Bright Half Life Lines Part 10

(Many years later. The hallway outside a doctor’s office.)

VICKY: Thanks for coming with me

What’d he say

VICKY: I’m glad we ran each other

I’m never in this neighborhood

VICKY: These days I am

Let me take you/[home]

VICKY: I can get home

Let me take

VICKY: It’s okay

Did he say anything about

VICKY: Oh he said what he had to say, what he says to everyone, most likely

And

VICKY: And I said what I had to say

So when do you start

VICKY: I don’t

Don’t what

VICKY: Don’t start anything

Don’t start treatment, you don’t need, that’s great

VICKY: No

What did he say

VICKY: He says he wants me to do treatment and I said I’d prefer to let it all go

Let it all go, let what go/

(The office)

VICKY: Life

is just, working here, you have to maintain your equilibrium

[Okay]

And the main part is, be careful — when you’re entering numbers — have your cursor in the right place because otherwise you have to start over, but after a while starting at so many numbers — you have to check your work, that’s the most important

/Okay

VICKY: And you …. it all again

(Doctors office hallway) What about the kids

VICKY: What about the kids

IF you don’t do the treatment

VICKY: The kids are grown up

But they’ll be, it isn’t fair to the girls

VICKY: Theu’re usy with their lives, the girls, they’ll be fine, it’s life

(office)

What about lunch

VICKY: Lunch

What time’s lunch?

Lunch breaks are staggered, so

Could we ever take lunch together

VICKY: Uh…

Becuase it’s good to be on friendly terms, in the workplace

VICKY: Also I’m your supervisor

Okay

VICKY: So you shoudl get to work

(Elevator)

Can I come over

VICKY: Really I’m fine

I won’t come in, I’ll just, or we could just sit

VICKY: This elevator’s slow

How’s Kelly

She… decided she’s straight

VICKY: Oh

That must’ve been hard

I’m fine

VICKY: I can get home by myself, I’m okay

Okay

So

Call if you need anything

Groceries, I can

VICKY: Oh shoot I forgot my credit card, I have to go back up

(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/

VICKY: This elevator’s slow

I think we’re stalled

VICKY: You know this should be the worst ride of my life

Sorry

So the doctor said?

VICKY: It’s stage three

Oh

VICKY: And a half.

I’m optimistic

That’s … good

(Pause)

VICKY: You don’t want to come just because you’ve been dumped right

Kelly and i broke up years ago

after Lex’s wedding

Oh

I’m surprised Chloe — or Lex — they never said (beat)

So, how are you?

VICKY: Good

I mean, except for [this]

You?

What’re you doing these days?

Teaching

Adjunct, NYU

VICKY: Nice

And I’m still writing textbooks

But, it’s good

I’m…happy?

(beat)

You?

VICKY: Sick leave

Right

VICKY: I made it to super-Senior VP

Glass ceiling,

so I moved ot a new fund

CEO

Good for you

VICKY: I’ve got a house

Montclair

with a garden

You garden?

VICKY: Don’t be so surprised, It’s Jersey, everone has a garden

But, I like mine

…best

There’s this humming bird that

….

I need a hobby

I was gonna sign up at the library to read to kids

VICKY: You’d be good at that

What kind of hobby

VICKY: I don’t really know

for now I just like the gardening

(beat)

Are you tired?

VICKY: I’m fine

I think we’re stalled.

Would you do it again?

VICKY: What

Us

(Time skip)

VICKY: I’m trying to forget

What?

VICKY: You.

(Elevator)

Do you think it’s twilight?

My favorite/

VICKY: You can cover

(But it is Jersey)

Maybe just sit, see the starts

They’ll be bright tonight

VICKY: OR maybe we’ll just enjoy the hours

We could have some tea

VICKY: Brandy

Just sit ‘til morning

VICKY: Watch the starts fade

(Time jump)

I don’t want it to fade

So I don’t want to oeruse the words

Because someday maybe we’ll want to have kids

I mean I want to

and I think you do too

We’re dating — were dating(past tense)

but you can just tell that we might be one of those couples

Major not minor

And don’t you think, don’t you think

that we’re gonna (we might, I think we might) watch our kids get married

We might make chicken soup for eachother in the rain

Don’t you think we’re major not minor

When you smell the coffee brewing in the morning

you’ll think of me because I’ll be the one making the coffee

and when you close your eyes at night

you’ll think of me

because I’ll be the tiptoes that you don’t hear tiptoeing to bed

and I’ll be the one whose lips will bring you kisses

and the smell of oranges in January

I don’t want it to fade

I’d give you more than a life if I could

and I’m not s’posed to say that becuase how long, how long

have we been dating

Not that long

even though I just know

You might say, you’re young(we’re both young) and you don’t know what’s a lifetime

But I’d give you days

and nights

the sun, moon and clouds if I could

on a string

You could fly them like a kite

They’d fly you

That’s what’s in those three words you say I was afraid to say

That’s what I wanted to say

Take me.

You want to go hang-gliding or skydiving or parasailing

or whatever

Take me

to all those places you want to go

(Elevator ding)

VICKY: Here we are

Okay okay here I/

one…two…three….