Being Mary Jane (2013) s02e01 Episode Script
People in Glass Houses Shouldn't Throw Fish
(Mary Jane) Previously on Being Mary Jane I'm sorry I was being so hard on you.
I spent so much time fussing at you about what you were gonna do with your life.
I didn't take one second to celebrate this baby, and I'm sorry.
- Thank you.
Mary Jane, I'm with someone.
Would you have married me if I'd waited? You already know the answer to that.
Why can't you just say it? 'Cause I don't want to live in the past.
- What the hell is that? - David's sperm.
(all) Oh.
Mary Jane, really? Goodbye, David.
And I really do hope that you have a great life.
[intense music.]
[sighs.]
[inhales deeply.]
[sighs.]
[somber music.]
[breathing heavily.]
[sighs.]
Okay.
[moans softly.]
[sighing.]
Okay.
[sighing.]
Hey, Starsky.
Are you still looking for Hutch? [food rattling.]
Come on.
Let's go look at some birds.
[birds chirping.]
[glass shattering.]
[dog barking.]
(woman) Like lullabies You are forever in my mind I see you [indistinct chatter.]
Shush, shush, shush.
I am about to read Walter Mosley's prose.
- Oh! - All right.
[woman sighs.]
Many of us seek to make our own lives better.
We succeed often enough when we have America behind us, but even if we make a good living and buy a big house-- shut up, Lisa-- how can our lives be seen as good when so many are starving and suffering, ailing and disinherited? Well, I could share my delicious lamb.
[laughter.]
- Aw.
- I'm not sharing mine.
We had a context: our own.
Before de-segregation, we had to do it all.
Skilled laborers, professionals, entrepreneurs.
I'm so tired of people making it seem like it was this, like, black utopia.
Okay, there was still violence.
There was still lynchings.
- There was still Jim Crow laws.
- Edu-cation.
- Here we go.
- "Edu.
" - Edu-cation.
- Education.
(Mary Jane) Education! No, no.
Education.
See? - What about it? - Bill Cosby was right.
We failed ourselves when we gave up on education.
We just don't want to talk about it.
(woman) Mm-hmm.
Well, I think that we are misusing religion to our own detriment.
I mean, actively waiting on Jesus to save us.
Yeah.
I am so tired of people attacking the church.
The church has been the cornerstone of our survival and success for all these years.
- That's our context.
- You know what? (Kara) They're not thinking about you.
That's the problem with you people.
[indistinct chatter.]
Be black at home, and when you step out that door, be American, and go get your money.
That's what I'm saying.
Somebody take her drink, her book, and her black visitor's pass.
Uh-uh; don't even play me like that.
(woman) Just step outside.
You can look at this "gadonky-donk" right up in here and see Africa.
- All right.
- I see Uganda.
(man) I saw a little Africa.
Black people are not doing that bad.
Come on, now.
Honestly, listen.
Would you rather be working class in America or in Africa? (Mary Jane) America - We're gonna say America-- - I can't answer.
(all) America God shed his [song becomes garbled.]
- Oh, she drinking too.
- I know.
She needs to put that in-- Forget about our context in America, okay.
We are America.
All right? Everything in this country we contributed.
Now, I'm not just talking about the simple fact that we built the actual infrastructure that the country sits on.
I'm talking jazz.
We did that.
Hip-hop.
We did that, okay? (Chris) Soul food? Okay, I'll give them apple pie, but everything else? We did that.
Soul food is actually the only genuine American cuisine.
What's up? - Hey.
- Hey.
- You're late.
- Good to see you, man.
- Good to see you, too, man.
- Hey, you.
Sorry.
(Mary Jane) I wish you would just stop.
- I've given up on Chris.
- My man.
(Valerie) At least, with the pen, it looks a little more sophisticated.
Yeah, it's funny, Letta, how you have a dinner party trying to free yourself from a shackled thought, and you can't see that what you're drinking and eating is doing more damage than what they're smoking.
Sugar's the biggest drug trade going, okay? Investigate that.
Get that out to the people.
I need to pour another drink just to deal with what the hell you just said.
[laughter.]
Ah! What the--whoa.
- You got problems.
- Yeah, okay.
- No, no.
Our brother.
- Okay.
(Mary Jane) Perfect example of a black man who made one bad business mistake.
One.
One.
One mistake.
- One for us is one too many.
- Yeah, okay.
But look here, Letta.
Our father was Advantage Airlines' first black COO.
Okay, first Patterson to go to college.
First Patterson to move on the bougie block.
Now, I'm told those are leaps and bounds Superman can't make, but as great as our father is, he still lived back in the day when America was on the come-up.
What we fail to realize is that America had room to grow back then, and when you have room to grow, you have a robust economy, and anybody with an education and will can get a piece of the pie.
We're all tapped out now.
No new frontiers, and while we are having these "dinner parties," hoping that these degrees will help us figure out how to overcome what oppression has done to us, everybody else is snatching up what's left of America's economy.
Okay.
Time's up.
What's your point? [laughter.]
I say we pull a group of investors together, okay? Fund a lobbyist group to legalize marijuana in the state of Georgia, fund some dispensaries, and sit back and count our cash.
Wrong.
Wrong.
Okay, look.
Our father achieved everything he had because he wanted it.
He wanted more for his family, and he wanted more for himself.
That's the same kind of spirit that changed the laws in this country.
- No, no.
- Yeah, no.
That's the same kind of spirit that changed the laws in this country.
She's right.
We used to have a spirit about us, and we need that spirit back, 'cause we have a brother who also went to Morehouse who babysits movie trailers for a living.
(Mary Jane) And I can't enjoy any of this.
I can't stop and smell the roses, knowing his ass is sitting out there.
(Paul Jr.
) Well, see, sister? That says more about you than it does about him.
Is that you keeping it real? - Does it not? - Okay.
- Does it not? - Okay.
Okay.
Let me be really, really, really real.
(Paul Jr.
) Please.
Please do.
I would have used your ass as an example, but you're sitting here.
(Paul Jr.
) Wow.
Yeah.
You sling your penis to every MILF in Virginia-Highland to push off a dime bag.
Mary Jane, come on.
(Paul Jr.
) Wow.
You whack off in your parents' house.
I'ma let you have that one, 'cause you're in front of your peoples, but you might-- You're gonna let me have it 'cause I'm in front of my peoples? How about you're gonna let me have it 'cause I'm in my own damn house? - Shh-shh-shh-shh-shh-shh - Oh, wow.
Wow.
Now I see why David Yeah.
Doesn't want you.
Now I see why he's with that white chick.
[man whistles.]
(man) Okay.
[man clears throat.]
Uh [laughs.]
You know, I--I watch those Animal Planet shows with my kids, and this particular episode, this mandarin duck was encouraging her seven ducklings-- and I mean, like, new-newly born-- within 24 hours, to leap out of uh, their--their nest, and all of them land safely, except for one, and now I'm curious.
What is the mother gonna do? So she stares at the hurt duckling for, like, a minute, and then she turns around, and she heads towards the water, and the other ducklings just follow her.
They don't even, like, take a second look.
And then the kids start crying, and I tried to explain to them that it's just nature.
You know, in order for the six ducklings to have a chance at life, the mother can't go back to help just the one.
It's it's survival.
- That's deep.
- Pretty good, right? [indistinct chatter.]
Val, did you just compare my brothers to some damn ducks? No, I was trying to give you a story-- Of all the things to reference, why not choose something from the book? You know, like the reason we're here.
Well, when you're invited to the party two days before, it doesn't really give you a chance to read the book.
It's 100 pages.
You could have read it on the toilet.
Well, I don't have the leisure of sitting around on a toilet to read.
Okay.
(woman) Why don't we just move on? [all talking at once.]
Somebody take the drink away.
For real.
I didn't even know she was drunk.
- She's drunk, all right.
- I'm sorry, no.
Let's be honest.
You don't have time to use the bathroom.
Do you realize that every opinion that you have, every story that you tell, every quip you throw out there is based on you being a wife and a mother? Well, perhaps that's my context.
Okay.
You know, what do you even have us here for? Huh, Mary Jane? So that you can insult me? I'll tell you, Val, because I wanted to know what the hell was going on with David, but since I'm done with his ass, and really, you guys are his friends, I should be done with your ass as well.
(Kara) MJ And honestly, honey, I'm surprised you're even out because Chris never lets you go anywhere.
- Mary Jane! - What? We can talk about my brother being a security guard.
We can have laughs at that, but we can't talk about Chris putting her on a leash? You are so sad.
[retching.]
Oh, goodness.
All right, baby girl.
That's it.
Drink that Pedialyte.
- I left it by your bed, okay? - I will.
Sleep in tomorrow, all right? Monday's 30 hours away.
I will.
[sighs.]
And hey-- don't beat yourself up.
You are allowed to take twice as long untangling your heart from him as you spent loving him.
It's the Grand Canyon theory.
I need to lay down, and I need you to stop talking, and I need you to go home.
Okay.
Call me.
(man) Reach out and touch faith Faith Your own personal Jesus Someone to hear your prayers [retching.]
Your own personal Jesus Someone to hear your prayers Someone who's there Feeling unknown and you're all alone Flesh and bone by the telephone Lift up the receiver I'll make you a believer Yes! Take second best, put me to the test Things on your chest We need to confess I'll deliver, you know I'm a forgiver Reach out and touch faith Reach out and touch faith Mm.
We need to keep our eye on the business sector.
Mm-mm.
Finance mumbo-jumbo's Archie show.
No, I'm talking about the profile approach.
Like these Snapchat guys.
Who turns down a $3 billion cash offer? Crazy.
White boys.
Ooh.
We should get Sheldon Dewitt on.
He hasn't given an interview to anybody, not print or otherwise.
- He's retired.
- So? These guys are still in the game.
We need to tap into the tech world more.
Up our male viewers.
That's what we got to do.
Males.
Uh-oh.
What'd I say? I just don't feel like I know everything.
Kara, there--he couldn't possibly want her like that.
Oh, my God.
We're talking about David? I just feel like I need closure.
Like, if I knew why, then I could let him go.
He's with somebody else, Mama.
That's why.
When he came over that night, he didn't want to leave.
He wanted to stay, Kara.
Okay.
I think he wants me back, but I just pushed him too far.
I can't.
And, you know, you could go down this road with me just a little bit.
- You know what? I've been down that road, and I'm just trying to save you the trouble.
Mm-hmm.
Do you still think about John? [scoffs.]
Not much anymore.
Not even on the horny days? No, because a good friend of mine told me that dipping into archival penis can be tricky on the heart.
- I said that? - Yeah.
You did.
And don't go there again, so come back to me.
We got work to do, okay? [sighs.]
(woman) Coming up on Rehab Addict This house is so busted.
[both laughing.]
Oh, hey, Grandma.
Did you need something? Who are you, and why are you in my house unannounced? Grandma, this is Shelley.
Treyvion's godmother.
[laughs.]
Well, you're never around.
Forgot what you look like.
But you still have to be announced so that she can learn some manners and ask, instead of assuming you can do whatever you want in my house.
Why you always trying to embarrass me? I don't have to do that.
You do a great job yourself, and it's "why are you.
" Use a verb sometime.
Girl, just go.
Why are you so hateful to me? Niecy, I am tired of all you grown-ass people laying around this house waiting for me to pay the heat.
Get a job.
Isabelle is a month old.
So is that why all you young girls get pregnant, so you can avoid working? Grandma I told you I'm starting nursing school in the fall.
We've talked about this.
And until then, what? What does that plan look like, Niecy? - Me moving out.
- When? Where are you going to go? How soon can you get there? Oh, Niecy, Niecy, Niecy.
You have two kids by two different men, and neither one of 'em is here to pack your ungrateful, disrespectful behind up.
I can't stand you.
Oh, good.
And you just tell that to all the folks that care on the other side of this door.
My door.
Whatever.
"Whatever" my ass.
(man) Well, if you're feeling like there are too many pressures and demands on you, you're not alone.
Everyone experiences stress at times: adults, teens, and even kids.
But there are ways to minimize stress and manage the stress that is or seems to be unavoidable.
Stress is a feeling that's created when we react to particular events.
Its' the body's way of rising to a challenge and preparing to meet a tough situation with strength, stamina, focus [cell phone chimes.]
And a heightened alertness.
The events that provoke stress are-- Oh! Shoot.
(Mary Jane) Okay, so if you add being 30 minutes late to the list, I can just give you one huge, universal apology.
Valerie, I am truly sorry.
I really am.
How could you do that to me? Insult me like that? I'm jealous of you.
It's really hard to be around you and Chris.
You know, publicly, yes, everyone knows that I am your biggest cheerleader, but privately, girl, sometimes I hate the fact that you have it all, and it makes me a little I have all that I want because I work at it and because he works at it.
That's kind of how it works, but we're not special.
You can't have my life.
It's mine.
Go get yours.
No, I'm clear.
I want the life that you have on Instagram, because that looks awesome.
That's because I didn't post the fight that we had on our way to your dinner party.
You should have.
It would have helped.
Do you know how they met? [stammering.]
I mean, just--if you just-- if you just tell me-- how did they meet? Wow, so you didn't come here to say you're sorry.
You just came to get more information from me.
No, I just want-- I want closure is what I want, and I just can't seem to get it.
Well, then call him.
Ask him.
I'm asking you.
What do you know about them? I mean, it's like she sprang out of nowhere, and--I mean, unless he was dating her while he was still seeing me.
- Is that it? - Look.
You can tell me.
I can take it.
I don't know much about her, okay? I'm just getting to know her.
Fine.
Okay, so can you tell me why did they decide to move in together so quickly? Well, he just bought a house.
David has been methodical about everything in his life.
We were together three years.
He didn't even suggest that I move in with him.
He didn't have a house.
You know what I mean, Val.
What is it about her? Are they getting married, and no one wants to be the one to tell me? Are they already married? Is she pregnant? Is she--is she dying? Is she-- is she super rich? - What is it - You know what? About her? I really can't talk to you about this.
I'm--I'm sorry.
Fine.
I have a-- I do have a question, and it's doctor-related.
Sure.
This morning, when I woke up I had peed in the bed.
Mary Jane, you know what? You're stressed.
What I saw at the party and what you're telling me now maybe you need a vacation.
Yeah, 'cause that's exactly what Jamaica needs.
One more single black female.
Thank you.
Thank you, doctor.
You know what, and I'm sorry, Valerie.
I am truly, truly sorry, and I'm sorry that I said Chris doesn't let you go anywhere, because clearly you get out.
This is--decisions, decisions.
[melancholy music.]
[phone buzzing.]
[phone ringing.]
[clears throat.]
Hello? Where are you? [indistinct intercom chatter.]
[baby crying.]
Watch my floors.
[baby fussing.]
You can go in there.
[quietly.]
Okay.
(Mary Jane) Niecy, the kids out on MARTA all times of the night is not a good idea.
(Niecy) I do it all the time.
Sometimes I just need to get out of that house.
Get some peace.
Hear myself think.
Treyvion loves it.
I get him some ice cream.
I read to him.
He thinks I'm the best mommy in the world, and all I have is $5 in my pocket.
All right, this is where you guys are gonna be staying, but wait--just-- I got to take the silk duvet off first.
Okay? (Niecy) But, to him, I'm still the best.
Thank you, Auntie.
[sniffs.]
It's okay.
[sighs.]
[sobbing quietly.]
It's okay.
It's okay.
And then she was like, "Why do you got to be a fake nurse when you can be a real nurse?" It's like, damn.
I'm trying to do something with my life, and she started kicking me down.
I could be making $20 an hour.
I ain't never made that kind of money before.
If I know my mom, she was like, "If you're gonna go to school, Niecy," "go to school.
Don't play at it.
" "It's all a hustle.
"After it's all said and done, "you're gonna be paying them $50,000 for a piece of paper that authorizes you to wipe somebody's ass.
" "You got to work at it, Niecy.
"If you want an education, "there's no getting around that.
"You got to study.
"You got to add and subtract.
"Divide.
Multiply.
"You got to figure out what X is and carry the one to a better life.
" Ugh.
It's like she always has something to say.
Oh, trust me.
I know.
It's just that the LVN program is a year.
I told her I will pay her back.
Nursing school? Four years with an associate's, which I don't have, and it'll be six years for me, and I don't have that kind of time.
Do you have that kind of money? Do you even want to be a nurse, Niecy? Auntie, I just had baby number two.
How much is the LVN tuition? [cell phone ringing.]
- Hey, girl.
- Hey.
You have five minutes? (Mary Jane) I do.
Okay, so listen to everything before you answer, okay? Are you still in the office? I am, but it's not the kind of "feel sorry for me", "I'm still at the office because I have no life, or because I'm avoiding my empty house.
" They just have more food here, quite frankly, so I don't have to do dishes, and I win.
Anyway, enough about my yummy noodles.
Do you remember when Amy Robach had a mammogram on live TV for Good Morning America? Hello? You told me not to say anything.
- Do you remember? - Of course.
Okay, so in that spirit, I think you should go through the process of freezing your eggs, and my sister was telling me that three of her girlfriends are doing it, okay? It's like the modern-day woman's insurance policy.
I'll do it.
Seriously? I--I have, like, a whole page of notes to sell you on this.
No, I've wanted to do it.
I just didn't want to write that $15,000 check.
(Kara) Okay.
All right.
So if I convince the network to cover the cost, - you will do this? - Done.
Oh, my God.
Wow.
All right.
Well, then I'm just gonna eat my yummy noodles and go home.
- Good night.
- Bye, baby.
I love you.
Yes! [sighs.]
[indistinct TV chatter.]
(man) Everything stores inside, which makes it the ultimate space-saver! [Frère Jacques playing softly.]
Hi.
Oh Frère Jacques, Frère Jacques Dormez vous? Dormez vous? Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah Isabel You're my belle You're my belle Oh.
Oh.
(David) Hello? Hello? Mary Jane, is that you? [baby fussing.]
I butt-dialed David I butt-dialed David What am I doing? What am I doing? Why is he with Ana? Pasty white girl Ana? He should be with me We all know we should drink eight glasses of water a day for healthy hydration, but plain water can be so boring.
A lemon wedge adds a bit of zing, but too often, it also adds nasty microbes like E.
coli, fecal matter, and Candida, a fungus commonly found in the vagina.
So before your bartender shoves a lemon wedge into your bottle of beer, watch Karen Michelle's report.
(Karen) Researchers for the Journal of Environmental Health swabbed 76 lemons from 21 restaurants collected during 43 visits and found that a whopping 70% of them produced microbial growth.
And while the researchers couldn't pinpoint the exact origins of the microorganisms, they speculated they may have come from the restaurant employee or raw meat or poultry contamination, among other sources.
The results of our study indicate that a wide variety of microorganisms may survive on the flesh and the rind of a sliced lemon (David) Hello? Mary Jane, is that you? [heartbeat pounding.]
- Hello? - Mary Jane? - You're live in five.
- Honey, who is it? - Four.
- You're live.
- It's Mary Jane.
- In three.
- What? - Two.
Everything okay? You guys got five minutes? Just five minutes.
I'm so sorry to intrude.
Yeah.
Come in.
Yeah.
Great.
All right.
Don't judge me.
The kids are still awake.
We had traffic coming home.
Boys, this is mommy's friend Miss Mary Jane.
- She's on the news.
- Hello.
- Hello.
- Hi.
(Valerie) She knew you when you were babies.
- Yeah.
- Oh.
Hurry--hurry up and eat.
We got to go to bed, right? (Mary Jane) Again, I am really sorry about intruding; it's-- but I read this article about David's new business, and in that article, they talk about his success through the development of talent.
Is Ana that talent? Is that how they met, and was it during our first breakup? - Chris? - Done? - Because I'm done.
- Done.
- Done? - Done too.
(Chris) All right.
Let's get out of here.
All right.
Everybody get up.
I'll see you guys in a bit.
- Good night, guys.
- Good night.
- Love you.
- Night, Mom.
You see? This is what I was talking about.
This is what I was just telling you about.
This is why I didn't want to go to her house.
(Valerie) Okay.
Thank you.
This right here.
Look.
I feel really stupid standing in your house right now, but I need closure more than I need my pride, so, Chris? Is that how they met? Is she the talent, and was it during our first breakup? - Okay, can we please tell her? - Val, absolutely not.
Val, you are my friend.
This is their business.
It has nothing to do with us.
(Mary Jane) Well, you guys are my friends, - You know what? - And you guys have I know how we can handle this.
The answers to my questions.
What are you doing? - I can handle this.
- So wait.
Wait.
- What are you doing? - No.
Chris, stop it.
- What grown folks do.
- Please don't do that.
Chris, please don't-- who are you calling? Hey, David.
What up, boy? - I'm sorry.
- You good? Listen, Mary Jane is here.
She would love to talk to you.
No.
Yeah, because--yeah.
It has to stop, and-- I mean, 'cause now it's at my house, and I don't want to come home to this.
Yeah, like I told you the other day, you need to talk to her so she can move on with her life.
All right? All right.
Here she is.
(David) Hello? Mary Jane.
(David) Mary Jane? Hello? David, hey.
[somber music.]
Congratulations.
Yep.
I'm sorry, honey.
I (Paul Jr.
) You know how-- you know how she is.
- You know how she is.
- I know how she is.
You know how she is; that's why I told you I need you to be cool.
Niecy, all she wants you to do is apologize.
Me? Grandma should be apologizing to me.
You always take her side.
(Paul Jr.
) I don't need this kind of stress right now, all right? I'm working two jobs.
About to be late for this one for this nonsense.
Now, I told you I need you to keep the peace over there.
(Niecy) She just mad 'cause I called her bluff.
(Paul Jr.
) Called her bluff? You ain't got nowhere to go.
As far as I'm concerned, she's right about everything, if that means you and those babies up under that roof.
Okay, well, you know how she is.
She's always negative.
Who can live like that? You? You in her house.
You in her house, okay? I can't do it.
(Paul Jr.
) I need you to stay there until I can pull some stuff together.
All right? Can you do that for me? (Billie Holiday) Just one more chance To prove it's you Alone I care for Each night, I say a little prayer For Just one more chance Just one more night To taste the kisses That enchant me I'd want no others If you grant me Just one more chance [indistinct TV chatter.]
Hey.
Hey.
I didn't think you were coming.
Neither did I.
[laughing.]
I didn't really plan beyond this moment.
Yeah, me neither.
Why did you come? Why'd you want me here? For a rising star, you're not that bright.
Are you with her because you love her, or are you with her because she's having your baby? I thought we were over.
You made it clear that we are.
[sighs.]
Look, I just wanted to make sure you're okay, all right? I didn't You had me thinking it was me.
You were fine with letting me think that the reason we didn't work out was my fault.
Us not working out has nothing to do with her.
No, no, no, no.
My question is, why was it okay? I was angry with you.
You nearly killed me when you told me that you were having her move in with you.
Why not just throw in the baby news then? I wanted to be sure.
I mean, we don't-- we don't even have the appointment until next week.
Is that why you wanted me to pee on a stick? You didn't want two baby mamas? Okay, having a baby with her? Cool.
Having a baby by me? Well that's just-- that's frightening.
I knew this was a bad idea.
Did you tell her to have an abortion too? Did you--did you do that to her? I didn't tell her, just like I didn't tell you.
You didn't tell me not to, either.
Yeah.
No.
I didn't.
I want this baby.
Do you want her? This child is going to be raised by two parents, and I'm not talking about that weekend crap.
Mary Jane, we did the right thing for our circumstances.
I mean, we didn't know what we were doing.
Where we were at.
You had just got the job at CNN.
And I quickly lost it.
I had just sold everything.
Our lives were not set up for a child.
Period.
Look at us now.
I made that choice because I wanted to have kids under the right circumstances, not eliminate the option altogether.
Mary Jane, you're not being punished.
It doesn't feel that way.
Don't.
Don't.
You're not being punished.
(Yuna) I wanted to Go away with you And I will leave All my troubles here I wanted to Run away with you And I will bring All my dreams and fears Like lullabies you are Forever in my mind I see you in all The pieces in my life Though you weren't mine Like lullabies you are Forever in my mind I see you in all The pieces in my life You know what? No.
No.
(Yuna) Though you weren't mine That was supposed to be our baby.
(Yuna) You were my first love You were my first love I wanted to Start again with you And I will leave All my worries here I wanted only you (Mary Jane) And to the Northwestern University football team, I say good luck, Wildcats.
Change doesn't come easy, and it doesn't come without a fight.
Or as Tennessee Williams reminds us, "High station in life is earned by the gallantry with which appalling experiences are survived with grace.
" I'm Mary Jane Paul.
Thank you for listening.
(Yuna) Though you weren't mine You were my first love
I spent so much time fussing at you about what you were gonna do with your life.
I didn't take one second to celebrate this baby, and I'm sorry.
- Thank you.
Mary Jane, I'm with someone.
Would you have married me if I'd waited? You already know the answer to that.
Why can't you just say it? 'Cause I don't want to live in the past.
- What the hell is that? - David's sperm.
(all) Oh.
Mary Jane, really? Goodbye, David.
And I really do hope that you have a great life.
[intense music.]
[sighs.]
[inhales deeply.]
[sighs.]
[somber music.]
[breathing heavily.]
[sighs.]
Okay.
[moans softly.]
[sighing.]
Okay.
[sighing.]
Hey, Starsky.
Are you still looking for Hutch? [food rattling.]
Come on.
Let's go look at some birds.
[birds chirping.]
[glass shattering.]
[dog barking.]
(woman) Like lullabies You are forever in my mind I see you [indistinct chatter.]
Shush, shush, shush.
I am about to read Walter Mosley's prose.
- Oh! - All right.
[woman sighs.]
Many of us seek to make our own lives better.
We succeed often enough when we have America behind us, but even if we make a good living and buy a big house-- shut up, Lisa-- how can our lives be seen as good when so many are starving and suffering, ailing and disinherited? Well, I could share my delicious lamb.
[laughter.]
- Aw.
- I'm not sharing mine.
We had a context: our own.
Before de-segregation, we had to do it all.
Skilled laborers, professionals, entrepreneurs.
I'm so tired of people making it seem like it was this, like, black utopia.
Okay, there was still violence.
There was still lynchings.
- There was still Jim Crow laws.
- Edu-cation.
- Here we go.
- "Edu.
" - Edu-cation.
- Education.
(Mary Jane) Education! No, no.
Education.
See? - What about it? - Bill Cosby was right.
We failed ourselves when we gave up on education.
We just don't want to talk about it.
(woman) Mm-hmm.
Well, I think that we are misusing religion to our own detriment.
I mean, actively waiting on Jesus to save us.
Yeah.
I am so tired of people attacking the church.
The church has been the cornerstone of our survival and success for all these years.
- That's our context.
- You know what? (Kara) They're not thinking about you.
That's the problem with you people.
[indistinct chatter.]
Be black at home, and when you step out that door, be American, and go get your money.
That's what I'm saying.
Somebody take her drink, her book, and her black visitor's pass.
Uh-uh; don't even play me like that.
(woman) Just step outside.
You can look at this "gadonky-donk" right up in here and see Africa.
- All right.
- I see Uganda.
(man) I saw a little Africa.
Black people are not doing that bad.
Come on, now.
Honestly, listen.
Would you rather be working class in America or in Africa? (Mary Jane) America - We're gonna say America-- - I can't answer.
(all) America God shed his [song becomes garbled.]
- Oh, she drinking too.
- I know.
She needs to put that in-- Forget about our context in America, okay.
We are America.
All right? Everything in this country we contributed.
Now, I'm not just talking about the simple fact that we built the actual infrastructure that the country sits on.
I'm talking jazz.
We did that.
Hip-hop.
We did that, okay? (Chris) Soul food? Okay, I'll give them apple pie, but everything else? We did that.
Soul food is actually the only genuine American cuisine.
What's up? - Hey.
- Hey.
- You're late.
- Good to see you, man.
- Good to see you, too, man.
- Hey, you.
Sorry.
(Mary Jane) I wish you would just stop.
- I've given up on Chris.
- My man.
(Valerie) At least, with the pen, it looks a little more sophisticated.
Yeah, it's funny, Letta, how you have a dinner party trying to free yourself from a shackled thought, and you can't see that what you're drinking and eating is doing more damage than what they're smoking.
Sugar's the biggest drug trade going, okay? Investigate that.
Get that out to the people.
I need to pour another drink just to deal with what the hell you just said.
[laughter.]
Ah! What the--whoa.
- You got problems.
- Yeah, okay.
- No, no.
Our brother.
- Okay.
(Mary Jane) Perfect example of a black man who made one bad business mistake.
One.
One.
One mistake.
- One for us is one too many.
- Yeah, okay.
But look here, Letta.
Our father was Advantage Airlines' first black COO.
Okay, first Patterson to go to college.
First Patterson to move on the bougie block.
Now, I'm told those are leaps and bounds Superman can't make, but as great as our father is, he still lived back in the day when America was on the come-up.
What we fail to realize is that America had room to grow back then, and when you have room to grow, you have a robust economy, and anybody with an education and will can get a piece of the pie.
We're all tapped out now.
No new frontiers, and while we are having these "dinner parties," hoping that these degrees will help us figure out how to overcome what oppression has done to us, everybody else is snatching up what's left of America's economy.
Okay.
Time's up.
What's your point? [laughter.]
I say we pull a group of investors together, okay? Fund a lobbyist group to legalize marijuana in the state of Georgia, fund some dispensaries, and sit back and count our cash.
Wrong.
Wrong.
Okay, look.
Our father achieved everything he had because he wanted it.
He wanted more for his family, and he wanted more for himself.
That's the same kind of spirit that changed the laws in this country.
- No, no.
- Yeah, no.
That's the same kind of spirit that changed the laws in this country.
She's right.
We used to have a spirit about us, and we need that spirit back, 'cause we have a brother who also went to Morehouse who babysits movie trailers for a living.
(Mary Jane) And I can't enjoy any of this.
I can't stop and smell the roses, knowing his ass is sitting out there.
(Paul Jr.
) Well, see, sister? That says more about you than it does about him.
Is that you keeping it real? - Does it not? - Okay.
- Does it not? - Okay.
Okay.
Let me be really, really, really real.
(Paul Jr.
) Please.
Please do.
I would have used your ass as an example, but you're sitting here.
(Paul Jr.
) Wow.
Yeah.
You sling your penis to every MILF in Virginia-Highland to push off a dime bag.
Mary Jane, come on.
(Paul Jr.
) Wow.
You whack off in your parents' house.
I'ma let you have that one, 'cause you're in front of your peoples, but you might-- You're gonna let me have it 'cause I'm in front of my peoples? How about you're gonna let me have it 'cause I'm in my own damn house? - Shh-shh-shh-shh-shh-shh - Oh, wow.
Wow.
Now I see why David Yeah.
Doesn't want you.
Now I see why he's with that white chick.
[man whistles.]
(man) Okay.
[man clears throat.]
Uh [laughs.]
You know, I--I watch those Animal Planet shows with my kids, and this particular episode, this mandarin duck was encouraging her seven ducklings-- and I mean, like, new-newly born-- within 24 hours, to leap out of uh, their--their nest, and all of them land safely, except for one, and now I'm curious.
What is the mother gonna do? So she stares at the hurt duckling for, like, a minute, and then she turns around, and she heads towards the water, and the other ducklings just follow her.
They don't even, like, take a second look.
And then the kids start crying, and I tried to explain to them that it's just nature.
You know, in order for the six ducklings to have a chance at life, the mother can't go back to help just the one.
It's it's survival.
- That's deep.
- Pretty good, right? [indistinct chatter.]
Val, did you just compare my brothers to some damn ducks? No, I was trying to give you a story-- Of all the things to reference, why not choose something from the book? You know, like the reason we're here.
Well, when you're invited to the party two days before, it doesn't really give you a chance to read the book.
It's 100 pages.
You could have read it on the toilet.
Well, I don't have the leisure of sitting around on a toilet to read.
Okay.
(woman) Why don't we just move on? [all talking at once.]
Somebody take the drink away.
For real.
I didn't even know she was drunk.
- She's drunk, all right.
- I'm sorry, no.
Let's be honest.
You don't have time to use the bathroom.
Do you realize that every opinion that you have, every story that you tell, every quip you throw out there is based on you being a wife and a mother? Well, perhaps that's my context.
Okay.
You know, what do you even have us here for? Huh, Mary Jane? So that you can insult me? I'll tell you, Val, because I wanted to know what the hell was going on with David, but since I'm done with his ass, and really, you guys are his friends, I should be done with your ass as well.
(Kara) MJ And honestly, honey, I'm surprised you're even out because Chris never lets you go anywhere.
- Mary Jane! - What? We can talk about my brother being a security guard.
We can have laughs at that, but we can't talk about Chris putting her on a leash? You are so sad.
[retching.]
Oh, goodness.
All right, baby girl.
That's it.
Drink that Pedialyte.
- I left it by your bed, okay? - I will.
Sleep in tomorrow, all right? Monday's 30 hours away.
I will.
[sighs.]
And hey-- don't beat yourself up.
You are allowed to take twice as long untangling your heart from him as you spent loving him.
It's the Grand Canyon theory.
I need to lay down, and I need you to stop talking, and I need you to go home.
Okay.
Call me.
(man) Reach out and touch faith Faith Your own personal Jesus Someone to hear your prayers [retching.]
Your own personal Jesus Someone to hear your prayers Someone who's there Feeling unknown and you're all alone Flesh and bone by the telephone Lift up the receiver I'll make you a believer Yes! Take second best, put me to the test Things on your chest We need to confess I'll deliver, you know I'm a forgiver Reach out and touch faith Reach out and touch faith Mm.
We need to keep our eye on the business sector.
Mm-mm.
Finance mumbo-jumbo's Archie show.
No, I'm talking about the profile approach.
Like these Snapchat guys.
Who turns down a $3 billion cash offer? Crazy.
White boys.
Ooh.
We should get Sheldon Dewitt on.
He hasn't given an interview to anybody, not print or otherwise.
- He's retired.
- So? These guys are still in the game.
We need to tap into the tech world more.
Up our male viewers.
That's what we got to do.
Males.
Uh-oh.
What'd I say? I just don't feel like I know everything.
Kara, there--he couldn't possibly want her like that.
Oh, my God.
We're talking about David? I just feel like I need closure.
Like, if I knew why, then I could let him go.
He's with somebody else, Mama.
That's why.
When he came over that night, he didn't want to leave.
He wanted to stay, Kara.
Okay.
I think he wants me back, but I just pushed him too far.
I can't.
And, you know, you could go down this road with me just a little bit.
- You know what? I've been down that road, and I'm just trying to save you the trouble.
Mm-hmm.
Do you still think about John? [scoffs.]
Not much anymore.
Not even on the horny days? No, because a good friend of mine told me that dipping into archival penis can be tricky on the heart.
- I said that? - Yeah.
You did.
And don't go there again, so come back to me.
We got work to do, okay? [sighs.]
(woman) Coming up on Rehab Addict This house is so busted.
[both laughing.]
Oh, hey, Grandma.
Did you need something? Who are you, and why are you in my house unannounced? Grandma, this is Shelley.
Treyvion's godmother.
[laughs.]
Well, you're never around.
Forgot what you look like.
But you still have to be announced so that she can learn some manners and ask, instead of assuming you can do whatever you want in my house.
Why you always trying to embarrass me? I don't have to do that.
You do a great job yourself, and it's "why are you.
" Use a verb sometime.
Girl, just go.
Why are you so hateful to me? Niecy, I am tired of all you grown-ass people laying around this house waiting for me to pay the heat.
Get a job.
Isabelle is a month old.
So is that why all you young girls get pregnant, so you can avoid working? Grandma I told you I'm starting nursing school in the fall.
We've talked about this.
And until then, what? What does that plan look like, Niecy? - Me moving out.
- When? Where are you going to go? How soon can you get there? Oh, Niecy, Niecy, Niecy.
You have two kids by two different men, and neither one of 'em is here to pack your ungrateful, disrespectful behind up.
I can't stand you.
Oh, good.
And you just tell that to all the folks that care on the other side of this door.
My door.
Whatever.
"Whatever" my ass.
(man) Well, if you're feeling like there are too many pressures and demands on you, you're not alone.
Everyone experiences stress at times: adults, teens, and even kids.
But there are ways to minimize stress and manage the stress that is or seems to be unavoidable.
Stress is a feeling that's created when we react to particular events.
Its' the body's way of rising to a challenge and preparing to meet a tough situation with strength, stamina, focus [cell phone chimes.]
And a heightened alertness.
The events that provoke stress are-- Oh! Shoot.
(Mary Jane) Okay, so if you add being 30 minutes late to the list, I can just give you one huge, universal apology.
Valerie, I am truly sorry.
I really am.
How could you do that to me? Insult me like that? I'm jealous of you.
It's really hard to be around you and Chris.
You know, publicly, yes, everyone knows that I am your biggest cheerleader, but privately, girl, sometimes I hate the fact that you have it all, and it makes me a little I have all that I want because I work at it and because he works at it.
That's kind of how it works, but we're not special.
You can't have my life.
It's mine.
Go get yours.
No, I'm clear.
I want the life that you have on Instagram, because that looks awesome.
That's because I didn't post the fight that we had on our way to your dinner party.
You should have.
It would have helped.
Do you know how they met? [stammering.]
I mean, just--if you just-- if you just tell me-- how did they meet? Wow, so you didn't come here to say you're sorry.
You just came to get more information from me.
No, I just want-- I want closure is what I want, and I just can't seem to get it.
Well, then call him.
Ask him.
I'm asking you.
What do you know about them? I mean, it's like she sprang out of nowhere, and--I mean, unless he was dating her while he was still seeing me.
- Is that it? - Look.
You can tell me.
I can take it.
I don't know much about her, okay? I'm just getting to know her.
Fine.
Okay, so can you tell me why did they decide to move in together so quickly? Well, he just bought a house.
David has been methodical about everything in his life.
We were together three years.
He didn't even suggest that I move in with him.
He didn't have a house.
You know what I mean, Val.
What is it about her? Are they getting married, and no one wants to be the one to tell me? Are they already married? Is she pregnant? Is she--is she dying? Is she-- is she super rich? - What is it - You know what? About her? I really can't talk to you about this.
I'm--I'm sorry.
Fine.
I have a-- I do have a question, and it's doctor-related.
Sure.
This morning, when I woke up I had peed in the bed.
Mary Jane, you know what? You're stressed.
What I saw at the party and what you're telling me now maybe you need a vacation.
Yeah, 'cause that's exactly what Jamaica needs.
One more single black female.
Thank you.
Thank you, doctor.
You know what, and I'm sorry, Valerie.
I am truly, truly sorry, and I'm sorry that I said Chris doesn't let you go anywhere, because clearly you get out.
This is--decisions, decisions.
[melancholy music.]
[phone buzzing.]
[phone ringing.]
[clears throat.]
Hello? Where are you? [indistinct intercom chatter.]
[baby crying.]
Watch my floors.
[baby fussing.]
You can go in there.
[quietly.]
Okay.
(Mary Jane) Niecy, the kids out on MARTA all times of the night is not a good idea.
(Niecy) I do it all the time.
Sometimes I just need to get out of that house.
Get some peace.
Hear myself think.
Treyvion loves it.
I get him some ice cream.
I read to him.
He thinks I'm the best mommy in the world, and all I have is $5 in my pocket.
All right, this is where you guys are gonna be staying, but wait--just-- I got to take the silk duvet off first.
Okay? (Niecy) But, to him, I'm still the best.
Thank you, Auntie.
[sniffs.]
It's okay.
[sighs.]
[sobbing quietly.]
It's okay.
It's okay.
And then she was like, "Why do you got to be a fake nurse when you can be a real nurse?" It's like, damn.
I'm trying to do something with my life, and she started kicking me down.
I could be making $20 an hour.
I ain't never made that kind of money before.
If I know my mom, she was like, "If you're gonna go to school, Niecy," "go to school.
Don't play at it.
" "It's all a hustle.
"After it's all said and done, "you're gonna be paying them $50,000 for a piece of paper that authorizes you to wipe somebody's ass.
" "You got to work at it, Niecy.
"If you want an education, "there's no getting around that.
"You got to study.
"You got to add and subtract.
"Divide.
Multiply.
"You got to figure out what X is and carry the one to a better life.
" Ugh.
It's like she always has something to say.
Oh, trust me.
I know.
It's just that the LVN program is a year.
I told her I will pay her back.
Nursing school? Four years with an associate's, which I don't have, and it'll be six years for me, and I don't have that kind of time.
Do you have that kind of money? Do you even want to be a nurse, Niecy? Auntie, I just had baby number two.
How much is the LVN tuition? [cell phone ringing.]
- Hey, girl.
- Hey.
You have five minutes? (Mary Jane) I do.
Okay, so listen to everything before you answer, okay? Are you still in the office? I am, but it's not the kind of "feel sorry for me", "I'm still at the office because I have no life, or because I'm avoiding my empty house.
" They just have more food here, quite frankly, so I don't have to do dishes, and I win.
Anyway, enough about my yummy noodles.
Do you remember when Amy Robach had a mammogram on live TV for Good Morning America? Hello? You told me not to say anything.
- Do you remember? - Of course.
Okay, so in that spirit, I think you should go through the process of freezing your eggs, and my sister was telling me that three of her girlfriends are doing it, okay? It's like the modern-day woman's insurance policy.
I'll do it.
Seriously? I--I have, like, a whole page of notes to sell you on this.
No, I've wanted to do it.
I just didn't want to write that $15,000 check.
(Kara) Okay.
All right.
So if I convince the network to cover the cost, - you will do this? - Done.
Oh, my God.
Wow.
All right.
Well, then I'm just gonna eat my yummy noodles and go home.
- Good night.
- Bye, baby.
I love you.
Yes! [sighs.]
[indistinct TV chatter.]
(man) Everything stores inside, which makes it the ultimate space-saver! [Frère Jacques playing softly.]
Hi.
Oh Frère Jacques, Frère Jacques Dormez vous? Dormez vous? Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah Isabel You're my belle You're my belle Oh.
Oh.
(David) Hello? Hello? Mary Jane, is that you? [baby fussing.]
I butt-dialed David I butt-dialed David What am I doing? What am I doing? Why is he with Ana? Pasty white girl Ana? He should be with me We all know we should drink eight glasses of water a day for healthy hydration, but plain water can be so boring.
A lemon wedge adds a bit of zing, but too often, it also adds nasty microbes like E.
coli, fecal matter, and Candida, a fungus commonly found in the vagina.
So before your bartender shoves a lemon wedge into your bottle of beer, watch Karen Michelle's report.
(Karen) Researchers for the Journal of Environmental Health swabbed 76 lemons from 21 restaurants collected during 43 visits and found that a whopping 70% of them produced microbial growth.
And while the researchers couldn't pinpoint the exact origins of the microorganisms, they speculated they may have come from the restaurant employee or raw meat or poultry contamination, among other sources.
The results of our study indicate that a wide variety of microorganisms may survive on the flesh and the rind of a sliced lemon (David) Hello? Mary Jane, is that you? [heartbeat pounding.]
- Hello? - Mary Jane? - You're live in five.
- Honey, who is it? - Four.
- You're live.
- It's Mary Jane.
- In three.
- What? - Two.
Everything okay? You guys got five minutes? Just five minutes.
I'm so sorry to intrude.
Yeah.
Come in.
Yeah.
Great.
All right.
Don't judge me.
The kids are still awake.
We had traffic coming home.
Boys, this is mommy's friend Miss Mary Jane.
- She's on the news.
- Hello.
- Hello.
- Hi.
(Valerie) She knew you when you were babies.
- Yeah.
- Oh.
Hurry--hurry up and eat.
We got to go to bed, right? (Mary Jane) Again, I am really sorry about intruding; it's-- but I read this article about David's new business, and in that article, they talk about his success through the development of talent.
Is Ana that talent? Is that how they met, and was it during our first breakup? - Chris? - Done? - Because I'm done.
- Done.
- Done? - Done too.
(Chris) All right.
Let's get out of here.
All right.
Everybody get up.
I'll see you guys in a bit.
- Good night, guys.
- Good night.
- Love you.
- Night, Mom.
You see? This is what I was talking about.
This is what I was just telling you about.
This is why I didn't want to go to her house.
(Valerie) Okay.
Thank you.
This right here.
Look.
I feel really stupid standing in your house right now, but I need closure more than I need my pride, so, Chris? Is that how they met? Is she the talent, and was it during our first breakup? - Okay, can we please tell her? - Val, absolutely not.
Val, you are my friend.
This is their business.
It has nothing to do with us.
(Mary Jane) Well, you guys are my friends, - You know what? - And you guys have I know how we can handle this.
The answers to my questions.
What are you doing? - I can handle this.
- So wait.
Wait.
- What are you doing? - No.
Chris, stop it.
- What grown folks do.
- Please don't do that.
Chris, please don't-- who are you calling? Hey, David.
What up, boy? - I'm sorry.
- You good? Listen, Mary Jane is here.
She would love to talk to you.
No.
Yeah, because--yeah.
It has to stop, and-- I mean, 'cause now it's at my house, and I don't want to come home to this.
Yeah, like I told you the other day, you need to talk to her so she can move on with her life.
All right? All right.
Here she is.
(David) Hello? Mary Jane.
(David) Mary Jane? Hello? David, hey.
[somber music.]
Congratulations.
Yep.
I'm sorry, honey.
I (Paul Jr.
) You know how-- you know how she is.
- You know how she is.
- I know how she is.
You know how she is; that's why I told you I need you to be cool.
Niecy, all she wants you to do is apologize.
Me? Grandma should be apologizing to me.
You always take her side.
(Paul Jr.
) I don't need this kind of stress right now, all right? I'm working two jobs.
About to be late for this one for this nonsense.
Now, I told you I need you to keep the peace over there.
(Niecy) She just mad 'cause I called her bluff.
(Paul Jr.
) Called her bluff? You ain't got nowhere to go.
As far as I'm concerned, she's right about everything, if that means you and those babies up under that roof.
Okay, well, you know how she is.
She's always negative.
Who can live like that? You? You in her house.
You in her house, okay? I can't do it.
(Paul Jr.
) I need you to stay there until I can pull some stuff together.
All right? Can you do that for me? (Billie Holiday) Just one more chance To prove it's you Alone I care for Each night, I say a little prayer For Just one more chance Just one more night To taste the kisses That enchant me I'd want no others If you grant me Just one more chance [indistinct TV chatter.]
Hey.
Hey.
I didn't think you were coming.
Neither did I.
[laughing.]
I didn't really plan beyond this moment.
Yeah, me neither.
Why did you come? Why'd you want me here? For a rising star, you're not that bright.
Are you with her because you love her, or are you with her because she's having your baby? I thought we were over.
You made it clear that we are.
[sighs.]
Look, I just wanted to make sure you're okay, all right? I didn't You had me thinking it was me.
You were fine with letting me think that the reason we didn't work out was my fault.
Us not working out has nothing to do with her.
No, no, no, no.
My question is, why was it okay? I was angry with you.
You nearly killed me when you told me that you were having her move in with you.
Why not just throw in the baby news then? I wanted to be sure.
I mean, we don't-- we don't even have the appointment until next week.
Is that why you wanted me to pee on a stick? You didn't want two baby mamas? Okay, having a baby with her? Cool.
Having a baby by me? Well that's just-- that's frightening.
I knew this was a bad idea.
Did you tell her to have an abortion too? Did you--did you do that to her? I didn't tell her, just like I didn't tell you.
You didn't tell me not to, either.
Yeah.
No.
I didn't.
I want this baby.
Do you want her? This child is going to be raised by two parents, and I'm not talking about that weekend crap.
Mary Jane, we did the right thing for our circumstances.
I mean, we didn't know what we were doing.
Where we were at.
You had just got the job at CNN.
And I quickly lost it.
I had just sold everything.
Our lives were not set up for a child.
Period.
Look at us now.
I made that choice because I wanted to have kids under the right circumstances, not eliminate the option altogether.
Mary Jane, you're not being punished.
It doesn't feel that way.
Don't.
Don't.
You're not being punished.
(Yuna) I wanted to Go away with you And I will leave All my troubles here I wanted to Run away with you And I will bring All my dreams and fears Like lullabies you are Forever in my mind I see you in all The pieces in my life Though you weren't mine Like lullabies you are Forever in my mind I see you in all The pieces in my life You know what? No.
No.
(Yuna) Though you weren't mine That was supposed to be our baby.
(Yuna) You were my first love You were my first love I wanted to Start again with you And I will leave All my worries here I wanted only you (Mary Jane) And to the Northwestern University football team, I say good luck, Wildcats.
Change doesn't come easy, and it doesn't come without a fight.
Or as Tennessee Williams reminds us, "High station in life is earned by the gallantry with which appalling experiences are survived with grace.
" I'm Mary Jane Paul.
Thank you for listening.
(Yuna) Though you weren't mine You were my first love