A Swim in the Laughing Soup
THIRSTY
Hey, Nojo.
HUNGRY
Next!
THIRSTY
Wake him up, damn it.
(MAGS leads him back to the fire. SHE takes the bottle and it circles the fire again. This time THIRSTY drinks before HUNGRY. After HUNGRY finishes her second drink, her legs go out from under her. As HUNGRY falls forward, GENE AUTRY snatches the bottle away. HUNGRY huddles into herself, shivering. HUNGRY begins to moan softly. From time to time this moaning becomes loud enough for the audience to hear.)
MAGS
What’s her problem?
THIRSTY
I don’t know. She was kinda hungry before.
MAGS (to Hungry)
Hey, lady, you shouldn’t drink on an empty stomach.
THIRSTY
You didn’t bring anything to eat…?
MAGS
What do I look like? The United Fucking Nations?
(MAGS fishes around in her pocket and comes up with a crushed Twinkie, still in its wrapper. She unwraps it, takes a bite and tosses it to THIRSTY. THIRSTY kneels next to HUNGRY and feeds her crumbs of the Twinkie. Meanwhile, NOJO has taken the bottle from GENE AUTRY. NOJO drinks. SOUND: a truck passing over the bridge. NOJO looks up in mid-swallow and then starts to cough, as if the whiskey has gone down the wrong way. Some whiskey spills. HE staggers into MAGS and SHE takes the bottle from him.)
THIRSTY
I don’t know when she ate last. And she’s probably freezing.
(Jiggles HUNGRY to make her eat.)
Come on, we’ll get out of this. What if I need you? Come on.
NOJO (recovering, speaks to audience)
I can still feel the cold creeping through my shirt and pinching my nipples. But I wear the armor of a conquistador and don’t care. I am stronger than weather. If I want I can melt a hole to the center of the earth.
THIRSTY
(Beckons for the bottle.)
Once m-more, Mags.
MAGS
What’s in it for me?
(Reaches toward THIRSTY’s crotch.)
You really want to get out of this? Let’s do a deal. Then you won’t need any more handouts.
THIRSTY
(Backs away.)
Look at us. We’re f-f-fuckin’ dying here. Jesus, do I have to b-beg?
MAGS
You could. Joe did.
GENE AUTRY
Oh, no, Joe-oey wouldn’t beg. Not Joey-oe.
MAGS
Things change at the end. I know, I was there.
