Page Eight Page #2

Of course I'm not gonna throw a wobbly.

When was the last time I threw a wobbly?

- 7/7.

- Exactly. I threw a wobbly

because suicide bombers

killed 56 people on the streets of London

and we had no idea it was going to happen.

I didn't throw a wobbly

because my pass had been blocked.

No. You're really sweet.

Who changes the passes?

Who orders the passes to be changed?

Who do you think?

(SOFTLY) Take this

and just make sure it's done.

What did you think of the file?

- What did I think of it?

- Yes.

I haven't finished it yet.

I haven't absorbed it.

I hardly need say, on no account

is that file to leave the premises.

Gold standard.

- I didn't know if you'd make it.

- (GASPS)

I promised I'd make it, didn't l?

- I thought you were abroad.

- Who told you that?

Mum.

Mum said that

she always knows where you are.

Does she? Paranormal, is she? Physic?

(JULIANNE CHUCKLES)

- Hey, Dad.

- Hello.

You're going to have to

explain these to me.

JULIANNE:

Do you want to have dinner afterwards?

I thought you'd have

lots of young men attendant.

- You don't want to have dinner with me.

- Don't l?

I hate these things more than you do.

(TECHNO MUSIC PLAYING)

(LAUGHING)

(SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)

- Hello, Johnny.

- Max.

Goodness, what are you doing here?

I collect. I collect your famous daughter.

If there's anything you can do

to get me a family price...

(CHUCKLES)

You still where you used to be?

Of course I am. I like it.

Why would I change?

And you, Max?

Defence. Defence procurement.

Hmm.

That's one business that's never

going to suffer. Recession-proof.

And these days I also raise a little money,

you know, for the party.

Don't look at me, I'm apolitical.

You're "A" everything, aren't you, Johnny?

You'll have to choose sides one day,

you know.

Remember, you'll get killed

in the middle of the road.

- Did you get my invitation?

- Did l? Remind me.

I wrote you, college reunion.

Oh, yes, I think I did get something.

Give me your card, I'll call you.

I don't have a card, I have a website.

Wake up, Johnny.

21st century.

(PEOPLE CHATTERING)

- You again.

- You seem to be everywhere.

Why are you surprised?

It's my business, knowing people.

Including your daughter.

Beautiful.

That's what I do, remember?

Put people in touch.

By the way, how did Nancy like your book?

How many novels have you written?

Why do you want to know?

I'm asking you.

I'm asking you a civil question.

It's my first.

So? You haven't said what you thought.

- No.

- Why not?

- Don't look at me like that.

- Why not?

Because I never could refuse you.

You could tell me the truth.

For once in your life,

you might try telling me the truth.

Only if you insist.

I insist.

All right. They look like works of despair.

If the despair isn't real,

then I don't like them

because they're fake, they're unfelt.

They're avant-garde protest

and nothing more.

But if the despair is real,

then that hurts, too, because...

Because you're my daughter,

and I don't want you to suffer.

- They're not fake.

- That's what I thought.

So what bothers you?

If I'm unhappy then it's your fault?

They make you feel guilty?

The absent father, the evasive father.

The pictures are morbid.

They're morbid, Julianne.

Okay, I can see it may be my problem

to do with getting older,

but why do you want to piss on life

before you've even lived it?

I don't think you should say any more.

(LIGHTER CLICKING)

- I was wondering...

- Yup.

- That young man you were talking to.

- Which one?

I think his name is Ralph. Ralph Wilson.

You're working.

F***! You're not even talking to me,

you're working.

- Oh, come on, let me take you home.

- No.

I don't want you anywhere near me.

Do you have any honest

relationships at all?

(KNOCKING ON DOOR)

How did I know? How did I know this?

Know what?

That you would come to my door.

You look unhappy.

Do you want some company?

I'll come to your place.

(GLASS CLINKING)

NANCY:
I'm getting red wine.

I'd prefer whisky. Do you mind?

Mmm, you had a rough day.

- So how old's your daughter, then?

- She's, let's see, mid-20s.

I split up from her mother

when Julianne was very young.

Here you go.

That's not true.

I'm going to tell you the truth.

I split up with her when she was pregnant.

Why did you do that?

Because I was in love with someone else.

You fall in love easily.

Perhaps that's why

my daughter doesn't trust me.

It was hard for her,

watching her father keep losing his heart.

- Hmm. Children don't like that.

- No.

Tonight, I felt I had the right to say

what I thought about her work.

Clearly I didn't.

Same thing's true with writers.

Well, you can say what you like

about their personalities

because they think,

"Oh, I can change, I can improve."

But work's different.

- What about you?

- Me?

Isn't your father a writer? Joseph Pierpan.

Writer and activist. Yeah.

Must be odd, having a famous father.

I'm actually surprised you've heard of him.

Just how famous can you be in Syria?

- You were born in Damascus?

- Yes.

My brother was killed by the Israelis.

- When?

- Two years ago.

- What was he doing?

- Waving a white flag.

Trying to stop the Israelis

from knocking down a house.

The Israelis were building a wall

through the occupied territories

and the wall went right through the house.

Been in that part of the world?

What were you doing?

- Oh, you know.

- No.

I don't know, you're going

to have to tell me.

I was on holiday.

On the West Bank?

Where else do you go on holiday?

Darfur? Afghanistan?

Maybe this is the moment...

to tell me what's going on.

Nothing's going on.

My life was changed

when my brother was killed.

He was killed by the Israeli Defence Force.

Nothing they say makes...

any sense, we don't believe

a word of the official inquiry.

So... It's hard enough to grieve, isn't it?

(SNIFFLES)

I mean, grief is hard enough anyway,

but when you don't know the truth,

everything freezes and you can't move on.

All right, let's just forget about it.

I asked you in for a drink, that's all.

I'm like you,

I go to work, I get through the day.

Since Jake died, I haven't been

interested in making friends.

Please, it's nothing dramatic.

I'm not asking for anything, but...

You seem a nice man.

JOHNNY:
You see, it's almost unbearable.

The way she looks.

She's so desperately

in love with Lester Young

she can scarcely bear it when he plays.

He wears high-draped pants...

All the same,

she doesn't forget when it's her turn.

(CHUCKLES)

He wears high-draped pants

Julianne, I wish I could find you.

I wish I knew where you were.

I made a fool of myself tonight.

And it's not the first time.

You were right to be angry.

All right, let's start the bloody meeting.

God knows, you're hard enough

to get hold of, Benedict.

You're far grander than I am.

Would you like me to get you

a cup of coffee, Home Secretary?

Some mineral water?

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