01x07 - Chapter 7

[bunniefuu]

Vice President Matthews.

Mr. Vice President.

Mr. Vice President.

Frank.

Sir, I'm gonna need you to stand on your mark.

I'm fine right here.

Two minutes, people.

So they pull me from the car, both legs broken, fractured skull,

punctured lung.

My heart stops.

Two full minutes.

They're pumping my chest. Nothing.

They grab the defibrillators.

Nothing.

Third time, the pistons start firin'.

Doctors tell me it's a miracle I'm alive.

But seriously, you talk about a wake-up call from God.

You don't get to come back from the dead twice.

The President of the United States.

Good morning.

The Education Reform and Achievement Act that I sign into law today

will affect every child and parent in the United States,

will ensure a better educated workforce for decades to come,

and will reinforce America's pre-eminence as an intellectual superpower.

And I'd like to thank one man in particular,

who never lost sight of the larger mission,

who spearheaded this bill from the beginning.

And that's Congressman Frank Underwood.

Invited guests, please join us in the East Room for refreshments.

Media, we will convene immediately

in the Briefing Room for our conference.

Linda, thank you so much for all the help

you gave us in getting this bill passed.

No, thank you, Frank. This was your baby from the beginning.

I appreciate you standing your ground on this one, Frank.

I'm smart enough to admit when I was wrong.

I was just telling Frank we should set up a weekly,

so he can keep us up-to-date on what's going on in the House.

That sounds like a great idea.

Congratulations, sir.

Garrett...

I was wondering if we could talk for a few minutes.

That thing I mentioned a couple of weeks ago,

about the jobs tax credit...

I've been giving it a lot of thought, Jim, and I think it's a good idea,

but I'd like to look over my notes first, if you don't mind,

so I can talk about it intelligently with you.

Sir, you have your call with the Prime Minister.

Busy man.

Yes, he is.

Frank, I hear that you are heading up

the special election in my home state.

Peter Russo.

We're trying to keep that under the radar until he officially announces.

In fact, we're not even working

out of my office until that happens.

Where are you working from?

The basement of my house.

Any reason why the DNC didn't ask my advice on the candidate?

Well, I thought they passed it by you, or that Linda did.

Nobody did.

Well, that is unacceptable.

And I have major doubts about Russo.

His inexperience?

Yes. And he's urban-based. I don't know if he'll connect with rural voters.

Look, frankly that's one of my concerns as well.

We're working on that.

But if you were to come out and stump with him,

that would go a long way to convince...

Frank, I can't stump for somebody I don't believe in.

It's early days yet. I'd ask you to keep an open mind.

And let me know if you want me to set up a meeting between the two of you.

Because, sir, an endorsement from you would be a big coup for him.

It's good to see you, Mr. Vice President.

Frank.

Congressman Underwood.

Ms. Barnes. I was under the impression

you didn't want to cover the White House.

Slugline just got access yesterday.

I know.

I left The Herald because I didn't want to cover the White House,

and now here I am.

Access isn't the same as a ball and chain.

Am I only gonna see you at bill signings now?

I haven't heard from you in three weeks.

Insecurity bores me.

I feel the same way about condescension.

Your place. This evening. And I'll text when I'm about to arrive.

What if I'm busy?

You're just afraid I'm gonna stand you up again.

I just want to make sure it's worth my while.

It'll be worth your while. This'll make up for last time.

It's a piece of history. From the President's hand to yours.

You believe in all that higher power stuff they talk about in the room?

I believe there are things beyond our control.

Who or what's controlling them, that I don't know.

I don't believe in God. Heaven. Hell. None of it.

Too much Catholic school?

Maybe.

I'm not saying you have to believe in God, Peter,

or anything for that matter.

But you shouldn't rule anything out.

I should go.

It's on the campaign.

Our cross tabs show 81% of likely voters

are willing to consider a recovering alcoholic.

Now, those numbers dip a little

when you introduce cocaine, but not by much.

Randy?

It's a risk, but it'll make waves.

Free coverage across the board.

The narrative has to be redemption,

a phoenix from the ashes.

Well, let's not focus on the ashes.

We don't want people to think Peter was a disaster.

No, no. We focus on the positive.

A "fresh start" and a "clean start" both did well in focus groups.

"Clean start" sounds too much like "clean slate."

I like "fresh start."

Yeah, I do too.

How we doing on the fundraising?

The alcoholic thing will turn off some of the in-state donors,

but it's an off-year election.

We can hit up the usual suspects in New York and California.

Walter, how vulnerable are we?

I'm not prepared to answer that question.

Peter and I have yet to perform

the holy sacrament of confession.

We still need to address the shipyard closing, too.

Claire's helping us with that.

We are pushing a bill called the Delaware River Watershed Act

and I think it's going to bring

about 5,000 jobs into Peter's districts

over the next three years.

We have a draft of the bill completed.

Peter's in the process of securing co-sponsors.

And who have you called, by the way?

I have some emails out, but most of them wanna see a bill first.

Have you set up a meeting with the shipbuilders yet?

I don't think they're gonna back me.

That's the entire point of the bill, Peter.

Well, if I go to them and I say,

"Hey, some of you maybe will get your jobs back,

"not tomorrow, but three years from now,

"and most of you won't be getting your jobs back anyway..."

All right, let's put a pin in this until we get more sponsors.

I have to go to the office. I'll catch you all later.

Okay, let's move on to our field plan.

I want to go through the regions one by one...

Francis.

We spent six weeks on that bill.

It'll be fine. He'll come around.

I'll see you later tonight?

I have an appointment.

So I won't see you until morning.

I'll be back before you get up.

I appreciate your taking the time today, sir.

Did you get that tax credit memo

the economic research team put together?

You didn't ask me here to talk about memos.

I know small talk when I hear it, Linda.

The President has asked that you take a step back from Pennsylvania.

You've been taking a lot of trips there, meeting with legislators...

It's my home state. There's a jobs crisis.

We can't afford to play favorites.

The message is 50 states, one solution.

Not one state, 50 solutions.

I never expected to be involved in every policy or decision,

but I have been completely cut out of everything.

We value your input, Mr. Vice President, but right now, we can't...

Don't condescend, Linda.

No one even asked me who I thought should fill my seat.

Why is Frank Underwood leading the charge on that, not me?

That is a DNC issue.

We are staying out of it and so should you.

And so I'm supposed to just cut ribbons and go to funerals?

You know what you signed up for.

Thank you, Mr. Vice President.

I didn't get my pen.

Your pen?

From the bill signing.

We'll see what we can do about that.

I can see your security guy.

Meechum?

He's cute.

He'd never go for you.

Why not?

You're too intimidating.

He's the one with the g*n.

But you're the one with the Congressman.

Uh-uh.

We'll talk after.

We'll talk before.

Peter Russo.

Pennsylvania's first district. He's gonna run for Governor,

fill Matthews' seat. It's an exclusive profile.

With someone no one's ever heard of.

What's the angle?

Alcohol, dr*gs.

He's a kid from the streets.

I want the profile to come out as soon as he announces,

and I'd like it to be kind.

I don't write puff pieces.

Then get someone else to write it.

I thought you had something for me.

It's too easy for people to link me as your source.

It's dangerous.

I don't benefit from handing out headlines to other people.

Generosity is its own form of power, Zoe.

Step six.

Take the opposite edge and fold it into a...

Step seven.

Turn the model over and fold both edges

to the center of the model.

You always wear sunglasses at night?

How did you find me?

I figured you had to be in government.

I kept googling till I found your picture.

This won't work, what you're doing.

That was a one-time deal. You don't get to keep coming back for more.

I'll go to the police.

They'll laugh in your face. Look at you.

If the police won't listen to me, I'll call TV stations.

I know the names...

Douglas Stamper, Peter Russo, Frank Underwood.

You are walking down a road you do not want to walk down.

Please, I won't call anyone.

But I need your help.

I don't have anywhere to go. I don't have anyone I can call.

I've had to do things. And I don't want to do it anymore.

That's all I've got right now.

Find a place to stay and let me know where you are.

I'll figure something out.

You hungry?

What's your name?

Sapphire.

No. What's your name?

Rachel.

Your ex-wife. Anything uncouth?

How do you mean?

Bondage, orgies, water sports?

No. Definitely not.

Narcotics? She wasn't into that.

Not even a little ganga?

Okay, once in a blue moon.

Ever with your children?

God, no!

Ever in front of them?

Look, I'm not the world's best dad, but I would never do that.

Fine. Let's move on to prostitution.

How long is this gonna take?

Until there's nothing I don't know about you.

I wrote all this down.

I've been doing this a long time, Congressman.

I know when I've scraped all the sh*t off the shoe.

Prostitution.

After my divorce, I took a trip to Thailand. It was about two weeks.

How many women?

Ten. Fifteen.

I... I don't know. It was a bit of a blur.

There were dr*gs?

Yes.

Opium, speed, some smack.

Powder or needles? Both.

Would any of these women know who you are?

No. None of them spoke English.

And I never mentioned I was a congressman.

Have you mainlined heroin back here in the States?

Just once. Any scars on your arm?

No. I was mainly into cocaine.

What about prostitutes here in D.C.? How often?

I f*cked around a bit, okay?

Details, please.

Do you get off on this or something?

Does a doctor enjoy it when he cups your balls

and asks you to cough?

You wanna know how many times I came?

I honestly don't care whether you win.

But if you do, work with me.

How often did you solicit prostitutes in D.C.?

Once every two or three months.

Sometimes more frequently, sometimes less.

Do you have reason to believe any of them were underage?

Jesus! No. Look, they were mostly high-end.

That doesn't mean they were 18.

I need a f*cking break!

What's going on?

He's an amateur, Frank.

If I can get under his skin in less than an hour,

how do you think he'll hold up under the press?

It'll be a turkey sh**t.

All right. I'll speak to him.

Frank, it's just, it's not gonna work. I'm gonna get crucified.

You'll be fine. We've got a cr*ck team behind you.

It doesn't matter how good the team is. With my past? Come on.

From the very beginning, I said this was the plan.

You agreed to it. I didn't think it through.

We have to tackle this head-on, or the GOP will crucify you.

We have to steal their amm*nit*on from them.

Honesty is your best defense and offense.

I'm the one that has to get in front of

these cameras and say this sh*t.

They don't have to say it. I do.

Peter... I wanna be governor. I do.

But not this way. I just can't do it.

If you weren't unsure now, there'd be something wrong with you.

I expected this.

Not easy, what we're asking you to do.

It's okay to vacillate a little.

I'm not trying to throw a wrench in the works.

I know you're not. I'll tell you what.

You take the rest of the day off. You go back to your office,

you catch up with whatever you have to catch up on,

you get a good night's sleep, you go to a meeting tomorrow,

and then you come here and we'll talk the whole thing through.

Can you give me at least that?

Yeah. Okay, Frank.

Good.

What's going on with all the little sculptures?

I found a flower on the dining room table

and a bird on the nightstand a few days ago.

It's a swan.

You made them? Yes.

A new hobby?

No.

It's an interest.

May I bring up something else I've noticed?

What's that?

You...

Standing in front of the refrigerator.

Is there a reason you haven't talked to me about it?

I haven't felt the need to.

Is it bad?

It's not pleasant.

But, no, it's not bad.

What can I do?

Nothing.

If there were something, I'd ask.

Did you think it was weird that I called you?

Totally weird.

Except for the fact that I was planning on calling you.

Really? Why?

I was a real grade-A bitch to you at The Herald,

and I almost apologized when I saw you at the White House,

but I chickened out.

So, anyway, I am drunk enough, and I am sorry.

Why did you call me?

I was just wondering how things were going at the old stomping ground.

Here you go. Thank you.

It's just not the same since Tom left.

And I don't blame you for doing what you did.

But this new guy?

Six years running EW Online does not a managing editor make.

Would you ever want to come work with us?

I mean, it'd be a huge f*cking deal.

Chief Political Correspondent of The Herald moves to Slugline?

Did Carly Heath put you up to this?

No. Not at all. But if you want, I could talk to her.

You think she would go for it?

Honestly, I don't know.

She's got this sort of anti-establishment "f*ck you" attitude.

Conventional news bores her.

But if you had something gritty to show...

I've got a story if you want it.

It's pretty f*cking great.

You would give away a story?

If you're not interested...

No, I'm interested.

If I seem a little hung-over, it is because I am.

A lot hung-over, actually.

God, I almost had a couple of months,

and then last night, I...

Well, I don't remember much, so...

But anyway, here I am.

Keep coming back.

It works if you work it.

Thank you for sharing, Diane.

I'm Doug, and I'm an alcoholic.

Hi, Doug.

One of the things I do for a living is count.

I count votes.

Yeas, nays, neutrals, abstaining.

And I'm good at it.

But the most important count I do has nothing to do with work.

It's the number of days since April 4, 1999.

As of this morning, that's 5,185.

The bigger that number gets, the more it frightens me,

because I know all it takes is one drink to go back to zero.

Most people see fear as a weakness.

It can be.

Sometimes for my job, I have to put fear in other people.

I know that's not right.

But if I'm honest, like the fourth step asks us to be,

I have to be ruthless,

because failure is not an option.

The same goes for my sobriety.

I have to be ruthless with myself.

I have to use my fear.

It makes me stronger.

Like everyone in this room, I can't control who I am.

But I can control the zero.

f*ck the zero.

Thanks for sharing. It works if you work it.

Who would like to share next?

Was he at the meeting? He was.

I tried to find him afterwards,

but he was gone before I could catch up with him.

Did he say anything? No.

He never shares. He looked preoccupied.

You think he'll show up at the house today?

I have no idea.

He's not answering my calls.

Mine neither. Anything else I need to know?

I hear silence. I don't like that sound.

Something came up. I'm handling it.

Something serious?

Serious but solvable.

Do I wanna know more?

I don't think you do. We'll be okay.

I might have to involve Nancy. I'm hoping I won't have to.

But if I do, she'll have no knowledge of anything damaging.

All right. Use your best judgment.

Of course, sir.

I've gotta go.

Miss Gallagher?

Can the Congressman have a moment?

Things are... They're complicated.

I realize that, but he truly needs you.

I don't know what I could say to him.

I think just showing up would do him a world of good.

Today is tough. The Speaker has a full schedule...

Look, I already spoke to Bob, and he said he'd be fine

if you took the rest of the day off.

In fact, he said it'd be fine if you wanted to take

the next six months off. What?

I want you to be deputy campaign manager.

You work under Nash Aarons.

No. I spent years being Peter's crutch. If you just want me there...

Well, of course we want you there to help, but not as a crutch.

Peter is a talented young man with a lot of potential.

He knows this,

but he needs to hear it from someone other than me.

Someone he truly cares about.

I'm sorry. This is just a lot right now.

Well, you don't have to make a decision now,

but at least talk to Peter.

I mean, there's no harm in that, now, is there?

10 grand.

We divert it from your campaign accounts.

We itemize it so it looks like...

Wait.

You want me to pay for this?

Use Frank's re-election fund.

Commissioner, the majority of the money that you've raised

has come from people we've sent your way.

And you sent them because I sprung your boy, Russo, in the first place.

We're even. I don't owe you sh*t.

There's a girl in trouble. Let's help her out.

Not my problem.

It could be.

We put her back on the streets,

there's no telling what she could do.

I'm a hell of a lot more afraid of the U.S. Attorney

than I am of some hooker.

This is a very inexpensive insurance policy.

I already broke the law once, Doug.

There's no f*cking way I'm gonna mess

with campaign finance regulations.

I don't even wanna be hearing this sh*t.

Funeral for the former ambassador of Japan tomorrow at 9:30,

followed by a luncheon with the National Board of Directors

for the Girl Scouts of America.

Mr. President. Jim.

After that, you've got a meet and greet with the finalist...

I'll catch up with you in a minute.

This way, sir.

Hi.

Hey.

What are you doing here?

The Congressman wanted me to come over.

Why?

He wants me to work for your campaign.

Deputy manager. Frank!

He said you're having some doubts.

I was just about to tell him that I decided not to run.

Okay. If you've made up your mind,

then I should probably get going.

Did he tell you about the whole plan? About coming clean?

Yeah, he did.

I have Kevin and Sarah to think about.

Everyone has a past. Not like mine.

You don't know half the things I've done, Christina.

My kids read. Their friends read. I can't take that chance.

Look, if you don't want to run, then you shouldn't.

I do wanna run. I wouldn't have

let it go this far if I didn't want it.

Then maybe it's a good thing,

confronting your past, even for your kids.

They're a lot stronger than you give them credit for.

Look, if Underwood, if the DNC,

if they all think you can do it, then...

I don't care what they think. I care what you think.

I think you'd be great.

So, she really wants this?

That's the impression I got.

What about ego? I don't need to be dealing with a diva.

She's not a diva,

she's an award-winning journalist with 15 years experience.

You told me she treated you like sh*t.

There was some friction.

So why are you going to bat for her?

Don't we want to work with the best people?

Plus, it'd be big for the site.

The Herald's senior political writer?

Sure, but she's so old guard. Everything's by the book.

There's no bite to it.

She told me about a profile she's working on.

It's got serious bite.

What is it?

She can tell you herself. You should talk to her.

Here's the deal.

My children stay out of the limelight.

No photo ops, no press.

We wouldn't dream of it.

Okay.

Let's do this.

No.

Where you from?

Outside of Lynchburg.

Virginia?

Yeah.

Are your parents still living there? No. I can't.

If I find a place for you to stay for a while,

can I count on you to be smart?

What kind of place? A nice place.

A safe place until we can figure out something permanent.

But I need to know that you won't pull anything like this again.

Promise me.

I promise.

Look at me when you say it.

I promise you.

How you doing on money?

I don't have enough for tomorrow.

What are you doing?

I thought you wanted me to...

You said you were done with that.

I'll be in touch.

If you own up to some of the shenanigans,

sweep the rest under the rug, you might have a sh*t.

How much do we have to sweep under?

Well, that kid had a talent for covering his tracks.

I've highlighted all the items I think you should admit to.

The rest I wouldn't mention.

It's a lot not to talk about.

I need your help with something. Right now?

Yes. Is it important?

Because you told me I could leave early this weekend

to go visit my daughter down in Virginia.

You have a guest room in your house, right?

Well, it's Mary's old room, but, yes.

I need you to put someone up for a while. A young woman.

What? Who?

Her name is Rachel.

I can't tell you anymore than that.

I don't understand. Why do you need...

No questions, Nancy. I just need you to do this for me.

I wouldn't be asking if it weren't serious.

Put up for how long?

I don't know. It could be a while.

I'm supposed to put up a complete stranger and not ask any questions?

Nancy, please. You're the only person I can trust.

Is something illegal going on?

No. She's just a girl in trouble who needs a place to stay.

We have to be discreet.

Can I at least meet her first?

I need to know now.

Okay, I guess.

Thank you.

There's no catch, Larry.

Your district gets over $20 million if the numbers hold.

And most of the money is earmarked

for economic development, not research.

That's great, but I need more than your support.

I need you to be a sponsor.

Fantastic, Larry.

Great. I'll put you down.

You too. Bye.

So that just leaves Clayburn and Price?

With Jennings on the fence.

And I know Roger. I'll call him.

And I'll track down these other two over the weekend.

Really good work today, Peter.

Do you know where I put my purse?

It's right here.

Did you make those? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry.

This? I've been fooling around with it a little bit.

Can I see?

Sarah learned how to make these birds in her art class.

Then she taught it to Kevin, and they got obsessed,

and there were little pieces of paper all over the apartment.

Do you wanna take them for the kids?

No. I can't.

Please. I'll just throw them out eventually.

Thank you. They'll love them.

So you should bring the kids by the house sometime so I can meet them.

Kevin and Frank can play the video games.

He told you that?

I was a little surprised, I have to admit.

If anybody knew he came home every day to...

It's embarrassing.

There's worse secrets to have.

Yeah, there are, I suppose.

I'll call you Monday after I talk to Clayburn and Price.

Okay, great. Have a good weekend, Peter.

You too.

I had Linda talk to the Vice President.

He'll keep his nose out of it.

I appreciate that.

He's a good man, but this is a very delicate moment in the campaign.

He starts spreading doubts, and...

He's a pain in the ass.

We all know it. You don't have to mince words, Frank.

I have to say, sir, the Vice President has a point.

I'm not 100% sold on Russo.

Do we really wanna go with someone this untested?

Frank?

We're grooming him, sir.

When do you announce? Next month.

That's not enough time.

What do you see in him?

I was wondering the same thing. There's not that much to see.

What I see is a recovering alcoholic with a history of drug abuse.

What? Excuse me, Frank?

But he's clean now. Has been for a year.

This is a redemption story, Mr. President.

This is a bright young man who's put his life back on track.

Now he wants to help put Pennsylvania back on track.

dr*gs, Frank?

People love an underdog, Linda,

and people love someone who stands up after they've fallen.

Combine those two, it's a very powerful narrative.

All of our polling indicates this is gonna work.

You want us to endorse someone with a history of substance abuse?

Let us get his story out there and watch it connect with the voters.

All I care about is a win, Frank.

And I believe Russo is our best chance.

This is not a Hail Mary, Mr. President,

this is a well-thought-out game plan.

Mr. President...

I realize that I sometimes think out of the box,

but the last time I did, we signed an education bill.

All right. We won't stand in your way.

But if it backfires, Frank...

I'll guide Peter every step along the way.

We will not disappoint you, Mr. President.

Okay.

Thank you, sir.

Linda.

I didn't plan on telling them so much so soon,

but if I didn't, Linda would've swayed him.

There's no better way to overpower a trickle of doubt

than with a flood of naked truth.

This is why the Education Bill was so important.

It bought me influence precisely when I needed it most.

How long have you been drinking?

A long time. Since I was a kid.

How old were you when you had your first drink?

Nine.

Nine years old? Yeah.

My dad gave me a beer for my ninth birthday.

When did you first start using dr*gs?

I won't go into too many specifics

other than to say I had a few minor brushes

with marijuana and cocaine in the past but not recently,

and only a handful of times.

No other dr*gs besides marijuana and cocaine?

No.

Under what circumstances?

Occasional social gatherings. That's the most I'll say.

Ever while you were in public office?

No. Never. My chief problem was alcohol.

And you've been sober how long now?

A little over a year.

And what made you want to get sober?

Two things.

My children, whom I love more than anything else in the world,

and my renewed faith in God.

Zoe.

Lucas.

I was just in the neighborhood, and I thought...

No. That's a lie. I was at the bar around the corner.

The one with the...

And I remembered that time that I dropped you off after work.

I knew it was...

This block.

And I buzzed, and then I waited...

You're wasted.

I'm pretty wasted.

Do you wanna know a deep, dark secret?

Now we don't work together...

Anymore.

Lucas...

I'm really flattered.

But I'm just not in a place

where I'm even thinking romantically right now.

I'm sorry.

I...

Yeah.

Hey, hey!

You want me to pull up now, sir?

I still have my key.

I'll be in the kitchen if you need anything.

Thank you.

Hey, I got us wine, but I can't find a corkscrew anywhere.

Give it to me.

I need a pen.

The pen the President gave you?

That'll work.

Did you talk to Ms. Skorsky?

I did. She said it was intense.

I think Carly's gonna offer her a job at Slugline.

Was that your doing?

Janine expressed interest.

I took the next step.

Well done. Always good to be owed favors.

I was wondering. Do you ever think about my age?

No. Does my age bother you?

You must have other lovers, men that are younger than me.

No. Not that I would mind.

I am married, after all.

I don't have time for other lovers.

Hmm.

sh*t.

It's turned. Give me that.

You could've just stepped on it.

I have asked the super to get an exterminator in here,

and he won't do it.

So any time I see a cockroach, or a spider, or whatever,

I try and trap it, and then I leave it by his door.

You really ought to get your parents to let you borrow some money.

Then you wouldn't have to live in the third world.

I would never take money from them.

Because they don't have it, or because you don't want it?

Because I don't want it.

It's Father's Day, you know.

It is?

You should call your father.

I'll call him tomorrow.

Tomorrow you'll be the daughter that forgot Father's Day

instead of the one who remembered.

Go ahead. Call him.

Hey, Dad. Sorry it's so late.

'Cause you weren't home the last time I called her.

There's so little she'll ever reveal to me or I to her.

I bet her father knows even less.

I'm sure she's speaking half an octave higher.

Same voice she had when she was 16.

Telling him all about her new job, how much she misses him,

and sorry she didn't send a card.

Telling him everything but the truth.

Just like she wouldn't tell me about that young man downstairs.

I'm calling now, all right?

You're gonna make me feel bad about it.

It was the best thing that could've happened.

I didn't fit in there.

I've been called worse, Dad.

There's a value in having secrets.

Creatures like myself, like Claire, like Zoe,

we wouldn't be ourselves without them.

But Peter Russo, on the other hand, he's trapped by his secrets.

What I'm trying to do is give him the opportunity

to set himself free.

I don't know.

I don't know yet.

After all, we are nothing more or less than what we choose to reveal.

What I am to Claire is not what I am to Zoe,

just as Zoe is not to me what she is to her father.

Probably Thanksgiving.

'Cause I don't think I can make it back before then.

Okay. I'll try.

I said I'll try.

For Christmas?

No.

Uh-uh.

No. I'm not seeing anyone right now.

I don't feel like it.

Because I'm not interested in that.

I would tell you, Dad.

Uh-huh.

Yeah.

Okay.

Don't be worried about me. I'm fine.

Yeah.

Dad, I'm in...

I'm in a really great place right now.

I'm gonna try.

I'm gonna try to come, okay?

Happy Father's Day.

Aren't you gonna wish me a happy Father's Day?

You don't have any children.

Don't I?