To Give Than To Receive
By
Clinton A. Johnston
Characters
Karen a woman, 20s to 40s
Paul the best friend of Karens boyfriend
[Peter Karens boyfriend, unheard, unseen]
[Nb: I wrote this part for a woman, but thinking about it, I dont see why a man couldnt play it. If you to try making it work that way, more power to you. caj]
Paul sits SL at a table reading or drinking or something rather calm. Karen enters from SR, looks around for Paul, sees him, and goes to him. Shes determined and maybe a little miffed, but shes not hostile. She has something small in her hand. It could be anything.
Karen
What is this?
Paul
[Surprised]
Karen!
Karen
What is this?
Paul
[Confused]
What is what?
Karen
Is this a gift?
Paul
I dont know. Whered you get it?
Karen
I found it on my bed in my bedroom.
Paul
Oh. Well thats nice, right?
[Beat]
Karen
Are you putting me on?
Paul
What?
Karen
You didnt give this to me?
Paul
No.
[She gives him a "Really?" look.] No![She sits. Wind out of her sails.]
[Beat.]
Paul
So much fuss.
Karen
[Distracted. Looking at gift.] Yeah. Im sorry.
Paul
You must be fun at Christmas.
Karen
Okay really honestly. I mean, you still have the keys we gave you, right?
Paul
I didnt give you the gift!
Karen
Okay. Im sorry. Im sorry.
Paul
Its okay.
Karen
[Beat. Takes some breaths. Looks at the gift again. Little bitter laugh.]
That son of a bitch.
Paul
What?
Karen
That son of a bitch. He gave me this. Goddamn him!
Paul
Okay, Im missing the problem here. Its your anniversary. Peter gave you a gift.
Karen
No, its just
[really upset] Paul, I dont think I can take this anymore. Weeks go by, I mean weeks and I get nothing from him. So, just when Ive all but given up, he does something like this. I cant [Fights for words.] I cant even count on him being consistently thoughtless.[Pause.]
You didnt say anything to him, did you?
Paul
Karen, you know, Peter loves you very much.
Karen
I know. Thats what makes it so scary. I know Im getting his best. I know that no matter what, things dont get better than this.
Paul
I dont understand.
Karen
Dont give me that! I know you and Peter are friends, but dont give me that. You know how he is! You know that Peter is only there for Peter! He calls you when he needs you and he doesnt think about you any other time. How many times has he stood you up? Huh? Remember the Ontario trip? You planned that for what three weeks? And he didnt even call you. I called you.
[Beat.] He doesnt know your birthday. I tell him, every year. I have to remind him, like I have to remind him about everything. He only has room in his thoughts for himself, and I cant take that anymore.Paul
What about that time you were sick and you were laid up? You said he waited on you hand and foot. You said he was sweet.
Karen
Yes yes he was.
[Looking at gift.] He can be sweet. But you know what I think? I think that was survival. I think he saw how sick I was, and he needed to keep his little whatever going. I know that sounds horrible. I know. I know. But I swear, once I was back on my feet, things went right back to the way they were before. For days, I was so weak, I could barely climb stairs. Id sit there, sweating, holding onto the banister and Id think, where was he? [Pause. Look at gift. Pause.] You know, I had made a decision that night I called you and asked you if youd said anything about today and asked you not to. I must have sounded so strange.Paul
I knew something was up.
Karen
I just had to know. I decided that if he missed this, then that was it. One last chance. I wasnt going to take it anymore.
Paul
Yeah.
Karen
So I let time pass. And for weeks, Ive gotten nothing from him, nothing! And so this morning I think, "Okay then. Thats it." And I knew, I knew that was it. And Paul ... I felt such relief. Im serious, its like a weight was lifted.
[Beat. Look at gift.] But now ...Paul
Look, I know that Peter is hes just Peter. Ive known him for a long time, and hes a good guy. You know, sometimes hes not reliable, but weve all got something. I guess I just accepted that about him a long time ago.
[Beat.] Ive known Peter longer than anybody else, and I know he would just die before he did anything to hurt you.Karen
Paul! Hes already hurting me. Anyway, dont I get more than that? If you love somebody, shouldnt it be about more than just not hurting them?
Paul
I dont know. He got you that gift. Thats something.
Karen
Yeah maybe it is.
[Karens cell phone rings. She takes it out, looks at the number. Its Peter.]
Hey you.
*
Happy anniversary to you too.
*
No.
*
Im here at Simons.
*
Mm-hmm. With Paul.
*
I dont know. Were just talking.
*
Yes, I did get it.
*
Yes I do. Thank you very much. I was surprised.
*
I dont know. It was just very thoughtful of you. What made you pick it?
*
[Surprised. "That doesnt make sense."]
My blue dress, really?
*
[She switches tone. Hes said the wrong thing. She puts the gift down on the table between her and Paul.]
Dont you think it would go better with my red dress? I mean, considering the color
*
Uh-huh. Or maybe my green sweater.
*
Oh, I know.
*
What?
*
Oh, I dont know. A half an hour or so, forty minutes. I want to finish talking to Paul. Youre not jealous, are you?
*
Yes, I know. Hes a great friend.
*
Okay.
*
Ill see you then.
*
I love you too.
*
Bye-bye.
[She hangs up, looks at Paul.]Did you not have time to tell him the color or did he just forget it?
[Pause.]
Paul? [Pause.] You got me this gift, didnt you?
[Pause]
Paul
Its not like Its just I knew this was really important to you. Thats all. Im sorry.
Karen
[She stops him somehow. Theres a moment of release for her.]
Youre a nice man, Paul.
[Beat.] Dont try to save us from ourselves. If you have to, we arent worth saving.[Pause.]
Paul
I can return it.
Karen
No. No, I like it.
[Pause. Picks up the gift again.] So, you got me this gift?Paul
Yeah
Karen
Its nice.
[Beat. Beat. Brings gift to lap.] Thank you.Paul
Youre welcome.
[Fin]
"To Give Than To Receive" IS COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL AND MAY NOT BE DOWNLOADED, TRANSMITTED, PRINTED OR PERFORMED WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF THE AUTHOR
"To Give Than To Receive" debuted June 29, 2001.