ACT ONE

 

CHARACTERS

 

GEORGE

TERESA  

MOlRA

SIMON

 

SCENE

It's an ordinary lounge. There is a sofa and one armchair, a small table, a large drinks cabinet at the back, and a desk in a corner with a laptop on it, overloaded with paper books, etc.

 

TIME

The present

 

Notes:-

Throughout the play, George never touches Teresa until near the end of the play

​

 

TERESA

No, you haven't.

 

GEORGE

A promise for me is a promise. I keep writing to you even while I'm in my dying bed.

 

TERESA

George, don't exaggerate. Well? Are you going to let me read it or not?

 

GEORGE

Of course, here, read it.

(He hands her the paper. But takes it back instantly)

No, I will read it to you. You want to hear it, don't you?

(Teresa nods)

I'll go and sit down.

(He moves to the desk where there's a glass filled. He takes it and drinks it. He goes to the sofa and sits. Quickly, he stands up again.)

On the other hand, I instead read it standing.

​

TERESA

Oh, come on, George, you're acting like a child. Could you read it and stop teasing?

 

(George is serious now, and when he reads, he reads with compassion  and love, nearly emotional)

 

GEORGE

I titled it, 'ILLUSION OF LOVE SUSTAINED',

 

TERESA

That's an interesting title.

​

GEORGE

(Ignoring her and read it would be great if George can  recite it without reading from the  sheet of paper)

 

I had this extraordinary illusion

she was part of my complex story    

which made me very disheartened   

it was cruel, beastly, and full of fury.

 

Before I go completely mad

I held myself together tight

even though I woke up screaming

cause she vanished out of sight.

 

As I was sitting all alone

I felt her sitting on my knees

feeling her warm breath on my neck

like a warm, lovely summer breeze.

 

I'd trusted entirely in this illusion

with all the might of my belief

I kept feeling her presence close by

she was giving me a sigh of relief.

 

I consoled myself with a kiss in the void

as though I was kissing her lovely face

I felt her wet lips and her gripping tongue  

her shining skin of a body filled with grace.

​

I will stay with her spirit as long as I can;

would I be frightened of her ghost? Hardly!

Fearful of what might be or will be?

She might reject me, and then I will be lost entirely.

 

I will not stop believing in her spirit,

even though she doesn't belong here;    

and since she's only the ghost of the past

I pretend I'm holding and kissing her.

 

I haven't a clue what to expect from this illusion,

I haven't a clue if what comes next is a fact

I haven't a clue where and when she again appears

one thing I know for sure is she'll be back.

 

(He waits for Teresa's reaction)

Well?

 

TERESA

It's weirdly beautiful. I don't know who you were talking about, but it's beautiful, tragically, of course.

 

GEORGE

What I write is from my heart. Nothing is what it seems in my writing.

 

TERESA

 

Why so pessimistic? Why all this sadness?

 

GEORGE

 

Can I write about happiness? With my boring and unexplained life? How can I?

 

TERESA

Your thoughts are profound and angry.

​

GEORGE

Did you not like it?

 

TERESA

I did not say that. I was telling you never to write about beautiful things.

 

GEORGE

Yes, I do. Yesterday, I wrote an ode to a Rose. Have you heard it?

 

TERESA

Yes, it started very emotionally and beautifully, but as you went on, you ended it with a tragic situation.

 

GEORGE

That is life. We are born, and then we die. Well, OK. I will write something cheerful for you tomorrow.

 

TERESA

I wait for it with enthusiasm.

(The doorbell rings. George puts the empty glass on the table)

​

GEORGE

I'll get it.

 

(He exits. Teresa Exits. George enters with Simon, a friend of many years younger than him.  Simon goes and sits where Teresa was. George goes to his desk and pours another glass of wine.)

What is it you're drinking, soda, tea…….?

 

SIMON

Nothing, thanks. Moira will join us soon. She went to the manicure shop to buy ……

 

GEORGE

Women!

 

SIMON

Yeah, women!

 

GEORGE

Tell me, Simon, don’t you ever have problems with women?

 

SIMON

Not since I divorced my first wife.

 

GEORGE

I didn’t mean that.

 

SIMON

 

Yet that was my problem. I had to go to a shrink to sort my head; I think you were away then. I think he wanted me to have an Iobo … .

 

(He struggles with the word)

 

GEORGE

A lobotomy is a surgical incision of the nerves.

​

SIMON

Yes, I guess that’s it. It must have been, and I am still grateful to the surgeon. I ran berserk and don’t know how many times a week, but I  am fortunate. George, you know, I don’t drink or take drugs.

 

GEORGE

Unlike me. Though I don’t take drugs, I drink a hell of a lot.

 

SIMON

You should try to cut it down.

 

GEORGE

Don’t you think I have tried?

 

SIMON

Yes, I know. Anyway, why did you ask about having

problems with women?

 

GEORGE

It seems I’m getting a bit old.

(Quickly)

Just a little bit, mind you ……

 

SIMON

Do you mean Teresa?

​

GEORGE

Who else?

 

SIMON

Where is she anyway?

 

GEORGE

I don’t know; I think she went out shopping.

 

SIMON

Why are you hiding her from me? You know, I have never seen her yet?

​

GEORGE

I am not hiding anything. I like things to remain private. I knew her most of my life, and now she’s back……You know what I mean, Simon?

 

SIMON

Strange, but yes, I do know.

 

GEORGE

I have known her for more than forty years. When I met her, she was thirteen, and I was going on nineteen. She was very innocent indeed.

 

SIMON

A bit young, wasn’t she?

 

GEORGE

Yes, but I did not mess with her at all.

 

SIMON

I didn’t mean that at all.

 

GEORGE

I hate paedophiles, and although she was my girlfriend, I would have still been one if I touched her.

 

SIMON

 

Don’t get excited, George. I believe you. What surprises me is that you never mentioned her at all. I mean, you knew her in the past.

 

GEORGE

No, and  I had my reasons. It was excruciating to talk about. Now that she’s back, my anxiety and my soul are set free.

 

SIMON

Free of what?

 

GEORGE

Everything.  Time lost, betrayed love and painful memories.

 

SIMON

I see

​

GEORGE

The first time I met her, it was winter, and one evening she came with her cousin. We used to meet in groups down in a IocaI cafe. She seemed a very nervous girI and the funny thing was that when I looked at her, she made me nervous too.

After that, she kept coming, and we used to talk to each other a lot until she toId me that she loved me. I was taken aback, not because I was older than her but because she was very young still and under the age of consent.

 

SIMON

(Laughs)

I didn't know you had such morals.

 

GEORGE

I didn't. In those days, girls of thirteen were really girls of thirteen, not like these days; somehow, it was different with her. I did not want to spoil her. Corrupt her, I mean. The more I saw her, the fonder I became of her. I reminded her I was old and boring when she expressed her true feelings. I told her that she was very sweet and attractive at that age and that I was untouched by her feelings towards me. What man wouldn't be Simon?

 

SIMON

All I know is that you have never had any principles regarding fidelity, and I don't think you have changed either.

 

GEORGE

I didn't. That is why  I wanted to stay clear of her.  I preferred the life  I was living.

I knew what she was after: a steady boyfriend. That's what they use to achieve it. I was not ready for that. My life, even at nineteen, was already complicated and disrupted. But you know all that!

 

SIMON

I only know what IittIe I remember. Have we been friends for twenty or twenty-five years?

 

GEORGE

Something like that.

 

SIMON

I believe fidelity exists only if the person is faithful, but that's an understanding statement. But infidelity is the creation of the censors and the gossip; I don't think I could have lived like you. It would have been without remorse or conscience if I were to be unfaithful, especially to Moira.

 

GEORGE

 

Too true. And unfortunately, you have got both.

 

(Enters  Moira  from  the  exit  leading  to  the  front door.)

 

MOlRA

What is it that you have got, Simon? The door was open and I let myself in.

 

GEORGE

Remorse and conscience.

 

MOlRA

Oh, that! Yes, he indeed has.

(They all laugh)

 

GEORGE

I don't believe the story of the creation of man. I think God must have created a woman first out of spite.

 

SIMON

Why do you always have to tease her?

 

MOlRA

Sits on the sofa)

What is wrong with that, George?

 

GEORGE

Nothing as such, but why do women like to dominate so much? Adam gave Eve no rib; she was created on a sunny, windy day. The wind blew away Eve's kindred spirit and mingled with hard clay; behold, Adam was naked, looking at the equally exposed Eve. I think he could have done without the apple to be convinced.

 

SIMON

(Burst out laughing)

I don't think so either.

 

MOlRA

Perhaps God is a woman?

 

GEORGE

Now, there is a thought!   Maybe that is why a woman has all their pleasures and intrigues.

 

SIMON

I have to agree with you.

 

MOlRA

We have pleasures and intrigues because we want to have them. They were not handed to us. Some women use them more than others.

 

SIMON

Like you, Moira.

 

MOlRA

You know damn well I don't.

 

GEORGE

There you have it, Simon. You've got a wife without pleasures and intrigue. Where did you find her?

 

MOlRA

Mock me as much as you like, George. You are not going to trap me in this conversation. I somewhat know what you have done with Teresa.

​

GEORGE

I think she is in town. She doesn't like to stay at home much, unlike me. Since I work from here, going out is a significant effort. Long gone are the days when I used to come

home at three or four in the morning and drunk.

 

MOlRA

Don't you ever get fed up with drinking?

 

GEORGE

No. I'm not fed up, Moira. I'm tired. I get tired of drinking. But I do not know anything about it. Drinking has been part of my life since I was fourteen years old…..And that is a lot of drinking.

​

SIMON

That's a fact.

 

MOlRA

I'm fortunate that Simon doesn't drink. I like a glass of wine, a gin, and a tonic sometimes, but only sometimes.

 

SIMON

What she lacks in alcohol, she makes up for it in clothes.

 

MOlRA

It's a woman's prerogative. What about Teresa?

 

GEORGE

She likes to wear jeans a lot, the very tight ones. She also likes silence and contemplation.

 

SIMON

 

She seems to be a nice woman.

 

GEORGE

 

There is no doubt about it; she is, and without her, I'd be lost now.

 

MOlRA

Since Teresa returned to your life, you have changed dramatically.

​

GEORGE

Except for one tiny little detail: I'm drinking more than ever. I don't know why, but I am.

 

MOlRA

Are you concerned about something?

 

GEORGE

Not as such. You see, I haven't seen Teresa for thirty years, and though every time I've dreamt about her, I only saw the one face I knew of her. The nineteen-year-old I left behind me.

 

SIMON

But that's understandable.

​

GEORGE

(Reminiscing and not talking. When he talks about Teresa, he goes into another world. A world where the only people that lived in it were him and Teresa.)

I was stunned when she came back into my life about three months ago. True, I was speechless at the beginning. That is because she came back into my life, which I  never thought would happen,  but the uncanny thing is. How can I explain it?"

 

MOlRA

Don't you think she's the same woman?

 

SIMON

How can that be?

 

GEORGE

You're both wrong. Teresa is Teresa. I knew her then, and I know her now.  She has hardly changed.

 

MOlRA

(Objectively)

Hardly!

 

GEORGE

Honestly, I swear. And I am serious, too?

 

MOlRA

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

​

GEORGE

True enough, but the fact remains that she did not change.

 

END OF SCENE ONE

 

SCENE TWO

(Later that evening)

(We find George on the sofa, face up, with some sheets of paper on his chest. There is classical romantic music on. Teresa is standing, looking at him from afar. She then moves slowly towards him, and after looking him over, she picks up the sheets of paper and reads them quietly, moves to the chair, sits, and continues to read. When she finishes, she stands and places the papers on the table. She goes beside George and sits on the sofa's edge, looking at him. She starts to stroke his head slowly and, with passion, bends down on him and starts kissing him on the mouth. George doesn't move. She stops kissing him, stands, and sits down again on an armchair with her hands crossed, meditating. George turns sideways and nearly falls to the floor. He takes a grip and sits up, confused. He looks at the armchair and  sees

Teresa)

 

GEORGE

Have you been there long?

 

TERESA

Yes, I like to watch you when you're asleep.

 

GEORGE

I had this weird dream, my love.

(He pours a drink out of an open bottle.)

 

TERESA

I know.

 

GEORGE

You do?

 

TERESA

Yes, my love, you were very restless.

 

GEORGE

(Finishes his drink and stands)

(The sound of the doorbell is heard. Teresa leaves the stage. George exists, right, and comes back in with Moira.)

 

MOlRA

I see that all is well—more than that, you’re flourishing.

 

GEORGE

What are you talking about? You saw me yesterday.

 

MOlRA

Where is Teresa?

 

GEORGE

Need to ask? Sit down. Do you want anything to drink?

 

MOlRA

No thanks, I‘m fine.

​

GEORGE

Well, I’m not and having a glass of wine.

(He refills his glass)

 

MOlRA

I thought you would.

 

GEORGE

Believe it or not, this is my first bottle today.

 

MOlRA

And it’s only half-past eleven. How come?

 

GEORGE

I was so busy sorting out the house and cleaning.

 

MOlRA

(Sarcastically)

Teresa doesn’t help you, then?

 

GEORGE

I don’t let her do anything. I like her the way she is. Is Simon at home?

 

MOlRA

No, he went to Norwich to visit his mother and do some work for her.

 

GEORGE

How come you didn't go with him?

​

MOlRA

His mother doesn't approve of me very much, and anyway, he's staying for a couple of days.

 

GEORGE

I see. Can I tempt you to a glass?"

 

MOlRA

Oh, what the hell! Why not?

 

GEORGE

(He pours wine into a fresh glass, gives it to her, and sits beside her)

To your health.

 

MOlRA

I have a confession to make, but promise me that you won't get cross.

 

GEORGE

That depends.

 

MOlRA

I don't want to say anything if you're like that.

 

GEORGE

Ok, I'm sorry...…

 

MOlRA

It's not true what I've told you.  I wasn't in the neighbourhood. I wanted to come here.

 

GEORGE

Why? What did you want?

 

MOlRA

I like you very much, George; I'm sick and tired. My love life is on hold with Simon. Truth be told, I always carried a torch for you but worried that your friendship with Simon would make you think less of me.

 

GEORGE

 

I'm very fond of you. I have always admired your magnificent body; it's always preying on my mind whenever I see you. But with Teresa, I love too much, especially now, to be unfaithful to her. Unfortunately, life is never that simple.

 

MOlRA

(Moves closer to him)

I am very attracted to you, George.

 

GEORGE

I'm flattered. I don't know what to say.

 

MOlRA

Last summer, when you came to our barbecue, I watched you all the time. You sat by yourself, drinking wine. You hardly touched any food. I came to talk to you more than once, but even when I was talking to other guests, I kept watching you. Then, for some reason, you went into a trance. You were not with us until someone dropped a glass, and the noise brought you back to us. I said to myself, "I wonder what he was thinking", so  I returned to you, but instead of offering you another drink, I brought you a whole bottle.

 

GEORGE

Yes, I remember that.

 

MOlRA

That evening, I fell in love with you.

 

GEORGE

You can't be.

 

MOlRA

Since then, I've had fantasies about you. I'm just a schoolgirl and….....

 

GEORGE

You're married to my friend.

 

MOlRA

That bloody bore!

 

GEORGE

You'd better go now. I don't have the energy for this.

​

MOlRA

Please don't send me away like this. It's because of Teresa.

 

GEORGE

Yes, but that's beside the point; it's none of your business. Besides, why should I always be tempted by you, my best friend's wife?

Haven't I made many husbands suffer enough? I have paid my dues, and I don't deserve to be treated like this anymore.

 

MOlRA

You don't love her.

 

GEORGE

Listen to me, Moira. I'm a big bore, too, like Simon. You don't need this, and I don't either. I have certain principles that I keep, and one of them is that I don't make love to my friends' wives.

 

MOlRA

I like it when you talk about that with so much passion. It's like reciting poetry. Like the poems you write, full of love and lust.

 

GEORGE

Moira, please understand that I have Teresa with me here. She's extremely fragile, and I don't want to upset her. More to the point, I don't want to lose her. Not again, that's for sure. And besides, you know how much I love her. You said the other day that I have changed since she came back.

 

MOlRA

(Breaks in tears)

I did not ask you to leave her…..

 

GEORGE

Oh, for Christ's sake, please don't cry in here!

 

(Moira, without haste, hugs George, and now she's face-to-face with him.) Kiss me, and I'll leave.)

 

GEORGE

(Standing still)

I have no intention of kissing you.

 

MOlRA

You're a liar, and I can see it in your eyes. You have an overwhelming desire to kiss me.

 

(She tries to kiss him, but George stops her.)

 

GEORGE

This is outrageous, Moira.

(He manages to pull away from her as though he is fighting  for   his  sanity, which is more dangerous than a mere kiss.)

Moira, please try to understand. Imagine the dreadful effect it will have on others if....... results from a spontaneous……

 

MOlRA

Nobody needs to know.

 

GEORGE

I am trying to stay calm. I have given you a good explanation. The truth is, in the past, I would have already undressed you and fuck you here in the middle of the room. But now I have Teresa back in my life, and nothing, not everybody, will ruin my happiness again. I prefer my unassuming life, with its downfalls, but at least it's my….... You know, Moira, I like my bottle of wine, a pen, and a piece of paper. I know I can satisfy my desire for your beautiful body and the pleasures I can have with it. But it is a perilous road because if I start something, it will consume all of my feelings, crush them and send them absolutely nowhere.

(He moves to her and caresses her)

Moira, please go now. Go and forget all about what we've said just now.

 

MOlRA

Don't you love me a bit?

 

GEORGE

No, I do not love you. But I would like to touch you; I want to feel you. I would like you to cleanse my boredom and tedious life, which has consumed my heart.

 

MOlRA

Please don't talk to me like that anymore. Just kiss me.

(George moves his head to kiss her, but as he is about to touch her lips, he backs away)

 

GEORGE

No, no, and no. I can't you see, I'm mad with desire for you? Who wouldn't be? But I had so many affairs that went wrong. I've hurt a lot of people with my desires. My Iust ruined a lot of people.

 

MOlRA

I'm still waiting for your answer.

 

GEORGE

I have refused a wonderful offer from an equally wonderful woman. Should I be humiliated?

 

MOlRA

Why do you need so many reasons even for jumping into a bed?

 

GEORGE

Don't you think I've watched you all this time? I've watched you intensely every time I've met you. I have smelled your odour and carried it away with me. I dreamt of you in my sleepless nights. I reached out to you when you were not there. You were a breath of fresh air to me.

 

MOlRA

(Kisses him on the cheeks.)

You are a real poet, after all.

​

GEORGE

This is ridiculous?

 

(He grabs her and starts to kiss her passionately, and as they fall on the sofa……..standing at the doorway, we see Teresa looking at them. She makes no reaction.)

 

END OF ACT ONE