"He seemed a little uneven." "He's more uneven sometimes than others." "That's what makes him uneven, of course." "Now you on the other hand, with coaching, you could be terrific." "Do you really think so?" " Yes, you have a definite nose." " I'm glad you like it." "Do you like any of the rest of me?" "Oh, what I meant was in the card playing..." "I know what you meant." "I was just flirting with you..." "Hey, there." "Want some of that?" "Come on up, all right." "Faint, are you?" " That perfume." " Oh." "Do you think they're..." "any place on board?" "Don't you think we ought to go to bed?" "I'll be up soon." "You know you can't just leave like that." "Okay." "All this, um... this behavior, it's just not the adult thing to do." "And you're suddenly the judge of what being an adult is?" "Hey, seriously, I'm done arguing with you..." "No, okay, let's not, I'm..." "It was just bad timing." "I..." "I had a patient emergency." "I..." "Even if we are not good..." "I want..." "I need to know that you are okay." "I was really worried." "I know, I'm sorry." " I want us to be okay." " We are." "I know that birthday party was a fucking nightmare for you." " And I didn't mean to..." " No, you weren't." "What can I get you?" "Uh, Americano, please." " Name?" " Diane." "I got this." " You're becoming an addict." " Really?" " And you're the authority?" " Maybe." "Are you really here for coffee?" "Maybe." "It's on my way to work." "God, I can barely get a compliment." "You like a challenge, right?" " How do you know?" " Intuition." "Come here." "I really should get going." "Where are you always off to?" "It's so mysterious." "Just chill, you only live once, you know?" "Yeah, I'm reminded of that a lot." " How old are you?" " What?" "Well, for all I know, you could be like 38 or 40." " Or 45?" " Now you know how to give a compliment." "Let's just say I'm older than you." "That's good." "I've always had a thing for older women." "I had a serious crush on my eighth grade social studies teacher." "Like, scary shit, madly in love." "Would walk past her classroom over and over again, just to catch a glimpse." "Hmm." "Well, I'll wax history for you some other time." "But for now, I noticed you didn't have one... the other night." "I had a good time." "Me too." "I love it." " Oh, it's nothing." " No, it's something." "Thank you." "I want to know about you." "What do you want to know?" "Everything." "Intense." "I can be, when I like someone or something." "Easy, tiger." " I think you're quite strange." " Really?" "I actually think I'm quite normal." "No." "People who say they're normal never are." "They're always secretly the dysfunctional ones." "It's on the house today, you ageless creature." "Thanks." "No, no, that's all he said, she moved out six weeks ago." "She never said anything to me, can you believe it?" "I texted her millions of times." "And after thinking she was lying dead in the gutter, she finally says she'll get back to me." "She'll get back to me?" "And I was feeling so good about our session." "I was gonna be honest with her and tell her the truth like you said." "And then, all of a sudden, I realized something's really wrong." "It's just proof that when you feel something is really wrong, it probably is..." "Okay, Claire, just take a breath here." "I think you're getting way too ahead of yourself." "I know something's wrong, and I've got the proof!" "Okay, but for all you know, she just wanted a better apartment." "You don't lie when you're not doing something wrong." "Rebecca texted you, though, right?" "So you know she's safe." "I mean, she could've been abducted." "Let's just stay in the present." "Do you really think that she's in that kind of trouble?" "I don't know what I think." "I moved her into that apartment." "She had broken up with this boy that was not good enough for her." "She needed me, and that's when Howard died." "And I thought maybe life had something else in store." "Maybe he was taken from me." "I have Rebecca, I had hope." "I can't believe she's shut me out like this." "It's okay, Claire, it's okay." " Okay." " We'll fix it." " Hi, Diane, you're back." " Yeah, I was just in the area." "I was wondering if you could fit me in for a blowout." " Let me check the schedule." " Okay." "I could fit you in, in about an hour with Jessica?" "Great, thanks." "Hi, good to see you." "Rebecca Rogers." "Yes." "Oh, hey!" " Diane, right?" " Yeah." "It's nice to see you again." "It's the one thing I do for myself these days." "Can I switch my appointment, too?" "Yes, you moved it later, and I have you down for Monday." " Okay?" " Thank you." "But that's so far." "I was afraid of the distance, but, you know, it is not that bad." "And it feels nice to be out of the congestion." "So, that was it?" "That feeling of entrapment, that prompted the move?" "It's a little unorthodox." " What?" " My situation." "Don't tell me you're living in some brothel." "No." "I mean, seriously, it's nothing dangerous, is it?" "No, no." "It is this group, and we cook together and spend time together, and you know, I don't, um..." "I don't have a partner." "And I was..." "I was just... pretty miserable before." "Before this place?" "Yeah, I mean, I was living according to rules that I didn't necessarily agree with." "Well, you seem so at peace." "I am..." "I'm really happy." "Can I ask what your family thinks of it?" "I just remember you mentioning... that they were kind of like mine, judgmental." "I actually haven't told them." "My mom would literally have me committed." " No, she wouldn't..." " I'm not kidding." "Her love knows no bounds." "Who knows?" "Maybe... maybe one day she'll surprise you." "Maybe she's grown." "You clearly don't know my mother." "Speak of the devil." "She's called me eight times today." " Pick up." " No." "Come on, it'll make her day." "Fine." "Hi, Mom." "I'm at the salon." "Yes, I have time for that." "I told you that I would get back to you." "I'm sorry, I know that must have been very hard for you, but you cannot call me eight times in one day, that's too much." "Okay." "Okay." "Well, she told me she's working hard in therapy." "I'm not sure she's treatable, but..." "Well, doing the work... it's the first step, right?" "Try to be forgiving." "You're right." "Thanks." "Hey, if you ever want to come check out the space," "I think that you should." "We often have people come over for dinner." "Well, I'm certainly curious." "Let me just give you my info." " You know you can't park here." " Go fuck yourself." "Hey, sweetie." "You're late." "Yeah, sorry, I was..." "Let's go, sweetie." " Bye, Sadie." " Bye." "Figure that out." "Come on." "Mommy?" "I don't ever want to grow up and be like Michelle." "Oh, honey, I can assure you, you never will." "Not in one million years." "But thanks for saying that." " Want to go get ice cream?" " Yeah!" "Daddy!" " Hey, yeah." " Hey!" "Ah, s'up, my little monster?" "What are you doing home so early?" "Um, I had to go over these tapes again, and I couldn't concentrate at the office." "Ah, so this is your detective work?" "Internal investigation." "You know, maybe your Nancy Drew obsession will come in handy." "Tell me." "Hey, you." "Upstairs, please." "Then movie?" "Maybe after, okay." "So, I had a run-in with Michelle today at school." "She told me to figure it out." "The whole Dolly, Sadie situation." "Like I can control it." "I'm happy to talk to her myself at this point, really." "No, it's fine, for now." " All right, explain it to me." " Sure you want to help?" " Yeah, are you kidding?" " Okay, obviously, this is confidential." " Oh, marriage clause, got it." " All right." "So these are employee interviews, and I need to figure out who's lying." "And right now everybody is poised and to the point." "Hmm." "Well, people lie all the time." "It's just not always that obvious." "I mean, sometimes there's just unnecessary detail, so you have to look for that." "Okay, so, here." " Listen to these four statements." " Mm-hmm." "I wear argyle socks." "I voted for Kerry in the '04 election." "I haven't been to the gym in three months." "And I've been a vegetarian since I was eight, after seeing The Little Mermaid." "Which one is a lie?" "Well..." "I know you, and I know you're not vegetarian." "Right, but there was unnecessary detail surrounding that fact." "You're right, but we're asking them to go into detail." "Hmm." "Well..." "You also need to look for behavior." "See, when a person's flustered, you know, they move their legs, their hands, twitching, blinking, that kind of stuff." "Those are all really important clues." "But just the sight of a lawyer, much less one asking you questions, is going to make you nervous." "It's like when you go to the airport and show 'em your ID, and immediately I feel guilty." "I don't know, it's hard to work off a tape." "It's much better to get the feeling in the room." "Can you tell when your patients are lying?" "Sometimes, but it's tricky, especially if the person's calculated or starts to believe the delusion or lie themselves." "Oh, fuck." "I don't know how you do it." "You got your hair done again." "Oh, is it too much?" "It looks really good." "Looks really good." "Now you're telling lies." "You're not as good at reading people as you think." "Oh, okay, maybe." "Did you really have a patient emergency the other night?" "What?" "Yeah, of course." "Where'd you go?" "The West Village." "We met at a café." " At that hour?" " Yeah, it's open till, like, ten-ish." "They serve beer and wine at night." "And amazing coffee." "What's it called?" "The... the Rabbit Hole." "Cool." "That's good." "You could really make someone nervous by writing." "And not responding, that could really throw someone off." "See, if my leg started shaking... you'd think I was guilty." "If you only had more secrets, I'd be so on to you." "I could totally crack you." " I'm gonna check on Doll." " Okay." "Stay the fuck away from me." "Hey..." "Hey, you're talking in your sleep." "Are you okay?" "Yeah, I'm sorry I woke you." "It's okay." " Hey, Sam." " Oh, hey." " I've actually been excited to see you." " That's always good to hear." "So, what's the good news?" "Sidney called." "Well, she texted first, but we had a really good conversation." " Oh, yeah?" " She wants to see me." "And she suggested Café Clooney, which is where we had one of our first dates." "What do you think she wants?" "She's done some soul-searching." "Said she had a lot on her mind." "When was this?" "Last weekend, Sunday." "Why?" "Nothing." "Sorry, go on." "I get the feeling you're disappointed." " Why do you think that?" " Uh, you seem it." "Well, I'm just playing out the whole story here." "I mean, what about our contract, all our progress?" "Look, I get it, but I'm doing really well." "Yeah... without Sidney." "But I can't pretend that part of my life didn't exist." "Obviously your contract worked to show her I'm not just gonna be around." "Your tactic worked." "But the minute she calls, you go running back to her?" "What does that suggest?" "And that wasn't a tactic to lure her back in." "It was to protect you." "I already made up my mind." " I know it feels good." " You don't understand." "If you were in my shoes..." "Dinner will be great, but then what?" "Maybe she wants to get back together." "Is that what she said?" "No." "She said she wanted some advice, and she knows I'm level-headed." "Well, about everything except her." "Play the tape, Sam." "The best predictor of future behavior is the past." "I just don't want history repeating itself here." "S-so what, you think I should cancel?" "Can you?" "Do you have that restraint?" "Well, yeah, of course." "For all you know, she could be texting with two people, maybe more." "Sidney never dates two people at the same time." "She puts all her admiration into one... till she gets bored." "What about that woman?" "Diane?" "Once she reciprocates, it'll be done." "It's just a game." "Take your phone out." "Excuse me?" "I want to see if you have that ability, to cancel." "Text her." "It's a good test." "What do I say?" "Tell her something's come up, and you can't make it." "But..." "Trust me." "Go on, Sam, be strong." "It's her calling." "Answer it." " Now?" " Mm-hmm." "Hey, Sid." "I actually can't." "I'm actually with my therapist." "It's a long story." "She says she wants to talk to you." "It's against the rules." "She said it's against the rules." "All right, okay, bye." "What did she say?" "That you're a cunt." "No, it was at Crate and Barrel, of all places, shopping for a bed." "It was super awkward." "What'd you do?" "Oh, my God, I just, like, hid under some bedroom furniture." "I once saw a patient at the movies." " The movies?" " He was on a date." "So I moved all the way to the back so I wouldn't blow his spot." "The worst is on the subway." "It's like, how do you wave politely and still get the fuck out of there?" "I'm still waiting for a patient to become obsessed with me." "You do not want that." "Ask Jean." "Yeah, it was a bad situation with a patient." "She became really co-dependent." " With you?" " Mm-hmm." "She was obsessed." "It got really bad." "She ended up burning her family's house down and blamed Jean as part of the reason for why she did it." " That's insane." " Yeah." "It was a long time ago." "You know, classic borderline, many factors." "Wow, that's scary." "She is now at an institution, thankfully." "And I got on this roller coaster." "I sat alone, waiting." "My dad, watching in the crowd." "As we went around and around, we started to go faster." "So fast that my mouth was like this." "Agape, frozen in fear." "It was like, for that brief moment, all time had just stopped." "I felt completely out of control, like I couldn't see anymore, or I couldn't feel anymore." "Yeah, I get that that's the way you want to run it, but I'm not gonna compromise the truth." "Okay, fine." "I'll get it to you by Tuesday." "Hey." "I was beginning to think you were gonna stand me up." "Sorry, I got stuck at a work thing." "They fucked up my article." "Right." "Work." "So, when am I gonna get to read something of yours?" "You can read whatever you want." "I can't." "I don't even know your last name." "If I give you too much information, are you gonna run?" " What?" " You like to fuck with people." "Lure them in and kick 'em to the curb." " Does that scare you, Diane?" " Not at all." "It's impressive, actually, the power you seem to hold." "But, just so you know, I'm not gonna fall for that." " Hi." " Chardonnay, please." "You think this is a game?" "That I was trying to fuck with you?" "I just want to get to know you." "I mean, it's hard to invest emotionally when I don't even know where you live." "Upper West." " What else?" " Where are you from?" "I grew up Upstate." "Moved to Connecticut when I was about eight." " Your parents?" " Divorced, messy." "Mine, too." "No siblings." "Went to grad school in the city, undergrad at Stanford." " Smart." " No, I just studied a lot." "You satisfied?" "We're not doing anything wrong." "Nobody gives a shit, trust me." "Although, you're cute when you're nervous." "It's not that." "Have you ever been with a woman before?" "That's okay." "It's just, I'm going through a lot right now." "It's hard to explain." "I don't want to make your life more difficult." "This doesn't have to be complicated." "Nice nails." "You know why I like it?" "Indigo?" "Because it barely exists." "They call it the sixth color of the rainbow, but, really, it's just kind of a fantasy." "Shit." "What?" "Um, I reached out to Sam the other day, kind of randomly, and I have some of his shit to give back to him." "We're supposed to grab dinner tomorrow, but I kind of just want to get it over with." "What do you mean?" "Well, he lives in the area." "He's just gonna come and grab his shit." "I think you'll be amazed I dated such a square." "Wait, he's coming here right now?" "God, you look so nervous." " What are you doing?" " No, this is inappropriate." "Like, insanely inappropriate." " Okay..." " Reframe it." "You like me, and you're telling your ex-boyfriend to come here right now?" "Think about that for a second." "It's totally fucked up." "Honestly, I don't need a lecture." "Allison, this is Jean." "Uh, we had an appointment 15 minutes ago, actually." "I'm just wondering what's going on." "Can you call me back, please?" "We can't do this if you're not willing to do the work or show up." "Okay, thank you." "Oh, hey." "I didn't think you were gonna come back in today." "Yeah, I, I just wanted to go over the HR complaints." "Huh." "Never seen you in glasses before." "I wear contacts to work." "You know, um... we're actually going over to the Gingerman to celebrate Lee's 40th, if you want to come." "Uh, sure." "Sounds like fun." " Hey, is everything okay?" " Yeah, totally." "That's not what I said, Scott." "We should toast you." "Did you know that this one was a writer-performer?" "You should do a story hour at the firm." "Yeah, right." "Anyway, it's not a big deal." "It's kind of like The Moth." "And what is, what is that?" "Oh, wow, you're really out of touch." "No, shit, all right?" "Enlighten me." "It's a showcase for storytellers to perform." "Huh." "And what's it about?" "It's just a story about my dad, the ups and downs." "Oh, were you guys close?" "Depends how you define close." "I mean, he lived for me and my sister." "I don't think I realized how lucky I was as a kid until I got to college and realized that... almost everybody had a completely fucked up childhood." "And all I wanna do is shelter Dolly for a little while." "She's made me completely soft." "All I hear are words." "That's because you're an asshole, okay?" "And you got two boys, so your vote doesn't count." " Thank you." " Guys, I gotta take off." " All right." "Later." " Cheers, brother." " Bye." " See you soon." "Hey, you wanna stay for another drink?" "I'll buy." "Clearly." "Feisty tonight." "Glasses really bring it out in you." "Maybe." "I'll take a Jack and Coke." "Hi." "I'm looking for Allison." " She's not here." " Wait, Tom?" "How do you know my name?" "I'm a friend of Allison's." "I just want to talk to her." "Well, um... she's not expecting you, and we're kind of in the middle of some..." " Allison?" " Whoa." "You fucking kidding me?" "I told you, I just want to see her, okay?" "I'm not here to arrest you or whatever it is you're afraid of." "Oh..." "You're her fucking shrink." "She told me she started seeing you." "Just a bunch of crap, I told her." "Tom!" "Don't you fucking say another word." "Wait, she's in the bathroom?" "What's she doing?" "She won't come out, even if you ask her to." "Why is that?" "'Cause she's trying to fuck with me." "Pretend that I hurt her." "Another story she invented." "But, uh, be my guest, lady." "Hey!" "Good luck with that bitch." "Allison?" "Allison, it's Jean." "I just want to talk to you." "I don't like to talk about it, let alone think about it, but, um... he ended up going back to his ex-girlfriend." "It was pretty awful, and they were married two months later." "Oh, that is rough." "I'm so sorry." "It was forever ago." "It's fine." "I dated this woman when Jean and I were on a break." "I was ready to settle down, but... she needed to work some issues out." "And I met Catherine." "And I thought that she was everything I ever wanted." "But, um... you know, the fantasy doesn't last forever, hard as you try." "I get that, trust me." "Hey, listen, I am sure there are tons of guys who are interested in you and who are not gonna fuck it up." "I am not so sure." "You should see what the guys on Tinder send me." "Oh, I don't understand how you meet someone on Tinder." "Oh, that's easy, you just swipe right if you like someone." "Thank you, Alexis." "I understand the technology." "I appreciate that." "I'll spare you the countless dick pics." "No, come on." "Guys don't actually send those, do they?" "Oh, you have no idea." "Okay, Nick." "Yeah." "And he likes it rough." "He couldn't save that for some porn forum or something like that?" "Is that what you do?" "Kidding, completely kidding." "It's fine, it's fine." "I'm just kidding." "Actually, uh," "I took some adorable pictures of Dolly from the party." " Oh, that disaster?" " I didn't want to pry." "No, it's, uh... it was fine, just mom politics." "I'm sure you'll see it some day." "Maybe." " Aww, send me that one." " Sure." " Shit." " All right." "Nope, didn't see anything." "Yeah, right." "On that note, I think it's time to call it a night." "Um..." "I've had three beers." "I'm pretty buzzed." "It's pathetic." "Yeah, me too." "Just to be clear, that was a shot for Nick, right?" "You're such a smartass, you know that?" "He's unpredictable, you're right." "I tried to flush everything." "My shit, his shit." "He got angry, and he was coked up, so he just came at me." "It's like, if I don't do what he says he's a wild animal." "Why don't you just leave?" "Thanks." "Where am I gonna go?" "Tom loves me, and he takes care of me in his own fucked up way." "It might not be ideal, but I figure it's just easier to hide until he calms down." "When I was still at Fordham, just when all this shit started to take over," "I'd sit in the park over there and just swing for hours." "It was the only place I felt safe." "Well, if he's violent, there are always other options." "Like what?" "Don't you have a friend that you could stay with?" "Maybe for a few nights, but then what?" "It's not like I have any money to get my own place." "I just want to go back to my mom, but we're not even talking, so..." "Well, we can deal with that, but we need to get you to a meeting first." "I don't even want her to see me like this." "I mean, you wouldn't even recognize me." "I worked on the yearbook." "I was editor-in-chief of the paper." "People always said I had a bright future." "That's great." "Whatever." "It's nothing now." "I'm not even at school." "And the way that she looks at me," "I can see how much she hates me." "It's in her eyes, you know?" "Just... complete disdain." "I don't have a great relationship with my mother, either." "All I ever wanted when I was young was to just get out of that house, and I did." "I made something of my life." "You just have to be strong, and find an outlet that isn't drugs." "Please, just tell me, and I'll do it." "Well, for me, I realized I could help people." "But sometimes it's easier to live for others than it is to figure out how to live for yourself." "It's hard." "And I make mistakes." "I have to make tough judgment calls." "Like..." "I shouldn't even be here right now." "I'm happy you came." "I don't think I should leave you." "I'll be okay." "I promise." "It'll be our secret."