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STANLEY [to the waiter]: Well, whatta you looking at?

[The waiter picks up the chairs and moves off right. STANLEY takes the table and follows him. The light fades on this area. There is a long pause, the sound of the flute coming over. The light gradually rises on the kitchen, which is empty. HAPPY appears at the door of the house, followed by BIFF. HAPPY is carrying a large bunch of long-stemmed roses. He enters the kitchen, looks around for LINDA. Not seeing her, he turns to BIFF, who is just outside the house door, and makes a gesture with his hands, indicating “Not here, I guess.” He looks into the living-room and freezes. Inside, LINDA, unseen, is seated, WILLY’S coat on her lap. She rises ominously and quietly and moves toward HAPPY, who backs up into the kitchen, afraid.]

HAPPY: Hey, what’re you doing up? [LINDA says nothing but moves toward him implacably.] Where’s Pop? [He keeps backing to the right, and now LINDA is in full view in the doorway to the living-room.] Is he sleeping?

LINDA: Where were you?

HAPPY [trying to laugh it off ]: We met two girls, Mom, very fine types. Here, we brought you some flowers. [Offering them to her] Put them in your room, Ma.

[She knocks them to the floor at BIFF’S feet. He has now come inside and closed the door behind him. She stares at BIFF, silent.]

HAPPY: Now what’d you do that for? Mom, I want you to have some flowers—

LINDA [cutting HAPPY off, violently to BIFF]: Don’t you care whether he lives or dies?

HAPPY [going to the stairs]: Come upstairs, Biff.

BIFF [with a flare of disgust, to HAPPY]: Go away from me! [To LINDA] What do you mean, lives or dies? Nobody’s dying around here, pal.

LINDA: Get out of my sight! Get out of here!

BIFF: I wanna see the boss.

LINDA: You’re not going near him!

BIFF: Where is he? [He moves into the living-room and LINDA follows.]

LINDA [shouting after BIFF]: You invite him to dinner. He looks forward to it all day—[BIFF appears in his parents’ bedroom, looks around, and exits]—and then you desert him there. There’s no stranger you’d do that to!

HAPPY: Why? He had a swell time with us. Listen, when I—[LINDA comes back into the kitchen]—desert him I hope I don’t outlive the day!

LINDA: Get out of here!

HAPPY: Now look, Mom . . .

LINDA: Did you have to go to women tonight? You and your lousy rotten whores!

[BIFF reenters the kitchen.]

HAPPY: Mom, all we did was follow Biff around trying to cheer him up! [To BIFF] Boy, what a night you gave me!

LINDA: Get out of here, both of you, and don’t come back! I don’t want you tormenting him any more. Go on now, get your things together! [To BIFF] You can sleep in his apartment. [She starts to pick up the flowers and stops herself.] Pick up this stuff, I’m not your maid any more. Pick it up, you bum, you!

[HAPPY turns his back to her in refusal. BIFF slowly moves over and gets down on his knees, picking up the flowers.]

LINDA: You’re a pair of animals! Not one, not another living soul would have had the cruelty to walk out on that man in a restaurant!

BIFF [not looking at her]: Is that what he said?

LINDA: He didn’t have to say anything. He was so humiliated he nearly limped when he came in.

HAPPY: But, Mom, he had a great time with us—

BIFF [cutting him off violently]: Shut up!

[Without another word, HAPPY goes upstairs.]

LINDA: You! You didn’t even go in to see if he was all right!

BIFF [still on the floor in front of LINDA, the flowers in his hand; with self-loathing]: No. Didn’t. Didn’t do a damned thing. How do you like that, heh? Left him babbling in a toilet.

LINDA: You louse. You . . .

BIFF: Now you hit it on the nose! [He gets up, throws the flowers in the wastebasket.] The scum of the earth, and you’re looking at him!

LINDA: Get out of here!

BIFF: I gotta talk to the boss, Mom. Where is he?

LINDA: You’re not going near him. Get out of this house!

BIFF [with absolute assurance, determination]: No. We’re gonna have an abrupt conversation, him and me.

LINDA: You’re not talking to him!

[Hammering is heard from outside the house, off right.