When Will I Be Loved Page #5

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I.M. Pei is not Stanford White,

and Rem Koolhaas isn't Mies.

You're saying with a straight face any

contemporary architect can do this?

- No one even comes close.

- Art isn't a competition.

Of course art is a competition.

Everything in life is.

I can't believe I'm married to

such a Philistine!

Having high standards makes me

a Philistine?

You can drop that stuff

wherever you want, Dad.

- I'm starved. I've got to get something.

- How about over here?

That's fine. I don't know

if I have much in the fridge.

Hey, you got the curtains up.

Yes, I did.

And I love them, and thank you.

What are we on this planet for?

To make our little girl happy.

She's not a little girl, she's grown.

She's a woman. Get used to it.

Thank you, Mom.

Thank you for noticing.

Hey, great mattress, pumpkin.

Firm and hard.

I thought we'd have a nice lunch.

What are you guys up for?

I can't. The man I am trying to get

a job with is coming over at 4:00.

The professor from Columbia?

He's black, right?

No. What makes you think that?

Your mother said something

about sub-Saharan Africa.

That's not what I said.

That's his book, Daddy,

not his skin color.

Horror of Horrors.

I don't care. You know me.

I love black people.

Hey, I've got an idea.

Why don't we have lunch with him?

Your mother and I can meet him.

Dad, it's an interview. He's not going

to want to have lunch with all of us.

Then your mother and I will wait here

until he comes. Get a little peek.

No!

For Christ's sake, Victor!

She is trying to land a f***ing job.

At least, honey, I'd like you to take this

golden opportunity with this loft...

and everything that we are trying

to give you to dump Ford.

- Very funny, Daddy.

- Sugar...

I'm going down to the car. I get sick

when I think of that would-be hustler.

Come in.

You have to excuse the mess.

I just moved in.

I'm supposed to be a man of the world,

but all of a sudden...

I must confess

I feel like a nervous schoolboy.

Well, relax. Make yourself at home...

as much as you can, considering...

Can I fix you a drink?

What do you have?

I have wine, champagne,

water, soda, juice.

I'm a thirsty girl.

- A glass of champagne sounds lovely.

- Okay.

Al nostro futuro.

I hope

the slightly artificial circumstances...

of this first encounter...

don't make you feel too awkward.

No. Why? Do I seem awkward?

Quite the opposite. I was just...

It doesn't matter.

I'm still nervous, that's all.

Tell me, did you have anything

particular in mind?

About what?

Where to go. What to do.

I have my driver outside...

a boat docked at the 79th Street Basin

to take us out to sea...

and my plane and my pilot on hold

to fly you anywhere in the world.

You overwhelm me.

You don't seem too overwhelmed.

You're right, I'm not. I'm impressed.

Actually, I'm not really impressed

either. I'm intrigued.

Maybe I better quit while I am ahead.

No, I don't want you to quit.

We're just getting started. Please, sit.

So what should I call you?

Count? Signor Lupo? Tommaso?

How about Tommy?

Okay, Tommy.

Did any of those options

appeal to you?

Boats, planes, cars?

Not really. You want to know why?

Rushing off with you right now,

even somewhere exotic or exciting...

although it might be a ball, to me

seems like it would be an evasion.

Evasion? Evasion of what?

- Of what's going on.

- Going on?

Between us.

What do you want with me,

or from me?

You mean for you.

That's how I look at it.

Okay, what would you like for me?

Novelty. Pleasure. Enrichment.

And where do you think

you can best provide those?

Running around or right here?

I see your point. Apart from being

beautiful, you're a very clever girl.

Not girl. Grown woman.

My mother just straightened

my father out on that today.

- Oh, yes?

- Yes.

What does your father do?

He makes money.

- There's nothing wrong with that.

- No.

How, may I ask?

How does he make money?

A little of this, a little of that.

How do you make yours?

Communications.

Communications?

Yes. Why?

We're communicating right now.

You won't make any money from me.

That's okay. I make enough money

from the rest of the world.

I'm curious. Ford told me

about your reaction to me. Your...

Passion?

Passion. My, my.

I hope you won't make light of it.

Not at all. I'm flattered and curious.

Can you tell me how you found

a passion for me?

I mean, we haven't even spoken.

You know the story

of Beatrice and Dante...

the greatest poet in Italian history?

He was seized by her, riveted.

Permanently enamored...

and romantically fixated from nothing

more than one fleeting glance.

I have always been

a creature of instinct.

When something or someone

excites me, I know it immediately.

What happened with you,

I won't say it never happened before.

So in that sense it's not like Dante,

where the vision only happened once.

But there was,

there is this urgency to knowing you.

Knowing me in the Biblical sense?

That's up to you.

As I said, I'm only here to please.

Santa Claus, St. Francis,

Mother Teresa all rolled up into one?

You say that with a touch of sarcasm.

What else do you think

I might want from you?

Want me to take a wild guess?

The wilder, the better.

Love. Sex. Romance.

Someone to make you feel young.

Someone to make you feel desired.

Are you married?

I've been married for 42 years.

Sixty-nine,

if you'll pardon the expression.

You look pretty good for 69.

Not the greatest compliment

I've ever received, but I'll accept it.

I didn't mean to offend you.

I think age is irrelevant.

You're saying that to be kind.

No, not really.

I once saw Picasso on film,

and he was really appealing for 80.

But then, Picasso was Picasso.

How much money do you have?

I'm not sure I follow that transition.

I tend to skip transitions.

Are you avoiding my question?

I have no idea

how much money I have.

$1 billion?

Depends on the day. It fluctuates.

Do you have a mistress?

As a matter of fact, I do. A cellist.

A lovely and gifted woman.

And how old is she?

Forty. Ancient.

My mother is 44.

May I ask you a question?

Why do you need my permission

to ask me a question?

I will only ask it, if you'll answer

without any fear of wounding my ego.

Do I seem fearful

of wounding your ego?

Are you glad that I'm here...

or would you prefer that I leave and

you never hear from or see me again?

I'm still curious.

What if I had no money? What if

I was a flight attendant for Alitalia?

Aren't you too old to be

a flight attendant for Alitalia?

Let's say

they made an exception for me.

You wouldn't be you

if you had no money.

You'd be you, minus $1 billion.

That's a big minus.

Is it important to you to have

a lot of money yourself?

No, not really.

I'm more interested in the idea

of money, how it controls people.

What they'll do to get it.

Ford, for example,

he'd do anything to get rich.

He's a desperate, ambitious,

frightened guy.

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