By David Durham
OLD JAKE and OLD BILL are sitting on the front steps of an old house. LITTLE JAKE and LITTLE BILL are shooting marbles in the drive way. ADULT JAKE and ADULT BILL are standing on the side watching the traffic in the street.
OLD JAKE
Remember we used to sit over there playn’ marbles?
OLD BILL
Marbles...yea...marbles, god how’d you remember that?
OLD JAKE
Cause you always cheated.
OLD BILL
I never cheated...
OLD JAKE
You always cheated. You used to squat there with your hat on backwards tryn’ to look like Ty Cobb. You thought you were hot shit.
OLD BILL
I was hot shit.
OLD JAKE
You still cheated.
OLD BILL
Aw, you’re crazy.
OLD JAKE
I remember the last time we played.
OLD BILL
We haven’t played marbles in...
OLD JAKE
...seventy two years.
OLD BILL
I hope you just made that up.
OLD JAKE
We never finished that game.
OLD BILL
You remember a game of marbles we played over seventy years ago?
OLD JAKE
Like it was yesterday.
OLD BILL
You liar. You can’t remember to get up to go to the bathroom.
OLD JAKE
Old Green Eye!
OLD BILL
What?
OLD JAKE
Old Green Eye.
OLD BILL
Green Eye...why does that sound vaguely familiar…
OLD JAKE
I called it...
LITTLE JAKE
I call it old Green Eye ‘cause it’s got that green thing in the middle.
LITTLE BILL
That’s pretty neat. I’ll shoot you for it.
LITTLE JAKE
No!
LITTLE BILL
Why not?
LITTLE JAKE
‘Cause you cheat.
LITTLE BILL
I don’t cheat.
LITTLE JAKE
Yea right, just like you didn’t put flue on Martha Gilbert’s chair.
LITTLE BILL
Her dress got all gooey and stuck in her butt crack.
LITTLE JAKE
Yea, that was good.
LITTLE BILL
Le’me see your green eye.
LITTLE JAKE
You can look at it but don’t shoot it. It looks too neat to shoot.
LITTLE BILL
You gotta shoot it. That’s what they’re for.
LITTLE JAKE
Maybe I just want to keep it to look at it.
LITTLE BILL
That’s queer.
LITTLE JAKE
Take that back! Take it back! (About to hit him)
LITTLE BILL
Ok, ok, Jesus what’s wrong with you?
LITTLE JAKE
Nothing. And my mom says you’re not supposed to use the Lord’s name in vane.
LITTLE BILL
Who ever…
ADULT BILL
Who ever thought you’d be the famous one.
ADULT JAKE
Gee, thanks.
ADULT BILL
You’re welcome. You’re welcome, sir. Jeeez, what m I supposed to call you now?
ADULT JAKE
I’m an Astronaut Selectee.
ADULT BILL
So what does that mean?
ADULT JAKE
It means I’m on the short list, buddy boy. And when I”m selected I’ll join project Apollo, and eventually…go to the moon.
ADULT BILL
Shit…shit.
ADULT JAKE
We’ll be there in 5 years. And we’ll beat the Russians that’s for damn sure.
ADULT BILL
Aren’t you scared? Isn’t it dangerous?
ADULT JAKE
I’ve been waiting for this mat whole life.
ADULT BILL
You have not. I’ve known you your whole life. I remember what you wanted to be when you were ten.
ADULT JAKE
I wanted to be…
LITTLE JAKE
I want to be a fire man!
LITTLE BILL
Last month you wanted to be a forest ranger.
LITTLE JAKE
I decided that was stupid. But a fireman is really cool. You get to be around fires all the time and sirens and hoses…
LITTLE BILL
I don’t want to be a fireman.
LITTLE JAKE
You’re always say’ what you don’t want be.
LITTLE BILL
I don’t know what I want to be yet. I got plenty of time to think about it.
LITTLE JAKE
I think you’re gonna end up being the guy who puts glue on peoples chair.
LITTLE BILL
I’m gonna have a job that makes lots of money and goes all over the world sailing from city to city.
LITTLE JAKE
You’ve never been on a ship before.
LITTLE BILL
So.
LITTLE JAKE
So what make you think you’d like it?
LITTLE BILL
I like…
OLD BILL
I like thinking back to that simpler time.
OLD JAKE
Be glad you still have most of your memory.
OLD BILL
My memory’s better than yours.
OLD JAKE
Didn’t remember Old Green Eye did you…
OLD BILL
Yes I remember that damn old piece of glass. Why after all these years would you suddenly…out of the blue, bring up a marble game we played back in the 30’s?
OLD JAKE
Cause look what I found this morning while clean’ out the attic. (Pulls the marble out of his pocket)
OLD BILL
I’ll be damned, why the hell would you keep that old thin…you know, that does look pretty good.
OLD JAKE
I couldn’t bring my self to throw it away.
OLD BILL
Well you could give it to one of the neighborhood kids.
OLD JAKE
Kids don’t play marbles today. They play Pokeyman Gameboy crap.
OLD BILL
I was thinkn’…
ADULT BILL
I was thinkn’ we don’t really get to spend that much time together.
ADULT JAKE
I live in Alabama and you live here. You know how it is with the military. I move every two years. You’ve lived in this same house since you were born.
ADULT BILL
No, that’s not what I mean…I mean..we don’t…
ADULT JAKE
Hey, you’re still my best friend, we just don’t get to see each other as often as we should. But I”m still here for ya. I’ll always be here for ya.
ADULT BILL
…Martha and I are having problem.
ADULT JAKE
What do you mean?…
LITTLE JAKE
What do you mean?
LITTLE BILL
It’s just a little crack, you gotta hold it up to the light just right to see it.
LITTLE JAKE
I don’t see any crack
LITTLE BILL
Make you look!
LITTLE JAKE
You moron. When are you gonna grow up?
LITTLE BILL
Gee thanks dad.
LITTLE JAKE
You’re a moron.
LITTLE BILL
You already said that.
LITTLE JAKE
You moron…
ADULT JAKE
You moron. You better find a way to fix it. She’s the best thing that ever happened to you.
ADULT BILL
Don’t you think I know that. This ‘better or worse’ thing is a lot harder than it was when we were grown’ up.
ADULT JAKE
Don’t screw this up. She adores you. And you’ve loved her ever since you put glue on her chair in the third grade.
ADULT BILL
It’s just…so hard.
ADULT JAKE
You need to pull through it.
ADULT BILL
Ever since the miscarriage it’s just been getting worse.
ADULT JAKE
Well, how are you...
ADULT BILL
Sometimes I wish…
OLD BILL
Sometimes I wish I’d had kids.
OLD JAKE
You can have some of mine if you want ‘em.
OLD BILL
Are they all out of jail?
OLD JAKE
Who you got picked in the game tomorrow?
OLD BILL
You know Martha and I tried…
OLD JAKE
I know.
OLD BILL
It just…
OLD JAKE
You don’t need to go through it again. You’ve lived it enough for one life.
OLD BILL
If only I could…
LITTLE BILL
If only I could skip the next five or six grades then…
LITTLE JAKE
Then you’ve be a really stupid high school kid.
LITTLE BILL
Maybe I won’t go to school any more. I heard my dad say they need more people to work the farm. Red Billings works there and he’s only twelve.
LITTLE JAKE
You want work a the old Schubert farm?
LITTLE BILL
I could make money.
LITTLE JAKE
What about school?
LITTLE BILL
My pa never finished school and he’s smart.
LITTLE JAKE
Yea, and he’s always says’ how we need to stay in school.
LITTLE BILL
You sound like him again.
LITTLE JAKE
What are you gonna do…
ADULT JAKE
What are you gonna do? How serious is it?
ADULT BILL
We tried counseling and she went to live with her folks for month.
ADULT JAKE
You’re separated?
ADULT BILL
No, she’s back but we’re sleeping in different beds It’ like she doesn’t want to be around me. I go to touch her and she pulls away, I try to talk to her but…it’s like she doesn’t hear anything.
ADULT JAKE
This is all because of the miscarriage?
ADULT BILL
I don’t know, I’m not sure…she won’t talk to me.
ADULT JAKE
What do you need me to do? Do you want me to talk to her?
ADULT BILL
No, she doesn’t talk to anybody. She just stays in her room rocking on her bed.
ADULT JAKE
Tell me what you…
LITTLE JAKE
Tell me what you want to do.
LITTLE BILL
When?
LITTLE JAKE
Now. What would you do with the money?
LITTLE BILL
I’d take steamer to Africa, like in the movies.
LITTLE JAKE
Then what?
LITTLE BILL
I’d join a safari to hun lions.
LITTLE JAKE
Then what?
LITTLE BILL
It might take a long time to hunt lions. Maybe a year.
LITTLE JAKE
Ok.
LITTLE BILL
Then I’ve take a boat to New York.
LITTLE JAKE
We’ve never been to New York.
LITTLE BILL
…and I’d be famous. The famous lion hunter. And people would give me money to look at my stuffed lions.
LITTLE JAKE
Then whaT?
LITTLE BILL
That’s all.
LITTLE JAKE
That’s your plan?
LITTLE BILL
…and then I retire…rich.
LITTLE JAKE
How much you think people will pay to see your lion?
LITTLE BILL
LionS. I’ll charge…five cents a piece.
LITTLE JAKE
You can’t keep…
OLD JAKE
You can’t keep blaming yourself. Martha wasn’t stable, you know that…
OLD BILL
If I’d tried harder. If I’d taken her to the right doctors.
OLD JAKE
You don’t know that. None of us knew how bad it was. You’ve got to lay it to rest.
OLD BILL
She never wanted to…
ADULT BILL
She never wanted to get married. That was my idea. I”m not even sure she really wants kids.
ADULT JAKE
Sure she does. That’s all she could talk about when she was pregnant.
ADULT BILL
I think the was just say’ it for me. God, why is this so hard?
ADULT JAKE
You’ve go to make it work.
ADULT BILL
But I don’t know what’s wrong with her. And the won’t let me help.
ADULT JAKE
Sometimes you just have to…
OLD JAKE
Sometimes you just have to believe that God has our best interests at heart and move on.
OLD BILL
Is that what your first wife said?
OLD JAKE
Hey, the was the smart one, she left early. Peggy was the idiot, I still don’t know why she’s stayed with me.
OLD BILL
Well it’s not because of your looks.
OLD JAKE
Now your’e definitely taken’ some of my kids.
OLD BILL
Two lawyers, a banker and an high school teacher?
OLD JAKE
Middle school teacher. Which one do you want?
OLD BILL
You know what tomorrow is?
OLD JAKE
Of course I know. Thirty three years since Neil and Buzz walked on thereon.
OLD BILL
You came so close.
OLD JAKE
Water under the bridge.
OLD BILL
It’s not fair.
OLD JAKE
It was a long time ago. I make the short list, I just didn’t make the final list.
OLD BILL
Your life…
ADULT BILL
Your life is never gonna be the same. Everyone in America’s gonna recognize you.
ADULT JAKE
Maybe, I d’know.
ADULT BILL
I never leave this town and the day you come back they’ll have a parade.
ADULT JAKE
You and Martha…that’s what I care about.
ADULT BILL
Remember when we were kids. We used to play marbles over there on the sidewalk.
ADULT JAKE
Yea, I remember, you always hated.
ADULT BILL
Remember we used to talk about that we’d do when we were older…when we are up…
ADULT JAKE
I remember…
ADULT BILL
(Crying) We’re grown up. Now we’re grown up. (He sobs while Jake hugs him)
ADULT JAKE
It’s ok…
LITTLE JAKE
It’s ok, you can have Old Green Eye if you really want it.
LITTLE BILL
I can have it!?
LITTLE JAKE
Yea. You can have it if you want it.
LITTLE BILL
Why?
LITTLE JAKE
You’re my friend. I know that’s my problem but you can still have it.
LITTLE BILL
I don’t want it fi you’re gonna give it to me. I want to win it.
LITTLE JAKE
I’m not gonna shoot it. It’ll just get scratched.
LITTLE BILL
Ok…then I’ll take it and loan it back to you and you can hold it for me…but it’s still min…I’m just letting you hold it.
LITTLE JAKE
Ok.
LITTLE BILL
Ok…
OLD BILL
Ok…I’ll take one of the lawyers.
OLD JAKE
Why would you want a lawyer?
OLD BILL
Don’t they make a lot of money?
OLD JAKE
Yea, but they’re rotten little bastards.
OLD BILL
Wait, you don’t like you’re kids, you only tolerate your second wife…
OLD JAKE
She cooks good.
OLD BILL
It’s a good think I know you’re lying.
OLD JAKE
No, she is a good cook.
OLD BILL
You love everyone of your little monsters.
OLD JAKE
They haven’t been little in a long time.
OLD BILL
I don’t think we we’re ever little
OLD JAKE
We were little once. Back when people used to play marbles on the sidewalk. You know why I kept this marble?
OLD BILL
No, but I’m afraid you’re about to tell me.
OLD JAKE
(Serious) You know…astronauts were allowed to take a personal possession with them into space. You were limited to under a pound but some guys took small folded American flags or rabbits fee…Neil took his Distinguished Flying Cross…If I had gone…I was going to take this… (hold back tears) …this is our friendship…this is what’s important to me…I was going to give it to you when I came back…that’s how I could say…without saying…what you’ve always meant to me…