Thursday, October 29, 2020

Temperature

      (A bedroom. MARGARET and OLIVER sit on opposite sides of the bed facing away from each other.)

MARGARET:  It's freezing in here.

OLIVER:  I'm hot.

MARGARET:  It was raining outside yesterday.

OLIVER:  What does that have to do with--

MARGARET:  I wanted to go take a drive to Boston. See Kristin.

OLIVER:  She okay?

MARGARET:  She's fine. I just wanted to see her.

     (A beat.)

OLIVER:  Have you talked to her?

MARGARET:  I talked to her on Tuesday.

OLIVER:  How did she sound?

MARGARET:  She sounded fine.

OLIVER:  Okay.

    (A beat.)

MARGARET:  She's fine.

OLIVER:  Okay.

     (A beat. A car goes by outside.)

MARGARET:  Where do you want to eat tonight?

OLIVER:  In Boston?

MARGARET:  I'll be back before dinner.

OLIVER:  You're not going to stay up there for--

MARGARET:  I just want to see her. I'm not going to--

OLIVER:  You should stay and have dinner.

MARGARET:  Are you going to come with me?

     (A beat.)

OLIVER/MARGARET:  No.

OLIVER:  I have things to do around here.

MARGARET:  You should see where the cold's coming in from.

OLIVER:  It's hot in here.

MARGARET:  You going to tell me I'm always cold?

OLIVER:  You are. It's not your fault. Your mother was always cold too.

MARGARET:  She had a deficiency.

OLIVER:  Maybe you have the same--

MARGARET:  Maybe I'm just cold. Maybe that's--How about that? Could that be it?

     (MARGARET gets up and goes to the dresser where her jewelry is laid out. She starts putting it on.)

OLIVER:  I can go look at the furnace.

MARGARET:  What do you know about furnaces?

OLIVER:  What's your problem?

MARGARET:  Nothing, but--

OLIVER:  It's just something you say.

MARGARET:  What?

OLIVER:  That you'll go look at the furnace.

MARGARET:  Just call someone.

OLIVER:  Okay.

MARGARET:  Call someone while I'm gone.

OLIVER:  Okay.

    (OLIVER gets under the covers.)

MARGARET:  What are you doing?

OLIVER:  I'm tired.

MARGARET:  You said you were hot.

OLIVER:  I am.

MARGARET:  Then why are you--

OLIVER:  I can't sleep over the covers. You know that.

MARGARET:  Then why--It's one o'clock.

OLIVER:  I'm taking a nap.

MARGARET:  You just got up an hour ago.

OLIVER:  That's not true.

MARGARET:  You were asleep until--

OLIVER:  I woke up at eleven thirty.

     (A beat.)

MARGARET:  Same thing.

OLIVER:  God, I'm burning up.

MARGARET:  Are you sick?

OLIVER:  No, I'm just sweating.

MARGARET:  You have all your clothes on.

OLIVER:  I'm not taking my clothes off.

MARGARET:  I can't go to Boston if--

OLIVER:  You can go to Boston.

MARGARET:  Not if you're sick.

OLIVER:  You might be sick.

MARGARET:  What?

OLIVER:  You're cold.

MARGARET:  That doesn't mean I'm sick.

OLIVER:  Why would you be cold in a hot room?

MARGARET:  It's not hot in here.

OLIVER:  You should check on Kristin.

MARGARET:  That's what I'm doing.

     (A second.)

But she's fine. Are you fine?

OLIVER:  I'm fine.

MARGARET:  You should eat.

OLIVER:  In bed?

MARGARET:  No.

OLIVER:  So you want me to get out of bed?

MARGARET:  To eat? Yes.

OLIVER:  I'm just going to stay in bed.

MARGARET:  All right.

OLIVER:  Can you open a window?

MARGARET:  Oliver, it's freezing in here.

OLIVER:  Margaret, you could fry an egg on my forehead.

MARGARET:  Then you have a fever?

OLIVER:  I will if you don't open a window.

    (MARGARET goes over to the window.)

MARGARET:  I can't do it.

OLIVER:  Fine.

MARGARET:  You're probably just hot because you're under the covers.

OLIVER:  I might be.

    (MARGARET gets under the covers with him.)

MARGARET:  See?

OLIVER:  You're warm now?

MARGARET:  No. I feel like ice.

OLIVER:  So what do we do?

MARGARET:  I don't know. Take a nap?

OLIVER:  You just--

MARGARET:  I don't want to drive to Boston.

OLIVER:  I can drive.

MARGARET:  You're sick.

OLIVER:  I'm not sick. I'm just hot.

MARGARET:  Warm.

OLIVER:  Hot.

MARGARET:  Fine.

OLIVER:  Fine.

     (A moment passes. A car goes by outside. A dog barks.)

MARGARET:  I've never had a good sleep in this bed.

OLIVER:  Never?

MARGARET:  Never.

     The End

No comments:

Post a Comment