Lights up. Harvey and Ford stand on stage. Harvey is stage right under a spotlight. Ford is stage left, bathed in dark blue, looking at Harvey.
HARVEY: He’s reduced himself. Downgraded to a single piece of chewed up trident on the bottom of my shoe. I feel him wherever I go and I can’t shake him off no matter how hard I try. But why do I try. I mean is he really that bad. Okay, yes, gum on the bottom of your shoe is annoying but that’s no reason to hate it. It didn’t do anything wrong. It was just at the wrong place at the wrong time and so were you because you stepped on it… one step and now it’s stuck… forever it seems.(Beat) I see him when I close my eyes. He just stands there with this stupid look on his face like I’ve disappointed him- like I’ve let him down- but how could I have let him down if I wasn’t there in the first place. Maybe that’s what he’s mad about. Mad because I wasn’t there-and I should’ve been- but why wasn’t I? Oh right, the bagel. A tasteless donut with layers of scrambled eggs, melted sharp cheddar, and slices of bacon that contain more fat than meat. The breakfast of champions in anyone’s book… anyone’s book but Ford’s, that is. He used to say that two meals didn’t turn enough profit for restaurants, so they capitalized on a third. I think he only said that to convince his stomach to shut up for a little while. Ford’s family was really poor, they could hardly afford the apartment they lived in, let alone food. (Laughs a little to himself) I don’t think I’ve ever seen Ford eat a bagel before. I invited him once, to go to the breakfast place across the street, my treat of course, but he said no. He walked to school alone that day. I should’ve never let him walk to school by himself. He was always so careless, even when we were younger, he would just get lost in his head sometimes, and not look both ways before crossing. People would yell at him from the side of the road, but he would just shrug it off, convinced that they weren’t yelling at him, because why would they, why would anybody. He wouldn’t realize that he was in some sort of danger until cars started to weave around him. Like playing a version of Frogger where the frog is Moses and the cars are the red sea… but in this version, there’s a crack in one of the walls of water, and a leak begins to flow from it. A leak, no matter how small, is sometimes all you need. One leak, one car. (Beat) They found gum on the bottom of his shoe when he died. It’s kind of ironic really. I guess if he’s become gum then I’ve become a bagel. On the outside I’m plain, bland, whole wheat. Yet, on the inside, I have so much more than that, but no one ever gives me a minute to explain. No one talks to me anymore… (Turning to Ford) not even Ford. Doing nothing but staring at me- with that look- (yelling) it’s not my fault you idiot! How was I supposed to know this would happen!
Harvey (sullen) begins to exit the stage. The facial expression on Ford’s face shifts from a cold stare to a broad smile.
FORD: Wow, would you look at that, and here I was thinking you’d never talk to me again.