31 Plays in 31 Days, #18 - "Reunion"
Aug. 18th, 2015 11:36 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
breakinglight11I always feel a little weird about posting pieces from the very far future of the Mrs. Hawking stories. It sometimes it feels like spoiling things, especially since it's much easier to figure out the emotional high points rather than plot stuff, and also weird since I don't necessarily know where things will be at that late story point. But sometimes that's all I can come up with, so in challenges where I have to write SOMETHING, sometimes that's what comes out. It's okay if I have to change them later. And it never hurts to have something I can fix rather than write from scratch.
This one is from past even the currently planned six stories, taking place in 1890. For reference, piece three, Base Instruments, is in 1883. As I think I've mentioned, Bernie suggested that at one point Mrs. Hawking and Mary have a break where after an intense emotional blowup, they part ways and work separately. Mary and Arthur go off to America for a while, until an adventure in 1890 brings them back to England. This scene shows Mary and Nathaniel discussing something of how things have been in the two or so years since they last saw each other. I don't know much yet, but here's some issues they have to address.
Day #18 - “Reunion”
for the Mrs. Hawking series
by Phoebe Roberts
MARY SWANN, lady’s society avenger
NATHANIEL HAWKING, her friend and assistant to Mrs. Hawking
London, England, 1890
~~~
MARY: You still see her often then?
NATHANIEL: (Sighing) Yes. Sometimes it feels rather foolish, but you know me. I've never had the sense to turn from a kick in the teeth.
MARY: So… how is she?
NATHANIEL: Ah… it’s difficult to say.
MARY: Is she not well?
NATHANIEL: It’s not that… not precisely, anyway. She’s bearing up, you know she’s strong as an ox, but.. she drives herself very hard.
MARY: That’s as it always was.
NATHANIEL: But it isn’t, really. She never slept or ate properly, and I daren’t say it to her, but she’s not as young as she once was. After that terrible business with that madman, she was in such wretched shape… I don’t think she ever completely recovered.
MARY: I see.
NATHANIEL: I do the best that I can, you know, to see that she doesn’t ruin herself, but Heaven knows she doesn’t much heed me. I’m not you, Mary.
(MARY flinches; NATHANIEL rushes to apologize.)
NATHANIEL: Oh, I don’t mean that I fault you, please understand that. Only that you had such a way with her. No one else compares.
(Pause.)
MARY: I had to go, Nathaniel.
NATHANIEL: You needn’t explain, Mary. Not to me.
MARY: You stayed!
NATHANIEL: It’s not the same for me. I’d already got my life, so I didn’t change anything for her. Besides, she’s happy to see me go home at night.
MARY: I never wanted to leave.
NATHANIEL: I know, dear, I know! You need never apologize for living for your life. God knows she didn’t understand that. And I haven’t forgiven her for it.
MARY: I only hate to think I’ve made things worse.
NATHANIEL: It was her doing, not yours. You did what you had to. I’m only sorry that it came to it.
This one is from past even the currently planned six stories, taking place in 1890. For reference, piece three, Base Instruments, is in 1883. As I think I've mentioned, Bernie suggested that at one point Mrs. Hawking and Mary have a break where after an intense emotional blowup, they part ways and work separately. Mary and Arthur go off to America for a while, until an adventure in 1890 brings them back to England. This scene shows Mary and Nathaniel discussing something of how things have been in the two or so years since they last saw each other. I don't know much yet, but here's some issues they have to address.
Day #18 - “Reunion”
for the Mrs. Hawking series
by Phoebe Roberts
MARY SWANN, lady’s society avenger
NATHANIEL HAWKING, her friend and assistant to Mrs. Hawking
London, England, 1890
~~~
MARY: You still see her often then?
NATHANIEL: (Sighing) Yes. Sometimes it feels rather foolish, but you know me. I've never had the sense to turn from a kick in the teeth.
MARY: So… how is she?
NATHANIEL: Ah… it’s difficult to say.
MARY: Is she not well?
NATHANIEL: It’s not that… not precisely, anyway. She’s bearing up, you know she’s strong as an ox, but.. she drives herself very hard.
MARY: That’s as it always was.
NATHANIEL: But it isn’t, really. She never slept or ate properly, and I daren’t say it to her, but she’s not as young as she once was. After that terrible business with that madman, she was in such wretched shape… I don’t think she ever completely recovered.
MARY: I see.
NATHANIEL: I do the best that I can, you know, to see that she doesn’t ruin herself, but Heaven knows she doesn’t much heed me. I’m not you, Mary.
(MARY flinches; NATHANIEL rushes to apologize.)
NATHANIEL: Oh, I don’t mean that I fault you, please understand that. Only that you had such a way with her. No one else compares.
(Pause.)
MARY: I had to go, Nathaniel.
NATHANIEL: You needn’t explain, Mary. Not to me.
MARY: You stayed!
NATHANIEL: It’s not the same for me. I’d already got my life, so I didn’t change anything for her. Besides, she’s happy to see me go home at night.
MARY: I never wanted to leave.
NATHANIEL: I know, dear, I know! You need never apologize for living for your life. God knows she didn’t understand that. And I haven’t forgiven her for it.
MARY: I only hate to think I’ve made things worse.
NATHANIEL: It was her doing, not yours. You did what you had to. I’m only sorry that it came to it.
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