Fleishman is in Trouble (2022) s01e02 Episode Script

1
I'm never gonna get over that jachnun.
I think you're never gonna
digest that jachnun.
- Oh, I'll digest it.
- Really?
- I'll digest it all day long.
- It's primarily bread.
No, it took me
to this moment where, like
The cursing started like this.
- I can't even digest bread.
- Not, like, regular bread.
Yeah, sure. I got you.
Huh?
I didn't get a word she said.
Shit.
What did she say?
She just cursed my unborn daughter.
I don't have any more cash.
I don't know if you guys have anything.
Really?
Just to make it stop.
Just to make it stop.
- Okay.
- Okay, I have, like, some.
I have a few. I have a few.
They Sorry about him.
So, here, we have
Yeah, get it in there. Thank you. Sorry.
That doesn't sound
That's not, like, a blessing.
No, it's not a good one.
Okay.
- Did she say gonorrhea?
- Yeah.
Did you say gonorrhea?
Listen, let's go. I'm scared of her.
You shouldn't say that to people.
That's
- You can leave.
- I'm part of the group.
- So if the group
- Just do it then and let's go.
- Yeah, sorry.
- Can we please go?
Yeah, here you go.
I'm sorry about that. Is that
She told him that he would
heal the world with his kindness,
that he was destined
for a righteous path,
that his future was assured,
that nothing bad would happen to him.
Can you
Of course I can hear you,
you're yelling.
Yes. No.
No, Hannah,
Mona cannot take you to the Hamptons.
She's supposed
to be on vacation in the first place.
Can you please
just give her back her phone?
Yeah, so I can talk to her.
That's right.
I'm so sorry, Mona.
No, this is so nice of you.
And yeah, but your son doesn't arrive
until tonight, right?
Yeah, I so appreciate this, really. I
know, you're a real lifesaver. Okay.
Monday had come and still,
there was nothing from Rachel.
I know that you think my job
is a hobby, but I have real obligations.
And the kids were expecting
to go to the Hamptons with you
and this was Mona's one week off.
This was not the life that
the beggar woman had promised him.
So we need to redo
the sonogram on Mrs. Chamonix.
What is the most common liver condition
associated with Crohn's?
Dr. Bartuck wants to see you
when you have a chance.
Yeah, sure, sure.
Ah, Dr. Fleishman.
Dr. Bartuck, Ida said you wanted a word.
Have a seat.
So
Yes.
I wanted you to hear it from me.
I'm taking over. Chief of Medicine.
Wow. Congratulations. That's just great.
And Janice has taken over the division.
Which means she needs to replace herself
for the subdivision.
I'd like it to go to you.
Well, I don't know what to say.
Um, thank you.
Well, you're good with patients.
You're precise. You care.
Now, it's not a lock.
Janice has her own process,
but you're the favorite.
It's yours to lose.
A promotion. See that, Rachel?
Toby thought back
to when he was a fellow
and when Bartuck
was an actual practicing doctor
before he began
his dubious ascent to fundraising.
Wait, wait, wait, what did she say?
"My father is sick
with a lot of things."
Right, right, right. "My father is"
sick with a lot of things, Dr. Bartuck",
"but uterine cancer isn't one of them."
That year, Dr. Liu, the head
of the gastroenterology division,
found himself in the hospital
as a patient
with an aggressive, relentless case
of pancreatic cancer.
Then, finally, just a month later,
it was time.
We'll go.
No, stay.
You're as big a part of his life
as I was.
That's so sad.
I know. What I keep
thinking about is just, like,
the privilege of having known him,
you know, I mean, to know them
and to be a part of it,
like, to be there, you know?
It's pretty amazing you were in the room
though. I mean, that
- Yeah.
- That means you're in, Toby.
Is that what they say in the mailroom
when you get to watch
a senior agent die?
- No, that's not what I mean.
- No, I know what you mean.
I don't think you know what I mean.
I mean that I think
doing this is its own reward.
You're getting into bed?
I have to return a thousand emails.
Okay.
Then two years ago,
the Fleishmans
were invited for New Year's
to the second home of Miriam
and Sam Rothberg in Saratoga.
If you have four houses,
how do you decide
which to call your second one?
Well, it's the one you bought second.
Makes sense.
Welcome, Fleishmans.
Look at this place. It's amazing.
Welcome to Paniquil.
Paniquil? So you named
this after an antidepressant
that doesn't interfere
with sexual arousal?
No, no, no, I named it after
an antidepressant that doesn't interfere
- with sexual arousal that made me rich.
- Oh, wow.
- Let me show you around.
- Oh, yeah. Okay.
Come on.
- You taste that?
- Yeah, I tasted it.
It's, you know, it's very
Yeah, I taste it.
You still at the hospital?
Well, you know,
people are still getting sick, so
Yeah, we're looking for someone
to head up a new
division around marijuana.
Sorry, Fenton is getting into marijuana?
Oh, Lord. No, no,
we're looking for somebody
to help lead a new division
dedicated to debunking myths
- about alternative therapies, you know.
- I see.
A lot of misinformation out there,
as I'm sure you know.
Well, I don't know. I mean, I've seen
a lot of cancer patients benefit from
Don't, don't, don't, don't tell me
you're a acupuncture guy.
No, no. Well, I mean, it's not a cure,
but it actually does provide
pain relief, absolutely, yeah.
Well, you know, you'd be heading up
a big division
bringing in a mil before bonuses.
You'd be managing your own team,
great hours, the works.
I don't know. I think I do my best
with patient interface, I think.
Yeah, thank you.
Rachel said you'd resist.
Yeah?
Did I mention the house in Vail,
director-level gets a key.
What's wrong? Why don't you ask Sam
with whom you colluded and orchestrated?
Colluded? It's a job offer, Toby.
It's an opportunity.
At the very least,
always take the meeting, right?
It's the opposite
of an opportunity, okay?
It's the antithesis of what I do.
He wants me to head up a division
that encourages
the deprivation of legitimate avenues
of pain relief for sick patients.
I want you to feel rewarded.
You should get a break from the grind.
But it is not a grind, okay?
Do you understand how hurtful it is
that this is what's important to you?
You're screaming.
I did not become a doctor
to get rich, okay?
I did it to live a meaningful life.
Yeah. Well, I would like
to own an apartment someday.
Excuse me.
I make almost $300,000 a year.
I'm a rich man in every single culture
except the 40 stupid square blocks
that you insist we live within.
You act like
you need to work all the time
because I'm some bum on the couch.
If you had a job where people
counted on you for their livelihood,
- maybe you would get it.
- Okay.
Are you serious?
Dad?
Dad?
I don't know why
we still have these conversations.
- I never misrepresented myself.
- Neither did I.
Okay.
Immediately following that weekend,
Rachel began to look at nicer apartments
without even talking to him.
Sam knows the builder.
They don't have
their certificate of occupancy,
so they can't really show it yet,
so early access.
I guess it's really who you know, huh?
Exactly.
They're calling it "The Golden."
Wow, The Golden, just in case
you missed any of the subtext.
It's the original molding.
Yeah, it's new construction.
The whole thing's original.
Well, I like it.
Oh, really? Come on. It's like
everything I hate about New York City,
like new money imitating old money.
Come on, The Golden.
Yeah, you said that.
Well, yeah.
Sam says we can make an offer now
before they put it on the market.
We'll finally have a place.
We'll live here forever
and our children will visit us
when they're married and have children.
You act like you need me to say yes,
but you already made a decision.
And that was that.
And now look at him, a promotion.
Not for leveraging or subverting.
Not for disrupting.
Just for being devoted
to what he did and being good at it.
"See, Rachel," he wanted to tell her,
"Success can build. You don't
have to lunge for it, like an animal."
Mona. Hi. I'm so sorry. I really thought
she would be back by now.
You didn't happen to make dinner,
did you?
- I'm gonna go be with my son.
- Okay. Thanks for everything.
I really do appreciate it. Okay.
Hey, kids. I'm back.
I'm gonna make some dinner, okay?
But he was annoyed. Lord
knows Rachel came home late all the time
and didn't get that
kind of attitude from Mona.
- Is Mom here?
- Hey.
We're supposed to be there by dinner.
I'm supposed to have dinner with Lexi.
Yes. Sorry, honey. Mom's delayed.
She should be back by tonight,
tomorrow at the latest.
God, why is it so hot in here?
No. She promised me
dinner in the Hamptons.
Yeah, well, Mom's delayed, okay?
She's always delayed.
God. Is the air-conditioning on?
Did it break or something?
I'm gonna find a recipe.
You don't worry.
Last year, she had to go to Italy
because she was on tour with Alejandra,
and this year she promised
we'd have a whole week together.
You know what? You're not wrong.
You deserve a summer.
Everybody is getting together
without me.
Don't you understand that?
You know, guys,
I had some great news today.
Oh, sweet Jesus.
- Squeeze more.
- Harder!
- That's so hot!
- My pussy is so wet.
- No, nope, nope. Stop.
- Are you hard yet?
Okay.
Oh, my God.
Toby briefly entertained
the idea that it was Mona.
That in her anger, she sat down
and treated herself
to a big old afternoon of Internet porn.
But the theory fell apart
when he realized
that Mona probably knew
how to spell "vagina."
Kids? Kids?
Is Mom here?
Let me have a word with Solly.
I didn't do it.
Solly.
I don't know why those things came up,
they just came up.
All right.
Here, it's okay.
Come, sit down for a minute.
Listen, there's nothing to be ashamed of
or afraid of.
Are you curious about girls?
I just wanted to know
what it looks like underneath.
Yeah, no, I understand.
Should I maybe get,
get you a book for kids,
- like maybe with the pictures or
- No!
- No?
- I don't wanna see it ever again.
Yeah, no, that makes perfect sense,
of course not.
- Of course not. Okay. It's okay, buddy.
- It's not okay. I hate it.
I know. I know. Listen, um
I just want you to know that
that's not really what it's like, okay?
That's like someone's fantasy
of what people might want.
That's not what it's really like
for two people to have sex, okay?
- Don't say that word!
- Yeah, okay. I won't say it. I won't.
Is that Mom?
- Don't tell her.
- No, no, I won't. I won't.
It was Rachel. He was sure of it.
Some beam of nuclear energy
had reached her
and activated her remaining shreds
of maternal instinct.
Just thinking about you, stud.
Poison emoji, finger gun emoji,
hang ten emoji.
It's the hospital.
Growing up was disgusting.
Literally. It was filled with all
these horrible moments of revulsion.
You okay, buddy?
I'm gonna watch Karate Kid. Can I go?
Of course. Yeah, of course.
My nine-year-old watched porn
on the computer
for hours in front of you today.
We will no longer
be requiring your services.
Good luck to you.
Holy shit!
What had he done?
Toby spent all night in vain
trying to figure out
how to take back his text to Mona.
Holy shit.
He'd fired the most stable presence
his children had in their lives.
No, I know, Simone. Can you please
just tell me when she's getting back?
Okay. Well, she went
to Everglade, right?
Well, can you tell me how long it goes?
Can you tell me that? No. Stop that.
Stop it. No, not you, sorry.
Yeah, I know. No, can you tell me,
if she's still there?
Can you tell me anything? No? Okay.
Great. Yeah, I know.
Can we just wait at home for Mommy
to take us to the Hamptons?
I wish. I just don't know
when she's getting back yet.
Why would you wanna leave here?
You know, it's weird.
Everybody wants to leave the city
when it gets hot.
But that's actually a mistake.
Nothing beats summer in the city.
Everything gets so green.
Everyone gathers.
It smells like garbage.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
You used to love coming in with me.
Yeah, when I was a baby.
I know. I'll make it up to you, okay?
Can we go to the park?
We can find the churros guys.
You know what? That sounds like fun and
I'm sure Mom will be back by tonight.
You said that last night.
I know. Be good.
The time will go by fast, okay?
But it didn't.
How it broke his heart.
How Toby had always loved summer.
Hello. It is a beautiful day
here at Everglade,
an exclusive wellness retreat located in
the splendor of the Catskill Mountains.
This is Sage,
how can I help facilitate your inquiry?
Yeah, sorry. Hi. Sorry to interrupt,
but I'm at my job.
Can you please tell me
if Rachel Fleishman is still checked in?
- I'm so sorry. I can't
- Yeah.
talk about a guest's status.
No, I just need to know if she's there.
Sorry, I'm her husband,
I just have a message to get to her.
Can you pass on a message for her?
I'm sorry, sir.
I can't reveal the status of our guests.
I don't need to know her status,
just if she's there.
- I'm sorry, sir.
- I'm sorry. Yeah.
- I can't reveal the status
- Okay.
- of our guests.
- All right, I'm sorry to disturb you.
Okay.
Hey, just please. I'm not mad.
I'm a real person.
I exist even when you can't see me.
Can I get an ETA, Rachel?
Division head.
You must be so proud, Janice.
It'll be a challenge, I know.
I think of all the things
I'll have to do
- now that I'm not seeing patients.
- Like fundraising.
Don't knock fundraising, you and I
don't have jobs without it.
I don't know. I think
I would just miss my patients.
Advancing sometimes means
missing a thing you loved.
I think I'm gonna
love this, too, though.
Hey, aren't those your kids?
Paging Dr. Wong. Dr. Wong.
Uh, I have an endoscopy.
His kids deserved
a better summer than this.
They all deserved better than this.
Hey, do you have a second?
I need a personal day or two.
Well, two. Two.
Everything all right?
Yeah, well, Rachel,
she's on an extended trip,
it couldn't be avoided,
and my babysitter is on vacation.
Holy shit. He'd fired Mona.
It's not ideal. I told David Cooper
he was getting the best.
Yes, and I will be right in
if I'm needed.
I will check in on the hour.
I gave Mr. Cooper my cell.
The fellows know he's a priority.
All right, two days. But you check in.
Okay. Thank you.
- Anyone here wanna go to the Hamptons?
- Yes, yes!
Okay. Are you kids ready?
Does Mom even know you have her car?
Yeah, I said, "Are you ready?"
All right.
Are you gonna get your own car?
Can you even afford one?
What Yes, I can afford a car.
You do understand I'm a doctor
and not like a homeless person, right?
- Dad.
- What?
You can't say homeless person.
- Hey, Dad?
- Mmm-hmm?
What's the block universe?
Oh, um
It's a theory.
It's this idea that, like,
all of life is happening
at the same time.
Like, all points of existence are,
I don't know, occurring simultaneously.
Just try to breathe through it, okay?
Oh, bub, I'm sorry.
Does he have to throw up?
- My stomach hurts.
- I know.
So, it means that like
like your past and present
and future.
- Wash the spider out
- Spider out.
are all happening, like, all at once.
Round and round, round and round
Round and round
The wheels on the bus go
round and round all
I spy with my little eye,
something that's blue.
Big part of my life. Have a weekend
to myself or even just a car ride.
Jesus, me having to sit here
with my hands in my lap,
to do some public display of not working
for your satisfaction.
Look, if I got this done,
I could finally relax,
just not on your schedule.
Suddenly, it's my schedule
that's the problem.
Okay, got it. Sorry.
I didn't know you what you meant.
- All at once? That's so busy.
- Mmm-hmm.
I mean, you only have to worry
about you right now though.
What if I'm sitting on myself
from the last time we were here?
Yeah, you know,
it's just a theory, okay?
It was best not to
think about the block universe.
Toby didn't wanna think about
any theory of life
in which the thing you were dealing with
wasn't absolute reality.
He couldn't bear the scope of regret
and missed chances
and alternate choices.
He didn't wanna
think about possibility anymore.
Possibility was a trap.
Does anybody wanna get some food?
You know what else is a trap?
The Hamptons.
You know, kids, it's nice that
you have a house in the Hamptons, okay?
It actually is really nice that you can
get used to this,
but it's also important
to think about economic disparity.
It's important that privileged kids
like you think a little bit about that,
you know. I mean, look at these houses.
You think inside these houses
are people that have been rewarded
for their great acts of kindness
and good works?
No, no, no.
Inside these houses are pirates.
- Pirates?
- Yeah. I mean, a kind of pirate,
the kind of pirate that takes and takes
even though he has enough, you know?
Listen, you guys are gonna grow up
and do great things in your life,
but you have to understand
there's such a thing as, as enough.
- Okay.
- Whatever, Dad.
Okay.
Look at that sunset.
It's so pretty, isn't it?
You know, we have to remember sunsets
are also problematic, you know,
because they're only for the wealthy.
In cities, there are tall buildings,
so you can't see it.
Gotta come to a place like this
just to catch a glimpse
of what should be one of the true
free pleasures in life, you know?
- Okay. Great. Can I just have the keys?
- Yeah.
He hated this place.
- I get the big room.
- No, you don't. You had it last time.
- I want it.
- It's my turn.
No, it's not.
Absolutely hated it.
Hated its beautiful views,
hated waking up to the salt air,
hated the bed that cradled him
like it was his mother.
Something, something economic disparity,
something, something
wealth distribution.
- Good night, Sol.
- Good night, Dad.
But however much he didn't like
the house when it was his,
boy, did he extra not like it
now that it wasn't.
He was last there in winter.
They'd come out
for the Leffer's anniversary party.
He'd been asking
for a divorce for months by then.
And each time he brought it up,
she'd get crazy.
But it was quiet there the way
it never was in the summer
and something had changed in her.
I think we should get a divorce.
Right then, he was filled
with an aching love for her
that he hadn't experienced in some time.
It's gonna be okay.
Well done. I got to go.
Okay. Bye.
Okay, well, call me
when you wanna be picked up, okay?
How can I? I have no phone.
All right. I'm sure you'll find a way.
There you go.
This will barely buy me water.
- All right. Here's 20.
- Okay. Bye.
Have a good time.
Bye, Hannah.
- Hey, Lexi.
- Hey, Hannah.
Hi.
Wait, Hannah.
This is really a cool song.
Who is she talking to?
I don't know, Sol.
Hot enough for you?
Nice to see you, Roxanne.
Roxanne Hertz spoke
in a Groucho Marx voice
when she was saying
anything uncomfortable or critical,
or even mildly controversial.
Can you believe he is the nominee?
It's hilarious.
Well, at least she'll win, right?
Well, I don't know that she'll win.
I don't like her that much,
but at least with him,
we can keep our money, you know?
Also, her voice. Drives Rich crazy.
Anyway, I was thinking that I could pick
the girls up and take them to dinner.
Yeah. You know what, Hannah would
probably prefer that
to having dinner with me. So
- Oh, Solly.
- Yeah?
Solly, do you wanna go play with Max?
He's in the car.
Uh
- Do you want to, buddy?
- Of course he does.
- Does he?
- Yeah.
Okay.
- I'll pick you up for dinner, okay?
- Okay.
Oh, let them stay.
Hannah can call you when we're done.
Actually, you know what? Do you mind?
She doesn't have a phone yet.
- Still?
- Yeah.
Toby, get that girl a phone.
Oh, you are looking so well, Toby.
You know, I keep meaning to tell you,
we are your friend, too.
And, yeah I'm idling.
Okay. Got to go.
Toby was unsettled by the fact
that Roxanne Hertz didn't blink
when she saw that Toby was the one
with the kids and not Rachel.
Bye. Bye, Toby!
Had she heard from Rachel?
Did she know something he didn't?
I'm beginning to think like maybe
I'm the only who doesn't know, right?
- Well, did she say anything?
- Arm circle.
No, no, that's just it.
That's what's so weird.
No, I think she probably just
assumed there was a good reason,
like she did the math.
The woman who said this to me
was not the smartest person.
On six, seven, eight.
Okay. I have to go. But if this were
a story, I would follow the money.
What does that mean?
Is that something people really say?
I mean, you had
bank accounts together, right?
So just see where she's spending
her money, right?
Okay. I have to go, Toby.
- Okay. Okay. Bye.
- All right. Bye.
Hello?
Hello?
Who is that?
Uh Um
This is my house. Who, who are you?
Mrs. Fleishman didn't mention a visitor.
Sorry. I'm sorry, who are you?
I look in on the place.
Oh.
No, it's fine. I'm her husband,
I promise. This is all fine.
- Okay.
- Yeah. Okay.
I'll come back?
Yeah. We'll be out by
the weekend. Thanks.
Great.
Okay. Thank you.
Fine. He would follow the money.
Three months before,
he'd divested of their shared accounts,
handing them over to Rachel.
The mediator told her to change
their shared passwords,
that it was an important part
of moving on.
Toby couldn't believe
she'd actually done it.
Sweet Jesus. Is the sun broken?
His phone passcode
was still their anniversary
and her password was what?
Something he couldn't even
begin to imagine.
Copy that. Over.
That's him.
And with that, it was time to
leave the house, into which he was,
he was learning,
technically breaking and entering.
Sorry. Yeah. Okay.
Bye, Toby.
Bye. Thank you for having them.
- Bye.
- Bye, Fleishmans.
Thanks a lot.
They were about to take us out
to dinner. It's so unfair.
Yeah, I have a patient I need to see.
Get in the car. Come on.
He didn't belong here.
She had moved on.
And he was still using the pool like
a houseguest who wouldn't go home.
Well, goddamn, if Rachel can move on,
so could he.
Who wants to go to EJ's?
Breakfast for dinner!
All right.
I have to do one errand first.
Toby was going to take control.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Oh, boy. I can see it. I can see it.
It was halfway up your throat.
I'm trying to drink.
On the wind of this triumph,
he decided to solve his bigger problem.
Hey, Hannah.
How psyched are you for camp?
Boy, am I jealous. You know,
I met all of my best friends at camp.
You know Seth? He and I met at camp.
Do you think we can make this have
a six-foot diameter, or is that too big?
Yeah, six feet.
Yeah, it might be a little too big,
especially in this tiny apartment.
You know, that's where
I first learned about astronomy
because they have these,
like, amazing telescopes at camp.
Yeah, they don't have all those
city lights to obstruct the stars.
Actually, you, you might like that.
Nope. Remember, I'm not a camp kid.
Yeah, he's not a camp kid, Rachel.
Who is? You're a camp kid
because your parents send you to camp.
All his friends started last year.
No, he doesn't have any friends.
That's because he doesn't go to camp.
- Well
- If he doesn't go now,
he'll be too freaked out to go later.
Wait. He wanted to go to that,
that ice skating camp
in Queens, remember?
Who's he gonna meet
at an ice skating camp?
I don't know. Not everybody goes to camp
for, like,
networking opportunities, Rachel.
Why doesn't he wanna do something
more appropriate, like tennis?
Wait. Is that it? You're really just,
like, concerned about his masculinity?
No, can't we cultivate
something more practical?
Like, he's not gonna grow up
to be an ice skater.
And we should be concerned
that he doesn't wanna leave home.
Why are you, like, so eager
to get rid of them?
Didn't, like, didn't we want them?
They're gonna be gone soon enough.
No, I'm not paying for ice skating camp.
Okay. There it is.
Honesty, finally. It's your money.
What? No. That's not what I said at all.
It went on like that.
He tore through her for her lack
of participation in the kids' lives.
She went straight for his masculinity
like it was an artery.
that's how you're thinking?
Thank you. I knew you'd find a way
to turn it back to me.
No, actually,
I'm just asking a question, Toby.
It's an honest question.
Can I get Instagram? Everyone has it.
No, we've answered this before.
No social media until you're 13.
- Everyone.
- You don't even have a phone.
It's not good for kids and anxiety.
Your brain is still developing.
Your dad and I will talk about it.
Excuse me.
We've already talked about it, okay?
How about my anxiety that everybody
is always on it and leaving me out?
- She has a point.
- Yeah?
You're an animal.
Toby wasn't always proud of everything
that went down
at the end of his marriage.
But he was now beginning to see camp
for what it was.
Not a weapon in his cold war
with Rachel, but a solution.
Hey. Sol, I need to talk to you, buddy.
- Am I in trouble?
- No, no, of course not. No.
Um, I just
I need you to think about going to camp.
But I'm not a camp kid. We, we
Yeah, yeah.
The thing is, Mom is away for a while
and I have to work, okay?
That's just, like, what's going on.
Your options are sitting
in the conference room at the hospital
or spending time at aftercare at the Y,
and I just
I just want a better summer for you. I
mean, you deserve a better summer.
What about if I hate it?
Well, then, I'll come pick you up,
but I don't think you're gonna hate it.
What about my project?
Look, your project,
we'll have plenty of time
to do your project
when you get back home.
Can I think about it?
I think what I'm saying is that, um,
you're going, but you're gonna be fine.
I would not put you anywhere
that is bad or dangerous, okay?
Come here, buddy.
He sent the kids to bed
and kept the date he'd had with Nahid,
the woman he had been communicating
with on his app for several weeks.
According to Seth, the hotter it gets
before you real-life meet a woman
from a dating app,
the more it predicts
you'll never actually meet.
The human confines of shame
can't withstand it.
And surely, it had gotten hot
with Nahid. And weird.
Okay. I'm a super but the payment
I demand for changing a light bulb
is for you to go down on me
until I'm done,
but now, my kids
are beating down the door
and I scream, "I'm coming. I'm coming!"
You're a fighter pilot
who is too horny to fight
so you have me sit on your cock
while you fight Russian bogeys.
I'm a space alien dressed
as a window washer
who is doing your windows when you say
I can't come in unless
I write your name on the window,
but I don't have a writing implement
except for my space penis.
As a scientist, Toby could not dismiss
the possibility that Nahid
was too good to be true.
Whoa!
But scientists must always
see their experiments through,
no matter how much the forecast calls
for spectacular failure.
Hi.
Hi.
Yeah. Thanks.
Toby always loved summer.
Hey, what's going on?
Did something happen?
Is Mom dead?
Oh, my God. Of course not.
Why? Why? What, what happened?
I tried to call her.
Yeah. Well, maybe
she doesn't have your number.
I texted her and I said it's Hannah.
Yeah, you know what?
I spoke to her a little while ago.
I think she's just really busy and
maybe, maybe she's just asleep now.
Come here, kiddo. It's okay.
It's okay, sweetheart.
You know, she'd be here right now
if she didn't hate you so much.
- See you later, champ.
- See you soon.
And then, it was a few days later,
and it occurred to Toby
that he was doing
exactly what Rachel would've done.
He was throwing money at the problem.
He was buying summer.
- Okay. Let's go.
- Wait, wait. No, no.
Wait a second. Wait a second.
Hey, I want you to know
that in the block universe,
you have been at camp,
having the most amazing summer
for all of time, okay?
- This is so stupid.
- And I want you
to know that also in the block universe,
you are already back at home with me
telling me about
your amazing adventures, okay?
I love you, Dad.
- Okay, chipmunks! Time to load up.
- I love you, too.
Okay. Listen, you let them know
if you need anything, okay?
I will think about you nonstop.
Hey, you stay.
I know you think you hate me,
but I also know that you don't.
I'm gonna miss you so much, okay?
They were gone now. Everyone was gone.
It was too much for him,
it was too awful.
But also, they were gone.
And they're off. You guys around?
He could have a second to think now.
He could pull himself together
and start to try to remember
what kind of life he was trying to build
before this all happened.
He could stop vamping
for his kids for a minute
and perhaps join the throngs of people
who met in twos and threes
with their friends in the park,
and drank rosé out of cans.
He was finally going to try a Negroni.
He was going to try
to have his summer, too.
Is it called a ladies' night?
No, it's not called a ladies' night,
it's called moms' night.
Yeah, like, moms' away.
I don't even know.
Why even have a moms' night, you
know? Why do we need a moms' night out?
- Isn't the actual problem
- Hey.
- Hey.
- Hey. Hi.
the existence of a moms' night out?
Like, how do we bear
to admit that we're in a cage?
We need to be liberated,
prowl the streets,
drinking Aperol spritzes
in our blouse and tops. God.
- You know the secret is?
- What's the secret?
The secret is nobody wants to be there.
We just wanna be left alone.
You know, like, "We wanna be left alone.
We don't need some organized activity."
"Just let me watch TV by myself."
But those women need to be
let out of the cage.
Yeah, I don't know. I don't know.
Maybe I'm just different than they are.
They need to prowl the streets
with their Aperol spritz.
You know what I mean?
Am I, like, speaking some unspoken truth
that we all share or am I really
just very different from them?
It's pretty intense.
It's a shame,
the thing that happens to women.
What's going on with you?
Oh, sorry.
I was so looking forward to coming here
and then
I just sent my kids off to camp
because I don't wanna tell them
that their mother
has decided that she needs yoga
more than she wants to be a mother.
Sorry, I'm distracted. Sorry.
Is she still gone?
Yeah. I mean, look, she does this, okay?
But, I'm starting to think that
it hasn't really
gone on this long, you know?
She normally, like, delights
in sending me eyeroll emojis
whenever I complain.
But this is, like, a whole new level,
just going dark.
Have you gone to the office
or the yoga place?
Have you called the yoga place
or her assistant?
I mean, I would march right in there.
I don't wanna have to call her
assistant, okay?
I want her to be normal.
And yes, I called
the assistant and of course
I called the yoga place, too.
Yeah. I got nothing.
Well
I think when you stop having sex
with somebody, all bets are off.
Well, actually,
we were still having sex.
- My man.
- What?
- My man.
- No, it's not like a
- My man.
- It's not like a happy thing.
- My man.
- Okay. Yeah.
It was weird. I would drop the kids off
and she would say
that she needs to talk to me
about something privately,
so we'd go into our bedroom
or her bedroom, I guess. I don't know.
And she wouldn't even
turn the lights on.
We would just, like, start.
- And then what happened?
- Don't.
You know how it works, right?
Yeah. And then, I don't know.
It was over and she would roll over
and pretend to fall asleep,
and I would just quietly leave.
It's weird. I don't mind it.
It's like a hundred little goodbyes.
I'm sorry. You know,
I thought it would be over
and I wouldn't think about her anymore,
but, like, my brain keeps
remembering everything, like,
trying to determine
if I could've seen this coming.
I literally
can't stop thinking about her.
You're not worried about her?
No, I mean, she does this.
- She does?
- Yeah, she does this,
like an extra three days
on a business trip where we wake up
and she's not there
and she works all day,
and we only see her the next morning.
Like, a million times, really.
A million times.
That, I actually do understand. I
used to really like being on a story
and, you know, staying an extra day.
Yeah, but now it's longer
than just an extra day or two.
Yeah. I've never heard of this
before. And I would always call, like
Right. You're a normal,
you know, person.
Thank you.
What if something had happened to you?
Well, yeah, exactly.
What if something has happened to her?
No. She's
What?
- Nothing. She
- What is it?
A few years back,
she went to some work thing.
She got home really late, like, at
3:00 a.m. And I had called her, okay?
And she didn't answer, as usual,
because that's just what she did
and I wasn't worried about her.
She never checked in
when she was running late.
I was always a second thought,
and this is while we were married.
Anyway, she stumbles in
and she's not drunk or anything,
and she, like, passes out on the couch,
and I realized, I mean,
she had been roofied.
- What?
- Yeah.
- No.
- Yeah.
No, I mean, no,
nothing had happened to her.
No, I think some employee of hers saw
that she was, like, a little out of it
and brought her home immediately. But
I keep remembering this,
like, terrible tiny moment
and I'm actually kind of like
ashamed to admit it but
But after I knew that she was safe, once
I knew that nothing worse had happened,
I felt like, just briefly,
like just for,
like, one second, though,
like, relieved,
you know, that she hadn't just
forgotten to, to call me, you know?
She hadn't just forgotten
that I existed.
She didn't forget to call home,
she couldn't.
You know, what a relief that this wasn't
just another time
where she was treating me like shit,
you know?
- Wow.
- Yeah. I mean, I'm not proud of this,
you know, but I keep thinking about it.
Yeah, but I mean, she does this, right?
I mean, she does this.
Unless what if something
happened to her?
Yeah. But no, nothing happened to
her. No, nothing happened to her. No.
Are you okay, Toby? Yeah?
Yeah, I'm fine. Shit. Sorry. Sorry.
Fuck. Yeah, Dr. Fleishman.
Toby, I'm sorry to bother you,
but we, we have a 22-year-old
in fulminant liver failure.
- Yeah.
- We can't figure it out.
Okay. No, I'll be
Shit, I'll be right in.
Sorry, I got to go. My fellows need me.
I have a young patient.
- Are you sure you're okay?
- Yeah, yeah.
Sorry, I just I got to go.
- Heads up! Sorry.
- Watch where you're going.
Suddenly, he saw danger everywhere.
Suddenly, he couldn't conceive
of the version of the person
he was even 10 minutes ago,
who hadn't thought to ask hard questions
about his ex-wife's disappearance.
He'd been so busy taking a tour
of the block universe of his marriage
that he'd forgotten to stay in the now,
where there was an emergency.
He wasn't okay, he was worried.
He suddenly felt very foolish for
not having thought through the fact
that yes, she was a terrible person,
but bad things
happen to terrible people, too.
- Hello.
- I'm so embarrassed.
It's an overdose.
We hadn't gotten back the acidity
Wait, wait. Sorry,
do you still need me to come in?
No, no, we're fine. I'm so sorry to
disturb you. I'm really embarrassed.
Okay. No. it's, it's okay.
Probably nothing was wrong,
probably she was fine
and just being
her normal inconsiderate self.
He needed to pull himself together.
He needed some citrus.
He needed some produce.
This was what summer wrought
heat and terror and rotting fruit.
Honestly, fuck summer.
Summer was marketing, summer was a scam.
Simone. Yes, Simone.
Hi, it's Toby. I'm sorry.
Yeah, where, where is Rachel?
Okay. No, I know she has the week off.
Yeah, but you must have spoken to her.
Okay. Okay. No, that's fine.
I will try her there.
Hello. Will you look at that?
Two Fleishman sightings in one day.
I love a husband doing food shopping
in the middle of the day.
Toby, are you still into yoga?
Sam's getting into yoga.
Wait. Todd is gonna try it. He swears.
Well, he says after our Rome trip.
Did Hannah tell you we're going to Rome?
I swear. She and Lexi
Sorry, wait. Two Fleishman sightings.
The kids just went to camp.
We just saw Rachel.
What?
She was napping in the park.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
It was the craziest thing.
She was just lying there napping.
Miriam said something,
and then Cyndi talked for either
an hour more or a minute more.
But Toby didn't hear anything after that
because his blood froze,
and his inner ear started to bleed,
and his brain turned to putty,
and began to leak out his nose.
And he knew right then he would never
understand another thing ever again.