Chapter Text
The Final Act - The Lovers Between the Seasons, THE MOON watches the story unfold with satisfaction, they were always her favorite children, there are no surprises.
[Cut-out stage, the audience doesn't see, but with the absence of sight, in the dim light, it's possible to hear]
Enter CONRAD FISHER.
Enter ISABEL CONKLIN.
Scene 1
Setting – Train car, sleeping tourists, low lighting, faint sounds of breathing, the babbling of a baby in the background, a couple whispering.
BELLY
What time is it?
CONRAD
I don't know.
BELLY
You're the guy with the watch on your wrist.
CONRAD
I only had the courage to change the clock in my apartment at the beginning of the year.
BELLY
That explains a lot about your timing problem.
CONRAD
Just me?
BELLY
Of course, I've had enough time to learn how to arrive at the perfect time.
[Someone laughs, someone sings softly to a baby, a lullaby, the sound of a curtain opening]
CONRAD
Belly?
BELLY
(Sleepy voice, yet unmistakably happy)
Yes?
CONRAD
There's no undoing the mistakes of my inexperience at the beginning, but along the way I've learned to become a little more patient, demanding, I want to make sure things are better.
BELLY
We'll work on this together.
Action plans, they can do it.
Lights back on stage.
-
Scene 2 – New show, same audience, Belly and Conrad exploring the world, there's more to discover than Paris and Palo Alto.
Four days, a country unknown to both, they are the same people, yet completely different, they still choose each other.
The audience, though without specific answers, can see the narrative being built from a distance; the future is somewhat predictable, there's no tension along the way.
Scenario 1 – Belgium, Brussels, sleepy lovers leaving the train, a street fair near the station, samples of Belgian chocolate, the man doesn't complain about the chocolate being too sweet, the woman beside him laughs anyway.
The kind gentleman offering the samples has a confused, yet affectionate eyes, secretly a fan of love stories.
Scenario 2 – Hotel reception filled with healthcare professionals checking in, a convention is being organized behind the closed doors of the large hall, there's the sound of parallel conversations, it's possible to identify at least four different languages among the interactions.
The silent couple approaches the counter, the man carrying a smile that hurts his face and a small suitcase, the woman standing beside him, one hand in his, the other gripping his arm.
He will be behind closed doors for much of the day; she will discover the city, venture into the castles, and then, once again, she will be his guide.
They will meet in the space in between.
Scene 3 – Train station, hurried tourists, crowd, a couple embraces with the few seconds they have left; she must leave first.
CONRAD
I love you.
Lessons from textualism: regardless of intentions or subtleties, words need to be spoken. Conrad learns quickly.
BELLY
I love you.
Conrad extends his hand; Belly reciprocates the gesture.
Communication transforms them.
Scene 3 - The dedication and commitment come from both sides, lots of planning, closer than ever, even at a distance.
CONRAD
(Palo Alto, California, File in message, dusk)
Classic screenings this week, Casablanca on opening night.
BELLY
(Paris, France, File in message, dawn)
You need to watch it for me.
CONRAD
(Palo Alto, California, File in message, dusk)
Honorary service.
In Paris, Christmas, Isabel's apartment, in California, Palo Alto, New Year's, her first in-person visit to his apartment, a Valentine's Day in London, they cross the Albert Bridge hand in hand, the Thanksgiving in Brussels, purely out of nostalgia, a birthday celebration in Spain, Marioca, because they both have a connection to the sea, a week's vacation in Switzerland, Geneva, they make plans to visit Germany, the museums of Bonn.
BELLY
(Paris, France, in her apartment, watching the moon, being watched back, she thinks of him)
We could go to Korea.
CONRAD
(Palo Alto, California, lunch break, chicken sandwich and coffee, he thinks of her)
Let's add it to the itinerary.
Belly also wears a watch on her wrist, a gift facing possibilities, an anchor, a compass, there is time.
One day, they return together to that place they both know as home, echoes of childhood, of learning and losing, of strange beginnings and inevitable endings, blue walls and a Pearl Jam poster, one of Belly's hands in his, the other gripping his arm, they are no longer the same.
The Moon is proud of them.
The curtains close.
Exeunt omnes.