One More Night

Ashley Costa

[Nighttime. A bedroom. ABIGAIL, a disheveled, thirty-five-year-old woman, is sitting on a bed. She is crying and holding a glass of wine. She wears only a very large button-down shirt that is partially buttoned. An opened box is laid out before her on the bed. Items are scattered everywhere: opened books, piles of clothes on the floor, opened pill bottles and wine bottles sit on the bedside table. Picture frames are turned over. THEO, a forty-year-old man dressed in a black tuxedo, is seen standing by the bedroom door. ABIGAIL places the glass of wine on the bedside table and reaches into the box. She pulls out a picture. She smiles and laughs softly as she caresses it.]

ABIGAIL: This was our first real date. Do you remember this?

THEO: Yes, of course. How could I forget? I had seen you so many times at the city library, and you would always check out the strangest books. You seemed like such an interesting character to me, and I just knew I had to get to know you better. [THEO smiles and slowly approaches the bed]. Do you remember all those silly jokes I would tell you at the library?

ABIGAIL [Sniffling, but laughs]: What is Emily Dickinson’s favorite reindeer?

THEO [Now sitting at the end of the bed and looking at ABIGAIL]: Dasher. [Laughs] That one has to be your favorite.

ABIGAIL: We were so young here. It’s so crazy to think that this was fourteen years ago. I think I had just turned twenty-one. You looked so handsome, Theo. [She looks up at THEO and places the picture back into the box as she smiles.] You still do.

THEO: And you still look as beautiful as ever, Abigail. I can’t believe you still have that picture of us. Why didn’t I know about this mysterious box? What else do you have hiding in there?

[THEO reaches towards the box, but ABIGAIL quickly moves it out of his reach. She puts her hand back into the box and pulls out folded up pieces of paper with a white-laced garter wrapped around them. ABIGAIL unwraps the garter and unfolds the pieces of paper.]

ABIGAIL: Oh wow. [Pauses and wipes away a few tears as she looks at the papers.] These are our vows. This one is yours. Listen. [Reading as she tries not to cry.] “It was a force of enigma that has brought me to you, and ever since then it has always been you. [Pauses.] I give myself to you and everything that I will ever be. I promise to give you my unconditional love and devotion—”

THEO: Until my last dying breath.

ABIGAIL: You were always so much better at writing than I was. I remember I was having such a hard time finishing my vows the day of our wedding. That’s why it took me so long to finally come downstairs. I never got to tell you. I’m so sorry I kept you waiting. [Continues to wipe away her tears.]

THEO: You know that doesn’t matter to me anymore, Abigail.

[ABIGAIL stuffs the pieces of paper and garter back into the box as she pulls out another picture. She places her hand over her mouth and takes a deep breath as she squeezes her eyes shut for just a moment before opening them again.]

ABIGAIL: God, you look so sick here, Theo. It still hurts me to even see this picture of you. You just look so different. You look so weak and exhausted.

THEO: Is that the picture you took of us while I was in the hospital? Of course you would have that in there, Abigail. [Shaking his head.] My god.

ABIGAIL: [ABIGAIL looks away from THEO as she turns the picture over.] I just—I just wanted to have something that would remind me of our final moments together if something were to happen, you know? I just wanted to have something to remember you by.

THEO: You wanted to remember how utterly ridiculous I looked? Come on, Abigail. I’m sure there are plenty of other things you have in that box of yours to remember me by.

ABIGAIL: This was it. [Turns the same picture back over and glances down at it.] This picture was the last picture we ever took together. I couldn’t stand seeing how sick you looked. I don’t even know why I took the damn picture. I obviously don’t want to remember you like that. I don’t want to remember thinking that everything was going to be okay and that you were going to come back home any day. I don’t want to remember— [Breaks down into hysterical sobs.] I want to remember you like this! [Gestures towards THEO.] I want to remember you as you were on the day of our wedding. How happy you were and how you looked at me with so much love in your eyes. That’s how I want to remember you. And yet, here I am looking through these things just trying to remember all the good moments we shared together.

[ABIGAIL continues to cry as she reaches over to the bedside table and grabs both her wine glass and the bottle of pills. THEO looks at ABIGAIL and takes a deep breath.]

THEO: I know this isn’t what you actually want, Abigail. I know you. Don’t do this. Think about what you have—what we have. Things will get better. [THEO leans forward and places both of his hands onto her hands. He guides her hands back over to the bedside table and she places the wine glass and bottle of pills back down.] You just

have to give it time. I promise. Please listen to me.

ABIGAIL: [Shakes her head as she looks down.] I haven’t been the same since then. I lost a part of myself, Theo. A part that you took with you. I just don’t know how much longer I can wait before things get better.

THEO: It won’t be much longer. I think maybe it’s time you do something with that box, don’t you think? You’re just bottling up all these feelings and I know that can’t be good. Look at me, Abigail.

ABIGAIL: [Raising her head to look up at Theo.] But, what if I can’t do it, Theo? I don’t—I don’t know why I can’t stop crying. It’s been almost a year now and I still find myself thinking about you every night. I want to move on, but I just miss having you here with me. I don’t want to be alone. Please, just one more night, Theo. One more night.

[THEO smiles reassuringly towards ABIGAIL as he stands up from the bed. Now standing beside her, he looks down at her. He touches her cheek with the tips of his fingers as she looks up at him.]

THEO: You can. I’ll always be here, Abigail. Be strong for me—for us.

[The lights begin to fade as a knock is heard on the bedroom door. The spotlight transitions over to the door where it slowly opens and a little girl peaks her head through the cracked door. The rest of the stage is dark.]

LITTLE GIRL: [Speaking softly.] Mommy—I just had another scary dream about Daddy and now I can’t sleep. Can I sleep with you?

[Lights begin to brighten. THEO is gone and ABIGAIL is the only one in the bedroom. ABIGAIL reaches out her arms towards the LITTLE GIRL.]

ABIGAIL: Aw, honey. Come here. [LITTLE GIRL smiles as she walks towards the bed and jumps into ABIGAIL’s arms.] Mommy had a bad dream about Daddy, too. It’ll be okay, though. Everything will be okay. He’s still here watching over us.

LITTLE GIRL: What’s this, Mommy? [Looks at the opened box as she crawls out of ABIGAIL’s arms and sits beside her on the bed.]

ABIGAIL: [Places her hand on the box.] This is something that I have to remind me of your Daddy whenever I find myself missing him. It helps me feel better sometimes. There’s a ton of pictures in here. There are even some pictures of the three of us. Those ones are definitely my favorite. [Laughs gently as she reaches over to tuck some hair behind the LITTLE GIRL’s ear and kisses the top of her head.]

LITTLE GIRL: [Smiles.] I wanna see!

ABIGAIL: Well. . . [Pauses and looks back over to the opened box.] How about this? I think maybe it’s time you have this. Whenever you’re feeling sad and missing Daddy, you can always look through all the things I put in here. Maybe you can even put in some of those letters that Daddy wrote to you. Do you like that idea?

LITTLE GIRL: [Jumping up and down.] Yeah! Daddy got me Mr. Blankey. Could I put him in there, too? ’Cause I’m a big girl now and I don’t sleep with him anymore.

ABIGAIL: Of course, baby. [Laughing.] You can put whatever you want in this box. It’s yours now. Come on, it’s time for bed.

[ABIGAIL closes the box and leans over the side of the bed as she places the box on the floor. LITTLE GIRL lifts up the covers and gets underneath them. ABIGAIL reaches over to turn off the lamp on the bedside table but stops for a moment. She picks up one of the-face down picture frames and looks at it. It’s a picture of ABIGAIL and THEO on their wedding day, smiling. ABIGAIL smiles slightly and leaves the picture frame up as she turns over to hold the LITTLE GIRL.]

LITTLE GIRL: Night, Mommy. I love you.

ABIGAIL: I love you too.

[The lights slowly fade to black as ABIGAIL and the LITTLE GIRL fall asleep.] n

Ashley Costa grew up in Bristol, Connecticut, and later moved to Wilson, North Carolina, where she currently resides. Ashley is enrolled at East Carolina University and is majoring in English with a minor in creative writing while also working towards a certificate in Business and Technical Communication. Ashley received her Associates of Arts at Wilson Community College where she officially decided to chase her dreams of becoming a book editor for a publishing house. She will graduate from East Carolina University in May of 2020.