Bright Half Life Lines

Start

The thing is, soulmates/

VICKY: /Soulmates?

— an idea that may or may not exist; I mean I’m trying not to over-intellectualize, but you only live once; and so marriage/

VICKY: Marr/iage?

It’s not really an outdated institution —

VICKY: It’s not legal/

For us; but, I mean, you could claim that in some parts of the world where WE Don’t Live, you could say that

VICKY: What?

That. it’s not outdated and it would be true over there — but here, it seems like marriage is an idea that is outdated because so many marriages end in divorce, but actaully, it’s a Ritual of Commitment(or perhaps a Ritual of Delusion that concludes with betrayal and broken hearts.) but/

VICKY: Why are you here

(beat)

My father’s dying.

VICKY: oh.

oh oh oh no/

Will you marry me.

VICKY: What? No You — this is grief

You should

I am, I’m grieving and

VICKY: You’re not, you’re proposing

I’m so happy to be here

VICKY: I broke up with you

We were together for a while/ and we should

VICKY: Oh my god, how’s your mother taking it

Not good,/ not good

VICKY: You should be with her

Get on a plane, get on a plane right now and go be with your mother, that’s what she, you need

Come with me

VICKY: What, no

I can’t

You can’t

VICKY: It’s just … not a good time

The doctor said it’ll be quick

You’ll be back soon

VICKY: I’m going skydiving. I can’t go with you

What

VICKY: I’m going skydiving

I heard you

Why

VICKY: I’ve always wanted and you never/

You’ve never/asked

VICKY: And I just decided screw it, I’m sick of waiting for, so I’m going and

and

VICKY: And so there

Can you postpone?

VICKY: No Erica I’m going skydiving, this is just another one of your

You want me there not because of me, oh my god, you’re so

(what am I saying?)

Your father’s dying?

(Rapid time shift)

Ahhh

My heart

VICKY: Ooh

It was like a pound of Gorgonzola

Way too rich

My heart really this is serious

VICKY: When he first gave us the menu, I thought don’t order a cream sauce

Ow, this might be a heart attack

VICKY: or heartburn

That’s for old people

VICKY: You didn’t really chew your food

ow

VICKY: Do you wan’t some Tums?

(back in the hallway)

The thing is: [soulmates]

VICKY: Your dad’s dying, okay okay okay

I’ll go

No don’t go

VICKY: I just said I’d go

People die, it’s part of life, dying

VICKY: Erica

You don’t have to go

VICKY: Yea I’ll go

Can I

VICKY: Come in, of course, come in the apartment, you can come in

Why’ve you just been standing/ there

You didn’t invite me/in

VICKY: Sorry, come in, the place is a mess

It’s not

VICKY: Well for me it’s

Your place is always spotless

You got a new lamp

VICKY: Shade

It’s/nice

VICKY: The last one, you always complained —

/ I did not

VICKY: The last one was a grandma lamp

It’s very Swedish minimal

VICKY: Is that a complitment?

It’s, yes, It’s a — I like it.

(beat)

I like it, I like your place

I’m gonna get my own

My roommate,

I’m so over heavy metal.

VICKY: You should. you should get your own/ place

I should

I am

First month, last month

It’s a lot

(beat)

VICKY: So, your dad

Yeah, my dad

VICKY: Plane ticket

What

VICKY: Did you buy a

I haven’t, I don’t, I can’t focus

VICKY: I’ll do it

Thanks

Um can I have some

VICKY: Water

Tea

Brandy

VICKY: Help yourself

(I can’t find the phone book)

You look really

nice

VICKY: Thanks

(beat)

I’m gonna call the airlines

I don’t know where you put/

I didn’t

VICKY: Last time when you were here you were looking up Xerox places/

I was?

VICKY: For that protest, the posters,

you wheat-pasted/ like a hundred

I put it back, the phone book

(beat)

VICKY: You look nice too

Thanks

(beat)

Can you call information

VICKY: That’s like a dollar

A dollar

VICKY: A dollar a call

My dad’s

VICKY: Okay okay I’ll call information

[Thanks]

VICKY: American Airlines please

(pause)

I really appreci/ate

VICKY: Shh

Yeah, I’d liek to make a reserva—

Yup

Holding

You should get cordless

VICKY: What?

Phone

VICKY: Why?

Because then you won’t get all tangled up in the wire

VICKY: I like having the kind of phone that plugs into the wall, and I don’t have to worry about the battery dying, and the cordless ones are a fortune

(on the phone) Yeah I’d liek to make a … Okay sure

You know when I said that thing

VICKY: What

That pissed you off

VICKY: You didn’t say anything to piss me off

Yea I did

VICKY: You didn’t say anything

Well something pissed you

VICKY: You said, “It’ll fade”

You didn’t wait for me to finish

VICKY: You didn’t answer back

Yes I did

VICKY: When I said I loved you

I did

VICKY: No

What did you say

I said well I thought about how important you are to me and how much you mean to me

VICKY: How much do I mean to you

People say I love you and it’s over

VICKY: People don’t say I love you and it’s over

Like, for instance, us, for example

Okay

VICKY: People say I love you and they get closer

For a little while but —

VICKY: “It’ll fade”

And I don’t want it to fade

So I don’t want to overuse the words because someday maybe we’ll want to have kids

(beat)

Did you mean that when you said, you know, kids

VICKY: We’re not gonna have kids

We can have kids

VICKY: [Okay but]

We’re gay

Who cares

(beat)

I didn’t mean fade

(They are skydiving)

VICKY: Wow!

it’s so windy!

VICKY: So the guy goes with

What!

VICKY: You’ll be strapped to the guy and all you have to do is pull the cord at the right time

But first you have to jump

VICKY: First you have to jump

The guy’s an expert he’s your partner, the guy he said he’ll pull the ripcord if you don’t, don’t worry.

He just said nobody’s died when they’ve jumped with him

VICKY: He’s joking, he’s trying to scare you

Or broken any bones

VICKY: When you’ve dropped eight hundred meters you just pull the ripcord

That’s metrics

What if the ripcord breaks

VICKY: It won’t break

What if the guy’s metric thing breaks

VICKY: The altimeter won’t break

(Time shift)

Shit, my dad

(beat)

Will you/

VICKY: I’m doing it, I’m still on hold

No

Will you

VICKY: What

Marry you?

(Time shift)

My heart oh my god/fuck

VICKY: When he first gave us the menu, I thought don’t order a cream sauce

(Time shift) The thing is, soulmates, an idea that may or may not exist

VICKY: Why’re you here

The thing is:

(skydiving)

This was your idea I never wanted to do this

VICKY: It’s your turn it’s your turn

Why do I have to go first

VICKY: You said you wanted

Okay Okay keep your fingers crossed

VICKY: Fingers crossed

Okay okay here/ I

(slam flash forward)

VICKY: If you’re going to blame me, if you’re going to keep some sort of tally chart

That’s not it

VICKY: If you’re going to say — after half our lives — this’s its, this is it

That not it

It’s like

VICKY: What

A precipice

VICKY: Spare me the poetics

VICKY: No

Jesus

VICKY: What

Do you ever listen

VICKY: Do I

Can tou ever once see something from another side, can you ever

VICKY: Sorry I cant empathize with you while you break my heart/

(An Office)

VICKY: She got a raise

yeah

VICKY: I’d be upset

She deserved it

VICKY: If i were you

Are you upset

VICKY: No she deserved it

Yea

VICKY: But if I were you, I would be, you’ve been here longer

(beat)

Do you ever look out the window

VICKY: In my cubicle?

No, Mr. Peters’ office

VICKY: When I’m in Peters’ office, I’m there to talk to Peters

I do

VICKY: Okay

I watch the ice breaking on the water

VICKY: I haven’t noticed the ice breaking

Do you want to maybe go out sometime

VICKY: OUt?

Like lunch or

we could ride the ferry

VICKY: To Staten Island

Why?

Just because … It’s a ferry