I couldn’t help noticing the bulging tent underneath his tunic. My pulse quickened, and I wondered about the things Merab told me the night before.
David placed my hands on his chest. “Now, strip me.”
Tempted, I trickled my fingers under his shirt, surprised at the smoothness of his skin with its sprinkling of soft, springy hair. He raised his arms for me to remove the garment. Goosebumps popped over his flesh, and I tickled him until he could barely breathe.
“Enough, enough.” He flipped me on my back. “My turn.”
He grasped my waist and removed a beaded apron. I squirmed, but he propped on his elbows and plucked the combs from my hair, one by one. Laughing, he rumpled my wavy locks. “Did I ruin your hair? I bet it took hours to fix.”
I leaned forward to untangle my hair from a beaded fringe. When I looked back, he had kicked off his breeches. I averted my eyes but couldn’t help what I’d seen. A tangle of nerves fluttered deep in my belly.
“You win.” He pulled me to his muscular chest. I twisted out of his grasp and stumbled behind the table.
“Come back here.” He laughed. “Do you want a closer look?”
Curious, yet shy, I turned away, resisting the surprising urge to touch. As he caught the hem of my gown, I grabbed a jar of water and poured it over his head. His eyes popped and he wiped his face, sputtering. Still clothed in my wedding dress, I ran to the tent flap.
“You’re afraid, aren’t you?” he called from the wet rug.
“Not at all.” I threw a bracelet at him. “Bet you can’t catch me.” I stepped out of the tent.
A crowd of guests gawked, their mouths open, as if I were a creature from a Sumerian legend.
Father grabbed my arm. “Michal, what’s going on? Have you disgraced us?”
Behind him, Mother fanned her face, her eyes wide.
“No, Father, we were playing a game. I—”
A sharp slap spun my head and threw me to the ground.
“Is he putting you away, found you unsuitable?” Father’s voice rumbled.
Pain and shame welled in my face, and I backed away from his towering rage.
David rushed out of the tent in a hastily tied robe. His cheeks burnished with anger, he shoved my father into my mother. My brothers grabbed David and held him while my father drew his sword.
I flung myself at his feet. “Father!”
He pointed his sword at David. My brothers released him, and David fell on his face. “My king, have mercy.”
“Father,” I cried, “please, forgive me. It’s my fault.”
He brandished the sword. “Son of Jesse, I could have your head as a wedding present for your bride.”
The onlookers gasped.
“No!” I covered David. “Please don’t hurt him.”
Mother pulled Father’s arm and murmured, “Saul. It’s their wedding. The boy is young.”
Father glared at the crowd of relatives and dignitaries who looked aside and pretended nothing had happened. I wheezed and trembled with David beneath me.
“Get up, Michal.” Father pulled me, but I wouldn’t let go of David.
“Listen to your father,” David said softly. “He told you to get up.”
Mother grabbed me, and I clutched her shoulders, hiding my face in her robe.
“This is my wedding present to you,” Father said.
“No, Father, don’t hurt him,” I cried as Mother tugged me away from him.
The crowd groaned. I couldn’t look, but I did.
Blood dripped down David’s left cheek. Father shoved him toward me. “Now, take my daughter and give her mother the cloth.”
David nodded. “Yes, my lord, king.”
Father had cut David’s cheek with the tip of his sword. Head down, I followed David into the tent. An uneasy silence descended on the wedding party.
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered. “My father has lost his mind.”
“Don’t say that. He’s the LORD’s anointed king.”
“He’s not the same man he used to be.” I dipped a napkin in a bowl of water and dabbed his face while he gingerly touched my throbbing cheek. Tender, loving feelings flowed from my heart through my hands as I ministered to him. The cut began to clot, but he would bear a scar, forever wounded for me.
“Why did Father hurt us, and on our wedding day?”
“I don’t pretend to understand him. Maybe he’s upset we’re finally married. He didn’t think I would obtain the bride price.”
Tears rimmed my eyes. “He said you’d put me away, divorce me.”
David put his arms around me and shushed me. “I’ll never do that. Your parents think it’s a disgrace for you to marry me, a poor man. But when I doubled the bride price, it guaranteed that you’d be mine forever. The Law says a man who pays the double bride price may never put his wife away.”
“Never?”
“Never. Looks like you’re stuck with me. Are you happy?”
“Yes, David.” I yawned and rubbed my eyes, drained by the excitement. The party had terminated with the fight, and it was deathly quiet outside. “Do we still have to give my mother the virginity cloth?”
David grinned. “We have seven nights, but if you’re ready…”
“I… ahh… sure.” I chirped, a little too brightly.
He thumbed my chin and kissed me. “I want it to be special for you. It’s late. Do you want to sleep in the tent with me or back in your bedchamber?”
I hugged him, my face in his neck. “With you.”
David stepped out of the tent and asked for Naomi, my maid. After she tended to me, I climbed into the bed, dressed in my sleeping gown. He put out the oil lamps and cradled me to his chest. The thump of his heartbeat calmed me.
“I love you, David.”
He whispered my name, and I wasn’t sure whether he said he loved me or not. Perhaps I only dreamt it.
* * *
The morning light peeked through the seams of the tent.
“My bride is awake,” David said. “Ah… your eyes. Did you know they change with your mood?”
I yawned and covered myself with the sheets, but David yanked them off me.
“Open up.” He teased. “You’re relaxed and happy. They’re clear pools of dark jade. When you were frightened, the brown flecks expanded.”
I blinked, uneasy to be so transparent.
“Now you’re worried,” he said. “The brown specks are dancing. And last night they were muddy with anger. You know, you fascinate me?”
I touched the edge of his cheek. The mark was swollen with a dark red crust. “Does your face still hurt?”
“Yes, especially when I smile. But you’ve made me smile a lot, and I don’t mind. Are you ready to have breakfast with my parents?”
“As long as I don’t look like a creature from a nightmare.”
“Hardly. You are beauty personified.” He kissed me, opened the tent flap and led me out.
I went with Naomi to take care of my grooming. After a warm bath and cold compresses on my swollen eye, I sat at the table with his family.
They graciously pretended not to notice anything amiss. His mother comforted me with her warm presence, and his father recited the entire love story of his grandparents Boaz and Ruth to my great delight. David’s brothers dragged him to the side with wide grins, punctuated gestures and loud chuckles. Every so often, they looked over, laughed, shook their heads, and cupped their hands to whisper.
David’s mother took my hand and rubbed it. “You have nothing to worry about. My son cares deeply about you. I know.”
“He wouldn’t have married you if he didn’t,” his father said. “He never looked at any maidens. We thought he’d never marry.”
His mother smiled. “He’s a good boy, always mindful of what’s right. He never gave us any trouble, such a sweet disposition.”
“And he loves God. We’re so proud of him.”
“Oh, look how we go on.” His mother patted my hand.
David put his hands on my shoulders. “While they rest, let’s sneak out and go for a walk.”
He took my hand, and we scampered to the back gate. I lifted my skirts to hike through the grassy meadow. David wove strands of honeysuckle in my hair, and we lay under an acacia tree to nap. I snuggled in the crook of his arm and stroked his chest and shoulders, admiring his muscular build.
He twirled my hair, an impish smile on his face. “Lower, I’ve something harder.” He took my hand and guided me toward his loins. “I know you wanted to touch.”
I held back. “I didn’t, I mean, I just wondered…”
A fluttering, coiled skein dropped on my face. I shrieked and swatted at the giant insect. It cheeped shrilly.
David laughed and thumped his head on the tree trunk. “Ow!”
The mass of blue and grey squawked. A baby bird with a collar of white pins around his neck and sticks for wings opened his mouth and cried plaintively. Above us, the parents screeched while they zipped from branch to branch. One dived toward us and swooped up when David raised his arm.
I pointed to a nest high in the feathery leaves. “Oh, he must have fallen.”
David picked up the baby bird. Thorns and dry branches surrounded the lower canopy. The bird cheeped in his palm. He swung a leg up to climb the tree using only one hand. His clothes tore, and he made exclamations of pain all the way up. I waited with my hand over my mouth. The parent birds buzzed his head to drive him away.
After he put the bird back in the nest, he scuffled down the tree and dropped at my knees.
“My hero.” I rewarded him with a hug and helped him flick ants off his robe. I couldn’t keep the smile off my face as I kissed every scratch while the birds shrilled and squawked. Such a kind, caring man, he’d make a wonderful father.
* * *
After dinner, my parents stationed themselves at the tent flap. David’s parents shook their heads and retired to more comfortable accommodations in the palace. My brothers laughed and sang bawdy love songs. David’s brothers took bets. Guests, filled with mirth, sloshed wine on one another. Drums, flutes and viols plied sweet melodies in the air, and perfumed incense rivaled the fragrance of the flowery garlands. Professional chanters keened, clapped their hands and swayed to the beat of the drums.
When David and I reentered the tent, my stomach fluttered. “What did your father mean by six more nights to figure out if I’d like to keep you?”
He pinched my cheek lightly. “I don’t know what he meant, but I aim to capture your whole heart and never let you go.”
I hugged him and laid my head on his shoulder. My gaze shifted to the tent flap. “They’re still waiting.”
“Let them wait. I’ll take my time so my touch will be as natural to you as your own.” He lit the oil lamps and smoothed the cloth over the bed before pulling me into his lap.
His kisses probed deeper, desiring, wanting, and his tongue rolled with mine in a rhythm that hypnotized me. Leaning forward, he lowered his mouth to my neck and pressed me to the bed with his hard body. When he caressed my breasts, I tensed and waited.
“Don’t be frightened, my love. It’s me, your David.”
I took deep breaths and willed myself to relax. “I want you to be pleased with me.”
“I already am, more than you know. I know you’re pure. You have nothing to worry about.” He placed his hands in mine. “Move my hands, wherever you want. Think of them as yours.”
A deep breath eased my jitters, and I held his large, strong hands and placed them over my shoulders. Tentatively, I dragged them to the opening of my robe. And when he did not grab, I became bolder. I knew where he wanted to go, but his hands remained relaxed. I picked them up and placed them under my robe.
His gaze intently on me, I loosened the sash to my robe and moved his hands to the side of my hips. I trembled with a strange, soft feeling. My expression must have changed because his eyes grew hazy, half-closed, and his breath quickened.
He flexed his fingers so gently that I could barely feel them move. Needing more, I grasped his hands and caressed them into the silks covering my flesh, awakening my desire. I can do this.
He drew over me, his face etched with care and complete concentration. I relaxed and allowed him to complete our union, the flash of pain replaced immediately with a sense of fulfillment. A cloud of peace descended; a warm glow of well-being anointed me, washing me with a swelling of affection. I held him with a fierce tenderness, my face plastered to his chest, our bodies entwined, husband and wife.
Chapter 7
1st Samuel 18:28-29 And Saul saw and knew that the LORD was with David, and that Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved him. And Saul was yet the more afraid of David; and Saul became David’s enemy continually.
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David ran up the stairs and stepped through the door of the apartment he shared with his new wife. Little more than an expanded guard station, it perched high on a section of the palace wall away from the courtyard and toward the back gate. The privacy of the location suited him. He could almost believe he and Michal had their own home. He caught his breath as she stepped toward him with a rustle of gowns.
She kissed him. “How’s my father?”
“He fell asleep after I played love songs.”
She laughed and slid a finger up his arm. “Do you have a love song for me?”
“I might, if you promise you won’t fall asleep on me.” He rubbed her nose with his.
“You might have to do a bit more than just sing if you want my complete attention.” She tugged his robe open. “I’m glad he let you leave early.”
“Yes, better than scowling and thumping his spear at me.”
“Your playing can’t be that bad.” She lifted the harp off his back and placed it in the corner near the door. “Or does he suspect?”
“Suspect what? I’m merely his son-in-law.” He handed her his robe, and she hung it at the side of the bed.
“You can tell me. I’m your wife.”
He studied her eyes, the brown flecks retreated and pools of green jade shimmered, enticing. “There’s nothing to tell.”
She caressed his shoulders, smoothing out the tension knots. “What about the time the Prophet Samuel visited you? Was it to anoint you king?”
“Who told you?” His blood slithered like ice water. “It’s treason to speak of such things. Your father is the king.”
“You talk in your sleep.” She drew soft hands around his waist. “I won’t betray you.”
He was sure she wouldn’t deliberately betray him. But she was a young lady, prone to excitement. He stared at her, trying to discern her motivation. “What’s this all about?”
“Trust. Love. You know I love you, don’t you?” She blinked, her eyes expectant.
David jerked his face the direction of her father’s bedchamber. “Would you side with me against your father? If it came to it?”
She cupped his chin and stroked the soft, vulnerable spot under his jaw. “Why would you doubt me?”
The tender look on her face reassured him. He sank onto the couch and pulled her into his lap. “Your father can’t know about this. He hates me enough already.”
“He seems to be calmer now that we’re married.” Her soft breath fanned his beard, and her fingers danced light circles on his chest. “I want to know everything, how it happened, and how you felt.”
David closed his eyes and breathed steadily through his nose. He wanted to trust her and know she’d be on his side. He took her hand and placed it over his heart. “I’ll never forget that moment as long as I live. I stood in the meadow and watched the sheep. The sun went down and the sky glowed red, the last rays slipping over the horizon like golden swords. I marveled at God’s glory and prayed for peace in Israel. A cho
rus of a thousand voices in pure harmony rang over the sound of the bleating sheep.”
He peeked at her. She seemed awestruck, her eyes dreamy. A lock of hair strayed across her brow. David smoothed it back and continued. “An old man with a white beard and a staff asked me for a drink of water. I held the water skin for him, and he refreshed himself. He asked my name, and I told him. He put his arm around me and said, ‘The LORD looks not on the outward appearance but in the heart. Tell me, David, what is in your heart?’”
“What did you tell him?”
“That I love the LORD God with all my heart, all my soul, and all my mind.”
“That’s lovely.” Michal pressed her ear on his chest.
“The Prophet brought me in front of my father and all my brothers. And he said, ‘Behold, the LORD has provided Himself a king, a man after His own heart. My son, David, this is he whom the LORD has anointed.’ And taking a horn of oil, he poured it on my head. The cold oil heated as it ran down my hair and my face, until it burned in my chest like a mighty flame, filling me with a tremendous sense of exhilaration and tranquility.”
She squeezed him tighter. “So beautiful. I wonder if I’ll ever feel that burning for the LORD.”
“You can, if you trust and believe Him. Do you?”
“Yes, I’ve always believed in God, but I don’t know Him. He’s behind a cloud. I wish to feel as you do.” Michal rubbed her face on his chest as if she could borrow some of the fire. “Why has the LORD regarded me, to let me be your wife? To love a man after His own heart?”
The longing look on her face told him more than he could bear. What expectations would she have of him? He swallowed hard and leaned over to kiss her before she could say more.
* * *
Alone, I wandered the expansive corridors of my father’s palace. I pressed my flat belly. Merab was expecting a second child. She claimed he was conceived the night of my wedding. They had appeared with their firstborn son, Joel, and Mother had kept him all night. I barely had time with David before Father ordered him to war with the Philistines. He had been gone six long months, but with winter upon us, I hoped we could spend it together at his home in Bethlehem.
Michal's Window Page 6
