:44:01
you don't want to dance.
:44:03
Why?
:44:04
You've associated it
with the unhappy life of your sister
:44:07
who paid for your lessons
through a life of shame.
:44:10
You've been ashamed to dance
ever since.
:44:13
I'd despise myself
if I thought that.
:44:15
That's the trouble, you do.
:44:17
That's the trouble with the world.
We all despise ourselves.
:44:23
Streetwalking!
:44:27
We're all grubbing for a living,
the best of us.
:44:30
All a part of the human crusade,
:44:34
written in water.
:44:36
But enough of that.
:44:38
Ever been in love?
:44:40
No, not really.
:44:43
I think it was more
a feeling of pity.
:44:45
The plot thickens.
Tell me about it.
:44:48
It's a ridiculous story.
I hardly knew the man.
:44:52
It was something I built up
in my own mind.
:44:55
It was after I came out
of the hospital.
:44:58
I took a job
at Sardou's stationary shop.
:45:02
He was one of the customers,
a young American.
:45:06
He used to buy music paper
:45:08
in large and small amounts,
according to his finances.
:45:12
He seemed so lonely,
so helpless and shy.
:45:16
There was something pathetic
about him.
:45:19
I wouldn't have noticed him,
but someone tried to elbow in.
:45:23
When I ignored the other man,
he smiled in gratitude.
:45:27
The old charwoman who worked where
he lived told me he was Mr. Neville,
:45:31
a composer,
and that he occupied the top room.
:45:34
There were days I knew he went
without food to buy music paper.
:45:38
I could see it in his eyes.
:45:40
The haggard look.
:45:42
Sometimes I'd throw in
a few extra sheets.
:45:44
Once I gave him more
than his proper change,
:45:46
which he might have noticed,
but I wasn't sure.
:45:49
Often after work I'd stroll by his
house and hear him playing piano,
:45:54
repeating musical passages
over and over again.
:45:57
And I'd stand listening,
excited and melancholy.