Retha and Nina are sisters grieving the loss of their mother. Retha encounters George, the boy next door who has returned home after four years away. They embrace warmly in reuniting. George offers to drive Retha and Nina to their mother's funeral. Retha questions if he drove too fast to visit as a safety concern, though she appreciates the ride offer. They discuss the differences in how time passed for George away versus those left behind in their hometown.

1. sistahs, a love story
By Harrison David Rivers
Harrison David Rivers
400 W. 119th Street, Apt. 2V
New York, NY 10027
Cell: (347) 432-3534
Email: harryphord@gmail.com

2. dramatis personae.
RETHA BAKER 20, female, black, the older sister,
always doing something with her hands
NINA BAKER 16, female, black, the younger sister,
compulsive truth teller, teller of convenient lies
GEORGE ROBINSON 21, male, the boy next door,
libido kept in check by his indefatigable romanticism
setting.
Summertime.
Not so long ago.
Near Nicodemus, Kansas.
The dusty front yard and porch of a farmhouse.
2

3. “me and you be sisters.
we be the same.
me and you
coming from the same place.
me and you
be greasing our legs
touching up our edges.
me and you
be scared of rats
be stepping on roaches.
me and you
come running high down purdy street one time
and mama laugh and shake her head at
me and you.
me and you
got babies
got thirty-five
got black
let our hair go back
be loving ourselves
be loving ourselves
be sisters.
only where you sing,
I poet.”
-Lucille Clifton, sisters
“To my thinkin’ mourning oughtn’t tuh last no longer’n grieft”
-Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God
3

4. prologue.
The front yard and porch of a Kansas farmhouse.
It is summer. And stinkin hot.
Lights reveal THE SISTAHS, RETHA, 20, and NINA,
16. They melt. NINA reclines with her feet in
RETHA’S lap. They fan themselves with vigor.
A game is initiated.
THE SISTAHS
Mama says
RETHA
Wash yr face
NINA
Yr hands
RETHA
And yr feet before you go to bed
NINA
Say yr prayers
RETHA
Kneel down
Fold your hands
NINA
And close yr eyes
Tight
RETHA
Tight
Close ‘em tight
NINA
‘Cause GOD knows
When you peek
RETHA
He always knows
NINA
Ask him for grace
4

5. RETHA
Ask
For
Forgiveness
THE SISTAHS
Be polite
NINA
Mind yr p’s and q’s and h’s
RETHA
Say please and thank you and pardon me
NINA
Use missy ma’am and sir
RETHA
Comment on the
Weather
“Does it look like rain to you?”
NINA
On the décor
“What a lovely credenza”
RETHA
WEAR
CLEAN
UNDERWEAR
NINA
And don’t you EVER let the hem of yr dress drag in the dirt
RETHA
Don’t you let yr hem drag
NINA
NEVER soil yr hem
RETHA
Eat yr vegetables
NINA
And chew with yr
Mouth closed, RETHA
5

6. RETHA
Elbows OFF
The table, NINA
NINA
STOP yr
Fidgeting
RETHA
STOP IT NOW
NINA
Sit up straight
RETHA
Sit up straight
NINA
I said, SIT UP STRAIGHT
RETHA
Remember yr a lady
NINA
So remember to act like a lady
RETHA
Remember that ladies act a certain way
THE SISTAHS
Ladies cross their Legs Like So.
NINA crosses her legs at the knees. RETHA crosses
her legs at the ankles. It is too hot to sustain these
poses. THE SISTAHS melt.
The game continues.
Mama says
RETHA
Yr sistahs/Take care of each other
NINA
Yr sistahs/Be good to each other
6

7. RETHA
Stay together
NINA
Want together
RETHA
Need together
NINA
Don’t let nothin come between ya
RETHA
Don’t let NOTHIN come between ya
THE SISTAHS
Mama says
RETHA
Yr sistahs
NINA
That’s right, sistahs
RETHA
And yr exactly the same
NINA
Exactly
RETHA
There ain’t no difference between ya
NINA
Ain’t no difference at all
They stand. They speak simultaneously.
RETHA NINA
She says She says
You have the same nose You have the same legs
The same eyes The same arms
The same mouth The same belly
The same fingers The same breasts
The same The same
They briefly reference their genitalia and move on.
7

8. Toes Toes
THE SISTAHS look each other up and down.
Fanning.
RETHA
How are we the same again?
THE SISTAHS look each other up and down. Still
fanning.
NINA
We’re both melting in this heat
RETHA
I know that’s the truth
They fan themselves some more.
THE SISTAHS
Our mama’s dead/Funny how she keeps right on talking…
Lights fade on THE SISTAHS.
1.
Early morning. Still dark.
Lights reveal RETHA dressed in black.
She stands in the yard looking out.
She hears something.
RETHA
Mama?
RETHA moves toward the sound. Silence.
Mama, is that you?
More silence.
Then RETHA speaks.
I need to strip the beds soon/Strip the beds and flip the mattresses/What was it you
useta say/Care for it and it’ll care for you…/I’ll have to get Nina to help me…
…Or George…
8

9. He’s back you know/George/Got here yesterday/Nina says he probably brought some
girl with him/He’s probably engaged, she says/She says, you know how those big city
girls are…/But I don’t know…/I’ve never been to the city…
It seems like if George had gone and fallen inlove… he’d’ve said something
Beat.
I’ve thought on it a little/Love, I mean/Just a little/Everyone makes such a fuss over
it/Nina for one/Chasing after this boy, then that boy/Did you see his eyes/Did you see
his mouth/Did you see his…/Such a big world, she says/So many pretty boys/I said to
her, yeah, but you only need one/And she said, what do you know, Retha
What do you know…?
NINA appears on the porch. She is dressed in black.
What I know is that love is best in the winter/When its snowy and cold/Cause that’s
when you want another body around/That’s when you want a body for warmth/But it’s
too hot now/August/Seems like the sun’s already up and burning no matter what time
you get outta bed…/No matter what you do can’t never seem to beat the heat
Summer is no time for love…
NINA
Retha?
A change.
…What are you doing out here?
RETHA
Nothing just…/I ain’t doing nothing
NINA moves to her sister.
NINA
I can’t sleep…
They look out.
You okay?
RETHA
Yeah…
9

10. Beat.
Hey do you remember how we useta run around the yard catching fireflies?
NINA
Fireflies?
RETHA
Yeah, I was just thinking…/Remember/In the evenings/We useta catch em in our
hands/In jars/And you useta scream whenever one of em would light on yr arm
NINA
I didn’t scream
RETHA
You were like…
She demonstrates.
NINA
I never did that
RETHA
Yeah you did/Useta scream like a crazy person
She demonstrates again.
NINA
Retha!
RETHA
What?
NINA
Stop!
RETHA
Oh come on/I’m just playing with you/…And yeah you did
NINA
Yr always playing/Always teasing/You think yr so funny
RETHA
I don’t
NINA
Yeah/You do
10

11. NINA sulks.
RETHA
Oh come on, Nina/Don’t be such a baby
NINA
Just cause yr the oldest
RETHA
(mocking her sister) “Just cause yr the oldest”
NINA
Doesn’t make me a baby/And it doesn’t mean you get to make fun
RETHA
I don’t
NINA
Yeah you DO/ALL the time
RETHA
Not ALL the time
NINA
Yeah/ALL the time
RETHA scoffs.
See?
A long pause. RETHA softens.
RETHA
Fine
She acquiesces.
I’m sorry, okay?
Beat.
Nina
Beat.
What? Now yr not gonna talk to me?
11

12. NINA turns away from RETHA.
A moment and then…
RETHA takes a deep breath.
I remember you always useta catch more fireflies than me
NINA perks up.
NINA
I did?
RETHA
You know you did
NINA turns around, smiling.
NINA
Yeah, I know/Mama useta say it was because I was so sweet
RETHA
That was bees, Nina/Mama useta say you were sweet and that’s how come you got stung
all the time
NINA
No/That’s not what she said
RETHA
Yeah/It is/You got stung cause you were sweet/You caught more fireflies cause…/Well,
who knows why/You were eager
NINA
That’s not the reason!
RETHA
If yr not going to tell the story right, Nina, then--
NINA
--I WAS telling it right--
RETHA
--No/Yr remembering it wrong/It was bees/Not fireflies/Bees--
NINA
--Anyway!
I don’t see why you’ve gotta be such a perfectionist about everything/It’s just a story,
Retha--
12

13. RETHA
--It’s not just a story
Beat.
NINA
Yeah/I know…
Beat.
I hate funerals
I hate that people die…
RETHA
Yeah well so does everyone, Nina
Ain’t nothing special about despising death
Beat.
NINA
…Remember how mama useta sit up on the porch/We’d be running around with our jars
and she’d be laughing/Remember Retha? Retha?
A slow smile.
RETHA
With her sweet tea
NINA
Yeah/I don’t think I ever saw her drink anything but sweet tea
RETHA
That’s cause she never did/…We musta looked ridiculous/Chasing bugs in the dark
NINA
Aren’t any out tonight…
RETHA
It’s morning now/They’ve already gone…
They look out.
Long long silence.
Then RETHA imitates MAMA.
Watch it girls/Watch where yr running
13

14. NINA smiles.
NINA
If y’all run into each other I don’t wanna hear no crying
RETHA
Not a sniffle
NINA
Not a one
THE SISTAHS
Or I’ll give you something to cry about
Long beat.
NINA
I keep thinking she’s working late at the store
RETHA pulls NINA close.
RETHA
I know/I thought I heard her snoring/Woke me up, the thought
NINA
God, mama could snore
RETHA
Yeah/Like a tractor
NINA
Like ten tractors…
Beat.
I miss her snore
Beat.
Why is it that when people die we always remember the things about them that useta
annoy us the most?
A change.
George is home/Can you believe it/Sleeping right over there
14

15. Beat.
Georgie Porgie…/Home at last…
Beat.
That’s a nice thought at least…
RETHA
Yeah, it is…
Lights fade on THE SISTAHS.
2.
A car door slams, an ancient noise.
Lights reveal GEORGE, 21, standing in the yard. He
is dressed in a near fitting white dress shirt, dark
slacks and dress shoes.
He stands in the yard, hands pocketed. He waits, but
nothing happens. He moves toward the porch then
changes his mind. He exits. A moment and then a car
door slams shut, louder this time, more deliberate. A
moment and then a car horn blares.
GEORGE returns.
RETHA appears on the porch, holding a laundry
basket on her hip.
RETHA
I thought I heard something
GEORGE
Yeah, I honked the horn.
RETHA
Is that what that was? I was wondering…
GEORGE
Yeah, I bet you were.
RETHA breaks into a smile. GEORGE does as well.
RETHA
15

16. Hey, George
GEORGE
Hey, Retha.
It’s been awhile.
RETHA
Yeah, it has
GEORGE
Did you miss me?
RETHA
Please/You know I’ve been busy…
More smiles.
GEORGE
Yeah, me too.
A childish standoff. Who will be the first to move
toward the other?
RETHA
Okay fine you win/Get over here and give me a hug
They move to each other and embrace.
Welcome home
GEORGE
Thanks. Sorry I’m so early. Overexcited I guess. My foot just…
He laughs to himself.
Well let’s just say it’s a good thing the speed limit is sixty-five.
RETHA
I know I don’t drive, George/But it seems to me that one should only go sixty-five miles
an hour in times of emergency/You know, fires, accidents, getting a pregnant woman to
the hospital…/Sixty five is not for visiting yr neighbor
GEORGE
I know. I do. But I… Well, I just couldn’t help it.
I’ll go slower with you and Nina.
16

17. RETHA
Uh huh…
GEORGE
I swear.
…
I cleaned out the cab. Mama said, “You can’t expect those girls to ride with you in that
truck as filthy as it is.” So I vacuumed it out and waxed the interior. It looks loads better.
I think you’ll like it.
RETHA
We appreciate the ride
GEORGE
It’s nothing. I mean, I was planning on going same as you. Well, not the same as you
exactly, but I was gonna drive anyway so it works out perfectly. Besides how else were
you gonna get to the church?
RETHA
God gave us feet for a reason, George
GEORGE
Yeah well I doubt God intended for you to walk to yr mama’s funeral.
RETHA begins to fold laundry.
I’m sorry about that, by the way. About yr mama.
I don’t know if mine told you that I said--
RETHA
--Yeah she sent word
GEORGE
She’s not always the best messenger--
RETHA
--She sent a card/It was real sweet of you both
GEORGE
Well, good.
GEORGE takes a breath.
It’s nice being home… I mean, outside of mama constantly hugging me and kissing me
and feeding me and talking about how much she missed me…
RETHA
17

18. Well, you can hardly blame her for that, George/Four years is a long time to be away/To
stay away
GEORGE
I didn’t stay away.
RETHA
Well, you certainly didn’t visit
GEORGE
I wrote. And I called every week. Didn’t she say?
I swear it flew by.
RETHA
For you maybe/For you it might have flown by/But time passes differently here/Things
move slower/You know that
GEORGE
Yeah, I guess…
RETHA
…
You know, we were starting to think you weren’t ever coming back
GEORGE
You thought what…?
RETHA
…It’s just that New York…/Well, if it’s as exciting as people say it is, I don’t think
anybody’d’ve blamed you for staying/I wouldn’t’ve blamed you …
(curious) Was it as exciting as people say?
GEORGE
I dunno. I guess it was all right.
RETHA
You guess it was all right? You stayed away four years and all you’ve got to say is New
York was all right? George Robinson you should be ashamed of yrself!
GEORGE
I just meant--
RETHA
--If I was yr mama and you said those words to me after being that far away for that
long, I’d knock you upside yr head
18

19. GEORGE
Well then I guess it’s a good thing yr not my mama.
RETHA
Yeah, good thing…/Cause you know I’d wear you out
A shared smile.
GEORGE
New York’s a lot different than here. It’s faster. And loud. And you can’t see the sky… I
missed the sky. And the wind. The way it talks to you out in the tall grass… And the
people. Well, some of them. You. And Nina, of course. She in the house?
RETHA
Yeah, she’s in there/Probably in front of a mirror/She spends an awful lot of time
looking at hrself these days/She fancies hrself some kind of tragic beauty
GEORGE
I heard she graduated.
RETHA
Yeah, same weekend as you
GEORGE
Right. That’s what mama said. What’s she gonna do now?
RETHA
I dunno/She talked about college before, but now…/Well, things’ve sorta lost their
surety
GEORGE
Yeah…
RETHA
…How bout you? You gonna stay put for a little while?
GEORGE
I dunno. A friend of mine says he can get me some freelance work back on the coast if I
want it, but uh… I’m not sure.
RETHA
What’s there to be unsure of? You want to be a writer…
GEORGE
Yeah, I know I do. It’s just… Well, I guess I’d just as soon write here…
…
19

20. You know people in the city would always joke about my being from Kansas. They’d
make cracks about Dorothy and Toto. Asking me if I knew them. If we socialized. And
I’d always be like, oh yeah, Dorothy’s my next-door neighbor. Her dog’s always digging
around in my mom’s garden.
…
That always got a laugh in New York.
…
I guess folks around here aren’t really the target audience for that one.
GEORGE watches RETHA fold.
You look good, Retha. I mean--Not that you didn’t always look good before, you did--It’s
just--Well, I haven’t seen you in a minute, you know? And I wasn’t sure how you were
going to look exactly. You know, how you might have changed and well…
He takes a breath.
(a high compliment) You haven’t changed.
RETHA blushes, she swallows a smile.
RETHA
You look good, too, George
GEORGE beams.
GEORGE
You think?
RETHA
Yeah/All growed up
GEORGE
Yeah, I guess. I guess that’s what we are now.
RETHA is looking at something. GEORGE tries to
pinpoint her focus. It’s his shirt.
Oh, I know, the shirt’s a disaster.
RETHA
It’s not that bad--
GEORGE
--No, it’s awful. Go on and say it. Yr not gonna hurt my feelings. Mama bought it for me.
She asked me what size and I didn’t know what to tell her. Medium? I said. Large?
20

21. It doesn’t really fit.
RETHA
It’s all right…
RETHA moves to GEORGE. She runs her hands
along the contours of the shirt, assessing the fit. He is
nearly overwhelmed by her touch.
GEORGE
It’s cause my arms keep growing. Nothing else grows, mind you. I don’t get any taller.
And I don’t gain any weight no matter what I eat. It’s just my arms. They get longer by
the day. They’re a full six inches longer than I am tall. I measured them. Is that normal,
do you think?
RETHA
You can barely tell/Just stop tugging on the cuffs
GEORGE
It looks a whole lot better with the jacket. I found it in the attic with the rest of my dad’s
things. Mama always useta say, yr father may be a farmer, but he has excellent taste in
clothes.
RETHA
Yeah/I remember…
GEORGE
Yeah… Hey. Hold on.
GEORGE moves toward his offstage truck.
RETHA
Where you going?
GEORGE
To the truck. I’ll be right back--
RETHA
--George--
GEORGE
--One second!
He exits. The sound of a door opening, then closing.
RETHA smoothes her hair. She adjusts the waist of
her dress. GEORGE returns pulling on a black suit
21

22. coat.
What do you think?
RETHA
I think it’s just like a man to try and cover up the problem instead of dealing with it
GEORGE
Nah, that’s not--I just thought you could take a look--
RETHA
--Putting on a jacket’s not gonna make yr shirt sleeves longer, George/It’s not gonna
stop yr arms from growing
GEORGE stops fussing with the jacket. He has one
arm in and one arm out.
GEORGE
…I know that…I just wanted to show you…
RETHA
I’m sure we’ve got something here you can wear
GEORGE
Something here?
RETHA
You heard me
RETHA moves to the basket of folded laundry.
GEORGE
Nah Retha, I can’t be wearing someone else’s clothes.
RETHA
Why not?
RETHA continues before GEORGE can protest.
We can’t have you tuggin on yr shirtsleeves during the whole service/It’ll be
distracting/If not to you, then it will be to me
RETHA looks through the basket, checking tags.
GEORGE pulls on his shirt cuffs. He scoots dirt
around with the toe of his shoe. Then thinks better of
it and brushes them off. RETHA pulls out a shirt.
This oughta do
22

23. She tosses the shirt to GEORGE. He catches it. Holds
it.
Well, don’t just stand there/Put it on
GEORGE
Out here?
RETHA
Where else you gonna change?
…
Don’t tell me you ran off to the big city and got all self-conscious/You useta run around
here half naked all the time
GEORGE
That was a long time ago, Retha. I was a kid.
RETHA
What, you got hair on your chest now? Is that it? Acting all shy cause of a little chest
hair? How many you got? One? Three?
RETHA playfully attempts to count the hairs on
GEORGE’S chest. GEORGE keeps her at bay.
GEORGE
You better leave me alone, Retha Baker.
RETHA
Oh yeah?
GEORGE
Yeah.
RETHA
Or what, George? What you gonna do?
GEORGE
What am I gonna do?
RETHA
That’s what I’m asking, city boy/What are you gonna do?
GEORGE
I’ll tell you what I’m gonna do. I’m gonna pull yr hair like I used to. Yr mama’s not
sitting up there on the porch no more. Ain’t nobody to stop me from--
23

24. The words escape before he can stop them. He
immediately regrets them.
Oh God, Retha. I’m sorry.
RETHA
I’ll turn around if it’ll make you feel more comfortable
GEORGE
Retha--
RETHA
--I’m turning around now
She does.
GEORGE
Retha, I--
RETHA
--Put on the shirt, George
GEORGE
But--
RETHA
--Just put it on
A moment and then GEORGE removes his shirt and
slips into the new one.
It don’t make no sense for a grown man with an Ivy League education to be wearing ill
fitting shirts/It don’t make no sense at all
GEORGE finishes buttoning.
GEORGE
All done.
RETHA turns around. GEORGE presents himself.
How do I look?
RETHA
Like a New Yorker
24

25. GEORGE
I didn’t before?
RETHA
It’s all in the cuffs, George/It’s all in the cuffs
RETHA begins to button GEORGE’S cuffs.
A moment and then…
GEORGE
…Retha…?
RETHA
I’m right here, George
GEORGE
I swear I didn’t mean that bit about yr mama… I wasn’t thinking and--
RETHA finishes with GEORGES’ cuffs.
RETHA
--There you go/Now all you need is a tie--
GEORGE
--Will you let me apologize?
RETHA
There’s no need--
GEORGE
--Retha, please--
RETHA
--I said there’s no need, George…/Just let it alone, okay?
A moment and then GEORGE acquiesces.
I think we’ve got a black tie inside somewhere.../It’ll just take me a few minutes to find
it…
RETHA moves toward the door.
GEORGE
I have one… actually. It’s in my…
GEORGE searches for his tie. He finally locates it.
I couldn’t tie it. I never learned how.
25

26. A moment and then…
RETHA
Give it here
GEORGE hands the tie to RETHA. She loops it
around his neck.
GEORGE
Sorry. It’s one of those things my dad sort of didn’t get around to teaching me. I’m
hopeless, I know.
RETHA manipulates the tie with speed and skill.
RETHA
You’d be amazed how many men don’t know how to tie their own ties/Grown men/They
come into the shop/Slip into these beautiful shirts and don’t know how to tie a tie/I
mean, a beautiful shirt is a beautiful shirt, but a tie…/That’s what draws attention to the
shirt/Without the tie… Well, without the tie it’s just a shirt plain and simple
GEORGE
Maybe they just prefer that you tie them…
RETHA
Don’t be fresh, George
GEORGE
I’m just saying, men are--
RETHA
--Men should know how to tie their own ties/Not knowing… Well, there’s just no excuse
for not knowing/…It’s an epidemic really
A moment while RETHA cinches up the knot.
GEORGE
Is there a cure, d’ya think?
They are close. Anything could happen.
…
…
…
It doesn’t happen fast enough.
NINA appears on the porch.
NINA
26

27. Georgie Porgie!
GEORGE and RETHA quickly separate.
GEORGE
Hey, Nina.
NINA runs to GEORGE and wraps herself around
him. He holds her awkwardly.
NINA
Yr mama said you were coming over/I thought for sure she was telling stories…/Retha,
why didn’t you tell me George was here?
RETHA
I--
NINA
--Keeping him all to yrself like always--
RETHA
--I wasn’t keeping him to myself--
GEORGE
--I just pulled up, Nina, honest--
NINA
--Don’t you go making excuses for her, George--
GEORGE
--I’m not making excuses--
RETHA
--You heard the horn same as me--
NINA
--Honestly Retha, I don’t know what yr talking about--
RETHA
--Don’t know what I’m talking about!--
NINA
--George Robinson, you look positively grown up/Doesn’t he look grown up, Retha?
RETHA sighs and then humors her sister.
RETHA
27

28. Yeah, he does
NINA
It must be the shirt
NINA runs her hands over the fabric, clearly an
attempt to illicit a response from GEORGE.
It fits beautifully
GEORGE and RETHA exchange a look.
You know, George, I’m grown now too/I’m all done with school
GEORGE
Retha was just telling me. Congratulations.
NINA
Thank you/You shoulda seen me/I wore this cute little sky blue dress for the
ceremony/And I let my hair down/And everybody said I looked just like I stepped out of
the pages of a magazine
GEORGE
Well that’s… that’s great, Nina.
NINA
George, I want you to promise me something…
GEORGE
Uh well that depends…
NINA
If you go back east, promise you’ll take me with you
RETHA
Nina!--
NINA
I just know that if you introduce me around I’ll fit right in
GEORGE
Honestly, I don’t think I know anyone worth meeting--
NINA
--There’s no need to be modest, George/Yr mama told us how well you did in New
York/And I don’t doubt that you made some connections--
28

29. RETHA
--That’s enough, Nina--
NINA
--I’ll just die if I don’t see New York
RETHA
You ain’t gonna die
NINA
What do you know, Retha?
RETHA
I know melodrama when I hear it--
NINA
--Anyway/Everybody says that’s where I belong/New York/Nicodemus is just too
small/I mean, there’s nothing here but dirt and sky and…/Well, I need to be surrounded
by people and activity/So it’s just essential that I go/I mean, just imagine it/Me in New
York!
NINA hugs GEORGE, hard. She doesn’t let go.
GEORGE
Uh…
GEORGE doesn’t know what to say.
Retha?
RETHA
Nina, let go of George/Yr hurting him
NINA
I am not
RETHA
Yeah you are/Yr hurting him and yr making a fool of yrself/Get off
NINA
George is a grown man/If he wants me off he can tell me himself
GEORGE
Actually, Nina--
29

30. RETHA
--Nina/That’s enough!
RETHA and NINA struggle. RETHA is victorious.
NINA
All right/I’m off/God! You don’t have to be so mean about it
A moment and then…
(a performance) Our mother is dead, George
GEORGE is unsure how to proceed.
GEORGE
Yeah, um… I know, Nina.
NINA begins to cry. She hugs GEORGE again.
RETHA
Jesus, Nina!
RETHA reaches for her sister.
NINA
Don’t you touch me!
A moment and then…
GEORGE
Nina, I understand yr sad. I know when my dad… Well when he passed I… I didn’t know
what to do either.
NINA cries louder.
But Nina it’s just that the funeral--
RETHA
--Nina--
NINA
--Why won’t you just let me be!
RETHA
We’re gonna miss the service if you don’t stop this foolishness--
30

31. NINA
--Anyway/Yr just saying that so I’ll let go--
RETHA
--I am not--
NINA
--Yeah you are too--
RETHA
--George/Tell her--
NINA
--George…
Both girls turn to GEORGE.
GEORGE
Um well actually…
He doesn’t want to ally himself with either girl.
…It’s almost ten so… we should probably be getting on--
RETHA
--See there?
NINA
I didn’t realize it was so late
I’m not ready yet
RETHA
You look ready enough to me
NINA
(to RETHA, short) Well, I’m not
Zoe Samuels…/You remember her, right, George? She says her aunt and uncle met at a
funeral/They didn’t plan for it/They didn’t mean to fall in love, but they did/She said
that he was tall and shy and that they fell in love over fried okra at the reception after
the service/And I couldn’t help thinking that maybe, maybe that could happen to
somebody else/Like maybe to me
RETHA begins to speak, NINA continues.
And I don’t say it to be inappropriate or disrespectful or nothing/It’s just that mama’s
dead and I never knew my daddy and slowly the world is changing/And I’m tired of
being alone/And maybe… if I think of today as the beginning of something/The
potential beginning of something/Then I won’t feel so much like it’s the end…
31

32. So I’ve got to look my best/Cause you never know who might be at the service/I could
meet my forever today/Cause I want a forever/And I’m not ashamed to admit it/I want
a forever/And I don’t see why I should have to wait forever for forever to start
NINA exits into the house.
RETHA
I’m sorry about that--
GEORGE
Nah, it’s okay. She’s sad. I get it.
RETHA
She likes attention is more like it…
Realizes how awful she sounds.
And she’s sad/Mostly she’s sad
A moment and then…
GEORGE
I drove past the church earlier. There were already a lot of cars. Yr mama knew
everybody.
RETHA
Yeah well Nicodemus is a small town
GEORGE
It is, but that ain’t it. Yr mama was a good woman, Retha. Word travels fast about the
passing of a good woman.
Beat.
RETHA
Thank you, George
GEORGE
Sure…
You know, I was thinking on the way over--
RETHA
--While you were speeding?
A smile.
GEORGE
32

33. Yeah, while I was speeding. I was thinking that you and Nina have been my best friends
since I can remember.
RETHA
Well, we were born neighbors, George/We didn’t have much choice in the matter
GEORGE
I know, but… well I like to think we would’ve been friends even if we hadn’t lived right
next door to each other. I like to think that someday, even if we had lived in different
places, led different lives, that we would’ve found each other eventually.
RETHA
Maybe so…
RETHA folds.
GEORGE
It’s good to see you, Retha.
RETHA
You too, George
GEORGE
I mean it.
RETHA
So do I…
GEORGE takes a deep breath.
RETHA takes a deep breath.
GEORGE
I thought about you in New York.
RETHA
Seems to me there’d be better things to think about in such a big city
GEORGE
It wasn’t on purpose. I mean, I didn’t intend to… It was just… well an inclination, I
guess. A natural sort of… Like I’d see something at a museum, a painting or a sculpture.
Or I’d be at a play and the first thing I’d think would be, I wonder what Retha’d say
about this or what Retha’d think of that. I remember I always liked hearing what you
had to say about things.
…Retha--
RETHA
33

34. --I should probably put these clothes away
RETHA doesn’t move. GEORGE crosses to her. A
moment and then… He leans in.
NINA appears on the porch.
She is crying.
Nina, what is it?
NINA
I couldn’t remember where I put my gloves/You know the black ones with the little bit of
lace on the back? Well, I looked everywhere/The front hall table/The kitchen
counter…/These are all I could find…
She holds up a pair of gloves.
They’re mamas/They were in her sock drawer
RETHA comforts her sister.
RETHA
Come on now/Come on…
NINA
She had such little hands
A moment and then…
GEORGE
I’ll just go start the truck.
RETHA
We’ll be right there
GEORGE looks back at RETHA before exiting.
Come on now/Stop yr crying/Mama wouldn’t want us to cry anymore than necessary
NINA
I can’t help it/I’m not like you/I can’t hold it inside/I cry when I’m sad
RETHA
I don’t hold it inside all the time
NINA
Oh yeah? When’s the last time you cried?
34

35. RETHA
Nina, that’s not…/Crying doesn’t have anything to do with--
NINA
--You can’t even remember, can you? You can’t remember the last time you cried
because you haven’t
RETHA
Everybody’s different/Just because you haven’t seen me cry doesn’t mean I’m not
sad/She was both our mamas, Nina/Yours and mine/How could I not be sad?
NINA
I dunno/I dunno how/But I know what sad looks like/I know what it looks like and you
don’t look it/Not at all
A moment and then…
RETHA
Better put yr hat on/George is waiting
RETHA and NINA put on their hats and gloves, a
choreographed ritual.
A deep breath and then…
Okay…
The lights fade as they exit.
3.
Later. After the post-funeral gathering.
Laughter.
Lights reveal GEORGE and NINA drinking beer on
the porch.
NINA
She was the fattest lady I’d ever seen! I don’t even know how she got herself out of bed
in the morning
GEORGE
Remember how at church it would take three men to get her up out of the pew after the
sermon? Two to pull from the front and one to push from the back? They’d be like, “You
got her? You sure you got her?”
NINA
35

36. When I was little I thought she was a giant pink balloon/Honest, I did!
I remember I asked mama, “If I stick Ms. Sullivan with a needle, will she pop?”
GEORGE
And what’d she say?
NINA
“Probably”
GEORGE
Probably is right
More laughter.
NINA
Mama had a wicked sense of humor
GEORGE
Yeah, I remember.
A moment and then…
The service was nice.
NINA
Yeah it was
GEORGE
Short.
NINA
Mama was always saying, “More people would find the Lord if more ministers would
shorten their sermons”
GEORGE
There’s definitely some truth in that.
Beat.
NINA
…I miss her
GEORGE puts a hand on NINA’S shoulder.
GEORGE
Course you do. She was yr mama.
A moment and then…
36

37. NINA
You know what? I’ve been sad all day/The last thing I want to be tonight is more sad
NINA turns to GEORGE.
Tell me something funny, George/Make me laugh
GEORGE
What? Make you--?
NINA
--Make me laugh/Tell me a joke/Anything/Just--
GEORGE
--I don’t really know any jokes--
NINA
--A funny story then…
A moment and then…
Hurry, George/Make me laugh before I cry again--
GEORGE
--Um okay just give me a second--
NINA
--I don’t have a second, George--
GEORGE
--Christ, Nina--
NINA
--Hurry!--
GEORGE
--Uh--
NINA
--Come on, George--
GEORGE
--Ms. Sullivan wears a girdle!
NINA
What?
37

38. GEORGE
Uh… Ms. Sullivan wears a--
NINA
--Yeah I heard that part/How do you know that she…
GEORGE
Well…
NINA
(scandalized) Oh my God/George Robinson, did you--?
GEORGE
Did I--? God no! NO Nothing like that, Nina! How could you even--See what happened
was Tom Cooke and I were walking by her house one night. This was years ago. We
must’ve been what? Twelve? Thirteen? It was junior high. And her curtains were open.
And she was sitting at her dressing table in nothing but a girdle.
NINA
She wasn’t!
GEORGE
Yeah she was. And while we were standing there she stood up and unlaced it.
NINA
No!
GEORGE
Oh yeah.
NINA
You didn’t watch though!
GEORGE
Are you kidding? We couldn’t look away!
NINA
George Robinson, yr making this up!
GEORGE
I’m not, I swear. I wish you could’ve seen her. She took off that girdle and literally
doubled in size! I mean, it was unbelievable. Me and Tom couldn’t keep our eyes in our
heads. We didn’t know what to do. Go? Stay? I mean, we were just kids…
NINA
38

39. Nasty kids/Boys!
GEORGE
I guess. That was the first time I ever saw a naked woman.
NINA
A lot of naked woman/You saw a whole lotta naked woman
GEORGE
Yeah, I did, didn’t I?
NINA
Enough for two firsts maybe even
GEORGE
Yeah.
Funny I wasn’t put off women in full after that…
You know, I hate funerals. I mean, death in general just… Well… it sorta freaks me out,
you know? I mean, it’s not like anyone gets jazzed about dying, but well… Today turned
out okay.
Thanks for sitting with me.
NINA
Course, George/Yr good company
GEORGE blows across another beer bottle.
You know people talk about you all the time
GEORGE
People? What people?
NINA
What people? Everybody George/Don’t tell me you don’t remember how it is in a small
town/People are always speculating about the one’s who go away/And you went a lot
farther away than most/I mean, people go to Denver or Kansas City/But you took off
outta here/Like a shot/Off to a city no one here’s ever been to/A kind of mythical
place/Like OZ or something/Only on the coast/Given that, people can’t help but make
up stories
GEORGE
I ain’t done much.
NINA
Doesn’t matter/Honestly, it wouldn’t matter if you never did a thing with yr life/It’s
enough that you left
39

40. GEORGE
I couldn’t stay around here with the cows. New York would’ve been hard thing to turn
down.
NINA
I’m not faulting you for going, George/I’m not saying you shoulda chosen something
different/If I could go somewhere else, I would
GEORGE
Retha said you were thinking about college.
NINA
Thinking yeah/But not about any place like Columbia…
GEORGE
It doesn’t have to be Columbia. There are good schools in Kansas…
NINA
It doesn’t matter anyway/Mama got sick and now she’s dead and I didn’t apply so…
She turns to GEORGE.
We sure did lose something when you went away/Yr the best man to come out of this
town in a long time
GEORGE
Well, thanks Nina. Though I’m not sure that’s altogether true.
NINA
Course it is/I probably wouldn’t be saying this to yr face if I hadn’t had one of these
already…/But it’s true all the same
…
You know, sometimes I would wonder what you were doing in New York/Like I’d be
sitting in my room and I’d think, I wonder what George Robinson is up to this very
minute
GEORGE
…Probably homework…
NINA
I’d wonder if you were seeing a show or riding in a cab/I’d wonder if you were out with
some girl…
GEORGE
Some girl…?
40

41. NINA
Yeah, you know/Just silly thoughts/A way to pass the time here in the middle of
nowhere
GEORGE
I guess it’s nice to be on people’s minds…
NINA
…You know what else I’d wonder, George?
GEORGE
I’m sure I have no idea--
NINA
--I’d wonder if you’d kissed anybody/And where you kissed em/On the cheek/The
mouth--
GEORGE
That’s an awful particular thing to be wondering about, Nina…
NINA
Is it? I didn’t mean it in any particular way
They both look out.
You know, I went with Lucas Brown for awhile/You remember Lucas, don’t you? He
asked me to go with him/And he’d always been nice and sorta sweet/And I’d always
liked his eyes/So I said yes/But it turned out he was only interested in--/Well, he was
only interested in the same thing all boys seem to be only interested in/I said to him,
Lucas Brown, you can hold my hand, but no more/He’s going with Molly Bradshaw
now/She puts out
I ain’t kissed nobody else though/Just you…
GEORGE
Nina--
NINA
--George, can I ask you a question?
GEORGE
I think it might depend very much on the question...
NINA
Do you think I’m pretty?
41

42. GEORGE
Do I think--?
NINA
--It’s just that Retha’ll laugh at me if I ask her/She’ll say it doesn’t matter one way or the
other and that I’m just being vain/And I can’t ask a boy, cause boys’ll say anything if
they think they have a shot at--well you know/But yr different, George/I trust you/I
know you’ll tell me the truth/Do you think I’m pretty?
GEORGE
Sure you are, Nina/You know you are
NINA
What part do you think is the prettiest?
GEORGE
Oh God, I don’t know--
NINA
--Is it my hair? Cause lots of boys say they like my hair
GEORGE
You do have nice hair
NINA
Yeah?
GEORGE
Well sure, if people are telling you--
NINA
--No, not people, George/You/What do you think?
GEORGE
Honestly, Nina--
NINA
--Cause I think yr handsome/I think yr probably the most handsome boy in town/Even
when yr not here/It’s like even the idea of you is handsomer than the reality of
everybody else/And I’m not ashamed to say it either
GEORGE
Now that’s the alcohol talking…
NINA
I’m not too young, you know/I’m not too young to know things/To know how it works/I
know about the world of men and women and politics
42

43. GEORGE
(Trying to make it a joke) Well, you’ve got me beat then.
NINA
I could teach you…
NINA moves in. GEORGE shifts.
GEORGE
You know, I think maybe one of us should go in and check on Retha.
NINA
Retha’s perfectly content washing dishes and sweeping floors/You stay right here with
me
…You’ve got big hands
GEORGE
Do I?
NINA
Uh huh/Good for all sorts of things…
NINA plays with GEORGE’S hand. Then guides it to
her breast.
GEORGE
Nina--
NINA
--A lot of boys say they like my breasts/Do you like my breasts, George?
GEORGE
They’re…
A moment and then…
Look, Nina--
NINA interrupts him with a kiss.
A moment and then GEORGE pulls away.
Okay. I’ve… definitely had too much to drink.
NINA
(With a smile) Yeah, me too…
43

44. NINA moves in for another kiss.
GEORGE
Wait, Nina…
NINA
What is it, George?
GEORGE
I… Well, it’s just that… What I’m trying to say is--
NINA
--Here, let me help…
NINA moves in once again.
GEORGE
No. Nina. Stop.
NINA
Why? There’s no one around…
GEORGE
It’s not that. It’s just… Look, Nina. Yr a good girl.
NINA
A good girl?
GEORGE
Yeah/Yr like a sister me. And brothers and sisters they don’t… Well, yr old enough to
know what brothers and sisters don’t do.
NINA
But George I don’t wanna be yr sister--
GEORGE
--I’m sorry. I mean… I should go. Thank you for a lovely evening…
I’m real sorry about yr mama…
NINA
Wait, George
GEORGE
I’m sorry, Nina.
44

45. GEORGE exits.
NINA
George--!
Lights fade on NINA.
4.
The next day.
Lights reveal RETHA hanging white sheets on a
clothesline. NINA fiddles with a radio. Static. Static.
RETHA
Nina, come on now
NINA
Hold yr horses
She fiddles some more.
RETHA
You’ve been fiddling with that thing for ten minutes/There’s nothing on the radio but
static
“Day Dreaming” by Aretha Franklin begins to play.
NINA
(Does) That sound like static to you? Told you I’d find something
NINA starts to sing along.
RETHA
Well, now that you found it you might as well turn it up
They enjoy the music. They dance with laundry,
using shirts as male dance partners. Perhaps some of
their dance is choreographed.
The dancing continues until NINA gets a little too
freaky with her partner. RETHA puts an end to
NINA’S display.
45

46. Nina! Stop that! Somebody might see you
NINA
So?
RETHA
So that’s not how a lady is supposed to act
NINA
Well, maybe I don’t want to be a lady
NINA absentmindedly drops her end of the sheet.
RETHA
Nina Baker, I’m gonna pretend you didn’t say that/And hold up yr end/It’s dragging in
the dirt
(scolding) Acting like you ain’t got no sense/Like you ain’t got no home training/What
would mama say?
They fold laundry.
NINA
You know, he kissed me once
RETHA
Excuse me?
…
Nina Baker WHO’D you let kiss you?
NINA
…Never mind…
RETHA
Never mind? You better unbutton those lips of yrs and tell me
Nina!
NINA!
RETHA pinches her sister.
NINA
OW! God, Retha!
RETHA
WHO’D YOU LET KISS ON YOU?
NINA
46

47. WHO DO YOU THINK?
A long moment.
RETHA
…You mean, George…
Beat.
I…
Beat.
When? Nina, when did you…?
NINA
Before he left for school…/He came by the house one day/I don’t know where you
were/At the store probably/And he asked me if I wanted to go splorin/Splorin? I
said/Splorin where? And he said, down by the river/And I told him, I’m not going down
there and ruining my dress over some stupid frogs/Cause I thought he wanted to catch
frogs…/But he had this look on his face like his asking me to go down to the river didn’t
have nothing to do with frogs/So I went/And it didn’t/And he kissed me
NINA goes back to folding.
A moment and then…
RETHA
But you never said anything…
NINA
He made me promise not to tell anyone/Said it was between him and me/He’s very…
discreet
NINA continues to fold.
RETHA
You told mama for sure though…/I bet she laid into you real good--
NINA
--Mama can’t be bothered with things that mama don’t know
RETHA
You…/You mean you didn’t tell her?
NINA
I promised, George…
47

48. RETHA
…But mama--
NINA
--But mama nothing, Retha/Mama didn’t have all the answers/Mama didn’t know
everything
RETHA
I know/I know that/I just… I just thought we told her things/I thought we told her
everything
NINA
Maybe YOU did
Beat.
RETHA
Nina…
NINA
Retha! The sheet!
RETHA picks up the sheet she’s let drop.
Telling me to focus…
They continue to fold in silence.
RETHA
Nina…?
NINA
What?
…
WHAT?
RETHA
What’d it feel like?
NINA
What’d what feel like?
RETHA
Kissing somebody… /Kissing George…
Cause, you know, I’ve thought on it/Not a lot, but some/On how it’d be/How it’d feel…
48

49. …I’ve brushed my lips against the back of my hand/I’ve held them there against my
skin/And felt wetness and warmth/I’ve licked and sucked and tasted soap and salt/I
think my lips are soft…/But a hand can’t kiss back…
A moment and then…
What does it feel like to kiss someone?
NINA thinks and then.
NINA
You can’t explain something like a kiss, Retha/You just have to feel it for yrself
NINA takes the basket of clothes inside the house.
Lights fade on RETHA.
5.
Lights reveal GEORGE.
GEORGE
I think Freud had it wrong. Boys don’t want to sleep with their mothers. They want to
kill them.
They dream of hitting them over the head with blunt objects. A tuba. Some… garden
tool. Or slitting their throats. Gutting them with a butter knife over toast at the breakfast
table. Slipping poison into their nightly glass of Metamucil. They find themselves
pondering the inappropriate because mothers never shut up, because mothers always
have something to say.
Mama says, “I wanna hold my grandbaby before I die.”
Mama says, “Find a nice girl and bring her home so I can meet her.”
Mama says, “Don’t you want to get married?”
And she’s surprised to find that when you finally do come home after being away for so
long that yr alone. Because she thought that that was the point of going away… to find
something, that thing you had to leave to find.
But the truth is that the thing you wanted was here all the time. And you’ve been
thinking about it, about her, since before you left. And you’ve only come back to… Well…
You’re not quite sure about that part yet.
The thing is, you want something so badly for so long that you don’t know what kinda
person you’d be without the ache. It’s like, if you ever got what you wanted, you’d lose
yrself entirely.
49

50. Lights fade on GEORGE.
6.
Later that afternoon.
THE SISTAHS sit on the porch. They fan themselves
with vigor. There is an abandoned basket of laundry
nearby.
NINA
God, it’s hot
RETHA
Don’t you go blaming God for the warmth of the day
NINA
I didn’t say warm/I said hot/It’s nigger hot out here
RETHA
Nina!
NINA
What? You know I’m not saying nothing that ain’t true
RETHA
Well, you don’t have to say it like that
NINA
There’s no one here but us, Retha/No one else can hear what I say
RETHA
All the same
NINA
(mocking her sister) “All the same”
They fan themselves.
RETHA attempts to initiate the game.
RETHA
Mama says wash yr face…
NINA doesn’t respond.
Nina/Mama says…
50

51. NINA
Mama useta say nigger hot
RETHA
Yeah, well, mama is mama is different/Are you gonna play or what?
NINA
Mama’s dead, Retha/And I don’t think she cares a lick what we say now that she’s gone
…
This fan is doing absolutely nothing
RETHA
There’s lemonade in the icebox if you want some
NINA
Only way lemonade’ll do any good is if I pour it on myself/Besides, it’s too hot to move
RETHA smiles.
RETHA
Maybe it’ll snow later…
NINA
Yeah and maybe all the Robinson’s cows’ll sprout wings and fly away…
She has an idea.
You know what we should do?
RETHA
What?
NINA
We should go swimming/We should go down to the river and go swimming
RETHA
Is there any water in the river?
NINA
Why wouldn’t there be? It rained last week remember?
RETHA
Was that last week?
NINA
You know it was
51

52. Come on, Retha/We haven’t gone swimming in ages
RETHA
I’d have to dig for my suit…
NINA
What are you talking about? We don’t need suits
RETHA
Don’t need…/Nina, we can’t go down there without any clothes on/Someone might see
NINA
Who? Who’s gonna see?
RETHA
I dunno, Nina/Someone/George could be down there
NINA
So?
RETHA
So what if he saw us…?
NINA
So what if he did?
RETHA
Stop that, Nina! It’s indecent thinking that way/Mama would never approve
NINA
Yeah, well, mama doesn’t make the rules around here any more/And I don’t think it’d be
such a bad thing to be seen by a boy/Naked or otherwise
RETHA
NINA!
NINA
We’re not old maids, Retha/We’re young and healthy and in the middle of nowhere and
it’s hot/Stinkin hot/Nigger hot
…
Just think how nice it’ll feel in the water/How much fun it’ll be to splash around…/You
could use a good splashing
RETHA
Excuse me?
NINA
52

53. You could and you know it!
Come on, Retha/Let’s go!
GEORGE appears.
GEORGE
Where y’all headed?
NINA
Well look who it is… George Robinson/What do you want?
RETHA
Nina!
NINA
Oh calm down/I’m just playing…
We were just talking about going down to the river for a swim, George/You wanna
come?
GEORGE
You going, Retha?
NINA
It was my idea/Retha’s being a stick in the mud
RETHA
I am not being a--
NINA
--You are too/Apparently it’s not hot enough for her
RETHA
That wasn’t my objection and you know it
NINA
Maybe if you come George, Retha’ll change her mind
RETHA
Nina--
GEORGE
--It is awful hot…
NINA
53

54. See there/Two against one/That means yr coming/It’ll be better with three people
anyway/We can play a game! Remember how we useta play Marco Polo?
RETHA
Yeah/And how you would cheat and open yr eyes
NINA
I did not!
RETHA
You did so
NINA
George, did I?
GEORGE
I’m sorry, Nina, but Retha’s right.
GEORGE imitates NINA playing Marco Polo, eyes
wide open. RETHA laughs.
You never did play fair.
NINA
Whatever/Y’all are just sore cause I was good
RETHA
Like you were good at Hide and Seek?
RETHA imitates NINA playing Hide and Seek, eyes
wide open. GEORGE joins in.
NINA
I didn’t do that! And it’s no fair you two ganging up on me!
RETHA
You useta say that too/You’d be standing in the yard crying and screaming about how
me and George weren’t playing fair/And mama’d come down off the porch and help you
look/But of course, she’d had her eyes open the whole time too so it didn’t really matter
if we’d hidden cause mama already knew exactly where we were
NINA
Well, I don’t remember that
RETHA
Course you don’t/You only remember winning
NINA
54

55. I needed extra help/Y’all were older than me
RETHA
By four years, Nina/Four years/And it’s not as if there was anything malicious about our
play/It was Hide and Seek/We were supposed to hide/And you were supposed to try
and find us/It wasn’t supposed to be easy
NINA
You don’t have to school me on Hide and Seek, Retha/I know how to play Hide and Seek
RETHA
Now maybe, but then… forget it/I remember I hated playing games with you
A long moment…
GEORGE
So… My mama wanted me to invite y’all to dinner tonight… That’s why I’m here, to
invite you. Both of you. I’m supposed to come right back and let her know what you say.
All I know is that she’s making potato salad. She shooed me out of the kitchen before I
could see much else. But my mama makes a real good potato salad.
Beat.
RETHA
We’d love to come, George/Tell yr mama thank you for the invitation--
NINA explodes.
NINA
--What do you know, Retha? What do you know about anything? Hide and Seek or
potato salad or anything?
RETHA
Nina--
NINA
--You ain’t never even been kissed by nobody/Never/You ain’t never been kissed by
nothing but the back of yr hand
NINA kisses the back of her own hand, mocking her
sister. A long moment and then…
RETHA
I think I…/Um…/Excuse me
RETHA exits. GEORGE watches her go.
55

56. GEORGE
You didn’t have to do that.
NINA
People who don’t know what they’re talking about shouldn’t say anything at all
GEORGE
Nina, she’s yr sister.
NINA
I know she’s my sister, George/Just because we’re from the same mother, doesn’t mean
we’re the same person
GEORGE is quiet. He absentmindedly starts to fold
laundry.
…I see the way you look at her
GEORGE
I look at her the same way I look at everybody.
NINA
No/You don’t…
A change.
But that’s all right/I can live with that, George/I can
NINA touches GEORGE’S hand.
GEORGE
GOD! I always end up doing chores when I come over here.
NINA
…She doesn’t want to get married, George/Did you know that/She told me so
hrself/She’s completely uninterested in marriage/Me on the other hand…
GEORGE
Nina, I told you--
NINA
--I’m not yr sister, George/I don’t never want to be yr sister
NINA kisses GEORGE. A moment and then GEORGE
kisses her back.
Those city girls can’t make you happy/They don’t know you like I do/They don’t know
what you need/Not like I do
56

57. NINA moves in for another kiss. George stops her.
GEORGE
Nina…I’m gonna go see about, Retha.
NINA
Why? Why you wanna to go see about her? I already told you--
GEORGE
--I just want to make sure she’s okay, is all.
NINA
YOU KISSED ME/Remember? Down by the river before you left/ME/You kissed me on
the mouth
GEORGE
Nina, that was like four years ago. We were kids.
NINA
Do I look like a kid to you, George? Look at me/I’m all grown up/Don’t you like what
you see?
A long moment and then…
GEORGE
Nina…
A change.
NINA
You know, you can tell a lot from the way a boy says yr name/What he wants/How he
feels/What he doesn’t want/What he doesn’t feel…/You always say my name like…/Like
how I imagine a brother would say it…/Nina…
GEORGE
Nina…
NINA
See? There it is again
…
Mama always said men were trouble/She always said, do without, girls, do
without/Cause there ain’t no kinda trouble like the trouble a man’ll bring on ya/No
kinda trouble/She knew, my mama/She knew about men/And she knew about you/I
didn’t know it then but she was talking about YOU
…
57

58. I shoulda listened
NINA exits at a run, crying.
GEORGE
Nina! Nina wait! NINA!
Goddammit.
GODDAMMIT!
He tosses a shirt to the ground in frustration. RETHA
enters.
RETHA
I hope that wasn’t clean…
GEORGE
Oh sorry... I was just… trying to finish up. Turns out I’m a hopeless folder.
…
Listen, about before--
RETHA
--Nina needs more than I do/More attention/More… well more everything/She’s always
been that way/I don’t know why I fight her, it’s… well, it’s silly/Mama wouldn’t like it
GEORGE
Retha…
RETHA
I’m fine, George/I’m fine just…/Let it alone…
Beat.
You know, mama useta say there were only two reasons why a person couldn’t fold
clothes properly/Either they were thinking too much/Or they weren’t thinking at
all/Which one are you, George?
GEORGE
I dunno. Both maybe.
RETHA smiles.
RETHA
Give me yr hands
RETHA begins to show GEORGE how to fold. She
doesn’t need words.
Nina hates laundry/She always has/But me… I can’t think of anything more relaxing
than folding/I have all my best ideas while I’m folding shirts and underwear/The thing
58

59. is… You do it long enough and you develop a sense, a kind of natural rhythm/Yr hands
just know what to do/And yr mind is free to wander wherever…
I think--
GEORGE kisses RETHA. The kiss breaks. A moment
and then RETHA goes back to folding.
Mama taught me how to fold/Me and Nina both/She worked in a K & D Clothiers for
twenty years/Everything in our house gets folded up just like in the shop--
GEORGE
--Retha.
RETHA
Uh huh
GEORGE
I just kissed you.
RETHA
Yeah, I know
GEORGE
And?
RETHA
And what, George?
GEORGE
Well, don’t you have anything to say about that?
RETHA’S face spreads in a slow smile.
RETHA
You could do it again if you wanted to
GEORGE smiles.
GEORGE
I want to.
RETHA
Well then…
They kiss again.
GEORGE touches RETHA’S hair.
59

60. GEORGE
I remember once, I was thirteen and I came over to ask if you wanted to catch frogs
down by the river. Only you were busy doing chores and your mama wouldn’t let you go
anywhere until you were done. I remember I had my heart set on catching frogs with
you cause you were the only girl that didn’t scream when they squirmed in your hands
or jumped up your dress. So I said I’d help so you could finish faster. You tried to show
me how to fold then too. But I couldn’t concentrate. All I wanted to do was kiss you.
RETHA
Why didn’t you?
GEORGE
God, I dunno. I guess I was afraid you wouldn’t kiss me back.
RETHA
You shouldn’t have been so worried about that
GEORGE
Well I was.
You know, everyone assumes that boys… that we know things. You know, what we want
and how to go about getting it. People think there’s like this big plan, but… there’s not.
Boys get scared the same as girls.
I think yr mama would have killed me.
RETHA
George no--
GEORGE
--She could be scary sometimes, yr mama.
RETHA
She wasn’t scary
GEORGE
You didn’t see the way she looked at me sometimes. Like… Like I can’t even describe it…
I’m seven years old and she’s looking at me, looking right through me, like she’s seeing
straight into my heart.
RETHA
That’s just what mama’s do/They see things we don’t see/Things we can’t see
60

61. GEORGE
It’s like she knew how I felt before I did. Like she knew someday I’d grow up--
RETHA
--Of course yr gonna grow up, George/We all do--
GEORGE
--Nah, I don’t mean that. It’s like she knew I’d be a threat.
RETHA
What do you mean threat? What kinda threat?
GEORGE
I dunno. It’s like she knew I’d take you away.
RETHA
Away…
GEORGE
Yeah, away.
RETHA
To New York?
GEORGE
To wherever you want to go. Yr mama wouldn’t’ve liked that.
RETHA
Well maybe not at first/But that’s only cause mama’s have to be protective/It’s their job,
George/They don’t mean no harm/Mama’s want their children to be happy
GEORGE
Nah Retha, mama’s intrude. They forget to let us make our own decisions. Mama’s don’t
let us live our own lives.
RETHA
I woulda kissed you that day/I woulda--
GEORGE
--Not if yr mama hadn’t given you her blessing, you wouldn’t’ve.
…
We’re better off without them.
Something changes.
RETHA
61

62. My sister likes you/She’s liked you for a long time
GEORGE
I like YOU.
RETHA
You kissed her
GEORGE
I kissed YOU. I’m here with YOU, Retha. I want YOU.
RETHA gives GEORGE a look.
It was four years ago. It didn’t mean anything.
RETHA
A kiss always means something to somebody
GEORGE
Retha, how was I supposed to know--
RETHA
--Mama says nothin should come between sistahs
GEORGE
Your mama’s not here, Retha. It’s just us. You and me.
RETHA
Not a kiss/Not a man…
GEORGE
It doesn’t matter what she said.
A change. RETHA gathers up the laundry.
RETHA
I need to fold the rest of these clothes
GEORGE
Retha…
RETHA
Change the sheets on the beds/Flip the mattresses…
GEORGE
Retha, please don’t…
RETHA
62

63. I need to do the little everyday things that people forget to do/Mama useta say we’d
forget to breathe if it was left up to us
GEORGE
When I close my eyes at night I see you.
RETHA
When I close my eyes I don’t see nothing but the backs of my eyelids/It’s awful dark
when I close my eyes
GEORGE
I imagine what it would be like to touch you. To taste you.
RETHA
I ain’t made of chocolate, George
GEORGE
I don’t believe you.
He moves to her.
RETHA
No, George…/I can’t/I’m sorry
RETHA moves past GEORGE. He catches her from
behind and holds her. His hands travel the length of
her body -- her neck, breasts, belly, up her dress.
RETHA responds to his touch. They move to the
ground. GEORGE works to unbutton his pants.
Seduction turns to adolescent frenzy. RETHA panics.
“Georgie Porgie puddin' and pie/Kissed the girls and made them cry…”
GEORGE
Retha…
RETHA scoots away from GEORGE.
Retha, I’m… Please--
RETHA
--Better pull up yr pants/Yr mama’s right next-door/She’s liable to see
RETHA exits into the house. GEORGE pulls up his
pants.
A long moment.
63

64. GEORGE moves toward the porch then changes his
mind and moves to exit. He almost runs into NINA.
NINA
Oh/It’s you…
GEORGE
Nina…
NINA
I thought you’d be gone by now/I thought by the time I counted to a thousand forwards
and backwards/By the time I cooled off in the river you’d’ve left/Gone home/Back to
New York or wherever
But no/Boys just don’t know when to get gone
NINA moves past GEORGE.
GEORGE
Nina…
She continues.
NINA!
NINA turns.
NINA
WHAT George? What you got to say?
A moment and then…
GEORGE takes a deep breath.
GEORGE
Wanna go splorin?
Lights fade.
8.
Night.
Lights reveal RETHA.
She stands in the yard looking out.
64

65. There are lightning bugs everywhere. The effect is
magical.
RETHA hears something.
RETHA
Mama?
RETHA moves toward the sound. Silence.
Mama, are you there?
A lightning bug lands on her arm. She catches it.
Peeks at it through her fingers.
“Watch it girls/Watch where yr running
If y’all run into each other I don’t wanna hear no crying
Not a sniffle/Not a one”
RETHA opens her hand. The lightning bug flies
away.
“Or I’ll give you something to cry about…”
NINA appears. Then GEORGE. They are both
disheveled.
GEORGE
Nina, I--
Are you okay?
Nina, are you okay?
Did I hurt you?
Did I--?
Cause I didn’t…
I didn’t mean to…
NINA doesn’t look at GEORGE.
It’s just… I’ve never done that before.
Not with anyone.
So I’m not sure if…
I mean…
I guess, that’s how it’s supposed to...
How we’re supposed to…
NINA doesn’t look at GEORGE.
Only--
65

66. Only I didn’t expect the crying
Nina, please stop crying.
Nina, please.
NINA doesn’t look at GEORGE.
I thought this was what you…
Wasn’t it?
NINA doesn’t look at GEORGE.
Should I go get someone?
Do you want me to get Retha--?
NINA looks at GEORGE.
NINA
No
RETHA
George likes me, mama/He likes me
NINA
I’m fine
GEORGE
But yr crying.
RETHA
And I like him
NINA
I don’t want my sister
RETHA
I like him back, mama
GEORGE
It’s just that usually when a person cries--
NINA
--Go home, George.
GEORGE
But Nina--
66

67. NINA
--I said go home
RETHA
I like him back…
But I can’t have him
GEORGE
I’m real sorry, Nina.
Honest.
RETHA
I like him
And he likes me
And we can’t have each other
GEORGE
I’m so sorry.
GEORGE exits.
RETHA
Cause you said, mama
You said
Wash yr face
Yr hands
And yr feet before you go to bed
You said
Say yr prayers
GEORGE re-appears. He is somewhere else.
GEORGE
I’m in love, mama.
RETHA
You said
Yr sistahs
GEORGE
I’m SO in love.
RETHA
Take care of each other
GEORGE
You know her, mama. You know her real well.
67

68. RETHA
Be good to each other
GEORGE
I asked her to marry me. And she said yes.
She said yes, mama.
NINA
The thing is, you want something so badly for so long that you don’t know what kinda
person you’d be without the ache
GEORGE
There’s more, mama. We’re gonna have a baby. We’re gonna have a baby just like you
wanted. And you’ll get to hold him.
NINA
The thing is, you want something so badly for so long that you don’t know what kinda
person you’d be without the ache
GEORGE
We’re gonna be so happy, mama.
It’s just like you said.
It’s just like you said it would be.
Just like you said I would feel when I got what I wanted.
When I finally got everything I ever wanted.
NINA
It’s like, if you ever got what you wanted, you’d lose yrself entirely
GEORGE
I just feel so happy.
You wanted me to be happy.
And I’m gonna be happy
NINA
But if you lose yrself/What are you then?
RETHA
Mama says
Take care of each other yr sistahs
Be good to each other yr sistahs
Stay together
Want together
Need together
Don’t let nothin come between ya
Don’t let NOTHIN come between ya
68

69. Mama says
Mama says
Mama says
Lights fade.
End of play
69