"I never thought he was a rotten person!" " May I help you?" " Yes." "Can't manage?" "They're big, yes." "That's the point." "Not that many!" "How nice that summer has made up its mind." "The brighter the light, the clearer you see the scum." "I heard the lark yesterday." "I wonder what the forest looks like now." "Do you know what I'd like to do on a day like this?" "I'd take the bus to the forest, just me." "Then I'd lie down on a blanket and take a nap." "What a treat, sleeping in the middle of the day." "Well, it must be nice to get away for a while." "Good day!" "No mail?" "No." " Hurry up with the sweaters." " I had to fix a hole in one of them." " What is the demonstration about?" " The same old thing." "Just empty phrases." "On 1st of May, they act like wise men and the next day they're so hungover that..." "And not a line about Spain." "Spain?" "They're fighting." "Civil war." "Oh my, what about the oranges for Christmas, then?" "I heard no chants for better houses." "Every time they demonstrated, I used to say:" ""Were you there in 1909, during the big strike?"" "It's no use objecting." "Just wait and see." " They came crawling later, the men." " Oh yes, they endured for a long time." "Thank their wives for that." "They had to explain to the kids why there was no food at home." "Your grandfather was one of the cockiest." "But even he turned soft." " Well, I should be going." " Say hello fom me." "Goodbye, then." " That was mean." " I can't stand her." "Think of how nice she was to you when you were small." " She's had you on your knees many times." " Shame I didn't bite her nose off." " Where is dad?" " Didn't you hear?" "He might get a job." " What?" " Something about advertising." " Advertising?" "You mean passing out handbills?" "I suppose he needed to deposit some money, for security?" "The horoscope said it was a good week for business." "Maybe something will happen this time." " So are you leaving now?" " Pfft." "They talked about affection for the club." "What the hell is that?" "Sometimes the ball is extra round, that's it." "But affection for the club won't pay for the weekend fun." "And you can't work and play at the same time." "If you're out of shape, you won't get past the defender!" "It's impossible!" "Are you joining us tonight?" "You can't stay home and write tonight." " You're going to the park?" " Of course!" "Have you felt how warm the air is?" "I'll bet that the girls have laid off their garter belts." "YES!" "20 years ago I'd have headed straight for the goal!" "Just banged it home!" "What's for dinner?" "Pork cubes." "With green salad." " Did you help dad with the handbills?" " No, we watched the match." " But what about the handbills?" " Done." "Did you really do all the stairs?" "If I say that it's done, I expect to be believed." "Let's not talk about that then." "We're having pork cubes with salad." "Did you hear that, Anders?" "We're having pork noisette Jardini?" "re for dinner!" " What did you say?" " I said pork noisette Jardini?" "re." "It's the same pig, no matter how you put it." "True, very true." "But if you call it pork noisette Jardini?" "re, like in the fancy restaurants, it tastes much better." "At least in my mouth." " Where is my napkin, Anna?" " I'll get it for you." "You've been running up and down the stairs all day." "Hotel Nilsson, Stadt, Railway Hotel in Kristianstad... which one do you want?" "The Railway Hotel in Kristianstad..." "I'd pictured something more festive for the 1st of May." "Can you find Grand in Link?" "ping?" "No, I wiped the windows with it last week." "Mollberg in Helsingborg, then." "I'm rigid about the napkin, you see." "The napkin is the only thing that separates man from the carnivorous animal." "Both eat corpses, but Man wipes his mouth afterwards." "And it's the best tree in the whole world." "But if he takes lilacs from this tree and put them in a vase up there throw him in that goddamn dungheap over there." "Because that stinks." "A hole should be dug here." "One metre round about the tree." "And then put 200 litres of blood in it!" "Then you'll see the most beautiful lilacs there too." "Oh, come into my arms!" "Do you have to sleep now?" "It's the 1st of May." "It's my belly..." "I've got gasworks within my belt." "But you don't have to sleep." "There are fireworks in the park, we could go and watch them." "Fireworks?" "They're just delusions." "Hi." "Do you know who's playing tonight?" "Olle Karlsson's orchestra." "Shame that I can't go, but I must stay home and wr..." "Write." "You're not writing on the 1st of May?" "1st of May is like Christmas." "It's quiet in the house." "Your father wouldn't have liked that I compared 1st of May to Christmas." "I barely remember him." "Even though he died just two years ago." "I remember him." "If he'd had a few schools, maybe we'd been better off now." "What do you mean?" "He could hardly pay his rent." "I heard him speak at the square one Saturday." "The Nazis had demonstrated." "He stood on a vegetable stand." "Among the carrots, and..." "The police made him step down." "My mother told me about it." "Have you tried the escalators at the shopping center?" "What are you writing about?" "Does nobody want to read?" "No..." "Yes, sure." "As many as possible." "It just has to be published first." "If anybody wants to publish it." "I shouldn't bother you." "You haven't written for a long while." "Goodbye." "The way he throws his jacket around." "Why bother pressing it..." "What's this?" "What's this?" "The handbill." "Didn't I show you?" "There are hundreds of them!" "They're leftovers." "Let me sleep now." "My belly..." "I have to rest on dinner." " The other pocket's full too." " What?" "There's tons of them!" "Look!" "I thought I'd split it." "Before and after the match." "I wanted to see Sixten play." "He's virtually part of the family." "And then, Karlbom offered me a sip when they scored." "It ended 5-1." "I can't help that they were so keen on scoring goals." "I'll sort it out tomorrow." "How many stairs are there left?" "I'll take care of it tomorrow!" "Everything will be fine, just let me sleep." " How many stairs are there left?" " I'm not sure, I'll handle it tomorrow." "You can't come running with these handbills in the afternoon!" "Not when the shops open at 8:30 and serve coffee and biscuits for free." " I asked how many stairs there were left." " Eh.. from the 4th and then the street down." "That's all I wanted to know." "Mom!" "My tongue feels like sandpaper..." "The problem is that I didn't look at the name sign in the gate." "Do you know who I met?" "Between the 2nd and 3rd floor." "Franz?" "n." "David Franz?" "n." "The man who's hurt me more than anyone else." "Imagine running into Franz?" "n..." "With a stack of handbills from a fruit store." ""Help yourselves to coffee and biscuits at 8:30 am"." "Can't you see that I had to go to the match and wash down the shame with a snifter?" "I can't help that shame sits so heavy on my shoulder." "It's as if I get ill." "Those damn handbills..." "Having to do rubbish like this." "Look around, Anders..." "Is it just my fault that business is so slow?" "Is it just my fault?" "Have I ever been able to bring some business contacts home to discuss?" "Mom, well..." "But Franz?" "n sits there with three rooms..." "A car..." "A wife who represents." "Yes, she's used to it." "Everyone knows that she started out as a hangaround." "You see, it's at Savoy, it's..." "It's at places like Savoy and that Kramer the fat deals are sealed." "But in the afternoon..." "When the lunch hour fades into ?" "la carte..." "Closed curtains." "You can peek out, but not in." "I stepped at one of those carpets once." "It's like walking barefoot on the beach." "What do you think they are pouring up?" "The kind of crap I have to settle for?" "Nope." "They wouldn't even rinse their glasses with it." "No..." "Hennessy..." "Martell..." "That one with the cockade..." "Gordon Bleu." "Le petite Caporal..." "With Napoleon on the label." "An emperor's brand." "Courvoisier..." "I think he's on that label too." "Not to mention Renault..." "The black one with golden letters." "Methusalem." "It's named Methusalem because it's so old." "It's educational to be interested in cognac." "But what the hell do I have to offer?" "A shot of aquavit on that Fenix' joint?" "Or a beer on the Copenhagen ferry." "Among the scum!" "What an outrage!" "Last time I went someone threw up at my feet." "Then I started buying one dozen instead of twelve." "You see?" "Can I help it... if I have good taste?" "I can't put up with second-rate goods and bad service." "I think it tastes like shit!" "Look around you, Anders!" "Is it just my fault?" "You can drown in your goddamn beach carpets." "Don't you understand?" "That we'll never get out of here as long as you snag money off of mom when she's saved up." "Don't you understand that we're lagging two months with the rent?" "And soon it's three." "It's the 1st of the month again." "Are you talking about that hovel on the east side?" "Factory fumes in the breakfast porridge..." "At least we had a chance to pay the rent." "It was back then you found that stock of creamy donuts." "IFK was playing MFF." "Creamy donuts on a derby..." " I can't help that it rained." " They wouldn't have sold in sunshine." "Have you ever heard of someone who eats creamy donuts in the stands?" ""IFK-donut", the cover said." "Then IFK lost." "If you had at least called it the "MFF-donut"." "Do you remember?" "Then we had IFK-donuts morning, noon and evening." "For one week!" "And we gave the leftovers to Hanell's dog!" "It died of colic!" "Yes, just laugh." "We'll never get out of here as long as we're behind with the rent!" "It's the same for Persson and the P?" "lmans." "And who has the shittiest apartment?" "We do." "We're stuck, dad." "Do you see?" "Stuck." "Nina?" "Where is Kjell-?" "ke?" "At home." "At home?" "Why isn't he playing with you?" "He has a bellyache." "Why?" "He ate too much ice cream." " Yesterday?" " Yes!" " Is he ill?" " Mm." "But you're not ill." "Be careful." "Kjell-?" "ke." "I'm writing a book about you." "How do you think Strandberg is doing in the Olympics?" "It says that he was down at 10,6 yesterday." ""If you spend an hour at Caf?" "de la Paix, you can be sure to meet someone you know." "The whole world strolls by there."" "Imagine being able to buy a ticket to Paris." "But I wouldn't sit down at some damn caf?" "." "I heard that for 60 francs, you can have one with a fur coat..." "That's just 15 kronor!" "No fur, 30 francs." "They're just like foxes." "The fur makes them what they are." " Imagine a naked fox!" " But you have to be careful, you know." "You have to look at the cards." "What cards?" "The cards." "They have... these cards, you know." "Health cards." " Haven't you heard?" " No." "When Jonne's pal came home, he had caught the clap!" " Didn't he look at the card?" " He didn't know French!" "So you need to be a professor to get to fuck in Paris, then!" "But the one he had was Spanish." "I hear that the Spanish are good." " Do you know what they do?" " No idea." "Why is it so hard to learn what they do?" "Oh, my little darling!" "God has mercy on me!" "Oh, you old tree!" "You are grand and mighty!" "Mom!" "Dad!" "They want to publish my book!" "Look here!" "They want to publish my novel, dad!" " What the hell, are you mad?" " I'm an author, dad!" "I've written a book." "They sent a letter from Stockholm." "They're paying for the trip to Stockholm and want to discuss it!" "Do you realise?" "It's incredible, can you understand it!" "The father's been asleep and his son has been famous for 15 minutes!" " Take it from the start." " You know that I've written a book?" "I've received a letter, they want me to come to Stockholm and discuss with them!" "One at a time now!" "Paying for the trip?" "Of course they are!" "Let me see." "Does it say what hotel you're staying at?" "You should claim an allowance for expenses." "They're generous of course, but make them sign it officially." "I have to gargle." "Well, now they want you to sign a contract I reckon!" "And then you have to watch out." "I guess you hardly know what such a document looks like." " No." " So maybe I should come with you?" "It's just meant for one, I think." "Mm." "Yes." "We'll take care of it at home then." "Clause by clause." "You see, a business contract, which is what we're dealing with here..." "It's a maze." "And many have lost themselves in it." " But a contract is just a formality, right?" " Formality?" "No, it's a way of leading you astray." "You see?" "The first contract, you normally refuse." "Otherwise they'll think you're stupid." "And then they treat you to a cigar." "As usual, with real business deals." "Just a minute." "I think I have a representational cigar in my chest pocket." "Dammit, broken..." "The son wins the Nobel prize - The father's last cigar is broken." "In Stockholm they'll have cigar cutters, but since I don't have any, I have to use my teeth." "You're holding it in your right hand." "You're doing it the wrong way." "A business cigar is always held" "in the left hand." "In the event of a handshake or a quick agreement, you'll lose no time by switching the cigar to the other hand." "Time is important in the business world." " Can I try now, dad?" " Of course." "So, remember this:" "the business cigar always in the left hand." "Smoking for fun, any hand you like." "Inhale, and clench your teeth so you don't drop it." "And then what, dad?" "Do you stub it out?" "Stub it out?" "Stub out a cigar?" "A cigar should never be stubbed out." "A cigar shall die in peace." "A cigar, you see, shall lie quietly on the plate, pining away." "And there it shall remain, on lit de parade, with the cigar band for winding sheet." "Until the servants carry it away." "You're amazing, dad." "You can't talk about a cigar without making it sound like Charles XII:s funeral." "Cigars shall henceforth be my music!" "I'm an author, dad!" "I'm an author, dad!" "Mom, dad, I'm an author!" "You have to press my trousers, mom!" "Is it such a hurry?" "You should wear your Sunday suit in Stockholm." "Now I can tell you what the book is about." "What is it about?" "It's about us." "About us?" "Mom, and me?" "No, not just you." "About the whole block." "I'm telling them about our situation, how the hell are they supposed to know if we don't make ourselves heard?" "It may be that they don't let us go to school or live decently, but as long as they make us call peronitis "bellyaches", we have the right to shout!" "This is for the ones who can send their kids to the doctor as soon as they choke on a pretzel." "They didn't even have a thermometer for Kjell-?" "ke." "A thermometer costs... 2 kronor." "Are their appendixes worth more than ours?" "I knew that they'd listen, I knew it!" " Who are you seeing?" " Mr. Olofsson." "Follow me then." "They never offered a cigar, dad." "Every time it smells like burnt hair in here..." "I know I'm going to the circus." "Burnt hair and sawdust, it..." "It's related in some way." "You're not sulking about Stockholm?" "Dammit!" "They just snap their fingers and you're there, then you're out of there as fast!" "The damn snob who looked at me..." "And I sat there in my Sunday suit." "It's not a mannequin show!" ""Are you publishing it", I asked, "No, we didn't intend to", he said!" ""Not"? "No, we didn't"." "But they thought there was something to encourage, there was a... cry." "That's what he said." "There was a cry, but it was still inarticulate." "What does inarticulate mean?" "It's when..." "It's when you shout so loud that nobody can hear you." "The newspaper writes that one of the elephants had babies." "Do you think they have the sea lions this year too?" "It stinks." "I don't think it's the animals or the music that I like." "I think it is that we actually go." "Everything else that we talk about, going to Copenhagen, or the sea..." "It never happens." "We just talk about it." "We've gone to the circus every year since you were five." "Let go of him!" "I'll take care of him." " He was just going home." " Yes, thank you." "There went that circus trip." "We can go tomorrow instead." "Who will scrub Elektra's stairs then?" "Will he do it?" "It doesn't matter." "They're coming next year." "That's not what saddens me." "I'm sad about... about not having time to take care of you when you were small." "The best years." "And I wasn't with you." "As always, with people like us." "Having kids is the poor's entertainment, they say." "Some entertainment..." "When you don't have money or time to enjoy it." "I remember so clearly." "When you were born, peace came." "You're almost the same age as peace." "I knew there would be peace when you were born." "There will never be war as long as you live." "I know it." "When I'm worn out..." "Who will take care of us?" "To get old here, Anders..." "I'll take you away from here, mom." "You'll have your own family." "Mother-in-laws are not popular, you know that." "I don't like to complain, but..." "I'm afraid of what will happen when I can't take it anymore." ""Is there un schtul, madame", remember that?" "They sit there with their curtains drawn." "As if they were afraid of the light." "It smells a certain way there." " Remember?" " Growing old is hell." "The entrance fee at the circus was 35 ?" "re, mom." "I was standing in line and found 25 ?" "re on the ground and ran to the dressing rooms." "You were confused by all the tinsel and colours and..." "The German, mom!" "Remember him?" ""Un schtul!"" "Not a stool, but "a schtul", madame, he said." "He thought he took our seat." "Good thing he didn't think of checking." "Imagine sitting by the dressing rooms." "35 ?" "re." "10 ?" "re, mom!" "10!" "If you count the 25 ?" "re that I found." ""Madame"..." "I want you to always call me "mom"." "Everyone else said "mother"." "I wanted you to say "mom"." "I thought it sounded nicer." "There was a name I'd never heard before." "And lo and behold, his name was Ostrich!" "It was a really good man." "And we had a captain named Brink." "And the officer was generally good." "It was a small regiment." "And we earned 50 ?" "re a day." "Not much to write home about." "Why couldn't you let us go to the circus?" "We go to the circus once a year, mom and me." "Couldn't you have stayed away, just that day?" "I went to the races to make some money." "Don't you think your father recognises a tip straight from the horse's mouth?" "I'm betting to make money." "But you didn't bring any money home." "You have too many friends when you're winning, dad." "Your father has also been to Stockholm." "I've sat by the white table cloths." "They had bunkered up, believe me." "Special..." "Everything sorted in advance." "No messing around, just straight to the point." "They greeted me like a... well... not royalty, exactly." "County governor?" "Not a bad comparison." "After all, the post was for the whole county." "A county governor of clothing, of sorts." "Franz?" "n got the job instead of me." "He's building a house in Limhamn now." "He wasn't a better salesman than me by one fucking inch." "No, but he had better sleeves." "How the hell did you know?" " Did I tell you that?" " Yes, you know you have." "Too long sleeves, so you tilted the glass of cognac and it was all mom's fault." " The most expensive cognac of my life..." " Dad, can't we go now?" "Your mother never believed in me." "She didn't think I would make it!" "I didn't think so either." "Let's go home." "You know what it's like when a product hits the market." "Bam!" "Word of mouth does half the job." "You have the order sheet ready when they open the door." "The talk is prepared." "The right talk, that is." "They can't teach you that in school." "It's inherent." " Only the product is missing?" " Sure." "Only the product is missing." "What kind of product are you thinking of?" "What kind?" "What would it be used for?" "I'm talking about The Product, with a capital P." "And you're asking what to use it for?" " Sometimes you're as petty as your mom." " But what would it be used for?" "What the hell do I know what it's used for?" "Should I invent something?" "What is there left to do after the bicycle?" "An invention that enables you to sit while walking." "That's bloody genius." "But if you brush your teeth, and your breath still stinks..." " The problem is further down!" " You know, there are products..." "That don't have a specific purpose." "Yet they are there." "They are needed." "Something that glistens." " You think you can write books..." " I know what you're talking about." "You're talking about the moon." "But the moon is no good either." "Only for swooning." "To see, you need suns." "Suns, dad." "That's what I tried to write about." "I was too modest when I said I wasn't an inventor." "Quiet, mom is sleeping." "I invented the diving bell." "What the hell are you talking about?" "I get seasick just by looking at you." "I'm talking about the diving bell." "Do you know how a sensitive person like me can bear these surroundings?" "Take a look around, Anders." "I'll tell you a secret." "I've invented the diving bell." " What are you talking about?" " Cheers to professor Picard!" " What do you mean?" " The diving bell!" "That's how it is." "I'm sinking..." "Sinking..." "And then..." "I am inside it..." "The bell..." "I don't give a damn about you and your mother and your circus..." "You're on the other side of the glass." "I'm sinking..." "I don't care..." "It doesn't touch me." "I might smash the window." "You can't." "You can't!" "The glass is too thick." "It's made out of 20 years of aquavit." "That's how it is." "I'm sinking..." "Sinking..." "I saw you from the window." "Are you sad?" "It wasn't good enough." "It wasn't good enough." "If you shout as loud as you can of course you're heard." "But nobody hears what you're saying." "I lied when I said that the people in Stockholm were uptight bastards." "They were..." "They were kind." "They asked me to have a seat." "He wasn't much older than me." "He started talking and mentioned a name that I'd never heard." "He didn't mean to stump me, it was just" "to help me out." "He mentioned another name and I didn't know that either" "It made him nervous and there we were" "He should've known what to talk about to make me speak up." "He should've talked about Ulla, who is knocked up" "P?" "Iman's bedbugs" "Sixten's fur coat hookers and this whole lousy block." "Because that's the only thing I know." "I didn't have a mom who played Mozart on the piano when I was a toddler." "You're not the maid's son because you have a mom who scrubs stairs." "You're not the maid's son because you..." "Come." "How's it going with the fur coat hookers?" "Not so well." "The tickets are so expensive that it's not even worth considering." "The big clubs go there, of course." "On tour." " Join a big club and shut your mouth." " That's what I'm thinking about." "How did you know?" "That's mindreading!" "If he writes the king now, they can publish the banns in time." "It looks suspicious, but..." "He'll surely have use for his writing talents now." "How will you get milk out of those nubs?" "They're no bigger than eggs." "Keep going Swedes, it is possible, it is absolutely possible!" "The Japanese are tired now, they have no power left." "But they have their will of steel." "And a lot to win." "They're even trying to attack." "And he's all alone with Bergqvist..." "And he scores!" "Japan won..." "no, hasn't won yet..." "Mustn't have won yet..." "Five minutes to go, with Japan in the lead!" "By 3-2!" "Japan scored on their only attack for 15 minutes." "Rosenberg advances." "The Japanese are desperate." "They're clearing the ball." "It's down to defending the lead." "Grahn with a Japanese, Grahn with two Japanese..." "The Japanese are falling down due to fatigue, but they're not giving up." "Pass towards the Japanese goal..." "The Japanese kicks the ball up on the stands." "Are we losing this game?" "Is it really possible?" "All Japanese players are defending." "K?" "llstr?" "m, pass towards the goal, cleared by a Japanese." "Cleared again by another Japanese." "Japanese again, Japanese, Japanese..." "And then... nothing happens, but the Japanese are advancing now." "He waited, but he passes the ball, and there's a Japanese, another Japanese, these Japanese defenders." "They're small, but in truth, they are stern." "Japanese, Japanese, defending Japanese, panicking Japanese, wildly attacking Swedes." " The Germans are winning it all." "Japanese who throw themselves, Japanese who bend and twist, they stop at nothing." "It is..." "I can't believe my eyes." "It is indescribable." "You can't even speak about it." "The strangest match I've seen." "Grahn takes the ball, a lob, and the ball is cleared into the stands." "We can stay at my mother's for a start." "We'll have the room in the yard." "Until we find something of our own." "There'll be a vacant apartment across the yard." "Did you know?" "You're not saying anything." "I'm thinking." "The food doesn't need to be expensive." "You can get it cheaply and it'll still be good." "Mother's the cousin of the man at Berglund's shop." "Or was it the cousin of his cousin?" "What is a cousin's cousin called?" "What did you say?" "What's it called when you're the cousin of a cousin?" "I don't know." "I haven't seen much of you." "You haven't been around here a lot." "No." "Have you been writing?" "I'm not writing anymore." "What am I supposed to do, dad?" "You have to answer me." "You're my father, dad." "You have to help me." "Have a snifter." "Come inside Picard's bell." "Dad?" "What am I supposed to do?" "You have to help me." "How old are you, dad?" "You're 39 years old." "You can't..." "You can't give up before you're 40." "You're the last one I can come to." "Won't you let me respect you?" "Can't you..." "Is there nothing that can make me feel proud that you're my father?" "The way I did..." "Do you remember... when you knew more about football than the other dads?" "Do you remember... that you taught me" "what offside was?" "I'm sinking..." "Sinking..." "You're like a fish now, Anders." "Sit down." "I'm going to tell you about exploring the ocean floors." "You weren't so old when I started." "Anders..." "Your mother, that you have admired for all these years..." "One time, she acted like a cheap whore." "Right in front of me." "Across the yard, second floor." "Torngren." "1923." "A Social Democratic dictature will be the result of a possible socialist-communistic majority in the parliament." "The Liberal People's Party wants:" "Peace, order, prosperity." "Vote for the Liberal People's Party." "Just help that old lady instead." "Come here!" "I'm not cutting this tree down for these sons of bitches!" "There!" "Success in the late hour of the night!" "Hugo?" " Don't say Hugo to me again!" " There went your lilacs..." "Don't say Hugo to me again!" "Thank you." "What's the matter?" " Why are you asking?" " You're not the same." "You don't talk." " Is it true that dad is carrying signboards?" " Yes." "It's going to kill him." "Do you realise?" "Imagine dad as a sandwichman." "What do you want me to do?" "At least he'll earn some pocket money for himself." " Wanna play a game?" " A game?" "The year game." "What does a year tell you?" "And then you say everything that happened in that year." "What happened in 1923?" "1923?" "You turned five, of course." "And..." " And I turned my winter jacket into..." " Was it the year dad started drinking?" " No, he'd been doing it a long time." " Are you sure?" "Mom?" "That year, there was a man named Torngren who lived right across the yard." " I don't see what you're getting at." " Am I right?" "I'm ashamed." "I think about it and I can't look at you." "So he told you..." "Look at me!" "I'll tell you what happened." "You've forgotten that sort of cake of course, but..." "There was a cake that the whole town talked about, at Aggeborg's." "But it was expensive." "How was I supposed to collect so much money without having to spend it?" "I did it another way." "I agreed to clean at Aggeborg's to earn enough to pay for the cake." "I got there in the morning, before I'd clean up at the other places." "Aggeborg was a royal pastry chef." "He delivered to the princes." "There was chocolate, cream and walnuts in the cake." "We were having a party with all the neighbours." "Coffee for the old hags, lemonade for the kids." "Grandma's raspberry lemonade." "Do you remember it?" "The party didn't happen." "When dad came home he was so drunk he couldn't stand on his legs." "That's why the party was cancelled." "He sat down on the cake." "Do you know what I did then?" "I dropped the cups on the floor." "The finest china." "One by one." "I went straight to Torngren and said:" "I've noticed you looking at me." "Do you want me?" "Here I am." "Was he good?" "Yes." "You can't always be the strongest one." "I might as well tell you another thing." "You were supposed to have a younger brother." "Or sister." "It was impossible to tell." "This damn life..." "When you can't afford to keep your kids." "Except for the hags on the west side." "There were those who could afford and could keep them because they had men that they could trust." "What did I have?" "Nothing." "He couldn't even say:" "Go there." "And take at least that part of the responsibility." "But..." "I decided" "I was the one carrying it" "I looked into his eyes" "To see what he wanted" "But there was nothing..." "Nothing to build upon." "I got to decide myself that time too." "Go and vote, mom!" "Vote?" "It's an important election." "This election is especially important!" "One vote more or less makes no difference." "We can't let Nazis join the parliament." "I don't trust dad." "If you give your vote, you'll make up for his." "Jesus, mom, when grandpa was your age votes were bought!" "You must help me, I'm too young to go myself." "Do it for me." "Go to the fortune teller, then!" "Spend the money you saved." "Show her the lines on your hands." "We want to build mutual understanding." "We want peace in the world." "Vote for us." "Vote for the National Socialist Party." "When is the train leaving?" "18:10." "Did I tell you that we're touring Europe after the league ends?" "Do you know where we're going?" "Through France." "So you'll get your fur coat hooker." "Yes." "But isn't it the wrong time of the year?" "We're going in June!" "I think they have fur coats all year." "It's probably their trademark." "Did you hear about Astrid?" "She has a bun in the oven." "That guy Olle has Rumford in his pants..." "I can't wait to get out of here." "Not having to argue with that P?" "Iman hag again." "Not having to grab a magazine and go to the outhouse." "When I've joined the national team, they'll put a memorial sign up on the loo door." ""Sixten sat here"." "What the hell is wrong with you?" "You haven't been yourself since that thing with Els..." "Sixten!" "Can I come with you?" " Where?" " To Stockholm." " Can I stay at your place?" " Yes, but..." "No questions now!" " Can I?" " Of course..." "Fine, fine, fine..." "See you at the station at 6." " Yes, but..." " I don't want my mom to see us here." "6 o'clock." "See you then." "The waiting lines..." "Do you think you'll get a letter from the king tomorrow?" "I'm wondering if they had a meeti..." "Are you packing?" "I don't care if I get a letter from the king." "Don't care?" "You don't understand this, I can't talk about it, but..." "I can't stay here any longer, I have to leave now." "But what about Elsie?" "Take a look around, mom." "Are you ashamed of us?" "Is that what happens when you're enlightened?" "Is that why we fitted stronger bulbs?" "All your talk about that Hitler..." "I almost believed in it." "What's that compared to running out on your pregnant girl?" "You don't understand, mom." "It's not her I'm running from." "You can't stop me now." "I have so little, let me keep it." "If I don't bust out now..." "Dad..." "At least he took care of me when I expected you." " It would've been better if he didn't." " Don't say that." "Don't say that!" "Whatever he did or didn't do," "I've never been as ashamed of him as I'm ashamed of you now, Anders." "I would be ashamed of myself if I stayed now." "I'm ashamed, Anders." " You don't understand this." " What is there to understand?" "I'm ashamed..."