CORNELIUS: You mean you found out it involved some work?

CHARLIE: I don’t object to work.

CORNELIUS: As long as you don’t have to do it.

CHARLIE: —Y’look tired, Pop. How’re you feeling?

CORNELIUS: Tired.

[Stacey, Charlie’s girl, appears on the landing, silently, unnoticed. She is obviously pregnant but her face has a childish appeal. She appears to be still engaged in dressing. Charlie notices her and gives her a warning signal to remain out of sight till more completely appareled. Cornelius lumbers to easy chair and flops exhaustedly into it, massaging his belly, still oblivious of Stacey who has retreated into shadow on landing.]

CHARLIE [with a nervous cough]: You all had a long trip? Seem to be sorta done in.

CORNELIUS: Wouldn’t think it possible you could spend six hours getting from here on the Gulf Coast up the river to Memphis but the actual flyin’ time was about two hours or one and a half and the rest was settin’ on our asses in the New Awleuns airport. [Warming up.] They announced three delays on that plane. Each time one was announced your Mom says, “Well, I reckon I’ll have some more coffee.”

CHARLIE: That’s a good deal of coffee with her heart condition an’ pressure.

CORNELIUS: It was less coffee than food. I looked through the window at her and the first time she had her a double-deck sandwich, the next time a couple of choc’late covered cupcakes. So when they announced the third delay I went to the lunch counter with her and she ordered a coffee and a sweet roll, but I said to the waitress, “Faw-get the sweet roll.” The waitress ignored me, set down the sweet roll with the coffee. I said to the bitch, “Can you look at the size of this woman, the fat that she’s got on her, and set a sweet roll before her?” The bitch glared at me, and said, “I can since that’s what she ordered.” Well, I grabbed the sweet roll off the saucer and thrown it back of the counter. That’s when your Mom started cryin’ out loud, up till then it was just snifflin’ but then it turned to bawling. Public bawling. Embarrassed me so I wouldn’t set next to the woman. Blowin’ her nose? Sounded like a goose honkin’. “Cornelius, I run out of Kleenex, goin’ back an’ git me some paper napkins.” Pretended not to hear her but followed her to the lunch counter and sure enuff I was right. She got her another sweet roll with coffee. —Another sweet roll with coffee, impossible to believe it but she did, I seen it.

BELLA [calling out of kitchen]: There’s seven eggs left. Cornelius, you want—?