(A
train. STEPHANIE and GEORGE are sitting
next to each other. GEORGE looks at
STEPHANIE. He looks away. He looks at her. He looks away. He looks at her. She looks at him.)
STEPHANIE: Yes.
GEORGE: Are you sure?
STEPHANIE: Well…yes.
GEORGE: Okay.
STEPHANIE: Next stop?
GEORGE: Sounds good.
STEPHANIE: Good.
GEORGE: Great.
STEPHANIE: I feel
good about this.
GEORGE: Me too. I wasn’t sure I was going to, but—
STEPHANIE: I know,
right?
GEORGE: But I think
this’ll work.
STEPHANIE: I have a
good feeling.
GEORGE: That’s it,
isn’t it? It’s sort of a feeling.
STEPHANIE: The tops
of my hands itch. That’s how I know.
GEORGE: The tops of
your hands?
STEPHANIE: Mhmm.
GEORGE: That might be
bad. You might want to look into that.
STEPHANIE: No, it’s a
sign. A signal. To myself.
That good stuff is coming.
GEORGE: And when you
saw me—
STEPHANIE: I
practically broke out into a rash.
GEORGE: That’s
nice. I mean, that’s nice to hear.
STEPHANIE: That’s why
I’m sitting on my hands.
GEORGE: I was
wondering.
STEPHANIE: That’s
why.
GEORGE: You can stop
if you want.
STEPHANIE: No, it
feels good, actually, it feels really, really good.
GEORGE: I never used
to, uh, do this sort of thing—until I was exiled.
STEPHANIE: Me
either. Now, I—
GEORGE: All the time.
STEPHANIE: All. The.
Time.
GEORGE: It’s a little
ridiculous.
STEPHANIE: Makes you
feel—
GEORGE: Like an
addict. Sometimes.
STEPHANIE: My cousin
was exiled. She became an alcoholic. Me?
GEORGE: Well, this is
better than that.
STEPHANIE: Than
alcoholism? Oh God, yeah. This is way better.
GEORGE: I mean, it
doesn’t—
STEPHANIE: Right, it’s
not even a—
GEORGE: I mean, it
feels like a—
STEPHANIE: Right, it’s
just that it’s not a—
GEORGE: I mean, I’m
judging people who are—
STEPHANIE: Right,
like my cousin—
GEORGE: I mean, I’m
sure she’s—
STEPHANIE: Right, she
is—
GEORGE: I mean—
STEPHANIE: Right.
(A
beat.)
GEORGE: So you weren’t
like this before—
STEPHANIE: Moving to
Columbus? No, not at all.
GEORGE: I thought
maybe it was—that it was some sort of—psychological reaction, you know? To being exiled?
STEPHANIE: Well, it
might be. I’m sure it had all different
sorts of—you know, like, influences—on different people.
GEORGE: Yeah—impacts.
STEPHANIE: Yes,
impacts.
GEORGE: I just feel…I
mean, a guy my age—
STEPHANIE: A woman my
age.
GEORGE: You don’t
look that old.
STEPHANIE: Thank
God. I hear they’re shooting the old
people.
GEORGE: Are you
kidding?
STEPHANIE: I mean, it’s
a rumor, but—
GEORGE: No!
STEPHANIE: That’s
what I hear.
GEORGE: But I mean—what’s
old? Am I old?
STEPHANIE: You’re not
old.
GEORGE: I’m sure to
some people, I’m old.
STEPHANIE: To some
people, everybody’s old. I’m old to some
people. To an infant, a toddler is old.
GEORGE: So who are
they going to shoot?
STEPHANIE: I don’t
know if they’re actually shooting people, it’s just something I heard.
GEORGE: But still, it’s—
STEPHANIE: Right,
yeah, it is.
GEORGE: I mean…
(A
beat.)
GEORGE/STEPHANIE: I
have/You know—Sorry.
STEPHANIE: What were
you going to—
GEORGE: It doesn’t—
STEPHANE: No, go
ahead.
(A
beat.)
GEORGE: I have a
daughter. Two daughters, actually—one was
exiled, one wasn’t.
STEPHANIE: Oh.
GEORGE: Tara. That’s the one who was, and the other one is—
STEPHANIE: You know,
I’d rather not—like, get to know each other—if that’s okay?
GEORGE: Oh.
STEPHANIE: Because
eventually we’re just going to get off the train, you know?
GEORGE: Yeah. Of course.
STEPHANIE: Not to be
a—
GEORGE: No, you’re
right. You’re absolutely right.
STEPHANIE: But they—I
mean, you seem nice. I’m sure they’re
nice girls.
(A
beat.)
GEORGE: I’m not sure
where Tara is. Nobody is really, she…I’m
not sure.
STEPHANIE: Oh.
GEORGE: But I mean, I’m
sure she’s fine.
STEPHANIE: Right.
GEORGE: I mean…
STEPHANIE: Right.
(Lights.)
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