"Is this the house of Doctor Schmidt?" "No, the doctor lives above, but he's not here on weekends." "He's out hunting." "Today it's hares." " How unpleasant." " What do you want me to do?" "Good evening!" "Yvonne!" "Yvonne!" "What are you doing?" "Yvonne!" "Yvonne!" "I'm dying." "My God!" "Leo!" "Leo!" " What now?" " Quickly!" " Has Michel shown signs of life?" " This is not about him." " Yvonne's poisoned herself." " What?" " Where is she?" " There, in the bathroom!" "Yvonne, what've you done now?" "Yvonne, talk to me." " Sugar." " I'm going to call the clinic." " It's Sunday; nobody will be there." " Dissolve some sugar." "Airhead!" "Good thing I'm here." "After your insulin you must eat." "And if you don't eat, you must drink some sugar-water." "It's unbelievable!" " It's not dissolving." " Give me the glass!" "Georges, do something useful." "Come; drink." "Try it." "Do your part." "Careful, she'll break the glass." "Don't worry yourself." "You're not going to die before you see Michel again." "How do you feel?" "It's instantaneous." "I'm better." "I must apologize." " I've been grotesque." " It was my fault." " No, it was my fault." " With a loony like you." " I was crazier than usual." " That is what confused me." "Leo, however, is not mad." "Fortunately." "She would not have given Mick such a shock." "She doesn't have your scruples." "Thank you, Leo." "I will tell you what happened:" "It was 5, time for my injection," "I thought I would amuse myself." "After my injection" "I thought that the elevator had stopped at our floor." "I ran to the entrance, but I had been mistaken." "On returning to the bathroom, I began to feel ill." " And Georges miraculously arrived." " Miraculously!" "Enough with the miracles!" " I'd be gone, if not for you..." " And without Leo!" "Without you both," "I would have created a big problem out of a little one" "A big problem!" "One thing is clear:" "Michel hasn't slept at home, and hasn't shown any signs of life." "He knows you." "He must imagine how you are." "You forgot to eat because you were worried." "He's monstrous." "Let's hope nothing bad has happened to him." "Perhaps his friends won't call us to let us know." "No, Yvonne." "Bad news always comes out at once." "It's unbelievable!" "But where can he be?" "Don't worry yourself after the shock you've just had." "Georges, get back to work, I'I call you if you're needed." "Try to work." "I adjust the numbers, make a mistake, and have to start all over." "It's not so hard to make a phone call!" "It depends." "If he were going to lie to you, someone as naive as Michel wouldn't use the telephone." "Why would Mick lie?" "In any case, he's hiding something." "I know Mick, you're not going to teach me all about him." "Perhaps he's in danger." "Maybe he can't call." "One can always call." "Michel doesn't want to call." "You've been acting strange all day." "Too calm." "You know something." "If I told you, you wouldn't believe me." "Surely you'd say: "Unbelievable!"" "And what is unbelievable is how many times you say that word." "Leo, it's one of Michel's words." "I wondered where it came from." "Listen." "No." " I thought I heard a car." " Michel couldn't afford one." "Unless..." "I'm sure he drank a little too much and stayed at a friend's house." "Yvonne," "I wonder if you're teasing me." "No." " You're blind." " Explain." "Michel spent the night with a woman." " Michel?" " Michel." "You're losing your head." "Michel is a child, you yourself say so." "It's you who's losing your head." "Michel is no longer a child, he's a man." "You're unbelievable, you sow but you don't see the harvest." " What do I sow, and what harvest?" " I don't know, you saw dirty clothes, ashes and cigarettes, and your harvest is that Michel is suffocating here and goes looking for fresh air." "And you're insinuating that he seeks it with women, with whores." "Do you know why he hasn't called?" "So he wouldn't have to hear:" ""Come back, son, your father wants to speak with you", or some other nonsense." "What is a bourgeois family?" "It's a rich family, orderly, with servants." "We have neither money, nor orderliness, nor servants." "They only lasted four days." "I need to pick up an assistant who doesn't come on Sundays." "But the phrases and the principles still stand." "What's going on, Leo?" "You're worked-up." "Do you know why this house looks like a caravan?" "Why there's a pile of dirty clothes in Michel's bedroom?" "Why Georges has to make his accounts on the dust of his table, on which he had invented the underwater rifle?" "Do you know why the bathtub has been clogged up for 8 days?" " It's clogged?" " Because sometimes I enjoy letting you sink, holding you back." "Seeing what would happen if I just let it go." "But then my mania for order takes control and I save you." "And according to you, our caravan has pushed Michel to find another home in the house of a woman." "He's not the only one." " Are you referring to Georges?" " I'm referring to Georges." "You're accusing him of cheating on me?" "Have you discovered that I've been deceived?" " You cheat on him, don't you?" " Me?" "I, cheat on Georges?" "With whom?" "You've been deceiving Georges since Michel was born." "You stopped caring about him in order to care about Michel, and you left him alone." "And it surprises you that he looks for affection elsewhere?" "Did you think your caravan should only be that?" "But, granting that all this madness is true, why have you waited so long to tell me?" "I couldn't believe you were so blind." "I thought: "It's impossible."" "Yvonne has resigned herself to it, open your eyes." "Georges still has an excuse, after 20 years of marriage love changes." "There's a closeness between spouses that would make things very annoying, very indecent, almost impossible." " You're a very unusual woman." " No." "Even though I might appear so, when seen from afar." "You've always been attractive... with your impeccable clothing, while I..." "But Georges chose you." "We were engaged and one fine day he decided to marry you." "You didn't like him much." "You shoved him from one arm to the other." "That's my thing." "With respect to Georges..." "In me everything happened here." "In you, everything happened here and here." "I didn't know you wanted a child so much." "And to you who live on the moon, everything is granted." "Even if all the love you showered on your son came at Georges's expense." "Georges took refuge in you." "Would you have me go to bed with him so you could escape from him?" " I prefer being single." " But..." "Anyway, I'm without merit, he wouldn't enjoy me." "He's looking for youth." "Oh, cut it out!" "And surely Michel was deceiving me as well." " I'm being sarcastic." " But you were correct." "Don't correct yourself, he deceived you and is still deceiving you." "I was always his friend!" "He could always count on me!" "No mother is a friend to her son." "In Mick's eyes I'm not a woman." "You're mistaken." "To you, Michel isn't a man, but the baby who slept in your bed." "And who played in your bath." "To him you are a woman and you've done wrong not being a charming one." "Michel has abandoned the caravan." "And where could he have found time for this mysterious woman?" "Time is flexible." "With skill one can appear to be in two places at once." " Michel works." " No, he doesn't." "He doesn't want to work, he's not interested." " It was he who refused to leave." " Did you give him the chance?" "Did you let him go out with other boys and girls?" "Have you ever made plans for his wedding?" " Mick's wedding?" " Of course." "Many young men marry at 23, 24, 25." " Mick is a baby." " And what if he's not anymore?" "I was the first one to look for a woman for him." "Yes, an ugly, stupid old woman that lets you keep watching over him." "I didn't know you were such a great psychologist." "My God, someone's at the door!" "Look, Leo, hurry!" "I don't have the strength to walk." "You're always on your feet!" "Georges, who was it?" "Another of the doctor's clients who came to the wrong door." "It was Michel." "It couldn't have been, he has keys." "He doesn't carry his house keys with him everywhere!" " Maybe he lost them." " Any day they'll murder us." " He'll return them to me!" " Bravo." "It's a pity that nobody could hear you." " What time is it?" " 6 o'clock!" "Michel!" "It's not my ghost, it's really me!" "You've given your mother a terrible shock, look at her!" " How did you get in?" " By the door." "I climbed the stairs four at a time;" "I'm out of breath." "Sophie, how are you?" "I think it's indecent that you call your mother Sophie." "Georges, it's all right." "It's an old joke from the "Bibliothèque rose."" "You're mother is not at all well!" " Is it my fault?" " Leave me alone." "You look at me as if I'd killed somebody." "Your mother nearly died of fright." "I was so excited about coming back to the caravan, and giving mama a kiss." " I'm sorry." " So those are your reasons." " But, where have you been?" " Let me rest." " I have things to tell." " See there?" "My aunt hasn't lost her head, as usual." "We almost lost her, this isn't a joke." "We're not exaggerating your mother's condition." " But what did I do?" " You didn't come home last night!" " You didn't say when you'd be home." " Papa, I'm 22 years old!" "And this is the first time I haven't slept at home." "Where were you?" "That's what your father asked." "Please, my children..." "Pardon me." "Papa, aunt Leo, I didn't mean to rain on the parade, I wanted to..." "You wanted to!" "Here you are bossing your father about." " If you want to talk, go into the office." " Unbelievable!" "No, Sophie!" "Papa doesn't have an office, only a messy room." "And besides, I only wanted to talk to you." "Son, I don't know if you realize..." "I realize that it's very dark in here." "Lights." "Since he wants to speak to me alone, please leave us." "Of course." "If something's on your mind, it's natural that you'd want to confide in your mother." "Georges, back to work, Leo, see him out." "Papa, aunt, don't worry, I'll tell you." "I'm overjoyed." "Listen..." " It's not serious, is it?" " No." "Well..." "Yes and no." " Georges, you intimidate him." " Papa, you intimidate me." "And you, aunt Leo, you're too cunning." "I'm your friend." " You see, Leo?" "I told you.." " Good luck." "Come, Georges, into the confessional with us." "I need to talk with you, son." "We are not at peace!" "All right, papa." "Know-it-all!" "Sophie!" "Oh, my dear Sophie!" "Do you reproach me?" "Can't you kiss me without shaking me, or mussing my hair?" " Not on the ear, I hate that." " I didn't do it on purpose." "That would be the last straw." "What?" "You're wearing lipstick." " Me?" " Yes, and rouge." "Where are your manners!" "And on whom are you wasting this?" "This is unbelievable!" "I was pale and didn't want to frighten your father." "Don't take it off, it is very becoming." "So that's why you're looking at me!" "Sophie, don't make a scene," "I know you." "Maybe you know me, but you don't look at me or see me." "Wrong, dear lady, I look out of the corner of my eye and I think you don't care." " Let me comb your hair, put on makeup..." " So I'm lacking something!" "You're in a bad mood, you keep getting upset with me." "I'm incapable of being in a bad mood." "I want to know what's going on." " Be patient and you'll soon know all." " I'm listening." "Not with that solemn air, mama." " Michel!" " No!" "Swear that you'll listen without prejudice." "Swear that you'll hear me out." "Swear it!" " I swear nothing in advance." " You see what I mean?" "Sure, when they talk it's all flattery," " but when I say something..." " Then I'll go see papa." "He'll treat me the same, only more of it." "Don't you laugh at him." "But you're always joking about his underwater rifle..." "That's different." "It's already enough that I let you call me Sophie." " But not in public." " We never go out in public." "Well, I allow you to call me Sophie, but..." "I've given you too much rein, and have ignored your bad attitude." "Your room is a pigsty." "Let me speak!" "A pigsty!" "Dirty clothes everywhere." "The clothes are aunt Leo's job." "And you always say you like to see my things lying about, that you hate wardrobes, chests-of-drawers, mothballs..." " Me?" "I never said that." " What do you mean?" "A century ago I said that I liked to see your baby clothes lying about, but one day I realized they'd become men's shoes, underpants, shirts..." "It looks like a criminal's room." "And I asked you not to leave your stuff scattered everywhere." "Mama." "Not Sophie anymore, eh?" " It really pained me." " You refused to tuck me in." " And we fought." " Yes." "I carried you to bed until you were 11 years old, but after that you were too heavy." "I hung up your collar, I put on your slippers, and picked you up by the shoulders and carried you all the way to bed." "One night you laughed at me because I tucked you in and I told you to put yourself to bed." " Sophie." " What?" "Let me climb into your bed." "I'm taking off my shoes." "I want to get beside you, lay my neck on you shoulder." "I don't want you to see me." "Look out the window in the front of the house." "It's night." "We are horses in a parade." "These preparations do not foretell anything good." " You promised me you'd be very good." " Me?" "I haven't promised anything." "How bad you are." "Don't coax me, say what you have to say." "The longer you wait, the harder it will be." " Are you in debt?" " Sophie!" "Don't be absurd, shut up." " Michel." " Shut up." "OK, I'll keep quiet." "Speak, I'm listening." "Sophie..." "I'm very happy." "I wanted to wait to tell you until I was sure... because if you're not happy, I can't be either." "Suppose that..." "I met a girl in my class..." " Your classes aren't co-ed." " Will you listen?" "I'm not talking about drawing class, but typing class." "Papa told me I could find work as a secretary." "And I had to know shorthand." "I tried it but since you didn't like it, I dropped the course." "It was 3 months and, miraculously, I met a girl." "She's not a girl, she's a woman, three years older than me." "She had been making ends meet thanks to the kindness of a 50-year-old fellow." "He treats her like a daughter, he's a widower, and he lost a daughter who had looked like her." "The fact is I opened my heart to her and took pity on her." "She adores me, and I her." "And you will adore her too." "My dream is to bring her to you, to papa and Leo, in your house." "Tonight she's going to tell the old man all about it." "He thinks she lives with her sister." "But she was no longer going to see her, she had rented a room." "Of course he wouldn't be jealous." "It's not as bad as a married woman, but for your sake, and that of our home and all of us," "I couldn't accept sharing her, nor an ugly situation." "And that person, has she helped you?" "You never have any money, she must have helped you." "I can't hide anything from you; yes, she helped me... with food, cars, cigarettes..." "I'm so happy!" "And you?" "Happy?" "And this is how you repay me?" "For this I bore you, pampered you, fed you, brought you up, and loved you absurdly much." "For this I abandoned my poor Georges." "So an old woman could take you away and involve you in an indecent mess." "Indecent!" "And I did give you money." "I suppose you know how to say that." "But mama, you're losing your head, Madeleine is young." " So that's her name!" " I never sought to hide it from you." "And you thought it would be enough to hug me, flatter me." "Flattery is not enough!" "For me to accept that you've taken a lover who's an old yellow-haired hag." "Madeleine has blonde hair, not yellow." "And I repeat, she's 25 years old." "And I am her only lover." " You confess!" " What do I have to confess?" "I just spent an hour telling you everything." " I'm going crazy." " Mama, calm down." " And lie down." " Lie down!" "I've been lying down since yesterday." "I shouldn't have drunk the sugar-water." "Then I wouldn't have to die of shame." "Are you talking about suicide because I like a girl?" "To die of shame is worse than suicide." "Don't get ahead of yourself." "If you liked a girl, and the relationship was honorable, worthy of you and of us, I would have listened without getting angry." "But don't you dare look at me and give me that crap." " I forbid you..." " You won't talk to me?" "Sophie." "Give me a kiss." " Your face is covered in lipstick." " It's yours!" " I can't kiss you without disgust." " You can't be..." "I will take measures to shut you in, to keep you from seeing her, and to protect you from her." "Stop before you break the chair." "So you are a mother." "That's the truth." "I thought you were my friend, I've said it so much." "I am your mother, and your best friend wouldn't react otherwise." "And..." "How long has this been going on?" "Three months." "Three months of base lies." "I never lied, mama, I never said anything." "Three months of ruses, calculations, hypocritical caresses." " I wanted to protect you." " Thank you!" "I am not one of those." "I don't need it." "It is you who pains me." " Me?" " Yes, you." "You." "Poor idiot, you've fallen into the clutches of a woman older than you, who doubtless lies about her age." " Well, you'll see her yourself." " God forbid." "Your aunt Leo passes for 30." "You don't know women." " I'm beginning to." " I pardon your foolishness" "Sophie, why don't you believe me?" "Why would I fall for a woman your age?" " And you insult me!" " Me?" "You're trying not to face up to me." "Perhaps she appears old, but she can crush you." "Best calm down, if we get carried away we could hurt..." "That's very convenient!" "We'll talk." "While I live, you will not marry that trash." " Take that back!" " Trash!" " Mama, get up." " I'm no longer a mother worth the name." "I'm only an old woman who's suffering and is going to scream." "Look, the neighbors hear us." " I'll cause a scandal!" " Get up!" "I said I'll cause a scandal." "Murderer!" "Look at your eyes." " And yours!" " If they had a weapon they'd kill me." " You'd like that." " You're insane!" "I won't let you go." "I'll stop you." "I'll stop him!" "I'll call the police!" "I'll cause an uproar in the street!" "I'm begging you." "Leo, papa, hurry!" "Yvonne!" " Do me a favor!" " Leave me alone, I want to scream!" "Go find some water." " Yvonne, lie down." " No, no and no!" "Lie down!" "The neighbors are complaining." "I don't care!" "But I do!" "I always have problems with noise, we'll end up getting thrown out." "And what do I care about that now?" "Your son is miserable, he's insulted me and hit me." " Papa, that's a lie!" " Come to my room." "I'll talk with papa." "These kinds of things can only be discussed among men." "Leo, you see?" "What a change, more door slamming." " Were you listening at the door?" " As well as I could." " But I couldn't make out much." " You were right, he's in love." "With a secretary or some such person." "He'll leave us for her, I had a terrible feeling." "Now he doesn't like me anymore." "I don't see what that has to do with it." "Yes, Leo..." "What he gives with one hand, he takes away with the other." "A boy has a right to like somebody." " I don't see what..." " You don't see what!" "And the mothers, doesn't anybody care about them?" "I carried him in my womb, but you know nothing about that." "Perhaps not, but your egotism knows no boundaries." "My egotism?" "When Georges broke our engagement on a whim, and decided he would marry you, and informed me with a surprising thoughtlessness," "I pretended to take the blow lightly." "To cling to him would be to lose him." "And like a fool, I sacrificed myself, as incredible as that may seem." "I was young, a mystic, in love," "I was an idiot!" "Why do you think I'm living in this house after 23 years?" "Poor blind woman!" "Poor deaf woman!" "A servant!" "But Leo, do you hate me?" "No." "I hated you." "Not when he left me; then I was animated by the spirit of sacrifice." "I hated you after Michel was born, because you loved him too much and abandoned Georges." "At times I was unjust with Michel, because he seemed to be responsible." "It's curious." "I'd have hated you if you'd been a good wife." "What I feel about you cannot be analyzed." "It's like a habit of the heart." "You're neither bad nor responsible, you inflict pain without knowing it." "You're all the same." "You never realize anything." " Nothing?" " Nothing!" "I'm glad that I gave Michel money that he spent on nothing but sweets." "It would please me if he married a tart, if the caravan should overturn, and he rots in a ditch." "And I won't do a thing to help you." "Poor Georges." "23 years old!" "And life is long, dear, long." "Long." "And the short jacket and underneath a low-necked dress." "That will do for the evening." "Are you speaking of clothes?" "What luck!" "But, Georges..." "How are you?" "You're green." " I've just finished listening to Michel." " And?" "He's sorry for grabbing you by the wrist and for shouting." "He wants to see you." " Is that the only thing he's sorry for?" " He's sad." "You don't need to force him to apologize or other such nonsense, this is serious." "I'll stay with Leo." "He wants to be alone with you in his room." "Please help Michel." "As for me, I'm very tired." "I hope he hasn't duped you." "I hope he hasn't convinced you." "He didn't try to convince me or not, the boy's in love." "That's for certain." "Don't try to question or talk to him." "He's shaken up about the dirty clothes, sit beside him, and give him your hand." "That would be best." "I'll go." " On one condition..." " Go without conditions." "My God..." "Georges, you're agitated, what's wrong?" "I'll tell you quickly, they might return." " Don't worry me." " Not without reason." "The whole world has fallen on me." " Is it about Michel?" " Yes." "There's not a single vaudeville script more melodramatic than this." " What have I done, my God?" " Georges!" "I'm going to make coffee." "Leo, I've done a crazy thing and now I'm paying dearly." "6 months ago I thought I needed a secretary, and I found an address." "I found a young girl of 25, unhappy, beautiful, and simple." "Perfect!" "Here I felt alone." "You're running all day, Yvonne only thinks of Michel..." "Anyway, under a false name I pretended I was a widower... that my daughter, who had died, had resembled her..." "Who could blame you?" " You needed air, you're suffocating here." " I was inventing." "Tirelessly." "I never said anything about my crazy idea." "She said she liked me, that young men were all scoundrels..." "Three months later her attitude changed." "Her sister had come to live with her, married, serious, devoted." "I borrowed enough money from you..." " I suspected as much." " Who else could I confide in?" "I used the money to rent a dingy little apartment." "The girl came less and less frequently." "I was caught between lies and profound anxiety." "You can already imagine what comes next." "The 'sister' is a young man she's in love with, and that young man is Michel." "I just found that out from him." " Does he suspect anything?" " Nothing." "He's in ecstasies." "I attributed my consternation to the same cause as his mother's." " And what does she want?" " Madeleine - that's her name made an appointment with me tonight, to tell me about Michel..." "How do I say it...?" " To inform you of your dismissal." " And confess everything." "Confess everything to Mr. X." "To come clean and be free, honest with each other." "I'll die, I'm crazy about her." "I don't know if it's a drama or a vaudeville, but it's a masterwork." "A monstrous masterwork." "How can such an accident happen?" "I don't believe in fate." "You, who loves miracles, masterworks of luck: here you have one." "It's not much rarer than winning the lottery." "Well I must look like pretty lousy." "You win the prize for lousiness." "Michel..." " My dear." " Leave me alone." " Are you thirsty?" " Go away." " Are you throwing me out?" " Go away!" "I won't say anything else." " What do you feel in front of Michel?" " It's very embarrassing." "I don't blame him, it was my fault." "And what will you do?" "That's what I was going to ask you." "I've excused myself and won't go tonight." "Now I understand the false sense of order in this house." "While one was out, the other was here." "Poor Georges..." "I feel so ashamed!" "Michel called me "the old man."" "He confessed to me that Madeleine was supporting him." "With your money?" "With yours." "The Fates are amused." "Better our money ends up in your son's pockets than somewhere else." "You'll learn not to leave a boy of his age without any money." "I feel this is ridiculous, you can't see my pain." "Georges..." " I'll help you." " How?" "There is a way to strike a blow against and obstruct this wedding." "Tomorrow the caravan must go, all together, to the young woman's house." " You're crazy!" " I'm being reasonable." " Yvonne won't accept that at all." " Accept that!" "And the scene?" "But..." "Can you imagine the scene?" "I enter... it's impossible!" "The girl would swallow her tongue before she tells Michel..." "But maybe when she sees me she'll faint or scream." "I'll arrange it." "A strong blow." " It's well deserved, Leo." " It'll hit you first" "And if you don't want to lose Michel to her, threaten to tell all." "You're the devil." "I like you very much, and I want to protect your house." "And Yvonne?" "She'll never..." " Quiet, Yvonne's coming." " How well you hear!" "To keep them from eating you up, my child." "Well?" "What's going to become of us!" "Michel's not his normal self." "He's under an omin..." "He's under an ominous influence that is upsetting him greatly." " I know what it is." " I already know." "Let's not pester him; we must be clever." " No, we must cut it short, for his health." " You'd keep those kids from each other?" " What kids?" " Michel and that little girl." "There's no little girl, only a woman who beds down with two men." "God knows how old." "A little fly that Mick sees as a saint." "All the more reason to find out who she is." "No!" "I'm counting on Georges to show some character and cut it off." "Cut it off short: easier said than done." "Granting that all of this is more than a fairy tale, and that she leaves her protector in order to marry Mick, it's your duty to free him from the responsibility of this childishness." "Michel can't take her away from the old man." "At last something sensible!" "How does he intend to take care of her?" "He said he was fed up with doing nothing, and would get a job." "And to live at our expense." "All right, his aunt's." " Friends, my money is yours." " But it's not that woman's!" "No more digressions." "It's clear." "Georges, you must do something." "Leo, this is a job for you." "You only have to forbid..." "Barking orders has no effect on those in love." "Mick doesn't love that woman!" "He only thinks he loves her." "It's his first crush." "He thinks she is this sort of ideal love." " If it feels like love to him then it is." " No!" "It'll all end in doodles, walks, dreams, from which he'll recover." " I know him." " You know him!" "You're unbelievable!" "I've been observing him for 22 years." "No Mrs. X... is going to change him in 3 months." "In 3 months, no, Yvonne, in 3 minutes: that's love." "If you were a man you'd talk to him and know what to say." "It's what Michel needs." "Are you hoping I'm going to obey your orders?" "Who's speaking of orders?" "Why are you being so dramatic?" "Let's see," " if I've understood well, you're claiming" " I'm not claiming anything!" "Then, you think I should accompany Georges to that woman' house," " and Leo will fill out the entourage." " It will only be a reconciliation." "A simple reconciliation of enemies." "The whole caravan up and visit her: a brand new day." " You have no idea, Yvonne." " No idea." "Do you wish to live with a Michel who won't speak to you?" " Who avoids you and lies to you?" " Shut up." "Dear idiot." "Do you know what's happened?" "You would stoop to anything, you'd go and beg that woman." "Shut up!" "It would be easier to use some cunning." "To get Michel back, and earn his gratitude." "Ah, you don't tell me to shut up now." "No." "That would be tricking him and he'd despise us." "It's for his good; you're perfectly free to celebrate this wedding when it takes you by surprise." "Believe me, at first it was hard, I reacted as you have, but now I see clearly that what Leo proposes is a good idea." "No!" "I'm too cowardly, I won't set foot outside this house." "If something were stolen from you, wouldn't you want to know where it is?" " In the thief's house." " And you'll go there." "You'll go to recover what's yours, with Georges, and I won't let you go alone." "I admire you, Yvonne, you're stronger than we thought." "Or weaker." "Be very prudent in announcing this to Mick." "He can smell a trick." "You go first, announce a surprise, and we'll come in afterwards." "Courage!" "What a nightmare!" "Who are you saying that to?" "I warn you, if I go to that person's house," "I'll go away while you talk to her." "Of course, I promise to do all the talking." "Don't ask me to talk to her, I know myself, I couldn't do it." "I'm not used to that kind of woman." "Me either." "At a certain age it's hard to accustom yourself to certain things." "Come in, it's all right." "What do you want with me?" "Your mother will tell you that." "I've been harsh, and have doubted your sincerity." "I'm sorry." "Your father is very good." "He's spoken with me." "Darling, we don't want anything bad for you." "On the contrary." "What we want is your good, and I hate being unjust." " What you ask of us is almost impossible." " But..." "Let your mother speak." "And it's almost impossible, this thing you ask of us, but we've decided to grant your request." "We will go to your friend's house." "Sophie!" "Is it possible?" "Papa!" "Yes, we permit you to announce our visit." "I'm dreaming!" " How can I thank you?" " Please." " Mama!" " You have your aunt to thank." " Oh, no!" " You aunt Leo!" "Not me, the whole caravan!" "It's unbelievable!" "Now at home everybody says "it's unbelievable."" "I think it's stuck with me since we were getting to know each other." "Mama would go crazy if she knew she was imitating you." "What is it about the way I talk?" "I talk just like everybody else." "You talk like nobody else and for no reason at all." "I got it from you and everybody else got it from me." "Everybody says: 'it's unbelievable'." "Hurry up and get out of the tub." "Your mother would never believe that you bathe here." "I almost think you want to make this your home." "It's aunt Leo's fault, the tub's clogged up, and that's her job." "Aunt Leo is order." " You should try to get to know them." " In my house the tub works." "What?" "In my house the tub works!" "We bathe at my house but, sometimes, Leo forgets, as she likes comfort, she doesn't deal with it." "Dry off, you'll ruin the carpet!" "It never would have occurred to me that bathing here would enrage my mother, it's true." "You're like Leo, a great politician." "You know your aunt well." "From living with her." " But I'm not thinking about anything." " You know..." "What I like is your cleanliness." "How kind of you." "You're not dirty." "You have the dirtiness of a child, your knees aren't dirty." "And inside, there's nobody cleaner than you." " Uncultured and foolish." " Me too." "You've read the classics." "I haven't read them, I just bind them." "You're too smart for me." "Do you know if you'll earn enough with your bindings?" " And you'll support me." " You'll work too." "And if necessary, you will help me." "Look, you're going to start." "And one day we'll open a shop." "And we'll be rich." " And when we have a home..." " A flat." " Why do you say 'home'?" " Because at my house we say 'home'." "The home, at home." "Unbelievable!" "That's it." "Listen:" "When we have a home, if you won't let me be slovenly, I'll carry you off to our caravan and lock you up there." "I'll force you to share my room, my dirty clothes, and my ties in vases." " I would organize your room in 5 minutes." " You little devil." " How do you do it?" " It's order." "A thing's either orderly or it's not." "Look, there are my socks." " I thought I took them off in the bathroom." " No, you took them off here." "I never would have found them in mama's house." "She must be adorable." "She was adorable." "And papa, Leo, everybody." "But the scene began with some drama." "Mama wanted to call the police and detain me." "The police?" "Why?" "That's mama's style." "Unbelievable!" " Whose fault was it?" " My fault." "Your fault." "I couldn't resist spending the night with you." "The next day..." " The next day..." " You were scared to death." "I told you that you'd call." "You're already a blunderer, don't say that in front of Sophie." "Look who's talking, the more you talk the more you put your foot in it." "Exactly." "And that's another thing that I like." "You don't lie." " It's too complicated." " I hate lies." "The smallest lie makes me feel bad." "I admit keeping quiet or intending to lie does no harm, but... the lie..." "My shoe!" " Find it." " Do you know where it is?" "I see it right now." "It leaps into view." "You're cold." "Am I warm?" "Didn't you want me to hurry?" "This is too much." "Mama would have found it in my bed." "What a pity it is I'm scared to death." "They're the ones who are afraid." "And aunt Leo will cheer us up, she's very sweet." "Do you always go everywhere together?" "Never;" "Sophie never goes out." "Papa goes out," "Leo goes out shopping." "And I go out, because..." "Because I love you." "Are they expecting to find order or disorder?" "They're expecting the worst." "They think they're coming to see an old yellow-haired lady." "I am an old yellow-haired lady." "I'm three years older than you." "I have a feeling you're going to surprise them." " Knock on wood." " Madeleine!" "Madeleine, you could bewitch anybody." "Only one thing bothers me." "What?" "I would have liked to see our situation cleared up." "Tonight's meeting has been postponed." " What bad luck!" " Tomorrow everything will be in order." "I thought you were glad to put that behind you." "Yes, but when Georges called, I didn't insist, I was too nervous." "Papa's also named Georges." "Can you guess which is the appointment with the first Georges?" "But that almost doesn't worry me as much as the one with the other Georges." "You don't like him?" " Yes, Michel." " What!" "If I hadn't loved him, I couldn't love you." "If he hadn't found me, I'd be dead." "I was on the verge of suicide when he found me." " You should be grateful to him..." " No, Michel, it's more than that." " Unbelievable!" " Be fair." "Put yourself in my place, use your good judgment." "Then stay with him!" "I'll notify my family, nothing could be easier." "Don't be absurd, what if I denied you the same courtesy?" "And I will sacrifice my mother." "Your mother has your father and your aunt." " She only has me." " Then..." "She hates me." "I told you that they're the best." " This visit proves it." " It makes me nervous." "First they don't want to know anything, then they decide to come." " They're here, look." " No, Madeleine." " You're not going to leave me alone?" " Yes, come looking for me." "Hurry up." " Did you come alone?" " Yes." " Has something changed?" " Calm down." "They're coming." " Everything is going forward as arranged." " How good you are." " How orderly." " That's me." " Recognize it?" "It's my doing." " Oh, really?" "I doubt it." " Where is she?" " In her studio." "Call her." "Madeleine!" "She can't hear me from up above." " Good." " Why?" "Your father wishes to speak with her; better if your mother doesn't hear." "What an angel." "I'm going to look for her." "You are very beautiful, miss." "I confess that I came early to prepare the ground." "See there?" "Leo is marvelous." "I'm your accomplice." "From your studio can you hear things down below?" " Did you hear me calling?" " No." "It's of the greatest importance." "They'll be here in a quarter-hour, we must double-check it." " She foresees everything." " It's easy to see." "We have to make sure." "Go up, close the door, and I'll shout." "Let's go, what are you waiting for!" "'Assassin!" "You've slain me, you've slaughtered me!" "'" "Murder, murder!" "Help me, my bowmen." "They're killing me!" "Morenzo of hell!" "My heart is torn out!" "Throw them out!" "Michel!" "Bravo!" " Weren't you in the studio?" " We couldn't hear anything in there." "I wanted to hear your screaming." " You should be used to it." " But that's different." "Aunt Leo, you would make a formidable actress." " You could be an actress." " That was magnificent." "Your mother can be also when she wants to." "Perhaps we're on the wrong floor." "When there's no elevator, people always live on the 5th floor." "Well, ring." "What are you waiting for?" " No servants?" " No more than at home." " Leo, you're here?" " I've just arrived." " When did you get here?" " Didn't I say just now?" "She thought she was going to be late, she thought you were already here." "Are you alone?" "Madeleine's been hiding for half an hour." " Hiding?" " She's nervous about meeting you." "We're not ogres." "You're very pale, Sophie." " It's normal to be nervous." " I understand her." "What luxury!" "It's clean." "It's not exactly a sty." "You must announce our arrival." "Yes." "Papa, how stiff you are." "Sit down!" "Make yourselves at home." "I don't know if you understand the seriousness of this visit." " It doesn't seem you do." " He's trying to break the ice." "If I could I'd cry." "Georges is very touchy." "In these moments you become a father, mother and son." "This is not done like madmen." "Better not to be conventional parents by showing that you are not." "Michel is very brave and good." "Go to the little girl." "If she is one." "My life is a game." "I ask you to help Madeleine, not to give her a cold reception." "We haven't come with that intention." "Sophie." "Don't put me down, I'm very nervous." "How are we putting you down?" "We're all tense and adopting poses, but soon things will thaw out." "Go on!" "I'm going." "Poor Georges, you seem worse off than I am." "I'll stand behind Leo." "This is my mother." "You're delightful." "You seem very young." " How old are you?" " 25." "And you, madam..." "Excuse me." "Who let you in here?" " That man..." " That man is my father." " Your father." " Another one." "Nobody ever believes you're old enough to be my father." "If we go out together we could be mistaken for friends." "Michel, introduce me." "I don't know what I was thinking." "Madeleine..." "How cold you are." " Touch her hand, Leo." " She's cold." " Are we so terrible?" " Give her your hand." " Ma'am..." " No, miss." "A young lady who will soon cease to be intimated." "The whole family." "See, it's not so bad." "What's wrong?" " What's wrong?" "She's ill." " Are you ill?" "No, Michel." "Don't get up!" " Michel, show us the way." " Perhaps if I could..." "Save it!" "Michel!" "Michel!" " Are you leaving me alone?" " No, with papa." "No, Michel, I can't, don't leave me alone." "Michel, show us the way." "I'll go up with you, I have to serve the tea." "No, we'll manage." "Michel will help us." "I want to see if there are any cups left unbroken." "We had 6 and I've only broken 3." "Stay, miss." "I allowed Michel to speak with you first, and then my wife, who is more nervous than I am." "Even though according to Michel I look young," "I'm an old man with respect to you, don't worry about anything." "Hurry up and show us the way." "Just a moment, perhaps your sister would like to stay behind, a woman..." "Dear girl, let us drink some tea." "Women do not deal with certain things." "And you've already heard what Michel's said about his father." "You will be speaking to a friend of Michel's who is very good and kind." "Much more so than me." "Madeleine, do you want me to bring down a cup of tea for you?" "She'll drink her tea later." "Win papa over, but don't run away together." "Well then!" " It's a monstrosity." " Exactly." "It's monstrous, but that's the way it is." "It's even a work of art." "Without situations like this, there would be no theatre." "We are characters of tragedy." "What?" "Can they hear us from the studio?" "And may I ask you something?" "You kept me shut in the first times your sister came." " Was it Michel?" " Yes." "Admirable." "The mixture suits you, an old man, and a young one." "Don't worsen the muddle we find ourselves in." " I think of you with great fondness." " But, did you love me?" "I did." "I adored you." "I asked you, "Do you love me?" "It's impossible." And you said:" ""Yes, Georges, I love you." Isn't that so?" "You said "I love you so much," you would get annoyed, you begged me, you pestered me;" "I was tired of it and said:" ""Yes, I love you, a little."" " You shouldn't have told me that." " But you were obstinate!" " Against all goodness and kindness..." " It was too late." "It would be one thing if you'd said: "I don't love you but I'll try, you must wait." But you embraced me fully." "Until I fell in love, but then it bothered you..." "Lies!" "I couldn't hurt you." "The thought of this rupture was torturing me." "I told Michel." "I couldn't give him a greater proof of my love." "Do you love Michel?" "For whose sake do you ask me?" "His or yours?" "I speak as his father." "I had to make Michel understand that the love was not the same." "And that I have a right to be happy." "And Michel loves you?" "Here is the proof." "If he knew, if he learned the truth," "I would hate you." "It would kill me." " And then he would die." " Don't speak of his finding out." "In all my life I'll be unable to repay my debt of gratitude." "So what you imagine, plain and simple" " is that I'm going to give you to Michel." " What?" "Do you imagine that I will give you to Michel?" "You're joking..." " You're going to take Michel from me?" " Right now." "What happiness could he find with a deceitful woman?" "If you've had two, why not three?" "If you deceived one, what proof is there you wouldn't deceive the other?" " If you haven't done so already." " Georges!" "You don't believe what you're saying." "You don't really think that..." "In truth, no, I don't." "I knew it." "And since this third man doesn't exist, and I'm certain of it, it will be necessary to invent him." "Invent him?" "To invent a young man of your age, a little older than Michel, whom you've been hiding because... you are ashamed that you are in love with him, and that you hope to marry him." "Get used to it." " Are you making fun of me?" " I've never been more serious." " It's necessary, or I'll tell all." " To your son?" " To your wife?" " Don't concern yourself with her." "It is what I will say no matter what happens;" "I must say it." " But she'll talk." " She will if you force her to." "If you're obstinate." "I am cured and I will cure Michel." "Of love?" "Love, how easy it is to say." "From a marriage that the circumstances make inadvisable." "Are you finished?" "Can we come down?" "Not yet, we're talking like old friends." "Great!" "Madeleine," "I've broken a cup." "Let us come down soon." " Well?" " Everything's great." "I'm not going to spend my life in this garret." "I've thought it over, Madeleine, you are free." "I will talk." "Michel will know who the other was I will lose him and you too." "How base!" " It is my duty." " You're mad." " I am a father." " You lie." "You're acting out of egotism, you're not a father." " You find yourself alone and you want me." " I forbid...!" "Liar!" "Liar, egotist!" "You don't care if he's happy or sad." "You're jealous and only consider your own interest." "Only a few minutes are left before you accuse yourself or I tell all." "Give me some time." "One moment, two, I speak or I don't..." " Anything so long as he doesn't find out." " Good." "Georges, I beg you." "What good does it do prolonging things?" "Georges, what's going on?" "You may come down." "Is it a man, a woman, a plant, or a historical person?" "Michel," "I am obligated to do you harm." "Harm?" "Madeleine, what's wrong?" "Madeleine!" "My son, I have had a conversation with your friend, a long conversation full of surprises." "Madeleine couldn't have added anything to what I've already told you." "She was weak, she's been brave, she's confessed that you're not her only love." "Madeleine is the first to regret the delay, tomorrow everything will be put in place." " Right?" " I will speak with her, I promised." "She will sacrifice the man of whom you speak for you." "She'll stay with the other." "What other man?" "It's not just two men, as you thought." "There are three." " What third man?" " Be a man." "You are young, you know little of women, or of life's difficulties." "This girl is in love." " With you..." " Yes with you, no doubt." "But she's a slave to another of her own age, who's not of our class, who's hiding, scaring her, pulling her strings, who was suspicious of your love, and would only tolerate it if she left him and married you." "That's a lie." "A fabrication, I know Madeleine." "Madeleine!" "Speak, I beg you." "Answer me." "Say it's not so." "I know all about her life; you lie." "Michel!" "Madeleine..." "Save me." "Save me." "Save us!" "Say they're lying." "It's normal that you're stunned, but remember that you didn't see her often, that she was free at night." "But, who, how, where?" "She was hoping for a miracle, but there's always a catch." "It's the same old story: she obeys him and will follow him anywhere." "Is it true?" "If it's true, I hope you die!" "Have you gone mad?" "Are you going to hit a woman?" "A beating is what she deserves." "Madeleine, my little girl." "My flower, forgive me." "I know they're lying, they're trying to see if I really love you." "Speak!" "I beg of you." "She's forgotten our last night, and the next day..." "You!" "You!" "Were you deceiving me and planning to marry me?" "I didn't say she was planning to marry you." "I said she was waiting to free herself, to get away under the influence of the passion that rules her, that she loved you, but that she was in love with that boy." "Everything was bright, pure, joyous, and I believed it." "I believed it." "I believed it all." "I'm going crazy." "Who is it?" "I said you don't know him, you couldn't know him." "And old yellow-haired woman..." "And I, who almost insulted and wounded you." " Mama..." " Dear, your parents know." "They may appear ridiculous and unbearable, but they know." "Come, stay with your poor old mama." "No, for the last time, answer me." "It's all a lie." "A nightmare." "I'm going to wake up." "Wake me up!" " Calm down!" " Calm down?" "I was waiting up above, thinking: "Papa is getting to know Madeleine."" "Convincing Sophie, aunt Leo was already convinced." "I was sure we'd all end up embracing." "And I discovered a woman who'd confessed to betrayal, that my dream had disappeared, horror without a name." " Michel..." " You dare to open your mouth!" "You dare to talk to me!" "Be generous, she could have kept up the act." "Come home." "Miss, I give you my thanks..." "Enough!" " Enough, I can't go on!" " No, Madeleine!" "Let her go!" "Michel, dear..." "Take me home, get me out of here..." "No, let me stay!" " I'll know everything!" " Why do you want to know?" "You're right, papa." "I got what I deserved." "I don't want to know anything." "I'm going to go running, lock myself in my room, take refuge in my house." "You needed to have some experience." "Yes, it would have saved me from this." "How wise you were not to want to come." "People.." "People are filthy." " Not all of them." " Yes, all of them." "What order!" "Eh, Leo?" "So your visitors don't get mixed up, be sure not to misplace a cane, a shirt, a hat, some ashes..." "The modern comforts." "Get out!" "Go away!" "Is number 3 impatient?" "Hurry up!" "It's my turn to take it calmly." "It's pure melodrama." "You made yourself faint." "Sophie!" "Sophie, it's good to know somebody loves you" "and won't play you a dirty trick." "Let's go." " Where is papa?" " He can't bear scenes." "He ought to go to England." "Right." "Their eccentricities don't hold such enchanting surprises." " You're trembling!" " I am." "Yes, you're trembling." "Take me by the arm, we'll go down like two invalids." "Leo, we can't leave the girl alone in her condition." " Keep her occupied." " That's what I was going to do." " Take him home, I'll stay behind a while." " Thank you." "Go on, I won't leave her behind." "Calm down, come." " Madam..." " Come." " Madam..." " Be calm." " Relax." " You can't imagine..." "Yes." " I guessed it." " What?" "That number two and Michel's father were one and the same." " How could you have...?" " You'd have to be blind not to see it." "Blind like my sister and Michel." "It was plain to see, you'd have to be Michel or Yvonne not to see it." " I want to die." " And number three?" "Does he exist?" "No." "Michel accepted the story without thinking how crazy it was." "That was good luck." "If he was capable of finding out the second... perhaps he would have found out who was first." "Did Georges threaten to tell him everything?" "Yes." "He would have done it." "How curious." "I thought that if you begged him he would keep quiet." "He tortured and threatened me." "He said he wanted to cure Michel." " He had prepared that lie." " No!" "There is a limit!" "I shouldn't become your ally, still less your accomplice, but I wish to, and I've come over to your side." "I like you." "And besides..." "Perhaps it's true that I'm not made for their milieu." "What milieu?" "Are you joking?" "Listen to me, Madeleine." "Are you listening to me?" "Tomorrow, at 5, come to the caravan." " To the caravan?" " Yes, our house." " Who, me?" " You." "You're not thinking about what you're saying; they'll throw me out." "No." " How can that be?" " Madeleine..." "Sometimes I pull back from love, when I feel it stirring in me." "Other times, it moves me completely, and wins the game." "Do we really know what goes on inside us?" "It's Chinese." "Don't try to understand me," "I'm a little pedantic, it's my nature." "But Georges will speak." "It will be made right." "Tomorrow he will be a noble father who protects his son." "He was a monster!" "Of course not, darling; he's not a monster." "He is a child, without conscience." "He causes pain without realizing it." " But..." " No buts." "It's an order." " Swear on Michel." " For Michel!" " Swear..." " I swear!" " For Michel." " For Michel!" "Perfect." "Now rest, pull yourself together, and don't make your eyes puffy." "My card." "After this nightmare..." "It's the same old story." "I adopt you!" " No, no!" " Madam..." "Don't come with me." "Madam!" "And above all, don't thank me, because to me, gratitude..." " Still the same?" " Still the same." "One can't breathe here." "Yvonne is staying with Michel." "I didn't think he would grieve so much." "When I think about what I have to keep under control, this sort of rage, endlessly." "It's the first time he's loved and suffered." "And those who control themselves are less worthy of sympathy, naturally." "I refuse to compare your pain with his, because he knows nothing but sadness" " and suddenly..." " He has Yvonne!" "He doesn't say anything to his mother, only hugs!" "It's instinctive." "And she is triumphant that she's got her son back." "She can't talk about anything else." "And I, who's been sincere, who has told everything, who has been subject to ridicule, she scarcely notices my problems." "She wasn't even surprised, she only thought about Michel, that he not find out about anything, about being prudent." "And to me she complacently said: "It's your punishment, dear Georges."" "No, I'm not alone, here's Yvonne helping and supporting me." "Georges, what you've done is terrible." "Say that again." "I repeat:" "What you have done is terrible." "Why do you say "What I've done?" Leo, it's your doing." "You told me how to act, you thought it all up!" "I advise you never to say that again." "Never say, even if nobody's around, anything like that." "Unbelievable!" "I had less faith in your taste in women than in Michel's." "But I was wrong." "I beg your pardon." " Madeleine's confused you." " No, I am not confused!" "Besides, I had no reason to be." "She's a girl, a very unfortunate one." "That's wonderful." "That girl deceived me with Michel, and Michel with..." "Georges!" "Don't you believe that just because it suits your purposes?" "Magnificent!" "Now we're canonizing Madeleine, she's a saint!" "She is young." "And she loves Michel." "And she appreciates you, you must resign yourself to it." " You've been undone by your order." " It doesn't matter one way or another!" "Except that you repair the damage you've done." "Nervousness made me speak rashly." "And go back on everything I said yesterday?" "Don't count on it." "I have to convince you, and you must convince Yvonne." "You must pay." "And her too." "And you?" "And you?" "Unheard-of!" "You want to stand as judge and make us pay." "And you, will you make any sacrifices in this tawdry history?" "I already have." " You've made a sacrifice?" " Yes." "You don't know it but I've already made a sacrifice." "And I am entitled to counsel you on yours." "What sacrifice are you speaking of?" "I would like to know." "I loved you, Georges." "And who knows if I didn't keep loving you." "I thought I did it for your happiness, but I was wrong." "No longer." "We must not sacrifice this girl and Michel for some sort of wretched comfort." "Leo..." "No." "Don't be touched." "Tenderness, and gratitude, are not needed." " What is needed is to convince Yvonne." " And me?" "I would insult you if I thought you weren't persuaded." " Do you want me to bring the girl here?" " It's indispensable." "I didn't know you were so big-hearted." "My heart has been good for nothing until this moment." "I like Michel." "He's your son." "And do you like Yvonne?" "Maybe you're not completely devoted to her?" "Don't play with heart." "My heart has been trifled with enough." "Don't play too much with my heart, or with yours." "Leo, I believe you are right." "Georges," "I love you." "It's infernal." "I can't go on with it." " Then I must go." " No, Georges." "If he turns me out it's because he can't bear to be with anybody." "That's very sensible." "If she wasn't a whore, I'd call her." " Notice how I am." " How easy it is to say that now." "No, Leo, it's not easy to say." "For me to say that" "I had to be at my wits' end." " Did you tell him that?" " Oh, yes." "Well, I think so." "I can't take it anymore!" "Georges, speak." " More words." " Yvonne." "Madeleine is innocent, the mysterious lover doesn't exist." "I don't understand you." " Yesterday I was alone with her..." " And she's duped you." "What an innocent." "Leave off, Leo, better that I confess." "I created an abominable character." "I forced her to lie, to sully herself, to play a role." "The character was my creation." "I took advantage of the fact that Michel is gullible, and that she was terrified of what he would find out." " Did you do that?" " Yes, I swear it." "But, Georges, you could have killed Michel." "Perhaps it was the best." "I've done a good job, my greatest invention, the only one that ever worked." " Surely without me..." " If I went along, still I let it happen." "I ought to bear the responsibility, I alone." "Georges, don't be absurd." "You are having a crisis of confessions and sacrifices." "Leo understands it well." "Be careful, it is you who is dreaming while wide-awake." "Well, it takes me, the sleepwalker, the sender of letters, to see things clearly." "What is done is done." "Neither Michel nor that girl is dead." "The smart thing is to say: "Uf!" "," because what we feared hasn't happened, and to count ourselves lucky." "What luck?" "Do you hear the words you're spouting?" "They're perfectly natural." "I love my son and I tend to his wounds." "I'm not completely sublime." "I see that perhaps you've made a mistake, but we've had the good luck to come out ahead in this." "5 minutes ago you were crying bloody murder: "I can't take it anymore."" "Precisely because of that I found the will to say: "Enough!"" "And you want to undo what we've achieved." "I, the idiot, repeat that we must take advantage of the good luck afforded by this sad event, we must surmount it." "But, what do you see as good luck?" "Well..." " That the old man was Georges." " Thank you very much." "Because if the old man had been someone else," "I know Georges, you know him, you wouldn't have had the guts." "Guts?" "I'd have taken fierce revenge." "And I would have had an excuse to obey you." "I think you misunderstand each other, Georges doesn't see your point of view." "No, it's not that she misunderstands, it's that I don't understand a thing!" "You see?" "Yvonne thinks it's good luck that to Michel" " the wedding seems impossible." " But..." "Just a second!" "And Georges has shown you that there's no obstacle." " To what?" " To the marriage of Madeleine and Michel." " What are you saying?" " That we almost killed them by selfishness, and it's urgent that we revive them." "Georges, do you think..." "you and Leo... truly and placidly, that she should carry our name, and enter into our household." "It seems now we're descended from Jupiter's thigh." "I'm a second-rate inventor, a failure." "You, an invalid who lives in shadows." "Leo is a spinster who cleans our house." "And in the name of this disaster, this emptiness, this imbalance, you will deny Michel success, fresh air, and life?" "No!" " I oppose you!" " Bravo, Georges!" "Of course!" "Georges is a god, he's infallible." "I admire him." "Better say you're in love with him." "Get married then." "I'll vanish, and leave you an open field!" " Nothing could be easier!" " You're going crazy!" "Yes, Leo, I am going crazy." "Don't reproach me, it's not my fault." " I'm not reproaching you." " Thank you, Leo." " Excuse me." " No more excuses." "To redeem our ruin we must prevent Mick's, light him up, bring him back to life." " Life?" " Without the slightest doubt." "Besides, you can't bear to see the shape Michel is in." "But she's far too young." "She's three years older than him; yesterday she appeared older to you." "Yes, she's too young with respect to me." "That's too much." " You're asking the impossible." " We asked her and she did it." "Please!" "Leave me alone." "Don't put yourselves on a pedestal, you're not better than me." "Lies!" "Try to tell your lies." "Look!" "Yesterday, when we got to that woman's house, when you pretended you'd gone to the wrong floor, you didn't know which one it was." "You dared to take me to your lover's house." " Shut up!" " To your lover's house!" " You're crazy, the boy will hear you." " He'll defend me." " Defend yourself from your own madness." " He'll defend me." "Yvonne..." "To call the boy in, to go back to her house, humiliate him..." "You don't have to call Michel in or have words with him in the office, but run to his room, kiss him, and surprise him." "As for Madeleine, I've already taken charge of the situation." " What?" " Of my own accord." "Leo, why are you meddling?" " What have you done?" " My duty." "I've spoken, listened, and consoled, and then I called her." "You called her?" "Yes." "To come here." "You have become saints." "I need time, I'm slower." "And do you think I haven't had to make an immense effort?" "My poor old man." "My poor old woman." "No, we are not old, however..." "One day you'll realize that children grow up and then it's "get out of my way."" " It's the order of things." " Order is not my strength." "Nor mine either." " You're cold." " Oh, me...!" "Come, Madeleine." "Follow me, the coast is clear." "My room." "Give me your purse." "I recognize it, Georges gave me the same." " I was wrong to come." " Don't start." " Wait for me here." " Alone?" " Don't you like the room?" " No." " It's the best one in the house." " Is Michel here?" "Wait for me." " Get ready for the surprise." " I'm not used to this." "But when it comes to it, you're superb." " How do you think we should do it?" " Very simple." "Yvonne, it's vital that you be the one to let him know." " But it's against my will." " Don't show it." "I'll seem grotesque, and besides, I'm cold." "Look." "Look!" "Listen, my teeth are chattering." "If they're chattering it's from nerves." "If I die you'll also say it's from nerves." " My knees are buckling." " Hold onto me." "This is necessary." "It's necessary." "Think about the gift you put in the shoe." "If I come across it." "The door." "It's Michel." "You see?" "He's made it easy, it's a miracle." "Look where you've brought me." "What's happening?" "Where did he go?" " What if he decided to leave?" " No." "If he'd left we would've heard the other door." " That's true." " I haven't eaten since yesterday." "He went to the sideboard, looking for sugar." "Doubt." "He went to my door." "Listen." "He puts his hand on the latch." "I'm afraid, afraid it's not Mick." "That it's something extraordinary, terrible." "Leo." "Georges." "What's happening to me?" "What?" "Mick!" "Sophie, it's me." "Come in." "Close the door." "What?" "It's already closed." "It's closed." "I only came looking for sugar." "Do you know where you are?" "Yes." "Am I bothering you?" "Come, Michel, don't speak foolishness." "You were bothering us so little that your mother was going to look for you." "On the contrary, stay here a while." "I wanted..." "I wanted to talk with mama." "First," "I beg your pardon for keeping to myself in my room, for telling you to go away." "I was disgusted, I wasn't well, you understand." "I've understood you perfectly, my dear." "You don't have to pity me!" "Well..." "I'm not going to live cast-down on the ground." "Papa, this job in Morocco, you told me..." " that if I decided..." " Are you leaving me?" "I've decided." "Mick..." "Sophie," "I can't be a good companion to you anymore." "Are you crazy?" "Crazy." "I will go crazy if I stay in Paris." "And what of me?" "Us?" "Oh, Sophie!" "Give me your hand." "Listen to me, Mick." "Raise your head." "What if you no longer have to go?" "If, for example, we had some good news for you?" "For me there's no such thing as good news anymore." "Mick, I have very good news for you," " Madeleine..." " Don't speak to me of her anymore!" "Don't touch on that subject, it's too tender, be quiet." " Listen to your father." " I won't let you force me" " to talk about her." " Well I will speak about her." "I won't listen, I'm fed up." "Stop kicking your mother's bed, please." "Your mother is ill; and, moreover, speak more quietly." "What do you want from me?" "Your aunt returned from the visit after the rest of us." "If you want me to take back my decision, don't bother yourselves, it's done." "You won't go!" "Watch me!" "Don't go, it would be criminal." " What do you mean, criminal?" " Yes, criminal." "Though your family doesn't matter anymore, there is someone you must apologize to." "I already know how stupid I am." "That person was cheeky with you, but she couldn't be with Leo." "You were on an equal footing." "You dazzled her." "It's not easy to lie to me." " I don't believe anything anymore." " You're wrong not to." "Yvonne!" " Believe them, Mick." " Now are you less skeptical?" " Don't torture me." " Mick!" "I'm the one who must ask your forgiveness." "Our attitude yesterday was to terrorize that girl," "I thought it would never work out, and I invented that fake story to free you and us from her." "You're fooling me." "You're afraid my going away will drive Sophie to despair." "Even your mother knew nothing." "Go ahead, find out for yourself." "Mama..." "Mama, say it." "I've already told you." "Then..." "I must run, call, find out where she is..." " Calm down..." " Quickly, where is she?" " Where is she?" " Over there!" "She's over there?" "She's over there?" "He was in a terrible nervous panic." "Madeleine, speak to him." "My Michel..." " It's me." " Madeleine is looking at you." " Maybe he needs some cool water." " Be calm." "He's very high-strung and sometimes he has fainting spells." "Georges, take him to the armchair." "Michel, come." "I don't need you to help me, how ridiculous, please forgive me." "I want to leap, to run, and to shout..." "Madeleine..." "Madeleine, you're here" "Please forgive me." "Will you forgive me?" "Forgive you?" "My poor Michel, I'm the one who's to blame." "I did it!" "I'm an imbecile, a beast." "If I were you, I wouldn't ask for explanations." " Start afresh." " Leo is right." "Papa, Leo is marvelous." " Marvelous." " I can't believe this is real." "And I wanted to go to Morocco at all costs." " To Morocco?" " While you were in the other room" "Michel announced that he was going to Morocco." "Are you still thinking about going?" " Don't laugh at me." " I didn't want to hear anything." "How good you are." "We're not good, we're monsters." " Where's your mother?" " She was here a minute ago." " You should have given her a kiss." " I thought she was with you." " Sophie!" " Yvonne!" "I wasn't lost, I'm here!" "I was taking my insulin." "Miss, do you want any help?" "No, thanks," "I'm used to being alone." "She can't bear to have anybody help her, she's a maniac." "Perhaps in the long run we'll be able to convince her." "That would be a total victory." "She's very sensitive, and Michel was hanging on you, as usual." "Be polite." "Go to her room." " I think she left because of me." " No." "Leo, don't make her out to be some kind of werewolf." "I didn't!" "I was telling Michel, for her sake, not to make her jealous." "All right, but you'll frighten her." "Be on guard." "Do you see how much they love me?" "I can't leave for a second without somebody thinking I'm lost." "I wasn't lost, I was in there." "Taking my medicine." "Miss," "I'm an old woman." "Without insulin," "I'd be dead." "Mick, run and kiss her." "Go." "Sophie, are you happy?" "Very much." "No, don't shake me!" "Miss, you will be lucky." "If Mick won't muss your hair, or kiss your ears." "Michel, you must show your famous room to Madeleine." " I must complain." " Michel!" "Don't you want to show it to me?" " Get ready." " I'll come with you." " I'll show her my carbine." " We'll do the honors." "Sophie, I leave you with the representative of order." "Leo, don't speak ill of us." "Stop, stay here!" "What's the matter?" " I'm afraid." " Afraid?" "Of us?" "I'm terribly afraid." "Stay with me." "Georges, Mick, I have a terrible feeling." "My head is spinning." "Georges," "I've done something crazy." " Sophie, talk to us." " Yvonne, speak." "I can't." "Even though I want to." "Save me, Mick." "Save me." "It wasn't insulin." "She took something else!" " I knew it!" " My God!" "Yvonne!" "What have you done?" "I saw you all over there, and thought that I was bothering you," " that I was done for." " Mama!" "I wanted to die." "But I don't want to now." "I want to live," "I want to live with you." "To see you happy." "Stop acting like idiots!" "Do not lose your head." "Go to the doctor." " I'll call the clinic." " Run." "Run, call." "This is getting crazy." "Madame, I must go." "Don't be stupid, stay here, as you were told to." "Besides, Michel will need her." "Just as Georges will need me." "I'm listening to you, Leo." "What do you hear?" "I heard you, Leo." " Have you forgotten that I can hear you." " Hear what?" "You're playing the innocent." "You want to be rid of me." " You want to..." " Yvonne!" "You poisoned me and I will poison you." "I saw you," "I saw everybody, there, in the room." "You want to..." " You want to..." " Georges!" "Georges!" "The professor wasn't there, an internist is coming." " She's delirious." " I'm not delirious!" "You're trying to get rid of me, I know it." "I'll talk." "Calm down, Yvonne." " Nobody was there." " Michel!" "Your mother's delirious, call the clinic again." "Madeleine, help him." "He can't do it alone." "Hurry." " Come on." " Michel, listen!" "Stay, I command you!" "Mick, you're being fooled." "Get away from them." "It's just a pretext." "Ah, you wretches!" "I won't let you get away with your trick." "Leo, you've engineered everything." "You wanted me dead." " So you could have Georges." " How horrible!" "Yes, how horrible." " What if Michel took a car?" " Then he passed by the internist." " What should we do?" " Make as little disorder as possible." "We wait." "Mick..." " Are you there?" " Yes, he's on his way." "Mick, where are you?" "Give me your hand." "You'll see your happy Mick." "Be calm." "We've already called the doctor, we're looking out for you." "What?" "Is that you?" "You again!" " You and Georges!" " Yvonne, please." "How they detain me, how they interrogate me!" "They're scared to death." "Don't touch me!" "Don't come any nearer!" "How they come, how they go!" "Michel, help!" "Help, Michel!" "Georges..." "It's impossible..." "We can't get hold of..." " It's no good." " No, leave me alone." "Your mother is dead." "What?" "Sophie..." "Mick, my poor Mick..." "That was your milieu." "You would give anything if she were alive again, so you could torture her again." " Michel, you're in front of your mother." " There is no 'mother'." "Sophie is a friend, right mama?" "Haven't you told me that a thousand times?" "You're crazy!" "Mama." "I'll never understand it." "Never." "I can't." "I can't." "Michel." "Michel, dear..." "My dear Michel." "I was the assistant." "I've already said that there is nothing left to do here, that everything is in order." "And the caravan continues on its way." "The gypsies don't stop."