Happy is she who need not ask

A play in one act

Characters:

Lawlor, an intrepid plumber with an endearing southern lilt; Marvin and Melynda, a young couple with demanding schedules who are, temporarily, sharing a car; and Stanley, a leaky toilet with a leaky leak.

Time: The present.

Location: Growing coastal metropolis; neighborhood with tree-lined streets; pick a house, any house.

Marvin and Melynda skip in from stage left.

Melynda: Lawlor's coming tomorrow morning, and he said fixing Stanley is going to be a nightmare.

Marvin: Why?

Melynda: He had me describe Stanley's symptoms on the phone, and when I did he said that he's going to have to shut off the main water line and replace a bunch of parts. It's going to take hours. That's why he didn't come tonight. Didn't want to risk leaving us with no water overnight.

Marvin: That was thoughtful of him. That Lawlor sure is something. When is he coming?

Melynda: At 9. Do you want me to drop you off and come back to open the door, or should I just borrow my mom's car?

Marvin: You take the car, I'll stay home with Stanley. You have a busy day tomorrow, dontcha?

Melynda: Really?

Marvin: Yeah.

Melynda: Ok!

Narrator: And with that, Melynda sighed a happy sigh. Her Friday would be a lot easier that way, now that she didn't have to run back and forth across the city to drop off Marvin, open the door for Lawlor, wait for him to finish and then make it to an appointment. And she recalled that even happier than the woman who asks is one who doesn't need to.

FIN

[image via boston.com]