East Side, West Side Page #2

Everyone likes her.

I like her, too.

Since you know I'm married,

I suppose you wouldn't consider

sitting down with me for your ginger ale?

Sure. I'm curious about guys like you.

Yeah?

- John, this reserved?

- Always for you, Mr. Bourne.

One ginger ale,

one Scotch over rocks, please.

Yes, sir.

What are you curious about,

with guys like me?

- Well, doesn't your wife dance?

- Brilliantly.

Yeah. She's prettier than I am,

she dresses better,

and she's probably a lot smarter.

Everything I can do,

chances are she can do better.

So, what do you want to be

sitting here with me for?

What is it with guys like you?

What goes on in your fuzzy little heads?

What do you want,

my philosophy of marriage?

- Well, I'm a reformed character myself.

- Oh.

No, really.

But before I reformed,

I suppose my thinking

went something like this.

Just because a man has

one perfect rose in his garden at home,

it doesn't mean that he can't appreciate

the flowers of the field.

- Does that make sense?

- Oh, sure.

But while you were out sniffing around

these other little wildflowers,

didn't the rose kind of fade?

Practically out of the picture.

That's why I reformed.

Hello, Brandon.

I'm very glad to see you.

Rosa, this is Isabel Lorrison,

an old friend of mine.

- Rosa Senta.

- How are you?

I think I'd better be

getting back to my friends.

- Yes, why don't you?

- Isabel...

And thank you

for keeping Mr. Bourne amused.

You're good for a few laughs yourself.

So long.

You've answered all my questions.

A year of travel

hasn't improved your manners, Isabel.

Was it my manners that interested you?

What interests me now is what you want.

Nothing that should frighten you.

If you have something to say,

say it at once.

- I haven't much time.

- Oh, not here.

Why not? Is your Mr. Dawning jealous?

Naturally. I may be a year older, Bran,

but I haven't lost my touch.

Let's go for a little walk,

for old time's sake,

or even just to prove

that you're not afraid of the dark.

You see, Bran, it's not so very dark.

On the contrary,

it's the blaze of noon, Isabel,

revealing everything.

Funny.

Right here, at the Del Rio,

$50 is a cheap evening.

And over here, it's a lot of laundry.

I never get used to New York.

I don't know why not, it got used to you.

Darling, since you're the one

who did the walking out,

why should you be so unfriendly?

- I don't like revivals.

- And what makes you think this is one?

We knew each other very well,

for a very long time.

I've been away, and now I'm back.

Is it so odd

that I should want to know how you are,

and what you're doing?

- And that's all?

- And that's all.

Fine.

I've been working hard, doing nicely,

and I'm happy in my marriage.

- She forgave you?

- She forgave me.

And you've been on the wagon since I left.

If you mean have I been faithful

to my wife, yes, I have.

And I don't find it very difficult.

I've always loved my wife.

That shouldn't be news to you.

Of course,

you met me after you were married.

But then, maybe that wasn't love.

Whatever it was, it's over.

Maybe it wasn't love.

Maybe it was only chemistry,

or the right combination, or a miracle.

But most people drag through

their whole lives without finding it.

We both know that, don't we, Bran?

You'd better get back

to your Mr. Dawning.

Alec Dawning has other things to offer.

All that nice, new, shiny money, huh?

What ever happened to that Amazon

he used to go around with?

That Felice... Felice something?

She was mad about him.

He wants to marry me.

It would even things up, wouldn't it?

We'd both be married.

It would make things so much fairer

from now on.

- From now on?

- When we run into each other.

We won't.

We know the same people,

we go to the same places.

- It would be difficult not to, wouldn't it?

- Not at all.

But what possible harm could there be

in our having a drink now and then,

or lunch?

A great deal of harm.

All right, Bran. I'm sorry.

I just thought it might be fun.

And remember, Isabel,

there will be no telephone calls

in the middle of the night,

no mysterious telegrams, nothing.

We're not gonna have any trouble.

I'll do exactly what you want, Bran.

Exactly what you want.

Oh. Oh, Alec.

I just ran into Brandon Bourne,

an old friend.

Hello, Bourne,

I've heard a great deal about you.

Get me a cab! Quick, get me a cab!

Rosa.

How do you feel?

Baffled.

It's simple. This is our home,

and this is my grandmother.

How do you do?

- You're all right? Need a doctor?

- No, thank you, I feel fine.

All right. Then, go home!

In a minute, Grandma,

as soon as he's had his coffee.

How does it look? What would Marco say?

Mark would say he should go home

as soon as he's had his coffee.

I'm sorry.

- Who's Mark?

- My fella.

He's coming home from Europe tomorrow.

I mean, today.

Rosa, why did you do this?

Why did you bring me here?

What was your first idea on it?

That I thought you were pretty?

It looked as if they were gonna turn you

into tomorrow's headlines.

I thought it might be messy for your wife.

It was awfully nice of you.

Shame on you! It's 4:00 in the morning.

4:
00! I have to attend a meeting at 10:00.

I'm supposed to be as sharp as a tack,

and as clear as a bell.

But you're not worried

about what Mrs. Bourne will say.

- Mrs. Bourne will be very understanding.

- Of course.

The items you pick out to tell her

will be very easy to understand.

Thank you, Rosa, from me and my wife.

Thank you.

If I were your wife, I'd cut your heart out.

Good morning.

Thank you for speaking to me, darling.

- May I tell you what happened?

- lf you want to.

Well, after we finished work, it was early,

so I dropped in at the Del Rio for a drink.

Like an idiot, I stayed too long,

and so as punishment I suppose,

I got into a rumpus with a drunk,

and got knocked cold.

But what was the fight about?

What's a fight ever about? Nothing.

Anyway, I was stretched out

on the sidewalk

with policemen and photographers

rushing at me,

and suddenly, I was rescued.

A nice little Italian girl I'd met inside,

hustled me into a cab

and took me home to her grandmother.

Well, they kept at me with cold towels

and hot coffee until I snapped out of it.

That's it, Jess.

I know it sounds improbable, but it's true.

- Do you believe me?

- Yes, Bran.

But wasn't that an amazingly kind thing

for that girl to do?

A girl who'd just met you.

That's the best part of the story.

Rosa's a model at Marianne's.

She's seen you there, and admired you.

She didn't want me to get into a mess

that might upset you.

Incidentally, she was very disapproving

of me for being out alone.

She said she'd cut my heart out

if she were you.

You wouldn't be any good to me

without a heart.

You wouldn't be able to love me.

- I do love you, Jess.

- I hope so.

Darling, let's have dinner at home tonight,

just the two of us.

Oh, we're supposed to go to a party

at the Lees'.

Well, we can drop in for a few minutes,

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