Kings Go Forth Page #3

Did somebody?

You know something?

I can't figure you.

Every time I think I've got you,

I gotta figure out another bracket.

On Saturday night, I was early.

I don't know why,

but I really expected her to come.

Anyway, she didn't show.

Can I have the check, please?

Colette!

No, thank you.

Lieutenant.

Yes, ma'am.

Come, sit down.

Let me buy a fellow American a drink.

It's been a long time

since I've had the privilege.

You're very kind, but I'm sort of in a hurry.

Please.

Beside, I've had enough

to drink for one night.

I thought all American soldiers

drink as much as they can...

...as quickly as they can.

Some do.

I would, too, if I were a soldier.

You were waiting for someone. A girl?

If you'll excuse me now, I have other plans.

What other plans,

if you don't mind my asking?

No, I don't mind you asking.

Sit down, Sam.

I'm Monique's mother, of course.

It was rather rude of me

to pretend to be otherwise, wasn't it?

Yes, it was.

Are you always so honest?

Not really.

You ever been out of the States before?

No. Once, I went to Catalina Island.

You like living in Los Angeles?

You're in the construction business.

Is there much money in that?

I'm not asking for your daughter's hand.

I just wanted to spend an evening with her.

Did you sail from New York?

I remember the morning I left.

The sun was shining...

...and there was just a little haze.

That was 20 years ago.

Leaving, that's what I remember best.

I remember there were

some very nice Gray Ladies.

They gave each of us a cup of coffee

and then word came to board ship...

...and we all stooped down

and placed the cup next to his right foot.

Then as the ship pulled out of the dock...

...I looked down and saw all of these cups.

Some guy behind me

said they looked like rows of tombstones...

...and maybe some of them were.

Come on, Sam.

Monique's waiting dinner for us.

How do you feel about riding in a jeep?

It's one of the several experiences

I promised myself before I die.

Another is jumping out of a parachute.

No, dear, you jump out of a plane.

You hold on to the parachute.

It was quite a place they lived in.

We had a home-cooked meal,

and after, Monique took me on a tour.

During the Occupation...

...Mama and I each had

an hour alone in this room...

...every day.

Hers was from 3:
00 to 4:00

in the afternoon...

...and mine was from 9:00 to 10:00

in the morning.

- It's a lovely room.

- Yes.

What is this, Monique?

It is a piece of brown bread.

An old family relic?

No.

There was one week

when there were 30 of us in the villa...

...mostly refugee children.

Like Jean-Franois, remember?

And we had only brown bread

and water to drink.

My father said that when the time came

that we had enough again...

...and there would be

such a time, he said...

...I must not forget

what it is like to be hungry.

So you kept it.

Your father must have been quite a guy.

When did he die?

About two years ago.

I miss him very much.

I'm sure you do.

I've got to run.

I've got to get back to the outfit.

I'm on the midnight shift.

Now that the Germans are gone,

I keep thinking that the war is over.

Is it bad?

It's been worse, but it's always bad

when somebody's shooting at you.

You be careful, now.

I am the most careful girl in these parts.

Return soon.

It has been most pleasant.

It was wonderful.

In America, we have a custom

called a good-night kiss.

It is the custom in many countries.

May I kiss you?

I should like you to.

Good night.

I had never seen the moon so bright.

Right then, I could've KO'd Joe Louis...

...hit a homer for the Giants

and climbed an Alp.

I lived for my passes.

We went on a picnic.

There was fried chicken, all right...

...and also pat de foie-gras sandwiches,

and a view.

I'd heard it's the most beautiful

in the world. I'll buy that.

We went pedal-pushing.

It's for kids, you know, like me.

I made a deal with the mess Sergeant.

For my liquor ration...

...he gave me a lot more food

than it was worth.

I did them in at poker...

...and Mrs. Blair murdered me at chess.

And then there was that night

in the garden.

I know one thing,

you are not very much for flowers...

...but in here I planted

these American Beauties.

But it is not time for a goodnight kiss.

But in America,

some people just don't wait.

If they feel like kissing, they kiss.

Kiss, kiss, kiss all the time.

That's how I feel with you.

Remember the day we met

at Madame Brieux's...

...and she said something to me in French

and I asked you what she said?

And you told me that she

wished me much luck?

Yes, I remember.

That wasn't what she said.

No.

I consulted an expert

and found out what she really said was...

...she wished for me a great love.

That was quite a thing to say because...

...I'm not much of a catch.

As a matter of fact,

nobody ever tried to catch me...

...and I've never tried

to catch anybody either.

What I'm trying to say is that...

...I love you, Monique.

I love you very much.

But you don't love me.

No, Sam.

You can't win 'em all.

When I came home that first afternoon,

I said to my mother:

"I have met a very nice American

from Los Angeles, California.

"A Lieutenant," I said.

"And it would be my dearest wish...

"...that he would like me...

"...and that he want me as a friend."

I still wish that.

I'll settle for that for now.

That love-at-first-sight routine

rarely happens anyway...

...and we've got time.

I'll try to make you love me,

and I hope you will.

No, Sam. There is no such hope.

You can't stop me from trying.

I can stop seeing you.

I will.

That's fine.

I always say, "If you kick a guy

in the teeth, be sure to use both feet."

It is for you that I have said that.

Thanks a lot.

I was just shoving off.

Sam, I was listening.

Good for you. It will save a lot of time

and a lot of trouble.

Come in.

Please.

Sit down, Sam, please.

I have had something to tell you...

...ever since that first afternoon.

I did not because

I did not see any point to it then.

No.

That is not true.

I did not because...

...I liked you.

I still do...

...but...

...I...

...know how Americans

feel about some things.

I have read and I know the way

so many of the soldiers talk.

I have told you...

...that my father was a very great man.

Believe me, he was.

He was also a Negro.

I guess "n*gger" is one of the first words

you learn in America, isn't it?

Good-bye, Sam.

Monique's father was a rare man.

I've never known another like him.

This picture was taken

a year before he died.

Fred was a poor boy from Georgia.

His mother took in washing...

...and he never knew his father.

But he ran errands, he swept floors...

...he dug ditches to get through

Hampton Institute...

...and at 35, he was president

of an insurance company in Philadelphia.

I was a public health nurse

in West Virginia.

When I went back home to Philadelphia...

...I met him for the first time

at a welfare conference.

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