{"id":9306,"date":"2009-04-27T06:08:42","date_gmt":"2009-04-27T10:08:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=9306"},"modified":"2022-11-19T09:28:57","modified_gmt":"2022-11-19T14:28:57","slug":"how-many-real-adult-times-have-you-been-in-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=9306","title":{"rendered":"\u201cHow many real adult times have you been in love?\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

From Diverting Devotion<\/a>\"\", a wonderful play by my cousin Mike O’Malley<\/p>\n

NANCY. My turn. How many times have you been in love?<\/p>\n

HENRY. Real times?<\/p>\n

NANCY. You’ve faked<\/i> being in love?<\/p>\n

HENRY. No, but “real” can be a very murky thing for people when it comes to love. There’s high school love, which, when people are going through it, they think<\/i> it’s real, but then you look back and all it is, is just … puberty juice. Then you got your basic college-love illusion, where feelings are blown way out of proportion by the fact that you can have sex somewhere other than a car.<\/p>\n

NANCY. Some people experience real love at that age.<\/p>\n

HENRY. At that age people are in love with the idea that they’re in love. They like how it makes them feel grown up. Then they’re crumbled when it ends because they realize it wasn’t<\/i> a real adult love. (Beat<\/i>) I’m gonna say that real adult love happens when two people who have been completely devastated by either of these delusions try to make a go of something new. When two formerly heartbroken folks make a choice to pursue new feelings for new people armed with the knowledge of how much it could waste them. That’s<\/i> love. Knowing the risk. Knowing it could blow up and wreck you. But still diving in.<\/p>\n

NANCY. Henry, you’re avoiding the answer.<\/p>\n

HENRY. What?<\/p>\n

NANCY. How many real adult times have you<\/i> been in love?<\/p>\n

HENRY. Oh. Zero.<\/p>\n

NANCY. That’s depressing. Drink.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n