Mickey has landed at the airport in East London, her hometown. Londi picks her up from the airport. The friends hug and scream, excited to see each other.
LONDI: Wow! Look at you! (Londi gives her friend a spin, taking her all in.) Instagram is a liar! You are too hot.
MICKEY: (blushing) Stop it! You don’t look too bad yourself.
LONDI: Lies, but I’ll eat them up like cake on a Sunday morning. Come on. I’m parked this way.
They walk to Londi’s car, still giggling and excited to see each other.
LONDI: So, fill me in. What’s up with you? Who’s this guy? I need names and an address.
MICKEY: (giggling) What guy?
LONDI: The one who made you come home in September. What’s he done?
MICKEY: Stop playing. I told you I came home to rest. Work has been hectic, and adjusting to teaching after Covid-19 has been stressful. So many changes, not to mention all the catching up we are doing. Plus my Master’s degree … (sighs) I just needed some time to relax.
LONDI: So there is no guy? No heartbreak? You just came home to sleep?
MICKEY: (laughing) Rest, not sleep. Jack and I broke up beginning of the year. There was just no time for a relationship. Between work and my studying, I just couldn’t add a needy boyfriend to the list.
LONDI: Men can be so selfish, wanting all of you to themselves when you have a million things to do. I swear the older they get, the more they act like children.
MICKEY: Exactly. And how are the four men in your life?
LONDI: The boys are good, growing, getting taller than me. Lunga now wants to try his hand at being a DJ. Yep. (laughing) My husband thinks he’s 16 again.
MICKEY: I don’t know what to say.
LONDI: (shrugging) You can tell me what’s the first thing you want to do now that you’re back.
MICKEY: What do you mean?
LONDI: I mean, your itinerary for the week?
MICKEY: I’m not doing anything.
LONDI: We haven’t seen you in three years, and the one time you come home, you want to sleep?
They arrive at Mickey’s home. Londi turns the engine off.
LONDI: Everybody has a busy life. I’m married with three kids and a childish husband. I’m running a business and taking care of our, I mean his, parents too. I need sleep more than anyone.
MICKEY: (rolling her eyes) So get some sleep.
LONDI: Oh, I’d love to. You think I don’t? While I’m getting some sleep, who takes care of all my responsibilities? Nobody. But you are single. You can choose to sleep… or rest, whenever you want to. You can book yourself a weekend away and go rest. But you’re here now, for a week, and everyone wants to see you because they miss you and love you. And all you want to do is sleep.
Mickey sighs heavily.
LONDI: C’mon Mickey. Why are you being like this? In high school when people called you ‘stuck-up’ guess who defended you? They called you ‘cold’, ‘an ice queen’, ‘book-worm’, ‘untouchable’….
MICKEY: Wow! You’re gonna go there.
LONDI: Yes, because imagine what they’ll say when I tell them, “Mickey won’t be joining this special dinner we threw in her honour, she’d rather take a nap.”
MICKEY: But that’s not fair.
LONDI: It’ll be like high school all over again. Everybody calling me a liar because I keep telling them how fun and cool you are.
MICKEY: But I am fun and cool, my students love me.
LONDI: Yeah, so prove it. Come to Duncan’s party tonight. Let your hair down, live a little. I want to go to a party, with other grownups, drink some alcohol and dance my butt off. And I want my best friend with me, I want to show you off.
MICKEY: Oh Londi, don’t do that. You know I have a lot going on.
LONDI: So does everybody else. You don’t want to wake up one day in your fifties and wonder why you wasted your life sleeping. One day you’ll have kids and a husband, and then all your time will never be really yours.
MICKEY: I don’t know.
LONDI: But I know. Come to the party tonight, everyone will be there.
They are both briefly silent.
LONDI: Even Milo will be there.
MICKEY: You just had to go there.
LONDI: You left me no choice. He’s also in town, and he’s been asking about you.
There is silence.
LONDI: Come with us.
More silence.
LONDI: Live a little while you’re here. You only live once.
MICKEY. Fine. I’ll come.
LONDI: That’s great! I’ll pick you up at 7. Dress sexy!
They offload Mickey’s bags from the boot. Mickey goes in the house and Londi drives off.