The paper below was written by Stephen P. Thomas of The Chicago Literary Club and read on Friday, March 5, 2004 at a joint meeting of The Chicago Literary Club and the Fortnightly of Chicago where the other presenters were Margaret Foorman (Fortnightly), Jill Carlotta Maher (Fortnightly) and William E. Barnhart (Chicago Literary Club), all on the assigned topic of “Unintended Consequences”.
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FAMILY VALUES
A STORY FOR OUR TIME
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CHARACTERS
JACK BARNETT, age 48, principal owner of a
small but thriving Chicago advertising agency.
A somewhat restless man.
KAREN, age 43, his wife. Very focused on home
and family, but feeling somewhat constrained
by the limitations of this environment.
PETER, age 18, their son, a high school senior,
a good kid, for a teenager.
MELISSA, age 16, their daughter, a high school
junior, also a good kid.
RUTH WEBSTER, age 65, Karen’s mother, a
widow, living alone and very devoted to
the Barnett family.
[All events take place at the Barnett family residence, an ample but not lavish house on a quiet street in one of Chicago’s North Shore suburbs.]
SCENE ONE
[An evening in early September, 2004, about 11:00 pm. There is a sound of keys rattling in the front door to the entranceway. Lights are on upstairs. Mrs. Barnett has been quietly reading in the front parlor.]
KAREN [Sounding irritated] Jack, is that you? Where have you been? We finished dinner hours ago. The children are upstairs, asleep I hope.
JACK [Sounding tired] I’m sorry. We were presenting on new business to the Top Notch Products account. It’s worth a lot to us. The prospect actually suggested we wind up with drinks and dinner downtown. I didn’t even have a chance to call. Left my cellphone sitting on my desk. Karen, I think we’ve won the account. I’m exhausted but delighted.
KAREN Jack, it’s the third evening this week you have missed being home because of business, two without even calling. We hardly see each other. Will it ever end?
JACK Sure, it will end. Everything ends. But right now we’ve got Visa and Master Card, mortgage payments, medical insurance, braces on Melissa’s teeth, a new furnace coming next week, college costs around the corner to last – how long? – skiing in Aspen in January, the spring vacation we’ve planned for everyone in Hawaii. Somebody has to stay focused on the big picture. I guess it’s me.
KAREN Well, we’d just like to see more of you, and spend more time as a family instead of scattered in so many directions.
JACK Where are Melissa and Peter?
KAREN Upstairs. In bed, I hope. They both have big days tomorrow.
JACK I’ll talk to them in the morning.
KAREN Will you talk to me . . . now?
JACK Sure, but I’m pretty tired. Isn’t it great that things are going so well at the agency? I’m really proud of how we’ve grown this business in just a few years.
KAREN Of course, it’s a tremendous accomplishment and you own . . . what . . . 85% of the stock? What do you think it’s worth? A lot, I bet.
JACK [Shifting ground] Karen, you used to be so focused on your work in biology. You had a great career in research just getting started. What happened?
KAREN [Abruptly] What happened? Two children. A dog. A house. Two cats. Groceries, laundry, soccer, Girl Scouts, piano lessons, checking homework, calling plumbers, roofers, yard service agencies. The Mothers Club. Balancing checkbooks. Driving to and from schools, train stations and malls, visiting my dad nearly every day while cancer and Alzheimer’s ran their course. That’s what happened.
JACK [Resignedly] It’s true. We’re both totally absorbed in daily work and living. Can we ever change any of this? Make it simpler, and more fun? Remember when I told you I wanted to be a writer - - - stories, poetry, novels. Advertising copy was not even an option in those days.
KAREN [Philosophically] Last week I read something like this . . . can’t remember where: “Women marry men expecting them to change, but they don’t. Men marry women expecting them never to change, but they do.”
[Jack puts his arm around Karen’s shoulders. They walk slowly out of the room and up the staircase.]
SCENE TWO
[A few months later. December 24. The family is gathered together exchanging holiday gifts. Karen is overjoyed. She has been employed for several weeks in a part-time position at a nearby research laboratory. Her work involves a special project in micro-biology dealing with inhibiting the genetic transformations which cause certain birth defects. Karen does not know that a $ 50,000 gift from Jack’s ad agency was an influential element in this job offer which came to her quite unexpectedly. . . . . Grandma Ruth Webster (Karen’s mother) hands an envelope with a bow on it to her daughter.]
RUTH Karen, this is for you and Jack, from the children and me. We decided to pool our resources this year. It was their idea, and I was very happy to go along with them. In fact they used over half of their summer earnings.
KAREN [Puzzled] What on earth can it be. [She hands the envelope to Jack] Jack, you open it.
[Jack slowly opens the envelope and reads aloud]
JACK [Smiling as he reads] It says - - - - “Just for the two of you. Twelve days at sea on one of the maiden voyages of the Queen Mary 2, Cunard’s newest queen of the sea. All your expenses have been paid. Call this number to arrange your time and port of departure. ---We love you --- from Ruth, Peter and Melissa.” - - - - What a terrific surprise. I can’t wait to jump aboard. Karen, let’s call right away and check the scheduling.
KAREN And while we are lounging on one of the afterdecks, what happens back here on the home front?
RUTH I’ll stay with the children. We’ll be fine. It’s all part of the plan.
[Melissa and Peter look at each other, both smiling. They speak to each other softly without being overheard by the adults]
MELISSA Yes, part of the plan.
PETER Right, because Grandma will let us do anything.
[Now Karen hands a small package to Jack. He opens it, takes out a card , and reads from it]
JACK It says: “Congratulations. You are enrolled in a tuition prepaid evening course at UC Community College in creative writing. Classes start January 15. With love, Karen.” Hey, that’s great, - - but classes start in two weeks. What about the cruise?
KAREN We’ll call the travel company. Perhaps we can take a cruise later in the year. I’m really getting busy at the lab.
JACK OK. I’d love to do the creative writing class, - - we’ll just do the cruise as soon as we can get everything arranged. What nice presents. Very imaginative. Thanks, kids. Thanks, Grandma Ruth.
SCENE THREE
[Sixteen months pass. It is late April. Jack and Karen have finally coordinated their schedules to take the long delayed cruise on the Queen Mary 2, and have just returned. In the interim since the holiday gift exchange Jack has written three short stories and 29 poems. One of the short stories has been published in Short Stories Magazine, and two of the poems in Poetry Magazine. Jack has been sleeping on a $ 6 million all cash offer to purchase his ad agency. Karen has moved from part time to full time status at the research lab and now has a title: Deputy Director of Special Research Projects. Her name has been included in the credits on two articles, one published in Nature Magazine. Peter is at college, in Madison, Wisconsin. Melissa has been accepted at three colleges and will attend Northwestern, Antioch or Bates. The entire Barnett family is gathered at home during spring break to welcome Jack and Karen back from their cruise.]
KAREN Melissa. I’m so proud of you and Mom. The house is spotless.
RUTH We called a cleaning service the day you left. The first week is free if you sign a four month contract. I’ve prepaid it. You can stop it if you want.
JACK Mom, you are too kind. And the cruise was just what we needed. In fact we’ve got some big news, so sit down everyone.
RUTH [Looking at Jack] Don’t tell me Karen is pregnant. She can’t be. What is it?
MELISSA Grandma, . . . let them talk.
PETER Wait. Is it good news or bad news?
JACK It’s both. Depends on your perspective.
KAREN Jack, maybe it’s best if I speak first. Kids, Jack and I are . . . . going to live . . . separately for a while, perhaps for a long while. We’ll be in close touch with you two and Grandma, and with each other, but this house is just too much, more than we need. And I want to spend more time in the lab, not looking after a house and garden. I guess I didn’t realize how much I missed my work in biology while you were growing up, but now that I’m back at it, . . . I just love it.
JACK And my big news is that I’ve decided to sell the ad agency and work full time at writing. It’s what I love best. I’ll take a small apartment downtown. I’ll need to be close to the agency during a transition period. Maybe we can all spend time together during school vacations, over the holidays, during the summer. . . . [After a pause] . . . Hey, we might actually all be closer to each other when we are . . . . apart.
MELISSA AND
JACK [Speaking together and sounding puzzled] We send you two on a cruise to give you some time to be closer to each other, and you decide to split up?
JACK [With a shrug] I help your mom get a part time job, to get her away from home for a bit, and she becomes totally absorbed in the work? To the exclusion of almost everyone and everything else?
KAREN [Dispassionately] I place Jack in a writing class, and the next thing you know he sells the business to which he has devoted his entire working life?
RUTH Who could have predicted all these . . . . these . . . . .
ALL, in unison.
UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES.
