JUMPING
CHOLLA
A play
by
dorothylemoult@gmail.com
©2005-2006
Jumping
cholla
Readers, pleasenote : this work is in progress.
1.
Lights
up on the still standing skeleton of a tall cactus. The cactus is adorned with various items of lingerie, cheap jewelry
and a pair of hot pink stilettos. Mac appears from the darkness. He has been
walking for a very long time. He is delirious. He stops and examines the cactus. He touches
the clothes and picks up the shoes. He talks to the cactus.
MAC
Oooooh… You’re pretty.
You’re tall.
I haven’t seen too many tall ones like you.
Oooh, look at your pretty flower…
MAC
goes to pick the flower.
The
cactus jumps a little and MAC drops the flower.
OW, DON’T
FUCKING. JUMP
OW OW OW, YOU
HURT ME MOTHERFUCKER. YOU HURT ME WITH
YOUR STUPID THORNS!!!
MAC
picks up the flower from the ground and tries to suck on it. The flower is
disgusting.
BWAH !PFAWH!
PPH!
What good does
it do you to have pretty flowers if they don’t even taste good?!!
I’m hungry
you stupid fuck.
I thought
we could be friends. That you could feed me.
Fine. I
don’t like you, FINE!
MAC
looks around, terrified. He sits down by the cactus, exhausted. His voice
breaks.
MAC
I’m just
going to sit here and wait ok? We’re just going to rest a bit. And then, we’ll
walk some more. And then,Mamí is going to come. And bring me my favorite. Hibiscus juice. If only you could taste that
juice you would be so ashamed that your flowers taste so bad. You’d be ashamed
of your gross flowers. Oh you just wait. She’ll come. And everything is going to be all
right.
MAC hums “Everything is gonna be all right…”
from “Three little birds”by
2.
Lights
stay at half on MAC as they come up on Jumping Cholla Junction , a gas station
with one gas pump. The shop has an accessible flat roof and neon signs readings
“Cigarettes, 99c Coffee, Frito Pies etc… The sun is setting. We hear
Mac
simultaneously rocks and his rocking gradually slows down with the sounds of
MAC puts his face in his hands. He remains still.
O
She
swiftly climbs onto the roof and takes in the sunset.
Mmmmmmm.
Sun setting after love.
Like chocolate: perfect.
Any pirates
in sight?
Mayyyyybe.
Heh that’s
my girl! Always looking out!
Both
of them stand there taking the sunset in.
You’re
quite the catch you know that. I must have been doing som’ right that day you
and I--- (he
catches himself reminiscing)
Baby girl, that
was… hot. Really really hot.
Pause.
Of course
now I gotta screw the cash register back in, but outer than that...
She
laughs.
O Bob, I
never knew men could be like this!
Like what?
Like an
angel of love. You are my angel, my godsend angel.
That’s me all
right. Check out the wings.
He
grabs the sleeves on his plaid shirt and flaps them around making a funny
birdlike angel sound.
One rock
for every time you love me.
She
sits pensive by the altar. Looks up at the sky.
Is like I
was always here with you… I will always here be.
I will
always be here.
Hah?
I will be
here. Not I will here be.
Ah sí: I
-will-be-here.
Pause.
I will be
here: right?
Raaight.
That’s the proper way to say it.
Thank you!
De nada.
Silence.
(Climbing
the ladder with difficulty)
You know I
don’t care, right?
About what?
Your
bad------- your mistakes.
I lik’em.
You do?
(Reaching
the top of the roof)
Yeah.
It’s...uh... exotic.
Eggs- o-
tic?
(Sitting
on the edge with
Yeah. It’s
hot.
Egg- o - tic
means hot?
Yeah kinda.
It’s like sexy from some place far away.
Ah sí …:
EXOTICA!!!
Is the same
word in Spanish.
Pause.
What’s
exotic about speaking wrong?
It’s not
wrong Mar.
But is not
right.
It’s... sexy,
I just TOLD you.
I live here now; I want to speak right.
Speak how
you speak, it’s fine.
But I want
to speak like you.
Better work
on your....
Don’t make
fun, correct me!
All right
Pumpkin, I just did, All right?
Yes
sweetheart.
Promise
you’ll always love me.
As long as
we’re together, I will.
Promise.
You got it.
Promise!
I promise.
And after?
After what?
After I’m gone!
Where?
In the sky.
With the Virgén.
Don’t talk
about that
Is gonna
happen one day!
Yeah but. Not
now!
You don’t
know that.
I don’t.
But you’re here NOW and I love you now, that’s what matters right?
Promise
you’ll love me after too.
I---
Promise!
Here.
(Handing him a small icon from the altar).
Kiss the
Virgen and promise.
You’re
killing me.
Promise
All right,
all right, I promise.
All
right---Look: I do. I promise.
One day, the
rocks will be so high that nobody can come and get gas. Because they won’t see
us anymore. Because all the rocks for all our love.
And how
will I make a living if you hide us behind all these rocks?
I don’t
know… Magic!!!
That’s a
hell of a plan you got there girl!
I don’t
need a plan. I have you.
Oh so I’M
the plan...
The desert
belongs to you. And me. And we belong to
it.
You think
so?
Yes. This
place should have a road straight to the ocean. No border. Just a long long
road straight to the ocean.
Is that
your dream?
We can call
it The United States of Mejico !!!
Why not?
Now, that’s
an empire for you, heh.
Perfect for
love
You crack
me up Baby girl.
Hard work
kills. Is for nothing.
It’s not
for nothing. It’s for us. We gotta eat!
I know.
Pero no hay customers!
I don’t
mind pumping gas.
How often
you pump gas? Every four, maybe three days if you lucky. The rest of the time
whadoyoudo? You clean. And wait. And clean some more. Cleaning and waiting, what kind of life is that?
The kind of
life that many people have.
I am tired
You just
said you were happy ….
I am but
want you to be happy too.
I am, what
makes you think I’m not?
You are not
happy, you have enough. That is not the same. You are satisfied with cleaning
and waiting. When you have the soul and spirit of someone who could get paid to
love.
Tell you
what Mar, that would be a great plan. But you forgot something pretty
important. I don’t just clean and wait. I do love you. And even if I don’t get
paid for it, that is a pretty big improvement over the last 10 years, let me
tell ya …
Enough is
good. But look it, you have all this space around you and all this love in your
heart and you want to just sit here and wait? You have all the freedom in the
world and whadoyoudo with it? You keep your head down. You do not even look
happy.
I – I used
to be a lot worse.
Worse?
Yeah. I – I
– I am learning how to – I --- happiness is --- It just - takes time you know.
I want you
to be happy.
I am.
I want us to be happy.
I. Do too.
How do you
want to have a family if we are not happy?
A what?
Family.
Wow wow, why
do you gotta talk like that all of a sudden?!!
You love me,
no?
Of course I
love you, that has nothing to do with it!
You’re a lover,
is not right for a man your age to be alone in the world.
I am alone
by ……circumstance, I told you. And I am not alone anymore. I have you.
You like that?
Sure I do!
Remember
when you brought me here. When you said you did not know if I could stay. If
you could live with a woman. And look it. Now you like it.
It’s been
all right! You’re not like any woman I’ve ever met. I like that about you.
Is the same
with children.
What?
You think “no
way”. You think “not possible I could have a child. Not possible I could want
to be together all the time with a small person.” But when you feel this possibility.
When you see this little you, right there, in front of you…you change your
mind. Just like that. Just like the way you changed your mind about me.
That’s just
ludicrous.
What ?
Ludicrous !
Out of control ! Not possible !
You don’t
like it?
It’s not that I don’t like it --- I --- wait – yes
, no : you’re right , I don’t like
it. I told you. Remember, I told you: you come with me, fine, you live with me,
fine, you change your mind fine, you leave fine. But don’t bring anyone else into my life. And
you said yes. You said that you liked being alone too. That you liked it alone
out here with me. So don’t start talking crazy talk like that. I can’t do that,
I told you. I am not looking to make a family and you’ve known that since the
beginning.
How are you
going to love and not have a family, is not possible.
Sure it is.
We’re doing it right now, it fine.
Is fine for
now. But later, you see…
Don’t talk
to me about later when I’m talking to you about now. DON’T.
So, you
like it?
What?
You and I?
Sure I do, I like it just us ! It’s good and I’d like to
keep it that way! We haven’t been together that long Mar. We can’t talk about
stuff like this ok?
And one day?
Probably
not.
You say no
to the future?
No, I say
no to what I know I don’t want.
How you can
know if you want something if you don’t try ? When I came here, I did not know
if I would be happy with you here. But I tried. Because sometimes you have to try.
I had enough in Mejico, that is not why I came here you know this.
I know.