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[0:01] Brad Forenza: Hi, I'm Brad Forenza, and you're listening to Around the Sun.

[0:07] Brad Forenza: This is our series epilogue, which takes place amidst the cosmos and features a cast of writer-performers.

[0:14] Gretchen Cryer: I'm Gretchen Cryer.

[0:15] Joe Gilford: My name is Joe Gilford.

[0:17] Sarah Salzberg: I'm Sarah Salzberg.

[0:18] Brad Forenza: To kick us off, let's focus our telescopes on a pair of star-crossed lovers, Andromeda and Perseus.

[0:25] Brad Forenza: But, oh my, what's this? The Chained Lady looks a bit glum tonight, doesn't she?

[0:31] Brad Forenza: Well, perhaps infinity ain't all it's cracked up to be. Let's have a listen.

[0:39] Brad Forenza: This is our series epilogue, part one of three, Eternal Flames, starring Gretchen Cryer and Joe Gilford.

[0:46] Perseus: Perse?

[0:55] Andromeda: Perse?

[0:59] Perseus: What?

[1:01] Andromeda: Are you awake?

[1:03] Perseus: No.

[1:05] Andromeda: Oh, you're funny.

[1:08] Andromeda: Perse?

[1:11] Perseus: What?

[1:14] Andromeda: I said, you're funny.

[1:17] Perseus: Oh.

[1:18] Andromeda: Oh? That's all you have to say to me?

[1:22] Perseus: What?

[1:24] Andromeda: Your loving bride says, you're funny, and all you can think to reply is, oh?

[1:33] Perseus: Don't you have anything else to say?

[1:36] Perseus: I'm sleeping.

[1:38] Andromeda: Acknowledge me.

[1:40] Perseus: We'll talk tomorrow, Annie.

[1:43] Andromeda: That's what you said last year, and the year before that, I am sensing a pattern here.

[1:49] Perseus: Oh.

[1:51] Andromeda: I don't want to talk, Perse. Your bride would like to connect.

[1:56] Perseus: Cute.

[1:58] Andromeda: What's cute?

[2:01] Perseus: My bride would like to connect.

[2:04] Andromeda: It's true, Percival. Here I am, naked and free, ready and waiting for my groom.

[2:11] Perseus: Can't it wait until morning?

[2:13] Andromeda: No.

[2:15] Perseus: I have a headache.

[2:17] Andromeda: We're not getting any younger.

[2:19] Perseus: Tell me about it.

[2:21] Andromeda: You haven't been my bride in years.

[2:24] Perseus: Oh, no?

[2:26] Andromeda: Then who is?

[2:29] Perseus: You, dear. I have eyes for you, but bride is a term for ingenues.

[2:35] Perseus: Groom is a label for innocents. We aged out of our roles.

[2:41] Andromeda: Then who am I to you?

[2:43] Perseus: I don't know.

[2:45] Andromeda: What are we to each other?

[2:47] Perseus: I said, I don't know.

[2:51] Andromeda: Resigned?

[2:52] Andromeda: Complacent?

[2:53] Andromeda: Fatigued, maybe?

[2:55] Perseus: Let's get some shut-eye. It makes the time go faster.

[3:02] Andromeda: This isn't tight.

[3:04] Perseus: I didn't sneeze, doofus.

[3:07] Andromeda: You're sniffling.

[3:09] Perseus: You're not making any effort.

[3:11] Andromeda: You want a tissue?

[3:13] Perseus: I put my guard down. I made myself vulnerable.

[3:16] Perseus: And for what? To hear you say we're resigned?

[3:21] Andromeda: We've been together forever. That was the deal.

[3:25] Andromeda: There's nothing left to say that hasn't already been said.

[3:30] Perseus: Nothing at all?

[3:32] Andromeda: Good night, Annie.

[3:34] Andromeda: We used to talk all the time. We don't do that anymore.

[3:36] Perseus: I said good night.

[3:38] Andromeda: Can't we fall asleep talking like we used to?

[3:42] Perseus: We're too old.

[3:44] Andromeda: You're still my husband. I'm still your wife.

[3:46] Perseus: That's the myth.

[3:48] Andromeda: Perseus and Andromeda placed in the sky by the gods.

[3:52] Andromeda: Constellations of love and loyalty for all the world to model.

[3:57] Perseus: Yeah, but we're separate entities.

[4:00] Perseus: Separate constellations.

[4:02] Perseus: You're your own unique bundle of traits. And so am I.

[4:06] Andromeda: I'm aware.

[4:08] Andromeda: Andromeda, the maiden. And Perseus, the slayer. We're distinct.

[4:13] Perseus: Huh. You haven't slayed in years.

[4:16] Andromeda: There's no need for put-downs.

[4:18] Perseus: Now let's dull ourselves even more. Make infinity pass just a little quicker.

[4:25] Andromeda: If you said yes to being immortal, then you implicitly said yes to embracing whatever qualities got you invited up here.

[4:33] Andromeda: You don't get to pick and choose which parts of the myth you retain.

[4:38] Perseus: Well, what about you? You're no beautiful maiden anymore.

[4:43] Andromeda: Then what am I?

[4:45] Perseus: A crone.

[4:46] Andromeda: Oh, you're lucky my parents aren't around to hear you say that.

[4:51] Perseus: Maiden, mother, then crone. No one stays young and beautiful forever.

[4:57] Andromeda: Time. Who knew it would move so slowly?

[5:02] Andromeda: I have on occasion wondered if we were meant to be up here together.

[5:06] Andromeda: It's natural for stars to grow apart as they age.

[5:10] Andromeda: We've been drifting for years now. It's called gravitational interaction.

[5:15] Andromeda: It's a naturally occurring phenomenon.

[5:18] Andromeda: Only when I woke up this morning, of all mornings, did I realize just how much distance there was.

[5:25] Andromeda: It's not you. It's physics.

[5:28] Andromeda: Only from far away did I realize just how icy things had gotten.

[5:33] Perseus: It's always colder at the extremes.

[5:35] Andromeda: And when I am my coldest, I wonder if I'm really supposed to be with just one person forever and ever.

[5:45] Perseus: Is anyone?

[5:46] Perseus: Or if, in fact, I should be doing more with the time I have.

[5:53] Andromeda: The gods did this to us, Annie. We have the gods to blame for our predicament.

[5:59] Andromeda: The gods gave us each other in eternity because we couldn't be together in the mortal world.

[6:05] Andromeda: And just like the mortals, we blew it all into the night.

[6:10] Perseus: What are you talking about? We didn't blow anything.

[6:13] Andromeda: I've never stopped loving you.

[6:15] Andromeda: You sleep all the time. You don't want to talk.

[6:18] Perseus: You're okay with distance.

[6:20] Andromeda: So? We have until the end of time to resent, or we'll talk tomorrow, I promise.

[6:27] Perseus: See, that's the trouble with eternity. There's always tomorrow.

[6:31] Andromeda: Until the end of time, it'll just get colder and colder between us.

[6:36] Perseus: Is that what you want?

[6:38] Andromeda: No. Is it what you want?

[6:42] Perseus: I told you what I want.

[6:45] Andromeda: I wasn't listening. What did you want?

[6:48] Perseus: I want to connect, Purse.

[6:52] Andromeda: But how? It's been so long. I wouldn't know what to do.

[6:56] Perseus: You don't have to do anything. Just engage me.

[7:02] Andromeda: Fine. What do you want me to say?

[7:06] Perseus: Anything. Tell me a story.

[7:10] Andromeda: A story?

[7:12] Perseus: A love story.

[7:14] Andromeda: A love story?

[7:16] Perseus: Yeah. A myth for the ages. That's what I want you to tell me.

[7:22] Andromeda: Oh!

[7:23] Andromeda: Yeah, yeah. Make me fall in love with you again.

[7:27] Perseus: Gotcha. I'll try.

[7:30] Andromeda: That's all I ask. Just put your guard down and try.

[7:36] Perseus: Okay. Here goes.

[7:39] Perseus: Once upon a time, there was a beautiful young maiden.

[7:43] Perseus: More beautiful than any other maiden in the world.

[7:47] Perseus: And her name was Andromeda.

[7:50] Andromeda: Oh.

[7:51] Perseus: I think I remember her.

[7:53] Andromeda: Oh, you're funny.

[7:56] Perseus: And once upon a time in the same world, there was also a young man named Perseus whose strength and virility were only matched by his compassion and concern for humankind.

[8:11] Andromeda: Oh, stop.

[8:13] Perseus: I'm allowed to embellish. That's why it's called a story.

[8:17] Andromeda: You're the boss.

[8:19] Perseus: Anyway, upon finding the most beautiful Andromeda chained to a rock with a sea monster fast approaching, Perseus untied the beautiful maiden and rescued her from imminent death.

[8:34] Perseus: For Perseus, it was love at first sight.

[8:38] Andromeda: It was for Andromeda, too.

[8:41] Perseus: But since her hand had already been promised, the star-crossed lovers Andromeda and Perseus had a scandal on their hands.

[8:51] Perseus: So the gods promised the most beautiful maiden and the compassionate, virile hero something much more lasting than any mortal rendezvous.

[9:03] Perseus: Andromeda and Perseus were placed in the sky by the gods where they became constellations of love and loyalty for all the world to model.

[9:14] Andromeda: Are you getting warmer, Annie?

[9:17] Perseus: A little bit.

[9:19] Andromeda: How about you?

[9:20] Perseus: I'm getting hot.

[9:22] Andromeda: Eternal flames.

[9:25] Perseus: Eternal flames.

[9:28] Andromeda: So, how's that headache?

[9:32] Perseus: I think it's stopped.

[9:34] Andromeda: Would you like to talk now?

[9:38] Perseus: That depends, Percival. Is there anything in particular you wanted to say?

[9:46] Perseus: I think so.

[9:48] Perseus: Happy anniversary.

[9:50] Andromeda: Oh, yes.

[9:54] Andromeda: Yes.

[9:55] Andromeda: Happy anniversary.

[10:18] Brad Forenza: Join us on another trip around the sun.