The Long Kiss GoodnightA Stage Play by Jude Ault A short, probably 20 or 30 minute long play about a guy slowly coming to grips within his own mind over the death of his fiance. The Long Kiss Goodnight By Brian Ault
((Lights come up to a row of chairs and a coffee table. There are magazines scattered all across the table that span a variety of different topics: Sports, Politics, Lifestyle, Gardening, etc. Along with the magazines, there are also medical pamphlets on top of some of the magazines. Each of the chairs is arranged on stage to form a rough half circle directly CS. Two chairs stage left, two chairs stage right, and six in between.))
((Seated in one of the CS chairs below a painting of a sunset is Ryan, an average looking guy in his 20s. He nervously runs his left hand through his dark hair once as he looks down at the various magazines on the table. He pulls out a candy bar from his shorts pocket, opens it up, and takes a bite from it placing it on the armrest. A long pause follows as he chews, staring at the unseen clock with a weight on his heart.))
RYAN: [swallows; sigh] The doctor told me she's ready to see visitors anytime now. After the heart attack, I should be ecstatic to see the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. So...what the hell am I doing sitting on an uncomfortable chair and reading the covers of "Us Weekly" and "The Atlantic"? I mean, it's not like we were in a fight or ended things off on a negative note.
((Spotlight comes up SR on Lana, a beautiful young woman around the same age range as Lana. She's dressed in a beautiful black dress suit carrying a suitcase in her left hand.))
RYAN: She was on her way to work, same as every other morning. She just finished her usual "I'm gonna be late" breakfast consisting of a Pop Tart, mango guava juice, and a sesame seed bagel. We gave each other a quick kiss that had an interesting blend of cherries and wheat to it, talked about what we should have for dinner, and said--
LANA: Love you, Ry!
((Spotlight fades down.))
RYAN: [pause] That isn't enough to scare someone from being by their side. At least it shouldn't be. I know it's not her parents because I've met them before. They're extremely sweet people. Her Dad owns a Toyota dealership, one of the first in the city he told me once. Before the Hybrids made them sexy [chuckles]. Her Mom teached Choir at the local high school. They've been very helpful to me throughout the heart attack as well as the cancer scare a few months back. What can keep me glued here?
((He grabs the candy bar and takes another bite from it. He chews for a few moments, pondering the answer to that question to himself. Then, a few moments later with a swallow, the big answer to this question hits Ryan square between the eyes.))
RYAN: Maybe it's because...I'm scared that she'll die when I see her. [scoffs] Oh, come on that's nuts! Lara is one of the strongest women I've ever known in my life. She fought through Chemo and Cancer without batting an eyelash! She once did 10 miles on an exercise bike, and still had enough energy to sing "Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen?" from Brahms' Ein Deutsches Requiem. Am I stupid enough to believe a bum ticker would stop her now?
((Just as he finishes saying this, a doctor enters crossing from stage left to stage right in front of Ryan.))
RYAN: [sees the Doctor; stands up, a little optimistic] Maybe a chat with her Doctor will be able to assuage some of my fears here. [follows the Doctor every step of the way to the edge of the SR chairs] Hey Doc! How's my fiance? Is she ready to start seeing visitors?
((The Doctor exits stage right, ignoring everything Ryan's telling him as he looks at a set of notes gathered on a clipboard. He looks out at the Doctor as the sounds of footsteps echo for a few beats and then die down.))
RYAN: That was odd! How could he have noticed me? I was standing 2 feet away from him. Maybe he had another patient to get to right away and just didn't see me. [shrugs]
((He walks back to his chair and tries to pass the time reading one of the magazines. It's effective for a short period of time as he reads over the sound of ticking in the distance and finishes off the rest of the candy bar. The ticking grows louder and louder until Ryan can't take it anymore and slams the magazine down on the table in nervous frustration.))
((He crumples the wrapper in both of his hands and throws it to the ground. It falls limply on the floor a few inches from where Ryan’s sitting and just next to another chair leg. A few moments of ticking pass before we hear a familiar voice coming from the speakers.))
DOCTOR: There were complications with your daughter’s surgery.
RYAN: What?
MOM : What kind of complications, Doctor?
DOCTOR: We’ve noticed a spike in her regular normal sinus rhythm post-op…
RYAN: What?! DOCTOR:…The normal sinus rhythm for a person is somewhere between 60 and 100 beats per minute. She’s currently at 110 beats per minute.
DAD: Is it serious?
DOCTOR: We don’t know yet. It’s possible that this is a result of premature atrial contractions and thus not really dangerous to her at all. However, it could be the beginnings of ventricular tachycardia in which case things become a hell of a lot more scary on your end.
RYAN: Wait, I thought she was ready to see visitors… DOCTOR: In any case, we want to keep her under observation at the hospital. [indiscriminate noise drowns out the rest]
RYAN: How long? [bursts up from his chair] How much longer are you gonna keep her here??! [the conversation fades away, replaced once again by the ticking noise; tries to settle himself down] Calm down man! This isn’t the way to do, [starting to become more calm] rampaging around a waiting room like a damn caged elephant. It’s not going to bring her here anytime sooner…[calmer] you’ve gotta be strong…[calmer] you’ve gotta keep your head together…[almost back to normal] for her.
((After an extra beat, he lets out a final sigh of relief before returning to his chair. He lets out a small laugh as he stares out into the distance.))
RYAN: She has a great gift for finding the brighter side of a bad situation, my Lara. It was actually how the two of us met my freshman year of college. I was coming back to my dorm after an afternoon class when I tripped on a jagged piece of concrete and hurled my backpack onto the path of oncoming mower blades. I was able to save most of the backpack, but not before it tore the bottom of it open and spilled my textbooks and laptop out on the grass. It was a matter of fortunate luck she was leaving the building the same moment of my little episode.
((As he’s speaking, spotlight comes on Lara SR. She’s dressed in a pair of blue jeans with a red tanktop and a pair of tennis shoes. Her smooth dark hair shines along with her green eyes, displaying every bit of their beauty.))
LARA: Rough spill, dude! Need a hand?
RYAN: I froze in my place and stared silently into those emerald green eyes of hers. Part of me was embarrassed at that moment to be falling into such an idiotic romantic comedy cliché like that. The other part didn’t care and just thanked God for her beautiful perfect breasts. I stammered for a proper response for a good minute before I finally nodded my head, “Yeah.”
LARA: [goes on one knee, mimes collecting books] So, what’s your name?
RYAN: Ryan. What’s yours?
LARA: I’m Lara. Definitely nice to meet you, although the circumstances kind of sucked.
RYAN: I hesitated to make a Supergirl joke since she shared the same first name as the daughter of Superman and Wonder Woman. But I thought it’d be best to hold back my geekkiness from her. At least till I knew it wouldn’t be a deficiency that would hurt me in the long run. LARA: So what’s your major?
RYAN: I said Journalism.
LARA: My major’s Music. [laughs] Seems comically ironic we’d bump into each other since we’re in two “unprofitable” majors. [stands up] Maybe it’s destiny…maybe it’s Kismet!
RYAN: Yeah, [smiles] maybe it is. [spotlight on Lara fades] And as countless love stories have formed together over the centuries…it was love!
((Two Doctors appear from opposite points of the stage. One Doctor comes from SL and the other comes from SR. They begin to engage in a chat with each other for a short while that doesn’t register either to the audience or to Ryan. He listens intently to the conversation, trying to peg out what they’re saying.))
DOCTOR #1: We’ve tried doing nothing. But her normal sinus rhythm’s still above normal levels… DOCTOR #2: S**t! DOCTOR #1: and according to her last chest CT scan, there was a tenth of a centimeter growth on her heart. Which suggests we might be looking at the beginnings of Congestive Heart Failure.
DOCTOR #2: On a 23 year old…that still doesn’t sound right to me! [beat] Have her parents talked about getting her into surgery as soon as possible? DOCTOR #1: Not yet, though to be honest I’m not even sold that surgery’s the best bet for her right now. It’s only been a month! We still have a shot to regulate this thing using arterial medications like Lanoxin. RYAN: [at “a month”] A month? But it’s only been a few hours…
DOCTOR #1: That’s because we’ve been using small doses of those drugs. I think with a higher dosage we could have something that could be more substantial long-term.
DOCTOR #2: Alright alright, I got an idea. Talk to them, give them the option either of taking her into surgery or going the drug route again. [heads out SR]
DOCTOR #1: [follows Doctor #2 SR] What if they waffle about what they want to do eventually?
DOCTOR #2: Simple, go with your gut!
((They walk out of the light view SR followed shortly then by going offstage completely. All the while, Ryan is letting the new information sink in his head.))
RYAN: Why do I have this strange feeling that I'm stuck in a Samuel Beckett play? Weird indescribable ticking sounds. Long gaps in time explained in a few seconds. Hero stuck in one single place with no hope of breaking out. Waiting, hoping to find somebody that doesn't come. An indecipherable hell for the person in the play, yet to the audience it's a lesson about life precious fragility. If I hear a whip and a guy groaning in the distance, then I'll know...
((Suddenly, the sound of a whip and a man groaning in the distance can be heard over the speakers. It repeats a couple of more times, rising to a quick peak and then fading into the distance. Ryan follows every second of it, coming back after a few silent beats.))
RYAN: I'm going insane! Yep, I'm definitely in a Samuel Beckett play. And I'm definitely going batshit insane. Maybe all I need is just a cold drink to calm my nerves down. [beat] Yeah, maybe all I need is some Dr. Pepper and I'll get back to an even steven keel again.
((He stands up and takes a couple of steps SR, searching the pockets in his shorts for loose change for the vending machine. Ryan stops and continues to search every pocket he can think of as well as some of the individual chair cushions before giving up.))
RYAN: Huh. I could've sworn that I had some spare change in my pocket. I might have just forgot that I left it at home. [walks back to his chair, scratching his head; shrugs] Oh well, I can do without a drink right now. [sits down]
((All is silent for a few moments as Ryan sits timidly in his chair as the ticking sound continues in the distance. He then picks up one of the magazines and starts to read once again. A few moments later, the sound of music comes silently wafting in from the speakers. Ryan takes a few beats till he notices the music coming.))
WOMAN: There are people who have no trouble In expressing how they feel For me it's never been that bad It's just the way I've always been.
RYAN: [as she continues singing] Pat Benatar? Whoa, this is getting really weird!
WOMAN: I often try to tell my friends About the effect you have on me I don't know why, I can't explain When you are near, my heart is weak...
RYAN: [as she's singing] This was the song that was playing on the jukebox the night me and Lara shared our first kiss. Though we weren't boyfriend and girlfriend when it happened.
WOMAN: [as he's speaking] It spins around my head and then Recalls your fingers down my spine It goes away, it comes back again Makes me cry, it makes me shy.
RYAN: [as the song continues] But to explain how we got to the kiss, I should talk about everything that led up to the kiss. Starting with the laundry room chats we had every Saturday for 3, 4 months.
((Spotlight comes up on Lara, dressed in her usual laundry day clothes as the song slowly fades and is replaced by the sounds of a washer going. Baggy shirt, short short type jeans, and a pair of sandals. Her hair is put up in a bunch by a little scrunchie.))
RYAN: We wouold talk about what happened in our lives in the week before. Bad professors, tough research projects, fears about a bid test or Midterm or Final. I even shared with Lara my recipe for a Turkey Sandwich quesadilla, which is basically a couple of pieces of turkey and cheese on a quesadilla with ketchup on it. Safe to say, she was not a huge fan of it.
Then it'd diverge into who we were before we got to college. I talked about my childhood and my fear of big crowds and that my dream job was to write for Newsweek. She talked about how she's loved spaghetti since she was 7, grabbing big handfuls of her mom's spaghetti and meatballs and stuffing it in her mouth. She also talked about the first concert she ever went to.
LARA: 'NSync, when I was 13. It was during their "Celebrity" tour. I went to the show with my older sister Jenna who had a huge crush on Justin Timberlake, pretty much like every other little girl in the late '90s. I was more of a Backstreet Boys girl myself, but I thought I'd join her anyhow. When I heard those hunky boys singing onstage, I was hooked. The lyrics, the beautiful melodies, Justin's baby blue eyes and a*s of granite...[she giggles] right then and there, I knew I wanted to devote my life to Music.
RYAN: Then, the conversation would sometimes turn to matters of the heart. Which inevitably turned my tongue to cat litter whenever she would ask me.
LARA: So, you got a girlfriend?
RYAN: I mean, how do I not blurt out how I want to rip off her shirt and just get it on with her to the hum of a washer built in the '80s? Ya know, without a swift kick in the nuts and the immediate disintegration of any friendship with her. When I got close to saying what I felt every moment I was with her, "I love you," all that popped out of my mouth was...
[to the audience] "No, too busy with school."
LARA: Ahh I see. I'm single too. For about a couple of months now. I broke up with my boyfriend the day before my high school graduation. I caught him f*****g a fugly looking cheerleader during Dress Rehearsal. It was one of the most humiliating moments of my entire life. But there was some bright moments from the whole ugly incident. I was the only kid in my entire graduating class who gave the bird after recieving my diploma.
((Ryan laughs as she gives a mimed demonstration of what it looked like the moment this all happened, recieving the invisible diploma and flipping off the audience before returning to her seat. She laughs for a few short moments as Ryan's laughter dies down and the story continues.))
RYAN: After one of our laundry room chats, she left me with this one little piece of advice that stuck with me for months.
LARA: Don't get too busy Ry-man. You never know when a really great woman will come your way!
((With that, the spotlight goes down on her. The washer/dryer sound fades shortly afterward and replaced once again by the ominous ticking sound that rises above the action as the words still hit deep within himself before he speaks again.))
RYAN: Yeah...[smiles longingly] Yeah! [sighs, keeping himself from falling apart as he looks at the cover of one of the magazines on the coffee table] Keep going, keep fighting my dearest love. Please keep fighting...for us!
((The ticking sound is replaced a short while later by the sound of the wheels of a gurney going down the tile floor of a hospital hallway as well as Doctors indiscriminately barking out orders. His eyes track the procession of the unseen gurney from SL to SR. The sound fades down a few seconds after Ryan's eyes cross SR.))
((All you can hear is the door to the operating room closing just before Ryan continues talking.))
RYAN: I got this weird shiver all of a sudden. Don't know why though. It's not like I know she was on that freakin' gurney to begin with. I never had a great look at the person's face when it passed by me. Still though, I felt that cold shiver race up my spine when it passed me. Maybe it's only a coincidence. A freak breeze that came from the A/C just as it passed me.
((The steady rhythm of a heart monitor can be heard through the speakers this time. This continues for awhile to the point where Ryan tries to ignore the noise going around him. First, he grabs an entertainment magazine from the coffee table to take his mind off of it. It's only a temporary success. Next, he tries a magazine with content similar to The Economist which succeeds for a shorter time period than the last one. Each try he makes, the sound grows louder and louder.))
((With his third magazine, it appears that he's finally found the perfect magazine to take his mind off the constant sound of the heart monitor. But just like the other two tries, it's unsuccessful ending in Ryan's slow tearing of that magazine as he lets it drop with a thud to the ground.))
RYAN: [as it settles in the background] At this pace, I'll either try to read or tear to bits every single magazine in here!
RYAN: The night I finally got the guts to ask her out, we were technically dating other people. Lara was going out with some Frat whose name jettisoned my brain a long damn time ago. I was going out with this gal I met in my Philosophy class, Yvonne. She was beautiful, cool, funny. Though she also had some pretty cold spots to her as well.
Anyhow, I reserved us a table at this Italian restaurant close to campus one Friday night.
((Sounds of a busy restaurant rises as the EKG dims. Followed shortly by indiscriminate Adult contemporary music layered on top of it.))
RYAN: I even got dressed up for the date, which is a rare occurrence for me. I'm usually a comfy shirt, shorts, and Tennis shoes kinda guy. But there I was in a dress shirt and slacks with a Dr. Pepper, happily waiting for her...
((The restaurant speeds up briefly, then returns to a normal pace.))
RYAN: And waiting...
((Same action as before.))
RYAN: And waiting...
((Same action as before.))
RYAN: And waiting...
((Same as before.))
RYAN: I sat there on that table for a good 3 hours that night, watching 15 or 20 people come in and out of the restaurant. I blew a little over $20 on Dr. Pepper and garlic-tinged french fries alone. I was this close to heading back to my dorm and calling it a depressing when I saw Lara in an equally depressing mood at the bar.
((Spotlight comes up on Lara sitting at a small table near the barstools, though we never see those stools onstage. She's drinking a glass of iced tea alone, humming a few bars of a Janis Joplin song to herself.))
RYAN: I could tell by the empty bowl of garlic bread sitting a few inches from her that her evening had sucked just as royally as mine had. After an exchange of surprised but happy pleasantries followed by a flirtatious catcall from Lara, I asked her what happened.
LARA: My a*****e ex-boyfriend Sid broke up with me. He didn't have the decency to do it face to face. Instead, he did it via text message just as I was going to my World History class. [laughs] Ry, you have truly not lived till you've seen "I think we should see other people" in garbled Text speak!
RYAN: [laughs along with her]
LARA: [her laughter fades, followed shortly by Ryan's; pause] So what are you up to tonight? I'm guessing things with Yvonne went south.
RYAN: I filled her in on the details of the situation with her. The great beginning, the nice middle, and what I believed then was its embarassing end. She was sympathetic after I told my sad little Charlie Brown of a story, giving me a...
LARA: Tough break, buddy!
RYAN: ...as I stood in front of her with hornets buzzing in my stomach. I don't know what force exactly energized me to say those 3 simple words out of my lips to her then. But there it was--"I love you."
Now, this would be around the time I thought I'd be hit with a blowback from her which would take me out of my misery. I blurted out the feelings I'd spent nearly a year bottling up to someone I had no idea even thought of me in that way. Instead, she just smiled, stood up from her chair, walked toward me and planted the kind of kiss they base sappy, intellectually shallow Romance novels on.
((He closes his eyes and drinks in the moment for a few beats as the Pat Benatar song "The Effect You Have on Me" plays in the background. She sits back down in her chair as Ryan comes back from his romantic meditation.))
RYAN: As a rush of joy pierced every inch of my body after the kiss, she beat me to the punch with the one question I was going to ask her. LARA: 8 o'clock next Friday at the Mexican place next to the movie theater?
RYAN: I nodded "yes" with a large smile painted on my face. That old embarassment of being a romantic comedy cliche came up again as I left the restaurant. [song fades] But it wasn't as strong as it was before because...
LARA: [grins] See ya then, Ry!
RYAN: [as the lights go down on Lara] I was in love with her! I am truly, deeply, crazily in love with her! [sighs, the weight of the moment back on him after his foray into the optimistic portion of the world] Just keeping fighting, Lara. It isn't your time yet!
((The song continues playing for a few moments as he's lost in his own thoughts, staring down at the coffee table. A short while later, it fades and is replaced by what sounds like a door opening and closing followed by a steady beat of hard soled shoes on a tile floor. You can then hear mild chatter and a TV playing in what sounds like another waiting room.))
MOM: How is she, Doctor?
DOCTOR: She's resting comfortably right now. The new round of antibiotics seem to be doing exactly what we're hoping for. Her heart rate has settled back down to normal levels, and any growth we examined before has been kept in check.
RYAN: Oh, thank God!
DAD: That's fantastic news, Doc! So, she'll be able to get out of the hospital soon.
DOCTOR: Absolutely Mr. Keith. You can bring her back home today if you and your wife desire. However, I have to stress to you both the fact that she isn't entirely out of the woods. There is still the possibility her heart problems may relapse tomorrow, a week, a month from now.
DAD: We know, Doctor. We've been preparing for that possibility for a few weeks now with our end of life consultant.
RYAN: [ignoring the conversation going on; barely holding in his utter joy] She's coming home...Sweet blessed God, she's coming home!
DOCTOR: Excellent! Where is Mr. Reynolds, your daughter's fiance? I haven't seen him visit her in quite awhile.
MOM: Well, he's been busy with classes lately. And the new job he started over at the TV station doing field reports for the local news takes up a lot of his time. He calls me every night asking how she's doing though.
DOCTOR: I understand.
RYAN: Thanks for covering for me Mrs. Keith. [sound fades, replaced by the ticking clock] I'm finally gonna get out of this bloody place and hold my beloved Lara in my arms once again. Oh, what I'm going to do to her once we get home! [looks around the vicinity, then at himself] S**t, I should make myself a little more presentable for when she arrives.
((He stands up and goes about trying to make himself more presentable for his lady love. Style his hair a little, dusts off a few chocolate bar crumbs that may have stuck upon his body all this time, shines his shoes a little bit, makes sure his shorts and everything inside the pockets are where they should be. Once he's done, he stands there and stares out SR with a bright smile on his face.))
RYAN: [brightly optimistic] Anytime now...
((Tick...Tock...Tick...Tock...))
RYAN: [still brightly optimistic] Anytime...
((Tick...Tock...Tick...Tock...))
RYAN: [less optimistic] She should be coming out anytime now.
((Tick...Tock...Tick...Tock...))
RYAN: [even less optimistic] Isn't she?
((Ryan remains standing for a few extra beats, staring dejectedly out into the distance at the woman he wants to see but isn't there. He then slowly sinks back into his chair and puts his head into his hands in beaten frustration. All the while the invisible clock continues on in its steady, haunting rhythm: Tick...Tock...Tick...Tock.))
((He raises his head from his hands and lets out a sigh as his hands drop to the handles on the chair. He lets out a sigh as his eyes first glance downward to his feet and then upward briefly before resting toward normal distance.))
RYAN: "Where I am, I don't know, I'll never know, in the silence you don't know, you must go on, I can't go on, I'll go on." [pause; confused] Where the hell did that quote come from? Maybe it's the last gasp of the subconscious, spouting out a quote I read years ago in my THTR 102 class. Then again, it could be further proof I've gone off the deep end. Whatever the case may be, one fact still remains- sooner or later, she'll be back!
((The sounds of water crashing the beach along with a gentle wind can be heard as well as the chatter of a small grouping of people. The glow of Ryan’s eyes grows as he talks about the picturesque wedding day he’s set up in his mind.))
RYAN: We’re going to have our wedding in June, at Channel Islands National Park down in Southern California. She camped there with her parents one summer when she was 9. She said it was one of the greatest weeks of her entire life. I found this nice little plot of land on the east side of the park where we were gonna hold the reception. The view out in the Pacific just as the sun went down was enough to turn the hardest heart into grape jelly.
Only a small collection of family and friends, I think 50 or 60 people is what we talked about, would be in attendance. I could picture myself in my tuxedo, nervously fidgeting with my pants or my bowtie as I waited for my blushing bride to come. Then the music would come, and my eyes would lock on her.
((An acoustic guitar rendition of the Wedding March begins playing as he continues.))
RYAN: The glow of the sunlight coming down from the Pacific would glisten gently off her dress and her green eyes as she walked barefoot on the grainy sand of the beach. Everyone there would rise from their seats, taking pictures of the blushing bride. Some of the women would admire how beautiful she looks in her dress, some of the guys would think how lucky I am to have landed a woman like her.
((The song ends.))
RYAN: And then would come the big moment, the one I’ve been hoping for ever since I ate granite outside that dormitory building. The priest would ask everyone to take their seats and we would begin. He’d start on about the healing power of love and how much of a blessing it was that it had found these two young souls. He might also go into a passage from the Bible before we would recite our vows. At this point, my mind would go off on its own and think about our first date together.
((The sounds of the restaurant rise up as the chatter of the Priest fades down.))
RYAN: Our first date wasn’t the storybook one like the picture I had in my head of our wedding. Then again, it wasn’t the swirling torrent of chaos and awkwardness one would expect out of a first date. Though it had plenty of that to go around! All in all, it was the start of something really good.
((Spotlight comes up on Lara wearing a beautiful yellow dress with blue flowers imprinted all over. She stands in front of a table with 2 chairs.))
RYAN: She was an absolute vision as I walked in the restaurant, wearing a pair of pants that in any other situation would have been uncomfortable as hell. But was a bit of a strategic choice on my part to show off my nice looking rump, which had toned up considerably due to a mix of constant walking and horrible D.C. food. We sat down [Lara sits down on SL chair] and started into the things everyone blabs about while on a date.
LARA: What do you do for fun?
RYAN: I mentioned how I liked to watch old comedies from the ‘60s and ‘70s like Dr. Strangelove, Blazing Saddles, The Mouse that Roared, The Producers, Slap Shot, Caddyshack, and so on. I think went into a half-assed impression of L.S.D., not noticing the very large table placed 3 feet behind me where I promptly smacked my leg and lower back on.
LARA: [laughs hysterically; waiter walks in to the light from USR]
RYAN: Groaning inside in terrible pain, I managed to eke out a smile as I slowly slid back into my chair. The waiter came out ready to take our orders adding�" WAITER: What shall I get you young lovebirds this fine evening? LARA: I’ll have a cranberry iced tea, and…do you have any Empinadas here?
WAITER: Yes, we do indeed.
LARA: Then I’ll have those.
WAITER: Excellent choice, madam! Beef or cheese?
LARA: Cheese.
WAITER: Alright, and for you sir?
RYAN: I’ll have a Dr. Pepper. And then I proceeded to butcher the pronunciation of Mole Ranchero. She laughed and I shrunk a few inches in height as the waiter left. [waiter leaves SR] After pulling myself back together, I asked her what she did for fun.
LARA: [coyly] Well, I’m…a bit embarrassed to say it.
RYAN: This was a first for her. Up until that moment, I didn’t think the good Lord put a single embarrassed bone in her gorgeous body! Anyhow, after a few moments of light-hearted prodding on my part, she finally relented and gave me the answer.
LARA: I�"I collect Doctor Who memorabilia.
RYAN: That one threw me for a curve. Didn’t know that many people of the female persuasion who were fans of the Doctor. It was a bit of a pleasant surprise, I thought. I asked a little further into her collection, thinking it’d be a few minor things. [she starts talking indiscriminately] Some autographs here, a few rare figurines or bobbleheads there. [she talks slightly more audibly this time] Sweet Time Lords of Galifrey, was I wrong!
LARA: A piece of the control panel on the inside of the first TARDIS during the reign of the Fifth Doctor, Peter Davison. One of the robot models they used for the Daleks between where Christopher Eccleston left the show and David Tennant became the new Doctor. [grins] Scared the living crap out of my RA once! I also have the entire first season from 1963 with the very first Doctor William Hartnell burned on DVD. Don’t ask me how, but I did it!
RYAN: [speaking in line with her] As I watched her rattle off objects and costumes and other things from the Who-verse I never knew mere mortals could obtain, I felt my fandom of the Doctor shrink to near microscopic levels. Then came the prized jewels of her collection.
LARA: [as he’s speaking] I also have 2 crates of Doctor Who magazines from the ‘70s and ‘80s. One of the orbs the Oods use to speak, complete with the white cord that attaches to the clothing as well as an Ood mask. Every season on DVD with every Doctor from Hartnell to Tennant, legit or otherwise. And the jewel of my collection.
LARA: The front door of the original TARDIS.
RYAN: I never knew there was an original TARDIS. I always thought the Police Box design I’d seen used for the TARDIS was its original design. But she quickly filled me in on what the TARDIS first looked like.
LARA: The Police Box was just a reboot of the original design from 1963. Back then, “Doctor Who” was designed as a Children’s show. The Doctor would be transported to different eras in time like Ancient Rome and you would learn the culture of the society where he landed. The TARDIS would blend in to the surroundings each week using its “Chameleon Circuit.”
RYAN: I had to ask the first question that popped in my head. How can you afford to buy all of that?
LARA: First off, I worked as a Barista through High School and then as an Administrative Assistant for the Office of Admissions. Secondly, most of the memorabilia isn’t all that expensive. Except the Dalek robot which was expensive as hell!
RYAN: And that was the bulk of the conversation for a good half hour. Just talking about Doctor Who, past and present as we slurped down our dinners. We got into a discussion about who our favorite Doctors were. I went with a tie between the Tenth Doctor David Tennant and Fourth Doctor Tom Baker. She went with the Fifth Doctor John Davison.
LARA: What can I say? I think white Fedoras are sexy! [chuckles]
RYAN: [chuckles] I ended up losing track of time as we geeked up our little piece of the restaurant that night. It was almost Midnight when I tried to flag down the waiter to get the check. I realized too late that… ((Sounds of a man tripping, falling to the ground with a thud as well as glass and dishes shattering all about. Lara’s eyes follows the trajectory of the waiter’s fall all the way down.)) RYAN: I accidentally stuck my backpack out in the middle of the walkway. Don’t know how I did it, or exactly why I thought it was a smart move. All I knew was it was the right time to leave. So we chipped in collectively on the bill and left.
((She stands up and walks further SL from the table as the spotlight fades on the table and rises solely on her.))
RYAN: I couldn’t stop smiling with each footstep we made back to the dorm building, locked hand in hand. In my head, I planned when our goodnight kiss would be and felt each individual hair on my arm stand up as I imagined how good her lips would taste on mine. I was so busy planning it that… ((Spotlight on her goes out.)) RYAN: She beat me to the punch! Left me with a�"
LARA: [off] Good night, Ry!
RYAN: --before going back inside her dorm room. And that was our first date. A little sweet, a little bumbling. But at its core, truly satisfying! I know that’s not how great love stories that result in picturesque weddings begin, “satisfying.”
But isn’t that how all love should be? Satisfying to the soul? Satisfying to the heart? Satisfying to the basic physical needs we all have as human beings? I think that’s love at its finest, at its most perfect, when every inch of yourself body and soul is satisfied merely by being in their presence.
((Cue the sounds of the beachside wedding once again.))
RYAN: That’s the same sense of satisfaction I’ll have when the rest of the world disappears except her eyes…[smiles] her smile. The priest would finish his reading and ask her… PRIEST: Do you Lana Keith take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?
LARA: I do.
RYAN: I’d feel the smile pierce my lips as I heard her say those two words. Then the priest would look at me and say.
PRIEST: Do you Ryan Webber take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?
RYAN: And with everything that’s been slung before me, I would reply just as she did- I do!
PRIEST: By the power vested in me by the state of California, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride!
((Crowd cheers as the wedding march plays again. Beachside wedding fades shortly after, replaced once again by the ticking clock.))
RYAN: I was starting to think that this would just be a dream. A small shell of a fantasy that’s left broken on the floor like a crushed peanut. But it will become a reality because�"because she’s alive!
((Tick…Tock…Tick…Tock. All is pleasant for awhile as he sits patiently in his chair. Every once in awhile, Ryan looks over SR to double check in case Lara comes out from her hospital room.))
RYAN: [shivers] So why in the hell am I still shivering as if something bad’s about to happen? I still think it’s the damn A/C. Probably some schmuck who misses the icy paradise of central Canada or the Arctic Circle, and decided to fiddle with the A/C just before I got here.
((Tick…Tock…Tick…Tock...))
RYAN: Though with that creepy ominous clock ticking, I’m not as certain about that as I once was!
((The sound of the ticking clock is interrupted suddenly by a violent “THUD!” as if someone has fallen to the ground.))
RYAN: What the hell was that?
MOM: Lara?!
RYAN: [eyes widen in absolute fear] What??!
MOM: [screams] Lara!!
((Ryan stands up and stares up into the sky. His eyes follows the trajectory of the roaring Paramedic truck cris-crossing the width of the stage. His eyes stop at a singular point SL which he stares at for a few beats as he walks in front of the coffee table DSL.))
RYAN: This can’t be it…it can’t be! She was just coming out of it. I thought everything was good. That she was finally gaining the upper hand on this. [shakes his head in denial] No. No, no! She’ll beat this! If she was able to beat this s**t before, she’ll beat it again!
((Tick…Tock…Tick…Tock. This time, it’s mixed in with the steady rhythm of the EKG.))
RYAN: [yells out] Keep fighting, baby! ((Tick…Tock…Tick…Tock/EKG))
RYAN: [more deflated] Please keep fighting… ((Tick…Tock…Tick…Tock/EKG for an extended period of time. Ryan walks over to a spare chair near the SL side of the stage, his eyes firmly focused on the same spot of the stage as he’d done before. The sound remains for a few extra moments until the sound of a door and a few footsteps breaks through. Tick Tock/EKG fades when this happens.)) MOM: She was doing so well for nearly 5 months now. She bought her plane ticket to head out to Long Beach and get ready for the Wedding. Then...this happened again.
DOCTOR: Was she engaged in any sort of physical activity before she collapsed, Mr. Keith?
DAD: No. Not at all. She was just getting ready to eat dinner before it happened.
DOCTOR: Has she eaten fast food or any high cholesterol meals since she was last here?
MOM: None at all. She's been following the same diet, same regiment of exercise you gave her the day she left the hospital. It was just a freak accident as far as we know.
DOCTOR: S**t! [sighs] I was afraid of that. The antibiotics have worked longer than I thought they would. I thought maybe she didn't need surgery. But with this...I can't see any other solution.
DAD: How much is gonna cost?
DOCTOR: About $20,000 for the type of procedure she'd need.
DAD: Jesus!
DOCTOR: Is she covered by health insurance?
DAD: No, she's not. But we're covered by Medicare, which should take care of it. Shouldn't it?
DOCTOR: Does she fall within the salary guidelines to be eligible for Medicare?
MOM: I believe so, yes.
DOCTOR: Then I imagine you'd be able to use your coverage to cover it. But that still leaves $4,000 that you two would have to fit the bill for. Are you sure you two would be able to cover that amount for your daughter's surgery?
MOM: Yes.
DAD: I--I believe so, yes. It'll be tight, but I think we have enough left in savings along with selling a few of her things that...we can do it.
DOCTOR: Alright then. I'll schedule the surgery for Monday at Noon.
MOM: Thank you, Doctor.
DAD: Yes, thank you!
DOCTOR: Thank me if I'm able to keep your daughter alive.
((Ryan stands in place for a few moments as the Tick Tock/EKG fades away, leaving an uneasy silence in its wake. He then slowly walks a few steps toward the nearest available chair on stage. After a few more beats of silence, it’s broken with a sudden roaring scream from Ryan before he speaks again.))
RYAN: What did I do to deserve being yo-yoed around like this? [beat] Huh? Was I evil in a past life? Did I forget to say “God bless you” to some stranger walking down the street who had sneezed? Should I have cussed less in my daily life? What exactly did I do in my life that made it alright for you to f**k with my heart as if it were a god damn TINKER TOY?!!
((At this point, both of his hands are gripped hard on the handles of the chair. Ryan looks down and sees the veins popping out from his knuckles and begins to realize something.))
RYAN: I can’t let her see me like this! Driving myself into the same kind of heart problems she’s going through…all because I didn’t get the result I wanted. It’s an insult to the type of woman she prided herself in being. It’s an insult to the very strength she exhibits every day, the very qualities that made me want to take the proverbial jump into marriage with her.
((Sounds of a busy hallway are heard over the speakers as Ryan goes into his engagement story.))
RYAN: We were a few weeks away from graduating college when I started to think about how I was going to pop the question. I had scraped together a nice amount of money interning at the local CBS station in town. I was trying to come up with the perfect scenario in which I’d do it when it essentially fell nicely into my lap. One of my Broadcast Journalism professors got sick, strep throat or flu I think, and had to cancel class. The class he cancelled fell on the same hour as Lara’s opera class. So I came up with the perfect idea: I’d ask her to marry me in song.
I thought it was a brilliant idea at first. That is, before I realized how insanely difficult the process of writing a song really is. I ended up missing an English class putting the song together, which actually turned out not to be a bad idea because I found out later on that there were only 5 people that showed up for class that day.
Anyway, back to the story… ((Hallway sound is replaced by the chatter of a classroom.)) RYAN: I finished writing the song somewhere around 3 in the morning. With a little help from one of her classmates as well as her professor Mr. Bates, I was able to slip into class with the song in hand without anyone noticing me. In hindsight, I was surprised she didn’t see me because I got in just as she was going on stage to sing.
((Spotlight comes up on Lara in a pair of jeans and a blouse. She’s holding some sheet music in her left hand.))
RYAN: She was singing a selection from the French translation of “Romeo & Juliet.” It was a combination of two things that I was never a big master of: Shakespeare and French. But…wow, was she magnificent up there!
LARA: Je veux vivre Dans ce rêve qui m'enivre Ce jour encore, Douce flamme Je te garde dans mon âme Comme un trésor! Je veux vivre, etc. Cette ivresse de jeunesse Ne dure, hêlas! qu'un jour! Puis vient l'heure Où l'on pleure. Loin de l'hiver morose Laisse moi, laisse moi sommeiller Et respirer la rose, Avant de l'effeuiller. Ah! - Ah! - Ah! Douce flamme! Reste dans mon âme Comme un doux trésor Longtemps encore. Comme un trésor Longtemps encore.
((Sound of applause as Lara gives a quick bow and walks offstage.))
RYAN: The class applauded her magnificent work, as did I. I was proud that I had resisted the urge to whistle loudly as I clapped which probably would’ve busted me. [applause dies down] According to the plan, this would be the moment where Professor Bates would call my name up to perform. But I couldn’t reveal that it was me lest she start to get suspicious of what’s going on. So I came up with the perfect cover name to keep the myth alive.
PROFESSOR BATES: [off] Up next is William Tennant.
RYAN: A composite of the First Doctor’s first name, and the last Doctor’s last name…sneaky, hmm? Anyway, I walked up to the stage past the eyes of the other classmates who had no clue who I was or what I was going to do right now. As I finally arrived on stage, I could see the utter confusion in Lara’s eyes. She mouthed “What the hell are you doing?” moments before I started into the song.
Lara My sweet Lara How lucky I was To have found ya.
Lara Dearest Lara There’s no destination I can imagine Except one.
Ever since that night When our lips locked tight And my heart went “kaboom!” Only one question I knew I’d be asking soon.
Will you marry me Stay forever with me Will you marry me Stay by my side In matrimony?
RYAN: When I said that line, “Will you marry me,” I could feel the energy in the room go up by a factor of 10. Some of the women were going “Awww!” Some even welled up and were ready to cry, Lara included. The shade of red in her eyes grew darker and darker as I walked closer and closer to her. Finally, [just as he says it, walking back into the spotlight] she stood up and walked towards me as I repeated that crucial line one last time before I went down on one knee.
“Will you marry me?” Before I could finish with the word “marry,” she jumped in just as she always had in the past.
LARA: Yes�"a thousand times yes I’ll marry you, you gloriously crazy man!
((Applause is heard again a beat before the spotlight goes down. The stage is eerily silent once again as Ryan looks at the magazines on the coffee table.))
((Then the EKG sound comes back a few moments later to break the silence followed by the chatter of a few of the Doctors in surgery. The chatter continues on for awhile. To cut the growing tension within him, Ryan tries to come up with ways of breaking it. Or at least to make it somewhat bearable.))
RYAN: What was the song Lara used to sing whenever she was stressed out by something? [pause] I can’t remember if it was something from Don Henley or Sublime. For some reason, those two always sounded the same to me. Maybe my ears are just on the fritz�"wait, it was Sublime! Now I remember! “Rivers of Babylon” was the song! Okay, the easy part’s over. Now to see if I still remember the words to it.
((He sits pondering for a few moments, trying to figure out the different words in the song. After awhile, he finally figures out the words and starts singing acapella.))
RYAN: By the rivers of Babylon Where he sat down And there he wept when he remembered Zion.
((Just as he’s about to continue, he feels a rock forming in the base of his throat and stops for a moment. After being assured that it’s been forced out of his system, he soldiers on through the song.))
RYAN: Oh from wicked, carry us away from captivity Required from us a song How can we sing King Alpha's song in a strange land? So let the words of our mouth…
((In the middle of the line, the rock reappears deep within his throat. It takes a little longer for Ryan to recover from this one. But he eventually does and continues with the song once again.))
RYAN: So let the words of our mouth [slowly with each word] And the meditations of our hearts Be acceptable in thy sight O-verride.
((The pressure to cry is building inside him as he tries to go through the song.))
RYAN: By the Rivers of Babylon Where he sat down And there he wept when he remembered Zion.
((Finally, he can hold it in no longer and weeps silently in his chair. As this is going on, the chatter/EKG sound that was going on in the background throughout Ryan’s song is suddenly interrupted by a flatline.))
((You see the two Doctors that appeared earlier rush in from SL to assist. He barely even notices them running by as he wipes the tears from his eyes and regains his composure just as the flatline fades away.))
RYAN: How can we sing King Alpha's song in a strange land? How can we sing King Alpha's song in a strange land?
((Fade to black.))
((It stays black and silent for a few beats before we hear the voices of Lara’s Doctor appearing through the loud speaker.))
DOCTOR: I’m sorry, Mr. Keith. Something happened during surgery. The intestinal tract was nicked as we were putting in the new heart valve, and she went into cardiac arrest a short while later. I apologize for your loss�"
DAD: It wasn’t your fault, Doctor. You did everything you could to save our daughter.
MOM: Part of us has prepared for this possibility for some time now. We were just praying like Hell that it wouldn’t happen till either of us were nearing Death’s door.
DOCTOR: Has her fiancé been notified of her passing yet?
((Light goes up on Ryan, still sitting in the same place he had when the lights went down.))
DAD: No, he hasn’t. Given what he’s been through over the past few months or so, I don’t envy bringing that news to him…
((He shuffles through the remaining magazines briefly, looking at cover after cover without reading any of them. He then sinks back into his chair, putting his hands into his pockets. It doesn’t long until he realizes there’s something hidden within one of them.))
RYAN: What the�"? [he reaches into his left pocket and pulls out a folded up piece of paper] I didn’t know I had this in my pocket! [unfolds it, reads a few lines] Oh God, the vows! I forgot this damn thing was in my pocket. It seems a little nuts to read it now. But…gotta keep the faith, right? Far as I know, she’s still alive and fighting.
[reading from the piece of paper] “For some people, it’s hard to picture yourself with the same person every day for the rest of your life. For me though, it never was because every time I saw your smiling face�"that’s exactly what I saw. The two of us would be looking out at the Manhattan skyline from the balcony of our rooftop apartment, the memories of a shared lifetime together twinkling in the stars above. The love we had today still as fresh and invigorating as our first date together.
This is the journey we start today. We may have some rough patches here and there. There may be moments where life is extremely difficult and hard to handle for either of us. I promise you no matter how bad the world may be, I’ll always be by your side. Giving you a friendly smile on a rough day. A gentle kiss when the world has come up roses for you, and a shoulder to cry on when you feel like crying. I also promise, by the noble Lords of Galifrey, to love you as strong and passionate as I did when we shared our first kiss outside my dorm room so many moons ago.”
((As he finishes the vows, enter Lara from SR dressed in a hospital gown. Ryan looks up and smiles wide when he sees her face. He stuffs the vows back into his pocket.))
RYAN: Lara??! Oh my God! [runs over to her and gives her a great big hug; relieved sigh] You made it through! I knew you would! Let's get the hell out of here, and prepare for the wedding. I got this great spot I think you would love...
((After an extra beat, she breaks away from the hug and just shakes her head “No.”))
LARA: I’m sorry…
RYAN: [realizes the reality of the situation; sinks his head into the ground, crushed emotionally] It's alright.
((Lara grazes her hand on Ryan’s chin and lifts his head up. She smiles for a few beats and gives him one last passionate kiss. A standing three count, lights go down.)) © 2010 Jude Ault |
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Added on May 13, 2010 Last Updated on May 13, 2010 |
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