Table For Two
By: Marie Castiano
Scene Setting:
(Single mother awaits, her baby daddy to arrive, preparing for the great debate. Single mother sick and tired of carrying on her own. She knows now, that all that matters is her son, and just wants the father to be there, with our without funds…)
Ms. MC:
“can’t wait for this trash talker to get here.” she angrily mumbles under her breathe.
As she looks out the window, eagerly seeking her guest.
She looks up to see, knighted mr. trash talker in the flesh, her teeth now cringe,
As her thoughts slowly manifest.
Mr. Trash:
“You look great baby cakes, and even that’s too much, I mean im juz saying, after all you went trough. I drove all the way over here just to see you, must be a pleasure boo, for real baby girl, you lookin too damn good.”
Ms. MC:
“well that’s real sweet words, even for a man like you, forgive my harsh tone, but I aint your damn boo. If you don’t know what your down here for, well here’s blues clue. 10 damn months after birth, and not a single sight from you.”
Mr. Trash:
“woah hold up now, beba, where’s this coming from? I thought we agreed all we had was fun. Can’t go back on all that shyt you was on, telling me “oh, well if you really want to, then I guess I want to too, I really love you baby, I really want to”.
Ms. MC:
“ha ha ha, you must out your damn mind, got me twisted with the low life freaks you be grinding all the time. How the hell you gonna tell me, our commitment was none, when we’ve been in this since before you ever even got some!”
Mr. Trash:
“yea well I guess in that part your right, but how the hell am I suppouse to know that baby is mines? Last I heard, after you and me was done, you would have gave a nickel and a dime just to get some”.
Ms. MC:
“don’t come at me with all that fakery and nonsense, cuz Im not having that, you know damn well anybody around here would have disrespected me, no question, next day, straight up, laying six feet deep. And say word son, cuz I even saved you, had to tell crew to chill, that you would show up soon. Even homies, skillz, pit and abys, were ready with their glocks, had all my people straight up flaming on the block!”
Mr. Trash:
“ well wat you want from me now, cuz I’ll tell you straight up, we aint getting back together, I don’t care who’s on the block. I know all you want is this dough, but im not giving you shyt you ain’t worked for!”
Ms. MC:
“I don’t care about your dough, or your hourly wage, or your one figure salary that you sweat for all day. I don’t care about us, I know that’s fantasy is done, I know now to be careful with whom I give my love! I called you here solemnly because….”
(single mother held her head down, ready to dismiss, all the cruel words spoken by her and his, gathered all her energy to humbly forgive, and remember what she promised her son…. “I promise you, by the time im done, you’ll have both mom and daddy, flesh, soul and bone”…..she looked up at the man, who had caused her so much pain, and remembered the first man who had made her feel pain, who was a ghost in her life, a missing heart frame….her father)
Ms. MC:
“look out any window on the ave, any window in our projects, and you’ll see what our children don’t have. What statistics they fall under, and remember what we didn’t have. You grew up without your father, I grew up without mines too, I know how much it hurt you, no girl knows you more than I do. No girl has held your hand while you spoke about your pops, how vivid those nightmares were, leaving your mother, their empty without any sense of self-worth. Those days are history, but it doesn’t change what we went trough. I look at our son in his eyes everyday, and I swear all I can see reflected is my fear that you’ll do me the same. Please, please, please (tears rolling down her eyes) don’t let our child become victimized! All I ask is for your acceptance, and possibly your heart, to do what your father couldn’t do for you, give our son your heart.”
Mr. Still Trash:
“I’ve known you forever, and I should have known better to be calling you out your letter. I apologize because for as long as I can clarify, you never gave me a reason to think that you would lie.”
Ms. MC:
“apology accepted, I knew it all in self-defense, but tell me knighted one, do you accept? Or do you reject?”
Mr. No Longer Trash:
“I knew he was our son, but from fear of being played dirty, I called what he had -fun-. In all honesty I ran away from us, I never stopped loving you, not even from that day, when you thought it was the last time that I walked away. Cant believe that even then, you still had more strength than me, I blew you off, but you called me, cuz I know deep down inside you still believe in me. I accept without regret, and may I never forget, that’s all about our son now, no victim, or statistic, falling under no category, just lil mr. no longer trash MC jr. the only real glory we have in our story.”
Scene Ends:
(smile and tears on single mother’s face, hugs the man that had her raged for 10 months after birth, so happy she maintained her self-worth, and helped to break the cycle of the “no daddy” curse)
