"Frederik, it's raining." "Nothing more wonderl than the patter of rain on the roof." "Behind the Clouds" "Grandma?" " I'm coming." "I'm coming." "And?" "You look lovely, Mom." "Really, you look wonderl." "There are a lot of people." "Yes." "Madame." "Frederik wasn't run-of-the-mill." "He wasn't your average Joe." "He was a unique and exceptional person." "Not many people know, for example, that Frederik had a talent for drawing." "And that in his youth he obtained a Ph.D. at the University of Leuven." "But he wanted more than a life as an academic." "A whole lot more." "And we all know what he achieved." "I've learned a lot from Frederik." "How to run a company, how to conduct business, how to deal with personnel." "But what I'll always remember most are undoubtedly our monthly dinners." "He always ordered steak tartare." "And yet, every time we went out to dinner, he'd ask for the menu... study the dishes and pretend he had to think long and hard... before saying:" "'I'll have the steak tartare, madam.'" "I once asked him why he insisted on seeing the menu... if he already knew what he wanted." "And he answered:" "'Werner, you should always do everything with the wonderment of the frst time.'" "And as his successor, I will retain that philosophy." "Dear Emma, you've had to bear his absence a lot." "Al those congresses, all those seminars, all those trips." "But you know as no other, dear Emma, how important you were in his life." "And what you meant to him." "What am I supposed to do with that?" " So you have something to eat tomorrow." "Go to bed, Mom, you're tired." " We're all tired." "Are you sure you don't want me to stay?" " Go on home, dear." "See you tomorrow, Mom." " Bye, dear." "Are you okay, Mom?" "Sleep well." "Ready?" "I'm not in the mood." "It will come." "Shall we go back to your room?" "Give it another t." "You can do it." " I'm not in the mood, I said." "Soon I'll be a plant." "Then I won't even recognise your tattered face anymore." "Karel, I understand..." " You don't understand a thing." "I want to see you" "why?" "where?" "the same place as 50 years ago" "53 years, 3 months and 6 days" "And now, yes..." "Yes." "Watch..." "Watch out." " Damn." "I'll never manage." "That parking place is too small." " I told you to make a sharper turn." "I did it like my instructor told me." " Then get him to practice with you." "Grandma, stop it." "I'll just wear a miniskirt, that's more efcient." "Then they may fail you to see your legs again." "Come, let's take a break." "We'll continue later." "Take your keys." "Yes, he's alright, especially in company." "But sometimes when we're alone..." "Here you go." " Thank you." "Well..." "Sometimes it's as if we have nothing to say to each other." "Odd, isn't it?" "Or as if he's not interested in the things I'm interested in." "Is that steak tartare?" "You like him a lot?" "On a scale from 1 to 10?" " For example." "A 6 plus." " That's a bare pass." "A 7, then." "I don't know." "Have you ever brought it up?" " Not really." "I'm going to grow fat from all those love troubles." "There was a man at the funeral." "Maybe you saw him as well." "He left a dart fight on the cofn." "Was it a friend of Grandpa's?" " Something like that." "It was over 50 years ago since I last saw him." "Nice of him to come to the funeral, isn't it?" "He wants to see me." " Why?" "He didn't say." "He sent a message on Facebook." "Facebook?" "I knew you were on it, but you never respond to my posts." "We used to... know each other well." "I don't know what to do." "Maybe it'll do you well to talk about Grandpa." "Besides, I'd defnitely like to see my friends 100 years from now." "You know what I mean." "It'll be exciting to see what has become of everybody." "He's here already." "What the fuck." " Is that Björn?" "He looks more like a ruttish rhino." "Go on, sweetheart." " Bye." "Here, you fnish it." " Yes." "'Strange Souls' Gerard Verfaillie" "Opal Coast, August 1966" "Most heartfelt greetings from far away Gerard" "Right on time." "You wouldn't have wanted to miss Harry's earthworms." "where were you?" "sorry" "a second chance tomorrow?" "My condolences." "It's starting to rain." "Shall we take cover?" " Yes." "Come, under the canopy." "What's so funny?" " I don't know." "I have to laugh about us." "Do we look that ridiculous?" "Nothing more wonderl than the patter of rain on the roof." "Kebab." "Have you ever had it?" " No." "At least we'll be dry there." "I'd read it in the paper." "You should be ashamed of yourself, with your dart fight." "It was my way of saying goodbye." "We always played darts." "I know you did." "I threw it away as soon as I came home." "And then that message on Facebook." "Maybe it was a bit impolite, I admit." " Five words." "'I want to see you'." "Not even your name underneath." "I thought..." " That's not impolite, that's... lnept, perhaps?" " Deranged, that's a better word." "I started over at least ten times." "A long letter, a short letter?" "Madam, dear madam?" "Dearest Emma?" "What do you say after all those years?" " Not much, apparenty." "I'd imagined this encounter rather diferenty." "Things don't always happen the way you imagine them." "At your age you ought to know." "He was my best friend." "I shouldn't have come." "Did I say something wrong?" " This was a mistake." "Sorry, Gerard." "It's better if we don't see each other anymore." "Mom?" "What happened to you?" " I went into town." "In this weather?" "Aone?" " Of course." "I'm going craz here." " Why didn't you ask me to come?" "Isn't it more fun with someone else?" " Yes." "Here." "I don't have my glasses on." " They're large letters, Mom." "Dancing Parasol." " You always enjoyed that." "With Dad." " Your father and I never danced." "You'll get to know people." " I know plenty of people." "Besides, I don't have time." "I have to practice with Evelien." "Mom, you know why she does that, don't you?" "Just so you go outside occasionally." " That's not for me." "Okay, then stay inside and don't talk to anyone." "And if you want to go into town, don't call anyone, do everything by yourself." "Now please sit down." "I go into the garage and I see him sitting on the ground next to his bike." "I make myself a cheese sandwich and remember that he prefers ham." "I open the fridge and see the hot sauce he always put in his soup." "Whatever I do or don't do, I keep thinking of him." "As if I don't know who I am without him." "What did you expect, Mom?" "It takes time." "Yes." "Sometimes I wonder if it's all still worth the trouble." "What are you saying?" "Come, eat something." "Werner called." "About those shares." "Isn't it better to get rid of them?" "What can you do with them?" "It was his life's work." "That company never interested you." "Let that Werner of yours prepare the paperwork and contact me." "It's not 'my' Werner." "What are you doing here?" "You gave me a fright." " I know it's not customary, but..." "May I come in for a moment?" " Do you know what time it is?" "I was in bed already." " Just to talk." "It won't take..." "Are you okay?" "I should take you to court, for trespassing." "I fgured I'd take the risk." "And then throwing pebbles like a teenager." "An elderly Romeo." " And will you be my Juliet?" "You know how it ended with those two, don't you?" "Why didn't you just call?" " That stings." "Don't be squeamish." " Yes, I am squeamish." "You should have seen yourself." "Suddenly you'd disappeared." "Behind the wall." "Sorry." "Is it okay?" " Yes, it's okay." "I..." "I could sure use something strong." "Doesn't she look just like her father?" "The girl in the photo you were looking at." "What's her name?" " Jacqueline." "Jacky." "And your granddaughter?" " Evelien." "Evelien." "Pretty fowers." "Do you ever think of the old days?" "It's so long ago." "And you?" "Do you have children?" "Twice married, a son from each marriage." "But I've been divorced for seven years already." "Apparenty I'm only capable of winning a woman's heart, not of staying with her." "You never met the right one." " I did, once." "But as you just said... that was long ago." "But I did have my distractions from time to time." "You call them distractions?" " Yes." "One time I thought it was more than a distraction, but then it began to sufocate me." "I started to worry about all kinds of things." "Whether there was enough bread for the next morning." "And meat, cheese." "That woman was craz about cheese." "Port-Salut, Camembert, Brie." "Whether we had enough oranges." " Oranges?" "The frst time she stayed over, I got up early to make fresh orange juice for her." "It turned into a custom, of course." "Whenever she stayed over, freshly squeezed orange juice." "One day I was giving a lecture in another part of the count." "Al the time I was asking myself if there were enough oranges at home." "It got later and later and I wasn't sure I'd be home in time to go to the store." "It was all I could think of:" "oranges, oranges, oranges." "How did it end?" " I parked my car on the side of the road." "I called her and broke up with her." " Really?" "I couldn't take it anymore." "You ended the distraction by phone?" "I couldn't utter a sensible word anymore." "I was worn out with stress." "Al that came out of my mouth was some jabber about oranges." "And did you have oranges at home?" " Two kilos." "When I came in there were two kilos of oranges on the kitchen counter." "They looked at me and it was as if they were laughing at me:" "'You loony old sod.'" "Brahms?" " Yes." "One of his most beautiful compositions." "Frederik loved this music." " He always had good taste." "Your brother Karel did the conservatory." " True." "How is he?" "The way he played the piano..." "Magnifcent." "Writing is one thing, but music..." "It's the shortest way to the heart." "Do you still write?" " Hardly." "What a waste of talent." "When you're 18 you think writing is the most important thing in life." "But later on you realise it's not." "I've learned to live with it." "With that I did." "The amount of letters I wrote back then." "Day and night, pages on end." "Those letters went straight to the heart." "So beautiful." "Thank you." "I don't remember ever receiving a letter from you." "I didn't have the guts." " Come on." "Seriously." "You haven't changed a bit, you know." "Don't you dare." " What?" "Don't you dare say I haven't changed." "I still see that same girl in you." "I mean it." "It's never been hard for me to consider you beautiful." "Really." "It was pleasant." "Maybe we should see each other again." "Bye, Gerard." "So here's the street and here's a car." "We come from this way, and suddenly the examiner says:" "Turn around here." "I mean, turn on such a narrow street." "I can't even turn on a wide street." "Grandma." " Sorry, I had a late night." "You didn't sleep well?" " Not really." "Sorry." " It's okay." "I'm coming to help you tomorrow." "With Grandpa's clothes." "I promised, remember?" "Is Mom coming too?" "I didn't ask her." "I don't know what's ailing her lately." "With that Werner..." "I thought it was over." "That she'd fnally grown up." "But recenty she was in bed with him again." "Or he in bed with her." "He's married and has two children." "Two litte girls." "I just can't stand the way she always falls for the wrong men." "At least I know who I got it from." "Isn't it going well with ruttish rhino Björn?" " It's not funny." "Don't be so sensitive." "But..." "How do you know, Grandma?" "That it's true love?" "Love with a capital L, eternal love." "The only L you can be certain of is the one on the back of your car." "Learning your entire life, you mean?" "What about you and Grandpa?" "Weren't you made for each other?" "It wasn't always a bed of roses." "You know what my grandma used to say?" " Yes, you've told me a thousand times." "Then let me say it again." "'Think carefully, straighten your shoulders and do what you feel you should do.'" "Thanks for yesterday It was lovely." "Gerard" "What?" "A friend from English class." "Leave me alone." " Come on, Karel." "Leave me alone, I said." "Take your hands of of me." " Don't you want to see your new room?" "Leave me alone, you stupid bitch." " That was uncalled for." "That's not nice." "Come, a few more steps." "Look." "Leave me alone, I tell you." "Mr Verfaillie." " Karel." "Take your hands of of me." " What's this?" "Stupid bitch with your fat ass." " He can't stay in the open ward." "Last night he got up and crept into bed with Mrs Claes." "Calm down or we'll have to sedate you." " Leave me alone." "Let's go look at your room." "Karel, look." " No, no." "Everything is ready." " One small step and you're there." "Come." "Hello, Gran." "Hello, dear." "Are these from the garden?" " I got them from someone." "Pretty." "From whom?" " From Gerard." "Who?" " Gerard." "I told you about him, didn't I?" " No." "Grandpa's friend, from the funeral?" " Yes, that's the one." "So you did go?" "No, he showed up in the middle of the night." "With those fowers." "And you let him in." " He stood outside, timid like a schoolboy." "Cute, really." " Cute?" "Grandma, please." "Grandpa only just died." "It's extremely inappropriate." "Shall we get started?" "And this one?" "Throw it out." "It looked so good on him." "Keep it?" "I don't want to live in a museum." " Can I have it?" "What's it about?" "About young people wondering what to do with their lives... and fearing they'll never fnd out." "Is it by that..." " Yes, it's by that..." "What?" " I didn't say anything." "It looks very nice." " Come, give it back." "So our Gerard is a writer." "'Gerard' is how you pronounce it." " Chic." "Does it end well for those young people?" " Eventually everything always ends well." "'The sun slowly set on the long, empty sand beach." "In the distance the frayed clouds turned lilac and pink... hesitating between sadness and longing.'" " Come, give it back." "'The sea changed from foamy white to green-yellow famed... to dark-blue and grey, like an opal." "It would soon be evening, and after that, night.'" "Can I read it?" " Who still reads that these days?" "I do." " A book from 50 years ago?" "I do." "I'll give it back after I fnish it." "Dear Emma... how could I ever have sent a fve-word message?" "Five paltry words." "I shouldn't have sent you fve, but 300,000 words." "Hand-written, on the most beautiful paper." "Justlike then." "Next Saturday, 8 o'clock?" "Was it my fate to run into you again after all those years?" "I don't know." "I only know that it happened." "And that the same has happened to me as back then, many years ago." "I didn't know it was still possible, nor do I know where it will take us." "I only know that I want to see you." "Mom?" "I'm coming." "Hello, sweetheart." "It looks like you have plans." " What brings you here?" "What happened?" "I thought I'd keep my mother company for a litte while, but if I'm not welcome..." "Of course you are." "Do I have to call frst nowadays?" " Jacky." "I thought we'd toast to loneliness." " Oh, come here." "Where are you going?" " Dancing." "I thought you didn't want to." " I've changed my mind." "Mom, I'm so happy to hear that." "You know what, I'll give you a ride." "Why?" " Come, get your coat and let's go." "Well, have fun." "You can go home now." " Don't worry, I won't go in with you." "I'll pick you up at eleven, okay?" "Dance?" " I can't dance." "Then I'll teach you." "How do you do." "Arnold." " Emma." "Your frst time here?" "You don't need to feel embarrassed." "We're like one big family here at the Parasol." "Have you recenty lost someone?" "That's how we all ended up here." "Looking for support." "My horoscope was right." "It said I'd meet someone today... who was going to change my life." "I have to go." "It has nothing to do with you, nor with your horoscope." "I'm just not much of a dancer." " You dance very well." "My daughter made me come here." "But you've really helped me." "This time I really couldn't help it." "I'm terribly sorry." "Thank you." "Thanks." "To what has been, or to what is still to come." "Of what has been we're sure." "What's that?" "Take a look." "An opal?" " It stimulates one's dreams." "Not my words, the jeweller's." "You're moving very fast, I must say." " What choice do you have after 70?" "I can't accept it." " Why not?" "It's a present." "I don't want it." "Shouldn't you be chasing younger women?" "Why?" " Because you're a man." "So what?" "Aren't men always looking for women about half their own age?" "What men are you talking about?" " Al men." "Not about me." "Half plus one, Frederik always said." " Did he really?" "Utterly tactess." "A complete lack of decency." "Men get better with age." "Like a botte of good wine." "But women wrinkle, like old pieces of fruit." "What's this?" "International Women's Day?" " Am I wrong?" "Just put it on." " No, I don't want it." "You mean I went through all this trouble for nothing?" "Stop it, okay?" "Yes." " Listen, Jacky..." "I don't want to hear it, Werner." "I'm fed up." "More than fed up." "Sweetheart, her mother is ill." "I can't tell her now, can I?" "But I promise..." " You're always making promises." "But you never live up to them." "Then your daughter has her communion, then exams, then your wife has her period." "Jacky, listen, I..." " No, I have a right to know where I stand." "Otherwise I'll go crazy." " Shall I come by?" "Shall I come by?" " Leave me alone." "I'm out with my mother." "I'll call you tomorrow." "Maybe." "Sweetie..." "I know, the cofee is terrible here." "But you get a plate full of biscuits, and if you're lucky, priests' hats." "Good for your cholesterol." " You have to die of something." "Who wants to die, you or me?" " No, they're for you." "I like them when they're slighty old and the sugar coating has crystallised." "Priests' hats and..." "What did they use to call them again?" "Nun's asses." " Priests' hats and nun's asses." "You devil." " Thank you." "Jacky dropped me of at a dancing." " A dancing?" "Yes, she was going to pick me up there." "So you lied to her about our date." " Don't make it any harder than it is." "Yes, I'm sorry." " What should I do?" "Send her a text message." " What shall I say?" "You're the writer." "'Dancing sucked." "Twisted my ankle." "I'm at the hospital." "See you tomorrow.'" "I don't talk like that." "Besides, it's too long." " No..." "'Met an incredibly handsome man." "Staying at his place." "YOLO, smiley.'" "Not very credible." "Don't worry, took a taxi home already." "I don't feel like going home." "I'm always so cold there." "As if all the doors and windows are open." "Thanks for the lovely evening." "No one says we have to go home." "Wouldn't it be very imprudent with a total stranger?" "There are certain risks involved, I must admit." "Will it lead to sex?" " Excuse me?" "Will it lead to sex?" "Watch out, sex with an old sweetheart you haven't seen in 50 years..." "There's a name for that." " Really?" "I read it in some magazine." "It's called 'retro sex'." "Retro sex?" "Are you sure it wasn't something else?" " Very sure." "Making love to an old sweetheart." " Good God, retro sex." "I know a nice litte hotel just around the corner." "Is that an invitation?" "Not that I planned it beforehand, and I'll completely understand if..." "Good evening." "We'd like a room for one night." " Of course." "One night, you say?" " We know it's late, but we thought..." "I have the Norwegian or the Greek room for you." "You want to go to Norway or to Greece?" " I love Greece." "Shall I bring your luggage up?" "We don't have any." "What do you say?" "Why not?" "Have you ever been to Greece?" " No, it's never come to that." "My frst wife didn't like to travel." " And the second?" "She didn't like to travel with me." "Are you okay?" "Are you going to strip for me?" " Why?" "No one's ever done so." " Strip?" "While I sing the tatiki." " Yes, you sing the tatiki." "Or what's it called?" " The sirtaki." "Right, tatiki is that cucumber dip." "Is that all?" " No, it's only just begun." "But before we continue, I think it's time for the reality check." "I'm not so young anymore, you see." "And the last thing I want is for you to be left disenchanted." "Or for me to leave the battlefield with an injury." "I'm listening." " Of course I don't know your intentions." "I want steaming hot sex." "I want to be taken really hard." "Just what I was afraid of." "That's a problem, because..." "Real hard with me isn't really all that hard anymore since I..." "What?" " Since I take pills for my diabetes." "I still remember what my doctor said." "He always talks in the frst person plural." "'We won't notice much diference, sir, except for our erections." "I'm afraid they won't be what they used to be.'" "But alright, time for the reality check." "Maybe I should start at the bottom." "My ankles." "I have lumps on my ankles." "I should have had them surgically removed years ago, but I never dared to." "I'm afraid of the pain." " I understand." "Then my knees." "I have one botched knee." "Meniscus." "It doesn't bother me all that much, but if I sit on my knees for too long..." "We can never be cautious enough." " I agree." "Then my prostrate." "It complains a litte, but still functions." "And orgasms?" "I have them." "Sometimes too soon, sometimes too late, but I have them." "Well, I think that's about all." "I can live with that." "And you?" "Are there things I ought to know about you?" "I have a bad character." "I don't like to get out of bed." "And since I became a widow, I have an alcohol problem." "This feels so familiar." "As if my body still knows you." "As if my skin still remembers you." "The skin has a memory too, someone once told me." "Come." "Come." "So sweet." "Thanks, Grandma." "You only turn 20 once." "Once I have my driver's licence, I'll take you away for a weekend." "Deal?" " Open it." "Deal?" " Go on." "It'll be my treat." " Out of the question." "Grandma." " Will you open it or not?" "Exciting." "From Grandpa?" "I can't accept that." "Look how beautiful." "Are you sure?" " Of course." "Thank you." "I think of him so often." "So do I, sweetheart, so do I." "Yesterday you were defnitely less sad about your loss than today, weren't you?" "Where did you go yesterday?" " Are you spying on me?" "What are you talking about?" "I went into town afterwards." " With whom?" "Oh, you and your eternal lies." " Mom." "It doesn't matter, dear." " It does matter." "I brought her to a dancing last night and for some reason she left... and now she won't tell me why." " Because it's none of your business." "I waited for hours." " Do I have to account for everything I do?" "I have a right to a life of my own." "You sound just like a 16-year-old." " As if you always tell me where you go." "You're probably ashamed to." " You stay out of it." "I called you ten times, but you didn't answer." "I was worrying myself sick in your living room, goddammit." "How should I have known?" "I didn't ask you to." "You know what, Mom?" "Forget it." "Hello, Emma." " Hello, Werner." "I vividly remember the frst time I came here." "I was terribly nervous." "It was my frst major job." "Are you going cycling?" " If I manage to infate my tyres." "Is that a hint?" " No, that's a hint." "Okay, give up." "What brings you here today?" "Don't tell me you just came to say hello." "I want to talk to you about those shares." "I haven't made up my mind yet." "There's a crisis, Emma." "The sooner we're clear about it, the better, right?" "Frederik had a lot of faith in me." " Frederik isn't here anymore." "Not for a while already." "Sometimes I have the idea he's never been here." "For me, I mean." "Don't get me wrong, but he was always away." "To some congress or other, to some fancy hotel." "And I was raising Jacky and waiting for him at home." "How are your wife and children?" "Very well, thank you." "The oldest is eight now, isn't she?" " Julie?" "Yes, she's going to group 3." "She really is a terrific little girl." "Jacky told me a lot about her." "You know what, I'll leave the documents here." "Are you leaving already?" " No, but still." "You're about to go cycling and I come here to bother you about fnance stuf." "Just look at it frst and then we'll talk about it." "Thanks for the pumping." " Now you can ride up Mt Ventoux with it." "Bye." "A strawberry?" "It doesn't feel right." "Why not?" "Frederik has only just been buried and look at me sitting here." "You have nothing to be ashamed of." " Don't you have a problem with it?" "I wish I could stop the time." "Two fngers in the air, like children do." "Time-out." "Breathe more slowly, my mother always said." "That slows the time." "If I breathe any slower, I'll fall of my bike." "There was a writer who thought we should be able to live our life twice." "The frst time as rough draft, the second time as fair copy." "And the second time one wouldn't repeat the mistakes of the frst one." "Live my life over again?" "I don't want to think about it." "You're right." "What do writers know about real life?" "They fll up whole libraries... while all of life is contained in a handful of text messages." "I want to see you." " Okay, where?" "I want to touch you." " I want to fuck you." "I want to fuck you again." " Careful with your knee." "I never want to lose you again." "There's one thing I defnitely won't do in that improved life of yours." "What's that?" " Ride a bike." "I thought you liked that so much." " I thought you did." "I have such saddle soreness." " What about me?" "They say raw steak helps." "Careful." "A strawberry?" " No." "Kiss." "I didn't know what to do with him anymore." "Really." "There were days I even forgot I loved him." "That can't be right." "I want to be so crazy about someone that he's everything to me." "Maybe I just want too much." "I may end up as an old spinster." "Like Mom." "You're barely 20." "You've made the right decision." "I'm sure of it." "Have you heard from Mom?" "Have you seen Gerard again?" "Grandma, what is it?" "What?" "Grandma, stop." "This stays between us, okay?" "I don't know what's happening to me." " Grandma, please." "What about Grandpa?" "I mean..." "He was my first love." "I was madly in love with him." "We were so young back then." "And then I met Grandpa." "They were best friends." "Did you keep seeing him all that time?" "Even with Grandpa?" "No, of course not." "I never saw him again till now." "You're the first one I tell." "Do you think it's that strange?" "Well, strange..." "Yes, I think it's strange." "I didn't think it was possible myself." "That soon." "But Grandpa and I..." "We'd said goodbye long ago." "You do have to tell Mom." "You don't imagine you can keep it a secret, do you?" "She has to know." "Shall we practice driving tomorrow?" " I thought you didn't really enjoy that." "Then you can drop me of at his place." "So what's it like when you two..." "When you..." "I mean..." " What?" "I don't know." " You mean whether we have sex." "Is that what you want to know?" "We're old enough, aren't we?" "You can drop me off over there." "It's incredible how we know how the other feels." "What?" "Please." "Watch out." "Sorry." "Bye, sweetheart." "You're doing fne." "Strange." "You should have seen her face." "What were you like at that age?" "Just the idea of your parents having sex was insupportable." "Never mind your grandparents." " Those were diferent times." "Grandparents didn't have sex then?" " Mine defnitely didn't." "To her I'm an old geezer." "Are you coming in, old geezer?" " No, don't you dare." "Emma, stop it." " Of course I dare." "One, two, three, go." " Emma, goddammit." "You know, it was all worth it." "Waiting all those years." "Are you coming in?" "Sure?" "Everything okay?" "Amost." " What's not?" "You're lying on my arm." "And you?" "A bit strange, but it's okay." "We can also go to the guest room." "Good morning." " Good morning." "Where were you?" " I couldn't sleep." "You?" "Like a log." "It's so peaceful here." "I couldn't live anywhere else." "This house and I have become one." "The cofee." "Have a seat." "Jacky, this is Gerard." "Gerard, this is Jacky." "Pleased to meet you." "Yes..." "I've heard a lot about you." "Only good things." "When you're 16 you have to ask your parents if your sweetheart can come in." "50 years later you need your children's permission." "Maybe it's better if you go." "Emma..." "I'll see you tomorrow." "What are you doing here?" " Jacky, I..." "I don't know what I find worse." "That you lied to us and deceived us all or that you wipe out the past so quickly." "As if he'd never lived." " Who says that I did?" "Dad has only just died and you sleep with another man." "If they'd told me, I wouldn't have believed it." "Evelien was right." "I should have told you." "Sorry." "So you told Evelien, but not me." " Dammit, Jacky, don't be that way." "Now I understand why you had to get rid of Dad's clothes so quickly." "You needed his closet for someone else." "Or..." "Has that afair been going on longer?" " No..." "No, you have to believe me." " How can I still believe you?" "I'm a woman, not just a widow." "I feel good with Gerard." "Why do you begrudge me that?" "Did I ever say anything about you and..." "He will never choose for you." " Are you going to lecture me now?" "You make your choices, I make mine." "That's all I ask." "If that's your choice, at your age, to dive into the sack with the frst man you meet... then I wish you all the best with it." "Dad just died, goddammit." "And in the meantime you play the saint... and pester me about love and fdelity." "But at least we know who I got it from." "You and Dad, just a big lie." "Really, it was all one big lie." "Hello, brother." "I've brought someone with me." "Emma." " Hello, Karel." "You look good." "Long ago, isn't it?" "You were here only yesterday." "You have your piano scores here, I see." "I have a concert on Thursday." "I'll defnitely come." "Next Thursday I have a concert." "I enjoy listening to you play." "I always did." "If he lets me go out." "Can't you talk to him?" "He can be so stubborn." "He can be terribly stubborn." "I'll talk to him." "You're the best thing that ever happened to him." "I've told him so many times." "A garden like this keeps you busy forever." "I long believed it ought to be possible." "Falling in love when you're 20 and picking up the thread 50 years later." "I shouldn't have left like that." "I'm sorry." "He kept me away from you for 50 years and now he stands in between us again." "When I woke up by myself in that chair..." "I felt so betrayed." "Suddenly I knew:" "She's going to do it again, just like then." "Do what?" " Choose him again." "We were so young back then." "We were passionately in love, Emma." " You were a dreamer." "And he, what was he?" "He was what I needed at that time." " He always succeeded at everything." "He got the postdoc position I coveted, set up a company... made a lightning career and in the end married the girl I loved." "It's all so long ago." " But it determined my life." "And now I want you to choose." "I won't be able to handle it a second time." "You ought to understand that." " Gerard..." "No, Emma." "As long as you're not certain he's gone forever, I'll vanish from your life." "I've waited long enough." "It's still very early, but I think this might be the one." "I want to know everything." "His name is Olivier." "He's so..." "Really, Grandma, you ought to see him." "We went to eat something together." "I had a great time." "He's really funny." "By the way, they served steak tartare." "I fgured I'd order it." "Why not, I thought." "Not good?" " Grandma, it's raw meat." "It's not even cooked." "How can you eat such a thing?" "So, Olivier?" "On the way home he kissed me." "I'm so happy for you." "What about your sweetheart?" "He's ended it." " What?" "He broke up with you?" "What a loser." "It's my own stupid fault." "I hesitated too much." "As if I can't do it anymore." " Can't do what?" "Love someone." "Completely." "Just like that." "Sleep peacefully, Dad Your loving Jacky" "How strange to be back here." "Not that I came here that often, but still..." " Yes, we changed a few things." "His desk was..." " Everything changes." "Have a seat." "Can I ofer you anything to drink?" "I won't stay long." "I haven't heard from you anymore." " No, I thought..." "You thought:" "I can't force that obstinate old woman." "It's time we arrange things once and for all." "Emma, I'm really happy that you've decided you trust me." "Before we fall into each other's arms, it has nothing to do with trust." "I want to get rid of them." "And Frederik wanted you to get them." "Al the best with them." "Hello, Jacky." "I've given Werner the documents." "It's all been arranged." "I thought you'd like to know." "I've just been to the frm." " Mom." "Mom." "You were right last time." "I shouldn't have..." "I broke up with Werner." "Why aren't you saying anything?" "I don't feel like arguing, sweetheart." "I'm tired." "Is anything wrong?" "Isn't it what you wanted?" "I only want you to be happy." "Won't you come in for a second?" "My ftness programme is about to start." "At my age you have to keep exercising." "You can stop worrying." "Gerard and I have decided not to see each other anymore." "Oh, Mom." "What is it?" " My driving test." "But you practiced so diligenty." "Got you, I passed." "I turned around on a narrow street as if it were nothing." "Thank you, Grandma." "You helped me so much." "Did you put on a miniskirt?" " It wasn't necessary, it was a woman." "And you?" "Any news?" "It just have to give it time." "It will pass." "Perhaps." "Grandpa died only recently." "What do I care about an old puppy love." "Gran..." "I'm fne, sweetheart, I'm fne." " I really wish I could help you." "I don't know what to do anymore." "Think carefully, straighten your shoulders and do what you feel you should do." "Dear Gerard, Here you go, my first letter..." "Nice, isn't it?" "Will you tell me where we're going?" " You'll see." "It's just like Gerard describes in his book." "In a while we have to turn right." "Yes." "It's beautiful here." "How about it?" "A race?" " You and your races..." "Come, like the knights of old." "The first to reach the sea and back." " Wait, wait." "The winner gets a kiss from the damsel." "Go." "I have something to tell you." "I've written Gerard a letter." " What?" "I've invited him to a hotel in the area." " But..." "If he doesn't come, I'll go back home with you." "And if he does come?" "Then I'll stay here for a few days, I guess." " Grandma, really." "It's the next left." "If that old bullhead has taught me one thing... it's that at our age we don't have much to lose anymore." "Only time." "I cross my fingers." "Good luck." "Good day, madam." " Hello." "You're looking for someone?" " I had a rendezvous, but..." "An older gentleman." " I don't know." "Would you like to leave a message?" " No, thank you." "Goodbye." " Bye." "I thought..." " You thought I wasn't coming." "Not only you have the right to be late." " That's true." "I'm on my way south." " Côte d'Azur?" "At least." "There's still room in the car." "If you want to, you can come along."