Just Like My Family

It was an ordinary Sunday. Bertha was sitting in her big arm chair reading the paper while Joaquin walked from side to side across the room with his arms crossed at his back. They were waiting for the clock to strike twelve to go take a shower and wait until their children came to have lunch.

BERTHA: Joaquin go take a shower, you know you take forever shaving.

JOAQUIN: Later.

BERTHA: Now or they will get here and you won´t be ready.

(Without saying a word and walking very slowly Joaquin leaves the room and goes to the bathroom. Bertha finishes the paper and goes to her bathroom. She comes out before Joaquin showered and ready, sits in her arm chair and reads another paper.)

(The doorbell rings. Myriam opens the door)

CLAUDIA: Hi mother. (kiss on the cheek)

BERTHA: (with a frowned face) Ahh I told your father he would not be ready. That indolent old man. Did my granddaughters come?

CLAUDIA: yes, they must be in the kitchen. (sits down on the couch, looks closely at some reading glasses on the table) I remember when my grandfather first bought those, it was such along time ago. Do you remember mother?

(Bertha was not there she had gone to the kitchen) (doorbell rings)

LUCIA: lulii lulii! Where are you? (with her Joaco, Marcela, Carmen, and Emilia also arrive)

JOACO: Hey Claudia. Do you know what medicine to take for a bad knee ache?

CLAUDIA: Why what happened?

JOACO: Oh nothing I was jogging and it started hurting. Just like last year while running the marathon and I had to stop when I was missing just a mile, probably I won´t be able to run it this year.

(doorbell rings) (Enters Paula, John, Matilde, Thomas, and Juliana)

(Matilde goes to play with Emilia while Thomas turns on the T.V and watches the football game)

PAULA: Does anyone know at what time does Jorge come?

BERTHA (Lifting her head from the paper) he told me he would be here at 1: 30.

JOHN: well its already 2:00 he probably got caught up playing golf. Tommy don´t sit to close to the T.V.

(Thomas ignores his fathers order.)

(Myriam walks to the living room)

MYRIAM: Señora Bertha what should I do for lunch?

BERTHA: I don’t know Myriamsita. Isa what do you want for lunch?

ISABELLA: Luli I ate pasta yesterday so…

MYRIAM(laughs and interrupts Isabella) Ayy Señora Bertha I forget to tell you, my sister say thank you for the money you sent her over Christmas.

BERTHA: Oh ok I am glad.

ISABELLA: you should do fish for lunch with French fries but do it fast please because I am starving.

BERTHA: Isa do you want to have lunch with me on Wednesday? We can to this new Peruvian restaurant, and tell your boyfriend to come.

ISABELLA: yes Luli I would love to!

BERTHA: when will your sister get a boyfriend huh? I remember my first boyfriend (smiles) she was called Felipe and used to give me roses every Tuesday.

CARMEN: Isa I have to go the bathroom.

(Isabella gets up from the couch leaves Bertha speaking alone and takes Carmen to the bathroom)

MYRIAM: (yells from the kitchen) Go to the dining room! Lunch is ready.

(they all stop what they are doing and go have lunch) (while all are sitting down at the table the doorbell rings 4 times)

(Myriam opens the door and enters Jorge)

JORGE: Hello everybody! Ok I have a proposition (almost screaming and very excited)

JOAQUIN: (entered the dining room after Jorge) Kuibo Jorge.

ANDREA: what´s the proposition tell us!

JORGE: we should all, the 4 us buy a house in Colorado, that way we can go in the summer and ski every winter.

( all start talking at the time) (Juan laughs really hard)

JUAN: are you serious?

CLAUDIA: think about honey, the girls would love it.

JORGE: it would be great! Just like when I was college me and my friends we would go skiing every weekend.

JOHN: I think its a great idea I am in.

MARCELA: Joaco say yes. We can make amazing trips and invite all our friends plus the girls love it.

JOACO: Marcelita you come from Palmira, please let me decide.

JORGE: I already looked it up it´s very expensive if we divide the cost in four and we rent it the times that were are not using it.

ISABELLA: yes! Jorgie buy it.

JUAN: considering we all have the other two farms it would be a waste of money.

(everyone ignores Juan´s comment)

JOAQUIN: I will you half the money and you four divide the rest.

(everyone stays quiet and keep eating their lunch)

BERTHA: don´t be stupid if your father will give you half the money buy it now!

The Cherry Orchard is different to compared to the other plays I have read. In his writing he incorporates lots of detail while the characters narrate different aspects of their life. As I read act ii I could not help but think of my family. Of course my dialogue above is quite different from Chekhov´s but it shares one thing, not all the events that occur lead to the end of the story. We were deciding weather to buy a house or not and while that decision was taking place each person on my family did something. In Chekhov´s play they have to convince Lyubov to sell the cherry orchard. But meanwhile that takes place Charlotta tells us her past life while she “(takes a cucumber out of her pocket and eats)” (81). By doing those types of things Chekhov manages to portray reality to the point that I identified my family with his play. Each character represents an important part of the plot although he does not say much. For example in my family Carmen only speaks one time but it happens so its real, we should not hide just because its insignificant. At some point Epihodov says “ I´m a cultivated man, I read remarkable books of all sorts, but never make out the tendency I am myself precisely inclined for, weather to live or t shoot myself, speaking precisely, but nevertheless I always carry a revolver” (82). That has nothing to do with what the other characters are talking about. But if random comments do appear in real conversations then why not include it? Chekhov adds these sorts of details and absurd comments to support the reality he tries to portray.