by will schmeckpeper
copyright 2008 all rights reserved.
North Pond Wetland Area. Nampa, ID.
MARY sits on the hood of her car in the gravel parking lot, enjoying the nice weather of the day, and watching a single dad and his daughter feeding the ducks from loaves of bread.
A smile crosses Mary’s face as she watches the determined innocence with which the girl feeds the ducks; the simple pleasure the dad gets from just being with his daughter.
Mary’s smile falters slightly as she watches the pair move along the paths near the ponds; the girl walks with a pronounced limp.
Mary
…all us misfits…
Mary doesn’t finish this thought as another car pulls up next to hers. Out of the driver’s seat pops KATIE, who leans on the door and calls to Mary.
Katie
You have any idea how hard it is to find this place?
Mary smiles.
Mary
Hey, little sister.
Katie closes the car door, joining Mary at the hood of her car.
Katie
What up, Dwarf?
They hug. Katie breaks the hug, but Mary holds on a moment longer at the elbows, looking at Katie and smiling.
Katie
Ut-oh.
Mary
Shut up.
Katie
Mmm. You gave the extended hug/wistful gaze combo. Definitely “ut-oh” territory.
Mary
Whatever.
Katie
Now I KNOW it’s an “uh-oh.” But… since you won’t say anything ‘til Joe gets here…?
Katie hesitates; Mary smiles, shakes her head “no.”
Katie
Figured. So: top three “ut-oh” guesses of the moment: You’ve got a new man and you’re getting married; you’ve got a new job and you’re moving back here; you finally wrote and sold that book you’ve been working on.
Mary shakes her head, chuckling to herself.
Mary
Like I said: “Whatever.”
Katie
Screw it. I’m going with “new job/moving here.” Where the hell’s Joe?
Mary
He’ll be here. You know what I was just thinking?
Katie
Is this the “ut-oh?”
Mary
No, this isn’t the “ut-oh.” I was thinking about the day Mom and Dad brought you home from the hospital.
Katie
Oh god, not the nostalgia story about the day-old adopted kid…
Mary
You were a cute baby.
Katie
I had a porpoise head.
Mary
You did not.
Katie
I did too. I’ve seen the pictures, and all of ‘em are like, “Mom, Dad, and Porpoise Baby.” “Mary and Porpoise Baby.” “Joe and Mary and Porpoise Baby.” The whole family and a porpoise baby.
Mary
You were a day old and you were cute and at least you didn’t look like Joe when Mom and Dad brought him home.
Katie
Yeah?
Mary
Yeah. Joe looked like Winston Churchill.
Katie
Oh whatever. All babies look like Winston Churchill.
Mary
Not you, Porpoise Baby.
Another vehicle pulls into the gravel parking lot, parking next to Katie’s car.
Katie
Here’s Joe, late as usual.
Mary
Which means he’s right on time.
Katie
Mom used to say that, didn’t she.
Mary
Uh-hmm. Hey, Joe.
JOE gets out of the car and moves to the girls, where he picks up Mary and gives her a big bear hug.
Joe
How’s my favorite big sister?
Mary
I’m --
Joe
You still ticklish?
Joe tickles Mary, she squeals.
Mary
Joe! JOE! Ahhh! Stop it! JOE!
Joe finishes the hug and sets Mary down, all smiles.
Joe
Damn! I can’t believe you’re here! So good to see you.
Katie
Hi Joe. Nice to see you too.
Joe
Shut up you live here you don’t count.
Joe and Katie hug like siblings who see each other often.
Joe
Hey, sis.
Katie
Better. Mary gave me an “ut-oh” hug.
Joe
Really. Something must be up. New boyfriend?
Katie
She hasn’t told me yet.
Joe
Oooh, I bet the suspense is killing you.
Mary rolls her eyes at this banter.
Katie
Just slightly. Let’s ask her to tell us a story, shall we?
Joe
Oh yes, let’s do.
Katie
Out with it, Dwarf. What’s the “ut-oh?”
Mary smiles, looks from her siblings to the pond where the girl and father feed the ducks. Without a hint of anything but contentment, Mary answers.
Mary
I’m dying. Let’s go for a walk.
FADE OUT
FADE UP on Mary, Katie and Joe walking to a small bridge amidst the wetlands, each within their own headspace. Mary crosses the bridge, Joe stops with Katie on the bridge.
Joe
Mary… MARY!
Mary stops and turns.
Mary
Yeah, little brother?
Joe
You… what’s going on?
Mary
We’re going for a walk.
Katie
God damn it, Mary…
Joe
What do you mean, you’re dying?
Mary
Seems pretty clear, Joe.
Katie
Cut the crap! You’re “dying?” You tell us you’re dying and now you want to go for a walk?
Mary
Yeah. Pretty much, yeah.
Joe
You can’t do that, sis. You can’t just--
Mary
I’m sorry, would you rather I called you before hand? I’d have sent a card, but they really don’t make one for the occasion.
Katie
I can’t believe this.
Mary
What’s not to believe? I came into town with news. Not great news, I realize, but I’ve given it and now I want to take a walk with my little brother and little sister. Deal with it.
Katie
Jesus…
Joe
That’s not fair, sis. You can’t just… We need information. We need to know what’s going on.
Mary
Okay. It won’t change anything, but okay. Two weeks ago I went in for a check up. Two weeks ago minus a day my lab results came back a bit… bad. Two weeks ago minus four days I found out I have pancreatic cancer. You know the kind of cancer you can operate on, take drugs for, do chemo for?
Joe
…yeah…
Mary
It’s not that kind of cancer.
Joe
Oh jeez.
Mary
So, a week ago my doctor told me how sorry he was, that they would do everything they could do, but that the reality of the thing was that the odds weren’t in my favor. Well, what he said was that there really were no odds, but they’d try anyway, if I wanted. I didn’t want.
Joe
So… how long…?
Mary
What I WANTED was to go for a walk. With my brother and sister, at the place where we used to walk. So: Let’s walk.
Mary turns and walks away. Joe looks back to Katie, who shrugs. Neither know what to do, so they follow Mary.
FADE OUT
FADE UP on montage of them walking; MUSICAL INTERLUDE
FADE OUT
FADE UP. Mary sits on the ground, watching the clouds drift pass to the northeast. Joe and Katie join her.
Mary
When Joe was six, Mom and Dad brought us out here for the first time. You remember that? We had two loaves of bread and you tried so hard to feed all the ducks… It really bothered you that some ducks bullied the others.
Joe
I remember being eaten alive by mosquitoes.
Mary
Yeah. Me too. And then when Katie was… what was she? Five? Six?
Joe
Six. I’d just got my driver’s license.
Mary
That’s right. I’d come by on the weekend, your idiot friend was always getting you to work on his car for him in the driveway. Drove Mom nuts.
Joe
Who wouldn’t want a bright orange pinto wagon rusting in their driveway?
Mary
Exactly.
Katie
Dad was gone by then.
Mary
Yeah, about a year, a little more.
Katie
First grade, dead father. Not the best start. Can’t imagine how I ended up with issues…
Mary
We came out here - just the three of us; Mom stayed home for some reason.
Joe
She was mah-jongg host that week.
Mary
Right. Her friends were coming over and she wanted you two out of her hair. So we came here and you sat in the car to listen to a baseball game. The Cubs were playing. Katie and I went for a walk by the North Pond.
Katie
You tried to teach me to skip stones.
Mary
You remember that?
Katie
Yeah. I remember giving up on it and grabbing a stick or something.
Mary
It was a cattail stalk. The wind was blowing on the pond, making little waves. The clouds raced by, big and white and man the sky was blue that day…
Katie
It was windy.
Mary
The wind blew through the cattails and the high grasses, bending them, a wall of green and yellow bowing before you. You stood at the edge of the pond and waved your cattail stalk like a conductor. That’s what it was: the wind, the water, the trees and plants rustling… it was your own private orchestra. I could have watched you for hours…
They look at the waves of the pond, reminiscing.
Joe
How long do you have, Mary?
Mary stars at the clouds on the horizon.
Mary
Two, maybe three weeks.
FADE OUT
FADE UP. The three of them are back in the parking lot, walking towards their cars.
Joe
So, you guys want to uhm… get some coffee or something?
Katie
Yeah, where you staying, anyway? I’ve got room -
Mary
I’m not. And the coffee sounds good, but… I’ve got to get going.
Katie
What? But --
Mary
Nope. No “but,” no “uh-oh,” no nothing. This thing that has me, it’s not going to let go, and I’m not going to spend the time I have left watching you try to take care of me or watching you try to come up with an answer to my problem.
Joe
That’s it then? You’re not even going to try and fight this thing?
Mary
You remember what Mom said when Dad died? “Life is a terminal condition.” Ain’t no use fighting a war that’s already lost, Joe.
Katie
So this is your idea of saying goodbye? “Hey guys, how you doing? Let’s go for a walk, by the way, I’m dying, see you on the other side, gotta go?” What the hell’s wrong with you?
Mary
Sorry Katie. If it could be some other way… But it can’t. The meter’s ticking and I’m all out of nickels.
Silence.
Joe
Where are you going?
Mary
Kinda’ following my nose, little brother. Figured I’d drive ‘til I ran out of asphalt, maybe find a beach somewhere with a town attached to it. Who knows. Maybe I’ll find a horny little boy-toy and die with a smile on my face.
Neither Joe nor Katie react.
Mary
That’s a joke, guys. Come here, I got to go.
Mary hugs Joe
Joe
This sucks so bad.
Mary
You got that right.
Joe
You’ve always been… oh, hell.
Mary
I know, buddy. Now tell me you love me and let go already.
Joe
I love you, Dwarf. I’m so sorry.
They break their embrace.
Mary
I love you too, Joe. Don’t worry about me; this’ll all be over before you know it.
Mary moves to Katie.
Katie
I still think this is crap.
Mary
I came as soon as I could, kid.
Katie
You want some company? Say the word, I’ll come with you.
Mary
Sorry, sis. Come here.
They hug, Katie won’t let go.
Mary
It’s okay, Katie. It’s okay.
Katie
No, it’s not.
Mary
Yeah.
They hold each other, then Mary pulls away.
Mary
I love you, kid. I gotta go.
Katie
I love you, big sister.
Mary backs to her car door, opens it and smiles at her siblings.
Mary
Okay, then, here’s the deal: if, for some reason, things turn around and I somehow get better, I’ll send postcards to you both in six weeks. If things go as expected, then you’ll get a letter in four. I love you guys. See you on the other side.
Mary closes the door, starts the car and drives off with a wave.
Joe
…‘bye Dwarf…
Joe and Katie stand in the parking lot watching the car disappear in the distance. Even after it’s gone, they continue to stare, lost in their own thoughts. Finally:
Joe
I need a drink. You want a drink? I need a drink. Let’s go get a drink.
Katie waits, then:
Katie
Didn’t we just bury Mom?
Joe
Almost two years now.
Katie
Seems like we just buried Mom. Man… God’s just got a messed up way of doing things.
Joe
Some people say that God works in mysterious ways, that he’s got a plan, but none of us get to understand it until the end.
Katie
You believe that?
Joe
Nah.
Katie
What do you believe?
Joe
I don’t know. Seems to change everyday. C’mon, I got some scotch at home, an’ I wanna be stinking drunk when the crying jag starts.
Katie
You go ahead; I’ll be there in a minute.
Joe
You’re thinking of going after her, aren’t you. We could, you know.
Katie
Yeah, no, that’d just… no. No, I just want to hang out here for a bit. Go on. I’ll catch up.
Joe
Okay. Need a hug?
Katie
If you hug me, Joe, I’ll break into a million tiny pieces. Just go.
Joe nods, ponders, then leaves. Katie leans against the front of her car, watching the clouds blow across the sky. With a sigh, Katie puts her hands in her coat and walks from her car down to the pond, where she quietly watches the sky and the ripples of wind on the pond’s surface. After a moment, she turns her head to the tall grasses and the cattails; the wind whips through them, mesmerizing. Bending down, Katie picks up a cattail stalk, and then moves to the edge of the pond. Raising her arms and the stalk over her head, she begins conducting the orchestra of wind and waves lapping at the shore near her feet.
FADE OUT
End.
