Lost In Yonkers

Grandma enters. She is elderly, imposing, and German, exuding authority and discipline. She issues a stiff greeting to Jay and Arty, criticizing Jay for his recent tears because boys, she says, “shouldn’t cry.” Under her questioning, Arty explains that his brother is more academic, while he is an athlete. They boys try to flatter their grandmother when she asks why they want to stay with her. When Arty says there is nowhere else for them to go, Grandma jumps into a speech expressing her displeasure at the prospect of their living with her. She is not a talkative person, she says, and she works hard every day. She knows the boys will not be happy in her home. Grandma blames the boys’ mother for her poor relationship with Eddie and for rarely bringing them to visit. She criticizes Eddie for crying during their discussion in the bedroom, saying that she has suffered a great deal but never allowed herself to cry. Finally, she announces that the boys may not stay with her. Grandma sends Bella to fetch ice cream for them. After that, Grandma says, Bella will need to massage her legs.