Act Two
Delroy sits at the table in silence.
As music fades, enter Wilby with one paper cup of coffee. He sits, lights a cigarette, sips the coffee, opens his notebook and takes out a biro.
Pause. He looks at Delroy.
Wilby Mister Delroy, thereās no need for all that. I mean, it wonāt bring her back.
Pause. Delroy begins to cry.
You canāt bring the dead back. I know about death. I have known people to die. I have even known the grief of a dog dying. Oh, that was terrible. Made worse by my feeling that somehow I shared the responsibility.
Pause.
Eight fifteen. Actually, she screamed a great deal. The Gas Board man fortunately arrived after all. Entered the premises to attend to the broken gas fire. He heard her screaming. Your children were extremely distressed. Well, that stands to reason, I suppose. That feeling of helplessness. I know that feeling. When the dog I was speaking of died, I felt extremely helpless. For children it must be . . . inconceivable. The Gas Board man did the right thing; he called an ambulance. The doctors at the hospital, they said it was too late. Oh, they examined her, they did their . . . business. But they were helpless with regard to arresting the approach of death, unfortunately. She died at eight fifteen.
Delroy Oh God . . .
Wilby Someone said . . . I recall hearing someone say . . . that death is worse for those who survive the death. I think that might well be the case. One canāt confirm it with the dead.
Pause. Wilby lights another cigarette and smoothes out his notebook on the table. Poised biro.
Mister Karn is having his tea in the canteen. His supper, I mean. Heās watching the election programme on TV. He hopes we can deal with all this without disturbing him.
Pause.
Shall we begin at the beginning then?
Delroy My kids . . . my kids . . . ?
Wilby Theyāre all right.
Delroy They were there and . . .
Wilby Theyāre in care.
Delroy What?
Wilby Social services, for the night, put them into a hostel. Well, two actually. Theyāre being looked after. We arranged it all very promptly.
Pause.
Wilby Weāre used to dealing with unusual situations.
Delroy I got to see them ā
Wilby Oh, that isnāt possible.
Delroy They need me ā
Wilby I beg your pardon?
Delroy Time like this, they need their father, not some fucking social workers ā
Wilby The time they needed their father he was drinking in a pub. The time your wife and their mother died, you were drinking in the pub. It appears the death was extraordinarily painful. As one might imagine given the unusual circumstances.
Pause.
Delroy I canāt believe sheās dead.
Wilby You must face the truth.
Delroy I canāt . . . believe it. Her . . . dying.
Wilby Would you like to see the nightgown again?
Pause.
Delroy begins to weep again.
Now, that isnāt helping anyone.
Delroy I canāt believe . . . canāt . . . believe . . .
Pause.
Wilby In times of extreme emotional crisis . . . itās often advisable to occupy the mind. So if we can establish the following facts. Yes? Do try to concentrate. Her full name?
Delroy Whose?
Wilby The deceasedās.
Delroy Georgie. I mean, Georgina. I called her Georgie.
Wilby With a Y or an IE?
Pause. Delroy stares at Wilby.
Y or IE?
Delroy I well, I never wrote it down.
Wilby Never wrote down her name?
Delroy When I wrote her name down I wrote Georgina.
Wilby Georgina, then. (He writes this down.) And her age?
Delroy She was . . . twenty . . . err . . . nine.
Wilby She had two children ā
Delroy No, three.
Wilby We canāt include the aborted foetus as a child. Not in the file.
Delroy We had three kids. We were going to have . . . four.
Pause.
Wilby Names, dates of birth.
Delroy Now?
Wilby What do you mean, now?
Delroy Listen, youāve just told me my wife has died and ā
Wilby That is why we require all these details.
Delroy I donāt . . . donāt know where my head is . . .
Wilby Itās in the usual place.
Delroy Mean, my state of mind.
Wilby Do you have a history of mental disorder?
Delroy I never had a wife die before.
Wilby First wife? Only one?
Delroy Yeah, the only one.
Wilby I see. (He writes this down.)
Delroy Have you no . . . pity? My wife . . . all my adult life with this lady and ā
Wilby Years of marriage?
Delroy I err . . . I was . . . twenty . . .
Wilby How old was she?
Delroy She was younger.
Wilby Of legal age to marry?
Delroy What do you mean?
Wilby In this country, a bride must be sixteen.
Delroy In this . . . country . . . we got married.
Pause.
Wilby I see. Offspring: Names, dates of birth.
Delroy Oh Christ.
Wilby You canāt have forgotten.
Delroy āCourse I havenāt forgotten. Just . . . in the middle of . . . this confusion and this ā
Wilby The eldest.
Delroy Heās . . . Joey. Heās eight. So he was born . . . June the err . . . on the . . . June the . . . 14th.
Wilby You donāt sound very certain.
Delroy Iām certain. Iām . . . just not certain of the year.
Wilby The year of birth of your eldest son?
Delroy Iām a bit . . . in a bit of a state.
Wilby...