AT THE BEEP BY JEFFREY LO (DOWNLOAD PDF HERE)
A beep.
CHLOE:
(On the phone)
Hi.
It’s me.
And by me I mean Chloe.
I know.
“I haven’t heard from Chloe in forever.”
Well, here I am.
Um.
You’re probably wondering why I’m calling.
Why I’m leaving a voicemail.
Well.
Um.
Me too. Kinda.
But.
I guess I’m calling to see if…
…
Do you wanna meet up?
If you’d like to see me, I’d really love to see you.
And look, I honestly have no idea how things are for you right now.
What your life is anymore.
For all I know you’re married with a ton of kids.
Or gay.
And married.
With a ton of kids.
I don’t know.
But in case however your life is right now fits with seeing me again…
I’d really like that.
(Beat)
It’s just…
Look.
I know it’s been 20 years.
And I know that’s a bit weird but –
I miss you.
I miss us.
Not to say I’ve spent the past 20 years moping around non stop about you because if someone has – do not meet them.
But… seriously…
After I left I spent a lot of time finding myself again.
Finding who I was without you.
And I found that.
All things considered, I’m doing really, really well.
Hell – the Warriors are good!
But…
…
How do I put this?
You know how people say you have to be ok with being alone before you can be with someone?
Well I figured that out.
I did.
But also.
I figured out that that doesn’t always make sense.
Cause even if you are ok with being alone. – what if you already know the person who makes it better?
What if you already know who makes life better.
Makes you better?
Makes the drips of the coffee maker in the morning better.
Makes the crunch of the fallen leaves in the fall better.
Makes the turn of a page in your favorite book better…
If you know who that person is –
Why bother with being alone?
Even if you’re ok with it.
Why not be better?
…
(Beat)
So please.
Again – if you’re not married or… dead.
Please call me back.
Please see me.
Because I think that we… were better.
A voice recording -
“To send this message, press one.
To re-record this message, press two.
To delete this message, press three.”
…
CHLOE presses three.
END OF PLAY.