! 1

BARK

Scene 1: 10 Years !

The living room of a small apartment. An old coffee table is in the center, holding a few empty cups and a bowl of half-eaten cereal. A broken reclining chair sits haphazardly near one of the corners, across from a larger couch that shows signs of age... and children.

!The floor is littered with various debris: toy trucks, blocks, a NERF gun, another bowl of some lunch item that has been forgotten. The walls are bare and mostly dusty.

!BEN comes storming on from stage right, followed by two of his friends, BILLY and CHIP. They are playing a game of tag that involves a lot of screaming and running. They laugh and cajole each other for a few moments, until a loud voice from offstage prompts them to stop:

!DENISE:

BOYS! !

The boys all freeze momentarily, and then duck behind the couches to hide. BILLY tries to crawl underneath the coffee table, but his belly gets him stuck halfway through. He lays there uncomfortable but resigned. DENISE comes on from stage left, stumbling, and holding her cell phone to her ear. She slurs some of her words.

DENISE: They’ve been running around all day and this is the first time they’ve come inside... Ben! Where are you? Your dad’s on his way to pick you up and you need to clean up this room before he gets here.

She spots BILLY’S legs sticking out of the end of the coffee table. She hangs up the phone and walks over to help pull him out.

DENISE: Come on, Billy...

! 2

!BILLY:

Sorry... I always forget that I don’t fit. It looks a lot bigger than I am.

BILLY pats his belly. DENISE looks behind the couches, but the boys have already left their hiding spots. They look at her silently and she glares at each of them in turn before speaking.

DENISE: Five minutes, Ben. Pick up all of these toys.

BEN:

But... but I’m not done playing with them! Don’t make me put ‘em away yet, please!

DENISE:

(walking offstage) Your father is almost here. Four minutes!

BEN hangs his head as she leaves.

CHIP: Your mom doesn’t look very happy.

BEN:

I know. I don’t think she is. CHIP: Why don’t your mom and dad live together?

BEN shrugs and starts to kick at the toys on the floor.

BILLY: Your mom is so pretty, Ben. I wish my mom looked liked her.

BEN:

Maybe we can trade moms for a week! Your mom lets you eat whatever you want! And she never yells at you when I’m over!

BILLY: (patting his belly again)

Yeah, but I think that’s why I don’t fit under your table like I used to.

! 3

CHIP laughs lightly and throws a NERF dart at BILLY. Their game isn’t over.

CHIP: Tag! You’re it!

The three boys whip around the room in a frenzy, calling at each other and knocking the toys around. There is a knock from stage right, and SCOTT walks into the room. He looks around the apartment cautiously, holding a box that has holes near the top. He smiles at the scene, and when the boys notice him, they gather around him and chatter.

BEN: Dad, dad, dad! What’s in the box? How come you’re here so early? I thought I was supposed to stay with mom until tomorrow!

SCOTT: I thought we could spend the whole weekend together, starting tonight! Why don’t you come sit over here and see the surprise I got for you?

SCOTT sits in the dirty reclining chair and places the box gently on the table. The boys gather around and stare intently at the box.

SCOTT: Okay, bud, I was gonna wait until your birthday, but when I saw this I just had to get it for you.

CHIP:

(whispering to BEN) Maybe he got you a baby sister! I think my parents brought mine home in a box like this one!

A soft, high-pitched bark comes from the box. The boys freeze. SCOTT opens the lid and lifts a small puppy from inside. The boys gasp and begin jumping up and down.

! 4

BILLY: I wanna hold him!

CHIP:

No, let me do it!

BEN: He’s my dog, I want to hold him!

They clamor around the dog, petting it and letting it lick their hands with its tiny tongue. BEN finally takes the dog from SCOTT’S hands and cradles it tenderly in his arms. It licks at his arms and BEN beams at the other boys.

BEN: Can I name him, dad?

SCOTT:

He’s your dog! What did you have in mind?

BEN stares intently at the puppy in his arms for a moment.

BEN: I’m gonna name him Bark!

DENISE enters the room abruptly and hovers on the edge. She is more unsteady on her feet than she was before. She looks over at SCOTT with a scowl that she tries to hide unsuccessfully.

DENISE: What is that? It smells.

SCOTT: Denise... hi. It’s a dog, an early birthday present for Ben--

DENISE: Get it out of here.

BEN: But mom, look at him--

BEN tries to move closer to DENISE but she grows increasingly upset.

! 5

DENISE: I said get it out of here. Now.

BEN is visibly hurt, but he retreats and holds the puppy tighter to him as if to shield it from his mom’s glare.

SCOTT: Okay, boys, why don’t we take the puppy out to the park? Huh?

BILLY and CHIP hurry excitedly for the door, seemingly unfazed by the tense exchange that just took place. BEN follows closely behind them, not looking back at his parents. DENISE and SCOTT stand facing each other. DENISE turns away from him and as she turns to leave:

DENISE: Get out.

Blackout.

!

! 6

Scene 2: 30 Years Low lights up on a mid-range loft. The light appears to come from a floor lamp that has been left on. A futon couch/bed is in the center of the room, covered with mismatched pillows and a thin blanket. Rows of shelves are lined with books and paperweights. The decoration is minimalist, with just a few posters scattered on the walls. BARK lays on the floor of the apartment, sleeping quietly. He is considerably older than he was in the first scene. He leads a simple life. There is the sound of keys, a door opening, and two figures stumble into the room, kissing and fondling. BARK wakes up and opens his eyes slowly to watch their traipse across the room to the futon. The lights come up a little more.

DANA: Ouch.

BEN:

Oh, shit. What did I do? DANA:

You just... you pulled my hair a little, that’s all. BEN:

Oh. Okay. Sorry. DANA:

No, no, it’s fine. Sometimes I like my hair pulled.

BEN laughs and kisses DANA. He jumps up from the futon.

BEN: Do you want anything? Like water, or...

DANA: (smiling)

No, I’m fine. Thank you. BEN:

Okay. I’ll be right back. Don’t move.

! 7

He kisses her again and heads offstage to the bathroom. DANA rearranges herself on the couch, patting down her dress and her hair. She looks around the dark apartment and tries to read some of the posters on the wall. BARK has slowly moved closer to the futon and lets out a very deep, old bark. DANA screams.

BEN: (running into the room)

What? What’s wrong? DANA:

Omigod, I don’t... what is that?! BEN turns on another light and smiles at BARK.

BEN: Oh! This... I’m sorry this is-- my pup! His name is Bark! He’s old, he won’t hurt you!

BEN rubs BARK behind the ears tenderly. BARK growls with satisfaction. BEN sits on the couch next to DANA.

DANA: I’m sorry I screamed--

BEN:

It’s fine. He only barks to say hello anymore. There’s no more bite left in him. And I mean that literally. He lost all his teeth a couple of years ago.

DANA:

How old is he? BEN:

Oh, gosh. I’ve had him for like twenty years or something!

DANA:

Are dogs supposed to live that long?

! 8

BEN: I don’t know. I don’t think so. But Bark just keeps going. Huh, pup?

BARK barks. BEN and DANA laugh.

BEN: My dad got him for me around my tenth birthday. Definitely the best gift I’ve ever received, but I’m pretty sure he did it mostly to piss off my mom. They had just gotten a divorce, and my mom was living in this shitty apartment, and I think he just wanted to rub it in her face. He knew it would make me happy. And my mom... I don’t think she wanted to see me unhappy, but buying me a dog was like a slap in the face. He was always kind of like that. But my dad ended up in bankruptcy, my mom was an alcoholic, and I got Bark here, and he’s been everywhere with me since.

DANA:

(kissing him gently) Wow. That’s... I’m sorry. I didn’t know your parents were divorced.

BEN:

(smiling wryly) Well Chip does most of the talking when we’re out, so I didn’t exactly get the chance to slip you the old “I come from a broken home” card before I brought you here. Did it still work the same, though? Am I suddenly... irresistible?

DANA laughs and stands up. She wanders around the room and peers at the shelves, looks through some papers. She is being nosy, but BEN thinks it’s cute so he doesn’t stop her. He leans back on the futon and lets his hand hang off the edge to run along the back of BARK’S head.

DANA: This is a nice apartment. I’m surprised that you can afford to live on this side of town. And Chip doesn’t seem like the kind of guy that would dig a place like this.

BEN: Chip and I have been friends a long time. I indulge drunken karaoke and stripper bars, and he... tries not

! 9

to call me out me for selling my soul to corporate America.

DANA takes a picture from a pile on a counter and brings it over to the futon. She sits next to BEN with her legs underneath her and rests her head on his shoulder. BEN takes the photo.

DANA: (pointing)

That’s Chip... And that’s you... but I don’t recognize the chubby guy on the right.

BEN:

Oh. That’s Billy. All three of us were pretty good friends all through high school. This was taken right before he went to the military academy. God, that was like fifteen years ago. I haven’t seen or heard from him since. Huh. If you look there, in the corner, you can even see Bark. I think we’d just finished giving him a bath.

BEN stares at the picture sadly. DANA watches him. BARK lets out another bark and jumps BEN out of his reverie.

BEN: (clearing his throat)

Anyway. Like I said, I’m from a broken home. Do you wanna help fix me?

He smiles mischievously at DANA, and they start making out. BARK lies on the floor and watches them. BEN drops the photo to the floor in front of BARK as he lays DANA on her back. BARK heaves a sigh and puts lays his head on top of the photo. Lights fade to blackout.

!

! 10

Scene 3: 80 Years

A room in a retirement home. The wallpaper is a gaudy floral pattern, and the linen on the sturdy bed with metal guardrails is a blinding white. A TV is on in the corner of the room playing a reality show of some sort. An older BEN, looking much like BARK did in the previous scene, is sitting in a chair next to his bed, flipping through articles on an iPad. He occasionally glances up at the television. A framed picture of BEN and BARK hangs above the bed. A nurse, ROBERT, enters from stage right. He pushes a cart into the room. BEN smiles at him.

BEN: Is it time already?

ROBERT: I know, I know, it feels like I was in here only an hour ago. But this is the kind of treatment you pay for!

ROBERT prepares a needle and syringe. BEN puts down his tablet and rolls up his sleeves, turning his attention to the television. ROBERT searches for a vein in BEN’S arm, inserts the needle, and when he’s finished, waits a moment to put pressure on the puncture spot. BEN hardly moves at all.

ROBERT: How much of this show have you seen?

BEN: Enough to know that I haven’t missed out on anything.

ROBERT: Then why keep watching? I’m sure there are hundreds of other programs to watch.

BEN: This one has the prettiest girls.

BEN winks slyly at ROBERT, who laughs, rolls his eyes and hands BEN a cup of water and a few pill capsules.

! 11

ROBERT: All right, take these and I’ll be out of your hair.

BEN:

Of what I have left...

BEN swallows the pills without the water. He sets the cup next to his chair.

BEN: Robert. Sit down with me a minute and talk with an old man. Just for a minute.

ROBERT sits at the edge of the bed. BEN:

Did you always want to be a nurse? ROBERT:

No... not always. I was pretty good at baseball in high school. I always thought I’d play in college and then professionally. But my mom got sick my senior year. She was alcoholic. So I spent a lot of time taking care of her.

BEN: And is she still alive?

ROBERT: She fought for a couple years. But I think she was ready to go when she did. At that time I’d spent so much time at the clinic and talking with doctors about her health that I felt like I knew her liver better than I knew my mom.

BEN smiles at ROBERT: a big, wide, happy grin.

BEN: You’re a good boy, Robert.

ROBERT’S pager goes off and he preps the cart to leave.

ROBERT: Thanks, Ben.

As he leaves the room, ROBERT turns back.

! 12

ROBERT:

Oh, Ben. The friend you’ve been talking about, the one who said she’d visit? She called today and had to reschedule. Just thought I should let you know. See you soon, Ben.

BEN resumes watching his television for a few moments. A very small smile lingers on his lips. He looks up at the photo of BARK. The lights on stage grow brighter. The sound of a dog’s bark is faintly heard. BEN does not react to this until it starts to get louder and closer to him. He looks out at the audience as if seeing something in the distance. We hear one final, triumphant bark that rings clear through the room, and then:

BEN: I hear ya, boy! I’m comin’. Be there soon, pup.

BEN’S smile fades from his face and his head falls forward very gently. Lights fade to black.

END