A Raisin in the Sun (14 page)

(
He turns and put his card on a table and exits
.
WALTER
pushes the door to with stinging hatred, and stands looking at it
.
RUTH
just sits and
BENEATHA
just stands. They say nothing
.
MAMA
and
TRAVIS
enter
)

MAMA
Well—this all the packing got done since I left out of here this morning. I testify before God that my children got all the energy of the
dead!
What time the moving men due?

BENEATHA
Four o’clock. You had a caller, Mama.

(
She is smiling, teasingly
)

MAMA
Sure enough—who?

BENEATHA
(
Her arms folded saucily
) The Welcoming Committee.

(
WALTER
and
RUTH
giggle
)

MAMA
(
Innocently
) Who?

BENEATHA
The Welcoming Committee. They said they’re sure going to be glad to see you when you get there.

WALTER
(
Devilishly
) Yeah, they said they can’t hardly wait to see your face.

(
Laughter
)

MAMA
(
Sensing their facetiousness
) What’s the matter with you all?

WALTER
Ain’t nothing the matter with us. We just telling you ’bout the gentleman who came to see you this afternoon. From the Clybourne Park Improvement Association.

MAMA
What he want?

RUTH
(
In the same mood as
BENEATHA
and
WALTER
) T
O
welcome you, honey.

WALTER
He said they can’t hardly wait. He said the one thing they don’t have, that they just
dying
to have out there is a fine family of fine colored people! (To
RUTH
and
BENEATHA
) Ain’t that right!

RUTH
(
Mockingly
) Yeah! He left his card—

BENEATHA
(
Handing card to
MAMA
) In case.

(
MAMA
reads and throws it on the floor—understanding and looking off as she draws her chair up to the table on which she has put her plant and some sticks and some cord
)

MAMA
Father, give us strength. (
Knowingly—and without fun
) Did he threaten us?

BENEATHA
Oh—Mama—they don’t do it like that any more. He talked Brotherhood. He said everybody ought to learn how to sit down and hate each other with good Christian fellowship.

(
She and
WALTER
shake hands to ridicule the remark
)

MAMA
(
Sadly
) Lord, protect us …

RUTH
You should hear the money those folks raised to buy the house from us. All we paid and then some.

BENEATHA
What they think we going to do—eat ’em?

RUTH
No, honey, marry ’em.

MAMA
(
Shaking her head
) Lord, Lord, Lord …

RUTH
Well—that’s the way the crackers crumble. (
A beat
) Joke.

BENEATHA
(
Laughingly noticing what her mother is doing
) Mama, what are you doing?

MAMA
Fixing my plant so it won’t get hurt none on the way …

BENEATHA
Mama, you going to take
that
to the new house?

MAMA
Un-huh—

BENEATHA
That raggedy-looking old thing?

MAMA
(
Stopping and looking at her
) It expresses ME!

RUTH
(
With delight, to
BENEATHA
) S
O
there, Miss Thing! (
WALTER
comes to
MAMA
suddenly and bends down behind her and squeezes her in his arms with all his strength. She is overwhelmed by the suddenness of it and, though delighted, her manner is like that of
KUTH
and
TRAVIS
)

MAMA
Look out now, boy! You make me mess up my thing here!

WALTER
(
His face lit, he slips down on his knees beside her, his arms still about her
) Mama … you know what it means to climb up in the chariot?

MAMA
(
Gruffly, very happy
) Get on away from me now …

RUTH
(
Near the gift-wrapped package, trying to catch
W
ALTER’S
eye
) Psst—

WALTER
What the old song say, Mama …

RUTH
Walter—Now?

(
She is pointing at the package
)

WALTER
(
Speaking the lines, sweetly, playfully, in his mother’s face
)

I got wings … you got wings …

All God’s children got wings …

MAMA
Boy—get out of my face and do some work …

WALTER

When I get to heaven gonna put on my wings
,

Gonna fly all over God’s heaven …

BENEATHA
(
Teasingly, from across the room
) Everybody talking ’bout heaven ain’t going there!

WALTER
(
To
RUTH
,
who is carrying the box across to them
) I don’t know, you think we ought to give her that … Seems to me she ain’t been very appreciative around here.

MAMA
(
Eyeing the box, which is obviously a gift
) What is that?

WALTER
(
Taking it from
RUTH
and putting it on the table in front of
MAMA
) Well—what you all think? Should we give it to her?

RUTH
Oh—she was pretty good today.

MAMA
I’ll good you—

(
She turns her eyes to the box again
)

BENEATHA
Open it, Mama.

(
She stands up, looks at it, turns and looks at all of them, and then presses her hands together and does not open the package
)

WALTER
(
Sweetly
) Open it, Mama. It’s for you. (
MAMA
looks in his eyes. It is the first present in her life without its being Christmas. Slowly she opens her package and lifts out, one by one, a brand-new sparkling set of gardening tools
.
WALTER
continues, prodding
) Ruth made up the note—read it …

MAMA
(
Picking up the card and adjusting her glasses
) “To our own Mrs. Miniver—Love from Brother, Ruth and Beneatha.” Ain’t that lovely …

TRAVIS
(
Tugging at his father’s sleeve
) Daddy, can I give her mine now?

WALTER
All right, son. (
TRAVIS
flies to get his gift
)

MAMA
Now I don’t have to use my knives and forks no more …

WALTER
Travis didn’t want to go in with the rest of us, Mama. He got his own. (
Somewhat amused
) We don’t know what it is …

TRAVIS
(
Racing back in the room with a large hatbox and putting it in front of his grandmother
) Here!

MAMA
Lord have mercy, baby. You done gone and bought your grandmother a hat?

TRAVIS
(
very proud
) Open it!

(
She does and lifts out an elaborate, but very elaborate, wide gardening hat, and all the adults break up at the sight of it
)

RUTH
Travis, honey, what is that?

TRAVIS
(
Who thinks it is beautiful and appropriate
) It’s a gardening hat! Like the ladies always have on in the magazines when they work in their gardens.

BENEATHA
(
Giggling fiercely
) Travis—we were trying to make Mama Mrs. Miniver—not Scarlett O’Hara!

MAMA
(
Indignantly
) What’s the matter with you all! This here is a beautiful hat! (
Absurdly
) I always wanted me one just like it!

(
She pops it on her head to prove it to her grandson, and the hat is ludicrous and considerably oversized
)

RUTH
Hot dog! Go, Mama!

WALTER
(
Doubled over with laughter
) I’m sorry, Mama—but you look like you ready to go out and chop you some cotton sure enough!

(
They all laugh except
MAMA
,
out of deference to
TRAVIS’
feelings
)

MAMA
(
Gathering the boy up to her
) Bless your heart—this is the prettiest hat I ever owned— (
WALTER, RUTH
and
BENEATHA
chime in—noisily, festively and insincerely congratulating
TRAVIS
on his gift
) What are we all standing around here for? We ain’t finished packin’ yet. Bennie, you ain’t packed one book.

(
The bell rings
)

BENEATHA
That couldn’t be the movers … it’s not hardly two good yet—

(
BENEATHA
goes into her room
.
MAMA
starts for door
)

WALTER
(
Turning, stiffening
) Wait—wait—I’ll get it.

(
He stands and looks at the door
)

MAMA
You expecting company, son?

WALTER
(
Just looking at the door
) Yeah—yeah …

(
MAMA
looks at
RUTH
,
and they exchange innocent and unfrightened glances
)

MAMA
(
Not understanding
) Well, let them in, son.

BENEATHA
(
From her room
) We need some more string.

MAMA
Travis—you run to the hardware and get me some string cord.

(
MAMA
goes out and
WALTER
turns and looks at
RUTH. TRAVIS
goes to a dish for money
)

RUTH
Why don’t you answer the door, man?

WALTER
(
Suddenly bounding across the floor to embrace her
) ’Cause sometimes it hard to let the future begin!

(
Stooping down in her face
)

I got wings! You got wings!

All God’s children got wings!

(
He crosses to the door and throws it open. Standing there is a very slight little man in a not too prosperous business suit and with haunted frightened eyes and a hat pulled down tightly, brim up, around his forehead
.
TRAVIS
passes between the men and exits
.
WALTER
leans deep in the man’s face, still in his jubilance
)

When I get to heaven gonna put on my wings, Gonna fly all over God’s heaven …

(
The little man just stares at him
)

Heaven—

(
Suddenly he stops and looks past the little man into the empty hallway
) Where’s Willy, man?

BOBO
He ain’t with me.

WALTER
(
Not disturbed
) Oh—come on in. You know my wife.

BOBO
(
Dumbly, taking off his hat
) Yes—h’you, Miss Ruth.

RUTH
(
Quietly, a mood apart from her husband already, seeing
BOBO
) Hello, Bobo.

WALTER
You right on time today … Right on time. That’s the way! (
He slaps
BOBO
on his back
) Sit down … lemme hear.

(
RUTH
stands stiffly and quietly in back of them, as though somehow she senses death, her eyes fixed on her husband
)

BOBO
(
His frightened eyes on the floor, his hat in his hands
) Could I please get a drink of water, before I tell you about it, Walter Lee?

(
WALTER
does not take his eyes off the man
.
RUTH
goes blindly to the tap and gets a glass of water and brings it to
BOBO
)

WALTER
There ain’t nothing wrong, is there?

BOBO
Lemme tell you—

WALTER
Man—didn’t nothing go wrong?

BOBO
Lemme tell you—Walter Lee. (
Looking at
RUTH
and talking to her more than to
WALTER
) Y
OU
know how it was. I got to tell you how it was. I mean first I got to tell you how it was all the way … I mean about the money I put in, Walter Lee …

WALTER
(
With taut agitation now
) What about the money you put in?

BOBO
Well—it wasn’t much as we told you—me and Willy—(
He stops
) I’m sorry, Walter. I got a bad feeling about it. I got a real bad feeling about it …

WALTER
Man, what you telling me about all this for? … Tell me what happened in Springfield …

BOBO
Springfield.

RUTH
(
Like a dead woman
) What was supposed to happen in Springfield?

BOBO
(
To her
) This deal that me and Walter went into with Willy— Me and Willy was going to go down to Springfield and spread some money ’round so’s we wouldn’t have to wait so long for the liquor license … That’s what we were going to do. Everybody said that was the way you had to do, you understand, Miss Ruth?

WALTER
Man—what happened down there?

BOBO
(
A pitiful man, near tears
) I’m trying to tell you, Walter.

WALTER
(
Screaming at him suddenly
) THEN TELL ME, GODDAMMIT … WHAT’S THE MATTER WITH YOU?

BOBO
Man … I didn’t go to no Springfield, yesterday.

WALTER
(
Halted, life hanging in the moment
) Why not?

BOBO
(
The long way, the hard way to tell
) ’Cause I didn’t have no reasons to …

WALTER
Man, what are you talking about!

BOBO
I’m talking about the fact that when I got to the train station yesterday morning—eight o’clock like we planned … Man—
Willy didn’t never show up
.

WALTER
Why … where was he … where is he?

BOBO
That’s what I’m trying to tell you … I don’t know … I waited six hours … I called his house … and I waited … six hours … I waited in that train station six hours … (
Breaking into tears
) That was all the extra money I had in the world … (
Looking
up at
WALTER
with the tears running down his face
) Man,
Willy is gone
.

WALTER
Gone, what you mean Willy is gone? Gone where? You mean he went by himself. You mean he went off to Springfield by himself—to take care of getting the license—(
Turns and looks anxiously at
RUTH
) You mean maybe he didn’t want too many people in on the business down there? (
Looks to
RUTH
again, as before
) You know Willy got his own ways. (
Looks back to
BOBO
) Maybe you was late yesterday and he just went on down there without you. Maybe—maybe—he’s been callin’ you at home tryin’ to tell you what happened or something. Maybe—maybe—he just got sick. He’s somewhere—he’s got to be somewhere. We just got to find him—me and you got to find him. (
Grabs
BOBO
senselessly by the collar and starts to shake him
) We got to!

BOBO
(
In sudden angry, frightened agony
) What’s the matter with you, Walter!
When a cat take off with your money he don’t leave you no road maps!

WALTER
(
Turning madly, as though he is looking for
WILLY
in the very room
) Willy! … Willy … don’t do it … Please don’t do it … Man, not with that money … Man, please, not with that money … Oh, God … Don’t let it be true … (
He is wandering around, crying out for
WILLY
and looking for him or perhaps for help from God
) Man … I trusted you … Man, I put my life in your hands … (
He starts to crumple down on the floor as
RUTH
just covers her face in horror
.
MAMA
opens the door and comes into the room, with
BENEATHA
behind her
) Man … (
He starts to pound the floor with his fists, sobbing wildly
) THAT MONEY IS MADE OUT OF MY FATHER’S FLESH—

BOBO
(
Standing over him helplessly
) I’m sorry, Walter
… (Only
W
ALTER’S
sobs reply
.
BOBO
puts on his hat
) I had my life staked on this deal, too …