:52:08
Well, have a seat.
:52:11
Then just say you pass.
:52:14
I pass.
:52:17
I couldn't believe you were actually going to
play bridge. It's such a cliche of bourgeois life.
:52:21
That's exactly why I play.
I don't enjoy it one bit.
:52:25
I intended to go
and got as far as the door.
:52:28
- What happened?
- My mother got upset.
:52:31
She said that she couldn't face
being alone on Christmas Eve...
:52:33
and that it was really important
that the family be together then.
:52:36
My brother never comes home
at Christmas anymore.
:52:39
So, anyway, I just stayed and had a traditional
Christmas with Channel 1 1 's traditional yule log.
:52:43
Oh, yeah. I think I've seen that.
:52:46
Noon on Christmas Day, every other year,
we go to my father's place.
:52:50
I was a bit reluctant to go this year, actually,
because I hadn't been able to get in touch
with my father all week.
:52:54
But my mother insisted.
It was a real nightmare.
:52:57
First, the doorman at my father's building
wouldn't let me up.
:53:00
I guess he didn't remember me there
from Christmas two years ago.
:53:03
Then there was
some confusion and whispering...
:53:05
and, finally, they gave me a piece of paper
with a Santa Fe, New Mexico address on it.
:53:09
They told me he'd moved to Santa Fe.
I couldn't believe it.
:53:13
They took me up to the apartment,
and except for some paper and litter...
:53:16
and wire coat hangers lying around,
it was completely empty.
:53:20
He hadn't told me
anything about moving.
:53:23
It was quite a surprise.
:53:26
That's awful.
There must be some explanation.
:53:30
He must have written you or something,
and the letter got delayed.
:53:32
I don't know.
:53:35
And you had such a good relationship.
:53:37
In retrospect, I wonder how good it was.
I hadn't seen him since last spring.
:53:42
Maybe I was just kidding myself.
:53:47
Oh, I've been reading Jane Austen.
Persuasion.
:53:50
I like it. I was surprised.