Back Reasons to be Happy Save as PDF
Contents ( 13)
  1. PRAISE FOR THE PLAYS OF NEIL LABUTE
  2. REASONS TO BE PRETTY
  3. IN A DARK DARK HOUSE
  4. WRECKS
  5. FAT PIG
  6. THE MERCY SEAT
  7. THE SHAPE OF THINGS
  8. BASH
  9. ALSO BY NEIL LABUTE
  10. Copyright
  11. Contents
  12. PREFACE
  13. REASONS TO BE HAPPY

GREG Do you think we should … I mean, should we go home and discuss this, or …?

CARLY Whose home? Yours or mine?

GREG Doesn’t matter.

CARLY Yeah, it kinda does. I mean … at least now I know why we still have two homes.

GREG No, that’s not … no. I promise.

CARLY Really? (Beat.) We did have the “move in together” talk a couple of times… so …

GREG Carly, absolutely not! (Beat.) I ran into Steph a few … not that long ago, and … we’ve just … we’ve … been …

CARLY She said she cornered you at Costco.

GREG Ok, yes. That’s more like the truth …

CARLY I’d prefer the facts if you don’t mind.

GREG … fine …

CARLY I guess this job is rubbing off on me … that and feeling like I’m suddenly back in the same fucking nightmare that I was in with Kent! (Beat.) Shit …/ I can’t even believe this!

GREG I’m sorry for not …/ Carly …

CARLY I’ve gotta punch out so I’d appreciate it if you’d just jump in and say it, ok?/ Please, Greg? (Beat.)

GREG Carly, look …/ I should’ve said something before, but I didn’t know what to do—I did try to tell you once, I did!—but that’s obviously why it’s taken me so long to … for me to, to … broach this …

CARLY English, please.

GREG I’m struggling with what to do! I don’t know how to handle this, so … I’m …

CARLY It’s easy. Which one of us do you wanna be with?

GREG That’s … we haven’t had sex or anything, I promise. It hasn’t been like that.

CARLY I know./ Steph said that, too.

GREG … oh./ She did?

CARLY Yeah, Greg, she told me everything. Girls are like that … honest. (Beat.) We fought for about, like … ten minutes … but the whole thing’s just so fucking absurd that we … you know. We just got it out.

GREG Then … why didn’t you say something? To me?/ No, I know that, I know, but … I’m just saying … if you knew, then …

CARLY Because it’s not my place here, okay? I don’t have to be the “guy” this time …/ For the last three years I’ve had to do all the lifting and make the … be a mom and a dad to my daughter and I’m just not gonna do that in this situation. You are an adult, Greg … whether you like it or not. You have feelings—or at least I am giving you the benefit of the doubt—so you’ve got some idea how this should go by this point. So … go. Say something.

GREG … I’m … trying to …

CARLY However I feel about this … and I have a shitload of feelings right now … you and me are in a situation that we need to do something about. We gotta figure it out—I mean, we’re not having sex, either, now and, so … I mean … what’s going on here?