Five Plays by Edmund Wilson

Author:Edmund Wilson [Wilson, Edmund]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Published: 2019-08-30T00:00:00+00:00

SCENE 5

February: a dreary and damp afternoon. The heater is on, but there is still no fire.

Sally is lying on the day-bed, earnestly studying her part. A knock at the door: she gets up and opens it.

SALLY. Oh, Arthur!

ARTHUR. Hello.

SALLY. Come in.

ARTHUR (shaking hands with her, a little awkward). How are you?

SALLY (smiling). I’m fine.—How are you?

ARTHUR. All right.—How are you getting along with Lysistrata?

SALLY. Pretty well, I guess. It’s a marvelous part.

ARTHUR. I know it—and you’re just the person to do it.

SALLY (going back to the day-bed). Oh, Arthur, I’m glad you came! I was afraid I was never going to see you again!

She sits down on the day-bed, and he sits down beside her.

ARTHUR (a little less constrained). I’m awfully glad to see you.—You’re not free for dinner tonight, are you?

SALLY. Why—yes, I think so.—Dan Frink may come in.

ARTHUR. I see.—Are you living with Dan now?

SALLY. No: I’m living here alone.

ARTHUR. I see.—Well, do have dinner with me, won’t you, if you can?

SALLY. All right.

ARTHUR. What happened to your newspaper man?

SALLY. Nothing. He’s all right.

ARTHUR. He’s gone away, I hear.

SALLY. Yes: he had to go to Havana.

ARTHUR. He’s gone back to his wife, I understand.

SALLY. She’s been ill, and he had to take her away.

ARTHUR (who has been prowling around the room as he talks). You ought to have a fire. Doesn’t it work?

SALLY. I’m all right with the gas-heater: it’s getting warmer. (He looks into the coal-scuttle, which is empty.) How did you get along with that house on Long Island you were doing?

ARTHUR. Very unsatisfactorily. The people are absolute idiots. We had to make three different sets of plans, and the ones that they finally approved were cockeyed. The architect has no more chance than anybody else when it comes to working for stupid rich people.—I haven’t had any fun out of my work, and I’ve missed you perfectly frightfully.

SALLY. But your brother must have been relieved that you haven’t been hanging around Greenwich Village?

ARTHUR. To hell with my brother! I’ve resigned from the club, so I never have to see him at all.

SALLY. You shouldn’t have done that, should you? You’ll miss it, won’t you?

ARTHUR (seeing a glass jar full of large pills on the table by the day-bed). I know what those pills mean!

SALLY. You notice everything, don’t you, Arthur?

ARTHUR. That looks ominous: I think I ought to know about it.

SALLY. No: it doesn’t concern you at all.

ARTHUR. How do you know?

SALLY. Because I know.

ARTHUR. What will you do if it doesn’t work?

SALLY. None of your business, Arthur.

ARTHUR. After all, it’s a pretty serious matter. You must be beyond the stage for pills. Have you been to see a doctor?

SALLY. Yes.

ARTHUR. What does he say?

SALLY. He’s going to do something about it, if necessary.

ARTHUR. Who did you go to: Hirschbein?

SALLY. Yes.

ARTHUR. Good God! I wouldn’t trust him to dress a scratch. You’d better let me send you to a place I know.

SALLY. Don’t worry. I’ll be all right.

ARTHUR. Your other boy friend’s no help if he’s gone away to Cuba.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.