The bitter legacy of Dumas.

Characters:

• Celia
• Dumas
• Paola (Celia's daughter)
• Antonia (Dumas' sister)

Scene I

Interior / dark room / Night

(An older woman, very thin, is seated in the armchair, her daughter, also slim, is standing with her. The older woman holds the beloved man's guitar in her hands and gently strokes the strings, causing the sound of random notes. Only the dim light of an old lamp illuminates her misery and she can be seen wiping her tears violently as if she wants to tear her face off. She speaks to her daughter in a tired voice).

Celia: How could I let myself go through this? At my age you shouldn't be playing at being in love anymore.

Paola: Stop punishing yourself mom, it's just a disappointment. All women have been through this, don't pretend it's your first time.

Celia: Honey, is that I'm 58 years old, things don't feel the same through time. When you're young, you survive disappointments in love as if it were a feat. You boast about how strong you have been, how sensibly you acted, what you said and also what you didn't say; everything is a source of pride. Others applaud you as if you were an adventurer returning from a dangerous exploration with your hands full of treasures found. But at 58 years old, you are already tired for adventures, you come back from every trip empty-handed, you regret what you said, what you didn't say and everything you did. Nobody applauds you because the only thing you feel and transmit is sorrow. Look at you there, my own daughter watching me with her best pitiful face.

Paola: Don't be so hard on yourself mom, Dumas is a man and they are all the same. Just like us, we go through the same thing no matter our age.

Celia: You won't think the same when you're old.

(The daughter leaves the room and Celia continues to caress the guitar while the night hours go by.)

Scene II

Interior / lighted room / Day.

(Celia is still sitting in the same armchair, pale as a terrifying statue. This time the guitar lies in pieces on the floor. The phone rings and Celia shudders, and hurries to answer the call)

Celia: Dumas, is that you?

Antonia: Honey, it's me, Antonia. I was calling to see how you are.

Celia: And how am I doing, Antonia? Desperate, I haven't heard from your brother for two weeks. He left without saying goodbye, left his guitar, his pajamas on my bed and a cup of undrunk coffee on the bedside table. What have I done to hi?

Antonia: Honey, I can only tell you to be patient, Dumas has always been like that. He's a lonely and misunderstood wolf, but maybe he'll be back soon.

Celia: I hope so, because it's getting late for both of us.

(Celia hangs up the phone, standing for a moment thinking about the call. When she hears a couple of knocks on her door and then Paola's voice.)

Paola: Mom, come and eat, you been 2 days without a bite to eat.

Celia: I'm not hungry, leave me alone.

Paola: At least open the door, I want to see you.

Celia: I can't open it for you honey, come later, because in the daylight I can clearly see the sorrow in your eyes and that tears me apart even more.

(Paola leaves and Celia lies down on the edge of the bed. She sleeps between sobs until the night, suddenly the noise of the telephone wakes her up abruptly.)

Celia: Dumas?

Dumas: Yes Celia, it's me.

Celia: Honey, you're driving me crazy. Don't you think about me? Do you care so little about me? If I've hurt you, then tell me and I'll accept any dramatic punishment, but don't subject me to your absence, for I don't feel strong enough to bear it.

Dumas: I can't talk much now. Tomorrow I'll stop by your house at 9am and we'll have a good talk, wait for me.

(The call ends. Celia looks unusually refreshed. Immediately her face uncrosses, she begins to speak aloud to herself.)

Celia: Who does this man think he is? Am I an undesirable beast that he can abandon at will? Tomorrow I will tell him that his actions are unworthy of a man and end my martyrdom. I will hand him his broken guitar, his folded pajamas, his cold cup of coffee and his twisted image full of unspeakable memories. I will tell him everything, I will exorcise myself.

Scene III

Interior / Illuminated room / Daytime

(The room looks clean and tidy. Everything seems ready to receive Dumas. You see the broken guitar, the folded pajamas and cup coffee intact at one end of the couch. Celia sits down to wait, the clock on the wall reads past 9am. Dumas doesn't arrive and Celia shakes her leg and looks at the clock. She jumps when the phone rings)

Celia: How dare you stand me up you bastard. I'm a bundle of anguish How could I ever believe your promises again? I hate you Dumas and I will hate you forever.

Antonia: Celia, it's Antonia. I'm calling to tell you that Dumas died a few hours ago. The doctors say it was a heart attack. I'll be busy with funeral arrangements, I just wanted to let you know.

(Celia drops the phone, her face is unhinged. Tears begin to fall from her eyes, she looks at Dumas' things on her couch, a shriek of pain breaks her throat.)

Celia: My life, you left as you like, without saying goodbye. You leave me of cursed inheritance your broken guitar, your folded pajamas, your cold cup coffee and the painful memory of our ephemeral love.

(The lights go out softly, in the room only Celia's moans can be heard, suggesting to the audience the unbearable certainty that she will never be able to get Dumas out of her into).