My Louisiana Sky

Corrina:
Is the birthday cake ready yet?

Jewel:
Corrina, you've asked me that five times in the last twenty minutes. Tiger can finish the potatoes. You go on upstairs and wash your face.

Corrina:
Yes, Mama. Tiger, you wanna play pin the tail on the donkey?

Tiger Ann Parker:
Not now, Mama. Maybe after supper.

Tiger Ann Parker:
Aunt Dorie Kay!

Dorie Kay:
Why, Tiger Ann Parker, let me get a look at you. You are growing up into such a young lady.

Tiger Ann Parker:
What are you doin' here?

Dorie Kay:
Well, I couldn't miss your grandma's birthday, now could I?

Tiger Ann Parker:
No, mam.

Corrina:
[hugging her] Dorie Kay, Dorie Kay!

Dorie Kay:
Woah, Corrina, you nearly knocked me down.

Corrina:
Oh, you look just like a picture of a lady in a magazine. Isn't she pretty, Tiger?

Tiger Ann Parker:
Yes, she is.

Jewel:
I didn't expect to see you. It's been a long time.

Dorie Kay:
Well, I came for your birthday, Mama.

Jewel:
My birthday was yesterday.

Tiger Ann Parker:
This is the most exciting moment of my entire life so far.

Lonnie:
I keep tellin' you, Tiger, if you watch and listen to the earth, it talks to you.

Tiger Ann Parker:
It's never talked to me.

Lonnie:
Well, not talkin' like you're doin' today. It's different.

Jesse Wade:
Doesn't swingin' that bat make you wanna play?

Tiger Ann Parker:
Nope.

Jesse Wade:
Are you crazy? You got heat stroke or somethin'?

Tiger Ann Parker:
Jesse Wade, a girl has to grow up sometime.

Tiger Ann Parker:
How come you've never done a lick of work in your life?

Jesse Wade:
What's that got to do with anything?

Tiger Ann Parker:
Just answer me.

Jesse Wade:
I was sick.

Tiger Ann Parker:
That's when you were a baby. The way I figure it, if you can swing a bat and run some bases, you can do a few chores. You're just spoiled, Jesse Wade Thompson. You're a big mama's boy.

Corrina:
The words was real hard, but my Tiger read 'em to me. She reads real fine.

Tiger Ann Parker:
Mama, why'd you have to make a fuss and go huggin' me back there?

Corrina:
Did I squeeze you too tight?

Tiger Ann Parker:
Just forget it.

Jewel:
That noise-box is spookin' those hens. Your mama's spendin' too much time in front of that thing.

Tiger Ann Parker:
I know. Yesterday, when Daddy came home, she didn't even notice. I could tell his feelings were hurt.

Jewel:
Well, this mornin', I asked her to help me hang the wash, and you know what she said? 'To the moon, Alice.' Now, that doesn't make any sense to me at all, so I figure it comes from that noise-box.

Jewel:
Some people are just afraid of what's different. It doesn't mean different is bad. It just means different is different.

Tiger Ann Parker:
I wish...

Jewel:
What do you wish, child?

Tiger Ann Parker:
I wish Mama wasn't different.

Jewel:
Sometimes I do too.

Tiger Ann Parker:
I'm bleedin' from inside.

Jewel:
Go get yourself some rags. You got the curse.

Tiger Ann Parker:
I got a curse?

Jewel:
From now on, you can look forward to it every month till you're too old like me. Then, thank the Lord, it's over. That's the only good thing I can think of about gettin' older.

Corrina:
What's wrong, Tiger?

Tiger Ann Parker:
I got the curse, Mama.

Corrina:
Oh, Tiger, I'm so happy for you!

Tiger Ann Parker:
It's a curse! Grandma just said so. It's a curse.

Corrina:
It's not a curse! It's beautiful! Oh, it's a little messy and sometimes your tummy hurts, but I couldn't have you till I was bleedin' every month, and havin' a baby, havin' you, was the best thing that ever happened to me.

Tiger Ann Parker:
Grandma, would you say I was pretty?

Jewel:
Pretty? Now don't you start wastin' time worryin' about that kind of nonsense. You're smart, and that's more important.

Jesse Wade:
I looked all over for you at Abby Lynn's. Finally I asked where you were, and when she told me you weren't invited, I left.

Tiger Ann Parker:
Great. Now everyone knows I wasn't invited.

Jesse Wade:
Well, her swimming pool's no big deal. The creek's much nicer.

Tiger Ann Parker:
It's not fair. I didn't do anything to them.

Tiger Ann Parker:
I'm just aimin' to find out about life.

Jewel:
Your mama's mind is simple, but her love is simple too. It flows from her like a river. You may not understand that now, but someday you will.

Jesse Wade:
Tiger Ann, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have kissed you. Not so soon, anyway. I kinda sprung it on you.

Tiger Ann Parker:
Sprung it on me? Jesse Wade, I never thought of you that way! Why'd you have to go and ruin everything?

Tiger Ann Parker:
I wish I could turn back the clock and change things. I'd forget about Abby Lynn's swimming party and about Jesse Wade kissing me. I'd help Granny more. I'd watch her real careful and make sure she wasn't ever, ever sick with her heart.

Lonnie:
I'm sorry about your mama, Dorie Kay.

Dorie Kay:
Thank you, Lonnie. Where is Corrina?

Lonnie:
She's in bed. She put on her mama's old green nightgown and she's just been lying there crying her eyes out. She don't want to talk to me.

Tiger Ann Parker:
She don't want to talk to anyone, Daddy.

Lonnie:
Dorie Kay, what do you do when someone dies?

Dorie Kay:
I don't want you to worry any about that. I'll take care of everything.

Tiger Ann Parker:
I didn't cry at the funeral. I had to be strong for Mama and Daddy.

Jewel:
You spent too much.

Dorie Kay:
I was trying to get you something nice for your birthday. Something the whole family could enjoy.

Jewel:
Well, we sure could've enjoyed a new toaster. You should be saving your money.

Dorie Kay:
I work hard and I spend sensibly.

Jewel:
And I suppose it's sensible to have a colored maid to clean your apartment and cook your meals?

Dorie Kay:
It most certainly is, Mama. Most days, I wake up at the crack of dawn and I'm not back until late in the evening. If I didn't have Magnolia, I'd never get a home-cooked meal.

Jewel:
Well, I never had a maid in my kitchen. I just cook my own stew.

Dorie Kay:
Mama, do we have to argue about this?

Dorie Kay:
Oh, that is enough, Corrina. Now, it's time for you to get up. Lonnie went to work, and Tiger's got the house looking all beautiful. We got things to do.

Corrina:
Ma's dead. She went to Heaven.

Dorie Kay:
That's right, Ma's dead. But you're not. And Lonnie's not. And I'm not. And neither is Tiger. What kind of mother lies in bed when she has a child to tend to?

Dorie Kay:
How would you like to come to Baton Rouge with me to get Magnolia? We'd stay for a few days, and you'd get a taste of life in the big city.

Tiger Ann Parker:
But what about Mama?

Dorie Kay:
Well, your daddy will be home at night, and I'm sure Miss Eula can look in on her during the day. Honey, your mama's gonna be just fine.

Tiger Ann Parker:
I'd sure like to, but ...

Dorie Kay:
No buts! We'll go sight-seeing, maybe visit a fine resteraunt or two. Honey, you need a vacation away from all this. This is my gift to you.

Dorie Kay:
I'm gonna take Tiger with me to go pick her up.

Corrina:
Are you coming back?

Tiger Ann Parker:
Of course, Mama. I'll only be gone a few days.

Tiger Ann Parker:
You don't seem sad, Aunt Dorie Kay.

Dorie Kay:
Sad?

Tiger Ann Parker:
About Granny. Don't you miss your mama?

Dorie Kay:
I lost my mama a long time ago. You know, it wasn't easy being your mama's sister. I had a lot of responsibility.

Tiger Ann Parker:
I know. Mama's a lot of work, but she can't help the way she was born.

Tiger Ann Parker:
I feel like I stepped into one of them Hollywood movies.

Dorie Kay:
You know, Tiger, you can really reinvent yourself in Baton Rouge. That's what I did when I first came here.

Tiger Ann Parker:
My mama was born smart? Like normal people?

Dorie Kay:
Yes. She was.

Tiger Ann Parker:
What happened to her?

Dorie Kay:
She lost her balance, and she fell to the ground. She broke her arm, but it was her head that was hurt the most. The doctors said that she would never be right again, and that from then on, she would always be like a six-year-old. Mama never forgave herself for leaving that ladder out, and she never forgave me for climbing it up the tree.

Tiger Ann Parker:
Why didn't anyone tell me?

Dorie Kay:
Honey, your granny didn't like to talk about it ever, and I didn't have much memory of it myself.

Tiger Ann Parker:
How'd you find out?

Dorie Kay:
When I was about your age, I was frustrated because I had to take Corrina with me everywhere I went. It's a terrible thing to admit, but I was embarrassed by my sister. So one day when I was going on about how unfair it all was, Mama sat me down and told me the whole story, and that was the only time she ever mentioned it. I cannot tell you how much guilt I felt.

Tiger Ann Parker:
But you were just a baby. It wasn't your fault.

Tiger Ann Parker:
Where's Aunt Dorie K - Aunt Doreen?

Magnolia:
At work. She's a working girl. And I guess you could say I'm her working girl. Your aunt tell you I was comin' in today?

Tiger Ann Parker:
No, mam.

Magnolia:
Mm-hm. Busy, busy, she's always busy.

Magnolia:
Your people aren't fussy folk, are they?

Tiger Ann Parker:
No, mam.

Magnolia:
Good, 'cause I can't stand no fussy eaters. I make one dinner for everyone, and that's it.

Tiger Ann Parker:
Well, we eat just about anything but snails. I read in a book once they eat snails in Paris, France.

Magnolia:
I ain't got no snail recipes.

Magnolia:
You be careful. This ain't Taitter.

Tiger Ann Parker:
Saitter.

Magnolia:
Taitter, Saitter, what's the difference? This is a big city. Don't talk to strangers.

Magnolia:
Child, what have you done to your hair? Your aunt is gonna kill me!

Tiger Ann Parker:
I wanted to reinvent myself.

Magnolia:
Well, at least you had the sense to cut it on a full-moon day.

Tiger Ann Parker:
I decided to go by the name Ann. At least while I'm here, anyway.

Dorie Kay:
Well, goodbye, Tiger, and hello, Miss Ann Parker.

Tiger Ann Parker:
It sounds real nice.

Dorie Kay:
It sounds really nice, Ann.

Tiger Ann Parker:
Really nice.

Tiger Ann Parker:
Granny would always say, 'One thing I don't ever have to worry about is my gal Dorie Kay. She's got a good head on her shoulders.' I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you sad.

Dorie Kay:
You didn't, honey. You made me happy.

Magnolia:
It sure is pretty, this place called Saitter.

Magnolia:
I like your mama and daddy.

Tiger Ann Parker:
Mama used to be like other people, but she had an accident when she ...

Magnolia:
I don't need no explanation. I told you I like 'em.

Jesse Wade:
Why'd you go and cut off all your hair?

Tiger Ann Parker:
It's not all cut off. Did your daddy really ask you to come help out in the nursery?

Jesse Wade:
Well, I knew he needed the help.

Magnolia:
When I was your age, my mama laid down and died. I had five younger brothers and sisters to take care of, and I done it. Your mama needs you, and you need her.

Abby Lynn:
Where'd you get your hair cut?

Tiger Ann Parker:
In Baton Rouge when I went to visit my aunt.

Abby Lynn:
It kinda looks like Audrey Hephburn.