Welcomeby Richard Stuart Dixon
© Richard Stuart Dixon, 2007
(Note: Performance of this play requires the author’s permission. Please contact Good School Plays for details.)
Production Notes:
• running time: approx. 55 minutes.
• style: light dramatic realism
• suitable for general audiences
• 22 characters (18 female, 4 male)
• black-box staging (no set required)
Summary of Script Content:
• “Jenny Logan” is a light realist drama set in the airport of a remote rural community in the winter of 1960. An unmarried pregnant girl challenges the social orthodoxy of that time, and helps the people in her life reconcile their prejudices by rekindling their capacity for compassion.
(This play was first performed on February 27, 28, and March 1, 2, 5, in the year 2007, at Gleneagle Secondary School in Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada.)
∗Published Online by Good School Plays, April 4, 2015.
Go to:
Act One, Scene 1
Act One, Scene 2
Act One, Scene 3
Act One, Scene 4
Act One, Scene 5
Act One, Scene 6
Act One, Scene 7
Act One, Scene 8
Act One, Scene 9
Act One, Scene 10
Act One, Scene 11
Act One, Scene 12
Act One, Scene 13
Act One, Scene 14
Act Two, Scene 1
Act Two, Scene 2
Act Two, Scene 3
Act Two, Scene 4
CHARACTERS:
The Pregnant Girls:
Jenny Logan, 15
Sophie Krugel, 15
Connie Nash, 15
The Parents and Guardians:
Brett Logan, 40, Jenny’s father
Liz Logan, 36, Jenny’s mother
Millie Beauville, 42, Sophie’s aunt
Natalie Krugel, 40, Sophie’s mother…Millie’s sister
Dorothy Nash, 39, Connie’s mother
The Airport Personnel:
Bud Klassen, 50, Wolf Creek Airport manager
Sonia Furkati, 45, mechanic
Nelly Bracken, 43, baggage handler, janitor, canteen cook
The Journalist:
Grace Burrows, 37, Star-Herald journalist
Maternity Home Personnel:
Leona Gallo, 46, director of Shadow Vale Home for Girls
Bunty Tobias, 38, social worker at Shadow Vale
Shelley Hotchkiss, 34, nurse at Shadow Vale
The Minister’s Family:
Phillip Morgan, 45, minister
Valerie Morgan, 41, his wife
Veronica Morgan, 14, their daughter
The Bush Pilot:
Cal North, 24
The Local Teenage Girls:
Niki Voltenburger, 15
Sheri Griffin, 15
Melita Tubbs, 14
Jenny Logan by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
ACT ONE, Scene 1:
(BUD KLASSEN, SONIA FURKATI, and NELLY BRACKEN are looking out the plate glass windows of the small air terminal in Wolf Creek on a January morning in 1960.)
NELLY BRACKEN
Another foggy winter morning…can hardly see the runway.
SONIA FURKATI
January, 1960. A brand new decade, and it’s hidden by a cloud.
NELLY BRACKEN
No one’s flying in this weather.
BUD KLASSEN
Got to keep the airport open anyway, just in case.
NELLY BRACKEN
(teasing)
In case what, Bud? You expecting your favourite saviour to fly down through the fog on a magic carpet and take you up to God’s big terminal in the sky?
BUD KLASSEN
Making fun of my religious beliefs and my love of carpets won’t make me change my mind, Nelly.
SONIA FURKATI
So we’re stuck here for the day, my dear Nelly.
NELLY BRACKEN
You’ve got that old airplane of yours to work on, Sonia, but what have I got? A hard little stool in a tiny canteen shack down the road and a beat up old copy of “God’s Little Acre”, which I’ve read four times!
BUD KLASSEN
Pornography.
NELLY BRACKEN
Rural romance!
SONIA FURKATI
Why don’t you get a new book to read?
NELLY BRACKEN
They’re all the same…someone’s got a problem and they try to fix it. If they do, it’s comedy; if they don’t, it’s tragedy.
BUD KLASSEN
You should try the Bible.
NELLY BRACKEN
I prefer “God’s Little Acre”.
BUD KLASSEN
(teasing)
Blasphemy!
NELLY BRACKEN
Come on, Bud…shut this airport down for the day. We could use a break.
BUD KLASSEN
(looking out the windows)
The fog might lift.
SONIA FURKATI
The forecast is for more fog, then heavy snow.
BUD KLASSEN
Someone might need to make an emergency landing.
NELLY BRACKEN
In this murk? Good luck.
SONIA FURKATI
I’m going out to the hangar to work on my plane. Still got some tweaking to do.
BUD KLASSEN
That’s for sure, if you want it to pass the DOT inspection.
NELLY BRACKEN
It sure is a colourful little thing. Why’d you paint it purple and yellow?
SONIA FURKATI
Because I’m going to make my first flight on Easter Sunday.
BUD KLASSEN
(still teasing)
Seen the light, Sonia?
SONIA FURKATI
No, but I will when I climb up above the clouds.
(She exits.)
BUD KLASSEN
I’ve got to get back to the radio shack. Some guy in the sky might need a guy on the ground to guide him down.
NELLY BRACKEN
No one’s flying today, Bud.
BUD KLASSEN
We’ll see, Nelly….we’ll see.
(He exits.)
NELLY BRACKEN
(to herself, because she’s feeling blue)
No one’s flying today….especially me.
End of Act One, Scene 1.
Jenny Logan by Richard Stuart Dixon Good School Plays
Act One, Scene 2:
(JENNY LOGAN waddles in. She is eight months and three weeks pregnant.)
JENNY LOGAN
Ooof.
NELLY BRACKEN
Ooof?
JENNY LOGAN
(plumping down on a bench)
Ahhhhhhhhh!
NELLY BRACKEN
If you’re planning on flying out of here today, you can forget it.
JENNY LOGAN
Why?
NELLY BRACKEN
Fog, snow…nothing can land here; nothing can take off.
JENNY LOGAN
Thanks for the advice, but I’ll be fine.
NELLY BRACKEN
You shouldn’t waste your time sitting around here in your condition.
JENNY LOGAN
Condition?
NELLY BRACKEN
Preggers.
JENNY LOGAN
Huh?
NELLY BRACKEN
Big with child.
JENNY LOGAN
Big with…?
NELLY BRACKEN
Knocked-up!
JENNY LOGAN
My baby is not a “condition”.
NELLY BRACKEN
You might change your mind about that when you go into labour….hurts like hell.
JENNY LOGAN
You’ve given birth?
NELLY BRACKEN
Three times.
JENNY LOGAN
And where are your babies now?
NELLY BRACKEN
Gone.
JENNY LOGAN
Gone? Gone where?
NELLY BRACKEN
Just gone, that’s all. My babies are gone…don’t need to know any more than that.
JENNY LOGAN
I’m going to take good care of mine.
NELLY BRACKEN
By sitting here waiting for a plane that won’t come?
JENNY LOGAN
I know what I’m doing.
NELLY BRACKEN
You look awful young to be having a baby.
JENNY LOGAN
No law against it, is there?
NELLY BRACKEN
There should be. A law of nature.
JENNY LOGAN
Why?
NELLY BRACKEN
How can you look after a baby when you’re not much more than a baby yourself?
JENNY LOGAN
Like I said, I know what I’m doing.
NELLY BRACKEN
How’d you get out here, anyway? You got a car?
JENNY LOGAN
Hitched a ride.
NELLY BRACKEN
A pregnant girl like you hitching rides?
JENNY LOGAN
No law against that, either.
(GRACE BURROWS, journalist, enters.)
GRACE BURROWS
(to NELLY BRACKEN)
Excuse me…
NELLY BRACKEN
Yes?
GRACE BURROWS
I’ve got to get a flight to Winnipeg as soon as possible…is there a ticket agent here?
NELLY BRACKEN
This is Wolf Creek airport, lady, not Toronto. There’s only me, the manager, and an airplane mechanic.
GRACE BURROWS
I was passing through and my car broke down. There’s no bus until tomorrow, and I’m due back at the newspaper by three o’ clock.
NELLY BRACKEN
Nothing’s flying today, ma’am…too foggy.
GRACE BURROWS
But there’s got to be something…perhaps a charter, or a bush pilot?
NELLY BRACKEN
Nothing means nothing, not something, and nothing’s flying.
GRACE BURROWS
(indicating JENNY LOGAN)
Then what’s this young lady waiting for?
NELLY BRACKEN
Why don’t you ask her? I got to open the canteen shack now you two are here. Regulations.
(She exits.)
GRACE BURROWS
(to JENNY LOGAN)
What are you waiting for, if you don’t mind me asking?
JENNY LOGAN
Someone to take me and my baby to a better place.
GRACE BURROWS
But that woman said nothing’s flying.
JENNY LOGAN
She’s wrong.
GRACE BURROWS
How do you know?
JENNY LOGAN
Why are you asking?
GRACE BURROWS
I’m a journalist…asking questions is what I do.
JENNY LOGAN
Then ask yourself a question.
GRACE BURROWS
What question?
JENNY LOGAN
Ask yourself whether you’d want to have a baby in a maternity home for unwed mothers.
GRACE BURROWS
You don’t approve of maternity homes for girls like you?
JENNY LOGAN
There you go again.
GRACE BURROWS
Sorry…force of habit…
(offering her hand)
I’m Grace Burrows, from the Winnipeg Star.
JENNY LOGAN
I’m Jenny…Jenny Logan. I got a feeling you’re sizing me up for a story.
GRACE BURROWS
Would you mind?
JENNY LOGAN
Don’t know.
GRACE BURROWS
I’ll take that as a “maybe”.
JENNY LOGAN
Suit yourself.
GRACE BURROWS
Excuse me, I’ve been driving for hours. I need to freshen up and get a coffee. I hope this place has clean washrooms.
(She exits.)
End of Act One, Scene 2.
Jenny Logan by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act One, Scene 3:
(SOPHIE KRUGEL and CONNIE NASH enter. They are both pregnant, but not as far along as JENNY)
CONNIE NASH
Jenny! I knew you’d be here!
JENNY LOGAN
Not for long.
SOPHIE KRUGEL
Connie kept going on and on at me, so we snuck out of the dorm and hitched a ride.
JENNY LOGAN
What do you want?
CONNIE NASH
We want you to tell us what you’re going to do.
SOPHIE KRUGEL
What are you going to do, Jenny?
JENNY LOGAN
Nothing.
SOPHIE KRUGEL
But you said, “Not for long”. That means you’re going someplace else.
JENNY LOGAN
Well aren’t you a smarty-pants, Sophie Krugel…a regular little miss junior detective.
CONNIE NASH
So where are you going?
JENNY LOGAN
A better place than this.
CONNIE NASH
Can we go with you?
JENNY LOGAN
No.
SOPHIE KRUGEL
I told you, Connie.
CONNIE NASH
Please, Jenny, let us go with you.
JENNY LOGAN
If you want to run away, pick your own escape route.
SOPHIE KRUGEL
It’s no use, Connie. We better get back before Mrs. Gallo comes looking for us.
JENNY LOGAN
Yes, go back to that hell-hole before she sends the Wolf Creek cops swarming in here. All two of them.
CONNIE NASH
They’ll soon figure out you ran away too and come looking for you.
JENNY LOGAN
I made a dummy out of blankets in my bed. What did you do to conceal your getaway?
SOPHIE KRUGEL
Nothing, because Connie was panicking.
CONNIE NASH
Take us with with you, Jenny…please…we can’t stand another day in that maternity home.
JENNY LOGAN
You don’t even know where I’m going.
CONNIE NASH
It doesn’t matter.
SOPHIE KRUGEL
Connie believes in you, Jenny. She thinks you’re some sort of hero.
JENNY LOGAN
Heroine.
CONNIE NASH
You are a hero…heroine, Jenny, the way you stand up to the staff at the home. I’d follow you anywhere.
JENNY LOGAN
Ridiculous. You’re not coming with me. It makes no sense.
SOPHIE KRUGEL
See, Connie? Let’s go back to Shadow Vale.
CONNIE NASH
No! Even if I can’t go with her, I’m staying here until she goes. She needs me.
JENNY LOGAN
If I’m your heroine, don’t you need me more than I need you?
CONNIE NASH
Well…yes…so please let me stay with you… at least until you go.
JENNY LOGAN
Suit yourself.
SOPHIE KRUGEL
Then I better stay too. Connie will need a substitute heroine after you go.
JENNY LOGAN
If they come looking for us, maybe you two can stall them for a while.
CONNIE NASH
I’ll be such a good staller, Jenny…I always could distract people.
SOPHIE KRUGEL
By being annoying.
CONNIE NASH
Ohhh, I’ve got to go to the washroom! The baby’s pressing down on my bladder again!
JENNY LOGAN
Me too!
SOPHIE KRUGEL
Me three!
JENNY LOGAN
After, let’s take a stroll in the fog for a bit…walking helps somehow.
(They make an uncomfortable exit.)
End of Act One, Scene 3.
Jenny Logan by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act One, Scene 4:
(REVEREND PHILLIP MORGAN, his wife VALERIE MORGAN, and his daughter VERONICA enter.)
VALERIE MORGAN
Is the pain any worse, Veronica?
VERONICA MORGAN
It comes and goes, Mummy.
VALERIE MORGAN
It’s appendicitis….I know it.
PHILLIP MORGAN
If you ask me, she’s making it up.
VERONICA MORGAN
Daddy!
VALERIE MORGAN
Why would she do that?
PHILLIP MORGAN
Because I wouldn’t buy her a pony.
VERONICA MORGAN
A horse, Daddy, not a pony…
VALERIE MORGAN
She’s not making it up. The medical book said it could be appendicitis.
PHILLIP MORGAN
The book also said to wait for other symptoms.
VALERIE MORGAN
I’m not waiting for other symptoms. What if her appendix bursts out here in this tiny town with no hospital?
VERONICA MORGAN
I could die, Daddy…don’t you understand?
PHILLIP MORGAN
Is your tummy hurting now? Be honest…
VERONICA MORGAN
No, but…
PHILLIP MORGAN
You see! No need to panic! Besides, I doubt any plane will fly out of here today.
VALERIE MORGAN
We’ll see about that.
(NELLY BRACKEN enters with GRACE BURROWS, who has a cup of coffee.)
VALERIE MORGAN
Mrs. Bracken! Where’s Mr. Klassen?
NELLY BRACKEN
In the radio shack, Mrs. Morgan, waiting for an emergency.
PHILLIP MORGAN
Is there a flight to Winnipeg today, Nelly?
NELLY BRACKEN
No, Reverend…too much fog…and a snowstorm on the way.
PHILLIP MORGAN
There, Valerie…no flights out, and the roads will soon be impassable. Even if we had to go, we couldn’t.
VALERIE MORGAN
Well, I’m staying here with Veronica anyway, in case the fog lifts.
VERONICA MORGAN
Thank you, Mummy. I’m glad someone understands.
GRACE BURROWS
Is your child supposed to attend some sort of event in Winnipeg?
PHILLIP MORGAN
No, no. Her mother’s concerned that she may have appendicitis.
GRACE BURROWS
That can be rather serious if it’s not attended to.
VALERIE MORGAN
Are you a nurse?
GRACE BURROWS
No, a journalist. Grace Burrows.
VALERIE MORGAN
I’m Valerie Morgan, Mrs. Burrows.
GRACE BURROWS
…Miss, not Mrs…
VALERIE MORGAN
Miss. This is my daughter Veronica…
(Phillip coughs)
…and my husband Phillip.
GRACE BURROWS
You’re a local minister, Mr. Morgan?
PHILLIP MORGAN
Yes, Miss Burrows…United Church.
NELLY BRACKEN
He took over when old Reverend McIvor kicked the bucket last year.
GRACE BURROWS
And you think Veronica has appendicitis?
VERONICA MORGAN
My tummy hurts down in the part where the appendix lives.
NELLY BRACKEN
Could be cramps.
VALERIE MORGAN
I’m sure Veronica knows the difference.
VERONICA MORGAN
Do we have to talk about cramps in front of Daddy?
PHILLIP MORGAN
If it’s just her monthly flow, we certainly don’t need to go to Winnipeg.
VERONICA MORGAN
Daddy, please!
(SONIA FURKATI enters.)
SONIA FURKATI
(to NELLY)
Cold out in that hangar. I need a warm-up.
(to Reverend Morgan)
Reverend! What are you doing here?
PHILLIP MORGAN
That’s what I’d like to know, Mrs. Furkati.
VALERIE MORGAN
Veronica’s not well, Mrs. Furkati. She may have appendicitis. I want to take her to the hospital in Winnipeg.
SONIA FURKATI
No one can fly in weather like this, Mrs. Morgan.
VERONICA MORGAN
Maybe we should just go home, Mummy.
VALERIE MORGAN
No, Veronica. We’ll wait here in case the fog lifts, and that’s that.
PHILLIP MORGAN
Well, if you absolutely insist on staying, Valerie, we may as well get a bite to eat from Nelly’s canteen shack.
NELLY BRACKEN
The coffee’s made and there’s day-old donuts for those who want ‘em.
VERONICA MORGAN
Yeuch!
VALERIE MORGAN
Veronica, be polite!
VERONICA MORGAN
But won’t a donut make my appendix bulge?
VALERIE MORGAN
On no account are you to eat anything.
PHILLIP MORGAN
Excuse us, Mrs. Furkati and Miss Burrows…
(The MORGANS exit.)
SONIA FURKATI
If that girl’s appendix bursts, she’ll have to go to a hospital right away.
NELLY BRACKEN
Could you get your purple plane off the ground in this fog?
SONIA FURKATI
It might be able to fly, but it’s not licensed.
NELLY BRACKEN
License shmicence…if Veronica Morgan has to be flown out of here, you’ve got to do it.
SONIA FURKATI
But the fog!
NELLY BRACKEN
Life and death, Sonia…you’d have to do it.
SONIA FURKATI
That’s crazy, Nelly…trying to get off the ground in the fog in an unlicensed plane that might not even fly.
NELLY BRACKEN
You’d have to do it, Sonia…you hear me!
SONIA FURKATI
Take it easy, Nelly!
GRACE BURROWS
No need to panic yet. The girl looked fine to me.
NELLY BRACKEN
(suspicious of GRACE’s motives)
You aiming to write a story about this, Miss Burrows?
GRACE BURROWS
Only if it has a happy ending.
NELLY BRACKEN
(not believing her)
Sure. I’ve got to go serve stale donuts to the good reverend and his missus.
(She exits.)
GRACE BURROWS
So you have your own plane?
SONIA FURKATI
A little two-seater. I’ve been restoring it.
GRACE BURROWS
Maybe you could tell me more about it later. Right now, I’d like a few words with that minister.
(She exits.)
Jenny Logan by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act One, Scene 5:
(LEONA GALLO, BUNTY TOBIAS, and SHELLEY HOTCHKISS enter.)
LEONA GALLO
Mrs. Furkati, isn’t it?
SONIA FURKATI
That’s right.
LEONA GALLO
I suppose you know who I am.
SONIA FURKATI
You’re the woman who runs that secret place for pregnant girls.
LEONA GALLO
It’s the Shadow Vale Home for Girls, Mrs. Furkati, and it’s not secret, just discrete.
SONIA FURKATI
There’s no planes flying out of here today, Mrs…
LEONA GALLO
Gallo…Mrs. Leona Gallo…and this is our nurse, Miss Shelley Hotchkiss.
SHELLEY HOTCHKISS
(shaking hands)
Mrs. Furkati…
SONIA FURKATI
(to LEONA)
Don’t you have a doctor at that place?
LEONA GALLO
Our doctor is away at a conference…
SONIA FURKATI
What if one of the pregnant girls get sick?
LEONA GALLO
Nurse Hotchkiss can handle minor emergencies. This is our resident social worker, Miss Bunty Tobias.
BUNTY TOBIAS
(shaking hands)
How do you do, Mrs. Furkati.
SONIA FURKATI
It’s kind of funny that you live right here in Wolf Creek, but I’ve never seen you before.
BUNTY TOBIAS
Ah! Well, you see, Mrs. Furkati, we lead a rather cloistered existence at Shadow Vale, owing to the specialized nature of our facility.
SHELLEY HOTCHKISS
As Mrs. Gallo said, we must be discrete. After all, Shadow Vale is a home for unwed mothers, is it not?
SONIA FURKATI
Tut tut.
SHELLEY HOTCHKISS
I beg your pardon?
SONIA FURKATI
I said “tut tut”…because that’s what I felt like saying. Excuse me, I’ve got to get back to my purple plane.
(She exits.)
SHELLEY HOTCHKISS
“Tut tut”! What do you make of that, Mrs. Gallo?
LEONA GALLO
I think she disapproves of us, Nurse Hotchkiss.
BUNTY TOBIAS
She’s an odd one…rather mannish. Another eccentric resident of the wild and woolly North, I suppose.
LEONA GALLO
Yes, the northern wilderness attracts her kind. It’s a sort of refuge for the misfits of this world.
(BUD KLASSEN enters.)
BUD KLASSEN
Mrs. Gallo! What brings you to the airport?
LEONA GALLO
Ah, Mr. Klassen…just the man I want to see. Three of our girls have run away.
BUD KLASSEN
Run away? In the middle of winter?
LEONA GALLO
Yes…we’re terribly concerned…have you heard anything that might help us find them?
BUD KLASSEN
Nope. I’ve been in the radio shack all day. If they were here, I wouldn’t have seen ‘em.
BUNTY TOBIAS
We were hoping they might be here. You see, the three of them have formed a sort of “gang”.
SHELLEY HOTCHKISS
They’ve been stirring up a bit of trouble in the home, Mr. Klassen.
LEONA GALLO
So a week ago, unbeknownst to the girls, we contacted their parents and arranged a meeting.
BUNTY TOBIAS
The parents are due to arrive by car at noon today, and their daughters have disappeared.
BUD KLASSEN
Sounds like you’re in a bit of a pickle.
LEONA GALLO
Yes, Mr. Klassen, a “pickle”…so we’d appreciate you phoning us if you see or hear anything.
BUD KLASSEN
I’ll be happy to do give you a dingle. What do the girls look like?
BUNTY TOBIAS
Very young and very pregnant, Mr. Klassen. That should be description enough.
BUD KLASSEN
I guess that narrows it down some.
LEONA GALLO
Can we count on your discretion in this matter, Mr. Klassen?
BUD KLASSEN
Discretion?
BUNTY TOBIAS
Shadow Vale Home for Girls must not receive unnecessary publicity.
SHELLEY HOTCHKISS
It would have an adverse effect on the girls and their families.
BUD KLASSEN
I won’t blab, if that’s what you mean.
LEONA GALLO
Thank you, Mr. Klassen. Now Miss Hotchkiss, Miss Tobias and I must hurry back to the home in case the girls have returned from their naughty expedition. Excuse us.
BUD KLASSEN
Of course.
(The three women exit as NELLY BRACKEN enters.)
NELLY BRACKEN
Hey, Bud, I guess you were right about not closing today.
BUD KLASSEN
Huh?
NELLY BRACKEN
I got four customers in the canteen shack right now.
BUD KLASSEN
Any pregnant girls?
NELLY BRACKEN
Nope. There was one here earlier, but it looks like she’s skedaddled.
BUD KLASSEN
Just one?
NELLY BRACKEN
Just one.
BUD KLASSEN
Three of ‘em ran away from Shadow Vale.
NELLY BRACKEN
You going to let that place know one of ‘em was here?
BUD KLASSEN
Not right now. Maybe later. I’ll let guy in the sky handle it for the time being.
NELLY BRACKEN
Sometimes, you make religion make sense, Bud. But only sometimes.
BUD KLASSEN
Got to get back to the radio shack…don’t want to miss any messages.
(He exits.)
End of Act One, Scene 5.
Jenny Logan by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act One, Scene 6:
(NIKI VOLTENBURGER, SHERI GRIFFIN, and MELITA TUBBS, three teenage girls, enter.)
NELLY BRACKEN
Why aren’t you three at school?
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
Don’t have to go to school today.
NELLY BRACKEN
Why not?
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
The school bus broke down.
NELLY BRACKEN
So why are you here?
SHERI GRIFFIN
We were bored so Niki drove us out here in her dad’s truck.
NELLY BRACKEN
You got a license to drive that thing?
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
That’s for me to know, and you to find out, Mrs. Bracken.
NELLY BRACKEN
Don’t get fresh with me, Niki Voltenburger, or I’ll tell your dad you took off in his truck.
MELITA TUBBS
Her dad doesn’t care, Mrs. Klassen. He lets Niki do whatever she wants.
NELLY BRACKEN
Oh yeah? Well, it shows. I got to get back in that canteen shack. Don’t go making any trouble, you hear?
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
Trouble? Us? Mrs. Klassen, we’re good girls, not like the ones out at Shadow Vale.
NELLY BRACKEN
You’re a tribute to womanhood, Niki Voltenburger, a real sweetheart.
(She exits.)
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
What an old bag.
SHERI GRIFFIN
She must have had grumpy-nuts for breakfast.
(They giggle at the thought of NELLY eating “grumpy nuts”.)
MELITA TUBBS
What if she does call your dad, Niki?
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
She won’t. Adults hardly ever follow through on threats and promises. That’s why it’s so easy to get away with stuff.
SHERI GRIFFIN
(looking around)
If only there was some handsome pilots to flirt with.
MELITA TUBBS
I hate Wolf Creek…no good-looking guys.
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
Just old fogeys.
MELITA TUBBS
At least there’s guys at the high school in Birch Lake.
SHERI GRIFFIN
Like Randy Hunter…he’s always looking at me.
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
And you know what that means.
SHERI GRIFFIN
So what?
MELITA TUBBS
Be careful, Sheri, or you’ll end up like one of those tarts at the maternity home.
SHERI GRIFFIN
No way I’m getting pregnant.
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
Only stupid girls get pregnant.
SHERI GRIFFIN
Randy Hunter’s good-looking, but he’s a nobody. I’m waiting for someone who’s got a future.
MELITA TUBBS
Me too. He’s got to be at least a doctor.
SHERI GRIFFIN
Who wants to sit around a shack making babies for some guy who works at the mill?
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
Besides, Randy’s got that preacher’s daughter to play with.
SHERI GRIFFIN
He even brags about it.
MELITA TUBBS
But he’s not bragging any more.
(They snicker. JENNY, SOPHIE, and CONNIE enter. They see the other teens and there is an awkward moment.)
SHERI GRIFFIN
(whispering to NIKI and MELITA)
Must be from that baby farm.
(This prompts snickers from all three.)
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
Baby farm! That’s a good one, Sheri.
MELITA TUBBS
Look how pregnant they are! They got bellies like balloons!
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
(to MELITA)
Ssshhhhh!
(to JENNY)
Hi.
JENNY LOGAN
Hello.
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
You waiting for someone?
JENNY LOGAN
Could be.
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
No plane’s gonna land in this fog.
JENNY LOGAN
That’s your opinion.
CONNIE NASH
(whispering)
Don’t make her mad, Jenny…she’ll turn us in.
SHERI GRIFFIN
What’s your names?
SOPHIE KRUGEL
What’s yours?
MELITA TUBBS
I’m Melita…that’s Sheri…and that’s….
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
…Niki.
JENNY LOGAN
I’m…Jenny…and this is Connie…and Sophie.
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
I guess your husbands must be at work.
MELITA TUBBS
(whispering and giggling)
Niki!
JENNY LOGAN
You know darn well we’re from the maternity home, so don’t play games.
SHERI GRIFFIN
Games? But we don’t know anything about you.
JENNY LOGAN
You know we’re pregnant and that’s all you need to know.
CONNIE NASH
(whispering)
Jenny! I don’t think we should talk to them.
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
Was it worth it? Getting pregnant, I mean.
SOPHIE KRUGEL
Try it yourself and find out.
CONNIE NASH
Sophie!
JENNY LOGAN
Look, this is a public place, and we don’t know you, so let’s just stay out of each other’s way, okay?
SHERI GRIFFIN
But we’re all teens, right? And teens stick together against the adults.
MELITA TUBBS
Yeah…we’re like our own private club…no adults allowed.
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
We’re sort of like a family. We help each other out.
CONNIE NASH
You want to help us?
JENNY LOGAN
Don’t be a dolt, Connie.
(to NIKI)
We don’t need the sort of help you’re offering.
SOPHIE KRUGEL
…like the fake sympathy and stupid patronizing crap you’ll throw at us while you mock us behind our backs.
SHERI GRIFFIN
Well, you’re the ones who are pregnant, not us.
MELITA TUBBS
You broke the rules and now you got to pay the price.
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
We offered to be your friends, but you turned us down. That makes us enemies.
JENNY LOGAN
We don’t want to be friends or enemies. We don’t want anything to do with you at all.
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
So go away.
SOPHIE KRUGEL
Like Jenny said, this is a public place.
SHERI GRIFFIN
Everyone knows pregnant teenagers shouldn’t be seen in public places.
MELITA TUBBS
You should go back to your little cells in that maternity home.
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
Don’t you have any shame?
JENNY LOGAN
The only thing that’s a shame is your big mouth.
CONNIE NASH
Jenny!
(to NIKI)
She didn’t mean it…she’s just a bit anxious because she’s waiting for something…
SOPHIE KRUGEL
Connie, don’t blab everything!
CONNIE NASH
Why not? Jenny can wait for something if she wants, and so can we.
JENNY LOGAN
That’s right. I can wait, and three dumb bunnies like you can’t stop me.
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
(to JENNY)
I can see how you got pregnant. You just say and do whatever you please, even if it’s stupid.
JENNY LOGAN
…and you say and do whatever hurts other people, which is always stupid.
SHERI GRIFFIN
(aside to NIKI)
Niki, those girls aren’t supposed to be away from that home. Let’s go tell on them.
MELITA TUBBS
(aside to NIKI)
It’s okay to rat on girls who won’t play along.
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
(to JENNY)
We’re going to phone that maternity home.
SOPHIE KRUGEL
It’s an unlisted number.
SHERI GRIFFIN
So we’ll drive over there. We know where it is.
MELITA TUBBS
They’ll drag you back to that baby place by the hair.
(NIKI, SOPHIE, and SHERI exit.)
SOPHIE KRUGEL
If those girls tell, Mrs. Gallo will be over here like a shot.
CONNIE NASH
I hope whatever you’re waiting for comes along soon, Jenny.
JENNY LOGAN
I’ve got a feeling it will.
SOPHIE KRUGEL
It’s going to take more than a feeling to get us out of this jam.
End of Act One, Scene 6.
Jenny Logan by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act One, Scene 7:
(VERONICA MORGAN runs in, followed by PHILLIP and VALERIE MORGAN. They are so worked up that at first they fail to see JENNY, SOPHIE, and CONNIE.)
VERONICA MORGAN
Stop saying there’s nothing wrong with me, Daddy…
VALERIE MORGAN
Yes, Phillip…who are you to tell Veronica how she’s feeling?
PHILLIP MORGAN
I’m her father. I’ve seen her do this sort of thing over and over.
VALERIE MORGAN
This is far more serious. Our medical book confirms that it might be appendicitis.
PHILLIP MORGAN
It could also be a bit of undigested pudding.
VERONICA MORGAN
I just want to go home.
(VALERIE MORGAN is first to notice the three pregnant girls.)
VALERIE MORGAN
Oh, excuse us…we didn’t see you.
JENNY LOGAN
That’s all right.
VALERIE MORGAN
I’m Valerie Morgan. Our daughter Veronica isn’t feeling well.
JENNY LOGAN
I’m sorry.
VERONICA MORGAN
My appendix might explode, and that’s dangerous.
VALERIE MORGAN
We’re waiting for the fog to lift so we can get her to a hospital.
PHILLIP MORGAN
I doubt it’ll come to that.
VALERIE MORGAN
Phillip!
PHILLIP MORGAN
We’re here as a precaution. I’m Reverend Phillip Morgan…from the United Church…and you are….
CONNIE NASH
Pregnant.
PHILLIP MORGAN
Errr..Yes.
SOPHIE KRUGEL
Forgive Connie…she gets confused easily.
CONNIE NASH
But I am pregnant, Sophie, as anyone can see.
SOPHIE KRUGEL
Then why announce it to the world if they can already see it?
CONNIE NASH
To show I’m not ashamed.
(to the Morgans)
I’m Connie…that’s Sophie, and that’s Jenny…they’re pregnant too.
VALERIE MORGAN
Forgive me for asking, but are you from Shadow Vale?
JENNY LOGAN
Where else would three pregnant girls our age be from?
PHILLIP MORGAN
Yes.um…well…I’m glad to have met you. Valerie, perhaps we should return to the canteen.
VALERIE MORGAN
But these girls might need our help, Phillip.
PHILLIP MORGAN
We must focus our attention on Veronica.
(He begins to exit.)
VALERIE MORGAN
(accusingly)
Why the change of heart, Phillip?
(Phillip stops, turns back to her, but says nothing…then turns and exits.)
VALERIE MORGAN
Phillip!
(She exits after him.)
VERONICA MORGAN
(to the girls)
Did they let you out of that place for the day?
JENNY LOGAN
No one gets “let out” of there, Veronica, until they’ve delivered the goods.
(Phillip enters.)
PHILLIP MORGAN
Veronica, come along now.
VERONICA MORGAN
You mean until you have your babies.
SOPHIE KRUGEL
Our little bundles of joy.
VERONICA MORGAN
Then what happens?
CONNIE NASH
Usually, they take our babies away from us and we get sent home.
VERONICA MORGAN
That’s not fair.
PHILLIP MORGAN
Veronica, you don’t understand.
VERONICA MORGAN
I want to stay here and talk to these girls, Daddy.
PHILLIP MORGAN
No, Veronica…you must come with me.
(He tugs at VERONICA. VALERIE MORGAN enters.)
VALERIE MORGAN
Phillip! What are you doing?
VERONICA MORGAN
Stop it! You’re hurting me!
PHILLIP MORGAN
Don’t upset your mother, Ronnie.
VALERIE MORGAN
Please excuse us…we’ve had a very trying day.
(She pulls VERONICA away from PHILLIP and exits with her…PHILLIP turns back to the pregnant girls, but can’t think of what to say, then exits.)
JENNY LOGAN
Poor kid…She’s got a bad case of something.
CONNIE NASH
You know what I think?
SOPHIE KRUGEL
What?
CONNIE NASH
I think she’s pregnant.
JENNY LOGAN
Maybe so…I need to use that washroom again.
SOPHIE KRUGEL
Me too.
CONNIE NASH
Me three.
(They exit hurriedly.)
End of Act One, Scene 7.
Jenny Logan by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act One, Scene 8:
(BUD KLASSEN enters with SONIA FURKATI.)
SONIA FURKATI
You mean he’s really going try to land here?
BUD KLASSEN
Won’t take no for an answer.
SONIA FURKATI
Is he out of gas or something?
BUD KLASSEN
He just kept saying he was coming in, fog or not, and to keep the runway clear.
SONIA FURKATI
Must be some kind of emergency.
BUD KLASSEN
Just like I said this morning.
(They face the audience, peering out through the “windows” of the tiny terminal.)
BUD KLASSEN
Can’t see a thing out there.
SONIA FURKATI
I can hear his engine…
(listening carefully)
He’s landed, I can tell…he’s made it, Bud.
BUD KLASSEN
Must be a heck of a pilot.
SONIA FURKATI
He’s switched off his engine…we’ll soon see who he is.
BUD KLASSEN
Here he comes, through the fog…looks like a young guy.
SONIA FURKATI
He’s not from around here.
(They turn to watch him enter, and CAL NORTH saunters in.)
CAL NORTH
I could use a cup of coffee.
BUD KLASSEN
I bet. I’m Bud Klassen, the airport manager.
CAL NORTH
(shaking hands)
I’m Cal…Cal North.
BUD KLASSEN
This is Sonia Furkati, our airport mechanic.
CAL NORTH
(shaking SONIA’s hand)
Sonia…glad you’re here…I got a spot of engine trouble…vapour lock in the fuel line, I’d say.
SONIA FURKATI
A shot of methyl hydrate will fix that.
CAL NORTH
That’s what I figured…could you do that for me?
SONIA FURKATI
Consider it done.
(She exits.)
BUD KLASSEN
Where you from, Cal?
CAL NORTH
Oh, here and there…here and there.
BUD KLASSEN
A bush pilot, eh?
CAL NORTH
Yup.
BUD KLASSEN
You’re lucky to be in one piece, son.
CAL NORTH
I know what I’m doing, Mr. Klassen. Been flying since I was a little kid.
BUD KLASSEN
I still say you’re lucky. Excuse me, I have to write up your landing.
CAL NORTH
Got to follow the rules, eh?
BUD KLASSEN
(regretfully)
I used to be a bush pilot. A long time ago. Now I push a pencil in a two-bit airport.
(He exits.)
CAL NORTH
(to himself)
Well, Cal, you’ve followed your impulse, and look where it’s taken you…a fogged in airstrip near Wolf Creek.
(GRACE BURROWS enters.)
GRACE BURROWS
Say, you look like a pilot!
CAL NORTH
That’s what I am.(offering his hand)
Cal North.
GRACE BURROWS
Grace Burrows, from the Winnipeg Star. How’d you get here?
CAL NORTH
Flew. I’m a pilot, remember?
GRACE BURROWS
I thought nobody could land in this fog.
CAL NORTH
I’m not nobody.
GRACE BURROWS
You’re a pretty confident fellow.
CAL NORTH
Not confident; just skilled.
GRACE BURROWS
Listen, I’ve got to get to Winnipeg as quick a possible…could you fly me there today?
CAL NORTH
Nope.
GRACE BURROWS
Why not?
CAL NORTH
Doesn’t feel right.
GRACE BURROWS
Doesn’t feel right? What do you mean by that?
CAL NORTH
Just what I say. Doesn’t feel right.
GRACE BURROWS
Do you always do business on the basis of your feelings?
CAL NORTH
Just today.
GRACE BURROWS
Why today?
CAL NORTH
I got a hunch I’m needed for something.
GRACE BURROWS
Like what?
CAL NORTH
Dunno. But I’ll know it when I see it.
GRACE BURROWS
Do you know about the maternity home for girls here?
CAL NORTH
Nope.
GRACE BURROWS
I wonder…no…it couldn’t be.
CAL NORTH
Couldn’t be what?
GRACE BURROWS
Nothing…just a silly idea.
CAL NORTH
You should pay attention to silly ideas. They’re the kind that can change your life.
GRACE BURROWS
For better or worse?
CAL NORTH
I’d say all change is for the better, because it makes us learn…it makes us stronger.
GRACE BURROWS
…if it doesn’t kill us.
CAL NORTH
I’d rather be dead than stupid.
GRACE BURROWS
Glad to see you place a high priority on wisdom.
CAL NORTH
Maybe you should write a story about it.
GRACE BURROWS
Philosophy’s not my line, Mr. North.
CAL NORTH
What is your line, Miss Burrows?
GRACE BURROWS
Human interest.
CAL NORTH
I’m human…doesn’t that make me interesting?
GRACE BURROWS
Sure…but landing your plane at a foggy airport isn’t the sort of story I need.
CAL NORTH
What sort of story do you need?
GRACE BURROWS
The one that might or might not happen in the next couple of hours.
CAL NORTH
Well, while you’re waiting, I’m going to go check out my plane. I’ll see you later.
GRACE BURROWS
I suppose you will…I’ve got nowhere to go. Maybe you’ll change your mind about flying me to Winnipeg.
CAL NORTH
Who knows?
(He exits.)
GRACE BURROWS
(to the now absent Cal)
If I’m patient, young fellow, I might get a story that makes all this waiting worth my time.
(She exits.)
End of Act One, Scene 8.
Jenny Logan by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act One, Scene 9:
(BRETT and LIZ LOGAN enter.)
BRETT LOGAN
Looks like we’re first to get here, Liz.
LIZ LOGAN
But no sign of Jenny.
BRETT LOGAN
Wait’ll I get my hands on that girl.
LIZ LOGAN
Don’t start making a scene, Brett. I’m worried enough as it is.
BRETT LOGAN
I’m not the one making a scene…I didn’t get knocked up by some stranger.
LIZ LOGAN
Some stranger? The father could be anyone, Brett…even one of your friends.
BRETT LOGAN
Don’t drag my buddies into this, Liz.
LIZ LOGAN
I wouldn’t put it past them.
BRETT LOGAN
I’ll tell you one thing…if I ever find out who did it, he’s going to jail for it.
LIZ LOGAN
Not if he’s just a kid.
BRETT LOGAN
If it’s a kid, I’ll make him marry Jenny.
LIZ LOGAN
Look, we’ve been over this and over this. You go round and round like a stuck record. Let’s just let it be, all right?
BRETT LOGAN
I should have made her to tell us who he is.
LIZ LOGAN
How? By beating it out of her?
BRETT LOGAN
Gimme a break, will you?
LIZ LOGAN
She’s a stubborn kid, Brett…she’s decided not to tell, and that’s that.
BRETT LOGAN
Why the heck would she run away from that home?
LIZ LOGAN
Maybe she got bored.
BRETT LOGAN
Bored? I had to take out a loan to get her into Shadow Vale and she runs away because she’s bored?
LIZ LOGAN
I’m not saying that’s why she left. There could be a hundred reasons.
BRETT LOGAN
And not one of them’s acceptable.
LIZ LOGAN
She’s just a kid.
BRETT LOGAN
A pregnant kid.
LIZ LOGAN
Yes…a pregnant kid. So you shouldn’t be surprised she’s doing things that seem a bit crazy.
BRETT LOGAN
They should lock girls up until they’re old enough to get married.
LIZ LOGAN
Don’t you remember what it was like to be a kid her age, Brett?.
BRETT LOGAN
Of course I remember.
LIZ LOGAN
When we’re kids, we all do things we regret. It’s how we learn.
BRETT LOGAN
But there’s different rules for boys when it comes to sex.
LIZ LOGAN
That’s right…you can’t get pregnant.
BRETT LOGAN
We should have sent her to one of those “doctors” you hear about.
LIZ LOGAN
And have her hemorrhage or develop an infection? No thank you.
BRETT LOGAN
This is what I get for being a trucker. Always on the road away from home.
LIZ LOGAN
Don’t blame it on your job.
BRETT LOGAN
If I’d been home nights she wouldn’t have snuck off on her little adventures.
LIZ LOGAN
So you’re saying it’s my fault?
BRETT LOGAN
You let her get away with bloody murder, Liz.
LIZ LOGAN
What would you know about it? On the days you are home you sneak off to the beer parlour to tie one on with your so-called “pals”.
BRETT LOGAN
Hey, after a week on the road I need to wind down.
LIZ LOGAN
By avoiding me and Jenny.
BRETT LOGAN
By having a beer or two so I can remember what it’s like not to have to work all the time.
LIZ LOGAN
So being with me is work?
BRETT LOGAN
It’s no picnic, what with you nagging at me and Jenny running wild.
LIZ LOGAN
She doesn’t “run wild”.
BRETT LOGAN
Well, where the heck is she, then? Not here, that’s for sure. Looks like that Gallo woman sent us on a wild goose chase.
LIZ LOGAN
(pointing)
There’s a little canteen shack just down the road. Maybe someone in there knows where she is.
BRETT LOGAN
I wouldn’t bet on it.
(They exit.)
End of Act One, Scene 9.
Jenny Logan by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act One, Scene 10:
(MILLIE BEAUVILLE and NATALIE KRUGEL enter.)
NATALIE KRUGEL
Well, Sophie’s obviously not here.
MILLIE BEAUVILLE
Here or not, I know she’ll be all right.
NATALIE KRUGEL
With those two little she-devils she ran off with?
MILLIE BEAUVILLE
She knows how to take care of herself.
NATALIE KRUGEL
Right…Sophie’s so good at taking care of herself, she got pregnant.
MILLIE BEAUVILLE
That’s not what I mean.
NATALIE KRUGEL
Then what do you mean, Millie?
MILLIE BEAUVILLE
She’s head-smart…she’s got a keen intellect. It’s her heart that’s not so smart.
NATALIE KRUGEL
Head, heart…it’s all meaningless. She’s seven month’s pregnant, Millie, and out here somewhere on the loose.
MILLIE BEAUVILLE
I knew it wasn’t a good idea to send her to that home.
NATALIE KRUGEL
Let’s not start that again. I’m her mother, so I call the shots.
MILLIE BEAUVILLE
And I’m your big sister, Natalie. Maybe you should listen to me once in a while.
NATALIE KRUGEL
You mean let you boss me around like you did when we were kids.
MILLIE BEAUVILLE
I’m just worried about my niece.
NATALIE KRUGEL
You said she’d be all right.
MILLIE BEAUVILLE
On the outside, but not on the inside. That maternity home is no place for a girl like her.
NATALIE KRUGEL
Well, where else was I supposed to send her?
MILLIE BEAUVILLE
She could have stayed with Aunt Rosy in Saskatoon.
NATALIE KRUGEL
Oh sure, Aunt Rosy…a loopy old gal who’d tell the whole world about Sophie.
MILLIE BEAUVILLE
Aunt Rosy isn’t afraid of the truth.
NATALIE KRUGEL
I’ve got a business to run, Millie. I don’t need a lot of gossip about Sophie.
MILLIE BEAUVILLE
You think people don’t know what’s going on anyway, Natalie?
NATALIE KRUGEL
That’s why things must be done properly; sending her to a maternity home is the respectable thing to do.
MILLIE BEAUVILLE
How is it “respectable” to stick her in a place that makes her so unhappy she has to run away?
NATALIE KRUGEL
We don’t know she’s unhappy! Maybe she and her friends went off on some sort of wild spree!
MILLIE BEAUVILLE
Oh come on; you know Sophie’s not like that.
NATALIE KRUGEL
Those other girls are a bad influence.
MILLIE BEAUVILLE
And you say sending her to that home was the right thing to do.
NATALIE KRUGEL
Just stop it, Millie! You’re not helping! Look, I don’t know what’s right any more, okay? I’m as mixed up as Sophie!
MILLIE BEAUVILLE
She’s not “mixed up”. She’s just pregnant and unhappy.
NATALIE KRUGEL
I just want to find her and get her back to that home.
MILLIE BEAUVILLE
You don’t get it, Natalie.
NATALIE KRUGEL
Of course I don’t! If I did, she wouldn’t be pregnant! I’m putting my faith in the experts at that home.
MILLIE BEAUVILLE
They don’t love Sophie. We do.
NATALIE KRUGEL
If John was alive, none of this would be happening. A girl needs a father.
MILLIE BEAUVILLE
Life goes on.
NATALIE KRUGEL
Stop patronizing me!
MILLIE BEAUVILLE
I’m sorry…I don’t mean to make things worse. Let’s take a look in that little canteen we saw.
NATALIE KRUGEL
I’m beginning to think I should have driven up here by myself.
(They exit.)
End of Act One, Scene 10.
Jenny Logan by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act One, Scene 11:
(DOROTHY NASH enters with LEONA GALLO.)
DOROTHY NASH
Thank you for driving me over here, Mrs. Gallo. I would have lost my way on my own in this fog.
LEONA GALLO
You’re most welcome, Mrs. Nash. I just hope those three local girls were telling the truth about your daughter being here.
DOROTHY NASH
Yes, but I don’t see any sign of Constance or the two girls who encouraged her to run away.
LEONA GALLO
Mrs. Nash, I want you to know I did everything I could to make Connie’s stay with us as pleasant as possible.
DOROTHY NASH
(with subtle sarcasm)
I’m sorry she’s caused you so much trouble.
LEONA GALLO
She’s so easily influenced by those other two girls. It’s not her fault.
DOROTHY NASH
I was told Shadow Vale was a home for girls from reputable families.
LEONA GALLO
We only take girls from families who can afford our fees. That eliminates less desirable clients.
DOROTHY NASH
But the girls who’ve kidnapped Constance are obviously not “desirable clients”.
LEONA GALLO
“Kidnapped” is a stronger word than I’d use, Mrs. Nash.
DOROTHY NASH
She’s a very impressionable young girl, Mrs. Gallo.
LEONA GALLO
Yes, I suppose she is.
DOROTHY NASH
You should have taken note of that fact when Constance first arrived.
LEONA GALLO
Well, yes, perhaps I should’ve.
DOROTHY NASH
Then perhaps you would not have let two sluttish and irresponsible brats influence my daughter.
LEONA GALLO
Mrs. Nash, I know you’re alarmed by Connie’s behaviour, but I can assure you we will find her and modify her behaviour.
DOROTHY NASH
She must become compliant. She must not break the rules.
LEONA GALLO
Yes, yes…I agree completely.
DOROTHY NASH
I’m a busy woman, Mrs. Gallo.
LEONA GALLO
I appreciate that, Mrs. Nash.
DOROTHY NASH
You summoned me to discuss Constance’s behaviour.
LEONA GALLO
I requested that you meet with us, yes.
DOROTHY NASH
I drove up here alone so as to avoid publicity.
LEONA GALLO
That’s understandable.
DOROTHY NASH
But when I get here, I find my daughter is missing and the only clue to her whereabouts comes from a trio of silly girls in a beat-up old pickup truck.
LEONA GALLO
I’m sure we’ll have it all sorted out in no time.
DOROTHY NASH
Is that a canteen over there?
LEONA GALLO
Yes, I believe it is…would you care for something?
DOROTHY NASH
A good stiff drink, but I suppose I’ll have to settle for stale coffee. Come along, come along.
(They exit.)
End of Act One, Scene 11.
Jenny Logan by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act One, Scene 12:
(BUNTY TOBIAS and SHELLEY HOTCHKISS enter with NIKI VOLTENBURGER, SHERI GRIFFIN, and MELITA TUBBS.)
BUNTY TOBIAS
So you say you saw the three girls right here?
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
Yep. Standing right over there.
(She points.)
SHELLEY HOTCHKISS
They must have left, Bunty.
BUNTY TOBIAS
(to NIKI)
Did they say they were going somewhere?
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
The one called Connie said the one called Jenny was waiting for something.
SHERI GRIFFIN
All three of them were acting strange, like they were planning something.
MELITA TUBBS
They wouldn’t let us be their friends.
BUNTY TOBIAS
Why not?
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
Because they’re ashamed of themselves, I guess.
SHERI GRIFFIN
…for being pregnant.
MELITA TUBBS
I guess they’re jealous of us.
SHERI GRIFFIN
They were probably waiting for someone who was going to give them liquor.
SHELLEY HOTCHKISS
Possibly.
(to BUNTY)
I wouldn’t be surprised to find them wandering about in a drunken stupor.
BUNTY TOBIAS
(to NIKI)
This is a serious matter. I hope you’re being completely honest with us.
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
Oh, we are, Mrs. Tobias. We feel sorry for those girls, don’t we?
SHERI GRIFFIN
Oh yes.
(to BUNTY TOBIAS)
That’s why we came to you for help.
MELITA TUBBS
We all decided that would be best.
BUNTY TOBIAS
Yes, well, I’m glad you came to us. However, it looks like we’re too late.
SHELLEY HOTCHKISS
There’s a canteen shack over there, Bunty…perhaps the girls are there.
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
Maybe they’re in there eating donuts with ketchup on them.
(SHERI and MELITA can’t help snickering a bit.)
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
Pregnant girls like to eat yucky things, don’t they?
SHERI GRIFFIN
Maybe they’d have let us be their friends if we’d given them pickles and ice cream.
MELITA TUBBS
Or cake with mayonnaise on it.
(All three can’t help snickering some more.)
SHELLEY HOTCHKISS
I’m glad to see you have a sense of humour about it.
BUNTY TOBIAS
Let’s see who’s in that canteen hut.
(They all exit.)
End of Act One, Scene 12.
Jenny Logan by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act One, Scene 13:
(CAL NORTH enters with SONIA FURKATI.)
CAL NORTH
So you think my plane will get me where I want to go, Sonia?
SONIA FURKATI
Where do you want to go?
CAL NORTH
I don’t know yet.
SONIA FURKATI
What do you mean by that?
CAL NORTH
Just what I say.
SONIA FURKATI
How can I tell you if your plane will make it someplace if you don’t know where that place is?
CAL NORTH
I guess all I’m asking is if my plane will fly until it runs out of fuel.
SONIA FURKATI
I don’t see why not.
CAL NORTH
That’s all I wanted to know.
(BUD KLASSEN enters.)
BUD KLASSEN
No sign of the fog letting up, and it’s starting to snow.
SONIA FURKATI
You better not try flying out of here today, Cal.
CAL NORTH
I flew in, didn’t I? What comes down must go up.
(NELLY BRACKEN enters.)
NELLY BRACKEN
Getting crowded in the canteen shack. I can’t stand crowds.
(to CAL)
You a pilot?
SONIA FURKATI
He landed here about an hour ago.
CAL NORTH
I’m Cal…Cal North.
NELLY BRACKEN
I’m Nelly…say, how’d get your plane down in this fog?
CAL NORTH
Instinct.
BUD KLASSEN
(to CAL)
Where’d you say you’re from again?
CAL NORTH
I didn’t.
NELLY BRACKEN
Looks like you got a mystery on your hands, Bud.
BUD KLASSEN
I need some information about your plane for the records, Cal.
CAL NORTH
What do you want to know?
BUD KLASSEN
It’s registration number, for starters.
CAL NORTH
Doesn’t have one.
SONIA FURKATI
It’s got to have one.
CAL NORTH
Well, it doesn’t, and that’s that.
BUD KLASSEN
But that’s against the law.
CAL NORTH
What law?
BUD KLASSEN
Civil aviation law.
CAL NORTH
How about that.
SONIA FURKATI
You’re kidding with us, Cal.
CAL NORTH
Am I?
BUD KLASSEN
If your plane isn’t registered, I can’t let you take off from here.
CAL NORTH
Sure you can.
BUD KLASSEN
Not without risking my job, or worse.
CAL NORTH
Listen, Mr. Klassen, nothing I do will harm you in any way. I promise you that.
BUD KLASSEN
That doesn’t mean I’ll let you use my airstrip to take off.
NELLY BRACKEN
Come on, Bud, don’t be such a hard-ass.
BUD KLASSEN
What?
NELLY BRACKEN
I said, “Don’t be such a hard-ass!” If you believe in God so much, why not trust God to take care of business?
CAL NORTH
I can take care of my own business, Nelly.
NELLY BRACKEN
I bet you can, too!
End of Act One, Scene 13.
Jenny Logan by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act One, Scene 14:
(JENNY LOGAN, SOPHIE KRUGEL, and CONNIE NASH enter from one side, and GRACE BURROWS from the other.)
GRACE BURROWS
Hey, there’s some folks here looking for you three, but I’ve got a feeling you don’t want them to find you.
JENNY LOGAN
You might be right about that.
CAL NORTH
You girls on the run from something?
SOPHIE KRUGEL
Why should we tell you?
CAL NORTH
No reason.
CONNIE NASH
(to CAL)
Are you a private investigator?
CAL NORTH
I’m private, but I’m not much of an investigator.
GRACE BURROWS
His name’s Cal North and he’s a pilot.
BUD KLASSEN
That’s all we know about him.
SONIA FURKATI
He’s a mystery man.
NELLY BRACKEN
He landed his plane in this fog and lived to tell the tale.
JENNY LOGAN
What comes down must go up.
BUD KLASSEN
Say, that’s what he said!
CAL NORTH
That’s what I said.
NELLY BRACKEN
(to CAL and JENNY)
Isn’t that something…it’s like you’re connected to each other somehow.
GRACE BURROWS
Because they said the same thing? Just a coincidence. Happens all the time.
CONNIE NASH
(referring to CAL)
Do you know him, Jenny?
JENNY LOGAN
(ignoring CONNIE)
Do you mind if I take a look at your plane, Cal?
CAL NORTH
It’s a free country. You can look but don’t touch.
JENNY LOGAN
I won’t touch it. I’m not ready for that yet.
BUD KLASSEN
(to JENNY)
Why would you want to look at his plane?
JENNY LOGAN
To see if it’ll do.
GRACE BURROWS
Do for what?
JENNY LOGAN
For me. And my baby.
(She exits.)
NELLY BRACKEN
(to SOPHIE and CONNIE)
Well? Are you going to let her go out there all by herself?
SOPHIE KRUGEL
We better go watch out for her, Connie.
CONNIE NASH
What if she wants to be alone?
SOPHIE KRUGEL
We’ll keep well away from her while she gawks at the plane.
SONIA FURKATI
If you girls get cold, come out to the hangar…it’s nice and warm and private in there.
(They exit.)
GRACE BURROWS
I wonder if I should tell the people in the canteen?
NELLY BRACKEN
Not yet. Let them stew for a while longer.
BUD KLASSEN
I don’t know…they’ll be mighty angry if they find out we’re covering for those girls.
SONIA FURKATI
What harm will another half hour do?
CAL NORTH
A lot can happen in half an hour.
GRACE BURROWS
Like what?
CAL NORTH
Well, for starters, a man can wash his hands and face, comb his hair, and drink a couple of cups of hot coffee, which is what I intend to do.
(He exits.)
BUD KLASSEN
I guess I’ll just go back in my radio shack and pretend everything’s fine.
NELLY BRACKEN
(with mild and loving sarcasm)
That’s right, Bud…trust in the universe.
SONIA FURKATI
I guess I’ll go work on my purple airplane for a while. I know it sounds silly but that plane’s such a comfort to me when I’m feeling confused.
(She exits.)
NELLY BRACKEN
Looks like you’ve got a doozy of a story on your hands, Miss Burrows.
GRACE BURROWS
I wonder how it will end?
(They exit.)
End of Act One, Scene 14.
Jenny Logan by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Two, Scene 1:
(VERONICA MORGAN runs in, followed by VALERIE MORGAN and PHILLIP MORGAN.)
VERONICA MORGAN
I’m going to stay right here ‘til that plane out there takes me away. You and Daddy can go home.
VALERIE MORGAN
(touching VERONICA’s forehead)
You must be getting a fever, Veronica…there’s no airplane out there.
PHILLIP MORGAN
It’s getting dark out, Valerie. Let’s take her home.
VALERIE MORGAN
I suppose you’re right. Snow’s falling now, and I don’t see any chance of a flight out of here tonight.
(She wanders disconsolately downstage and looks out the “windows”.)
VALERIE MORGAN
Wait a minute…I think there is a plane out there!
PHILLIP MORGAN
(joining her)
Where?
VALERIE MORGAN
You can just make out the tail section.
PHILLIP MORGAN
Yes. What’s it doing here?
VERONICA MORGAN
I told you so. Didn’t you see that young man who came into the canteen? I bet he’s the pilot of that plane.
VALERIE MORGAN
I’m going to talk to him about a charter flight.
PHILLIP MORGAN
But it looks like a tiny two-seater. There’s not enough room for all three of us.
VALERIE MORGAN
He can take Veronica, and we’ll phone ahead to make arrangements at the hospital.
PHILLIP MORGAN
But he might have other business…and besides, do you really want to send Veronica off with a stranger in a plane that might crash on take-off?
VALERIE MORGAN
Phillip, I know you don’t understand, but I’m sure there’s something very wrong with Veronica. Call it mother’s intuition if you like.
PHILLIP MORGAN
It’s no wonder she’s got a fever, sitting around that drafty canteen all day.
VALERIE MORGAN
So help me talk that pilot into taking her…if he can land here, he can take off…and get Veronica to safety.
VERONICA MORGAN
I want to go by myself. I don’t want you or Daddy with me.
(She slumps down and sulks.)
(NIKI VOLTENBURGER, SHERI GRIFFIN, and MELITA TUBBS enter.)
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
Reverend Morgan, is there something the matter with Veronica?
PHILLIP MORGAN
She’s feeling poorly, Niki.
SHERI GRIFFIN
Poor thing. Is it her tummy?
VALERIE MORGAN
She may have appendicitis.
MELITA TUBBS
Or something else.
VERONICA MORGAN
Shut up, Melita.
PHILLIP MORGAN
Veronica, don’t talk to Melita that way.
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
It’s all right, Reverend Morgan. I guess Veronica’s just scared.
SHERI GRIFFIN
I would be scared too, if I was Veronica.
MELITA TUBBS
A girl has to be careful these days.
VALERIE MORGAN
What are you insinuating, girls?
VERONICA MORGAN
They’re just being mean, Mummy.
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
Didn’t you tell your parents, Veronica?
SHERI GRIFFIN
…about Randy?
MELITA TUBBS
They ought to know about Randy.
PHILLIP MORGAN
If you girls have something you want to tell us about Veronica, please be direct.
VERONICA MORGAN
My stomach is hurting and I’m burning all over. I’m going back to the canteen to talk to that pilot.
(She exits.)
VALERIE MORGAN
Veronica!
(to PHILLIP)
I told you she had a fever.
(She exits after VERONICA.)
PHILLIP MORGAN
What’s all this about some fellow called “Randy”?
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
You better get Veronica to tell you herself, Reverend Morgan.
SHERI GRIFFIN
It’s kind of private.
MELITA TUBBS
We only know ‘cause Randy was bragging.
PHILLIP MORGAN
About what?
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
It’s not our place to tell you, Reverend. You better ask Veronica.
PHILLIP MORGAN
I will.
(He exits.)
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
Appendicitis!
MELITA TUBBS
More like morning sickness.
SHERI GRIFFIN
A little bun in the preacher’s daughter’s oven.
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
The good reverend will lose his job over this.
SHERI GRIFFIN
Maybe he’ll make her get an abortion.
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
If he does, he might offer us money not to tell.
MELITA TUBBS
Would we have to split it with Randy?
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
No way. Randy would pay to keep us from telling that he’s the dad.
SHERI GRIFFIN
Would you really take hush money, Niki?
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
It’s just doing business, like the adults. I mean, the parents of the girls at that maternity home pay a lot of money to keep those pregnancies secret, don’t they?
MELITA TUBBS
Let’s go back to the canteen and see what Veronica does.
(They exit.)
End of Act Two, Scene 1.
Jenny Logan by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Two, Scene 2:
(BRETT and LIZ LOGAN enter with MILLIE BEAUVILLE and NATALIE KRUGEL.)
NATALIE KRUGEL
Still no sign of those girls of ours.
BRETT LOGAN
I got a feeling they’re around here someplace.
MILLIE BEAUVILLE
I hope you’re right, Mr. Logan.
LIZ LOGAN
That newspaper woman was acting all nosy, asking us questions.
NATALIE KRUGEL
I think she knows something about the girls.
MILLIE BEAUVILLE
She seems to be interested in some sort of story about us.
BRETT LOGAN
That’s all we need…a newspaper article about our pregnant daughters.
LIZ LOGAN
Right now, I just want to Jenny to turn up. I’ll deal with the consequences later.
MILLIE BEAUVILLE
That’s right, Mrs. Logan. Three pregnant kids out in this weather…it’s dangerous.
NATALIE KRUGEL
I say we get the police involved.
BRETT LOGAN
No! We don’t want to add fuel to the fire. Call the cops, and the whole damn province will know about it!
LIZ LOGAN
I don’t care who knows, Brett. I just want Jenny to be safe.
MILLIE BEAUVILLE
Besides, if something bad happens to them, it’ll be in the news right across the country.
NATALIE KRUGEL
We need search parties.
LIZ LOGAN
Yes…and radio announcements asking people to report any sightings.
BRETT LOGAN
Oh, come on. Those other three girls talked to them right here in this waiting room. They’re probably hiding in one of the airport buildings, having a good laugh at our expense.
(LEONA GALLO enters with DOROTHY NASH, BUNTY TOBIAS, and SHELLEY HOTCHKISS.)
DOROTHY NASH
Mrs. Gallo, I am rapidly losing patience with you. I placed my daughter in your care, and she has disappeared without a trace.
LEONA GALLO
I’m sure she’ll turn up any moment, Mrs. Nash.
DOROTHY NASH
You keep saying that, but there’s no sign of her anywhere!
BUNTY TOBIAS
At least she’s not alone. The three of them should be able to take care of one another.
DOROTHY NASH
Nonsense! I pay you to take care of my daughter, and you thrust her into the hands of two little trouble makers!
BRETT LOGAN
Don’t you go calling my daughter trouble, lady.
LIZ LOGAN
(taking his arm)
Don’t, Brett…it doesn’t help.
SHELLEY HOTCHKISS
As a nurse, I can assure you all that so long as the girls stay warm, they and the fetuses are in no imminent danger.
MILLIE BEAUVILLE
They’re babies, Nurse, not “fetuses”.
SHELLEY HOTCHKISS
Until they’re delivered, they’re fetuses, Miss Beauville.
BRETT LOGAN
What the heck difference does it make? Pork is pig, veal is calf, mutton is sheep, and fetus is baby.
LIZ LOGAN
Brett, you just compared a baby to a Sunday dinner. Try to get hold of yourself, will you?
DOROTHY NASH
Mrs. Gallo, I’m cold and tired, and we’re no closer to finding my daughter. What do you propose to do?
MILLIE BEAUVILLE
Mrs. Gallo, we really should involve the police.
LEONA GALLO
But the publicity…
BUNTY TOBIAS
It would do more harm than good to put a spotlight on the girls.
SHELLEY HOTCHKISS
They’d be subjected to public scrutiny.
NATALIE KRUGEL
Mrs. Gallo, we want our girls found, and now. If it takes the police to do it, so be it.
LEONA GALLO
Just wait another half hour or so. I’m sure your daughters are around here somewhere.
BRETT LOGAN
I don’t get why they’d come out to this little airport in the first place.
LEONA GALLO
Perhaps they expected to meet someone here.
MILLIE BEAUVILLE
But no one’s flown in or out today except that pilot over in the canteen.
NATALIE KRUGEL
Millie and I asked him if he’d seen the girls, and he didn’t answer.
LEONA GALLO
Then he could be trying to conceal evidence about them.
MILLIE BEAUVILLE
So call the police!
SHELLEY HOTCHKISS
This is not a criminal matter…it’s about the girls’ health!
(NELLY BRACKEN enters.)
BRETT LOGAN
We’re just talking in circles. I say we search the hangar and the radio shack.
LIZ LOGAN
It wouldn’t hurt to look.
NATALIE KRUGEL
I agree.
MILLIE BEAUVILLE
What are we waiting for?
DOROTHY NASH
If my daughter isn’t in one of those buildings, I’m calling the police immediately.
BRETT LOGAN
Let’s start with the hangar.
(He, LIZ, NATALIE KRUGEL, MILLIE and MRS. NASH exit.)
NELLY BRACKEN
Those folks are pretty desperate.
LEONA GALLO
They’re over-reacting.
NELLY BRACKEN
Worried about your reputation, Mrs. Gallo?
LEONA GALLO
I put the health and welfare of the girls ahead of everything, Mrs. Bracken.
NELLY BRACKEN
Sure.
BUNTY TOBIAS
We better go to the hangar, Leona. If the girls are there, Shelley will want to look them over.
SHELLEY HOTCHKISS
The Logan girl is too far along to be out and about.
LEONA GALLO
Come on, then.
(She exits with BUNTY and SHELLEY.)
End of Act Two, Scene 2.
Jenny Logan by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Two, Scene 3:
(GRACE BURROWS enters.)
GRACE BURROWS
There’s a stream of people headed for the hangar.
NELLY BRACKEN
They’re going to find the pregnant girls.
GRACE BURROWS
Uh oh.
NELLY BRACKEN
I wouldn’t worry about it. You’ll get a story one way or another.
GRACE BURROWS
That minister’s daughter is in a bad way.
NELLY BRACKEN
Her appendix?
GRACE BURROWS
No. I’d say she’s headed for a miscarriage.
NELLY BRACKEN
How would you know a thing like that?
GRACE BURROWS
I had one myself when I was a girl.
NELLY BRACKEN
It’s hard to lose a baby…I lost three.
GRACE BURROWS
And they make perfectly healthy pregnant girls feel ashamed. What a world.
NELLY BRACKEN
If the minister’s kid is having a miscarriage, she’ll have to be flown out of here right away.
GRACE BURROWS
Maybe Cal North will do it.
(BUD KLASSEN enters.)
BUD KLASSEN
The fog’s starting to lift and the snow’s letting up.
GRACE BURROWS
Just in time.
BUD KLASSEN
For what?
NELLY BRACKEN
For an emergency flight out of here.
BUD KLASSEN
For who?
GRACE BURROWS
Veronica Morgan, the minister’s daughter.
BUD KLASSEN
What’s wrong with her?
NELLY BRACKEN
Miscarriage.
(SONIA FURKATI enters.)
SONIA FURKATI
They’ve found the pregnant girls!
NELLY BRACKEN
Poor kids.
SONIA FURKATI
They just stormed into the hangar like a mob and grabbed the girls.
GRACE BURROWS
I guess they’ll all be herded back to that maternity home.
NELLY BRACKEN
And Jenny Logan won’t ever know what she’s been waiting for.
GRACE BURROWS
Not much of a story…three pregnant girls escape for a day, and another pregnant girl gets flown to a hospital in Winnipeg.
(CAL NORTH enters with NIKI VOLTENBURGER, SHERI GRIFFIN, and MELITA TUBBS.)
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
I sure would like to go up in your plane with you, Cal.
SHERI GRIFFIN
It would be sort of like going to heaven.
MELITA TUBBS
Maybe we could take turns.
CAL NORTH
You girls don’t want to go up in my plane.
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
Sure we do.
CAL NORTH
I know what you really want, and we can do that right here on the ground.
SHERI GRIFFIN
Hey! That’s not nice.
CAL NORTH
Neither are you.
MELITA TUBBS
Well, how do you like that! No need to be rude, Cal. We just want to have a little fun.
CAL NORTH
You three don’t get it. There’s a girl in that canteen who’s seriously ill and all you can do is flirt?
NELLY BRACKEN
You’ve got a good head on your shoulders, Cal.
BUD KLASSEN
Want to use it to make an emergency flight to Winnipeg?
CAL NORTH
I already told the minister I’d take his girl. They’re getting her ready.
GRACE BURROWS
Good for you, Cal.
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
(pulling CAL aside)
Will you be back, Cal?
CAL NORTH
Not for you, kid.
SHERI GRIFFIN
(to CAL)
Don’t forget about us.
MELITA TUBBS
Come back to us, Cal.
NELLY BRACKEN
Leave him be! People aren’t toys for your personal entertainment.
(PHILLIP and VALERIE MORGAN enter with VERONICA, who they are supporting.)
PHILLIP MORGAN
She’s ready, Mr. North.
VERONICA MORGAN
I’m scared, Mummy.
VALERIE MORGAN
Of course you are, honey, but Mr. North will get you to the hospital in no time.
CAL NORTH
I’ve got to warm up the engine.
(to the MORGANS)
You stay here with Veronica, until I come and get you.
(He exits.)
VERONICA MORGAN
What if I die on the plane, Mummy?
VALERIE MORGAN
You won’t, dear. You’re a strong girl.
VERONICA MORGAN
I’ve got awful cramps.
NELLY BRACKEN
Those cramps won’t kill you, Veronica.
(For the first time, NIKI, SHERI, and MELITA show signs of uneasiness.)
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
She looks awful pale.
SHERI GRIFFIN
Maybe she won’t make it.
MELITA TUBBS
Could she bleed to death?
GRACE BURROWS
(to the girls)
If you can’t say something helpful, better not say anything at all.
SONIA FURKATI
I’m going to get my plane out of the hangar and see if I can get it started and warmed up.
BUD KLASSEN
Why, Sonia?
SONIA FURKATI
I just got a feeling I should…just a feeling.
(She exits.)
BUD KLASSEN
She doesn’t even know if that thing will fly.
(CAL NORTH enters.)
CAL NORTH
My engine won’t start. I can’t figure it out. It should be running fine.
VALERIE MORGAN
What are we going to do?
PHILLIP MORGAN
Maybe Sonia can get her plane running.
BUD KLASSEN She’s a good pilot. It’s just a question of whether her plane will fly.
End of Act Two, Scene 3.
Jenny Logan by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Two, Scene 4:
(JENNY, SOPHIE, and CONNIE enter, escorted by their families, along with LEONA GALLO, BUNTY TOBIAS, and SHELLEY HOTCHKISS.)
GRACE BURROWS
Miss Hotchkiss, you’re a nurse. Little Veronica over there may be having a miscarriage.
SHELLEY HOTCHKISS
(going to VERONICA, who is in real pain)
Are you sure you’re pregnant?
(VERONICA nods yes.)
Are you having cramps?
(She nods yes.)
Bleeding?
(She shakes her head no.)
Does your lower back hurt?
(VERONICA nods yes, then writhes with pain. SHELLEY speaks to the others.)
SHELLEY HOTCHKISS
I’d advise you to get her to a hospital right away.
NELLY BRACKEN
Thanks for stating the obvious, but it’s easier said than done.
CAL NORTH
There’s something wrong with my plane.
JENNY LOGAN
I know why it won’t run, Cal.
CAL NORTH
Huh?
JENNY LOGAN
You’re not supposed to take Veronica to Winnipeg…it’s not in the cards.
CAL NORTH
Not in the cards?
SOPHIE KRUGEL
She’s got you all figured out, Cal.
BRETT LOGAN
Jenny, what’s got into you?
LIZ LOGAN
(to JENNY)
What are you talking about, dear?
JENNY LOGAN
I’m talking about the reason I came here today.
LEONA GALLO
Jenny, you and your friends have caused an uproar today. Please refrain from any more silly behaviour.
CONNIE NASH
She’s not silly…you’re silly…just you wait and see.
DOROTHY NASH
Constance! What on earth has happened to you?
CONNIE NASH
Stop fussing over me, Mother. There’s a girl here who might die if she doesn’t get help, and all you can do is lecture at me!
NATALIE KRUGEL
That’s right. At least our daughters are safe and sound.
MILLIE BEAUMONT
While that poor girl over there is in so much pain.
BUNTY TOBIAS
We could take her to the maternity home, but our resident doctor is away at a conference.
SHELLEY HOTCHKISS
The girl needs an obstetrician and possibly a surgeon.
(SONIA FURKATI enters.)
SONIA FURKATI
My plane’s running like a top! Everything checks out!
BUD KLASSEN
Are you sure, Sonia?
SONIA FURKATI
It’ll fly like an eagle.
BUD KLASSEN
Then I’m going out on a limb and issuing you a temporary flight permit.
SONIA FURKATI
Send it to me in the mail. I’ve got to get Veronica to Winnipeg. Let’s get her on board right now.
PHILLIP MORGAN
Come on, Veronica…you’re going to be all right.
VALERIE MORGAN
It’s like a miracle.
PHILLIP MORGAN
Yes, like a miracle.
NELLY BRACKEN
No, it’s just Sonia’s skill as a mechanic and pilot.
VERONICA MORGAN
Thank you, Sonia.
SONIA FURKATI
Hey, we’re not in Winnipeg yet.
VERONICA MORGAN
I just know you’ll get me there safely.
BUD KLASSEN
(looking out the window)
The weather’s cleared up…you can even see a few stars.
PHILLIP MORGAN
So we can call it a miracle!
(He, VALERIE MORGAN, VERONICA, and SONIA exit.)
CAL NORTH
We didn’t need my plane after all.
JENNY LOGAN
Go out and try to start it, Cal.
CAL NORTH
No hurry now.
JENNY LOGAN
Please do it…it’s so important. You know how important it is.
(CAL looks at JENNY, then suddenly it’s as if a great light goes on in his brain.)
CAL NORTH
Oh! Now I see! I’ll be right back!
(He exits.)
LIZ LOGAN
Jenny, please tell us what’s going on.
SOPHIE KRUGEL
I guess it’s time you told them, Jenny.
CONNIE NASH
Let me tell them for you, Jenny.
JENNY LOGAN
Go ahead, Connie.
CONNIE NASH
Jenny’s going away with Cal.
BRETT LOGAN
The hell she is.
LIZ LOGAN
Go where?
CONNIE NASH
Into the wilderness somewhere…to a cabin on a lake.
DOROTHY NASH
That’s ridiculous.
BRETT LOGAN
I won’t let my daughter fly off somewhere where she can’t get proper care.
JENNY LOGAN
Dad, I’m going to tell you something, and for once you’re going to listen.
BRETT LOGAN
Tell me what?
JENNY LOGAN
I’m flying away, Dad…far away…and I’m going to have my baby with nobody but Cal to help me.
LIZ LOGAN
But why, Jenny?
JENNY LOGAN
Because nature made me pregnant, and nature’s going to help me give birth.
BRETT LOGAN
Nature?
JENNY LOGAN
I’m a fertile woman…that’s natural…sex is natural…and so is pregnancy. So as far as I’m concerned, nature is the true father of my child…and I want nature to be by my side when I give birth.
CONNIE NASH
(gushing)
Isn’t that the most amazing thing?
JENNY LOGAN
Connie, please. After the baby’s born, I’ll let nature off the hook and Cal will fly me home.
(CAL NORTH enters.)
CAL NORTH
The motor’s running like silk.
JENNY LOGAN
I know a thing or two about airplanes, Cal.
CAL NORTH
You did something to my plane, didn’t you.
JENNY LOGAN
Maybe. I bet you know of a nice little trapper’s cabin that’s empty and in good shape.
CAL NORTH
Sure…I know lots…there’s one that’s all fitted out at Lake…
JENNY LOGAN
(interrupting CAL)
Don’t tell me where it is…just take me there.
CAL NORTH
That won’t be hard to do. The plane’s on skis.
JENNY LOGAN
(to the others)
Don’t try to stop me…you wouldn’t want to be responsible for what I’d do if you did. And don’t even think of charging Cal with kidnapping. You can all see I’m leaving of my own free will.
LIZ LOGAN
But you’re only fifteen…
JENNY LOGAN
And eight months and three weeks pregnant…that makes me a woman, and every woman has the right to decide for herself what’s best for her and her baby.
BRETT LOGAN
Well, I never saw this one coming. But I won’t try to stop you, Jenny…there’s no stopping a Logan who’s made up her mind.
CAL NORTH
I knew I had to land here…and now I know why. Come on, Jenny…I’ve got a full tank of gas and lots of supplies…and I even know a thing or two about helping your baby make an entrance into the world. I’ll get you to that cabin and bring you home again…with your baby.
SOPHIE KRUGEL
Goodbye, Jenny…I know I’ll see you soon…
CONNIE NASH
Goodbye, dear Jenny…goodbye. Thanks for your friendship.
LIZ LOGAN
I’m scared for you, Jenny, but I’m not going to stand in your way. Like you said, a woman has a right to decide for herself.
BRETT LOGAN
Good thing I took you camping when you were a kid, eh?
JENNY LOGAN
I can still light a fire with one match, Dad!
(JENNY gives her farewell hugs.)
CAL NORTH
Hey, Grace!
GRACE BURROWS
Yes, Cal?
CAL NORTH
Remember when I said you should pay attention to silly ideas because they can change your life?
GRACE BURROWS
…and all change is for the better, because it makes us learn…it makes us stronger…Yes, I remember.
CAL NORTH
Put that in your story. So long folks.
(He and JENNY exit with BRETT and LIZ.)
LEONA GALLO
(to the LOGANS)
Are you really going to let some stranger fly off into the night with your daughter?
NELLY BRACKEN
It’s the other way round…Jenny’s flying off with him.
CONNIE NASH
Jenny taught me something. I have the right to choose what’s best for me and my baby.
SOPHIE KRUGEL
Me too.
CONNIE NASH
Mother, I want you to take me home. I’m going to have my baby in the place where I grew up, with you beside me.
DOROTHY NASH
That’s out of the question, Constance.
CONNIE NASH
No, Mother…it’s the answer to the question. And if you try to stop me, I’ll make sure that the whole world hears about it.
DOROTHY NASH
Stubborn girl! But Mother loves you, and I’m glad you’re safe and well. I accept your decision.
(CONNIE tries to hug her.)
No hugs, Constance! You know how I feel about that sort of thing.
(CONNIE restrains herself.)
NATALIE KRUGEL
I can guess what you’re going to say, Sophie.
SOPHIE KRUGEL
No, Mum…I’m not going to make you take me home. I want Aunt Millie to let me stay with her until I’ve had the baby.
MILLIE BEAUVILLE
You can stay as long as you want, Sophie.
NATALIE KRUGEL
But Sophie, I’d welcome you home now…after this.
SOPHIE KRUGEL
I’m not rejecting you, Mum…you could say I’m protecting you. The people you work with aren’t able to understand something like this, so I won’t challenge their prejudices…not this time.
CONNIE NASH
Tomorrow morning bright and early we can start for home. Just one more night in that maternity home, and then we can get on with life properly.
(She, SOPHIE, and DOROTHY NASH exit together.)
BUNTY TOBIAS
We lost three clients, Leona, but in a way that won’t really harm us.
LEONA GALLO
We’re very lucky…it could have been much worse.
SHELLEY HOTCHKISS
They wouldn’t have been with us much longer anyway.
LEONA GALLO
I wouldn’t call it a happy ending for those three girls. They’ve picked difficult paths to follow.
BUNTY TOBIAS
Yes. Today they’re excited by their ideas, but tomorrow they have to face the world, and the world doesn’t approve of them.
LEONA GALLO
I’m more resolved than ever to keep up our work at Shadow Vale. For every Jenny Logan, there are ten other girls who will appreciate the sanctuary I offer.
NELLY BRACKEN
I’ll tell it to you straight, Mrs. Gallo. You remind me of death.
LEONA GALLO
I’ll take that as a compliment, Mrs. Bracken, though you could never understand why.
(She exits with BUNTY and SHELLEY.)
NELLY BRACKEN
Well, Niki, it looks like you and your two toadies actually forgot to be bored for a while.
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
I wouldn’t go off in the bush to have my baby.
SHERI GRIFFIN
That Jenny girl must be crazy.
MELITA TUBBS
But she gets to be with Cal…I wish he’d take me away like that.
(The three girls begin to get lost in their silliness again, where they feel safe.)
SHERI GRIFFIN
Those cabins don’t even have toilets or showers, but if I was with Cal, I wouldn’t care.
MELITA TUBBS
Yeah. I’d chop wood and haul water if I could be with him.
SHERI GRIFFIN
One day, Cal will fly me to Winnipeg and we’ll get the best suite in the Fort Garry Hotel and eat caviar and sleep in silk sheets.
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
He’s dreamy. I bet he’s the son of a millionaire. And I just bet he talked so rough to me because he likes me and he’s embarrassed by his feelings.
GRACE BURROWS
You three could make a living writing dime store novels for Harlequin.
NIKI VOLTENBURGER
(to SHERI and GRACE)
Come on, you guys, let’s take Dad’s truck over to Birch Lake and bug Randy.
SHERI GRIFFIN
We’ll tell him all about Veronica’s little adventure.
MELITA TUBBS
I can’t wait to see his face when he hears!
(They exit ad-libbing about Randy.)
GRACE BURROWS
Nice girls.
BUD KLASSEN
Maybe they’ll ram that truck into a tree.
NELLY BRACKEN
I’d feel sorry for the tree.
GRACE BURROWS
Well, I got my story, but I’ve no place to stay tonight.
NELLY BRACKEN
I got a comfy couch in my trailer.
GRACE BURROWS
Sounds divine.
NELLY BRACKEN
It’s a divine divan. You ready to shut this place down for the night, Bud?
BUD KLASSEN
No. I think I’ll stay out here a bit longer…I got some paper work to do.
NELLY BRACKEN
See you tomorrow, then.
GRACE BURROWS
Goodbye, Bud…nice meeting you.
BUD KLASSEN
If you mention me in your story, say I’m handsome and available.
GRACE BURROWS
You got it.
NELLY BRACKEN
Why don’t you just ask me to marry you, Bud, and get it other with?
BUD KLASSEN
Not tonight, Nelly. Maybe tomorrow.
(GRACE and NELLY exit. BUD goes downstage and looks out the “window”.)
BUD KLASSEN
Two shooting stars! Must be Sonia and Cal, flying off into the night with their shining treasures.
END OF PLAY.