1

ON A CLEAR DAY.

PLAY

BY

T J COLLETT.
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CHARACTERS:

AVIS: WOMAN. 59YRS

BOYD: HER SON. 34 YRS.

CARA: WOMAN. 30 YRS.

DUKE: CARA’S FATHER. 51YRS.

LOCATION:
TWO BEDSITS IN LONDON AND
PARK BENCH NEARBY.

TIME: 2000AD
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Act One. Scene One.

Early morning. Avis’s bed-sit is of an average size. It contains a bed with pink duvet,
upper stage. Above the bed is large print by Degas. A table and two old chairs lower
centre stage. A dressing table and stool against right wall and a window, lower stage
right. There is an old brown armchair, lower stage left. Upstage right, a small
curtained off kitchenette where cooking is done, but unseen. Bach’s music is playing
on CD player. Avis is sitting in the armchair. She is wearing a faded housecoat over a
light blue dress. She is holding a white mug. Absentmindedly she is twisting the mug
around in her hands looking at her hands. After a few moments, there is a knock at the
door. She looks upstage.
Avis: Who is it?

Boyd: It’s me.

Avis: Who’s me? (Gets up from the armchair and slowly walks upstage to the table
putting the mug down.)Which me, are you?

Boyd: It’s me, Boyd.

Avis: Boyd? My Boyd? (Walks up to the door and opens it.)Ah, Boyd, dear.
How are you?

Boyd: Hello, Mother. How many Boyds do you know? Of course it was
your Boyd. (Boyd enters the room, looking around as he does so. He is smartly
dressed in casual grey jacket, trousers and a blue shirt. Avis closes the door and leans
against it as if too tired to go further.)How are you?

Avis: You’re getting thin.

Boyd: No, I’m not; I’m the weight I should be. (Looks at Avis.)You’re
looking pale. Are you eating enough?

Avis: I eat what I feel like eating. I’m sure you’re getting too thin. (Pushes
herself away from the door with effort and strolls towards the table.)Doesn’t your
father feed you anymore?

Boyd: I eat out. It’s easier. My stepmother’s turn in the kitchen doesn’t
encourage one to venture too often at the dinning table.

Avis: Your father chose her for other qualities I expect, which does not
necessarily extend to the kitchen department. (Picks up her mug and looks at
it.)Can I offer you some refreshment?
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Boyd: You should never have left us. (Looks at the mug.)Haven’t you a cup
and saucer?

Avis: Tea or coffee?

Boyd: Tea, preferably in a cup. (Looks at Avis’s housecoat.)And must you

wear that? It makes you look like a charlady.

Avis: I only have teabags. (Smiles weakly at Boyd.)I like this housecoat. I
bought it from a charity shop. Reminds me how far I’ve fallen.

Boyd: Don’t you have a teapot?

Avis: Do you take sugar, I can’t remember? (Begins to go upstage.)I don’t

get many visitors. I’ve rather lost the social graces of company.

Boyd: I like my tea strong, not milky and no sugar. (Watches as Avis
wanders upstage and disappears into the kitchenette. He walks downstage to the
window and peers out.)How the mighty have fallen. The garden’s a mess.
(Pause.)They actually hang their washing out on a line. They’ve no shame.

Avis :( Voice off stage.)How’s Clare?

Boyd: We’ve split up.

Avis :( Voice off stage.)What? Split up? Why?

Boyd: She was becoming too possessive.

Avis :( Enters the room with two mugs and walks carefully to the table where she
puts the mugs down.)Too possessive? What do you mean too possessive?

Boyd: Too domineering. She was attempting to control me.

Avis: I liked Clare. (Picks up her mug and sips from it.)Too possessive isn’t a
crime. She loved you, I expect.

Boyd: She wanted me to fit in with her plans and do what she wanted to
do all the time. (Picks up the mug with an expression of distain.)Father warned
me about her. Said I should put my foot down.

Avis: He would. (Sips again.)Your father never could keep his opinions to
himself. He always has to interfere.
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Boyd: Father only wants what is best for me. (Sips from the mug as if it
contained hemlock.)This tea isn’t what you’re used to.

Avis: How do you know what I’m used to anymore? I’ve come a long
way since your father turned me out.

Boyd: You left of your own accord.

Avis: He turned me out. At least in design. He brought that woman to the

house. Actually brought to live in the house. Our house.

Boyd: She was homeless at the time. He was only trying to be helpful.

Avis :( Takes her mug and goes to sit in the armchair. Boyd watches her go and
follows.)Help himself, more like. I knew what he was up to. He thinks I’m
a fool. Your father only thinks of himself. He has no concept of others
apart from himself.

Boyd: Zara is a nice woman. The fact that she can’t cook is beside the
point. And father’s more thoughtful than you give him credit for. (Stands
by the armchair looking at Avis.)And he and Zara are very much in love.

Avis: Love? Your father and love aren’t exactly on speaking terms. Lust
more likely. Zara will soon tire of him when he fails to entertain her.

Boyd: Anyway, you can’t stay here like this, living in these conditions.
Father would have fit if he could see how you’re living.

Avis: I live the best I can on the money I have to live on.

Boyd: Father offered you money. A reasonable settlement I thought.

Avis: You don’t think I’d take money from him, do you? I won’t be
beholden to a man who treated me like so much hand luggage. I would
rather live like this and be independent than be connected to him and that
woman he brought to the house.

Boyd: She’s his wife and my stepmother. She’s part of the family, now.

Avis: Drink your tea and don’t depress me. (Pause. They both sip their teas.)I
like my new life. Tell your father I’m content. Tell him I have my life in
order. I listen to Bach and go to the galleries. I eat from tins and packets
and drink tea from teabags. Tell him I’m content. Tell him I’m happy.
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Boyd: And are you? (Sips from the mug and pulls a face.)How can you be
content and happy here? The place is a depressing hole. I’m sure I saw a
rat on the stairs on the way up. It stopped to look at me.

Avis: That was probably the proprietor.

Boyd: I’m not sure I could tell Father a lie about your conditions here.
(Pause. Looks at the mug.)Prisoners are housed better than this.

Avis: Maybe I am a prisoner. (Drains her mug and puts it in her lap.)A prisoner
of conscience. I know things now I never thought about before.

Boyd :( Walks to the table and places the mug down. He looks around the room
again. He spots the Degas print.) Still like your Degas, I see.

Avis :( Rises from the armchair and stands looking at Boyd.)Have you seen
things around here you’ve not seen before?

Boyd: Yes, filth and unkempt people. (Looks at Avis.)The Degas stands out
like an oasis of culture in a desert of degradation. Mother, you must move
from here. I thought the last place was bad enough, but this place is
straight out of Dickens. (Runs fingers over the chairs back.)Don’t you have
cleaner in here?

Avis: I do for myself as they say around here. (Moves to where Boyd stands
and stares at the Degas print.)I saw that print in a charity shop window and I
thought to myself I must have that. I must have my Degas with me. (Both
stare at the Degas print for a few moments.)I wish Edgar were around these
days.

Boyd: Who’s Edgar? You haven’t met another man have you? (Boyd and
Avis exchanged looks.)I thought you said you had had enough of men to last
you a lifetime.

Avis: Edgar and I have been friends for many years. Been very close in
fact. Almost intimate, at least in my dreams. (Stares vacantly for a few
seconds.)

Boyd: Mother, please. (Looks embarrassed. Stares at the Degas.)I came all this
way to see you, and now you tell me you have a new man in your life.

Avis: Boyd, dear, Edgar Degas and I are old pals.

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Boyd: That’s a relief. (Pause.)You can’t stay here. I can’t visit this place.
It’s bad for my nerves. I shall have to shower once I get back home.

Avis: Where would you wish me to go? I can’t afford anything better
these days.

Boyd: But father would help, I know he would. He’s not as bad as you
make him out. He has a heart of gold.

Avis: He has a heart of lead. Anyway, I would rather live in the gutter
than ask him for handouts.

Boyd: This place isn’t far removed from that.

Avis: If you’ve only come to moan at me, then you might as well go.

Boyd: But look at the place. (Looks at the room again. Avis looks too.)Surely,
your pride can’t be worth this?

Avis: My pride is my worth. At the moment, my pride and worth are

brought pretty low, but there will be something around the corner. There
always is.

Boyd: nothing around the corner from here will be much of an

improvement. (Takes Avis’s right hand in his.)Please, Mother, move from
here. I can’t promise to come again if you don’t.

Avis: If I move, I’ll write and tell you, but don’t hold your breath.

Boyd :( Sighs. Moves to go.)Look I must go, but please Mother, reconsider.

Avis: I’ll consider reconsidering, but who knows what will happen next. I
could meet a rich man and live in a huge mansion next time you see me.

Boyd: I wonder if that rat has gone? (Kisses Avis.)Be careful. (Goes out the
door.)

Avis :( Shouts.)Give my bad wishes to your father and that woman. And
may all their problems be large ones. (Sighs. Light fades and Avis walks to the
armchair and sits down.)

End of Scene One.

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Act One. Scene Two.

An hour later in another bed-sit. Similar to the other bed-sit in furnishings, except the
bed has a blue duvet and the large print over the bed is a Renoir. A Jazz record is
playing softly in background. Duke is sitting at the table drinking from a mug. He is
wearing a black dressing gown over red pyjamas and is bare footed. He has the look
of a man who has fought against aging, but has recently lost. He stares at the mug as
he turns it around in his hands. The doorbell rings. He looks upstage at the door, but
does not move. The doorbell rings again. He turns and stares at the mug again. The
doorbell rings once more and is prolonged.
Duke: The damned door’s unlocked. Enter at your own risk. (The doorbell
rings again.)Enter the damned door’s unlocked! (Door opens and Cara wearing
a green coat over a green dress enters. Duke doesn’t turn around, but continues to
stare at the mug. Cara closes the door behind her.)
Cara: I could have been anybody.

Duke: You are anybody.

Cara: I could have had a gun or a knife. (Stands with her back to the door.
Duke turns to look at Cara.)Don’t you care?

Duke: What is there to care about? If I’m doomed to die today then so be
it. Fussing around won’t make much difference.

Cara: Oh, in one of those moods are we?

Duke: I don’t know if you’re in one of those moods, but I’ still deciding
whether to go back to bed or not. (Sips from his mug.)I hate these decisions.

Cara :( Walks downstage to the bed.)I’m surprised you managed to make it

this far. Do you ever make your bed?

Duke: Have you come on a mercy mission or just to complain and report
to your mom? (Rises from the table with mug in his hand.)And how is that mom
of yours?

Cara: I thought you would have made some effort to make something of
this place after you were thrown out of the last dump because you left it
in such a mess.

Duke: There’s no freedom anymore. Everyone keeps bringing in new

rules and regulations about his and that. Do not do this. Do not do that.
This is not permitted. The law says and so on and so on as infinitum.
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Cara: It’s a matter of keeping an orderly existence, Daddy.

Duke: Orderly existence? There isn’t such a thing, Cara, babe. Life is by
nature disorderly and full of chaos. (Looks at his mug.)Coffee?

Cara: Haven’t you any tea?

Duke: Tea? I can’t abide the stuff.

Cara: Maybe you don’t, but your guests might.

Duke: I don’t have guests. I haven’t had a guest since you came last and
you don’t count. (Walks to the bed where Cara stands and gives her a kiss on the
cheek.)I can do you milk. How about milk?

Cara: Milk will be fine.

Duke: Good. Now you make yourself at home, while I make a coffee and
get you some milk. (Strolls off upstage with his mug. Cara watches him disappear
and then sits on the end of the bed. She stares around the room and finally stops at
looks at the Renoir print. Duke calls from the kitchenette.)How’s Joel?

Cara: I don’t know.

Duke :( From off stage.)Don’t know? He’s your fiancé isn’t he? Why don’t
you know?

Cara: We’ve parted company.

Duke :( From off stage.) Why’s that?

Cara: We decided we wanted different things from life.

Duke :( Off stage.) So what now? You on your own?

Cara: No, I’m back with Mom, now.

Duke :( Enters with a mug and a glass of milk. He wanders down to the bed and
gives Cara the glass. He stands looking at her sitting on the end of his bed.) Back
with her? What? You tired of life?

Cara: It was Mom’s decision.

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Duke: I bet it was. (Sips from the mug.)And how’s the new guy in her life?
What’s his name?

Cara: Ryan. And he’s fine. (Sips her milk.)I thought you were going to
make an effort this time, Daddy. You promised me you’d make an effort.

Duke: I have. I wash every other day now.

Cara: Daddy, it’s not funny. You’ll get yourself made homeless if you
continue the way you did last time.

Duke: See the Renoir? (Nods towards the print above the bed.)Picked it up
from some shop a block away.

Cara: I don’t think it’s decent to have above your bed.

Duke: I’d like it in my bed, but it’s too wide.

Cara: Daddy, you’re impossible. No wonder Mom gave up on you.

Duke: If your mom were at the Alamo, we’d have won that without a shot
being fired.

Cara: That’s not fair on Mom. She cares. Cares about Ryan, the whole
world and me. She even cares about you.

Duke: Sure she does. I’m right there after the rest of the world has been
sorted out and fed and cared for. (Pause. Sips from his mug.)Anyway, what
you drop in here for? Did your mom ask you to spy on me? Report on
how lousy I am and how right she was to give up on me?

Cara: No. I came of my on will. I care about you. Care that you’re doing
all right. Which you aren’t and seem to be not making any effort to do so.

Duke: If I were back in the States now, maybe I’d make the effort. But
here I don’t have any incentive. The place is too damned dismal and wet.
I don’t think I’ve been out for days. The park’s the only place I go, apart
from the shop for supplies now and again.

Cara: You need someone to look after you.

Duke: Why don’t you come and look after me? You could have my bed
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and I’d sleep on the floor.

Cara: Mom wouldn’t agree to that.

Duke: So what?

Cara: And it was contravene the rules of your tenancy.

Duke: There’s always a snag in these things isn’t there?

(Pause. Both finish their drinks in a short silence.)

Cara: You must make more effort, Daddy. I hate to see you like this,
living in this mess.

Duke: Any new guy on the horizon for you?

Cara: No. Mom says there’s plenty of time.

Duke: Time is an unknown factor, Honey. You can’t treat time like a
commodity to be saved or spent in such a cavalier manner. Time is a
forever-disappearing phenomenon. Here now, gone tomorrow.

Cara: Would you have me grab the first man that comes along and marry
him just to please you or Mom?

Duke: Who mentioned marriage? I just thought that a young woman like
you ought to have another guy to fall back on for those lonely nights.

Cara: Daddy! I’m not that sort of girl.

Duke: Company, Honey, company. I wasn’t suggesting anything other

than that. You know me; I speak too much and don’t think about the
words I use.

Cara: Mom is worried about you.

Duke: What? She’s never worried about me. In fact, I’m sure he doesn’t
even remember me.

Cara: That’s silly, Daddy. Of course she remembers you. (Pause.)She’s

always asking after you. Asks about you all the time.

Duke: You know it’s a crime to perjure yourself.

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Cara: Daddy, you must make an effort. I feel ashamed to come here
sometimes. Joel said he thought you were going through a second
childhood.

Duke: I’m glad you dumped that bum.

Cara: He’s a psychiatrist.

Duke: And I’m anarchist, so what? Look, Cara, Honey. I’ll make more
effort, ok? I’ll pull out all the stoppers and put the show back on the road
again, ok?

Cara: You said that last time I was here.

Duke: Well this time I mean it.

Cara: You said that last time, too.

Duke: What are you my lawyer, now?

Cara :( Gives her glass to Duke.)I have to go, Daddy. Please make me another
promise to get yourself sorted out and tidy this place up.

Duke: I give you my word, Honey. I’ll have this place like a palace
before you can say the Lord’s Prayer backwards. (Gives Cara a kiss.)And
that’s a promise.

Cara :( Kisses his cheek.)You and your promises are like fool’s gold. Just
hope you mean it this time. (Stares around the room, then goes upstage to the
door.)And that Renoir is not decent. (Smiles. Then goes out closing the door
behind her. Duke sighs. He wanders to the table and puts the glass and mug down.)

Duke: The Renoir stays until I’ve a dame to replace it. A real dame. Some
one who can give my life meaning again. (Looks at the Renoir print.)And you
can look all you like; I’m going to make the effort this time. (Sits on the
bed.)I’m going to make the effort to make an effort. Sort myself out. Get
this place tidy. Make an effort to keep it tidy. Make the effort.(Light fades
as Duke flops down on the bed and spread hi arms as if he were about to be crucified.)

End of Scene Two.

Act One. Scene Three.
Later that morning. Avis is sitting on a park bench. Behind her a few bushes and trees
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and parkland in the distance. She is wearing a white coat over the blue dress. She has
a handbag on her lap and is searching through it. After wading through the handbag,
she closes it with a sigh. After a few moments, Duke walks along and stops by the
bench.
Duke: Is anybody sitting here?

Avis :( Looks up at Duke.)Not unless they’re invisible.

Duke: So, ok, if I sit here?

Avis: If you want to. (Looks away from Duke.) I see no reason why you
can’t.

Duke :( Sits on the bench at the far end away from Avis and stares at the
auditorium.)Thanks.

Avis: No reason to thank me. It’s public bench. Anyone can sit there.

Duke: Oh, right, sure. (Pause. Looks at Avis.))I know this’ll sound corny, but
do you come here often?

Avis :( Looks at Duke.)Yes, it does sound corny. In fact, that sentence is

like an old worn out hat. (Pause.)Nonetheless, I come here everyday. I feed
the ducks with any stale bread. I look at the passing couples and think
how foolish they are. I think how nice it would be to be somewhere else
and then I go home to lunch alone.

Duke: What’s good-looking woman like you doing eating alone?

Avis: Do you specialize in corn? (Looks away from Duke.)I eat alone
because I prefer it that way. Less chance of me meeting a fool.

Duke :( Smiles.)You’re quite a prickly dame. Does your husband know

you on the loose?

Avis: My ex-husband has no interest whether I’m loose or not, he has a

new wife now and she was loose once, too. (Stares at Duke.)You’re an
American aren’t you?

Duke: Yeah, New York. Ever been there? (Slides a little nearer to Avis.)

Avis: York, yes. New York, no. (Looks at Duke’s nearness to her and moves
towards the end of the bench away from him.)Not a place I particularly I have
ever wanted to go. Too decadent for me.
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Duke (Laughs.)Sure, I guess it would be. We don’t have dames like you in
New York. We’re too decadent to have dames like you.

Avis: What Oscar Wilde said about you is true.

Duke: About me? I don’t know any Oscar Wilde. Is he a relative of

yours?

Avis: Americans, I meant. He said that America went from barbarism to

decadence without the intervening stage of civilization.

Duke: Sounds like a relative of yours. (Pause. Slides a little closer to Avis.)So,
you read Wilde, eh?

Avis: A little. (Puts her handbag between her and Duke.)Do you speak to any
woman you meet on a park bench?

Duke: No, only the good-looking ones.

Avis :( Crosses one leg over the other and pulls the hem of her dress down.)You’ve
made a mistake this time. Have you forgotten your glasses?

Duke: No, Honey, I’m looking right at you and see what I said I saw.

Avis: That’s quite a mouthful. But, I understand you Americans are

always full of mouthfuls.

Duke :( Smiles and slides a little nearer to Avis.)I’m trying to be polite and
friendly.

Avis: And you come across as pushy and a bore. (Looks away from Duke as
if to pretend he’s no longer there. There is a short pause and Duke slides away from
Avis a little and looks the other way.) I’m not at my best on Monday morning.

Duke: I’m at my best on Monday night.

Avis: I can imagine. (Neither has turned to look at the other, but now they do.)I
suppose some Americans are civilized?

Duke: Sure, only some. Most are as you said decadent or barbarians.

Avis: And some Americans speak proper English?

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Duke: A few. Most speak a corrupt English and spell poorly.

Avis: I thought so. (Duke slides closer to Avis. Avis puts the handbag on her
lap.)And do you really see me as good-looking or was that just your way
of cheering me up?

Duke: Well, I don’t have my glasses on, but you look ok to me. In fact,
Honey, you look damned well classy.

Avis :( Tuts.)Don’t spoil it. I was beginning to be cheerful for a few

moments, then.

Duke: Well, you know us Americans, we have a lot to say and we

damned well say it.

Avis: Yes, I’ve noticed. If there were a tax on speech, you Americans
would be even richer than you are now.

Duke: Some of us Americans aren’t so rich. Some of us pretty damned

poor.

Avis: Really? I’ve never met a poor American before. It’s almost as rare
as a Penny Black.

Duke: Penny Black? What is a Penny Black?

Avis: It’s a rare stamp. Victorian.

Duke: Oh, right, a stamp. And is it worth a bit?

Avis: More than a poor American.

Duke :( Laughs.)You’re quite funny dame. You in show business?

Avis: No, I’m a fifty-nine year old divorcee waiting for death to take me
for my last mile walk. You?

Duke: Well, I’m a divorcee whose ex-wife has driven him to poverty at
the age of fifty-one.
Avis: Fifty-one? I thought you were at least forty-nine. Surprising how
people can be wrong about another’s age.
 16

Duke: It’s the way it goes with ageing. You either look older than you are
or you look younger than you're not. And we Americans are very
concerned about age. We dread getting old. We fear ageing more than
dying.

Avis: They amount to the same thing in the end. Youth’s a stuff shall not
endure. Gather ye rosebuds while ye may and gallop through the tulips
and leave the tiptoeing to the faint of heart.

Duke: Yeah, I guess you’re right. What’s age between friends?

Avis: Or strangers? (Pause. Duke slides beside Avis and they look at each other for
a few minutes.)I’m Avis Aversham. Fifty-nine, a Degas fanatic, a Bach
lover and living in a bed-sit like an aging student.

Duke: How do you do, Avis. I’m Duke Belington. Fifty-one, a Renoir
nut, a Jazz lover and existing in a bed-sit like the one I used to thirty odd
years ago as a student, but slightly poorer now.

Avis: Hello, Duke. Is Duke your real name?

Duke: No, it’s Boris, but I hated the name so much I changed it to Duke
after Ellington.

Avis: Ellington?

Duke: Sure, Duke Ellington, the Jazz king. Band leader.

Avis: Oh, yes, I think I recall the name. (Pause.)So, Duke. What are your
plans for the rest of the day?

Duke: I don’t have plans. I just drift like so much flotsam on the river.

Avis: I need my small plans to get by each day. Mondays I come here,
feed the ducks, and watch the foolish couples, then I go home to lunch of
soup and white bread followed by a mug of tea. Then later I go to the
library, read more of Dickens’s Bleak House, and then borrow a cd of
whatever Bach they have and trot off to my bed-sit where I cook myself
some tinned dinner. Nothing exciting. Just a bare plan to get through the
day.
Duke: See what I mean about plans? They can rule you. Make you feel
you’re answerable to some one or something. I need no rules or plans. I
just drift through the day and pick up what comes my way on the drift
 17

through. Best that way. Adventurous. Exciting as it gets.

Avis: Did your wife divorce you because of your life’s planlessness?

Duke: No. She wanted someone younger who could make her feel
younger and thereby make her happy. The guy’s an idiot.

Avis: So, you used to have a planned existence?

Duke: Sure, like most people I thought it the way of the world. The way
to get somewhere. The way to get to the top of whatever it is you want to
get to the top of. Only I was thrown down by the dame I had married
because I’d become too boring and predictable and had aged.

Avis: Cruel woman. My ex-husband had a similar idea. He actually

brought my replacement into our home and was… (Looks at her
wristwatch.)Gosh! It that the time? It’s nearly my soup time.

Duke: Soup time? You actually plan your soup to time?

Avis One has to have some pleasure in life. Would you care to join me? I
think I have two bowls and enough soup and bread for the both of us.

Duke: Well, that’s very kind of you. I’d like that. What soup is it?

Avis: Well, that’s the thing. I don’t know until I search through my
meagre larder. But it’s bound to be something tasteful and the bread is
fresh.

Duke: How can I refuse such an offer? Lead on, Avis Aversham. Lead
me to your domain.

Avis: Before we go, there are two rules you must promise to adhere to.
One, no smoking. Two, no touching the hostess.

Duke: I don’t smoke and I won’t touch the hostess if you don’t touch the
guest. (They get up from the bench and look around. Then Avis walks on and Duke
goes on beside her as the light fades.)
End of Scene Three.

Act One. Scene Four.

A little later. Avis’s bed-sit. Door opens, Avis, and Duke enter. Duke wanders in and
 18

Avis closes the door.

Duke: So, this is the homestead?

Avis: Yes. The deer and the antelope are with the buffalo in the back
garden.

Duke :( Laughs mildly.)Just like my place. (Stops by the bed and looks up at the
Degas print. Avis walks down and stands behind Duke.)Degas, eh? You like
Degas?

Avis: I love Degas. I’d have my whole room full of Degas if I could.

Duke: You like ballet?

Avis: I love ballet. I used to go quite frequently once upon a time.

Duke: Me, too. Only I don’t have the dough anymore to go to see it.

Avis: Me, neither. (Pause. Avis looks at Duke intensely.)What can I get you?

Duke :( Still stares at the Degas.)Coffee will be fine. Black and sweet.

Avis: Is that how you like your women? (Duke turns and looks at Avis.)

Duke: I don’t choose women by their colour or creed. I choose them by

instinct and how they come across to me.

Avis: And have you made many mistakes?

Duke: Some. No more or less than most men. Being human makes you
liable to make mistakes. It comes with the merchandise.

Avis: Well, make yourself at home. I’ll get the drinks and soup. (Avis goes
off to the kitchenette. Duke stares at her as she goes, then looks back at the Degas.
After a few moments, Avis’s voice is heard off stage.)Do you like Degas?

Duke: Sure, but I prefer Renoir.

Avis :( Off stage.)Renoir? You like Renoir?

Duke: Sure. I see him as a kind of buddy. Someone I can relate to. You
like, Renoir?
 19

Avis :( Off stage.)Yes. Next to Degas, he’s my favourite.

Duke: You prefer the French artist?

Avis :( Off stage.)I don’t choose an artist by his nationality or creed, but by
instinct and how they come across to me.

Duke: Oh, right. (Smiles to himself. Walks to the window and peers out.)Don’t
see those antelopes or deer out here.

Avis :( Offstage.)What?

Duke: Don’t see those antelopes or deer out here in your backyard.

Avis :( Enters with a tray with two mugs, two bowls of soup and bread on it. She
walks to the table and puts the tray down.)Oh, they’ve probably migrated. They
do you know round here. The natives aren’t too friendly.

Duke :( He turns and walks to the table.)And you? Are you a friendly native?

Avis: I do my best to be friendly. (Offers Duke his mug.)With some people

more than others.

Duke :( Takes mug and sips from it.)Do you like it here?

Avis: It’s all right. Not my usual habitat. I’ve been used to better places.

Duke: Me, too. (Looks at Avis.)What I meant was I’ve known better places
than my own pad.

Avis: Pad?

Duke: Place. Home. Bed-sit.

Avis: Oh, right. Of course. Yes, pad. I’m getting old and have forgotten
the slang…You think bed-sits are depressing places?

Duke: Not particularly. Even a palace can be depressing if you’re on your

own or haven’t the right company.

Avis :( Sits down in one of the chairs at the table and Duke does likewise.)Do you
have any children?
 20

Duke: A daughter. Cara. She’s thirty and unmarried and keeps an eye on
me now and again. What about you? You got kids?

Avis: Yes, a son. Boyd. Lives with his father and the woman he betrayed
me with.

Duke: Who your son?

Avis: No, my ex-husband.

Duke: I see. Betrayed you, eh?

Avis: Yes. Now she’s his wife and I’m stuck here in this one room with
no one but Edgar to keep me company.

Duke: Edgar? Is he your new guy?

Avis: God, no. Degas is my Edgar. The one man I can trust and whom I
love.

Duke: Well I guess he’s quite safe and won’t make demands upon you.

Avis: Precisely. And his art is a great comfort to me.

Duke: He’d be hard to compete with. You talk with him?

Avis: Of course. (Smiles.)Do you think I shouldn’t?

Duke: No. You talk to whomsoever you want to talk to. If it makes you
happy, why not? There’s no law says you can’t talk to people who are
dead.

Avis: Do you talk with the dead?

Duke: Everyday. My neighbours have been dead for years.

Avis: Really?

Duke: Yeah, I live near the graveyard.

Avis: Must be company for you all those dead neighbours.

Duke: The conversations a bit one sided, but it passes the time. (Pause.)So,
 21

how do you and Boyd get along?

Avis: He’s disappointed in me. He thinks I shouldn’t be living here in this

mess.

Duke: So what does he propose you do?

Avis: Find somewhere a woman of my class should be living I suppose,

but that’s as far as it goes. He doesn’t understand poverty. He thinks it’s a
Dickensian word from the novels.

Duke: This place is quite Dickensian. I can imagine Fagan living near by
this place and popping in for morning tea.

Avis: Your imagination is as bad as mine is. I often imagine having

Oliver Twist round for tea and biscuits. (Pause. They both sip their soup.)And
how do you and Cara get on?

Duke: Fine, when she not nagging me about my pad and the state of the
place and the Renoir on the wall.

Avis: And your ex-wife?

Duke: She married a young guy and lives quite happily as far as I know
and care. It’s not nice being passed over for a newer model. But there you
go, that’s life. Have to get on with it. Can’t mope around all day and
dream of happier times. What about your ex-husband?

Avis: I’ve seen little of him since I left, which is a good thing, otherwise I
might have rearranged his features. And hers. That woman. That feeble-
brained, cat-eyed, monkey-featured bitch! (Stops and sips her drink.)
Otherwise, we get along fine.

Duke: Good. Glad you’ve taken so well. Some women would have not
taken it so well.

Avis :( Looks at Duke and smiles.)It’s not in my nature to be bitter.

Duke: So I noticed.

Avis: But one has to make a stand.

Duke: Of course.
 22

Avis: Can’t have people walking all over you.

Duke: Not at all.

Avis: There’s too much of that.

Duke: Far too much.

Avis: One gets rather tired of being stepped on all the time.

Duke: Very tiring being stepped on all the time.

Avis: So I live here and won’t take handouts from my ex-husband no

matter how much my son pleads with me to do so.

Duke: Quite right, too. No one wants handouts, especially from ex-
husbands or wives or whoever. You have to be who you are no matter
what other people say. Have to stand your ground even if that makes you
unpopular with the rest of the crowd.

(Pause. Both sip their soup in silence for a few moments.)

Avis: Why did he do that to me?

Duke: Who? Your ex?

Avis: Yes. What made him do that to me?

Duke: The guy needs his head examined to do that to you. Does he realise
what he’s lost?

Avis: He’s too shallow to realise anything. She’s got youth and beauty,
even if she hasn’t two brain cells to rub together to make a thought. What
do I have? I’ve lost. Age has wearied me. If it wasn’t for Boyd, I’m not
sure what I’d do.

Duke: That’s sad talk. I think you’re quite a dame. Beauty is what you
are, not what’s on the outside.

Avis: Nice words, but words are just empty shells unless they’re
accompanied by deeds.
 23

Duke :( Leans forward slowly and kisses Avis gently on the cheek.)That deed
enough for a friendship?

Avis: For a friendship? But we hardly know each other. We’ve only just
met a few hours ago.

Duke: I only ask for friendship. I’m not asking you to marry me or wash
my socks.

Avis: And what would you want with an old woman like me?

Duke: You’re not old. You’re like a good bottle of malt whisky. Mature
and a delight to have near you on a cold winter evening.

Avis: Is that how you see me? As a bottle of malt whisky?

Duke: Only in relation to your maturity and that deeper beauty which
comes with age.

Avis: Are you a salesman?

Duke: No. I’m a man who has taken delight in a woman whom he’s just
met, and would lie to meet again, if she would consent to that. (They look
at each other in silence for a few seconds.)No strings. No hidden agendas.

Avis: Why not. What do I have to lose? When?

Duke: Tomorrow?

Avis: All right. Where?

Duke: What about Trafalgar Square? I know that place quite well as a
meeting point. We could do the galleries.

Avis: I’d like that. Noon?

Duke: Noon it is. (He rises from the chair.)High noon it is. (He gives Avis a
small kiss on the head and walk upstage to the door and goes out. Avis stares at the
door as the light fades.)
End of Act One and Scene Four.
Act Two. Scene One.
A few days later. In Avis’s bed-sit. Boyd is standing with his back to the window. He
looks around the room and then stops to gaze at the Degas print. He shakes his head.
He walks to the table and moves his hand over the top of the table inspecting it for
 24

dust. He looks at his hand and sighs. Avis enters from the kitchenette with two mugs
of tea and puts them on the table.
Avis: Nice to see you so soon after your last visit. Have you forgotten
something? Or have you forgotten what day of the week it is?

Boyd: No, Mother, I am quite aware I was here a few days ago, but
something has been brought to my attention and I wanted to clarify
matters with you.

Avis :( Sits down in one of the chairs and Boyd does likewise.)So what is this
matter that requires you to visit me twice in one week?

Boyd: I have been informed that you were seen in Green Park the other
day with a man. (Lift his mug and looks at Avis as he sips.)

Avis: Was I?

Boyd: Were you what?

Avis: Seen in Green Park?

Boyd: Yes.

Avis: By whom?

Boyd: A friend.

Avis: Yours or mine?

Boyd: Does it matter?

Avis: Yes, it does. If it’s one of my friends spying on me, then I shall take
them off my Christmas list and not speak to them again. If, however, it’s
one of yours, then I feel ashamed of you for having me spied upon.

Boyd: I never had anyone spy on you. It was just that they saw you and
this man in Green Park and wondered if I knew who he was, and I didn’t,
and so I thought I would enquire to find out.

Avis: Enquire who the man was?

Boyd: Yes.
 25

Avis: Why?

Boyd: So I will know, if anyone else sees you and this man and they ask
me who he is, I can then tell them and not feel a prat for not knowing.

Avis: Why?

Boyd: Because if I don’t know then I can’t tell them, can I?

Avis: Why would you want to tell them?

Boyd: Because they‘ll ask.

Avis: Who will ask?

Boyd: Anyone who might see you and this man.

Avis: And does it matter?

Boyd: Does what matter?

Avis: Whether they know who he is or not.

Boyd: Of course, it matters. I can’t have you gallivanting around London

with a man and not be able to say who he is if I’m asked. I need to be
informed. I need to know whom you are with and where.

Avis: Why?

Boyd: Because I’m your son and I care about you.

Avis: And do you care about my privacy?

Boyd: Of course, I do, but I need to know you’re safe and well and not
being manipulated by some mystery man.

Avis: Do you think I’m the sort of woman to be manipulated by a

mysterious man?

Boyd: No, but there’s always the chance you could be mistaken about
him.

Avis: Who? Your father?

 26

Boyd: No, this man you’ve been seen with.

Avis: Oh, I see. (Pause. Sips her tea and looks at Boyd.)So you want to know
who this man is?

Boyd: Yes. I need to know you’re safe, you understand?

Avis: His name’s Duke.

Boyd: Duke? Duke of what?

Avis: Duke of nothing as far as I am aware. It’s his first name.

Boyd: Duke? What kind of a name is that? Sounds like the name of a dog.

Avis: Duke Belington is his name and he’s very kind and thoughtful.

Boyd: Duke, though. Not the name one would associate with our class.

Avis: He’s an American.

Boyd: Well, that explains it. Of all the men in London, you have team up
with an American tourist.

Avis: He’s not a tourist. He lives here. Here in London.

Boyd: Lives here in London?

Avis: Yes. He likes it here, he told me.

Boyd: So, you’ve landed yourself with a rich Yank.

Avis: He lives in a bed-sit like me.

Boyd: Bed-sit? How old is he? He’s not one of those young Yanks who
prey on elderly women is he?

Avis: He’s fifty-one and loves Renoir. He has a daughter called Cara who
is unmarried; he loves Jazz, especially Thelonious Monk, and drinks
coffee, because hates tea.

Boyd: And this is the man you were seen with in Green Park?
 27

Avis: I don’t make a habit of walking with men in Green Park, Boyd,
dear. It must have been Duke because I don't know any other man whom
I would be seen with in Green Park, apart from Duke.

Boyd: And how long have you know this, Duke?

Avis: A few days.

Boyd: A few days?

Avis: Yes. Just after you left me the other day, I went for a walk in Green
Park and there he was.

Boyd: And what happened?

Avis: Happened? What do you mean happened?

Boyd: Well, who spoke to whom first?

Avis: Duke did.

Boyd: Why?

Avis: Why what?

Boyd: Why did he speak first?

Avis: Well, someone had to speak first or there would be no conversation.

Boyd: But why him?

Avis: Because he was the one there at the time. He wanted to know if he
could sit down and I said he could and then we got talking and then I
invited him back here for some soup and coffee.

Boyd: You invited him back here?

Avis: Yes. Well I could hardly take the soup to him in the Park, could I?

Boyd: But he could have been anyone?

Avis: He was anyone.

 28

Boyd: He could have been a women molester or a murderer.

Avis: Not Duke, he’s too kind. Too gentle.

Boyd: But, Mother, what did he think you were offering him?

Avis: I’ve told you, soup and coffee. He doesn’t like tea, you see.
Therefore, it had to be coffee. And the soup was rather random because I
wasn’t sure what I had in the larder at the time, and, as it turns out, it was
tomato and herb and he liked that. He liked the herbs.

Boyd: Then what happened?

Avis: We talked.

Boyd: Then what?

Avis: He asked if he could see me again and I said he could.

Boyd: And have you?

Avis: Yes. Three times.

Boyd: Three times? How have you managed to see him three times in
only a few days?

Avis: Careful planning. We managed to fit in Swan Lake on the off

chance.

Boyd: Swan Lake? Is he a ballet buff?

Avis: We both like ballet.

Boyd: And has he been here since that afternoon?

Avis: Of course. We can’t walk around London all day and night.

Boyd: He hasn’t slept here with you, has he?

Avis: No, of course not. (Pause. Sips her tea.)I slept at his place.

Boyd: You did what? (Chokes on his tea.) You slept at his place?
 29

Avis: He has more room in his bed-sit than I have and he has a put-you-
up, which he kindly slept in while I had his bed. He’s very thoughtful.

Boyd: I bet he is. You haven’t …. (Sips his tea.)You know, done things?

Avis: Done things? What do you mean, done things?

Boyd: Well, you know, not… (Sips his tea again.)Done things.

Avis: No, we haven’t, if you’re insinuating what I think you’re

insinuating. We’re not teenage lovers running away from home gagging
for it; we’re of an age where friendship and company are more important.

Boyd: That’s a relief.

Avis: But, one never knows what might develop.

Boyd: Mother, think. Think of your responsibilities. Think of your

reputation. Your class. Your breeding.

Avis: You make me sound like a prize bull.

Boyd: You can’t just sleep with any man you meet up with, Mother. You
must think of the wider circle. Your family. Father and me.

Avis: I think you’d best go, dear. You’re getting to be a bit of a bore.

Boyd: Go? You have this Duke man coming here?

Avis: No. I’m meeting him outside the Tate.

Boyd: Tate? Tate? You’re going to the Tate with him?

Avis: Yes, Boyd. The Tate. In a two hours time, so if you don’t mind.
(Boyd sighs, rises from the table, glares at Avis, then storms off as the light fades.)

End of Scene One.

Act Two. Scene Two.

Same day in Duke’s bed-sit. Cara is standing by the table sipping from a mug of
coffee. Duke is sitting in his armchair putting on his shoes.
Cara: So, where are you going? You’re not normally so keen to get rid of
 30

me.

Duke: I’m not trying to get rid of you, Honey; it’s just that I’m meeting
someone.

Cara: Meeting someone? Who are you meeting that’s more important
than be being here with me? I made a special effort to come today and
here you are going out soon after I’ve arrived.

Duke: No one is more important than you are, Cara, but she’s important
enough to make the effort to see, and, besides I didn’t know you were
coming, and we made this engagement before and…

Cara: She? Who is this she?

Duke: Did I say she?

Cara: Yes, you said she. So, who is this woman?

Duke :( Stops what he is doing and looks at Cara.)You sound annoyed. As if, I
was seeing some hustler.

Cara: If you told me who she is, maybe I would know how to react.

Duke :( Continues with his shoes.)She’s a woman I met in Green Park.

Cara :( Puts her mug on the table, walks, and stands over Duke.)Green Park?
What was she doing there? Walking her dog?

Duke :( Finishes his shoes and stands up so that he and Cara are face to face.)No,
she wasn’t walking her dog, or cat, riding a horse, or selling matches. She
was just sitting there all by herself, and I asked her if I could sit down,
and she said I could, and so I did.

Cara: And so how comes you’re going out with her on this hot date?

Duke: Hot date? She’s not some young girl from uptown New York,
she’s fifty-nine years old and I like her. She’s an English dame and she
brings me out in a kind of happiness. (Duke walks away a few paces and stops.)

Cara: Fifty-nine? What? You taking up walking old ladies across the road
and on surprise trips through London parks? Is she in a wheelchair?
 31

Duke: I said she was fifty-nine, not a hundred and nine. She’s ok. She
makes me laugh. She makes me feel like I want to live again.

Cara: Does she think you have money? (Follows Duke and stands beside him.)
They do you know, these women.

Duke: She knows I’m living here. She has bed-sit a few miles away.

Cara: Bed-sit? What is with you, Daddy, have you become all sentimental
in your old age?

Duke: I’m fifty-one, not some old timer. And she’s thoughtful and pretty
in a kind of mature way.

Cara: And how long have you known this woman?

Duke: A few days.

Cara: A few days? You’ve known her a few days and yet you make her
out to be some kind of Mary Poppins?

Duke: Cara! (Pause. Duke wanders over to the window and peers out. Cara stands
with her arms folded staring at Duke’s back.)What do you have against me
seeing another woman? Your mom’s got herself a replacement, so why
not me?

Cara: You’re a man. You make mistakes. All men make mistakes
concerning women. She might hurt you and then where would you be?

Duke: She’s not like that. (Turns to look at Cara.)She’s kind and genuine.

Cara: How do you know it’s not an act?

Duke: Then why don’t you meet her? Then you can see for yourself?

Cara: You want my approval?

Duke: No, I want you to meet her so you can get off my back.

Cara: I’m only thinking of you. I’m only concerned you don’t get hurt
again.

Duke: What? You think I’m a young punk who’s not had hurt before and
can’t handle it?
 32

Cara: No, I know you’ve had hurt before, but I don’t want you to be hurt
again. It hurts me to see you hurt and let down. (Goes to where Duke is and
takes his hand.)You’re my Daddy. I get hurt if you get hurt.

Duke: People get hurt everyday, Honey. People get pained every second
by something or other. That’s life. That’s the rule of the game of living.

Cara: But you’re my Daddy, not just a person out there in the world.

(Pause. There is a knock at the door. Duke goes to open it and there stands Boyd.)

Boyd: Are you Duke Belington?

Duke: That’s me, Sonny, what can I do for you? (Boyd enters the bed-sit and
looks around. He spots Cara.)Come in. why don’t you. (Closes the door.)

Boyd :( To Duke.)You’re seeing my mother I understand, is that right?

Duke: You must be Boyd.

Boyd: Yes. And you’re seeing my mother?

Duke: Yes.

Boyd :( Looks around the room and stopping to view the Renoir.)And you
brought her here?

Duke: Yes. She stayed the night.

Cara: She stayed the night?

Boyd :( To Cara.)Who are you?

Cara: I’m Cara, this is my daddy.

Boyd: Then you should keep your daddy under some kind of control.

Cara: Maybe you should stop your mom from pestering vulnerable men.

Boyd: He pestered my mother. Brought her to sleep with him.

Cara: Daddy? Is this true?

 33

Duke :( Stands by the table and looks at them both.)Well, yes, she did sleep
here, but not with me. She slept in my bed and I slept in my put-you-up
bed, which I keep for emergencies.

Boyd: I’ve only your word for that.

Cara: If my daddy says he slept in his put-you-up, then he did. He’s not
one to lie.

Duke: It’s quite comfortable for the odd night.

Boyd: How do I know you two aren’t in it together?

Duke: What? My put-you-up? There’s barely enough room for one.

Boyd: No, you fool. How do I know you and this woman aren’t in some
plot together?

Cara: What plot? To what end would we have a plot?

Boyd: To take advantage of elderly women.

Duke: Take advantage? In what sense are you talking about?

Cara: His woman friend, your mom, is as poor as a cheap table wine.

Duke: There’s nothing cheap about, Avis. She maybe poor, but she’s got
class.

Boyd: A few days and you’ve made her not know what day of the week it
is. That’s brainwashing.

Duke :( Walks towards Boyd and stands face to face with him.)Look here, young
punk, I’ve brainwashed nobody. I’ve only made your mom happy.

Boyd: So you say. (To Cara.)Is your father on any medication?

Cara: Not that I know of. Why?

Boyd: Because he thinks he’s Peter Pan and my mother his Wendy.

Duke: Who the hell is Wendy?

 34

Cara: Has your mom been certified to live on the outside?

Boyd: My mother was completely sane until she met your father. Now
she’s on edge like a she-cat sitting on a wall waiting for her Tom.

Duke :( Grabs Boyd’s lapels and stares right into his eyes.)You saying, Avis is
seeing some guy called Tom as well as me?

Cara: Put him down, Daddy, you don’t know where he might have been.

Boyd: Take your hands off me, you Yank. (Duke goes to throw a punch, but
stops and releases Boyd and walks away to the window. A few seconds of silence
follow.)I think I had better go. There’s no point my being here. My mother
obviously has lost her senses. I shall see what my father has to say about
this.

Cara: Your mom’s married still?

Boyd: No, but my father still takes an interest in my mother’s welfare.

Duke: That’s not what I heard.

Boyd: I beg your pardon. What did you hear?

Duke: The guy was a complete bum. Bought his mistress home with him.

Boyd: How dare you. I’ll have you know, my father has a great concern
for my mother and he’s done all he can to make her happy and if she
hadn’t been so proud he’d have seen she was provided for and not have to
live in the squalor she does.

Cara: Too proud? To proud for what?

Boyd :( To Cara.)What does it have to do with you?

Cara: He’s my Daddy. What ever concerns him concerns me.

Boyd: Really? So you’re responsible for this lecher?

Duke: I’d go, Sonny, if I were you, before I punch your nose somewhere
where you can wipe both ends at the same time.
 35

Cara: Daddy! Remember who you are! (To Boyd.)You’d better go, Boyd.

Boyd: You hurt my mother, Mr Duke Belington and I’ll have you…Well
you’ll be sorry.(Boyd looks at Duke to see if he’s going to come across to him. but
Duke remains where he is. Boyd then looks at Cara.)If I were you, Cara, I’d have
your father seen by a doctor. He might be lacking something. Some
vitamins or something.

Duke: You’ll be missing something in a minute, Buddy, and it won’t be

vitamins. (Sighs.)Cara, see this young man from my room, before I
rearrange his features so his own mom won’t recognise him.

Boyd: If my mother knew what type of man she was getting involved
with she’d come to her senses, instead of acting like a teenage girl on her
first date.

Cara: Perhaps, you’d better go.

Boyd :( Looks at Cara.)Nice to have met you, Cara. I wish I could say the
same about your father. (Looks at Duke.) Good day Mr Belington, I hope
we never met again. (Walks towards the door, but Cara stops him.)

Cara: Maybe we should all meet together somewhere and discuss things?

Duke: What’s to discuss? Avis and I are old enough to make our own
minds up. We don’t need no discussing from our kids or their permission.

Boyd: I must go. (Looks at Cara and smiles weakly.)I hope we may see each
other at sometime. Goodbye. (Cara sees Boyd to the door and lets him out.)

Duke: What a guy. What a stuck up pup he is.

Cara: Are you still going out?

Duke :( Looks at his wristwatch.)God, yes, I have to be there within the hour.
Look, Cara, I’m sorry, I just have to get ready.
Cara: All right, Daddy. But you be careful. Don’t dive headlong into the
deep end. (Cara goes to Duke and kisses his cheek.) And look at things
properly. Take your time. Don’t rush matters with this Avis. She might
not be the woman for you.

Duke: You haven’t met her yet. She’s a swell dame.

 36

Cara: Just be careful.

Duke: I’ll walk on tiptoe around her.

Cara: It might just be a temporary infatuation. These things happen.

Duke: Maybe.

Cara: And I’d like to meet Avis at sometime.

Duke: Sure, I’ll see what she says.

Cara: And you’ll tell her about Boyd’s visit?

Duke: Well, maybe I shouldn’t. It might upset her.

Cara: Boyd might tell her himself.

Duke: He’s something else, that guy. How the hell she managed to give
birth to that, I’ll never know.

Cara: Daddy! (Pause.)I think he’s quite nice in a strange sort of way.

Duke: Strange being the operative word. (Pause.)I guess he was only
looking out for his mom. Can’t blame the guy for that, I suppose.

Cara: No. Shows he cares about her. Even it was rather rudely.

Duke: Yeah, well I’ve got to get ready. You best go and do what you
have to do and I’ll see you another day.

Cara: Yes, ok. Be careful. (Kisses Duke again. Then she walks upstage to the
door and goes out. Duke sighs as the light fades.)

End of Scene Two.

Act Two. Scene Three.

Later in the evening in Duke’s bed-sit. Avis is wandering about the room. She stops to
look at the Renoir and smiles. There is a knock at the door. She hesitates for a few
moments. There is another knock. Avis goes to the door and opens it. Cara enters and
looks around the room.
Cara: Who are you?

Avis: I could ask you the same question.

 37

Cara: Where my daddy? (Moves passed Avis and wanders downstage to the
table.)

Avis: Duke’s out. (Closes the door.) He’s gone to the shop.

Cara: You’re not that elderly woman he’s seeing are you? (Turns and stares
at Avis.)

Avis: I’m Avis. You must be Cara.

Cara: You are that elderly woman he’s seeing.

Avis: Do I look that old?

Cara: Not old, but I imagined someone ancient.

Avis: Thank you. (Walks downstage to the table.)Duke’s spoken about you
quite a lot.

Cara :( The women come face to face.)He only mentioned you in passing.

Avis: Passing what? Did he just let me slip out on his way to the
bathroom?

Cara: Why has he gone to the shop at this time of night?

Avis: I drink tea and he only has coffee, so he’s gone to get some tea.

Cara: How thoughtful of him.

Avis: Yes, isn’t it.

Cara: You’ll not last.

Avis: In what sense?

Cara: With my daddy. He’ll soon grow tired with you and your tea
drinking.

Avis: Really? (Moves passed Cara and walks to the edge of the stage.)Duke
seems quite a tolerant man to me. Especially of tea drinkers.

Cara: You’re too old for him. He needs someone younger.

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Avis: How young? (Turns and stares at Cara.)Your age?

Cara: Someone in their forties maybe. Not too old and not too young.

Avis: Are you his matchmaker?

Cara: Daddy is not too good at judging people. He tends to make

mistakes.

Avis: Like your mother?

Cara: What do you know about my mom?

Avis: Enough. Are you like your mother or your father?

Cara :( Sits at the table.)How long has he been gone?

Avis: About ten minutes.

Cara: You’ll not last.

Avis: So you said. I’m glad you’re consistent in your opinions; women
tend to change their opinions quite frequently.

Cara: Was that your son I met this morning?

Avis: Boyd?

Cara: Yes, that’s him.

Avis: Was he here this morning?

Cara: Yes, he came to see my daddy about you. Almost told Daddy to
stay away from you.

Avis: So, Boyd was here?

Cara: Yes. He was not happy about you and my daddy.

Avis: Well, it seems you and Boyd have one thing in common.

Cara: Yes. I quite like him. He’s honest and… (Pause.)Well, honest.
 39

Avis: I’m glad you like him. He’s lonely at the moment.

Cara: Maybe he is, but what has that to do with me?

Avis: Maybe you could make him less lonely. (Walks upstage to the table and
sits down.)You’re a pretty woman and he likes pretty women.

Cara: You’re changing the subject.

Avis: And what was the subject?

Cara: Daddy and you. (Cara and Avis stare at each other.)He deserves to be
happy. You’ll make him unhappy.

Avis: Will I?

Cara: Yes. You’ll make him push you around in a wheelchair in a few
years and run around after you with a commode and God knows what
else.

Avis: I never realised I was so ancient.

Cara: Well you are. (Pause.)Sort of ancient. You’re older than my mom is.

Avis: I see. (Pause. Cara looks away and Avis looks at her hands.)Your mom
married again, didn’t she?

Cara: What’s it to you?

Avis: Someone quite young, I understand?

Cara: So? That’s my mom’s affair, not yours.

Avis: And your father? Isn’t he allowed to have his affairs without you or
anyone else getting themselves involved?
Cara: Daddy’s different. He makes mistakes. He’s too soft.

Avis: And you know what’s best for him?

Cara: I know he’ll grow tired of you.

Avis: Because I like tea? Or because I’m ancient?

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Cara: Because… (Door opens and Duke enters with the teabags and closes the door
behind him.)

Duke: Cara, I didn’t know you were coming to see me. So you’ve met
Avis?

Cara: Yes. (Pause.)Did you get her tea?

Duke: Yes. Have you two been talking?

Avis: Yes. Quite openly.

Duke: Good. (Hesitates. Senses something is not right.) That’s good.

Avis: So, Boyd came here this morning to see you? You didn’t say.

Duke: Yes, he did. Nice guy.

Cara: Tell her the truth, Daddy.

Avis: He came to warn you off?

Duke: In a kind of roundabout way.

Avis: Why didn’t you tell me?

Duke: I didn’t think it important.

Avis: Not important? My son comes to warn you off seeing me and
you think it unimportant?

Duke: He’s a young guy looking out for his mom, it’s natural he should
be wary of who she’s seeing.

Avis: But you never even said about it.

Cara: I best go. (Gets up to go, but Avis touches her arm.)I hate scenes.

Avis: No stay. Duke and I have to be honest with each other.

Duke: Ok, I’m sorry, I should have mentioned that your son came round,
but it was nothing. He was sore about you and me. It’s what young guys
do when their mom is seeing a new guy they don’t know.
 41

Avis: Boyd is not just another guy he’s my son. My only son.

Cara: Thank God for that.

Duke: Be quiet, Cara. (Walks to the table and sits down next to Avis. He puts the
box of teabags on the table) Ok, I was wrong. I should have said. I should
have told you about Boyd.

Avis: You said nothing. Not a word. Not even hinted about it.

Cara: You’re not even married and yet you’re rowing.

Avis: Who’s talking about marrying? We’re just friends.

Duke: Yes, just friends.

Cara: My mistake. (To Avis.) I thought it was serious the way Daddy’s
been on about you.

Avis: Well, it’s not.

Duke: Friendship. Just that.

Cara: That’s ok, then. (Pause. All three look at each other.)Mistakes happen.

Duke: Yes, they do.

Avis: Frequently.

Cara: Often.

Duke: It happens sometimes. People make mistakes.

Avis: Humans being humans, mistakes are quite natural.

Duke: Quite natural. (Picks up the teabags and says to Avis.)You want a mug
of tea?

Avis: No, I think I’d best be going.

Cara: After he’s gone to get the teabags, you don’t want to stay for tea?
 42

Duke: It won’t take me long to get it, Avis.

Avis: I enjoyed the Tate and the dinner, but I think I’d best go.

Duke: Look, I know you’re annoyed with me over Boyd and that, but
can’t we talk this through?

Avis: You weren’t honest with me, Duke. You should have told me Boyd
was here this morning.

Duke: Sure, I know that now, but it didn’t seem a big thing at the time.

Avis: Honesty is always a big thing. Relationships are based on trust.

And if you can’t be honest how can I trust you and if I can’t trust you
how can we have a meaningful relationship?

Cara: Boyd’s not too keen on the relationship anyway, so maybe it’s best
this way.

Duke: Cara, will you just be quiet. This is my problem not yours.

Cara: It’s my problem if you’re hurt again, and she seems the type to hurt
you, so it’s best she goes and ends it here.

Avis: She’s right. I had better leave. (Gets up, but Duke puts his hand on
hers.)Duke, please. (Duke releases her hand and Avis gets up and stands looking at
the other two.)You’re nice man, Duke. But you have to be more honest with
people.

Duke: You can’t walk home at this time of night. Let me walk you back?

Avis: No, I’ll be fine.

Cara: I’ll drive her home in my car. (Rises from the table and stands by Avis.)

Avis: No, need, I can walk. I’m not so old I can’t walk yet.
Cara: I’m not letting you walk home in this dark. It isn’t safe these days.

Duke: Are you sure, you won’t stay?

Avis: No point, Duke. It was good to meet you, but it’s best I don’t see
you anymore. Best for both of us.
 43

Cara: Come on, then, Avis, I’ll drive you home.

Duke: Yeah, ok. You’re a fine woman, Avis. I’ll miss being with you.

Avis :( Stares at Duke. She nods.)Maybe you’ll meet someone else.

Duke: Yeah, sure to. They’re lining up along the block to go out with me.
I have to turn them away. Break a few hearts.

Cara: See you tomorrow, Daddy?

Duke: Yeah, sure. Thanks, Cara. Take good care of her now. She’s
special. (He picks up the teabags and offers them to Avis.)You may as well have
these I don’t touch the stuff.

Avis: Thank you, Duke. (She hesitates and then takes the box of teabags. She
looks at Duke and then at Cara.)Take care of yourself, Duke.

Duke: Yeah, you too, Avis. (He stands and waits.)And say hello and
goodbye to Boyd from me will you?

Avis: Yes, of course. (Avis smiles weakly. She turns and looks at Cara.)If you’re
sure about taking me home, then we’d best go now.

Cara: All right with me. See you, Daddy.

Duke: Yeah, see you, Baby. You too, Avis. Remember me. We had a
laugh and some good days together.

Avis: Yes, we did. I won’t forget. (They stand for a few seconds then Avis and
Cara walk to the door. Duke smiles weakly and they two women go out and the door
closes. Duke sighs as the light fades.)

End of Scene Three.

Act Two. Scene Four.

A week later in Green Park. Cara is sitting on a bench she is staring at the horizon.
After few moments, Boyd appears and sits down beside her.
Boyd: How’s your father?

Cara: As miserable as a turkey on the eve of Thanksgiving. How’s your

mom?
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Boyd: I’ve not seen her like this unhappy since my father brought Zara
home.

Cara: Zara? Who’s Zara?

Boyd: My father’s new wife. It’s a long story.

Cara: I’ve not seen Daddy this miserable since Mom took up with Zach.
He mopes around his bed-sit listening to Bessie Smith all day.

Boyd: Bessie Smith?

Cara: Blues singer. I’m afraid he’ll start to drink again. I wish I hadn’t
interfered. I was a fool to get involved.

Boyd: Mother sits in her armchair staring at the wall listening to Bach B
Minor Mass, sipping sherry. I should have been more understanding
about her and your father. I wish I had been more sensible.

Cara: Did you manage to arrange what we discussed last night?

Boyd: Just about. She’ll meet me here at noon.

Cara: Good. Daddy says he’ll meet me here at noon, too. I hope it works
has we planned.

Boyd: We can only try. It’s the least we can do after our interference.

Cara: Did you mom suspect anything?

Boyd: No, but she wasn’t happy about going out to Green Park again.

Cara: Daddy was adamant he wasn’t going anywhere near this place, but
I worked my charms on him and he agreed. Just.

Boyd: I never thought love could do this to people until I met you and
saw how it affected our parents. I thought love was fiction.

Cara: I knew when I met you that I liked you. Then it kind of grew and
grew over the days until I just had to ring you.

Boyd: I’m glad you did. When I saw you at your father’s bed-sit that day,
 45

your wonderful beauty struck me. Then it went deeper and I began to
want to see you again. Then the want became a need. Then the need
became a must and then you rang and I was so overjoyed that after you
rang off I kissed Zara. Yuk. I actually kissed her.

Cara: Look! Here comes your mom. (Avis approaches. She sees Cara and
pauses by the bench.)Hello, Avis. How are you?

Avis :( To Boyd.)What’s going on here? (To Cara.)Hello, Cara.

Boyd: Mother, guess who was walking through the Park while I was
waiting for you?

Avis: How are you Cara? Have you and Boyd been waiting long?

Cara: Long?

Avis: You and Boyd are up to something. I can tell by looking at Boyd’s
eyes. He never could keep a secret from me.

Boyd: Secret? What are you talking about?

Avis: Where’s Duke? Is he in on this?

Cara: No. He would never stoop to anything like this.

Avis: So, there is something going on.

Boyd: No, well, it’s just that we, well, I thought that you and Duke
should start again.

Cara: Without our interference this time.

Avis: Start again? What do you mean start again?

Cara: Daddy’s been so miserable since you went that night and I know
he’s in love with you because he’s been listening to Bach just before
going to bed at night.

Avis: He must be unwell. Have you called a doctor?

Cara: He’s not sick. He’s in love. With you.

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Avis: Has he said as such?

Cara: He’s mentioned your name as if it were a prayer.

Boyd: Now, come on Mother, you know you love Duke. You’ve been
listening to that Duke Ellington record non-stop for days now.

Avis: Just experimenting with a different kind of music.

Cara: Daddy’s coming. (Avis sits down on the bench. Duke walks to the bench,
sees Avis and Boyd, and pauses.)Hello, Daddy. Guess who’s here?

Duke :( To Cara.)Hello, Cara. (To Boyd and Avis.)Well, what a nice surprise.
Is this an accident or has someone been playing matchmaker again?

Avis: Did you know about this?

Duke: About what?

Avis: This reunion?

Duke: No. (Looks at Cara and Boyd.)I was asked to come here and meet Cara
for a spot of lunch and some fresh air.

Avis: Me, too. (Pause.)How are you?

Duke: Fine. (Pause.)And how are you?

Cara: Honesty is the best policy I always thought.

Boyd: Yes, tell it like it is as they say. (Looks at Cara and smiles.)

Duke :( To Avis.)Well, to be honest, I’ve been miserable since you went

that night. I’ve slept badly. I’ve hardly eaten. I’ve even taken to listening
to Bach before bed.
Avis: I guess, if I am to be honest, I must admit to being unhappy since I
went that night. I’ve drunk most of the teabags. I’ve eaten hardly a thing
except the odd biscuit and I’ve been playing that Duke Ellington CD you
lent me repeatedly until I could hum most of the solos.

Cara :( To Boyd.)Shall we have our lunch now? (To Avis and Duke.)You two
don’t mind if Boyd and I go for a spot of lunch do you?
 47

Avis: Boyd? Was this just a trick to get me here?

Boyd: Something had to be done. We mucked it up last time so we

thought we ought to set it right as best we could.

Duke: Cara? You set me up?

Cara: Just a little trick to get you here. I want you and Avis to try again,
without my interference this time.

Avis: Children, what can one do with them?

Duke: If she were a little girl again, I’d tan her hide, but seeing she’s not,
I guess I’ll just have to let her go to lunch with Boyd.

Avis: Off you go, then, you two naughty children, before Duke changes
his mind about tanning a few hides.

Cara: Well, Boyd, we’ve done our best.

Boyd: Yes. And maybe we ought to go now before your father does
change his mind. (Boyd and Cara smile at each other, then get up, and walk off
stage right.)

Duke: They’re swell kids.

Avis: Yes. Cara’s a dear.

Duke: Boyd’s a good guy. He was only thinking of you when he came
that day. He meant no harm.

Avis: And Cara thought of you, too. She loves you very much.

Duke: And Boyd loves you, as a good son should. (Pause. Duke moves closer to
Avis.)I love you.
Avis: To listen to Bach before bed rather says it all.

Duke: And listening to Duke Ellington reveals a love beyond the call of
duty. (Pause.)I ought to have been honest about Boyd that day. I was
wrong.

Avis :( Takes Duke’s hand in hers.)I was silly. Like a little schoolchild. I did
miss you after I left. When Cara dropped me off that night and I went into
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my empty bed-sit I sat in my armchair and cried.

Duke: I must have felt you cry because I stared out of the window for
hours looking at the moon and the stars, the tears filled my eyes, and it all
went blurry. I would die for you.

Avis: Would you? And where would I be if you were dead?

Duke: That Bach, guy, he can stir emotions.

Avis: And Mr Ellington had me in tears at times too.

Duke: Can we start again? See each other again?

Avis: Do you want to see an old woman of fifty-nine again?

Duke: I don’t care if you’re eighty-nine. I want to see you again and share
my time with you and hold you, kiss you, and be with you all my days.

Avis: Well, Mr Belington, that’s quite a list. (Leans forward and kisses his
cheek.) I never thought I could ever love a man again after being betrayed
by my ex-husband, but then you came along, and lit up that fire within
me. I used to think I was happy until I met you, then I realised that I was
just kidding myself. You have given me back my life.

Duke: So, I take that is a yes?

Avis: Yes. It is a yes. A yes to all you have asked, need, and want,
because it’s what I need and want and ask. Always. Now and tomorrow
and the day after that and that and that until our eyes close for the last
time. (Duke kisses Avis on the lips. They embrace as the light fades to the sound of
Bach.)

End of Act Two and Scene Four.

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