Full-length play

Aftermath

A Play by William Ivor Fowkes

 

Creating a new life after the old one is snatched away

 

After the collapse of their respective marriages, two newly-out gay fathers who used to live in the same town embark on a challenging relationship. In the aftermath of divorce, and still mourning the death of his best friend and male lover of many years, Graham Walker is juggling his new identity, a relationship with an ex-wife who can't make sense of what happened, his desire to come out to his young sons despite her objections, and the news that she is already getting remarried. Chip Miller faces similar challenges although the end of his marriage is much more explosive and public--the result of a gay sex scandal splashed across the front pages of the tabloids--and his family has moved away after the embarrassment of the scandal. While their common circumstances and mutual attraction bring Graham and Chip together, their very different histories and conflicting approaches to navigating their new gay lives diminish their chances for success as a couple. 


LENGTH: 90 minutes

CAST: 3M, 3F 

SETTING: Bronxville, NY; Manhattan; Montclair, NY; and Provincetown, MA.

TIME: 1992 to 2000

 


PRODUCTION NOTE: AFTERMATH is a "standalone" full-length play that may be performed on its own or together with the other 2 plays (ROOMMATES and MARRIAGE) that make up THE BRONXVILLE TRILOGY, or Marriages of Inconvenience. (AFTERMATH is the third play in the trilogy and includes a PROLOGUE and an EPILOGUE when performed with the other 2 plays.)


SCENE 1

 

PROJECTION: “1992, The Elm Rock Country Club” 

 

EMCEE (VOICE)

Ladies and gentlemen, let’s give a big hand to the Harvest Moon Dance Couple of the Year—Doug and Libby Schmidt! 

 

Sound of applause. Music begins to play. 

 

Scene: DEBBIE CARLSEN and KITTY WALKER (both age 37) watch the Harvest Moon Dance Couple offstage. 

 

DEBBIE

That’s such a sweet sight. I just love the Schmidts!

 

KITTY

Doug’s very nice. He always stops and chats whenever we run into each other. And Libby! She’s like Super Woman—she just finished her second round of chemotherapy, and now she’s twirling around the dance floor like it never happened.

 

DEBBIE

(sullenly)

I just don’t get it. Cancer and Bronxville. The two don’t belong together.

 

KITTY

Well, it happens—here as well as anywhere else.

 

DEBBIE

Yeah—but the combination! I mean we have the best of all possible lives here in Bronxville, right?

 

KITTY

If you say so.

 

DEBBIE

You’re always so critical! I do say so. But cancer—it’s like the worst possible thing that could happen to anyone. It’s all just so tragic.

 

KITTY

I guess it’s a reminder to appreciate Graham and Dan while we’ve got them. You never know how long our marriages—our lives—will last. “Gather ye rosebuds” and all that.

 

DEBBIE

God, you’re such a downer, Kitty!

 

KITTY

I think that’s a very uplifting thought. Never take anything for granted. It could all disappear in a flash. That just means everything’s that much more precious.

 

DEBBIE

I wish you hadn’t said that. Now you’ve got me worrying I’m gonna lose Dan.

 

KITTY

You’re not gonna lose Dan!

 

DEBBIE

Have you forgotten our conversation last week when we were complaining about how our sex lives have dried up?  

 

KITTY

(more quietly and urgently)

Keep it down, Debbie. That’s not something for public consumption.

 

DEBBIE

Sorry. Well, I’ve been worrying all week about how to make things better, and now you’re reminding me that either of our husbands could drop dead any second! That’s not very comforting, Katherine!

 

KITTY

You and Dan are fine!

 

DEBBIE

As fine as you and Graham?

 

KITTY

We’re all fine!

 

DEBBIE

(starting to break down)

I wish that were true. I’ve got to make things better. I miss Dan so much! I love him—I don’t know if he knows that.

 

KITTY

He knows that!

 

DEBBIE

(getting upset)

I’ve got to make sure he knows that! Where is he already?

 

KITTY

They just went to get drinks.

(looking offstage)

See—they’re already on their way back.

 

DEBBIE

(calling out)

Dan! I love you!

 

GRAHAM and DAN (both age 40) return with drinks. DAN tries to hand DEBBIE her drink.

 

DAN

Here you go, darling!

 

DEBBIE hugs and kisses DAN profusely.

 

DEBBIE

Dan! Dan! I love you! Do you love me, too?

 

DAN tries to balance the drinks while Debbie hugs him.

 

DAN

Yes, of course, I love you.

(insisting)

Now here—take this!

 

DEBBIE

(finally accepting the drink)

Oh, thank you! Thank you! 

 

DAN

Whoa—careful. You’ll spill it!

 

Meanwhile, GRAHAM sloppily hands KITTY her drink.  

 

GRAHAM

(drunkenly)

And here you go, darling—your own special elixir prepared by Bronxville’s very best mix master, Elm Rock’s head bartender himself! 

 

KITTY

Are you all right?

 

GRAHAM

Hope you don’t mind—I got a little head start on you.

 

KITTY

(annoyed)

Graham, how many drinks have you had?

 

GRAHAM

Just one. 

(beat)

No, wait—two!

(puzzling) 

Or was it three?

 

KITTY

Graham, we didn’t join the Elm Rock Country Club so you could make a public spectacle of yourself. 

 

GRAHAM

You mean I paid thirty thousand dollars and still have to behave myself?

 

DEBBIE

(to Dan)

You never told me it cost that much!

 

DAN

I don’t tell you everything, dear.

 

DEBBIE

I hope the drinks are free, at least.

 

GRAHAM

Nothing’s free, Debbie. Everything goes on the account.

 

KITTY

Then that’s another reason to take it easy, Graham. 

 

GRAHAM

(joking)

Are you kidding? That’s precisely my motivation—I’m drinking away your inheritance!

 

KITTY

Graham! 

(beat)

Watch it—the Millers! 

 

GRAHAM

(to Dan)

What does that mean— “watch it the millers”?

 

SALLY and CHIP MILLER (both age 34) enter.

 

GRAHAM

Oh, those Millers!

 

SALLY MILLER

(chipper) 

Hey, everyone! 

 

DEBBIE

Hey, Sally!

 

SALLY

You all know my husband, Chip, don’t you? 

 

The men shake hands. 

 

GRAHAM

(a bit much)

Yes, we do, but we’d like to get to know him much better.

 

GRAHAM stares at CHIP and holds his hand a moment too long. CHIP pulls his hand away.

 

SALLY

How are little Bobby and David? 

 

DEBBIE

Fine!

 

KITTY

Great! 

 

DEBBIE

And little Alexandria?

 

SALLY

She’s growing so fast, it’s hard to believe she’s only two!

 

GRAHAM continues to stare at CHIP as he sips his drink. CHIP seems distracted.

 

GRAHAM

(to Chip)

Is your daughter in class with the boys?

 

KITTY

(to Graham)

You know Alexandria! She’s been to the house. She’s very pretty.   

 

GRAHAM

Of course, she is—look at her father!  

 

SALLY

I have to tell you the cutest thing. The other day, Alexandria looked puzzled when she was playing with her dolls, and when I asked her what was wrong, she said, “I can’t decide whether to marry David or Bobby.” Can you imagine? She has such a crush on them—on both of them!

 

GRAHAM

(joking)

Well, if this weren’t Bronxville, I’d tell her she could have them both. But that’s not how we do things around here, is it?  

            

CHIP

(finally brightening—laughing)

That’s right, only one wife and one husband per household. I think it’s a village ordinance.

 

KITTY

(extending the joke)

No, I think the ordinance only says no more than two adults per household. It doesn’t specify gender. There are two men living together down the Hill from us on Tanglewylde. And there must be a few pairs of old spinsters tucked away in town somewhere.

 

SALLY

Oh, I know the men you mean! Very nice, but I always wonder how happy they can possibly be living in a place like Bronxville. 

 

GRAHAM

(angrily)

What’s wrong with two men living together?! This is a free country!

 

KITTY

Graham! Please.

 

GRAHAM

I want to know why they can’t live in Bronxville as well as anywhere else!

 

SALLY

(gingerly)

You know, with all the kids around. They don’t have children, so I just mean they must feel left out. It’s kind of sad, really.   

 

GRAHAM

There’s nothing sad about it!

 

KITTY

OK, Graham—there’s nothing sad about it. Now relax, please.

 

DAN

Hey, everybody, why don’t we head inside and show the Harvest Moon Couple of the Year a fancy step or two?

 

DEBBIE latches onto DAN. 

 

DEBBIE

Good idea, honey. Let’s go! 

 

The group starts to exit. GRAHAM tugs at CHIP to keep him behind for a moment. 

 

KITTY

Are you coming, Graham?

 

GRAHAM

In a second. 

 

KITTY and SALLY exit.

 

DAN

Graham?

 

GRAHAM

(annoyed) 

In a second! I just want to ask Chip something!

 

DAN and DEBBIE exit.

 

GRAHAM (CONT’D)

I thought they’d never leave. Hey, I apologize for giving your wife a hard time. I don’t know what came over me.

 

CHIP

Sally can handle it.

 

GRAHAM

So, Chip, has anyone ever said you look like an actor?

 

CHIP

Uh . . . not really. 

 

GRAHAM

(behaving more drunkenly) 

Yeah, like . . . oh, I can’t think of his name! You know him! He was a big star in the fifties and sixties. He was in lots of movies. Like . . . uh . . . he was in Parrish. There you go! That movie with Claudette Colbert and Sandra Dee about tobacco farmers in Connecticut. Or was it Connie Stevens?

 

CHIP

I didn’t know they grew tobacco in Connecticut.

 

GRAHAM

Not anymore, but they used to. I grew up in Connecticut.

 

CHIP

Oh, whereabouts?

 

GRAHAM

Well, he was a very good-looking man. And you’re very good-looking, too.  

 

CHIP

Sorry, I don’t know who you mean.  

 

GRAHAM

Doesn’t matter.

 

CHIP

(uncomfortable)

Uh . . . shouldn’t we be getting back to the wives?

 

GRAHAM

Hey, what do you do? I mean, for a living?

 

CHIP

I’m in packaged goods. I work for United American Brands.

 

GRAHAM

Oh, I like well-packaged goods! 

 

CHIP

And you’re in banking—at Ivy Capital Partners, right?

 

GRAHAM

At Ivy Capital Partners? Owned by Ivy Capital Partners is more like it.

 

CHIP

(laughing)

Yeah, I guess we’ve all sold out.

 

GRAHAM

(dramatically)

Sold out!!

 

CHIP

It’s the price we pay to live in places like this.

 

GRAHAM

Did you think you’d sell out? I mean was that your plan?

 

CHIP

I was a business major at Cornell. 

 

GRAHAM

Ah, yes!

(singing)

“Far above Cayuga’s waters . . . “

 

CHIP

Right. That’s where Sally and I met.

 

GRAHAM

Oh, did she put you up to this?

 

CHIP

Let’s just say she didn’t discourage me.

 

GRAHAM

You see, I had no idea I was gonna sell out. I just wanted to be happy.

 

CHIP

Well, I’m glad you’re happy.

 

GRAHAM

I didn’t say I was happy.

 

CHIP

Uh . . . I really think we should get back to the wives.

 

GRAHAM

(defeated)

It always comes back to the wives, doesn’t it?

 

BRIEF BLACKOUT.


SCENE 2

 

PROJECTION: “4 Years Later”

 

EMCEE (VOICE)

Ladies and gentlemen, let’s give a big hand to Elm Rock’s Harvest Moon Dance Couple of the Year—Graham and Kitty Walker! 

 

Lights up. Sound of applause. Music begins. DEBBIE (41) and DAN (44) enter.  

 

DEBBIE

(looking offstage)

Don’t they look great out there?

 

DAN

Better them than us.

 

DEBBIE

Come on—they’re our best friends. Be proud of them!

 

DAN

(deadpan)

I’m humbled to breathe the same air.

 

SALLY (38) enters.

 

SALLY

Hey, guys! 

 

DEBBIE

Hi, Sally.

 

SALLY

So, how come you’re not out there on the dance floor, too?

 

DAN

Because we’re not the Harvest Moon Dance Couple of the Year. We’re the stay-at-home-and-take-care-of-the-kids couple of the year.

 

SALLY

Is it my imagination or is Graham getting bigger? What do they call it—pumping up?

 

DAN

I was the athlete back at Yale.

 

DEBBIE

(deadpan—to Sally) 

I polish his trophies religiously. 

(beat)

Where’s Chip?

 

SALLY

Darned if I know! He went to get me a drink, and that’s the last I’ve seen of him.

 

DEBBIE

We don’t need the men. Let’s go get our own drinks! You don’t mind do you, Dan?

 

DAN

Go! I’ll stay here and study the Golden Couple while visions of cha-cha lessons dance in my head.

 

SALLY

Oh, I love the cha-cha!

 

SALLY & DEBBIE exit. CHIP (38) enters and watches GRAHAM & KITTY dancing offstage. DAN approaches CHIP. 

 

DAN

What’cha staring at, Big Guy? 

 

CHIP

Oh, hi Dan. I guess I never realized the Walkers were such good dancers.

 

DAN

There’s probably a lot you don’t realize, Chip. 

 

CHIP

Oh? Like what?

 

DAN

We come to this club, mingle with all these nice people, have drinks with them—but do we ever really know them? See them as they really are?

 

CHIP
(joking)

If you mean without their clothes on, I don’t think I want to conjure up that image!

 

DAN

I’m not joking, Chip. You ever wonder what’s really going on under the surface?

 

CHIP

(seriously)

Well, all people are essentially strangers to each other, don’t you think?

 

DAN

Yes, well put. That’s my point exactly.

 

CHIP

Especially spouses.

 

DAN

Now you’ve really hit the nail. But—I’m sorry, I’m being self-indulgent. Or boring. Or something.

 

CHIP

No problem.

 

DAN

I wish that were true. Hey, I won’t bother you anymore. You can go back to fawning over Graham. Just remember—he’s already taken!

 

CHIP

Excuse me?

 

DAN

In more ways than one!

 

DAN exits. GRAHAM and KITTY (both 41) enter, just coming off the dance floor.

 

CHIP

(suddenly chipper)

Hey guys, you looked great out there on the dance floor! How does it feel to be the Harvest Moon Couple of the Year?

 

GRAHAM

I can’t wait for our term to be over!

 

KITTY

You do not! You love all the attention!

 

GRAHAM

(deadpan)

She knows me too well. 

 

KITTY

Will you please excuse me, gentlemen? I need to go to the ladies’ room.

 

GRAHAM pecks KITTY on the cheek. 

 

GRAHAM

See you, darling.

 

KITTY exits.

 

GRAHAM (CONT’D)

Have you seen Dan, by the way?

 

CHIP

He just left. He doesn’t seem to be having a very good time. Oh, here—he’s coming back.

 

DAN enters.

 

CHIP (CONT’D)

I think I better leave you two alone.

 

CHIP exits.

 

DAN

You two make a cute couple. Boy, that guy has balls!

 

GRAHAM

What are you talking about?

 

DAN

The way he was drooling over you on the dance floor!

 

GRAHAM

I didn’t notice.

 

DAN

Slick, Graham. Slick. You can talk yourself out of every compromising situation, can’t you?

 

GRAHAM

I think you’ve had enough to drink. Maybe you should sit down and drink some water.

 

DAN

So, now you’re the authority on how to act in public? How to give the public a good show so no one suspects what’s really going on? 

 

GRAHAM

(quietly and intensely)

Dan, not here. Not now.

 

DAN

(mocking)

“Dan, not here. Not now.”

(beat)

Then where? When? Oh, I know—nowhereNever! Keep it bottled up inside forever! Till you break!

 

GRAHAM tries to escort DAN out.

 

GRAHAM

C’mon. Bedtime.

 

DAN breaks free.

 

DAN 

Take your hands off me! You think I want you touching me after you’ve been throwing yourself after every guy in Bronxville?

 

GRAHAM

I’ll get Debbie. Maybe she’ll have better luck with you.

 

GRAHAM exits.

 

DAN

(calling out)

Oh, that’s a good one! Pretend to get my wife while you go off with Chip Miller! 

(beat)

Ha! Now who’s the fool? He went the other way!

 

END OF SCENE 


SCENE 3

 

PROJECTION: “2 Years Later” 

 

Scene: 1998. A gay bar in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood. GRAHAM (46) sits on a stool and studies the crowd. JAMES (22) approaches him.    

 

JAMES

Hey—what’s up with you?

 

GRAHAM

(distracted)

Sorry—what?

(realizing that James is attractive—flirtatiously)

Oh, hello! Can I buy you a drink?

 

JAMES

Not unless you tell me what’s wrong.

 

GRAHAM

Nothing’s wrong, exactly. I’m just watching all you beautiful, chiseled young men and trying to decide whether to sweep you all up into my arms or resent you.   

 

JAMES

You don’t look so old.

 

GRAHAM

Believe me, I’m old enough to be your— 

(changing his mind)

well, maybe your older brother! 

 

JAMES

Oh, I like that! I prefer older men.

 
GRAHAM

Then how about that drink?

 

JAMES

Why do you resent me?

 

GRAHAM

Not you necessarily—just your whole generation. I guess I’m jealous. Things were so different when I met my boyfriend.

 

JAMES

Where’s he tonight? Are you sneaking around? 

 

GRAHAM

He’s dead.

 

JAMES

Oh, I’m sorry. 

 

GRAHAM

And when we met, there were no places like this. I mean, no place you’d ever go—not our kind of people.

 

JAMES

What’s your kind of people?

 

GRAHAM

So, we went into hiding. Married women. Had families. Brilliant plan!

 

JAMES

Oh, you’re one of those.

 

GRAHAM

But you kids today—you meet each other right out in the open. Then you bring your boyfriend home to meet Mom and Dad. God, they even throw you a party!  

 

JAMES

So, what are you doing here?

 

GRAHAM

Oh, I don’t know. Just watching.  

 

JAMES holds out his hand.

 

JAMES

Hey, I’m James. 

 

GRAHAM

Hi, James. Graham.

 

JAMES

I was watching you from the other side of the room. I think you’re so hot. You’re like my ideal fantasy.

 

GRAHAM puts his arms around JAMES.

 

GRAHAM

You have no idea how much I need to hear someone say that. Especially after what I’ve been through! Well, you don’t need to hear about all that. 

 

JAMES

You need to relax and have some fun.

 

GRAHAM

Amen to that.

 

JAMES

Why don’t you come back to my place? We could have some fun right now. 

 

GRAHAM

Where do you live?

 

JAMES

Right around the corner. Can you handle a six-floor walkup, old man?

 

GRAHAM

I’ll rise to the occasion.

 

CHIP MILLER (40) enters. Spots GRAHAM.

 

CHIP

Graham? Graham Walker! What are you doing here?

 

GRAHAM

Chip Miller!

 

CHIP

(noticing James)

Oh, sorry—am I interrupting something?

 

GRAHAM

Oh . . .uh . . . This is James.

 

CHIP

Hi, I’m Chip.

 

CHIP reaches out to shake hands. 

 

JAMES

We already know each other.

 

JAMES ignores CHIP’s hand. Hugs and kisses him instead. 

 

CHIP

We do?

 

JAMES

From the baths. 

(mock apologetically)

Ooh—am I telling secrets?

 

CHIP

(feigning nonchalance)

Don’t worry about it.

 

JAMES notices someone offstage. Waves. 

 

JAMES

Hey, I’ll be right back. 

 

JAMES rushes out. CHIP watches him exit. 

 

CHIP

(turning back to Graham)

Uh, he’s just someone I— 

 

GRAHAM

(echoing Chip)

“Don’t worry about it.” 

 

CHIP

Did you see his friend? God! No wonder he dropped us!

 

GRAHAM

Hey, uh, listen—I’m sorry about what happened to you. I haven’t seen you since all that.

 

CHIP

(lying)

I have no idea what you’re talking about.

 

GRAHAM

I saw those stories. Like the front page of The New York Post: “BRONXVILLE DAD ATTACKED AT GAY ORGY!” Aclassic Post headline—the assholes!   

 

CHIP

Yeah, I knew that’s what you meant. I just try to pretend it never happened sometimes. 

 

GRAHAM

It must be difficult.

 

CHIP

So, you know the whole story. 

 

GRAHAM

Just from the papers. Someone stabbed you, right? What’s a gay orgy anyway?

 

CHIP

No—it was a sex club. I woke up at St. Vincent’s Hospital. That’s all I know. Sally wasn’t thrilled. Long story. Couples therapy. Divorce. And here I am.

 

GRAHAM

Wow. 

 

CHIP

Wait a second—aren’t we missing the bigger story here? This isn’t exactly the Elm Rock Country Club, Mr. Walker. 

 

GRAHAM

I noticed. 

 

CHIP

I mean are you a member of the club?

 

GRAHAM

Are they gonna charge me $30,000, too?

 

CHIP

No, I mean—how shall I put it? Do you or don’t you—

 

GRAHAM

(cutting him off)

Yes! I do. Does that answer your question?

 

CHIP

I had no idea.

 

GRAHAM

I practically leapt at you a couple of times at Elm Rock. 

 

CHIP

Well, I remember you acting kind of strange, but I don’t remember you making a pass or anything. I guess I was distracted by my own issues.

 

GRAHAM

(defeated)

I’ve gotta work on my approach. 

 

CHIP

It seems to be working fine.

 

GRAHAM

You mean James? I sat here a whole hour being ignored by everyone else before he came along. And now he’s gone anyway. 

(beat)

What about all those times I saw you in the steam room at the gym? The gay vibes in there were off the charts!

 

CHIP

I was very guarded whenever you came in. I wasn’t about to let a neighbor suspect anything about me. 

 

GRAHAM

Well, it certainly worked. I had a real thing for you for a while, but I always behaved myself—unless I’d been drinking. 

 

CHIP

Does this mean you’re out of the closet now? Or are you waiting for the Post to out you, too?

 

GRAHAM

I’m holding out for The Today Show

(suddenly serious) 

Okay, so I guess I am.

(announcing to the room)

Hear that, guys? I’m out—so come and get it!

(to Chip)

See? There is no God. So, what’s happening with you now?

 

CHIP

Now? I’m just trying to hold things together. Divorce. Job. And joint custody of 4 kids! Sounded good when I fought for it, but now I’ve got no time for anything

 

GRAHAM

You had time to come here. And it sounds like you have time to go to—well, other places.

 

CHIP

Well, yeah. I’ve got a few holes in my schedule. 

(looking around) 

Can you blame me? There’s no shortage of hot guys down here in Chelsea!

 

GRAHAM

You’re right about that!

 

CHIP

And in about thirty minutes, this place is going to be packed with the most beautiful men you’ve ever seen!

 

GRAHAM

But Chip—

 

CHIP

There’s no “but”!

 

GRAHAM

What I mean is—don’t you find this all wears thin eventually?

 

CHIP

I’m happy to say I’ve never reached that point.

 

GRAHAM

But haven’t you ever wanted something more substantial—like maybe what I had with Dan?

 

CHIP

Dan who?

 

GRAHAM

Dan Carlsen. My next-door neighbor in Bronxville. 

 

CHIP

(suddenly realizing)

Wait a minute! Dan Carlsen? The plane crash! TWA flight 800, right? It’s back in the news again—they still don’t know how it happened.   

 

GRAHAM

Right. 

 

CHIP

You’re telling me you two were involved?

 

GRAHAM

More than involved. 

 

CHIP

I had no idea. He seemed obsessed about you or jealous or something. I assumed you were straight—

 

GRAHAM

Ha! We were both fools! Think of the missed opportunities!

 

CHIP

Well, anyway—I figured it was a one-way thing with you and Dan.

 

GRAHAM

No, it was very much a two-way thing. 

 

CHIP

Did other people know?

 

GRAHAM

Somehow, we managed to keep it private. Ever since sophomore year at Yale. It was all I ever wanted, all I needed. But he insisted we marry women, start families, and try to blend into the world. So, we made it work. We had the best of bothworlds—

(sadly)

—until I killed him. 

 

CHIP

What do you mean? He died in that crash.

 

GRAHAM

He wanted to go to Paris with me to rekindle the relationship or something, and I refused—because—well, it doesn’t matter. We had a fight, and he went off without me. 

(beat)

So, yes, I killed him.

 

CHIP

You didn’t kill him—but I understand how you feel. I’m so sorry.

 

GRAHAM

(indicating the other people in the bar) 

So, don’t blame me if I don’t think this is such a great substitute.

 

CHIP

Then why are you here?

 

GRAHAM

(snapping out of it—joking)

I don’t know. Looking for Mister Right, maybe.

(half-joking)

What are you doing for the next twenty years?

 

CHIP

Are you trying to ask me out?

 

GRAHAM

Maybe.

 

CHIP

I don’t date.

 

GRAHAM

Maybe not.

 

CHIP

I mean I’m not looking for a relationship. I just like to have sex with other guys.  

 

GRAHAM

So, why did you bother getting married?

 

CHIP

Because that’s what men do. Well, at least where I come from. And, unlike you, I wanted a family. 

 

GRAHAM

I don’t mean I didn’t want a family. My boys are the most precious thing in my life—especially now. I just mean—

(defeated)

I don’t know what I mean.

 

CHIP

I know. Our situation is complicated. To me, this gay thing was always just—I don’t know—   

 

GRAHAM

An inconvenience? 

 

CHIP 

Exactly! 

(getting revved up)

You know what really gets me? The Gay Pride Parade has been going on for years now. But back when it started, where was our parade—the Closeted Gay Pride Parade? 

 

GRAHAM

You’re serious? 

 

CHIP 

Absolutely! Where were all the people cheering us on from the sidewalks, happy that you and I and everyone like us chose to live within the mainstream and settle for some discreet philandering on the side?

 

GRAHAM

I wasn’t philandering! Dan and I had a loving relationship. A real marriage in every sense that mattered.

 

CHIP

Yeah, but you know what I mean. You and I were just variations on the same theme.

 

GRAHAM

Really? So, tell me—which is worse? Having a relationship behind your wife’s back with your best friend—someone you genuinely love? Or running around with every piece of trash that comes along? 

 

CHIP

Hey, watch it buddy!

 

GRAHAM

(softening)

Sorry, Chip. I’m in no position to judge. We traveled different paths, that’s all. 

 

CHIP

(smugly)

And yet we both wound up at the same bar.

 

GRAHAM

(defeated)

Yes. Yes, we did.

 

JAMES returns. 

 

JAMES

Sorry about that. Where were we? 

 

GRAHAM

I was about to leave.

 

JAMES

I thought you were coming home with me.

 

GRAHAM

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

 

JAMES

(cocky)

Trust me, it’s still a good idea.

 

GRAHAM

You may be right, but I better take a rain check. If I leave right now, I can still catch the 8:40 train back to Bronxville.

 

CHIP

God, you’re still in Bronxville?

 

GRAHAM

I like to be near my boys.

 

CHIP

Yeah, that’s why I’m out in Jersey. We’re all out there. It was too awkward for any of us to stay in Bronxville.

 

GRAHAM

I considered fleeing, too, but then I thought—No! I’m not hanging my head in shame! This is what I am. I didn’t make the world. And I’m not giving up my boys. Or pulling them away from their school and friends. Or setting a bad example for them. I haven’t come out to them yet—Kitty asked me to hold off for now—but I can’t wait to do it! 

 

CHIP

I haven’t told my kids yet either—Sally would go ballistic. But coming out in Bronxville? That takes balls! 

 

GRAHAM

Fuck them all in Bronxville if they don’t like it! And that includes all the closeted husbands—of which I know there are many!

 

CHIP

Wow—sounds like there’s a soap opera brewing in Westchester County!

 

GRAHAM

You have no idea! Or—maybe you do. But, in any case, I better go. Good to see you! 

 

CHIP

Hey, wanna get together for a drink sometime?

 

GRAHAM

Isn’t that what we just did?

 

CHIP

Yeah, but I have a feeling we have a lot more to talk about. And I’d enjoy the company.

 

GRAHAM

Sure—I’ll give you a call sometime.

(to James)

Hey, all right with you if I give my rain check to Chip?

 

JAMES

I’d like that!

 

GRAHAM exits. 

 

CHIP

So, what does that make me? Sloppy seconds?

 

JAMES

There’s nothing second about you. And as I seem to remember, we’ve had lots of fun being sloppy together.

 

JAMES and CHIP start to make out.

 

END OF SCENE

 

END OF EXCERPT

 

 


This excerpt contains the first 27 pages of AFTERMATH. The full play is 88 pages long.