East Side, West Side

Yes, this is my town.

It's not new to you.

You've read books about it,

you've seen movies.

People are always talking

about New York.

It's the most exciting city in the world,

they say,

the most glamorous, the most frightening,

and above all, the fastest.

You hear a great deal

about the tempo of this city,

its speed, its pace, its driving heartbeat.

Perhaps it's true, for visitors.

But I was born here, I live here,

and the only pace I know

is the pace of my own life.

The only beat I hear

is the beat of my own heart.

For me, and for millions of others,

New York is home.

The days follow each other quietly,

as they do in most places.

Only rarely does any one time stand out

so that we remember it and say,

"That's when everything changed.

"After that, nothing was the same."

There was a time like that in my life,

three days.

I remember a summer evening

in Gramercy Park.

- Evening, Mr. Bourne.

- Good evening.

- Mrs. Bourne.

- Good evening.

Must be Thursday night.

Bran, every Thursday we have

this mad dash against time. Why?

So we won't have to rush.

I'm never late for dinner with your mother.

It's a matter of principle.

- Jessie, darling.

- Hello, dear.

- On the dot.

- As always.

- Horace, good evening.

- Hello, Brandon.

The first of the season.

- The flower I love best.

- Hello, Hannah.

- Thank you, Brandon.

- Good evening, Mrs. Bourne.

Horace, you're looking

very handsome tonight.

And so are you.

- My, that's a beautiful gown.

- Brandon chose it.

They're always much gayer

when Brandon chooses them, Jessie.

Nora Kernan, Horace and I

don't come here every Thursday night

just to talk women talk.

Suppose we discuss dinner for awhile?

Oh, Brandon, before I forget,

Frank Belney called a few minutes ago.

He wants you to meet him

at your club at 10:00.

- Oh, no.

- I'm sorry, Jess.

Frank's meeting his stockholders

tomorrow. He must be getting nervous.

Could you answer one simple question

just to cheer me up?

Yes. We are having

corned beef and cabbage.

- Dinner is served.

- On the dot.

Check.

Dear, I don't know if it's possible,

but I feel that you're cheating.

When you can prove it,

I'll be glad to discuss it with you.

Jessie looks wonderful tonight.

She has you to thank

for her looks, darling.

And you.

When a woman gets more beautiful

after she's married,

it means her man is either making her

very happy, or very unhappy.

- Oscar Wilde?

- No, Belasco.

Horace, you're really very good

with that one step of yours.

You do so much with it.

Well, I've been polishing it for 40 years.

Nora, remember

when you taught me to dance,

backstage at the New Amsterdam?

You had just been admitted

to the Bar Association,

and I was playing in

What Every Woman Knows.

- Your first season on Broadway, wasn't it?

- Yes, it was.

- The town went wild about her.

- Thanks to you.

Horace was my sponsor.

There was no caf society in those days,

only Society with a capital "S",

and its doors weren't open

to a young actress.

But Horace pushed them open.

It wasn't too difficult, my dear.

Horace, I'll never understand

why you let her get away from you.

She ran too fast, right into Matt Kernan.

Why did you choose father, darling?

Because we came

from the same neighborhood.

Because we were comfortable together,

right from the very beginning.

It's taken me 20 years

to get comfortable with Horace.

By that time,

we were much too good friends

to consider being anything else.

Well, Jess, I'm just as handsome,

and blue-blooded,

and glamorous as Horace.

- Aren't you comfortable with me?

- At the moment, no.

Well, in that case,

I shall leave you for Frank Belney.

Darling, would you like to stay?

I can pick you up on the way back.

Why don't you, dear?

I'm terrified of being left alone

with Horace.

He's been wearing

that family-lawyer face all evening.

And I have a speech to go with it, my dear.

It begins, "Nora, as your legal adviser,

I cannot approve certain extravagances."

See?

I'm a little tired.

I'm afraid you'll have to face Horace alone.

Well, I shall ignore him.

It's been the best evening of the week

as always.

Horace.

- Good night, ma belle.

- Good night.

- Good night, Horace.

- Good night.

You make an awfully handsome couple.

Naturally. I'm married

to the second prettiest girl in New York.

- Good night.

- Good night.

Everything is all right with them now,

isn't it, Horace?

I think so, Nora.

It's worked itself out.

- Fun, wasn't it?

- I love our Thursday nights.

You're such a lamb, flirting with mother,

asking just the right questions.

But I do wish

you could come home with me.

So do I.

I don't think I'll be very late, darling.

It's just a question of reminding Frank

that he's a reasonably honest man.

- Shall I wait up for you?

- Yes, do.

We'll have a nightcap together.

We might even hold hands.

- Your car is here, Mr. Belney.

- Oh, thank you.

- Can I drop you?

- It's early.

I think I'll stop in at the Del Rio for a drink.

Join me?

No, but I'll take you there.

But I'd much rather

you went home and worried about me.

Hello?

Hello?

Hello?

- John.

- Yes, Miss Lorrison.

Tell me, does Mr. Bourne still drop in?

Not quite as often, but often.

Let me know if he comes in, will you?

Oh, there you are, Alec.

- I thought you had to make a phone call.

- I did, darling. Nobody home.

I was just asking John

about my compact.

- You remember, I lost it last night.

- No, I don't remember.

I think the reward will help.

It's square and gold-ribbed, isn't it?

That's it. Be an angel, John.

Do your best for me.

Yes, Miss Lorrison.

All right, darling, I'm all yours.

- Good evening, Mr. Bourne.

- Good evening.

Well, good evening, Mr. Bourne.

- John.

- A table?

No, I'll go to the bar, John.

Oh, Mr. Bourne,

Miss Lorrison asked about you.

Isabel Lorrison?

I didn't know she was in town.

She's in the Candle Room

with Mr. Dawning.

A ghost from the past.

Come and have a drink with me, John,

I don't feel like being alone.

I'm sorry, Mr. Bourne, I'd like to,

but I can't. On duty.

Okay.

- How are you, Mr. Bourne?

- Bill.

- Scotch, please.

- Yes, sir.

Hi, Bill.

Those fools I'm with from out of town

are getting loaded in the Candle Room.

Thought I'd take time out

for some ginger ale

and a few of your bad jokes.

I'll give you the ginger ale first.

Stunning dress you're wearing.

Paris original?

New York copy.

Goes back to Marianne's in the morning.

- You a model?

- Yes.

Is this a new kind of approach?

Only in a manner of speaking.

Good. Then I won't worry.

Why don't you dance with me?

- Any reason why I should?

- Any reason why you shouldn't?

No.

You're a very nice girl.

And I'll thank you to remember it.

- What's your name?

- Rosa Senta.

- Italian?

- Yes.

And you're Brandon Bourne, aren't you?

The seventh, or ninth, or something?

Only the third. How do you know?

Your wife comes into the store

quite often.

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