THE HOMBRES excerpt by Tony Meneses

THE HOMBRES

By Tony Meneses

Characters: Héctor, m, 40’s, Latino Julián, m, 20’s, Latino Beto, m, 30’s, Latino Pedro, m, 40’s, Latino Miles, m, 30’s, Not Latino Setting: New Jersey, somewhere off a NJ Transit line

Guey—means dude, fool, idiot.

Can be used as an insult and a term of endearment.

Because Mexicans.

1.

A yoga studio.

Julián sits center. Legs crossed.

JULIAN In 4th grade I had a crush on my school bus driver Don Was his name Is Still I guess.

I’ve always known I was gay?

I don’t know how like a toddler would even know that, but I did I also knew that it was something to keep secret To never let show I knew it was dangerous, or felt that way The burden of all of that, right?

When you’re only a child Anyway Don He was a nice guy Nice to me I was probably the only well-behaved kid on that bus, so I had totally earned his favor And I I adored him.

One day After school As we were all getting on the bus to go home Don pulled me aside and said that he wanted to talk to me That he wanted me to wait on the bus, after all the other kids had gone So that he and I could be alone Because he said he had something for me A gift.

The whole ride home I was terrified I didn’t know what that meant Just the two of us In my head I would often imagine Don and I getting married one day But now this felt Unsafe.

I knew about those stories where children went missing, got abducted. Worse Was that about to happen to me?

My heart sank when we finally got to my stop and everyone else got off the bus but me I’m never going to see my parents again I remember thinking that as I approached Don The bus driver man

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You’re a good kid He told me He noticed me even at a time when I worked so hard to not be noticed And then he gave me A ruler Weird Right?

That was why he kept me afterward To give me that I said thank you and then left Relieved that was all over Relieved that he didn’t kill me...

I think in some ways I’ve been afraid of men since Not knowing what’s desire And what’s actual fucking danger Anyway Breathe in Out He starts playing the nearby Tibetan singing bowl.

As: 3 construction workers enter, via scaffolding above.

Héctor goes up as far as he can, by himself, while Beto and Pedro head to their own section.

Julián exits.

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2.

The scaffolding.

Héctor puts on a safety mask and begins welding.

Sparks fly.

Beto is leaning over one of the scaffolding bars, looking down. He suddenly and vigorously spits.

He celebrates.

BETO Got him! En la cabeza, guey!

Pedro laughs.

PEDRO Che guey, suit and tie Italian shoes?

BETO Gingham shirt and North Face vest. Maybe Patagonia.

PEDRO Business casual gringo. Nice.

BETO Oh, here comes another one!

He spits again.

BETO Buenos dias. Or, what do you think their wives tell them before they leave the house?

PEDRO Have a good day at work, Alan!

BETO Jaja, yeah. Consuelo will pick up the kids from school and I’ll be at spin class, so we’ll see you when you get home!

They laugh.

Héctor welds. Sparks.

3

PEDRO Have you been on one of those morning rush hour trains with them though? The gringos who work in the city? They always look so sad to me. Like that’s not what they want to be doing.

BETO Gringos man, they’re always depressed about something. You better believe if I had their millions, I’d be the happiest Mexican in Jersey.

PEDRO No guey, so that’s a thing. Some of them don’t make millions.

BETO I thought all gringos did.

PEDRO Me too! But my daughter she’s in a charter school learning all kinds of things about this country and she says some gringos have like no money.

BETO (Dubious.)

Which ones?

PEDRO The uneducated, working class voters.

BETO You mean they’re white and they still can’t get ahead? They must be fucking stupid then.

PEDRO No my daughter she also says that rich people use poor gringos against us—Mexicans and black people and Muslims, so that we all don’t rise up together and destroy the capitalist system that engenders social and economic inequality.

BETO ... Your daughter said this?

PEDRO Yeah it’s a good school she’s going to.

BETO Well guey, I may not have that school information, but all the gringos here have it easy you ask me. They don’t have to do this shit.

Sparks.

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PEDRO But maybe if we related to each other a little more, things could be better? We should try to understand them. Their struggles.

BETO Guey, like they would ever do that for us. We’re violadores y criminales.

He spits.

BETO Armani.

Héctor removes his safety mask and heads down to the level of scaffolding where Beto and Pedro are.

PEDRO Do you want another dona? (“donut”.)

BETO No I’ve already had like three today.

PEDRO Me too.

(His hand in the box grabbing another. He eats.)

HECTOR You already taking a break?

PEDRO We’re working.

BETO No ves?

HECTOR No I don’t see.

BETO We were just “team building”. HR says that’s important.

HECTOR This isn’t funny. We have a deadline.

BETO Calm down, man. We’re not all robots like you. Terminators.

5

HECTOR Beto, I’m not messing around. El patron is going to be on site today, so you better be careful. Not mouth off like you know how to do.

BETO My mother raised me right. I know how to act around white people. Good morning, sir.

Good to see you. How was your vacation at the shore? Etcetera.

PEDRO I hear he owns a beach house in Belmar.

HECTOR Por favor, focus on your work today. No hanging out or joking around or eating on the job.

Beto spits. Héctor looks at him.

HECTOR And no spitting on businessmen.

BETO You’re right. Not the time.

He and Pedro laugh.

HECTOR You’re lucky I haven’t reported you.

BETO Why would you do that, amigo?

PEDRO I actually don’t think Héctor likes you that much.

HECTOR I like him fine.

PEDRO See. BETO Yeah. I like him though. Even if he is Señor Serious all the time. When’s the last time you went like dancing or something? Went to Great Adventure. I know you’re divorced now and all that, but learn to, what do the Americans say?—let your hair down.

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HECTOR —I’m not divorced.

BETO Pedro said you were.

HECTOR I swear men are bigger gossips than women.

PEDRO That’s what I heard!

HECTOR ... We’re separated. She’s doesn’t know how to get divorced in this country. But that’s her problem. Not mine.

BETO You could always try to win her back. Show her the man she married.

HECTOR (Dryly.)

I am the man she married.

BETO Oh. HECTOR No se, maybe she’ll have some horrible freak accident where she’s immobilized and needs me to come back and take care of her.

A beat?

HECTOR —That was a joke. See. I can do that. Ja Ja. Now will you get back to work.

BETO Este guey!

PEDRO That was actually pretty good.

HECTOR Yes. Now hurry up. Andale.

BETO I’m going. Calma.

7

He goes to get his work gloves off the bar. He looks below.

BETO Oh no.

HECTOR What?

BETO Who is this? Mamasita! Check her out!

(Whistles to himself.)

Finally a sight for sore eyes.

PEDRO She’s going into the yoga studio.

BETO Don’t get me wrong, amigos, I love Latina women but something about blondes. Makes me weak in the knees. Uy! PEDRO I don’t like skinny women.

HECTOR You’re wasting time.

BETO I dunno I feel like if I talk to her I could stand a chance.

HECTOR You’re wasting company time.

BETO I should have known. All right. Vamos, Pedro. We don’t want to make him mad.

He takes one last look.

BETO God bless her. Dios mío.

He starts to climb the scaffolding. Pedro lingers.

HECTOR —What?

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PEDRO How are the kids handling it? You and Maria?

HECTOR They’re fine, Pedro. Go work. Please.

BETO (Calling from above.)

Guey! Come on!

Pedro starts climbing the scaffolding as well.

PEDRO You know I still can’t believe you haven’t gotten in trouble yet. For spitting on all these gringos.

BETO They always look up, but I’m sure they think it’s like an AC unit or something...

Pendejos.

Héctor is left alone. He stares into the yoga studio.

As: Miles enters the studio. He’s in shabby work out clothes. Like a college t-shirt and basketball shorts.

The men exit.

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3.

Miles rolls up one of the mats on the floor. He’s kind of bad at it though, keeps starting over.

Julián enters, a post-it stuck to his shirt or tank.

MILES I’m almost done I swear.

JULIAN Okay.

MILES I’m not OCD, I just want to get this right.

He continues with the mat.

JULIAN We’re going to close up soon that’s all.

MILES Of course. You want to get out of here. Makes sense.

JULIAN It’s just you also took a while during savasana. Kind of a long while.

MILES Savasana? That’s the part where we got to lay down at the end?

JULIAN Yeah. That part.

MILES I guess I wasn’t really paying attention. I needed that though. It was a long week and.

Anyhow, I was in the zone.

JULIAN I’m happy you got to—center yourself.

MILES Ha. Yoga talk.

JULIAN That’s what we do here.

10

Miles finally gets the mat rolled up.

MILES Got it!

JULIAN Right on.

Miles now tries to attach a yoga strap around his mat. This becomes another struggle.

MILES How’d I do?

JULIAN What?

MILES My first class. I wasn’t like too much of a mess?

JULIAN You did well. Good focus.

MILES Cool.

JULIAN I would try to avoid talking though. This is generally a quiet space. So exclamations like “Oh god” and “Slow down” aren’t really that helpful, to the space or to you.

MILES Okay. I take the feedback.

JULIAN Otherwise a solid first step. I do mean that.

MILES I’m Miles.

JULIAN Julián.

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