Bitter Moon Page #2

---

to be a writer, Nigel.

( pouring )

My grandfather

made a fortune

in the surgical

appliance business,

set up a trust fund for me.

On his death,

I found myself in receipt

of sufficient allowance

to enable me to move to Paris.

Paris-- my dream city.

Hemingway, Miller,

Scott Fitzgerald--

I was determined

to follow in their footsteps,

maybe too determined

for my own good.

Maybe that's what killed

any originality

I ever possessed.

After eight years,

all I had to show

for my literary exertions

were three unpublished novels

and a stack of reject slips

this high.

But who cared?

Sidewalk cafes,

fluttering skirts,

fleeting affairs.

Paris was heaven

until that day on the bus.

( speaking French )

( sighs )

Oscar:

It was no good.

I couldn't write,

couldn't sleep,

couldn't get her

out of my mind.

She was somewhere out there,

my sorceress

in white sneakers.

But where?

I haunted that 96 bus route.

It became an obsession.

Even the driver

began to recognize me.

Ca va?

( speaking French )

( both speaking French )

( woman speaking French )

( speaking French )

Martini. Double.

Et vous?

Un Kir Royale,

s'il vous plait.

Excusez-moi.

( speaking French )

( speaking French )

- You're American?

- You remember me?

Of course I remember.

You were very kind.

Now it's your turn

to do something nice for me.

Have dinner with me sometime--

sometime soon, like tomorrow.

- You ever get a night off?

- Yes.

- When?

- Tomorrow.

Mimi.

( speaking French )

Mimi.

( piano playing )

Oscar:

She told me to meet her

at the Centre du Marais

at 10:
30.

I was so wound up,

I'd gotten there

a whole half hour early.

My nerve ends

were jangling like bells.

Here's to old bus route 96.

Man:

Oh, la la la la!

Bonsoir!

Bonsoir, monsieur et madame.

( speaking French

with Thai accent )

( laughing )

Should we just

let him decide?

( speaking French )

( speaking French )

No, no, no,

surprendre-nous.

Très bien, trs bien,

très bien, monsieur.

( speaks French )

( imitating accent )

I hope-- I hope-- I hope

I didn't make a mistake

by letting him order

because I don't speak Thai

so good

and we might have wound up

eating puppy-dog tails.

( laughs )

Do you mind if I do?

( laughs )

( laughs )

Oscar:

There was a freshness

and innocence about her,

an almost disconcerting blend

of *** maturity

and childish naiveté

that touched

my world-weary heart

and effaced the age difference

between us.

My roommate is American.

Cindy. You saw her

at the dance class.

I met her when I studied

in New York.

How long were you there?

- Till my money ran out.

- ( laughs )

- Meaning?

- Six months.

I love New York.

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