Better Places to Go

thought maybe I was dying and I was about to meet my maker. But I felt safe. I felt alive. So, I whistled back, just gently at first and then with more force. And the lights got brighter and the sounds got sweeter and it overwhelmed me. I blacked out and the next thing I remember is waking up with marigolds all around me, in full bloom.

JUDY. Do you think they’re really coming back for you, Lucille?

LUCILLE. People do come back, Judy. And before I tell you something, I want you to realize that this is our good bye. You and I have been friends for many years. I’ve watched you break your back for that father of yours while he filled his liver with bourbon and whiskey down at Clyde’s.

JUDY. (Defeated:) Southern Comfort.

LUCILLE. When you leave this place, make sure you tell others my story. It won’t be long before I’m gone, too.

JUDY. What are you talking about? I’m not going anywhere.

LUCILLE. (Beat.) There’s a man outside. He’s waiting for you in the parking lot and he’s got five hundred miles of bad road in his eyes but forever in his smile. He asked me to come in and tell you that Tulsa is waitin’ for you.

JUDY. (She rushes to the main entrance and looks out to the parking lot.) He came back.

LUCILLE. In your heart, you knew he would.

JUDY. No. No, I doubted it.

LUCILLE. Go, Judy. Before you give it a second thought. Don’t stop by the house and get your things. Don’t tuck your father into bed. You walk out this door, get in that big rig and don’t ever look back.

JUDY. I want to go, Lucille. God forgive me, but I do.

LUCILLE. So did Rosie.

JUDY. (She goes to Linda.) I won’t leave you here.

LINDA. You don’t even know me.

JUDY. Yes, I do. And I would never forgive myself if I left you in Grand Island.

LINDA. I don’t want to be the death of anyone. I don’t want to hold you back.

JUDY. That will never happen to me again. (Beat.) Come on. Let’s get your things. It’ll be warmer in Oklahoma. I promise. I’ll buy you a new pair of shoes.

LINDA. (Beat.) I don’t know how to thank you.

JUDY. (Linda hugs Judy.) Remember what your Aunt Ruth said? We have to take care of each other, Linda. We really do. (They start towards the door. Judy stops, as she contemplates embracing Lucille.)

LUCILLE. Don’t say good bye to me, Judy. Just keep walking. (After a moment, Judy and Linda exit. Lucille sits down and takes out a hand held video game from her back pack.)

RICARDO. (He enters from the kitchen, with his duffle bag.) Lucille?

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.)