EUGENE: (Beat) I’m watching her change. She no longer has the Geechie accent. She’s wearing makeup, straightening her hair, and bought these clothes. I’ve never seen her look this good. I mean she ALWAYS looks good to me but now she’s looking beautiful–she’s looking incredibly beautiful. She’s looking like this about to leave me–Next thing I know the summer is gone and I’m taking Alma to the train.

ALMA: As we’re driving, I notice how different Russelville is looking already–

EUGENE: She’s chattering away about the dorm room and how she hopes she and her roommate get along–

ALMA: We get to the station. We have a little time before the train comes. We start kissing. I pull away and say “You taste like liquor”–

EUGENE: “I had to steady my nerves”–my nerves were shot–

ALMA: We continue to kiss–we kiss–long, hard, deep–

EUGENE: She’s looking beautiful and kissing me like she never kissed me before. She’s holding me close–real close, running her hands down my back–

ALMA: The train gets here. We put my bags on the train and kiss some more. The train pulls away and Eugene is running with the train blowing kisses like they do in the movies–

EUGENE: I run and run and run–

ALMA: I’m wearing full makeup–I’m wearing one of my pretty dresses fully made up–

EUGENE: I keep running until I can’t run anymore–

ALMA: I’m applying, reapplying lipstick, putting on different colors–

EUGENE: I watch the train until it totally disappears–

ALMA: Odelia cooked a tremendous amount of food–all this fried chicken, cake, there was a Thermos of iced tea. The conductor walks by and asks, (CONDUCTOR) “Young lady did your mother fry a lot of chicken for you?” I say, (ALMA) “Yessir–how did you know?” He says, (CONDUCTOR) You passengers call it the ‘iron express’ but we call it the ‘chicken bone express’!”

EUGENE: I walk back to the car–

ALMA: I decide to go to the “cocktail” car–I hear this expression on the train. “Cocktail.” Someone says “I’m going to the “cocktail car.’” What did I know about somebody’s cocktail? But I didn’t care–I wanted to have a “cocktail.”

EUGENE: I get in the car and reach over into the glove compartment–

ALMA: I order a “white wine.” I don’t know but I feel that I should have a “white wine”–

EUGENE: I pull out the bourbon–

ALMA: I’m sipping this cheap awful-tasting stuff–

EUGENE: I bring it to my lips–

ALMA: But–it’s my first grown-up drink and I’m enjoying it. It doesn’t matter that it’s cheap–

EUGENE: I bring my head back and take a long pull from the bottle–

ALMA: I’m sipping this cheap wine and feeling beautiful, grownup, and glorious–