The Man Who Had All the Luck (16 page)

DAVID: Poppyseed . . .

DIBBLE: A grain of ground pepper, yah. Come on . . . [
But
DAVID
is motionless, staring . . .
] Well? You want me to look at them?

DAVID
slowly sits in a chair.

GUS: At least have a look, Dave. [
Slight pause.
]

DAVID [
wondrously; but also an edge of apology
]: . . . I saw them, Dan. I didn't know what they were but I decided not to take any chances, so I threw them away.

DIBBLE [
angering
]: But you couldn't have gone over every piece of fish!

DAVID: Well I . . . yah, I did, Dan. Most of it was okay, but the ones with the black specks I threw away.

HESTER: Davey!—you saved them!

DAVID: Well, you told me to watch the feed very carefully, Dan—I figured you'd notice them the same as me!

DIBBLE: But you know nobody's got the time to go over every goddam piece of fish!

DAVID: But I thought everybody did!—I swear, Dan!

DIBBLE: God Almighty, Dave, a man'd think you'd warn him if you saw silkworm!—the least you could've done is call me.

DAVID: I started to, I had the phone in my hand—but it seemed ridiculous, me telling you something. Listen, let me give you some of my breeders to start you off again.

DIBBLE: No—no . . .

DAVID: Please, Dan, go out and pick whatever you like.

DIBBLE: . . . Well, I might think about that, but I'm too old to start all over again, I don't think I could get up the steam. Well, goodnight.

DIBBLE
exits.

GUS
and
HESTER
stand watching
DAVID
who is puzzled and astonished.

DAVID: I can't believe it. He's the best in the business.

GUS: Not anymore.

HESTER: This wasn't something from the sky, dear. This was you only. You must see that now, don't you?

I'd better go up, he's hungry. Come up?—Why don't you,

Dave?

DAVID [
awkwardly
]: I will . . . right away. [HESTER
exits. His face is rapt.
] But they couldn't all have made their own luck!—J.B. with his drinking, Shory with his whores, Dad and Amos . . . and you losing your shop. [
Seizing on it.
] And I could never have fixed that Marmon if you hadn't walked in like some kind of an angel!—that Marmon wasn't me!

GUS: You'd have towed it to Newton and fixed it there without me. [
Grasps
DAVID
's hand.
] But is that really the question anyway? Of course bad things must happen. And you can't help it when God drops the other shoe. But whether you lay there or get up again—that's the part that's entirely up to you, that's for sure.

DAVID: You don't understand it either, do you.

GUS: No, but I live with it. All I know is you are a good man, but also you have luck. So you have to grin and bear it—you are lucky!

DAVID: For now.

GUS: Well, listen—“for now” is a very big piece of “forever.” HESTER [
from above
]: Dave? You coming up?

GUS: Go on, kiss the little fellow.

DAVID: . . . I had the phone in my hand to call him. And I put it down. I had his whole ranch right here in my hand.

GUS: You mean you were a little bit like God . . . for him.

DAVID: Yes. Except I didn't know it.

GUS [
a thumb pointing heavenward
]: Maybe he doesn't know either.

HESTER [
from above
]: David? Are you there?

GUS: Goodnight, Dave.

DAVID [
with a farewell wave to
GUS,
calls upstairs
]: Yes, I'm here!

. . . [
To himself.
] For now.

[
With a self-energized determination in his voice and body.
] Comin' up!