Bradbury, Ray - SSC 17 Read online

  MANULO

  144 pounds!

  He steps down, Dominguez steps up. The penny drops. The machine grinds. The new card falls out into his hands.

  DOMINGUEZ

  146!

  Villanazul is next, and reads out:

  VILLANAZUL

  (quietly proud)142.

  Gomez weighs himself.

  GOMEZ

  145!

  He waves Martinez aboard. Martinez shouts the result.

  MARTINEZ

  144! A miracle!!

  VILLANAZUL

  (simply)No … Gomez.

  They all smile upon Gomez, the saint, who puts his arms about them, circling them in. Vamenos hovers in the background, pretending to be part of all this.

  GOMEZ

  Are we not fine? All the same size. All the same dream: the suit. So each of us will look beautiful, eh, at least one night every week!

  MARTINEZ

  I haven’t looked beautiful in years. The girls run away.

  GOMEZ

  They will run no more, they will freeze, when they see you in the cool white summer ice-cream suit.

  VILLANAZUL

  Gomez, just tell me one thing.

  GOMEZ

  Of course, compadre.

  VILLANAZUL

  When we get this nice new white ice-cream summer suit, some night you won’t put it on and walk down to the Greyhound bus in it and go live in El Paso for a year in it, will you?

  GOMEZ

  Villanazul, how can you say that?

  VILLANAZUL

  My eye sees and my tongue moves. How about the EVERYBODY WINS! punch-board lotteries you ran and kept running when nobody won? How about the United Chili con Carne and Frijole Company you were going to organize and all that ever happened was the rent ran out on a two-by-four office?

  GOMEZ

  The errors of a child, now grown! Enough! In this hot weather, someone may buy the special suit that is made just for us that stands waiting in the window of Shumway’s Sunshine Suits! We have fifty dollars. Now we need just one more skeleton!

  Everyone tries not to notice Vamenos, twitching nearby.

  VAMENOS

  Me! My skeleton! Measure it! It’s great! Sure, my hands are big, and my arms, from digging ditches-but-

  As he talks, he grabs the tape and measures himself. His plea is falling on dull ears until, outside, we hear the guitar, the man and his two women passing, laughing. At this, anguish moves over the faces of the five men in the poolroom, like the shadow of a summer cloud. It is too much for them. They wish to weep. They turn again, in agony, to examine Vamenos. Not daring to speak, Vamenos runs over to the penny scale and nervously drops in a penny. The machine grinds. The white card flips into the slot below. Vamenos, eyes closed, breathes a prayer.

  VAMENOS

  Madre mia … Please.

  He opens his eyes and looks at the card.

  VAMENOS

  145 pounds! Another miracle! Isn’t it? Eh?(pauses)Eh … ?

  He turns and holds out the card for them in one hand, his ten-dollar bill in the other.

  The men look at him, for a long time, sweating. Gomez breaks, snatches the ten-dollar bill.

  GOMEZ

  The clothing store! Andale! The suit! The suit!

  Vamenos lets out a battle yell of delight. All rush out. Martinez hesitates, shaking his head.

  MARTINEZ

  Santos, what a dream. White as the summer moon, he said. Six men. One suit. What will come of this? Madness? Debauchery? Murder? But then-I go with God. He will protect me.

  Martinez, seeing that the others are gone, runs, but stops, sees something on the table, grabs it.

  MARTINEZ

  Hey, Dominguez! You left your black book with the kind ladies’ names! Dominguez! Hey! Hey!(exits)

  Blackout.

  In the darkness, the guitar music is very loud and fast. To it, we hear the sound of their running feet. At last, it all fades away as … the lights come up again and we see…

  A neon light flashes: SHUMWAY’S SUNSHINE SUIT SHOP.

  Here and there are male mannequins displaying the very niftiest men’s fashions. These, and a few racks of shoes and ties, are the furniture of Shumway’s. To one side is a green curtained booth, the curtains pulled.

  Mr. Shumway and his assistant, Leo, enter, bringing a new shipment of ties.

  MR. SHUMWAY

  Bring the ties, Leo.

  LEO

  A pleasure, Mr. Shumway. Such fine ties. Look.

  MR. SHUMWAY

  I looked, Leo.

  LEO

  Feel. I…

  Leo stops, surprised, because Gomez has just popped in through the front door, popped out again, casually, hands in pockets.

  Mr. Shumway has not seen this.

  MR. SHUMWAY

  Something wrong, Leo?

  LEO

  Nothing, Mr. Shumway.(turns away)

  MR. SHUMWAY

  Like I said-

  Now, Mr. Shumway has caught a fleeting glimpse. Villanazul this time, strolling in from the dark, peers around, worried, strolls out.

  LEO

  Something wrong, Mr. Shumway?

  MR. SHUMWAY

  It’s too early to tell, Leo.

  They go on racking the ties. Next time, both Mr. Shumway and Leo turn just as Martinez and Manulo dart by.

  LEO

  (stunned)Two this time.

  MR. SHUMWAY

  (getting suspicious)It couldn’t be-a gang is planning to rob my store… ?

  LEO

  Rob…?

  At which point, Vamenos, alone, appears in the doorway, exhaling smoke, puffing on his villainous cigar, looking thoroughly disreputable, unshaven, and fly-specked.

  Leo and Mr. Shumway are riven by the image, which after inspecting the shop casually, wanders off, dropping ashes, into the night. Shumway panics, shoving an object at Leo.

  MR. SHUMWAY

  Leo, hide this in the suit on the dummy!

  LEO

  Your wallet!

  Leo does not move-so, panicking, Mr. Shumway thrusts the wallet into the dummy’s inside pocket, just in time, for all six of the men have drifted into the doorway.

  Feeling their presence, Mr. Shumway pretends to fix the dummy’s tie.

  SHUMWAY

  The telephone, Leo. Pretend you’re making just a call… the police …

  Leo edges toward the phone. As he picks it up. Gomez cries out.

  GOMEZ

  It’s gone!

  SHUMWAY

  Quick, Leo! The police!

  VILLANAZUL

  The police? Hey, wait!

  All six men rush forward.

  GOMEZ

  Where is it? Where!?

  SHUMWAY

  (points)The money!? The inside … pocket!

  GOMEZ

  Money?

  VAMENOS

  No, no! The suit!

  SHUMWAY

  The suit… ?

  All the men freeze like statues, waiting for Gomez to give tongue to their fear.

  GOMEZ

  You … didn’t… sell it?

  SHUMWAY

  (puzzled)I didn’t?

  LEO

  What didn’t Mr. Shumway sell?

  VAMENOS

  The only suit in the world!

  MANULO

  The ice-cream white!

  GOMEZ

  Size thirty-four!

  MARTINEZ

  Was in your window just an hour ago!

  LEO

  (exhaling)That suit?

  SHUMWAY

  (in disbelief)That’s what you want?(almost hysterical with relief)Leo … ?

  LEO

  The booth?

  SHUMWAY

  (eyes closed)The booth.

  Everyone watches as Shumway, like a pontiff, leads the way. Leo is ahead of him and takes hold of the green curtains on the front of the booth. Shumway turns, totally relaxed at last, and glances eagerly about.

>   SHUMWAY

  For which gentleman?

  GOMEZ

  All of us.

  SHUMWAY

  (dismayed again)All?

  MARTINEZ

  All for one! One for all!

  The phrase proves felicitous. The crowd mills about happily, pounding Martinez on the back, proud of his creative rhetoric.

  THE CROWD

  Sure! Hey! Great! All! All!

  Shumway, undaunted, pontifically accepting this freshly batted shuttlecock of fate, nods to them, then briskly to Leo. Leo sweeps back the curtain. Shumway seizes a light cord, jerks it, points in.

  SHUMWAY

  Gents. There she is. The 59-dollar, 59-cent pure white vanilla ice-cream summer suit!

  The men stare, riven. We cannot see into the booth. We only see the reflected pure white, holy light of the suit shimmering out like illumination from some far Arctic floe. The men’s faces are washed in snowy color. They peer in as at a shrine.

  ALL

  Ahhhhhhh…

  LEO

  (sotto voce)Mr. Shumway … one suit? Ain’t that a dangerous precedent to set? What if everyone bought suits this way?

  ALL

  (murmuring)Ah… ah…

  Shumway puts his hand on Leo’s shoulder like a father. He nods to the wondrous crowd of men.

  SHUMWAY

  Listen. You ever hear one 59-dollar suit make so many people happy at one time?

  The six men, their faces glowing with the suit’s reflection, still peer, smiling, into the booth.

  VAMENOS

  White… so white it puts out my eyes!(he squints)

  MARTINEZ

  White as angel’s wings …

  Mr. Shumway and Leo peer over the six men’s backs and nod, proudly.

  SHUMWAY

  You know something, Leo? That’s a suit!

  Blackout.

  Music.

  We hear the six men’s voices yelling, singing, shouting. They reenter and pass before the drawn curtain or dark scrim on their way to the tenement.

  GOMEZ

  (points ahead)There’s my place! You all move ia with me. Save money on rent as well as clothes. Martinez, you got the suit?

  Enter, Martinez, surrounded by helpers, a white gift box among them.

  MARTINEZ

  Have I! From us to us! Aye-yah!

  GOMEZ

  Who’s got the dummy?

  Vamenos, chewing his cigar, waltzes in, scattering sparks, clutching a headless clothes dummy.

  VAMENOS

  Who else! Watch us!

  At which point, Vamenos slips. The dummy falls. Pandemonium. Everyone yells. Vamenos retrieves the dummy, sheepishly.

  VAMENOS

  (to himself)Vamenos, you clumsy! Idiot!

  They seize the dummy from him. To retrieve himself, Vamenos snaps his fingers.

  VAMENOS

  Hey, we got to celebrate! I’ll go borrow some wine!

  He almost falls, scattering sparks, as he runs. The others peer after him.

  GOMEZ

  (unhappily)All right, guys, inside. Break out the suit!

  The others hurry off, leaving Martinez with Gomez.

  MARTINEZ

  Hey, Gomez, you look sick.

  GOMEZ

  I am. What have I done?

  He waves toward the others.

  GOMEZ

  I pick Manulo, a great man with the guitar. I pick Dominguez, a fiend, a devil with the women, but who sings sweet, eh? So far so good. I pick Villanazul who reads books.

  MARTINEZ

  I like to hear him talk.

  GOMEZ

  I pick you, you wash behind your ears. But then what do I do? Can I wait? No! I got to buy that suit! So the last man I pick is a clumsy slob who has the right to wear my suit-our suit-one night a week! Maybe to fall downstairs in it, burn it-Why, why did I do it!

  Martinez starts to speak when Villanazul calls from off right, softly, lovingly.

  VILLANAZUL

  Gomez, the suit is ready!

  MARTINEZ

  Let’s go see if it looks as good in your apartment with your light bulb.

  They run off.

  Blackout.

  When the lights rise again we find ourselves in the tenement apartment with three of the men clustered around an unseen object. Gomez and Martinez enter from a door to the right rear. Gomez only half-looks at the working men.

  GOMEZ

  Ready?

  VILLANAZUL

  Almost!

  Gomez turns away, eyes shut.

  GOMEZ

  Is it on the dummy?

  MANULO

  Almost!

  They make half-hidden adjustments.

  GOMEZ

  Just the one light, overhead!

  Martinez scurries to shut off various lamps.

  VILLANAZUL

  There!

  MANULO

  You can look now.

  VILLANAZUL

  (softly)Gomez…

  Gomez turns. They stand aside. Martinez turns on the overhead light. There, as Gomez opens his eyes, is the phosphorescent, the miraculous white suit, shimmering like a ghost among them. None dare touch, but move in awe around it.

  GOMEZ

  (exhales)Madremia …!

  MARTINEZ

  (whispering)It’s even better!

  MANULO

  … White… as clouds… on a summer night…

  GOMEZ

  … Like the milk in the bottles in the halls at dawn …

  Villanazul, his face reflecting the whiteness of the suit, speaks.

  VILLANAZUL

  White … white as the snow on the mountain near our town in Mexico called the Sleeping Lady …

  The others nod.

  GOMEZ

  (quietly)Say that again, please.

  Villanazul, proud yet humble, is glad to repeat his tribute.