Duo/ Duet- Hand In Hand

(Robert an African American man in his mid seventies stands in the kitchen, he’s cooking breakfast doing a little dance and humming to himself. His wife Shelia is also African American and the same age.) Robert: Shelia! Shelia you want cheese in your eggs? Shelia: (Yelling) Don’t I always want cheese in my eggs? You would think after all this time you’d remember some things by now. (Shelia enters and stands next to Robert watching him cook. Robert sees her, they exchange a smile then she kisses him on his cheek. She grabs something off of the plate and starts eating it.) Robert: Get out of this kitchen. Shelia: I just wanted to taste it make sure it was safe to eat. (They laugh.) Robert: When I met you in 1960 you were doing the same thing. Shelia: That was different though, back then you were working at the diner and- Robert: - you were bothering me everyday for some of my good cooking. Shelia: I don’t quite remember it like that. Robert: Yeah, how do you remember it? Shelia: I remember you asking my daddy if you could take me for a walk down to the park. Robert: And I remember he said, “Lord please, please take this child off of my hands.” (He laughs, she does not.) Oh come on you can’t be mad that you were such a handful your father was more than happy to throw you away. Shelia: Throw? Robert: I mean give you away. (Shelia has set the table. They both smile at the memory as they get everything prepared to eat. Shelia turns on the television.) Shelia: So what do you want to watch during breakfast? Is it a game show morning or a news morning? Robert: Let’s do the news this morning. Maybe our lottery ticket was the big winner. (Shelia turns the channel as Robert exits into the kitchen to get the coffee. Offstage) You want cream in your coffee? (Shelia stares at the television stunned by what she is seeing. She doesn’t hear him and says nothing. Robert enters.) Honey, I didn’t know if you wanted cream so I just left it strong and black like me.