(At rise, a door is heard

opening and as the door opens

the lights come on and LOU is

seen entering on stage left.The

stage is set up with an office

table and on top of the table sits

a rotary phone, there is a window

painted with the scenery of New York.

The phone rings as the scene begins.)

Lou

Hello, this is Lou. Oh, hiya Judy, I’ve been well how are you? Good good,that’s great to hear. I’m not too busy today I’ll try and see if I can make the time and I’ll call you later. Alright, bye now.

(A phone rings from stage

right, as the lights come on

a woman’s voice is heard.)

Tara

Yes Mr.Malone, I’ll get it to him right away, yes sir of course sir, enjoy the rest of your day sir. Thank you sir.

(Tara sits at a desk similar

to Lou’s, stage right and left

are identical to one another. Tara

dials the phone and Lou’s phone rings)

Lou

Hello, this is Lou.

Tara

Hi Lou, this is Tara from Mr.Malone’s office.

Lou

Oh Mr.Malone, of course I’ve been waiting for this call.

Tara

Sorry to have kept you waiting, but he wanted me to inform you that unfortunately the contract between the two companies must be put on hold for the time being.

Lou

(shocked)

Well...I just...could you give me a moment?

Tara

I think I will end the phone call right here sir, I’m so-

Lou

(quitely)

Don’t apologise, it wasn’t under your control; but would you mind staying on the line?

Tara

Well...I would but...eh...there are other matters that require my attention at the moment.

Lou

How cold-hearted, to leave a man all alone in wake of such unfortunate news, but if you must go then-

Tara

(quickly)

Alright, I will stay.

Lou

Thank you..., forgive me but, what was your name again?

Tara

Tara, T A R A. I was named by my grandmother

Lou

It’s a pretty name. I was named after Lou Gehrig, the baseball All Star from the 30’s. My dad loved him as a boy, so much that he named me after the guy. My old man sure did love baseball, forced me to play it too.

(Lou chuckles)

Tara

My father enjoyed reading as a child rather than playing outside, he spent his days reading Fitzgerald and Faulkner. I adopted his love of literature as a little girl.

Lou

Ah, I have the pleasure of talking to a well read woman, what’s your favorite book?

Tara

Oh my! There are so many, how can I just pick o-

Lou

No excuses! You must pick one.

Tara

Alright, alright. In recent times I’ve just read Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, what a marvelous piece of literature, it was gifted to me by mother the day after it was released and I finished it right away. But if I had to choose a favorite it would be The Great Gatsby, just like my father.

Lou

My wife loved that story, she would read it once a month.

(Lou sighs)

Tara

Did she pass away?

Lou

(bitterly)

Yes, three years ago. She was hit by a car on her way home.

(Lou lets out a sarcastic laugh)  

Lou

Isn’t it ironic?

Tara

What is?

Lou

She died the same way as one of the characters from her favorite book. That goddamn book!

(There is silence on the line

Tara begins to quitely cry as

Lou hunches over with the phone

still on his ear.)  

Lou

I’m sorry, I’ve ruined the entire conversation.

(Tara composes herself

and wipes away her tears

Before clearing her throat)

Tara

Don’t be silly, if anything its made our encounter even more interesting. If you don’t mind me asking, what was her name?

Lou

Charlotte. It means ‘free’. And that she was,always a free spirit. I could never keep up with her. I still remember meeting her for the first time, my sister had taken me dancing. Now let me tell you I feel like I have two left feet and blind in my right eye when it comes to dancing

(Laughter erupts from

Tara as Lou tells his story)

Lou

But not her. She was smooth and jiggy in her dancing, her friend was throwing up and spinning her around she looked like those girls from The Arthur Murray Party.

Tara

I know that show, I’ve always tried dancing like those girls but I hate to admit that I am in the same boat as you when it comes to dancing.

(Lou begins to laugh and Tara joins him)

(Soon both of them laughing over the phone)

Lou

We should go dancing sometime.

(Tara’s eyes widen as a smile

graces her innocent features)

Tara

I would love to. Although that does seem like a deadly combination, we may need the entire floor to ourselves.

(Lou begins to smile)

Lou

Let’s be like Charlotte and be free.

Tara

Agreed. Now other than baseball what do you enjoy doing?

Lou

I never said I enjoyed baseball-

Tara

You said you played.

Lou

Yeah, I played because my dad made me. What I really enjoyed was football, now that was a real sport. But my father never let me play.

Tara

So you just listened to him? If you enjoyed it then you should’ve just played.

Lou

Oh, I did! By the time I was 15 I was whole 10 inches taller than my dad, I was the man of the house. He wasn’t  happy when he found out, but ma’ convinced him to let me play.

Tara

Where you close to you mother?

Lou

Ma’ was my best friend, I didn’t have any brothers or sisters growing up, so it was just me, ma’ and pa’. And our dog Sal.

Tara

My mother ran away when I was just 7 years old, she told us she was going to the store and that she would be right back, but she never came back. It took months for my father to return to his old self, he really did love her. In those months I had to take care of my siblings, myself, and my father.

Lou

Wow,you never really got the chance to be a kid, eh?

Tara

I don’t really see it as that, I still played kickball and had playdates with my neighbors.

Lou

So you’re an optimist?

Tara

I guess so.

(Mr.Malone walks in)

Mr.Malone

Tara, have you called Lou Greggs yet?

(Tara hurriedly puts

the phone back onto

the receiver, accidently

ending the call with Lou)

Tara

Yes sir, I have. Is there anything else you need from me?

Mr.Malone

No, I’m heading home for the night, do you still have work to do?

Tara

Uh...yes sir I have some...umm...paperwork I need to complete regarding one of our clients.

Mr.Malone

Well alright then, don’t forget to lock up properly and have a good evening.

(Mr.Malone leaves and Tara

is left alone in the office,

She grabs the phone right away

but can not find the slip of

paper that had Lou’s number on it)

Tara

Where is it!

(She yells to herself, an

exasperated sigh leaves her

as she ruffles through the pages)

(Knocking on door)  

Tara

I’ll be right there.

(She leaves her desk and makes her

way to the door. When she opens it,

Lou is standing there but they

don’t recognize each other because

they’ve never met.)

Lou

Hello, Miss. I hate to be a bother but I was wondering if you had a spare umbrella somewhere. It’s raining cats and dogs out there and I can’t find the damn thing anywhere.

Tara

Oh well, take a seat. I’ll look around and see if I can find one.

(Lou curiously looks at Tara)

Lou

Have we met before? I have this strange feeling that we have.

(Tara carefully looks at home

trying to remember a face)

Tara

No I’m afraid not, but I have found an umbrella.

Lou

Thank you...ah...I’m sorry what’s your name?

Tara

Oh, its Tara. Yours?

Lou

It’s Lou.

(Both pause and look at eachother)

Lou

Well I guess we’re meeting sooner than we thought.

Tara

Haha...I guess so.

Lou

So, would you like to go dancing?

End of Act 1