Treasure Lost, Treasure Found

The Play

"So many precious things were lost and yet so much was gained..."

A line from Treasure Lost, Treasure Found: A Play by Charles Barber

"Mom," Kay had said. "You have to get out. Go to the party."

Rey had protested that she didn't know anyone and she was happier messing around at home on her projects.

But she knew when to keep her mouth shut.

Or Kay would fucking show up on her doorstep, rip the soldering iron out of her hand, and bully her into a dress. One that was probably too tight and itched.

So Rey agreed to put on something she liked to wear, go to the damn play, and hit the after-show party.

She went by herself to the little theater that everyone was talking about--everyone being Kay and her friends, who were all about the mainstay of the troupe, Henry Barber. He was an amazing actor who had grown up primarily in Hollywood but came back to New York to open a company with his father, Charles Barber.

Rey wasn't interested in most of the plays and events that Kay and her friends raved about. They were all too involved in the swooping concerns of finding oneself, looking for oneself, and sometimes losing oneself--only to work toward regaining, yes indeed, oneself.

Rey had been there and done that.

This new production, however, had the elder Barber's fingerprints all over it. Rey's colleague and friend, Rose Tico, got Rey comp tickets, since her husband was a founding member of the company. Rose and Finn were, in fact, hosting the after-show party at their house.

Rey sat in the audience prior to curtain and perused the program. Directed by Charles Barber, Treasure Lost, Treasure Found featured older actors dealing with the loss of precious items over time. Rey could relate. She had lost many things along the way and mourned the passage of time that sent those items into the ether.

Fuck. She was sitting in her seat, tearing up before the play even began. If this was going to be a festival of tears, she would leave at intermission. It was already too hard.

Fortunately, when the lights went down, Rey found the first act storyline appealing. A man, thickened by time, bullied by his children, fought for his keepsakes as he tried to downsize his home into an apartment. His grown kids sifted through belongings, exhorting him to toss them away. And he fought back.

Rey found herself laughing--and relating.

The second act was a series of flashbacks in which other items were carelessly tossed away. A lover asked the man to fling away that which reminded her of other lovers. He himself threw away items in anger. He left things behind. He forgot them. He left them in the care of others.

And in the last act, the man mourned those lost treasures. He found it hard to explain to his children why he wanted to keep and hold--because he had lost so much.

By the end of the play, Rey decided she had to talk to the author because he seemed to understand it all so well.

<>

She never enjoyed parties much. A loner by nature, Rey was an engineer who designed and created artwork in her spare time. She focused on making things with her own hands. She'd gladly talk to clients about work or to friends about her art; however, she didn't enjoy making small talk.

Rey knocked on the door of Rose and Finn's home. Finn ripped open the door and smiled at Rey. "Welcome to our home. Come on in."

It was a lovely old home with antiques and dark wood trim. Most guests stood chatting in the main living room that opened into a family room with a big TV and a study. The bright kitchen and dining room held more people, laughing and chatting, as well as a huge buffet. Finn wandered among the guests, laughing and hugging everyone, making sure drinks and small plates were refilled.