Monologue

Hello, come in. So kind of you to come at such short notice. I just needed someone to talk to. Oh, your coat? Just hang it up on the hook there. Do you like the coat stand? It’s an antique you know, only bought it last month.

“Come on into the kitchen and have a cup of tea, I have a pot onto boil already. I put it on right after I called you. I felt like I needed something to help me relax. You can’t imagine how shocked I was when I got the letter.

“I see you’ve noticed the picture on the mantle. That was taken at George’s graduation. He was so happy just to be able to graduate; they weren’t going to let him you know. He was such a troublemaker, always doing something. When he swung on the chandelier at prom it was the last straw really. Robert and I had a very hard time convincing the principle to allow George to participate in the graduation ceremony after that.

“Have a seat, what kind of tea would you like? I have mint, earl gray, and green. Of course before the chandelier incident he was already constantly getting into trouble. The school just didn’t know what to do with him. He punched a senior his freshman year, later that year he was caught smoking in the boys’ bathroom. He skipped a whole month of gym classes his sophomore year and made out with a girl in math class, while class was in session. It only got worse you know, as he got older. The chandelier was only a small stunt but it was the one that pushed the school over the edge.

“Your tea should be cool enough to drink now. You know the picture of him at graduation is the last picture I have of George. It wasn’t long after that that he met Maria and we had that big fight. That was so many years ago but he hasn’t talked to Robert and I since.

“Did I ever tell you about him bringing Maria home to meet us? It was just as summer had started and George had surprised Robert and me by getting a full time job. We hadn’t thought he had any plans at all since he hadn’t applied to any colleges. As soon as he graduated he went out and found himself a full time job though. That’s when he told us that he’d met a girl and was moving out. Of course we insisted on meeting her.

“Maria was the same age and George; I do know that, little as I know about her. I only met her that once, when George brought her for dinner. Tall, pretty, with long black hair, she looked like a model. Maybe that’s why I instantly disliked her, she was too perfect to be interested in my son. There had to be something wrong with her, and there was, her personality left a lot to be desired.

“She would make the most outrageous and rude comments and George would just laugh about them, as if she was joking. She wasn’t joking, you could tell by her expression. During the hour we were at the table she managed to insult Robert and me, as well as George, repeatedly. Like I said, George acted as if she was the funniest person in the world; needless to say I was not amused.

“After George came back from taking Maria home we told him that we didn’t approve of her. That’s how our big fight started, us against George. Oh, it had been building for a long time but that is when it all came to a head. Grievances from five years before were brought into it even. It lasted into the wee hours of the morning. When Robert and I woke up the next morning George and all of his belongings were gone. I cried a lot at the time but he was eighteen, and adult, there was nothing we could do. I don’t eve know where he went. I haven’t talked to him since.

To be continued...