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.