LUCILLE. You’re too late, Ricardo. The bus pulled out five minutes ago.
RICARDO. How did you know?
LUCILLE. I saw him at the bus station on my way over here. He was sitting on the bench, shivering. I bought him a cup of hot chocolate and he bared his soul to me. (Beat.) The ten-thirty bus to California is long gone.
RICARDO. (To himself:) What have I done?
LUCILLE. You’ve brought that boy the only sense of love he’s ever known.
RICARDO. Does he know about Britney?
LUCILLE. He knows. I told him so.
RICARDO. Did he cry?
LUCILLE. That’s something he does often. It might be the only thing he knows how to do.
RICARDO. I don’t like it when he cries. What did you tell him?
LUCILLE. That my granddaughter had been killed because she let her own greed impair her judgment. I told him Britney was the one who killed her. I told him his sister tried to do the right thing by going back to the store and putting the money back she stole. There was only one shot and it took her life and within seconds, she was gone. (Beat.) And I told him that if I knew you the way I thought I did, you’d be there with him by the time the bus left. (Beat.) I guess I was wrong.
RICARDO. You weren’t wrong.
LUCILLE. Then why are you still here?
RICARDO. My sister.
LUCILLE. What about her? She’s a vegetable.
RICARDO. (Beat.) It was me, Lucille. I was the one driving the car. I wasn’t paying attention and I yelled at her and we hit the other car head on and her body…it just flew. She went through the windshield and there wasn’t enough time. (Beat.) It was my fault. If I leave now -
LUCILLE. Spend the rest of your life here paying for one mistake. Makes no difference to me.
RICARDO. My sister will never be the same.
LUCILLE. (Firm:) She won’t even know you’re gone, Ricardo.
RICARDO. Rosie’s gone.
LUCILLE. You see anyone crying over it?
RICARDO. She said she had big plans.
LUCILLE. Looks like they backfired.
RICARDO. I don’t know what to do with it all, with what I’m feeling right now. Rosie and I used to be friends. We knew each other better than anyone. We spent so much time here, talking and dreaming and wanting everything to make sense. I don’t want her to be dead, Lucille. And I know everyone will be talking about it for weeks. But then, they’ll forget about it and they’ll find new things to talk about and Rosie will be nothing but a news clipping. (Beat.) I hate that.
LUCILLE. Rosie was filled with so much rage. She never knew her father. Her mother took off when she was twelve. She had a lot to be angry about. But that anger is what took her away.
RICARDO. It happened right here. Two hours ago. But it feels like so much time has passed. I don’t even want to be here. I hope Kimberly shows up soon.
LUCILLE. You might not ever figure out where you want to be, but you need to decide who you want to be with.
RICARDO. Sometimes, I just want to be alone.
LUCILLE. What about the other times? Is it him?
RICARDO. I think about him. I know he needs me. There’s no one else to protect him.
LUCILLE. But who’s going to protect you?
RICARDO. No one ever has. (He starts towards the kitchen.)
LUCILLE. Where are you going?
RICARDO. I need to get some sugar packets. He likes ‘em.
LUCILLE. I went to the coroner’s office, Ricardo. They showed me her body and they gave me her purse. This is what I found inside of it. (She pulls out two bus tickets from her own purse.) Two one-way tickets to Miami. (Beat.) The ten-thirty to California is already gone but there’s still time to catch the midnight bus to Miami. I’ll leave these here for you. When you decide. Since Rosie didn’t make it out, I hope you do. (Beat.) I hope both of us do.
RICARDO. I don’t understand it, the need to go somewhere else to start a new life.
LUCILLE. For some people, it’s the answer to all their problems.
RICARDO. Geography won’t change anything.
LUCILLE. No, but fate will.
RICARDO. (Contemplating:) The midnight bus to Miami.
LUCILLE. When you get there, plant some marigolds for me.
RICARDO. And roses for Rosie?
LUCILLE. Daffodils. They were her favorite.
RICARDO. Mine, too. (He exits.)
(Lucille sits down at the counter and places the bus tickets next to the telephone. Once again, she returns to her hand held video game. A few moments pass and then a small flickering is seen in the main entrance, as if car lights were shining inside from the parking lot. The flickering suddenly becomes a constant strobe of light, green and intense. It is not clear if this moment is reality or we are deep inside of Lucille’s imagination. She stands slowly, invited by the light. She opens the door and steps outside, disappearing into the night.
Lights fade to black.)
ACT TWO: SCENE TWO
(When the lights come up, the stage is empty. Twenty minutes have passed. The radio is on.)
RADIO ANNOUNCER. Well, folks, the rain has stopped but they’ve closed the interstate. Should be open again by midnight. I’d say the worst of it is over. Then again, my mother always told me you can never be too careful. If you’re in doubt, take an umbrella with you. You never know when you might need it, what you might get caught in.
(Within seconds, a bride-to-be named CANDACE tears into the diner. She is in her late twenties and is wearing an extravagant wedding dress, complete with veil. She is attractive, sophisticated.
Behind her follows MAXINE, Candace’s seemingly devoted best friend. She is also in her late twenties and is wearing a hideous dress. She is slightly overweight.)
CANDACE. Whose stupid idea was this?
MAXINE. Actually, it was yours. (Candace shoots her a look. Reassuring:) But it was a good one.
CANDACE. Someone should have intervened. Where were you when I needed you, Maxine? A midnight wedding in Omaha? Of all the people in the world, I have to marry a man from Nebraska. I’m skipping the honeymoon. Peter can go by himself. (Aside:) He always does it by himself, anyway. (To Maxine:) You and I are on the first plane back to Chicago tomorrow morning.
MAXINE. Candace, you need to calm down.
CANDACE. (Feigning sweetness:) Can I please have a cigarette? Pretty please?
MAXINE. You’ve been doing so good. Why do you want to ruin it?
CANDACE. (Close to whining:) Because I’m stuck in the middle of nowhere. This town smells like horse shit. Does this look like a resort to you? They probably still hang people here, Maxine. I’m supposed to be getting married in an hour and the roads are closed and the limo driver called me a bitch. There isn’t a drop of rain in sight. I paid a fortune for this dress. I’m not letting my money go to waste.
MAXINE. Maybe we should call the hotel in Omaha. We should let Peter know what’s happening.
CANDACE. I can’t. I don’t have his new cell phone number.
MAXINE. That’s okay. I have it.
RICARDO. (Enters from the kitchen. Bitter:) Can I help you?
CANDACE. Are you normally this happy to see people?
RICARDO. I’m sorry. I thought you were Kimberly. She’s late.
CANDACE. I’m Candace.
MAXINE. Can I use your phone? It’s sort of an emergency.