Stealing is Bad, but Stealing With Cuteness is Forgivable

SCENE
CLARA is in the kitchen,wearing her pajamas and house shoes. It is late morning and she is scrubbing at the dishes in the sink, cleaning off the grit and grime of mashed potatoes, oatmeal, noodles, sauces, and other unpleasant mixtures of items. The coffee pot is on, its little light shining dully against the brightness in the kitchen. JACK enters, a look of slight concern in his eyes.

CLARA

Hello darling, what are you up to?

JACK
I lost something. I put it under the bed and its not there anymore.

CLARA
Did you ask Rudyard if you'd seen it?

JACK
No, he wouldn't know where it is. He doesn't care about it.

CLARA
Well, what is it? Maybe I can help you.

JACK
They are your house-shoes.

JACK sees them suddenly on CLARA's feet. Excitedly, he jumps on one house-shoe foot and starts tugging at the toe.

CLARA
What are you doing, my dear?

JACK
You took your house shoe! I've been looking for it!

CLARA
Oh, well. My apologies.

CLARA slips one foot out of her house shoe. JACK immediately bites into it and begins to drag it out of the kitchen. On several occassions, it falls out of his teeth, but he stubbornly he picks it back up again.

CLARA is left alone in the kitchen, still cleaning the dishes. She has only one house shoe on, but seems thoroughly unbothered by this.


Five minutes pass. As CLARA cleans up the last few dishes, JACK comes back and begins tugging at the other shoe. Calmly and obediently, CLARA slips her foot out of the other shoe. JACK retreats with the shoe in the same way as before, dropping it a few times but, again, stubbornly picking it back up.