BRO: Okay…

MARIGOLD: But please notice I’m not blind, Bro. So—I’ve looked. What I’m in need of is an orphan. Or a guy with just one tiny old widowed mom in San Diego who plays cards all day long in the Home and can’t even recollect her children’s names.

GRANDMA: Oh! Lord!

MARIGOLD: Grandma, all I’m saying is I’ve got all the family one person can handle.

GRANDMA: All anybody could stand.

MARIGOLD: You’re all I want.

BRO: Aaaaaaah—

MARIGOLD: And Gib and I—I don’t know—

GIB: Childhood sweethearts.

MARIGOLD: Childhood sweethearts.

GIB: Childhood’s over. For quite a few of us. Some—are stuck.

BRO: Aw dry up and quit stinkin’.

GIB: Okay!…(To MARIGOLD:) Yeah, you were special to me. And while we were going together, I was very happy. But then I went in the service and—sure. I’m different, you’re different, we’re all…different. But somehow you—inside of you, you stayed all…the same.

BRO: That’s why he just had to drown you.

MARIGOLD: Drown me? I don’t remember ever drowning.

BRO: Of course you don’t remember. Of course you don’t remember. But you drowned. You drowned and you never came up.

BRO sits in the recliner and cuddles with his jug.

MARIGOLD: Now will somebody please explain to me about John?

PASTOR ROCK: Can’t we get on with the—?

GRANDMA: John’s in jail in Texas! They caught him up north and dragged him down to Dallas on a bus.

PASTOR ROCK: We’ve got to make some headway here—

MARIGOLD: A bus?

GRANDMA: This bus…zigzags the country letting prisoners on and prisoners off. Every third day they stop for one eight-hour rest stop to let them sleep inside the walls of a prison they never saw before or heard of before. They travel otherwise on their bus, chained together by one long chain snaking along through their shackles. Like slaves in Cecil B. DeMille. Only, the prisoners of today never rise up in rebellion, because they get cereal every morning spiked full of tranquilizing dope. But do you want to know who the dope is? I’ll tell you who the dope is: Cecil B. DeMille! He’s got no idea how we live! We zigzag up and down the national highways with our eyeballs as glazed as candy, chained together and drooling spit! And what was poor John’s crime to begin it all? Drinking and driving! Then they chased him, and life got exciting! Putting him in prison is the utter waste of a good mind! All the Cassandras have pretty good minds! Maybe they don’t care to take them out and dust them off and use them, but…(pointing at BRO:) There’s the one to be locked up as soon as possible!

GIB turns his back on MARIGOLD. Takes SUZANNE’s hand. They face PASTOR ROCK.

Pause.

CASS passed out at the kitchen counter… BRO stupefied by drink and looking on, slumped in the recliner… GRANDMA and MARIGOLD standing aside, steeped in hesitation…Lights dim. The PASTOR reads in a hushed and momentarily holy atmosphere…