Interiors Page #5

lamb six times a day.

And this one and his ouzu.

The only problem I had was,

nobody spoke English.

Didn't matter. Everybody

understood what was important.

Did you get a chance to see any

of the temples, architecture?

Yes. It's so wonderful.

You're steeped in history.

We saw some great examples

from the fifth century B.C.

Remember that island with the temple?

Beautifully preserved.

I prefer the beaches.

She could sit in the sun all day.

That's enough ruins.

How many ruins can you see?

But that hot sand, that

blue water, that's for me.

I don't want to rush anyone, but maybe

we should continue in the other room.

First time I went to Europe

with my first husband, many years ago,

all we saw was churches,

one cathedral after another.

Don't misunderstand. They were beautiful.

But so you see two or three,

then enough already.

Did you know he was bringing someone?

Yes. Didn't I mention it?

Give me a good sirloin anytime.

Charcoaled. They talk about

club steaks and porterhouse.

Sirloin, charcoaled and blood-rare.

Pearl's husband was a chef.

He was an amateur chef.

Actually, he was in the jewelry business.

My first husband, may he rest in peace.

Adam, my second, was an orthodontist.

How many have you had?

Two.

Adam had a massive coronary.

Rudy was an alcoholic.

Would you like some more gravy?

- No, no, it's too heavy.

- Aw!

What are you worried about?

It's delicious. Try it.

Where are you from, Pearl?

Florida.

We lived all over when I was younger,

but I prefer a warm climate.

I even lived in Australia for a year.

With my sister Faye, when Adam died.

I went nuts. It's dead there.

I was in Sydney, Australia, once.

Was I lying? Did you like it?

It was just vacation. I was

only there a couple of days.

Lucky. It's like a morgue.

Nothing to do at night, no pizazz.

I couldn't take that.

Here's a woman who

could go dancing every night.

Well, you know what I say.

You only live once, but once is

enough if you play it right.

Do you have any children, Pearl?

Yes. I have two sons.

Lewis and John.

Lewis is in real estate.

John runs an art gallery.

In the lobby in Caesar's

Palace in Las Vegas.

It's not exactly a gallery.

It's more a concession.

Paintings of clowns on black velvet?

That's right. Junk.

It's pure junk.

But people get a kick out of it.

He does very nicely.

Pearl collects African art.

I love black ebony.

I own some statues. Actually,

they're from Trinidad.

I love those real primitive statues

with the big hips and the big breasts.

I even have some voodoo masks.

I believe in that stuff.

I could tell your fortune, but I'd

need a deck of cards. Later, maybe.

This couple we met in Aegina

were raving about it,

so I cabled from the office to get

two tickets, and I'm glad I did.

It was fabulous. -We thought

it was very interesting too.

But depressing as hell.

It was pessimistic to the point of futility.

Fashionable pessimism

is all the rage nowadays.

When they sentenced

those Algerians to death,

I thought that was a good ending.

You call it fashionable,

but it's hard to argue that in the face

of death, life loses real meaning.

It is?

Well, I can't argue it succinctly,

but if you read Socrates or Buddha

or Schopenhauer or even Ecclesiastes,

they're very convincing.

Well, they should know.

I don't read that much.

What struck me was that the terrorists

only killed if they absolutely had to.

Never wantonly, just if they had

to to achieve their own aims.

I was very moved

when that Algerian boy said,

"We killed in the name of freedom."

That gave me chills.

It's still killing for an abstraction.

Why? You value the life of one person

over the lives of thousands of others?

I don't know. Who are those thousands?

It's another abstraction.

To me, the conflict over

the giving of the information

between the French doctor and the Algerian

was the best part of the play.

I know.

The writer argued both sides so well,

you didn't know who was right.

I didn't get that.

I mean, to me it wasn't such a big deal.

One was a squealer, the other wasn't.

I liked the guy that wasn't.

Well, it's a little more complex

than that, don't you think?

Why? You liked the squealer?

Did I miss something?

That's what made me anxious about the play.

How do you figure out the right thing to do?

How do you know?

I don't know. You just know.

I mean, you feel it.

You just don't squeal. I don't know.

Anyway, it was a good evening

in the theater for a change.

I'd love another piece of cheesecake, but...

Well, have it...

What are you worried about?

You'll live to be 100 if you give up

all the things that make you want to.

Am I the only one, or is it hot in here?

Can we open a window?

Okay, ready?

Okay, pick a card.

- Go on.

- Okay, here I go.

- Okay, put it back anyplace.

- Let me see it.

All right? Okay.

I'm ready.

All right.

Okay, now we shuffle.

- All right.

- What?

Nothing. Just go ahead.

- Was it that?

- No.

- That?

- Wrong.

- That?

- No.

It's none of those three, right?

None of those three.

It's not that one.

- It's not that one.

- No.

It's that one.

That's fantastic.

How did you do that?

What's the difference?

That is a miraculous card trick.

And I was watching really closely this time.

Where did you learn that?

I've been around.

I've picked up a lot of useless information.

You tell fortunes, you do card tricks.

You do seances too?

Not me.

Whatever's out there, it's their business.

Besides, you think I wanna

bring back my ex-husbands?

As soon as possible, Pearl and

I are going to get married.

God.

That's gonna sink Mother.

She'll have a hard time at

first, but she'll get over it.

- That's easy for you to say.

- It's not easy.

How long have you know her, Dad?

Now a month.

A month? Isn't that a little hasty?

We've spent a lot of time together.

That's a lot of time, four weeks?

I expect you all at the wedding. Flyn too.

I insist that Flyn meet Pearl and

be there when we're married.

The whole thing does seem a bit fast.

It's going to be fine.

She's a nice woman, she's

kind, she's affectionate.

Christ, I'm 63 years old. I want to relax.

I'm happy just to lie on the beach with her.

I like it that's she's full of

energy, and demonstrative and open.

You just met her. She's a widow

and you're a wealthy man.

- What's that mean? She's after my money?

- She's not saying that.

Is that so far-fetched?

- I won't dignify that.

- Don't get upset.

It's just, a man in your

position has to be careful.

You don't know her yet. She's

a fine woman, and I love her.

Okay, but it's going to be

the worst possible thing

that could happen to Mother.

She still imagines we'll get back together?

Of course she imagines it, because

everyone except me leads her on.

I don't wanna hear that old story.

It's true.

From the day you moved out, all that

talk about a "trial separation."

You were never coming back. -I

wanted to let her down easily.

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