Man-In-Sea

ED

They’ve got a confession.

CLAY

What?

ED

A free and voluntary admission of guilt from one of our own crew.

CLAY

Who?

ED

You.

CLAY

Me?

ED

It doesn’t ring a bell? You were going to grab the first thing you could find and hide it in the belly of the ship.

CLAY

I never told them that.

ED

Well, that’s what this girl you were seeing is going around telling them. No matter how many times I tried to champion your innocence, they still believe me to be a pirate, and therefore not a credible character witness.

CLAY

Dad...

ED

And you wanted to marry this girl? No wonder she liked you so much, she was probably hoping to collect a reward.

MARION

What are you yelling about?

ED

That little tramp that was following him around is the one that turned us in!

MARION

Aphrodite?

ED

She says Clayton admitted he was going to take something out of the country.

CLAY

I did.

ED

What?

CLAY

I told her that. I was drunk, I was angry, I didn’t know what I was talking about.

ED

How can you be so stupid? She bats those big brown eyes and you march your father off to jail for her?

CLAY

I didn’t mean it!

ED

Think, Clayton, think! You knew they’ve been out to get us since we started.

MARION

Ed, relax.

ED

Hell, the police probably set her up to it. Go in and find out what they are doing wrong, we’ll make it worth your while.

MARION

Ed!

ED

And you were more than happy to give it to them. I hope you at least got what you were looking for.

MARION

ED!

CLAY

I’m sorry.

ED

They arrested me, Clayton! Sorry doesn’t cut it!

MARION

Ed, he didn’t know.

ED

Do I need to have a background check on all your girlfriends now? What’s next, a Russian spy?

CLAY

I said I was sorry!

MARION

Who do you think  you are talking to my son like that?

ED

We’ve gone through hell the last couple weeks, and it was all because he wanted to impress a girl?

MARION

Will you give it a rest? Did you get beat up? Did you spend more than one night in an uncomfortable bed? What have you been forced to do worse than sign papers and repeat your stories over and over? Don’t tell me you’ve stopped enjoying the sound of your own voice in the last month.

MAN-IN-SEA

Cast of Characters:

LINK

An inventor. Also, Ed’s father.

ED

As Link remembers himself.

MARION

Ed’s wife.

CLAY

Ed and Marion’s second son.