Cheater
Was a time you wouldn’t have eaten anything that had been in the mouth of the likes of me. Isn’t that so? ‘course, when you’re really hungry you’ll eat garbage. Bites. Okay. So, here’s what’s going on out here, as of today. Most… well, all… your entire neighbourhood is under quarantine. The virus is spreading like a brush fire so they pretty much quarantined everyone who might have been exposed. Nobody is flying. Schools are cancelled. Shops closed. Nothing to buy anyway. Garbage hasn’t been collected. Bet you can smell that. (sniffs) Can you? Laurel comes closer to the door and sniffs. He studies her. You’re cute when you do that. She retreats. He finishes the pear and tosses the core. Laurel looks at it hungrily. Yup, the smell is rot. They stare at each other. I got a bag full of pears. Picked them this morning and hid them in the garden shed. Lots of looters about now. Breaking into homes. Your neighbours… there, just on the corner…?
Laurel
The Razlokovs?
Cheater
I wasn’t on speaking terms. Just know the house.
Laurel
They were well-respected people. Philanthropists. Cheater doesn’t understand the meaning of the word. They gave a lot of money to the community.
Cheater
Well I wouldn’t know about that. I wasn’t on the receiving end.
Laurel
They were instrumental in building the new opera house.
Cheater
I never went to the opera.