Play #09

Deep Heaven

__________________________

A short play

By Joseph Frost

Originally written as a part of

31 Plays in 31 Days

August 14, 2021

Contact:
710 Newland Dr
Jackson MS 39211
FrostJosephD@gmail.com
*member, Dramatists Guild
 A couch. In a spare apartment. Probably big
windows. Where we see mostly sky.

JONES lays on the couch - she is very

comfortably dressed.

She leans to the side with a big smile and

stretches.

ANDERSON comes in - almost as comfortably

dressed. He carries two mugs.

ANDERSON
You awake?

JONES
Barely.

ANDERSON
Made something.

JONES
Tea?

ANDERSON
You guessed.

JONES
I did.

ANDERSON
I’m predictable.

JONES
Predictably wonderful.

ANDERSON
Thanks for making boring sound like virtue.

JONES
It is a virtue. It’s my kind of boring.

He hands her a mug.

 2.

ANDERSON
It’s caffeine free.

JONES
I’m not going to get up all day long.

ANDERSON
It’s the day for it. Nothing on the schedule. No where to be.

JONES
Left our phones in the bedroom.

ANDERSON
Sometimes just having a day off isn’t enough. It needs to be a day away.

JONES
A day away.

Jones sips her tea.

Anderson walks behind the couch to the

window.

Jones looks at him.

JONES
Is the park empty?

ANDERSON
Reasonably.

JONES
You want to go for a walk?

ANDERSON
I do, but that’s not in the spirit of what we’re trying to sabbath here.

JONES
Is that what we’re doing?

ANDERSON
Point was to not fill up the day with stuff.
 3.

JONES
Just a walk.

ANDERSON
Starts as a walk. Then it’s to the shop on 6th. Lunch over a Choo’s. Gotta stop by the
Book Worm for the 4 o’clock read-and-mock.

JONES
Oh come on. You enjoy that. That’s a good time.

ANDERSON
I like making fun of budding poets as much as the next person.

JONES
(mocking)
I’m like a dead flower. I let go of my super power.

ANDERSON
All time worst.

JONES
Hands down.

ANDERSON
Yes. But today is not that.

JONES
Then it is...

ANDERSON
Us. Here. And nothing else.

JONES
Nothing else.

ANDERSON
Nothing.

A quiet.

JONES
One of the last. Is that why?

ANDERSON
Listen. I’m not--
 4.

JONES
I’m sorry. I didn’t mean--

ANDERSON
No. Honestly, that’s not why--

JONES
I was just-- I don’t know. Trying to joke.

ANDERSON
It’s ok.
(beat)
I’m not saying it was a good joke.

JONES
I knew that as I was saying it. I didn’t even find it funny.
(beat)
I just want to know what’s going on.

ANDERSON
I want to be with you today.

JONES
We can do things, too.

ANDERSON
Just want to slow down.

JONES
Slow down.

ANDERSON
Felt like I needed to decompress.
(beat)
Come up to the surface. Breathe for a second.

JONES
Trouble breathing.

ANDERSON
You don’t feel that way.

JONES
God. If I start unpacking all of that--
 5.

ANDERSON
That’s it.

JONES
What.

ANDERSON
That’s the thing. That’s what I want for today.

JONES
Oh. No. That’s not--

ANDERSON
It’s exactly what I want for today. We need that.

JONES
We don’t.

ANDERSON
Come on, Jones.

JONES
That was not part of the deal. You said day off. You said relax today. You said no
phones, no appointments. No paying bills or opening mail or email or any of that. I even
agreed to not streaming any movies or anything. You agreed to music if it was on the
record player, and so far, there’s nothing playing, so where’s that, by the way. But, man, I
honestly can’t right now. I’ve done everything I can to shut it all down. Shut it all out.
And if you are honestly asking me to stir it all up and puke it all out to make you feel
better, that is absolutely not what I need. It’s a fucking shit storm of biblical proportions.
Prophets have predicted the consequences of opening that box of Pandora, and if it opens,
I swear to baby Jesus it will not shut just because you want to chill out on a Thursday
afternoon.
(beat)
The Book Worm will call us and tell us to keep it down.

A moment.

ANDERSON
Tea’s getting cold.

JONES
I like it cold.

ANDERSON
I know.
 6.

Anderson picks up her mug and brings it to her.

Jones takes it an sips.

JONES
Perfect.

ANDERSON
Yep. Perfect.

Jones sips again.

JONES
I don’t want to talk.

ANDERSON
Ok.

JONES
I can’t.

ANDERSON
That’s ok. I can wait.

JONES
I don’t know when I’ll be ready.

ANDERSON
I’m not sure I’m ready either. But it’s gonna. Have to happen.

Anderson puts his hand on Jones’ stomach.

She puts her hand on his.

JONES
What are we getting into?

ANDERSON
The unknown. The mysterious.

JONES
A black hole.

ANDERSON
Deep heaven.
 7.

They kiss.

JONES
Can we at least have Choo’s delivered?

ANDERSON
We can have Choo’s delivered.

JONES
That’s all I want.

ANDERSON
I can read you some bad poetry here.

They embrace.

JONES
Deep heaven.

Lights down.