A grocery store love story By Mary

PenTop Productions 2013

popculturenexus@gmail.com

A grocery store occupies the stage. A long horizontal aisle is upstage center so the audience can see the various cereal, oatmeal, and nutrigrain boxes on the shelves. It is the "dried food" aisle. Center stage left is the produce section. Upstage left is the small bakery and upstage right is a long door display cooler for the liquor. Patrons are seen walking around collecting items for their baskets. A 24 year old grocery store employee, HENRIE, enters from stage right with two large cardboard boxes and walks to the long aisle upstage center. With his back to the audience, he begins to restock the shelf with cereal boxes. PA (voice over) Attention all customers, the store will be closing in five minutes. Please proceed to the registers at this time. We will reopen tomorrow at 5AM. Have a great night and thank you for shopping at Food Bonanza grocery store. Henrie is still restocking when he hears a high-pitched cartoon voice from behind the aisle. He stops and looks at the Trix cereal box in his hand. ZOE (cartoon voice) No, no, not the tiger. Dont you know not to put a rabbit near a striped tiger? Just because his name is Tony and he wears a bandanna, doesnt mean he wont eat me. ZOE, a 24 year old, attractive grocery store employee with a complicated background pokes her head from behind the aisle, making eye contact with Henrie. She emerges with a warm smile and speaks in her normal voice. ZOE Hi. My name is Zoe. Im new. Whats your name? Henrie does not speak. He simply answers by pointing to the name tag on his uniform. ZOE Henrie spelled with an IE. Your parents made a wise choice. Ive known other Henrys spelled with a Y and they all turned out be bastards.

2. A smile forms on Henries face upon hearing Zoes amusing comment. He returns to restocking cereal boxes. ZOE You dont talk much do you? (pause) Ive been here a week and a half and I think Ive only seen you talk like two times. Henrie continues placing cereal boxes on the shelves. ZOE Whats your story Henrie with an IE? HENRIE I-I-I-I dont like t-t-t-to talk. I-I-I-I stutter. Zoe pauses upon hearing Henrie speak for the first time, but she responds just as quickly as she was taken aback. ZOE So. I was born with double jointed fingers but that doesnt stop me from using my hand. Do you normally stock the cereal Henrie with an IE? Henrie nods. HENRIE And t-t-t-the bread aisle. ZOE (acting impressed) ho ho ho. You must be busy then. That bread aisle gets emptied quickly. I am responsible for the produce section over there. HENRIE I know. ZOE Oh. HENRIE I see you t-t-t-talk to the fruit every day. ZOE (chuckles) I figure if I am in charge of organizing them, I should hear them out to where they want to be put. Henrie laughs slightly but is mostly enthralled by Zoes beauty and peculiarity.

3. PA (voice over) Attention all customers, the store is now closed. ZOE Closed. Zoe takes off the apron part of her uniform and slides to the ground. She lets out a long sigh. ZOE How long have you been working here, Henrie with an IE? HENRIE Three years. Henrie stops restocking for the first time. He looks around worried he may get in trouble for not working. He sits beside Zoe on the ground. ZOE Thats longer than what I usually spend in one place. Zoe unties her ponytail and lets her hair flow down freely. Her natural beauty really shines through with her hair down. ZOE Thats better. That stupid manual requires all girls to wear their hair in a ponytail. So, what can you tell me about the grocery store Henrie? You seemed well liked by everyone here. Wait, a sec. This needs something. Zoe walks to the display cooler center stage right and grabs two beers. She opens them and returns to sit beside Henries side. Henrie obviously looks concerned at what Zoe has just done. ZOE Dont worry Ill pay for them. Zoe hands Henrie a beer. ZOE Youre over 21, right? Henrie nods. ZOE Okay, good. Dont want to get in trouble with the law. So, whos who? I met Jones at the register and Ive talked to Nicoli at the Pharmacy. Who else should I meet?

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HENRIE Gloria is nice. ZOE Gloria? In the bakery? Henrie nods. HENRIE She gives m-m-m-m-m-me t-t-t-the cookies lefto-o-o-over. (long pause) P-P-P-Pierce is nice. Henrie becomes quiet. He seems embarrassed to talk. ZOE Have you lived long in this tiny town, Henrie with an IE? Henrie nods. HENRIE All m-m-my life. M-m-my homet-t-t-town. You? ZOE I dont think Ive ever had a hometown. If I did then I dont remember it. I think the longest I stayed in one place was when I went to college for two years. Even then two years was too long so I left. HENRIE I went-t-t-t t-t-t-to college. ZOE You did? Where? HENRIE Com-m-m-munity college. I-I-I-I dropped out-t-t-t after a year. ZOE Why? Oh, Im sorry. Im being nosy. Zoe, stop being so damn curious. Im nosy. Sorry. Henrie smiles at Zoes odd behavior. He finds it adorable. HENRIE You hum a beaut-t-tiful song. ZOE You can hear that?

5. Zoe laughs. ZOE I try not to be so loud, but Im in my head too often to tell. HENRIE What-t-t is it? ZOE Nothing. I mean it has no name. I just made up the tune. HENRIE I like it. ZOE Me too. Henrie and Zoe smile. She holds up her beer bottle to bump it against His. ZOE Cheers. They both drink. DAVE, an employee sweeping the floor, encounters Henrie and Zoe on the ground. DAVE Oh. Henrie is visibly worried that he has been caught not working, but Zoe is relaxed. Henrie is about to stand up and help Dave close the store. DAVE Oh, dont worry about it Henrie. The rest of us can close up. Youre okay. Dave continues sweeping and moves stage right. Henrie sits back down beside Zoe. Lights dim to black. Lights come up again. Henrie and Zoe are sitting down again with beers in their hands. They are both laughing. ZOE Did you see that mom? "Noooo, not the birthday cake!!!" Man, that little boy pushed that cart hard. Slammed right into the tower of toilet paper. Zoe and Henrie laugh.

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ZOE Sean just stood there looking at the mess in disbelief. HENRIE It t-t-t-took him four hours t-t-t-to build that t-t-t-tower. Henrie and Zoe both laugh again. Lights dim to black. Lights come up again. Zoe is at the produce section center stage right when Tom, the manager, approaches her. TOM Hey Zoe, Ive been checking the inventory and we seem to be missing ten beers this week. Any ideas? ZOE Nope. TOM Huh. I guess someone must have snuck them past the cash register. Ill ask Jones. Tom exits stage right. Zoe smiles and walks off stage left. PA (voice over) The store is now closed. Henrie enters from stage left with a broom. He begins sweeping the floor. Zoe enters from stage right and stops at the liquor display cooler to grab two beers like she has been doing for the past week. Henrie looks up and smiles. Zoe is about to give him the bottle when Henrie holds up his hand as if to wait. He exits stage left and reemerges with flowers from the florist section of the grocery store. He gives them to Zoe. They sit beside each other on the floor. ZOE Thanks. Henrie nods shyly. ZOE How was the bread aisle today?

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HENRIE Good. The fruit-t-t area? ZOE Crowded. The cantaloupe wanted to be near the strawberries but the plums were there so I had to make room. Then I had one woman who kept arguing with me about the kind of fruit she had in her hand. She kept saying it was a nectarine, but I told her it was a peach. Peaches have that fuzzy exterior and nectarines are smooth. She ended up not trusting me so she bought both kinds. Dave passes them as he continues sweeping. Henrie notices a map sticking out of Zoes apron pocket. HENRIE What-t-t-t is that? Zoe pulls out her map. ZOE Its a state map. Im trying to figure out where I should go next. See, I circled the towns Im interested in seeing. I figured Ill stay in the same state for a few more months this time before moving to another. HENRIE Youre leaving? ZOE Yeah. Its like I said Henrie, I move around a lot. I figure Ill move onto the next town by the end of the month. I usually stay in a place longer than this but this town is a lot smaller than I thought it would be. Lights dim to black. Lights come up again. Henrie is at the cereal aisle disassembling large cardboard boxes. PA (voice over) Attention all customers, the store will be closing in five minutes. Please proceed to the registers at this time. We will reopen tomorrow at 5AM. Have a great night and thank you for shopping at Food Bonanza grocery store. GLORIA Psst. Psst. Henrie.

8. Henrie looks up from what he is doing and looks over to the bakery section upstage left. He walks over there. GLORIA Henrie. I made an extra batch of peanut butter cookies for you. Gloria gives him a bag full of cookies. HENRIE (excitedly) Thanks. GLORIA And I made something special for you to give to Zoe. I know you two are just friends but I thought it would be nice if you gave her this. Gloria gives him another paper bag. GLORIA Go on take it, Henrie. Its a jumbo sized muffin with blueberries and a hint of strawberry. Her favorite. Henrie smiles at Glorias kindness. HENRIE T-T-T-Thank you. Henrie returns center stage. With both bags in hand, he grabs the disassembled cardboard boxes and exits stage right. Gloria exits. PA (voice over) The store is now closed. Zoe enters stage left. She walks over to the display cooler and grabs two beers. She takes her usual spot on the ground. Henrie enters stage right with his paper bag. ZOE Henrie with an IE, here you go my man. Zoe gives Henrie a beer. He accepts and then gives her the paper bag. ZOE Whats this? She opens the bag and laughs.

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ZOE Thats a huge muffin! Ive never seen any this size in the bakery. Blueberry! My favorite. Zoe takes a bite. ZOE mmmmmm. Is that Strawberry? This is so good! She continues to savor the muffin. HENRIE Ran out-t-t-t of wheat bread t-t-t-today. ZOE You ran out of wheat bread? Aw, man. I bet those health nuts who despise white bread were in an uproar. HENRIE T-T-T-They all asked for rainchecks. ZOE I never understood the idea of rainchecks. Do you really save them for a rainy day? Dave passes them as he sweeps. Lights dim and go to black. Lights come back up. Henrie enters stage left with various items to return to the shelves. He walks stage right and before he exits, he is stopped by Dave who is restocking the liquor. DAVE Henrie. Hey. I have something for you. Dave reaches into his apron pocket and takes out an orange and some googly eyes. DAVE Check it out. I got these googly eyes from the Office Supplies aisle. And Mrs. Potatos red lips from the Seasonal aisle. Henrie doesnt see the connection. DAVE Cmon, Ill show you. Dave and Henrie exit stage right, then Henrie enters. He has an orange with a human face on it. Henry carefully places the item among the other oranges. He exits stage right. Zoe enters stage

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left with a large crate of fruit. She restocks. A middle aged woman approaches the produce section and selects her fruit. She reaches for an orange and screams. The scream surprises Zoe, but once she identifies what caused the woman to scream, she can only smile. She exits. Zoe enters from stage left and sits in her usual spot. Henrie enters from stage right and grabs two beers. Zoe has the orange in her hand. ZOE Nice one. It made one of the shoppers scream bloody mary. They both laugh. Zoe pauses as if contemplating the significance of the orange. ZOE You need to stop Henrie. You need to stop all of this. HENRIE It-t-ts fun. ZOE Its more than that, and the truth is it cant be more than that. I cant let that happen. HENRIE Because I st-t-t-tut-t-ter? ZOE What?! No, Henrie. I love that about you. Youre not like other guys. Other guys spend so much time and words trying to impress a girl, but youre not like that at all. Youre Henrie with an IE. You choose your words carefully as if saying them was the most important thing in the world. As if anything you say is all that matters. (pause) I like you Henrie. I really do. Ive never met anyone like you, but you shouldnt get caught up with a girl like me. HENRIE What-t-t-ts your st-t-t-t-ory? ZOE My story? You dont want to hear that. You shouldnt have to. HENRIE I-I-I-I dont have a st-t-t-t-ory, but-t-t-t I want-t-t-t to.

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ZOE And Ive had too many. Henrie, I walk around with too much baggage. You dont need that. You dont deserve that. I never stay in the same place and all my past relationships fail. Im a fucking mess Henrie. You shouldnt have to deal with a mess. (pause) Tomorrow is the end of the month Henrie. Im leaving. HENRIE I-I-I-I dont work t-t-t-tomorrow. ZOE I know. Its probably best if we dont see each other my last day. Im going to miss you Henrie with an IE. HENRIE Is t-t-t-there anything I can say t-t-t-to make you stay? Zoe does not respond. She just holds his hand. Lights dim and go to black. The stage is black for a while. Lights come up. Zoe is seen stocking the fruit section stage left. Henrie briskly enters the grocery store stage right. He is not in his employee uniform. He walks to the produce section and stops feet away from where Zoe is standing, but Zoe does not notice. An elderly woman picking fruit notices Henrie and pokes Zoe to get her attention. Zoe looks up and looks in the direction the elderly woman points to. ZOE Henrie? There is silence. ZOE Henrie, say something. Henrie shakes his head no. He says nothing then in one sudden movement he rushes forward and grabs Zoe with the most courage and boldness he has ever possesed. He kisses her. HENRIE My st-t-t-t-ory goes where yours goes. They embrace. Lights go to black.