Βased on a concept from the ‘Jewish’ by Bertold
Brecht
SETTINGS
Autumn in Athens 4 in the afternoon. We are
inside a room, clothes on the couch and a man
rushingly packing his suitcase, a telephone and an agenda, a coat hunger with his wife’s raincoat hanging on it.
rushingly packing his suitcase, a telephone and an agenda, a coat hunger with his wife’s raincoat hanging on it.
NICK, a 40 year old, who decided to abandon his wife and leave home, is
packing some personal stuff in his
suitcase, he calls his friends to let them know about his decision to leave
home
for good. While waiting for his wife to announce to her his decision about
his sudden leave, he takes the coat hunger with his wife’s raincoat on, puts it
in the centre of the room and rehearses the small speech he will deliver to
her!
JULIA, the wife, about 32, very smart, comes into the house ‘loaded’ with
shopping and a pullover- present for Nick, just before he is about to announce
to her his decision and leave.
He
gets up, approaches the telephone, opens the agenda, he calls:
Look, I won’t be able to go fishing with you tomorrow, cause I’m
leaving.
I’ll be away for quite a while
on business…It wasn’t really out of a sudden. I’ve had it in my mind for some
time now, made a few contacts, but now the time has come, I was called for and
I’m leaving…
So,
my friend, goodbye, so long . Kisses to your
wife.
(hangs up and
dials another number)
Ok, I understand and thank you
very much, you saved me with that check,
your money is safe- you are not going to lose any money from me, but you see, I
got this good job and I will have to be away for a while… Maybe a couple of
weeks, I hope things will turn out the way I’m planning. I’ll give you all your
money back plus interest, if everything goes well… ok, you don’t want any
interest, you just want your money back, I’m telling you, if everything is as I
think it is… I mean that I won`t
forget you…
I’m leaving tonight, I mean
now, in a while, by train… north… I’m hanging up now, I’ll give you the details
some other time…
Well, I’m not going to Australia
Double for Olympiakos, in Real?
What are you talking about? Is it possible? That’s where the money is?... Now I
see why you want your money …All of it down the drain!
Ok,ok, I wish you the best,
give my regards to the kids, the whole Olympiakos gang…bye Kostis, see you…I’ll
call you… just as we said…
(he hangs up and
dials another number)
NICK: Is that you
Anna?(tenderly whispering)
Hey baby, how are you?...are you feeling lonely?
Come on, you’ve got all those friends, let alone admirers… I’m not
kidding…
You are a goddess… look, about
tonight, I won’t make it… we won’t see each other, something came up…
Come on, please it’s not an
excuse not to go out with you … no, I `m not trying to avoid you… what are you
talking about?... You know I’m crazy about you…
Can Ι resist to those sensual lips, that velvet skin, the
blue sea in your eyes?...
How can Ι live without your hugs, how can I live without your
love?...Come on, I’m leaving today…well,
something came up, some business…
Good business, up in the Northern Greece and I’m going… it’s a great opportunity
for me.
I believe that, at last, I will
make it big… I’ll miss you…
Not tonight, I can’t… I didn’t
want to leave like that, all of a sudden, but it’s not up to me… me too, my
sweetie, I wanted to see you so much, to come to our nest, to play you a
little, enjoy you, make love…my little kitten, I want you so much, to hug you,
to kiss you, to ‘eat’ you all, my sweet candie, to make frenzy love to you all
night… I’m telling you the truth… well, you see?... I’m talking to you how…
And I’m hot… come on my baby,
you have to understand me, just a bit, it’s on business I’m going…
Filthy business…? What…
womanising? What are you talking
about?... don’t overeact… what is this all in your mind… you are
everything for me…
My wife? Why are you spoiling it now? Forget it,
she doesn’t know yet… That I’m leaving…I’m ready to go, suitcase in hand…I hang
up and go, I’m telling you, to catch the train…
But you don’t see it, do
you?... It’s an opportunity that fell right in front of me, a lucky strike and
I grab it… don’t do this, I’m not well myself… please don’t yell… it’s for us,
baby…
Listen to me , if everything
turns out fine, as I see it, in a little while, you will be able to come with
me and then we will always be together, my little dove…!
I will have my job, my home,
we’ll go out to the clubs and the little traditional restaurants with their local goodies… and you
know, uh?... Delicious food and organic, meat from the mountain, free grazing stocks, right from the mountain slopes into our dish, salads from the
farmers` fields-no fertilizers, everything fresh… and our sweet tsipouro, home
made by the neighbour, right from the producer’s cauldron into our decanter,
pure and original… everything from the Greek land…
And at the weekends, we’ll be
going on little outings, to the traditional lodgings up in the mountains, in
the forests, in the fresh air, the rivers, the birds and the wild flowers,
where you touch the ground and it smells thyme, oregon… in the beauty of
nature, in the beauty of our Greece, away from the grey blocks of flats, the
noise and the fumes, with the new friends we will make, the simple people of
the province, always with a smile on their face, without stress and misery… And
if I find a nice house with a yard, I’ll be growing our own vegetables,
tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, all the goodies of the world, and flowers, red
roses, dahlias, hyacinths, basil…
Heaven!... back to nature… and every night we’ll be doing whatever we want
without the fear, as if we are on the go…
We will be free, together and
we will be spending our time with tenderness, love and happiness… Our life will
change….
And you cannot imagine what me
and you are going to do together…!
…Are you still there? Why
aren’t you saying something?... Aren’t you happy? Aha…you are not coming to the
province, I see…Why?
If you loved me, a little bit,
you’d come with me even to the North Pole… I see.
…I’d better not say anything
now ( express myself)…
What? Am I the one who’s in the
wrong? Are you serious?... Yes, I’m listening …tell me …yes…yeah…yeah!
Aha… hold your horses ma’am!
The very first thing I’m thinking of, is you… whereas, you, the only thing
you’re thinking about, is your little self, Anna, and how you will be having
fun and nothing else…
Have you ever asked me how I…
whereas yes…
Well, if you like it my dear
Anna… I’ve made my decision, you don’t want to understand no matter what I tell
you , I’m talking to deaf ears…!
Honey, don’t… what can I…
alright, do whatever you like…
… I’ll call you some other time
because, I know, it came out of the blue and you’re right but show some
understanding…
Not to call you again…?
No, I’ll call you… come on,
Anna… Anna…
(talking to himself)
…Don’t hang up on me, cause I’ll…damned…
To hell, your silly doings were
all that we needed at this moment…
( he hangs up, thinks about it and regrets, calls her
back)
( he hangs up… paces around the room, cross, goes back
to the telephone, dials another number)
what I want to tell you is that
( in a singing voice) ‘ I’ve picked my
stuff and leaving’ …Yes, my man, I’ve made up mind… I didn’t sleep all night… I
was thinking…
Thinking… hours on end… I can’t
go on …this is not life…
I’m leaving… I’m serious…
listen… life, my dear friend, is too short to be miserable… I packed my stuff
and I am gone…
I’m telling you I’m leaving,
I’m not kidding… No, nothing happened today to piss me off…
I just considered everything
very collectedly and after a lot of thought, I realised that the balance leans
to the negative, where there many more than the positive points and I have come
to the conclusion that there are no reasons to hold me back… it’s one too many
already… I am determined, suitcase in hand…
Julia doesn’t know anything
yet… I didn’t want to tell her anything… I would just leave, so that she
wouldn’t find me at home… not that she will go into mourning, but I’d rather
leave without having a fight with her, because it can’t be without a fight with
her… Anyway, I’ll wait for her. Nay, I’m fine, end of the story, I’ve
straightened things up in my mind, I’ll tell her that I’m going… what? Come on!
Should Ι tell her I’m going to the corner shop for
cigarettes…?
With suitcase in hand?... God
bless you! You made me laugh… You’re pulling my leg… you don’t believe me huh?
I’m leaving :l-e-a-v-i-n-g .
With a capital L, my dearest Alekos.
How can Ι put it? forget me…gone…
I’m opening my wings and
flying.
(singing)… ‘I’ll live
as a free bird’… The bitch should have known better than rack my nerves my
whole life… turned my life into a living hell!
And, you know- you know
everything about me- all the sacrifices I’ve made, the patience, I’ve never
said a ‘no’ to her and she always… full of nagging… always against, as if Ι was her worst enemy…
You should be telling me: ‘What
are you waiting for, get the hike, get going’…
You saw everything, what I
didn’t see or what I didn’t want to see because I was blinded by her…
My wife, the love of my life,
my angel…
This angel face of hers, her
look, her velvet voice, her well shaped body… Kept me…How did I fall in for
her… Like a greenhorn…! I kept forgiving her no matter how much she tortured
me…
She could see that she was my
soft spot and she…
What kind of a masochist have I
been? Me … to be hurting me, to be torturing me, in public… playful… full of
coy, gracefulness, courtesy and sweetness… she left everybody speechless…dumb…
She left everybody with their
mouth wide open…
‘What a woman is this, how
lucky are you’… everybody said, but how could they have known what a she-devil
she is!
The perfect wife for all the
others… but at home, you saw… you saw us
all those times, Alex… you know…
Hell of a row, over nothing…
But honey… my sweetie… As if she wanted to revenge me on my kindness …
What a metamorphosis, oh my
God…! I wonder what have I done wrong? I am going nuts!
A woman’s heart; looking down
into the abyss!
Alekos, how can I be patient,
how can I try for one last time… what are you talking about… haven’t I tried
enough already?... But it’s only me trying… I have tried enough already!... But it’s only me trying… I
have tried 100 times… ok, I admit it, I’ve made mistakes myself… but I never
crossed the border… I asked for forgiveness when I was wrong, I satisfied her
anger doing whatever pleased her, even when she was wrong… I cast it all behind
my back… for our benefit…
It’s my bitter complaint, she
never told me, not once ‘Nick, I’ve made a mistake, I’m sorry honey…’ Nay… the
Pope… Venedict the 16th … Infallible!
What? I’ve made mistakes?...
What… what broads are you talking about?...
One girlfriend, so what?...
with all that I’ve been going through, I fooled around once in these six years…
an affair, a babe.
You should have said ‘Thank
God’, cause otherwise, I would have fallen apart before long…
Anna was the best outlet to let
off steam….
That she- devil led me right into her arms…
That was the only good thing
she did… I don’t regret it, I did the right thing…
I would never have cast an eye
to anyone else but she… with her attitude…
Do you know what it means, my
friend, to be tortured by the very same woman you adore and be worshipped by your fancy?
To make you feel everything you
need to feel as a man?...
I talked to her just a while ago… The girl hang
up on me, on my face…
Yes I told her… she was pissed
off…
Yes, my friend, I said it, how
could I disappear… out of the blue… it’s not right, I can’t hurt this creature
that fills me with happiness…
To tell you the truth, I didn’t
expect it… crazy in love, I’m telling you… she burst into tears… she broke me
into pieces…
Alekos, if you ever see her,
tell her something… explain to her, you are my brother!
(He lights a cigarette)
What do you mean where I’m
going… as if I know… Katerini, Veroia, Thessaloniki Thessaloniki Macedonia
I have a couple of good friends
up there, even from the army, great guys…
I’ll find a job… you know,
organic products, oregon
I’m not that old to make a
fresh start!
I will live in peace, serenity
and my freedom… I won`t be burdened with the cross anymore…
Well, I’m talking to you all
this time and you still think I’m only kidding?
What, am I drunk? I am not
drunk powel, I’m telling you the truth…
I’m leaving…
If you still don’t believe me,
meet me at the Larisis master station, by train, at five… I’m leaving…
Look, if you see Julia, don’t
tell her anything, you don’t know anything… just talk to her… explain to her
that some day I would do it, I couldn’t take it any more, I was suffocating, I
couldn’t stand all the fights, the grumbling, the nagging, her whole attitude.
Tell her whatever you want and
try to help her at least on the first days, I don’t want her to do anything
crazy and have more grievance…
On the other hand, what’s the
big deal, she’ll throw a party as soon as I leave… on the 9th of the late…!
And tell your wife to call her
from time to time…
Why should I not care? She was
my spouse, we’ve been through so many things together, I love her, I feel for
her, she’s part of my life…
A stab always leaves its mark…
I will always have a scar right here on the left, on my heart…I am not…
Some asshole… I loved her and I
feel for her, but I can’t any more…Better alone.
End of the story… rivers don’t
flow back.
I’m suffocating, my friend,
can’t you see it?... Alright, brother?
I didn’t want it to be like
that, without saying goodbye, at least you, go out and have a drink, a talk…
but it’s better this way… every time I made up my mind, every time I said ‘I’m
leaving, I can’t stand it any more…’ either I regretted it, or, you talked me
out of it, or I justified her…
How could it be, me looking for
excuses for her behaviour…!
The eternal mistake; justifying
the others, you, yourself!
You are at fault as well…
telling me to be patient and that she would change…You made me try even more…
And I tried… me, only!
As if the wolf would ever change its way of
thinking, my friend, it’s only its fur that changes…
(He puts out the cigarette)
That’s how the whole thing is,
Alekos, you’re outsiders…And patience is limited… My hair is going grey, I’m
going to have a stroke… I can’t take it any more, I’m telling you…
Drop it.
Well, I have to hang up now,
we’ll keep in touch … I’ m hanging up… right or wrong, I don’t care at all… I
don’t even want to see her…so what? I’ m running away if that’s what it looks
like… I go wherever it takes me… So long… bye bye my friend… Good bye Alex…
(He hangs up, takes the agenda in his hands, looks at
it and tears it up…he shakily lights a cigarette again…he’s thinking hard,
paving up and down the room… he sighs… sits down… gets up again… puts out the
cigarette… He looks at his watch…
He decides that he will wait for his wife… to talk to
her. He takes the coat hunger with her raincoat on it , puts it in the middle
of the room, takes two steps back, assumes the proper expression and
‘rehearses’ the impromptu speech he is going to deliver to his wife…)
NICK:Julia… I’ m leaving… I’ m leaving now…
If you don’t believe me, here’s my suitcase, it’s ready… I can’t deprive
you any more of happiness…
I should have done it long ago… I’m very sorry…but I think it’s better
for both of us… (he
stops, thinks for a while and resumes)
NICK: Julia… I’ m leaving home… today, now,
I can’t stay a minute longer…
It can’t go on …
I’ve had enough of you…
Enough…my patience has run out…
Don’t you yell at me…
What were you thinking?... that I can’t do it?
Ha ha you were fooled my lady…
Nick has made up his mind…
Good bye…
Oh and something more… I’ve been meaning to tell you for a long time now
Fuck you mother fucker…
(He stops again and starts again)
NICK: Julia… don’t try to stop me, you can’t any more… it’s
definite.
How many times after times didn’t you say that you would change, and the
only thing you did was just buy time with my patience…
I’ m sick and tired, Julia, sick and tired of
fighting with you over the petty and the minor…
I’ m sick and tired, sick and tired of justifying
you to myself, to my relatives and friends for your behaviour… you treating me
like trash with everything you said, with everything you did and everything you
didn’t…
Me, doing everything you ask
for, you, instead of being happy… making my life a living hell out of it…
Because you are a spoilt brat and selfish and the only thing you care for is
you little self, and good for you, of course- but, you see, it’s about time for
me to care for myself, too.
You, my dear girl, want
everyone wrapped around your little finger, enslaved…
To be serving you…
Stand up, sit down… that was
your motto…
You squeezed my pride, my whole
being…
You made me feel a petty little
person… me, who…
Who? You… The… ‘princess’, who
didn’t know if any world existed outside her neighbourhood… till the day you
met me and became the travelled…the cosmopolitan.
To hell, instead of being happy
with all those trips and glamour, you destroyed my my happiness to come from making you happy…
I gave up everything, my own
little joys, so that you could have everything you wanted…
So, here we are, you can have
everything, but not me…
… The bondslave, who worked day
and night so that you could have everything… has rebelled and is gone…
The bird fled.
I’ m leaving and don’t you
start those crocodile tears and sobs to trick me into you, I don’t believe you
any more, you can’t fool me… The dupe has woken up!!!
For how long did you think that
I would tolerate your whims?
How have Ι harmed you, can you tell me?
No, don’t tell me. I don’t care
any more about what you have to say.
( with complaint) I am human, too…
You know… A human mother gave birth to me… I am not made of stone…
Tell me, did you ever covet for
something that I didn’t give you? Have I ever said a ‘no’ to you, didn’t you
always have whatever you wanted, whenever you wanted it?
I was hanging on your lips, what you would say, and
how I would do it… for you…
But that was my mistake… You
saw through my weakness for you… and you had me…
But now… it’s o-ver.
My dear Julia, our roads split…
Not to mention the rest… No, I
will… Did you think that I hadn’t realised anything?...
What you were doing behind my
back… the whispering phonecalls, the phonecalls I answered and they hang up on
me…?
Or all the sham… how many times
didn’t you say you were going out with a girlfriend and your friend had no
idea…?
Aaaaah… and the condoms I found
in your drawers… whose were they? I went for it.. you think, that they had been
giving them out in the street on the international day for the fight against
AIDS?
Or, to remember the last time
you were seen at the hotel and you told
me that there was a meeting for the volunteers of ‘Baby’s smile’…?
Who did you think I was, some
kind of a fool who can believe in anything?
You don’t like me, my lady, so
be it and beat it… This way please… Ha…Ha… should I laugh?
And why, you bitch, didn’t I
‘screw’ you right?
‘The Latin Lover’, you used to
say… Wasn’t I your…tiger… isn’t that how you called me?
No, because I need to know…
You forgot all that…
(he stops and mumbles)
But then again, what do I care?
I have my fancy, who is crazy for me… Mistake…
We don’t say that!
(He addresses the raincoat again)
What did I ask for?
To have a nice little life with
the woman I loved , and share with her
its joys and sorrows, but the only thing I did share was sorrow and misery…
It’s been 6 years I haven’t had
a laugh…
6 whole years… Do you want
more?
I don’t know where to start,
let alone finish…
As if I was looking for my
tormentor! (He stops
again…thinks…resumes…)
NICK: Julia, honey, you
see I packed my suitcase, cause I’ve made a decision for our benefit.
I think it’s better for us.
I had told you that if you ever
feel tired with me, you should tell me the same way I would have told you… and
let our paths split… Remember I had told you, and you agreed that this would be
the right thing to do? So, here we are at this point…
I don’t know… but I feel that
you are tired with me and that you don’t have the guts to do what you should,
go…
We have come to a dead end…
And since you can’t…, I will do
it…
I think it’s the right thing.
For both of us…
Maybe both of us have come to
terms with a couple of things but I
can’t imagine myself in the same situation for the next, say, 10-20 years with
you…
There’s no point…
I can’t continue waking up in
the morning waiting for the night to come , when it will get dark, so that
everything is hidden in the obscure, letting the days go by…waiting for… what
Julia?
Just work, eat, go to bed, and
all over again…? Is that life? Is that the kind of life you have been dreaming
of?
No, that’s not the life I have
dreamt of…
Do you remember how many
hours we have spent looking at each
other in the eyes, feeling overwhelmed with happiness?
…Our hands sweating, our heart
beating, having butterflies in our stomachs?
Out of love, passion and
desire?
Now that we turn each other’s
backs…and when we look at each other…
Your look does not reflect your
heart.
How many times have I tried,
Julia to warm up our relationship, flirting you just like the old times, how
many times have I filled the room with candles, fragrances, how many times have
I bought you the most expensive underwear which you didn’t even wear, ever… as
if you didn’t, when I met you… How many times have I devoted my time to you,
and you didn’t even listen to me and you talked to me about other, irrelevant
things, your friends and their stuff.
Lately you got too annoyed to
sleep with me on the same bed… too
small, I wake you up…
And me that I want to be
sleeping holding my wife in my arms, waking up seeing her sweet looks, did you
ask me, how I feel about that?
Why did I get married, to be
sleeping alone?
Let alone, you have taken the
golden shovel wronging me to your friends , right, left and centre… who…? Me,
who has sacrificed myself for you…!
How many times have you
insulted me with your catchy phrases in front of others, to put me down?
Okay, you don’t respect me but
don’t you respect your own self? Why are you still with me since you don’t want
me?
How many times, Julia, haven’t
I tried to discuss with you what annoys you or embitters you and the only thing
you did was sneer, be ironic and embitter me with your cynic comments?
And the other one? All day and night long,
grumpy…Grim!
Not even with my jokes could I
make you laugh… they were drippy…chilly…
Do you remember when you were
in love with me that you used to laugh at every little joke? Our home was
filled with happiness, laughter, joy.
What else can I do… I’m only
human… you are untouchable…
You keep telling me that I
never think of your wants, your needs whereas the only thought in my mind was
Julia and what she wants and how I can help Julia so that Julia can have it
all…
But never, ever, have you asked
about my needs… How many times have we fought about the minor and the petty
that there really was no reason to fight. But I believe that you were after it
…I don’t know why…
Of course, you will claim, you
with your avant-garde ideas, that dissension and conflict are a means of
communication.
But it’s not the right means…
Fighting is not communication…
Tantrum demonstration was what
you did everyday…
Fighting had become your new
hobby…
Who told you that you have the
right to make my life a living hell?
Not to forget…
You were the one who was always
right!!! Always!!!
I’m going to spell it all out
and you will hear me today before I go… don’t answer back! Listen! I do the
talking and you will only be hearing…
For the first and last time
ever…
Whenever I promised you something, I delivered it…
You, mention one of your
promises that you actually kept…
One… half… None, madam Julia.
From the very first moment, to
win you, I strived and changed things that annoyed you in me… this one… this
way, that one… that way.
Right or wrong, actually wrong,
I changed so much that I couldn’t be recognised even by myself, let alone my
friends…
But you changed, too…
everything I considered a virtue in you, everything you kept presenting to me
as your ideas and beliefs, as if by magic, evaporated right after the wedding;
I have come to the point of wondering whether you are the very same person I
had met or not…!
Instead of me hitting the roof,
you were getting off scot-free, ‘ everything flows… I was so wrong back then…
I’m maturing… I have reviewed my views’, you used to tell me…
But with the ideas you had when
I met you I was enthusiastic and I stuck
with you, not with the ideas of the next day… of the wedding
( I used to be told about it
and laugh…)
Now I have come to feel that I
am with a complete stranger…
(lights up a cigerette)
You think I felt good being
stuffed with your lies, being considered a dumb, not to say the exact word!
How can I trust you when you
kept all those secrets and kept throwing lies at my face…
You were the smart lady,
cunning…. And me the naive one.
All those times I played the
dumb, I did it for our relationship’s sake, for our marriage’s sake… You shook
me, but I could take it…
But up to here… I draw the
line…
You know my work is tough.
Nevertheless, the first thing I
did as soon as I finished was to come home immediately, to be with you… before
I could even cool down, you started complaining that you are locked at home all
day, that you do everything by yourself… that I don’t help you with the
housework… that…that…
You think I didn’t want more
time for us?
I tried with the skin of my
teeth so that you can have everything for a confortable life -which we did
have, of course with hard work- so that we could say that we have as much as we
need for a good life? To…
(he puts out the cigarette)
I can’t be in this relationship
any more… In this marriage…
I am not a vegetable…
I have a soul, blood running
through my veins, boiling… And if I don’t leave, it will freeze… I will be a
living dead…
That’s how I feel, my Julia…
And you feel the same, I can
see it in your eyes, I felt it in your cold touch …
No, I am not running away, don’t rush to accuse me,
but I think it’s better, whatever is meant to happen, to happen now…
So that we can win back as fast
as we can the dream… the life we want… the rest of our lives…
In any case, you are both
beautiful and sexy, I am sure it won’t take you long to settle your life…
You know that upon just by
passing by you upset all the men… why did you think I was with you!!!
Don’t … Don’t say a word… Today
you will only listen…
I am not hearing anything… I am
going to give it all out to you…
There is no communication
between you and me… Two strangers under the same roof…
You saw our marriage swamping
in the routine… but never, ever, did you try, at least for a while, to do
something to save it… I have been trying alone fruitlessly… I am tired myself…
What did you think?
I’ve never asked for anything
far-fetched… a couple of tender words, a stroke, a sweet conversation, a
smoochy glance, a dish with homemade food, after the work and all its
bitterness, a companion to share my love with… the serenity of a home… to have
a good time together…
I can’t live like this any
more… I can’t take it that I am in this relationship for the shortcomings and
not for the pluses.
I don’t like being itchy,
steaming off, fighting, and call this a marriage, just like you do…
You have given up on this marriage before long, left
it drifting away, screw my luck…
I’ve never felt so lonely
before… in this room even the moments we were together, I felt so lonely…
(He notices the sound of the keys on the door. He
stops, runs to put the coat hunger and the raincoat in place, he straightens
himself up, puts the suitcase aside. He is getting ready for the… reception.
Julia is trying to unlock, the sound of keys on the door, but, of her voice,
too…).
JULIA: Niiiiick… Open the door…
NICK: Just now, honey…
(Nick rushes and opens the door, Julia comes in with 4
shopping bags in her hands, gasping but
full of joy and smiles!)
JULIA: Hi, honey…
I couldn’t open the door loaded
like this… How are you?
NICK: Hi, baby… I’m … I’m fine … I’ve been waiting for you…
What’s all this ? Did you go shopping again?
JULIA: I went shopping with a friend of mine, and I found
some catches, real bargains…! I found a nice pullover for you, it’s really your
style and I got it….
NICK: Yeah, 4 shopping bags for you and a pullover for
me!!!
How obliging!
Thanks, anyway, for thinking of me sweetie…
JULIA: You will see it, you will like it my boy… it’s
Burberries! Of course, I bought a couple of things for me, to be a doll, for
you. ..
(She gives him the bag with the pullover. He takes it
out. Looks at it… He holds it in front of him, looks at it… Opens the suitcase,
puts it in, closes the suitcase and walks to the door. He leaves it there and
turns to Julia…)
NICK: For me… You are a doll… Thank you honey…
Did you go out with your friend, what friend… doesn’t she
have a name?
JULIA: No , you don’t know her, I’ll introduce her to you, I
met her at ‘Baby’s Smile’
NICK: (whispering to himself) Here comes the …’Baby’s Smile’…!
JULIA: But what are you doing? What is this?
NICK: A refrigerator! What is
it, Julia? Can’t you see it? It’s a suitcase my sweet little Julia!
JULIA: So, where are you heading with your suitcase, honey?
NICK: I’m leaving…
JULIA: Leaving? I wonder how far this suitcase is going.
NICK: I wonder how I am going to carry this …. Suitcase!
JULIA: And where to, with the best of our wishes?
NICK: On a trip. Business. Don’t you remember I had told
you- if need be- I would go away for a couple of days to meet some people for a
new job?
JULIA: Yes, I do remember something, it’s been a long time…
but you hadn’t told me any details. What kind of a job, don’t you like your job
now? As if you are a twenty-year-old and you are making new plans for the
future!
NICK: I may not be a 20-year-old, but I’m young. And young is anyone who even in their 40s, 50s,60s has the guts to make a fresh
start!
JULIA: And you are leaving like that all of a sudden? Alone?
NICK: All of a sudden… what all of a sudden… It just came
up. Just like you did your shopping all
of a sudden. It came up. I’m leaving and I’m already late. Don’t stall me…
JULIA: Now you are leaving? Odd…
NICK: What’s odd about it?
JULIA: You didn’t say anything in the morning… Last night…
NICK: I won’t fail! Next time, (whispering…
if there is a next time…) I’ll be giving you
a full report… Just like you do…
JULIA: Are you suggesting something? I didn’t ask for a
report…
Anyway.
I have no objection, honey, do the right thing, but okay,
go tomorrow, the day after, it’s not the end of the world…
I had a surprise for you tonight…!!!
NICK:
(approaches and kisses her tenderly)
Honey, thank you for everything but I’m already late,
I’ll miss the ship… I’m leaving…
JULIA: You are leaving. I can see that!.. by ship?.. what
ship?
But what have you put in this suitcase!You are not
leaving, you’re moving out… How long will you be away?
NICK: Well, the way I think of it, about 3-4 days… ten… as
much as it takes! My Julia… I won’t be
strolling around! If something comes up, I need to get over and done with it, I
don’t want to be going back and forth…
JULIA: And where did you say you’re going?
NICK: I didn’t …. I’m going to Grete… Chania…
JULIA: Alone?
NICK: (to himself in a low voice) I was wondering: isn’t she going to make the question? Why, do you see
anyone else with me? Of course, alone…
JULIA: I don’t know… I hope there isn’t any beauty bitch
waiting for you…
NICK : That is an insult!... If I were to stray from the
right path would I stray with a hussy?
With the best! Just like I chose
you…
JULIA: Yeah, right…
What’s not yours is sweeter, not necessarily more beautiful…
If temptation gets into
your head…
If the she-devil lays down the
cards, you men don’t care about what’s good or evil…The only thing you care is
how you are going to devour the dainty…You are getting obsessed…
NICK : Yes, all the pigs smell the same… Come on say it…
You are doing this on purpose so that I
miss my train … uh my ship I mean!
JULIA: Anyway… okay honey. Whatever you say my master. I have
no problem, you can go, do as you wish.
I fully trust you.
NICK You are a
treasure. Thank you… I knew you would understand… I’ m leaving .
Let me give you a hug… Kiss me, I need it…
JULIA: You kissed me as if it was the last time…
NICK : I love you…
JULIA: I love you, too… I love you my husband… My pride… I
want you… I
want you… I want you…
NICK: Julia, honey, my sweetheart I love you, too… You are
my life, my joy, my goddess.
(he hugs her again, passionately, kisses her, caresses
her all over her body, stops and looks at her in the eyes…)
I can’t without you. I adore you
my girl. I’ll miss you…
JULIA: I’ll miss you, too. You know that … Come back
quickly… Take care honey. And call me, ok?
NICK: Don’t do this… you are making me sad… It’s only
a few days I’ll be away. I’m not going
to war!!!
The next thing, you are going to ask me is
write letters!!!
JULIA: Why not? Just like the old times, do write to me.
NICK: Yes, honey… I will drop you… drop you a line…
(He takes the heavy suitcase, opens the door and
leaves. A shout is heard from outside)
NICK: Sweet Freedom… The party is just starting!!!
(The door closes. Julia looks out of the window,
dwells a bit. Singing goes next door into the kitchen, makes herself a cup of
coffee, after a while comes back rests her coffee on the little table, sits on
the couch, throws her high heels in the air, takes a sip of coffee, looks out
of the window again, takes the telephone and dials).
JULIA: Hey, macho boy, I got a surprise for you. Yes, my
boy, for tonight… and for every night for the next few days to be more exact!!
What surprise?
From today I will be home
alone!!!
Are you thrilled?
I’m flying…!
You know ‘who’, left …yes… I’ll
be waiting for you … yes.. Come whenever you like… Look, you’re staying over
tonight…
We will sleep in each other’s arms…
If it is to sleep you are not
coming?
Yes, my boy that’s what I mean,
we will burn the midnight oil!!! Is it possible for the two of us on the same bed to actually sleep?
Yes , my handsome boy… yes… we
will have a great time… We will be making love all night long… So much love!!
You will lose your mind!! (She hangs up, takes a sip of
coffee, looks out of the window and turning around she exclaims) Hooray for freedom! The party is just starting!!!
THE END
TRANSLATION
KRYSTALLIA PAPADOPOYLOY