SCENE ONE: JO IS AT NEIL'S WORKING
AND SHE TELLS HIM HOW UPSET SHE IS ABOUT JACK AND HIS BEHAVIOR.
AS NEIL IS GIVING HER SOME HERBAL TEA, JACK BURSTS IN.
JACK: Oh I'm sorry Dr. Curtis. Your servant let me in. I'm
sorry to interrupt.
NEIL: That's quite alright Jack. What can I do for you?
JACK: Well, I'm here to talk to you about Anjelica's medical
bills. I wanted to let you know that I'm going to pay for all
the prenatal care and the delivery expenses at the hospital. Anything
that the insurance doesn't cover.
NEIL: Well that's very generous of you Jack but you don't
have to worry about money right now.
JACK: Oh.... I can see that you are very busy. I will
discuss this with you at a later time.
JO: Jack, I'd like to talk to you.
NEIL: Well listen if you'll both excuse me, I'll look
in on Noel.
JACK: I don't think we have anything to say to each other
Mrs. Johnson. I think I've made my feelings perfectly clear with
you.
JO: Jack, I would love to melt the ice between us. Hey,
hey, I am the only family that you have now, what with Harper
gone. I'd love it if you could come to me and if you'd let me
help you. If I could be a mother to you.
JACK: I think it's a little too late for that. And Harper
is not gone. He may be in jail but he's still my family. You see
I know something about family too. No matter what's happened between
us we are still family.
JO: I understand that Jack, I do.
JACK: No don't .... don't.... don't you tell me
a word about turning my back on that man. Yes I know that Harper's
sick. I know that he's committed some heinous crimes but I'm having
a little bit of trouble connecting those crimes to the man that
took care of me. To the man that taught me to play baseball, to
the man that took time out from the campaign trail to come home
and read me comic books when my leg was broken. To the man that
taught me to hunt and to fish and to camp. To the man that was
always front and center at every graduation I ever had from kindergarten
to college. He was always there through good and bad. Now you
tell me Mrs Johnson.... you tell me.... are those the acts of
a cold blooded killer?
JO: (Crying) No, no, of course not. But that was a long
time ago. He's changed Jack. He's different now.
JACK: He's still my father. And what about you Mommy
Dearest? Where the hell were you when I was growing up? Certainly
not here with your beloved Billy Boy.
JO: Look, I may not have been there for you then but I
am here for you now. Now you may never forgive me for giving you
up but there's one thing you've got to accept, I am your mother
and Harper is not your father.
JACK: Oh no. This is wonderful. This is wonderful. No,
no, Harper's not my father then who is? No don't tell me, let
me guess. Duke Johnson!
JO: Oh....
JACK:
Duke Johnson, that pillar of the community. Yes folks, there's
a man to look up to. A man to.... to model yourself after. Yes,
that upstanding citizen who.... who beat his wife to a pulp and
then went on to commit incest with his daughter. Hmm, now you
tell me Mrs. Johnson, is that a heritage I should embrace with
open arms? I ask you, huh? Nope. No I think that the only thing
Duke Johnson every shared with his family was heartache and misery.
I think maybe I'm lucky after all. At least I have some happy
memories of my childhood with Harper. At least I have that. I'm
not going to turn my back on my past with Harper. I'm not going
to deny the way that I feel. I can't deny the way that I feel.

JACK WALKS OUT.
SCENE TWO: LATER THAT NIGHT, HARPER
GETS A VISITOR IN JAIL.
HARPER: What do you want?
JO: I came here to talk to you about Jack.
HARPER: What about him?
JO: I want you to prove your love for him.
HARPER: I don't have to prove a thing to you lady.
JO: As I see it, Jack is about the only person you care
about any more. Am I right?
HARPER: My relationship with my son is none of your business
Mrs. Johnson.
JO: No, no. That is not completely true. You see I love
Jack too and I can't stand to see him being destroyed by somebody
sitting here in jail.
HARPER: What are you jabbering about?
JO: Jack is defending you against the whole world and
he is destroying himself in the process. He's so confuses right
now. He's trying to understand who you are and what you've become.
But he's not understanding very well Senator, not at all.
HARPER: I don't believe this. You're just saying this
because you want to keep Jack close to you.
JO: No, no, that's not.... I'm saying it.... I'm saying
it to save Jack. The only way he's going to be able to live a
normal life is if you cut yourself off from him completely.
HARPER: I could never do that!
JO: You have to do that to save Jack. Because if you don't,
all your mistakes are going to haunt him for the rest of his life
and I cannot believe you would do that to your boy.
HARPER: I would never hurt Jack. I just want to stay close
to him and be a part of his life. I have that right.
JO: You don't have a right to keep him from being happy,
Senator.
HARPER: Stop the dramatics!
JO: But it's true. He is so busy worrying about your life
that he is forgetting about his own. Jack doesn't have a prayer
unless you push him out of your life forever.
HARPER: But I truly love Jack.
JO: Then give him up! (Beat) I did that once, Senator,
remember. It.... it was the hardest thing that I've ever had to
do but I did it because I loved my son more than I loved myself.
And if you love Jack the way you say you do then you'll let him
go before it's too late.
GUARD: Your son's here to see you Deveraux.
HARPER: Have him wait one minute.
JO: I figured Jack would come by tonight. What are you going
to do Senator?
SCENE THREE: JACK COMES
IN TO SEE HARPER.
HARPER: Hello son.
JACK: Harper. (Beat) I.... er.... I.... I
came by.... to check in on you. To let you know that I've been....
um.... I've been thinking about you.
HARPER: After the harsh words at our last meeting I must
say that I'm a little surprised to see you here Jack.
JACK: I know. I know that I.... I still care about you.
In spite of everything that's happened you're still my father.
HARPER: I am?

JACK: Oh yes. Yes you are. I got very upset before and I said
a lot of things I shouldn't have said but.... but.... ultimately....
ultimately you and I are in this together.
HARPER: What are you saying Jack?
JACK: I'm going to stand by you. I'm going to stand by you
the same way that you always stood by me. I'm going to do everything
I can to.... uh.... to fight for you dad. (Tears) Dad I.... I'd
even die for you. I still love you dad....Dad.... dad.... dad?
HARPER TURNS AWAY AS JACK SPEAKS THEN TURNS BACK.
HARPER: When are you going to wake up Jack? You've got to
stop coming here. You said it the first time, you're not really
my son.
JACK: What?
HARPER: You heard me. You have no reason to come here
pretending to be a Deveraux because you're not.
JACK: Wha....what are saying? I.... I thought you'd be
glad to see me, dad. I....
HARPER: Well you're wrong and I'm not your dad. Don't
call me dad anymore. Face it Jack, the truth is out. We're not
flesh and blood and there's no point in acting like that anymore.
JACK: I don't believe this.
HARPER: Well you better believe it because it's the truth.
JACK: I don't.
HARPER: Why don't you just get out of here, get on with
your own life and.... and you have nothing more to do with my
life.
JACK: No dad, no, don't say that, don't say that. You're
my father, you'll always be my father.
HARPER: No! Don't you hear me! You're not my son, you're
not my natural son, you're not a true Deveraux and I have nothing
more to say to you.
JACK: No stop.... dad....
HARPER: I don't want to see you or hear from you ever again!
JACK IS LEFT ALONE AND IN PAIN.

SCENE FOUR: LATER THAT
NIGHT JACK IS WALKING ON THE PIER WITH MELISSA.
MELISSA: What's the matter Jack? You don't look so good.
JACK: I.... er.... just came from seeing Harper. (Beat)
He pushed me away.
MELISSA: What do you mean? What happened?
JACK: He said he....er....he said he didn't want to have
anything to do with me. He said I wasn't his flesh and blood and
I should just stay away from him.
MELISSA:
Sorry Jack, I know this is painful for you. But you know that
I really think this is for the best. Maybe now you can give him
up and get on with your own life.
JACK: I don't know. If I cut my ties with Harper Deveraux
but still can't face being a Johnson, who am I going to be?
MELISSA: Just the same loving honest man you are right
now.
JACK: Ha.... no.... no. I won't be anybody. |