1962(And we are in: A train station. Years ago. REBECCA and ELIZA. ELIZA with a copy of Gertrude Stein’s ‘Tender Buttons’. REBECCA with attentive eyes. Time passes. Then:) REBECCA Are you getting on the 4 o’clock? ELIZA -- REBECCA Excuse me. ELIZA -- REBECCA Are you waiting for the 4 o’clock? ELIZA Are you talking to me? REBECCA I ELIZA ? REBECCA Yes. ELIZA closes her book. Looks at her boarding pass. ELIZA 4 o’clock, you said? REBECCA Yes. ELIZA No, I’m not on that train. REBECCA Oh. Okay. Beat. REBECCA Thank you. ELIZA goes back to reading. REBECCA smiles slightly. Time passes. ELIZA (Still looking at the book) Mine’s at 4:05. REBECCA I’m sorry? ELIZA My train. It’s at 4:05. Not 4. REBECCA So you’re-- ELIZA You asked if I was on the 4 o’clock train. ELIZA reads. REBECCA looks at her. REBECCA Isn’t it almost half-past? ELIZA I don’t know. REBECCA I think it’s late. ELIZA Ah. REBECCA Or we missed it. ELIZA We? REBECCA I’m on the same train. ELIZA I thought yours was at 4 o’clock. REBECCA Or, 4:05. ELIZA Hm. ELIZA reads. REBECCA watches. A long time passes. Silence. Finally: REBECCA Objects, Food, or Rooms? ELIZA looks up. Impressed. ELIZA (Referencing the book) You’ve read it then? REBECCA Gertrude Stein. ELIZA Yes. REBECCA Of course I’ve read her. ELIZA Why of course? REBECCA I love reading Jewish literature. ELIZA Jewish literature. REBECCA Yeah, Stein is Jewish. ELIZA But I mean, it isn’t-- that doesn’t make it Jewish literature. REBECCA Sure it does. ELIZA So you read Stein because she’s Jewish. REBECCA Something like that. ELIZA Are you Jewish? REBECCA That’s-- ELIZA Sorry. REBECCA Not Jewish, no. Beat. ELIZA I’m not either. Jewish. Beat. 10. ELIZA She’s also a lesbian, you know. REBECCA (She does know) Oh, really? ELIZA Yeah. I mean, I’m pretty sure anyway. REBECCA Huh. Never would have guessed. ELIZA I mean, maybe not. REBECCA No? ELIZA I just mean, I’ve heard that she is. Beat. Objects. REBECCA Objects? ELIZA That’s the part of the book I’m at. REBECCA Ah. Just the beginning. ELIZA Not my first read. REBECCA A real fan, then. ELIZA Something like that. REBECCA And you aren’t Jewish. ELIZA Not Jewish. REBECCA “There is no use in a smell, in a taste, in teeth… ELIZA In toast, in anything, there is no use at all 11. REBECCA AND ELIZA And the respect is mutual” They laugh. They look at each other. ELIZA And you aren’t Jewish either. REBECCA Not Jewish. ELIZA I think it definitely isn’t Jewish literature then. A moment. ELIZA looks at her book again. REBECCA looks at ELIZA. Her hands. The ring on her finger. She considers. She asks anyway. REBECCA Do you want to get dinner? ELIZA What? REBECCA This train isn’t coming anytime soon. ELIZA How do you know that? REBECCA It’s nearly 5 o’clock. ELIZA -- REBECCA We’ll catch another train. ELIZA Okay. REBECCA Let’s. ELIZA thinks for a moment. Looks at her boarding pass. Looks at REBECCA. ELIZA Yes. Let’s. 12.
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