By Misti Velvet Rainwater
Date: 18 March 2000
SCENE 68
SCENE 68-INT.-Becca's truck. Day.
Becca is still driving across the Great American Southwest. Papaw
is still sitting beside her.
Music: "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" by Elton John
Papaw: I'd like to go back, if you don't mind.
Becca: Why? We're halfway to Vegas!
Papaw: This wasn't a good idea. I need to get back to my room. I
feel closer to Gladys there. I have all her pictures there. I
forgot to bring them with me.
Becca: I'm sorry. Want me to turn around right now?
Papaw: If you don't mind.
Becca: Oh, man. I was lookin' forward to seein' the sights.
Papaw: Well, since we're halfway there...just keep drivin'.
Becca: Are you sure?
Papaw: I just miss Gladys. She won't be in Las Vegas.
Becca: How did ya'll meet?
Papaw: We met in first grade. Went to school together for four
years. Then she moved away. Her dad got transferred to Amarillo.
She came back when she was nineteen to attend her aunt's funeral.
I read about it in the paper so I went. We met up in the funeral
home. I knew when I saw her. Took her awhile to know.
Becca: You knew she was the one?
Papaw: Yes. She was a beautiful girl. She had the biggest, greenest
eyes I'd ever seen. And she was so graceful. The way she walked.
Such a lady. But then she opened her mouth. And I knew I was
hooked.
Becca: Really? What was she like?
Papaw: That woman cussed more than any man I'd ever met. She was
wilder than a March hare. We were at the funeral home and she said,
"Let's get the hell outta here." I couldn't resist her. Took her
to get a hamburger and fries. Then we went dancing. Then we went to
the beach.
Becca: Wow. How long did you date before you got married?
Papaw: We dated for a month. Then she found out about my other
girl and issued me an ultimatum.
Becca: You were dating another girl at the same time?
Papaw: Yes. Of course I was. I was only 22 years old. Still had
those wild oats to sow. But the other girl was only a diversion.
Someone to play with when Gladys was away.
Becca: I hope Derek doesn't find a diversion.
Papaw: A man without a diversion is like a bird without a tree.
Becca: I'm hoping Derek is an ostrich.
Papaw: He needs to bury his head in the sand. We'd all be better
off.
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