Curley’s Wife Is Sitting Awkwardly on a Hay Bale in the Barn of the Ranch House Staring Towards the Barn Door

Curley’s wife is sitting awkwardly on a hay bale in the barn of the ranch house staring towards the barn door.

God damn lonely.

Pause.

That’s all I ever feel these days.

Sigh

I remember back in Salinas, a show come through, an’ I met one of the actors. Told me I coulda made it with em’. If id a’ went, I wouldn’ be livin’ like this, all sad an’ alone. Id a’ been livin’ like a star, in all the shows makin’ big bucks for myself. I coulda’ been famous for christs sakes! Had my own money, my own land, not stuck in this rotten old barn house livin’ like a scrounge of a’ Curley.

Begins to sob, wipes her eye with the corner of her blouse.

My old lady cant’ a’ knew what wus good for me, hidin’my god damn letter. Sat’iday night, everybody out doin’ somethin’, and what am I doin? Im sittin’ on a bleedin’ hay bale that’s what! Yeah, Im sat here alone while Curley and all those bindle bums are out at the god damn whorehouse! I mean, what kinda husband goes out to a whorehouse and leaves his wife at home alone? A god damn lousy one that’s what!

Im sick a’ getting’ treated like dirt, like im good for nothin’ , and im sick a’ being the only woman on this ranch! I have no company here, nobody to talk to, except from myself. I can’t even have a conversation with another man on this bleedin’ ranch without getting yelled at by Curley, the bastard. In fact no, I wouldn’ even wanna have no conversation with those bindle bums anyway. All a bunch a’ losers who think they’re all so god damn good, when really they’re jus’ idiots all after the same bleedin’ thing.

Begins to become agitated and starts picking her red nail polish off of her finger nails.

Im sick a’ Curley actin’ as though he can do what he wants, and all I am is an accessory to im’,it’s like I don’t even exist on sat’iday nights, when he’s out getting’ drunk at the damn whorehouse. He don’t even speak to me when he comes home. He goes all them places he wants, he drinks what he wants, but me? I can’t even drink one drop a’ alcohol. One time, ya know, Curley walloped me with the back o’his hand, right across my face. Hurt like hell. Cuz’ he though id bin’ chattin’ with Slim.

Ha! I wish. Left a big black eye for days. Told me I wasn’t aloud out the barn house cuz’ he didn’t want anyone seein’ me. I have the mind to go tell everybody right now! Bastard. That’s what my mother did when father did the same to her, walloped her ever’time she wanted to go out. I can still remember it now, that day he lost his mind and threw my mother across the room . I jus’ remember her lyin’ there, as still as a statue