A Daughter's Nightmare Page #2

my life with him.

Nothing's changed.

Except he's not here.

Who else feels like Dana?

You'd rather be anywhere

but here.

Excuse me?

You don't seem the group type.

Am I that obvious?

Maybe not to everyone.

I'm Adam.

Dana Morgan.

No last names, remember?

You're right, I do hate groups.

Normally I would agree

with you,

but in this circumstance

I think talking helps.

Your daughter told me

about this group.

Ariel?

My stepson Ben goes

to school with here.

Oh, wow.

We recently moved

from Seattle.

I was in a group there.

So when did your wife

pass away?

Karen died eight months ago.

Everyone take your seats,

please.

We should get back.

Boo!

I was taking a little

power nap.

I could see that.

So, how did it go?

You know what?

You were right.

You know him?

His wife died eight months ago.

Sure looks broken up

about it.

Really? Cameron Morgan?

I'm just looking out for you.

Well?

He didn't look that

broken up!

So other than the work load,

you're enjoying it?

Well, college kinda

is the work load.

But I'm doing pretty well in

chemistry and anatomy,

but that's just because

I spent all those summers

in Uncle Cam's clinic.

Physics is challenging.

Well, you're a smart girl.

You're gonna figure it out.

Oh, hey.

I forgot to tell you...

I met the father of a friend

of yours last weekend.

I think he said his

son's name is Ben?

Adam? Ben's stepfather?

Oh, that's right,

he did say stepson.

Where'd you meet Adam?

At that group that Cam

took us to.

Your grief group?

What was Adam doing

at your grief group?

He lost his wife.

Ben's mom.

He didn't tell you that?

No, I didn't know that.

That's kinda weird.

Why is that weird?

Well, just 'cause they drove

me home last weekend

and I was talking about you

and dad the whole time

but they didn't really

say anything.

Well, Adam said he had

you to thank

for telling him about the group.

He was very appreciative.

Hmm.

And, you know, maybe Ben's

just not that open, right?

Hey.

Hey.

You uh...

you want to go for a walk

with me?

A walk?

Right now?

Yeah, you want to go

for a walk?

Shh!

What?

That could get you in trouble.

What?

What you did back there

with that geek.

Well, my father taught me

to be a very strong,

independent woman

who can defend herself.

Nice.

Ooh, I like your socks,

by the way.

Do you always mis-match,

or just today?

Uh, it comes with doing

my own laundry, I guess.

I like it.

Thanks.

So I'm hoping to get into

vet school after my undergrad.

I worked in my

uncle Cam's clinic

for about five summers now,

and I like it but I have to get

at least a 3.5 GPA

if anybody's even gonna

look at me.

You know Adam tried

to be a doctor?

Really?

Yeah.

I mean, the guy knows

more about medical stuff

than most hospitals

but I don't know.

His grades weren't

good enough.

What did he end up doing?

Well, now he's an ER nurse

at Ridgewood General.

until I finish school.

That's nice.

Hey, did he tell you that he

actually went

to that grief group thing I was

talking about at my church?

Really?

Yeah, he met my mom there.

No.

Small world.

Oh, I'm sorry about your mom,

by the way.

I didn't know.

Yeah.

Yeah, so am I.

Shoot, you know what?

I think I have a chem lab

right now.

Yeah, ooh, right now.

I have to go, I'm sorry.

Ok, great.

I'll see you later.

Bye.

Hey Ariel.

Hi!

Hey, little man.

I didn't know you guys

lived around here.

Yeah, we're just a couple

blocks away.

Is your mom around?

Uh, no.

She's actually out

grocery shopping,

but she should be back soon

if you want to wait for her.

Yeah, sure.

Take a seat.

So my mom said you guys met

at that grief counseling group.

Yeah, yeah we did.

Listen, thanks for telling me

about that group.

Yeah.

You know, it's really hard

to talk about that stuff

in front of Ben,

he's just so sensitive.

Oh.

I didn't know you were here,

or I would have brought you

a coffee.

Oh, that's alright,

I'll just drink hers.

She's not gonna miss it.

So what's his name?

Max.

What's wrong with him?

Old age.

It happens to the best of us.

Really?

He sounds more asthmatic

to me.

You should get him

checked out.

Wow.

You should be a vet.

Well, I'm trying to be.

I hope you have good grades.

Yeah, I'm trying to do that,

too.

But physics is really

killing me.

I gotta study every night

if I just want to pass.

So was my mom expecting you,

or...?

No, this is just a random

drop by.

You know, after what

I've been through

and what she's going through

I thought maybe

I could provide

a bit of a road map for her,

you know?

Oh.

It's been eight months for you,

is that right?

246 days to be exact.

Yeah, mom's not

really doing so well.

She kinda just hangs around

at the house.

Well, you know Ariel, people

grieve in their own ways.

Yeah, I guess.

Hey!

Hey, you two.

Hope you don't mind me

just popping by.

I had a great conversation

with your daughter.

Oh, I didn't realize you

lived so close.

Yeah, they're just

up the street.

Can I give you a hand

with the groceries?

Um, that'd be very nice.

Ok.

Wow.

What're you doing,

feeding the Olympic team?

Hey, Adam brought you a

coffee but I drank it for you.

Oh, that was nice of you.

You need a hand

with all this stuff?

Nah, we're good.

Just have a seat.

Ok.

Mom, you bought dad's

hot sauce again.

Do you want me to just

put it in the fridge, or...?

It takes some time

getting used to it.

Being single again.

I'm not very good at this.

I liked being a couple,

you know?

I knew what my life was about,

about hot sauce and

medical appointments.

It's alright,

we'll figure it out.

Ben's having a hard time coping.

I thought a change of scenery

would help,

but he's had a real difficult

time losing his mom.

Difficult how?

Like, in school or something?

I think he's suffering

from psychological stress.

I'd sleep a lot better if he was

living at home with me.

He didn't want to live at home?

No.

In fact, he was adamant

about staying on campus.

More freedom, you know.

Yeah.

Ok.

I'm going to take Ariel's advice

and get Max to the vet.

Take him to Cam's clinic.

Oh yeah, my uncle's a vet,

you should take him there.

That's ok, the clinic

next to me takes walk-ins.

Okay.

I got this, I was trained well,

I take my own garbage.

See you, Ariel.

Bye.

Hello, Max.

You and I are gonna go

to the vet.

Ok?

Dana, it's none of my business,

but Ariel mentioned she's

having trouble in school.

Really?

She told me she's doing fine.

Apparently not.

It sounded like she needed

more time to study

but was feeling obligated to

come home on the weekends

to keep you company.

I had no idea.

I'll see ya.

Hey!

Uh, so you want to go get

a mani-pedi or something?

Or go see a movie?

There's a few good ones out.

You know what, honey?

Would you mind if we skipped

this weekend?

What, you don't want to get

a mani-pedi with me?

No, it's not that,

Rate this script:2.0 / 1 vote