Moment

MOMENT
a one act stage play

[ORIN, a young man with chin length ebony locks, sits on a bench overlooking Biscayne Bay. He brushes at his jeans and tugs at his green plaid button down shirt. Seen under the plaid shirt is a gray t-shirt. As he gazes out over the glittering blue waters, SASHA ambles onscreen, pulling her coppery locks in a ponytail. She dons a snug orange blouse and a white knee length skirt.]

ORIN
[looks up]
I see you got the note.

SASHA
Yeah. How'd you know I knew him?

ORIN
Observation.

SASHA
Two can play that game, you know.

ORIN
[nods]
Have a seat.

[SASHA sits on the bench, leaving a gap between herself and ORIN.]

ORIN
(cont.)
I bet you're wondering why I sought you out.

SASHA
The thought crossed my mind.

ORIN
Well, I wanted to talk to you about something, a moment.

SASHA
[quirks an eyebrow]
A moment?

ORIN
Yeah. I think you know which one I mean.

SASHA
Orin, moments happen. There's a shitload of moments from my life I can recount off the top of my head. What's your point?

ORIN
There was that one...you know, when we worked together.

SASHA
There were many of those. Too many, actually.

ORIN
[opens and shuts mouth a couple times before speaking]
You...you-

SASHA
I'm not blind, Orin. I didn't do anything at the time because I didn't know what to do.

ORIN
Sasha, please! Hear me out! I was stupid, and I-I was nervous. I wasn't thinking.

SASHA
No shit.

ORIN
And for your information, I didn't know what to do, either. My life was starting to crumble around me, and I was just a wreck.

SASHA
So...are you trying to pass off all the shit you did to me was provoked by a fit of delirium?

ORIN
No! That's not what I mean at all.

SASHA
Then what do you mean, Orin? Why are we here...talking?

ORIN
I wanted to tell you...tell you the-the-the things I couldn't say before, not then, not when everything was about to fall apart, before I went to the West Coast.

SASHA
Then tell me.

ORIN
[wipes eyes]
You hurt me, Sasha.

SASHA
Me? How in the hell did I hurt you?

ORIN
You...already had someone.

SASHA
And I still do.

ORIN
It killed me to hear that, Sasha, after I got you to open up to me. You were never just a co-worker, Sasha. Never.

SASHA
[stares at Orin then scoots away from him]
You bastard.

ORIN
[wipes away a tear streaking down his face]
You don't understand! I didn't want to feel that-this way. I thought I could just look at you and appreciate your form, but you-just-I couldn't breathe sometimes. Just thinking about it-just-gah!

SASHA
[bows head]
You're not kidding, are you?

ORIN
No, I'm not, and I'm still not.

[He drops his head in his hands and sobs. SASHA watches him before speaking.]

SASHA
Tell me something, Orin. Was this before or after you started having other problems in your life?

ORIN
Before.

SASHA
[stands in front of Orin]
Damnit, Orin! Why didn't you tell me this sooner? We should have been having this conversation a long damn time ago.

ORIN
I know, damnit. I know.

SASHA
Orin, what exactly happened to you? I did notice a change in you, but now...I only know that I know not a thing about you, really.

ORIN
Well, Sasha, it's kind of a long story. Maybe you should sit back down.

[SASHA returns to her original spot on the bench.]

ORIN
(cont.)
[sighs]
I'm not really sure where to begin except that I had seen you around here before you came to work at Gap. Even then, I found you fascinating. This might sound stupid, but there was something about the way you walked that caught my eye.

SASHA
Really.

ORIN
Yeah. I could just tell you were the stranger that had come to town.

SASHA
Now there's a phrase I've heard about a zillion times. Damn creative writing classes.

ORIN
Hehheh. Anyway, so when I found out you were working at my store, I was pleasantly surprised. Had I known getting to know you would do me in, I'd have quit the very same day.

SASHA
Why?

ORIN
It was too much. A pretty girl with a brain she uses regularly is a dangerous thing.

SASHA
Yeah, those types should come with a warning label or maybe even an endangered species sign around their necks.

ORIN
[laughs]
A sharp wit doesn't help matters.

SASHA
Yeah, I won't argue that notion. So in this town focused on vanity, I stood out because I didn't fit in.

ORIN
That and the fact that you would never fit in. You wouldn't be...you. You hid yourself, but...

SASHA
You drew a lot out of me. If it hadn't been for my fucking car dying on me, you wouldn't know quite so much about me.

[ORIN looks at SASHA with wide eyes and his lips in an O shape.]

SASHA
(cont.)
I don't discuss my personal life with many people, especially co-workers. I save that for after I've gotten to know people for a few months. We didn't even work together for two months, but yeah. You know me a bit too well. I, meanwhile, have simply pieced together whatever I know about you from our moments.

ORIN
What are you saying, Sasha?

SASHA
I'm saying don't skirt around the truth. I told you quite a bit in one sitting way back when. Now it's your turn. What did I do to cause all your problems?

ORIN
After I met you, I lost interest in, well, a lot of things: my girlfriend, my job, my hobbies, the people I called my friends, things like that. You were my main focus, and I admit I was not a happy camper if you worked on my day off and vice versa. I'd go to work just to see you, it seemed at the time, because it was the only way I knew I'd get to see you. That's why...I did what I did.

SASHA
Even though you knew you shouldn't have been touching me on the job.

ORIN
[nods]
Yes, that. That was what I was referring to before.

SASHA
Why?

ORIN
Why what?

SASHA
Why did you do it?

ORIN
It was all I could do to keep myself from holding you. I'd been having a rough day, and I knew you'd actually listen and give a damn. I saw the way you were with customers. You never were a typical salesperson. You were a more...empathetic soul and willing to go the extra mile with every customer. Cards didn't matter in your case. You convinced them to apply simply by being yourself. Not everyone can do that.

SASHA
So what did I convince you to do by being myself, as you put it?

ORIN
You almost made me leave my girlfriend. I guess it wouldn't have mattered. Not long after you had your crying spell, I found out she was cheating on me.

SASHA
[gasps]
The little bitch! The only time I saw her she seemed happy to be in your presence.

ORIN
It was all a show, and I sometimes wonder if I caused her to run off. I admit I paid less and less attention to her once you started working at the store.

SASHA
And ironically I saw her at work.

ORIN
What an irony. I don't think she saw you. Otherwise, well, that might have ended the relationship right then and there.

SASHA
Damnit. Orin, I don't know what to say, really, other than I'm beyond stunned. I guess I'm not surprised that you felt that way towards me-

ORIN
You mean you knew?

SASHA
Eh, I suspected. It was all in a moment, about a week before I quit (on good terms with the company, of course). You stopped over for whatever reason, and you passed me on the way out from the back room. I was in the fitting room that night, and it was a mess. I remember you said hello to me, but you sounded...different, distracted, I guess.

ORIN
I remember. You were looking at me, but you didn't really see me. Yeah, I remember. But what about that incident made you wonder?

SASHA
I didn't think of it at the time, but later on I realized that your...distance, if you will, was an about face from your previous behavior towards me. During the holidays, you were friendlier and not as distracted as you were before the summer.

ORIN
[nods]
Yeah. You're right. It kind of gave me away.

SASHA
We tend to really see each other in moments.

ORIN
Seems that way.

SASHA
So how do you see me in this moment?

ORIN
As the person who made me realize I'm floating too much. I still think you're a beautiful person, inside and out, that you possess the kind of beauty where the clothes don't have to make you who you are. Still, I know it won't happen.

SASHA
It could have happened, but I found my love much earlier than I expected. For all we know it wouldn't have worked out for whatever reason. These things aren't ours to know, and maybe it's better that way. You may be an attractive guy, but don't expect your outside appearance to woo all the ladies. At the same time, don't be afraid to be courted. That's how I met my love. I sought him out, and it's been two and a half happy years even in spite of all my other woes. Chin up, Orin. We still have time.

ORIN
I just feel like it's slipping away from me, though.

SASHA
Oh, shut it, already. You're only 25. You have another ten years or so before your complaints have any grounds.

ORIN
[smirks]
I suppose you're right.

SASHA
And to think I'm so much younger than you.

ORIN
Please. It's only three years.

SASHA
Yeah, yeah. Touche.

ORIN
Hey, you started it.

SASHA
Right.

[SASHA gets up off the bench.]

SASHA
(cont.)
Anyway, I have class in a little bit, so I better get going.

ORIN
Alright, but just one more question.

SASHA
Sure.

ORIN
[stands up]
May I have a hug?

SASHA
[backs away]
No, Orin. Don't let this moment screw it up for both of us. It might start out as a hug, but how much more will you want? It's better we leave it alone no matter what.

[SASHA walks off.]

[ORIN sighs and sits back on the bench staring at the cool blue shades of the bay at dusk. There is a protrusion below the beltline.]