Barnes Pt. 1, 2 & 3
A fragment of Barnes
PART 1: Rain
CHARACTERS:
ANDREW (17, 20 and 22), a big brother. He cares and he doesn’t.
JANE (14, 17 and 19), a girl. Overthinker.
BILL (42, 45 and 47), a husband and a father. Hopeless.
MARGARET (39, 42 and 44), a woman and a mother. Scared and exhausted.
TIME:
Thanksgiving day. Ending in 2016. (The specific years only matter if you want them to, what’s important is how old the characters are).
SETTING:
A family home in The Town of Same, MA. (A small town in New England).
NOTE: It. Never. Stops. Raining. The liquid content of the jars is the physical representation of hope. The gelatin-like substance in the other jar is a physical representation of sorrow. It’s there. It’s not a metaphor. Nothing is a metaphor. Don’t question it.
SCENE 1
8:13 am. It’s raining. It’s been raining for a long time. A kitchen. To the right, there is a door with a circular window looking to the outside. Next to the door, there is a large rectangular window framed by blue checkered curtains. There are flower pots on the window sill, the flowers have not been watered for days. Beneath the window there is an oven and a sink, the dishes from the night before are on the drying rack next to the sink. To the left of the window, there is a fridge, left of the fridge, a pantry. In the kitchen there is a table ready to be set. The tablecloth is roughly folded and on the table, next to a pile of plates, cups and utensils. There are four chairs at the table, they do not match, it is as if they had been brought into the kitchen from every other room in the house.
On the counter there are three big glass jars containing colored liquids. Blue, Purple and Orange. Orange is half empty, Purple is ¾ empty, Blue is half full.
ANDREW enters, holding a tray with a turkey in it. He sets it on the table. Takes out various ingredients from the fridge, sets them on the table next to the turkey and EXITS.
BILL ENTERS from outside. Holding a bouquet of flowers and a cardboard box. He sets it on the table and EXITS.
JANE ENTERS. Holding soap and a razor. She looks around her, nervously. She sets the bar of soap and the razor on the table. Walks over to the pantry and takes out a jar. She fills it with water and puts the flowers in it. She opens the brown box, revealing nine white candles. She sets them on the table and folds the cardboard box. She takes the razor and the soap, pulls a chair from the table and walks over to the sink, opens the faucet and looks around her. She wets the soap and props her left leg on the chair, lifts her nightgown a little and rubs soap on her calf. She takes a deep breath and presses the razor to her skin.
Andrew ENTERS.
ANDREW
Is that my razor?(Startled, Jane slips and falls from the chair, she is now sitting on the floor).
ANDREW
Why are you here?
JANE
Dad’s in the bathroom.
(She gets up.)
ANDREW
(Looking at Jane.)
You’re bleeding.
JANE
(Looks at her leg.)
Oh, fuck.
(Beat.)
Well, it’s your fault. You scared me.
ANDREW
I’m not the one shaving in the kitchen.
JANE
(Hands him the razor.)
It doesn’t work anyway.
ANDREW
(Takes the razor.)
You did it wrong. It’s not wet enough. You’re not supposed to do it in the kitchen.
JANE
Whatever. What are you doing?
ANDREW
Dinner prep. Wash your hands and peel some potatoes.
JANE
No.
ANDREW
Jane.
JANE
No. I mean that. I’m against Thanksgiving this year.
ANDREW
Jane, please. Everyone’s coming.
JANE
Peel your own potatoes.
ANDREW
Jane.
JANE
Ugh, fine.
ANDREW
Thank you.
(Jane shrugs and grabs a potato. They are working quietly for a bit, looking up at each other every so often, never at the same time.)
JANE
What do you mean by “everyone”? It’s just us.
ANDREW
What?
JANE
You said “everyone’s coming” what does that mean?
(Beat.)
ANDREW
Oh… Nothing. Who did you invite?
JANE
No one.
(Looking to the window).
It’s still raining.
ANDREW
Yeah.
JANE
Why do you ask?
ANDREW
What?
JANE
Did you invite someone?
ANDREW
I wrote a postcard. Back in May. I got it back yesterday.
JANE
Andrew! Why?
ANDREW
I don’t know. I thought, that maybe this year…
JANE
Was it in the mailbox?
(Beat.)
Andrew, was the postcard you sent in the mailbox?
ANDREW
Yes.
JANE
I can’t believe you did that. What if he’d seen it?
ANDREW
Well, he didn’t. So chill. It’s fine. I got it back and it looked the same and he didn’t see it, so it’s fine.
JANE
Still. You shouldn’t have sent it.
ANDREW
Dad never checks mail anyway. Why are you so bitter?
JANE
Why are you so careless?
ANDREW
Fine. I did a stupid thing and it could have turned out bad. But it didn’t and it’s all good. Can you let it go?
JANE
Can you let it go?
ANDREW
I’m trying.
JANE
Whatever. Your potatoes are done. What else do I do?
ANDREW
Can you get started on the squash?
JANE
Why do we even make squash? It’s the worst.
ANDREW
Squash or pie. Your choice.
Jane hesitates for a moment then reaches for the squash.
ANDREW
Thought so.
JANE
Shut up.
They are quiet. Both of them are working. It’s uncomfortable but not particularly uncomfortable.
ANDREW
Dad wasn’t in the bathroom.
JANE
What? When?
ANDREW
This morning. You said you were shaving in the kitchen because Dad was in the bathroom, but he was asleep, he came in from the garden and went back to sleep, like he always does. Why were you shaving in the kitchen?
JANE
He was in the bathroom. Before going to sleep he went to the bathroom and it smelled bad so I came down here.
ANDREW
Jane.
JANE
Ugh, fine. I didn’t want to make him sad.