AIDS
Drama
Lectionary Scenes
57 Vignettes For Cycle A
Theme
Believers stumble too. How does a believer handle that?
Summary
A husband and wife deal with the news that the husband is HIV positive.
Playing Time: 3 minutes
Setting: Their home
Props: None
Costumes: Contemporary
Time: The present
Cast: MARY -- married a few years
ERIC -- her husband
MARY: (FIXING DINNER AS ERIC ENTERS) You're late.
ERIC: I know.
MARY: Dinner's ready. We'll have to hurry to get to church.
ERIC: Sure.
MARY: What's wrong? Something at work?
ERIC: No.
MARY: Well, what is it then?
ERIC: It's, ah ...
MARY: What?
ERIC: Bill Hartley called me today.
MARY: Dr. Hartley, what did he want? Was it about your exam? Are you all right?
ERIC: I'm fine. Well, no, I'm not. Not really.
MARY: What is it? What's wrong?
ERIC: Bill ask me to drop by after work to see him. That's why I was late getting home.
MARY: What is it?
ERIC:
He wanted to talk to me.
MARY: What do you mean?
ERIC: It's pretty serious, really.
MARY: What? What is it?
ERIC: It was the blood test. It came back from the lab and he wanted to talk to me about it.
MARY: Eric, what is it?
ERIC: Bill said I tested HIV positive.
MARY: What?
ERIC: HIV positive. I have the HIV virus.
MARY: No!
ERIC: Yes. Yes, I do.
MARY: Is he sure?
ERIC: I asked him the same thing. Yes, he's sure.
MARY: You've got AIDS!
ERIC: Well, not really, no.
MARY: What do you mean, not really? Of course you do. It's A.I.D.S.! That's what it means, doesn't it? You've got AIDS!
ERIC: No, it doesn't mean that. I've read about it. It means it's possible I might get AIDS someday.
MARY: I've read a lot about it, too. And I know one thing -- you can give it to me. If I have it I can give it to any babies I have. Eric, AIDS!
ERIC: Bill suggested you come in for a blood test, too.
MARY: We can't have children now. Why? Why?
ERIC: Mary, it will be all right.
MARY: All right? What are you talking about? Our entire life is changed. Changed in an instant. Why?
ERIC: (TRYING TO COMFORT HER) Mary.
MARY: Oh, leave me alone. AIDS! You've got AIDS!
ERIC: Mary, please.
MARY: Leave me alone.
ERIC: I've been trying to tell you, Bill said the actual disease might never develop. If it does it might be five or ten years from now. We just have to hope for the best.
MARY: The best? There is no best now. Not now. Never again. Why, Eric? Why?
ERIC: Mary, please. I'm sorry. Please try to understand.
MARY: AIDS!
ERIC: I don't have AIDS!
MARY: As far as I'm concerned, you've got it.
ERIC: Mary, you don't understand.
MARY: I understand very well. You've got AIDS and you know it. I've probably got it too, I just don't know about it yet.
ERIC: I wish it had never happened.
All those ... I just didn't know. I just never thought it would lead to this.
MARY: Why didn't other doctors find it? Maybe Dr. Hartley made a mistake.
ERIC: There was no mistake. He took two separate samples. There was no mistake. I wish there was.
MARY: There was a mistake. Our marriage was a mistake. We can never have children now.
ERIC: I know. I know. I'm so sorry.
MARY: What are we going to do? I just don't know what we're going to do. What are we going to do? Why, Eric? Why? Why us?
ERIC: I told you all about my life before we got married. I told you.
MARY: I know, but I didn't think it would affect us like this -- and our children, or, I mean, oh, it's hopeless. All our dreams. We don't have any more dreams. No more dreams. No more life.
ERIC: Mary, please. We can go on. People do go on. People do.
MARY: Do they? How? Do we? Do we go on? How long? How long do we go on? How long? You said five years -- ten years. Year after year waiting for you to get sick or waiting for me to get sick -- waiting for one of us to catch pneumonia and die. That sounds like a lot of hope. Is that how people go on? Is it? Well, I can't. I just can't! Why should I? Why should I have to?
ERIC: We can't undo the past. I wish we could.
MARY: So do I.
ERIC: Mary, I love you. Just you. Just you. You know that. You know that for sure.
MARY: I know.
ERIC: (TAKING HER IN HIS ARMS) We can make it, Mary. We can make it but we have to know for sure we have each other's love.
MARY: Yes, I know. I do love you, Eric. I do love you.
ERIC: And we know another thing, Mary. We know we have the love of God.
MARY: Yes, but ...
ERIC: What, Mary?
MARY: I just wish you would have met the Lord before ... well, you know.
ERIC: Yes, so do I.
Believers stumble too. How does a believer handle that?
Summary
A husband and wife deal with the news that the husband is HIV positive.
Playing Time: 3 minutes
Setting: Their home
Props: None
Costumes: Contemporary
Time: The present
Cast: MARY -- married a few years
ERIC -- her husband
MARY: (FIXING DINNER AS ERIC ENTERS) You're late.
ERIC: I know.
MARY: Dinner's ready. We'll have to hurry to get to church.
ERIC: Sure.
MARY: What's wrong? Something at work?
ERIC: No.
MARY: Well, what is it then?
ERIC: It's, ah ...
MARY: What?
ERIC: Bill Hartley called me today.
MARY: Dr. Hartley, what did he want? Was it about your exam? Are you all right?
ERIC: I'm fine. Well, no, I'm not. Not really.
MARY: What is it? What's wrong?
ERIC: Bill ask me to drop by after work to see him. That's why I was late getting home.
MARY: What is it?
ERIC:
He wanted to talk to me.
MARY: What do you mean?
ERIC: It's pretty serious, really.
MARY: What? What is it?
ERIC: It was the blood test. It came back from the lab and he wanted to talk to me about it.
MARY: Eric, what is it?
ERIC: Bill said I tested HIV positive.
MARY: What?
ERIC: HIV positive. I have the HIV virus.
MARY: No!
ERIC: Yes. Yes, I do.
MARY: Is he sure?
ERIC: I asked him the same thing. Yes, he's sure.
MARY: You've got AIDS!
ERIC: Well, not really, no.
MARY: What do you mean, not really? Of course you do. It's A.I.D.S.! That's what it means, doesn't it? You've got AIDS!
ERIC: No, it doesn't mean that. I've read about it. It means it's possible I might get AIDS someday.
MARY: I've read a lot about it, too. And I know one thing -- you can give it to me. If I have it I can give it to any babies I have. Eric, AIDS!
ERIC: Bill suggested you come in for a blood test, too.
MARY: We can't have children now. Why? Why?
ERIC: Mary, it will be all right.
MARY: All right? What are you talking about? Our entire life is changed. Changed in an instant. Why?
ERIC: (TRYING TO COMFORT HER) Mary.
MARY: Oh, leave me alone. AIDS! You've got AIDS!
ERIC: Mary, please.
MARY: Leave me alone.
ERIC: I've been trying to tell you, Bill said the actual disease might never develop. If it does it might be five or ten years from now. We just have to hope for the best.
MARY: The best? There is no best now. Not now. Never again. Why, Eric? Why?
ERIC: Mary, please. I'm sorry. Please try to understand.
MARY: AIDS!
ERIC: I don't have AIDS!
MARY: As far as I'm concerned, you've got it.
ERIC: Mary, you don't understand.
MARY: I understand very well. You've got AIDS and you know it. I've probably got it too, I just don't know about it yet.
ERIC: I wish it had never happened.
All those ... I just didn't know. I just never thought it would lead to this.
MARY: Why didn't other doctors find it? Maybe Dr. Hartley made a mistake.
ERIC: There was no mistake. He took two separate samples. There was no mistake. I wish there was.
MARY: There was a mistake. Our marriage was a mistake. We can never have children now.
ERIC: I know. I know. I'm so sorry.
MARY: What are we going to do? I just don't know what we're going to do. What are we going to do? Why, Eric? Why? Why us?
ERIC: I told you all about my life before we got married. I told you.
MARY: I know, but I didn't think it would affect us like this -- and our children, or, I mean, oh, it's hopeless. All our dreams. We don't have any more dreams. No more dreams. No more life.
ERIC: Mary, please. We can go on. People do go on. People do.
MARY: Do they? How? Do we? Do we go on? How long? How long do we go on? How long? You said five years -- ten years. Year after year waiting for you to get sick or waiting for me to get sick -- waiting for one of us to catch pneumonia and die. That sounds like a lot of hope. Is that how people go on? Is it? Well, I can't. I just can't! Why should I? Why should I have to?
ERIC: We can't undo the past. I wish we could.
MARY: So do I.
ERIC: Mary, I love you. Just you. Just you. You know that. You know that for sure.
MARY: I know.
ERIC: (TAKING HER IN HIS ARMS) We can make it, Mary. We can make it but we have to know for sure we have each other's love.
MARY: Yes, I know. I do love you, Eric. I do love you.
ERIC: And we know another thing, Mary. We know we have the love of God.
MARY: Yes, but ...
ERIC: What, Mary?
MARY: I just wish you would have met the Lord before ... well, you know.
ERIC: Yes, so do I.
