"You must dig deeper still to find true darkness the one you already know from which there is no return" "Hold on!" "I'll give you a push." "OK, stop, stop!" "Hold on a second." "Are you alright?" "Turn your wheels a little bit to the left." "OK go!" "Go!" ""It's 3 degrees above freezing point, and yet, it is snowing." ""said Gurov to his daughters." "'The thaw is only on the surface of the Earth." "'There is quite a different temperature at a greater height in the atmosphere." "Gurov had two lives:" "one open, seen and known by all who cared to know, full of relative truths and relative falsehood and another life, running its course in secret." "Everything that was essential, of interest and of value to him, everything in which he was sincere and everything in which he did not deceive himself..." "Daddy!" "...was hidden from other people." "Hi there, girls!" "How are you?" "Give me a kiss." "And all that was false in him was exposed." "His hair was already beginning to turn grey." "He had grown so much older, so much plainer during the last few years." "He fasted his hands on Anna's shoulders, warm and quivering." "Quivering, quivering..." "I think I'm going to stop seeing Philippe." " What?" " My shrink." "I think I'm going to stop seeing him." "Why?" "I don't think he's helping me anymore." "I told him about this dream I had." "I gotta piss." "We were meeting in the basement of a hospital." "There were no walls, no doors, nothing." "We were talking, and I rolled closer and closer to him on my chair- we were sitting- until our knees were touching, like, interlaced." "You know?" "You know what I mean?" " Yeah." "And then I asked him if he was gay, but he didn't answer me." "I asked him again, and still, he said nothing." "Do you think he's gay?" "I don't know." "In my dream, I knew he was, but I asked him anyway." "I wanted him to tell me." "And?" "I climbed on top of him." "I straddled him, and I was grinding him so..." "I was trying to make him hard, you know?" "Hmm-hmm." "And then I said, "Mirror me now."" ""Mirror me now"?" "He stayed calm, unflinching." "Finally, he pushed me off of him, really angry, as if I'd betrayed him." "He was so disappointed in me." "OK, so, I'll be back on Thursday." "Don't kill my plants, don't burn down my condo." "Good luck with Ms. Wce President." "I didn't know you'd started shaving down there." "Me neither." ""He felt compassion for this life," ""still so warm and lovely," ""but probably already not far from beginning to fade" ""and wither like his own." "Why did she love him so much?" "He always seemed to women different from what he was, and they loved in him not himself," "but the man created by their imagination, whom they had eagerly been seeking all their lives." "And afterwards, when they noticed their mistake, they loved him all the same." "But not one of them had been happy with him." "Time passed." ""He got on with them, parted," ""but he had never once loved." ""It was anything you'd like but not love." ""Only now, when his head was grey" ""had he fallen properly really in love for the first time in his life." ""Seemed as though, in a little while," ""a new and splendid life would begin," ""but the most complicated and difficult part of it" ""was only just beginning."" "(applauses)" "So, did you make love to Ms. Wce President?" "Sure did." "She even asked me to sit in her face." "In her face or on her face?" "On her face." " Classy." " Yeah, not bad." "And have you started imagining you have §I'Ds?" " I don't do that anymore." " Want me to check?" " No, come on." "This has to stop." " Not now!" "Stop!" "How will I explain this to my next girlfriend?" " Not now!" " Stop it!" "Most of the time, it seems like Anna didn't even like Gurov." "She's always crying." "She's crying because she doesn't want to love him and not because she doesn't love him." " But he despises women." " Where does it say that?" "Well, he cheats on his wife." "Congratulations, you read the synopsis." "Well he says they are a lesser race." "But he also says Gurov is at ease around women." "But how can you be at ease around someone you hate?" " It's easy." " How is that?" "He's comfortable around them because he despises them." "Like he's insecure." "OK..." "Does anyone want to contest that?" "Can you support your argument?" "I was surprised to see you at the reading the other night." "I was surprised there weren't more of us, the faculty." "I saw you come in and I got really stressed suddenly." "Why is that?" "Well, I thought that you might catch on that I didn't really understand what I was reading." "You seemed confident enough." "I was hoping you could clarify it for me." "Sure, which part?" "Hold on, can I just read it to you?" "Yeah." "Anytime..." "'The attitude of Anna SergueTevna, the lady with the dog," ""to what had happened was very grave" ""as though it were her fault." ""Her face dropped and faded," ""and on both sides of it, her hair hung down mournfully" ""like the women who was a sinner in an old fashion picture." ""It's wrong, she said," ""you will be the first to despise me now." "'There was a watermelon on the table." ""Gurov cut himself a slice and began eating it without haste." "'There followed at least half an hour of silence."" "I'm missing something." "She's suffering, but he doesn't feel any remorse." "Oh..." " Do you think he's callous?" " Callous?" "Cruel?" "No." "I just thought the image..." "The juicy, pink pulp of the fruit, he ate it slowly." "They're just what you're reading and what it feels like you're reading." "Well you're reading whatever it is you think you're reading." "You know, it's none of my business, but if you want to work on your accent, I could help." " What's wrong with my accent?" " Nothing, it's just... there." " And?" "You have an accent too." "Can I use your password..." "sorry!" "Yes, Ian?" "Can I use your password for the copy machine?" "3344." "Thank you." "Sorry." "Well, thank you, sir." "Mercedes?" "You didn't by any chance leave something outside my door this morning?" "Hein?" "This morning, did you leave something on... outside my door?" " Here?" " No, no." "You know what, I'm sorry, never mind." "What was it?" " No, it's OK." " What was it?" "Nothing." "(sigh)" "(bang) Ouchl!" "(bang) Fuck!" "Here." "I left two more in yourfreezer." "You'll be OK?" "Were you in love with me?" "Ah..." "Come on!" "No, seriously?" "You're asking the wrong question." "Was I in love with you?" "Nope" "But that's OK." "It's nobody's fault." "I wasn't your uncle or your coach." " Stop that.." " What?" " Stop pathologizing me." " Well, it's true." "Anyway, you can't say "pathologize" in French." " Of course you can!" " OK, fine, you can." "I'll come back later to help with that." "I have to get back to work." "Ohhen..." "Hello, Johnny!" "I applied for the editor opening." "Oh, that's good." "They won't even interview me because I never finished my degree." "Translating is not so bad." "You could always try McGill part time." "Hmm-hmm or I can go back to the Sorbonne and we could all live in Paris for a while, be near my family." "If I go to Paris, I can't be English chair." "Are you still writing for the girls?" "You know, we do have all the classics, we have Milne, Rackham, Potter." "Harry, right?" "OK, fine." "I'm not saying to stop." " So what are you saying?" " I don't know." "Nothing, I guess." "You want to write something for them too?" "Or I can just read them Chekhov." " Bye." " Bye." "Mercedes." "Are you OK?" "I just wanted to drop off my essay." "Follow me." "So what can I get you?" " Mint tea, please." " Sure." "And for yourself?" "I'll have a jasmine tea, please." "Excellent." "You can relax." "Sorry?" "I show up at your office looking a little roughed up." "You're thinking:" "my dad, my boyfriend?" "I didn't assume." "I just..." "Well I couldn't ignore it." "And I didn't mean to embarrass you." "I'm not embarrassed." "Are you;" "So what happened?" "I walked into a bookshelf." "Believe me, I wish it was a euphemism." "Don't say that." "It would make for a better story anyway." "Sorry to disappoint." "So you are, you're alright then?" "How un-alright would I have to be?" "For what?" "If you didn't understand the Chekhov text, why did you decide to read it the other night?" "Because my own stuff hasn't quite made it into the canon." "I don't know." "I guess it seemed important." "It's the perfect short story." "I've been going back to it most of my adult life." "So you write." "I IVY" "You?" "I mean, I know you used to but still?" "Yes." "Hmm-hmm..." "I'd love to read your newer stuff." "Oh yeah?" "So you can give me some feedback?" "I'm sorry, I just..." "Do you write in French?" " English." " Oh yeah?" "Why is that?" "I don't know." "It takes a lot longer... a lot longer." "But it helps me to get out of..." "I don't know." "Myself, I guess." "I want to have dinner with you." "I'll get the other side if it helps." " Don't do that." " Yeah, not very appetizing." "It's always been against my principles to... fraternize with the students." "OR." " What are you looking for?" " Oh nothing, just a..." "What time are you coming home tonight?" "It's hard to say." "He just got his divorce papers." "So, he's in rough shape." "Could you try to be home for 10?" "John will probably only be shaving at 10." "We're feeding 8 people tomorrow." "I could really use a little help." "OK." "I'll try." "And I have some good news too, so..." "OK, 1O o'clock sounds good." "If you tell me what you're looking for, maybe I can help you." "It's just an old album that John lent me in a passed life." "Which album?" "Fingerprintz, Beat Noir." "That's under F. It should be right in front of you." "Ah!" " Thanks." " You're welcome." "You want the other one?" "Audrey thinks she's writing a novel." "She wants to be a novelist too?" "Not too." "I publish conference papers and run a department so she can pretend she is the next Dan Brown." "Still, you wrote a great novel." "I wrote a middle list collection of short stories, my friend." "That's all." "Are you two fighting a lot?" "No." "No, never." "We never fight." "'Ne... pass each other in the stairs." ""Man and wife can't help quarrelling if they love each other."" "Chekhov." "It's different for you." "Having kids sort of prevents you from moving life's furniture around so easily." "Sorry!" "Hello!" "What's your name?" "Hein?" "What's your name?" "Mercedes!" "What?" "Mew}, !" "You're welcome!" "What are you drinking?" "Red wine!" "I'll be right back!" "I've always wanted a scrappy hipster from the Mile-End!" " No!" " Yeah!" "No!" "She's my student." "She's too young." "What's the age of consent these days?" "Oh, you got dibs!" "OK, I've got to go." "I promised Audrey I'd help her out with dinner tomorrow." "Go!" "Another IPA and a glass of house red." "Get this one drunk." "'Hi!" "'Hi!" "I'm not going far, I'm just..." "I can get back out if you want." "Where are you going?" "Saint-Viateur and Casgrain, please." "What?" "Say it." "I'm taken with you as I think you know." "But I'm taken." "I have errands to run today, so I brought the girls to Claire's." "Can you pick them up at 4.7" "It's already 11:30." "OK, yeah." "I have to go to the office, so I can get them later." "And three bottles of red, please." "Hello." "Hi." "It's Benjamin Roberts." "Hi!" "Hi!" "(ding dong)" "(knock knock)" "Were you waiting for me behind the door?" "Come in." "It's a very nice place you have." "Thank you." "You want some tea?" "Please." "Vanilla or mint?" "Ginger?" "Tension tamer?" "Mint, please." "Looks like you're healing nicely." " How do you pay for this place?" " My parents pay for it." "Somehow I forgot that you would have parents." "How did I get here?" "I brought you here." "(Tea kettle is boiling)" "Leave it." "Is that OK?" "Wait, wait..." ""Oh no, not that old guy, she thought."" "It's just..." "What happens now?" "You take off my clothes and then?" "I'm sorry." "Mercedes..." "I can't remember the last time I felt as alive as I do right here with you on the sofa." "It's OK." "I won't undress you." "I'll..." "I'll amputate myself and we can be just friends." "(d ring d ring)" "(d ring d ring)" "(d ring d ring)" "(d ring d ring)" "How could Gurov have eaten the watermelon?" "Sorry, I..." "Have you been waiting long?" "How did your corrections go?" "I haven't made a dent." "Oh!" "I thought you were at school." "I was." "I'm hungover." "I was slow." "Should we bring anything tonight?" "Ah shit!" "I was supposed to get wine." "Richard will grab something good from the cellar." "I can't hear." "I went to the office today." "OR"." "I had a meeting with that colleague I introduced you to." "Last night..." "Where did this meeting take place?" "My colleague's office." "Well, that should work out for all of you I guess." "Don't bait me." "Get laid." "Get fired." "Move to Paris." "Why don't we get Audrey in here and picture that." "I think it might be serious." "I've known you for 20 years." "You're not that guy." "It's too loud!" "You're not eating?" "Carina?" "Are you going to eat that?" "OK, pass it over here." "Thanks!" "Psst!" "Erika?" "What is it?" "It's for poor people!" "Your place has never been this clean before." "My grandmother died." "What?" "When?" "Yesterday." "I'm sorry." "Can I do anything?" "You could suck my dick." "Come on, I'm kidding." " No, you're not." " Come on." "You know I'm kidding." "Not entirely." "A blowjobwoulddt hurt, but I wouldn't really ask you to." "Not seriously." "Sorry, I'm not funny today." "Is there anything to drink?" " Is this from last year?" " Hmm-hmm." " Were you expecting someone?" " No, that's from earlier." "You hate mint." " How lung's that been going on?" " I just bought it today." "Guess you guys weren't that thirsty." "Come on!" "Only old people drink mint tea." "You can't help yourself, can you?" "Want me to go with you to the funeral?" "Yes." "Yeah, but they say most divorces are caused by financial disputes." "Well Michel and Diana aren't divorcing over money, they're divorcing for the same reason that Michele is fucking the tutor." "Why do men always have to behave so despicably?" "Keep me posted!" "He's just joking." "No, it's just that they don't love each other." "Apparently, and this is just what I heard, so take it or leave it, but... while Stephane and Elise are bragging about their renovations, they haven't even paid the contractor yet." "OK guys!" "I have good news!" "I finished my novel!" " Bravo!" " Congratulation s!" "Thank you!" "It's nicely done sweetheart!" "It's great!" "Thank you!" "And I found an editor who wants to publish it." " Congratulation s!" " That's amazing!" "Seriously?" " Hmm-hmm." " Who is it?" "It's Noir/Noire in Paris." "N 0 way!" "A few month ago they asked to read the manuscript but I figured it was along shot so I didn't say anything." "And I didn't want to seem like a loser." "No, of course." "Here we are!" "And they loved it" "So, I have some editing to do, but they want to launch it in the summer." "This summer?" "I can't wait to read it!" "Even if it goes right over my head." "Don't worry, it won't." "A toast!" "To making dreams come true!" "Congratulations, Audrey!" "It's fantastic!" "OK, stop, stop, stop." "OK, what's going on with you?" "I hope that's not Claire's influence." "What?" "She did us a favour." "They're getting spoiled, they don't know the value of a dollar." "A box is only 89 cents." "Hmm-hmm, yeah you're all more than happy to spend my money." "OK, get out of me!" "Get out!" "You're more than happy to keep me from making my own." "Why aren't you interested in my dreams?" "Sometimes I feel like I'm talking to a child." "No, I sacrificed my dreams a long time ago." "You were living in Paris and you were with that asshole and you were miserable and I brought you over here and I gave you a new life and two beautiful girls." "So, that's it?" "The end?" "You know, if I finished my PhD," "I could earn more and we could both have more time to write." "I'm going to take the girls out of that private school and put them in public." "I don't want them to turn into egocentric snobs." "You keep everyone in this house from having the education you have." "Who's the egocentric one?" "Oh Ben, I was wondering if you got the exam schedule yet?" "Yes, yes I do actually." "I want to post my extra office hours so they have no excuse." " There you go!" " Thanks!" "No problem!" "Ah, Ben?" "This is a student's class schedule." "Oh, weird." "Um, I don't know how that got in there." "Hold on a second, I'm going..." "It's OK, I'll get it from you later." " Are you OK?" " Yeah." "Would you make me your Mercedes chicken?" "Of course." "Just let me pick up a few things." "OR." "Hey!" "Hi!" "Where are you going?" "And how would you like to pay?" "Is cash OK?" "Yes, but I'll still need your credit card to complete the check-in." "For incidentals." "Do you have a credit card?" "Why?" "What is it for?" "It's for incidentals." "They won't actually use it." "It's just..." "If we do this," "I'll have fucked a married man." "You're already fucking a married man." "Why are you stopping?" "Keep going." "My dad's going to have 20 questions about this." "What?" "9 dollars from a mini-bar on a Wednesday afternoon." "Give that to me." "Knock it off!" "What's this?" "That's some of my new stuff." "New?" "Mommy, Carina won't give me the iPad!" "It's still my turn!" " I'm coming!" "Girls, I forgot my tea." "I'll be right back." "SQ?" "What?" "What do you think?" "Oh..." "It looks efficient." "Have you started your term paper?" "I can't understand a thing." "I thought it seemed pretty straightforward." "Sorry, I was trying to come up with something interesting to say." "Oh!" "Yeah." "Totally confusing." "Yeah." "Totally confusing." "Hey, if you explain the assignment to me," "I'll buy you a slice of pizza." "Oh, fuck me." " Oh, Professor!" " Hi, Dave!" "Mercedes is here too!" "You want to join us?" "OK..." ""And women like his wife, capricious, unreflecting," ""domineering, unintelligent women" ""no longer in their first youth." ""And when Gurov grew cold to them," ""their beauty excited his hatred" ""and the lace on their linens seemed to him like scales."" "You're right." "Beautiful story." "Don't be surprised by the $900 charge from Air France on the AMEX." "What?" "My editor wants to meet with me and I'm going." "There's lasagna in the fridge." "There's lasagna in the fridge." "(ding dong)" "Shit!" "Yes?" "Hi!" "It's Ben." "(knock knock)" "Hi!" "Hi!" "Can I come in?" "I just mapped the floor." "Come on." "I haven't seen you in a while." "It's dry there." "And?" "How was your date with Dave?" "I tried to help him with the paper, but I might havejust confused him." "But I might havejust confused him." "Could you concentrate on ruining my life... and let other guys fuck-up on their own?" "Jealous lover doesn't suit you." "I know, I'm sorry." "Your feet." "It's just..." "I feel it's easy not to feel jealous of other men when I'm inside you." "And..." "After not seeing each other for a while, all these inoffensive young boys swirling around you make me feel uneasy." "And?" "Nothing." "I just wanted to see you." "Faster..." " Come on..." " No." "Phase..." "Phase." "No, I just mopped the floor." "I think she's slipping away from me." "And not unconsciously either." "I mean strategically." "Good." "So make a clean getaway." " I'm in love with her." "Jesus!" "Some young girl sucks your dick and you unbuckle all emotional restraints?" "I can't lose her." "I just can't." "You're dropping everything in your life that's valuable and ordinary." "Exactly, it's ordinary." " What's wrong with being ordinary?" " Nothing." "Let her go." "Episodes of CSI start like this." "Themes of boredom and futility were probably inspired by the serfs emancipation reform in Russia in 1861." "That boredom created a space of transcendence for Gurov and Anna when they are together." "But when they are apart..." ""Gurov kept walking up and down the street by the fence," ""waiting for his chance." ""He loathed the grey fence more and more" ""and by now, he thought irritably that Anna Sergueiévna had forgotten him," ""that she was perhaps already amusing herself with someone else," ""and that was very natural in a young woman" ""who had nothing to look at from morning 'til night," ""but that confounded fence."" "David?" "So, are we going to spend all semester on a 25 page story?" "Or..." "Girls, come say bye to Mommy!" "My darlings!" "It's just for one week, OK?" "Bring us with you!" "We want to go to Paris, too." "Not this time, sweetheart." "I stocked the fridge." "Don't forget to eat." "OK, my darlings." "I love you!" "SQ?" "What are you guys going to do?" "Girls?" "I can't find my book, have you seen it?" "Which book?" " The one with the dog?" " Yeah!" "No, I haven't seen it." "Where did you get that?" " Pass it to me." " OK." "Quick!" "Dad?" "Daddy!" "What?" "What is it?" "I don't feel good." "What's the matter?" "Oh!" "Whoa!" "OK, OK." "Come with me." "Come here." "Let me wipe your face." "Sweetie, go back to bed, your sister is not feeling well." " Hello?" " Hi, hi, did I wake you?" "No, no, what's wrong?" "The girls are sick and they won't stop throwing up and I don't know what to do." "I don't even know where the thermometer is." "OK it's in the Betty Boop lunch box in my armoire and there's ginger Gravel there too." "(knock knock)" "ls everything OK?" "How come I get to have everything I want?" "And I know it's only for a minute." "And soon, everything around us is going to go to hell." "What is it?" "My favourite thing to eat is left over Kraft Dinner reheated with ketchup." "OR." "I have this bad habit of biting my fingernails and spitting them out on the floor." "And I leave them there for a long time." "I let food go bad in my fridge." "I buy fifty-dol lar shampoo, but don't have a job." "I have a stuffed dog in a drawer named Johnny..." "As in DEPP" "I've read all the Shopaholic books." "I'm self-centered, insecure, manipulative..." " Hey, hey, hey..." "It's OK." "It's OK." "I'm trying to figure out whether you think telling me these things will make you less attractive to me because you consider them defects of character," "or more attractive because telling them builds intimacy." "I thinkl already knew most of these things about you anyway." "But I also know that you're a miracle of felicitous combination" "and you'll probably go through life both untroubled by your extraordinary qualities" "and surprised at the glamour that they excite in other people." "And this, among other things," "is why I love you." "That annoyed you." " That didn't sound like a question." " No." "It's not an exchange of hostages." "There's also the possibility that the list was just a stylish way of you saying goodbye to me." "If you've become so unhappy to know me, that you have to say goodbye, don't do it like that." "My Anna." "You taste like liquorice." "What is it?" "Hey, what is it?" "I just feel really fu cked-u p." "Mercedes, you're young and that comes with a harshness both to yourself and to me." "It's a severe edge that life has a way of sanding down." "We are going to be amazing." "I don't thinkl can." "Then what are you doing with me?" "What are you doing to me?" "What?" "I told her." "What?" "I told her." "You're lying." "I feel like I killed her." "How are your parents?" "Oh, Dad is looking a little thin but mom is compensating." " And yourflight?" " I'm still cold." "We're at 30000 feet..." "Why do they mm on the NU?" "And..." "Your novel?" "Good!" "Everything is signed and ready." "It should be released in the fall." "Ah, Professor Roberts!" "You should come to this reading." "Thank you." "That looks stunning on you." "Special occasion?" "Yes." "Slow down, please." " Are you in a rush?" " No." "Christina has a guest pass for yoga tonight." "I want to check it out." "Tonight's not good." "I told John I was going to help him find a new place." "But the guest pass is only good for tonight." "Well get a babysitter." "I've been with the girls all week." "I could use a break." "Parents don't get breaks." "Says the woman who goes to Paris and spends her days novel writing." "Fine, whatever." "Did you ever find that album you were looking for, for John?" "Yeah, yeah thanks." "I'm going to go and..." "Just going to get some milk." ""Henry woke up at almost zero hour" ""in the cold morning house" ""to the sound of his oldest daughter Leslie," ""who had popped up out of sleep to shout to her father" ""that she had an insect in her ear." "Your Anna Se rgu eTevna," "is she young?" "Beautiful?" "Intelligent?" "You slept with her?" ""Henry woke up at almost zero hour" ""in the cold morning house" ""to the sound of his oldest daughter Leslie" ""who had popped up out of sleep to shout to her father" ""that she had an insect in her ear."" "A university professor who's fucking one of his students." "How original." "I'm going out." "Stay with the girls." ""Henry attended to her and read to her" ""and then looked after his baby girl Sophie," ""who would not accept the pacifier" ""and insisted on the bottle." ""And as she was drinking and Henry was changing her diaper," ""he thought about Helen" ""and they could never be together." ""And then Leslie in her sleep, said very distinctly:" ""that's not true." ""And glancing sideways at that galaxy of guilt and disgrace," ""Henry could suddenly contemplate, even calculate," ""the smash up, the carnage," ""perhaps even the surviving."" "(applauses)" "Could I have a chai latte, please?" " Su re." " Thank you." "You write very well." "Thank you." "It's a sad story." "Painful." "Chamomile tea?" "Yeah, that's mine." " Hey!" " Hey!" " That was great." " Ah thank you!" "I got a table over here." "Have a good one." "Tell me what to say!" ""Fuck you";" "'Thank you'?" "Tell me what to say!" "Tell me what I'm supposed to feel because I don't know." "Jesus!" "It's me, right?" "Are you still writing about me?" "Yes." "Read it to me." " Which part?" " Whichever." "No!" "No.This part." "Here." "'To Henry, it felt like hypocrisy." "Wanting to hold on to the safe minimum dose of him," ""no matter how his vital signs might flutter." ""She wanted, somehow," ""to put the genie back in the bottle." ""She wanted, somehow," ""to be able to love him and not love him at the same time." ""She wanted, somehow," ""to throw herself at the danger and the pain of loving him" ""but realized that what she needed" ""was comfort and safety."" "It's good." "It's good." " Ben..." " It's OK." "It's OK." "Not so hard." "(screams and cries of pain)" "(screams and cries of pain)" "You keep going on the 132." "You follow it all along, all the way to the 198." "And then, suddenly, you'll see, it's like the water rises to meet the sky.." "The sky and the sea become one." "It's really beautiful." "It's really far." "I had a dream last night." "I was riding the Park 80 bus" "The driver, a woman, was new and learning." "Her instructor, another woman, sat to her right and behind her" "while another employee sat behind her to her left." "All women, all talkative and high spirited." "The bus stopped." "Children got on." "A little basket with morsels of cake was passed around." "Some talk of buying wine." "A festive atmosphere." "Then, we were mounting the slope towards Mont-Royal and from over the crest of the snowy park, we saw people running towards us" "And behind them, a helicopter." "The helicopter was shooting." "It was shooting at the running people." "And then, we saw it fire rackets at the tall building at Pan: et Des Pins, and the snow of the park erupted in huge blue flashes of bombs going off." "And then the bus began to sway and babies screamed." "Would it kill you to say what you mean?" ""Ben, it's over?"" ""Ben, I've been phasing you out of my feelings?"" ""Ben, I don't love you anymore?" " Don't explain my actions to me!" " Explain them to me!" "Explain them to me!" ""Stop!" "'No!" "I wish I could give you some sense of the things I see in you!" "You love me, Mercedes!" "You're running away!" "Stop it!" "Shut the fuck up!" "Stop what?" "Stop what?" "Please, Mercedes, say it." "Say it." "Say it!" " Move, or I'll run you over!" "We drove through black clouds of smoke." "To our left, the pavement was piled up in a high ridge of broken slabs" "The door of the bus opened and panicking riders hurled themselves out on the rushing road." "We were moving very fast." "The driver was now a man." "("It's war') a voice said." "And another:" ""It's civil ma"" "I woke up."