The Humans Read Online Free

memory now I can’t recall
    BRIGID
    [Dad, you sing too . . . ]
    BRIGID, AIMEE, DEIRDRE AND ERIK
    Â Â Â Â Â  Lay down your fears and raise your glass
    Â Â Â Â Â  May peace and joy be with you all
    Brigid indicates Aimee should take the next verse.
    AIMEE
    Â Â Â Â Â  Oh may all the friends that ere I had,
    Â Â Â Â Â  Be sorry at my going away
    Â Â Â Â Â  (Spoken)
    I’m a lawyer, Rich—
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  (Back to singing)
    Â Â Â Â Â  And I pray the family that I have,
    Â Â Â Â Â  Will wish me one more day to stay
    Aimee gestures to Erik, indicates he should take the next verse.
    ERIK
    Â Â Â Â Â  But if blackness falls upon my lot;
    Â Â Â Â Â  If I should fall and you should not
    BRIGID, AIMEE, DEIRDRE AND ERIK
    Â Â Â Â Â  Pray that all my fears be soon forgot,
    Â Â Â Â Â  May peace and joy be with you all
BRIGID
DEIRDRE
Take us home . . .
Last verse . . .
    ERIK
    Â Â Â Â Â  Oh, if I had enough money to spend
    Â Â Â Â Â  And leisure time to sit a while
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  (Indicating Deirdre)
    Â Â Â Â Â  There is a maiden in this town
    Â Â Â Â Â  That sorely has my heart beguiled
    DEIRDRE
    Yeah, it better be me.
    ERIK
    Â Â Â Â Â  Her pale white cheeks her skin of snow,
    Â Â Â Â Â  I will not rest till she comes to call
    BRIGID, AIMEE, DEIRDRE AND ERIK
    Â Â Â Â Â  Lay down your fears and raise your glass.
    Â Â Â Â Â  May peace and joy be with you all.
    They applaud themselves, drink. The joy of the song is cut short by Momo’s steady mumbling.
    MOMO
    Â Â Â Â Â  (Softly, mumbled)
    . . . nairywheres do we blag werstrus, doll sezzer / big sussten back . . . sezz it whairidoll . . . er hairin sildern fernal garn ackening ery or loddinsezz . . .
    ERIK
    Â Â Â Â Â  (Staying positive, massaging Momo’s hand)
    Shhhh, all right . . . you’re all right . . .
    BRIGID
    She normally joins in. This is new, / this is—
    ERIK
    Well it’s—yeah, it’s not one of her good days.
    Small beat.
    DEIRDRE
    I’ve missed hearing you sing, Bridge . . .
BRIGID
DEIRDRE
Mom, / that’s not even my strength . . .
. . . I’m serious, you sound good—
ERIK
RICHARD
You have any gigs lined up?
      (To Deirdre)
Can we come embarrass you?—
I agree.
    BRIGID
    No, I’m spending most of my nights bartending—you guys don’t even know how much student debt I’m stuck with—
    ERIK
    Yeah, well, I do know who refused to go to a state school.
DEIRDRE
BRIGID
Ohhh, score one for Dad.
I knew you were gonna say that . . .
    Richard knows Brigid doesn’t want to continue discussing this topic.
    RICHARD
    Why don’t we—appetizers are out, / so just come down whenever you’re ready . . .
    BRIGID
    Yes, good idea—you heard the man, let’s move the party downstairs—
    Everyone gathers their things, starts to move. Another thud from above.
    Erik looks up; everyone else keeps moving. Brigid notices this.
BRIGID
RICHARD
      (To Erik)
      (Descending the stairs)
Hey . . . it’s quieter down
Sorry about the noise, guys . . .
there . . . go unwind.
 
UPSTAIRS :
DOWNSTAIRS :
Brigid heads toward the stairwell.
RICHARD
    (Arriving downstairs, calling up)
Deirdre pulls Erik aside in the other room. They have a hushed/indecipherable
. . . I like to joke, I joke that this apartment is like living in a bomb shelter.
disagreement, at the end of which, Erik reassures her.
BRIGID
 
      (Descending the stairs)
 
Yeah, except that when people call their apartments bomb shelters it isn’t funny, Rich.
    AIMEE
    [Be nicer to him.]
    Brigid stops, she’s noticed Erik and Deirdre aren’t behind her.
    She hears their voices in the other upstairs room, walks back to them . .