SIDE C - Joe, Maggie
MAGGIE. I’m not coming in. You're coming out. And don’t give me . . .
JOE. (Coming out of the cottage and saying her line with her.) . . . and don't give me any smart back talk or I'll split your lip.
(Surprised by Joe's sudden appearance, she doesn’t move for a second. Then, very carefully, she lakes a few slow steps toward him. Joe walks down to meet her. All Maggie can manage to do is reach out one hand and touch him, just to see if he's really there. When she is sure that he's not an illusion, she takes a deep breath, goes back to her bundles, and starts talking very quickly, trying to keep control of herself.)
MAGGIE. Well l brought you some things. I didn't know what, what for sure you'd want, but I thought it was better to be sure . . .safe…so …
JOE. We'll take them inside…
MAGGIE.. No ... Steve'll get them. I been dragging them all . . .
JOE. Let me look at you, huh?
MAGGIE. (Continues to fumble nervously with her hair, her dress, the packages.) I didn't know what you'd need. There's some jelly and some peppers I put up. (She starts pulling jars out of one of the bags.) I thought it was forty pounds on the plane, but they let you have extra. You can put things under the seat. A lot of people didn't have anything, so put stuff under their seats. too.
JOE. How are you, Maggie?
MAGGIE. Oh, fine, I brought the newspapers. (She pulls more jars out. Some cookies, and some pumpkin flowers.) The airplane made me sick. There was a man sitting next to me. He kept talking and talking. All those clouds. It looked like you could walk on them. i wanted to throw up, but the man next to me made me so nervous i couldn't. Where did i put . .
JOE. Come on inside. You want some coffee?
MAGGIE. (Reaching into another bag.) I brought some coffee. You've got everything here already. You should’ve told me.
JOE. I did. I told you over the phone.
MAGGIE. I don't remember. I’ll clean up tomorrow. First thing. Straighten everything out.
JOE. It’s already clean.
MAGGIE. You want to live in somebody else's dirt?
JOE. Maggie, it isn't the Poconos. It's clean. It clean.
MAGGIE. Well, you can't be too sure. Mom sent some bread …
JOE. How is she?
MAGGIE. Oh, good. Yeah. She fell down and hurt her leg. I don't know. It's not healing so good. She's getting old. What can you do. But she made the bread anyway. I told her not to, but she said she wanted to. So … And Fanny says hello, she gave me . . . umm, something . . .
JOE. I can see it later.
MAGGIE. . . . where is it? Oh, yeah. (She pulls out a wrapped package.) I don't know what it is. You know Fanny. It could be anything. . . . and some clam broth. (Takes out spilled clam broth.) Oh, Pop and Josie, they went crabbing, they took the kids Steve went with them. They gave me almost a whole bushel. So I made some sauce. (Another jar emerges.) We can . . . do you have a stove in there?
JOE. Sure. Come on inside. I'll show you. It's real nice. (He starts to head her toward the cottage, but she pulls away.)
MAGGIE. No, I don't want to go inside.
JOE. Huh? Why not?
MAGGIE. I don’t ... I'll see it. I'll see it.
JOE. But
MAGGIE. How do I look? It's a new dress.
JOE. You look real pretty.
MAGGIE. I got dressed for the plane. I don't know. I should have worn pants. You get so tired, sitting, all pushed together like that. My cars hurt so bad. Steve loved it. I couldn't make him sit still. He was all over the place, taking pictures. The stewardess was crazy about him. She was pretty, too. They look real nice. They wear ... they smile. I asked her what to do about my ears and she just smiled. I don't think she heard me. So I, too, but it didn't do any good.
JOE. (Hugs her.) You must be tired, huh?
MAGGIE. Yeah. I don't know.
JOE. Come on in. You can rest.
MAGGIE. (Ignores his offer.) One minute you're there. The next minute you're here. I still feel like I'm there. (She pulls away from him and starts rummaging through the bags.) What else? Three thousand miles, it must be. They ... Oh, yeah. I made a ham … (She pulls the monster out of a bag.)
JOE. What?
MAGGIE. A ham. We can have it for lunch.
JOE. Christ!
MAGGIE. What's the matter? It's no good?
JOE. You mean you carried a ham three thousand miles across the country?
MAGGIE. No. I put it under the seat.
JOE. Well, what the hell are we going to do with it?
MAGGIE. I don't know … I thought it'd last. . .
JOE. We got everything we need. I told you.
MAGGIE. I don't remember. You can't eat this, huh?
JOE. No, I can eat it. I can eat it. That's not what I'm talking about.
MAGGIE. Then what are you talking about?
JOE. I'm talking about they got ham in California. They got stores like everyplace in the world and you go in and you buy whatever you want..
MAGGIE. (Making a vain effort to hide the ham.) I'll take it back with me . . .
JOE. It's all right! It's here now.
MAGGIE. It'll keep. I'll put it away. You don't have to look at it.
JOE. No. It's fine. It's all right. What the hell are we talking about?
MAGGIE. (All upset, still holding on to the ham.) You didn't say in the letter. And we talked and I couldn't remember. I tried. What the hell. They said to come and bring Steve. That's all. At first I thought that was it. Then I got your letter and you sound fine and I talk to you . . . so, I made the ham, (She cries. Joe goes to her. Holds her and the ham in his arms.)
JOE. I missed you, Maggie. I missed you real bad. (Hugs her.)
MAGGIE. You got to tell me what's going on. Don’t make me feel so stupid. Like I'm supposed to know everything. I don't know anything. I just know what I see.
JOE. Maggie
MAGGIE. But you look real good. You're all right now, huh?
JOE. Maggie, listen …
MAGGIE. No. It's all right. You don't have to tell me. I can see it. You're fine. Huh? It's just I got so scared. Thinking about it. Making things up in my head. But it's all right now. I can see it's all right. I knew it would be when I got here.
JOE. (Giving in.) Yes, Maggie. Everything's all right.
MAGGIE. I knew it. I knew it.
END