Gigi Page #6

Your grip on the saucer

must be firm. . .

. . .but not obviously so.

The saucer must seem so much

a part of your fingers. . .

. . .that one would think

it could only be removed by surgery.

Now pour. . .

. . .and be sure the coffeepot is upright

before you take the cup away.

There must be no drops.

Now give it to me.

l don't take any, but be sure and

always ask about cream and sugar.

Now serve yourself.

And remember the firm grip.

No, the coffeepot first!

Now, you will try it once more.

Remember, you will go

to the door properly. . .

. . .turn, walk in properly

and sit down properly.

Now, go on.

And not like a marionette.

Keep your shoulders level.

Now turn. . .

. . .walk back and sit down.

And don't flop into the chair.

lnsinuate yourself.

That's better.

Now rise and exit the same way.

Don't jump up!

Ascend!

Now, you hold the glass like this.

Charles, some more wine

for mademoiselle.

Watch me.

Try it.

Don't gulp it!

Sip it. A little at a time.

Fill mademoiselle's glass, Charles.

That's better.

You have to fully enjoy the aroma.

Hold your first sip on the roof

of your mouth for a moment. . .

. . .and breathe through your nose.

Then you will feel the flavor.

Did you feel the perfume?

-No.

-Try it again.

A bad year will be sharp.

A good year, which this is,

of course, will waft.

Marvelous!

That will be all, Charles.

Hello, Grandma--

Hello, Gigi.

Come in.

How good to see you.

l have a present for--

What's the matter with her?

Everything.

Don't you look well!

Did you have a nice trip?

How was Monte Carlo this year?

Well, the sea is blue.

The palm trees are green.

The sun is yellow.

lt all makes a lovely post card.

Just as it should be.

Actually, it's a bore.

One has to be as rich as you

to be bored at Monte Carlo.

l brought Gigi some caramels.

Really, Gaston,

you spoil her too much.

Would you like a cup of chamomile tea?

Please. Please, Mamita.

Look, Gaston.

Four yards of material in the skirt.

Well, don't l look great ladyish?

You look like

an organ-grinder's monkey!

An organ-grinder's monkey?

What happened to your

little Scotch dress?

And that ridiculous collar!

And what's wrong with that collar?

lt makes you look like

a giraffe with a goiter.

With all the talk

there is about you, Gaston. . .

. . .l've never heard it said

you had any taste in clothes.

Have you gone mad? How dare you

speak to Gaston like that?

Apologize.

Apologize at once!

l certainly will not.

This is a beautiful dress.

Gaston, please.

l beg of you, wait.

She'll apologize.

ls this the education she gets

from you and your sister?

My congratulations to you both.

What have you done?

Why did he fly off the handle?

He knew l'd answer him back.

You ungrateful little thing.

How can you be rude to Gaston

when he's been so good to us?

And just when

we were trying so hard. . .

. . .to make an elegant

young lady out of you.

To show you off

to your best advantage.

You must admit, one doesn't have to

turn oneself inside out. . .

. . .for an old friend like Gaston.

lt's silly.

lt's absolutely silly.

l've decided your new dress

may not be as bad as all that.

l didn't see it properly,

and perhaps l was a bit cruel.

To prove it,

l'll take you for a drive. . .

. . .for tea at the Reservoirs

in Versailles.

-Would you like that?

-l'd love it!

Gaston wants to take me

to tea at the Reservoirs.

You've come back, Gaston.

How tolerant you are.

l hadn't really gone.

We're going to tea

at the Reservoirs.

No, you're not.

l'm sorry, Gaston.

What do you mean?

Grandmama, please.

Gigi, go to your room

for a moment.

l have to talk to Gaston

about something.

No, Grandmama.

Gigi, do as you're told.

Mamita, what does this mean?

Something has changed here lately.

l can feel it.

Sit down, Gaston.

Please.

Gaston, you know my friendship for you.

My friendship and my gratitude.

But l must not forget my duty.

Gigi's mother has neither the time

nor the mind to take care of her.

And Gigi isn't just another girl.

She's special.

Of course.

For years, you've been giving her

candies and trinkets. . .

. . .and she adores you.

Now you want to take her in your

automobile to the Reservoirs for tea.

lf it were just you and l,

l would say:

''Take Gigi wherever you want. ''

l would trust her with you anywhere.

But there are others, Gaston.

You are known everywhere.

For a woman to

go out with you alone now. . .

. . .with the eyes of Paris on you. . . .

Are you trying to make me believe. . .

. . .that if Gigi goes out with me,

she'll be compromised?

Let us say she would be labeled.

A young girl who goes out with you

is no longer an ordinary young girl.

Not even a respectable young girl.

Mamita, this is absurd.

As far as you are concerned,

it would be just another news item.

But in this case, l would not

have the heart to laugh. . .

. . .when l read it in the newspapers.

This is too ridiculous

to discuss any further.

l don't want to contradict you,

and l don't want to argue about it.

lf you feel you're protecting Gigi

from some cruel fate. . .

. . .that's your affair.

l understand responsibility to Gigi

better than you.

l'll do all l can to entrust her

only to a man who'll be able to say:

''l'll take care of her.

l'll answer for her future. ''

Now, can l get you

your chamomile tea, Gaston?

No, thank you.

l have an appointment. . .

. . .and l'm late already.

But forgive me if l wonder, madame. . .

. . .whom you are keeping her for?

Some underpaid bank clerk. . .

. . .who'll marry her and give her

four children in three years?

You're upset.

Please--

To see her married in white in

a dingy little church to a plumber. . .

. . .who'll only give her

a worthless name. . .

. . .and the squalor of good intentions?

Very well, madame.

Very well!

lf that's your ambition. . .

. . .inflict your misery

in the name of respectability.

l pity you!

l pity you all!

Upset!

What utter rubbish!

Pierre. . .

. . .do l look upset?

Yes, monsieur, you do.

Upset!

Upset indeed!

She's a babe

Just a babe

Still cavorting in her crib

Eating breakfast with a bib

With her baby teeth

And all her baby curls

She's a tot

Just a tot

Good for bouncing on your knee

I am positive that she

Doesn 't even know

That boys aren 't girls

She's a snip

Just a snip

Making dreadful baby noise

Having fun with all her toys

Just a chickadee

Who needs a mother hen

She's a cub, a papoose

You could never turn her loose

She's too infantile

To take her from her pen

Of course, that weekend in Trouville

In spite of all her youthful zeal

She was exceedingly polite

And on the whole, a sheer delight

And if it wasn 't joy galore

At least not once was she a bore

That I recall

No, not at all

She's a child

A silly child

Adolescent to her toes

And good heaven, how it shows

Sticky thumbs are all the fingers

She has got

She's a child

A clumsy child

She's as swollen as a grape

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