Tim and Jane
Lights up a moment later.
JANE: That train was so late, Uncle. You must be starving.
BARBARA (To Marian): Give him a cigarette. That’s what he wants.
MARIAN (Giving Benjamin a cigarette): Everything’s ready. We can eat now—
(Jane watches Benjamin take the cigarette.)
We don’t let him smoke in the house.
BARBARA: Marian doesn’t . . .
(They watch Benjamin go off with his cigarette.)
MARIAN: That’s not true.
JANE: When did this start?
(After Marian looks to Barbara:)
MARIAN: You didn’t know that he’s smoking now? (Shakes her head; then to Barbara) Why do you always want to keep everything quiet?
BARBARA: I don’t always want to keep—
MARIAN: Like it’ll go away. We should talk, Jane. About Benjamin. You too, Richard.
JANE (To Richard): Do you know about this?—
RICHARD: No.
MARIAN (Over this): And you try and say anything to her about this and she just goes quiet. See what I mean? There. See what I live with? She always used to do that.
RICHARD: I don’t remember Barbara doing that.
MARIAN: Maybe just with me and Jane. A sister thing. Jane remembers.
RICHARD (To Jane): Do you—?
(Jane doesn’t.)
BARBARA: I thought we were going to eat.
JANE: Can we fit around the table?
BARBARA (Heading off, calling back): Richard’s here . . . We’ll use the card table. We can do a buffet. It’ll be more comfortable. If that’s all right with everyone . . .
RICHARD (Joking): I didn’t mean to cause a problem.
JANE (Joking): Why stop now?
MARIAN (To Barbara): Are you asking me?
BARBARA: Is that all right, Marian?
(She is gone.)
MARIAN: Benjamin smokes almost a pack a day now. Barbara says he used to smoke in his twenties. She remembers this . . . She thinks something just—I don’t know. (Snaps her fingers) And now he’s back in his twenties so he’s smoking.
(Happily shouts to Barbara) Barbara, Richard’s here!
JANE (To “the world”): So am I . . .
(Jane and Richard are alone.)
RICHARD: He’s now smoking. (To Jane) I can take you back.
JANE: We’re staying the night.
RICHARD: Right.
JANE (Then): Tim’s with me.
RICHARD: Barbara said that.
JANE: What did she say?
RICHARD: That—Tim would be here.
JANE: We dropped him off in town. He wanted to—buy some wine.
RICHARD: I stopped there too.
JANE: We’re together. Again.
RICHARD: I heard that somewhere. We do share two sisters.
JANE: And what do they say? I’m curious.
RICHARD: No one’s criticizing you, Jane. I like Tim.
JANE: I’m sorry I haven’t called . . . It’s been—crazy.
RICHARD: Have you been up here—recently?
JANE: No. You?
(Richard shakes his head.)
Marian looks pretty good. She’s teaching. I was surprised when I heard she’d moved in. Weren’t you?
RICHARD (Shrugs): They shared a room for a while as kids.
JANE: I guess I forgot that.
(Barbara enters lugging a card table.)
BARBARA (To Jane): Tim’s here.
RICHARD: That’s no longer news.
RICHARD (To Barbara): Can I help with that?
JANE: What can I do?
BARBARA (Shrugs): Bring in things.
JANE: I’m very sorry to hear that Uncle’s smoking. (She starts to go off)
BARBARA (Setting up the card table): He got lost this week.
(This stops Jane.)
JANE: What? What do you mean?
BARBARA: That really upset Marian. He went off to the CVS—for cigarettes. It’s just down the street—
RICHARD: I know the CVS.
BARBARA: I get a call from one of my students . . .
(Marian returns with a tray of bowls—vegetables, potatoes, etc.)
She thinks she’s seen my uncle about a mile and half down Route 9. (Looks at Marian, then) We drive down and there he is walking, just walking.
MARIAN (Setting out the bowls): I’m glad you’re worried too, Barbara.
BARBARA: Of course I’m worried.
MARIAN (To Richard and Jane): He sneaks out to Foster’s. He won’t admit it—
BARBARA: Marian—
MARIAN: I have a friend who’s a waitress . . . He sits at the bar.
JANE: What’s wrong with that?
MARIAN: Buys people drinks. People he doesn’t know.
RICHARD (Trying to make a joke): How does he know he doesn’t know them?
MARIAN: They take advantage of him, Richard.
(Tim enters with two bottles of wine and some glasses, his hands full.)
TIM: Where do you want all this? (Greeting) Richard! They just told me—
RICHARD: Tim! (To the others) Tim’s here.
JANE: That was quick.
BARBARA (To Tim): On the card table. First, let me put the tablecloth on . . .
(She flaps open the tablecloth.)
JANE: You bought two bottles.
TIM: You asked me to. Red and white.
MARIAN: We just got Benjamin—finally—drinking the nonalcoholic . . . (To Richard) He really doesn’t know the difference.
JANE (To Marian): I doubt that very much.
TIM (Hands still full): Richard, I’ll shake hands in a minute—
MARIAN (Over this): He doesn’t, Jane.
JANE: We are celebrating his show, Marian . . .
BARBARA (Under her breath): That’s what I said . . .
MARIAN: It’s not a show. And I certainly wouldn’t call it celebrating, Jane. So we should be encouraging him to get drunk? He doesn’t need any encouragement for that . . .
(Marian goes off into the kitchen.)
JANE: I’ll bring in things. (She heads off)
RICHARD (To Tim): I put a bottle in the fridge. It’s alcoholic too.
BARBARA: I’ll get another tablecloth, this one has a stain.
(She heads off. The men are alone.)
RICHARD: I didn’t think I could come—A last minute thing.
TIM: That’s what Barbara just—A nice surprise. (Shows Richard that his hands are still full)
RICHARD: They could make you hold that all day. I know my sisters.
They like being waited on.
TIM (Awkward joke): If that’s the worst that can happen to me.
(He laughs, Richard doesn’t.)
RICHARD: What do you think can happen to you? We all like you, Tim. You’re welcome here. Let me help you.
TIM: I got it. I’m fine.
Rhinebeck hasn’t changed. Looks the same.
(Barbara returns with another tablecloth for the card table.)
RICHARD: And really nice to be out of the city. Especially today.
TIM (With emphasis): Especially today.
(Jane carries in two chairs.)
RICHARD (To Jane): I could have done that.
JANE: Then why didn’t you?
(From off, church bells—playing a hymn.)
TIM: Are those church bells? They’re lovely . . . This is such a charming town. You’re lucky to live here, Barbara.
(Marian returns with bowls, etc.)
RICHARD (To Jane): Should I get my bottle?
JANE: What’s wrong with Tim’s two bottles?
BARBARA (Setting up the tablecloth, to Tim): Those aren’t real bells, by the way.
TIM: What do you mean?
MARIAN: It’s the Dutch Reformed—they play CDs of bell music through loud speakers in their steeple. Barbara hates that.
TIM (Innocently): Why do you—?
BARBARA: We’ll set out the salad here too. (Then back to the bells) Why should they be allowed to blast us with their CDs? I mean, if they were bells and real people were ringing them—okay. I get it. But they’re just stupid CDs. At Christmas it’s the worst. Like you’re living inside a mall. Who the hell do they think they are? I mean, if I stuck a speaker out of my goddamn window and played it whenever I wanted to play it, they’d come and arrest me . . . (She goes off)
MARIAN: See . . .
(Short pause as they set out the rest.)
Thank you, Tim.
TIM (He now goes to shake hands): Richard, good to see you.
RICHARD: And you. (To his sisters, a bad joke one more time) Tim’s here.
(As Barbara and now Benjamin return with another chair, more bowls, etc.)
What else can I do?
BARBARA: What “else”? What have you done?
JANE: Getting hungry, Uncle Benjamin?
BARBARA: He likes to eat lunch now at eleven.
MARIAN: And I don’t know why you let him do that.
RICHARD (To be useful, moving chairs): Why don’t we have Benjamin sit there. Tim, Marian—there. Barbara—
JANE: It’s Barbara’s house. You’re really going to tell her where to sit? Why do you always do that? (To Tim) Why do men do that?
TIM (On the spot): I don’t know.
BARBARA: It’s also now Marian’s house, Jane.
(Awkward moment.)
I mean, she’s not a guest. She lives here too.
(They start to serve themselves.)
RICHARD: You remember Tim, don’t you, Uncle?
MARIAN (To Benjamin): He’s the actor. You like him. He’s from New York.
BENJAMIN: Always a pleasure to see you, son. I used to live in New York. (To the others) Of course I remember him.
(The others exchange doubtful looks.)
(To Barbara) Didn’t I live in New York?
(Barbara nods.)
TIM: It’s great to be up here, sir. Out of the city. (To Richard) Especially today.
MARIAN (To Jane): I’m so glad you two are back together. I never liked your husband.
(This stops the conversation for a moment.)
What did I say?
JANE: It is nice. It is very nice . . . For me.
(She smiles at Tim.)
TIM (After a prompt): And me too.
JANE: Richard, how’s Pamela?
RICHARD: She’s good.
MARIAN: I’m so sorry she couldn’t come too. (To Barbara) Aren’t we?
(No response.)
(To Richard) She couldn’t come, right? (To Barbara) She’s always so busy.
RICHARD: She’s doing things with the kids.
She told me to say hi from her to my lovely lovely sisters . . .
(Short pause.)
BENJAMIN (As he goes to the card table): Can I get anyone else a glass of wine?
MARIAN (Trying to stop him): We have your favorite wine in the kitchen, Uncle. Let me get it for you—
BENJAMIN: I want this wine. I’d like a change.
(They continue to serve themselves.)
TIM (Serving himself): Look at this. Turkey. Coleslaw. Is this chicken salad? (To Barbara and Marian) You two have gone all out . . .
MARIAN (To Tim, pointing): Lima beans and carrots . . . (About a casserole) This is vegetarian, Jane . . . Or are you over with that?
JANE: I’m not “over with that.”
BARBARA (Suddenly worried): We didn’t rush the dinner, did we? (Explaining) The reading’s at five . . . (Looks at her watch) And you heat things for too long . . .
TIM (After a look at Jane): No, no . . . I’m ready to eat.
MARIAN: And Benjamin was getting very hungry.
(They look at Benjamin.)
BARBARA: I didn’t mean to rush us . . .
JANE: You didn’t, Barbara. We were late.
After the reading maybe we can take a walk around the village a little. I’d enjoy that. And we are staying the night.
(They serve themselves.)
Tim couldn’t wait to come up here. He loves this village.
RICHARD: You’re not thinking of getting a weekend place up here, are you?
JANE: Where would we get that kind of money, Richard? We’re not all expensive lawyers.
BARBARA: You don’t strike me as the weekender type, anyway.
TIM (To Barbara): What is the “weekender type”?
MARIAN: Don’t get Barbara started . . .
(They continue to serve themselves.)
(To Barbara) Sunday night, the weekenders are pretty much gone by then. So it’ll be nice. (To Jane) For your walk.
A lot of city people were up this weekend.
(Short pause as they continue to fill their plates.)
BARBARA: I hate it when the moment you walk into a house—they serve the meal.
JANE: Barbara, it’s fine. What else could we do?
RICHARD (To say something): How late was your train?
TIM: I’ll have a roll . . .
JANE (Looks to Tim): Forty, fifty minutes—?
BARBARA (To Tim): When Marian first moved to Rhinebeck? She was the first.
TIM: I know.
BARBARA: She was waiting on the platform at Rhinecliff and the guy from the ticket office was there, and she asked him for the time? (To Marian) What did he say?
JANE (To Tim): I’ve heard this—
RICHARD (To Tim): I’ve heard it too . . .
MARIAN: They’ve heard this.
BARBARA: Tim hasn’t. He said, “Honey,” he called Marian honey, Tim. “Honey, I threw away my watch the day I joined Amtrak.”
(Tim laughs.)
JANE (To Tim): I’d told you that story . . .
(And they have all taken seats and are about to eat, when:
The lights fade.)