Grace
July 30th, 2020
Starring: Lenny (male, 50’s), Christa (female, 50’s), Ashley (female, college), Ophelia (female, college)
The dinner table. Lenny, Christa, Ashley, and Ophelia hold hands, saying grace. They all speak in unison. Ophelia doesn’t know it well, but tries to follow along as best she can:
ALL
Bless us oh Lord for these thy gifts that we're about to receive from thy bounty through Christ our Lord…
Amen.
LENNY
Dig in!
They begin passing around dishes of food, starting to eat.
OPHELIA
Oh, wow.
The food’s amazing.
CHRISTA
Oh, thank you.
We like to say grace is our special sauce around here.
Does your family say grace, Ophelia?
ASHLEY
Mom—
OPHELIA
No, it’s fine.
My parents are separating.
CHRISTA
Oh
Oh I’m sorry—
OPHELIA
No that’s ok—
ASHLEY
But you still celebrate a little—
OPHELIA
Yeah, we’re more of a Christmas and Easter kind of people.
CHRISTA
Oh sure
LENNY
Still the two best times to go, if you ask me.
OPHELIA
I think so too.
And I enjoy grace a lot. I think it’s important to be grateful.
CHRISTA
Gratitude is about all we can control these days.
LENNY
Hear hear!
OPHELIA
And again, I just want to thank you both for having me here for the week. It’s so nice not having to worry about plane costs—
ASHLEY
And loneliness…
OPHELIA
Yes, all of it. So thank you.
CHRISTA
You’ve said thanks plenty. So happy to have you here with us.
LENNY
What she said!
…
CHRISTA
So does Ash ever bring you to mass with her on Sundays?
ASHLEY
Mom—
OPHELIA
No, not yet. I work on most Sundays, so it’s hard.
CHRISTA
Oh sure.
I just always think it’s nice to have a friend to go with. Makes it more enjoyable.
OPHELIA
Absolutely.
LENNY
Where do you work?
OPHELIA
Oh. Well actually it’s more of a work volunteer internship sort of position.
But it’s with the local LGBTQ+ alliance?
…
LENNY
That’s great.
CHRISTA
Really wonderful.
How did you get into that?
OPHELIA
Well um
I...I have a lot of very very close friends who identify with that community, so I thought it made sense to give back, become more educated.
ASHLEY
She’s really knowledgeable.
LENNY
And do you find that’s impactful for you? Day to day?
OPHELIA
Very. I think it’s important to have a deep understanding of that experience. Empathy. Love thy neighbor.
LENNY
Yes.
CHRISTA
Yes.
…
And what does the alliance do?
OPHELIA
Well it’s a lot of education, spreading awareness, providing support for the community and helping people understand the community. Weekly meetings, support groups. We have galas and mixers for people to meet and fundraise. Ashley’s come with me to a few of those.
CHRISTA
Oh
LENNY
Sounds fun.
OPHELIA
They are. A lot of dancing.
CHRISTA
Well good. Seems like you keep yourself busy.
ASHLEY
She is.
OPHELIA
I try.
…
LENNY
Well I know Ash is very grateful to have you, and for that, I’m grateful for you.
OPHELIA
I’m very grateful to have her too.
CHRISTA
She seems to really enjoy your company.
ASHLEY
I do.
LENNY
That’s what friends are for, right?
CHRISTA
That’s right.
OPHELIA
Of course.
ASHLEY
Mhm.
In the silence, it clicks for Christa. It clicks for Ashley that Christa sees it. Lenny doesn’t see it, and probably won’t. Ophelia suddenly sneezes into her napkin.
CHRISTA
God bless you.
OPHELIA
Oh
Thank you.