Hesters place. Its dark. The room is dimly lit.
She readies her tools.
Hester
Ready yr tools, Hester. Prepare yr instruments. Sharpen yr knives, clean yr hoses, boil yr water, check the strength of yr straps. Itll be easy. She wont feel nothing. Not right away. And she’ll wake up tomorrow bloody and wondering whered the baby go? But no. She wont know.
(Rest)
Rip her child from her like she ripped mine from me.
(Rest)
Shes expecting. But shes not expecting this.
Someone stands in her back doorway.
Hester
Im closed tonight. Yll have to come back tomorrow.
Monster comes in.
Hester
Tell yr wife Im closed.
Monster
Im lost.
Hester
I cant help you tonight.
I got out of prison just now. You heard us singing.
Hester
I heard. Huh. You look familiar. A little. Im real busy just now—
Monster
I got out of jail alive. Ive got the personal effects of a friend of mine who died in there. I promised him I’d bring them to his mother. They gave me directions but I lost my way.
Hester
Where ya headed?
Monster
“The Rich Girls House.” She must be a rich woman now but “The Rich Girls House” was all he said.
Hester
Go back to the square. Someonell point the way.
Monster
My friends mother. She works for them. Scrubbing floors.
Hester
Scrubbing floors.
Monster
Yeah.
(Rest)
He was Smith. Her too.
(Rest)
Why are you staring?
Hester
No reason.
Monster
Yr circling me.
You look familiar.
Monster
Yr busy. I’ll leave you—
Hester
Wait! His effects. Lemmie see. Just a peek. Im curious.
Monster
Theres not much. Just a tin cup. And a spoon. See?
He shows her the cup and spoon.
Hester
(Rest)
Tin cup and spoon, you dont look like Boy Smith at all but yll have to be enough to remember him by.
(Rest)
Dear son. This is all thats left.
(Rest)
Im his mother. Im his dead mother because hes dead.
Monster
He told me you worked at the Rich—
Hester
The dead Boys dead mother works for herself now. Shes an aborter. Dont hang yr head shes not yr mom. My fucking A. He woulda hated what his mother has become.
Monster
No.
(Rest)
I’ll tell you stories about him.
Hester
Not now. Its a busy night for me.
(Rest)
My A. My tin cup. My spoon. And you. I know you.
Yr sons alive.
Hester
I heard you described.
Monster
He needs yr help.
Hester
Posters hung all over town.
Monster
Hes as alive as I am.
Hester
Yr Monster! Help! Help!
Monster
Quiet!
Hester
Let go of me! Help!
Monster
Shut up! Shut up!
He subdues her.
Monster
Look. My mark.
(Rest)
You marked me years ago. Its just like yours. Look.
Hester
I marked my son. He was good and then he died. Youve got an ugly scar and yr looking for a hiding place.
Monster
The letters you wrote him—me. Ive got them all.
Because he gave them to you.
Monster
Because you wrote them to me. I know them all by heart. I’ll recite, you read along.
Hester
Cant. Dont need to. Monster. Evil! Thats what you are. Ive heard the news. Go on, kill me! Do what ever it is you do! Get it over with!
He releases her.
Monster
(Rest)
Mother.
She hurriedly takes up her old shotgun and points it at him.
Hester
My son was good. This is a gun. Run.
She backs him toward the back door and he runs off.
She puts the gun down and goes over to the table to examine the tin cup, the spoon and those letters.
Butchers truck is heard pulling up.
Hester
Trinkets. Maybe from my Boy, maybe not.
(Rest)
My mark looks like a heart. His looked horrid. Like a gash.
Canary and Butcher at the front door.
They hold First Lady between them.
Hester
Come in before yr seen.
Butcher and Canary come in escorting a groggy First Lady.
Butcher
Shes ill.
Hester
Its probably just a dizzy spell.
Canary
Lets sit her in the chair.
They sit her down.
Butcher
Looks worse than a dizzy spell.
Hester
The rich get dizzy all the time. And the richer they are the dizzier they get.
First Lady
He wanted money but I snitched. Ha.
Butcher
Shes been saying that the whole ride.
First Lady
I snitched I snitched I snitched.
Hester
Come with me, madam. Right this way. Come in here and we’ll have our talk.
Butcher
I’ll help you—
Hester
Ive got her. Canary, keep Butcher company.
Canary
Whats this stuff here?
Just some garbage.
Canary
Theyre letters you wrote to Boy. Says so right here.
Hester
Canary
First Lady
I snitched. I snitched.
Canary
Hester
Canary
Butcher
No fair you two Talking in front of me. Uh, noonka Talking-mehnavee. No fair.
Hester
A friend of his brought them by. Le traja Scrapeahdepth woah-ya, C-Mary.
Canary
Hester
First Lady
I snitched. I snitched.
Butcher
Dont mind me, I’ll just sit here. Wheres yr radio?
Stolen.
Canary
Cha Eyeyaya s eh cha Muka vee chet-la Scrapeahdepth ey cocodi Scrapeahdepth. Hester—
Hester
Chet-la eye brack zeemeh. Zeemeh.
Canary
Hester
Canary
Hester
The churchbells announce the hour. 12 midnight.
Hester
Ha! You see what motherlove can do? Get in yr head and make you see all sorts of things.
(Rest)
Come on, maam. Entertain yrselves, we’ll be quick.
Hester and First Lady go into the back room, leaving Butcher and Canary.
Canary
She’ll open the back door. The fresh airll perk her right up.
Butcher
What were you two talking about?
Canary
This and that.
Butcher
She looked troubled.
Canary
Shes just tired.
Whatdoyathink theyre talking about?
Canary
Womens things. Private womens things. Motherhood things. Things like that. Not for the likes of me to hear. Or you.
(Rest)
Have a drink. I’ll rub yr feet.
He drinks. After removing his socks and shoes she rubs his feet.
Butcher
You never had a child?
Canary
Not yet.
Butcher
You oughta get married.
Canary
Naw. Not me.
Butcher
Letters she wrote her son. Poor thing.
Canary
Love her a lot. Love her so much that yr lovell fill up the wound shes got. Give it a try, K?
Butcher
I plan to.
First Lady from offstage:
First Lady
Oh!
Butcher begins to move toward the back room.
Canary stops him.
Dont go in there. Sit here with me. Keep me company. You ever had yr soles read? Lets see: yll live a long life.
Butcher
Will I get married?
Canary
And live happily forever.
Butcher
Whats she doing in there?
Canary
Talking. Let them Talk.
(Rest)
Stay here with me. Please.
Butcher
Canary
First Lady from offstage:
First Lady
Oh!
Canary
Read the letters to me. Go on. We’re her friends. Lets pass the time.
Butcher
“Dear Son, yr 12 today. Thats a lot of years. I thought you would be out long before now. Every time I go to the Fund theres another excuse. What can you do? I take it on the chin and you should too because I know that you get points for good behavior. Next year yll be 13 and back at home and we will spend the next 13 years having one big long birthday party! Wont that—”
Hester comes out. In her haste she forgot to put on her apron and so her dress and hands are stained with blood. She stands there. Horrific.
And trumphant. She tosses her bloody tools in her wash bucket, lights a candle.
Canary
Hester
Canary gives Hester a kiss on the cheek. Its goodbye.
Canary
Hester, weh Seven-leagues swich tue ee meh. Ya weh tahrum sah Dinkydow, eh?
Hester
I understand.
Canary
Eee sah Le traja scrapeahdepth. Ki bunda-ley?
Hester
Weh race. Pabala weh fihnder. Pabala.
Canary
(Rest)
I guess we can take her home now?
Hester
Please.
Canary goes to load First Lady into the truck.
Butcher puts on his shoes and stands there ready to go.
Hester gets her basket.
Hester
Butcher
Hester
Butcher
As Butcher turns to follow Canary he passes Hester, and she takes his hand. Her blood-smeared hand bloodies his hand.
They hold hands for a moment and then he lets her hand go and, walking out through the back room, very thoroughly wipes the blood off onto his pants.
Hester stands there with her basket.
Hester
Hester
Hester
After a moment his truck is heard pulling off.
Hester hurries around the room stuffing things into her basket.
Hester
Hes not. He couldnt be. But what if he is. Monster. He isnt. But he could be. Although hes not. You know hes not. Just wanna make sure. See that mark again. Yr motherlove is playing with yr mind, thats all. Or it is him. Maybe. What does a monster need. Food. Money. Clothes. More money. I’ll get Butcher to hide him. He wont like the idea at first cause hes law abiding but lovell take care of that. Maybe. Butcherll hide him good. Somehow.
We can hear dogs barking in the distance.
Monster is standing in her front doorway.
Monster
Mother.
Hester
Monster
Monster
Mother.
Hester
Monster
Monster
Mother.
Son.
Monster
Theyre on my trail.
Hester
Why would anyone want to catch you?
Monster
Theyve got my scent. She snitched. One of the dogs bit me. But I had my knife and got him good. They bit me but I cut them. I ran but their blood and my blood—. Mother? Mother?
Hester
Yr all grown up. Yr bleeding.
Monster
Theyre bleeding too.
Hester
We’ll turn out the lights and theyll think nobodys home and theyll go away. Theyll go look somewheres else. Theyll go away. Theyll go away wont they?
Monster
I dont think so.
Hester
Theyll come to the door and I’ll tell them I aint seen you. “What the hell would I be doing seeing a villian like that,” I’ll say. Then theyll go away. Then yll run out the back.
Monster
They wont go away. Theyre hunters. They hunt. They can smell me. Theyre hunters and they can smell me. They wont go away. Theyll do what they got to do to catch the Monster.
Hester
Monster
You used to be so good. What happened?
Monster
Oh—this and that.
(Rest)
Better a monster than a boy. I made something of myself. It wasnt hard.
He sings “The Making of a Monster”:
Monster
Youd think itd be hard
To make something horrid
Its easy.
Youd think it would take
So much work to create
The Devil Incarnate
Its easy.
The smallest seed grows to a tree
A grain of sand pearls in an oyster
A small bit of hate in a heart will inflate
And thats more so much more than enough
To make you a Monster.
Youd think itd be hard
To make something horrid
Its easy.
The sound of dogs barking gets louder.
Monster
When they catch me theyll hurt me. Run me through and plant me in yr front yard so you can hear me scream. They catch me and theyll run me through. You hide me theyll run you through too. I wonder how much itll hurt? Theyll keep me alive and cut me up and I wonder how much itll hurt?
(Rest)
Hear the dogs? Take the gun. Shoot me with it.
Dont be silly.
Monster
Us killing me is better than them killing me.
Hester
You were always so silly.
The sound of dogs barking gets louder.
Monster
I heard once how they cut one guys balls off and let him watch the dogs eat them and then they cut his fingers off and the dogs ate those and he had to watch. His fingers and then his toes then his feet then his hands.
(Rest)
Please.
Hester
Hester
Monster
Please.
The sound of the dogs barking is very loud.
The Hunters voices are heard.
Hester and Monster sit close together.
They hold their arms side by side comparing their bite marks.
Hester
Monster
Hester
Monster
Hester
Monster
Hester
I have a way to do it that wont hurt.
(Rest)
Give me yr knife. Sit in my lap.
She sits in a chair. He hands her his knife and sits on the floor in front of her with his back toward her stomach.
She gently pets his head. Then, with a quick firm motion, she slits his throat like Butcher taught her.
He dies. She holds him in her lap.
The sound of dogs barking and Hunters voices are now deafening.
Theyre right outside her door. They force their way in.
They stand around looking at Hester and Monster.
The dogs bay outside.
First Hunter
Its him!
Second Hunter
But hes dead!
Third Hunter
Too bad!
First Hunter
Plenty of fun still to be had, though!
Third Hunter
Hes still warm.
(Rest)
Hes ours by rights, gal. Give him up.
First Hunter
If you think yll get any of the reward money, you got another thing coming.
The Hunters leave dragging Monsters body.
Hester sits there alone.
She gets up, drops the knife in the wash bucket.
She lights another candle. She sits down.
Hester
Hester
Hester
Hester sings “Working Womans Song (Reprise)”:
Hester
I dig my ditch with no complaining Work in the hot sun, or even when its raining And when the bitter day finally comes to an end Theyll say—
She sits there unable to continue.
Hester
Hester
Hester
After a moment, the backdoor bell rings insistently.
She ignores it.
It rings again, more insistently.
She gets up and puts on her apron, then wearily sits back down.
After a moment the bell rings again.
Hester
Hester
Hester
She gets up, picks up her tools and goes back to work.
End of Play