Angel of Death (tentative title)

(SCENE: Hospital waiting room. Center Stage, there is a loveseat in which two people sit, Cara and Ben. They are hunched in on themselves, obviously worried. A low coffee table is in front of them with a single deck of cards sitting on it. DL there is a woman sitting on a sofa, chewing her fingernails. DR a man is praying silently to himself. The lights are focused on the pair on Center Stage, leaving the other two occupants lit dimly.)1

CARA: It’s quiet.
BEN: It’s always been quiet. You just never noticed before.
(They are silent for a beat.)
CARA: Still. It’s quiet.
(Ben sighs. He moves around in his seat uncomfortably)
BEN: I know.
(They look at each other. Cara looks away quickly)
CARA: Let’s play cards. Maybe that’ll take our minds off…
BEN: Don’t say it. I don’t wanna think about it.
CARA: He’s not dead. What’s not to think about?
BEN: I just don’t wanna think about it. Lay off.
(Cara shrugs. She picks up a pack of cards off of the table)
CARA: Rummy?
BEN: That was his game.
CARA: Is his game. And you said—
BEN: (angrily) I know what I said, Cara. (sighs) Is this really happening? Jay is dying, and we’re sitting here playing cards in a goddamn waiting room, hoping a miracle will happen.
CARA: Hope is all we’ve got, right now. It’s better than nothing. C’mon, Ben. We’ll play Go Fish, or something.
BEN: No. Rummy. I like Rummy.
(Cara shuffles the cards, then begins to deal them)
CARA: I wish he would have told us. Bastard. He should have told us.
BEN: Did you ever think anything was wrong? Maybe we should have seen. We could have done something…
(Cara sobs once, then wipes her face quickly. They pick up their cards)
CARA: He should have told us…
(A Doctor enters from Stage Right. There is a spotlight trained on him as he walks across the stage. He crosses DL and begins talking quietly with the Woman. Ben looks over at them, then at his cards)
BEN: No one’s come to tell us anything at all.
WOMAN: (hysterical) NO! MY BABY! MY BABY!
(Doctor grabs Woman and holds her as she cries. After a moment, the two of them exit Stage Right)
CARA: Maybe it’s not such a bad thing.
BEN: I’m getting sick of all this waiting. It’s bad for the heart.
CARA: Jay’s laying in an intensive care unit. All of this is bad for the heart.
BEN: If he dies…
CARA: I don’t know what I’ll do. (Cara grabs cards and begins to pack them away) I’m tired of Rummy. What else can we do?
BEN: What else is there?
(They remain silent for a moment. Ben stands up, then begins to pace)
CARA: Sit down. You make me nervous.
BEN: (Still pacing) I can’t help it. I wish they would come already. Tell us he’ll live. Or that he died. Tell us something.
CARA: We’ll just have to wait. They said it’d be a while before he was stable.
BEN: If he gets stable. (Continues pacing)
CARA: Dammit, stop that!
BEN: I told you, I can’t help it! Excuse me if I’m not as calm as you are while I’m waiting for my best friend to die! (Cara looks away from him, wrapping her arms around her stomach. Ben stops pacing and walks over to sit next to her, touching her shoulder apologetically.) I didn’t mean that. (He waits for her to answer, then continues when she doesn’t) Cara, I know this is hard for you. Probably worse than it is for me. I didn’t mean to say that.
CARA: Just because I handle things different doesn’t mean I’m not hurting, too. I’ve loved him all my life, Ben.
BEN: I’m sorry.
CARA: (smiles) It’s alright. He’ll pull through. He has to. And besides that, it’s not like Jay and I have ever been anything more than friends.
BEN: All the same. I’m sorry.
(Ben puts an arm around Cara’s shoulder. She leans against him for support. Doctor enters from Stage Left. He has a spotlight following him once more. Doctor crosses DR to Man)
CARA: Look. Another angel of death, coming to alleviate suffering. One way or another.
MAN: Thank God! Oh, thank God!
(Man shake’s Doctor’s hand enthusiastically, smiling broadly. The Doctor leads the Man offstage R)
CARA: At least there’s hope.
BEN: There’s always hope. I just wonder if it’ll be enough.
CARA: (shifts uncomfortably) Jay was always reckless. Always doing stupid stuff that might get him killed. In the end, he would always laugh it off. I just never thought…
BEN: No one thought that about him. He was always so happy and friendly.
CARA: He was invincible. It was like nothing could kill him.
BEN: So what went wrong?
CARA: (wipes away tears, but still sobs as she speaks) When I found him, he was in his room. There was so much blood. Even after I walked in on him like that, he smiled at me. He smiled, even though his wrists…there was so much blood…
BEN: (squeezes Cara’s shoulder) He made that decision. You can’t blame yourself for it.
CARA: (shrugs away from Ben) Why didn’t he tell us he was so unhappy? As much as I think about it, I can’t figure it out. He should’ve told me. I could’ve…
BEN: You did all you could. (Ben is silent for a moment, then leans forward in his seat, resting elbows on his knees) He loves you, you know. Always has. He never thought he was good enough for you.
CARA: He never did think much of himself. (laughs a bit hysterically) Idiot. He’s such an idiot…
BEN: (smiles desperately, as if trying to make everything alright) That’s gonna help his self esteem. I’ll tell him, too. Just watch me. I’ll say, “Jay, I told Cara you love her. She thinks you’re an idiot.” And he’ll say…he’ll say…
CARA: He’ll say, “Shit happens.” Just like he always does. Then he’ll smile and laugh. And everything will be fine.
BEN: Yeah. Just fine. It’s gonna be fine…
(They are quiet for a moment, then Cara looks offstage R. She turns to Ben and touches his arm)
CARA: The doctor’s coming.
(Doctor enters from offstage R with spotlight following him as before. Crosses to C. Cara and Ben stand up and walk around the coffee table to stand in front of it. They both shake hands nervously with the Doctor)
BEN: How is he? He’ll be alright, won’t he?
DOCTOR: (shifts uncomfortably before answering) I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.
(Light fades to single spotlight trained on Cara. Ben and Doctor watch as she moves past them to DC. Slowly, she falls to her knees, head bowed and clutching her stomach)
CARA: Oh, God…Oh, God…Why did you leave me?
(Cara bends forward and covers her head with her hands as the spotlight fades to nothing.)
End.