Synopsis:

Wayne and Diane Lowel have been inseparable since they first set eyes on each other in the tenth grade. They have stuck by each other through everything, from the birth of their three beautiful children to their unemployed impoverished days. Wayne loved Diane so much primarily because she did not judge him for his alcoholism, and instead tried to help him recover in any way she could. However, a new strain has been placed on their dynamic: a drunk hit-and-run resulting in the death of a teenage girl. Through the plexiglass shield and officers of the jail separating them, Diane and Wayne must navigate through their romantic tumults, and the true measure of their love is put to the test. How many more wasted accidents can Diane take on her family name?

Character Breakdown:

Diane Lowel: Late 40s. Wife of Wayne Lowel. She has dealt with her own issues of anxiety and depression before, so she finds it easy to relate to Wayne’s struggles. Nevertheless, she is an organized woman with punctual priorities. She is the sole provider of her household, as Wayne becomes less and less reliable as he gets older. Loving and caring mother to her three children Hayden, Chris, and William. Throughout the whole prison affair, her old habits are reawakened and her inner demons cause her to begin questioning her relationship with her husband and her life choices.

Wayne Lowel: Early 50’s, but appears much older. Husband of Diane Lowel. Because of past childhood trauma, he has developed an alcohol problem to help him cope. This problem has taken a huge toll on his life, both personally and relationship wise. His health has deteriorated: liver cancer tumors, dramatic weight loss, graying skin, and premature aging have all plagued him. He never got close to his children nor did they want to; he often scared them with his sudden outbursts and ghostly drooping walk. His one string he hangs on to is Diane, his one true love. As his life crumbles apart due to the accident, his grip on the string becomes ever so tightly as the string begins to shrink.

Various ensemble characters include: Judge, Juror, Police Officer 1, Police Officer 2

Complete blackout. Lights up on Judge’s bench with the JUDGE sitting in it.

JUDGE: (bangs gavel) This court is called to order. The jury has reconvened and has reached a verdict. Jury, you may proceed.

Lights up on HEAD JUROR as they stand.

JUROR: This jury has decided that Wayne Heming Lowel, in the case of the involuntary manslaughter of Emily Barr, has been proven guilty.

JUDGE: (bangs gavel) He shall be sentenced to 15 years jail time, in correspondence with a $25,000 fine to the government and familial estate. Court adjourned!

With another bang of the judge’s gavel, the stage goes black.

Scene change. A buzzer sounds and lights come on. We are now in a prison visitor center room. There is a table and two chairs on either side, with a plexiglass divider in the middle. DIANE sits anxiously on one side, tapping her foot as she waits for her husband’s arrival. A POLICE OFFICER comes out of the door opposite her.

DIANE: Is he coming?

POLICE OFFICER 1: (rather bluntly) Hang tight ma’am, he’s using the restroom.

DIANE: Oh, ok. No rush.

PO 1: None, ma’am, none.

More awkward silence. DIANE is still sitting tapping her feet while the POLICE OFFICER watches her. Finally, WAYNE comes out in an orange jumpsuit and arm restraints. The two try to run up to each other, but are blockaded by the plexiglass shield and WAYNE’S handcuffs. They sit down and stare at each other.

POLICE OFFICER 2: You two have about 20 minutes to chat and then we have to take Mr. Lowel back. We’ll give you two some privacy.

The POLICE OFFICERS leave. DIANE and WAYNE are alone. Although they love each other, they are overwhelmed with emotion to speak for a couple of seconds. Finally, DIANE breaks the ice.

DIANE: Hi honey.

WAYNE: Hi.

DIANE: (hesitant, in a way) How are you?

WAYNE: I mean, not great, considering I’m in prison, but my day has definitely become better since I’ve gotten to see you. (Beat) It’s funny; I feel like I have so much to ask you, but I just can’t put my finger on where to start, or what to say.

DIANE: I know, I came in here with so much to tell you and now, now it just seems I’ve forgotten what to say, or how to say it.

They both let out a slight chuckle. This is visibly awkward for the both of them.

WAYNE: Oh, hey, I wrote you something. (Pulls out a piece of paper) It’s not much but it is something. “To my dearest Diane that I love with all my heart. Your love is everlasting, like a field of daisies in the summer. The sun shines down on the faces of the petals and they smile, just like everyone you bless with your beauty and grace. The warmth you bring to my life comforts me in the most cold times- and there have been many- and your eyes transport me to a different world that allows me to forget my troubles. Together there’s nothing we can’t accomplish, trudging slowly but surely through the hurricane of life. I love you.”

He folds the note up into a paper airplane and shoots it over the plexiglass border. DIANE catches it and looks at it.

DIANE: Wayne, that is so romantic, thank you. I just wish you’d had your guitar so you could’ve written me a little love song.

WAYNE: I haven’t touched that thing since college, I don’t think I’d really know what to write.

The awkwardness starts to fade away. DIANE and WAYNE are warming up into their natural selves again.

WAYNE: So, how are the kids doing?

DIANE: Good good, yeah. Hayden got accepted to University of Virginia; she actually wrote her essay on this whole ordeal, it got her very far. Chris got honor roll again, and baseball season’s about to start so he’s excited for that. And Willy... well he’s just Willy.

WAYNE: Good, great. I didn’t suppose they wanted to come visit, did they?

DIANE: Oh, don’t take it personally Wayne. The kids have been just swamped lately, even too much for them to acknowledge me. You know, I’ll be sitting sometimes on the couch after dinner, watching our shows while the kids are in their rooms doing whatever, and it gets quite lonely. I wish I had you with me. The laughs in the sitcoms aren’t as funny without you.

WAYNE: Believe me, nobody wants me out of here more than myself. I’ve been going crazy, Diane. I feel like a caged, hopeless animal roaming around my cell with nothing to do all day. I find myself looking forward to the bland mush they serve as food, it’s the only nourishment I get from outside this gray block of nothingness.

DIANE: (Beat.) Listen, Emily’s parents called me the other night. I don’t know if they were trying to guilt-trip me or what, but they brought up the funeral. We got to talking and I ended up offering to partially pay for the services. (WAYNE sighs). Believe me, I know. I just figured it’s the least we could do.

WAYNE: The least we could do, Diane, is isolate ourselves from this entire situation. I’m not saying what I did was not wrong, I’m fully aware it was, but those people are leeches. They are milking us for everything that we have. (He tries to put his arm up to the glass to touch DIANE, but his handcuffs keep him back) They won’t let go until they see us suffer for their own grief.

DIANE: Don’t you think I know that? I’m weak, Wayne, I have nothing left in me. I’m working 18 hours a day, picking up double shifts at the hospital, coming home exhausted but suppressing it to provide for my kids, all trying to scrape up this $25,000 we owe the court. You not being home, not being able to see your face when I come home surrenders my defenses, and hearing the Barrs wailing over the phone doesn’t help much either. You know I love you, but life is just too much sometimes, I’ve got to have a break.

Beat.

WAYNE: I’m getting better, babe. I hope you know that. I’m trying for you, for the kids, for us.

DIANE: Wayne, I know. I’ve always known, and you have too. But I can’t keep fighting this fight alone.

A tear rolls down her face. She touches the glass. WAYNE stares at her hand intently.

WAYNE: But you’re not alone. We have each other. We’ll always have each other to…

DIANE: (She cuts him off) For the past 30 or so years, I have stuck by your side without restraint. All the highs and lows we rode together. Throughout all your addiction problems, we rode together. You were my rock, my everything. But Wayne, honey, you killed a girl. Look at the gravity of this situation. This is not just another drunk blackout or poisoning incident. I’ve lived alone, disconnected from you and from the world these last couple of months. I don’t know how much more of this I can take.

WAYNE: (With apparent frustration) But I am getting better! And I love you for all that it matters. I love you, and I won’t stop saying it because I do. I’ve made mistakes, sure, but there is nothing we cannot ride through, like you said.

DIANE: My love for you will never lessen in its passion. It’s simply because of this passion that I have decided to come here, face you, and pour my heart to you.

Beat.

WAYNE: I always loved how no matter what the circumstance, we always were able to think in sync. (Slight chuckle) You signed me up, didn’t you?

DIANE: It’s for the best. A couple of months up north should clear your head of all this darkness and fear. Me here staring at you, Wayne Heming Lowel, I can say that you aren’t the man I fell in love with all those years ago. I want my old Wayne back, the one that strummed his guitar while I hummed a tune, the one that never missed a joke at the right time, the one who’d turn up the car radio, open the windows, and scream his favorite songs up to the clouds while cruising down the empty side streets.

They both reach for the glass. DIANE rests her palms on the shield while WAYNE rests his forehead where her hands would be.

WAYNE: (Hums) “I’m all out of love, I’m so lost without you. I know you were right believing for so long, I’m all out of love, what am I without you. I can’t be too late to say I was wrong…”

As he sings, DIANE instantly recognizes the tune and giggles.

DIANE: (Whispering) Hey, I love you. I don’t say that enough. Everything will be alright.

WAYNE: If you say so.

They gaze into each other’s eyes. DIANE puts her forehead up to WAYNE’S. For the moment, it seems the plexiglass barrier had disappeared. POLICE OFFICER 2 re-enters the room.

PO2: Alright, Mr. Lowel, time to head back. Have a nice day Mrs. Lowel.

They share a final look as WAYNE is escorted off stage. A buzzer sounds. DIANE grips her purse. Blackout.