Tell
November 15th, 2020
Starring: A & B
A
Tell me something—
B
No.
A
...I haven’t even told you what I want you to tell me.
B
I know. I don’t want to know.
A
Why?
B
It’s your tell.
A
My tell?
B
Every time you start a sentence with tell me something, it’s a setup for addressing something that bothers you.
A
But it’s not even about you.
B
Fine.
A
So what’s the problem?
B
I don’t like it. It feels like I’m getting roped into something.
A
I just wanted to ask you something—
B
Then why do you need to ask me to tell you something? If you really wanted me to tell you something, you could just ask, and I’d tell you. That’s how people communicate.
A
So my phrasing is the issue…?
B
It’s not just you. It’s everyone. You, my brother, my boss, everyone asks me to tell them something. It’s asinine.
A
It can be hard to ask when it’s hard to know how you’ll react.
B
Well I guarantee you’ll know faster if you just asked me.
A
Ok. So can I ask you?
B
Yes.
A
Do you think I’m failing you as a partner?
…
B
No more than I’m failing you.
…
…
Is that it?
A
Yes.
...
I’m glad I asked.
B
You are?
A
I am.
I’m telling you.