Manifest
Chapter 2
Scene 1
Jared walks over to Lourdes and pulls her in for a hug. Lourdes breaks down sobbing uncontrollably.
JARED: What's wrong what's going on?
LOURDES: She lied to me, she's never lied to me before.
JARED: Who lied?
LOURDES: Mick, Michaela lied to me, I can't believe she would lie about something like this. How could she do this to me, to you, to us?
JARED: Lou, I'm very confused could you please explain to me what's going on.
Lourdes pulls out Jared's old phone and Jared turns white.
JARED: Why are you holding that, why do you have that? I haven't looked at that phone in years. I only kept that phone because that was the phone I had before Michaela disappeared. It has all of my pictures of her, our memories...
LOURDES: And your text message conversations with her.
JARED: Why are you holding it, I don't want to look at it.
LOURDES: I was getting ready for bed when I heard a noise come out of your drawer, I opened up your drawer and I saw the blinking light coming from this phone. I was very confused because I didn't realize this phone still worked.
JARED: As that phone held a lot of memories for me I always made sure the phone still worked plus that is the phone number Michaela had for me and I wanted to make sure that if she ever did come back she would know how to get a hold of me.
LOURDES: Well that plan worked all right, it seams like she tried texting you from her phone as soon as the plane landed. I'm not sure why it only went through now, but the incoming text from her was the beep I heard from your drawer.
JARED: Did you read the message?
LOURDES: I did, I'm really sorry, I don't know why I did, that message was totally not meant for me and I really wish I never saw it.
JARED: Was it that bad?
LOURDES: It depends for who, here,
Lourdes hands Jared the phone.
LOURDES: Read it for yourself.
Jared takes the phone from Lourdes and opens his conversations with Michaela, his hands were shaking so bad as he read the last conversation between them.
April 7 2013 - TEXT: You marrying me or what????
November 4 2018 - TEXT: YES!
For Lourdes it seemed like Jared was staring at his phone for an eternity before he left the bedroom, walked into the bathroom and punched the mirror.
LOURDES: Jared talk to me, please.
JARED: What is there to say, for five and a half years I believed she was planning on saying no to me, that she took that later flight on purpose, in order to make me suffer and extra couple of hours before she planned on saying no. When she returned, and you told me that she had told you that of course she blessed our marriage as on the plane she decided that she was planning on saying no when she landed, my worst fears were confirmed. And the next day when she returned the engagement ring to me, I felt like I couldn't breathe like my entire world was crumbling before me. I know we were married and shouldn't have cared what her answer would have been but...
LOURDES: Of course, you would have cared, she is your first choice, your soulmate and although I love you and I know you love me, Michaela is your soulmate it only makes sense that hearing her say no would have been earth shattering for you. Jared, your hand is bleeding you should really get that looked at.
JARED: My hand is the last thing I care about right now. How could she break my heart like that, I don't understand?
LOURDES: Why don't you go ask her.
JARED: And say what? I know you lied to me, I know you were going to say yes to my proposal. Were married Lou, this is all wrong. I should be happy she didn't try to ruin this for us and instead I'm upset at her for not ruining our marriage.
LOURDES: Jared, your just upset at her for not being honest about her feelings. Look for her, just 10 days before she landed you were her boyfriend/fiancé and then she lands only to find out that you married someone else while she was gone, of course she would be upset about and want to hurt you for that. I'm not trying to defend her I'm just trying to make sense of all of this like you are. And yes talk to her about what happened, talk to her about everything. Tell her how you feel, what you want and what you would like to do going forward.
JARED: Are you kidding if I tell her I want to be with her, that I love her, if I try explaining to her how much I've missed her all of these years she is going to kill me for just saying that while I am married to her best friend. She would never go for it. Michaela would never let me hurt you like that.
LOURDES: And you have explained why she lied to both of us. She would never let me hurt you if she had told me she was planning on saying yes, and she would never let you hurt me if she told you the same. Look you have nothing to lose by talking to her.
JARED: Come with me, I think she would believe me better if she heard it from both of us.
LOURDES: She is your girlfriend, the love of your life, this is a conversation that the two of you have to have privately and I should not be there. If she wants me to be part of the conversation, then have her call me and I will tell her what she needs to hear.
JARED: I can't do it, I just can't.
LOURDES: Well I'm not giving you a choice. I am kicking you out of this house until you talk to her. Look at you, you're a mess. You won't be able to sleep or breathe until you talk to her, just go. I know you're mad now but you'll be thanking me later, I promise.
Lourdes walks Jared down the stairs and towards the front door. Jared hugs Lourdes and then opens the door and walks outside. As soon as the door closes Lourdes breaks down crying.
Scene 2
Jared knocks on the door of Michaela's apartment and then barges in.
Michaela who was on her way to open the door gets really upset and starts screaming.
MICHAELA: What the hell Jay, you can't just barge in to my apartment like that, this is not your home. You shouldn't be here, get out go home to your wife.
JARED: I can't do that Mick, I have no home thanks to you.
MICHAELA: What do you mean you have no home thanks to me, I didn't do anything.
JARED: Really? You didn't do anything? Why did you lie to us Mick? To Lourdes, me? We would have understood.
MICHAELA: Jared please, explain to me what's going on. I didn't lie to you, I don't know what your talking about.
JARED: When I confronted you after you gave me the ring back you promised me that you had been planning all along to give the ring back. That you never intended to say yes, to marry me. You broke my heart when you told me that. All I have ever been waiting to hear from you during all this time was that you still loved me and that you would have married me.
MICHAELA: I didn't mean to hurt you by giving you the ring back but I also didn't want to lie that's the truth Jared.
JARED: No, it's not Mick, and we both know it. I don't know how or what happened, but I got you text message today, the one in where you answered YES to marrying me.
Jared shows Michaela his phone. Michaela looks at the phone, looks at Jared and goes running out the front door leaving Jared alone in her apartment.
