Hunter Tremayne

“LUNCH BREAK”
 
By Hunter Tremayne
 
A couple of women with stressful jobs take a break for lunch 
 
Time: Lunch time
 
Place: A copse of trees
 
At Rise: MARLENE (30s) and KIRSTEN (20s) are sitting on a wooden bench eating sandwiches.  Beside each woman is a metal lunch box.  Both women wear long grey skirts and black boots.  Their jackets are neatly folded on the bench and their shirts are open at the neck.
 
MARLENE
So I told him that it was too much sauerkraut, but does he listen?  A little bit of pickle is too much to ask?
 
KIRSTEN
I love a bit of pickle on a cheese sandwich.  They are so dry otherwise.
 
MARLENE
Margarine or butter?
 
KIRSTEN
You're going to say I'm crazy but -
 
MARLENE
(interrupting)
I know!  I know!  I prefer margarine too!
 
KIRSTEN
(laughs)
I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one!
 
MARLENE
So what do you have today?
 
KIRSTEN
Uh uh!
 
MARLENE
What is it?
 
KIRSTEN
You know what you're like.  If it's one you like you'll try and cheat me out of it!
 
MARLENE
I am wounded!
(beat)
So come on - what do you have?
 
KIRSTEN
I don't know -
 
MARLENE
You know you can have one of mine.  And I have ham today!
 
KIRSTEN
Well...
 
MARLENE
Look, you can't lose, can you?  Either way you're getting ham!  So out with it and then we can swap.
 
KIRSTEN
Fish paste.
 
MARLENE
Oh no!
 
KIRSTEN
You wanted to know.
 
MARLENE
I'm not having fish paste.
 
KIRSTEN
Well, it's too late now.  You have to give me a ham.
 
MARLENE
Ah, damn it!
 
MARLENE gives        KIRSTEN a sandwich.  KIRSTEN offers MARLENE one of her own but MARLENE waves it away.
 
 
Fish paste!
(pause)
It's so quiet here.
 
KIRSTEN
Yes, it's my favorite spot for lunch.
 
MARLENE
Mine, too.  It's good to get away from it all.  So much noise!
 
KIRSTEN
Yes, I know.  It can get so unpleasant.
 
MARLENE
Yes.
(beat)
And it is so quiet here.
 
KIRSTEN
Birds?
 
MARLENE
What did you say?
 
KIRSTEN
Birds.
 
MARLENE
What about them?
 
KIRSTEN
Well, there aren't any.
 
MARLENE
No.
 
KIRSTEN
You'd think there would be bird song, being so close to a forest.
 
MARLENE
It's odd.
 
KIRSTEN
Yes, it is.  I wonder why?
(pause)
 
MARLENE
It must be the smoke.
 
KIRSTEN
Oh yes, probably; it might be the smoke.
 
MARLENE
Not much fun singing with smoke in your throat.  Soot.
 
KIRSTEN
Ashes in your craw.
 
MARLENE
Soot and ash everywhere.  It gets everywhere.
 
KIRSTEN
I know!  Stefan has the very devil of a time getting it out of my uniform.
 
MARLENE
You're lucky to have a son to do it for you!  Muggins here has to do it all herself.
 
KIRSTEN
Yes, I am lucky.
 
MARLENE
What's up?
 
KIRSTEN
Hmnh?
 
MARLENE
You look a bit miserable all of a sudden.
 
KIRSTEN
What?
 
MARLENE
Yes, miserable.  What's up?
 
KIRSTEN
Oh, it's Stefan.
 
MARLENE
Stefan, your son?
 
KIRSTEN
Yes, Stefan.
(beat)
He's not happy.
 
MARLENE
No?
 
KIRSTEN
No, he's not so happy at all.
 
MARLENE
With you?
 
KIRSTEN
Oh, no, it's not me.
(beat)
Well, I don't think it is.  It's just this place.  It gets to him.
 
MARLENE
Well it gets to me, too.
 
KIRSTEN
And me.  But what can we do?  We have to go where they say to go.
 
MARLENE
Yes.
 
KIRSTEN
Hell of a place, though.
 
MARLENE
Yes.  Yes, it is.
(pause)
 
KIRSTEN
Willie ran away.
 
MARLENE
What, tall Willie?
 
KIRSTEN
Yes, tall Willie.  She ran away last night.
 
MARLENE
She did?
 
KIRSTEN
That's what Muller told me this morning; she's run off.
 
MARLENE
Where to?
 
KIRSTEN
No-one knows.
 
MARLENE
Ah shit.
 
KIRSTEN
What?
 
MARLENE
Well, they'll have to get one of us to do her job, won't they?
 
KIRSTEN
Oh Jesus.
 
MARLENE
Well, I'm not doing that.  I'd run off myself first.
 
KIRSTEN
Would you?
 
MARLENE
Yes, before they could make me do that.
(pause)
 
KIRSTEN
That's what Willie said.
 
MARLENE
What did you say?
 
KIRSTEN
That's what Willie said before they gave her that job.  She said she'd run away.  But she didn't.
 
MARLENE
Well, I would!
 
KIRSTEN
That's what Willie said.
 
MARLENE
Are you calling me a liar?
 
KIRSTEN
I'm not calling you a liar.  I'm just saying what Willie said.
(beat)
 
MARLENE
Give me a fish paste sandwich.
 
KIRSTEN
Really?
 
MARLENE
Yes.  All of a sudden this ham doesn't taste so good.
 
KIRSTEN
It's the smell.
 
MARLENE
What?
 
KIRSTEN
That's what Stefan says, it's the smell.  It's worse than the smoke and the soot, even.  The smell is horrible.
(beat)
He says...Stefan says he is going to my mother's.  He can't stand it any more, he says.
(beat)
I couldn't stand it either.  Not without him.
(beat)
I'd run away too.
 
MARLENE
We could run away together!
 
KIRSTEN
And go where?
 
MARLENE
I don't know.  East...
 
KIRSTEN
(interrupting)
East!  Are you mad?  The Russians.
 
MARLENE
Well, there's nowhere else to go.
(pause)
 
KIRSTEN
Portugal.
 
MARLENE
What?
 
KIRSTEN
We could go to Portugal.  Or Ireland.
 
MARLENE
It's a long way to Portugal and Ireland.
 
KIRSTEN
How would we get there?
 
MARLENE
Train?
 
KIRSTEN
A train?
(beat)
I'm never getting on a train again as long as I live.
 
MARLENE
Really?
 
KIRSTEN
Yes, really.
(beat)
How can they do it?
 
MARLENE
What did you say?
 
KIRSTEN
Those people...just walk off the train like they do, like it was any normal station?
 
MARLENE
I don't know.  They say they're not human, don't they?
 
KIRSTEN
"You're not human?"  That's what one of them told Tall Willie once, as she was putting a new gas tank in.  "You're not human." This little old woman.
 
MARLENE
Did she?  That was brave of her.
 
KIRSTEN
Some of them are brave, though.
 
MARLENE
Get away!  Them?
 
KIRSTEN
Yes, I've seen it.  But there's no point to it.  What's the point of being brave if there's no point to it?
 
MARLENE
That's right.
 
MARLENE spits something out of her mouth.
 
MARLENE
Ugh!
 
KIRSTEN
What is it?
 
MARLENE
Soot!  Soot or ash or something in my sandwich!
 
KIRSTEN
That's never happened before!  Not here!
 
MARLENE
I know!
 
KIRSTEN
Here it's always been safe from that sort of thing.
 
MARLENE
Well, not any more!
 
KIRSTEN
Do you want a fish paste?
 
MARLENE
What?  Oh.  Oh, yes, please.  But let's finish these some place else.
 
KIRSTEN
Where?
 
Both women get up and put on their jackets.
 
MARLENE
I don't know.  But we can't come here any more.
 
KIRSTEN spits.
 
KIRSTEN
Got something on my tongue, too.
 
MARLENE
We can't come here any more.
 
KIRSTEN
No we can't come here any more.
 
KIRSTEN looks off into the distance.
 
MARLENE
Hey, look!
 
KIRSTEN
Where?
 
MARLENE
It's Tall Willie!
 
KIRSTEN
No!
 
MARLENE
It is, I tell you!  She came back!
 
KIRSTEN is stunned.  She sits down heavily on the bench in despair.
 
KIRSTEN
She came back?
 
MARLENE
(yelling)
Tall Willie, how are you?  Do you want ham or fish paste?
 
CURTAIN


CURTAIN