Everything Beautiful Began After Part 29

MUM: It's still on. Who is dead?

HENRY: A friend. In the earthquake.

Silence.

MUM: Two years ago?

HENRy: About that.

MUM: Why are you telling us now?

Silence.

HENRY: I don't know MUM: Has something else happened?

HENRY: Isn't that enough?

DAD (speaking in background): He never said anything before.

MUM: You never said anything before.

HENRy: I know.

MUM: You should have told us. We're your parents.

Silence.

DAD (coming back on the phone): Henry, why didn't you say something?

HENRY: I don't know.

DAD: We thought you were working away happily with the professor.

HENRY: I was. Or at least I thought I was.

DAD: What did he say about this?

HENRY: I haven't seen him.

DAD: What do you mean?

Silence.

DAD (with grave concern): Is he dead too, Henry?

HENRY: I don't think so.

DAD: You don't think so? Henry, what's going on?

HENRY: He's not dead-I just haven't seen him.

DAD: Where are you?

HENRY: In a phone booth in Piraeus.

MUM (speaking in background): Where is he now?

DAD (in background): In a phone booth somewhere.

MUM (in background): What's he doing there?

DAD: What are you doing there? Where are you?

HENRY: I came to the museum. I'm in Athens.

DAD: Who is supervising the dig?

HENRY: I haven't been to the dig for a while.

DAD: Why not?

HENRY: I've been traveling.

DAD: Yes, we know that bit, traveling for work.

Silence.

HENRY: I don't know what to do now with my life, but I'm over the worst.

DAD: We haven't seen you in years, son.

MUM (in background): Years.

DAD: Years, Henry.

HENRY: I know.

DAD: Do you have any money?

HENRY: No.

DAD: Are you still in your flat?

HENRY: No.

DAD: Where are you?

HENRY: A hotel.

MUM (speaking in background): What happened to the flat?

DAD: What happened to the flat?

HENRY: Someone else lives there.

DAD: Henry, what's really going on?

HENRY: Since Rebecca died, I've been wandering around.

DAD (in background): Some girl called Rebecca died.

MUM (in background): His girlfriend?

DAD (in background): How should I know, Harriet?

DAD: Have you been working?

HENRY: No, just thinking.

DAD: About what?

HENRY: Rebecca. And my brother.

Silence.

DAD: Henry.

HENRY: I've thought about it a lot.

Silence.

HENRY: Dad?

Silence.

HENRY: I feel okay about things now.

DAD: I see.

Mum, in background, wants to know what he's talking about. Dad says he'll tell her after.

DAD: How long do you need to get everything together?

HENRY: About fifteen minutes.

DAD: Fifteen days?

HENRY: Yes.

DAD: Send us your details a couple of days before you come, and we'll pick you up from the airport.

Silence.

DAD: Call us anytime, son.

HENRY: Thanks.

DAD: Your mother and I had no idea that someone had died.

Mum grabs phone again.

DAD (in background): Harriet!

MUM: So who was Rebecca? You never mentioned her before.

HENRY: Someone I met.

MUM: A girl?

Silence.

HENRY: Yes.

MUM: A girlfriend?

Silence.

HENRY: I've just been drifting.

MUM: Well, we've missed you.

HENRY: Really?

MUM: But you've been living your own life. We didn't want to interfere.

HENRY: I feel like I've come off course.

MUM (in background to Dad): He feels like he's been blown off course.

Dad takes the phone.

DAD: Come home, son.

HENRY: Thanks.

DAD: Call us from the hotel with your details.

Silence.