An Occupational Hazard

[It is late in the night. ANGELA and WENDY are lying together tenderly in bed, presumably asleep. WENDY opens her eyes and stares into nothing for a time. She gets out of bed, careful not to disturb Angela. She crosses and exits to the bathroom. A light turns on and water starts running. ANGELA stirs and stretches, looking lazily at the door to the bathroom. The water stops running. There is a very long pause.]

ANGELA: Wendy?

[WENDY exits from the bathroom with a gun. She raises the gun and fires at Angela. ANGELA has already rolled out of bed and rushes to Wendy, grabbing her arm.]

ANGELA: Isn’t it a little late for fooling around?

[WENDY tries with all of her might to hit Angela with her other hand. ANGELA deflects the blow and twists Wendy’s arm behind her back, loosening her grip. ANGELA takes the gun, and pushes Wendy to the ground. ANGELA aims the gun steadily at Wendy. Pause. WENDY sobs.]

ANGELA: Oh, stop. That’s not gonna work. Knock it off and get up.

[Pause. WENDY takes a long gasp and begins sobbing again.]

WENDY: Oh, Angie…

ANGELA: [Pause.] …Wendy?

WENDY: Oh, God damn it, Angie…

[ANGELA puts the gun on the table and walks to Wendy.]

ANGELA: Babe, what’s wrong? Jesus, I thought we were fooling.

WENDY: They want you dead… Angie, they want me to do it.

ANGELA: What are… Who wants me dead?

WENDY: The guild, Angie! They want me to kill you!

[Pause.]

ANGELA: Oh, God. Oh, baby.

[WENDY reaches out to Angela. ANGELA sits down on the ground next to Wendy and holds her. Pause.]

ANGELA: Talk about harsh. You know, I think I actually had a dream like this once.

WENDY: What did you do, Angie? Why do they want you to die?

ANGELA: They’re huge, Wendy. They don’t need a reason.

WENDY: Oh, Jesus, Angie, why did I do this?

ANGELA: Calm down, baby. All right? We’re just gonna take this one step at a time. All right? [Pause.] So. How are we gonna do this?

WENDY: Jesus Christ, Angie, I can’t!

ANGELA: Well, you have to, Wendy.

WENDY: No…

ANGELA: You’ve got to, Wendy. You understand? If you don’t, they’ll kill you. I don’t want that.

WENDY: What, so I should kill you then? That’s not fair! God, why did this have to happen?

ANGELA: Wendy, think about what this means for you. Think of how lucky you are. You’re in the guild! It’ll be wonderful. You’ll be rolling in it before long. Then you can move to Paris, and give music lessons…

WENDY: I don’t want to, Angie. I don’t want to go anywhere without you… Why? Why did it have to be me?

ANGELA: Oh, babe. I’m so happy that it’s you.

WENDY: [Pause.] What?

ANGELA: Wendy. If anyone is going to see my last living moments, I want it to be you.

WENDY: You’re ready to die... You’re ready to die for me?

ANGELA: I wouldn’t die for anyone else.

WENDY: Oh, God. Oh, my God. I love you so much.

ANGELA: Come on. Go to the bathroom. Wash your face, and we can try this again.

WENDY: I can’t…

ANGELA: Sure you can. You’re the best. You can do anything.

WENDY: No, I’m not…

ANGELA: Come on, baby. This is what I want. This is how I want it to happen.

WENDY: Angie…

ANGELA: We could spar first. Get in the mood. We could take it outside. A fight to the death. On the roof, in the moonlight? Doesn’t that sound romantic?

WENDY: [Pause.] We can stand our ground.

ANGELA: What?

WENDY: So what if they come for us? We can beat them. Can’t we, Angie?

ANGELA: Oh, baby, they’ll kill you.

WENDY: But I’m the best! Didn’t you say that? Aren’t I the best?

ANGELA: Wendy, they’ll kill you. They’ll come for you, and they’ll kill you. And then they’ll kill me, anyway. I don’t want you to die.

WENDY: I don’t want you to die!

ANGELA: But it’s gonna happen. Either way, I’m going to die, Wendy. If it’s gonna happen, I want it to be you.

WENDY: We could… [WENDY trails off. Pause.]

ANGELA: Wendy. Do you want me to do it myself?

WENDY: No!

[WENDY throws her arms around Angela. ANGELA tightens her embrace.]

WENDY: No…

ANGELA: It’s okay. If you don’t want to do it, I won’t make you.

WENDY: I don’t want you to…

ANGELA: Then, will you do it for me?

[Long pause. Angela is patient.]

WENDY: Can we wait?

ANGELA: Not too long.

WENDY: Just a little. Just stay with me a little.

ANGELA: Okay. Come on, babe. Go wash your face. I’ll be right here.

[ANGELA stands, then helps WENDY up. WENDY exits to the bathroom. Water runs. ANGELA crosses to the bed and sits, looking serenely at the floor. She lies down on her side, looking away from the bathroom. WENDY exits from the bathroom, and stands looking at Angela. She walks softly to the table and takes the gun, holding it gently in both hands. She crosses quietly to the bed, then raises the gun and aims at Angela’s head.]

WENDY: Angie? Are you proud of me?

ANGELA: Babe, you have to ask?

WENDY: I worked so hard… I worked so hard to get here and make a name for myself. Every thing that came in my way, I took care of it. Whenever I wanted something, I went and I got it. There were so many possibilities. There was so much I could do… And now, the one thing I want more than anything, I can’t even save it. Why did I get here? What was the point of all the working and sacrifice if it just brought me here?

ANGELA: You’re such a perfectionist. Problems happen. You can’t solve all of them all the time. [Pause.] I love you, Wendy. And I know you love me. But I’m just a part of everything else. The world… Your world doesn’t start and end with me. Before I even met you, you were so wonderful. After this, you can still be wonderful. And you can show someone else how wonderful you are. You’ve done so much, but there’s still so much you can do. You see how well I’m taking this? That’s because I know what you’re capable of. Don’t let it end here. You have to live. That’s what I want more than anything.

[During this time, WENDY has walked over to the table, quietly bracing herself from tremors brought on by grief. For a time, she examines the barrel of the gun intently. Slowly, she leaves the gun on the table and goes to the bed. She lies down on her side by Angela and puts her arm on her waist, burying her face into her hair.]