The Sunset Limited: A Novel in Dramatic Form Read Online Free PDF Page A

you’re in pain.
Black
   
Why not?
White
   
You’re not making any sense.

The black falls back clutching his chest.
Black
   
Oh them is some hard words from the professor. The preacher has fell back. He’s clutchin his heart. Eyes is rolled back in his head. Wait a minute. Wait a minute folks. His eyes is blinkin. I think he’s comin back. I think he’s comin back.

The black sits up and leans forward.
Black
   
The point, Professor, is that if you didnt have no pain in your life then how would you even know you
was
happy? As compared to what?
White
   
You dont have anything to drink around here do you?
Black
   
No, Professor, I aint. You a drinkin man?
White
   
Are we about to get a temperance lecture?
Black
   
Not from me.
White
   
It’s been a difficult day. I take it you dont drink.
Black
   
I dont. I have done my share of it in my time.
White
   
Are you in AA?
Black
   
No. No AA. I just quit. I’ve had a lots of friends was drinkers. Most of em, for that matter. Most of em dead, too.
White
   
From drinking.
Black
   
Well. From drinkin or from reasons that dont get too far from drinkin. Not too long ago I had a friend to get run down by a taxicab. Now where do you reckon he was goin? Drunk.
White
   
I dont know. Where was he going?
Black
   
Goin after more whiskey. Had plenty at the house. But a drunk is always afraid of runnin out.
White
   
Was he killed?
Black
   
I hope so. We buried him.
White
   
I suppose there’s a moral to this story.
Black
   
Well, it’s just a story about what you want and what you get. Pain and happiness. I’ll tell you another one.
White
   
All right.
Black
   
One Sunday they’s a bunch of us settin around at my house drinkin. Sunday mornin. Favorite time for drunks to get together and drink and I’ll let you think about why that might be so. Well here come one of my buddies with this girl. Evelyn. And Evelyn was drunk when she got there but we fixed her a drink and directly Redge—my buddy—he goes back in the kitchen to get him a drink only now the bottle’s gone. Well, Redge has been around a few drinkin people in his time so he commences to hunt for the bottle. Looks in all the cabinets and behind everthing. He cant find it but of course he knows what’s happened to it so he comes back in and he sets down and he looks at Miss Evelyn settin there on the sofa. Drunk as a goat. And he says: Evelyn, where’s the whiskey? And Evelyn, she goes: Ah ghaga baba lala ghaga. And he says: Evelyn, where did you put thewhiskey? Ah lala bloggle blabla. And Redge is settin there and this is beginnin to piss him off just a little and he gets in her face and he goes: Ah loddle loddle blabble ghaga blabla and she says I hid it in the toilet.
White
   
That’s pretty funny
Black
   
I thought you might like that.
White
   
And is that where the whiskey was?
Black
   
Oh yeah. That’s a favorite place for drunks to hide a bottle. But the point of course is that the drunk’s concern aint that he’s goin to die from drinkin—which he is. It’s that he’s goin to run out of whiskey fore he gets a chance to do it. Are you hungry? I can come back to this. I aint goin to lose my place.
White
   
I’m all right. Go ahead.
Black
   
If you was to hand a drunk a drink and tell him he really dont want it what do you reckon he’d say?
White
   
I think I know what he’d say.
Black
   
Sure you do. But you’d still be right.
White
   
About him not really wanting it.
Black
   
Yes. Because what he really wants he cant get. Or he thinks he cant get it. So what he really dont want he cant get enough of.
White
   
So what is it that he really wants.
Black
   
You know what he really wants.
White
   
No I dont.
Black
   
Yeah you do.
White
   
No I dont.
Black
   
Hm.
White
   
Hm what.
Black
   
You a hard case, Professor.
White
   
You’re not exactly a