ACT ONE
Scene Nine:
"Caitlyn"
Nearby the high school, Vi walked down the sidewalk, hands in her pockets, half looking at the ground. She passed parked cars that lined the street for the dance, but she was heading in the opposite direction.
Glancing up from her shoes, Vi stopped when she passed in front of the basketball court.
It had been years since she had thought about taking this familiar shortcut home.
She leaned against the chain linked fence of the basketball court, clutching her fingers in the diamond spaces, staring in at the empty court. She gave it a small shake, leaning against it.
She closed her eyes and quietly called.
"Caitlyn…"
She smiled to herself in a way she hadn't before. So much had changed in the years since she was last here. But tonight… even more had suddenly changed.
The most beautiful sound I ever heard…
Caitlyn
She called a little louder.
Caitlyn
Even louder.
Caitlyn
She listened as an echo called back, faintly, from the opposite brick wall.
Caitlyn…
Vi walked along the fence, dragging her fingers along the metal, humming to herself.
All the beautiful sounds of the world
In a single word:
Caitlyn
The echo called back.
Caitlyn
Vi called again.
Caitlyn
She rounded the entrance in the fence and walked into the empty and dark basketball court. Her voice growing louder with each repetition, her conviction stronger.
Caitlyn
Caitlyn
Caitlyn
Caitlyn
Caitlyn!
Floodlights suddenly blasted on, lighting the court in white lights, but Vi didn't care if she had an audience.
I've just met a girl named Caitlyn!
And suddenly that name
Will never be the same
To me…
With a glance, she realized the lights to the court had turned on because a custodian in his fifties had come with his cart of brooms and ashcan to clean the arena.
She smiled at him. He watched her go by, and Vi was pretty sure he thought she might be a little crazy, but she didn't care. Her grin didn't leave her face.
Caitlyn!
I've just kissed a girl named Caitlyn!
And suddenly I've found
How wonderful a sound can be!
She bounded up the set of stairs on the opposite side of the court, two steps at a time, exiting Verdi Square, West 72nd and Broadway.
Needle Park wasn't the kind of park that most people enjoyed for the view. Especially at night, when it was grim, dark, and littered. Vi danced a little as she walked past the base of the Verdi "Valdiani" memorial, next to the statue of Leonora.
Apparently, a flock of pigeons had been scuttling next to an old man, sitting on a bench nearby, feeding them breadcrumbs. Upon Vi's arrival at the top of the staircase, the pigeons scattered in a flurry, flying off into the sky. Her arms outstretched.
Caitlyn!
Say it loud and there's music playing!
Say it soft and it's almost like praying…
Vi slowed her walking, almost surprised at herself. Before her time in prison, she never would've thought of herself as sentimental, religious, or very spiritual.
Her Catholicism was nominal at best. But if Heaven really was listening, maybe she had been sent an answer she'd been looking for.
Something she didn't know she needed until now.
Caitlyn…
I'll never stop saying…
Caitlyn!
She came to a locked chain fence and looked up at it, blocking entrance to alleys behind these tenements. She knew this marked the housing of the Puerto Rican neighborhood.
Vi bit her lip, glancing over her shoulder.
No one was watching. Only the moon. And the lights of the streets.
She had to take this chance. She wasn't going to let this barrier stop her.
Leaping up as high as she could, she grabbed onto the chain-link, climbing up and over, and swinging her legs over, vaulting over the top.
Exiting an alley behind tenements off West 68th street. Vi called up at the windows, searching for her.
Caitlyn!
Caitlyn!
Caitlyn, Caitlyn!
From windows up and down the alley, several Puertorriqueñas of various ages, all named Caitlyn, looked outside from windows. A young girl on the ground floor rested her chin in her hand, sighing contently at Vi's beautiful singing.
Vi saw a light turn on inside an apartment window on the ground floor. The shadow's shape, approaching the window, for a moment, seemed to match the midnight haired beauty, but Vi quickly realized she was mistaken. The frown of the disgruntled old woman was signal enough for her to duck her head and get out of there before her head contacted with a thrown cooking pot.
She hurried on her way, almost dancing as she went. She spun with her arms out, stretched like a bird. Feeling like she could fly.
Caiiiiiiiitlyn!
Caiiiitlyn!
Caiiiitlyn!
Caiiiiiiiiitlyn!
Caitlyn!
Exiting an alley on West 69th street, Vi splashed into a large puddle, the ripples casting beautiful lights around her feet. She tucked her hands in her pockets, looking up at the dark sky.
Say it loud and there's music playing!
Say it soft and it's almost like praying…
Caitlyn…
She huffed to herself. Knowing she'd seen something so beautiful she'll never be the same.
I'll never stop saying…
Caitlyn…
Vi turned, walking slowly back the way she came. Even if her efforts were fruitless, going to the dance had been worth it.
A few stories above Vi, unseen by her, a light came on in a small window.
The most beautiful sound I ever heard…
Caitlyn…
/