I can barely watch—can hardly read—about the unprovoked attack on Ukraine. The country now turned into bomb sites, the population on the move, and all, seemingly, to feed Putin’s delusional need for a reconstituted empire.

So, for a short reprieve from carnage, I’ve revisited a 10-minute play. It’s a form I like: short and sweet, a small frame for a story’s development, a mini-journey for the characters. “Transit of Venus” was prompted by that occurrence back in 2004. I hope you’ll enjoy Ralph and Margaret and Angelo and Giovanna.

Eastport, Maine: June 8, 2004

The Transit of Venus

by

Robert Moulthrop

 

CAST

RALPH                     Construction worker, late 30s

MARGARET            RALPH’s wife, late 30s

ANGELO                  Owns the small grocery store, late 20s

GIOVANNA             ANGELO’s wife, early 20s

NOTE: A Maine accent could be used. 

 

Eastport, Maine. A rock, facing east. Tuesday, June 8, 2004.

Early morning, just before sunrise.

 

Two beach (lounge) chairs.  RALPH is seated in one, absently eating peanuts, one at a time, from a can, looking alternately up at the sky and at the horizon.  We watch him eat several peanuts.  MARGARET enters. At some point she will sit in the other chair.  For the moment, she stands and looks at the sky, looks at the horizon, looks at the sky, looks at the can of peanuts, watches Ralph eat one, looks at the sky, watches him eat another one . . .

MARGARET

Where’d you get those?

 

RALPH

What?

 

MARGARET

Those nuts.

 

RALPH

What?

 

MARGARET

Those peanuts.  Where’d you get them?

RALPH

You want one?  You know, if the sun doesn’t get up over the horizon pretty damn soon, we’re going to miss it.

 

MARGARET

Did you take them out of the cupboard?

 

RALPH

I don’t think so.  When did they say?

 

MARGARET

Five-thirty.  Well where then?

 

RALPH

(looks at watch)  Five thirty exactly?  Or are you just doing one of your approximating things? 

 

MARGARET

 (looks)

 

RALPH

You can look all you want, but this is really something.  First time since 1882.  Venus passing right between the earth and the sun.  Cosmic ride.  Wshooooze! (makes a motion with his hands.)

 

MARGARET

A dot moves across the sun.  Sure it’s not just ashes from a beach fire?

 

RALPH

It’s Venus, Margaret. Not happening again til 2012, and we won’t be able to see it then.

 

MARGARET

You do do your reading.  I’ll give you that. You working today?

 

RALPH

Starting at 10. Over to Norwood Road. Still at that foundation.  

 

MARGARET

So where’d you get those peanuts?

 

RALPH

From the table, I guess.  I don’t know.  And then not again til 2117.  We’ll be gone.  

 

MARGARET

I should hope so.  

 

RALPH

This is historic.  Once in a lifetime.  Not to be missed.

 

MARGARET

Whoever heard of peanuts first thing in the morning.  I was leaving them out for supper.

 

RALPH

Peanuts for supper?

 

MARGARET

For the thai chicken you asked for.  

 

RALPH

I’ll go get some more.

 

MARGARET

Angelo’s is closed today.  There, is that some kind of sunlight over there?

 

RALPH

Are you sure?

 

MARGARET

Something about going to Bangor.  There was a sign, remember?  Don’t you want a sweater?  Aren’t you cold?

 

RALPH

Bangor?  

 

MARGARET

You’re shivering.

 

RALPH

I’m not cold.  Seems to me it’s almost warm. In the middle of the week?

 

MARGARET

June in Eastport isn’t warm, Ralph.

 

RALPH

Suit yourself.  Did the sign say why?

 

MARGARET

No, just Bangor.  Speaking of which, Marjorie called last night.  

 

RALPH

What’s Bangor got to do with Marjorie?

 

MARGARET

She went to college there, Ralph.  Your own sister.

 

RALPH

Beauty school.  Sure you don’t want a peanut?  

 

MARGARET

It was before Jay Leno.  You were awake.

 

RALPH

Tell me again.  Look.  Is that the sun?

 

MARGARET

No, it’s just the reflection from a headlight.

 

RALPH

Hope no one’s coming.  I really want to get this to myself.

 

MARGARET

She said Samantha had a cold, so she didn’t want to wake her up, and Harry wasn’t going in to work today anyway, so they were just going to sleep in and see it on TV.

 

RALPH

Good.  

 

MARGARET

Sounds like you don’t want to see your sister.

 

RALPH

I love Marjorie.  And I love Samantha, too.  Crissake, Margaret, don’t make me out to be some kind of ogre here.  All I’m saying is that I’ve been looking forward to seeing this thing ever since . . .

 

MARGARET

You just heard about it last week.

 

RALPH

Well, ever since last week, then.  Man’s got a right to look forward to something for a week, I guess, if that’s all the notice he has.

 

MARGARET

Give me those peanuts.  You’re never going to get into StopnSave today.

 

RALPH

Then make something else.

 

MARGARET

I don’t want something else.  I want Thai.  It’s on the meal planner.  Give me the peanuts.

 

RALPH

(Takes one more).  There.  Take ‘em, take ‘em.  Thai-schmai. There’s that light again.

 

MARGARET

You need to enlarge your palate.  Someone’s coming up the road.  They stopped at the house.

 

RALPH

Why is anyone coming up here before six on a Tuesday?

 

MARGARET

Maybe they heard you were giving away peanuts.

 

RALPH

Tell them to go away.  First time this Transitory Venus thing in a hundred years, and we’ll be the first to see it.  Best reason to live in Eastport.

 

MARGARET

They’re already seeing it in Europe.  In Europe they’re already bored with the whole idea.  They’ve gone back to bed.

 

RALPH

Just like we were the first to say “Hello” to the Millennium.

 

MARGARET

Which time?  When the nines all turned over, or the real time. You weren’t first the second time.

 

RALPH

The second time wasn’t the real time, sister.

 

MARGARET

The second time was the real time and you know it.  You just won’t admit it because you went to sleep and missed it.

 

RALPH

I went to sleep because the second time was boring, because I’d been up for days pouring that concrete out on Route One, and because you didn’t wake me up.  Nobody stayed up for the second time anyway.  It was all over on the first time.

 

MARGARET

I was awake.  I tried to wake you up.  But all you said was “Unggggngngn” the way you do. You never wake up any more.

 

RALPH

If you’d really wanted to wake me up, you know you would have.  You just wanted to keep it for yourself.

 

MARGARET

You didn’t believe in it anyway, Mister.  You said the first one was the real one since that’s when all the nines went over and all the fireworks and all, so even if it was wrong, it was right.  

 

RALPH

Well, it was right.  Seems like it’s a long time getting light this morning.  Who’s that coming?

 

MARGARET

Looks like Angelo and Mrs. Angelo.

 

RALPH

Giovanna.

 

MARGARET

Really.

 

RALPH

I wonder what’s going on about Bangor.

 

(ANGELO and GIOVANNA enter.)

ANGELO

Hey, Ralph.

 

RALPH

Hey, Ange.  Giovanna.

 

GIOVANNA

Just Ginny.  The other sounds so old fashioned.

 

MARGARET

Morning, Angelo.  You’re up early.

 

RALPH

I know.  Just kinda fun to say. 

 

ANGELO

It was Ginny.  

 

RALPH

Giovanna.

 

ANGELO

She wanted to see it.

 

RALPH

Yeah.  It’s historic.

 

MARGARET

Historic occasion for eating a whole can of peanuts.

 

ANGELO

And you’ve got the edge, up here, I was telling Ginnie.

 

GIOVANNA

First light, he said.  

 

RALPH

That’s right.  We’re the first, not counting Grand Manan.  First on the continent.

 

GIOVANNA

So I thought . . .

 

ANGELO

She thought, well maybe.

 

GIOVANNA

We’re going down to Bangor today.

 

MARGARET

I saw the sign.  But . . .

 

ANGELO

They think.  Well, they  think . . .

 

GIOVANNA

Angelo!!

 

ANGELO

Ginny, come on.  Ralph and I are old friends..

 

RALPH

Yeah, and worse than that.  Pull up a chair.  Margaret, why don’t you get Angelo and Giovanna, uh, Ginny a chair here?

 

MARGARET

Yeah.  Sure thing. (doesn’t move.)

 

ANGELO

See, the thing of it is, is . . .

 

GIOVANNA

Bangor, they think they can . . .

 

ANGELO

We’ve been trying, see . . .

 

GIOVANNA

And Angelo, he really wants . . .

 

ANGELO

Well, you do, too, honey.

 

GIOVANNA

Of course, yes, I do, I really do.

 

ANGELO

So, the doctors in Bangor, they . . .

 

GIOVANNA

But I thought, well . . .

 

ANGELO

Her mother’s kind of old fashioned, see . . .

 

GIOVANNA

You could guess.  My name and all . . .

 

MARGARET

Giovanna. 

 

GIOVANNA

Yeah, silly, isn’t it.

 

RALPH

Sounds nice to me.

 

ANGELO

Her mother, she called, she’d heard about this Venus thing.

 

RALPH

Transitory Venus.

 

GIOVANNA

Actually, it’s the Transit of Venus.

 

MARGARET

Sounds like something Ralph’d be watching on the Playboy channel.

 

RALPH

I thought you were getting some chairs for our guests here.

 

ANGELO

Her mother thought it might, you know, well, make a difference.

 

GIOVANNA

If I was the first, you know.  If the light somehow hit me first.

 

RALPH

It’s not like a light, though.  It’s a shadow.  It’s like this mini-eclipse.

 

ANGELO

But the first to see it.  Out here, first light of sunrise, every day, first sun to hit the United States.

 

GIOVANNA

So, the first sign of the Transit of Venus, even though it’s not the whole thing.

 

ANGELO

She’s so smart.

 

MARGARET

You can just tell.

 

GIOVANNA

No I’m not.  Not really, I mean.  I just read about this is all, after my mom called.

 

ANGELO

They live in Naples.

 

RALPH

Oh.

 

GIOVANNA

No, Florida.  They retired.   We just get the end of it here.  Just the last part of it, of Venus, going across the sun.  Boop.  Like that.

 

ANGELO

And then it happens again in twelve years.  And then not again for a hundred years.  

 

MARGARET

How will you know?

 

GIOVANNA

Know what?

 

MARGARET

If all this standing in the light, whatever, did any good?

 

ANGELO

Well, it can’t hurt, can it?  And when the baby comes, we’re going to call her Lucia.

 

GIOVANNA

That’s sort of like “light.”  I know it’s old fashioned.  We’ll probably really call her Lucy.

 

RALPH

What if it’s a boy?

 

ANGELO

Marshall.  You know, like Mars.  

 

MARGARET

Better than Pluto.  

 

ANGELO

Isn’t that the light?  Just there?  The sun?

 

RALPH

It is.  Just a little south from where it was yesterday.

 

MARGARET

And a little north of where it’ll be tomorrow.

 

GIOVANNA

Gee, it’s so pretty up here in the morning.

 

ANGELO

You don’t mind if we stand in front, do you?  

 

GIOVANNA

It goes so fast.  I didn’t think the sun would rise so fast.

 

ANGELO

Here, honey.  Stand here, stand in front of me. Face right into it.  Just don’t look is all.  Trust me, it’s there.

 

ANGELO brings GIOVANNA directly in front of him, puts his arms around her.  She leans back on him as the golden light begins to reflect, first on their face, then all over.  MARGARET moves closer to RALPH, who reaches out, takes her hand, and pulls her closer.   Subtly, he moves her in front of him, so they are only slightly behind the other couple, but in the same position.

 

ANGELO

(intones) Transit of Venus, Transit of Venus, light to the light inside, touch her now. (Pause.  Then to Ralph and Margaret).  Her mother told me to say it.  (To Giovanna).  Isn’t that right sweetheart?

 

GIOVANNA

It feels so warm.  I didn’t think I’d feel so warm so soon.

 

MARGARET

Just that spot, I see it.  I don’t think we should look right at it.

 

(From behind RALPH, MARGARET reaches out her hand and places it gently on his shoulder.)

 

RALPH

(quietly)  Ralph, Junior.  Now that would have been something all right.  

 

 (Lights get brighter, then fade quickly to black.)  

 

END OF PLAY