The Quiet American Page #4

cellophane-wrapped security

for the atomic future.

I don't care that about Phuong's interest,

you can have her interest.

I want her. I want her with me.

I'd rather ruin her and be with her

than worry about her interest.

Dawn any minute. I better be starting back.

- Let me buy you a drink before you go.

- Well, I could use one.

-- Two whiskeys.

German.

Foreign legion.

This detachment has quite a lot of them.

By the way, I've got a cable for ya.

Came just after you left Saigon.

Dominguez asked me to bring it along.

Has it occurred to you that Phuong might

just possibly choose to remain with me?

You know it's a strange thing that

neither one of us can say "good luck."

Put some mud on that red cross.

Even in daytime, it's a tempting target.

Thanks for the drink. See you in Saigon.

He didn't know it,

but he'd brought his victory with him.

That cable from my home office in London.

The congratulatory cable of promotion.

The end of Phuong and me.

I was to come back to be the new

foreign editor, to live in London.

What passed for life in Bloomsbury Square

and the 73 bus and The Press Club.

They could keep it.

No more whiskey?

Almost two weeks passed before

I could return from the north to Saigon.

Seemed hopeless.

Even if Phuong was still waiting for me.

It seemed hopeless.

The cable I sent up, was it important?

How did you know it was delivered?

From the young American

the day he returned.

He was kind enough to invite me to tea

at the Majestic,

with Ms. Phuong and her sister.

Milkshakes are very poor at the Majestic.

I think I should tell you,

I've begun to pick up,

how shall I put it, rumors about rumors.

That was to be expected.

It seems that apart from his organization,

he imports personal supplies,

books and documents for his studies,

it was assumed.

I imagine that he and Phuong

have been inseparable.

Recently a box of his supplies was opened

by mistake.

What was in it?

American plastic.

What would he want with plastics?

I was afraid that you'd greet me,

if you were here to greet me

at all, with "Hi".

It's an American word for those

who don't have enough time to say "Hello".

Your English should be more fluent

than it is. It must be a handicap.

How do you communicate? Do you show

each other your picture books?

- Communicate?

- Hmm,

with the American. How do you talk?

My sister and he, they talk most.

He's very serious.

Very quiet.

Well, his feelings are loud enough.

You must hear them

when you're alone together.

We are never alone together.

- Never.

- Never?

Only when we dance.

But sitting at the table is always my sister.

Where we go,

sometimes my sister and other people,

but always my sister.

My sister says he loves me.

What do you say?

Who can be loved,

who wants always so many people.

He has a fine dog.

- Standard equipment.

- The dog loves me.

I think I love the dog too, maybe.

I shall have to watch that dog.

He may be the third force.

Fair play, man's best friend,

mom's apple pie.

Make some tea.

-- Come in.

I hope I am not interrupting.

Not at all. Sit down, won't you?

You are just in time for tea.

-- Thank you.

I wonder, could you ask your dog

to take his paws off me?

I thought the British were great dog lovers.

No, we think the Americans love dollars,

but there must be exceptions.

You are an exceptional Englishman,

I'll grant that.

I thought you were gonna call him off.

He has a name, hasn't he?

Come on, Duke.

I guess she told you,

we've been seeing a lot of each other.

Seeing was precisely the way she put it.

Across crowded rooms.

Isn't there a song about it?

I gather however that

the evenings were not enchanted.

You're not making this any easier for me.

A, why should I make anything easier

for you, and B, what?

I came over as soon as

I heard you were back.

Well, you have something to discuss?

You know I have.

Oh, let me guess, plastics?

What are you going to do? Make a plastic

model of a perfect national democracy?

How did you hear about the plastics?

Or are you planning to get married

and go into the toy business?

You almost hit it.

Local toy industry has started

its output for Chinese new year.

It's only a couple of months off.

I got the idea that if we help them

get started on use of plastics

for masks, horns, things like that,

they'd cost less to make

and more people could afford to buy them.

And I do plan on getting married,

that's what I came here to talk about.

As I recall it,

Phuong is to choose between us.

Oh, no, not yet.

I wouldn't stand a chance right now.

I just want her to know how I feel.

Well, how do we go about it?

After all, you're the visiting team.

It's only cricket

that you should have first whack.

Gonna be one terrific handicap for me.

My French is just awful.

I'm taking lessons,

but that's no good to me here today.

Yes, you are at a disadvantage there.

Phuong's English is not good.

Still better than my French.

Actually, she's probably understood

very little of what we were saying.

We've been talking much too quickly, but

if you speak slowly enough,

she will understand. Most of it.

And if she speaks slowly enough, I can

manage to understand most of her French.

And if there is any confusion,

I'll be happy to act as interpreter.

It's a ridiculous situation, but thanks.

Yes, it is, but not at all.

I've told her that you had

some important things to say to her,

that you'll talk very slowly,

and that she must listen well.

Phuong, I am in love with you.

I understand.

It has not been easy to keep

from telling you while he was away.

I did not want you to think that

I would make love to you behind his back.

And I did not want anyone to say that you

were behaving dishonorably toward him.

Dishonorably?

I understand.

There's a little confusion here

about the word "dishonorably,"

she thought it meant honor.

I straightened it out.

So you know very little about me.

There's not been much time and even

less opportunity, do you understand that?

I want you to love me too.

Because I want to marry you.

Make marriage with me?

To make you happy,

and secure for the future.

I'm afraid we've run into a real block here.

Future means nothing to her,

not even in French.

I doubt whether she would understand it

in Vietnamese.

Future is a...

Foreign tense. People who exist

from day to day have little use for it.

But I can make you understand it, Phuong.

I can make you see

that the future will be happy for you.

That's why now that he's back,

so he can hear me,

I'm asking you to see me, to be with me,

alone and as often as possible.

I understand, I think.

- Have you got any whiskey?

- Help yourself.

I assume that it's my turn to bat.

Since we are being fair about it,

I won't take advantage of you

by talking French.

Go right ahead.

Oh, no, it's so long since I've played cricket.

I want to see what I can do.

Phuong, are you going to leave me for him?

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