Saralee, You Are Lovely As The Summer Night

from "Cathy and Elliott Lewis On Stage"

CAST

SARALEE
MAMA
MRS. REMSEN
HOWARD/TREVOR
VALERIE
MURIEL

MUSIC: LILTING CIRCUS THEME FOR AN INTRODUCTION ... THEN, MILDER, IN BG

SARALEE: (YOUNG SOUTHERNER, NARRATES, SLOWLY) Every spring, Mama said she was 
going to do it. She finally did. She ran away with the circus. It stopped over 
one night in Thurmont. And the next morning it was gone. Mama, too. It was 
something she'd wanted to do all her life.

MUSIC: MAMA'S THEME (A SLIGHTLY ETHEREAL VERSION OF THE CIRCUS THEME) ... 
CONTINUES IN BG

MAMA: (ECHOED LAUGHTER, FADES IN)

SARALEE: Mama?

MAMA: (LAUGHTER REACHES A PEAK, THEN FADES OUT)

SARALEE: Well, there she was with the circus and all, so I hitched a ride to 
Pen Mar. Now, I always liked Pen Mar on the mountains like it was on the lakes 
so's lots of people came here for vacation. Especially I liked that place 
where you could stand and look out and see three states: Maryland,
Pennsylvania ... and another one I can't ever remember. I got a job at the Pen 
Star Hotel, chambermaidin'. I fell in love, too. With Howard. 

MUSIC: OUT

REMSEN: (OLDER, NO-NONSENSE WOMAN) He's a bum.

SARALEE: Howard?

REMSEN: A bum.

SARALEE: Why do you say--?

REMSEN: I never saw a waiter who looked like he does and not be a bum. Now, 
come on, honey, let's strip this bed. 

SOUND: BED STRIPPED, IN BG

REMSEN: Mr. Abel wants this room ready half hour ago.

SARALEE: Yes, ma'am. 

REMSEN: I know, Saralee. I know about men like Howard.

SARALEE: Yes, Miz Remsen.

REMSEN: Yes, I've been in the hotel business.

SARALEE: Yes, Miz Remsen.

REMSEN: The girl who was here before you. You know why she's not here anymore? 

SARALEE: Why?

REMSEN: Howard.

SARALEE: What'd he do?

REMSEN: She got carried away, too. His white coat and black bow tie and the 
way he'd sweep through that door, soup overhead. She got carried away, too. 

SARALEE: Well, what'd he do?

REMSEN: Well, he led her on. Led her on so that the poor girl just withered 
like a pale rose needing water terrible.

SARALEE: (WITH A SIGH) Well, if he's goin' to break my heart, that's the way 
it's goin' to be. 'f I got to wither like a pale rose, that's the way it has 
to be. 

REMSEN: Hm! Guess you think you're in love with him.

SARALEE: Yes, ma'am. 

REMSEN: When you don't have a chance. You see the way he's givin' the business 
to that girl who sits at the Table Six. And you see the way she's givin' the 
business right straight back. You don't have a--

SARALEE: I do, too.

REMSEN: (DISBELIEF) Hm! 

SARALEE: I'm makin' him supper tonight.

REMSEN: (SCOFFS) Ha!

SARALEE: Mr. Pascal's lettin' me use the kitchen; I'm making Howard supper 
tonight. I'm goin' to serve it to him right in my own room. ... How do you 
like that, Mrs. Remsen?

REMSEN: And he's going to break your heart. How do you like that, Saralee?

MUSIC: A BRIDGE, THEN OUT

SOUND: OF A MAN EATING DINNER, IN BG

SARALEE: (LOVINGLY) More cornpone, Howard?

HOWARD: (UNSOPHISTICATED, UNCARING) Sure.

SARALEE: Spoon you some molasses?

HOWARD: Sure.

SARALEE: Hm. Enjoyin' your supper, Howard?

HOWARD: Sure.

SARALEE: More coffee?

HOWARD: Sure.

SOUND: COFFEE POURED

SARALEE: Nice here, Howard, isn't it?

HOWARD: (MOUTH FULL) Nice.

SARALEE: On your feet all day, waitin' on tables, nice to sit down here and 
relax and eat good food and be waited on yourself.

HOWARD: Nice.

SARALEE: Howard?

HOWARD: Hm?

SARALEE: I love you. 

SOUND: HOWARD STOPS EATING

SARALEE: (NO ANSWER) I love you, Howard.

HOWARD: Sure.

SARALEE: Whatcha lookin' for, Howard? Can I get you somethin' else?

HOWARD: Saralee...

SARALEE: Yes, dear?

HOWARD: You're pretty.

SARALEE: Prettier than that girl who sits at Table Six, dear?

HOWARD: Sure.

SARALEE: Prettier than that girl who was here before me and whose heart you 
broke, dear?

HOWARD: Sure.

SARALEE: You're not going to break my heart, are you?

HOWARD: No.

SARALEE: (SLIGHT SIGH) I wouldn't care if you did.

SOUND: CHAIR SCRAPES, HOWARD RISES

HOWARD: Saralee?

SARALEE: Yes, dear?

HOWARD: Come here.

SOUND: FOOTSTEPS

SARALEE: (EXHALES) Howard-- 

SOUND: KNOCK AT DOOR

SARALEE: Who is it?

VALERIE: (OFF, SEXY SOUTHERN ACCENT) Valerie.

SARALEE: Who?

HOWARD: (TO SARALEE, MATTER-OF-FACT EXPLANATION) Table Six.

SOUND: KNOCK AT DOOR

VALERIE: (OFF) You in there, Howard?

HOWARD: (ABRUPT) Bye, Saralee.

SOUND: HOWARD'S FOOTSTEPS, DOOR OPENS

HOWARD: (SUDDENLY ENTHUSIASTIC) Hiya, Maple Sugar!

VALERIE: (FLIRTATIOUS) Mr. Pascal in the kitchen told me I might find you 
here.

HOWARD: Hiya, Maple Sugar!

SOUND: FOOTSTEPS OUT THE DOOR WHICH SHUTS BEHIND THEM ... THEN SARALEE'S 
FOOTSTEPS AS SHE WALKS TO CHAIR AND SLUMPS INTO IT

SARALEE: (DEJECTED, WEAK) Mama? (NO ANSWER) Mama? (ANXIOUS) Where are you, 
Mama?

MUSIC: MAMA'S THEME FADES IN, THEN IN BG

MAMA: (ECHOED LAUGHTER)

SARALEE: (FLAT) He broke my heart, Mama.

MUSIC: MAMA'S THEME BUILDS TO A MELANCHOLY BRIDGE, THEN OUT ... THEN MELLOW 
DANCE MUSIC ... HOAGY CARMICHAEL'S "STAR DUST"

SOUND: CRICKETS AND FROGS, IN BG ... MRS. REMSEN'S FOOTSTEPS

REMSEN: (CONCERNED) Saralee?

SARALEE: (STILL DRAINED) Hello, Mrs. Remsen.

REMSEN: I must say it's a nice night. Pavilion's packed. All those dancers.

SARALEE: Yes, ma'am.

REMSEN: I must say you look pretty.

SARALEE: (PERKS UP A LITTLE) Thank you.

REMSEN: New dress?

SARALEE: I traded with Mrs. Lee in two-twenty-six; I'm babysittin' for it.

REMSEN: Saralee?

SARALEE: Yes, ma'am?

REMSEN: You waitin' for somebody out here?

SARALEE: I might be, Mrs. Remsen.

REMSEN: I thought you told me Howard broke your heart.

SARALEE: Yes, ma'am, he did.

REMSEN: Then how come you're waitin' for him?

SARALEE: He broke my heart; that lets more love come in.

REMSEN: (VERY SLIGHT SIGH) Saralee...

SARALEE: Yes, ma'am?

REMSEN: (CLEARS THROAT NERVOUSLY) He say that he'd meet you tonight?

SARALEE: He hinted he would.

REMSEN: Well, he won't.

SARALEE: Now, let me tell you somethin', Miz Remsen. I don't want you to do 
this anymore. I don't want you comin' around and belittlin' Howard. I'm a 
woman in love and a woman in love is like magic. I can tell things. I can feel 
things. You say Howard won't meet me tonight. Well, you're wrong. I know he's 
goin' to meet me; we're going to dance, and he's goin' to say, "Saralee, I'm 
sorry. Saralee, walk with me. Saralee, I love you." I know it because of the 
magic that's in me.

MUSIC: OUT

SOUND: CRICKETS AND FROGS CONTINUE IN BG

REMSEN: I just saw him get on the railroad train.

SARALEE: The railroad train?

REMSEN: The Baltimore and Ohio.

SARALEE: (SHAKEN) He got on it?

REMSEN: With the girl from Table Six. (SYMPATHETIC, BUT SLIGHTLY VINDICTIVE) 
Where's the magic now, Saralee? ... Woman in love. Heh! What do you feel now? 
Who's goin' to meet you now, Saralee? Who are you goin' to wait for now?

SOUND: OUT

MUSIC: MAMA'S THEME

SARALEE: (SOBS)

MUSIC: THEME UP FOR A BRIEF BRIDGE, THEN IN BG

SARALEE: (NARRATES) Mrs. Remsen gave me a letter of recommendation. 

REMSEN: (READS) "Dear Mrs. Becker, Saralee has worked for us at the Pen Star 
for three months. She's a good girl, a good cleaner, and very neat. She says 
she's going to Philadelphia to look for a job so that's why I'm writing you. 
Maybe you can find a job there for her at the Franklin Arms. Say hello to Mr. 
Becker for me. Bessie Remsen." 

SARALEE: (NARRATES) And Mr. Pascal, he packed me some turkey sandwiches for 
the train. Nobody saw me off. One fellow on the train wanted me to get off at 
Harrisburg. But I wanted to go to Philadelphia. The big city for me. 
Philadelphia.

MUSIC: THEME UP FOR A BRIEF BRIDGE, THEN OUT

SOUND: KNOCK AT DOOR ... WHICH OPENS

MURIEL: (CITY GIRL) Oh, hello.

SARALEE: Mrs. Becker said as long as I'm goin' to work here I should bunk here 
with you.

MURIEL: Oh, come on in, honey.

SOUND: FOOTSTEPS IN, DOOR SHUTS

MURIEL: Put your bag down. You can use that bed right over there. Get some 
things out of the linen closet. That's one thing about workin' here as 
chambermaid -- you can change your linen any time you want; Miz Becker never 
says anything. Also, come six o'clock, the rest of the evening's yours. I 
don't know if you ever worked a two-shift hotel before but, come six o'clock, 
the evening's yours. ... Where ya from?

SARALEE: Weston, Maryland.

MURIEL: You got any folks? (AWKWARD PAUSE, SADLY) No. Me, neither.

SARALEE: Oh, I don't mean my folks are dead. Mama ran away with the circus and 
I don't know where she is. 

MURIEL: Oh.

SARALEE: Well, ah, I'm going to make up my bed. Where's the linen closet?

MURIEL: Come on, I'll show ya.

MUSIC: MAMA'S THEME AS A BRIEF BRIDGE, THEN IN BG

SARALEE: (NARRATES) It was nice. I liked my work. I liked Mrs. Becker. I liked 
Muriel, the girl I roomed with. I began to think of Howard only in the 
afternoon 'cause I was so busy in the afternoon. 

Then one day, a funny thing happened. I was emptyin' the wastepaper basket of 
Room Four-Eleven, and there was Howard. It looked just like him. There he was 
with his picture in the magazine. Not on the cover, but on a middle page 
someplace opened the way it was, the way someone threw it in a basket.

It sure looked like Howard. But it wasn't him. Magazine said his name was 
"Trevor West" and he was on the stage. But he sure looked like Howard. Enough 
like him so that I cut out the picture and put it above my bed. 

MUSIC: OUT

MURIEL: Who's that?

SARALEE: (UNEASILY) Fella I know.

MURIEL: (SURPRISED) Fella YOU know? That picture's been cut out of a mag--

SARALEE: (CONFIRMS IT) Mm hm.

MURIEL: Huh. (TAKES CLOSER LOOK, IMPRESSED) Oh. Good looking.

SARALEE: (AGREES EMPHATICALLY) Mm hm.

MURIEL: Know him good?

SARALEE: (CASUALLY) Mm hm.

MURIEL: Real good?

SARALEE: (MODESTLY) Mm hm.

MURIEL: What'z he do?

SARALEE: (UNSURE) Er...

MURIEL: Well, what'z he do?

SARALEE: He's on the stage.

MURIEL: (AS IF THAT EXPLAINS EVERYTHING) Oh.

MUSIC: MAMA'S THEME, IN BG

SARALEE: (NARRATES) I didn't mean to lie. It's just that he looked so much 
like Howard-- Honestly, it could have been the same fella. The way their heads 
were shaped; and the mouth; and the expression in the eyes; if you squinted 
you just couldn't tell any difference at all.

What happened then, I can't explain at all. Bein' in love with Howard and 
always lookin' at the picture. I fell in love with - the fella in the picture.

MUSIC: OUT

MURIEL: (ENTHRALLED) My! 

SARALEE: (DREAMILY, IN THE MIDDLE OF A STORY SHE WOULD LIKE TO BELIEVE IS 
TRUE) ... And then we'd walk out to a place where you could see three states: 
Maryland, Pennsylvania and, um, and--

MURIEL: You and Trevor, huh?

SARALEE: Trevor and me.

MURIEL: Hm.

SARALEE: Oh, he loved me. He loved me so much I had to run away from him so he 
wouldn't be sittin' in front of my door so much so he could be on the stage.

MURIEL: Tell me about the lake.

SARALEE: (SIGHS) Well, we'd go out on Lake Meade together when it was 
moonlight; nothin' around except the crickets on shore and the music from the 
pavilion across the lake.

MURIEL: Oh, I get goose pimples.

SARALEE: You want to hear some more?

MURIEL: Not now.

SARALEE: But you ought to hear about the time we hiked together and Trevor 
killed a copperhead.

MURIEL: Copperhead?! Oh--!

SARALEE: You want to hear me tell it?

MURIEL: (RELUCTANT, BUT STILL ENTHRALLED) Not now.

MUSIC: AN ACCENT/BRIDGE, THEN OUT

SOUND: DOOR OPENS, HURRIED FOOTSTEPS IN

MURIEL: Saralee!

SARALEE: What are you so excited about?

MURIEL: Let me look at him!

SARALEE: Huh?

MURIEL: Get your head out of the way; let me look at his picture again.

SARALEE: Trevor?

MURIEL: Trevor. (PAUSE, SLOWLY) You walked with this boy?

SARALEE: Canoed with him, danced with him, like I been tellin' you these last 
two months.

MURIEL: (SIGHS DEEPLY) Oh - my!

SARALEE: What's the matter with you, Muriel?

MURIEL: He's caught up with you.

SARALEE: What?

MURIEL: He's even got a room on the third floor. Your floor.

SARALEE: Who?

MURIEL: Trevor.

SARALEE: Trevor?

MURIEL: Trevor.

SARALEE: How do you know?

MURIEL: I saw him comin' down the hall; I saw him. And I asked the bellboy 
what his name was and he said Trevor West. Move your head, honey - so I can 
see his picture again. (TAKES A LONG LOOK, SIGHS) Oh, my. I'm goin' over and 
lie down, honey.

SOUND: MURIEL'S FOOTSTEPS

MURIEL: (OFF) Do you mind if I think about him?

SARALEE: (AFTER A LONG PAUSE) Mama?

MUSIC: MAMA'S THEME, IN BG

MAMA: (ECHOED LAUGHTER) 

SARALEE: Listen to me, Mama. Don't let him break my heart again, Mama.

MUSIC: AN ACCENT, THEN MAMA'S THEME TO A FINISH, THEN OUT

ANNOUNCER: You are listening to Cathy and Elliott Lewis On Stage. Tonight's 
play, "Saralee, You Are Lovely As The Summer Night."

This Saturday, daytime, the Peter Lind Hayes show returns to CBS Radio. Peter 
brings back with him, of course, his attractive and talented wife, Mary Healy. 
You'll be entertained, too, by the Norman Leyden Orchestra with Teddy Wilson 
at the piano. It's the Peter Lind Hayes Saturday daytime show -- back, 
starting day after tomorrow, on most of these stations. Listen for it. It's 
fun.

MUSIC: CIRCUS THEME, FOR AN INTRODUCTION, THEN IN BG

SARALEE: (NARRATES) I would like to describe Trevor West. I once bumped into a 
fellow in Pen Mar who looked just like him. They both were good-lookin' in a 
fast dark way and they had wavy hair; and if a girl got close enough to see, 
he seemed to smile - a secret smile. I got close enough. I was makin' up the 
room when he walked in.

MUSIC: OUT

SOUND: DOOR OPENS, FOOTSTEPS IN, DOOR CLOSES

SARALEE: (NARRATES) He was wearin' a silk handkerchief around his neck and 
neat gray flannels. His coat hung over his shoulders like a cape. He walked 
in...

SOUND: FOOTSTEPS

SARALEE: (NARRATES) ... and he came right over to me and put his finger under 
my chin and lifted my face close to his.

TREVOR: (SOPHISTICATED, IMPRESSIVE) You don't know how good you've got it.

SARALEE: (BREATHLESS) Sir?

TREVOR: Steady job, three squares a day, a time to work and a time to play, 
and a time to love. And no understudy. No conniving.

SARALEE: Huh?

TREVOR: The theater, darling.

SARALEE: (CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS HAPPENING) Darling? (TAKES A DEEP BREATH, 
STAMMERS) I have to-- I'm sorry but I've got to straighten--

TREVOR: No, no, you don't. You don't have to do anything, you understand? 
Nothing. A girl like you--

SARALEE: Yes?

TREVOR: Well, what kind of girl are you?

SARALEE: I've got to make up your room, Mr. West.

TREVOR: Mr. West? How did you know my name?

SARALEE: (CAREFULLY) I saw your picture once in a magazine and--

TREVOR: And what?

SARALEE: (MEEKLY) Please get out of the way; I've got to--

TREVOR: You saw my picture once in a magazine and what?

SARALEE: Miz Becker'll fire me.

TREVOR: Did you cut out the picture?

SARALEE: Yes, sir.

TREVOR: Why?

SARALEE: (NERVOUSLY MOVES AWAY) Here's your towels, sir; you'll have to hang 
'em up yourself.

SOUND: SARALEE'S HURRIED FOOTSTEPS TO DOOR ... DOOR OPENS, HER FOOTSTEPS OUT 
OF THE ROOM, DOOR SHUTS ... A BEAT, DOOR OPENS AGAIN, FOOTSTEPS IN AS SARALEE 
ABRUPTLY RETURNS

SARALEE: And - here's your soap. ... Catch.

TREVOR: (CATCHES SOAP, AMUSED, OFF) Thanks. Say ... ?

SARALEE: Yes, sir?

TREVOR: (OFF) What's your name?

SARALEE: Saralee. Mr. West?

TREVOR: (OFF) Yes?

SARALEE: You can have another one. Catch. 

MUSIC: AN ACCENT/BRIDGE, THEN OUT

MURIEL: Tell me. Tell me, tell me.

SARALEE: It's amazing.

MURIEL: What is?

SARALEE: There was a fella I knew once; Harry or Harold or somethin'; voice 
sounds just like Trevor's. Looked a little like him, too.

MURIEL: Tell me what Trevor said when he saw you.

SARALEE: Well, you know.

MURIEL: What?

SARALEE: He wants to marry me.

MURIEL: Oh, my.

SARALEE: He quit his job and he searched and searched and now that he's found 
me, he wants to marry me.

MURIEL: Oh, my.

MUSIC: AN ACCENT/BRIDGE, THEN OUT

SOUND: MAKING UP A BED

TREVOR: Saralee?

SARALEE: Yes, sir?

TREVOR: How long has it been?

SARALEE: A week.

TREVOR: That's right. I've brought you something.

SARALEE: Huh?

TREVOR: A ticket to tonight's performance of my play. I feel that a week's 
worth of chats that we have every morning while you clean up my room-- Well, I 
want to show my appreciation.

SARALEE: Oh, thank you.

TREVOR: And a speech goes with it. (ROMANTIC) Saralee, you are like cool drops 
of water on a thirsty man's lips. 

SARALEE: (ENTRANCED) Ohhh ...

TREVOR: You are lovely as the summer night.

SARALEE: (ENTRANCED) Ahhh ...

TREVOR: Cooling as the breeze on a fevered cheek.

SARALEE: (SIGHS, SWOONS)

TREVOR: Who are you, Saralee?

SARALEE: I'm from Thurmont.

TREVOR: (CASUALLY BREAKS MOOD) No, that's not what I mean. (ROMANTIC AGAIN) 
What tribe of gypsies, of shy pagans, are you from?

SARALEE: This is against the rules, Mr. West.

TREVOR: (CHUCKLES) 

SARALEE: Mrs. Becker's very strict about certain things.

TREVOR: Let me look at you.

SARALEE: No, no. (DEEP BREATH) I'll see you tonight.

SOUND: SARALEE'S HURRIED FOOTSTEPS AWAY .. DOOR OPENS AND SHUTS

MUSIC: BRIDGE, THEN OUT

SOUND: FROGS AND CRICKETS ... SARALEE AND TREVOR'S LEISURELY FOOTSTEPS IN BG

SARALEE: I didn't look when you were kissin' that girl on the stage.

TREVOR: (BORED) Mm hm.

SARALEE: You were wonderful.

TREVOR: (UNCARING) Thanks.

SARALEE: Trevor?

TREVOR: Mm hm?

SARALEE: What you said; what you told me. Did you mean it?

TREVOR: Mean what?

SARALEE: I was lovely--

TREVOR: (ROMANTIC AGAIN) As the summer night. Saralee?

SARALEE: Yes, dear?

TREVOR: Let's sit down.

SARALEE: All right.

SOUND: FOOTSTEPS OUT ... THEY SIT

SARALEE: (SIGHS) Oh, my. Isn't this beautiful? Darkness all around and yet we 
know over there, trees and flowers--

TREVOR: I want to tell you something.

SARALEE: Yes, dear?

TREVOR: (ROMANTIC) I'm lost and I'm lonely.

SARALEE: What?

TREVOR: (REPEATS, A LITTLE ANNOYED) I'm lost and I'm lonely.

SARALEE: You?

TREVOR: (ROMANTIC AGAIN) My heart's a rover and my dreams wander the paths of 
the world and I'm lost ... lonely.

SARALEE: (SYMPATHETIC) Oh, Trevor.

TREVOR: It seems I search the faces in whatever crowd, seeking; "Is this the 
one?" I say. "Or that one. Is that the face? Is she the end - to my drifting?"

SARALEE: What are you trying to say?

TREVOR: Oh, Saralee ...

SARALEE: Yes, dear?

TREVOR: So lost. So lonely.

SARALEE: I'm here, Trevor. I'm close to you. Don't be lonely. Don't be--

TREVOR: Saralee ... Saralee ...

SOUND: FROGS AND CRICKETS CROSSFADE WITH MUSIC

MUSIC: MAMA'S THEME

SARALEE: Mama?

MAMA: (ECHOED LAUGHTER)

SARALEE: He loves me, Mama.

MUSIC: UP FOR AN ACCENT/BRIDGE, THEN OUT

MURIEL: (DISBELIEF) No!

SARALEE: Honest.

MURIEL: Oh, that's the most romantic thing I ever heard.

SARALEE: Mury, you don't know the half of it.

MURIEL: He said that to you?

SARALEE: Yes. Yes, he did it.

MURIEL: Oh, my boyfriend hardly says a word.

SARALEE: I like a man who talks.

MURIEL: I call my boyfriend "Smiley"; he's always smiling.

SARALEE: Trevor smiles. Sad smiles, like he's lost and lonely.

MURIEL: Oh, my boyfriend knows where he is every second.

SARALEE: Trevor kissed me and it's a bird heard against my lips.

MURIEL: Well, when my boyfriend kisses me, he--

SOUND: PHONE RINGS

MURIEL: Oh, I'll get that.

SOUND: MURIEL'S FOOTSTEPS AWAY ... PICKS UP PHONE 

MURIEL: (OFF, INTO PHONE) Yeah? ... Yes, she is. ... Sure, I'll tell her. ... 
Well, I - I really wouldn't know, Miz Becker. ... Bye.

SOUND: HANGS UP PHONE, MURIEL'S FOOTSTEPS RETURN

MURIEL: Was Miz Becker.

SARALEE: Oh?

MURIEL: She wants to know why Mr. West wants to see you right away.

SARALEE: He wants to see me? 

MURIEL: Right away. 

SARALEE: I had a feeling he wanted to see me. A woman in love's like magic. I 
can tell things.

MUSIC: BRIDGE, THEN OUT

SOUND: SARALEE'S BRISK FOOTSTEPS DOWN HALLWAY .. KNOCK AT HOTEL ROOM DOOR

TREVOR: (OFF) Come in.

SOUND: DOOR OPENS, FOOTSTEPS IN, DOOR SHUTS

TREVOR: Hello, Saralee.

SARALEE: (PASSIONATE) Oh, Trevor. Hold me, hold me.

TREVOR: (MATTER-OF-FACT) I can't. I've got to close this suitcase.

SARALEE: Suitcase?

TREVOR: I just phoned downstairs for the boy. He'll be right up.

SARALEE: You're leaving?

TREVOR: Yes, I am.

SARALEE: But I'm not packed or anything.

TREVOR: You're not packed.

SARALEE: You said you were going to take me to Samarkand, to Thebes. To mystic 
places, beyond the beyond, you said.

TREVOR: You were there last night, honey.

SARALEE: Oh.

TREVOR: Places we all dream about but we never get to.

SARALEE: You mean, never get to -- alone.

TREVOR: That's right. Only in someone's arms.

SARALEE: Then you're goin' away?

TREVOR: Yes, but...

SARALEE: (ALMOST TO HERSELF) There can't be any "buts" ...

TREVOR: But I've got a picture of myself and I've written a little something 
on it.

SARALEE: (NOT SURE SHE HEARD RIGHT) What?

TREVOR: (READS) "To Saralee ... Thanks for Samarkand and Thebes. ... Trevor."

SARALEE: Oh.

SOUND: SARALEE'S SLOW FOOTSTEPS TO TREVOR, TAKES PICTURE

SARALEE: And it's in a frame.

TREVOR: Leather. My show's closing; I've got to leave.

SARALEE: What can I say to you?

TREVOR: Just goodbye.

SARALEE: Goodbye, Trevor.

SOUND: FOOTSTEPS TO DOOR WHICH OPENS AND SHUTS

MUSIC: A BRIDGE, THEN IN BG

SARALEE: (NARRATES) Mrs. Becker gave me a recommendation, back to Mrs. Remsen. 
And the cook packed me lunch for the train. Muriel couldn't see me off 'cause 
she had to take my floor till they got a new girl. On the train, a fellow 
wanted me to get off at Baltimore. But I'd heard about Baltimore. So I got 
back to Pen Mar. I gave Mrs. Remsen the letter and she give me my old job 
back. I didn't know how long it was going to last because the season was 
almost over. As a matter of fact, it was the Sunday before Labor Day that 
there was a knock on my door.

MUSIC: OUT

SOUND: KNOCK AT DOOR, SARALEE'S FOOTSTEPS TO DOOR, DOOR OPENS 

SARALEE: (STUNNED) Oh ... !

HOWARD: (UNCOMFORTABLE) Hello, Saralee.

SARALEE: Come in, Howard.

SOUND: HOWARD'S FOOTSTEPS IN, DOOR SHUTS

SARALEE: For a minute, I thought it was--

HOWARD: Who?

SARALEE: It doesn't matter.

HOWARD: Who?

SARALEE: A man I knew in Philadelphia. ... (GENUINE) Well, Howard, it's nice 
to see you again. What've you been doin'?

HOWARD: Nothing.

SARALEE: How is it that you're back here in Pen Mar? I heard you went away 
with the girl at Table Six. It _was_ Table Six, wasn't it? Where'd you go? 
Baltimore?

HOWARD: Yeah.

SARALEE: What happened in Baltimore, Howard?

HOWARD: (DISMISSIVE) Ohhh...

SARALEE: She leave you?

HOWARD: (SARDONIC) She just wanted somebody to ride with. She didn't even let 
me get off the train. I rode all the way to Richmond.

SARALEE: Poor Howard.

HOWARD: Saralee?

SARALEE: Yes, Howard?

HOWARD: I've missed you.

SARALEE: You have?

HOWARD: Oh, yes.

SARALEE: Honest?

HOWARD: Honest. Oh, I've missed you.

SARALEE: (PLEASED) Oh, Howard.

HOWARD: Saralee?

SARALEE: Yes?

HOWARD: I love you.

SARALEE: Do you, dear?

HOWARD: Yes. Yes.

SARALEE: Oh - my darling.

HOWARD: Saralee?

SARALEE: What?

HOWARD: You're lovely.

SARALEE: What?

HOWARD: You're lovely.

SARALEE: As - as the summer night?

HOWARD: Hm?

SARALEE: Am I as lovely - as the summer night?

HOWARD: Sure.

SARALEE: Then say it. Tell me I am.

HOWARD: Saralee, you're lovely as the summer night.

SARALEE: (BLISSFUL WHISPER) Darling, darling.

MUSIC: MAMA'S THEME

MAMA: (ECHOED LAUGHTER)

SARALEE: (QUIETLY) Go away, Mama.

MUSIC: UP, FOR A GENTLE FINISH

_________________________________
Broadcast 9 September 1953 on 
"Cathy and Elliott Lewis On Stage"