01x22 - Dude, Where's My Napkin?

Episode transcripts for the 2016 TV show "American Housewife". Aired: October 2016 to current*
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"American Housewife" chronicles the daily life of a strong-willed mother who tries to stand out among the perfect wives and their perfect offspring in her hometown of Westport, Connecticut.
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01x22 - Dude, Where's My Napkin?

Post by bunniefuu »

Katie, I just heard the news.

I sold my book proposal!

They're going to pay me
to write my book!

Congratulations!

And the publishers are sending
a cash advance and everything!

Amazing!

And I thought of a title...
"John Stuart Mill

and the Consequences of a Thoroughgoing

Empiricist Outlook!"

Help me out here. I'm losing steam.

I sold my book!

Yay!

Let's have a special dinner tonight.

It'll just be us.

And Anna-Kat.

And the other two.

It'll be a regular dinner.

Yay!

That sounds great.
I'll... I'll see you back here

- in a couple of hours.
- Oh.

But you just got home.

Where are you going?

Yeah, I-I want to get a jump on my book.

You can't do that from the study?

It's, uh, just... I have to go, uh...

There's so much noise here.

Potential noise.

I'll be back for dinner.

Katie: Greg has been acting
odd lately...


uncomfortable and avoiding eye contact,

like when he has those dreams
where me and his mom


are the same person.

What is going on with him?

Hey.

I don't have much time.

I told my wife I'd be home for dinner.

Oh, okay. Want a drink?

Yeah.



And Celeste has the kids next week,

so I figure why not take
some time to reset

and get in touch with the inner Angela.

- Mm.
- So many other ladies

have met the "inner" Angela.

- Why should you be left out?
- Ha, ha.

Why don't you guys come with me?

A spiritual retreat could be
just what we all need.

- Who's in?
- I can't.

My children need me.

[Laughter]

Kidding.

- I'm behind on "Homeland."
- Oh.

And I don't believe in all
that spiritual hocus pocus.

If that chanting stuff worked,

Boyz II Men would've called
me up on stage

and had me sing "Motownphilly."

Hmm.

So now can we talk about me?

Because Greg has been acting weird.

How weird?

For the last couple of months,
he's been all cagey with his phone,

and I could swear sometimes
he smells like perfume.

Do you think he's having an affair?

[Gasps]

[Laughter]

Greg is such a boy scout.

He's a [bleep] Eagle Scout, Angela.

- Get it right.
- Oh.

Listen, if you want to make sure
he's really not cheating,

check his wallet.

If he's having an affair,
he'll have receipts

from hotel rooms and dinners
that he cannot account for.

That's how Celeste found out
about your affair, isn't it?

Yeah, she found out all sorts of things
I couldn't account for.

And then she found a video of me
in Tracy Marino's pool house.

And then, I was accounted for.



Hey, guys, Dad sold his book.
You know what that means, right?

Ugh, John Stuart Mill.

My bedtime stories are going
to take a serious nosedive.

Yeah, but it also means
they might have some extra money.

I know. I already have
my eye on a Vespa.

And I want some of those
expensive ripped-knee jeans.

I want a puppy!

Hang on. If we ask for a bunch of stuff,

we'll get nothing but Mom's speech

about that kid who got
everything he asked for

and ends up either dead or
not having use of his arms.

Maybe if we decide
on something we all want,

we could get one big present
out of them.

We just have to unify.

Normally I'm very anti-union,

but under these circumstances
I feel it would be wise.

I'm in.

How about we just ask them for hugs?

Those wouldn't cost them anything.

I want you to go to your room right now

and think about why what
you just said is so wrong.

Greg, can you come in here for a second?

- [Door opens]
- Hey. What's up?

Were you going through my wallet?

You have been acting
really weird lately.

And the girls got me all crazy
and told me to check your wallet

for receipts to make sure that you
weren't messing around behind my back.

And I was sure I wasn't going
to find anything.

But then, I found this.

Oh, the bar receipt from last night.

When you told me that you were working.

Right.

I know you have a simple explanation,

and you weren't with another woman.

Okay, I was with another woman.

Oh, my God.

I'm bypassing anger and going
straight into acceptance.

You take Taylor and Oliver,

and I'll take Anna-Kat and the Camry.

I was with Celeste.

Angela's ex-wife Celeste?

Yeah, she's been helping me
with my book proposal.

You know she's an editor.

And, I might add, a lesbian.

I can't believe you lied to me.

How long has this been going on?

A couple of months.
She's a great sounding board.

I didn't tell you because
I didn't want to put you

in a weird position with Angela.

I'm the good guy here.

Mm. How so?

Normally, when people get divorced,

they side with the one who gets wronged,

but you sided with the bad guy, Angela.

I decided to go with
the good guy, Celeste,

because I'm a good guy,
and the only reason

I lied to you was so that you wouldn't

have to be a bad guy to Angela.

So, if you think about it,
I'm not just a good guy,

I'm a triple good guy.

Stop putting things into perspective.

Well, now that you know the truth,

we should all go out
and celebrate together.

Mnh-mnh. I can't.

Angela made it very clear
that Celeste is off-limits.

Angela doesn't have to know.

Celeste is the woman
who made it possible for you

to not have to hear
about the philosophies

of John Stuart Mill
for the last two months.

- You owe her.
- My God,

that woman is a saint.

She should be in the "Unsung Hero" issue

of People magazine.

Okay, I'll go, but just for one drink.

One drink it is.

♪ With somebody who loves me ♪

♪ Oh, I wanna dance with somebody ♪

♪ I wanna feel the heat ♪

Greg?

I have no saliva.

Why are we still in our clothes?

What happened to us last night?

I don't remember anything after
those Blazeball sh*ts you ordered.

Why?

I was feeling nervous about Celeste
and I was trying to break the tension.

I got a pedicure?

Oh, honey, that's not all you got.

I haven't given a hickey
since high school.

Well, you made up for lost time.

I can't be seen like this.

Wow.

I am impressed with myself.

That's some real passion there.

Oh, my God.

Did we do this?

Like so many things about
last night, I-I just don't know.

[The Champs' "Tequila plays"]

Mm. It's hard, but the cheese is good!

Why can't I remember anything?

[Sighs] We blacked out.

Oh, honey, is this your first time?

That's adorable.

Don't worry. I'll help you through it.

You got to hydrate.

Oh.

Flashes of the night are going
to begin to come back to you.

Usually it's the stuff
that makes you go, "Why?!"

Oh, move. It's my turn.

[Gasps]

Oh, no.

My jacket's ruined.

Wait a minute.
I'm remembering something.

What?

Last night I came up with
the perfect opening line

for my book. I wrote it on a napkin.

It's not here.

I got to find that napkin.

Without the perfect opening,
I have no book!

Oh, this feels so good.

I'm going to go call Celeste.

Maybe she'll remember something.

Taylor: Hey, Katie.

What did you just call me?

Katie.

After last night,
you told me to call you that.

Remember?

Taylor?

Are you awake?

Mom?

You're so pretty.

Mom, what are you doing?

"Mom"?

"Mom" is so formal.

Doesn't sound like us.

I want us to be best friends.

Call me Katie from now on, okay?

I remember that.

Totally.

Mm-hmm.

You used to be such a good liar.

It's sad.



All right, Anna-Kat and I
have been talking.

She's gotten past the puppy,
and we figured out a gift

that'd be good for all of us...

a trampoline. You in?

Absolutely.

You know what's cute?

A puppy on a trampoline.

You know what's a drain

on this family's
already limited resources?

A puppy.

Fine.

Well, we should've asked for
the trampoline last night.

Mom got super drunk and would've
given us whatever we wanted.

But this morning she doesn't
remember a thing, so...

Maybe we did ask Mom
for something last night,

and she just
doesn't remember saying yes.

Wait, when did we do that?

We didn't, but we're going
to say we did.

Ohhh. [Laughs weakly]

Still doesn't get it.

[Sighs] Come on,
I'll explain as we walk.

Mom, we need to talk to you
about something.

[Sighs]

Remember last night when you
came home from celebrating

with Dad and you promised us a present

because he sold his book?

Totally.

So, when do we pick out our...

Puppy!

Puppy, huh?

Mm-hmm. That's what
you said we could have.

Okay, no matter what state I was in,

I would never agree to a puppy.

Maybe a -year-old rescue dog

who's got a few months left
in it, but never a puppy.

Wait! No, no. She meant trampoline!

She wants to name it "Puppy"...
she's a weird kid!

- [Door closes]
- Well, we tried.

Right, guys?

- [Sighs]
- Yeah.

I looked for that
stupid napkin everywhere.

I'm so itchy.

It's probably your turtleneck
rubbing against your hickeys.

- You know about those?
- I watched it go down.

They left more of a mark on me
than they did on you.

[Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" plays]

How many hickeys is she up to?

Oh, well, one for every "hand-jive"
Greg does, so, uh, six.

Keep it going, girl!
Mama needs a few nights off!

You remember all that,

but you don't remember
the opening line of my book?

You scribbled something down on
a napkin and you yelled,

"I'm a literary God!"

And then you heard Lady Gaga and
you ran back to the dance floor

and you screamed,
"I'm a little monster!"

How did I even know that?

Mm-mm.

- I'm so embarrassed.
- Yeah.

Hey, guys. Sorry I'm a little late.

Doris: No, don't worry about it.

So, what'd you do last night?

Greg and I went out to celebrate
his book being sold,

and things got a little out of hand.

"Sloppy" is the word that comes to mind.

Clearly "shower" didn't come to mind.

So, you two just decided to go out big?

Yep. Just the two of us.

Just me and Greg. All night.

Me and him.

Me and my man. [Snickering]

No one else?

Not that I remember.

Well, let me see if I can help
you fill in the missing details.

Does this ring any bells?

Where did you get that?

Celeste's Instagram.

You're friends
with Celeste on Instagram?

No, but Gunthar Eriksson,

a profile I created
to lightly stalk her, is.

We did run into Celeste.
but it was only for a minute,

and I gave her the cold shoulder
and I moved on.


Oh. Which shoulder? This shoulder?

The one she has her head on?

So busted.

Can I take a look at that?

Last night is a little blurry.

I just need to see exactly
what I'm guilty of.

Here, here, and here,

you're guilty of being a bad friend.

Does that help you?

Okay, obviously I saw Celeste.

But I didn't want to.

It's all Greg's fault.

He kept in touch with her.

You drank a sh*t off her belly.

It was understood that
you weren't gonna see her.

There was a ban on Celeste.

Just like there's a ban on us
going to Murray's Frozen Yogurt

because you had into a
disagreement over the definition

of "unlimited toppings."

I was one punch away from a free yogurt.

But we don't go there
out of respect for you.

But it looks like you have
no respect for me.

Don't be like that.

In my defense, you weren't
even supposed to find out.

Typical Katie Otto.

Excuse me?

You know, when I was
just getting to know you,

I thought your whole
"me first" thing was charming.

But it's not. You tune out anything

that doesn't have to do with you.

You're so selfish.

You do what you want, when you want,

without giving a damn
about anybody else.

- Whoa.
- You want to talk selfish?

Please!

You're the one who made
your friends choose sides

when your marriage fell apart

because you couldn't keep it
in your skinny jeans!

Right, Doris?

This iced tea is good.

- That's how you feel?
- Mm-hmm.

Fine.

You know what? Be friends with Celeste,

because you're not friends with me.

I'm done with you.

Ditto!

"Ditto"?

Not a strong ender.



What are you doing?

Maybe I threw the napkin
in here when I was drunk.

Mm. That's a stretch.

Hey, we found your bra in the fridge.

Anything is possible.

Last night created such a mess.

I just got in a huge fight with Angela.

She called me selfish.

This is all your fault.

- My fault?
- Yep.

You just had to be friends with Celeste.

And you just had to have me
hang out with her.

You're right. I did have
to be friends with Celeste,

because I needed
a sounding board for my book

and every time I asked you to be
that for me, you wouldn't.

That is not selfish.

That is just... self-preservation.

Katie, I know it's unpleasant
to hear, but Angela's not wrong.

Sometimes, you can be selfish.

I am not selfish!

[Retches]

Is that the sound of
my hungover husband throwing up


in the bathroom? I should help him.

[Retches]

I'm sure he wants his privacy.

Look at me, making you a snack.

Not just any snack...
apples with peanut butter.

And I cut them into little boats.

- Would a selfish person do that?
- No, Mama.

Of course not.

Then again, I'm your kid
and if you don't feed me, I die.

Eat this and go play
with your brother and sister.

I can't. They're not talking to me.

What's going on?

They're mad because
I asked you for what I wanted

instead of asking you
for what we all wanted.

Mm. Puppy instead of a trampoline?

Well, you can see why they
might be a little mad, right?

But I just did what you always do...

get what you want and then tell
the other people

to go fudge themselves.

Yes.

That's what Mommy says.

- Greg!
- [Gasps]

- What?
- [Sighs]

You weren't moving.

I thought you were dead.

[Sighs] I'm trying to
re-create my lost opening line.

You want me to help you?

You don't want to.

I know.

But the difference is now,
I want to want to.

I'm sorry that I didn't take an interest

in what you were working on.

Thank you. That means a lot.

I'm not even going to mention
what's going on with me,

because that would be selfish.

And this moment is about you.

I appreciate that.

Maybe if I close my eyes
and clear my mind,

the line will come back to me.

[As Greg] Gee, Katie,
you seem kind of blue.

What's going on with you?

[Normal voice] Maybe talking about me
will jog your memory.

I'm sorry.

I usually go to Angela
with this sort of thing.

I need to get Angela back
so she can tell me

how to get Angela back.

- Just call her.
- I tried to.

She's not picking up the phone.
She's avoiding me.

Then go find her at the retreat.

Oh, my God, the retreat.

How do you know about that?

Celeste told me because
she has the kids all week.

Oh, if only I'd listened better,
I would know that.

[Tranquil music plays]

Hey.

I came to apologize.

No, I can't apologize?

Shhhhh!

- Don't shush me!
- We're in a silent retreat!

- Silent like no talking?
- Shhh!

Do that one more time
and see what happens.

[Whispering] Again, you are
totally self-focused.

You have no awareness
of what's going on around you.

I am trying to apologize.

Well, you're doing a bad job.

Just leave before you get me kicked out.

[Exhales]

I'm sorry, too.

You forgive me?




You want to join me?

I'm not suddenly someone else.

[Chuckles] Right.

So, Angela's good as long as
I don't see Celeste

and you two sneak around
behind my back again.

I'm fine with that.

I was gonna miss sneaking around.

It makes me feel dangerous,
like when I swallow my gum.

Did you ever remember the
opening line to your book?

Gone forever.

Those words of genius

and why my toenails are painted
remain a mystery.

Oh, wait a second. I know that color.

That is Princess Pop Pink.

It's from Anna-Kat's Make-Up Molly Kit.

Shhh!

Shhh!

Shhh!

Daddy?

What are you doing awake?

Go back to sleep.

Well, now that you're here,
let's do spa day!

I've never wanted to do anything more!

I need some tissue
to separate your toes.

Will this do?

Perfect.

Anna-Kat, do you have that napkin

from my spa day last night?

If I find it for you,
can I have a trampoline?

Anything.

Guys, you can't be mad at me anymore!

I got us a trampoline!

Eh.

Oh, God, I remember everything.

♪ I wanna feel the heat with somebody ♪

♪ Yeah, I wanna dance with somebody ♪

♪ With somebody who loves me ♪

♪ Oh, oh ♪

♪ Dance ♪

♪ Come on, baby ♪

[Laughs]

- ♪ Dance ♪
- ♪ Ooh! ♪

♪ Yeah ♪
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