"Good evening, friends and others." "Tonight..." "Madam, some of our audience are having difficulty in seeing." "Would you mind?" "Thank you." "On the theory that what was good enough for Shakespeare is good enough for us, we plan to open tonight's play with a maid soliloquizing as she dusts." "Unfortunately, tonight happens to be the maid's night out." "I'm expecting an important call." "It must be Scotland Yard calling." "Yes?" "Thank you." "It was." "They say I am being watched." "That's very gratifying for a television performer." "Tonight's play is entitled "Fog Closing In. "" "Fog." "I don't suppose any of you are familiar with that word." "It's an American expression meaning..." "Well, it's really hard to explain to anyone who hasn't experienced it." "The word has no English equivalent." "Oh, well, it isn't too important." "We'd better go on with the play." "No." "Don't worry, it won't go off." "I know how to handle a gun." "I don't care." "Just put it back in the drawer." "You said you'd feel better while I was away if you had a gun." "I was wrong." "It wouldn't help." "What would, Mary?" "I don't know." "I..." "Not being left alone in this enormous old house, I suppose." "You're the one who wanted to take it." "We could have had that apartment in town." "Yes, I suppose we could have." "Only it was so small." "Nobody would have been able to stay overnight, let alone..." "Let alone move in permanently." "Isn't that what you were going to say?" "Not permanently necessarily, but..." "The answer is still no." "We had your parents with us for five years." "Do you dislike them so much?" "I don't dislike them at all." "I just don't want them living with us." "And what's more, I'm tired of arguing about it, so let's drop it right now." "You think I'm being terribly selfish, don't you?" "I don't know what you're being, Mary." "I've almost given up trying to figure you out." "All I know is, I moved out here from the East to get away from your parents, to get you away from them." "And you're not going to talk me into bringing them out here and starting the whole thing all over again, and that's final." "I'm going downstairs to wait for my cab." "You called for a cab, sir?" "Oh, yes, wait just a second, please." "Arthur." "Arthur, I'm..." "I'm sorry." "I..." "I'm so sorry." "Would you wait in the cab?" "I'll be right out." "Sure." "Arthur, I..." "I don't want to keep the cab waiting, Mary." "Of course not." "I just couldn't let you leave without telling you how sorry I am." "Okay." "Let's forget it, now." "I don't blame you for being angry with me." "I promised myself I wouldn't bring the subject up again, but then when I realized you'd be gone a whole week, I..." "Mary, I'm a salesman." "I have to spend a certain amount of time on the road." "Yes, I know you do." "That's what I meant before." "I wasn't really being selfish." "I was thinking about you, too." "Oh?" "I know how much it's costing you to keep that house for my parents and..." "Don't you see, if they could come here and live with us, then we'd only have one house to run, and you wouldn't have the expense of paying" "Mrs. Connolly to come and stay with me while you're away and..." "And you'd be happier." "Yes, I'd be happier." "Why?" "Well, I..." "I love them, and I miss them, and I'd feel safer if they were here with me." "Safe from what?" "What is it you're afraid of?" "I don't know." "Well, isn't it about time you found out?" "You can't go on being like this for the rest of your life." "I don't want to be." "But you're away so much." "My being away hasn't anything to do with it." "You're not any better when I'm here." "You're still afraid." "Afraid of everything." "I don't know how to make you feel safe, Mary." "I just don't know." "It wasn't like this before, when Mother and Daddy were with us." "You're 35 years old!" "You can't go on clinging to your parents for the rest of your life." "I'm sorry." "I'm sorry." "Honey, don't." "Look, I know I sound tough sometimes, but I don't mean to." "It's just that I'm trying to help you." "But I don't know how." "Tell me how, Mary." "Tell me what I can do." "You've done everything." "I don't know what more you can do." "I don't know why you even put up with me." "It's because I love you." "It's because I want us to have a life together, a good life." "Oh, so do I, Arthur." "I don't know why I'm this way." "Honestly, I don't." "Let's do something about it." "What can we do?" "Mary, whatever is wrong, whatever you're afraid of or running away from, it just isn't real." "It's something in your mind." "So, maybe a psychiatrist..." "You mean, you think" "I'm losing my mind?" "Of course not." "I didn't say that." "Going to a psychiatrist isn't anything today." "Lots of people go." "People who need help because they're troubled." "I can't do it, Arthur." "Please don't ask me to." "Please." "You want to find out, don't you?" "I'm not..." "I'm not sure that I do." "Maybe it's something terrible." "But, Mary..." "You better go." "He's getting impatient." "All right." "But will you do me a favor?" "Will you at least think about it while I'm gone?" "Yes, I'll think about it." "Take it easy, huh?" "Mrs. Connolly should be here pretty soon, so you won't have to be alone long." "Yes, I'll be all right." "That's better." "The office will know where to reach me, if you need me." "Oh, incidentally, will you do me one more favor?" "I know you'll want to call your father, but will you wait until after 6:00 when the rates go down?" "Yes." "Our telephone bill last month looked like the national debt." "Yes, I'll wait." "Goodbye, Arthur." "So long." "Long distance?" "Operator, could you tell me the difference in the rate to New York City before 6:00 and after 6:00?" "Oh, as much as all that." "No, I'd better wait till 6:00." "Thank you." "Hello?" "Oh, hello, Mr. Connolly." "How are you?" "Don't tell me your wife's not coming." "Oh." "Oh, thank heavens." "For a minute I was frightened." "No, she isn't here yet." "Is there anything wrong?" "You're sure?" "Yes, I'll have her call you as soon as she gets here." "Goodbye." "Hello, Operator?" "I'd like to place a call to New York, please." "Yes, the number is..." "Oh, you frightened me." "How'd you get in here?" "Here, kitty." "Don't be afraid." "I'm not gonna hurt you." "Who are you?" "Please let me stay here for a little while, and then I'll go away." "I promise you, I'll go away." "You're hiding from someone, aren't you?" "Yeah." "Police?" "No." "Now, please don't ask me any more questions." "'Cause I'm not going to hurt you, really I'm not." "If you're not hiding from the police, then you must be from the hospital." "The State Hospital?" "I'm not going back there." "I'm not gonna go back there." "Are they trying to make you?" "They're gonna be here any minute." "They warned everybody." "They said I'm dangerous." "They said I do terrible things to people, but that's not true." "Because if I did, I'd remember it." "You can't do things and not remember them, can you?" "I don't know." "Oh, I'm so tired." "All I wanna do is rest." "I've been running for hours and hiding and..." "You can't rest standing up in the hall." "You better come into the living room." "No, I can't." "They'll see me through the window." "Oh, no, they won't." "The blinds are closed." "Come on." "Look, you don't need to worry." "You can trust me." "You won't tell them I'm here when they come, will you?" "No, I won't tell them." "I know what it's like to be afraid of a place." "Come on." "Come on." "Be careful!" "There's no one out there." "Look, why don't you stretch out and rest?" "There's no time." "They're right behind me." "They're gonna be here any minute." "Even a few minutes would help." "And I'll get you something hot to drink." "Why are you being so kind to me?" "I suppose I understand what it's like to be afraid." "You know, you're luckier than I am." "You're afraid of being shut up." "And I don't even know what I'm afraid of, and it's worse." "Much worse." "There's nothing worse than being shut up." "Nothing!" "Oh, but you're wrong." "Don't you remember what it like was before, before you went into the hospital?" "You must have been afraid then, even if you didn't know what you were afraid of." "I was always afraid of everything, of everybody." "And..." "What's that?" "It's just the telephone." "I left it off the hook." "I..." "I was calling my mother when I heard you out there in the hall." "Oh, that wasn't me." "I didn't make any noise." "I've been out there for a long time." "And I was hardly breathing." "And then, that cat got in here." "And I got so scared 'cause she knocked that vase over, and I heard you coming." "I didn't know you were going to be like this." "I didn't know it, either." "You know, it's funny we can talk this way, isn't it?" "I don't even know your name." "It's Ted." "Ted Lambert." "Mine's Mary Hadley." "Oh." "Now, why did I say that?" "It's Summers." "It used to be Mary Hadley, before I got married." "Where's your husband?" "Oh, he's away on a trip, a business trip." "He travels a great deal." "Then you're all alone?" "Yes, I'm alone." "Ted, I wanna ask you something." "Wasn't there ever a time when you felt safe?" "I don't think so." "Oh." "Then you are worse off than I am." "At least I can remember a time when I was." "Oh, it was a long time ago." "I was just a little girl." "You see, then, even if I was frightened of something, it didn't last long." "Like I remember once I got lost, and a policeman found me and brought me home." "I was crying and my daddy put his arms around me." "Sometimes I can still feel his arms." "He said, "Don't cry, baby, you're safe now." ""You'll always be safe with Mother and me. "" "And I always was." "I always was." "Well, then why are you afraid?" "Because I'm alone." "And they're not here with me." "But your husband..." "Oh, he doesn't understand." "He's very kind and good, but he doesn't understand what it's like to be afraid." "Ted?" "I..." "I wanna tell you something else, something I've never told anyone." "You mustn't tell anyone, either." "I won't." "I promise." "I never wanted to get married." "I only did it because my mother and daddy lost all their money." "And Arthur was so kind and generous," "I knew he'd help me take care of them." "And I thought they could stay with me, and then everything would go on just the way it always had." "I wish I could take care of you." "I wish I could help you." "Oh, no, I don't think anyone can help me now." "I don't think anyone can stop it from happening." "I even know where it's going to happen." "Because I've dreamt about it, a lot of times." "And it's always the same dream." "Why, I have bad dreams, too." "Mine's always the same dream." "I'm always in my bedroom." "That's what I meant before about saying I understood about being afraid of a place," "because I'm afraid of my bedroom." "I sometimes think, if I don't go there, it won't have to happen." "Only that's not really true." "How can you remember what you dream?" "I can't ever remember." "I wake up, and I know I've been dreaming about something and" "I can't ever remember what it was." "I guess because mine's always the same." "I'm up there all alone, waiting for something," "and there's a sound downstairs, like a door closing, and there are footsteps on the stairs." "They come up very slowly, one at a time, till it reaches the door, and the knob turns, and the door begins to open and..." "I'd never know what it is, because that's when I always wake up." "I wake up screaming." "Well, they say that dreams don't come true." "Oh, yes, mine will." "Well, maybe not if..." "They're here!" "They're here!" "They're here!" "It's all right." "I won't let them in." "Don't be frightened." "They're going to make you let them in to search, so they can find out if you're safe." "You can hide in the back hall, where you were before, and I'll bring them in here first, and then you can get away." "Go on, hurry." "Hurry." "Thank you." "Yes?" "Sorry to bother you, ma'am." "We're from the State Hospital." "State Hospital?" "Yes." "One of the patients wandered away and we're looking for him." "Would you mind if we searched the house to be sure he isn't here?" "I don't see how that's possible." "Well, just to be on the safe side." "It's quite all right with me." "Come in." "Thanks." "You may as well start in the living room." "It's right in here." "No place he could hide in this room." "I'm sure he's not here." "I'll show you the rest of the house now, if you like." "If you wouldn't mind." "Oh, my cat knocked it over." "I just haven't cleaned it up yet." "Sorry to put you to so much trouble, ma'am, but it was for your own good." "I appreciate it." "Funny, I was sure when I found that broken lock on the back door that he was here." "It was nice of you to fix it." "Under the circumstances, it wouldn't be very safe to leave it broken." "But you're all right now." "Oh, yes, I'll be fine." "Thank you." "Good night." "Good night." "Long distance?" "I'd like to place a call to New York City, please." "Yes, the number is Murray Hill 30598." "Thank you." "Oh, but all the circuits can't be busy." "Oh, I see." "Well, will you call me back as soon as you can get through, please?" "Thank you." "Oh, here you are." "I was worried about you when I heard that man from the hospital was on the loose, so I came back." "Mary?" "Mary, don't look like that." "It's me, Arthur." "Hello, Mary?" "Mary, this is Daddy." "Mary, answer me." "Are you all right, dear?" "Yes, Daddy." "I'm all right now." "Now, I can come home." "This concludes our play for tonight." "Unhappily for Mary Summers, however, there is more to her story, for she subsequently found herself in one of those institutions she had come to fear." "Next time, we shall be back with another story." "Until then, good night."