In the Stewarts' kitchen. Ellen Stewart is helping her son Richard prepare for a camping trip that he will be taking with his wife Marilyn, his sister Susan, and her husband Harry. |
Richard: |
Hot dogs. I love hot dogs. There is nothing better than a hot dog in the country. |
Ellen: |
Hot dogs and mustard. |
Richard: |
Cooked outdoors over an open fire. I wish I had one now. |
Ellen: |
Do you remember when Daddy and I used to take you and Susan and Robbie to Jones Beach? |
Richard: |
Oh, I sure do. |
Ellen: |
We'd wait until dark and make a fire, and we'd cook the hot dogs. Oh, don't forget the mustard. And, oh, does anybody want ketchup? |
Richard: |
[He takes a jar of mustard and a jar of ketchup from Ellen.] I might as well take it along. And now to make sure we've got the hamburger patties. [He opens the freezer compartment of the refrigerator.] I have to remember to put them in the bag tomorrow morning before we leave. |
Ellen: |
I'll remind you, Richard. |
Richard: |
Mom, we really appreciate your taking care of Max for the weekend and giving up your free time. |
Ellen: |
I love doing it. Susan and Harry have a sitter for Michelle in the city, and I'm taking care of Max. It's no big deal. I am happy to do it for you. |
Richard: |
I guess Max is asleep by now. He's not crying anymore. |
Ellen: |
Oh, poor baby. He's teething. |
Marilyn: |
[She enters.] Well, he's asleepfinally. I feel so bad for him. It hurts so much when a baby gets his first teeth. |
Ellen: |
He'll be fine, Marilyn. |
Richard: |
Well, he wakes up several times during the night, and the pain is so bad. |
Marilyn: |
I'm really concerned about going away for the weekend, Ellen, and leaving you with the full responsibility of taking care of Max. Especially with his teething. I wish he felt better. |
Ellen: |
Please don't worry, Marilyn. Remember your father-in-law's a pediatrician. We have a live-in doctor if there's a problem I can't handle. |
Richard: |
I agree, Marilyn. We really don't have to be overly concerned. |
A few minutes later. Max is crying upstairs. |
Richard: |
I'll go upstairs and stay with him until he falls asleep again. |
Marilyn: |
Thanks, Richard. Try putting him across your lap on his stomach. He likes that. |
Richard: |
I'll try it. [He leaves.] |
Ellen: |
When are Susan and Harry picking you up, Marilyn? |
Marilyn: |
They're coming by at six tomorrow morning, so we can get an early start. |
Ellen: |
That's nice. And you'll have a full day in the country. |
Marilyn: |
And a full night. Tomorrow night we'll be camping out in tents. |
Ellen: |
And coming home on Sunday? |
Marilyn: |
We'll be heading back late in the afternoon. |
Ellen: |
You're going to have the time of your lives. Camping out is such great fun. |
Marilyn: |
We'll have a great time camping out, I'm sure. But I'm still a little worried about you, Ellen. |
Ellen: |
It will be my great pleasure, Marilyn. Remember, it's only one night. |
Richard: |
[He enters.] He's asleep. I think he'll sleep through the night now. |
Marilyn: |
Thanks, honey. I hope he's good when we're away. |
Richard: |
Well, so do I. Now, to check the list of things we need for the camping trip. We need to bring a flashlight. |
Ellen: |
It's in the right-hand drawer, next to the bottle openers. |
Richard: |
[He goes to the drawer.] Do we have a bottle opener on the list, Marilyn? |
Marilyn: |
[She looks at the list.] No. No bottle opener. Is that one of the things Susan and Harry are bringing? |
Richard: |
No. And we're bringing the ketchup, mustard, relishall that stuff. And cooking utensils. Well, here's the bottle opener, and here's the flashlight. |
Ellen: |
Matches. |
Marilyn: |
Matches? |
Richard: |
Yes, of course. For when we build our campfire. I can't build a fire by rubbing two pieces of wood together. |
Marilyn: |
And don't forget your camera and film, Richard. |
Richard: |
All packed and ready. |
Marilyn: |
And let's not forget our cassette player and some tapes. Some music tapes and some blank tapes so that we can record our thoughts about the trip. |
Ellen: |
Oh, that's a nice idea. An audio diary. |
Marilyn: |
That's what I thought. |
Richard: |
Got it! [He holds up the cassette player and the tapes.] The cassette player and the tapes. [Max begins to cry again.] |