"Hey." "Can I get a water, please?" "Thank you." "Hi." "Is Abby all right?" "Yeah, yeah, yeah." "All in all, it's, yeah, great." "Thank you." "And it's a pretty smooth... six days?" " Yeah?" " So..." " Other than our little..." " What?" "Well, our little, uh, dust-up." "Oh, you mean my dust-up." "No, I didn't say that." "Well, you didn't have to say that." "I was wrong to question your decision to cancel the SAT tutor, I guess?" "I didn't think you were wrong." "Because who cares if Abigail doesn't get her scores up or if she goes to a college that requires more than a pulse." "Okay." "Do you see what you're doing here?" "I came here, actually, to propose that you and me and Bonnie and Ed have dinner together." "You wanted to propose that?" "Yeah, you know, to discuss the transitional parenting paradigm of Abigail." "Make sure there aren't any glaring "ch-asms,"" "like, uh... you know, like this whole tutor thing." ""To discuss the transitional parenting paradigms to make sure we don't have any glaring chasms?"" "Who talks like that, Nathan?" "Why don't you just say this is Bonnie's idea?" "Yeah, okay, yeah." "It's Bonnie's idea." "Personally, I think the idea of us all getting along is ridiculous." "But that's one of the things that really defines being a husband, is your willingness to go along with your wife's fucked-up ideas." " Give me a break." " Like, by way of example, when I was with you." "You remember?" "I paid $9,000 to ground the house against electromagnetic fields so that we all didn't get brain cancer." "Or the time when we went camping?" "I said, "Fucking mosquitos bite the shit out of me."" "Doesn't matter as long as our skin doesn't come in touch with DEET." "What is your point, Nathan?" "My point is I did a lot of fucked-up things in our marriage, a lot of hoops I jumped through for you, and now I'm doing those same things for Bonnie." "Personally, I'd rather shove an electric eel up my ass and have it gnaw through my intestines than sit down with you and fucking Psycho Ed." "But you know what, I'll do it, 'cause that's the kind of fucking fucked-up fuckshit father I am." "How about that?" "The man is losing his mind." "Can you believe it?" "So, did you schedule the dinner?" "Yes!" "I mean, a couples dinner?" "He would've never done that when we were together." "Never!" "But for Bonnie, he's Mr. Fucking Sacrifice." "Why don't you bottle up some of that anger" " and put it to good use?" " What do you mean?" "Mm, I think I could use you and Joseph at the meeting with the mayor tomorrow." "Joseph can speak to the content of the show and we could use your passion." "I cannot possibly thank you enough for this, Celeste." "I haven't done anything yet." " Thank you." " I'm actually having fun." "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you." "Anyway, you wanna meet at Blue Blues in the morning after drop-off?" " I'll brief you." " Okay. 'Night, honey." "Mm-hmm." "Night-night." "Briefing?" "The mayor is trying to shut down this production of "Avenue Q" at the community theater because it's not appropriate, so..." "I told Madeline I'd help her out." "Helping her out how?" "Legal help?" "Yeah." "Are you practicing law again?" "Not practicing law, just going to a meeting." "Oh, because this is the town of Monterey, you can't afford to hire an attorney?" "The town of Monterey is the one that's trying to shut the production down." "Okay." "How come we didn't have a conversation about this?" "If you were here long enough to have a conversation." "After the talk shifts from the kids, you're off packing your bag for another business trip." "You gonna hit me now?" "Do you want me to hit you, Celeste?" "Here we go again." "Sometimes I wonder." "Ed?" "Ed?" "No, no, no, no, no." "Okay, honey, you're gonna wake up Chloe." "Okay, Ed." " That's great." " Let's wrap it up." "The neighbors actually heard them practicing for the talent show." "They came to Trivia Night with their game faces on." "We're talking about viciously competitive people." "You really are a nutjob, you know that?" "Yeah, but I'm your nutjob." "That's true, as opposed to..." "What?" "That meeting with Nathan, honey?" "He wants us all to have dinner." "You, me, Bonnie, Nathan, all getting together, exchanging niceties and, what, group talking our parenting skills?" "Well, could be a good idea." "Are you kidding me?" "It's fucking Bonnie." "She probably just wants to show off and serve us organic quinoa with her kale she raised in her sustainable vertical garden, probably while she was meditating." "So help me God, if she so much as teaches me how to peel a potato," "I'm gonna go for her fucking throat." "That might not be a good idea." "Oh, what about "Suspicious Minds"?" ""Pocketful of Rainbows"!" "Oh, no." "Honey, you've gotta go to bed." "You never sleep." "You need to pick a song no one else will sing." " Well, it's not even listed, honey." " Exactly." "Ed." "It's kind of nice." " Am I dreaming right now?" " Yeah!" "Ziggy." "You were sleepwalking, baby." "What happened between you and my dad?" "You can tell me." "You guys met one night and then that was it?" "He was gone?" "Yeah." "You don't have to look for him for me, if that's what you're doing." "I'm okay, Mom." "We'll be fine." "Scoot over." "I love you." "I love you more." "I said it first." "I mean it more." "Ha." "I love you more than all of those stars combined." "I love you more than infinity times infinity." "I'm concerned." "About?" "Your stress level." "I'm fine." "Well, you couldn't get pregnant." "When you were working, the doctors all agreed that it had to do with..." "I'm not trying to get pregnant." "No, I'm just saying, the anxiety." "Yeah, I know my history." "I'm not trying to get pregnant." "I'm just trying to help out a friend." "What's the big problem, hmm?" "Why is it such a big deal for you?" "It's not." "I'm just looking out for you, Sparkles." "If you go to pieces again, who's gonna put you back together?" "Madeline?" "I'm the one who's always there for you." "Always will be." "It's just difficult when you try to control me." "Yeah, well, the idea of you resuming your career..." "I'm not trying to resume my career." "I want to have another baby." " A daughter." " What?" "It's too late." " You know I can't." " It's not too late." " Hey." " What are you..." "Hey." "Can you imagine?" "Having a little girl of our own?" "Being your husband," "Max and Josh's dad..." "Sometimes I wish we had 10 kids." "Well, that was sounding romantic." "Let's have that little girl tonight." "Come on, I've got a busy day." "Come on." "What are you do..." " Hmm?" " I gotta get up early." "Yeah?" "Yeah, you're probably right." "Yeah, you're right." "Let's just call it a night, then." "Oh!" "You think you're so irresistible, don't you?" "Huh?" "I love you so much." "Yes, Ed likes to dress up in costumes." " Presley?" " Yeah." "I think he has a fetish or something." "One night, I came home and he had a full vampire costume on, with fangs and everything, and an accent." "And I think he thought it was sexy and it would spice up our sex life." " It didn't?" " Well, I mean, it was funny." "Uh, I don't know." "I don't know..." "I don't know why I'm talking about sex so much." "Tom?" "When you get a chance, honey, can I get something puffy with chocolate on it?" " You got it." " Thank you." "Why don't you mean to talk about sex?" "Mm, no reason." "Because I was raped?" "Well, I mean, I'm..." "I'm trying to be sensitive, honey." "I..." "I don't always know the right thing to say." " But I certainly don't judge you." " I know." "It's actually really weird." "Ever since I told you about Ziggy's dad, it's like this thing that's been happening to my body." "Like it's wanting to wake up again or something." " Oh." " I always knew that my reaction to that night had been too big." "I pretended like it meant nothing, so of course it came to mean everything." "But it's like I had to say those stupid words that he said to me out loud to you for them to lose their power." "Like keeping them a secret helped them retain their power." "So ever since then, I just keep finding myself looking at men." " It's weird." " Really?" "But not in, like, a sexual way." "Like more just in a appreciative way, maybe?" " Really?" " Sensual way." "Mm-hmm." "Like that guy's arm over there, with the tattoos." "Mm-hmm." "I don't know." "Then my mind takes over and takes me back to that stupid night." "There's no way you could've known he was such a fucking sociopath." "Fuck, yeah." "Psychopath." " Dickhead." " Asshole." " Abominable pig." " I'd kill him if I could." "Well, I mean, I wouldn't say that out loud, like, in public spaces." "I'm just kidding." "Oh, my God." "Have you really thought any more about counseling, or...?" "No." "I have been thinking about something, though." "Don't get mad at me." "I just..." "I don't know." "It's really hard." " I think maybe we need to move back." " No!" "Well, Ziggy's just not happy here." " I can tell." " No, honey." " Hey!" "How we doing?" " Hi." "Is this your go-to meeting outfit?" " Yes, this is it." " Wow!" " Is there a cape under there?" " Would you stop it?" "You'll just have to wait and see, won't you?" "Mm, we are gonna win." "So..." "Ugh, in breaking news, madam just told me that she's thinking about moving." " I'm just thinking about it." " What?" "No." "No freaking way." "Come on, don't give in." "Ziggy didn't do it." "Do not let them get to you." "I'm not giving in." "I just..." "I don't know." "I need to do what's best for my kid." "I don't know what that is, but..." "What about what's best for us?" " We would miss you." " Madeline." "We would miss you." "You're gonna make me cry." "And we're gonna win this case," "I'm telling you." "I think the mayor is gonna like your... argument." " Would you stop it?" " Ha ha!" "We've had who knows how many orientations." "Nobody ever got choked." "Who are the new variables here?" "Jane Chapman and her son Ziggy." "Whose eyes are abnormally far apart." "A sign of a sociopath." "Are we gonna make some changes today?" "That's right." "We're gonna start with uppercuts." "And one." "Extend those arms." "Two, one." "First position." "One, and serve the platter." "In, out." "Out." "And lift." "And whip." "Whip, whip!" "Other side." " Hi." " Uppercuts." "God, I just love sweat on, uh, women." "Sorry, that was more of a general observation." "I'm going to assume that you're not here to talk about physical fitness." "Yeah, Madeline told me about the dinner you and Nathan are proposing, which I think is a potentially a good idea." "But...?" "Well, Nathan and Madeline... that's a pretty volatile cocktail." " What about you, Ed?" " What?" "What?" "You've been a little aggressive as of late." "Yeah, well, I'm only trying to be supportive of Madeline." "She was kind of abandoned by her dad." "He only made time for her brothers." "And she felt abandoned by Nathan, and now Abigail." "It's like a triple whammy." "She's in a pretty fragile state." "You know, we all have baggage, Ed." "What do you mean?" "Nothing." "It doesn't help, by the way, that you're this seemingly perfect step-mom." "Anyway, we're gonna do this dinner, but I think it'll be up to you and me to keep things civil." " I hear you." " All right." "Oh, also, it's probably best if you don't give Madeline any kind of advice, like how to peel a potato." "Okay." "Amabella." "You weren't singing." "Is there a reason?" "No." "I just didn't feel like it." "Oh, you typically love the sing-alongs." "Seems like something's a little wrong, sweetie." "Are you sure you're not upset about something?" "You can tell me." "I promise I will keep it a secret." "How are things with you and Ziggy?" "Fine." "He's nice." "We're friends." "That's great!" "What do you and Ziggy like to do together?" "We just like playing and stuff." "And he's nice to you?" "Yes." "Amabella... is somebody still hurting you?" "I found Ziggy's father." "You found him?" "Well, I think I found him, but it's Saxon Baker." "He's an interior designer in San Luis Obispo." "Hold on, didn't she say his name was Saxon Banks?" " Well, I think maybe he only gave" " Maddie!" "his real first name." "She said he was an architect, but sometimes interior designers say they're architects." "Oh, this is not good." "Thanks so much for helping us out, but I'm..." "I'm having second thoughts about this." " What?" " Look, even should we win this battle, we make an enemy of the mayor's office." " We have all of our funding!" " Long-term, it's not a good idea." "And we're starting in two weeks, Joseph." "But what about the next production and the one after that?" "Listen to me, do you think "Avenue Q" is worth fighting for?" "Yeah." "Well, then what are we talking about?" "The future of the theater itself." "If we piss off the mayor... and I've been told he pisses off easily..." "I can keep it civil." "Oh, no." "Or maybe not." "Look, I'm not looking to, like, chill artistic expression." "I hear it's a great play." "That said, puppets fuck." "We can't have puppets fucking in Monterey." " May... may I be heard?" " There is one scene, and one scene only, where two of the puppets simulate sex." "There's no nudity." "Yeah, well, naked puppets don't bother me." "Fucking puppets, on the other hand, well, it's vulgar." "Even if it were, you'd still have to prove that it has no legal, artistic, or literary value." "I'm not talking about legals." "We're gonna have to talk about the..." "To shut down a show simply because it makes you uncomfortable two weeks before it's about to open, I don't think that that's..." "Okay, look, look." "I'm new to the whole controversy, okay?" "It's just been brought to my attention, mostly by concerned parents, so I'm bringing a fresh eye to this thing, you know?" "You can tell me I'm full of shit." "It wouldn't be the first." "But from my perspective, the whole point of the theater is to bring community together." " You know, to entertain." " Mm-hmm." "To have an affirming effect on society." "This thing here?" " It's already divisive." " True." "And I'm certainly not trying to connect the two, but, uh, there are zoning laws that prohibit sex shops and strip clubs..." "Oh, please." "Come on." " This is hardly that." " Yes, but..." "This play deals with love, and racism, and same-sex marriage, which are all redeeming themes, conversations this community should be having." "I mean, and if you want to continue to have..." "Puppets fuck." "You are adorable." "May I speak for a moment?" "Not as a member of the Monterey Planning Board, but, really, as a mom?" "I think we can agree that the world has gone to hell, right?" "I mean, we're living in a time where our little ones have lockdown drills at school because of gun violence." "They don't even feel safe in their own classroom." "So what if we brought back a little good old-fashioned nostalgia?" "You know, a little "Sound of Music"?" "I mean, we're Monterey, right?" "So, what do we want to say?" "And maybe the question isn't "What is this play?"" "but "Who are we?"" "Hmm." "I take your point." "It's a good one." " Right." " We, uh... we all have small children and this is the village that we've chosen to raise them in." "And, um, I would say, among other things," "I hope we're open-minded." "I mean, I think what draws a lot of people to Monterey is its progressiveness." "But opinions aside, legally, you've already lost." "The California Constitution goes way further than the federal one to protect the First Amendment." "But to answer your question, Renata... "Who are we?"" "I don't think we want to become synonymous with suppression and prior restraint." "We're going to face accusations of being anti-American and anti-free speech." "I mean, that's not the politics that you've been practicing, Mayor Bartley." "So I would say there are bigger black eyes than putting on a controversial musical, especially ones that have won Tonys." "Stick that up your tight ass, bitch!" "You were fucking brilliant!" " Oh, really?" " Um, yeah." "It's actually kind of annoying that you look like that and you're smart and educated and intelligent and sympathetic." "You even had Cruella agreeing with you in the end." "Did you see her face?" "I mean, come on!" "Yeah, thanks." "What?" " What's wrong, honey?" " Nothing, nothing." "I'm sorry." "God..." "Oh, stop it, Celeste!" "I don't know where this is coming from." "I really don't." "Well, maybe you do, honey." "It's just for six years I've been wiping runny noses, organizing playdates, doing, uh... everything to be a good mom, you know?" "And today I felt alive, I felt good." " Is that crazy?" " No." "I feel so ashamed for saying this, but being a mother, it's not enough for me." "It's just not." "It's not even close." "It's evil, right?" "I'm evil." " I've said it out loud." " You are not evil." " I am." "This is..." " I'm not gonna let you say that." " What, you think it?" "Do you, ever?" " Yes." "I got so consumed with Abigail and Chloe." " Their lives were everything..." " Mm-hmm." "...that I almost forgot I had my own." "And... and I just had to do something, so I decided to volunteer at the theater." "I'm not a performer." "I'm not a director." "I didn't know what to do, but it just made me feel like I was doing something." "I wanted more, you know?" "I want more of that!" "That feeling." " 'Cause that made me feel alive, too!" " Mm-hmm." "I want more!" "Okay." " Jesus." " Oh." " And you know what?" " What?" " You're gonna be a lawyer again." " No." "I mean, I have never seen you like that." "For four years I've known you, and... your face looked different, your body changed." " You miss it." " Mm-hmm." "You're right." "I fucking miss it!" "Whoo!" "Whoo!" "Thank you for agreeing to meet me." "I would've asked you to come to the school, but it's kind of a fish bowl there." "People can gossip." "What's going on?" "I have reason to suspect, and only suspect, that Amabella Klein is still being bullied, and that Ziggy may be the culprit." "I haven't seen anything, but I feel certain that something is going on with Amabella." "She's made no implications." "In fact she claims that she and Ziggy are friends." "And my personal experience of Ziggy... he is a sweet little boy." "Yeah, so then where is all this coming from?" "Well, I sensed some tension between them this morning." "Amabella was visibly upset about something." "I observed Ziggy looking at her." "And from my vantage point, he appeared to know exactly what she was upset about." "Maybe he saw her being bullied." "Maybe he was concerned for her." "That could very well be, though it wasn't my take." "Look, if I think that a child is being physically or emotionally abused, it is my duty to go forward with that, first and foremost, to the parents." "What fucking evidence do you have?" "Jane, believe it or not," "I'm actually on your side here." "No, you know what?" "If you were on my side, you would not go to Amabella's parents." "That is only going to make things worse." "You would find another solution." "This is ridiculous." "Okay." "Do you have any reason to suspect that Ziggy could be violent?" " No." " Maybe something from his past." "No!" "Ziggy is a sweet, docile young boy." "He's never hurt a fly." "Wouldn't someone have fucking seen this, for God's sakes?" "They're in a classroom!" "Okay, you know what?" "Maybe you're gonna think this is way off-book, but..." "Yeah, that's all I need." "No, that's perfect." "Thank you." "Yeah, yeah." " Isn't she amazing?" " Amazing!" "I cannot believe she's doing it for free." "She's my best friend." "She'll do whatever I ask." " What if it goes to court?" " It's not gonna go to court." "That is a done deal." "It's amazing." "You have nothing to worry about." "You're so good to me." "I believe in you." " Oh, my God." " I know, out of nowhere." " But..." " I'm still shaking." "One minute we're talking, and then the next..." "Oh, no." "Uh-oh." "...he puts his tongue in my throat." "This is assault." "He assaulted you." "Mm." " I mean, I might've kissed him back." " What?" "It was like a reflex, you know?" "Somebody kisses you, you kiss them back." "I might have grabbed his ass." "I don't know." " What?" " It just all happened so fast." "And the next thing I know, he has his hand in my shirt." "Or was it my hand in his shirt?" " Oh!" " What?" "It was a reflex!" " Ugh!" " So you're saying the thing's mutual." "No, he jumped me and then he yelled at me." "I'm in love with you." "You hear me?" "I'm in love with you, Madeline." "I have been..." "For months?" "So I slapped him." "What?" "This is not funny, Celeste." "I'm a married woman and he forced himself on me." "Okay, "forced himself" maybe is the wrong word, but I hated every minute of it." "I didn't." " Afternoon, ladies." " Hi, Perry." "Hi." "What am I missing?" " Nothing." " Nothing." "She's always laughing at me." "She's my best audience, and apparently I'm a very funny girl." "Uh-huh." " How fun was it in court today?" " It wasn't court." "She was incredible, Perry." "You should've seen her." "She was amazing." "She doesn't know when to stop laughing." "She was amazing." "Oh, I kind of already knew that." "It wasn't court, it was a meeting." "And it went very well and it's done now, right?" " Mm-hmm." " Mm." "If my baby makes up her mind to do something, you better get out of her way." " Mm-hmm." " Hey!" "My little men!" " I made an Ollie today!" " Wow!" "I made a noseslide!" "I don't even know what that is, but it's really exciting." "Mom, did you film all this?" " No." "No, I didn't." " I want to show you, Dad." "Come on!" "Incredible!" "I want to see it, but let's do it after dinner." "Just gonna chill with Mommy for a second." " And funny Maddie." " Go on, baby." "Go." "All right, all right, all right." "There will be wine waiting for you." "We're gonna go work on our noseslides now." " Bye, Daddy." " Bye." "All right, outside." " He's such a great dad." " Mm-hmm." "So... what really happened?" "Oh." "Yeah." "Oh, buddy." "What's the matter?" "Let me see." "Let me see." "There's no blood." "Take a deep breath." "Come here." "Should we go to the hospital?" "I think we should call the ambulance." "I think we need to call 911." " No." " I think we should." "Should I call the tooth fairy?" " No." " Or Santa Claus?" "I'm sorry, buddy." "The last time we had pizza and we went to the zoo, you told me we were moving to Monterey." "What now?" "You're gonna go see a child psychologist." "I think he plans on signing up for a class, that's all." "Did he hit on you at all?" "What did he say?" "Just that it should fall to me and him to keep the peace at this dinner." "I don't disagree." "Did he, um... did he say anything off at all or cross you in any way?" "'Cause I'd love to have a reason to pop him one." "Nathan Carlton." "I'm saying the guy's off, Bonnie." "Come on, admit it." "The whole point of this dinner is so we can all get along, okay?" " Not so you can pop him one." " The guy's off." "At some point, boundaries are gonna have to be set." "Hey." "Hey, where you going?" " I'm going to Becky's." " Becky?" "Wait, is she the stupid one?" "Your mom's always nagging me about letting you hang out with stupid people." " Dad!" " Well, she's still upset about the tutor." " Hey, what... what do you have there?" " Nothing." "What are you carrying, darling?" " I'm..." " Nothing!" "I can check my bar." "What?" "What?" "You need to relax." "We don't want anyone getting hurt, do we?" "You know, we can always move." "We don't have to live in Monterey." " Really?" " Yeah." "You wanna move?" "Okay, first of all, Skye loves it here a lot." "Second of all, we're never gonna find public schools this good." "And third, what about Abigail?" "She goes back with her mom?" "She'll just move away with us." "That'll be the last straw for ex-thing." "Okay." "All right." " A man's allowed to fantasize..." " Stop!" "What you doing?" "Nothing, just staring at the sunset, thinking how lucky we are to have that in our face every day." "That is not what you were thinking." "Abby know you go on her Facebook page?" "Probably." "I leave comments sometimes, though under an alias." "What's your alias?" "God." "So, you went to visit Bonnie at her studio?" "Wow." "No secrets in this town." "I was thinking about doing a sit-up and wanted to get her advice." "Went to talk about the dinner, how to best avoid friction." "Or animosity." " Violence?" " Exactly how psychotic do you think I am?" "Mm." "Come on." "You doing okay, Maddie?" "Tell me." "Tell me." "I'll make you feel good, baby." "I just feel like I'm... losing control a little bit." "Of?" "What I am." "How so?" "I don't know." "You don't know?" "I love you." "There's nothing like the sound of crunching cereal in the morning." "Wow!" "Not too summery?" "No, it looks incredible." "It's funny how clothes always seem to do that on you." "You're sweet." "What's the occasion?" "I have a meeting with the attorney representing the town." " Another meeting, huh?" " Mm-hmm." "I think we're gonna settle it today." "Yeah?" "What if it doesn't settle?" "Oh, well, we'd probably go to court, but it would just be a one-off." "They really don't have any grounds." "So, a court appearance now, huh?" "Probably not, but what's the big deal?" "Well, the big deal is that you lied to me." "You said it'd be one meeting yesterday, and then it'd be over with." " I never said that." " Now you're going to court?" "I said I thought it would go away quickly, and I still believe that it will." "I don't want you doing this." "Well, it's not your fucking call." "Mom?" "Okay, let's go, sweetie." "Hey, champ." " Hi, Dad." " Have a great day." "We're gonna be late." "Come on." "Quick, quick." "Let's go." "Bye." "Ms. Chapman?" "Come on in." "We had a nice conversation." "He's a... he's a very smart little guy." "Yeah." "Please... have a seat." "I, uh..." "I can see that you're nervous, so I'm just gonna cut right to the punch line." "I..." "I do not think Ziggy is a bully." "I brought up the incident that you had mentioned at orientation, and he made it very clear it wasn't him." "And I'd be surprised if he's lying." "If so, he's... he's the most accomplished liar I've ever seen." "And frankly, he doesn't show any of the classic signs of a bullying personality." "He's not narcissistic." "And he certainly demonstrates empathy and sensitivity." "Sorry." "Are you sure?" "Pretty sure." "I definitely would like to see him for another appointment." "I think he's suffering from a lot of anxiety and I..." "I believe that there is... there's a lot he didn't share with me today." "And I wouldn't be surprised to learn that he himself is being bullied at school." "Ziggy?" "I could be wrong, but I wouldn't be shocked." "My guess is that it's verbal and that some smart kid has found his weak spot." "He also brought up his father, who, believe it or not, he thinks might be Darth Vader." "What?" "Children often get caught halfway between fantasy and... and reality." "And he's only six." "And I asked him if the two of you talk much about his father." "He said it upset you and that you're not saying much about him." "Yeah, it's very complicated, so..." "He said that be aware that if we're talking to my mom about my dad, that she's gonna get a funny look on her face." "So I take it that Ziggy's father isn't exactly a good guy." "No, not exactly." "And I assume that Ziggy's never met him." "Yeah, no, he never will." "Well, as I said, I think you have a caring, sweet little boy on your hands." "But I would like to see him again." "Okay." "Wanna see him?" " Ziggy?" " Hi." "Look, Mom, a giant Harry the Hippo." "Maddie." " What are you doing here?" " To talk to you." "Have you been following me?" " No, I haven't been following you." " Oh, my God." "I wanna talk to you about what I did at the theater." "You can't do this out of nowhere!" "It was unacceptable, inexcusable." "That said, it didn't happen in a vacuum." "What do you mean?" "You know what I mean, Madeline." "Come on." "What happened a year ago was an accident." "I told you that was a mistake that's not gonna be repeated again." "Well, it was repeated several times." "Okay, stop." "It's been erased." "Erased?" "Yes, it didn't happen." "I am a happily married woman." " Really?" " Yes!" "You know what?" "You told me you agreed that you were not gonna open this up again." "Well, I don't agree anymore." "All right, you know what?" "You stay in your life, I'll stay in mine." "Hey!" "My major concern is as to how he might react." "To the idea that you want to go back to work?" "What did he say, his words exactly?" "That he was afraid of me, um... going through him." "Ah." "Yeah, so I'm..." "I suppose I'm just worried that he's gonna take it as a rejection." "You were working when he first met you and when he fell in love with you, right?" "Yeah, but he, um... he just likes me to be at home in the house, and we have the twins, and..." "He's not that crazy about me having too many friends." "He's just possessive." "That's who he is, so..." "And I hoped that you'd have some ideas on the best way to communicate with him about me going back to work." "No?" "Well, I could certainly suggest some communicative tools, but... for me, the issue isn't how best to talk to your husband, but why you're afraid to." "I'm not, um..." "I'm not afraid." "I'm just..." "I just want to have..." "I suppose I want to communicate it in the best way." "That's..." "Okay." "I'm not afraid." "The week leading up to Trivia Night, something changed with Celeste." "Still beautiful." " But in her face..." " Her eyes..." "Not a look like she could actually kill somebody, but, um..." "Yeah, I think it's him." "If I heard his voice..." "I can still remember his voice." "I can also still remember that disgusting smell." " Where did you say he lived?" " San Luis Obispo." "You're not thinking about going down there?"