Hesters front room. Sparely furnished.
A table, two chairs and a wash bucket. This room functions as the main room of her home. There are two doors.
One leads out the front. The other leads through her “workroom,” and out the back.
In a ceremonial altar-like place, two candles are burning.
Hester walks into the room from the workroom, taking off her blood-spattered apron and hanging it on a hook, lighting another candle at the altar, then sitting at her wash bucket, wearily washing her tools clean. She wears a simple dress with an oddly cut-out square just above her left breast.
There we can see the large “A” deeply branded into her skin. Bells announce the hour: midnight.
Hester
Midnight. Everyone should be in bed. But theyre not. Itd be nice if they was all in bed and not on their way to me. Cept the more they stay in bed the more they get in trouble. Then they gotta come to Hester for die Abah-nazip. 3 babys killed between the hours of 10 and midnight and at least one more before the nights out if I know whats what. Their troubles yr livlihood, Hester. Hhh. There aint no winning.
A woman stands in her front doorway.
Its Canary Mary dressed in a bright yellow dress.
Yr up.
Hester
Yr not. Yr the one should be in bed. Unless he dont want you—
Canary
He wants me. More than ever. But tonight hes with his wife.
Hester
The Bitch.
Canary
He says he owes it to the nation to give it one last shot.
Hester
May she rot.
Canary
Lookie. A present. Lookie—
Hester
Howbout some tea?
Canary
Howbout some booze. I got a story yll love.
Hester
Happy or sad?
Canary
Happy. So there we was—
Hester
I’d rather hear the sound of clinking coins. 5 coins a week thats our deal. You got money but I always gotta beg.
Canary
He gives me clothes, rarely cash.
(Rest)
Drink with me. Come on. Things are getting worse between the Mayor and his wife. Lets celebrate.
Hester
Cheers.
They drink.
Canary
The wifes at the end of her rope. He hates her. Her days are numbered.
Hester
But he loves her money so her money buys her time. The Rich Bitch.
Canary
This time its better. He says she makes his stomach churn. Die la-sah Chung-chung? Sah Chung-chung lay schreck, lay frokum, lay woah woah crisp woah-ya.
Hester
Rich Girl seh tum woah Chung-chung crisp woah-ya,
Rich Girl!
Canary
Shes not the Rich Girl no more, shes our First Lady. You should give her respect.
Hester
First Lady teeh tum-ay wee Kazo oromakeum!
Hester/Canary
Hahahahahahahahaha!
Canary
She dont got all the luck.
Hester
More luck than me.
Look—
Hester
May she rot—
Canary
Its a present.
Hester
—in the deepest pit for what she done to me and mine.
Canary
Lookie—
Hester
Not until my Boy comes home. Im not a true mother otherwise. When he comes home then maybe I’ll forgive her but not before.
Canary
Look.
Hester
What.
Canary
Meat.
Hester
Fresh meat.
Canary
It was on yr doorstep.
Hester
On my doorstep?
Canary
Just sitting there. A present.
Its good meat.
Canary
Put it away so the flies wont get it.
Hester
It could be poison.
Canary
Put it away and tomorrow cook it up and invite me over. Go On.
(Rest)
No one would wanna kill you. We need you too much. Like me, you perform one of those disrespectable but most necessary services.
Hester
Me in my bloody apron. You in yr yellow dress.
Canary
You like it? Its new. Im getting shoes to go with it.
Hester
It makes you look like a whore.
Canary
I am a whore.
Hester
Yr a kept woman.
Canary
Im a whore. Yr an abortionist Im a whore.
Hester
Cheers.
(Rest)
If Im lucky by the end of next year I’ll have paid enough for me and Boy to have a reunion picnic. Thatll take 500 coins.
One gold piece. Thats a lot.
Hester
I’ll make it, yll see
(Rest)
Who knows what he looks like now. Hes alive. Freedom Fund assures me of that. All growd up, thats for sure. And tall. And a beard. And a deep voice. And a smile in his eye like his dad had and—
Canary
Handsome.
Hester
If he takes after his dad hes good looking but dont you go getting any ideas. Hes a good boy and when I finally buy his freedom he’ll be looking for a wife. He wont want the likes of you.
Canary
The Mayor owns my exclusive rights so I wouldnt have no time for a poor man even if he was handsome. Although poor men got a beauty to them. But nope. The son of an abortionist. I’d turn my nose up.
Hester
Whore.
Canary
Babykiller.
They sing “Working Womans Song”:
Hester and Canary
Its not that we love
What we do
But we do it
We look at the day
We just gotta get through it.
We dig our ditch with no complaining
Work in hot sun, or even when its raining
And when the long day finally comes to an end
We’ll say:
“Here is a woman
Who does all she can.”
Canary
So there I was —
Hester
A letter came from Boy today. Its right here. Read it to me?
Canary
In a minute. Thisll make you smile. Its at her expense.
Hester
Go on.
Canary
There I was in his bed. I was in his bed and he was on top of me and we was going at it, right? And we was screaming and carrying on like we always do. At first we used to be so quiet out of respect for her—
Hester
The Bitch—
Canary
Exactly. But now she aint given Hizzoner an heir or heiress neither so what does he owe her, right? So we scream and carry on when we go at it. And for some reason she walks right into the room. And the Mayor and me is making so much noise that neither of us hear her. And she is standing right beside the bed and, you know I got my eyes open I always do it with my eyes open cause I like to watch him enjoy, and there she is standing there. Watching. And I look at her. And Hizzoner sees me looking at something and he turns his head, without a break in his screwing stride, right, he turns his head and looks at her. Just stares at her and keeps on screwing me. And they looked at each other like that. It was some kind of standoff. Him screwing me and staring at her and her staring at him and me looking back and forth from his face to her face. Then she bursts into tears and runs out of the room.
Hester
Serves her right.
Canary
Shes the only woman in the whole country who cant seem to get knocked up. Ordinarily I’d feel sorry for a woman in her position but—All that time she spent in Europe. All those doctors she seen. The mounds of drugs she takes. Nothing works. Every month falltima Ovo ella greek Tragedy woah-ya.
Hester
When she was a little Rich Girl she thought she owned the world. And anything she wanted she could buy. Sent my son away to prison with a flick of her little Rich Girl finger. She cant buy a son or a daughter now but I can buy mine. Im buying mine back.
(Rest)
Read the letter.
Canary
The Mayor says hes going to bump her off. Bump her off and keep her money.
Hester
Her just desserts.
Canary
Then he’ll marry me he says.
Hester
You love him?
Canary
No. But he buys me anything I want.
(Rest)
Yll still be my best friend dont worry. I’ll still come around.
Even though you stink.
Only when a customer is on her way.
Canary
Then one must be coming.
Hester
Hmm. The only thing worse than a branded A is a stinking weeping one.
Canary
Im used to it.
Hesters old wound, the large branded A above her left breast, weeps as a fresh wound would.
Hester
The A looks so fresh, like they branded me just yesterday.
(Rest)
I’ll put on my apron. She’ll be here in a minute. You better go.
Hester readies for work.
Canary
Canary
Canary
(Rest)
Canary
You helped me out years ago. You didnt even know me.
I couldnt afford die Abah-nazip. You said I could pay you back whenever.
Hester
And Im getting my fee plus the interest. Im a good business woman.
Canary
Yr a good friend.
Dont overdo it.
Canary
Here. My debt and then some.
Canary gives her a gold coin.
Hester
A gold coin.
Canary
Enough for that picnic.
Hester
I’ll see him this week! Canary!
Canary
Dont hug me too hard. Oh dry yr eyes, Im feeling stupid.
Hester
Thank you.
Canary
Customers not here yet. Howabout I read a little.
Canary gets the letter, opens it, and reads it to Hester as the lights fade.
Canary
“Dear Mother. How are you? I am fine. I am doing my very best to be a good son but it is difficult to be good when surrounded by so much bad. I got two weeks time in the hold last month. No sunlight no food only water. I would tell you why I got the time but what I did was bad. But I did it to a bad person, so that aint so bad is it? . . .”