At Capacity--Scene 13: Soda to the face

(Cassie is on the phone at the bar.  It’s empty, middle of the day, that time between lunch and dinner when things are really slow in bars.  She wipes down the bar as she talks.)

CASSIE
I’m getting the dolls, Ma. . . . . I know that’s what she wants. She told me three times over the weekend. She even called me in to the living room to show me the commercial on TV. . . . Yes, I told her that she should ask Santa. . . . No, I already told you I’m not getting that freaking Elf on a Shelf. I don’t have time to move him. . . . Yeah, I know you would, but you do enough already. . . . And you like to remind me how much you do, just like . . . You did so! You just said--. . . . Fine. Whatever.

(Mark comes into the bar and sits down at the end of the bar. Cassie does not see him. He listens to the conversation.)

CASSIE
Ma, I told you that Sophie does not need anything else from you. You bought her so many gifts last Christmas, and she’s getting really spoiled. You and dad need to cut it out. . . . Why don’t you buy some gifts for kids who don’t get any? . . . . Yeah, she’s your only one, but save your pennies.  Jesus…!  . . . I’m just saying you don’t need to spend so much money on the holidays. Sophie and I are fine. . . . We are so fine. . . . Yes, I’m looking for another job. . . . . You’ve told me that many times, Ma. It’s the best I can do right now. . . . Fine. . . . . No, I have to work dinner too.  . . . . Yeah the other girl called out sick. . . .  Right, yeah, she and I are it.  But she owes me now so maybe I can get her to cover me for Christmas eve. . . . Yeah, no promises, but I’ll try. (rolling her eyes) I know it would make Aunt Sally really happy. . . . . Uh huh. . . . I know. . . . (she turns and see Mark who waves at her). Uh, Ma, I gotta go. . . . Yeah, customers. OK, bye.

(Cassie turns her full attention to Mark. It's awkward. They haven't seen each other since the last time when they had sex.)

CASSIE
Hey.

MARK
Hey, what’s up?

CASSIE
Nothing. Just in between shifts.

MARK
Yeah.

CASSIE
Waddya have?

MARK
Nothing. Er, how about just a club soda. Why didn't you answer my texts?

(Cassie fills a glass with ice and sprays in club soda.)

CASSIE
Lime?

MARK
Yeah, great. I've been texting you for two days now.

(Cassie gets the lime, serves the glass on a bar nap, and then goes back to wiping the bar top. Mark takes a sip and sets it down.)

MARK
I leave first thing tomorrow morning.

CASSIE (not looking up)
And?

(Mark takes another sip.)

MARK
Who’s Sophie?

CASSIE (stops wiping down the bar)
Were you listening to my conversation?

MARK (shrugging)
I came into the bar for a drink.

CASSIE (walking to the other end of the bar)
You’re a real jerk.

MARK
Who is she?

CASSIE
None of your business.

MARK
She your daughter?

CASSIE
Shut up.

MARK
It’s not a big deal if she is.

CASSIE
I said it's none of your business.

MARK
We’re both adults. I have a girlfriend, you have a daughter and--

CASSIE
I think you should go.

MARK
--we have pasts, its—

CASSIE
Fuck you, OK! It's none of your goddamned business, so shut the hell up and get out of here before I call the cops.

MARK
Wow!  What's your problem?

CASSIE
You’re the one with the problem. Now get out!

MARK (reaching for his wallet)
I have to pay for my club soda.

CASSIE
It's on the house! (she picks up the club soda and throws it in his face) Now get the fuck outta this bar before I punch you in the head.

MARK (shocked and dripping wet)
Is this how you treat Sophie?

CASSIE
FUCK YOU!

(Mark backs out of the bar, hands raised, and then turns and leaves. Cassie gets a mop from behind the bar, and comes out front to clean up the mess. She mops for a moment, sits on the stool where Mark was sitting, and starts to cry.  Lights fade out. End of scene.)

At Capacity--Scene 12: Julia in charge

(Julia’s hospital room. She’s in a hospital bed, heavily sedated. The railings of the bed are up high so she can’t get out. Claire sits in the corner, reading a magazine. Steve stands at the foot of the bed, staring at his sister. Every time Julia stirs, Steve tries to get close to hear what she’s saying. But she’s not saying anything. Steve sighs and then resets, and the same pattern happens again. Julia sort of looks off into space, eyes half open, looking away from Steve. She starts to mutter.)

JULIA (garbled and slurred)
I don’t want that to happen… I don’t want that to happen… I don’t want that to happen…

STEVE (jumping closer)
What?  Julia?

(No response)

STEVE (quietly, tentatively)
Julia?

(No response. Steve waits for a moment then tries again.)

STEVE
Julia? Can you hear me?

(No response. He signs again.)

CLAIRE
They told us she wasn’t going to answer if we talked to her. They have her on a lot of meds. They said to wait for her to talk.

STEVE
Yeah, but she just did.

CLAIRE
That was in her sleep.

STEVE
But her eyes are kind of open. How can she be asleep?

CLAIRE
You two always did that. Slept with your eyes half open.

STEVE
We did?

CLAIRE
Yeah, it was like you didn't want to miss anything.  You still do it.

STEVE
I do?

CLAIRE
Yeah, you do. And it’s weird. You're asleep in the living room at night when I come to the house, but you’re eyes are sort of open. I feel like you’re watching me.

STEVE
I don’t remember seeing you.

CLAIRE
Right. Because you were asleep. Just like Julia is now.

(Steve continues to stare at Julia. Claire goes back to her magazine. Steve signs again.)

CLAIRE
Why don’t you sit down? Standing over her like that isn’t going to make her talk.

STEVE
I want to be here for her when she wakes up.

CLAIRE
Crowding her is not going to make her want to wake up any faster.

STEVE
She should know that we’re here.

CLAIRE
She knows.

STEVE
How do you know?

CLAIRE
People know. Sick people have a lot of control. She knows. She’s the one who’s in charge right now.

STEVE
She looks really helpless.

CLAIRE
Looks can be deceiving.

STEVE
Are you saying that she’s faking this? How could you say that?

CLAIRE
That’s not what I’m saying at all! Jesus, Steve, give me some credit. She’s our sister. What I’m saying is that you trying to control what happens with her is pointless cause she’s the only one that can make anything happen right now. That’s how it works. The doctors think they know what they’re doing, but they’re just doing what worked for another person. Julia is Julia, and she’ll come out of this when she’s ready.

STEVE
But don’t you think that—

CLAIRE
No. I don’t. I think that maybe if you leave her alone, she might actually start to come out of it.

(Steve stands there, looking at Julia.)

CLAIRE
She never liked that kind of attention. Especially after the stuff with Uncle Steve and—

STEVE
Don’t talk about that in here. Please?

CLAIRE
Why not?

STEVE
I want her to wake up. Not go further away. She can hear us. That’s what they said. I don’t want her to ever hear that name again.

CLAIRE
Oh, Steve. God, you really need to get a grip on all of this.

STEVE
I’ll do whatever the hell I want to do about this. I can’t believe that I didn’t know about any of this. All these years and no one ever told me.

CLAIRE
Look at how you’re reacting. Maybe that’s a clue as to why

STEVE
I’m her twin. She should have told me.

CLAIRE
Well, maybe she didn’t tell you because she knew how hard it would be for you. Sixth sense and all?

STEVE
But I could have helped her.

CLAIRE
No one can help her, Steve. I told you. She’s got to do this. Her recovery is in her hands. No one can do it for her. It’s hers to do.

(Steve stands looking at his sister in the bed.  Julia starts to stir, sits up, eyes open wide, then lays back down.)

STEVE
Julia, are you ok?  Julia?

JULIA (garbled and slurred)
Get the dolls.

STEVE
What?  What did you say?

(Julia turns her head and looks at him, directly into his eyes.)

JULIA (slowly with a little more clarity)
Get. The. Dolls.

(Julia takes one more big intake of breath and the she shuts her eyes. She’s breathing, but now she’s deeply asleep. Or passed out.)

STEVE
Get the dolls? What the hell does that mean. Get the dolls… Claire?

CLAIRE (still with her magazine)
I don’t know, Steve. She’s working it out on her own.

STEVE
Get the dolls…  Get the dolls. (realizing that she’s talking about the carolers). Get the dolls. OK! Got it!  On my way!

(Steve grabs his coat and starts to exit.)

CLAIRE
Where are you going?

STEVE
To do what Julia said. Sixth sense.

CLAIRE
What?

STEVE
I’m getting the dolls.

(Steve exits and Claire looks after him, completely bewildered.  She goes back to her magazine as the lights in the hospital room fade, and the lights all around Julia’s bed begin to glow brightly, then fade.  End of scene.)

At Capacity--Scene 11: Rump Roast

(Lights up on the dining room of the parents’ house, but it is a different time period. It’s the 1980s. Claire, Steve, and Julia are dressed in children’s clothes from the period, and throughout the scene, they will play the scene as children. The style should be as real as possible and not mimicry. The actors playing Mark and Cassie will play Uncle Steve and Aunt Jenny respectively. The carolers are set up in their usual corner, but they are dark. The dining is room is decorated festively for Christmas, and everyone is at the table. They are playing a board game. Uncle Steve has a bottle of scotch and a whiskey glass at his place, and he has stood up to roll the dice. Julia is to his right and Steve is to his left. Claire is next to Julia and Aunt Jenny is next to Steve. Uncle Steve winds up and rolls the dice, trying to keep them on the board. They go flying.)

AUNT JENNY
A little too much to drink, Steve?

STEVE
Crack dice! Uncle Steve got crack dice.

UNCLE STEVE
Cracked ice? (looking at his glass) I don’t see any cracked ice.  Do you? (turning to Julia) Do you?

STEVE
Crack dice! Your dice roll went off the board so it's crack dice!

(Uncle Steve downs what’s left in his glass, and he gets ready to pour another.)

AUNT JENNY
Steve? It’s enough, right?

UNCLE STEVE
It’s never enough! It’s Christmas time for Pete’s sake! What’s another going to hurt?

AUNT JENNY
You just got that bottle from Jack for Christmas. It’s almost gone.

UNCLE STEVE
Well, it’s one less thing for us to pack and fly back to San Fran there, Jenny. Right Stevie?

STEVE
Right, Uncle Steve! I like it when you “have another!” You get funnier and funnier. And when you crack dice, that means it’s my turn!

(Steve picks up the dice, rolls, and moves his pawn around the board. He picks up a card and reads it.)

STEVE (reading)
“Your lucky day. Collect $150 tax-free.” (to Julia) Pay up, Miss Banker.

(Julia reluctantly counts out the money for Steve and hands it over. As she does, she has to lean across in front of Uncle Steve, and he pats her on the backside.)

UNCLE STEVE
Rump roast, 99 cents a pound! Get your rump roast here!

STEVE (imitating his uncle)
Rump roast rump roast rump roast rump roast. Julia’s got a rump roast!

JULIA
I do not!  Shut up, Stevie!

STEVE
Don’t call me that!

UNCLE STEVE
Why not, Stevie?

STEVE
No, you can call me that, but she can’t. Only you.

JULIA
Whatever, Stevie.

STEVE
I said, no!  Cut it out!

CLAIRE
C’mon you two, stop arguing. Whose turn is it?

AUNT JENNY
I think it’s mine.

(Aunt Jenny picks up the dice and rolls. She rolls a big number.)

CLAIRE
Wow! That’s an 11!

AUNT JENNY
Pretty good, huh? (She moves her pawn around the board and lands on a space. She looks at it carefully.) I’ll buy it.

(Aunt Jenny counts out the money and hands it to Julia who sticks her butt in the air to reach the money across the table. Uncle Steve pulls the same maneuver again, but this time he lets his hand linger there after three pats.)

UNCLE STEVE
Rump roast rump roast rump roast rump roast. 99 cents a pound right here!  Julia’s Rump Roast, get it while it’s hot.

JULIA
Stop it! 

AUNT JENNY
Steve? Julia asked you to stop.

UNCLE STEVE
She didn’t ask, she kinda tattled and told. (Uncle Steve turns to look at Julia.) You know what happens to tattle tales?  (Julia nods yes, uncomfortably.) They get tickled! (Uncle Steve starts to tickle Julia, and it’s not really appropriate. He starts around her waist, but then his hands go below the table, and Julia makes a face. She’s not really laughing.)

JULIA
Ouch! (he’s still touching her) Ouch! Stop it! You’re hurting me!

AUNT JENNY                                                 CLAIRE
Steve, stop it!                                                 Uncle Steve!

JULIA
Ow!

STEVE
Don’t be such a baby! He’s just tickling you! He tickles me all the time!

JULIA
It hurts!

UNCLE STEVE
OK, OK, OK. (He stops and Julia tries to move away from him, but he slides her chair closer to him.) I’ll stop I’ll stop. No more tickling for (baby talk voice) “poor wittle Juweeah. She can’t take it.”

(Uncle Steve and Steve look at each other and start to laugh and make baby talk voices, repeating what he just said. Julia begins to cry and runs away from the table.)

AUNT JENNY
Now look what you did!

UNCLE STEVE
What?

AUNT JENNY
She’s crying, and the game’s ruined!

UNCLE STEVE
Oh my God, it’s just game for Christ’s sake!

AUNT JENNY
Not the point, Steve.

UNCLE STEVE
Then what’s the point?

AUNT JENNY
You drink too much of that damned scotch and this happens!

UNCLE STEVE
I didn’t do anything? (to Claire) What did I do?  (to Steve) What did I do? (Steve shrugs.) (Then to Aunt Jenny) See, no one knows.

AUNT JENNY
It’s not the first time.

UNCLE STEVE
What’re you talking about? You’re such a—

CLAIRE (getting up)
I’ll go check to see where she went. Steve?

STEVE
I’m staying here. I want to count my money cause I think I won!

CLAIRE
Steve, I think—

AUNT JENNY
It’s fine. Better. Just go check on Julia.

(Claire nods and exits. Lights up on Julia downstage right. She’s crying. Claire comes up behind her. The audience can still see the dining room, but it dims. The carolers start to glow.)

CLAIRE
Julia?

JULIA
Leave me alone.

CLAIRE
Are you ok?

JULIA
I said leave me alone.

CLAIRE
I’m not going until you tell me you’re ok.

JULIA
I’m ok. Just leave me alone.

(Julia reaches down and holds her crotch. Like it hurts. Claire notices this and touches her shoulder. Julia recoils a bit.)

CLAIRE
Did he really touch you there?

(Julia doesn’t answer.)

CLAIRE
Did he really--?

(Julia nods her head and wipes her eyes with her hands.)

CLAIRE
Well, he was just kidding around. It was an accident.

JULIA
That’s what Mommy said.

CLAIRE
You called Mom?

JULIA
No.

CLAIRE
They’re at the Petersons’ for that party! You called her there? How did you get the number?

(Julia shakes her head “no.”)

CLAIRE
Then how does Mom know?

JULIA
Because I told her.

CLAIRE
How could you tell her if you didn’t call?

JULIA
Cause it happened yesterday.

CLAIRE
What?

JULIA
I told her last night when she was putting us to bed. I told her that Uncle Steve touched me here (points to her crotch) and Mommy told me that he was just joking and don’t ever mention it again. I said that they taught us in school that nobody should ever touch us there without permission, not even Mommy or Daddy, and Mommy told me to be quiet and go to sleep.

CLAIRE
When did he touch you?

JULIA
I’m not supposed to talk about it. Mommy said.

CLAIRE
Julia, I’m not going to tell anyone.

JULIA
Promise?

CLAIRE
Promise.

(There's a moment while Julia makes up her mind. Then she speaks.)

JULIA
We were in the dining room and I was practicing my handstands against the wall. Uncle Steve was at the table, and he was playing with a deck of cards. I got a handstand just right, so I said “Uncle Steve! Look!” And when he did, he got up out of his chair and came over and tickled my feet.  I started laughing and fell over, and then he picked me up by the feet and hung me upside down. Then he swung me in between his legs and my face was in his crotch. That’s when he took his hand and started to tickle me here (she points again). At first I was laughing, but then it didn’t feel so good anymore, and I said “stop” but he kept doing it. Then I yelled really loud and Aunt Jenny came running in to see if I was OK.  Uncle Steve put me down and said we were just having fun.

(Claire doesn’t respond. Julia is silent.)

CLAIRE
What did Aunt Jenny say?

JULIA
She told me to go in the living room. So that’s what I did.

CLAIRE
Aunt Jenny didn’t ask you what happened or anything?

(Julia shakes her head “no.”)

CLAIRE
Are you ok? (points to Julia’s crotch)

JULIA
I guess so.

CLAIRE
Does it hurt anymore?

JULIA
A little.

CLAIRE
Do you want me to talk to Mom?

JULIA
No! Don’t say anything to Mommy! Please, Claire?  She told me not to ever talk about it ever again, and I don’t want to get in trouble. Please?!?

CLAIRE
OK, OK! I won’t tell. (thinking for a moment) But maybe you should stay away from Uncle Steve.

JULIA
How do I do that?

CLAIRE
Just try to sit farther away from him or something. OK?

JULIA
I guess so.

CLAIRE
What’s wrong?

JULIA
I like Uncle Steve. He’s fun.

CLAIRE
I know. Me too.

JULIA
It’s just the touching part I don’t like.

(The girls are silent as they take that in.)

CLAIRE
We better go back down. I told Aunt Jenny I would come find you.

JULIA
Do we have to?

CLAIRE
I think we should. Or else Aunt Jenny might tell Mom what happened.

JULIA
OK. Let’s go back down. I don’t want that to happen.

(The girls cross out of the fading light as lights find Uncle Steve in the dining room alone, drinking another glass of scotch, and the carolers are glowing at full. End of scene.)

At Capacity--Scene 10: The Reveal

(Steve and Claire are in a hospital waiting room. Claire looks really beat up. Tired. Like she’s been through it. Her eyes are puffy. Steve is sitting next to her. His left hand is wrapped in a bloodied t-shirt, and his glasses have taped back together with duct tape so that he can wear them. The two of them together are a sad sight. Claire sighs heavily, reaches into her bag and takes out a small flask. She unscrews the cap and takes a swig. Steve is mortified.)

STEVE
You know, it is only (he looks at his watch) 10:30 in the morning.

CLAIRE
And? (she takes another drink)

STEVE
What are you doing drinking at 10:30 in the morning?

CLAIRE
I always drink something at 10:30 in the morning. Coffee, water, bloody mary—

STEVE
Fine, but that’s whiskey and we’re in a hospital, Claire.

CLAIRE
Again I say, “And?”

STEVE
“And” our sister is in the psych ward because she tried to kill me a couple of hours ago, and now you’re sitting here drinking out of a flask for all the world to see.

CLAIRE
We’re the only ones in here, Steve. That’s the delight of emergency rooms in small towns at this time of the morning. They tend to be quiet. Except for ladies in labor, of which there are none in sight. What a blessing. (She drinks again, finishing what’s in the flask.) Damn! (She caps the flask and puts it away.)

STEVE
You smell like a homeless person.

CLAIRE
Do you know what a homeless person smells like?

STEVE
You smell like what I imagine one smells like. Like alcohol.

CLAIRE (with some alcohol-induced swagger)
Oh, lighten up, Stevie. I had a long and unpleasant night, made only more so when your call came in.

STEVE
Don’t call me Stevie. I hate that.

CLAIRE
Why ever would you say that, Stevie? You used to love it when you were little.

STEVE
Not true, Claire, and I'm not little anymore.

CLAIRE
Are you going to get all rambunctious now too? Should I call the nurses to take you upstairs? Do you want the bed next to Julia?

STEVE
It’s not funny. Stop making jokes about it. She had no idea what she was doing.

CLAIRE
Tell that to your hand, baby brother. She did a real number on you.

STEVE
I should have never tried to wake her up. I woke up and she was thrashing around in bed, yelling out for mom and dad. I heard her yelling but I thought it was part of this dream I was having about when we were little, and she was doing that flip-over-the-traveling-bars trick she liked to do. In the dream Uncle Steve and Aunt Jenny came up the driveway while she was doing the trick, and she started yelling for mom and dad. Then Uncle Steve picked her up and started twirling her around, and he did that thing where he carried her around in the palm of his hand, like underneath her dress, and—

CLAIRE
Steve—

STEVE
And then all of the sudden I was awake and she was thrashing around and I went to try and calm her down and I touched her, tried to shake her awake, and she freaked out, she totally freaked, and she sat up, eyes open, but not really seeing me, and she grabbed the scissors from the side of the bed and started stabbing up me.  It was awful and then she hit my hand and I started bleeding everywhere, but I grabbed her and tried to get her to calm down. And she finally calmed down, but she kept telling me to stop singing. She was totally out of it, Claire. That’s when I called 9-1-1. She just lay in the bed, rolling back and forth, telling me to stop singing. It was like I wasn’t really there or something. Every few seconds she would stop rolling around, look right at me, and not see me. Like she was looking through me or something. When the ambulance guys got there, she started yelling again, telling them to get back in the box and leave her alone. And they had to strap her onto the gurney and restrain her. It was so awful.

CLAIRE
You’re lucky she only nicked your hand with those scissors.

(They are silent for a moment. Just sitting in the memory of that story.)

STEVE
What’s wrong with her, Claire?

CLAIRE
I don’t know.

STEVE
She’s distant and upset since Mom and Dad died—

CLAIRE
We’re all upset, Steve.

STEVE
It’s like she doesn’t want to talk about them.

CLAIRE
Well, maybe she doesn’t.

STEVE
But how can she be that way? Our parents were killed in a car accident.

CLAIRE
Six months ago.

STEVE
And?

CLAIRE
And why are you still stuck in it, Steve? They’re gone. You have to deal with it. We all have to deal with it. We are dealing with it.

STEVE
How are you dealing with it? Drinking?

CLAIRE (ignoring his last comment)
We are going through their belongings, getting the house ready for sale, making sure we all have things to remember them by—

STEVE
We buried them six months ago, and we’re already divvying up their stuff—

CLAIRE
What do you think we should be doing? I didn’t want to be the executor, but that’s what they wrote in the will. I thought you got asked to do that before someone just made you the executor, but not Mom and Dad. Oh no. They just did it.

STEVE
You’re the oldest, Claire, that’s you’re job.

CLAIRE
What if I didn’t want the job?

STEVE
You and Julia are always putting them down. You show no gratitude or compassion or anything towards our parents. (forgetting where he is) THEY WERE KILLED IN A CAR ACCIDENT! BY A DRUNK DRIVER!

CLAIRE
KEEP YOUR VOICE DOWN! (looking around to see if anyone is coming) Don’t you think I remember it clear as day? We sat right here in this emergency room and found out what happened.

STEVE
And Julia didn’t come until the next day.

CLAIRE
She lives in another state, Steve. She couldn’t get a flight in any earlier. She got here as fast as she could.

STEVE
She could've driven. Or taken the train. It’s only seven hours.

CLAIRE
Steve, listen to me. I don’t know how you can’t figure this out. You and Julia are fraternal twins. You’re supposed to have all of this sixth sense bullshit where you know stuff about each other, but yours must be on mute or something. You're clueless when it comes to this person you shared a womb with for 9 months.

STEVE
What are you talking about?

CLAIRE
You have no idea why Julia is the way she is? Why she stays away from here? Why she’s up in the psych ward? Did you ever pay attention when we were little?

STEVE
Of course I paid attention. What are you talking about?

CLAIRE
I don’t think you did. I don’t think you paid attention to any of it. You didn’t have to. It was easy enough to just ignore it.

STEVE
OK, you’ve completely lost me. What the hell are you talking about?

CLAIRE
I’m talking about Uncle Steve and Aunt Jenny and Christmases year after year after year.

STEVE
Yeah, so what? They came every year. Stayed with us. It was fun.

CLAIRE
For you.

STEVE
And for you. You and Aunt Jenny are still close.

CLAIRE
Somewhat.

STEVE
And Uncle Steve-- … well, he—uh. Well, that was a real loss.

CLAIRE
For you.

STEVE
For all of us. Aunt Jenny. Mom and Dad. You, me, Julia. He loved Julia so much.

(Claire just looks at Steve.)

STEVE
What? What’d I say?

(Claire is silent for a moment. She collects herself. Prepares to say something. Stops. Looks down at her bag. Looks at Steve again. Turns away. Cries out. Stifles it. Starts to cry. Silently but fully.)

STEVE
What?  Claire, what’s happening? (she can’t respond) Claire? He loved her. He loved all of us. Uncle Steve loved all of us.

(Claire finally collects herself. Looks at Steve.)

CLAIRE
He did love all of us, Steve. But he loved Julia a little too much.

(Steve looks at Claire like he doesn’t understand. Lights shift. End of scene.)

At Capacity--Scene 9: Julia and the Midnight Visitors

(Lights up on the dining room, in the middle of the night.  It’s dark except for one small light on a table in the corner. There are four boxes left in the room. One with each of the children’s names on the side, plus a fourth box that has stuff sticking out of the top. Julia is asleep with her head on the table. The snowflake is in the plastic container that Steve bought, and it’s glowing. Where the caroler dolls were usually standing now stand three life sized carolers dressed exactly the same as the dolls. The life-sized carolers are played by the actors who play Mark (dark suit and top hat), Cassie (green dress and white muffler), and Claire (red dress with blue hat and gloves). They are frozen as the lights come up, holding caroling books. As the lights establish, they begin to glow like the snowflake, and as that happens, they begin to hum “Deck the Halls.”)

MALE CAROLER (counting them in, then humming)
5, 6, 7, 8

(The humming is soft at first, but then grows in volume, and then actually becomes the song itself with full on lyrics and full voices. Julia wakes up to see the carolers, jumps out of her chair, and shrieks. The carolers continue, as if they don’t notice her.)

JULIA (yelling, panicked)
What’s going on? (no response) Who are you? What are you doing here?

(The carolers ignore her. Julia grabs a pair of scissors from the table and holds them out threateningly, jabbing at them as she speaks.)
 

JULIA
You need to get out of here. NOW! The door’s over there. CLAIRE!  STEVE! WHAT’S GOING ON? GET OUT! I SAID GET OUT!

(The carolers get to the end of the song, take a ritard on the final verse, and finish with some simple harmony. Then they close their caroling books and stare at Julia.)

JULIA
I must be dreaming. That’s it. I’m still asleep. (Frantically laughing to herself.) It’s ok. They’re not really there. They're just dolls in the corner.

RED CAROLER
We’re here, Julia.

JULIA
How do you know my name?

GREEN CAROLER
We’ve known you forever.

JULIA
No.

MALE CAROLER
Yes.

JULIA
Now I’m imagining things. Too much time in this house.

MALE CAROLER
It’s not your imagination.

JULIA
It is. You never talked before.

GREEN CAROLER
We never had anything to say.

JULIA
What?

MALE CAROLER
But we do now.

JULIA (sitting down and holding her hands over her ears)
You’re not really here. You’re not really here. You’re not really here.

RED CAROLER
You can’t run from us, Julia. We’ve seen it all.

JULIA
No.

GREEN CAROLER
Saw it all.

JULIA
Stop it.

GREEN CAROLER
Every Christmas since your parents brought you home from the hospital.

JULIA
Shut up.

MALE CAROLER
That time when you were five.

JULIA
SHUT UP!

RED CAROLER
The one when you were seven and you wore the green dress just like that one (pointing to her fellow caroler).

JULIA
No, I never wore a green dress like that.

GREEN CAROLER (to the others)
She’s not remembering.

MALE CAROLER
It happens.

RED CAROLER
Such a shame.

MALE CAROLER
Then there was that year you wore pants.

JULIA
I said, stop it. Please?

GREEN CAROLER
You thought it would help.

RED CAROLER
But it didn’t.

JULIA
Please stop?

(Julia is not handling this very well. She moves to the table and sits with her head in her hands.)

MALE CAROLER
He still got to you.

JULIA
NO!

RED CAROLER
You looked at your mom when he asked for your help with the gifts in the car, and she didn’t even notice.

JULIA
Please stop talking about this.

GREEN CAROLER
Why? We saw it happen.

MALE CAROLER
It’s the truth.

JULIA
No, it’s not.

RED CAROLER
You know it is.

JULIA
SHUT UP! I SAID SHUT UP! (she starts banging her fist on the table as she’s yelling) STOP SAYING THOSE THINGS. IT DID NOT HAPPEN. NOTHING HAPPENED. GO WAY GO AWAY GO AWAY. SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP! STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT!

(As Julia continues to yell and pound, a very loud humming starts to happen and the glow of the snowflake grows in intensity. The carolers continue to say “You know it is” in unison. Under the humming, Steve can be heard yelling for Julia, as if he’s coming from another part of the house. As all of this is happening, Julia continues to bang on the table, not looking at the carolers, and they disappear, replaced by their three doll-sized versions. The dolls glow in their usual spot. Once that transition is complete, Steve enters in his boxers and a t-shirt, obviously woken up by Julia’s yelling. He enters and goes to her.)

STEVE
Julia, wake up! Julia! (He touches her and she starts, lunging at him with the scissors.)

JULIA (jumping up)
DON’T TOUCH ME! GET AWAY FROM ME!

STEVE (totally startled and shocked)
WHOA! Whoa! Julia! It’s me. Steve. Your brother.  It’s ok.

JULIA (trying to figure out what’s happening)
What?

STEVE
It’s ok. You were having a dream.

JULIA
No. They're here.

STEVE
They? Who?

JULIA (not looking in their direction)
Them. The carolers. (pointing over her shoulder)

STEVE (confused)
Uh, . . . yes, they’re right there. Where they’ve been all week.

JULIA
No, they were just talking to me.

STEVE
What?

JULIA (turning to face them)
Where are they? They were right there.

STEVE
They’re still there.

JULIA
No, I mean they were real. Like real humans.

STEVE
I think you better sit down. Are you feeling ok? Do you want some water?

JULIA
They were right there, but they were big and they started singing and then saying scary things, like they knew stuff.

STEVE
Knew stuff?

JULIA
Yeah.

STEVE
I’m gonna get you some water.

JULIA
NO! Don’t leave me in here with them.

STEVE
They’re just dolls. Decorations.

JULIA
Don’t leave me here!

STEVE
Julia, I think…

JULIA
I’m serious. Don’t leave me. What if they come back?

(Steve looks at Julia and he realizes that she really thinks they were there.)

STEVE
Uh, OK. Uhm. Wow. OK. . . . So, what do you want to do?

JULIA
I don’t know.

STEVE
Well, I’m thinking that maybe you should come upstairs with me to bed.

JULIA
And leave them down here?

STEVE
Yes.

JULIA
All alone?

STEVE
I don’t think they’re going anywhere. Not until we decide what to do with them.

JULIA
I’m afraid they’re going to come find me.

STEVE
Julia, they're not going to come find you. This is like when you were a little girl.

JULIA
Stop it.

STEVE
It is!

JULIA
I don’t want to talk about it!

STEVE
Why not?

JULIA
Because I don’t. OK?  I just don’t.

STEVE
OK then. Can you come upstairs with me?

JULIA
I don’t trust them.

STEVE (moving towards her with caution)
OK, Julia. Why don’t you bring the scissors with you up to your bedroom? You can keep them on your nightstand just in case.

JULIA (still eyeing the carolers)
Uh…

STEVE
I need to go to sleep. It’s an early morning for me, and you need rest.

JULIA
Uhm, OK. But can you stay in my room with me?

STEVE
No, I’m not going to—

(Steve stops himself as he realizes this may be the only way to get her up to bed.)

STEVE
Yes, OK. I’ll bring a blanket it and sleep next to you on the floor.

JULIA
That’s what we used to do.

STEVE
That’s what we used to do. Yes, I remember.

(Steve looks at her, but Julia is not moving.)

STEVE
OK?

JULIA
OK.

STEVE
Let’s go upstairs.

JULIA
OK.

STEVE
You go first. Bring the scissors. I’ll shut out the lights.

JULIA
OK.

(Julia exits with the scissors, turning one more time to look at the carolers before she heads out of the room. Steve goes over to the table and checks to make sure the snowflake is OK in its case. Then he looks over at the carolers, shakes his head, and exits the room, shutting off the small light. It’s dark in the room, and as soon as he clears the threshold, the carolers and the snowflake start to glow brighter, the humming returns, and the carolers chanting from before comes back “You know it is.” The glowing and the sound builds, then the lights fade. End of scene.)