Darlene's
Daydream
Café

ACT TWO - (Part 4)

DARLENE: Oh dear Lord.

PATTY: This is the end, I'm sure of it.

DARLENE: Don't say that. They'll be fine.

PATTY: I meant Willie and me.

DARLENE: I'll try and talk to him. But you gotta learn to start speakin up for yourself. Don't let him treat you that way. I'll go get you a drink.

(DARLENE crosses to the kitchen area.)

PATTY: No. I've had enough.

ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW WHAT I WAS THINKING

WANTED TO HEAR WHAT I HAD TO SAY

BUT SOMETHING HAS CHANGED AND THE WAY YOU TREAT ME LATELY ISN'T FAIR

WE DON'T TALK ANYMORE AND IT SEEMS LIKE YOU DON'T CARE

I'VE GOT A FEELING I'LL BE HEADIN OUT THE DOOR

YOU SAY YOU'RE ALWAYS THINKING OF ME

BUT YOU DON'T LOVE ME ANYMORE

SO JUST TELL ME THE TRUTH AND DON'T WORRY THAT YOU'LL

LEAVE ME BEHIND

I'M A STRONG-WILLED WOMAN AND WITHOUT YOU I'LL BE DOIN FINE

YOU AIN'T THE ONLY BOY IN TOWN

YOU AIN'T THE ONLY GUY AROUND

YOU AIN'T THE ONLY FISH THAT'S SWIMMIN IN THE SEA

SO IF THERE'S SOMEWHERE ELSE THAT YOU'D RATHER GO

YOU ARE FREE TO LEAVE AND YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

I WON'T BE LONELY

YOU AIN'T THE ONLY BOY IN TOWN

I'VE NOTICED LATELY WHEN YOU'RE LYING NEXT TO ME

YOU SEEM AFRAID TO LET YOUR FEELINGS SHOW

LET YOUR FEELINGS BE FREE

YOU GO RIGHT OFF TO SLEEP AND YOU NEVER EVEN KISS ME GOOD NIGHT

AND WHEN I ASK YOU TO TALK ABOUT IT ALL WE EVER DO IS FIGHT

I DON'T HAVE TO TELL YOU WHEN I'M LEAVIN

I DON'T HAVE TO GIVE YOU ALL THE REASONS WHY

BECAUSE I'M TOUGH ENOUGH TO TAKE IT

WITH OR WITHOUT YOU I CAN MAKE IT

IF IT'S TIME FOR ME TO GO I'LL PUT MY

COAT ON AND SAY GOOD-BYE

YOU AIN'T THE ONLY BOY IN TOWN

YOU AIN'T THE ONLY GUY AROUND

YOU AIN'T THE ONLY FISH THAT'S

SWIMMIN IN THE DEEP BLUE SEA

THEY SAY IF YOU LOVE SOMETHIN SET IT FREE

AND IF IT DON'T COME BACK YOU SHOULD LET IT BE

I WON'T BE LONELY

YOU AIN'T THE ONLY BOY FOR ME

YOU AIN'T THE ONLY BOY IN TOWN

YOU AIN'T THE ONLY GUY AROUND

YOU AIN'T THE ONLY JOY THAT I HAVE EVER FOUND

AND IF YOU'RE NOT IN LOVE THEN YOU SHOULDN'T STAY

I CAN GET ALONG IF YOU GO AWAY

I WON'T BE LONELY

YOU AIN'T THE ONLY BOY IN TOWN

(Voices are heard off. DARLENE crosses to the door.)

DARLENE: That's them. They're back!

(CODY and DRIFTER enter followed by WILLIE with his gun drawn.)

DARLENE: You're all soaking wet. Cody Joe, are you okay?

WILLIE: Patty, go get me some towels.

PATTY: Go get 'em yourself.

WILLIE: Tried to outsmart me huh, Mr. Country Star-whoever-you-are? But I was way too fast for you. I cut him off around the garage! Now you sit there and don't move a muscle.

(CODY and DRIFTER move to a side table.)

DARLENE: Sit down here, you two. Dry yourselves off.

CODY: How long you plan to keep this up?

WILLIE: Don't you worry about your little boyfriend. He'll be all right. This'll all be over soon.

DRIFTER: One way or the other.

WILLIE: That's right, one way or the other, and it's gonna be my way. I'm gonna turn you in and collect my reward money, and get my baby a new engine! WooHoo!

DARLENE: Junior Willie, sit down.

CODY: So this is all about your piece of crap Thunderbird?

PATTY: What else?

WILLIE: This is about opening the door when opportunity knocks. Ain't that right, Patty?

PATTY: Leave me out of it.

WILLIE: Now, what are you mad about? Come over here. We'll sit right in front of the door.

(WILLIE and PATTY move aside to confer. Piano music. DARLENE at the counter - lost in thought - sings to herself.)

DARLENE:

I HAD A DREAM OF OWNING MY OWN CAFE

A SIMPLE TRUCKSTOP OR COFFEE SHOP

NOT TOO OUT OF THE WAY

(DARLENE crosses to the piano with coffee.)

DARLENE: Oh, Clifford, this has been one hell of a day. But around here, I guess it's par for the course. Home. Be it ever so humble, there ain't no place like it.

I WAS RAISED ON A FARM IN A TINY LITTLE TOWN

NEAR THE BORDER OF MEXICO

I NEVER LIKED MY HOME BUT THERE WASN'T REALLY

ANY OTHER PLACE I COULD GO

I WAS THE SECOND OLDEST CHILD IN A FAMILY OF EIGHT

AN OLDER SISTER AND FOUR LITTLE BOYS

LOOKING BACK AT IT ALL, WHAT I MOSTLY RECALL

WAS THE FUSSIN AND THE FIGHTIN AND THE NOISE

I REMEMBER SO WELL WHEN I HAD TO TELL

MY PARENTS I WAS MOVING AWAY

I SAID THERE'S JUST TOO MUCH CONFUSION HERE

AND THEN I HEARD MY MOTHER SAY

IF SOMEONE AIN'T MAD AT SOMEBODY ELSE

ABOUT SOMETHING THEY SAID OR DONE

AND IF SOMEONE AIN'T FRETTIN BOUT WHAT THEY AIN'T GETTIN

THEN IT WOULDN'T BE VERY MUCH FUN

IF SOMEONE AIN'T JUDGING AND HOLDING A GRUDGE

AND AIN'T NOBODY PICKING A BONE

THEN IT WOULDN'T BE FAMILY

THEN IT WOULDN'T BE HOME

I HAD TWO LITTLE BOYS OF MY OWN

AFTER I GOT MARRIED AT SEVENTEEN

I TRIED MY LEVEL BEST TO KEEP THE DEVIL AT REST

AND STAY PEACEFUL AND SERENE

IN SPITE OF ALL THE PLANS AND ALL THE DREAMS I HAD

I COULDN'T RAISE MY CHILDREN RIGHT

INSTEAD OF SHOWING EACH OTHER BROTHERLY LOVE

ALL THE BROTHERS LOVE TO DO IS FIGHT

WE AIN'T A HELLUVA LOT BUT WE'RE ALL WE GOT

AND DEEP DOWN I'M VERY PROUD

OF EVERYBODY IN MY LOVING FAMILY

I JUST WISH THEY WEREN'T SO LOUD

IF SOMEONE AIN'T YELLIN BOUT SOMEBODY TELLIN

SOME HATEFUL HURTFUL JOKES

IF SOMETHING AIN'T BREWING AND SOMETHING AIN'T STEWING

THEN IT JUST WOULDN'T BE MY FOLKS

IF THERE AIN'T BOO-HOO-ING AND SINGING THE BLUES

AND SCREAMING TO BE LEFT ALONE

THEN IT WOULDN'T BE FAMILY

THEN IT WOULDN'T BE HOME

AND IF SOMEONE AIN'T SIGHING AND SOMEBODY CRYING

IF SOMEONE DON'T MOPE AND WHINE

IF THERE AIN'T NO SQUAWKING AND LOUD BACK TALKING

THEN THEY AIN'T NO RELATION OF MINE

IF THERE AIN'T NO FUSSING THERE AIN'T NO CUSSIN

IF IT AIN'T A BATTLE ZONE

THEN IT WOULDN'T BE FAMILY

THEN IT WOULDN'T BE HOME SWEET HOME

THEN IT WOULDN'T BE FAMILY

THEN IT WOULDN'T BE HOME

(Thunder. The diner is plunged into a silent darkness.)

WILLIE: Oh hell. The power's out.

DARLENE: Patty, help me look for some candles.

(DARLENE lights several candles as the DRIFTER plays guitar.)

CODY: Mama, what was Daddy like?

DARLENE: Why would you ask me that now?

CODY: Well, I want to know now.

DARLENE: You're just not yourself today.

CODY: I'm more myself today than I have ever been.

WILLIE: Yeah, tell us. What was Daddy like?

DARLENE: Your Daddy was a loud-mouthed alcoholic. A mean drunken fool who did what he could to make my life hell. And the apple didn't fall far from the tree.

CODY: What are you talkin about Mommy? You've always told me daddy was a good and honest man.

DARLENE: People are different when they're drinking. What is that tune you're playing?

DRIFTER: Just a little made up love song a man once taught me.

CODY: Tell me the truth, Mama.

DARLENE: The truth about what?

CODY: The truth about daddy. Who killed Daddy?

DRIFTER: Wanted to be sure I played it for you.

DARLENE: I've told that story a thousand times.

WILLIE: Don't make it true.

DARLENE: What, you think I killed him?

WILLIE: Probably to collect on the insurance money.

PATTY: Dar, that's not true, is it?

DARLENE: No.

CODY: Tell me the truth, Mama.

DRIFTER:

ALWAYS,   ALWAYS AND FOREVER

DARLING YOU KNOW IT'S TRUE, WE WILL ALWAYS BE TOGETHER

I WILL NEVER STOP

DARLENE: Stop. Who taught you that song?

DRIFTER: A man by the name of Jedediah Dalton.

(A howling wind.)

CODY: Jedediah Dalton?

DRIFTER: He and I shared a boxcar a long while ago. We became fast friends. Spent nearly a week together, and all he could ever talk about was a woman named Darlene. Said she owned a diner out in the middle of nowhere Arizona. Said if I was ever out that way, I should drift in - and see Darlene - and play her this song.

YOU KNOW I'M ALWAYS THINKING OF YOU

DEEP IN YOUR HEART YOU KNOW IT'S TRUE

I WILL NEVER STOP LOVING YOU

NO MATTER WHERE THE ROAD MAY TAKE YOU

TEN MILLION MILES FROM HERE

I'LL ALWAYS BE RIGHT THERE BESIDE YOU

I WILL NEVER STOP LOVING YOU

CODY: Does this have something to do with who killed daddy?

DRIFTER: You got a story you want to tell, Darlene?

DARLENE: All right, I'll tell you the truth. I lied about how William was killed. I didn't shoot him, but he didn't die like I said he did. The truth is I was having an affair. William found out about it and caught us in a motel together. He had a gun and he burst through the door and threatened to kill us. There was a terrible fight and in a matter of minutes, William was dead. The man I was having the affair with - he disappeared and I've never seen him since - or heard anything about him... until you played that song. We wrote that song together. Seems like a lifetime ago.

DRIFTER:

ANY WAY THE WIND BLOWS, ANYWHERE THE RIVER FLOWS

ANY MOUNTAIN YOU MUST CLIMB

THERE'S NO NEED TO WORRY, I'M WITH YOU ON THE JOURNEY

YOU'VE GOT A FRIEND UNTIL THE END OF TIME

DARLENE: William was shot with that very gun.

PATTY: You kept the gun?

DARLENE: Yes. I hid the gun, hid the wallet and trashed the room.

PATTY: And then you lied to the police and said it must've been a robbery.

DARLENE: Wasn't long after I'd come back home, I realized I was pregnant with Cody. I just told everyone it was William's -- but I knew it wasn't. We hadn't slept in the same bed for over a year.

WILLIE: You lied about that too?

DARLENE: Yes. I lied. I lied. I had to.

CODY: So that man is my father. Mama, what was his name?

DARLENE: His name -- Jedediah Dalton.

DRIFTER and DARLENE:

ALWAYS, ALWAYS AND FOREVER

DARLING YOU KNOW IT'S TRUE, WE WILL ALWAYS BE TOGETHER

I WILL NEVER STOP LOVING YOU, I WILL NEVER STOP LOVING YOU

DRIFTER, DARLENE and CODY:

NO MATTER WHERE YOU GO OR WHAT YOU DO

YOU KNOW I'M ALWAYS THINKING OF YOU

DEEP IN YOUR HEART YOU KNOW IT'S TRUE

I WILL NEVER STOP LOVING YOU

NO MATTER WHERE THE ROAD MAY TAKE YOU

TEN MILLION MILES FROM HERE

I'LL ALWAYS BE RIGHT THERE BESIDE YOU

I WILL NEVER STOP LOVING YOU

ANY WAY THE WIND BLOWS, ANYWHERE THE RIVER FLOWS

ANY MOUNTAIN YOU MUST CLIMB

THERE'S NO NEED TO WORRY, I'M WITH YOU ON THE JOURNEY

YOU'VE GOT A FRIEND UNTIL THE END OF TIME (I'LL BE LOVIN YOU)

ALWAYS, ALWAYS AND FOREVER

DARLING YOU KNOW IT'S TRUE, WE WILL ALWAYS BE TOGETHER

I WILL NEVER STOP LOVING YOU

ALWAYS, ALWAYS AND FOREVER

DARLING YOU KNOW IT'S TRUE, WE WILL ALWAYS BE TOGETHER

I WILL NEVER STOP LOVING YOU, I WILL NEVER STOP LOVING YOU

CODY: It's a sign! It's a sign! For all I know my Daddy may be alive somewhere out there in the world.

WILLIE: For all you know your Daddy may be tending bar in Dry Gulch.

CODY: I gotta go find him.

PATTY: Phones are back on!

DRIFTER: It's time for me to go.

CODY: I'm going with you.

WILLIE: Call the sheriff.

CODY: No, Patty, don't.

DARLENE: Patty, please put that phone down.

WILLIE: Get out the way Cooter. Patty, call the damn sheriff!

PATTY: No Willie. Let him go.

DARLENE: William!

(CODY and DRIFTER move toward the door. WILLIE and DARLENE wrestle for the gun. DRIFTER exits in a flash of lightning. The lights blink on again.)

WILLIE: The drifter . . .

PATTY: Where is he?

DARLENE: He disappeared.

WILLIE: I'll go get him.

(CODY gets the gun and aims it at WILLIE.)

CODY: No you won't, Willie. Now for once, you listen to me. You're gonna stay right where you are, and you're not gonna call the police. You hear me? I gotta go now, Ma.

DARLENE: But he's a total stranger.

CODY: The man knows something about my father. Maybe he can help me find him.

DARLENE: I don't think so baby. I don't think you'll ever find him.

CODY: Probably not, but I gotta try. I just always knew somethin was wrong.

DARLENE: I'm so sorry.

CODY: I don't blame you. You had to do what you had to do. And now, so do I. You hear me, Jay-Dub? I have to do this. So don't follow me and don't phone the police. . . . Willie?

WILLIE: All right, all right. It's over.

(CODY hands the gun to DARLENE.)

CODY: Good-bye, Mom. I love you.

DARLENE: I love you so much. Be careful.

PATTY: I'll see you around, Cody Joe.

CODY: Good-bye Patty.

DARLENE: Cody Joe Stupendous . . . Don't go. You're making a big mistake. You'll never find that drifter and you'll never find your father.

CODY: That doesn't really matter, Ma. I'm going out this door to find myself.

(CODY exits.)

WILLIE: Patty, what are you doing?

PATTY: What does it look like? I'm leaving. I'm going home to stay with my folks for a while.

WILLIE: How long a while?

PATTY: I don't know. I haven't decided.

DARLENE: Take care of yourself.

PATTY: Good-bye, Darlene.

WILLIE: I'll be calling you.

PATTY: No, please don't. Okay? Don't. I need me some Patty time.

(PATTY exits. DARLENE crosses to the counter and turns on the radio.)

DARLENE: Better start cleaning up.

RADIO ANN: I suppose the worst of it is over. Haven't had a storm like that in I don't know how long. There's damage reported all over the state. But you know they say, it's an ill-wind that blows no good.

WILLIE: What are you thinking?

DARLENE: Just thinking. You want something to eat?

WILLIE: No. I gotta check on the shop. Everything gonna be all right?

DARLENE: Everything is gonna be just fine.

(WILLIE exits. Piano music.)

DARLENE: Good night, Clifford.

(DARLENE, stands motionless at the counter -- staring off, lost in a dream. CODY is heard singing from off.)

CODY:

FREE AS A BIRD, OUT ON YOUR OWN

RIDING LIKE THE WIND, SKIP LIKE A STONE

FREE TO SAIL AWAY AND BE A WAVE UPON THE OCEAN

CODY and DARLENE:

TIME PASSES BY, NEXT THING YOU KNOW

YOU TAKE A LOOK AROUND AND IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO GO

NOTHIN'S IN THE WAY I COULD SKIP LIKE A STONE

(CODY and DRIFTER appear.)

CODY, DARLENE and DRIFTER:

PUT AWAY MY SORROW, PACK UP MY BAGS AND LEAVE BY DAWN

IF I'M NOT HERE TOMORROW, WILL ANYBODY KNOW I'M GONE

(PATTY and WILLIE appear.)

ALL:

LEAVIN BEHIND, ALL THAT I OWN

TRADIN IN MY DREAMS, FOR THE LONESOME OF THE ROAD

I SHOULD DRIFT AWAY, I COULD SKIP LIKE A STONE

END OF PLAY

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