by Pablo Munoz-Evers
| CHARACTERS | ||
| AMY | 20’S TO EARLY 30’S | WOMAN |
| JOE | 20’S TO EARLY 30’S | MAN |
The lawn on the banks of Lady Bird Lake by the southeast corner of Congress Bridge. JOE and AMY are sitting on the grass, wearing workout clothes and running shoes.
AMY
Man, I need to get rid of these shoes. Do you see this?
JOE
Amy, in three years I’ve never seen you get rid of a single piece of clothing.
AMY
Maybe it’s time to make a change. Start letting stuff go.
JOE
But then how would we know you’re the Amy we know and love?
AMY
Are they gonna meet us there?
JOE
Oh. I guess I never asked. Haha. I’ll text them and see.
(JOE types out a text message on his phone and sends it.)
AMY
I say we just meet here.
JOE
Okay. Yeah, me too. We can cross the bridge, find a restaurant on Second, maybe. I can’t remember what’s good around here.
(A pause, long enough to be awkward.)
You’re supposed to say we should ask them to bring picnic stuff and we can have lunch here.
AMY
I don’t want to say it.
JOE
What?
AMY
I don’t want to do this day anymore, Joe.
(Pause.)
JOE
“I can’t remember what’s good around here.”
AMY
Stop it. I’m sick of it!
JOE
What happened?
AMY
Nothing happened! That’s the point! Nothing ever happens anymore!
JOE
It’s a great day!
AMY
I want to get out, Joe. I don’t want to be in this time loop anymore.
JOE
It’s been good to us. It’s better than… you know, what’s going on… out there.
AMY
I miss the real world.
JOE
Why can’t this be the real world? I’m real. You’re real.
AMY
Not really. Not like this.
JOE
Amy, we get to have the perfect day, and we get to have it over and over. Our lives get to be perfect. Remember how it was before this, out there.
AMY
I… I just don’t care anymore. I really don’t. You know when that guy lights that cigarette next to us when we go on top of the bridge? Later in the day. Last time, I was watching him light it, that same cigarette, and I saw the flame of his lighter, and I… I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.
JOE
About what?
AMY
Do you remember what it felt like to get burned?
JOE
What?
AMY
Getting burned. That feeling. Just accidentally. Do you remember?
JOE
Yeah, of course.
AMY
I miss it.
JOE
Why?
AMY
I miss having a real life. I miss having other things happen. Even if they’re bad things.
JOE
Okay, but… I think maybe you’re thinking that now, because we’ve been living this perfect day for a while, and you kind of forget what the world was like right before this loop started. I forget sometimes, too. But it was bad, Amy. It really was. We would’ve killed for a day like this.
AMY
I’m going to leave.
JOE
Just give it some time. Here, let’s just have lunch with Lara and Corinne and them. We can cross the bridge, find a restaurant on Second, maybe. I can’t remember—
AMY
I’m not going to suggest the fucking picnic!
JOE
You love the picnic.
AMY
I love having A picnic, Joe. And then other times I like doing other things. I’m tired of this picnic! I’m telling you I’m out!
JOE
You’re really considering this.
AMY
No, like, I’ve decided this.
JOE
You’ve decided this. What about me? I don’t want to leave this day. You’d leave without me?
(Beat. AMY softens.)
AMY
I don’t want to. Look, it’s… it’s been a beautiful day. I love everything I’ve done with you. I want you to leave with me.
JOE
What if I stay?
AMY
(Pause.)
You’re my one person. I can’t imagine ever wanting to be with someone the way I want to be with you. If I had to choose one person in the world to be stuck with in a time loop forever, it would be you. It would always be you.
(Pause.)
JOE
But you have to leave.
AMY
I have to.
JOE
I know, I… you were never one for staying still. I just thought, maybe… we’ve been doing some fantastic things today.
AMY
I know.
JOE
I love the way it ends. You know? Working out that show together, on this lawn? With all those people watching us, and we don’t care.
AMY
A show we’ll never get to perform.
(Pause.)
But, yeah. It’s been really great. I love it too.
JOE
And I love how… just ending it, on top of the bridge. And you saying we should get married, and me being like, “Yeah.
Obviously.” I love that moment. I love just standing with you there…
(Pause.)
I don’t want to lose you again.
AMY
You never lost me.
JOE
No, I know, of course I didn’t. But… you were suffering so much, before. It broke my heart to see you so depressed.
AMY
You think you’ve lost me when I’m depressed?
JOE
No. I don’t know. I remember really missing you.
AMY
It happens. I don’t know what to tell you.
JOE
I’m sorry, I didn’t mean, like, “I need you to be happy all the time” or anything. This came out all wrong. Ugh, I…
(JOE buries face in hands for a moment and takes a deep breath. Half-laughs.)
This is why having the day all scripted is nice, you know?
AMY
(Pause.)
If I feel bad, it’s okay. Feeling pain is okay. Going through tough times is okay.
JOE
You’re saying that from a pretty comfortable perspective right now. What if I don’t want to be miserable? The world just was NOT WORKING when we left it. You know?
AMY
Maybe we can help make it better.
JOE
I want you to be happy. I want us to be happy, like this. Why can’t it be like this all the time? Why can’t we just… live in this moment, and love it, and be happy with it? What more could we ask for? I mean… that sunset! Sitting by this bridge with our friends? We don’t know if that can ever happen again in the real world. Wouldn’t you miss Lara and them?
AMY
I miss the real Lara. Those people don’t even know they’re in a time loop. They’re not even real.
JOE
You always had this problem with, like, being happy where you are. Being happy with what’s happening right now. You’ve always been chasing something, always on the move. It was that way there, and it’s that way here, and it’ll be that way there again, if you go. Happiness is right here, Amy. Don’t you get that?
(Pause.)
AMY
If we stayed here… we’d never see our friends again. Not really. We’d never do any of the other things we want to do. We’d never get hurt again.
JOE
Yeah, we’d never get hurt, Amy.
AMY
I just can’t stop thinking about getting burned! Isn’t it wrong, that I want that so badly? It means there’s something wrong here! And it creeps me out, Joe! It’s making my skin crawl, just the thought of living that happily, all the time, in the same way, over and over.
(Pause.)
JOE
I’m staying.
AMY
I’ll miss you.
JOE
You’re bluffing.
AMY
bluffing.
JOE
I’m not.
AMY
Fine. I’m leaving.
(They stare each other down for a beat. Then she turns and walks as if to exit stage. She stops halfway, thinking. Then resumes heading towards the exit.)
JOE
Wait.
AMY
Oh, thank god.
(AMY quickly walks back to JOE and they kiss and hold each other.)
JOE
What if the real world ruins everything for us? What if we never find a happy day like this again?
AMY
I don’t know.
(A bit of a pause. They both look at each other, and then they start to slowly laugh stupidly. Subsides. They smile uncertainly, looking at each other.)
You’re coming, right?
JOE
Yeah. Yeah, of course I am.
AMY
You ready?
JOE
Yeah.
FADE TO BLACK.