"Legendas:" "Luís Filipe Bernardes" "# A" " B" " C" " D #" "# E" " F" " G" " H" " I" "J" " K" " L" " M # # is for the million things she gave me #" "# 'O' means only that she's growing old #" "# 'T' is for the tears she shed to save me #" "'H' is for her heart of purest gold #" "# 'E' is for her eyes with love-light shining #" "# 'R' means right, and right she'll always be #" "# Put them all together and they spell M-O-T-H-E-R #" "# Mama!" "# # a word that means the world to me. #" "Yes, yes, I understand that." "I know you're not supposed to write a check when you haven't any money in the bank, Mr. Tate." "You don't think I did it on purpose." "It was a mistake." "Yes, well, I'll make a deposit right away." "And Mr. Tate, it won't happen again." "Well, I mean it this time." "It really won't happen again." "Yes, uh-huh." "Yes, I understand that." "I'll take care of it right away." "Goodbye, Mr. Tate." "Yes..." "Sorry, Mom, forgot my key." "You can put it all in the bedroom, George." "Susie, what is all that?" "I've been shopping." "Thank you, George." "That was sweet of you." "It's a real pleasure, Miss Abbot." "Boy, I'm beat." "Every shop from 60th Street to Washington Square." "Dear, I specifically asked you not to spend any more money, remember?" "I didn't spend a shekel, Ma, not a red cent." "Charged everything." "You know when you charge things you have to pay for them sometime." "All right, Mom." "So we'll pay for them sometime." "Look, I brought you some books you can read yourself to sleep with." "It's very thoughtful of you." "Scarlet Death..." "Somebody Stole my Ghoul..." "Gravedigger and the Chambermaid." "They said at the bookshop that that one will turn your hair gray." "Just what I needed." "Honestly, dear, I don't know how you can waste good money on such trash." "Oh, that's okay, Mom, you're welcome." "Look!" "I bought it on sale." "Strictly sequins from bustle to bras." "How do you like it?" "It's beautiful." "And it only cost 69 bucks." "Dollars, dear, not bucks." "Alright, dollars." "No matter how you say it it was still a bargain." "Isn't it sheer heaven?" "Yes, it's also very expensive." "I'm sorry, Susie, it'll have to go back." "Oh, Ma!" "Look, I've already told you that we were low on funds." "The truth of the matter is we're overdrawn at the bank, so let's put that right back in its box..." "You can't send anything back you bought on sale." "Oh..." "Call John Heaslip and tell him to put more money in the account." "I was going to, only he gets so upset." "Lawyers are supposed to get upset." "They're always supposed to see the gloomy side of life." "Yes, well, that's our John." "Oh, give him the old razzle-dazzle." "Personally, I think he likes your economic crisis." "Gives him the chance to have a cozy heart to heart with you so he can wave that torch he's been carrying." "Don't be silly, dear." "Well, I suppose you'll have to keep the dress." "Oh, gee, Mom, thanks a bucket..." "No more spending now, remember." "I won't spend anymore." "But I just had to have this little one..." "You just had to have this little one, I know you..." "I wanted to wear it to the sophomore cotillion." "Richard'll love it." "Richard?" "Oh, yes, he's the president of the Student Body, isn't he?" "No, Mom, that's Beaumont Jackson." "Oh." "He's passé." "No 'savoir faire'." "No 'je ne sais quoi'." "He's a shmo." "What's that?" "You know." "A dope, a drip." "Oh, I must call John." "Who's Richard, dear?" "Mother, don't you ever listen to me?" "Yes, I do." "But I get mixed up." "I told you a thousand times." "Richard Michaels." "Professor of English Lit." "Oh, that's nice." "A professor." "A professor?" "He's only sensational." "But dear, a professor!" "So what?" "I don't think it's very nice for a young girl like you to be..." "Well, Susie, is he one of your beaus?" "Oh, Mom, you're so old-fashioned." "Those barriers have broken down." "Oh, have they?" "Of course." "Pointer is a modern college, not one of those antique Rah-Rah Rover Boys' joints..." "School." "Alright, school with the octogenarian profs tripping over their beards." "There isn't any more caste system between student and professor like in the days when you went to college." "I didn't go to college." "Your father educated me." "You know what I mean." "How old is this professor?" "Oh, he's... he's sort of ageless." "Hmm, maybe around 35." "Dear, I'm around 35." "But it's different with you, Ma." "Your life's over." "After all, you've been married, you've raised your family... you've had your life." "He hasn't even begun to live." "Oh, he hasn't?" "Oh, Susie, I don't like it." "I don't like it a bit." "A nice young girl like you being mixed up with one of your professors, it isn't right." "Excuse me." "Hello?" "Oh, hello, John." "I was just going to call you." "Oh... the bank's called you to, huh?" "Well... after all, John, it's only 700 dollars." "And it was a mistake." "Yes, I know I am, but..." "When you're trying to outfit a young girl for college and redecorate an apartment it isn't easy, you know." "Why, John, I couldn't be there..." "That's impossible." "What did you say?" "Yes, John." "Yes, I'll be right down." "Well, what did he say?" "He said that..." "Never mind, darling." "It must have been a mistake." "I'm going right down there." "Mother, what is it?" "He..." "He said you weren't going back to Pointer." "Not... not going back to Pointer?" "Hello, Miss Graham." "Mrs. Abbott, how nice to see you." "Thank you." "He's expecting me." "I know." "Isn't it too bad?" "Go right in." "Thank you." "If ever a woman needed a strong, sane guiding hand, it is you, Abby." "Your expenditures have been disgraceful and scandalous." "Oh, I don't think they've been so scandalous." "After all, the apartment had to be done over." "It was terribly shabby and you know it." "And you couldn't expect Susan to go back to Pointer without a stitch to her name." "I don't expect Susan to go back to Pointer at all." "You're just trying to scare me." "I am not." "But surely you can't mean that." "I mean that you are broke." "How broke?" "Dead broke." "But the trust fund that Henry left for me." "I couldn't have gone through that even if I wanted to." "It's still there." "True." "Oh, thank heaven, John." "Don't frighten me that way." "The only thing is, Abby, your trust fund is payable every three years and it doesn't come payable again until February 15th... next year." "What am I going to live on in the meantime?" "I haven't the faintest idea." "John, Susan must go back to Pointer." "Where am I going to get the money to pay for her tuition?" "If you'd named your daughter after yourself, and your mother, and your grandmother in the traditional way... that would be no problem." "What do you mean?" "The Abigail Fortitude Scholarship." "Oh, let's not go through that again." "John, you just must help me." "Isn't there some way?" "Yes, one." "Oh... well, no, thank you." "Let's not go into that again either." "Abby, please." "No, there must be some other way." "There is no other way, Abigail." "You are up against a stone wall." "Is my maiden name legal, John?" "Yes, if you care to use it." "Why?" "Oh, no reason." "No reason at all." "And thank you." "Thank you for everything." "Abby..." "Susan." "Susie!" "Susan." "This concludes our evening program of meditation music, brought to you by America's greatest morticians..." "Forrest Glen." "where you can be buried with the best for the least." "Friends, when your time approaches nigh, think first of Forrest Glen..." "Good night, Susie." "Good night, Jack." "Thanks a million for that dinner." "You saved my life." "Shucks, it was nothing." "You can say that again." "Mom!" "Yes, dear." "Hi, Mom." "Hello." "Did you get my note?" "Yes, I got it." "I was brooding something awful." "So when Jack called I decided I might as well go out." "Was that Jack?" "Hm-hmm." "It was pretty creepy." "But I was desperate." "Mom, I'm sorry I blew my top." "I know it wasn't your fault." "It's just that..." "Well, I've got to go back to Pointer." "I know, dear." "You know?" "I was thinking." "Couldn't you borrow the money from Mr. Heaslip?" "Don't bring that up again." "But he's crazy about you." "Susie, I better explain something to you." "Mr. Heaslip has a tradition against lending or borrowing money." "And though he may be crazy about me, he is crazier about his tradition." "See?" "Yeah." "Mom, we'll just have to go to work." "I'll get a job up at Pointer." "Maybe waiting on tables or something." "I'll work my way through." "You'll have to get a job down here." "Maybe at Macy's or in some sweat shop." "You're pretty good taking spots off things, you know." "Did you hear me, Mom?" "Just a minute, dear." "What are you reading?" "Endowments to Pointer College." "Abigail Fortitude Scholarship three thousand dollars... for any female of high morals, good character and refinement, with the name of Abigail Fortitude, who wishes to advance her education and culture, the sum of three thousand dollars per annum shall be made available." "So what?" "Three thousand dollars is a lot of money." "Yeah, but what difference does it make?" "Your great-grandma set up that scholarship back at Pointer in the dark ages." "Nobody can use it, didn't you see the catch?" "You've got to have a name like Abigail Fortitude hung on you." "My maiden name happens to be that." "I know, Mom, but you're the last." "You told me yourself the reason you named me Susan was so I wouldn't have that hanging around my neck." "That's right, so I did." "You know, they keep talking about great-grandma Abigail as if she was a philanthropist." "Between you and me I think she was just plain Scotch." "You do, huh?" "Sure she gave money to Pointer." "And then she fixed it so only her own family could use the scholarship." "But in that case, why don't we use it?" "We can't, I just told you we can't." "Why not?" "You?" "Why, it's a sensational idea." "Yes, I thought so." "Oh, my gosh!" "Oh, golly!" "Oh, gee, no, it wouldn't work." "You couldn't, Ma." "Now, why not?" "What would Mr. Heaslip say?" "I hope he'll have apoplexy." "Even so, it's no good." "It's not that simple." "Why?" "There are college entrance exams, tough ones." "Yes?" "You'd never pass them." "Well, it's up to you, Susie, to see that I do." "You don't seem to understand." "If I don't go to Pointer, you're not going back either." "Now, this $3,000 endowment will see us through February." "At which time we collect our trust fund." "Now do you understand?" "Oh, if we only could." "It's terrific." "I great idea." "I'll use my maiden name." "And nobody need know that I'm your mother." "Uh..." "Not even Richard Michaels." "Oh, but those entrance exams, they are mur-der." "Oh, come now." "They couldn't be that difficult." "Oh, no?" "Sit down." "Prove that two triangles are congruent." "The hypotenuse and the side of one are equal to ditto." "But..." "What?" "Give a concise statement of Dalton's atomic theory." "Describe the structure of a typical dicot lead in a stem." "Oh, Susie, that doesn't even sound like English." "See what I mean?" "Oh..." "Well, in that case I..." "I guess we better get to work right away." "I really gotta hand it to you, Mom." "That's the old Abigail Fortitude fortitude." "All right, come on, let's go." "# M-O-T-H-E-R # # spells 'mother' #" "# Poor Mother #" "A proposition governing..." "Preposition." "A preposition governing several objects should be repeated with each object" "Don't stop." "Keep going." "Hello?" "Oh, hello." "No, Jack, no dates." "Sorry." "Busy." "Up to my ears." "La semaine passée." "La semaine passée." "La semaine dernière." "La semaine dernière." "La semaine prochaine." "La semaine..." "Il y a c'est que j'ai un mal de tête." "Translate." "It is that I have a sickness... of the head?" "That makes two of us." "Susan, I'm terrified." "Take it easy, Mom." "I'll never remember all those things." "Don't try." "When you get in there just relax." "Don't fight it." "The stuff will just come seeping through your memory." "It will?" "Uh-huh." "That's it." "That's it." "Morituri te salutamos." "What's that?" "We who are about to die salute you." "Salute." "How did you do?" "I don't know." "You don't know?" "Oh, for Pete' sake, Mom!" "I've been pacing the floor out here like an expectant father." "I handed it in to him... and he said to come out here and wait and he'd correct it right away." "Susie, I'm going to be sick." "What you need is a good stiff drink." "Here it is, right here." "Oh, dear." "That's better." "Oh, Susie, that professor." "He's just a teacher." "But he seemed so unfriendly." "They all do." "Have another drink." "Miss Fortitude." "Miss Fortitude." "Mom, that's you!" "Oh!" "Yes?" "I'm afraid that wasn't a very good examination paper you turned in, Miss Fortitude." "Oh..." "You barely passed." "Is that as good as passing?" "Of course it is." "Yes, a grade of 76 qualifies you for entrance to Pointer College." "You shall have to send your records along, Miss Fortitude, to the dean at Porter." "Thank you!" "Congrats, Mom." "You're a freshman!" "I'm a wreck!" "I need another drink." "Hello, Susan." "Hi, Bill." "There's nothing to worry about." "Gilly's very nice." "Gilly?" "Oh, yes, that's the dean." "This is it?" "That's it." "Well..." "Happy landing." "Professor Michaels." "Oh, hello, Pete." "This came for you over at your house." "I said I'd bring it up." "Oh, thank you." "Guess who?" "Susan!" "Hello, Professor Michaels." "Susan Abbot." "Well, for heaven's sake, it's good to see you." "Wonderful to see you too." "Did you have a good summer?" "Sensational!" "Except that I..." "Well, I half expected to hear from you." "Oh, Susan, I was pretty busy." "I didn't get much chance..." "I couldn't wait to get back." "I thought September'd never come." "I know just how you feel." "I read all the things you told me to read..." "Did you?" "I thought of you every time I scanned a single line." "Well isn't that nice." "You are going to let me help you again, aren't you?" "I mean, correcting papers and stuff." "You bet I am." "You don't think I could do that by myself, do you?" "I'd be lost." "You know, I should put you on the payroll." "I'll help you." "I know what you mean." "It means a lot to me too." "Well, that's fine, Susan." "But you're not going to devote all your time to a dusty professor." "You've got to give the boys a break this year." "A girl gets so bored, Professor Michaels, they're so oh, so adolescent." "Working with you is an intellectual experience." "Oh, now, Susan, don't tell me you'd rather have an intellectual experience than be the belle of the ball at the sophomore cotillion." "I would, dancing with you." "I'd have both." "Me?" "I wouldn't be found dead at a student dance." "Oh well, I've got to run along, Professor." "See you in class tomorrow." "Goodbye, Susan, nice of you to drop in." "Goodbye." "Bye." "Good night..." "Good night..." "Parting is such sweet sorrow that I could say good night till it be morrow." "That's very good, Susan, very good." "Bye." "Now then, Miss Fortitude." "Yes, sir." "My dear, you're not frightened of me?" "Well, uh..." "Yes, yes, a little." "I assure you that even though I do look as if I were going to swallow you alive" "I couldn't possibly digest you." "So relax." "Thank you, sir." "And don't say 'sir'." "Makes me sound so pathetic." "My name is William Gillingham." "The male ruffians refer to me as Stinky." "The females more gently as Gilly." "Behind my back, that is." "I think you'd feel more at ease if you called me Dean." "Thank you, Dean." "Yes, yes." "Now then, your entrance examinations are all in order and I herewith welcome you officially as an undergraduate at Pointer." "Thank you." "You should register for your classes now and find a place to live." "Oh, I already have a place to live." "My d... er... a friend of mine found a room for me in the freshman dormitory." "Oh, good, good." "You realize, of course, that your matriculation is most unusual and unique." "Yes, I was afraid that..." "Well, perhaps a woman of my age coming to college..." "A woman of your age?" "Yes." "What a silly thought." "You've barely got the peach of adolescence off your cheeks." "You might more likely ask what's a man of my age doing in college." "You're very nice." "But after all, you're the dean, you teach people." "I have no doubt you will too." "I meant by unusual the fact that you're the first girl in fifty-five years to use the Abigail Fortitude Scholarship." "She was my grand-mother." "Oh." "You see, my mother never had a chance to use it." "She was married at seventeen and busy having me instead of coming to Pointer." "Well, having a baby would scarcely have kept her from matriculating today." "Oh?" "With all our GI families... we've all been having maternity wards in the student's' hospital and the nursery in the gym." "Really?" "As a matter of fact, Dr. Longley... has been fixing sprained ankles and twisted knees for football players for so long he had to take a refresher course in obstetrics." "Yes, my dear, college has changed much since my days as a student." "And I must say for the better." "It seems our students want an education today more than a good football team." "And that is the primary purpose of any school." "Yes, I see what you mean." "So it's very good to see you here." "What's the use of educating the children, I've always said, if we don't educate the parents too?" "Dean Gillingham..." "Have no fear, Mrs. Abbott..." "What do you mean?" "I'll keep your horrid secret." "After all, you and Susan do share the same home address on your registration cards." "Oh, my goodness, I never thought of it." "You see, we didn't want anyone to find out." "I assure you the fact will never fall from my lips." "Thank you." "Good luck, Miss Fortitude." "Good luck in all your studies and your hopes." "And if I can ever be of any service at any time, please don't hesitate to call on me." "That's very nice of you." "Goodbye, Dean." "Goodbye." "Susie." "Hi, Mom." "Not Mom, Abby, Golly, I forgot, sorry." "How did you make out with Gilly?" "He's the nicest man I ever met." "He's a charmer." "And Richard Michaels, that's one of the greatest educators in the country." "I can believe that." "He made me feel just a little like a cheat." "Why?" "He was so pleased that I'd come to Pointer to finish my education." "I see what you mean, but I wouldn't let it bother me." "It does bother me." "Since I know I came here only to put my hands on some money." "I've got news for you." "What?" "If you plan to stay here on that dough until February, you're gonna get an education whether you meant to or not." "Otherwise you go right out on your ear." "Susie, I've told you time and time again not to talk that way." "Abby, I'll have to caution you not to correct people as if you were their mother." "Other people might catch on, see?" "How do you like the joint?" "Well. let us say I have seen more attractive places in my day." "Of course it is rough." "But you've got a good view." "On a clear day you can see my sorority house." "Oh, where?" "Right over there, see?" "Oh, yes." "You can get a lot of junk at the five-and-dime and fix it up like the house of tomorrow." "Well, couldn't get anything but better, hm?" "You're lucky at that." "If you weren't single, you'd be living in a trailer with your guy." "There's a room shortage." "I guess I am lucky." "That's the old pizzazz." "Now what?" "I'm supposed to go and register for my classes." "You'd better hike all over to the Geranium Hall and get in line." "Now?" "Now!" "I'll straighten things out here and get you settled." "All right." "See you later." "Okay." "Hey, wait a minute." "You're not going like that!" "What's the matter with me?" "Plenty." "You're about as conspicuous as a brass band." "This is college, not 5th Avenue." "This is the most conservative thing I own." "Conservative at home, maybe, but too overdressed here." "You've got to simmer down like one of the kids." "What do you think I ought to wear?" "I'd take those bobby pins and lose them." "Comb your hair all frizzy." "It looks too old that way." "And ditch the hat." "Look, I'll run over to the house... and get some things you can wear until you get your own." "And step on it!" "Well, hi, angel eyes." "Play this again tomorrow." "Thank you." "# Put them all together they sound 'Mother' #" "Excuse me." "Pardon me, lady." "Are you in the right place?" "This is Pointer College." "The Stork Club is south." "I'm a student here." "Abigail Fortitude?" "That's right." "How do you like that?" "Is something wrong?" "Honey, the name just doesn't go with the scenery." "You're a freshman?" "Yes." "My, just out of the army or something?" "No, no." "Married?" "No." "Where are you living?" "Has all this anything to do with my registering for classes?" "No, but a guy has to start planning his past, doesn't he?" "Yes..." "These classes are all okay, but... what's your major gonna be?" "Oh... what's a major?" "In college you've got to major in one subject which indicates the type of career you've cut out for yourself." "Uh... what does Richard Michaels teach?" "You too?" "Look, I only asked what does he teach." "Iniquity, thinly disguised with Shakespearean sonnets and officially labeled English Literature." "Oh..." "I'll major in that." "Abigail, what would your mother say?" "Oh!" "I'm so sorry." "That's okay." "Let me help you." "Thanks." "Say, don't you live over in the freshman dorm?" "Yes, I do." "I'm a freshman too." "My name's Rhoda Adams." "Hi, Rhoda." "Hello." "I'm Abigail Fortitude." "Yes, I know." "We were talking about you last night on the second floor." "You going to English Lit?" "Yes, yes..." "Good." "So am I." "Wish I weren't so nervous." "I'm scared spitless." "Oh, don't say..." "What?" "Nothing." "You're scared spitless?" "I too." "It's that Richard Michaels." "They say he's just heavenly." "Oh, no, I didn't mean I was nervous about that." "It's just that this is my first class and everything is so new and strange." "You see, I've always been interested in literature and that's why I signed up for this course." "It had nothing to do with Richard Michaels." "Yeah, that's what I keep telling myself." "I guess that's it." "Hey, you there!" "Why don't you take that seat?" "I didn't want to be conspicuous." "You didn't?" "What is your name?" "Forti..." "Fortitude." "Fortitude." "Well, Miss Fortitude, I am not myopic and I have an uncanny sense of intuition when one of my students is unprepared." "I can spot him in the last row as well as the first." "So why don't you take that seat there next to Miss Sharpe?" "Yes, certainly." "Hello, Miss Sharpe." "Oh, hello, Professor Michaels." "Back for another try, eh?" "Don't you think you ought to run?" "Oh, I'll pass this time, Professor Michaels." "If I can keep my mind on my work." "All right, ladies and gentlemen, let's come to order." "This first one is going to be short so you needn't brace yourselves." "I usually start this course in about the same manner." "You repeaters will have to bear with me." "In studying the text of Shakespeare we repeatedly find the theme of love... over and over again." "And yet, in all the works of the master we are never bored with the theme because Shakespeare in his artistry knew something we lesser mortals have to learn." "Never is love the same." "Never does the ecstatic fusing of two entites precipitate the same reaction." "For each love there is a different meaning." "For each pair of lovers a different world." "From Juliet to Catherine the divine impulse is as varied as it would be among... well, let us say any of the most varied of you here in this room." "I will now attempt to expose your minds to Shakespeare." "If you choose to sleep like some of those in the back... that is your problem." "If you choose to listen and learn that is my problem." "Here's a sonnet to think about until next class." "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" "Thou art more lovely and more temperate." "Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May." "And summer's lease hath all too short a date." "Sometimes too hot the eye of heaven shines," "And often is his gold complexion dimmed." "And every fair from fair sometimes declines," "By chance, or nature's changing course untrimmed." "But thy eternal summer shall not fade, Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st," "Nor shall death brag thou wander'st in his shade," "When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st," "So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see," "So long lives this, and this gives life to thee." "Class dismissed." "Old Dicky boy sure hasn't lost his touch." "He uses that same routine every semester." "I could listen to him forever." "On him it's becoming." "Miss Fortitude, could I see you in my office, please?" "I'm sorry, Professor, but I have another class." "I've just dismissed this one 45 minutes early." "There goes another major in English Lit." "Have a seat, Miss Fortitude." "Thank you." "That's rather an odd name, isn't it?" "It's the family name." "Any relation to old Abigail Fortitude, the great pinch-penny-philanthropist of Pointer?" "My grand-mother." "Oh." "I'm using her scholarship here." "I didn't exactly mean she wasn't a great philanthropist." "I didn't think you did, Professor." "Miss Fortitude, would you mind answering me a simple question?" "Yes, if I can." "What the devil are you doing here at Pointer?" "Why are you majoring in my course?" "That's two questions, Professor." "And the answer is the same for both." "To get an education." "Are you seriously trying to tell me that there's anything left for you to learn?" "What do you mean by that remark?" "I didn't mean what you thought I meant..." "Sit down, Miss Fortitude, it's all right." "It's just that you are a matured woman and very sophisticated." "You never saw me before I came into this class and suddenly you seem to know all about me." "Now wait a second, I didn't exactly mean that you were an old crow it's just that I'm used to kids and..." "Well, you're sort of in my league." "I don't think I'm that matured, Professor." "Don't misunderstand me, I..." "It's just that it's a little unusual for..." "Well, isn't it a little bit late for you to be getting an education?" "No, I don't think so." "But if you doubt what is available for me here in your class" "I'll be happy to have myself transferred." "Oh, no, I didn't mean that..." "Professor Michaels, I am not one bit interested in how you came to teach at Pointer." "And I don't see why you should be interested in why I came to be taught at Pointer" "Now don't be angry, I was just curious, that's all." "Well, curiosity..." "I know, killed a cat..." "Good morning, Miss Fortitude." "Good morning, Professor." "Susan!" "Wait up!" "Hi, Susan." "Hi!" "I seem to never get a chance to talk with you." "You know how busy things are at the start of the semester." "You've got your Student Body work and I have a thousand and one things." "Yeah, but I wanted to check with you about the sophomore cotillion." "There's no rush on that." "It's a month off." "I know, I know, but I don't want to take any chances." "Will you go with me?" "I'd love to, Beau..." "Well, I'll let you know." "Why?" "Have you got a date?" "Not exactly." "Don't you think it's kind of a dirty trick to dangle me like a sword of Damocles... while you hope Professor Michaels will ask you?" "I told you I'd let you know and I will." "If that isn't good enough for you, take somebody else." "Hey, Sue, what's got into you?" "Last year you were different." "You were glad to see me." "I'm glad to see you, Beau, really I am." "You sure don't show it." "I'm sorry, Beau, if I've made you feel this way." "You're one of the nicest boys I know and..." "I always want to be friends with you." "Friends?" "You hate me, don't you?" "Oh, really!" "You know how I feel about you." "I wasn't kidding when I told you." "I'm crazy about you, Sue." "Not really, Beau." "Love is for grownups." "And although you're one of the nicest boys I know..." "Don't keep saying that." "...you're really very immature." "Oh, but Richard Michaels, he's the rich, full life." "He's mature, isn't he?" "Mature?" "Why, he's old enough to be your father." "So what?" "Ladies and gentlemen, you'll be prepared to discuss King Lear tomorrow." "Miss Fortitude, could I see you in my office, please?" "Yes, Professor." "Class dismissed." "Hey, Abby, you're beginning to spend more time in there than you do here." "Don't be a shmo, Louise." "It happens every Spring." "This is October, muscle maid." "Yes, Professor." "Close the door, Fortitude." "Oh." "Oh, have a seat." "Did you get my theme, Professor?" "Not quite." "Well, I handed it in." "Yes, I know, I read it." "But I didn't get it." "Oh." "That's why I wanted to see you." "Your ideas are excellent, Fortitude, but you rhetoric, well... it leaves a lot to be desired." "Oh, dear, I..." "No, no, don't be discouraged." "You just need help on your academic approach." "Oh..." "Oh, and you're going to help me." "Yes, indeed." "Oh, I see..." "Not only that, but I'm going to have to turn the heat on." "The heat?" "Yes." "You're too self-conscious, Fortitude, you're nervous." "I get the feeling that you resent me." "But then, of course, this is only a sublimation of your fear of failure." "It is?" "Hm." "You know, English Literature can be fun." "And I'm going to show you how much fun." "You must learn to relax." "Thanks just the same, Professor, but I'll manage." "You don't want to flunk, do you?" "Oh, no!" "No, I can't flunk." "I've got to pass." "Well then, you'd better let me work with you." "Oh, well, all right..." "If you say so." "And I think we better work nights." "Nights?" "Yeah." "Oh, here." "Oh, no." "We might as well be comfortable." "Suppose you have dinner tonight at my house around seven?" "No, I'm sorry, Professor." "I can't do that." "I'm afraid you'd better." "Oh..." "Corner of Faculty Row near the Circle, number 17." "Professor, I don't think I ought to take up your time like that..." "Fortitude, that's just what I'm here for." "Oh... yes, Professor." "Well!" "Am I late?" "No, Fortitude, come in." "Thank you." "Oh..." "You look absolutely beautiful." "Thank you, Professor." "Oh, let's skip that professor stuff." "Call me Richard." "Oh..." "Come in and make yourself comfortable." "I'll be right back." "Excuse me." "Yes." "How do you like my lair?" "It smells good." "Oh, that's just the incense." "You have to burn it to get the tradition out of the woodwork." "Incense?" "Would you like a martini?" "No." "I mix them very dry." "No, thank you." "Don't you like martinis?" "I'm a student here." "But you're over 21 aren't you?" "Yes, just..." "Well, good for you." "Have two then." "They'll make you relax, lose your inhibitions." "You know, sometimes I think inhibitions are very good for people, Professor." "Oh, you know what I mean." "Yes..." "Well, let's sit down and be comfortable, shall we?" "Uh-uh-uh..." "The springs are coming out of that one." "This'll be nicer." "Thank you." "You don't mind if I call you Abby, do you?" "Why, no, if you like." "Here we are." "To you and to this wonderful evening." "Thank you." "I can't tell you how much I've looked forward to this." "Really?" "Something wrong with the cocktail?" "Oh, no, it's fine." "Then drink it so as I can freshen it." "Yes." "Yes, Abby, I've got to confess I'm glad you're weak in English Lit." "Because it gives me a chance not only to help you but to know you." "To know you well." "That's very nice of you, Professor." "I want to know you." "Very well." "Oh, dear." "What's the matter?" "I just remembered." "I'm awfully sorry, but I just remembered." "Remembered what?" "It's very thoughtless of me, but I just remembered that I have another date and I can't..." "Another date?" "Yes, where did you put my wrap?" "But Abby, you can't..." "Oh, there it is." "For heaven's sake, you can't just walk out..." "I said I was sorry." "What about your coaching?" "Some other time, perhaps." "But Abby..." "And thank you very much, Professor." "You can't leave, break the other date." "Oh, that would be rude." "Rude?" "What about me?" "What about my plans for tonight?" "I've arranged everything." "I know." "Good night, Professor." "Well, my dear, how nice to see you." "Margaret, this is the young lady I was telling you about." "Abigail, my wife." "How do you do?" "How do you do, my dear?" "I see we arrived at the same time." "No, she was just leaving." "She's got another date." "Must you destroy our evening?" "You don't think we enjoy dining with this dull young man, do you?" "It was only on his promise that you'd join us that we agreed to come." "Oh!" "Oh..." "Well, my headache is better." "Headache?" "I thought you said..." "Never mind, never mind, Richard..." "Would you like a martini?" "Yes, I would." "Let me take your hat." "Thank you." "Abby." "Thank you, Richard, thank you..." "Oh, Mrs. Gillingham, I want to tell you..." "It's nice to see you again." "It's nice to come." "Oh, sit right down here." "It's very comfortable." "Thank you, dear." "You're really more than Bill described you." "And he was simply outrageous." "Bill?" "Gillingham." "Oh, Gilly, of course." "You warned me that's what the girls called you, didn't you?" "Yes." "And how's college life agreeing with you, my dear?" "I must be honest." "I've never been happier." "I'm over here." "She knows it." "Oh, Richard, would you like me to pass the hors d'oeuvres for you?" "Oh, yes, would you please?" "Thank you." "Well, I must confess that I... really wasn't worried about you becoming acclimated, Mrs. Abbott." "Perhaps you'd better be." "Getting an education is more difficult than I thought." "Dinner's served, Professor." "Thank you, Beulah, give us five minutes." "I'll be right there." "Would you like an hors d'oeuvre?" "No, thank you." "What do you think of your fellow students, Abigail?" "I think they're wonderful, Dean." "I must say, however, that I'm amazed how they can be studying such a serious subject and at the same time reading things like Dick Tracy in the comic strips." "Gilly would rather miss a train than L'il Abner." "Oh, really?" "Oh, mother..." "I don't understand how they can be studying, a really complex subject like chemistry, or political economy, and then sit right down to a blood-curdling murder mystery." "You know, as I left the house tonight, Rhoda was reading..." "Rhoda?" "Yes, Rhoda Adams, she lives right next to me." "Oh, yes." "She was reading an awfully lurid thing called..." "Oh, let me see now..." "The Gravedigger and the Chambermaid." "I'm dreadfully sorry." "Do you want some more..." "No, thank you, Richard." "I've had enough." "As a matter of fact, we have to be getting along." "We do?" "My dear, it's almost midnight." "Let's not stretch hospitality too thin." "I think I'd better be going along too." "I'm awfully glad I've had the opportunity of meeting you." "Wonderful evening, Richard." "Very edifying." "We must do this again." "Oh, thank you." "At our place next time." "Oh, thank you, Dean. that would be very nice." "Good night." "Good night." "Good night, Richard." "I have to be back at the freshman dorm before twelve, you know." "I know." "Usually they don't stay past nine." "They don't?" "It's your fault, Abby." "They like you very much." "I'm glad they do." "We'll get at that coaching tomorrow night." "All right." "Come on, I'll walk you over." "Thank you." "The Gillingham's are nice, aren't they?" "What's the matter, Richard?" "I didn't know you were married." "I'm not." "But Dean Gillingham called you Mrs. Abbott." "He did?" "Yes." "Oh, I'm sorry." "We were supposed to keep that a secret." "Then you are married." "No, no, I'm a widow." "Eight years now." "Oh, that's wonderful!" "Oh, I didn't mean about you being a widow." "No, I know what you mean." "Abbott..." "Abbott?" "Like in Susan?" "Mrs. Abbott?" "That's right." "Impossible." "No, I assure you, it's quite possible." "I can't believe it." "Well, so help me, it's true." "But you're practically as young as she is." "Hardly!" "Anyway, she'll get younger if she gets older." "What's the idea?" "You're turning out to be a dyed-in-the-wool Mata Hari." "Well, it is a rather long story, Richard, and it is a secret." "We don't want anybody to know." "And I don't want Susan to know that you know yet." "I have my reasons." "Okay." "Thank you." "She's a pretty wonderful kid, Anny." "You ought to be proud of her." "I am." "Well." "There's the dorm." "Oh, wait a minute." "Come here a second." "You know I'm liable to get into trouble if I don't get in on time." "They'd only dock you from going to the sophomore cotillion." "Oh." "Which mustn't happen, incidentally, because you're going with me." "Am I?" "Listen, Abby." "Yes?" "I'm rushing it because that Mrs. Abbott thing scared the living daylights out of me." "I like you, you know what I mean?" "I really like you." "I like you too." "Then you will come to the dance with me." "Well, is it customary, I mean student and faculty..." "Those barriers no longer exist." "They don't?" "No." "Well, how nice." "Tradition." "A kissing oak." "Oh, I see." "It's true." "Any girl who doesn't kiss a beau good night under this oak winds up an old maid." "That could hardly be applied to me, could it?" "Hardly." "Good night, Richard." "Good night." "Those are my books, you know?" "Oh, excuse me." "Good night." "Good night." "By the way..." "They teach us in Botany that your kissing oak is a willow." "Good night." "One, two, three, lunge!" "One, two, three, lunge!" "Where are you going?" "English Department." "Richard wants me to correct some freshman themes." "One, two, three, lunge!" "Oh, Sue, will you kinda take it easy on mine?" "I was so bushed from playing hockey yesterday I fell asleep." "Are you asking me to cheat in your favor?" "I'd rather have you do that than cheat against me." "One, two, three, lunge!" "Will somebody please answer that phone!" "He held her hand in class today." "Whose hand?" "That gal I told you about, Abigail." "I don't believe it." "So help me, he handed her a book and underneath it he kinda held her hand." "Lunge!" "You know." "Lou, if you don't stop this nasty scuttlebutt of yours," "I'm gonna get myself another room mate." "Gee whiz, don't get sore at me." "I didn't hold his hand, she did." "Oh, really, Lou." "He had on a new tie today." "Pretty snappy." "You saw it yourself." "If that isn't love in bloom." "I didn't say it wasn't love in bloom." "Only what makes you think it's Fortitude?" "Lou, you better start playing The Three Musketeers at the gym." "It's getting just a little overheated in here." "One, two, three, lunge!" "Hi, Mom." "Good to see you." "Good to see you." "Where have you been?" "I didn't want to get in your hair, Mother." "You in my hair?" "Honey, don't be silly." "With Richard coaching you and all I didn't want to make you self-conscious." "In the first place, you needed lots of coaching." "That I certainly did." "And, in the second place, I wanted you to get to know him without me around." "Why?" "Oh, come on, Mom, you haven't fooled me a bit." "I don't know what you mean, Susie." "Come on, let's sit down." "You do like Richard, don't you?" "Yes, yes, I do." "Very much?" "Very much." "Good." "You're about as transparent as a window glass." "I suppose you thought you were pulling the wool over my eyes all the time." "Mom, I know you had to come to Pointer because of the money but that wasn't the only reason you wanted to be a freshman." "I've known since the day I told you about Richard and me." "You've known what, dear?" "You didn't like the idea of me and a professor romancing, remember?" "That's right." "That's why I wanted you to get to know him all by yourself." "I wanted you to find out how wonderful he is, how real, and thoughtful, and sweet." "And that's just what's happened." "Now you know why I feel the way I do about Richard." "It's just the way I wanted it to happen." "Now you know why I'm in love with him." "In love with him?" "Oh, yes, Mom, and you've only scratched the surface." "Wait until you really get to know him." "But Susie, he's not in love with you." "Oh, he's very fond of me." "It's just that he's shy and conservative." "Honey, are you sure?" "Sometimes girls imagine things." "I'm not imagining it, Mom." "I was never more sure of anything in my life." "Oh, Mom, I'm lucky." "Just think how he picked me to work shoulder to shoulder with him." "Just like the Curies." "How important he's been." "How... how he's changed my whole outlook on life." "Susie, has he said any of these things to you?" "Or are you just dreaming it all because you want it to come true?" "Oh, no, Mom." "Mom, every year new girls get crushes on Richard." "They try to flunk the course so that he has to help them." "Oh, I don't mean you." "They try to get to correct papers, run errands." "They even faint in class." "I didn't pull any of those wheezes." "It was real." "Not some silly schoolgirl swoon." "I see." "Susie..." "Susie, I don't know..." "I'll be it." "Thanks, Ma." "Thanks for liking him." "Mom." "I hate to say this, but..." "Well, you know how a campus scuttlebutt spreads the alarm." "You mean gossip?" "About you and Richard." "Naturally you've had to be with him a lot since he's been coaching you but... now that you've caught up in English Lit I'd be sort of careful about seeing him." "People can be awfully silly and cruel." "Like that dope Louise." "They'll be saying you have a case on him next." "You understand." "I knew you would." "After all, you're only here temporarily." "It isn't really your life like it is mine." "Susie, I want to tell you something." "I want to explain..." "You don't have to explain a thing to me." "Not a thing." "You're swell, Mom." "Look, I've gotta dash." "See you later." "Susie." "Susie!" "Abby!" "Not now, Rhoda..." "Please, you gotta help me!" "Chester Hannigan's asked me to go over to football practice with him... and I just broke my strap." "Pin it for me, will you?" "All right, Rhoda, here..." "Which strap is it?" "This one." "Oh, yes." "He's not exactly heaven." "But he's male." "I'll get it, Beulah." "Hello, darling." "Darling." "Darling, we've got to be awfully careful." "We do?" "Yes, uh..." "Abby, you're shivering." "And I don't think it's from the cold." "Come on inside." "Thank you." "Oh, Richard, everything's gone wrong." "Now that is a ridiculously broad statement." "What do you mean by everything?" "Us." "So something is wrong with us." "Yes." "Now if you're gonna spill the beans about the way I snore..." "Please, don't joke, Richard." "I'm sorry, Abby, what is it?" "It's Susan." "Something happened to her?" "Yes, something incurable, I'm afraid." "Seems that everybody at Pointer knows about it except you." "She's in love with you." "Oh, Abby." "For a minute I thought it was something really serious." "You know, I had a little puppy once, and they remind me very much of him, maybe that's why they call it puppy love." "No, I don't think so, Richard." "I did at first, when she first told me about you, but... now I don't." "Oh, Abby, only sprouts get crushes." "It's like the measles." "They get over it." "It doesn't mean anything." "She's only seventeen." "Oh, Richard, I was married when I was sixteen." "Well, it's not the same, Abby." "You're a big girl now, and I'm a big boy." "We belong together, don't we?" "Yes." "I want to marry you." "You can't expect me to take Susan seriously." "Abby, I love you." "I love you too, darling." "I want you to be happy." "I want to be happy." "We have a right to be happy together, haven't we?" "Yes, darling." "Then don't fight it, just let yourself go along with it." "It's so simple." "Now you give up this freshman nonsense, huh?" "No, I can't, not yet, not until February." "Abby, marriage makes me the bread winner, remember?" "Now, I'll see that Susan stays in college." "Then we tell her and get married." "Tell her?" "Yeah." "Tell her what, Richard?" "That her mother is her rival?" "That you prefer me to her and anyway she's just a silly schoolgirl?" "I don't know, maybe I'm just being maternal, but..." "I think that's pretty hard to take." "Oh, Richard, it isn't as simple as that." "That's not going to solve her problem." "You see, to her it isn't a crush, it's real." "And being real it's the most important thing in her life." "Yes, Abby, you're right." "But you're the most important thing in mine." "We've got to give Susan a chance to grow up." "You can't treat her like a swaddling child." "You know, when she was a little girl, she got a crush on her father, right?" "Yes, she did, but then all little girls do that." "That doesn't mean anything, Richard." "Yes, that's right." "That's my point." "And sooner or later that becomes a dead issue." "Then she matures and picks on a prof at college because he's the closest thing to her first love." "and finally when that becomes a dead issue she falls in love with some muscle-bound Lothario." "Thinks he's creamy-dreamy, marries him... and starts raising little girls who in turn will have a crush on him." "It's a pattern of life, Abby." "And you cannot protect Susan from it." "Perhaps not, I don't know, Richard." "But I can try, can't I?" "Dinner's on, Professor Michaels." "Be right there, Beulah." "Oh, Beulah, put some bicarb beside my plate, will you?" "I've got a feeling nothing's gonna help me tonight." "Oh, darling, I'm sorry." "All right, come on, let's eat, huh?" "Yes." "Ouch!" "Honest to gosh, I don't see why you keep knocking yourself out exercising." "You're turning into a string bean." "Muscle, muscle, that's all." "A girl's got to have muscle." "What for?" "You never know who you'll have to fight off." "You hope." "Ouch!" "Will you take it easy?" "All right." "How do you like it?" "Oh, sequins!" "You know sequins were made out of gelatin?" "If you were hungry, you could eat them?" "If you're starving." "You'd better eat sequins or something to put some meat on your bones." "There won't be time before the dance to take this dress in again." "All right, all right." "Who's taking you to the cotillion, Susan?" "Wouldn't you like to know?" "That's why I asked." "You don't mean..." "Not Richard Michaels?" "Don't be childish." "Richard wouldn't be found dead at a student dance." "I'm going with Beau." "Oh, Beau!" "Beau Jackson to the right of you, Richard Michaels to the left of you... you can't lose." "I have no intention of losing." "I 'll bet if Dickie did go, though he'd take Abigail Fortitude." "Abby?" "She won't go to the prom." "It would be kid stuff for her." "Besides, she doesn't have anyone to go with her." "What do you think I'm going to college for, for heaven's sake?" "An education?" "Hello?" "This is Susan Abbott." "I'd like to put through a person to person call to Mr. John Heaslip, New York City." "Bowling Green 90098." "Would you both mind giving me just a little privacy?" "Hawk-eye." "Hello?" "Mr. Heaslip?" "This is Susan, Susan Abbott." "Well, for goodness' sake, Susan, what a surprise." "How are you?" "How's your mother?" "Oh, fine, just fine." "Isn't that just fine?" "Just fine." "I have some very good news for her, very good." "In fact, I was about to run up there and see her about it." "Oh, Mr. Heaslip, could you?" "That's why I called." "See, we're having a big dance up here and we..." "Well, Abby's all alone and she misses you so much, I'm sure." "She does, eh?" "Isn't that fine..." "I miss her too." "We were thinking maybe you could come up and take her to the dance." "just like you were her guy... her escort, I mean." "I'd be delighted to, Susan." "When is it?" "Tomorrow." "You'll have to wear a tux." "Oh, yes, dinner jacket, of course." "I'll be there." "I'll wire Abby." "Oh, no, let's keep it a surprise." "And Mr. Heaslip..." "Nobody knows about, um..." "us." "Abby and me, that is." "Thank heavens, we'll be done with all that nonsense when I come up." "Goodbye." "Goodbye, Mr. Heaslip." "Not you, Joe." "You're in training." "Hi." "Darling, I can't go to the dance with you tonight." "Why not?" "Well, I just can't." "What do you mean you can't." "What are you, anyway, a woman or a mouse?" "I'm a mother." "Aren't you ever going to give Susan a chance to grow up?" "Richard, I can't hurt her, I just can't." "What do you want me to do, marry her, for Pete's sake?" "Oh, no, of course not, but you don't understand." "I do understand." "She's got a date, hasn't she?" "Yes, but I told you..." "I'm telling you." "You be ready by 8 o'clock, Abby, or so help me Hannah there'll be a scandal in that dorm when I come up after you." "One wisecrack out of you, Buster, and there'll be a permanent vacancy at left tackle all season." "Hey, what's the idea?" "I've gotta talk with you." "You can talk to me inside all night." "Fat chance." "Once you walk into that clam bake looking like you look" "The wolves'll cut into me until they won't even remember my mommy." "Well, if you think I'm going to stand here all night..." "No, look, Sue, I'm in love with you." "Every time I think I'm losing you my heart gets like a hamburger." "Rare, medium, or well-done?" "Oh, Sue!" "Oh, please, Beau, don't start that silly talk again." "Can't you be a man?" "A man?" "Oh, you want a man, huh?" "Okay, baby, you've got one." "Why..." "Why, Beau!" "You're my gal, understand?" "And nobody's gonna break up this twosome." "Nobody!" "And that goes for Professor Michaels as well as those other two guys, savoir and faire." "Oh, no, no..." "You mussed me all up." "Yeah, maybe that's what you need, a little mussing up." "That remains to be seen." "That is the correct amount." "Mrs..." "Miss Abigail Fortitude, please." "Hello, Tom." "Um, you look nice." "Abby?" "Your date is here." "Yes, I will." "Won't you have a seat, please?" "She'll be right down." "Thank you." "Oh, hello, Professor." "Good evening." "Would you tell Miss Fortitude I'm down here, please?" "Yes." "Have a seat, Professor, I'll tell her." "I think you'd better come right down, Abby." "It's getting a little crowded." "Visiting your daughter?" "Not exactly, I'm down here to..." "John!" "Richard Michaels." "Johnny Heaslip!" "Of all people." "You could have knocked me over the foyer." "How do you like that?" "How are you?" "I'm fine, never felt better." "How are you?" "Great, fine, simply great." "Richard Michaels." "Haven't seen you since we left Yale." "How long has it been?" "Twelve... twelve years." "Did you carry out your threat to become a professor?" "Oh, yes, here!" "What about you?" "Law?" "Oh, definitely, yes..." "For a while there it looked like you were going to be a crooner instead of a lawyer." "No, no, good old New Haven." "I'll never forget that night you stole that cannonball off the monument, rolled it down the green down the street and into a milk wagon." "Boy, were you loaded." "Remember the night at the junior prom when you climbed up in the bandstand and sang Bulla Bulla to a megaphone?" "Boy, were you lousy!" "Yes." "Very odd meeting again in a woman's dormitory." "What are you doing at Pointer?" "I came up to meet a friend." "Why, John!" "Abby!" "Hello, Richard..." "But John... for heaven's sake." "Hello, Richard." "Thank you." "You look beautiful!" "You've never looked more beautiful." "Thank you." "What are you doing here, John?" "Didn't Susan tell you?" "No." "That's right, I forgot." "It was a surprise." "For me?" "Yes." "I'm sorry, I had no idea..." "You two know each other?" "Yes, we do..." "You two know each other?" "Yes..." "Do you two know each other?" "Yes!" "We were pals at Yale." "Isn't that a coincidence?" "Yes, quite." "Well, it sure's been nice seeing you, John." "If you're gonna stay up in town, be sure and drop in and see me." "We'll talk over old times." "Thank you, good night." "Good night." "Shall we go, Abby?" "Yes." "I beg your pardon." "Oh, this is my date, Johnny." "He always was a joker." "This is my date, Ricky." "Are you kidding?" "No, you are." "Tell him..." "Tell him, Abby." "Well, I..." "Oh... come on." "Isn't this just exciting?" "Yeah." "Pardon me." "Yes, surely." "Hey, Susan!" "I thought you said Professor Michaels wouldn't be found dead at a student dance." "He looks mighty spry for a corpse." "It's beautiful. isn't it?" "Yes, very." "The dance, I mean." "Oh, yes." "It's beautiful, isn't it, John?" "Yes, very." "I believe this is our dance, Abby." "Oh, thank you, Richard." "Pardon me, Richard, I believe this is my dance." "I beg your pardon, gentlemen, this happens to be my dance." "Professor." "Hello, Susan." "Hello, Mr. Heaslip." "Good to see you." "So glad you came." "There are others who do not share your enthusiasm, my dear." "What do you mean?" "I mean your mother already had a date... with this gentleman." "She couldn't have." "Mother?" "Whose mother?" "Pardon me." "Confusing, isn't it?" "Yes, a little." "Like Dogpatch on Sadie Hawkins day." "Thank you, my dear." "Thank you, Dean." "What has this Johnny Heaslip got to do with you?" "Family lawyer." "Old faithful." "He's not so old." "You know what I mean, Richard." "Is that why you tried to break our date?" "I didn't even know he was coming." "Is he in love with you?" "Madly!" "Why, are you jealous?" "You bet I am." "And if that guy tries anything romantic..." "Richard." "Oh, I'm so sorry." "Oh, Professor Michaels... don't you just love waltzes?" "Yes, I do, but this happens to be a foxtrot." "Really, Abby, you ought to be ashamed, leading a poor fellow on." "Oh." "He's mooning for you right in public." "Do you think so?" "Now, Abby, this may seem like fun to you, but to me it's all rather disgraceful." "You can't put aside your life and pretend to be a college girl." "You can't go on." "It's like living in a dream world." "Sometimes dreams come true, John." "More often they don't." "Anyway, the farce is over." "I have money for you." "Now, John, I told you before..." "It's your money." "We sold your stock at a decent figure." "You have $5,000 to your credit." "Five thousand?" "Five thousand dollars." "But I..." "Could I?" "Oh, hello, Beau." "Hello, Abby." "Say, Abby, I just wanted to warn you." "About what, Beau?" "Susan's Abbott's been blowing her top ever since you and the professor arrived with that other tweet." "She's pretty sore at you." "Thank you, thank you." "Want some punch?" "Yes." "Excuse me, Beau." "You wait here, I'll get you some." "Susan, I want to speak to you for a minute." "Mother!" "How could you?" "Mother?" "Is she nuts?" "Abby, did you hear her?" "She called you her mother." "Yes, that's right." "You?" "Holy smoke?" "Pardon me." "Yes..." "Want a drink?" "Oh..." "No, no." "Want to sit down?" "Yes." "Well, what gay little piece of news did Mr. Heaslip have to tell you this time?" "Well, he uh... he said there's no need for my staying at Pointer any longer." "I have money now, he wants me to go home." "Home?" "Home to what?" "Home to him?" "He's crazy." "Listen, Abby, you're going to be a professor's wife." "This is your life now." "It becomes you." "Richard..." "You know, I've really got a headache this time." "Do you mind taking me home?" "Sure." "Be should to let us know where to drop you off, old man." "There's a train leaving at twelve o'clock tonight, Abby." "Why don't we take it?" "Susan can send the trunk later." "Heaslip, your train is way off the track." "Abby is not leaving here." "We're gonna be married." "We're in love." "And if I hear any more talk of leaving, and trains, a block is going to be knocked off." "You don't say." "Yes." "May I remind you, Mr. Michaels, that during our undergraduate days at Yale" "I was collegiate middleweight boxing champion of the Eastern Division." "Oh, stop it." "Both of you." "Good night, John." "Abby, I shall be waiting at the Inn." "Call me when you're ready." "You'll wait a long time, Heaslip." "I'll see you in class tomorrow, Abby." "Good night, Richard." "Good night, sir." "Good night." "Just the same, Heaslip, if you hadn't been middleweight boxing champion of the Eastern Division" "I'd knock your block off." "Susan!" "Professor." "How's your mother, I mean, is she all right?" "She's... she's leaving." "What?" "She can't do that." "We've got to stop her." "No." "Don't you realize what it means?" "She's giving up a life of happiness with me." "She's been a woman here." "She's been alive." "We've got to keep her alive." "No... she's going back." "Susan, help me." "You love her." "I love her even more." "Don't you realize what she's meant to my life?" "I'd have wound up a broken down bachelor." "But Abby's changed all that." "She's given me a chance to live." "And it's got to be, for her sake too." "All her life you've been her life." "But that's finished now." "You've grown up." "Help me, Susan." "No, I won't." "Why should I?" "Not helping you." "Helping her." "Susan!" "I am all grown up." "And I'm in love with you too." "Don't you see?" "Don't you understand?" "I'm in love with you too." "I don't think you even know the meaning of the word." "I love you." "Why should I give you up?" "Your mother loves me too." "And she's giving me up." "You see, Susan?" "That's the difference between a woman and a child." "Abby!" "You can't go." "You mustn't." "Richard, it's no use, really." "Abby, listen!" "Remember Mr. Shakespeare.." "Remember that sonnet we worked on." "Presume not on thy heart when mine is slain." "Thou gav'st me thine not to give back again." "Oh, don't." "Please, don't." "Mother!" "Mother..." "I was wrong." "Don't leave us." "Don't go away." "Susie, do you mean that?" "Well, if I can't have him, Mom, at least let's keep him in the family." "Susie, wait a minute." "No, no, Abby, let her go." "That's the way she wants it." "Well?" "She grew up tonight." "Yes." "Hey, lady!" "Yes?" "You'd better hurry if you wanna catch that train." "John!" "The railroad station?" "Yes." "Come on." "We'll wave goodbye to him." "All right." "Hey, for Pete's sake, angel eyes, where have you been?" "I've been going screwy..." "You look beautiful, Sue." "Thank you, Beau." "Where the heck have you been?" "Gee, Sue, this is the last dance." "Then I guess we'd better dance it." "Come on!" "And I still insist, Abby, that you're making the mistake of your life." "Think, think before you take this step that you..." "Furthermore, I predict..." "Bye, John!" "Goodbye!" "Goodbye!" "Say, Abby." "Now, I'm not gonna ask you tell me the deep dark chapters in your life, but... there's one thing about me that you ought to know." "What?" "You remember that book, The Gravedigger and the Chambermaid?" "Yes." "Well, I am John St. John." "No!" "Yes." "I wrote it." "Oh, Richard!" "Well I have a confession to make to you too." "What?" "I read it." "Oh, no!" "Twice!" "Legendas:" "Luís Filipe Bernardes"