Yankee, by Sabrina Berman, Scene III

Bill: I pissed.... I shit on the sheets. (He sits up with his sheets wrapped around him like a big diaper.) Forgive me, forgive me, I'm very sorry. I gotta go. The ship sails at dawn.

Rosa: Bill, wait. Calm down. Your ship, the marines' ship left a week ago. Don't you remember? you have stayed with us to help us fix the house. Yesterday you painted the front wall, don't you remember? You put the furniture in place, you fixed the plumbing.

Bill looks at her wildly. Then he looks around. He sits on the edge of the bed with his head in this hands.

Bill: I'm sick.

Rosa: It was only a bad dream.

Bill: Where's your husband??

Rosa: He's asleep.

Bill: Did I wake you up? Is it very early? The sun hasn't come out yet.

Rosa: It must be around four. Alberto went to bed a few hours ago. He had been working since noon. He didn't hear your screams....

Bill: Did I scream? I'm sorry. I'm worse than a child. I give you a lot of trouble, don't I?? A child has the excuse of.... being a child.

Rosa: You're sick, calm down.

Bill: I'm a big, stupid baby. I realize that. It hurts me to realize that. I'm sick. No one has to put up with a sick person. It hurts me to realize that. If I were a total idiot.... But an intelligent part of me watches me making a fool of myself, to be a burden, to be a big idiotic baby. The ship is gone? A week ago? I should have gone on the ship.

Rosa: you didn't want to go back to the ship, remember?

Bill: On the ship at least they have to tolerate me because the big, idiotic baby is a good Marine. Besides, I didn't care what they thought of me. Your husband sleeping??

Rosa: Yes.

Bill: I didn't go. I went A.W.O.L., right? Now I'm a traitor.

Rosa: Yes Bill

Bill: If I'm a traitor, I'm good. If I'm not a traitor, I'm bad. It's very confusing, isn't it? It's exactly the opposite of what I learned when I was a kid. I no longer believe anything the taught me. My head's a weaving full of holes. But I should've returned to the ship because I keep on being bad.

Rosa: No, Bill. Now, you're a traitor

Bill: (Happy.) i didn't go to Vietnam, right?

Rosa: Your're a traitor

Bill: Repeat it. I like to hear it from you.

Rosa: You, Bill are a traitor

Bill: But I keep on being bad. Rosa I wanna confess to you how bad I am.

Rosa: It isn't necessary Bil. That's all over now. You couldn't avoid doing what you did in Vietnam. You had to survive.

Bill: (Defiant.) I didn't go to Vietnam. I'm a traitor. I spent the war years in Quebec.

Pause.

Rosa: Yes, Bill.

Bill: Yes, I was in Vietnam. But that's over Rosa, right??

Rosa: Yes, Bill

Bill: I wanna tell you what I did in Vietnam.

Rosa: You don't have to tell me, Bill.

Bill: Yes I'm gonna tell you so you can forgive me for what I did.

Rosa: I forgive you. You don't need to tell me what you did. It's enough to see how kind and sensitive you are, to know that now you're a good man. You're a good man, now, Bill; what you did before doesn't matter.

Bill: (defiant.) i killed a defenseless woman and her baby.

Pause

Rosa: You're a good man Bill.

Bill: You're very warm, very soft. Is the baby hungry? He was crying.

Rosa: You're screams frightened him.

Bill: I'm sorry

Rosa: He's asleep already.

Bill: I'm gonna clean this now, right?( He shows her the dirty sheets)

Rosa: Yes, Bill

Bill: Would you clean this for me??

Pause

Bill: You're nauseated by my shit, aren't you?

Pause

Rosa: hold the baby, I'll bring some rags up

Bill: Aren't you afraid I'll drop him??

Pause

Rosa: No

Rosa: I'm going to get the rags (she walks into the kitchen.)