MOTHER
...That doctor was so lovely to me. –Would you mind making me a cup of tea?

SARAH
No, of course not.

MOTHER
The tea bags are in the cabinet to the left of the sink. Or is it the right? Well, you’ll find it. There’s
probably already water in the kettle, but you can check.

SARAH
(Goes to kitchen)
That banner is great! Jenn will...

MOTHER
...My Brenda’s kindergarten class made that. –Did you find them? It says “Star Market.”

SARAH
(matching her Boston accent)
Stah Mahket?
(Opens cabinet and finds tea bags)
Yes, I’ve found them.
(Fills kettle with water and turns on gas. As she walks back to MOTHER,
she notices pictures on wall.)
This découpage picture is the same one that...

MOTHER
...My Brenda made that! You glue some pictures on a nice piece of wood and then shellac all over it.
It’s lovely, isn’t it?

SARAH
Yes, it is. As a matter of fact...

MOTHER
...Bring it to me, dear, would you?

SARAH
(brings picture to MOTHER)
Helen, I was actually coming to...

MOTHER
...This is my Brenda in her Irish Step Dancing outfit. Crying. She never liked getting her
picture taken. –I don’t know what she’s gonna do on her wedding day. And my Lizzie in her little ballet
shoes.

SARAH
Jenn said she loved ballet class.

MOTHER
Jenn? –Her God-given name is Elizabeth.

SARAH
Oh. Right.

MOTHER
I can’t believe strangers go around thinking that’s her real name!

SARAH
But I’m not a stranger. I...

MOTHER
...Of course, you’re not. –Here’s Vivian in her tap shoes.
(pointing to picture)
I think she just picked them because they made the most noise.

SARAH
Corey looks so cute in his Little League uniform.

MOTHER
He looks exactly the same, doesn’t he? –He was always in some kind of uniform. Hockey. Football.
Look at his face. He was so sweet then. But he’s turned stubborn. Just like his father, God Rest His
Soul, just like his father. –Put the picture back, dear, please.

SARAH
(puts picture back, notices another)
Is this Brenda sitting on a fire truck?

MOTHER
And she looks exactly the same, too. She’s with her two best friends —twins, Kevin and Katie. The
firemen let them sit on the truck and took the picture for them. Kevin got the camera for eighth grade
graduation and they just took pictures all day long, all over the place. —It was so sad.

SARAH
Sad?

MOTHER
When Kevin was sixteen, he was playing down by the railroad tracks. Got hit and killed by a train.

SARAH
That’s terrible.

MOTHER
And then when Katie was driving back from her prom, someone ran a red light and smashed
right into her side of the car. She died instantly.
(She blesses herself)
God Rest Their Souls.


SARAH
How horrible!

MOTHER
And I remember thinking, “Nothing could be worse than that.” But God gives us different things, doesn’t
he? I lost my husband and had to raise my children by myself.

SARAH
I know.

MOTHER
Well, he drank a little like the rest of them. But he never once laid a finger on me.

SARAH
Oh.

MOTHER
You said you’ve never been married?

SARAH
No, I haven’t, but...

MOTHER
...Well, it has its good things and bad things, like everything else in life. It’s hard work and
sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to, but you don’t whine or complain, you just
do it and offer it up to God.

SARAH
Right.

MOTHER
We didn’t have the perfect marriage. We got off to a rocky start. But you have your faith and you keep
on going.
(SHE blesses herself)
I paid for mine! I have. I prayed. I made sacrifices. I raised my children the right way.

SARAH
You paid for...?

MOTHER
...My sins, my sins!

SARAH
I’m sure you...

MOTHER
...I’ve done the right thing every step of the way and this is the thanks I get!
(SHE points to her foot)