Rosemary And Thyme

Episode #9 – Morgan Abernathy

Scene 1

(Silence)

Zwei Xiang

I am to be spy. I will serve People’s Republic of China in whatever capacity is necessary. Because I am woman, I will invite less suspect. My mission is not yet clear. I await orders with much honor. (bows) Please excuse. I must use every precious second to ready.

(The sounds of the storm have died down. We hear only the sound of soft rain on the roof of the school bus.)

Scene 2

Thyme

Oooh, Josiah, are you all right? Oh Darlin’ this ol’ bus jus’ saved our lives. I can’t believe you carried me all that way.

Josiah

Don’t worry ‘bout me none. I just knew I had to get you an’ the baby to some sort of shelter and when we got over that ridge, there it was — this ol’ broken-down bus. Amazing … I never been in a tornado before … That was really somethin’. Thank the Lord! We’s alive … all three of us.You, me an’ the baby.

Thyme

Oh no, Josiah, Lizzie! Ooh … Whatever happened to Lizzie?

Josiah

I donno. Last I saw her, we was runnin’ for the barn up at that farm house.

Thyme

Look out the window there an’ see if you can see her.

Josiah

Oh Thyme, Darlin’, the farmhouse is half torn away and the barn … it’s gone! It’s completely gone.

Thyme

Oh nooo … oh God … Lizzie! First Mama, then Gabe, now Lizzie …?

Josiah

C’mon. We gotta go find her. That tornado leapt right over us here in this gully, but it completely devoured that barn. Are ya’ OK? Can you walk now?

Thyme

I’m fine. I can walk jus’ fine; I jus’ ain’t so good at runnin’. C’mon, let’s git outta here.

(We hear them scramble out of the school bus.)

Thyme

Will ya’ look at that … this ol’ rusted out bus must be 50 years old. Look. It’s a school bus!

Josiah

What’s that say on the side of it?

Thyme

Here. Let me wipe this off.

Josiah

Wha …

Thyme

Oh my gosh … why I don’t understand … Josiah …

Josiah (reads)

“Skedee Public School?” How … ? What in the world …?

Thyme

Now how do you suppose this ol’ bus got here from hundreds a miles away?

Josiah

Ya got me. Why, that’s a miracle!

Thyme

But as far as I know, Skedee never even had a school bus. Weren’t enough kids to warrant one.

Josiah

The Lord, he works in mysterious ways …

Thyme

Ya’ think so? … Oh, look, there’s somebody movin’ around up at the farmhouse.

Josiah

Lizzie?

Thyme

No, it’s a man. He’s kinda hobblin’ around. He looks hurt …

Josiah

C’mon. Let’s go find her.

Scene 3

Gabriel

So, the two of ‘em climbed outta the gully and hiked across the plain up to what was the farm house an’ barn of one Morgan Abernathy. When they arrived, they found not much more than a half a’ house an’ a pile of debris. There, sittin totally dejected, sat Mr. Abernathy himself, lookin’ ‘bout as lost as any man can be.

Scene 4

Josiah

‘Scuze us, Sir, are you all right?

Morgan Abernathy

All … I lost it all … what am I gonna do?

Thyme

We’re so sorry sir. Is this your home?

Morgan

That was my home … an’ the storm just carried it away.

Josiah

Have you seen our friend? Her name is Lizzie. She was on her way up here when the tornado hit.

Morgan

Is that what that was? A tornader? I was down in the cellar and too a’feared to come up. I never heard such a sound. It took my whole farm! Nothin’ left but rubble …

Josiah

Did our friend make it up to ya’? Lizzie’s her name …

Morgan

I heard somebody yellin’ an’ bangin’ on the door, but it sounded like the devil shriekin’ in the wind. Scared me plum outta my wits. Then I heard him so mad he ripped my house offa the foundation an’ jus’ took it all away down to Hell. Took the barn too … my horse ‘n cow an’ all them chickens an’ a couple a’ pigs … all gone. My whole life … gone.

Josiah

That wasn’t the devil at yer door, that was Lizzie! What happened to Lizzie?

Morgan

What’s a Lizzy? What you talkin ‘bout man?

Josiah

Our friend Lizzie was at your front door.

Morgan

What’d she want?

Josiah

Well she was tryin’ ta get outta the storm a’ course!

Morgan

What storm?

Josiah

The storm that took your house!

Morgan

Somebody took my house?!!! Where’d they put it?

Thyme

Josiah, doncha see? He’s lost his mind.

Morgan

You mean I lost my mind too? So what do I do now? Hey, where’s my wife? She gone too?

Josiah

You had a wife? She was here?

Morgan

Nah … she died years ago. Back at the turn of the century.

Josiah

But where’s Lizzie?

Morgan

Lizzy? My wife’s name is Orpha.

Josiah

I thought she was dead.

Morgan

Naw, she went off to her sister’s for a stay. Probably be home tomorrow.

Thyme

Josiah, this conversation ain’t gonna git cha anywheres.

Josiah

I think it best to start over, sir.

Morgan

Well I do too. You’re not makin’ much sense.

Josiah

Well you’re jus’ right about that, sir. Let me first introduce myself. I’m Josiah Washburn an’ this here’s my wife, Thyme.

Morgan

Time what?

Josiah

Huh?

Thyme

That’s ma name, Thyme. Spelled T-H-Y-M-E. You know like parsley, sage, rosemary …

Morgan

What the Hell is you two talkin’ about? I swear, I never …

Thyme

And what is your name, kind sir?

Morgan

Why I’m Morgan Abernathy. Everybody ‘round these parts knows that.

Josiah

Well we’re jus’ not from around these parts.

Morgan

You can say that again!

Scene 5

(Music tag to the scene)

Gabriel

And it went on pretty much like that for days. Josiah and Thyme searched the yard, the ruins, the extent of the farm, but there was no sign at all of Lizzie. It seemed to them that the tornado had just carried her off too. Poor old Morgan, livin’ out there alone on the prairie was simply destitute. So Josiah an’ Thyme, bein’ the good people that they are, decided to stay a spell and help him figure things out. They ended up stayin’ for 6 whole weeks helpin’ with the repairs. They felt safe there. It also seemed like the right place to be waitin’ for Lizzie if she were to ever come back. But she never did.

One night Thyme couldn’t sleep. She was missin’ Mama, missin’ Lizzie, missin’ the old life in Skedee. So she got outta bed, wrapped a blanket around herself and crept out to the porch swing that Josiah had so beautifully constructed. There she sat swingin’ in the moonlight and tryin’ to put together this new life that jus’ seemed so elusive. She finally figgered that there was, at present, only one thing that was a sure thing. An’ that was the baby in her belly.

(We hear the gentle strains of a mandolin in the moonlight)

Scene 6

Little One

Song to the Baby in her Belly

Thyme

(Spoken)

Hello Little One

How ya’ doin’?

Everthing all right in there?

I’m doin’ jus’ fine

Thank you.

This here’s your Mama talkin’. Uh huh.

An’ ma’ name is Thyme

Spelled T-h-y-m-e.

I know you don’t know how to spell yet, (hmmh)

But I’ll see ta’ that!

That’s right …

You can count on it.

You can bet yer sweet little bottom on that!

(Sung)

You n’ me Little One

We gonna have such fun

Jus’ watchin’ the clouds go by

Jus’ wait till you see the sky

An’ jus’ wait till you see the risin’ sun

An’ all its shades of light.

Jus’ wait till you see the stars come out

A’dancin’ ‘cross the night.

Jus’ wait till you feel them cool clean sheets

Layin’ in yer baby bed

Jus’ wait till you hear the sound of a fiddle

Fillin’ up yer head.

Jus’ wait till I hold you in my arms

An’ whisper in yer ear

“I love you, Darlin’ Little One

An’ I’ll always be right here”

An’ we’ve only jus’ begun

My Little One

(Thyme hums to the baby)

Hmmm

(Spoken)

In case you ever wanna know,

You were conceived in Oklahoma,

An’ will be born

Only God knows where,

Somewhere across America,

From sea ta’ shinin’ sea,

But you’ll always be

An’ Okie from Skedee

An’ the child of God.

(4 Bar Interlude)

It seems you were destined

Ta’ have two fathers.

I’ll prob’ly tell ya’

More ‘bout that

At a later time,

But jus’ know this:

You gonna be

The luckiest kid on this ol’ earth

Ta’ have two such wondrous pals

As yer two Pas

When ya’ need someone ta’ turn to.

(Sung)

You an’ me Little One

We’re gonna do such things

Like laughin’ yes oh how we’ll laugh

But then there will come a time

When Thyme’s no longer here

Then you’ll be alone

An’ on yer own

Blood, flesh an’ bone

An’ tryin’ ta’ find yer way back home

My heart

Oh, my heart

Wherever I may be

I promise I will find you

An’ I will be with thee

So proud a’ what you’ve overcome

So proud of all the things you’ve done

So proud, so proud,

Of my darlin’ Little One

Born to free the people

Yes Darlin’ I’ll hold you in my arms again

An’ whisper in yer ear

“I love you, Darlin’ Little One

An’ I’ll always be right here

Yeah it’s only jus’ begun

My Little One

Gabriel (one liner)

It would seem at this point only right to tell you that at the end of her song, the baby kicked gently on cue from inside. But it didn’t. It jus’ lay there, peaceful like in its amniotic fluid, makin’ bubbles.

(Music takes us to the next scene.)

Scene 7

Morgan

Now Josiah, it shore is awful nice of y’all to help me do some fixin’ up around here. Why I’m amazed that you could dig that well and put that plumbing in. That ol’ outhouse jus’ took off in the storm and flew clear ‘cross the field. I’m just glad I warn’t in it.

Thyme

Morgan, you been very sweet to us to give us a place to stay and share your food with us. We’re more than happy to help in whatever way we can.

Morgan

Well you shore is a damn sight better at cookin’ that I’ll ever hope to be. I jus’ wish your friend Lizzie would show up one day so you can get on with your journey. But I gotta admit that I’ll miss ya’ when ya’ do leave.

Josiah

What I’m ‘fraid of is that Lizzie jus’ got carried off in the tornado an’ deposited on down somewheres else an’ now has no earthly idea as to where we’re at!

Scene 8

Gabriel

Weeks went by. Thyme cooked. Josiah an’ Morgan rebuilt a much simpler house out of the rubble. A kitchen an’ a bedroom … an’ a indoor Jonny. Morgan’s mind even returned to a more logical state of existence. Morgan’s old Ford pickup that sat out in the front yard was miraculously saved and untouched. I ’spose it’s OK to tell you that I saw to that. So at least they had some wheels that worked. One day, as Josiah was pickin’ through the rubble of what was left of the barn, he pulled up a huge slab of barn siding only to expose the fender of a car … buried in the debris.

Scene 9

Josiah

Well lookee here! There’s an old purple car in here!

Morgan

Oh that’s jus’ my old Studebaker. Don’t know why I kept it. It hasn’t worked in years. I hate the damned thing.

Josiah

Well, what’s wrong with it?

Morgan

I donno. One day it jus’ would not turn on. I put some gas in it, but it still would not turn on. Anyways, I never liked the color. Bought it for my wife. She picked the color. Purple? Gawdawful! Looked jlike somethin’ the circus left behind. If you can fix it, you can have it. I wouldn’t be caught dead in it. Even if’n ya’ fixed it, it prob’ly wouldn’t git ya’ as far as the nearest town, much less California.

Gabriel

All it took Josiah an’ Thyme was three new spark plugs and a new spare tire an’ their hopes of stickin’ their feet in the Pacific Ocean were restored. By now, the way she figured it, Thyme was 7 or 8 months with child. Having no memory whatsoever of any moment of conception, she simply had to take a wild guess. But they both knew that Morgan Abernathy’s dilapidated farm was NOT the place to be givin’ birth to the child of God. It was time to hit the road.

Thyme

Morgan, thank you for sharin’ this time with us and your very fine hospitality. You’ve been a most elegant host and we will never forget you. We may even name the baby after you. We’ll always be beholden.

Morgan (sweet tears)

I will miss you both more than you will ever know. My god, Morgan Washburn. Now there’s a most elegant name to be proud of. Much obliged! I will always be grateful to you an’ Josiah for building me a new house with an indoor Jonny … an’ takin’ that gawdawful purple monstrosity offa my property. Go in peace an’ try not to get arrested for desecrating the great state of Oklahoma.

(We hear the labored sounds of the car start up and drive off down the dirt road amidst a chorus of goodbyes.)

(Time passes … scene change music)

End of Episode 9