Ravenhill Plays: 1: Shopping and F***ing; Faust is Dead; Handbag; Some Explicit Polaroids (Contemporary Dramatists) (26 page)

To be my own person. Always had something controlling me. The smack. And people. Didn’t know who I was so I let people control me. But I’m past that now. I’m gonna find out who I am. Do you wanna find out who you are? Not a nanny. That’s not you. You’re . . .

He moves to go down on
Lorraine
. Yeah?

Lorraine
     Yeah.

Phil
goes down on her. After a while, she pulls away.

Lorraine
     No. I gotta go to him.

Exit
Lorraine
.

Phil
     Tubbytastic.

Boxroom.

Lorraine
is getting ready to go out. She is wearing a smart dress.

Suzanne
watches
.

Lorraine
     What do you think?

Suzanne
     Oh yes. I like it.

Lorraine
     It’s alright, isn’t it?

Suzanne
     It’s great. Suits you.

Lorraine
     You reckon?

Suzanne
     Oh yes. You look great.

Lorraine
     Like the one you’ve got.

Suzanne
     I suppose it is – yes.

Lorraine
     I saw you wearing it and I thought – That’s nice.

Suzanne
     Well, good . . .

Lorraine
     I mean it’s not yours. I bought it. But it’s like yours.

She applies lipstick.

Hot-blooded.

Suzanne
     Yes?

Lorraine
     That’s what they call it. Is your one Hot- Blooded?

Suzanne
     No. I don’t think so. No. Well . . . I’m sure that’ll be appreciated. Hot-Blooded.

Lorraine
     Oh yeah. He’ll like this.

Baby cries.

I’ll go / to him.

Suzanne
     No, no, no.

Lorraine
     I think he wants me.

Suzanne
     Mauretta’s looking after him.

Cries die away.

There.

Mauretta
(
on baby alarm
)     Yes. Yes. Mummy’s here.

Lorraine
     Can you . . . ?

Lorraine
turns
.
Suzanne
does up her dress.

Suzanne
     So how’s it going? With this boy?

Lorraine
     I like him.

Suzanne
     And he likes you?

Lorraine
     I reckon.

Suzanne
     So . . . what’s he like?

Lorraine
     Nice.

Suzanne
     Well, that’s a good start.

Lorraine
     Yeah. Nice. And . . . rich.

Suzanne
     Rich? Really?

Lorraine
     Yeah. Really rich. With stocks. And shares and that.

Suzanne
     Lucky you.

Lorraine
     Oh yeah. In the City. Selling and buying. On a computer screen. Tokyo. New York and that.

Suzanne
     Job like that must involve quite a bit of travelling.

Lorraine
     Travel, of course, yeah, travel. He’s going to be a millionaire by the time he’s twenty-five. He won’t want me to do this much longer.

Suzanne
     Maybe, we should start looking for / another nanny.

Lorraine
     No, no. You don’t need to do that.

Suzanne
     But if you’re going to be / moving on . . .

Lorraine
     No.

Suzanne
     No?

Lorraine
     I told him . . . I persuaded him to let me stay. ’Cos I’m too attached to you.

Suzanne
     Does he come here?

Lorraine
     Not really.

Suzanne
     Never?

Lorraine
     Well . . .

Suzanne
     Sometimes?

Lorraine
     Of course sometimes . . .

Suzanne
     Often?

Lorraine
     No, not often. He doesn’t like it here. He’s not comfortable. He’s used to . . . y’know . . . bigger. Posher.

Suzanne
     I see.

Enter
Mauretta
.

Mauretta
     Fast asleep now.

Lorraine
     I’ll look in on my way out.

Mauretta
     No need.

Lorraine
     Just have a / quick look.

Mauretta
     Best to leave him be.

Lorraine
     Alright then.

Mauretta
     Actually, Lorraine, we wanted a word with you.

Lorraine
     Yeah?

Mauretta
     Just a quick word. Won’t take a few minutes.

Lorraine
     Alright.

Mauretta
     We just wanted to say . . . we’d appreciate it if you didn’t bring your boyfriend back here.

Lorraine
     Alright.

Mauretta
     And we’d particularly appreciate it if you didn’t use our bed. . .

Lorraine
     You / what?

Mauretta
     For your sexual / activities.

Lorraine
     I don’t.

Mauretta
     You don’t?

Lorraine
     No. Course I don’t.

Mauretta
     Because . . .

Lorraine
     Because that would be wrong.

Mauretta
     Yes. We’re agreed. That would be wrong.

Suzanne
     All we’re trying to say is . . . this is a job. That’s all we want to say. I know the pay’s pretty shitty. But we pay what we can and we expect you to do your job.

Lorraine
     I know, I know.

Suzanne
     And we feel guilty.

Mauretta
     Terribly guilty.

Suzanne
     This room should be nicer . . .

Lorraine
     I’m not complaining.

Suzanne
     But that’s the deal.

Lorraine
     I know.

Mauretta
     And we expect you to give him your undivided attention.

Lorraine
     I do.

Mauretta
     But you can’t. If you’re . . . entertaining then you can’t be giving him your undivided attention.

Lorraine
     I do give him my . . . I’m going now. He’ll be waiting for me.

Mauretta
     Wait . . . You’re lying to us.

Lorraine
     We’re going to a restaurant. The table’s booked.

Mauretta
     Please. You’re lying / to us.

Lorraine
     Don’t you call me a liar. You got no right to call me that. I don’t have to listen to this. I’m going now.

Mauretta
     We’ve been monitoring your activities.

Lorraine
     You what?

Mauretta
     We installed . . . there have been cameras watching you.

Lorraine
laughs
.

Mauretta
     Yes. Really. There have been video / cameras. . .

Lorraine
     What do you fucking do that for?

Suzanne
     He’s our child. He’s fragile. He has to be looked after properly. We can’t allow him to be neglected.

Mauretta
     We hoped that we were just being paranoid. That everything / was alright.

Lorraine
     What is this?

Suzanne
     You neglect him. He can cry. He can shout.

Lorraine
     That’s not right.

Mauretta
     Do you want to watch it? Do you want me to show it to you?

Lorraine
     No.

Mauretta
     And I can see why this has happened. It’s understandable. No girl wants to be tied to a baby for two pounds an hour when . . .

Lorraine
     It’s not like that.

Mauretta
     But. We’d like you to leave.

Lorraine
     No.

Mauretta
     We’d appreciate it if you were to look for somewhere else.

Lorraine
     No. I’m not doing that. I’m not going. I like this job. (
To
Suzanne
.) I bet you don’t want me to go. You don’t want to lose me, do you?

Suzanne
     I . . .

Lorraine
     Yeah, yeah. She wants me to stay.

Suzanne
     Lorraine . . . We both want you to go.

Beat
.

Lorraine
     She kissed me.

Suzanne
     No.

Lorraine
     Yes she did. With her tongue. Lezzy kiss she did on me. Big lezzy kiss.

Baby cries again.

He wants me.

Mauretta
     No.

Lorraine
     He’s calling for me.

Mauretta
     I told you no.

Mauretta
pushes
Lorraine
back
.

Lorraine
     Fuck off. Fuck off, you cow. I’ll fucking have you, you cow.

Lorraine
attacks
Mauretta
.
Suzanne
pulls her off.

Mauretta
     I want you out of my house.

Lorraine
     You need me. He needs me. Someone’s gotta be here for him. You can’t do it. You’re out. You work.

Mauretta
     That’s right. We work.

Lorraine
     So you need . . .

Mauretta
     We work so that he can have a future. He’s got to have an education. He’s not going to end up like . . .

Lorraine
     What? What?

Mauretta
     He’s not going to be a two-pound-an-hour person.

Lorraine
     Fuck you. Fuck you.

Exit
Mauretta
.

Suzanne
     I’m sorry it all got . . . We’re just trying . . . we have to do what’s best for our son.

Lorraine
     He likes me.

Suzanne
     Yes. He does.

Lorraine
     More than he likes you.

Mauretta
(
on baby alarm
)     There. There. Alright now. She’s going.

Lorraine
     And more than he likes her.

Suzanne
is watching a video.

Baby cries on video.

Phil
(
on video
)     He’s calling for you.

Lorraine
(
on video
)     Yeah.

Phil
(
on video
)     He can wait for a minute. Alright?

Enter
Mauretta
.

Mauretta
     No. Don’t, love. Come on.

Suzanne
     I want to watch it.

Mauretta
     No. Come on.

Please. I don’t want to watch it.

Suzanne
     Then go somewhere else.

Mauretta
     I’m not. You go somewhere else. I’m not having this. This doesn’t make it better.

Suzanne
     So – you gonna make it better? How you gonna do that? Come on then. Come on. You make it better.

Mauretta
     Is it true . . . ?

Suzanne
     What?

Mauretta
     What she said, that you / kissed her.

Suzanne
     No. Why should I . . . ? No.

Doorbell. Exit
Mauretta
, enters again with
David
.

David
     Shit. Shit.

So . . . some boy helped her take the baby?

Mauretta
     That’s right. Her boyfriend.

David
     So. Who is this boy? Did you give a description? You know what he looks like?

Suzanne
     Oh yes.

Suzanne
rewinds the video
.

Phil
(
on video
)     I’m ready now. To be my own person. Always had something controlling me.

Suzanne
     Can’t see his face now but. . .

Phil
(
on video
)     The smack. And people. Didn’t know who I was so I let people control me.

Suzanne
     In a minute you can . . .

Phil
(
on video
)     But I’m past that now. I’m gonna find out who I am. Do you wanna find out who you are?

Suzanne
     There. That’s him.

Suzanne
pauses the video
.

David
     I see.