Between the Sheets

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Between the Sheets Page 4

by Jordi Mand


  MARION

  How would any of this be a relief for him?

  TERESA

  Because these systems work for him. He’ll—

  MARION

  You don’t understand.

  TERESA

  I do.

  MARION

  You don’t. You spend a couple of hours a week with him.

  TERESA

  I spend forty hours a week with him!

  MARION

  Because it’s your job. You’re not with him—

  TERESA

  Well, from the sounds of it I spend more time with your son than you do!

  Beat.

  MARION

  Excuse me?

  TERESA looks at her.

  TERESA

  It’s true. You’re never home.

  MARION

  Because I work, you little cunt.

  TERESA

  You work evenings, weekends.

  MARION

  And why do you think that is? For fun? I work for them. Everything I do… everything is for them… for my family. So we can have the life that we have. So we can afford to send Alex here. So I can pay your goddamn salary.

  TERESA

  You don’t pay—

  MARION

  I would love nothing more than to be at home with my son every night instead of sitting in a fucking open-concept office waiting for some conference call from some asshole in another fucking time zone. I would love to bring Alex to school every morning. I would love to be able to volunteer for class trips…

  I hate being away from him… having to work late into the evenings without being able to tuck him in… having to ask him how his day was over the phone. He is my son. Being away from him is one of the hardest things I have to—

  TERESA

  It hasn’t stopped you.

  MARION

  Stopped me?

  TERESA

  You’re still…

  MARION

  I am not going to stand here and justify the decisions I… that we have made together… as a family… that enable my son to have the kinds of opportunities that he—

  She stops herself.

  (to herself) Why am I even going into this with you… you of all fucking people.

  TERESA

  Because I have seen what Alex is like when he gets the kind of—

  MARION

  Enough! It’s enough already. You don’t get to be part of this conversation. You don’t get to weigh in on what happens to my son. Do you understand me?

  TERESA

  His future—

  MARION

  Has nothing to do with you!

  TERESA

  I care deeply about Alex.

  MARION

  If you cared about him, you wouldn’t have—

  TERESA

  I care about him more than you know!

  Beat.

  MARION

  What does that mean?

  TERESA

  Nothing.

  MARION

  No. What the fuck does that mean?

  TERESA

  Never mind.

  TERESA walks away from her.

  MARION

  Don’t you walk away from me. What did you—

  TERESA

  My relationship with him is important.

  MARION

  And?

  TERESA

  And he’s going to be an important part of my life.

  MARION

  What are you—

  TERESA

  We’re moving in together… Curtis and I.

  MARION

  Jesus Christ!

  TERESA

  We were waiting until the end of the school year… until Alex is finished.

  MARION

  You’re moving in together?

  TERESA

  Yes.

  Beat.

  MARION buries her head in her hands.

  MARION

  Oh god.

  After a moment she looks at TERESA.

  MARION laughs again.

  Okay…

  She continues laughing.

  Okay…

  Beat.

  MARION looks at TERESA.

  So… how is this going to work? Will he be moving in with you, because you’re sure as hell not taking the house, so… where will you be living?

  TERESA

  We’re figuring that out.

  MARION

  You’re moving in together and you haven’t figured out where you’ll be living?

  TERESA

  We haven’t made any firm decisions yet.

  MARION

  Well that says something at least.

  TERESA

  It doesn’t say anything.

  MARION

  It does, actually. Curtis is usually very good with those sorts of things… those sorts of details. It’s sort of a strength of his.

  TERESA

  What is a strength of his?

  MARION

  Moving. I’ve never had the stomach for it. But he… he loves it… the looking, the search for the perfect place, the packing even. So it’s just interesting that you haven’t talked about it. I would have thought it would be the first thing he would have talked about.

  TERESA

  We’re waiting until the end of the school year to decide.

  MARION

  Of course you are. And then he’ll probably move in with you… in your little apartment… until you find something more comfortable.

  TERESA

  Probably.

  MARION

  And will the two of you be living off of your salary or will he be picking up more work… how is that going to sort itself out?

  TERESA

  We’re figuring it out.

  Beat.

  MARION

  I’m guessing you’ve never been married before?

  TERESA

  No. I haven’t.

  MARION

  How many men have you been with?

  TERESA

  That’s not any of your business.

  MARION

  Have you ever lived with someone? A boyfriend… a partner?

  TERESA

  I know what I’m getting myself into.

  MARION

  All right. I just hope you’re prepared, that’s all. You’re going to need more than a goddamn teaching gig to keep the two of you afloat, believe me. We’d be living in the gutter if we—

  TERESA

  You wouldn’t be living in the gutter. You don’t have to be so dramatic. You’re not the only one contributing at home.

  MARION

  In our household? Oh yes I am.

  TERESA

  No, you’re not. I know how much each of you makes.

  MARION

  Oh, you do.

  TERESA

  Yes. I do. He’s told me.

  MARION

  Has he?

  Beat.

  Has he also told you how much we’ve had to borrow from my family over the past three years? How I had to take on a new position at the office with longer hours so we could finally start paying them back?

  TERESA

  I know things have been tight.

  MARION

  And how I had to beg him to take on new clients but he still couldn’t get his shit together? Did he tell you that?

  TERESA

  He did. He’s told me all of that. He also told me that you’re the one who insists on vacationing twice a year and that he’s never seen you wear the same pair of shoes twice.

  MAR
ION

  Oh, go fuck yourself.

  TERESA

  I know that work has been slow for him. He’s looking at his options… maybe changing careers paths.

  MARION

  You don’t just change career paths at his age.

  TERESA

  He’s looking at his options.

  MARION

  You are so naive it is unbelievable!

  TERESA

  We will figure it out. Neither of us are concerned about that right now.

  MARION

  Well of course you’re not. Why would you be? Everything is so easy for the two of you, isn’t it? You have no obligations, no responsibilities.

  You don’t have to worry about carpools, or a new refrigerator, or who’s taking whose parent to the doctor. You don’t have to worry about anything. Right now it’s just you and your future. You’ve got the rest of your lives to figure everything out.

  Beat.

  That’s all going to change… you know that, don’t you? This honeymoon of yours will end and eventually you’ll be dealing with life… just like the rest of us.

  Eventually you’ll be left with the dishes and the mortgage and the passing of the newspaper back and forth in the morning without uttering a single fucking word.

  MARION looks at TERESA.

  If you’re actually going to do this… if the two of you are actually going to insist on breaking this family apart, then you deserve each other… and whatever miserable existence you find yourselves living with.

  TERESA

  I’m not trying to break your family apart.

  MARION

  Well that’s what’s going to happen, isn’t it? You’re going to rip us apart with your bare hands.

  TERESA

  That’s not true—

  MARION

  And if Curtis thinks for one fucking second that he’ll have custody of any kind—

  TERESA

  Curtis is a wonderful father.

  MARION

  Yeah, well, he’s a shitty husband.

  TERESA

  You don’t need to punish him by—

  MARION

  Trust me… if I wanted to punish him I would do a lot worse. This is for Alex.

  TERESA

  Alex loves his father.

  MARION

  And have either of you stopped to consider how he’s going to react to this… how he’s going to react when he learns that his father is leaving… and not just leaving but leaving to be with his teacher?

  TERESA

  Alex and I are close.

  MARION

  You don’t think that will change?

  TERESA

  I know… in time, I think that he’ll… I hope that he’ll come to…

  MARION

  This will destroy Alex.

  TERESA

  I’m prepared to do whatever it takes to make this easy for him.

  MARION

  He isn’t good with other kids.

  TERESA

  Kids?

  MARION

  He’ll be replaced.

  TERESA

  No one is replacing anyone.

  MARION

  And I’m going to be the one who’s going to be picking him up off the floor while the two of you start a new life together.

  TERESA

  He will be a part of that. Alex will be the centre of our lives.

  MARION

  You say that now.

  TERESA

  I promise you.

  MARION

  Curtis always wanted a bigger family.

  TERESA

  Well… he doesn’t. We’ve talked about it.

  MARION

  And now that he’ll have this young trophy wife.

  TERESA

  Stop.

  MARION

  He’ll be so thrilled to start over again with you. You’ll give him everything he always wanted.

  TERESA

  That’s not true.

  MARION

  It is. It is true.

  TERESA

  No. It’s not. He knows I can’t—

  MARION

  You’ll give him the perfect fucking—

  TERESA

  I can’t have children.

  Beat.

  MARION

  What do you mean you can’t? Have you tried or—

  TERESA

  No. I haven’t tried.

  MARION

  So you’ve chosen not to—

  TERESA

  No.

  MARION

  Then how would you—

  TERESA

  Because when my uterus was removed it became pretty fucking clear that I wasn’t going to be having children.

  Beat.

  MARION

  When did—

  TERESA

  You know, I don’t actually want to talk about this with you.

  Beat.

  TERESA walks to her desk, puts on her sweater, and sits.

  MARION watches her.

  Beat.

  MARION

  I wasn’t even thinking about children at your age.

  TERESA

  Well, I’ve been thinking about it my whole life so…

  They look at one another.

  MARION

  (quietly) I miscarried.

  Beat.

  (quietly) Did he tell you that?

  TERESA shakes her head no.

  Twice. The first time I wasn’t very far along, but the second time… I had to deliver. It was awful, it…

  She stops herself.

  Curtis was heartbroken. That whole period of time…

  She stops herself.

  No one tells you that it might be difficult. That it might not happen the way you imagine. You expect that when you want to have a child… you’ll be able to. That it will…

  She looks at TERESA

  You have options. You can adopt.

  TERESA

  Would you have adopted?

  MARION

  We talked about it.

  TERESA

  And?

  MARION

  And… Curtis wanted to keep trying. Then we had Alex.

  Beat.

  It’s hard, you know… whether you have a child or not… it’s hard.

  TERESA

  (quietly) Some things make it harder.

  MARION

  Having a child, it…

  Beat.

  It’s the most complicated, wonderful, horrific relationship I’ve ever had.

  TERESA

  Alex means well.

  MARION

  Of course he does. He’s my baby. He’s just…

  MARION stops herself.

  She rubs her eyes. She breathes heavily.

  TERESA

  Are you all right?

  MARION

  I think I’m just tired.

  MARION sits at one of the small desks.

  I’m exhausted, actually.

  Beat.

  TERESA

  Me too.

  They look at one another.

  Beat.

  MARION

  Sometimes I just want to be left alone somewhere… far away… where no one can find me.

  MARION looks off, lost in thought.

  TERESA watches her closely.

  TERESA

  He knows that.

  MARION

  What?

  TERESA

  Curtis. He knows that you want to be left alone.

  MARION

  I didn’t mean liter
ally.

  TERESA

  Still… he can tell. He can feel that you—

  MARION

  Being left and being left alone are two very different things.

  Beat.

  TERESA

  He’s tried.

  MARION

  Tried?

  TERESA

  He’s suggested that you see someone together.

  MARION

  That doesn’t constitute trying. The man’s just given up.

  TERESA

  He hasn’t given up.

  MARION

  No?

  TERESA

  No. He…

  She stops herself.

  He wants his life to be different.

  MARION

  We all do. We all want our lives to be different. But that doesn’t give him permission to live his life however he wants… to just exit his marriage.

  I’ve had opportunities too, you know… to be with other men. But I would never act on it. I would never do that to him.

  The worst part is he hasn’t even given me a chance.

  TERESA

  He has given you a chance.

  MARION

  No, he hasn’t. He has never sat me down and talked to me about it.

  TERESA

  He has. You don’t…

  She stops herself.

  MARION

  What? I don’t what?

  TERESA

  Listen!

  MARION

  That is not true.

  TERESA

  He’s told me… he has tried to talk to you about it… but you change the subject or you leave the room. He’s told me… you’ve literally left the room midconversation because he brought something up that you didn’t want to hear.

  MARION

  Once. That happened once.

  TERESA

  Everything has to be your way… all the time.

  MARION

  I shouldn’t have to apologize for having high expectations.

  TERESA

  You’re right. You shouldn’t. But if he can’t talk to you… if you won’t listen to him—

  MARION

  I listen!

  TERESA

  How is it any kind of partnership if you don’t—

  MARION

  You’ve never been married. What the hell would you know about—

  TERESA

  I know that if you love someone, if you respect them—

  MARION

  It’s not as easy as just—

  TERESA

  Are you in love with him?

  Beat.

  MARION

  That is a very difficult question to answer.

  TERESA

  Well, it shouldn’t be.

  MARION

  Well… it is.

  Beat.

  When you’ve lived with someone… when you’ve known someone as long as we’ve known each other, it…

  She stops herself.

  We also used to talk all the time. When we first met… when we first started dating… we were inseparable. We couldn’t stand being apart from one another. He had this infectious energy. He made me feel like I could do anything. Like anything was possible.

 

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