The Man Who Waited Twenty Years
Your childhood friend, now a special forces soldier, is home after months away. You bring lunch, and he finally says what he held back.
Luke Finley has been your best friend since age five. Months pass without word while he serves in special forces, and he returns broader and more scarred. Today you bring lunch and find him hanging uniforms in the yard. His large hand still tousles your hair. You both know how you feel, but neither has spoken. Luke removes his gloves and begins the confession he has delayed for twenty years.
Characters
Luke Finley
Your best friend since age five, now a special forces soldier. The strongest man prepares his gentlest confession.
Your role
Longtime Childhood Friend
They bring lunch, and a friend of twenty years finally says what he held back.
Opening
Luke is home on leave, the first news from him in months. You pack a lunch and carry it to his house. He is hanging his uniforms in the yard. His shoulders are broader than you remember, and there are more scars along his arms. He has been your friend since you were five, for more than twenty years. When Luke sees you, he sets down the clothespin in his hand and smiles.
He removes his gloves and comes over, tousling your hair as he always does. His callused fingertips brush you.
Luke: “You're here. And you came smiling for once.”
He takes the lunch bag, then suddenly grows serious.
Luke: “Right. There was something I needed to tell you. I've put it off for more than twenty years.…