The Wedding Night Page #6

- Nothing much.

I caught a few tidbits

at the railroad station.

I can imagine.

Seems you lost your source

of inspiration in a hurry.

- You're looking splendid.

- So are you.

Didn't I tell you

a little separation was the thing?

Was it, Dora?

For me, yes.

And I hope, Tony, for you.

It doesn't hurt to change inspirations

once in a while,

as long as you come back to the old one.

Is that what you've done, Dora?

Come back to the old one?

I was speaking of you, darling.

I'm going to get a ready-made dress

from Hartford.

You get the man first, Helena Borcz.

Then the dress.

Don't you worry about the man.

Yeah, she thinks she can have Fredrik.

KAISE:
She thought she had Fredrik,

but Manya was too quick for her.

HELENA:
Manya? You mean her father.

- My father gave Fredrik all that...

- KAISE:
You close your mouth.

Well?

- All I can say is...

- Now. It is finished.

What's the matter, Manya?

You act like you don't want to

get married.

Hello.

I came to see Mr. Barrett.

- Will you wait?

- I didn't know anyone was here. I...

- I'll go.

- Don't be upset.

I'll call him.

You're Sonya, aren't you?

- Sonya?

- The girl I'm reading about, in here.

My name is Manya.

My husband told me

how you helped him with his book.

I ought to be grateful,

since it's such a good book.

- But I'm afraid I'm a little jealous.

- I wasn't much help.

- I only listened. He was reading it to Taka.

- I know.

He's spoiled every servant we ever had

by making them literary minded.

There was no one else. I felt sorry for him.

You don't need to apologize.

You did a good job.

Come in. Sit down.

I can't see where it's heading.

But maybe you do.

- You may have talked it over with him.

- No.

I just finished the chapter

where Daphne talks with Sonya.

I found it interesting, but not very true.

What do you think?

I never thought they would talk together.

Well, they did,

and it seemed all wrong to me.

Up to that point,

I didn't see Daphne as the sort

who would give her husband up

so magnanimously,

just because he thinks

he loves someone else.

Sonya never expected it or hoped for it.

She never asked it.

Daphne might go away.

But if I were Daphne, I wouldn't go at all.

- Not after she made her first mistake.

- Mistake?

When she went away

and left her husband the first time.

I think she'd stay this time

and take her medicine.

- See him through it. Don't you think?

- I don't know.

He and Sonya are so far apart.

They could never meet

on common ground.

Do you think so?

I never thought about that part of it.

Even if Sonya could,

Daphne had been his wife for five years.

They had too much tied up together.

Perhaps the kind of love he felt for Sonya

had gone by.

She'd have that, too.

It wasn't that she'd fight to keep.

It would be the kind that Sonya

could never win away from her.

The kind that's built on,

well, five years.

But she'd fight to keep it.

That's the way I'd write it,

even though I felt very sorry for Sonya.

- I'll call him now.

- Please, don't. I don't want to see him.

- But that's why you came, isn't it?

- I wanted to see him.

- But not for what you think.

- Why did you come, then?

I came to tell him

I'm being married tomorrow.

Well, you must have wanted him

to stop it, or...

No, I...

- No.

- Well, then why tell him?

I thought I...

(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)

Manya?

What do you want, Father?

What are you doing up this late at night?

Why you not in bed?

You've been to seeing this man.

I haven't done anything wrong.

What do you mean,

you have done nothing wrong?

- JAN:
The night before your wedding...

- Shut up!

Mind your own business for once.

You're a fool.

(THUMPING)

- Is that you, Tony?

- Yes.

Come in and say good night.

- Hello. Thought you were asleep.

- Pretty exclusive, aren't you?

Didn't mean to be.

Trying to figure out an ending to my story.

You might ask me what I think of it.

I spent the evening reading it.

I was a little afraid of your opinion,

I guess.

You've never been before. Why now?

You needn't be.

- I think it's grand.

- Thanks.

It's the best thing

you've ever written, Tony.

I'm not very flattered though.

I always thought I helped,

even if I did only peer over your shoulder.

You helped a lot, Dora.

- I can help with the ending at least.

- I wish you could.

I may not give you

the one you've been looking for,

but I know the wisest one.

Sit down, Tony.

Sonya's going to marry her Heinrich,

or whatever his name is.

It's Heinrich in here.

Is she? I hadn't planned that.

It's the only ending there is, Tony.

They've had too much together,

Stephen and Daphne.

They let each other down.

What they had is gone.

I know he thinks it is. But it can't be over.

They'll come to life again, those times.

When they hadn't the fare to get home.

When they spent his first check

in one night.

- When the second book failed.

- And when the third one failed?

I stuck until I couldn't, Tony.

I had to get away to save us.

- I'm afraid it was too late, Dora.

- I was afraid of it, too, Tony.

Because life had hemmed us in

with bills and nagging and failure.

But when I went back to the old places,

and there was no Tony,

I realized that all of the sweetness of life

was tied up with you.

I met you on every corner, darling.

And you would, too, Tony.

The mad things we've done.

The places we've been.

All the lovely places of the earth

we plan to be.

You couldn't ever see them

without me, Tony.

You know that, don't you?

Even if you don't, I do, Tony.

And I'll never let you ruin our life.

- What about Manya's life?

- Wives can't think of Manyas.

- The Manyas don't think of us.

- She's not like that.

All Manyas are alike to wives,

no matter how sweet they are.

I always thought I'd be different,

that if the time came,

I'd do something unusual.

But I can't. I don't feel a bit unusual.

I'd like to scratch her eyes out

and call her names,

and tell you how much

I've had to put up with,

how you've let me down.

You'd better go to bed before I do.

We'll talk in the morning.

I want a divorce, Dora.

I can't give it to you, Tony.

You've got to. I love her.

You can't reason the things I feel.

She's everything to me.

She's all I had this hellish winter.

I can't put her out of my life just because

you choose to walk back into it.

- She's there. She's in it.

- I know she is, Tony.

I do.

I've seen you look out

that window, mornings.

I've seen you half crazy here.

Wondering what to say to me.

How to tell me.

(SINGING A POLISH SONG)

(PEOPLE SINGING)

They're marrying off

that Polish girl tonight.

- Now they'll carry on for weeks...

- Never mind, Hezzie.

I don't think I'll have any coffee.

You may hate me always, Tony,

but I knew this.

She came here last night to tell you,

and I sent her away.

Why bother to tell me about it now,

when it's too late?

Because it is too late. That's why.

I see.

(SPEAKING LATIN)

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