To Fall in Love

by
Jennifer Lane

[Draft: 6/30/2017]

Contact:
Jennifer Lane
jenny@jennifer-lane.net
248.766.0526
jennifer-lane.net

Represented by:
Amy Wagner
Abrams Artists Agency
275 Seventh Ave. 26th Floor
New York, NY 10001
Ph: 646-461-9390
Amy.Wagner@abramsartny.com
CHARACTER NAME BRIEF DESCRIPTION AGE GENDER

WYATT GRIMES Any ethnicity 30's Male

MERRYN THOMAS Any ethnicity 30's Female

A NOTE ON PUNCTUATION

A dash (--) indicates that someone is being cut off, and doesn't finish the sentence or thought. An
ellipsis (...) indicates that the thought trails off. A slash (/) indicates that the person jumps in on
top of the preceding line, but that the original thought is still finished. A sentence fragment in
brackets [like this], is unspoken intention.

A NOTE ON PRODUCTION

This play takes place in one time and one location. There should be no blackouts, no sound cues
that are not organic to the world. We as an audience should be made to feel like voyeurs in a
very intimate moment. Push into hyper-naturalism: let things take as long as they really take. The
piece may benefit from being performed in the round.

A NOTE ON THE QUESTIONS

This piece was inspired by "The Experimental Generation of Interpersonal Closeness", a

scientific study by Dr. Arthur Aron. I first discovered the study via an article in the New York
Times. The study and the article explored the 36 questions that science claims can be used to fall
in love with anyone. Those questions can be found, in full, here: http://36questionsinlove.com.

This play was previously titled "To Fall in Love With Anyone, Do This". The title was changed at
the request of the New York Times, but the play was produced, published, and garnered awards
under that title.
 A pre-furnished apartment. There is a kitchen stage left, a
counter with stools at it. There is a table and chairs center
stage, and a modern sort of chandelier hanging over it.
Stage right there is a couch, chair, and coffee table. There
is a hallway stage right that leads to the bedroom,
bathroom, and front door. Everything is vaguely beige,
bland, cookie cutter.

WYATT is straightening up, but there isn’t much to do.

When he’s finished he sort of lingers strangely near the
kitchen counter, not sure what to do with his body. He
fishes a small velvet ring box from his pocket. He opens
it, looks at its contents; a knock at the front door startles
him and he shoves the ring in a drawer in the kitchen. He
goes into the hall to answer the door.

Merryn enters, a messenger bag over her shoulder. She

plucks the earbuds from her ears: we here something
excessively upbeat blasting from them.

MERRYN
Sorry, let me just --
(she fumbles to find her phone, turn off the
music, etc.)
Ok. So: Hi.

WYATT
Hi.
(he kisses her cheek)

MERRYN
Am I late?

WYATT
It’s not [a big deal...]

MERRYN
God, I am. Did we say -- what time did we say?
(she looks at her phone)
We said 7, didn’t we?

WYATT
Ah, we did.
 2.

MERRYN
I read this thing the other day where people who are late are just actually really
optimistic?

WYATT
Yeah, I read that, too, only --

MERRYN
Yeah, but at the end, it’s like, ahh --
(she makes a strained face)
Underneath it all, they’re just, like, total disasters.
(pause)
We are. I meant / we.

WYATT
It’s fine. You look fantastic.

MERRYN
No, I don’t -- I mean: do I? Thank you. I’m trying not to do that thing -- never mind. I’m
sorry, I think I’m nervous?

WYATT
Hence the aggressive electropop.

MERRYN
Yeah. Is that dumb?

WYATT
No. I’m actually pretty nervous, too.

MERRYN
Really? You don’t show it. How is it that you just totally don’t show it?

WYATT
Ah, years of practiced repression, I think.

MERRYN
Right.

WYATT
Can I get you a drink?

MERRYN
God, yes. What’ve you got? Wine -- or, what are you having?
 3.

WYATT
An Arnold Palmer.

MERRYN
What is that, like -- a Tom Collins?

WYATT
What? You don’t know what an Arnold Palmer is? How have we --

MERRYN
Hang on.
(she pulls out her phone)

WYATT
Jesus, don’t Google it.

MERRYN
Why?

WYATT
Because I can just tell you.

MERRYN
I hate it when --
(pause)
Sometimes, when people do that thing where they’re shocked if someone doesn’t know
something that they know? Sometimes I find that frustrating. So, I just find out for
myself. Half iced tea, half lemonade, the dude was a golfer.

WYATT
(brief pause)
Yes.

MERRYN
I’ll have one, too. With bourbon in it.

WYATT
I was kind of hoping we could do this...

MERRYN
What?

WYATT
Just totally be present, you know?
 4.

MERRYN
Sober.
(brief pause)
You mean “sober”.

WYATT
I guess --
(brief pause)
Yes. Present and sober.

MERRYN
I gotta say, I think that’s gonna make it harder.

WYATT
But if we’re, like, totally shithoused / then --

MERRYN
No, yeah. You’re right.

WYATT
I’ll... I made a pitcher of the stuff. I’ll just--
(he goes to the fridge, gets the pitcher, puts it
on the table)
Are you hungry?

MERRYN
No.
(He gives her the drink.)
Thanks. Have you got -- like, place mats? Or coasters?

WYATT
Uhh...

MERRYN
I just -- this stuff is gonna start sweating and then you’ll just ruin the wood of this table
and I dunno if it’s yours or like you rent it from this place?

WYATT
Yeah, uh. Bachelor package, I think.

MERRYN
I like it.
 5.

WYATT
Nobody likes it. Some of us just have to live with it.

MERRYN
(pause)
Place mats? Coasters?

WYATT
Right. One sec.

WYATT exits into the kitchen. Merryn pulls a thick

folder out of her bag and examines the papers therein.
With a deep breath, she pulls two sheets of paper from
the folder, sets one in front of her and he other in front of
WYATT’s place.

WYATT returns with a stack of place mats. They adjust

and arrange the table.

WYATT
Wow, so organized.

MERRYN
Yeah, well.

WYATT
(He looks at the sheet)
Ok, so.
(he reads)
We’re really doing this.

MERRYN
We don’t have to. I brought --

WYATT
No. I want to.
(he looks at her)
I want to.

MERRYN
Ok. Yeah, good. So do I.
 6.

WYATT
Ok, so how do we --

MERRYN
There are instructions, see? Here:
(reading)
Read one question aloud to your partner, then both of you answer. Swap roles for the next
question. Answering all of the questions should take about an hour, but time isn’t
important.
(pause)
Do you wanna start, or --?

WYATT
We’re just gonna dive right in.

MERRYN
We don’t have to. We could --
(brief pause)
How are you?

WYATT
Fine. I’m fine.
(brief pause)
How are you?

MERRYN
Good.

Silence.

MERRYN
I saw Karen and Alice last week.

WYATT
Oh yeah?

MERRYN
Yeah, and you would not believe how big Colby has gotten.

WYATT
Colby. What kind of a name is Colby?

MERRYN
I know, right? I always think, like, the beef.
 7.

WYATT
That’s Kobe.

MERRYN
Hm?

WYATT
KOH-bee not COLE-bee.

MERRYN
Oh.

WYATT
Cheese.

MERRYN
Yeah.

WYATT
Still. It’s a dumb name.
(silence)
Oh, did the electrician come by to fix the / air conditioner?

MERRYN
Yeah, and it was kinda horrible because he was like, “yeah, if you’d’a run this thing for
even a minute, it might’a burned the house down.”

WYATT
Oh, shit.

MERRYN
Yeah. Right? That would’a been...

WYATT
I know.

MERRYN
Except also? I don’t know. Maybe I should just burn it down.

Silence.

WYATT
We could just start.

MERRYN
Ok. Yeah let’s start.
 8.

WYATT
Ladies first.

MERRYN
(reading)
If you could invite anyone in the world to dinner, who would it be?

WYATT
Arnold Palmer.
(pause)
Just kidding.
(pause)
Ahh. Hm. Anyone? Do they have to be living?

MERRYN
It doesn’t say -- so...

WYATT
I mean, probably. Practically speaking, you can’t invite a dead person to dinner.

MERRYN
I mean, not with that attitude.
(they smile)

WYATT
George R.R. Martin.

MERRYN
Really?

WYATT
Yeah, so I can go all Kathy-Bates-Misery on his ass, right? Like, oh, hey George, enjoy
the aperitifs, but also I’mma chain you to this radiator until you finish your fucking
books.

MERRYN
He’s like super old. That kind of stress might just send him into cardiac arrest. But good
answer.

WYATT
Your turn.

MERRYN
Yes, ok. Hm.
 9.

WYATT
Did you look at these ahead of time?

MERRYN
What?

WYATT
Like, the questions. Did you bring, like, prepared answers?

MERRYN
No. That defeats / the purpose.

WYATT
You are so the type to bring prepared answers to something like this.

MERRYN
I am not. That isn’t a very nice thing to say. That’d be like... cheating.
(silence)
Anyway, my answer is Ruth Bader Ginsberg.

WYATT
Why?

MERRYN
Why isn’t part of the question.

WYATT
(they smile)
Fine.

MERRYN
(brief pause)
Where did you find these, again?

WYATT
The New York Times.

MERRYN
And it was, like... what, a science experiment about love?

WYATT
I mean, yeah? But I told you --

MERRYN
I’m just curious about the sample size. And the methodology. Like, how science-based is
this, really?
 10.

WYATT
Uh. Well, the story wasn’t about the experiment, exactly. The story was about this one
person, this... one half of this one couple, not like / the entire experiment.

MERRYN
I think I read that.

WYATT
Yeah I think I sent it to you...
(pause. He looks at her levelly.)
Anyway.
(reading)
Would you like to be famous? In what way?

MERRYN
Not, like... movie star famous. Maybe like... Nobel Laureate famous. Like, a nice special
interest piece about me in the Times. And, like, only the thing where people in my field
recognize me for doing this one great thing, you know?

WYATT
And what would it be, the thing you were good at? Your field?

MERRYN
Well that’s always been the problem, hasn’t it?
(pause)
But what about you?

WYATT
I would not like to be famous.

MERRYN
Liar.

WYATT
No, seriously.

MERRYN
Not at all?

WYATT
Not at all.
(pause)
Maybe for a day.
 11.

MERRYN
You could do that. You could. I heard this thing on NPR all about how, like, fame can be
artificially manufactured, like you just put on sunglasses and walk out of the NBC
building with an entourage and people will just assume you’re famous and they’ll be all
like, “Oh, yeah, I loved that guy in that thing, he’s like my favorite.”
(pause)
Sorry, it was supposed to be your answer.

WYATT
No, it’s fine.

MERRYN
Anyway.
(silence)

WYATT
It’s your turn.

MERRYN
Oh, right.
(reads)
Before making a telephone call, do you ever rehearse what you are going to say? Why?

WYATT
No. But you do.

MERRYN
Every time. So I don’t sound stupid!
(pause)
I hate using the phone as a phone, it makes me anxious.

WYATT
I know.

MERRYN
So I just... like to go in prepared. Anyway.
(reading)
What would constitute a “perfect” day for you?

WYATT
I think it was my turn.

MERRYN
Sorry.
 12.

WYATT
No, it’s fine. I’ll just -- it’s fine.
(pause)
Uh.
(pause)
When I was living in Chicago, right when I’d just moved in, and you came to see me --

MERRYN
Wyatt...

WYATT
And all I had was that big ugly futon. And you were so sick, you caught some sort of
stomach bug on the plane, I guess, and we spent most of that week on that big ugly futon
with a bucket nearby. And I pressed cold cloths to your forehead, and we watched movie
after movie. We caught up on the big movies of the previous five, like... years, in that one
week. And we just didn’t talk, not really. We just... were.

MERRYN
(pause)
That’s your perfect day.

WYATT
No, I don’t mean --

MERRYN
Me throwing up into a bucket is your perfect day.

WYATT
That isn’t what I meant.

MERRYN
And anyway, we agreed --

WYATT
I know.

MERRYN
We agreed that we were going to try to do this, like... like really do this? And not bring
all of our --

WYATT
I know.
 13.

MERRYN
-- baggage into it and so you can’t just sit there and answer questions like, oh the best day
of my life was when you were puking into a fucking bucket, and then have me like --

WYATT
Fine, ok? Fine.
(beat)
What about you? What’s your perfect day.

MERRYN
I don’t want to answer this one.

WYATT
Well, that isn’t how it works, Merryn.

MERRYN
I said --

WYATT
Either we do this, like really do it, or we don’t.

MERRYN
Fine.
(pause)
Fine.
(pause)
There are these panda preserves in China, and you can go there and you can hold a baby
one. And I think that would probably be the perfect day.

WYATT
They make you, like, shovel shit first.

MERRYN
What?

WYATT
Yeah, like you go there and you volunteer your time and you clean the cages and shovel
the shit and feed the things, and then you get to hold one for like two minutes while they
take your picture.

MERRYN
Ok.
 14.

WYATT
I’m just saying.

MERRYN
Still. I think it’d be worth it.
(pause)
You read the next one.

WYATT
Ok.
(he hates this one.)
When did you last sing to yourself? To someone else?

MERRYN
This morning, probably. I have a song, for my contacts?
(sings)
This goes in my right eye --

He joins her. He knows the song.

MERRYN AND WYATT

I cannot go wrong
if I put it in my right eye
and I sing this song...

WYATT
Yeah.

MERRYN
What about you?

WYATT
I don’t know. Maybe in the car.

MERRYN
And to someone else?
(silence)
What?

WYATT
What do you want me to say?
 15.

MERRYN
The truth --

WYATT
Ok: Not since Jake.
(silence)
You want me to lie?

MERRYN
(pause)
No.
(she reads)
If you were able to live to the age of 90 and retain either the mind or body of a 30 year
old for the last 60 years of your life, which would you want?

WYATT
Mind.

MERRYN
Body.
(he gives her a questioning look.)
It’s harder for women.

WYATT
(reading)
Do you have a secret hunch about how you will die?

MERRYN
Oh, no. I can’t think about it. My therapist says that I have to stop the thought spirals
before they even start.
(pause)
Do you?

WYATT
I mean, both my parents died of heart attacks in their fifties, so I figure --

MERRYN
But you’re in much better shape than they were.

WYATT
Can’t fight genetics.
(pause)
It’s you, next.
 16.

MERRYN
(reading)
Name three things you and your partner appear to have in common.

WYATT
Uh, ok. Uh... One: Unconventionally placed “Y”s in our first names.
(Merryn laughs)
Uh. Two: We’re both only children.

MERRYN
“Appear”, it says. I think you’re supposed to go on --

WYATT
Oh, sure. Um. Ok, two: We’re both wearing rings.

MERRYN
I gave it back to you, Wyatt. It was like... a family heirloom thing. You know I gave / it
back to you.

WYATT
The engagement ring, not the wedding band.
(pause)
I still have my...
(he lifts his hand)
I see.

MERRYN
Don’t make this into a thing.

WYATT
Ok. Ah. Two: we’re both wearing... jeans.
(Merryn nods)
And, three: our son.
(silence)
Well. He is something we have in common.
(silence)
We have a son together.
(silence)
He might not exist anymore, but that doesn’t mean --

MERRYN
He exists.
 17.

WYATT
That’s not what --

MERRYN
Don’t ever say he doesn’t exist.

WYATT
That was... a bad choice of word. I didn’t mean to --

MERRYN
Can we just not talk about this, please? God. This was supposed to be a - a --

WYATT
I just --

MERRYN
Re-connection, Wyatt.

WYATT
I know. But how can we expect to honestly reconnect if we never --

MERRYN
I just don’t want... I just don’t want to talk about it, ok? I wasn’t... I didn’t prepare for it,
so. I’m not, like --
(she is getting visibly upset)

WYATT
Hey. I’m sorry, ok? I’m sorry. It’s... fine, we don’t have to --

MERRYN
Can we just...

WYATT
We can go back to the questions.

MERRYN
Please?

WYATT
Yeah. Ok?

MERRYN
Yeah.
 18.

WYATT
(reading)
Of all the people in your family, whose death would you find most disturbing?

MERRYN
(quietly)
Can we skip that one?

WYATT
Totally, yeah. Fuck that question.
(Merryn smiles)
Ok, next: If you could change anything about the way you were raised, what would it be?

MERRYN
(deep breath as she gets back into the game)
Oh, well, that one’s easy: I’d want a sister.

WYATT
Yeah?

MERRYN
Or a brother. Sure, I mean... it’s really lonely, I think. Being a kid. Especially if your
parents never tell you anything and leave you with a baby sitter all the time. But, I mean,
you know. You were an only child.

WYATT
But I was constantly surrounded by other kids, neighborhood kids.

MERRYN
Sure. But -- you never wanted siblings?

WYATT
I never thought about it, really.

MERRYN
I wanted a sister. A built-in best friend, you know?

WYATT
Unless she hated you.

MERRYN
Why would she hate me?

WYATT
She wouldn’t -- I’m sorry. I don’t know why I said that.
 19.

MERRYN
(brief pause)
It’s my turn: If you could wake up tomorrow having gained any one quality or ability,
what would it be?

WYATT
(he considers)
I would like to be able to speak all known languages.

MERRYN
And understand?

WYATT
Of course, and understand. Isn’t that a given?

MERRYN
You need to be specific. If you make a wish and you’re not specific, you could end up
being able to speak all languages but have no clue whatsoever as to what you’re saying.

WYATT
Yeah, ok, I’ll make sure to be careful the next time I bump into a sorceress.

MERRYN
Since when do sorceresses grant wishes?

WYATT
Whatever, Merryn.

MERRYN
Ok. Next.

WYATT
If a crystal ball could tell you the truth about yourself, your life, the future or anything
else, what would you want to know?

MERRYN
Just... what am I supposed to be doing, you know? I think that was the thing I envied
most about you. You just... always knew what you were supposed to do and you did it.

WYATT
Teaching was never the dream, Mer.

MERRYN
But you’re so good at it. You’ve had the pick of colleges since before I even met you, and
you just... you shine up there.
 20.

(pause)
I snuck into one of your lectures at DePaul once and sat in the back. You were lecturing
about... I don’t know, maybe James Joyce or something. And when I was in college, I’d
be like doodling all over my books or whatever, but every one of those kids had their
eyes just... locked on you. It was magical.

WYATT
But I never wanted to be talking about the great writers. I wanted to be one of the great
writers.

MERRYN
You were a good writer -- are a good writer. If you’d ever show anyone your stuff --

WYATT
I’m middling at best.

MERRYN
Yeah, well, there’s a market for middling.

WYATT
Not in poetry -- not really. And besides, there’s no money in it.

MERRYN
There’s never any money in anything good.

WYATT
Come on, that’s --

MERRYN
True?

WYATT
Reductive.

MERRYN
Do you even write anymore? Seriously --

WYATT
Of course I do, it’s like... a compulsion.

MERRYN
But?

WYATT
It’s just... scraps. Vignettes. I can’t... There’s no cohesion, it’s just fucking chaos.
 21.

MERRYN
(pause)
Do you remember that poem you wrote for me?

WYATT
I’ve written hundreds of poems for you.

MERRYN
What..?

WYATT
Hundreds.

Silence. They are locked on one another. Electricity.

Until:

MERRYN
What’s the next question.
(reads)
Take 4 minutes and tell your partner your life story in as much detail as possible.

WYATT
I don’t want to do that.

MERRYN
Too bad.

WYATT
We skipped the one you wanted to skip.

MERRYN
But --

WYATT
What is the point, Merryn? Honestly --

MERRYN
I’ll go first then.
(pause)
Yeah?

Wyatt makes a gesture like “do what you want.”

 22.

MERRYN
Ok.
(she fishes her phone out of her pocket)
I’m just gonna set a timer.
(she sets the timer)
Oh, gosh. Ok, um...
(brief pause, then rapid fire:)
I was born in Sacramento in 1983, um, and I grew up in the foothills of Mount Aukum
and I didn't really know anyone. I think most of my childhood was spent with our Cocker
Spaniel, Elias, who my parents adopted I think for the express purpose of keeping me
company. I remember being afraid living where I was living because sometimes at night
you could hear the mountain lions in the distance and one summer, one even came down
to my parent’s land and I thought, what's going to happen to Elias? And I was just crying
and crying because he was barking his head off, you know, just like... And when my
father came down, he had this shot gun in his hand, and when he opened the door to go
outside, Elias just... shot like a bullet out the front door, and that’s... I mean, that’s of
course the last time we saw him. Anyway. I went to school nearby but the bus ride was
like half an hour or so and eventually they cut the funding to the buses and then my
parents had to drive me to school everyday and I always just felt kind of like an outsider
because so much social stuff happened on the bus. I didn’t really have very many friends -
- well, any, really -- but that was okay because it gave me an opportunity to focus on
school and I did really well in school -- I got straight A's I got a scholarship and I ended
up going far away for college. I thought I didn't really have a life for myself in California
so I'm just going to go really, really far away, so I went to a school in Chicago. And so
then I went and my college roommate was my first real friend, Becky Landon, you know
her -- and I started studying Communications thinking that I could get a good job in an
office somewhere and maybe just take the time to really find what I was interested in and
I thought, you know, I like the movies and I like art and I like science museums and I
thought well maybe one day I'll be good enough at something specific. I'll be interested in
something specific enough that it'll -- it'll catch and I'll stick to it but I never found that
thing. Instead I found a husband and we had a wedding on a Vinyard in Sonoma because
his parents died young and he inherited a lot of money and I haven't done anything.
(pause, this is new)
I haven't done anything interesting; I haven't gone anywhere interesting; I haven't become
anything interesting. I'm just... an office manager in a big building with an empty house
with an empty life is my time up yet?
(pause)
Is my time up?
(pause)
See? I’m not even enough to fill four minutes.
(The alarm goes off.)

WYATT
I don’t think it’s true. I think you’re interesting.
 23.

MERRYN
I’m not. I’m, like, objectively not.

WYATT
Mer --

MERRYN
Will you just go now? Please?

WYATT
Fine, yeah, ok guess. Are you gonna...?
(she starts the timer)
Oh, ok, um.
(pause)
I was born in Bloomfield Hills to, like... pretty wealthy parents. My mom and Dad
couldn’t have more kids after me, so I inherited a lot of money when they died. I went to
Yale where I studied poetry, which... is just like the most useless... Anyway. I’m still best
friends with the kid who grew up next door to me.

MERRYN
Nicky Stevenson?

WYATT
Nicky Stevenson. Best man at our -- anyway. I, uh... you can’t make a living writing
poetry, so after my parents died -- like, they left my money in a trust that I couldn’t touch
until I turned 30, so I had to get a job -- yeah, boo hoo, I know. So, I got a job teaching
literature, first at Oakland Community College then at DePaul, and that’s where... where I
met you. In Chicago.
(pause)
I can’t... do this. Pretend like you haven’t heard this story, all my stories, a thousand
times.
(pause)
The first time I saw you, you were carrying that exact same, stupid...
(brief pause)
That messenger bag, full of your resumes, into the humanities building at DePaul. You
were walking up the steps, and it was so cold that day, you had a scarf wrapped up
around half your face, and you hit one of those muddy snow-slush puddles and it
splashed up the side of your pant leg, and you reached down to try to get it off, but it just
got mud all over your mitten, and then you got it on your jacket, and...

MERRYN
You saw that?
 24.

WYATT
Yeah. And I knew it was you because when we met, the time you probably actually
remember, in the lobby? At the front desk? I could see the little muddy mitten prints on
your coat. So I guess all the stuff that happened before that moment doesn’t feel so
important to me. I guess that moment feels like the beginning of my life.

Silence, then the timer goes off. They are staring at one
another until she eventually reaches forward to turn off
her phone.

MERRYN
Next question.

WYATT
(reading)
What do you value most in a friendship?

MERRYN
Support.

WYATT
Honesty.

MERRYN
What is your most treasured memory? And I swear to God, if it’s me puking into a
bucket...

WYATT
(he laughs)
No, no. I just told you mine.
(brief pause)
Muddy mitten prints.

They smile. It feels new, somehow.

WYATT
What’s yours?

MERRYN
The gender reveal cake. At the shower.
(pause)
I remember you had your hand over my hand, and we sliced in and we saw blue, and
everyone was cheering all around us. And you know how much I wanted a girl, I wanted
a girl so much, and you looked at me, like, is this ok?
(she laughs a little)
 25.

And I expected to feel disappointed, but my heart swelled and jumped up into my throat
because I would have a son, and if I was lucky, he’d be just like you. And he was.

Silence. Their eyes are locked on one another until it

becomes uncomfortable and they look away.

MERRYN
Hey, can we take a quick / break?

WYATT
Yeah --

MERRYN
Just... I need to pee. And also, I’m kind of getting hungry?

WYATT
Do you want to order something, or...? I have snack foods here, like...

MERRYN
(calling from the hallway)
What’ve you got?

WYATT
Um.
(he goes into the kitchen)
Pita chips and that spinach artichoke dip from Costco?

MERRYN
Oh hell yeah.

WYATT
Also? I’m rethinking the booze.

MERRYN
What?

WYATT
This is just...
(quieter to himself)
This is fucking brutal.

He gets the food, brings it out, arranges it. Merryn

emerges from the bathroom.

MERRYN
You don’t have hand towels. In the bathroom, so my hands are...
 26.

WYATT
Just... wipe them where ever.

MERRYN
Just...?

WYATT
Yeah. Just where ever.

MERRYN
Do you have like a dish towel...?

WYATT
I don’t... I mean, I’m missing a lot of basics, I guess. This place was all like... prefab, or
whatever. It came with all this stuff. I didn’t want to buy anything of my own so
whatever’s not here, just...

MERRYN
Um.

WYATT
Seriously. Wipe them where ever.

She wipes her hands on the back of the couch. They

smile.

MERRYN
Do you like it here?

WYATT
(he goes to get the chips and dip)
It’s fine. It’s whatever.
(he places it on the coffee table)

MERRYN
You hate it.

WYATT
Yeah. I fucking hate it. I mean, look at it. It has zero personality.

MERRYN
I should’ve let you keep the house.

WYATT
Well. Yeah, if you’re just gonna burn it down.
 27.

They smile. They eat quietly for a moment.

MERRYN
Do you still get that stuff from Costco? That chocolate --

WYATT
Nut brick stuff? Yeah, I do -- I mean, it’s gone now, but...

MERRYN
God, that stuff is like crack.

WYATT
Ok, so. What’s next, then?

MERRYN
Oh.
(she gets up, grabs the papers, returns to the
couch and reads)
If you knew that in one year you would die suddenly, would you change anything about
the way you are now living? Why?

WYATT
I would quit teaching and spend all of my time in a seaside cottage somewhere, writing.
And then when the sun went down, I’d put my work away, and I’d sit with you on the
porch and drink wine and read you what I’d written, and then go to bed with you, and --

MERRYN
(good-naturedly)
Ok, ok.

WYATT
And you?

MERRYN
I think... I mean, I wouldn’t change anything, but I think it would change me, you know?

WYATT
Sure.

MERRYN
And I think I’d just feel... at peace, some how. Like, ok. I don’t have to worry about
anything anymore, because it’s all going to end soon.
 28.

WYATT
That’s a little --

MERRYN
I don’t mean it to be bleak. But.

WYATT
No, yeah. I get it.

MERRYN
Next.

WYATT
Next.
(reads)
Alternate sharing something you consider a positive characteristic of your partner. Share
a total of five items.
(pause)
You’re beautiful.

MERRYN
You’re correct.
(they laugh)
You’re... smart.

WYATT
You’re kind.

MERRYN
You’re creative.

WYATT
You’re funny.

MERRYN
You’re punctual.

WYATT
Punctual?

MERRYN
Yeah. I like that about you.

WYATT
Ok, well... you’re... open.
 29.

MERRYN
I mean -- but am I?

WYATT
You were open to this whole thing.

MERRYN
I guess.

WYATT
Plenty of people in our position would have just... given up, you know? Just completely
thrown in the towel. But when I brought up the idea, you were all in.

MERRYN
Well. We love each other. I figured, why not give it one last shot?

WYATT
Yeah.

MERRYN
Anyway.
(brief pause)
You’re strong and you can reach things in high places.

WYATT
(laughs)
Great.

MERRYN
Is that 5?

WYATT
Four, I think.

MERRYN
One more, then.

WYATT
Yeah. You’re...

MERRYN
(pause)
You can’t think of one, can you?

WYATT
Yes I can, hang on.
 30.

MERRYN
I could go on and on. You’re handsome, you’re successful, you’re conscientious, you’re
dutiful, you’re loyal, you’re --

WYATT
You’re loyal.

MERRYN
You can’t take one I said.

WYATT
You’re interested.

MERRYN
What does that mean?

WYATT
You want to know things, be a part of things. You’re curious. You’re interested.

MERRYN
Not interesting, but --

WYATT
You’ve always been so supportive of me and my work, so interested in what I was doing,
and it made me feel like I wasn’t mediocre.

MERRYN
You’re not.

WYATT
I am. You’re the only person who ever said otherwise.

MERRYN
Because you never shared anything with anyone else. If you had, then you’d know --

WYATT
I have, all right?
(pause)
I have. I’ve shopped my stuff around basically everywhere, and it’s just...
(pause)
I created a whole other e-mail address. And it’s just rejection after rejection after...

MERRYN
Why didn’t you ever tell me?
 31.

WYATT
I didn’t need you to see me fail. I felt shitty enough as it is without my wife seeing how...
I’m not as good as you think I am, all right?

MERRYN
You’re precisely as good as I think you are.

WYATT
You don’t know anything about it.

MERRYN
(pause)
Fine. Fine. Just... read the next question.

WYATT
(pause)
Is there something that you’ve dreamed of doing for a long time? Why haven’t you done
it?

MERRYN
(she thinks.)
Honestly, not really.

WYATT
Nothing?

MERRYN
(she shakes her head)
No.
(pause, she hesitates)
I guess...

WYATT
What?
(brief pause)
Say it.
(brief pause)
It’s ok, Merryn.

MERRYN
I guess I just haven’t dreamed of doing anything since Jacob.
(pause)
I’m sorry. I know what I said -- I know what we agreed. I’m such a hypocrite.

WYATT
It’s ok.
 32.

MERRYN
It’s not. This wasn’t supposed to be about him. None of it was.

WYATT
I think it’s stupid to think we could have ever kept him out of it.

MERRYN
But it’s supposed to be about us, about saving us.

WYATT
Look at the next question --

MERRYN
I’m trying to make a point here.

WYATT
So am I. Look at it.

MERRYN
(reading)
What is the greatest accomplishment of your life?
(pause, then pointedly)
You can’t say that. That isn’t -- you can’t say that.

WYATT
Why not?

MERRYN
Because he wasn’t an accomplishment. He was a human being.

WYATT
We raised a smart, compassionate, loving little boy, Merryn. You and me. We did that.

MERRYN
And then he died.

WYATT
I know, I was there, too. Remember?
(pause)
No, in your mind, it’s all your own personal tragedy. You remember that you were
holding him, but you forget who was holding you.
 33.

MERRYN
I didn’t forget, Wyatt. I can’t get it the fuck out of my head. Why do you think we fell
apart?

Silence. Then:

WYATT
(quietly)
“What is your most terrible -- ?”

MERRYN
Yeah.
(She takes her time with this; she doesn’t
look at him)
When I was in labor, I felt... trapped in my body. Like the spine-wrenching pressure of it
put me in fight or flight mode, and all I wanted to do was find a way out, but I couldn’t. It
lasted so long, I thought the pain would be permanent. I thought all the baby books had
been a bunch of bullshit and that my body would burn forever. And then it was over, and
they put him in my arms, and all of that evaporated. In an instant.
(pause)
When he died, I felt it like a second labor, something that split me open and set my
nerves on fire. I wrapped my arms around him and he was still so warm, I could close my
eyes and pretend he was asleep. But he looked mangled and raw, and I thought of all the
blood that brought him here, and all the blood that took him out again, and I gave myself
over to the hurt of it.
(pause)
And you needed to hold me and be held, in the aftermath. Of course you did. But I felt
the loss in my body, and even the slightest pressure from your fingertips was enough to
make me keel over. But I figured... it won’t be like this forever. It’ll ease up, it has to.
The impermanence of pain.
(pause)
But it hasn’t. Not one bit. I think I’ll feel this way forever.

WYATT
Well, fuck. How do we come back from that?

MERRYN
I don’t know that we do.

Silence.

WYATT
How about that drink?
 34.

MERRYN
Bourbon?

WYATT
Bourbon.

Wyatt gets up, pours two bourbons -- doubles. Merryn

eats some of the food on the coffee table. Outside the sun
has nearly set.

MERRYN
It’s getting dark earlier and earlier.

WYATT
Yeah.
(he hands her a glass)
To the dying of the light.

MERRYN
I’m not gonna / drink to that.

WYATT
Sorry, yeah, ok...
(brief pause)
To Jacob.

MERRYN
(they clink glasses. They drink.)
Ok, so, are we officially giving up, then?

WYATT
I’m not. No.

MERRYN
So, what’s next.

WYATT
(he reads)
What roles do love and affection play in your life?

MERRYN
God. I honestly don’t know anymore.

She finishes the bourbon, shakes the glass. He takes it

from her, refills it, hands it back.
 35.

WYATT
Can I...? It’s weirdly quiet in here, can I just put on some / music or something?

MERRYN
God, yes. Please. Here, I have that playlist we used to like --

WYATT
Ok, yeah, plug it into this [wireless speaker...]

She plugs it in, and at first it is that loud, up-beat song

from when she first walked in.

MERRYN
Sorry.

She changes it to the aforementioned play list. My Funny

Valentine, Frank Sinatra.

WYATT
This song is normally performed in C minor, but Sinatra sings it in B minor, which is
actually how it was originally composed.

MERRYN
Oh?

WYATT
Yeah. And I dunno if you knew this about old Blue Eyes, but he tried to off himself like
three times.

MERRYN
I know. Mostly when he was all long in the tooth about Ava Gardner.

WYATT
Long in th-- That’s not how that idiom is used.

MERRYN
What do you mean? It’s... it means “sad” / doesn’t it?

WYATT
It means “old”.

MERRYN
Then --

WYATT
I think you meant long in the face...? Like why the long / face?
 36.

MERRYN
It doesn’t matter. You know what I meant.
(beat)
That’s why you liked me.

WYATT
What?

MERRYN
At first. You liked being around someone who you could correct all the time. Made you
feel smart, like the big man.

WYATT
That’s not / true, Merryn. It’s not.

MERRYN
It is. It’s ok. I think I cultivated it -- I liked how you looked at me, like, Oh, you sweet,
vague thing. Here, come sit on my lap and let me tell you how the world really is.

WYATT
(brief pause)
Come sit on my lap.

MERRYN
Wyatt.

WYATT
Let me show you how the world really is.

MERRYN
I know how the world really is.

WYATT
Come sit on my lap anyway.

She shakes her head.

MERRYN
What role do love and affection -- ?

WYATT
Yes.
(pause)
Let’s see. Uh, when I was younger, they were... [everything]. I mean, I was, just...
 37.

MERRYN
Constantly getting laid?

WYATT
I didn’t know who I was if I wasn’t pressed against someone else’s skin. I took that test
online that you sent me, that, um... love languages test? Do you remember that?
(she nods)
And I got a three-way tie. I got “Words of Affirmation”, and I got “Physical Touch”, and
I got “Acts of Service” and I knew that I could just eat up every ounce of affection
anyone ever showed me and it was never enough. It was never enough. And maybe it’s,
like, this constant need for some form of validation, or whatever -- And I wasn’t getting it
with my writing, so I needed it from... where ever. And I just felt like this... black hole of
need.

MERRYN
God, me too. Boys would always tell me I was “too needy”, but I always just sort of
suspected that was code for, “stop feeling your feelings”?

WYATT
Right.

MERRYN
But you never said that to me. Not once.

WYATT
Well. Pot. Kettle.

MERRYN
I would hug you extra long to see how long I could get away with but you never pulled
away first. Never. You would stand there and you’d let me lean my head against your
chest, and on good days you’d hum, and I could feel the music vibrating through our
bones, and on the bad days, it would just be quiet, and we’d stay like that until I was
strong enough to let go.
(pause)
And you called me beautiful like it was my name, and you brought me flowers on the
first of every month, and I stopped feeling like, what did you call it? A “black hole of
need”. Because you filled me up. So what roles do love and affection play in my life, they
were everything to me.

She goes to him quickly, she slides her arms around his
waist and he hugs her tight and he does not pull away.
They stay like this for a long while.
 38.

MERRYN
So why can’t I feel it now?
(she looks up at him)
Why can’t I feel it.

He looks at her.

WYATT
You can so fucking feel it, Merryn.

MERRYN
What --

WYATT
Don’t say you can’t fucking feel it. You feel it.

MERRYN
Wyatt.

WYATT
No. I refuse [to believe.] -- There is no way I’m the only one --
(pause)
I feel it, Merryn.

MERRYN
Good for you.

WYATT
Oh, fuck off.

MERRYN
Real nice.

WYATT
You’re lying / to yourself

MERRYN
I’m not.

WYATT
You are. God, it’s like static electricity in the air. No -- don’t look away. Don’t -- God,
why am I the only one fighting for us?
 39.

MERRYN
That isn’t fair. I’m here, aren’t I?

WYATT
You have to do more than just show up, Merryn.

MERRYN
I don’t know what you want from me.

WYATT
I don’t want you to give up on us. And I don’t want you to just... placate me so I’ll sign
the fucking divorce papers. I want you fight with me, Merryn. Look at me. Look at me.
(she does)
Fight.

They kiss like magnets coming together.

They take off only as much clothing as is absolutely

necessary to make love.

It is desperate, the physical expression of all their

unspoken pains.

It is about connection; they are locked on one another.

But it ends quickly. They laugh.

They stay together as they try to regain their breath. But

something has shifted; the awkward business of an after-
sex routine.

MERRYN
I’m just gonna... [go to the bathroom].

WYATT
Yeah, yeah.

Wyatt pours himself another bourbon, shoots it back, then

refills both glasses.

MERRYN
(Shouts from the Hallway)
Can we wear Pajamas? I feel so / strange.

WYATT
Yeah, I’ve got -- I mean, did you bring / some?
 40.

MERRYN
No, I didn’t come, like, prepared for a sleep-over. And I’m not saying I’m gonna stay.

WYATT
That’s fine.

MERRYN
So, can I...?

WYATT
Yeah, go through the third drawer from the top. Take whatever you want. You know
what’s in there.

Merryn disappears to find PJs.

WYATT
Do we still want to eat this stuff, or --

MERRYN
(shouting)
Eh, I might pick at it.

WYATT
Ok. Sure. Yeah.

Wyatt lingers strangely, not sure what to do with himself.

After a beat, Merryn comes out in pajamas.

MERRYN
So, next question, then?

WYATT
Yeah. Sure. Read on.

MERRYN
(reading)
Make three true “we” statements each. For instance, “We are both in this room feeling...”

WYATT
We are both in this room feeling...
(playful)
Sexually satisfied.
 41.

MERRYN
We are both in this room feeling... connected. I think? Yeah?

WYATT
Oh, yeah, totally. We are happy? To be with one another?

MERRYN
We are... both wearing your clothes.

WYATT
But they look much better on you. We are both like deeply dissatisfied with the food
options I’ve put before us. Aren’t we?

MERRYN
We are. We are both desirous of Pizza.

WYATT
We definitely are. We are... wondering which place to order from?

MERRYN
We are curious: Does Red House reach all the way out here?

WYATT
We are fairly certain it does not.

MERRYN
We are disappointed. But we will settle for Dominos?

WYATT
We will settle for Dominos.
(He pulls out his phone)
Are we still not eating meat?

MERRYN
We’re eating whatever the fuck we want.

WYATT
Really? We’re eating... Italian sausage?

MERRYN
Yeah, we are.

WYATT
And maybe some green pepper and onion?
 42.

MERRYN
We are pleased with this.

WYATT
Do you want anything like bread sticks or soda?

MERRYN
Do I / want?

WYATT
Do we.

MERRYN
We do not.
(brief pause, she watches him type on his
phone.)
Do we have a dominos app on our phone? Do we order from dominos like way too much?

WYATT
We don’t like to cook.
(brief pause, puts his phone away)
There. What’s next?

MERRYN
(reading)
Complete this sentence: “I wish I had someone with whom I could share...”

WYATT
My bed. And not like in a... not like in a sex way, necessarily. But just like...

MERRYN
I know. You’ve always been a very, like, tactile person.

WYATT
Yeah, and... you know, if I’m completely honest with you, I’m ok during the day. You
know? I’m good in the sun. I’m good around people. But then at night...

MERRYN
Yeah. It’s all harder at night. I mean, it’s like having a cold or the flu, almost. You
always feel sicker at night. And this is no different, really.

WYATT
(silence)
Yeah.
(pause)
Your turn.
 43.

MERRYN
Ok, um. I wish I had someone with whom I could share... the loss of my son.
(he stares at her)
I don’t mean you. I mean... someone else who gets it.

WYATT
You don’t go to group?

MERRYN
I could never really bring myself to. Do you?

WYATT
Nah.

MERRYN
I sometimes talk to my mom about it. Super rarely.

WYATT
And...?

MERRYN
It’s terrible. I fucking hate it.

WYATT
Yeah, honestly, the only time I’ve been grateful that my parents were dead was after
Jacob died and I didn’t have to call and tell them.

MERRYN
And even when we did talk about it... I dunno, we always just experienced it so
differently. I just... feel like I’m alone at rock bottom and I just kind of wish someone
was down here with me.

WYATT
You don’t act like you’re at rock bottom.

MERRYN
What does someone at rock bottom act like?

WYATT
Like they’d rather just be dead, I mean, basically. But you live your life. Fuck, you made
a point to tell me you went on a date recently, which just like --

MERRYN
I only told you that because I wanted to make sure that we were both in the same place. I
didn’t want to be accused of cheating.
 44.

WYATT
It was cheating, Merryn. We’re still married.

MERRYN
We don’t even live in the same house.

WYATT
Only because you made me move!

MERRYN
I didn’t make you -- you wanted to go. You said you were -- what was the phrase you
used? Oh, right: drowning in my abject melancholy. Write a fucking poem about it or
something. Jesus.

WYATT
Yeah, well, it seems like you got happier as soon as I was gone. Must’ve been a relief to
get laid again, since we barely touched each other the last year we were under the same
roof.

MERRYN
What a thing to bitch about, like, literal minutes after we just had sex. And anyway, I
didn’t fuck him I just went on a date.

WYATT
Well, I hope you had a great time.

MERRYN
I did.

WYATT
Yeah? / Good.

MERRYN
Yeah. He took me to Benihana. It was nice.

WYATT
Fantastic. Had a real connection with him? Good conversation while the guy in the
stupid hat was grilling up your fucking shrimp?

MERRYN
Those shrimp are delicious.
(silence)
I didn’t cheat on you.
 45.

(pause)
I just... wanted to know if there was even life left in the world for me. That’s all.

WYATT
And is there?

MERRYN
I don’t know. Maybe not.
(pause)
Not with that guy, anyway.

WYATT
No...?

MERRYN
No. He had like a... like a really high pitched voice?

WYATT
(he grins, he does an impression of a high
voice)
Oh really?

MERRYN
Yeah.
(pause)
I mean, I met him on Tinder, so I guess I just feel lucky that he didn’t try to murder me,
or something.

WYATT
Wow. Tinder.

MERRYN
What?

WYATT
No, that’s like... a hookup app for twenty-somethings.

MERRYN
It is not.

WYATT
No, it really is.

MERRYN
Well, so how would you know, were you using it?
 46.

WYATT
I mean. I downloaded it? But I never --

MERRYN
I knew it.

WYATT
What?

MERRYN
You’re all high and mighty about us still being married, but you want to get laid even
more than I do.

WYATT
I mean. Yes. But the difference is that I haven’t actually met anyone yet. I haven’t really
made the effort.

MERRYN
You swear it?

WYATT
I swear. So it’s just internet porn for me.

MERRYN
(she smiles)
Not that I have any right...

WYATT
Of course you do. You’re my wife.

MERRYN
Yeah. For now.

Silence.

WYATT
Next Question. Tell your partner what you like about them; be very honest this time,
saying things that you might not say to someone you’ve just met.

MERRYN
Didn’t we already do this kind of?

WYATT
Yeah, we basically already did this. Ok, um... Share with your partner an embarrassing
moment in your life.
 47.

MERRYN
Oh, easy, ok. In the ninth grade, I was wearing white jeans and / I bled through them.

WYATT
And you bled through them. You told me that on, like, our second date.

MERRYN
I did not.

WYATT
You did. And in my mind I’m going, isn’t telling basically a stranger this story more
embarrassing than the story itself...?

MERRYN
Wow. Judgey.

WYATT
No, I only mean --

MERRYN
I think it was just a very formative story. Like, I will not wear white pants to this day.
(they smile at one another)

WYATT
Your wedding dress wasn’t even white.

MERRYN
Oh, man. That dress...

WYATT
I thought your mother was gonna have a heart attack.

MERRYN
I just -- Ok. My thinking / was...

WYATT
I remember.

MERRYN
Why should this one day be... totally...

MERRYN AND WYATT

Other.

MERRYN
Exactly.
 48.

WYATT
I like dressing up, wearing something I wouldn’t normally wear.

MERRYN
Well, I wouldn’t normally wear a ball gown anyway. But at least the dress looked like
me, looked like something I might wear.

WYATT
Yeah.

MERRYN
You have no idea how many traditional white dresses I tried on. Almost all of them were
sleeveless with a sweetheart neckline and I looked at myself in these three gigantic
mirrors and I was just like, this is not me. And on that day, I wanted to be the most me,
the best me, you know?

WYATT
I do.

MERRYN
And you. You rocked that suit.

WYATT
Why, thank you.

MERRYN
You did. God. I remember being in that church and walking down the aisle on my
father’s arm, and seeing you in that three piece suit and just thinking... Man, I’d really
like to fuck him right now.

WYATT
(he laughs, loudly and genuinely)
You did not.

MERRYN
I swear to God.

WYATT
Well. You were the only one lookin’ at me. Everyone else in the, fuckin... zipcode had
their eyes on you.
(she smiles. This is what it used to be like.)
What’s next?
 49.

MERRYN
(reading)
When did you last cry in front of another person? By yourself?

WYATT
Nicky came by to watch the Padres game last week, and I cried cuz they won.

MERRYN
Yeah, you always were a crier.

WYATT
It’s healthy.

MERRYN
Yeah, yeah, totally. But ok, the thing about criers is that they suck up all the emotional
energy in the space around them. Like, if you’re gonna be the crier, then I can’t be, you
know?

WYATT
That isn’t true.

MERRYN
It is. When was the last time you saw me cry? I mean, not counting Jacob, when was the
last time you saw me cry.

WYATT
Jacob counts --

MERRYN
Yeah, but that wasn’t crying. That was... something else, when was the last time I like,
sniffled at a Rom Com or gushed over a baby?
(pause)
Yeah, you can’t think of anything, can you?

WYATT
But that doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened.

MERRYN
I’m telling you, I just don’t really do it that much. And I think some part of that is
because you cry at everything, so I don’t have any space to.

WYATT
That’s dumb.
 50.

MERRYN
What?

WYATT
I’m sorry, but that’s dumb. Just because I cry doesn’t mean you can’t.

MERRYN
Well, then we’re both balls of useless snivelling.

WYATT
So? Join me.

MERRYN
(she smiles, but shakes her head)
Anyway.
(reading)
What, if anything, is too serious to joke about?

They look at one another: Merryn has questioning

eyebrows and Wyatt wears a sad sort of smile. A long
silence passes. Then: an agreement.

WYATT AND MERRYN

Nothing.

They smile.

WYATT
Your house, containing everything you own, catches fire. After saving your loved ones
and pets, you have time to safely make a final dash to save any one item. What would it
be? Why?

MERRYN
I mean... my cell phone is probably the trite answer, but also maybe the true one...?
(pause)
No.
(pause)
My camera.

WYATT
The Nikon? The one / I got you for Christmas.

MERRYN
Yeah, I...
 51.

WYATT
You never used that thing. Like ever. You took it out of the box on Christmas morning,
and you snapped a few photos that day, but I have never once seen you use it again after.

MERRYN
I never have. It’s in the box, still, at the back of my closet.
(pause)
But there are pictures of us on there. Of him. That I’ve never seen before. I’ve
memorized the line of every other photograph we ever took. I know his expression in
every frozen moment. But those pictures would be new. So that’s what I’d save.
(pause)
You?

WYATT
I have this... box. Of stuff. Stupid stuff, like... the ticket stub to the time we went to see
Ben Folds in concert. Or, like, the lanyard thing from that time we went to ComicCon. I
have some stupid shit Jake made out of, like, construction paper and macaroni from his
first few days of Kindergarten.

MERRYN
It’s not stupid.

WYATT
I mean, it’s not even really anything, it’s just --

MERRYN
Abstract art.
(they smile)

WYATT
Right. So I have it, and like... a copy of our wedding invitation, and those naked polaroids
I snapped of you the first year we were dating.

MERRYN
You kept those?

WYATT
I kept those.

MERRYN
I feel like I should be mad, but I kinda want to see them? Like, pre-baby body --

WYATT
I can go get / the box if you want.
 52.

MERRYN
No. No. It’s ok. I like that they’re just... yours, now.

WYATT
Anyway, so that’s what I’d go back and get.

MERRYN
Your secret box.

WYATT
My secret box.

MERRYN
(They smile. She reads)
If you were going to become a close friend with your partner, share what would be
important for him or her to know.

WYATT
We are close friends.

MERRYN
Are we?

WYATT
Yeah.

MERRYN
But are we?

WYATT
Uh. Not to put too fine a point on it, but you are the single most important person in the
entire universe to me.

MERRYN
(pause. She’s caught a little off guard)
Ok but like that doesn’t make us friends.
(they laugh a little)

WYATT
I guess... I’ve had a lot of bourbon at this point, so...

MERRYN
Yeah, ha.
 53.

WYATT
Ok. I just, there’s...

MERRYN
What?

WYATT
(pause, then carefully)
This isn’t a threat, or a... it’s not meant to...

MERRYN
(pause, then softly)
You can say it.

WYATT
I’m dead without you. I just am. And like ok, not literally. And maybe not even
permanently. But that is what it feels like.
(pause)
And you wanna know the worst truth, like the worst fucking... thing anyone has ever
thought in the history of the universe?

MERRYN
Tell me.

WYATT
You’ll hate me after.
(pause)
When I got the call about the accident, I thought you were with him. I thought you were
with him in that car. And when I got to the hospital, and I saw you, while he was still in
surgery? My knees almost gave out, I was so relieved. And I’d made a bargain with God.
I ran red lights and made a bargain with God and I said, just save my wife. Just save my
wife.

MERRYN
That’s not a bargain. A bargain is where / you --

WYATT
Take whatever else you want to take, just save my wife.
(pause)
I loved that boy. I will love him until the day I die, and beyond, because he’s as much a
part of me as I was of him. But I knew before I got there that day that I could survive
losing him. But not you. I couldn’t survive losing you.
(pause)
Merryn.
 54.

(pause)
Say something.

Merryn begins stripping off the pajamas like they burned

her, changing quickly back into her own clothes. She
starts to gather her things. She is a flurry of motion.

MERRYN
I can’t even begin to know how to respond to that.

WYATT
I mean. It’s a compliment. Sort of. Merryn: would you stop?

MERRYN
No.

WYATT
You think I don’t hate myself for feeling that way? You think I’m unaware of how
goddamned unnatural it is? I’m sorry -- I wish I were a better man or parent or... I’m
sorry, ok?

MERRYN
(she throws her gathered things down and
faces him, suddenly still)
The thing that eats away at me? The guilt thing I probably shouldn’t confess? Is that I
would trade you in a second, if given half a chance. I wouldn’t even think twice. You for
him, easiest decision in the world.

WYATT
Yes. If I could trade me, I would, too.

MERRYN
(brief pause)
Really.

WYATT
Yes. Easiest decision in the world. I just... wouldn’t trade anything for you.

MERRYN
(A crack has formed in her veneer)
Why? What... even am I? I mean -- I’m not anything.

WYATT
Stop.
 55.

MERRYN
I don’t know what to do with this, Wyatt. Because you’re my second favorite person who
has ever existed. You deserve more than second place.

WYATT
I’ll take second. Happily.

She is crying. He tugs her into a reluctant embrace.

Eventually she relaxes into it. It’s like it used to be: a bad
day, they’re quiet. No one pulls away.

Then: the doorbell rings. They are both startled.

MERRYN
Christ. That scared the shit out of me.

WYATT
Yeah, I think I sort of forgot that there was, like, a whole world out there.

MERRYN
Yeah.
(an awkward pause)
Are you gonna get it, or...?

WYATT
Yeah, sorry. Do me a favor, and grab some plates and utensils and napkins and stuff?

MERRYN
Sure.

Wyatt disappears into the hall, audible but indecipherable

exchange with the pizza delivery person.

Merryn walks to the kitchen. She doesn’t really know her

way around it, so she’s looking in various places for
various items. She finds plates first, sets them on the
counter.

MERRYN
(shouting)
Wait, but why do we need utensils for pizza?

He’s still doing pizza buying business and doesn’t

answer. She keeps searching for napkins, and opens a
drawer.
 56.

She sees the ring box.

She takes it out.

She opens it. A diamond glints in the light. A diamond

she knows. Something breaks in her.

She closes the box, puts it back where she found it, and
returns to the living room with plates and napkins even as
Wyatt returns with a pizza box in hand.

WYATT
There was this whole weird negotiation because like I wanted to tip using the app, and he
was like, do you have cash? It was super weird.

MERRYN
Well, I bet he gets to keep more of it if you give him cash.

They sit. He goes about the business of putting slices of

pizza onto plates, and she mostly just watches him.

After a moment, he gives her a look like, “Is there

something on my face...?” And she tries to mask the
storm clouds in her eyes.

They eat.

Silence.

Then:

WYATT
Do you wanna watch something while we eat?

MERRYN
No.

WYATT
Ok.

Silence.

WYATT
Do you like the pizza?
 57.

MERRYN
Yes.

WYATT
Good.

Silence.

WYATT
Ok, do we need to, like, talk about --

MERRYN
No, no. Let’s just go back to the thing, ok?

WYATT
Ok...

MERRYN
If you were going to become a close friend with your partner, share what would be
important for him or her to know.

WYATT
Fine, assuming that we aren’t already close friends...

MERRYN
Assuming that, yes. For me, it would be important to know that dates are important. Like
birthdays and anniversaries and stuff like that.

WYATT
That’s reasonable. For me... I hate being a fucking baby-sitter. Like, if we’re gonna go
out and have a good time, you need to be able to take care of yourself. And I definitely
don’t want to be out until four in the fucking morning.

MERRYN
We are too old for that shit.

WYATT
Way too old.

MERRYN
And I don’t want to go to a club.

WYATT
Gross.
 58.

MERRYN
Let’s just go to a nice quiet wine bar --

WYATT
Or Irish dive.

MERRYN
-- and have, like, a real conversation. Except that I do not want to join your book club.

WYATT
Amen.

MERRYN
Like, I do not need a reason to read which is actually just a veiled excuse to get drunk and
eat carbs. And furthermore, I do not need you to tell me what I think about any one
particular piece of literature.

WYATT
God. Other people are the worst.

MERRYN
Fuck everyone who isn’t us.
(they smile)

WYATT
That was the last question.

MERRYN
Wow. Was it?

WYATT
Yeah. Now, um.
(he reads)
Congratulations, you've answered all the questions! Now for the hard part.

In order to solidify your love, you have to look into your partner's eyes for four minutes.
In silence. It's hard, and you'll squirm, but you'll learn an incredible amount. Good luck…
(he looks at her)
You ready?

MERRYN
Yeah.
 59.

WYATT
Set a timer.

MERRYN
Ok.
(she sets a timer on her phone)

WYATT

Ok. So do we just...?

MERRYN
Yeah.

They settle in on the couch, facing each other.

MERRYN
Ok. Four minutes.

She presses the start button, and they stare into each
other’s eyes.

She sits in it for as long as she possibly can, but it

becomes very clear, very quickly that she can’t.

She suddenly stops the timer.

MERRYN
I saw the ring.

WYATT
What?

MERRYN
In the drawer, in your kitchen. I saw it. You’ve had it cleaned.

WYATT
Yes.

MERRYN
And I just need to know -- what, I mean... is it for me? Again? Or --

WYATT
Who the fuck else would it be for?
 60.

MERRYN
God. Why do you want to be married to me?

WYATT
Because you’re home, Merryn. Didn’t I make that clear? I think the question really is:
Why don’t you want to be married to me?

MERRYN
Because / of Jacob.

WYATT
No, don’t put this on him. I’d get it, if I thought you wanted to get over it, but you don’t.
You appear to want to wallow in it for the rest of your life. Me, I’m just glad I got to
know him for the five short years he was here. What a magical soul that boy was. I will
love him more than I love myself until the day I die, but you know what else? I want
more from life than to spend it in mourning.

MERRYN
So do I -- don’t you think I want to get past it?

WYATT
No, I don’t.

MERRYN
Well, I do.

WYATT
Mer --

MERRYN
Just not with you.
(pause)
See, this is what happens when I’m with you. I love you so much, Wyatt. You’re so much
a part of me now that I’m not even sure where I end and you begin. And you get me. And
we’re well-matched, and you make me laugh, and I want to crawl inside your skin I love
you so much.
(pause)
But you make me forget him. Just for a moment, I forget. And then he comes up in
conversation, or you look at me and I see his eyes in your eyes, and I remember, and it all
comes crashing back, but that isn’t the worst part.
(pause)
The worst part is the guilt that follows. I laughed with Wyatt; I made love with Wyatt;
Wyatt held me, and I forgot, and I cannot be happy in a world without my son.
 61.

Doesn’t that mean he matters less? Doesn’t that make me just... The worst, most
heartless...
(she shakes her head)
The world isn’t supposed to shine for me anymore. You make it shine.

WYATT
Why do you think he’d want you to spend your life sad?

MERRYN
He wouldn’t --

WYATT
No, he wouldn’t.

MERRYN
But if I don’t give my life over to him, no one else will, and it’ll be like -- like what you
said before. Like he doesn’t exist. Like he never existed at all.

WYATT
So, what’s your plan, then?
(brief pause)
Just... find someone else, make another family?

MERRYN
No. I’ll never have another child. But maybe I’ll find someone. Someone that’s kind.
Maybe not as handsome as you, maybe not as funny as you. But someone who doesn’t
have the same eyes as my son; someone who doesn’t have the same skin. Someone I can
stand to look at without my heart dropping into the pit of my stomach -- don’t you get it,
Wyatt?
(brief pause)
I feel guilt like a vice grip. I feel guilty when I think about him -- how it should have
been me driving that day, how maybe if it had been, he’d still be alive. I feel guilty when
I don’t think about him, because then he vanishes. I feel guilty when I’m with his father,
because his father makes me forget, and then...
(pause)
For a while, I thought you would blame me. You know, for switching carpool shifts.
Honestly, I hoped you’d blame me, I felt like I deserved it. But you never did.

WYATT
Of course not. I was too busy thinking that if I made more money, he would’ve gone to
that other kindergarten, the fancy one we couldn’t afford. Or if we lived closer to the
school, he could have taken the bus. Or if I’d stayed home to write that day, I could’ve
driven him myself. If it’s your fault, it’s mine, too. But I think we can let that go, Mer.
 62.

I think we have to let that go. We deserve more than this. We do. I believe that. So come
back to me. Please.

She hesitates, and finally rises. She gets the folder from
her messenger bag, returns to the couch with it. She
hands him the papers.

MERRYN
No.
(pause)
We said we’d decide by the end of the night, and now it’s the end of the night. So, I’ve
decided --

WYATT
It’s not the end.

He gets up, goes to the kitchen, gets the ring box, returns
to the couch and sits. He puts the box on top of the folder.

MERRYN
We answered all the questions -- it’s done.

WYATT
You don’t get to make a unilateral decision.

MERRYN
Well, I am.

WYATT
And the night isn’t done. We said we’d do it all, we haven’t don't it all yet.

MERRYN
What --

WYATT
Four minutes. Set the timer.

MERRYN
Wyatt.

WYATT
Do it. Four minutes.

She sets the timer on her phone.

 63.

WYATT
Promise me, you’ll really try. Just for this four minutes, you’ll try.

MERRYN
I’ve been trying.

WYATT
Please, just. Four minutes. Be here with me -- don’t look away. Don’t give up. For the
next 4 minutes: Fight.

Merryn presses “Go” on the timer.

This should really last for four solid minutes, which will
feel like an eternity on stage, but sit in it anyway. Be as
true to the reality of staring into someone eye’s for four
uninterrupted minutes as possible, but try to shape the
journey like this:

It is uncomfortable at first. There is a lot of weird

grinning, and a lot of shifting from side to side. At one
point, Wyatt will brush a stray hair out of Merryn’s eyes,
and she will mouth thank you. This will feel like a
betrayal of the four minutes, but they’ll just sort of silent-
laugh and forgive each other.

After about a minute or so, they begin to settle in. They

really see one another, they see each other the way the
other sees them.

They take each other’s hands. Their breathing levels out

so that they are inadvertently breathing together. They are
completely connected.

Their faces get closer and closer together throughout the

course of the four minutes, so slowly that we do not
notice it and neither do they.

The lights around them go down until they are in a sharp

pool of light: they are the only two people in the universe.

And when the timer goes off, they do not break the eye
contact.
 64.

Blackout. End of play.