She a real madam. “Yuh working, George?”...

She a real madam. “Yuh working, George?” “Oh, nuh.” I ain’t been this idle since a boy in St. Lucy. But that busylickum ain’ ‘ear nothing. I got me pats on the back from white engineers, and a letter of recommendation from the Yankee crew chief heself. But ‘ere, I got to watch buildings going up left and right, steel girders as thick as tamarind trees, ten, twelve stories high. Thursday last I stood all day, it cold too, waitin’ for the chief, waiting to interview. Do yuh have tools, boy? Yes! Do yuh know how to operate a machine, boy? Yes. But ‘e point just so to the Irishmen, the German and the tall Norwegian who’s at least fifty years plus five. And I got more experience than the lot. I tell ‘e so. Next time, ‘e say. Next time, George. Can you believe?

Nottage, Lynn. Intimate Apparel. Dramatists Play Service, New York, NY, 2005. pp. 40.

Buy the full script for Intimate Apparel on Amazon