Regrets by Christine Waxstein

REGRETS a One Act play by

CHRISTINE WAXSTEIN

2214 S Greenwood Drive Apt #9 Johnson City, TN 37604 865.724.9956 waxsteinc@gmail.com

CHARACTERS RICK:

late-30’s male, athletic build. Father to Bridget and Kaylee.

MICHELLE: mid-30’s female, slender. Mother to Bridget and Kaylee. BRIDGET:

8 year old female, overweight.

KAYLEE:

4 year old female, small and thin.

DENNIS:

elderly male, Rick’s co-worker.

SETTING The dining room in Rick and Michelle’s house.

TIME The present.

SCENE SYNOPSIS Scene 1

Evening.

Scene 2

Late evening, same night.

Scene 3

Evening, the following night.

Scene 4

Late evening, same night.

Scene 5

Evening, two days later (Saturday). Scene 6

Late evening, same night.

REGRETS SCENE 1 (Dinner table, evening. MICHELLE is in the kitchen making dinner while KAYLEE is sitting at the dining table, loudly playing with her stuffed animals. BRIDGET is across from her doing homework silently...) KAYLEE Mommy, come play with me. I need someone to be Dr. Green mouth. MICHELLE (O.S.) Honey, Mommy’s busy right now making dinner. How about we play after bath time tonight? KAYLEE But I don’t wanna take a bath tonight and you said we could watch Dora! MICHELLE (O.S.) Oh, I did, didn’t I? Well, why don’t you ask Bridget to play with you while I finish up in here? BRIDGET But mom, I haven’t finished my book report yet. I don’t have time to play kiddy games with Kaylee. (MICHELLE enters...) MICHELLE Please honey, your father will be home any minute and I have to baste the roast one more time before he gets here. Besides, you’ve been working on that report all week, when is it due? BRIDGET Next Tuesday.

MICHELLE Then why don’t you take a break to help mommy out and I will promise you ice cream for desert. KAYLEE Please Ridget, will you play with me? BRIDGET Fine. MICHELLE That’s my good girl. (MICHELLE returns to the kitchen and BRIDGET plays with KAYLEE. The sound of a door off stage opens and shuts, RICK enters...) KAYLEE Daddy’s home! (KAYLEE runs to RICK as he enters the room and jumps up into his arms. RICK gladly lifts her up and playfully tickles her, KAYLEE laughs loudly...) KAYLEE (CONT’D) (laughing) Daddy, don’t! Stop it! RICK Don’t stop it? Okay! KAYLEE (laughing) That’s not what I meant! (MICHELLE enters carrying a roast...) MICHELLE Hi, babe. How was your day?

(RICK puts KAYLEE down and she goes back to her seat at the table. RICK walks over to MICHELLE and gives her a kiss...) RICK It was long, but at least it’s over. MICHELLE Well, take off your coat and we’ll sit down for dinner. Bridge, can you help me bring everything out from the kitchen? BRIDGET But mom… RICK Listen to your mother, Bridget. BRIDGET Fine. (BRIDGET gathers her schoolwork and takes it offstage with her. She goes back and forth onstage and off bringing out items of food. RICK sits down at the table with KAYLEE. MICHELLE takes his coat offstage...) RICK So, what did you do today pumpkin? KAYLEE I drew a picture of Tommy Maffews’ new scooter. It was really cool and it was red and shinny and had a black stripe down the side, but he wouldn’t let me ride it cause he said I’d break it cause I didn’t even know how to ride a trop-cycle... BRIDGET ...It’s Tri-cycle. RICK Come on Bridge, don’t interrupt. Let her finish. Go ahead pumpkin.

KAYLEE Well, I said to him ‘I can too ride a tri...trip...tropcycle’ but I was just fibbing cause I really don’t know how to ride a trop-cycle cause I don’t have one and I never learnt it. (As the conversation continues MICHELLE and BRIDGET finish placing the food on the table and join RICK and KAYLEE...) RICK Well, then maybe we should get you a tri-cycle so you can learn how to ride it. KAYLEE (excited) Really? Oh, thanks daddy! Then I can not be fibbing when I say I can ride one! RICK Your welcome, pumpkin. Now let’s eat before it gets cold. You gonna eat all your vegetables tonight, for daddy? KAYLEE Uh-huh! RICK That’s my good girl. It looks great babe. MICHELLE Thanks. (They all start eating, after a few moments of silence and some signals to RICK from MICHELLE...) RICK So, Bridge. How was school today? BRIDGET Fine. RICK

Just fine? Did you learn anything? BRIDGET Well, yeah. MICHELLE Go on, tell us about it honey. BRIDGET Well, in Mr. Dorfman’s math class we started multiplying fractions and I was called on to answer the warm up question. MICHELLE You were? BRIDGET Yeah, and usually he does it alphabetically but today he didn’t and he called on me, so I… (A phone rings. RICK gets up to answer it...) MICHELLE Rick, just let it ring. RICK But it’s the office, they said they were gonna call if they needed me. (RICK exits. MICHELLE turns her attention back to BRIDGET...) MICHELLE Go ahead, Bridge. BRIDGET What’s the point? He doesn’t want to hear it. MICHELLE Oh, come on honey. I wanna hear the rest of your story. What happened after Mr. Dorfman called on you?

(BRIDGET sits back up in her chair getting ready to speak again when RICK enters back into the room with his coat in hand. MICHELLE notices the coat...) MICHELLE Rick… RICK I’m sorry, but they need me back tonight. I gotta go. (RICK kisses MICHELLE on the cheek and puts on his coat...) KAYLEE (waves) Bye-bye daddy. RICK (waves back) Bye-bye pumpkin. (RICK bends down to kiss and hug KAYLEE goodbye. RICK exits...) BRIDGET (quietly) Bye… MICHELLE (pause) Well, how bout that ice cream? KAYLEE Yay! Ouce-cream! BRIDGET Can I be excused? MICHELLE You don’t want any desert? BRIDGET

No, thank you. MICHELLE (playfully) You sure? I know ice cream’s your favorite; you’ve never turned it down before. BRIDGET I just don’t, okay? (BRIDGET quickly exits starting to cry...) MICHELLE I...I didn’t mean... (End Scene)

SCENE 2 (Later that night. MICHELLE is clearing dishes off of the dining table as RICK enters carrying a glass filled with scotch. RICK’s appearance is disheveled and he is slightly intoxicated. MICHELLE notices but never addresses it...) MICHELLE It’s 11:30. RICK I know, I’m sorry. MICHELLE This is the third time in the past two weeks, Rick. They know you have a wife and family, why couldn’t they call someone else in? RICK They did, they called in everyone they could. (MICHELLE stops fussing with the dishes and motions for RICK to sit down while she remains standing...) MICHELLE Why, what happened? RICK One of the copy editors, a guy that’s just too old to still be working there, mixed up the Johnson case files with the Martinez files. I had to explain to an eighty-five year old widow why her husband left all of their life savings to a twenty-two year old Latino waiter so that he could finally pursue his dream of becoming a professional dancer. MICHELLE How long into that conversation did it take you to figure out that the file was messed up? RICK

Yeah, that wasn’t even the worse thing that happened. He also sent out copies of that day’s lunch order to the board. The board! MICHELLE Did they fire him? RICK No, his nephew is my boss’s boss and he gave him the job. He apologized to us for the mishap and said, “I thought if I got my uncle working again it would take his mind off of the death of his daughter.” MICHELLE Oh, that’s so sad. What a horrible thing to go through. When did it happen? RICK Nine years ago! You think he’d be over it by now. MICHELLE Rick, don’t say that. You don’t know what it’s like to lose a child. Who knows how long something like that takes to get over? RICK I don’t know nine years seems like been at this company for that long me up twice. If I lost out on this I’d take nine years to get another

a long time. Hell, I’ve and they have only moved promotion I don’t think one.

MICHELLE Losing your child and losing out on a promotion is hardly the same thing, Rick. RICK Well anyways, we were able to straighten everything out, but it is going to be a long day tomorrow when we have to explain to the board why we sent them an O’Charley’s menu instead of a budget report. (MICHELLE starts with the dishes again...) RICK (CONT’D) How was it here?

MICHELLE Like usual. Kaylee covered herself in ice cream and refused to take a bath without her stuffed animals, so Dr. Green mouth is in the dryer. RICK (laughing) Gotta love her. MICHELLE (pause) And Bridget left the table crying again. RICK What happened this time? MICHELLE Well, you didn’t say goodbye to her when you left... RICK Yes, I did... MICHELLE ...no, actually you didn’t. RICK Okay fine, so? MICHELLE Well, after that she said she didn’t want any desert and I stupidly said ‘but you’ve never turned it down before’ and she took that as a comment about her weight and locked herself in her room for the night. RICK You shouldn’t egg her on to eat so much anyway. She’s just gonna get bigger... MICHELLE ...Rick! RICK What? It’s true. MICHELLE

You shouldn’t say things like that. Can’t you be more sensitive to this? RICK Michelle, we need to be more practical about this. Sensitivity isn’t going to make her thin. MICHELLE It’s not about her being thin, Rick. It’s about her being loved no matter what she looks like. She’s your daughter and it’s about time you treated her that way. RICK Is she? MICHELLE What does that mean? RICK I know Kaylee’s my daughter and she doesn’t look like that. How can I think someone that looks like her can come from me? MICHELLE How can you say that? RICK How can I trust that she’s mine? MICHELLE I have never cheated and you know it! What kind of person are you? How can you think that Bridget isn’t yours? She looks just like you! RICK Don’t you dare talk to me like that! (RICK stands and slaps MICHELLE across the face, she falls to the ground. They each take a moment and RICK reaches for MICHELLE’s arm, but she pulls away. She then gets up and exits leaving RICK alone at the table. After a few moments RICK picks up the dishes and carries them offstage...) (End Scene)

SCENE 3 (The following night, dinner table, evening. MICHELLE is in the kitchen finishing making dinner while KAYLEE is sitting at the dining table, sniffling loudly, holding her stuffed animal. BRIDGET is across from her doing homework silently...) BRIDGET (calling offstage) Mom, I can’t finish my book report when Kaylee’s getting tears all over it. MICHELLE (O.S.) Come on Bridge, she’s just sad that her stuffed animal’s eye fell off in the dryer. Be nice. KAYLEE Mommy, please fix Dr. Green mouth, please! MICHELLE (O.S.) Honey, I said I would do it after bath time. KAYLEE But he needs to be fixed before bath time or he can’t go swimming with me. MICHELLE (O.S.) Kaylee, I can’t right now. I have to finish dinner. Besides, I don’t think Dr. Green mouth wants to go swimming when he’s hurt. KAYLEE I know he doesn’t, that’s why you gotta fix him before he goes swimming. MICHELLE (O.S.) Bridge, can you help put Green mouth’s eye back on? KAYLEE Dr. Green mouth!

(MICHELLE enters carrying a basket of rolls. She sets them down on the dinner table...) MICHELLE Oh, I’m sorry. All those years of stuffed animal medical school should be respected. Bridge, can you help put Dr. Green mouth’s eye back on? BRIDGET But, mom I don’t know how to… MICHELLE Please, honey? I have two pots on the stove. BRIDGET Fine. MICHELLE That’s my good girl. (MICHELLE returns to the kitchen. BRIDGET sets down her pencil and goes to get some tape. She comes back to the table and KAYLEE hands her the stuffed animal and his button eye. BRIDGET tapes the eye back onto the stuffed animal and hands it back to KAYLEE...) BRIDGET There you go Kaylee, all better. KAYLEE Oh, thank you thank you thank you Ridget! (KAYLEE hugs the stuffed animal tightly to her. The sound of a door off stage opens and shuts and RICK enters...) KAYLEE Daddy’s home! (The sound of a bicycle horn rings as RICK comes into the dining room. He rolls in a tiny pink tri-cycle with one arm and holds something behind his back with the other. KAYLEE excitedly rushes

over, dropping her stuffed animal on the way. BRIDGET sadly looks at the stuffed animal on the floor...) KAYLEE Huuhh! A trop-cycle! (KAYLEE tightly hugs RICK’s legs and he bends over to pat her on the back...) RICK Is it like the one you wanted, pumpkin? KAYLEE It’s even better! Thank you daddy, thank you! (MICHELLE enters carrying a large pot of spaghetti. She sets the pot down on the table...) MICHELLE What’s all the commotion about? RICK It’s about our daughter’s first tri-cycle, and about this bouquet of flowers I have behind my back. (RICK pulls out a large bouquet of flowers and hands them to MICHELLE...) MICHELLE They’re beautiful, thank you. RICK (Still looking at MICHELLE) And don’t think I forgot about my other daughter... (BRIDGET excitedly turns to RICK smiling...) BRIDGET You didn’t? RICK Of course not...

(RICK exits and returns carrying a plastic bag. He reaches into the bag and pulls out a carton of ice cream...) RICK (CONT’D) (Looking at MICHELLE) ...to make up for the other night. (The excitement leaves BRIDGET’s face slowly...) BRIDGET Thank you, daddy. RICK You’re welcome. (RICK and MICHELLE take a moment and then kiss...) MICHELLE Let me put these in the kitchen. (MICHELLE exits taking the carton of ice cream and the flowers. RICK and BRIDGET sit at the table. MICHELLE returns carrying a plate of food. KAYLEE is still playing with the tricycle...) KAYLEE Mommy, can we go ride my trop-cycle now? MICHELLE Not now honey, it’s time for dinner. KAYLEE Can we ride it after dinner? MICHELLE After dinner it’s bath time, you know that. KAYLEE I don’t wanna take a bath! I wanna ride my trop-cycle! MICHELLE We can take it out another night.

KAYLEE (throwing a fit) But Mommy please! I wanna ride my trop-cycle now! I wanna ride my trop-cycle!... MICHELLE ...I said no, Kaylee. Sit down and eat your dinner... KAYLEE ...I wanna ride my trop-cycle! RICK (loudly) Enough! (RICK slams his hands down on the table. He takes a moment to regain his composure...) RICK (CONT’D) Pumpkin, if you eat up all your dinner, including your veggies, then I will take you out to ride your tri-cycle for a little bit. KAYLEE Yay! Thank you, daddy. RICK ...and then bath time. KAYLEE (mimicking BRIDGET) Fine. (MICHELLE, though slightly stunned by RICK’s outburst, goes back to her normal self. RICK picks up KAYLEE and sits her at the table. He then takes his seat and everyone starts eating, except BRIDGET who pokes at her food with a fork...) MICHELLE (to RICK) How was your day, babe?

RICK My day? It was good. (pause) We’re gonna have the office party here on Saturday night. MICHELLE (upset) What? How could you volunteer our house for the office party?...and this Saturday, that only gives me two days to set the whole thing up! RICK I’m sorry honey, but I had to! My boss’s boss has finally decided to come this year and if I’m ever going to get a promotion I have to impress him. MICHELLE (pause) Well, how impressive is it going to be when I refuse to do it? RICK (increasingly mad) What do you mean refuse? You can’t refuse! You have to host it, or...or... MICHELLE (calmly) Or what Rick? (RICK says nothing...) MICHELLE (CONT’D) ...if you want to host it so bad, then you can set the whole thing up yourself. RICK (holding back his anger) Please, don’t do this to me. MICHELLE Well, now I know why you brought home all these unexpected gifts for us. This is just so typical of you, Rick. You only think about yourself... BRIDGET (quietly)

May I be excused? MICHELLE No, we are all going to sit down and eat this dinner I made. RICK Oh, like she needs it anyway! (BRIDGET and MICHELLE sharply look at RICK in disbelief. BRIDGET slowly lowers her head, gets up from the table and exits with tears coming down her face. All is silent for a moment with nobody knowing what to say. MICHELLE slowly stands, places her napkin on the table and looks at RICK...) MICHELLE What’s wrong with you? RICK I’m...I’m sorry... MICHELLE You should be… and bringing her ice cream? What were you thinking? RICK I don’t know...I’m sorry. MICHELLE You are sorry, you’re a sorry, sorry man. No, worse. You are a sorry excuse for a man. (MICHELLE exits in the same direction as BRIDGET. RICK and KAYLEE are left sitting at the table...) KAYLEE Can we go ride my trop-cycle now? RICK (taking a moment) ...Yeah (End Scene)

SCENE 4 (Hours later that same evening, dinner table. MICHELLE enters as lights go up, RICK is already seated with his head down. He has a glass of scotch in his hand. Both are distant to each other as the following dialogue starts...) MICHELLE What are you doing, Rick? Why are you sitting in here with all the lights off? RICK ...I dunno...I was just thinking...I guess. (MICHELLE pulls out a chair and sits down across from RICK...) MICHELLE Did you put Kaylee to bed? RICK Yeah. MICHELLE Did you give her a bath first? RICK Yeah. MICHELLE Howâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d that go? RICK She fussed a little bit over not having that stuffed animal, but was mostly quiet through it all. I think she actually wanted a bath after she rode into that mud puddle. MICHELLE (upset) Rick, how could you let her... RICK

...I didn’t let her... MICHELLE ...well, why didn’t you stop her before... RICK ...I couldn’t stop her... MICHELLE ...then why did it happen?... RICK (pause) ...I wasn’t really paying attention... MICHELLE ...you never pay attention. RICK You’re still upset. MICHELLE Of course I’m still upset. Not just with what you did to me, but how could you take it out on Bridget like that? She is still in her room crying over what you said. RICK Okay, I’ll go apologize to her. MICHELLE And what’s that gonna do, huh? Make it all better? RICK Hey, look... MICHELLE No, you look. You look at what you are doing to her. To us. You look into her hopeful eyes when she thinks you will finally notice her and you look at her broken heart after you don’t. She just wants you to love her...like you love... RICK Like I love? MICHELLE ...like you love Kaylee.

RICK Oh, come on Michelle. That’s ridiculous. MICHELLE Not to an eight year old girl it isn’t. And with what you said last night, I believe it too. RICK You know I love Bridget. MICHELLE I don’t know, Rick. I don’t think I know you at all anymore. And if I can’t believe you how can you possibly think she does? RICK (pause) I can’t deal with this now. I have to plan a party in two days. (RICK begins to pull out paper and pens from his briefcase, which is on the ground next to him, setting them up on the table. MICHELLE gets up from her chair...) MICHELLE I guess you do. I’ll just go to bed. No need to join me since you will be sleeping out here tonight. (RICK stops messing with his items and watches MICHELLE as she exits. He takes a moment’s pause and then gets back to work...) (End Scene)

SCENE 5 (Saturday night, the night of the office party. The only additions to the set are a single streamer hung across the ceiling and plates of food laid out on the table. MICHELLE is pouring juice from the punch bowl into a cup. RICK enters walking in backwards still talking to someone offstage...) RICK ...I’m just gonna grab a drink in here and I’ll be right back. (laughing slightly) Good one, sir! (RICK turns around and sees MICHELLE...) RICK (CONT’D) ...Michelle...honey...you’ve gotta help me out here. MICHELLE hmmm...no, I think you can manage. RICK Please Michelle, I’m begging you. MICHELLE What do you need me for, Rick? This party was all your idea. RICK This party is a disaster and if it doesn’t get better soon there is no way I will ever be promoted, ever. I need your help, please. MICHELLE (pause) Will you talk with Bridget after? RICK Yeah, sure. I’ll do anything you want me you to.

MICHELLE Okay, but you will talk to her as soon as the party’s over. RICK Yes, I promise as soon as the last person walks out that door. MICHELLE (pause) Here, take your drink. RICK Thank you. MICHELLE Come on, let’s go. (RICK and MICHELLE are about to exit when DENNIS enters, accidentally scaring MICHELLE...) MICHELLE Oh! RICK Hey, Dennis. This is my wife Michelle. Michelle this is Dennis, my...um...co-worker. MICHELLE Nice to meet you, Dennis. DENNIS You to, ma’am. I didn’t mean to scare ya. MICHELLE Oh, that’s okay. DENNIS Your husband was just telling me and my nephew how you left this whole party planning thing up to him and that he should apologize ahead of time. MICHELLE (politely laughing) He did? Well that was smart of him. (hits Rick playfully)

I’m sorry about tonight, it’s just that we have two young girls and I didn’t have enough time to help out. DENNIS (sadly) I know what you mean, I had a daughter. (pause) She died a few years ago. MICHELLE How’d she die, if you don’t mind me asking? DENNIS No, I don’t mind. I like to think of her whenever the conversation arises, even if it is about the unfortunate times. It helps with the healing process, at least that’s what my shrink says. My Angie was in a car accident. A drunk driver hit her as she was crossing the street. MICHELLE I’m so sorry for your loss. DENNIS Thank you. It is the biggest loss of my life. You never really know how much you love someone until they’re gone; just wish I could have told her more, ya know? RICK (hurriedly) Yeah, well there are plenty of refreshments, so help yourself. Come on, babe. There are a lot more people to meet. MICHELLE …Rick! I’m sorry, Dennis. DENNIS That’s okay, I understand he needs to play host. Go ahead. RICK Thanks. (RICK and MICHELLE exit out the same way DENNIS entered, putting on fake smiles as they leave. From the opposite side BRIDGET enters holding KAYLEE’s stuffed animal. She glumly sits down at

the table and DENNIS pulls up next to her...) DENNIS What do ya got there? BRIDGET It’s my sister’s toy. DENNIS Well, why do you have it instead of your sister? BRIDGET She didn’t want it anymore, not after she got a better toy. DENNIS What was this “better toy”? BRIDGET A tri-cycle. DENNIS Well, that is quite a gift. Was it her birthday? BRIDGET No, my dad just brought it home after work the other day. My mommy said he brought us all gifts so that she would put this party together for him. She said that he was being selfish. DENNIS Well, your daddy was wrong for bringing gifts home with those intentions, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that he wanted to make y’all happy. What gift did he bring you? BRIDGET I didn’t get a cool toy like Kaylee, he got me ice cream. DENNIS What’s wrong? You don’t like ice cream? BRIDGET No, I like ice cream. It’s just not a tri-cycle. (BRIDGET starts to cry...)

DENNIS Do you think because she got a better present your dad loves her more? BRIDGET I don’t think, I know. He always treats her better than me. He doesn’t want me to be his daughter. DENNIS Now why do you think that? I heard mom the scared. back to came in

BRIDGET him say so. He said all sorts of bad things to my other night. I was supposed to be in bed, but I got Then I saw them fighting and got more scared. I ran my room and pretended to be asleep so when my mommy she didn’t know I was listening. DENNIS

Do you think you should have done that? BRIDGET No. I’ve gotten in trouble for doing that before. DENNIS What happened the other times? BRIDGET Well, I heard my mommy say over the phone that my teacher was “a hot piece of ass” so I told him the next day at school. DENNIS What happened? BRIDGET He called my mommy and she told him that I had heard her wrong. What she said was, “we should move her into his class.” We had a talk about it after school. She said that listening to other people’s conversations is wrong because you can mishear what they had said. DENNIS And is that what she had said?

BRIDGET No, I swear! What I said the first time was right. My mommy was telling him a lie and lying is bad. DENNIS That’s true. Lying is bad. Sometimes though people lie because they are scared to admit how they really feel. Take your Dad for example. You heard him say that he doesn’t want you to be his daughter, right? BRIDGET Uh-huh. DENNIS Well, that’s not what he just told me. BRIDGET What do you mean? DENNIS He was just in here a minute ago telling me all about you and about how much he loves you. BRIDGET Really? He said that? DENNIS Yep. BRIDGET I don’t believe you. DENNIS What reason do I have to lie? BRIDGET Yeah, but you just said that sometimes people lie because they are scared to say how they really feel. DENNIS Good, you were listening. That is exactly what I am talking about in this case. You heard your dad say to your mom that he didn’t want you as his daughter, but your dad told me the exact opposite. I believe that your dad was lying to your mom to cover up how he really felt. BRIDGET

I guess that makes sense. DENNIS Well, there is only one way to find out. BRIDGET How? DENNIS You have to ask him. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if he decides to tell you himself… after everybody leaves tonight. (DENNIS winks at BRIDGET and she excitedly smiles...) BRIDGET Yeah? I guess I’ll go back to bed and wait for him then. (BRIDGET rushes out of her seat and begins to exit until she remembers DENNIS and runs back to give him a hug...) DENNIS Go on, now. BRIDGET Thank you. (BRIDGET exits. DENNIS sits silently for a moment. He picks up the stuffed animal and starts to cry...) DENNIS You remember when your mother taught you that? I wish I wasn’t scared to tell you how I really felt. You were the best part of me. You got all the good from your mother and I and none of the bad. He took you too soon from this world…from me. I wish I had stuck around that night. Your mother begged me to stop drinking, to stop breaking our family apart. I wish I would have listened...I wish… (Suddenly a loud crash is heard. DENNIS exists...) (End Scene)

SCENE 6 (Later that same night, MICHELLE is sitting at the table profusely crying, rocking back and forth. DENNIS is sitting next to her trying to calm her down. RICK sits across from them silently starring at the floor with tears rolling down his face...) MICHELLE Why? Why? Godamnit, why? DENNIS Michelle, you need to calm down. MICHELLE How can I calm down? She’s gone! DENNIS Shh, it’s gonna be okay. MICHELLE What are you talking about? It will never be okay. DENNIS Here, drink some water. (DENNIS hands MICHELLE a glass of water. She slaps it out of his hand, shattering it against the wall. The sound startles RICK and MICHELLE looks sternly at him, standing and yelling into his face...) MICHELLE It’s all your fault! You and this fucking party! DENNIS Michelle, Rick had nothing to do with this. It was just a…a horrible accident. MICHELLE (screaming)

My baby… MY BABY!!!! (MICHELLE starts punching RICK in the chest and cries harder. DENNIS tries to pull MICHELLE away from RICK, but has little luck. MICHELLE finally collapses into DENNIS’ arms and he starts to take her off stage...) DENNIS (to Michelle) Its okay, you’re okay. Let’s go lay you down in the living room and I’ll go talk to Officer Charlie, alright? (DENNIS and MICHELLE exit. BRIDGET enters from the other side...) BRIDGET …Dad? Are you…okay? (RICK begins to cry even harder and refuses to answer BRIDGET. She has a hard time saying the next few lines...) BRIDGET (CONT’D) …did that car kill Kaylee? Is she gonna die? (pause) …dad? RICK (RICK quickly leaps out of his chair and slams his hands down on the table...) Why wasn’t it you! (BRIDGET stands in shock for a moment, then turns and exits the same way she came in, crying. RICK slowly sits back down in his chair. He begins to cry harder and harder and eventually gets up to pour a glass of scotch. He drinks the entire glass full. He goes to fill up the glass again, but instead throws it across the stage, it shatters. He watches it for a few moments, and then sits back at the table with his head in his hands, rocking back and forth. He

spends a few moments alone going through different stages of grief. DENNIS enters...) DENNIS Rick? (RICK turns to look at him, but says nothing. DENNIS takes the seat next to him and puts his hand on RICK’s back...) DENNIS (CONT’D) It’s going to be okay. I know it may not seem that way right now, but trust me, it will get better. (RICK pushes DENNIS’ hand away...) RICK What the fuck do you know old man! Just shut the fuck up and leave me the hell alone. (DENNIS has a hard time fighting back his emotions...) DENNIS You think I don’t know what you’re going through? (pause) Right now, you feel like it’s your fault, that you should have been watching her instead of caring about this fucking office party. You are thinking Michelle was right, you do only care about yourself and now God is punishing you for it. You are coming up with every curse word you have ever heard of to yell at Him, but then you realize that nothing you can do will bring her back. All these images of her are flooding into your brain and you feel an overwhelming sense of regret. You are questioning whether your life is worth living and are thinking about which method to use to kill yourself. Then you feel guilty for wanting to leave Michelle to go through this on her own and you go back to thinking she was right, you are still only thinking about yourself. (pause) I’ve been there, I was you. No, I was worse than you. My daughter was killed late in her life. I had a lot more opportunities to know her, to tell her how much I loved her, but I didn’t. I decided that drinking my life away was more important to me than telling her how I really felt. I

regret every day not valuing the time I was given with her. I ruined my life and I have to think about that night every day. I wish I could go back and change what I did, but I can’t. My punishment is living each day praying that it will be my last. RICK What’s the point then? DENNIS The point is that I know I will have that day. When He feels I’m ready. I will have my daughter back and that time it will be different, I will be different. RICK So is that what I have to look forward to? A lifetime of waiting until God feels I have earned my right to die? DENNIS No, Rick, don’t you get it? You are luckier than me. He has left you with an opportunity to change, a chance to still enjoy a life worth living. (DENNIS hands RICK the stuffed animal. RICK then looks to the direction where BRIDGET had exited...) RICK (pause) I…I wouldn’t know…where to start... DENNIS Just don’t be scared to say how you really feel and it will work itself out from there. (RICK looks again...) RICK Thank you. (RICK rises and takes a deep breath before exiting. DENNIS sits in silence, wiping the tears from his face. He gets up from his chair and clutches the left side of his chest in agony. He slowly collapses...) (End Play)