Overheard
A Play in One Act
by Mark Ivan Cole
SCENE ONE
The scene opens to stage that is completely empty
except for a park bench sitting in the very center facing the audience.
RHONDA approaches from Stage Right, sits down quickly
on the right end of the bench and agitatedly digs into her purse for her cell
phone. After viciously punching the numbers, she holds the phone to her ear.
RHONDA: Hi,
Minnie, it’s Rhonda.
Yes! I did!
No, it did not go well.
Of course it didn’t go well! He’s such a jerk. He
did exactly as you said he would.
Yes!
So we ate at the Bistro again, like I told you.
A salad. I always have a salad.
Well, they’ve got good salads, but I didn’t eat much
this time.
No, but he’s just wolfing it down like his steak is
the most important thing in the world and he can’t wait to eat it and get out
of there.
So I finally told him I’d had enough, that it’s
either her or me, and he—
I WISH! No, he didn’t choke, he just gave me this
pained puppy-dog look and told me he couldn’t live without me.
Exactly, so I said: “Then don’t!” And he says “You
want me to kill myself?” and I said, “No, I just want you to live with ME and
not with HER.” And he goes into this whole thing about how if I really
understood him and if I really cared, I wouldn’t put him in this position and
things are really difficult right now and—
[During this section, PAUL enters slowly from Stage
Left, holding the phone with an earpiece in his ear. He has a look a bemused
concern on his face.]
PAUL: Oh,
come on, it can’t be that bad!
RHONDA: YES, it
WAS! It was the same damn thing all over again!
PAUL: He
makes messes all the time. We have to put up with this behavior every time he
gets stressed out over anything.
