Jason Robert Brown

JAMIE lies in bed, his shirt off.  He opens his eyes, looks at the clock and then at the woman in bed beside him.

JAMIE
Hey, kid – good morning –
You look like an angel.
I don’t remember when we fell asleep.
We should get up, kid –
Cathy is waiting…

Look at us, lying here,
Dreaming, pretending.
I made a promise and I took a vow.
I wrote a story,
And we changed the ending –
Cathy, just look at me now!

Hold on, facts are facts –
Just relax, lay low.
All right, the panic recedes:
Nobody needs to know.

Put on my armor –
I’m off to Ohio.
Back into battle till I don’t know when.
Swearing to her that I
Never was with you,
And praying I’ll hold you again.

Hold on, clip these wings –
Things get out of hand.
All right, it’s over, it’s done –
No one will understand.
No one will understand…

We build a treehouse,
I keep it from shaking –
Little more glue ev’ry time that it breaks.
Perfectly balanced,
And then I start making
Conscious, deliberate mistakes.

All that I ask for
Is one little corner –
One private room at the back of my heart.
Tell her I found one,
She sends out battalions
To claim it and blow it apart.

I grip and she grips,
And faster we’re sliding.
Sliding and spilling, and what can I do?
Come back to bed, kid –
Take me inside you –
I promise I won’t lie to you.

Hold on, don’t cry yet –
I won’t let you go.
All right – the panic recedes;
All right – everyone bleeds;
All right – I get what I need,
And nobody needs
To know.
Nobody needs to know…

And since I have to be in love with someone,
Since I need to be in love with someone,
Maybe I could be in love with someone
Like you…

The light fades on the bed, and rises on the steps in front of Catherine’s apartment.