Elevation of Life

A BIZARRE WEDDING

CHARACTERS
• Jenney (the wedding girl)
• Jimmy (brother of Jenny)
• Ben (father of Jenny)
• Suji (mother of Jenny)
• Micle (neighbour of Jenny)
• Able (the wedding boy)
• Mr. Harold (father of Able)
• Mrs. Harold (mother of Able)

‘Scene-I’

A parlour room. Afternoon. A set of sofa is set in the room, curtains are hung behind, drawn aside showing the windows. Left there is a door, acting as an annex to the other parts of the house.
When the curtains rise:
All the family members of Jenny appear sitting in the room enjoying black current flavoured ice cream and a song sung by Jenny.

As Jenny finishes the song, all bewildered.
Ben: Wow! Melodious!
Suji: Can’t find any word.
Jimmy: After all, she is a singer.
(Enters Micle with no one’s knowing and slams the door.)
Micle: Singer! You… ha!. ha!...ha!…ha!…(he begins to laugh) A pub singer. Isn’t it? How cheap!
Micle turns everyone’s happiness into sadness. Their Sunday holiday turns sombre and they all stand. Jenny keeps her guitar on the coach.
Suzi: (with no moment in the pupil) Hold your tongue Micle.
Ben: Bloody….. you have no right to say such things to my Jenny.
Micle: Calm down! Calm down! Why are your feelings getting on fire? I …..I meant cheap to the pub. Not to the profession. Not to my darling Jenny.
Jimmy: Look Micle. Rather you leave or don’t compel us to call the cops and claim you a thief.
Micle: Thief? Who’s a thief?
Jimmy: Entering someone’s house without their willingness. (A pause) I don’t think it means anything else but a thief.
Micle: Father-in-law (correcting) Oh! I mean future father-in-law. Now you only make Jimmy understand.
Ben: Behold. For God’s sake don’t create any matter by coming to our house constantly. Please!
Suji: The previous day only, Mr. and Mrs. Harold came with their son- Able to exchange rings to our house.
Jenny: I and Able are fiancé now. So, please leave and don’t you dare to come further to beg me to marry you ever. I…. I just simply deny your proposal.
(silence prevails. Micle feels a bit condescended).
He has been coming randomly to Jenny’s house to propose her to marry him. On being condescended, he feels he won’t get married to Jenny. So, he makes his mind to do something unusual with the family and plans a conspiracy.
Micle: ..kay!.... Okay! Let everything go subtle. I won’t interfere. But, can’t I even attend the wedding?
Suzi and Ben turn towards each other and glance. Jimmy and Jenny too glance each other and shrug.
Suji and Ben: (with an uncomfortable smile) Yeah! Sure.
Micle: (making his hat proper with both of his hands with an uncanny smile on his face): Thanks! Will meet in the Church.
(Micle turns around and exits).
Ben: We have to keep it from Able and his parents that Jenny has an occupation of singing in a pub apart from managing three restaurants with her sibling, Jimmy and her parents.
Suzi and Jimmy: We have to be careful.
Ben: Very careful!
Jenny: I am really sick and tired of this fellow. He has been chasing me from the past 8 months as I told you all. He’s blindly mad in love.
Jimmy: You don’t worry. If he does anything further, just let me know.
Suzi: Everything will be settled, once you get married. But we even have to be careful about your other occupation.
Jimmy: Mummy! My perception doesn’t say it’s cheap.
Ben: People have started considering it so, dear.
Jenny: (emotionally) Singing is just my passion.
Suzi: (hugging Jenny) Come on baby! Don't be dejected. (kisses on her forehead)
Suzi manages to make the situation subtle.

The curtains fall.
‘SCENE-II’

The curtains are drawn aside.
On the day of marriage, Jenny has already entered the church with her family members. On the other hand, enter Able with his parents with a bouquet in his hands. The benches set in the church are still lying vacant. It is quarter passed 9 early in the morning. Viewers are being invited at quarter to 10.
Enters the father from the right back door and starts a bit of arrangement.
All: (togrther) Good Morning Father!
Curate: Good Morning dear.
As the father goes aside for some more arrangements, enters Micle from the front door.
It appears half passed nine now. Jenny’s family members become a bit alert.
Mr. Harold: (to Jimmy and Ben) So, is all ready gentlemen?
Ben: Just the guests are to come.
Micle: (unabashedly interrupts) One of the viewers has already arrived to attend the wedding….
Suzi: (interrupts in hurry while breathing heavily) Yeah! The wedding of Able with Jenny, my lovely daughter.
Micle: (In a loud shrill voice) And a great singer too. A pub singer.
Mr. and Mrs. Harold and Able are transfixed. And Jenny’s family members are scared for the truth is revealed. What would be the repercussion?
Mr. Harold: (surprisingly) Wa…..what? Pardon!
Micle: (to himself) Is he hard of hearing?
Micle to Mr. Harold: Yeah! That’s the truth.
Ben: We….. We didn’t intend to keep it from you. We are extremely sorry.
Mrs. Harold: Do you even know what are you saying? You kept such a big matter from us.
Jimmy: We didn’t find it essential to let you know.
Able: (taking a sigh) Great!
Suzi and Ben: Great?
(A while later.)
Jimmy and Jenny: Great! Is that?
Mrs. Harold: Yeah!
Mr. Harold: It is.
Able: We are amazed to hear it. It indeed sounds good.
Micle: What the hell is going on!
Mrs. Harold: It’s not something hell going on, Mr. Guest, you must take your seat to enjoy seeing the wedding.
Mr. Harold: And …… Yeah! Thanks to add glitters to the wedding. Now, it has got more interesting.
Able: You were instigating to cancel the wedding. Right? But you don’t know that…..
Able: (to Jenny’s parents) We too are sorry father and mother-in-law. Actually, not only you rather we too kept a truth from you.
Mr. Harold: Let me disclose it. Able, my child is a banker; very true. But he also runs a pub. And now-a-days he’s in the search of a new singer.
Jenny: Indeed!
Able guffaws looking at Jenny.
Mrs. Harold: The way you thought not to tell us that Jenny is a pub singer. In the same way, we too were ashamed to tell you though...
Mr. Harold: Though it’s not cheap.
Jimmy folds his hands in front of the cross of Lord Jesus and thanks him giving a smile with closed eyes.
Mr. and Mrs. Harold and Ben and Suzi too do the same.
Able comes to Jenny and holds her hand.
Ben: Thanks! Micle. For God’s sake you did a good deed.
Able: Was it the first of your life? ‘Good Deed’.
The crowd laughs. And, Micle frowns.
Jenny: Be glad! Look for a good spouse and stop being envy.
Micle thinks for a second and passes a smile.
Then, guests also arrive at 10 and the wedding takes place very nicely with happiness.
The Curtains fall.