Blank Dialogue Exercise

Rachel is sitting at home alone, the big house dark and empty. The rain outside seems to reflect the sorrow that she feels within herself. Jeff is almost an hour late. It's the third time this week that he hasn't been home when he promised he would. Rachel is suspicious, but doesn't want to confront him about it. Their relationship has been been rocky for the past couple of months, and Jeff makes Rachel feel like it's her fault. As she sits in the dark, waiting for Jeff she realizes that she has to talk to him about it. She can't be blamed for not trying; she always tries to fix their relationship. Well she was tired of it. If he doesn't understand then she'll leave. She can't deal with it anymore. Lights pour into the house as Jeff turns his car into the driveway. "Hear we go," she mumbles under her breath as Jeff enters the house.
"Where have you been?" she asks, trying to keep her voice calm. They were just starting and she didn't want to get too upset already.
"Out." He mutters.
"Some excuse that is" she thinks to herself, then says out loud, "out?"
"That's right."
"I thought we talked about this kind of thing, Jeff."
"We have." he replies cooly. He knew he was starting to get under her skin.
The anger inside Rachel was growing. Jeff didn't seem to care at all. She has no idea where he had been. For all she knew he could have been at a strip club with his sleezy friends. How could he just brush her off like that? She was his wife and she deserved to be treated like that.
"And?" she asks questioningly, trying to get a feel for what he was thinking.
"I don't know what you're getting at," he says, raising his voice.
"I'm just trying to figure out what happened."
"Well, go ahead."
"How can I figure it out when you won't let me know what's going on? Nothing you have said has helped me. You said you would at least help me try to understand you."
"Sure, I will."
"Okay, that's what I'm talking about." She could hardly stand being in the same room with him. Their marriage was falling apart and he didn't seem to understand, or care. She searches his eyes, looking for the slightest trace of love, of compassion, of caring, or anything.
"What's what you're talking about, Rach? I don't understand what the problem is."
"The problem is that I just can't deal with this kind of crap. You don't answer my questions, you don't tell me what's going on, I don't know . . . you know what, just forget it." She has given up.
"What? What's going on?"
"Forget it. There's nothing wrong, I'm leaving."
"When will you be back?"
"I won't." It sounded meaner than the meant it too, but she just couldn't deal with it anymore. She was gone and he didn't care.
She turned to walk out the door but Jeff grabbed her hand. "Rachel, don't go."
"Well, why shouldn't I?" she asks, pulling her hand out of his.
"Rachel I'm sorry, and I'll do whatever it takes to get through this. Just don't leave." He sounds really concerned now that he was going to lose her.
"Jeff," she looks into his eyes, but couldn't do it, "no. I'm leaving. I can't deal with this anymore. I'll be at my mothers."
As the door closes behind her she hears him say "no, come back."
She waits just outside the door for about five minutes, hoping he'll come and stop her. But he never does. As her eyes fill with tears she gets in her dark blue car, the car he'd bought her for their tenth anniversary. She briefly thinks about going back in and working things out, but knew that it would be a waste of time. She opens the garage door, backs out of the driveway and drives off into the rain.