THE WOMEN:
GLADIOLUS COMMUNIS is an African American in her late 70’s with gray hair. After many years of unknowable hardship, has remained as curious and undeterred by the world around her as she was when she was a girl of ten years old. AMARYLLIS BELLADONNA is an African American woman in her late 70’s who, like GLADIOLUS, too has seen many years of struggle, but has not once found a comfort in self-pity nor in regret and, like her companion, continues to flourish in her old age.

THE SETTING:
A park bench located between a playground and a basketball court in a low income neighborhood.

TIME:
The present.
It is a beautiful summer day and all the sounds of the neighborhood seem to disappear as GLADIOLUS and AMARYLLIS sit on a park bench, dressed in floral print dresses and colorful hats, while holding religious booklets such as The Watchtower and Awake on their laps.

GLADIOLUS

I am thankful for the Sun. I am not to get out tomorrow.

AMARYLLIS

Uh, huh.

GLADIOLUS

The weatherman said rain and sleet all day tomorrow. And I says to myself, “Did I hear correct? Rain?”

AMARYLLIS

Uh, huh.

GLADIOLUS

Did he say rain and sleet? AMARYLLIS

Rain and sleet.

GLADIOLUS

[flipping through the religious booklet]
The Bible said that people were drinkin’ and havin’ fun while Noah was buildin’ his ark.

AMARYLLIS

Uh, huh.

GLADIOLUS

How many days did it take him to build that ark…? Five days?

AMARYLLIS

500 years.

GLADIOLUS

[incredulously] 500 years?!

AMARYLLIS

[chuckles] 500 years.

GLADIOLUS

You sure?

AMARYLLIS

I am not sure.

GLADIOLUS

‘Cos 500 years seems like a long time to be buildin’ himself a boat.

AMARYLLIS

He didn’t build himself no boat.

GLADIOLUS

Didn’t he…? Then what’d he build?

AMARYLLIS

He built an ark.

GLADIOLUS

Oh. [thinks on it] What’s the difference between a boat- and an ark? AMARYLLIS

A boat is for sailin’. An ark is for shippin’.

GLADIOLUS

Oh, I see… [a pause] Still 500 years do seem a long time. AMARYLLIS

Uh, huh.

GLADIOLUS

Well, they didn’t believe that blessed Noah right then but when the storms came

they was grateful.

AMARYLLIS

[retrieves a cell phone from her purse to dial a number, hold it to her ear to listen then press more numbers]
Uh, huh.

GLADIOLUS

[offering a passerby a booklet]
Something to take along with you today…? Okay, have a nice day. [to AMARYLLIS]
It ain’t ringin’?

AMARYLLIS

Yeah, but she ain’t there. Her machine keeps comin’ on. [looks at cell phone]
I keep pressin’ all o’ this and all o’ that!
[sighs]
I get nothin’ from these people.

GLADIOLUS

Couldn’t get her?

AMARYLLIS

This voice keeps comin’ on- I’m sick o’ that. Do this- do that.
[sighs and grunts then after a moment]
Finally!
[into cell phone]
Barbara, they still workin’ on it? No, I need to pay them… Okay… Alright… Okay, so I will pick them up at three.
[hangs up phone]
The lady kept changin’ the menu.

GLADIOLUS

Uh, huh.

AMARYLLIS

Kept changin’ this and changin’ that.

GLADIOLUS

I’m surprised they didn’t put themselves elevator music in yer ear.

AMARYLLIS

They keep changin’ this and changin’ that.

GLADIOLUS

You want somethin’ nice and simple, don’t ya?

AMARYLLIS

I do.

GLADIOLUS

Ain’t it like it always is?

AMARYLLIS

Uh, huh.

GLADIOLUS

[to passerby]
Something to take along with you to read…? Okay, have a nice day.
[to AMARYLLIS]
How would you like a phone like what’s ‘er name? You know who I’m talkin’ about. She had one that takes your picture and plays music.

AMARYLLIS

Is that right?

GLADIOLUS

No…? Waste o’ your time?

AMARYLLIS

Uh, huh… Ain’t got no need for all that.

GLADIOLUS

Plain and simple. That’s what you need. AMARYLLIS

Somethin’ that gets me through to who I needa get through to. GLADIOLUS

That’s right- that’s all you need.
[a silence as the two, who have whole-heartedly agreed upon the complexity of modern

technology, let the subject pass]

AMARYLLIS

[to passerby]
Somethin’ to take along to you…? Okay, have a nice day.

GLADIOLUS

[reading the cover of her religious booklet]
Says somethin’ about the water. Somethin’ about runnin’ outta water.

AMARYLLIS

[looking toward GLADIOLUS’s booklet] I know- I see.

GLADIOLUS

They say we gonna run outta water.

AMARYLLIS

Imagine that?

GLADIOLUS

Where would we get our drinkin’ water from, I wonder?

AMARYLLIS

Outta the East River, I suppose.

GLADIOLUS

The East River?!

AMARYLLIS

But I don’t know if that’d be edible.

GLADIOLUS

I guess they’d sterilize it.

AMARYLLIS

They’d boil it, I guess.

GLADIOLUS

I hope that never happens. AMARYLLIS

People boil they water.

GLADIOLUS

They do? AMARYLLIS

You ever been known to do that?

GLADIOLUS

No, I jus’ drink it right outta the tap!

AMARYLLIS

My daughter washes all her vegetables.

GLADIOLUS

She do?

AMARYLLIS

She do all her greens.

GLADIOLUS

She wash all the taste right outta it too! [laughs]

AMARYLLIS

She do. She uses baking soda.

GLADIOLUS

Yeah? Baking soda?

AMARYLLIS

But I think she uses sea salt.

GLADIOLUS

Is that Jewish?

AMARYLLIS

But she boil the greens in baking soda.

GLADIOLUS

How they taste after she do that?

AMARYLLIS

She do! [finding the humor, she laughs as well] Good. I suppose. Her husband like it.

GLADIOLUS

He do?

AMARYLLIS

Appears he do.

GLADIOLUS

And the young lady. That girl o’ his—she died, am I right?

AMARYLLIS

[suddenly becomes matter of factual] She did.

GLADIOLUS

[trying to recall the details]
Somethin’ to do with water… oh, she drown, didn’t she?

AMARYLLIS

No, she didn’t drown.

GLADIOLUS

No?

AMARYLLIS

No, she had diabetes.

GLADIOLUS

She didn’t drown…? [returns to the thought] All this time I thought she drown… AMARYLLIS

No, she had diabetes—that one. That’s how she died.

GLADIOLUS

Oh. [a short pause as she considers a new query] And how he handlin’ it?

AMARYLLIS

[now taken by her own image of the death of her grandchild] Who…?

GLADIOLUS

The young man. How he handlin’ her passin’?

AMARYLLIS

[visiting the swamp of memories] I knew she had diabetes.

GLADIOLUS

And folks they die, can’t they? They die with diabetes… Am I right?

AMARYLLIS

They even put it in her obituary—she had diabetes… GLADIOLUS

And how’s he handlin’ it?

AMARYLLIS

[coming to the surface]
Oh, he’s doin’ alright, I suppose. He carrin’ on.

GLADIOLUS

That’s what folks do…

AMARYLLIS

That’s right. Even when they ain’t got two eyes to see where they goin’ they do.

GLADIOLUS

That’s what folks do.
[the two women sit in silence and share the profundity of the sentiment. Each one,

perhaps, finding a meaning in it in which they can solely relate]

And his daughter, his other little girl, how she?

AMARYLLIS

[rather lachrymose but grateful as she retrieves a handkerchief from her purse to dab her nose]
Oh, she gotten so tall so quickly. Jus’ sprang right up like a sycamore, just like a sycamore tree…

GLADIOLUS

That right?

AMARYLLIS

Oh, yes. Just like a tree.
[the women look ahead as another stranger passes]

GLADIOLUS

[to the passerby]
Somethin’ to take along with you today? Okay, have a nice day.

AMARYLLIS

[a lingering thought from the swamp she has left behind] Folks do carry on…

GLADIOLUS

Yes. Yes, they do…

CURTAIN.