This play is presented as a monologue and slideshow. As Billy speaks, he changes the slides that appear on a giant screen. He narrates his
new life in New York City for his ex-wife, whom he slowly learns to stop missing.
When he first arrives in New York fresh from Texas, Billy is terribly lonely. He lives in a very small studio apartment in a building whose neighbors don’t respond to Billy’s attempts to make friends. His loneliness grows as he sees more and more happy couples. He very desperately wants to be with his ex-wife again, but he is also determined to make a career out of photography.
The longer he is in New York, the more Billy picks up the local habits. He takes up smoking and eating meat, and learns to not stare at strangers. He has a girlfriend briefly, but she
leaves him to go back to her old boyfriend. He
works various odd jobs to
pay his rent. First he works in a bookstore, and then he paints scenery for plays.
He meets Carmen, whom he has to pay to photograph naked. He
finally feels like he has met the right person for him, and they soon get married. Billy moves into Carmen’s apartment, which is much more spacious than his. They get a cat who goes to the bathroom on the floor, and Billy has his first gallery show.
Billy’s popularity increases, and his shows get bigger and more prestigious. Carmen leaves him to go to Paris for two months, but she comes back and they are happy again. Billy interjects funny stories about how New Yorkers blame him for George Bush’s presidential win, just because he is from Texas.
A publisher offers Billy a book deal. His first
photography collection is published. Carmen becomes pregnant with their first child, and New York finally feels like home to Billy.
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