How Can I Be Good, Baby, When the World’s So Bad?

How Can I Be Good, Baby, When the World’s So Bad?

By Dan Friedman

Based on material generated by a Youth Onstage! Workshop, August 2011
Inspired by Bertolt Brecht’s The Good Woman of Setzuan 

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CHARACTERS
(In Order of Appearance)

Shaun Thigpen
First Angel
Second Angel
Third Angel
N’quan
Uncle Tony
Jose
Shawntee Stevens/Stewie Towzer (same person)
Mrs. Leticia Padilla Rodriguez
Mrs. Davis
Mr. Davis
Derrick Davis
Apparently Homeless Man
The Contractor
Tamara
The Policeman, Officer Bobby Batista
Wayne Shine (aka Rise and Shine)
Winnie Hawkins
George Hawkins
Reverend Ralph Russell

Scene 1

(On the corner of Kickerbocker Avenue and Snydam Street, on the edge of Maria Hernandez Park in Bushwick, Brooklyn.)

Shaun
I sell CDs and DVDs here in Bushwick. Most people around here can't afford to buy them in the stores, so I give them a discount here on the sidewalk. Of course, they're not perfect, but you get what you pay for, right? People around here are poor, so they don't expect much. 
You hear a lot these days about these being hard times—a great recession and all. Nothing new about that in Bushwick—or in East New York, for that matter, or Bed-Stuy, or Brownsville. As long as I or my mama or her mama can remember there's always been a great recession around here. 
But things have gotten even worse lately. Nobody I know can find a job. That's why I sell these CDs. Some of my friends sell other kinds of recreation. You know what I'm talking about. In fact, things have gotten so bad lately that a lot of people are saying that only God can save the situation. Word on the street is that God's sent down three Angels from Heaven to see if the world is still worth saving. I hope it is; after all, this is the only world we've got. But I have to admit it's a good question. 
So I've been keeping my eyes open. If the Angels come to Bushwick, I'd like to be the first to greet them. I've never met an Angel before so I'm not sure what to look for. 
What about those guys over there? No, they have grease on their hands, they must work in the auto shop. They can't be the Angels; Angels don't work.
What about those three hanging on the corner? No, another story there—they look like they'd beat the shit out of you for looking at them cross-eyed. They can't be Angels ether. 

(Enter the three Angels. The First Angel is dressed like a Baptist minister with a collar, the Second Angel is dressed like an orthodox rabbi and the Third Angel is dressed like a Muslim Iman.)

Ah, but those guys! They're wearing weird clothes and they look lost and scared. They must be the Angels sent by God!

(He throws himself at their feet.)

Holy ones! Welcome to Bushwick. Can I be of service, oh illustrious messengers from God?

First Angel
So we're expected?

Shaun
Oh yes. I knew you would come. 

(scrambling to his feet) 

We've tried everything. We elected Obama president and even he couldn't help. We need Heavenly intervention.

Second Angel
Yes, well, we're here to find out if the world is worth saving.

Third Angel
God instructed us to find a good person. If we can find just one good human being on this entire planet, He'll save it. If not, He wants to scrap the whole project.

Shaun
I'm sure we can find a good person.

First Angel
Do you know any?

Shaun
Well, er, I must….

Second Angel
It's not as easy as you might think.

Third Angel
We've just spent two weeks in Las Vegas and we couldn't find a single good person.

First Angel
Then we realized that people come to Las Vegas to be bad…

Second Angel
So we figured New York was the best place to continue our search. After all, you've got all sorts of people here; you must have some good ones.

Shaun
We must. … I think.

Third Angel
The first thing we need is place to spend the night. It'll be dark soon and it's getting chilly.

First Angel
Yes, do you know any place we can stay?

Shaun
In Bushwick?

Second Angel
That's where we are, right? 

Shaun
Yes, but we don't have any hotels or anything….

Third Angel
Surely there's a good person here in Central Brooklyn who will put us up for the night?

Shaun
No doubt. Wait here. I'll find you a place.

First Angel
Wait here? Those guys on the corner look pretty mean.

Shaun
Just don't stare at them and you'll be okay. Watch my stuff. If the cops come, wrap every thing up in the blanket and walk away. Stay cool. I'll be back in two clicks of a mouse.

(Shaun exits.)

Second Angel
He seems nice. Do you think he could be a good person?

Third Angel
Are you kidding? Do you know what these are? Bootleg DVDs. That's illegal.

First Angel
Don't worry, all we need is to find one. This is his neighborhood. He'll knows lots of people.

(Lights down on the Angels.)

(Lights up on Shaun is talking to his boy N'quan.)

N'quan

Say what? Three Angels looking for a place to stay? You must be tripping!

Shaun
No, really, they're here to save the world. 

N'quan

Save the world? Now I know you've lost it. Shaun, you been standing out in the sun too long.

(Lights down, up on Shaun talking to his Uncle Tony.)

Uncle Tony
I talked to your Aunt Maybell about these friends of yours…

Shaun
Angels. They're Angels Uncle Tony, Angels.

Uncle Tony
I'm sure they're great guys, Shaun, but your aunt, well, you know, she's funny about these things.

Shaun
Yeah, she's funny. Now you funny too.

(Lights down, lights up on Shaun talking to his friend Jose.)

Jose
For free? You want me to put these dudes up for free?

Shaun
Yeah, they've come down from Heaven. There's no money in Heaven. … I think.

Jose
Well, there sure as hell is money in Bushwick, but not enough of it. That's why I need it.

Shaun
It's just for the night.

Jose
I don't do nothing for free, especially let three homeless guys sleep in my living room.

(Lights up on the three Angels.)

Third Angel
He's talking an awful long time. My feet hurt.

Second Angel
Stop complaining. We're on a mission from God. 

First Angel
I'm sure he'll show up any minute.

(Lights down on Angels, up on Shaun)

Shaun
Damn. This is not looking good. Nobody seems to understand the importance of this moment except me. 

Now, I know you're asking why I don't take the Angels of the Lord to my place. I would if I could. At least I think I would. But the fact is—this isn't easy to say—I don't have a place. I store my stuff at Wycoff Self-Storage every night and I sleep wherever I can. On the L Train a lot. And there's some abandoned breweries around here that are pretty safe and not too cold in the winter. So when you come down to it, I guess I'm too poor to be good. 

But I'm mad worried. I don't want them to give up on the human race. How many times do you get a chance to save the world? 

(Enter Shawntee.)

Ah, there's Shawntee getting off her shift at Tina's Dinner. She's a waitress there but doesn't make enough to pay her bills; you know what waitresses get paid and nobody around here has enough to tip well. So she supplements her income by, well, you know, she has clients, male clients. Don't be so judgmental. We all have to sell something, don't we? And she's a very nice girl, not a mean bone in her body.

Shawntee, they're here. The Angels of the Lord have come to Bushwick, just like the church ladies said would happen. They need a place to stay the night and nobody wants them. Will you take them?

Shawntee
Oh no, I'm expecting a client tonight. 

Shaun
Can't you call him and cancel it? 

Shawntee
If I don't have the rent by Friday, I'll lose the apartment.

Shaun
This is no time to worry about trivial things, Shawntee. 

Shawntee
Paying my rent is not trivial!

Shaun
I give up! What's the point in trying? Bushwick is one big sewer. 

Shawntee
Okay! I'll cancel my appointment.

Shaun
Thank you Shawntee, this is so good of you! Just one thing.

Shawntee
What?

Shaun
Don't tell them about turning tricks. They're Angels, after all.

(Lights down, up on the Angels. Enter Shaun and Shawntee.)

Shaun
Illustrious ones. I have found someone! This is Shawntee; she's a waitress at Tina's.

Shawntee
What's up? I would be honored if you would share my crib tonight. It's small but it's clean.

Third Angel
Clean is good.

First Angel
The honor is ours. 

(Lights down, up gradually, indicating morning, in Shawntee's apartment.)

First Angel
Thank you, dear Shawntee, for your wonderful hospitality.

Second Angel
Yes, and thank you for letting us use your bed and sleeping on the couch.

Third Angel
And for the scrambled eggs and hash browns. They were delicious!

First Angel
And please convey our thanks to the street vendor. Even though he sells bootlegged DVDs, he showed us a good human being.

Shawntee
I'm not really good, your honors. When Shaun asked me to put you up, I hesitated.

Second Angel
It's okay to hesitate, as long as you wind up doing the right thing. In giving us a place to sleep, you've done much more than you know. You've proved that good people do exist, a point that has been much disputed lately in Heaven.

Shawntee
I'm not sure you're right. I'd like to be good, that's true. But there's groceries to buy and rent to pay and clothes to buy. I want to be honest with you, dear Angels; I sell myself to make ends meet.

Third Angel
Sell yourself?

Shawntee
You know, to men. I'd like to stay true to one man and to not covet my neighbor's apartment and always tell the truth and all that. But how? How is it done? Even by breaking just a few of the Commandments, I hardly manage.

First Angel
These are just the misgivings of an unusually good woman.

Second Angel
Yes, farewell good woman of Bushwick!

Third Angel
Maybe you should stop the whoring thing. That really isn't so good.

Shawntee
But everything is so expensive. I don't know if I can do it.

First Angel
That's not our sphere of influence. We never meddle in economics. We leave it to the invisible hand of the market.

Shawntee
The what?

Second Angel
Wait a minute. I think she may have a point. Isn't it true that she might do better if she had more money?

Third Angel
How could we ever account for it upstairs?

First Angel
Oh, there are ways. 

(The Angels confer for a moment.)

Since your income is limited and since we, well, since we have, uh, resources, we insist on paying for our room.

(He thrusts a wad of cash into her hands.)

But don't tell anyone where you got it; this incident is open to misinterpretation.

Third Angel
It certainly is.

Second Angel
But there's no law against it. Were is it written that Angels shouldn't play hotel bills?

(The Angels leave. Lights down on Shawntee.)

 Scene 2

(Shawntee is in a bodega with half empty shelves.)

Shawntee 

(to the audience) 

It's been three months now since the Angels left. When they said they said they wanted to pay for the room, I looked down at my hand and I was holding a wad of bills. They gave me twenty thousand dollars! I quit my job waitressing at Tina's—and my other job too. I was able to take over the lease on this bodega. It comes with a little apartment upstairs. So I'm going to live and work here in Bushwick and sell groceries to my friends and neighbors. Now that I have a little something, maybe I can be as good as the Angels think I am.
Of course, there are challenges. Mrs. Rodriguez, who had the shop before me, wasn't able to keep the store fully stocked, which isn't what she told me when I signed the lease. I've had to invest a lot more than I expected to restock the shelves. But what can I say? She was desperate after her husband went back to the Dominican with a younger wife. He left her with three kids. Yesterday she came by and helped herself to groceries. Here she comes again.
How you doing, Mrs. Rodriguez?

Mrs. Rodriguez
The best I can, Shawntee, the best I can. How you like your new home?

Shawntee
I like it a lot. 

Mrs. Rodriguez
Yeah, it's nice. Small but nice. Not like the shit hole we've had to move into. Excuse my language.

Shawntee
How are the kids doing?

Mrs. Rodriguez
Not so good. There's no heat in my apartment and the youngest one's coughing already. LIsten Shawntee, the food stamps still haven't come through, so I need to pick up some more food for dinner tonight, and some eggs for breakfast in the morning.

Shawntee
Mrs. Rodriquez, today I'm officially opening for business. I really need you to pay.

Mrs. Rodriguez
Shawntee, don't be doing that. You wouldn't have this store if it weren't for me and now you want my children to go hungry.

(Enter Mrs. Davis and Mr. Davis and their teenage son Derrick Davis.)

Mrs. Davis
Shawntee, dear, I hear you've come into some money. Which is very lucky for us. You know our house on Jefferson Street? Of course you do, you lived there for two and a half years. Well, the fact of the matter is that Mr. Davis lost his job…

Mr. Davis
Cut backs from the state. They just decided they can do without janitors at the state office building…

Mrs. Davis
And Derrick, well Derrick never finished high school, so he can't find no work…

(Derrick shrugs)

So the long and the short of it is, Shawntee dear, we couldn't pay the mortgage and the bank foreclosed on the house. 

Derrick
We're out on the street. Chase chased us out of own home.

Mrs. Davis
You wouldn't want us to have to go to a shelter, not when you have such a nice apartment with this beautiful bodega right under it, not after all we've done for you.

Mrs. Rodriguez

(to Shawntee) 

What did they do for you?

Shawntee

(to Mrs. Rodriguez) 

I was in foster care, after my mother was sent upstate. They were my foster family for a couple of years. But as soon as I aged out of the system and the checks stopped coming from the Administration for Children's Services, they put me out on the street.

Mrs. Davis
Where would you be without us? 

Shawntee
But there's only two small bedrooms.

Mrs. Davis
That's fine. Mr. Davies and I will take one, and Derrick can sleep in the living room, can't you Derrick?

DerrickI can sleep anywhere, especially if I've had enough ganja.

Mrs. Davis
You can't be toking all that smoke up in Shawntee's place.

Mr. Davis
Besides we can't afford that shit no more.

(Enter an Apparently Homeless Man.)

Shawntee
Wait. Here comes my first customer. 

(to the Apparently Homeless Man)

Can I help you?

Apparently Homeless Man
Do you have any damaged cigarettes? I saw you unpacking a lot of stuff and I thought maybe some of the cigarettes got damaged.

Shawntee
I could sell you a loosey.

Apparently Homeless Man
I don't even have enough for that. I thought maybe…

Mrs. Davis
You got a lot of nerve coming in here and begging for a cigarette. If you're going to beg, why not ask for bread?

Apparently Homeless Man
Bread is expensive. One cigarette and I'll be a new man.

Shawntee
That's important. To be a new man. 

(handing him a cigarette)

Here you go. You're my first customer and I think giving you this cigarette will bring me good luck.

(The Apparently Homeless Man takes the cigarette, quickly lights up and goes off coughing.)

Mrs. Rodriquez

(Her arms holding two bags of groceries)

If this is the opening of the bodega, you'll be holding the closing by the end of the week.

(Mrs. Rodriquez exits.) 

Derrick
I bet that crack head had money on him.

Shawntee
He said he didn't.

Derrick
How do you know he wasn't lying?

Shawntee
How do you know he was?

Mrs. Davis
You're too good, Shawntee dear. You always were. That's why people, particularly men, take advantage of you. You have to learn to say no if you want to keep this store.

Mr. Davis
She's right, Shawntee. If you want to make money, you can't be a softie 

Derrick
Yeah, it's fuck or be fucked.

Mrs. Davis
Derrick, I won't tolerate that kind of language.

Derrick
You know what I mean.

Mr. Davis
Why don't you tell people the shop isn't really yours, that you have some relative who put up the money and insists that you run a tight ship.

(The Contractor enters.)

The Contractor
Is Mrs. Rodriquez here?

Shawntee
No. 

The Contractor
Where is she?

Shawntee
What do you want with her?

The Contractor
I have business with her.

Shawntee
She's not the owner of the store anymore. I took over the lease.

The Contractor
Then I have business with you. You owe me twenty-five hundred dollars.

Shawntee
What?

The Contractor
I see you're filling up the shelves. They're not yours to fill. I built them and they're not paid for. Mrs. Rodriquez still owes me twenty-five hundred dollars for the work. Now that you've assumed her debt…

Shawntee
The lease says "furnishings included."

The Contractor
I demand what's owed me!

Shawntee
I don't have twenty-five hundred dollars. I had to pay a security deposit and six months rent up front. And then the store was under stocked. I don't have any money left. 

Mrs. Davis
That's bad news.

Derrick

(taking a 40 ounce Malt out of the freezer, opening it and taking a swig) 

Very bad. But at least you stocked up on the 40s.

Shawntee
If you could give me a month, until I start making some money from the store.

Mrs. Davis
Sir, you have to be patient. 

The Contractor
Who's patient with me? I have expenses. I have to pay my bills. And you, Miss…

Shawntee
Shawntee Stevens.

The Contractor
And you, Miss Shawntee Stevens, have to pay yours.

Mrs. Davis
Shawntee, why don't you let your cousin take care of this? 

(to The Contractor) 

Put your claim in writing and Miss Stevens' cousin will make sure you get paid.

The Contractor
What cousin?

Mrs. Davis
He's her business advisor. Miss Stevens is new to all this.

The Contractor
Cousin? What kind of moron do you think I am?

Derrick
No, man, seriously. Her cousin's a lawyer and a solider. He just got back from Iraq. I know him, we grew up together. This dude is mad legit. 

Mr. Davis
Yes. He's a very formidable young man.

The Contractor
Alright, I'll put my claim in writing. I've got lawyers too, you know.

Mrs. Davis
Of course you do, you're a business person, just like Miss Stevens. 

The Contractor
You'll get my bill in the mail.

(The Contractor exits.)

Mrs. Davis
Shawntee, dear, never acknowledge a debt. 

Derrick
Word! You really need to toughen up.

Shawntee
He did a job. He wants to get paid for it. I'm embarrassed that I can't pay him.

Mr. Davis
You paid your debt when you let us live here. Don't let these parasites take advantage of you.

(Enter Tamra with a baby)

Tamara
Here you are!

Derrick
Don't get you panties in a knot. I was going to text you.

Mrs. Davis
Shawntee, this is Tamara, Derrick's girl friend, and their baby Shameka. Of course, they have to stay with us too.

Tamara
My mother threw me out when Shameka came along. She's a crazy church lady.

Shawntee
But there's no room.

Tamara
The baby doesn't cry — much.

Derrick
Yo, Shawntee, I hope you don't mind but I invited some of my boys over. You got all this beer in the place and I thought we could party. You know, celebrate your good luck and all.

Shawntee

(to audience)

My good luck?

 Scene 3

(Shaun is sleeping in an empty car on the L Train. The three Angels appear.)

Angel 1
You're a hard man to find, Shaun.

(Shaun wakes up.)

Shaun
(straightening himself up) Sorry to be such a mess. I must have fallen asleep.

Angel 2
We've come for a report on Shawntee. 

Angel 3
She's still the only good person we've found and we want to know how she's doing.

Shaun
You haven't found anyone else?

Angel 1
Not yet.

Angel 2
We went out to Los Angeles; we thought since the city was named after us…

Angel 3
The City of Angels you know. ...

Angel 2
… that there might be good people there. 

Angel 3
No such luck.

Angel 1
How is Shawntee doing? Is she still good?

Shaun
She came into a little money.

Angel 2

(smiling at the others) 

You don't say!

Shaun
Yeah, and she opened a bodega and she's letting a family live upstairs rent free and if customers can't pay for the food, she let's them have it anyhow.

Angel 1
That's very good of her.

Shaun
People are calling her The Good Woman of Bushwick.

Angel 3
The Good Woman of Bushwick, I like that.

Shaun
The problem is, she'll be out of business soon. Dear Angels, do you think she might be too good?

Angel 1
Too good? Of course not, you can't be too good.

Shaun
But people are taking advantage of her.

Angel 2
It is written: "The way of goodness is at the outset a thicket of thorns, but after a little distance it emerges into an open plain."

Angel 1
Shaun, you have to show appreciation for her goodness. No one can do good for long if they're not appreciated. That's your job.

Angel 3
We're off to Salt Lake City. We hear they're very religious there.

Angel 2
They don't even drink coffee. So they must be good, no?

Angel 1
We'll find out.

(The Angels vanish.)

 Scene 4

(Dressed in sharp business suit Stewart “Stewie” Towzer is at the cash register counting the till. The Davis family enters from the upstairs apartment. They don't notice Towzer.)

Mrs. Davis
Shawntee, do you have those bagels ready yet?

Derrick
Yeah, remember I like mine with cream cheese and peanut butter.

Mr. Davis
Hard to get the day started without that delicious cafe con leche of yours.

Mrs. Davis
Where is she? 

(Noticing Stewart Towzer) 

Who are you?

Stewie
I'm Shawntee's cousin.

Derrick
Say what?

Stewie
My name is Stewart Towzer, Esquire. You can call me Stewie.

Mr. Davis
Esquire? You mean you're a lawyer?

Stewie
Yes, St. John's University School of Law and Retired Master Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corp. 

Mrs. Davis
Just wait one minute, young man. Shawntee doesn't have a cousin. That was a joke.

Derrick
You say you're a lawyer and a solider? Man, this is whack. I made you up!

Stewie
Well, here I am.

Mr. Davis
Where's Shawntee?

Stewie
She won't be coming in today. As her business partner, I'll be putting things in order.

Mrs. Davis
Business partner? She never told us about a business partner. 

Stewie
Shawntee is not obligated to discuss her business arrangements with you, Mrs. Davis. 

Mrs. Davis
I think of her as a daughter...

Stewie
My cousin wanted me to tell you this is a bodega, not a gold mine. It's time for you to bounce.

Mrs. Davis
I don't believe you. She would never say that. We're like family.

Stewie
Not a very nice family; you threw her out when the government money stopped.

Mrs. Davis
Did she say that? She's lying, sir. We were her haven in a heartless world!

Derrick
Wait a minute. I don't believe you're her cousin. This is some kind of hustle, isn't it?

Mr. Davis
Where is our poor beloved girl? 

Mrs. Davis

(Aside, to Derrick) 

I think it might be time to bring in some of your boys to take care of this "cousin."

Derrick
Got it.

(Derrick exits.)

Mr. Davis
Can I have my cafe con leche?

Derrick
When you pay for it.

(Enter Mrs. Rodriquez. She starts gathering food.)

Mr. Davis

(to Stewie) 

This one never pays for anything.

Stewie
Mrs. Rodriquez your line of credit has been cut off.

Mrs. Rodriquez
Excuse me! Do I know you, chico?

Stewie
I'm Stewie, Shawntee's cousin.

Mr. Davis
He's her business partner and a lawyer.

Mrs. Davis
So he says.

Mrs. Rodriquez
Well, Stewie, your cousin and me have an agreement. I used to own this store, so she let's me shop here for free.

Stewie
Is this agreement written?

Mrs. Rodriquez
Ah, gordito, your cousin and me are amigas de por vida. We don't need no contract. 

Stewie

(Pulling out an envelope from his jacket's inside pocket.) 

You do have a written lease. I have it right here and it says that that store comes "fully furnished" and "fully stocked." Neither is the case and Shawntee can sue you for breech of contract.

Mrs. Rodriquez
Sue me? Are you crazy? I don't have any money, that's why I have to do this.

Mr. Davis
Mr. Towzer has a law degree from St. John's University.

Mrs. Davis
So he says. Do you have your degree in the other pocket?

Stewie
I'm serious, Mrs. Rodriquez.

Mrs. Rodriquez
But my children…

Stewie
I wish them well. However, they are your responsibility, not mine. 

Mrs. Rodriquez
Not even a bag of cheese doodles?

Stewie
Nothing is free anymore.

Mrs. Rodriquez

(Aside, to Mr. and Mrs. Davis) 

What a hard ass.

Mr. Davis
He was a Master Sergeant in the Marines.

Mrs. Davis
So he says. I haven't seen the discharge papers.

(Mrs. Rodriquez exits.)

Mrs. Davis
Good work, Stewie. Shawntee will be grateful that you got rid of that parasite.

Stewie
Philanthropy is for those who can afford it, Mrs. Davis. My cousin cannot.

Mrs. Davis
I couldn't have put it better myself.

(Enter The Contractor)

The Contractor
Is Ms Stevens here?

Stewie
No, she's not in today. I'm Stewie Towzer, her business partner.

The Contractor
You're the cousin who's the lawyer?

Mr. Davis
And former Marine. He served in Iraq, if I'm not mistaken.

The Contractor
I sent her my bill for the shelves.

Stewie
(Taking an envelope from the other inside pocket of his suit jacket) Yes, I have it right here. Twenty-five hundred dollars is entirely too much.

The Contractor
I don't barter. That's my bill.

Stewie
I can give you a thousand.

The Contractor
A thousand? Is this a joke? That doesn't even cover my expenses.

Stewie
Okay. Take them away.

The Contractor
Take the shelves down?

Stewie
And be quick about it. I have a business to run.

The Contractor
You can't sell your groceries from the floor.

Stewie
I can if I have to.

The Contractor
Okay. I'll go out to my van and get my tools.

Stewie
Please do.

Mrs. Davis
Do you think Mr. Towzer is made of money?

(The Contractor starts to exit. He hesitates, stops, turns around to face Stewie.)

The Contractor
These shelves were made to measure. They're no use anywhere else.

Stewie
Exactly.

The Contractor
You bastard. Take the shelves. Pay what you want.

Stewie

(Writing him a check) 

Good doing business with you.

(The Contractor exits.)

Mr. Davis
Where'd you learn to be that tough, in Iraq?

Stewie
No, Nostrand Avenue.

Mr. Davis
Of course.

Stewie
And now it's your turn to leave.

Mrs. Davis
Excuse me! We're not going anywhere unless Shawntee herself asks us to leave.

Mr. Davis
And she won't because she's good. Everyone knows she's the Good Woman of Bushwick.

Mrs. Davis
With good reason.

Stewie
Okay, if you want to be stubborn...

(Stewie goes to the door, waves. A Policeman enters.)

Good morning, Officer. I want to introduce myself. Stewie Towzer, Esquire and Retired Master Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corp, co-owner with my cousin Shawntee Stevens of this bodega.

Policeman
It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Towzer. Where did you serve?

Stewie
Two deployments to Iraq, one in Afghanistan.

Policeman

(indicating himself) 

Operation Dessert Storm.

(They bump fists.)

The name's Batista, Bobby Batista.

Stewie
It's a pleasure, Officer Batista. I just wanted to introduce myself and let you know that my cousin and I appreciate all that you and your fellow officers do for the community.

Mrs. Davis

(Aside to Mr. Davis) 

If he keeps this up much longer Derrick and his crew will get back and they'll be trouble. 

Stewie

(indicating the Davises.) 

These are some visitors, officer. They know my cousin. They were just leaving.

(Derrick and two of his crew burst through the door. They don't notice the Policeman.)

Derrick
We're not going anywhere until Shawntee asks us to. Mr. Stewie Towzer, you jive ass lawyer and chicken shit ex-Marine, your hustle is over. You're the one who's leaving. 

(Pulls out gun.) 

Don't make me use this.

Policeman

(gun drawn) 

Drop your weapon!

Derrick
Oh shit! 

(Derrick drops his gun.)

Policeman
All of you, up against the wall. I'm very sorry this happened at your store, Mr. Towzer.

Stewie
I'm just grateful you were here, Officer Batista.

Derrick
Ma, what just happened?

Mrs. Davis
Take care of yourself at Rikers, son.

(The Policeman leads Derrick and his boys out at gunpoint.)

Mrs. Davis
Where are we supposed to go?

Stewie
Out the door.

(The Davises exit. Shaun enters.)

Shaun
Is Shawntee around?

Stewie
No, I'm her cousin Stewie.

Shaun 

(shaking hands)

What's happening, Stewie? I'm her friend Shaun. I just came by to tell her how much I appreciate her being good.

Stewie
I just saved her store.

Shaun
I appreciate that too.

 Scene 5

(Shawntee on the Brooklyn Bridge. Behind her a young man, Wayne Shine, is standing on the rail, looking down at the river contemplating suicide. His back is to the audience. Shawntee doesn’t notice him.)

Shawntee
Now that my cousin Stewie stops by to help me out now and then, I’ve been able to stabilize the business. It’s not making money yet, but at least he’s stopped the hemorrhaging. I’ve been able to hire Shaun part time. So I don’t have to stay behind the counter twenty-four seven. Now, sometimes, I can take Sunday off and think about something other than where the next dollar’s coming from. I found that I like to walk. I’ve been walking all over Brooklyn. Today I’m crossing the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan. I’ve never walked across the bridge before. Isn’t it beautiful? The blue sky, the green river, the silver buildings gleaming in the Sunday sun?

Wayne
How corny can you get? 

Shawntee
(Noticing him for the first time)

What?

Wayne
You heard me, who do you think you are, some brainiack poet or something?

Shawntee
No, I was just admiring the view. It’s beautiful.

Wayne
Is it?

Shawntee
Well, just look.

Wayne
What good is beauty for people like us? Can you eat beauty? When the landlord wants his rent can you say, just look at this beautiful view and you’ll have all the payment you need. When the cops stop and frisk me, can I say, “Officer, why stop me? Why not stop and take in the beauty of the night instead?” When my moms throws me out because her new boyfriend don’t want me around, can I take solace in admiring the beauty of the flowers in the Brooklyn Botanical Garden? No, I cannot. First and foremost because it costs money to get into the Brooklyn Botanical Garden and I don’t have any. Not a cent.

Shawntee
Is that why you’re standing on the rail?

Wayne
Why do you think? You know I’m not admiring the view.

Shawntee
Because your moms threw you out?

Wayne
That and a lot of other shit.

Shawntee
Who’s being corny now? Killing yourself is the corniest thing you can do. You should man-up.

Wayne

(jumping down from the rail) 

Who you telling to man-up, shortie? You don’t know nothing about me. I was this far 

(holds his thumb and forefinger very close) 

this far from making it big time, but my dog stabbed me in the back. Took my rhymes, put them to a different beat and got him a fancy ass record deal. You know the song, “Red Hook Hell Raiser”? That’s my lyrics.

Shawntee
You wrote that?

Wayne
Damn straight.

Shawntee
I love that song.
 
Wayne
You and everyone else on the planet. That fool be spiting my rhymes all over the radio, but I ain’t seen a penny from that hit. That punk now drinking Crystal and I’m drinking the bitter dregs of disappointment.

Shawnee
“Bitter dregs of disappointment,” now you sounding like a poet.

Wayne
Well, I am a rapper. I just told you I wrote “Red Hook Hell Raiser.”

Shawntee
Yes, you did. If you got all that talent, why you want to throw it into the East River?

Wayne
Oh shit, girl, is that what you think I was doing? Naw, dog, I just wanted to see if I could fly.

(They both smile, maybe chuckle.)

What’s your name? 

Shawntee
Shawntee.

Wayne
Thanks, Shawntee. For stopping and talking.

Shawntee
Sure. No problem. You okay now? 

Wayne
I’m Wayne. Wayne Shine. 

(He offers his hand. They shake hands.) 

My hip-hop name’s Rise and Shine. Pretty cool, huh?

Shawntee
Yeah, it’s poetic.

Wayne
Yeah, it is. But, yo, I’m sorry about being all up in your face. Why don’t we stop talking about me, and change the subject to something less depressing—like you, for instance? What do you do, when you ain’t walking across the Brooklyn Bridge on a Sunday afternoon saving crazy brothers from jumping?

Shaunee
I own a shop.

Wayne
Say what?

Shawntee
A bodega in Bushwick.

Wayne
How you own a bodega in Bushwick? Did some Angels come down from Heaven and give you a wad of money?

Shawntee
That’s just how it happened.

Wayne
You playing with me, girl? But that’s okay, I deserve it. You really own a store? 

Shawntee
Yeah, I do.

Wayne
That’s dope! Maybe those Angels gave you all that money so you could be my Angel. 

Shawntee
I’m no Angel; believe me.
Wayne
What you mean, you just saved my life didn’t you? You’re a good sister.

Shawntee
Thanks…

Wayne
A good sister who has a store—and a beautiful smile. 

Shawntee
Oh, so now beauty matters?

Wayne
Now I’m not jumping off the bridge; I’m looking into your eyes.

Shawntee
Wayne, you’re sweet. But I got to go…

Wayne
Shawntee, I got this other song, even better than “Red Hook Hell Raiser.” It’s a fusion thing. With this one, I be bringing funk and hip-hop together. Boom! It’ a hot combination. It’s combustible, you know what I’m saying? It’s called “East New York Boogaloo.”

Shawntee
Sounds like a fun song.

Wayne
Yeah, it is. The only problem is that I need studio time to lay down the tracks. And as you now know, I don’t have any money. I’m beyond broke. Then, well, I’m going to be straight with you, Shawntee, the studio time is the least of it. I got this friend whose cousin knows Diddy’s nephew. No joke. He can put my demo right in Diddy’s hands. But he wants money upfront to get it to Diddy. All and all, I need five grand. 

Shawntee
That’s a lot of money.
Wayne
Yeah, you can see why I was so bummed out. But if I could find someone to front me, once “East New York Boogaloo” takes off we’d both be rolling in the dough.

Shawntee
I don’t have that kind of money, besides we just met.

Wayne
I know Shawntee, I’m sorry. I know what that must have sounded like. It’s just that I’ve been so hungry for so long. 

Shawntee
I got to go now.

Wayne
Sure, of course, I understand. Where you going? Can I walk with you?

Shawntee
I thought I’d walk over to Occupy Wall Street and see what that’s like.

Wayne
Aren’t they just a bunch of crazy white dudes?

Shawntee
Yeah, maybe, but I like what they’ve saying. I mean we’re part of the ninety-nine percent aren’t we?

Wayne
Word. But if I could get my demo to Diddy, I could be part of the one percent.

Shawntee
Wayne, you’re even crazier than I thought.

Scene 6

(Shaun and Mrs. Rodriquez are in the bodega.)

Mrs. Rodriquez
Where is she?

Shaun
She’s not here.

Mrs. Rodriquez
Was she out all night again?

Shaun
Mrs. Rodriquez, that’s none of your business. I wouldn’t tell you, even if I knew.

Mrs. Rodriquez
No sooner did we get rid of that loco cousin of hers, than she goes and falls for that gangster.

Shaun
He’s not a gangster; he’s a rapper.

Mrs. Rodriquez
What’s the difference?

Shaun
Okay, Mrs. Rodriquez, can I get you something?

Mrs. Rodriquez
Do you think I just came in here to gossip? I’ve come to stock up. 

Shaun
You got the food stamps yet?

Mrs. Rodgriguez
No, but you know Shawntee lets me take formula for the Emily, because he’s just a baby and needs to be fed, food stamps or not.

(As Mrs. Rodriquez asks for each item, Shaun gives it to her.)

Mrs. Rodriquez
And orange soda for Teresa, she’s four and loves her orange soda.

Shaun
I like orange soda too.

Mrs. Rodriquez
I can see that some of Shawntee’s goodness is rubbing off on you. And all the kids want their cheese doodles. It’s hard to enjoy Sponge Bob Square Pants without cheese doodles.

Shaun
Of course, and would they like some Hostess cup cakes too?

Mrs. Rodriquez
Twinkies. They like the Twinkies, not the cup cakes.

Shaun
Oh, I forgot.

Mrs. Rodriquez
It’s you who like the cup cakes.

Shaun
Right, I do. I love the surprise filling

(Enter Shawntee.)

Shawntee

(to the audience) 

How wonderful to see Brooklyn in the early morning. I never used to wake up early; I never wanted to face the day, and when I had to, when the alarm clock ripped into my dreams, it was to work in the dinner or the shop. I never walked the streets just as the sun tip-toes the around the corners and dances off the window panes. This morning I saw the garbage men picking up the trash and watched as with graceful arches they threw the heavy, black bags into their noisy, hungry trucks. The arms of the men are so strong and the jaws of their trucks swallowed it all so gratefully. Then, as the sun grew brighter and lit up the concrete and the asphalt and splashed on the windshields of the cars, I saw the street cleaning machines with their giant brushes scrubbing the face of the city. When I turned off Broadway onto Myrtle Avenue, the shopkeepers began rolling up their gates, turning on the water and hosing down the sidewalk. I passed sleepy workers stumbling toward the bus stops, while others walked wearily down from the elevated, worn out after a long night of cleaning the big office towers or working the night shift at a hospital or unloading freight at the airport. The sound of an ambulance siren in the distance married the squeal of the L Train as it rounded a curve. How wonderful to feel part of such a big nosy city! 

Mrs. Rodriquez

(to Shaun) 

Boy, does she have it bad!

Shawntee
Good morning, Mrs. Rodriquez, how are the kids?

Mrs. Rodriquez
They’re okay. But you, chica, you have me worried.

Shawntee
I’m feeling great.

Mrs. Rodriquez
I can see that, Shawntee, and that’s why I’m worried. In this world it’s not so great to feel great. I know men. They’re all cariñosa until the get what they want. And usually they only want two things—sex and money. 

(to Shaun) 

No offence, Shaun

Shawntee
Wayne’s not like that. He’s an artist, and he has big plans.

Mrs. Rodriquez
Plans for what?

Shawntee
We’re going to Los Angeles and he’s going to become a big rap star.

Shaun
Say what?

Shawntee
Yes, I gave him five thousand dollars to make a demo and get it to Diddy. And he did it and Diddy digs it and played it for Suge and Suge likes it, so he wants Wayne to come out and do an album.

Shaun
He’s a Brooklyn boy and he’s going to L.A.?

Shawntee
Oh Shaun, that’s so nineties.

Mrs. Rodriguez
You gave that mocosa five thousand dollars?

Shaun
The rent on the store is due next Thursday.

Shawntee
I forgot about that.

Shaun
How could you forget? We’re could lose the store.

Shawntee
Soon I’ll be going with Wayne to the Hollywood Hills. In the meantime, we’ll figure it out. Mrs. Rodriguez, take a Sprite too. Doesn’t Francisco like Sprite?

Mrs. Rodriquez
Yes, he does. 

(Shaun hands her a bottle of Sprite.)

Thanks. Now let me give you something, Shawntee, the painful wisdom of experience: For a woman love is a curse.

(Mrs. Rodriquez exits with her bags of food. The Apparently Homeless Man enters.)

Apparently Homeless Man
Shawntee, it’s great that you’re here. I’m desperate for a smoke.

Shawntee
Here, have a carton. On a day like today with the sun shining and the trees blooming, you should smoke as much as you want.

Apparently Homeless Man
Thank you. I will.

(Apparently Homeless Man puts carton of cigarettes under his arm and exits.)

Shaun
When you give him a carton, he sells it on the street.

Shawntee
Everyone has to make a living.

Shaun
Shawntee, I appreciate your goodness. I really do. But think you should text your cousin. We need him now.

Scene 7

(Shawntee is sitting alone on a bench in Maria Hernandez Park. An elderly couple, George and Winnie Hawkins, enter hand in hand.)

Mrs. Hawkins
Why, hello Shawntee, what are you doing here all by yourself? 

Mr. Hawkins
I didn’t recognize you, I’m so used to seeing you in the bodega. 

Mrs. Hawkins
We take a walk through the park every morning. We’ve never seen you here before.

Shawntee
I’ve never been here before, not in the morning anyway.

Mrs. Hawkins
Who’s watching the store?

Shawntee
Shaun’s there, Mrs. Hawkins.

Mr. Hawkins
You look down, girl. What’s up?

Shawntee
I’m afraid I’ve gotten myself into a situation.

Mrs. Hawkins
Does it have to do with that young man of yours?

Shawntee
Sort of, I gave him all the money I had saved so that he could make a demo and get it to Diddy. Now the rent is due and I can’t pay it.

Mr. Hawkins
Who’s Diddy?

Mrs. Hawkins
He’s a big rap producer. He used to be called Puffed Up Daddy. Isn’t that right dear?

Shawntee
Puff Daddy. His real name’s Sean Combs.

Mrs, Hawkins
I used to teach school with his mother Janice before they moved up to Mount Vernon.

Mr. Hawkins
Why so many names?

Shawntee
I don’t know, but I can understand it. We all have more than one person inside us, don’t you think? Sometimes you just got to be someone else.

Mr. Hawkins
Not me. I’ve always been George Leonard Alonso Hawkins III. Worked as a conductor for the MTA since I was twenty. Same name, same job.

Mrs. Hawkins
You’ve been my Mr. Sure and Steady, George.

(She squeezes his hand.)

Shawntee
You were lucky to have the same job, with benefits and all, all your life.

Mr. Hawkins
I sure was. I owe it all to the union.

Shawntee
I don’t know what I’m gonna do if I lose the store. I don’t want to go back to my old line of work.

Mrs. Hawkins
Don’t talk like that, child. You will not go back to your old line of work.

Shawntee
We were going to fly out to L.A. together so he could record his CD. But now I can’t buy us no plane tickets. Without the store, I won’t be able to afford even a Metrocard!
 
Mrs. Hawkins
Shawntee dear, Mr. Hawkins and I have been talking. We think it’s wonderful that you’ve found such a nice young man and that you’re in love.

Mr. Hawkins
We’ve been in love for forty years, and I don’t think I could have made it without Winnie.

Mrs. Hawkins
We’ve been able to build a good life together, and we want you to have a chance at a good life too.

Mr. Hawkins
As I said to Winnie just yesterday, “Winnie,” I said. “Given all the good things Shawntee does for the people of this community, she deserves to be happy. I hope nothing goes wrong for her.” And now it has.

Mrs. Hawkins
What is the rent on the store?

Shawntee
Twenty-five hundred dollars.

(Mr. and Mrs. Hawkins look at each other. He nods.)

Mrs. Hawkins
We’ve got a little savings. We can lend you the $2,500 to cover the rent. As soon as the store starts making money again, you can pay us back.

Shawntee
You’re willing to lend money to a person like me?

Mrs. Hawkins
It’s people like you who need it.

Mr. Hawkins
I wouldn’t lend it to that cousin of yours, but you’re a good kid.

(Mr. Hawkins takes out a checkbook, writes a check, and hands it to Shawntee.)

Shawntee
Thank you, I’ll pay you back as soon as I can.

Mrs. Hawkins
Now we have to get home and drink some of that great Bustelo coffee we buy at your place.

(Mr. and Mrs. Hawkins exit.)

Shawntee

(to the audience) 

I wish the Angels were here. Those are two good people—really!

Scene 8

(The bodega. Stewie Towzer is behind the counter, reading a paper. Mrs. Rodriguez is talking. Stewie takes little notice of her.)

Mrs. Rodriguez
There are rumors, Mr. Towzer, rumors about your cousin and this rapper, Rise and Shine. They say he’s taking advantage of her, using her money to do God knows what. I mean he’s from Red Hook Houses; a real cholo, if you know what I mean. You don’t want people talking trash about Shawntee do you? After all, she’s the Good Woman of Bushwick.
 
Stewie
Mrs. Rodriguez, I really don’t care what people say, as long as they continue to buy their groceries here.

Mrs. Rodriguez
I can understand that, Mr. Towzer, I really can. You’re a businessman, after all. So let me speak from the heart. I’m worried about her. She’s in love. Do you know what happens to a woman when she falls in love? She loses her head; she lives in her dreams. It’s a sickness; enamorado we call it in Spanish. Believe me, I know. I’m telling you all this because I care for Shawntee. She’s been good to me and my kids. 

Stewie
Thank you for you concern, Mrs. Rodriguez. I’m sure Shawntee can take care of herself.

Mrs. Rodriguez
I don’t know why you think so. There’s no evidence that she can. Look what’s happened to this store. She couldn’t take care of it, now could she? Her goodness, or as I think of it, her naiveté, gets in her way. If it wasn’t for you, she’d have lost this store months ago and be back on the street. So that’s why I’m coming to you. You need to help her again. Here’s the deal: a certain interest has been expressed in Shawntee by Reverend Russell.

Stewie
The Reverend Russell?

Mrs. Rodgriquez
Yes, the Reverend Russell, pastor of one of the largest churches in all of central Brooklyn. He’s recently widowed and…

Stewie
Isn’t he old enough to be her grandfather?

Mrs. Rodriguez
So what? He’s still a handsome man—and a rich one I might add. She’d be set for life as the second wife of the Right Reverend Ralph Russell.

Stewie
What about her being in love with Wayne Shine?

Mrs. Rodriguez
That’s just my point, Mr. Towzer. She’d be much better off with some money in her purse than with all that love in her heart. It’s safer in the long run; believe me. 

Stewie
And why would Reverend Russell he be interested in my cousin, given her former profession…

Mrs. Rodriguez
As I understand it, and I understand it on very good authority, he’s impressed with how Shawntee has pulled herself up by her bootstraps, how she has transformed herself from a fallen woman to a businesswoman. And then there’s her goodness. Everyone knows how kind and charitable she’s been. It wouldn’t hurt him to be married to the Good Woman of Bushwick. It might help his business, so to speak.

(Enter Wayne Shine.)

Wayne
Is this Shawntee’s bodega?

Mrs. Rodriguez
Yes, it is, and who are you chico? 

Wayne
I’m Wayne Shine. 

Mrs. Rodriguez
You’re Rise and Shine?

Wayne
You’ve heard of me?

Mrs. Rodriguez
Plenty, from Shawntee.

Wayne
All good, no doubt.

Stewie
Can I help you?

Wayne
I’ve come to see Shawntee. 

Stewie
She’s not here. I’m her cousin and business partner, Stewie Towzer.

Wayne
What’s happenin’ Stew? She told me about you. You’re the lawyer. I guess you about know about us, huh? 

(Checking out the store.) 

Nice place she has here. I thought maybe she was just frontin’

Mrs. Rodriguez
She’s an honest girl; it’s one of her faults.

Wayne
It was decent of her to give me the money for my demo and stuff.

Stewie
Yes, it was. Did you come to thank her?

Wayne
Yeah, sure, and I need more.

Stewie
More what?

Wayne
Money, man.

Mrs. Rodriguez
Of course you do.

Wayne
No, seriously. It costs money to get to L.A. Plane tickets don’t grow on trees. And then, once I’m there, there’s hotel rooms, there’s new clothes, there’s parties. Shawntee is down with helping me with my career.

Stewie
She has already helped you quite a bit.

Wayne
True, but she promised to do whatever she could to help me with my career.

Stewie
Perhaps my cousin was overhasty in making you promises.

Wayne
Shawntee’s not a girl to keep a man waiting, for one thing or another if you catch my drift.

Stewie
I catch your drift. What I mean, Mr. Shine, is that she may be making promises she can’t keep. Her resources are limited. She is barely paying the rent each month.

Wayne
It looks like a healthy business to me.

Mrs. Rodriguez
What do you know about business? Shawntee gives all the profits away to bums like you. If it weren’t for Mr. Towzer there’d be no store. 

Wayne
Excuse me, lady, I don’t want to be rude like you, but I’m not just any bum; I’m her man.

Mrs. Rodriquez
¡Ay! Caramba!

Stewie
What do you need to get to Los Angeles, Mr. Shine?

Wayne
Two thousand dollars should be a good start.

Mrs. Rodriguez
That’s a month’s rent on the store.

Stewie
You take me for a sucker? A plane ticket can’t be more than $300.

Wayne
Like I explained, son, there’s a life style to maintain when I get there.

Stewie
That’s more than she can afford right now. Would you consider staying here and working with Shawntee at the shop? It’s just her and Shaun. She could use the help.

Wayne
What? Me? Spending my life behind the counter? Do I look like some bodega clerk selling loosies and beer all night? Shit, I’m an artist.

Mrs. Rodriguez
You’re a thug from Red Hook Houses.

Wayne
Do I know you, lady? Why you talking trash like that?

Stewie
You could still work on your rhymes. Plenty of great rappers come out of Brooklyn. Isn’t your hoped for hit called “East New York Bogaloo”?

Wayne
No doubt, but I got a contract with Suge’s Black Kapital Records. I wouldn’t want to mess with Suge, would you?

Stewie
My cousin wishes to follow the dictates of her heart. She has authorized me to give you what you need. 

(He writes a check, hands it to Wayne.) 

Two thousand dollars.

Mrs. Rodriguez
Are you crazy in your brain cells?

Stewie
Now you and Shawntee can get your tickets and reservations at a good hotel.

Mrs. Rodriguez
What about the rent?

Wayne
Me and Shawntee?

Stewie
She assumes you’re going together.

Wayne
Hey, I like Shawntee and all, don’t get me wrong, but I can’t have her tagging along. She’ll cramp my style; you know what I’m talking about.

Stewie
Mr. Shine, my cousin may cancel that check when she finds out you’re leaving her behind.

Wayne
Man, you don’t know shorties, do you? She’ll want me to go, even without her.

Stewie
She’s not stupid.

Wayne
Maybe not, but all I have to do is put my hand on her shoulder and she hears bells.

Stewie
Mr. Shine, my cousin is devoted to you … because …

Wayne
Because I have my hands on her breasts. 

Mrs. Rodriguez
Sucio cochino.

Wayne
Okay, I get it. No problem. I’ll take Shawntee with me. Just make sure this check clears. Tell Shawntee to call me.

(Wayne exits.)

Mrs. Rodriguez
You lost the store.

Stewie
It’s what she wants.

Mrs. Rodriguez
Well, she’s a fool. And now so are you. You can’t trust Shawntee with that little hustler. Just remember what I said about Reverend Russell. 

(Mrs. Rodriguez exits.)

(Stewie takes off his mask. He is Shawntee.)

Shawntee

(to the audience) 

I’ve lost the bodega. And he doesn’t love me. I’ve caught some bad breaks in life, but falling in love is the worst.

Scene 9

(Shawntee is sitting on the same bench in Maria Hernandez Park where she met Mr. and Mrs. Hawkins. Enter Shaun.)

Shaun
There you are. I’ve been looking everywhere for you. The landlord came by this afternoon. He says we’re a month behind on the rent. 

Shawntee
I know.

Shaun
Where you been? You’re not answering your phone. I had to shut the store and search all over Bushwick. That’s not good for business.

Shawntee
Shaun, something terrible has happened. You know Mr. and Mrs. Hawkins?

Shaun
Sure, the nice old couple who buy a can of Bustelo every week.

Shawntee
They lent me the money to pay the rent last month … 

Shaun
Wow, that’s cool, finally someone being good to the Good Woman of Bushwick. 

Shawntee
The terrible thing is Mr. Hawkins just had a stroke. Mrs. Hawkins came by today. She was very sorry, but they need me to pay them back. Her husband has to learn to walk again, and his insurance has such a big co-pay on the physical therapy, it’s gonna take months and months and they can’t afford it.

Shaun
Yeah, that’s pretty bad.

Shawntee
And I don’t have the money. I gave it to Wayne yesterday so he can go to Los Angeles.

Shaun
That’s even worse.

Shawntee
What can I do?

Shaun
You can cancel the check to Wayne. 

Shawntee
He wants this so bad, Shaun. He’s had so many disappointments. His best friend was shot dead. His other best friend stole his song. His moms threw him out. He’s wanted to be a rap star since he was a little kid. Signing this contract with Suge and going out to Los Angeles means so much to him. If this falls through I just don’t know what he’ll do. Everyone should have a chance at happiness.

Shaun
Mr. Hawkins can’t walk.

Shawntee
Wayne can’t rap.

Shaun
He can rap all he wants; he just won’t get rich from it.

Shawntee
You’re right. I can’t stiff Mr. and Mrs. Hawkins. It really is their money and they really need it. Aside from you, they’re the only people who have ever been nice to me.

Shaun
You’ll still loose the store …

Shawntee
Maybe not. Mrs. Rodriguez says that Reverend Russell has shown a certain interest in … helping … me.

Shaun
The Reverend Ralph Russell? 

Shawntee
Yes, the Reverend Russell.

Shaun
What kind of interest?

Shawntee
The kind of interest that will keep the store open.

Scene 10

(Wayne is standing in the bodega alone. There is a carton of soda in front of the counter.)

Wayne

(to the audience) 

The bitch. I can’t believe she did this to me! I go to deposit the check and they tell me it’s no good. She cancelled payment. Those tight-ass niggers in the bank look at me like I’m some kind of scam artist. It’s not her; it’s that cousin of hers. She would never do this to the man she loves. If I can only get her alone. 

(yells) 

Shawntee!

(Shawntee enters from the back of the store.)

Why’d you do it?

Shawntee
Because the money wasn’t mine, I owed it to Mr. and Mrs. Hawkins.

Wayne
Who the hell are they?

Shawntee
Wayne, I couldn’t give you what’s not mine.

Wayne
That cousin of yours wants to break us up.

Shawntee
Yes.

Shaun
And you’ve agreed to it.

Shawntee
Yes.

Wayne
They’ve told you I’m bad. 

(Shawntee is silent.) 

And I suppose I am. Does that mean I love you any less? I have no money, that’s no secret. When you don’t have enough, you don’t always do the right thing. I’ve been desperate. You know that. But at least I don’t give up. I keep fighting. And so do you. That’s what we have in common.

(He is close to her now.)

Have you no eyes? Look at me. Have you forgotten already?

Shawntee
No.

Wayne
“The blue sky, the green river, the silver buildings gleaming in the Sunday sun.”

Shawntee
Wayne, what do you want? 

Wayne
I want you to come with me. We’ll fly across the country to Los Angeles. We’ll start a new life in the Hollywood Hills.

Shaunee
That costs money, lots of money. I don’t have any.

Wayne
Don’t lie to me, Shawntee.

Shawntee
I’m not. If I don’t find some soon, I’m losing the store.

(Enter Mrs. Rodriguez with Reverend Russell.)

Mrs. Rodriguez
And this, Reverend Russell, is the shop …

(She stops when she sees Wayne. To Shawntee.) 

What’s he doing here?

Wayne

(Looking back and forth between Reverend Russell and Shawntee.) 

I see what’s going on. Once a ho, always a ho.

(Wayne exits.)

Mrs. Rodriguez
I’m sorry Reverend …

Reverend Russell
No need to apologize. Our community is full of low lifes.

Mrs. Rodriguez
This, of course, is Ms Shawntee Stevens.

Reverend Russell
I know, Mrs. Rodriguez, I know. I have seen Ms Shawntee Stevens at block parties and community events ever since she was a young girl. She sometimes waited on me at Tina’s dinner. 

Shawntee
Yes, you like the buttermilk pancakes with blueberry syrup. 

Reverend Russell
How sweet that you remember. And I must say, Shawntee, if I may call you Shawntee …

Shawntee
You may.

Reverend Russell
… yes, I must say that you have grown lovelier with each year. You have blossomed into a beautiful young woman. 

Shawntee
Thank you.

Reverend Russell
However, it is not your physical beauty that drew me here, Shawntee, but your spiritual beauty. After all, what is beauty of the flesh? It struts briefly on the runway of life, a transient distraction, disappearing into the shadows all too soon. Dust to dust. Ashes to ashes. No, it is your good deeds, not your good looks, which have brought me to your bodega.

Shawntee
I’m honored.

Reverend Russell
It is I who is honored, for I know what you have been through and I know what you have done. I know all. You have sacrificed you own love and happiness so that you would not hurt the sweet elderly couple that put their trust in you. That young man from Red Hook couldn’t rise to your level, so you left him behind. And now, now that I learn from Mrs. Rodriguez that you are about to lose your little shop, this haven for the hungry, this resting place for the weary, well, I cannot let it happen. Morning after morning, I had my driver cruise by your shop in my Lincoln Continental watching, tears in my eyes, a lump in my throat, as you handed out rice and beans, bagels and cream cheese, Wonder Bread and Hostess cupcakes to all who were in need. And so it is that you, the Good Woman of Bushwick, now find yourself in need. Is the Good Woman to disappear? Not if I have anything to do with it. Say nothing. Allow me to help. 

(He takes out a check from his jacket pocket.) 

Here! A blank check. Just my signature. Fill it out as you will. I ask nothing in return other than you continue your good work. You are a flower blooming amidst the garbage. I now take my leave, lovely ladies. I hope to see you in church.

(Reverend Russell exits.) 

Mrs. Rodriguez
Well, you’re saved. Don’t thank me; just fill in the check. 

Shawntee
I don’t know if I can.

Mrs. Rodriguez
Of course you can. This is the best deal you’re ever going to get. Don’t blow it.

Shawntee
Maybe we can find some other way to raise the money.

Mrs. Rodriguez
After all the work I did to arrange this? Believe me, you could do worse with your life, I did. 

Shawntee
I appreciate it, Mrs. Rodriguez, I really do…

Mrs. Rodriguez
You’re not still thinking about that rapper are you?

Shawntee
When I heard the sneer in his voice, I was afraid. But when I saw the fear in his eyes, I loved him dearly.

Mrs. Rodriguez
¡Ay, Dios mio!

Shawntee

(Goes to pick up a carton of soda.) 
Let me put that in the back.

(As she bends over to pick up the carton, she gets faint.)

Oh!

Mrs. Rodriguez
You feel dizzy when you bend over? There couldn’t be a little visitor on the way, could there? If that’s it, you can forget Reverend Russell’s check; it wasn’t meant to pay for a baby shower, at least not a shower for Rise and Shine’s kid. Now you’re trapped, like me. Yo renuncio.

(Mrs. Rodriguez exits. Shawntee stares after her for moment. Then she looks down at her body, feels her stomach.)

Shawntee
Wow. A new life is coming into the world. I don’t know whether to dance or cry. I’m scared. I don’t know if I can take care of you; I can hardly take care of myself. I’m happy. It feels like early in the morning when I walk through Brooklyn and everything seems possible.

(She imagines a little boy to be present and introduces him to the audience.)

Take a look at the world, my son. That’s a truck. It brings food to stores like ours from farms out in the country, New Jersey, I think. That’s the elevated train; it brings people into work in the city. Over there is Maria Hernandez Park. You see those pretty green things? Those are trees. And that’s the Brooklyn Museum. It’s got all kinds of wonderful things in it. At least that’s what Mrs. Hawkins told me. I’ve walked past it but I’ve never gone in. Now that you’re here, we’ll go together. And wait until you see Manhattan, son. It’s totally awesome. All of this has been build by people like you, little one. That’s easy to forget or to never think about. But you coming into the world makes me think about it. Who knows what you will be able to do once you’re here?
Take a look at the world, my son. You see that man eating food out of the dumpster? That’s because he can’t find a job and has no money to buy food. You see that kid on the corner? He has a gun in his jacket. He needs it for protection. He’s trying to make some money to help his mother and little sister. I hope you never have to do that; he’ll get shot by some other kids or by the cops. You see Mrs. Hawkins coming down the street with such a sad face? She going to the drug store to get medicine for Mr. Hawkins, but their money is running out. What are they going to do then? All of this has been created by people like you, little one. That’s easy to forget or to never think about. We created this mess and we don’t know how to get out of it. But you coming into the world makes me think about it. Who knows what you’ll be able to do once you’re here?
But I know what I have to do once you’re here. I’ll have to defend you and I’ll have to teach you. To be good to you, my son, I’ll be a wolf to others, if I have to. And I will have to. One more time then, I have to find my cousin.

Scene 11

(Shaun in the bodega alone.)

Shaun

(to the audience) 

Shawntee’s gone missing again. This job of being good doesn’t pay and it’s really stressing her out. It’s stressing me out, and I’m not even trying to be good. All I’m trying to do is save enough money for a month’s rent and a security deposit so I can get an apartment and not have to sleep on the L Train anymore. But it’s not looking good. I’m really glad I kept my space at Wycoff Self-Storage. When Shawntee loses the store, I can go back to selling stuff on the street, although I may have to move my operation to another neighborhood. That guy who used come in all the time bumming cigarettes is now selling DVDs at the corner of Knickerbocker and Snydam, where I used to work.

(Enter Stewie Towzer.)

Stewie
Shaun, Shawntee will be away for a while. She’s gone to visit family down south. I’ll be running things while she gone.

Shaun
I didn’t know she had family down south. 

Stewie
Of course she does. South Carolina. Her aunts—my mother and my mother’s sister.

Shaun
Okay. When’s she coming back?

Stewie
When she’s ready. Listen, Shaun, if we’re going to get this store in the black, and we are, I’m going to need your help. Even without Shawntee around giving everything away, a little bodega like this is never go to make big bucks, and that’s what we want—big bucks. We need a competitive edge, a market advantage, a way, in short, to accumulate more capital than the other bodegas in Bushwick. That’s where you come in.

Shaun
Where? I don’t know how to make money.

Stewie
Ah, but you do. Shawntee tells me that when you were a street vendor you didn’t just sell DVDs, that you sometimes supplemented your earnings by selling cigarettes, cigarettes smuggled across state lines and therefore cigarettes for which you didn’t have to pay taxes, cigarettes which you could therefore sell cheaper than we could in the store.

Shaun
What if I did?

Stewie
It shows you have the instincts of a businessman. What I need you to do, Shaun, is go to your contacts and get us those cigarettes—lots of them, truck loads. If we can buy them much cheaper than the competition, we can sell them just a little cheaper and still make more money.

Shaun
And where are you going to get the money to buy truckloads of cigarettes?

Stewie
Reverend Russell very kindly made a generous contribution toward my cousin’s good works.

Shaun
This is not your cousin’s good works.

Stewie
You never know; money works in mysterious ways.

Shaun
It’s against the law, Mr. Towzer.

Stewie
I know.

Shaun
You’re a lawyer, aren’t you supposed to uphold the law?

Stewie
Lawyers make the best crooks. Since we know the rules, we naturally know our way around them as well.

Shaun
I’m not sure Shawntee would like this.

Stewie
May I remind you, Shaun, that Shawntee at one time sold her body to men. That is also against the law. 

Shaun
She was just doing what she had to pay the bills.

Stewie
And, we too, are just doing what we have to do to pay the bills. 

Shaun
I don’t like breaking the law; it makes me nervous.

Stewie
You broke the law every day you were on the street. You’re supposed to have a vendor’s license from the city. Did you?

Shaun
No, a license costs money.

Stewie
Exactly. My experience has been that most laws are written by rich people for poor people to obey. We no longer want to be poor, do we?

Shaun
Truckloads of contraband cigarettes?

Stewie
Truckloads. We’re going to have to do some bad shit to help the Good Woman of Bushwick stay good.

Scene 12

(Shaun sleeping on the L Train. The three Angels appear. Third Angel has his arm in a sling.)

Shaun
Wow! What happened to you?

Third Angel
Let’s just say, you humans can be pretty hostile …

Second Angel
… and violent.

Shaun
I guess this means you haven’t found any other good people.

First Angel
Bingo!

Third Angel
How’s Shawntee doing?

Shaun
I wish I knew. Her cousin says she’s down South visiting family, but it’s been months already. She’s not answering her phone and her cousin won’t give me any other number. He says she wants a real vacation, no calls.

Second Angel
Visiting family is good.

Shaun
I guess. But I’m worried. Stewie, that’s her cousin, he’s running the store now and business is booming. 

Second Angel
Booming is good, no?

Shaun
No, well, yes, I guess. It’s going so well that he’s opened another store five blocks away. But he’s selling bootleg cigarettes and, well, paying his workers below minimum wage. That’s why it’s booming.

First Angel
That makes him a job creator. Job creators are good. We learned that from Fox News.

Shaun
Illustrious ones, what if Stewie has done something bad to Shawntee? Couldn’t you use your Angel power to find her and make sure she’s okay? Maybe bring her back to Bushwick?

First Angel
Oh no. We’re not supposed to intervene in human affairs. That’s how my colleague got his arm broken. 

Second Angel
We just have to find good people; we’ve found one …

Shaun
And maybe lost her …

Third Angel
You humans always think the worst.

Shaun
Can you blame us?

First Angel
No, Shaun, based on our time in your world, I can’t blame you, but our mission here is limited. We’re not detectives, we’re Angels.

Second Angel
Yes, but if the one good person in the world is gone, then haven’t we’ve failed in our mission?

Third Angel
She’s not gone; she’s visiting family down South.

Second Angel
What if Shaun’s worries are justified? After all, humans do lie a lot. And this cousin appears to be making a lot of money from her store.

First Angel

(To Shaun) 

We’re going to have to discuss this. We’ll get back to you.

Scene 13

(Stewie Towzer and Wayne Shine in the bodega.)

Stewie
You’ve been doing a good job, Shine.

Wayne
Thank you, sir. I appreciate the opportunity you’ve given me.

Stewie
I knew you needed a job after that Los Angles deal fell through and I had a feeling you had the ruthlessness I needed for this roll-out.

Wayne
It’s been quite a ride, sir. Six stores opened in seven months.

Stewie
The Good Woman Bodega chain is now firmly established throughout central Brooklyn.

Wayne
Our cheap cigarettes draw customers like flies.

Stewie
Yeah, we’ve done well, with our “competitive edge.”

(They chuckle.)

But listen, Shine, I want that store on New Lots Avenue. What’s holding things up? That location will give us access to the Linden Houses. Do you realize there’s 19 buildings in that project? 

Wayne
The landlady’s being stubborn, sir. She’s asking Brooklyn Heights rent in East New York. But I think I can get her price down. She’s taken a shine to me. You know what I’m saying?

Stewie
Not exactly.

Wayne
If I nibble on her neck, she’ll come down.

Stewie
Naw, dog, I don’t want to use you like that.

Wayne
Shit, man, it’s just business.

(Enter Shaun.)

Stewie
What’re you doing here, Shaun? Who’s watching the store on Fulton Avenue?

Shaun
You remember Mr. Davis? He works there with me now.

Stewie
Yeah, yeah, and you remember to watch him like I told you. I don’t want that old freeloader robbing me blind. 

Shaun 

You can trust him, Stewie. 

Stewie
I don’t trust anyone; trust’s not helpful in business.

Shaun
Well, he’s grateful for the job, and with Derrick upstate for five years, I think he’s learned his lesson.

Stewie
So what’s up, Shaun? Wayne and I were talking business…

Shaun
Shawntee.

Stewie
What about her?

Shaun
It’s been seven months now. People are talking. 

Stewie
People are always talking. They haven’t got anything better to do.

Shaun
A good person isn’t easily forgotten.

Stewie
I’ve told you and everyone else a million times; she’s down south. Maybe she wants to stay there. She likes the weather.

Shaun
People are worried that something bad’s happened to her.

Stewie
What could be bad? I turned her failing little store into the first bodega chain in Brooklyn.

Shaun
Yeah, and gotten fat in the process.

Stewie
Sure, I’ve put on some pounds, well, a lot of pounds, but what’s wrong with that? Shawntee wants me to get my share.

Wayne
Are you accusing Mr. Towzer of foul play? Because if you are …

(Enter Reverend Russell and Mrs. Rodriguez.)

Reverend Russell
I am! Seven months ago I donated a large sum, a very large sum, to further the good deeds of Ms Shawntee Stevens, the Good Woman of Bushwick. My donation was not used to feed the hungry or shelter the homeless. No, indeed not, bank records show it was used to roll out the Good Woman Bodega chain across Brooklyn. And in the process, the good deeds come to an end and the Good Woman herself disappeared.

Stewie
She didn’t disappear, Reverend. I was just explaining to Shaun. She’s safe and sound with her aunts in South Carolina. She has left the business in my hands and I have done well by her.

Reverend Russell
What you have done well, Mr. Towzer, is commit fraud. You had no right to cash that check.

Stewie
Ah, but I did. I’m her business partner. Would you like to see the partnership papers?

Wayne
You old hypocrite, you didn’t donate money for Shawntee’s good deeds. You donated the money because you wanted to get into her pants.

Reverend Russell
Young man, do you know who you’re talking to?

Wayne
Damn straight I do.

Mrs. Rodgriquez
I have something very important to tell you all. Before she disappeared, Shawntee was pregnant.

Wayne
Say what?

Stewie
She’s lying.

Wayne
Shawntee pregnant?

(to Stewie)

So that’s why you sent her away, so I wouldn’t know. There’s a little Rise and Shine on the way, and his moms disappears? That’s not cool, man.

Stewie
What do you care? Didn’t you walk out on her?

Mrs. Rodriguez
Su verdad, when she wouldn’t give you the money to go to L.A., you left.

Wayne
Naw, naw. It’s ain’t like that.

(to Stewie)

I didn’t know she was pregnant. You should tell me how to reach her, man.

Stewie
Why’re you so concerned, all of a sudden? All this time and you haven’t mentioned her once.

Wayne
Let’s just say, I haven’t altogether lost interest in her. Besides, she’s pregnant and needs a friend.

Stewie
She’s not pregnant.

Mrs. Rodriquez
Then where is she?

Reverend Russell
Mr. Towzer, the community is concerned about the welfare of Shawntee Stevens and I’ve asked the police to investigate. Officer Batista, will you come in please?

(Enter Policeman.)

Policeman
I’m sorry, Mr. Towzer, there’ve been a number missing persons reports filed at the station and a lot of people on the street think that you’re depriving Ms Stevens of her freedom, or worse. Not that I believe everything I hear, but Reverend Russell is concerned.

Shaun
Reverend Russell and the rest of Bushwick.

Stewie
Feel free to search the store and the apartment; I have nothing to hide.

(Policeman and Shaun exit to search.)

Mrs. Rodriguez

(to Wayne) 

Now that the Good Woman Bodegas are a big chain, you’re suddenly interested in her again.

Wayne
Chill, lady, you never did like me.

Mrs. Rodriguez
With good reason.

(Policeman re-enters.)

Policeman
Well, she’s not here. Sorry to bother you, Mr. Towzer.

(Shaun rushes on.)

Shaun
Look! I found a bag with her clothes under the bed. He’s killed her.

Policeman
Are those her clothes?

Mrs. Rodriguez
They are.

Policeman
Mr. Towzer, I can’t tell you how sorry I am to have to do this to a fellow vet, but unless you can tell me where she is, you’re under arrest for the murder of Shawntee Stevens.

(Policeman handcuffs Stewie.)

Stewie
This is ridiculous. Thank goodness we still have justice in America. This’ll be cleared up in no time.

Scene 14

(The Brooklyn County Court House. All the major characters are in attendance except Derrick, who is in jail, and Mr. Hawkins, who has died. On stage are: Stewie, Wayne, Mrs. Rodriguez, Reverend Russell, Mr. Davis, Mrs. Davis, the Contractor, the Apparently Homeless Man, Mrs. Hawkins, and the Policeman. Stewie looks confident and poised. The rest are in various states of agitation, anger and worry.)

Mrs. Rodriquez

(to Mrs. Davis and Mrs. Hawkins) 

The judge is a friend of Mr. Towzer.

Mrs. Hawkins
That’s not fair.

Mrs. Davis
What’s fair in this world, Mrs. Hawkins? 

Mrs. Hawkins
But it’s a conflict of interest; he should recuse himself. 

Shaun
It’s even worse than that, Mrs. Hawkins. Last night Stewie, who’s out on bail, paid a visit to the judge’s house. I followed him to Brooklyn Heights. I’m pretty sure they had a few drinks and Stewie left the judge with a big check.

Mrs. Davis
Money talks.

Mrs. Rodriguez
And Mr. Towzer walks.

Policeman
All rise, the honorable Judge Thomas …

(The three Angels, in judge’s robes enter.)

First Angel
The honorable Judge Thomas Clarence has taken ill with a sudden stomach flu. He sends his regrets. But have no fear, a special judicial panel … 

Second Angel
… consisting of us … 

First Angel
… has been empaneled to hear evidence in the case of the People verses Stewart Towzer, esquire and former Marine Master Sargent …

Third Angel
… on charges stemming from the disappearance of Ms. Shawntee Stevens, aka, the Good Woman of Bushwick.

First Angel
Please be seated.

(Stewie almost faints. The Policeman holds him up.)

Policeman
What happened to your friend the judge?

(Stewie shrugs and shakes his head.)

Mr. Davis
New judges? That’s probably good, isn’t it?

Shaun

(He has recognized the Angels.) 

In this case, very good.

Contractor
I never heard of three judges for one case.

Apparently Unemployed Man
This is a special case.

Shaun
You don’t know how special.

First Angel
We call our first witness, Officer Bobby Batista.

(Policeman goes to witness stand.)

Do you promise to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?

Policeman
I do.

Second Angel
We understand that on the occasion of Stewie Towzer’s arrest you searched the original Good Woman Bodega and found in the upstairs apartment these clothes 

(He takes the clothes out of the bag) 

belonging to the missing Shawntee Stevens.

Policeman
Yes, we found those clothes, but I have no proof that they belong to Shawntee.

Third Angel
Thank you, you may step down.

Policeman
Your honors, I would like to make a statement about the character of Mr. Stewie Towzer.

First Angel
You were not called to the stand as a character witness.

Policeman
I realize that your honor, but Mr. Stewie Towzer is a pillar of the Bushwick community and with all due respect I think you need to take that into account. He has transformed a bodega that was about to close into a six-store chain that’s still growing. He’s a successful small businessman. Our country needs more successful small businessmen. They are the bedrock of our economy. It’s entrepreneurs like Stewie Towzer that make America great. Need I say more?

Second Angel
It wouldn’t hurt.

Policeman
He’s also a crime fighter, your honors. He has stood up to the forces of lawlessness and chaos in our community. With his help, I apprehended an armed gang that as about to rob his cousin’s store, a gang led by a young hood who prior to his arrest was an uninvited guest in his cousin’s apartment, who laid around the store drinking 40s and smoking dope all day. 

Third Angel
Thank you, you Officer Batista.

Policeman
You’re welcome. And in conclusion, let me add that Stewie Towzer is both an attorney sworn to uphold the law and a veteran of the U.S. Marines, a former Master Sergeant, who spent two deployments in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. It seems to me, as a proud fifteen-year veteran of the New York Police Department, that that Mr. Stewie Towzer is not capable of committing the crime of which he is accused.

First Angel
Mr. Towzer, we thank you for your service. Officer Batista, you may step down.

(Policeman steps down.)

Second Angel
We call to the stand, Mrs. Leticia Padilla Rodriguez.

(Mrs. Rodriquez comes to the stand.)

Third Angel
Mrs. Rodriguez, do you swear to tell the truth …

First Angel

(interrupting him) 

To save time, does everyone here promise to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?

All
We do!

First Angel
Good. Proceed.

Second Angel

(holding up the clothes) 

Mrs. Rodriquez, do you recognize these clothes?

Mrs. Rodriquez
I do. They belonged to Shawntee Stevens.

Stewie
Objection. Where’s the proof? Those clothes could belong to hundreds of girls in Bushwick.

Apparently Homeless Man

She wore that outfit a lot. We all saw her.

(There’s general agreement from the crowd.)

Third Angel
We understand, Mrs. Rodriquez, that you have important information about the state of Ms Stevens before she went missing.

Mrs. Rodriquez
Yes, your honor, she was pregnant.

Stewie
Objection! Relevancy?

Second Angel
I’m not sure it’s relevant, but it’s interesting.

Stewie
Your honors, this is mere speculation. Was a pregnancy test administered and if it was, where is it? 

Mrs. Rodriquez
I have five children. I know pregnant when I see it.

First Angel
That makes sense. Thank you, Mrs. Rodriquez. You may step down.

(Mrs. Rodriquez steps down.)

The evidence has now been presented.

Second Angel
Admittedly not much—no blood, no body, no weapon.

Stewie
Precisely. The charges should be dropped.

Third Angel
Which brings us to the question of motive. 

Stewie
What motive? I love my cousin.

Third Angel
The court calls Shaun Thigpen to the stand.

(Shaun comes to the stand.)

First Angel
Mr. Thigpen, who would want to harm Shawntee?

Shaun
No one but her cousin. She was kind to everyone. She gave the homeless shelter.

Mr. Davis
She let our family stay with her, rent free, when we lost our home.

Mrs. Davis
Then Stewie Towzer came along and threw us into the street again. 

Mr. Davis
If I might add, your honors, contrary to Officer Batista’s testimony, Stewie Towzer set-up our son, who was only trying to protect his family. 

Shaun
And when people didn’t have money to buy food or drink or smoke, she gave them what they needed.

Apparently Homeless Man

She gave me cigarettes when I was totally broke. Now the Good Woman bodega chain charges almost as much as everywhere else for a pack. 

(He coughs.)

Shaun
When she owed people money, she paid them back. 

Mrs. Hawkins
When Shawntee, who was a very sweet girl, your honors, was about to lose her store, my husband, may he rest in peace, and I lent her money to pay her rent. When he had a stroke and we needed the money back, she didn’t hesitate, even though it put her store in danger and, I learned later, cost her relationship with her boyfriend. 

Wayne
Objection!

Second Angel
On what grounds?

Wayne
I still love her. 

Mrs. Rodriquez
Ha! You never loved her. You loved the income from her store.

Wayne
I’m just as worried about her as everyone else in Bushwick.

Shaun
Once she was out of the way, you went to work for her cousin, swindling people out of their stores and paying his workers below minimum wage.

Stewie
Minimum wage is government interference with the free market. When will we learn to trust the market in this country?

Mrs. Hawkins
The point is, she paid us back right away. It allowed my husband the medicine he needed in his last months.

Third Angel
All this shows why people loved Shawntee, the Good Woman of Bushwick, but it really doesn’t speak to why Stewie Towzer wanted her out of the way.

Stewie
I didn’t. I just wanted her business to succeed.

Reverend Russell
Your honors, I can speak to that.

First Angel
Alright. Speak.

Reverend Russell
Shawntee’s shop was a fountain of goodness. Towzer needed her out of the way to make it an infernal machine of profit.

Stewie
What’s wrong with profit? There would have been no shop at all if I hadn’t intervened.

Contractor
You intervened and cheated me of payment for my work.

Stewie
It’s the law of supply and demand. There was no demand for your work, so the price came down.

Reverend Russell
What about the law, “love thy neighbor”?

Stewie
That and $29 will get you a seven-day unlimited metro card.

Reverend Russell
Such cynicism.

Stewie
Let’s talk about cynicism, Reverend Russell. Did you not come by offering my cousin kind words and big checks with the implied understanding that she would eventually marry you?

Reverend Russell
Of course not. I wanted to get to know her because she was a saint and I gave a blank check to continue her good work. A check, I must add, that you hijacked and used for the expansion of the chain of stores.

Stewie
Was that not a good deed? Was I not helping her? Putting food in the refrigerator, where is the crime in that? Keeping her off the streets, where the sin? Saving her from the pain and humiliation of the streetwalker’s life? It’s not simple, your honors. What is wrong and what is right in a world of getting? If we don’t get, we get screwed. If, indeed, she is pregnant, am I not putting money in the bank for her son so that he can have a decent life? It’s not good to be poor, your honors. It’s painful and crazy-making and dehumanizing. 

(to the people in the courtroom) 

You are all hypocrites. You all wanted something from her: cigarettes or food or money or sex. I was her only friend!

Shaun
Where is she then? Where is your good friend Shawntee?

All
Yeah, where is she? Where’s Shawntee?

Stewie
I can’t tell you.

Shaun
Why not? 

All
Yeah, why not?

Stewie
Shawntee had to go.

Shaun
Why? Why did she have to go?

All
Why? Why?

Stewie
Because you’d all have torn her to pieces! That’s why. Your honors, I have a request. Please clear the court. I only want you and Shaun here and then I will make a confession.

Various Voices In The Crowd
So he’s guilty. 
I told you so.
He’s confessing.

First Angel

(Using the gravel) 

Clear the court!

Policeman
You heard the judges; clear the court!

(The court is cleared. Only the Angels, Stewie and Shaun remain on stage.)

Stewie
Illustrious ones!

(The Angels look at each other incredulously.)

Yes, I recognize you.

First Angel
What have you done with the Good Woman of Bushwick?

Stewie
Here is my confession: I am her. 

(She takes off her mask and tears off her men’s clothing and stands there as Shawntee, very pregnant.)

Shawntee Stevens, yes. Stewie Towzer, yes. I am both.

Shaun
Holy shit!

Shawntee
I had to. Your assumption, dear Angels, that I could be good and live in this world was like getting hit by a train. It tore me in two. I don’t know why, but to be good to others and to myself at the same time, I couldn’t do it. When I extended my hand to those in need, they tore off my hand. When I tried to help the lost, I got lost myself. 

Shaun
I appreciated your goodness, Shawntee.

Shawntee
I know you did, Shaun, and I love you for it, but your appreciation couldn’t pay the rent and keep the store stocked. Illegal cigarettes and forged checks and low wages to the workers did. I really wanted to be the Good Woman of Bushwick, but goodness quickly became a nail in my foot. And then kind words curdled in my mouth and sourness took over. I became a wolf. Find me guilty, Illustrious Ones; I did kill Shawntee. But know this, everything bad I did, I did to help my neighbor, to love my lover, and to keep my little one from poverty.

Shaun
But you didn’t kill Shawntee, here you are!

First Angel
Yes, don’t go on torturing yourself. We’re overjoyed we found you.

Second Angel
Yes, there is still a good person in the world.

Shawntee
For how long? I now have six stores to keep going.

Third Angel
I think we can now return home to Heaven. Our work is done. The good woman lives.

Shawntee
How can I make this clear to you, Illustrious Ones? I’m the bad man who did all those terrible things. Everything they accused Stewie Towzer of in court is true.

First Angel
Perhaps, but you are also the good woman Shawntee Stevens.

Shawntee
Yes, that’s the problem; haven’t you heard anything I said?

Second Angel
She has a point, you know. The world, as it’s set up, doesn’t seem to reward goodness.

Third Angel
Yes, but we can’t change the world; we’re only Angels.

Shaun
Well, then who will?

First Angel
It’s your world and I’m afraid you have to figure that out. We must be going.

Third Angel
Yes, I’m afraid that we’ve come to the point where we just have to cut our loses.

Second Angel
It really doesn’t seem right to leave this mess.

First Angel
We’ve done what we can do. 

Second Angel
Which, apparently, isn’t much.

First Angel
This world is too much for us. Let’s go. Back to the Heavenly heights!

Shawntee
No, you can’t leave.

Second Angel
We have faith in you, Shawntee.

Shawntee
But they’ll be a child and he’ll have to be fed.

Third Angel
Stay good, Good Woman of Bushwick.

Shawntee
I need my bad cousin.

Second Angel
Rules sometimes need to bend, but not too often.

Shawntee
Once a week at least.

Third Angel
Once a month is quite enough.

Shawntee
No! Help!

(The Angels exit.)

Shawntee
Shaun, what are we going to do?

(Shaun and Shawtee look at each other in silence.)

THE END