04x06 - Episode 6

Episode transcripts for the TV show "The Affair". Series Aired: October 2014 to November 2019*
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"The Affair" is about the psychological effects of an affair between a married waitress at a Hamptons diner and a teacher who spends his summer at his in-laws' estate on the island.
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04x06 - Episode 6

Post by bunniefuu »

Previously on The Affair...

Did you get your grant?

No. Uh, actually, you need me.

- What?
- I'm from the VHA.

I just came to check out the facilities,

- make sure everything's kosher.
- You work with veterans?

[BEN] They sent me here to
investigate this therapy.


- You want to partner up?
- Yeah.


[BEN] Close your eyes.

What do you notice?

I'm on the beach.

- What are you seeing?
- I'm in the water.

You're-you're in the water?

I can't breathe. I'm
choking on the water.

- And then these hands...
- Whose hands?

Two big, strong hands are
pulling me from the water.

What's that face?

You amaze me.

Hi. My name is Ben,

and I'm an addict.

- [GROUP] Hey, Ben.
- [COLE] Hey, Ben.

[COLE] Does she know you're married?

- No.
- Of course not.

I'm gonna tell her the truth.
Just give me a moment.

- Hey, I sent you something.
- [ALISON CHUCKLES]

- Oh, God. What?
- It's just a gift card

to buy a plane ticket to California,

for you and Joanie.

I have a-a student in
my AP English class,

Anton Gatewood.

I'm not sure what's going
on in his home life,

but I just feel he's
under a lot of pressure.


- [CARLOS] Where you going?
- It's a walkout, y'all.

- [STUDENTS CLAMORING]
- [JANELLE] Everyone get back

to their classrooms right now!

- Ma'am, you need to step back.
- [JANELLE] Please!

[NOAH] Come on. These are children, man.

[STUDENTS] f*ck the police!

This is all gonna blow
over, you know that?

I was on the phone all
afternoon with the board,

fighting to keep my job.

- How's Anton?
- He's with his dad.

That boy is turning into his father,

and there's not a damn
thing I can do about it.

♪ I was screaming into the canyon ♪

♪ At the moment of my death ♪

♪ The echo I created ♪

♪ Outlasted my last breath ♪

♪ My voice it made an avalanche ♪

♪ And buried a man I never knew ♪

♪ And when he d*ed, his widowed bride ♪

♪ Met your daddy and they made you ♪

♪ I have only one thing to do ♪

♪ And that's be the wave
that I am, and then ♪


♪ Sink back into the ocean ♪

♪ I have only one thing to do ♪

♪ And that's be the wave
that I am, and then ♪


♪ Sink back into the ocean ♪

♪ I have only one thing to do ♪

♪ And that's be the wave
that I am, and then ♪


♪ Sink back into the ocean,
sink back into the ocean ♪


♪ Sink back into the o... ♪

♪ Sink back into the ocean ♪

♪ Sink back into the o... ♪

♪ Sink back into the ocean ♪

♪ Sink back into the ocean ♪

[MARTINA] 'Cause, girl,
I told you, he wasn't


- 'bout nothing but...
- [SCHOOL BELL RINGING]

- [STUDENTS CHATTERING]
- So, guys, don't forget,

we're starting tomorrow with
your Waste Land manifestos.

"I will show you fear
in a handful of dust."

- [CARLOS] Hey, yo, Blanca...
- [CHATTERING CONTINUES]

Adapt it. Do what you will with it.

Subvert it.

Have fun with it.

Uh, Mr. Solloway, you, uh, got a second?

Sure, Anton. What's up?

So, uh, thank you for the "A"
on the Animal Farm essay.

The notes you gave me were,
uh... they were tight.

Well, it was a fine piece of work.

I was, um, wondering if you could

take a look at this other
thing I've been working on,

you know, maybe give me some notes.

I printed it out. I know...

sometimes older teachers like that.

[CHUCKLING] Right.

Thank you, Anton.

What is it, a short story?

No, um, just an essay.

Nothing... nothing special.

You reapplying to Princeton?

Yeah, maybe. I don't... I don't know.

Since you said my boy Cornel West

is over there, so...

An old friend from college

now runs the English department there.

- Serious?
- Yeah.

I can give her a call if you want me to.

- You would do that?
- Of course I'd do that.

And I'll read this, let
you know what I think.

Well, thank you.

Mr. Solloway.

No offense, but, um, you know,

I think you're a good
teacher and everything,

but maybe you should give the assignment

in the beginning of the class,

'cause at the end of the
class, they're not listening.

Good tip.

[QUIET, ATMOSPHERIC MUSIC]

♪♪♪

[QUIET CHATTER]

Uh, Mr. Solloway, Principal
Wilson's on the phone

- with the president...
- What is the matter with you?

Do you have any idea how
bad this makes us look?


It's a g*dd*mn mess, Janelle!

Yes, Ron, it is an unfortunate letter.

Unfortunate things happen all the time.

That's why schools have principals.

It's from a law firm, and you didn't

- even think to tell us?
- [WHISPERING] Close the door.

I mean, come on. The board
thinks you're running


- a f*cking zoo over there...
- [TURNS DOWN SPEAKER VOLUME]

I'm on a call. What do you want?

...but I'm beginning to wonder myself.

- It's deeply problematic...
- It's on mute.

- Really, what do you need?
- Um, it can wait.

What-what's going on?

A girl got separated

from her inhaler during the walkout.

Didn't say a word.

Just sat there wheezing
and turning blue.

Parents got wind, hired
some predatory lawyer

who sent a letter to the board.

This has never happened before.

- Jesus.
- Here, let me talk to him.

- What? Wait.
- Hey, Ron, Ron,

it's Noah Solloway here.

Noah? I didn't know you were there.

Yeah, no, I-I just barged in just now.

Well, you got quite an exciting start.

I saw you on TV the
other day. It's, uh...


Yeah, look, I-I gotta say,

it was a pretty tough day,
and the way that Janelle...

the way that, uh, Principal Wilson

handled the whole situation,

you're incredibly lucky to have her.

Uh-huh. Yeah.

Well, I'm... I'm-I'm just glad to hear

we haven't scared you away, Noah.

[CHUCKLES]

Janelle, w-would you please
take me off the speakerphone now?


Are you f*ring me?

Fine. Okay.

Mm-hmm.

I understand.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

Is there anything I can do?

Really, Noah, you've done enough.

Why are you here?

Uh, I thought you should read this.

Don't tell him I gave it to you.

Hey, Noah.

Next time, knock.

[SCHOOL BELL RINGING]

Hey, Trevor's voice mail.

I'm on my way, so I'm just checking

if you're gonna be ready
to head out around six.

Thought we might get a bite
to eat before the concert.

Anywhere you like.

Okay?

Okay, see you soon. Can't wait.

Concert's gonna be awesome!

[DOOR OPENS]

[JANELLE] Busy?

I owe you an apology.

No, no, I-I barged in.

So, you still my boss?

I'm on probation.

Next week, I have to
supplicate to the board.

[SIGHS]

"Between a rock and a hard place."

So, what, am I the rock?

No, I think you're the hard place.

[CHUCKLES]

[SIGHS]

Why'd he give it to you?

Uh, he said he wanted notes.

And you shared it with me why?

Well, he's obviously having a hard time

making the decision, so...

I thought maybe, if you read it,
you might be able to help him.

This day has effectively kicked my ass.

[SIGHS]

[EXASPERATED SIGH]

Thank you for this.

I will...

I'll read it over and
figure out what to do.

Well, I'm happy to brainstorm with you.

If you want a...

...a buddy.

A buddy?

Well, you know, um...

like a friend, a pal.

Hmm.

Someone you choose to hang out with

because you enjoy their company.

What about tonight?

Really?

Yeah, we can, uh, talk
about Anton's essay,

drink some wine, sh**t the sh*t.

Are you serious?

What do you think?

I think you're not serious.

And I have a...

tickets for a concert
with my son tonight.

Mm.

It wouldn't have worked out anyway.

No.

Probably for the best.

Thank you for the Intel, Noah.

You have a good night.

["CASTLE ON THE HILL" BY ED SHEERAN]

[DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES]

♪ When I was six years old ♪

♪ I broke my leg ♪

♪ I was running from my... ♪

What part are you not hearing?

Well, at least he can come out here.

It's not a good night.

Why can't you encourage
him to come out here

and explain to my face
what's so f*cking important

that I have wasted bucks
on some tweener bullshit?

I don't know. Maybe that's
the problem right there.

Trevor, come out here now.

- bucks.
- Yes, I'll give you

bucks to just go.

Trevor, I'm gonna count to three!

Count to three, and then do what?

- He's not seven.
- Trevor...

Hey, buddy, what's wrong?

She told you... I don't want to go.

I don't want to go.

Okay, okay, well... well, let's talk.

I...

Come on, you were excited.

I was looking forward to
spending time with you.

What... what's happened?

I don't understand why you can't just

leave us the f*ck alone!

I know you know how to leave.

[QUIET, AMBIENT MUSIC]

♪♪♪

I tried to tell you.

♪ My brother and his friends... ♪

[GROANS]

[TURNS MUSIC OFF]

[QUIET, AMBIENT MUSIC]

♪♪♪

[DOORBELL RINGS]

[DOG BARKING IN DISTANCE]

I thought you had a date with your son.

Yep, that was the $ dollar plan.

"My mother is dying for
me to go to this school.

She's the principal of the
charter school I attend,

and it would be such a
feather in both her parental

and her pedagogical cap..."

I hate alliteration.

"...if her son was the first
student from this school

to attend Princeton.

My mother lives and
breathes academic success.

The only thing she hates more
than failure is my father."

I am going to k*ll him.

It's amazing what ingrates
they can be, isn't it?

It really is.

You change their diapers,
you catch their vomit,

you don't sleep for years,
and this is how they repay you.

Did you read the whole essay?

I did. He doesn't want
to go to Princeton,

because he thinks I'm
gonna use his admission

as a way to get back at his dad,

so he set a trap for me.

He plagiarized his essay
knowing he'd get caught

and that I'd have to fail him
because I'm such a hard-ass.

And it worked.

What an intelligent little
psychopath I raised.

[CHUCKLES]

But now he's having a change of heart.

That was your influence, wasn't it?

I just told him some of

the writers he admires teach there.

He could've worked that out himself

if he'd Googled it.

Something tells me you
did more than that.

Is that stuff true about his father?

What he wrote in there?

About me using Anton against him?

What kind of person do you think I am?

No, about him failing out of Harvard.

No, he didn't fail.

He... he left.

- Why?
- [JANELLE SIGHS]

He hated it there.

He felt like the whole system

was designed to degrade him,

convince him that he was worthless,

that his blackness was something

he continually needed to apologize for.

- Were you there, too?
- I was.

Is that the way you felt?

Um, no.

[CHUCKLES]

The truth is, I-I grew
up outside of Boston.

My father was a dentist.

We were upper middle class.

I had tools to handle the racism.

But Carl, he...

he came from nothing.

And that was a long time ago.

They didn't have these programs

to help keep inner-city kids in school.

They treated him like a
curiosity at the zoo.

The professors would
single him out in class

and kind of turn him into a spectacle.

And then, after class,

the kids would ask him
to get them dr*gs.

It was awful for him.

Of course, then he decided

that he would sell them dr*gs,

'cause if they were constantly

coming at him anyway, he might as well

make some money off these fools.

He got caught eventually,

so he quit right then and there.

Dropped out of Harvard with a . GPA.

What a f*cking waste.

So now Anton's worried he's gonna have

the same experience as his father.

That's not what he's worried about.

Well, that's what he says in his essay.

- It's all over it.
- He's lying.

He's covering.

These schools aren't the
same places they used to be.

They have support systems in place,

checks and balances.

Anton knows that.

We've talked about it.

I'll tell you what he's afraid of.

He's afraid of doing well.

Doing well?

- Mm-hmm.
- Why?

'Cause he thinks it'll hurt Carl.

That's why he plagiarized
his f*cking paper.

It had nothing to do with me.

If Anton doesn't go to Princeton,

he's not in danger of winning a race

his father couldn't run.

Does Carl know that?

I don't know what Carl knows.

I know he wants Anton to
stay in the community,

go to USC or something.

What do you think about that idea?

I think USC is a good school

for people who can't get into Princeton.

You know, my ex-wife and
I, we do this, too.

Do what?

Fight over our son.

She thinks he's gay.

I'm not sure.

But every time we try to talk about it,

it just becomes a fight about
what happened in our marriage,

not about what's going on with Trevor.

Won't he come out when he's ready?

Well, kids are not always so clear.

[TAKES A DEEP BREATH]

What do I do about all this?

Well, he can't turn that essay in.

It's not gonna do his cause any good.

I know.

I'm with you. I think he
belongs in Princeton.

Think he would thrive there.

And my friend is now head
of the English department,

so if Anton wants to interview with her

and get some extra leverage, then...

it could be arranged.

- Really?
- Yeah, but he's...

he's got to want to go, Janelle.

You and Carl, you gotta work through

whatever issues you got going on,

help him make the decision.

How well do you and your
ex-wife communicate, Noah?

Are you calling each other on the phone,

having friendly chats about
your children's best interests?

[CHUCKLES]

No.

Hey, Pot.

I'm Kettle. Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you.

[CHUCKLES]

[QUIET, ATMOSPHERIC MUSIC]

♪♪♪

- [DOOR OPENS]
- [ANTON] Forgot my history book.

Now Dad's mad.

I got my quiz tomorrow,

and... Mom?

Mr. Solloway?

[CARL] And also, don't
forget your damn charger.

And you're who-the-f*ck?

I'm Noah. I'm a... I'm a... I'm
a teacher at Anton's school.

[JANELLE] We were just, um,
discussing your Princeton essay.

- You showed her?
- [CARL] Princeton? Again?

[ANTON] Dad, it's not
what it sounds like.

[CARL] We talked about
this. We made a decision.

[JANELLE] We made a decision?
The way I remember it

is you talked and talked until
we got sick of listening.

Oh, for f*ck's sake,
Janelle, you're the one

that failed him and revoked
his admission, not me.

So you took your sorry ass

behind my back and decided to reapply.

Oh, it's not even that deep.

[CELL PHONE RINGING]

Uh, sorry.

[ANTON] Dad, I wrote the essay about why

I don't want to go to Princeton.

- [CARL] You hear that, Janelle?
- [JANELLE] Carl, use your head.

Why the f*ck would he write
an essay for Princeton

about why he doesn't
want to go to Princeton?

I don't know.

Why the f*ck would you do that?

[CELL PHONE RINGING]

Man, you still here?

Yeah, I-I should go.

Stay, please. He's here because

Anton shared his essay with him.

The reason why he wrote such
a messed-up essay, Carl,

is because he wants to go to the school.

- [CARL] He just said he didn't.
- [JANELLE] But he's terrified

- of disappointing you.
- [CARL] What?

You wear it like a badge
of honor that you

- dropped out of school.
- Oh, come on, woman.

- What are you...
- You tell him the school

is gonna make him hate his
skin, and he believes you.

Anton, let's go.

Just read the damn thing!

Nellie, let's just admit
what this is actually about.

You were never gonna let
him stay here for school.

No matter what, he was always

going back East, back to your family,

back to your world. And
it was fine as long as

he was the star student at
your little charter project.

But you were never gonna let him

go to college with those people.

- Screw you, Carl.
- Can we just stop?

- [CELL PHONE RINGING]
- Man.

Can we get some f*cking privacy, please?

I'm sorry. Thank you for your advice.

Good to meet you, Carl.

See you on Monday, Anton.

Hi. Uh, it's Noah Solloway here.

Someone was calling me.

Yeah.

Who?

You can keep that.

You're missing B.

Twenty-four B?

Bail-bondsman waiver form.

And you need the booking statutes.

Booking statutes? Wh-What are they?

Status. Status.

The booking status of
the alleged offender.

Look, someone here called
me, so they must know.

Well, we don't have
that information here.

There's a kiosk down the hall.

You can use the computer
to search the name

- of the alleged offender.
- Look, I've done time in jail.

It wasn't pleasant, and I
don't want to do any more,

but I swear, if you don't
call a superior officer

out here right now to
help me bail out my wife,

then I'm gonna become a repeat offender.

Well, if you'd like to speak
to a superior officer,

you need to make a formal
request using the red phone

in the lobby down the hall to the right.

Right. Your right.

My pen.

Thank you.

[TENSE, ATMOSPHERIC MUSIC]

♪♪♪

[DISTANT SIRENS]

Alison?

[ATHENA] I picked this up

at the airport in New Delhi.

Can you believe that?

You close your eyes,

and you think of a question.

Any question in the world.

And when you shake the ball,

it will tell you the answer, okay?

Close your eyes.

[CHUCKLES]

Open your present.

Hmm.

Okay.

Wow. Who is this?

This is my favorite Hindu god, Krishna.

Oh. [LAUGHS]

Wow, Mom, this thing weighs a ton.

- Well, he's very powerful.
- What...

I thought he would look good

- on your bookcase.
- Right.

And maybe he'll help you attract a man.

[SIGHS]

If you want a man, if you want a man.

I don't need a man, Mom,
because I have a job.

And I'm fine.

We're fine, aren't we, Joanie?

Mm, when is my daddy coming back?

- "Reply..."
- What does it say?

Can you read it?

"Reply hazy."

Try again later.

- Hey.
- He'll be home soon, lovebug.

He's, um, just taking a little vacation.

Do we know where Cole is
vacationing these days?

Someplace warm, we hope. Right, Joanie?

Who sent the booze?

Yeah.

Apparently, it's from the investors,

the ones who bought the Roll.

Oh! I guess they're happy
with their purchase.

Oh, speaking of, remember
that, um, account

you set up for me years ago?

Um, what was that, some kind of trust?

Oh, God, that was

your grandfather who
set that up, actually.

But no, it was just a savings
account under your name. Why?

Oh, well, I met with an accountant.

I want to set something up for Joanie

with my share of the profits.

- [CELL PHONE RINGING]
- Hold that thought.

Hey. Come here.

[ATHENA] Hello?

Let me have a go.

Will Joanie finish all
the food on her plate?

[ATHENA] Sorry. Who... who is this?

Hmm... Oh.

"Signs point to yes."

Wait, what... what did you say?

Never call this number again.

Hey, who was that?

Nobody.

Telemarketer.

[CELL PHONE BUZZING]

[BUZZING STOPS]

Persistent one.

"Much more surprising things

can happen to anyone
who, when a disagreeable

or discouraged thought
comes into his mind,

just has the sense to remember in time

and push it out by
putting in an agreeable,

determinedly courageous one.

Two things cannot be in one place."

[CELL PHONE BUZZING]

[ATMOSPHERIC MUSIC]

♪♪♪

[BUZZING STOPS]

[RUMMAGING]

Oh, Noah.

So sweet.

[CELL PHONE BUZZING]

Hello?

Well, this is Alison
Bailey. Who is this?

[LAUGHS] What?

Are you serious?

Wait, uh...

What did you say your name was?

"Forty-two Lee Avenue."

[DOOR CLOSES]

Okay. I have to go.

Hey.

Fast asleep.

Little monkey.

Oh, now...

Krishna, where do you want to live?

Here.

Good.

Now his divine love will
protect this house.

[CLEARS THROAT]

[DOOR OPENS]

Alison.

This is my wife, Julie.

Please. Please come in.

We are so grateful you came.

Well, how did you find me?

- Find you?
- Mm-hmm.

Oh, my darling,

James has been watching you for years.

He's so proud of all that
you've accomplished.

You're my father?

Yes.

Why should I believe you?

Well...

What did Shelly tell you?

- Who?
- Your mother.

- Oh, Athena. What...
- [JULIE] What? What?

Oh, right, yes, yes. She,
uh, changed her name.

- To Athena?
- I told you that.

Yeah, well, she said she
didn't know who my dad was.

Oh, that's what... I was afraid of that.

So you need some sort of evidence?

[SIGHS]

She was my children's nanny.

[JULIE] She was like a
second mother to them.

Yours here?

- No. No, no, not...
- [JAMES] No, no, no.

My first wife.

Wait, I-I'm a little confused.

- Can you just backtrack?
- I know. I'm-I'm sorry.

I'm doing a terrible job
at, uh, explaining this.

You know, I've rehearsed
this moment so many times,

and now look at me.

- I'm just a disaster.
- [JULIE] No. Stop.

[JAMES] Alison, your
mother came to work for me

and my first wife

when she was .

And she was a miracle.

[JULIE] His first wife, uh, considered

- child rearing beneath her.
- [JAMES] Julie, Julie,

- just let me finish.
- I'm... Okay, I'm sorry.

- I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
- Let me talk, okay?

I'm just... I'm so glad we found you.

- Found me?
- Mm-hmm.

I'm in this picture.

You knew exactly where I was.

- Yes, but...
- Alison...

your mother was a lifesaver

for my boys back then.

She really, really was.

She was beautiful. She was kind.

She took excellent care of
my children, your brothers.

- Oh, God. Yeah, right.
- I...

got a little turned around.

You're an adult. I'm
sure you understand.

She wanted me to leave my
wife, leave Catherine,

and I suspect she had good reason

to believe that I would.

I wanted to, but...

in the end, I-I...

I couldn't do it.

And that... that broke
your mother's heart.

She never told me she was pregnant.

I never knew, until the day

we all ran into each other on the beach.

And my children, they missed her,

they ran towards her,

they threw themselves into her arms.

And there you were.

[JULIE] You have to understand,
she changed her name.

She didn't want him to find her.

If I had known she was pregnant,

I would have supported her.

Hell, I would... I would
have left my wife.

If you knew I existed all these years,

why didn't you come and see me?

Oh, I tried.

I tried, believe me, but-but
Shelly... Athena...

She wouldn't let me.

She wouldn't let me have anything to do

with you or your life.

She was adamant.

And-and I... I-I wanted
to respect her wishes,

so I... I just decided

the best thing to do was...

stay away.

But not a day went by I
didn't think of you.

I have so many regrets, Alison.

Significant, significant regrets.

[SIGHS]

I don't know how to live

under the weight of them anymore.

Why now?

I'm not . I'm not .

I've been an adult for years, James.

Why are you contacting me now?

[SIGHS]

I'm not in good health, Alison.

What's wrong?

My kidneys are failing.

Dialysis isn't working, and if I don't

get a new kidney soon, then, uh...

He's AB-negative.

It's very rare.

His sons are B-positive, and, uh,

our children are both too young, so...

You have children, too?

We were hoping...

Uh, praying, actually... that...

maybe you were?

Me?

[JAMES] I have made
terrible mistakes, Alison.

I don't expect you to forgive me, but...

I could pay you very well

- for this gesture.
- What?

- And maybe that is one way...
- Oh, my...

I can give something back to you.

[CHUCKLING]

- Here, um, where do I...?
- [JULIE] Okay, Alison, don't...

- don't go, don't...
- Here, you take that.

Alison, don't go. Alison. Alison!

He saved your life.

What did you say?

That day at the beach,

with your mother,

you almost drowned.

James saved your life.

Wait, is that true?

Yes.

I was talking with your mother,

trying to figure out

who you were, what had happened.

My boys took you down
to play in the surf.

And your mother and I...

we were lost in conversation, so...

...we weren't watching you.

And we looked up,

and we heard the boys shouting.

A wave...

had pulled you under.

You were, uh, too young to swim.

I just went running into the water.

I dove in with all my clothes
on, I grabbed you...

You grabbed me with both your hands.

Both my hands, and I pulled you out.

- You weren't hurt.
- Oh, my God.

But you were white as a
sheet, you poor baby.

You didn't speak the
rest of the afternoon.

I remember this.

[SIGHS]

Oh, my God, I remember this.

- Alison, please.
- No, please, just-just...

Athena, are you here?

[SHOWER RUNNING]

[KNOCKING]

I met my dad today.

[SHOWER STOPS]

Athena.

Hand me a towel.

What the f*ck, Athena?

Wait. How did you find him?

He lives in f*cking East Hampton.

How do you know that?

Uh, the question is...
Why don't I know that?

- You obviously know that.
- Okay.

Let me just get dressed.

We will talk about this.

He wanted to be in my life.

[SIGHS] Okay.

You kept me from him.

- Like, how could you do that?
- I'm gonna make a cup of tea.

I mean, what possible
explanation do you have?

I mean, Jesus, Athena, what...

what kind of monster keeps a
child from her own parent?

I don't think he told
you everything, Alison.

Believe me, he did. He told
me all about your affair.

- Our affair?
- Yeah, and how

he couldn't leave his wife,
and then you got angry

- and decided to punish him.
- Oh, my God.

And you didn't even tell him you
were pregnant. You disappeared.

- You changed your f*cking name.
- You need to stop talking.

You don't know what you're saying. Stop.

I could've had a father, Athena.

Someone I could rely on.

Someone I could trust more than you.

Stop!

[ATMOSPHERIC MUSIC]

♪♪♪

We didn't have an affair.

He was married.

What else would you call it?

r*pe.

I would call it r*pe.

When I was, um, his children's nanny,

he took me down to his yacht

one evening.

Yeah.

I had nowhere to go.

I was .

I dropped his horrible children
at school the next morning,

and I left, and I never went back.

And six weeks later, I
found out I was pregnant.

Did you press charges?

No, I did not.

Why not?

Because nobody would
have believed me, honey.

He was rich as sh*t. I
was a teenage hippie.

I just wanted to move on.

I wanted to forget what had happened

and keep you,

and I never wanted you to find out.

That's why I kept you
from him all these years,

and that's why I changed my name.

Can you make that f*cking
thing go on for me, please?


[BURNER ON STOVE IGNITES]

- What about the picture?
- What picture?

There was a picture. He had a picture.

Um...

it was all of us on a beach.

And I was young, and he
said that he saved my life.

Oh, my God. Right.

We once ran into him, yes,

in front of your grandparents' house.

His kids recognized me.

I was terrified he would figure
out who you were, but...

he never said a word.

He was more concerned with making sure

I hadn't told anyone what
had happened between us,

that his reputation was still intact.

What a sh*t.

[SIGHS]

Did he save my life?

Save your life?

He said I almost drowned that day.

Did he save my life?

Baby, I don't remember that.

Alison, sweetheart,

you can ask me any question you need to.

I'll tell you whatever you want to know.

But you need to be careful
around him, okay?

That's all I ask.

Why did he reach out to you?

Why now?

He wanted a kidney.

[STIFLED LAUGH]

[SNICKERS]

Of course he did.

[LAUGHS]

Oh, God.

You can't make this sh*t up.

[CONTINUES LAUGHING]

Hi, Ben. It's me.

Um, look, I-I'm sorry to bother you,

but I, um... I just... I-I
really need to talk to you.

Can you call me, please?

Bye.

[CELL PHONE CHIMES]

Find the VA Medical Center in Smithtown.

- [CELL PHONE CHIMES]
- [SIRI'S VOICE] Starting route

to VA Medical Center in
Smithtown, New York.


sh*t.

[SIGHING] Okay.

[ENGINE STARTS]

Excuse me.

Um, do you know where
Ben Cruz's office is?

Okay, thank you.

[KNOCKING]

- Hi there.
- Um, yeah,

I-I'm looking for Ben Cruz.

Oh, well, you've come
to the right place.

Is he here?

Um, he is actually at a lunch meeting,

but he'll be back any minute,
if you want to wait.

- Oh! [LAUGHS]
- Here.

Oh, my gosh.

Thank you. Whew!

Oh, wow. That's beautiful.

Yeah. I think so, too.

Ben's work is so serious
that he could use

a little flair here in this office.

Don't you think?

Yeah, yeah, I guess.

Um, uh, when did you say
he was coming back?

Uh, any minute now.

Oh, you're distressed.

I'm sorry. Um, are you okay?

No, I'm okay.

Why don't you sit down?

- Here.
- No, no.

Come sit down.

- Do you need any, uh... water?
- [PHONE RINGING]

I can get you some water or something.

I'm really fine. Thank you. Thanks.

Okay.

[PHONE CONTINUES RINGING]

There.

That's not bad.

[PHONE CONTINUES RINGING]

Do you need to get that?

- No. That's okay.
- [PHONE CONTINUES RINGING]

So, what branch of the
service were you in?

What? I-I don't...

[WOMAN] Mrs. Cruz, what are you doing?

- Please, let me help you with that.
- Oh, Esmelda, I'm fine.

[ESMELDA] I'll be right with you.

[PICKS UP PHONE]

Ben Cruz's office.

No, he's not here at the moment.

Can I take a message?

Did Bodhi do that?

Yeah, he did.

Can you believe that? Doesn't
it look professional?

Oh, my gosh, his teachers
were so impressed.

I don't know, I just...

thought Ben needed some artifacts

of his children here in his office.

He works so hard, Esmelda,

sometimes I think he forgets
he even has a family.

[ESMELDA] Oh, no, he talks
about you all the time.

[GASPING] Um...

Oh.

- You okay?
- Uh, bathroom? Just...?

[ESMELDA] Uh, down the hall.

First door on your left.

["THE COLOR OF A CLOUDY DAY"
PLAYING OVER HEADPHONES]


♪ Gray ♪

♪ Gray ♪

♪ The color of a cloudy day ♪

♪ On the wind I heard you ♪

♪ Call my name ♪

♪ On the wind I heard you ♪

♪ Call my name ♪

♪ On the wind I heard you call... ♪

[LOUD, INDISTINCT CHATTER]

[SCANNER WHIRRING, BEEPING]

[BUZZING]

[SCANNER CLANKING AND BUZZING]

[MAN, OVER INTERCOM] Do not
leave your baggage unattended.


For the safety of yourself and
all airport passengers...


[ANNOUNCEMENT CONTINUES INDISTINCTLY]

♪ I used to visit you ♪

♪ In my sleep ♪

♪ Now I can never find you ♪

♪ In my dreams ♪

♪ I can never find you ♪

♪ In my dreams ♪

♪ I can never find you ♪

♪ In my dreams ♪

♪ I can never find you ♪

♪ In my dreams ♪

♪ I can never find you ♪

♪ In my dreams ♪

♪ I can never find you ♪

♪ In my dreams ♪

♪ I can never find you ♪

♪ In my dreams ♪

♪ I can never find you ♪

♪ In my dreams ♪

♪ I can never find you ♪

[MAN] I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.

♪ In my dreams ♪

♪ I can never find you ♪

[SIGHS]

[SIGHS]

♪ I can never find you ♪

I'm Jack.

♪ I can never find you ♪

I'm Alison.

♪ I can never find you ♪

♪ I can never find you ♪

♪ I can never find you ♪

♪ I can... ♪

[WOMAN, OVER INTERCOM]
Ladies and gentlemen,

although the "fasten
your seat belt" sign


has been switched off at this time,

we would like to suggest
the use of your seat belts


at all times while seated.

Oh, my God.

I'm sorry. Excuse me.

It's fine. Don't worry about it.

You drooled on my shirt a little bit,

but you just let me know where to send

- the dry-cleaning bill.
- Did I?

- I'm kidding.
- Oh, God.

Can I get you anything?

Uh, yes, please.

Uh, red wine.

- Oh, make it two, actually.
- And you, sir?

Jack, rocks. Please and thank you.

Thank you.

[PULLS DOWN TRAY]

- Thank you.
- Mm-hmm.

[SIGHS, GROANS]

A lush.

I love it.

You must be Southern.

- [CHUCKLES] No.
- Thank you.

I just had a terrible day.

Me, too.

You want to talk about it?

No, I just want to drink.

- [JACK CHUCKLES]
- Mmm.

Damn, girl.

Give me flashbacks to
my fraternity days.

[CHUCKLES]

[GROANS]

Oh, hang on, now.

Let's at least cheers.

Cheers.

That bad, huh?

Is it a guy?

Huh. What makes you say that?

I recognize the mood.

I'm divorced.

Me, too.

Twice.

- Really?
- [LAUGHS]

- Well...
- Yeah.

Cheers again.

You know, you have a
really beautiful smile.

I'm sorry, you... you must
get told that all the time.

Have you ever heard of
the, uh, mile-high club?

The what?

- The mile-high club.
- Yeah, right.

Excuse me. I need to use the bathroom.

- Oh, hang on, now.
- What?

Hang on, now. Hang on, now.

- Get the f*ck...
- Oh, geez!

[WOMAN] Oh, my God. Did you see that?

- [BANGS HEAD]
- [GROANING]

[PASSENGERS CLAMORING]

- [JACK] Jesus!
- Oh, no. I'm sorry.

- Ma'am, are you all right?
- Are you okay?

- [MAN] What happened?
- [WOMAN] Ma'am?

- What happened?
- [WOMAN] Ma'am?

I saw it. That woman shoved her.

- Can you tell me your name?
- What?

No, no, it was an accident.
He was trying to att*ck me.

- Who was attacking you?
- Him.

For f*ck's sake, I did not!

This woman basically assaulted me.

You put your hand on my thigh.

Ma'am, I'm gonna need
you to take your seat.

I can't sit back down there, okay?

He tried to kiss me.
You tried to kiss me.

I tried to kiss you? You're insane.

Ma'am, I'm not gonna ask you
again... please take your seat.

She's been heavily drinking.
She might even be on dr*gs.

- What?
- Ma'am, can you please...

I'm not gonna ask you again.
Please take your seat.

Look, can you put me
somewhere else, please?

Okay, I can't sit in that
seat. He assaulted me.

Did nobody else see this? Please?

- The flight is full, ma'am.
- No, get off me!

- Pleas take your seat.
- No, no, no, no.

- Listen up. Listen up.
- [ALISON GROANS]

No, it was a misunderstanding. Please.

- Stop touching me!
- [PASSENGERS MURMURING]

Stop touching me!

[SIGHS]

["THE COLOR OF A CLOUDY DAY"
BY JASON ISBELL/AMANDA SHIRES]

♪ Gray ♪

♪ Gray ♪

♪ The color of ♪

♪ A cloudy day ♪

♪ On the wind I heard you ♪

♪ Call my name ♪

♪ On the wind I heard you ♪

♪ Call my name ♪

♪ On the wind... ♪

Noah?

Hi.

Hi. It's me.

Uh, yeah, I've got some good
news and some bad news.

Good news is I'm in L.A.

♪ And everything I did wrong ♪

♪ It don't add up to this ♪

♪ Lost, and I measured the cost ♪

♪ In years without a kiss ♪

♪ Entire lives... ♪

You look good.

For a felon.

From the master himself.

[CHUCKLES]

So, this is unexpected.

I know.

You did send that gift card.

Oh, right, I'm glad it came in handy.

Kind of hoped you'd
bring Joanie with you.

Ah, I'm sorry.

Are we headed south?

No, north.

The ocean's on the wrong side.

Oh, right. No, that...

yeah, that takes some getting used to.

So, some assh*le tried to
kiss you on the plane?

But you got arrested?

Pretty much.

Nobody believed me, though.

You don't believe me, either, do you?

I didn't say that.

Why would I lie about
something like this?

Why would I lie about

- something like this?
- I never said you did.

Never said you did.

It's just so hard to believe that...

they would arrest you
for defending yourself

from some guy who was assaulting you.

Nobody else saw it.

Maybe it didn't happen.

[CLEARS THROAT]

Do you remember a long time ago,

when we went to Block Island,
you were telling me this...

about this mind-set that
you sometimes get into

where you have a hard
time distinguishing

between what's real and what isn't?

Noah, I can't breathe.

What's wrong?

I can't breathe. My throat is closing.

- I can't breathe. Can't breathe.
- You're okay. If you can talk,

- you can breathe. It's okay.
- Can't breathe, can't breathe.

It's okay. If you can
talk, you can breathe.

- I can't breathe. Can't...
- It's okay. Calm down.

- I can't. I just can't...
- You're fine. You're all right.

I can't breathe, I can't
breathe, I can't breathe!

- Hang on. Hang on.
- [GASPING]

Come here. You're okay.

It's gonna be okay. I'm
pulling over here.

It's okay. You're gonna
be okay. Don't worry.

- [CONTINUES GASPING]
- Gonna be okay.

You're okay. Just breathe.

That's it.

Hey, Alison.

It's good to see you.

Here.

Why don't you take these?

They'll make you feel better.

[TAKING DEEP BREATHS]

[NOAH] She just started
freaking out on the highway.

I didn't know where else to bring her.

[HELEN] No, it's okay.
Vik said she could stay,

and I'll check on her in the morning.

Thank you.

- Yeah.
- Really.

It's okay.

- Here you go.
- Thank you.

Thank you for letting me stay here.

I, um...

This is weird.

[CHUCKLES]

I don't know, it's been weirder
between the three of us.

Can't believe you live
in California now.

[NOAH] No kidding. Helen
used to be such a snob

about California back in school.

The "inchoate west"?

Isn't that what you called it?

I never said "inchoate."

Think you did.

Well, things change.

Certainly do.

So...

What happened, Alison?

You just got on a plane?

I... uh...

Hey, Noah, it's kind of late.

Maybe you should go on home
and let her get some sleep.

Yeah, sure. Okay.

Come back tomorrow. I'll make breakfast.

Maybe I could take you
to the Venice Boardwalk,

if you're feeling better.

If you're not, don't worry.

Everyone in this town's on Xanax anyway.

[HELEN] Noah.

[HELEN] Good night.

[NOAH] Night.

You want some more tea?

No. I'm okay.

You want to talk about anything?

How's Joanie?

She's great. She's, um...

She's growing up so fast.

She's already like a little lady.

Yeah, it's terrible how
they do that, isn't it?

How's Cole?

Uh, he seems fine. Yeah.

- He's, um...
- I always had this crazy idea

that you guys would end
up back together, but...

Oh, no, no. He's happy
in his new life, and...

Luisa and I have found a rhythm.

It's... it's all worked out.

And what about you? You seeing anybody?

I was. Not anymore.

Oh, what happened? Sorry, that's
actually none of my business.

He's married.

Yeah, I-I didn't know.

I found out today.

He didn't tell you?

Wow, that's really terrible.

I'm sorry.

Helen, can I ask you something?

Can you... be honest with me?

I'll try.

Why do men look at me and see
someone they can f*ck with?

Nobody thinks that about you.

Like...

what is it about me?

It's like they can...

It's like they can
smell something on me.

Do you not think you had
any choice in the matter?

I mean, you knew Noah was
married when you met him,

and you could have walked
away, but you didn't.

That's true.

I don't know, maybe I've been

living in California
too long, but there's

this idea out here that, um...

you can manifest your reality.

What?

- Uh...
- [ALISON CHUCKLES]

Like, um...

if there's something in your life

you want to change, you just need

to think differently,
and it will change.

But that's... that's insane.

I know. But also, maybe, true.

I mean, you've been telling yourself

the same story for a long time.

You know, that bad things
always happen to you

and bad things always will.

What if you changed the narrative?

So you weren't always the victim.

You have agency in your life, Alison.

Maybe you've never believed that,

but I promise you, it's true.

If you don't like the way men

are treating you, change the story.

- Play a different character.
- How?

First of all, go home and tell
that guy to go f*ck himself.

Why not?

Give it a sh*t.

What's the worst he can do?

Call you a bitch? Leave?

He sounds like an assh*le anyway.

Let him know it's not okay
to treat you like that.

Maybe I will.

Okay, I'll let you get some sleep.

Helen.

Thank you.

Alison, you have so much time.

You're so young.

You could have more kids.

You could have a second act.

You could do whatever you want to do.

But if you want to change your life,

you have to do it now.

Good night.

[QUIET, ATMOSPHERIC MUSIC]

♪♪♪
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