Characters:
David – Husband, late 60s, founder and owner of a successful company
Linda – Wife, mid 60s, thoughtful, pragmatic, emotionally perceptive
Scene: Evening in their living room. A soft lamp glows. Papers and a tablet sit on the coffee table.
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David (staring at a document, sighs): I used to think I’d know exactly when it was time.
Linda (looking up from her book): Time for what?
David: To step away. To retire. Hand things over neatly, tie it all up with a bow.
Linda (closes book, watches him): But now?
David (shakes head): Now it feels… messy. Complicated. Like no matter what I do, something falls apart.
Linda: Is this about the boys?
David (lets out a quiet laugh): Who else?
(pause)
I always imagined they’d grow into it. That one day I’d look at them and just know—they’re ready.
Linda: And you don’t feel that.
David (firmly): No. I don’t.
(leans forward)
They’re good men, Linda. I’m proud of them. But running this company? It’s not just showing up. It’s… pressure. Decisions that can ruin people’s livelihoods. It’s instinct. Sacrifice.
Linda: You think they don’t have that?
David: I think they don’t understand it. Not really.
(softly)
And I don’t think they want it the way I did.
Linda (quietly): I’ve wondered the same thing.
(David looks at her, surprised.)
David: You have?
Linda: I see how they talk about it. It’s… casual. Like it’s just the next step, not a responsibility.
David (nods slowly): Exactly. And this isn’t something you inherit like furniture.
Linda: So what are you thinking?
David (hesitates): Selling.
(Silence.)
Linda: You’ve never said that out loud before.
David: Because it feels like failure. Like I built all this… just to hand it to strangers.
Linda: Or like you built something valuable enough that someone else wants it.
(He considers that.)
David: If we sold, we’d be secure. More than secure. No guessing if the boys can keep it afloat. No watching things slowly unravel.
Linda (carefully): But we’d be closing a chapter. For all of us.
David: I know.
Linda (leans forward): What about our retirement without selling?
David: That’s the problem.
(gestures to the papers)
Most of what we have is tied up in the business. If they take over and it doesn’t go well… we’re exposed.
Linda: So either we trust them and risk our future… or we sell and risk… hurting them.
David (quietly): Yes.
(A long pause.)
Linda: Do you think they’d resent you?
David: I don’t know. Probably. At least at first. They might feel like I never believed in them.
Linda: And do you?
(David struggles to answer.)
David: I believe in them as people.
(beat)
I’m just not sure I believe in them as successors.
Linda (nods slowly): That’s an important difference.
David: I don’t want to spend my retirement worrying every day… watching numbers, stepping in to fix things, pretending I’m “retired.”
Linda: And I don’t want us cutting back or stressing about money because we hoped things would work out.
(She reaches for his hand.)
Linda: We have to think about us too.
David (squeezes her hand): That’s the part I’m worst at.
Linda (soft smile): I know.
(Pause.)
Linda: Maybe the question isn’t “Do they take over or do we sell?”
Maybe it’s… “What gives us peace?”
David: Peace.
Linda: Not pride. Not obligation. Not what we thought the story would be.
(David leans back, absorbing that.)
David: If I’m honest…
(exhales)
Peace looks like knowing we’re secure. That we can enjoy whatever time we have without carrying this weight.
Linda: Then maybe we already have our answer.
David (after a long pause): We just have to figure out how to tell them.
Linda (gently): Together.
(They sit in silence, hands clasped, both relieved and uncertain.)
Fade out.
Austec Pre-Diligence Risk Exposure System
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