(hunting among plates on the shelf beside sink)
Where's that plate I put here? There was a lot of perfectly good stuff I saved—
LAURA
(blows up at last)
Well, if you think I'm going to keep a lot of halfeaten salad your Mother picked over—
GORDON
(seizes garbage pail, lifts it up to the sink and begins to explore its contents. His fuse also is rapidly shortening.)
My Lord, it's no wonder we never have any money to spend if we chuck half of it away in waste. (Picking out various selections.) Waste! Look at that piece of cheese, and those potatoes. You could take those things, and some of this meat, and make a nice economical hash for lunch—
LAURA
It's a wonder you wouldn't get a job as a scavenger. I never heard of a husband like you, rummaging through the garbage pail.