Dans l'ombre du SSPT

Idée originale de Judith Brisson

FABLE

Dialogue between man and woman, in the 10-minute play tradition of the Actors Theatre in Louisville, Kentucky. soldier-wife/ domestic scene – announcement of departure – confession? – torment /aggression – abandonment - resolution.

PERSONNAGES

Sol – Latino Iraq war veteran with a physical injury and PTSD.

Ain – English school teacher and full-time nurse for her husband, Sol.

Charlie - Friend and colleague of Sol

Textes

Charlie’s Coming.

Sol (Sitting in front of a television with his leg in a cast): Ainsley, can you get me a beer?

Ain (from a distance, sounds of packing, offstage): Ah Sol, chu occupée là..

Sol : C’mon on, get me a beer. Come sit with me a minute. What are you doing anyway? What’s all that noise over there?

Ain (Entering): Je suis en train d'emballer des cossins.

Sol: What?

Ain: J'm'en vais chez me soeur pour un boutte.

Sol: You never mentioned nothing about a trip to your sister’s. What’s going on, when did you decide to go there? Why didn’t you tell me?

Ain: J'ai besoin d'un petit break, Sol, je serai pas partie longtemps. Une couple de jours.

Sol: Ain, you know I can’t be alone right now. That’s what the doctor said. I’m not supposed to be alone.

Ain: Oui, je sais. J'ai parlé à Charlie et il m'a dit qu'il viendrait rester avec toi.

Sol: Charlie? You been talking to Charlie? – pause – YOU BEEN TALKING TO CHARLIE? Jesus Ain, don’t we have no private life any more?

Ain: Calme toi, Sol.

Sol (Agitated): I’m not gonna calm down. I can’t fucking calm down! Even the sound of a door closing drives me fucking crazy! I can’t go outside and hear cars backfiring or god-damn dogs barking. I can’t see children playing. I need some time. Ain please, I just need a bit of time.

Ain: Sol, it’s been weeks, ça fait des semaines, DES SEMAINES! J'ai besoin de sortir un peu.

Sol: You get out all the time! You go to all kinds of support meetings, bunch of BS if you ask me. Just a bunch of ladies stickin’ it to their men.

Ain: Bon, Sol, c'est pas ça, tu le sais ben. And what about you, t'as pas vu ton conseiller depuis des mois. Faudrait t'ailles au centre de services pour les vétérans...

Sol: Services? You think they give fucking services over there? Your buddies find out that you need services and they call you a pussy. Your Lieutenant Colonel finds out and your career is fucked. If I can’t work In the military, what the hell do you think I’m gonna do? Hey? Be a Walmart greeter? Flip burgers? Jesus, I need this job. We need this job. We were going to have a family, remember? And now you won’t come near me without three layers of condoms. What’s going on with that anyways? I’ve been meaning to ask.

Ain: Um quoi donc? (pretending not to know)

Sol: You never used to give a shit about condoms before I went to Iraq.

Ain: (Silence)

Sol: So....

Ain: So... quoi?

Sol: So what’s up with that? Don’t you want to have kids no more?

Ain: (Ain retreats from Sol)

Sol: C’mere baby, we ain’t had no fun in weeks. (tries to grab Ain by the waist, but she moves out of reach) A man has needs ya know. If I don’t get it here I might have to get it somewhere else.

Ain: Ça te fera du bien.

Sol: What did you just say?

Ain (Irritated): J'dis vas-y, fais ben comme tu veux. Comme ça au moins tu sortiras de la maison! T'es toujours ici, là, toujours! Que c'est tu fais? Tu regardes la télé toute la christie de journée. Maybe your friends would be right calling you a pussy!

Sol (Menacingly): You better watch what you say my little girl.

Ain (Silence)

Sol: I risked my fucking ass, getting shot at everyday, being forced to do things you don’t even want to imagine, things that I don’t wanna to remember, all so you and me and our kids could live a good life. Do you know how hard it is to get a job these days, Ain? Jesus, nobody’s hiring Vets. (pause) And now, after getting my ass blown off, now you’re taking off? You’re going to leave me alone? I can’t be alone. You know I can’t be alone.

Ain (Calmly): Tu seras pas tout seul. Je te l'ai dit, Charlie s'en vient.

Sol: Charlie’s coming over. I don’t want no ‘Charlie’s coming over’ (mocking Ain). I want you HERE. You’re not going away, go unpack your shit, you’re not going anywhere.

Ain (Defiantly) : Écoute ben, je m'en vais chez ma soeur, Char – um -Sol.

Sol (disbelievingly) : What did you just say?

Ain : Je m'en vais chez ma soeur.

Sol: Not that! You almost said Charlie.

Ain: Non, c'est pas vrai.

Sol: Yes you did, I know what I heard, you bitch! (Slaps Ain across the face) Don’t treat me like a fucking moron! I heard exactly what you said.

Ain (Crying)

Sol: Look at me!

Ain(Sobbing)

Sol: I said look at me!

Ain (Still sobbing)

Sol (Threatens to slap her, but instead grabs her by the hair) You’ve been fucking Charlie, haven’t ya, ya bloody bitch!

Ain(Sobbing)

Sol : If I find out you been fucking Charlie I’m gonna kill you both, you understand? I don’t give a shit if he’s my staff Sargent, I’m gonna kill you and him both, but especially you! You bitch! (He lets go of her head). Now tell me you ain’t been fucking Charlie.

Ain(crying more quietly)

Sol: Ain, I want you to look at me and tell me you ain’t been fucking Charlie.

Ain (With determination) Écoute moi ben une fois pour toutes, Sol, je te laisse. Ça fait longtemps que j'y pense, ben là j'suis décidée.

Sol (Unbelieving) I know I haven’t been right, Ain, I know I haven’t been right since I got back. And I’m sorry, but I can’t go to the VA Center. You know why. I’ll never be anything but a soldier or a captain or some computer-button-pusher if they find out I’m not right.

Ain: T'as besoin d'aide, Sol. (recovering from crying) J'suis pus la bonne personne pour prendre soin de toi. J'ai toute payé, j'ai faite toute le ménage, toute la bouffe, j'ai pris soin de toé, de tes blessures. T'es presque guéri, t'as p'us besoin de moi.

Sol: Ain

Ain (Silence)

Sol: Ain. I do need you. I need you because your the only one I have, you know that. I have no brothers, no sisters, the only time my dad gave a shit about me was when I filed my post-op reports. You can’t leave me! Ain, listen to me.

Ain: Crisse-toi z'en de lui, ton père c't'un abruti.

Sol: He’s a businessman.

Ain: "Businessman", tu me niaises-tu?!

Sol: A goddamn businessman runnning his own business!

Ain: Tabarnak, Sol, ton père est un mercenaire. T'as-tu lu ce que Skunkwater a faite en Iraq? Lis-tu les nouvelles des fois?

Sol (Somberly, head in hands) I can’t read the news.

Ain: Ben tu devrais! Entre la compagnie de ton père et l'armée, ils ont fait toute sorte de fuckery là-bas! Des choses que personne ne devrait jamais vivre: meurtre des innocents, interrogations renforcées, phosphore blanc, uranium appauvri, enfants déformés...

Sol (Agitated and hyperventilating): STOP TALKING AIN!

Ain: Ton père a dealé avec tout ça. Y s'est même pas présenté à notre mariage. Il ne t'écrit jamais, même pas une carte d'anniversaire. He’s a loser, Sol. Fuck him!

Sol: Leave my dad out of this.

Ain: Moi, je ne te comprend pas, pourquoi tu le protèges? Il se crisse de toi!

Sol (Brooding)

Ain(walking away)

Sol (With fear): Where are you going?

Ain: Je vais chez ma soeur.

Sol (menacingly): You ain’t going to your sister’s and you ain’t leaving either.

Ain: Je vais chez mas soeur, Sol. Je m'en vais chez ma soeur et je ne reviens jamais, comprend-tu? Jamais!

Sol: I hear ya.

Ain: Bon.

Sol: Now sit down.

Ain: Non Sol, je te quitte.

Sol: You ain’t told me about Charlie yet.

Ain: Sol, je te quitte.

Sol (Pulls out a Glock, puts it on the table): Sit yourself down and tell me about Charlie.

Ain (Wide-eyed, remaining standing): Il n'y a rien à dire Sol. J'en peux pus, du criage, de la boisson, de tes coups, je suis trop poquée, Sol, t'as-tu vu?(Pulling up sleeve to reveal bruised upper arm) Ça, ça fait tois semaines. C'est pas à cause de Charlie que je te quitte, c'est à cause de toi.

Sol: Does Charlie know about this?

Ain (Lying): Le taxi arrive dans deux minutes.

Sol: You can’t do this to me Ain, you’re my wife!

Ain (Goes offstage, packing noises emanate from off-stage)

Sol: Ain, don’t leave me baby. I’m sorry. I know I’m fucked up, I’m sorry. I’m just waiting for the right posting. Things will be better when I get back to work. You know things was never like this before, Ain. You know we were always good together, before I...

Ain (Suddenly appearing) Before is right! Mais ça complètement changé Sol, et pas pour le meilleur. Toi, t'as changé. Nous autres, on a changé. C'est de la marde et j'en peux pus.

Sol: I ain’t got nobody, Ain. Nobody. You can’t do this to me. (Begins to cry)

Ain(Softly) Sol..

Sol: I’ll end up begging in the streets, Ain, please don’t go...

Ain: C'est trop tard, Sol. I gotta go.

Sol: This is not right.

Ain: It’s right for me, Sol.

Sol: Give me another chance, baby. I’ll go see a counsellor, I promise.

Ain: Ouain, j'ai jamais déjà entendu celle-là!

Sol: I can’t be alone, Ain.

Ain: You’ll be fine. Charlie arrive en deux heures (lying).

Sol (Silence)

Ain: Prend soin de toi, Sol. Je t'appellerai. (walks offstage with some hesitation, hand on her cheek, door slams)

Sol (Gazes at the gun. Leans forward to grab it, examines it with contemplation, points it towards his face as his cell phone begins to ring, looks into the barrel - long pause - and puts it down. Gets his cell phone out of his pocket, answers the call.) (hopeful) Ain?

Male voice: No it’s Charlie, Sol. How’re ya doing, man?

Sol: Not so good Charlie, Ain is gone.

Charlie: She’ll be back soon, Sol. I’m gonna be over soon to check things out OK? You gonna be alright until then?

Sol: I dunno, Charlie (absently). I dunno if I’m gonna be alright..

Charlie: You hang in there for a bit, OK? I just have a couple of things to take care of. Feel like burgers? I can pick up some burgers on my way over.

Sol: Could ya get a couple a beers too?

Charlie: Sure thing.

Sol: Thanks, man.