Script: Turning To Stone

"Come to the table. It's time to eat."
"In a minute. In a minute."
"Not in a minute. Now. Come now. Come, sit."
"Wait, goddamn it. I want to finish what I'm doing."
"Alright already, so finish."
"Okay then."
"Okay, okay. No problem."
"So what's for dinner anyway?"
"So you're coming?"
"Yes, I'm coming. I'm coming."
"Right now?"
"Right now."
"Good."
"So?"
"So what?"
"What's for dinner?"
"Oh, right. For dinner is a nice pot roast. With potatoes and carrots and warm dinner rolls. Delicious and it will stick to your ribs."
"Sounds good."
"Sounds good? You know it's good."
"So let's eat."
"So sit already."
(sits down)
"Good. I'll bring your dinner."
"Before you do that, I want to ask you a question."
"A question? What's this now?"
"Sit down."
"I have to sit down?"
"Please. Sit down."
(sits) "So, what's all this? I have to sit down?"
"I need to ask you something."
"So ask already. The dinner will get cold waiting."
"Don't worry about the dinner. It will be fine."
"Who's worrying?"
"So listen to me. I need to know something."
"I'm all ears."
"What would you do if I was gone?"
"What? Why would you be gone. Murray, don't scare me like this!"
"It's a hypothetical, a what if..."
"What if? What if you give me a heart attack asking questions like that?"
"Now now. Don't overreact. It's just a question."
"What kind of question is this? Why do you ask me a question like this?"
"Trust me to know when I should ask a question!"
"What's going on, Murray? Is something wrong with you? Are you sick?"
"No no, I'm fine. I'm fine. I just want to know what you would do?"
"But why?"
"But answer me, would you please?"
"I wouldn't know what to do if you were gone."
"But if it happened, what would you do?"
"I don't know what I'd do. I'd grieve. Why, Murray, why are you asking me?"
"It's just that..."
"It's just what?"
"It's just that, nothing lasts forever."
"No."
"Nothing, no."
"Are you sure there's nothing wrong with you?"
"I'm sure, I'm sure, but who knows about tomorrow?"
"Let me tell you what I know. Dinner is ready and it's going to get cold. That's what I know. I don't know anything about tomorrow, except I bought some chops and fresh green beans and some nice fruit, I'll make a nice fruit salad. You'll be here?"
"I'm planning on it. It's just that you never know."
"No, you never do."
"No."
"So, what brought this on?"
"My hands."
"Your hands? What about your hands?"
"My hands don't work like they used to. They're stiff."
"Sure they are. All your life you worked hard with those hands." (takes his hand in hers)
"They're turning to stone."
"What?"
"To stone. They're turning to stone. I'm turning to stone. Gravity is pulling everything into the ground, and nothing can keep on standing for long. Nothing can stand. Everything grows old and then back into the ground it goes, and over time, well over time, it all turns to stone. You can go and look at the layers on that ridge outside of town. You can see the layer of limestone in between the layers of granite and basalt and sandstone. That layer of limestone, that's made of old bones, sea creatures they were, millions of years ago. And what are they now? Stone. Everything goes back into the ground. And my hands are getting so stiff, I can feel the calcium deposits in the joints. Calcium. That's stone, too. My bones are turning to stone. Oh, never mind, I don't know what I'm talking about sometimes. I just get to noticing how things are changing, and it makes me think, and well, I'm not going to live forever."
"No darling. You're not going to live forever. Neither am I. But we're alive now, right?"
"Right. You're right of course. I don't know what I was worrying about. Don't listen to me."
"I always listen to you. Don't be silly. I'll tell you what, I'll think about it."
"What?"
"I'll think about what I would do if you were gone."
"Well don't think too much. I wouldn't want you to get ideas."
"Ideas? What kind of ideas am I going to get, after all these years?"
"You know what? I like sitting here like this. We don't do this often enough. We should talk like this more often."
"It's been a while since we sat and held hands."