Setting:<\/strong> A cozy coffee shop, mid-morning. Two chairs and a small table with coffee cups.<\/p>\n MARTHA:<\/strong> (stirring her coffee nervously) So… I did it.<\/p>\n DORIS:<\/strong> Did what?<\/p>\n MARTHA:<\/strong> You know. The thing we talked about. I made a profile on Match.com.<\/p>\n DORIS:<\/strong> (nearly choking on her tea) You didn’t!<\/p>\n MARTHA:<\/strong> I did. And before you say anything\u2014I have a date. This Saturday.<\/p>\n DORIS:<\/strong> (long pause) Well… that’s… that’s wonderful, Martha.<\/p>\n MARTHA:<\/strong> Why are you looking at me like that?<\/p>\n DORIS:<\/strong> Like what?<\/p>\n MARTHA:<\/strong> Like I just told you I joined the circus.<\/p>\n DORIS:<\/strong> I’m not! I think it’s brave. Really, I do.<\/p>\n MARTHA:<\/strong> (suspicious) Doris Elizabeth Henderson, what aren’t you telling me?<\/p>\n DORIS:<\/strong> (taking a deep breath) I also… made a profile.<\/p>\n MARTHA:<\/strong> What?!<\/p>\n DORIS:<\/strong> And I also… have a date. This Saturday.<\/p>\n MARTHA:<\/strong> (laughing) You copycat!<\/p>\n DORIS:<\/strong> I am not! I did it two weeks ago. Before you!<\/p>\n MARTHA:<\/strong> Well, I thought about it three weeks ago, so technically\u2014<\/p>\n DORIS:<\/strong> Oh, stop. Tell me about your man. What’s his name?<\/p>\n MARTHA:<\/strong> Walter. He’s 75, retired dentist, loves gardening and old movies. We’re meeting at that Italian place on Fifth Street.<\/p>\n DORIS:<\/strong> (impressed) A dentist! Fancy.<\/p>\n MARTHA:<\/strong> What about yours?<\/p>\n DORIS:<\/strong> His name is Frank. He’s 73, retired teacher, plays the harmonica, and we’re meeting at the botanical gardens.<\/p>\n MARTHA:<\/strong> The botanical gardens! That’s so romantic.<\/p>\n DORIS:<\/strong> Well, I figured it’s public, lots of people around, and if he’s boring I can always pretend to be fascinated by a rose bush.<\/p>\n MARTHA:<\/strong> (laughing) Smart thinking. I told Walter I have a weak bladder so I can escape to the bathroom if needed.<\/p>\n DORIS:<\/strong> Martha! You don’t have a weak bladder.<\/p>\n MARTHA:<\/strong> He doesn’t know that. It’s my exit strategy.<\/p>\n DORIS:<\/strong> What are you going to wear?<\/p>\n MARTHA:<\/strong> That blue dress. The one with the flowers. Not too dressy, not too casual.<\/p>\n DORIS:<\/strong> Perfect. I’m wearing my green pantsuit. The one that hides my middle.<\/p>\n MARTHA:<\/strong> (nervous again) What if he doesn’t look like his picture?<\/p>\n DORIS:<\/strong> What if he’s wonderful?<\/p>\n MARTHA:<\/strong> What if I forget what to talk about? It’s been seventeen years since Harold passed.<\/p>\n DORIS:<\/strong> (reaching across to pat her hand) You’ll talk about gardening. And movies. And whatever comes naturally. You’re delightful, Martha. He’s lucky you said yes.<\/p>\n MARTHA:<\/strong> (tearful) What if I’m too old for this?<\/p>\n DORIS:<\/strong> Too old for what? Coffee? Conversation? Companionship? My mother dated until she was 89.<\/p>\n MARTHA:<\/strong> Really?<\/p>\n DORIS:<\/strong> Really. She said age is just a number, but loneliness is a choice.<\/p>\n MARTHA:<\/strong> When did your mother get so wise?<\/p>\n DORIS:<\/strong> She was always wise. We just didn’t listen.<\/p>\n MARTHA:<\/strong> (laughing) Are we crazy?<\/p>\n DORIS:<\/strong> Probably. But we’re crazy together.<\/p>\n MARTHA:<\/strong> Promise me something?<\/p>\n DORIS:<\/strong> What?<\/p>\n MARTHA:<\/strong> Promise we’ll call each other Saturday night. No matter how the dates go.<\/p>\n DORIS:<\/strong> Deal. With full details.<\/p>\n MARTHA:<\/strong> Every detail.<\/p>\n DORIS:<\/strong> (raising her coffee cup) To new adventures?<\/p>\n MARTHA:<\/strong> (raising her cup) To new adventures. And to old friends who keep us from chickening out.<\/p>\n DORIS:<\/strong> Cheers to that.<\/p>\n MARTHA:<\/strong> So… did you Photoshop your profile picture?<\/p>\n DORIS:<\/strong> Maybe a little. Did you?<\/p>\n MARTHA:<\/strong> (laughing) Just took out a few wrinkles. The lighting was bad.<\/p>\n DORIS:<\/strong> (laughing) Oh, we’re terrible!<\/p>\n MARTHA:<\/strong> We’re not terrible. We’re just… strategically optimistic.<\/p>\n BOTH:<\/strong> (laughing together as lights fade)<\/p>\n THE END<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Coffee Shop Confessions Setting: A cozy coffee shop, mid-morning. Two chairs and a small table with coffee cups. MARTHA: (stirring her coffee nervously) So… I did it. DORIS: Did what? MARTHA: You know. The thing we talked about. I made a profile on Match.com. DORIS: (nearly choking on her tea) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2651","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-b-readers-theater"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.robertandrews.org\/LIFE\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2651","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.robertandrews.org\/LIFE\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.robertandrews.org\/LIFE\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.robertandrews.org\/LIFE\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.robertandrews.org\/LIFE\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2651"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/www.robertandrews.org\/LIFE\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2651\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2771,"href":"http:\/\/www.robertandrews.org\/LIFE\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2651\/revisions\/2771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.robertandrews.org\/LIFE\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.robertandrews.org\/LIFE\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.robertandrews.org\/LIFE\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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