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ISABEL: (jokingly) Hey! Haven't I seen you somewhere before?
CHRISTOPHER: I think so, you look familiar.
ISABEL: Yeah, I get that all the time. (laughing) How's it going?
CHRISTOPHER: Good. And you?
ISABEL: Pretty good. It's been a hectic day, but you know, good.
CHRISTOPHER: Yeah.
ISABEL: So what can I get for ya?
CHRISTOPHER: A cup of coffee?
ISABEL: Give me a sec, I'll put on a fresh pot. This one's been lying around for at least an hour.
CHRISTOPHER: Thanks.
ISABEL: No problem. You visiting anybody this time?
CHRISTOPHER: Maybe some old friends.mostly it's just a weekend break from work.
ISABEL: Most people go somewhere, I don't know, that's not Pulman for weekend breaks. Why don't you go somewhere fun?
CHRISTOPHER: Such as?
ISABEL: (shrugging) I dunno, California or something. Colorado. Anywhere that's not Pulman.
CHRISTOPHER: What's in California and Colorado?
ISABEL: Disneyland and skiing.
CHRISTOPHER: Disneyland?
ISABEL: What, you're too old to appreciate Disneyland?
CHRISTOPHER: I think I might be, yeah.
ISABEL: Shameful. Here's your coffee.
CHRISTOPHER: What about you?
ISABEL: Hmm? Oh, you mean the weekend break thing?
CHRISTOPHER: Right.
ISABEL: Well, firstly, if I'm gonna go somewhere I'm taking more than a weekend. That's too much of a time constraint for me. I'll take the summer off and go to Italy or something.Venice or Florence or.well, more than just Italy I guess. I'd go everywhere.
CHRISTOPHER: Why don't you?
ISABEL: This summer?
CHRISTOPHER: Sure.
ISABEL: There's no way I can afford it. I've got school and working and I'm saving up to go to a university.haven't I told you this before?
CHRISTOPHER: I think you might have.
ISABEL: (sheepishly) Sorry, I forget sometimes. People usually come in and out of here so much, you can tell the same story over and over and nobody notices.
CHRISTOPHER: I don't mind.
ISABEL: That's nice of you to say, sir.
CHRISTOPHER: You can call me Christopher if you want.
ISABEL: No. Seems too informal.
CHRISTOPHER: Alright.
There is an awkward moment of silence between them, broken only by MAGGIE'S (also 39) arrival. She enters from stage LEFT. She stiffens visibly at the sight of Christopher, composes herself before setting a hand on Isabel's shoulder.
MAGGIE: Belle, honey, why are you still here?
ISABEL: I was just cleaning up a little so it wouldn't be a huge mess for you tonight.
MAGGIE: Don't you have that big anniversary date tonight with that hoodlum of yours?
ISABEL: He's not a hoodlum. And yeah, but I didn't wanna leave without finishing this first.
MAGGIE: (eyeing Christopher) You are your mother's daughter, obsessive compulsive quirks and all.
ISABEL: I try. (to Christopher) More coffee?
CHRISTOPHER: Uh, yes. Please.
MAGGIE: Go on, I'll take care of it.
ISABEL: Nah, it's fine. Andrew's not picking me up till late anyway.
MAGGIE: Okay.I'll be upstairs if you need anything.
ISABEL: Got it.
Maggie exits.
ISABEL: That death stare she gave you wasn't personal, I promise.
CHRISTOPHER: So you noticed.
ISABEL: She's just protective, I guess, of me. You know. Probably why these guys keep giving you dirty looks every time you come in. They do it to Andrew, too.
CHRISTOPHER: I see. And Andrew is.?
ISABEL: A guy I'm seeing.
CHRISTOPHER: Oh.
ISABEL: He's not a hoodlum.
CHRISTOPHER: I didn't.
ISABEL: You were going to. I can tell by your face.
CHRISTOPHER: Hoodlum sounds like a fairly intense word to use.
ISABEL: Like I said, they're just protective. Have been since I was ten, after my Mom died.I told you this before.
CHRISTOPHER: Once, maybe.
ISABEL: Let me know when I start rambling, because I guarantee otherwise I'll repeat myself.
CHRISTOPHER: Will do.your.your mother.do you remember a lot about her?
ISABEL: What do you mean?
CHRISTOPHER: What she was like.
ISABEL: Yeah, mostly. She was.oh god, give me a minute.
ANDREW enters from stage RIGHT, clad in a leather jacket, with a cigarette behind one ear. He leans across the counter and kisses Isabel with a blatant disregard for the other patrons in the diner. She laughs lightly and pushes him away in embarrassment.
ISABEL: Andrew, you can't do that when I'm working.
ANDREW: You're off the clock?
ISABEL: Technically, yeah.
ANDREW: Then I can.
ISABEL: (laughing) You're an ass.
ANDREW: What time you wanna meet me tonight?
ISABEL: Is eight okay? Will you be able to get out of work by then?
ANDREW: I'll get out of it.
ISABEL: By not getting fired?
ANDREW: I'll try.
ISABEL: Try hard.
ANDREW: Later.
He kisses her briefly once again.
ANDREW: Love you.
ISABEL: You too.
Andrew exits, while Isabel returns her attention to Christopher, who is shifting uncomfortably in his seat.
ISABEL: Sorry about that.
CHRISTOPHER: That was Andrew?
ISABEL: Mhmm. You think he's a hoodlum, right?
CHRISTOPHER: A little bit.
ISABEL: Thought so.
CHRISTOPHER: I should get going, I need to run a few errands.
ISABEL: Kay. I've gotta leave pretty soon, too.
CHRISTOPHER: Thank you again, for the coffee.
ISABEL: Anytime.
Christopher exits, lowering his head and using his hat to shield his face.
SCENE TWO: A graveyard. It is barren, save for few scattered tombstones. Christopher hovers over one in particular, his expression unreadable. He raises his head as he hears someone approaching. Glancing around, he spots Maggie standing off to the side. She takes hesitant steps towards him.
MAGGIE: Chris.
CHRISTOPHER: Maggie.
MAGGIE: What are you doing?
CHRISTOPHER: Same old Maggie. Always cutting right to the chase.
MAGGIE: Let's not get nostalgic. What are you doing here?
CHRISTOPHER: I had some things to take care of.
MAGGIE: She's not your responsibility.
CHRISTOPHER: I know that.
MAGGIE: Then why do you keep coming back?
CHRISTOPHER: I like seeing my kid.
MAGGIE: That little girl has nothing to do with you.
CHRISTOPHER: I know that, too.
MAGGIE: Good.
CHRISTOPHER: Are you finished?
MAGGIE: When we were kids, I thought you'd be wonderful for Anna, but we all knew she would never see you as anything more than the boy who kept pining away for her. You were safe to her. Don't you find that ironic?
CHRISTOPHER: I'm only here for three days, Maggie. There isn't enough time for me to damage anybody.
MAGGIE: I find that unlikely.
CHRISTOPHER: Doesn't surprise me.
MAGGIE: You didn't answer my question.
CHRISTOPHER: What kind of answer do you expect me to give you?
MAGGIE: But you keep coming back, every month. It's been almost a year now, Chris. And every time, you come here. For what? Anna's dead. You can't apologize to her now.
CHRISTOPHER: I'm not trying to.
MAGGIE: Then why?
CHRISTOPHER: I've already told you.
MAGGIE: You think it's going to reduce the guilt?
CHRISTOPHER: No. It's not.
MAGGIE: That's reassuring, at least.
CHRISTOPHER: (sharply) I'm glad.
MAGGIE: Don't get self-righteous with me. Isabel's a smart girl, she'll figure this little routine out soon enough.
CHRISTOPHER: She won't.
MAGGIE: She feels sorry for you. That doesn't equate to any kind of affection.
CHRISTOPHER: That's fine with me.
MAGGIE: You shouldn't expect her to care about you. She's not going to.
CHRISTOPHER: Alright, I understand. Are we finished here, Maggie?
MAGGIE: No. So what is this, then? You know she's never going to reciprocate whatever it is you think you feel for her.
CHRISTOPHER: Then why are you making this an issue?
MAGGIE: If you even try touching her-
CHRISTOPHER: (disgusted) Fuck you.
MAGGIE: What? I'd say it's a pretty perverse little cycle you've got here.
CHRISTOPHER: You know me better than that, Maggie. I loved Anna.
MAGGIE: And she didn't love you.
CHRISTOPHER: I wanted her to.
MAGGIE: That wasn't your decision to make.
CHRISTOPHER: I thought.I thought if I could show her, if I could act on it.then maybe.maybe she could have.
MAGGIE: But she didn't.
CHRISTOPHER: She didn't want to.
MAGGIE: That's the point, Christopher. She didn't want to, and you acted on it anyway.
CHRISTOPHER: I was stupid. I didn't rationalize it beforehand.
MAGGIE: Same old Chris. (pause) Did you know Isabel's the same age Anna was?
CHRISTOPHER: I've done the math.
MAGGIE: Suppose something like that happens to her.
CHRISTOPHER: It's not going to.
MAGGIE: You sure?
CHRISTOPHER: Yes.
MAGGIE: Why?
CHRISTOPHER: I saw Andrew.
MAGGIE: So?
CHRISTOPHER: He's harmless.
MAGGIE: He looks it. That's never a guarantee.
CHRISTOPHER: They're together. He's not searching for something that's not there. He won't make her do anything she doesn't want to.
MAGGIE: Because he loves her?
CHRISTOPHER: Partially.
MAGGIE: You're smarter than that excuse.
CHRISTOPHER: He won't do anything because he knows she loves him.
MAGGIE: And that makes a difference?
CHRISTOPHER: It does.
MAGGIE: I don't understand.
CHRISTOPHER: He doesn't have to convince himself or her of anything. It's already there between them.
MAGGIE: Huh.
CHRISTOPHER: What?
MAGGIE: Nothing. That's interesting.
CHRISTOPHER: But that's not why you came here.
MAGGIE: No, it's not.
CHRISTOPHER: I didn't think so.
MAGGIE: I want you to tell Isabel.
CHRISTOPHER: Tell her what?
MAGGIE: Who you are. That you're her father, at least in the loosest sense of the word.
CHRISTOPHER: I'm not telling her.
MAGGIE: If you don't, I will. And I'll tell her about Anna, the real reason you left.
CHRISTOPHER: She doesn't know?
MAGGIE: Of course not.
CHRISTOPHER: Oh.
MAGGIE: Anna liked to tell her bedtime stories about her father. There were always innocent explanations as to why he wasn't around. The truth isn't quite the sort of thing fairytales are made of.
CHRISTOPHER: I get it.
MAGGIE: You'll tell her the next time you see her.
CHRISTOPHER: Maggie, please-
MAGGIE: No. You don't deserve to talk to Isabel, but if you want to, then you'll tell her.
CHRISTOPHER: If she knows.she likes talking to me.
MAGGIE: I already explained this. Don't confuse pity with affection.
CHRISTOPHER: Whatever it is, she tells me about herself.
MAGGIE: And you think if she knows who you are she'll stop?
CHRISTOPHER: You know she will.
MAGGIE: Probably.
CHRISTOPHER: This is the only way I have of getting to know her.
MAGGIE: And that's a privilege you haven't earned. Who knows, maybe you'll be able to salvage something. Maybe she'll talk to you anyway.
CHRISTOPHER: That's bullshit.
MAGGIE: Either you tell her, or I will.
CHRISTOPHER: Why?
MAGGIE: Because you ran away and hid after what you did to Anna. You only came back because you found out you had a daughter. And you can't keep hiding, Chris.
He looks away from her, returning his attention to the tombstone.
SCENE THREE: The following day. Christopher enters the empty diner nervously. Isabel is sitting on a stool, spinning around with a telephone pressed to her ear.
ISABEL: Hey, I'll call you later tonight okay? Someone just came in. Yeah. (laughing) You too. Bye.
She sets the phone back into its cradle.
CHRISTOPHER: The hoodlum?
ISABEL: Yessir.
CHRISTOPHER: Sorry if I was interrupting-
ISABEL: Oh no, it's fine. I have some work to do anyway. Coffee?
CHRISTOPHER: Sure.
ISABEL: How goes the weekend break?
CHRISTOPHER: Hmm? Oh, fine. Fine.
ISABEL: (handing him a cup) Here.
CHRISTOPHER: Thank you.
ISABEL: Mhmm.
CHRISTOPHER: Isabel, there's something-
ISABEL: Oh, I almost forgot. You asked me something the other day, and then Andrew came in and I completely forgot. What was it?
CHRISTOPHER: It's not important.
ISABEL: But now I'm curious.
CHRISTOPHER: Just.about your mother. I asked you about your mother.
ISABEL: I'd say she was pretty important, having mothered me and all.
CHRISTOPHER: No. I didn't mean-
ISABEL: I was kidding.
CHRISTOPHER: Oh.
ISABEL: Bad joke.
CHRISTOPHER: It's just.I'm a little preoccupied I guess. I.I ran into Maggie and she-
ISABEL: I wouldn't take it personally if she was harsh with you. She's just not the type of person to skirt around things.
CHRISTOPHER: Yeah I know. I sensed that, that is.
ISABEL: She's paranoid about you. And overprotective of me, so the combination is bad. I think she thinks you're a little bit creepy.
CHRISTOPHER: I think that's true.
ISABEL: You think you're creepy?
CHRISTOPHER: What? No, I-
ISABEL: Kidding, again. Sorry.
CHRISTOPHER: Don't be. There's something I've been meaning to-
ISABEL: So what was it you wanted to know about my mom?
CHRISTOPHER: Hmm? Oh.I.I asked if you remembered what she was like.
ISABEL: Oh yeah. Yeah, I do. Bits and pieces, some days more than others.
CHRISTOPHER: And?
ISABEL: She was.how do you describe your mother, really? I remember she was beautiful, but there was something sad about her smile. She was distant. She was there, I mean, but there was always a sort of distance between us, even when I was really little. Sometimes she would cry when she looked at me, or hugged me, which I couldn't understand then but I'm sure had something to do with my father now. I don't know, maybe she blamed me in a way.
CHRISTOPHER: She didn't blame you.
ISABEL: (a little harshly) But you wouldn't know.
CHRISTOPHER: You're right.
ISABEL: I know she loved me; I've never questioned that.
CHRISTOPHER: Good.
ISABEL: Yeah. (pause) She probably would have sympathized with you.
CHRISTOPHER: Wh-what? For what?
ISABEL: Well, I mean you've been coming here for almost a year now, and nobody talks to you but me. Unless they want to scare you away.
CHRISTOPHER: I'm lost.
ISABEL: She'd have felt bad. That's just the kind of person she was, I think. As far as I remember, anyway. Honestly, that's the only reason I talked to you so much in the first place. I felt bad.and I think that's what she would have done. She'd have talked to you. So I did.
CHRISTOPHER: Oh.
ISABEL: Yeah.
CHRISTOPHER: Can I ask you a question?
ISABEL: Of course.
CHRISTOPHER: Your dad, if he-
ISABEL: Never knew him.
CHRISTOPHER: Why.why do you think that is?
ISABEL: Um, I.I don't know. He bailed, I guess.
CHRISTOPHER: Did your mother ever tell you why?
ISABEL: No. She told me bedtime stories until I was old enough to figure it out.
CHRISTOPHER: Maybe that's better, maybe there's-
ISABEL: It was a long time ago. I never knew him. I probably won't ever know him. And I don't know that I'd ever really want to.
CHRISTOPHER: Ever. That's pretty permanent.
ISABEL: He left. That's pretty permanent, too.
Christopher says nothing. Isabel grabs the coffee pot.
ISABEL: More?
SCENE FOUR: The graveyard. It is nighttime, and the only light that is visible is the illumination of the moonlight.
MAGGIE: You called? It's almost midnight, Chris.
CHRISTOPHER: You win.
MAGGIE: Excuse me?
CHRISTOPHER: She doesn't want to know me.
MAGGIE: You told her.
CHRISTOPHER: No.
MAGGIE: Jesus, Christopher-
CHRISTOPHER: I tried to. She kept interrupting.
MAGGIE: That's not an escape clause.
CHRISTOPHER: She talked about Anna. And she told me why she started talking to me. Because she felt bad.
MAGGIE: You knew that.
CHRISTOPHER: I thought that, but I wasn't sure. She said she doesn't want to know her father. He-I left. But she doesn't know why, and Maggie, please don't tell her why.
MAGGIE: We had an agreement. I'm going to-
CHRISTOPHER: Wait. If I leave now, and I don't come back again, will you reconsider this?
MAGGIE: What are you getting at?
CHRISTOPHER: I'll go. I won't come back, I won't bother her. You won't have to worry about me hiding behind this anymore. Yes, I'm still hiding, but it's to your benefit. It's to Isabel's benefit.
MAGGIE: I don't understand why you're doing this.
CHRISTOPHER: Because I see it. That look in her eyes, the same look Anna used to give me. You're right, it's pity. I didn't want to believe it with Anna, I didn't want to believe it with Isabel, but it's true. I made a mistake, I made a horrible mistake with Anna. I can't change that. I can't fix that, I've tried to, in getting to know Isabel but it doesn't change anything. She has to want to know me if I even want to try and rectify this. And she doesn't.
MAGGIE: Okay.
CHRISTOPHER: Okay what?
MAGGIE: If you leave tonight, I won't tell her.
CHRISTOPHER: Really?
MAGGIE: You know I won't. But God help me, if you come back-
CHRISTOPHER: I won't.
MAGGIE: As long as that's clear.
CHRISTOPHER: It is. There's just one thing, a favor.
MAGGIE: A favor?
CHRISTOPHER: A small one.
MAGGIE: I don't owe you a-
CHRISTOPHER: You don't. But I'm asking you to, if you'll listen before you say no.
MAGGIE: Fine.
CHRISTOPHER: Will you give this to Isabel?
He pulls a small brown package out of his jacket pocket, extending his hand towards Maggie.
She stares at it for a minute, before reaching for it cautiously.
MAGGIE: What is this?
CHRISTOPHER: I owe her that, at least.
MAGGIE: You can't buy her affection, Chris.
CHRISTOPHER: It isn't about that. Not at all. I just think.I think she deserves it.
MAGGIE: When are you leaving?
CHRISTOPHER: Now. There'll be a bus at the station in twenty minutes.
MAGGIE: Then you should go. You don't want to miss it.
CHRISTOPHER: Yeah.
SCENE FIVE: The following morning at the diner. Isabel and Maggie are taking down chairs from on top of the tables, getting the place ready for the breakfast crowd.
MAGGIE: Before I forget, that man left you something. I put it on the counter for you.
ISABEL: Oh. Thanks.
MAGGIE: It's good that he's gone.
ISABEL: Why's that?
MAGGIE: Well, you being as trusting as you are and him seeming so intrusive, it's good. I'm relieved.
ISABEL: At least for a month, you will be.
Maggie does not respond.
ISABEL: I'm gonna go start the coffee.
MAGGIE: Sounds good.
Isabel walks around to the back of the counter.
ISABEL: Why is it again that you think he's so strange?
MAGGIE: I.I'm not sure. Generally, men like him have hidden agendas.
ISABEL: What do you think his is?
MAGGIE: I don't know. I just don't trust him.
ISABEL: Because you think he has a hidden agenda or because he's my father?
Maggie stops, her hands clutching two legs of a chair, frozen.
MAGGIE: He told you?
ISABEL: No.
MAGGIE: Then how?
ISABEL: I'm not stupid, Maggie. It's the kind of thing you figure out eventually. All he ever asked about was me, and then my mom, and he never said anything about himself. And he's the only person who comes here from out of town that everybody seems to genuinely hate.it isn't like this place, to treat people like that out of nowhere. And I mean.he's my dad, you know? After awhile you.I.I just knew.
MAGGIE: Isabel.
ISABEL: You don't have to explain it to me. I understand why nobody told me, I know you want to protect me. But you have to have a little more faith in me than that.
MAGGIE: I'm sorry.
ISABEL: It's okay.
MAGGIE: You really do remind me of your mother.
Isabel smiles slightly, reaching for the package.
MAGGIE: If you knew who he was.why do you keep talking to him? Why act like you don't know who he is?
ISABEL: Because he left. I don't know why, but I don't know what would excuse that. I don't think anything does. And if he knows that I already know who he is, then it makes his leaving okay. And it wasn't, it isn't.
MAGGIE: But?
ISABEL: But he's my dad. And I like talking to him, even if I have to keep that distance between us. I want to know him, and I want him to know me, but I still want him to realize that what he did wasn't right.
MAGGIE: Sounds like you've got this all settled.
ISABEL: Sort of. Maggie?
MAGGIE: Yes?
ISABEL: Do you know why he left?
MAGGIE: I.
ISABEL: I thought I'd ask, since you and Mom were close.
MAGGIE: (pause) No, I don't know why he left, honey.
Isabel shrugs, opens the package and laughs softly.
MAGGIE: What did he leave you?
ISABEL: Brochures. For Italy. For schools there. And an Italian handbook. I was telling him about how I want to travel.
MAGGIE: Have you considered telling him you know?
ISABEL: I'm always considering it. (thumbing through handbook) I don't know.I might, sometime. Maybe next time.
Maggie nods, looks away, and goes back to taking down chairs. Isabel sits at the counter, searching through the brochures with a smile.
Fin.