 December 1990. Boggart’s Clough. JULIE
is sitting huddled, a rucksack next to her feet. It’s cold. She is
jumping up and down trying to keep warm. LUKE enters.
|
| LUKE. Alright (Beat.) Sorry I’m
a bit – |
| JULIE. Hiya … S’OK, only just
got here meself really. |
| LUKE. What yer doin’? |
| JULIE. Just tryin’a get warm. |
| LUKE. Fuckin’ freezin’, innit? |
| JULIE. Do yer want … Shall we go to the pub or
somethin’? |
| LUKE. No … I mean, if yer want to like – |
| JULIE. I don’t mind. We might as well just stay here.
I’ve warmed up a bit now. |
| LUKE takes off his scarf and wraps it around JULIE. |
| Thanks. |
| LUKE sits and JULIE follows. |
| I brought some stuff. Butties an’ that. |
| LUKE. Nice one. |
| JULIE. Coupla cans. D’yer want one? Stella. |
| LUKE. Go ‘ead, yeah. |
| JULIE rummages in the bag and pulls out two cans, opens
both and passes one to LUKE. |
| This out proper, is it? |
| JULIE. What? (Beat.) Oh aye, yeah … it’s an
occasion, so it’s alright. |
| LUKE. What’s that then? |
| JULIE. Sorry? |
| LUKE. What’s the occasion? |
| JULIE. Oh, dunno really just … |
| LUKE. I w’ant bein’ funny or anythin’ |
| JULIE. Oh yeah, I know. |
| Pause. |
| Thank you. For replying to me letter. |
| LUKE. S’alright, I didn’t expect – |
| JULIE. I didn’t want yer to think I
was … stickin’ me nose in. I wasn’t – |
| LUKE. I didn’t, don’t … think
that. |
| JULIE. Good. |
| LUKE. I read it loads of times. |
| JULIE. Did yer? |
| LUKE. Yeah. I’ll keep it. |
| JULIE. Ta. |
| LUKE. Mine wasn’t … you’re good at
writin’ letters. Mine was … I didn’t know what to put. I mean, I
did but it’s hard tryin’ to – |
| JULIE. It was a lovely letter. |
| Pause. |
| LUKE. Have you thought what to call it
yet? |
| JULIE. What to call what? |
| LUKE. Yer bookshop. |
| JULIE. Don’t think I wanna do that any
more. |
| LUKE. How come? |
| JULIE. I don’t know. Had this idea in
me head of exactly what it was gonna be like … how it smelt and
everythin’ … things are never the same as in yer head, are they? |
| LUKE. No. |
| JULIE. I wanna do somethin’ else. |
| LUKE. What? |
| JULIE. I don’t know yet. |
| LUKE. I thought of a couple
o’names. |
| JULIE. Did yer? |
| LUKE. Yeah. |
| JULIE. What are they then? |
| LUKE. I’m not tellin’ yer now
you’re not doing it. I’m gonna keep ‘em to meself. I might fancy
that. I’d make it a specialist one … loads of nature books. |
| JULIE. You’d be good at that. |
| LUKE. Not gonna happen though. |
| JULIE. It could do. All yer need to – |
| LUKE. Is he alright? |
| JULIE. Yeah … he’s alright, fine.
Busy. |
| LUKE. I thought … part of me. I had
this idea he was gonna come with yer and yer weren’t telling me. |
| JULIE. No. Sorry. |
| LUKE. Like fuckin’ Cilla Black Surprise,
Surprise. It’s alright. |
| JULIE. No, it’s not … I should have
– |
| LUKE. No. Sound. You two alright …
like together an’ everythin’? |
| JULIE. Yeah. |
| Pause. |
| LUKE. He’s into college an’ that? |
| JULIE. Yeah. He doesn’t know I’m
here. |
| LUKE. No, yeah … I didn’t reckon. |
| Pause. |
| JULIE. I think you should ring him. |
| LUKE. Reckon I’ll just leave it alone
– |
| JULIE. I think he’d be dead – |
| LUKE. Julie. Nice one and everthin’
but – |
| JULIE. I saw it. Some of the stuff yer
sent. Christie showed me. |
| LUKE. Wasn’t meant for anyone else. |
| JULIE. He was worried, he wasn’t – |
| LUKE. Well, he should have spoke to me,
wrote to me or something, don’t wanna be … wasn’t meant to be
for anyone else. |
| JULIE. Yeah … he just got – I think
it scared him. I don’t think he – |
| LUKE. Everything fuckin’ scares him. |
| JULIE. They were horrible, them, Luke. |
| Silence. |
| Christie thought you send them cos yer
thought they were … funny or something, not funny but I think he
thought – |
| LUKE. I did. |
| JULIE. Think they were funny? |
| LUKE. Yeah. Yer know the one were
Johnsey … the lad wi’ blond spikey hair, yer know the one
where’s he’s bent down and he’s pretendin’ to light a
cigarette stickin’ out of that dead bloke’s mouth. No arms or
legs. That was my idea. For a laugh. I thought that’d be funny. |
| JULIE. I said that it would’ve been
because – |
| LUKE. Well, yer shouldn’t, should yer?
Shouldn’t say shit about people when yer don’t know them. Who
d’yer think you are anyway? Think you know what goes on in my fuckin’
head? |
| JULIE. No. |
| Pause. |
| LUKE. Yer know fuck all, girl. |
| JULIE. I never said I knew anything.
(Beat.) What we doin’ here, Luke? |
| LUKE shrugs. Silence. |
| LUKE. That it then, is it? Wi’ me and
him? (Pause.) Got the hump has he? Is he ‘disgusted’ wi’ me? |
| JULIE. I think he just feels sad. |
| LUKE. What a fuckin’ luxury.
(Pause.)
Could he not tell me that himself like? Fuckin’ send the girlfriend
down with a fuckin’ note. Pussy. |
| JULIE. He doesn’t know I’m here. |
| LUKE. Fuckin’ ‘ell … that’s
better, is it? You lie to go and see his best mate and that’s meant
to make me feel better? |
| JULIE. Not supposed to make yer feel
anything. |
| LUKE. Fuckin’ sat at home listening to
Bob Dylan feelin’ sad. Fuckin’ hell. |
| Silence. |
| JULIE. I don’t think yer did think it
was funny, Luke, taking them photos. |
| LUKE. Don’t yer? |
| JULIE. No. |
| Pause. |
| LUKE. Did yer say yer brought sarnies wi’
yer? |
| JULIE. Yeah. |
| LUKE. What are they? |
| JULIE. Cheese and Branston. |
| LUKE. Go on then. |
| JULIE fetches a sandwich from the bag
and passes it to LUKE. |
| Ta. |
| LUKE eats. JULIE stares ahead. |
| JULIE. How long – |
| LUKE. Boxing Day. |
| JULIE. What are yer going to do? |
| LUKE. Nothing. |
| JULIE. Yer can’t go – |
| LUKE. Nothing. |
| JULIE. Yer need to see somebody who – |
| LUKE. Nothing. Have yer got any crisps? |
| JULIE fetches some plain crisps from her
bag. |
| Any flavoured ones? |
| JULIE. No. |
| LUKE. Alright. Ta. |
| He opens the bag and stuffs some in his
mouth along with the sandwich. After a few seconds he puts his head in
his hands and starts crying. |
December 1990. Boggart’s Clough. JULIE
is sitting huddled, a rucksack next to her feet. It’s cold. She is
jumping up and down trying to keep warm. LUKE enters.