31 Plays in 31 Days, #18 - "A Boy"

[breakinglight11]

A sad moment from early in the Hawking marriage. Originally this was written to directly connect to Day #13 - "Waiting". But it felt kind of abrupt as an immediate follow-up, like the whole thing was rushed. It would probably work better in a cinematic style, where cuts can imply the passage of time rather than the way theater tends to suggest things are happening in the time in which you are seeing them. Especially since I think this came after hours and hours of stressful suspense.

Content note for stillbirth.

Day #18 - "A Boy"
From Mrs. Hawking
By Phoebe Roberts

COLONEL REGINALD HAWKING, a decorated cavalry officer, mid thirties
AMBROSE HAWKING, investment capitalist, his older brother, late thirties
SARAH HEMSWORTH, a midwife, late twenties

London, England, December 11th, 1864
~~~

(REGINALD and AMBROSE wait restlessly in a cigarette-smoke-filled parlor. The midwife, SARAH HEMSWORTH, enters with a bundle in her arms. REGINALD stands.)

REGINALD: Is she—?

MRS. HEMSWORTH: She’ll be all the right, sir. But— the boy—

REGINALD: The boy?

MRS. HEMSWORTH: I’m sorry, sir.

(Long pause while REGINALD takes that in. He notices the bundle.)

REGINALD: Is that—is that him?

MRS. HEMSWORTH: I'll see to him, sir.

REGINALD: I want to see him.

MRS. HEMSWORTH: If I might say, sir—

REGINALD: Let me see my son.

(Reluctantly she hands him over. REGINALD cradles the body and peels back the blanket.)

REGINALD: My God. He’s so warm.

MRS. HEMSWORTH: From her body, sir. He was dead when he came out.

REGINALD: He looks… whole. He looks perfect. What happened?

MRS. HEMSWORTH: Couldn’t say, sir. That’s just the way of it sometimes.

REGINALD: Of course.

AMBROSE: Reginald, that’s enough.

REGINALD: You’d think he was asleep, wouldn’t you?

AMBROSE: Give her the boy.

REGINALD: What?

AMBROSE: Give her the boy, Reginald.

(After a moment, he does, handing the bundle back to MRS. HEMSWORTH.)

REGINALD: Shall I— shall I go and see her?

MRS. HEMSWORTH: She's asleep, sir. I might give her the rest.

REGINALD: Of course. Thank you, ma'am.

(She curtseys and exits, carrying the body away.)

REGINALD: Well. There it is.

AMBROSE: I'm sorry, Reg.

REGINALD: That’s it. That's just the way of it sometimes.

AMBROSE: It's— these things happen. No one could have known.

REGINALD: Of course not.

AMBROSE: But it's— it's not all lost. Plenty of women go on to healthy babies after something like this. It's only a matter of time.

REGINALD: I know.

AMBROSE: There will be many fine boys and girls to come, just you wait and see—

REGINALD: Ambrose.

AMBROSE: What, Reg?

REGINALD: Give it a moment, will you?

AMBROSE: Right. Of course, Reginald.

(REGINALD sits. AMBROSE follows suit, watching him.)

REGINALD: It would have been a boy.