Lynne Kaufman, playwright
Brittany, 20, sits on the edge of her bed, crying. Kurt, 59, stands in the doorway of Brittany’s room.
BRITTANY
I’m disappointed in myself and I’m angry with myself.
KURT
Why is that, young lady?
BRITTANY
I’m... I’m not acting like an adult.
KURT
You’re twenty years old. It’s not time for you to be an adult yet.
BRITTANY
I have a daughter!
KURT
I know you do, and I know you love your daughter very much.
BRITTANY
She should be with me!
KURT
I agree. How are you going to make that happen?
BRITTANY
I don’t know! There are so many things I should be doing!
Silence.
KURT
Being an adult is hard, Brittany.
BRITTANY
(quiet)
I know.
KURT
I’m fifty-nine years old and I struggle everyday to be an adult and I my parents loved me and cared about me.
BRITTANY
My mother loves me!
KURT
What have I always told you about love?
BRITTANY
(angry)
I don’t know!
KURT
Love is an action verb.
Silence.
KURT
I don’t want to fight with you about your mother. She’s not the issue here.
Silence.
BRITTANY
I need to act like an adult.
KURT
You’ve got a million things you need to do.
BRITTANY
I do. It’s a huge list.
KURT
And how many of ‘em can you do right now?
BRITTANY
All of ‘em!
KURT
(slowly)
How many of them can you do right now?
BRITTANY
I can do one of them right now.
KURT
That’s the adult answer. You can do one of them right now and when that one’s done, then you can do another one.
BRITTANY
I don’t know where to start!
Silence.
KURT
Start by taking a deep breath.
Kurt takes a deep breath and looks at Brittany. Brittany takes a swallow breath.
KURT
Deep breath... and let it out slow.
Kurt takes a deep breath and lets it out slow. Brittany takes a deep breath and lets it out slow.
BRITTANY
(still impatient)
Now what?
KURT
I want to remind you of some things.
BRITTANY
What?!
KURT
Do you remember what it was like when you first came to live with us?
BRITTANY
I had just gotten out of a Residential Treatment Facility.
KURT
They had you drugged to the gills.
BRITTANY
I don’t hardly remember those first couple of months.
KURT
You were a zombie. You were so drugged that you didn’t wake up in the middle of the night when you had to pee. You were twelve years old and you wet the bed every night.
BRITTANY
You don’t have to remind me!
KURT
You just wanted to go home to your mommy.
BRITTANY
But my mommy didn’t want me.
KURT
I know.
(silence)
But we wanted you.
Silence.
BRITTANY
I know.
KURT
Your daddy was in prison. Your mother had dropped you off at a kiddie mental institution and wouldn’t pick you up. You were doped up and...
(smiling)
... slight overweight.
BRITTANY
I was fat!
(smiling)
You’ve still got that picture of me in front of the Christmas Tree, don’t you?
KURT
It’s on my screensaver.
BRITTANY
I hate that picture.
KURT
I think it’s an important picture.
BRITTANY
Why?!
KURT
It’s a reminder of where you were. It’s a reminder of how much you’ve come through. It’s a reminder of how strong you are.
Silence.
KURT
It’s hard being an adult. You don’t always get to have all the fun you think you ought to have, but what you get in place of fun, and as you know, that fun ain’t all that fun...
BRITTANY
(sigh)
I know...
KURT
You know what you get in place of fun? Something far more valuable.
BRITTANY
What?
KURT
Self-respect.
Silence.
KURT
I love you, Brittany.
BRITTANY
I love you guys.
End of play.
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