Fences Page #5

lyons:
She’s down at Passavant working in the laundry.

troy:
I ain’t got nothing as it is. I give you that ten

dollars and I got to eat beans the rest of the week.

Naw . . . you ain’t getting no ten dollars here.

lyons:
You ain’t got to be eating no beans. I don’t

know why you wanna say that.

troy:
I ain’t got no extra money. Gabe done moved over

to Miss Pearl’s, paying her the rent, and things

done got tight around here. I can’t afford to be

giving you every payday.

lyons:
I ain’t asked you to give me nothing. I asked

you to loan me ten dollars. I know you got ten

dollars.

troy (attacking):Yeah, I got it. You know why I got it?

’Cause I don’t throw my money away out there in

the streets. You living the fast life . . . wanna

be a musician . . . running around in them clubs

and things . . . then, you learn to take care of

yourself. You ain’t gonna find me going and asking

nobody for nothing. I done spent too many years

without.

lyons:
You and me is two different people, Pop.

troy:
I done learned my mistake and learned to do

what’s right by it. You still trying to get something

for nothing. Life don’t owe you nothing.

You owe it to yourself. Ask Bono. He’ll tell you

I’m right.

lyons:
You got your way of dealing with the world . . .

I got mine. The only thing that matters to me is

the music.

troy:
Yeah, I can see that! It don’t matter how you

gonna eat . . . where your next dollar is coming

from. You telling the truth there.

lyons (annoyed):
I know I got to eat. But I got to live

too. I need something that gonna help me to get

out of the bed in the morning. Make me feel like

I belong in the world. I don’t bother nobody. I

just stay with my music ’cause that’s the only

way I can find to live in the world. Otherwise

there ain’t no telling what I might do. Now I

don’t come criticizing you and how you live. I

just come by to ask you for ten dollars . . . I

don’t wanna hear all that about how I live!

troy:
Boy, your mama did a hell of a job raising you.

lyons:
You can’t change me, Pop. I’m thirty-four years

old. If you wanted to change me, you should have

been there when I was growing up. I come by to see

you . . . ask for ten dollars and you want to

talk about how I was raised. You don’t know nothing

about how I was raised.

rose:
Let the boy have ten dollars, Troy.

troy (to lyons):
What the hell you looking at me for?

I ain’t got no ten dollars. You know what I do

with my money.

(to Rose)

Give him ten dollars if you want him to have it.

rose:
I will. Just as soon as you turn it loose.

troy (reaching in his pocket): There it is. Seventy-six

dollars and forty-two cents. You see this, Bono?

Now, I ain’t gonna get but six of that back.

rose:
You ought to stop telling that lie. Here, Lyons.

She hands him the money.

lyons (packing up his guitar): Thanks, Rose. Look . . . I

got to run . . . I’ll see you later.

troy:
Wait a minute. You gonna say, “thanks, Rose,”

and ain’t gonna look to see where she got that ten

dollars from? See how they do me, Bono?

lyons:
I know she got it from you, Pop. Thanks. I’ll

give it back to you.

troy:
There he go telling another lie. Time I see that

ten dollars . . . he’ll be owing me thirty more.

lyons:
See you, Mr. Bono.

bono:
Take care, LyonsTake care, Lyons!

lyons:
Thanks, Pop. I’ll see you again.

Lyons is out the door.

troy:
I don’t know why he don’t go and get him a decent

job and take care of that woman he got.

bono:
He’ll be all right, Troy. The boy is still young.

troy:
The boy is thirty-four years old.

rose:
Let’s not get off into all that.

bono:
Look here...I got to be going. I got to be

getting on. Lucille gonna be waiting.

Troy goes to Rose, puts his arm around

her.

troy:
See this woman, Bono? I love this woman. I love

this woman so much it hurts. I love her so

much . . . I done run out of ways of loving her.

So I got to go back to basics. Don’t you come by

my house Monday morning talking about time to go

to work . . . ’cause I’m still gonna be stroking!

rose:
Troy! Stop it now!

bono:
I ain’t paying him no mind, Rose. That ain’t

nothing but gin-talk. Go on, Troy. I’ll see you

Monday.

Bono goes through the door. As he

does, Troy calls to him:

troy:
Don’t you come by my house, n*gger!

EXT. THE FRONT PORCH—LATE AFTERNOON

Bono walks down the front steps as we

hear . . .

troy (o.s.):
I done told you what I’m gonna be doing.

INT. UPSTAIRS HALLWAY- TROY AND ROSE’S

BEDROOM DOOR—NIGHT

Camera slowly pushes in as we hear

sounds of lovemaking emanating from

inside as we cut to . . .

INT. CORY’S ROOM—NIGHT

Teenager-messy, cleats and football

equipment, books and clothes strewn

about. On his desk, a photo of Cory

and Rose sits next to an envelope with

the logo of The Elizabeth City State

Teacher’s College.

Cory is in bed, pillow clamped over

his head to block the sounds of his

parents . . .

BLACK SCREEN:

The darkness fades to light as Rose is

heard singing:

rose (v.o.):
. . . Just ask Jesus to be a fence around . . . Just ask Jesus to be a fence around

you,

And you never have to worry anymore.

Just bow down...

Jesus be a fence all around me every day.

INT. TROY’S AND ROSE’S BEDROOM—

MORNING:

Rose’s singing hauls Troy up from a

deep slumber . . .

rose (o.s.):
When you get burdened—

Jesus, I want you to protect me

As I travel on the way.

When you get lonely—

He gets slowly out of bed,

disoriented. He looks out of the

window. Rose is in the backyard,

hanging wet clothes on the line.

rose:
Jesus be a fence all around me every day

Jesus, protect me

As I travel on my way.

INT. SECOND STORY LANDING—MORNING

Troy comes out of the bedroom. He sees

Cory’s bedroom door is closed.

EXT. BACK YARD—MORNING

Troy comes out of the house feeling

like Superman. Rose is at the foot of

the porch steps, cranking laundry

through a mangle atop a bucket.

rose:
Morning. You ready for breakfast? I can fix it

as soon I finish hanging up these clothes.

troy:
I got the coffee on. That’ll be all right. I’ll

just drink some of that this morning.

rose (cranking the mangle): That 651 hit yesterday. That’s

the second time this month. Miss Pearl hit for a

dollar . . . seem like those that need the least

always get lucky. Poor folks can’t get nothing.

troy:
Them numbers don’t know nobody. I don’t know why

you fool with them. You and Lyons both.

rose:
It’s something to do.

troy:
You ain’t doing nothing but throwing your money

away.

Rose stops wringing out the clothes

and takes him on.

rose:
Troy, you know I don’t play foolishly. I just

play a nickel here and a nickel there.

troy:
That’s two nickels you done thrown away.

rose:
Now I hit sometimes . . . that makes up for it.

It always come in handy when I do hit. I don’t

hear you complaining then.

troy:
I ain’t complaining now. I just say it’s foolish.

Trying to guess out of six hundred ways which way

the number gonna come. If I had all the money nigI ain’t complaining now. I just say it’s foolish.

Trying to guess out of six hundred ways which way

the number gonna come. If I had all the money n*ggers

. . . these Negroes, throw away on numbers

for one week—just one week—I’d be a rich man.

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