THE PAINTING

by

Jim Gordon

 

 

I look kind of grubby and I want to apologize for that. I’ve been here all night. In jail I mean and I didn’t shave. I’ve never been in jail before and I’d like to go home. Grace thinks — Grace is my wife.   Grace thinks they’ll let me out soon. I sure hope so cause I don’t feel very good. I have a blood problem. I can’t pronounce it but the Doc told Grace it’s very serious. He says there’s a new drug that could help but it costs lots of money and the Medicare don’t pay for it. Grace called the drug company and asked if they could do something but they said they couldn’t. Grace thought maybe if we went there they might help me. So we went there, but no one would see us. Grace thought if we hung around maybe they’d feel sorry for us or something so we sat in the waiting room. Grace read magazines and I spent the time staring at this big blank painting on the wall. Well it wasn’t really a painting; it was a blank canvas ya know. “Nice, isn’t it,” says the girl behind the desk. “What,” I asked? “The painting,” she says – “the Caudio, – don’t you love it?” “When’s Mr. Caudio gonna finish it,” I said? “It is finished,” she said. “But there’s nothing on it,” I said. “Of course not, that’s why it’s called, Nothing.” I asked how much did Nothing cost. “Three hundred thousand” she said. “Caudio’s bring very high prices.” I asked why someone would pay all that money for a painting that isn’t a painting.  “Because it’s important,” she said.

(pause)

Then the girl told Grace we were wasting time waiting cause no one would see us, and we were just wasting time waiting.  Grace said I was very sick and needed help.  The girl said she understood and was sorry, but we had to leave. Grace and the girl kept talking, but I wasn’t listening, you know. I was staring at that blank canvas. Three hundred thousand kept going around and around in my head. Then the girl told us if we didn’t leave, she’d call someone and they’d make us leave. I was holding a cup of coffee, I don’t know why, I wasn’t gonna drink it or anything; I mean it was cold, ya know. I threw it on the canvas. The girl screamed, called security, and they arrested me. I shouldn’t have done it; it was a stupid thing to do. They took me here to jail. I don’t know what the judge is gonna do. I don’t have enough money to pay for drugs so I think he’ll know I can’t pay for the painting cause I don’t know how I could if I have to. I hope he doesn’t keep me in jail. I want to go home cause I don’t feel very good. I’m very nervous. I don’t know what they’re gonna to me. That painting cost a lot of money

 

It was important.

 

 

Jim Gordon’s plays have won or been finalists in over 70 national and international competitions and have been produced throughout the US and Europe. Many of his full-length and one-act plays have been published and a third collection of short plays will be published in 2015. Among his many awards, Jim received the “Alan Minieri Award for Playwriting Excellence” from “The American Globe Theatre” in New York City. His university credits include a BS in Theatre Arts from The State University of New York and an MA from Fairfield University. Jim is a member of the Theatre Artists Workshop in Norwalk, CT, and the Dramatists Guild.