A Reunion

A Reunion
Sara Bacon

The scene is a park at dusk. It’s chilly, with a low lying fog that writhes just below the knees. Maple trees with half their leaves are strategically placed, and damp leaves litter the ground. Other than this, the lawns are perfectly manicured. The walking paths are lined with beautiful bushes and flowers, and the open spaces are perfectly level. Everything is glowing in the half-moonlight. A man, Tony, sits on a park bench under a tree with his arms wrapped tightly around himself. He’s wearing a black leather jacket zipped all the way up to his chin and black jeans. There are dull sounds of traffic in the background, and the bright lights of the city illuminate one side of Tony’s face, revealing olive skin and dark hair. A twig cracks to the right and Tony hurriedly stands up. Another man, Mikey, walks up. He’s taller than Tony, but has the same skin and hair. He is also wearing a black jacket and black jeans, but his jacket is unzipped. There’s a lump in his right pocket. He sits on the bench as Tony sits down.

Tony: Did you bring it?

Mikey: Yeah. Nice to see you, too.

Tony: Let me have it.

Mikey: Aww, couldn’t you say pretty please?

Tony: I don’t have time for this!

Mikey: Calm down! Take it! (tosses Tony a small brown bag) Jeez, if Dad could see you now…

Tony: Shut up.

Mikey: Hah. You know that doesn’t work on me.

Tony: Whatever. I have to go. (turns to leave)

Mikey: What? Hey! Don’t walk away from me!

Tony: (irony) You know that doesn’t work on me.

Mikey: Goddamnit Tony, what’s happening to you?

Tony: What do you mean?

Mikey: This! It’s like it’s not even you anymore!

Tony: Why do you care?

Mikey: …I can’t believe that you even have to ask that.

Tony: Why do you care?

Mikey: Tony, come on, this is me…

Tony: Where do we stand? I need to know.

Mikey: We stand…we stand where we’ve always stood. I trust you. I trust you enough to give you something and expect you to get it where it’s going.

Tony: That’s not good enough! What if I screwed up? Huh? Where would we stand then? Cause you sure as hell wouldn’t trust me anymore.

Mikey: Is that what this is about? Trust? Trust is all we have in this business! On a job, trust’s all there is! But we aren’t there now. We’re here. This is just us for once. Ever since Mom…left…you’ve been gone. It’s been, what, a year? A year? That’s too long, Tony. We all miss you.

Tony: Yeah, right. Somehow I find that hard to believe.

Mikey: Why can’t you ever see what’s right in front of you?

Tony: It’s in front of you, not me.

Mikey: Tony-

Tony: (holds up bag) I’ll get this back to you by Friday. And you don’t need to worry. I won’t screw up.