"My father was diagnosed manic depressive in 1967." "He'd been going around Cambridge in a fake beard calling himself Jesus John Harvard." "When he got better, he started working in public television in Boston." "He met my mother there." "He walked up and took her picture." "On their first date, he took her on a driving tour of New England and told her all about his nervous breakdowns." "She didn't care." "She said it was a crazy time." "Half the people they knew were going bananas." "So they got married, and they had me." "And then my sister." "We were happy." "I know there's more to it than that." "There always is." "Daddy!" "We have to go to school!" "Not today, we're celebrating." "Celebrating what?" "I got fired." "What do you mean?" "You just got that job." "Darlings, look around you." "We walk out of our house into this beautiful world." "But what happened with the job?" "Typical workplace politics." "Who knows who pushed who first?" "Either way, I got into a scuffle with my boss." "Forget that." "Let's find some mushrooms and make an omelet for Mommy." "Does Mommy know you got fired?" "It's magical." "Mommy's gonna be so happy I kept you out of school." "Get in the car, girls." "Maggie." "Where are you going?" "What are you doing?" "What's with the suitcases?" "Get in." "Maggie." "I'm not manic, I'm fine." "I just pulled out the canoe." "I thought we could paddle up to Lincoln Park and forage for a picnic." "Isn't it too cold for a picnic?" "Maggie!" "I am a man." "Men like to live free." "That's what we do, Maggie." "To hunt and mate." "That's what we do." "That's why we have balls." "It's okay, it's okay." "It's gonna be okay." "I'm sorry." "He's sitting on the ground and all he's wearing is a bathing suit." "Your father's very sick right now." "He's not himself." "He looks freezing." "Girls, look at me." "I don't want you telling your friends or your teachers about any of this." "We know Daddy's a good person and we know that he would never hurt us but it's hard for people to understand that." "And it's very sad." "Dear Daddy, I took a walk through the woods today and said goodbye." "Dear Daddy, Mommy had to sell the car but we got to go to Dairy Queen." "I hate that we have to move to an apartment in the city." "I got a vanilla saucer dipped in chocolate." "It was so good." "Mommy says Bohemia is over, which I don't understand but I think it has to do with making money." "Lots of love..." "Faith Feather Stuart." "...Amelia Lavender Stuart." "Babies." "Hi." "Wanna go see Daddy?" "Go on." "Go see Daddy." "Little." "Big Little." "And I'm feeling much better." "You are?" "Yeah." "Your stomach is really big." "That's the medication they put me on." "It doesn't hurt." "Hit it." "I...." "Go on." "Pound on it." "Jesus." "Okay." "You got to be careful." "You never want to do that when Harry Houdini's not looking because that's how they killed him." "Hi, handsome." "I got you flowers." "You're so beautiful." "Dad." "You look like your mommy." "You need help?" "Okay." "How are you feeling?" "I feel great." "You looked better last week." "They adjusting the medication?" "Yeah, they tried something new on me." "It's...." "I wanna sit down." "Okay." "I wanna be home with my family." "Okay." "You will, Daddy." "I love you." "We love you." "I love you too, Daddy." "Thank you." "Love you too." "The lights on the roof come in our window at night and it's too bright." "I can't sleep." "It's bright as day." "We'll make a curtain." "Mommy, they're huge security lights." "Like you'd see at a prison." "Amelia, I also wish we could've stayed out in the country but there are no good jobs in Sudbury." "Your job here isn't good." "I'm gonna find a better one." "Why can't Daddy live here with us?" "I hate visiting him at the halfway house." "Almost as bad as the hospital." "Daddy's recovering from his breakdown." "He's a way better cook than you." "Faith." "What is that?" "It's a flower." "It's pretty." "My father lives here?" "How did you know how to get here?" "You came all the way from school?" "So, what's your plan?" "What's my plan?" "My plan is to get out of this halfway house." "That's number one." "I like it." "Then I'll get a job and an apartment." "And then you girls can come visit me and have sleepovers and I'll make crepes for breakfast and dinner." "And then I'll move back in with you and Faithie and Mommy." "That is, if Mommy will have me." "I feel like Lucy visiting Mr. Tumnus." "Oh, that's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me." "Mommy says you have a drinking problem." "I think if you could stop drinking and take your lithium then Mommy would let you come home." "Do you actually think Mommy should be confiding in you this way?" "Yes." "Could we please go back to being Lucy and Mr. Tumnus?" "These too." "Okay." "Keller Brothers." "Hey." "It's for you." "No personal calls." "Oh, I'm sorry." "This is a job." "Okay, okay." "I'm sorry about that." "Sorry, sorry." "Hello?" "It's me." "Amelia came to see me at the halfway house today." "Everything's fine." "I'm taking her home to your apartment." "How did she get there?" "Walked." "All the way from school?" "I know." "I think we should try and find a therapist for her to talk to." "She's gotten so good." "That's fantastic!" "That's great, sweetpea." "How's the job?" "Oh, the job." "I can't believe I'm doing this." "Forgot the laundry." "We'll get it." "Faithie." "And creamy spinach." "I just love spinach." "Creamy things are good." "Hi." "Hi." "Hi." "You guys go to Lincoln?" "No, we go to Peabody." "Peabody's the best public school in our city." "We are not in the Peabody school district." "If you live here, you're supposed to go to Lincoln a school that is totally, 100 percent terrible." "Unless you like getting your A kicked by Irish kids." "I don't want to get my A kicked." "Honey, nobody does." "Well, we go to Peabody." "You don't get it." "What you're doing is illegal and not fair." "It's not at all fair." "You guys are gonna go to jail." "Bye." "What if somebody asks me where I live?" "I don't want to lie." "Peabody is the best public school in the city." "I don't care." "I don't want to lie." "You're not lying." "Mommy's lying." "I don't want to go to Lincoln." "They said we're gonna get beat up." "Don't worry about that." "I'm gonna teach you how to fight." "What if my teacher finds out I'm lying?" "Miss Hendricks loves you." "You're her best student." "They said we're gonna get our A kicked by Irish kids." "You won't get" "Who said that?" "You'll be kicking A." "If you wanted us to go to the Peabody school so bad why didn't we move into the Peabody school district?" "Amelia, because we cannot afford it." "We're lucky we got a rent controlled apartment." "But Daddy's family is so rich." "Yes, but we have no money." "I send my résumé out every day and I get nothing." "I just spent my last $12." "You girls want to be poor and have a bad education?" "Seconds, anyone?" "Thank you, Cam, for this delicious dinner." "It could be like this every night." "That would be nice, but I need a husband, not a wife." "I would like to be a husband, but my wife won't let me." "Your wife would let you if you made it possible..." "...for her to just be your wife." "He wants her to be a wife but she insists on being a husband who makes me be his wife." "What did he say?" "He said that we don't live in the Peabody school district and that you and Faith have to go to Lincoln." "I'm so sorry, Mommy." "Honey, don't." "Oh, no, please don't cry." "I mean, don't apologize to me." "He asked where we lived and I didn't know what to say." "I know, I know." "You did the right thing." "I never wanted you to lie." "He said it was illegal what we were doing." "I know." "I just...." "I guess I wasn't thinking, honey." "I wanted you and Faith to go to the best school." "What if Faithie gets beat up and it's all because of me?" "Faith is not gonna get beat up." "She bites." "Sleeping bags, pajamas, stuffed animals, books changes of clothes, what am I forgetting?" "Toothbrushes." "I bought toothbrushes they can keep them at my apartment." "I found these cardboard boxes." "I set them up like beds." "They're gonna flip." "They're so excited." "Do you want some tea?" "Yes, please." "And during the day, they can turn them on their sides..." "...and they become puppet theaters." "You are going to have so much fun." "Do you want some toast?" "Please." "Now that I got my own place I mean, I'm happy to stop by and pick up the kids anytime..." "...have them stay over." "Thank you." "There's room for you, too." "Just kidding." "Not until you're ready." "Oh, it's good tea." "Cam?" "I got into business school." "Maggie Stuart, you are some punkins." "I wish I had some of that bourgeois Midwestern can-do." "A scholarship to Columbia." "Wait, you can't take the girls to New York." "No, of course not." "I can't even afford my own studio apartment in New York." "What about the girls?" "Okay." "Here's my proposal." "I can get my degree in 18 months, if I do a summer session." "And Jenny's mom can rent me a very small room in her apartment." "So I go to New York, you move in here with the girls and take care of them." "Me?" "Yes, you." "You miss them." "And they miss you so much, Cam." "I can get my MBA in 18 months and then I come back to Boston, I get a job and I move back in." "But I mean...." "Yes." "Yes." "I know it is a lot." "No, no, no." "But...." "The doctor even said that that it would be" "No, I suppose it'd be good for me to have some purpose." "A routine." "That's what the doctor said, that's what you need." "Yes, yes, a routine." "Putting food on the table." "Yes." "Taking them to school every morning, putting the bed every night making sure they brush their teeth and their hair, twice a day." "The laundry." "My God, that sounds like a lot." "Cam, it is a lot." "But we are sinking deeper and deeper into a hole." "Cam, I have to do something." "Do you understand?" "I mean, you're right." "I mean, that new school of theirs certainly feels like a bit of a reformatory." "It's grim." "And you and I went to good schools, we had piano lessons." "I never had lessons." "But you learned to fence and ski and play chess...." "I never had lessons." "My family taught me." "The point is, Cameron, you and I, we had the best education..." "..." "I want that for our children." "I do too..." "...but 18 months, that's a lot of routine." "You can do it." "And I'll come every weekend to help you." "Every weekend?" "Every weekend." "And you'll stay here with us?" "Of course." "Yes." "We'll be like a family again?" "Yes." "I'm afraid we need to intervene on our son's behalf and say no." "He's not up to the task." "I know he can do it." "The doctor says I need more responsibility, not less." "You're a man." "Even if you could..." "...why would you want to?" "We don't want you to tax yourself." "We met with Dr. Wendell." "He says Cam made an excellent recovery from his breakdown and he thinks he can do it." "Is this something to do with feminism?" "We're living at the poverty level." "The girls are going to a terrible school." "Our children went to the best schools, it didn't add up to much." "Our children are delightful." "Absolutely but not self-supporting." "Well, Murray, lest you forget, neither are we." "It's admirable what Maggie's doing." "I agree." "Very commendable." "Don't we have some silver or some crystal we could sell?" "That wouldn't even pay for this meal." "No, no, no Maggie Stuart, you cannot leave your family." "Pauline, I'm desperate." "We have no money." "Here." "Like...." "What is this?" "We've been doing this for 45 minutes." "If you put this here, then you have more room for everything else." "Why does he keep rearranging everything?" "It was fine before." "We have to go, we're heading into traffic." "I know we have to leave." "I'm just saying goodbye to the girls." "Sorry, Peter." "Don't be mean." "Don't be upset." "Honey." "Who is this wimp?" "He's Carol Webber's cousin." "He's moving back to New York with his mom." "He's making you drive?" "It's better." "Come over here." "Take a picture of us." "Hey!" "Come on." "Cam." "Mommy loves you." "So we have something..." "Come on." "...to remember your mother by." "Faithie, listen to your mother." "Everyone smile." "Hey!" "Make sure your sister brushes her hair?" "You're saying goodbye to your daughters." "What kind of coldhearted S.O.B. honks?" "All right." "All right, I know." "Thank you." "This is big." "Thank you." "You're welcome." "I just wish I hadn't dressed like a big green bug." "Go." "Seriously." "Before I kick the living shit out of this guy." "Here." "Thank you." "Thank you so much." "Girls." "I know, I know, I know." "Say goodbye." "Say goodbye to your mother." "Come on, darling." "That's my wife." "We love you." "I love you." "We love you." "Bye." "Bye!" "My brother had sex in this van last night." "Oh, God." "We'll have to make a lot of stops." "I have a very small bladder." "Maggie!" "Maggie!" "Take the Wilbur Cross Parkway!" "When we went to Tom and Julie..." "Cam!" "..." "Linda's wedding." "What?" "Remember?" "Remember, Maggie?" "Going to Tom and Linda's wedding, we were afraid we'd be late took back roads and got there in the nick of time?" "Wilbur Cross Parkway." "I don't know if I remember." "At New Haven." "Hey!" "I'll kill you!" "At New Haven, you shoot across the 34 West to the Wilbur Cross." "Okay." "That turns into the Merritt Parkway." "Okay." "Okay." "You can avoid Bridgeport." "And the trees are twice as green." "Bye!" "I love you!" "Who was that?" "We could go catch a movie." "We could drive out to Plum Island and look for sea glass." "We could go to the Museum of Fine Arts and look at Great Grandpapa's portrait." "Why is his portrait hanging in a museum?" "Because a very important artist named John Singer Sargent painted it." "Why?" ""Why?"" "Don't you know who we are?" "That is where your Great Grandmother Gaga grew up." "In that whole house?" "The whole thing." "It's the grandest house on Beacon Hill." "Designed by Bulfinch, a very famous architect." "How did they get so rich?" "Railroads." "Your great-great-grandfather was once the richest man in Boston." "So how come we're so poor?" "Well, all of that money was put into a trust." "Nobody could touch it." "Except for your great-grandmother." "She controls it all and she decides when to give who what." "It's hard to explain." "Would you like to see the inside?" "Are we allowed?" "We can't just knock on people's doors." "Sweetheart, it's Boston." "They're practically expecting us." "Your great-great-grandmother and grandfather entertained the King and Queen of England." "At this table, the Queen of England choked on a chicken bone while she was here." "Mr." "Fabrini will be right out." "Thank you." "Now, upstairs here, there's a ballroom and they had these huge fancy dress balls" "Can I help you?" "Hi." "Cam Stuart." "My great-grandmother grew up in this house..." "..." "I wanted to show it to my girls." "I'm sorry." "This is my home." "I don't give tours." "Mr. Fabrini, this house has been in my family for more than five generations." "My great-great-grandfather was born in this house on Boxing Day 1832." "And would your great-great-grandfather give tours to anyone who came along?" "Certainly." "Especially if they had a personal connection that went back over five generations." "Then he's a better man than me." "Better man than I." "Obviously, you're not in control of your emotions today so I will return on another day to show my daughters what is rightfully their birthright to see." "Sure." "Sure, Mr. Fabrini." "That was so embarrassing." "Don't be embarrassed." "He should be embarrassed." "No!" "You should be embarrassed." "Me?" "I'm not embarrassed." "That man is an asshole." "You are an asshole." "We want you to come home." "I'll be home in 12 days." "We want you to come home right now." "Honey, I know that is a big adjustment." "I know." "Why aren't you coming home Friday?" "You said you'd come home every single weekend." "That's what you said." "I know that but I have registration and orientation." "Next weekend is really not that far away." "I love you." "I love you too." "We love you too." "Bye, girls." "Bye." "Daddy." "Daddy." "Daddy." "Daddy, wake up." "Wake up." "Wake up." "Daddy." "Wake up." "We slept too long." "And we're gonna be late for school." "Quickly." "Amelia, don't forget your backpack." "We're gonna miss the elevator." "Hold on!" "Hold on!" "Good morning." "Thank you." "Wait." "Sure." "You're Maggie's friend." "Yeah." "Hi." "Cam." "Hi." "Becca." "Kyle's mother." "Pleasure." "Nice to meet you." "Amelia, let's go." "I hate being late for school." "Don't worry, bunchkin, you won't be late." "Have breakfast." "Most important meal of the day." "Amelia, let's go." "You know, I just have to say my ex-husband would never do what you're doing." "It's so evolved." "You do?" "Absolutely." "Most men would be emasculated by having their wife go off to be the breadwinner." "Thank you." "Okay." "Go, go, go." "You're gonna be late." "I love you!" "Want me to pick you up?" "No!" "No!" "I'll be here at 3." "No!" "What...." "The hell?" "Where were you?" "You said you were gonna pick us up at 3." "The car wouldn't start." "Do you girls want to learn how to adjust a Ford jet carburetor?" "It takes two screwdrivers." "You could do it together." "No." "Not really." "Just don't be helpless." "When I get that engine fixed, we're driving that thing to Mexico." "Who's that?" "Ruth Ann." "Please don't introduce yourself." "Why not?" "You talk too much and...." "I'm friendly." "Don't you want to know your neighbors?" "We live in a world with other people." "Hi." "Cam Stuart." "Oh, yes, Maggie told me." "Welcome to Wieland Manor." "Ruth Ann McKay." "Hello, girls." "Hi." "Can we help you with your bags?" "Are you kidding?" "Stand aside, Ruth Ann." "Thank you." "See, girls?" "People appreciate a little kindness." "That's all I'm talking about." "I got that." "Okay." "Hi." "Cam Stuart." "Hi." "Hi." "Cam Stuart." "I'm new here." "Who was that?" "Hi." "Cam Stuart." "I'm new in the building." "Apartment 32." "Welcome." "Here we are." "Do you need any help putting them away?" "Oh, no, this is fine." "We'll just put the bags down." "Are you sure?" "We're happy to help." "No, this has been so helpful." "Thank you." "Sure." "Do you need anything moved?" "A desk or something like that?" "No, I'm happy with where my desk is." "Mixing an arrangement freshens a space." "No." "Thank you." "I have to start dinner, so if you'll excuse me." "Sure." "Want an onion chopped or something?" "I'm not using onions tonight." "What's wrong with you?" "Why?" "You made her slam the door in your face." "She said she had to go cook dinner." "She had to get rid of you." "What?" "I was being a good neighbor." "You're an annoying neighbor." "People will see you and run in the other direction." "No, people are gonna run towards me, because I'll show them that I am the kind of man that is willing to move heavy furniture or clear out a storage locker or give them a ride to the airport." "Because I am a good neighbor." "This is bullshit." "You don't know anything." "I learned how to cook this on a Norwegian steamer heading down the Amazon." "When did you do that?" "Summer after I got kicked out of Harvard." "I thought you got kicked out of Exeter." "I got kicked out of both, for very different reasons." "So I'm on my way to my Ec. 10 exam and I hear this bagpipe music, so I follow it into the square and there's this street musician playing Scottish ballads." "He's got his hat out, people are walking by, putting money in." "I think, "That's a good idea."" "So I sit down next to him, I put my hat out and I start singing in my best Scottish brogue." "And I know all the words and he tells me to scram." "Because he didn't ask you to sing and wanted to make all the money." "Exactly." "So we exchange a few words and the bastard jumps me." "This scrawny little bastard, he jumps me." "And we get into this major brawl right there on top of his bagpipes and I got so excited I shit my pants." "Well, needless to say, I didn't make it to my exam." "They kicked you out for missing one exam?" "No." "The semester after that, I registered for 75 courses and that's when they determined that I wasn't exactly Harvard material." "Jesus Christ." "Girls?" "Girls?" "I'm gonna head out for a couple of hours." "You get some good rest." "I should be back before midnight or after midnight." "Sleep tight." "Shit." "Unchain the door, please." "Where did you go?" "Unchain the fucking door." "We woke up and you were gone." "Faith was really scared." "Don't use the chain." "If someone really wants to come in they're not gonna be stopped by that dinky chain." "Stopped you." "I didn't really wanna come in." "Mommy's on the phone." "Thanks." "Thanks a lot." "Hello?" "Everything's fine, Maggie." "Nobody's hurt." "I told them I was going out but they were sleeping." "What am I to do, wake them every time I decide to go out?" "She's going to know he's doing a bad job." "He's drunk." "You think it's good for Mommy to know that?" "I was at The Phoenix..." "...having a drink with my friend." "She's coming home early." "Yes, Maggie." ""Lithium."" "All right." "Help me open the door." "Now, remember, girls, Mommy's coming on Friday so let's make the apartment nice and clean." "You have to unpack the boxes." "I'm saying we should all pitch in." "They're yours." "We don't know what to do with them." "We don't ask you to clean our room." "Fine!" "Fuck it!" "Have a nice fucking day." "Oh, for shit's sake." "Now what the hell...?" "Goddamn...." "Hello, old friend." "Daddy!" "Yeah, it's pretty good, huh?" "It's beautiful." "We love it." "Just don't look in there." "Is that a machete?" "Big deal if it is." "Hitler Has only got one ball" "Goering Has two but very small" "Himmler Has something sim'lar" "But Josef Goebbels Has no balls" "At all" "What are these shelves?" "Daddy built them." "They're just shelves." "But everything is on them." "And not on the floor." "Yes." "When you knew Daddy at WGBH, was he the way he is now?" "He was funny, compassionate." "He knew everything about the outdoors." "And he had a job which was really good for him." "He was a terrific lighting designer." "But in the end, it was too much pressure." "And I didn't know...." "I didn't know about manic depression." "Besides, it was the '60s." "Everybody was having nervous breakdowns." "That's why I didn't understand what a big deal it was." "You're probably sorry you married him." "No." "Never." "It was so hard to come this weekend." "I'm so glad I did." "I think it was just what you needed, Cam." "I think this is gonna be a great thing for us." "Daddy." "This happens when you don't brush your hair for two weeks!" "Daddy, if you're not going to do the dishes, then I'm doing them." "Okay." "You're hurting me!" "I'm sorry." "I'll do it!" "Well, fine!" "You do it." "Where are the sponges?" "What is wrong with that sponge?" "It smells." "Someone left it soaking in the dishwater." "I keep telling you it needs to be rinsed and squeezed when you're through." "It's probably five years old." "It's disgusting." "We are not the kind of people that throw perfectly useful things away." "You won't throw anything away." "That is a good sponge." "It's got plenty of life left in it." "Fine!" "Then you do the dishes!" "Fine!" "I will!" "With this sponge." "No, listen, I don't want to talk about it anymore." "Why are we yelling and being so grumpy?" "Cam?" "So we lost some momentum but we'll get it back." "I bought a new sponge." "Faith and I thought of the perfect job for Daddy." "A crepe cart in Harvard Square, just like they have in Paris." "You make the best crepes." "Yes, and I love standing outside in January freezing my ass off for pennies." "I like chocolate and coconut." "We have that." "That's on our menu." "And the building is packed with single mothers always checking in on each other or getting together for coffee but do they ever ask how I'm doing?" "Do they ever invite me to coffee?" "I'm pretty sure they all got together for wine and cheese two nights ago." "I'm sorry, I" "No." "I shouldn't laugh at this." "What?" "It is." "It's...." "No, it's funny." "It's funny." "Hilarious." "I'm pathetic." "I'm a pathetic whiner." "You're not." "Probably why they don't invite me." "They run away from me when they see me." "No, listen." "They're leery of men, that's all." "Especially married men with children." "I'm not exactly married, am I?" "We're a family, aren't we?" "Maggie." "What?" "Is this really how we're gonna do it?" "You're gonna come home every weekend and then take up residence on the sofa?" "For now." "Maggie." "What?" "We haven't slept together since before my breakdown." "I'm dying." "Cam." "You're dying too." "You just don't realize it." "Cam, I just...." "Maggie." "Oh, can we please just get through this phase?" "Just, let's just get through this phase and then we'll see how it goes." "And then what happens?" "I don't" "What's the end?" "You move back in here?" "I don't know." "What happens to us?" "And where do I go?" "No." "I don't know." "But all I know is that it's gonna take steady, sustained effort." "Oh, yeah, sexy, sexy answer." "It's an honest, honest answer." "So, what's this, some big test?" "I mean...." "No." "Don't look at it that way." "You hate tests." "Not if this is what's on the test." "The coolant's a little low." "Might need to buy her new tires." "Lock sticks." "There's no floor!" "But it's got a great engine." "There's no floor here and the roof is rotted out." "I have two small children, it's dangerous." "What do you say we close at 300 cash?" "You deal with the wagon." "Daddy, Amelia's crying." "You always cry." "Not anymore." "I vowed never to cry again." "What's wrong, darling?" "What's gonna happen to the wagon?" "Nobody's gonna want it." "I thought you were crying because this car sucks." "That car sucked too." "Remember to speak up, girls." "Your great-grandmother was born in 1888." "I propose a game of Crazy Eights after lunch." "Yeah!" "We don't say "yeah," dear." "We say "yes."" "Thank you, Gaga." "That's a battle their mother keeps fighting." "And how is their mother?" "She's very well." "She comes every weekend but this weekend she stayed in the city to study for her exams." "But we're muddling through." "Aren't we, girls?" "A.J., would you please tell Betty that the roast is divine?" "Yes, sir." "Do you girls find it unusual that your mother is in New York?" "She wants to have more career opportunities." "Mommy says women can do anything." "She's quite a striver, isn't she?" "We prefer the word "fighter."" "I'm going to go work on the car." "The girls tell me it has no floor." "It had no floor." "I scavenged these from your kitchen vault." "Betty said I could have them." "Cookie sheets?" "You still can't step on them but they'll certainly keep out the cold and detritus." "Cam, I'm so proud of you for taking care of these darling girls all by yourself." "Thank you, Gaga." "I'm mostly using the Lincoln these days." "I want you to have the Bentley." "The Bentley?" "There are trays where we could eat." "Could we eat dinner in the car?" "All the windows work!" "There's a floor!" "Smells so good!" "Gaga, we live in a rent controlled apartment." "I know that." "I pay your rent." "And we're very grateful for it." "Piffle." "It's dirt cheap." "The point is, I can't even afford to maintain the Bentley." "I can't even afford to fill its gas tank." "If you're asking me for gas money" "No, Gaga, I'm not asking for gas money." "The girls are both phenomenal students." "And they're not being challenged where they are right now." "And if you really wanted to help they would flourish in a private school." "I don't think that's teaching the girls a very good lesson." "Do you?" "No, I suppose not." "Look, I'm sorry I didn't take the Bentley." "It didn't make any sense." "I know you're disappointed." "You should have taken it, sold it, then bought a crepe cart and made money..." "...then we wouldn't be so poor." "Although crepes are delicious they're not the gold mine you think, especially during a recession." "Well, then we could have sold the Bentley and just had some money." "Gaga would've never let me sell that car." "She was giving it to you." "It doesn't work like that." "It's hard to explain." "It was our one chance to have something other people might want." "Nobody wants what we have." "Daddy did something so amazing." "He did?" "Guess what I paid for this parking spot?" "Oh, God." "Absolutely nothing." "Well, you get what you paid for." "We have a surprise for you." "Okay." "That's Jock!" "That's our dog!" "Daddy got him for us!" "Amelia named him!" "Okay." "Why is he acting this way?" "He was abused so anytime Daddy leaves him, he gets really upset." "Because he loves Daddy!" "Because Daddy saved him!" "We're working on it." "And this is the new car?" "It was abused by its last owner, but Daddy saved it." "Who's a good boy?" "Jock!" "Jock!" "Wait!" "Wait, girls!" "Jock, no!" "Jock!" "Jock!" "Stop, Jock!" "Jock!" "Come back!" "Bad dog!" "Jock!" "Come back!" "Don't eat that!" "That's it!" "Go, go, go!" "Rebound!" "Get in there!" "Get in there like you mean it!" "Yes!" "Hey, don't those two little girls live in our building?" "Yeah, but they're really mean." "Mean?" "They're wearing matching pink pom pom hats." "How mean can they be?" "Hey!" "Little girls!" "Little boy!" "Come!" "Come play basketball with us." "Are they mean?" "Play ball!" "That's it, Amelia!" "Put pressure on him!" "Amelia, get your hands in there!" "Hands up, Amelia, hands up!" "All right, put her there." "Oh, yeah!" "Those kids seem nice." "We should invite them over sometime." "No way." "I'd rather die than have people into our shit hole." "They crush my soul." "Here we come Here we come, we're the pirates" "And we're gonna make you swab the decks" "Here we come Here we come, we're the pirates" "Faith, Faithie bear please clear your stuff off the table?" "I'm busy." "We're gonna be having dinner." "It'd be awfully nice to have a place to sit and eat." "Later." "We'll make you walk the plank" "Plank plank plank plank plank plank plank" "Now." "Here we come" "Now!" "Now!" "You are so mean!" "I am not your servant!" "No!" "Goddamn it, I am the servant!" "All I do is cook for you and clean and I drive you around and take care of your every goddamn need!" "You treat me like the goddamn maid!" "I got to get out of here!" "Jock, no barking!" "No barking." "No." "We don't have a babysitter." "You don't need a babysitter." "But it's nighttime." "We get scared." "Faithie gets scared." "Then you need to toughen up." "What is there to be scared of?" "Wolves?" "Vampires?" "Rapists!" "Rapists?" "If a rapist knocks, don't let him in!" "What if they force their way in?" "That's what rapists do!" "You kick them in the balls!" "No!" "I need to get out of here!" "I can't take it anymore!" "I need to go be with adults, not a bunch of bratty, bossy brats!" "Unhand my foot!" "I just wanna...." "Oh, hi, Cam." "Going up?" "I guess so." "You need help folding those?" "You know, actually I forgot something in the laundry room." "See, girls?" "Chain's worthless." "All it does is provide a false sense of security and that's the last thing you girls need." "Sorry I scared you." "We'll be braver, Daddy." "Next time I promise we'll be braver." "Put yourselves to bed." "I've got a mess to clean up." "That lock was bullshit." "In what way are you a strongman?" "I used to be with Ripley's Believe It or Not and I did six stunts." "Let six men choke me." "Drive 40, 50 nails through a two-by-four with one punch of my fist." "Break three-quarter-inch ropes." "Pull 14-ton fire trucks with my teeth." "Let any six men choke me." "Are there six men in the audience that would like to come up here and strangle this chap?" "Do you still perform any of these feats of strength?" "What I'm getting at is...." "What happened to the Valiant?" "I didn't tell you?" "It caught on fire." "I'm depressed." "Of course you are." "Your dog ran away." "Your family gives you barely enough money to live off and you annoy people." "You're leaving out my hemorrhoids." "Where are you going?" "I'm meeting Kim, Ali and Thurgood." "Can I come?" "I guess." "Can I come?" "No, God!" "No!" "We're hanging out with our friends!" "Why don't you bring them here?" "To this shit hole?" "Stop saying that." "Daddy, you can't hang out with kids, it's weird." "We need our own life, you need to have yours." "How am I supposed to have my own life when you won't let me do anything?" "Fine!" "We're hanging out at the picnic tables!" "The Death card." "Does that mean I'm gonna die?" "Well, we all die sometime." "Let's start over." "Any of kids you have a light?" "Yes?" "No?" "Can we finish at your apartment?" "Our parents just got a new sectional." "Never mind." "Here's one." "How about you?" "My brother's studying for law school." "You're welcome to come to our apartment." "Cam, can we speak to you for a minute?" "What?" "What?" "I am about to lose my shit." "We told you you could come hang out with us." "We did not say you could invite people over." "It could be fun." "Not fun." "Humiliating!" "Do we need to spell it out for you?" "I can make tea." "We can have cinnamon toast." "There's lots of board games." "We don't want people to see how we live!" "Big deal how you live!" "It's not your fault!" "Tell them your father's manic depressive or bipolar whatever they're calling it these days!" "Don't not have friends because of me!" "Fuck it!" "Forget it!" "Never mind!" "I'm warning you." "You've never seen anything like this." "I've seen messy houses before." "Not like this." "I'll run and close Daddy's door." "We brought some friends over." "Really?" "Why do you have so much stuff?" "Our dad is totally polar bear." "Bipolar." "He's manic depressive." "I have an uncle with that." "He also lives like a pig." "Hey." "That's cool." "No more bets." "Cinnamon toast and tea?" "Yes!" "Me, me, me!" "Oh, yes, please!" "What did I win?" "Thirty-two." "Would anyone like to learn how to make chocolate truffles from scratch?" "Me!" "So what's for lunch?" "Up!" "Nose, balls." "You and Daddy could go out sometime." "We don't need a babysitter." "We used to get scared, but we're not scared anymore." "You've gotten so old." "I don't think I'm black." "Of course you're black." "But I look white." "You're black, sweetie." "Faith looks black." "I look like Daddy." "That's because you're a mix of both of us." "Nobody thinks I'm black, when I tell them." "Amelia, you're black." "Your mother is black." "So you're black." "If it makes you feel better, I'll tell people I'm black." "Even if they think I'm delusional." "That's ridiculous." "Of course she's black." "Her mother's black." "She's just being feisty." "The girls seem good, right?" "No kidding." "Last week, Amelia kicked the crap..." "...out of the school bully." "No." "She kicked him so hard in the knee, she put him on crutches." "I was quite proud." "You seem good." "So do you, Maggie." "Well, what do you know?" "I'll be better when I get a job and I come back here." "Thank you." "Thank you so much for making this possible." "Stop sleeping on the sofa and spend the night with me in a bed." "No." "I can't go in your room, Cam." "Why not?" "Oh, it's beyond belief." "You...." "Cam, you have three bicycles in there." "That's your reason?" "Yes!" "You have cans of paint thinner." "Last time I went in there I came out and I had motor oil all over my pants." "Cam, it's ridiculous." "Then I'll clean it!" "That would be nice." "It might make it more inviting." "You never said anything about this to me before." "I'm done nagging you about your room." "You're a grown man." "And you don't find my room inviting?" "No!" "Not me or anyone else." "I'm pretty sure not even you." "Well, definitely not me." "That's it." "I'll clean it." "Two days, tops." "You'll see." "It'll be a thing of beauty." "Okay, we'll see." "And until then?" "What?" "There's a semi-private stairwell, all right?" "What do you say?" "Oh, my stairwell days are over." "You had stairwell days?" "Maggie Stuart?" "I'm about to finish my MBA at Columbia Business School so I come to you with wonderful references from Professor Wilson and I've been offered a futures job at E.F. Hutton in New York but Howard and Company is where I want to be." "E.F. Hutton?" "Yes." "Well, that's terrific." "Yes." "Why come back to Boston?" "My children are here." "Children." "Boys?" "Girls?" "Two girls." "Two girls." "But they're very independent which gives me the ability to work late and arrive very early." "Well, thanks so much." "We'll be in touch." "Yes, yes." "Thank you so much for your time." "Thank you." "Daddy, do I add more butter for each omelet?" "Half a tablespoon per each omelet." "Don't be afraid to let it turn nut brown." "Got it!" "Did you start my costume?" "What costume?" "My Flamenco dancer costume for the talent show." "You're making me a skirt." "Right." "Daddy, it's tomorrow." "Right, right." "I know." "I knew it!" "You're not making it!" "Okay, okay." "I said I'd make it and I will." "I want it to be all sparkly and ruffly." "You got it, buggins." "No big deal." "I just need to make this skirt 200 times bigger." "Yes!" "Yes!" "Yes!" "No, no, no!" "Goddamn it!" "Goddamn it!" "Shit!" "No!" "Fuck it!" "Fuck!" "Fuck you!" "Yeah." "That's it." "That's it!" "That's it." "It's sewing itself, for chrissake." "Hello?" "Guess what I just did." "Cam, Cam, it's 5:00 in the morning." "I just made your daughter the most incredible skirt." "Sparkles, ruffles, beautiful." "That's terrific." "But you probably should get some sleep." "But I'm not tired, darling." "Cam?" "Maggie name one father in America who's up right now sewing a Flamenco skirt for their daughter." "Are you taking your lithium?" "Actually, I haven't taken my lithium since you left." "I find that if I take small, steady sips of beer all day I stay on an even keel." "Hello?" "Well, what do you think?" "The most glorious skirt I've ever known!" "Little." "You look like a Flamenco mermaid." "I love you, Daddy." "Hi." "Listen to me." "What?" "It's just not healthy." "You promised you would take your lithium, Cam." "So you promised that you'd love me, forever, better or for worse." "Excuse me, sir, but our dress code requires that you wear a tie." "I'd like to say one thing about lithium, if you don't mind." "Nobody even knows if it works or the long-term effects on one's body." "The same goes for Haldol, Thorazine and valproic acid and all the rest of their so-called treatments." "I am nothing more than a guinea pig." "You would have never known I had stopped taking it if I hadn't told you." "I'm an idiot, a fucking self-destructive fuckhead." "You're not." "Thank you." "This is the reason why you have to take responsibility for your condition." "The way you've taken responsibility for your children?" "That is not fair." "I know." "I know." "I know." "I know how hard it is for you to come home every weekend." "I know." "I know." "It's not hard to come, it's hard to leave." "It's hard to leave and have everybody look at me..." "..." "I'm the worst mother..." "Who says that?" "...just because I'm looking for a better life for my children." "Cam, you come from a blueblood family." "When white people live in squalor, they're...." "You're eccentric." "When black people live in squalor, no one's charmed." "Believe me." "Well, if it's any consolation no one seems to be charmed by my squalor either." "I haven't made any headway on my bedroom." "I decided I'm gonna take the E.F. Hutton job." "In New York." "Maggie, I can't keep doing this on my own." "I" "They need you." "No, you're not." "I'm not asking you to." "I need you." "I know." "I'm not asking you to." "It's time for me to take the girls." "You're taking the girls to New York?" "Yes." "What about you and me?" "What about us?" "What?" "No!" "I knew it!" "I knew it!" "There's so many things about you that I still love." "Can I have a Scotch and soda, please?" "Cameron." "Listen to me." "I still believe in you." "And I don't wanna give up." "I don't." "But I can't." "I can't." "What?" "Did you even...?" "I mean, did you even try finding a job while you were here?" "Or was that part of your plan?" "Yeah." "My plan was I would come back right after school get a job and maybe we'd stay together and maybe we wouldn't but we would still be a family and raise the girls together." "But I can't get a job here." "I can't." "These Boston firms don't want me." "Why?" "Why don't they want you?" "It's Boston." "They want people like you." "You want a job in Boston?" "I'll get you a job in Boston." "You look well, Cam." "Everything good down your way?" "No, not really, Dickie, no." "Sorry to hear that." "You know that Maggie's just gotten her MBA." "I heard." "Good for her." "I was wondering why there isn't a position here for her." "It's a family firm, after all." "Cam, I wish there were a place here..." "...but we just don't have it at the moment." "You're telling me that when Dickie Jr and the other one graduate from college..." "Sumner." "...they won't land here?" "That's my other son." "Goddamn it, Dickie!" "I know how this works." "You create the position." "I have to say, this is why we never invite you to the Christmas party." "I don't give a shit about the Christmas party!" "I want you to hire my wife!" "She works 50,000 times harder than any of you!" "I'm gonna have to ask you to leave." "No!" "Do you have any idea how hard it is?" "Do you have any idea the sacrifice she makes?" "She needs a job here!" "In Boston!" "Goddamn it!" "Control yourself!" "Goddamn it." "Stop it!" "Snap out of it!" "Cam?" "Cameron?" "Cam?" "Why are you wet?" "The girls asleep?" "Yes, they are." "Did Faith show you her skirt?" "She did." "It's beautiful." "I couldn't get you a job in Boston." "It's all right." "I jumped in the Charles River." "I'm just gonna miss them." "I know." "New York is really dangerous." "Where are we going to live?" "I'll find us a very safe neighborhood." "Where will we go to school?" "I'm gonna work on that." "We can't ride bikes in New York." "You'll be able to when you come up here and you visit." "What about Daddy?" "Who will take care of him?" "Honey, your daddy can take care of himself." "I'll go to movies and dinner parties." "I'll have escapades." "Escapades are an extremely bad idea." "If we're not here he'll drink too much and stop taking care of himself." "That's not true." "He'll be lonely without us." "That is true." "Girls, taking care of you alone put a lot of pressure on your father." "How?" "We get to school." "He drives us anywhere we want." "I've seen more R-rated movies than any of my friends." "He got me the original cast soundtrack of Anything Goes." "He needs a break." "Your father needs a break." "When I had the flu, he cut up strawberries and kiwis for me and he arranged them on a plate like little flowers." "I did do that." "I did that." "Girls, you'll be able to come and visit Daddy and Daddy will come and visit you." "New York is an incredible city." "You're gonna like it." "I promise." "Can't visit you in New York." "Too much speed and noise and all the people in the streets all night knocks me off track." "I was thinking about that." "I really do understand why you don't wanna live with me anymore." "I'm a much better father than I was a husband." "You know what Faithie told me last night?" ""The thing about Daddy is that he's always around." "He's always there."" "I thought that irritated them." "I have a plan." "I take the job and I earn money." "The girls stay here with you and they can ride their bikes and play with their friends." "But we have to put them in a good private school where they can be challenged." "I insist on it." "Are you sure, Maggie?" "If I take them to New York, they're gonna be locked up like house pets in some dark apartment and I won't be home until 8:00 at night, every night." "And I don't want that for them." "They're my babies." "Cradle, Amelia." "Go to goal, go to goal." "Nice shot, Amelia!" "Okay, go for goal, cradle, shoot!" "Nice shot, Amelia's friend!" "How come your dad always comes to practice?" "He's got nothing else to do." "Daddy, Annie invited me for a sleepover." "Can I go, please?" "And Fifi asked me to go with her to the movies." "I finally convinced Eliot Perkins to let us use his boat." "I thought we could have a picnic on the river." "It's too late to go out on a boat." "It's 4:00." "I really wanna go to Annie's." "Maybe Annie wants to ride down the river." "Daddy." "I'm serious." "She lives in Boston." "How many times has she gotten a ride on a boat?" "She takes the T." "What about Fifi?" "You think she'd like to have a picnic on a boat?" "Her mom's picking her up in 20 minutes." "Please, can I go?" "You'll never find a more beautiful boat on a more perfect day to be out on the river!" "Well, I guess I'll just tell the Charles River to go fuck itself." "I have heard the Charles River is a real asshole." "Bye, Daddy." "We love you." "Bye, Daddy." "Thank you." "We love you." "Okay." "Okay." "Bye." "My darlings, I'm so proud of you." "So is Mommy." "Why?" "We just are." "Bye." "Bye." "I love you." "Don't do that." "Do what?" "Watch us walk away." "I was just watching." "Please don't." "Why?" "You make us feel bad." "I don't want you to feel bad." "Yes, you do!" "That's why you stand there looking pathetic!" "I was watching you walk across the field!" "It's allowed!" "Daddy, we are walking away now." "And we are not turning around." "We are not looking back." "I'm not asking you to." "Love you, Daddy." "Goodbye." "We love you." "Goodbye." "Don't cry." "Don't cry." "I can't help it."