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Accounting for Everything: Let's Pretend, For a Moment, That I Can Write A Screenplay.
Sara and Ben
They are walking down a long walkway out from Iona Beach. He reaches to hold her hand and she holds it briefly swinging his arm. Then she hooks her arm around his neck and kisses his cheek.
Sara: I love you, Ben.
Ben: I love you too.
He stops and reaches for her hand again, looking at her intently. She squints at him and then pulls her hand away.
Sara: Let's not do this.
Ben: When then? Never? I'm leaving tonight. This is it, Sara.
Sara: Then leave. Leave tonight and never come back. Doing this is not going to change anything. (her voice is catching already)
Ben: At least we'd be honest.
Sara: You want to be honest? You really think that's best? Honesty is what got us here.
Ben: So, what's so bad about here?
Sara: I don't want to be here.
Silence. Ben turns away.
Sara: Ben, do you think this is healthy? Us torturing ourselves? Have we come any further?
Ben: I just - I want to know the truth. You know, the final decision.
Sara: Life is never final, Ben. Only when we die.
Ben: Just tell me, please.
Sara: Fine, Ben. You really want to know the truth? I love you. More than you could possibly imagine. Probably more than I can imagine. Ok? I love you and for all intensive purposes we should be together. But, Ben, you're not the only one I love. And James isn't going away. I thought when I admitted to you how I felt, my feelings for James would go away- but they didn't. They intensified. They built towers, rallied troops. My love for him is not backing down. Ben, I can love you forever but I cannot give you my heart.
Ben: You can do whatever you want. You aren't trapped.
Sara: Fine then, Ben. I won't. I won't give you my heart. And right now, I do feel trapped. I cannot stop loving you and I cannot be without him.
Ben: He doesn't respect you.
Sara: I don't delude myself into thinking he does.
Ben: He should respect you.
Sara: Yes, and he's working on that. But that's not a deal-breaker for me.
Ben: Then what is? You left me for nothing. I cooked you dinners, sang you songs, held you, respected you. Where did that get me?
Sara: It got you here.
Ben: Well, I don't want to be here.
Sara: I guess that makes two of us.
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