Opening theme (short version) begins

Leanne:

Wasting Company Time presents Tell No Tales, season two. Episode 10.5: Find A Way

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[SFX: Driving ambience, outbound dial tone]

LOUISA

(THROUGH CAR SPEAKER) Hi, Julia!

JULIA

Lou! Hi! I’m on my way to the Carnation Club, I’ve got big news!

LOUISA

Well that’s perfect timing, we’re all getting a bit bored at the sit-in this morning, you showing up would certainly make things more interesting.

RILEY

(INCREDIBLY BORED WITH ALL OF THIS) You’re on speaker, by the way. Julia’s driving.

LOUISA

(SHEEPISHLY) Oh, hi Riley! Uh, so, the news?

JULIA

Right, well, actually the news is for Arthur. We need you to tell him that we’ve been speaking with the spirit of his partner, Stephen.

LOUISA

What?!

RILEY

Yeah, a friend met him a while back, we pieced it together when we spoke to Arthur, then got a recording from Stephen yesterday to confirm it. We need you to let him know now so he’s got time to process it before we show up with Stephen’s recording, okay?

LOUISA

Yeah, yes of course, I’ll let him know right now. How far are you?

JULIA

About 25 minutes out, which isn’t very long to work through the news that the love of your life is stuck haunting a different part of the city, but we decided it was better than passing the news on last night then making him wait until the morning to hear from us.

LOUISA

Yeah, yeah, it’s… I’ll let him know, we’ll see you both soon!

JULIA

Bye Lou!

[SFX: Driving sounds fade out]

[SFX: Sound of people upstairs fade in]

LOUISA

Alright, I spoke to him right after you called, I’ve just been sitting with him since then.

JULIA

Thank you, Louisa. Arthur, we’re going to play you the recording we took from Stephen after we told him about you. We’ll do the same for you, after, if you’d like us to pass something on. But we’ll show you his end first. Ok? Let’s go ahead. Riley?

[SFX: Laptop mouse clicks]

STEPHEN

My Arthur. My dearest Arthur. I have known for all of an hour that you are still here, but already, every day for the rest of my after-life feels brighter for knowing that you are somewhere. There is so much I want to say, but – well, you know me – I was never much good with words. I love you. With all my heart, Arthur, I love you. I have been telling you this every day for decades, but now you’ll finally hear it. It breaks my heart to know that you’re so far away from me, but of course, where else would you be? I’m glad your soul was able to stay where your heart lies. I will always be glad to know you’re happy, even if it must be far from me.

I’m happy too. I have a family now. A lesbian couple, Kara and Lynne, they live in our old home. They’re married, Arthur. Legally. They have two adopted children, and an adopted ghost (LAUGHS). They’ve welcomed me. They’ve fought to make sure I’m comfortable, that I’m at home. Kara printed out a photo of us, from the Whittaker Gala, do you remember? It hangs on the wall now. I wish you could meet them. Maybe they can visit you at the Club, I’d much prefer to visit you myself, but with things as they are, perhaps meeting my family is a close second.

I want to talk to you for longer, but what I really want is to hear from you, and the longer I talk, the longer I must wait. So I’ll just say this: You know everything else, I don’t need to tell you in depth about how much I’ve missed you, how happy I am to know you’re out there, how a part of me that was missing now feels whole again. How you are my heart, pure and simple. You already know.

RILEY

Alright Arthur, we’ve got some older recordings to show you if you’d like, from Stephen. Then we can turn the recorder on and record a message from you. But remember, this isn’t your last chance to speak to him. We’re going to take this recording back to Stephen, then we’ll be back and forth as often as you need us to. This matters to us, ok?

[SFX: Ambience fades out, moment of silence to indicate time passing]

ARTHUR

Stephen, sweetheart. How do you have the nerve to stand there and tell me you’re no good with words, only to have me bawling my eyes out in a form in which nobody can pass me a tissue? Ah, who am I kidding? I’ve been crying ever since I got the news that you’re out there too.

I have work to do here, darling. But when it’s done, I swear, I will tear this afterlife apart before anyone stops me from seeing you again. I don’t care one bit for the laws of physics or anything else that would wish to stop me. We will see each other again.

In the meantime, I would love to meet your new family. Our mutual friends told me what they know about how you were… introduced to Kara, they showed me the statement you gave their friend Leo, some time ago. I was glad of it, because for all your desire to cut your words short, to hurry along my response, I could only ever want to hear more of your voice. I’m glad my words helped you, even from so far away. I was right. I always am. There are no awards for subtlety Stephen, and I’m glad your boldness saw you rewarded with a home and a family.

Something similar is happening with me over at the Carnation Club. I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but someone is trying to buy the old place up. But there is a group of angry, radical, hopeful queers, and I’m helping them, Stephen. Even in death, I’m helping them. We both have communities. I just wish we had each other. (TEARFULLY) I love you, Stephen. I love you, and I will see you soon, I will find a way. I promise.

Closing theme (short version) begins

Leanne:

This episode of Tell No Tales was written and produced by Leanne Egan. In it, you heard the voices of Josie Thomas as Louisa, Shannon Kelly as Julia, Phil Thompson as Riley, Cameron Gergett as Stephen, and Eric Willmott as Arthur. Thank you for listening, and remember: the dead don’t bite.

Closing theme (short version) ends