"Vicky and Cristina decided to spend the summer in Barcelona." "Vicky was completing her master's in Catalan Identity, which she had become interested in through her great affection for the architecture of Gaudí." "Cristina, who spent the last six months writing, directing, and acting in a 12-minute film which she then hated, had just broken up with yet another boyfriend and longed for a change of scenery." "Everything fell into place when a distant relative of Vicky's family who lived in Barcelona offered to put both girls up for July and August." "The two best friends had been close since college and shared the same tastes and opinions on most matters, yet when it came to the subject of love, it would be hard to find two more dissimilar viewpoints." "Vicky had no tolerance for pain and no lust for combat." "She was grounded and realistic." "Her requirements in a man were seriousness and stability." "She had become engaged to Doug because he was decent and successful and understood the beauty of commitment." "Yeah, I miss you, too." "Cristina, on the other hand, expected something very different out of love." "She had reluctantly accepted suffering as an inevitable component of deep passion, and was resigned to putting her feelings at risk." "If you asked her what it was she was gambling her emotions on to win, she would not have been able to say." "She knew what she didn't want, however, and that was exactly what Vicky valued above all else." "Hello?" "Oh, hello." " Hi." " Hi!" " You're Vicky." " Yes, yes." "You're so grown up!" " Well, it's been a while." " Hola, welcome to Barcelona." " Hi." "Cristina." " Oh, Cristina, I'm Judy." " This is your room." " Oh, perfect!" " I put you together." " This is gorgeous." "Judy, thank you so much for having me here, because I know... you know, it's so last-minute and you don't know me at all." "To include me is just so sweet of you." "It's so nice to have a little action around here." "It's been so quiet since Arthur went off to college." "After the girls unpacked and Judy's husband Mark got home from the golf course, lunch was served on the terrace." "...beautiful home." " We've come to love it." "He makes friends with anybody and he speaks the language, so he was like, "Whee!"" "You learned just fine." "So, what do you do, Cristina?" "I am currently at liberty." "Oh, come on." "She... she made a film." " How exciting!" " Yes, 12 minutes." "What was it about?" "About?" "It was about why love is so hard to define." "Wow, that's a mighty big subject to handle in 12 minutes." "Vicky, you're getting your master's in something." "Yeah, my master's in Catalan Identity." "Ah, well..." "What do you plan on doing with that?" "Oh, God, I don't know." "Maybe teaching, maybe curating." "Well, you don't have to do something, you know." "But she's marrying this wonderful man in the fall, and all of her conflicts will be resolved when he makes her pregnant." "Well, now that Judy's decided your future..." "To, uh, your summer in Barcelona." " Welcome." " Salud." " Cheers." " Salud." "In the days that followed," "Vicky and Cristina drank in the artistic treasures of the city." "They particularly enjoyed the works of Gaudí and Miró." "Once, Mark and Judy invited Vicky and Cristina to go sailing with them on Mark's boat." "With Cristina in mind," "Mark and Judy asked along the son of one of his business partners, an eligible young man Mark thought she might like." "My dream is to accumulate enough wealth and sail off to an island somewhere and spend the rest of my days snorkeling." "I'm actually a snorkeling nut." "Have you ever snorkeled before?" "Unfortunately, Charles and Cristina were not a match made in heaven." "Vicky, meanwhile, researched every aspect of Catalan life, even getting a tour of the market and a local restaurant to delve into Catalan cooking." "On balmy summer nights, the girls would sometimes go to hear Spanish guitar music, which never failed to move Vicky in some magical way." "One evening, Mark and Judy took them to the opening of a friend's art gallery." "Many local artists and a number of collectors attended." "Do you like them?" "I do." "Thank you so much for taking us." "You know, we buy from this gallery." "Mark has commissioned this artist to do this series of pictures for his office walls, so..." " I think they'll be beauti..." " Is that the artist over there?" " Where?" " In the red?" "Uh, no." "No, no, no." "That's not... no." "Uh, Alfred is..." "Oh, no, he's the gentleman in the linen coat, right there." " Oh." " That's him." "Um..." "I don't know who that is." "Uh, Mark, who is that gentleman in the red shirt over there?" " Who?" " The gentleman in the red shirt." " Who is that?" " Oh." "He's a painter." "Remember, Diego told us about him?" "He had that fiery relationship with that beautiful woman who was nuts?" " Oh, my God!" " With the violent fighting..." " Oh, yes, yes, yes!" " He had the messy divorce." " Oh, my God!" " It was in all the newspapers." "Oh, my God." "Um, his name is Juan Antonio Gonzalo, and he had this hot divorce and she tried to kill him." " Or he tried to kill her." " What?" "It was this, like, really big thing in the art world." "I can't remember the details, but he, you know, he..." "We don't move in those bohemian circles, so I don't know." "Vicky and Cristina left the art gallery and decided to go for dinner." "They strolled past the church in the wonderful summer night air while people celebrated, finally winding up around midnight at a little restaurant." "Well, it's just nice to be able to not have to worry about if some place is gonna stay open, or..." "Yeah, but you... we probably should be worrying about our, you know, dreams." "What are you... who are you looking at?" "Isn't that the... isn't that the painter we just saw at the gallery?" "Oh, yeah, right." "He's the..." "the painter with the bad divorce..." "Mark told us..." "I was half-listening." "He was looking over here." "Well, that's because you keep provoking contact." " I'm not provoking contact!" " You are." "You've been throwing little looks at him all night." "I'm just drinking my wine." "Mm-hmm, yeah, of course you are." "You must be doing something, because, uh, he's coming over." "American?" "I'm Cristina, and this is my friend Vicky." "What color are your eyes?" "Uh... they're blue." "I'd like to invite you both to come with me to Oviedo." "To come where?" "To Oviedo." "For the weekend." "We leave in one hour." "What... where is Oviedo?" " A very short flight." " By plane?" "What's in Oviedo?" "I go to see a sculpture that is very inspiring to me." "Very beautiful sculpture." "You will love it." "Oh, right, you're asking us to fly to Oviedo and back." "No, we'll spend the weekend." "I mean, I'll show you around the city and we'll eat well, we'll drink good wine, we'll make love." "Yeah, well, who exactly is going to "make love"?" "Hopefully, the three of us." " Oh, my God." " I'll get your bill." "Jesus, this guy!" "He doesn't beat around the bush." "Look, señor, maybe in a different life." "Why not?" "Life is short, life is dull, life is full of pain, and this is a chance for something special." "Right, well, who exactly are you?" "I am Juan Antonio." "And you are..." "Vicky, and you are Cristina, right?" "Or is it the other way around?" " Yeah, that's right." " It could be the other way around, because frankly it doesn't matter, because either of us will do to keep the bed warm." "You know, I get it." "Well, you are both so lovely and beautiful." "Yeah, thank you, but we do not fly off to make love with whoever invites us to charming little Spanish towns." "Does she always analyze every inspiration until its grain of charm is..." "Uh... squeezed out of it?" "I guess I have to say that I'm..." "My eyes are green, actually." "Oh, God, look..." "I wouldn't call our reluctance to leap at your sexual offer being over-analytical." "If you would care to join us for some recognized form of social interaction, like a drink, then we'd be fine, but otherwise, I think you should try, you know, offering to some other table." "What offended you about the offer?" "Surely not that I find you both beautiful and desirable?" "Offended me?" "No." "It's very amusing..." "galling, to be honest... but..." "Is it my imagination, or is it getting late?" " Shall we go?" " I would love to go to Oviedo." "What?" "Are you kidding?" " Can we discuss..." " I think it would be so much fun." "I think we should go." "I would love to go." "Cristina, can we discuss this some other time, when..." "You know, when I saw you across the room at the art gallery," "I noticed you have, uh, beautiful lips." "Very full, very sensual." "Thank you." "Okay, okay, look." "If you want to go..." "Well, I can't guarantee the lovemaking, because I happen to be very moody." "Let's not negotiate like a contract." "I came over here with no subterfuge and presented my best offer." "Now I hope you will discuss it and give me the pleasure to take you with me to Oviedo." "I have the good fortune to borrow my friend's plane." "It is just big enough for the three of us, and I am a very good pilot." "Oh, it sounds very safe." "Think it over." "I hope you're joking about going." "My God, this guy is so interesting." "Interesting?" "What's so interesting?" "He wants to get us both into bed." "You know, but he'll settle for either, in this case you." "Vicky, I'm a big girl, okay?" "If I want to sleep with him I will;" "if not, I won't." "Cristina, he's a total stranger." "This is impulsive even for you." "And, if I heard right, he was violent with his wife." "At least he's not one of those factory-made zombies, you know?" "I mean, this would be a great way to get to know him." "No, it's not." "I'm not going to Oviedo with this charmingly candid wife beater." "You find his aggressiveness attractive, but I don't." "I mean, he's certainly not handsome." "Well, I think he's very handsome." "He's got a great look." "I mean, he's, you know, he's really sexy." "Mm-hmm, well, you would, because you're a neurotic." "You gotta admire his no-bullshit approach." "What are you talking about?" "It's all bullshit." "I'm not going to Oviedo." "First off, I never heard of Oviedo." "I don't find him winning." "Third, even if I wasn't engaged and was free to have some kind of dalliance with a Spaniard, I wouldn't pick this one." "Hello?" "Hi." "Oh, hi." "I can't talk right now." "I'm trying to save Cristina from making a potentially fatal mistake." "What?" "No, the usual." "Yeah, I'll call you back." "I love you, too." "If we go back to the house now, we can just throw some things in a bag and meet him there." "Look, I took an instant liking to this guy." "I mean, he's not one of these cookie-cutter molds." "He's creative and he's artistic and..." "Cookie-cutter mold?" "Is that what you think of Doug?" "Doug?" "Who said anything about Doug?" "It's ridiculous." "You like the way it sounds, to pick up and fly off in an airplane." "I know." "I don't know why I'm so scared, unless I'm scared of myself." "It's a mistake, Cristina." "They predicted a little storm out of the town, out of Oviedo, but it's nothing serious." "Don't you worry, really." "As you can see here..." "Here it's just..." "just a little bumpy, all right?" "Would you like to fly it?" "Oh, no thank you." "It's easy." "It's even easier than a car." "Try it." "By early morning, they had reached their destination and proceeded to a hotel that Juan Antonio had selected for them." "Vicky made sure she and Cristina had their own room... and Juan Antonio had his." "If he was disappointed, he hid it well." "After freshening up, he took them to see the sculpture that was so meaningful to him." " Are you very religious?" " No, no, I'm not." "The trick is to enjoy life, accepting it has no meaning whatsoever." " Right." " No meaning?" "You don't think that authentic love gives life meaning?" "Yes, but love is so transient." "Isn't it?" "I was in love with a most incredible woman... and then in the end..." "Yes?" "She put a knife into me." "My God, that's terrible." "Maybe you did something to deserve it." "Juan Antonio took his guests for lunch." "They discussed art and romance." "He was full of stories about Maria Elena, his ex-wife, whom he both criticized and idolized." "He proved to be a good host, and in the afternoon he took them to see the local sights, where they enjoyed hearing about the city and took photos." "Later, they bought candy and cakes at a charming sweet shop, which were homemade and delicious." "They continued to document their trip, and while Vicky remained skeptical," "Cristina had a wonderful time." "The question of sleeping together did not come up until that night, and Juan Antonio was a little drunk." " Thank you." " You're very welcome." "All right." "Well, now that the day's almost over... is it reasonable of me to ask you if you'll both join me in my room?" "Oh, come on, I thought we'd settled that." "Vicky's just trying to say that she's engaged to be married, that's all." "Great." "Then these are her last days of freedom." "No." "Look, I'm not free." "I'm committed." "You know what my theory is..." "and when I drink, I get brutally frank..." "I think that you're still hurting from the failure of your marriage to Maria Elena, and you're trying to lose yourself in empty sex." "Empty sex?" "Do you have such a low opinion of yourself?" "She's just saying that it has to have meaning for her, that's all." "I mean, the city's romantic, the night is warm and balmy, we are alive..." "isn't that meaning enough?" "Hey, look, I just came along to keep Cristina company." "I'm engaged to be married." "I have a handsome, lovely fiancé who I make love with, and also holds a very real place in my heart, and to be perfectly frank, Juan Antonio, if I were the type of person that played around," "I don't think it's in the cards for us." "So, I'm tired, I haven't slept in 24 hours, and that is exactly what I am going to do." "And you?" "I'll go to your room, but... you have to seduce me." " Hello." " Hello." "I am just here to have a quick drink... to say thank you, and then I'm going to go back to my room." "All right." "Did you act in the small film you made?" "Did I act?" "Yeah, I acted." "Why?" "I hope you were more convincing than you are when you pretend to have come here for one quick drink." "I am here to go to bed with you." "You're right, um..." "So you're pretty much home free, unless you... blow it." " Blow it?" " Yeah." ""Blow it." You mean ruin the moment?" "Yeah." "Oh." "And how would I do that?" "Um, I don't know." "It could be anything from some inane comment to wearing the wrong kind of shorts." "Although..." "somehow by looking at you," "I think you're wearing the right kind of shorts." "You're very hard to please." "Yeah, well." "I am famous for my intolerance." "Here." "What do you want in life besides a man with the right shorts?" "Mmm..." "I don't know." "I know I'm not gonna settle till I find what I'm looking for." "Mm, which is what?" "Um." "Something... else." "I want something different, something more... some sort of counterintuitive love." "Meaning?" "Meaning..." "I don't know." "I don't know what I want." "I only know what I don't want." "If you don't start undressing me soon, this is gonna turn into a panel discussion." "What?" "Are you okay?" "Yeah, I'm fine." "I'm fine." "It's something I ate." "What's wrong?" "Can I get you anything?" "Um, no, I..." " I shouldn't be drinking." " What happened?" "I'm going to be sick." "It's her ulcer, and perhaps a little food poisoning, maybe both." "Oh, my God, both?" "She must just "ret," not eat." " Okay, rest?" " Yeah, rest." "Rest." "With Cristina stuck in bed, Vicky was anxious to get back to Barcelona and in no mood to sightsee." "Uh-huh, oh, okay." "Well, when he gets out of his meeting, can you get him to call me on my cell?" "Yeah, I'm still stuck in Oviedo." "But sightsee is what they did." "I feel very sorry about Cristina." "Oh, come on." "Don't pretend concern." "I'm sure that you kept encouraging her to drink, as you did to both of us throughout dinner." "But I can hold my liquor." "She never mentioned her ulcer." "No, no, because she's a mental adolescent, and being romantic, she has a death wish." "So, for a brief moment of passion, she completely abandons all responsibilities." "After lunch, Juan Antonio took Vicky to see the old lighthouse at Avilés, which she found very beautiful." "Uh, I was born near here, and... it would be a sin if I came out here without paying a visit to my father." "Will be that boring to you?" "Bor... no." "No, I think that... that would be the first genuinely interesting proposition you've made me." "I would love to see your father and his house." "Buenos días." " My father, Julio." " Julio." "Buenos días." "Qué casa tan bonita." "Oh." "You know, if we carry on, I don't think it's gonna..." "It's fine." "That was great." "He speaks no English." "I'm sure my Spanish is going to go." "He refuses to speak any other language, and that's an important point with my father, actually." "Really, it is?" "Why?" "Because he's a poet, and he writes the most beautiful sentences in the Spanish language, but he, I don't know, he doesn't believe that a poet should pollute his words by any other tongue." " Which is quite a..." " No." "No, it makes sense." "I understand, 'cause of the translation and the things you might lose." "I mean, I took some Spanish." "I... of course, I have no flair for languages." " I read it much better than I speak it." " Mm-hmm." "Maybe I could read your father?" "No, but he doesn't publish." "That's the point." "Why not?" "Be..." "I'll explain later." "You want some coñac?" "Yes, thank you, just a very..." "very, very little bit." "Eh, Maria Elena, Maria Elena..." "This was my favorite place to come and read when I was young." "Yes, I wanted to be a writer, not a painter." "Painting came later." "And I wanted to play music, too." "I mean, all I knew is that I was full of," "I don't know, real emotion, and I had to find a way to express it." "Cristina says the same thing." "Cristina's a very interesting girl." "Want to sit?" "Yeah." "So, uh, tell me, why won't your father publish his poems?" "Well, because he hates the world, and that's his way of getting back at them, to create beautiful works and then... to deny them to the public, which I think it's..." "My God." "Well, what makes him so angry toward the human race?" "Because after thousands of years of civilization, they still haven't learned to love." "They returned to the hotel." "Cristina was feeling better, but far too shaky, and needed more rest." "Vicky and Juan Antonio dined together at lovely little restaurant." "She was more relaxed than at lunch, and had just finished a great deal of wine." "This time, she was enjoying the conversation." "...no place on earth." "My father used to bring me here." "Hello?" "Hey." "Did I get you at a bad time, babe?" "Oh, hi, no." "I'm just about to eat." "Can I, uh, call you back?" "Let me just say one thing." "Paul and Maryanne said they found a house up where they are that they liked even better than the one in Bedford Hills." "Oh, yeah?" "Y-y-you're breaking up a little." "Babe?" "Call me later, but this house has a pool and a tennis court." "Okay?" "We could both take lessons from Paul's instructor." "Okay, I'll call you back." "I can't hear you." "I love you." "Uh..." "Oh, God." "Connection's terrible." " Oh, thank you." " Here." "What is this wine?" " It's delicious." " It's great." "Was that your fiancé?" "Uh, yes, yes." "Why were you so nervous, speaking to him?" "What, was I nervous?" "Yes." "You turned red." "Well..." "Well, I'm sure it's the wine." "Would he be upset if he knew we were dining together?" "No, not at all." "Are you kidding?" "I mean, I don't think he'd love the basic concept of me sitting with a man, drinking wine over candlelight, but he'd quickly realize there'd be nothing to worry about, so..." "Would you ever withhold your work from the public out of rage?" "No, no, no, not like my father." "Oh no, I told you..." "I affirm life despite everything." "Right, right." "Well..." "I'd be curious to see your work." "Really?" "Why?" "I mean, you are so disapproving of me." "Well, I've gotten to know you better, and, you know, it'd be interesting, and, after all, you are a Catalan painter, and that's my subject." "What gave you such an interest in Catalan culture?" "Well, uh..." "I, uh, fell in love with Gaudí's church when I was 14, and one thing led to another." "Hmm." "And, uh, you also admire Spanish guitar, I hear?" "Yes, yes." "I love the guitar." "Would you like to go to hear some wonderful guitar tonight?" " Tonight?" " Mm-hmm." "Well, it's a little late, and, you know, I'm a little wobbly from the wine." "You said you could hold your alcohol." "Besides, we leave tomorrow." "Okay, sure." "Great." "That was, uh..." "that was unbelievable." "Thank you." "Thank you." "I was looking at your face, and you looked very moved." "Yes, yes." "A few times I saw a look like that." "Right, and on Maria Elena, I'm sure." "Well, yes, maybe on Maria Elena, when she saw or heard something that moved her, yes." "You..." "You're still in love with her." "No, I'm not." "I'm not." "Mmm, that confirms it." "No, she will always be a part of me, and she's an important person in my life, but for the two of us, something was not working." "What element?" "We never found out." "You said you were looking at my face." "Why?" "Why were you looking at mine?" "Was I?" "You probably saw my tears." "Yes." "Yeah, um..." "I'm a little out of control." "I was looking at your face because I find it very beautiful." "You do?" "Of course I do." "Of course I do, and you know I do." "On the trip home, Vicky, who had mentioned nothing to Cristina, was silent." "Cristina, on the other hand, talked nervously." "I must apologize to both of you for ruining the whole weekend!" "I'm completely mortified." "I'm humiliated." "I don't know whether it was the wine..." "it could've been the shellfish." "Because, you know, I have this ulcer, and I just thank God you knew enough sights to keep Vicky occupied." "You know, I had these horrible nightmares that you two would be like oil and water, hating every minute of being together." "I just couldn't move." "Vicky buried herself in work at the library." "She put foolish ideas out of her head and concentrated on her thesis, but she found her thoughts frequently returning to Oviedo." "Cristina, searching for a means of self-expression, wandered the streets of Barcelona, experimented with her latest passion, photography, and believed that she had made a fool of herself exactly at the moment of truth with Juan Antonio." "And then, 48 hours later," "Cristina came to Vicky with an announcement." "Vicky, he called." "Hmm, what?" "Who?" "Juan Antonio." "He called me just now." "Juan Antonio called you?" "Yeah." "He wants to see me, take me to some vineyard, some wine tasting or something." "I said absolutely." "A wine tasting?" "But... what about your ulcer?" "Oh, no, no, it's fine." "A little wine's not going to hurt me." "The point is that he wants to see me." "Isn't that great?" " Yeah, yeah." " I can't believe it!" "I never thought he was gonna call." "That's great." "I'm happy for you." "That night, the two women had trouble falling asleep." "Cristina sat in the kitchen drinking coffee and working on her poetry." "Vicky, too, was lost in memories of a night that now seemed more and more unreal." "Hello?" "Hey, babe." "Did I wake you?" "No." "No, no, no." "I was just going to sleep." "I'm sorry I called so late." "I had to get out of the office, get some air and get some coffee, and I had this great idea." "Check this out." "Dad has contacts in the American embassy in Spain, right?" "I thought I could come early, work from there on my computer, and the two of us could get married in Barcelona." "You said it was a romantic spot." "You know, we'll just do a quick city hall-type thing." "'Course we'll do it all over again in New York." "We'll have a huge blowout for our families and friends, but I thought it'd be fun." "What do you think?" "What... to get married here?" "Yeah, why not?" "It'd be great to tell our kids we married in Spain." "Dad's friends would make it real easy for us." "Oh, I don't know what to say." "You don't sound bowled over." "No, it's, uh..." "It's just a surprise." "So?" "Look, we're gonna marry in the fall anyway, and we're gonna do that too, I promise." "Yeah, so what's the point?" "The point is it's different, it's exciting." "I told the idea to Ken and Alice." "They said they wished they'd done it..." "I mean, you know, in London in their case... but they were excited." "Well, I-I..." "You sound a bit reluctant." "Me?" "No." "Why would I... why would I be?" "No, I..." "I think it's a fine idea." "I think it's great... it's a great idea." "Yeah." "Yeah, no, I think it's gonna be good." "Listen, I'm gonna call you tomorrow." "I know I woke you up." "I'll give you more details tomorrow." "I love you so much." "Juan Antonio took Cristina to a wine tasting." "After, he took her back to his house, a lovely place he had purchased from another painter years ago and which served as his home and his studio." "He showed her his work, which delighted her." "She loved the colors and the wild, emotional way he applied the paint to the canvases." "From there, it was only one floor up to his bedroom." "He told her of his marriage to Maria Elena and their deep love and their terrible fights." "He told Cristina he had not wanted to make love with anyone else in the bedroom they shared till now." "This time, Cristina kept her food down." "Juan took Cristina out several more times." "They went to see a new sculpture by a friend of his." "He showed her some of his favorite parts of the city, where she took photographs." "Juan Antonio was friendly with all the whores and thought they would make wonderful subjects." "He encouraged Cristina's work, although she was always too shy to allow him to see it." "He took her to lunch with his friends, who were poets and artists and musicians." "Cristina held her own quite well." "Meanwhile, one day, going to study yet again the Park Güell, which Gaudí had designed and which figured quite prominently in her thesis," "Vicky had a chance encounter." " Vicky." " Oh, hello." " I mean, my goodness." " How are you?" "What are you doing here?" "Nothing." "Just doing some sketches." "Oh, right." "Well, I didn't mean to disturb you, so..." "Disturb me, no." "How could you disturb me?" "We never had a chance to say a proper good-bye." "Oh, well, you could've called me." "I... yeah." "I debated it, but I didn't think there was much point." "Yeah, but you never phoned, not to say anything..." "I mean, "Thank you, it was fun..."" "I mean, you don't make love to someone and then never call them unless you were greatly disappointed." "Quite the opposite." "But... you have plans to marry, and I thought it best to stop anything before it led to a bad situation for everyone." "Yeah, well, I'm only saying that we made love, and you seemed to drop off the face of the earth." "I mean, I realize these things don't mean much to you..." "To pursue matters would have only caused you anxiety, and for me, a disappointment." "I had the ability to hurt you after one night?" "Maria Elena used to say that... only unfulfilled love can be romantic." "Right." "Okay." "Well, the truth is, you're much more suited to Cristina." "I've grown very fond of Cristina." "So, I'm very happy for you and your husband-to-be." "And I... for you and Cristina." "Right." " Bye." " Good-bye." "And so the morning came when Vicky's husband-to-be arrived from New York." "Juan Antonio, like certain creative men, needed always to live with a woman, and had invited Cristina to move in with him, which she accepted." "How much do I owe you?" " So you're with Global Enterprises?" " Yes!" "Tom Sutter's an old friend of mine." "Oh, you know Tom Sutter!" "We play golf." " You do?" " Yeah." "I got some stories." "Tom has never beaten me." "Oh, well, he's not the greatest player in the world..." "My God." "You're a whole different person here." "What does that mean?" "You were so into it." "Well, am I not usually?" "Yeah, no, of course you are..." "I'm giving you a compliment." "Maybe it's the Barcelona air." "Come here, hold me." "Hold me." " You okay?" " Yeah." "Yeah." "How's Cristina doing?" "Oh, you know, she's already moved in with some guy." "That was quick." "Don't tell me he's a bullfighter." "No..." "Writer?" "Composer?" "Tortured pseudo-intellectual and self-destructive?" "Yeah, I know, sometimes she gets on my nerves with her crackpot love affairs." "Look, I love her because she's your friend, but I often warn you about her." "She's an unhappy person." "She can't part with that self-image she has of the oh-so-special woman, the artist trying to find herself." "I find her contempt for normal values pretentious." "It's boring, cliché." "Yeah, well, men like her." "Well, she's pretty... and not exactly difficult to maneuver into the sack." "Now, you... on the other hand, took a little effort to get to bed." "Hey." "But it was worth the struggle." " Yeah?" " Yeah." "So, Juan Antonio wants to take me to this old amusement park that he said I would love, and I thought that we could just get lunch, all of us, and then we could all see it together." "What, tomorrow for lunch?" "We can't." "We have plans." "Oh, no, no, no." "I'd..." "No, we can always go boating with Mark and Judy." "I'd like to go with Cristina and Juan Antonio." " I really want to go boating." " Yeah, that would be great." " Tomorrow." "Okay." " Okay." "The two couples met for lunch, and during the course of conversation, an awkward moment occurred." "Juan Antonio, having warm thoughts about Cristina, tried to brush his foot against hers under the table and accidentally brushed Vicky's." "The amusement park was everything Juan Antonio led them to believe." "It was antique and charming, and overlooked all of Barcelona." "I see why you love your fiancé, 'cause he's very charming." "Yes, yes." "He's lovely." "And very well suited to you." "I don't think I like the way you say that." "No, I only mean that you make a comfortable couple in the best sense." "Look, you don't understand." "I can't do anything about it now." "I'm not saying the thought hasn't crossed my mind, but..." "Vicky, please." "Please, Vicky." "We must not get into this conversation again, all right?" "Things have moved on, and I've developed real feelings for Cristina." "Well, then, what did... why did you rub your foot against mine under the table?" " I didn't." "I didn't." " Yes, yes." "When I looked over at you." "Oh, no, if I did, it was a mistake." "I mean, my intention was to touch Cristina." "Oh, okay." "I-l..." "I'm sorry." "I apologize for my mistake." "Sorry, it was my mistake, but listen..." " No, I'm..." " Listen, listen." "You are all set to enter a completely different life, a life you always wanted with a man you love." "Yes, goddamn it, I know!" "And then I met you and we had this ridiculously irrational weekend together and now I... now I don't know where I am." "Please." "I'm with Cristina, and you're going to get married in two weeks, Vicky." " Yeah, I know." " Okay?" "I know, you're right." "Cristina loves you." "I would never..." "Yes, yes, and Cristina and I are a good fit." "I mean we..." "she speaks my language." "You and I..." "I don't know." "We'd be at each other's throats in a month." " Right?" " Yeah." "Look, maybe our paths will cross again someday under different circumstances." "I mean, who knows about life?" "Yeah, you're right." "You're right, I'm an idiot." "I don't know what I expect to happen." "And so the wedding day came and Vicky married Doug." "Cristina was there." "She did not bring Juan Antonio, who made an excuse." "Following the ceremony, the bride and groom left for a mini-honeymoon in Seville." "Meanwhile, Cristina began to sense the possibility of the kind of relationship she had always sought, but in the past had eluded her." "She was the lover of an exciting man, an artist, whose work she believed in." "She was already thinking of herself as a kind of expatriate, not smothered by what she believed to be" "America's puritanical and materialistic culture, which she had little patience for." "She saw herself more a European soul, in tune with the thinkers and artists she felt expressed her tragic, romantic, freethinking view of life." "With Juan Antonio's circle of friends, she hobnobbed with creative people of all sorts." "She loved their company, and continued to experiment with writing and taking pictures." "You had a good time?" "Yeah, Seville is breathtaking." "We ran into some friends from New York." "Had a chance to spend some time with them, which was great." "A little too much time." "You're just angry because they beat our brains out at bridge." " Well, I don't like bridge." " I don't, either." " What is this?" " A little swag, here." "Attention, please." "Cristina and Juan Antonio sent you this wedding gift." "When I found out that she was seriously dating Juan Antonio," "I couldn't believe it." "I..." "Just what we need..." "a Rorschach blot." "You know, I don't think I like it." " We'll buy you one of Alejandro's." " This you will." "Sí?" "Sí." "Uh, ¿cómo está?" "What?" "Maria Elena..." "She tried to kill herself." "What?" "Is she okay?" "Uh..." "Yes." "I don't..." "Yes, I think so." "I don't know." "I have to go." "Where are you going?" "Uh..." "I'm going to the hospital." "Should I come with you?" "No, no, I don't think that would be a good idea for her." " She's a mess." " Well, all right." " Call me if you want me to come, okay?" " Okay, of course." "Of course." "Juan Antonio hurried out in the dead of night." "Cristina tried to go back to sleep, but had an uneasy feeling." "She dozed restively, but awoke at the darkest hour." "I'm just up here making coffee." "Is everything okay?" "Okay..." "Cristina, this is Maria Elena." "Oh." "Here you have to speak English." " Please." " I'm embarrassed." "Oh, no..." "Please, don't feel embarrassed." "Can I get you anything at all?" " Vodka." " Vodka?" "In English, in English." "Maria Elena, when you are here, you have to speak English, all right?" "You want to take a shower, you go there, in the guestroom." "Sí, you're a guest." " So... what's going on?" " Nothing." " What?" "Is everything okay?" " Nothing." "I think she's okay, yeah." "I mean, there are..." "Things didn't work out for her in Madrid, and... she came bus... she came back on the bus tonight alone." "Her whole world looked black and all her plans had come to nothing, and she overdosed in the bus terminal." "Oh, my God, that's terrible." "Yeah, she has to stay with us." "What?" "She's gonna stay with us?" "She has to stay with us." "I mean, she has no money, she has no one capable of caring for her..." "I mean, I-I always..." "I was always her connection to the real life." "Uh-huh, I understand, but I mean, how can she stay here?" "You know, I think..." "I think that she can't be trusted to stay alone, that's the problem." "Because, I mean, even if..." "let me think... even if I... if a place could be worked out..." "Well, maybe she needs psychiatric help." "No, she's always had bad experiences with doctors." "I understand, but where is she gonna stay?" "In there." "How long is she gonna stay here?" "Cristina, I know..." " this is not what you had in mind." " No..." "I understand." "But she has to stay with us." "She has no one else." "I understand." "It's only for a short time." "Yes, a few months at most." "She's staying for a few months?" "Listen, I've been through this with her before." "So..." "I mean if..." "Shit." "If you had only known her when I first met her." "I mean, her beauty..." " Her beauty took your breath away." " Yes, I..." "And she was so talented, she was so brilliant, she was so sensual, and she chose me from a hundred men ready to kill for her." "Uh-huh." "We were both sure that our relation was perfect, but there was something missing, you know?" "Like, love requires such a perfect balance." "It's like the human body." "It may turn that you have all the vitamins and minerals, but if there is a minor, single, tiny ingredient missing, like..." "like..." "like..." "like..." "like salt, for example, one dies." "Salt?" "She's the woman I live with, and you have to speak English around here, please." "Yes, exactly, out of courtesy." "You always had paranoid ideas about every woman I've ever known." "Sí." "Well, she's quite intelligent, and she's a freethinker, like you." " Like me?" " Yes." "Please... please, here, in this house, speak English." "That's all I ask, all right?" " Why are you getting so angry at me?" " Why in the world..." " Why are you getting so angry at me?" " Why?" "Listen." "Listen, why were you thinking about killing yourself?" "I mean, what a stupid idea did cross on your mind!" "I mean, try to kill yourself, for Christ's sake!" "Stay here until you get back on your feet, and then, I beg you, please, get out of my life." "You're too damaged." "And you love that." "Speak English!" "I don't like her for you!" "I don't trust her." "And you know I always have your best interests." "Well, not when you tried to kill me." " Oh, that." " Yeah, that." "That small detail, yes." "You..." "You are suspicious of her because she is now my lover." "I mean, it's so obvious." "More coffee?" "Yes, please." "I'm sorry." "It's okay." "Here." "Sugar." "No, thank you." "I thought we could go for a ride to the countryside later." "I mean, the weather is beautiful." "In English." "Oh, no, it's fine." "You speak no Spanish?" "No." "I, uh, studied Chinese." "Chinese?" "Why?" "I thought it sounded pretty." "Say something in Chinese." "Me?" "Mm-hmm." "Um... ni hao ma." "You think that sounds pretty?" "Well, maybe not the way I'm pronouncing it, of course, but..." "Speak English, Maria Elena." "Speak English." "I'm sorry." "I'm nervous today." "I had bad dreams." "Would you like to paint?" "Oh, do you paint also?" "Ask him." "Ask him." "He stole everything from me, his whole style." "She likes to make up these stories." "Antonio, your whole way of seeing is mine." "I'm not saying that you were not influential." " Influential?" "Influential?" " Yes." "Yes, influential." "But to say that I stole your style..." "To say that I stole your style is too delusional." "She always had problems with reality, and I'm not going to get angry." "I'm not going to get angry." "Okay, what did they say in art school?" "They said I was a genius, right?" "I'm always..." "I always encouraged your talent." "Not talent." "I'm not talking about talent." "I said genius." "Genius." "I came close to killing for you." "Yeah, you came close to killing me with that chair." "I was defending myself, and you had a razor, and you were drunk, with a razor and raging!" " Never." " Si, si, si." "You wanted to kill me for looking?" "I see you with someone else now, and I'm fine." "I'm fine." "I'm civil." "What else do you want?" "As the days passed," "Cristina observed Maria Elena and Juan Antonio and found the heart more puzzling than ever." "Where were you?" "Were you working?" " Yeah, I was trying to." " Okay." "I'm so curious, does she really think that you stole from her?" "Uh..." "Well, um, I guess I took more from her than I'd like to admit, yes." "That's why I'm always so sensitive when she brings it up." " I feel kind of sad." " Why?" "'Cause I feel like I'm never gonna be able to... to influence you or inspire you in any way." "No, that's not true." "That's how I feel." "That's not true." "No, that's not true." "I never heard the Scriab..." "the Scriabin?" " Yeah." " Piano Sonata?" "Until you played those recordings for me, and now I can't stop listening to them." " No?" " No." "Well, that... makes me happy." "What?" "Maybe it's not a good idea here." "What?" "I mean, she's been better lately." "I don't want to... upset her." "Of course." "No." "Okay." "It was at Vicky's afternoon language class, which she took several days a week to improve her Spanish, that she met Ben, a young man who couldn't stop noticing her and started to chat her up each day." "Yeah, I can't believe they hired me at the consulate, because my Spanish is less than perfect, to say the least." "No, I think it's good." "It's good." "It's all right." "Are you enjoying your time in Barcelona?" "Um, I would if I had more friends." "Right." "Yesterday I walked from the beach up to Park Güell in search of Gaudí." "Hey, you want to see a movie?" " A movie?" " Wednesday?" "Afternoon?" "Uh." "Yeah." "The movie was a great success, and Ben proved to be very good company for Vicky." "One afternoon, they ducked into a store to buy some cherries, and when the storekeeper took a phone call in the back, he couldn't resist taking her hand." "Uh." "Uh, no, don't." "No?" "No..." "You do know that I'm recently married?" "Yeah." "I guess I was under the impression that maybe you jumped into it too quick," " maybe you regret it..." " Regr... ha... have I implied that?" "Unless I read into it." "No, I..." "I shouldn't tell you this." "I..." "You know what, I was always someone who thought I knew exactly what I wanted." "But you didn't." "Well, no, I met somebody else, and I'm not gonna get into that story." "So, this guy you met...?" "The guy is living with my best friend." "You know, what am I talking about?" "When I... when I hear myself, it's just... it's just crazy." "I just married the guy I wanted." "Did you?" "I thought so." "So?" "What happened?" "One goddamn weekend in Oviedo." "Cristina, Juan Antonio, and Maria Elena went riding in the country." "Maria Elena had decided they would all cook a big dinner together, and she insisted they pick fresh blackberries." "Wait for me!" "Gives me vertigo!" " This is the perfect..." " Here, like that." " Okay." " Like that." "Can you get some... there." " Ow, ow!" " What's wrong?" "What's..." "What, what, what?" "What happened?" "Wait, no, sit down." "Sit, sit, sit, sit." "Is it your upper or your lower?" " Here." " Here?" " Yep." " Hold on, wait." " Ow." " Let me... oh, oh, oh." "Here, let me..." " You want some aspirin?" " Yeah." "I have aspirin in my bag." " All right." " Okay." "You relax." "I'll be right back." "It's all in his head." "He has so much tension." "To the world, he's carefree, nothing matters," ""life is short and with no purpose" kind of thing, but all his fear just goes to his head." "You know, she plays piano?" "No, I didn't know." "Is that why you have a piano in your house?" "No, I could have been a concert pianist." "Yeah, she could have." "I mean, no one plays a Scarlatti like Maria Elena." "She understands Scarlatti, am I right?" "Do you play music?" "No, I just have to come face-to-face with the fact that I am not gifted." "You know, I can appreciate art and I love music, but..." "It's sad, really, because I feel like I have a lot to express and I am not gifted." "But you do have talent." " No." " Yes." "What's my talent?" "You take beautiful photographs." "That's true." "She always takes pictures that she hides from me." "That's..." "No, that's because they're nothing." "How do you know I take pictures?" "I found them in your luggage." "You went through my luggage?" "Of course I went through your luggage!" "First night I was in the house." "I didn't trust you." "I didn't believe you were who you said you were." "I wanted to know who was really sharing the bed of my ex-husband." "What?" "!" "Who knew what I would find there?" "How could I be sure you were not going to hurt me?" "After all, I had thoughts of killing you." "So here's a few more." "Don't say you like them if you don't like them." " What are you talking about?" " They are beautiful!" " Yeah, you see?" " Look at this!" "The next day, Maria Elena went out photographing with Cristina." "She had a superb eye and knew a lot about the art of photography, and taught Cristina much about the aesthetics and subtleties of picture taking." "She advised her to get rid of her digital camera and use an old one for more interesting results." "She said it was important to have a darkroom, and that she would set one up in the basement for Cristina and teach her various techniques of developing her own pictures." "They photographed everything, from silly-looking dogs to grim-faced children... but the best subject was Maria Elena herself." "Shopping one afternoon, Vicky and Doug ran into" "Adam Tabachnick and Sally." "Adam was in the same business Doug was in and they were friendly, although in New York, they did not spend a lot of time together." "You guys have gotta be kidding me!" "Hi, it's good to see you!" "Any program on TV, obviously anything live, you can play it back on your computer." "So I'm on a flight to Tokyo." "I'm 40,000 feet up in the air, and I am watching the Mets, live, on my laptop." "It's amazing." "You're never out of touch." "We're gonna have the new house wired for everything." "I'm looking at those new Japanese high-definition TV screens." "You've gotta have my guy do your installation." " He's just a genius with computers and..." " I'll get his card." "We just did our place in Greenwich." "You have to see it!" "We have this wonderful decorator you should use." "He's, um, he's creative, but he knows when to back off." "We did it, uh, modern, with just a splash of antiques here and there." "I love combining the two, but God, the prices." "Do you have any idea what a good-sized oriental rug costs?" "She's right." "She's right." "Actually, there's an old joke." ""100,000 for a Persian rug..."" "Life continued predictably for Vicky and Doug, until one afternoon, when an unpredictable moment occurred." "Several days later, Judy asked Vicky to meet her privately, away from the house, to have coffee." "What happened the other day..." " I don't want you to get the wrong idea." " Oh, no, no, no." " It's really none of my business." " I'm not having an affair with Mark's partner." "I'm..." "I'm not." "No, I didn't think you were." "Mm, uh, not that I haven't had fantasies of someone coming along and taking me out of my situation, but the fantasies are not Jay Lewis... even though he would like that, he would." "By "taking you out of your situation"...?" "I haven't..." "I haven't been in love with Mark for years." "I mean, I love him, but I'm not in love with him." "I'm sorry to hear that." "It's funny, I just made..." "I just made the same speech to my shrink." "Huh." "Well, what does your shrink say?" "He says, um, that I'm too frightened to act and that... that I'm looking for some kind of magical solution which is unrealistic, and that I..." "And an affair is not the answer." "And I don't..." "I'm sorry to be laying all of this on you, but I was so humiliated when you saw us." " Look..." " I'm just..." "Look, you mustn't feel that you have to explain yourself to me." "I mean..." "Mark is great." "I'm sure any... any dissatisfaction I have is my own problem." "I'm just..." "I can't leave him, and I know that I never will." "Hmm, why not?" "I just..." "I can't." "I'm too scared." "The moment's passed." "It's so apparent to me that you and Juan Antonio are still in love when I see you together, you know?" "Our love will last forever." "It's forever, but it just doesn't work." "That's why it will always be romantic, because it cannot be complete." "Maybe it can't be complete because, you know, I'm getting in the way," " or I don't know, I feel like..." " No." "Before you... before you, we used to cause each other so much pain, so much suffering." "Without you, all this would not be possible." "You know why?" "Because you are the missing ingredient." "You are like the tint that, added to a palette, makes the color beautiful." "Aren't you and Juan Antonio tempted to make love?" "I feel like..." "I don't know." "At the end of our marriage, we didn't, but I have to say, those feelings are coming back now, thanks to you, in a new and deeper way." "Well, I wouldn't be upset about it." "I'd never want to get into the way." "It wouldn't upset me at all." "I know you wouldn't be upset, same way I get this warm feeling when I hear you both locked in passion every night." "I listen, and I'm happy." "Was Cristina okay with it when Maria Elena and Juan Antonio made love one afternoon?" "Beforehand, she gave them both her blessing, but then had mixed feelings." "She was not quite as open-minded as she had always imagined herself, and the thought of the two of them in bed and, inevitably, full of intensity, caused her some conflict." "In the end, she gradually relaxed and let herself go with the flow of things, a tolerance she was proud of." "At first it did bother me, but then I started to think about all these standard, accepted clichés of love... what's right, what's wrong, what's appropriate according to the "appropriate police,"" "and you know, you see how screwed up most relation..." "So what you're saying is you're sharing a man." "You're like a Mormon wife." "I-I know it sounds strange, but actually, we all contribute to the relationship, and we're all really nourished by it." "If everyone did that, society couldn't function." " Come on!" " Come on, Doug." "Let's not get into one of those turgid categorical imperative arguments." " Whatever works." " Whatever works?" "Maria Elena believes that there are many truths in life, not just one." "I don't know." "I mean, babe, could you live like that?" "Well, I never had Cristina's..." "What, Cristina's lack of structure?" "It's very structured, actually." "Her courage." "I never had her courage." "Her courage?" "Courage?" "Next thing she'll be going to bed with Maria Elena and glorifying it as some kind of superior, alternative lifestyle." "Oh, I have gone to bed with her." " No!" " Yeah." "When?" "Well, Juan Antonio and Maria Elena made this darkroom for me... you know, they're both pushing me to take photographs... and actually, I'm getting pretty good." "Believe it or not, I'm getting much more confident." "And we were down there in the darkroom, and..." "I was just working on some of my photographs, things that, you know, I wouldn't have done if she hadn't inspired me." "And it happened very naturally for both of us." "You weren't nervous?" "No, no." "It was very loving and gentle." "Did you enjoy it?" "Mm-hmm, I did." "And... it was just the one time?" "Yeah, yeah." "I mean, it just happened, you know." "I'm not planning on making a habit out of it, necessarily." "But if you... enjoyed it..." " I did, I did at the time." " Well, did you tell Juan Antonio?" "Yeah, of course." "There's nothing to hide." "Would you say then you are a bisexual?" "No, I see no reason to label everything." "I'm me, you know, and I've slept with Juan Antonio since and enjoyed that experience very much." "It's a great story." "Yeah, that's a great story." "Hey, look, I don't set myself up as a judge, so..." "What are you thinking?" "Hmm?" "I don't know." "How quickly time passes." "Summer's almost over." "We'll be going home soon." "I thought you were still dwelling about your friend's little tale of lust in the darkroom." "And speaking of dark rooms..." "Come here." "Over the next weeks," "Cristina became more and more sure of herself as a photographer." "Both Juan Antonio and Maria Elena contributed ideas and support when she had doubts." "Thanks to their encouragement, photography was becoming a productive interest in her life." "By now, she and Juan Antonio and Maria Elena had become lovers." "Everything seemed perfectly balanced, perfectly in tune." "Maria Elena was calm and relaxed." "Juan Antonio was going through a very creative period with his painting." "It was only Cristina, as the last days of summer expired, who began to experience an old familiar stirring, a growing restlessness that she dreaded, but recognized only too well." "Suddenly, thoughts started taking precedence over feelings, thoughts and questions about life and love, and as much as she tried to resist these ideas, she could not get them from her mind." "Finally, summoning her resolve one evening after dinner, she made an announcement that surprised everyone." "I don't want what my parents had," "I don't want what I had before I came here..." "I mean, I know that..." "but I know I can't live like this forever." " What do you want, Cristina?" " I want something different." "What?" "I-I don't know." "Not this." "There is no answer, Cristina." "There is no single answer." "Please, don't get so upset." "Please, and can you speak English?" "I can't understand you." "Maria Elena, speak English, please, so she can understand it, all right?" "Chronic dissatisfaction, that's what you have." "Chronic dissatisfaction." "Big sickness." "Do you know how much we love you?" "And I love you both." " No, you don't." " Yes I... it has nothing to do with that." " Please, please!" " I just can't live..." "Where will you go, Cristina?" "I, um..." "I just gotta get out of here for a few weeks, and I just gotta clear my head." "It's not... this is all my... problem." "It has nothing to do with you." "Then come here." "Oy." "Let's be thankful for all of the good times that we've spent together, all right, and... and remember each other with respect, all right, and love and affection." "All right?" "Cristina told all that had happened to Vicky, and said she was going to France for a few weeks to think things out." "She would return to pick her up so they could go back to New York together." "So it's been Juan Antonio all this time?" "Look, I'm not gonna do anything." "Forget I said..." "I just needed to tell someone, and we've become close, so..." " Why don't you act on it?" " What, act now?" "Break up with Doug?" "He's really a sweet guy." "He married me in good faith." "For what?" "For a bohemian Spanish painter with a passionate tie to an ex-wife who probably doesn't even share my feelings, if he ever did, so... oh, God, who am I kidding?" "But the dream is exciting." "If I were you, I wouldn't waste another minute." " I'd get on it." " Get on what?" "Well, you're in love with him." "If..." "Do something, or the years will pass by and you will be sorry, Vicky." "No, no, what are you saying?" "I..." "Look, I can't risk everything." "If Juan Antonio had never existed," " I'd be fine with Doug." " Just fine." " Yeah, as I planned." " Just fine?" "How blunt do you want me to be?" "When I look at Doug, I see Mark." "Yeah, well, you're using me to rewrite your own history." "Despite Vicky's protestations," "Judy was possessed with finding a way to bring her and Juan Antonio together, and prevailed upon her friend Gabriella, who was a figure in the art world, to throw a party and invite Vicky and Juan Antonio." "Meanwhile, as predicted, without Cristina the relationship between Juan Antonio and Maria Elena had gone back to its old destructiveness." "As had happened before by mutual consent," "Maria Elena packed her things and moved out of Juan Antonio's house." "Yeah, I think he's sweet." "I mean, he owns..." " He gets in very close." " Yeah, he does." "He's a close talker." "He's a close talker." "That's probably why he's so successful." "I was telling her on the car ride over here that I'm actually very excited." "I think he's gonna be a great contact." "I'm gonna go check out the food." "Does anyone want anything?" " No." " No." "Thank you." "But he gets in your face." "No, no, I mean, he'll get a little close..." "Hello." "Oh... hello." "I'm surprised to see you." "As am I to see you." "I didn't think you liked parties." "Yeah, well, Gabriella insisted I come, and she's an old friend." "You know, of course, that Cristina and I are no longer together, right?" "Yes." "So now you're just with your ex-wife?" "No, Maria Elena is gone, as well." "Oh." "For now." "It's funny." "Maria Elena and I..." "We are meant for each other and not meant for each other." "It's... it's a contradiction." "I mean, in order to understand it you need a poet like my father... because I don't." "Well..." "How about you?" "All goes well with your husband, I'm sure?" "Oh, yes." "Yes, he's wonderful." "He's terrific." "I'm quite delighted with the way things turned out." "Why don't I believe you?" "Don't become flirtatious." "You know, I realize your bed is empty now and you always had a little yen for me, but we're preparing to leave by the weekend, so..." "Meet me for lunch." "I'm too scared." "No." "What?" "You're breaking up, Tom." "You're breaking up." "Where are you?" "Okay, that's better." "That's better." "Just try to stand still." "Can you hear me?" "We have to get a bird for Mark and Judy." "No, we can't get them a bird." " Why not?" " It's ridiculous." "They're beautiful." "I always wanted a bird." "When we get home, I'd love to get, like, a bird for the new house." "Yeah?" "Yeah, and I'm leaning towards Bedford Hills." " What do you think?" " Yeah." "Yeah." "All right, well, hold on." "Hello?" "Spend tomorrow afternoon with me." " Oh, no, it's not possible." " Hey, buddy!" "We're preparing to leave by the weekend." "Be on the corner of Calles Tiles, Tiles, in Pedrables, and I'll drive by and I'll pick you up at noon." "Uh, no." "You're wasting your time." "I can't talk now." "Look, I'm not the kind of man who would try to come between a husband and wife..." "I'm not." "I'm not, but Judy Nash called me and she tells me that you are not happy, that you are actually more in love with me than the man you married." "I can't talk." "This is nice." "Yeah." "Really nice." "Hey, babe." "What do you think?" "Who was that?" "Hmm?" "On the phone." "Oh, it was... it's my, uh, language teacher." "Yeah?" "He wants me to have a good-bye lunch with him tomorrow at noon." "Oh, that's perfect." "I'm gonna play golf with Mark in the morning." "Well, this is..." "Oh, I've been working on these ones lately." "Uh, yeah." "They're very overwhelming, my God." "Yeah." "I mean, it's very hard to explain the painting, all right?" "No, you don't have to." "It's fascinating." "It's fascinating." "This one, actually, should be the other way around." "I like it very much." "Can... can I... can I be frank about something?" "Yeah." "This one, it's... it's... there's something very frightening about it." " Uh, that one is Maria Elena's." " Right, well, that explains it." "It's very chaotic and erratic, almost, but..." "Oh, God, what am I doing here?" "I don't know what I expect to happen." "It's been a long time since we made love that night in Oviedo..." "Yes, I and I've thought about it many, many times." "I'm sure you weren't thinking about it when you were making love to Cristina or Maria Elena..." "I never lied to you." "I mean, I told you from the first moment I was attracted to both you and Cristina." "Yeah, look..." "I can't just go to bed with you." "I'm..." "I'm not good at this." "But you weren't nervous that night." " I wasn't married." " You were about to be." "Yeah, you're right." "It's what I want." "But I... what am I supposed to do, make love with you and then... and then go on with my marriage like nothing happened, or just terminate it?" "Judy Nash says you are heading an unhappy life." "Well, she's talking about herself." "Maybe you will understand more about your own feelings once we've made love." "Yeah, or less." "Look, I'm not saying I'm not tempted, but it would require such an upheaval emotionally." "And from a practical point of view, you're not exactly the kind of man to plan a..." "Maria Elena!" "No, no!" "Maria Elena!" "What are you doing?" "Don't!" "Dámela, dámela, dámela." "Ya, ya." "Maria Elena." "Maria Elena." "Maria Elena." "Maria Elena." " My God!" " Oh, my God, I'm so sorry!" "Oh, my God, my hand!" "You're both crazy!" "You're both complete..." "Both of you are completely insane!" "How the hell am I gonna explain this to my husband?" " I'm sorry." " I can't live like this!" "This is not my life!" "Maria Elena." "Maria Elena." "I still don't understand what your language teacher was doing with a gun." "Look, I told you, he collects these antique firearms," " and he was showing me..." " God!" "We should sue him." " It just went off." " That is so damn irresponsible." " No, no, it's not." " Jesus." " Once the bandages come off..." " What if something happened to you?" "...it'll be a scratch." "What?" "What are you saying?" "I love you so much." "Doug never found out the real story." "Judy knew the secret, and of course was relieved" "Vicky had not been hurt worse, or killed." "With Vicky leaving to go back to New York," "Judy's plans to rescue Vicky from her own fate were put on terminal hold." "When Cristina returned from Antibes Vicky told her the whole tale, and Cristina thought it was sad how much Vicky had wanted Juan Antonio and was unable to say or do anything about it." "But I would've stepped aside." "No, no." "Look, I knew you had feelings for Juan Antonio from the moment you saw him." "But if I knew what had happened, I never would've gone ahead with it." "It was a... passing thing." "Now it's over." "Vicky went home to have her grand wedding to Doug, to the house they both finally settled on, and to lead the life she had envisioned for herself before the summer in Barcelona." "Cristina continued searching, certain only of what she didn't want."