Love In The Time Of Cholera Page #6

I simply want to weep

uncontrollably.

I think

I am going to die.

That would be best.

Then we could both

have some peace.

Bedtime, kids.

Go.

We're going to eat our

dinner, Aunt Fermina.

Thank you. Thank you.

Do you still

recognize me...

the fat old thing

that I have become?

It's been over a year

and not a whisper,

not a hint.

Nobody knows

where she is.

I have made

myself believe

that if she were dead

I would have heard.

All I can do

to keep myself sane

is to follow

my routine:

sells flowers

in the market.

Triola...

I-I don't exactly know

who she was.

nothing memorable

to report.

Routine is

like rust.

I could stay here

forever.

You should have come

sooner.

You did

the right thing...

teach him a lesson.

And what happened

to the man

who sent you

all those telegrams?

Oh, he's very

grand now.

President of the River Company

of the Caribbean.

Hmm.

Do you still see him?

Of course not.

And anyway...

he's not a man.

He's a ghost.

It was all

an illusion.

And you,

Hildebranda,

what happened

to your married man?

He stayed married.

- Three days!

- Less than that.

Can I take care

of your horse?

Uh-huh.

It is better

to arrive in time than...

than to be

invited, no?

- Hildebranda.

- Juvenal.

- Are your boots still killing you?

- Thank you, God.

How good you are.

I must get the children

ready for supper.

- Come on, kids.

- I'll go first.

- No, I'll go first.

- I'll go first.

I'll go first.

What are you

doing here?

Well, I know

you would be too proud

to return on your own,

so I have...

I have come

to fetch you.

I... I thought

we might have

a second honeymoon.

But the following night,

while the old man slept...

- Oh, dear God, now what?

- Shh, please.

Shh, Fermina.

Thank you, God.

Thank you.

Excuse me.

It's been a long time

since I've seen her.

Good evening.

And she has changed,

Ricardo.

But, what was worst,

is that her husband

seemed younger than ever.

And I had this...

terrible thought that

she would die first.

Heaven forbid.

Heaven forbid.

And it made me realize

that I have grown

older too.

Those stairs...

up and down those stairs

will kill me.

Uh, I'm not afraid of death,

I'm afraid of old age.

So...

I doubt I will be

coming here so often.

Why are you so

successful with women?

Um...

because they

see in me someone...

guilty.

In need of love.

Someone who will not...

harm them.

My heart has more rooms

than a whore house, Ricardo.

What number are

you on now?

Prepare yourself

for a shock.

I'm on number 622.

Impossible.

I speak the truth...

Some time ago...

I forget exactly when...

Uncle Leo asked me to

keep an eye on the daughter

of some distant relation

of ours from Puerto Padre.

She was being sent

here to college

to become a teacher.

And then,

little by little,

I won her confidence

and affection.

And in due course, the doors

of heaven opened to her.

Her name is America Vicuna.

We see each other

on Sundays.

We are quite open about our,

what shall I say?

Friendship.

For one thing,

the difference in our ages

places us above suspicion.

Someone has died.

Huh-uh.

It's Pentecost.

No.

No, it must be a...

a very big fish if they are ringing

the cathedral bells.

Mmm.

America.

You must go back

to college.

My driver will take you.

There is something I have to do.

Fermina...

I have waited for this

opportunity for 51 years,

nine months and four days.

That is...

how long I have loved you

from the first moment I cast eyes on you

un... until now.

Florentino Ariza...

get out of here!

Get out!

"Florentino Ariza,

you are a dreadful,

insensitive human being.

How dare you

enter my house

on the day my beloved

husband died

and utter such monstrous,

ridiculous sentiments?

You have put me in

a mortal rage,

which has caused me

to think about you without wanting to.

Do you understand?

I do not want to think about you.

Stay out of my life."

Go, donkey, go!

Hi, dear.

Let's not waste time.

I don't want to

see a movie.

Do you know what

I want to do?

Before you go home,

I have something to tell you.

Pull over.

Pull over, please.

I'm going to get married.

It's a lie.

Old men don't get married.

Who is she?

- Do you want to cry?

- No!

I don't know

who she is.

But whoever she is,

she has ruined my life.

America, you must...

I don't want to hear it,

Florentino.

I'm warning you.

"Please allow me to wipe

the slate clean.

Age has no reality

except in the physical world.

The essence of

a human being

is resistant to

the passage of time.

Our inner lives

are eternal,

which is to say that our spirits remain

as youthful and vigorous

as when we were

in full bloom.

Think of love

as a state of grace...

not the means

to anything,

but the alpha

and omega.

An end in itself.

Think of love as

a state of grace...

not the means to

anything,

but the alpha

and omega.

An end in itself."

The messenger is

waiting for a reply.

Mother, what is it?

Someone wants to

call on me.

Who?

Don Florentino Ariza.

The man who owns

the riverboats?

You know what they say

about him?

No.

They say he has

never had a woman.

In fact, they say

his tastes are

quite the opposite.

They say he

has a secret office

where he takes boys he picks up on

the docks at night.

I simply

don't believe that.

I've known him since

he was a boy.

He's an honorable man.

Everything in the world

has changed.

I haven't.

Have you?

What does it matter now?

I've just turned

Yes, we are two old people

about to be ambushed by death.

Do you believe

in God?

No.

But I am afraid of Him.

Some of your letters

were a great comfort.

I'm glad to know

you received them.

What... what I most

admired about them

was their simplicity.

They helped me

a great deal.

In what way?

They helped me

regain some kind

of peace.

You cannot

imagine how happy

I am to know that.

But I don't agree with

everything you say.

We have nothing in common

except memories.

The young people we

were are banished...

that was all

an illusion.

Not for me.

Well...

I thought this

might amuse you.

That must be

At least.

I have something

to say.

In my experience,

when anyone says that,

it's bound to

be unpleasant.

These frequent visits

from the man you are seeing

are unseemly.

Ofelia, it's none

of your business.

He is company for Mama.

- He consoles her.

- Consoles her?

All he needs to do to

complete his consolation

is to climb into

her widow's bed.

Ofelia.

But don't you believe

that love justifies

anything and everything?

Love is ridiculous

at our age.

But at theirs,

it's revolting.

The only thing

that hurts me

is that I don't have

enough strength

to give you the beating

that you deserve

for being so insolent

and evil-minded.

But you will leave

this house right now

and I swear to you

on my mother's grave

that you will not set foot

in it again as long as I live.

Ofelia, Mama,

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes