In Treatment (2008–2010): Season 2, Episode 3 - Oliver: Week One - full transcript
A conflicted sixth grader named Oliver is brought to Paul by his parents Bess and Luke, who are getting a divorce.
Do we have to wait for my mom
to get back from the deli?
Yeah. We also too wait for your dad.
My dad might not make it on time,
this is a really crazy week
for him at his job.
Does he work a lot?
I guess so.
What are we supposed to do
until they both get here?
We could play a game, if you want.
I've got a bunch of games
back here if you want to...
if you want to take a look.
There might be...
There might be something here that...
Do you like any of these?
Do you have any cards?
Cards...
Okay. Maybe...
I should have...
Somewhere in this mess.
Here we go.
So what kind of...
What kind of game
would you like to play?
Hearts, war, crazy eights?
Black jack.
I'll deal.
Whichever one of us gets
to 21 without going over wins the hand.
If you stick on anything below 15,
you fuck the deck.
- Am I allowed to say that here?
- Sure, you can say anything you like.
Okay.
I think I'm going to stick.
But you can't stick on 15.
You kind of suck at this game,
don't you?
I do.
I don't understand the rules.
I hope that doesn't piss you off.
I'm not pissed off. It's just...
If you don't know the rules, why play?
You're just wasting your time here.
I guess it's a good point.
You're right.
I have a question.
Why am I here?
Nobody is explained it to you?
My mom says we're coming
here so I'll fell better.
My dad says we're coming here,
because we have to.
I'll tell you what I know.{\You know that}
Your mom and dad are in the process
of getting a divorce.
No, they're not.
So...
Nobody explains this to you?
My parents aren't getting a divorce.
My dad is just not living
in home right now.
That's...
That's true.
But...
You know that...
They're separated.
But that doesn't mean that
they're getting a divorce.
Can I...
Can I ask you what...
your mom and dad have told you?
My dad moved out.
So...
How do you feel about that?
What's that like for you?
It's a pain and it's annoying.
Do you miss your dad?
I still get to see him.
It's just annoying.
Well, there must be a great
deal about this situation
that you find annoying.
You still haven't
told me why I'm here.
You're here because your mom
and dad are separated now
and...
They want to make sure
that they both see you.
But I've been told that
the last month or so that you've been
refusing to stay at your dad's place.
So the reason we're
all meeting here today
is so that we can find
an answer, a solution.
Did I explain that properly?
Does it make sense?
Okay, good.
Maybe you can explain
something to me:
why don't you want to stay
at your dad's place?
- I don't like his apartment.
- Okay.
- What do you not like about it?
- It's on the Upper East Side.
And what's wrong with that?
Have you been to
the Upper East Side?
Well, what... What specifically
do you not like about the neighborhood?
My real home is here in Brooklyn,
and my house is pretty
close to my school.
It takes me
about five minutes to walk there,
but at his place I have to get up
an hour early to ride the 4 train.
So then what you're saying
is that your dad's apartment is...
It's inconvenient.
Yes, and plus he never has any food.
No food at all?
Okay...
Maybe protein shakes,
mustard and advil,
but when he works late
he leaves money on the counter.
There's this fancy
grocery store downstairs,
but all they really have
is jars of weird olives,
so I get a candy bar or I call
Empire Szechuan and get some spare ribs.
You do all this shopping
by yourself? That's a big job.
It's the main reason
I don't like staying there.
Any other reasons
you don't like staying there?
It's hard for me to go to sleep.
Can't sleep at night there.
No, not normally. It's just
when my dad's friends come over.
And what happens then?
They hog the Wii
and stay up really late.
Wait. What does that mean?
They...
- They what?
- The Wii.
- The Wii.
- It's a video game system.
My dad got it for
me for my birthday.
He says...
If I'm going to spend all
my time playing video games,
I might as well be moving.
But when his friends come over,
they play Guitar Hero over and over.
My mom says it's embarrassing...
All these 30-year-old men
playing with toys.
So your mom isn't happy with...
what goes on at your dad's house?
Did she say that to you?
Yeah, she doesn't
think it's a good...
The type of environment
I should be in...
... On school nights.
She wants me to eat a good dinner,
finish all my homework,
nd go to bed on time
so I do good in school.
Don't you... Don't
you want that too?
I guess so. It's my job.
So just to sum up so far:
your dad's apartment is too far away,
there's not enough food there
and you find it very difficult to sleep
at night-time when his friends are over.
Is there anything else?
Isn't that enough?
I just want to make sure
that I haven't left anything out.
Why? You can't do anything about it.
Maybe together we can.
For instance,
we can tell your dad it's hard to sleep
when his friends
come over on school nights.
And if we tell him
that you don't have enough to eat,
maybe he could go shopping for you.
If we...
You and I...
Talk to him together,
it'll be easier,
I think, for you to stay with him.
What do you think?
I'm sorry to interrupt,
I was just wondering if Oliver's father
had finally shown up
while I was out.
Not yet, bess, but
Oliver and I were just
having a little chat, so
if you'd like to just wait in the
waiting room till he gets here.
I'm a little worried though,
because the session's half
over and he hasn't arrived yet.
He works in new jersey and he lives
on the godforsaken upper east side.
Sometimes I think he goes out
of his way to be inaccessible
is that my snack?
Here you go, baby.
I have to make sure Oliver
gets something healthy to eat.
He's supposed to stay
with his father tonight
and I have to be
at the new school by 5:30...
So... Sure, but actually we were
in the middle of a conversation,
so if you don't mind, you can
wait in the waiting room until...
Just...
I guess I have to go now.
Why can't she stay with us?
Sure.
I hope it's okay to bring
a snack into your office.
It's just his father
never has any food at the house, so...
Actually,
we were just talking about that.
Oliver tells me
it's like a freshman dorm over there.
I've sent Luke like a million
emails about it,
but he never writes me back, so...
We were just trying
to figure out some ways
that we could maybe
address that issue.
Good. That would be wonderful,
because I do want
Oliver to feel safe
at his father's house,
so... A lot of things are definitely
gonna have to change around there.
So, Oliver, you and your mom have
discussed this already?
It's hard enough for him to
be away from his own bedroom...
You know, his desk, his books and...
All his stuff, you know.
So you and Oliver are still in the same
apartment that you all used to live in?
As long as we can afford it.
Luke wants to sell, but I think
there's been enough upheaval already.
I'm so sorry.
You must be paul.
It's been a real crazy week but I know
that's no excuse.
Please sit down. We were
just getting started.
All right.
Is that for me?
Yeah, it's swag.
We had a presentation
with the vendors today.
Of course they kept me late, but
at least you got something out of it{\, right?}.
- Yeah.
- This is what he does:
he arrives late with apologies and gifts
as if that's gonna make up for it.
Hey, believe me, I wanted
to be here today,
on time, because I wanted to get here
before she had a chance
to say too many things like that.
Everything's a joke with him,
except it's never really a joke.
{\Hey, }Put that away.
This is important, all right?
Now that we're all here,
I think there's...
There's a few things that we need
to go over together.
Oliver, would you mind waiting
in the other room for a few minutes.
While I talk to your mom and dad?
Let me help you with that.
Yeah, go on. Go ahead.
Before we do anything else,
I'd like to...
set some ground rules for ourselves
and some goals.
That's why we're here.
We don't want our divorce
to upset him.
It's already upsetting him,
isn't it?
He's confused, yeah,
and when he's confused,
he gets upset.
You know,
one of the things that I learned
from talking to Oliver is that
he doesn't actually know
that you two are getting a divorce.
Does that surprise you?
{\Well, }It's really sad, but I have to say
it's not shocking.
Really? Why do you say that?
Because she won't ever
be straight with {\the kid}him.
Whenever she talks to him about it,
she makes it sound like
we're just taking a time out.
I've been perfectly clear with him.
Luke is the one
who never explains anything.
He told Oliver that he was moving out
while they were watching the Mets on TV.
Bess.
While they were watching {\a Mets game}the Mets,
during a commercial{\ break}.
He didn't give {\him }a chance
to ask {\any }questions.
Come on. Let's...
Let's not...
Well,
obviously the divorce is confusing
and emotional for both of you,
but you can imagine
how overwhelming it is for Oliver.
But does he understand now
that we're getting a divorce?
- Did you explain that to him?
- No, I didn't,
because I don't believe
that it's my job
to tell him things that you both
find painful to say to him.
I think that one of the things
we need to work on is the best way to...
communicate with him yourselves.
You know, it...
It's hard for me to try
to be a father with him
when he won't even
come over to my apartment.
Okay, let's... let's talk
about that for a moment.
Oliver told me that
he doesn't feel that...
he can eat properly at your place.
Well, it's true. He's right.
There's never anything
in his refrigerator.
No but there's money and menus for him
to buy whatever he needs for dinner.
I'm trying to teach the kid to...
- fend for himself.
- He's too young for that.
So...
The way you see it, Luke,
is that Oliver is...
Well, you're helping him
become more mature by...
giving him responsibility,
by choosing his own meals.
When I was his age, I was cooking
dinner for my family every night.
Since Luke's family neglected him,
I guess we're supposed
to neglect Oliver. That...
It's not neglect when
you're trying to teach your kid...
You're not teaching him anything.
You're handing him money
and then leaving him all alone.
We can solve the problem of what's
in the refrigerator, but I think...
You know, I think
there's something...
There's something else
going on here.
When Oliver says there's nothing to eat,
I know this sounds a little strange,
but it may be his way of saying that
he's not feeling nurtured.
Well, that's not exactly
Luke's strong suit.
Have you looked at the kid?
He's getting way too much
of that kind of nurturing already.
It isn't just about the food.
Maybe this is his way of saying
that he misses you both
and the home you shared together.
Isn't that why we're here,
{\so he'll}to get over that?
I think that one of the ways
that we can help {\Oliver}him is that
although he lives
in two different homes,
it's important that he adhere
to the same set of rules.
For example, you want to make sure
that Oliver eats well, right?
And you, Luke, you want to
give him the responsibility
of taking care of himself.
Maybe we can combine both those goals.
I just think that we're already
asking him to grow up too fast.
Maybe there's a way
to help him achieve
a certain kind of...
independence.
I'll be happy to help him
if I ever get to see him.
When Oliver comes to me and tells me he
can't fall asleep at his father's place,
{\I think }I have every right to be
{\a little }concerned about that.
So you've been asking Oliver about
what it's like at Luke's house?
- Grilling him is more like it.
- Of course I have.
I met Luke in college and I know how
he used to live before we got married.
You know, the real reason why the kid
can't fall asleep at my place
is because whenever he used
to wake up in the middle of the night
she'd let him climb
into bed with us.
- {\Oh, }For crying out loud.
- He's still climbing into bed with her.
- How inappropriate is that?
- One time.
One night when had just moved out,
he was feeling lonely,
so I let him sleep in our bed.
I'm just curious, Luke:
how did you find out about this?
I asked the kid
how his mom is doing,
he tells me she practically
begged him to sleep in our bed.
It sounds like, to me,
that you're both asking Oliver
to inform on each other.
I think one of the things that
we have to work on is taking him
out of the crossfire.
The reason that Oliver
can't fall asleep at Luke's
is because Luke
invites his friends over
to stay up past midnight
playing cards and getting drunk.
Nobody's getting drunk.
I haven't had a drink in two years
and she knows that.
What I know is that
you're up every night
- partying like you're back at the frat.
- I'm hardly partying.
I'm paying for a wife and a kid,
putting them both through school,
and I'd bet he graduates
before she does.
If my memory serves, we agreed
that I would be a stay-at-home mom
so that someone is available for Oliver.
It's lucky if he ever
gets home by 9:00 at night.
{\You know, }If the two of you are interested
in couple's therapy,
- I can make a recommendation.
- Thanks, but no thanks.
The only good thing about {\getting }a divorce
is that we're done with all that.
Okay, since we're not here
to discuss your relationship,
it might be a good idea from here on
to schedule separate meetings.
No, actually, I'd rather not.
I mean, I wanna make sure
that we are all on the same page.
{\And }I wanna make sure I'm here
to hear what she says about me.
Then can we agree that our job
is to focus entirely on Oliver?
Is everything okay?
It was my fault. I'm sorry.
It's fine.
I can deal with it later.
Oliver, why don't you come in
and join us?
I was wondering if there was
anything that you wanted to say,
now that we're all together.
Well, I know I'm supposed
to stay at my dad's, but...
it's hard when his friends
come over on school nights.
Well, up until now I thought
you liked hanging out with us.
I do like it, it's fun, but...
it's hard for me to go to sleep
and finish all my homework.
All right, I've got it.
So from now on, just...
you and me on school nights.
- Good?
- Yeah.
So, Oliver, is there anything else
that you'd like to say to your dad?
Can you go shopping for food
so I have something to eat after school?
Sweetie, how about this: how about
we make up a list together,
a shopping list you can give to your dad
and then you {\two }can go shopping together?
- I guess so.
- All right.
All right, so anything else
you'd like to clear up?
I don't know.
{\Now look, }Kiddo, it's important to both your mom
and me that you feel okay about this,
that way we can all start
moving on with our lives.
We'll never force you to do anything
you're not ready for, okay?
- I don't wanna stay at my dad's house.
- Oliver, come...
I wanna stay at my real house.
Oliver, even though
your dad has agreed
to make some changes,
are you saying that
you would still be uncomfortable
- staying at his apartment?
- I don't wanna talk about this anymore.
She rearranges both our lives
just for this,
then throws it all out
the minute he pitches a fit.
Shit.
Oliver, are you...
Are you coming or aren't you?
You don't have to do anything
you don't wanna do, okay?
Oh, that's great.
That's really gonna
help him grow up.
Thanks, Bess.
I wanna apologize for Luke.
But then I always
wanna apologize for Luke.
I should probably stop
doing that, right?
Maybe we should apologize
to Oliver too.
Sometimes, adults forget the rules.
- I guess it all continues.
- Yeah.
- Let's go.
- Okay, Oliver?
- Bye.
- Goodbye.
No, no, no, no,
I'll take care of it.
- Thank you.
- You're welcome.
Bye.
to get back from the deli?
Yeah. We also too wait for your dad.
My dad might not make it on time,
this is a really crazy week
for him at his job.
Does he work a lot?
I guess so.
What are we supposed to do
until they both get here?
We could play a game, if you want.
I've got a bunch of games
back here if you want to...
if you want to take a look.
There might be...
There might be something here that...
Do you like any of these?
Do you have any cards?
Cards...
Okay. Maybe...
I should have...
Somewhere in this mess.
Here we go.
So what kind of...
What kind of game
would you like to play?
Hearts, war, crazy eights?
Black jack.
I'll deal.
Whichever one of us gets
to 21 without going over wins the hand.
If you stick on anything below 15,
you fuck the deck.
- Am I allowed to say that here?
- Sure, you can say anything you like.
Okay.
I think I'm going to stick.
But you can't stick on 15.
You kind of suck at this game,
don't you?
I do.
I don't understand the rules.
I hope that doesn't piss you off.
I'm not pissed off. It's just...
If you don't know the rules, why play?
You're just wasting your time here.
I guess it's a good point.
You're right.
I have a question.
Why am I here?
Nobody is explained it to you?
My mom says we're coming
here so I'll fell better.
My dad says we're coming here,
because we have to.
I'll tell you what I know.{\You know that}
Your mom and dad are in the process
of getting a divorce.
No, they're not.
So...
Nobody explains this to you?
My parents aren't getting a divorce.
My dad is just not living
in home right now.
That's...
That's true.
But...
You know that...
They're separated.
But that doesn't mean that
they're getting a divorce.
Can I...
Can I ask you what...
your mom and dad have told you?
My dad moved out.
So...
How do you feel about that?
What's that like for you?
It's a pain and it's annoying.
Do you miss your dad?
I still get to see him.
It's just annoying.
Well, there must be a great
deal about this situation
that you find annoying.
You still haven't
told me why I'm here.
You're here because your mom
and dad are separated now
and...
They want to make sure
that they both see you.
But I've been told that
the last month or so that you've been
refusing to stay at your dad's place.
So the reason we're
all meeting here today
is so that we can find
an answer, a solution.
Did I explain that properly?
Does it make sense?
Okay, good.
Maybe you can explain
something to me:
why don't you want to stay
at your dad's place?
- I don't like his apartment.
- Okay.
- What do you not like about it?
- It's on the Upper East Side.
And what's wrong with that?
Have you been to
the Upper East Side?
Well, what... What specifically
do you not like about the neighborhood?
My real home is here in Brooklyn,
and my house is pretty
close to my school.
It takes me
about five minutes to walk there,
but at his place I have to get up
an hour early to ride the 4 train.
So then what you're saying
is that your dad's apartment is...
It's inconvenient.
Yes, and plus he never has any food.
No food at all?
Okay...
Maybe protein shakes,
mustard and advil,
but when he works late
he leaves money on the counter.
There's this fancy
grocery store downstairs,
but all they really have
is jars of weird olives,
so I get a candy bar or I call
Empire Szechuan and get some spare ribs.
You do all this shopping
by yourself? That's a big job.
It's the main reason
I don't like staying there.
Any other reasons
you don't like staying there?
It's hard for me to go to sleep.
Can't sleep at night there.
No, not normally. It's just
when my dad's friends come over.
And what happens then?
They hog the Wii
and stay up really late.
Wait. What does that mean?
They...
- They what?
- The Wii.
- The Wii.
- It's a video game system.
My dad got it for
me for my birthday.
He says...
If I'm going to spend all
my time playing video games,
I might as well be moving.
But when his friends come over,
they play Guitar Hero over and over.
My mom says it's embarrassing...
All these 30-year-old men
playing with toys.
So your mom isn't happy with...
what goes on at your dad's house?
Did she say that to you?
Yeah, she doesn't
think it's a good...
The type of environment
I should be in...
... On school nights.
She wants me to eat a good dinner,
finish all my homework,
nd go to bed on time
so I do good in school.
Don't you... Don't
you want that too?
I guess so. It's my job.
So just to sum up so far:
your dad's apartment is too far away,
there's not enough food there
and you find it very difficult to sleep
at night-time when his friends are over.
Is there anything else?
Isn't that enough?
I just want to make sure
that I haven't left anything out.
Why? You can't do anything about it.
Maybe together we can.
For instance,
we can tell your dad it's hard to sleep
when his friends
come over on school nights.
And if we tell him
that you don't have enough to eat,
maybe he could go shopping for you.
If we...
You and I...
Talk to him together,
it'll be easier,
I think, for you to stay with him.
What do you think?
I'm sorry to interrupt,
I was just wondering if Oliver's father
had finally shown up
while I was out.
Not yet, bess, but
Oliver and I were just
having a little chat, so
if you'd like to just wait in the
waiting room till he gets here.
I'm a little worried though,
because the session's half
over and he hasn't arrived yet.
He works in new jersey and he lives
on the godforsaken upper east side.
Sometimes I think he goes out
of his way to be inaccessible
is that my snack?
Here you go, baby.
I have to make sure Oliver
gets something healthy to eat.
He's supposed to stay
with his father tonight
and I have to be
at the new school by 5:30...
So... Sure, but actually we were
in the middle of a conversation,
so if you don't mind, you can
wait in the waiting room until...
Just...
I guess I have to go now.
Why can't she stay with us?
Sure.
I hope it's okay to bring
a snack into your office.
It's just his father
never has any food at the house, so...
Actually,
we were just talking about that.
Oliver tells me
it's like a freshman dorm over there.
I've sent Luke like a million
emails about it,
but he never writes me back, so...
We were just trying
to figure out some ways
that we could maybe
address that issue.
Good. That would be wonderful,
because I do want
Oliver to feel safe
at his father's house,
so... A lot of things are definitely
gonna have to change around there.
So, Oliver, you and your mom have
discussed this already?
It's hard enough for him to
be away from his own bedroom...
You know, his desk, his books and...
All his stuff, you know.
So you and Oliver are still in the same
apartment that you all used to live in?
As long as we can afford it.
Luke wants to sell, but I think
there's been enough upheaval already.
I'm so sorry.
You must be paul.
It's been a real crazy week but I know
that's no excuse.
Please sit down. We were
just getting started.
All right.
Is that for me?
Yeah, it's swag.
We had a presentation
with the vendors today.
Of course they kept me late, but
at least you got something out of it{\, right?}.
- Yeah.
- This is what he does:
he arrives late with apologies and gifts
as if that's gonna make up for it.
Hey, believe me, I wanted
to be here today,
on time, because I wanted to get here
before she had a chance
to say too many things like that.
Everything's a joke with him,
except it's never really a joke.
{\Hey, }Put that away.
This is important, all right?
Now that we're all here,
I think there's...
There's a few things that we need
to go over together.
Oliver, would you mind waiting
in the other room for a few minutes.
While I talk to your mom and dad?
Let me help you with that.
Yeah, go on. Go ahead.
Before we do anything else,
I'd like to...
set some ground rules for ourselves
and some goals.
That's why we're here.
We don't want our divorce
to upset him.
It's already upsetting him,
isn't it?
He's confused, yeah,
and when he's confused,
he gets upset.
You know,
one of the things that I learned
from talking to Oliver is that
he doesn't actually know
that you two are getting a divorce.
Does that surprise you?
{\Well, }It's really sad, but I have to say
it's not shocking.
Really? Why do you say that?
Because she won't ever
be straight with {\the kid}him.
Whenever she talks to him about it,
she makes it sound like
we're just taking a time out.
I've been perfectly clear with him.
Luke is the one
who never explains anything.
He told Oliver that he was moving out
while they were watching the Mets on TV.
Bess.
While they were watching {\a Mets game}the Mets,
during a commercial{\ break}.
He didn't give {\him }a chance
to ask {\any }questions.
Come on. Let's...
Let's not...
Well,
obviously the divorce is confusing
and emotional for both of you,
but you can imagine
how overwhelming it is for Oliver.
But does he understand now
that we're getting a divorce?
- Did you explain that to him?
- No, I didn't,
because I don't believe
that it's my job
to tell him things that you both
find painful to say to him.
I think that one of the things
we need to work on is the best way to...
communicate with him yourselves.
You know, it...
It's hard for me to try
to be a father with him
when he won't even
come over to my apartment.
Okay, let's... let's talk
about that for a moment.
Oliver told me that
he doesn't feel that...
he can eat properly at your place.
Well, it's true. He's right.
There's never anything
in his refrigerator.
No but there's money and menus for him
to buy whatever he needs for dinner.
I'm trying to teach the kid to...
- fend for himself.
- He's too young for that.
So...
The way you see it, Luke,
is that Oliver is...
Well, you're helping him
become more mature by...
giving him responsibility,
by choosing his own meals.
When I was his age, I was cooking
dinner for my family every night.
Since Luke's family neglected him,
I guess we're supposed
to neglect Oliver. That...
It's not neglect when
you're trying to teach your kid...
You're not teaching him anything.
You're handing him money
and then leaving him all alone.
We can solve the problem of what's
in the refrigerator, but I think...
You know, I think
there's something...
There's something else
going on here.
When Oliver says there's nothing to eat,
I know this sounds a little strange,
but it may be his way of saying that
he's not feeling nurtured.
Well, that's not exactly
Luke's strong suit.
Have you looked at the kid?
He's getting way too much
of that kind of nurturing already.
It isn't just about the food.
Maybe this is his way of saying
that he misses you both
and the home you shared together.
Isn't that why we're here,
{\so he'll}to get over that?
I think that one of the ways
that we can help {\Oliver}him is that
although he lives
in two different homes,
it's important that he adhere
to the same set of rules.
For example, you want to make sure
that Oliver eats well, right?
And you, Luke, you want to
give him the responsibility
of taking care of himself.
Maybe we can combine both those goals.
I just think that we're already
asking him to grow up too fast.
Maybe there's a way
to help him achieve
a certain kind of...
independence.
I'll be happy to help him
if I ever get to see him.
When Oliver comes to me and tells me he
can't fall asleep at his father's place,
{\I think }I have every right to be
{\a little }concerned about that.
So you've been asking Oliver about
what it's like at Luke's house?
- Grilling him is more like it.
- Of course I have.
I met Luke in college and I know how
he used to live before we got married.
You know, the real reason why the kid
can't fall asleep at my place
is because whenever he used
to wake up in the middle of the night
she'd let him climb
into bed with us.
- {\Oh, }For crying out loud.
- He's still climbing into bed with her.
- How inappropriate is that?
- One time.
One night when had just moved out,
he was feeling lonely,
so I let him sleep in our bed.
I'm just curious, Luke:
how did you find out about this?
I asked the kid
how his mom is doing,
he tells me she practically
begged him to sleep in our bed.
It sounds like, to me,
that you're both asking Oliver
to inform on each other.
I think one of the things that
we have to work on is taking him
out of the crossfire.
The reason that Oliver
can't fall asleep at Luke's
is because Luke
invites his friends over
to stay up past midnight
playing cards and getting drunk.
Nobody's getting drunk.
I haven't had a drink in two years
and she knows that.
What I know is that
you're up every night
- partying like you're back at the frat.
- I'm hardly partying.
I'm paying for a wife and a kid,
putting them both through school,
and I'd bet he graduates
before she does.
If my memory serves, we agreed
that I would be a stay-at-home mom
so that someone is available for Oliver.
It's lucky if he ever
gets home by 9:00 at night.
{\You know, }If the two of you are interested
in couple's therapy,
- I can make a recommendation.
- Thanks, but no thanks.
The only good thing about {\getting }a divorce
is that we're done with all that.
Okay, since we're not here
to discuss your relationship,
it might be a good idea from here on
to schedule separate meetings.
No, actually, I'd rather not.
I mean, I wanna make sure
that we are all on the same page.
{\And }I wanna make sure I'm here
to hear what she says about me.
Then can we agree that our job
is to focus entirely on Oliver?
Is everything okay?
It was my fault. I'm sorry.
It's fine.
I can deal with it later.
Oliver, why don't you come in
and join us?
I was wondering if there was
anything that you wanted to say,
now that we're all together.
Well, I know I'm supposed
to stay at my dad's, but...
it's hard when his friends
come over on school nights.
Well, up until now I thought
you liked hanging out with us.
I do like it, it's fun, but...
it's hard for me to go to sleep
and finish all my homework.
All right, I've got it.
So from now on, just...
you and me on school nights.
- Good?
- Yeah.
So, Oliver, is there anything else
that you'd like to say to your dad?
Can you go shopping for food
so I have something to eat after school?
Sweetie, how about this: how about
we make up a list together,
a shopping list you can give to your dad
and then you {\two }can go shopping together?
- I guess so.
- All right.
All right, so anything else
you'd like to clear up?
I don't know.
{\Now look, }Kiddo, it's important to both your mom
and me that you feel okay about this,
that way we can all start
moving on with our lives.
We'll never force you to do anything
you're not ready for, okay?
- I don't wanna stay at my dad's house.
- Oliver, come...
I wanna stay at my real house.
Oliver, even though
your dad has agreed
to make some changes,
are you saying that
you would still be uncomfortable
- staying at his apartment?
- I don't wanna talk about this anymore.
She rearranges both our lives
just for this,
then throws it all out
the minute he pitches a fit.
Shit.
Oliver, are you...
Are you coming or aren't you?
You don't have to do anything
you don't wanna do, okay?
Oh, that's great.
That's really gonna
help him grow up.
Thanks, Bess.
I wanna apologize for Luke.
But then I always
wanna apologize for Luke.
I should probably stop
doing that, right?
Maybe we should apologize
to Oliver too.
Sometimes, adults forget the rules.
- I guess it all continues.
- Yeah.
- Let's go.
- Okay, Oliver?
- Bye.
- Goodbye.
No, no, no, no,
I'll take care of it.
- Thank you.
- You're welcome.
Bye.