“Bea’s Birthday”
                                                                            © 1998 by Lawson Caldwell

Synopsis
Time: Present
Location: Del and Mary’s apartment in New York City

Bea, her best friend Mrs. Seville, her daughter Kelly and her sister-in-law, Aunt K arrive in New York to
stay with her other daughter Mary and husband Del.  The occasion is Bea’s birthday.  Bea and Mrs. Seville
recently returned from a lengthy trip to Europe.  Mary senses that Kelly is up to something but can’t figure
out what.  Mary and Del’s daughter Laura arrives just as they are leaving for dinner.  Later, around 3 AM,
Kelly, Laura and Mary are sitting in the living room talking about Laura’s boyfriend.  Kelly is trying give her
some pointers on training potential husbands.  Del joins them because he can’t sleep.  Kelly begins to stir
things up when she suggests that Bea and Mrs. Seville might just be more than best friends.  She thinks
they are lesbians.  She brings up the fact that Bea and Mrs. Seville have known each other for sixty to
seventy years, seem devoted to one another and are very happy when together.  Bea, Aunt K. and Mrs.
Seville come into the living room because they can not sleep.  Everyone listens to Bea discuss the summer
she and Mrs. Seville spent in New York trying to become actresses before they both married.  Bea then
explains to them that she and Mrs. Seville were fortunate to have loved as well as learned to have loved
the men they married.  Bea states,  When Mrs. Seville, Aunt K and I came along, it was expected that we
should marry while we were young.  I was fortunate to fall in love with your father.  I’m sure there were a lot
of debutantes that year who were never truly happy in their marriages.   Mary and Kelly decide to drop the
idea of Bea and Mrs. Seville being lesbians until Aunt K blurts it out.  Kelly and Mary try to explain to Bea
that she seems so independent and happy because of Mrs. Seville.  After further discussions, Bea decides
not to answer the question.  She explains to them,   The enjoyment of another person’s company is so
important.  Whether traveling to Europe or reading the newspaper on the screen porch.  Full
companionship with one another.  Waking up each morning with anticipation of the other.  Do you say
lesbian because our friendship seems so intimate, therefore it must be much more than the usual
friendship people enjoy.  Surely, you don’t define everything in you life based on whether people are
intimate.  If the only difference is intimacy, then I suppose I’ll never answer your question.

Cast of Characters:
  1. Del  - Del is very relaxed.  He is a successful playwright.  He lives with his wife Mary in a beautiful
    apartment in Manhattan.  They have a daughter named Laura who lives in Washington, DC.  Del
    and Mary are also best friends.
  2. Bea – Bea is an older woman.  She is Mary and Kelly’s mother.  Bea is very attractive and pleasant.  
    She has begun to transform herself into more of an independent individual.
  3. Mary – Mary is a very sensitive person.  She sometimes questions herself.  Her main objective is for
    everyone to be happy.  Mary adores Del and their daughter Laura.
  4. Kelly – Kelly is the typical overbearing older sister.  She and her husband Roger lead very individual
    lives.  It was her idea to bring Bea to New York for her birthday.  Kelly is always stirring up things
    when she can’t control things.
  5. Aunt K (The letter K is for Katherine.  It is a family thing.) – Aunt K is a character.  She says what is
    on her mind.  She is Bea’s sister-in-law as well as an old friend.  Aunt K loves to cause mischief.
  6. Mrs. Seville (Niace is her first name.  It is pronounced Nice.) – Mrs. Seville is very quiet and appears
    very stern and reserved.  Her attitude around Bea is polite and friendly.
  7. Laura - is a very modern woman.  Though in her twenties, she is very mature and grounded.