It Will Be Okay
A Play
by Shelby Brown
Cast of Characters
MANDY Twenty-eight years old. Wife of ERIC and mother of TOMMY. Has red hair and fair skin.
ERIC Twenty-six years old. Husband of
MANDY and father of TOMMY. Has dark hair with a crew cut.
TOMMY Four years old. Son of MANDY and
ERIC. Has messy, dark brown hair.
Scene
A family home at 2 in the morning during the summer. A small storm is passing through.
Time
The present.
Scene 1
AT RISE: ERIC and MANDY are in their bedroom asleep. The curtains are drawn and a small storm is seen out the window. It’s late at night.
ERIC stretches his arms and then turns his body toward MANDY and wraps his arm around her lovingly. As he does this, lightning illuminates the room and a loud boom of thunder is heard.
MANDY(violently pushing ERIC)
No! NO! Don’t touch me! Don’t touch me! Stop!
(ERIC lets go and moves back away slightly.)
ERIC
I’m not doing anything wrong! It’s me, your husband! It’s okay.
MANDY(panicked)
You’re not my husband? I don’t have a husband!
ERIC
Mandy. Shh, It’s me, Eric. We’re married and have a son together.
MANDY(calmly)
Oh, I guess I forgot, I’m sorry.
(MANDY leans into ERIC.)
ERIC
It’s okay, baby. Lie back down, it will be okay.
(MANDY looks around the room.)
MANDY
Mister, where am I? I’m scared.
ERIC
Eric, my name is Eric. There’s no need to be scared.
MANDY
I’m s-scared, but I don’t know what of and I—and I don’t like it.
(MANDY looks at ERIC in panic. MANDY moves
quickly away from ERIC.)
Oh dear God. Oh no. No! No! NO!
ERIC
Shh. It’s okay! It’s okay, honey. It was probably just a bad dream. Just a bad dream. Shh. It’s going to be okay.
(ERIC lets go, stands up and takes a step back.)
(MANDY is shaking on the bed and curled up in a ball.)
Did you take your meds?
(MANDY ignores ERIC’s question.)
MANDY (muttering)
He won’t leave me alone. Why won’t he leave? Why won’t he? He won’t go. He won’t go.
ERIC
Who won’t go?
(ERIC reaches down to touch her.)
Who is he?
MANDY
No! No! No! No! Back!
(ERIC pulls his hand away and takes a step back.)
ERIC
Okay… Okay… I’m back here. Tell me what he did.
MANDY
No. He won’t like that. He won’t like that. No.
ERIC
Okay, just tell me who he is then. Please, I won’t tell. Please.
MANDY
He’s… He’s… He’s…
(Lightning illuminates the room.
(Thunder is heard.)
(MANDY looks up at ERIC and points.)
He’s you!
(MANDY stands up and confronts ERIC while ERIC backs away with his hands in front of him.)
MANDY ERIC
You! You! You’re him! No! It’s me! It’s just
Get away! Get away! me! Your husband!
(MANDY takes a step closer to ERIC and looks him in the eyes.)
MANDY
Please help me…
(MANDY buries her head into ERIC’s chest.)
ERIC (rubbing her back)
It’s okay. It’s okay.
MANDY
I–I’m so sorry. I–I’m just tired. I must have been dreaming
ERIC
Okay, yeah. Let’s just go back to sleep.
(ERIC leads MANDY back to the bed.)
MANDY
O-okay…
(MANDY’s eyes begin to close as ERIC lays her on
the bed.)
(Lightning illuminates the room.)
(Thunder is heard.)
No! No!
(MANDY begins to fight and scream at ERIC.)
Don’t touch me! Help! Please help!
MANDY ERIC
Stop! Stop! Help please! Shh. Honey, it’s me, Eric. Your husband, it’s just me. Shh.
(MANDY stops fighting ERIC.)
MANDY
Oh. Oh no. I’m sorry
(MANDY leans into ERIC and weeps.)
I’m s-s-o s-sorry.
ERIC
It’s okay. It’s okay. Shh… Shh… Look at me.
(MANDY looks up at ERIC.)
It’s going to be okay. Now, What’s going on? What happened?
MANDY
I-I-I don’t know. I’m just scared, b-b-but I don’t kn-n-now what I’m scared of. I want it to stop, Eric.
ERIC
It was probably just a dream. It was just a dream. Just a dream.
MANDY
Okay… Okay, yeah. Just a dream.
ERIC
Let’s go back to bed, okay? If you have another dream, just wake me and we can talk about it? How does that sound?
MANDY
Okay.
(ERIC helps MANDY onto the bed. ERIC covers MANDY with a blanket and tucks her in.)
ERIC
Try to get some sleep.
(He leans down and kisses MANDY on the forehead.)
MANDY
Okay.
(ERIC sits on the edge of the bed until she is asleep.)
(Once MANDY is asleep, ERIC rubs his eyes and talks quietly to himself.)
ERIC
What is going on? My wife has gone nuts, and who even is this guy?
(MANDY mumbles something in her sleep.)
What was that, Hun?
MANDY (slurring)
W-w-we ca-can just kill him.
ERIC
Uh. Mandy, we’re not killing anyone. Who do you want to kill?
(MANDY answers in incoherent mumbles.)
Mandy, Sweety, you’re worrying me…
MANDY
No. No, it-it’s okay.
ERIC
No. No, you can’t kill anyone.
MANDY
Tommy will… Will be fine with me.
ERIC
What about Tommy? Mandy, what are you talking about? Honey, answer me!
MANDY
I didn’t have a dad, I’m just fine.
(ERIC stands up and paces the floor with his hands on his head and talks to himself.)
ERIC
My–My wife… is talking about… killing me. My wife wants to kill me. What am I supposed to do? I need to call someone. Just in case. Out of love. I’m doing this out of love… and fear, mostly fear.
(ERIC picks up the landline phone from the nightstand and dials a number.)
PHONE
911, what’s your emergency?
ERIC (quietly)
Hi. Uh, I don’t know how to say this, uh, but my wife is acting, really strange. I’m kind of worried.
PHONE
Strange how, Sir?
ERIC
I don’t know. She’s talking in her sleep and she’s talking about this man and freaking out on me.
PHONE
Are you in any immediate danger, Sir?
ERIC
I-I don’t know!
PHONE
Well, Sir. Did you do anything to upset her? Did she have a few drinks? These are all pretty common things. If you don’t give me a better reason for your call, I’m going to have to ask that you settle your marital problems on your own.
ERIC
No! No!
(ERIC is facing away from MANDY. MANDY opens her eyes and sits up, but remains quiet.)
She’s talking about killing someone! and… and she is acting like… like… like a psychopath! I don’t know what to do and I’m–I’m freaking out!
PHONE
Okay, Sir. Just calm down, we’ll send someone out shortly to check up if you’re that worried abou–
(ERIC turns around to see MANDY taking her hand off the receiver base of the landline phone.)
MANDY
What are you doing?
(ERIC removes the phone from his ear.)
ERIC
I–I was… making sure we were safe. I was telling them about him. So he can’t hurt you.
MANDY
Are you sure?
ERIC
Yes, of course. Would I ever lie to you?
MANDY
I don’t know. Come back to bed.
ERIC
Yeah, of course.
(ERIC puts the phone back on the receiver base and gets into bed.)
MANDY
Goodnight.
ERIC
Goodnight.
(ERIC closes his eyes.)
(Lightning illuminates the room.)
(Thunder is heard.)
(MANDY stands up and reaches under her pillow and pulls a knife from behind the pillow. MANDY walks around the bed and stands above ERIC.)
MANDY (chant-like)
Just kill him. Kill.
(ERIC opens his eyes.)
ERIC
Honey, what are you doing?
(Lightning illuminates the room.)
(Thunder is heard.)
MANDY
Kill. Kill.
(ERIC sits up and moves away from MANDY.)
ERIC
You’re scaring me, Sweetheart.
(MANDY moves closer.)
Help! Please! You’re scaring me!
(MANDY moves closer.)
HELP! PLEASE HELP! HELP!
(Lightning illuminates the room.)
(Thunder is heard.)
(MANDY attacks ERIC. ERIC screams.)
MANDY
No! No! NO!
(MANDY continues to stab ERIC while he screams and kills him. MANDY looks at ERIC and then at the knife in her hand. There’s blood down the front of her nightgown)
Oh, no. What have I done?
(MANDY moves away from ERIC’s body.)
WHAT HAVE I DONE!
(There’s a knock on the door.)
TOMMY (offstage)
Mommy?
(MANDY hides the knife behind her pillow and opens the door. TOMMY stands in his pajamas with tears streaming down his face. MANDY shuts the bedroom door behind her and hugs TOMMY.)
MANDY
It’s okay, baby. You’re okay. It’s okay. Mommy is okay. Let’s get you back to bed.
(MANDY leads TOMMY back to his bedroom offstage. MANDY re-enters the stage.)
What am I going to do with him? Oh my.
(MANDY picks up the sheets from the bed and uses it to clean up the blood.)
I’ll wrap him in the sheet and bury him, there we go. That’s what we’ll do.
(END SCENE)