A Nanking Winter Read online

  (off) Leave it!

  KURT

  (off) Can you get it?

  IRENE

  (off) Leave it!

  AUDREY

  Where is it?

  Still ringing.

  KURT

  (off) Get it, it might be Julia.

  AUDREY

  Where is it?

  Just as she finds and answers it, KURT enters.

  Hello?… No, this is her sister. Who’s calling?… Who’s calling please?… Hello? What? Hello?

  She hangs up the phone. Seeing KURT’s expression, she downplays it.

  (deliberately casual) Stupid kids.

  KURT

  Shit. We’ll have to change the number again. Don’t tell her about the call, okay?

  AUDREY

  I’m sure it’s not going to be a surprise.

  KURT

  Just promise, okay, Audrey? Don’t talk to her about it. Let me do it?

  AUDREY

  If she’s not worried ’bout the calls, I don’t know why we should be! It comes with the territory; if you write a book that pushes people’s buttons… people are going to push back.

  IRENE enters from the basement, carrying another box of files.

  Hey!

  IRENE

  Why is she here? Why is my sister here?

  AUDREY

  It’s Irene Wu! The Published Writer!

  IRENE

  It’s not a party, is it?

  KURT

  No, no.

  IRENE

  I specifically asked for no party. It’s bad enough I have to do the promo stuff. I don’t want parties in my own home.

  KURT

  It’s not a party. I mean Julia’s coming and she might bring someone…

  IRENE

  Who?

  KURT

  Anyway, don’t worry ’bout it. Audrey’s… Audrey’s early.

  AUDREY

  For once in my life!

  IRENE

  Who called?

  AUDREY

  Uhhh… nobody!

  KURT

  Nobody.

  IRENE looks at them both.

  IRENE

  You better not be keeping anything from me.

  She exits.

  AUDREY

  See? She’s not worried, I’m not worried!

  KURT

  All of this started on our trip to Asia. I knew we shouldn’t

  have gone! During the whole trip, I tell you, we were being harassed everywhere we went! Not just Japan, China too! We had this one interview lined up with a survivor in Nanjing. 2 When we show up

  at her apartment she denies she was even there during the invasion! We show her a picture of herself in the same apartment in 1937, she still denies it! You know what? Someone got to her! Why else would she agree to an interview and then deny everything?

  AUDREY

  Um—maybe she was ashamed? Maybe she didn’t want people to know she was raped? I mean, omigod, can you imagine?

  KURT

  No, I can’t. I can’t. I don’t know. How can you know? How

  can you know what you would do? Irene says that the rapes were systematic and deliberate but I just don’t know. War is messy. Bad

  shit happens. The violation of women is tragic, yes. But calculated?

  I don’t know. I’ve never been in a war… neither has Irene.

  Beat.

  Do you wanna know why we came back early? In Tokyo, there were small vans that followed us. When we got out, they got out. They would chant and wave their signs. It was all polite, but vocal and insistent. Then in this ryokan, I mean nice hotel, really nice. But—we were having tea before dinner and Irene started to feel sick. I mean, really sick and very, very quickly. Just her, not me. She was vomiting within minutes.

  AUDREY

  I didn’t know that!

  KURT

  Irene didn’t want you to know. Anyway, after she recovered, we caught the next flight out. It was then she told me that her tea in the ryokan tasted bitter.

  AUDREY

  What? What are you saying?

  KURT

  Maybe it’s the same people calling her, trying to harass her!

  AUDREY

  Wait, wait, wait. So these fanatics, they want her to stop writing about Nanking. So—they call her names on the internet, they follow her around and then they try and poison her?

  KURT

  Yes.

  AUDREY

  And then what? When that doesn’t work—they crank

  call her?

  KURT

  Maybe they’re planning something worse!

  AUDREY

  Kurt—c’mon!

  KURT

  This is why, okay, why we have to take precautions… look out for her…

  AUDREY

  Yeah. Of course. This time, of course.

  KURT

  No Audrey, I mean it. We want to try to pre-empt any kind of, y’know, ammunition…

  AUDREY

  What are you talking about?

  KURT

  I’m trying to explain something.

  AUDREY

  What?

  KURT

  I’m trying to explain a decision, a hard decision! It was in Irene’s interest. With her best interests at heart.

  AUDREY

  What the fuck are you talking about, Kurt?

  IRENE enters, this time with more boxes of stuff.

  IRENE

  Help me.

  AUDREY

  This is your research! What are you doing with it?

  IRENE

  (to AUDREY) Maybe I’ll give it to you!

  AUDREY

  What am I going to do with it?

  IRENE

  Anything you want. I’m done. Finished.

  KURT

  Really?

  IRENE

  Yup.

  KURT

  You’re done? That’s a great step, Irene, that’s great.

  IRENE

  Did the books come?

  KURT

  Julia said she worked it all out.

  IRENE

  Ridiculous. Night before it hits the shelves, I still haven’t even seen it! This whole process has been plagued with such… disrespect.

  AUDREY

  What happened to them?

  IRENE

  I don’t even know! Some protests or something.

  KURT

  Well, Julia says she’s bringing copies.

  IRENE

  Well, she “said’’ a lot of things! Anyone can “say” things! Especially to a writer on her first commission!

  AUDREY

  What’s wrong with Julia?

  KURT

  Julia’s great.

  IRENE

  Julia is patronizing. Julia is everything that’s wrong about publishing. Julia wants to be some kind of maternal figure. I don’t need a mother! I need someone who will stand up for my book!

  KURT

  She’s given you a huge opportunity… and she knows, she knows books.

  IRENE

  She knows how to sell books. She knows how to manipulate writers. She knows how to take advantage of—

  KURT

  Stop it! You can’t blame her because there’s been “complications.” It’s not her fault you got… you… you…

  IRENE

  “You…” what Kurt? What were you going to say? “It’s not her fault that I…”?

  Beat.

  KURT<
br />
  Did you get enough sleep last night?

  IRENE

  Don’t.

  KURT

  What time did you go to bed?

  IRENE

  I said don’t.

  KURT

  You’re not getting enough rest. The doctors said rest is very important.

  IRENE

  I know what the doctors said. I was there when the doctors said it.

  KURT

  Well, sometimes you forget.

  IRENE

  I don’t forget, Kurt. You don’t think that if I could sleep,

  I would? You think that I choose to stay up all night?

  AUDREY

  Did you stay up all night?

  IRENE

  Yes, Audrey. And talking to you two about it stresses me out even more.

  AUDREY

  Just asking!

  IRENE

  Well, quit it. I can’t stand the nagging.

  AUDREY

  He started it.

  KURT

  I’m not nagging.

  IRENE

  Don’t. Okay? Don’t worry ’bout me.

  She exits back down to the basement again.

  KURT

  I’m trying to help her! I cook for her. I clean for her.

  AUDREY

  I don’t think she wants a servant, Kurt.

  KURT

  I don’t know what else to do. Look at all this crap! Goddammit!

  He kicks one of the boxes. AUDREY moves a box out of his way. She picks up a photo and examines it.

  AUDREY

  Geez, she’s practically the same age as me… (looking closer) How would you even do that? Bayonet?

  KURT

  Sword, probably.

  AUDREY

  These are horrible. No wonder she can’t sleep.

  KURT

  Don’t look at them… you won’t forget them, if you look

  at them.

  Beat.

  AUDREY

  She wouldn’t try again—would she?

  KURT

  God, I don’t know. I don’t know…

  Beat.

  …that was the worst day of my life, finding her…

  Beat.

  You have to help today, okay Audrey? We need your help. It’s

  really great that you’re here. Whatever happens, try and keep

  Irene calm, okay?

  AUDREY

  What’s going to happen?

  KURT

  Nothing. Nothing.

  Beat.

  Hey, y’know the doctors changed her prescription again. I think

  she’s turned a corner, y’know? Those other drugs made her into such

  a zombie. But this one…. She’s more like herself again. She’s fiery, like she used to be… like when we first met in school and she was starting out at the paper… before all the stuff with the book…. Anyway, you haven’t noticed?

  AUDREY

  Well, as long as she takes them—

  The cell phone rings again. AUDREY goes to answer it.

  Hello—

  KURT

  Give it to me. Give it to me.

  She does and KURT roughly ends the call.

  AUDREY

  Kurt! What’s the matter with you? What if it was someone important—

  Again the phone rings.

  KURT

  Fucking assholes!

  KURT roughly slams it shut. For good measure, he removes the battery and chucks the whole thing across the room. The kettle goes and KURT starts to storm off into the kitchen, just as IRENE enters with more stuff.

  Goddammit!

  KURT exits.

  IRENE

  What happened?

  AUDREY

  I don’t know. Should I go talk to him?

  IRENE

  No. No. I hope he’s not cooking. I said no party.

  AUDREY

  There’s always a party round me!

  IRENE

  Yeah. Too much of a party.

  A moment.

  Did you talk to Comic Book Boy?

  AUDREY

  Don’t call him that! And they’re called graphic novels.

  IRENE

  Did you talk to him?

  AUDREY

  Uh-huh.

  IRENE

  And?

  AUDREY

  And… I’m going to keep it.

  IRENE

  And him?

  AUDREY

  Well, we’re not getting married, that’s for sure…

  IRENE

  But?

  AUDREY

  He said he’ll be around.

  IRENE

  What about money? What are you going to do?

  AUDREY

  I have a sister with a bestseller coming out! I don’t to have to worry!

  IRENE

  What are you going to do?

  AUDREY

  I don’t know, okay. I’ll figure it out later.

  IRENE

  Audrey.

  AUDREY

  Irene!

  A beat.

  You’re lucky you have Kurt, y’know. He’s really proud of you. And maybe he just wants to see the end of it. Now that it’s being released, you know you can move onto other stuff…

  IRENE

  Less controversial stuff?

  AUDREY

  I didn’t say that.

  IRENE

  Did Kurt say that?

  No answer.

  AUDREY

  When… when I tried to bring you the copy to approve, well, y’know, while you were away—

  IRENE

  Don’t say “away.” Say hospital, or institution, or looney bin or whatever, just don’t say “away.” “Away” is at Lake Tahoe or on a cruise.

  AUDREY

  Well, when you were in the hospital… the book was due! It was nuts! And Julia and Hartford & Ross, they were really pressuring us. Kurt and me… and I couldn’t really take it. I couldn’t. So that’s why I took off to San Fran. Look, I know I wasn’t there for you. But Kurt was, he was there for you, okay? I mean, at one point, I think the company was going to pull it, but he wouldn’t let them. And it was so hard, like, his family really came down on him, but he stuck up for you!

  IRENE

  I know.

  AUDREY

  I mean, is it better now ’tween you? Like, it seems like you guys are talking ’bout stuff?

  IRENE

  Yeah we talk. We talk in abstracts. We try.

  AUDREY

  Yeah… so?

  IRENE

  So?

  Beat.

  AUDREY

  Was Kurt’s grandfather in Nanking?

  IRENE

  Not according to Kurt.

  IRENE notices the phone carnage.

  What happened to my phone?

  AUDREY

  Kurt said he was going to tell you later. If he asks, I didn’t tell you.

  IRENE picks up her phone.

  IRENE

  Couldn’t he have just turned it off?

  AUDREY finds the battery and IRENE starts to put it back together.

  He’s overreacting. It’s just some kids.

  AUDREY

  So you’re not worried or anything?

  IRENE

  Why should I be worried? They can’t hurt me over the phone!

  IRENE checks her phone panel for messages.

  Har
tford, probably. With another interview.

  AUDREY

  I know you said no party—but you didn’t say no presents.

  IRENE

  Audrey… no.

  AUDREY

  Audrey yes! I made it myself! Damn, it’s in the car, I’ll go

  get it…

  IRENE

  You didn’t have to get me anything.

  AUDREY

  I’ll be right back!

  IRENE

  Audrey, where’s your coat? It’s freezing!

  But she’s gone. IRENE sits, tired and defeated, and for

  the moment alone. She looks around at all the boxes and, overwhelmed, she puts her face in her hands, closing her eyes. She stays here for a bit. KURT enters with tea. Seeing her, he places it down quickly and holds her. She lets him.

  KURT

  Hey…. Hey…. Shhhh…. C’mon…. Look at me? Look at me. Irene… c’mon. You’re okay…. Look at me…

  She finally does.

  IRENE

  I’m packed. I mean, most of my clothes. I’ve packed them.

  KURT

  Okay, it’s okay. Don’t worry.

  IRENE

  So when I go on the book tour, you know you can decide what you want to do, okay? If you want to stay here, or—

  KURT

  I won’t sell the house, until you’re sure, okay? This stuff can wait, you know, until you get back…

  IRENE

  I’ll try to finish my office today. After everyone leaves…

  KURT

  Don’t worry about it. Leave it. We can talk about all our things and what we’re going to do—we can talk about this later—okay?

  The front door flies opens. AUDREY enters with JULIA

  and FRANK.

  AUDREY

  Look who I found outside! Oh it’s freezing out there!

  JULIA

  Irene!

  FRANK

  Hello. Congratulations.

  JULIA

  Oh darling, congratulations. It’s truly exciting. This is Frank.

  FRANK

  Nice to meet you.

  IRENE

  Let me take your coats. You met my sister Audrey?

  FRANK

  Yes, outside.

  IRENE

  This is Kurt.

  AUDREY

  Oh it’s so cold. Brr.

  KURT

  Hi Julia. Frank.

  JULIA

  I’ve been here a million times, but I always forget the

  house number.

  AUDREY

  They were wandering up and down the street.

  FRANK

  We tried to call.

  JULIA

  We called your cell.

  AUDREY

  You did? Did I answer? Was it me? I’m so sorry. It wasn’t me, was it?

  FRANK

  No, no it wasn’t you.

  JULIA