Alexandr Mardan
Mothers, daughters…
(A story in three scenes)
We are all executioners or victims,
And in every given situation
We choose our part ourselves.
Somebody wise.
Characters:
Valentina, aged 40
Katerina, aged 22
The action takes place in a two-room apartment in a big city.
Scene 1
A living-room cum kitchen in a two-room apartment. A kitchen-range, a refrigerator, a dinner-table. Two doors -- to the ante-room and to the adjoining bedroom. The furniture and the rooms could do with renovation. But it is clean. There is a coffee-table next to a sofa and a few arm-chairs. On the shelves there are books and knick-knacks. The clock on the wall is showing eight. Winter evening can be seen through the window. Loud music is coming from a party next door, behind the wall.
The telephone rings for quite a while. The front door is heard opening. Enter a woman wearing a coat, with two carrier-bags in her hands. She puts them on the floor and answers the phone.
Valentina.Hello!! (Playfully, with a lilt.) Where are you? Who-o-o is that? (Hangs up.) My hat.
Valentina goes to the ante-room, comes back without her coat, and wearing slippers. She is dressed in jeans and a lovely sweater. She looks into the fridge.)
Valentina. It’s congealed.
She shuts the fridge, takes out of her carrier bags parcels and tins, a jar of bottled cherries, and puts them on the table. Then she picks up the receiver, dials, and goes on sorting out her shopping, all the while supporting the receiver with her shoulder.
Valentina. Mila? Does your neighbor bake cakes? (A pause.) For Tuesday. (A pause.) Champagne, and brandy for the men-folk, though there aren’t more than one or two in the whole agency, and one has to shop for a third one. (A pause.) How I am feeling? Like my age… You know how it is—we won’t be forced into our forties, and then we won’t be forced out. (A pause.) They’ve appointed Nekhludova vice-manager? That one’s a go-getter… So what if she has false eyelashes. She can paste other things besides her lashes. It’s the result that counts. (A pause.) Napoleon cake. Two kilos… Oh, Mila, do you know a repairman? My car is hard to start. (A pause.) A fiver. A BMW? You are kidding. It’s a Zhiguli. Five years old. An anthology of accidents. An anthology? It’s when everything is collected in one place. (Laughs.) Yes. Exactly where you think. (A pause.) Thank you. I’ll expect you. Bye-bye, sweetie-pie.
Valentina hangs up and takes out of her parcels some lemons and oranges. The phone rings. Valentina answers.
Valentina. Hello! Yes, hi, Mom! How are you? (A pause.After a look at the clock Valentina sitsat the table and begins to slice a lemon.) You want me to turn down the sound? It’s next door. As usual, on Saturdays… (A pause.) With Lena? I talked with her the day before yesterday. (A pause.) She said she was preparing for her exams. (A pause.) I didn’t ask. Mom, must I retell the whole conversation—what I asked, what she answered… Can you explain what’s up? (A pause. Valentina freezes, her knife falls on the saucer. She grips the receiver.) Might you be mistaken?.. Pale?.. Mom, I’m going to call her. Just don’t worry. Have you taken your blood pressure? How high? (A pause.) Have you taken your medication? (A pause.) Mom, clophelin isn’t sold over the counter. (A pause.) If I find it I’ll get it for you. You’re not out of money yet, are you? (A pause.) Of course I’ll tell her. (A pause.) Mommy, don’t… I’ll call. Kiss you. (Hangs up.)
There is another burst of music and revelry from behind the wall. Valentina picks up the receiver and dials.
Valentina. Hey, you, behind the wall! Natasha! Cut down on the decibels! I can’t hear myself when I talk over the phone. (A pause.) No, thank you, some other time. I am waiting for my own guests. Bye-bye, sweetie-pie.
The music is turned down. Valentina takes a chunk of cheese from the fridge and slices it. The phone rings.
Valentina. Hello! Speaking. (A pause.) Number twenty-four. Between thirty-six and thirty-eight. A five-storey building, between two high-rise. (A pause.) Why such numbers? You’d better ask the district architect. (A pause.) The café will be on your left. On your right? Then turn round. I am waiting.
Valentina hangs up, takes a bottle of vodka and one of champagne out of her bags and puts them in the fridge. Then picks up the receiver and dials.
Valentina. Hello! Lena? Lena, can you hear me? What is this rattle there? (A pause.) Then go out! (A pause.) Now I can hear you. How you doing? (A pause.) Why aren’t you preparing for your exams? (A pause.) Where? At a disco? (A pause.)Lena! It’s your education we’re paying for, and not your exams! (A pause.) How I studied? Like everybody, free of charge… Is Pavlik with you? (A pause.) What do you think you’re doing playing these idiotic jokes on your grandmother? Her blood pressure rocketed to a hundred and eighty. (A pause.) What do you mean you weren’t joking? Are out of your mind? You are eighteen years old! How many weeks? (A pause.) You’ll sort it out… Have you seen a doctor? (A pause.) What do you mean you can’t talk? Lena! Hello! Lena
Valentina hangs up, takes a bottle of vodka from the fridge, pours herself a small glass, drinks up, puts the bottle back and lights a cigarette.
The phone rings. Valentina answers.
Valentina. Hello! Lena! (A pause. She continues on a different note.) Sorry, I mistook you for someone else. Of course, we’re expecting you. (A pause.) You’ll be late? Never mind, we are in no hurry. (Laughs.) Yes, it’s the mother.
Valentina hangs up, takes a tin of olives out of the fridge, pours the brine out, puts the olives into a bowl which she places on the table. Then she brings a few plates and puts onto them the salads she has bought.
The doorbell rings. Valentina goes to the ante-room, returns a moment later, opens a wardrobe, takes out a clean towel and goes to the bedroom. Comes out holding something in her hands, hides it under a pile of linen and shuts the wardrobe. The doorbell rings again. Valentina goes to the ante-room and returns with a slim girl of about twenty wearing a fashionable coat and army boots. They inspect each other.
Valentina. Hello… daughter.
Girl. Hello… mother.
Valentina. Let me look at you… You’ve grown up so… A real ballerina! Katia-Katia-Katerina.
Katia. I take after you, beautiful.
Valentina. Why are you so late?
Katia. I couldn’t find my way, I tried and tried… The way it’s built, one can’t find anything.
Valentina. Okay, my stray one, come on in. Make yourself at home.
Katia comes into the room and looks around with curiosity.
Valentina. Take off your boots. The slippers are under the coat-stand.
Katia goes to the ante-room, returns without her coat, and wearing slippers. She is dressed in pants and a fashionable blouse.
Katia. Where can I wash my hands?
Valentina. Just like a doctor.
Katia. Almost.
Valentina. Down the corridor to the left. I’ve put a towel for you. Remember, yours is pink.
Katia. I won’t forget. (Goes to the bathroom. Valentina sits down to the telephone again, picks up the receiver, dials, then puts the receiver down. Katia returns. Looking around, she spots a tape recorder, turns it on, and the voice of Edith Piaf rolling her “r”s is heard:
“Non, rien de rien,
Non, je ne regrette rien…”
Katia turns down the sound.)
Katia. I wonder what she is singing about.
Valentina. “No, there’s nothing I regret. The good that was done to me or the bad… It’s paid for…”
Katia. See, they settle everything with money, too… (Turns off the tape recorder.) Haven’t you got anything for fun?
Valentina. Fun’s at the discotheque… What do you like?
Katia. Zemfira.
Valentine. Who’s that?
Katia. She’s like your Tzoy. Don’t you know her?
Valentina. Is she the one who sings: “I’ll kill my neighbors if you wish”?
Katia(nodding towards next door). Very much to the point. Are your neighbors having a wedding party?
Valentina. He’s a long-distance truck driver. Whenever he’s back from the road they have a wedding party… As for Zemfira, I haven’t got her.
Katia. It’s all right… It’s chilly here. I could do with a cup of coffee.
Valentina(ironically). What else would my lady like? Cakes and ale? Katia. Okay, so you grudge your daughter a cup of coffee? And two spoonfuls of sugar?
Valentina. Then make it yourself. Coffee’s in the middle dresser.
Katia looks at her in amazement.
Valentina. Are you wearing plaster casts on your hands? You are at home. And the maid is having a day off.
Katia, looking displeased, opens a dresser, takes out the coffee. Runs her hand over the kitchen table and inspects her fingers.
Valentina. So, sanitary inspector?
Katia. It’s clean enough. But why is it so cold?
Valentina. For better preservation… There is a heater in the bedroom. I can have only one, there isn’t enough power for two, the fuse can’t hold it.
Katia (making coffee). Want a cup?
Valentina. Thanks. I’m afraid I won’t sleep.
Katia. Insomnia?
Valentina. Yes, sometimes. I lie and count…
Katia. To how many?
Valentina. Sometimes to three, sometimes to half past…
Katia takes her cup and sits at the coffee-table.
Katia. As for me, I sleep well. Last night I dreamed about trying on some boots, but my size wasn’t in stock.
Valentina. To try on shoes presages marriage. I don’t know about boots.
Katia takes a cigarette out of a pack, lights it.
Valentina. Smoking is bad for your health.
Katia. Is it really?
Valentina. That’s what the Ministry of Public Health says.
Katia. They don’t write it on mops.
Valentina. You ought to have at least asked if you could smoke here.
Katia. Why should I? You’ve got an ashtray here. And then I am at home. Need I go out on the staircase? (Puts out her cigarette in the ashtray.)
Valentina. When will you all have smoked enough?.. We are going to make dumplings.
Katia. What for?
Valentina. On request.
Katia (conciliatory, raising her cup). Well, happy New Year?
Valentina. What New Year?
Katia. Chinese style. It’s soon due. The year of the dog, I believe.
Valentina. …Of the dog… Wouldn’t it be nice to have a year of man.
The phone rings. Katia is the first to pick up the receiver.
Katia (to Valentina). I’ll take care of it. (Over the telephone.) Hello? (A pause.) It’s for you, Ma. (Passes her the receiver.)
Valentina. Yes? (A pause.) Third floor. The windows look onto the south. (A pause.) Expensive? There are three factors that affect the price: location, location and location. (A pause.) No, all the accounts are settled through the agency. (A pause.) If you don’t like it there is one on the seventh floor. But it is more expensive. (A pause.) Because it’s higher. The location is essential. But the height costs money, too. (A pause.) Monday, one o’clock. Agreed. (Hangsup. To Katia.) Need you have snatched the phone?
Katia. I meant well… So how many apartments have we got?
Valentina puts on an apron and begins to roll and cut the dough.
Valentina. We have only one so far. And the agency has hundreds.
Katia. Have you been in it for a long time?
Valentine(absent-mindedly). In what?
Katia. In real estate. Are you upset about something?
Valentina. No, it’s all right… Real estate? About ten years.
Katia. Tired of it?
Valentina (Sighs and sings softly). “…Tired of talking, tired of fighting,
Tired of loving your tired eyes.
Far away, on the buccaneers’ blue sea
A brigantine is setting all her sails.”
Katia. And what eyes should one love?
Valentina. Honest ones.
Katia. Where does one find them nowadays?
Valentina. In the mirror, my daughter… To fight and endeavor, to find and hide well…
A subdued melody of a cell phone is heard. Katia takes her cell phone out of her handbag.
Katia(in a different tone). Hello? (A pause.) No, sorry, I can’t talk now. (A pause.) Call me tomorrow. (In a louder voice.) Tomorrow! (Rings off.)
Valentina. That’ll do. Let’s make those dumplings.
Katia. What’s the stuffing?
The doorbell rings.
Valentina. Wish-bones. (Looks at the clock.) A bit too early. (Goes out of the room and is heard opening the door.) Hi… Wait a minute… (Comes back into the room.) It’s my neighbor, toborrow a dish. (Takes a dish from the dresser, goes out, returns a moment later.)
Katia. So what’s the stuffing?
Valentina. Cherries. The jar’s in the fridge.
Katia opens the fridge with a sigh.
Katia. Don’t be afraid, I’ll just get some cherries.
Valentina. Who are you talking to?
Katia. Meat jelly. It’s shaking all over. (Takes out the jar and shuts the fridge.)
Valentina. I’ve made it for a certain event… Do you like to cook?
Katia. Hate it! Cutting the bread is the limit of my abilities.
Valentina. Of course, you can’t peel potatoes with this manicure. (Hands Katia an apron.) Is it gel?
Katia (Puts on the apron). Yep.
Valentina. It’s lovely
Katia. But expensive. And if one nail gets broken the whole thing has to be done all over again.
(A pause.)
Valentina. Are you going to take a shower?
Katia. Yeah. I only have hot water in my kettle.
Valentina. In the hostel?
Katia. No, I am renting.
Valentina. Where?
Katia. Sadovaya Street. I was told, too: location, location… And I forgot to ask about water.
Valentina(opening the jar of cherries). Want me to find something for you?
Katia. Yes, I do. But I don’t want to rent, I want to buy. Will you help me? Without commission?
Valentina. If you’re a good girl… Well, I’m going to take a shower. You make the dumplings.
Katia begins to make dumplings. Valentina returns with a blue towel in her hands.
Valentina. Are you color-blind? I told you, didn’t I, yours is the pink one.
Katia. What’s the difference? Now the blue one will be mine. By the way, at your age you ought to know that women can’t be color-blind.
Valentina. And at your age you ought to remember from the very first!
Valentina goes out of the room.
Katia’s cell phone rings. She wipes her hands, takes the phone.
Katia. Hello! (A pause.) Me? At home. (Startled.) To your mother’s? (A pause.) Today? (Apause.) Of course, I can make it. I’ll just have to think what to wear. And get some flowers. (Apause.) Of course I’m nervous, what d’you think… Well, I’ll start moving.
Katia puts the cell phone on the table and lights a cigarette. Turns on the tape recorder, walks about the room to the sounds of music. Opens the wardrobe, takes out a hanger with a blouse on it, puts it to herself and looks in the mirror. Hangs it back. Opens another door of the wardrobe, fingers a pile of linen, discovers the object hidden by Valentina. Takes it out, opens slightly the towel it is wrapped in, looks at it, covers it again, puts it back and shuts the wardrobe. Opens slightly the bedroom door, looks in, shuts it. Then looks at her watch, turns off the music, takes her cell phone and dials.
Katia. Hello! Stas, can you imagine, I’d barely hung up when my aunt called. She’s down with flu, with a fever up to forty. She lives alone, there’s no one to go to the pharmacy. I’ll have to go to her place. (A pause.) Stas, don’t! I’m telling you—it’s my aunt. My aunt, not my uncle! Don’t you believe me? Come over and meet her. Just buy a mask… What mask? A gauze one. (Tenderly.) Stas, you’re not upset, are you? (Sharply.) You are? You don’t believe me without an address? Put it down: 24 Bagration Street, apartment 13. (A pause.) Yes, it’s not far from where I live. That’s all, I must be off. Bye.
Valentina comes in.
Valentina. Who was that?
Katia. A friend.
Valentina. A boy?
Katia. A man. With a capital F. Like in fiancé.
Valentina. Why on earth did you give him the address?
Katia. He believes his shameless eyes, and won’t believe the girl he loves. Let him make sure.
Valentina. Katia! We are having a menage-a-trois, not a menage-a-quatre.
Katia. What do you mean?
Valentina. I mean a trio, and not a quartet! What if they meet?
Katia. We’ll handle it. There are two of us here, Ma.
Valentina takes one of the dumplings Katia made.
Valentina. Where are the stones?
Katia. Inside.
Valentina. Are you nuts? Do you want us to break our teeth? Take them out.