On The Bus — Gail’s Coffee. What’s essential? The government or…
By: Bob Dumont
Tags: Dialogue, Stage, One Act Play, Screenwriting, Film

(Marcus and Boone are walking to the bus together. Kristin sees them.)

Kristin: HEY — wait for me!

(Marcus and Boone both turn. They see her and wait for her. They start walking together.)

Kristin: Thanks for waiting.

(They keep walking for a bit. Then Boone stops. Looks at a store that has a sign on the door indicating that is closed.)

Boone: Holy shit. When did this happen?

Marcus: Oh my -

Kristin: Fuckety, Fuck.

Marcus: I couldn’t have said it better. When did they close? I think I came down this street last week and it was still open.

Kristin: I had coffee here just a couple days ago. Closed? How?

Marcus: You know what I hate most? (He slaps his hand against the door). This damn “Closed due to Covid.”

Boone: I used to go here all the time. Look how small it is. They couldn’t have more than three people in the store so I just stopped going in.

Marcus: Three people? Where I work there are three people in the bathroom at any time. They ain’t closed us down yet.

Kristin: I can’t believe this place closed. They had the best latte. She made a raspberry scone that was unbelievable. What is Gail going to do now?

Marcus: Gail?

Kristin: She owned the place. She used every bit of her savings to open. She had to borrow from her parents to keep the doors open. It was her dream.

Boone: It’s her nightmare now.

Kristin: Can we ever forgive ourselves for letting this happen?

Marcus: We didn’t do nothin’. It’s this damn Rona. I know it kills people but it has destroyed people’s dreams. Look at this block. Every other store is dark.

Boone: Maybe they should turn the lights on? Look. (He points down to a row of chain stores). They seem to work down at CVS.

Kristin: You are just a damn fool. You think anyone listened to Gail? Or that restaurant over there? Is the food they make not essential?

Marcus: Essential. The box store is essential and open. The government offices are closed. Can’t get through to unemployment. Not essential. You can still get a $500 pair of shoes shipped to you. Essential.

Kristin: Shit.

Boone: Now what? Your favorite makeup store closed?

Marcus: No, dumb ass. We missed the bus.

Boone: We didn’t miss it. There’s always another bus.

Kristin: There’s not always another Gail’s raspberry scone.

Boone: There’s a 100 at the grocery store. I’ll buy you one.

Marcus: You just don’t get it, do you?

Boone: I do. My Dad owned a business. He lost it to Amazon. To eBay. To all the places that would let you buy something without sales tax. Remember those days? He lost it to your employer, Marcus. Amazon. That “savior” of small businesses everywhere. Fuckers.

Marcus: It’s just a place I work. I gotta pay the bills.

Boone: It’s not your fault. I know that.

Kristin: How do we forgive ourselves? How many times do we hear to just contribute the cost of a cup of coffee. All this shop needed was a cup of her coffee bought.

Marcus: We did it again.

Kristin: What now?

Boone: We missed the bus.

(They all start walking to the bus stop.)

Marcus: Two busses in a row. Unbelievable. We’ll probably have to wait an hour now.

Kristin: I hope she is OK.

Boone: Well, we probably got some time till the next bus. I’ll buy you a scone.

Marcus: Marcus. There is always room for one more on the bus to Dumb Ass station.

(They continue walking to the bus stop.)