TRUE ROMANCE1-Scene 9

Scene 9

Once again the screen slides on stage, and we see glimpses of the final days of the war: Normandy, Yalta, V-E Day, Hiroshima, V-J Day. The screen slides off as the curtains part and we are back in the Halligan living room. It is all very festive for a celebration has just begun. VERNA and BURL are in the living room with THREE OR FOUR COUPLES---the men are all in civilian clothes. Two spinster sisters, EDITH and OPAL FRAKE, are standing near Verna and Burl. RUSSELL is at the dining room table, which is replete with glasses and bottles of liquor. He, too, is in civvies. RUSSELL Ok. Who's for what? Name your poison.

JOLENE

(entering from the kitchen with a large bowl of potato chips)
Honey, I'll do that. You go show everyone your medals. Russell has almost as many medals as Audie whatshisname.

EDITH

Where's Dixie Ann?

JOLENE

Dixie Ann'll be along any minute.

OPAL

I bet she's dressin' that adorable little girl. I've never seen a child with a wardrobe like that. But where on earth did she get a name like Etienne?

JOLENE

Oh, she was this French girl in the Resistance who was ordered to murder this Nazi soldier, but instead they fell in love with each other and wound up in Milwaukee.

OPAL

Is that a true story!

VERNA

True? Why, it was on H. V. Kaltenborn just a few months ago. Hear they're plannin' on makin' a movie of it with Betty Hutton as the French girl.

JOLENE

That's one o' Mama's jokes.

EDITH

Russell, have you seen Dixie Ann's baby?

JOLENE

O'course he has. And it's Clois' baby, too, you know.
(to Russell)
Honey, tell them about General MacArthur.

OPAL

(whispering to Edith)
I love the way she said, "It's Clois' baby, too, you know".

EDITH

(to Verna)
Thank the Lord all that silly rationing is over.

OPAL

I got so confused I kept forgettin' which stamp book was which.

EDITH

How did you survive the shortages, Verna?

VERNA

I made sure I got in before the hoarders did.

JOLENE

Everyone listen up! Russell is gonna tell us about General MacArthur.

RUSSELL

                                        Though I was in the heat of battle,
                                        Though I traveled very far,
                                        The greatest moment was when General MacArthur
                                        Pinned on me the Silver Star.
                                        He said I'd always be his friend and pal,
                                        He brushed a tear or two away;
                                        And nothing that happened on Guadalcanal
                                        Meant as much as what he told me that day. You'll find, my boy,
Though you choose to roam,
There is no home like
An American home.

You'll find, my boy,
As you go through life,
There is no wife like
An American wife.

There are no mothers like
American mothers,
And American kids
Are better than others.

And now, my boy,
It's a brave new world,
Go back, my boy,
With the flag unfurled.
Go back to peace
And never more roam
For there's no home like
An American home.

VERNA Douglas always had a way with a phrase. (The OTHERS ignore her and join in on the chorus, swaying back and forth as they would around a campfire sing-along.) ALL (except Verna) You'll find, my boy,
Though you choose to roam,
There is no home like
An American home.

You'll find, my boy,
As you go through life,
There is no wife like
An American wife.

There are no mothers like
American mothers,
And American kids
Are better than others.

And now, my boy,
It's a brave new world,
Go back, my boy,
With the flag unfurled.
Go back to peace
And never more roam

                    For there's no home like
                    An American home.
(At the end of the number, the doorbell rings.) JOLENE That's Dixie Ann and Clois now.
                                                           (opening the door)
Mrs. Casey! Oh, I'm so glad you could come.

                                      (MARGARET CASEY is a round, small, gray-headed lady. Behind her,
                                      in a wheelchair, is BUZZ, who is now a paraplegic. Everyone tries not
                                      to notice his condition.)

JOLENE Everyone, I think you know Mama's neighbor, Margaret Casey. And this is her grandson, Buzz Nordlander. Buzz lived behind us when he was in the ninth grade…Mama, here's your prize student! Buzz was one o' those students who was so brainy you just hated him.

VERNA

Buzz…

BUZZ

Been a long time, Mrs. Cotter.

RUSSELL

Buzz, let me get you a drink. What'll you have?

BUZZ

What's everyone else having?

RUSSELL

My own concoction. I call it a Guadalcanal special.

BUZZ

You don't have a French Moroccan Special?
(laughing and looking down at his paralyzed legs)
Guess I already had that.

RUSSELL

Operation Torch?

BUZZ

You got it.

RUSSELL

Tough luck.

VERNA

Dixie Ann told me she ran into you...

BUZZ

Just a few nights before I was shipped out. Where is Dixie Ann? She was over the house the other afternoon with that beautiful little girl.

JOLENE

Everyone. I know you're starvin', and we're gonna eat just as soon as Dixie Ann and Clois get here.
(to Russell)
I'll take care of Buzz and Mrs. Casey. You show everyone the souvenirs you brought back.

RUSSELL

Hell, gal, you just as bossy as when I left!

JOLENE

Hey, you all! Don't you wanna see Russell's souvenirs? (A chorus of "Yes," and "Sure thing!", and "Hey, terrif!" from the GUESTS. VERNA and BUZZ continue to talk among themselves. JOLENE serves Buzz and Mrs. Casey drinks, as RUSSELL pulls out a large cardboard box from behind the sofa.) FEMALE GUEST I was wonderin' what was in that box.

MALE GUEST

I thought it might be one o' them Solomon Island girls. (RUSSELL unfolds a silk banner with a rising sun crossed with a meat ball flag. There's a chrysanthemum above the flags with laurel leaves down the side.) RUSSELL This here's a Jap patriotic banner, which they used to send their boys off to war…

EDITH

Ain't that pretty?

                                                             (RUSSELL passes it around and pulls out a pair of boots. As HE is extracting
                                                             the items, among them a saki bowl and cup, and explaining what they are,
                                                             he does so in pantomime for the lights have dimmed and a spot has fallen
                                                             on Verna. Gazing at Buzz, her eyes fill with tears.)

VERNA

                                        War's a funny thing, isn't it?
                                        You dress up in soldier suits.
                                        Then the memory dims
                                        The severed limbs
                                        And you wind up with somebody's boots. Collectibles and souvenirs,
You show them off for years and years;
And then one day you take them out
And wonder what was it all about?

Collectibles and souvenirs,
How very simple war appears!
You can collect the bowl, the cup,
And as time passes by, the price goes up.

But,
You can't collect the pain,
The frightened faces---
You put these thoughts away,
And then wake up someday
To find the allies and the enemies
Have all changed places.

Collectibles and souvenirs,
You keep them safe for years and years;
And then one day you take them out,
And wonder what was it all about.

(Through this all, JOLENE and TWO OF THE WOMEN have been placing food on the dining room table. When the lights come up, RUSSELL is still passing around articles.) JOLENE OK. Everyone. Mama, will you call the children? We're not waitin' any longer for Dixie Ann and Clois. Come and start. (GUESTS begin rising and going to the table.) OPAL Did you try phonin'?

JOLENE

I spoke to Dixie Ann before, and she said they were on their way.

EDITH

I do hope everythin's all right with them.

JOLENE

Oh, you know Dixie Ann and Clois. They been married for six years, and they are still like a pair o' lovebirds.

(The Orchestra swings into "No Home like an American Home" as the stage begins to revolve.)