"Try not to break that thing." " I'm surprised you didn't start without me." " I'm surprised you're on time." "Ready for you now." "Bess and I need to talk to you alone." "Sure." "Oliver, you okay for a few minutes?" "Fuck." "What?" "Don't you want to give Paul your big news?" "You're the one who's so worked up about it." "Why don't you tell him?" "11:00 last night Bess calls me up and tells me she's moving upstate." "I got a job offer." "Two weeks from now she's gonna pack up my son and take him away." "It doesn't have to be like that." "I'm not kidnapping him." "She dumps this on me, no chance to talk about it." "I tried to talk to him about it, and he hung up on me." "And when I tried to call him back, he wouldn't pick up the phone." "Bess, why don't you tell me about the job offer?" "While Michelle and I were on vacation, we visited a friend of mine who's a professor at Bard College." "Turns out, one of their adjuncts in the art history department is going on emergency medical leave and they need somebody to fill in..." " Starting in two weeks." " See?" "She's known about this for almost a month now, but she didn't tell me 'cause she'd already made all the arrangements." "I didn't want to say anything until I knew for sure." "I figured, what's the point in having a fight if there's nothing to fight about?" "Bess, I'm sure you might understand how Luke might feel a little confused about this." "You didn't tell him that you were seriously considering leaving the city, and the fact that it's going to impact upon his life, but especially on Oliver's." "I want to know if you already told Oliver about this." "Of course not." "I wanted to discuss it with you first." "That's why I called you." "Truth is, I was afraid to tell you about it, because I knew you would get upset, and then I would probably back down and give up." "And I wasn't gonna risk that." "Can I ask you why this job is so important to you?" "You don't get a chance like this every day." "And in the fall they're gonna take on another graduate fellow." "If I do well, that means I can finally finish my degree." "So you might stay up there?" "Is it necessary for you to move upstate?" "I'm taking your advice." "You told me I've been using Oliver as a way to hide, that he's my excuse for never finishing anything." "Have you considered the effect that leaving the city will have on Oliver?" "I mean, he's been through a tremendous upheaval." "No, wait." "Hold on a second." "This is a huge double standard." "If Luke was offered a job out of town, would you be telling him that he's got to give it up, he's got to stay home and take care of Oliver?" "She's just using this job as an excuse to take my son away from me for good." " That's not what I want at all!" " Once she takes him upstate," "I'll only see him on the weekends, and that's if I'm lucky." " If you'd actually let me explain..." " She wants him all for herself." " That's what this is really about." " I agree with you about Oliver." "I think it's a mistake to move him up there with me right now." "That's what I was trying to tell you last night when you hung up on me." "I think Oliver should stay here and live with you." "Live with me?" "I think it would be awful to uproot him more than halfway through the school year." "Plus I don't know yet if this job's going to turn into something more permanent." "But what are you suggesting, Bess?" "The best plan is for Oliver to live with Luke until June." "Then we can figure out the best way to proceed." "So you're planning to just run away and leave him here?" "Five minutes ago, I was kidnapping him." "Now you're saying that I'm abandoning him?" "Maybe you can see why Luke might be confused." "I mean, when you started coming here at first, you were nervous about letting Oliver stay over one night." "Now, you want him to live there until June at least." "I realize I've been too possessive of Oliver." "And I can see now that I've been overly critical of Luke." " You finally figured that out?" " Luke, please, let's not do that." "What I'm trying to say is that I think the best thing for Oliver is for me to step back and let him spend some more time with his father." "You're finished screwing him up, so you're gonna dump him on me?" "Is that what you're saying?" "I don't get this." "I thought you wanted to spend more time with him." "Luke, I'm not sure that Bess understands why you've had such a change of heart about this." "It's just impossible for me to take him on full-time right now." "You just spent more than two weeks taking care of him by yourself." "Yeah, and we nearly killed each other." "What are you talking about?" "You leave the two of us alone in the same apartment again, by June you're gonna be dragging our bodies out of the Hudson." "Look," "I know that you and Oliver have had a rough couple of weeks." "But in the last few sessions didn't you feel that we were making real progress?" "It just isn't gonna happen." "That's completely unfair." "I have spent the last 12 years of my life taking care of him practically all by myself." "And now I finally have a chance to get a life of my own going, and then you say I can't do it." "All I'm saying is I can't be with him seven days a week." "So what, you think it's better to just yank him out of school and force him to move somewhere where he doesn't know anyone?" "He's miserable at his school!" "He'd be much happier starting over someplace else." "No matter how difficult things are now, they will be much worse if you force him to move away from home." "He doesn't care what Oliver needs." "He just doesn't want to make things inconvenient for himself." "So what are we saying here... that neither of you wants to take care of Oliver right now?" "Look, I know that both of you have had a really tough time of it lately." "It's a huge task just taking care of yourselves." "But you have got to figure out a way to look after your son." "I know more than anybody how much attention he needs." "And I'm just asking for a couple of months so that I can" " get my feet on the ground." " I can't cut back on my hours at work." "And I can't leave Oliver alone in the apartment every weeknight until 10:00." "You need to come to a compromise here." "You're both gonna have to give up something that you want for the sake of your son." "What if he lives with you during the week, then on the weekend he takes the train into the city and stays with me?" "He's too young to take the train by himself." "Okay then," "I could come pick him up and bring him back with me." "You know what?" "I think this is a terrible idea, taking him out of school, moving him away from his house." "I can't turn down this job." "I've been waiting too long for this a chance like this." "I think Bess is right." " It's the best thing we can do." " I think it's potentially harmful." "It's only for a couple of months." "And if it turns out to be a disaster, we can come up with something else, right?" "Now we've just got to break it to the kid." "I don't think that you can tell him just like that." "It's not the kind of decision that you can make in 10 minutes." "You both have to sit and think about this." "Otherwise, I'm telling you, you will regret it." "I can't take any more time." "I have to tell them today if I'm gonna take the job." "Then I have to pack up the house." "I think we should tell him right now, while we're all here." "Are you telling me that you really can't see any other way?" "Fine." "Come on in for a second." "Do I have to?" "Your mom and dad want to say just a couple of things to you." " Are they still fighting?" " No, sweetie, everything is okay now." "Don't worry, kiddo." "Nothing bad is gonna happen." "You want to take a seat?" "So is there anything you'd like to say to Oliver?" "Actually, we have some really good news." "While Michelle and I were on vacation, we ran into this old friend of mine, and he offered me a job." "Is that why you were gone so long?" "Partly." "Anyway, it's a really excellent job." "I'm going to be teaching at this school called Bard College." "It's only 2 1/2 hours north of the city." "You're moving away from Brooklyn?" "Well, that's the exciting part, because you and I... are gonna live up there together, at least for a few months, and, if we both like it, we might even decide to stay." "They already have a really nice apartment for us." "It's on the edge of this beautiful, beautiful forest." " Where am I gonna go to school?" " Up there." "You'll be able to make new friends." "I know how much you hate the school you're at now, so... it'll be a fresh start." "What's gonna happen to our real apartment?" "Well, that's actually something your father and I haven't discussed yet, but..." "My guess is... we'll sublet it for the time being." "Is someone else gonna live in my room?" "Maybe, but only for a few months." "What about all my stuff?" "You'll take some of it upstate and leave some with me, and we'll put the rest in storage." "Everything will be safe." "Where are you gonna be?" "I'm staying here." "But I'll come visit." "Or I'll come pick you up and we'll spend weekends in the city." "What would you like to say to your mom and dad?" "I don't wanna go!" "Listen, kiddo," "I know this is a lot to ask, and I know we've asked a lot already, but this is the way it has to be right now." " You don't care what I think?" " Baby, of course we care what you think, and I know this has been really really hard on you, but this is the best possible solution." "I don't wanna leave." "This is an awful lot for you to take in, but I think it's important that you tell us what you need." "I don't wanna go!" "Tell them they can't do this!" "I knew this was an awful idea." "If you would just move back to Brooklyn, then he could go to his real school, and stay in his real house." "Move back into our old apartment?" "What the hell are you trying to do to me?" "I hate staying with dad." "I won't stay with dad." "Baby, I know you guys don't always get along, but you certainly don't hate each other." "He yells at me." "He gets drunk." "I don't want to stay with him." "You get drunk while he's staying with you?" "That's why he can't live with me." "It's all a fucking train wreck." "So what then?" "I just have to give up everything that's important to me because you can't be" " a fucking responsible father for two seconds?" " Stop it!" "Enough!" "That's it." "No more fighting." "You've got to take care of this kid." "Of course." "Oliver, you know that we love you very very much." "Don't worry, kiddo." "This doesn't have anything to do with you." "Fuck you!" "Fuck you!" "Oliver, can we come inside and try to talk about this?" "I don't wanna talk to anybody." "Oliver, I know you're upset." "Let's go back to the office and we can talk everything through, okay?" "I need to ask you something first." "Sure." "Sure." "Alone." "At least put your jacket on for me, okay?" "Your dad and I will be right over there if you wanna talk." "So what do you want to talk about?" "Where am I gonna live?" "That's a good question." "It doesn't matter." "My mom and dad don't want me." "That's not how they really feel." "Just because they're not married anymore doesn't mean they're gonna stop being your parents." "If I was gone, my mom could go away and start her new job," "my dad could live alone." "Everybody would be happy." "Your mom and dad, they're frustrated right now." "They're..." "Yeah, they're angry." "And they're going through... a tough time." "But you've got to remember they still love you very much." "Do you know that?" "I'll tell you what." "Let's try an experiment." "Let's try and think of all the things that make you happy, all the things that make you comfortable." "I'm comfortable in your office." "Well, I'm glad to hear that." "What is it about my office that makes you comfortable?" "I like talking to you." "And I like talking to you too." "Can I come live with you?" "You know, Oliver, that sounds like a really... a really good idea, but I..." "Remember you made me a sandwich and you took care of my turtle?" "Look, we have a good time together." "But..." "You can't come and live with me." "I'd be at school all day." "And my school is really close to your office." "It'd be fun." "I know, it would be fun for me too, but..." "I don't even need my own bed." "I can sleep on your couch." "But you have parents of your own, and they love you," "and they want you to be with them." "But I like you better." "I can never take the place of your parents." "But you can come visit me anytime at my office." "Anytime." "And you can talk about whatever you want to." "You know last week when I ran away from school?" "I came to your office instead of going to my mom's or my dad's." "I didn't want to see them." "I wanted to see you." "That's because you and I are friends." "If you were really my friend, you'd let me come live with you." "Oliver, I promise you I will always be your friend." "And..." " You don't want me either." " That's not true." "Look," "I know that..." "I know that this is really... upsetting for you." "It was a stupid idea." "Actually, it was a really cool idea." "And it makes me very happy that you're comfortable talking to me." "You can't help me." "Would you at least let me try?" "I don't need any help." "You know, everybody... everybody needs help some time in their lives." "I understand." "I just want you to know that... whenever you need to talk to me, I'm here." "You want me to tell your mom and dad you're ready to go?" "I can do it myself." "I don't want you to come with me." "Are you sure?" "I don't care." "I'm moving next week and I'm never gonna see you again." "I'm sorry."