Part Two: Alone on a Bridge

Stacey, now homeless, reveals her son's father and Raven seeks revenge.

Dearest reader,

Welcome to part two of Alone on a Bridge, a new play by George F. Walker, one of Canada’s most prolific and popular playwrights. Part Kafka, part Lewis Carroll, Walker’s distinctive, gritty, and fast-paced tragicomedies illuminate and satirize the selfishness, greed, and aggression of contemporary urban culture.

In Part One, we meet Stacey, alone and struggling in the big city with her kids, Raven a social worker who confronts Rudy, the corrupt cop who killed her brother, and Kyle, one of Raven’s clients who also happens to be Rudy’s son. Kyle meets Stacey on the street and offers to help her after Stacey’s kids are kidnapped by her parents.

In Part Two, Raven asks Joel to help avenge her brother’s death. While Stacey and Kyle are homeless in the park, we learn the truth about her son’s real dad.

Here’s a taste:

RAVEN

I guess you’re liking this a lot.

JOEL

What?

RAVEN

Getting me in your bed. Getting inside me like you always wanted.

JOEL

It was good.

RAVEN

It was okay.

JOEL

It was excellent, girl.

RAVEN

It’ll do me for now.

JOEL

Until you get with a woman. You still into that?

RAVEN

Yeah.

JOEL

So why are you here?

RAVEN

I wanted to give you something.

JOEL

You what?

RAVEN

I need you to do a thing. So I gave you a thing for it in advance.

JOEL

Yeah? And now you’re actually telling me that. That’s fucked up, Rave.

RAVEN

We’re friends. Friends are honest with each other.

JOEL

Not that honest. That kind of honest is not necessary.

RAVEN

Come on. You thought this was what? The beginning of something? If it was gonna begin, it would have begun a long time ago.

JOEL

Unless you were just waiting for me to get my shit together. And now that I’m about to get my degree…

RAVEN

In two years.

JOEL

Two years is half way.

RAVEN

Halfway leaves a long way to go. You’re still officially a fuck up until then. You’ve been outta that gang only a year.

JOEL

A gang I was never in, not really. Not officially.

RAVEN

And now you’re out altogether.

JOEL

Right. I mean we sometimes catch up.

RAVEN

Catch up. What’s that like? You tell them how your economics course is going. They tell you who they killed recently.

JOEL

What’s that thing you want from me?

RAVEN

It’s like that thing I just said.

JOEL

What thing?

RAVEN

I want them to kill someone for me. What’s that look? You gotta get them to do it. I’m serious.

JOEL

The hell…

RAVEN

Hey. I just made a dream come true for you.

JOEL

Come on…

RAVEN

You’ll ask them. I know you will.

JOEL

Yeah?

RAVEN

If you want me in your bed again. (off his look) It’s a cop I want dead. The one who shot Lucas.

JOEL

That detective? So this is revenge.

RAVEN

Justice.

JOEL

Sounds more like revenge.

RAVEN

He’s a dangerous man.

JOEL

There are a lot of dangerous men out there.

RAVEN

Yeah and we’ll get to them all eventually.

He is just looking at her.

LIGHTS ON STACEY.

KYLE IS WATCHING HER CLOSELY

STACEY

You never gonna sleep? I said just once that I felt like killing myself, and you haven’t taken your eyes off me ever since. Some of those pills you have in your pockets must be uppers. Kyle. Your name is Kyle, right.

KYLE

Right.

STACEY

So where are we?

KYLE

In the park.

STACEY

The same park?

KYLE

Yeah..

STACEY

Well whatever. You should fuck off. Killing myself is gonna be hard enough without having you around trying to save me.

KYLE

I just wanna know why you want to do it?

STACEY

I don’t wanna talk about why. It’d be all about my kids and how I’ve decided I have to do it soon and get it over with. So by the time they’re like 5 and 6 they’ve forgotten about me. I don’t want them to ever think about me from then on.

She walks away from him. Looks at us

STACEY

I don’t wish I’d never had them or anything like that. I just wish I could have been better. Stronger. And mostly smarter. Smart enough to know their father would quit on us. And not have let him drag us to this city where I don’t know anyone. Not a single person I could ask for anything. Not even to look after the kids while I went out to beg for enough money to buy some milk and cereal at least. But mostly I wish I knew how damaged I am. That I should have gotten help.

(Kyle is there beside her.)

STACEY

Oh you’re back. Have any luck at the track?

KYLE

What?

STACEY

Not any of my business, eh.

KYLE

What’s wrong with you?

STACEY

You’ve asked me that one too many times, Jamie.

KYLE

Who the fuck is Jamie?

STACEY

Great. You’ve forgotten your own name.

KYLE

Seriously. What’s your fucking problem?

STACEY

Seriously. Okay. Well for one thing, your oldest son is actually your brother. Do you wanna let that sink in for a while?

And Jamie is there now.

JAMIE

My son is what?

STACEY

Your father raped me.

JAMIE

Fuck you! I don’t have to listen to this shit.

And Jamie walks away

Kyle just looks at her. She returns to the bench. Kyle joins her.

KYLE

Who’s Jamie?

STACEY

My husband. I told you about him when I was drugged, right.

KYLE

No you–

STACEY

Go to sleep, Kyle. I won’t be killing myself in this fucking park. I want my body to disappear. Not get taken away in a bag. Then have my parents called and letting them arrange for my funeral in that piss little country church I’ve hated the sight of all my life.

Read the rest here.

Missed part one? No problem, read it here.