:21:02
- Yes.
- Exactly what principle is that?
:21:05
Well -
:21:07
The principle that one shouldn't be out
at night eating hors d'oeuvres...
:21:10
when one could be home
worrying about the less fortunate.
:21:13
Pretty much, yes.
:21:15
Has it ever occurred to you
that you are the less fortunate?
:21:20
I mean, there's something
a tiny bit arrogant...
:21:23
about people going around feeling sorry
for other people they consider less fortunate.
:21:28
Are the more fortunate
really so terrific?
:21:31
Do you want some much-richer guy
going around saying...
:21:33
''Poor Tom Townsend doesn't even have
a winter jacket - I can't go to any more parties''?
:21:38
That's a bit cynical.
:21:40
This is not just a matter
of what you personally prefer.
:21:43
I'll tell you this in confidence.
You've made a big impression on these girls -
:21:46
- Oh, come on!!
- No, I'm serious.
:21:48
They like you and are now
counting on you as an escort.
:21:53
Well, I like them, too,
but that doesn't -
:21:55
I'm not sure if you realize this, but these girls
are at a very vulnerable point in their lives.
:21:59
All of this is much more emotional
and difficult for them than it is for us.
:22:04
They're on display.
:22:06
They have to call the guys up
and invite them as escorts.
:22:10
And preppy girls mature socially
much later than others do.
:22:13
For many of them, this is the first
serious social life they've had...
:22:16
and if you just disappear now,
they're gonna take that as personal rejection.
:22:20
- Give me a break.
- I'm not entirely joking.
:22:23
You should go.
:22:25
IfThorstein Veblen were here,
he'd tell you the same thing.
:22:32
I'll meet you at 4:30 at Brooks,
main floor, southwest corner...
:22:35
where the pajamas intersect
with the expensive shirts...
:22:37
right across from
the undershorts counter.
:22:42
As a romance,
it never really existed.
:22:44
- Really?
- I made a classic mistake.
:22:47
I fell in love with Serena
long before I met her.
:22:49
I'd seen her at a Chapin dance,
but I didn't really meet her until a year later.
:22:53
Even before we started going out,
I'd built up this huge romantic vision about her.
:22:58
It should be just the reverse.