Why didn’t you cover my eyes?

A drama scene between a mother/son in play act What’s Left of Us, wherein reconciliation may or may not arrive in time.

Featured Scene – What’s Left of Us

WALTER: You do know that I am in a position to deny your duty.

BEVERLY: Deny?

WALTER: Oh, yes. I have made my own small fortune. Nothing in comparison to yours and what’s his name, but enough to live on for the rest of my years, permitting I do not squander it.

BEVERLY: You might.

WALTER: One never knows.

BEVERLY: At least you have a reserve with what is being provided to you.

WALTER: I believe it is my duty to receive the inheritance as much as it is your duty to offer it.

BEVERLY: Perhaps.

WALTER: Perhaps. (beat) I have something for you.

Walter pulls out from the inner pocket of his suit a small book.

This is yours.

BEVERLY: What is that?

WALTER: Do you recall the time I went into the library and took out J.D. Salinger’s Nine Stories?

BEVERLY: I do.

WALTER: I never returned it out of spite.

BEVERLY: I am all too aware of that.

WALTER: I took the liberty of purchasing the same edition, and it is in perfect condition. I will place this back on the shelf from which I stole it.

BEVERLY: Well, how very kind of you – a thief returning to the scene of the crime. To absolve oneself.

WALTER: You could say that.

BEVERLY: I wonder what else you’ve gotten away with.

WALTER: (smirking)

BEVERLY: Your infamous smirk strikes again.

WALTER: It has never left me.

BEVERLY: Why would it? Such an appropriate part of your weaponry – lashing out at the opportune time. I once saw a desert cottontail hopping along the Sonoran Desert, minding its own business, having a blissful day, when out from a bush came a snake. It took a single strike, and it was all over in mere seconds. You were there, holding my hand…smirking. From that day onward, I always identified you as a little snake, still do, however grown you’ve become.

WALTER: I’ll take that as a compliment.

BEVERLY: You would.

WALTER: Why didn’t you cover my eyes? I was only a child.

BEVERLY: I wanted you to be tough. I believe I overdelivered.

WALTER: Once again, we agree.

BEVERLY: Funny how that works.

WALTER: What’s funny?

BEVERLY: That we can agree on things.

WALTER: Not all things.

BEVERLY: Certainly not all things.

WALTER: Why take the fun out of sparring?

BEVERLY: How right you are! Now, are you married?

WALTER: No.

BEVERLY: A love interest?

WALTER: Not really.

BEVERLY: Do you find that you have trouble being affectionate?

WALTER: I do.

BEVERLY: Good. What about property?

WALTER: What about it?

BEVERLY: Own any?

WALTER: Not yet.

BEVERLY: Any investments?

WALTER: Such as?

BEVERLY: Stock?

WALTER: Yes.

BEVERLY: Well…that’s brave.

WALTER: Not really.

BEVERLY: Do you wish to know the truth about your parents?

WALTER: …No.

BEVERLY: Is that your final answer?

WALTER: Yes.

BEVERLY: Why?

WALTER: With you, at least, I know what I’ve gotten. I don’t have time for strangers.

BEVERLY: Neither do I. What else?

WALTER: What else, what?

BEVERLY: Is there anything else?

WALTER: …No, I don’t believe there is…

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Scene Summary

In the one-act eplay What’s Left of Us, Walter visits his dying mother and attempts some form of reconcile, before it’s too late.

• Genre: Drama / Family Drama
• Length: ~5 minute scene
• Characters: 1 woman, 1 man
• Themes: family, mother / son
• Best For: drama scenes

FAQ

Related Drama Scenes

• Our town is the pits. – from Acid Taste
• You ain’t ever kissed before? – from Cartwheel Leaf
• I don’t want another dumb argument.  – from Four Summers Ago
• I did something that I wish I hadn’t done. – from The Floating Room
• Why can’t the act of writing be solely for me? – from The Typed Manuscript

Scene Source: What’s Left of Us

What’s Left of Us is a dramatic play script by Joseph Arnone, 2026.