Fanny Page #8

You see, we have some visitors.

Ha, ha, yes.

Marius.

Good evening, Marius.

Good evening, Monsieur Panisse.

Fanny, don't you ought to

take Cesario's temperature?

Oh, he's all right.

I just took his temperature.

So you're home now, eh?

Only in transit.

Uh, a leave.

A long leave?

That depends upon

you and Fanny.

I don't quite understand.

Fanny is my wife, and

the mother or my son.

It's not your son, Panisse.

For a long time

now, I've been trying

To go to Paris on business.

I've missed every train.

Every time I put my foot on

the platform I would say,

This is the night

Marius is coming back.

What if he tries to

take everything from me?

For two years, I've been

preparing my answer.

And now that I see you standing

there so young and lean,

I forget what I

was going to say.

Perhaps I'm in the way?

No, Panisse.

Yes, yes.

Perhaps I'm in the way, and

the most gracious thing for me

To do would be to go out and

drown myself by accident.

Ho, ho, ho.

Only, if

I'm dead, I won't

See the little one anymore.

And so I absolutely

refuse to drown myself.

Nobody asked you to.

I asked myself.

And I refuse!

Fanny, if you want to

leave me and go away

With this young fellow, I

won't stand in your way.

And what happens to the child?

The child?

Yes.

The child?

But wh-why don't you

ask me for my eyes,

My heart, my liver, my spleen?

No, no, Marius.

You will never get

the little one.

Never.

Marius, you are young.

You are able to

have other children.

But this child,

it's my first child.

My last child.

You see, Marius, if... if... if

he were just an ordinary child,

Like those children

you see in the park,

But this child is so unique!

Cesar, tell him!

He's right about that, Marius.

Uh, mind you, you were

a beautiful child,

But, uh, this one...

He coughed!

Hm?

He coughed?

I didn't hear anything.

No, no.

No one hears him.

But I hear him!

He's a clever

man, that Panisse.

A very generous and

clever man, who says,

I might give up the woman,

but I keep the child.

Knowing that without the

child, the woman won't go.

But it's my child.

I'm his father!

No, Marius.

Before he was born,

you were his father.

But since his birth,

Panisse is his father.

Why, when this child

came into the world,

He weighed eight pounds

of his mother flesh.

Now he weighs 23.

You know what those

extra 15 pounds are?

Love.

Love doesn't weigh very much.

It's like cigarette smoke,

it takes a lot of love

To make 15 pounds.

I gave my share, and Fanny, too.

But the big weight, the

bulk, Panisse gave it.

And what have you given?

Life.

Dogs give life, too.

And bulls give life.

Besides, you were not

looking to give life.

You were looking for pleasure.

And while you had your pleasure,

the baby took life from you.

Who is the father, then?

The one who gives life, or

the one who buys the bibs?

The father is

the one who loves.

Fanny, tell him.

No, Marius.

You were the father of

an illegitimate child.

A disaster to a family.

But that child does

not exist anymore.

My child was born in a big,

fine bed, on old linen,

Attended by his grandmother,

his aunts, his uncle.

And you won't have

that child, Marius.

He's enthroned in my

family... Panisse's family.

So you're against me too?

Oh, Marius.

Since your father is

here to protect me,

I can tell you I love you.

Perhaps more than I ever did.

Every morning I see your

face in the smile of my son.

Oh, when I saw you

in that window,

I felt as if I were

falling towards you.

As you used to feel you were

falling towards the sea.

But there's Panisse.

The night the child was

born, before the doctor came,

I held his hand and

dug my nails into him.

And he said, bite me,

scratch me, the more you

Hurt me, the more the

baby will be mine.

He still has the marks.

So Marius, please go away.

If it's any comfort to

you, remember that there's

A woman who thinks

about you every night,

And would like to lie

beside you and fall

Asleep in the

warmth of your body.

And wake in the morning

with your arms around her.

Papa, what would

you want me to do?

I want not to miss your train.

It's your child who

is sending you away.

Don't you like me anymore?

Of course!

I like you, very much.

Ha, you idiot.

Only you're big,

and he's so small.

Say goodbye to Madame Panisse.

Goodbye, Fanny.

Goodbye, Marius.

I'll never love anyone but you.

I never did love

anyone but you, Marius.

Cesario!

Cesario, where are you?

Cesario, did you

hear what I said?

Yes, Grandmama.

All right,

what did I say?

You asked me if I

heard what you said.

Hello, Cesar.

How is the?

Oh, always full.

But always empty.

Ah, come on, now.

Now... now, forget it.

Now we've got to make some

plans for our boys, today.

Hm?

What's outside that

window that's so special?

Hm?

Papa and Cesar are

planning something.

Uh-oh.

Oh, I know.

It's a birthday party

for me, isn't It?

Yes.

But you're not supposed to know.

It's to be a surprise.

I wanted to go to the

circus for my birthday.

He wanted to go to the

circus for his birthday.

So naturally, you

bring the circus to him.

Yes, with clowns, a

magician, and acrobats.

Oh, now, now.

Now let... let's go.

Would it make you

feel any better

If I gave you

birthday present now?

What is it?

Hm?

Oh, for me?

A... a telescope.

Can we see the

waterfront with it?

Well, if we can't, I am

asking for my money back.

Oh, wonderful!

Look!

Oh, the waterfront!

My beautiful,

wonderful waterfront.

Why do we live so far away?

Ask your father.

Cesario.

Cesario, darling.

Mama!

Honorine, how are you?

Why... why don't you take Cesario

to the park for a few hours?

Or maybe she has

some shopping to do?

Please, Father, may we go

to the waterfront, instead?

Waterfront?

No.

Why not?

I've never seen

Cesar's place, or where

My Grandma used to sell fish.

I'd like to go there, myself.

I...

Oh, no, the... the

waterfront is...

Is no place for a... for

a well brought up boy.

It was all right for

Cesar's boy, wasn't it?

What do you know about my son?

Not much, except

that he went to sea,

And that every time

his name comes up

Everybody sneezes, or

coughs, or something.

Did Marius do something bad?

My son ran away from me.

Are you still angry with him?

I believe so.

I think it's how I'm

able to live without him.

Did you know him, Father?

Yes, I knew him.

Didn't you like him?

Yes, I rather did like him.

Did you know him, Mama?

Of course.

I used to sell fish

next to Cesar's bar.

Marius and I grew up together.

Did you like him.

Very much.

Well, if you all

like him so much,

Why can't we invite

him to come and see us?

Well, uh, we don't

know where he is.

Ha.

If I went to sea, would

everybody be angry with me?

Because that's all I want to do.

We'll tell you what you

want to do, young man, when

The time comes and we

are good and ready.

In the meantime, you

are going to the park

With your grandmother, eh?

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