Meeting with Mr. Antolini

STORYTELLER. Mr. and Mrs. Antolini had this very swanky apartment over on Sutton Place. Old Mr. Antolini answered the door when I rang the bell. He was a pretty sophisticated guy, and he was a pretty heavy drinker.

Mr. Antolini. Holden, m’boy! My God, he’s grown another twenty inches. Fine to see you.

HOLDEN. How are you, Mr. Antolini? How’s Mrs. Antolini?

Mr. Antolini. We’re both just dandy. Let’s have that coat. Lillian! How’s the coffee coming?

MrS. Antolini. It’s all ready! (yelled back) Is that Holden? Hello, Holden!

HOLDEN. Hello, Mrs. Antolini!

A. Sit down, Holden. So. You &Pencey are no longer one. What was the trouble? How’d you do in English?

HOLDEN. Oh, I passed English all right. I flunked Oral Expression, though.

Mr. Antolini. Why?

HOLDEN. Oh, I don’t know.

SR. I didnt feel much like going into it.I was still feeling sort of dizzy,&I had a helluva headache all of a sudden

HLDN. It’s this course where each boy in class has to get up in class and make a speech. You know. &if the boy digresses at all, you’re supposed to yell ‘Digression!’ at him as fast as you can. It just about drove me crazy.

Mr. Antolini. You don’t care to have somebody stick to the point when he tells you something?

HOLDEN. Oh, sure! But there was this one boy, a very nervous guy—I mean he was a very nervous guy—and his lips were always shaking whenever it was his time to make a speech. They kept yelling ‘Digression!’ at him all the time. What he did was, all of a sudden he’d start telling you how his uncle got polio &all when he was 42 years old, &how he wouldn’t let anybody come to the hospital because he didn’t want anybody to see him with a brace on. I mean it’s dirty to keep yelling ‘Digression!’ at him when he’s all nice and excited.

STRTLR. I had this terrific headache all of a sudden. I wished to God old Mrs. Antolini would come in with the coffee. That’s something that annoys hell out of me—I mean if somebody says the coffee’s all ready &it isn’t.

MrS. A. Coffee, gentlemen, finally. (tray with coffee&stuff on it) Holden, don’t you even peek at me. I’m a mess.

HOLDEN. Hello, Mrs. Antolini. (started to get up, but Mr. Antolini got hold of my jacket and pulled me back down)

STORYTELLER. Old Mrs. Antolini didn’t look too gorgeous. She looked pretty old and all.

MrS. Antolini. I’ll leave this right here. Just dive in, you two. (put the tray down) How’s your mother, Holden?

HOLDEN. She’s fine, thanks. I haven’t seen her too recently, but the last I—

MrS. Antolini. Darling, if Holden needs anything, everything’s in the linen closet. The top shelf. I’m going to bed. I’m exhausted. Can you boys make up the couch by yourselves?

Mr. Antolini. We’ll take care of everything. You run along to bed. (a kiss and she went in the bedroom)

STRTLR. He makes them strong, too, you could tell. He may get to be an alcoholic if he doesn’t watch his step.

Mr. A. I had lunch with your dad a couple of weeks ago. He’d just had a letter from your headmaster, to the effect that you were making absolutely no effort at all.Cutting classes. Coming unprepared to all your classes—

HOLDEN. I didn’t cut any classes. There were a couple of them I didn’t attend once in a while, like that Oral Expression, but I didn’t cut any.

STORYTELLER. I didn’t feel at all like discussing it. I still had this awful headache.

Mr. Antolini. Frankly, I don’t know what the hell to say to you, Holden.

HOLDEN. I know. I’m very hard to talk to. I realize that.

Mr. A. I have a feeling that you’re riding for a terrible, terrible fall.

STORYTELLER. I kept wishing, though, that he’d continue the conversation in the morning, instead of now, but he was hot. People are mostly hot to have a discussion when you’re not.

Mr. A. It’s a special kind of fall. The man falling isn’t permitted to hit bottom. He just keeps falling &falling.

STORYTELLER. He gave me a funny look. The thing was, though, I didn’t feel much like concentrating.

Mr. Antolini. I think that you’re going to have to find out where you want to go. And then start going there. But immediately. You can’t afford to lose a minute. Not you.

STORYTELLER. (Holden nodded) I wasn’t too sure what he was talking about. I was too damn tired.

AntOLINi. You’ll find that you’re not the first person who was ever confused &frightened &even sickened by human behavior. Many, many men have been just as troubled morally &spiritually as you are right now. You’ll learn from them. Just as someday someone will learn something from you. (drank) Do you follow me at all?

HOLDEN. Yes, sir.

ST-R. I kept trying not to yawn.It wasn’t that I was bored or anything—but I was so damn sleepy all of a sudden

Ant-i. Something else an academic education will do for you. It’ll give you an idea what size mind you have.

STORYTELLER. Then, all of a sudden, I yawned. What a rude bastard, but I couldn’t help it!

Mr. Antolini. (laughs) C’mon. We’ll fix up the couch for you.

STRTLR. He didn’t tuck anything in very tight. I didn’t care, though. I could’ve slept standing up I was so tired.

Mr. Antolini. It’s all yours. I don’t know what the hell you’re going to do with those legs of yours.

H-N. That’s all right. I’m used to short beds.Thanks a lot, sir. You &Mrs. Antolini really saved my life tonight.

Mr. Antolini. If there’s anything you want, just holler. I’ll be up for a while—will the light bother you?

HOLDEN. No—heck, no. Thanks a lot.

Mr. Antolini. All right. Good night, handsome.

HOLDEN. G’night, sir. Thanks a lot. (I got in bed with just my shorts on, and fell asleep)

ST-R. Then something happened. I woke up all of a sudden.I felt smth on my head. It was Mr. Antolini’s hand. He was sitting on the floor &sort of patting me on the goddam head. Boy, I’ll bet I jumped about a 1000 feet.

HOLDEN. What the hellya doing?

Mr. Antolini. Nothing! I’m simply sitting here, admiring—

HOLDEN. Whatya doing, anyway?

STORYTELLER. I didn’t know what the hell to say—I mean I was embarrassed as hell.

Mr. Antolini. How ’bout keeping your voice down? I’m simply sitting here—

HOLDEN. I have to go, anyway —

STORYTELLER. I started putting on my damn shirt in the dark. I could hardly get it on I was so damn nervous.

Mr. Antolini. You have to go where?

HLDN. I left my bags&all at the station. I think maybe I’d better go down&get them. I have all my stuff in them.

Ant-i. They’ll be there in the morning.Now, go back to bed.I’m going to bed myself. What’s the matter with u?

HOLDEN. Nothing’s the matter, it’s just that all my money and stuff’s in one of my bags. I’ll be right back.

STORYTELLER. Boy, I was falling all over myself in the dark.

HOLDEN. The thing is, it isn’t mine, the money. It’s my mother’s, and I—

Mr. Antolini. Don’t be ridiculous, Holden. The money will be there safe and sound in the morn—

HOLDEN. No, no kidding. I gotta get going. I really do.

ST-R. I was all dressed, except that I couldn’t find my tie. It was dark, but I knew he was watching me, all right.

Mr. Antolini. You’re a very, very strange boy.

HOLDEN. I know it.

STORYTELLER. I didn’t even look around much for my tie. So I went without it.

HOLDEN. Good-by, sir. Thanks a lot. No kidding.

ST-R. I never waited so long for an elevator in my whole goddam life. I swear.

HOLDEN. I’m gonna start reading some good books. I really am.

STORYTELLER. I mean you had to say something. It was very embarrassing.

Mr. Antolini. You grab your bags and scoot right on back here again. I’ll leave the door unlatched.

HOLDEN. Thanks a lot. G’by!

STORYTELLER. The elevator was finally there. Boy, I was shaking like a madman. That kind of stuff’s happened to me about twenty times since I was a kid. I can’t stand it.

ST-R. I think I was more depressed than I ever was in my whole life. I wondered if just maybe I was wrong, maybe he just liked to pat guys on the head when they’re asleep. Mr. Antolini certainly’d been very nice to me. I thought how he hadn’t minded it when I’d called him up so late,&how he’d told me to come right over. &how he went to all that trouble giving me advice &all. &the more I thought about it, the more depressed I got.

STRTLR. Anyway, I kept worrying that I was getting pneumonia, with all those hunks of ice in my hair, &that I was going to die.I felt sorry as hell for my mother&father. Especially my mother, because she still isn’t over my brother Allie yet. I kept picturing her not knowing what to do with all my suits &athletic equipment &all. The only good thing, I knew she wouldn’t let old Phoebe come to my goddam funeral because she was only a little kid. That was the only good part. Then I thought about them sticking me in a goddam cemetery &all, with my name on this tombstone &all. Surrounded by dead guys. Boy, when you’re dead, they really fix you up. I hope to hell when I do die somebody has sense enough to just dump me in the river or something. Anything except sticking me in a goddam cemetery. People coming &putting a bunch of flowers on your stomach on Sunday, &all that crap. Who wants flowers when you’re dead? Nobody.

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Дата добавления: 2015-11-14