ACT 2
Scene 1
SETTING: Day Two, mid day. Sharon's living room
AT RISE: Sharon is sitting, Paul pacing
PAUL
He was unclean. We
must cleanse ourselves of his touch. We should have known.
SHARON
I should have known.
I think back now and am ashamed to admit that there were times when I was
suspicious. I guess I was always pretty anxious to believe his explanations. He
liked to say he was gambling when he was out cruising his territory. I knew
that wasn't true. He never lost any money.
PAUL
I have been trying
to figure out the approximate day and time that I was conceived, to relate that
to mileposts of his killing career.
SHARON
I haven't found the
strength to study the findings yet.
PAUL
I am a bit obsessed
with it.
SHARON
Don't tell me.
PAUL
All we can do is
follow the commandments for ourselves,, not for anybody else. He managed to
break them all while convincing us he was a god fearing Christian. At work they
thought he was a fundamentalist.
SHARON
Lead us in a prayer
like Hannah's, please.
PAUL
(Paul kneels. Flute music in minor
pentatonic scale plays in the
background.)
Lord, you make our
hearts rejoice.
Our strength grows
in You.
You hear our voices
over those of our enemies,
Because we rejoice
in Your salvation.
Nothing is as holy
as You, Lord.
Nothing compares to
You.
There is no other
Rock than our Lord.
The proud will be
silent now.
Arrogance will no
longer come from their mouths.
Lord, you are aware
of what happens here.
Lord, you must judge
our actions.
The rich and
powerful will be crushed.
We who have fallen
will be wrapped in strength.
The rich and the
beggars will trade places.
A woman who cannot
conceive will have seven children.
A woman with many
children will be robbed of strength.
Life beings and ends
with You Lord.
You put us in the
grave and raise us up.
Riches and their
opposite both flow from You, Lord.
You lower and You
raise.
You raise up the
poor and meek, the beggars and prostitutes,
To set them among
the upper classes,
And enable them to
inherit Your Salvation
For the earth is
sustained upon You, Lord.
Without You there is
no meaning.
Preserve those who
love You, Lord.
Those who do not
will fade into the void.
For no man prevails
by his own strength.
Lord, You shatter
your enemies.
You rain
thunderbolts on them.
All action is
submitted to Your Judgment.
Your leaders You
empower.
Your worshipers You
exalt.
In the name of
Christ Jesus, Lord,
Block the curse put
upon this family
By Jeremiah's
killing spree.
And we thank You,
Lord, for finding
Us worthy of Your
Love.
(Paul stands up)
A god who doesn't
answer prayers is not worth having.
SHARON
Many families have
waited many years. To say that having their daughter's bones is answering a
prayer is hard; but it is true.
PAUL
What courage and
commitment Hannah had to leave her child Samuel with Eli, for the Lord. If we
only had a pale reflection of Hannah's courage and commitment.
SHARON
Worship and prayer
are no doubt still pleasing to the Lord. But do you think the Lord still
shatters his enemies? And raises up the poor? Is that why those women were
shattered. What good came of that? Where are all the poor who have been raised
up? Where are the souls of those, of his victims?
PAUL
Many contemporary
Christians don't believe that the Lord continues to perform the interventions
such as those that were claimed in Biblical times. But why would the Lord start
doing it, and then quit?
SHARON
The Old Testament
God took care of his own nasty business. He didn't have to hide it off balance
sheet. Under the Devil's account.
PAUL
But without the
Devil, how do you explain what Dad did?
SHARON
He was stupid. He
hated women. He had no feelings. He's responsible for letting himself become a
monster.
PAUL
When did it happen?
SHARON
Before he got to me.
I don't know. I am sure he blames it on his mother. I don't.
PAUL
But if God can shape
events here on earth?
SHARON
It doesn't say in
Hannah's song that just because He shapes some things on earth, that every
single that that happens is His fault.
PAUL
But isn't that sort
of the logical extension?
SHARON
Who needs logical
extensions? You men are so black and white. Pray Hannah's song again. Try to
hear it without the black and white. Do you feel as if the curse is blocked?
PAUL
I do. I think I
really do.
(BLACKOUT)
(END OF SCENE)
Scene 2
SETTING: Day Two, afternoon. Outside a memorial service
for several of the recently discovered remains of previously murdered victims of
Jeremiah. The mourners have already left.
AT RISE: Camera and reporter crews from two local TV
stations are outside the church's door waiting for somebody related to Jeremiah
to emerge. As soon as he does, they rush up to put microphones in front of his
face. Jeremiah is sitting elevated at stage left.
PAUL
I don't have a
prepared statement.
LISA
Is it true that you
have clanged your name?
PAUL
No comment.
ALICE
Do you have anything
to say to families of the victims?
PAUL
I pray for them with
all my heart, and ask them likewise to pray for me.
(Paul removes a cell phone from
his pocket and turns it on.)
Let me see if I can
get the person you really need to talk to on the line. Whether or not he can
use the phone is up to his guards.
(Paul presses phone buttons and
talks into it.)
May I please talk to
my dad? Thanks.
(Paul takes phone away from his
mouth and speaks to reporters.)
The police gave me
this number so I can talk to him about giving the police more information.
(Paul speaks again into the phone,
to Jeremiah.)
I am outside a
memorial service for five of the women whom you murdered, talking to a TV crew.
They asked me if I have anything to say to the families, as they say, of the
victims, although I don't like to use the word victim myself. I told them that
I pray for them with all my heart and ask them to pray for me. It bothers me
that pray with an A and prey with an E are so similar as words. If you are
allowed to talk to the television reporters, would it be OK to let them see you
on the phone camera?
JEREMIAH
Who are the
reporters?
PAUL
There are two
reporters.
JEREMIAH
Only two?
PAUL
Yes, Lisa and Alice.
JEREMIAH
Show their faces on
your phone's camera.
(Paul aims camera in phone on each
reporter in turn.)
PAUL
Can you see them?
JEREMIAH
I can talk to them,
(Jeremiah takes
phone from ear to listen to guard give orders and then resumes talking into
phone.)
... for only ten minutes,
because my guards will take the phone back then. Let me try to answer the same
question that the reporters asked you.
(Jeremiah stands)
Obviously I know I
am a monster. I've known that since my first killing. And yet I hid it as best
I could, rather than turning myself in. As much as I lack a conscience and
remorse, since I have been caught, I would have already killed myself except
that I am under 24 hour observation. I have been prevented from doing that. And
just killing myself, would have also been selfish. That would leave a lot of
people wondering about their missing loved ones. I can't specifically address
the women that you honor today. I didn't keep track of what there was about
them in the papers at the time. And since my arrest, I have not been allowed
much access to print or TV news. The investigators try to make sure that what I
tell them has come from me and not the news. I want all the families to know
that any information that the investigators think will be helpful will be
provided to the best of my ability. But I don't have a good memory and I didn't
keep records. All I can do is cooperate now as best I can. I wish that I wasn't
who I am, although at the time I wanted to be somebody. Anybody can see that
this is not what any person should become. I don't want to blame anybody else.
I don't know why I hate so, why I feel so little compassion, or remorse. It's
like part of what makes a person a person doesn't exist in me. I know there is
no amount of punishment that can make up for what I have done. Eye for an eye
won't work with me. All I can do is lose my life once. All I can do is spend
eternity in hell. That really is a very small consolation to anybody effected
by my crimes. To those who wonder exactly what I did, my guards don't want me
to go public with that yet. It would complicate their investigations. As weird
as this sounds, several people are trying to confess to crimes that I
committed. Maybe they killed somebody else, maybe they didn't. What I am
allowed to say is only general. They only knew that they were being killed for
a few seconds. They didn't see it coming. And I killed them so quickly they
could hardly feel it. There was almost no suffering, not because of any
compassion on my part, but because the way I did it made it easy for me. I
didn't enjoy seeing them suffer. At some point I stopped having sex with them
first. What I came to want, was having sex with them after I had killed them. I
could possibly be an even worse monster than you had dreamed. My victims were quite
possibly better people than many have assumed. Yes they were soliciting for sex
at that point in time. But I was looking for a particular kind of girl. I was
mostly attracted to a spark of innocence. The most special girl would be one
looking to turn her very first trick. I didn't feel comfortable with the hard
core pros. They would make fun of me. They would be too wary and have other
people looking out for them. In short, I was looking for a girl who was ashamed
of what she was doing, telling herself that after she paid that light bill she
would never do it again. One of those girls was doing it to buy her estranged
father a Christmas present. Another was doing it to pay a sick child's medical
bill. A word or two about the children. Or better, a word or two to the
children, some of whom now have children of their own, who will never know
their grandmother, or know her only as a dead prostitute. I am sorry, so, so
sorry. I have robbed you as surely as I robbed your mother or grandmother of
her life. I wish there was some way that you could see that she was not really
a prostitute, but a young woman trying to do the best she could in a very tough
situation. I liked to ask them why they needed the money. In a more decent
society, most of these girls would have had a better option for dealing with
very, extremely challenging circumstances.
What attracted me was that spark of dignity, which probably makes me
even sicker. I was afraid of the ones with no dignity left. When I realized
that, I would avoid them. One of the saddest things about this is you probably
never realized how much they loved you. They were determined to rebuild their
relationships with you if it was the last thing they did. That was a lot of
what attracted me to them. Yes, I talked to them. Talked a lot, right up until
killing them. What I did was that much worse than killing their bodies. I was
also killing the future opportunities to rebuild the wrecks of their pasts, to
reestablish that loving bond with mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers,
children, to be sure, with themselves. I was very conscious of killing all that
potential, as I killed them. Maybe that is what I really wanted to kill. There
is no way I can pay for all that I broke. Maybe in a way I will be able to
repay more by living rather than dieing. You might say that the death penalty
will put me in hell sooner. That's going to be for an eternity any way. A few
years one way or the other don't matter much in eternity. I guess the reason
that I confessed, and will continue to confess, is to repay as much as I can
now, so that perhaps some of these wounds that I have caused might begin to
heal. Thank you for listening. My guard is taking the phone back. I can answer
no more questions today.
(BLACKOUT)
(END OF SCENE)
Scene 3
SETTING: Day Two, evening. Sharon's living room.
AT RISE: Sharon and Gina are sitting on a couch.
(Projected text: Isaiah 1:30-31 For
ye shall be as an oak whose leaf
fadeth, and as a garden that hath no
water. And the strong shall be as
tow, and the maker of it as a spark,
and they shall both burn together,
and none shall quench them.)
GINA
Why does he hide his
heart from me?
SHARON
It is not my place
to tell you. Have you asked him?
GINA
Yes, well, I guess I
could have asked more clearly at a better time. It was in fact during an
argument.
SHARON
You will have to try
harder than that to make me break my promise.
GINA
I was developing my
theory of evolving consciousness. Primitive man was too caught up in survival,
his capacity for love was so rudimentary, that Moses was a quantum leap beyond.
As far as Moses was beyond Cain, Isaiah was beyond Moses. Hunter, lawyer,
prophet, savior, revived. I started getting with Paul, as if he were still
solidly a hunter, unable to evolve even as far as Moses. I needed him to just
keep quiet, to just hold me, while I got used to how frozen he is inside. But
no, he had to - without even half listening - put my theory down without having
anything else to put in its place. I had the distinct impression that all he
cared about just then was sex.
(Projected text: Isaiah 2:8-9 Their
land also is full of idols; they
worship the work of their own hands,
that which their own fingers have
made. And the mean man boweth down,
and the great man humbleth himself:
therefore forgive them not.)
SHARON
There he would be
following in his footsteps.
GINA
Are you interested
in my theory?
SHARON
Yes, please continue
explaining it. And after that, I am sure that I will have some reflections upon
it.
GINA
I have been relating
the scripture to five centers of power. The root center propels species
survival. The belly center propels personal physical well being. Love flows
through the heart center. Communication flows through the throat center.
Memory, comprehension and insight are stored in the mind center.
SHARON
These centers are
somewhat like the charkas?
GINA
There are five
centers and usually seven charkas. Also, the centers are actually united with
the physical body, not merely abstract.
SHARON
And Scripture
contains revelations about these centers?
(Projected text: Isaiah 3:12 As for
my people, children are their
oppressors, and women rule over them.
O my people, they which lead thee
cause thee to err, and destroy the
way of thy paths.)
GINA
Most definitely.
Many, many revelations. The early law of necessity focused on the root and
belly centers. The survival of the family, and by extension the tribe. And
people was not a forgone conclusion. Families, tribes and peoples being wiped
out was an all too familiar occurrence. Mankind itself narrowly escaped total
obliteration in the flood. People did not have the luxury of worrying exclusively
about their own little ego trips. So producing offspring, and dedicating
oneself to insuring that the offspring survived was job one, and was driven by
center one, the root.
SHARON
Life could not be
taken for granted.
(Projected text: Isaiah 5:9-10 In
mine ears said the Lord of hosts, Of
a truth many houses shall be
desolate, even great and fair,
without inhabitant. Yea, ten acres of
vineyard shall yield one bath, and
the seed of an homer shall yield an
ephah.)
GINA
Not at all. These
people needed every possible advantage just to survive. As they became less
nomadic, and developed modern agriculture, and somewhat stable societies, they
also for the first time were enabled to divert energy to the quality of life,
not the mere fact that it existed.
SHARON
In a good year food
would be stored for a bad year. People had mild and wine and honey. Perhaps
some free time?
GINA
Exactly. Some people
more than others, could manage a good life, above and beyond scratching out a
mere existence. They did not have to always worry about being attached or about
starving to death. A vision of a good life began to emerge. The belly center
began to absorb energy from the root center.
SHARON
And people could
afford to be fastidious about what they ate, so dietary laws were established.
GINA
And also a concern
with offering food as sacrifice, flesh and old and grain.
(Projected text: Isaiah 6:8-9 Also I
heard the voice of the Lord, saying,
Whom shall I send, and who will go
for us? Then said I, Here am I; send
me. And he said, Go, and tell this
people, Hear ye indeed, but
understand not; and see ye indeed,
but perceive not.)
SHARON
By 2000 B.C. primitive
hunting and marauding man has evolved into a farmer. People started laying
claim to land.
GINA
Suddenly it seems
that a great explosion of interest in the higher centers occurs. The written
word emerges to compliment the spoken word. With the advent of the written word
emerges to complement the spoken word. With the advent of the written word laws
become possible. Codes of conduct emerge. Commandments engraved on tablets.
This is a monumental leap beyond word of mouth. The word entails a much different
form of power once it is written down. It opens up the possibility of a much
different type of society, one based on right rather than might.
SHARON
This must have been
a very proud moment for God. At last he could speak to his people and they
could remember what he said.
(Projected text: Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord himself shall give
you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall
conceive, and bear a son, and shall
call his name Immanuel.)
GINA
Oh, yes. And don't
forget that they could also talk back to him. Until this moment God had been
alone with his creation. There was no consciousness that could really
appreciate what he was doing. God was hungry for feedback.
SHARON
I think sometimes
people forget that God has emotions too.
GINA
So the throat center
is expanding into the communication center. The words do not always have to be
physically emerging from the throat.
SHARON
Thus the Biblical
emphasis on the tablets.
GINA
It is interesting that
they are broken and then recreated.
(Projected text: Isaiah 8:19-20 And
when they shall say unto you, Seek
unto them that have familiar spirits,
and unto wizards that peep, and that
mutter: should not a people seek unto
their God? for the living to the
dead? To the law and to the
testimony: if they speak not
according to this word, it is because
there is no light in them.)
SHARON
It is also
interesting that at first the law all came through a few men, Moses and Aaron.
It was another fifteen hundred years before revelation occurred on a widespread
basis.
GINA
Let's not make that
jump yet. Along with the new energy, in the communication center, is new energy
in the mind center. People's minds now had the ability to appreciate the
awesome nature of the work in which they lived. They could appreciate what God
was doing to them and understand that they owed him something back.
SHARON
They could praise,
with their mouth and mind.
GINA
And that gets off to
a rocky start, but a start none the less. And along with the ability to
appreciate God, man also begins to appreciate the nature of evil, my theory of
which I will save for another day.
(Projected text: Isaiah 9:6-7 For
unto us a child is born, unto us a
son is given: and the government
shall be upon his shoulder: and his
name shall be called Wonderful,
Counsellor, The mighty God, The
everlasting Father, The Prince of
Peace. Of the increase of his
government and peace there shall be
no end, upon the throne of David, and
upon his kingdom, to order it, and to
establish it with judgment and with
justice from henceforth even for
ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts
will perform this.)
SHARON
Before this time
mankind really did not have a mind in the modern sense of the word.
GINA
The body had a
brain, but the brain was not really a mind.
SHARON
Haven't we skipped
the third center, the heart?
GINA
The Mosaic law is
almost completely devoid of concern for love. I don't know that people were
even aware of love yet. If so, they placed very minimal value on it. As far as
God went, he was mostly to be respected and feared. God didn't ever really
expect them to love him. All he asked was that they not worship other Gods. God
seems to be jealous of other Gods.
(Projected text: Isaiah 10:22-23 For
though thy people Israel be as the
sand of the sea, yet a remnant of
them shall return: the consumption
decreed shall overflow with
righteousness. For the Lord God of
hosts shall make a consumption, even
determined, in the midst of all the
land.)
SHARON
God's jealousy has
always confused me.
GINA
Some other day we
could spend the entire day discussing the evolution of monotheism. But before
we move on to the next phase of evolution, there is one more thing I would like
to point out about the Mosaic consciousness. The root, belly, throat and mind
centers blossomed individually, but within any one person they were not at all
integrated. This is very obvious in the Scripture. Subject matter is structured
by theme. Survival themes are presented. Well being themes are presented
separately. Law themes are presented separately from worship themes. These
focuses had developed but were not yet seen as a dynamic entity. It almost
seems as if the people then took pains to keep them apart.
(Projected text: Isaiah 11:10-11 And
in that day there shall be a root of
Jesse, which shall stand for an
ensign of the people; to it shall the
Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be
glorious. And it shall come to pass
in that day, that the Lord shall set
his hand again the second time to
recover the remnant of his people,
which shall be left, from Assyria,
and from Egypt, and from Pathros,
and from Cush, and from Elam, and from
Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the
islands of the sea.)
SHARON
The outline of
modern personality was emerging but the parts were not functioning as a whole.
GINA
Seemingly that takes
another thousand years or so to develop. We know for sure that we are there by
the time of David. With David we really see a different model for human
consciousness. Within the person we see that the five centers are truly
integrated, with energy flowing up and down linking the centers within the
personality. The heart center is now blossomed. All five centers are in full
power and fully related. In David's songs he give expression to all five
centers in a single verse.
(Projected text: Isaiah 12:2-3
Behold, God is my salvation; I will
trust, and not be afraid: for the
Lord Jehovah is my strength and my
song; he also is become my salvation.
Therefore with joy shall ye draw
water out of the wells of salvation.)
SHARON
Instead of
expounding on tribal lineage for a chapter, and food purity for a chapter, and
other Gods for a chapter, David sought to give voice to the entire person all
the time?
(Projected text: Isaiah 13:19-20 And
Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the
beauty of the Chaldees' excellency,
shall be as when God overthrew Sodom
and Gomorrah. It shall never be
inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt
in from generation to generation:
neither shall the Arabian pitch tent
there; neither shall the shepherds
make their fold there.)
GINA
And he did a
spectacular job at it. It is almost impossible to imagine songs more beautiful
than his best. In fact I was playing a recorded version of the 51st psalm for
Paul when our conversation started going south.
(Projected text: Isaiah 14:20-21
Thou shalt not be joined with them in
burial, because thou hast destroyed
thy land, and slain thy people: the
seed of evildoers shall never be
renowned. repare slaughter for his
children for the iniquity of their
fathers; that they do not rise, nor
possess the land, nor fill the face
the world with cities.)
GINA
(Continuing)
I've loved the
psalms since I was a little girl, even when I was backsliding, with good
reason. They opened up the door to so many possibilities. David ept the centers
integrated by focusing on praising God as his central reason for being.
Everything came down to praise for him. It took a long time for people to
understand how and why he put so much energy into praise. They would look down
their noses at him as they looked out their window and saw him jumping and
shouting for the Lord in the street. Today, I think that is one of the things
we love most about him. But don't forget to notice how he always keeps all five
centers burning bright. And he definitely has his heart center fully developed,
which was never seen in earlier men of God. Too bright, some might say,
although I would say it was just not love that ultimately was his flaw.
SHARON
I agree that what he
felt for Bathsheba was lust, and not love at all. We both know a lot of men who
have made that mistake.
GINA
The next step in the
evolution perhaps does not look like such a great one. I associate it most with
Jesus Christ, although there are surely flashes of it here and there hundreds
of years before his birth. Between David and Jesus there is a shift in
emphasis. David sought to integrate the five centers in a balance. Jesus sought
to bring the other four centers under the control of the heart. He sought to
deny the root and belly centers al the power traditionally allocated to them.
(Projected text: Isaiah 15:5-6 My
heart shall cry out for Moab; his
fugitives shall flee unto Zoar, an
heifer of three years old: for by the
mounting up of Luhith with weeping
shall they go it up; for in the way
of Horonaim they shall raise up a cry
of destruction. For the waters of
Nimrim shall be desolate: for the hay
is withered away, the grass faileth,
there is no green thing.)
SHARON
Perhaps Jesus saw the
root and belly centers as forces not entirely positive. You can't do without
them. But he did not seem to glorify or dwell upon them.
GINA
He accepted them. He
did not put them down, as some of his followers have. But he did not seem to
feel the need to glorify or enhance them in himself.
SHARON
And Jesus did not
praise God so much by getting excited and singing as by his actions, which were
concerned with sowing love for the children of God.
(Projected text: Isaiah 16:5 And in
mercy shall the throne be
established: and he shall sit upon it
in truth in the tabernacle of David,
judging, and seeking judgment, and
hasting righteousness.)
GINA
A very different
focus than we see in David. Quiet. Unassuming. Not concerned with what the others
around him are concerned with. Quietly working for the Lord. The centers are
integrated, but in addition they are subjugated to a heart center that is
constantly connected to God. It is not a God on the one hand, and a person
praising God on another. With Jesus the power of God flows through the heart
center and transforms the person into somebody who can share the power of God
as well as praise it.
(A door bell rings. Sharon opens the
door and Paul enters. He sees Gina.)
(Projected text: Isaiah 17:14 And
behold at eveningtide trouble; and
before the morning he is not. This is
the portion of them that spoil us,
and the lot of them that rob us.)
PAUL
I would not have
come had I known you already had a visitor.
SHARON
The Lord is certainly
welcome to move in our lives here. We all need it. None of us alone are
sufficiently strong to hold up under this kind of pressure. Gina and I have
been discussing the evolution of human consciousness as revealed in Scripture.
I must say I feel much better for our conversation, which we might perhaps
continue at a later date. I promised her I would give her reflections upon her
thoughts. And their depth inclines me to take some time and pray about my
reflection. What brings you here, my son?
(Projected text: Isaiah 18:4 For so
the Lord said unto me, I will take my
rest, and I will consider in my
dwelling place like a clear heat upon
herbs, and like a cloud of dew in the
heat of harvest.)
PAUL
I have just come
from church.
GINA
What kind of
service?
PAUL
It was a study
group.
GINA
What was being
discussed?
PAUL
The nature of sin.
GINA
Good topic. Your mom
and I started to get into that today as well.
SHARON
We decided to leave that
for tomorrow. Would you like to join us for that discussion?
(Projected text: Isaiah 19:3-4 And
the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the
midst thereof; and I will destroy the
counsel thereof: and they shall seek
to the idols, and to the charmers,
and to them that have familiar
spirits, and to the wizards. And the
Egyptians will I give over into the
hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce
king shall rule over them, saith the
Lord, the Lord of hosts.)
PAUL
I wouldn't miss it.
I was kind of hoping you would have some leftovers in your fridge, Mom.
SHARON
Help yourself to my
hot and sour soup. Homemade. Perhaps Gina would like a snack as well.
GINA
I would indeed.
SHARON
I tell you what. I'll
go heat up some soup and put some vegetables on a plate, while you two sit here
and get caught up? I'll call you when it's ready.
(Sharon exits through door to kitchen.)
(Projected text: Isaiah 20:3-4 And
the Lord said, Like as my servant
Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot
three years for a sign and wonder
upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia; So
shall the king of Assyria lead away
the Egyptians prisoners, and the
Ethiopians captives, young and old,
naked and barefoot, even with their
buttocks uncovered, to the shame of
Egypt.)
PAUL
I want to apologize
for how I acted last night. I must tell you that my dating skills have become
pretty rusty lately.
GINA
That is obvious.
Apology accepted. My feelings were hurt. That is my fault. There was no reason
for them to be. I like you. I want to keep seeing you. That is why I took the
liberty of coming to see your mother. I was afraid you would never call again.
I thought she could maybe help get us back together. I was going to ask her to
pass you an apology for me. I really like her. We never got to that subject.
(Projected text: Isaiah 21:3
Therefore are my loins filled with
pain: pangs have taken hold upon me,
as the pangs of a woman that
travaileth: I was bowed down at
the hearing of it; I was dismayed at
the seeing of it.)
PAUL
She's great. She
really helps keep me together. I've been under a lot of stress lately.
GINA
Oh, about what?
PAUL
At this time? I
can't say. I am sorry. Maybe we can talk about it later.
GINA
I certainly hope so.
But if you want to keep it secret. I'll honor that.
(Projected text: Isaiah 22:5 For it
is a day of trouble, and of treading
down, and of perplexity by the Lord
God of hosts in the valley of vision,
breaking down the walls, and of
crying to the mountains.)
PAUL
I'd like to make an
argument that it is OK to tell you later. I have it rationalized anyway. Maybe
I just need to work up my courage. But I don't want to make the argument for
why insisting that I tell you something later doesn't make me a bad person. I
have me convinced.
GINA
OK, we will talk
about what is putting you under a lot of stress - we'll talk about that later,
presumably because you have something that you really want to talk about now.
(Projected text: Isaiah 23:15-16 And
it shall come to pass in that day,
that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy
years, according to the days of one
king: after the end of seventy years
shall Tyre sing as an harlot. Take an
harp, go about the city, thou harlot
that hast been forgotten; make sweet
melody, sing many songs, that thou
mayest be remembered.)
PAUL
I want to talk about
how much you mean to me.
GINA
Oh, that is a good
subject. I'll be quiet and keep my opinions to my self for a few minutes.
PAUL
(Stands, paces, plays to house.)
I need more than a
few minutes. And I will get to you in ample detail before we eat.
GINA
OK. I'll hold my
cell phone calls until you tell me that you have finished your speech. I
sometimes go into a meditation state when listening intently. Don't think that
I've fallen asleep.
(Projected text: Isaiah 24:21-22 And
it shall come to pass in that day,
that the Lord shall punish the host
of the high ones that are on high,
and the kings of the earth upon the
earth. And they shall be gathered
together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in
the prison, and after many days shall
they be visited.)
PAUL
I am very neurotic. I
am anxious, depressed, angry, confused, hyper vigilant, obsessed,
perfectionistic, a geek. I know that I am not a lot of fun to be with. I've had
dozens of hours of counseling. If I wasn't high on Jesus I had to be on some
psychotropic medication. I know this is the outgrowth of an unresolved conflict
between me and my parents. I agree with Freud that this conflict is powered
essentially by unresolved sexual rivalry. I despise irrational authority. I
really do.
GINA
I would agree with
that.
(Projected text: Isaiah 25:11 And he
shall spread forth his hands in the
midst of them, as he that swimmeth
spreadeth forth his hands to swim:
and he shall bring down their pride
together with the spoils of their
hands.)
PAUL
It'd gotten so I
don't know what normal is anymore. Yet I have the nerve to tell you today that
I am very quickly falling in love with you. I have never before found myself
falling in love like this. These feelings I am having are showing me that I
never really knew what love was about until I met you.
GINA
Let me interrupt to
assure you that you are neither incompetent nor unlovable.
PAUL
I look back now on
previous relationships and wonder what I was thinking. I was just living in a
fantasy world. I was trying to have a relationship with my own projection. Or I
was trying to lean on somebody who couldn't stand up themselves. The way I feel
about you starts from a much deeper place. I feel so good about loving you
because it makes me feel godly. Loving you is like loving the Lord. It is
taking me to a place beyond anxiety and dependence. I want to work together
with you to serve the Lord, whatever shape that takes.
GINA
I really appreciate
that. I a m very open to working on the form of partnership.
(Projected text: Isaiah 26:8-9 Yea,
in the way of thy judgments, O Lord,
have we waited for thee; the desire
of our soul is to thy name, and to
the remembrance of thee. With my soul
have I desired thee in the night;
yea, with my spirit within me will I
seek thee early: for when thy
judgments are in the earth, the
inhabitants of the world will learn
righteousness.)
PAUL
To be or not to be
is a real question for me. You should know that twice I have attempted to
overdose on pills and twice been
revived in an emergency room. I can promise that I will not be bringing any of
that energy into our partnership. In the interest of full disclosure is why I
mention it. Other than that, no jail time or record, no sexually transmitted
diseases. In fact I am a virgin. I love my mother. With your help, I am sure
that I can do an even better job of adjusting to life. With you and the Lord.
You are not going to tolerate living your life on anything but an utterly sound
basis. You aren't going to sit around and see what fate brings in on the tide.
If you believe in me it will be that much easier for me to believe in myself.
(Projected text: Isaiah 27:2-4 In
that day sing ye unto her, A vineyard
of red wine. I the Lord do keep it; I
will water it every moment: lest any
hurt it, I will keep it night and
day. Fury is not in me: who would set
the briers and thorns against me in
battle? I would go through them, I
would burn them together.)
PAUL
(Continuing.)
Forgive me for
constantly interjecting myself into remarks ostensibly about you. I can't help
it because I think of you all the time and can't help it because I think of you
all the time and can't do it without now and then thinking about what is
between us.
GINA
I feel very solid
and open to working for the Lord with you.
PAUL
I tell you I won't
miss the heartache. I won't miss the bump of bad fortune. I won't miss thinking
so much about death.
(Projected text: Isaiah 28:9-10 Whom
shall he teach knowledge? and whom
shall he make to understand doctrine?
them that are weaned from the milk,
and drawn from the breasts. For
precept must be upon precept, precept
upon precept; line upon line, line
upon line; here a little, and there a
little. )
GINA
I recommend that you
start journalizing your dreams. I think we should talk your dreams over.
PAUL
I think that the
Lord has brought us together. I really need to be close to you and hope that
you really need to be close to me.
GINA
I would do it even
if you told me that you could whip my butt as I get old.
(Projected text: Isaiah 29:15 Woe
unto them that seek deep to hide
their counsel from the Lord, and
their works are in the dark, and they
say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth
us?)
PAUL
I know that I am
unworthy. Somehow the Lord has seen fit to ask us to work together and play
together in love.
GINA
Yes he has.
PAUL
It doesn't have to
be all work either. Actually affection should be as important as work.
(Projected text: Isaiah 30:21-22 And
thine ears shall hear a word behind
thee, saying, This is the way, walk
ye in it, when ye turn to the right
hand, and when ye turn to the left.
Ye shall defile also the covering of
thy graven images of silver, and the
ornament of thy molten images of
gold: thou shalt cast them away as a
menstruous cloth; thou shalt say unto
it, Get thee hence.)
GINA
That is how the Lord
would want it. He will help us forgive ourselves and each other for our sins.
PAUL
One of the things
that had me bent out of shape last night was my pride. I have a difficult time
submitting myself to you. I have never really submitted myself to a woman
before. And I don't really know if it is realistic to expect that you will
submit yourself to me. And then I worry, what if after I reveal myself to you,
you despise me?
(Projected text: Isaiah 31:2 Yet he
also is wise, and will bring evil,
and will not call back his words: but
will arise against the house of the
evildoers, and against the help of
them that work iniquity.)
GINA
I hope that I have
already put that fear to rest.
PAUL
Do travelers return
from this sort of journey?
GINA
They don't even
attempt it. Think of it this way. Getting everything all figured out is really
not in the cards. Not in this life. We just need to act on what we know to be
true and leave the rest to the Lord.
(Projected text: Isaiah 32:6 For the
vile person will speak villany, and
his heart will work iniquity, to
practise hypocrisy, and to utter
error against the Lord, to make empty
the soul of the hungry, and he will
cause the drink of the thirsty to
fail.)
PAUL
I must have an
overly aggressive need to figure everything out.
GINA
You better hope and
pray that life is more beautiful and meaningful than you can appreciate.
PAUL
I probably over
think everything.
(Projected text: Isaiah 33:1 Woe
to thee that spoilest, and thou wast not
spoiled; and dealest treacherously,
and they dealt not treacherously with
thee! when thou shalt cease to spoil,
thou shalt be spoiled; and when thou
shalt make an end to deal
treacherously, they shall deal
treacherously with thee.)
GINA
The important thing
is that you make a strong commitment to obey the word of the Lord and never
break it.
PAUL
I won't as far as
you are concerned. Only in very small ways like eating a Snickers bar every
year or so.
GINA
I'll let you have
one Snickers a month.
PAUL
How about a dark
chocolate bar a month as well?
(Projected text: Isaiah 34:9-10 And
the streams thereof shall be turned
into pitch, and the dust thereof into
brimstone, and the land thereof shall
become burning pitch. It shall not be
quenched night nor day; the smoke
thereof shall go up for ever: from
generation to generation it shall lie
waste; none shall pass through it for
ever and ever.)
GINA
Paul, I have
something of your that you, ... that I intend to return to you.
(Paul looks surprised.)
You left it at my
place. Before I show you what it is, I wonder , friend to friend, if yoku can
recollect what it is?
PAUL
I think you are
kidding. I didn't leave anything at your place.
GINA
My esteemed partner,
maybe you just have not figured it out yet. Think protective membrane.
PAUL
Umbrella, no.
Baggie, no?
GINA
Protective membrane
for that which becomes engrossed with itself.
PAUL
Raincoat?
(Projected text: Isaiah 35:5-6 Then
the eyes of the blind shall be
opened, and the ears of the deaf
shall be unstopped. Then shall the
lame man leap as an hart, and the
tongue of the dumb sing: for in the
wilderness shall waters break out,
and streams in the desert.)
GINA
You can get one more
guess or you're going to talk yourself out of this one.
PAUL
Palm Pilot case?
GINA
Put out your hand.
(She puts condom in his hand.)
PAUL
(Feigning surprise.)
A rubber? I've never
bought one of those in my life.
GINA
It fell out of your
jacket pocket. I don't want you to ever lie to me again. Not as long as we are
partners for the Lord.
(Projected text: Isaiah 37:28-29 But
I know thy abode, and thy going out,
and thy coming in, and thy rage
against me. Because thy rage against
me, and thy tumult, is come up into
mine ears, therefore will I put my
hook in thy nose, and my bridle in
thy lips, and I will turn thee back
by the way by which thou camest.)
PAUL
I picked it up for
free at a gay thrift store.
GINA
You don't need to
use a rubber with me. I won't allow it.
PAUL
Why? Are you not
fertile?
GINA
Following the Lord
means bearing his children. I'm not afraid of getting pregnant by you.
PAUL
Are you serious?
(Projected text: Isaiah 38:14-15 Like
a crane or a swallow, so did I
chatter: I did mourn as a dove: mine
eyes fail with looking upward: O
Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for
me. What shall I say? he hath both
spoken unto me, and himself hath done
it: I shall go softly all my years in
the bitterness of my soul.)
GINA
I thought that was
what you wanted. And I didn't say we are going to do it before we get married.
You didn't think that the Lord was going to let you get any without a license?
PAUL
Of course not.
(Projected text: Isaiah 39:6-7
Behold, the days come, that all that
is in thine house, and that which thy
fathers have laid up in store until
this day, shall be carried to
Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith
the Lord. And of thy sons that shall
issue from thee, which thou shalt
beget, shall they take away; and they
shall be eunuchs in the palace of
the king of Babylon.)
GINA
(Pointing at rubber.)
Then perhaps you
were afraid that I might lose control and rape you on our first date?
PAUL
(Laughing, loosening.)
Not really.
GINA
You aren't that
loveable or lucky, yet.
SHARON
(shouting from off stage.)
Soup is on!
(Gina and Paul exit toward voice.)
(Projected text: Isaiah 40:28-29 Hast
thou not known? hast thou not heard,
that the everlasting God, the Lord,
the Creator of the ends of the earth,
fainteth not, neither is weary? there
is no searching of his understanding.
He giveth power to the faint; and to
them that have no might he increaseth
strength.)
(BLACKOUT)
(END SCENE)
Scene 4
SETTING: Sharon's living room.
AT RISE: Sharon and Paul enter from the direction of
the kitchen.
(Projected text: Isaiah 41:15-16
Behold, I will make thee a new sharp
threshing instrument having teeth:
thou shalt thresh the mountains, and
beat them small, and shalt make the
hills as chaff. Thou shalt fan them,
and the wind shall carry them away,
and the whirlwind shall scatter them:
and thou shalt rejoice in the Lord,
and shalt glory in the Holy One of
Israel.)
(Sharon and Paul sit on couch.)
PAUL
Mom, how can I tell
her that dad murdered fifty prostitutes?
SHARON
Firstly, I wouldn't
use the P word . Clearly it is pejorative. For the sake of those dear souls'
families, we ought to simply refer to them as women.
PAUL
Good point. That is
what I typically do. I don't know what prompted me to use the word with you.
(Projected text: Isaiah 42:5 Thus
saith God the Lord, he that created
the heavens, and stretched them out;
he that spread forth the earth, and that
which cometh out of it; he that
giveth breath unto the people upon
it, and spirit to them that walk
therein.)
SHARON
Apology accepted.
The first Biblical reference to one of those women is Genesis 38:21 after Judah
unwittingly screwed his daughter in law after paying a pledge of his cord and
staff. Later he found out that he had impregnated her with twins. Explanation?
He thought she was a temple prostitute, because she had not covered her face.
PAUL
Some say it is the
most ancient profession.
SHARON
I think calling it a
profession is going a bit far. This is no joking matter. You must tell her with
the utmost in respect for his victims.
(Projected text: Isaiah 43:25-26 I,
even I, am he that blotteth out thy
transgressions for mine own sake, and
will not remember thy sins. Put me in
remembrance: let us plead together:
declare thou, that thou mayest be
justified.)
PAUL
I concur.
SHARON
For the rest of it,
honey, just tell her your real name for a start. Then you can take some time
and regroup. Almost everybody in Seattle will instantly recognize your name.
Then most of them will want to ask if you are his son. In your mind when you
hear that word his, just replace the word "his" with the his in the
Lords His, and move on.
(Projected text: Isaiah 44:21-22
Remember these, O Jacob and Israel;
for thou art my servant: I have
formed thee; thou art my servant: O
Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten
of me. I have blotted out, as a thick
cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for
I have redeemed thee.)
PAUL
Gina will have
trouble asking me questions about it.
SHARON
You should be open
to the subject. Remember. You have nothing to be guilty about. That's the
neurosis speaking. You didn't do anything wrong. Neither of us knew what he was
doing. How could anybody be expected to recognize the Devil in their life?
(Phone rings. Sharon answers.)
Good evening.
(Listening)
It's Alice Copley
from TV news.
(Listens again.)
They are right
outside.
(Listens again.)
They want to come in
and do an interview.
PAUL
Have them phone back
in an hour.
SHARON
(To the phone.)
You may phone back in
fifteen minutes.
(Projected text: Isaiah 45:5-7 I am
the Lord, and there is none else,
there is no God beside me: I girded
thee, though thou hast not known me:
That they may know from the rising of
the sun, and from the west, that
there is none beside me. I am the Lord, and there is none else. I form
the light, and create darkness: I
make peace, and create evil: I the
Lord do all these things.)
PAUL
I Already talked to
them outside the memorial service. They must have tailed me home. I am really
sorry about this.
SHARON
You didn't tell them
where I lived?
PAUL
No, but they know my
name. I think I might be on TV news.
(Projected text:
Isaiah 46:3-4 Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the
house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, which are carried from
the womb: And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry
you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.)
SHARON
In an inch. In a
mile. I don't want to get dragged into it. No way. I am not getting run off and
I am not letting people invade my privacy.
PAUL
Mom, you don't have
any privacy. The Lord knows. Jesus knows. What does it matter what anybody else
thinks. You know, I really believe that if we just let them talk they will get
tired and go away and never come back. But if we don't talk, to them they will
think we have something to hide and get more excited by the chase than they
would be by the truth. I didn't want them to come here. But it might be the
Lord's way.
(Projected text: Isaiah 47:10-11 For
thou hast trusted in thy wickedness:
thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy
wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath
perverted thee; and thou hast said in
thine heart, I am, and none else
beside me. Therefore shall evil come
upon thee; thou shalt not know from
whence it riseth: and mischief shall
fall upon thee; thou shalt not be
able to put if off: and desolation
shall come upon thee suddenly,
which thou shalt not know.)
SHARON
I wondered how long
it would take you to pull the Lord gambit on me. That could be said of almost
anything. If there is one thing the Lord craves it is mystery.
PAUL
You sound like you
may be wavering.
SHARON
You are kidding
yourself. I am being polite until they phone back to hear about my final
refusal.
(Projected text: Isaiah 48:8 Yea,
thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest
not; yea, from that time that thine
ear was not opened: for I knew that
thou wouldest deal very
treacherously, and wast called a
transgressor from the womb.)
PAUL
You told me about
the first "p" in the Bible. I will tell you about the last. First
Corinthians 6:16 "or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a "p?"
is one body with her? For he says, "The Two shall become One flesh."
SHARON
Any by extension we
are one flesh with them as well.
PAUL
We need to become
one flesh with them rather than with him. Then we can own the rest of our
earthly life.
(Projected text: Isaiah 49:14-15
But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me,
and my Lord hath forgotten me. Can a
woman forget her sucking child, that
she should not have compassion on the
son of her womb? Yea, they may
forget, yet will I not forget thee.)
SHARON
If you are sure, I
will sit out this vote.
PAUL
I will do most of
the talking. I would suggest that we make a conscious point to not ever smile
even in the least. I know that when I am nervous I tend to smile for no reason.
SHARON
I know what you
mean.
PAUL
Why don't we go talk
to them outside.
(Projected text: Isaiah 50:5-6 The
Lord God hath opened mine ear, and I
was not rebellious, neither turned
away back. I gave my back to the
smiters, and my cheeks to them that
plucked off the hair: I hid not my
face from shame and spitting.)
PAUL
(Continuing after text change.)
It will be easier to
break it off if they aren't inside.
SHARON
Great plan. We'll
just draw the line at the door. We won't ever let them inside.
PAUL
That's a good idea.
(Phone rings. Paul answers.)
We will come outside
and talk to you. No pictures of the house please. OK? How long will it take to
get set up?
(BLACKOUT)
(END OF ACT)
Copyright © 2004 Sidney Dutton Hoover. All
Rights Reserved