The Inheritance Read online

  Walter becomes caught in his reverie. Eventually:

  And – I don’t know if you’ll believe me but it’s true – deep in the trunk of the tree are a set of pig’s teeth that were put there I don’t know how many generations ago. The superstition among the colonials was that if you bite the bark of the tree, it will cure all your ailments.

  Eric Does it?

  Walter No. Of course it doesn’t. Pure superstition. And yet, there in the country, on rolling pastureland, with flowers and breezes and cherry trees with pig’s teeth stuck in the bark, there was no death, there was no illness, there was no loss or danger. Henry bought it the next day and we lived there for a year without ever leaving the area. We cooked, we gardened, we read beneath the cherry tree. And we avoided all news from the outside world.

  After a year, Henry grew restless. He began traveling to London to start the first of his many ventures that would eventually make him a very wealthy man. Without him, I began to stew – and so early one morning I decided to return to the city. I hadn’t been there in over a year. I was about to take myself to lunch when I ran into an old friend of ours. Peter West was his name. Dear Peter. Darling man, more clever than anyone I ever knew. And handsome as sin. I wouldn’t have recognized him if he hadn’t called out to me from across Fifth Avenue. Peter had ‘the look’, the telltale sign that someone was infected. His handsome face was sunken and sallow, his muscles had melted away. He was also, I discovered, essentially homeless. His landlord evicted him. He’d been estranged from his family for years. He had nowhere to go. We took the next train upstate and phoned for a cab. The driver took one look at Peter and fled. We stood there, four miles from my house with no other means to get there but our legs. The day was beautiful and Peter smiled as he breathed in the country air through his rattling lungs. The sun was setting as we approached the house. I could feel a release in Peter’s body. I put him in one of the rooms upstairs. Peter spent the next five days slowly dying in our upstairs bedroom. I cleaned him when he fouled himself. I held him as he wept in grief. I comforted him as he screamed in pain. I had no idea I had such strength. On Peter’s fourth day, Henry returned from London. When I told him that Peter was upstairs, Henry flew into a rage, accusing me of betrayal, of bringing the plague into our home. I had never seen such fear on a man’s face as I saw on Henry’s that day. He got back into his car and drove away. Peter died as the sun was rising his fifth day with us. Henry returned to London, leaving me alone for several months without so much as a phone call. I spent the first few weeks of my exile wondering if I was wrong to show such kindness to a friend. But, oh Eric, to see Peter’s ravaged face, and to look into those frightened eyes, I believe that if I had left Peter on that sidewalk, returning to my place of peace without him, I would have ruined that house for myself far more than I ever could have ruined it for Henry. I eventually came to see that leaving the city and our friends behind was as unforgivable an act of cowardice as I have ever performed. The answer, I realized, was not to shut the world out but rather to fling the doors open and to invite it in. And so, while Henry’s furious silence roared at me from across the Atlantic, I brought others in their last days up to the house. I replayed that scene over and over with friends, acquaintances and eventually strangers. One by one they came to my house, and one by one they died there.

  After several months, Henry had his lawyers draw up the paperwork to name me the sole owner of the house. Peter’s death is the reason the house became my property. It would not be the blessed place that it is without first hosting Peter’s torture and his death. Henry cannot see it that way and that is Henry’s to sort out. I think that even after thirty-six years, Henry and I are still sorting it out. If it is ever to be sorted.

  Silence.

  Eric I can’t imagine what those years were like. I don’t even know how to …

  I can understand what it was. But I cannot possibly feel what it was.

  Walter Tell me the name of one of your closest friends.

  Eric Tristan.

  Walter Imagine that Tristan is dead. Name another.

  Eric Jasper.

  Walter Jasper is also dead.

  Eric Jason.

  Walter Jason has been at St Vincent’s for two weeks. The toxoplasmosis has left him with dementia.

  Eric Jason, his husband.

  Walter Because they cannot legally be married, abandonment is simpler. Jason has left him.

  Young Men Patrick is dead.

  Alex is dead.

  Colin is dead.

  Lucas is infected.

  Zach is dying from pneumocystic carinii.

  Chris is healthy. His partner has just been diagnosed.

  You just visited Mark in the hospital. Tonight you will visit Will.

  Tomorrow is Eddie’s funeral.

  Michael’s body is covered with KS lesions.

  Jeffrey is infected but asymptomatic.

  Nick is dead.

  Daniel is dead.

  Stephen is infected.

  Brian’s partner has peripheral neuropathy. He screams in pain at the slightest touch.

  Scott is in Paris, hoping to get HPA-23.

  Javier went home to die in his mother’s house.

  Jonathan’s family won’t take him back.

  Brandon is dead.

  Matthew is dead.

  Leo is infected.

  Kurt is infected but he doesn’t know it. David, his partner, will find out first.

  Frankie’s sister calls you to tell you he’s died.

  Andrew has disappeared altogether.

  Phillip is dead.

  Trevor is dead.

  Kevin is infected.

  Rumors fly about incarcerations of gay men as a precaution.

  Politicians begin to openly discuss mass quarantines.

  There is talk of outlawing homosexuality, rumors of deportations.

  Anti-gay violence is on the rise.

  The American public becomes galvanized by the epidemic: not against the illness but against the people who have it.

  Businesses cancel health insurance policies for employees with AIDS.

  States pass legislation requiring home sellers to divulge if a person with AIDS has ever lived there.

  Sam is dead.

  Mark is dead.

  Miguel is infected.

  Paul has it.

  Ben has it.

  Carlos has it.

  Wesley is dead.

  Caleb is dead.

  David is dead.

  Jacob is dead.

  Walter That is what it was.

  End of Act One.

  Act Two

  Autumn 2016

  SCENE ONE

  1. Chicago Club / Eric and Toby’s Apartment

  Autumn 2016.

  Thumping house music. A group of men dancing. Toby is in the middle of them. So is Adam. Toby’s phone vibrates in his pocket. He looks at it, makes his way off the floor.

  Toby Fair warning: I’m drunk and stoned and I also might be rolling.

  Eric Oh my God, Toby. One drug at a time!

  Toby Tom gave us each a Molly. The man is a fucking CVS. Hi!

  Eric Yes you are. I’m two minutes away from turning thirty-four.

  Toby It’s only eleven.

  Eric Time zones, baby. You’re an hour behind in Chicago.

  Toby Oh, right! I set a reminder for midnight. I wouldda called too late. Or too early?

  Eric Where are you?

  Toby A bunch of us decided to go out dancing. It’s like I’m seventeen again and sneaking into Limelight.

  Eric Is Adam with you?

  Toby He is!

  Eric Give him a big hug for me.

  Toby Will do!

  Eric Are you taking care of him?

  Toby He’s not a child, Eric.

  Eric He’s younger than he thinks.

  Toby What are you doing tomorrow? Anything fun?

  Eric The Lads are coming over for brunch. I’m introducing them to Walter. />
  Toby You and Walter seem to be spending a lot of time together. Should I be jealous?

  Eric Yes, very. He’s had quite a life. I’ve been getting a little first-hand gay history from him.

  Toby Listen, it’s chilly out and I’m scantily clad. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?

  Eric Okay. I love you, Toby.

  Toby Yeah, me too babe. Byeeeee! Happy birthday!

  Toby hangs up, returns to the club and dives back into the middle of the crowd.

  2. Adam’s Apartment in Chicago

  Adam Fuck, I’m still rolling.

  Toby You can’t still be rolling

  Adam Your eyes are so beautiful.

  Toby Okay, you’re still rolling.

  Adam I love you, Toby.

  Toby That’s my cue to go.

  Adam No, let’s stay up and talk.

  Toby It’s four-thirty in the morning.

  Adam goes into the bathroom.

  You’re not about to throw up, are you?

  Adam I think I have to pee.

  The shower starts offstage.

  Toby Are you taking a shower?

  Adam (off) I’m going to take a quick shower.

  Toby I think it’s sweet that you brought a framed photo of you and your parents.

  Adam (off) What?

  Toby Can you even hear me right now?

  Adam (off) What?

  Toby Then I’ll only say this once: I think you’re really amazing.

  Adam (off) I can’t hear a word you’re saying, Toby.

  Toby Good.

  Watching you rehearse these last few weeks, to see Elan come to life in that room, to watch you become him … You’re so very good in this play, Adam … and in the few more moments that I can say these things, I just want you to know that you amaze me, Adam. And I really wanna fuck you.

  The shower stops. Adam enters, toweling off.

  Adam I wanna ask you something.

  Toby Okay …

  Adam How am I doing? In the part, I mean. As Elan.

  Toby It’s early days.

  Adam I can’t get a firm grip on him at times, you know what I mean?

  Toby You’re still figuring him out.

  Adam I mean, he’s kind of a dick, you know? And I love that about him. But he can be a little cocky and manipulative.

  Toby Right.

  Adam So … I dunno. I just don’t want the audience not to like me.

  Toby Trust me, Adam. The audience is going to like you. I wouldn’t overthink it. Just remember he ain’t no virgin.

  Adam You don’t think I’m a virgin, do you?

  Toby God, I hope you’re not.

  Adam Far from it.

  Toby Oh ‘far’, huh? How far, exactly?

  Adam You mean in years or in –?

  Toby Cocks. How far from virginity are you in erect penises? If you lined them up end to end, how far to the moon could you get?

  Adam Probably not as far as you. I guess you’ve had a lot of sex in your life, huh?

  Toby I’m Cape-fuckin’-Canaveral, baby.

  Adam You’re probably more like Elan in that regard than I am.

  Adam drops his towel, standing there completely naked. A moment, then:

  Toby Here’s what I’ll say: if Elan stepped out of the shower and stood before me completely naked, he wouldn’t then pussyfoot around about what he wanted, he’d just come right out and say it. That, I think, is the main difference between you and the character that I’ve written.

  Adam covers himself with the towel.

  I should get to bed.

  Adam puts on a pair of underwear.

  We need to take you shopping for better underwear.

  Adam What’s wrong with my underwear?

  Toby It looks like you bought it at Costco.

  Adam But … I did.

  Toby Gay men shouldn’t shop at Costco until they’re at least forty and own land. What if you’d hooked up tonight? You really want a guy seeing you in that Fruit-of-the-Loom banality you’re wearing right now?

  Adam Why do you always pick on me?

  Toby (mocking, mimicking) ‘Why do you always pick on me?’

  I tease you, there’s a difference.

  Adam Why can’t you just be nice to me?

  Toby I am nice to you.

  Adam You’re always making fun of how rich and spoiled I am. Sometimes I think you don’t like me.

  Toby Oh come on, Adam. Don’t be such a baby.

  Adam I’m not a baby. Stop calling me that.

  Toby You have to know that you’ve lived a pretty protected life.

  Adam Is that my fault?

  Toby No, not at all. But I hope you realize it’s, like, a million-in-one life you’re living.

  Adam I know I’m very fortunate.

  Toby I’m hard on you because someone needs to be. You can’t expect the world to coddle you the way Mommy does. You can’t expect to get what you want just because you want it. You can’t coast through life without some kind of adversity.

  Adam You know I was adopted, right?

  Toby Oh shut up, you were not.

  A beat.

  Were you?

  Adam I was born in Arkansas. My mother was sixteen. She left me at the hospital. My parents adopted me when I was two weeks old.

  Toby Jesus, I’m revising my calculations: it’s a one-in-a-billion life you’re living.

  Adam Fuck you, Toby.

  Toby That’s the spirit.

  Adam Why can’t you encourage me?

  Toby Because you get enough of that in your life.

  Adam But I want it from you.

  Toby It bothers me when privileged people pretend that they know what it’s like to struggle or be scared to death.

  Goodnight, Adam.

  Adam I once got fucked in a bathhouse in Prague.

  Toby You did not.

  Adam Okay then, I didn’t.

  Toby Oh, I see: is this your way of proving to me that you’re not a virgin? I didn’t really think that you were.

  Adam I went to Prague over Christmas break my senior year. My boyfriend and I had just broken up, I felt a little lost and heartbroken and so I booked a flight and went.

  Toby And what, pray tell, did you do while mending your broken widdle heart in Prague?

  Adam I went to museums. I drank in cafés and smoked way too many cigarettes. Then one night I worked up the courage to go to a bathhouse, just to see what it was like.

  Toby What was it like?

  Adam It was hot.

  Toby Oh come on. If you’re going to tell a writer about a visit to a Czech bathhouse, you should at least show him the courtesy of using better adjectives.

  Adam My heart pounds in my chest as I ride the metro there from my hotel. My hands tremble with fear as I present / my ID at the door.

  Toby Get to the good stuff. If there isn’t a dick in your mouth in the next minute, I’m leaving.

  Adam I find a hot tub that’s empty and I get in.

  Toby Okay, so you’re in the tub …

  Adam And this one guy comes over and gets into the tub with me. He reaches down and grabs my dick. I let him stroke me off for a while but I’m not really into it so I get up and leave.

  Toby The bathhouse?

  Adam No, just the room. I go downstairs into this dark, warm, tiled room. It’s basically a long hallway with stalls on either side. The first thing I notice is the sound of moaning. I start to walk down the corridor, passing each stall. Some are empty. Some have one or a couple of guys jerking off or sucking each other off. I remove my towel and walk down the corridor, looking into each of the stalls as I go.

  Toby Were you hard?

  Adam The hardest.

  Toby Did anybody notice you?

  Adam Some look up as I pass.

  Toby Where did you go then?

  Adam I get to this one stall and I find these two guys fucking. I stand there and watch. I’d never seen two people having sex before outside of porn. They both sm
ile and invite me over.

  Toby And what happened?

  Adam The guy getting fucked starts sucking me off.

  Toby Wow. Really?

  Adam Then the guy who was fucking him pulls out and joins him.

  Toby They’re both sucking you off?

  Adam Yeah, back and forth. Both mouths on me at once. Their hands are all over me. I look up and see three other guys in the entryway, watching.

  Toby What did you do?

  Adam I invite them over.

  Toby You did not.

  Adam They start feeling my body. They take turns sucking me off. More guys start to show up.

  Toby How many?

  Adam Eventually? Maybe fifteen, twenty?

  Toby You’re making this up.

  Adam Am I?

  Toby Are you?

  Go on.

  Adam They’re all sucking me off, rubbing my body, eating me out, kissing me all over. They’re all exploring me, feeling me. Worshipping me.

  Toby How did that feel?

  Adam I felt like the most desirable person in the world. I felt like a god.

  Then there’s this one guy. So hot, all muscle. He whispers something into my ear. I just smile and nod. Then before I knew what was happening, he slides inside me and starts to fuck me.

  Toby Stop it.

  Go on.

  Adam Everyone just stands by and watches while this really hot guy fucks me. So I decide to put on a show for them.

  Toby How?

  Adam I moan, I arch my back.

  Toby God, I can only imagine what that looked like.

  Adam Can you?

  Toby I’m picturing it right now.

  Adam How’s it look?

  Toby Really fucking good.

  Adam Eventually another guy wants to take a turn.

  Toby Did you let him?

  Adam Yeah. So now this other guy and I are fucking. Then another guy takes a turn, then another. Eventually I lose count.

  Toby Jesus, Adam.

  Adam Meanwhile, everyone is touching me. Thirty hands, fifteen mouths on my body. It wasn’t even me in that moment, it was this other version of me. I remember thinking to myself: ‘This is what it feels to truly be alive.’