Play: A Common Language

ELIZABETH is packing her suitcase, her back to EDDIE as he watches her.

EDDIE
You’re really leaving.

ELIZABETH
Yeah.

EDDIE
So. This is it.

ELIZABETH
Yeah.

EDDIE
You’re just going to walk out the door with your suitcase –

ELIZABETH
(frustrated) Yes!

Elizabeth turns to look at Eddie.

ELIZABETH (CONT’D)
Yes, I’m just gonna walk out the door with my suitcase. What else did you think was going to happen?

A pause.

EDDIE
Fine. Go.

ELIZABETH
Don’t make this my fault.

EDDIE
Are you saying that it’s mine?

ELIZABETH
You told the whole of Manhattan that I was screwing the milkman!

EDDIE
You were!

ELIZABETH
(stares) Okay, you know what, forget it. Whatever. I’m not doing this.

Elizabeth turns back to her suitcase.

EDDIE
In case you’ve forgotten, you were sleeping with the milkman. I caught you.

Elizabeth turns back to him.

ELIZABETH
So that makes it okay for you to broadcast it over the radio? (shaking her head) You know what? Fuck you, Eddie. You’ve been standing there watching me pack for ten fucking minutes and I haven’t heard you say a single fucking sorry. You’re a piece of work.

EDDIE
What do you want from me? Sorry? Why should I apologize? Did you apologize when I walked in on you… servicing the milkman? Even if I was wrong in telling everyone, I was telling the truth.

ELIZABETH
What are you, five? There’s honesty, and then there’s honesty. When I ask you whether my ass looks big in that stupid dress you bought for me, did you say yes? When Robbie asks you ‘How’s it going’ at five a.m. in the morning, do you say ‘fuck you’? No. You said my ass looked great, and you tell Robbie that ‘it’s going fine’. You don’t have a problem lying to me, and you don’t have a problem lying to Robbie, but five million anonymous Manhattanites and you suddenly have to tell the truth? Gimme a break.

EDDIE
Five million Manhattanites didn’t cheat on me. You did.

ELIZABETH
Oh, so it’s not about “the truth” then. It was just about getting revenge. Just so we’re clear.

Eddie is silent. Elizabeth turns back to packing her suitcase.

EDDIE
All right! I’m sorry. Is that what you want? I’m sorry.

Elizabeth pauses.

ELIZABETH
It’s – It’s too late.

EDDIE
You’re not serious. What else do you want from me? I’ve already said that I’m sorry. And let’s not forget that I’m not the only one here who’s made a mistake. I still haven’t heard you apologize for –

ELIZABETH
Fucking the milkman. Yes. I remember. (pause) I’m sorry.

EDDIE
All – all right.

Elizabeth continues packing.

EDDIE (CONT’D)
What are you doing?

ELIZABETH
What does it look like?

EDDIE
Why are you doing this?

ELIZABETH
I told you. It’s too late.

EDDIE
What does that even mean? Why – Stop it. Just – Just – stop!

Eddie pulls Elizabeth away from the suitcase.

EDDIE (CONT’D)
What do you want me to do? Do you want me to make a public apology? Say I was just kidding? What do you want me to do?

ELIZABETH
Nothing. This just isn’t working. It hasn’t been working. I want out.

EDDIE
You want out. You. Want. Out. What the fuck gives you the right to say that? You can’t just want out. What about me? What about what I want?

ELIZABETH
What do you want?

EDDIE
What’s that supposed to mean?

ELIZABETH
– Nothing.

EDDIE
No. You can’t ask a question like that and then say “nothing”. What, Liz? What did you mean by that?

ELIZABETH
I meant, what do you want? You go to work way earlier than you need to, you don’t come back until late at night –

EDDIE
I’m a hard worker –

ELIZABETH
Okay. If you say so.

Elizabeth goes back to packing. A pause.

EDDIE
I’m not having an affair.

ELIZABETH
God, Eddie! What the fuck is the matter with you? Why do all men think that they’re only cheating if they fuck someone else?

Elizabeth pauses.

EDDIE
I don’t understand.

Elizabeth turns to Eddie.

ELIZABETH
I can’t do this anymore. I barely see you as it is, and when you come back all you do is sit in the kitchen and work on your stupid little phrases –

EDDIE
I’m in radio, Lizzy. Those words are all that I’ve got –

ELIZABETH
Yeah. You work and work to get the words right for your show, but you can’t even spare one for me.

EDDIE
That’s not true.

ELIZABETH
Yeah? “What are you doing?” “Just some work.” “Do you want to go and get something to eat?” “Yeah, sure.” Those aren’t words, Eddie. They’re excuses not to talk.

Eddie is silent.

ELIZABETH (CONT’D)
Okay then.

Elizabeth turns and shuts the suitcase. She pulls the suitcase onto the ground.

ELIZABETH
See you around.

Elizabeth turns to go.

EDDIE
I’m in radio, Lizzy.

Elizabeth starts to go.

EDDIE (CONT’D)
Wait – wait.

Elizabeth turns to him.

EDDIE (CONT’D)
I’m in radio. I go to work every day, and I sit at a desk, and I read words from pieces of paper. Sometimes those words are mine, sometimes they’re shills from the higher-ups at the station, but it’s not me. The person you hear on the radio talking about how great Mariah Carey’s comeback album is? That’s not me. The guy who just loves that we’re going to get two to four inches of snow this winter? That’s not me either. Don’t you understand? When I go to work, I have to watch what I say, I have to pick and choose every single word I use and make sure that it’s okay for the public ear. Do you know what that does to a person after ten years?

ELIZABETH
Huh.

EDDIE
You think I don’t love you? I do. But it’s not – just – love. Sometimes it’s mixed with hate. Sometimes there’s frustration or annoyance. Sometimes I love you because you get on my nerves. It’s not – it’s not easy. And I don’t want to lie to you. I don’t want to tell you that I love you, because you might think you know what I mean, when it’s not what I mean at all, and then you’ll get angry at me because you think I was just lying to you. So I don’t say anything. But I do love you. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t love you.

Silence.

ELIZABETH
Why didn’t you tell me this before?

EDDIE
Why didn’t you tell me what you were feeling before?

ELIZABETH
I – I don’t know. I thought. (pause) What if it’s not enough?

EDDIE
What if what’s not enough?

ELIZABETH
This. All of this love is great and all, but what if it’s not enough? What happens after this?

EDDIE
I don’t know.

ELIZABETH
Sometimes I thought about telling you, but then I always thought, what happens next? Yes, you love me, and yes, I – well, I like you, but then what? What if we have nothing to say after that? We’re too old to sit around all night just telling each other how much we like or love each other, and I don’t want to be one of those married couples –

EDDIE
Who go out for dinner at a lovely restaurant because it’s Thursday night?

ELIZABETH
Something like that. I can’t do that either. What if “I love you” is the only common language that we have?

Silence.

ELIZABETH (CONT’D)
I’m sorry. I’m not – I’m not very romantic. I might still love you, but I’m too tired to keep this going. Maybe it’s time.

EDDIE
Why don’t you just tell me what to do.

ELIZABETH
I like you, but I have my pride, Eddie. I can’t always make the first move.

Elizabeth walks forward and touches Eddie’s face.

ELIZABETH (CONT’D)
Let’s just – not be together for a while, and see how that goes.

Elizabeth turns, takes her suitcase, and walks towards the door.

EDDIE
Let’s go out for a movie.

Elizabeth stops, and turns to look at Eddie, somewhat smiling.

ELIZABETH
A movie?

EDDIE
It’s not dinner. Not yet anyway – I figure that we should just do a movie for the first date.

ELIZABETH
Huh.

EDDIE
You’re right. Maybe we don’t know each other anymore. Maybe we – maybe we never even did. And you’re also right – maybe we have nothing in common, or at least nothing in common right now, other than I love you, or in your case, I like you. But if we go out for a movie, and then another, maybe a drink, maybe dinner sometime, we can start adding words to our common language. Sentences, even. “Yeah, it reminded me of that movie too.” “Let’s go to that sushi place again.” Things like that.

Elizabeth is undecided.

EDDIE (CONT’D)
Come on. I’m making the first move. I’m trying here.

A moment. Elizabeth walks to Eddie, and holds out a hand for him to shake.

ELIZABETH
Elizabeth Alison Abrams.

Eddie shakes her hand.

EDDIE
Edward Rudolph King.

ELIZABETH
I honestly don’t know which is worse, Rudolph, or that your initials spell ERK.

EDDIE
(smiling) Someone I know told me that once. Shall we go catch a movie?

ELIZABETH
Sure.