Certain Women Page 17

  ‘Oh, come on, sweetie, you’re not thinking,’ Nik chided. ‘David was constantly fleeing from Saul, who had a big army. Ahinoam was a Jezreelitess, and when David married her, he got all the Jezreelites on his side, and that was no small thing.’

  Sophie demanded, ‘You mean he married an army, rather than a wife?’

  Nik said, ‘It was a political match, more than a love one. Abigail brought David Nabal’s worldly goods and her five beautiful maidens. But she didn’t expand his army, and he needed that.’

  ‘But Ahinoam brought him nothing but trouble,’ Emma said.

  ‘It was a mistake,’ Nik agreed. ‘As much of a mistake as Samuel’s anointing Saul in the first place. Yes, Ahinoam was the cause of a lot of David’s trouble. As far as I can work out the chronologies, both Ahinoam and Abigail got pregnant fairly quickly, but Ahinoam probably before Abigail, since Ahinoam’s son, Amnon, who is the real heavy in this show, is later referred to as David’s first son. Poor Abigail’s two sons must have died in infancy or early childhood.’

  ‘Poor Abigail,’ Emma agreed. ‘She probably didn’t have an easy pregnancy, and she’d have tried to hide her sickness and her anxiety from David.’

  Sophie asked, ‘Hide it? Why?’ Sophie had bloomed with health while she carried Louis.

  ‘David would not be tolerant of physical weakness.’

  ‘Yeah.’ Nik tapped his pen against the table. ‘I think you’re right, eh, Dave?’

  David Wheaton nodded. ‘He was a warrior as well as a sweet singer of songs, and Abigail was, as the story suggests, not young. Ahinoam was strong and healthy, and she had a healthy baby.’ Abruptly David Wheaton pushed away from the table and left the room.

  —Billy. Emma looked after her father.—He’s thinking of Amnon as Billy.

  She turned to Nik. ‘It’s okay. He’ll be back.’

  ‘Poor Abigail,’ Sophie said. ‘So hard on her, to be pregnant and sick, with Ahinoam strong and healthy.’

  Emma tried not to look toward the door where her father had exited. ‘Anyhow, Nik, army or no, I still don’t see why David married Ahinoam. I don’t remember multiple wives earlier in the Bible.’

  Nik thought, eating a cookie. ‘The Jews had never had a king before. God and the prophets. No king. So they had no examples at home as to how a king behaves, and I guess a lot of those kings who surrounded them had harems and concubines. It was one of the fringe benefits that went with being a king.’

  ‘And David liked his benefits?’

  ‘Don’t we all? Emma—’

  ‘What?’

  ‘You really like what I’m doing with Abigail?’

  ‘Yes. She’ll be wonderful to play. She’s an admirable person, but I think she has a sense of fun, because that usually goes along with real wisdom.’

  David returned, saying, ‘Louis was having a nightmare. But he’s sweetly asleep again now.’

  Emma looked at him, then dropped her gaze. ‘We need to go, Papa, it’s late.’

  Nik said, ‘I have to get to the typewriter for an hour or two before I go to sleep. I’ll have some more scenes for you tomorrow. Sophie, thanks for a marvelous meal, as usual.’

  Rain was misting down when they left the apartment. Nik held out his hand to catch the drops. ‘Ugh. It’s too cold to walk even to the subway.’

  ‘It’s only a few blocks.’

  ‘I don’t want my favorite actress catching cold. I’ll treat us to a taxi.’

  Emma laughed, a bubbling of happiness. ‘Save it for worse weather than this.’

  He put his arm around her waist, and they walked east, toward Broadway. Suddenly they were silent. As they approached the entrance to the subway he said, ‘Emma, you’ve been hurt, haven’t you?’

  She tried to laugh. ‘Who hasn’t?’

  They had reached the subway steps, and walked down them. Then Nik turned her so that she faced him. ‘I won’t hurt you, Emma.’

  She raised her face to his, moved fully into his kiss, not even noticing when some soldiers standing farther down the platform sent appreciative whistles in their direction.

  Chantal asked her, ‘Em, are you in love with this guy?’

  ‘I think so. Yes.’

  ‘Does he love you?’

  ‘I don’t know. I hope—but he hasn’t said—’

  ‘Have you told him about—’

  ‘No. Not until—’

  ‘Emma, you’re going to have to tell him.’

  ‘I know, but—’

  ‘But?’

  ‘Maybe he won’t want me.’

  ‘Then he’s not worth your love. Better you find it out sooner than later.’

  ‘Maybe I’m not worth loving. Maybe it’ll never work, not with anybody.’

  ‘Emma, you’re going to have to risk it.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘It’s a kind of suicide you can’t commit.’

  ‘Oh, Chantal, Chantal, I’m such a mess.’

  ‘Everybody’s messed up, one way or another.’

  ‘You?’

  ‘Sure, me. I’m like Jarvis, afraid to commit myself. I go out with guys and I go up to a point and then I get all self-protective and pull away. That’s why I can see it in you, see what you’re doing, and I don’t have your excuse. Emma, we have to take risks.’

  Yes, she knew that. But she was afraid.

  Alice

  And David said unto Achish, If I have now found grace in thine eyes, let them give me a place in some town in the country, that I may dwell there … Then Achish gave him Ziklag that day: wherefore Ziklag pertaineth unto the kings of Judah unto this day.

  And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire;

  And had taken the women captives … And David’s two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.

  And David enquired at the Lord, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.

  I SAMUEL 27:5–6; 30:1–2, 5, 8

  Alice had taken some of Nik’s pages from Emma and was reading them, curled up in her bunk. “It’s fascinating,” she said.

  Emma said, “You don’t have to read all that stuff, you know.”

  “I know I don’t have to. It’s compelling.”

  “Some of it. It’s very uneven.”

  “I’ve never read the script of a play-in-the-making before. The world of the theater was like something from another planet to me when I married David, glamorous, I suppose, but completely alien. Watching David work on a role, never losing himself, but somehow finding aspects of himself that were hidden until they were needed for a character—”

  “He’s taught me,” Emma said. “I’ve learned more from Papa than from everybody else put together.”

  “Watching you become Goneril—” Alice smiled. “It would have been scary, except I knew that my friend Emma was in there, even if hidden.”

  Emma sighed. “Goneril’s pride and ambition and ruthlessness were at least latent in me; otherwise, I couldn’t have played her.”

  “I’d like to have seen you do Nik’s Abigail. This scene I’ve just read would really be fun, where Abigail talks about how happy David makes her, and Zeruiah asks, ‘And David still makes you happy?’” Smiling, she leaned across to Emma’s bunk, handing her the pages.

  Emma read, aloud, “Yes, David makes me happy.” Then she looked down at the page and continued reading, silently.

  ZERUIAH: Even when he sends for Ahinoam instead of you?

  ABIGAIL: (Turns her face away) He’s the king.

  ZERUIAH: (Slyly) Even when he asks you to play the harp for him and Ahinoam?

  ABIGAIL: (Looks at her sharply) What about it?

  ZERUIAH: Don’t think there are any secrets in a harem, my dear. Everybody knows.

  ABIGA
IL: Knows what?

  ZERUIAH: That David sent for you to come to him and Ahinoam with your harp, and that after you played for them he threw you out.

  ABIGAIL: He did not throw me out. I left.

  She raises her hands to pull her thick chestnut hair across her face to hide her smile.

  ZERUIAH: What happened?

  ABIGAIL: I sang for him. I left.

  ZERUIAH: What did you sing?

  ABIGAIL: Oh, I sang one of the songs for the defeat of wicked men: Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth continually. Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. Thou lovest evil more than good … God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah!

  As she is saying this, she leaves the spotlight that is on her and Zeruiah and walks across the stage to the area for David’s chambers. The spot follows her. David is lying on his couch with Ahinoam. Abigail slips on her red-and-purple silken robe and sits on a cushion, taking up her harp.

  DAVID: (Roaring) Woman! That is not a love song!

  ABIGAIL: Oh, did you want a love song, my lord? You merely asked me for a song. This is a pleasing one about what will happen to wicked people.

  DAVID: To whom are you referring, creature?

  ABIGAIL: (Demurely) Your enemies, of course, my lord.

  Deftly she runs her fingers over the strings of her harp.

  DAVID: Are you going to play me a love song?

  ABIGAIL: No, my lord, I do not feel like love.

  Abigail picks up her harp, bows to him, and gracefully leaves the king’s chambers, walking slowly across the stage toward Zeruiah as the light goes down on David and Ahinoam.

  ZERUIAH: He could have you killed for that.

  ABIGAIL: But he didn’t. And the next night he sent for me, and we sang together. Love songs.

  ZERUIAH: And he still makes you happy?

  ABIGAIL: Yes, he still makes me happy.

  Emma looked at Alice in the opposite bunk. “Yes. That scene would have been fun to play. Sometimes Nik made Abigail too wise and wonderful to be true. Maybe he was writing the ideal woman he wanted—”

  “The one who doesn’t exist?” Alice suggested.

  “And Abigail was dull in those scenes. Impossible to play. Well, we ought to go to sleep.” She put the papers down, reached up to turn off her small reading light.

  Alice said softly, “Why keep on reading Nik’s play if it upsets you?”

  “I don’t know. I can’t seem to stop myself. It’s stupid.”

  “No.” Alice was firm. “I’m not sure what it is, but it’s not stupid.”

  Whatever it was, it had brought Nik to the forefront of Emma’s consciousness. Sliding half into sleep, she found herself remembering time long gone, when she and Nik were falling in love, when the future was open and everything was possible.

  ‘Nik—’ She was a little tentative. ‘Sophie called and begged us to come to them after the show tomorrow.’

  ‘Fine. I just don’t want to wear out my welcome.’

  ‘Sophie’s going to invite you for Thanksgiving dinner.’

  Nik’s face lit up. ‘That’s really kind of her.’

  ‘Can you come?’

  ‘Of course. Where else have I got to go? Last Thanksgiving I went to the Automat on Fifty-seventh Street and envied those who could go up the street to the Russian Tea Room. I’d love to be with you on Thanksgiving.’

  ‘Did your parents—’

  ‘They wanted to be proper Americans, so every year my mother cooked an enormous turkey dinner just for the three of us. She didn’t have Sophie’s talent for making a meal a celebration. Now, back for a minute to King David’s sister, Zeruiah. She’d be worried about his marriage to Ahinoam.’

  ‘Why? She’s pragmatic enough to understand the political necessity.’

  ‘She also has that touch of second sight. She’ll warn Abigail: “Be careful. There will be trouble because of Ahinoam.” And she’ll tell her that Ahinoam will have a son who will—Em, what’s the matter?’

  Emma had shuddered convulsively. ‘Amnon, Ahinoam’s son. He caused all the trouble, didn’t he? It must have been terrible for Abigail, having a sickly baby who evidently didn’t live very long—’

  ‘Emma.’ Nik looked directly at her.

  ‘What?’ Do you want children?’

  ‘Of course.’

  ‘Not just “of course.” Do you really?’

  ‘Yes, Nik.’

  ‘What would it do to your career?’

  ‘Nothing. Lots of other actresses have had children.’

  ‘Did it slow your mother down?’

  Emma laughed. ‘Not noticeably. But I’m not like my mother and I do want children.’ Whose children? Was Nik thinking of himself as father of Emma’s children?

  ‘My mother,’ he said, ‘was not a good example. She nearly died when I was born, and both my parents made me constantly aware of how much she’d suffered for my sake. If I did anything to displease them, I’d be asked, “How can you do this after all you put your mother through?” I don’t have any example in my own life of what good parents are.’

  Emma combined a laugh and a sigh. ‘I guess I don’t, either. Basically, I didn’t have a mother. And Papa has certainly never been a typical father. Most fathers don’t have a succession of wives.’ She looked up as the waiter coughed discreetly. The restaurant had emptied.

  ‘We’re going, we’re going,’ Nik promised, taking the bill. It was not the first time they had closed the restaurant, and their waiter was tolerant.

  While he went for their change, Emma continued, ‘After David married Ahinoam, he kept right on marrying—Maacah, Haggith, Abital, Eglah.’

  ‘But he loved Abigail the most.’ Nik helped her into her coat.

  Abigail Wheaton was in the pilothouse playing double solitaire with David when Emma came up with the breakfast tray. David’s eyes were bright, and he laughed as he slapped down several cards.

  “What are you playing?” Emma asked.

  Abby smiled. “Spite and Malice. Your father is a most spiteful and malicious player. He’s just beaten me by fifteen cards.”

  “Do you want to break for breakfast?” Emma asked. “Nothing exciting. Just toast.”

  “From Emma’s fresh bread,” David said, “with Ben’s homemade wild-strawberry jam.”

  Abby was sorting the cards. “We’ve finished the game, and the toast smells marvelous.”

  Alice came up the steps to join them. Emma fixed toast for her father, then poured coffee into her mug, added hot milk. “What’s the plan for today?”

  “As soon as we finish breakfast we’ll pull up anchor and move on.”

  “Where to?” David asked.

  “Ben and I’d like to stop briefly at Whittock Island, show Emma and Abby where we come from. We’ll anchor off Whittock for the night, and in the morning we might be able to get some abs.”

  “Abalone!” Abby exclaimed. “Wonderful! In a good garlic sauce they’re delicious.”

  “The shells aren’t as brilliant as those off the California coast”—Alice smiled at Abby—“but they’re still quite lovely.”

  Abby said, “Soft, glowing colors, like mother-of-pearl.”

  David held out his hand. “I think I’ll have another piece of toast if one of you will fix it for me. How lucky I am to be surrounded by such beautiful women.”

  Abby put the cards away. Emma picked up the coffeepot to refill mugs. Alice put butter and jam on toast for her husband. It was the first time in weeks that David had actually asked for food.

  When they had finished, Emma took the tray with the breakfast things and went to the galley. Abby followed her. “Can I help?”

  “No, thanks. I’m just going to rinse these and let them air-dry. Papa asked for a second piece of toast. He hasn’t been eating well, so I took that as a good sign.”
/>   “Is it?”

  “Maybe a temporary one. You’ve brought back his appetite, Abby, but that’s not going to stop him from dying.”

  Emma watched her father as he sat at the oval dining table, reading a scene Nik had handed him. David Wheaton’s lips were moving, and finally he read aloud: ‘Abigail reaches for her harp, not stopping to put on her garments.’ He raised his eyebrows, but continued. ‘She sits by David’s feet, playing and singing. “El Shaddai shall increase you more and more, you and your children. You are blessed of the Power which made heaven and earth. The heaven, even the heavens, are the Maker’s, whom we will bless from this time forth and forevermore.”’

  ‘It’s lovely,’ Emma said, ‘but you’re going to have to let Abigail wear some clothes if I play her.’

  Nik groaned, pushing his fingers through his untidy curls. ‘Okay, okay. We’ll put a light nightdress on her. It’s a reaction to my parents—I don’t think my father ever saw my mother undressed and they tried to make a prude out of me. Sometimes I go too far in rebelling. Also, I suspect that in David’s culture Abigail might well have been nude. Maybe you could check that with your grandpa, Em?’

  ‘Sure.’

  ‘It’s also a little hard for our culture to understand, but David slept with Abigail and Ahinoam and the other wives and concubines, too.’

  ‘Lusty,’ David Wheaton said. ‘One wife at a time is all that’s legal nowadays.’

  Davie!’ Sophie called from the kitchen. ‘Come and put these dishes on the top shelf for your wee wife.’

  David sighed in affectionate resignation. ‘I’ll be back.’

  ‘How tall is Sophie?’ Nik asked as David pushed through the swinging door.

  ‘Maybe five two, with heels.’

  ‘Em, what do you think Ahinoam looked like? Was she beautiful?’

  Emma shook her head. ‘Pretty. That kind of obvious prettiness, big, blue, overly prominent eyes.’

  ‘Why are you whispering?’

  Emma looked toward the kitchen door. Spoke in a more normal voice. ‘Well, Ahinoam would use whatever beauty aids were available in her day, and I expect there were plenty. Rouge, and eye shadow, and kohl from Egypt. And creams and lotions so the hot sun wouldn’t wrinkle her skin. She’d take very good care of her looks, and she’d be terrified of growing old and not being pretty and seductive.’