Clearing the Sky                                                                                                             

   (At rise, HAILIE and WILLIAM, who are about twenty five years old, stand inside a plain wooden cabin. Through the window, we can see a forest and torrential rain.)

                                                                                           HAILIE

                          (paces back and forth across the floor, visibly irritated) 

                          HAILIE 

“You’re sure you checked the lock? Maybe it’s just stuck.”

                          WILLIAM 

                          (sighs and runs his hand through his hair)

                         WILLIAM

 “I’m sure. It’s definitely stuck, unless I break down the door. Problem is, we don’t own this cabin.

Scene shifts to a wider view, exposing a room that is evidently part of a cabin. Lights dim, and thunder crashes  outside, warning of a storm. 

                       HAILIE

                      (groans)

 “Why us? Why this weekend?”

                       WILLIAM

                (sits down heavily)

                      WILLIAM

“And of course something like this would happen on when we’re trying to-” 

Here he trails off, unsure. A bolt of lighting cracks outside, and HAILIE  flinches. An awkward pause ensues, and then WILLIAM sighs.

                      WILLIAM

“Look, all I’m trying to say is that being stuck in a cabin with no wifi is definitely not an ideal situation for either of us.”

A gust of wind slams a tree branch against the window, and HAILIE groans. 

                        WILLIAM

                     (clears his throat) 

“But until we know how to get out of this…mess, we’ll have to work together.”

                       HAILIE

                      (quietly) 

 “That might be hard.”

Both fall silent and make eye contact.  

                       HAILIE

                  (with a resigned air)

“But I’ll do what I have to if it means getting out of this.”

Meaningful silence. HAILIE twists a ring around her finger. WILLIAM is also wearing a ring on his ring finger.

                      HAILIE

“So what should we do first?”

A clap of lightning punctuates her words. 

                     WILLIAM

 “Since there’s no wifi, we can’t call anyone, so…” 

He trails off, and both realize the heaviness of these words.

                     WILLIAM

 “I guess the first thing we should do is make sure the doors and windows are secure.”

WILLIAM and HAILIE begin moving chairs around to barricade the windows and door. As HAILIE pushes a bureau towards the door, a wallet sized photo that had been resting on top flutters to the stage floor. HAILIE bends and picks it up.

                                                                      HAILIE

                      (angrily)

“So you just hide photos of Meghan around now?”

                      WILLIAM

                     (confused)

“What? What do you mean?”

                      HAILIE

              (thrusts the photo at home)

“Don’t act like you don’t know exactly what I’m talking about!”

William regards the photo, clearly puzzled.

                   William

                (shaking his head)

“HAILIE, this was from prom. I haven’t seen this picture in years. It probably just got lost here.”

                   HAILIE

                  (dubious)

“Got lost? In our summer home? We’ve come here every year since we’ve been married.”

                   HAILIE

                 (laughs bitterly)

“Which has only been about four years, thanks to Meghan. This was our place, WILLIAM. Even if we’re trying to get a divorce right now, it’s still pretty hurtful that you would take her here.”

 Sounds of rain increase, pounding against the windows.

                  WILLIAM

                 (frowning)

“You know the only time she came here was after prom. I never took her after that. And it wasn’t even our place then. My dad owned this cabin for years before I knew either of you.”

                  HAILIE

                  (yells)

“She didn’t just happen to come here after prom! She was your date! The only reason you took her here after twelve was so that you two could-”

A clap of thunder cuts her off. Stage lights dim dramatically, the lights in the cabin have gone out. The flashes of lightning illuminate their faces.

                 WILLIAM

                (turns on his phone flashlight)

Both sit quietly, many unspoken thoughts consume the heavy silence between them. Hailie’s wedding ring glints on her finger. She pauses, staring at it, before pulling it off and laying it on the table. 

                 William

“I wish you would just listen to me. You only said you wanted a divorce last week. HAILIE, we should talk about this.”

                 HAILIE

“No matter what you say, it won’t change the fact that you still have feelings for Meghan, not for me.”

                 William

                 (sighs)

“I don’t! You’re jumping to conclusions all because of that stupid phone call.”

                HAILIE

               (laughs sarcastically)

“That stupid phone call that you made to tell Meghan you want her back?”

Windowpane rattles, branches whip the glass.

                WILLIAM

“That’s not at all what we were talking about! Look, can we just sit down and talk about this?”

A pause. Hailie sits down in a chair towards stage left, and William sits across from her. 

                WILLIAM

“Remember junior year, when I first joined the football team?”

                HAILIE

                (nods)

                WILLIAM

“Well, the quarterback, Chase, and I became friends quickly. Really good friends. We used to come to this cabin and take hikes around the woods, sometimes with friends, sometimes just us.”

Another pause, in which William stares at nothing, lost in thought.

               WILLIAM

“Anyway, you remember that he was Meghan’s brother. And when I started to go out with her, Chase got mad. He asked me to drop out of the team. I assumed it was because he was being protective, you know, Meghan being his sister…”

               WILLIAM

“Meghan and I dated on and off for a while, and then split up in the beginning of senior year. But we started talking for a while before prom, and eventually decided to go together.”

               HAILIE

               (listening intently, obviously she has never heard the entire story before)

               WILLIAM

“After prom, Meghan suggested we come back to the cabin to hang out. I said ok, and we drove up here. When we walked in, Chase was sitting here. In that chair, actually.”

               WILLIAM

               (gestures to where HAILIE is sitting, chuckles dryly)

               WILLIAM

“Meghan walked over to him, and told me that I had hurt Chase. She said that nobody hurts her brother like that and gets away with it. It was then that I realized that when I had driven up here with Chase and spent time with him outside of school, he was under the impression that our relationship was something more than…just friends. The whole time. And I never saw it. Or I just pretended I didn’t.”

                  HAILIE

                  (in tears)

Rain continues to drum on the roof, and a tree branch cracks outside.

                  WILLIAM

“They left together. It was so much to process, and so I avoided making close friends until the second year of college. When I met you.”

                  HAILIE

                  (crying)

“I- I never knew.”

                  WILLIAM

“I fell in love with you as soon as we started dating. HAILIE, being married to you has been the best thing to ever happen to me. And I’m being completely honest when I say that Meghan and I haven’t been in contact.”

                  HAILIE

“But what about the phone call?”

                  WILLIAM

“Last week, when she called me, she said that Jefferson High is having a varsity football reunion.”

                  HAILIE

                  (glances at the photo in WILLIAM’S hand, looks back at her own hands)

                  WILLIAM

“She told me that Chase just went through a bad breakup and she doesn’t want me there to rekindle old feelings. Basically she let me know that I’m not invited to a reunion I wasn’t planning on going to anyway.”

                  HAILIE

“That’s all she said? Really?”

                 WILLIAM

                 (smiles)

“Really. We’ve been so happy together. I would never let someone like Meghan come between us.”

                 HAILIE

“I guess I…jumped to conclusions. Just because you two talked last week I assumed something was happening. But I should have remembered that she’s never contacted you before this. All I was thinking about was how close you two were. And I was jealous.”

                WILLIAM

“I know. I don’t blame you. I love you so much, HAILIE.”

A small glimmer of sunlight begins to blossom in the window, and the sounds of the storm have softened, leaving only a gentle rain.

                                        HAILIE

“I love you too. Always.”

A moment of silence, during which HAILIE and WILLIAM smile at each other. They lean forward to hold hands.

                                        HAILIE

“Should we try the door again? At least the storm stopped.”

                                        WILLIAM

                                        (laughs, squeezes HAILIE’S hand)

“Babe, the door wasn’t really stuck. I just wanted a chance to talk with you. Uninterrupted.”

                                         HAILIE

                                         (laughs, shakes head)

“Well, I’m happy we did. You know what? I’d like to stay here for another week. We don’t have to go back home just because there was a storm.”

                                         WILLIAM

“I was hoping you’d say that.”

WILLIAM and HAILIE lean in and kiss, the photo of Meghan flutters unnoticed to the floor. Scene lights dim, the curtain falls.