In drama scene from short play, “Confliction,” Sheila shows up at Chester’s apartment with terrible news, after not seeing him for years.

Chester rises from his seat and walks to the front door, opening it.

There stands Sheila, drenched from the rain.

CHESTER: Sheila?! Good God, come in!

Sheila casually enters the room.

You’re completely drenched! Are you okay?

SHEILA: Yes.

CHESTER: A towel! Warm yourself by the fire!

Chester leaves the room in a hurry.

Sheila calmly walks and stands near the fireplace.

Chester quickly comes back with a large towel.

Please! Take this and give me your coat.

Sheila removes her coat and gives it to Chester.

Chester hands Sheila the towel.

Chester hurries off to hang Sheila’s coat on a coat rack at the front entrance.

Chester comes back and stares at Sheila.

Sheila keeps her attention on the fire.

CHESTER: Are you alright?

SHEILA: Mm-hmm.

CHESTER: How did—I mean, I have so many questions.

SHEILA: Mm.

CHESTER: It’s been years; hasn’t it been years?

SHEILA: Seven. (She looks at Chester.)

CHESTER: Seven. Right. (beat) Drink?

SHEILA: Mm-hmm.

CHESTER: Scotch? Brandy?

SHEILA: Water.

CHESTER: Water?

SHEILA: Mm-hmm.

CHESTER: Okay, okay, sure. Water.

Chester walks over to a water jug and pours a glass of water.

He quickly brings it over to Sheila.

Sheila smashes the glass into the fire.

SHEILA: That’s how I imagined it. I imagined I would come to yours in an absolute rage, burning everything in my path, but, that’s not it, is it? I’m subdued. How can I be so subdued? It’s not like I don’t have feelings about killing you. It’s why I’ve come. (She holds up a gun.) See? I’ve never used it before, but all you have to do is aim and pull the trigger, really. (The gun goes off by accident.) That was unintentional. But, it’s easy to, so easy, the action of it, it’s simple, but the feeling of it, that’s difficult.

(beat)

Seven years. It was at that party, when we made love inside the garden maze, right near the fountain, by that enormous broken sculpture of an angel. Its eyes piercing through me the entire time. We were both so drunk and so wrong, weren’t we? But you were so, so charming and so…aggressive. Wouldn’t you say? To get what you wanted. And you did. You pulled me off. (smiles) We had a son…named David. David, after John’s father, David. Your son, not John’s. What would we have named him? Hmm. My son, David, my son…he’s…dead. Chester, you have a dead son named David!

Don’t come near me!!! (She holds up gun.) Don’t you ever come near me. Sit. Sit yourself down.

Chester sits.

I’m going to ask you for the truth. Did you have any idea?

CHESTER: No.

SHEILA: Hmm. The resemblance was uncanny to you. Spitting image. Same dark blue eyes. Same mischievous smile.

CHESTER: Why didn’t you tell me?

SHEILA: What would you have done? (she laughs) Tell me.

CHESTER: I would have taken part.

SHEILA: In what?

CHESTER: Raising our son.

SHEILA: How the hell would you have done that?

CHESTER: I don’t know.

SHEILA: We could say a lot of things in hindsight. We are always so right when looking back. We think of ourselves as such righteous people.

• To read the full one-act ePlay, find purchase link below:

In the one-act eplay, “Confliction,” Sheila shows up at Chester’s apartment.  Seven years have gone by since they last saw one another at an event.  What transpired between them seven years prior is what plays out in this intense play.  1 Woman, 1 Man.  Drama.

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