Parenthood s06e02 Episode Script
Happy Birthday, Zeek
No, he's awake He's fine.
Put that back on.
Millie, I just stood up too fast.
I'm gonna take you back to the hospital to sort this out.
You basically had a heart attack.
I had an event.
Eighteen, nineteen.
And the event is over.
I didn't realize I was so upset.
Your mom spent every ounce of her energy making this dream happen for you and other kids like you.
I'm pregnant.
Oh.
Uh.
So, um Who? Ryan.
Right.
Right.
How? What? Uh No, he was in the hospital and Uh, yeah.
He was.
Okay.
All right.
How long? How far along? Like, two months.
So you're keeping it? I know it seems crazy.
I know it's crazy, but I You're keeping it.
I wanna keep it.
Yeah.
I It's my I think it's right.
Good.
I think it's right.
Good.
Just Hey.
Everything okay? Hey.
Am I catching you at a bad time? No, I just I came into the office early.
Oh.
Sorry, uh, yeah.
I was just, uh, thinking we should talk about, uh, this email from Syd's teacher? I didn't see it.
What's up? Well, uh, evidently there's some sort of girl drama going down at school.
Uh, I talked to Syd about it.
She said there's this new girl that's been picking on her.
Oh, no.
What? Yeah.
Oh, believe me, I'm almost ready to go kick some little girl's butt.
But according to Syd, it's no big deal.
Um, Mrs.
Reece probably just wants us to know she's on top of it.
But But she does want to see us, though.
Or, you know, one of us.
Just schedule it, I'll make it happen.
Okay, all right.
I'll I'll talk to you later.
Thanks.
Everything okay? Here's your breakfast.
Ew! Yum, yum.
Okay, you don't have to have that.
Your mother'll make you some eggs.
Eggies are ready! I gotta get out of here.
Excuse me.
Here, baby.
Here, Nora.
Mmm, it's hot so be careful.
Oh, you got a phone call.
Who is it? Uh, Emily Miller.
That's Edgar's mom.
There you go.
I love you.
See you later.
Why is she calling me at this hour? No idea.
Probably because you gave your phone number to every single parent and told them Hello? to call at any hour.
One second.
Hold on.
Yeah, I can talk.
I What The eggs.
Hold on.
Uh All right.
Yeah, no problem.
- Ah, Max.
You want your eggs? - Hi.
For sure.
I can't talk about eggs right now.
Why not? Yeah.
Because I've decided on an art elective.
You have? Hallelujah.
- Finally.
What's it gonna be? - Um Photography.
Uh, no.
Photography is not an option.
You run the school.
Make it an option.
We can absolutely address this.
Technically, your mother runs the school.
Your problem is our problem.
She should make it an option.
There are your eggs.
Okay? Honey, I gotta go.
I'll see you later.
Wait one second, I'll discuss this with my husband.
I've got a meeting.
I gotta get out of here.
What? Thank you.
Okay.
Bye, Emily.
I gotta go meet Okay, Edgar's nutritionist wants to What is that? take him off casein and gluten.
Okay, well, I'm glad she called us at It's to take pictures.
7:00 a.
m.
To tell us that? Well, she had to, because it reflects in his school lunches, Okay.
Which we have to help manage.
Good luck with that.
No, please Can you please do me a favor? No, no, no, I can't.
Can't you just You don't even know what I'm gonna ask you.
I know what you're gonna ask me.
What do you know? You're gonna ask me to call the lunch vendor and I'm slammed today already.
I gotta go.
And you're right.
But you're You're so good at it.
Please.
You know only because I don't ask them to do crazy things like take all the cay-sein out of one kid's lunch.
The It's casein.
It's cay-sein.
Why did we found the school? To be a fascist institution.
To meet the needs of every student.
It's not fascist.
That is fascism.
It's capitalism.
No, that's fascism.
It's all we can afford right now.
- Okay? Three electives.
- Uh, uh.
Fascism.
You founded Chambers Academy Okay, pottery, dance and drawing.
to meet the needs of every student.
My artistic needs are not being met.
I don't want to interfere with the student l headmaster conference, so I'm gonna take off.
I love you.
I'll see you letting her draw on me.
Not fair.
So you'll call the vendor? I'm Yes.
You're calling the vendor.
I gotta go.
I can't hear you.
Woo! You're gonna do it.
Guys, take a second and acknowledge this moment.
Don't let it pass you by.
You're about to lay down your debut track on hallowed ground in a place where legends were made of songwriters.
Where icons were made out of singers.
Okay? You're sitting right now where Janis Joplin actually recorded.
Who's Janis Joplin? You know what? Out of my studio.
Go on and just get out.
I'm just kidding.
It's not your fault.
It's your mother's fault.
Listen to me.
Guys? All you have to do is sing in your normal voices, the mics will pick it up.
Just remember your motivation which is Be cute.
Especially you, Max.
And wish your grandfather a very, very happy 72nd birthday.
We should record his birthday song with a full band.
Okay, you know what? When he turns 80, we'll do that.
The whole thing.
Any questions? Can you sign a form stating that this counts as my art elective? That's absurd.
I cannot do that.
- Then I am not singing.
Not gonna sing.
- Here we go.
Five, six, seven, eight.
I can change the world With my own two hands Make a better place With my own two hands Make a kinder place With my own two hands Okay.
Your diagnostics show multiple blockages.
But I still don't think that's what caused your collapse.
I also saw some significant mitral regurgitation.
Not an ideal situation.
Guys, we spent the last two years working with just diet and medication.
Yeah, but he can still do a lot better with the diet.
I don't know, um Yeah, but I quit cigars.
That's a big deal.
And that's great.
But even with the perfect diet, it's just not gonna be enough.
I'm afraid it's time to talk about surgery.
Ah, man.
See, surgery was always a A last option in In your opinion.
It is, and it's time to seriously consider it.
Well, this was no big deal.
I mean, I I was short of breath, I stood up too fast, that's all.
No.
No.
You were just lucky.
Lucky you weren't alone when it happened and lucky it was just a clean fall.
Leland, it was not that big a deal.
Zeek, this will happen again.
And if you're driving when it does, or you smack your head on the pavement when you fall, then, my friend, been nice knowing ya.
So, what are you thinking? I'm thinking that, uh, Leland would like to buy himself a new vacation place, is what I'm thinking.
That's ridiculous.
I'm thinking we need to have a conversation.
Uh-huh.
Yeah.
Okay.
There you go.
No, I'm driving.
No, I'm driving.
I'm driving.
God.
Take away my driving privileges, my God! But he was in a full body cast.
I don't really wanna think about the details as much as you But we were there.
apparently do.
We would've heard something.
We weren't there.
How would we have heard them? We were in a hotel, like, a million miles away.
Well, uh, you know, he was attached to a heart monitor.
That would've been going off, and Look.
All I know is that my daughter's pregnant.
And she was so scared, too, she was so scared to tell me.
And I just froze.
I I bet she dreamed of this wonderful moment where she tells her mom this exciting news and I totally let her down.
I just said, "Oh.
" He was in traction, you know? Maybe that helped.
Oh, my God.
It's not the point.
I know.
I know.
I know, I know, I know.
How do How do you really feel about it? I think That it doesn't matter what I feel.
She needs me.
Hey, Crosby.
What? You're gonna have to do the 11:00 a.
m.
Oliver Rome thing by yourself.
I gotta go.
All right? What, are you putting the school ahead of the Luncheonette again? You can't You can't You can't do that, man.
This isn't about the Luncheonette This is This is our business! This is about our father.
I have to go talk to our dad.
For what? He's a stubborn ass.
Mom said he won't even consider having the surgery.
What surgery? His heart surgery! Yeah, I don't To correct his mitral regurgitation.
I gotta go.
You're saying that like I know what that is.
I I never heard that.
How do you not know about this? Dad's having heart surgery? He's refusing to have the heart surgery.
I thought Mom told you about this.
Mom did not tell me about this.
Okay.
Which is a pattern of behavior where she treats me like the baby, and she hides this kind of medical Uh-huh.
situation.
Right.
Okay.
Can we not make this about you right now? This is serious! How would I know it's serious? Nobody's telling me a thing! Okay.
I gotta go.
Tell me what happened before you go! Here's I will! You can't be in that big of a hurry! The cardiologist The cardiologist wants to do a coronary bypass Okay.
and a mitral valve replacement.
Okay? Wait, but that's open-heart surgery! Yes.
I know, and that's why I'm gonna go talk to him.
Well, he's gotta do it.
All right? Yeah, he is gonna do it.
I'm gonna make him do it.
I'm gonna talk to him.
I'm going with you.
I don't need you to come with me.
I'm coming with you.
It's our father.
You're not coming with me.
He's got you wrapped around his little finger.
He's gonna try to get you to flip to his side.
You'll do it in two seconds.
That is not true.
It is true.
You just That is not true.
I will just I will be the hammer.
You'll be quiet.
I will do all the talking.
Hey, Jim.
How are you? You're here Do you know what this is? Yes, this is the email that I sent to you about Edgar Miller and the casein intolerance.
Do you know what this is? This is our contract, yes, for the Chambers Academy.
The Select Correct again.
Why are you doing that? That was really rude.
Why are you breaking things? Every single day there's some crazy new request from you.
No gluten, no dairy, vegetables only.
Meat only.
I can't make individualized meals for 40 kids.
Okay, but your company is called Select Lunch.
You even have it on your emblem.
You have an apple, you have a carrot and you have What are you doing? Please, Jim.
Can you just help me for this week? That's it.
I just can't work with you.
I can I can work with you.
I'm desperate here.
You know what? Fine.
Leave.
I will find somebody else that will help me that cares.
Yeah, I bet.
Cares about children.
Oh, I don't care about kids, huh? And their intestinal tract and how they feel.
Is that right? You should just leave then, you're causing a scene.
I will find somebody else that will do individualized meals.
I'm causing a scene? You're causing a scene.
Hey, kids.
Look up, everybody.
Really? You're gonna do this right now? No gluten free, no casein.
Zucchini, kale sandwiches.
Don't listen to anything he says.
How about that? - Wait 'til you see my review on Yelp.
- Yeah, that'll hurt.
It's gonna hurt.
You.
Sorry, kids.
People.
He must eat too much gluten.
Casein.
Whatever.
So I guess you told my husband, Joel, that, um, there's been some playground drama? Well, what exactly did Sydney say has been happening? Just that Sydney's been, uh, you know, picked on a little bit.
Which I understand, it happens.
You know, jealousy, or whatever.
Mr.
And Mrs.
Graham, I'm not sure you have a clear picture of what's happening here.
Melody is the girl that Sydney was talking about.
Mmm-hmm.
Sydney has zeroed in on her.
She's been quite aggressive about excluding her.
Uh Sorry.
Um So, Sydney's picking on Melody? I know that kids will be kids So but when it comes to matters of bullying - Bullying? - What happened? It started when one of Sydney's friends invited Melody to eat lunch with them.
Sydney wouldn't allow it.
What do you mean, she wouldn't allow it? Melody's a little on the heavy side and Sydney said that Melody shouldn't even be eating lunch.
Now she's telling everyone not to speak to her.
And you You saw this? Yes.
As you can imagine, Melody is Well, she's despondent.
Her parents kept her home from school yesterday, she was so upset.
I'm I'm sorry, this is not This is not how our daughter behaves.
I'm I'm I don't I don't even know what to say.
If there's something going on at home that I should know about? No.
It's been a tough year.
You know, every family has its troubles, but we're fine.
We're currently separated.
And, um, I think the kids are a little bit rattled by it.
I know how tough this must be.
Yeah.
Thank you so much for bringing this to our attention.
We will do our best to handle it.
It was really nice meeting you, Ms.
Reece.
I'm sorry that you have not seen a better side of Sydney, because she's a great girl.
Thank you.
Julia, we need to talk.
Yeah, um, I'm working with the kids tonight on Grandpa's birthday present, so we can talk to her tomorrow night.
No, I'm not talking about Syd.
We have to talk about us.
About what we're dealing with.
This is clearly a reaction to that.
You think? Yeah.
Yeah, I do think.
Yeah! Look, this is not like her.
No, Joel.
This is not like her.
At all.
You know, and moving out and giving up on me, was not like you.
At all.
Come on.
Come on, stay and talk with me.
Please.
Are you kidding me? I begged you for a year just to talk to me and tell me what the hell was going on.
And you refused to do that and that broke me.
And I'm almost okay.
So, you can't come over and talk to me about my dad.
You can't kiss me.
Okay? You can't pretend like you didn't destroy me.
Because you did.
You destroyed us.
All of us.
I know.
I'm so sorry.
Okay, well, I'm gonna be okay.
I can handle it.
I don't know if the kids can.
Remember, the key with Dad, be direct.
Confront that problem head on, attack it.
Okay.
Thanks for all the advice.
Okay.
And this guy, Dad, what's his first name? All right.
You act like I've never met the guy or I'm just saying, don't let him start talking, he'll get talked to him.
in your head.
Don't let him start playing mind games with us.
Okay, he's not a magician or a hypnotist.
Okay, can you check that email? It's KB.
Who's KB? Kristina Braverman, your wife.
Oh.
Your Yeah, is that her? Is that her calling? Oh.
She's calling.
Okay, pick that up.
Yeah, yeah.
Here we go.
Okay, honey.
Please don't ask me any questions.
I'm in a real pickle, I'm in a real bind right now.
My food vendor just quit on me and I've got 40 kids to feed.
I have no idea what I'm gonna do.
Well, what about the food vendor? He just quit.
The first thing she said was no questions.
It doesn't matter.
You got my email? How do you stay married? What? It's a miracle.
And I need you to pick up 40 hot lunches for the kids and just bring them here.
Just bring them here.
No, no can do.
I cannot go to Whole Foods.
We're going to talk to my dad about his surgery.
Adam, I don't know what to do.
This is like a A DEFCON 5 situation here, Adam.
DEFCON 5 is actually the good one.
DEFCON 1 is It's counterintuitive.
Is that Crosby? Yeah, that's Crosby.
Yeah.
Whatever it is, it doesn't matter.
I just I need help.
Hey, you know what? Maybe could Crosby go to your dad's? Yes, he can.
Yes, he can.
No.
No, he can't.
Absolutely.
I'm on it.
That would be wonderful.
Kristina, it's all good.
He's gonna go over to Whole Foods.
Kristina He'll get all these dietary, uh, requirements met and I will handle my father and thanks for checking in.
Can Okay.
Yes! Okay.
You're really happy with yourself now So, we'll see.
aren't you? We'll just see how we handle this.
Don't even worry.
Knock, knock.
How are you? I'm all right.
Yeah? How's it going? I feel like I was in shock and I didn't do a good job not being in shock.
But I am eager to hear more about, you know, what you and Ryan have planned.
Or how you're gonna work it out and Oh, um I've I don't know.
I haven't I haven't even thought about that.
Where I've He doesn't know.
He doesn't know? Not yet.
Hmm.
It's just I just sort of started telling people and everything, so I haven't really 'Cause I guess that would be a big piece in terms of, is he involved? Does he wanna be involved financially? Emotionally? Right.
Just another person to help, you know? Yeah, I just don't know yet, though.
I don't really know what I Right.
It's a weird thing where you are one person, and then suddenly you're two people.
Yeah, I I understand the math of it.
That person needs you.
Mmm-hmm.
So, there is some planning that has to happen.
I just feel like you're trying to To say that you don't want me to do it.
That's not what I'm trying to say.
So maybe you should just say it.
Amber, it's not that I don't want you to do this.
Really? It's that, I wish you weren't doing it now.
There it is.
Okay.
I feel like you've barely had time to work and be in love, and I do feel like you have no idea how hard something like this is to do by yourself.
You have no idea and I do.
And it doesn't mean I don't believe in you.
I just Okay, good to know.
Let's go, let's go, let's go! Come on, honey.
Let's go.
These kids are foaming at the mouth.
Oh, boy does my wallet hurt! They're foaming at the mouth.
How much did all this cost? Take a look at that.
All right.
Look away.
Look away.
Holy crap.
I can't.
All right.
I can't.
How are we gonna afford that? I've no idea.
We're gonna have to worry about that later.
They're starving.
They're ready to eat each other.
We'll get the rest in a second.
Can you get the door? Ah, come on! Get your head out of your ass? What's the score? Jeez, zero, zero.
Hey, um, do you want a soda or something? You got iced tea? Yeah, I got iced tea.
Yeah, I want iced tea.
Okay.
Thank you, sir.
Happy iced tea.
Mmm-hmm, mmm-hmm.
Good, get a little break.
What do you want? How come you're here? Can't a young man just come by and say hi to his father? Mmm-hmm.
Your mother called you, did she? Uh, she didn't, as a matter of fact.
Which was pretty annoying and consistent.
I had to find out secondhand about your surgery Mmm-hmm.
from Adam.
Yeah.
Really? Which I hate.
- Look at, look at Hold on a sec.
- Hold.
See, I got my eye on this kid here.
Mmm-hmm, yeah.
He didn't get a lot of hits but he gets on base a lot.
Right.
It's okay, let it go.
Dad.
Let it go.
Easy does it.
Dad.
Yeah.
Can Can we talk about it? Well, there's not really much to talk about, Cros.
It's elective surgery.
And I have elected not to have it.
Okay, well, Adam made it sound pretty serious.
Well, Adam's a worrier and always has been and so is your mom and that's why they get together, so they can worry each other out.
All right.
Well, to be honest, I'm pretty worried, too.
It's your heart.
I mean, this mitriol gurgle Mytreol gastral No, uh, Crosby.
What? Do you even know what mitral regurgitation is? No, I don't.
Okay, it's a small leak in the heart valve.
All right? Mmm-hmm.
A lot of people walk around with it, don't even know they've got it.
Mmm-hmm.
The doctor said I could've had it for years and I never felt anything.
And he says the other thing about it is it's not gonna kill me.
All right? The worst that can happen, I'll have one of those fainting spells like I had in Vegas.
I mean, and how bad was that, really? It was fine, wasn't it? Look at, son Well, you looked Yeah, you looked all right, I guess, the next day.
Here's the deal.
I would rather have a fainting spell like that than go in and have open-heart surgery or whatever the hell, crack open my chest and work on me and just take my chances.
I mean, think about it.
What choice would you make? The fainting spell or take that risk? Prob Probably fainting, if that's all it really was.
Yeah, same here.
You're sure? Honestly? I don't think I've ever felt better.
This is absurd.
I cannot find a single vendor who will make individual meals for these kids.
I don't know what I'm gonna do.
I really don't.
I don't understand why baseball players aren't paid according to their stats.
You know what I mean? Are you listening to anything I've been saying for the past five minutes, or I'm just saying, you can do it.
You weren't listening.
I wasn't listening, you're right, I'm sorry.
Honey, I'm failing on all fronts.
Hey.
I really am.
It's like You're not failing.
who do I think I am, Oprah? Hey.
Come on.
I can open a school and have it be great.
You're not failing.
Honey, I don't know what we're gonna do about any of this.
I just I'm I'm worried.
What's all that? This was just something I thought about.
I It's stupid.
I thought maybe that we could, you know, hire someone.
We could bring in the food, and have somebody just come in and cook, you know? Tell you what.
What? Here's what we're gonna do.
Yes.
I need you to make me a list of everything we need in the school kitchen.
I'll go to Costco and pick it up tomorrow.
It's gonna blow the budget for the entire week.
It's not.
It will.
Not if we eliminate this column right here.
That's our whole That's like a cook.
Right.
And two assistants.
Exactly.
We need three, really.
Well, perfect, because we'll have four.
And they'll work for free.
As part of our new cyu-linary arts elective.
It's culinary, but what are you talking about? I'm pretty sure it's cyu-linary arts.
It's culinary, Adam.
We're gonna have the kids come in and cook with me in the kitchen.
That's crazy.
It is crazy.
It's no crazier than saying that gluten causes tantrums.
Right? Okay, okay.
All right.
Guess what? I'm gonna sign off on this.
Thank you.
I will regret it.
But I'm signing off.
You're not gonna regret it.
Yes, I will.
Pizza for dinner.
And I'm thinking half bacon, half pepperoni.
Can we really do that? Sounds good.
And Max, I have good news.
We've heard your complaints and we're adding a new arts elective.
- It better be photography.
- Culinary arts.
With my own two hands Make a better place We don't sound very good.
You guys are not the Jackson Five, that is for sure.
But you're not the first band that need a little help, and we have a secret tool called Auto-Tune.
Put your finger there and go ahead and slide it up as I Place! Whoa, that sweetens it, doesn't it? Ooh.
Now we sound good.
Ooh! That sounds That's harmonious.
This is the power.
Yeah, that's the secret Oliver Rome sauce, right there.
Don't tell him though.
Yeah.
How old is Grandpa? Uh, he's turning 72.
Is that old? Well, it's not young.
But, uh, you know, he's a bull.
He'll definitely make it to 80.
Good.
'Cause I can't wait till we do it with a full band.
Mmm, well, not too soon.
Max, watch out! Watch out! Whoa, whoa, guys! Move it! Careful, careful.
Mr.
Braverman? Yes.
Is the chicken ready yet? Not yet, buddy.
Let it sit there a little.
How do you turn on the stove? We're not gonna turn the stove on yet.
It's a little bit tricky.
No, no, no.
I like fire.
Mr.
Braverman? No, let me do it.
One second, Ciara.
You can flip it in a minute, but not yet, not yet.
Mr.
Braverman? This one's not supposed to have any gluten.
Right.
What's gluten? Uh, gluten is It's a It's a substance, in flour.
Yeah.
It's a protein composite found in wheat.
Also, this is not art.
This is slave labor.
Max You can be arrested for this.
Yes.
I think the chicken's ready.
One second.
Yes.
Uh What's cay-sein? It's ready to flip.
You can flip it.
It's casein.
Okay, okay, let's not Let's not light the stove right now.
Dad? What do I do with this turkey? How do I cook it? Uh, we're not cooking the turkey.
Yes? - Mr.
Braverman? - Do I put the potatoes What? Yeah.
Is the chicken ready to flip yet? If you want to, yes.
Mr.
Braverman, Aaron has a knife! Oh, God.
Uh.
Okay.
One second.
No, no.
Aaron.
Aaron, Aaron, no, no, no.
- Just let me take the knife.
- Mr.
Braverman? Everybody's okay.
We're all good.
We're good! That's good.
Okay.
Chicken's looking great, Edgar.
- Thank you.
- Mr.
Braverman? Hey, Sydney? Can you come down here for a minute, please? Hey.
Hey.
Ready? Um, yeah.
She Why is Dad here? Because we wanted to talk to you about something together.
So, um Have a seat.
So.
We heard about what happened with Melody at school.
Mmm, I don't know what you're talking about.
Mrs.
Reece told us that, uh That you weren't too nice to her.
That you said some things.
That's not true.
Well, I don't think she'd make it up, hon.
My teacher is a liar.
She hates me.
Sydney, listen.
We're not mad.
All right? We wanna talk to you.
If anything, we're worried and we wanna help you figure out what you're upset about or what's happening.
I'm not upset! Syd.
Sydney, we're Listen.
Okay.
We're just confused.
We're trying to figure out what this is all about.
Okay, this is all.
Why are you both ganging up on me? We're not ganging up.
We just wanna talk to you about this.
Why are you even here? You don't even live here anymore! Sydney, don't talk to your father like that.
Sydney.
We wanna help you figure out what you're upset about I'm not upset! And Okay, calm down.
No, I don't wanna calm down! Why don't you go back to your terrible apartment? I hate you.
I hate both of you! All right.
That looks good, honey.
All right.
This is insane.
I can't believe my dad is turning 72.
I know, it's crazy.
Who is that? Oh.
It's Edgar's mom.
Don't answer it.
I have to answer it.
What if it's important? Well, it is important.
She's gonna complain that I used her son as slave labor.
Please.
I'm begging you.
Don't answer it.
Okay.
I can't deal with it, not tonight.
I won't answer it.
I'm not doing it.
Okay, not tonight.
Whoa! Hey! The Trussell-man clan is here.
All right.
Hi, guys! Where's the birthday boy? - You're the first ones to arrive.
- All right! What's up? Hey, hey.
We're the nerdy family! First here.
That's all right.
We better be the last to leave.
How are you? Well, we had an episode on the way here.
Hi! The cutest member of the family crapped herself.
So Mmm-hmm.
Jasmine.
Come on.
Yes.
Jasmine crapped herself.
It smells really bad, I'm sorry.
My bad.
It's bad.
It's I will take you upstairs, I have some clothes of Nora's you can borrow.
Yeah.
Uh Ooh! It's like broccoli! Well, you should've been in the car with us.
Jabbar.
Come on.
I have to show you something.
Wow.
Okay.
Yeah, move it.
Seventy-two? Is that That's the right number? Yeah.
I just saw him.
He doesn't look a day over 50, if you ask me.
It's hard to believe.
Hey, I wanted to thank you for handling the situation with Dad.
Oh, yeah.
No problem.
Yeah.
Happy I could.
I have to admit I, uh, was a little doubtful you were gonna be able to handle him.
Oh, you were? Yeah, I didn't think you'd be able Huh.
to get him over the hump and talk him into surgery, but got that text saying all good.
It was a big relief.
Ye Um, I think we might have a different idea of what "all good" means.
- Sugar-free.
- Wow.
Gluten-free, no cholesterol, it's a completely heart-healthy alternative Wow.
to the chocolate birthday cake, so It's beautiful, Jules.
Nice.
Well done.
I tried the filling.
It sucks.
Sydney I spent a lot of time working on that.
So what? It's still disgusting.
Okay.
Okay, easy! So, she's going through a thing.
Yeah.
You know.
It's that age.
It's so You know, it's normal.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Girls are way more dramatic than boys.
So, here you go.
That is for sure, for sure.
Thank you.
Yeah.
Uncle Adam and Uncle Crosby are yelling at each other.
Because you didn't handle it.
What, according to your game plan.
You let Dad steamroll you like always.
I did not let There's a difference between respecting someone's wishes and getting steamrolled.
You weren't respecting him.
What's happening? You just couldn't stand up to him.
What's happening? He wants to micromanage Dad's illness for him.
No.
Crosby doesn't think Dad has to Just like every other have his surgery.
thing in this family.
You wanna be Crosby, he has to have the surgery.
Oh, what a shocker.
You two are in See? Julia gets it.
Oh.
Yeah.
What were you talking to him about it for? I thought you handled this.
Yeah, why didn't you handle it? I had an emergency.
I couldn't do it, he said he'd handle it.
What was the emergency? A bigger emergency than this? Yeah, the emergency was Anna needed broccoli for lunch.
She couldn't eat a yam or something? She has a gluten problem.
Oh, a gluten problem.
That's up there with a heart Crosby, shut up.
Okay.
Heart failure.
You just made this harder for everybody.
We need to solve this.
We need to solve this.
We need a strategy in place because No! It's an elective procedure! Yeah, it is an elective procedure but he's not gonna elect to do it Exactly because he's afraid, don't you get that? Great.
Anybody gonna wish me a happy birthday? Happy birthday.
Happy birthday, Dad.
Guess who went to the giant sale at the party store? This guy! I got so much stuff you can have all of your kids' parties for the next, like, 50 years.
They're having a Hey! Oh, well, all right.
Here.
You pass these out.
They're having a sale on hats and horns.
I got leis.
We could have like, a Hawaiian theme party.
Take a Anyone? Guys! They got festive colors.
Oh, here.
Dad, I guess you're the birthday boy and So, what is going on? Whoo! So, it tracks how many steps you've taken.
You can press a little button and it'll tell you how many steps you've taken That's pretty amazing.
I have to answer that.
I thought you were gonna stay strong for me.
Edgar's mom.
I am staying strong, okay? Edgar's a kid that we use as slave labor.
Adam did, actually.
She doesn't need to know this.
Hey, Emily.
It's like a health game.
I don't know.
It's fun.
I want one.
Right? They're They're fun.
Yeah, yeah.
- Okay, well, you can use this one.
- Yeah.
Of course.
Okay, I'm gonna go check on the grandkids.
No, it's not a problem at all.
Yeah, and I didn't listen to your message yet, I just, um, we're in the middle of I'm not gonna measure my steps, Yeah.
I'm just gonna count 'em to myself.
my father-in-law's birthday party.
He's actually not in the best of health right now, so He's so stubborn.
I'm sorry, what? Nothing.
He's so stubborn.
- Mom, you have to talk to him.
- No, no, I'm here.
Well, we're talking.
KRISTINA: Yes, Edgar, of course.
But this is birthday.
I just want him to have a nice party.
Okay.
Well, I guess what we really need is birthday cake.
We need birthday cake.
Makes everything better.
Yes, yes.
Okay.
I'll help you with the candles.
Brought some snacks.
- Hey.
- Hey! Can you hold her? Yes? Oh! Uh You got her? You got her? Okay, sure.
Hi.
I do.
Okay, good? Um For crying out loud.
Dad.
Oh, God, there's gotta be something.
Dad? Uh, look at that.
I know you can hear me.
Dad.
Ah, jeez.
Huh? Oh, you gotta speak up, son.
You know, I got bad ears.
I'm just a A frail, old man.
Would you come on? What are you doing? Well, I was looking for something with meat in it, because in case you hadn't noticed, at my birthday party, everything is mostly made with lentils or tofu.
Yeah, I know.
Everybody's worried about you.
Really? Well, I'm kinda worried about me.
Are you? It doesn't seem like it.
It doesn't seem like you're dealing with this.
It doesn't seem like you're taking it seriously at all.
Ah, no, son.
I am taking this very seriously.
Well, then you should do it.
You should have this surgery.
It's not that simple.
It is that simple.
Do you know what could happen? I could die on that table.
I know.
But I also know it's a 95% success rate for this surgery.
Well.
Those are really good odds.
Are they? Yeah.
Jeez.
I'm glad you're willing to take the risk.
Come on.
I am willing to take the risk.
I don't like the alternative.
Well, do you know what my doctor told me? My doctor says that, you know, if the surgery doesn't go well, I think he put it very poetically when he said, "You'd have a diminished quality of life.
" It's still life.
Not one I want.
If you don't have the surgery, you could die.
You could die, Dad.
What do What do I do then? If I die, you just take my ashes, you scatter them in the center field at Marine Park, and you play a game of baseball over me.
'Cause I'm going out on my terms.
Happy birthday to you Happy birthday to you Happy birthday, dear Dad Happy birthday, Doctor President Happy birthday to you Hey.
Hi.
Hey.
What are you doing? I'm getting away from the stupid fruit tart.
That's what I'm doing.
Me too.
Can I sit down? You sure? Oh, boy.
Ah, dear.
This isn't about my heart condition, is it? I'm pregnant.
Oh.
Are you disappointed in me? Oh, baby, no! Amber! No! Oh, sweetheart.
Mmm.
It's incredible.
It's wonderful.
It's the most beautiful thing in the world, you get to hold your Your child.
It's magic.
Yeah.
I'm gonna be a great granddad.
My I'm gonna be a mom.
It's just crazy.
Oh.
Should somebody go out there? No, no.
Let him be.
Hey! Grandpa's back.
Hi.
Want some fruit tart? No, I'm gonna Okay.
I'll tell you later.
Dad.
Hi.
Just try a slice of fruit tart.
It's a Martha Stewart recipe.
She promised me you wouldn't even miss the gluten.
Festivities.
Ugh! Oh, my God.
I'll leave it here.
That tastes vile.
Yeah, that's like a landfill.
Does it really? Whatever store did this come from? You bought it? No, no.
I made it.
How come Uncle Crosby's allowed to say it and I'm not? Because you want to be mature.
I don't know exactly what gluten is but I would like Martha to know I do miss it.
It's really not, you know, that bad.
Kinda I'm sorry.
Stop lying to me! Okay.
You haven't even heard your birthday song yet.
A birthday song? I get a birthday song? Oh, here.
Thank you for eating it.
Mmm, let me hear.
Catch! A Braverman original production here.
I can change the world Oh, God.
With my own two hands, make a better place Who's singing this? This is us.
Uncle Crosby helped us make it.
That is so good, Crosby.
Do you like it, Grandpa? Do I like it? I love it! Make a kinder place Good, 'cause we're gonna do it again when you turn 80.
Yeah! Dad says we can use a real band then.
With my own two hands That'll be fun.
I'll I can sell the CDs at Safeway.
Gonna make it a brighter place Come on, there it is.
- Yeah, get it, Zeek! Uh-huh! Gonna make it a safer place Gonna help the human race Hi.
Seriously? It doesn't freak you out Hey.
when people just show up at your doorway? Oh God, Mom.
It's really late for another big discussion, isn't it? All right.
I'm kind of tired.
Are you feeling okay? Yeah.
What's going on? I just wanted to show you some pictures I was going through.
Who is that? Who is that? Hello! It's this lady.
Ew! Member of the stripe club.
Oh no, look at the thighs.
I'm sorry I put you in ruffles.
And I'm really sorry about the haircut.
It was the '90s.
We didn't have a lot of money.
What was I gonna do? This.
Oh.
Do you remember your line from the play where you played a maple leaf? Mmm-mmm.
You didn't that night either.
Ooh! "It's autumn.
" That was it? Yeah.
I forget what made you laugh that hard.
You were laughing so hard.
Mmm.
Look at that little cutie.
Mom.
I realized I forgot to tell you about all the good stuff.
I'm so scared.
I know.
Me too.
We're gonna be okay.
Yeah? Yeah, we're gonna be okay.
Okay.
There's a lot of food left over.
There is a lot of food.
And bean dip.
I don't even know that I bought bean dip.
Thank you.
But it was a good party.
You did great! Oh, yeah.
Great party.
Honey, it was a good party.
Mmm.
Mmm.
I was gonna wait until tomorrow to tell you, but I, um I got a call from Edgar's mom.
All right, lay it on me.
And, um, she said that Edgar actually came home from school and told her everything that happened.
Time for me to lawyer up? No, no.
She actually, um, she's thrilled.
Really? I know.
It's crazy, because our little plan worked.
She's He had a good time.
He came home and told her about this piece of chicken that he was cooking.
And he was so excited about this piece of chicken.
He kept saying, "It's my piece of chicken "and Adam taught me how to cook this piece of chicken.
" And she just felt very grateful to us Hmm.
because it was the first time, I guess, in a long time that she actually saw something in him that That gave her some hope.
Good.
Yeah.
Wow.
Well, we got lucky.
And she thinks that you are a genius.
Well, I don't think that I'm a genius.
No, she said that.
She said whoever thought of bringing Kristina, I'll take it.
a cyu-linary art.
There you go, culinary.
She said that.
No.
She said that.
It's still culinary.
Oh.
It's not culinary.
A culinary art form is nothing short of genius.
Yes.
It's pretty kyool.
Kyool? Yeah.
Ah, man.
Mmm.
That was the best news I've had all day.
Yes, it is.
You did a really good thing.
Mmm.
Hey, it's me.
Are you up? Yeah.
What is happening with Syd? Yeah, I just don't know what to do.
Yeah, me neither.
You still there? I'm still here.
Hey, honey.
How come you're still up? Well, I'm enjoying the last few minutes of my birthday.
Oh, I see.
Hmm.
Sit down a second.
Uh-oh.
Yeah, well.
I heard some I heard some big news tonight and I'm pretty sure it's a secret.
What is it? No, I said I'm pretty sure it's a secret.
Oh, come on.
We don't keep secrets.
Amber's pregnant.
What? Wow.
Wait a minute.
That's ridiculous.
Amber can't be pregnant.
Sarah was just pregnant with Amber.
Great-grandparents.
Yeah.
Great-grandparents? Right.
Yeah.
I'm gonna have the surgery, Millie.
Of course.
Yeah.
Good.
Yeah.
Good.
Put that back on.
Millie, I just stood up too fast.
I'm gonna take you back to the hospital to sort this out.
You basically had a heart attack.
I had an event.
Eighteen, nineteen.
And the event is over.
I didn't realize I was so upset.
Your mom spent every ounce of her energy making this dream happen for you and other kids like you.
I'm pregnant.
Oh.
Uh.
So, um Who? Ryan.
Right.
Right.
How? What? Uh No, he was in the hospital and Uh, yeah.
He was.
Okay.
All right.
How long? How far along? Like, two months.
So you're keeping it? I know it seems crazy.
I know it's crazy, but I You're keeping it.
I wanna keep it.
Yeah.
I It's my I think it's right.
Good.
I think it's right.
Good.
Just Hey.
Everything okay? Hey.
Am I catching you at a bad time? No, I just I came into the office early.
Oh.
Sorry, uh, yeah.
I was just, uh, thinking we should talk about, uh, this email from Syd's teacher? I didn't see it.
What's up? Well, uh, evidently there's some sort of girl drama going down at school.
Uh, I talked to Syd about it.
She said there's this new girl that's been picking on her.
Oh, no.
What? Yeah.
Oh, believe me, I'm almost ready to go kick some little girl's butt.
But according to Syd, it's no big deal.
Um, Mrs.
Reece probably just wants us to know she's on top of it.
But But she does want to see us, though.
Or, you know, one of us.
Just schedule it, I'll make it happen.
Okay, all right.
I'll I'll talk to you later.
Thanks.
Everything okay? Here's your breakfast.
Ew! Yum, yum.
Okay, you don't have to have that.
Your mother'll make you some eggs.
Eggies are ready! I gotta get out of here.
Excuse me.
Here, baby.
Here, Nora.
Mmm, it's hot so be careful.
Oh, you got a phone call.
Who is it? Uh, Emily Miller.
That's Edgar's mom.
There you go.
I love you.
See you later.
Why is she calling me at this hour? No idea.
Probably because you gave your phone number to every single parent and told them Hello? to call at any hour.
One second.
Hold on.
Yeah, I can talk.
I What The eggs.
Hold on.
Uh All right.
Yeah, no problem.
- Ah, Max.
You want your eggs? - Hi.
For sure.
I can't talk about eggs right now.
Why not? Yeah.
Because I've decided on an art elective.
You have? Hallelujah.
- Finally.
What's it gonna be? - Um Photography.
Uh, no.
Photography is not an option.
You run the school.
Make it an option.
We can absolutely address this.
Technically, your mother runs the school.
Your problem is our problem.
She should make it an option.
There are your eggs.
Okay? Honey, I gotta go.
I'll see you later.
Wait one second, I'll discuss this with my husband.
I've got a meeting.
I gotta get out of here.
What? Thank you.
Okay.
Bye, Emily.
I gotta go meet Okay, Edgar's nutritionist wants to What is that? take him off casein and gluten.
Okay, well, I'm glad she called us at It's to take pictures.
7:00 a.
m.
To tell us that? Well, she had to, because it reflects in his school lunches, Okay.
Which we have to help manage.
Good luck with that.
No, please Can you please do me a favor? No, no, no, I can't.
Can't you just You don't even know what I'm gonna ask you.
I know what you're gonna ask me.
What do you know? You're gonna ask me to call the lunch vendor and I'm slammed today already.
I gotta go.
And you're right.
But you're You're so good at it.
Please.
You know only because I don't ask them to do crazy things like take all the cay-sein out of one kid's lunch.
The It's casein.
It's cay-sein.
Why did we found the school? To be a fascist institution.
To meet the needs of every student.
It's not fascist.
That is fascism.
It's capitalism.
No, that's fascism.
It's all we can afford right now.
- Okay? Three electives.
- Uh, uh.
Fascism.
You founded Chambers Academy Okay, pottery, dance and drawing.
to meet the needs of every student.
My artistic needs are not being met.
I don't want to interfere with the student l headmaster conference, so I'm gonna take off.
I love you.
I'll see you letting her draw on me.
Not fair.
So you'll call the vendor? I'm Yes.
You're calling the vendor.
I gotta go.
I can't hear you.
Woo! You're gonna do it.
Guys, take a second and acknowledge this moment.
Don't let it pass you by.
You're about to lay down your debut track on hallowed ground in a place where legends were made of songwriters.
Where icons were made out of singers.
Okay? You're sitting right now where Janis Joplin actually recorded.
Who's Janis Joplin? You know what? Out of my studio.
Go on and just get out.
I'm just kidding.
It's not your fault.
It's your mother's fault.
Listen to me.
Guys? All you have to do is sing in your normal voices, the mics will pick it up.
Just remember your motivation which is Be cute.
Especially you, Max.
And wish your grandfather a very, very happy 72nd birthday.
We should record his birthday song with a full band.
Okay, you know what? When he turns 80, we'll do that.
The whole thing.
Any questions? Can you sign a form stating that this counts as my art elective? That's absurd.
I cannot do that.
- Then I am not singing.
Not gonna sing.
- Here we go.
Five, six, seven, eight.
I can change the world With my own two hands Make a better place With my own two hands Make a kinder place With my own two hands Okay.
Your diagnostics show multiple blockages.
But I still don't think that's what caused your collapse.
I also saw some significant mitral regurgitation.
Not an ideal situation.
Guys, we spent the last two years working with just diet and medication.
Yeah, but he can still do a lot better with the diet.
I don't know, um Yeah, but I quit cigars.
That's a big deal.
And that's great.
But even with the perfect diet, it's just not gonna be enough.
I'm afraid it's time to talk about surgery.
Ah, man.
See, surgery was always a A last option in In your opinion.
It is, and it's time to seriously consider it.
Well, this was no big deal.
I mean, I I was short of breath, I stood up too fast, that's all.
No.
No.
You were just lucky.
Lucky you weren't alone when it happened and lucky it was just a clean fall.
Leland, it was not that big a deal.
Zeek, this will happen again.
And if you're driving when it does, or you smack your head on the pavement when you fall, then, my friend, been nice knowing ya.
So, what are you thinking? I'm thinking that, uh, Leland would like to buy himself a new vacation place, is what I'm thinking.
That's ridiculous.
I'm thinking we need to have a conversation.
Uh-huh.
Yeah.
Okay.
There you go.
No, I'm driving.
No, I'm driving.
I'm driving.
God.
Take away my driving privileges, my God! But he was in a full body cast.
I don't really wanna think about the details as much as you But we were there.
apparently do.
We would've heard something.
We weren't there.
How would we have heard them? We were in a hotel, like, a million miles away.
Well, uh, you know, he was attached to a heart monitor.
That would've been going off, and Look.
All I know is that my daughter's pregnant.
And she was so scared, too, she was so scared to tell me.
And I just froze.
I I bet she dreamed of this wonderful moment where she tells her mom this exciting news and I totally let her down.
I just said, "Oh.
" He was in traction, you know? Maybe that helped.
Oh, my God.
It's not the point.
I know.
I know.
I know, I know, I know.
How do How do you really feel about it? I think That it doesn't matter what I feel.
She needs me.
Hey, Crosby.
What? You're gonna have to do the 11:00 a.
m.
Oliver Rome thing by yourself.
I gotta go.
All right? What, are you putting the school ahead of the Luncheonette again? You can't You can't You can't do that, man.
This isn't about the Luncheonette This is This is our business! This is about our father.
I have to go talk to our dad.
For what? He's a stubborn ass.
Mom said he won't even consider having the surgery.
What surgery? His heart surgery! Yeah, I don't To correct his mitral regurgitation.
I gotta go.
You're saying that like I know what that is.
I I never heard that.
How do you not know about this? Dad's having heart surgery? He's refusing to have the heart surgery.
I thought Mom told you about this.
Mom did not tell me about this.
Okay.
Which is a pattern of behavior where she treats me like the baby, and she hides this kind of medical Uh-huh.
situation.
Right.
Okay.
Can we not make this about you right now? This is serious! How would I know it's serious? Nobody's telling me a thing! Okay.
I gotta go.
Tell me what happened before you go! Here's I will! You can't be in that big of a hurry! The cardiologist The cardiologist wants to do a coronary bypass Okay.
and a mitral valve replacement.
Okay? Wait, but that's open-heart surgery! Yes.
I know, and that's why I'm gonna go talk to him.
Well, he's gotta do it.
All right? Yeah, he is gonna do it.
I'm gonna make him do it.
I'm gonna talk to him.
I'm going with you.
I don't need you to come with me.
I'm coming with you.
It's our father.
You're not coming with me.
He's got you wrapped around his little finger.
He's gonna try to get you to flip to his side.
You'll do it in two seconds.
That is not true.
It is true.
You just That is not true.
I will just I will be the hammer.
You'll be quiet.
I will do all the talking.
Hey, Jim.
How are you? You're here Do you know what this is? Yes, this is the email that I sent to you about Edgar Miller and the casein intolerance.
Do you know what this is? This is our contract, yes, for the Chambers Academy.
The Select Correct again.
Why are you doing that? That was really rude.
Why are you breaking things? Every single day there's some crazy new request from you.
No gluten, no dairy, vegetables only.
Meat only.
I can't make individualized meals for 40 kids.
Okay, but your company is called Select Lunch.
You even have it on your emblem.
You have an apple, you have a carrot and you have What are you doing? Please, Jim.
Can you just help me for this week? That's it.
I just can't work with you.
I can I can work with you.
I'm desperate here.
You know what? Fine.
Leave.
I will find somebody else that will help me that cares.
Yeah, I bet.
Cares about children.
Oh, I don't care about kids, huh? And their intestinal tract and how they feel.
Is that right? You should just leave then, you're causing a scene.
I will find somebody else that will do individualized meals.
I'm causing a scene? You're causing a scene.
Hey, kids.
Look up, everybody.
Really? You're gonna do this right now? No gluten free, no casein.
Zucchini, kale sandwiches.
Don't listen to anything he says.
How about that? - Wait 'til you see my review on Yelp.
- Yeah, that'll hurt.
It's gonna hurt.
You.
Sorry, kids.
People.
He must eat too much gluten.
Casein.
Whatever.
So I guess you told my husband, Joel, that, um, there's been some playground drama? Well, what exactly did Sydney say has been happening? Just that Sydney's been, uh, you know, picked on a little bit.
Which I understand, it happens.
You know, jealousy, or whatever.
Mr.
And Mrs.
Graham, I'm not sure you have a clear picture of what's happening here.
Melody is the girl that Sydney was talking about.
Mmm-hmm.
Sydney has zeroed in on her.
She's been quite aggressive about excluding her.
Uh Sorry.
Um So, Sydney's picking on Melody? I know that kids will be kids So but when it comes to matters of bullying - Bullying? - What happened? It started when one of Sydney's friends invited Melody to eat lunch with them.
Sydney wouldn't allow it.
What do you mean, she wouldn't allow it? Melody's a little on the heavy side and Sydney said that Melody shouldn't even be eating lunch.
Now she's telling everyone not to speak to her.
And you You saw this? Yes.
As you can imagine, Melody is Well, she's despondent.
Her parents kept her home from school yesterday, she was so upset.
I'm I'm sorry, this is not This is not how our daughter behaves.
I'm I'm I don't I don't even know what to say.
If there's something going on at home that I should know about? No.
It's been a tough year.
You know, every family has its troubles, but we're fine.
We're currently separated.
And, um, I think the kids are a little bit rattled by it.
I know how tough this must be.
Yeah.
Thank you so much for bringing this to our attention.
We will do our best to handle it.
It was really nice meeting you, Ms.
Reece.
I'm sorry that you have not seen a better side of Sydney, because she's a great girl.
Thank you.
Julia, we need to talk.
Yeah, um, I'm working with the kids tonight on Grandpa's birthday present, so we can talk to her tomorrow night.
No, I'm not talking about Syd.
We have to talk about us.
About what we're dealing with.
This is clearly a reaction to that.
You think? Yeah.
Yeah, I do think.
Yeah! Look, this is not like her.
No, Joel.
This is not like her.
At all.
You know, and moving out and giving up on me, was not like you.
At all.
Come on.
Come on, stay and talk with me.
Please.
Are you kidding me? I begged you for a year just to talk to me and tell me what the hell was going on.
And you refused to do that and that broke me.
And I'm almost okay.
So, you can't come over and talk to me about my dad.
You can't kiss me.
Okay? You can't pretend like you didn't destroy me.
Because you did.
You destroyed us.
All of us.
I know.
I'm so sorry.
Okay, well, I'm gonna be okay.
I can handle it.
I don't know if the kids can.
Remember, the key with Dad, be direct.
Confront that problem head on, attack it.
Okay.
Thanks for all the advice.
Okay.
And this guy, Dad, what's his first name? All right.
You act like I've never met the guy or I'm just saying, don't let him start talking, he'll get talked to him.
in your head.
Don't let him start playing mind games with us.
Okay, he's not a magician or a hypnotist.
Okay, can you check that email? It's KB.
Who's KB? Kristina Braverman, your wife.
Oh.
Your Yeah, is that her? Is that her calling? Oh.
She's calling.
Okay, pick that up.
Yeah, yeah.
Here we go.
Okay, honey.
Please don't ask me any questions.
I'm in a real pickle, I'm in a real bind right now.
My food vendor just quit on me and I've got 40 kids to feed.
I have no idea what I'm gonna do.
Well, what about the food vendor? He just quit.
The first thing she said was no questions.
It doesn't matter.
You got my email? How do you stay married? What? It's a miracle.
And I need you to pick up 40 hot lunches for the kids and just bring them here.
Just bring them here.
No, no can do.
I cannot go to Whole Foods.
We're going to talk to my dad about his surgery.
Adam, I don't know what to do.
This is like a A DEFCON 5 situation here, Adam.
DEFCON 5 is actually the good one.
DEFCON 1 is It's counterintuitive.
Is that Crosby? Yeah, that's Crosby.
Yeah.
Whatever it is, it doesn't matter.
I just I need help.
Hey, you know what? Maybe could Crosby go to your dad's? Yes, he can.
Yes, he can.
No.
No, he can't.
Absolutely.
I'm on it.
That would be wonderful.
Kristina, it's all good.
He's gonna go over to Whole Foods.
Kristina He'll get all these dietary, uh, requirements met and I will handle my father and thanks for checking in.
Can Okay.
Yes! Okay.
You're really happy with yourself now So, we'll see.
aren't you? We'll just see how we handle this.
Don't even worry.
Knock, knock.
How are you? I'm all right.
Yeah? How's it going? I feel like I was in shock and I didn't do a good job not being in shock.
But I am eager to hear more about, you know, what you and Ryan have planned.
Or how you're gonna work it out and Oh, um I've I don't know.
I haven't I haven't even thought about that.
Where I've He doesn't know.
He doesn't know? Not yet.
Hmm.
It's just I just sort of started telling people and everything, so I haven't really 'Cause I guess that would be a big piece in terms of, is he involved? Does he wanna be involved financially? Emotionally? Right.
Just another person to help, you know? Yeah, I just don't know yet, though.
I don't really know what I Right.
It's a weird thing where you are one person, and then suddenly you're two people.
Yeah, I I understand the math of it.
That person needs you.
Mmm-hmm.
So, there is some planning that has to happen.
I just feel like you're trying to To say that you don't want me to do it.
That's not what I'm trying to say.
So maybe you should just say it.
Amber, it's not that I don't want you to do this.
Really? It's that, I wish you weren't doing it now.
There it is.
Okay.
I feel like you've barely had time to work and be in love, and I do feel like you have no idea how hard something like this is to do by yourself.
You have no idea and I do.
And it doesn't mean I don't believe in you.
I just Okay, good to know.
Let's go, let's go, let's go! Come on, honey.
Let's go.
These kids are foaming at the mouth.
Oh, boy does my wallet hurt! They're foaming at the mouth.
How much did all this cost? Take a look at that.
All right.
Look away.
Look away.
Holy crap.
I can't.
All right.
I can't.
How are we gonna afford that? I've no idea.
We're gonna have to worry about that later.
They're starving.
They're ready to eat each other.
We'll get the rest in a second.
Can you get the door? Ah, come on! Get your head out of your ass? What's the score? Jeez, zero, zero.
Hey, um, do you want a soda or something? You got iced tea? Yeah, I got iced tea.
Yeah, I want iced tea.
Okay.
Thank you, sir.
Happy iced tea.
Mmm-hmm, mmm-hmm.
Good, get a little break.
What do you want? How come you're here? Can't a young man just come by and say hi to his father? Mmm-hmm.
Your mother called you, did she? Uh, she didn't, as a matter of fact.
Which was pretty annoying and consistent.
I had to find out secondhand about your surgery Mmm-hmm.
from Adam.
Yeah.
Really? Which I hate.
- Look at, look at Hold on a sec.
- Hold.
See, I got my eye on this kid here.
Mmm-hmm, yeah.
He didn't get a lot of hits but he gets on base a lot.
Right.
It's okay, let it go.
Dad.
Let it go.
Easy does it.
Dad.
Yeah.
Can Can we talk about it? Well, there's not really much to talk about, Cros.
It's elective surgery.
And I have elected not to have it.
Okay, well, Adam made it sound pretty serious.
Well, Adam's a worrier and always has been and so is your mom and that's why they get together, so they can worry each other out.
All right.
Well, to be honest, I'm pretty worried, too.
It's your heart.
I mean, this mitriol gurgle Mytreol gastral No, uh, Crosby.
What? Do you even know what mitral regurgitation is? No, I don't.
Okay, it's a small leak in the heart valve.
All right? Mmm-hmm.
A lot of people walk around with it, don't even know they've got it.
Mmm-hmm.
The doctor said I could've had it for years and I never felt anything.
And he says the other thing about it is it's not gonna kill me.
All right? The worst that can happen, I'll have one of those fainting spells like I had in Vegas.
I mean, and how bad was that, really? It was fine, wasn't it? Look at, son Well, you looked Yeah, you looked all right, I guess, the next day.
Here's the deal.
I would rather have a fainting spell like that than go in and have open-heart surgery or whatever the hell, crack open my chest and work on me and just take my chances.
I mean, think about it.
What choice would you make? The fainting spell or take that risk? Prob Probably fainting, if that's all it really was.
Yeah, same here.
You're sure? Honestly? I don't think I've ever felt better.
This is absurd.
I cannot find a single vendor who will make individual meals for these kids.
I don't know what I'm gonna do.
I really don't.
I don't understand why baseball players aren't paid according to their stats.
You know what I mean? Are you listening to anything I've been saying for the past five minutes, or I'm just saying, you can do it.
You weren't listening.
I wasn't listening, you're right, I'm sorry.
Honey, I'm failing on all fronts.
Hey.
I really am.
It's like You're not failing.
who do I think I am, Oprah? Hey.
Come on.
I can open a school and have it be great.
You're not failing.
Honey, I don't know what we're gonna do about any of this.
I just I'm I'm worried.
What's all that? This was just something I thought about.
I It's stupid.
I thought maybe that we could, you know, hire someone.
We could bring in the food, and have somebody just come in and cook, you know? Tell you what.
What? Here's what we're gonna do.
Yes.
I need you to make me a list of everything we need in the school kitchen.
I'll go to Costco and pick it up tomorrow.
It's gonna blow the budget for the entire week.
It's not.
It will.
Not if we eliminate this column right here.
That's our whole That's like a cook.
Right.
And two assistants.
Exactly.
We need three, really.
Well, perfect, because we'll have four.
And they'll work for free.
As part of our new cyu-linary arts elective.
It's culinary, but what are you talking about? I'm pretty sure it's cyu-linary arts.
It's culinary, Adam.
We're gonna have the kids come in and cook with me in the kitchen.
That's crazy.
It is crazy.
It's no crazier than saying that gluten causes tantrums.
Right? Okay, okay.
All right.
Guess what? I'm gonna sign off on this.
Thank you.
I will regret it.
But I'm signing off.
You're not gonna regret it.
Yes, I will.
Pizza for dinner.
And I'm thinking half bacon, half pepperoni.
Can we really do that? Sounds good.
And Max, I have good news.
We've heard your complaints and we're adding a new arts elective.
- It better be photography.
- Culinary arts.
With my own two hands Make a better place We don't sound very good.
You guys are not the Jackson Five, that is for sure.
But you're not the first band that need a little help, and we have a secret tool called Auto-Tune.
Put your finger there and go ahead and slide it up as I Place! Whoa, that sweetens it, doesn't it? Ooh.
Now we sound good.
Ooh! That sounds That's harmonious.
This is the power.
Yeah, that's the secret Oliver Rome sauce, right there.
Don't tell him though.
Yeah.
How old is Grandpa? Uh, he's turning 72.
Is that old? Well, it's not young.
But, uh, you know, he's a bull.
He'll definitely make it to 80.
Good.
'Cause I can't wait till we do it with a full band.
Mmm, well, not too soon.
Max, watch out! Watch out! Whoa, whoa, guys! Move it! Careful, careful.
Mr.
Braverman? Yes.
Is the chicken ready yet? Not yet, buddy.
Let it sit there a little.
How do you turn on the stove? We're not gonna turn the stove on yet.
It's a little bit tricky.
No, no, no.
I like fire.
Mr.
Braverman? No, let me do it.
One second, Ciara.
You can flip it in a minute, but not yet, not yet.
Mr.
Braverman? This one's not supposed to have any gluten.
Right.
What's gluten? Uh, gluten is It's a It's a substance, in flour.
Yeah.
It's a protein composite found in wheat.
Also, this is not art.
This is slave labor.
Max You can be arrested for this.
Yes.
I think the chicken's ready.
One second.
Yes.
Uh What's cay-sein? It's ready to flip.
You can flip it.
It's casein.
Okay, okay, let's not Let's not light the stove right now.
Dad? What do I do with this turkey? How do I cook it? Uh, we're not cooking the turkey.
Yes? - Mr.
Braverman? - Do I put the potatoes What? Yeah.
Is the chicken ready to flip yet? If you want to, yes.
Mr.
Braverman, Aaron has a knife! Oh, God.
Uh.
Okay.
One second.
No, no.
Aaron.
Aaron, Aaron, no, no, no.
- Just let me take the knife.
- Mr.
Braverman? Everybody's okay.
We're all good.
We're good! That's good.
Okay.
Chicken's looking great, Edgar.
- Thank you.
- Mr.
Braverman? Hey, Sydney? Can you come down here for a minute, please? Hey.
Hey.
Ready? Um, yeah.
She Why is Dad here? Because we wanted to talk to you about something together.
So, um Have a seat.
So.
We heard about what happened with Melody at school.
Mmm, I don't know what you're talking about.
Mrs.
Reece told us that, uh That you weren't too nice to her.
That you said some things.
That's not true.
Well, I don't think she'd make it up, hon.
My teacher is a liar.
She hates me.
Sydney, listen.
We're not mad.
All right? We wanna talk to you.
If anything, we're worried and we wanna help you figure out what you're upset about or what's happening.
I'm not upset! Syd.
Sydney, we're Listen.
Okay.
We're just confused.
We're trying to figure out what this is all about.
Okay, this is all.
Why are you both ganging up on me? We're not ganging up.
We just wanna talk to you about this.
Why are you even here? You don't even live here anymore! Sydney, don't talk to your father like that.
Sydney.
We wanna help you figure out what you're upset about I'm not upset! And Okay, calm down.
No, I don't wanna calm down! Why don't you go back to your terrible apartment? I hate you.
I hate both of you! All right.
That looks good, honey.
All right.
This is insane.
I can't believe my dad is turning 72.
I know, it's crazy.
Who is that? Oh.
It's Edgar's mom.
Don't answer it.
I have to answer it.
What if it's important? Well, it is important.
She's gonna complain that I used her son as slave labor.
Please.
I'm begging you.
Don't answer it.
Okay.
I can't deal with it, not tonight.
I won't answer it.
I'm not doing it.
Okay, not tonight.
Whoa! Hey! The Trussell-man clan is here.
All right.
Hi, guys! Where's the birthday boy? - You're the first ones to arrive.
- All right! What's up? Hey, hey.
We're the nerdy family! First here.
That's all right.
We better be the last to leave.
How are you? Well, we had an episode on the way here.
Hi! The cutest member of the family crapped herself.
So Mmm-hmm.
Jasmine.
Come on.
Yes.
Jasmine crapped herself.
It smells really bad, I'm sorry.
My bad.
It's bad.
It's I will take you upstairs, I have some clothes of Nora's you can borrow.
Yeah.
Uh Ooh! It's like broccoli! Well, you should've been in the car with us.
Jabbar.
Come on.
I have to show you something.
Wow.
Okay.
Yeah, move it.
Seventy-two? Is that That's the right number? Yeah.
I just saw him.
He doesn't look a day over 50, if you ask me.
It's hard to believe.
Hey, I wanted to thank you for handling the situation with Dad.
Oh, yeah.
No problem.
Yeah.
Happy I could.
I have to admit I, uh, was a little doubtful you were gonna be able to handle him.
Oh, you were? Yeah, I didn't think you'd be able Huh.
to get him over the hump and talk him into surgery, but got that text saying all good.
It was a big relief.
Ye Um, I think we might have a different idea of what "all good" means.
- Sugar-free.
- Wow.
Gluten-free, no cholesterol, it's a completely heart-healthy alternative Wow.
to the chocolate birthday cake, so It's beautiful, Jules.
Nice.
Well done.
I tried the filling.
It sucks.
Sydney I spent a lot of time working on that.
So what? It's still disgusting.
Okay.
Okay, easy! So, she's going through a thing.
Yeah.
You know.
It's that age.
It's so You know, it's normal.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Girls are way more dramatic than boys.
So, here you go.
That is for sure, for sure.
Thank you.
Yeah.
Uncle Adam and Uncle Crosby are yelling at each other.
Because you didn't handle it.
What, according to your game plan.
You let Dad steamroll you like always.
I did not let There's a difference between respecting someone's wishes and getting steamrolled.
You weren't respecting him.
What's happening? You just couldn't stand up to him.
What's happening? He wants to micromanage Dad's illness for him.
No.
Crosby doesn't think Dad has to Just like every other have his surgery.
thing in this family.
You wanna be Crosby, he has to have the surgery.
Oh, what a shocker.
You two are in See? Julia gets it.
Oh.
Yeah.
What were you talking to him about it for? I thought you handled this.
Yeah, why didn't you handle it? I had an emergency.
I couldn't do it, he said he'd handle it.
What was the emergency? A bigger emergency than this? Yeah, the emergency was Anna needed broccoli for lunch.
She couldn't eat a yam or something? She has a gluten problem.
Oh, a gluten problem.
That's up there with a heart Crosby, shut up.
Okay.
Heart failure.
You just made this harder for everybody.
We need to solve this.
We need to solve this.
We need a strategy in place because No! It's an elective procedure! Yeah, it is an elective procedure but he's not gonna elect to do it Exactly because he's afraid, don't you get that? Great.
Anybody gonna wish me a happy birthday? Happy birthday.
Happy birthday, Dad.
Guess who went to the giant sale at the party store? This guy! I got so much stuff you can have all of your kids' parties for the next, like, 50 years.
They're having a Hey! Oh, well, all right.
Here.
You pass these out.
They're having a sale on hats and horns.
I got leis.
We could have like, a Hawaiian theme party.
Take a Anyone? Guys! They got festive colors.
Oh, here.
Dad, I guess you're the birthday boy and So, what is going on? Whoo! So, it tracks how many steps you've taken.
You can press a little button and it'll tell you how many steps you've taken That's pretty amazing.
I have to answer that.
I thought you were gonna stay strong for me.
Edgar's mom.
I am staying strong, okay? Edgar's a kid that we use as slave labor.
Adam did, actually.
She doesn't need to know this.
Hey, Emily.
It's like a health game.
I don't know.
It's fun.
I want one.
Right? They're They're fun.
Yeah, yeah.
- Okay, well, you can use this one.
- Yeah.
Of course.
Okay, I'm gonna go check on the grandkids.
No, it's not a problem at all.
Yeah, and I didn't listen to your message yet, I just, um, we're in the middle of I'm not gonna measure my steps, Yeah.
I'm just gonna count 'em to myself.
my father-in-law's birthday party.
He's actually not in the best of health right now, so He's so stubborn.
I'm sorry, what? Nothing.
He's so stubborn.
- Mom, you have to talk to him.
- No, no, I'm here.
Well, we're talking.
KRISTINA: Yes, Edgar, of course.
But this is birthday.
I just want him to have a nice party.
Okay.
Well, I guess what we really need is birthday cake.
We need birthday cake.
Makes everything better.
Yes, yes.
Okay.
I'll help you with the candles.
Brought some snacks.
- Hey.
- Hey! Can you hold her? Yes? Oh! Uh You got her? You got her? Okay, sure.
Hi.
I do.
Okay, good? Um For crying out loud.
Dad.
Oh, God, there's gotta be something.
Dad? Uh, look at that.
I know you can hear me.
Dad.
Ah, jeez.
Huh? Oh, you gotta speak up, son.
You know, I got bad ears.
I'm just a A frail, old man.
Would you come on? What are you doing? Well, I was looking for something with meat in it, because in case you hadn't noticed, at my birthday party, everything is mostly made with lentils or tofu.
Yeah, I know.
Everybody's worried about you.
Really? Well, I'm kinda worried about me.
Are you? It doesn't seem like it.
It doesn't seem like you're dealing with this.
It doesn't seem like you're taking it seriously at all.
Ah, no, son.
I am taking this very seriously.
Well, then you should do it.
You should have this surgery.
It's not that simple.
It is that simple.
Do you know what could happen? I could die on that table.
I know.
But I also know it's a 95% success rate for this surgery.
Well.
Those are really good odds.
Are they? Yeah.
Jeez.
I'm glad you're willing to take the risk.
Come on.
I am willing to take the risk.
I don't like the alternative.
Well, do you know what my doctor told me? My doctor says that, you know, if the surgery doesn't go well, I think he put it very poetically when he said, "You'd have a diminished quality of life.
" It's still life.
Not one I want.
If you don't have the surgery, you could die.
You could die, Dad.
What do What do I do then? If I die, you just take my ashes, you scatter them in the center field at Marine Park, and you play a game of baseball over me.
'Cause I'm going out on my terms.
Happy birthday to you Happy birthday to you Happy birthday, dear Dad Happy birthday, Doctor President Happy birthday to you Hey.
Hi.
Hey.
What are you doing? I'm getting away from the stupid fruit tart.
That's what I'm doing.
Me too.
Can I sit down? You sure? Oh, boy.
Ah, dear.
This isn't about my heart condition, is it? I'm pregnant.
Oh.
Are you disappointed in me? Oh, baby, no! Amber! No! Oh, sweetheart.
Mmm.
It's incredible.
It's wonderful.
It's the most beautiful thing in the world, you get to hold your Your child.
It's magic.
Yeah.
I'm gonna be a great granddad.
My I'm gonna be a mom.
It's just crazy.
Oh.
Should somebody go out there? No, no.
Let him be.
Hey! Grandpa's back.
Hi.
Want some fruit tart? No, I'm gonna Okay.
I'll tell you later.
Dad.
Hi.
Just try a slice of fruit tart.
It's a Martha Stewart recipe.
She promised me you wouldn't even miss the gluten.
Festivities.
Ugh! Oh, my God.
I'll leave it here.
That tastes vile.
Yeah, that's like a landfill.
Does it really? Whatever store did this come from? You bought it? No, no.
I made it.
How come Uncle Crosby's allowed to say it and I'm not? Because you want to be mature.
I don't know exactly what gluten is but I would like Martha to know I do miss it.
It's really not, you know, that bad.
Kinda I'm sorry.
Stop lying to me! Okay.
You haven't even heard your birthday song yet.
A birthday song? I get a birthday song? Oh, here.
Thank you for eating it.
Mmm, let me hear.
Catch! A Braverman original production here.
I can change the world Oh, God.
With my own two hands, make a better place Who's singing this? This is us.
Uncle Crosby helped us make it.
That is so good, Crosby.
Do you like it, Grandpa? Do I like it? I love it! Make a kinder place Good, 'cause we're gonna do it again when you turn 80.
Yeah! Dad says we can use a real band then.
With my own two hands That'll be fun.
I'll I can sell the CDs at Safeway.
Gonna make it a brighter place Come on, there it is.
- Yeah, get it, Zeek! Uh-huh! Gonna make it a safer place Gonna help the human race Hi.
Seriously? It doesn't freak you out Hey.
when people just show up at your doorway? Oh God, Mom.
It's really late for another big discussion, isn't it? All right.
I'm kind of tired.
Are you feeling okay? Yeah.
What's going on? I just wanted to show you some pictures I was going through.
Who is that? Who is that? Hello! It's this lady.
Ew! Member of the stripe club.
Oh no, look at the thighs.
I'm sorry I put you in ruffles.
And I'm really sorry about the haircut.
It was the '90s.
We didn't have a lot of money.
What was I gonna do? This.
Oh.
Do you remember your line from the play where you played a maple leaf? Mmm-mmm.
You didn't that night either.
Ooh! "It's autumn.
" That was it? Yeah.
I forget what made you laugh that hard.
You were laughing so hard.
Mmm.
Look at that little cutie.
Mom.
I realized I forgot to tell you about all the good stuff.
I'm so scared.
I know.
Me too.
We're gonna be okay.
Yeah? Yeah, we're gonna be okay.
Okay.
There's a lot of food left over.
There is a lot of food.
And bean dip.
I don't even know that I bought bean dip.
Thank you.
But it was a good party.
You did great! Oh, yeah.
Great party.
Honey, it was a good party.
Mmm.
Mmm.
I was gonna wait until tomorrow to tell you, but I, um I got a call from Edgar's mom.
All right, lay it on me.
And, um, she said that Edgar actually came home from school and told her everything that happened.
Time for me to lawyer up? No, no.
She actually, um, she's thrilled.
Really? I know.
It's crazy, because our little plan worked.
She's He had a good time.
He came home and told her about this piece of chicken that he was cooking.
And he was so excited about this piece of chicken.
He kept saying, "It's my piece of chicken "and Adam taught me how to cook this piece of chicken.
" And she just felt very grateful to us Hmm.
because it was the first time, I guess, in a long time that she actually saw something in him that That gave her some hope.
Good.
Yeah.
Wow.
Well, we got lucky.
And she thinks that you are a genius.
Well, I don't think that I'm a genius.
No, she said that.
She said whoever thought of bringing Kristina, I'll take it.
a cyu-linary art.
There you go, culinary.
She said that.
No.
She said that.
It's still culinary.
Oh.
It's not culinary.
A culinary art form is nothing short of genius.
Yes.
It's pretty kyool.
Kyool? Yeah.
Ah, man.
Mmm.
That was the best news I've had all day.
Yes, it is.
You did a really good thing.
Mmm.
Hey, it's me.
Are you up? Yeah.
What is happening with Syd? Yeah, I just don't know what to do.
Yeah, me neither.
You still there? I'm still here.
Hey, honey.
How come you're still up? Well, I'm enjoying the last few minutes of my birthday.
Oh, I see.
Hmm.
Sit down a second.
Uh-oh.
Yeah, well.
I heard some I heard some big news tonight and I'm pretty sure it's a secret.
What is it? No, I said I'm pretty sure it's a secret.
Oh, come on.
We don't keep secrets.
Amber's pregnant.
What? Wow.
Wait a minute.
That's ridiculous.
Amber can't be pregnant.
Sarah was just pregnant with Amber.
Great-grandparents.
Yeah.
Great-grandparents? Right.
Yeah.
I'm gonna have the surgery, Millie.
Of course.
Yeah.
Good.
Yeah.
Good.