Fulfillment
A short play by Liz Whittaker
CHARACTERS:
JOANNA. Manager for the Rocky Mountain region of Manifestation Fulfillment, Material Desires Department. Extremely capable. PHILLIPPA. An employee of the Material Desires, Convenient Disposal Department. A little quiet and reserved, but creative and compassionate.
HARLEY. An employee of Joanna’s. Ambitious, rough around the edges, efficient as hell.
SCENE:
Lights up on the bustling “Center for Manifestation Fulfillment.” Phones are ringing, people are walking back and forth between cubicles. White boards filled with complicated graphs, tickers and countdowns, etc. Think the New York City stock exchange meets the offices of The Washington Post. A sign reads “Manifestation Fulfillment: Material Desires, Rocky Mountain region.” Joanna sits at her desk, writing notes while she takes a phone call.
JOANNA
(on the phone) Uh huh…uh huh… no, sorry, apartments are handled by the Living Situations Department…even if they want a furnished place, it still falls under that department…okay, no problem. (Joanna presses a button) Manifestation Fulfillment, Material Desires, this is Joanna speaking…yes, of course…(she snaps her fingers, and a post it note pad zooms into her hand, and she writes something down) Uh huh…yes…is there a timeline on this one? All right, I’ll see what I can do. (she hangs up)
(HARLEY enters, holding a stack of papers)
HARLEY
Afternoon, Joanna. I’ve completed the reports for last week’s unfulfilled manifestations.
JOANNA
Thank you, Harley. Have a seat. (Flipping through the stack briefly) Hey, we’re doing a little better nowadays. Your numbers are looking good.
HARLEY
Thanks. I think coordinating with the other departments has been helping.
JOANNA
Agreed. We’ve got a new manifestation to work on, just got the call. Are you interested?
HARLEY
I’d love to take it. What are the details?
JOANNA
Let me grab you the client’s file. (she snaps her fingers and a file folder zooms into her hands)
HARLEY
God, that’s convenient.
JOANNA
God’s in a different department. But yes, having telekinetic privileges is one of the best perks of being a manager. (opens the file) Liz Whittaker, Salt Lake City.
HARLEY
Didn’t she do an informal manifestation request for an apartment a few months ago?
JOANNA
That’s the one. We were able to pass it on to the Living Situations Department, and they found her the perfect place. This most recent manifestation is for a bed frame.
HARLEY
That shouldn’t be too hard. What are the details of the request? Was it formalized?
JOANNA
No ritual attached to the request. We got this one through the “Thoughts Sent Out Into the Universe” line. She’s looking for something full sized, not too far away from her home, for under $50.
HARLEY
That last one’s gonna be tough. Does she need it soon?
JOANNA
She wasn’t specific, but it sounds like she’s hoping to have it within the next month or so.
HARLEY
That helps. Any leads?
JOANNA
Let me have you work with someone from Convenient Disposal. (picks up phone and dials) Yes, Miss Thomas? Could you please send one of your agents down here? I’ve got a case that could use someone from your department. Thanks.
(A few moments of awkward silence. Finally, Harley speaks up)
HARLEY
So, Joanna…
JOANNA
Yes?
HARLEY
Have you thought any more about my uh…my promotion to management?
JOANNA
I have. And I’m definitely open to the idea. How about this? You nail this job and I’ll promote you to team lead. No telekinetic privileges yet, but your metaphysical clearance on earth will expand slightly, and you’d be in charge of six agents, coordinating efforts to fulfill manifestation desires.
HARLEY
Thank you, Joanna! This is fantastic.
JOANNA
Don’t get ahead of yourself. Get Liz a bed frame for under $50 and we’ll talk.
(Phillippa enters, looking slightly lost. She’s wearing a pair of feathery angel wings.)
PHILLIPPA
Excuse me? Can you tell me what floor this is?
JOANNA
This is Fourteen—Material Desires. Are you looking for Heavenly Messages?
PHILLIPPA
What? (Joanna gestures to the angel wings) Oh! I’m sorry. (Phillippa snaps her fingers and the wings disappear) I was just transferred out of the Divine Intervention Department, and I keep forgetting to—well, anyway, I’m looking for a Joanna?
JOANNA
That’s me. Listen, I’ve got a case that I think you could help us with. This is Harley. You’ll be working together. Let me know if you have any questions.
(Joanna exits)
PHILLIPPA
I’m Phillippa. It’s nice to meet you.
HARLEY
Likewise. (hands over the folder) We’ve got a Liz Whittaker looking for a full-size bed frame in Salt Lake City, preferably under $50. Do you have any leads?
PHILLIPPA
(glances at the folder, then peers up and out, scanning a series of invisible scenes that only she can see) Let’s see. I’ve got quite a few people looking to get rid of bed frames. Have you tried sending her to KSL classifieds?
HARLEY
I haven’t tried anything yet.
PHILLIPPA
Let’s have her start there and—
(Phillippa stops, noticing something on that horizon that only she can see. She squints, then returns back to reality)
PHILLIPPA
Do you think a queen size bed frame would work?
HARLEY
(glancing at the file) Yeah, probably.
PHILLIPPA
Have her get on Facebook Marketplace.
HARLEY
Well, her file says she’s not ready to buy today—
PHILLIPPA
Now! Hurry!
(HARLEY gets out a handheld device, something like an iPad. She presses a few buttons, and we hear a swoosh as the message gets sent to Liz down on earth.)
HARLEY
Should I be directing her anywhere in particular?
PHILLIPPA
She’ll find it. Someone just posted. I got the alert ten minutes ago but didn’t realize they would pursue fulfillment so quickly—
(HARLEY’S “iPad” makes a “ding!” noise and the two women look down at it)
HARLEY
Dayum, girl! IKEA Brimnes bed frame with storage?! Slats for foam mattress included? FOR FREE?!
PHILLIPPA
This is an old client of mine—I’ve done work for her and her husband before. It looks like they just want to get this out of their basement.
HARLEY
(looking down at the device) They’re texting.
(Both women gaze intently at the device, following some drama. It’s like they’re watching a sports game… “oh no!” “Yes, made it!” “Wait…almost?” “Score!”)
HARLEY
Boom! Fulfilled! Nice work!
PHILLIPPA
(smiling and shrugging modestly) One of those times when the job was easy.
HARLEY
Well, I’m getting a promotion because of you, so thanks.
PHILLIPPA
Of course. (she starts to leave, then turns back) Oh, one more thing. May I?
(Harley hands the iPad-ish device over to Phillippa, who takes it and enters a few things, then hands it back)
HARLEY
What did you do?
PHILLIPPA
I opened the door for her. For Liz.
HARLEY
Literally or figuratively?
PHILLIPPA
(smiling) Both.
END OF PLAY
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