The History of Us

CHARACTERS 
CHARLIE WILKINS, elderly
BEN, his son-in-law

SETTING 
the neighborhood library

(At rise, Charlie is looking for a book. Ben enters.)

Ben 
Charlie. Thank God you’re okay. I looked in all your favorite places. I didn’t know where you were— 

Charlie 
I can’t find it. I can’t find the right one. I need that book. You know. The one with the . . . oh, what is it? 

Ben 
(Puts a hand on Charlie’s shoulder) It’s okay, Charlie. Please. Sit down. 

 (He leads Charlie to a chair, helps him sit.) 

Charlie 
You don’t understand. I need to find it. I . . . I need that book. 

Ben 
It’s okay. Whatever it is you’re looking for, we can find it together and then we can get you home. 

Charlie 
Well. (relaxing) It’s the one with the . . . about the stars, the starry nights, Ben. Remember? (getting worked up again) The . . . the stars . . . are my story. Our story. 

Ben 
I remember, Charlie. I’m sure I know the book you mean. You just sit. Let me find it for you. (moving to a shelf) It’s gotta be here somewhere. Where is it? It's around here. I remember this one. (holding it up) You’ve checked it out before. This is the one, isn’t it? 

Charlie 
That’s it. My story. The Starry Nights one. That’s it. 

(He stands, takes the book from Ben, holds it to his chest, relieved.) 

Ben 
Glad to help, Charlie. Now, remember how we talked about you coming to the library alone? 

Charlie 
Don’t go to the library alone, Charlie. Don’t go alone. David always says that. You, too. Mother hens. 

Ben 
That’s right. I said I’d be happy to take you any time you wanted to go. You know how I feel about you, Charlie. All you have to do is ask. I’ll take you wherever you want to go. 

Charlie 
Because I’m not smart now, right, Ben? Not any more. I’m not like I used to be. Can’t be trusted now. Charlie’s lost it. He’s whackadoodle. 

Ben 
You’re plenty smart, Charlie. Stop it. Plenty smart. You’re the smartest guy I know. And I trust you implicitly. I’ll never stop looking up to you. 

Charlie 
(hugging Ben) You’re just saying that. At least you’re still nice to me. Not like those other two. (focused on the book) I used to know the night sky. Everything in it. It was my place in the world. See? (patting the book) My story. Our story. But I’m not him, right, Ben? I’m not the guy who wrote this. It’s his book. But it’s our story. 

Ben 
You’re right. You’re Charlie Wilkins. Remember? An amazing man. Super intelligent. You’re my favourite person. Everybody likes Charlie. An astrophysicist who always wanted to be an astronomer. 

Charlie 
Retired! 

Ben 
Right! A retired astrophysicist. Yes. And you were a teacher, too. At U of T. Like you didn’t already have enough to do. A total inspiration. 

Charlie 
And the stars are . . . are our life story. The sky. That’s me. It’s me and Maggie. 

Ben 
Yeah. You taught me everything I know about the universe, Charlie. Every single thing. Shall I continue? You married Maggie. And you have two sons. David and— 

Charlie 
Michael! I know that one. Michael. The other son. He’s married. (makes a sour face) Her name is . . . it’s something about Daisy. A flower. Her name. And David is with . . . he’s with . . . (an aha moment) You’re my son-in-law. Ben! You’re my third son. Number one son, right, Maggie?! That’s how she always put it. 

Ben 
Yes, Charlie. That’s right. David is with me. And remember, you live with us now. You live with David and me. On Calder Street. 

Charlie 
Because Maggie. (distraught) Yes. Because . . . Maggie . . . I miss her. 

Ben 
It’s okay, Charlie. I’m here. I’ve come to bring you back home. David’s making you something to eat. Wouldn’t that be nice? 

Charlie 
(an aha moment) Rose! Her name is Rose. Michael’s wife. Of course. A Rose by any other name would smell as sweet . . .  

Ben 
Yes. (laughing) That’s the line Michael always says to Rose. You remember. 

Charlie 
(under his breath) She smells like disinfectant. Disinfectant, Ben. (makes a face) Gross. 

Ben 
Shhh. You know you can’t say things like that when Rose is around, though. Right? 

Charlie 
Well. It’s true. Maggie didn’t like Rose. Thought she was too . . . too . . . I can’t remember, too high something or other. 

Ben 
Falutin. Yeah. She called her highfalutin. That’s right. See! Your memory’s just fine. 

Charlie 
She liked you. Maggie adored her Ben. Said you were the best thing that ever happened to our family. Ben’s this family’s hero. Our savior. We should count our lucky stars! She always said that about you. And she loved her stars, Ben. Stars. Lucky and otherwise. 

Ben 
And the two of you were my heroes, Charlie. There’s no shortage of hero worship in our family. 

Charlie 
I’ve lost her, haven’t I? 

(He sits again and holds his head in his hands.) 

I’ve lost my girl. I don’t know what to do without her. 

Ben 
Come on now, Charlie. You’ll be okay. It’s early days yet. 

(He springs up, heads for the exit.) 

Charlie 
Well, you’ve found my night sky book. And the sky’s to be clear tonight. I can go home now. We should leave. 

Ben
That’s a good idea. We’ll check this out and go home and have something to eat. Then you can get ready to stargaze tonight, okay? 

Charlie 
And David and Maggie can join us. Maggie loves a clear sky. Remember when you were kids? And we’d lie out there all night long? In the Taylors’ back field. On a clear night we could see Cassiopeia. Remember that, Ben? Maggie’d trace its zigzags with her finger. Just like so. 

Ben 
But I wasn’t there, Charlie— 

Charlie 
And she’d tell us what everything was. As if I didn’t know. She called the night sky the history of us. The history of us. Ursa Major. Cepheus. Everything. The history. Of us. 

Ben 
I know. I remember that. She told me that, too. That you and she, you could be found up there. She said you spent so much time looking at the stars that you became a part of them. And she’d sing, right? God, I remember that. Dream a Little Dream of Me. The Mamas and the Papas. At the top of her lungs.  

Charlie 
You got it, Ben. Maggie was my girl. She’d never fade. Never in a million years. Brightest damn star up there. 

Ben 
(with adoration) I know, Charlie. You loved each other like nobody else ever loved before. It was your sky. 

Charlie 
Rose and Michael don’t have that. 

Ben 
Not everyone can have what you and Maggie had. 

Charlie 
But you do. You and David do. 

Ben 
Maybe, Charlie. Perhaps we do. 

Charlie 
The time we took Michael and Rose up north. Sitting out under that canopy of stars and Maggie shows Rose the Pegasus constellation. That’s no horse with wings, she said. It’s just a dumb box with a tail. She doesn’t have an ounce of magic in her, that one. Rose. Something wrong with her. 

Ben 
Come on, now, Charlie. Be nice. She’s still your daughter-in-law. 

Charlie 
Well, Maggie says Michael could do better. And I say Maggie’s right. 

Ben 
I really should get you home now. David’ll be worried. 

Charlie 
Maggie’s gonna show me the night sky tonight. We’ll spread one blanket out on the back lawn for us, and another one beside us for our two little boys. We always do that. They’ll be in their PJs and they’ll fall asleep under all those constellations. 

Ben 
That sounds really great. I’d love to join you if I could. 

Charlie 
Sure thing, Ben. Once our boys fall asleep, Maggie’ll be happy to show you where everything is up there. But I have to warn you, it’s our story up in that bowl. She’ll tell you straight off, it’s all just a history of us up there. 

Ben 
(holding Charlie’s arm, patting him) But remember, your boys are all grown up now. That’s okay, though. It’s . . . It’s been a long day. 

Charlie 
(a performance) “When she shall die, take her and cut her out in little stars, and she will make the face of heaven so fine that all the world will be in love with night and pay no worship to the garish sun.” 

Ben 
That’s beautiful. 

Charlie 
Ha. Not me. Shakespeare. That’s Juliet talking about Romeo. But I like to switch it up, because that’s Maggie in a nutshell, Ben. That’s my Maggie. 

Ben 
Yes it is, Charlie. Absolutely. 

Charlie 
I miss her. I’d like to go home now and be with her. Are you ready to go? I want to go home and be with Maggie now. 

Ben 
Come on, Charlie. I’ll take you there. 

(He sets the book down, takes Charlie’s arm and walks him out as the lights fade . . . ) 

Charlie 

(begins to sing Dream a Little Dream of Me) 

( . . . to black.) 

KEVIN CRAIG

Kevin Craig writes young adult novels. Their most recent, The Camino Club, was the 2021 Silver Winner of the Independent Book Publishers Association’s Benjamin Franklin Award. Kevin is a five-time recipient of the Muskoka Novel Marathon’s Best Novel Award. Twelve of their plays have been produced.