‘ett see 1, Hospital moming. Landon 1993 Ale (iy 20 fom the to Sh has wer in ‘New Yo a wiper and hs mee reared 1 London. She st ‘way i he ‘ops wach hare is ape. He shld no hot rinks in sorfoam exp)ALICE. Sony. I wat looking for caret. DAN. I gave up. ‘ALICE, Well ty harder. (DAN hands her a dink) ALICE, Have you got to be somewhere? DAN. Work. Didn't fancy my sandwiches? ALICE. I'don’t eat fh. DAN. Why noe ‘ALICE. Fish pissin the sen. DAN, So do children ‘ALICE, I don’t eat children either. What's your work? DAN. Journalism. ALICE. What sor? DAN. Obituaries. ALICE. Do you like it... in the dying busines? DAN. Boayon' in the dying butines ALICE. Dead people aren’. ear) Do you think a doctor wil come? DAN. Eventually. Does i hurt ALICE. Tl live. DAN. Shall I put your leg up? ALICE. Why? DAN. That's what people doin these situations ‘ALICE, What i this “stution?> (Bear) DAN. Do you want me to put your leg up? ‘ALICE. Yes, please. (Ge lis her lg ono a chair) ‘Who cutoff your crusts? DAN. Me ALICE. Did your mother cutoff your erusts when you were a ile boy? DAN. I believe she did, yes ALICE, You thould eat your crust, 2” DAN, You should rop smoking. eat) ve got « mobile, is thee anyone you'd like to phone? ‘ALICE. T don't know anyone. (Beat) ‘Thank you for seeping me off the road DAN. My pleasure ALICE. You knight. (DAN looks at her) DAN. You damsel, Gear) ‘Why didn’t you look? ALICE, I never look where I'm going. DAN. I looked into your eyes and then you stepped into the road, ‘ALICE. Then what? DAN. You were lying on the ground, you focused on me, you ssi, “Halo, stranger” ‘ALICE. What «slut DAN. I noticed your leg was cut ‘ALICE, Did you nosce my legs? DAN. In what sense? ‘ALICE, In the sense of ‘ice legs’? DAN. Quite posbly. ‘ALICE, Then what? DAN. The cabbie got out. He crossed himself, He sid, ‘Thank fuck, I thought Fe klled her. Tai, ‘Let's gether to hoeptal” He hesitated, I think he thought there'd be paperwork and he'd be held responsible. So I sud, with 2 Slight sneer, ‘Pleat, just drop us at the hospital.” ‘ALICE. Show me the sneer (DAN sneer) ALICE, Very good. DAN. We pur you in the cab and came here. ‘ALICE, What was T doing? »DAN, You were murmuring, I'm very sorry fr all the ‘inconvenience’ I had my arm round you, your head was ‘on my shoulder. ‘ALICE. Was my head... toling?? DAN. That's exactly whar it was doing, (Passe) ‘ALICE. You have the saddest looking bun I've ever seen, Can T have i? (DAN opens his brgease.) ‘ALICE. You'll be late for work DAN. Are you saying you want me to go? ALICE. No. (She pusher hand in the Drigease.) DAN, You can have half (She removes the bun, tars itn rao and Begins to eat.) ‘Why were you at Blackvars Bridge? ALICE, Pd been dancing at club near Smithfield. went {or walk, I wet to see the meat being unloaded. DAN. The carcasses? ALICE. Yes. DAN. Why? DAN. Is there « tarue? ALICE. A Minotaur DAN. I do hnow it... we sat there... (my mother's dead)... my father and Ist there the afternoon she die. ‘She died here actually... he was a smoker. My father sean egg tandwich I remember his hands shaking With grief pieces of egg fling onto the grass... buter ‘0m bis top lip... but I don't remember ... a memorial (Pawse) ALICE, Is your father still alive? DAN. Just. He's in a home. ALICE. How did you end up writing obimuaries? What id you relly want to be? (Pawe) DAN. Ob... Thad dreams of being writer but I had no voice ~ no talent So... T ended up in the ‘Siberia’ of journalism, ‘ALICE. Tell me what you do. I want to imagine you in Siberia, DAN. Realy? ALICE. Yes. DAN. Well... we cll it the obits page’. There’s thre of 1; me, Hary and Graham. The frst thing someone will ‘say (sualy Graham) is "Who's on the slab? Meaning did anyone important die overight. Are you sure you want 9 know? ‘ALICE, Yes. DAN. Ifsomeone did die we go tothe ‘deep freeze” which ‘is a computer containing all the obituaries and we'll find the dead person’ if. ‘ALICE, People’s obituaries are already writen when ‘theyre sil alive? DAN. Mmmm. Ifno one important has died then Harry he's the editor ~ decides who we lad with and we check facts, make call, polish the prose. Some days I might be 2