"You know, I just had a thought." "I'll go check in a hotel and get some rest, and you go find your folks." "Let's go meet them." "The sooner it's over with, the better." "Mom will be out to lunch." "Dad's at his office." " You may not meet them till dinner." " You may be wrong about them." "You should've told them we were coming." "It may be the biggest shock of your young life." "After 23 years of living with them, don't you think I know them?" "I hope so." "There's no problem." "We'll be a minute, then we'd like to go to Claremont Drive." "All right." "I'll see if Mom's in the office." " Joey?" " Hilary, hi." "How are you?" "What a surprise!" " I'll be with you in a moment." " Okay." " Strange." " One of Hilary's favorites." " It's called a kinetic sculpture." " A what?" "Look." "Why, isn't that someth...?" " What are you doing here?" " I thought Mother might be here." " I'd like you to meet Dr. Prentice." " I'm so pleased to meet you." "Pleasure to see you." "Christina's lunching with Mr. Cazelet." "I can ring up." "Just tell her I'm back and that I'll be home." "Has something happened?" "Is anything wrong?" "Something's happened, but everything's right." " How was Hawaii?" "Was it fun?" " Hawaii was simply unbelievable." "Do you live in San Francisco, doctor, or are you visiting?" "Just passing through." "It was a pleasure to have met you." " Thank you." " Bye-bye." "Hilary runs the gallery, but it's Mom who has all the ideas." "Her idea to put originals in hotel rooms is brilliant." "Gives people time to decide if they like them." "The hotel gets free decor, the guests can look at good paintings the painter can make a sale, and Mom gets a commission." "Take the next right." " Isn't that clever?" " That is clever." " What do I owe you?" " Ten-fifty, Mac." "Twelve bucks, right?" "Right." "John, come meet Tillie." "Tillie, this is Dr. Prentice." "John, Miss Matilda Binks." "Pleased to meet you, Miss Binks." "I've heard a great deal about you." "What are you doing home unexpected?" "You told them you're back?" "I left a message for Mom." "It's lovely to see you!" "I missed you." "Why are you home?" "You want those bags upstairs?" " Not my two." "I've not come to stay." " I'll tell you all about it." "You eat any lunch yet, or are you expecting it now?" "Could you make us sandwiches?" "We'll have it on the terrace." "Do you like it?" " It's beautiful." " Come out and look from the terrace." " What?" " Hey, who's that?" "That's Dorothy." "Isn't she a knockout?" "She helps Tillie during the week." " Which days?" " Never mind." " I ought to call my folks." " Use the phone in the study." " Will you introduce me?" " Not on the phone." " Won't you tell them?" " I'd rather write." "I have to meet them before I come to Geneva." "Or will we keep our marriage a secret from them?" "Why didn't I think of that?" "See, that's a thought." "I'll shut this in case Dorothy goes by." "Los Angeles, please." "Area code 213." "Axminister 246-99." "Time and charges." "I've got a right to my own opinions, and you want my opinion?" "I don't like one of my race getting above himself." "If I ever want your opinion, I'll ask for..." "Oh, Tillie, I'm sorry." "I didn't mean that." "But you can't mean what you're saying, and you're so wrong." "You're the last person I'd expect to take such a silly attitude." "I've always loved you, and you're just as black as he is." "It's right for me to love you and wrong to love him?" "Just stop and think about that." " What's for dinner tonight?" " Celery soup and rump steak." "Come on!" "Turtle soup and tournedos." "And one of your best pies?" "It's Mom!" "Joey?" "Darling?" " What the hell?" "Joey?" " Mom!" "Darling, are you all right?" "Nothing's wrong." "Everything's fine!" "I rang the gallery to tell Hilary that Cazelet had agreed to..." "He has?" "That's marvelous!" "She thought you might have a surprise." "What did she mean?" "Do I hear someone?" "Is there someone here?" "Mom!" "I've never been so happy in all my life!" "I'm just..." "Bursting." "I can see that." "I'm feeling happy for you." "Do I know him?" "I only met him myself 10 days ago." "You won't believe what's happened in 10 days!" "I might, if you'd pipe down long enough to tell me." " Wonderful things have happened in..." " Mom, he's so wonderful." "I've never known anyone like him." "Never known anything like this." "I fell in love with him in 20 minutes!" "Well!" "That was quick." "Dad, I wanted to stop on the way back, but time got so short and I've got to get to work." "I don't understand why you couldn't spend one day with us." "Well, fact is, Dad, I met this girl." "You met a girl?" "Why didn't you say so?" "Mary, he's met a girl." "That's good news." "Does she live in San Francisco?" "Yes." "I'm at her house now." "He's at the girl's house now." "Where did you meet her, Hawaii?" "Yes." "And I wanted to meet her folks." " That sounds good, I mean, serious." " Yes." "It's serious." " This is quite a surprise." " She's surprising in a lot of ways." " Your mother says, "Is she pretty?"" " Yes, she's pretty." "Your mother says, "How old is she?" What's the difference?" " She's only 23, Dad." " Twenty-three, that's good." "You're 37, that's just right." "Women age faster than men." " You reckon to marry the girl?" " We've been talking about it, but..." "Dad, there's one or two problems, you see that I'll write to you about on the plane to New York tonight." "All right?" "He's so calm and sure of everything." "He doesn't have any tensions in him." "He knows what he believes and what he thinks is right and why, and where he's going." "Mom, there's one thing I must tell you." "He was married before, and he had a son." "It was so tragic." "His wife and son were killed in a train accident eight years ago." "And John..." "I haven't even told you his name." "It's John Wade Prentice." "Isn't that a lovely name?" "John Wade..." "Joanna Prentice, I'll be." "But, Mom." "Mom?" "There's something else that John's been very deeply concerned about." "He's been worrying if you and Dad would be upset if..." "Well, it's about time." "I was wondering where you'd been." "Mom, this is John." "Doc..." "Doc..." "Dr. Prentice?" "I'm so pleased to meet you." "I'm pleased to meet you, Mrs. Drayton." "Joanna's already busted out with the news." "She has told me a good deal, and all very quickly too." "She's only known me for 10 days, so she can't tell when I'm blushing." "That could be another problem for us." "I'm medically qualified, so I hope you won't think it presumptuous if I say you should sit before you fall down." "He thinks you're gonna faint because he's a Negro." "Well..." "I don't think I'm going to faint." "But I'll sit down anyway." "Can't we all sit down?" "Well, I..." "I suppose it would be all right if I said, "My goodness," wouldn't it?" "Well, my goodness." " Do we mind her saying "My goodness"?" " I don't mind." " Did you tell them about me?" " Yes." "They said I sounded serious and asked if you were pretty." "I said yes." "They said this was a big surprise." "I said it was." "Did you tell them I'm not a colored girl?" "I didn't." "It was shocking for the phone." "People will think we're shocking." " Isn't that right, Mrs. Drayton?" " I know what you mean." " Tillie's made food." "Let's go outside." " Yes, let's." " Come on, Dr. Prentice." " I'll explain it in two minutes." "John was lecturing at Hawaii University." "We met at the dean's party, and afterward we went for a drive." "Since then, we've been somewhere together every night." "John was flying back to Los Angeles on Saturday to see his parents." "That's where they live." "Thank you, Tillie." "Try one of these." "They're great." " Coffee?" " No, thanks." " Does your father know you're back?" " Not yet." " Do you think he'd come back early...?" " Yes, he's playing golf." "Marvelous!" "He'll meet John and we can all talk over dinner." "John's flying to New York tonight to see a friend at Columbia." "Tomorrow he's flying to Geneva for the World Health Organization." "I'll fly to Geneva next week so we can be married." " That's the whole situation." " In a nutshell." "Except he thinks the fact he's a Negro and I'm not creates a serious problem." "Does he?" "I've told him that it wouldn't matter to you or Dad." "He won't believe me." "That's why we're here." "That's why he watches you so closely while pretending not to at all." "She's right." "I'm sorry." "I told her not to spring this on you so suddenly." "You can tell your father you met someone in Hawaii..." " Now, really!" " Give him time to adjust..." "But what for?" "He still has to be told, doesn't he?" "You should make up your minds because that's his car." " Mr. Matt?" " Hi, Tillie." " All hell's done broke loose!" " The waste disposal?" "It ain't that." " What happened?" "Where's Christina?" " On the terrace with Joey and someone called Dr. Prentice." "Doctor?" "What's wrong?" "What's happened?" "Joey?" "Here he comes." " Daddy!" " What's happened?" " Tillie said there was a doctor..." " Dr. John Prentice." "This is my dad." " Pleased to meet you." " How are you?" " Is something wrong?" " I decided to come home early." "We met in Hawaii and flew back today." "Sit down." "I thought something was really wrong." "Tillie said..." "Tillie's behaving very strangely." "Coffee?" "No, thanks." "I'm playing golf with Monsignor Ryan." "How are you?" "What's the matter?" "Are you having a chill?" "No, darling." "I'm fine, I..." "Doctor?" "Are you practicing in San Francisco?" " Sit down." " No, sir." "I am just here for one day." "Where is your practice?" "Hawaii?" "No, I'm not established in any one place." "I'm in tropical medicines, mostly in Africa." " That sounds interesting." " Everything about him is interesting." "I'm sure." "I wish I had more time." " Excuse me..." " Couldn't you stay and talk?" "I'd love to, but I'll be late." "I'll see you later, doctor?" " You certainly will." " Good." " Dr. Prentice will be here for dinner." " Fine." "Then you can tell me..." "And there's a great deal to tell, isn't there?" "Fine." "See you all later." "What the hell is going on here?" " This doesn't make sense." " I told you." "What?" "If you don't explain what you three are playing at..." " I can explain it." " You can?" "Let's have it." "Well, it's my fault." "You see, we have a sort of a situation here." "We didn't just meet in Hawaii." "We spent a lot of time together." "I mean, all the time after we met." "And, well, we have this problem." "I fell in love with her." "And as incredible as it may seem, she fell in love with me." "And we flew back to San Francisco to see if either of you had any objections if we got married." "Joanna told her mother as soon as she walked in." "I had the stupid idea that maybe there was some way to break this gently." " Daddy, you're making us nervous." " Am I?" "I wouldn't want to make anybody nervous." "Chris, are you nervous?" "Sit down, doctor, before you make me nervous." "Would anybody like coffee?" "What did she say when Joanna told her?" " Did she raise any objections?" " None so far." "What objections?" "I know this is a shock, because it's all so unexpected." "I never thought I'd fall in love with a Negro but I did, and nothing in the world will change that." "Even if you were the governor of Alabama, I wouldn't let him go." "I mean, if Mom were." "So tell him, will you?" "Tell John if you have objections, then you can play golf." "What is it you expect me to say?" "You have to give me time to think about this." "You certainly have got a problem." "If you're expecting a sensible statement, I need time to think." " Does that sound reasonable?" " Yes, but not quite practical." "You see, Matt, there's sort of a special problem." "I'm flying to New York tonight, and on to Switzerland tomorrow." "Yes, and what Joey proposes is to go to Geneva herself so they can marry in the next few weeks." " What the hell's the rush?" " We know we want to get married." "Unless there are objections, why should we waste time?" "John and I aren't gonna change our minds." "Are you telling me that you want an answer today about how your mother and I feel?" "Yes." "We want you and Mom to state that you have no objections whatever." "And when we do marry, we'll have your blessing." " Are you gonna play golf, or no?" " No." "I'll call it off." "Excuse me, doctor." " And that's my dad." "Do you like him?" " I don't know." "Does he like me?" "With his American-eagle face, no one can tell what he's thinking." "I don't think he liked any of us after the way we began." "Give John more coffee." "She's beautiful, Joanna." "She's even better-looking than you." "Hello, Edie?" "Two things, Edie, both of them urgent." "Call up Monsignor Ryan, tell him I can't play today." "Tell him something's come up, something personal at home." "Then call the library and see what they have on a John Wade Prentice." "Prentice." "A doctor of medicine, fellow of about 35, 36." " Oh, Matt!" " He's a colored fellow." "If they haven't got anything, call up the Medical Association." "Get anything you can." "Hurry it up and call me back." " There's no necessity for that." " It can't do any harm." "But, Matt!" "Joey said he was lecturing at the university in Hawaii." "Did it ever occur to you that this might happen?" "No." "Never occurred to me either." "Not once." "Tell me your reaction." "How do you feel?" "I don't know." "I was shaken at first." "I still am, I suppose." "But they mean what they're saying." "They know what they're doing." "They may mean what they say, but they don't know what they're doing." " If I'm not intruding?" " Of course not." "Please come in." "I'd like a couple of minutes with the two of you, if I may." "Sure, doctor." "Come on in." "There's something you both ought to know." "I made a decision." "Joanna doesn't know about it, and she shouldn't." "What is it, doctor?" "Joanna thinks that our future is settled but there is no real commitment." "Up to now, nothing is settled at all." "I don't understand." "She said you'd marry no matter what we think." "That's not the case." "Unless you two approve, there won't be any marriage." "Why, John?" "Why have you decided that?" "Mrs. Drayton, this happened so quickly I'm just as startled as you must be." "Two weeks ago it'd be inconceivable." "But two weeks ago I had not met Joanna." "She's not at all like anyone I've ever known." "It's not just that our color difference doesn't matter to her." "It's that she doesn't seem to think there is any difference." "This has come up at a time when I have all the problems I need." "I can't afford to get married if it meant taking on special problems in addition to those we'll have." "When you say "special problems," doctor, what do you mean?" "Well..." "Your attitude, Mr. Drayton and yours, Mrs. Drayton." "Joanna is very close to both of you." "If marrying me damaged her relationship with either of you the pain of it would be too much for her." "I wouldn't know how to deal with that kind of situation." "I wouldn't want to try." "I'm glad you told us this." "Don't misunderstand me." "I love your daughter." "I'd do anything to keep her as happy as the day we met." "But it seems that without your approval we will make no sense at all." "That is why I am asking for a clear statement of what your attitude will be." "I appreciate that, doctor." "It's almost in the form of an ultimatum." "Not quite, Mr. Drayton." "All you have to say is "goodbye. "" "Well, that's where it's at." "Thank you for the opportunity to speak my piece." "Well?" "Still think you ought to have someone check on him?" " No." " He's right about Joey too." " You know that, don't you?" " Yes." "Thank God." "That's how I feel, thank God he's right." "She's 23 years old and she is exactly how we brought her up to be." "We answered her questions." "We told her it was wrong to believe that white people were superior to black people or brown, or red, or yellow ones." "People thinking that way were wrong sometimes hateful, usually stupid, but always, always wrong." "That's what we said." "And when we said it, we did not add:" ""But don't ever fall in love with a colored man. "" " Edie, Mr. Drayton." " What is it, Edie?" "He's an important guy." "Born Los Angeles, 1930." "Graduated maximum cum laude Johns Hopkins, '54." "Assistant professor, Yale Medical School, '55." "Professor at London School of Tropical Medicine." "Assistant director, World Health Organization." "Two textbooks and a long list of Medical Society honors." "Married Elizabeth Bowers 1955, one son:" "John Wade." "Both killed in an accident in 1959." " There's a lot more here." " No, that's all right." "Thanks." " What's the $2.20?" " He called his parents in Los Angeles." "I guess he doesn't bum free telephone calls either." "I understand why he didn't talk about himself." "Who the hell would believe him?" " I beg your pardon, lady." " Loves me, loves me not." "Well, what do you think?" " Aren't they the way I said they were?" " They're special..." "Shall I tell you something?" "For a whole week, I've been nervous." "No." "I don't believe..." "Just about their first reaction." "I thought they might let me down for the first half-hour." "You're a phony, you know that?" "You're a big phony!" "I'm not a phony." "Well?" "She's always been a happy human being." "She laughed out loud before she was 6 months old." "She was happy as a baby, happy as a little girl happy all through school and college." "But I don't think I've ever seen her quite so happy as she is right now." "And I have to be happy for her, Matt and I am." "I feel happy for her." "And proud of the fact that we helped to make her." "And whatever happens now, I feel glad that Joey is Joey." "How are you today?" "Having a steak fry?" "Well, now, there she is." "How are you today?" " Give me a lift to Market Street?" " You know it, doll!" "I hope it's better than the last we had." "I just deliver it, I don't rustle the cattle." "You said to remind you to open the wine." "Civil rights is one thing." "This here is something else." "I went out onto the terrace." "Oh, it was so beautiful." "It was dark and the moon was rising." "I didn't see him because of the view, but he was standing there." "Then, all of a sudden, he moved, and I jumped." "And he just stood there, looking at me, and sort of..." " You're burning your shirt." " Oh, yes." "Sort of smiling." ""Hello," I said." ""Who are you?"" "And I think he thought I was, you know, attractive." "Finally he said, "Well, do you think it could possibly matter?"" " And it's just crazy, and I admit it..." " You'd better let me do this." "But 20 minutes later I felt I was in love with him." "Mom, how long did it take you to fall in love with Dad?" "Well, nothing so long as 20 minutes!" "Is that really true?" "Oh, Mom!" "I wanna ask you something." "How deeply are you and John invol...?" "No, I have no right..." "Do you mean have we been to bed together?" "I don't mind you asking me that." "We haven't." "He wouldn't." "He couldn't have doubted my feelings, but he wouldn't." "You're burning my shirt." "He's been concerned the whole time about my getting hurt somehow." "They're still talking." "You'd think everything was said by now." "You say they don't have any special sense of rhythm?" "That's right." "But you can see it." "You can't turn on the TV without seeing kids dancing." " The colored kids are better." " But there's an explanation." "It's our dancing and our music." "We brought it here." "You can do the watusi, but we are the Watusi if you know what I mean." "When I was your age, my sports editor told me that Negroes would never be able to play baseball." "Willie Mays could be elected mayor of San Francisco." "I own a newspaper, but I couldn't be elected dogcatcher." "You don't want that any more than he wants to be mayor." "No, I suppose that's right." "Doctor, we've talked about a good many things but there's one we haven't." "Have you considered the problems of your children?" "Yes, and they'll have some." "We'll have children, or you couldn't call it a marriage." "Is that the way Joey feels?" "She feels that our every child will be president and they'll all have colorful administrations." "Well, you made her, Mr. Drayton." "I just met her in Hawaii." "But how do you feel about that problem?" "Frankly, I think your daughter is a bit optimistic." "I'd settle for secretary of state." "Would you think it cowardice if I told you that no matter how confident you are, I'm scared?" "No, it wouldn't." "But you never know." "Things are changing." "They're not changing anywhere as fast as in my own backyard." "Tell me this." "Don't you think this quick decision about how we feel is just a little unfair?" "In a way, I do." "But it wasn't my idea that everything be settled so quickly." "Your daughter said there's no problem." ""My dad's a lifelong fighting liberal who loathes race prejudice and fights discrimination. "" "She said, "My parents will welcome you with open arms. "" "And I said, "Oh, I sure wanna meet them. "" "John!" "Telephone, it's Los Angeles." " Take it in my study." " Thank you." " Hello." "Yes, this is he." " Dr. Prentice?" " Hello." " Hi, Dad." " Dr. Graves call again?" " No, it's not that, son." "I had an idea." "What would you say to us flying there for the evening?" " This evening?" " Could be there at 6:30." "I thought we could take you both out..." " Invite them to dinner." " Just a minute." "Dad, I'm having dinner with her folks." " They're invited!" " That the young lady?" "That's her." "Just a minute." "You haven't asked your mother..." "Mr. Prentice, will you come to dinner?" "John and I will meet your plane." " Who am I talking to?" "John?" " Hi." "Looks like she wants us, even if you don't." "We certainly wanna meet her." " So we'll see you at 6:30." " Oh, no, no." "Your mother says she's pleased." "Hell, he knows that!" " All right, son." "We'll see you later." " Dad?" "Dad!" "What's the matter with you?" " Mom!" " Yeah?" "John's parents are coming to dinner." "Good." "Marvelous." " We'll meet their plane at 6:30." " Fine." "Tell Tillie." "Okay." "Joanna, I told you." "My folks, they don't..." " They think you're colored." " Why didn't you tell them?" " I was gonna write." " What difference is it?" "You think they won't come?" "Call and tell them." " They'll know when I go meet them." " I'll meet them." " It gives me a chance to explain..." " Why do you dramatize everything?" "We're meeting Peter and Judith for a drink at 5:30." "There's time to get to the airport." "She's my best friend." "You've just got to let them meet you." " Did he tell you about his plan?" " No." "What?" "It's the damnedest thing." "They put a medical school on trucks, run into some African country pick up the brightest native kids and give them courses." "Like the U.S. Army Corps." "His idea is that they're all specialists trained to do one thing." "Like sewing up a wound, or delivering a baby, what have you." "They go where people never heard of an aspirin let alone a doctor." "Imagine what that means." "For every 1000 kids they train, they can save a million lives a year." "He seems to have made quite an impression on you." "I asked him how he got so far." "He's only 37." "He said he thought he got the best breaks because no one wanted him to think they were prejudiced." "Yeah, he made an impression." "I couldn't fault him." " Are you trying to fault him?" " Of course not." "You know his father's a mailman?" "Retired in Los Angeles." "How do you suppose a colored mailman produced a son with all the qualities he has?" " You'll find out this evening." " What?" " Guess who's coming to dinner." " Who?" "You mean..." "His parents?" "Now, wait a minute." " Whose idea was that?" " Joey invited them." "We're being pressurized." "You know that, don't you?" "First there was no marriage unless we approved." "Then we had one day to decide." "Now we're entertaining somebody we've never heard of!" "What the hell...?" "Don't look at my baby pictures." "That's at Klosters the year..." "I'll get it, Tillie." "Just a second." " Monsignor Ryan, how wonderful!" " Good afternoon." "But why are you here, not in Hawaii?" "What problem caused your father to chicken out of golf?" " And who is this gentleman?" " This is Dr. John Wade Prentice." "We met in Hawaii and we're gonna be married." "Are you indeed?" "I take it you mean to each other?" " Dr. Prentice." " Monsignor." " Of course, you're the problem." " Yes." "I'm afraid I am." "Why haven't your parents informed me?" "They didn't know either." "Excuse me a second, I forgot to tell Tillie something." " I suppose this was all very sudden?" " Yes." " Have you two had time to consider it?" " No, we've not." "We'll be two more for dinner." " How many steaks?" " I got four." "I was told four." "Order two more because the doctor's parents are coming." " His father and mother, here?" " That's right." "If the butcher can't send them, send a taxi." "It's more like a Holy Rollers' meeting every minute." "Of course!" "I know about you." "I read an article about you in Commonweal." "I shall want to talk to you about that." "Are you aware this fellow's a very important man?" "Wholly aware of it." "When we're married, I'll be important." "I daresay you will, as a matter of fact." " Where's Arnold Palmer?" " In the garden." "Just go on with what you're doing." "Fore!" "Of all our friends, he's the closest." "We're not Catholics but he and Dad and Mom sat on committees and things." "He's a wonderful man, and we love him." "You're a remarkable fellow, Mike." "You get younger every minute." " Did you?" " Yes!" "I've just seen him." "Handsome fellow." "Little Joey's nothing less than radiant." "It warms me chilly old heart looking at her." " Aren't you a little shocked?" " Shocked?" "Why should I be shocked?" "I've known many cases of marriages between races." "Strangely enough, they usually work out well." "I don't know why." "Maybe because it takes a special quality of effort." "More consideration, compassion than most marriages generate these days." " Could that be it?" " Yes, it could." "I'm glad you said that." "That's a beautiful thought." "You do have beautiful thoughts." "It's my trade, you know." "What about laddie over here?" "You making heavy weather of it?" "You know, this man is quite a famous fellow." "He's done incredible work in Asia and some awful place in Africa." "Mom!" "Hilary's here." "She wants to see you." "Excuse me." "Express some more beautiful thoughts to the lad." "Thank you." "I hope you won't think I'm prying, but, naturally, one is curious." "Naturally." "Dr. Prentice and I are gonna be married, Hilary." "Are you?" "I didn't even know." "Christina hadn't even mentioned it." " She didn't know." "It was a surprise." " A surprise?" "Well, I should think it was!" "Joey tells me congratulations are in order." "You didn't even know." "What's the problem, Hilary?" "What brings you up here?" "Mr. Cazelet phoned about the..." "Oh, that." "Excuse us, will you?" "I'll walk out to your car with you." "I hope I'll see you shortly." "Dr. Prentice is leaving tonight, and Joey within the next two weeks." "Then you must permit me to wish you every happiness." "Come along, Hilary." "Christina!" "My poor dear, what a shock for you." "I knew something was up, but this?" "What are you going to do?" " The child is of age..." " Yes, the child is 23." "Why didn't you simply ring up with the Cazelet information?" "I must admit, I was intensely curious." "I couldn't believe it." "It's unlike Joey to do anything so stupid." " Come along." " What you must be going through!" "You must try not to worry about it." "I have some instructions." "Go back to the gallery." "Start your motor." "Tell Jennifer she'll look after things temporarily." "She's to call if there's anything she needs." "Then go into the office and make out a check for the sum of $5000." "Then carefully, Hilary, remove absolutely everything that might remind me you were ever there including the yellow thing with blue bulbs you like." "Then take the check for $5000, which I feel you deserve and get permanently lost." "It's not that I don't want to know you it's just that we're not the sort of people that you can afford to associate with." "Don't speak, Hilary, just go." "You see that boy?" "If he'd played his cards right, you'd never met me." " He fell for some girl from Pomona." " That'll teach him." "You know what Hilary was doing?" "She was being an absolute bitch!" "I wish you'd fire her, I really do." "Joey!" "How can you be so hard?" "She has a ruthless streak, John." "Be warned about it." "She gets it from her father." "They need all the help you can give them." "They're gonna have special difficulties..." " Christina." " Don't budge, please." "Sit." "Of course, they know all that." "They're serious, intelligent people." "If they know what lies in store and want each other enough to accept it then they love each other very much." "Any two people who love each other that much deserve all the best luck in the world." "I don't know." "I have the feeling that they'll never make it." "That the whole thing's impossible." "You feel that way, do you?" "You're really thrashing about, then." "That's very interesting, indeed." "And rather amusing too to see a broken-down phony liberal facing his principles." "I always believed that under the fighting liberal façade there must be a reactionary bigot trying to get out." "Oh, go to hell." "You and your crowd are still preaching hell." "Well, I'm off." "As much as I enjoy your discomfort, I can save a few souls before supper." "But I am, as it happens, free for dinner..." "Please come, 7.30." "The doctor's family are flying up from Los Angeles." "Well, in that case, you'll actually need me." "Otherwise, you won't even outnumber the blacks." "Thank you, my dear." "Half past 7." "What was that the Beatles sang?" " Mom did it." "Does it look like him?" " He looks a little grim..." " Hey!" " No, no." "Don't let me disturb you." "I hope you don't mind, but I'm coming to dinner." " I'm delighted you're coming." " Thank you." "I'm very delighted to have met you." "See you this evening." "You know, you two make me feel quite extraordinarily happy." "I'd better tell Tillie." "Listen, you'll hear her going through the roof." "I've brought you the latest bulletin." "Guess who's coming to dinner now." " The Reverend Martin Luther King?" " Oh, Tillie." "You're so close." "Monsignor Ryan." "Bake a second pie." "He loves your cooking." "Is the big guest room in order?" "Dr. Prentice wants to have a shower." " He does?" " He does." "She's 23." "She has the right to do as she pleases." " That's not the point." "He said..." " I know what he said." "Could we go for a few minutes?" "What are the others doing?" "Meeting Peter and Judith, then going to the airport." "Come on!" "Well, come on, will you?" "!" "What happened to Homer, that lawyer?" "I thought she liked him a lot." "Nothing happened." "Dr. Prentice happened to Joey." "Only last Christmas she said Homer had the inside track." "That's where we got the ice cream." "Let's get some." " Oh, Matt, it's after 5!" " A little ice cream can't hurt!" "Yes?" "When I had ice cream before, I had a special flavor I liked very much." " I can't remember." " I'll bring the list." "You must know what it is." "Daiquiri ice, honeycomb candy, cocoa-coconut mocha jamoca, peanut butter, banana mint?" " Must've been another place." " Fresh Oregon boysenberry." "That's it." "That's it." "That's it." "Fresh Oregon boysenberry." "Bring me a big one, huh?" " Will you have some?" " No, black coffee." "One double fresh Oregon boysenberry and one black coffee." "Thank you." "You know, Matt I think Mike was right, that Joey is lucky." "The work he does is so important." "She'll be able to share it all with him." "It's the best break." "For us it's all been great." "But do you know what was the best time of all?" "The beginning, when we struggled." "You were working too hard and worried, sometimes frightened." "And there were times when I felt, when I really knew that I was a help to you." "That was the very best time of all for me." " Okay." "One black coffee." " Thank you." " And one Oregon boysenberry sherbet." " Thank you." "This is not the stuff." "I never had this before." "You know, it's not bad at all." "I kind of like it." "Fresh Oregon boysenberry." "Yes, sir?" "When I had ice cream before, this isn't the stuff I had." "But I like it, it's very good." "I like it very much." "Okay." " How do you do, Miss Binks?" " I got something to say!" "Just exactly what are you trying to pull here?" "I'm not trying to pull anything." "I was finding me a wife." "Ain't that just likely?" "What kind of doctor are you supposed to be?" "Would you believe horse?" "You make with witticisms and all, huh?" "You may think you're fooling these folks, but you ain't fooling me." "You're a smooth-talking, smart-ass niggers out for all you can get with all that other trouble-making nonsense." "I brought up that child, and ain't nobody gonna harm her." "As long as you're here, I'm watching." "You read me, boy?" "You bring trouble, you'll know what "black power" means!" "And furthermore, you ain't even all that good-looking!" "That was good." "If I come again, remind me about the boysenberry." "Yeah, I sure will." "Thank you, sir." " Shall we take some home for dessert?" " No." "Tillie's baked pies." "You stupid idiot!" " Can't you look where you're going?" " Your car's so low, I couldn't see it." "Of course you didn't see me!" "You weren't looking!" " Look what you did!" " Okay, it's my fault." "My insurance..." "Who cares about your insurance?" "I worked three months on that!" " How much to have it repaired?" " Look at it!" "Thirty or 40 bucks." "Stupid old man!" "You ought to be put away in a home." "There's 50." "Don't bother to have it fixed." "Buy a new one!" "Some of these old guys, they're senile!" "Stupid old man!" "There ought to be a law!" "There ought to be a law!" "What the hell is it today?" "Less than 12 percent of this city are colored." "I can't even have a dish of Oregon boozenberry without running into one!" "I can't tell you how happy I am for you." "It all happened so quickly." "It took Peter and me three years to get married." "We lived together for two." " To John and Joey." " John and Joanna." " He only calls me Joanna." "I like it." " To John and Joanna." "You know, where you're so lucky is in Joey's folks." "Matt Drayton really stands for something in this town." " It's always been a good paper." " And he made it that way." "Matt takes a stand on all public issues." " When are you flying over?" " As soon as I can arrange everything." "Why aren't you flying over with John?" "Why am I not flying over with you?" " Why am I not flying with you?" " Is your passport in order?" " Need anything?" " I could get it there." "Then it seems crazy to go all that way when you could go together." " Why don't you both leave tonight?" " Why not?" "Yes." "It's 6:00." "In an hour they'll be here." "The doctor leaves at 10:45." "No matter what it is, you have to tell them how you feel." "I need more than one day to make a decision like that." "It's the silliest thing." "But I'll say this:" "I won't try to pretend that I'm happy about it." "I'm not." "If the doctor's decision depends on that, then it's too bad." "I'm thinking only of Joey's welfare." "I have nothing against him, but he's a grown man and he behaved irresponsibly by letting it happen." "Now he wants me to approve a situation when I know they'll get their brains knocked out!" "Sorry, that's the way I feel." "And I know how you're reacting." "You're so wrapped up in Joey's excitement that you are not behaving in her best interest." "There's no reason not to go tonight." "You can understand, can't you, Mom?" "My passport's in order, I don't need anything." "I can pack in an hour." "I'll be with him." "We'll be together the whole time." "Mom, they're here." "I can see them." "They look like awfully nice people." "His mother looks lovely." "Break it to Dad for me, will you?" "Well..." "I should've called you back again, because there is one thing I..." "I've been meaning to write to you." "There's one thing I didn't explain." "And I'm afraid it's gonna be kind of a shock." "If you see what I mean." "Mom, Dad, this is Joanna Drayton." "Joanna, my mom, my dad." "Mrs. Prentice, I'm so happy." " Miss Drayton?" " Drayton, yes." "Mr. Prentice, I'm very pleased to meet you." "I can explain." "I can imagine what's going on in your mind but we can explain." " You can?" " Of course we can." "You have bags?" "Of course you have bags." "Let's go get your bags." "Mama." " What did your folks say?" " All's well." " Did you talk with your father?" " To Mom, but she'll tell him." " Tonight?" " I thought I ought to tell you." "This whole thing..." "That's out of the question." "I couldn't do what you're doing, so I don't understand how you'll do it." "You can't break their hearts and then sit down to dinner." "Don't you think I know that?" "I'll talk to the doctor after dinner." "Tell him exactly how I feel." "Matt, I'm not trying to argue." "There's nothing to say that you don't know." "But it's important how wrong I think you..." "You're making the worst mistake..." "I think you'll regret it for as long as you live." "You're as wrong as you can be." "I'm thinking of her." "Even the doctor's gonna know that." "There's something else." "I'm surprised it hasn't occurred to you." "The doctor will accept it because he's sensitive and because he said he would." "But Joey won't." "Your mistake is in underestimating your daughter." "She'll fight you and every argument you ever try to give her." "And one thing more." "Until today I'd never have believed I could say such a thing." "But when she fights you, and for what it's worth I'm going to be on her side." "I never would've believed I'd hear you say a thing like that." "Damn it." " Can I get you another drink?" " No, thanks." "I'll get it." "I wish we had more time..." "What were you gonna say?" "I was gonna ask Miss Drayton how her parents reacted to..." " I wanted to ask that too." " Please call me Joanna." "They were shaken." "I don't think I've seen them so surprised." "What really shook them was that I wanted to marry anybody." "I can't blame them for being stunned." "Then you couldn't blame us if we were a little stunned too." "It's not unreasonable to suggest that you two are behaving like escaped lunatics." "Dad this happened so quickly." "It's like riding a rocket." "We didn't plan it, it just happened that way." "It's hard on Joanna's folks, and it'll be hard on you." "If you have any objections, you'd better raise them soon because in exactly four hours we'll be gone." "I can't list all my objections in four hours." "I'd need eight hours." "You've only got four hours, so you'll just have to talk twice as fast." " Christina!" " Hello, darling." "How are you?" " Forgive me." "I'm a little bit early." " Come in." "I don't like to be always repeating myself but how long since I remarked that you are the loveliest woman I've ever known?" "There is a kind of envy that is in no way sinful." "That's what I've had for Matt." " What can I get you to drink?" " I like Scotch." " But aren't we drinking wine?" " Yes." "I'll have a drop of Scotch anyhow." "Equal amount of soda, please." "Thank you." "My dear, what's the matter?" "We're in trouble, Mike." "We're in terrible trouble, terrible trouble." "John told Matt and me that he wouldn't marry Joey unless we'd approve with no reservations whatever." "Joey doesn't know he said that." "Now she's decided to go with him tonight." "They're on their way with John's parents." "Neither of them knows that Matt has decided..." "Matt has decided that he can't approve." "That's not true." "Please tell me it's not true." " Where is Matt?" " He's upstairs, changing." "He's..." "He's not himself, Mike." "Excuse me." "It's incredible!" " Table all right?" " It's fine, Tillie." "Thank you." "Miss Christina, what's gonna happen here?" "I don't know, Tillie." "You and Mr. Matt gonna put a stop to this damn nonsense foolishness?" "Tillie, I don't want to put a stop to anything." "He's a fine man." "He's a wonderful man." "And Joey is very much in love with him." "And it isn't just "damn nonsense foolishness. "" "I tell you, the way you're talking I don't understand nothing no more." "Nobody understands nothing no more." "No, I don't think you're butting in about what doesn't concern..." "Damn, blast!" "I understand how you feel, Mike." "I understand how everybody feels." "But understand, they've boxed me into a hell of a corner here." "And no matter what anyone says, I won't behave irresponsibly." "I'm not gonna tell them they can't get married." "But they have no right to expect me to be happy when..." "For God's sake!" "You're about to destroy all the happiness there is in the happiest family I've ever known." " Have you any thought for Christina?" " Christina?" "Have you any idea of how she has behaved today?" "She was all for it as though there were no problems." "But there are no problems they don't know about." "Christina respects Joey's judgment more than you." "Come off it!" "If Joey came home with some fuzzy-wuzzy and said:" ""Mom, this is the man for me," Christina would say, "How wonderful!" "Where will we get enough roses to fill the Rose Bowl?"" "I'm trying to remember where I've seen you so angry." "When you took nine shots on the 7th green." " Could you get the hell out of here?" " I know why you're angry." "Not with the doctor, not with Joey or Christina, not even with me." " You're angry with yourself." " You pontificating old poop!" "You're angry because suddenly you've been thrown." "You're the last man I'd expect to behave this way." "You're not yourself!" "You don't know who you are, or what you're doing." "That's your trouble." "You've gone back on yourself." "In your heart, you know it." "I'll only take so much, even from you!" "For 30 years, there's been no man I've admired or respected more." "You know that, Matt." "And for the first time in all those 30 years, I feel sorry for you." "Damn it, that's enough!" "Are you really capable of putting yourself in my position?" "Unless you've got kids of your own somewhere how could you know how a father feels in this situation?" "You don't know!" "I know they won't have a dog's chance not here, not in the whole stinking world!" "They are this country." "They'll change this stinking world." "In 50 years, maybe, or 100 years but not in your lifetime." "Maybe not even in mine." "My dear friend, I wish with all my heart you could be restrained." "If I were younger, to prevent you from going downstairs I'd make an effort to wrestle you to the floor." "That'll be the day." "Is that the car?" "Did you hear a car?" " Mrs. Prentice." "I'm Christina Drayton." " How do you do?" "How do you do?" "I'm so pleased to meet you." "Let me take your coat and hat." "And yours, Mrs. Prentice?" "How good of you to come all this long way." "Do go in." " Did you tell him?" "Was he shaken?" " It was a surprise." " Does he wanna talk to me?" " I'm sure he does, later." "Please come in." " May I get you a drink?" " May I have some sherry, please?" " What a lovely room." " John, would you be bartender?" "Shall we sit over here?" " What will you have, Dad?" "Bourbon?" " Thank you." " You have such a magnificent view." " Thank you." "Please sit down." "Sit down, Mr. Prentice." " Did you have a pleasant flight?" " Very pleasant, thank you." "The view of the sunset was breathtaking." "Only took 40 minutes." "Four hundred miles." "It's incredible, isn't it?" "My husband will be down directly, I think." "He's upstairs changing." "And we have a friend coming to dinner, Monsignor Ryan." " They'll be down in a minute." " Mrs. Prentice." "Mom." " Here you are, Dad." " Thanks, son." "Are you Catholics, Mrs. Drayton?" "No, we're not, Mr. Prentice." "We're nothing in particular." "Monsignor Ryan is an old friend." "Do you come often to San Francisco?" " I've got to talk to your father." " There he is." "Dad, I'd like you to meet Mr. And Mrs. Prentice." " This is my father." " Mrs. Prentice, nice to meet you." "Mr. Prentice, happy to meet you." "May I present Monsignor Ryan?" " How do you do?" " Glad to meet you, sir." " Are you tending bar?" " Yes." " We're both drinking Scotch." " Coming up." "Sit down, sit down." "Sit down, there, Mike." " Did you have a nice flight?" " Very nice flight." "Only 40 minutes." " Only 40 minutes from L.A." " Terrifying." "You could talk about flying to Geneva because John and I hope you'll come for the wedding." "Would anybody like to talk about that?" "I take it they've told you all about their plans." "Of course." "It's only when you're eloping that you keep it a secret." "I don't know about you, Mr. Prentice but I think they're rushing it a bit." "It seemed that way to me too." " It seems like that to you too?" " That's right." "I'm certainly relieved to hear that." "I was beginning to think I was the only one..." "I would like Mrs. Prentice to see the view." "What are you talking about?" "What view?" "From the terrace." " Would you care to see the view?" " Yes, thank you." "Good." "Excuse us." "Bring your drink, that's fine." "Mrs. Prentice, have you had any chance to speak privately with John?" "Well, no." "It's important you know what's happened and what I'm terribly afraid will happen." "May I explain the situation to you, or try to?" " Yes, please." "I wish you would." " First I have to ask you..." "Forgive my being so abrupt and so direct." "Are you shocked by the fact that John's involved with a white girl?" "Yes, surprised." "It never happened before." "I guess it never occurred to me that such a thing might happen." "But it wouldn't be true to say that I'm shocked." "Are you, Mrs. Drayton?" "Well, I think I was at first, this afternoon because it came as a surprise to us too." "But now I know how they feel about each other." "Joey's very young, Mrs. Prentice, but she's not a child." "And they're deeply in love with each other." "Are you telling me that you'd approve the marriage but that your husband won't?" "Is that it?" "Yes, that's it." "My husband won't, either." "I wish there were more time, just to adjust to the situation but there just isn't any time." "If we're going to accept it we'll have to trust the two of them and accept that they know what they're doing." "Mrs. Drayton, my husband just won't do that." "They seem to be having quite a conversation out there." "It might do no harm if we had a few words, Mr. Drayton." "Yes, sure." "We can go into my study." "Will you excuse us, please?" "Doc, you'll excuse us, please?" "I'll have another drink, if you will." " Another?" " No." "If you'll excuse me, I'll go up and throw a few things together like for the next 10 years." "Mr. Drayton I don't know you, and wouldn't wanna offend you but are you nuts?" "Are you telling me that you approve of this?" "I wasn't going to tell you that." "Because you may be a big newspaper publisher and I'm a pensioned-off mailman, but you are out of your mind!" "I have a good idea of what my father is saying to him." "I wish I knew." "You were talking with him upstairs." "Have you any idea what Mr. Drayton is saying to my father?" "I can tell you one thing." "I was sorry to hear that you intend to withdraw if you encounter any opposition." "She's up there packing." "John, your mother would like to speak to you." " This is a mess." "Where's Joey?" " Upstairs." "I'm going up." " Everything is ready when you are." " We're not ready, Tillie." "Well, what you're saying is you feel practically the same as I do." "That's right." "But even so, this is a hell of an unhappy situation for both your son and my daughter." "I think it'd be best if you talked to John yourself." "I said that if they didn't approve, there'd be no marriage." " I set the terms, Mama." " They don't disapprove." " Only Mr. Drayton." " Are you sure?" "She said she'd even drive you to the airport." "John, I've lived with your father for almost 40 years." "God willing, there'd be more." "And even though I've only known about this situation for one hour I feel the same way Mrs. Drayton does." "She says Joanna will never give you up." "I guess it depends upon how much you want her." "Want her?" "I want her, Mama." "You know what it's been like for me these past eight years?" "I felt like I never wanted anybody again." "But, Mama these last few days with her it's like I'm alive again." "It's love." "Excuse me, doctor." " Your father wants to talk to you." " Does he?" "He's in my study." "I've been talking to your husband." "He seems upset by all this." "I know." "Your wife says you are too, Mr. Drayton." "Not upset, exactly." "It's a very difficult problem." "For whom?" "For you and my husband?" "I think you'll solve your problem." "All you have to do is tell them you're against them." "That's all." "And you'll have no problem." "You're not telling me you're happy about this?" "This is not a night for talking about happiness." "This is an unhappy night." "You talked to Christina." "I know how she feels." "Can you imagine for one minute that I want to see them hurt?" "No." "No more than my husband does." "But hurt they're going to be worse than my husband knows." "I think worse than you know too." "He's as much against this as I am, maybe more." "Son, you've got to listen." "I'm not telling you how to live your life but you never made a mistake like this." "You've been a source of pride for me and your mother." "But you don't know what you're doing!" "This affair happened too fast, you said so yourself." "You've got to stop and think!" "Have you thought what people will say?" "In 16 or 17 states you'd be breaking the law." "And say they changed the law, that don't change how people feel." "You never put a wrong foot anywhere." "But you're out of line!" "That's for me to decide, man." " Shut up and let me..." " Don't say that to me!" "You have no right after what I've been through." "You know that and I know that." "I know what you made of yourself but I worked my ass off to buy the chances you had!" "You know how far I carried that bag in 30 years?" "Seventy-five thousand miles." "And mowing lawns in the dark so you wouldn't be stoking furnaces and could bear down on the books." "There were things your mother should have had that she insisted you have." "And I don't mean fancy things." "I mean a decent coat." "A lousy coat!" "You'll say that means nothing?" "You'll break your mother's heart?" "What happens to men when they grow old?" "Why do they forget everything?" "I believe those two young people need each other like they need the air to breathe in." "Anybody can see that by just looking at them." "But you and my husband you might as well be blind men." "You can only see that they have a problem." "But do you really know what's happened to them how they feel about each other?" "I believe that men grow old and when sexual things no longer matter to them they forget it all, forget what true passion is." "If you ever felt what my son feels for your daughter, you and my husband forgot everything about it." "You knew once, but that was a long time ago." "Now the two of you don't know." "And the strange thing for your wife and me is that you don't even remember." "If you did, how could you do what you are doing?" "I don't care what your mother says." "This is between you and me." "That's the first thing you've said that makes any sense." " And what I mean to say..." " You've said what you had to say." "You listen to me." "You don't want to tell me how to live my life?" "So, what have you been doing?" "You tell me what rights I've got and what I owe you." "Let me tell you something." "I owe you nothing." "If you carried that bag a million miles, you did what you had to do." "You brought me into the world." "From that day, you owed me everything you could like I will owe my son." "But you don't own me!" "You can't tell me when or where I'm out of line or make me live by your rules." "You don't know what or who I am, Dad." "How I feel, what I think!" "And if I tried to explain, you will never understand." "You are 30 years older than I am." "Your generation thinks the way it was is the way it's got to be!" "Not until your generation dies will your dead weight be off our backs!" "You understand?" "You've got to get off my back!" "Dad." "You're my father." "I'm your son." "I love you." "I always have and I always will." "But you think of yourself as a colored man." "I think of myself as a man." "Now, I've got a decision to make." "And I've got to make it alone, and I've got to make it in a hurry." "So would you go out there and see after my mother?" "Mom!" "Oh, darling!" "Talk John's parents into flying over with you." "It would mean so much to John, and I know they can afford it." "John's father will make it rough for him." "Did you see his expression when he went to talk with Dad?" " But don't you like her already?" " Yes, darling, I do." "She's a good one." "When John's father saw that I was white, I thought he'd faint." " What about your own father?" " Yes." "That was funny, wasn't it?" "Mom, isn't this thrilling?" "Aren't you just...?" "Yes, darling, I am just..." "I should be able to say something to you, Mrs. Prentice." "In my trade there are a hundred clichéd phrases of comfort for every human condition." "But in the midst of this heartbreaking distress I must admit I'm completely stumped." "There's simply nothing I could say." " Mary, you've got to understand..." " Please, John." "The monsignor is right." "Please, say no more." "I'll be a son of a bitch." "Close the door, Mr. Drayton." "You didn't have the guts to tell me face to face?" "Before you start telling me about my guts I told you I'd have something to say." "Now I'm ready to say it." "Are you going to stay in here?" "Joey." "You know that I'm completely sympathetic, don't you?" "You know that I have no reservations about anything." "And whatever makes you happy, I'm happy too." "Of course I know that." "Then listen to me, darling." "There's something I have to tell you about this situation which you don't really..." "Christina!" "What are you doing up there?" "Joey!" "Come down, both of you!" "Can I get you a drink, Mr. And Mrs. Prentice?" " No, thank you." " John?" "Mike?" "No, you've had enough." " Dad." "What's going on?" " There's something I want to say." "I'd like you to sit down and keep quiet." "Please, sit down." "Sit down, Chris, please." "I have a few things to say, and you might just think they're important." "It's been a strange day." "That's not putting it too strongly." "I might even say it's been an extraordinary day." "I've been thinking about the day and the way it has gone and it seems to me that now I need to make a few personal statements for a variety of reasons." "The day began for me when I came in and Tillie said to me..." "Excuse me." "Tillie!" "This'll only take a second." " Everything's been ready..." " All right, Tillie." "Sit down." "This is Miss Matilda Binks who's been a member of this family for 22 years." "And who today has made a great deal of trouble." "Sit down." "Now, the minute I walked into this house this afternoon Miss Binks said to me, "All hell done broke loose now. "" "I asked to what she referred and she said, "You'll see. " And I did." "After some preliminary guessing games, at which I was never very good it was explained by my daughter that she intended to get married and that her intended was a young man whom I'd never met who happened to be a Negro." "I think it's fair to say that I responded to this news the same way that any good father would unless his daughter happened to be a Negro too." "In a word, I was flabbergasted." "And while I was still being flabbergasted I was informed by my daughter, a very determined young woman much like her mother, that the marriage was on no matter what her mother and I might feel about it." "Then the next rather startling development occurred, when you said that unless we approved of the marriage there would be no marriage." " You didn't." "What a funny thing to do." " Joey." "This may be the last chance I'll ever have to tell you to do anything." "So I'm telling you, shut up." "Now, it became clear that we had one single day in which to make up our minds about this situation." "So, what happened?" "My wife, typically enough decided to ignore every practical aspect of the situation and went off in a romantic haze, which made her totally inaccessible to anything in the way of reason." "I have not as yet referred to His Reverence who forced his way into the situation insulted my intelligence by mouthing 300 platitudes and ended it by coming to my room and challenging me to a wrestling match." " What time is your plane?" " Ten forty-five." "Right." "Now, Mr. Prentice, clearly a most reasonable man says he has no wish to offend me but wants to know if I'm a nut." "Mrs. Prentice says that, like her husband I'm a burned-out shell of a man who cannot remember what it's like to love a woman the way her son loves my daughter." "And strange as it seems that's the first statement made to me all day with which I'm prepared to take issue." "Because I think you're wrong." "You're as wrong as you could be." "I admit that I hadn't considered it but I know exactly how he feels about her." "And there is absolutely nothing that your son feels for my daughter that I didn't feel for Christina." "Old, yes." "Burned-out, certainly." "But I can tell you, the memories are still there." "Clear, intact, indestructible." "They'll be there if I live to be 110." "Where John made his mistake was attaching so much importance to what we thought." "Because in the final analysis it doesn't matter a damn what we think." "The only thing that matters is what they feel and how much they feel for each other." "And if it's half of what we felt that's everything." "As for the problems you'll have, they seem almost unimaginable." "But you'll have no problem with me." "And I think that when Christina and I and your mother have time to work on him, you'll have no problem with your father." "But you do know, I'm sure you know, what you're up against." "There'll be 100 million people in this country who'll be shocked and offended and appalled at the two of you." "And you'll have to ride that out maybe every day for the rest of your lives." "You can try to ignore those people or even feel sorry for them and for their bigotry and their blind hatreds and stupid fears but where necessary, you'll just have to cling tight to each other and say, "Screw all those people. "" "Anybody could make a case against your getting married." "The arguments are so obvious, nobody has to make them." "But you're two wonderful people who fell in love and happened to have a pigmentation problem." "I think that no matter what kind of a case some bastard could make against your getting married, there'd be only one thing worse." "And that would be if, knowing what you two are knowing what you two have and knowing what you two feel you didn't get married." "Well, Tillie." "When the hell we gonna get some dinner?"