Melting Pot Blues

By C. G. Gardiner

The play is set in Washington, DC. Thomas Tom Crossdale and his wife, Mavis, are immigrants from the fi ctional Caribbean country of St. Sabastian. They have two children; Faith and Winston. The father, Tom, is unhappy and wants to return to St. Sabastian. This is a source of tension within the family. Matters come to a head when Mavis confronts Tom about his long history of infidelity. She demands that he change his ways or leave their home. He leaves.

Over the next year, the family dynamics change dramatically. With Tom out of the house, and practically out of their lives, Mavis becomes the bedrock of the family. And it becomes clear that the family can survive without Tom; but without the family Tom is adrift and alone. As the family prospers without him, Tom is overtaken by homelessness and illness. And as events unfold, shocking family secrets are revealed.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jan 12, 2012
• ISBN: 9781469144900

Book preview

Copyright © 2012 by C.G. Gardiner.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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CONTENTS

ACT ONE—SCENE I

ACT ONE—SCENE II

ACT ONE—SCENE III

ACT ONE—SCENE IV

ACT TWO—SCENE I

ACT TWO—SCENE II

ACT TWO—SCENE III

ACT TWO—SCENE IV

ACT TWO—SCENE V

DEDICATION

For my father.

The play is set in the mid-1990s.

Cast of characters in order of appearance:

Mavis Crossdale

Tom Crossdale

Winston Crossdale

Faith Crossdale

Rosemary Delancy

Ivan Carter

Wesley Wes McPhee

Bartender

Note: St. Sabastian is a fictional

Carribean Country

ACT ONE—SCENE I

The curtain opens on the first floor of the home of Mavis and Tom Crossdale. This floor is divided into an eat-in kitchen, a dining room, and a family room. The kitchen and the family room are separated by a breakfast counter. The family room is furnished with a couch, a love seat, an armchair, and an entertainment center, complete with a TV and a music system. Framed photographs adorn the walls: photos of a boy and girl at various ages, their smiles bright and infectious; and of a man and woman, their faces serious and formal. Toys are strewn about the room. In the kitchen, steam rises in small clouds from pots simmering on the stove. A breakfast table, with four chairs, crowds the space. Mavis, in her late thirties with prematurely graying hair, moves slowly about the family room, picking up toys and dropping them into a large cardboard box. She is plump but sturdy. Her ample breasts heave with her efforts. It is late afternoon. The lights are on in the house. The front door opens and Tom enters. He is of medium height, with muscular arms, a deep chest, and a protruding stomach. He’s clearly older than Mavis. She looks up as he enters.

TOM: Is Faith home yet?

MAVIS: No. (She straightens up, pressing her hands into the small of her back. She sighs loudly.) Lord, I’m tired!

TOM: (taking a beer from the fridge) Where’s Winston?

MAVIS: He’s upstairs doing his homework.

TOM: (He sucks from the beer can, long and hard.) Faith should be home by now. It’s almost eight o’clock. (pause) Did she call?

MAVIS: No, she didn’t call. (She slides the box of toys into a closet.)

TOM: We got to do something about that gal.

MAVIS: Something like what? Faith is a grown woman… and you better start treating her like one!

TOM: (coming into the family room) I don’t care if she’s grown. So long as she lives in my house, she’s going to live by my rules.

MAVIS: (impatiently) Look, man, I’m too tired to get into that argument tonight.

TOM: Tired of what? (flipping through a stack of CDs) You’re here with a bunch of kids all day. You should be out driving a cab like me.

MAVIS: (annoyed) You think it’s easy taking care of other people’s children all day? (She goes into the kitchen.) You think my life is any picnic? Do you have any idea how hard I work every day?

TOM: (dismissively, with a wave of his hand) Oh, calm down, woman. You get too excited.

MAVIS: (slamming the cover on a pot) I have to get excited! (pause) Sometimes you annoy me so!

TOM: Don’t complain to me about working hard. It’s you who wanted to come to this country. Not me.

MAVIS: I don’t know what you got against this country. (tending to her pots) It’s been very good to us. You’re working. I have the day care business. Faith’s got a good government job. Winston’s got a good chance of getting a scholarship. We’ve been able to buy this house. It’s small, but it’s ours. And we got more money saved than I thought we would by now. What more do you want?

TOM: (putting a CD in the player) There’s more to life than material things. A man should be comfortable in his surroundings. I’m uncomfortable here. I can’t wait to go back to St. Sabastian. As poor as it is, it’s a paradise compared to this place. As soon as Winston’s in college, I’m gone. The money we saved, plus what we’ll get when we sell this house—that’ll set us up in St. Sabastian.

MAVIS: I’m going along with you on this, but I’m not happy about it. I just hope you know what you doing. I think you forget what that place is like… (She begins to put dishes on the dining table.) No work. No opportunity. You can’t get nothing without sucking up to some big-wig or politician. You don’t have to do that here. In America you can do anything you want. I don’t know why you want to go back