"Hello?" "No, he's not here." "I'm his mother." "Come over." "I'll be waiting." "We're back." "The girl's in the room by the hallway." "Thanks." "Am I eating alone?" "I'm not sure she'll be coming down, she's not well." "I'm sorry." "Giuseppe's not here?" "You should talk to her." "She'll be better in the morning." "I'm packing my bags, what should I bring?" "Should I buy something for Easter, a gift?" "You celebrate it, right?" "I'll bring your glasses, the broken ones, you left them at my place." "Oh, I have a bad surprise for you." "You'll hate me, but I bought a guidebook." "To make up for it I brought the red dress." "Is it too light?" "Call me back before leave." "Where are you, Giuseppe?" "I told your mom I couldn't reach you and that I arrive by plane tomorrow." "She sounded odd..." "I must've come across as an idiot." "Call me when you get this message, I don' know what to do." "You don' want me to come anymore?" "Answer me, please." "I just got to your house." "You invited me, where on earth are you?" "Should I wait up or go to sleep?" "I'll leave the door ajar, wake me when you get here." "I want to make love to you." "I'll be waiting." " Good morning." " Good morning." "Are you feeling better this morning, ma'am?" "I'm Jeanne." " Do we know each other?" " Aren't you Mrs. Remigi?" "You must be looking for my sister-in-law." "Sorry, I saw you here and assumed you were her." "I came to give Anna a hand." "You've never met my sister-in-law?" "I arrived last night and she wasn't feeling well." " You arrived last night?" " Yes, Pietro picked me up." "Jeanne..." "Good morning." "I just made a fool of myself with your sister-in-law." "Has Giuseppe arrived?" "I'll bring the guests some coffee." "I'll help you." "Be right back, excuse me." "Who's she?" "She came from Paris last night." "I'm waiting for the right time to tell her." "Sorry about last night." "I wanted to be there for your arrival but... couldn't manage." "Did you sleep well?" "Where's Giuseppe?" "Why wasn't he here last night?" "Why isn't he here now?" "He knew I was coming." "We've suffered a terrible loss." "My brother died." "I'm sorry..." "I didn't know." "It all happened so suddenly..." "Is that why Giuseppe's not here?" "I have to go back in, they're waiting." "Sorry," "I've been mad at you since yesterday." "This morning I even hated you." "Your mom told me what happened, I'm sorry." "I don' know if you're listening to my messages..." "I wish you were here." "I had that dream about water again, but I was in a tall tower this time." "I wrote it down when I woke up." "You were in it too." "We had to climb a bunch of stairs to reach the lake, high up above." "Once up there it was really hot, and I can' remember why but I couldn't go in the water." "I want to sleep with you." "I want to sleep pristinely, without dreams." "When are you coming?" "What'll do here alone?" "Pietro said I could help myself so..." "You don't have to explain." "Sorry, I'll make you something warm." " No need, ma'am." " Yes." "I'm wondering if I've come at a bad time." "I wouldn't want to be a burden to you." "No, you're not." "Maybe it's best if I come back some other time." "Can you get the white wine from the fridge?" "And a glass." " Is the wine for me?" " Yes." "Sorry, but I don't drink." "Ever?" "Giuseppe made that same face the first time we went out to eat." "How did you first meet?" "At my house." "Ah, at your house." "I woke up and he was having breakfast in my kitchen." " You didn't know him?" " No." "But my roommate did." "But she'd left for work, so he and I had breakfast together." "So you fought with your roommate over him?" "No, we still live together." "He wasn't dating her?" "Not really, no." "Can I help you, ma'am?" " Eat up." " Thanks." "It's good." "Stay here, Jeanne." "Will she stay tonight too?" "She'll be needing clean towels." "There was hope that Pope John Paul would be present." "It's the first time in 26 years of papacy." "The Pope hasn't spoken..." "Hello." "Hello." "Do you need anything?" "To sleep." "I wanted to ask you something without anyone else around..." "I was thinking of buying flowers for Mrs. Remigi, but maybe it's inappropriate." "When was her brother's funeral?" "No need to buy her flowers." "No need to do anything." "I'd like to go see the town." "Is there a bus?" "There are no buses here." " Morning." " Good morning, ma'am." "You should've called me, been up long?" "I didn't want to bother you, I wanted to go into town." "Into town?" "It was just a thought..." "There's not much to see." "With this heat, it's best to walk around the grounds." "Let me show you around, come on." "Can I take a swim, ma'am?" "The water must be cold." "You can call me Anna if you'd like." "Do you want to come, Anna?" "No." "I'm used to seeing some parts of my body only in the dark." "Where are you?" "Why won' you answer?" "I haven' slept for two nights." "Your mom is odd." "Did you tell her about last summer?" "Is that why you're not answering?" "I thought that was behind us." "I stopped calling when you said to," "I came back when you said to..." "What must I do to make you forgive me?" "Your sister-in-law called." "You should call her back." "Is Jeanne back?" "Yes." "Breathe slowly." "It's too hot." "But you have to stay for it to work." "Did you sleep last night?" "You look tired." "I'm a light sleeper." "How are things with Giuseppe?" "Fine." "Did he tell you about me?" "Did you know I was coming?" "Yes." "What did he tell you about us?" "I'm his mother, what do you think he'd tell me?" "Lately he'd been... quiet." "You know how he can be." "He seemed sad." "Do you do that for every trip?" "It's a method of mine, so I don't get bored." " Can I see?" " Yes." "I've never been able to." "You already knew Italian when you came here?" "Not as well as you." "I hitchhiked here without being able to say a word to anyone." "My husband was the first who spoke some French, it was like a miracle for me." " He gave you a ride too?" " Yes." "When... when I met my husband's mother..." "I didn't know how to behave." "You met her here?" "Yes, they lived here then." "I didn't know... how to present myself to her, as a young and naive girl," "or as a self-assured woman." "What did you feel like?" "Neither of the two..." "I think I was eager for her to like me." "Like you." "The mosaic depicts ten women in bikinis putting on a show in honour of the goddess Tethys." "Judging from their bodies, we can deduce that beauty standards were different than today." "In the first centuries, three out of ten women died in childbirth." "Wide hips, hence the chance of surviving childbirth, were greatly valued by men back then." "You thought Louis Réard invented it?" "Huh?" "The bikini." "That's before your time." "Feeling better?" "Yes, thanks." "Thanks to the Turkish bath, one of the few good things my husband left me." "You didn't see eye to eye?" "We did, very much." "Even when it came to getting divorced." "I was the first woman to divorce in this part of Sicily." " Did you know that?" " Yes." "Giuseppe told me." "He even told me about his grandmother's divorce." "When my mother-in-law realised that God didn't strike me dead after the divorce, she wanted to do the same." "She began saying:" ""I want to live my own life!"" "What did she do after divorcing?" "Nothing, she went to live with her son." "One day I had an overwhelming feeling that it was over between me and him." "I saw him from afar with his lover, a co- worker who was half his age." "He was smoking and gesticulating, being funny, and she looked at him..." "And laughed, hung on his every word." "There was a veneration in her eyes that I would never again feel." "Never again." "Were you disappointed?" "No, I knew he had a lover," "I wasn't jealous." "Feeling jealousy means you still desire someone, right?" "Are you jealous?" "Very." "And Giuseppe... is he jealous?" "Yes." "I was jealous... of my husband when I still wanted to make love to him." "We tried to pretend for many years, but couldn't manage." " Do you mind me telling you this?" " No, why would I?" "I don't know... because I'm your boyfriend's mother." "You must be thinking..." ""Now what should I say to her?" "Maybe this, maybe not that..."" "When Giuseppe invited me to come here we hadn't spoken to each other in weeks." "He surprised me." "Our relationship was dissolving, that's why he was sad." " Rosa called again this morning." " We argued, I won't speak to her." "Morning." "Good morning." "Did you sleep well?" "Come in, breakfast is ready." "Since I didn't welcome you properly," "I'd like to prepare something." " No need." " I want to." " Can I help?" " No, Pietro will." "It will all be ready for you." "Can you buy those things I wrote down, please?" "I'm off, so I don't ruin the surprise." "Excuse me... if you want to see the town come with me, I'm going shopping." "Thanks, but we got back late last night." "Unless you need help, I'll just stay here." "How do you say "papillon"?" "Papillon..." "Butterfly." " You stopped competing?" " Six years ago." "Why?" "Too many rules, too many impositions." " What brings you to Sicily?" " I'm waiting for my boyfriend." "You wait all day at the lake for him?" "I'm staying with his mother." "We talk on the phone but he has things to do." "He'll be back for Easter." "He'll be here for the holiday." "Let me see it." "What?" "How long have you known each other?" "Well, more or less forever." "But if I hadn't told him, he'd still think I was shy with girls." "No way, I knew he was gay right away!" "Don't say that or he'll kill you!" "I was concerned at first," "I'd pick up girls just to introduce them to him." " You sacrificed yourself." " He sacrificed himself..." " Do you have a boyfriend?" " From Monday through Friday." "That's his mantra." " Is it true or just for show?" " Just for show." " This pasta is divine." " Thanks." " It's easy to make." " Why is it dark?" "I used some carob flour." " We saw a valley of carobs." " What are they?" "They're gorgeous trees." "They produce brown fruit, they dry on the branch instead of falling off." "Jeanne..." "Drinking?" "Just a bit." "To the girl who's become a woman." "What are you two secretly saying?" "When Jeanne got here, she was like a little girl on a field trip, shy... polite... but here we are with two strangers!" "You're no longer a little girl who doesn't drink!" "Sometimes I forget!" "They didn't seem dangerous." " He's a bit dangerous." " I'm not dangerous." "Pietro, Anna made some delicious food." "Good evening." " Come sit." " No, thanks." "I'm tired." "May I speak to you, ma'am?" "Yes." "Be right back." "Put on some music if you'd like." "Why are you doing this to her?" "We're dining with two guests." "What's wrong with that?" "What'll you tell her tomorrow when Giuseppe doesn't return?" "Tell her the truth." "Let her leave." "If you don't want to help with dinner, you can go." "Good morning." "What are you doing?" "Preparing for tomorrow." "Can I help you?" "No need to, thanks." "I saw Pietro leaving." "Yes, tomorrow's a holiday for him too." "What time is Giuseppe coming?" "I don't know." "You told me he'd arrive today." "We were just dancing." "What?" "I saw how you looked at me." "How did I look at you?" "As if I was doing something wrong, but there wasn't anything wrong." "Sit down, Jeanne." "I'm sorry, I should've told you sooner but..." "I wasn't able to." "Giuseppe won't be coming back." "What do you mean?" "He doesn't want to see you." "He didn't know how to tell you." "How do you know?" "It's because of last summer." "I didn't tell you anything about last summer." "But Giuseppe told me." "Last night when I saw you dancing..." "I wasn't upset with you." "You could've fallen for that guy." "But nothing happened." "I love Giuseppe." "I know." "Nothing happened because you're waiting for him." "But Giuseppe won't be coming back, just forget him." "That's not fair." "You're right, it's not." "But you'll get over him and will forget him." "I can't forget him." "It will happen, Jeanne." "You're young, you'll forget and fall in love again." "It could've happened last night, and that's fine." "I can't live without him." "You will live, period." "You will because that's what everyone does." "And Giuseppe will do it too." "Maybe he'll have a family and kids... he'll fall in love with another woman" "that you won't meet, maybe I won't either, but he'll live, far from you and your life." "That's that, Jeanne." "Let him go." "You can't do this to me." "I hate you." "I hate you!" "You should've told me, not your mother!" "I came here for you." "I hate you." "Why'd you just disappear?" "I knew it." "I knew he wouldn't forgive me." "I should never have come here." "Well I'm glad you came." "There are festivities in town tonight, want to go with me?" "Thanks, but I'd rather stay here." "I need to pack, my flight's in the morning." "I thought you would miss the festivities." "Get out, it's late." "I just got in." "Let me see your hands." "Are you going to punish me now?" "Yes." "When you were small, one day you said that you would marry me when you grew up." "So I explained that I was already married to your father and you said:" ""Then I'll get married alone"." "I don't want you to be alone." "You could've thought of that before moving far away." "Why don't you stay a few more days?" "I can't." "We didn't have enough time together." "I miss you." "Will you talk to her?" "When I imagine you away, I prefer picturing you with her than alone." "You imagine my life?" "I can't help myself." "Where are you?" "Why won' you answer?" "Your mom is odd." "Did you tell her about last summer?" "What must I do to make you forgive me?" "I had that dream about water again, but I was in a tall tower this time." "I wrote it down when I woke up." "You were in it too." "We had to climb a bunch of stairs to reach the lake, high up above." "Once up there it was really hot, and I can' remember why but I couldn't go in the water." "I want to sleep with you." "I want to sleep pristinely, without dreams." "When are you coming?" "What'll do here alone?" "Answer me, please." "I just got to your house." "You invited me, where on earth are you?" "I'll leave the door ajar." "I want to make love to you." "I'm packing my bags, what should I bring?" "Should I buy something for Easter, a gift?" "You celebrate it, right?" "I'll bring your glasses, the broken ones, you left them at my place." "I brought the red dress that you like." "Is it too light?" "Call me back before leave." "Where are you, Giuseppe?" "It's mum." "Why aren't you answering?" "Where are you?" "It's pouring out and it's almost dawn..." "Has something happened?" "Answer me, please." "Where are you?" "Have you packed everything?" "This house will be empty now." "THE WAIT"