ACT ONE. SCENE TWO - MOMENTS LATER
CAROLINE, BETH, and RACHEL stand awkwardly in Caroline’s living room. BETH is conservatively dressed. RACHEL, 17, has dyed, cherry-red hair, and wears a floor-length skirt made out of some kind of black nylon. CAROLINE has just finished the nickel tour.

CAROLINE
Bedroom, bathroom, and the noise out there is Seventh Avenue. So, the bus ride was okay?

BETH
Oh, yeah. (beat.) There was a real nice lady next to us who got on in Baltimore.

RACHEL
She smelled like eggs.

BETH
That was her sandwich.

RACHEL
Whatever. Why would you bring an egg sandwich on a bus?

BETH
(ignoring Rachel)
She lives in Bushwick Brooklyn.

CAROLINE
Yikes.

BETH
What?

CAROLINE
Bushwick can get a little sketchy.

BETH
She seemed perfectly nice to me.

CAROLINE
I’m sure she was.

BETH
Her daughter is a dental hygienist.

CAROLINE
I didn’t mean she wasn’t nice.

BETH
I’m a very good judge of character, Caroline.

CAROLINE
I didn’t say you weren’t -

BETH
Just because I’m not from New York, and we don’t live in a big city, doesn’t mean-

CAROLINE
That’s not what I’m saying.

BETH
I’m not so naive.

CAROLINE
I never said you were. I only meant to say-

BETH
I’ve seen plenty. I don’t think anyone would argue that.

CAROLINE
I’m not arguing, Beth. It was a stupid thing to say. I was talking about Bushwick, not you.

Beat.

BETH
I’m not arguing.

CAROLINE
Good.

BETH
Good.

Pause.

BETH (cont'd)
Your apartment looks nice.

CAROLINE
Thanks.

RACHEL
Tell her about the woman downstairs.

BETH
Rachel-

RACHEL
What? It was funny.

BETH
It was not funny. It was...

RACHEL
Mom totally freaked.

BETH
-unfortunate. I did not freak. I was startled, which is perfectly natural in that kind of a situation.

CAROLINE
What happened?

RACHEL
Have you seen that lady without a nose?

CAROLINE
Mariana. She’s a friend of mine. What happened?

BETH
Nothing. She was coming out the door when we buzzed you.

RACHEL
Mom screamed right in her face.

CAROLINE
You didn’t!

BETH
I didn’t expect, it was startling to see a person without a nose.

CAROLINE
Did you apologize?

BETH
Yes!

RACHEL
No.

BETH
I didn’t have time. I got flustered with the two doors. We had our bags, and I was rushing because I didn’t know if you were going to buzz twice.

RACHEL
Your friend opened the second door for us, and mom went, Ah!, right in her face.

BETH
I was fumbling with the bags. Rachel brought three bags, even though I asked her to pack light.

CAROLINE
What did you say to Mariana?