Jessie Cates, female - Jessie is in her late thirties or early forties, pale and vaguely unsteady, physically. It is only in the last year that Jessie has gained control of her mind and body, and tonight, she is determined to hold onto that control. She wears pants and a along black sweater with deep pockets oe of which contains a notepad and there may be a pencil behind her ear or a pen clipped to one of the pockets of the sweater. As a rule, Jessie doesn't feel much like talking. Other people have rarely found here quirky sense of humor amusing. She has a peaceful energy on this night, a sense of purpose, but is clearly aware of the time passing moment by moment. Oddly enough, Jessie has never been as communicative or as enjoyable as she is on this evening, but we must know she has not always been this way. There is a familiarity between these two women that comes from having lived together for a long time. There is a shorthand to the talk and a sense of routine comfort to the way they relate to each other physically. Naturally, there are also routine aggravations.

Thelma Cates, female - Thelma is Jessie's mother, in her lae fifties or early sixties. She has begun to feel her age and so takes it easy when she can, or when it serves her purposes to let someone help her. But she speaks quickly and enjoys talking. She believes that things are what she says they are. Her Sturdiness is more a mental quality than a physical one, finally. She is chatty and nosy and this is her house.