THE STORY: Set in northeastern North Carolina, in 1957, the play follows the slow but powerful events in the lives of one family and a small circle of friends. Emma Mustian still pines for Wesley, due back from the army last night. Her whole family waits for him, as they get ready to attend a picnic and a funeral of Emma’s black friend, Mildred, who died in childbirth and who doesn’t get the attention afforded a young dead white girl. When Wesley finally arrives, his idea of love, and especially love for Emma, involves sex and freedom, though it is clear he harbors special feelings for Emma. The more he pushes her, almost taunting her with the idea of no commitment, the more she examines her feelings of depression while in love. Her observation of her brother and his very pregnant wife also allow her to see the pitfalls of marriage when love does not seem mutual. Emma eventually gives in to Wesley’s sexual advances, and as expected, Wesley goes off, as he’s done before. But like times before, he is drawn back to Emma, even as she moves further from him and her original idea of happiness. When Emma discovers she is pregnant, she decides she would rather not marry Wesley and live in squalor and with resentment, but Wesley pleads with her to reconsider, finding his love for her genuine and coming around to, almost growing into, the idea of stable love and a family. Emma does not really tell us in the end what she will do, but it is clear she understands her options. The still-born baby born to her brother and sister-in-law, the uncaring community in the death of Mildred, and the struggle of the people around her to share a world of contentment, make Emma reconsider her ideas of happiness, but also make her strong. Through her newfound strength, she knows that no matter what her decision about Wesley, it will be the right one.
