In Treatment (2008–2010): Season 2, Episode 18 - Oliver: Week Four - full transcript

I stayed at my dad's.
We went to a basketball game

{\it sounds like }You had a really good time.

Previously...

Was there any time
to do your homework?

Nina came over
and helped me finish it all.

- Who's Nina?
- My girlfriend.

Don't we have enough people going on?

I just wish none of this
ever happened.

You seem like you're in the midst
of a breaking crisis here.

It's already broke.

I woke up the next morning children
in hospitals possibly from formula



contaminated at one of our plants.

It's like they were just waiting for me
to turn my back.

My father's sick.

I'm just waiting for the man to die.

- I asked Tammy about him.
- You spoke to Tammy about your father?

Se said my father was with her.

Waiting for an ambulance.

Maybe what I ought to do first is...

Be a good son to my father.

Is... is something wrong?
We've been kicked out of our apartment.

We couldn't afford the mortgage

and we didn't know where else to go.

We were just joking.

I'm going on vacation.



VO: michvanilly, salomon

Oliver Week 4

So is luke on the way?

He's running late, of course.

But he will be here to pick up Oliver
by the end of the session.

Can I {\I wanted to see if I could }speak
to you alone for a minute?

- I have to leave a little early.
- Sure.

Oliver, if you get hungry,
I have some snacks in my purse, okay?

I'm not hungry.

I'll just be a little bit.
Will you be all right?

I'll do my homework.

I just wanted to thank you.

Thank me?
For what?

For everything.

Right after our session last week luke
and I took Oliver out to dinner

and we explained everything about
the adoption just like you asked us to.

And immediately the clouds lifted.

Good.

So you've noticed a positive change
in Oliver's attitude?

This week he's gotten all
of his homework done even before dinner.

He made a terrarium for his turtle

out of an old pasta box.

Plus he stopped gorging
himself on food.

And he already looks better.

And it's all thanks to you.

Thank you, Bess.

I appreciate the compliment, but...

I'm really not so sure
it's anything I did.

He's even sleeping
through the night now.

You have no idea what a relief it is
to know that I can finally leave town

and not freak out that something
disastrous is gonna happen.

My friend michelle,
she's gonna be here

at a quarter past in a rental car.

You seem eager to leave.

We want to get a jump on traffic{\, you know}.

Michelle and I haven't done
a trip like this since college.

And...

I don't even care where we go. I just
want to get in the car and just drive.

I know the feeling.

And the only reason I can even
consider leaving town right now

is because Oliver is doing so well.

So thank you again. I really
appreciate everything you've done.

I don't mean to concern you, Bess,

but I'm not so sure
that Oliver's changed as much as

you would like to believe.

What do you mean?

It strikes me as unusual that...

his issues, his problems
have just cleared up overnight.

Yeah, it's more than unusual.

It's like a magitrick.

Yeah, it is a lot
like a magic trick,

by which I would mean that...

there's a very good chance
that this is an illusion.

But you haven't even
talked to him yet.

Most people can't break
their patterns in one week, Bess.

So you're saying
that I can't leave him?

No, I'm only saying it's possible
that he started behaving well because

he doesn't want you to see him
as the source of your troubles.

The source of my troubles?

If anything,
he's been the saving grace.

Maybe Oliver believes that
if he behaves perfectly that...

he can solve all the problems
between you and Luke.

I really don't know what
you're trying to do to me here.

How am I confusing you?

For a month now you've been
telling me that I'm stuck

and that I need to get
my own life together

and let my son grow up into a man.

And then the first chance I have
to go have some fun on my own,

you say,
"he's just pretending to do well

and he actually
needs you very badly, Bess."

But I'm not saying you need
to stay here and take care...

I haven't taken a vacation
without Luke and Oliver in six years.

And I think I more than deserve to take
a little time for myself right now.

Okay, why right now?

What, besides the fact
that my ex-husband has a new girlfriend?

I saw how hard
that was for you to hear.

No, I'm actually glad
that Luke is sleeping around now,

because now it is
very clear that we are done.

He's even started
interviewing replacements.

But last week you were
very angry about that.

It was a bucket
of cold water in my face.

I've got to get my life together.

Oliver's gonna be staying
at Luke's more often now

and when he's gone I can't just pace
around the apartment like a ghost.

I know what you mean.

I've never lived by myself before.

You can't imagine what that's like.

I think I can.

Why don't you tell me
how you and Luke got together?

I got pregnant
my last semester in college.

I moved right out of the dorm
and right in with luke.

It certainly wasn't
what I had in mind.

I have a feeling that nothing
that's happened in the past 12 years

has been what you've had in mind.

Luke and I had just gotten
back from spring break.

I remember his dorm room
smelled awful because

his roommate had left a pizza
on the counter before vacation.

I told him I was pregnant and

he dropped to his knees right on
the shag rug and asked me to marry him.

I remember thinking,

"this is probably the most important
moment of my life

and the room
smells like moldy pizza."

So did you

want to marry him?

I was crazy about luke.

And I was sure I would never
stop being crazy about luke.

I was 21.

That's very young
to make a big decision.

My parents were furious at luke.

We drove to hartford
and we took them out

to the best restaurant we could afford,
which was ruby tuesday's.

Really classy, right?

My mom was so upset.
She nearly

choked on her fried shrimp.

But then Oliver was born and,

- you know...
- What?

It's amazing.

The moment they saw Oliver,
it's like their daughter disappeared.

I just became
the mother of their grandchild.

But that's how I felt about him too.

The first night I brought him home

I sat by his cradle and I watched him
sleeping and I thought,

"this is the best thing
I'm ever gonna do."

You haven't said anything
about how luke felt.

That's a good question.

You're not sure?

To be honest, for a few years there

we didn't see that much
of each other.

He was just getting
a toehold at work.

I was so busy with Oliver.
It was like we were just

working opposite shifts
in some struggling startup business,

But I gotta hand it to luke,

as soon as Oliver
was ready for kindergarten

we were doing well enough
for me to start my master's.

I could tell you about the next
five years, but what's the point?

I just couldn't concentrate.

My kid was sick
or he couldn't sleep or

there was a bully
at the nursery school.

Did you feel that Oliver was

- a burden?
- No.

No, of course I didn't think
he was a burden.

That's not what I'm trying to say.
It's...

school just didn't seem real to me.

It was just making criticism
about criticisms

and making these meaningless
distinctions and

looking at art and pretending to see
things that probably aren't even there.

And then I looked at my son and...

are you saying that Oliver is the reason
that you didn't finish college?

I'm not blaming him.

I'm not.
It was my decision to put him first.

But, you know,
I look up now and I'm 33 years old

and I've never had a job in my life.

And I'm terrified.

What are you terrified of?

Uh, my son is getting older.

My husband isn't my husband anymore.

I'm just overeducated enough

to be completely unemployable
at any sort of meaningful job.

You can contradict me
here at any time.

Bess, you could also look
at this as an enormous opportunity

to reconnect with the person
who disappeared 12 years ago

and to take a leap into the unknown.

I don't understand you at all.

I spend too much time
with Oliver and I'm

and I'm overprotecting him,
I'm smothering him.

And I try to get away for a little
while and I'm abandoning him.

So either I'm taking too much care
of him or too little care of him.

Seems like this is an argument
that you're having with yourself.

Truth is...

I don't know what to do.

I don't know what to do.

Michelle is probably
waiting for me right now.

She's been in the rent...
There she is.

I can't talk about this anymore.
I'm on vacation.

Oliver will be fine, right?

He's 12 years old.
It's a week.

Are you asking for my permission?

No, I'm not...

I'm a grownup, okay?
I was asking for your advice.

Isn't that your job?

Oliver sweetie, you wanna
come in and say goodbye?

Are you leaving now?

Yes, Michelle's waiting for me.

Your dad will be here to pick you up.
I {\just }wanna make sure you're okay with that.

I feel fine.

You're not just saying that, right?

It's the truth.
You don't have to worry about me.

I will be calling you every day.

And if you have any problem
or you just wanna talk,

you can even wake me up in the middle
of the night. I don't care, okay?

Thanks again for everything, Paul.
And I'm sorry to run out on you.

No problem.

Okay, go ahead.

- Bye.
- Bye.

Hey, Michelle.

Well, your mom told me it's a long time
since she's been away on a trip.

- I'll be fine.
- So you got things under control, yeah?

- I'm good.
- So, how has...

How has the week been for you?

I did all my homework.

Good.

And how's the turtle?

I made a new house for him
out of an old pasta box.

Cool.

I put in grass and leaves
from the park.

So you've made a nice home for him.
That's great.

Are you...

Are you sure you're not worried
about your mom going away?

Last week you were telling me that

you were having trouble
going to sleep

and that when your mom and dad came in
to check on you that you were kind of...

- pretending to be asleep.
- I'm sleeping fine.

Good.

So you're not tired in class or...

I just said
I'm getting enough sleep.

And how are things
going at your dad's?

Why don't you ask him
when he gets here?

And how's school?

A couple of weeks ago, you told me
this story about a party.

And then there was a boy
who did something mean to you.

Eric. He pissed on my shoes.

You haven't {\really }said anything about him.
Has he been bothering you?

How?

Ruining my life.

There's this girl Maya.

Yeah, she was the girl
who had the party.

We have Humanities together.

And we were partners
for this colonial life project.

I don't know what that is.

Well, we dress up like
we were in colonial times

and have old colonial jobs.

I was a blacksmith

and Maya was my wife

and she milked the cows.

But it was stupid.

But she's nice.

She brings candy to school every day
and always gives me some.

I wish I had a friend like that.

But last week,

Eric went all over school
saying I'm in love with her,

but she'll never go out with me
because I'm too fat.

It's not fair.

You're right.

It isn't fair.

I'm not gonna be fat anymore.

What do you mean?

I stopped eating this week.

You're not eating anything at all?

Well, no.

I have a half a bowl
of cereal for breakfast.

I buy lunch at school,
but I throw it out.

I only eat a little
when I'm with my mom.

And I don't eat at all
when I'm with my dad.

But he doesn't notice.

Doesn't that make you feel weak?

I mean, if you don't eat anything,

how do you have energy
to make it through the day?

You know,

if you really want to lose weight,

you don't have to do it by yourself.

And you certainly do not need

to stop eating altogether.

You need somebody
to help you with this.

I don't need any help.

- Aren't you hungry?
- I don't wanna talk about this anymore.

I remember last week
you were telling me

that your mom and dad
were planning to adopt a baby boy.

But you said that
they'd stopped talking about it.

They explained that to me.

And what did they say?

Well, they were fighting
too much about the baby,

so they had to give him
to someone else.

And how did you feel about that?

Is there anything about the adoption

that you still don't understand?

I thought they were gonna tell me
I was adopted too.

Why would you think that?

'cause I don't look like them.

And that's another thing Eric said.

"Your mom's so skinny and pretty,
you must be adopted."

You know, I have to say, that kid Eric,
I really cannot stand him.

But he's right.

I don't look like my mom or my dad.

I might be adopted.

Would that be...

a good thing or a bad thing?

My parents were fighting
about my brother,

so they just gave him away.

So do you think that

if you don't behave the way
they want you to, that...

they might give you away?

Your mom and dad,
they might get upset sometimes

no matter how well you behave.

But I make things worse.

Sometimes it's the people
that we love the most who...

upset us the most.
Does that make sense?

I wish I was adopted.

You know,

I used to feel like that myself,

when I was a kid.

You did?

Absolutely.

I want them to give me away.

- Why would you want that?
- 'cause they fight all the time,

no matter what I do.

And now they're separated,
but they're still fighting.

And they're probably not gonna stop.

So,

if they did...

give you away, as you said,

where do you think you'd go?

Well, they said when they gave
my brother back,

there was a lot of people
who wanted him.

Maybe I could go
somewhere like that,

with parents who'll want me.

Do you really feel
that your mom and dad

don't want you?

My dad should be here by now.

I guess he's running a little late.
You want me to call him for you?

No, I can do it.

It's probably gonna go
to his voicemail.

Hey, dad.
It's me, Oliver.

I'm with Paul,

waiting for you.

Bye.

I can leave now if you want.

You know, actually, my next appointment
was just cancelled.

So you can...

- You can hang out here if you want.
- Should I go in the other room?

You don't have to.

I mean, you can stay here
if you'd like.

What are we gonna do?

We could talk.

We could play a game.

You could teach me
how to play blackjack finally.

I'm starving.

Would you like me
to make you a sandwich?

The kitchen is over here.

So...

Ham? Cheese?

Could I have a ham
and swiss cheese with mustard?

I think I can do that.

I've just got this brown bread.

- Is that okay?
- Yeah, that's fine.

Where does that door go?

That's where I sleep.

And what about that one?

That's just...

That's just another entrance.

- How many slices do you want?
- Just one of each.

One of each.

Thanks.

Did your son draw that picture?

Yes, he did.

Is that the house where he lives?

How is it?

It's good.

Are you still hungry?