by
Roger Iverson
Copyright � 2003 by Roger Iverson
4418 North 32nd Street
Tacoma, Washington 98407
253-759-0786
[email protected]
CAST
LITTLE JAKE CALHOON: About eight years old. Conscientious, protective and clever. Still, he remains in the dark. He and his older brother are from the Midwest. They are farmers.
JOEL CALHOON: Little Jake�s older brother. About 11 years old. Trying to lead he and his little brother home without success. He has an idea of their problem.
HORTON MCLELLAN: Mid 40s. Concerned with history and searching for his place. A teacher on summer break.
ABBY MCLELLAN: Early 40s. Loving wife to Horton. A high school counselor who has lost connection with her daughter.
ROBERT: Their 11 year old son. Also an explorer.
RACHEL: Their 13 year old daughter. Closed. Lost.
MARGARET CALHOON: Late twenties. Mother of Little Jake and Joel.
SETTING
The Blue Hills of North Eastern Oregon, near Mt. Emily. Now.
STAGE
Around the stage, black curtains are hung. Different sized blocks, stools, stepladders, tables and barrels cascade about, rising higher Up Stage Right, and none Down Stage Left.
NOTES
Little Jake and Joel are dressed in loose shirts, wool pants and waist coats, all in shades of gray to black and filthy, no shoes or socks, and maybe a bandanna. Margaret is in a floor length, simple black dress. The family is dressed in colors. All the McLellans wear at least some bit of red, from the father�s red shirt to the daughter�s red socks. None of them wear white and only Rachel, dressed in light gothic garb, pointy bracelet, black finger nails and skull on her black T-shirt, wears black. Earphones are stuck in her ears.
SYNOPSIS
Two lost boys, waiting for their family, are found by their mother, 160 years later.
(JOEL enters running, looking to hide, laughing.)
LITTLE JAKE
I�m going to kill you!
(LITTLE JAKE enters, chasing JOEL.)
JOEL
I�ll be dancing on your grave!
LITTLE JAKE
I�ll get you if it kills us both!
(They struggle.)
JOEL
Whoa... Whoa, Little Varmint! I�m supposed to take care a you!
LITTLE JAKE
Hold still, sose I can Take Care a you!
JOEL
(On the ground, with LITTLE JAKE on top.)
OK� OK! I give up! You�ve killed me!
LITTLE JAKE
Gonna let me see it?
JOEL
Yes! Here!
(JOEL hands LITTLE JAKE a pocket watch and chain.)
LITTLE JAKE
Where are we?
JOEL
(Letting LITTLE JAKE off. Tired from tramping.)
For the last time. Would you stop ask�n? Every few miles it�s the same question: "When we go�n to git there? We home yet? Where is everyone?"
LITTLE JAKE
Joel, thems is three questions.
JOEL
I don�t know why I stay stuck to you, Little Jake.
LITTLE JAKE
Cause you told Mom you�d take care of me.
JOEL
That I did.
LITTLE JAKE
Tell what she told you�
JOEL
Now there you go again! Every week or two you want to hear that worn out story. Can we git on with things, can we jest, move on�?
(LITTLE JAKE hangs head and nods slowly.)
JOEL (cont.)
Now, come on� It ain�t gona work, little brother, your making me feel�! Oh, jeez. �Mama was worried sick�
LITTLE JAKE
Why! Why was Mama sick?
JOEL
She wern�t sick, Little Guy. She was worried sick. Over you. She didn�t know what would become of you. Out in the wilds, among strangers, an animals�
LITTLE JAKE
An far away from home�
JOEL
An far away from home. So she took me and she set me down and she said. She said, �Joel. I�m greatly disturbed �bout my little one. He cain�t hardly lift an ax and you know how slow he walks, examining every little creature in his path. I want you to stay stuck to him like he was your own self,� she says to me. Then she says, �You keep him out a harm.�
LITTLE JAKE
And you has, Joel. You has kep me out a harm.
JOEL
(Knowing he hasn�t.)
Yes, Little Jake. I�ve kep you out a harm.
LITTLE JAKE
So, Joel. �Where is everyone?
JOEL
(Almost laughing.)
I told you and I told you and I told you, Little Guy! They�ll be here when they gets here. �Til then, this here is home. We got pine trees an rolling hills and down there, the crek.
LITTLE JAKE
�Joel, that dream come back again.
JOEL
The bad one?
LITTLE JAKE
Yep. I wished I could scrub it out of my memory.
JOEL
I know.
LITTLE JAKE
This time Pa wern�t mad or yellin�.
JOEL
What�d he do?
LITTLE JAKE
This time� This time he was a cryn�. Pa! He was just blubber�n. An his face was above mine gettin� me all wet he was. A river of his tears a washn� over my face. But I still can�t move. Can�t budge. Just lay there. Gettin� all wet. From Pa.
JOEL
Then did he scoop you up?
LITTLE JAKE
Yep. He brought me out�
JOEL
Out of what?
LITTLE JAKE
Don�t know.
JOEL
From where?
LITTLE JAKE
Don�t know.
JOEL
What about me? Did you see me this time?
LITTLE JAKE
�I don�t care to say�
JOEL
Did Pa take me up too?
LITTLE JAKE
I�m not sayn��
JOEL
What about my pocket watch?
LITTLE JAKE
Same place.
JOEL
Under rocks? What does that mean, under rocks? Where, under rocks!
LITTLE JAKE
Don�t know.
JOEL
Then tell what was I doin�?
LITTLE JAKE
You cain�t make me talk...
JOEL
Was I all wet too?
LITTLE JAKE
Won�t say. Will not say!
JOEL
�You can tell your big brother. We only gots each other.
LITTLE JAKE
(Pause.)
Joel. You don�t want to know.
JOEL
(Begins to chuckle to himself.)
You are one damn stubborn boy, Little Jake.
LITTLE JAKE
Don�t cuss! Mama said you don�t supposed to cuss at me!
JOEL
Mama ain�t here. �Damn, damn! (Does a little jig, singing �Farmer in the Dell� with the only lyric being �damn!� �Pause.) Listen. You don�t want to tell me noth�n? So be it. You don�t have to say another word to me. I�ll just sit down here an�
LITTLE JAKE
That ain�t it, Joel�
JOEL
You won�t talk to me an maybe I won�t talk right back at ya.
LITTLE JAKE
Joel�
JOEL
No. We�ll sit here, just the two of us, all silent and serene like. Maybe I�ll think me up some humorous recollections �bout beautiful girls back home.
LITTLE JAKE
Yuck.
JOEL
That�s what you say. �Let me see now. There was Jill Marie Olson and Bradly O�Cady an what they done by the train tracks (Laughs.)�
LITTLE JAKE
What?
JOEL
It�s nothing for a little boy to know. It�s adult humor.
LITTLE JAKE
That means it�s nasty.
JOEL
Never you mind, Little Jake. A grown man gots to enjoy brawny humor now and again.
LITTLE JAKE
I�ll tell ya about the dream.
JOEL
My pocket watch lyin� under rocks is nothin� new.
LITTLE JAKE
No. About you. You was there, Joel. In my dream. Under me with your arms around. Protectin� me.
JOEL
I was under?
LITTLE JAKE
We was laying together, all smilin�. Just relaxin�. An Pa was getting us wet as fish.
JOEL
But that don�t make sense, Little Jake. Why would I�
LITTLE JAKE
Shh! I heard somthin�. Keep still.
JOEL
A bear?�
LITTLE JAKE
Shhhh!
(Voices are heard off stage.)
JOEL
Hide! Behind them rocks.
(JOEL and LITTLE JAKE hide behind a block just as ROBERT jets out on stage. HORTON, with a map and book, ABBY and RACHEL enter. ABBY fans herself. RACHEL lags behind and leans against the block that LITTLE JAKE and JOEL are hiding behind.)
HORTON
(Struggling to look at his map.)
(From off stage.) Find anything, Bobby? (Enters.) They should be� Well, they should be right around here. Look carefully, everyone.
ABBY
What lush beauty. The Blue Mountains are green and peaceful. Imagine coming to this land after going through that hellish Craters of the Moon, and before that the desert� It makes one think, Horton. It makes one�
ROBERT
Dad. Are they hard to find?
HORTON
I don�t know. The diary says they�re on the slope of the hill�
ROBERT
That�s California Gulch?
HORTON
A� (Looking at map.) Yes. Yes, right there.
ROBERT
Not much of a gulch. Just a little river. Stream, more like.
HORTON
But it was enough to do the damage� Keep looking. Abby. Do something with Rachel. She�s just sitting there.
(ABBY crosses to RACHEL.)
ABBY
Get off your duff and look alive� (Unplugs one of RACHEL�s earpbuds.) Your father wants you to help�
RACHEL
I want to go home, Mother. God, this is boring.
ABBY
Maybe if you participated a little� (RACHEL replaces her earbud. To Horton.) She�s going to sit for a while.
(LITTLE JAKE and JOEL come up from behind, on RACHEL�s sides. They stare at her.)
JOEL
What in Hades has happened to her?
LITTLE JAKE
Are you sure it is a her?
JOEL
Gots to be� Don�t it?
LITTLE JAKE
I never seen her in no night mare. But I think I will from now on.
JOEL
Who are these people?
LITTLE JAKE
Don�t know. But that man. He puts me in mind of Pa�
JOEL
Shhh.
ROBERT
(Near JOEL and LITTLE JAKE.)
Dad! Come here! I think I found �em!
HORTON
Are there two?
ROBERT
Yeah.
(LITTLE JAKE and JOEL think ROBERT means them. The brothers scramble.)
HORTON
Good work, Son! Abby! Bobby found �em.
ROBERT
I�m not sure, Dad� I think they are.
HORTON
Let�s see. Where?
ROBERT
Right here. See �em? They go right along here, straight through that clump of small trees�
HORTON
Yes! Yes, I see �em! Oh, dear Lord. Clear and perfect. Abby, look. Look, Honey. Do you see �em?
ABBY
I sure do! They�re as bold as the day they were made.
HORTON
A hundred and sixty years old� One hundred and sixty years. �Breath deep, Boy. Fill your lungs with history. Our history.
ABBY
Horton, this may not be the exact place of the accident.
HORTON
Then it�s very close.
ROBERT
Can I look for more?
HORTON
Of course.
ABBY
Stay away from the water, Bobby.
ROBERT
(Exits.)
I will�
HORTON
Through cars, planes, space flight and world wars. Untouched. Forgotten by everyone, but me and Margaret Calhoon.
(HORTON begins to skim through the book.)
LITTLE JAKE
Margaret Calhoon�
JOEL
Ma! That man used Ma�s name!
LITTLE JAKE
How does he know�
JOEL
He cain�t.
LITTLE JAKE
He sure do look like Pa! Maybe they come back for us, Joel. Maybe we�s goin� home!
JOEL
Hush!
LITTLE JAKE
Cain�t you see? It�s Pa!
JOEL
Somethin� ain�t right, Little Jake. An that ain�t Pa!
HORTON
Here it is. She talks about this very spot, Abby. Rachel? Rachel! Come over here. Now, please.
RACHEL
I don�t want to. This whole thing is so stupid!
HORTON
You�ve made that perfectly clear the entire trip. Now come� Abby?
ABBY
Rachel. Would you like me to bring you over here?
RACHEL
Fine! What�s so big?
HORTON
This is. These are! Look. Come here, Sweetheart. (Taking RACHEL�s earbuds out.) Take these out of your ears. Now, sit with me here and feel this. (HORTON takes RACHEL�s hands and rubs them on the ground. She reacts.) It�s OK. Feel how smooth this grooved rock is? These ruts were made a hundred and sixty years ago by your Great, Great Grandfather�
ABBY
And others.
HORTON
This. This is the Oregon Trail, Rach. This is exactly where our people walked, and you can still see their prints! It�s all here, their hopes and sweat.
ABBY
Their tragedy.
RACHEL
This is real?
ABBY
It�s real.
HORTON
This is your Great, Great Grandmother�s diary. A strong woman who went through more, hell than I hope you�ll ever know. Without her, none of us would be here. She wrote about the spot where you sit.
LITTLE JAKE
That�s Ma�s book, Joel! How�d he get�
JOEL
No, it can�t be.
HORTON
Robert? Bobby! Can you hear?
RACHEL
Bobby! Come look at this.
ROBERT
(Enters.)
Dad. I found something! Look!
(ROBERT examines a very old, flattened pocket watch.)
HORTON
What is it?
ROBERT
An old piece of metal or something. It was under some rocks on the other side of the creek.
ABBY
Did you cross that river?
ROBERT
Didn�t even get wet.
ABBY
Bobby, I told you�
HORTON
The boy�s fine, Abby. We�ll look at that later, Son. Come here and listen to this. You too, Rachel. Actually, why don�t you read it, Rach.
RACHEL
Why?
HORTON
Because you�re her Great-Great-Granddaughter.
RACHEL
So.
HORTON
You�re the actor here. Be her voice from beyond.
ABBY
It�s your chance to be as grave as you like.
(RACHEL takes the book. At first she speaks like a silly ghost, but �tragedy� and �sadness� bring her back. As she reads, LITTLE JAKE and JOEL creep out to stand behind.)
RACHEL
�Oh dear Lord. I can barely write these words. The worst tragedy. Our terrible sadness. We have come such a far way from our little home in the United States only to have hardship heaped upon us. I wish we�d never left. Dear God. Dear God.
(Family lights fade to a glow. MARGRET CALHOON enters, walks partially down the mountain of blocks. She is lit from bright white light above. RACHEL overlaps the first part of her line.)
MARGERT CALHOON
Dear God. Traveling on the trail laid by those before us, we came to the beautiful Blue Mountains with cool air and plenty of shade. As we arrived at California Gulch, the team started to slide. Little Jake was on the downward slope and took the full force of the wagon. Immediately, my oldest boy, my Beautiful Joel, leaped behind his little brother to hold away the wagon but he was not enough. We tipped over and pinned both my boys to the bottom of that little creek. By the time Horton unlatched the team and brought them around to hitch them to the side of the wagon, my beautiful, beautiful boys stopped thrashing in the water. �When finally we got to them, they lay, Joel under Little Jake, their faces side by side beneath the rippled water; a picture I�ll never scrub from memory.
JOEL
Ma�?
LITTLE JAKE
Mama?
MARGERT CALHOON
I�m here for you, Children.
JOEL and LITTLE JAKE
(Rushing to hug MARGERT CALHOON)
MA!
JOEL
It�s Ma!
LITTLE JAKE
We missed you.
JOEL
It was lonely.
MARGERT CALHOON
I know. I know.
LITTLE JAKE
Where�ve you been?
MARGERT CALHOON
Sorry� I�m so sorry�
(LITTLE JAKE and JOEL embrace and kiss the face of MARGRET.)
JOEL
Where�s Pa?
MARGERT CALHOON
Waitn�.
LITTLE JAKE
An Sister?
MARGERT CALHOON
Waitn� with Pa.
RACHEL
That happened here?
ROBERT
A long time ago.
RACHEL
Not so long.
HORTON
They were our people
RACHEL
Our family.
ABBY
We can be our own family Rachel. We can find oneanoth� (Stepping closer to RACHEL.) I am so� So sorry. (Stepping closer .) You are my child. My girl. And� (Stepping closer still.) It�s lonely. Please. (Wanting to embrace RACHEL.) Can we be a family again?
HORTON
You�ll always be my little girl, Rach. My Pride. �We�ve made mistakes, everyone here� But we are still, and will forever be, a Family. All of us. �Bobby?
ROBERT
Oh, Jeez�.
HORTON
Say something nice to your sister.
ROBERT
Are you serious?
HORTON
(Whispers to ROBERT.)
Son, if you want to ever use the computer again, you�ll do what I suggest.
ROBERT
OK. You�re a lot less creepy than I say. �And when we get back to the van, I�ll show you where I hid your diary.
HORTON
It�s going to take us finding each other again. We�ll search. And talk. Lots of talking. Never stop at the talking� You and I are OK, aren�t we Son?
ROBERT
Dad. We�re guys.
HORTON
(As HORTON sets the camera up.)
�Let�s take a photo and go home. Get close together, Family! Come on� (ROBERT squeezes RACHEL closer to ABBY. From behind, LITLE JAKE and JOEL put their thumbs under their collars to look dignified.) That�s better. (MARGERT puts her arms around her boys shoulders.) There it is. The whole family. OK. �Five seconds.
ROBERT
Four!
RACHEL
Three!
ABBY
Two!
EVERYONE
ONE!
(The flash goes off, freezing all seven as one family: RACHEL kisses ABBY�s cheek, ROBERT holds up the pocket watch, JOEL points to his watch and LITTLE JAKE waves at the camera as
BLACK OUT.)
~THE END~