SECRET SCENE IV–Carrie on baggage

 

Literati!

Theresa Ann here!  Our stage play continues for Let’s Make a Scene

with our oh-so-innocent Ashley having a chat with her neighbor Michael, still brooding at imagined infidelities of his boyfriend, Taylor. Visit my dressing room under Departments to begin at the beginning.  Bring roses.

Scene IV

MICHAEL

Keep a secret?  Of course.  Which one?  You already knew about Carrie…..right?  I didn’t spill that one.  (proudly) People spill their guts to me all the time, honey.

ASHLEY

Carrie?

MICHAEL  (flustered)

Well, whose secrets do you mean?

ASHLEY

Who’s Carrie?

MICHAEL

Carrie?  I meant… Gary.

ASHLEY

But you said Carrie.

MICHAEL

I meant to say Gary.

ASHLEY

Ok.  So who is Gary and why is he a secret?

MICHAEL

Gary?  Oh, don’t be so difficult.  Gary is…. um..this guy.  Maybe I did say Carrie.  Who cares!  What were you going to tell me?

ASHLEY

Michael,   you are a very bad liar and you are digging yourself a little hole.  Who is Carrie?  Out with it!

MICHAEL

Isn’t she Ted’s sister?   They’re going to the reunion together?

ASHLEY

No, his sister is Cindy.  She’s a total whiner.

MICHAEL

Oh.   (pregnant pause)   Maybe I meant to say Cindy.

ASHLEY

Right…..

MICHAEL

Cindy….of course.  Not Carrie.  I get the all the names mixed up.  So, what were you going to tell me?

ASHLEY

Oh, nothing….

MICHAEL   (finishing off the box of truffles)

Tell Ted I owe him a new box of chocolates.  Saved him a load of calories though!

ASHLEY

You’re such a giver.

MICHAEL

I know!    Wait, were you serious or joking?

ASHLEY

(laughs)  Oh never mind.

MICHAEL

So,  where is Ted right now?

ASHLEY

He’s at the vets.

MICHAEL

With Carrie?

ASHLEY

No, with that bimbo ex wife of his.  God, she’s insufferable.

MICHAEL

Laurel?  She waters our plants when we’re on vacation.  I thought she was sort of sweet.   (Ashley throws him a dagger look)  I mean, sweet in a sickening saccharine sort of way…..

ASHLEY

Isn’t she though?  Argh.  (dramatically flipping her hair)  “Hiiiii…..I’m Laurel…..and I’m sooooo glad to meet you.  Look how I can flip my hair from side to side without giving myself whiplash.”

MICHAEL

You’ve  missed your calling as a actress,  dear.

ASHLEY

You think so?  I’m already 34.  Too old to be an actress.  Like if you’re over 25, don’t even bother trying.

MICHAEL

That’s not true.  Look at Meryl Streep.  She’s still acting and she’s what…60? Or Sean Connery?

ASHLEY

Ok.   Bad examples.  Dudes can act until they die or become senile.  Actresses have a “use by” expiration date.  Plus Meryl Streep started acting in high school.   For every one of her, there’s like 100,000 actresses same age who can’t find work.

MICHAEL

That’s so negative.  Never say Never!   (reflects sadly) Never say never.   That reminds me of that Taylor Swift song where she says “We are never ever getting back together”.   I thought my Taylor and I were Forever…but maybe I was wrong. We may Never get back together.

ASHLEY

You and Taylor haven’t even broken up yet.   So how can you be lamenting about never getting back together, when you’re not officially broken up?   You guys still live together right?  (Michael nods)  You’re both still saying “Love you” everyday, right?

MICHAEL

He’s saying it less now.  And I can tell he doesn’t always mean it.

ASHLEY

That is either your intuition telling you something.  Or maybe just paranoia.   It’s hard to tell the difference.

MICHAEL

Thanks.  (sarcastically)   That was really helpful.

A moment of awkward silence follows.

ASHLEY

Well…

MICHAEL

I should get going.   (He picks up his keys and his phone and notices a text from Taylor. He’s instantly brightened)  Oh, he texted me!  Says he has big news.   See you later honey!

Ashley closes the door behind Michael and returns to Ted’s computer.  He’s been gone over 2 hours.  He’d probably will be home any minute.  It would be embarrassing to be caught going through his computer.  Then again, he was meeting Laurel  there, so that may lengthen his trip.  She probably had enough time to go back and re read his email.  Who was Carrie?

***************************************************

 

Ahhh Literati!  What a foolish question to ask…Who was Carrie?  Could it be this one?

 

Granted, he does look a bit like the Editor-in-Chief

 

 

 

 

 

 

Or this one?

 

She too, looks a bit like thorn, except for the body and face.

 

 

 

 

Could it be This Carrie?

No, this is one of the many interns at A Word with You Press. If she went swimming and went under, wood you rescue her if it meant you had to administer the breath of life?

 

 

 

OR COULD THE  CARRIE in Theresa Ann’s tale be a bit more like this???