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