Maeve and Mary the Night Before Mary's Wedding
(June 1976)(Maeve opens the door to Mary's old bedroom and sees her sitting by the window in/near tears.)
MAEVE: Mary? Awww.
(Maeve sits down in the chair next to the window.)
MARY: Before Frank came in, I just sat here, listening by the window. They left the hydrant on in the street; it sounded like rain. The cops came and turned it off. Then there was an argument, and after that quieted down, some kids came by and sat on Mr. Greenberg's stoop for a while, playing the radio. An ambulance pulled in over at the hospital. And two cats were calling to each other behind the garage. And I thought, "Those are the sounds I've heard nearly every summer night of my life." They're the same. The shadow on the wall from the street lamp is the same. And I can be three years old in the big iron bed in the corner. It's all in my head, Ma. It's all a part of who I am. And tomorrow, it will be gone. All those nights, and the sounds, will be gone. Mary Ryan will be gone! And none of it's ever coming back again, Ma! It hurts. I just can't bear to let go!
(Mary gets down from the window seat and sits in the chair with Maeve.)
MAEVE: Oh, darling, it sounds to me like what you're letting go of is something good.
MARY: (hugs her) Oh, yes!
MAEVE: Aww, come on, like you used to when you were little.
(Mary sits in Maeve's lap.)
MAEVE: I don't know what to say to you, darling. Changing and learning and letting go; it's all painful. (Mary nods.) Growing up is painful. Loving is painful. But there's one thing you can say about pain: When you're feeling it, you know you're alive.
(They laugh together.)
MAEVE: Anyway, there's one thing you're wrong about.
MARY: Hmmm?
MAEVE: What's been is - the child you were and the woman you are - will always be here in this house, as long as those of us that love you are here. (She kisses Mary's forehead.) And now, when it comes to climbing and letting go, there's nobody that ever climbed a ladder that didn't let go again and again. Hmm?
(Mary laughs.)
MAEVE: Awww, you believe you love Jack and Jack loves you, right?
MARY: Ah-hah.
MAEVE: And you know that all your sisters and brothers love you, mmm?
MARY: Yeah.
MAEVE: And your father and I love you?
MARY: Yes.
MAEVE: And God loves you?
(Mary laughs, then nods.)
MAEVE: Well then, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid.
