King Hedley II

Ruby and Tonya are outside in the yard. Ruby wonders where King is, and Tonya explains that he’s gone to look for Pernell’s cousin. She tells Ruby that she is tired of not knowing whether King is going to be killed or sent back to prison, and she does not want to deal with the stress anymore. Ruby tells Tonya that she experienced the same stress and frustration in her own relationships, that she’s buried one man and does not want to bury a second. She muses that men do not truly understand what they put their women through. Ruby recalls her singing career. There, too, she experienced difficulty with men. Even her band leader tried to force her to have sex with him. She remembers that when she stopped singing, her hair turned gray.

Stool Pigeon enters the yard. He tells Ruby and Tonya that the coroner wants to do an autopsy on Aunt Ester to try to understand why she was able to live so long. As he’s speaking, Mister enters the yard. He is holding the Derringer, and Ruby remarks that she needs to get herself a gun for protection.