Chasing Life (2014–2015): Season 2, Episode 4 - Truly Madly Deeply - full transcript
April and Leo are in the throes of wedding planning and coming at crossroads when Sara suggests they take a newlywed quiz to help them learn more about each other.
Previously on Chasing Life...
- Will you marry me?
- You can always think about it some more.
- Mom.
- Fine. I am totally supportive of you
and your whirlwind marriage.
We're gonna have to make another sacrifice.
You're making me leave Charton?
I can't really say no to April these days.
And there's the person I can't say no to.
- Who's that?
- My ex.
- We have a match.
- Finally.
I found dad's unpublished manuscript.
Our dad... Is the worst.
- Is that dad's book?
- Yeah.
Our nation's
president wasn't the only man
partaking in some nefarious activities.
I hope they impeach him.
Now, Rose, that is no way
to talk about our president.
I can't imagine what
she'd think of me if she knew the truth.
Trying to make up for
the fact that you're going
to be gone on your
fishing trip for so long?
- Precisely.
- Of course not.
Remind me again why you're going
to be gone for two whole weeks?
I drew a blank
on the excuse I'd told this time.
With so many lies, it was harder
to keep track of the reality.
I had three jobs:
Keeping my obligation down south compliant,
making sure my family in Rhode
Island remained oblivious,
- and...
- Hey, Carson,
turn on the TV!
Nancy, Rose, Ellen, stay down!
- Whatever you do, don't get up.
- Dad, what's going on?
- So, what do you think?
- Well, from what I've read so far,
it is a book about man with two families,
because he's a spy fighting communists
at the tail end of the cold war.
Both families are just like us.
April, there are parts of this book
that are ripped directly from my childhood,
like when the character goes to
visit his "obligation down south,"
he brings her an old record...
Exactly as he used to do for me.
- Timothy Carson is our dad.
- Okay, okay,
maybe there are some similarities,
but... last time I checked,
nobody got shot in my house.
And the first line of the book is
"this is a story about how I lived
my life and planned my death."
Dad died in a car accident.
How does Timothy Carson die?
The book stops mid-sentence.
It's not finished.
Natalie, maybe you're
misunderstanding some of...
So now you're questioning
my reading comprehension?
No.
I just think that you might be trying
to turn this into something that it isn't.
There's no way our dad is this
character. It's just fiction.
We all suffered from dad's lie,
and you definitely got the worst of it,
but I think he was just trying
his best to make everyone happy.
Okay, yeah, that's what I thought...
Before this book.
But now that I've read it,
I've learned all the manipulative stuff
he had to do to try to cover
his tracks for two decades...
The secret credit cards,
the paying off both families
with money and gifts to make
sure we stayed oblivious.
Just... keep reading.
So, you'll start at the altar,
then the bridesmaids will
come down with the groomsmen,
and then I'll come down.
Wait. Who... who's
walking you down the aisle?
Oh. I don't know. Maybe my mom...
Or Uncle George.
Let's sidebar that.
I get there, and then the
Awakening passage is read.
Okay, we can't have a reading
from that book at our wedding.
Kate Chopin’s words are beautiful
"The voice of the sea speaks to the soul"?
Yeah, well, her main character
ends up killing herself
in that scene. No way.
Okay, well, we can't have
Savage Garden lyrics read
at our wedding either.
What do you have against Savage Garden?
You're trying to be ironic,
and irony doesn't work
with a traditional wedding ceremony.
Okay, we have a problem,
because I don't want
this thing to be a snoozefest.
The ceremony's gotta be...
-Short and sweet. -My vows aren't
even gonna be short and sweet.
We're writing our own vows?
- Are you...
- Hey, guys.
- Everything okay?
- Mm-hmm.
I don't know! Why don't you ask
Mr. Chica Cherry Cola over here.
Okay, I am sorry that Savage Garden
was the seminal band of my youth.
Clearly you guys are under
a lot of wedding stress.
You're curating the ceremony,
arranging the seating charts,
not to mention figuring
out what you're gonna wear.
Hey, at least I got my tux already.
- She still doesn't have a dress.
- Oh my god!
- You don't.
- Whenever I have
an engaged couple come in to see me...
Mom, it's okay. You
don't have to shrink us.
No, no, I'm just... I
wanna provide you guys
with some tools to help
you communicate better.
It's important to learn how
to deal with the smaller issues
before the bigger ones come along.
That way you're prepared.
There's a questionnaire
that was created by some psychologists
to help gain a better
understanding of your partner.
It's called "The Experimental Generation
of Interpersonal Closeness."
You two haven't been together that long.
I'm sure there's some things
you could still learn about one another.
But now I have so many options,
I could wear practically anything.
Yeah, upside to public school.
- It's stressing me out.
- You will be fine.
Yeah, school is school.
Whatever.
I'm glad that we're
having fun tonight, though.
Me too.
Margo! What a coincidence!
Juliet, what are you doing here?
I am pub hopping.
Alone?
Well, who else am I gonna
go with since we broke up?
- Wait, this is your ex?
- Brenna, meet Juliet.
You... have such a youthful glow.
No bags under your eyes. La Mer?
Estee Lauder? La Prairie?
Um, Aveeno, I think.
Juliet is thirsty. Garcon?
Juliet has had enough. I am
going to take her drunk ass home.
But it's a cute drunk ass, right?
Are we still on for that Nicole
Holofcener movie marathon at the Brattle?
Ooh.
Good. I promise it will
be less distracting.
- Okay, you're good. Yes.
- Mmm. Mmm!
- The best fries.
- Yeah. Come on.
As the weeks went by,
so did the grieving for grandma Ida.
The Narragansett sun
peeked through the blinds,
casting an apricot glow around the room
as I got ready for my next trip.
- Hey, sweetie.
- As I went to hide my .45,
I remembered... That secret was out.
Why are you bringing a Hollies
record with you on your trip?
A secretary at Langley likes
British rock from the '60s,
so I thought it'd be nice.
The record was for Lisa,
her half-sister she doesn't know about.
It was a material object
to make her feel loved.
Perhaps fretting over my fabrications
was the least of my problems,
since everyone around me
was just so easy to deceive.
So, dad...
Ever since we found out
about you being in the C.I.A.,
I told you, honey, the family's safe.
What happened the other day was
just an isolated thing. It just...
No, it's not about that.
A C.I.A. agent is incredibly noble work,
especially in today's world,
and I want to do it.
I wanna follow in your
footsteps and become a spy.
I've even done some research.
I couldn't
believe my daughter's audacity.
Had I inflated her id so tremendously,
she thought she had what it took to be me?
Rose... I just don't
think you have it in you
to do the job that I do, sweetie.
Rose's despair was palpable.
Maybe I was too harsh.
There are other jobs
within the organization
that you might be right for,
perhaps an analyst.
It's a desk job, but you'd get
to use that bright brain of yours.
I could see the wheels
in Rose's head beginning to turn,
like a train leaving the station,
Bye, sweetie.
It was
obvious, in that moment,
Rose was imagining her
life as a C.I.A. Analyst.
Not her dream,
but a job.
-Oh.
-Now you see what I'm dealing with?
You know what they say about
a guy with a giant pet snake?
- He's a loser.
- Oh, well, they're all losers.
-Who are all losers?
-Oh, the men I've met on this dating app.
The other night I had a date with a
guy who was a Paul Revere living statue.
He came straight from
work. Think about that.
Are you sure it's not a big deal
that Graham's coming to the wedding?
What? No!
I know you said you're okay that
Dominic's bringing Mrs. plus-one, but...
Hey, I am totally fine with it, okay?
That being said, it wouldn't
hurt to have a hot guy...
Preferably one who's not a serial killer...
On my arm to show that warby-Parker
bespectacled pescatarian
that I have moved on.
I knew there was a reason
I saved this all these years!
Okay, so, we were thinking
that since you're still dress-less,
maybe you could wear this.
Beth said she might be
able to do some alterations.
And...
Oh Gah... I had no idea.
Wow. Oh. Mom, it's...
Wow. Wow.
Not too dated, right?
That dress is the worst
thing I have ever seen,
- and you were a c-section.
- I'm officially in panic mode.
Well, there's still my dress.
Mom, if my dress from
the '80s isn't gonna work,
I hardly think yours is any better.
Hey, hey, hey, wait, wait, wait.
I'm sure that I can work my magic...
- Yeah.
- And turn it into something
a little... less retro.
Let me help you down the stairs,
- because death by this dress...
- Okay.
Would be tragic on so many levels.
So, I'm guessing you don't
want the matching hat.
Wait, mom.
I know we've already
sent out the invitations,
but I realized we didn't
invite any of dad's old friends.
Do you think he'd want
any of them at the wedding?
Hmm. Neil, his roommate at Hampshire.
I guess I could dig up
his address somewhere.
Or, like, Edwin Shaw.
I haven't heard that name in a long time.
I have no idea where he is.
It's like he fell off
the face of the planet.
I even tried to get in touch with him
about your dad's funeral.
I never heard back.
It's a real shame.
Edwin D. Shaw.
So, you want to tackle this questionnaire?
What if we went away
to answer the questions?
- A change of scenery might be nice.
- Well, I do love hotels,
and all the things that
you can do in those hotels.
- I mean sex.
- Oh.
Well, I've always wanted to stay
at the Federal in Providence.
Well, looks like we're going
to get intimate at the Federal.
- Hmm! You mean sex?
- Mm-hmm. Mmm.
Are you the girl that just
transferred from Charton?
-Umm, yeah.
-I can't even... That is beyond amazing.
I'm obsessed with private school culture.
Guys wearing ties to school, it's so hot.
I'm Sydney.
The sick kid? His name's Finn.
He has cancer and only one leg.
Isn't that like the saddest thing ever?
He's only here part-time,
because he's still so sick,
and I hear that he has to wear
that face mask at all times,
which I'm so confused by. I mean, they
didn't wear masks in
"The Fault in our Stars".
- Right.
- So I have a Harper's Bazaar.
I subscribe. Do you want to sit
together and go through it with me?
Cut out some stuff for our vision board?
No thanks.
- How long have we been doing this?
- Shh! It's been like one minute.
That's it? I thought we were just
supposed to be answering questions.
Well, they also suggest keeping
eye contact for four minutes
to improve intimacy. I
don't know. It's weird.
- Let's just do the questions.
- Oh, thank god.
Okay, let's see. Um...
"Do you have a secret hunch
about how you will die?"
Really? Wow. Well, this is gonna be...
A bit of a stretch,
- so bear with me here.
- Okay.
- Cancer.
- All right, your turn.
"Would you like to be famous? In what way?"
Excuse me, I already am famous, okay?
I seized on local television.
I was a widely tweeted
gif. I trended nationwide.
You know, it's a miracle
I am still so humble.
Maybe we should take this
a little more seriously.
- Okay.
- Okay.
"What is your most terrible memory?"
- And it can't be cancer-related.
- Ooh, game changer.
I like that. Let me think about it.
Okay, there was this one time at Exeter,
I missed curfew, and the Dean made
me clean the junior boys' bathroom.
- Yeah.
- That's your most terrible memory?
16-year-old boys are disgusting.
- Do you want to know the amount of raw...
- No no, no no.
- Let's move on.
- Mm-hmm.
- Here you go.
- Okay.
Let's see here.
"Is there something you've
dreamed of doing for a long time?
"Why haven't you done it?"
I've dreamed of having sex with my
fiancee ever since we got off I-95.
And why haven't you done it?
- I have no idea.
- Oh my god.
So many pillows!
No...
Hoo!
That was a much better use of four minutes.
- Four?
- Mm-hmm.
Rude! That was at least five.
Mwah!
So, any other questions?
- Can we get back to that later?
-Mm-hmm.
I really want to check out the Mike Kelley
exhibit at the Risd Museum for a bit.
I know you don't like seeing
stuffed animals as art, so...
Yuck. Have fun. I think I'm
gonna get a burger at Harry's.
I went there a lot when I did
my pre-college program at Brown.
- And, yes...
- What?
I did a pre-college program at Brown.
Okay. I'm gonna get ready.
Oh! Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
Excuse me. Mr. Shaw?
You are three minutes late.
I hate latecomers. Take a seat.
I'm sorry. I'm... Isabelle,
and I wanted to ask you a few
quick questions about your process.
Well, the seminar's about to begin
and I don't offer one-on-one time.
But for you, I could make an exception.
Hotel bar, say, seven o'clock?
Great.
- Thank you.
- Yes. You're not staying?
Hello, hello, everyone, and welcome.
And now to
begin, I would like to talk
about E.M. Forster whose famous
words were "only connect."
That's what we do as writers, we connect.
And how do we do that? By sharing secrets.
We open our veins and let
the blood pour onto the page.
- Sara? Is that you?
- Oh my gosh!
Billy Conti! God!
-Van Buren High School. How are you?
-Oh! My god.
- What has it been, 30 years?
- No, don't... don't remind me.
Nobody calls me Billy. William. I
haven't been called Billy since...
- I came out in college.
- You're gay.
- Very.
- I probably should've known.
I thought you knew.
Well, we went to, what,
five ABBA concerts.
- I love ABBA.
- I know.
So, tell me... What's going on with you?
I'm the head creative director
at my graphic design firm.
My son graduated from Northwestern in June.
I just got back from a
safari in South Africa.
So, how about... How about you?
Things are wonderful. Really.
My older daughter is getting
married in a few weeks
-to Leo Hendrie, Bruce's son.
-Wow.
And my younger daughter just
finished her first short film.
That's great you... mmm!
You have it all figured out.
- It's so great to see you.
- I'm sorry.
I... I don't want to lie to you,
but my older daughter is getting married,
but it's only because she has leukemia,
and my younger daughter, I just
had to put her into public school,
because I just had to concede
that I cannot afford private.
Oh, and my husband died,
and I found out, crazily enough,
after he passed away that he has a
secret family living down in Florida.
You know what? Sorry to have
unloaded that on you, Billy...
-William.
-No, no, no, no. That's... that's...
Wow. I
may have exaggerated...
A bit. I...
I just went on safari, because
my divorce was recently finalized.
My husband left me for
a 20-year-old twink.
You know?
Oh.
- So...
- I know.
- I suppose life can be a bitch, huh?
- Yeah.
Well, especially when that bitch
is a hairless young man named
Tristan who was born in the 1990s.
- Oh no.
- Yeah.
- Well, can we catch up some more?
- Yes, yes! Yes!
- What are you doing tonight?
- Oh! Actually, tonight,
my gay men's running club
is having a meet-up here,
but you should come. No, no,
you should come, you should come.
It's so much more fun... than it sounds.
Every get-together ends
in an ABBA sing-along.
- Really?
- Yes.
Okay. Well, some things never change.
No. Let's exchange...
- Yeah, yeah, okay.
- Yeah. Here, I've got...
Do you... Do you bump?
- Uh, let's see.
- Here.
- No.
- No, you don't bump. Okay.
Hey! How... How was your burger?
Awesome.
But you know, what wasn't awesome was
going to the Risd Museum to
find you, and you weren't there.
- Where were you? - Can we just go
inside first? Do you have your card?
Okay. Natalie found this unpublished
manuscript that our dad wrote,
and it's basically a thinly veiled
fictional version of our family.
At first I thought she was crazy,
but then I read it, and there are actual
moments from my life dramatized in it.
What does this have to do with
you not being at the museum?
Well, the friend who was giving
my dad notes on the manuscript
is teaching a seminar here, and I thought
I could ask him a couple of questions.
But when I went to talk to him, I couldn't
get any face time, so I have to meet him
- at the hotel bar later.
- Okay, so our trip to Providence
is actually about you trying to track
down one of your dad's old friends?
Look, this book... There is
a part that is exactly like
the time that I told my dad I wanted
to be a novelist just like he was,
and instead he suggested
I go into journalism.
You think your dad's old
friend can tell you... ?
I don't know. With the wedding coming up,
I've been thinking a
lot about my dad lately,
and reading this book has
been really eye-opening.
The narrator is this
narcissistic anti-hero,
but he's also a lot like
my dad, so now I'm like,
was my dad this bad in real
life as this narrator is?
And if that one scene was
ripped directly from my life,
is everything else in the book true?
Did my dad plan his
own death? Was he a spy?
I have no idea!
- I'm sorry.
- Why didn't you just tell me that?
We're getting married. We're supposed
to be able to talk to each other.
I didn't want to burden you
with my crazy family stuff.
But your family stuff is
gonna be my family stuff.
And while I might not understand
everything about marriage,
I think you're supposed to be able
to tell anything to your spouse,
which is obviously...
Something that we're
not good at, because...
I mean, come on, us trying to...
Take that questionnaire
seriously was a disaster.
Okay, you can't just
blame me for that, though.
You couldn't even answer
what your greatest dream is.
- I thought we were a couple who shares.
- Like you...
Like you honestly shared with
me your most terrible memory?
- Hey, I told you exactly...
- Oh, please, I don't believe that.
There has to be something...
Okay, fine! You want to know what my
most terrible memory is?
It's the time I got super drunk and
slept with my best friend's girlfriend.
Happy?
- Where are you going?
- Last time I checked,
we don't have to tell
each other everything.
To alter it,
but it's just too... nice.
It was very trendy in the '80s,
but I guess you had to be there.
Don't even get me started
on the shoulder pads.
I mean, what kind of a psychopath
thought that that was a good idea?
I'm sorry my dress made you so angry.
It's not just about the dress. I mean...
Just... I'm never gonna find
a date to April's wedding.
Oh. Well, if it's any consolation,
I'm going solo to the wedding, too.
I'm so tired of all these awful dates
with all these awful men!
That's it. I give up.
Or maybe you just need a
night off from being on.
I'm heading over to the
Charles in a little bit.
I ran into an old friend.
He invited me to...
- I'm over guys.
- No, no, he's gay.
They're all gay. It's a gay
men's running club meet-up.
Well, I am somewhat of a gay icon.
Okay. Yeah, let's do it.
High five for us
not having to shave our legs.
Yes. Great. Oh my god!
I wanna be Catherine Keener when I grow up.
Oh man, totally.
She is the best actress in the world,
and so amazing in all of Nicole's movies.
It's like she's her muse.
Every good artist needs one.
So, how was Juliet?
She's a drama queen,
but let's not talk about her.
Tonight is about you and me.
And again, I am sorry we
couldn't go back to my place.
My lazy landlord is finally fumigating.
It's okay. I just hope that
my mom doesn't come home.
Or actually, maybe I kind of do.
Me on a date
with a 23-year-old
would so freak her out, and I'm
kind of in the mood to freak her out.
Oh my god.
What if that's my mom?
What if she left her keys?
- Hide!
- I thought you didn't care.
Brenna, sweetie, hi.
- Uh...
- Really, Juliet?
How did you know that Margo... ?
We still follow each other
on Place My Pals, obviously.
And Gertrude wanted to see
her mommy. So can we come in?
Look at this place, huh? Hi.
- Mr. Shaw?
- Ah. Isabelle, yes?
Um, scotch for the lady,
please. I hope that's okay.
Yeah. Mmm, scotch.
So, the assignment that you gave to us
in the seminar this afternoon,
I found it so interesting...
Writing a story, any genre,
about losing your keys.
I loved it.
And I can't wait to read it.
I have to admit... I'm starstruck.
I'm so fascinated by your entire history...
Growing up on a farm in Maine, paying
your way through college at Bates,
and, as an aspiring writer myself,
how you held workshops with
your other writer friends
- to help edit each other.
- Ah yes,
our very own Bloomsbury group.
Those were the good old days...
Before ego and book sales
intruded upon the fun.
What impressive company, I mean,
you and Thomas Carver.
Not to speak ill of the
dead, but Thomas Carver?
- What an ass.
- I thought you two were good friends.
Oh, well, once upon a time.
Thomas and I had edited
all of each other's writing
since we first met at
the Tam in the '80s...
When we were both starting our careers.
Yes, we were best friends.
But the guy was shady.
Get this. Thomas had two families...
A legitimate one in Boston,
a secret one in Florida
his wife didn't even know about.
Huh? And it gets worse.
The year before he died,
he went full-on Hemingway.
- Thomas Carver?
- Yes!
I didn't see much of him,
thank god, but when I did,
he was blowing money,
drinking, painkillers.
The guy had demons even I find dark.
I'm sorry. Just excuse me for one second.
No. Yes, of course. Take your time.
Hey. How you doing?
It's terrible.
And now I just... I feel so sick.
I don't know what's
worse... The clinical trial
or finding out that my dad was a jerk.
I'm sorry.
Everything I thought I
knew about him is fake.
I hate him.
I could care less about his book
or whatever else he did.
I just... I'm sorry, I should've told you.
I have an idea.
Ready to get your wedding reception on?
-I don't think we were invited.
-No, of course not.
But I figured, after what happened earlier,
it might be nice to
get back to our origins,
have one of our adventures.
What do you say?
Howdy, y'all. We're just
a couple of old college
friends from Dallas.
How do you know the bride, y'all?
- Umm...
- Not bad, huh?
Sara knows her stuff.
Wha-oh!
Oh yeah,
no, I'm a cousin from Calgary.
Did you tell him the story about the moose?
Oh yes, all... All "aboot" it.
- Mm-hmm.
- I'm not Canadian.
Try the Melopita.
- Is that good?
- Yeah.
- Yeah?
- It's so good.
Here, take this.
Cheers.
So, the Farrah Fawcett poster in your room,
that wasn't because
you thought she was hot?
Oh god! No, no, I just
loved her feathered hair.
It was so chic.
You really were, probably, one
of the best boyfriends I ever had.
No, you were very respectful.
That's because... No offense...
I was never interested in
all that, you know, stuff.
- Okay!
- I mean...
Wow. It's so good to get out of the house.
The past few months have just been...
Well, I... I already told you.
You know what, though?
I can't help but imagine that
it's only going to get harder.
One daughter getting
married and leaving home,
and then the other one
graduating from high school and...
Even my 75-year-old mother has a
boyfriend, and that bridge club.
Emma? Worship her.
You know what? I went
through a similar thing
when my son went to
college. It was as if...
I was entering a whole new phase of my life
where my kid wasn't the
center of my every breath.
I was... I felt lost.
Fortunately, my neighbor, Robert,
introduced me to the running club.
Now, I have a life that's
not just about being a dad.
It's weird, but it's
also... It's gratifying.
To getting there.
"We always knew you two would tie the knot,
"even if it took Nick so long to propose."
Oh, Nick and your commitment issues.
And now, I'd like to call up the bride
to dance with her father.
Are you okay?
I... hate that I'm sad that
my dad won't be at my wedding,
that... he won't walk
me down the aisle, and...
I'll never have a father-daughter dance.
Mostly I hate that even after
everything that I found out about him,
I still love him.
Well, that's... Because
he'll always be your dad.
It was better not to know everything.
Well, you should know
as much as you want.
But when it comes to the
two of us, it's different.
We should get to know
everything about each other.
I've done some crappy things in my life,
like sleeping with my
best friend's girlfriend,
which I might've only done
because I thought I was gonna die,
but I still did it.
That's a part of who I am.
I want you to know all that
stuff, the good and the bad.
I want that, too. I do.
It's just so hard to
be open about everything
when I'm just finding
out about my dad's lies.
I get that.
Maybe I need to come to
terms with who he really was,
and I'm... I'm letting him hold me back
from living my life, and
that's no way to live.
Okay, first off, you're wrong
I'm telling you, I'm not. I studied
abroad in Melbourne for six months.
Really? 'Cause I was born there.
Race you to find out the answer?
Okay, fine.
Yes, got it first!
But... oh, damn it, you're right.
The official flower of Australia
is the Golden Wattle.
- Who knew?
- I did.
- You know, you're a bad Aussie.
- Well, you're kind of a loser
for having known that in the first place.
- That's something you should know.
- Hey. Beth, you having fun?
Best night in a while, actually.
Any chance that means you
might join the running club?
Oh, William, while I often
wish it were the case,
- I am not a gay man. - You don't have
to be gay to be in the club.
- My son Gabe's
not. - Hm-mmm.
Gabe's your son?
You're not gay.
I know. Bummer.
- I... I just assumed...
- Okay.
The ABBA sing-along is starting soon.
- Okay.
- Come on.
You've gotta do this. It's so much fun.
-Come on, come on. Come on, come on.
-Okay.
Come on, baby.
Come on.
- You've changed.
- Yeah, I've grown.
Yeah, you've also abandoned
your responsibilities.
Gertrude is depressed
and you don't even care.
- Look at her.
- She's just a dog.
- "She's just a dog"?
- Yeah.
Have you gone insane? It's like
you've had a brain transplant.
I don't even know you
anymore. I need some tea.
Can I get some tea in this house, please?
My mom usually keeps it in here.
-Your mom? Does she live here, too?
-Yeah.
- How old are you?
- How old are you?
- Brenna is 17.
- What?
You're dating a 17-year-old?
Is this real life? What's next? Are
you gonna get a white van, sicko?
-Yeah.
-No wonder you always come home so giddy
after you advise at that private school.
- Wait. You go home to her?
- Well, of course.
We still live together.
So, you're not fumigating.
No, but I'm looking for a
new apartment, I swear.
It's just that Gertrude is still my dog.
Didn't you say that it's better
to be with someone your own age?
- What's up with you dating a 40-year-old?
- Okay. You can't help
who you fall in love with, and unlike you,
I am actually legal.
Look, Brenna... Juliet
is still my best friend,
and I still care about her.
I will always care about her.
Thank you, Margo.
That actually means a lot. I...
You're my best friend, too.
Margo, it's over.
You guys need to get out
of my house, right now.
Gertrude, let's go.
Yes, may I help you?
I'm April Carver, Thomas's daughter.
Oh god.
I'm sorry. If I'd known,
I would never have
attempted to... seduce...
I read the first 200 pages of the book
that my dad was writing before he died.
Do you know if he ever finished it?
Well, yes, he
did, but I never saw it.
Your father only sent me the first
part when we were still talking.
Earlier, you said that he only went crazy
a year before he died.
Do you know if anything happened?
No, I don't. don't you recall
seeing a... change in him?
-No, I was away at college.
-Ah.
Well, yes, it... It really
was as if a switch was flipped.
He transformed into a
different person. Perhaps...
You're lucky you didn't
have to see that side of him.
I've read all of my dad's
books hundreds of times,
but this one...
It's different.
Well, he was writing his manuscript
during that period of time.
All I want is to know more. I have
so many things I wish I could ask him.
Thomas Carver was many things,
some, yes, not so flattering.
Yet one thing he always was,
was a great writer.
I took a look at your story after you left
and, come to think of it,
reading your writing
reminded me of editing...
His work.
Yes, you have your father's talent.
It must run in the gene
pool, because there's...
Well, there's real promise here.
Remember, go at your own pace.
And if you get tired, just take a break.
Oh, and watch out for bike riders.
They are not our friends.
We're gonna meet at the Arlington
entrance to the public garden.
- Okay. William.
- What?
-Thanks. Truly.
-Oh! We're gonna have so much fun!
-God, everyone's in such a rush.
-Yeah, I know.
- It's too early.
- Hey, are you guys coming?
Well, I have a confession,
and it's shocking,
but I absolutely hate running.
It sucks. Running culture makes me so mad.
I only showed up this morning
because I thought you'd be here.
-I did the same thing.
-I'm just a social member of the club.
Can't help but love
those ABBA sing-alongs.
-Right?
-Oh my god, they're the best!
- We don't need them.
- You're right, we don't.
- Enjoy.
- Yeah, you guys have fun.
God, they're gonna have the worst time.
-Yeah, why would you wanna run?
-I cannot think of anything worse!
It's too early to be running.
Okay...
- Are you ready?
- Are you?
Yeah, let's do it.
"Is there something you've
dreamed of doing for a long time?
"Why haven't you done it?"
- Mmm. Honestly...
- There's only one way to be.
For a long time I dreamed of
being a novelist like my dad.
And the reason I didn't do it
was because he discouraged me.
You know what? Screw my dad.
I don't need his validation anymore.
I'm gonna write a book.
- Hi.
- Hey.
I dropped the dress off
at Goodwill this morning.
And they took it?
Well, I suppose it'll win someone the uh...
tackiest Halloween costume contest prize.
Oh! You look gorgeous!
- This is definitely the one.
- You see?
It's a good thing I kept
my beautiful wedding dress.
F.Y.I., it's not hard to get off.
Oh!
I think I still have the veil somewhere.
Let me go find it.
It doesn't even need that much tailoring.
I mean, it's perfect.
So, how'd the questionnaire go?
Oh. Well, it wasn't easy,
but, luckily, Leo and I
finally opened up to each other.
Oh, that's great.
Yeah, I wish your father and I had done
something like that before we got married.
Things might've gone a little differently.
Mom, I know we all got
past dad's one big lie,
but do you think that there's any
chance he was hiding other things?
Honey, I wonder about that
all the time. I have no idea.
The only person who really
knew your dad was George.
You know, maybe the real reason I
held onto my dress all those years
wasn't because I actually
thought it was stunning.
I think...
It might've just been that I
really liked the memory of the day
and what it symbolized,
more so than the actual
parts of the marriage.
You know, they say that you tend to have
the same kind of marriage as your parents,
which, April, I...
I hope is not the case with you.
I mean, if there's anything I
want you to have learned from us,
it's that you should do
things differently than we did.
Most importantly, just be
honest with one another.
It's not gonna be hard. Leo's a good guy.
That he is.
In fact, he's so great,
he's been practicing
those dance moves you taught him.
Really?
-Think maybe you can help me
figure out how to do that... -Yes.
In this dress, so I'm not
completely outshined at my wedding?
- Okay.
- All right.
-All right, is there a way to hold it?
-Yeah, that's it.
- Cool.
- Okay.
- Another way?
- Oh! Ooh!
- Will you marry me?
- You can always think about it some more.
- Mom.
- Fine. I am totally supportive of you
and your whirlwind marriage.
We're gonna have to make another sacrifice.
You're making me leave Charton?
I can't really say no to April these days.
And there's the person I can't say no to.
- Who's that?
- My ex.
- We have a match.
- Finally.
I found dad's unpublished manuscript.
Our dad... Is the worst.
- Is that dad's book?
- Yeah.
Our nation's
president wasn't the only man
partaking in some nefarious activities.
I hope they impeach him.
Now, Rose, that is no way
to talk about our president.
I can't imagine what
she'd think of me if she knew the truth.
Trying to make up for
the fact that you're going
to be gone on your
fishing trip for so long?
- Precisely.
- Of course not.
Remind me again why you're going
to be gone for two whole weeks?
I drew a blank
on the excuse I'd told this time.
With so many lies, it was harder
to keep track of the reality.
I had three jobs:
Keeping my obligation down south compliant,
making sure my family in Rhode
Island remained oblivious,
- and...
- Hey, Carson,
turn on the TV!
Nancy, Rose, Ellen, stay down!
- Whatever you do, don't get up.
- Dad, what's going on?
- So, what do you think?
- Well, from what I've read so far,
it is a book about man with two families,
because he's a spy fighting communists
at the tail end of the cold war.
Both families are just like us.
April, there are parts of this book
that are ripped directly from my childhood,
like when the character goes to
visit his "obligation down south,"
he brings her an old record...
Exactly as he used to do for me.
- Timothy Carson is our dad.
- Okay, okay,
maybe there are some similarities,
but... last time I checked,
nobody got shot in my house.
And the first line of the book is
"this is a story about how I lived
my life and planned my death."
Dad died in a car accident.
How does Timothy Carson die?
The book stops mid-sentence.
It's not finished.
Natalie, maybe you're
misunderstanding some of...
So now you're questioning
my reading comprehension?
No.
I just think that you might be trying
to turn this into something that it isn't.
There's no way our dad is this
character. It's just fiction.
We all suffered from dad's lie,
and you definitely got the worst of it,
but I think he was just trying
his best to make everyone happy.
Okay, yeah, that's what I thought...
Before this book.
But now that I've read it,
I've learned all the manipulative stuff
he had to do to try to cover
his tracks for two decades...
The secret credit cards,
the paying off both families
with money and gifts to make
sure we stayed oblivious.
Just... keep reading.
So, you'll start at the altar,
then the bridesmaids will
come down with the groomsmen,
and then I'll come down.
Wait. Who... who's
walking you down the aisle?
Oh. I don't know. Maybe my mom...
Or Uncle George.
Let's sidebar that.
I get there, and then the
Awakening passage is read.
Okay, we can't have a reading
from that book at our wedding.
Kate Chopin’s words are beautiful
"The voice of the sea speaks to the soul"?
Yeah, well, her main character
ends up killing herself
in that scene. No way.
Okay, well, we can't have
Savage Garden lyrics read
at our wedding either.
What do you have against Savage Garden?
You're trying to be ironic,
and irony doesn't work
with a traditional wedding ceremony.
Okay, we have a problem,
because I don't want
this thing to be a snoozefest.
The ceremony's gotta be...
-Short and sweet. -My vows aren't
even gonna be short and sweet.
We're writing our own vows?
- Are you...
- Hey, guys.
- Everything okay?
- Mm-hmm.
I don't know! Why don't you ask
Mr. Chica Cherry Cola over here.
Okay, I am sorry that Savage Garden
was the seminal band of my youth.
Clearly you guys are under
a lot of wedding stress.
You're curating the ceremony,
arranging the seating charts,
not to mention figuring
out what you're gonna wear.
Hey, at least I got my tux already.
- She still doesn't have a dress.
- Oh my god!
- You don't.
- Whenever I have
an engaged couple come in to see me...
Mom, it's okay. You
don't have to shrink us.
No, no, I'm just... I
wanna provide you guys
with some tools to help
you communicate better.
It's important to learn how
to deal with the smaller issues
before the bigger ones come along.
That way you're prepared.
There's a questionnaire
that was created by some psychologists
to help gain a better
understanding of your partner.
It's called "The Experimental Generation
of Interpersonal Closeness."
You two haven't been together that long.
I'm sure there's some things
you could still learn about one another.
But now I have so many options,
I could wear practically anything.
Yeah, upside to public school.
- It's stressing me out.
- You will be fine.
Yeah, school is school.
Whatever.
I'm glad that we're
having fun tonight, though.
Me too.
Margo! What a coincidence!
Juliet, what are you doing here?
I am pub hopping.
Alone?
Well, who else am I gonna
go with since we broke up?
- Wait, this is your ex?
- Brenna, meet Juliet.
You... have such a youthful glow.
No bags under your eyes. La Mer?
Estee Lauder? La Prairie?
Um, Aveeno, I think.
Juliet is thirsty. Garcon?
Juliet has had enough. I am
going to take her drunk ass home.
But it's a cute drunk ass, right?
Are we still on for that Nicole
Holofcener movie marathon at the Brattle?
Ooh.
Good. I promise it will
be less distracting.
- Okay, you're good. Yes.
- Mmm. Mmm!
- The best fries.
- Yeah. Come on.
As the weeks went by,
so did the grieving for grandma Ida.
The Narragansett sun
peeked through the blinds,
casting an apricot glow around the room
as I got ready for my next trip.
- Hey, sweetie.
- As I went to hide my .45,
I remembered... That secret was out.
Why are you bringing a Hollies
record with you on your trip?
A secretary at Langley likes
British rock from the '60s,
so I thought it'd be nice.
The record was for Lisa,
her half-sister she doesn't know about.
It was a material object
to make her feel loved.
Perhaps fretting over my fabrications
was the least of my problems,
since everyone around me
was just so easy to deceive.
So, dad...
Ever since we found out
about you being in the C.I.A.,
I told you, honey, the family's safe.
What happened the other day was
just an isolated thing. It just...
No, it's not about that.
A C.I.A. agent is incredibly noble work,
especially in today's world,
and I want to do it.
I wanna follow in your
footsteps and become a spy.
I've even done some research.
I couldn't
believe my daughter's audacity.
Had I inflated her id so tremendously,
she thought she had what it took to be me?
Rose... I just don't
think you have it in you
to do the job that I do, sweetie.
Rose's despair was palpable.
Maybe I was too harsh.
There are other jobs
within the organization
that you might be right for,
perhaps an analyst.
It's a desk job, but you'd get
to use that bright brain of yours.
I could see the wheels
in Rose's head beginning to turn,
like a train leaving the station,
Bye, sweetie.
It was
obvious, in that moment,
Rose was imagining her
life as a C.I.A. Analyst.
Not her dream,
but a job.
-Oh.
-Now you see what I'm dealing with?
You know what they say about
a guy with a giant pet snake?
- He's a loser.
- Oh, well, they're all losers.
-Who are all losers?
-Oh, the men I've met on this dating app.
The other night I had a date with a
guy who was a Paul Revere living statue.
He came straight from
work. Think about that.
Are you sure it's not a big deal
that Graham's coming to the wedding?
What? No!
I know you said you're okay that
Dominic's bringing Mrs. plus-one, but...
Hey, I am totally fine with it, okay?
That being said, it wouldn't
hurt to have a hot guy...
Preferably one who's not a serial killer...
On my arm to show that warby-Parker
bespectacled pescatarian
that I have moved on.
I knew there was a reason
I saved this all these years!
Okay, so, we were thinking
that since you're still dress-less,
maybe you could wear this.
Beth said she might be
able to do some alterations.
And...
Oh Gah... I had no idea.
Wow. Oh. Mom, it's...
Wow. Wow.
Not too dated, right?
That dress is the worst
thing I have ever seen,
- and you were a c-section.
- I'm officially in panic mode.
Well, there's still my dress.
Mom, if my dress from
the '80s isn't gonna work,
I hardly think yours is any better.
Hey, hey, hey, wait, wait, wait.
I'm sure that I can work my magic...
- Yeah.
- And turn it into something
a little... less retro.
Let me help you down the stairs,
- because death by this dress...
- Okay.
Would be tragic on so many levels.
So, I'm guessing you don't
want the matching hat.
Wait, mom.
I know we've already
sent out the invitations,
but I realized we didn't
invite any of dad's old friends.
Do you think he'd want
any of them at the wedding?
Hmm. Neil, his roommate at Hampshire.
I guess I could dig up
his address somewhere.
Or, like, Edwin Shaw.
I haven't heard that name in a long time.
I have no idea where he is.
It's like he fell off
the face of the planet.
I even tried to get in touch with him
about your dad's funeral.
I never heard back.
It's a real shame.
Edwin D. Shaw.
So, you want to tackle this questionnaire?
What if we went away
to answer the questions?
- A change of scenery might be nice.
- Well, I do love hotels,
and all the things that
you can do in those hotels.
- I mean sex.
- Oh.
Well, I've always wanted to stay
at the Federal in Providence.
Well, looks like we're going
to get intimate at the Federal.
- Hmm! You mean sex?
- Mm-hmm. Mmm.
Are you the girl that just
transferred from Charton?
-Umm, yeah.
-I can't even... That is beyond amazing.
I'm obsessed with private school culture.
Guys wearing ties to school, it's so hot.
I'm Sydney.
The sick kid? His name's Finn.
He has cancer and only one leg.
Isn't that like the saddest thing ever?
He's only here part-time,
because he's still so sick,
and I hear that he has to wear
that face mask at all times,
which I'm so confused by. I mean, they
didn't wear masks in
"The Fault in our Stars".
- Right.
- So I have a Harper's Bazaar.
I subscribe. Do you want to sit
together and go through it with me?
Cut out some stuff for our vision board?
No thanks.
- How long have we been doing this?
- Shh! It's been like one minute.
That's it? I thought we were just
supposed to be answering questions.
Well, they also suggest keeping
eye contact for four minutes
to improve intimacy. I
don't know. It's weird.
- Let's just do the questions.
- Oh, thank god.
Okay, let's see. Um...
"Do you have a secret hunch
about how you will die?"
Really? Wow. Well, this is gonna be...
A bit of a stretch,
- so bear with me here.
- Okay.
- Cancer.
- All right, your turn.
"Would you like to be famous? In what way?"
Excuse me, I already am famous, okay?
I seized on local television.
I was a widely tweeted
gif. I trended nationwide.
You know, it's a miracle
I am still so humble.
Maybe we should take this
a little more seriously.
- Okay.
- Okay.
"What is your most terrible memory?"
- And it can't be cancer-related.
- Ooh, game changer.
I like that. Let me think about it.
Okay, there was this one time at Exeter,
I missed curfew, and the Dean made
me clean the junior boys' bathroom.
- Yeah.
- That's your most terrible memory?
16-year-old boys are disgusting.
- Do you want to know the amount of raw...
- No no, no no.
- Let's move on.
- Mm-hmm.
- Here you go.
- Okay.
Let's see here.
"Is there something you've
dreamed of doing for a long time?
"Why haven't you done it?"
I've dreamed of having sex with my
fiancee ever since we got off I-95.
And why haven't you done it?
- I have no idea.
- Oh my god.
So many pillows!
No...
Hoo!
That was a much better use of four minutes.
- Four?
- Mm-hmm.
Rude! That was at least five.
Mwah!
So, any other questions?
- Can we get back to that later?
-Mm-hmm.
I really want to check out the Mike Kelley
exhibit at the Risd Museum for a bit.
I know you don't like seeing
stuffed animals as art, so...
Yuck. Have fun. I think I'm
gonna get a burger at Harry's.
I went there a lot when I did
my pre-college program at Brown.
- And, yes...
- What?
I did a pre-college program at Brown.
Okay. I'm gonna get ready.
Oh! Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
Excuse me. Mr. Shaw?
You are three minutes late.
I hate latecomers. Take a seat.
I'm sorry. I'm... Isabelle,
and I wanted to ask you a few
quick questions about your process.
Well, the seminar's about to begin
and I don't offer one-on-one time.
But for you, I could make an exception.
Hotel bar, say, seven o'clock?
Great.
- Thank you.
- Yes. You're not staying?
Hello, hello, everyone, and welcome.
And now to
begin, I would like to talk
about E.M. Forster whose famous
words were "only connect."
That's what we do as writers, we connect.
And how do we do that? By sharing secrets.
We open our veins and let
the blood pour onto the page.
- Sara? Is that you?
- Oh my gosh!
Billy Conti! God!
-Van Buren High School. How are you?
-Oh! My god.
- What has it been, 30 years?
- No, don't... don't remind me.
Nobody calls me Billy. William. I
haven't been called Billy since...
- I came out in college.
- You're gay.
- Very.
- I probably should've known.
I thought you knew.
Well, we went to, what,
five ABBA concerts.
- I love ABBA.
- I know.
So, tell me... What's going on with you?
I'm the head creative director
at my graphic design firm.
My son graduated from Northwestern in June.
I just got back from a
safari in South Africa.
So, how about... How about you?
Things are wonderful. Really.
My older daughter is getting
married in a few weeks
-to Leo Hendrie, Bruce's son.
-Wow.
And my younger daughter just
finished her first short film.
That's great you... mmm!
You have it all figured out.
- It's so great to see you.
- I'm sorry.
I... I don't want to lie to you,
but my older daughter is getting married,
but it's only because she has leukemia,
and my younger daughter, I just
had to put her into public school,
because I just had to concede
that I cannot afford private.
Oh, and my husband died,
and I found out, crazily enough,
after he passed away that he has a
secret family living down in Florida.
You know what? Sorry to have
unloaded that on you, Billy...
-William.
-No, no, no, no. That's... that's...
Wow. I
may have exaggerated...
A bit. I...
I just went on safari, because
my divorce was recently finalized.
My husband left me for
a 20-year-old twink.
You know?
Oh.
- So...
- I know.
- I suppose life can be a bitch, huh?
- Yeah.
Well, especially when that bitch
is a hairless young man named
Tristan who was born in the 1990s.
- Oh no.
- Yeah.
- Well, can we catch up some more?
- Yes, yes! Yes!
- What are you doing tonight?
- Oh! Actually, tonight,
my gay men's running club
is having a meet-up here,
but you should come. No, no,
you should come, you should come.
It's so much more fun... than it sounds.
Every get-together ends
in an ABBA sing-along.
- Really?
- Yes.
Okay. Well, some things never change.
No. Let's exchange...
- Yeah, yeah, okay.
- Yeah. Here, I've got...
Do you... Do you bump?
- Uh, let's see.
- Here.
- No.
- No, you don't bump. Okay.
Hey! How... How was your burger?
Awesome.
But you know, what wasn't awesome was
going to the Risd Museum to
find you, and you weren't there.
- Where were you? - Can we just go
inside first? Do you have your card?
Okay. Natalie found this unpublished
manuscript that our dad wrote,
and it's basically a thinly veiled
fictional version of our family.
At first I thought she was crazy,
but then I read it, and there are actual
moments from my life dramatized in it.
What does this have to do with
you not being at the museum?
Well, the friend who was giving
my dad notes on the manuscript
is teaching a seminar here, and I thought
I could ask him a couple of questions.
But when I went to talk to him, I couldn't
get any face time, so I have to meet him
- at the hotel bar later.
- Okay, so our trip to Providence
is actually about you trying to track
down one of your dad's old friends?
Look, this book... There is
a part that is exactly like
the time that I told my dad I wanted
to be a novelist just like he was,
and instead he suggested
I go into journalism.
You think your dad's old
friend can tell you... ?
I don't know. With the wedding coming up,
I've been thinking a
lot about my dad lately,
and reading this book has
been really eye-opening.
The narrator is this
narcissistic anti-hero,
but he's also a lot like
my dad, so now I'm like,
was my dad this bad in real
life as this narrator is?
And if that one scene was
ripped directly from my life,
is everything else in the book true?
Did my dad plan his
own death? Was he a spy?
I have no idea!
- I'm sorry.
- Why didn't you just tell me that?
We're getting married. We're supposed
to be able to talk to each other.
I didn't want to burden you
with my crazy family stuff.
But your family stuff is
gonna be my family stuff.
And while I might not understand
everything about marriage,
I think you're supposed to be able
to tell anything to your spouse,
which is obviously...
Something that we're
not good at, because...
I mean, come on, us trying to...
Take that questionnaire
seriously was a disaster.
Okay, you can't just
blame me for that, though.
You couldn't even answer
what your greatest dream is.
- I thought we were a couple who shares.
- Like you...
Like you honestly shared with
me your most terrible memory?
- Hey, I told you exactly...
- Oh, please, I don't believe that.
There has to be something...
Okay, fine! You want to know what my
most terrible memory is?
It's the time I got super drunk and
slept with my best friend's girlfriend.
Happy?
- Where are you going?
- Last time I checked,
we don't have to tell
each other everything.
To alter it,
but it's just too... nice.
It was very trendy in the '80s,
but I guess you had to be there.
Don't even get me started
on the shoulder pads.
I mean, what kind of a psychopath
thought that that was a good idea?
I'm sorry my dress made you so angry.
It's not just about the dress. I mean...
Just... I'm never gonna find
a date to April's wedding.
Oh. Well, if it's any consolation,
I'm going solo to the wedding, too.
I'm so tired of all these awful dates
with all these awful men!
That's it. I give up.
Or maybe you just need a
night off from being on.
I'm heading over to the
Charles in a little bit.
I ran into an old friend.
He invited me to...
- I'm over guys.
- No, no, he's gay.
They're all gay. It's a gay
men's running club meet-up.
Well, I am somewhat of a gay icon.
Okay. Yeah, let's do it.
High five for us
not having to shave our legs.
Yes. Great. Oh my god!
I wanna be Catherine Keener when I grow up.
Oh man, totally.
She is the best actress in the world,
and so amazing in all of Nicole's movies.
It's like she's her muse.
Every good artist needs one.
So, how was Juliet?
She's a drama queen,
but let's not talk about her.
Tonight is about you and me.
And again, I am sorry we
couldn't go back to my place.
My lazy landlord is finally fumigating.
It's okay. I just hope that
my mom doesn't come home.
Or actually, maybe I kind of do.
Me on a date
with a 23-year-old
would so freak her out, and I'm
kind of in the mood to freak her out.
Oh my god.
What if that's my mom?
What if she left her keys?
- Hide!
- I thought you didn't care.
Brenna, sweetie, hi.
- Uh...
- Really, Juliet?
How did you know that Margo... ?
We still follow each other
on Place My Pals, obviously.
And Gertrude wanted to see
her mommy. So can we come in?
Look at this place, huh? Hi.
- Mr. Shaw?
- Ah. Isabelle, yes?
Um, scotch for the lady,
please. I hope that's okay.
Yeah. Mmm, scotch.
So, the assignment that you gave to us
in the seminar this afternoon,
I found it so interesting...
Writing a story, any genre,
about losing your keys.
I loved it.
And I can't wait to read it.
I have to admit... I'm starstruck.
I'm so fascinated by your entire history...
Growing up on a farm in Maine, paying
your way through college at Bates,
and, as an aspiring writer myself,
how you held workshops with
your other writer friends
- to help edit each other.
- Ah yes,
our very own Bloomsbury group.
Those were the good old days...
Before ego and book sales
intruded upon the fun.
What impressive company, I mean,
you and Thomas Carver.
Not to speak ill of the
dead, but Thomas Carver?
- What an ass.
- I thought you two were good friends.
Oh, well, once upon a time.
Thomas and I had edited
all of each other's writing
since we first met at
the Tam in the '80s...
When we were both starting our careers.
Yes, we were best friends.
But the guy was shady.
Get this. Thomas had two families...
A legitimate one in Boston,
a secret one in Florida
his wife didn't even know about.
Huh? And it gets worse.
The year before he died,
he went full-on Hemingway.
- Thomas Carver?
- Yes!
I didn't see much of him,
thank god, but when I did,
he was blowing money,
drinking, painkillers.
The guy had demons even I find dark.
I'm sorry. Just excuse me for one second.
No. Yes, of course. Take your time.
Hey. How you doing?
It's terrible.
And now I just... I feel so sick.
I don't know what's
worse... The clinical trial
or finding out that my dad was a jerk.
I'm sorry.
Everything I thought I
knew about him is fake.
I hate him.
I could care less about his book
or whatever else he did.
I just... I'm sorry, I should've told you.
I have an idea.
Ready to get your wedding reception on?
-I don't think we were invited.
-No, of course not.
But I figured, after what happened earlier,
it might be nice to
get back to our origins,
have one of our adventures.
What do you say?
Howdy, y'all. We're just
a couple of old college
friends from Dallas.
How do you know the bride, y'all?
- Umm...
- Not bad, huh?
Sara knows her stuff.
Wha-oh!
Oh yeah,
no, I'm a cousin from Calgary.
Did you tell him the story about the moose?
Oh yes, all... All "aboot" it.
- Mm-hmm.
- I'm not Canadian.
Try the Melopita.
- Is that good?
- Yeah.
- Yeah?
- It's so good.
Here, take this.
Cheers.
So, the Farrah Fawcett poster in your room,
that wasn't because
you thought she was hot?
Oh god! No, no, I just
loved her feathered hair.
It was so chic.
You really were, probably, one
of the best boyfriends I ever had.
No, you were very respectful.
That's because... No offense...
I was never interested in
all that, you know, stuff.
- Okay!
- I mean...
Wow. It's so good to get out of the house.
The past few months have just been...
Well, I... I already told you.
You know what, though?
I can't help but imagine that
it's only going to get harder.
One daughter getting
married and leaving home,
and then the other one
graduating from high school and...
Even my 75-year-old mother has a
boyfriend, and that bridge club.
Emma? Worship her.
You know what? I went
through a similar thing
when my son went to
college. It was as if...
I was entering a whole new phase of my life
where my kid wasn't the
center of my every breath.
I was... I felt lost.
Fortunately, my neighbor, Robert,
introduced me to the running club.
Now, I have a life that's
not just about being a dad.
It's weird, but it's
also... It's gratifying.
To getting there.
"We always knew you two would tie the knot,
"even if it took Nick so long to propose."
Oh, Nick and your commitment issues.
And now, I'd like to call up the bride
to dance with her father.
Are you okay?
I... hate that I'm sad that
my dad won't be at my wedding,
that... he won't walk
me down the aisle, and...
I'll never have a father-daughter dance.
Mostly I hate that even after
everything that I found out about him,
I still love him.
Well, that's... Because
he'll always be your dad.
It was better not to know everything.
Well, you should know
as much as you want.
But when it comes to the
two of us, it's different.
We should get to know
everything about each other.
I've done some crappy things in my life,
like sleeping with my
best friend's girlfriend,
which I might've only done
because I thought I was gonna die,
but I still did it.
That's a part of who I am.
I want you to know all that
stuff, the good and the bad.
I want that, too. I do.
It's just so hard to
be open about everything
when I'm just finding
out about my dad's lies.
I get that.
Maybe I need to come to
terms with who he really was,
and I'm... I'm letting him hold me back
from living my life, and
that's no way to live.
Okay, first off, you're wrong
I'm telling you, I'm not. I studied
abroad in Melbourne for six months.
Really? 'Cause I was born there.
Race you to find out the answer?
Okay, fine.
Yes, got it first!
But... oh, damn it, you're right.
The official flower of Australia
is the Golden Wattle.
- Who knew?
- I did.
- You know, you're a bad Aussie.
- Well, you're kind of a loser
for having known that in the first place.
- That's something you should know.
- Hey. Beth, you having fun?
Best night in a while, actually.
Any chance that means you
might join the running club?
Oh, William, while I often
wish it were the case,
- I am not a gay man. - You don't have
to be gay to be in the club.
- My son Gabe's
not. - Hm-mmm.
Gabe's your son?
You're not gay.
I know. Bummer.
- I... I just assumed...
- Okay.
The ABBA sing-along is starting soon.
- Okay.
- Come on.
You've gotta do this. It's so much fun.
-Come on, come on. Come on, come on.
-Okay.
Come on, baby.
Come on.
- You've changed.
- Yeah, I've grown.
Yeah, you've also abandoned
your responsibilities.
Gertrude is depressed
and you don't even care.
- Look at her.
- She's just a dog.
- "She's just a dog"?
- Yeah.
Have you gone insane? It's like
you've had a brain transplant.
I don't even know you
anymore. I need some tea.
Can I get some tea in this house, please?
My mom usually keeps it in here.
-Your mom? Does she live here, too?
-Yeah.
- How old are you?
- How old are you?
- Brenna is 17.
- What?
You're dating a 17-year-old?
Is this real life? What's next? Are
you gonna get a white van, sicko?
-Yeah.
-No wonder you always come home so giddy
after you advise at that private school.
- Wait. You go home to her?
- Well, of course.
We still live together.
So, you're not fumigating.
No, but I'm looking for a
new apartment, I swear.
It's just that Gertrude is still my dog.
Didn't you say that it's better
to be with someone your own age?
- What's up with you dating a 40-year-old?
- Okay. You can't help
who you fall in love with, and unlike you,
I am actually legal.
Look, Brenna... Juliet
is still my best friend,
and I still care about her.
I will always care about her.
Thank you, Margo.
That actually means a lot. I...
You're my best friend, too.
Margo, it's over.
You guys need to get out
of my house, right now.
Gertrude, let's go.
Yes, may I help you?
I'm April Carver, Thomas's daughter.
Oh god.
I'm sorry. If I'd known,
I would never have
attempted to... seduce...
I read the first 200 pages of the book
that my dad was writing before he died.
Do you know if he ever finished it?
Well, yes, he
did, but I never saw it.
Your father only sent me the first
part when we were still talking.
Earlier, you said that he only went crazy
a year before he died.
Do you know if anything happened?
No, I don't. don't you recall
seeing a... change in him?
-No, I was away at college.
-Ah.
Well, yes, it... It really
was as if a switch was flipped.
He transformed into a
different person. Perhaps...
You're lucky you didn't
have to see that side of him.
I've read all of my dad's
books hundreds of times,
but this one...
It's different.
Well, he was writing his manuscript
during that period of time.
All I want is to know more. I have
so many things I wish I could ask him.
Thomas Carver was many things,
some, yes, not so flattering.
Yet one thing he always was,
was a great writer.
I took a look at your story after you left
and, come to think of it,
reading your writing
reminded me of editing...
His work.
Yes, you have your father's talent.
It must run in the gene
pool, because there's...
Well, there's real promise here.
Remember, go at your own pace.
And if you get tired, just take a break.
Oh, and watch out for bike riders.
They are not our friends.
We're gonna meet at the Arlington
entrance to the public garden.
- Okay. William.
- What?
-Thanks. Truly.
-Oh! We're gonna have so much fun!
-God, everyone's in such a rush.
-Yeah, I know.
- It's too early.
- Hey, are you guys coming?
Well, I have a confession,
and it's shocking,
but I absolutely hate running.
It sucks. Running culture makes me so mad.
I only showed up this morning
because I thought you'd be here.
-I did the same thing.
-I'm just a social member of the club.
Can't help but love
those ABBA sing-alongs.
-Right?
-Oh my god, they're the best!
- We don't need them.
- You're right, we don't.
- Enjoy.
- Yeah, you guys have fun.
God, they're gonna have the worst time.
-Yeah, why would you wanna run?
-I cannot think of anything worse!
It's too early to be running.
Okay...
- Are you ready?
- Are you?
Yeah, let's do it.
"Is there something you've
dreamed of doing for a long time?
"Why haven't you done it?"
- Mmm. Honestly...
- There's only one way to be.
For a long time I dreamed of
being a novelist like my dad.
And the reason I didn't do it
was because he discouraged me.
You know what? Screw my dad.
I don't need his validation anymore.
I'm gonna write a book.
- Hi.
- Hey.
I dropped the dress off
at Goodwill this morning.
And they took it?
Well, I suppose it'll win someone the uh...
tackiest Halloween costume contest prize.
Oh! You look gorgeous!
- This is definitely the one.
- You see?
It's a good thing I kept
my beautiful wedding dress.
F.Y.I., it's not hard to get off.
Oh!
I think I still have the veil somewhere.
Let me go find it.
It doesn't even need that much tailoring.
I mean, it's perfect.
So, how'd the questionnaire go?
Oh. Well, it wasn't easy,
but, luckily, Leo and I
finally opened up to each other.
Oh, that's great.
Yeah, I wish your father and I had done
something like that before we got married.
Things might've gone a little differently.
Mom, I know we all got
past dad's one big lie,
but do you think that there's any
chance he was hiding other things?
Honey, I wonder about that
all the time. I have no idea.
The only person who really
knew your dad was George.
You know, maybe the real reason I
held onto my dress all those years
wasn't because I actually
thought it was stunning.
I think...
It might've just been that I
really liked the memory of the day
and what it symbolized,
more so than the actual
parts of the marriage.
You know, they say that you tend to have
the same kind of marriage as your parents,
which, April, I...
I hope is not the case with you.
I mean, if there's anything I
want you to have learned from us,
it's that you should do
things differently than we did.
Most importantly, just be
honest with one another.
It's not gonna be hard. Leo's a good guy.
That he is.
In fact, he's so great,
he's been practicing
those dance moves you taught him.
Really?
-Think maybe you can help me
figure out how to do that... -Yes.
In this dress, so I'm not
completely outshined at my wedding?
- Okay.
- All right.
-All right, is there a way to hold it?
-Yeah, that's it.
- Cool.
- Okay.
- Another way?
- Oh! Ooh!