Act One, Part D
NINA: I think that’s almost all of them.
What about the seven deadly sins?
CAT: Did I put that down?
NINA: Maybe…it just came to mind.
SAVANNAH: Let’s see…television.
PIN: Deserts.
ROAN: Mirrors.
NINA: Money.
ROAN: Imitation food.
CAT: Cities.
Voice offstage: Hearsay.
SAVANNAH: Who was that?
(A knock at the door which is answered and opened by Cat)
CECILIA: Hello.
CAT: …Hi…
(Cecilia is physically 8 or 9, but mentally, spiritually and
cohesively…that’s another story)
CECILIA: (looking around) Wow, are you all having a party?
CAT: Uh-huh.
CECILIA: What kind?
CAT: Uh…a baby shower.
CECILIA: A baby shower? For who?
CAT: For me.
CECILIA: Are you going to have a baby?
CAT: Uh huh.
CECILIA: When?
CAT: Oh, not for a long time.
CECILIA: Cool. Can I come in?
CAT: Um, sure.
(Upon walking in she scoots past Nina)
PIN: Hi.
CECILIA: Hi. What’s your name?
PIN: Pin. What’s yours?
CECILIA: Well, my mother calls me Kim, but I like Cecilia.
PIN: That’s a nice name.
CECILIA: Actually I’ve been "Cecilia" for a
long time. I think now I’ll be Cecily.
ROAN: That’s a nice name, too.
CECILY: Yes, I like it.
CAT: Were we making too much noise?
CECILY: Oh, no, I just got bored listening to my mother, so I
thought I’d take a walk.
CAT: You aren’t the people who just moved in upstairs,
are you?
CECILY: Well, I’m half of them. My mother also lives
with me.
CAT: Well, yeah—
CECILY: We just moved back. We used to live here. We used to
live in this very apartment. But, that was a long time ago.
CAT: At least a year.
CECILY: Are you all sisters?
SAVANNAH: Sometimes.
CAT: We should be. These are my friends, though we
aren’t related. Yet.
CECILY: Who’s the mother?
CAT: Do you mean who’s the oldest?
SAVANNAH: I guess I take that role until the real one comes.
CECILY: (Pointing) And you three are the aunts?
NINA: I guess so. Actually there’s four of us.
We’re waiting for our other sister.
CECILY: When will she be here?
CAT: Any minute, hopefully.
CECILY: Where’s the father?
CAT: Well, fathers don’t usually go to baby showers.
CECILY: Oh, that’s right, I forgot.
CAT: But he wouldn’t be here anyway. There isn’t a
father.
CECILY: No father?
CAT: …I was raped, Cecily. Do you know what that is?
CECILY: Oh, yeah. That happened to a friend of my mothers. It
happened to my mother, too. Is that why you’re pregnant?
CAT: Yes, it is.
CECILY: And you’re going to keep it?
CAT: Yes, I am.
CECILY: Do you know who the father is?
CAT: No, I don’t.
CECILY: And you’re still going to keep it?
CAT: Yep.
CECILY: Gee, you must really want to have a baby.
CAT: It’s a special baby. It will be a special baby.
CECILY: Did you plan for it?
CAT: I was raped. Of course I didn’t plan for it.
CECILY: Then why is it special?
CAT: Because…. Because it will be accepted as the baby
of a rapist, for all of society to see.
CECILY: Society did this?
CAT: In it’s own way, yes.
CECILY: And now it will have to live with it’s bastard?
CAT: Yep.
CECILY: That’s quite a burden for such a youngun.
CAT: But if it makes people stop and think of how it came to
be, then maybe it will only have to be the only one of its
kind.
CECILY: But how will it sleep at night, knowing that it was
more than wanted. That it was inevitable?
CAT: It’ll sleep okay.
CECILY: Would you be able to sleep knowing the only reason
you were alive were for a purpose?
CAT: We’re all here for a purpose, Cecily.
CECILY: But nobody knows what that purpose is. You create
your own.
CAT: Right.
CECILY: And everybody will know what your baby’s purpose
is. Even the baby. Eventually.
CAT: But I’ll be giving it life. It would be cruel of me
to take that life away. At least I’ll be giving it life.
CECILY: The least you will be giving it is life. The most you
will be taking away is its choice to live.
CAT: But it will be alive.
CECILY: But does it know the price it will pay for being
alive?
CAT: I’ll be passing on the most beautiful thing there
is, Cecily, the gift of life.
CECILY: But it wasn’t a gift. It was stolen. You
can’t give something you don’t already have.
CAT: But I got it back. When I have my child, I will have
gotten it back.
CECILY: Then you’ll have no one to pass it on to. It
will just be you.
(The telephone rings)
CAT: I’ll get that. (Goes to answer the phone)
(Beat, two, three, four)
CECILY: Do you all approve of this?
ROAN: Cat’s our friend, Cecily. She may be a little off,
but she’s our friend.
CECILY: But you aren’t going to let her do this, are
you?
NINA: We’ve tried. She’s made up her mind. She
won’t budge.
CECILY: But it’s so cruel. It’ll be cruel for her,
too.
PIN: Well, what do you suggest we do?
CECILY: Talk to her.
SAVANNAH: We’ve tried. She has to do this by herself. We
can only go so far.
(CAT hangs up the phone and rejoins the group)
CAT: That was Maria. She stopped off at 7-11 to get some milk
and her car won’t start. So, I’m just going to give
her a jump. I’ll be right back.
SAVANNAH: Do you need some help, Cat?
CAT: Nah, I can handle this. I’ve jumped lots of cars
before. This’ll be a cinch. Back in a bit.
EACH OF THE OTHERS: Bye
(CAT exits)
ROAN: I know what you mean. I wish there were something we
could do, but, she just has to get out of this herself.
NINA: Oh, Cat. Cat, Cat, Cat.
CECILY: Is that her real name?
SAVANNAH: Her real name is Kathleen. But she stopped using it
when she realized that man only liked her for her…ahem,
feline qualities? So, she decided just to throw it in their
faces. She does things like that.
CECILY: She’s doing things like that.
NINA: Yeah, she’s a mixed up lass at the best of
times…but she’s good. She’s healthy.
PIN (conspiratorially to Nina, as she looks around Cat’s
apartment): She still hasn’t painted.
NINA: I know.
ROAN: It used to be she’d never finish anything. Now she
doesn’t even start anything.
SAVANNAH: I hope this party cheers her up. My god she needs
it these days, what with her mother and everything.
NINA: Especially the everything.
PIN: Yeah.
(A knock at the door)
CECILY: Well, I’m going to go back to my place and see
if anything’s going on there.
NINA: You can stay if you want, Cecily.
CECILY: That’s okay. I might come back later. Nice
meeting you all.
(Assorted wishes as Cecily heads for the door. As she opens
the door, Maria is just about to knock)
CECILY: (To Maria) Hi.
(Cecily scoots past Maria and disappears)
NINA: There she is. Why wouldn’t the car start?
MARIA: Hi. Why wouldn’t whose car start? My car starts
fine.
PIN: No it doesn’t. You just called Cat from 7-11
because your car doesn’t start.
MARIA: I haven’t been near a 7-11 in six years, Pin.
Them’s fightin’ words.
ROAN: Well, then—
SAVANNAH: That’s strange.
NINA: Cat just got a phone call about five minutes ago from
you and you told her that you were at 7-11 and needed a
jump-start.
MARIA: Nope. I’m right here.
ROAN: So where…is…CAT:?
End of Act One