"Rendezvous in Paris" "Rendezvous at 7" "See you Saturday then." " That long?" "I'm free tonight." " But i'll have an oral exam tomorrow." "I'll probably work the whole night." " And me tomorrow." "Can't you speed your work up?" "No that's impossible, i still don't have all the things i need." "Ok, so we'll see each other for dinner?" "Tonight?" "No, tomorrow." " I told you that's not possible." "You could take a break." " But that would make me want to stay with you." "Let's save our strength for Saturday, that's smarter." "Yeah maybe." "Ok then, have a nice day." "Esther!" "How are you?" " Hello, Felix." "Sorry, i'm in a hurry." " Tomorrow we'll have a party at Rodrigue's." "I'm hoping you'll come?" "I know, but i don't think that i'll show up." "Think about it." "We'd be really glad to see you." " No, tomorrow is really bad for me." "If your guy doesn't want to come, come without him." "Who says he doesn't want to come?" "How should i know..." "He'd like to come, but he can't, he has to work." "Then come alone." " No." "I don't feel like it." "I don't feel like going to a party while he has to work." "That's love, in case you didn't know." "Well he doesn't care either when he's going out without you." "You're talking nonsense!" " You know everything he does?" "I know him better than you." "Who knows?" "From the distance one can often see better." "Do you know the restaurant "Dame Tartine" in Beaubourg?" "No, i don't like that quarter." " Your boyfriend likes it." "He knows a girl, that likes it." " What?" "I often see him there with that girl." " What do you mean by "often"?" "Twice." "I don't go there that often." " Well, can't he go with whoever he likes?" "Every day?" "But you just said, you only saw him twice?" "For example, last night he was with me at this hour, at "Bonaparte"." "And Tuesday evening?" "Tuesday this week?" "The day before yesterday?" " Yes, the day before yesterday." "This seems to worry you a bit." " No, not at all." "I don't need a spy." "This doesn't interest me at all." "All i wanted to say was, if he goes out without you, you can go out without him aswell." "I simply told you what everyone knows already, you aswell i hope." "So as usual, you just talked without saying anything." "Spare me that." "You'll still come tomorrow?" " No." "I said no." "Bye, Esther!" "Hermione!" "Gross negligence in the administrative sector." "Yeah, i think it worked." "I'm calling to tell you that i'll be late." "No no, i need to rest a bit." "Let's say at around 4 o'clock?" "I'm sorry that i'm so late." " Nevermind." "So, did everything work with the writing?" "I think so." "Oh you already prepared everthing!" "Are you scared of the oral exam?" "No, not at all, i just have keep studying for a few more hours." "Did you want these?" "I also have the ones by Javillier." "No, these are fine." "I think i already know half of it anyway." "Well then you'll manage easily." "That's what i expect." "You don't seem too happy about it though." "Yes." "Do you want tea?" " No." "Something else?" "Orange juice?" " No thanks." "You were crying." "No." "Well, yes." "But it's nothing." " Seriously?" "A completely stupid idea came to my head." "An idea?" "I imagined something." "Totally unreal." "Horace?" "Why him?" "Yes, him." "I love him, i think about him." "And that's why you're crying?" " It's nothing." "Did you fight?" " No, not at all." "I told you, it's pure imagination." " You imagined that he'll leave you?" "Of course not." "But you're still scared, he might jump off?" "No." "Well, a bit." "I love him." "But does he love you aswell..." "He does, just as much." "You're sure?" " Yes." "Sure?" "Really sure?" "One can never be completely sure of anything." "Especially when people hint at something." "At what, i don't know." "Where are you getting at anyway?" "Esther!" "Say whatever you want about him, i won't believe a word." "I don't want to say anything." "Esther, you know me." "Esther, are you listening?" "If you think i want to hint at something." " It's not you." "I mean Felix." "He says he saw Horace at a café with a girl." "This wouldn't be such a big deal, but that evening he told me he was going to see his parents." "Felix?" "He has such a crush on you, he'd do anything to make your boyfriends look bad." "Whether it's true or false, it hurts." " Maybe." "But if you break down everytime something like this happens, you've got a lot of tears ahead of you." "Have you seen him?" " No, at least not since you two know each other." "Before, yes." "You know yourself that he used to have three or four girls at a time." "He used to be a womanizer, i know that." "Well then i'll make him change, i'll manage." "He'll have to choose between me and the others." "It's all or nothing." "And how do you plan to achieve that?" "I won't make a big thing out of it." "I'll just explain to him, that we promised to tell each other everything." "The truth comes out anyway, as you can see." "He'll deny it and do it again." "These kind of guys are clever." "You'll just make him act more and more." "That's the wrong approach." "What's the right one then?" " I don't know." "Do what he does: make him jealous." "No." "I just want to be with someone i can be completely sincere with, someone i don't need to play games with." "I want to be myself." "Also with him, especially with him." "I'm supposed to be calculating?" "Make him jealous?" "No, never." "Then look for someone else!" "If you want to change him you have to take him the way he is first." "He's just reacting, that's human." "Do you want to change human nature?" "No of course not, but..." " You show him too much how much you love him." "That's possible." "Probably it's true that one shouldn't show his feelings too much." "I find that very sad." " Maybe, but that's how it is." "Everytime i am myself, it doesn't work out." "If a man wants some distance, i do the same." "That usually works." "I also find that detestable, but that's what one has to do, one has to play." "He has to think that lots of men want you." "And who would that be?" "None of the guys i know compares to him." "Then look for others!" "The next day" "Hello!" " Do we know each other?" "No." "But i won't hold you up for long." "You want to hold me up?" " Not at all, but my dentist is on vacation..." " So?" "The dentist i have an appointment with is only the replacement." "Yes, but you know where it is." "If you have an appointment, go!" "But only in five minutes time." "I hate waiting rooms." "And that's why you're holding me up?" "Only for three minutes if you allow me." "I'll explain it to you." "I've never been in this quarter, and since i was scared of being late i came a bit earlier." "I got off the metro, saw you and just had to talk to you." "One has exceptional encouters, when they're least expected." "While travelling, at the end of the holidays, or when having an urgent appointment." "That's my bad luck, but also my good luck, because it gives me courage." "Courage doesn't always pay off." "Infact you'll be late because of it." "Maybe." "But whenelse will we meet again?" "Then you'll have to get another dentist." "I'll definitly get another one." "Then you'll find another girl to help you pass time." "Do you have a telephone?" " No." "Want my number?" "No, that's not neccessary, i wouldn't call anyway." "I'll come back here every morning." " I'll go on vacation next week." "Well then, goodbye." "Do you know the "Dame Tartine" in Beaubourg?" "The "Dame Tartine"?" "Yes." " I'll be there tonight at around seven." "Hello." "I'd like some honey." "There's light and dark one." "Which one shall i take..." " There's liquid and solid one." "Solid." "Cevenne honey." "Thanks." "That's 28 francs." "Wait, i can't find my wallet." "Sorry, i can't take it..." "Don't worry." "I'm sorry, Monsieur." "I'm so angry." "This totally annoys me." "This has never happened to me." "No, it was my fault." "I'm far too lightheaded." "What was in it?" "My ID, my driver's licence, all my cards from university..." "Yes, the door rang." "I'll call you back, mum." "Bye." "Who is it?" " Esther Mancoffier?" "That's me." "I think this is yours." " My wallet!" "Come in." "That's wonderful!" "Where did you find it?" " At the market in Montparnasse." "I couldn't come earlier, i had a lecture to attend." "Sit down!" "Of course, the money is missing." "But the cards are still there, those are the most important." "I think i only had 50 francs in it anyway." "No good deal for him." "Where did you find it?" " It was lying on the ground." "Since your address was in it, i wanted to bring it myself, instead of going to the police." "But i couldn't come earlier because of the lecture." "Come on!" "I have no idea how to thank you." " So it was good that i brought it." "I'm glad you even picked it up!" " I almost fell over it." "I was in a hurry, so i walked behind the stands." "Of course." "Nobody saw him there." "You know when it happened?" "No." "No." "A guy that started talking to me and then i couldn't get rid of him anymore." "And he even looked good!" "Very gallant for a gigolo." "Too gallant, to be rude like that." "He was playing shy." "One of the kind, that doesn't show his feelings towards his girlfriend, but then again starts chatting with strangers." "With exactly the right amount of clumsiness that is neccessary in order to not get dumped immediately." "Those are the most dangerous." "As a gigolo or as a thief?" " Both." "I heard about something like that once." "A guy once followed a friend of mine and actually stole her wallet." "Just an average kind of guy." "Employee, with tie and all." "No, mine was very different." "It was neither the kind that takes drugs, or has no money of his own..." "Strange!" "For 50 francs?" "That doesn't pay off." "He'd have to go somewhere else each time." "I'd rather go beg for money." "Why?" "Stealing is at least exiting." "Especially when you're hitting on someone while doing it." "You don't seem very angry." "It amuses me that he had such bad luck." "If i met him again, i'd laugh in his face." "I wouldn't." "Such things make me furious." "Half past 6 already." "Do you know if there's a bus to Les Halles from here?" "Better take the metro at St. Sulpice." "Where exactly do you want to go?" "To a café in Beaubourg, "Dame Tartine"." "You know it?" "No." "You want to go to the "Dame Tartine"?" "That's really strange." "Imagine..." "I don't know how to explain it to you." "When my thief was about to leave and i didn't want to have his phone number, he said, that he's be at "Dame Tartine" at 7." "A thief that asks for a date, strange!" "Are you sure it was him?" "Who else?" "If it wasn't him, he'll be there." "Come with me then to make sure." "I don't want to disturb you." "You're not." "I'm amused by such stories." "Ok, i'll come with you." "I'd be surprised to see him there." "It suits me well for anther reason aswell." "But i can't explain that now, maybe later." "You've heard enough secrets for now." " That's fine with me aswell." "I can't tell you why at the moment." "But you'll see anyway." "We'll both see." "Do you like Beaubourg?" " No." "Yes, of course." "It's pretty." "I love it." "But the people hanging around on the floor, i don't like them." "But there's only few of those." "I don't think so." "It's not the old mysterious Paris anymore." "In the gardens of the Palais Royal there are really funny little passages." "But these are no Parisians!" " True." "Those provincials..." "Were you born in Paris?" "No, maybe that's why." "I'm born in Montpellier." "I'm born in Paris." " Ah, so you're a real Parisian." "What's up?" " Let's go that way." "There he is, my friend." "Can you see him?" "What?" "Listen, Aricie..." " What?" "Oh, nothing." " But that's not the..." "The thief?" "No." "Is this your boyfriend?" " Yes." "No, not yet." " I really don't want to disturb you." "It's good that you're here." "I don't really trust him." "Let's see what you think." "He seems extremely clingy, calls me four times a day..." "Tell me what you think of him." "I'd like to hear your opinion." "Well then, ok." "Horace, Esther." " Pleased to meet you." "Sit down!" " I really don't want to disturb you." "You're not." "It's good that you're here." "From here you can observe everything." "Infact she's expecting someone." "May i tell him?" " Yes." "A young man, goodlooking." "A thief, a real one!" "No thief of hearts." "How do you want to know that?" " That's why you came with me." "Of course." "He won't come." " How do you know?" "You look so confused!" "I am." "You know, we're very old friends." " Since childhood." "We tell each other everything." "Oh really?" " He's believing us!" "We've only known each other for an hour." " Why didn't you let him believe otherwise!" "Empty." "Empty." "A guy stole it on the market." "He was really goodlooking and very charming." "Maybe the thief wasn't him afterall." "If he shows up, it wasn't him for sure." "Then i'll fall around his neck." "He still doesn't get it." " Not really." "Think!" "I have to make a call." "Strange story!" " You've really known each other only for such a short time?" "Yes." "I had found her wallet and brought it over to her place." "And the story with the thief?" "He followed her and stole it." " But why will he come here?" "He pretended to hit on her and asked her for a date." "Here!" "That can't be." " Yes, it's a real coincidence." "Coincidences exist!" "But why here?" "Hard to believe, no?" "Why of all places i have a date here?" "Why of all places i have a date here?" "Did you tell her about it?" " Only that i'll go to Beaubourg." "And she joined you." "I didn't know it would bother you so much." "I thought you'd be happy." "If you want, we leave." "Wait some more." "Very discreet, she noticed that we talked about her." "True." "But before she comes back i have to tell you something." "I have to leave." "I just got an invitation to the South, and i can really need a change of air." "It's too nasty in Paris at this time of year." "Well then, have a nice evening." "Esther, wait!" "Let me explain." " Not neccessary." "I got it.." "Is it true, about the vacation?" " Of course." "You go out with girls, i go on vacation with guys." "She doesn't mean anything to me." " Doesn't look that way." "What then?" "She said you run after her." " Oh really?" "She calls me four times a day." "And you just can't get rid of her.." " Yes!" "I just wanted to break up with her." "Right.." "But look, i came running after you and left her sitting there." "Just go back to her." "After all you had a date with her." "Oh stop it." "I'm going home now, i want to be alone." "Let us go by train." " No!" "Work can wait." " No!" "Then by plane." " Oh shut up." "Ok by car then, to the Bretagne." "I told you, i want to be alone tonight." "And tomorrow?" " Tomorrow aswell." "And the day after?" " Aswell." "And next week?" " I don't know yet." "Bye." "Did they leave?" "The others?" "What would you like?" " Nothing, i'm leaving." "Why don't you wait for them here?" "I'm not waiting for anybody." " Ok then." "I know, it's tough." "Not everybody has the luck of getting his wallet stolen.." "Good evening." "I'd like a beer." " Which one?" "Heineken." "The benches of Paris." "Sometimes i envy the Clochards." "They practically live in the centre of Paris." "Not everyone is that priviledged." "Don't tell me that you can't find an apartment in the centre." "Yes, but in Bobigny apartments for the same rent are twice the size." "I'd have enough space for all my books there." " And in St. Dizier?" "No space." "I live in a furnished place." "I can't fit more than my school books in there." "In Bobigny i'd have enough space." "But you're not alone." " True." "But since i know about Palaiseau, i can wait." "But that's not in Paris." " It's only 20 minutes." "One mustn't be picky." "Living in Paris, working in Paris.." "One can't have everything at once." "I don't mind that though." "It's my ideal, my goal in life." "That's your only goal?" "!" " Not yours, since you're from Midi?" "I like Paris." " But you'd prefer Marseille." "If the one i love didn't like it, i could sacrifice it for him." "But only if i really loved him." "In maths it's easier to find a job than in humanities." "One for sure doesn't need to go into exile, to St. Dizier, Romorantin or to Chatelleraut." " I hope not." "So would you go with the man you love, if it was neccessary?" "I'd have to love him very much." "But i don't have to face that question." "I couldn't love someone whose ideal is living in the province." "But if it was his dream to live in Paris?" "A dream is not enough." "He'd have to realize it." "Why should i leave my boyfriend who has a great career ahead of him, for a small teacher whose ideal is moving to Paris at the end of his career." "I think you don't love this brilliant technocrat anymore." "But neither you." " Not yet." "Yes, "not yet", if that makes you happy." "But until then..." "What?" " If it will ever happen." "I'm afraid that will take a long time." "The Medici Fountain." "This i wanted to show you." "The sculpture?" " Yes." "That's Acis, a shepherd from Sicily." "And she is Galatea, a nereid, a mermaid." "They love each other." "And the other one?" " That's Polyphem, the Cyclops." "He's also in love with Galatea and is throwing a rock on the two of them." "One can't see his eyes." "When i first came to Paris i was in love with this girl." "So you dragged me here to show me your ex-girlfriend?" "No." "To show you that i'm loyal to a certain type." "But she doesn't look like me at all." " I think so." "Those long limbs..." "But she's got curves." " That's because of the posture." "I've got hips like a boy." "Not at all!" "They're very feminine." "Please!" " Nobody's watching." "I don't like to do these kind of things in public." "And the other day at the quays?" " The quays are the quays." "Let's sit down." "No, not here." "Under the tree." "I love to sit under trees." "You're messing up the chairs." " So what?" "Some people hate the Jardin du Luxembourg." "You also?" "I don't like it very much either." " It's probably too organized for you." "No." "Even when everything is straight one could still bring in some fantasy." "I think for lovers it's much better than an English Garden for example." " That's true." "But that's exactly what bothers me." "I don't want to be surrounded by other lovers." "I want us to be alone." "Maybe surrounded by people, but not by lovers." "Whenever i see others that do the same things as us..." "We are alone!" " At the moment, yes." "Are you cold?" "Do you want do go somewhere else?" " No way." "Do you want to go for a drink?" "No thanks, i'm not thirsty." " How about cake?" "I'm not hungry either." "It's nice here." " Didn't sound like that a minute ago." "When?" "Before you sat down." " I just didn't want to sit over there." "Here it's okay." "What you're thinking?" " About what i just said." "You look so worried." "You're right." "I don't like it here very much." "Then let's go for a drink." " I don't just mean the park, i don't like the whole Latin quartier." " But you live there." "Exactly." "You're scared of meeting Benoit!" "Yes." "Silly, but that's it." "I thought you wouldn't care if he surprised us." "But not in his quartier." " It's yours too." "Let's say ours." "To cheat on him here would be double cheating." "Whether he sees you here or somewhere else, he'd suffer just the same." "I'm thinking more about myself than him." "Here i'd be ashamed, somewhere else not." "Ashamed?" "I don't want him to see that i do the same things with someone else." "At least not at the same place." "I want him to know that i have fantasy." "And where will we meet the next time?" "I'd have an idea, but..." " Tell me." "Actually two." "Let me think." "I'll call you." "All these secrets." "But that's the nice thing." "Saint Vincent Cemetery" "You see, as a contemporary grave i prefer that kind." "Complete simplicity." "Unlike those polished stones." "I prefer this one." "Looks like a jungle." "I like that." "The return to nature." "The one over there is so ugly." "Ridiculous!" "As a child i found it unfair, that some had a crypt and others didn't." "I don't like crypts, i'd prefer to have a tree." "No, a real one." "With a trunk." "There's one over there." "No, a real one." "With a trunk." "There's one over there." "Here." "That's a grave?" "I don't think so." "I can't believe it." "There's even two of them, one here, the other one over there." "Very nice." "Are you crazy?" "Why shouldn't one laugh on a cemetery?" "That's not the point." "The tree was planted for the dead one, not to play with it." "I don't care, but there's people that do." "The Russians do picnics with their dead ones." "But not on trees." "Did you see this?" " Is this a grave?" "It's wonderful." "Do you know him?" "Steinlen... yes." "Do you know who that was?" " No." "He was a caricaturist and illustrator." "And famous for his cats." "Do you think he died sitting?" "Sitting!" "I used to hate misbehaving with a man in public." "Also with others in front of him." "But he exaggerated." "He never even held my hand." "If he saw you now!" " Today, unlike the other day, i almost wish for it." "Everything would be said." "I could leave him without any explanation." "It's dangerous to wait too long." " Who cares." "I'm in no hurry." "It's still too early." "But if you don't love him anymore..." " But i used to love him, more than i love you today." "It takes time." " Isn't he suspicious?" "No." "He's always been jealous." "But in the beginning, when there was no reason for it, it was even worse." "It would be could, if you talked to him." " No." "Telling someone that i don't love him anymore..." "i'm not capable of doing that." "So you prefer telling him indirectly?" "It's not that easy." "He wouldn't even notice if i hinted at something." "Since school started we're barely talking, about us that is." "He's so absorbed in his work, he doesn't even notice me anymore." "And you say he loves you?" " In his way he does." "I love this street." "I wonder what's behind it." " Nothing." "Oh that's the "Bateau Lavoir"!" "Yes, you're right." "This is the entrance and the "Bateau Lavoir" is behind it." "The surrealists did this." " No, the cubists, at the beginning of the century." "The surrealists came later." "Who told you that?" "My uncle." "He said they used to meet here." "Met maybe, but they didn't live here." "Picasso," "Modigliani..." "Those were no surrealists." "Yes!" "Yes!" "I'm telling you, he was no surrealist!" " Yes!" "The Park of Belleville" "The Park of Belleville" "Nice to see you." "You found it immediatly?" "Nice, no?" " Wonderful!" "I have good news:" "The tenant in Palaiseau is going to move out." "My brother will give me the apartment." "But i'll have to wait another four months." "That's ok." "Since school started i feel more and more uncomfortable in Bobigny." "I have to defend each centimeter of my territory, like a sachem." " Your territory?" "The girlfriend of the friend i live with practically moved in with us and is occupying more and more space." "And if you brought a girlfriend aswell, what then?" "You?" " No." "I've already had enough trouble living with one other person." "Sharing the apartment with another couple, never!" "Don't worry, i don't mean right now but my new apartment is pretty big." "If you want i'll show it to you." "Don't get any hopes." "I'm not planning on moving in with you." "Not even once you break up with Benoit?" " I'll live at a friend's place then." "I need time to think." "Instead of going out all the time we could meet at my place." "No!" " Why no?" "You'll never come visit me?" "Once maybe." "But we'll stay at a two meter distance." "I find it much more pleasant to make out on a couch, than on a wet bench in a park." " I don't." "I said making out, nothing more." "Don't you trust me?" "Yes." "But i prefer benches." " Even when it's freezing?" "There's nothing sweeter than a hot kiss in icy air." "But it's not cold." "It's nicer than i thought." " Didn't you know it?" "The Cité des Sciences and the Geode yes, but i've never been on this side." "But it's sad." " That's because winter is coming." "Grands Moulins de Pantin?" " Yes, and behind it is Bobigny." "That's where i live." "Just two stops." "If you want we can go there." "But i don't want to." "There are the suburbs, Paris lies here..." "I thought it's the other way round." " It's hard to orient yourself." "Outside of Paris i'm lost." "And when i ask people where Paris lies, they think that i want to make fun of them." "No wonder!" "So, which way?" "This way." "This way." "Just straight ahead." " Straight until the turn." "Wait." "Maybe there's a passage here." "No." "Then we'll have to take the big tour." "Or we go back." "Or we do this..." "A bit more fantasy, my dear!" "These are garganays, and overthere's a black-necked swan." "Apparently there's mandarin ducks here aswell, but i can't see any." "You know a lot about bird species." " About a couple." "You're educated." " That has nothing to do with education." "Yes, you're interested in sciences." "Natural sciences." "I'm interested in everything, but that's normal." " No, Benoit isn't interested in anything." "Only things that are useful for his work, or things he can show off with." "When we go out together, it's always for a particular purpose." "We go to the museum or the theater, always somewhere people talk about." "We've never really gone for a walk." "He doesn't know how to be bored." " He doesn't?" "I like to do nothing until i'm bored." "It's pleasant and enriching." "You're never bored!" " A question of word choice." "I love you." "I love you too." " Then leave Benoit." "I will." " Immediately!" "No." " Why not?" "I told you." "I want it to happen on its own." "At the moment there's no reason to fight with him." "And when will that be then?" " Someday, i hope." "Do you love him?" " I used to love him." "More than i love you today." "But i don't love him anymore." "I know that for sure." "I manage to bear him if he leaves me alone." "He's so absorbed in his work that i don't mind sleeping next to him." "I have to tell you something that will shock you:" "I actually feel comfortable while doing it." "Although it's exactly the situation i detest:" "To play the nice wife that has a lover." "Never!" "Only, that he's not your husband and i'm not your lover." "Unfortunatly!" "Luckily." "I only manage to bear you both because i do different things with you than with him." "For example, he's never tender with me." "He doesn't like kissing." "In public?" " Not only there." "Not even at home." "I don't cheat on him with you because we never to things i do with him." "And if you don't do anything with him anymore?" "That doesn't mean i'll do everything with you." "At the moment i feel like going for a walk." "Nothing more." "The Gardens of Trocadéro" "The Gardens of Trocadéro" "Shall we sit on that bench there?" " Isn't it a bit too cold for that?" "Where else should we go?" " I don't know." "To a café?" "There's noone in Bobigny today." " You know that i don't want to go there." "But there's nobody!" "You said it's because of my friend and his girlfriend." "That was the reason." " Are there others?" "It's all going too fast for me." "We won't do anything else than here." " I hope so." "So?" "It's a place without any magic." " But you've never been there." "You told me enough about it." "Apart from that it's so far, i hate the suburbs." "If it's about magic, let's go on vacation." "It means a lot to me." "Wherever you want." " I want to go to Tahiti." "Can't you think of anything closer?" "Korsika." " Too far." "But going to the sea would be possible." "Dieppe, Fecamp, Etretat." "Do you know that?" " No." "I'm sure it's sad there in winter." "And what should i tell Benoit?" "Either the truth or you tell him that you're visiting your parents." "He'd call me there." "I could ask my mother for help, but my father would be trouble." "And my brother even more." "It's impossible." "I want to hold you without any eyes on me." "If i have a room for myself, will you come?" "But of course." "I'm less and less able to live with Benoit, and meet you on the street." "Let's just go to my place when the others aren't there." "Nobody's there in the afternoons." "It's not far, 35 to 40 minutes." "No." "We mustn't disenchant our relationship." "That would be awful." "Sit down." "I have to talk to you." "I've been thinking about your proposal." "I'd like to go on vacation with you." " To Etretat?" "No, to Paris." "But that's where we are." "But not as tourists." "But we're walking around the city like tourists all the time." "Yes, and in the end we'll go to a hotel." "To a hotel?" "In Paris?" "Yes." "And you're talking about magic?" "To a hotel." "During daytime?" "No." "At night." "Like real tourists." " I thought you can't leave?" "It's not me who's leaving, he is." "He's going to Lyon for two days, for the wedding of a cousin." "We have to make use of that." "So you're breaking up?" " Looks like it." "Agreed?" "What's up?" "That's what you've always dreamt about and now you're upset." "You'll live with a friend now?" " Probably." "Can i come visit you there." " Yes, as an exception." "But we're not that far yet." "That's something that exceeds your expectations by far, and you're still not satisfied." "Wonderful!" "It's wonderful that i'm trying to think ahead." "Let's stick to my plan." "After that we'll see." "Take it as it comes." "It would be wonderful to spend two days and nights nonstop together." "And what will we do during daytime?" " The same as usual, but with more time." "We can even go for a walk in the Jardin du Luxembourg, and we can behave as badly as you want." "We'll go to all the museums we haven't been to yet, take a boat trip, go up the Eiffel Tower or the towers of the Notre Dame." "I see." "You really want to stay in a hotel in Paris?" "Which one?" "One i've always wanted to stay in." "The other day when we passed by it, in Montmartre, i thought..." "But of course i didn't say anything." " In Montmartre?" "Where?" "When?" "ln September." "You know, at that small square at the end of the declining street, next to the "Bateau Lavoir"." " I know that square." "It's nice." "And there's a hotel?" " It's hidden behind the chestnut trees." "And it's not too expensive." "You already informed yourself?" "The whole trip is planned already, like in a travel agency:" "We'll meet Friday afternoon at Gare de l'Est, as if we just arrived by train." "With luggage." "Best is if you take a huge suitcase, then you'll look more like a tourist." "I brought a map, since you want to play tourist." "Yes, in every language." "You speak Chinese?" "No." "Besides, this is Japanese." "That way." "Excuse me, is Montmarte over there?" "Yes." " Very good." "And the Eiffel Tower?" "That's too bad." "I wouldn't have done it." "What's up?" " Look, over there." "That's Benoit." "No way!" "He's just looking like him." " It's really him!" "Coat and bag... just like this morning." " So he didn't leave." "And the girl?" " No idea." "I don't know her." "I don't dare lying to him and he's telling me a story." "Are you sure it's him?" " Maybe it's a hallucination." "Let's think." "Everything's possible but one thing:" "That he's choosing exactly this hotel." "Far from it." "He knows the hotel, i had told him about it." "He wanted to go there sometime aswell." "It was similar to us." "We were both living with friends." "But in the end we went to the sea." "It was in summer." "Is that why you didn't want to go to the sea?" " To be honest, yes." "I was always teasing him about it, telling him it was a pity we didn't go there." "It upset him." "He was scared i'd go there with somebody else." "But that was out of question at that time." "I was just playing with him." "Stealing my idea!" "He's got no fantasy at all." "So we're free now." "Nothing better could have happened to us." "You can leave him now." " You're funny!" "You think i'll fall automatically into your arm." "If that's what i wanted, i'd have left him a long time ago." " You told me differently." "You shouldn't believe everything i say." "Are you happy now?" "Not really." " You only think of yourself." "That i'm being humiliated doesn't bother you." "Instead of cheering me up you think of your profit." "And then you say that you love me." " I'm suffering with you." "I wanted to reassure you." "Stop it!" " You talked about consolation." "I don't need consolation." "We better split up now." "I won't let you go like this." "Better be quiet, or we won't see each other ever again." "Don't get any illusions, you're the last person i want to see right now." "It's over." "Your fate is linked to Benoit's fate." "Bad luck for you, bad luck for me." "You helped me bearing him." "Once he's gone, i don't need you either." "You completed one another." "Without him, there's no you." "You don't really think this way." "Where are you going?" "Not to him?" " I'll visit my parents." "And afterwards?" "You'll go to your friend?" "I don't know, maybe." "My bus!" "Mother and Child" "Mother and Child" "Yes!" "You found your way easily?" " You had explained it on the phone." "Would you like something to drink?" " Thanks." "A small coffee?" "No." "I had one this morning." "Thanks." "But sit down." " No, thanks." "I just have to finish something." "Are you staying at a hotel?" " No, i'm staying with friends." "I know Martin and..." "Isabelle." " Exactly, Isabelle." "How is Anita?" " She didn't write?" "Yes." "She says you've never been to Paris." " I've been here with my parents." "Your French is very good." " I have a friend from France." "I came visiting her in summer." "It's not far." "I know" "Do you like Picasso?" " Yes, but not everything." "You study painting?" " No, interior design." "That's the same." "Not really." "But you paint aswell?" "No, actually not." "I draw, but i don't paint." "With me it's the other way:" "I paint, but i don't know how to draw." "Really?" "I paint without drawing." "The shapes form while painting." "What are these people doing?" "How should i know." "Imagine something." "I like stories in paintings, but not too precise." "They look like they have to go work but aren't really awake yet." "A bit sad." "Yes?" "Like in a concentration camp People waiting for their death." "I think you're exaggerating." "I don't find it sad at all." "They look more like people coming back from a picnic." "One can see a lot in it." "There's some light missing, that's true, but it's not ready yet." "I find the colours sad." " They're the colours of life." "I wouldn't hang something like that." " Because you're an interior designer." "Whenever is see a painting, i think where i'd hang it." "Once a woman bought one of my paintings because it matched her couch." "That offended me bigtime." " I didn't mean to offend you." "You're an interior designer." "That's your point of view." "Shall we go?" " Yes." "It's nice here!" "Don't you like it?" "You don't see something like that often in Paris." "That's no joke." "It's five minutes from here." " I know." "Do you like this quartier?" " Not exceptionally." "Because of the run-down houses?" "I love that." "If they were painted, i'd like them less." "I prefer these." "If they were pink, purple or blue, you'd like them even better." "Bonbon colours don't suit Paris." " In Sweden we've got much more colour, but only few old apartments, like here." "I prefer white, it's cleaner." "Clean makes me sad." "A new Paris wouldn't be Paris anymore." "I wouldn't feel like painting anymore." "I like the colours of this street." "Except this grey." "It's too blue." "That's no Parisian grey." " Why?" "That's just how it is." "Let's go that way." "There it is." "I can't come with you, it's a bad time today." "I'm in a very good phase right now." "If i see Picasso now, i'll get confused." "I have to stay alone." "Can you understand that?" "A different day would've been better for you." "We meet tonight." "Then you can tell me about your impressions." "Not if you can see them." "Not if you can see them." "Let's meet at 8 at "Coupole" at the Montparnasse." "Do you know where?" "Yes." "Have fun at the museum." " See you tonight." "How right i was when i said that Picasso's influence is awful!" "Whenever one talks about him, he doesn't let go." "When i left i thought about a painting, and to get rid of it i had to see it." "Otherwise i won't be able to paint." "Which painting?" "It's overthere." "Do you like the museum?" " Yes, especially this painting there." "That one's horrible." " No!" "It's got such happy colours." "They're lively." " Yes, happy." "I find the painting horrible." "It looks like her inside is showing, like the skin of a rabbit." "That was Picasso's dilemma:" "That one can't show the face and the profile at the same time." "The inside and the outside." "Maybe, but i like it." "We move on?" "Do you like this?" "Not particularly." "It's not a real Picasso." "Picasso is never Picasso." "That's why he's always Picasso." "I feel the cubism behind it." "How do you like cubism?" "I like collages a lot." "That's very decorative, but not only." "Shall we look at mine?" "There it is." "Excuse me please!" "I don't like it." "These colours..." "Like a pink pig." "Do you like it?" "It took very long, but i find it very strong." "Maybe the most mature precubistic work." "Picasso was a master of line management." "He could have taken the direction of Matisse." "These colours are very primal, very deep." "I love this blue and the green and these two shades of brick red." "There the steak and here the bacon." " That's tough." "I wouldn't hang it." " Me neither probably." "From the black art period." "But for Picasso's history of development it's essential." "Let's look at the pink period to see the transitions, ok?" "And this one?" "Do you like it?" " Not particularly." "That's also no Picasso for me." "He hasn't found his style yet." "I just wanted to see the other painting again." "If i look at everything now, i won't ever be able to paint again." "I better go." "See you tonight." " Goodbye." "I'm really sorry." "But once you have an inspiration.." "I understand." " Goodbye." "Excuse me!" "You probably think that i'm following you." " You can walk behind me if you please." "You're wrong." "I'm following you." " And the woman you were with?" "I left her to follow you." " You shouldn't have done that." "You're just wasting your time with me." " Not as much as with her." "I don't care about her." "She's a pretty girl." " Not as pretty as you." "You're really wasting your time." "I'm about to meet my husband, and in two hours we're leaving for Geneva." "Go back to her!" " I wanted to go home anyway." "Can i at least ask you something?" "Why are you interested in the painting "Mother and Child, 1970"?" "I'm interested in all paintings." "My husband is an art publisher and i'm testing the quality of the prints for him." "I compare the real colours with those of the test prints." "But it's true, i like the painting." "The colours are really very inventive but very hard to reproduce." "Especially the shades of red." " Is it a book about Picasso?" "No." "About the subject "Mother and Child"." " I never dared to do that." "You're a painter!" " Don't i look like one?" "Yes." "I thought so actually." "Because i talked about the painting like that?" " You could've been a teacher aswell." "You had the look of a painter, not a guy that hits on girls." "You're disappointing me." "How can you run after me when you have such pretty company?" "You won't let her go?" "Would you care?" " You're a pretty couple." "We'd be an even prettier one." " That's enough!" "Why aren't you inspired by the subject of mother and child?" "I said i never dared to try it." "You don't have children?" " No, and you?" "Not yet." "I just got married." " And you let other men talk to you!" "I'm confident." "I'm only interested in one man, and all people that make me curious." "Like me." "Like me." "Do you live here?" " I have my studio here." "Can i take a look at your paintings?" " Today it's..." "If you mind, forget about it." " No, no, it's just messy." "I'd be surprised if you liked them." " My taste isn't important." "I said it because of you." " Ten wasted minutes!" "Would you like to drink something?" " No, thanks." "I have a date at a café soon." "Are all these yours?" " Yes." "Do you find them very oppositional?" "Yes, very." "May i see?" " Yes." "Don't worry, they're fixed." "Which one is the newest?" " They're all relatively new." "The old ones are in the shelves." " And these?" "Are that studies or paintings?" "I don't know." "For me they're studies." "But if someone wants to buy them..." "But something like that doesn't sell well." "Do you find it photographic?" "I wouldn't say that." " But it is." "I'm the camera:" "Infront of a landscape i turn into a camera." "Later in the studio i see it differently." "If the landscape is perfect, why should i change it?" " So you're representing the hyperrealism?" "No." "That was a dead end aswell." "I'm still searching." "Nothing's coming out of these landscapes, at least not directly." "If something's coming out, it has to be good." "If something's coming out, it has to be good." "I can't see the connection." " Maybe you'll understand it now." "Come!" "You see?" "Also here." "I care about space, the sky, the line at the horizon." "Simply through the light i try to show that the earth is curved." "If Picasso misses anything, it's the light, space." "Maybe he thought light and space would be good for a photo." "But that's not true." "Instead i turn into a camera." "That's something completely different." "That's something completely different." "Have i made myself clear enough?" " Yes." "I think i understood." "I like that you're searching." "You're not that mainstream." "But i just can't judge contemporary painters." "It's always good to show your work to strangers." "It's always good to show your work to strangers." "I mean, that i interrupted your idyll with the blonde girl." "It was no idyll." "I already told you that i'm not interested in her." "At the most as a model." "She'd be good for that." "Picasso could have painted her." "You're mean!" "Why?" "Picasso only loved beautiful women." "Don't you think that she resembles Dora Maar or Jacqueline, his last wife?" "Yes." "One could paint her with one eye in the front and the other one in profile." "You should get married." "You're fast!" "And me?" "Would you like painting me?" " Yes, but that wasn't what came to my mind when i saw you." "I didn't have the painter's view then." "This girl makes you insecure." " Her?" "No way." "Less than you!" "I have problems with that kind of girls." " What girls?" "With tourists." " I'm one aswell." "You're not." "I'll tell you something:" "When i was 20, i made the mistake of running too much after tourists." "I got to know many." "But it never really worked out." "I guess i wasn't the type they were looking for in France, and they weren't my type either." "Everytime i got to know one, i had to be careful not to take revenge." "So i closed myself." "Why waste time with a girl that will soon go back to her country?" "A couple of days isn't that bad." "In my case it's only two hours." "Why did you start talking to her then?" " I didn't." "I told you, she doesn't interest me particularly." "She's pretty, yes." "But i don't even look at such girls usually." "She's the cousin of a friend from Sweden." "The only Northern person i got along with." "No wonder, we've only been good friends" "Every now and then she sends me friends or relatives and asks me to show them Paris." "And for a stranger you just leave her at the museum?" "Your friend is counting on you!" " Do you find that bad?" "Yes." "And it's because of me, i feel awkward." "Don't." " I do." "I had already left her when i met you." "I went back to the museum because of you, i had to meet her." "I understand." "And what did you tell her when you met her?" "Anything." "That i wanted to see a painting that had inspired me." "Mother and Child, 1907?" " Yes." "Did she believe you?" " So so." "I'm sure she suspected something." "Especially when i ran off, to follow you." "And i'm sure she's not as dumb as you say." "I just said that i find her boring." "Does she like your paintings?" " No." "I think she doesn't." "But it's not because of that." "I hope so." " I'm telling you again, i don't feel like exchanging banalities with her." "Why banalities?" "Talk about painting with her." "You're good at that." "She was glued to your lips." "I actually think she's making fun of me." "I just wanted to impress you!" " I noticed that." "And since i'm nosy..." "But why is she trivial?" "I didn't say that." "But with someone who's here for such a short time one is practically forced to exchange banalities." "I'm not a tourist guide and even less an art teacher." "I used to be one, but that's over now." "Even if it worked out.." "And how to you want to know that you won't exchange banalities with me?" "Can't you see, we aren't." " Because this situation isn't trivial." "Well with her it was." "And how!" "I've had that often enough.." "This is already the fifth time that Anita sends me a girl, telling me that she made her all crazy about me and an other silly things." "At first it amused me." "She always wanted to set me up with someone." "She never let me get close to her." "But those are girls that first hit on you and then don't let you touch them." "I'm sure Anita was in love with you, but when she noticed that you don't love her back, she had to provoke you." "Maybe." "In any case, she's far away now." "By now i'm only interested in women that i really like." "I decided that this morning, when i went to the museum with her." "I made up an exuse to get away from her and asked her pro forma for a date." "Pro forma?" " Yes, but i won't go." "Especially now that i met you." "I immediatly thought ahead." "Since i'm not interested in women anymore i'm on the other hand obligated to search for those i really like." "i'm on the other hand obligated to search for those i really like." "Thinking ahead isn't the right expression, it all happened so fast.." "And so i followed you." " Bad choice!" "Maybe." "But the principle is good." "So now you have to talk to every woman you like." "Those are only few." "You don't find them just like that." "You found me immediatly." " Pure coincidence!" "Irony of fate." "I find you and lose you again." " Fate is against you, don't let your Swedish girl go!" " You won't believe me, but you're the only woman i ever wanted to start talking to." "Oh really?" "Since when?" " Always." "Well almost..." "You correspond to something very profound." "I can't explain it, but that's the way it is." "And... i had the impression that you felt the same way." "Oh no!" "The man i love isn't anything like you at all." "At least not physically." "Besides, i'd never get the idea of starting something with a painter." "I love painting too much to spend time with someone who is not a genius." "But at the same time the genius scares me." "But that doesn't mean that you won't find a woman that resembles me and loves you." "My life wouldn't have any sence otherwise." " And painting?" "Painting's not everything." "With me things aren't all connected like with Picasso." "So..." "Until you find one, seduce as many blondes as possible." "I'm sorry you lost her because of me." "All women want to set me up." "That's is really strange.." "Well, i'll leave now." "Bye." " Can't i kiss you?" "No." "Only on the cheek!" " Don't be ridiculous!" "I thought you don't like banalities." "What do you expect from this?" "Besides, i hate those kisses people give each other at every opportunity." "If you want to make me happy..." " Not really." "Or let's say, you want to make yourself happy." "Kiss your Swedisch girl." " I already did." "On the cheek." "That's a start." "Keep going!" " Two hours of boring conversation.." "That's a high price." " Take her to friends of yours then." "Goodbye." "Enjoy your evening." "Better say:" "Enjoy your painting." "Yes!" "Hello, how are you?" "That's very nice, but tonight i can't." "I'm painting." "I'd like to continue." "Rebecca?" "I haven't seen her in ages." "Can i bring someone?" "Excellent." "9 o'clock, or is that too late?" "Ok." "So see you then." "Bye." "I really can't come." "Yes i know but..." "I just can't break away from painting." "I'm really sorry." "All in all this day isn't completely wasted."