[SCENE 6. Lunch break at PETE’s farm. WORKERS sitting around with paper plates & cups on trays.]

LETITIA

That was a long morning. Working in that hot sun makes me want to get a different job.

NANCY

You are NOT kidding. I wonder how many hundreds of pounds of tomatoes I picked this morning? My back says it was hundreds, anyway.

LETITIA

At least we get a break. When I used to work in fast food, half the time we didn’t get one at all.

NANCY

Mr. Lattier takes care of us workers, anyway.

LETITIA

Like we were family or something. Like we were his kids.

NANCY

Which is funny, because he doesn’t have any kids of his own.

LETITIA

Maybe that’s why he takes all of us under his wing.

NANCY

Could be. I wonder why he never got married?

LETITIA

Who knows? He’s not too old now. I’d marry him myself if I wasn’t already spoken for. [WILL walks by and she bats her eyes at him.]

NANCY

I’m not spoken for…yet. I’d marry him if he was to ask me.

LETITIA

Don’t even think about it. That man is impervious.

NANCY

What does “impervious” mean?

LETITIA

It means you can’t get in. To his heart, that is. He loves everybody, just not individuals. There’s kind of a wall up—I don’t really know what it is.

NANCY

Maybe he has a broken heart or something.

LETITIA

Maybe.

NANCY

Well anyway, there’s lots of real nice guys around here. I guess I’ll go out with George tonight.

[Enter RUTH with a tray bearing a plate and cup. The girls glance at her and return to their conversation. She sits down and starts eating.]

LETITIA

George? Did he ask you to go out with him?

NANCY

Sure did.

LETITIA

You guys want to go out with Will and me? We’re going to a movie.

NANCY

Which one?

LETITIA

[Names one currently playing in local theatre]
We can go out afterward if you guys want to.

[They glance at RUTH, then stand up and move DC to talk privately]

LETITIA

Who’s she?

NANCY

I was wondering that myself. I’ve never seen her around here before.

LETITIA

She looks…kind of foreign.

NANCY

You’re just saying that because she doesn’t look like she comes from around here. She could be from West Virginia or somewhere.

LETITIA

Just so she doesn’t start making eyes at my Will, that’s all I care about.

NANCY

You guys have been going together for six months now. You don’t have anything to worry about.

LETITIA

Well, you have to admit she is kind of cute. I wonder if she speaks English?

NANCY

We could try talking to her.

LETITIA

You first.

NANCY

No, you.

LETITIA

She won’t bite you.

[Enter GEORGE]

NANCY

She won’t bite you, either.

GEORGE

Hey, girls.
[They jump and squeal, startled.]

LETITIA

George! You shouldn’t sneak up on people like that. What do you want anyway?

GEORGE

Just checking to see if Nancy here is going to go out with me tonight.

NANCY

I might. Can we go to a movie with Letitia and Will?

GEORGE

What movie?

LETITIA

[Names current movie playing in local theatres]

GEORGE

Ummm…sure, why not. We could go out afterward for something to eat.

NANCY

George.

GEORGE

Yeah?

NANCY

Who’s that new girl over there?

GEORGE

[Glances toward RUTH without turning his head]
Her?

[NANCY nods]

That’s Miss Ruth, from Canada.

LETITIA

[To NANCY] See, I told you she was foreign.

NANCY

Heck, Canada’s not foreign. It’s practically the 51st state, everyone knows that.

LETITIA

How do you know so much about Canada?

NANCY

I went to Niagara Falls once when I was ten years old. They have funny money, and they talk a little funny, but it’s still English.

LETITIA

Talk funny? What do you mean? Like West Virginians?

NANCY

Nobody talks like West Virginians. That’s not even English. No, they talk fast up there; and they say the letter A at the end of everything.

LETITIA

You mean, like, “I-a am-a a Canadian-a”? Like that?

NANCY

No, silly, they SAY the letter A. Like, “I’m a Canadian, eh?”

LETITIA

That’s kind of funny.

NANCY

And they say some words funny. Like “garage” [rhymes with “Madge”]. And some of them even speak French.

LETITIA

Maybe this one speaks French. You’ve been to Canada, you try to talk to her.

NANCY

I don’t speak French!

LETITIA

Speak English then.

[Drags NANCY over to where RUTH is sitting.]

Hi. We noticed you were new around here and we wanted to introduce ourselves. I’m Letitia and this is my friend Nancy.

RUTH

[Stands up] I’m glad to meet you. My name is Ruth.
[They shake hands and then all sit down. Awkward pause]

NANCY

So…how long have you been in the area?

RUTH

Three days.

LETITIA

Where’d you live before that?

RUTH

Canada. I’m from a little mining town in northern BC.

LETITIA

Mining? What kind of mines?

RUTH

Gold.

[Takes a bite of her sandwich. The two girls register shock.]

LETITIA

You lived in a gold mining town?

RUTH

Oh yeah.

NANCY

That must have been really interesting.

RUTH

Well, the gold mine was quite a ways from the town. The miners and their families lived in the town, though.

NANCY

But could you just walk into the mine and pick up, like, gold nuggets?

RUTH

[Laughs] No, you had to have special permission just to go into the mine. There were guards posted all around to check people’s ID. My husband went in once, though, on a school trip.

NANCY

Is your husband a teacher?

RUTH

No. This was when he was a student. The kids had to empty their pockets and go through security, just like adults. But I understand it was very…educational.

LETITIA

What were the winters like in Canada? I guess it must seem pretty hot to you, here.

RUTH

It is. I’m not really used to it yet. How do you people stay cool, out there in the sun? I thought I would melt today after about fifteen minutes.

LETITIA

I’m still not used to it. I just wear light colours and cover my head, that’s all. Oh, and drink a lot of water.

NANCY

I love the hot weather. This is my favourite time of year. I could just soak up the sun all day and it would still feel good.

RUTH

Now that’s beyond me.

[They all laugh]

NANCY

But how did you ever endure the cold up there? I’d die, I just know I would.

RUTH

It’s warm inside the buildings. And you can always put on another layer if you feel cold. You’d get used to it if you stayed for a year.

NANCY

So what are you doing here, if you don’t mind me asking?

RUTH

I’m staying with my mother-in-law.