MARJORIE (To Jon): Even when she was young, she liked birds. Me, I like people.

TESS (To Jon, as if translating): ’Cause I hate people.

JON (To Marjorie): We might run a few errands too. If you don’t mind sitting in the car.

MARJORIE: Is Damian asleep?

(Tess looks at Jon.)

TESS: No, Mom. Damian’s not here.

(Pause. Jon and Tess still locking eyes, a kind of standoff.)

MARJORIE (Almost to herself, steady and calm): One time, your father and I went to the city before Christmas. It was a business trip and I came along. We must’ve left you with the Burnsides.

And we must have seen a show, and stayed at a nice hotel, and looked at the department stores with the Christmas lights. But all I remember is sitting on a park bench, just sitting and watching these big orange flags in the park. These orange sorts of flags everywhere.

JON (To Tess): Orange flags?

(Tess shrugs.)

MARJORIE: Or more, what’s the color, the spice—the Spanish—very expensive?

TESS: Saffron.

MARJORIE: Saffron. And it didn’t matter that it was cold because it was so pretty just to watch all the saffron next to the blue white snow.

(Jon takes out a notebook.)

Rows and rows, like Buddhist monks marching into the trees. And I just remember sitting on one of those benches with your father and not wanting to get up.

(Beat.)

Because if we got up, that would mean we had to start the rest of our lives.

What are you doing?

JON: I’m writing down what you said.

MARJORIE (Sardonic): I will have to be more careful.

JON: Just to remember. And if you want, we can tell Walter Prime.

(Tess sees something on a side table.)

TESS: What’s this?

MARJORIE: A Bible.

TESS: I can see that, but what are you doing with it?

MARJORIE: The girl brought it yesterday I think, the Serenity girl

TESS: Julie

MARJORIE: Julie. She just said, if I was interested.

TESS: And you told her you were interested?

MARJORIE: I didn’t say one way or the other.

(Steam comes out of Tess’s ears, silently.)

JON: What’s wrong?

TESS: My whole life, she tells me there’s no God—it’s a fairy tale people tell themselves—goodness is its own reward—and now, / she’s letting herself . . .

MARJORIE: I haven’t even opened it. Julie wanted to share her beliefs with me—she said it was a comfort to her, when she lost her father.

TESS: This is the same Julie who left the blinds down?

MARJORIE: The blinds?