Kiss the Moon, Kiss the Sun

By Norm Foster

A thirty-five-year-old man with the mental capacity of a seven-year-old, meets a pregnant young woman in crisis, and the two form a lasting friendship. A story about people finding the nerve to take responsibility, and about persevering against the odds. One of Norm Foster's most touching plays, about a man who must learn to let go to move on.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Playwrights Canada Press
• Release date: Aug 1, 2004
• ISBN: 9780369103321

Norm Foster

Norm Foster has been the most produced playwright in Canada every year for the past twenty years. His plays receive an average of one hundred and fifty productions annually. Norm has over sixty plays to his credit, including The Foursome, On a First Name Basis, and Hilda’s Yard. He is the recipient of the Los Angeles Drama-Logue Award for his play The Melville Boys and is an Officer of the Order of Canada. He lives in Fredericton.

Book preview

ACT ONE

Scene 1

Time: The present. August.

Place: A dining room in a home occupied by CLAIRE Castle and her son, ROBERT. A dining room in the apartment of HOLLY Fitch. A bus stop. A doctor’s office.

There are two upstage entrances. U.R. is the entrance to the Castle’s dining room. U.L. is the entrance to HOLLY Fitch’s dining room. The one table and four chairs U.C. will be used to represent both dining rooms. The doctor’s office D.R. needs only a desk and two chairs. The bus stop D.L. needs only a bench. There is an entrance D.R. to the doctor’s office and an entrance D.L. to the bus stop. As the scene opens, ROBERT Castle is seated at the table eating a bowl of cereal. He is looking at the cereal box. CLAIRE Castle enters U.R.

CLAIRE: Robert, do you know what time it is?

ROBERT: ( looking at his watch ) Seven fifty-three.

CLAIRE: Do you know what time your bus comes?

ROBERT: Eight ten.

CLAIRE: And how long a walk is it to the bus stop?

ROBERT: Six minutes.

CLAIRE: So, how much time do you have?

ROBERT: Half an hour.

CLAIRE: No.

ROBERT: Forty-two minutes.

CLAIRE: Eleven minutes, Robert. You have eleven minutes.

ROBERT: Eleven minutes. Okay. Oh! Today’s Thursday, right?

CLAIRE: That’s right.

ROBERT: Cribbage night with Marianne.

CLAIRE: Oh, I don’t think I’m up to Cribbage tonight, dear.

ROBERT: Are you still feeling tired?

CLAIRE: Yes. I’ll have to remember to call Marianne later.

ROBERT: Why?

CLAIRE: Well, to tell her that Cribbage is off. I mean, we don’t want her making the trip all the way over here for nothing. That wouldn’t be courteous.

ROBERT: Oh.

CLAIRE: Now, finish up. I’ll get your lunch for you.

CLAIRE exits to the kitchen.

ROBERT: ( reading the cereal box ) Contains iron and zinc. ( beat as he looks at the bowl ) Mom, is iron a metal?

CLAIRE: ( off ) Iron? Yes, it is.

ROBERT: And is zinc a metal?

CLAIRE: ( off ) Yes.

ROBERT: ( beat ) Mom, aren’t metals found in rocks?

CLAIRE: ( entering from the kitchen carrying a briefcase ) Well, most of them are, yes. ( ROBERT looks down at his bowl of cereal. He pushes the cereal with his spoon looking for a rock .) Finished yet?

ROBERT: All finished. ( He pushes the bowl away .)

CLAIRE: All right, here’s your lunch. ( She hands the briefcase to ROBERT .)

ROBERT: Thank you. ( ROBERT gets up and puts his jacket on .)

CLAIRE: Now, don’t forget, I have a doctor’s appointment this afternoon and I don’t know how long I’m going to be, so if I’m not home when you get home, you let yourself in, all right?

ROBERT: All right.

CLAIRE: Have you got your key?

ROBERT: Got my key. ( He pulls a key out of his pocket .)

CLAIRE: Okay. All set?

ROBERT: All set. Kiss the moon. ( ROBERT kisses CLAIRE on the cheek .)

CLAIRE: Kiss the sun. ( She kisses ROBERT on the forehead .) Have a good day, dear.

ROBERT: Bye. ( ROBERT exits .)

CLAIRE: Robert?? ( ROBERT enters again .) Your lunch.

CLAIRE hands ROBERT the briefcase.

ROBERT: Oops. I’d forget my head if it wasn’t screwed on. How much time have I got?

CLAIRE: ( looking at her watch ) You’ve got nine minutes.

ROBERT: And it’s a six minute walk.

CLAIRE: Right.

ROBERT: Oh-oh. Better hurry. Bye! ( ROBERT exits .)

CLAIRE: ( She looks up .) Watch over my son today, God, as you do everyday. Hold him in the palm of your hand and carry him through unharmed. Amen.

CLAIRE picks up the bowl of cereal and the box and exits. HOLLY Fitch enters U.L. She is followed by SIMON Garvey. HOLLY is in her mid twenties. SIMON is around forty. HOLLY begins to search for something in her purse.

SIMON: But, this can’t be. How can it be? I mean, I used a condom and you’re on the pill! Do you mean to tell me that a sperm penetrated all of that?

HOLLY: I guess he did.

SIMON: But, he’d have to be shot out of a bloody cannon to do that.

HOLLY: Simon, these things happen sometimes.

SIMON: No, they don’t. Not through a condom and the pill they don’t. I mean, what the hell have I got? Lasersperm?

HOLLY: Well, the test said I’m pregnant.

SIMON: Well, how reliable are those home pregnancy tests anyway? I mean, who makes those things? They’re made in Hong Kong by Chinese dissidents. These people are annoyed to begin with. Maybe they’re looking to spoil someone else’s day.

HOLLY: Is that what this has done, Simon? Spoiled your day?

SIMON: Well, Holly, come on. Really. I mean, look at our situation. I’m a professor. You were my student. How’s that going to look?

HOLLY: Maybe you should have thought of that before you unzipped.

SIMON: Oh, fine. That’s wonderful. Be crass about the whole thing.

HOLLY: Well, I don’t see what’s wrong with the situation anyway. I mean, we didn’t start seeing each other until this year. We weren’t dating when I was in your class.

SIMON: All right. All right. Then how about the other aspect of the situation? I’m married.