THREE POSTCARDS Walter begins his preparations to open the restaurant, Big Jane enters, addressing the audience, BIG JANE. I'd like to say something on behalf of my friends. I mean, you hear so much about marriage and families. Okay, yes, fine, every once in a while there is one of those female buddy movies where two women do actually seem to enjoy one another’s company, brought together as they have been by the accidental murder of a potential rapist, and they ultimately decide that the only way for them both to be happy together is to drive off a cliff into, you know, a fiery, painful death, but.... The great thing about having friends for such a long time, teal friends, is there's nothing you can't talk about and there’s nothing you have to talk about. You know? (Little Jane enters, aaitresses the auttiene:} — LITTLE JANE. I think it’s incredibly unusual for people to stay friends for a lifetime. It’s so much easier to abandon a friend than it is a marriage or a child or parent. Those things take effort: lawyers, recriminations, strong force of will. But a friend you can walk away from in a second and no one can take you to court, You can kill off a whole friendship with nothing more lethalseeming than a little indifference. BIG JANE. Or just by changing, by marrying, and joining the invisible social club of parents who all, like, at the same exact instant shift their focus from careers and sex and adventure to ... automobile safety features and nutrition. (KC. enters, addressing the audience.) KC. When Little Jane called and said, “When are we gonna see you?”, it seemed like April was far enough away it would never really come, and I'd have to feel better by then and it would be great to laugh and pretend we were fifteen again. (Bill has entered; he sits at the piano, begins to play.) LITTLE JANE. Like anything worth having, friendship implies a commitment, — to tell the truth and to work at it. BIG JANE. She turns everything into a job. LITTLE JANE. I mean, without struggle, there's no reward. You have to fight for and through and all the way around the things you care about. KC. But then I remembered what she would be like. LITTLE JANE. What is she trying to prove by being so remote? So perfect? Her mother died, for godsake, it's okay to be sad, to be confused or angry. It’s okay to be anything. KC. It isn't okay with her that I'm okay. I'm supposed to be suffering, right? LITTLE JANE. By saying “Don’t ask about that, don’t go there, it should all be 7spontaneous and easy and magically free from strife,” what she’s really doing is defending herself against any real closeness. (As Walter sets the tables, lights candles, etc., he improvises a sung melody to Bill's playing.) BIG JANE. K.C. was our inspiration: she wasn't afraid of anybody or anything. She was wild. LITTLE JANE. Tonight we celebrate: after years, years, of my subtly dropping hint after hint, Big Jane has finally gone to a shrink. BIG JANE, She just wants someone to share shrinkage with, I know that. (Bill joins Walter, the two improvising a sung melody over the piano; same time:) KC. Her whole life is therapy. Which would be fine if it had worked. You can't make a joke without her wanting to know what's behind the joke, what it reveals, what anger or anxiety or subverted rage it is fulfilling; I would rather eat glass than ask myself or anyone what a spontaneous joke reveals of their inner life: IT’S A JOKE! LITTLE JANE. I love Big Jane, but it’s been hard to see someone hurting themselves year after year. BIG JANE. I love to go out and spend their money and drink wine and totally forget that there is anything outside the walls of that room. KC. I mean, I loved my mom, but we didn’t say it, we just knew it. She would have been uncomfortable if I'd told her I loved her. LITTLE JANE. I mean, I love them both. KC. She's also the kind of person who is always telling you she loves you. “We love you.” What she means is, “Do you love me? Tell me you love me.” LITTLE JANE. But sometimes we just start giggling and squealing like we're still girls. BIG JANE. They make me feel young. LITTLE JANE. I hate it when one of us goes, “Yay! Yay!" And it’s usually me! BIG JANE. We were “The Three Tramps”. LITTLE JANE and K.C. Back then ... ALL THREE. We were everything. BIG JANE. We didn't need anybody. LITTLE JANE. We could do anything. KC. We were ridiculous. (All five characters are looking front, and they sing together for the first time — a low, sustained note, wordless. Walter puts the final touches on the restaurant, completing the picture as the music ends. He then pats his hair and checks the specials as K.C. and Litle Jane disappear. Walter moves to unlock the front door of the restaurant.) WALTER. (To Bill.) Showtime! (And Big Jane is there. The music from the piano snaps into that of an appropriately subdued restaurant ambiance.)