CAROL:  She tried to
tell me she wasn’t talking shit.  I was
like, Gurl, I hearrrrrd you.
LISA:  Damn.
CAROL:  She was like ‘How’d
you hear me?  I was in San Diego.’  I said, ‘Bitch, I heard you in San Diego.’
LISA:  She didn’t know
about your hearing?
CAROL:  Nope.  And I thought we were friends.
LISA:  Even friends
gossip sometimes.
CAROL:  Yeah, all my
friends, apparently.
LISA:  Hey—
CAROL:  Not you, not
you.
LISA:  So you two are
done?
CAROL:  With
Sheila?  Hell yeah.  She’s living in San Diego now anyway.  What do I need to bother with her for?
LISA:  I think you’re
a little too quick to cut people loose.
CAROL:  If you’re
worried I heard what you said about my potato salad—
LISA:  You were
listening to—
CAROL:  It’s
fine.  It wasn’t my best batch.  I didn’t take it personally, okay?
LISA:  Jesus, Carol.
CAROL:  What?
LISA:  You can’t just
eavesdrop like that.
CAROL:  I can’t help
it!
LISA:  All the people in
the world, and you just happened to be listening to what your best friend was
saying about your potato salad?
CAROL:  The people I
know come through loud and clear. 
Everybody else is just static.
LISA:  You know, you
could put that skill to good use if you learned to weed out some of the helpful
stuff from the static.
CAROL:  Like what?
LISA:  Like terrorist
threats or whatever.
CAROL:  Terrorist
threats?  Lisa, I don’t need to be
listening to terrorists.  I’m nervous
enough as it is with all these aliens flying over us.
LISA:  You should help
out.
CAROL:  Why?  You think I can listen to the aliens too?
LISA:  Have you tried?
CAROL:  No, I haven’t
tried.  I’ve been busy.
LISA:  Doing what?
CAROL:  Listening to
you bash my potato salad.
LISA:  Come on, Carol.
CAROL:  The government
has people who can do that kind of stuff. 
They don’t need me putting my two cents in.
LISA:  They’re saying
they do.
CAROL:  Well, if
Sheila starts threatening the government, I’ll let them know.
LISA:  You ever hear
about Rich?
CAROL:  Yeah, I hear
he’s an asshole.
LISA:  Carol—
CAROL:  Lisa, I didn’t
listen to Rich when he was standing right in front of me.  Why would I listen to him now?
LISA:  Aren’t you
curious about where he is?
CAROL:  I know where
he is.
LISA:  You do?
CAROL:  Well, I have a
general idea.
(A beat.)
LISA:  Well?
CAROL:  Why do you
care?
LISA:  He’s my
brother.  And he’s a good brother.
CAROL:  Yeah, well, he’s
a lousy boyfriend.
LISA:  Ex-boyfriend.
CAROL:  Thanks for
that, Lisa.
LISA:  If you knew
where he was, would you tell me?
CAROL:  Gurl, I’d buy
you a plane ticket.
LISA:  He’s not back
in Dallas, is he?
CAROL:  He might be.
LISA:  Carol—
CAROL:  I’m not his
keeper, Carol.
LISA:  No, but you’re
my friend.
CAROL:  And as a
friend, let me just tell you that he’s involved with some stuff you don’t want
to be involved in.
LISA:  Like what?
CAROL:  Like some bad
shit.
LISA:  So you have
been listening to him?
CAROL:  Sometimes I
can’t help it.
LISA:  I should do
something.
CAROL:  Lisa—
LISA:  Is it like what
happened the last time?
CAROL:  It doesn’t sound
that bad.
LISA:  Dammit, Carol—
CAROL:  What are you
gonna do?  You’re gonna go running off to
Texas like—
LISA:  You know, if
you gave a damn about anybody, you’d understand why I can’t just…
(A beat.)
CAROL:  Hey, I gave a
damn about him, all right?
LISA:  I know.
CAROL:  Yeah, but it’s
different for you.
LISA:  It is.
CAROL:  Then why don’t
you try listening to him all the time? 
And listen to you talking about how I failed?  And listen to every friend I have blaming me
for it.
LISA:  Nobody’s
blaming you.
CAROL:  I’m not
stupid, Lisa.
LISA:  I never said—
CAROL:  And I can hear
it, all right?  I can hear it.
(A beat.)
LISA:  I never said
you were to blame.
CAROL:  What about
your Mom?
LISA:  Well, my Mom’s
a bitch, so—
CAROL:  It figures,
you know.  He tried telling me, and I
couldn’t hear him.
LISA:  None of us
could.
CAROL:  Then he takes
off and…Suddenly I can hear miles and miles away.  People, sounds, rain falling, stones going
across a lake, a fly buzzing around across the ocean, but…But when I close my
eyes and focus?  All I can hear is him.
LISA:  What about
right now?
CAROL:  He’s sitting
on a bed in a motel room.
LISA:  What a cliché.
CAROL:  It’s not a bad
motel.  It’s just…a motel.
LISA:  What’s he
doing?
CAROL:  He’s being
quiet.
LISA:  That’s it?
CAROL:  Yeah, he’s
just…kinda sitting.
LISA:  So how can you
hear him?
CAROL:  Sometimes the
sound right before the sound is louder than the sound itself.
LISA:  How long has he
been sitting there?
CAROL:  A long
time.  And he’s going to keep sitting
there.
LISA:  How do you
know?
CAROL:  Because I don’t
hear anything coming for him.  All I hear
is him waiting.  Waiting on something
that’s never going to come.
                (Lights.)
 
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