02x08 - Tight Rope Walker

[bunniefuu]

Previously on "Switched at Birth"...

I believe with my whole self that there is a God, but you don't share it with me.

It's just gonna hurt us even more if we don't end it now.

No, he seems like a good person. I can't really... can't really say the same thing about... her. (Chuckles)

Toby: Oh, my dad's opponent?

Elisa!

(Gasps)

Hi.

Get dressed.

Both of you.

Your mom is Patricia Sawyer.

I really do like you. It was fun.

And if I don't balance my budget, then there is no more Carlton.

Two glasses of bubbly, please.

I'm not feeling very well. I just need to crawl into bed.

(Kicks)

(Knocks)

Hark! Who knocketh upon my door?

Maybe I have the wrong house.

I have Shakespeare on the brain. I'm trying to learn my lines.

What's up?

Is Regina here?

Nope, she's out running errands.

You could try her cellphone. Do you want some tea?

No thanks. Uh... actually wanted to talk to you.

Have you noticed anything different about your mom?

What do you mean?

I'm just wondering if it's possible... if maybe she's... started drinking again.

(Scoffs) What are you talking about?

The other night she came home in a cab...

Her car broke down.

But she was walking and she was talking kind of stiff, like when you're trying to act like you're not drunk.

And I know that things have been really stressful lately for her, with her hands and looking for a job and the whole Angelo and Lana thing.

(Cup thuds)

Did you know that my mom and I lived in our car for a week when I was in first grade?

I had strep throat and she used the rent money to take me to the doctor and buy antibiotics.

Do you know what she didn't do?

Drink.

Trust me, the Angelo drama and the problems with her hands are not worse than that.

And you're not worried that seeing this jazz-club guy from the old days mi...

If my mom was drinking, I'd know about it.

(Breathes heavily)

(Sighs)

(Sighs)

There's this French film that Angelo told me about.

It's playing at that little theater by U.M.K.C.

Mmm, subtitles?

Okay, that's a "no."

Oh yeah! We could go A.T.V.Lng.

There's a field behind my house.

My parents already had one lawsuit. Best not make it two.

Okay. Scotty McCreery.

He's playing at the Palladium.

Cool!

Who is he again?

The country singer? "American Idol"?

You know what? We'll keep trying.

Oh, how "Downton Abbey" of you!

Huh?

Never mind.

(Chuckles)

(Exhales sharply, chuckles)

There she is. Will you make sure everybody keeps working?

Yeah.

I am so sorry I'm late. There was this chem lab and...

It's okay. Can I talk to you for a second?

Yeah.

I've had to do a bit of re-shuffling in the cast.

Amy dropped out and I think you'd be the best person to take over her part.

Juliet?

Juliet.

I barely learned the nurse.

I'm not even taking drama.

But you picked it up so fast and you're so good.

Hey hey, so sorry.

There was this chem-lab thing.

Did I miss anything?

(Sighs)

(Door opens)

Hey.

Hey.

I just drove by one of your billboards for John.

It's amazing.

Amazing enough to get your vote?

Amazing enough to get me to abstain. (Chuckles)

Hey, do you guys have any aspirin over here? We just ran out.

Still feeling sick?

The other night when you came home in the cab?

You said you weren't feeling well.

Right. Um...

I thought it was food poisoning, but I guess it's like a viral thing.

Thanks.

So when do Daphne and I get to meet your new guy?

Zane? I don't know. He works a lot of nights.

We could come down to the club, have a little dinner.

It's pretty loud in there. Not really the best place to meet anybody.

It wasn't that bad when we went with Angelo.

Is Zane working this weekend?

Why don't I see if he can come on over for dinner?

And you can invite your new guy.

Sounds great. I'll ask Noah.

Great. Thanks.

(Door opens, closes)

Come in and then we go back out.

And we come in. Yeah, okay.

"Then move not while my prayer's effect I take.

Thus from my lips, by yours, my sin is purged."

And then we kiss.

And we kiss again.

"Sin from thy lips."

You have a step down right behind you.

Oh. Sorry?

You have a step down.

You're gonna be on a platform.

Oh, right. Thanks.

Okay.

So the nurse comes in and tells me that my mom is looking for me.

So I go off with her.

Right, and then I find out that your mom's a Capulet.

So then I turn to Benvolio, "blah blah blah."

And then you leave.

Hey.

You leave.

Oh right.

Sorry. Okay.

Want to do that again?

Have you ever thought about getting a hearing aid?

I have one, but I...

I don't really need it.

Well, a lot of kids here...

I'm fine.

Can we get back to this?

Sure.

Okay.

And turn.

Come back.

(Laughs)

Then we go out. And then we come back.

Wow, that's a nice guitar. A Fender, right?

Do you play?

No. (Laughs)

I, uh... I went through this phase in middle school where I wanted to be in a band, so my mom got me a guitar.

A... a Fender?

Uh... Gibson.

It was a Gibson, yeah.

Way to buy your love.

Yep, pretty much.

It's in the garage along with all my other phases.

So what kind of phase are you in right now?

I'm not sure.

I'm not sure, I'm...

I'm waiting to see what catches my interest.

You know, I...

I thought that, um...

I thought after the way that you left my house the other day...

Yeah, sorry. That was... that was weird.

Yeah. A little weird.

Yeah.

That was really bad.

Sorry, I was... I was still... processing the whole thing.

You know.

Is your mom still mad?

I don't know. Probably.

I don't care. (Chuckles)

I don't care.

In a few months I will be touring Greece.

Greece?

Yeah!

And I cannot wait to get out of this town and see the birthplace of democracy.

Yeah.

That's very educated of you.

Well.

And I'm gonna take a guess that the Greek islands don't really suck either, you know?

The Mediterranean and the white sand, nude beaches.

You might just have to come join me.

Well, I am a big fan of democracy.

I have a date suggestion that I think you're gonna like.

(Chuckles) Excellent.

It involves food...

Well, I like food.

... And me...

Even better.

... And an evening with a real live jazz musician.

Okay, that could be cool. When and where?

Tonight. Dinner with my bio-mom, her new boyfriend... the jazz musician...

And Daphne.

Wow.

Don't freak out or anything.

I'm not putting you on display.

It's kind of the reverse actually. I'm putting Regina's boyfriend to the test.

Okay, what does that mean?

Nothing.

I'll see you tonight.

(Knocks)

(Regina sighs)

I'm sorry I'm late.

Salad, as you requested.

Took me no time to make it.

My kind of chef.

Bay, this is Zane; Zane, Bay.

I can see the resemblance.

Yeah.

Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you.

Oh... bottle of vino.

Not necessary.

I'll take your coat and you can meet Noah and Daphne.

Thank you. Hey, guys, how are you doing?

Good.

Zane. Nice to meet you.

Noah.

Hi, I'm Daphne.

Daphne, how you doing? Zane.

Daphne: Nice to meet you.

Zane: Nice to meet you.

Drop this off with Sean. He's the big tall guy back there, okay?

Patricia!

When you're done signing those fundraising letters, I have a stack you can sign back at my office.

I'd be happy to do that, as long as I get to keep all the money.

(Chuckles)

So what brings you to enemy territory?

It's actually a personal matter.

I found your son with my daughter in our hot tub a few days ago.

Toby? I don't think so. Toby's got a girlfriend.

(Scoffs) Well, that doesn't change the fact they were together.

And you're sure it was Toby?

Oh yeah.

Elisa couldn't wait to tell me who he was.

It doesn't sound like him.

Nobody knows better than I do the toll these campaigns can take on a family. Just ask my ex-husband.

Mmm.

Maybe this was our kids' way of getting our attention.

Mm-hmm. Well, parenting almost makes the campaign look easy, huh?

Of course once I win, you'll have plenty of time to work on your father-son relationship.

(Laughs) See you around.

So wait... he's a deaf drummer?

I need to jam with this guy. What's his name again?

Ladies: Emmett.

You know what we should do?

In August there's this jazz festival called "Listen with your eyes."

"Listen with your eyes"?

Yeah, because with jazz you don't just listen with your ears. You listen with your body.

You... you... you see the music.

I love that.

It's cool, right?

So what's the biggest change you've noticed about Regina? You know, since you guys have met up again after all these years?

"All these years"? You make it sound like a lifetime.

No, it kind of was. We were both married, had kids.

I guess what surprised me the most was how little she changed.

Regina: Aw.

Nice one.

(Laughs)

Really?

She hasn't changed?

Well, other than being older and wiser and a lot more sensible.

At first it was kinda like dating Cinderella... she was always slipping out of the club, trying to get home by midnight.

"At first"? What about now?

Can you help me with dessert please?

(Exhales sharply)

Dinner was great. Thank you.

Dr. Who? Who's Dr. Who?

It's a TV show. Daphne loves it.

It's about this guy, right? He's called the doctor and he's this time lord.

I'm sorry... where are you from?

'Cause I keep hearing a little accent.

Sorry? What was that?

There it is again.

He doesn't have an accent.

He's asking where you're from.

Noah: Oh.

His mom is from Canada.

Really?

Which explains, but does not excuse, your horrible taste in basketball teams.

Come on. The Raptors are rebuilding, okay?

That's just a euphemism for "they're gonna suck again."

Pfft!

Not to get all technical, but wouldn't the Raptors bite, not suck?

She makes a good point.

(Laughter)

Oh damn, I've got to get back to the club.

Wait, I thought you weren't playing tonight.

No, Mitch wanted me to sit in at the last minute.

Hey, you should come with me.

Um-mm... well, I mean, maybe just one set.

You know what? You guys just leave the plates.

I'll clean it up when I get home.

Why don't we all go?

It would be cool to see you play.

Huh-uh. School night.

Give me a sec. I'll get my jacket.

Okay.

(Chuckles)

Since you're here, do you mind going over the nightingale scene?

Kathryn wants me off book by tomorrow.

Yeah yeah yeah, sure. Umm...

Is that cool?

Sure. Happy rehearsing.

It was nice to meet you.

Very nice to meet you.

You're the man, Zane.

All right, take care, man.

Look, tell you what... I will get you into next weekend's gig if you promise to show me some of your artwork.

Uh, sure. My studio's downstairs, so stop by any time.

You should probably take that with you.

Oh no, it's okay, I'll just leave it here. It's your mom's favorite.

I'm all set.

(Sighs) Bye.

Nice to meet you.

Have fun.

Because, I... I don't know how to.

I mean, she's my mom, but she's not my mom. (Exhales sharply)

And maybe there's part of me that doesn't want to know.

I mean, what if she is drinking again and my parents find out? I don't know what they're gonna do.

I mean, what if they try to get custody of Daphne, or they tell me that I can't see her anymore?

Yeah, maybe.

Kathryn: Ah.

Hey. What's going on?

"We're leaving soon. We just needed a place to work."

Well, what are the signs for?

"We have a meeting with the school board this afternoon.

A lot of the kids are coming with me.

So maybe you need to... "

So...

Are you saying "cancel rehearsal"?!

I think we're building something really great here.

Hearing and deaf kids working together?

I don't understand why you don't think we can coexist.

You're about to explain it to the school board.

"This is a deaf school.

Where we can be seen.

But the world doesn't recognize us."

That's not true of all hearing people.

I recognize you.

"That's nice."

But I'm here because I'm a parent.

Actually, I'm here because you can't afford a drama teacher.

And the hearing program can help you by bringing in more money.

What's so bad about more money for the school?

"At a hearing school, deaf students will always be on the outside.

They enter the cafeteria for lunch, they'll look around, see... 20 different conversations, none of which they can be a part of.

But here they're free, not to be 'the deaf kid, ' but to be themselves.

That's what I'm fighting for.

And if you can't see why that's more important than your play or anything else, then I don't know what else to tell you.

The bus is here."

Thank you.

(Door opens)

Okay, everybody, let's start with... scene four, act two.

I can't.

I have to be there.

I'm sorry.

Da...

So you couldn't have used our hot tub?

There wasn't a girl in our hot tub.

I didn't know that it was Patricia Sawyer's house.

Or Patricia Sawyer's daughter, but obviously she knew who you were.

Dad, it was two people in a jacuzzi, not a conspiracy.

Mm-hmm.

What about Nikki?

She broke up with me... on Valentine's Day.

I... I didn't know that. I'm sorry.

Look, Toby, I get how having an attractive girl pay attention to you could help you get...

That is not why I did it!

(Sighs)

I don't know Elisa. I'm sure she's a nice kid.

But I question her judgment.

Well, she did volunteer to help out your campaign.

Maybe she likes me because I'm me, not because I'm your son.

That's not what I meant.

So this has nothing to do with your campaign?

You're just worried about me?

Hey.

You just make sure whatever you do, you do it for the right reasons and with the right person.

Got it.

(Zane laughing) It was so funny.

It was crazy.

(Men laugh)

Hey!

So you looking for some inspiration or you here to learn about some jazz?

Uh... no. I actually wanted to talk to you about Regina.

Is everything okay?

When you guys are together, do you... well, has she... ever had a drink?

You mean like a glass of wine or something?

Yeah.

Yeah, why?

Regina's an alcoholic.

And she didn't tell you.

No.

(Sighs)

No.

Do you need a ride home or something?

No, it's okay.

Uh, thanks.

"You say that the deaf students will just 'adjust, '

but what you mean is they'll just get used to second-class status."

We realize that this is not an ideal situation.

"You are compromising the quality of their education."

Have any of you ever actually been to Carlton?

We've been to every district school, and I'm sorry but we're not opening the floor to anyone who's not on our agenda.

You're making a decision that affects over 100 deaf students, and you don't have time to listen to one of them?

Step forward.

Carlton is the one place in the world where having ears that don't work doesn't matter.

It's not just a school to us, it's our home.

And by letting more hearing kids in, you're saying it's okay to inv*de our home.

But it's not.

(Cheering)

Okay.

Honey, in a perfect world, we'd have money for deaf schools and organic lunches

and state-of-the-art computer labs in all our schools.

But we don't.

We're stretched incredibly thin these days.

You found money to hire the college football coach at Jefferson...

(Cheers)

... And resurface the track at Taft.

I guess it just comes down to how you prioritize.

(Cheering)

(Cheering fades)

(Door opens, closes)

Hello.

You're back.

I texted you.

I saw. After rehearsal.

(Sighs)

I know that you don't understand...

No, I don't.

I'll be at rehearsal tomorrow.

Great.

At least your dad didn't tell you that you couldn't see me.

My mom grounded me... allegedly.

(Chuckles) We see how well that's working out.

(Chuckles)

Hey, how much was all this?

No, please, don't worry about it.

No, come on, please.

I put it on my mom's card. It's fine, stop.

It's on the house...

Patricia Sawyer's house that is.

(Chuckles)

Are you saving up for all your travels and stuff or...

If by "saving up" you mean "the occasional A.T.M. withdrawal because my mom hasn't changed her pin since 2004," then yes.

Yes. What? Don't... come on.

Don't give me that look. I've seen your house.

Don't pretend like you don't also dip into the well, if you know what I mean.

Well, I mean, I've... definitely done my fair share of stupid stuff, but, you know, I've never taken from them.

It's just compensation for emotional abuse.

I'm sorry I missed rehearsal yesterday.

Yeah, I heard about the meeting.

Is everything okay?

I don't know. The school board's voting today for what happens next year.

Hmm, whether I stay or go.

It's okay. I get it, you know.

You don't want the Replicants taking over.

(Both chuckle)

Hey, check me out.

What?

Look.

Mmm, did you get a new haircut?

Are you trying to grow sideburns?

New backpack?

(Jazz music playing)

Hey.

Hey.

Chardonnay please. Oh. (Chuckles)

I feel like my eyes are gonna pop out.

I spent all afternoon online, looking at want ads and filling out job applications.

(Sighs) Thanks.

I was thinking that maybe I should...

Are you sure you want that?

Why?

Look, Bay came by this afternoon, and she said, you know, you and alcohol... you're not supposed to be drinking.

Look, Regina, I am not judging you.

I love hanging out with you, but I don't want to mess things up and be a bad influence.

You... you are not messing anything up.

Th... this is just a misunderstanding.

I'll call you later. (Chuckles)

Reggie...

I'm good.

What the hell did you think you were doing?

Sneaking into the jazz club...

I wasn't sneaking.

Talking to Zane behind my back? Telling him I'm a drunk?

I didn't tell him that.

Why didn't you come to me?

Because I wasn't sure so...

So you decided to ruin the one bright spot in my otherwise crappy life right now?

I was just trying to help.

Help?

Who the hell do you think you are? You don't know me.

I'm sorry, Regina...

Who else did you tell?

Daphne? Your parents?

No.

Did you call my mom in Puerto Rico?

No.

Stay out of my business, okay?

You stay out of it.

(Door slams)

(Clatters)

(Sighs)

You made it.

Sorry I'm late.

We were waiting to hear the school board's vote.

Daphne, I know you're upset, but I really don't think that adding more hearing kids to the school is gonna be so horrible.

Really.

They're not expanding the hearing program.

They're not?

No.

They're closing Carlton.

What do you mean they're closing it?

The school board voted to sell the property and shut down Carlton for good.

They're going to separate us and send us to different schools next year.

Oh no.

I'm so sorry, honey.

(Crying)

I'm sorry.

(Sighs)

(Knocks)

Go away.

(Door opens)

Bay?

I said go away.

You told me to stay out of your life.

Why don't you try staying out of mine?

Bay, I am so sorry.

And I am so touched that you wanted to help me.

Well, you should have a sit down with an-hour-ago-Regina, because she seemed pretty pissed.

(Sighs)

I was busy seeing myself as a victim, so I would have an excuse... to keep drinking.

So you are drinking again?

Yes.

And it's embarrassing and humiliating and I took it all out on you.

Why?

I'm on your side.

Ever since we moved in, I have had to depend on other people.

Your mom got me the job at Geraldo's, Angelo was going to finance the salon and now when I talk to Daphne I feel like I need an interpreter.

And drinking makes that all a little easier.

At least for a little while.

And then you sober up, and you hate yourself for doing it, so you want to feel okay again.

So...

You drink again.

Pretty much.

So what happens now?

I get myself to the next meeting I can find.

And I call my sponsor and I start working the program again, one day at a time.

Well, is there anything I can do to help you?

Try to forgive me?

I can do that.

Thank you.

Is, uh... (Sighs) there any way that we could keep this between us?

I don't want to worry Daphne, and if John and Kathryn found out...

I won't say anything.

(Exhales) Thank you.

This is done, Bay.

You have my word.

* Pull me back... *

(Sniffles)

* Pull me back *

(Engine stops)

* Pull me back... *

I was beginning to think you weren't gonna come.

I almost didn't.

I'm not sure that this is a good idea. (Chuckles)

I am.

I meant what I said on Valentine's Day.

We're just too different.

That's why I didn't text you back.

I meant what I said on Valentine's day, too.

I've never told anybody "I love you" before.

You make me want to be a better person, someone that you deserve to be with.

Toby...

And you were the one who said that having faith isn't easy.

It's believing in something even when reason tells you not to, right?

Right.

Well, I have faith in us.

And, I think you should too.

* Pull me back *
* into the fold with you *
* with you... *

(Sighs)

I've really missed you.

Louise, hi, it's Regina.

I found a meeting at 9:00 tomorrow, but if you could call me back tonight, I'd really appreciate it. I'd really like someone to talk to.

(Beeps)

If you want to listen to your message, press one.

If you want to delete it, press two.

If you're ready to send it, just hang up.

You have chosen to delete your message.

Thank you and goodbye.

* Pull me back *
* pull me back *
* pull me back *
* into the fold with you *
* with you. *