Lili Page #5

Well, not tomorrow, perhaps,

but we'd like you

to be ready to open

in about two weeks.

Two weeks?

Tonit?

You're Antoine Tonit

of the Folies Paris!

I'm sorry.

I thought I'd told you.

Tonit and Erique.

- As for the details of the contract,

if you'll come back

to the hotel with us now...

fine.

We'll have to let you know.

We can't accept now.

But you have no contract here.

You're free.

Completely.

We'll have to let you know.

But we know now.

I'm sorry.

We have to talk about this.

By all means...

What do we have

to talk over?

But don't dismiss

this offer too lightly.

The act is nothing

without the girl.

I agree.

She's enchanting.

But this one,

the creativeness is his.

He has a talent for improvisation

that I've never seen before.

It's close to genius.

You've hit on a new career, Berthalet,

that'll outstrip anything

you could've done as a dancer.

But you must know this,

or you wouldn't have

given up your dancing for it.

I didn't give up anything.

I became a puppeteer

because it was the only way

I could earn enough to feed myself.

You see, a dancer grows

conscious of his body.

When it'll no longer do

what he wants it to do,

he grows to hate it.

So I hid mine behind the curtain

of a puppet stage.

I'm sorry.

We didn't know.

We've been tactless, I'm afraid.

No. You've done the greatest thing

for me you could've done.

Tell me again what you said.

You mean that I think

you've chosen a new career

that'll outstrip anything

you might've done as a dancer?

But you said that before

you knew I was lame.

You meant it?

I meant it and more.

I'll underwrite your new career.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Tomorrow.

What was that nonsense

about letting them know?

You think to get more money

out of them by saying

we're unwilling?

I said it because I'm not sure

you have an act to sell.

Lili is leaving.

What did you do to her?

Stopped her from making

a fool of herself.

Leaving?

That child's an idiot.

She's not an idiot.

And she isn't a child any longer.

She's beginning to realize the fact

that there's cruelty in the world...

and she's starting

to protect herself from it.

Well...what do we do now?

You'll figure it out.

You're the genius.

[ Knock knock ]

[ Marc ] Come in.

Well.

It's all right if Rosie is coming.

What I have to say

won't take very long.

Here's something you

lost in the trailer.

Oh.

I didn't know at first.

And I wanted to ask you,

but now I think I know.

You're married

to Rosalie.

I never denied it.

No, you didn't.

- Ah.

And I've been silly.

But I've put a lot of things

together in my head

this last half hour.

A great many things,

back to the day we met.

I know I've been living in a dream,

just like a little girl...

without seeing what I didn't

want to see...

but you want to know

something, Marc?

We sometimes outgrow

feelings and ideas,

just like a little girl

outgrows her dresses,

but somehow, it turns out that

there's a right time for everything...

in the right order.

There's a time for going to school.

A time for losing our parents,

and a time for falling in love

with a beautiful magician.

But there's a time for waking up.

You are a wise girl...Lili.

Where did you learn all this?

We don't learn.

We just get older...

and we know.

Good-bye, Marc.

Good-bye.

Thank you for your patience.

Forgive me for having been

such a nuisance.

Oh, Rosalie,

I'm...I'm leaving.

I just said good-bye

to your husband.

Good-bye.

Lili?

Oh, Lili, please, wait a minute.

Are you gonna leave

without saying good-bye?

Please, Lili, just for a minute,

come here.

Please? Closer.

I have a favor to ask, and

I don't want the others to hear.

If you're leaving, Lili,

please take me with you.

I wanna go with you,

wherever you go.

It won't be the same

here without you.

You're my sweetheart, you see?

It was love at first sight.

From the first moment I saw you

walking by, wearing that... awful hat,

and carrying that lopsided suitcase.

Please...oh, please don't

leave us, Lili!

I never had a real friend

until you came along.

Please take me with you.

If you really loved us,

you wouldn't go away.

Oh, but I do.

It's just that I...

I'll say it.

You hate the boss.

He's unreasonable.

He's mean.

He's jealous.

We'll protect you from him.

Oh, you always have.

You've always been

so kind and good...

and you seem to know

what's in my heart or

what I'm thinking

and what I'm feeling.

I'll kill him!

I'm gonna kill the boss! Grrr!

Well, anyway, I'll give him

a good talking to.

Hey, boss...

Lili?

Here.

It's our going-away present.

Oh, Reynardo...how very nice.

It was very expensive.

He probably stole it.

You know Reynardo.

How did you get it, Reynardo?

Well, must I tell?

Reynardo, you promised me

you would never steal again.

I didn't steal it.

If you must know, I'm paying for it

on the installment plan.

What happens if you don't

keep up with the payments?

I know him.

He'll never keep up.

They'll come and

take it away from you.

No, they won't.

I made a deal.

What sort of a deal?

Well, I agreed that if I didn't

keep up with the payments,

I'd give the man something

else in exchange.

I signed a paper.

Uh-oh.

He signed a paper.

What does the man

get in exchange?

Another fox fur.

Another?

Uh-huh...

me.

Well, you poor darling.

You traded your life

to get me a present.

- Mmm.

Oh, Reynardo, you...

Trust him to take advantage

of a situation like this.

I wanna go with you, Lili.

Why don't you take

us all with you?

We don't want you

to forget us, Lili.

I never could forget you.

You've become so

very dear to me.

You're the only things I love.

I know you love me, too.

Why, you poor darlings,

you're trembling.

Well, are you staying or going?

We've had an offer

from the Folies Paris,

but we can't accept it

without you.

I've been an idiot,

a stupid fool.

Melting and sniveling over

Reynardo and Carrot Top.

I must be crazy.

They've become

so very dear to me,

I forget...I forget every time

that it's only you.

Or is it you?

Is it?

Wh-what are you?

Are you just a monster

without any feeling?

Why can't you ever say

a kind word?

Why do you hide

behind those puppets?

I am the puppets!

I'm Carrot Top:
Confident, clever,

capable of running his life and yours

and everybody else's.

And I'm Golo the Giant:

Cowardly, stupid,

longing to be loved, clumsy,

and in need of comforting.

And I'm Marguerite, too:

Vain, jealous, obsessed with self,

looking at my face in the mirror.

Are my teeth nice?

Is my hair growing thin?

And I'm Reynardo

the thief, the opportunist,

full of compromise and lies.

Like any other man, I have in me

all these things,

all of these and

as many more again.

Must I make a new puppet

for the small part of me

you've managed to see?

The monster?

The angry man?

The frustrated dancer, clumping along

with a leg anchored to the ground,

and a heart anchored to...

but you don't have to understand me

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