SARA: I agreed, when… when he said he wanted to marry me…
DADDY (shouting): He lies! He only wants sex!!
SARA: I can’t go on without Skip. It’s like… how… how you miss… Mama.
DADDY: If you get pregnant? Then what? How do you think you’ll remember to take a pill every day? You can’t remember to take off your shoes when you come into the house!
(Pause)
You have no idea how confused your life will be if you start having sex… Boys want sex every minute… He will never marry you…
SARA (starts to go again): I have to go.
DADDY (grabs Sara’s wrist, and raises his other hand): Don’t go!
SARA (raises her hands): Let me go!
DADDY: I’m your Father!
SARA: If you hit me, I’ll call the police…
DADDY: I’ll call the police too!! I know… I’ll drive over to Skip’s parents! You don’t care enough about your future!
SARA: Just because you’re my “Father” doesn’t make you God! It’s my life!
(Pause)
DADDY(softer, serious): I love you… I want to be with you as long as I can..…
(He sits resigned)
Sit down. I have to tell you something right now! Sit.
SARA (sits): You are just going to twist things!
DADDY: I’ve told you that your mother and I met each other at Northeastern. I was 19, she was 19 too.
SARA: I know… I’ve heard many times.
DADDY(deep breath)… She got pregnant! We had no skills, no job, no money and we we were both in debt. We couldn’t possibly have a child… there was just one thing to do… Abortion.
We got married in our senior year. We got jobs. Saved money…
After the abortion your mom couldn’t get pregnant. You are adopted!
SARA: Wh…WHAT?
DADDY: Your mother and I adopted you when you were six months old!
SARA (aghast): You’re not my real father!…You’ve lied to me!
DADDY: It was not a lie…
SARA (taking and looking at her mothers picture): Mom was not my real mother? Why didn’t she say…sooner?
DADDY: Ever since we adopted you, your Mother and I have been thinking about how to tell you. All the time… I felt guilty; I said that about your looks. You are very pretty, like she was…
(Pause)
I still remember carrying you home that first day. You were so precious to us. So small… You started to cry. I held you close to me and you stopped crying, and you smiled at me.
SARA (shakily): You didn’t you tell me sooner?
DADDY: I tried a couple of times. I’m sorry… Now I feel better that you know at last…
SARA: Where‘s my mother?
DADDY: I don’t know where she is now…
SARA: Who is she?
DADDY: She was only 15 like you… She came from out of town to study here. She lived with her Aunt and Uncle. She alone decided to give you up…
