Fleishman is in Trouble (2022) s01e06 Episode Script

1
Can we watch "Star Wars" tonight?
Yes. Yes, we can absolutely
watch "Star Wars."
I need to choose a charity
for my mitzvah project.
Oh, yeah. Right, right, right.
Um, maybe something
Something with animals?
- That's a good idea.
- Yeah.
Dogs. Rescue?
- Yeah.
- I can do rescue.
Oh, that's a good idea.
We'll look it up.
And speaking of, uh, projects,
how are you feeling
with your STEM project, Sol?
In the days that followed,
Toby found his thoughts
returning to the museum.
But not to Vantablack.
To his favorite permanent
exhibit, the Hall of Human Origins.
Once, we had no language.
Just the raw materials of a heartbeat,
some body hair, and a couple of thumbs.
And then we walked. And then we cooked.
And then we sent our children to camp.
And then we had iPhones
and schools and hospitals
and toenail clippers.
Humans were built for survival.
He'd forgotten that this summer.
But now he remembered.
To survive is to evolve.
To evolve is to move forward.
And to move forward is to recover.
His recovery was slow at first.
I got the kids an appointment
to see a therapist.
You know, they need to speak to someone.
They're too worried about me,
and I feel like
they can't really be honest
with how they feel, you know?
Yeah. I'm not a go-to-therapy guy,
but I think you should go to therapy.
These shades are, like,
melded to the wall.
No, I know. It's insane.
Honestly, I don't even know, like,
what talking would do anymore.
I believe in therapy,
don't get me wrong.
I saw someone right after
we got separated.
But, I don't know, I want to,
like, move into the future
and I can't do that if I keep
talking about the past.
Toby, for real,
man, I can't remove these.
They're, like, welded into
the skeleton of the building.
The building will not let them go.
"I'm nothing without you, blinds."
- "Not without my blinds."
- "You want my blinds?"
"You can't handle my blinds!"
- Hey.
- Yeah?
Uh, so I've been meaning to tell you.
Yeah?
I'm gonna pop the question.
I'm sorry. Wait, what?
Yes. I've been thinking about it a lot.
The day, uh, Vanessa
and I watched Bubbles,
I got this text from
a headhunter, and she saw it,
and, so, I told her everything.
And it was all fine.
She understood. She wasn't angry.
And I thought, like,
"Ugh, what kind of person
"doesn't want that," you know?
Like, I get it now.
Sorry, I'm just, like, so surprised.
Like, I don't know. I just got here.
We were going to have, like,
so much fun together.
Yeah. It was that night,
but, you know, uh, my life is empty
and I feel like I'm getting
more and more desperate.
You are not desperate.
You are, like, the king of the city.
You're, like, the king of the night.
No, I'm just a guy who's getting
older and hasn't settled.
And, you know, I would like a
place. I would like to belong to people.
Really? Well, I don't.
I mean, I did and I don't.
Marriage is, like,
no guarantee of anything.
You still have a family, you know?
I kept looking at you that night
and thinking how lucky
you were to have a family.
And wondering what my life
might look like to you.
Uh, amazing.
Like, it looked amazing. It was amazing.
Yeah.
I guess I don't know
that I want to be the guy
that you save for a night out
when you need it, you know?
That's not what I was saying.
I know. I know.
But those guys are, like,
10 years younger than me.
More, even.
And Brian's going to marry
the next person he dates.
That's how that is. And I'm just
going to be this guy that, you know,
you can't really pin down. I'm suspect.
Look at me, I'm divorced.
I mean, this is
Yeah, but you still made it through.
You passed some sort of vetting process.
At some point in time, you were
part of the establishment.
And you still are.
And I'm just here still worried about
getting invited to Thanksgiving dinner.
Well, I'll invite you
to Thanksgiving dinner.
No, I have plenty of invitations.
But they do require me
being wantable, you know?
And I'm saying that that is not the
same thing as belonging somewhere.
I have no unconditional
invitations in my life.
Hmm.
You could be happy for me.
I was happy for you.
I'm sorry, man. I don't know
what to say. I can't do this.
No, I know. I tried all day.
It actually brought me great shame
to even call you for help.
Do you think, if we were Gentiles,
we could pull this off?
I don't know. Maybe Bubbles could do it.
Bubbles, you're not Jewish, are you?
I won't be shamed by you, Bubbles.
We should be able to do this.
I know. I think we should be
able to do this, too.
You know who could do it? Jesus.
Jesus was a carpenter.
People often forget
- that he was Jewish.
- I don't.
I don't ever forget it.
He was starting to get
some kind of equilibrium.
None of my friends are there.
Hey. How was it?
Hi. I hate the Y camp.
Yeah?
- Hi, Bubbles.
- Hi, Bubbles.
Hey, Bubbles. Hi, Bubbles.
Can we study for my haftarah?
Yes, please. Go get it.
Okay. Come on, Bubbles. Let's go study.
"'We hold these truths
to be self-evident!'
she shouted.
'That all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their creator
with certain unalienable rights.
But that's exactly
what we have on Camazotz.
Complete equality.
Everybody exactly alike.'
For a moment, her brain
reeled with confusion.
Then came a moment of blazing truth.
'No!' she cried triumphantly.
"'Like and equal are not
the same thing at all!'"
Do you think everyone is equal?
Um, yeah. Of course I do.
But you don't like Mom's friends.
N-No, Mom's friends are the ones
that don't think everyone is equal.
That's That's why I didn't like them.
You still think they're bad.
Okay, you know,
you think maybe
it's time to go to sleep?
Is the spot getting bigger, Dad?
He'd been finding his old
equanimity poking through again.
Would you look at that?
It kind of looks a little
like Saturn, doesn't it?
Right, but is it okay for it
to be getting bigger?
Yeah, it's fine.
He was starting to return
to his resting pulse again.
"A picture flashed into her mind
of winter evenings
spent sitting before the open fire
and studying with her father."
He had been figuring out what he wanted.
Well, hello, hello.
Hi. N-N-N-N-No.
Unh-unh. I'm taking you out, okay?
- Toby.
- No, it doesn't have to be to eat.
It can be a walk to the water
or a run to the bodega.
It is really nice outside.
Come on, don't you want to get
the hell out of here?
Are you crazy? It is not nice.
It is 300°. Come in.
I was going to order sushi.
No, let's go out. We can eat
sushi in public, okay?
Let's throw caution to the wind
and just be two
consenting adults eating dinner.
Toby, I can't.
Sorry. I don't think you know,
like, how badly
I need something to be normal
right now, okay?
I do. But, you know, my husband.
Yeah, he's not your husband anymore.
- Toby.
- No, he's not your hu
He doesn't get to be
your husband after you split up.
- Can we just talk inside?
- No, sorry.
Uh, I don't I don't know.
This is, like, so strange, Nahid.
Sorry. A relationship that
starts in bed.
Usually, it's hard to get
a woman in bed,
not to get her to go out to dinner.
I don't think this is working out.
Okay.
Yeah, just, like, I want
something real, you know? I
No, I I deserve something real.
I know.
I'm sorry.
You're very nice.
It is just too complicated.
Yeah.
Toby. I like you.
Yeah, I like you, too.
Maybe one day.
I'm hoping for more immediate
relief than that,
but
No.
He was learning to set boundaries.
And then
"Dr. Bartuck would like to see
you first thing in his office."
Are we going to get a lot of money?
Um, I don't know.
Are you going to get a bigger office?
Hey, come on.
What's wrong with my office?
Okay.
You know what?
What?
I'm I'm proud of you.
You are?
Yeah.
Thank you so much. Okay.
- Okay.
- All right.
Go get the promotion. Let's go. Come on.
Yes. It was all okay.
The body heals. The liver regenerates.
The spirit heals.
It heals and heals and heals
until you're dead.
Hello.
Oh, come in, come in.
Thank you for coming to see me.
Oh, of course.
I'm I'm very happy to be here.
Oh, well. It's hot enough for you?
Where? Oh, yeah. Yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
Uh, I'm just going to say it 'cause
there's no easy way to do it.
It's about your position.
Someone job for hired else we the.
I'm sorry, what?
Someone job for hired else we the.
You it to go wanted differently know I.
So did I.
Wait, what? Who?
Outside hired someone from here
they they wanted
we new blood some in.
Wait, you're hiring someone
from outside to be my boss?
Be the to yes, the subdivision head.
Look.
Nobody doubts your skill,
but they felt like you were
unwilling to give the time.
You've taken how many personal
days in the last three weeks?
I've worked here for 15 years.
I had a I had a bad couple of weeks.
Well, you're an excellent doctor.
Everyone agrees.
The rest didn't really matter.
Janice had some serious
objections to Toby's appointment.
But, look, I I didn't say never.
If you start putting in the face time,
you never know what could happen.
Um, who who got it?
If you don't mind me asking.
Oh, sure. H-His name is Aaron Schwartz.
He was up for
a subdivision head at Sinai.
We got him here. He's a bright guy.
Very dedicated. You'll get along.
No, I know him. I went to, uh
I went to medical school with him.
Toby tried to pull it together,
but this time it was hard.
Aaron Schwartz?
Karen Cooper 911.
Subarachnoid hemorrhage,
evidence of herniation.
Karen Cooper had suffered a rare
but not-unheard-of result of surgery
that left her with the kind of injury
that destroys a person's
ability to think
and breathe and function in a body.
In other words,
Karen Cooper was brain dead.
I thought the liver made her better?
You said that she was getting better.
Yeah, I'm I'm so sorry, David.
So, uh, what do we do now?
What's What's
What's the next steps?
Well, it's It's a massive bleed.
There's evidence of herniation.
It's, uh, it's an injury that's
very hard to recover from.
What's that mean?
It's hard to recover from this.
I'm sorry.
People just don't recover from this.
This isn't supposed to happen to her.
To us. This This is not fair.
I know. I know.
It shouldn't happen to To anyone.
I know.
This is just unacceptable.
Well, yeah, it's a tough blow.
I'm really sorry.
Who else can I talk to about this?
Well, you've spoken to Dr. Lintz.
No, I mean who is the person in charge?
Who's your boss?
Sorry, it's just a very
unfortunate situation.
- It's not like
- I need to speak to someone about this.
Someone who is actually in charge.
It's just, it's not fair.
- Fair?
- Yeah, that's right.
This is not what I was promised.
It is not fair.
- But Toby knew the truth.
- Okay, there's a
social worker that
maybe you could speak to.
- You haven't answered my questions.
- Death is not unfair.
There is a social worker on duty.
I will send the social worker
up for you.
It's life that's unfair.
Sorry, I have other patients.
As if the David Coopers of the world
really wanted to be part
of a system that's fair.
It didn't matter.
Because none of this was fair.
Toby was denied advancement
because he took care of his children.
Toby's own son had discovered porn
and his daughter was absent
a maternal figure
who could have maybe prevented
her from getting publicly humiliated
all because she was out
on some wonderfuckfest
with Sam Rothberg.
Piece of shit Sam Rothberg,
who wore nylon
Adidas pants with stripes
on the side on Sundays,
who had endless bets on endless
brackets for March Madness.
This was fair? Dr. Fleishman?
- Yeah, sorry. Just fine.
- Is everything okay?
Yeah, I was just
Yeah, I'm fine. Thank you.
But once David Cooper put the notion
of fairness into Toby's brain,
Toby found it would not leave.
There are questions a person
shouldn't ask
because they're unanswerable.
Oh. Hello, Phillip.
Hey. Toby. I'm glad I caught you.
- Uh, I-I was wondering
- Yeah.
I'm applying for the Plotkin fellowship.
Oh, in nephrology?
Yeah, and I wanted to see if you
would write me a recommendation?
But you're You're in hepatology.
Yeah, I want to be able
to run a gastro unit
and then a post in admin.
Dr. Bartuck says that's
the fastest path to the top.
Yeah, is that Is that why
you do this? To get to the top?
I do this because I'm a healer.
I hold life in my
Hey, hey. No, come on. I'm curious.
A man's worth is no greater
than his ambitions.
That's beautiful.
Is that a Is that Whitman?
You know what? Whatever.
Sure. Why don't you write it
yourself, and I'll sign it?
I wouldn't really know what to say.
Thanks, Toby.
It's Dr. Fleishman, okay, Phillip?
You call me Dr. Fleishman.
Hi, Toby.
Hi. Yeah, sorry. I was just, um
Hey. I heard about
the new subdivision head.
- Yeah?
- You were a candidate, right?
- Uh, yeah.
- I'm so sorry.
Just It doesn't make sense.
Oh, thanks. Yeah, no, no, it's fine.
We talked about it,
but ultimately, I think
the thing I care most about is
patient interface, so
Yeah. You know, you always
have to be on guard
for the ways that, you know, people want
to advance you out of the thing
you got into medicine for, so
O-Of course, but, God, losing sucks.
Yeah, it sucks.
Toby, I've learned more from you
than any other teacher
that they have in this place.
Really?
Hmm. Sorry, that is such
a nice thing to say.
Oh, well, it's true, so
That is so nice.
And I'm sorry. You know, you were right.
- You know, losing sucks. Actually
- I know.
I'm actually so upset about it.
Yeah. It's funny 'cause you, you know,
all these years, um, you know,
Rachel, my my ex-wife,
uh, she was always telling me
I wasn't ambitious enough.
And I would just say,
"I'm not an ambition monster," you know?
- Right.
- It's different.
And also, like, there's this
concept of enough, you know?
And it's weird.
I always thought it was crazy,
but, honestly, this feels pretty bad.
Yeah, this has me asking a lot
of hard questions of myself.
Of course, but you know that
none of that is your fault, right?
- Hmm.
- No.
Oh, my God, it's It's the fact that,
you know, this world is stupid.
I-It values the wrong things,
but I have watched you
keep all your values
the same despite all these, you know,
all these chaotic pressures
that are put on you.
And I really admire that.
I really want to be like that.
No, when I See, when I first
This was what he wanted.
Someone who cared.
Someone who could listen.
Someone who would root for him.
You can understand how,
given his recent months,
his recent years, his recent hour,
just how much this kindness
meant to him.
Uh, would you maybe want to talk
about this more after work?
You know, maybe I don't know,
maybe I could take
you out to dinner or something.
Oh. Um
You know, I We have that
I have that Hoffman sonogram
that you told me to check up on,
so I'm gonna go do that right now.
Oh, fuck.
Thank you, Dr. Fleishman.
Yeah.
Oh, fuck.
Oh, wow.
Oh, fuck.
Oh, fuck!
How was it?
Dad, why are you walking so fast?
- We're going out to dinner.
- You got your promotion?
- Is your office bigger?
- Actually, you
know what? I told them I didn't want it.
Yeah, I didn't want to deal
with office stuff all the time,
and I don't want to be anybody's boss.
Being a boss is terrible
and then everybody hates you.
Come on.
Where are we eating?
- Dad?
- Yeah?
Dad, are you okay?
I'm fine. Just eat.
And then, his entire body
paralyzed by his first carb
intake in nearly 30 years,
it became very quiet again.
The thing is, he hadn't
even asked for a promotion.
He hadn't asked for this
particular rejection
in what was fast becoming
the worst summer of his life.
His rejection wouldn't matter
when he was fired
for being a sexual harasser, anyway.
Jessica! Dad!
Dad, Aunt Cherry's here.
Cherry.
What are you doing here? Hi, Jessica.
Hi. It's Saturday. You asked me to come.
- What's wrong with you?
- Saturday.
You said you had a party to go to.
We talked about how nice it would be,
just me and Jessica and the kids?
Oh, God. Sorry. No, there's no party.
I'm sorry, I totally spaced.
It's been a It's kind of been
like a bad week.
He didn't get his promotion.
He didn't want his promotion.
- Sure, doofus.
- Hey, show me your room.
Okay. It's my room, too.
- We got a dog.
- Really?
- Yeah.
- Hi. I'm sorry it's such a mess.
It all just kind of, like, accumulated.
You know, I dealt
with Rachel being gone.
I did I handled that.
But then, I don't know.
I took my eye off the ball, and
suddenly, everything else fell apart.
Ugh, please don't listen to me.
This is how I sound now.
Sorry, every time I'm, like,
almost back to normal,
something happens
and I just, like, I don't know.
I'm really sorry you took the trip in.
You lost a promotion. You're divorced.
Welcome to middle age.
The alternative was dying young.
Now tell me about
this party you're definitely going to.
Uh, it's a friend from my year
in Israel, Shana.
She and her husband, Mord,
have this, like, annual reunion.
I I stopped going after
Rachel and I got married.
Then go.
I can't.
Sorry, I'm I'm so embarrassed.
I don't know how to, like,
present myself
- to the world anymore.
- You're divorced.
Most people are divorced.
Go take a shower.
- Really?
- Go.
- Okay, okay. I'm going.
- Go.
So Toby headed to the annual
get-together from our year abroad,
the one I went to every year and the one
Toby hadn't been to in 15 years.
There you go. Thanks.
In the intervening years,
the only get-togethers
he had been to were terrible
one's with Rachel's friends.
When he walked into the Israel reunion,
he hadn't remembered that
the purpose of people
gathering was to be fun.
- We're here!
- Toby Fleishman!
- Toby Fleishman?
- Oh, my God.
- My God!
- Toby!
- Hi!
- Oh, look at this.
Can you even?
Oh, yes. Oh.
Yes, the table works.
Ms. Rachel, this is amazing.
- Oh, thank you.
- Who did you use?
Yeah, actually, we got the guys
who created Levittown to consult, so
- I don't know them.
- Okay, well, no, it's a joke.
I'm just, you know, kidding.
Uh, Marisa McMazz.
- Oh.
- She's Miriam's person.
- Yes, yes, yes. I love her.
- Yeah.
Did she make you do the quiz?
She did.
Oh, wait. Don't tell me.
Was it Was it mid-cench?
It's mid-century.
Aah! I knew it!
Rachel Fleishman! Mid-century!
I knew it.
So, Fleish, how are things
at the hospital?
Well, it's good, actually.
Yeah, we're getting into crypto, so
Wait, what is that?
Is that another joke?
That was a joke, yeah.
- Fleishman!
- I can't believe!
- Toby!
- Oh, Toby!
You look great.
It's so good to see you.
Oh! It's Toby Fleishman!
Toby, my man.
I'm glad you're here.
Toby, this is a huge upgrade.
Thank you so much. Thank you so much.
I wish I could go back there with you.
Here you go. Thanks a lot.
Yeah, no, actually, you know what?
I liked our old place.
It was sweet, you know.
We had mismatched furniture.
It was like, you know, paradise for me.
Toby, this place, though.
You could You could get lost in here.
Like, the ceilings alone, it's
- They make you look shorter.
- Rich.
I mean, they make all of us
I meant all of us look shorter.
Uh, the royal you.
The old place didn't have
air-conditioning.
- It did.
- We had We had units.
Eww. That's what I meant.
Thank you. Toby hates change.
Actually, I'm fine with change.
Well, these chairs are lovely.
How are you, Toby?
Libby said you've been having
a tough time.
I'm okay. I got divorced.
I got married and then divorced.
I hear this happens, though.
- Are you doing okay?
- Yeah.
So, you're on the apps?
Um, yes. Uh, you know, sometimes.
What's it like? It's crazy, right?
Yeah. Honestly, it is insane.
Like, it's it's gross.
I mean, you feel dirty.
Oh, my God, it's Seth!
- Hey.
- Hi.
Hey. You showed.
I did. I might I might never leave.
Oh, hello. Good to see you.
You, too.
You brought your appetite.
- You're looking fit.
- Grace looks good.
- Oh!
- Yay.
This is fantastic.
Hey. You guys ever go skiing in Gstaad?
'Cause I just heard it's great.
We should all go.
I'm I'm getting sick of Vail, right?
Oh, he says this every time.
Gotta check with the boss here.
- Ooh, wild.
- Boss, please.
Boss check.
I likey. Let's do it.
- Yes.
- All in favor of Gstaad?
- Okay.
- Sure.
In. Why not?
Uh, Toby, you know,
I've been meaning to ask,
do you have a good concierge guy?
Working in pharma, you'd think
I'd know all the good people.
And yet, you only seem to know
the bad ones.
Um that was a joke.
I'm j That was a joke.
That was so stupid, Toby.
Um, are you and Roxanne
going to put Max into robotics?
And he looks up at the doctor
and he goes to the doctor,
"Uh, doctor, are you Jewish?"
And the doctor says, "No, no."
And he goes, "Oh, shit."
Was that true?
It's true. It's true. It's true.
And then he died under
Under anesthesia.
No!
He died. Yeah. He died, yeah.
Um, are you going
to put Max in robotics?
Yes. STEM all the way.
He made this little character
out of Legos.
It can walk. It's amazing.
Oh, Solly did the same thing. The
little Lego guy can bowl. It's insane.
Can you imagine if they taught
us this stuff at that age?
Speaking of which,
what would you do differently?
- Oh.
- Hmm.
No, I'm not saying I would
do anything different,
it's just, you know, just, like,
what a world kind of thing.
Yeah, I can totally see you
as a tech guy.
Uh, sorry, I don't know
if I have enough, uh,
hoodies for that.
It was a joke, Toby.
You're exactly who you
were always going to be.
So how's the liver business, my man?
You asked me that.
I mean, you always
fucking ask me that, so
I
Excuse me, I got to go.
Sorry. Excuse me.
Mm-hmm.
Uh, so she is an anthropologist
- Okay.
- and a veterinarian.
She is trying to, uh,
save some species of bird.
Really? That's Okay.
That's admirable.
I don't know if I'm, like,
ready to be set up.
I had this weird, like,
quasi-relationship
with this woman who literally
did not leave her house.
It is weird out th Yes, I'm serious.
It is weird out there.
It filled me with trepidation.
It's just a divorce, man.
No, I know. I know. But it
I don't know,
it felt like more than that.
It felt like a referendum on my
My life and my choices, you know?
What if it's just bad luck? Hmm.
What if it's just sometimes
life isn't fair?
Hmm. Yeah, fair.
Yeah. Yeah, I don't know.
Maybe you're right.
Yeah, sometimes things just aren't fair.
I-I think I don't like to think
in those terms.
That's what those terms are there for.
Do you know what I think
about all the time?
When we took that hike
and got lost and it got dark
It had been so long
since he felt accepted,
like he didn't have
to justify his existence,
that people just took him
on his own terms.
Maybe this was the key.
To spend time with people who
knew you when you were all potential.
Maybe, in some way
you remained all potential to them.
Your mistakes were anomalies to them.
Yeah!
They lost our luggage,
the traffic was crazy.
Hey. I remember you from a college.
Good. Yeah.
Did I miss everything?
You know why I eat these?
- Because they're awful?
- That's right.
- Hey, hey, hey.
- Thank you.
I'm gonna get some diet ice for you.
Diet ice, never not funny.
So, uh, who are you writing
about these days?
She's not at the magazine anymore.
Yeah, I'm not anywhere anymore, Mord.
- Mmh-mnh.
- No, I don't want it.
- It's too sweet.
- I'll take that.
No, it smells like something
a teenage girl would make.
This is really fun.
We never go to parties, ever.
We go to parties all the time.
But we don't go to fun parties.
This is my very favorite night
of the whole year.
Wow.
Wow? I mean, what?
Is that Is that bad?
- Nope. No problem.
- Your booze.
Thank you very much. Mm-hmm.
Hey, hey, hey. How was?
I loved it. Mm-hmm.
People greet you,
they call your kids by name.
Honestly, I say this with no irony.
It's clean. It's safe.
Uh, Libby found it soul-crushing.
- Why?
- Because she hates joy.
Wow, he really gets you. It's beautiful.
Yeah. No, it's hotter than
the surface of the sun,
number one. Also, all the characters,
all the rides, like,
the canned happiness.
Like, for what?
- I would love a can of happiness.
- No.
So, we had these passes
for the rides, right?
They came with the club
level thing or whatever.
And, so, you got on every ride
in, like, six minutes.
Yeah!
But you have to go on this empty line,
past this other line where all
these people have been waiting,
and you realize, oh, I'm not
I'm not subverting any line here.
I'm cutting a line.
I'm subverting the system for the people
who just don't happen
to be on the club level.
That's how it works.
Yeah, but that's not fair.
But it's not fair in your direction.
Exactly.
A thing about my wife is she can
be unhappy both
on a line and cutting a line.
She's pretty amazing, isn't she?
It is. Yeah.
I can't wait to take my kids.
- Can't wait.
- Really?
You can probably get a senior discount
by the time you have kids.
- Oh!
- It's terrible.
You would go and you
would think about how,
like, how same-shaped
all the women are,
how stupid all the people are.
All the women there, they wear
They wear yoga pants
instead of regular pants.
They're just, like,
yelling at their children,
and then you look down
and you're like, "Oh, God.
I'm wearing yoga pants.
I'm yelling at my children."
The common denominator is you.
I don't get it. Why can't you
just wear regular pants?
Yeah, I don't understand
why you're so upset.
My man, asking that will not
yield a satisfactory answer.
Just please trust me on this.
Okay. Just, you know, save yourself.
Uh, we told Yvonne we'd be back by 1:00.
It's 12:30. No, no, no, no, no.
It's my favorite night of the year.
I wish you would stop saying that.
You're not taking our Libby away.
Please. I just A little longer.
I never, ever see these people, ever.
I'm reliving the glory of my youth.
She had a glorious youth.
I did. I did.
It is time to go.
I'll take a car.
I'll see you guys.
Oh, see you later.
He's leaving?
No, he doesn't
He has an early morning.
Oh, hey, awesome. Vanessa's gonna come.
You guys think we'll be here in an hour?
- H Wait, she's coming here?
- Yeah.
- No.
- Yeah.
This night is for people who
are going gently into midlife.
If I can send my husband home,
you can have one night
without your young girlfriend.
Have you considered
maybe I like my girlfriend
more than you appear
to like your husband?
- Oh.
- What's that?
- I said, "Maybe"
- No, I heard.
All right.
I don't know.
I feel like I wish I still lived
in the city,
or, like, even in Israel.
My whole life was ahead of me.
I was at the beginning of something.
Mm-hmm.
We all were at the beginning
of something.
And now?
Now we're at the end of something.
No, we're not. We're just ongoing.
We so are.
And you want to know how I know?
Hmm?
Because we keep revisiting
the beginning.
Yeah, you have a nice life,
okay? I was there.
You have, like, a very nice life there.
Yeah, that's not really my point.
Really? So what is What's your point?
My point is I have cigarettes.
I just remembered I have cigarettes.
Who wants to smoke cigarettes with me?
I'll go.
I'll stand there.
"I'll stand there."
You're such a cool person.
Wow. What a dweeb.
"I'll stand there."
What were those cigarettes called
that we used to smoke in Israel?
- TIME.
- Right.
Stands for This Is My Enjoyment.
Yeah, Israelis.
You shouldn't ash on the ground
of somebody else's house.
- Toby.
- Mm-hmm?
This is my enjoyment.
This is your emphysema.
I'm gonna go back inside, okay?
- What is with you?
- Nothing's with me.
Really? 'Cause you seem
extra annoyed tonight, so
I'm not. I'm great.
I'm gonna go back inside.
I'm having a great night.
Oh, good. Me, too.
You should have been nicer to Adam.
- Adam's fine.
- You were kind of a bitch.
- What?
- Yeah.
You can't treat a person that way, okay?
You can't You can't treat
your husband that way.
Wait, what? I'm sorry, you're
You're interested in me suddenly?
You You want to talk about me?
I don't know what that means.
Oh, it means that usually you're only
interested in talking about yourself.
- No, that's not true.
- It's kind of true.
Oh, wow. You now, too.
Okay, sorry, I didn't realize
I was so negligent.
I didn't say negligent.
I said it was true.
You only talk about yourself.
I lost my job, you haven't
asked me how I'm doing.
Well, yeah, you would tell me, man.
Oh, my God. That is really
not a great philosophy
for friendship, pal.
Okay, well, let's just
chill out. Toby
- Yeah.
- you've had too much to drink.
You're a bitch, but we love you anyway.
Oh, my God. Do I actually
deserve this right now?
Honestly, like, after listening
to your problems
nonstop for two months?
Nobody asked you to do that.
- You asked me to do that.
- No, I didn't.
Sure you did!
And you don't know anything
about my life. Nothing.
And you, like, you don't know
anything about anything.
I know you're married
to a pretty nice guy.
Yeah, but what do you know
about marriage?
Honestly, what do you know about life?
Like, you have punted every
decision that a person can make.
And why do you get to do that?
'Cause you're handsome? You're rich?
- Going to live forever?
- You know what? Fine.
Don't believe him, but believe me.
If I was Adam, I would be,
like, done with you.
You're going to give me marriage advice?
You are? Really? And how about you?
You're going to
You're going to tell me
how to have a good relationship?
Even though you haven't even
told your toddler girlfriend
that you lost your job.
You don't know anything, and you
really don't know anything.
Okay, I'm tired of you treating me like
I'm not a real person
because I'm not married,
I don't have kids.
By the way, Vanessa does know.
I told her.
Congratulations. That is so big of you.
May you have a long future together.
And may you never get caught
in your lies.
What the fuck is with you two?
Who said you lived your lives best?
Who said you're admirable
or I'd want to be like you?
Really? Jesus Chr
You know, I just remembered
why I stopped hanging out with you two.
God, what are you even talking about?
You're dismissive, you are needy,
and I was always a joke, honestly.
Seth. I found you.
Hey. Hi.
Oh, my God. Yeah, no.
- Hey, Toby.
- Hey.
How are you?
Here, let me go make you a drink.
I'm gonna go home.
Okay, it's probably for the best.
What are you doing?
I'm getting a car to the city.
What are you doing?
I'm taking the train.
Just drop me off.
Fine.
All right, yeah, thanks. This is me.
And she's going to Penn Station.
Thanks. Okay.
Actually, I-I'm going to
get out here, too.
- Thanks.
- Libby, what what are you doing?
I have to pee.
Can I please pee?
Just be quiet, okay?
The kids are sleeping.
Hi.
Hey.
Hi.
Hi! How was it?
It was good. It was good, yeah.
How were the kids?
- Oh, we had so much fun.
- Really?
Oh, you have a friend?
Libby Slater?
Yeah, it's me. Hi, Cherry.
Hi. Hey.
Wow, I didn't know you were divorced.
I'm not.
She's just coming to pee.
Yeah, thanks.
Toby?
Shh. You can let yourself out.
Can you order a car or something?
It's late.
Do you remember that guy, David,
that I went out with that year?
Yeah, yeah. The one with the harmonica?
Yeah, the harmonica.
Well, sometimes I used to wonder
what happened to that guy.
Right, 'cause I never knew.
Okay.
And then, tonight, Tracy told me
that he is an accountant.
And he's married to an English teacher.
And they live in Scarsdale.
Wow.
You could have figured
this all out on Facebook.
No, I never looked him up.
Because I didn't want to know.
You know, I wanted I wanted
to think of him alone out there,
same as the day that we broke up.
This unknown legend.
We don't have any overlapping
friends, so it was possible.
Hey, hey. What are you doing?
No, you can't smoke in here.
Toby, just one. Come on.
- Blow it out the window.
- Yeah.
Do you remember when Facebook
first came out and you,
like, looked up every single
person that you ever knew,
only to find out that they all became
the same basic adults as their parents?
Like, they all had these
inevitable conclusions.
To the point that the only
people who were interesting
were the ones who were smart enough
not to diminish their own legends
by going on fucking Facebook
in the first place.
How did we all get this way?
How did we all get put
on this trajectory
where we all ended up with
the same boring life, you know?
I miss longing.
I miss
desire. And it's not Adam.
Adam is great, okay?
Like, Adam's the best-case scenario
in a very flawed system.
But the way that it works,
the way desire works
and longing works
is you cannot get the thing.
Because then if you get the thing
All right, all right.
Shh. Shh. Shh. Shh.
When you get the thing,
you don't get to feel
those feelings anymore.
Am I the only one that
enjoyed feeling those feelings?
I'm just, I'm worried that the only way
that I can feel anything
is when things are very bad.
And I just don't know
where that leads, you know?
I just think that there's
something wrong with me, Tobe.
I wasn't always like this, was I?
God, forget it.
Honestly, forget it.
Let's not even talk about it.
Talking about it doesn't
make it any better, so
Dad?
Dad! Dad!
Oh, shit. Solly!
Hey, hey. What happened?
I went in the bed.
Hey, it's okay. It's fine. It happens.
- I'm so sorry.
- Are you kidding? Don't apologize.
Oh, my God. What is going on?
Nothing. Nothing.
Just wait here. I'll be right back.
Okay.
- Can I do anything?
- What? No.
- Libby, get out of here.
- Hey, Solly?
- Miles wets the bed
- Whoa. Hey, hey, hey.
No one needs your help
right now. Please, leave.
Thank you very much. Go, go, go. Hey.
There was no use
in going home like this.
I made a mess, and the cleanup
already felt impossible.
Left to my own devices,
I always returned
to the museum of my youth.
Trying to find the last place
I'd seen myself.
Hey, how's it going?
Um, one for "The Virgin Suicides."
So they have a dinner for Scott
Maybe you can figure out a time
I'd met Glenn at the magazine.
He was nothing special.
Archer killed it with this
None of the guys I worked with were.
He murdered it. He crushed it.
He was a general with
his foot on the neck
of the village he conquered.
He's a barbarian.
They used war language
to describe writing.
I'll tell you,
if the American man ever saw
who was in charge of
defining masculinity for him,
he would seriously reconsider
his subscription.
But this moment in my life
was not about Glenn.
It was about me.
I didn't so much love him
as want to be part of him,
to eat him, to become him.
And you've got to be rigorous.
You have to understand,
I was never wild.
I didn't have affairs.
I didn't have good judgement
because I didn't have any experience.
But I wanted what he had.
I wanted to really participate in life.
I wanted to eat the world the way
he and every other guy
at the magazine did.
I went about it the wrong way.
Sorry, I gotta go.
I used to blow smoke on him
so his wife would know where he'd been.
Oh, she was lovely. Yeah, it was great.
I didn't realize the real power I
had was that I had no obligations.
I could do whatever the hell I wanted.
I definitely want to get
more involved, for sure.
How was I supposed to know
that, one day,
in seeking the safety
of a grown-up life,
I would lose that power?
I am 41 now.
I can't believe how briefly
I held that power.
I can't believe how briefly I held it
and how quickly I gave it away.
I'd been smoking pot a lot recently.
I hadn't done that in years.
I thought about that thing Seth said
about how people have affairs
not because they're
betraying their spouses,
but because they're trying to remember
who they were in the first place.
I thought about that a lot lately.
- Hey.
- Hi.
How was your day?
It was fine.
I don't remember.
So, just like yesterday, huh?
Hey, there.
Uh, yeah. I know we
need to figure it out.
Uh, I just got home.
Let me, uh, get my memo out.
If he perjured himself,
I owe you a cup of soup.
Okay, all right.
That's probably why Glenn was
doing what he had been doing
It was certainly why I was
doing what I was doing now.
Only there's no affair. No
clandestine meetings in stairwells.
There's just a cigarette in the
city where I lived when I was young.
How poorly I wear this life.
How the adjustment to it
is taking so long
I've started to feel like it
isn't coming soon.
It isn't coming ever.
It was never coming.
This is what I was saying about
questions that can't be answered.
"Is life fair?"
"How did I get here?"
Trust me.
You shouldn't ask them.