SCENE: A hospital room
At rise: a hospital room with a single bed in it. A girl, JULIA, is hooked up to several life support machines, and is the sole occupant of the room. There is a small couch on the far side of the room, opposite the door. Other than this, save for the medical equipment and a bedside table, the room is empty. A NURSE enters, leading SADIE ROBERT, JULIA’s mother.
NURSE
As soon as your husband gets here I’ll show him in, Mrs. Robert.
SADIE
Thank you.
(The NURSE leaves, and PRUDENCE MAXWELL enters)
PRUDENCE
Oh Sadie, I came as soon as I heard, is she going to be alright?
SADIE
What are you doing here?
PRUDENCE
Well, I’m your mother dear; I’m here to help you and poor Julia, at least as much as I can.
SADIE
I don’t need your help and Julia most definitely does not-what kind of time is this to suddenly decide ‘oh, I think I’ll be a grandma again’ you lying old-
PRUDENCE
I know dear, I know, it’s hard for all of us, but I’m here now, and that’s what matters; it’s going to be-
SADIE
Don’t-just don’t, you have no idea what’s happened, do you?
PRUDENCE
Well, I know Julia’s been in a wreck, but nobody knew much after that, so I, I just thought I’d come.
SADIE
Julia was just pronounced brain dead. It’s not legal to keep someone alive after that here. I’m only waiting for Richard to get here, so you can just go away.
PRUDENCE
Well, have they checked everything, did you make sure it was a real doctor? Sometimes interns do things that they don’t really know what they are; they mess up. People pull out of things like this all the time, she’ll be fine, let me get a real doctor, he’ll take care of this.
SADIE
Stop. It was a real doctor, a competent doctor, a polite doctor, and it was our doctor, Julia and mine, not yours. You’ve meddled enough where you should have left alone and left alone where you should have looked into things, for once have the good sense to know what to do when and leave this alone.
PRUDENCE
Dear, it’s just that I want to make sure things are done properly, I have Julia’s best interest at heart here, just let me get a better doctor and we’ll-
SADIE
No! We haven’t spoken in eight years and suddenly you’re this caring loving mother?! You’re not, so don’t try to be!
PRUDENCE
Well maybe I would have spoken more if you’d let me in! You were always telling me stop talking to Julia, to leave poor Julia alone, well look where Julia is now! Look at her! Now we’ll never talk to each other again, and it’s all your fault!
SADIE
My fault? You told her she was too fat! You told her she shouldn’t be so smart in school or boys wouldn’t date her! You made her feel terrible! The whole idea was to keep you from ever speaking to her again!
PRUDENCE
Well you’ve done a bang up job, now she’s dead and she’ll never-
SADIE
Stop it! You always make things about you, but right now it’s about Julia. I’m waiting for Richard to come in from upstate, and until then she’s not dead. Julia is my priority now; I need you to leave.
PRUDENCE
I’m sorry.
SADIE
That’s not good enough anymore, I need you to leave.
PRUDENCE
Sadie, let me stay, please, I came because I wanted to, well, I wanted to be here.
SADIE
I need you to leave. I need you to leave.
PRUDENCE
Sadie, I came because I wanted to say I’m sorry, not just for that last outburst, but for everything. Everyone, the TV people, the books, the magazines, they all say that family is important, and it is, I want to be important, I realized how important it is when that call told me I was losing Julia, I can’t, I don’t want to lose her, she’s so wonderful, and she didn’t get enough time with her grandma, she didn’t get enough time with me.
SADIE
Well that’s your fault. You’re just trying to use the accident to get in and make good and wipe out the last eight years like it never happened, it happened, and you can’t change that now, so you might as well go.
PRUDENCE
I’ve been trying to change it; I sent Julia cards, birthday cards, Christmas cards. I sent them every year and I know for a fact that Julia never got them, your brother told me. I’m trying to make it up to you, but you won’t let me. So I said some things I didn’t mean, everybody does, is that all it takes to get eight years of childish silent treatment?
SADIE
No, it takes saying the most hurtful, the most cruel, the worst things you can think of to your daughter, not for any reason, just to hurt her. You did it to me, and you were trying to do it to Julia, and I wasn’t going to let that happen!
PRUDENCE
What about you? Once Richard’s company started making money instead of losing it you thought you had outgrown me, I was too quaint, too old, too forward spoken to be seen in front of your rich friend on their rich yachts with their rich lives. You sent me away, like a book you were done with or a piece of pie you didn’t want.
SADIE
I sent you away because I couldn’t stand you. You always wanted my attention, didn’t matter how you got it. And you couldn’t stop correcting me, I could never do anything right for you, and you always had to be around to point it out, how was I supposed to deal with that?
PRUDENCE
Well, you won’t have to deal with it anymore; Julia’s not the only one who’s dying.
SADIE
What?
PRUDENCE
I found out this afternoon, dear, they’ve been doing the tests for a few months now, and it’s for sure, my heart isn’t any good any more, it’s giving out on me.
SADIE
Heart failure? But you’ve always-I don’t want to hear this, I need to focus on Julia, I need Richard here, I can’t deal with all of this, I-
PRUDENCE
Well you’re going to have to, because all of it is here, and there’s no erasing it. You have to learn to handle things sometime; you can’t send away everything that bothers you.
SADIE
You’re, you’re dying. Of a heart condition. They can’t give you medication?
PRUDENCE
It helps, but it doesn’t fix or even slow anything, it just makes the going easier.
SADIE
What about heart transplants, pace makers, valves, there must be something they can put in to fix it.
PRUDENCE
Nothing will fix it but a transplant, and it seems I’m much too old to be any sort of real candidate.
SADIE
No procedure, nothing?
PRUDENCE
Nothing but a transplant that I can’t get.
SADIE
(sitting down)
Where’s Richard? Oh blessed heavens, where’s Richard?
(starts crying in earnest)
I can’t lose a daughter and a mother.
PRUDENCE
There, there dear, who knows what could happen that would turn things around? You never know what stroke of luck you’re going to get. Let’s just focus on Julia right now, I was a fool to tell you about my own problems when you have such troubles of your own.
SADIE
It’s just that everything is happening so fast, Julia was just starting college, she’s so young, everything was going so well for her. I just feel like there’s something I could have done, things I should have done, I could have stopped this, I could have bought her a safer car, an earpiece so she wouldn’t have had to be holding her cell phone, something.
PRUDENCE
It’s alright dear; it’s going to be alright. Who knows, maybe there’s a reason for all of this, something we don’t understand yet.
SADIE
What do you mean? What good could possibly come out of this?
PRUDENCE
Well, let’s think, maybe some of Julia’s friends will learn from this and lead better lives.
SADIE
You’re saying that Julia needs to die so some cheeky little teenie-bopper can live a better life?
PRUDENCE
No, no, of course not dear, I just think that there’s a reason for the workings of Providence
SADIE
I don’t really care about reasons or good or Providence
PRUDENCE
Of course you do, we all do, it’s just that we don’t always have things turn out how we’d like them to, so I think we (Cont’d) should prepare for the worst by thinking of the best. Julia was always optimistic; I think she would want us to be the same.
SADIE
She was always looking for the brighter side of things, wasn’t she? I just don’t see why she has to be the one to go, she’s so good, and happy, and wonderful, there’s no rhyme or reason to it, no method to this madness.
PRUDENCE
That’s the Sadie I know, talking like a poet, see, we’ll pull through this. Now let’s just wait for Richard to get here, and things will get better. Do you know; things are getting better all the time? We’re talking again.
SADIE
Yes, we are.
PRUDENCE
Yes, we are.
SADIE
(Hesitantly) She looks peaceful, doesn’t she? Not like she’s worried, or afraid, just, at rest. At least she’s not struggling or in pain.
PRUDENCE
Yes. She looks beautiful. Do you know, I think even if we can’t find the reason, she knows why she has to go. I just wish I had just the slightest clue as to what it is.
SADIE
The only time I haven’t felt sick with worry or guilt since I found out was when I checked ‘yes’ on the request for organ donor forms. When she took drivers ed Julia was so excited about being an organ donor, she made Richard and me change our drivers licenses to say that we were donors, she thought donors would be guardian angels over the people who were helped. She was my angel, and now she gets to be an angel for real.
PRUDENCE
Do you know, I think that’s it. Just think of all the people that Julia is going to watch over, they’ll lead wonderful lives with a little bit of her brightness with them and her watching over the whole time.
SADIE
Mmm, they will, won’t they? I know Julia would have wanted to meet them if she could have, she would want to know them, to tell them they’re special, to make them feel better when they’re sad. I just wish they could all know Julia, I, I wish they knew how special she is.
PRUDENCE
You know dear, I think some of them already know Julia.
SADIE
What do you mean?
PRUDENCE
Well, it just occurred to me that family members can donate organs to family members without going through the organ donor board.
SADIE
What?!
PRUDENCE
Well, it wouldn’t be right that some of the people getting Julia’s organs wouldn’t know her, and Julia would care most for the people she knew, wouldn’t she?
SADIE
You’re not saying this, this isn’t happening.
PRUDENCE
We already know I’m the same blood type as Julia, and we have the same genetics, so it would be a perfect match, a match made in heaven.
SADIE
You, you want Julia’s heart?
PRUDENCE
Darling, it’s not what I want; it’s what Julia would want. I didn’t want this car accident, I’ve prayed against such a thing everyday of my life, but my heart problems happened, so when your brother told me this happened-
SADIE
I don’t want to listen!
PRUDENCE
Sadie, this isn’t a coincidence, this is the working of Providence
SADIE
You only came over here once you knew you could get something out of it, you only came because you needed a heart, you, you, get out! Get out! Get out! Get out!
PRUDENCE
Dear, calm down, it’s alright, we can talk about this later, just wait till-
SADIE
No! Nurse! Nurse! Help!
(NURSE enters)
NURSE
What’s all this noise? You’re disturbing the other patients.
SADIE
Nurse, I want this woman escorted out of the building, I don’t want her allowed in, I never want to see her again!
NURSE
(To SADIE) Ma’am, calm down, what’s going on in here?
SADIE
That woman is not part of the family and she’s not welcome in here. She’s trying to hurt Julia!
NURSE
(To PRUDENCE) Is that true, Ma’am?
PRUDENCE
I wasn’t doing anything. I’m her mother, I’m here to comfort her as a mother should.
SADIE
No! She’s not helping at all, make her leave.
NURSE
I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to ask you to leave the building. If you’re not immediate family you can’t stay when asked to leave.
PRUDENCE
Well surely I can just-
SADIE
No, I want her taken out, I want someone to walk her out and make sure that she doesn’t come back
PRUDENCE
Dear, now let’s be reasonable, I hadn’t even thought of the notion till you brought-
SADIE
No, no, no, leave, leave now!
NURSE
Ma’am, if you don’t leave I’m going to have to call security.
PRUDENCE
Don’t worry, I’m leaving, Sadie I’ll call you later, we’ll talk more. Let’s not let this little misunderstanding spoil things between us.
SADIE
Get Out!
(PRUDENCE leaves, SADIE turns from the door, breathing heavily, she composes herself for a moment, then turns to face the nurse)
I’m sorry, I hope I didn’t make too much of a racket.
NURSE
It’s just fine, there’s always some sort of commotion in a hospital anyway. You’re husband called, he’s stuck in traffic on the freeway, but he should be here within a half an hour.
SADIE
Thank you.
NURSE
I also brought the organ donor forms you requested. Don’t worry about doing anything now, there’s plenty of time and they’re not complicated. I’d just like to thank you for considering it, it means a lot to the recipients.
SADIE
No. No organ donations will be made. I want her full body cremated as soon as possible.
NURSE
Ma’am, you requested it, you don’t have to make any decisions right now, maybe you’d like to wait until your husband-
SADIE
I said no. She’s to be cremated, organs and all.
No comments:
Post a Comment