Fences Page #4

rose:
Troy be talking that stuff and half the time

don’t even know what he be talking about.

troy:
Bono know me better than that.

bono:
That’s right. I know you. I know you got some

Uncle Remus in your blood. You got more stories

than the devil got sinners.

troy:
Aw hell, I done seen him too! Done talked with

the devil.

rose:
Troy, don’t nobody want to be hearing all that

stuff.

Lyons comes out on the porch.

lyons:
Hey, PopHey, Pop.

troy:
What you come “Hey, Popping” me for?

lyons:
How you doing, Rose?

He kisses her.

lyons:
Mr. Bono. How you doing?

bono:
Hey, Lyons . . . how you been?

troy:
He must have been doing all right. I ain’t seen

him around here last week.

rose:
Troy, leave your boy alone. He come by to see

you and you wanna start all that nonsense.

troy:
I ain’t bothering Lyons.

Troy offers Lyons the bottle.

troy:
Here . . . get you a drink. We got an understanding.

I know why he come by to see me and he

know I know.

lyons:
Come on, Pop . . . I just stopped by to say

hi . . . see how you was doing.

troy:
You ain’t stopped by yesterday.

rose:
You gonna stay for supper, Lyons? I got some

chicken cooking in the oven.

As she heads toward the house, Rose

picks up Troy’s apron and gloves from

the back porch, carrying them inside.

lyons:
No, Rose . . . thanks. I was just in the neighborhood

and thought I’d stop by for a minute.

troy:
You was in the neighborhood all right, n*gger.

You telling the truth there. You was in the neighYou was in the neighborhood all right, n*gger.

You telling the truth there. You was in the neighborhood

’cause it’s my payday.

lyons:
Well, hell, since you mentioned it . . . let me

have ten dollars.

troy:
I’ll be damned! I’ll die and go to hell and play

blackjack with the devil before I give you ten

dollars.

INT. HOUSE—AFTERNOON

Troy heads into the house, making his

way up front to the sitting room.

Lyons pursues, Bono follows. Troy sits

on the sofa, watching Rose set the

table.

bono:
That’s what I want to know about . . . that

devil you done seen.

lyons:
Pop done seen the devil? You too much Pops.

troy:
Yeah, I done seen him. Talked to him too!

rose:
You ain’t seen no devil. I done told you that

man ain’t had nothing to do with the devil. Anything

you can’t understand, you want to call it

the devil.

troy:
Look here, Bono . . . I went down to see Hertzberger

about some furniture. Got three rooms for

two- ninety-eight. That what it say on the radio.

“Three rooms . . . two-ninety-eight.” Even made

up a little song about it. Go down there . . . man

tell me I can’t get no credit. I’m working every

day and can’t get no credit. What to do? I got an

empty house with some raggedy furniture in it.

Cory ain’t got no bed. He’s sleeping on a pile of

rags on the floor. Working every day and can’t get

no credit. Come back here—Rose’ll tell you—madder

than hell. Sit down . . . try to figure what I’m

gonna do. Come a knock on the door. Ain’t been

living here but three days. Who know I’m here?

Open the door . . . devil standing there bigger

than life. White fellow . . . got on good clothes

and everything. Standing there with a clipboard in

his hand. I ain’t had to say nothing. First words

come out of his mouth was . . . “I understand you

need some furniture and can’t get no credit.” I

liked to fell over. He say, “I’ll give you all the

credit you want, but you got to pay the interest

on it.” I told him, “Give me three rooms’ worth

and charge whatever you want.” Next day a truck

pulled up here and two men unloaded them three

rooms. Man what drove the truck give me a book.

Say send ten dollars, first of every month to the

address in the book and everything will be all

right. Say if I miss a payment the devil was coming

back and it’ll be hell to pay. That was fifteen

years ago. To this day . . . the first of the month

I send my ten dollars, Rose’ll tell you.

rose:
Troy lying.

Rose returns to the kitchen. Troy’s

voice follows her. As she goes about

readying the food with a

perfectionist’s care:

troy:
I ain’t never seen that man since. Now you tell

me who else that could have been but the devil? I

ain’t sold my soul or nothing like that, you understand.

Naw, I wouldn’t have truck with the

devil about nothing like that.

Rose brings a plate of cornbread to

the dining table. Lyons has his guitar

out, tuning it.

troy:
I got my furniture and pays my ten dollars the

first of the month just like clockwork.

bono:
How long you say you been paying this ten dollars

a month?

troy:
Fifteen years!

bono:
Hell, ain’t you finished paying for it yet? How

much the man done charged you?

troy:
Aw hell, I done paid for it. I done paid for it

ten times over! The fact is I’m scared to stop

paying it.

rose:
Troy lying. We got that furniture from Mr.

Glickman. He ain’t paying no ten dollars a month

to nobody.

troy:
Aw hell, woman. Bono know I ain’t that big a

fool.

lyons:
I was just getting ready to say . . . I know

where there’s a bridge for sale.

troy:
Look here, I’ll tell you this . . . it don’t matLook here, I’ll tell you this . . . it don’t matter

to me if he was the devil. It don’t matter if

the devil give credit. Somebody has got to give it.

rose:
It ought to matter. You going around talking

about having truck with the devil . . . God’s the

one you gonna have to answer to. He’s the one

gonna be at the Judgment.

Rose heads back into the kitchen.

lyons:
Yeah, well, look here, Pop . . . let me have

that ten dollars. I’ll give it back to you. Bonnie

got a job working at the hospital.

troy:
What I tell you, Bono? The only time I see this

n*gger is when he wants something. That’s the

only time I see him.

lyons:
Come on, Pop, Mr. Bono don’t want to hear all

that. Let me have the ten dollars. I told you

Bonnie working.

troy:
What that mean to me? “Bonnie working.” I don’t

care if she working. Go ask her for the ten dollars

if she working. Talking about “Bonnie working.”

Why ain’t you working?

lyons:
Aw, Pop, you know I can’t find no decent job.

Where am I gonna get a job at? You know I can’t

get no job.

troy:
I told you I know some people down there. I can

get you on the rubbish if you want to work. I told

you that the last time you came by here asking me

for something.

lyons:
Naw, Pop . . . thanks. That ain’t for me. I

don’t wanna be carrying nobody’s rubbish. I don’t

want to be punching nobody’s time clock

Naw, Pop . . . thanks. That ain’t for me. I

don’t wanna be carrying nobody’s rubbish. I don’t

want to be punching nobody’s time clock

troy:
What’s the matter, you too good to carry people’s

rubbish? Where you think that ten dollars

you talking about come from? I’m just supposed to

haul people’s rubbish and give my money to you

’cause you too lazy to work. You too lazy to work

and wanna know why you ain’t got what I got.

rose:
What hospital Bonnie working at? Mercy?

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