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Act Two
Scene One
A few days later. KATE is at a cafƩ with her father JOE. He is played by the actor playing STEVE. He gives her a carrier bag.
JOE. Go on, open it.
KATE. What is it?
JOE. Have a look!
KATE. Dad.
JOE. Go on!
KATE. Dad, are you happy Iām engaged?
JOE. What?
KATE. You havenāt said anything!
JOE. Of course Iām happy.
KATE. Good.
JOE. You took long enough! You made me wait! I thought I wouldnāt live to dance at your wedding!
KATE. Dadā¦
JOE. I hope Steve knows what heās letting himself in for!
KATE. Dad!
JOE. Open the bag.
She opens the bag. She takes out a wedding veil, yellowed with age.
KATE. Is this Mumās?
JOE. My darling. Youāll look just as beautiful as her. The only thing is I donāt know where she put the dress. I looked all over the attic.
KATE. You donāt think Iām going to wear it?
JOE. Donāt say no without trying it! You can bleach it back to white.
KATE. Itās bad luck.
JOE. Why?
KATE. Dad, you got divorced.
JOE. When she wore this, we were happy. Everyone said so. You could see it in her eyes.
KATE. How can you still love her after she left you like that?
JOE. You never stop loving someone. Thatās love, real love. You should know that if youāre getting married. Love goes on forever. Till you die.
KATE (rattled). I do know about love.
JOE. So ask your mum if sheās got the dress.
KATE. She hasnāt got it.
JOE. How do you know before you ask? Youāre such a pessimist. Just like your mother.
KATE. Look, Dad, I know she hasnāt got it.
JOE. Have you asked?
KATE. No. And Iām not wearing it anyway. Letās change the subject.
JOE. But whereās the dress? It was beautiful, you know. She looked like a dream.
KATE. Youāll get upset.
JOE. Whatās to get upset about? Kate? What is it? If you know something, tell me!
KATE. Okay. There is no dress. I came home one day after school and she was burning it. She made a little fire on the patio. The fabric went up like paper and then there was this horrid plastic thread and that just melted into a ball. You saw the pile of ash when you came home and we just said we had a barbecue and you were annoyed because you liked barbecues.
JOE. Thereās still a stain on that patio.
KATE. I didnāt want to tell you. But now you know. So letās put this in the bin, because Iām not going to wear it.
JOE. Whatās the matter with you? First you burn your motherās wedding dress, now you want to throw the veil in the bin?
KATE. She burned her dress.
JOE. You helped.
KATE. I was fifteen!
JOE. You were the one who brought home all those feminist books. You were the one who told her about burning bras. Burning dresses maybe also! Where did she get these ideas? From you!
KATE. I stayed with you, didnāt I? She said I could live with her but I stayed with you. You wouldnāt have coped on your own. You could only cook scrambled eggs with spring onions. And you canāt survive on scrambled eggs with spring onions.
JOE. You canāt cook either.
KATE. I know, but I was there.
JOE. You donāt even put in the spring onions.
KATE. I stayed. Dad.
Beat.
JOE. Youāre a good girl. Iām sorry. It was just a shock.
KATE. I know. I didnāt want to tell you.
JOE. ...
