An Old Scene

Months ago, I wrote a short scene for a writing group that I am a part of. I was going through some of my old stuff, saw this and realized I really like it. Here it is.

I'll probably have some new stuff (just random thoughts really) later today.



BILL, a man
KATE, a woman

(The living room/dining area of a darkened, mid-range apartment. There is a table and chairs, an easy chair, and a couch. Various items and brick-a-brac fill out the room. The dining room table is stacked with newspapers and mail, suggesting that it hasn’t been eaten around in quite some time. There is doorway and partial hall that implies the rest of the apartment and the bedroom. There are two windows up stage, out of which lights are visible, but they are fuzzy and obscured, hinting at fog outside.

There is nothing to indicate that this apartment is any more or less special than any other with the exception of three or four closet doors placed around the room.

BILL sits in the dark on the easy chair, wearing a robe. He is still.

Outside the front door there is rustling and bumping. The sound of a key clumsily placed into a lock is heard, success, and the turning of a doorknob.

The front door opens and momentarily swathes the room in a triangle of light, revealing BILL’s face sitting in the chair. He watches the figure enter the room, but he does not budge. The figure, KATE, enters the room and closes the door behind her.

KATE begins to shuffle across the room in the dark. She is visibly drunk, but does not acknowledge this at any time. Her hand is balled into a fist as if she is clutching something. After a little bumbling around:)

BILL
Kate.

(KATE stops. A beat. She continues shuffling across the room.)

BILL
Kate.

KATE (Making a long whispering sound)
Oooooooh noooooooo.

BILL
What are you doing?

(KATE stops and stands swaying slightly.)

KATE
I’m going to the bathroom.

BILL
No…No, you’re not. You’re going to sit here and tell me what you’re doing. That’s what you’re doing.

KATE
Oh. No.

BILL
No?

KATE
I don’t…I don’t-

BILL
Where have you been, Kate?

KATE
Went out and then I was doing something….something.

(BILL makes an exasperated sound and stands.)

BILL
Fine. We’ll go to bed. We can talk about it in the morning.

KATE
I’m staying here.

BILL
No, no you need to come to bed. Now.

KATE
I want to stay here. I don’t know about- I don’t know about going into the bed. I want to…yeah….I want to stay here.

BILL
You need to lie down. Come to bed.

KATE (Suddenly emphatic)
No.

BILL
What do you mean “No”?

KATE
No.

BILL
Now listen-

KATE
No.

BILL
Come to bed.

KATE
No.

BILL
Come to goddamn bed.

KATE
No.

(A beat. BILL looks at KATE)

BILL
What do you have in your hand?

KATE
Nothing.

BILL
Show me.

KATE
I don’t have any-

BILL
I’m not going to argue about this Kate, open your-

KATE
I don’t have anything…It’s none of your beeswax what I have, so why don’t you leave me-

BILL
What. Is in. Your hand.

(A beat. KATE slowly lifts her hand and opens it. On her palm is a stone. The stone glows blue, enough to reveal KATE’s face. She stares down at it and smiles, warmed by it.)

BILL
A rock?

(The light from the stone disappears. KATE closes her hand.)

BILL
Give it to me.

KATE
What?

BILL
I said give it to me.

KATE
Why?

BILL
Just give it here.

KATE
Why do you have to have it?

BILL
Kate-

KATE
It’s mine…why do you have to take it from me? It’s not hurting you any.

BILL
Kate, for chrissake-

KATE
NO. This is mine and there’s no reason- you can’t give me any good reason why you should take it from me.

BILL
I don’t need a reason… you’re drunk.

KATE
What…I AM NOT.

BILL
Oh come on, Kate, just give me the goddamn rock, already.

KATE
It is mine and you can’t have it! I’m not going to give you this- this is mine and it’s not hurting you any that I have it. What’s it to you? You can have any rock you want in the whole world and why can’t I just have mine? Why’s it bothering you?

(A beat. BILL turns away from her and heads for the bedroom.)

BILL
Okay Kate. Okay. You can have your goddamn rock. I, for one, am going to bed. You can come, or not. At this point I could not give any less of a shit if I tried.

(He walks to the bedroom. From off stage a light is turned on, illuminating KATE’s face. There are sounds from off - preparations for bed. After a moment, the light is turned off.

KATE stands for a second. She looks down at her hand and then to one of the closet doors down stage of her. She shuffles towards it, perhaps bumping in to something every so often.

At the closet door she again looks down at her hand and opens it. The blue glow from the stone shines on her face and she smiles down at it. KATE looks at the closet door and opens it.

In the closet, in fact packed to the absolute limit, are hundreds of rocks. They look as if there are about to explode out of the closet. KATE holds for a second and then gingerly places her rock in a higher area of the closet. The blue stone glows brightly as KATE stands looking at it. After a moment, the vast number of stones begins to shake and rattle. Suddenly, the rocks come crashing out of the closet, falling on top of KATE, covering her entirely. When all the rocks have poured out of the closet, there is a long silence.)

END