funerals and black veils. We're talking ‘mourning' with a ‘u'. |
| KEITH: | So there's no mourning-without-a-u dove? |
| DOUG: | No. |
| KEITH: | What about an evening dove? |
| DOUG: | No such thing. |
| KEITH: | How do you know? (Beat) Maybe you saw an evening dove and thought it was a mourning dove but it was really an evening dove. Maybe you have to look real close to see what's different. Like when they show you two pictures that look the same. The first time you look at it, you think everything's the same in both pictures. A flower pot, a flower pot. A rake, a rake. You have to look a few times, then you see the flower in the second picture is missing a petal. You put a circle around what's different. Same thing with the mourning dove and the evening dove. Maybe they look the same, until you get real close. |
| DOUG: | You'll never see an evening dove, Keith. |
| KEITH: | If you saw a mourning-with-a-u dove at night, you could call it an evening mourning dove. Couldn't you? |
| DOUG: | I suppose. |
| KEITH: | (Pause) If you saw a mourning dove in the afternoon, you could call it — |
| DOUG: | I get the picture. |
| KEITH: | Tina's going to see it morning, noon and night. At the rehab centre. (To Tina) That would be morning-without-a-u. |
| DOUG: | (Pause) You're going to want to keep it here, with all the other animals. |
| KEITH: | No. The rehab centre. When she recovers from the operation. She'll need company. She'll need the dove and the bear and...and the Three Little Pigs. |
| DOUG: | There's not enough room. |
| KEITH: | They can take turns. First, the dove and the bear. Then the dove and the Three Little Pigs. Then the dove and the monkey. (To Tina) I hope you like it. |
| DOUG: | She‘s crazy about your puppets. |
| KEITH: | Not the puppets. Her room at the rehab centre. You think she'll like it? |
| DOUG: | It's not a question of ‘like' or ‘dislike'. |
| KEITH: | What kind of question is it, then? |
| DOUG: | It's...It's hard to explain. |
| KEITH: | (To Tina) It's far. |
| DOUG: | Too far. |
| KEITH: | (To Tina) I won't be able to see you. Not every day. |
| DOUG: | No. |
| KEITH: | (To Tina) That's why you'll need the dove. The dove will always be there. Because we can't. |
| DOUG: | What you have to set your mind on is the show. |
| KEITH: | Are you finished yet? The script. |
| DOUG: | Almost. |
| KEITH: | I have a big part. |
| DOUG: | As always. |
| KEITH: | (Pause) Can I be Noah this time? |
| DOUG: | I'm Noah. |
| KEITH: | I know-a. Get it? I know-a good place to go fishing. |
| DOUG: | I get it. |
| KEITH: | That would be ‘know' with a ‘k'. (Beat) Why do we have silent letters? (To Tina) Like the ‘k' in ‘knob'. Or knife. Or... |
| DOUG: | Knowledge. |
| KEITH: | Knowledge. Why do we need ‘em if we don't use ‘em? Silent letters. |
| DOUG: | I didn't invent language, Keith. |
| KEITH: | Who did? |
| DOUG: | You keep yammering away and I'll never get this done. Is that what you want? |
| KEITH: | I want you to finish. |
| DOUG: | I want to finish. |
| KEITH: | I'm glad I'm not you. |
| DOUG: | What's that supposed to mean? |
| KEITH: | I'm glad I never play Noah. I like it when I'm Little Red Riding Hood. Or the Giant. (To Tina) "Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman." (To Doug) Noah always has to decide. Two zebras. Two elephants. Two dogs. What do you tell all the other zebras and elephants and dogs? |
| DOUG: | You tell them not all choices are easy to make. |
| KEITH: | Choosing isn't fair. (Pause) Noah could choose not to choose. He could say, "No." (Beat) He says, "No!" a lot. (Beat) Maybe that's why he's called No-ah. |
| DOUG: | Maybe. |
| KEITH: | (Pause) A hundred hippos means ninety-eight No's. |
| | | Keith stands and walks laterally as if talking to a line of hippos, taking a step between each "No." |
| | No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. |
| DOUG: | There's only so much room on the ark. |
| KEITH: | Build a bigger ark. |
| DOUG: | It doesn't work that way. |
| KEITH: | Make it work. |
| DOUG: | You make it sound so easy. |
| KEITH: | You make it sound so hard. (Pause) I couldn't do it. I couldn't do it. I couldn't decide. |
| DOUG: | You don't have to, Keith. |
| KEITH: | We don't have two of everything. |
| DOUG: | We don't need two of everything. It's a short play. |
| KEITH: | One dove is enough? |
| DOUG: | One dove is fine. |
| KEITH: | (To Tina) I'm waiting for the eyes. (Beat) You can buy eyes, you know. I was going to use buttons but then Sandra told me about the eyes. Plastic eyes you can buy. She told me to try Crenshaw's, and I did and they had eyes but they didn't have the eyes I wanted. They said they'd order more. |
| DOUG: | You can always paint the eyes. |
| KEITH: | I want the dove to be special. (To Tina) ‘Cause it's a special event. |
| DOUG: | The show of all shows. |
| KEITH: | Not the show. The operation. |
| DOUG: | You're thinking the operation is a ‘special event'. |
| KEITH: | What'd'you call it, then? |
| DOUG: | (Beat) Unfair. |
| | Sandra enters through the shed door. |
| SANDRA: | Is that old fishbowl in here? |
| KEITH: | (Grins) For some old fish? |
| SANDRA: | For Tina. (To Tina) We're going to fill it up with all your special things. |
| DOUG: | Why? |
| SANDRA: | For her room at the rehab. We'll put all of Tina's favourite bits and pieces in it and take it with. |
| KEITH: | Like peaches. Peaches in a jar. You put them in jars so you can eat them in winter. |
| | | Keith hunts around the shed for a large jar. |
| DOUG: | I haven't seen that fishbowl in ages. |
| KEITH: | (Holding a large, lidded jar) How's this? |
| DOUG: | (Beat) I need that. |
| SANDRA: | (Laughs) For what? |
| KEITH: | I need it. |
| DOUG: | If I didn't need it I'd have thrown it out long ago. It's here, so it's needed. |
| SANDRA: | (Still laughing) That's not logic. That's an excuse for this clutter. |
| | | Sandra looks for the fishbowl. Keith returns to his spot in front of Tina. He holds the dove in one hand and the jar in the other as he launches into an impromptu puppet show. |
| KEITH: | (To Tina) One day, a dove found a message in a bottle. "Oh, boy," said the dove. "A bottle with a message in it! I wonder what it says." |
| SANDRA: | What should we put inside Tina's jar of goodies? |
| | | Keith's monologue runs beneath Doug and Sandra's conversation. |
| KEITH: | The dove wanted to read the message inside the bottle. But she couldn't get the cork out. "What am I going to do?" said the dove. "I want to read the message in the bottle but the cork is stuck. Stuck, stuck, stuck." So the dove...the dove...The dove decided to break the bottle. ‘Cause it's what's inside that counts. |
| DOUG: | (Beat) What she needs can't fit inside a jar. |
| SANDRA: | I'll start. (Pause) Her chimes. Your turn. |
| DOUG: | (Pause) Her blinking stars. |
| SANDRA: | (Beat) Her wind-up penguin. |
| DOUG: | Her jack-in-the-box. |
| SANDRA: | It doesn't work anymore. |
| DOUG: | I used it the other night. |
| SANDRA: | It doesn't work on Tina. Not with me it didn't. (Beat) My turn. |
| KEITH: | So she took the bottle in her beak and...and smashed it against a rock. Bang! Bang! Bang! |
| TINA: | Suddenly clipped, suggesting she's startled |
| | | Doug, Sandra and Keith all respond by ensuring Tina is all right. She eases into a constant rhythm. The conversation and play resume. |
| KEITH: | And the bottle broke. And inside was a message. |
| DOUG: | I say we do this some other time. |
| SANDRA: | I say we get a bigger jar. |
| TINA: | Eases into a constant rhythm. |
| KEITH: | The dove took the message and, and unfolded it. |
| SANDRA: | I'd take her whole room if I could. |
| KEITH: | And the message said. (Beat) The message said.... |
| DOUG: | Decide what matters most. |
| KEITH: | (Beat) "Decide what matters most." (Beat) The end! (Holds jar up to Doug) Can I keep this? |
| DOUG: | What for? |
| KEITH: | I need it. For the play. |
| SANDRA: | You take it, Keith. |
| KEITH: | What about the fishbowl? |
| SANDRA: | I thought of something else. |
| | | Keith takes the jar and exits through the shed door. |
| SANDRA: | Her "T" box. (Beat) It's perfect. |
| | | Sandra exits. Doug watches Tina and listens to her subdued breathing. Tina's breathing slowly fades.
Lights shift. Doug puts on a cloak that suggests he's Noah. Keith enters, wearing the headdress from his biblical costume. He walks to the ramp and waits for his cue. |
| DOUG: | Ham, position the ramp. |
| | | Keith doesn't move. |
| DOUG: | Ham, position the ramp. |
| | | Keith continues to stand still. |
| DOUG: | (Low) You're Ham. |
| KEITH: | I'm not Ham any more. |
| DOUG: | Course you are. |
| KEITH: | I changed my mind. |
| DOUG: | You didn't tell me. |
| KEITH: | You didn't ask. |
| DOUG: | I don't have to ask. I'm Noah. You're Ham. You've always been Ham. That's how it's written. |
| KEITH: | You can unwrite it. (Beat) I want to be the other son this time. |
| DOUG: | Shem or Japheth? |
| KEITH: | Shem. I like Shem. (Beat) Ham makes me feel like a sandwich. |
| DOUG: | All right. We'll make it Shem. (Beat) You make any other changes I should know about? |
| | | Keith shakes his head. |
| DOUG: | Shem, position the ramp. |
| KEITH: | Yes, father. |
| | | Keith maneuvers the ramp. |
| KEITH: | How's this? |
| DOUG: | Perfect. (Beat) Tell me, Shem. Have you spoken with hippo? |
| KEITH: | Yes, father. |
| DOUG: | And...? (Beat) And...? |
| KEITH: | And I forgot my line. |
| DOUG: | "Hippo dug his heels in." |
| KEITH: | Hippo dug his heels in. |
| DOUG: | You must speak to him. |
| KEITH: | (Beat) Do hippos have heels? |
| DOUG: | What? |
| KEITH: | Do hippos have heels? |
| DOUG: | It's an expression, Keith. (Beat) Bring hippo to me. |
| KEITH: | Yes, father. |
| | | Keith walks to the side of the shed and picks up a small, stuffed hippo. He carries the hippo over to the foot of the ramp. |
| KEITH: | Hippo is here, father. |
| DOUG: | Thank you, Shem. (Beat) Hippo, Shem tells me you don't want to join us on the ark. Is this true? |
| KEITH: | Yes. |
| DOUG: | You don't want to leave your brothers behind. |
| KEITH: | No. |
| DOUG: | I understand. Come up the ramp. We'll talk. |
| | | Keith doesn't move the hippo. |
| DOUG: | Come up, hippo. We'll talk. |
| | | Keith keeps the hippo still. |
| DOUG: | This is important, Keith. Up the ramp, then down. Up, then back down. Up, down. Up, down. Up, down. That's what Tina needs. The motion, it makes her laugh. You know what she's like when you make that hippo dance. (Beat) Come up, hippo. We'll talk. |
| KEITH: | You never used to talk to hippo. (Beat) Noah doesn't speak hippo. |
| DOUG: | He doesn't have to. |
| KEITH: | Maybe hippo doesn't want to go on the ark because no one knows how to speak hippo. |
| DOUG: | There's gonna be one other hippo. |
| KEITH: | You still won't know what they're thinking. |
| DOUG: | Look. God tells Noah, ‘Round up all the animals two by two'. He doesn't say ‘Make sure you learn how to speak hippo.' (Beat) We're doing this for Tina. |
| KEITH: | To make Tina laugh. |
| DOUG: | You betcha. |
| KEITH: | The hippo makes her laugh. |
| DOUG: | The hippo going up and down the ramp. That always does the trick. (Beat) You ready to try again? |
| KEITH: | Ready. |
| DOUG: | Come up, hippo. We'll talk. |
| | | Keith inches the hippo up at a glacial pace. |
| DOUG: | A little faster, Keith. |
| KEITH: | Shem. |
| DOUG: | A little faster, Shem. (Beat) Faster than that. |
| | | Keith lifts the hippo and moves it to and fro as if it's flying. |
| DOUG: | You don't want it to fly, now. |
| KEITH: | Why not? |
| DOUG: | Hippos don't have wings. |
| KEITH: | Hippos don't have heels. |
| DOUG: | Maybe so, but...but your dove, for instance. You're going to want your dove to fly. |
| KEITH: | My dove doesn't have eyes. |
| DOUG: | Not yet. But when it does, you're going to want it to fly. You watch Tina's face when you move those wings. |
| KEITH: | She'll love the flying hippo, too. |
| DOUG: | I don't want hippo flying. |
| KEITH: | Why not? |
| DOUG: | If hippo is flying it means he's not listening. Hippo has to listen to what Noah is saying. He has to hear Noah's explanation. (Beat) It's all in the script. |
| KEITH: | We can change the script. |
| DOUG: | We keep changing things and we'll never be ready. |
| KEITH: | We never had one before. A script. |
| DOUG: | We never needed one. |
| KEITH: | I don't like scripts. |
| DOUG: | This isn't about you, Keith. |
| | | Keith grabs hold of a vibrant, papier mache stalk, tall as a ladder. |
| KEITH: | I want to do Jack and the Beanstalk. (Beat) Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum. I smell the blood of – |
| DOUG: | (Firm) Not this time. |
| KEITH: | She loves the Three Little Pigs. (Beat) "I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll blooooooooow your house –" |
| DOUG: | (Cuts him off) We're doing the Noah story. |
| KEITH: | (Beat) Can I huff and puff in the Noah story? |
| DOUG: | There's no huffing and puffing in the Noah story. Just one helluva storm. |
| KEITH: | I want to be Noah. Without a script. |
| DOUG: | Don't bail out on me, Keith. Not now. |
| KEITH: | I want to be Noah next time. |
| DOUG: | (Beat) First things first, all right? |
| KEITH: | I'll be a different Noah. My Noah will say "Yes". Yes to all the hippos. Yes to all the horses. Yes to all the giraffes. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes,.... |
| DOUG: | (Cuts him off) We have a show to put on. |
| KEITH: | We'll do my show later. After the operation. |
| DOUG: | After. So...So let's ask ourselves what Tina needs today. |
| KEITH: | Like a horoscope! It tells you what's going to happen. What you should do. |
| | | Keith pulls a newspaper clipping out of his back pocket and scans it for Tina's horoscope. |
| KEITH: | Here! Here's Tina's. She's a crab. "All your hard work will finally pay off. Expect a big pay day of a different sort when fortune sneaks up on you and takes you by surprise." (Beat) Wanna hear yours? |
| DOUG: | No. (Beat) Why don't you try Sandra? |
| KEITH: | She's a bull. |
| | | Keith scans Sandra's horoscope as he exits.
Tina's breathing surfaces. Doug looks over the script by a worktable before walking over to Tina. |
| TINA: | Laboured and painful. |
| DOUG: | Hey, pumpkin. (Beat) After this morning's rehearsal I started thinking about spicing up the script. You know, maybe add a bear wearing a snorkel and fins. (Beat) A giraffe covered in sunscreen. (Beat) Two sheep squabbling over a towel. (Beat) That's what happens when you spend too much time with Keith. Anything goes. (Beat) If Keith had his way, hippos would fly and we'd all be speaking hippo, too. The truth is, you don't have to speak hippo to do best by hippo. (Beat) Keith would say "Yes, yes, yes," to everyone and everything. But what does that get you? More of the same. (Beat) Nothing changes. (Beat) Things get worse. (Beat) You ? |
| | | Sandra enters, stopping Doug in his tracks. She's carrying a bag in one hand and holding an unbuttoned sweater tightly over her top with the other. |
| SANDRA: | Don't let me interrupt. |
| DOUG: | We were just chatting. |
| SANDRA: | About? |
| DOUG: | It's a father-daughter thing. |
| SANDRA: | No room for a mother who should "shift lanes, slow down and share the road." (Beat) Keith read me my horoscope this morning. (Beat) And yours. And his. And Tina's. And on and on and on... |
| DOUG: | I've told him a thousand times not to put too much faith in those things. |
| SANDRA: | It's harmless. |
| DOUG: | What's that you got there? |
| SANDRA: | Something for you. (To Tina) And you, sweetheart. (Beat) Close your eyes. |
| | | Doug does as he's told. Sandra takes off her sweater and reveals a custom-made hockey jersey. ‘Team Tina' is stitched across the front, with a "C" on the left-hand side. |
| SANDRA: | What'd'you think? |
| | | She models the sweatshirt for Doug, who has opened his eyes. |
| DOUG: | Looks great. (Beat) What's Team Tina? |
| SANDRA: | A small army of women that'll help out at the rehab centre. |
| DOUG: | You plan on skating there? |
| SANDRA: | It was Vera's idea. She's drawn up this whole schedule. She'll pitch in, of course. So will Darlene, Meg, Louise and Alexa. Elsie, her kids are gone now. She can fill in on short notice. That makes six of them. I thought of the name. |
| DOUG: | Team Tina. |
| | | Sandra shows Doug his jersey. |
| SANDRA: | Yours has a ‘C' on it, too. You know. Co-captains. |
| DOUG: | Nice. |
| SANDRA: | This one...This one's for Tina. |
| | | Sandra pulls another sweatshirt out of the bag and displays a beautiful but surprisingly small jersey bedecked with small jewels. |
| SANDRA: | Try yours on. |
| | | Sandra tosses Doug's jersey to him. |
| DOUG: | Not just now. |
| SANDRA: | You don't like it? |
| DOUG: | I like it just fine. You did a beautiful job. |
| | | Sandra looks at the finished ark. |
| SANDRA: | That's a beautiful ark. You have a name for it yet? |
| DOUG: | I'm working on it. |
| SANDRA: | How's the play coming along? |
| DOUG: | Keith is still wrestling with his lines, but he'll manage. |
| SANDRA: | You fix a date for the show? |
| DOUG: | You plan on selling tickets? |
| SANDRA: | It helps me, knowing what's happening when. (Beat) My heart jumps every time the phone rings, thinking it's Dr. Kovacs. I can't stand all this waiting. This not knowing. |
| DOUG: | We know what Dr. Kovacs plans on doing. She made that perfectly clear. |
| SANDRA: | We don't know how it'll turn out. That's out of our hands. So I started to think about what we can control. How a can-do attitude is a recipe for taking control. |
| DOUG: | You're starting to sound like a horoscope. |
| SANDRA: | I made two lists. Things to do before the operation, and things to bring. |
| | | She pulls out her lists. |
| SANDRA: | (To Tina) We wouldn't dream of not bringing your nightlight, sweetheart. That's right at the top of the list. |
| DOUG: | What's on your "To Do" list? |
| SANDRA: | (Scans list) Order flowers. Return library books. (Beat) Church. |
| | | Doug shakes his head. |
| SANDRA: | C'mon, Doug. You haven't been in almost a year. |
| DOUG: | Ever since they put those steel rods in her back. |
| SANDRA: | You...You never told me that was why. |
| DOUG: | I never felt the need to explain. |
| SANDRA: | (Beat) Until now. |
| DOUG: | They won't just be drilling this time. This, this ‘salvage procedure'. You salvage cars, for Chrissake, not kids. (Pause) We didn't call her on it. Dr. Kovacs. We sat there and listened and...and didn't challenge her. We should have challenged her. |
| SANDRA: | We were in shock. |
| DOUG: | And now we're putting Tina's life into someone else's hands again. |
| SANDRA: | Dr. Kovacs is one of the best. You've said so yourself. |
| DOUG: | She's not God. |
| SANDRA: | That's why we should both go to church. Make our prayers twice as loud. |
| DOUG: | I'll take a raincheck. |
| SANDRA: | I thought if we both went. I don't know. Maybe things will turn out all right. |
| DOUG: | Things have a way of sorting themselves out. |
| SANDRA: | That's God's job. To sort things out. |
| DOUG: | And we're supposed to stand back and watch him sort? |
| SANDRA: | What d'you want to do, Doug? Challenge him to a debate? |
| DOUG: | Sometimes, God's gotta cut us a little slack. |
| SANDRA: | Sometimes he does. |
| DOUG: | Fine. The day God's ready to negotiate you let me know. |
| SANDRA: | It doesn't work that way. |
| DOUG: | How does it work, Sandra? |
| SANDRA: | We're not alone in this. We're surrounded by good people. |
| | | Sandra begins folding the hockey sweaters and putting them away. |
| DOUG: | Wearing the same sweater doesn't mean you've worn the same shoes. Vera, Elsie, Darlene. They don't know what we know. |
| TINA: | Jagged. |
| DOUG: | (Beat) Tina's ours. We've been making choices for her from the moment she was born. When she eats. When she sleeps. When she shits. (Beat) Why stop now? |
| SANDRA: | We haven't stopped. |
| DOUG: | We have. We're giving her up. |
| SANDRA: | Don't talk that way. (To Tina) Everything will be for the best, sweetheart. (To Doug) Team Tina. |
| DOUG: | (Beat) Team Tina. |
| | | Sandra exits. Tina's breathing fades.
Doug begins to paint the ark. Keith enters, wearing a Team Tina jersey with an "A" stitched on the left-hand side. He's carrying a square, hinged box with a different-coloured "T" on each side. |
| KEITH: | Vera talks too much. Meg, too. |
| DOUG: | Is that why you're here? |
| KEITH: | (Nods) Too much talking. Not enough brownies. |
| DOUG: | Elsie brought two dozen. |
| KEITH: | They were delicious. |
| DOUG: | You ate two dozen brownies? |
| KEITH: | They were small. (Beat) Sandra kicked me out of the house. Sort of. She asked me to touch up Tina's T-box. |
| DOUG: | Go ahead and touch up. |
| | | Doug continues to paint. Keith helps himself to what he needs. They paint in silence. |
| KEITH: | This is nice. This is like when we go fishing. We don't talk. |
| DOUG: | What's that supposed to mean? |
| KEITH: | I like when we sit and sit and sit and it's like we're talking but we don't have to say anything. |
| DOUG: | I hear you. |
| | | They resume painting. |
| KEITH: | The hardware store, too. |
| DOUG: | What about it? |
| KEITH: | When we unload bags of sand. Bag after bag after bag. No talking. But it's like we're talking. |
| DOUG: | (Beat) Let's try some of that...no-talk talking now. |
| | | The painting continues. Keith breaks the silence when he starts to hum. |
| DOUG: | Do you have to hum? |
| KEITH: | We hum when we fish. |
| DOUG: | We're not fishing. |
| KEITH: | We can pretend we're fishing. |
| DOUG: | We can pretend we're fishing but not humming. |
| KEITH: | I like when you hum and then I hum with you. (Beat) A duet. |
| DOUG: | No duets today, okay? |
| KEITH: | Soon? |
| DOUG: | Soon. |
| KEITH: | (Beat) We can pretend it's soon and – |
| DOUG: | Keith! |
| | | They resume painting. |
| KEITH: | Why do fish travel in schools? |
| DOUG: | Is this some kind of riddle? |
| KEITH: | Why do we say "schools" for a bunch of fish and...and herds for a bunch of cows and ...a...gaggle of geese? |
| DOUG: | I didn't invent language, Keith. |
| | | They paint in silence, but it's short-lived. |
| KEITH: | How many cows do you need for a herd? |
| DOUG: | Jesus, Keith. |
| KEITH: | If it's say, thirty, does that mean twenty-nine cows are just a bunch of cows until another cow walks up and then all of a sudden they're a herd? |
| DOUG: | Could be. |
| KEITH: | Think how special that cow would feel. |
| DOUG: | She's a cow, for Chrissake. |
| KEITH: | Not to the other cows. Because of that one cow they go from being a "bunch" to a "herd". |
| | | Keith adds the final touches to the T-box. |
| KEITH: | Done! (Beat) Can we go fishing soon and do the no-talk talking? |
| DOUG: | Sounds good. |
| | | Keith exits. Doug returns to the ark. |
