Short Play: Lessons in Love

Lessons in Love   

At the wedding studio, Emma is in the fitting room and she has already tried many wedding dresses for about eight hours. Gerry walks back and forth in front of the fitting room and then picks up and reads the newspaper. He feels bored and he is impatient with her hesitation.

Emma    (She comes out the fitting room and stands in front of a full-length mirror)What do you think about this one?

Gerry    It’s beautiful. Very suitable for you. (He speaks impatiently, reads newspaper, and doesn’t look up)

Emma   (Walk close to Gerry and pull away his newspaper) You don’t look at me. How do you know it is suitable for me?

Gerry   (Look up) Oh! You are so beautiful.

Emma   Really? But……I think it is too expensive.

Gerry’s cell phone is ringing

Gerry   (He answers the phone) Mom……okay, we will go home in twenty minutes. (After hanging up the phone, he walks close to Emma and hugs her.) We have to go. My mom has prepared some delicious dishes for us and she is waiting for us for a long time. You can buy any kind of wedding dress if you like. I don’t care about the money. I love you. I hope you will be the most beautiful bride in the world.

Emma    (She pushes him away, walks around the wedding studio, and looks every piece of wedding dresses) I know. But I don’t want to squander our money on the wedding dress. We will spend lot of money in the future. I want to have children. Raising children is money-consuming.

Gerry    (He hurries to go but he has to comfort her first) Wedding is also important. It will be a wonderful memory.

Emma   (She puts down the wedding dress she likes most and takes the cheaper one.) Okay, I want this one. Although this is not my favorite, it is enough.

After they buy the wedding dress, they arrive at Gerry’s home.

Gerry    Hi, mom. I’m home.

Mother   (She comes out of kitchen.) Hello! I have been waiting for you so long. What kind of wedding dress did you choose? Let me see.

Emma    I chose this one. (Show the picture to his mother) Actually, this is not my favorite. But my favorite one is so expensive that I couldn’t buy it. I think we have to save money but Gerry thinks I should buy what I really want.

Mother   I agree with what Gerry said. I also want you to be the most beautiful bride in the world.

Emma    Think you, mom. Gerry, do you smell? I smell something burning.

Mother   Oh! I forget I am cooking. (Running to the kitchen)

After his mother runs to the kitchen and cooks for dinner, Emma and Gerry watch TV and chat.

Emma    (murmur) I don’t know……

Gerry    What did you say?

Emma    I said I don’t understand why your mother and you can spend money like that. You have many useless things at home. (She opens the shoes cabinet) Look! There are so many expensive shoes.

Gerry     (He feels angry and turns of the TV.) I also don’t understand why you always criticize my habits. I like to buy. I work hard. I spend money I earn, is it wrong?

Emma    (She turns on the TV because she doesn’t want Gerry’s mother to hear their quarrel.) Even though you spend money you earn, you still cannot waste. In the past, you like to waste money. That’s your problem. But NOW we will live together. You have to think about our future. Could you respect me?

Gerry    You need to respect me as well. I don’t want to argue with you. I want to buy a coffee. I will come back before dinner. Do you want a cup of coffee? (Gerry opens the door and leaves)

Emma    (She runs to the doorstep and yells) No! You can’t leave now. We have to solve this problem.

After Gerry buys a coffee, he comes home with his friend, Henry. They open the door. Gerry’s mother just walks out of kitchen and takes the dish in her hand.

Gerry    Mom, this is my friend, Henry. I have ever told you. I met him on my way home so I invited him to have dinner with us.

Henry    Hello, I am Henry. Nice to meet you.

Mother   Nice to meet you too. Welcome! We will have dinner in a minute.

They sit around dining table.

Henry   When will you get married?

Gerry   Next month.

Henry   I want to hold a bachelor party for you.

Mother  Bachelor party! Sounds interesting. (She says as she puts the dishes on the table and Emma helps her. Two men sit there and wait to eat)

Emma   (Emma helps taking the dishes from the kitchen and puts it on the table) Not interesting at all.

Gerry   What’s wrong? Just a party.

Emma   It’s a bachelor party. There will be so many hot girls and wines. You will get out of control. You can’t go to that party.

Henry   Don’t worry. Just a few girls and wines. It’s fun.

Gerry   Okay, I will go to the party. You can tell me when and where.

Emma   (Put down her knife and fork heavily) I say again you can’t go to that party.

Henry   Sorry, I have to go. (He feels something is wrong. He doesn’t want to hear their argument so he hurries to go.)

Gerry   Okay, bye. See you soon. (Gerry walks Henry to the door. After Henry leaves, he closes the door and walks back.) Why? You tell me the reason why I can’t go to the party.

Emma   You dare say you want to go to the party. I prepare the wedding every day and night. I am worried about many things about our wedding all the time. You don’t care about our wedding. You don’t care about me.

Gerry   I care about our wedding. I care about you.

Emma   I never feel it. It’s difficult to decide who to invite to the wedding. But you never do these things with me. Do you know who to invite?

Gerry   I don’t know.

Emma  You never help me. Now, you even want to go to this kind of party. I am so disappointed. Maybe I have to think carefully whether to marry you.

Gerry   I want to help you but I don’t know how to do. Our wedding is approaching. I am afraid that I have to take the responsibilities after marriage. I fear that I am not able to take that kind of huge responsibilities. I also have to think whether to cancel our wedding. I want to go now.

Emma   I don’t want to see you again.

Emma wants to pack up her belongings she lays in Gerry’s house. In Gerry’s bedroom, she finds a big cardboard box. She is curious about that box because she never see that box before. Therefore, she opens it and sees a pram.

Emma   He remembers. He remembers that I want have a baby. (She opens the shoes cabinet and finds many shoes for children she never sees)So many shoes, is it for our baby?

At that time, Gerry comes home. He takes a bag.

Gerry   I ……(Emma and Gerry speak at the same time.)

Emma   I ……(Emma and Gerry speak at the same time.)

Gerry   I don’t want to leave you. (Both of them say same words at the same time.)

Emma   I don’t want to leave you. (Both of them say same words at the same time.)

Emma  I think seriously I still want to marry you. I want to live with you in the rest of my life. Although our values are different sometimes, we can embrace those differences and respect each other if we love each other.

Gerry’s mother appears. She hears all the things. She is happy to see they make up with each other.

Mother   I am glad to see you make up with each other. I bake a chocolate cake. I know Emma love chocolate cake.

Emma   Why do you know？

Mother  Gerry told me.

Gerry   I want to give you a surprise.

Emma   What’s surprise?

Gerry   (He opens the bag and takes out the wedding dress Emma likes most. He gets down on his knees and proposes to her again.) Do you want to marry me?

Emma   Yes, I do. (She bursts into tear with happiness. She goes to bedroom to wear that wedding dress. She comes out of bedroom.)

Gerry    You will be the most beautiful bride in the world. (Gerry hugs her and they hugs for a long time.)

The End