JUDY. Rosie’s always talking nonsense.
(Rosie flips Judy off, without a second thought.)
RICARDO. She can’t stand to see anyone happy because she’s so miserable.
ROSIE. (She snaps her fingers.) Um, hi! I’m still here. I can hear all your bullshit. I’m not deaf. It’s like a funeral around here. Everyone’s all sad and cry babying like the end of the fucking world is coming. Jesus, people, lighten up and quit your bitching. It wears on a person after a while.
JUDY. (Gathers her courage, stands, and then:) You’re a hateful, mean person, Rosie, and I’ve never liked you.
ROSIE. (She stands and slinks over to Judy.) Is that supposed to hurt? Judy, you’re an idiot and you’ve always been an idiot. Just because some lowlife dirty trucker paid you some attention, you sit here every night like a ghost waiting for some fantasy to come true. Well, guess what? He got what he wanted and he’s probably a thousand miles away from here by now. Which is exactly where I should be.
RICARDO. (To Rosie:) You’re not going anywhere.
JUDY. Except to hell. You will, Rosie, because you don’t have any compassion and you never go to church.
ROSIE. I have to take care of my grandmother and she doesn’t like to go out much.
RICARDO. She’s a prisoner.
(Ricardo exits to the kitchen. Judy sits at a table, the closest one to the entrance.)
JUDY. What time is it?
ROSIE. Time for you to shut the fuck up and go home. (Beat.) I don’t know. It’s after six. What difference does it make?
JUDY. He was going to Tulsa. He asked me if I wanted to go and I have no idea why I didn’t say yes. I’ve never been to Tulsa before. I should have packed up a few clothes and some cheese sandwiches and went with him. I’m sure Tulsa is a nice place. Anywhere would be beautiful with him. I could have looked at the road map and guided us there while he drove the big rig and we could have stopped off in places — places like this and had chili burgers and banana milkshakes and taken souvenir pictures with one of those disposable cameras. And at night, we would have made love. It would have felt right. To leave and just go and be with him and watch him drive and sleep beside him and see someplace new, even if it was only Tulsa. (Beat.) I bet the sunsets are gorgeous there. Real rich and beautiful. Like one of those desert paintings with the cactus in them. You know the kind that looks like someplace you swear you’ve been before, but you can’t quite remember? Not like Grand Island. Not like this town. I will remember this place for the rest of my life. Every inch of it is burned into my mind like a flaming postcard. Oh, I would have loved it. Just to be out on the road with him. Going somewhere. Getting away from it all. Feeling the sun on my arms and the wicked wind on my face as I crossed the Nebraska state line. Every inch of road getting me further and further and further away. (Pauses.) My God, I would have held his hand all the way to Tulsa.
ROSIE. You’re a ridiculous woman going on and on about a man you met once and spent less than twenty- four hours with. He’s gone, Judy. He was just passing through. You were just a road side attraction to him. A free carnival ride.
RICARDO. (He returns with a glass of water for Judy.) Maybe we should close up, Rosie. The storm is supposed to be one of the worst of its kind in twelve years.
ROSIE. You go on then, Mr. Weather Man. I’ll stay here and run the place.
JUDY. I’ll stay with her.
(Rosie shoots Judy a look.)
RICARDO. I’m serious. I think we should go home.
ROSIE. There ain’t nothing to go home to, except a complaining old woman and her tired bones that creak whenever she opens her big mouth and talks a bunch of nonsense about aliens. I’d rather stay here and wait.
RICARDO. What are you waiting for?
ROSIE. For the second coming of Christ, asshole. I told you, I have plans tonight. God, don’t you ever listen to me? (She starts to paint her nails again.)
RICARDO. But if the weather gets bad, they could close the roads. We could get stuck here—
ROSIE. What difference does it make? We’re already stuck.
JUDY. I can’t leave. What if he comes back to get me and I’m not here?
RICARDO. You could leave him a note.
ROSIE: The fucker probably can’t even read. (Beat.) Was he a Mexican, Judy?
JUDY. (Thinks about it, then:) No. It’s too risky. I’ll stay.
RICARDO. Rosie, come help me tape up the windows out back.
ROSIE. What do I look like, a janitor? You tape ‘em. I’m doing my nails.
RICARDO. I’m not doing all this work by myself. (He exits.)
ROSIE. Fine. (She follows him.)
JUDY. (She stands up, goes to the radio and turns up the volume. She begins to sing along with the song and begins to dance slowly and softly, swaying with her imagined lover.) You’re a wonderful dancer. Very smooth and graceful. (She closes her eyes, lost in her fantasy.)
DEREK. (He enters somewhat quietly, carrying a backpack. He is young, slightly effeminate. His presence is enigmatic and he is unintentionally charming. Judy is unaware of his presence. He stands and watches her dance, almost transfixed by her movements. Suddenly, he goes to her, grabbing both of her arms and startling her. He tries to dance with her but for Judy, the moment is ruined. She shoves Derek away and goes and stands near a corner of the diner, her back turned to him.) What’s the matter, Judy? You looked like you needed a partner.
JUDY. I don’t need anything from you. Just leave me be.
DEREK. Still waiting for your truck driver man?
JUDY. My relations are of no concern to you.
DEREK. (He goes to each table, stealing packets of sugar. He shoves most of them into his pockets. Some, he rips open and swallows the sugar from. Derek is manic and suffers from a constant state of restlessness. His movements are quick and nervous and his body seems agitated from its constant use.) Suit yourself. I thought we were friends.
JUDY. No offense, but I don’t want to be friends with you anymore. People will say things about me if I associate with you. I hope you can understand that, Derek.
DEREK. I’ve never done you wrong. (He empties and swallows another sugar packet. Rosie enters, eating a doughnut. Immediately, she is angry. To Rosie:) Don’t start with me.
ROSIE. Give those back to me.
DEREK. They’re only sugar packets, Rosie. Geez.
ROSIE. I want ‘em back.
DEREK. I haven’t eaten all day.
JUDY. Have some sympathy, Rosie. His sister threw him out.
ROSIE. Because Britney’s embarrassed to be related to a freak. (She smacks Derek in the head. A chase begins.)
DEREK. Where’s Ricardo?
ROSIE. Give me the sugar packets and I’ll tell you.
DEREK. I don’t have to do what you say.
ROSIE. Oh, the hell you don’t.
DEREK. I won’t give ‘em to you. The only reason why I took ‘em was because I was hungry.
