ITHACA
A Gold Coast Odyssey
By Andrew Wright
“And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.”
T.S. Eliot
PROLOGUE – THE WAVE
(1989. The Gold Coast. Early Morning. We find ourselves on the dunes in front of ‘Ithaca Towers’ -a run-down motel on the beach at Surfers Paradise. A neon sign flickers. The sounds of waves. Telemachus, 18, enters carrying a surfboard. He’s wearing board shorts, a singlet and a shark tooth necklace. He surveys the ocean. Searching for waves. Searching for answers. He notices the audience, breaks the fourth wall.)
Telemachus: You ever heard of Odysseus? Huh? (Waiting.) You have? Course you have. Everyone has. He's regarded as some kind of hero around here, hey? King Odi. Prince of the Point. Lord of the seven seas. You’ve probably seen him on the back page of the Courier Mail. Front page of the Gold Coast Bulletin. On the tele. More than a surfer round here. More like a god. Army of blokes following him around the world with cameras, chasing glory and six-metre swells.
(The chorus erupts from the darkness. Music. Crowd. Flashbulbs. The STUBBIES CLASSIC. Odi is carried aloft by his crew. He rings the winner's bell. The crowd explodes.)
All: All hail Odysseus!
All hail Odysseus!
All hail Odysseus!
Reporter 1: Odi! How does it feel to be the first three-time winner of the Stubbies Classic?
Odi: Yeah. Feels good.
(The crowd erupts.)
Fangirl 1: Sign my bum, Odi!
Fangirl 2: Sign my tits!
(The crowd erupts into laughter.)
Reporter 2: With today's result you become Surfing World Champion for 1989! What does that mean to you?
Odi: Means the world. Been plugging away for years. Didn't know if I'd ever get one over Hector and the boys. Good to finally get the win.
(Cheers erupt.)
Reporter 3: Any plans for the prize money?
Odi: Yeah. Penny and I bought Ithaca Towers a few years back. Plenty of work to do over there. Keep the wolves at bay.
Reporter 1: Bit gnarly out there today?
Odi: Yeah mate. Days like today it's good just to come back in one piece, ya know?
Reporter 2: Anyone you'd like to thank?
Odi: Big thanks to Penny. And a shout out to my number one fan. Tele. Watching at home right now. See ya soon, mate.
Crew: Onya Tele!
(The crowd cheers.)
Reporter 3: Forecast says beach closures tomorrow. Cyclone Aeolus moving down the coast. Looks like you narrowly missed it.
Odi: Haven't missed it yet, mate.
(The crowd cheers.)
All: All hail Odysseus!
All hail Odysseus!
All hail Odysseus!
(The celebration continues as Telemachus watches.)
Telemachus: And that's how the story always gets told. The trophies. The magazines. The interviews. The cheering. Nobody ever tells you about the waiting.
(The crowd freezes.)
Waiting for a lift to footy training. Waiting for your dad to come home for the stuff you think’s important – surf events, birthdays, graduations. Nobody tells you about the stuff he missed because the swell came in, or there’s some sponsor’s event or a tour to attend to. People don’t tell you how few surf lessons you’ll get when your dad’s the world champ. Not when he belongs to everyone.
(The crowd fades slightly. They begin to assemble the imagery of the ocean as Odi heads down the beach to stand beside his son and to take in the ocean. The sounds of wind and waves begin to build throughout the scene as the violence of the storm grows.)
Telemachus: Everyone says he was fearless. Like that's a compliment. I reckon mostly, he was just plain selfish.
(The crowd becomes the ocean as Odi stands in the foreground facing Telemachus.)
Chorus: Gold Coast Weather.
An intense low-pressure system has generated a powerful easterly swell expected to arrive before dawn.
Surf Life Saving advises all beaches will close tomorrow.
Residents are reminded that tides will be significantly higher than normal.
A word of warning...
The ocean always gets the final say.
Telemachus: And every surfer on the coast knew what that meant. The ocean was loading up. Something huge was coming. The kind of swell people talk about for years. The kind of swell my dad would die for.
Chorus: Aeolus arrived in the dead of night.
Wind howling through the high-rises.
Palms bent backwards.
The ocean black and restless.
Like it remembered something that it didn’t forgive.
(The Chorus becomes storm. Wind. Waves. Spray.)
Telemachus: You're not going out in that.
Odi: You don't turn your back on a swell like this, Tele.
Telemachus: You're mad.
Odi: Madder not to.
Telemachus: Dad— wait.
Odi: Tell your mum I'll be back when the tide turns.
Telemachus: And with that he ran into the surf, into the storm, into the legend – like he always did.
Chorus: Past the flags.
Past the break.
Past the point where sensible men turn around.
Telemachus: Past his wife. Past his son. Past every reason to come home.
Chorus: The waves rose like writhing walls of water,
Odysseus crawled across the mountainous face.
Like an insect on a leaf.
Higher.
Higher.
Higher Still.
A Tower.
Telemachus: (He yells.) Dad. Turn around!
(The wave consumes Odi. Silence.)
Chorus: And then…
A Crash.
Gone.
Taken.
Claimed by the sea.
Telemachus: No. Don't do that. Don't turn him into a story. He disappeared. He left us. That's it. (Pause.) And mum stopped sleeping. I stopped waiting. And everybody else got to talk about the storm. (Beat.) So, if you're here for the legend— Good luck.
SCENE 1 – ITHACA TOWERS
(Morning. Telemachus is waxing the board on the dunes in front of “Ithaca Towers.” We hear Penny call from within. She is already into the swing of the day.)
Penny: (Yelling) Telemachus!
(His thought is interrupted. He gathers himself – steels himself. Begins to pack his stuff away.)
Telemachus! Where are you? Tele …. (She bolts out of the apartment and on the beach.) I was calling you. Didn’t you hear me?
Telemachus: They heard you in Coolangatta.
(He goes back to waxing the board.)
Penny: Oh well, excuse me! (Beat) Mate, I’ll need some help with the rooms this morning.
Telemachus: Yep.
Penny: We’ve got four new families booking in after breakfast…
Telemachus: Yeah, I know.
Penny: And the sheets ….
Tele/Penny: Aren’t gonna wash themselves.
Telemachus: Yeah, I know. I’ll help when I get back.
Penny: Get back from where?
Telemachus: Athena and me are goin for a surf.
Penny: A surf? Mate, I can’t do this all on my own. We’ve got check ins, check outs, breakfasts and that’s just to start. We’re behind on the maintenance schedule and I’ve got the bloody council breathing down my neck about protecting the dunes. And don’t get me started on the whinger in Unit 5 who wants me to wash the skiddies off his towels three times a day.
Telemachus: I get it.
Penny: You’re not a kid anymore, you know. You’ve finished school.
Telemachus: Last week. I finished school last week. Mum, everyone’s at schoolies …
Penny: There’ll be time for that later.
Telemachus: When?
Penny: I don’t know … In a few weeks.
Telemachus: Mum, its Schoolies week this week. It runs for a week – this week!
Penny: Well, I’m sorry your dad disappeared at a bad time for your schoolies celebrations.
(She instantly regrets her anger. He sees the opening.)
Telemachus: You say it like he’s coming back. (Pause. He pushes further.) Mum, it was a seven-metre swell. (Pause.) It’s been ten weeks.
Penny: There’s no body, Tele. (Telemachus sits down, defeated.) If anyone could survive it’s your father. Until I know he’s… (dead) I won’t believe it. (Pause.) Look, I’m sorry. I know this is hard for you too. (A beat.) Go for a surf. Have a good time. I’ll look after the check ins and the breakfasts. If you can give me a hand this arvo that’d be… (She sees Triton.) Great.
(Triton arrives. He is a young neatly dressed man in a tailored shirt, cleanly pressed pant and loafers. He carries a briefcase.)
Triton: G’day, Penny!
Penny: No.
Triton: You haven’t even seen my new offer.
Penny: Loafers in the sand. I’ve seen enough.
(She walks inside.)
Triton: Penny! How about you give me some fashion advice and I give you some real estate advice? Penny!
(Triton sees Telemachus looking at him, shaking his head.)
Triton: What are you looking at?
Telemachus: Just wondering how many times your old man’s gonna send you down here before he works out Mum’s not interested.
Triton: He’s got better things to do.
Telemachus: Yeah. Must be that.
Triton: She can’t run this place alone, you know?
Telemachus: Well, she’s not gonna be running it alone is she?
Triton: What? You think you’re going to run the old man’s motel. You just finished school, mate.
Telemachus: Doing a better job than you are, trying to buy the place.
Triton: Little smart arse, aren’t ya?
Telemachus: My dad’s missing for ten weeks and you guys swoop in like seagulls on a hot chip. It’s pathetic.
Triton: What do you mean, you guys?
Telemachus: What? You thought, you’d be the only one interested in ‘Ithaca Towers’? We’re right on the beach, mate. Loads of seagulls down here.
Triton: There’s more seagulls?
Telemachus: Heaps.
(He goes to follow Penny inside.)
Triton: Hey Penny!
Telemachus: Hey Triton, what that’s smell?
Triton: (proudly) Eternity. It’s by Calvin Klein.
Telemachus: Smells more like, ‘Desperation’
(Triton gives Tele the finger. Tele returns the favour. Triton follows, Penny inside.)
Triton: Penny!
(Athena arrives, with her surfboard.)
Athena: Hey, what’s my brother doing down here?
Telemachus: Trying to buy ‘Ithaca.’
Athena: Still? (Beat.) Sorry. (Changing the subject.) So, how’s the water?
Telemachus: Tides heading out. A bit gnarly.
Athena: You, ready?
Telemachus: Lead the way.
(They run down the beach.)
Penny: Get out!
(A brief case is hurled onto the sand and Triton runs to collect it.)
Triton: So should I tell my client, you’re considering the offer.
Penny: You should tell your client to stick his offer up his jatz cracker and leave us alone.
Triton: Look, can I be frank. My Dad’s sent me down here with a lot of latitude to secure this property for our client. Everyone has their price, Penny. Just tell me yours and I’ll take it to him.
Penny: (She considers and then strides across to him holding his stare.) You people, just don’t get it, do you? You think you can buy everything. Ithaca is our home. You tell him that.
Triton: Penny, there's a lot of debt on this place. Without Odi's winnings and sponsorships, how long can you keep the bank at bay?
Penny: (He’s right and she knows it.) Get off my property. And don’t come back.
Triton: Here’s my card. For when you change your mind. (He gives it to her. She throws it on the ground. A beat.) Just so you know, if you come back when things are tight at your end, the price drops. That’s just the way it works. You should sell, while you have the upper hand.
(Eurycleia, the maid, walks out to Penny’s side. She is holding a white towel with a skid mark.)
Eurycleia: Penny? The man in Unit 5 was wondering if..
(She turns to see the towel.)
Triton: I’ll let you get back to it. Have a good day, ladies. Looks like it’ll be a cracker.
Penny: Give that to me.
(She grabs the towel and storms back inside. Eurycleia sees the card, picks it up and follows. The scene transitions down to the beach.)
SCENE 2 – THE BREAK
(The sounds of the surf intensify as Telemachus and Athena prepare their boards, zip up their wetsuits and apply sunscreen as they take in the break.)
Telemachus: This is absolute shit.
Athena: Yeah, it’s a bit blown out.
Telemachus: A bit? It’s like a frigging washing machine.
Athena: Yeah. It’s messy.
Telemachus: It’s a complete write off.
Athena: Could be fun.
Telemachus: How?
Athena: We're here. Not at school. (She grabs her board.) Come on. Get out of your head for a bit.
Telemachus: I'm fine.
Athena: Yeah. You're an absolute delight.
Telemachus: (He can feel how unappreciative he’s being.) Sorry.
Athena: It’s okay. (He continues to get ready. She watches him.) How's your Mum?
Telemachus: Busy.
Athena: That's not what I meant.
Telemachus: I know. (A beat.) It's the answer though. Staying busy so she doesn’t have to stop.
Athena: Will she sell?
Telemachus: (Tele looks at her.) Who's asking?
Athena: What? (His accusation drops.) Hey. Fuck you, Telemachus. I'm not asking for my dad or my brother.
Telemachus: Sorry. I'm just copping it from all angles, you know. Reporters want their story. Banks want their money. Tourists want to see his trophies.
Athena: And what do you want?
Telemachus: For Mum to stop waiting.
(Athena looks back toward the ocean.)
Athena: Tide always comes back in.
Telemachus: Got any proof?
Athena: I will if you're prepared to wait. (A beat. Tele isn't buying it.) Right. Stuff this. You're coming out tonight.
Telemachus: No.
Athena: Schoolies. Bad music. Cheap drinks. Terrible decisions.
Telemachus: Sounds awful.
Athena: It will be. You’re coming.
Telemachus: No.
Athena: One drink.
Telemachus: Why?
Athena: Because you're fucking miserable.
(A beat.)
Telemachus: One drink.
(Athena runs into the water with her board. Tele follows.)
SCENE 3 – POSEIDON'S PENTHOUSE
(Glass. Steel. Money. Poseidon’s Penthouse sits like an eagle’s nest above the Gold Coast. The city sprawls beneath them. He holds the phone in one hand and a glass of whisky in the other. The lift bell dings. Triton enters.)
Poseidon: Trust me, Jupiter. It’s done. No. Not nearly done. Done. I've got my best guy on it. The property's as good as yours. I'll call when the paperwork's signed.
(He hangs up. Raises an eyebrow to his Triton.)
Well?
Triton: She didn't sign.
Poseidon: What?
Triton: She needs time.
Poseidon: No, she doesn't. (He walks over to his son and eyeballs him.) Did she say that?
Triton: (He shakes his head.) No. Not exactly.
Poseidon: Not at all. You know who needs time?
Triton: (A confession.) I do.
Poseidon: That’s right. You do. (A beat.) She's negotiating.
Triton: I really don’t think so.
Poseidon: Did you make an offer?
Triton: Yes.
Poseidon: A real offer?
Triton: Yes.
Poseidon: Then why didn't she sign?
Triton: Because she doesn't want to sell.
Poseidon: Oh, she’ll sell. Believe me.
Triton: Sounds like you know her better than she knows herself.
Poseidon: At the end of the day, people are all the same. Nobody wants to sell but everybody does. That's the entire industry.
(He pours a drink for Triton. Passes it to him.)
You know what real estate really is?
Triton: Selling properties?
Poseidon: Timing and pressure. Understanding exactly what someone needs before they do. No one sells because they want to. They sell because they have to.
Triton: What if they don’t have to?
Poseidon: Eventually, everyone has to. That's the business. (A beat.) Go back.
Triton: Now?
Poseidon: Right now. I just told Jupiter the property's hers.
Triton: But she hasn't signed.
Poseidon: Then get the signature.
(The lift bell, dings. Athena enters.)
Athena: Oh good. The vultures are nesting.
Poseidon: Athena.
Athena: Her husband disappeared ten weeks ago. You know what normal people do? Send a card, flowers, hand deliver a home-cooked meal. Your response? Try and take her house off her.
Poseidon: Just trying to help.
Athena: I wish. (To Triton.) And you’re helping him! You’re so embarrassing.
Poseidon: The world doesn't stop because somebody's sad, Athena.
Athena: Clearly. (She heads towards her room.)
Poseidon: Where are you going?
Athena: I’m going out for Schoolies. Try not to rob any graves while I’m gone.
(She exits into the next room to get changed.)
Triton: Maybe she’s got a point. Maybe we give it some space.
Poseidon: Great idea. Send flowers. Make a hamper. Give every other developer on the Coast a week to get in there first. (A beat.) Or you could go and get the signature.
Triton: Fine. I'll get the signature.
(The lift dings. Cyclops, a thick set and intimidating bikie steps out of the lift. The tone of the room changes immediately.)
Poseidon: Cyclops.
Cyclops: We need to talk. It’s private.
Poseidon: Triton was just heading out.
Triton: I’ll stay.
Cyclops: We've got a problem.
Poseidon: What kind of problem?
Cyclops: Your surfer. He's been seen.
Poseidon: Not possible.
Cyclops: Maybe.
Poseidon: He's gone.
Cyclops: Maybe. Or maybe Odysseus just came back from the dead.
SCENE 4 — CAVILL AVENUE
(Cavill Avenue. Music pumps from every direction. The stage is alive with movement. Schoolies. Tourists. Drunks. Odi enters like a stranger in a strange land. He sits to take it all in. A girl, Tiffany, captures his attention as she hurries down Cavill Avenue. A wolf whistle. She turns to discover, Les Trygonian, walking out of the shadows – the head of one of Gold Coast’s, most notorious Bikie gangs. He wears jeans, leather vest with Trygonians Patch and a trucker cap. He advances on the girl.)
Les: Hey, Gorgeous! Where you headed?
Tiffany: Work. I'm so sorry. I can't stop. I'm late.
(Two other bikies step out of the shadows.)
Les: We'll give you a permission slip. Won't we, lads?
Dave: S-U-R-E we can.
Jessie: Don't want to see you get in any trouble.
Les: What's your name, pretty lady?
Tiffany: Tiffany.
Les: Tiffany. Pretty name.
Tiffany: Thanks.
(Dave and Jessie, laugh.)
Les: Where you headed tonight, Tiffany?
Tiffany: Sirens. It's the new club. I've only just started.
Les: Grouse. I'll buy ya a drink.
Tiffany: I really need to go.
Les: (He grabs her wrist, flirtatiously.) I don't think you do.
Odi: Hey mate. Hands off, please.
(The gang turn to take him in.)
Les: You know who you're talking to, stranger?
Odi: Some bloke who thinks it's alright to grab women in the street.
Les: (He laughs.) Well, I suppose that's right. And who am I talking to?
Odi: I’m a nobody. And I said please.
Les: (Laughing.) Hey boys. He said please.
Dave: P-L-E-A-S-E!
Jessie: Well, that changes everything.
Les: You should've kept walking, mate.
Odi: Probably. (He looks at Tiffany.) You should go, love. (Tiffany hesitates. He gently prompts her.) Go on. (She breaks from her frozen state and hurries away.)
Les: Now that annoys me. You see, me and Tiffany were getting acquainted.
Odi: Sorry about that. (Odi turns to leave.)
Les: Not so fast. (Dave and Jessie grab Odi.) You see, you took something from me which means, now, I have to take something from you. That's just how the world works.
Odi: Then we’re both dumb out of luck, cause I haven't got anything to give you.
Les: Empty his pockets.
(They do.)
Dave: Nothing.
Les: Then I'll have to take something else. (A beat.) Give us your finger. (He produces a pair of pliers.)
Jessie: Hang on. Look.
(He points to Odi's wedding ring.)
Les: Well. That's not nothing. You married?
Odi: Apparently.
Les: Apparently?
Odi: Lost my memory.
Dave: You serious?
Les: Well, that's unfortunate. Ring or finger. Your choice.
Odi: I guess it's the finger.
Les: Suit yourself.
(Les moves in while Odi is held from behind. In a flash, Odi has broken free, disarmed Les and is holding the pliers to his throat. They all take in the new situation.)
Odi: Now, I don't want to hurt anyone. But I've got nothing I can give you. You understand?
Les: Yep. Understand.
Odi: You said, I took something off you. How about I trade you something? I’ll give you back your pliers …
Les: That’d be a start.
Odi: And then I’ll… give you back your life.
Les: You’ve got some balls, my friend. You know who I am?
Odi: Not a clue. Do we have a deal or not?
Les: We have a deal.
(Odi releases him. He returns the pliers.)
I’m Les. Les Trygonian.
(He offers his hand. Odi shakes it.)
Les: So, you really lost your memory? (Odi nods.) Completely?
Odi: I really did.
Les: Well, man of mystery, how would you feel about joining the Trygonians? We could do with a bloke like you on the gang. No history.
Odi: Thanks for the offer but I’m sure I have one. Just need to find out what it is.
Les: Well, if you ever need the help of the Trygonians, you just reach out, brother. (He hands him a business card.)
Odi: Will do.
(The Trygonians disappear into the crowd. At the periphery of the scene, two women appear. The first is Tiffany, the second an older, matriarch. She has clearly been around the traps and exudes a ‘don’t mess with me’ manner coupled with a harsh kindness.)
Tiffany: That’s him.
Circe: You sure? (She nods. Circe calls to Odi.) Hey, you. (Odi turns and points at himself, questioningly.) Yeah, you. Get your arse over here. (He crosses to her.) Tiffany here, was five minutes late for her shift. I don’t tolerate lateness and I certainly, don’t tolerate liars.
Tiffany: I was late, but I didn’t lie.
Circe: (To Tiffany.) Shush, girl. (To Odi.) She says she was detained by Les Trygonian.
Odi: She was. (He hands her the card. She reads it and looks at Odi and Tiffany with a look of disbelief.)
Circe: And that someone stepped in on her behalf. That you?
Odi: Yeah, that was me. Anything else?
Circe: You took on the Trygonians?
Odi: She was in a hurry. I just told them to let her get to work.
Circe: You know who the Trygonians are?
Odi: Should I?
Circe: (She hands back the card.) That (card) belongs to Les Trygonian. (He shrugs.) Boss of the Trygonians Motor Cycle Club? (He shakes his head.) Let’s just say, he’s a dangerous dude.
Odi: I gathered.
Circe: (To Tiffany.) Looks like you’re telling the truth. You keep your job.
Tiffany: Thanks, Circe.
Circe: And you’re coming to Sirens for a drink, my friend.
Odi: No money.
Circe: On the house. You look after Circe’s girls. She looks after you.
SCENE 5 — SIRENS NIGHTCLUB
(The Sirens nightclub. Neon. Smoke. Velvet. Music. The room pulses with energy. It feels glamourous and dangerous. Odi is guided to a seat amongst the full club. Circe speaks above the din. One of the sirens, sings a sultry version of Steve Miller Band’s “Abracadabra’ from the top of the bar.)
Circe: (To Odi.) You. Sit here. I’ll be back. (To Tiffany.) And you get to work.
(Odi is watching on, taking in the place. Other Sirens are circulating the room with drinks. Circe patrols the room like a general. Some drunken men are drawn to the siren song and she directs them to sit. She crosses to the bar with a beer for Odi. Finally, the song finishes and the crowd cheers.)
Tiffany: You alright?
Odi: Yeah, I’ll be fine.
Tiffany: Must be weird. Not remembering anything?
Odi: Yeah, you could say that.
Tiffany: Wish I could forget sometimes. Start again, you know? A second chance.
Circe: I thought I just gave you a second chance. Now stop fraternising with the customers and get to work.
(Circe puts a beer in front of Odi. She sits down beside him.)
Welcome to Sirens, my friend.
Odi: Thanks. It always this noisy? Might need some wax for my ears.
Circe: Not your thing?
Odi: You run this place on your own?
(A memory of Penny appears on the other side of the bar. She is looking at Odi.)
Circe: Sure.
Penny: I’m running this place on my own and you know it. You’re always away.
Odi: (To Penny, trying to placate her.) It’s just for a while.
Circe: No, I’ve had the place for years. Was a real dive when I took it on.
Penny: Still needs so much work.
Odi: But it’s better than it was?
Circe: Yeah, just needed…
Circe/ Penny: a woman’s touch.
(He gets to his feet. Penny disappears.)
Circe: You alright?
Odi: Did you see the …
Circe: See what?
Odi: I thought I saw a woman … just over there. She was just over there behind the bar.
Circe: Lots of women here, mate. I only hire women. Men are pigs.
(An outburst from Gary on the other side of the bar. He is drunk.)
Gary: (Shouting at Tiffany.) Oi, where’s my drink?
Circe: Case in point.
Tiffany: You’ve already got one.
Gary: Well, I want another one, don’t I?
Tiffany: No.
Gary: What'd you say to me?
(CIRCE appears, beside Tiffany.)
Circe: She said no.
Gary: And who asked you?
Circe: My place. My girls. My rules. We’re cutting you off. Time to go.
Gary: You reckon you're tough don’t ya?
Circe: Yes. I do.
(The crowd laughs. Gary doesn't. He's humiliated. Dangerous.)
Gary: You’re a witch.
(Gary shoves her. Everything freezes. Odi stands.)
Odi: Don’t do that.
Gary: Who asked you?
Odi: You were asked to leave.
(Gary laughs. The crowd watches.)
Gary: Or what?
Odi: Or you'll embarrass yourself.
(The room reacts. Gary doesn't like being laughed at.)
Gary: You reckon?
Odi: Yeah. I do.
(A beat. Gary squares up. Odi is still and confident. Circe studies Odi carefully. Gary tries to save face.)
Gary: This place is a circus.
Circe: And you’re a clown. Now, off you trot.
(Gary exits. The tension breaks. Music resumes. People laugh nervously. The Sirens get things moving again.)
Tiffany: Nice work.
Odi: Didn't do much.
Circe: Almost got yourself a job.
Odi: Thought you didn’t hire men.
Circe: Might be able to make an exception for you.
Odi: Have we met?
Circe: No. I think I’d remember.
(The music changes. Softer now. More intimate. The singer begins another song – Leave a Light On– stripped back and dreamy. The light appears and Penny appears.)
Singer: Take my hand
Tell me what you are feeling
Understand.
This is just the beginning
Although I have to go
It makes me feel like crying
I don’t know when I’ll see you again
Penny: (Smiling at him.) Our song. Do you remember?
Singer: Darling, leave a light on for me.
I’ll be there before you close the door
To give you all the loving that you need.
Darling, leave the light on for me
Cause when the world takes me away
You are still the air that I breathe.
(The nightclub dissolves. Only Penny remains.)
Odi: I know you.
Penny: Come home.
Odi: I love you.
(The music has stopped. Reality returns. So does. He has only heard the last line.)
Gary: What'd you say to me?
(Odi doesn't hear him. He is still staring at Penny. The apparition vanishes.)
Odi: Wait— I love you.
Gary: Yeah. That's what I thought you said.
(Gary punches him. Odi drops. The club erupts. Black out.)
SCENE 6 – POSEIDON'S PENTHOUSE
(Poseidon's penthouse. The lights of the Gold Coast shimmer below. Athena is in her room preparing for a night out. The muffled sound of a radio and a hairdryer occasionally drifts into the room. Poseidon and Cyclops stands at the window. Triton sits with a drink.)
Triton: You don’t believe he’s back?
Poseidon: I don’t know what to believe. (Beat.) Get the signature. Tomorrow. First thing.
Triton: I get it.
Poseidon: (Raising his voice.) No, I don’t think you do. Because every time I send you down there, you come back with a different reason why she won’t sell.
(A silence hangs between them.)
Triton: I’m heading out.
Poseidon: Tomorrow morning.
Triton: I heard you, okay?
(He exits.)
Cyclops: He doesn’t know, does he?
Poseidon: Know what?
Cyclops: The stakes.
Poseidon: No.
Cyclops: Poseidon, you’re sending a boy to do a man’s job. Triton’s a good kid but Penny’s never gonna listen to him. Let me pay her a visit.
Poseidon: No.
Cyclops: I’ll get you the signature.
Poseidon: I said, no.
Cyclops: Fine. You go down there.
Poseidon: Can’t do that either.
Cyclops: You’re the bloody real estate king of the Gold Coast, what’s going on here? (Poseidon looks at him. Cyclops realises.) You’ve got history with Odi’s bird?
Poseidon: Ancient history.
Cyclops: (Realising.) That’s why you bet stupid on Hector? Pride?
Poseidon: Hector was a sure thing. No one had money on Odi.
Cyclops: I did. Two hundred bucks. Came in at 20-1. Cleaned up.
Poseidon: Why?
Cyclops: Cause, I never bet against luck. And that guy’s one of the luckiest dudes you’ll ever meet.
(Athena enters in the background.)
Poseidon: Well, he wasn’t too lucky ten weeks ago, was he?
Cyclops: We’ll see.
Poseidon: You seriously think he’s still alive?
Cyclops: I wouldn’t bet against him. That’s for sure.
Athena: Bet against who?
(They are caught out.)
Poseidon: Just a horse, love.
Athena: You’re betting on a horse that might not be alive?
Poseidon: Not alive in the race, Athena. Looks, like a late scratching.
Cyclops: Might be back in.
Athena: Right.
Poseidon: Ask around for us?
Cyclops: Will do. (Goes to exit.) And if you change your mind about the other situation…
Poseidon: I won’t. Thanks.
Cyclops: Nighty-night.
(He leaves.)
Athena: That guy gives me the creeps. Why is he even here?
Poseidon: Where are you off to?
Athena: Schoolies.
Poseidon: Who with?
Athena: Telemachus. Don’t wait up.
(Athena leaves.)
SCENE 7 – THE SCHOOLIES.
(Cavill Avenue, outside Sirens. Circe emerges with Odi, steadying him. His lip is split. He's still groggy from the punch.)
Circe: Easy.
Odi: I'm right.
Circe: You need to get out of here before the cops arrive.
Odi: Which way?
(She thinks he's joking. He isn't.)
Circe: Where are you staying?
Odi: Don't know.
Circe: Right.
(She gives him some cash.)
Circe: Grab some food. I knock off at six. If you want my help, meet me back here.
Odi: Thanks.
Circe: Try not to get punched again.
Odi: Wasn't planning on the first one.
(Circe disappears inside. Odi watches her go. Cavill Avenue moves around him. Music. Neon. Schoolies somewhere in the distance. He touches his swollen jaw and sits, still disoriented. Something shifts. A boy appears carrying a surfboard, his back is to the audience. For a moment, Odi isn’t sure what he’s seeing -it’s the trace of a memory.)
Telemachus: You said you'd be here tomorrow.
Odi: For what?
Telemachus: My comp. (Odi is caught out.) You forgot?
Odi: I didn't forget. I’ve got a shoot. I can’t get out of it. They’ve flown people in.
Telemachus: Far out.
Odi: I’ll make the next one.
Telemachus: You always say that.
(Tele turns to the audience. Odi’s caught out. He reaches to the shark tooth necklace hanging around his own neck. He removes it. He puts it around Tele’s neck.)
Odi: Here. Take this.
Telemachus: No.
Odi: Take it.
Telemachus: It’s yours.
Odi: Not tomorrow.
(Odi places the necklace around his son's neck.)
Telemachus: You always wear this.
Odi: Good luck.
Telemachus: I don't need luck.
Odi: Everyone needs luck.
Telemachus: I wanted you here.
Odi: Wait—
(The memory is shattered by a mob of Schoolies charging into the space, bottles of Passion Pop badly concealed in brown paper bags.)
Schoolies: PASSION POP! PASSION POP! PASSION POP!
(Odi jolts back to Cavill Avenue.)
Macca: You right, mate?
Odi: Not really.
Eury: Neither are we! (Cheers.) Alright! Listen up!
(Eury climbs onto the bench and assumes a position of enormous authority.)
Schoolies: SPEECH! SPEECH! SPEECH!
Eury: Okay, bitches. To the graduating class of 1989! (Cheers.) This week marks twelve years of education—
Macca: Thirteen for you!
Eury: Good to see you can count. I'd like to make this address to everyone graduating this year who still has absolutely no idea what they're doing, where they're headed or why.
Macca/ Chook: That’s me.
The sailors of rudderless ships (Cheers.) tempest tossed (Cheers.) blown off course by twelve years of trials and tribulations—
Chook: She's lost me.
Macca: You were never with her.
Eury: We've survived the doldrums—
Chook: Double maths.
Eury: We've weathered the storms—
Macca: Year Nine camp.
Eury: We've navigated the impossible choices of rocks and hard places—
Chook: Chemistry and Biol.
Eury: —and somehow, after this epic journey, we've washed up here—
Schoolies: SCHOOLIES!
Eury: —where I can proudly announce everything that I’ve learned!
Chook/ Macca: What have you learned?
Eury: Absolutely bloody nothing!
(Huge cheers.)
Eury: I can read. Write. Add. Subtract. And in a couple of weeks I'll get a number in the mail telling me whether I'm a winner or a loser.
Macca: I can already tell you.
Eury: Thanks, Macca.
Eury: But whatever that number says, I still don't know what I’m gonna do with the rest of my life.
Macca: Me neither!
Chook: Me neither!
Eury: So, here's to not having a bloody clue!
Schoolies: TO NOT HAVING A BLOODY CLUE!
(They drink.)
Eury: Okay, Macca! Your go!
(Macca takes the bench.)
Macca: I'd like to take this opportunity to thank my parents and teachers. They spent seventeen years telling me I could be anything I wanted.
(Raises his bottle.)
Would've been bloody helpful if they'd narrowed it down.
(Cheers.)
Eury: Let’s go, Chooka!
Chook: To everyone who keeps asking what I'm doing next year - (Raises bottle.) I don't even know what I'm doing tomorrow.
Macca: Probably spewing.
Chook: Probably.
(Cheers.)
Eury: Your turn!
(She's pointing at Odi.)
Odi: I'm gonna pass.
Macca: Pass out more like it. Here! (A bottle is thrust into his hand.)
Schoolies: SPEECH! SPEECH! SPEECH!
(Odi gives in and climbs onto the bench.)
Odi: Right... well... I don't know who I am either.
Eury: Aren't you a bit old for that?
(Big laugh.)
Odi: I lost my memory.
Macca: What's your name?
Odi: Don't know.
Macca: (Begins a chant) Bullshit! Bullshit!
All: Bullshit! Bullshit! Bullshit!
Odi: Nah, deadset. I’ve got amnesia. I don't know where I live. Don't know what I do. Don't know who my mates are. I think I've got a wife.
Chook: You think?
Odi: I've got a ring.
Eury: Good start.
Odi: And I think I've got a boy.
Chook: You think?
Macca: What's his name?
Odi: No idea.
Macca: Oh, that's fucked.
Chook: You are a shit dad.
(A beat. Odi raises the bottle.)
Odi: So... here's to having no bloody idea.
Schoolies: NO BLOODY IDEA!
(They drink. Odi gets down.)
Eury: Hang on. You can't join our crisis.
Odi: Why not?
Macca: You've already done it.
Odi: Done what?
Chook: Worked out what you want to be.
Odi: None of you know what you want to be?
Macca: Don’t know who we are?
Chook: Or who we want to be.
Eury: I do. It just doesn't count.
Odi: What doesn't?
Eury: You wouldn’t understand. I want to surf.
(Something flickers in Odi.)
Odi: Then surf.
Eury: Brilliant. Thanks. Problem solved. Now I’ve just got to convince my mum, my dad and the rest of the world.
Odi: Maybe they’re just looking out for you.
Eury: That’s what dad says, (mimicking him.) “I’m doing all of this for you, Eury.”
Odi: Maybe he is...
Eury: Yeah, maybe the only way he can be there for me, is by not being there for me.
Odi: Maybe he's working.
Eury: He is.
Odi: Maybe the work matters.
Eury: It does.
(Odi looks at her. Eury absently fingers the shark tooth hanging around her neck.)
Odi: Shark tooth.
Eury: Yeah.
Odi: Where'd you get it?
Eury: Surfers Paradise. Six bucks.
(Odi stares at it.)
What?
Odi: Nothing.
Eury: So, you surf?
Odi: Don't know.
Eury: I think I could be good.
Odi: Are you?
Eury: Yeah. For a girl.
Odi: What's that supposed to mean?
Eury: You wouldn't understand.
Odi: Probably not.
(A police whistle. The Police Officer enters.)
Police: Alright! Move it along!
Macca: Protect the Passion Pop!
Chook: Every man for themselves!
(Macca and Chook flee the scene.)
Police: Come on! Move!
(Eury retreats slightly.)
Police: You too.
Odi: Me?
Police: Yeah, you. What are you doing hanging around Schoolies?
Odi: Giving career advice.
(Eury smiles.)
Police: Come on, toolie. Off you go.
Odi: What's a toolie?
Eury: You!
Police: Old blokes hanging around Schoolies. Now move on. Off you go! Or you’re in the watchhouse with the bloke we just picked up from Sirens.
Odi: Where do you want me to go?
Police: Anywhere that's not here.
Odi: Righto! (Odi starts away.)
Eury: Oi, Toolie! (Odi turns.) Hope someone tells you who you are.
(Odi smiles. She heads off in the opposite direction.)
Odi: Oi, Schoolie! Hope no-one tells you who you are.
(A beat. Eury smiles.)
Police: Touching. Now, move on!
(Macca and Chook sweep back across the stage taking Eury with them.)
Macca/ Chook: PASSION POP! PASSSION POP! PASSION POP!
(They disappear. Eury rejoins her companions. The officer follows them off. Odi is left alone. Telemachus reappears. Almost unconsciously, Odi reaches for the place at his throat where the shark tooth should be.)
Telemachus: I just wanted you to be here.
(Odi’s memory of Telemachus transforms into the actual Telemachus as he searches the club for Athena.)
SCENE 8 – A NIGHT OUT
(There are schoolies everywhere. Music. Neon. Bodies. Noise. Athena finds him. She is carrying two drinks. She hands one to Tele. The glass is the size of a jug.)
Athena: There you go.
Telemachus: What's this?
Athena: A terrible decision.
Telemachus: You promised one drink.
Athena: That is one drink.
Telemachus: What's in it?
Athena: No idea.
Telemachus: That's reassuring. (He drinks.) Jesus!
Athena: Good?
Telemachus: Tastes like fly spray.
Athena: Finish it.
Telemachus: Why?
Athena: Because you're eighteen and miserable and it's Schoolies.
Telemachus: I'm not miserable.
Athena: You came to Schoolies wearing thongs.
Telemachus: They're my best thongs.
Athena: Drink.
(He does. Music kicks. Schoolies sweep past them.)
SCHOOLIES: Schoolies! Schoolies! Schoolies!
(Athena joins in.)
Athena: Schoolies! Schoolies!
Telemachus: Please, don't.
Athena: SCHOOLIES!
Telemachus: You're embarrassing.
Athena: That's the idea.
` (Tele and Eury bump into each other. They share a moment.)
Eury: Sorry.
Telemachus: All good.
Athena: Tele. Over here.
(Athena grabs him and pulls him into the crowd. For a moment, he gives in. They dance badly. They laugh. Tele is, perhaps for the first time in weeks, just eighteen.)
Telemachus: What?
Athena: You’re smiling.
Telemachus: Am not.
Athena: I saw it.
Telemachus: Must've been someone else.
Athena: Looked just like you.
Telemachus: Poor bastard.
(They migrate to a spare table.)
Athena: You know, you don't have to feel guilty.
Telemachus: For what?
Athena: For having a good time.
Telemachus: I don't. Mum’s guilty enough for both of us.
Athena: Tele—
Telemachus: What? (A beat.) Don't.
Athena: I haven't said anything.
Telemachus: You've got your serious face on.
Athena: I don't have a serious face.
Telemachus: You've definitely got a serious face.
Athena: What does it look like?
Telemachus: That. (He points at her.)
Athena: Shut up. (A beat.) So, I overheard this thing tonight. (Tele's mood changes immediately.) Dad had someone over.
Telemachus: Who?
Athena: This bikie guy, Cyclops.
Telemachus: A bikie?
Athena: Yeah.
Telemachus: What the fuck's he doing at your place?
Athena: I don't know. Shady shit. That's the point. They were talking about someone. Someone who’d been gone for ten weeks. And Cyclops said he thought this someone was still alive.
(Silence. The noise of Cavill Avenue suddenly seems very far away.)
Telemachus: Who? Who were they talking about?
Athena: I think they might have been talking about your dad. (He reacts in disbelief. A beat.) Tele—
Telemachus: Is that what they said?
Athena: No, they made up some bullshit about a horse.
Telemachus: A horse?
Athena: Exactly.
Telemachus: So your dad and some bikie were talking about a horse and you've decided my dead father's alive?
Athena: I didn't say that.
Telemachus: You just did.
Athena: I said he might be.
Telemachus: Based on what?
Athena: Ten weeks. Still alive. Changes everything. I know what I heard.
Telemachus: You didn’t hear anything.
Athena: Telemachus, why are you angry at me?
Telemachus: Because I don’t want to know.
(That surprises her.)
Athena: You don't mean that.
Telemachus: Yes, I do.
Athena: Tele, if there's even a chance—
Telemachus: There's always a chance! That's the fucking problem. (A beat.) There's been a chance for ten weeks. Every time the phone rings, Mum thinks it's him. Every time somebody comes through the front door, she looks up. Every bloke walking up the beach— Every car pulling in— Every bloody knock at the door. (A beat.) Do you know what that's like?
Athena: No.
Telemachus: No. You don't. (He starts to leave.)
Telemachus: I was just getting used to it.
Athena: Used to what?
Telemachus: Him being dead.
(Silence.)
Athena: What if he's not?
(Tele turns.)
Telemachus: Then where the fuck’s he been? Why hasn't he called? Why hasn't he come home? Why hasn't somebody seen him?
Athena: Maybe somebody has. (That stops him.) That's what I'm trying to tell you.
Telemachus: And I'm telling you I can't do this again.
Athena: Do what?
Telemachus: Wait. (A beat.) Mum can. She'll wait forever. She'll keep his side of the bed empty and keep that bloody motel standing and tell herself one day he's gonna walk back through the door. I can't.
Athena: Maybe you don't have to wait forever.
Telemachus: You don't get it. I want it to be over.
Athena: You want your dad to be dead?
Telemachus: I want to know. There's a difference. (A beat.) I want Mum to sleep. I want the phone to ring without everyone freezing. I want to go out for one bloody night without somebody talking to me about my dad. (Pointedly.) That's what tonight was supposed to be.
Athena: I know.
Telemachus: No, you don't.
Athena: I thought you'd want to know. This morning you asked me for proof. (He looks at her.) Maybe this is the start.
Telemachus: That’s not proof.
Athena: No. But it's hope.
Telemachus: That’s the last thing I want.
(Tele exits into the Schoolies crowd. Athena watches him disappear. Around her, the celebration surges back to life. Everyone is cheering. Athena isn't.)
BLACKOUT.
SCENE 9 – TERESA AND CALYPSO
(Cavill Avenue. Very late. Odi sits alone on a bench. A shopping trolley rattles nearby pushed by Teresa, an old, homeless, surfer. She is weathered and sun damaged with long, grey hair. She parks the trolley, feeds a chip to a seagull. Then another.)
Teresa: You look like a bloke who got punched.
Odi: I did.
Teresa: Fair enough then.
(A seagull steals a chip. Teresa nods approvingly.)
Good technique.
Odi: For stealing chips?
Teresa: For survival.
(A beat. She looks at him, really looks.)
You’re lost?
Odi: Guilty as charged.
Teresa: Lost sight of who you are?
Odi: Who am I?
Teresa: Ah, that’s for you to work out. Isn’t it?
Odi: I suppose so.
Teresa: (She throws a chip. A seagull swoops on it.) See, this guy? He knows who he is. I know who he is.
Odi: What’s his name?
Teresa: Don’t be stupid, mate. He’s a seagull. He doesn’t have a name. Name’s just a sound. If you knew his name was Steve would that mean you knew who he was? No. You know him by what he wants.
Odi: A chip.
Teresa: Not too bright are ya? If I throw down a piece of bread you think he’ll change how he acts, what he does, who he is?
Odi: Probably not.
Teresa: So, what do you want?
Odi: I want to find out who I am.
Teresa: Your needle’s stuck. As I said, you find out what you want, I’ll tell you who you are. It’s simple. Don’t be weird.
(Teresa continues feeding birds.)
Odi: You live here?
Teresa: Yeah, in me motor home. (She gestures to the trolley.) You like it? Used to live everywhere. Now I live nowhere. Cheaper.
(Odi laughs despite himself.)
Teresa: Ah, there it is.
Odi: What?
Teresa: The laugh. Means you're not dead… yet. Teresa’s my name.
(Teresa offers her hand and notices the wedding ring.)
Oooh, someone loved you.
Odi: Apparently. (She turns his hand over like a fortune teller.)
Teresa: Apparently?
Odi: I don't remember.
Teresa: (More interested now.) You don't remember your own wife. (He shakes his head.) Jeez. That is rough. (She releases his hand.) What's the last thing you do remember?
(Odi lies on his back staring at the stars.)
Odi: A wave.
(The sound of a huge wave, crashing and then the light shifts to indicate a flashback to a hidden point break somewhere south of the Gold Coast. Odi lies unconscious on a beach. The memory begins as a group of surfers gather around him. They are drifters, drop-outs who have abandoned the lives of everybody to live in a commune of sorts. They gather around his body to investigate.)
Polites: Look, what washed up in the storm?
Surfer 2: Gnarly.
Surfer 3: He dead?
Calypso: (Calypso pushes through them.) No. He’s breathing.
Polites: Want me to get someone, Calypso.
Calypso: Not yet.
Polites: Bit of a looker, our stranger.
Calypso: I didn’t notice. (She did.)
Polites: Sure. Hottest flotsam and jetsam I’ve ever seen.
Calypso: Not now, Polites.
(Calypso kneels beside Odi. She lifts his hand and shakes it.)
Can you hear me?
(She spies the ring on his finger and removes it.)
Odi: Where am I?
Calypso: You’re safe.
Odi: Who am I?
Calypso: You're my guest. Now, let’s get you up to the farm.
(The surfers help him to his feet. The scene dissolves back to the mall as Odi crosses to a park bench near Teresa. The scene resets behind him. A campfire, music.)
Odi: It wasn't any normal farm. Bit of a secret. For a while I was pretty crook.
(Calypso puts a blanket around him. Polites hands him tea. They talk to the side.)
Polites: We need to take him to a hospital.
Calypso: We can't.
Polites: Why? Because of the crop?
Calypso: You know what happens if the cops find this place.
Polites: (Looking at Odi.) This isn't right, Calypso.
Calypso: Then we better get him right.
Odi: (To Teresa.) I got better physically, but I still couldn’t remember a thing.
(Polites throws him a piece of fruit. He catches it instinctively.)
Polites: Reflexes work. Shame about the rest of you. (Pointing at his head.)
Odi: Thanks.
Polites: Anytime.
(Calypso enters. He admires her.)
Calypso: You’re staring again.
Odi: At what?
Calypso: Me.
Odi: Sorry.
Calypso: Didn’t say stop.
(She crosses and sits beside him.)
Odi: You ever gonna tell me about yourself?
Calypso: Not much to tell.
Odi: I don’t believe that.
Calypso: Why?
Odi: Cause, you’re interesting.
Calypso: Interesting?
Odi: Attractive.
Calypso: You think I’m attractive?
Odi: Sure.
(They kiss.)
Odi: We got close.
Teresa: I gathered.
Odi: She looked after me.
Teresa: She also nicked your wedding ring and held you hostage.
Odi: I think she loved me.
Teresa: Did you love her?
(Odi doesn't answer immediately.)
Odi: I don’t know. I cared about her. But I kept having these dreams.
Calypso: What dream?
Odi: I'm surfing this huge wave and I'm inside the most perfect tube and at the other end there are these figures. I can't see them properly — there's light behind them, salt spray in my face — but I know they're there. Waiting. And I'm charging towards them...
Calypso: Then what?
Odi: The wave closes out.
Calypso: Who are they?
Odi: Don't know. I try to go back to sleep, to get back there, but every time I do they disappear.
Calypso: Maybe there's nothing to see.
Odi: Maybe. But I feel like they're waiting for me.
Polites: Calypso. You need to tell him.
Odi: Tell me what?
Polites: Tell him or I will.
(She takes the wedding ring from her pocket.)
Odi: What’s that?
Calypso: You were wearing it when we found you.
(Odi takes it.)
Odi: This is mine?
Calypso: Yeah.
OdI: I’m married?
Calypso: Probably.
Odi: Why did you take it?
Calypso: At first, I was gonna sell it.
Odi: But you didn’t.
Calypso: No.
Odi: Why not just give it back?
Calypso: You know why.
(Odi looks at the ring.)
Odi: I’m sorry, Calypso. I have to find out.
Calypso: I know.
Odi: I’m sorry.
Calypso: Don’t be. (A beat.) I knew you were leaving before you did. You’ve been looking at the road out of here for weeks.
(A beat.)
Odi: Thank you.
Calypso: For stealing your ring?
Odi: For looking after me.
Calypso: It’s what I do.
Odi: You could have left me on the beach. Saved yourself the trouble.
Surfer 2: Hey, Calypso. The irrigation system’s broken.
Surfer 3: Can you give us a hand?
Calypso: (To Surfers.) Be there in a sec. (To Odi) As I said. It’s what I do. (Odi nods and goes to leave.) Odi. (He turns.) If you don’t find what you’re looking for …
(They share the awkwardness. Calypso leaves. Odi’s memory of Calypso and the farm fade. He is left on Cavill Ave with Teresa.)
Teresa: And here you are. So, you do know what you want?
(Odi thinks about the question properly this time.)
Odi: I want to find who’s waiting when the wave closes out.
(Teresa nods.)
Teresa: Better.
Odi: Better than what?
Teresa: (Teasing.) “I want to know who I am.”
Odi: I want that too.
Teresa: Greedy bastard. Like Steve.
(Odi laughs.)
Odi: Only problem is I don’t know who they are.
Teresa: Yet.
Odi: Or where they are.
Teresa: Yet.
Odi: Or who I am.
Teresa: Jesus, mate. Glass half empty with you, isn't it? (Odi smiles.) You remembered the wave. Then her. Then the kid. (A beat.) Seems to me something's coming back.
(A voice from the darkness.)
Cyclops: Well, I’ll be damned. It’s you?
Odi: You know me?
Cyclops: Mate. What do you mean? Everybody knows you.
Teresa: (To Odi.) I don’t know him. I know what he wants though.
Odi: Lost my memory. Completely.
Cyclops: You’re not serious.
Teresa: He wants to find his people.
Cyclops: (He smiles.) Well, this is your lucky day. I am your people.
BLACKOUT.
SCENE 10 – SUITORS INSIDE THE WALLS
(The reception area of Ithaca Towers. The guests have gone to bed. Penny stands behind the reception desk. A stack of invoices. Unpaid accounts. Laundry. Tomorrow's breakfast lists. She is still working. Eurycleia enters, carrying towels.)
Eurycleia: You're still here? (Penny keeps working.) It's one in the morning.
Penny: That's what the clock keeps telling me.
(Eurycleia dumps the towels.)
Eurycleia: Go to bed.
Penny: Can't.
Eurycleia: Won't, more like it.
Penny: Same thing.
(Eurycleia notices the paperwork.)
Eurycleia: Bank?
Penny: Bank.
Eurycleia: Bad?
Penny: Depends.
Eurycleia: On?
Penny: How much I enjoy eating.
Eurycleia: I see.
(A guest, Lang, enters. Mid-forties. Polite. Well dressed. A little too interested in everything.)
Lang: Penny.
Penny: (Switching instantly into hospitality mode.) Evening. Everything alright?
Lang: Couldn't sleep.
Penny: Sorry to hear that.
Lang: Just grabbing some ice. (Looking around.) Beautiful place.
Penny: Thanks.
Lang: Been here long?
Penny: A few years.
Lang: Heard it was a family business?
Penny: Still is.
Lang: Yes, of course. Shame what's happening. With your husband gone and all. Must make things difficult. Running a place this size alone…
Eurycleia: She’s not alone.
Lang: …keeping up with the repayments.
Penny: Excuse me?
Lang: Just making conversation. I work in finance. Well, real estate, more specifically. You’ve got a great little spot down here.
Penny: Please, go to bed, Mr Lang.
Lang: If you change your mind…
Eurycleia: Good night, Mr Lang.
Lang: I’ll just leave my card over here.
Penny: Good night, Mr Lang.
Lang: Good night, ladies.
(Telemachus enters, still angry from his earlier exchange with Athena. Penny immediately notices.)
Penny: What's wrong?
Telemachus: Nothing.
Penny: Tele—
Telemachus: Nothing.
Eurycleia: Definitely something.
Telemachus: Thanks.
Eurycleia: You're welcome.
(She moves to the side discreetly to give them some space.)
Penny: Did Athena do something?
Telemachus: Can we not?
Penny: Tele.
Telemachus: She thinks Dad's alive. Okay?
Penny: What did she hear?
Telemachus: It doesn't matter.
Penny: It might.
Telemachus: No. It doesn't.
Penny: Where did they see him?
Telemachus: Nobody said they saw him.
Penny: Somebody must have.
Telemachus: Mum—
Penny: Otherwise, why would they be talking about him?
Telemachus: Here we go.
Penny: (A beat.) What does that mean?
Telemachus: Nothing.
Penny: No. What does that mean?
Telemachus: One stupid half-heard conversation and suddenly we’re doing this all over again.
Penny: Doing what?
Telemachus: Waiting.
Penny: I never stopped.
Telemachus: I know.
Penny: What are you trying to say?
Telemachus: You never stop. Every rumour. Every phone call. Every bloke who reckons he saw someone who looked like him. You latch onto all of it.
Penny: Because there is no body.
Telemachus: I know.
Penny: Do you?
Telemachus: Yes, Mum. I know there’s no body.
Penny: Then you don’t know he’s dead.
Telemachus: And you don’t know he’s alive!
(Silence.)
Eurycleia: Tele—
Telemachus: No. I’m sick of everyone pretending that hoping hard enough is going to change what happened.
Penny: I’m not pretending anything.
Telemachus: His clothes are still there. His board’s still there. His shit is everywhere.
Penny: It’s his home.
Telemachus: (explosive.) He’s not here!
Penny: (explosive.) I know that! (The force of it silences them both.) You think I don’t know?
Telemachus: Then why can’t you just—
Penny: Just what?
(Tele can't quite say it.)
Say it.
Telemachus: Let him go.
Penny: No. You can be angry with him. You can hate him if that’s what you need to do. You can even decide he’s dead. But you do not get to decide that for me.
Telemachus: I don’t hate him. I just want it to stop.
Penny: So do I.
Telemachus: Then stop waiting.
Penny: I can’t.
Telemachus: Why?
(Penny looks at him.)
Penny: Because I know your father. You know the bloke who missed things. I know the bloke who always came home.
Telemachus: Until he didn’t.
Penny: (Wounded.) Go to bed.
Telemachus: Mum—
Penny: Go to bed, Tele.
(Tele looks at her. He wants to repair it. Doesn't know how.)
Telemachus: Night, Eurycleia.
Eurycleia: Night, love. (He goes for the front door.) Where are you going?
Telemachus: I’m getting some air.
(Tele leaves. The door bell rings. Penny starts folding towels.)
Eurycleia: Leave them.
Penny: They need doing.
Eurycleia: I’ll do them.
Penny: I don’t know how much longer I can do this.
Eurycleia: You’re tired.
Penny: I’m so tired.
(For the first time, she lets herself say it.)
I just want him to come home.
Eurycleia: I know.
(She takes the towel from Penny's hands.)
Bed.
Penny: Eurycleia—
Eurycleia: I’ll leave the light on. Off you go.
(Penny looks at her. Then finally allows herself to go.)
SCENE 11 – CYCLOPS ON THE BEACH
(Later that night. A beachside bench. Odi stares at Cyclops.)
Odi: Odi?
Cyclops: Yeah.
Odi: That’s my name?
Cyclops: Odysseus. Everyone calls you Odi though.
(Odi takes this in.)
Odi: And you knew me?
Cyclops: Surfed with you a few times. Drank with you a few more.
Odi: So, we’re friends?
Cyclops: Yeah, mates. I suppose.
Odi: Tell me something.
Cyclops: About what?
Odi: About me.
Cyclops: You can be a real pain in the arse.
Odi: Something useful.
Cyclops: You surf.
Odi: I know, I surf.
Cyclops: No, mate. You surf. Three Stubbies classics. World Champ.
Odi: You serious?
Cyclops: Yeah, I’m serious. Are you? See? Pain in the arse.
Odi: Tell me a story just you and I know.
Cyclops: Something that proves I actually know you?
Odi: Something that might help me remember.
(Cyclops thinks.)
Cyclops: Kirra. Two years back. Huge swell. Everyone’s standing on the rocks arguing whether it’s worth going out. I said you’d have to be a lunatic. You’ve got no board, no wetsuit. So you ask to use mine. Strip down to your jocks and paddle out.
Odi: Sounds stupid.
Cyclops: It was. Twenty minutes later you come back with half my board and no jocks. Then you say, “What are you blokes waiting for? It doesn’t get any better than this.” (Odi laughs.) I wanted to punch you.
Odi: I don’t remember any of that.
Cyclops: Nothing?
Odi: Not much. A wave. A woman. A kid. You know them?
Cyclops: Couldn't tell you. We talked waves, not wives.
Odi: So, what do you know?
Cyclops: You’re Odi. World Champion. Your mug’s on every surf mag in the country.
Odi: And yet nobody’s recognised me.
Cyclops: Everyone thinks you’re dead. You’ve been missing ten weeks. (A beat.) So where the hell have you been?
Odi: Broken Head.
(Cyclops's attention sharpens.)
Cyclops: Broken Head?
Odi: I was on a farm down there.
Cyclops: A farm?
Odi: A dope farm.
Cyclops: Calypso’s Place.
Odi: You know it?
Cyclops: Know of it.
Odi: Of course you do.
Cyclops: What’s that supposed to mean?
Odi: Nothing. You just look like a bloke who knows a dope farm when he sees one.
Cyclops: Charming. (Odi smiles.) You've been there this whole time?
Odi: They found me on the beach. Half dead. They took me in.
Cyclops: And nobody knew who you were?
Odi: Dunno. Don’t think so.
Cyclops: Well, they’ll know first thing tomorrow. World Champ comes back from the dead.
Odi: Shit. They’ll want to know where I’ve been.
Cyclops: Reporters. Cops. The whole box and dice.
Odi: They’ll find the farm.
Cyclops: Not your problem, mate.
Odi: Yeah, it is. They saved my life. Took me in. Fed me. Half the country could turn up on their doorstep because of me.
Cyclops: They knew the risk.
Odi: They didn't know who I was.
(Odi stands.)
Odi: I have to warn them.
Cyclops: Odi—
Odi: You know where the place is?
Cyclops: Yeah, sure.
Odi: You got a car?
Cyclops: Yeah.
Odi: Then take me back.
(Cyclops looks at him.)
Cyclops: Now?
Odi: Now. I need to give them the heads up.
Cyclops: Alright. It’s the Troopie. (He throws him the keys.) Be with you in a sec. Need to make a couple of calls.
(Odi heads off. Cyclops watches him go and heads for a public phone.)
BLACKOUT
(In the dark, we hear Cyclops leaving a message on Poseidon’s answering machine.)
VOICE RECORDING BEEP.
Cyclops(VO): Poseidon. It’s me. That sighting was real. I’ve got him. Odi’s alive. He’s been down Broken Head. Calypso’s place. I’m taking him back down there now. I’ll take care of it. Call me tomorrow.
CLICK.
SCENE 12 – THE ABDUCTION
(Around 2am. Telemachus sits outside Ithaca Towers. Unable to sleep after his fight with Penny. He is holding Odi’s necklace in his hand. We hear a car pull up and a car door close from off. Poseidon enters. He sees Telemachus sitting alone. (A beat.) He hadn't expected to find him this easily.)
Poseidon: Telemachus.
(Tele looks up.)
Telemachus: What do you want?
Poseidon: Have you seen Athena?
(Tele immediately sits forward.)
Telemachus: Not since earlier.
Poseidon: Where?
Telemachus: Cavill Ave. Why?
Poseidon: She hasn’t come home.
(Tele looks at him.)
Telemachus: What?
Poseidon: I thought she might be here.
Telemachus: She’s not.
Poseidon: You were with her?
Telemachus: Yeah.
Poseidon: What time?
Telemachus: I don’t know. Eleven. Maybe.
Poseidon: Where’d you leave her?
Telemachus: Melba’s.
Poseidon: On her own?
Telemachus: There were people everywhere. It’s Schoolies. (A beat.) We had a fight.
Poseidon: Right.
Telemachus: She was pissed off with me.
Poseidon: What about?
Telemachus: Doesn’t matter.
(Poseidon doesn't push.)
Poseidon: Alright.
(He turns to leave.)
Telemachus: Where are you going?
Poseidon: Back to Cavill, I suppose.
(Poseidon starts away.)
Telemachus: Poseidon. (He stops.) Wait. (A beat.) I’ll come.
Poseidon: You don’t have to.
Telemachus: I want to.
(Tele gets up. He puts the necklace back on.)
Poseidon: Jump in.
(Telemachus heads off toward the car. Poseidon takes a long hard look at Ithaca Towers before following Telemachus to the car.)
BLACKOUT.
SCENE 13 – NIGHT DRIVING
(Two vehicles travel through the night. On one side, Odi and Cyclops in Cyclops’ Troopie, heading south on the Pacific Highway. On the other, Poseidon and Telemachus in Poseidon’s Benz, moving through the Gold Coast. Passing headlights. Road noise. Both journeys exist simultaneously.)
(Lights up on the Troopie.)
Odi: I know this road. It’s the Pacific Highway.
Cyclops: There you go. Memory’s coming back.
Odi: Read the sign.
Cyclops: Don’t wreck it. (A beat.) Pain in the arse.
(Lights shift to the Benz.)
Telemachus: This isn’t the way to Cavill.
Poseidon: I know.
Telemachus: Where are we going?
Poseidon: The Casino.
(Lights widen to hold both vehicles.)
Odi: How long?
Cyclops: The farm? About an hour.
Poseidon: Ten-minute detour. I know some people who can help.
Telemachus: It’s my fault. We need to find her.
Odi: We need to warn her.
(A beat.)
Poseidon/Cyclops: We will.
(Poseidon picks up the car phone. Cyclops picks up the CB.)
Poseidon: Brad. I’m heading over now.
Cyclops: Cyclops to Davie. Come in.
Dave (RADIO): Dave here. Over.
Cyclops: Did you get the crew together?
Dave (RADIO): Sure did. Over.
Cyclops/Poseidon: See you soon.
(They hang up together.)
Telemachus: Who was that?
Cyclops: Help.
Odi: We need help?
(A beat.)
Cyclops: Better safe than sorry.
(Lights out on the Troopie.)
Poseidon: Better safe than sorry.
(Lights out on the Benz.)
SCENE 14 – THE FARM
(Broken Head. Inside a shed at the farm. Early hours, just before dawn. Calypso is packing bags of dope into tubs by work lights. Polites enters carrying another tub.)
Polites: That's all of it from the back shed.
Calypso: Put it there.
Polites: You know, I started doing this line of work because I thought the hours would be less full on.
Calypso: You thought wrong.
Polites: I thought wrong.
` (She puts the tub down.)
How do you reckon, he’s going?
Calypso: Who?
Polites: Get real. (Calypso keeps working.) You know who.
(Calypso gives her a look.)
You reckon he found them?
Calypso: Who?
Polites: Whoever gave him the ring.
(That stops her momentarily.)
Calypso: I hope so.
Polites: You did the right thing. You know what they say ... If you love something let it go, if it comes back it was yours …
Odi (OFF): Calypso!
Polites: No bloody way.
(Odi enters.)
Calypso: What are you doing here?
Odi: You’re gonna need to get out of here.
Calypso: What?
Odi: All of you. You need to grab everything and get out.
Polites: What happened?
Odi: I found out who I am.
(Pause.)
Calypso: You remembered?
Odi: No. Someone recognised me.
Polites: Who are you?
Odi: Odysseus.
Polites: Odysseus?
Odi: Odi? (Nothing.) The surfer? (Nothing.) Three Stubbies Classics? World Champion?
(Polites stares.)
Polites: No way!
Odi: That's pretty much what I said.
Polites: You're that Odi?
Odi: Apparently.
Polites: Well, congratulations on being you man! That’s epic.
(Calypso is looking at him differently now.)
Calypso: I don't know who that is.
(Odi looks at her.)
Odi: Good. (A beat.) Look, it turns out I’m famous. Everyone thinks I’m dead. I've been missing since the cyclone. Ten weeks. There's been searches. Police. News. The whole lot.
Calypso: And?
Odi: And I'm alive. Which means when I go to the cops to find my family, they're going to ask where I've been.
(Calypso understands.)
Calypso: And you’ve been here.
Odi: Yeah. I can put them off the track for a while but …
Polites: Eventually, they'll work their way backwards.
Odi: To where I washed up. Who found me.
Calypso: How long?
Polites: Calypso. You can trust me, but when the rest of the crew find out who he is, its gonna get out. We got to get out now. Call the boss and let’s move the shit out now.
Odi: You've got to get everyone out.
Polites: We just tell them, we’ve got the heads up on a raid.
Calypso: Okay. Do it.
(POLITES runs out of the shed.)
Polites (OFF): WAKE UP! EVERYBODY UP!
(Polites sounds a bell.)
Calypso: You came all the way back to tell us?
Odi: You saved my life.
Calypso: So, you know who you are.
Odi: I know my name.
Calypso: Same thing.
Odi: No. It's really not.
(She understands.)
Calypso: The woman?
Odi: Still don't know.
Calypso: I'm sorry.
Odi: Don't be. I'm getting there.
(Polites rushes back through.)
Polites: Okay, they're moving. What about the crop?
Calypso: Leave it.
Polites: That's six months—
Calypso: Leave it.
Polites: Okay, but Les will be pissed.
Odi: Les Trygonian?
Polites: You know him.
Odi: Not until tonight.
(Cyclops has appeared.)
Polites: Who's that?
Odi: It's alright. He's with me.
(Calypso looks at Cyclops.)
Odi: This is the bloke who recognised me. Gave me a lift.
Cyclops: Evening.
Calypso: (To Odi) You know him?
Odi: He knows me.
Calypso: That's not what I asked.
Cyclops: Smart girl.
Calypso: (To Cyclops.) What’s your name?
(Cyclops smiles.)
Odi: What’s going on? He’s here to help. Gave me a lift.
Cyclops: Odi wanted to come back and warn everybody.
Calypso: You still haven’t given me your name.
(Cyclops smiles.)
Cyclops: Be nice.
Odi: Cyclops, what’s going on?
(Sounds of a bike arriving. Engine turning off.)
Polites: Who's that?
Cyclops: That'll be my lot.
(Odi turns.)
Odi: Your lot?
(Another vehicle outside the shed. Engine turning off. Closer.)
Cyclops: Yeah.
Odi: Why are they here?
Cyclops: Same reason you are. Loose ends.
Odi: What?
Cyclops: You disappear for ten weeks. Then you turn up alive. That's a problem for some people.
Calypso: Get off my property.
Cyclops: Can't do that.
Calypso: You've got about thirty seconds before every surfer on this farm—
Cyclops: That's the problem. Every surfer on this farm.
(A beat.)
Odi: Cyclops—
Cyclops: Don't worry, Odi. We're gonna fix it.
Calypso: Go to hell.
Cyclops: You first.
(Cyclops shoots her in the stomach. She falls to her knees. Another gunshot. Polites enters, holding a gun. Cyclops runs outside.)
Odi: No! Calypso?
(She collapses into his arms.)
Polites: Get her out of here. (Shouting and gunshots, from off.)
Everyone out. Get to the trucks.
(Calypso lies in Odi’s arms on the shed floor as the battle rages outside.)
Odi: Calypso. Hey. Hey. Look at me.
(Calypso struggles to focus.)
Calypso: You didn’t know.
Odi: I didn't know. I’m sorry.
Calypso: I know.
Odi: I came to warn you. I’m getting you out of here. I'm getting you out.
Calypso: You’ve got to find them.
Odi: I will.
Calypso: I didn't know who you were.
(She looks at him.)
Calypso: But I do now.
(She dies.)
Odi: Calypso?
(Nothing.)
Odi: Hey. Calypso. Stay with me.
(A tremendous BANG offstage. Polites bursts back in.)
Polites: Odi! We've gotta go!
Odi: Help me with her.
Polites: We can't.
Odi: HELP ME WITH HER!
Polites: She's gone, mate. (Odi looks down. Calypso is dead.) I'm sorry.
(Cyclops re-enters behind them.)
Polites: We stay here, we're dead.
Cyclops: She’s right Odi.
(He aims his pistol at Polites. Before Polites has the chance to react, Cyclops is shot and hits the ground. A surfer who fired the bullet steps out of the wings.)
Surfer 2: Get out, Polites. Go!
(Polites grabs Odi and drags him out of the melee. The farm continues to tear itself apart. Shouts, running feet and the sounds of fire as the crop is lit. Bikes and car engines start and depart. Cyclops moves. Barely. But he moves.)
BLACKOUT.
SCENE 15 – THE BACK ROOM
(A private back room beneath Jupiter's Casino. No windows. A table. A chair. A single light. Telemachus is tied to the chair. Poseidon paces. Tele watches him.)
Telemachus: Athena’s home? (Poseidon keeps pacing.) She is, isn't she? You told me she was missing. Liar, liar pants on fire.
Poseidon: Be quiet.
Telemachus: Why am I even here?
Poseidon: Your mother has something I need.
(Tele understands.)
Telemachus: Ithaca. Jesus Christ. You’ve kidnapped me over a motel?
Poseidon: Don't be dramatic.
Telemachus: I'm tied to a chair. I think we're a little past dramatic. (A beat.) Untie me. (A beat.) Right, so Mum sells Ithaca or you hurt me? That’s the plan?
(Poseidon doesn’t respond. The door opens. Triton enters.)
Triton: What the hell is this? Untie him.
Poseidon: No.
Triton: What the fuck are you doing?
Poseidon: Penny signs tonight.
Telemachus: Tell him how you got me here. Go on.
(Poseidon glares.)
Telemachus: He told me Athena was missing.
(Triton looks at Poseidon.)
Telemachus: Said she hadn't come home. So, we went looking for her.
(Poseidon moves towards Tele.)
Telemachus: What are you doing? (Poseidon grabs the necklace around Tele's neck.) Hey, get your fucking hands off me!
(Poseidon pulls it free. Telemachus loses it.)
Telemachus: Give it back! GIVE IT BACK!
(Poseidon examines it.)
Poseidon: Will your mum recognise this?
(Tele goes still. Silent. Gives him nothing. It’s answer enough. Poseidon turns to Triton and holds out the necklace.)
Triton: What do you want me to do with that?
Poseidon: Go home. Wake your sister. Take her to Ithaca Towers. Give Penny the necklace.
(Triton stares at him.)
Triton: No.
Telemachus: You notice he won’t go himself. There’s a reason he keeps sending you.
Poseidon: Shut up.
Telemachus: Doesn’t want to get rejected a second time. (A beat.) I bet he never told you.
Poseidon: I said shut your mouth.
Triton: What’s he talking about?
Telemachus: Before Mum chose Dad, your old man thought he was in with a shot.
Poseidon: That’s enough.
Telemachus: She chose Odi.
(Triton looks at Poseidon.)
Telemachus: Twenty years later he still can’t turn up at the front door.
Poseidon: SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH!
(He slaps Telemachus. Silence. Then Telemachus laughs.)
Telemachus: There he is.
Poseidon: Tell Penny you’ve seen him. She signs tonight, he goes home.
Triton: And if she doesn't?
(Poseidon looks at Tele. Then back to Triton.)
Poseidon: Make sure she does. For his sake.
Triton: You want me to threaten her?
Poseidon: I'm asking you to deliver a message and get a signature - that’s all.
Triton: It's a threat. (A beat.) Why Athena?
Poseidon: Because Penny trusts her.
Triton: So, you're using her too.
Poseidon: I'm trying to save us, Triton.
Triton: From what?
(A beat. Poseidon pulls Triton out of Tele's earshot.)
Poseidon: I backed Hector at the Classic.
Triton: How much?
(Poseidon doesn't answer.)
Triton: Dad. How much?
Poseidon: The lot.
(Triton stares at him.)
Poseidon: Jupiter covered the debt.
Triton: Why?
Poseidon: I promised her Ithaca.
Triton: And if you don't get it?
Poseidon: She calls it in. Everything we own.
(Triton looks at Telemachus tied to the chair. Then at his father.)
Now, I'm doing what I have to do. And you’re gonna do what you have to do. Take the necklace. (Triton doesn't. He crosses back into earshot of Telemachus.) Take it. (He takes the necklace. He exits, unable to look at Telemachus.)
Blackout.
SCENE 16 – THE COMBI
(The old Combi heads north through the night. Polites drives. Odi sits beside her, bloodied, stunned. For a while, neither speaks. The sound of the road. The engine. The occasional wash of headlights.)
Polites: You hurt?
Odi: No.
Polites: You're bleeding.
Odi: Not mine.
(Silence.)
Odi: We should've stayed. We left them. Calypso—
Polites: Was gone.
(Odi looks out the window.)
Odi: I brought him there. So stupid.
Polites: You came back to warn us. You didn't know.
Odi: Doesn't change it.
(Polites drives.)
Polites: No. It doesn't.
(Odi looks at her. It's not what he expected.)
Polites: But being dead won't change it either. So, what now?
Odi: Gold Coast.
Polites: Yeah.
Odi: Then what?
Polites: Thought that was your department.
Odi: I still don't know where I live.
Polites: We'll drive around till something looks familiar. Relax.
(Polites reaches for the radio. She turns the dial. Static. Fragments of stations. Then the opening of Belinda Carlisle's “Leave a Light On”.)
Odi: Wait.
Polites: What?
Odi: Turn it up.
(Polites does. Odi listens.)
Odi: I know this. It's Belinda Carlisle.
Polites: You don't remember your wife but you remember Belinda Carlisle?
Odi: Penny.
Polites: What?
Odi: My wife. Her name's Penny.
(He almost can't believe the word.)
Odi: Her name's Penny.
Polites: You're serious? Just like that?
Odi: Just like that.
Polites: Got any kids?
Odi: Tele.
Polites: What?
Odi: Telemachus.
Polites: Jesus, who calls a kid Telemachus?
Odi: I did. And Penny said only if we can call him Tele.
Polites: Well, come on! What else? What else?
Odi: He's a surfer. (A beat.) Penny runs the motel.
Polites: A motel?
Odi: Our motel.
(Something comes back.)
Odi: Ithaca. (Remembering.) Ithaca Towers.
Polites: That's it?
Odi: That's where they are.
Polites: You sure?
(Odi is.)
Odi: Yeah. (A beat.) That's home.
(Polites changes gear. The Combi surges north towards the Gold Coast.)
SCENE 17 – THE CONTRACT
(Ithaca Towers. Approximately 4:00am. Dark. Silent. Only the reception desk lamp burns. The radio plays “Leave the Light On” quietly. Eurycleia sits behind the desk, half asleep. A cup of tea beside her. A knock. She startles. Turns the radio off. Another Eurycleia opens the door. It dings as Athena and Triton enter anxious, exhausted.)
Eurycleia: Good Lord. What happened to you two?
Athena: We need Penny.
Eurycleia: It's four in the morning.
Triton: It's important.
(Eurycleia studies them, then hurries upstairs.)
Athena: I’m not helping you with this.
Triton: Athena. We have to.
Athena: No. Do you get what we’re doing here?
(Penny enters in her dressing gown, Eurycleia behind her.)
Penny: What's going on?
(She sees Athena and Triton.)
What's this about? (Silence.) Athena?
(Athena looks at Triton. Triton reaches into his pocket and holds Tele's surf necklace towards her. Penny sees it and crosses to Triton. She takes the necklace from him and examines it.)
Penny: Where did you get this? (Triton doesn't answer.) Triton.
Triton: My father took it off him.
(Penny looks up.)
Penny: Where is he?
Triton: A room in the casino. My father won't let him leave. Until you sign over Ithaca.
Penny: (Considering the necklace.) Why send me this?
Triton: To prove he has Tele.
Penny: If I sign?
Triton: Tele comes home.
Penny: And if I don't?
(Triton doesn't answer.)
Penny: You brought me this. You tell me what it means.
Triton: Penny—
Penny: Do you believe he'll hurt him?
(Triton looks at her.)
Triton: Yes.
(A beat.)
Penny: Give me the contract?
Athena: Penny—
Penny: Where is it?
(Triton takes the contract from his briefcase. Penny holds out her hand. He gives it to her.)
Athena: We're going back for Tele.
Penny: Good.
Athena: So you don't have to—
Penny: He's my son.
(Athena stops. Penny takes a pen from the desk and signs. No hesitation. She slides the contract to Triton.)
Penny: There.
(Triton looks at the signature.)
Penny: Now bring him home.
Athena: We will. I promise.
Penny: Just do it. (Athena nods.) Triton. (He stops.) Your father gets that after Tele walks out the door.
Triton: He told me to bring it straight back.
Penny: I don't give a shit what he told you. Do you?
(Triton looks at the contract.)
Triton: No.
Athena: Let’s go.
(Athena and Triton exit. The doorbell, dings. Penny remains, Tele's necklace clenched in her hand. Eurycleia moves beside her. Neither speaks. Penny reaches for Eurycleia's hand.)
Blackout.
SCENE 18 – THE EXCHANGE
(The back room beneath Jupiter’s Casino. Telemachus is still tied to the chair. Poseidon paces. The door opens. Athena and Triton enter. Telemachus looks up.)
Telemachus: Athena.
(Athena goes straight to him.)
Poseidon: Did she sign?
(Triton looks at him.)
Triton: Yeah.
(Poseidon exhales.)
Poseidon: Give it to me.
(Triton takes out the contract. Poseidon holds out his hand.)
Triton: Let him go.
Poseidon: Give me the contract.
Triton: You said she signs, Tele goes home.
Poseidon: And he will.
Triton: Good. Untie him now.
(Poseidon looks at him.)
Poseidon: Give me the contract.
Athena: Not until he’s free.
Triton: Penny said you get it when he walks out of here.
Poseidon: Penny doesn't set the terms.
(Triton holds eye contact with his father.)
Poseidon: You think this is a negotiation?
Triton: No. I’m telling you how this is gonna go.
Poseidon: That’s not how it works. You work for me, Triton.
Triton: Not anymore. (A beat.) Do you want the contract or not?
Poseidon: Let me see it.
Telemachus: She really signed it?
Athena: Yeah.
Telemachus: Why?
(Athena looks at him.)
Athena: Why do you think?
(Telemachus takes that in.)
Poseidon: Enough. Give it to me.
Triton: Just untie him, Athena.
(Athena begins untying Telemachus. Poseidon steps towards Triton.)
Triton: Don’t. You step any closer and I will rip it up.
Poseidon: You know what happens if I don't get that contract.
Triton: Yeah. I do.
Poseidon: Then give it to me. (A beat.) Athena. (She continues untying Telemachus.) What are you doing? Stay out of this.
Athena: You brought me into this. You brought us all into it.
Poseidon: You don't know what you're doing, Athena.
Athena: I think I do.
(She pulls the last rope free. Telemachus stands. Athena stands beside him.)
Poseidon: Sit back down.
(Telemachus doesn't.)
Poseidon: I said sit down.
Telemachus: No.
(Poseidon looks at him. Then Athena. Then Triton. Nobody moves. For the first time, nobody is doing what he tells them.)
Poseidon: Triton.
(Triton looks at him.)
Poseidon: Don't do this.
Triton: Tele. You need to go home.
Athena: Triton...
Triton: I’m good.
(Athena leads Telemachus towards the door. Triton crosses to Poseidon.)
Triton: You wanted Ithaca. Here it is.
(Triton holds out the contract. After a brief moment, Poseidon grabs it. He goes through it feverishly, searching for the signature. Triton walks towards the door.)
Poseidon: She signed it.
Triton: I told you she did.
(Triton turns for the door.)
Poseidon: Where are you going?
Triton: Home.
(He exits. Poseidon looks towards the door, then returns to the contract.)
SCENE 19 – THE HOMECOMING
(Ithaca Towers. Reception. Dawn. The first light of morning creeps through the windows. The ocean beyond is calm. Penny sits at reception in her dressing gown. Tele's necklace is wrapped around her hand. Eurycleia quietly tidies nearby. Neither woman has slept. The front door opens. The doorbell dings. Telemachus stands there. For a moment Penny doesn't move.)
Penny: Tele.
Telemachus: Hey, Mum.
(She crosses to him. Fast. She pulls him into her arms and holds him.)
Penny: Are you hurt?
Telemachus: I'm okay.
Penny: Did he hurt you?
Telemachus: I’m alright.
(Eurycleia is already inspecting him.)
Eurycleia: What's that? Is that a cut?
Telemachus: It's nothing.
Eurycleia: Don't tell me it's nothing. I'll decide if it's nothing. If I ever get my hands on that man— he’ll have more than a cut to worry about.
(She disappears to locate a first aid kit. Tele looks at his mother properly. They share a smile. She is exhausted.)
Telemachus: I'm so sorry, Mum.
Penny: It’s not your fault.
Telemachus: But you signed the contract because of me. This is our home.
Penny: I have no use for a home without a family.
Telemachus: But Ithaca—
Penny: Is a building. You’re my son. And this is yours.
(She puts the necklace over his head. They embrace. The doorbell dings. Odi stands there. Blood on his clothes. Exhausted. Barely holding himself together. He walks into reception. Takes it in. Then Penny. Then Tele. Everything he has been trying to remember is standing in front of him.)
Penny: Odi.
Odi: Penny.
(Penny stares at him. Tele doesn't move. Penny does. She crosses slowly at first, then faster. She reaches Odi and stops directly in front of him. She touches his face. He is real.)
Penny: Ten weeks.
Odi: I know.
(Then she pulls him into her. Odi holds her. Really holds her.)
Penny: Where have you been?
(Odi doesn't have a clever answer.)
Odi: I got lost.
(Penny looks at him.)
Penny: You sure did.
(Odi knows she isn't talking about ten weeks.)
Odi: I sure did.
(Penny touches his face again.)
Penny: I missed you so much.
(They embrace.)
Telemachus: I thought you were dead.
Odi: Just smells that way.
Telemachus: It’s not funny. Nothing’s changed. You think you can just come and go as you please. You go out and surf and then you swan back in like nothing has happened. And this time, you were gone for months.
Odi: This time was different. I promise.
Telemachus: Oh, you promise. Like we haven’t heard that before.
Odi: I forgot who I was.
Telemachus: Poor you. What about mum – looking like an idiot. Waiting. Waiting. What about me? Dad what about me? Don’t I mean anything to you.
Odi: Of course you do, Tele. Of course, you do.
Telemachus: Was it worth it?
Odi: What?
Telemachus: The wave.
(Odi looks at him. Then at Penny. Then around Ithaca. The question is much bigger than the wave now.)
Odi: No. (Tele wasn't expecting that.) No wave was worth losing this. I'm sorry, mate. (Tele looks away.) Hey, I'm not asking you to forgive me. (Tele looks back.) I'm just telling you I'm sorry.
Telemachus: I thought you were dead. I wrote a eulogy.
(Odi absorbs that.)
Odi: Any good?
Telemachus: Outstanding.
Odi: Shame.
Telemachus: Yeah. (A tiny smile.) You ruined it by coming back.
Odi: Sorry.
Telemachus: Stop apologising.
Odi: Right. (A beat.) Sorry.
(Tele laughs despite himself. Odi does too. Suddenly Tele is crying. He hates that he is. Odi doesn't move towards him. He lets Tele decide. Tele closes the distance. They embrace. Penny watches her husband hold their son. Eurycleia appears with the first aid kit. Stops. She quietly puts it down. Eventually Tele pulls away.)
Penny: Odi, I signed Ithaca over… to Poseidon.
Odi: What?
Penny: He had Tele.
(Odi looks at his son. Then back to Penny.)
Odi: And you got him back?
Penny: We might lose Ithaca.
(Odi looks around Ithaca Towers. Then at Penny. Then Tele.)
Odi: I'd have signed it too.
Penny: You would?
Odi: For him? In a heartbeat.
(Tele takes that in. Deeply.)
Penny: Well. That's good, because I can't take it back.
Odi: We'll work it out.
Penny: So much has happened.
Odi: Hey, I'm here now. And I’m not going anywhere.
Penny: Don't say that unless you mean it.
Odi: (Odi understands exactly what she's asking.) I mean it.
Telemachus: What if the swell comes back?
(Odi looks towards the ocean. Once, this question would have had only one answer. He looks at Penny. At Tele. Back towards the water.)
Odi: It will.
Telemachus: You gonna surf it?
(A beat.)
Odi: Nah. (He puts an arm around his son.) This comes first.
(Penny takes Odi's other hand. Eurycleia stands behind them. Outside, the tide comes in.)
BLACKOUT.
SCENE 20 – POSEIDON’S FALL
(Poseidon's penthouse. Morning. Everything looks the same. Nothing is. Poseidon stands at the window looking out across the Gold Coast. Penny's signed contract sits on the table. The sound of the elevator. Jupiter enters. Purposeful. Clear. Resolved.)
Poseidon: Jupiter.
Jupiter: You and I are done.
Poseidon: Let me give you an update.
Jupiter: You kidnapped a boy.
Poseidon: And it worked. (He picks up the contract.) She signed.
Jupiter: Under duress. It's worthless.
Poseidon: You wanted Ithaca.
Jupiter: I wanted a motel. You started a war.
Poseidon: Jupiter—
Jupiter: The deal's dead.
(A beat.)
Poseidon: What about the debt?
Jupiter: Still yours.
Poseidon: I'll get the money.
Jupiter: I'll give you until after the weekend.
Poseidon: Thank you.
Jupiter: To return the keys.
(Poseidon looks at him.)
The penthouse. Triton's apartment. And the cars.
Poseidon: You can't take everything.
Jupiter: I'm taking what's mine.
(Jupiter heads towards the elevator.)
Poseidon: I'll get the money.
(Jupiter turns.)
Jupiter: Great. Then you won't need me. Goodbye, Poseidon.
(The elevator closes. Poseidon stands very still. He looks at the contract. The elevator opens again. Athena and Triton enter.)
Poseidon: Are you both satisfied?
Athena: No.
Poseidon: Jupiter's out.
Triton: What were you expecting? You kidnapped someone. (A beat.) I’ve left all my stuff in the downstairs apartment. (He places the keys on the bench.) These are the keys to the car and the unit.
Poseidon: So, you just leave me to clean up the mess? After everything I've given you?
Triton: Get your bag, Athena.
(She steps through to her bedroom. Silence falls between the two men.)
Poseidon: What are you going to do?
Triton: No idea.
Poseidon: You don't know?
Triton: Not yet. I’m starting from scratch.
(For perhaps the first time, Triton is comfortable saying it. Athena comes back in with a bag slung over her shoulder.)
Athena: (To Poseidon.) You could always come with us?
(Poseidon looks at her.)
Poseidon: And go where?
Athena: We don't know yet.
Poseidon: Exactly. I’d be losing everything. No. If I stop now- (He looks at everything around him.)- What was any of it for?
Athena: (She shakes her head) Bye Dad.
(Triton and Athena go to leave.)
Poseidon: That’s it? That’s all I get. After everything I’ve done?
Triton: Bye, Dad.
(They leave. The elevator closes. Silence. Cyclops comes out of the other room. He is nursing a gunshot wound with some degree of discomfort.)
Cyclops: Kids never understand.
Poseidon: You said you'd handle him.
Cyclops: Yeah. Sometimes things don’t go to plan. (A beat.) You still want Ithaca?
Poseidon: Of course.
Cyclops: Then, take it.
Poseidon: How?
Cyclops: Same way you got the signature. (A beat.) Threat. Fear. Violence.
Odi: That's usually when things get worse.
(Both men turn. Odi stands at the entrance. Exhausted. Blood still on his clothes. This isn't the triumphant return of a hero. It's a man who has had a very long night.)
Poseidon: How did you get in here?
Odi: Your daughter gave me the lift code. (Odi looks around.) Nice place.
Poseidon: Get out.
Odi: This won’t take long. You came after my family.
(Cyclops steps forward.)
Cyclops: What are you gonna do about it?
Odi: Easy, mate. You’re in enough trouble as it is.
Cyclops: You threatening me?
Odi: No. But Les Trygonian is.
Cyclops: You're full of it.
(Odi hands him Les's card.)
Odi: Call him.
(Cyclops looks at the card.)
Odi: Seems he was pretty fond of Calypso. And Les always pays his debts.
(Cyclops looks at Odi. He understands.)
Poseidon: Cyclops?
Odi: Do we understand each other?
Cyclops: Yeah.
(Cyclops exits. Poseidon and Odi are left alone. The silence is deafening. Poseidon composes himself and then does the unthinkable.)
Poseidon: Odi … I know, there’s a lot of water under the bridge here but believe me …
Odi: You can’t be serious.
Poseidon: (Desperately) No, hear me out … Jupiter really wants Ithaca and she’ll pay whatever you want. Just let me take her an offer. Any offer. (Losing it.) Will you just give me an offer for God’s sake.
Odi: It’s not for sale.
Poseidon: Everything has a price.
Odi: No. It doesn’t. (A long pause.) Stay away from my family again.
(He goes to leave.)
Poseidon: Odi, please.
Odi: I’m going home.
(Odi gets in the lift. It closes. Poseidon is alone. Penny's signed contract sits on the table. Beside it, Triton's keys.)
BLACKOUT.
SCENE 21 – CHRISTMAS AT ITHACA
(The lawn overlooking the beach at Ithaca Towers. Christmas afternoon. Tables. Eskies. Festive decorations and the ocean beyond. The Christmas party is in full swing. Schoolies, surfers, Sirens and Laestrygonians mingle. Eurycleia moves between them carrying food. Circe and Tiffany have drinks in hand. Eury is here, a surfboard lying amongst the beach gear nearby. Teresa has somehow acquired a plate piled dangerously high with food. Polites stands near a barbecue attempting to look competent. Les Trygonian and his crew occupy an entire table. A small mountain of food sits before them. Telemachus watches in disbelief.)
Telemachus: That's their second ham.
Polites: Third.
Telemachus: Third?
Polites: Don't make eye contact.
(A beat.)
Polites: Hey, Tele. Is that one single?
Telemachus: Which one?
Polites: The one with the hat.
Telemachus: They all have hats.
Polites: Okay. The cute one.
Telemachus: Out of my depth, Polites.
(One of the Laestrygonians looks up. Polites tries to look away. The Laestrygonian waves. Polites waves back. She goes to speak to him. Nearby, Odi and Penny sit together in deckchairs.)
Penny: You know, they're eating us into bankruptcy.
Odi: Worth it.
Penny: Easy for you to say. You haven't seen the grocery bill.
Odi: (Smiling.) Ah, I missed this.
Penny: Christmas?
Odi: The complaining.
Les: Odi! Thanks for the invite, brother.
(Les puts a wad of cash into Odi's top pocket.)
Odi: What's this?
Les: The boys are hungry, but Les Trygonian always pays his debts. Remember that.
(Odi looks at him. After everything that's happened, the line has acquired considerably more weight.)
Les: Merry Christmas, Lovebirds.
(Les returns to his food. Odi counts the money. Penny tries not to smile. Fails.)
Odi: What?
Penny: Nothing.
(She takes the money as, Eury passes carrying her surfboard. Odi clocks her.)
Odi: Hey. Schoolie.
Eury: Hey, Toolie.
(Odi indicates the board.)
Odi: You surfing?
Eury: Yeah.
Odi: Any good?
Eury: Future World Champ.
Odi: That’s the spirit.
Eury: Hey, gotcha this. ( She hands him a shark tooth necklace.)
Odi: Thanks.
Eury: No biggie. Only six bucks.
(She keeps going. Odi smiles. Teresa appears beside him. She has stuffed her bags with food.)
Odi: Teresa?
Teresa: What?
Odi: What are you doing with all that?
Teresa: All what?
Odi: All that food?
Teresa: Got birds to feed. Don’t be weird.
(She takes another bite.)
Teresa: Good ham.
(She wanders away. Odi watches her go.)
Penny: Friend of yours?
Odi: Mentor actually.
(A commotion. Three reporters arrive with microphones and cameras. The world has finally caught up.)
Reporter 1: Odi! Odi! We’ve got a couple of questions.
Reporter 2: There’s a lot of stories out there Odi.
Reporter 3: What happened?
Reporter 1: Odi, just a couple of questions please.
Reporter 2: Everyone wants to know.
Reporter 3: Are you back in 1990?
(Penny immediately gets out of her chair.)
Penny: Good luck.
Odi: Coward.
Penny: Absolutely.
(She disappears into the party. The reporters descend on Odi.)
Odi: Merry Christmas, guys! Haven’t you got a home to go to.
Reporter 1: Odi, where have you been?
Odi: It’s a long story.
(Pens scribble. Flashes go off.)
Reporter 2: What happened?
Odi: Caught the wrong wave. Got lost. And had to find my way home.
Reporter 3: Now you’re back, what’s next.
Odi: Christmas lunch.
(The reporters stare at him.)
Reporter 3: After that?
Odi: Christmas dinner.
Reporter 1: No, seriously—
Circe: He was serious.
(The reporters turn. Circe and Tiffany have appeared.)
Tiffany: Come on guys, its Christmas.
Reporter 2: We just need a few more questions.
Circe: Two.
Reporter 2: Two what?
Circe: Questions.
Tiffany: Between you.
Reporter 3: Who are you?
Circe: The person telling you you've got two questions. And that was your first one.
(A beat.)
Reporter 3: What?
Tiffany: And that was your second.
(Circe begins shepherding them away.)
Circe: Merry Christmas.
(At the edge of the party, Athena appears. She holds a small, wrapped present. Not entering. Not leaving. Uncertain. Tele notices her and crosses.)
Athena: Hey.
Telemachus: Hey.
(They are beautifully awkward.)
Athena: I wasn't sure if—
Telemachus: Yeah.
Athena: Yeah.
(A beat.)
Athena: I brought you a thing.
(She holds up the present.)
Telemachus: A thing?
Athena: It's Christmas.
(Tele begins opening it.)
Athena: I panicked.
Telemachus: It's a tide book.
Athena: Yeah. I know it's weird. I wrote in the front.
(Tele opens it.)
Telemachus: “Whenever you need proof. Love, Athena.”
(He turns the page.)
Telemachus: “P.S. Told you I was right.”
Telemachus: I love it.
(They hug. Penny approaches. Athena immediately straightens.)
Penny: Athena.
Athena: Hi, Mrs—
Penny: Penny.
Athena: Penny.
(A beat.)
Athena: I just wanted to say thank you. For everything. And sorry. For everything.
(Penny studies her.)
Penny: You're welcome. And that's okay. Where are you staying?
Athena: Actually... I haven't really worked that out yet.
Penny: Good.
Athena: Good?
Penny: The spare room needs painting.
(Athena doesn't understand. Then she does.)
Athena: Oh. I couldn't. It would be—
Penny: Perfect. It would be perfect. And you're not getting out of it.
(Athena laughs, then unexpectedly tears up. Penny immediately hugs her. Eurycleia appears from nowhere.)
Penny: Eurycleia, can you make up the spare room for Athena?
Eurycleia: Great. Another mouth to feed. Exactly what we needed.
(Athena laughs through her tears.)
Eurycleia: You eat ham?
Athena: Yeah.
Eurycleia: Good. We've got bugger-all left.
(She heads off.)
(A huge backpack drops at their feet. Triton stands behind it.)
Triton: Heard this is where the party's at.
Athena: What is that?
Triton: Backpack.
Athena: I know it's a backpack.
Telemachus: It's a big backpack.
Triton: Yeah. I'm heading off.
Telemachus: Where?
Triton: North.
Telemachus: Just north?
Triton: Yeah.
Telemachus: You don't know?
Triton: No.
(A beat.)
Feels good.
Telemachus: What about real estate?
Triton: Finished.
Telemachus: The apartment?
Triton: Gone.
Telemachus: The Benz?
(Triton looks at him.)
Triton: Let’s not talk about the Benz.
(Telemachus laughs.)
Telemachus: I’ll get you a drink.
(He exits.)
Athena: You okay?
Triton: Yeah. You?
Athena: Yeah.
(They hug. From the barbecue—)
Polites: Oi!
(Everyone turns. Polites has climbed onto a table and raises a beer.)
Polites: A toast! To Odi!
(Cheers erupt.)
All: To Odi!
(Then, almost instinctively—)
All: ODI! ODI! ODI! ODI! ODI!
(For a moment, the old sound. The old Odi. He looks around at Penny. Tele. Athena. Polites. Circe and Tiffany. Eury. Teresa. Les and the Laestrygonians. This strange collection of people who have somehow ended up here.)
Odi: Whoa. Whoa.
(They quiet.)
Odi: Not to me. (A beat.) To Ithaca.
(The crowd raises their glasses.)
All: To Ithaca!
(Glasses raised. Laughter. Someone starts the music again. The Christmas party rolls back into life. People eat, dance, argue, drink. Circe pulls Tiffany into a dance. Eury grabs her board and heads towards the water. Teresa steals something from Les's plate; Les catches her, considers it, then pushes the plate towards her. Polites attempts to talk to the Laestrygonian in the hat. Eurycleia emerges with more food and immediately regrets it.)
(Penny finds Odi in the crowd. They dance. Tele is with Athena. Triton shoulders his backpack but doesn't leave quite yet. The ocean rolls in behind them. The afternoon sun softens and the festoon lights begin to glow. And gradually, almost unnoticed, Telemachus steps away from the party. He comes downstage to us, as he did at the beginning.)
EPILOGUE – AFTER THE WIPE OUT
(Behind Telemachus, Christmas at Ithaca continues. Music. Laughter. The ocean. Telemachus steps away from the party and comes downstage, as he did at the beginning. He watches the water.)
Telemachus: Dad taught me about waves. Where they're breaking. Where they're going. Where you need to be if you want to catch one.
He was better at it than anyone.
(A beat.)
Waves are quick. They build. They break. And they're gone. (Pause.) Even the great rides are over before you know it.
(He looks back towards Penny.)
Mum tried to teach me about tides. So did Athena. I never really got it. You can't see a tide. You can see a wave.
(A beat.)
Funny thing is, waves are unpredictable.
Tides aren't.
Turns out, you can put them in a book.
(A small smile.)
A wave teaches you to focus on what to do right now.
A tide teaches you to wait.
(He looks back towards Odi.)
Dad was good at waves.
Mum was always better at tides.
(A beat.)
Then Dad disappeared.
And I watched the waves.
Ten weeks of them.
No Dad.
I thought I knew what that meant.
(A beat.)
I didn't.
(He looks out across the water.)
The wave's only what's happening now.
The tide takes longer.
(A beat.)
But sooner or later...
It comes back.
(For perhaps the first time, Tele doesn't watch a wave. He takes in the whole ocean.)
Odi: Hey Tele! You coming back?
(Tele turns. His father is waiting.)
Telemachus: Yeah.
Coming.
(He returns to Ithaca. The ocean remains.)
BLACKOUT.