The Great God Pan by Amy Herzog

Author:Amy Herzog [Herzog, Amy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781559367530
Publisher: Theatre Communications Group

Scene Six

The nursing home. Polly sits in a wheelchair, gazing off absently. She wears thick glasses.

Jamie enters. He stops and stands looking at her for a little while.

He approaches gingerly.

JAMIE: Polly.

(She looks at him. Recognition and confusion simultaneously flood her features.)

POLLY: Hello . . .

JAMIE: It’s Jamie. Jamie Perrin.

POLLY: . . . Jamie? I can’t believe it!

JAMIE: It’s really me.

POLLY: I think I must be dreaming!

JAMIE: Nope.

POLLY: Come here.

(He comes close to her and stoops. She touches his face.)

Look at you. You’re so old. You have wrinkles here (She touches between his eyes) and here. (She touches his crow’s feet) You were such a tiny thing.

JAMIE: It’s not polite to point out a gentleman’s wrinkles, Polly.

POLLY: What happened to you?

(He laughs.)

JAMIE: I just grew up, that’s all.

POLLY: Jamie Perrin.

JAMIE: Yup. That’s me.

(She laughs, delighted.)

POLLY: Well sit down! Tell me everything! Do you have a girlfriend?

JAMIE: Same one I told you about last time. Paige.

POLLY: Paige. How long have you been together?

JAMIE: Almost six years.

POLLY: Oh! So you’re married.

JAMIE: Nn—no.

POLLY: Oh.

JAMIE: No, not married.

POLLY: And why is that?

JAMIE: Well . . . lots of reasons, ideologically . . . you know, discrimination against our gay friends, who can’t get married, and, uh, it being fundamentally a religious institution, neither of us being religious . . .

(She regards him skeptically.)

And how are you?

POLLY: Me? Oh, I’m fine. It’s very nice here. The food is good.

A lot of people complain, but I think it’s pretty good.

JAMIE: Good.

POLLY: And you know Frank came to see me yesterday.

JAMIE: . . . Really.

POLLY: Maybe it wasn’t yesterday. You remember Frank?

JAMIE: Of course.

POLLY: He was such a funny little kid.

JAMIE: Yeah.

POLLY: I always worried about him. You know he used to write me from prison?

JAMIE: Frank was in prison?

POLLY: Sure, a couple of times.

JAMIE: Do you know . . . um, why?

POLLY: Well it was . . . a few different things. He always had problems. You remember how he used to lie.

JAMIE: . . . No.

POLLY: But he seems all right. He turned out all right, after all that. All the troubles his father had.

JAMIE: You knew about that?

(Polly looks at him.)

POLLY: Well of course I knew, about Dennis being out of work on and off. He used to come around the house and sit with me while I watched you boys, he was bored, that’s what I think. It’s a terrible thing not to feel useful.

JAMIE: Huh.

POLLY: Frank wanted to tell me . . . what was it he wanted to tell me?

JAMIE: About the signs of spring?

POLLY: Yes! How did you know that? That’s exactly it, the signs of spring. He says he still looks out for them. (She chuckles)

The things kids remember. Who knows what I said to keep you boys entertained, I was making it up as I went along. Because you know, I never had my own kids.

JAMIE: I know.

POLLY: So what did I know? I was just making it up. The signs of spring. I hardly even remember saying that.

JAMIE: You did great.

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