therapist lines Flashcards
A. Michael –
C. John –
All three children
C. That girl.
BOY. What was her name again?
Those children
DETECTIVE. No official statement has been given
But the girl -
DOCTOR. Feelings are not part of my job
So you feel he took something tangible from you.
Something you could touch, something you could lose.
How does that make you feel?
THERAPIST. How does that make you feel?
WENDY. Empty.
And how do you think that makes him feel?
THERAPIST. And how do you think that makes him feel?
WENDY. Full.
I know this has all been quite overwhelming,
Wendy.
I don’t want you to think of me as your therapist.
I want you to think of me as your friend.
Someone you can talk to.
What about your parents?
(WENDY says nothing.) (The THERAPIST waits patiently then can’t take it anymore.) What about your parents? WENDY. I don’t have any.
Wendy.
WENDY. You’re no fun.
(The THERAPIST makes a note.)
(Beat.)
Did she tell you my dad left?
She did
THERAPIST. She did.
WENDY. Yeah.
(Beat.)
That must be very hard.
Especially on top of everything else.
WENDY. I haven’t paid it much attention.
I have a hard time focusing on more than one feeling at
the same time.
I’m sure you’ve paid it some attention.
What have you noticed? What’s different?
DOCTOR. They say she hardly leaves the house.
C. Still
They say she cries all the time.
B. “The Lost Boys.”
A. I forgot about the boys.
She never got over it, they say.
DOCTOR. She needs to get out more.
She needs to try harder
WENDY. The first time I saw him
I was wearing a blue nightgown my mother bought me.
I give myself eight minutes a day to think about him.
To remember.
Then I catalog my thoughts, when I finish thinking
them –
I put them between the pages of books.
Behind paintings on the wall.
I sew them into the lining of coats.
It seems to me that you have endowed your childhood bedroom
“The Nursery”
with an awful lot of importance.
I know change is difficult.
But you have to start somewhere.
On average, you have to meet forty people before you make one lasting connection.
Why don’t you try and make one lasting connection?
WENDY. I have lasting connections.
A new lasting connection
WENDY. Forty people seems like a lot.
You’d be surprised by how quickly they can add up.
Especially if you leave the house.
Forty people.
Just try.
DOCTOR. Say “ah.”
(WENDY with the THERAPIST.)
(They hold playing cards.)
Do you have any twos?
THERAPIST. Do you have any Twos?
WENDY. No.
(Beat.)
Wendy. What are we supposed to say? Instead of "No" In this game we're supposed to say "Go Fish" I know sometimes rules feel silly--
WENDY. What feels Silly is playing Go Fish past the age of
twelve.
I met forty people and I tried and you’re wrong and I’m
going to find Peter.
It might feel worse before it feels better, but it will feel better.
Structure does help. Time does help.
They give us containers for our feelings.
DOCTOR. Three children disappear.
DETECTIVE. Seven come back.
Because of her family
DOCTOR. People mail all kinds of letters.
DETECTIVE. Santa Claus – The North Pole.
Peter Pan – Neverland
