Light of Heart (LGBT+) ✔

A Greek tragedy

GIOVANNI: There are only two pancakes left.

MARIANNE: I've already had three.

JORIS: Me too.

THIBAULT: I've had two.

GIOVANNI: I've had only one, so something's not right.

MARIANNE: But it is, there were only eleven.

GIOVANNI: I'd have one less, then. I mean, I'm not gonna make a drama out of this, but ...

JORIS: But you are! You should make a Greek tragedy out of it.

GIOVANNI: It'd be more of a comedy then.

***

Joris can't hold in his laughter anymore and snorts loudly. "Seriously, man? Pancakes?"

Giovanni shrugs. "It's improvisation and I'm hungry and I feel like pancakes, so it was the first thing I thought of."

"Couldn't you think a little more? What good is that for us? We create theatre for people up from ten years old, not for toddlers."

"Toddlers have no idea what a Greek tragedy or comedy is."

Marianne joins the conversation. "That's true, and I don't find it such a bad idea. We can improvise some more on the same idea."

"And waste our time here, right?" Joris shakes his head. "A weekend is no eternity and in a few hours, we'll be gone already, without results."

"I don't think so," Thibault remarks, standing by the window. "It's snowing really badly, guys. I can hardly see the trees ten metres away and it's barely eleven in the morning. I don't even have reception anymore to look up the weather."

The others come stand next to him and indeed: outside a proper blizzard is raging.

"For want of something better, I suppose we could improvise for a while on pancakes. Is that okay, babe?" Thibault squeezes Giovanni's shoulder and pecks his lips.

Giovanni raises his eyebrows. "I don't know whether you just supported my idea or insulted it."

"You can still divorce and marry me." Marianne winks.

Giovanni laughs. "Sorry, babe. You're a little too female for me. I'll punish my husband myself."

Joris pats Thibault's back. "Let's get going again, before a marital quarrel is launched here."

***

Giovanni bursts into the room, where the others are sitting at the table.

GIOVANNI Who ate the last pancakes?!

The others look at one another.

MARIANNE I thought you ate them this morning?

GIOVANNI No, I had left two, and now there are fucking none.

JORIS Is that so bad?

GIOVANNI Oh, shut up, man! It's not because you're lactose intolerant and can't eat them, that I don't like a pancake now and then.

MARIANNE Now and then? You wolfed down at least ten yesterday evening in half an hour, and the day before too.

GIOVANNI And you? What are you sitting there? Why haven't you said anything?

Thibault, who previously seemed to study the tabletop, looks up.

THIBAULT Why don't you make fresh ones? Wasn't there another pack of those prefabricated ones from Delhaize?

GIOVANNI Prefabricated?! You don't think I'll ever touch that shit that's not even close to real pancakes, do you ?! You know nothing about gourmet! Philistines.

Giovanni stamps out of the room, while he shakes his head and mutters insults.

***

Joris bursts out laughing and Marianne and Thibault follow. Giovanni comes back inside with a broad grin.

"My god, Giovanni." Marianne covers her mouth to keep in a giggle. "You're hilarious when you're angry. And your face at the end ..."

"And lactose intolerant ..." Joris snorts. "Man, where did you get that?"

Thibault holds out his hand and pulls Giovanni closer. He kisses his fingers and smiles at him. Giovanni flops down on the chair next to Thibault.

"All very well, but now I really want pancakes. Aren't there still some of those prefabricated ones we heated up yesterday?"

Marianne stands up to look in the fridge. "Uh, guys ...," she calls from the kitchen. "We've got a problem."

"What? You can't use a microwave anymore?" Giovanni's already up.

"No, someone ate the last pancakes already ..."

***

Author's Note: As a present for one thousand reads, I decided to translate a little joke I wrote in Dutch last year. Believe it or not, the improvisation/conversation in the beginning was a real conversation with my family (I was Giovanni). The joke about a Greek tragedy is of course because I study Ancient Greek (and also the decline of Greek students in secondary schools since I was the last one in mine). The rest of the story is based on a prompt from my writing club: a group of dramaturgs get snowed in during their brainstorm weekend in a cabin.
I hope it was silly enough to make you chuckle at least. Let me now what you thought and don't forget to vote if you liked it!