The Way It Is
Author's Notes: Well, here it
is, finally. Everyone wanted a sequel, and although I'm definitely not Harper
Lee in hiding, I guess we all should know what happened to Scout and the others
in my little "sequel." For those of you who are kinda mad at me because MR was
too short, I tried to make this a little longer, and the fact that it's a
songfic might help. Anyway, here's the standard disclaimer. I don't own TKAM. I
don't own "That's Just The Way It Is" either. That would be Bruce Hornsby. This
is humbly dedicated to Harper Lee, Mrs. Melissa Smith (who had us write a
character story and mine turned into MR); and to all the vets of the Korean
War, whose sacrifices some might have forgotten.
******************************************************
Standing
in line marking time
Waiting for the welfare dime
'Cause they can't buy a job
The man in the silk suit hurries by
As he catches the poor old ladies' eyes
Just for fun he says "Get a job"
That's just the way it is
Some things will never change
That's just the way it is
But don't you believe them
They say
hey little boy you can't go
Where the others go
'Cause you don't look like they do
Said hey old man how can you stand
To think that way
Did you really think about it
Before you made the rules
He said, Son
That's just the way it is
Some things will never change
That's just the way it is
But don't you believe them
Well they passed a law in '64
To give
those who ain't got a little more
But it only goes so far
Because the law another's mind
When all it sees at the hiring time
Is the line on the color bar
That's just
the way it is
Some things will never change
That's just the way it is
But don't you believe them
******************************************************
Scene: Maycomb, Alabama 1953. JEM has returned home from
Korea to find that his father ATTICUS is not as well as he remembers him, his
aunt has died from pneumonia, and that their housekeeper CAL has moved because
the city has bought out her land and is now building a drive-in on it. He sees
that SCOUT has gone back to New York to finish her schooling.
******************************************************
(Atticus and Jem are in the living room, Atticus is reading
the Maycomb Tribune and Jem is standing at where the audience can partly
see him. He is dressed in a military uniform, his left leg is oddly different,
and has a black eye and several bruises. He is standing by use of a crutch, and
there is no possible way he can move his trunk that has been tossed haphazardly
beside him.)
Jem: Still can't move this piece of junk.
Atticus: Jem? Are you going down to the VFW today? Cecil
Jacobs called for you earlier to see if you wanted to play cards with some of
the others.
Jem: No, my leg's still hurting too badly.
Atticus: (Puts down his paper) I've been meaning to ask
you. How did you receive that anyway, Jem?
Jem: (A long pause) Skirmish in Seoul. Shrapnel from a
building that was blown up by Northern guerillas.
Atticus: (Softly) And how long ago was it?
Jem: (Even more quiet than Atticus) About six months ago. I
still can't use my leg.
Atticus: (Folds the paper and gets up slowly to sit next to
Jem.) Oh, son, I shouldn't have let you go.
Jem: No, no Atticus. If anyone should be to blame, it's me.
It was my choosing to go there and almost get my fool head blown clean off. I
should have been paying more attention. I was… trying to get a four year old
girl… to move away from her family. They were… used as examples. Her mother
told me in pidgin to take her away from it, that massacre. Then the Reds
detonated a bomb, a trap for us. I pushed that girl behind me, and I caught all
the shrapnel. Oh, Atticus, that girl just looked so much like Scout did, when
Momma… (Jem stops abruptly and stands up.) A little game of poker sounds good
right now. I'll go and see who's there.
Atticus: Jem, you don't have to go if you don't want to.
Scout's coming in to see you tonight, if you want to pick her up at the
station.
Jem: (A little bitterly) You don't think she'll give me an
'I-told-you-so?'
Atticus: She's your sister, Jem. She's not going to give
you that. I'll bring her home, you stay here and rest that leg.
Jem: No, Atticus. No, I'll find her. I'm also meeting an
old friend there.
Later, at the local VFW
(Jem steps in and takes off his cap. We can finally see his
uniform clearly- that of a lieutenant. He limps heavily even with the crutch
and walks to where several people, including Cecil Jacobs, are playing cards.)
Jem: Hey, fellows. Mind if I join in?
Cecil: He-y, if it ain't our hometown hero! Lieutenant Jem
Finch! I'll be!
Jem: Cut it out, Cecil, you're a hero too. You were there.
Cecil: Not as much as you, Jem. I wasn't promoted to a high
rank, I'm just a PFC. Here, take a seat. We're just getting ready to play a new
hand. (They deal him in and begin to play draw poker. An hour soon passes, with
Jem gaining $10 and Cecil $15.)
Jem: Pleasure playing with you boys, but I've got to go
pick up my sister.
Cecil: Where is Scout, anyway? What's she up to?
Jem: Off in New York City, shipping defense machinery.
Cecil: She was makin' the guns we used?
Jem: More like she saw that the inventory got to
distribution.
Cecil: You want me to go with you? I haven't seen Scout in
forever.
Jem: That's okay, Cecil, I'm sure I'll find her fine. I'll
tell her you asked. (Jem exits and Cecil turns to the other card players.)
Cecil: You boys ever heard of Jem Finch? (They respond with
various "no's.") No, huh? Well, when he was a boy, Bob Ewell tried to kill him
and his sister Scout right after their father defended Tom Robinson. Arthur
Radley saved them and Bob Ewell fell onto his knife in a drunken stupor. Jem
broke his arm, and it was pretty traumatic for him. Big to-do about it in the
town for months. Jem and Scout grew up, and Scout accepted a scholarship from
somewhere in New York for writing. Jem went off to Korea and lost use of his
left leg. I was there with him, he tried to save some little Korean girl and
they both got sent over a ditch from a Commie blast. She fell hard and landed
on a piece of metal. He ran to her and started hallucinating, thinking that old
Bob Ewell had finally gotten his sister. Jem passed out then and we dragged him
to a MASH. He woke up then, found that the girl was now an orphan, and that
there was a good chance that he may never use his left leg again. He was
awarded a Purple Heart and all sorts of other medals, then they honorably
discharged him and shipped him back home. He's been in town a week.
(Cecil looks back toward the door.) Too bad. He used to be
a really nice guy.
The Train Station
(A train is heard in the background. A few moments later,
one pulls into the station. Scout steps off with a trunk and looks around. Jem
is not seen anywhere. Only one man is around, standing under the station's
overhand. He is rather short for a grown man and has light blond hair visible
even in the dark. Scout starts walking toward him slowly.)
Scout: Excuse me, have you seen Lieutenant Jeremy Finch
anywhere?
Man: Jem? Yeah, I'm waiting for him. He's supposed to meet
me. Is he your husband?
Scout: No, he's my brother.
Man: (Surprised, but barely) You're Jean Louise Finch?
Scout: Yes, why? Are you from around here?
Man: You could say that. (A car pulls up and Jem steps out
slowly. He slowly limps over toward the two.)
Jem: Hey, Scout.
Scout: Jem! What happened?
Jem: Tell you later. Atticus really misses you.
Scout: What about you?
Jem: Of course. (Turns to the man.) Good to see you again. Can
you help me with the trunk?
Man: Certainly. (He steps out of the overhang, but Scout is
already in the car and doesn't see who it is.)
Jem: Y'know, I've got one at home like this I need help
with. Can you move it for me?
Man: No problem, Jem. I bet Atticus is still shocked?
Jem: No, I think he really got used to Maude. Scout didn't
take it too well.
Man: I didn't want to hurt her.
Jem: Of course you didn't. Where is Maude anyway?
Man: She's coming tomorrow.
Jem: Maybe she and Scout could be friends.
Man: I highly doubt it, after what happened.
The Finch Household
(Jem pulls the car into the drive and parks it. He drives
with his right foot only. Scout goes inside and says her hellos to Atticus.
Jem's friend gets Scout's trunk and they all enter. He sets it down with a
thud. Atticus and Scout walk in to see about Jem and his friend.)
Atticus: Hello Jem. Did you have a good poker session?
Jem: Won ten bucks from the guys. Cecil plays a mean hand.
Scout: Cecil Jacobs? He lives around here?
Jem: Yeah, just around the street. He was in my platoon in
Seoul. That's a whole other story.
Atticus: And it's good to see you again, Dill. How's Maude?
(Scout turns various shades of red, white, purple, and finally white again.)
Dill: (Blushing furiously) Maude's fine. She's coming in
tomorrow. Aunt Rachel wanted to see how the baby was doing, so we came down for
a few days. But we're-
Scout: (Interrupting) Dill, you're back.
Dill: Hey, Scout. I meant to send you a letter or visit you
in New York, but I thought that you'd forgotten about me. I'm sorry. I know
that's weak and it won't cover it, but I really am.
Scout: (Almost in tears and her voice is raised
significantly) Charles Baker Harris, I turned down two marriage proposals
waiting for you! I met a rich man, but I had to tell him that there was already
someone. Then there was a major with distinction…but I told him as well that I
was spoken for! Then I come home and Jem says that you're married! And you
didn't even bother to look me up!
Dill: New York is a big city! And besides-
Scout: They have phone books! And then you come here, into
my own home, and say that you're sorry? I'm sorry all right… sorry I
ever met you in the first place! (Scout leaves toward her room.)
Jem: I apologize for that, Dill. I'll go get her.
Dill: No Jem, it's all right. I deserved that. I should
have at least told her in person. So, where's that trunk? Maybe now you can
change out of your uniform. (He tries to crack a smile.) You know what I do in
my spare time? I make balloon animals for kids. It's the closest I could come
to being a clown. This world needs more laughter.
Later that Night
(Scout is sitting in her bedroom and is looking over
several papers, either for school or her work. The door opens, Jem walks in and
sits down next to her.)
Jem: What are you looking at?
Scout: Oh, nothing. Just some invoices and orders. Did
Atticus send you up here?
Jem: No. He understands how you feel. But I think you
should have handled it a little better.
Scout: You heard what I told him. I've waited for so long
for word. If I knew then what I know now-
Jem: Hindsight is 20/20. Don't think about it. Do you have
their addresses? Go for the rich guy. You wouldn't like army bases.
Scout: Is that how you were wounded?
Jem: Yep. It will never work right again, but there's
always a chance. Oh well, that's life. People change for better or worse,
Scout, and there's nothing we can do about it. The world just keeps spinning
and we keep getting older. Life has it's ups and downs. You know, I thought for
sure that the entire world was corrupt during the trial, but through all the
taunts and teases up until the verdict, I thought that there had to be at least
a scrap of mercy, justice, or goodness in the world. I wasn't exactly wrong,
but I wasn't exactly right. But when I was overseas, I found a whole new way of
life that just made the Depression look like fine living. (Fleers softly) I
thought I'd seen it all during a patrol on the Yalu when I first got there, but
Seoul made me realize the extremes people will go to when they believe in
something.
Scout: Jem, why did you go off in the first place?
Jem: Because I became idealistic when I started wearing
fedoras and Brylcreem to work. I thought I could make a difference. But what
can one man do?
Scout: As much as he sets out to do. (Jem stares at her for
a moment oddly and stands up)
Jem: Be nice to Dill. You've known him too long. Besides,
he's like family.
Scout: I don't want to think about it like that. I don't
want to ever see him again. I don't want to see his family or anyone else.
Jem: Don't act like you've been spoiled, Scout. Just
because Cal isn't here, that doesn't mean that you can start being hard-headed
on us. I don't care if you're 2 or 22. (Scout mutters something that sounds
like "Hit you if I could" under her breath. Jem rolls his eyes and exits.)
The Next Morning
(At the kitchen table, Jem, Atticus, and Dill are having
breakfast. Scout's chair is, of course, empty.)
Dill: Maybe I should go and leave her in peace.
Jem: Dill, you don't have to. She's just being spoiled-
Dill: No, Jem, you don't understand. When we were in high
school, during the last visit, I wrote her a note and said that as soon as I
got enough money, I'd move here to Maycomb and we'd get married someday. When
she wrote me to say that she'd accepted a scholarship to New York, I thought
she had told me 'no' in the most tactful way possible. I forgot all about that
promise, went to Jackson, met and married Maude, and now we've got a baby and
everything's complicated. I can't come here again.
Atticus: Why not?
Dill: Aunt Rachel's health is fading and I've got a child
to feed and a wife to support. Aunt Rachel is going to move in with me in
Mississippi. Besides, I really can't afford the fares anymore.
Jem: Stay in touch, will you? (Dill nods as Scout walks
in.)
Scout: (Slightly stiff) Good morning. What's for breakfast?
Jem: Biscuits, gravy, sausage, the works. Help yourself.
Atticus: Scout, what are your plans for today?
Scout: I don't have any, but I've got to buy a return
ticket. I was reading over some invoices last night, and the Army wants all
these weapons as soon as possible. So I'll be leaving tomorrow. Maybe tonight,
I'll have to check.
Jem: You really have to go so soon? I mean, you usually
stay for forever and keep us company.
Scout: Yes, but I've got to work out a living.
Jem: Can you drive me to the doctor? He wants to see me.
Dill: I'd better be going. I'll see you later tonight. (He
tries to make eye contact with Scout, but her attention is focused on the
sausage.)
Jem: Well, I don't want to go into town today.
Scout: Why not?
Jem: All the mothers are trying to set me up with their
daughters. I keep trying to tell them that I'm not interested right now, but
they just don't listen.
Atticus: Son, I was in that predicament once, and all I can
say is 'Good Luck.'
Much Later that Day
Atticus: Good news?
Jem: There's a 90/10 that I'll have a useless leg. They
found more metal in it, and that's just a souvenir I'll have to carry around
for the rest of my life. But I'll resume our practice in a few weeks, crutch or
cane or not.
Scout: And I'm leaving at 9 tonight. Dill's taking me up to
the station. I promise I'll come back sooner and longer next time, but those
requests just can't be ignored.
Atticus: You and Dill are back on speaking terms?
Scout: In a way. I've got to pack; he'll be here in half an
hour. Oh, and we dropped by to see Aunt Alexandra. (Scout leaves.)
Atticus: What's going on Jem?
Jem: Sure beats me, Atticus. Last night and this morning,
Scout and Dill were not even speaking about one another, and then when I come
out, they're all friendly and talking again. Then she planted a rose bush by
Auntie. I'll never understand my sister.
Atticus: I think you understand her better than you think.
Oh, what's next in this town? Rachel's moving to Meridian, Scout's going back
North, I'm getting old, you're going to be our first lawyer with a war record.
Jem: Well, I thought about wearing my hair in a pompadour
or a D.A. and buying a T-shirt and engineer boots, but that wouldn't look as
good as my suits.
Atticus: You'd be Maycomb's oldest greaser. I wouldn't try
it, if you want to keep your license. (Thirty minutes pass quickly and Scout
has packed her luggage and hauled it to the entryway. Dill pulls up in his car
and loads up her things.)
Jem: Goodbye, Scout, I'll see you when you come down next.
Scout: Goodbye, Jem. I'll write to you. Bye Atticus, and
keep watch over Jem and make sure he doesn't work too hard.
Atticus: I can't guarantee that, Scout, but you should
follow that advice. (Scout and Dill leave for his car, get in, and drive away.)
Dill: I'm sorry Scout, I wanted to tell you that. I'm glad
you decided to talk to me today.
Scout: Dill, if I had known that you thought that I forgot,
then I wouldn't have acted that way. I'm also sorry.
Dill: We're even then.
Scout: Tell me about Maude. She must be very lucky. Wasn't
she coming?
Dill: Well, not really. Not anymore, that is.
Scout: What do you mean?
Dill: We're getting a divorce. She's keeping our son
Charlie. She says that I don't make enough money to keep her alive. And I have
to partly agree, I don't make as much as most fellows, but surely she could
survive if she had wanted to work with me.
Scout: Oh, Dill, I'm so sorry about that. Why didn't you
say something?
Dill: I tried to last night, but I was, uh, interrupted.
Anyway, I have to support her, so I've really got to get a better paying job.
Scout: I make quite a bit working for defense. We've got
several job openings in my office.
Dill: Let me look locally first, and if I can't find
anything, I'll call you. What is your address, by the way? ( Scout laughs as she pulls out a pen and
pad from her purse.)
Scout: Hey, Dill?
Dill: Yeah?
Scout: Is that offer from high school still available?
(Dill is silent a moment, then takes her hand.)
Dill: Yeah.
At the Finches
(On the front porch)
Jem: Hey Atticus, do you think I'll ever be back to normal?
Atticus: I think so. People can change for the better.
Jem: I don't want to be a hero anymore.
Atticus: What do you mean?
Jem: Everyone I run into just thinks of me as the vet that
came back with a leg full of building. I want them to just forget about what
happened in the war and remember what happened when we were growing up. Even
Scout said I was like Perseus the hero. I don't want to be anyone's hero
anymore. I just want to be Jem Finch.
Atticus: You always have been Jem Finch, and you always
will be. Like I said, people are always changing. Sometimes for better,
sometimes for worse.
Jem: (Continuing) Do you know what they called me?
Atticus: Tell me.
Jem: (With an almost-sly grin) 'One-shot' Finch.
Atticus: (Mock weariness) Oh, the sins of the father fall
upon the son.
Jem: Cecil started it. They were taking pot-shots at cans
and birds, and I told 'em that mockingbird bit you told me and Scout. They all
thought that was hilarious, and then Cecil called me 'One-shot,' and it stuck.
Atticus: I'm going inside, Jem. The mosquitoes are getting
bad. (Atticus goes inside and Jem then limps out into the yard and slowly and
painfully climbs the first sturdy and low limb of the tree.)
Jem: (Looking up at the stars) It's been almost a year and
a half since I signed up, and Scout and I were lookin' at the stars like this.
(Finds various constellations) Hey, Perseus. You're in good company.