anyway.”
3. “Do you know what time it is?”
Scene: Mother is alone on stage with television set flashing test pattern. A clock with large face is located on table next to her. She is facing the door when son or daughter walks in.
Mother: "I don't want to know where you've been, what you've been doing, or who you've been doing it with. It's late and we'll discuss it in the morning. (Turns off TV set and all the lights except one.)
"Do you honestly think that by not talking about it it's going to go away? (Son opens mouth to speak.)
"Don't lie to me! I would rather you go to bed and say nothing than to stand there and tell me you r.m cut ol gas or the car broke down. I don't want to talk about it tonight or I'll say something I'll be sorry for. Go to bed. (Races him to landing of stairs/hallway, blocking entrance to stairs.)
"Do you have any idea what it is like to be a mother and sit here half-crazed for seven hours, hoping against hope that you were in an accident and had amnesia and that when the ambulance passed the house you heard your dog barking and it triggered your memory? I cannot believe you had the nerve to walk in here without a scratch on you and expect me to understand.
"Please, not another word. I'm exhausted. (Turns off light and follows him upstairs.)
"You know what really hurts? I've been sitting in that chair for seven hours making myself sick and you don't even have the courtesy to phone and say, Tm all right. Go to bed.' If you didn't want to talk to me, you could have paid someone to do it for you. Go ahead, say it. You didn't ask me to wait up. I wondered when you'd get around to that. I'm supposed to have a little switch that clicks on and off? On, when it's fun to be a mother. Off, when it's five o'clock in the morning? (Bathroom door slams and she stands outside it.)
"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm going to bed. The doctor says I need at least eight hours of sleep a night. Easy for him to say. He's never had an ungrateful son. Never sat there for seven hours trying to figure out what two people could possibly do at five in the morning. (Bathroom door opens and son goes to bedroom door and closes it.)
"I know you want me to hear your story—if you have
one. I personally think we'll be a little more rational in the morning. If you want to apologize, I could heat up the chili."
4. “You want to borrow my WHAT?”
Scene: Mother is busy while child hovers nearby, uncertain. Mother has a distinct advantage and is in charge of this situation.
Mother: "I know that look. You're standing there because you want to borrow something. If it's my hair dryer, you've already got it, unless it grew legs and walked back into my bathroom. I'm not a selfish person. You know that. I don't mind if you borrow something as long as you return it in the same condition as I loaned it to you.
"Take my luggage. Which you did, literally. What did you carry in it? Scrap iron? The whole frame is bent. And my camera will never be the same since you dropped it in the sand. Every picture we develop comes out looking like a puzzle.
"Remember my tennis racket you borrowed three years ago? You never did replace the string you broke. Lucky it's the one in the middle and I never hit the ball there.
(Refrain: I'm-not-a-selfish-person speech.)
"I wouldn't mind lending you things if you took care of them. I guess I don't have to remind you of my good white blouse that you promised not to sweat in and did. The only place I can wear it now is to funerals where I don't have to raise my arms.
"The trouble with kids is they don't know the value of what they're borrowing and don't have respect for it.
"Do you remember how you returned my car the last time you borrowed it? It had trash all over the back, mud on the tires, catsup on the steering wheel, and 1 don't have proof, but I know the clutch had been violated.
“You want to borrow my WHAT? Sit down! Let me tell you why I'm going to say no.”
*5.
3. “Do you know what time it is?”
Scene: Mother is alone on stage with television set flashing test pattern. A clock with large face is located on table next to her. She is facing the door when son or daughter walks in.
Mother: "I don't want to know where you've been, what you've been doing, or who you've been doing it with. It's late and we'll discuss it in the morning. (Turns off TV set and all the lights except one.)
"Do you honestly think that by not talking about it it's going to go away? (Son opens mouth to speak.)
"Don't lie to me! I would rather you go to bed and say nothing than to stand there and tell me you r.m cut ol gas or the car broke down. I don't want to talk about it tonight or I'll say something I'll be sorry for. Go to bed. (Races him to landing of stairs/hallway, blocking entrance to stairs.)
"Do you have any idea what it is like to be a mother and sit here half-crazed for seven hours, hoping against hope that you were in an accident and had amnesia and that when the ambulance passed the house you heard your dog barking and it triggered your memory? I cannot believe you had the nerve to walk in here without a scratch on you and expect me to understand.
"Please, not another word. I'm exhausted. (Turns off light and follows him upstairs.)
"You know what really hurts? I've been sitting in that chair for seven hours making myself sick and you don't even have the courtesy to phone and say, Tm all right. Go to bed.' If you didn't want to talk to me, you could have paid someone to do it for you. Go ahead, say it. You didn't ask me to wait up. I wondered when you'd get around to that. I'm supposed to have a little switch that clicks on and off? On, when it's fun to be a mother. Off, when it's five o'clock in the morning? (Bathroom door slams and she stands outside it.)
"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm going to bed. The doctor says I need at least eight hours of sleep a night. Easy for him to say. He's never had an ungrateful son. Never sat there for seven hours trying to figure out what two people could possibly do at five in the morning. (Bathroom door opens and son goes to bedroom door and closes it.)
"I know you want me to hear your story—if you have
one. I personally think we'll be a little more rational in the morning. If you want to apologize, I could heat up the chili."
4. “You want to borrow my WHAT?”
Scene: Mother is busy while child hovers nearby, uncertain. Mother has a distinct advantage and is in charge of this situation.
Mother: "I know that look. You're standing there because you want to borrow something. If it's my hair dryer, you've already got it, unless it grew legs and walked back into my bathroom. I'm not a selfish person. You know that. I don't mind if you borrow something as long as you return it in the same condition as I loaned it to you.
"Take my luggage. Which you did, literally. What did you carry in it? Scrap iron? The whole frame is bent. And my camera will never be the same since you dropped it in the sand. Every picture we develop comes out looking like a puzzle.
"Remember my tennis racket you borrowed three years ago? You never did replace the string you broke. Lucky it's the one in the middle and I never hit the ball there.
(Refrain: I'm-not-a-selfish-person speech.)
"I wouldn't mind lending you things if you took care of them. I guess I don't have to remind you of my good white blouse that you promised not to sweat in and did. The only place I can wear it now is to funerals where I don't have to raise my arms.
"The trouble with kids is they don't know the value of what they're borrowing and don't have respect for it.
"Do you remember how you returned my car the last time you borrowed it? It had trash all over the back, mud on the tires, catsup on the steering wheel, and 1 don't have proof, but I know the clutch had been violated.
“You want to borrow my WHAT? Sit down! Let me tell you why I'm going to say no.”
*5.
Similar Books
