590
PARTISAN REVIEW
It had begun. The moon, inviolable a short while ago, now
poised nicked over treetops draped in their sad gray-haired Spanish
moss. Although a shadow impinged upon it the moon's light still
implied forever, a grave promise.
The minutes began to tick, slow, counted, changing. Minute
by minute a veil crept inward over the white round disc, like a ca–
taract over an eye. The stars watched, spoke silence. Flame vine,
shrimp bush, palms, lake with its false dense cover of water, space
beyond, watched, waited, riveted into an enchantment. A piece of
the moon was eaten away. Half of the moon went. Mrs. Phipps tip–
toed in, interrupting, unwelcome, an intruder where only sharing
would do, and without speaking took one of the empty chairs at Mrs.
Herrick's left.
The promise of the full moon, that it can never be disturbed,
has an imperceptible rhythm.
It
belied what was happening and
Mrs. Herrick thought of the Moonlight Sonata, its statement of
finality, note leading note, following note, the lucent oncoming beat
of statement, statement and answer. But small, smaller the moon
shrank, a sick animal, voiceless and helpless, a dying woman refus–
ing to go, while all the stars brightened tremendously, defiant silver
pricks coming into their own, and a plane or meteor, stronger than
the moon, darted across the sky. Minute by minute a rusting veil en–
croached, minute by minute the light succumbed. They claim, Mrs.
Herrick remembered, that the moon is brightest after an eclipse, a
miracle of brightness. In an instant nine o'clock would strike. The
small brown moon was a grinning jack o'lantern, a lifeless skull.
Later, even in a few moments, the miracle would begin. How can
miracles begin? Breath was a conscious lonely feat waiting for the
miracle.
The two men entered, planted themselves at Mrs. Herrick's
right, the loquacious one lit a fresh cigar and continued an anecdote
in which he was engaged. His voice boomed through stillness as
though he and his companion were alone. "So this night club
in
Rio
she's at now, it's swank like he said, see, and he said I'd dance with
her. I said I wouldn't. He said, 'Sure you will, she'll spot you, she's
learned her stuff since she quit the States, she spots the newcomers
and she spots who's got a bankroll' and I said, 'You'll see.' Well, after
some singing kicking girl stuff she came on the floor and there was
a
buzz."
