7th Heaven (1996–2007): Season 5, Episode 20 - Regrets - full transcript

So why'd you want
to talk here?

Why not in my office?

Why not, uh... someplace
where we can eat?

I don't know.

I like it here.

It's a special place,

and it's not my place.

Oh... you sure we
couldn't do this over lunch

at a special restaurant?

Well, I'm not sure we couldn't
do it that way, but I am sure

that whatever
I tell you



shouldn't go any further
than this church.

Okay, start talking.

You're hungry, right.
I am.

So, you were saying...?

Yesterday started out
like any other day.

I mean, there was nothing
unusual about it.

I had no feeling of anxiety
or expectation.

Just an ordinary day.

That was Ginger.

Something is going on.

Why would you say that?

Because Ginger is lying.

Ginger is lying?

She is.



What about your dad?
Is he lying, too?

Yes, I talked to him yesterday
and he sounded so strange

that I called Ginger
this morning to ask her

what is going on with him and...
She lied.

Yes.
You know,
if your father's

having trouble related
to his Alzheimer's,

I think Ginger would know
and I think she would

tell you, so
maybe it's just

a personal problem
between the two of them.

I hope they're not breaking up.

They're not breaking up.

Why would you
even say that?

I don't know why.
It just came to me.

And a lot of things that just
come to me turn out to be true.

Well, if you're finished
with your breakfast,

you'd better grab your things

'cause your ride's going
to be here in a few minutes.

Before I go, do you want
to sign my petition?

What petition?

One of the teachers
is being fired,

and there's only three weeks
of school left.

One of your teachers?

Yeah, our Ethics teacher,
Mrs. Miller.

They're firing Mrs. Miller?

Not if we can stop them.

Why are they firing her?

I don't know and I don't care.

I just don't want her to go,
and neither does anyone else.

Maybe I should call
the principal

and get some more information

before you go
passing around a petition.

I tried to talk
to the principal,

but Mrs. Mackoul didn't
want to talk to me.

She practically told me
it was none of my business.

That hardly sounds like the way
Mrs. Mackoul would phrase it,

but, uh, put more delicately,
more than likely

it's a confidential matter.

I don't know and I don't care.

I just don't want
Mrs. Miller to get fired.

You must have a hundred
signatures here.

And I'm not the only one

who's passing
this petition around.

Lots of girls
are doing it.

Hey, wait a minute--
Lucy, Simon, Matt--

they don't even
go to your school.

But they're students
at a school...

just not my school.

And they don't want her
fired either.

And it's
the same principle,

whether it's at my school
or any other school:

no teacher should be fired
for no reason.

What are you doing?

I'm a student, and it says
right here, "Students who don't

believe that Mrs. Miller
should be fired,"

and I know Mrs. Miller
and I know she's a good teacher.

And I've got to get to school.

I'll have to get
some more information.

You can't sign it anyway.
You're not a student.

Okay.

I'm a little surprised
you signed that.

Our whole family signed it.

Why are you surprised
I signed it?

I noticed, uh,

your name isn't on
Ruthie's petition.

No, I don't put my name
on anything like that.

I'm not even registered to vote.

That's criminal.

In America?

In this house,
register to vote today.

It's not voting season.

Do you like living here?

Yeah, I love living here; I just
don't want to register to vote.

I feel like it puts me
on some government list.

You are.

You're on the government's
list of registered voters.

Fine, but, you know,
don't complain about one thing

during this administration
since you didn't vote.

I won't. I promise.

I guess everyone's in a bad mood
because of Grandpa and Ginger.

Grandpa and Ginger
are not breaking up.

Is Ruthie upstairs telling
everyone they're breaking up?

Well, go and tell her
to stop saying that, please.

It's not true.

But it could be true.

You sound almost
happy about that.

Oh, I'm not happy, not really.

It's just that
my father would

have to eventually
move in with us

if it weren't for Ginger.

And?

Well, he's my dad and he's
my only living relative,

and I would love
if he moved in with us.

You think we could handle
the kids and school

and your dad moving in?

Not that we wouldn't,

you know, if you wanted to

or if he needed us to,
but, right now?

Today? We don't have
to consider it

because Grandpa and Ginger
are not breaking up.

Maybe Ginger can't handle it.

Maybe it's more
than she bargained for.

Maybe she wants out.
We don't know that she doesn't.

I think we know
that she doesn't.

What we think we know
and what we really know

are two different matters.

I completely agree with that.

Have you talked to Mary?

No, not since she started
going out with Wilson.

Is she going out with Wilson?

I think we can assume she is.

Uh-uh, but you just
agreed with me.

What we assume we know
and what we really know

are two different things.

Well, not exactly assuming,
I asked my dad

and he told me that, uh,
she's going out

a couple nights a week
to meet Wilson.

I thought we always liked him.

Yeah, I thought so, too,
but frankly,

I was always nervous
that he was a teenage father.

Well, if I'm not mistaken,
Wilson is no longer a teenager

and he's a very responsible
father which is why we like him.

Like him or not,
he's still a father.

Your point being?
That Mary is

3,000 miles away,
alone in a city

with a guy
who's fathered a child.

She is 3,000
miles away,

but she's hardly alone in
a city; she's with my parents.

Well, unless she's bringing
the colonel and Ruth

on the dates with her,
she is alone with Wilson.

But she could be right here

alone with a guy
who almost fathered a child.

No, but we like him
and she'd be here with us

and she'd hardly have a chance
to be alone with him. Good-bye.

Okay, I'm assuming...

you've got some information
on some grave sin.

Otherwise, we're sitting
in an uncomfortable place

with empty bellies,
for no reason at all.

I don't know if there's sin
involved exactly,

but just hang in
with me, okay?

I'm going somewhere
with all this.

Any possibility you'd be
going to lunch with it?

It's worth all the boring
details, believe me.

All right, convince me.

So I go down to my office,
and I'm on the phone

with Ruthie's principal,
Mrs. Mackoul.

She's usually so understanding,

but she seemed annoyed
from the time

she picked up the phone.

I don't know how

all the students
became so misinformed.

No one is being fired.

So Mrs. Miller
is coming back next year?

No, Mrs. Miller is not
coming back next year.

Is there a reason?

Of course there's a reason.

Can I call you back?

Really, Reverend,
I wish you wouldn't.

This is a matter between
the school and Mrs. Miller.

Well, could you give me
a few minutes of your time

after school today?

I know Ruthie's really
upset about this.

I plan to meet with Ruthie
after school tomorrow, myself.

But if you'd like to,
you may join us.

Thank you.

You okay?

No, I'm not okay.

Can I get you
a drink of water?

Uh, it's going to take more
than water to fix this one.

"Fix"?

Perhaps I used the wrong word.

Is Ginger with you?

Didn't Annie just
talk to her an hour ago?

How do you figure

that she's going to be here
with me in Glenoak?

I was at a hotel last night.
I flew in last night.

Sorry.

Did Ginger know
you were coming here?

Of course she knew.

She didn't mention it
to Annie, so...

I asked her not to.

Look, would you be
more comfortable

if you called Ginger

and she told you
that I'm not out of my mind?

I mean, the woman
drove me to the airport

for goodness' sake,
but you're welcome to call her

and check my story out.

You get one lousy diagnosis

and the whole world
thinks you're crazy.

Go ahead. Call her.

Hey, Grandpa,
what are you doing here?

If I'd wanted
you to know,

I would have dropped by
the hospital and told you.

Did you need something?

Well, I did,
but it wasn't that important.

Just tell me what you want.

And hurry up.

Mary called.
She is seeing Wilson.

I thought she was back together

with that kid
that's living at your house.

Robbie.

It's not the Alzheimer's, okay?

You mean, you have seven of your
own, plus that extra one.

I just couldn't remember
because I couldn't remember.

Go on.

I just thought
you'd want to know.

And you couldn't have called?

The phone was tied up.

Robbie's talking to her.

I mean, they're screaming
at each other

and hanging up and then
redialing and then hanging up.

Yeah, we get the picture.

So... so I'm off to work.

Good-bye.

Will I be seeing you later?

I don't know.

But... if you
don't see me later,

don't tell your mother
that I was here.

Why is everybody so upset
about Wilson and Mary?

Well, when she came home
in February, it-it seemed as if

she and Robbie might try
to work things out.

Yeah, I know all that.

So, now she has another choice.

What's the problem with Wilson?

I thought Annie
liked him.

I thought you
both liked him.

I thought so, but

this morning,

Annie told me
she's not crazy about him.

I'm sorry
to rush you,

but are-are we getting
to something here?

I mean, 'cause, I'm
really, really, hungry,

and so far, there's
still no mention

of a single sin,
e-except maybe Wilson,

and I already
knew about him,

and so did you;
so did Annie.

So, I'm with Grandpa.

What is wrong
with Wilson?

No, the question is,

why is Grandpa even asking
what's wrong with him?

No, the question is, why
couldn't you have told me this

somewhere food is being served?

I'm going to buy you lunch.
Just hang in there.

When I went into

what Annie had said
that morning--

you know, the stuff
about Annie's not

being crazy about Wilson
because he's a teenage father,

uh, her dad went crazy.

Oh, yeah, it's always
the guy's fault.

Isn't it enough

that Wilson suffered
through the loss of his wife?

Isn't it
enough that

he took responsibility
for the child?

Isn't it
enough

that he's a single father
going through college?

I mean, how good do you want
the guy to be

before he can go out
with your daughter?

Young people
fall in love.

They have sex.
They-they father children.

They grow up,

and they become
responsible parents

who work hard
and do the best they can,

and sometimes
they never emotionally recover

from the heartache of what
other people call their mistake.

Why do I get the feeling
we're not talking about Wilson?

Because we're talking about me.

How are we talking about you?

Annie...

has a sister.

Wow.

Hmm.

So, that's the whole story.

We can go to lunch now.

Oh, well...

Everything
will be fine.

You know that,
don't you?

I know I usually feel that way
about other people's problems,

but, you know, I have
a bad feeling about this one.

Oh, do you have
to tell her today?

I mean, if
Annie's father

is having only
occasional forgetfulness,

what's the rush?

Her father's the one
who pointed out to me

that more than
being forgetful,

he feels belligerent,
and that scares him.

You know, belligerence is
another sign of Alzheimer's.

Yeah.

He thinks that

the stress of hiding
this secret is

bringing on this
particular symptom,

and he's afraid
a worse symptom

will be brought on next.

Hmm.

Besides, what if this woman just
comes to Annie and tells her?

I was going
to tell her

last night, but, you know,
the house got so busy,

and then she had to go
to school this morning.

This afternoon.

Oh, no.

I have to run. I mean, I have a
meeting with Ruthie's Principal.

Is Eric having an affair?

No.

Then what was he talking about?

I really can't tell you.

Sorry.

Eric! Eric!

I don't know.

I don't know, man.

Do you have
any idea?

I saved you
a seat.

What are we doing here?

I got a note in my homeroom
saying we got detention.

I did, too.

So did everyone.

It's too weird.

- There he is.
- Uh, there he is.

What's going on?

I suppose you're all wondering
what you're doing here.

Maybe this will answer
your question.

I believe you all signed
a petition

for a teacher at a school
that none of you attend.

I want you to learn
something from this.

I'm going to be
passing out other

petitions, and I want you
to read each petition carefully,

and I want you to choose
which ones you would sign

and which ones you wouldn't.

Now, in other local news,

the park commissioner
has announced the...

Did you vote in the
presidential election?

Yeah, of course I voted.

By the way,

it looks like Ruthie's petition
made the news.

What are you
talking about?

They keep announcing
that a petition

being circulated by kids
at a private school

got thousands of signatures

protesting the unfair firing
of a teacher.

Oh, I got a bad feeling
about this.

Yeah. Me, too.

That's why I didn't sign it.

Well, did they say
why they fired the teacher?

Uh, there's some speculation
that the principal's prejudiced.

You met her.
You met Ruthie's principal.

I mean, did she strike you
as that type of person?

She seemed nice.

That doesn't mean
she doesn't hate people.

Hey, here it
comes again.

Be with us at 5:00 when we try

to uncover the reason a popular
local schoolteacher was fired.

Now, let's take a look at our
current weather conditions.

Are you okay?

No, I'm-I'm not okay.

I know that woman.

Well, I hope so.

You signed the petition.

I just don't understand

how you can do this
to another woman.

It's a school
for women.

It's our school.

our. Our school.

And while it belongs
to all of us--
myself included--

I have the responsibility
of running it.

So just explain it to me.
How can you do this?

That-That's okay,
Reverend. I want her
to get it all out.

You have no idea
how hard school is,

and how important
Mrs. Miller is to us.

We love her, and we want
to make sure this never happens

again to anyone,
even if they're not black.

In fact,

Ruthie, I do know
how hard school is.

I went to school
for 20 years.

I've been a student,
I've been a teacher,

and now I'm a principal.

Now, I may
not be perfect,

but look what
we've created here.

This is a healthy
educational environment.

It's challenging,
and it's rewarding.

And I-I find it hard to believe
that after all the time

I've spent with you
that you think I'm unfair.

And more than that,
you think I'm a racist.

Are you even listening to me?

I am. I hear what you're saying.

But just because I'm
not agreeing with you

doesn't mean I don't
understand your point

of view or hear you.

I hear you. I do.

I'm simply trying to respond

to what I feel
are unfair accusations.

You don't know the facts
in Mrs. Miller's case,

and I can't really share them
with you.

But I can tell you this:

it has nothing to do
with Mrs. Miller's being black.

I...

I wanted you to hear
what I was telling Ruthie.

Maybe I just
didn't say it well.

I hope you can talk to her.

You know, I
like you, Ruthie,

but I don't like
that you've joined

in this mass assault on me.

And I'm
surprised.

I thought you were a leader,
not a follower.

I've had a long day.

I appreciate your enthusiasm

to pursue justice
on behalf of Mrs. Miller,

but I think we should go home
and think about what's happened

and regroup
when we're both less emotional.

Yeah.

Then we can team up and go
after Mrs. Mackoul together.

I don't think so.

And while I know Mrs. Mackoul
thinks it's a good thing

for all girls to have the
freedom to speak their minds,

in this case,
I think you are out of control.

I don't know anything

about any of the issues
in any of these petitions.

I don't get
what we're all doing here.

Is this an official detention?

No.

I just asked the principal's
office to invite you all here.

No one's making
you stay.

Wait.

Stay.

We're all going
to be late.

We're going
to get chewed out.

You tricked us?

You're a teacher.
How could

you be allowed
to do that?

And how did you get the
principal to go along with this?

I just told him
about the petition you did sign,

and he was more than happy
to go along with this.

What do you have to do with
that petition that we signed?

You-You want this teacher
at another school be fired

that you don't
even know?

I know her, and I love her.

She's my sister.

Her name is Miller.

That's her married name.

Oh. You and

your friend
should be very proud.

Your petition effort
made the news.

It's on at 5:00.

I'm going to go
put my books away.

I can't wait to see it.

I, uh...
I saw you

at Morgan's church.

Yeah, I saw your car there.

I'm sure you saw me
jumping up and down

in your rearview mirror
as you drove off.

What's going on?

I needed to talk to Morgan.

No, I think you needed
to talk to me.

What is up with this petition
that Ruthie got us to sign?

We just spent an hour
in a fake detention

because this Mrs. Miller
is the sister

of this nut job teacher.

We thought it was

a real detention,
but as it turns out,

it was just the teacher's
way of getting back at us

for signing the petition
for Mrs. Miller.

She's his sister.

I'm calling the school.

Look, don't, Mom.

Don't call anyone.

I have a feeling we all made
a mistake signing that petition.

Hello.

Grandpa,
what are you doing here?

Yeah, we didn't know
you were coming.

Dad, are you okay?

Oh...

Am I?

I haven't

really had a chance
to talk to Annie.

The news
is coming on.

After the news,
we'll sit down and talk.

They must be saving it
for last.

That's what
they always do.

They put the
best stuff last

so everybody has to
watch the boring stuff

before they get
to the good stuff.

Not yet, but I will.

He will what?

I didn't vote in the
presidential election.

I wasn't registered.

And you like this one better
than the other one?

What are you
so nervous about?

You should all be nervous.

Why should we all be nervous?

I-I can't say.

Why can't you say?

Because it's confidential.

Do you know why Mrs. Miller
is being fired?

Do you?

Is it because Mrs. Mackoul
hates blacks?

Because if it is, she
should be prosecuted.

That's against
the law.

For now.

Who said
Mrs. Mackoul

hates blacks?
Uh, it was on the promo

as a possible reason
why the teacher is being fired.

Mrs. Mackoul, could you tell us
why Mrs. Miller was fired?

Mrs. Miller was not fired.

Mrs. Miller asked to leave the
school year a few weeks early

for personal reasons,
and at the time

she did not want
to share those reasons

with anyone other
than her family.

But now, evidently,
I'm forced to

by my well-meaning students
and other well-meaning people.

When I heard the rumor
that I was fired,

I decided
to let everyone think that,

so I take full responsibility
for the whole thing.

At the time,

I had rather the kids think
that I was fired

rather than know the truth.

Please, Mrs. Mackoul, tell them.

I-I can't.

I just can't.

Mrs. Miller will be going
into surgery tomorrow.

She has been diagnosed
with advanced breast cancer.

As much
as I love the girls here,

I just felt
it wasn't anyone's business.

I knew they would worry about me
and worry can be a burden.

I want my girls

to know, though,

that I will do my best
to beat this thing.

I just need

some privacy.

So I hope that everyone can
grant Mrs. Miller her request.

Thank you.

I have to call her.

I feel terrible.

Unfortunately,

Ruthie, you can't call her.

No one can right now,

at least not without denying
Mrs. Miller what she wants.

But we didn't know.

I knew.

I... helped her to her car
the other day.

I just didn't know
her name

or that she was
Ruthie's teacher.

She was

really shaken.

She's waited a long time
to see a doctor.

Her husband

just died two years ago.

He had been waiting

for approval
from his HMO

for surgery he needed,

but they just kept him
waiting too long.

What? It's my fault?

No, it's not your fault.

It's just that medical care
has become a political issue

and everyone
should pay attention to that.

Mrs. Miller

was so angry about what happened
to her husband

that she just stayed away
from any medical care

till she was really
having problems.

I can't believe
I signed that petition.

I feel terrible.

There must be something
we can do.

I know; I feel terrible, too,
but whatever we do,

we all have to think
about it carefully, keeping

what Mrs. Miller wants in mind.

Um, could I
get you to...

go upstairs and think

about all this
while I talk to Grandpa?

Sure.

Okay.

Oh, and check on the twins,
will you?

Do you mind?

They should be up
from their naps soon.

Look, I know whatever you want
to tell me must be serious

or Eric wouldn't have gone

to talk
to Morgan,

but I hope it's not as serious
as Mrs. Miller's situation.

Oh, please, one of you, tell me.

I guess I should be
the one to tell you.

I should even have told you
first, Annie,

but... I just couldn't.

It's okay.

You can tell me anything,
Dad, really.

I wish I could,

but I-I think
Eric will say it better.

It's a, a lucky person
who doesn't have regrets.

Don't. Don't tiptoe around this.

Tell me!

I... have always regretted

a certain
decision

I made in life,

but it now looks like it might
turn out to be a blessing.

That was good.

Now.

When your father was 17,
he had a girlfriend.

Oh, and that girlfriend
has come back into your life?

So you want to leave Ginger?

No, that's not it.

I, I recently heard that my high
school sweetheart passed away.

How did you hear that?

From their daughter.

Whose daughter?

When your father was 17...

Are you going to start over?

Your father and his girlfriend
had a child.

Back in those days,
the father

of the child wasn't asked
what he'd like to do.

He wasn't even told very much.

All I knew
was that...

she left town,
and I assumed she was pregnant.

I assumed correctly,

but I never knew.
Her parents said

they sent her out of town to
take care of her grandmother,

and although I tried my best
to find out where she was,

I never did.

I never...
I never saw her again.

And now the daughter has come.

No.

I'm his only daughter.

I'm your only daughter!

I know you don't want
to talk to me, Annie,

so I'm just going
to give you a few minutes

while I check on your dad.

♪ ♪

Hello.

I need your help.

I saw Annie
and I saw the 5:00 news.

What can I do for you?

This was a bad day.

Ah, maybe

tomorrow will be better.
I don't think

tomorrow is going
to change anything.

If there's

anything I can do...

You can put them to bed.

Love you. Love you.

Oh, I hope we're not having

one of those rolling
blackouts again.

I don't think
you're allowed to complain.

The president

has something to do
with electricity?

Uh, not this one.

The house seems to be empty.

Well, Matt took Simon and Lucy
down to the hospital

to try and find
Mrs. Miller's brother.

Morgan's helping them organize
a support effort for her

if they can get permission
from her,

and then, of course,
they also wanted to apologize.

Where's Ruthie?

She's upstairs
in her room.

She called Mrs. Mackoul
to apologize and...

and she went to work
calling student volunteers

to help out if needed.

How are you doing?

Oh, on the Mrs. Miller front,

I should probably call someone
to apologize, too.

I'm not exactly proud
of signing that petition.

A lot of people are feeling
that way, but...

it could turn out okay.

It really could.

I hope so.

I'm not exactly proud of
how I reacted to Dad's news.

I wish I could have gotten
you alone sooner

and talked to you.

I tried calling him,
but he's not at his hotel.

I called Ginger
and he's okay.

How okay can he be?

Why would this woman
come to him now

and make his life miserable?

I'm not sure
his life is miserable.

Of course it is.

Not knowing what happened
to a child he fathered

has been eating at
your dad for 50 years.

I mean, he's relieved

that this is finally
out in the open,

but he's also scared
that you'll not only

think less of him,
but that...

you'll cut yourself
off from him

if he decides he wants to be
friends with this woman.

She's only in
town tonight.

Is he with her now?

Her name is Lilly.

I don't want to know
what her name is.

What are you thinking?

What is my dad thinking?

He's thinking that
he has Alzheimer's

and life is closing in
on him.

He's thinking that
when his memory goes,

that you'll be kind enough
to tell this woman

who he is and
what his life was.

He's thinking that,
when he passes away,

that this woman may be someone
you would have as a friend.

Annie, you're
a strong woman.

You can do this.

You have to do this.

He's your dad.

But we have our children
to think about.

How would we tell them?

I'll tell them.

But what if it turns out
to be some unstable person

who isn't who
she says she is?

What if she is
who she says she is?

What if she's nice?

I love you, Annie.

And we've built a wonderful
family together.

We know it's right here.

Let's...

let's live without regrets.

Okay,

she's sleeping now.

What do you want?

I really did learn
a lesson today.

We all did--

all of us who signed
that petition.

I'm so sorry
about your sister.

So am I.

Me, too.

Hey, guys.

Hey.
Hi, I'm Morgan.

I'm a friend
of the Camdens

and minister
of the First African Methodist
Episcopal Church.

Uh, I quit going to church
a long time ago.

So, did my sister.
Well,

we're not soliciting
memberships.

We're just here to serve you
in any way we can.

And by "we"
I mean,

the members of our congregation

and, uh, Reverend Camden's
congregation,

and the students
and staff at, uh,

Mrs. Miller's school.

They're working together.

We've pulled together
our volunteers

to sit with your sister
while she's here.

And when she goes home,
we have volunteers

to cook and clean,
run errands, drive.

And we'll do the same
for you if we can.

Anything we can.

We don't want
to be in the way.

We don't want
to invade

your privacy.

We just want to be there
for you.

If you decide you need help

and if Mrs. Miller decides
she'd like some help.

My sister
Ruthie's

in Mrs. Miller's class.

She helped me
organize student committees

who would like to see to it
that your sister receives cards

every day of every week
of every month

until she's back at school.

Of course they
won't do that

unless Mrs. Miller's
open to it.

They regret having caused her
any pain.

Well, I gotta tell ya,

I think my sister

was just trying to spare
the kids

the pain of knowing she's sick.

Uh, she regrets
not telling them

what was going on
before

because she realizes

that they couldn't possibly have
gotten thousands of names

on those petitions
unless they all loved her.

And I think

she's actually going into the
surgery from a much better place

than she was
before all this happened.

Yeah.

Sometimes the very thing that
seems like a curse turns out

to be a blessing.

Hello.

I thought you might
still be there.

I've got four phone lines here
and only two at home.

Do you want something, Ruthie?

Yeah.

I want you
to make me feel better

about screaming
like a crazy person at you.

I already accepted your apology.

Apology doesn't seem
like enough, does it?

No. It really doesn't.

So, what do we do?

We just move on.

We've got bigger problems

than words said in anger
and hurt feelings.

And public humiliation.

Well, as it turns out, Ruthie,

when the public found out
what was really going on,

I got a flood of phone calls
thanking me

for how I handled the situation.

That's good.

Maybe.

I try to stay neutral

and not judge situations
as good or bad.

I still don't feel better.

I don't know
how to just move on.

What's going on
at your house tonight?

Big family meeting.

Grandpa's in town.

At first I thought he
and Ginger were breaking up.

That's the lady he married
after my grandma died.

But I think
it's something else.

You have an interesting family.

Ruthie?

I've got to go now, and thanks.

I am better.

So, what's going on?

Yeah, if you don't mind
telling us.

Is this a family
thing?

Should I even be here?

Oh, yes.

Grandpa told us an interesting
thing about his life

just yesterday.

Seems that
when he was only 17

he and his high school
sweetheart had a child.

And he would have married
this young woman,

but her parents
sent her away

and he never saw her
or the child

and never heard
what happened to them.

A couple weeks ago

a woman came to him and told him
that she's his daughter.

We don't know anything
about this woman,

but Grandpa and Ginger have...

have met her
and talked with her.

And done a little homework

and apparently, she is
who she says she is.

Now, I wasn't going

to share this with you

until I had met her and,
and talked with her and,

and done my own
homework,

but I changed my mind.

I want you with me.
I need you.

I'm really

nervous about meeting
this woman.

And, um, I feel really sad

that my father had another woman

in his life

before my
mom and...

I'm a little jealous

that my dad has another daughter
'cause...

I've always been the only one.

Well, we'd do anything
for you, Mom.

Anything.

Thanks.

What do you want us to do,
exactly?

Me, in particular?

Well, Robbie,

with all
your street smarts

we think you size up people
pretty quickly

and we're interested
in what you feel

when you meet this woman.

Ruthie, you're also good
at judging character.

I went around the bend
with Mrs. Mackoul,

but that was temporary.

I'm there
for you.

Matt, you've always been good
at getting my mood up

so, um, if I get
down about this...

I can pick you up.

And Lucy, you're...

really a good listener,

especially about
matters of the heart.

And, Simon, you've
always been good

at giving practical
advice, so...

I may be coming to you for help.

You know,
I think this is really cool

that you're including us
in this.

Yeah, I feel like a grown-up.

I like the responsibility.

It's nice to feel needed.

Yeah, thanks.

Let's go.

It's okay.

I'm Annie.

This is my husband, Eric.

Welcome.

Lilly, isn't it?

This is amazingly generous
of you.

Oh, she's an amazingly
generous woman.

Come in.

Here we are.

Uh, Lilly,

these are some
of our children.

Uh, Matt
and Ruthie

and Simon
and Lucy

and our friend,
Robbie.

Hi, it's very nice
to meet all of you.

Oh, well,
sit down, please.

I feel really
uncomfortable.

No, it's, it's okay, Grandpa.

Dad told us
everything.

So, Lilly, Grandpa tells us
you have to go home tomorrow.

But where do you call home?

Chicago.
Ah.
So,

now that the formalities
are out of the way,

can we ask you
a bunch of questions?

Ruthie.

Hey, I would feel really badly

if you all didn't ask me
a bunch of questions.

So, what do you do in Chicago?

She has her
own restaurant.

She's had it for 20 years.

She's single,

no children.

She lives in a fancy high-rise.

So, how's the restaurant
doing?

Very well.

I could open a second.
Interested?

Maybe.

Boyfriend?

On-again, off-again
with a lovely gentleman.

He's owns a competing
restaurant.

So, what happened?

That was a bad question,
wasn't it?

My parents died.

First my dad and then a couple
of years later, my mom.

I was an only child,

and I was having a hard time
dealing with my grief.

So, someone
suggested

I look up my birth parents.

My birth
mother died

in a car accident
a long time ago.

But I managed
to trace your grandpa.

And...

I was very touched
that he would meet with me.

I was very touched that...

...you all would meet with me.

Would anyone like some cake?

Uh, we have a lot
of catching up to do.

I'll be right back.

I'll help.

Have a seat.
Thank you.

So maybe you'd like to
ask us some questions?

You want us to tell you
about the one

who got sent off to Buffalo?

I know this must change
the way you look at me.

Yes.

Maybe it does.

Maybe it's the first time
I've looked at you as a person

and... not just my father.

And I love you more than ever,

for always trying
to do the right thing

because,

really, that's the only way

to live without... regret,
isn't it?