The Nightwatchman by Daniel Keene
Author:Daniel Keene
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Currency Press
END OF ACT TWO
ACT THREE
Evening.
The garden is suffused in pale, yellowish light.
Birds call from the trees.
A basket of dark, red cherries lies on the small garden table.
Long pause.
MICHEL comes out of the house carrying a camera and a tripod.
He sets the camera up on the lawn, focusing on the basket of cherries.
HÃLÃNE comes out of the house.
HÃLÃNE: That man! Whatâs his name?
MICHEL: Mr Clément.
HÃLÃNE: Mr Clément is counting the spoons.
MICHEL: Thatâs his job.
HÃLÃNE: When heâs finished counting them, Iâm going to take one. âThereâs a spoon missing!â, Mr Hervé will shout. âBut how could that be, sir? I donât understand. I never make a mistake. Especially with spoons!â
MICHEL: Stop it, Hélène. Heâll hear you.
HÃLÃNE: I donât care if he does.
MICHEL: Heâs here to make an inventory and thatâs what heâs doing.
HÃLÃNE: What time did he arrive?
MICHEL: Nine this morning, exactly.
HÃLÃNE: Itâs past six, and heâs still here.
HÃLÃNE sighs and flops down in one of the garden chairs.
MICHEL: I donât want you in this picture.
She looks from MICHEL to the basket of cherries.
HÃLÃNE: Isnât it a little âpicturesqueâ for you?
MICHEL: Itâs a still life. Iâll take your picture later.
HÃLÃNE: I donât want my picture taken.
MICHEL: Then move.
Reluctantly, HÃLÃNE stands and moves away from the chair.
HÃLÃNE: I feel so tired today.
MICHEL: You slept until almost noon.
HÃLÃNE: I hardly ever get to sleep late. The children are always up at dawn. âMama, Mama, Mama!â [Pause.] I need a holiday. On my own.
MICHEL: Then have one.
HÃLÃNE: I have to work, you know that.
MICHEL: You can afford to take a week off, canât you?
MICHEL takes a photograph of the cherries.
He moves the camera to take them from another angle.
HÃLÃNE: I need a month.
MICHEL: Then take a month.
HÃLÃNE: Dr Bouchard would have to find a replacement. He wouldnât like that. Heâs very ⦠extremely ⦠how can I put it? Heâs set in his ways. He wonât even let me put fresh flowers in the waiting room. He says they âdisturbâ him. He always arrives at exactly nine, he leaves at exactly five. He has his hair cut every four weeks, on a Tuesday. He always has two pens in the breast pocket of his shirt, one red and one blue. He has two suits, both black, and theyâre both exactly the same.
MICHEL: Then how can you tell he has two?
HÃLÃNE: One is slightly older than the other. Itâs worn a little, just here near the pocket, where he always keeps his stethoscope.
MICHEL: Youâre very observant.
HÃLÃNE: Iâve been looking at him for eight years.
MICHEL takes another photograph of the cherries.
Can I sit down now?
MICHEL: Yes. [He moves the camera and focuses on the house.] Thereâs the money from the sale of the house. That would pay for a holiday. Dr Bouchard will have to put up with it. It will do him good.
Pause.
HÃLÃNE: I donât think I want the money.
MICHEL looks up from the camera.
Iâve been thinking about it all afternoon.
MICHEL: What have you been thinking?
HÃLÃNE: The money belongs to Papa. Giving us our âshareâ makes it seem as if heâs written his last will and testament ⦠and now heâs dead.
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