Second That Emotion
Rick and Evelyn get trapped in a pitch black closet, finally forcing them to talk about their "relationship." No good can come of this! Or...can it? In the "Rule of Three" vein in terms of style. The idea here is that without sight, what good is description? What you say is what really matters:)
Setting: Cairo Museum of Antiquities, shortly after TM
~*~*~*~
"Evelyn? . . . Evelyn, are you back here?"
"Rick? Rick, is that you?"
"Where are you? . . . What are you doing in the--"
"No, don't!"
Slam! Click.
. . . . . .
"That can't be good."
"Great. Smashing. Now we're both stuck in the closet."
"We're in a closet? What the Hell were you doing in a closet in the first place?"
"I was getting a book, and the door shut."
"Evy, if you hadn't gone running off--"
"I was angry with you!"
"Well, you didn't have to go lock yourself in a closet to get away from me!"
. . . . . .
"This is why it isn't going to work, Rick."
"Why what isn't going to work?"
"You. Me. Us. We fight all the time."
"We only fight when the world is ending."
"The world's not ending now, and we're fighting."
"I don't even know why we're fighting! Oh, wait, it's because you got us locked in a closet!"
. . . . . .
"Boy, it's dark in here. I can't see a thing. Is there a light?"
"The light bulb's out, I checked."
. . . . . .
"Rick, maybe we should just...not see each other anymore."
. . . . . .
"Can't do that, Evy."
"Why not?"
"Are you saying you could just walk away from me? That easy?"
. . . "No. Maybe. Never know until you try."
"At this point we may end up dying in this Goddamn closet, anyway. Hello?! Is anyone out there?!"
. . . . . .
"Rick . . . Could you?"
"Could I what?"
. . . "Walk away."
"From you?"
"From me."
"Well, no, I. . . I'm just. . . a little bit in love with you, I think."
"Oh."
"Oh? That's all you have to say?"
"Oh. . . thank you."
"Thanks Evy, that's so much more comforting. Why don't you kick me in the shins while you're at it?"
"What did you want me to say? 'I'm just a little bit in love with you' is not exactly the compliment of the century."
"Sorry, I didn't know you were going to rank my declarations of love."
"How can we be in love if we can't spend five minutes in a closet without arguing?"
"I think if we got past the whole 'love' argument, the time could be much better spent."
"You see! You're always making jokes."
"So? I'm freaking hilarious, you're holding that against me too?"
"I'm trying to have a serious conversation here, and you're making jokes about--about kissing, and--"
"And I'm trying to deal with the fact that you don't . . . Forget it."
"That I don't what? Tell me what you were going to say."
. . . "That you don't . . . feel about me . . . the way I feel about you."
"You think I'm over here thinking the exact same thing? I'm so in love with you I can barely think straight most of the time, and for all I know, you're going to be gone on the next boat!"
"Is that what you think, Evy? You think I'd just up and leave?"
"How do I know I'm not just the next random girl in your string of conquests? That's how men think, isn't it?"
"And how do you know this isn't something special? How do you know I'm not going to stick around for the rest of your life?"
". . . Well . . . I don't, I guess--"
"Exactly. That's the entire point of making a commitment, Evy, you don't know what's going to happen in a year, ten years. That's the exciting part."
"Why are we talking about commitments if you're 'just a little bit in love?' Besides, a commitment means you know. You can't just take a flying leap, you have to know."
. . . . . .
"Evy . . . I know."
"What?"
"Look, I . . . I'm not exactly the most perfect guy you'll ever meet."
"I'll second that."
"Hey! I'm trying to say something here. I've been carrying this Goddamn ring around for a month trying to--"
"Ring? . . . What ring?"
"Er . . . The one in my pocket."
"Right. I mean, what sort of ring? Is it for me?"
"Um . . . maybe. At least until you started insulting me."
"Perhaps if you finally did something with the ring, we could get somewhere with this conversation."
"I thought you wanted nothing to do with me ever again."
"Well . . . Consider this a test. If I like what you have to say, I might just change my mind."
"But I can hardly see you."
"Afraid of the dark, Mr. O'Connell?"
"Not with you here."
. . . . . .
"I do believe that's the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me."
. . . . . .
"Now, you probably can't see me, but I'm down on one knee now. Give me your hands."
"All right."
". . . Just. . . you know. . . I. . . you. . . erm. . . See, the thing is. . . I'm in love with you. More than a little bit. A lot. And I. . . . . . . . ."
"You're doing marvelously, Rick, do go on."
"Marry me?"
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
"Evy, you're supposed to answer now."
"I. . . I know, I. . . I just. . ."
"Are you crying?"
"No!. . . Yes!"
"Why are you--"
"No, I mean . . . yes."
"Wait a minute--yes you're crying, or yes you want to marry me?"
"Both, you silly man! Give me the ring."
"Oh. Right . . . Here. What do you know, it fits."
"If I could actually see it, I'm sure I'd think it was beautiful."
"You're beautiful."
"You're supposed to kiss me now, you know."
"I'll second that."
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
~*~*~*~
"Good evening to you, Bob. Seen my sister lately? We were supposed to have dinner."
"Oh, hello, Jonathan. No, she and that boyfriend of hers disappeared hours ago..."
le fin:)
