write to myself

Stanley: The comparison makes me laugh! Olivia is a person of accomplishment and charm. Sophie's a street finagler who makes her way living off one bit of hokum to the next.

Aunt Vanessa: Well, I don't see how you can compare the two.

Stanley: Well, don't put ideas into my head!

Aunt Vanessa: Well, far be it from me!

Stanley: Of course, she does come from dire circumstances. I mean, it's very easy to be judgmental about people who are born into circumstances less fortunate than one's own.

Aunt Vanessa: Well, life is harsh. One must do what one must to survive.

Stanley: Well put. And people do sometimes make the wrong choices, which they regret, even though no serious harm was done.

Aunt Vanessa: Which of us has not made some blunders in life?

Stanley: And there is a rather appealing quality about Sophie. Despite her disgusting behaviour.

Aunt Vanessa: Yes, her smile is rather winning. Of course, it depends how much value you put on the purely physical.

Stanley: Well, no, I... I, for one, esteem the higher virtues.

Aunt Vanessa: Hmm... Beauty of the soul...

Stanley: Although her eyes are rather pleasant to look into. And that she can be amusing, under the right circumstances.

Aunt Vanessa: Oh, but Olivia is an educated, cultivated woman. One that befits a man of your artistic genius.

Stanley: Yes, now, my genius must be factored in. On paper, there's really no reason to prefer Sophie to Olivia.

Aunt Vanessa: Well, I would say the opposite.

Stanley: ...And so your, your suggestion that I, I be honest with Olivia and tell her that as irrational as it seems, I've fallen in love with, with Sophie - that's a preposterous notion.

Aunt Vanessa: It's lunacy.

Stanley: ...Yet I can't help feeling that...

Aunt Vanessa: ...That you love Sophie. Yes, I understand. You're puzzled and bewildered; because your foolish logic tells you that you should love Olivia.

Stanley: Foolish logic?

Aunt Vanessa: And yet, how little that logic means when placed next to Sophie's smile...

Stanley: What are you saying?

Aunt Vanessa: ...That the world may or may not be without purpose, but it's not totally without some kind of magic.

Stanley: ...I have irrational positive feelings for Sophie Baker. It's like witnessing a trick I can't figure out.