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.
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.