"Watch it, child!" "Where are you looking at?" "Can't you see people are passing by?" "You idiot!" "Did he wet you, Mr. Aristidis?" "lt's nothing, Mr. Yannakos." "You're fighting with the pergola?" "That is what our tavern has to show for." "I thought it was the good wine." "l opened a first class wine today." "Did the chemist taste it?" "He hasn't showed up yet." "The chemist!" "He can't see further than his nose!" "He is wasted!" "Hello, chemist." "Hello." "Excuse me." "What's up?" "May I ask you something?" "Tell me which the opposite sidewalk is?" "There it is." "Strange..." "Why do you say that?" "Because they told me before that the opposite sidewalk is that." "Get it?" "l get that you are plastered, you drunk!" "That's my duty." "I'm a chemist." "They told me that on the opposite sidewalk they opened a new barrel." "Chemist!" "It's here, come." "I'm coming right away." "According to information from the Reuters... they told me that you opened up a new barrel." "Come inside and I'll buy you a drink, so you can tell us what you think." "Hello, guys." "Welcome, chemist." "I'll bring the glasses." "How are you, guys?" "We're alright." "It's a clean glass." "Cheers!" "What do you think of the new one?" "What new one?" "The new wine who just had." "That's the new one?" "What can I tell you, guys?" "I didn't realize with the first sip." "Let's see what happens with the second one." "Well?" "Don't rush me." "I can't tell." "Let's try again." "A third one?" "A fourth..." "A tenth..." "A one-hundredth." "Until I form an opinion." "I don't want to fool you." "One more." "lt's the last one." "Are we clear?" "I think that it's good, but I'll have to analyze it in the lab." "Boy!" "Come here." "Put some for sampling." "Should I, boss?" "Put 100 grams." "Why 100 grams?" "I need at least 500 grams." "Great!" "Well..." "Sit." "Where are you going?" "I have to do more sampling." "I'm a chemist!" "Isn't that right?" "Where are you?" "Here." "I greet you..." "I thank you..." "And may the god of wine save us!" "Bye, chemist." "Farewell!" "Farewell!" "Watch where you're going." "Are you blind?" "ls he really a chemist?" "Are you kidding?" "Where is he going now?" "Now?" "He'll go from tavern to tavern until midnight." "He starts and ends here." "Here you are, guys!" "Welcome, chemist!" "How's it going?" "Fine." "How are the wines?" "Great!" "Get up!" "Move it!" "Hit the road!" "Move!" "It's not like I said anything." "Go home now." "Goodnight." "Goodnight." "What happened?" "He is drunk." "What's wrong with him, Yannis?" "l don't know." "He isn't speaking." "Bring him some water!" "Someone!" "What's wrong?" "Are you injured?" "Let me see." "l'm fine!" "It didn't break." "What happened to you?" "I was startled." "See?" "I almost had water." "Don't worry." "There's nothing wrong with him, Mr. Bakas." "Hey, chemist!" "You're drunk again?" "Come, get up." "Bless the Lord." "How are you, madam?" "See what almost happened to you?" "Shame on you for getting drunk!" "Really?" "Certainly." "If wine is a shame, then your husband should be more ashamed than me." "Why?" "He's the biggest wine merchant in Athens." "Yes, but I don't drink at all." "Why?" "Do the doctors forbid you to?" "I just don't drink." "You have so much wine and you don't drink?" "Not even a drop." "Then, you are stupid." "You are drunk." "Let's go, Eleni." "Probably, but tomorrow I'll be sober... and you'll still be stupid." "Mrs. Bakas..." "You should know... lt's him..." "Bakas..." "The Bakas' Distillery." "Thousands of barrels!" "Wine running like water!" "And he doesn't drink?" "Not at all." "What did you tell him?" "He is stupid." "He doesn't drink." "Why does he come to the tavern then, to make me furious?" "He comes to eat and hear some music." "It's a luxuriant tavern." "Don't tell me!" "That's why you have spoiled all taverns!" "Get me a milk!" "ldentify me, please." "Haralambos Lardis." "Professional Drunk." "Excuse me?" "I'm a chemist!" "And I live..." "Leukipou Str. 26, Plaka." "Great!" "Let's go." "This way." "This way." "Forgive me." "We are almost there." "l live here?" "Here." "Which door of the two?" "You can't do this, Mr. Haralambos." "Your daughter is of an age to marry." "Don't think of yourself, but don't you feel bad about that poor thing?" "You know what people say when they see her?" ""There goes the drunk's daughter"." "ls that what they say?" "Yes." "You had that accident and I feel for you." "What happened to you was harsh, but..." "Father!" "My little girl..." "He was kind of dizzy and I..." "You are too kind." "Thank you." "It was my duty, Miss." "Goodnight." "Come, father." "Listen... lt's his favorite serenade." "He sang like that with the other kids." "Remember?" "Let's go, father." "You left, my light, and my whole life changed." "And that poisoned my heart." "My little one, now that I've lost you... I'm all alone in the alleys." "Stop it, youngsters." "You're breaking my heart." "That's how he sang, along with the other guys." "My boy..." ""l am proud as a Greek because in the Albanian mountains..."" ""my son, Constantinos"..." "I wrote it in the letter l send his captain..." "Remember?" "l know, father." "As a Greek, I was proud." "But, as a father... I loved him dearly, Annoula." "As much as I love you." "That much." "Father!" "Before a year passed, your late mother..." "Everything came at once." "illness..." "Hunger..." "The Occupation... I sold the house..." "I sold the piano..." "Everything... I couldn't save her." "Her heart broke with the death of our Constantinos." "I broke..." "I started drinking..." "It's not that I don't love you." "Who told you that you don't love me?" "The policeman." "The policeman brought you home again?" "Shame on you!" "Silence!" "The general is up!" "Look at you!" "You're dead drunk!" "Mother-in-law..." "Leave him, grandma." "You stop it." "You always pamper him and this can't go any further." "He's incompetent!" "Misery hit everyone, but they didn't let themselves go." "Eight years now, you've been going from tavern to tavern." "How many days it's been since you went to work?" "You pretend that you don't listen!" "You don't love her." "They were right." "You don't love your daughter." "Come to bed." "General, I forbid you!" "I adore my little daughter." "With words I do plenty, too." "She's not a baby anymore... to put her to sleep with fairytales about the prince on the white horse." "Tell her to stop. I can't take it anymore." "Stop nagging." "You think I'm nagging?" "Look in the mirror." "You are not a child. lt's time for the real prince to come." "But who will marry you with a father..." "Stop it, grandma!" "We must face the truth." "He promised he'll stop drinking." "Isn't that right?" "Not for me, for your health, you liver." "Yes, child." "I'll do as you say." "Need anything else?" "Wake me up when I'm thirsty." "He won't listen!" "Let him sleep." "He's suffering." "lf he drinks a barrel, he'll stop suffering." "You are harsh, grandma." "That's enough!" "Stop it." "What if I drink?" "I didn't forget about you." "The pain is here forever." "Potatoes, marrows, tomatoes!" "Grapes!" "Greengrocer, do you have potatoes?" "l got fine ones." "How much?" "1 .800." "Shame on you!" "I'll buy them elsewhere." "Listen to that!" "1 .800!" "Are we having potatoes again?" "I your father doesn't go to work, you'll see what we'll be eating in a week." "You just woke up and you are on father's case again." "The money from my pension are finishing and it's still the 1 7th of the month." "How are we going to pull through until the end of the month?" "l'll go find work." "A girl running around in offices!" "Work is no shame." "lt's not, but... I don't know..." "To have every bum over your head..." "Anyway..." "l had other dreams for you." "l know." "To marry me to a nice man." "And then I could close my eyes." "The general is all emotional!" "I had those diamonds to dress you up as a bride and now they're gone." "Don't think of such things." "But the last one, I kept." "Here..." "Let me see it." "It's nothing much." "There it is." "lt's beautiful!" "Give it to me." "l will when the time comes." "Get up to clean." "Wake up the master so we can sweep." "Let's see his face when he wakes up and doesn't find the bottle close to him." "You hid it again?" "What do you mean "again"?" "The doctor said that he can't quit altogether." "He is sick." "Have you ever heard of having wine instead of coffee?" "He's out." "When?" "I didn't hear him." "The drunk!" "He didn't find the bottle and he headed for the tavern!" "Hello, chemist." "Good morning." "Are you mad at me?" "Why?" "You told me "good morning"." "lt's morning, isn't it?" "Of course you're mad at me." "Five years we've been neighbors, first you come from the tavern... you drink your wine, tell me "good morning" and then you open your shop." "That "good morning" is over." "I won't drink again." "Are you seriously quitting wine?" "I have to see it to believe it." "Believe it. I haven't had a sip since this morning." "Let it be..." "That's why the long face." "And I just opened a new barrel!" "Why would I care?" "Are we partners?" "And who will taste it?" "Go the State Laboratory." "What do they know?" "All these years, all the taverns in Plaka know you as a chemist." "From this day and on, I just repair shoes." "And you'll keep it until noon?" "l will." "Want a bet?" "Fifteen kilos of wine." "I'm in!" "I'll teach you a lesson!" "Haralambos, here is your glass." "Cheers!" "Finally!" "You opened your shop!" "Why have it locked up for a week with my shoes inside?" "Now you started working on them?" "Aren't you listening?" "They'll be ready in two minutes." "l don't have another pair." "I've been wearing my slippers for a week now." "You're driving me nuts." "Sit." "They'll be ready in two minutes." "That's why no one comes in here." "Since you have no clients, I thought that you'd have them ready right away." "Last Monday, in the afternoon, I come and the shop is closed." "I come on Tuesday, it's closed." "I come on Wednesday, it's closed." "I come on Thursday, it's closed." "I come on Friday, it's closed." "I come on Saturday, it's closed..." "For God's sake!" "My shoe!" "I don't have another pair, you alcoholic!" "Are you crazy?" "I'll take you to the police!" "The drunk destroyed my shoes!" "I don't have another pair!" "I'M in THE TAVERN" "Who is it?" "is it you, Mr. Yannakos?" "How are you?" "How come you remembered us?" "A poor girl." "You'll be doing a good deed." "In any position." "A typist?" "Do you know typing?" "A bit." "Of course she does." "I'll send her tomorrow." "When are you coming to our tavern with the lady?" "I couldn't come after the embarrassment with that drunk!" "Does he still come every night?" "Goodbye." "How can I thank you?" "lt was my obligation." "But there is one thing..." "What?" "When you go there tomorrow, don't say anything about your father." "Understand?" "l understand." "I should be ashamed for my father." "You drunk!" "Welcome, chemist." "You're drunk again!" "l'm not drunk at all." "Sit." "But you are stuttering." "What am I doing?" "You're stuttering." "Don't tell me." "Ask me something difficult." "Say:" "The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain." "You can't even say that." "Here's an easy one." "Railroad." "What am I suppose to say?" "Railroad." "That's easy!" "Rail..." "Come one." "Rail..." "Five-six wagons and an engine." "May all of us go to the Bacchus." "All of us will go, with courage." "Let's throw ourselves like lions." "All of us, in the wine." "Wine!" "Wine!" "Wine!" "Why, father?" "Didn't you promise me?" "My little girl..." "Aren't you ashamed of getting him drunk?" "Of making him like this?" "Why, Miss Anna?" "We're having fun." "Father, let's go home." "distillery "D.BAKAS"" "Mr." "Bakas' office, please?" "First door right." "Anna, what does it say here?" ""The exported abroad..."" ""The exported abroad extract of bottled wine... "" "How can you read Bakas' scrawls?" "You've saved me since you came." "He gets upset when you ask him." "Really?" "Not even he can read his letters." "He seems like a nice person." "You've been here for only a week." "You haven't seen him on a bad day." "He has bad days, too?" "Whenever his son comes." "Like now." "There he is." "Good morning." "ls that his son?" "He is a good looking man." "And why is he upset when..." "Alec comes?" "Because he only comes when he needs money." "He knows how to live." "He has a car..." "And many girlfriends." "How do you know?" "Just guessing." "Why not?" "He is handsome..." "Miss, Mr, Bakas asked for you." "Finished already?" "Three copies of this." "And Miss, two copies of this." "A day will come when you'll be banging your head against the wall." "I'm telling you this, your father." "Are you listening?" "Yes, father." "Go on." "Excuse me." "You asked for me." "Good morning." "Give half of the pages to another typist." "We have to be on time for the airmail." "But they are ready." "So quickly?" "Here you are." "Well done." "Can you read my letters?" "Easily." "Then ask for a raise." "Very funny!" "Sign here, Mr. Bakas." "Goodbye." "Send them right away." "Don't worry." "A new employee?" "None of your business." "She's not like the girls you know." "She is an honest girl." "Everyone is honest, until proven otherwise." "You seem to be very experienced in women." "I study them as much as I can." "But I'm paying for the tuition." "So what?" "At your age, I worked for a month to make the money you spend in a day." "Of course, you didn't have a father like mine." "I started of as an accountant and when I made my first 100 drachmas..." "Your motto was:" "I won't drink alcohol, but I'll sell it." "You never had wine, you never had fun, you became all big and mighty." "I respect you and all that you've done, but if every time I ask you for money... you tell me your biography what will happen?" "Aren't you bored already?" "How much do you want?" "The ordinary." "When I build this manor..." "l know. I was 12 years old." "I dreamt of a firm called "Bakas and Son"." "I build an office similar to mine, next door." "That office right there." "Your office." "I know that you love me." "You're the best father in the world." "You worked hard in your youth." "Let me have some fun." "One day, I'll devote my self to convention." "It will be too late, Alec." "One day, I won't be here." "I'm not immortal." "God forbid!" "What are you talking about?" "You won't be able to run this company." "Of course, I will." "All of them?" "You didn't leave anything for me." "lt's one o' clock." "The office closed up." "What do I care?" "The employees left." "But I'm interested in the employees." "Goodbye." "Goodbye, girls." "Excuse me, Miss." "Good morning, Mr. Alec." "Are you the new employee?" "Yes, Mr. Bakas." "You need something?" "Nothing." "I always like to meet the new employees." "My name is Anna Lardis, I'm a typist." "I appreciate your interest... but I live far away and I will be late." "Then, would you like me to give you a ride with my car?" "Along with your friend of course." "We'd love to, Mr. Alec." "If you weren't my bosses' son, I wouldn't even bother to answer you." "I am much in need for the money I earn and it would be tragic to loose my job." "Please keep your charm and your cars for the girls you know well." "You took me wrong, Miss." "l think that you took me wrong." "Let's go, Keti." "You insulted him." "The idiot!" "Am I going to wait for long in this car?" "The sun is burning me!" "Very charming!" "There we go again!" "is she a new one?" "You don't want Bakas' son to fall in love with you?" "That's nonsense!" "We see it in movies all the time." "Right!" "Prince Charming!" "Why not?" "His car stopping outside your shuck, Alec with a bunch of white roses... telling your father: "Mr. Lardis, I ask for your daughter's hand in marriage"." "is your father alive?" "When I was a child, he used to tell me such fairytales in rainy afternoons." "But the prince in my fairytales rode on a white horse, not a car." "Alec's car is much better." "An engine of 120 horses!" "Think about it." "You never know." "Mrs. Anna Bakas with cars and mansions." "I know all about them!" "You'll be wasting your time." "lf l set my mind on something..." "You have such trust in your charm?" "I have trust in women's vanity." "All typists dream of the bosses' son falling in love with them." "She didn't seem like that." "They are all alike." "l bet that you'll achieve nothing." "Set another plate." "And I bet that in a week, I'll have her in my arms." "l'll loose anything." "Your car." "My car." "is my mother upstairs?" "She's in the garden." "Fine." "I want a breeding of pinks and gardenias and I will achieve it!" "That's impossible, Mrs. Eleni." "If we succeed though, it will be very romantic!" "I don't know what it would be, but it is impossible." "Good morning, mother." "How are the love affairs between flowers doing?" "l'm breeding pinks and gardenias." "That's wonderful!" "How are you, Aristidis?" "Fine, thank you." "Have you ever studied the love affairs of flowers?" "For now, I'm too busy with your son's love affairs." "Well done, my darling." "l got it!" "From tomorrow, I will be her boss." "What do you think?" "Our father is coming!" "What inspired you so suddenly?" "l decided I want to work." "l thought of what you said this morning." "Good for you." "Since I started working in the garden, my life is full." "I've changed my plans. I decided to breed flowers with vegetables." "Let's talk seriously for once, Eleni." "Our son has expressed his wish to work." "I don't disagree." "You look very good in that bowtie, Aristidis." "Let's talk seriously, mother." "Aristidis' bowtie is not an issue." "I decided it's time to settle in the office." "Why not?" "What do you say, Aristidis?" "l say, he'll like it in the office." "Aristidis knows." "To be honest, I don't believe you." "You'll see tomorrow." "Won't he, Aristidis?" "Agreed." "Just keep in mind, that offices open at nine o' clock sharp!" "Listen, Miss." "Your attitude yesterday was completely unspeakable." "I won't listen to anything." "You took my interest as an employer wrong and imagined I don't know what!" "I wasn't flirting you, as you might have thought... because you are a rather good looking girl." "Not a word more!" "And now back to work." "But what work, damn me?" "I have no idea about work!" "That's the tragedy, Miss." "No idea!" "lsn't Miss Lardis here yet?" "No, Mr. Bakas." "Send her in as soon as she comes!" "Hello, Annoula." "l am late." "Mr." "Bakas asked for you twice." "Really?" "Miss Anna, Mr. Bakas asked for you." "ls he mad?" "He is furious!" "Not from that door, from the other one." "Good morning." "How are you?" "Pass by the office in the afternoon." "Good morning." "You asked for me, not Mr. Bakas?" "l'm a Bakas, too." "What would you like?" "I would like..." "Come in, Miss." "And close the door." "Come..." "Sit." "Tell me." "Listen, Miss." "Yesterday..." "Listen, Mr. Bakas." "Let's leave things as they were yesterday." "lf you plan to take this further..." "On the contrary, I wanted to tell you... I don't want you to tell me anything." "And if you believe that you can seduce a girl because you have a car..." "Not at all." "I wanted to apologize for yesterday." "Do you understand?" "l don't care if you want to apologize." "If you came here to play, I came to earn my family's living." "My father expects to live of me, while you live of your father." "Do you understand?" "And now, excuse me. I have work to do." "Have a nice start!" "Good morning, father." "What's with the long face?" "Comes with the nice start." "Work demands a good spirit." "Let's see you now." "I don't know what to do." "These are your bells." "This is the clerk. I know him." "You already met him." "Well done." "The rest are the superintendents." "All of these are superintendents?" "Of course." "Call them to brief you." "Not all of them at once." "Now it's too late." "One by one, child." "I seriously want to work, father." "Good morning." "Good morning." "Please, gentlemen, have a seat." "This is a historical day for the "D. Bakas' Distillery"." "I'm pleased to announce to you that the company's name will be..." ""D.Bakas and Son"" "My congratulations, Mr. Bakas." "distillery "D.BAKAS  SON"" "What a rain today!" "The first rain of autumn!" "This is a cataclysm!" "I almost swam from the opposite sidewalk." "Did you see the new sign?" "l saw it." ""D.Bakas  Son"." "And you are the Holy Spirit." "If only Bakas you that you're the reason his son came to the office... he'd light you a candle." "Alec in the office!" "He doesn't seem that bad." "What was that?" "You change your mind in five days just like that?" "He apologized since the first day." "He did?" "Miss Anna, Mr. Bakas." "Which one?" "The son." "Come in." "Look at what you've done to me!" "Me?" "Yes, you." "Help me sort things out." "What are you looking for?" "The mail from Marseilles." "Here it is." "This is it!" "And you can call me Alec." "We're friends now, aren't we?" "Of course, Mr. Alec." "That's the way." "A paper and my pen." "Of course you've brought me to this." "From dawn until nightfall in the office!" "You know I'm here because of you." "You're forgetting our agreement." "I'm not flirting you." "We said, friends." "Friendship is a bad thing." "On the contrary." "A wise man once said that friendship..." "ls the safest way to love." "What did we say?" "l didn't say it, Victor Hugo did." "l wasn't planning on saying that." "Then don't say it." "It would be prim." "Like all these logistic folders that torture us." "You are not right at all." "Work is not primness." "When one works, one feels that he has a reason to live." "That he is fighting and creating." "And when he succeeds..." "Don't you feel satisfied for taking so many things over in only a few days?" "We all made fun of you at first, even me." "But we were wrong." "You proved you have a brain for trade." "A brain for trade... lt's raining cats and dogs all day, as if the waterfalls of the sky have opened." "You want to go to the tavern, right?" "Bless the Lord!" "There had to be a cataclysm to keep you home." "Stop nagging general and tell me where you hid the bottle." "Where I hid it, not even God himself can find it." "I'm telling you I'm thirsty." "My throat is dry." "Let me make you a tea then." "General, give me to drink or I'm going out in the rain." "It'll be dark soon, we'll all sit at the table like a family." "You're daughter will come soaking wet from the office." "I hope she doesn't catch a cold with this filthy weather." "Where is that bottle?" "That bottle will destroy our home." "The poor thing works and you drink the money." "Your eyes can't see from the alcohol, but mine see well around me." "Something is wrong with our Annoula." "I can guess it." "I feel it." "She's happy..." "The way she behaves..." "The way she reacts... lt's youth!" "Are you listening to me?" "She has the right to make a life for herself." "You and your bottle can't spoil her happiness." "You have become a mock!" "The chemist!" "The drunk!" "Where could we hide your bottle?" "On the shelves, the flowerpot... the mattress, the icons..." "Haralambos!" "You brought down the icons and the vigil light!" "God will punish you!" "Are you hurt?" "No." "Just my hand a bit." "Father!" "What happened?" "I'm an animal!" "A drunk." "A lost cause." "May God punish me." "Your hand." "I don't want it to happen, but when I don't drink... my throat and tongue are dry." "And I'm thirsty." "Then, I want to drink and I think of no one." "Not my liver, not my health, not even you." "I'm an animal." "This world is better of without me." "No, father." "Why don't you try to quit drinking?" "l can't." "When I wake up in the morning, my head is heavy." "I swear to you, to my love for you... and to your mother's and Costakis' graves... I say, I won't drink..." "I won't drink today..." "And as much as I say it, the more thirsty I get." "Come, get up." "You go change." "Come, Sit in your chair." "If it weren't for you, I would have died on some sidewalk." "For your daughter." "You are right." "I'm telling you, something's going on in that office." "Who knows?" "Maybe we'll have a wedding." "A grandchild." "A great grandchild." "She's coming." "How are you, father?" "l feel better." "You must cure." "The doctor said you can, if you want to." "But is takes a lot of strength." "Do you want me to be cured?" "So they won't say "the drunk's daughter"... and think of me as someone big." "Like back then." "Come sit on my lap." "l'll tire you." "You won't tire me." "I'm tiring you, my daughter." "Like when you told me fairytales." "About the prince on the white horse." "Tell me about Prince Charming." "You want to hear it?" "Very much, father." "The red thread you can feel, tied around a spinning-wheel." "Give a kick for it to spin, so the fairytales begin." "Once upon a time..." "Yes?" "Once upon a time..." "Chemist!" "What is it, officer?" "l didn't recognize you." "Am I wearing a costume?" "No, you're sober." "How come?" "l'm going to the shop." "How many taverns are you passing by?" "Five." "l was very courageous on the first one." "Good luck with the rest four." "May the Lord be listening!" "Chemist, why are you walking on the opposite sidewalk?" "I'm walking on the border line today." "Good morning." "Hello, chemist I'm going to the shoe repair store." "I'm not coming in." "Don't invite me in." "Who told you to come in?" "See?" "I didn't come in." "I have strength of character." "You're asking for it to come in?" "No, I'll explain." "Don't be upset. I'll explain." "What is there to explain?" "Let's talk about this." "I said I wouldn't drink wine again." "And from today I decided..." "To cut down on it." "Boy, bring me a glass." "Only your late son Constantinos could keep you in order." "May he rest in peace!" "You were scared of him." "My boy..." "You have a girl now." "l told you to bring a glass, not a jug." "l'll take it away." "No, leave it." "You have no brain." "The girl..." "You are right." "I'm heading for the shop." "If you ever get to the shop, come back and shoot me." "It's just two taverns away." "Don't go in, Miss." "The superintendents are still in." "What's wrong, Mr. Fotis?" "My daughter is having a baby today." "If her late mother were alive, I wouldn't worry." "There are always the neighbors." "Don't worry." "All will be well." "You'll become a grandfather." "I'd rather if didn't become one." "She'll be alone, with a child in her arms." "What about her husband?" "We sailed away as soon as they married." "He's a sailor." "He used to send letters and some money." "Then, he stopped." "We heard that he made an affair with another woman in Brazil." "My daughter was crushed." "She got sick, she ran a fever." "Now, I'm scared for both her and the baby." "Why don't you ask for a day-off?" "Mr." "Alec doesn't like me." "He shouts at me all the time." "I don't want to give him reasons." "Go in, Miss." "They agreed for the central storage area." "l'm glad." "Are they ready?" "Here you are." "Mr. Alec..." "Please, give a day-off to Mr. Fotis." "His daughter is having a child today." "ls he stupid?" "Why didn't he tell me?" "l don't know." "He's scared of you." "You shout at him." "He is absent-minded." "His daughter is sick, her husband left her, they have no money." "That's life." "It's full of tragedies." "You have no idea what misery is." "Who?" "I'm him." "Dolly, who?" "With Aristidis?" "Where are you?" "At the bar." "I just finished rehearsal." "Come take us to Glifada to eat." "What?" "You have a lot of work in the office?" "What work?" "You have a crash with the typist." "It's none of my business?" "Of course it is my business." "We have a bet." "Type this, too. lt's urgent." "That's nonsense!" "I'll see you tonight." "Call me later, pass by, do as you please." "Get of my case, I have work." "Tell me, Mr. Thomas..." "Yes, Mr. Alec." "Where have you been working?" "Where have I been working?" "Can't you tell us about you?" "Your problems." "Your needs." "What are we, a showcase?" "Especially today, that your daughter is having a baby." "Aren't we allowed to know?" "May I leave, Mr. Alec?" "No you may not." "Come here." "Where is your daughter giving birth?" "At home." "The neighbors are there." "You go to the best clinic on the company's expense... with this note here." "And two wages from me for the baby." "And if it's a boy, I'll give him your name because I will baptize it." "l don't know what to say." "Run now." "Who'll stay at the door?" "No one!" "In the best clinic, two wages and he'll baptize it, too." "He has a heart of gold." "May the Lord repay him!" "You were lucky, Mr. Fotis." "Miss Anna did everything." "I just told him to give you a day-off." "Go now." "Come in." "Mr." "Alec, what you did..." "What did I do?" "You'll baptize it, too?" "l'll put it in a baptistery." "I hope I don't drown it." "Don't act in vain." "You pretend you're someone that you're not." "Why?" "You have what the old man said." "A heart of gold." "You should have seen how he was speaking of you." "He'd say all the wishes he knew while crying from joy." "It was very kind of you." "Miss Anna?" "What?" "Mr. Fotis, owes it to you." "When you talked to me about him... I was impressed by by how much you felt for him." "You know well about misery, too." "You never talked to me about your home." "Only once, when you told me that your father expects to live from you." "Why?" "ls he ill?" "No, he is fine." "I wanted to insult you then." "Forgive me." "It seemed so real." "Anna!" "The fact that I'm in this office right now, I owe it to you." "That, and many more." "Only today, I feel I can apologize for the way I treated you then." "Today, that I feel something very noble for you." "Did you forget our agreement?" "We said we'd never talk about..." "Don't say a word." "You'll spoil this moment." "l lost the bet!" "The bet?" "No, Anna." "He doesn't know what he's talking about." "It was a bet about something different... I messed things up!" "I never imagined you'd play with a girl's heart to win a bet." "Let me explain." "Explain what?" "No more lies." "Enough with the comedy." "Leave the offices and the meetings... and go back to having fun!" "You can brag of having another conquest like all the rest." "A poor and stupid typist who believed in a hypocrite's beautiful words." "You moron!" "What's wrong, Anna?" "Why have you been silent since morning?" "Won't you tell me?" "Your grandmother?" "Why did you leave the office?" "What happened?" "Nothing, grandma." "lt can't be." "Here we are." "Welcome." "I said I wouldn't drink and I made it until noon." "Than I told myself:" ""Well done!" "You're great"" ""Let me buy you a drink"." "Aren't you ashamed?" "You promised your daughter." "l'm not completely drunk!" "Where are my slippers?" "Under the bed." "And where's the bed?" "lf you can't see the bed... how will you see your daughter who's been crying her eyes out?" "Come, father." "My little girl." "You're crying?" "Why, my doll?" "Want me to tell you the fairytale about the prince on the white horse?" "There's no fairytale or prince." "There's only filth." "What's wrong with her?" "Silence, you incompetent!" "What can you see but your purple nose?" "Come to bed." "What's wrong with her?" "While I was away, Alec was a great replacement." "The transport of the storage area to the port, was an excellent idea." "You saved 800 barrels." "I've always said that Alec is a first class young man." "And your daughter is a charming girl." "She's alright." "She got her diploma in piano... with honors." "Really?" "I hate that "with honors"." "Hello, Alec." "Hello, Betty." "How are you?" "Fine." "And you?" "Hello." "How are you, Mrs. Bamboulia?" "Fine." "You?" "Forgive me for my clothes." "I was working in my office." "Mr. Competition, you killed us with the 500 barrels." "As if you have a problem!" "He'll shut you down all!" "Let's go for a walk." "Our parents here are unfolding all our qualities." "lf that's the case, let's run!" "Go, my darlings." "Alec, show her the greenhouse with the flowers." "Lately, I've been busy with the love affairs of flowers." "How interesting!" "I'm trying a breeding of pinks and gardenias." "Why are you nodding, darling?" "Tell her your madness." "Why madness?" "You with your wines and barrels... and us with our flowers and our music." "Right, Eleni?" "Of course." "We're making the wine merchants look noble." "It's great that you are breeding flowers... but what about the breeding of our walking flowers?" "You are so right!" "Alec with Betty." "Why didn't I think of that?" "It will be very romantic!" "And essential, too." "We'll breed our businesses." "Light it." "l think they're cooking something." "What?" "A matchmaking." "What?" "A matchmaking?" "Yes." "And what do have to say?" "What can I say?" "I don't know." "What do you think?" "l don't know." "We've been friends since we were children." "What am I suppose to think?" "l seems funny for us to get married." "You're telling me!" "Tell me, Betty..." "Are you in love with someone?" "Yes." "That's what I wanted to tell you." "Don't get me wrong." "l feel like kissing you!" "So you're in love, too?" "l don't know." "I think so." "I guess, I am." "Tell me." "Are you sad?" "Very much." "I'll tell you what to do." "Sometimes, us women..." "Aren't you going to the office today?" "This can't go on any more." "You can't be crying for two days and not speak a word to anyone." "What's going on?" "I want to know the truth." "Did you wake up?" "It was about time!" "What's going on?" "Why didn't you go to the office?" "I'm your father. I want to know." "You know how I yearn for you." "Do you trust your daughter?" "l'd put my hand in fire." "Then don't ask, father." "Please." "I won't go to the office again, because I mustn't." "Miss Anna, you have a call." "Who is it?" "A friend from the office." "Coming!" "That's why I didn't like offices." "Girlfriends, bosses..." "And all that, because of you." "We wouldn't be in need if you worked." "But everything is about the tavern to you." "It's me, Keti." "Hello." "What's going on?" "Something very serious happened." "I can't talk about it on the phone." "Yes, let's meet." "Wherever you want." "Where?" "At five-thirty sharp." "Thank you, Miss." "That's cheap!" "Leave me alone." "Don't make a fool of us." "I have to talk to you." "What do you have to tell me?" "That I love you." "I won't deny it. I made a bet that you'll fall in my arms." "I understand how you felt." "I was more ashamed than you." "Believe me, this is not the old Alec talking." "What brought me closer to you is something I had never felt before." "You made me feel it. I was inferior to a girl, who worked for her home." "I loved you on a rainy afternoon." "When we arranged those files." "Remember?" "I heard you talk about work and creation." "You were so proud of my success!" "Like it was your work." "And it was, Anna." "Yes..." "My brother..." "That was my father's tragedy." "Miserable days came for me and grandma." "At first, he'd restrain himself, but he didn't have the power to fight back." "We picked him up drunk from sidewalks, many times." "Then, it became a habit." "A sickness." "The alcohol crushed him." "He lost his strive to work and his dignity." "I feel for you." "I was jealous of the other girls that were serenaded to." "I was the pathetic daughter of a drunk." "I wasn't like all the others." "Yes, Anna." "You weren't like all the others." "That's why I fell in love with you." "I need so much to believe you." "I believe you, Alec." "We'll fix everything." "And your father will be well." "That can't happen." "He's an alcoholic." "lt can. lt's a matter of treatment." "Some time in a clinic." "It's not that difficult." "A clinic?" "You don't know him, Alec." "Time passed." "What if my father comes home?" "l'm heading home and as we said." "l'll ask Bakas." "Why did my daughter leave the office?" "Am I her father or not?" "You only know that, chemist." "Leave the man alone!" "Go and I'll call in the morning." "What did the gentleman say?" "Do you have doubts?" "No, we just said that!" "I live for my daughter and I adore her." "And whoever harms her... I'll kill him on the spot!" "You are harsh!" "The chemist tolerates nothing!" "lf it's like that, you're a fine man." "l'd put my hand in fire for my daughter." "But in the offices, some scum when they see a working girl... and because they are scum." "l agree?" "Get me?" "The chemist is right." "Let's talk about it." "With no drinks?" "Buy us, so we'll buy you." "Why don't you go first?" "He comes every night drunk, that's why I had to get a job." "I knocked on doors, until Mr. Yannakos introduced me to your father." "He has his tavern up here." "l know." "I live a bit further away." "We'll separate here, Alec." "l'll take you home." "The neighborhood..." "It's late." "Good night, Alec." "Goodbye." "One more goodnight." "Are you blind?" "Why don't you look around you?" "Are you drunk?" "Am I driving a car to have to look around me?" "I didn't know I had to bip on every corner!" "Mind your business!" "Are you upset?" "Did we spoil your love affair with that slut?" "It seems that you're in a mood for a fight." "Go away!" "Look at a gentleman with a tie!" "Guys like you seduce poor girls." "And because they are scum..." "You're lucky l respect your old age." "And don't you respect the girl?" "And what a fine girl she is, to be with you at this time of the night!" "Are you leaving or not?" "No!" "What are you going to do?" "Leave before I make you throw up all the wine you had." "You think that I'm scared of you?" "Alec, stop it!" "He's my father!" "It's you!" "And I would put my hand in fire for you!" "You're a disgrace!" "Stop it!" "If your brother were alive, he'd show you both!" "Who are you to raise your hand on me?" "You villain!" "You bum!" "lt's Mr. Bakas!" "If he were a gentleman, he'd treat you right." "Are you finished?" "I have a few words for you, too." "What do you have to tell me?" "That I love your daughter and that I'll make her my wife." "Take back what you said." "Your daughter is the most honest girl in the world." "Tell me once more." "I want to hear it." "Father!" "My little girl... I had a bit to drink." "Don't take me wrong." "I drink a little since I lost my son." "What would your son say if he saw you drunk in taverns and alleys?" "He wouldn't want that." "I can tell you so... because from now on, I will be your son." "Let's go, my children." "Let's go home to tell it to grandma." "Come." "Good morning, grandma." "Welcome, my boy." "Come in." "How are we feeling today?" "Today, I'm in a state to kiss you." "You too, my daughter." "Come meet my other child." "A fine young man." "ln which regiment did he serve?" "He was born and raised in Athens." "In the 1st Infantry." "Did you know him?" "No, but I served in the 1st Infantry, too." "You fought with my son?" "I don't know where his grave is there in Albanian borders." "Let the dead be and see to the living." "This is a day of joy." "You're right." "He and his mother are joyful, too." "What are you standing like that for?" "Bring something for your fianc?" "." "No need to. I just came by to see you before going to the office." "Sit for a while." "The world won't come to an end." "Wait. I'll give you the keys." "Bring some brandy." "I will, for Alec." "You don't want any." "Right?" "Well done, Mr. Haralambos." "Call me "father"." "Your father doesn't drink." "He won't even smell it." "Isn't that strange?" "He is a wine merchant." "Not even with his meal." "Of course, he does exaggerate." "How will we compromise things?" "That is up to you." "He can move up to a glass and I'll move down to 100 grams." "Great idea!" "You don't know my father." "Did you make this?" "On her own." "A big spoon." "It's extraordinary!" "Cheers!" "To your joy!" "Have some, father." "Have some water to drink to us." "l'm leaving." "Grandma is making coffee." "l'm already late." "Grandma, Alec is leaving." "Have your coffee, it's ready." "l have to go to the office, grandma." "Bye." "Farewell, my child." "I'll pass by in the afternoon." "Are you happy today?" "For the first time in my life." "Do you have to go to the office?" "l have to. I'll talk to my father today." "Come in." "What are you writing here?" "Tell my son's typist to read it." "She can make out my handwriting." "She doesn't work in the office anymore." "Why did she leave?" "How could know?" "Fine..." ""On the 25th anniversary of the company..."" ""the board has permitted a bottle of wine..."" ""to be given as a gift to the employees."" "And to typists, too?" "Of course." "Can't they be given a pair of stockings?" "Type it and cut the jokes!" "Where is my son?" "He's not here yet." "Tell me, Mr. Fotis..." "What?" "Come here." "Do you know why the new typist left?" "Miss Anna?" "I don't know, but it's a shame." "She had a heart of gold." "Who had a heart of gold?" "Good morning, father." "Miss Anna, Mr. Alec." "l agree." "Leave us alone for a moment." "Yes, sir." "Did you see the new posters?" "Why the interest for Mrs. Lardis." "Tell me, Alec..." "Why did she leave the office?" "Because she's getting married." "Bless the Lord!" "You didn't ask me with who." "Why would I care?" "Of course, you do." "She is marrying me." "Alec!" "We almost had a feast-fight!" "With a typist!" "That's not the issue!" "Of course it is." "He's a Bakas." "lt's not her fault that she's a typist." "She put him to work." "Your only son convinced you." "Not at all!" "I was thinking of marrying him to the Bamboulias' family." "You know what Bamboulias means?" "1 .000 barrels per day!" "What's her name?" "Anna Lardis." "l can only imagine what her father does." "l asked one of her fellow-workers." "He is a chemist." "A scientist?" "Of course." "Out of the question!" "Betty Bamboulias... it's not the same as Lardis." "She's in love with someone else, and I'll marry to the one I love." "To a typist!" "Why?" "What am I?" "You are a Bakas." "Nonsense!" "Don't forget that when my father married you, he carried barrels at the port... while your father worked in a tobacco factory." "Don't remind me that smell!" "Now I get why you like flowers." "Don't speak to your mother like that!" "Lardis!" "Do you know the girl?" "Why speak about her like that?" "Ask father." "The truth is, that the girl is not bad." "Of course, I would never accept such a thing." "My son should have a fine marriage!" "What about her family?" "Do you know what they are like?" "They are poor and tortured, but honest." "Come and meet them." "You are young." "You can have as many girlfriends as you like... but keep away from trouble." "I wouldn't want to do this without your consent... but I love this girl and I will marry her." "Please, come meet her family." "You'll meet her too, mother... and I'm sure that you'll change your mind." "Want me to arrange it for Saturday afternoon?" "That won't mean that..." "What do you say, darling?" "Never!" "lt's impossible." "My tooth!" "Cut the drama!" "You woke up and you want to drink." "Don't you know what day it is today?" "Our in-laws are coming." "Your daughter's life is in stake and you want to drink?" "I'm only asking for some brandy for my tooth. lt's killing me!" "What tooth?" "The empty one. I swear!" "Just a sip and I'll spit it out." "But you'll spit it out." "You have my word of honor." "Here you are." "Don't swallow it." "No." "See?" "You talked to me." "Let me see the tooth." "What is there to see?" "Before you had it on the other side." "No!" "You talked to me again!" "Grandma!" "Welcome, children." "Here we are." "What are all these?" "We bought a thousand things." "This, grandma, is for you." "Father, what are you doing there?" "For my tooth." "Just a sip." "Brandy." "Why, father?" "Don't worry." "I won't get drunk with just a sip." "Now we'll have a fight." "Did he fool me?" "Can't you not drink for one day?" "Today my parents are coming to meet you." "I had a difficult time convincing them and you want to spoil everything?" "You must be crazy." "Take it away, grandma." "Lock it up." "Don't take me wrong, but our happiness depends on you." "You're right." "I won't have a drop." "My daughter..." "Father, your beard." "l shaved yesterday." "Don't forget to shave this afternoon." "Poor father." "What's wrong, Annoula?" "l don't know..." "You're parents are coming..." "Don't be a fool." "All we go well." "Grandma, they are coming." "Let me see you." "My mother." "Glad to meet you, Miss." "And grandma." "Welcome." "Come in." "How are you, my child?" "Fine, thank you." "Come in." "Sit on the couch." "Sit, father." "Your father is not here?" "He's at the barber's." "But on Saturdays it's very busy, Mr. Bakas." "How am I going to face Bakas?" "I called him stupid." "What's done is done." "Now it takes courage." "Pour a drink, so I'll built up some strength." "I knew it." "Bring 50 grams, boy." "When I drink, I feel like a different man." "Now, I'm paralyzed." "May all go well." "Cheers!" "How do you feel now?" "A bit better." "Pour another one." "No." "Go and have courage." "I'm going and God help us!" "How should I fear him?" "I'll tell him: "Sorry, Mr. Bakas"." "Have courage!" "I'm going and God help us." "And why should I say: "l'm sorry"." "ls it a crime to have some wine?" "But you over do it." "May you have a nice wedding and have courage!" "I'm going and may God help us!" "Farewell!" ""What, Mr. Bakas?" "That might work"." "He doesn't drink." ""Mr. Bakas, even Christ said it"." ""Wine brings joy to men"." "Will you have some brandy?" "Don't take me wrong, but I don't drink." "Have a drink, the world won't come to an end!" "So, you work with flowers?" "lt's very common in our class." "I was also obsessed with flowers." "Geraniums and basils." "Let's leave the vegetables." "Mother, what do you think of Anna?" "You were my son's typist?" "Yes, Mrs. Bakas." "And a very good one." "She could only read my handwriting." "Mr. Lardis is running late." "Mr. Bakas, now I'm not afraid of you." "No more for me." "I'll get drunk." "You don't get drunk that easily." "l know I can take wine." "Cheers!" "I greet you..." "I thank you..." "And may the god of wine protect us!" "Bye, chemist." "I'll go say a few words to my in-law." "You tell him alright!" "We'll surely come to that." "Mr." "Lardis is very late." "He'll be here, don't worry." "Alec, I'm worried." "You don't have to be." "How is his work going?" "He closed down his shoe-repair store." "A shoe-repair store?" "What information did you get, darling?" "lsn't he a scientist?" "They told me he was..." "Here we are." "The chemist!" "Sorry, I'm late." "I didn't find the policeman." "I have my own policeman to bring me here." "Excuse me?" "Haralambos..." "Hello, general!" "My children..." "Hello to you, too." "Father, why did you come like this?" "l forgot to shave." "What a beard!" "This is..." "What?" "Who would have guessed that we would be in-laws?" "You know him?" "An old acquaintance." "He almost run me over with his car." "We had a great laugh!" "I also called him stupid." "We must get going." "Let's go." "It's still early." "But, why?" "Wait!" "l can explain." "What is there to explain?" "There is nothing to explain." "Whatever you say, your parents are right." "Forgive me for bringing you here to watch this comedy." "We tried to keep my father sober for a day, but we didn't make it." "I don't know who's fault it is, but there can be no understanding." "Escort your parents and don't come to my home again." "My father can't be cured." "But he is my father and he needs me." "It's my fault." "As much as I love you, I'm obliged to stay with him forever." "Even if he is a drunk, an alcoholic." "Even if he destroys my life and my happiness." "Let's go, my child." "Why do you want to live, you drunk?" "What have you done to my Annoula?" "I'd see her as a bride in church, dressed in white." "But that won't happen." "Because her father is a drunk and she has to care for him." "She has to sacrifice her youth to pick him up everyday from the taverns." "She has to stay up, to wait for him at night when he comes drunk." "That is her father." "He only says fairytales about the prince on the white horse." "What have you done?" "Who will forgive you?" "You won't forgive me, either." "I harmed our Annoula." "I did her great harm." "Quickly!" "As fast as you can!" "My father!" "Father!" "Why did you do it?" "Because your son came back." "His son, a handsome, young man... stayed in some mountain of Albania, painting in with the blood of his heart." "He's proud of his child." "The chemist!" "The drunk!" "I'd like to know how you would be now... if I were amongst the ones who never came back." "You'd only have a picture of me smiling at you on the table." "My child!" "Hello?" "Father, it's for you." "Speaking..." "Mr. Yannakos, who?" "Right." "Speak." "What?" "When?" "The chemist injured himself with the paring knife." "Speak, Mr. Yannakos." "He's alive?" "In which hospital is he?" "My Anna..." "My child..." "Where is he?" "ln surgery." "My little child!" "Sit, Mr. Bakas." "What was that?" "Who is Anna?" "His daughter." "Tell me, doctor." "ln surgery, he was calling you." "Now he is awake, he asks of you." "He's alive!" "Calm down." "You can go see him." "Nurse!" "Doctor!" "How is he?" "You're relatives, right?" "Be clear with us, Annoula is not here." "I'm afraid we can't do anything more." "He's in God's hands." "Father, why did you do that?" "I wanted to get out of your way." "You shouldn't have to care for a drunk." "Father, why?" "Forget about me." "Marry the one who loves you." "I don't want anyone, I want my father." "Don't leave me." "It's better this way." "I'll go find our Constantinos." "He won't scold me for what I did." "I won't be a burden anymore." "What are you talking about?" "You'll get better and we'll have the wedding." "And on the wedding we'll get drunk." "You'll get better, you'll see me happy." "Isn't that what you want?" "Yes..." "Happy with Alecos." "Alecos, come closer." "l'm here, father." "The prince on the white horse." "I weren't lying to you." "He came." "And he calls me "father"." "Be strong, father." "My prince, welcome to my humble shack." "You came to take my Annoula, my treasure..." "Take her with you on your white horse." "I give her to you, because I know that you love her." "You'll make her forget her sorrow for leaving me." "Because I'm tired... I want to sleep." "Leave now." "Come, didn't you hear him?" "He wants to sleep." "Sleep, father." "Translated by Roza Kaloudi"