Nick I’m sorry.

Helen Everything gone. Not all at once. Not some great explosion. Not one day you can see what’s happening and fight back. But so gradually you don’t see it. Long, dull pain. Every now and then thinking: ‘How did we get from there to here? How did we let this happen? It can’t get any worse.’ But it does. On and on.

Nick But now you’re / doing something …

Helen And you do start to make concessions. Alright – I’ll let that one go. Maybe that was an unrealistic goal. Maybe I’ll have to take that on board. You can’t be fighting all the time. You get so fucking weary of always being angry.

Nick Yeah.

Helen And now finally there’s a chance to do something. Too late for anything big. Too much lost for any grand gestures. But trying to pick up the pieces. Trying to create a few possibilities for the bits of humanity that are left. I’ve seen those bastards fuck up the country all these years. Now I want to do something about it,

Nick Let’s get you off to your interview. Let’s get you selected.

Helen No point being interviewed. No point in being selected if it all gets taken away from me because you can’t face up to your past.

Nick Time for your tea.

Helen When are you going to talk to him?

Nick I… I can’t do it. Please. Just want to look after you.

Helen I don’t need you Nick. I’ve got nothing in common with you, I’ve cut bits out of myself. Bit by bit, another belief, another dream. I’ve cut them all out. I’m changed. I’ve grown up. I’m scarred.

Nick You’re beautiful.

Helen Talk to him.

Nick I’m not going to do that.

Helen Then there’s no point in this. The meal. The suit. The bath. There’s no point.

Nick If I can’t take care of you, then I don’t mean anything.

Helen Then live with that. You mean nothing, alright? You’re meaningless. Go.

Nick Alright then. Yeah. Yeah. And you run around from your meetings, to your committees, to your associations. Fill up your time with all this busy, busy stuff if it makes you feel better. But don’t think it means you’re doing anything, alright?

Helen I’m doing, I’m doing …

Nick You’re doing fuck all. Just rearranging the same old shit backwards and forward, that’s what you’re doing. And you call it politics. Just as meaningless as the rest of us.

Helen I’m doing what I can.

Nick Maybe that’s where I got it wrong. Maybe nothing means anything. Maybe that’s what I was running away from. So fuck. I’ll be meaningless. Yeah. I’m going and I’m gonna be totally fucking meaningless, alright?

Scene Seven

Hospital.

Tim No.

Victor Come on honey …

Tim No.

Victor Honey please …

Tim I told you no.

Victor Gotta take your pills.

Tim Got to?

Victor Doctor says you’ve got to.