CHARACTERS:
FOREVER – all mothers
EVER – all daughters
EVER
Why we live in the mountains now? I thought you loved Texas.
FOREVER
Texas is yesterday, Texas is last night, when he said he loved you, pulled his thing out of you, and pushed you off the bed.
EVER
I was born there, so I feel proud about that.
FOREVER
You were born with your feet plumb up in the air, not touching no ground, there is no earth that owns you.
EVER
I guess I came from you, so you’re my home.
FOREVER
Baby, you’re always home. Inside your perfect vessel, your body. Where you live all your life.
EVER
Will you hold me, Forever?
FOREVER
[NODDING HEAD] Come here, sweet child. I got you now. [EMBRACES EVER]
EVER
It’s so quiet. But later on, river water gonna be so loud. At night it sounds like somebody left the faucet running.
FOREVER
I’ll take water noise over city noise any day. One good thing about being up here so high is—no NASCAR. [laughs]
EVER
What you talking about, NASCAR? There isn’t a single car up here, not at this elevation.
FOREVER
Isn’t that wonderful? No cars, and no men that go along with them, the fools who love burning rubber big tire vehicles and diesel trucks, and speeding on the freeways, and road rage car chases, and hit-and-runs, and drive-bys. All that hate, while they’re sitting down. Honey, we are practically in heaven.
EVER
Up here so high, it IS almost like heaven. And I don’t really mind all the walking up. It’s better than being in cars. Footpaths go up and around, to a village, away from a village. How come they didn’t tell us how nice this is, back in Texas?
FOREVER
Texas too busy being the biggest and the baddest, it has no time or desire to show you anything else. That became my job, baby. That’s why all us women left it all behind, why we came here. To get real with ourselves, to show you young ones how real you can be.
EVER
Mama! Look! It’s a snake.
FOREVER
Well, jump over that snake.
EVER
It’s hissing at me.
FOREVER
Well, kick it away.
EVER
It’s close to my bed, wiggling its tongue!
FOREVER
Well, throw water at it.
EVER
It might catch that water and drown me with it.
FOREVER
So set it on fire.
EVER
It might hold that fire and burn my skin off.
FOREVER
So just laugh at it.
EVER
It might take my laugh and blow it back at me to choke my throat.
FOREVER
Well, then, go on and just lay down on the ground.
EVER
So it can kill me?
FOREVER
Naah, child, so it can confuse you for one of its own and slither up on you and hiss in your soft baby ear.
EVER
And then? Am I to kiss it, is that what you say?
FOREVER
Oh, no, no, baby, that’s when you stare straight in its eyes, ‘til it remembers you are its equal, and after that, it won’t ever squeeze anything from you, Ever, again.
END
