61096 I MISS HIM SO MUCH
(HER SECOND CHRISTMAS ALONE)
by Greg Sullivan


GENRE: Drama
TIME: 10 minutes
CAST BREAKDOWN: 1M, 1F
THEME: Despair; Provision; God's Steadfastness
CHURCH YEAR SEASON: Christmas
SUGGESTED USE: Worship Service; Senior Service; Christmas Banquet

CHARACTERS:
MARGARET BENSON— 65-year-old woman who is facing her second Christmas alone
without her husband, who was killed in the 9-11 attack on the World Trade Center. She
has one son who is stationed overseas in the military. She is a quiet, introspective lady
who continues to deal with a lot of the grief of losing her best friend and companion.
ROGER— middle-aged man who is a grocery store manager by day and a carpet cleaner
salesman by night. We find out in the story that his daughter was killed by a drunk
driver two years before and that his wife left him a few months ago. He is very energetic,
peppy, and friendly, but we come to see that much of this is a cover for the grief he is
dealing with.

SYNOPSIS: ROGER tries to sell MARGARET a carpet cleaner but the pair soon realizes they have great personal tragedy in common. MARGARET shares her faith, but ROGER is reluctant to believe in a God who would let such a horrible tragedy happen in his life. He does finally accept MARGARET'S offer of dinner and the promise of looking at his tragedy in a new way.

PROPS: A bag in which to carry bottles of cleaning solution,Two or three spray bottles of cleaning solution,A scrub brush,A clipboard,A photo album, A piece of paper on which is written a note to Mrs. Benson,Living room furniture,A decorated Christmas tree and other Christmas decorations, Pictures in frames, particularly one of a soldier in uniform and one of a man about the same age as Mrs. Benson (her late husband)
COSTUMES: MARGARET—casual, ROGER—suit and tie
SOUND: Two cordless mics
LIGHTING: General stage; holiday lights for Christmas tree
SETTING: Margaret's living room
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE: Job; James 5:11

DIRECTOR'S TIP: This is a scene that could become static if the actors are not very aware of picking up their cues. One way to help with this is to give Roger activities (his cleaning is perfect) that will give him opportunities to turn away from Margaret. These turning away movements will emphasize his efforts to turn away Margaret's advances about God.

SETTING: It is the day before Christmas Eve. The stage serves as Margaret's living room. There is a rocking chair, a decorated Christmas tree, and other typical furniture, preferably of an older style. Pictures of a young man dressed in military attire and an older man (Margaret's late husband) are on an end table in view of the audience. A door is situated off to one side of the stage.

The scene opens with MARGARET sitting in her rocking chair, looking through a photo album. The decorated Christmas tree is off to one side and Christmas music is playing softly in the background. She has a sad, but somewhat content, look on her face. After she looks through the album for a short time, the doorbell rings. MARGARET slowly, and with some difficulty, gets up out of the chair and walks slowly to the door. Standing there, dressed in a heavy coat, is ROGER. He is carrying a bag of carpet cleaner bottles and a clipboard. He is obviously cold and very determined to make a sale.

MARGARET: May I help you, young man?

ROGER: (Very perky, in a stereotypical salesman voice) Oh, Ma'am, that's a great question, but I'm afraid it's the wrong question. The right question is, may I help you? How are you doing on this fine, yet chilly, day?

MARGARET: I'm sorry, but I'm really not interested in buying anything right now. (She begins to close the door.)

ROGER: Oh, but…(He looks down at his clipboard.)…Mrs. Benson, I believe your mailbox said, I'm not really selling anything right now. I'm here to give you an unbelievable, not-to-be-passed-up opportunity. Now, I know it's the day before Christmas Eve, but what better time to take advantage of this gem of a gift I have to offer you?

MARGARET: Really. (She leans forward to look at his name tag.) Roger. It's been kind of a busy day for me and I'd like to start…(ROGER interrupts her.)

ROGER: Then I have just the right thing for you, Mrs. B—may I call you Mrs. B? (He goes on without waiting for an answer.) If you'll just give me five minutes, I think your day will start looking better—I know your carpet will. You see, I'm here to offer you the deal of the century—hey, maybe even the deal of your lifetime. (He takes a step forward.) You see, in this bag I'm carrying is the most scientifically tested—(He stops abruptly to ask if he can come in while he nudges his way in the door.) You don't mind if I come in and show you, do you? (He's in the door by the time he finishes the sentence.) The most scientifically tested electronically charged hypoallergenic dirt absorption cleaner ever invented. May I demonstrate one feature of this amazing solution, Mrs. B? I believe it will alter your life forever.

MARGARET: (Quite frustrated) Very well, Roger. But only for a few minutes. Please know I'm not at all interested in buying anything.

ROGER: That's fine, Mrs. Benson. I promise you, you won't regret this. Just watch closely as I demonstrate the amazing power of (He holds up a bottle of the cleaner.) "CarpoMagic." (As he says this next sentence he reaches into the bag and pulls out a quart of motor oil and begins to pour it on the carpet.) I simply need to dirty your carpet a bit with this motor oil, one of the toughest stains to get out, wouldn't you agree, Mrs. B?

MARGARET: (Quite shocked) Uh, yes, I would agree, Roger. I hope you know what you're doing.

ROGER: Oh, don't you worry. You just prepare to be amazed. (He pours out the cleaning solution onto the stain and starts scrubbing vigorously with a brush.) Just a few seconds of this and you'll never know what hit this carpet. (He continues to scrub, getting more and more frustrated as the stain doesn't go away. After about 20 seconds of this, MARGARET speaks.)

MARGARET: Roger, may I ask you a question?

ROGER: Sure, but don't mind me while I scrub away.

MARGARET: Why do you do this on the night before Christmas Eve?

ROGER: Well, frankly, Mrs. B, I don't like Christmas very much. So why not make a few bucks today? It's just like any other day to me.

MARGARET: Why is that? This is such a special time of year.

ROGER: (He stops scrubbing and looks up at her, pain on his face.) Special for you, ma'am, but not for me. (He goes back to scrubbing.)

MARGARET: Well, that's too bad. What is it about Christmas you don't like?

ROGER: (He stops scrubbing again and looks down for a few seconds, motionless and lost in thought.) I lost my only little girl to a drunk driver two years ago yesterday. That's kind of tainted my view of this season, you know. Up until then, Christmas was my favorite time of year, too. But there isn't a whole lot to celebrate anymore, is there? (He's suddenly lost his enthusiasm and has adopted a very bitter attitude, as if the jolly salesman was a cover for the deep pain in his life.)

MARGARET: I'm so sorry, Roger. No, I imagine it is very difficult for you to celebrate right now. May I ask how your wife is dealing with it?

ROGER: I wouldn't know. After a while the grief became too much for her. She took off a few months ago. I haven't heard from her. (He goes back to scrubbing the spot.) So, every day is pretty much as bad as any other, and Christmas is something I'd rather forget about. My little girl loved that day. She'd wake up in the morning and go straight to the Christmas tree. She loved all the presents stacked under it especially the ones with the bright red bows. (He stops scrubbing and smiles.) I can still see her now tearing at the paper and sticking the bow in her curly red hair. (He looks up at Margaret.) So, I'd just as soon work this extra job at night than face an empty house of memories. (He pauses, then goes back to scrubbing.) Well, Mrs. Benson, enough about me that just gets too depressing. (He starts to go back to covering his pain with the peppy salesman act.) Do you have any children?

MARGARET: Yes, I do. One boy. But he's in the army, stationed overseas, and won't be home until the summer.

ROGER: How about your husband?

MARGARET: (A little taken aback by the question) Oh, he passed away a little over a year ago.

ROGER: (Suddenly serious for a moment) Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Here I am unloading my junk on you and you're probably having a terrible time of it this holiday season yourself. Was it sudden?

MARGARET: (With a distant, thoughtful look on her face) Yes, quite sudden. He worked downtown…on the 88th floor…until September last year.

ROGER: Oh, Mrs. Benson, I'm so sorry. Then you probably understand my bitterness about this time of year. I mean, Christmas is supposed to be about love and all, but I don't really want to hear about it. Love doesn't let 3500 people die or little girls with their whole lives ahead of them. People with perfect lives can have their Christmases. I prefer to ignore it.

MARGARET: (Pauses for a few seconds, thinking before she speaks) Roger, I'd like to show you something. Would you mind sitting on the couch with me?

ROGER: (He stands up.) That would be fine, but I'm not quite done with the stain.

MARGARET: (She smiles at his comment.) I think the stain can wait. Please, this way. (They walk over to the couch and sit. MARGARET opens the photo album she was looking at before and pulls out a piece of paper from the back. She hands it to ROGER.) Read this, Roger.

ROGER takes the paper and begins to read silently.

ROGER: It's the 23rd Psalm. I've read it before in church.

MARGARET: Yes, it's a very common chapter in the Bible about God's comfort. But read the note at the bottom.

ROGER: (He reads aloud.) "Margaret, know that I love you with all of my heart almost as much as God must love you. See you tonight."

MARGARET: (With a great deal of emotion.) Jerry wrote me that note the morning he died in the north tower, as if he had a sense that something might happen that day. He loved me with everything he was but he knew that our God loved me even more. It's been over a year that he's been gone and I believe that fact more now than ever.

ROGER: But how can you say that? God took him away from you.

MARGARET: No, he didn't, Roger. Evil people took my Jerry away. I don't know why God let that happen. I don't know why God let your little girl get hit by a car. Things happen every day that don't make any sense at all. But I can tell you with all my heart that because of what I believe about God's love, Christmas is my favorite time of year.

ROGER: Then you're a better person than I am, Mrs. Benson. You have no family to celebrate with. (He looks around the room at the decorations.) Everything around here must remind you of your husband your husband who was killed senselessly by a bunch of crazed lunatics.

MARGARET: Don't get me wrong, Roger, I miss Jerry more than I could ever say. We used to love Christmas morning. We'd get up early, put on a pot of coffee and just sit by the tree and watch the lights. After a little while, our little Pete would come running down the stairs and tear into his presents. When Pete grew up and got married, he'd bring his wife over and the four of us would still sit in front of the tree early Christmas morning with cups of coffee. (She pauses for a moment as she reminisces about the scene.) I miss those days, and Jerry and Pete, so much. But I keep putting these decorations up because I want to remember Christmas for what it is still, not just for what it used to be for my family. If it weren't for what Christmas is all about, I couldn't make it through the rest of the year, Roger.

ROGER: What does Christmas have to do with the rest of the year?

MARGARET: I didn't find this note Jerry left me until the morning of September 12th. It didn't mean very much to me that morning as I deeply grieved his death. But I read his final message to me every day for weeks. And gradually the truth of, "I will fear no evil, for you are with me," began to sink in. Roger, I couldn't go through a day without knowing God was right by my side every step of the way. And Christmas has a way of reminding me of that.

ROGER: Christmas has a way of reminding me of how much life hurts.

MARGARET: I understand that feeling. But if it weren't for the fact that Jesus came to earth to be with us, many of us would be living that life of hurt all alone. I can't do it alone, Roger. I can honestly say that Jesus is the best friend I have right now and that his love for me holds me every day. Christmas helps me keep that in perspective.

ROGER: (Truly sincere and sad) But I can't get past the grief and anger.

MARGARET: I understand that. It took me many months to get there. I remember last Christmas. My son was here but he might as well not have been. All I felt Christmas morning was sadness and pain. The tree, the presents, the food none of it meant anything. And then it hit me it's not supposed to mean anything without the One who puts it all together. That's when I started to move on with my life when I saw the baby of Christmas as God's gift to me, as His reminder to me that He's always with me.

ROGER: I don't know, Mrs. Benson. I'll have to think about all that.

MARGARET: I hope you will, Roger. (Pause) What are your plans for Christmas?

ROGER: Oh, I'll probably have dinner with my brother's family and we'll exchange a few gifts. I've sort of become their charity case this past year. It's kind of nice they care. (He stands abruptly.) But first, I have a stain to kill. (He walks over to the stain and begins to scrub again.)

MARGARET stands and slowly walks over to ROGER.

MARGARET: Roger, would you stay and have supper with me? I'm making my famous Pre-Christmas Eve Potato Soup. I'd love to have your company.

ROGER: (He stops scrubbing and looks up at her.) I'd like that very much, Mrs. B. Thanks.

MARGARET: (She starts to slowly walk toward Stage Left, then turns and speaks to Roger.) The soup will be ready in about 30 minutes. From the look of that dark area on my carpet, I think you'll be needing every bit of that time.

ROGER: Don't you worry, Mrs. B. Don't you worry at all.

The lights fade out and the actors exit Stage Left.

Performance and photocopying rights:
Your purchase of this script grants your church unlimited use of these sketches within your programs and worship services. You may photocopy the script for each cast member in your church. Scripts and performance rights are not transferable between churches and cannot be resold. You may not use the sketches for any commercial or fundraising purpose, and usage rights do not extend to video, radio, television or film.

Copyright © 2002 by Greg Sullivan