Part Two of the Khalil Short Play Series

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THE DATE - (c) 2005 Cherie Renae

Characters:
Khalil, a man in his early 90's
Joe, a man in his 80's, the husband of Khalil's late cousin, Marion
May, Khalil's wife
Esther, Joe's new friend

Scene: A living room with a comfortable couch and two recliner (or other) chairs. There is a coffee table, and a TV sits in the corner. Add homey touches such as pictures on the table and pillows for the couch. A door is visible.

(Khalil and May are in the living room, moving nervously around and straightening pictures, fluffing pillows, etc. They keep undoing each other's work.)

May: Khalil! Put that pillow down! I just straightened it!

Khalil: (Putting the pillow down and grousing.) I don't know why we couldn't just sit at the kitchen table. The kitchen table doesn't need fluffing. The coffee pot is there. Why couldn't we sit in the kitchen!

May: Khalil, you don't know a thing about dating. You don't take a woman for a date to a stranger's kitchen!

Khalil: Oh, but a stranger's living room is fine, huh? (muttering) I should never have said anything to Joe. (louder) I don't even know this woman! Is she like us? I never asked Joe. What if she's…different?

May: Stop. Just stop. I won't let you ruin this evening for Joe. This is his big chance! He deserves to have someone special in his life.

Khalil: He does. He has us. We're family. What more does a man of his age need?

May: (Shakes her head and rolls her eyes.) A lot you know. Maybe I'll just go visit my sister for a couple of months. Then we'll see what a man of your age needs. Huh. Who would cook your meals? Who would clean? Who would make your coffee in the morning?

Khalil: You don't need to act offended. I wasn't talking about us. I was talking about Joe. He's used to being alone.

(May stops fluffing a pillow, and just looks at Khalil with raised eyebrows.)

Khalil: (Raising his hands in the air.) All right! All right! What do I know? I was just saying, that's all.

(There is a knock at the door.)

May: I'll get it. Straighten your shirt. Smile!

(May opens the door.)

May: Joe! Come in! (She looks around outside.) Where is your lady friend?

Joe: (Walks in, removes his hat, stands there nervously, twisting his hat in his hands.) She said she preferred to take the cab directly to your place. She's not here yet? She said she would be here at 7 o'clock. What time is it? Am I late? Is she late? Oh, dear, what if she doesn't come? What if –

May: Joe. It's only ten 'til seven. She's not late. You're not late. In fact, this is good. You'll be here when she gets here. That's good, right?

Joe: Yes, I guess so. What if she doesn't like me? What if she doesn't like coming here? Maybe this wasn't the right place for a first date. What if she doesn't like me? Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

Khalil: Maybe it wasn't. Is she…like us? Will we like her?

May: (sharply) Khalil! Of course we're going to like her! What kind of a question is that?

Khalil: (sheepishly) I was just asking, that's all.

May: (to Joe) Joe, this was a wonderful suggestion. I bet she really liked the idea of meeting in someone's home, rather than having the pressure of going out to a restaurant or movie. And we're thrilled to have company, you know that.

Joe: She did act like she was pleased when I asked her. She said ‘yes' right away. I was surprised.

May: (laughing) You shouldn't be surprised Joe. You're quite a catch, you know. Your back is straight, you still have some hair, and you have all your teeth.

Khalil: What, so he's a horse now? How are his hindquarters? I hear the ladies like hindquarters these days.

(May looks at Khalil in shock, opens her mouth for a retort. Just then, the doorbell rings.)

May: I'll get it. (to Khalil) You'd better be on your best behavior! No horse jokes!

Khalil: (to Joe) So maybe you can't believe everything you hear in the movies.

May: (Opens the door.) Hello! You must be Esther. Please come in.

(Esther walks in carrying a covered basket. She is dressed simply but elegantly.)

Esther: Yes, I'm Esther. Thank you for inviting me to your home. It was very kind of you.

May: It was nothing. We love to have company. Khalil has the gout, so it's hard for us to get out. We appreciate when people visit us. Thank you for coming. Let me introduce my husband, Khalil. You know Joe, of course.

Esther: Hello, Joe! Hello, Khalil. It's nice to meet you. Joe has said many nice things about you. (She holds out the basket to May.) I brought a basket of fresh rolls. I baked them this afternoon. I hope you eat rolls? I know a lot of people are on that Adkins diet, and don't eat bread anymore.

May: We love fresh bread. How thoughtful of you! Please, sit down while I take this into the kitchen and bring out the coffee.

Esther: Oh, let me come help you.

(The two women exit the stage, talking and laughing together. The two men are left standing in the middle of the room)

Khalil: (clears his throat) Well. She seems like a very nice lady. And I don't think she would look at a man's backside.

Joe: No, I don't think so, either. Good thing for me.

(They both laugh.)

Joe: Well, the date seems to be going well so far.

Khalil: Yes, they seem to be getting on just fine. May never stops talking. She's good at this dating thing.

Joe: I wish I was.

(Khalil sits in a chair. Joe sits on the couch. The two ladies return with cups of coffee. They hand them to the men. Esther sits down with Joe. May sits in the other chair.)

Esther: May was telling me that you are a war hero, Joe. She said you earned many medals and decorations.

Joe: (looks embarrassed) Oh, it was nothing. Besides, that was a long time ago.

Esther: The way a man behaves in the worst of circumstances says a lot about his character. I'm very impressed, Joe.

Joe: Really? I mean, thank you.

Khalil: Yes, we were very proud of Joe. He was in the newspaper and everything. We have the clippings in a scrapbook still. And when he got back, he opened a service station right in the middle of town. It was the best station in the city. They would vacuum out your car, check your oil, and wash your windows, all for free while you were getting your gas tank filled. He was a good businessman.

May: Khalil, we shouldn't brag about our Joe's success.

Khalil: Why not? He was good at business. And he gave a lot of money to church and to other charities. He started the food bank at church. I think we should brag about Joe. He was wonderful to my cousin, Marian, too. You should have seen how he took care of her, there at the end of her illness. He is a good man. You'd be lucky to get him, Esther.

May: Khalil!

Esther: (laughing) It's OK, May. Really. I'm happy to hear stories about Joe. I knew him when we were in grade school. It's wonderful to hear about the man he became.

Joe: Enough about me. What about you, Esther? What did you do after you moved away?

Esther: Oh, after high school I went to college, then I taught English for thirty years. My husband, Bob, was a teacher, too. He taught children with special needs. From all over the district, they were put in his classroom. He taught them to read and write, and he taught them a lot of life skills, too. Many of ‘his' kids were able to live independently and find jobs. He was so proud of each of them.

May: Speaking of kids, where are your kids living now?

Esther: Oh, Bob and I never were able to have children of our own. Over the years, we took in kids from his classes, those whose own families weren't able to take care of them. They were like our own children. I still get cards and letters from many of them.

Khalil: Sounds like Joe would be lucky to get you, too.

Joe: That's what I think.

May: (laughing) Well, they aren't exactly smooth talkers, but they are good men, Esther.

Esther: (smiling) I agree, May.

Khalil: Say, Esther, are you a card player?

Esther: I used to play pinochle, but it's been a while.

Khalil: Great! We love pinochle. Would you like to play? We could go to the kitchen table and have pie and more coffee. (He looks over at May.) That is, if that's OK with you?

May: That sounds like a wonderful idea.

Joe: (with a big smile) May I escort you to the kitchen, Esther?

(The couples stand and walk off stage arm-in-arm.)

THE END

---(c) 2006 Cherie Renae - may not be reproduced without permission

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