PROOF by David Auburn - Claire

Start

Claire: We’re selling the house.

Catherine: What?

Claire: I’m selling it.

Catherine: When?

Claire: well i’m hoping to do the paperwork by this week. I know it seems sudden.

Catherine: No one was here looking at the place, who are you selling it to?

Claire: The university. They’ve wanted the block for years.

Catherine: I live here.

Claire: Honey, now that Dad‘s gone it doesn’t make any sense. It’s in bad shape. It costs a fortune to heat. It’s time to let it go. Mitch agrees, it’s a very smart move. We’re lucky we have a great offer—

Catherine: Where am I supposed to live?

Claire: Come to New York.

Catherine: I can’t believe this.

Claire: It’ll be so good. You deserve a change. This would be a whole new adventure for you.

Catherine: Why are you doing this?

Claire: I want to help.

Catherine: By kicking me out of my own house?

Claire: It was my house too.

Catherine: You haven’t lived here for years.

Claire: I know that. You were on your own. I really regret that Katie.

Catherine: Don’t.

Claire: I know I let you down. I feel awful about it. Now I’m trying to help.

Catherine: You want to help now?

Claire: Yes.

Catherine: Dad is dead.

Claire: I know.

Catherine: He’s dead. Now that he’s dead you fly in for the weekend and decide you want to help? You’re late. Where have you been?

Claire: I’m sorry—

Catherine: where were you five years ago? You weren’t helping then.

Claire: I was working.

Catherine: I was here. I lived with him alone.

Claire: I was working 14 hour days. I paid every bill here. I paid off the mortgage on this three bedroom house while I was living in a studio in Brooklyn.

Catherine: you had your life. You got to finish school.

Claire: You could have stayed in school!

Catherine: How?

Claire: I would’ve done anything— I told you that. I told you a million times do anything you wanted.

Catherine: What about Dad? Someone had to take care of him.

Claire: He was ill. He should have been in a full-time professional care situation.

Catherine: he didn’t belong in the nuthouse.

Claire: He might have been better off.

Catherine: How can you say that?

Claire: This is where I’m meant to feel guilty, right?

Catherine: Sure, go for it.

Claire: I’m heartless. My own father.

Catherine: He needed to be here. In his own house, near the university, near students, near everything that made him happy.

Claire: Maybe. Or maybe some real professional care would’ve done him more good than rattling around in a filthy house with you looking after him. I’m sorry, Catherine it’s not your fault. It’s my fault for letting you do it.

Catherine: I was right to keep him here.

Claire: No.

Catherine: What about his remission? Four years ago. He was healthy for almost a year.

Claire: And then he went right downhill again.

Catherine: He might’ve been worse in the hospital.

Claire: And he might have been better. Did he ever do any work again?

Catherine: No.

Claire: No. (Beat.) And you might have been better.

Catherine: (Keeping her voice under control) Better than what?

Claire: Living here, with him, it didn’t do you any good. You said that yourself. You had so much talent.

Catherine: You think i’m like Dad.

Claire: I think you have some of this talent and some of his tendency toward . . . instability.

Claire, in addition to the “cute apartments” you’ve “scouted” for me in New York, would you by any chance also have devoted some of your considerable energies towards scouting out another type of—

Claire: No.

Catherine: —living facilities for your bughouse little sister?

Claire: No! Absolutely not. That is not what this is about.

Catherine: Don’t lie to me, Claire. I’m smarter than you.

Claire: The resources . . . I’ve investigated—

Catherine: Oh my God.

Claire: —If you wanted to, all I’m saying is, the doctors in New York and the people are the best, and they—

Catherine: Fuck you.

Claire: It would be entirely up to you. You wouldn’t live anywhere, you can—