Before Sunset Page #2

fly to Vienna, you know...

...and we heard the news about her,

and of course I had to go to the funeral.

Yeah, I'm sorry to hear that.

I know. But you weren't there anyway.

Wait. Why weren't you there?

I would have been there

if I could have. I made plans...

You better have a good reason.

What?

Oh, no.

No, you were there, weren't you?

Oh, no, that's terrible!

I'm laughing, but I don't mean it.

Did you hate me?

You must've hated me.

- Have you been hating me all this time?

- No.

- Yes, you have.

- No.

But you can't hate me now, right?

- I mean, my grandma...

- I don't hate you. It's no big deal.

I flew all the way over there,

you blew the thing off.

My life's been a big nosedive since,

but it's not a problem.

- No, I'm kidding.

- Don't say that. I can't believe it.

You must have been so angry

with me. I'm so sorry.

I wanted to be there,

more than anything in the world.

- Honestly, I swear...

- You can't be angry, my grandmother...

I know. I honestly thought that something

like that might have happened.

I was definitely bummed, but...

Mostly I was mad we hadn't exchanged

any phone numbers or any information.

That was so stupid.

No way to get in touch.

- Nothing to go on.

- I didn't know your last name.

Remember, we were both afraid

if we started writing and calling...

...that it would slowly fade out.

- It definitely wasn't a slow fade.

No, it sure wasn't.

We wanted to pick up

where we left off.

Which would have been fine

if it had worked. Oh, well.

So...

- How long were you in Vienna, then?

- Just a couple days.

Did you meet another girl?

Yeah, her name was Gretchen

and she was amazing.

The book's really a composite

of the two of you.

No, I'm kidding. You wouldn't believe...

I even went back to the train station.

I put up signs of my number

in the hotel in case you'd been delayed.

- I was a total dork.

- Let's go this way. Did you get any calls?

Just a couple hookers

looking for a gig.

No, it was awful, I mean,

what do you want me to say?

It's so sad. I'm so sorry.

I walked around for a couple days.

Eventually, I flew home.

I owed my dad 2000 bucks...

...who had warned me

about French chicks.

What did he tell you

about French women?

Nothing. He's never met

any French women.

He's never been

east of the Mississippi.

Why didn't you put, "Six months later,

the French b*tch didn't show up"?

No, but I did, I did.

- You did?

- Yeah. No. I made it more hopeful.

I wrote this fictional version

where you do show up.

- Oh, what happens?

- Well...

What?

We make love for about 0 days straight,

that's one part of it.

- Interesting. So the French slut, right?

- Yeah, exactly.

It's just then they get

to know each other better...

...and realize they don't

get along at all.

- I like that. It's more real.

- My editor didn't think that way.

Everyone wants to believe in love.

It sells.

Yeah, exactly, so...

So things are going well for you,

right? I mean...

- Your book is a bestseller in the U.S.

- It's a tiny bestseller.

- Oh, come on.

- All right. Officially, yes.

Most people haven't read Moby Dick.

Why should they read my book?

I haven't read Moby Dick

and I liked your book.

- Thanks.

- Even though...

...I thought you idealized

the night of it.

Come on, it's fiction, right?

- I'm supposed to...

- I know, I know.

I know. I thought there were times

where you made me...

Well, I mean, her, right?

No, me. Okay, whatever.

- A little bit neurotic.

- You are a bit like that, aren't you?

- You think I'm neurotic?

- No, no, no. Come on, I'm kidding.

Where did I do that? I didn't do that.

Oh, maybe it's just me, you know...

Reading something, knowing

the character is based on you...

...it's both flattering and disturbing

at the same time.

How is it disturbing?

I don't know. Just being part

of someone else's memory.

Seeing myself through your eyes.

How long did it take you to write it?

Three or four years, on and off.

Wow, that's a really long time

to be writing about one night.

Yeah, I know. Tell me about it.

I always assumed

you had forgotten me.

No, I had a pretty clear picture

of you in my mind.

- I have to tell you something. I just...

- What?

I've wanted to talk to you for so long

that now... It's just surreal, you know?

I feel like everything should be...

How long do we have?

Twenty minutes and 30 seconds?

We got more than that.

I wanna know about you.

Tell me, what are you doing?

What are you up to?

Where to start? I work for Green Cross.

It's an environmental organization.

What are they all about?

We basically work on different

environment issues...

...from clean water to

disarmament of chemical weapons.

International laws that deal

with the environment.

- What do you do for them?

- We're going this way.

Different things.

Like, last year I was in India for a while,

working on a water-treatment plant.

Well, the cotton industry there

is a major source of pollution, so...

I mean, it sounds like you're actually

doing something.

Most people, myself included,

just sit around and b*tch.

You know, how America's consuming

all the world's resources, SUVs suck...

...global warming is real...

I'm relieved to hear you're not one

of those "freedom fries" Americans.

Hey, you know...

But how'd you get into that?

I came out of political science,

hoping to work for the government.

- And I did for a little while. Terrible.

- Not good?

Yeah, no. Anyway, I got really tired...

Let's go this way.

Having this endless conversation

with friends...

...about how the world

was falling to pieces.

So I decided what I really

wanted to do was...

...to find things that could be fixed

and try to fix them, you know?

You know, I always thought you'd be

doing something cool like that. I did.

Thanks. I just feel really, really lucky

to be doing a job I like, you know?

Yeah.

I actually alternate in between thinking

everything is irrevocably screwed up...

...and things might be

getting better in ways.

Better? How could you

possibly say that?

Well, I just mean, you know, like...

I know it sounds weird, but there are

things to be optimistic about.

Okay... I know your book is selling,

which is great, I'm very happy for you.

But let me break the news to you:

The world is a mess right now.

From a Western view,

things are getting a bit better.

We're moving industry to developing

nations where we can get cheap labor...

...free of any environmental laws.

The weapon industry is booming.

Five million people die a year

from preventable water disease.

How is the world getting better?

I'm not angry, I'm not angry.

But come on, I want to know.

I'm interested.

I realize that there are a lot

of serious problems in the world.

- Okay. Thank you.

- I mean, I don't even have...

...one publisher in the Asian market.

- Okay. All right.

- Say stop.

- What? Stop.

Look, all I'm saying is there's more

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