Play #16

Like You Said

__________________________

A short play

By Joseph Frost

Originally written as a part of

31 Plays in 31 Days

August 23, 2021

Contact:
710 Newland Dr
Jackson MS 39211
FrostJosephD@gmail.com
*member, Dramatists Guild
 Cafe Paris. A small coffee shop that is not in
Paris at all.

A woman, CHARLEY, is writing in a notebook.

MEGAN, the waitress, brings a coffee to

Charley.

MEGAN
There you go. Enjoy.

CHARLEY
Thank you.

Megan hesitates.

MEGAN
You know, I don’t want to bother you, but you’ve been in here a lot, writing.

CHARLEY
Yeah. It’s a quiet spot.

MEGAN
I’ve wondered for a long time what you’re working on. I waited to ask until there wasn’t
anyone in. I didn’t want to embarrass you or anything.

CHARLEY
Oh, no. That’s fine. Actually, I come here to write in a journal. Not really anything
exciting.

MEGAN
Oh. I always thought that it was, like, something really cool, like a novel, or poetry or
something.

CHARLEY
Well, I mean, I do write. For a living.

MEGAN
Oh yeah?

CHARLEY
I have a work space I use for that. This is an escape for me.

Megan sits down in a chair opposite Charley.

 2.

MEGAN
Really? That’s kinda strange. I mean, I don’t go out and serve coffee to people when I’m
not working.

CHARLEY
I love to write. Sometimes I get bogged down in the stuff I’m writing for my job, so
getting out and journaling and scribbling and making notes is kind of like a reminder that
I love to write. Otherwise, it’s just my job.

MEGAN
So I should try serving coffee in my free time.

CHARLEY
I’m not suggesting anything. This is what I have to do to keep my job fresh. For me.

MEGAN
I see.

CHARLEY
Is this your place? I see you here all the time.

MEGAN
No. I just work a lot. So I hear what you’re saying about your job getting boring.

CHARLEY
I didn’t say boring.

MEGAN
Our menu is pretty limited, and it’s coffee coffee coffee and sometimes a danish but I
don’t make those, I just take the tongs and pull them out of the bin. Like you said, it’s
just dull sometimes.

CHARLEY
I didn’t say dull.

MEGAN
And the idiot jerks who come in. People are the worst, like you said.

CHARLEY
I didn’t talk about people. Just that--

MEGAN
I hear what you’re saying though. When the job gets unbearable, you gotta find what it is
you love in it and why you’re still doing it.
 3.

CHARLEY
I never said unbearable.

MEGAN
I hear you. I hear you.

Megan gets up from the table.

MEGAN
Enjoy the coffee. And the writing.

CHARLEY
Thanks.

Megan walks away.

CHARLEY
Excuse me.

MEGAN
Yeah?

CHARLEY
Do you have any sugar? This container is empty.

MEGAN
I thought you liked it black.

CHARLEY
I usually do.

MEGAN
Not today?

CHARLEY
If you have some sugar, I’d like to use it in my coffee.

MEGAN
I can do that.

Megan walks some sugar over to Charley.

CHARLEY
Thank you.
 4.

MEGAN
No problem.

Megan walks away.

CHARLEY
I have a question for you.

MEGAN
What’s that?

CHARLEY
Why is this place called Cafe Paris? It’s a cute image, but there’s not much French stuff
in here. No Eiffel Towers, no Arch du Triumphs. Not even a French flag.

MEGAN
Oh. It’s not for the city of Paris. It’s named after the horse.

CHARLEY
A horse.

MEGAN
Paris. Foaled in 1803. Won the Epsom Derby in 1806.

CHARLEY
Oh. So it’s about a horse, not France at all.

MEGAN
Not at all France. No.

CHARLEY
That’s just a little bit worse, isn’t it.

MEGAN
Like you said.

Charley drinks the coffee.

Megan wipes a counter.