dramashort 02

Here is a dramashort for you. Title: The Last Slice Characters: MAYA (30s): Tired, trying to be fair. BEN (30s): Her husband, hungry and oblivious. (A small, sparse kitchen. A single pizza box sits on the counter, open. One slice remains. MAYA stares at it. BEN enters, rubbing his stomach.) BEN: (Cheerful) Is that the last of it? My hero. (He reaches for the box. MAYAs hand darts out, not grabbing his, but resting on the box edge. A barricade.) MAYA: It is. BEN: (His grin flickers) Cool. Plate? MAYA: No. BEN: (A pause. He looks at her face, not the pizza.) Babe? You okay? MAYA: Ive been thinking about this slice for the last hour. Since you ate the third piece, your phone in your hand, watching some video of a guy fixing a chair. You didnt even taste it. BEN: It was a good video. The joinery was Maya, its a slice of pizza. What is this? MAYA: This is me choosing. BEN: (A low, cautious laugh) Choosing what? MAYA: (Picks up the slice. Its cold. The cheese has set.) I am going to eat this slice of pizza. And I am not going to offer you any. I am not going to ask if you want a bite. I am not going to watch you eat it and feel a little bit of myself dissolve because I gave you the last of something, again. BEN: (The humor is gone. A hard, quiet note enters his voice.) Thats a beautiful speech. But its just pepperoni and grease. Eat the damn pizza. MAYA: Its not. BEN: Then what is it? (Maya takes a bite. Slow. Deliberate. Chews. Swallows.) MAYA: (Quietly) Its the first thing Ive kept for myself in six years. (The sound of her chewing fills the silence. Ben watches her, his expression unreadable. He has missed something, and he knows it. The slice is half gone.) BEN: (Softly) I would have given it to you. MAYA: (She meets his eyes. A sad, final smile.) I know. Thats the worst part. (She takes the final bite. The box is empty. The fight is over. She won. And they both know it was a battle that shouldnt have existed.) [BLACK.]