WALTER Mama, where have you been?
160 MAMA My—them steps is longer than they used to be. Whew! (She sits down and ignores him) How you feeling this evening, Ruth?
(RUTH shrugs, disturbed at having been interrupted and watching her husband knowingly)
WALTER Mama, where have you been all day?
MAMA (Still ignoring him and leaning on the table and changing to more comfortable shoes) Where’s Travis?
RUTH I let him go out earlier and he ain’t come back yet. Boy, is he going to get it!
MAMA (As if she has heard him for the first time) Yes, son?
WALTER Where did you go this afternoon?
MAMA I went downtown to tend to some business that I had to tend to.
WALTER What kind of business?
MAMA You know better than to question me like a child, Brother.
WALTER (Rising and bending over the table) Where were you, Mama? (Bringing his fists down and shouting) Mama, you didn’t go do something with that insurance money, something crazy?
(The front door opens slowly, interrupting him, and TRAVIS peeks his head in, less than hopefully)
TRAVIS (To his mother) Mama, I—
RUTH “Mama I” nothing! You’re going to get it, boy! Get on in that bedroom and get yourself ready!
MAMA Why don’t you all never let the child explain hisself.
RUTH Keep out of it now, Lena.
(MAMA clamps her lips together, and RUTH advances toward her son menacingly)
RUTH A thousand times I have told you not to go off like that—
MAMA (Holding out her arms to her grandson) Well—at least let me tell him something. I want him to be the first one to hear … Come here, Travis. (The boy obeys, gladly) Travis—(She takes him by the shoulder and looks into his face)—you know that money we got in the mail this morning?
MAMA Well—what you think your grandmama gone and done with that money?
TRAVIS I don’t know, Grandmama.
MAMA (Putting her finger on his nose for emphasis) She went out and she bought you a house! (The explosion comes from WALTER at the end of the revelation and he jumps up and turns away from all of them in a fury. MAMA continues, to TRAVIS) You glad about the house? It’s going to be yours when you get to be a man.
TRAVIS Yeah—I always wanted to live in a house.
MAMA All right, gimme some sugar then—(TRAVIS puts his arms around her neck as she watches her son over the boy’s shoulder. Then, to TRAVIS, after the embrace) Now when you say your prayers tonight, you thank God and your grandfather—’cause it was him who give you the house—in his way.
RUTH (Taking the boy from MAMA and pushing him toward the bedroom) Now you get out of here and get ready for your beating.
RUTH Get on in there—(Closing the door behind him and turning radiantly to her mother-in-law) So you went and did it!
190 MAMA (Quietly, looking at her son with pain) Yes, I did.
RUTH (Raising both arms classically) PRAISE GOD! (Looks at WALTER a moment, who says nothing. She crosses rapidly to her husband) Please, honey—let me be glad … you be glad too. (She has laid her hands on his shoulders, but he shakes himself free of her roughly, without turning to face her) Oh Walter … a home … a home. (She comes back to MAMA) Well—where is it? How big is it? How much it going to cost?
MAMA (Smiling at her) First of the month.
RUTH (Throwing back her head with jubilance) Praise God!
MAMA (Tentatively, still looking at her son’s back turned against her and RUTH) It’s—it’s a nice house too … (She cannot help speaking directly to him. An imploring quality in her voice, her manner, makes her almost like a girl now) Three bedrooms—nice big one for you and Ruth.… Me and Beneatha still have to share our room, but Travis have one of his own—and (With difficulty) I figure if the—new baby—is a boy, we could get one of them double-decker outfits … And there’s a yard with a little patch of dirt where I could maybe get to grow me a few flowers … And a nice big basement …
RUTH Walter honey, be glad—
MAMA (Still to his back, fingering things on the table) ’Course I don’t want to make it sound fancier than it is … It’s just a plain little old house—but it’s made good and solid—and it will be ours. Walter Lee—it makes a difference in a man when he can walk on floors that belong to him …
MAMA (Frightened at this telling) Well—well—it’s out there in Clybourne Park—
(RUTH’S radiance fades abruptly, and WALTER finally turns slowly to face his mother with incredulity and hostility)
MAMA (Matter-of-factly) Four o six Clybourne Street, Clybourne Park.
RUTH Clybourne Park? Mama, there ain’t no colored people living in Clybourne Park.
MAMA (Almost idiotically) Well, I guess there’s going to be some now.
WALTER (Bitterly) So that’s the peace and comfort you went out and bought for us today!
MAMA (Raising her eyes to meet his finally) Son—I just tried to find the nicest place for the least amount of money for my family.
RUTH (Trying to recover from the shock) Well—well—’course I ain’t one never been ’fraid of no crackers, mind you—but—well, wasn’t there no other houses nowhere?
MAMA Them houses they put up for colored in them areas way out all seem to cost twice as much as other houses. I did the best I could.
RUTH (Struck senseless with the news, in its various degrees of goodness and trouble, she sits a moment, her fists propping her chin in thought, and then she starts to rise, bringing her fists down with vigor, the radiance spreading from cheek to cheek again) Well—well!—All I can say is—if this is my time in life—MY TIME—to say good-bye—(And she builds with momentum as she starts to circle the room with an exuberant, almost tearfully happy release)—to these goddamned cracking walls!—(She pounds the walls)—and these marching roaches!—(She wipes at an imaginary army of marching roaches)—and this cramped little closet which ain’t now or never was no kitchen! … then I say it loud and good, HALLELUJAH! AND GOOD-BYE MISERY … I DONT NEVER WANT TO SEE YOUR UGLY FACE AGAIN! (She laughs joyously, having practically destroyed the apartment, and flings her arms up and lets them come down happily, slowly, reflectively, over her abdomen, aware for the first time perhaps that the life therein pulses with happiness and not despair) Lena?
MAMA (Moved, watching her happiness) Yes, honey?
RUTH (Looking off) Is there—is there a whole lot of sunlight?
MAMA (Understanding) Yes, child, there’s a whole lot of sunlight.
RUTH (Collecting herself and going to the door of the room TRAVIS is in) Well—I guess I better see ’bout Travis. (To MAMA) Lord, I sure don’t feel like whipping nobody today!
MAMA (The mother and son are left alone now and the mother waits a long time, considering deeply, before she speaks) Son—you—you understand what I done, don’t you? (WALTER is silent and sullen) I—I just seen my family falling apart today … just falling to pieces in front of my eyes … We couldn’t of gone on like we was today. We was going backwards ’stead of forwards—talking ’bout killing babies and wishing each other was dead … When it gets like that in life—you just got to do something different, push on out and do something bigger … (She waits) I wish you say something, son … I wish you’d say how deep inside you you think I done the right thing—
WALTER (Crossing slowly to his bedroom door and finally turning there and speaking measuredly) What you need me to say you done right for? You the head of this family. You run our lives like you want to. It was your money and you did what you wanted with it. So what you need for me to say it was all right for? (Bitterly, to hurt her as deeply as he knows is possible) So you butchered up a dream of mine—you—who always talking ’bout your children’s dreams …
(He just closes the door behind him. MAMA sits alone, thinking heavily)