The Laundromat

The Laundromat

Setting: The following takes place inside a grungy Laundromat in the heart of a major city. This is an experiment in the workings of dialogue.

“Well Sylvia, I’ll tell ya, I’ll be glad to get outta this place,”

“Tell me about it again, what make is it”

“It’s a Maytag, model six. Holds eight gallons, can do a whole two quilts in one load, bought it off a travelin’ salesmen. Ben said since he got a raise, I could buy myself somethin’ nice”

“You’s one lucky gal, Rose, one lucky gal.”

“We’s gotta find you a man, aint right, a woman like you can’t find a decent man.”

“Well, you know what they say…”

“No, what they say?”

“Y’aint gotta man by forty, y’aint gonna ever get no man,”

"You might not have the looks girl, but you a funny one.”

“Aint got the looks, who was voted ‘best face’ back at James Patterson? Sure as hell wasn’t you.”

“Yeah, but it wasn’t you either,”

“Got me there.”

“Hey, girl, look at that chunk of manliness over there.”

“The one in the brown jacket, standing by the door, with the… big, big muscles?”

“Yeah, girl, that’s the one.”

“He’d never go for me.”

“Why not, you’s the funny one? Go ahead, girl, talk to him.”

“I don’t, hey, don’t push me- fine, fine, I’ll go! I’ll be right back.”

“Excuse me, miss.”

“Yes?”

“You dropped your shirt.”

“Oh, thank you, sugar. My name’s Rose, and over there, talking to that delicious chunk of man muscle, is my girlfriend Sylvia.”

“Sorry, over where?”

“Right over- where’d she go?”

“What’s that on the floor?”

“Oh my goodness… that’s her grandmommy’s bracelet, she wouldn’t never let that go for the world, and look, there’s one of her new shoes, she saved for months to buy them.”

“Somebody musta snatched ‘er,”

“Don’t say that… don’t say that!”

“Somebody, please, call the po-lice”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


“We’ve been waiting here almost an hour! Where in the hell has your useless ass been?”

“Ma’am calm down, please. I am Officer McNulty. There was another situation we had to attend to, the whole squad was across town, a hostage situation resulting in a death.”

“What the- my best friend has been KIDNAPPED! Don’t any of you dumb-assed police mother-“

“Rose, darlin’, calm down, it’s okay. The man is here to help.”

“Please tell me the name of your friend.”

“Her name is, Syl-Sylvia Parks.”

“Excuse me?”

“SYLVIA PARKS GOD-DAMNIT!”

“Ma’am, Sylvia Parks was the victim in the hostage situation we just handled."