THE STORY: The action begins in a Newark park, where Nate and Coretta, the mother of his child, have been picnicking. A mood of bitterness has been generated by Coretta’s suspicion that Nate has been seeing another woman, a mood that is not dispelled when, later at her apartment, she tries to entice Nate into staying the night. She is convinced he no longer loves her, while Nate, who wants security and some measure of success before committing himself to marriage, tries to make her understand his position. In the end a kind of truce is reached, but one as uncertain, and conditional, as the life that circumstance has forced on them.
Described by the author as a “steady rap,” this often funny, but ultimately affecting, short play captures the frustration of a young black man who wants a better life for himself and the women he loves, but who, far too often, can relate to her only with scorn and mockery.
Included in the collection
The Past is the Past and Gettin’ It Together.
