I do love you and I
want to do just what you said.
JOHN. I think you will. I'm going to make the same promise. Your life,
dear girl, has been an angel's compared with mine. I've drank whiskey,
played bank, and raised hell ever since the time I could develop
a thirst; and ever since I've been able to earn my own living I've
abused every natural gift God gave me. The women I've associated with
aren't good enough to touch the hem of your skirt, but they liked
me, and [JOHN _crosses to armchair, turns up stage, then faces her_.]
well--I must have liked them. My life hasn't been exactly loose, it's
been all in pieces. I've never done anything dishonest. I've always
gone wrong just for the fun of it, until I met you. [_Crosses to
her, takes her in his arms_.] Somehow then I began to feel that I was
making an awful waste of myself.
LAURA. John!
JOHN. Some lovers place a woman on a pedestal and say, "She never has
made a mistake." [_Taking her by each arm he playfully shakes her_.]
Well, we don't need any pedestals. I just know you never will make a
mistake.
LAURA. [_Kissing him_.] John, I'll never make you take those words
back. [_Arms around his neck_.
JOHN. That goes double. You're going to cut out the cabs and cafes,
and I'm going to cut out the whiskey and all-night sessions [LAURA
_releases him; he backs slightly away_.]; and you're going to be
somebody and I'm going to be somebody, and if my hunch is worth the
powder to blow it up, we're going to show folks things they never
thought were in us.
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