HOLLOWAY: You can go back up there. Eighteen thirty-nine Wylie. In the back. Knock on the red door.

STERLING: I got something I wanna ask her about Risa.

RISA: You ain’t got nothing to ask her about me.

STERLING: I wanna find out something. I asked God to send me an angel. He said he couldn’t do that but he’d send me a teasing brown. I wanna find out if you her. If you is, then . . .  look out, woman! We gonna make all kinds of babies.
(RISA sees the gas can.)

RISA: Sterling, what’s that? Where you get that from?

STERLING: I found it in back of the alley down there off of Centre. In back of that drugstore. It was just sitting there . . .  wasn’t nobody around . . .  so I picked it up. It got five gallon of gas in it.

RISA: You done went and stole somebody’s gas.

STERLING: I told you I found it, woman.

HOLLOWAY: You ought to put them flowers in a bigger glass. Put a little salt in the glass. They last longer then. That’s what my grandmother used to do.
(HAMBONE enters.)

STERLING: There he is! Hey, Hambone. Black is beautiful!
(HAMBONE looks at him for a moment, confused.)

HAMBONE: I want my ham.

STERLING: You stick with me . . .  you gonna get your ham.
Okay? Me and you. Brothers.
(He clasps his hands together.)
See? Like that. Black is beautiful. Remember? Now, I’m gonna teach you something else. United . . .  come on now. Come on—first I say it . . .  then you say it. United we stand . . .

HAMBONE: United we stand . . .

STERLING: Divided we fall.

HAMBONE: Divided we fall.

STERLING: Yeah, that’s right. See? You can do it! United we stand . . .  divided we fall. I learned that in the penitentiary. You ever been in the penitentiary?
(HAMBONE looks at him. STERLING suddenly shouts.)
I want my ham!

HAMBONE: I want my ham!

STERLING: I want my ham!

HAMBONE: I want my ham!

STERLING: I want my ham!

HAMBONE: I want my ham!

STERLING: Malcolm lives!

HAMBONE: I want my ham!

STERLING: Malcolm lives!

HAMBONE: I want my ham!

STERLING: Malcolm lives!

HAMBONE: I want my ham!
(MEMPHIS enters.)

STERLING: Malcolm lives!

HAMBONE: I want my ham!

STERLING: Malcolm lives!

HAMBONE: I want my ham!

MEMPHIS: Stop all the hollering in here! This a business. Risa . . .

HAMBONE: I want my ham!

MEMPHIS: Stop all that hollering! Risa!

RISA: What?

MEMPHIS: What’s all this hollering in here? You supposed to be running a business. This ain’t no schoolyard!
(To STERLING:)
Go on outside if you wanna holler. Take that out on the street and holler all you want.

STERLING: We was just having some fun. Say, Memphis, you wanna buy some gas? I got five gallon of gas I found in the alley down there off of Centre. Let you have it for two dollars.

MEMPHIS: I got gas.