Masters of Sex s03e11 Episode Script
Party of Four
Previously on Masters Of Sex The thought of not seeing you every day is not something I'm ready to accept just now.
And your wife? My wife and I have an understanding.
So, what if I keep coming here because we love each other? What are you doing here, Libby? I am so sick of pretending all the time.
I want you to be my wife.
Dennis went to my dad-- and my dad had to show Dennis a book on how to fix his broken penis.
It's incredibly common and perfectly normal.
- Ow! - John! In two weeks, Bill and I are going into Little Brown to present the initial research for our second book.
If he finds out about us, he might even keep me out of the work, which he's done before.
All these women either want to marry me or they look at me like I'm some sort of torturer.
This is what I've been saying all along.
This program doesn't work! Look, if-- if you're not comfortable with the surrogacy work, then we can't continue.
I just want it to be us again together.
That's what I want, too.
I think the doc is a little worried about Mr.
Logan's presence.
So, Bill sent you to pump me for information? Maybe I can spare you a lot of grief by sharing with you a tidbit I have picked up-- Trying to control other people doesn't work, ever.
The only person you can control is yourself.
I certainly hope that you didn't tip him.
Of course I tipped him.
Who gets into a taxi and says, "We're from out of town.
Take whatever route you'd like"? The man drove us through Brooklyn, Bill.
Ah, so what if he did? It was worth the extra $2 to get a view of that skyline, don't you think? No, I don't.
Betty said that The Times gave this place four stars.
Apparently, it's nearly impossible to get a reservation.
Well, I would've been just as happy to order a BLT from room service and call it a night.
Nonsense.
Today went just about as well as it could possibly have gone.
I say you and I have more than earned ourselves a five-course dinner.
Well, that is very generous of you to say.
Because given how you monopolized that meeting, the most I've earned, I would think, would be a dinner roll and a butter pat.
Virginia, can't you let it go, please? It all worked out.
Let's enjoy the evening.
- May I take your coats? - Yes, thank you.
I'll keep mine, thank you very much.
Are you sure? I think you'll be more comfortable-- Is this yet another thing you would like to overrule me on? The lady will be keeping her coat.
In case I throw a drink in his face and need to make a speedy exit, which is entirely possible.
Why don't I give our name to the-- to the host? What is the fastest you've ever seen someone get through a meal here? Masters, you say? I'm not seeing anything in the book, sir.
Are you sure your reservation was for tonight? Quite sure.
Can I take a Is there a problem? There it is.
That's us.
Mosher, party of four? Well, Mosher, Masters-- if it was a bad connection, someone could've easily misu-- Mosher.
Mas-- See? Bill, that is entirely possible if you were calling from a submarine.
And "two" doesn't sound anything like "four.
" - We are a party of two.
- I'm confused, sir.
Didn't you say that yours was a party of four? I did.
No, we're four, Virginia-- you, me, and the Logans.
Her name's Alice, isn't it? Uh, Dan's wife? What are you doing in the lab at this hour of night? And what's all that noise going on? Not while the children are awake.
Oh, come on.
All right, kitty cats, it's time for bed.
You said that Yeah, but it's almost over.
Come on, Lib.
Just let them watch the end.
It's fine.
You know, for a football coach, you are a bit of a pushover.
- Oh, really? - Mm-hmm.
Okay.
Come on, guys.
You heard your mother.
It's bedtime.
Hup, hup.
Let's go.
Set goes off.
Ice-cream bowls in the kitchen.
Johnny, I want to see some hustle.
Jenn, put some pep in your step.
Come on.
Mr.
Edley's kidding.
But 10 more minutes, and that is it.
No more negotiating.
- Okay.
- Okay.
However you want me to be, I'll be.
She's joining-- they're joining us? Why do you look so surprised? - We discussed this.
- We did not.
- Are you certain? - Quite certain.
Absolutely cer-- I've never been more certain of anything in my life.
Well, maybe-- Ah, you know what? I-- I mentioned it to Betty.
That's right.
I did.
I must've forgotten.
I'm sorry, Dr.
Masters.
Is it possible you thought you made a reservation in the same way you thought you told your wife about your dining companions? I am not his wife.
Mosher, party of four.
Good evening, Mr.
Mosher.
Right this way, sir.
Deirdre will take you to your table.
What is going on here, Bill? - What do you mean? - What are you up to? Why would you ask Dan and his wife to join us? You've barely even said two words to him since he set foot in our office.
You've rejected any social overtures he's made to you.
You've barely even tolerated the research that he asked us to conduct.
Which was unfair of me.
It was? Absolutely.
Virginia, I was threatened by him.
I see that now.
What are you doing? Looking for that bald man on TV who pops out with his hidden camera.
I thought he was taking up too much of our time.
"Our time?" All right, your time.
I didn't like having to indulge his curiosity, which was shortsighted of me.
So what if his projects didn't amount to anything? The man opened his checkbook to us.
Now we have a book contract to show for it.
So I thought it was the right thing to do to show him a-- you know, a little appreciation for the support he's given us.
Well, that's Huh.
Well, it's not awkward for you that I invited his wife along, is it? Why would that be awkward? I'm asking you.
And I'm answering rhetorically.
No, it's not awkward, Bill, unless you've imagined us having to eat standing up in the coatroom.
While you figure this out, I'm going to go freshen up.
Shall I have Colette check this for you? You are not to check that coat, Bill.
The lady will hang on to it.
You're still here? Hey, Johnny.
Uh, yeah, I noticed the light was out, so I thought I'd fix it before I went home to my house.
Where's my mom? Your mom is in reading to Jenny.
Um Could you-- could you maybe help me with something - in my room? - Of course.
- Absolutely.
- Bring the ladder.
Bring the ladder? Okay.
All right.
Let's go.
- Good evening, ma'am.
- Good evening.
May I offer you something, ma'am? No, thank you.
Are you sure? We have some lovely new scents as well as the classics.
Channel.
I think that's Chanel.
Oh, is it? I don't speak French.
This one's new, Promesse, and we have Ambush by Dana.
That would certainly be appropriate to the occasion.
- Excuse me? - Yes? Uh, there-- there's no paper in here.
- Would you mind-- - Oh! Oh, gosh! I'm so sorry, ma'am.
Right away.
Uh, um, there you go.
I should've checked the stall beforehand.
- It's all right.
- Oh, gosh.
See? I'm still learning.
They usually have me answering the phones, but Carol Anne, the girl who's usually here, she slipped in the kitchen two days ago and knocked out her two front teeth, got a black eye, and they won't let her back to work 'cause it looks like her boyfriend beat her up.
You can't have that in a nice place like this, right? Ambush you said? - What are you doing? - Didn't you-- No, I s-- I said no thank you.
Oh, I'm so sorry, ma'am.
May I have a wet towel, please? Yes.
Oh.
Here.
Hey, you don't like it? It's not so bad.
It's the-- The gentleman that I'm seeing, he-- he has an aversion to me wearing fragrances of any kind.
An aversion? Allergies, you mean? No, no.
It's-- he has, uh, a very sensitive nose.
Occupational hazard.
It's fine.
I'll live.
Thank you.
Did I get him? Uh, no, he's over there now.
See him? - Where? - Quick! Oh.
- Got him.
- Are you sure? Flat as a pancake.
You want to see? No, that's okay.
I trust you.
Come on.
I'm not afraid of them or anything.
Just don't like them.
I get it.
Is there anything else you're not too fond of? I don't really like thunder.
Oh, well, come on.
Does anyone like thunder, really? An Maybe timpanists, you know? In the orchestras, with the big drums? They probably like it.
You're probably right.
You know what I'm afraid of, Johnny? What? Letting people see that I'm afraid.
It's like, what are they gonna think? This big, tough football coach-- every time he goes to the doctor, he's got to shut his eyes and whistle a tune when he gets a shot.
- You do that? - Yeah.
Every single time.
Here.
You play the doctor.
I'll play me.
All right? - Okay.
- All right.
Time for your shot, Mr.
Edley.
Are you ready? I guess.
Now, look, you said you weren't gonna tell anybody, right? - I promise.
- All right.
And you won't tell mine? I won't tell a soul.
All right.
Get some sleep.
- Good night, Mr.
Edley.
- Good night, Johnny.
Well, I'm sorry you didn't have my girl make the reservation.
I have some pull here.
I invested in Gordon's place in Midtown a few years back.
Excuse me, could you tell Chef Ostroff that Dan Logan is with the Masters party-- that's the reservation that's gone missing-- and ask if he can accommodate us? Apparently, they're booked until-- And that we're very much looking forward to the tartare tonight.
It's not on the menu, but they make it when I ask.
- Dan? Nice to see you.
- Virginia.
You're alone? Uh, Alice is on her way from uptown.
I must say, Virginia, I wasn't expecting your invitation.
The invitation didn't come from me.
Oh, well, my secretary said a woman called, so I assumed.
That wasn't you? Then who-- Bill, uh, did you have Betty make these arrangements? Why, yes, I did.
Why don't I have them check that? Okay.
Thank you.
- I am so sorry.
- Mm-hmm.
I had absolutely no idea.
Bill orchestrated this entire thing without telling me.
Why would you bring your wife? Because when the invitation came in, presumably from you, my secretary called Alice to confirm the time without consulting me.
- And there you are.
- Hello, darling.
Mm.
You made it.
I would like to introduce you to-- Virginia Johnson.
Hello.
Finally.
I'm so glad you called.
Danny just thinks the world of you.
Talks about you nonstop.
Is that right? And, my goodness, you're just a slip of a thing.
I-I don't know why I always imagined you'd be much bigger boned.
Mrs.
Logan, I presume.
- Alice, please.
- Bill Masters.
I'm just delighted that you and your husband could join us.
Now, there has been a little snafu with the reservation - that we're working out.
- Mr.
Logan, I am so sorry to keep you and your party waiting.
We have a table for you if you will follow Jacques.
Ladies? It's all who you know, Bill.
Whom.
It's whom.
Uh, this is a table for two.
We're a party of four.
Well, five, if you include the coat.
And may I ask, where do you sit your patrons who don't have pull-- the scullery? I'm terribly sorry.
This is the only table we have available at the moment.
Perhaps we should wait for something else to open up.
I'm afraid we are fully booked, sir.
Or come back another time.
Oh, don't be silly.
We can all squeeze in.
Can't we, Alice? Absolutely.
It'll be cozy.
You're sure I can't check-- I'm quite sure, thank you.
May I get you started with a cocktail? Ladies? A Manhattan, please.
Alice? So, she'll have a tonic water with a squeeze of-- Uh, white wine, please.
But, honey-- I'd like a glass of white wine, Dan.
Do you have an objection to that? Why don't we make it a spritzer? First, uh, can I suggest that we start with a bottle of your finest champagne? We're celebrating.
Ooh.
What are you doing? It was slow to drain, so What? You can't fix everything in the house.
He's only gone two days.
He's gonna come back and notice.
Oh, really? Bill's gonna notice? Come on.
Well, you do have to be more careful in front of the kids.
You can't take my hand under the dining-room table or reach under my skirt.
Oh, they didn't see that.
But they could have.
You can't call me Lib in front of them, either.
- Did I do that? - Mm-hmm.
Oh.
You know, "pass the ketchup, Lib.
Those potatoes were delicious, Lib.
" All right.
I have this fantasy, okay? Now, don't laugh at me, but I have this fantasy that, you know, the kids will start calling me Paul.
Not right away, but just eventually, you know? You know how Howie has that thing with "L's"? I secretly hope he never loses it.
I know.
Well, if you drop the "L" off of "Paul," that becomes "paw," right? And then maybe the older kids start calling me pa, and then, pretty soon, that's what I am to them.
You know, their pa.
You wouldn't have a problem with that, would you? To "Human Sexual Inadequacy.
" "Human Sexual Inadequacy.
" Do we really want to toast that? It's the name of Bill and Virginia's next book.
Oh, I see.
Well, then, congratulations, you two.
How exciting.
After the success of the first one, I'm sure this one was pretty much in the bag.
No hard sell required.
Yes, you'd think, wouldn't you, that all we needed to do was let the couples work that we've done speak for itself.
But Bill felt the need to up the ante.
Virginia, please, let's not.
Oh, let's.
Virginia's upset with me because I deviated slightly from our agreed-upon script.
I wouldn't say "deviated," and I wouldn't say "slightly.
" I'd say that you hijacked the meeting entirely.
Uh, Bill told them that we intend to include a chapter in the next book on our work with surrogates.
Mm.
I thought you were phasing that out.
Yes, well, Bill revived it this afternoon and committed us to continuing with the program.
Only after the Little Brown team seemed disinclined to move forward.
Not disinclined, and even if they were, that doesn't mean that you should jump in and offer up research that we both decided to postpone for the foreseeable future.
They never would've committed to so large an advance, Virginia.
The last time that we were short hard evidence that our research would yield solid results-- the impotency work-- you argued that it was wrong to promote it.
Do most people assume you're married? You seem married.
Don't they seem married? They're not married.
In fact, Bill has a very lovely wife.
Mm, you've met? No, but I've seen her picture on your desk.
You don't bring her along when you travel? - I don't.
- Oh, why's that? Surely she would like a trip to New York, wouldn't she? Yes, but we do have three children at home.
Oh.
Do you have pictures? I don't, no.
Really? No pictures? Not a one? Dan doesn't like to bring me on his adventures, either.
- Oh, and why's that? - I have a theory.
Oh, I would love to hear it.
Another breadbasket, please? Well, with so many more women in the workforce, I think it's easier for a man, especially one as handsome as him, to conduct his business unencumbered by a wedding ring.
Wouldn't you agree, Virginia? I'm asking you as a woman.
I really wouldn't know.
It's not unlike your approach, Bill.
You tantalize the buyer with the promise of something that you may not actually be able to provide.
I'm not blind.
I know I married a flirt.
But it got me a three-bedroom apartment overlooking the Museum of Natural History.
Hey, might want to slow down a bit, dear.
Mm.
You might want to stop squeezing my leg under the table.
What was the name of the woman in Dallas? The linen heiress? Danny sold her on the idea of including lavender sachets in her seet shets.
Sheet sets.
That's hard to say.
Especially after two glasses of champagne.
Well, may I propose another toast? - Mm! - I vote no.
Um, I'm sorry.
Was that rhetorical? I love your sense of humor, Virginia.
It's very New York.
Are you Jewish? To you, Dan.
To me? Well-- well, we could never have gotten to this point without your financial support.
Hm.
Well, that's, uh That's kind of you to say, Bill.
Well, it's absolutely true.
- Isn't it, Virginia? - It is.
Uh, you have kept us afloat.
And I am happy to report that the advance we received today will more than cover our operational costs from now on.
So we're not just able to repay you in full.
We're also able to provide you with a significant return on your investment.
Thank you.
To the end of our journey.
Hear, hear.
Come on, you two.
To happy endings.
So this is yet another thing you've just decided, Bill, that our work with Dan is over? Well, isn't it? I'm sorry.
Do you disagree, Dan? You made an investment.
It paid off-- handsomely, I may add.
When I engaged your services, we entered into a partnership.
Oh.
Did you see it that way? A partnership? What? Like Virginia's and mine? No, actually, because I don't make decisions unilaterally without her participation.
Well, perhaps you can clarify for me.
Uh, what is the argument for, uh, perpetuating this arrangement? Your venture into, uh lubricants? Lotions.
Lotions.
I'm sorry.
You're right.
There was a company in Seattle that Danny did a lotion line with.
He was working very closely for many months with the most darling Japanese chemist.
What was her name-- Emiko? I'm so sorry that you don't consider our efforts worthwhile, but I have certainly granted you latitude to pursue the things you find interesting.
I thought the scent was lovely, but Dan didn't like me to wear it.
It's funny.
He objects to me wearing fragrance of any kind.
Isn't that silly, Virginia? For a man in his line of work to have what's the word? An aversion? You know what occurs to me, Bill? Is that you planned this dinner before you knew how the meeting with your publisher was gonna go.
Well, it's like you said yourself-- a positive outcome was virtually assured.
Our last book was a best-seller.
No, no.
But then it means you must've come prepared to offer up the surrogacy work over Virginia's objections.
Anything to get your publisher on board so there would be cause for celebration tonight and a reason to say to me, "Thank you.
Here's your hat.
Don't let the door hit you on the way out.
" Dan, Alice, I am so sorry to have to cut this short.
It was lovely to meet you.
- You're leaving? - I'm afraid so.
I knew there was a reason I held on to my coat.
You're sick? Yes.
Of him.
If you'll excuse me.
- Virginia-- - Go to hell.
There's something I need to talk to you about.
It's about us and about the future.
It's okay.
It's a-- it's a good start.
You don't think it-- it feels too dire? I mean, maybe there's a more casual way to get into it so Bill's not immediately on his guard.
No, I don't-- I don't-- I don't think the downbeat is the problem, honey.
I think you just need to be more honest and be direct with him.
Just tell him what you want.
What do I want? Well Do I-- do I ask for a divorce right away, or do I want a separation first and then a divorce? What do I say when he asks me why? I mean, he is gonna ask me why.
Well, what if he does? What are you gonna tell him? I don't want him to know it's because of you.
I-I think that just makes it harder.
Well, look, you had many reasons to leave him before me, right? - I mean - Yeah.
Just not the courage.
Right.
I think he'll be shocked.
And then maybe angry.
I don't think he'll yell.
I mean, he might, but I think he would be too scared that I would say something about Virginia to ever accuse me of anything.
No, what I'm What I am most afraid of is What if he doesn't care? You know? What if, when I tell him, I look in his eyes and all I see is relief? Can I help you? - Elizabeth Masters? - Yes.
I'm Detective David Ascher-- St.
Louis Police.
- Has something happened? - May I come in, please? What's going on? Dr.
Masters? Um, no.
This is Mr.
Edley.
Paul Edley.
I live next door.
What's? And Dr.
Masters? Is he home? No, he's out of town.
And your children? My children are asleep.
I need to ask your son a few questions, Mrs.
Masters.
It won't take long.
Questions about what? You can't just knock on the door in the middle of the night demanding to talk to a 12-year-old child.
I'm sorry, Mr.
Edley, but if you're not family, I need to ask you to leave.
And, ma'am, I need you to wake up your son.
Virginia, I'm sorry.
Please, come back.
Get away from me.
Please, don't leave like this.
Dan was right.
You set me up.
You knew that this was going to happen before you left St.
Louis.
I can explain.
Just let me get my coat, and we'll go together.
Give that to me.
You think I'm going to get into a cab with you? Well, fine, we'll go in separate cabs, but just at least let me put you into one.
Hello? I can manage myself.
Give me back my purse, Bill.
Just one second.
Hello? Can someone please What were you thinking? What did you hope to accomplish today? Or was it enough to simply humiliate me? I can't find my coat.
Here.
Here! Virginia, I-- I'm sorry.
I didn't want it to happen that way, but I needed you to see for yourself.
See what? That he has a wife? You think I didn't know that already? You're not his first affair, Virginia.
You're just his most recent.
Well, that is my problem to deal with, isn't it? That doesn't bother you? What I do and whom I do it with outside of the office is none of your business, Bill.
Well, you make it my business when you concoct some ludicrous research program to keep that man around our office.
Lotions.
Really? What choice did I have? The last time I was honest with you about having a lover, you cut me out of the work for a whole year.
So either way, whether I tell you or not, I end up in the exact same place-- on the outside.
Excuse me.
Number 36.
It's a sable.
Anything you want to ask me first? Have you got a gun? I do.
You want to see it? Sure.
I've never fired it in the line of duty, though.
Have you fired it otherwise? Well, not this particular one.
I go hunting with my son sometimes.
He's about your age.
Your dad ever take you hunting? Not really.
What kind of things you and he like to do together? Um, well, he, uh-- he works a lot, so Ah.
Yeah.
Uh, what's he do? - He's a doctor.
- What kind of doctor? He teaches people how to make babies and how to make their parts fit together in the right way.
"Their parts?" It's okay.
Uh, my husband conducts clinical research-- I know what he does, Mrs.
Masters.
I just want to hear from your son.
Johnny, has your dad ever shown you how your body works? You know, pointed things out to you.
Like, uh, when you're getting dressed or in the bathtub or in the shower? No.
Has he ever shown you how his body works? Of course he hasn't, Detective.
Mrs.
Masters, please.
Of course he hasn't.
Has he ever shown any of your friends how their bodies work? I don't know.
You've never heard him talk about those kind of things with any of your friends? With my friends? No.
Someone who's not your friend? This is very important, Johnny.
Who has he talked to? So, once he talked to Dennis.
Dennis Daughtry? And he talked to him about his body? When was this? Few weeks ago.
After the party for the team.
Well, I was there.
I-- I didn't see your father talking to Dennis.
You were putting Howie to bed.
Dennis was waiting for his mom to pick him up.
That's what he said.
And what did you hear them talking about? - I don't remember.
- You don't remember what you told Martha Geiss and Olive Lambert on the playground? No.
Because they said you told them something about Dennis and your father.
What did you tell them, Johnny? It's okay.
You don't remember saying that your father had to show Dennis how to fix his penis? What? What? Yes, but I didn't mean-- I just-- I just said that 'cause I was mad.
And why were you mad? Because I hate that kid.
He's an asshole.
Johnny.
And-- and dad's always so nice to him.
How is he nice to him? He just is.
He He talks to him Spends time with him.
Spends time with him in ways that are different than the way he spends time with you? He doesn't spend time with me.
That's not true, Johnny.
He likes Dennis more.
- No, sweetheart.
- Mrs.
Masters.
Johnny I need to know.
Have you ever seen your father and Dennis have any kind of physical contact-- Okay, that is enough, Detective.
I am not done here, ma'am.
Yes, I would say you are done.
I am not gonna subject my child to any more of this.
I can bring him down to the station - if that's what you prefer.
- Do not threaten me, sir.
- Johnny, I need you to go to y-- - I'm sorry.
It's okay.
It's okay.
You didn't do anything wrong.
I'm sorry.
No one's mad at you, honey.
I just need a few minutes alone with the detective.
- But, mom-- - It's okay.
Please go.
I'll be in in a second to tuck you in.
Go on.
Go on.
I don't know what you think is going on here.
I don't know who said what, if some silly girl on a playground twisted my son's words to make it seem like my husband-- The boy confirmed with his mother that your husband showed him pictures of a naked man.
My husband is a doctor.
If he showed that boy images in a medical textbook, I am sure there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for it.
Without his mother's knowledge? I would say any mother who leaves her son at a party isn't fit to judge.
Mrs.
Masters, can you tell me the circumstances under which an adult showing a minor explicit sexual images can be considered appropriate behavior? My husband would never hurt a child.
And yet it sounds to me as if he's hurt your son.
You need to leave, Detective.
That's fine.
I will have to follow up, of course.
And when you do, our lawyer will be present.
Hmm.
Well, let's get our check, shall we? We barely just ordered.
I think this dinner's over, wouldn't you say? I don't want to go.
- Alice, come on.
- You can go.
Alice.
Are you not hearing me? I'm staying.
Do you want me to make a scene? You want to finish the bottle.
That's it, isn't it? So how long have you managed to go this time? Three months? I'll go to a meeting in the morning.
I'm sorry.
- You're not.
- Are you sorry? Yes, I am.
For being with her, or for rubbing my face in it? You know I wouldn't have chosen for you to find out this way.
Is there a good way to meet your husband's mistress? Can't you even pretend? I've never denied I was with any of them, Alice.
I've always been straight with you.
You can't claim it's unfair when it was you who proposed this arrangement.
What choice did I have? Alice, I don't want to do this here.
Let's go.
I'm asking.
What choice did you leave me with but to look the other way? You do not want to go down this road.
Trust me.
Oh, why not? Because you don't think your behavior leaves me without a choice? Every time you disappear down that bottle and I have to come find you or you threaten to hurt yourself.
It brings you back.
Admit it, you like fixing me.
I used to.
Can't say I've done such a good job of it lately, have I? You always like the ones that need fixing.
Tell me.
How is this one broken? She's not.
Come on.
What is it? Financial problems? Childhood abuse? An ex-husband who's stalking her? Virginia's different.
They're all different until they're all the same.
I'm in love with her, Alice.
Now, you've never heard me say that before.
What kind of partnership do we have, Bill, if you marginalize me every time I've upset you? How are we equals if you're always able to exact a price for me wanting something outside of work? I know you're angry, and rightly so, but eventually you will see that this is for the best.
I am saving you from that man.
"That man" is someone that I could be happy with.
I-I really don't think so, Virginia.
And-- and why is that? Because of the kind of man you think he is, or because I'm just not entitled to a life outside of work? You're-- you're entitled to one.
You just don't want one.
That was the argument that you made to me in the hospital, when I was in labor, that-- that my ambivalence is the problem, that I should embrace the part of me that cares about work above all else.
Hell, I thought you meant that.
But I see now the person that argument really serves is you, that you were just looking out for yourself.
You're always just looking out for yourself.
Why do you love her? Ally-- Tell me.
I promise I won't get mad.
There's no easy way to explain it.
I-- It's okay.
Just tell me as a favor to me.
Well, for one, her life doesn't start when I arrive and stop when I leave.
She has other things she cares about.
I'm not her whole world.
- That's a good thing? - Yes, it is.
Why? It's okay.
I know.
You need a partner, not a project.
And I'm a project.
But I wasn't always.
Was I? Does she make you laugh? Yes.
I used to make you laugh.
You still do make me laugh.
But not enough to make up for all the other stuff.
Madame and monsieur, prepared especially for you, steak tartare.
Bon appétit.
You think I want to keep you tethered to your desk? I said what I did because you needed permission to stop hating yourself.
- I don't hate myself.
- No? You want to want a man, Virginia, because, as unconventional as you consider yourself, you're still your mother's daughter, and she told you you need one to be happy.
But I know you.
A relationship will never satisfy you the way your work will.
It lights you up.
It gives you a purpose so much more consequential than waiting for a man to come home.
And-- and what? Check his collar to see if there's lipstick on it? That is too small a life for you, Virginia, and it is a waste of what you have to offer the world.
Excuse me.
By any chance, are you those people from the sex book? Masters and Johnson, right? We just loved your book.
Uh, if there's any way, uh-- Oh, Rog and I would just be so tickled if we could just-- If we could just get an autograph.
- I'm sorry.
- Excuse me.
Alice.
Dan, what is it? She's not feeling well.
I'll go.
Will there be any more comings and goings tonight, or may we serve you your dinner? Are they gonna put him in jail? No.
Of course not.
But he'll find out, won't he, that-- that I said the thing that got him in trouble? It's not about what you said, Johnny.
It's about how people took what you said.
And they will come to see that dad was just being nice to that boy.
Yeah, but he's-- he's gonna know that I started it, and it's just It's gonna give him another reason to hate me.
Your father doesn't hate you.
He doesn't like me.
What are you talking about? Johnny, your father loves you.
You're always telling dad to spend more time with me.
If he wanted to, you wouldn't have to ask.
Can I tell you a little secret? I think your father is afraid of you.
Afraid of me? Of showing you how much he loves you.
- I don't think so.
- No.
When you were a little baby, he was scared to hold you, because Well, because I think he was afraid to love something he might hurt.
You were so perfect that he didn't want to ruin you.
How would he do that? By passing on to you the things he doesn't like about himself.
Like what? I don't know.
Maybe things that he feels like he got from his father.
Dad didn't, uh-- didn't like his father.
Why not? Uh he didn't think his father liked him very much.
Why? What did he do? I don't think he cared about being a good father.
He was an angry man, and he didn't know what to do with his anger, so it came out in ways that hurt daddy.
Which is why he left home so early.
He was not much older than you.
So they never made up? They were just mad at each other forever and then just never-- never made up? I was hoping it'd be better between dad and me someday.
What if I ruined that? Oh, honey, of course you didn't.
Of course you didn't.
Are you all right? The room is spinning.
Come sit.
Okay.
Thank you.
- A wet towel, please? - Yes.
Thank you.
May I offer you some mouthwash, ma'am? Yes, thank you.
Um Ugh, what a disaster.
You weren't there when the steak tartare arrived.
It was the three glistening egg yolks on top that did it.
Ugh, God.
Do either of you ladies know if "E-Yew De-Toilet" is mouthwash? Uh perhaps you could, uh, get my friend a soft drink from the bar.
Okay.
Actually, we could've been friends, you and I.
Can't we still? I think it's a little awkward, don't you, seeing as how my husband's in love with you? Don't insult me by acting surprised.
Danny told me.
He-- he told you He always tells me.
We've been through this before.
Did you think you were different? They all do.
Enjoy him, Virginia.
He's a lovely man.
A true gentleman.
He'll always open the door for you, he'll never forget your birthday, whisk you away on business trips, and take you in his arms and dance with you even though there's no music playing.
And when he shows up at your doorstep and tells you that he wants you to spend the rest of your life with him, in that moment, he will think he means it.
I didn't know what to say to him.
Of course, he completely blames himself.
Well, are-- are charges gonna be filed? I don't know.
What, the detective didn't say, or-- No, Paul, I told you.
It ended abruptly.
I-I asked him to leave.
And what did Johnny tell you actually happened? Tell me? Nothing.
I didn't ask.
You didn't ask him to elaborate on what he saw? Why would I? This is just a-a misunderstanding that's gotten out of hand.
It's-- it's Bill's work that makes him vulnerable to accusations like this.
Well, it's his work and his lack of judgment, I think.
You don't seriously think-- No, he didn't do anything wrong.
I know that.
For sure.
I know what kind of man my husband is.
Well, he's the kind of man who-- who's had a mistress for over a decade.
Yeah, but that's something he did to me, Paul.
He-- he wouldn't hurt a child.
Never.
I woke up every morning for a decade thinking that I was a happily married man.
All the while, my wife was planning on leaving me.
You think you know someone, and you don't.
You have to get out.
Now.
Before Bill comes home.
I'll look into renting you a house for you and the kids across town.
I can't do that, Paul.
You can't do what? You can't take steps to protect your children? I am protecting them from the false impression that their father is a monster.
Because, if I leave now, that is what I am saying.
Not just to the world, but to my children.
And there's no taking it back.
No matter what happens, no matter if the charges are dropped, he will forever be the man their mother didn't want under the same roof.
Won't leaving Bill always say to them that you think that you're better off without him? Yes.
Better for me.
He has been a bad husband-- Bill.
I have reasons to leave him that are a mile long, but I don't have good enough reason to take those children away from him.
Because he's been such a great father.
I'd be a better one, Libby.
You know that.
It doesn't matter.
It doesn't matter.
He is the father that they have.
He is the father that Johnny needs to know loves him.
Because-- because, without that, it just-- it just plays out in exactly the same way.
Another son without a father becomes a father who doesn't know how to love his son.
And if If I stay, they have a chance to fix what is broken.
Libby, are you, um Are you saying that this is what you need to do now, for the time being, or what you need to do forever? Is there nothing I can get you? Just the check, thank you.
Alain, annulez la commande.
On annule tout? Mais j'étais sur le point de servir! Oui, je sais.
N'en dites pas un mot au chef.
- Amenez l'addition, vite.
- D'accord.
Right away, monsieur.
So, I have to ask.
How exactly did you expect things to go tonight? Just the way they did.
Really? With Virginia storming out? Well, I saw her, uh, leaving a little closer to dessert, but yes.
Alice's presence helped speeding up her departure? I'd say, in the grand scheme of things, your wife's upset was a little more your doing than mine, wouldn't you? You're a son of a bitch, Bill.
And a misguided one if you think that alienating Virginia is the way to win her back.
That is your end game, isn't it? Or are you afraid admitting that will give me an edge? An edge? I'm sorry.
I-- I hate to be the one to break it to you, Dan, but she's finished with you.
Uh, it may not happen right away, but it-- it's inevitable.
- It's over.
- Mm.
And how do you figure? Well, because that's what Virginia does.
She never mentioned the name Ethan Haas to you? He was a doctor.
Promising future.
Would've done anything for her, including walking away from another woman.
Virginia called the whole thing off a few days before she was supposed to join him in Los Angeles.
Broke his heart, poor fellow.
But I'm sure yours is more resilient.
So you're saying she changed her mind completely on her own with no interference from you? Oh, no, I asked her to marry me.
Only, uh, it wasn't on bended knee with a ring in my pocket, if that's what you're imagining.
No, the marriage I proposed to her was a marriage of the mind, a true intellectual partnership, and I did it without uttering a word.
All I did was put her name next to mine on that, uh, first paper we presented at Wash U.
It was my vow to her, you know, that that was who we would become-- Masters and Johnson.
It's who we are.
You know, it's how people think of us.
It's how we think of ourselves.
Virginia, too.
Hm.
And that was 10 years ago.
The bloom is off the rose.
Hm.
Perhaps.
Which is why I've decided to give her my name.
Just my name-- no "MD" after it-- and put it together with hers on the next book.
Kind of a renewal of our vows.
And you think that's gonna make a difference? It's a little too late.
You've pushed her too far, no? Well, in my experience, when the train is pulling out of the station and you're not on it, you run twice as fast and twice as hard to make sure it doesn't leave without you.
I bet you're damn good at chess, Bill.
And if we played, you'd probably have the whole game figured out before I even made my opening gambit.
It's quite possible.
Mm.
All this strategizing, it's exhausting.
You must be really tired.
Plotting every move, anticipating every countermove so far into the future that you completely lose sight that there's a far easier way to get what you want.
Which is what? Tell her how you feel about her.
But I bet that never occurred to you, did it, Bill? Well, guess what.
It occurred to me.
So, I guess that's checkmate? I'm sorry to interrupt.
There's a call for you from St.
Louis, Dr.
Masters.
They said it's an emergency.
Well, what time is the flight? It's about an hour and a half.
You all right? She's a little shaky.
You should get her home.
Car's out front.
Okay.
I'll take a cab to the airport as soon as possible.
Good night, Virginia.
That was Betty.
Uh, Libby had to track me down.
Something's happened.
I need to get home.
What is it? The kids? I don't know.
Uh, Betty didn't have the details, but she has me booked on a flight that leaves in 90 minutes.
Do you need me to come with you? No, no.
We left our things in the hotel.
You should stay the night and bring them home with you.
All right.
Virginia, I I-I want you to know that, uh-- This is not the time, Bill.
We have a cab for you, sir.
Go.
Excuse me, madam.
May we serve you your dinner? - All right.
- Very good, madam.
Jacques, uh, please seat madame and tell the kitchen to resume service.
May I? Thank you.
vivre mon demain mon bonheur te ressemble tout les deux, vous allez si bien ensemble j't'le dirais Jamais, Jamais assez tout ce que tu fais m'fais de l'effet What are you doing here? I left her.
Alice.
I've left her.
Dan-- I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Virginia.
I mean it.
ça n'va pas plus loin j'veux pas voir derrière vivre mon demain un dernier verre de sherry de chéri mon amour comme je m'ennuie tous les jours se ressemblent à présent tu me manques térriblement
And your wife? My wife and I have an understanding.
So, what if I keep coming here because we love each other? What are you doing here, Libby? I am so sick of pretending all the time.
I want you to be my wife.
Dennis went to my dad-- and my dad had to show Dennis a book on how to fix his broken penis.
It's incredibly common and perfectly normal.
- Ow! - John! In two weeks, Bill and I are going into Little Brown to present the initial research for our second book.
If he finds out about us, he might even keep me out of the work, which he's done before.
All these women either want to marry me or they look at me like I'm some sort of torturer.
This is what I've been saying all along.
This program doesn't work! Look, if-- if you're not comfortable with the surrogacy work, then we can't continue.
I just want it to be us again together.
That's what I want, too.
I think the doc is a little worried about Mr.
Logan's presence.
So, Bill sent you to pump me for information? Maybe I can spare you a lot of grief by sharing with you a tidbit I have picked up-- Trying to control other people doesn't work, ever.
The only person you can control is yourself.
I certainly hope that you didn't tip him.
Of course I tipped him.
Who gets into a taxi and says, "We're from out of town.
Take whatever route you'd like"? The man drove us through Brooklyn, Bill.
Ah, so what if he did? It was worth the extra $2 to get a view of that skyline, don't you think? No, I don't.
Betty said that The Times gave this place four stars.
Apparently, it's nearly impossible to get a reservation.
Well, I would've been just as happy to order a BLT from room service and call it a night.
Nonsense.
Today went just about as well as it could possibly have gone.
I say you and I have more than earned ourselves a five-course dinner.
Well, that is very generous of you to say.
Because given how you monopolized that meeting, the most I've earned, I would think, would be a dinner roll and a butter pat.
Virginia, can't you let it go, please? It all worked out.
Let's enjoy the evening.
- May I take your coats? - Yes, thank you.
I'll keep mine, thank you very much.
Are you sure? I think you'll be more comfortable-- Is this yet another thing you would like to overrule me on? The lady will be keeping her coat.
In case I throw a drink in his face and need to make a speedy exit, which is entirely possible.
Why don't I give our name to the-- to the host? What is the fastest you've ever seen someone get through a meal here? Masters, you say? I'm not seeing anything in the book, sir.
Are you sure your reservation was for tonight? Quite sure.
Can I take a Is there a problem? There it is.
That's us.
Mosher, party of four? Well, Mosher, Masters-- if it was a bad connection, someone could've easily misu-- Mosher.
Mas-- See? Bill, that is entirely possible if you were calling from a submarine.
And "two" doesn't sound anything like "four.
" - We are a party of two.
- I'm confused, sir.
Didn't you say that yours was a party of four? I did.
No, we're four, Virginia-- you, me, and the Logans.
Her name's Alice, isn't it? Uh, Dan's wife? What are you doing in the lab at this hour of night? And what's all that noise going on? Not while the children are awake.
Oh, come on.
All right, kitty cats, it's time for bed.
You said that Yeah, but it's almost over.
Come on, Lib.
Just let them watch the end.
It's fine.
You know, for a football coach, you are a bit of a pushover.
- Oh, really? - Mm-hmm.
Okay.
Come on, guys.
You heard your mother.
It's bedtime.
Hup, hup.
Let's go.
Set goes off.
Ice-cream bowls in the kitchen.
Johnny, I want to see some hustle.
Jenn, put some pep in your step.
Come on.
Mr.
Edley's kidding.
But 10 more minutes, and that is it.
No more negotiating.
- Okay.
- Okay.
However you want me to be, I'll be.
She's joining-- they're joining us? Why do you look so surprised? - We discussed this.
- We did not.
- Are you certain? - Quite certain.
Absolutely cer-- I've never been more certain of anything in my life.
Well, maybe-- Ah, you know what? I-- I mentioned it to Betty.
That's right.
I did.
I must've forgotten.
I'm sorry, Dr.
Masters.
Is it possible you thought you made a reservation in the same way you thought you told your wife about your dining companions? I am not his wife.
Mosher, party of four.
Good evening, Mr.
Mosher.
Right this way, sir.
Deirdre will take you to your table.
What is going on here, Bill? - What do you mean? - What are you up to? Why would you ask Dan and his wife to join us? You've barely even said two words to him since he set foot in our office.
You've rejected any social overtures he's made to you.
You've barely even tolerated the research that he asked us to conduct.
Which was unfair of me.
It was? Absolutely.
Virginia, I was threatened by him.
I see that now.
What are you doing? Looking for that bald man on TV who pops out with his hidden camera.
I thought he was taking up too much of our time.
"Our time?" All right, your time.
I didn't like having to indulge his curiosity, which was shortsighted of me.
So what if his projects didn't amount to anything? The man opened his checkbook to us.
Now we have a book contract to show for it.
So I thought it was the right thing to do to show him a-- you know, a little appreciation for the support he's given us.
Well, that's Huh.
Well, it's not awkward for you that I invited his wife along, is it? Why would that be awkward? I'm asking you.
And I'm answering rhetorically.
No, it's not awkward, Bill, unless you've imagined us having to eat standing up in the coatroom.
While you figure this out, I'm going to go freshen up.
Shall I have Colette check this for you? You are not to check that coat, Bill.
The lady will hang on to it.
You're still here? Hey, Johnny.
Uh, yeah, I noticed the light was out, so I thought I'd fix it before I went home to my house.
Where's my mom? Your mom is in reading to Jenny.
Um Could you-- could you maybe help me with something - in my room? - Of course.
- Absolutely.
- Bring the ladder.
Bring the ladder? Okay.
All right.
Let's go.
- Good evening, ma'am.
- Good evening.
May I offer you something, ma'am? No, thank you.
Are you sure? We have some lovely new scents as well as the classics.
Channel.
I think that's Chanel.
Oh, is it? I don't speak French.
This one's new, Promesse, and we have Ambush by Dana.
That would certainly be appropriate to the occasion.
- Excuse me? - Yes? Uh, there-- there's no paper in here.
- Would you mind-- - Oh! Oh, gosh! I'm so sorry, ma'am.
Right away.
Uh, um, there you go.
I should've checked the stall beforehand.
- It's all right.
- Oh, gosh.
See? I'm still learning.
They usually have me answering the phones, but Carol Anne, the girl who's usually here, she slipped in the kitchen two days ago and knocked out her two front teeth, got a black eye, and they won't let her back to work 'cause it looks like her boyfriend beat her up.
You can't have that in a nice place like this, right? Ambush you said? - What are you doing? - Didn't you-- No, I s-- I said no thank you.
Oh, I'm so sorry, ma'am.
May I have a wet towel, please? Yes.
Oh.
Here.
Hey, you don't like it? It's not so bad.
It's the-- The gentleman that I'm seeing, he-- he has an aversion to me wearing fragrances of any kind.
An aversion? Allergies, you mean? No, no.
It's-- he has, uh, a very sensitive nose.
Occupational hazard.
It's fine.
I'll live.
Thank you.
Did I get him? Uh, no, he's over there now.
See him? - Where? - Quick! Oh.
- Got him.
- Are you sure? Flat as a pancake.
You want to see? No, that's okay.
I trust you.
Come on.
I'm not afraid of them or anything.
Just don't like them.
I get it.
Is there anything else you're not too fond of? I don't really like thunder.
Oh, well, come on.
Does anyone like thunder, really? An Maybe timpanists, you know? In the orchestras, with the big drums? They probably like it.
You're probably right.
You know what I'm afraid of, Johnny? What? Letting people see that I'm afraid.
It's like, what are they gonna think? This big, tough football coach-- every time he goes to the doctor, he's got to shut his eyes and whistle a tune when he gets a shot.
- You do that? - Yeah.
Every single time.
Here.
You play the doctor.
I'll play me.
All right? - Okay.
- All right.
Time for your shot, Mr.
Edley.
Are you ready? I guess.
Now, look, you said you weren't gonna tell anybody, right? - I promise.
- All right.
And you won't tell mine? I won't tell a soul.
All right.
Get some sleep.
- Good night, Mr.
Edley.
- Good night, Johnny.
Well, I'm sorry you didn't have my girl make the reservation.
I have some pull here.
I invested in Gordon's place in Midtown a few years back.
Excuse me, could you tell Chef Ostroff that Dan Logan is with the Masters party-- that's the reservation that's gone missing-- and ask if he can accommodate us? Apparently, they're booked until-- And that we're very much looking forward to the tartare tonight.
It's not on the menu, but they make it when I ask.
- Dan? Nice to see you.
- Virginia.
You're alone? Uh, Alice is on her way from uptown.
I must say, Virginia, I wasn't expecting your invitation.
The invitation didn't come from me.
Oh, well, my secretary said a woman called, so I assumed.
That wasn't you? Then who-- Bill, uh, did you have Betty make these arrangements? Why, yes, I did.
Why don't I have them check that? Okay.
Thank you.
- I am so sorry.
- Mm-hmm.
I had absolutely no idea.
Bill orchestrated this entire thing without telling me.
Why would you bring your wife? Because when the invitation came in, presumably from you, my secretary called Alice to confirm the time without consulting me.
- And there you are.
- Hello, darling.
Mm.
You made it.
I would like to introduce you to-- Virginia Johnson.
Hello.
Finally.
I'm so glad you called.
Danny just thinks the world of you.
Talks about you nonstop.
Is that right? And, my goodness, you're just a slip of a thing.
I-I don't know why I always imagined you'd be much bigger boned.
Mrs.
Logan, I presume.
- Alice, please.
- Bill Masters.
I'm just delighted that you and your husband could join us.
Now, there has been a little snafu with the reservation - that we're working out.
- Mr.
Logan, I am so sorry to keep you and your party waiting.
We have a table for you if you will follow Jacques.
Ladies? It's all who you know, Bill.
Whom.
It's whom.
Uh, this is a table for two.
We're a party of four.
Well, five, if you include the coat.
And may I ask, where do you sit your patrons who don't have pull-- the scullery? I'm terribly sorry.
This is the only table we have available at the moment.
Perhaps we should wait for something else to open up.
I'm afraid we are fully booked, sir.
Or come back another time.
Oh, don't be silly.
We can all squeeze in.
Can't we, Alice? Absolutely.
It'll be cozy.
You're sure I can't check-- I'm quite sure, thank you.
May I get you started with a cocktail? Ladies? A Manhattan, please.
Alice? So, she'll have a tonic water with a squeeze of-- Uh, white wine, please.
But, honey-- I'd like a glass of white wine, Dan.
Do you have an objection to that? Why don't we make it a spritzer? First, uh, can I suggest that we start with a bottle of your finest champagne? We're celebrating.
Ooh.
What are you doing? It was slow to drain, so What? You can't fix everything in the house.
He's only gone two days.
He's gonna come back and notice.
Oh, really? Bill's gonna notice? Come on.
Well, you do have to be more careful in front of the kids.
You can't take my hand under the dining-room table or reach under my skirt.
Oh, they didn't see that.
But they could have.
You can't call me Lib in front of them, either.
- Did I do that? - Mm-hmm.
Oh.
You know, "pass the ketchup, Lib.
Those potatoes were delicious, Lib.
" All right.
I have this fantasy, okay? Now, don't laugh at me, but I have this fantasy that, you know, the kids will start calling me Paul.
Not right away, but just eventually, you know? You know how Howie has that thing with "L's"? I secretly hope he never loses it.
I know.
Well, if you drop the "L" off of "Paul," that becomes "paw," right? And then maybe the older kids start calling me pa, and then, pretty soon, that's what I am to them.
You know, their pa.
You wouldn't have a problem with that, would you? To "Human Sexual Inadequacy.
" "Human Sexual Inadequacy.
" Do we really want to toast that? It's the name of Bill and Virginia's next book.
Oh, I see.
Well, then, congratulations, you two.
How exciting.
After the success of the first one, I'm sure this one was pretty much in the bag.
No hard sell required.
Yes, you'd think, wouldn't you, that all we needed to do was let the couples work that we've done speak for itself.
But Bill felt the need to up the ante.
Virginia, please, let's not.
Oh, let's.
Virginia's upset with me because I deviated slightly from our agreed-upon script.
I wouldn't say "deviated," and I wouldn't say "slightly.
" I'd say that you hijacked the meeting entirely.
Uh, Bill told them that we intend to include a chapter in the next book on our work with surrogates.
Mm.
I thought you were phasing that out.
Yes, well, Bill revived it this afternoon and committed us to continuing with the program.
Only after the Little Brown team seemed disinclined to move forward.
Not disinclined, and even if they were, that doesn't mean that you should jump in and offer up research that we both decided to postpone for the foreseeable future.
They never would've committed to so large an advance, Virginia.
The last time that we were short hard evidence that our research would yield solid results-- the impotency work-- you argued that it was wrong to promote it.
Do most people assume you're married? You seem married.
Don't they seem married? They're not married.
In fact, Bill has a very lovely wife.
Mm, you've met? No, but I've seen her picture on your desk.
You don't bring her along when you travel? - I don't.
- Oh, why's that? Surely she would like a trip to New York, wouldn't she? Yes, but we do have three children at home.
Oh.
Do you have pictures? I don't, no.
Really? No pictures? Not a one? Dan doesn't like to bring me on his adventures, either.
- Oh, and why's that? - I have a theory.
Oh, I would love to hear it.
Another breadbasket, please? Well, with so many more women in the workforce, I think it's easier for a man, especially one as handsome as him, to conduct his business unencumbered by a wedding ring.
Wouldn't you agree, Virginia? I'm asking you as a woman.
I really wouldn't know.
It's not unlike your approach, Bill.
You tantalize the buyer with the promise of something that you may not actually be able to provide.
I'm not blind.
I know I married a flirt.
But it got me a three-bedroom apartment overlooking the Museum of Natural History.
Hey, might want to slow down a bit, dear.
Mm.
You might want to stop squeezing my leg under the table.
What was the name of the woman in Dallas? The linen heiress? Danny sold her on the idea of including lavender sachets in her seet shets.
Sheet sets.
That's hard to say.
Especially after two glasses of champagne.
Well, may I propose another toast? - Mm! - I vote no.
Um, I'm sorry.
Was that rhetorical? I love your sense of humor, Virginia.
It's very New York.
Are you Jewish? To you, Dan.
To me? Well-- well, we could never have gotten to this point without your financial support.
Hm.
Well, that's, uh That's kind of you to say, Bill.
Well, it's absolutely true.
- Isn't it, Virginia? - It is.
Uh, you have kept us afloat.
And I am happy to report that the advance we received today will more than cover our operational costs from now on.
So we're not just able to repay you in full.
We're also able to provide you with a significant return on your investment.
Thank you.
To the end of our journey.
Hear, hear.
Come on, you two.
To happy endings.
So this is yet another thing you've just decided, Bill, that our work with Dan is over? Well, isn't it? I'm sorry.
Do you disagree, Dan? You made an investment.
It paid off-- handsomely, I may add.
When I engaged your services, we entered into a partnership.
Oh.
Did you see it that way? A partnership? What? Like Virginia's and mine? No, actually, because I don't make decisions unilaterally without her participation.
Well, perhaps you can clarify for me.
Uh, what is the argument for, uh, perpetuating this arrangement? Your venture into, uh lubricants? Lotions.
Lotions.
I'm sorry.
You're right.
There was a company in Seattle that Danny did a lotion line with.
He was working very closely for many months with the most darling Japanese chemist.
What was her name-- Emiko? I'm so sorry that you don't consider our efforts worthwhile, but I have certainly granted you latitude to pursue the things you find interesting.
I thought the scent was lovely, but Dan didn't like me to wear it.
It's funny.
He objects to me wearing fragrance of any kind.
Isn't that silly, Virginia? For a man in his line of work to have what's the word? An aversion? You know what occurs to me, Bill? Is that you planned this dinner before you knew how the meeting with your publisher was gonna go.
Well, it's like you said yourself-- a positive outcome was virtually assured.
Our last book was a best-seller.
No, no.
But then it means you must've come prepared to offer up the surrogacy work over Virginia's objections.
Anything to get your publisher on board so there would be cause for celebration tonight and a reason to say to me, "Thank you.
Here's your hat.
Don't let the door hit you on the way out.
" Dan, Alice, I am so sorry to have to cut this short.
It was lovely to meet you.
- You're leaving? - I'm afraid so.
I knew there was a reason I held on to my coat.
You're sick? Yes.
Of him.
If you'll excuse me.
- Virginia-- - Go to hell.
There's something I need to talk to you about.
It's about us and about the future.
It's okay.
It's a-- it's a good start.
You don't think it-- it feels too dire? I mean, maybe there's a more casual way to get into it so Bill's not immediately on his guard.
No, I don't-- I don't-- I don't think the downbeat is the problem, honey.
I think you just need to be more honest and be direct with him.
Just tell him what you want.
What do I want? Well Do I-- do I ask for a divorce right away, or do I want a separation first and then a divorce? What do I say when he asks me why? I mean, he is gonna ask me why.
Well, what if he does? What are you gonna tell him? I don't want him to know it's because of you.
I-I think that just makes it harder.
Well, look, you had many reasons to leave him before me, right? - I mean - Yeah.
Just not the courage.
Right.
I think he'll be shocked.
And then maybe angry.
I don't think he'll yell.
I mean, he might, but I think he would be too scared that I would say something about Virginia to ever accuse me of anything.
No, what I'm What I am most afraid of is What if he doesn't care? You know? What if, when I tell him, I look in his eyes and all I see is relief? Can I help you? - Elizabeth Masters? - Yes.
I'm Detective David Ascher-- St.
Louis Police.
- Has something happened? - May I come in, please? What's going on? Dr.
Masters? Um, no.
This is Mr.
Edley.
Paul Edley.
I live next door.
What's? And Dr.
Masters? Is he home? No, he's out of town.
And your children? My children are asleep.
I need to ask your son a few questions, Mrs.
Masters.
It won't take long.
Questions about what? You can't just knock on the door in the middle of the night demanding to talk to a 12-year-old child.
I'm sorry, Mr.
Edley, but if you're not family, I need to ask you to leave.
And, ma'am, I need you to wake up your son.
Virginia, I'm sorry.
Please, come back.
Get away from me.
Please, don't leave like this.
Dan was right.
You set me up.
You knew that this was going to happen before you left St.
Louis.
I can explain.
Just let me get my coat, and we'll go together.
Give that to me.
You think I'm going to get into a cab with you? Well, fine, we'll go in separate cabs, but just at least let me put you into one.
Hello? I can manage myself.
Give me back my purse, Bill.
Just one second.
Hello? Can someone please What were you thinking? What did you hope to accomplish today? Or was it enough to simply humiliate me? I can't find my coat.
Here.
Here! Virginia, I-- I'm sorry.
I didn't want it to happen that way, but I needed you to see for yourself.
See what? That he has a wife? You think I didn't know that already? You're not his first affair, Virginia.
You're just his most recent.
Well, that is my problem to deal with, isn't it? That doesn't bother you? What I do and whom I do it with outside of the office is none of your business, Bill.
Well, you make it my business when you concoct some ludicrous research program to keep that man around our office.
Lotions.
Really? What choice did I have? The last time I was honest with you about having a lover, you cut me out of the work for a whole year.
So either way, whether I tell you or not, I end up in the exact same place-- on the outside.
Excuse me.
Number 36.
It's a sable.
Anything you want to ask me first? Have you got a gun? I do.
You want to see it? Sure.
I've never fired it in the line of duty, though.
Have you fired it otherwise? Well, not this particular one.
I go hunting with my son sometimes.
He's about your age.
Your dad ever take you hunting? Not really.
What kind of things you and he like to do together? Um, well, he, uh-- he works a lot, so Ah.
Yeah.
Uh, what's he do? - He's a doctor.
- What kind of doctor? He teaches people how to make babies and how to make their parts fit together in the right way.
"Their parts?" It's okay.
Uh, my husband conducts clinical research-- I know what he does, Mrs.
Masters.
I just want to hear from your son.
Johnny, has your dad ever shown you how your body works? You know, pointed things out to you.
Like, uh, when you're getting dressed or in the bathtub or in the shower? No.
Has he ever shown you how his body works? Of course he hasn't, Detective.
Mrs.
Masters, please.
Of course he hasn't.
Has he ever shown any of your friends how their bodies work? I don't know.
You've never heard him talk about those kind of things with any of your friends? With my friends? No.
Someone who's not your friend? This is very important, Johnny.
Who has he talked to? So, once he talked to Dennis.
Dennis Daughtry? And he talked to him about his body? When was this? Few weeks ago.
After the party for the team.
Well, I was there.
I-- I didn't see your father talking to Dennis.
You were putting Howie to bed.
Dennis was waiting for his mom to pick him up.
That's what he said.
And what did you hear them talking about? - I don't remember.
- You don't remember what you told Martha Geiss and Olive Lambert on the playground? No.
Because they said you told them something about Dennis and your father.
What did you tell them, Johnny? It's okay.
You don't remember saying that your father had to show Dennis how to fix his penis? What? What? Yes, but I didn't mean-- I just-- I just said that 'cause I was mad.
And why were you mad? Because I hate that kid.
He's an asshole.
Johnny.
And-- and dad's always so nice to him.
How is he nice to him? He just is.
He He talks to him Spends time with him.
Spends time with him in ways that are different than the way he spends time with you? He doesn't spend time with me.
That's not true, Johnny.
He likes Dennis more.
- No, sweetheart.
- Mrs.
Masters.
Johnny I need to know.
Have you ever seen your father and Dennis have any kind of physical contact-- Okay, that is enough, Detective.
I am not done here, ma'am.
Yes, I would say you are done.
I am not gonna subject my child to any more of this.
I can bring him down to the station - if that's what you prefer.
- Do not threaten me, sir.
- Johnny, I need you to go to y-- - I'm sorry.
It's okay.
It's okay.
You didn't do anything wrong.
I'm sorry.
No one's mad at you, honey.
I just need a few minutes alone with the detective.
- But, mom-- - It's okay.
Please go.
I'll be in in a second to tuck you in.
Go on.
Go on.
I don't know what you think is going on here.
I don't know who said what, if some silly girl on a playground twisted my son's words to make it seem like my husband-- The boy confirmed with his mother that your husband showed him pictures of a naked man.
My husband is a doctor.
If he showed that boy images in a medical textbook, I am sure there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for it.
Without his mother's knowledge? I would say any mother who leaves her son at a party isn't fit to judge.
Mrs.
Masters, can you tell me the circumstances under which an adult showing a minor explicit sexual images can be considered appropriate behavior? My husband would never hurt a child.
And yet it sounds to me as if he's hurt your son.
You need to leave, Detective.
That's fine.
I will have to follow up, of course.
And when you do, our lawyer will be present.
Hmm.
Well, let's get our check, shall we? We barely just ordered.
I think this dinner's over, wouldn't you say? I don't want to go.
- Alice, come on.
- You can go.
Alice.
Are you not hearing me? I'm staying.
Do you want me to make a scene? You want to finish the bottle.
That's it, isn't it? So how long have you managed to go this time? Three months? I'll go to a meeting in the morning.
I'm sorry.
- You're not.
- Are you sorry? Yes, I am.
For being with her, or for rubbing my face in it? You know I wouldn't have chosen for you to find out this way.
Is there a good way to meet your husband's mistress? Can't you even pretend? I've never denied I was with any of them, Alice.
I've always been straight with you.
You can't claim it's unfair when it was you who proposed this arrangement.
What choice did I have? Alice, I don't want to do this here.
Let's go.
I'm asking.
What choice did you leave me with but to look the other way? You do not want to go down this road.
Trust me.
Oh, why not? Because you don't think your behavior leaves me without a choice? Every time you disappear down that bottle and I have to come find you or you threaten to hurt yourself.
It brings you back.
Admit it, you like fixing me.
I used to.
Can't say I've done such a good job of it lately, have I? You always like the ones that need fixing.
Tell me.
How is this one broken? She's not.
Come on.
What is it? Financial problems? Childhood abuse? An ex-husband who's stalking her? Virginia's different.
They're all different until they're all the same.
I'm in love with her, Alice.
Now, you've never heard me say that before.
What kind of partnership do we have, Bill, if you marginalize me every time I've upset you? How are we equals if you're always able to exact a price for me wanting something outside of work? I know you're angry, and rightly so, but eventually you will see that this is for the best.
I am saving you from that man.
"That man" is someone that I could be happy with.
I-I really don't think so, Virginia.
And-- and why is that? Because of the kind of man you think he is, or because I'm just not entitled to a life outside of work? You're-- you're entitled to one.
You just don't want one.
That was the argument that you made to me in the hospital, when I was in labor, that-- that my ambivalence is the problem, that I should embrace the part of me that cares about work above all else.
Hell, I thought you meant that.
But I see now the person that argument really serves is you, that you were just looking out for yourself.
You're always just looking out for yourself.
Why do you love her? Ally-- Tell me.
I promise I won't get mad.
There's no easy way to explain it.
I-- It's okay.
Just tell me as a favor to me.
Well, for one, her life doesn't start when I arrive and stop when I leave.
She has other things she cares about.
I'm not her whole world.
- That's a good thing? - Yes, it is.
Why? It's okay.
I know.
You need a partner, not a project.
And I'm a project.
But I wasn't always.
Was I? Does she make you laugh? Yes.
I used to make you laugh.
You still do make me laugh.
But not enough to make up for all the other stuff.
Madame and monsieur, prepared especially for you, steak tartare.
Bon appétit.
You think I want to keep you tethered to your desk? I said what I did because you needed permission to stop hating yourself.
- I don't hate myself.
- No? You want to want a man, Virginia, because, as unconventional as you consider yourself, you're still your mother's daughter, and she told you you need one to be happy.
But I know you.
A relationship will never satisfy you the way your work will.
It lights you up.
It gives you a purpose so much more consequential than waiting for a man to come home.
And-- and what? Check his collar to see if there's lipstick on it? That is too small a life for you, Virginia, and it is a waste of what you have to offer the world.
Excuse me.
By any chance, are you those people from the sex book? Masters and Johnson, right? We just loved your book.
Uh, if there's any way, uh-- Oh, Rog and I would just be so tickled if we could just-- If we could just get an autograph.
- I'm sorry.
- Excuse me.
Alice.
Dan, what is it? She's not feeling well.
I'll go.
Will there be any more comings and goings tonight, or may we serve you your dinner? Are they gonna put him in jail? No.
Of course not.
But he'll find out, won't he, that-- that I said the thing that got him in trouble? It's not about what you said, Johnny.
It's about how people took what you said.
And they will come to see that dad was just being nice to that boy.
Yeah, but he's-- he's gonna know that I started it, and it's just It's gonna give him another reason to hate me.
Your father doesn't hate you.
He doesn't like me.
What are you talking about? Johnny, your father loves you.
You're always telling dad to spend more time with me.
If he wanted to, you wouldn't have to ask.
Can I tell you a little secret? I think your father is afraid of you.
Afraid of me? Of showing you how much he loves you.
- I don't think so.
- No.
When you were a little baby, he was scared to hold you, because Well, because I think he was afraid to love something he might hurt.
You were so perfect that he didn't want to ruin you.
How would he do that? By passing on to you the things he doesn't like about himself.
Like what? I don't know.
Maybe things that he feels like he got from his father.
Dad didn't, uh-- didn't like his father.
Why not? Uh he didn't think his father liked him very much.
Why? What did he do? I don't think he cared about being a good father.
He was an angry man, and he didn't know what to do with his anger, so it came out in ways that hurt daddy.
Which is why he left home so early.
He was not much older than you.
So they never made up? They were just mad at each other forever and then just never-- never made up? I was hoping it'd be better between dad and me someday.
What if I ruined that? Oh, honey, of course you didn't.
Of course you didn't.
Are you all right? The room is spinning.
Come sit.
Okay.
Thank you.
- A wet towel, please? - Yes.
Thank you.
May I offer you some mouthwash, ma'am? Yes, thank you.
Um Ugh, what a disaster.
You weren't there when the steak tartare arrived.
It was the three glistening egg yolks on top that did it.
Ugh, God.
Do either of you ladies know if "E-Yew De-Toilet" is mouthwash? Uh perhaps you could, uh, get my friend a soft drink from the bar.
Okay.
Actually, we could've been friends, you and I.
Can't we still? I think it's a little awkward, don't you, seeing as how my husband's in love with you? Don't insult me by acting surprised.
Danny told me.
He-- he told you He always tells me.
We've been through this before.
Did you think you were different? They all do.
Enjoy him, Virginia.
He's a lovely man.
A true gentleman.
He'll always open the door for you, he'll never forget your birthday, whisk you away on business trips, and take you in his arms and dance with you even though there's no music playing.
And when he shows up at your doorstep and tells you that he wants you to spend the rest of your life with him, in that moment, he will think he means it.
I didn't know what to say to him.
Of course, he completely blames himself.
Well, are-- are charges gonna be filed? I don't know.
What, the detective didn't say, or-- No, Paul, I told you.
It ended abruptly.
I-I asked him to leave.
And what did Johnny tell you actually happened? Tell me? Nothing.
I didn't ask.
You didn't ask him to elaborate on what he saw? Why would I? This is just a-a misunderstanding that's gotten out of hand.
It's-- it's Bill's work that makes him vulnerable to accusations like this.
Well, it's his work and his lack of judgment, I think.
You don't seriously think-- No, he didn't do anything wrong.
I know that.
For sure.
I know what kind of man my husband is.
Well, he's the kind of man who-- who's had a mistress for over a decade.
Yeah, but that's something he did to me, Paul.
He-- he wouldn't hurt a child.
Never.
I woke up every morning for a decade thinking that I was a happily married man.
All the while, my wife was planning on leaving me.
You think you know someone, and you don't.
You have to get out.
Now.
Before Bill comes home.
I'll look into renting you a house for you and the kids across town.
I can't do that, Paul.
You can't do what? You can't take steps to protect your children? I am protecting them from the false impression that their father is a monster.
Because, if I leave now, that is what I am saying.
Not just to the world, but to my children.
And there's no taking it back.
No matter what happens, no matter if the charges are dropped, he will forever be the man their mother didn't want under the same roof.
Won't leaving Bill always say to them that you think that you're better off without him? Yes.
Better for me.
He has been a bad husband-- Bill.
I have reasons to leave him that are a mile long, but I don't have good enough reason to take those children away from him.
Because he's been such a great father.
I'd be a better one, Libby.
You know that.
It doesn't matter.
It doesn't matter.
He is the father that they have.
He is the father that Johnny needs to know loves him.
Because-- because, without that, it just-- it just plays out in exactly the same way.
Another son without a father becomes a father who doesn't know how to love his son.
And if If I stay, they have a chance to fix what is broken.
Libby, are you, um Are you saying that this is what you need to do now, for the time being, or what you need to do forever? Is there nothing I can get you? Just the check, thank you.
Alain, annulez la commande.
On annule tout? Mais j'étais sur le point de servir! Oui, je sais.
N'en dites pas un mot au chef.
- Amenez l'addition, vite.
- D'accord.
Right away, monsieur.
So, I have to ask.
How exactly did you expect things to go tonight? Just the way they did.
Really? With Virginia storming out? Well, I saw her, uh, leaving a little closer to dessert, but yes.
Alice's presence helped speeding up her departure? I'd say, in the grand scheme of things, your wife's upset was a little more your doing than mine, wouldn't you? You're a son of a bitch, Bill.
And a misguided one if you think that alienating Virginia is the way to win her back.
That is your end game, isn't it? Or are you afraid admitting that will give me an edge? An edge? I'm sorry.
I-- I hate to be the one to break it to you, Dan, but she's finished with you.
Uh, it may not happen right away, but it-- it's inevitable.
- It's over.
- Mm.
And how do you figure? Well, because that's what Virginia does.
She never mentioned the name Ethan Haas to you? He was a doctor.
Promising future.
Would've done anything for her, including walking away from another woman.
Virginia called the whole thing off a few days before she was supposed to join him in Los Angeles.
Broke his heart, poor fellow.
But I'm sure yours is more resilient.
So you're saying she changed her mind completely on her own with no interference from you? Oh, no, I asked her to marry me.
Only, uh, it wasn't on bended knee with a ring in my pocket, if that's what you're imagining.
No, the marriage I proposed to her was a marriage of the mind, a true intellectual partnership, and I did it without uttering a word.
All I did was put her name next to mine on that, uh, first paper we presented at Wash U.
It was my vow to her, you know, that that was who we would become-- Masters and Johnson.
It's who we are.
You know, it's how people think of us.
It's how we think of ourselves.
Virginia, too.
Hm.
And that was 10 years ago.
The bloom is off the rose.
Hm.
Perhaps.
Which is why I've decided to give her my name.
Just my name-- no "MD" after it-- and put it together with hers on the next book.
Kind of a renewal of our vows.
And you think that's gonna make a difference? It's a little too late.
You've pushed her too far, no? Well, in my experience, when the train is pulling out of the station and you're not on it, you run twice as fast and twice as hard to make sure it doesn't leave without you.
I bet you're damn good at chess, Bill.
And if we played, you'd probably have the whole game figured out before I even made my opening gambit.
It's quite possible.
Mm.
All this strategizing, it's exhausting.
You must be really tired.
Plotting every move, anticipating every countermove so far into the future that you completely lose sight that there's a far easier way to get what you want.
Which is what? Tell her how you feel about her.
But I bet that never occurred to you, did it, Bill? Well, guess what.
It occurred to me.
So, I guess that's checkmate? I'm sorry to interrupt.
There's a call for you from St.
Louis, Dr.
Masters.
They said it's an emergency.
Well, what time is the flight? It's about an hour and a half.
You all right? She's a little shaky.
You should get her home.
Car's out front.
Okay.
I'll take a cab to the airport as soon as possible.
Good night, Virginia.
That was Betty.
Uh, Libby had to track me down.
Something's happened.
I need to get home.
What is it? The kids? I don't know.
Uh, Betty didn't have the details, but she has me booked on a flight that leaves in 90 minutes.
Do you need me to come with you? No, no.
We left our things in the hotel.
You should stay the night and bring them home with you.
All right.
Virginia, I I-I want you to know that, uh-- This is not the time, Bill.
We have a cab for you, sir.
Go.
Excuse me, madam.
May we serve you your dinner? - All right.
- Very good, madam.
Jacques, uh, please seat madame and tell the kitchen to resume service.
May I? Thank you.
vivre mon demain mon bonheur te ressemble tout les deux, vous allez si bien ensemble j't'le dirais Jamais, Jamais assez tout ce que tu fais m'fais de l'effet What are you doing here? I left her.
Alice.
I've left her.
Dan-- I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Virginia.
I mean it.
ça n'va pas plus loin j'veux pas voir derrière vivre mon demain un dernier verre de sherry de chéri mon amour comme je m'ennuie tous les jours se ressemblent à présent tu me manques térriblement