Primrose Path

Look, Granny. Look what I got.

What you got?

Tamales. Mrs. Espinoza give them to me.

It was very nice of Mrs. Espinoza.

It's good. Eat it.

Smells good.

What's them kids making that noise out there about?

I don't hear nothin'.

You ain't deaf.

Them kids is slobs.

Them kids are slobs.

Well, they're slobs.

Honeybell, are you sure Mrs. Espinoza give you these tamales?

She would've.

Well, did she?

It don't make no difference now.

Honeybell, you ain't got no cause to lie. It ain't refined.

I don't tell no lies.

You know, if I'd thought you snitched this,

I wouldn't have ate it.

Mrs. Espinoza give 'em to me.

Well, that's nice.

You must give Mrs. Espinoza something sometime.

Look at Ellie May!

Well, you're happy about something.

Ma is supposed to come home today, ain't she?

That's what her letter said.

What's the idea of them pigtails?

What's wrong with them?

You ain't gonna catch no fellas

running around looking like that.

Wouldn't want one if I could get 'em,

and I couldn't get one if I wanted one.

What are you going to do, change the world around?

Is pa still sick?

He's in there sleeping off his hangover,

if that's what you mean.

Oh. Maybe he ought to have some hot coffee.

I don't where he'll put it.

His stomach's all eaten out.

Awake, pa?

Pa.

Pa, I brought you some hot coffee.

Here.

Thank you, darling.

You're very good to me, Ellie May.

You're very good to me.

Go on. Drink it while it's hot.

What's the time?

I don't know. It ain't runnin'.

Is your mother home yet?

No, she ain't.

Well, she should be here looking after the family.

Ma just likes to have a good time.

Oh, I'm not a fool, Ellie May.

I'm not a fool.

Ain't you gonna take your coffee?

No. It isn't coffee I need.

Don't you think maybe you drink too much, pa?

It's only a substitute, Ellie May,

a substitute for some dreams I once had.

But they've all gone, whistling down the wind.

I don't know what you mean, pa.

You keep your dreams, Ellie May.

After they've done, you've got nothing left.

'Cause if you let those go,

you've got to invent new ones,

and they're never as good as the old ones.

Oh, run away, dear. Run away before you get like the rest of us.

But I ain't got no reason to run away, pa.

What on earth is going to happen to you in this horrible environment?

Nothing's gonna happen to me, pa.

Wouldn't you feel better if you had some hot coffee in your stomach?

I guess I'm a pretty good mess as a father, eh?

Oh, you're swell, pa.

Aw, gee, pa, you're so smart and everything.

You've been to college.

I'm always telling everybody how much you know about them Greeks.

Oh, my darling.

Hey, here's some of your writing on the floor.

Why, I guess that's as good a place as any for it.

Someday when your book's done, everybody will be talking about you.

Oh, I doubt whether I'll last long enough to finish it.

What's the matter, pa? You got a sick stomach?

Maybe you ought to have some hot clam broth.

I could go down to the beach and get some clams.

There ain't nothin' wrong with your heart, is there?

No, darling. It's another kind of pain.

Oh, well. "we live not as we wish to, but as we can".

So sayeth my old friend Menander here.

Who was it that said it?

Menander, darling - one of those old Greek philosophers.

I wish I knowed more than I know.

Oh, my grip. The gentleman paid for the cab.

Everything's taken care of.

Look out of my way, babies.

Hello, baby! Oh, she has some presents!

Hello, Mame! You look great!

Here I am - what's left of me.

Did you bring any presents, ma?

Oh, Honeybell, it ain't me you want. It's the presents.

Stop talkin' to ma and let her get her breath.

Hello, ma. Hello, Ellie May.

Oh, gee, you look pretty, ma!

Do I, hon?

Where's my present?

Oh, look. Ma's got a new fur.

Ain't I the one?

I want my present!

Oh, Honeybell! You're a pest.

You take your present, run away, and keep quiet. How's Homer?

He don't feel good. Oh, that's too bad.

Here's something for you, Ellie May.

And, ma, here's something smelly.

Say, ma, Thelma introduced me to the loveliest gentleman

a Mr. Hawkins.

Tell you about it later.

Did you go to the fair, ma?

Oh, boy, did I! Say, I've been jounced and bounced

till I don't think there's a whole bone left in my body.

Look! A monkey in a pineapple!

Oh, ma, ain't it cute?

Ain't it cute? It looks like Homer.

Aw, let him be.

Well, its eyes light up. It does look like Homer,

especially when he hits the bottle.

Oh, Ellie May, ain't you pleased with your present?

Sure, I'm pleased, ma.

Well, how can you tell if you don't even look at it?

I'm going down to the beach to get some clams.

Now, there you are, ma. Here I buy her

the best pair of silk stockings I can for the money,

and she don't even look at 'em.

I'll look at 'em after.

You're pretty particular about

where your presents come from.

I ain't said nothin'. Good-bye, ma. Good-bye.

Silk stockings' ain't for a girl

that acts like a boy.

You should've bought her a baseball bat.

I don't want none.

You got 8 pounds there. All right.

Here she comes.

Are you going to say it?

I'm not afraid of her. I'll say it.

Go on, say it. Afraid of a girl?

I'm not afraid of her!

Well, then I'll say it!

her mother was a lady -

yeah, you missed!

It's a shame to waste a good smell in a place like this.

Well, maybe we'll go steppin' sometime, huh?

Why not? You can always play a new tune on an old fiddle!

Well, you're just as young as you feel, ma. Sure.

Say, got some coffee, hon? I'll make you a fresh cup.

Bye-bye.

Say, is this genuine?

Say, nothing else but.

That fella must have an oil well somewhere.

Say, ma, listen. Say, I says to him, I said, Mr. Hawkins,

if you want to throw your money away, it's all right with me.

I ain't gonna be the one to stop you.

And, ma, confidential - he wanted to marry me.

No! He did!

And I says, now, look here, Mr. Hawkins,

one husband at a time's enough, ain't it?"

And he laughed fit to kill.

He must be a god.

Oh, he's a god and very refined.

It's too bad Homer don't do you a favor

and get run over or something.

Oh, ma. Poor Homer. Somebody has to look after him.

And of course it's got to be you. Sure.

Isn't it customary for a wife

to look after her husband when he's ill,

instead of chasing around with other men?

Hello, Homer.

Are you still alive?

Ain't you feeling well, baby?

Look at them eyes. Looks like a couple of grapes

floating around in his head.

You might reserve your acid wit

for someone of your own class.

Wasn't no drunks in my family.

One tiny virtue is not sufficient

to counteract your other endowments.

Big words ain't going to help that hangover.

Ma, leave him be. Come on, now. That's a good boy.

That's it. That's a boy.

There.

Oh. Working on your book, Homer?

What difference does that make to you?

I was telling Mr. Hawkins, a friend of Thelma's, what a smart man you was.

You don't have to further my humiliation.

Why, Homer, nobody's humiliating nobody.

Who is this Hawkins? What kind of a woman is your friend Thelma?

Where have you been? What have you been doing?

I've been to the fair and had some fun.

Don't you want your Mamie to have a good time?

Look, Mamie, I...