"Kate Reddy?" "I've known her six years." "Smartest girl I know." "And a heart of gold, too." "All us working mothers feel like we're spinning 50 plates in they air at once, but Kate, you can give her ten more plates, all the size of manhole covers, and she just keeps going." "Big report due the next day at work, done." "Sew some extra fairy wings on for Emily's recital, she's doing it." "Last minute in-laws show up, she can do it without mixing vodka and Xanax." "It's amazing." "I'm telling you, she's amazing." "For all of us moms, there comes a time when you almost don't pull it off, and, um, for Kate, that was those three months last winter." "And all that trouble started with the bake sale." "Did she tell you about the bake sale?" "Oh, my God, the kindergarten bake sale." "I had just flown home to Boston from a business trip." "But then I got the reminder from Emily's school about the bake sale." "I promised Emily that I'd make something homemade and I was prepared to stay up all night to do it." "But the deli was out of baking supplies." "This pie was going to be homemade if it was the last thing I did." "Why did I care?" "Well, first of all, the other mothers are like a tiny army of mini Martha Stewarts." "Their contributions would look perfect." "Their daughters would feel proud." "I just wanted Em to feel the same way." "I'm trying to prevent the newsflash, 20 years from now." "Friends trace the start of Emily Reddy's mental problems to a school bake sale where her mother, a shadowy presence in her life, humiliated her in front of her classmates." "I was not gonna let Emily down." "Spread out, spread out, spread out..." "Bigger, bigger, bigger..." "You don't understand." "I still remember the looks I got in 1974, when my mother sent me to the school bake sale with two cans of sliced peaches." "You made a pie." " Hi!" " Hi, welcome home." "Thanks." "I..." "I thought maybe the powdered sugar would help." "No." "No, we're way past help on this." "Come to bed." "Listen, we got Chips Ahoy here." "We can throw these in her backpack." "She'll be good to go." "Are you kidding me?" "Do you have any idea what those dietetically correct mothers would do if I brought cookies with high fructose corn syrup and salt?" "Oh, my God, that sounds really good." "Can I have like a little...?" "Mm..." " Mm!" "Yeah." " Hm?" "See?" " You worry too much." " Well, you know, I just..." "I just want Emily to feel proud of what she brings to the bake sale." "I don't want her to feel different from the other kids because her mother has to travel for work, you know?" "I just..." " I want her to know I tried." " All right, I take it back." "Those are nice things to want for her." " Hey, how was Phoenix?" " Oh, it was fine." "You know, airport, taxi, meeting, hotel, meeting, taxi, airport." "You must, be, uh... exhausted." "Oh!" "Well... a little." "But not completely." "# Does he love me?" "I wanna know" "I'm not one of those wives who doesn't wanna have sex with her husband." "I still think he's the cutest guy I know." "His adorable little frown lines, his seaweed-colored eyes, the way he smells after a shower." "There 's just one problem." "# It's in his kiss # #" "A recent study showed that 64 percent of women with young children don't sleep through the night." "Researchers were at a loss to explain why." "They could have asked me." "At night, I, like women all around the world, do the list:" "Emily's birthday party theme." "Pirates or pop stars?" "Things to buy: paper towels, toothpaste, pork chops." "Buy a present for Jedda 's birthday party." "Find out Jedda: boy or girl?" "Call the guy about the thing." "Make a playdate for Emily with that kid that doesn't bite." "Refill washer fluid in car." "Wait a minute." "Shouldn't that be on Richard's list?" "Who am I kidding?" "Richard doesn't have a list." "Wax something, anything." " Call Richard's mother and say hi." " Or just email hi." " Wash Ben's teddy bear." "Renew birth control pills." "Twinkies Ambien while I'm at it." "Finish year-end fiscal summary." "Hamster." "Oh, no, start year-end fiscal summary." "...new ways to say no." "Kegels?" "Bagels!" "When I come home after a trip," "Ben doesn't hold my absence against me." " Hey, baby." " He's too little for grudges." " Little buddy, hi!" "Boo!" " Boo!" "I love being a mother of a two-year-old boy." "It's like being a movie star" " in a world without critics." " Hi, Em." "Unfortunately, my daughter isn't quite as forgiving." "If I'm gone for too long, she rewards me with a game of snubs and punishments." " I want Daddy to take me to school." " Paula gives me a bath." " I don't like hugs." "Aw!" "Any working mother who says she doesn't bribe her kids can add "liar" to her resume." "Who wants to watch cartoons?" "!" "I got your happy ending right here!" " You swine!" " Good morning." "Hey, we gotta call Beachwood Carpets and get an estimate on those stairs." "Oh, you say the nicest things." "Something's different about you." "You're..." "Not in a shirt with barf on it?" "Your big meeting, it's today, right?" "I'm getting the gig." "Definitely." "Get a sitter." "Tonight, we are celebrating!" " Done." " I mean it." "Who cares if I'm up against huge firms with portfolios filled with museum wings and hotel lobbies?" "I have a fantastic bathroom in Back Bay and a mind-blowing basement renovation in New Hampshire." " Not to mention a shirt without barf." " Mm." "I better get it." "I picked the worst time to go on my own." "It's like the economy was waiting for me to start my own business and then tank." " Richard." " No, Kate, I am bankrolling this firm with change from our sock drawer." "Well, that's gonna change." "It has to, because you're too talented" " for it not to." " I hope so." "The pay isn't much, but in the long run," " it'll be great for both of us." " You're gonna get it." " Am I gonna get it?" " You are gonna get it." " I'm gonna get it!" "OK." " I gotta go." " No, no, wait, wait!" "Can you just wait one second" " while I take a really quick shower?" " Where the hell is Paula?" "She's been late every day this week." "Honestly, I'm gonna talk to her." "Oh, no, Richard, please don't talk to her!" "Please." "If we don't keep her happy, she'll leave." "Would that be the worst thing in the world?" "Uh, frankly, at this point, it would be easier if you left." "You know what I mean." " She's here!" "She's here." " Good morning." " Men and women" "look at childcare very differently." " The surf was beautiful today." " Richard sees an outflow of cash we badly need at the moment, and I see a person who knows which blankie Ben likes." "It's a good job." "I love the kids, and Kate is a great boss." "What does Kate do for a living?" "I have no idea." "Works in a bank?" "Is she... is she like a teller?" "Come on, Mom, we're gonna be late." "Hey, Paula, can you put this in a container for me?" "Sure." " You... made a pie?" " Yep." "OK, can I just say that I work for a high-powered investment firm, yet nothing scares me more than being caught by my daughter's kindergarten teacher when we're late for circle time." "Does Mama love you a little or a lot?" " A little." " A lot." " A lot!" "Oh!" "Have a good day, OK?" "I love you." "Goodbye." "Go." "Go, go, go, go, go, go." "Late again, Mrs. Reddy?" "Yeah, sorry." "We'll do better tomorrow." "Perhaps." " Good morning." " You baked a pie, really?" "Are you trying to make me look bad?" "It's from the deli around the corner." "And you distressed it?" "Nice!" "Did you have to throw away the package before the nanny saw it?" "Well, duh." "This is my friend Allison." "Oh, wait, you've already met her, right." "She's a single mom, and I can always count on Allison, especially for things like making something much worse than I did for the bake sale." "That is unset Jell-O, folks." "Kate and I bonded immediately." "A working mother needs solidarity." "And we know where we rank in likeability." "Just below felon and just above shoplifter." "God, it's so sad." "Women used to make the pies and fake the orgasms." "Now we fake the pies." "That's a big improvement as far as I'm concerned." "Thank you." "I was up all night." "Oh, shit!" "There they are." "There they were." "The most terrifying creatures in captivity." "The Momsters." "On the right, Wendy Best, room parent, field trip chaperone, parent association vice president, also chief poobah in charge of terrifying working mothers with her domestic prowess." "And Janine LoPietro." "She does Pilates, yoga, spinning and krav maga." "Fitter than a Navy SEAL, tougher, too." "There you are, Kate." "I haven't seen you in ages." "Honey, you look great." "Well, I am just so jealous of you girls." "You get to wear high heels and look nice all day." "We just frump around at the park." "Kate, I don't know how you do it." "Wendy and I, we always say that." "Cookie?" " Oh... sure, thank you." "Yummy." " Yeah." " Allison, please." " No, thank you." " Bye." " OK." " Bye-bye." " Bye!" "Bye." " Brush your hair." " Did you see what she was wearing?" "You know, for me, when I decided to have kids," "I wanted to be the one to raise them." "But women make different choices in their lives." "And, uh, I don't judge." "I try not to... judge." " Bye." "I'll talk to you later." " Bye." " Oh, hello." " You should go home." "Oh, oh!" "No, don't go in the street!" " Don't go in the street!" "So now, of course, I'm late." "And I am gonna have to race to the office to get there before my boss, Clark." " Oh, hi, Clark." " Oh, good morning." " How are you?" "Here, please." " I'm well." " Allow me." "Ladies first." " Thank you." "Say, are you running a little late this morning?" "I've just come from a meeting." "I have two choices here." "The man's excuse:" "bad traffic, downed power line, faulty carburetor." "Or..." " Mammogram." " Oh." "Well, then, I think I'll just take the stairs." "Good cardio." "Hey, morning, Jill." " Meeting." " Yeah, just a second." "Oh..." "Ugh!" "Is that a Rice Krispie?" " Oh." " I hope." "Oh, it's just dried pancake batter." " Oh." "Mm." "Big relief." "Momo is a brilliant junior research analyst." "She has the work ethic of a robot, and the warmth." "But I don't care because she devotes all that energy to her job." "Kate Reddy?" "Well, she's the best fund manager we have." "She's great at her job, works really, really hard." "People think she's weird, though." "She checks on her kids every day." "Even during lunch, when she should be working." "OK, can we go to the meeting now?" "Well, I guess." "We don't have time to do anything about your roots." "So I heard Clark has gotten some feedback from New York" " on our fund proposal." " Come on." "New York never lets us run with anything big." "They treat the Boston office like a sad stepchild." " Look, you're always tired..." " Morning." "...and insufficiently groomed." " Welcome back." "Once you smelled like paste all day." "But you write the best reports on the floor." "I doubt they even read them." "And I certainly doubt they picked one from here, but mark my words, if they did, it will be Bunce's." "Don't ask me how, but that guy just keeps failing up." "Oh, speak of the devil." " Kate!" "There's Chris Bunce." "He's our DOA:" "Designated Office Asshole." "Bunce loves that I have kids." "Keeps me from getting an edge on the competition, the one men get when they take clients out for drinks and dinners and golf games." "You know what I'm talking about." "The schmooze." "There you are." "Everything OK this morning?" "I was looking for you and I couldn't find you." " Nothing with the kids, I hope." " Oh, I had a..." " Don't ask." " Anyway," "I was just saying to Clark, Kate is amazing, isn't she?" "I mean, I don't know how she does it." " All those children..." " I have two." " It's so impressive." " You have four." "Yeah, but two of mine are twins." "Bunce." "How the hell is equality between the sexes supposed to work?" "They can give you good jobs, maternity leave, but until you program a man to notice when you're out of toilet paper, the project is doomed." "I resent when people say there's a double standard." "Men also have a lot to juggle." "Take our shoes." "Do women's shoes need to be shiny all the time?" "No." "You never see a woman getting her shoes shined." "Women's shoes can be flat and dull." "Not men's." "That's a double standard." "Bunce had a great series of meetings this week with the institutional investors from Oakland about their retirement fund." "Yes, meetings went great." "Even got in a little culture while they were here." " Took them to a dance show." "Hey!" "Whoo!" "Interpretive." "Interpretive dance show." "Nice work, Bunce." "Moving on to new business." "Jack Abelhammer in our New York office has sparked to a proposal from this office, and he'd like to meet the author." "Kick the tires, see if it's an idea worth bringing to Harcourt." "Bunce, I know how long you've waited for this chance." "Keep waiting." "Congratulations, Kate." "You'll be heading to New York tonight." "You've got a 9am with Abelhammer." "Really?" "Guess someone finally read one of your proposals." "Wow!" "Congrats to the B team." "OK." "If this works out, this could be a big step up." "A lot of travel, a lot of one-on-one with Abelhammer." "It's gonna be great." "Plus, gives your kids a chance to spend all that extra quality time they've been hoping for with your nanny." "And your husband will be thrilled." "Congratulations." "You know she's married, right?" "Well, in her marriage, she has to call her husband every time she has to work late or go across the country or she can't pick up her kids from school." "It's like she's on parole." "And that is why I'm not getting married or having children." "I did have a fish once." "But then he kept looking at me with these eyes," "like, "Feed me."" "So I flushed him." "His name was Derek." "Derek Chan." "Hey, let's blow off work early, go to a bar, pretend we're single." "And rested." "Either one." "Maybe both." "Just confirming our meeting tomorrow." "9am." "Looking forward to meeting you." "Jack Abelhammer." "Would love to get blotto, sadly can't." "Have to go to New York and blow somebody." "Dear Jack, looking forward to meeting you, too." "Kate Reddy." "Richard, this thing is a long shot, I promise you." "I have to pitch to him, and he'd have to pick me over everyone else." "And... the chances of those two things happening are very slim." "Oh, well, if it comes down to your ability to pitch and the quality of your idea, honey, of course you're getting this." "Good luck at your meeting, honey." "And please don't worry about me." "It's such a short trip." "No one will even notice I'm gone again." "I promise." "No!" "You just got back." "Honey, I know, but it's just..." "It's one night." "And I will have this with me." "You call me any time." "Whatever, Mom." "At least you don't hate me." "Um... did..." "Did you take Ben to get a hair cut?" "Yeah, his bangs were in his eyes, so I took him to that place on the corner." "Oh." "Oh... he looks..." "I mean, it's adorable." "Thank you." "I just..." "It was..." "That was his first hair cut." " So..." " Yeah, I wanted to call." "I just didn't want to disturb you at work." "I didn't wanna bother you." "Oh, no!" "Paula, no, it's..." "No, you're never bothering me." "Nothing is more important to me than the kids." "I'm always happy to hear about" " any little or big thing." "Honestly." " Got it." "Great, thanks." " I love you." " Bye-bye, Mama." "Bye-bye, bunny." " I love you." "Paula, you'll call me?" " Yes." "For anything?" "I don't care the reason." " Bye." " Come on." "Bye." "Bye-bye." "Bye-bye!" " The books say children get over separation anxiety by two years." " Good evening." " That was weird." "No age limit is given for mothers." "He'll never have his first hair cut again." "Never." "They didn't have purple tights in your size, Em, but I'll keep looking." "I promise." "OK?" "OK, honey." " Do you want a brush?" "What, I'm a little itchy." "Is that a crime?" " Oh." "Hello?" "Today's playdate's in the park, right?" "You just have to confirm that with Owen's nanny?" "Yeah, I have the number." "Can you hold on?" "Just hold on, OK?" "No, I think I have the number." "Can you hold on a second?" "I think I have the number." "OK." "Hold on." "Can you hold that for a second?" "Can you...?" "Sorry." "Do you mind?" "Hello, baby." "Bye-bye." " Why is this wet?" " That doesn't belong there." "Sorry, it's kind of precious." "Something smells like raw meat." "I wondered where that was." "A-ha!" "Yeah!" "Yep." "Yep, yep, yep." "Got it, got it." "Got the number." "Wait, are you..." "are you still there?" "Go ahead, say it." " Say what?" " Oh, just get it out." "No, it's just..." "I don't know how you do it." "Well, you will, one day." "No, no, no." "I am not having kids." "Really?" "Why not?" " Well, for one thing..." " Can you just hold this for a second?" "Momo, I promise you that being a mother is one of the most rewarding and enriching experiences a person can have." "It's probably just my stress eczema flaring up again." " I'm sorry." " Thank you." " Thank you." " He'll be right with you." " Great, thanks." " Oh, sorry." "My kids love that music." "Hey, Allison, I'm just stepping into a meeting." " Can I call you back maybe?" " Sure." "But why did you send me an email saying that you were looking forward to meeting me?" " What?" " Last night, when I asked you if you wanted to get a drink, I just reread your response" " and it doesn't make any sense." "So..." " No." "No, no, no." "I didn't send you that email." "I sent you a different one..." "Oh, my God!" "Wait!" "I..." "I didn't send you an email about a b job?" "Uh, no, honey." "I mean, not yesterday." " Oh, my God!" " Kate Reddy?" "Jack Abelhammer." "Momo Hahn." "It is an honor to meet you, sir." " Shall we?" " Uh... yeah..." "Listen," "Jack, um..." "Jack, about the email that I sent yesterday, the, um... the, uh..." "activity mentioned," " that's not..." "I don't..." " Oh, yes, I saw that." "Are you still planning to start the meeting with that action item?" "Uh, sorry." "There's..." "There's been some, uh..." "Some budget cutbacks lately." "So no." "Oh, disappointing." " Oh, sorry." "I'm gonna silence this thing." "Yeah, here I am..." " I'm silencing it." "Sorry, again." "Sorry." "Everything OK?" "Yep!" "Oh, my God!" "We received a lot of proposals, but I was most intrigued by your notion of an individual investor retirement fund." "In order to make that work, you'd have to pick stocks with a big dividend yield." "Well, of course, but you know you also have to avoid the value traps." "I think you'll see that I've targeted a few industries where I really see the dividends multiplying." " Mm." "Yeah." "I see." "The rub is Harcourt hates the retirement business." "So, what could we do to convince him..." "What's a bouncy house?" " What?" " You have it written on your hand." "I haven't seen a girl write on her hand since I was ten-years-old." " Oh!" "A bouncy house is a blow-up-y kind of tent thing." "You know, the kids get in and they jump up and down." "It's a bouncy house." "It's..." "It's my daughter's birthday next week." " Mm-hm." " How many children do you have?" " Uh, six." " Two!" " Two." "Two." " She has two." " It feels like six." "Hm..." "Look, the fund you're proposing is very ambitious." "I mean, Harcourt, he'll wanna see that this is a real business." "He only cares about profit ratios." "This is ambitious." "I know that." "I know that." "But if it works, it works big." "I mean, think about it." "A retirement fund that makes it possible for people to supplement their Social Security so they can actually retire." "That would mean so much to people in this country who are scared to death about their future." "Look, I got into investing because I watched my father gamble away every paycheck he ever got." "I wish he put that money into a fund like this." "It would have left my mother with something, instead of what she had, which was two jobs, no savings and a very angry loan shark named Claude." "What is the matter with you?" "I think you flicked something in my mouth!" " I have lice!" " You have...?" "Lice!" "Oh, my God!" "I couldn't get out of there fast enough." "I just kept picturing little tiny bugs repelling off my hair into his inbox." " Oh, my God." "I'm going to vomit." "Oh, no!" "Hold on, Richard." "Hold on, hold on." "I'll be right with you." "Wait, don't put the phone near your hair." "Hi, Richard." " What's up?" " I got it." "No more basement renovations for me." "Oh, my God!" "Oh, that's the best news in the world!" "Oh, honey!" "I'm so proud of you." "Well, come on home." "We gotta celebrate." "I will, I'll be home before you know it." "Bye." "Yay!" "Wow!" "This could be a disaster." "Of course a lot of kids get lice." "The dirty ones." "The ones whose mothers don't have time to wash their hair properly." "Kate." "Or worse, have a 1 9-year-old wash 'em." "Ugh!" "Come on, lots of kids get lice at school." "It's not a big deal." "Yes, there were whispers that Kate had lice." "And in the world of finance, we know that you don't ignore the whispers." "So I had my office fumigated, and then I went to the kitchen and threw away Kate's coffee mug, as well as anything in the refrigerator with Kate's name on it." "And moving forward, I will not get in an elevator or a taxi with Kate." "Oh!" "Ooh!" " Sorry, I'm..." " If you get this, you have to take it." " It's huge." " How can l?" "Richard's really hoping I'm gonna work less now that he's got this new project." "And I am barely..." "Ow!" "...barely..." "Sorry." "I'm barely keeping up as it is." "Anyway, it's never gonna happen." "Abelhammer clearly thought I was insane." "I sent him an email about a..." "I had "bouncy house" written across my hand, and I was scratching like a dog." " Hello?" "Oh, hi, Clark." "Oh, I'm..." "I'm..." "I'm at a..." "I'm at a breakfast." "Is everything...?" "OK." "Yep, I'll be there." "OK." "Ow!" "OK, bye-bye." "Bye." "Abelhammer wants to talk to me." "OK, the call is up." "You're just waiting on Mr. Abelhammer." "OK, great." "Thank you." "Oh, for crying out loud." "How the heck did that happen?" " Oh, God!" " How long have you been there?" " Long enough, but go ahead." "If there's anything else you need to, uh... adjust." "No, no." "I think I am..." "I'm fully adjusted, though." "Thank you." "Thank you." "Thanks for coming down here yesterday." "Of course." "Of course, you know..." "So I like the proposal." "Got a lot of holes in it, but I think we can fix them and maybe make some money here." "However, we'd be on a tight deadline." "Harcourt's looking at other possibilities and wants to make a decision by the end of the year." "This is a massive undertaking." " Y eah." " This will mean a lot of travel," "long days, late nights, and I just wanna make sure it won't be too much for you, considering what you're up against with the six kids and the lice." "Oh, my..." "Oh, my God!" " How do you know...?" " Your text message was showing." " I can read upside down." " Oh." "So... what do you think, Kate?" "Can you swing it?" "This could be the best thing that's ever happened for my career." "It's just the worst time for it to happen." "Gives your kids a chance to spend all that extra quality time they've been hoping for..." "with your nanny." "You love your job more than almost anybody I know." "A lot of travel, a lot of one-on-one with Abelhammer." "I knew exactly what I needed to say." "Of course I can." "Oh, can you hold that elevator?" "!" "Can you...?" "Oh!" "Thank you!" "Can you scooch over a little?" "Sorry, it's my daughter's sixth birthday tomorrow, and I was just afraid the bakery and balloon place would close, so I went at lunch." "Great." "Can someone push lobby for me?" "Thank you." "All in?" "Everyone knows the right way to throw a birthday party." "You call Ernesto at Playtime Events." "He handles everything." "The letter-pressed invitations, the balloons, all perfect." "And if you slip him an extra 50, he will even send your in-laws the wrong address so that they end up just driving around the city all day, and then they show up right at the end of the party." " Hi, honey." " Mom, Dad, hi, come on in." " Oh!" " Hi, Kate." " How's it going?" " Hi!" " Hi." "Thank you for coming." " Our pleasure." "Oh, that's very sweet." "Good to see you." " Good to see you." " That's lovely." "Thanks." "So, um, can l get you guys a drink?" " Oh, no!" "Or some candy?" " Do you have any soda for the kids?" " No, no soda, Mom." "Too much sugar." "Yeah, and dried fruit is out." "It rots their teeth." "Last year, the nursery school issued a fatwa on raisins." " And yet you have a pinata." " Well, you know, that's different." "That's, um..." "That's, uh..." "culturally enriching." " Ah." " Mm-hm." "Here's some water, sweetie." " Thanks, Grandma." " She thinks we're ridiculous." "'Cause we are, a little." "You OK?" "You seem a little off today." "Me?" "Yeah." "I'm great, why?" " The, uh, savages have arrived." "I'll get the door." "Wait, Richard, Richard." "We need to talk." " Now?" "Uh, no, OK, later." "Of course, you're right." "Later." " What is it, Kate?" " No, it's just..." "You know what?" "It's just a thing." "Honestly, it's no big deal." "We'll discuss it later." " You sure?" " Yeah, yeah, go." "Open the door." "I'm really sorry, but New York liked my idea for the retirement fund." " They want me to develop it further." "Which means that I will be really busy and traveling for the next two months." "Let me in!" "Is that cake made with organic flour?" " Yep." " Thanks." "We got a diaper change!" "Clothing change." "Oh, they need to be boiled." "Hey, we need to talk about that thing later." "Yep, can't wait." "Are you guys having fun?" "He really is incredible with them, isn't he?" " Yeah." " I know when our kids were little," "I don't think Lew changed one diaper." "Men just didn't do that kind of thing back then." " Well, that's because..." " Yeah, we were terrible parents." "We didn't know what tofu was." "Oh, but that was a simpler time." "And everybody knew their place, what they had to do." "Lew made the money, I changed the diapers, if we couldn't pay the bills, that was Lew's fault." "The kids were crying, that was me." "But boy, you all..." "If something goes wrong, it's everybody's fault." "I don't think that does anyone any good." "Well, I think it's..." "I think it's just a more complicated..." "Well, it's as complicated as you make it, dear." "You know, I was wondering, if you had stayed home with Ben, would he be talking now?" "He's almost two and not one real word." "Doesn't that bother you?" "And the worst part is she's right, you know?" "I mean, about Ben not talking." "By this age, Emily was reciting the first chapter of Canterbury Tales in Middle English, and all Ben does is grunt." "Kate, that's fine." "We gotta talk about the fact..." "Richard, Richard, I know." "I know it's lousy timing for both of us." "To get a big project at work at the same time, I know that." "But we can make it work." "I know we can." "And I'm gonna do my very best to make sure that nothing falls through the cracks." "Look, Richard, you have been working so hard to get a big break at work." "Me, too." "It's a great problem." "We can do this." " We just have to do a little juggling." " I know." " But if we're..." " I promise I will make everything work." " Don't worry." " OK, but I'm just telling you..." "I said don't worry!" "You kind of yelled it, which isn't as comforting, actually." "What's this?" "What are you doing?" "Hm?" "We're about to make a giant mess out of our lives and you're gonna use sex to try and pretend everything's better?" "Is that the plan?" " Yes." " I like it." "I mean, I really like it." "Quite frankly, using sex to make up for the flaws in your relationship is as low as you can go." "But sometimes you have to do it." "I actually do it all the time." "One hundred percent success rate." "Richard was right to be worried." "It was gonna be very challenging." "Thank God I had Momo to help me with the workload." "Kind, supportive, friendly..." "she was none of those things." "But she worked her ass off." " I've been running..." "My job was to spend two or three days a week in New York with Jack." "He was impressive, he was insightful, he was smart, he was a lot of things." "And none of them were Chris Bunce." "I think we should include an insurance wrapper on the fund" " for the low-income retirees." " Exactly." " Jack, I just wanna say..." " If you're gonna thank me again," " please don't." " No." "I wasn't going to." "I wouldn't thank someone for giving me a big break," "I mean, possibly the biggest break of my career." "I mean, what kind of person would that make me?" "Fine." "Precisely." "But thank you." "This is the one we'd better get done." "Yep, all right." "All right, I gotta hit the ladies." "I'm sorry I won't be there to kiss you good night, but I'll see you tomorrow." "OK?" "OK." "# I love you" "# A bushel and a peck" "# A bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck" "# A hug around the neck" "# And a barrel and a heap" "# A barrel and a heap and I'm talking in my sleep" "# About you #" "For the high-yield set, I thought we could do a time series showing the higher yield on the MSCl index..." " Bup, bup, bup!" "No more work." " Sorry." "And can I have my martini back?" "You keep on moving it away from the edge of the table." "I'm sorry." "Sorry, it's horrible." "I'm surprised I'm not cutting your steak for you." " It's force of habit, I guess." " That's OK." " Do you... do you have kids?" "No." "Um..." "I did, um..." "I was married, once." "She was a great girl." "Very special." "And then two years into the marriage, she got sick and..." "Even though she put up an incredible fight..." " I'm very sorry." " It's OK." "I'm OK." "You know, something like that happens in your life, and it changes the way, well, you... see everything." "So, since then, I try to keep things as simple as possible." "I love my job, I love my work." "It has its ups and downs, but at least it doesn't break your heart." "So, what about you?" "You like what you do?" " I love my job." " Mm-hm." "They market doesn't know what sex I am, it only knows whether I'm right or wrong." " I like the fairness of that." " Mm-hm." "Although, sometimes I wish I didn't love my job so much" " because then..." " Then you could be home with your kids." "You're allowed to miss your children." "Here's the thing." "I have two beautiful kids." "And I love them." "But life changes." "There's no question about that." "There's no spur of the moment activities, you're not meeting people for dinner at the last minute, or seeing a movie whenever you want." "Or, you know, going bowling." " Bowling?" " Yeah." "My sister and I used to bowl all the time." "But now we're both mothers and..." "So, you know, where is the time?" "Bowling." "I'm sorry." "I shouldn't have told you all that about my children." " Not professional." " Uh-huh." "I'll tell you what." "From now on, don't think of me as Kate the working mom." "Think of me as Bill, your trusted financial analyst." "Well, the fact is studies show women make better investors." " Hm!" " But if you want," "I'll just forget you're a woman." "OK, oh..." "Here you go." "All right." "Thanks." "I mean, not thanks." "Well..." " Good night, Jack." " Good night, Bill." "Oh!" "Bye-bye!" "Bye-bye." "Bye-bye." "From that moment on, life got busier and busier." "And the funny thing is it really looked like I was making everything work." "I read once that the key to juggling is not catching, but throwing." "So I just kept throwing, and throwing, and throwing." "It doesn't smell." "It's got no stains." "My God!" "I have something to wear!" "# You gotta move with the traffic and go with the flow" "# Hop on one foot while you touch your nose" "# Juggle ten things" " # With your other hand" "I have never seen Kate work so hard, but she's always been there for Ben and Emily." "I mean, she spreads some serious love on those kids." "# Ah, suck it up and leave me" "# Can't do it all Baby, if you're asking" "# You're looking at the queen of multitasking" "I drop my kids off for school at 7:15, so I'm here about, what, 7:45?" "Eight-ish?" " That's about right." " Yeah." "And then I leave around... two?" "# I know it's hard You try to make it look easy" "# Try to stay in charge" "I know you want to, but you can't quit the newspaper business." "Why not?" "I know you, Hildy, I know what winning would mean." " What would it mean?" " It would kill you." " You can't sell me that." " Who says I can't?" " You're a newspaperman!" " That's why I'm quitting." "I want to go someplace where I can be a woman." " Suddenly, it was as if our lives were on fast forward." "I just had to keep my eye on everything, all at the same time." " Look out!" "Coming through!" "See, the other basic rule of juggling" " is that what goes up must come down." "Hello, baby." " Watch out for dog doo, honey." " Bye-bye." "At the same time, Jack and I had this insane deadline looming, so our emails went from daily to hourly." "But I promise you, I was careful to maintain the proper, professional distance at all times." ""Dear Jack, here 's the final version of the PowerPoint." "Should you have any desire... "" ""Dear Jack, I will be putting the finishing touches to bed. "" "Oh..." ""You know I would bend over backwards... "" ""I'll see you soon." "Kate. "" "Hey, why are you still up?" " Working." "Enough, we're good." "Go to bed." "Ah, too much to do." "Bed's a waste of time." "Not always, I hope." " Hm!" " Good night, Kate." "XO, Jack." "Good night." "XO..." "Good night, Kate." "No." "If you're gonna sign "XO,"" "you might as well sign, "Please enter me."" " OK, Ben." "Say one..." " Hi." "Hi, Daddy." "Two, three." "Hey, you remember that Paula's gotta leave today at five." " So can you..." " Oh, no, I got that meeting at 4:00." " Oh, shit." " Then I got the dinner afterwards." " Yeah, I forgot." " So you think maybe you can..." "Yeah, that's not a problem." "I'll do that." " I love you, gotta go." " Oh." "I love you, too." "Bye." " Where in the hell is Paula?" " Oh, I don't know." "Don't..." "I'll take, um, I'll take Ben to Allison's nanny, and then I'll take Emily to school, OK?" " Oh, good." " Bye, Daddy." " Bye." " Bye!" "Em, honey?" "Can you come get your lunch box?" "Great series of meetings this week." "The T note yields for the third quarter look good." "All right, then." "Let's go make some money." " Bunce, you wanna go get a steak?" "You know I do." "It'd be an honor if you let me buy." "What'd you think about that game last night?" " I'm gonna be in late tomorrow." " Doctor's appointment." " Oh, OK." "Because I'm pregnant." " You're what?" "!" " I know, I know." "Some kind of systems failure on the birth control." "Don't worry, I'm dealing with it." "I'm not having kids, remember?" "Wait, wait, wait!" "Wait, wait." "I know you look at me and you see a mess, a hurry, a giant un-tweezed eyebrow, I am walking birth control." "I get it." "But it's not all that." "There is so much joy." "And if, for some reason, you wanted to go through the madness of having a baby, I could help you." "I've been doing it for a while." "I could teach you some useful tricks to help you manage both work and home so that neither side gets..." "Oh, my God!" "What time is it?" "!" "Oh, shit!" "Shit!" "Shit, shit." "Oh, shit!" "Shit, shit, shit!" "Shit." "Hey, Richard, it's me." "I am so, so, so sorry, honey." "I know you have a dinner, and I am on my way and then you can go." "I am on the stairs." "I'm approaching a revolving door." "I am in the revolving door." "A woman just keeps the puzzle of family life in her head." "She just does." "The inside of a working woman's head is like the control tower at O'Hare Airport." " Richard, honey!" "I'm here!" "I'm home!" " Mommy, Mommy!" " Hi, honey." "Where's Daddy?" " He had to go to dinner." " He's at dinner?" "Then who are you here with?" "I'm sorry, I didn't know what to do." " Yeah, I know that, but..." " So I called Wendy what's-her-name, and I asked if her babysitter could come over after work." "You called Wendy "l do everything perfectly best"?" "And then you left my kids with somebody that I don't know?" "Kate, you weren't here." "I left them with a sitter." " Yes, who doesn't know them." " It was OK!" "Sometimes OK has to be good enough." "I mean, the kids are fine." "So, in this case, I would say the old lady was the perfect babysitter." "Getting a backup sitter is on my list." "Oh, Jesus, with these lists." "Really?" "I mean, do Pilates, bake lasagna, you might as well put down dock the space station." "Well, that's not very nice." "You know, I get a lot done from those lists." "I know, I'm sorry, honey." "Let's just..." "let's go to bed." "OK?" "Wait, Richard, wait." "I have to go to Cleveland tomorrow." "It's just for one night." "Jack and I have to meet these potential brokers, you know, to just get a sense of how much they're willing to commit before we put this in front of Harcourt, and..." "Come on." "Let's go to bed." "I'm still..." "I'm still in here." "Look, you have to travel in this job." "We're road warriors." "And if you are tethered to anything, uh, then you are a bird that cannot fly." "And no one goes to a pet store and says," ""l would like a bird that cannot fly."" "...volatility..." "We're talking about bringing a closed-in..." "Thank you." "They'll be some persuading Harcourt to commit." "Thank you very much." "How big was the potato that this came from?" "This is the sort of thing that cracks my family up." "Sorry." "So the brokers, you feel good about them?" "They love it." "You know..." "Should we go visit some of the famous sights of Cleveland?" " What were they again?" "You wanna know the joke of business travel?" "My mother always says, "Oh, it must be so exciting to see all those different cities," but we mostly just see the insides of hotels and airports." "Mm-hm." "Not tonight." " You bowl?" " Do I look like I bowl?" "You guys are all set, except it's gonna be like a half hour for a lane because it's RB night." "Unless you wanna play with one of the groups." "They can get a little competitive." "# I'm just a sucker for love" " # For love - # I'm just a sucker for love" "# Sucker for love Sucker for love" " Ah!" "You're little, but you can throw!" "Whoo!" "Just watch and learn." "Lumber Liquidators is going down!" "Timber!" "Abelhammer, you're next!" "Show them what you can do, New York!" "It's pretty simple." "You just balance, and then you aim right down the center." "I'm just gonna throw it and hope for the best, OK?" " Whoo!" " OK, I got it!" " I got it!" " They get a little slippery." " OK." "# I'm just a sucker for love Sucker for love" "# Sucker for love, baby" "Max's Automotives is going down!" " I see what you mean!" "Bowling's fun!" " Hey, time to refuel." " Cheers, everyone." "Well done." " Yeah!" " Oh..." "Very nice." "Doesn't she look like me?" "Oh!" "If you win this for us, we'll forgive you for being a banker." "# Sucker, sucker Sucker, sucker" " Yeah!" " There we go, great!" " Get in here." "Thank you." "Thank you." "Yes!" "Yeah." "Whoo!" "I can't believe you're a closet bowler." "Well, when I went to college, all my buddies bowled." "It was, uh..." "It was fun." "But not as much fun as tonight." "Yeah." " And then?" " Then I, uh, went to my hotel room, ate all the Swedish Fish, and fell asleep." "But then he showed up at your door and said, "Kate, I can't live without you." " Run away with me."" " No." " No, it was not like that." " Really?" "Did you tell Richard that you went out with Jack?" "No, because we didn't go out." "We went bowling." "And this is absurd." "Jack and I are just..." "...friendly." " No, you're right." "I know how straight, single guys hate to hit on attractive coworkers on business trips." "He's not creepy like that." "How does he sign his emails?" " What?" " Jack." ""Best"? "Yours"?" " "Thinking of you"?" " I don't know." "Is it "XO"?" "It's "XO," isn't it?" "Will you stop cross-examining me?" "This isn't one of your depositions." " Oh, my God, you're blushing." " I am not." "Kate, promise me... promise me that you won't do anything disgusting or immoral..." "...without telling me everything." "OK, it's microwave fresh." "Mm..." "Come on!" "It's gonna get cold." " OK, hold on." " Hey, how was your trip?" " What?" " You went to Cleveland." "Oh!" "Uh, it was fine." "Fine." "Anyway, um, good news is the project is in good shape." " Jack's happy." " Jack's happy." "Jack likes the tech sector." "Jack's allergic to tree nuts." "You know, I Googled him." "Sit down." "He's a hideous-looking fellow." "My gosh." "Just... must be a nightmare hanging out with that guy." " Is he?" "I hadn't noticed." " Oh, you hadn't noticed?" " Is he... is he not hideous?" " No..." " So he's happy." "Which means that we can go to your parents' for Thanksgiving." "And then we can get the Christmas tree on Friday like we've been talking about." "And then I was thinking that maybe..." "...we could get a sitter." " Yeah." "Yeah." "Yeah, we can get a sitter, and then maybe we go to the movies, you know?" " Yeah." "That'd be fun." " Yeah." "It's gonna be a great, perfect, fun trip." "OK, OK." "I like it." "I woke up in the middle of the night and I realized we should adjust the charts so that dividends are grouped by asset class." "Great." "We can go over this tomorrow." "No, you can just email it to me." "It's OK." "I'm out of the office till Monday." "You are?" "But there is so much that you said..." "It's Thanksgiving." "It's fine." "We are OK." " Are you sure?" " Yes." "Yes." "And I really wanna spend time with my family." " One more thing." " Yeah?" "I'm having the baby." "I'm sorry, what?" "I'm only disclosing that because, as my superior," " I believe that you..." " Oh, my God, Momo!" "Momo, forget about all that." "I'm uncomfortable now." "I'm just so happy for you." "I'm still uncomfortable." "There's no way anyone can explain it to you before you have a baby, and once you do, you'll wonder why no one ever told you how it felt." "Please stop holding me." "Happy Thanksgiving." "Same to you." "Being pregnant doesn't feel awesome." "It feels like a mistake." "But lots of people have babies as mistakes." "Maybe... maybe my baby will turn into Justin Bieber." "He started as a mistake." "Now he's a billionaire." " Good night." " Good night, Kate." "There you are." "Heard you're taking off what?" "Five days?" "I love that carpe diem thing you have going on." "But, just so you know, I'll be in town." "Wife cooks dinner for about 20 people." "Makes three turkeys." "So if you need me to cover for you," " I'll be right here." "Three turkeys?" "Wow." "That's... that's amazing." "You know, why not give Abelhammer my cell in case he needs anything." "Happy Thanksgiving." "This is what you need to know about Bunce." "He's one of those guys who loves to come in at the end and take the credit after someone else has done all the hard work." "If I slip up even a little, he is so ready to pounce." "I make a great turkey, too, by the way." "It's delicious." "Everyone says my breast is very juicy." " Ah!" " Oh, my God." "You like the mule in Treasure of the Sierra Madre." "OK, I got the changing pad and the portable high chair, the porta-crib, bibs," "Thomas the Tank Engine cereal bowls." "There's no reason to pack." "Everyone knows that you buy two of everything, you keep one set at the country house." "Boom." "Done." "I swear to God, Louis XlV traveled lighter than we do." " You ready to have fun?" "Well, I like the spirit." "Just don't tell your mother about my new project or that I'm on deadline, OK?" "What do you wanna do?" "You wanna lie to her?" "Hm..." "let's see." "Yes." "Oh, OK." "All right." " Here." "Ah!" " That's not gonna wanna stay." " One, two, three..." " Whoo!" "Don't worry about that." " That's ours, right?" " Oh, no." " Who knows the lyrics?" " You do, Daddy." " Come on." "I love this part." "# Bears heavy on my mind Take it, Kate." "OK." "# Then I look at you" "Emily, come on!" "# And the world's all right with me" "That's right." "Take it, Kate." "# Just one look at you" "What are we gonna do?" "# And I know it's gonna be" " Here we go!" " One, two..." " # A lovely day" " Oh!" "Look at this." "We're on a trip." "We're all in one place." "Right?" "You're right." "You're right, this is great." " It's nice." " Really." " You're buzzing." " Oh." " Sorry." " No, it's all right." "I'm gonna silence this thing." "And it's... quiet." " And I'm not gonna work." " Sounds good." "OK." "I'm..." "I am not working." "See?" " Don't need it." " Are you sure?" " Yes!" " It's OK." "If you need to take the call, it's fine." " I don't need it." " OK." " Oh!" "That's a mistake!" "Big mistake!" "Who wants some?" " Come over here!" " Ah!" " Get him, get him!" " Ah!" " Those look great." " Thank you." "Thanks for doing this." "Those smell delicious, Kate." " So a bunch of snowmen are standing..." " Oh, no!" "A bunch of snowmen are standing in front of the barbershop," " and one of them says..." " Who smells carrots." " Uh..." "Oh, come on!" " Same one as last year." " Thank you." " You ruined my joke!" " You ruined my joke!" "...30 years ago..." " That's my joke!" " I don't get it." " Because of their nose." " 'Cause their nose is a carrot." " You know the pond is frozen." "So if anybody wants to go skating tomorrow..." "Well, I promised Em that we were gonna build a snowman tomorrow, right?" " Yeah." " We can do it at the pond." "Oh, that was great, Mom." "What did you do this year?" "I ran out of canned pumpkin, so I had to..." " You used cream?" "Yeah." "I used light cream," " but heavy cream's better." " You OK?" " Yeah, she's here." " Yeah." "Kate, it's for you." "It's someone named Nono." "Oh, no, Momo." "I'm gonna take it in the other room." "Momo, what does that mean?" " Are you OK?" " What is the matter with you?" " I left you 100 messages." " OK." " Jack is trying to reach you." " OK, I'll check my phone." "Remember Barry Brentwood?" " He was arrested." " Mm." " What?" " He's going to prison." " Really?" " Barry Brentwood?" " Barry Brentwood." " What did he do?" "Oh, my God." "He got into something with a drug dealer, and they hired him to kill somebody..." "Oh, no." "Who did he kill?" "I don't know!" "I don't know." "Somebody..." "Hi, Jack, sorry I missed your calls." "My cell reception is..." "Um, anyway, what's up?" "Sorry, Kate." "Harcourt's schedule changed." " He can only hear the pitch tomorrow." " Oh, shit." "Well, um, when did that happen?" "If you can't make it, maybe Bunce can take over." "So Harcourt has to go to Hong Kong the day after tomorrow for a week." "There's some emergency with the Asian brokerage house." "Which means that tomorrow morning is our only shot to get this thing in front of him." "But Jack said Bunce would do it." " Let him go." " Come on, Richard." "I can't let Bunce take this." "You know how hard I've been working on it." "But I can't control how and where we pitch it." "It's not my fault." "I have..." "I have planned everything so this exact thing would not happen." "But we were supposed to make a snowman." "Sweetie, I know." "Listen." "The very next time there's snow, we're gonna make a snowman." "I promise." "OK?" "You already promised." "Hey." "Bye-bye, bunny." " Bye-bye, Mama." " Oh, my God!" " You spoke!" "Ben!" "You said, "Bye-bye, Mama."" " He spoke!" " "Bye-bye, Mama."" "Well, it'll come in handy." " Richard, I'm..." " You gotta go, Kate." "And we'll talk about it when you get back, OK?" "Bye." "Oh, we all heard about Thanksgiving." "Leaving right after dinner?" "Seriously?" "Who does that?" "No, I prefer to be with my family." "You know, clean up while my husband and his friends watch football and I chase after the kids because they've had eight slices of pecan pie." "Then I make 11 sandwiches of leftovers for everybody for the next day." "Listen to my mother-in-law yammer on for the 15th time that my stuffing was too dry." "Like I've never heard that one before." "I just..." "It's family, and I love it." "I love it." "I'm feeling much better, thanks." " Let's focus on the proposal." " OK." "I was thinking we could start with an overview of dividend payers versus non-payers." " Whoa!" "Careful!" "Or you could... throw up again a few more times." " Momo, you OK?" " Yeah, I'm fine." "This does not feel like a miracle." "Oh!" "Don't worry, morning sickness only lasts about, um, nine months." "Ooh, oh, yeah." "I've been there." " You OK?" " Don't I look OK?" "Let's walk." "Oh, Momo!" "Momo, Momo!" "Momo!" "Oh, my God!" "It's official." "I'm disgusting." "How did this happen?" "Don't answer that." "I didn't get any sleep last night." "I think this baby's on a treadmill." " Thank you." " Hey." "Hey, good morning." " Good morning." "Thank you for your lovely note and the room is beautiful." "You know what?" "You knocked yourself out getting this thing right." "You deserve a nice room and if this thing has any chance at all with Harcourt, it's gonna be because" " of the way you pitch it." " He's ready for you." "Let's go." "Remember, we're a great team, Bill." "Good morning." "We're here today to talk about possibility." "The possibility of a new financial product that could restore some of the faith we've lost with our customer." "We wanna show them that we understand, that we wanna make money for them as well as for us." "So I would like to start off with a few charts showing you the dividend base strategy we've devised." " Momo!" " Which will show you..." " The PowerPoint presentation was going really well." "No one could tell Momo and I had been up all night rehearsing." "Until..." "OK, 300 presentations last year, and I never messed up once." "It's not my fault." "The pregnancy did something to my brain." "I don't get it, OK?" "The baby is nowhere near your brain." "What else can it do to your brain?" "Mm!" "I'm sorry." "I'm so sorry." "I was so nervous." " I forgot the whole..." " Are you kidding?" "That was a home run." "I didn't have to say a word." "He loved it." "I could tell." " Really?" " Really!" "You lunatic!" "God, I love..." "I love the way you ran that." "It was brilliant." " Absolutely brilliant." "There he is." " Thank you." " Let me close this." " OK, OK." "OK." "You OK?" "Kate, I hope I didn't blow this for us." "No, it's fine." "Don't worry about it." "Just like I thought." "He thinks you're terrific." "Wants to know what we've been doing hiding you in Boston." " Really?" " Yep." "He's going to take me to lunch." "He's got a lot of questions." "But they sound like the right questions." "The ones that mean he's serious." "So should I...?" "Should I go back?" "To Boston?" "Yeah, I guess." "Uh, I'll call you if I hear anything." " OK?" " OK." "You know the first thing he said to me?" " Where did I get this idea?" " Oh..." "I hope he told him he got the idea from you." "Well, I mean, you know, we really, he and I really developed it together." "It's changed a lot since the version that I started with." "It's not right." "You should be at the lunch." " Harcourt should know you." " He will." "He will." "I mean, he does." "I'm the one that really pitched it in the meeting, not Jack." "Yeah." "But now Jack is going to lunch with Harcourt, and you can just bet by dessert, this whole thing will be Jack's idea." "These guys don't get to the top by giving credit to the junior team." "What am I doing?" "You gotta come with me." "You're where I got this idea." "It's yours." "We're a team." "And teams stick together." "Right, Momo?" "So it's the 18th frame, or maybe the 28th frame, I can't remember." " Eighteenth." " Eighteenth frame." "And, um, you know, a lot of tension in the bowling alley." "In fact, I think everybody was completely silent." " And this gentleman..." " Except you." " This elegant, wherever you're from, gets up..." "Gets up and he says, "Max's Automotive is going down!"" " Just like that." " Just like that!" " I came out of my shell." "I think with a Bronx accent, right?" " He fit right in." "It was a pleasure to meet you." " Likewise." " Jack will tell you that I like to say no, and I had my doubts coming in, but you made a very compelling case." " I am intrigued." " Oh, my God." "Well, thank you." "Thank you, thank you." "You're right, she does like to say thank you." "I'll be in touch." "That was miraculous." "He never says anything positive." "My God, you think he'll go for it?" "Oh, yeah." "Oh, yeah." "I think we got a good shot at this." " Absolutely." " Oh, my God!" "I can't believe it went so well!" " Think you're gonna make your plane?" " Uh, I don't know." " I have to see what time it is." " OK." "Wow, will you look at that?" "This thing finally quit." " Battery died?" " Yeah, I didn't charge it." "OK, OK, hold on." "Use mine." "That's odd, look at this." "I got a bunch of missed calls." "All from you." "Richard, honey, I'm on my way." "I'll be there as soon as I can." "But keep a close eye on him." "If he experiences any dizziness or nausea tonight," " call us immediately." " Thank you so much." " Emily?" " Hi, bunny." " Hi, sweetie." " Mommy." "Oh, hi, baby." "What happened?" "Well, he tripped on that place in the carpet and fell down the stairs." "Oh!" "Sweetie..." "A man announces he's going to leave the office to be with a child, and he is hailed as a selfless, doting, paternal role model." "A woman announces that she's going to leave the office to be with a child on its sick bed, and she is damned as disorganized, irresponsible, and showing insufficient commitment." "I know, it was on the list, right?" "No." "No, forget the list, Richard." "You live here." "Haven't you tripped on that thing a million times?" "At least I was here when it happened." "And I tried to call you." "And text you." "You didn't pick up your phone for hours." "I told you, I forgot to charge my phone." "So I was reduced to breaking into your address book on your computer to get the number to your boyfriend." "That was a great feeling." " Oh, come on!" " Then he didn't answer either." "Jack forget to charge his battery, too?" "Doesn't sound like him." "No, we were meeting Harcourt." "You knew that." "It's not like we were naked on a beach in Aruba sipping Mai Tais." "Well, that's a weirdly vivid denial." "You're right." "I failed." "I messed up." "I wasn't here when Ben needed me." "What difference does it make?" "Even when you're here, you're not here, Kate." "We never sit down." "We never relax, we don't laugh or goof off." "I don't want to discuss how often we're not having sex." "Well, you know what?" "I honestly..." "Honestly, I don't understand" " what you want from me." " You don't know what I want?" "I want just a few minutes where we're not in a panic." "Where we talk about something other than logistics." "Where you pretend to laugh at my old jokes that you've heard before." "Where we have five minutes, just five, of calm, quiet conversation." "Just five minutes of being together." "That's all." "My list." "Number one:" "get my life together." "Number two:" "stop making lists." " Where's Daddy?" " He had to go to work early." "Hey, Em, you know that I didn't want to leave Thanksgiving, OK?" " I wanted to stay..." " Yes, you missed it." "Just like you missed Jamaica Day." "And Evie's birthday party." "Because you have to talk on the phone and take an airplane to New York." "I tell everyone that." "And maybe someday we can make a snowman together." " But probably not." " No." "No, we will, Em." "I promise." "OK?" "The very next time it snows." "I love you." "At work, when you act like one of the boys, they call you abrasive and difficult." "So you act like a woman, and they say you're emotional and difficult." "So difficult is really just the word for anything that isn't a man." "I wanted to let you know" "I'm hearing some merger rumors out of Atlanta on that PharmaCom stock." "Yeah, I heard that." "Gotta get somebody down there tonight." "No, yeah, OK." " Hello?" "Well..." "You're... you're where?" "This is a very nice surprise." "What are you doing here?" "Well, it's just not fair that you have to keep coming to New York all the time." " Oh." " We'll have to do something about that." " Especially now." " Why now?" "The fund's gonna need a name." "Wait..." "We did it?" "Harcourt's only funding a pilot program, but he rarely does this unless he's absolutely..." " Yes, we did it!" " Oh!" "We did it!" "Kate, I..." "I just wanna say..." " Wow!" " Uh, I also came up here to say..." "You and I we're a team, a really great team." "And, uh, I've been thinking lately." "Kate, none of this is me." "Checking my emails every ten seconds to see if there's something from you." "Wanting to tell you all the funny little things I hear and see during the day." "I know, given our... your circumstances, this is crazy, but I had to tell you, because if there's any part of you that feels the same..." "I told you my story, keep it simple." "However, you make complicated look appealing." "And I, for the first time in a long time, feel ready to..." "I..." "Jack, I am so happy you feel that way." "And now you're gonna find someone who will mean as much to you as Richard does to me." "I have made a terrible mess of things, and I hope I still have a place with him, because that's where I belong." "And it's..." "It's snowing." "Yeah." "Oh, my God!" "I have to go!" "I'm sorry, I..." "I'll call you later." "There's something..." "There's something that I have to do." "Thank you." "Thank you, thank you!" "I need to talk to him now." "He's in a meeting, dear, and I don't gentlemen, I..." "Hey, how are you?" "Hey, Mitch, Jon." "Yeah." "Um, Clark?" "Uh, I just wanted to let you know that I'm gonna go to Atlanta on Monday." " So... take care, then." " No." "No, you're going this weekend." "Client's expecting you." "Can we talk about this in private?" "We can talk about it on Monday, when you come back from your Atlanta trip this weekend." " OK." "So, my view on..." " Yeah." "See, the problem is that I'm unavailable." "Because?" "Because I have to make a snowman." "Reasons it's OK if I don't work at Edwin Morgan Forster anymore:" "Number one:" "Because I have two lives, and I don't have time to enjoy either one of them." " Merry Christmas!" " It's snowing." "Mommy's coming home early, right?" "No, honey." "She's..." " She's gotta work." "We'll see her later." " No, she is." " Taxi!" "Taxi!" "Number two:" "Because trying to be a man is a waste of a woman." "She's coming." "She said the next time it snows, we'll make a snowman together." "She'll be there." "She promised." "Twice." "Number three:" "Because my kids will be grown up in a flash, and I will have missed it." "Honey, Mommy loves you very much." "But she's gotta work, OK?" "Really?" "You sure?" "You wanna go play?" "Come on, Ben." "Number four:" "Because somehow, some way, someday, things have to change." "Richard, I..." "I know things have to be different." "I know if I didn't have this job, things would be better in so many ways." "But... me without that job isn't me." "And me without you and Ben and Emily is... it's nothing." "So..." "I went in to see Clark today." "Look, I've given everything I have to this job." "And I love it." "I do." "But I can't dump my family at a moment's notice anymore." "I won't do it." "If what I have to give is not enough for you then fire me." "But I won't quit." "I will not..." "I cannot give up." "Then get out." "You can go on Monday." "Now..." "leave, before I reconsider." " Really?" " Leave." "Thank you!" "Thank you!" " Bunce." "Wipe that smirk off your face." "You land a major fund with Jack Abelhammer, we'll talk about relaxing your schedule, too." "So from now on, if somebody's gonna be disappointed, it's gonna be Clark or Jack or Bunce." "And if that's not OK with my bosses, then I will get a new job." "You know, there will always be another deal to be made." "But there will only be one first haircut." " OK." " Also, from now on..." " Yeah." "..." "I will carry that store-bought pie and I will wave it around bravely." "Uh... that's right!" "I bought that freaking pie!" "Yep!" " What's wrong with her?" " Richard, Richard, look." "I know I drive you crazy." "But I love you an amazing amount." "And I am so sorry about everything." " Are you done?" " Yes." "'Cause I have something to say, too." "Something to... read, actually." "A list?" "Uh... yeah." ""Change the carpet on the stairs."" "I did that." "Oh, I got a leotard for Emily's ballet recital." "Ben's speech therapy starts Thursday." "It's all set." " I got an Ab Roller." "I'll never use it." "But maybe just looking at it will tone me up." ""Me and Kate."" "Yeah." "That's number one." "Oh, Richard." "It'll still be a mess, you know." "I mean, that's the only thing I'm sure of." "It will still be a mess." "Yeah, it will." "It'll be our mess." "Right?" " Where are they?" " I don't know." "Let's go find them." " Where are they?" "Oh!" "Hey!" "Hi!" "Let's make a snowman!" "In these circumstances, an ending that wrapped things up neatly might be out of the question." "Kate got her own fund." "And we're all very happy for her." "I think, of everyone, I'm the least very happy for her." "But I'm still very happy for her." " Oh, Momo, he is so beautiful." " Yeah." "It's all so hard to compute." "The second they gave him to me, it was just like just like..." "Why didn't you tell me any of this?" " It's rude not to share." "It's not funny." "You know, we expand into global funds, we could get our percentages up two or three percent." "God, you would sound so much more compelling saying that if you didn't have mustard on the side of your face." "Ah..." " Here?" "Thank you." " Uh-huh." "Are you 100 percent sure you don't wanna run off to Aruba with me?" " Yeah, 200 percent." " Oh..." "But my friend Allison loves Aruba." "She's smart, she's beautiful, she's available." "You would love her." "Hey, how's it going getting that meeting with Victor Chau?" "He'll be in New York on Saturday." "He said he can meet in the morning." "Oh, I can't, I've got another appointment on Saturday." "One, two, three!" "# L is for the way you look at me" " Mommy?" " Yeah?" " Can I have that?" " Steps back, eyes the ball..." "Boom!" "I got back from Berlin on Tuesday." "Kate had to go straight to San Francisco." "I'm actually going to New York next week." "Man, that sounds like a hectic schedule." "It is." "Listen, um, I can't remember, what does..." "what does Kate do again?" "Something complicated with money, right?" "Oh, no, no." "It's, uh, pretty simple, actually." "She's, uh..." "She's a juggler." "# Please don't break it Love" "# Was made for me and you" " You've got an e-card." "Oh!" "Greetings from Jack and Allison in Aruba." "Dear Kate, she's a great girl." "Thank you." "Thank you, thank you, thank you." " Maybe he's Irish, maybe he's Scottish, but whatever is going on underneath that kilt," "let me just say they don't call him Abelhammer for nothing."