T: Barbara and Tom must be worried sick.
D: Yeah…It gives me a lump in my throat just thinking about it.
T: Me, too.
D: Sort of brings me back to the time when Junior was premature—it’s very touch and go.
T: Brings you back to the basics, doesn’t it?
D: What do you mean?
T: Living. Life. Death. The people that you love. Other than that, the rest of it’s baggage, isn’t it?
D: I guess so.
T: (long, loaded pause) Dixie?
D: Yeah?
T: (Another long pause) Do you want this divorce? Because I don’t. (emphatically) I don’t. Can’t we just get rid of the baggage and start over again?
~*~*~*~*
D: You think that we could forget the bad things?
T: I think that what we had was so wonderful that we owe it to ourselves to at least try to get it back.
D: And start over?
T: Yes. Let’s start with the feelings that we have for each other. Or had, before all this trivial nonsense.
D: Trivial? You think sleeping with another woman is trivial?
T: Alright, alright, I used the wrong word. I apologize. It wasn’t trivial. But it’s certainly not so earth-shatteringly significant that we have to destroy the rest of our lives together…
D: (interrupting him) Oh, see there’s the big difference between you and me.
T: Dixie, I’m not trying to justify what I did. I’m just saying that I wasn’t starting another relationship by doing it.
D: I don’t understand you. I don’t understand you at all.
T: You do understand me! You understand me very well, but you’re too darn stubborn. You don’t want to give up being angry—that’s what’s going on here.
D: That’s not true! It hurts like hell not being with you!
T: (long pause) It hurts me too. It hurts me too, that’s what I’m trying to tell you.
D: No, it couldn’t. It could not. It could not.
T: Why?
D: It could not! You could not feel that way.
T: Why? Because you’re the only person who’s entitled to feelings like that, is that it?
D: No, No! Because you couldn’t feel that way. Because the idea of somebody touching me, or somebody kissing me…What you did was unthinkable, Tad!
T: How many times do you want me to apologize for that? A thousand times? I would get down on my knees for you, if you’d just ask me to!
D: How could you sleep with another woman? You brought her into our bed, Tad.
T: Don’t, don’t, don’t do that.
D: No, I could never do something like that. Never in a million years—but you have no problem doing that. Not one problem. (starting to cry) I had to walk in there and see another woman’s clothes all over my apartment.
T: You’re never going to let me live it down, are you? (getting angry) You just want to stick in the knife and twist it every time you see me.
D: Oh, that is not true. It just proves that, rock bottom, we are not the same.
T: No, it proves that, rock bottom, I made one stupid mistake. Just ONE!
D: Oh, no! You have a problem with the marriage and you know what do you do? You just go and you hop into the nearest bed.
T: ONE time. ONE stupid mistake!
D: ONE time with me, how many times with Hillary?
T: (Long, loaded pause as Tad stares at Dixie, unable to believe that she’s dragging Hillary into it) That’s good. That’s great. Is that what you want to do? You want to score points by dragging out my history? Is that what you’re after?
D: Well, I think that really I should have listened to your past history in the first place.
T: Good, you’re doing fine. Keep going, c’mon.
D: Oh, you want to hear more? I think I should have listened to your history, Tad, because maybe it would have taught me what you’re into—you’re into short cuts.
T: Short cuts? What the hell’s that supposed to mean?
D: It’s supposed to mean that you don’t want to work on a marriage, you don’t want to work on a marriage at all. You just want to hop into a bed with any woman that walks by!
T: What the hell do you call sleeping with Adam Chandler? Primal therapy?
D: (totally unable to believe that he would make so low a hit, she can barely keep herself from crying) There it is. (choking the words out) There it is, the mean streak. Well, I’ll tell you something... (grabbing her wedding band, she yanks it off her hand). You take this marriage and you stick it! (crying outright, she throws the ring at Tad) because I am SICK of you!!
At the sound of the most recent round of shouting, Jack opens the door and re-enters his office.
Jack: Hey, hey, hey—what’s going on here? They can hear you two across town?
T: This is our little version of reconciliation, Jack. Tell you what—why don’t you whip out that paperwork right how, huh? Divorce is starting to look a lot better.
Scene fades out with Tad and Dixie staring at each other, both furious.
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