The Scent of Coconut Had Haunted Her for Days
Cast: 1 male, 1 female
Genre: Drama
Set: minimal, a room in a house, impressionistic
Length: Ten-minute play
Told through narration and dialogue, a newlywed Woman chooses unusual methods to communicate to her husband that she is not happy she might be pregnant. Her husband, in turn, finds ways to ignore the situation he does not wish to address. As the Woman becomes increasingly obsessed with a backyard weed garden growing in her picnic table, the dissonance in their marriage escalates.
Excerpt
CHARACTERS IN EXCERPT:
MAN A husband in his mid-twenties.
WOMAN A wife in her early-twenties.
Excerpt starts at the beginning of the play.
AT RISE: A MAN, the narrator, who also plays the Husband, stands. He speaks to the WOMAN, unless otherwise noted. The WOMAN stands near him.
MAN
(to Audience)
The scent of coconut had haunted her for days.
WOMAN
I can’t get that smell out.
MAN
It’s nice. Sweet.
WOMAN
I don’t like it.
MAN
You used to.
WOMAN
Well, not anymore!
MAN
(to Audience)
It had been this way since the day she first noticed a small green plant growing in the cracks of her picnic table.
WOMAN
Did you see this?
MAN
What?
WOMAN
It’s a clover!
MAN
So?
WOMAN
In the table! C’mere! Look! There’s a clover growing in the table!
MAN
Is it a four-leaf?
WOMAN
I don’t…no, I don’t think it is. Just a three leaf. But still—can you believe it? Isn’t it funny? Life growing up in a picnic table?
MAN
It’s filthy is what it is.
WOMAN
It’s just a plant.
MAN
It’s a filthy table if a weed is growing up in it.
WOMAN
I think it’s cute.
MAN
I think you’re cute.
(to Audience)
She was a newlywed. Newly married. Newly moved. Newly in-laws. Newly thoughts.
(WOMAN changes positions away from the table.)
WOMAN
Your mother keeps talking about our having a baby.
MAN
(to Audience)
She loved her new life.
WOMAN
“Haven’t been using my knitting needles lately…”
MAN
(to Audience)
She loved her husband.
WOMAN
“Sure would be nice to have a reason to make some booties…”
MAN
(to Audience)
She loved her house.
WOMAN
“Maybe even a warm winter hat…”
MAN
(To Audience)
She loved her in-laws.
WOMAN
“I will not be pleased if I die before you give me a grandchild.”
MAN
(to Audience)
She hadn’t given much thought to having children yet. She was twenty-three, still paying off credit cards from college, and had just started a career in tutoring High School students for standardized tests…She had no desire for children yet.
(WOMAN moves back to the position at the table)
WOMAN
You’re pretty cute yourself.
MAN
(to Audience)
Yet on that day…
(WOMAN puts her hands on MAN’S chest)
(to Audience)
When she discovered the three-leaf clover growing up from within her newlywed picnic table…
(WOMAN kisses MAN)
(To Audience)
She made love to her husband freely, the coconut lotion her mother-in-law had given her, wafting in their bedroom, like a breeze of fertile air.
(WOMAN leaves him)
(To Audience)
Perhaps breeding baby, but assuredly breeding fear, and dread, and hate.
MAN
(to Audience)
The scent of coconut had haunted her for days.
WOMAN
I can’t get that smell out.
MAN
It’s nice. Sweet.
WOMAN
I don’t like it.
MAN
You used to.
WOMAN
Well, not anymore!
MAN
(to Audience)
It had been this way since the day she first noticed a small green plant growing in the cracks of her picnic table.
WOMAN
Did you see this?
MAN
What?
WOMAN
It’s a clover!
MAN
So?
WOMAN
In the table! C’mere! Look! There’s a clover growing in the table!
MAN
Is it a four-leaf?
WOMAN
I don’t…no, I don’t think it is. Just a three leaf. But still—can you believe it? Isn’t it funny? Life growing up in a picnic table?
MAN
It’s filthy is what it is.
WOMAN
It’s just a plant.
MAN
It’s a filthy table if a weed is growing up in it.
WOMAN
I think it’s cute.
MAN
I think you’re cute.
(to Audience)
She was a newlywed. Newly married. Newly moved. Newly in-laws. Newly thoughts.
(WOMAN changes positions away from the table.)
WOMAN
Your mother keeps talking about our having a baby.
MAN
(to Audience)
She loved her new life.
WOMAN
“Haven’t been using my knitting needles lately…”
MAN
(to Audience)
She loved her husband.
WOMAN
“Sure would be nice to have a reason to make some booties…”
MAN
(to Audience)
She loved her house.
WOMAN
“Maybe even a warm winter hat…”
MAN
(To Audience)
She loved her in-laws.
WOMAN
“I will not be pleased if I die before you give me a grandchild.”
MAN
(to Audience)
She hadn’t given much thought to having children yet. She was twenty-three, still paying off credit cards from college, and had just started a career in tutoring High School students for standardized tests…She had no desire for children yet.
(WOMAN moves back to the position at the table)
WOMAN
You’re pretty cute yourself.
MAN
(to Audience)
Yet on that day…
(WOMAN puts her hands on MAN’S chest)
(to Audience)
When she discovered the three-leaf clover growing up from within her newlywed picnic table…
(WOMAN kisses MAN)
(To Audience)
She made love to her husband freely, the coconut lotion her mother-in-law had given her, wafting in their bedroom, like a breeze of fertile air.
(WOMAN leaves him)
(To Audience)
Perhaps breeding baby, but assuredly breeding fear, and dread, and hate.