The Picture Frame

WOMAN- Stop. Just Stop.

MAN- What do you mean? “Just Stop”? Stop what?

MAN tosses a hammer to the ground. It lands with a loud thud. He looks over his shoulder at WOMAN, her hands are on her hips. Her lips are pursed tightly. Her spine is rigid.

MAN- I’m hanging it up just like you asked. What could I possibly be doing wrong now?

WOMAN- The way you’re hitting the nail… I know you’re going to leave a permanent mark in the wall. Not to mention the frame is completely off center.

MAN- Alright then, if you know how to hang it better than me why don’t you do it yourself.

WOMAN- Well… I can’t exactly reach high enough, and we don’t have a ladder yet. Plus, you’re the one who wanted to be involved in decorating our house. Or so I thought …

MAN- I’m not interested in being involved anymore if it is going to be like this.

WOMAN- Going to be like what?  

MAN- Like how you’re acting.

WOMAN- And how would I be acting that’s so displeasing to you?

MAN- I-

WOMAN glares at MAN, not in a evil way, but rather really frustrated. Her brow line is wrinkled, and the edges of her mouth are turned downward. WOMAN has her hand glued to her hips.

MAN on the other hand seems exhausted. He seems to have completely given up in the picture frame hanging project.  His shoulders are slumped forward, and he attempts to evert the eye contact of WOMAN even though she stares steadily into what seems to be his soul.  

MAN- I just feel as though… I don’t know … It’s just-

WOMAN interrupts MAN, though MAN didn’t exactly know where he was heading with his thought.

WOMAN- Just what? Spit it out now. Don’t get all shy at this point.

MAN- You make me feel that … that … well… um… You act like I can never do anything as good as you because you’re so… oh I don’t know… perfect?

Though by the way MAN said that he implies he does in fact know and said “I don’t know” for sarcastic emphasis.   

MAN starts to walk away from the conflict, perhaps in an attempt to soften the blow that his words may have had. Perhaps it would have hurt him too much to look into WOMAN’s eyes and say that.

WOMAN- “As well as you”

MAN turns on his heel.

MAN- What- What did you just say?  

MAN’s teeth grind together. Now his lips are pursed.

WOMAN’s eyes sink to the floor as now she averts eye contact.

WOMAN- I was just saying it is “as well as you” not “as good as you”.  

Softly

“As good as you” … it’s… well… it’s not proper grammar at all.

MAN- Your joking? Really? You would really correct me after what I JUST said? All for the sake of proper grammar? Over my feelings?

WOMAN- I just thought you should know…

MAN- No. No. NO!

MAN is shouting now. He is probably scaring his brand new neighbors.

MAN- I don’t care if it’s good or well. I don’t care if I always have proper grammar. I just know, because you have made it very clear to me, I will never ever be perfect like you. Or at least as perfect as you pretend to be.

WOMAN- I never claimed to be perfect. I just wanted to hang up our picture frame. I don’t understand why you’re getting so agitated. You’re making a mountain out of a mole hill.

MAN has his back turned to WOMAN. He shouts to the walls now.

MAN- You’re clearly not that smart because if you were you would understand what I’m trying to tell you. I don’t really care about the picture frame. It doesn’t really matter to me if it is centered or not.  I’m just trying to explain a pretty simple concept. This concept being that you treat me like dirt on the road. You treat me like a child. You treat me like a nobody. You make me feel worthless.

Because MAN has his backed turned to WOMAN, he cannot see her face become red. Nor can he see her hands and lips tremble. And, because he has his back turned away from her, he cannot watch the hot tears roll silently down her cheeks.  

WOMAN- worthless?

MAN continues shouting to the empty walls. Still, unknowingly of WOMAN’s state behind his back.

MAN- Yes, I feel worthless when I’m with you. Did you know, I can’t even muster the brain capacity to be in your presence for extended periods of time because you suffocate me in your claimed “perfection”?

The door thuds softly shut but MAN cannot hear it over his own anger. For, the noise in MAN’s head is so loud he cannot even hear himself shout.  

MAN- Don’t you have anything to say? An apology would be sufficient, by the way. It’s so easy for you to correct me, but apparently it is impossible for you to say, “I am sorry”.

MAN spins around to find himself in the room, alone. Cardboard boxes and strands of bubble wrap and clear tape engulf him and the room. MAN glances down at the framed photo in his hand and lets it slide out of his fingertips as he heads to the door.  

Now the room is empty. The frame lays on the floor with pieces of shattered glass surrounding it. But, the picture that the glass was protecting remains unscathed by the sharp shards. The happy faces of the people in the picture stare at the ceiling. For, pictures only capture moments. Pictures can never sum up an entire reality.

Maybe MAN and WOMAN will return and pick up the shards and throw them away and buy a new frame.

Maybe MAN and WOMAN will attempt to put the pieces back together. They might be successful.



Or maybe the shattered glass will lay there on the floor and collect dust having failed it’s only purpose. To protection to the smiling faces behind it.