Людмила Ансельм - Короткие пьесы

ELLEN: She is older than him…

ANNA: You think so?

ELLEN: I know. He told me. She has terrible medical problems. She hurts and complains all the time. He is so funny when he mimics her, “Here I hurt… there I hurt.” She doesn’t have one organ that’s not in pain. She is so pathetic…

ANNA: OK! Why’s he talking to you about a divorce?

ELLEN (confidently trying to keep the conversation going): And not just this… There is no car accident on the whole road, none!

ANNA: What more did he tell you?

ELLEN: Lots…I don’t remember all… (Pause)… Hello, are you still there? Ah

… she doesn’t give him any slack. Every night she meets him at the door he has to report details of the whole day, where he was, what he did…he comes to me, discouraged…and has to lie down.

ANNA: What else does he say?

ELLEN: Oh, I remember… (Laughs). She has one leg shorter than the other… He showed me how she walks like, a lame duck. I die laughing…

ANNA (stifling tears): Why are you so…

ELLEN: I’m almost to your house, “Mrs. Mike”. I kept you talking so my new police GPS could show me the way.

ANNA: The door is locked!

ELLEN: Garage entrance…

(A young woman enters the room thru the same entrance MIKE did. She stands at the doorway looking at Anna. Anna shocked studies the sexy young woman.)

ELLEN: And… here I am! I knew it was you when you heard me say “decision”. So this is how you look! Completely different! I’m Ellen.

ANNA (confused): You look just as I thought…blond (or black hair), petite… Just the kind of woman he likes. I’m Anna…

(Ellen looks at the sleeping MIKE).

ELLEN: I see he is OK. Why did you lie to me?

ANNA: I was so shocked when his phone rang. I just said the first thing I thought of.

ELLEN: Accident! I was completely beside myself.

ANNA: Me too. You should have heard how he lied to me when he came home. He talked about a tornado causing a flood in Littleton.

ELLEN: He didn’t say anything about a divorce?

ANNA: Not a word. Just tornado and flood rubbish.

(Pause)

ELLEN: Funny…

(Pause)

ANNA: Ellen, I’m sorry for you!

ELLEN: Why?

ANNA: You are so young, so naive; you don’t understand men. You should understand the man who you might to spend your life with. You are condemning yourself to a very hard life… I’d like to warn you about your fate. You are not yet married and already you are loosing sleep because of him. Now he loves you but on some new moon he will change as he became changed to me. He will talk to another of his loves about your short leg.

ELLEN: No way, I don’t limp.

ANNA: Neither do I! He promised to talk to me about a divorce?

ELLEN: Promised…

ANNA (shrugs): He said nothing…you can’t count on him.

ELLEN: I will change him!

ANNA: I tried, but no use. And now I see that you also can’t.

ELLEN: Why are you so confident?

ANNA: He didn’t keep his promises to call you, or to talk about a divorce.

ELLEN: He was drunk.

ANNA: Yah, he was drunk, but even so he told me a very inventive story about why he was so late… It’s easier to change yourself if you are going to live with Mike.

ELLEN: Stupidity!

ANNA: Stupidity! Think a minute… first you have a husband who is smart, funny, good job. You get married, and soon this same guy is off with a new mystery woman.

ELLEN: Mystery woman?

ANNA: It happens in a group of friends or at a party. He finds another woman, young or older, pretty or ugly it doesn’t matter! (Pause) He just needs a new mystery to court, talk up, dance, somewhere in a dark corner, to kiss. And he pays no attention to his wife…

ELLEN: And his wife?

ANNA: She is in a circle of friends, must smile, chat, and look like everything is normal, except for the stark white in her cheeks. When it’s time to go home, then he talks to her; he will just stay a little longer. The wife goes home. She can’t sleep. The house makes noises, she has never heard before.

ELLEN: And the husband?

ANNA: He comes home at four AM. Brought home by somebody else…

ELLEN (shouting): Why are you telling me all this?

ANNA: I’m asking you if you want to go thru everything that I go thru, with Mike?

(During conversation Anna has become more confidants but Ellen becomes more nervous).

ELLEN: Of… Of course, not! But I don’t understand why you are still married to him.

ANNA: Because I believe that my husband will never divorce me.

ELLEN: Why? Why are you so sure?

ANNA: Simple! My husband has an addiction for women, and men like this are the most faithful in some ways.

ELLEN: He is faithful! After all you told me about him!

ANNA: Yes, this kind of man doesn’t easily leave his family… as long as they have a soft shoulder at home. It’s easier for them to leave a mistress. By the way, I’m very thankful to you…

ELLEN: Why?

ANNA: You gave me a good reminder of how I have to think of my relationship with MIKE. I see now that I’ll never be lonely… Not like you…

ELLEN: I’m not lonely… It’s you!

ANNA: No, Ellen, You can’t be MIKE’S wife…you won’t stand for his gallivanting.

ELLEN: Why are you tormenting me?

ANNA: It’s not me; it’s he who torments us.

ELLEN (shouting): Enough! I’m wild. I want to strangle with my own hands.

(Ellen goes to the couch where MIKE is sleeping).

ANNA (shouting and pushing Ellen away): No! I won’t let you strangle him!

(Ellen pushed away very quickly disappears from the stage. Mike wakes up).

MIKE (sleepily): Did you shout?

ANNA: She wanted to strangle you!

MIKE: She? Who?

ANNA: Your mistress… lover.

MIKE: What mistress?

ANNA: That one from Littleton.

MIKE: I don’t know anyone from Littleton.

ANNA: You promised her to divorce me.

(Pause).

MIKE (waking up, says vehemently): I haven’t promised anybody anything of the sort…

(Pause).

ANNA(Clearly relieved and pleased): You’re saying I made this all up?

MIKE: Yes, in my worst dreams I couldn’t imagine… such fantasies you have. (Mike looks at his watch). God, just an hour before I have to go to work.

(MIKE yawns and goes back to sleep).

ANNA: Sleep, Mike, sleep I’ll never disturb you…

THE END

ANNA: College girl, twenty three years old.

MIKE: College boy, same age.

Time: 1950’s

Anna’s sparsely furnished dorm room. College football banners and a Shakespeare, or similar classical poster, are on the wall. A basketball lies in a corner. Anna is rinsing clothes by hand in a small washtub on a stand. Anna answers a knock on the door to find MIKE there.

MIKE (with forced cheerfulness): Anne…I was going by… saw a light in your window…

(Pause)

ANNA (Surprised):…Uh… MIKE!… Come in.

MIKE: Uh… You are in the middle of laundry?…

ANNA (quiet voice): Washing some things. Have to do something. Can’t just sit…

MIKE (seeing the basket ball): My ball…still.

(He picks up the basket ball and starts bouncing it)

ANNA: Please, my head aches.

(MiKE puts the ball back on the floor)

MIKE: Did you listen to the game?… We lost. Back and forth all the way until they started getting baskets one after the other at the end… Why aren’t you using the washing machine?

ANNA: Too late. People complain… Why did you come?

MIKE: I have a lot to explain… (Pause) Do you know anything?

ANNA (sad): Julie called me this morning. She told me that you both had decided to get married… (Angry)…You never even mentioned her to me!

MIKE: Julie is pregnant and I’ve got to marry her… there is no way out. I just found out yesterday.

ANNA: How many months?

MIKE: She said two…

ANNA: Abortion?

MIKE: No… She is adamant… She won’t discuss it.

ANNA: This happened two months ago? Right after our party?

MIKE: Yes…

(Pause)

ANNA: The first time I ever invited Julie!

MIKE (agreeably): Yes, yes. It was your idea.

ANNA: You danced with her… all night!

MIKE: Out of politeness. She didn’t know any one… She obviously wanted to dance…such sad eyes.

ANNA: I wanted to dance too.

MIKE: You danced with Peter.

ANNA: I couldn’t dance with you.

MIKE: Julie stuck to me the whole time… I… I just couldn’t get away from her.

ANNA: You both left together!…

MIKE: You were busy talking to Peter…..We went to her apartment.

(Pause)

Julie made me feel like a man…and you…

ANNA (taking a deep breath): OK… OK… (Pause). I understand… and I don’t…. this is why you decided to marry her?

MIKE: Like I’ve said. I’m marrying Julie because of the child… our child

Julie is pregnant and I’m the father.

ANNA: Why didn’t one of you use protection?

MIKE: She assured me she was safe.

ANNA: You know she lied to you.

MIKE: So…

ANNA: And now you use condoms?

MIKE: Now… always. Always with me.

(Pause)

ANNA (angry): We’ve gone to every home game together!… You owed it to me to tell me that you were seeing Julie…. She never told me a thing.

MIKE: I guess…. I just didn’t have the words.

(Pause)

ANNA: Michael, looking back I don’t understand how all this happened.

MIKE: Me neither…

ANNA: Of course, in the back of my mind I was always afraid of getting pregnant.

MIKE: I began to feel that I didn’t turn you on. I was not attractive to you.

(Pause)

ANNA: I was afraid that I didn’t turn you on… but we got along so well anyhow!

(Pause)

MIKE: Well, now, there are the means to not worry about pregnancy.

ANNA: Condoms are not 100 % safe.

(Pause)

MIKE: Ah…Anna… were you ever thinking about us getting married?

ANNA: I dropped hints but I couldn’t let on…yes.

MIKE: I never suspected.

ANNA: You didn’t want to think about it! You always talked about different things, when you could have just said those magic words of love.

MIKE: Just “I love you”?

ANNA: Yes.

MIKE: I resolved to say them… but… Maybe saying them to my pillow every night made them harder to really say, harder to know when to say them.

(Pause)

ANNA (dreamily): MiKE, I think that this could have happened during that hot summer rain storm. Do you remember?…. The intimacy and excitement?

MIKE (Excited voice): Of course!… We were soaked thru and thru…nothing dry. You were sopping wet… you’re… bra…and… all.

ANNA: We laughed so…not knowing why…we felt good

MIKE: You wore a white dress with pink flowers…

ANNA: It was soaking wet. I took it off. We were still laughing while we twisted it from both ends. Like taffy… It started to tear somewhere.

MIKE: It was still very wet but we shook it out and you went and put it on with nothing under.

ANNA: You said that it was not proper to walk out of the park like that… it would be too provocative.