A child plays with a dress up pretending to get married and laughs and sings. The child says they want to get married when they grow up but M says they will never marry the child. The child continues to play pretend getting married while M expresses doubts about love and marriage. M says love is unfair and trivial while the child continues pretending and writing in a diary about love. M says the child lives in a world of toys and make believe while the child tries to engage M in dancing and pretend.

1. Love and Marriage
By Marjorie Gast
Split set; ​A​ in child’s bedroom, ​M ​in apartment.
A ​enters with cd, plays song “Love and Marriage”, finds dress/veil, plays dressup, laughs, sings,
smiles.
A: ​When I grow up I­
M: ​am never getting married to you. Do you really think that you can­­
A: ​Take this woman to be your lawfully wedded
A/M: ​(Interjecting) ​Wife.
M: I ​can’t understand why
M/A: ​I…
A: ​DO!
M: ​I don’t mean enough to you anymore.
A:​ ​Do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband? ​(changes from groom to bride)
Of course I do!
(A ​puts on ring (ring pop) while ​M​ ​takes engagement ring off, holds, and admires it.)
A: ​You may kiss the bride!
John and Mary Sittin’ in a tree…….. K­I­S­S­I­N­G.
First comes love, then comes...
(M​ shuts off music.)
M: ​Marriage.
Love is unfair enough on it’s own. It is trivial, a toy. It’s a joke.
A joy to a child though.
Joy without any consequences.
Free from any repercussions. You’re aimlessly allowed to re­play.
Repete.
Rebel.
Re­arrange.
Now, Instead, ​I​ retreat.
Re­analyze everything. Every little thing.

2. (both​ walk to mirrors that face each other) She puts on makeup/jewelry while ​M ​removes
earrings and reluctantly places engagement ring on table.
A: ​Mirror Mirror on the wall…
M: ​You think that it will be perfectly fair. (​laughs​)
A: ​Who’s the fairest of them all? (​While putting on lipstick.)
M: ​You think, simply by ​being​ you are enough.
Enough to be just that ­­ enough.
But you’re not. And you won’t be.
But it’s not true.
I wish I could warn my younger self.
Tell her to take a breath and dream of something different, less complicated.
I want to shake these innocent, naive thoughts from her ­­ but I can’t.
Something is holding me back.
Something gently restraining me from imposing the reality on her ­­ ​my​ young, daydreaming
face.
A: ​(​pulls out quote Somewhere during next monologue, she finds her diary and begins
writing/drawing entries)
Plenty of Love
Tons of Kisses
Hope someday
To be your Mrs. (​pastes paper to wall. Returns to notebook)
M: ​The obvious. The un­original, the generic.
A: ​Roses are red, violets are blue…
M: ​Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.
A: ​(acknowledge each other)​ ​Violets are blue.
M:​ Violets wither.
A: ​They also bloom and grow.
M: ​They don’t last long.
A: ​They last long enough to make an impression. (​back to doodling)
M: ​Impressions, first impressions, lasting impressions can’t last.
A: ​They can if you want them to.
You don’t understand.

3. M: ​No, you aren’t ready to understand.
(beat)
As children we have no comprehension of time.
Of love.
Of marriage.
I never knew that my parents were anything other than always together.
A unit from their beginning, seamlessly connected. An illusion, really.
A: (​is playing out the wedding, lining up stuffed animals to throw bouquet.) ​Sweet little thing!
M: ​An adolescent hallucination of games and pastimes.
You live in a universe of toys, make believe, and endless possibilities.
Then you realize as an adult, that you still do
You still have every opportunity to experience the world in the same way you did as a child
Except you fear it now.
A: ​* Begins to ​makes paper valentine*
M: ​You fear the juvenile curiosity that is hidden within you.
We don’t know why, it’s just the truth.
Your dreams are built out of paper mache, easily ripped,but easily mended.
However, that quick­fix, that repair doesn’t last long and will tear again.
The seemingly healed wound will become apparent soon enough.
A:​ *​crosses to ​M’s ​side* ​Will you be my valentine?
M: ​I can’t be my own valentine.
A: ​Why not?
M: ​Because.
A: ​Why because?
M: ​Because it doesn’t work that way.
A: ​Why?
M: ​There’s not always a “why.” Sometime’s it’s just “Because.”
A: ​Because?
M: ​Yes.
(beat)

4. A: ​Okay. ​(Begins to delve back into her notebook, doodling, tearing out pages, and pasting
them on the wall.
M: ​“Okay” she ­­ I ­­ reply.
She just takes my word.
I could have told myself anything, but I chose to tell her “because”?
As children, we just believe. And have faith in what we are told is true.
As adults, we build up a wall of thinly veiled realities, hoping that they will hold their own; have
enough strength to bolster the relationship, maybe even to simply cover the underlying
backbone of the issue.
A: ​Why do you fret?
M: ​Because I was let down.
A: ​Come with me.
M: ​Why?
A: ​Because. *Smiles*
M: ​Okay.
A:​ (reading off all the papers on the wall thus far)
I carry your heart with me, I carry it in my heart.
Roses are red, violets are blue.
O, Romeo, Romeo… *acts out Scene on her bed… both characters*
John and Mary Sittin’ in a tree…….. K­I­S­S­I­N­G.
First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes *presses music on dances around*
*​tries to engage ​M​ in dance*
M​: ​turnes off music.
A: ​Shall I compare thee to a ­­
M: ​Summer’s day? It’s winter.
A:​ No, it’s make believe.
M​: Make believe isn’t for everyone.
A: ​Well I know that it IS for you. Because I am you. That is the reality.
M: ​How is this reality? How am I meeting my younger self?

5. A: ​Because ​you still are​ your younger self, you just don’t believe it. You grew up and thought
you had to change. But you didn’t. Even though you think you have.
M: ​How do you know this?
A: ​Because.