01x02 - Welcome to Paniquil

[bunniefuu]

I'm never gonna get over that jachnun.

I think you're never gonna

digest that jachnun.

- Oh, I'll digest it.

- Really?

- I'll digest it all day long.

- It's primarily bread.

No, it took me

to this moment where, like

The cursing started like this.

- I can't even digest bread.

- Not, like, regular bread.

Yeah, sure. I got you.

Huh?

I didn't get a word she said.

sh*t.

What did she say?

She just cursed my unborn daughter.

I don't have any more cash.

I don't know if you guys have anything.

Really?

Just to make it stop.

Just to make it stop.

- Okay.

- Okay, I have, like, some.

I have a few. I have a few.

They Sorry about him.

So, here, we have

Yeah, get it in there. Thank you. Sorry.

That doesn't sound

That's not, like, a blessing.

No, it's not a good one.

Okay.

- Did she say gonorrhea?

- Yeah.

Did you say gonorrhea?

Listen, let's go. I'm scared of her.

You shouldn't say that to people.

That's

- You can leave.

- I'm part of the group.

- So if the group

- Just do it then and let's go.

- Yeah, sorry.

- Can we please go?

Yeah, here you go.

I'm sorry about that. Is that

She told him that he would

heal the world with his kindness,

that he was destined

for a righteous path,

that his future was assured,

that nothing bad would happen to him.

Can you

Of course I can hear you,

you're yelling.

Yes. No.

No, Hannah,

Mona cannot take you to the Hamptons.

She's supposed

to be on vacation in the first place.

Can you please

just give her back her phone?

Yeah, so I can talk to her.

That's right.

I'm so sorry, Mona.

No, this is so nice of you.

And yeah, but your son doesn't arrive

until tonight, right?

Yeah, I so appreciate this, really. I

know, you're a real lifesaver. Okay.

Monday had come and still,

there was nothing from Rachel.

I know that you think my job

is a hobby, but I have real obligations.

And the kids were expecting

to go to the Hamptons with you

and this was Mona's one week off.

This was not the life that

the beggar woman had promised him.

So we need to redo

the sonogram on Mrs. Chamonix.

What is the most common liver condition

associated with Crohn's?

Dr. Bartuck wants to see you

when you have a chance.

Yeah, sure, sure.

Ah, Dr. Fleishman.

Dr. Bartuck, Ida said you wanted a word.

Have a seat.

So

Yes.

I wanted you to hear it from me.

I'm taking over. Chief of Medicine.

Wow. Congratulations. That's just great.

And Janice has taken over the division.

Which means she needs to replace herself

for the subdivision.

I'd like it to go to you.

Well, I don't know what to say.

Um, thank you.

Well, you're good with patients.

You're precise. You care.

Now, it's not a lock.

Janice has her own process,

but you're the favorite.

It's yours to lose.

A promotion. See that, Rachel?

Toby thought back

to when he was a fellow

and when Bartuck

was an actual practicing doctor

before he began

his dubious ascent to fundraising.

Wait, wait, wait, what did she say?

"My father is sick

with a lot of things."

Right, right, right. "My father is"

sick with a lot of things, Dr. Bartuck",

"but uterine cancer isn't one of them."

That year, Dr. Liu, the head

of the gastroenterology division,

found himself in the hospital

as a patient

with an aggressive, relentless case

of pancreatic cancer.

Then, finally, just a month later,

it was time.

We'll go.

No, stay.

You're as big a part of his life

as I was.

That's so sad.

I know. What I keep

thinking about is just, like,

the privilege of having known him,

you know, I mean, to know them

and to be a part of it,

like, to be there, you know?

It's pretty amazing you were in the room

though. I mean, that

- Yeah.

- That means you're in, Toby.

Is that what they say in the mailroom

when you get to watch

a senior agent die?

- No, that's not what I mean.

- No, I know what you mean.

I don't think you know what I mean.

I mean that I think

doing this is its own reward.

You're getting into bed?

I have to return a thousand emails.

Okay.

Then two years ago,

the Fleishmans

were invited for New Year's

to the second home of Miriam

and Sam Rothberg in Saratoga.

If you have four houses,

how do you decide

which to call your second one?

Well, it's the one you bought second.

Makes sense.

Welcome, Fleishmans.

Look at this place. It's amazing.

Welcome to Paniquil.

Paniquil? So you named

this after an antidepressant

that doesn't interfere

with sexual arousal?

No, no, no, I named it after

an antidepressant that doesn't interfere

- with sexual arousal that made me rich.

- Oh, wow.

- Let me show you around.

- Oh, yeah. Okay.

Come on.

- You taste that?

- Yeah, I tasted it.

It's, you know, it's very

Yeah, I taste it.

You still at the hospital?

Well, you know,

people are still getting sick, so

Yeah, we're looking for someone

to head up a new

division around marijuana.

Sorry, Fenton is getting into marijuana?

Oh, Lord. No, no,

we're looking for somebody

to help lead a new division

dedicated to debunking myths

- about alternative therapies, you know.

- I see.

A lot of misinformation out there,

as I'm sure you know.

Well, I don't know. I mean, I've seen

a lot of cancer patients benefit from

Don't, don't, don't, don't tell me

you're a acupuncture guy.

No, no. Well, I mean, it's not a cure,

but it actually does provide

pain relief, absolutely, yeah.

Well, you know, you'd be heading up

a big division

bringing in a mil before bonuses.

You'd be managing your own team,

great hours, the works.

I don't know. I think I do my best

with patient interface, I think.

Yeah, thank you.

Rachel said you'd resist.

Yeah?

Did I mention the house in Vail,

director-level gets a key.

What's wrong? Why don't you ask Sam

with whom you colluded and orchestrated?

Colluded? It's a job offer, Toby.

It's an opportunity.

At the very least,

always take the meeting, right?

It's the opposite

of an opportunity, okay?

It's the antithesis of what I do.

He wants me to head up a division

that encourages

the deprivation of legitimate avenues

of pain relief for sick patients.

I want you to feel rewarded.

You should get a break from the grind.

But it is not a grind, okay?

Do you understand how hurtful it is

that this is what's important to you?

You're screaming.

I did not become a doctor

to get rich, okay?

I did it to live a meaningful life.

Yeah. Well, I would like

to own an apartment someday.

Excuse me.

I make almost $300,000 a year.

I'm a rich man in every single culture

except the 40 stupid square blocks

that you insist we live within.

You act like

you need to work all the time

because I'm some bum on the couch.

If you had a job where people

counted on you for their livelihood,

- maybe you would get it.

- Okay.

Are you serious?

Dad?

Dad?

I don't know why

we still have these conversations.

- I never misrepresented myself.

- Neither did I.

Okay.

Immediately following that weekend,

Rachel began to look at nicer apartments

without even talking to him.

Sam knows the builder.

They don't have

their certificate of occupancy,

so they can't really show it yet,

so early access.

I guess it's really who you know, huh?

Exactly.

They're calling it "The Golden."

Wow, The Golden, just in case

you missed any of the subtext.

It's the original molding.

Yeah, it's new construction.

The whole thing's original.

Well, I like it.

Oh, really? Come on. It's like

everything I hate about New York City,

like new money imitating old money.

Come on, The Golden.

Yeah, you said that.

Well, yeah.

Sam says we can make an offer now

before they put it on the market.

We'll finally have a place.

We'll live here forever

and our children will visit us

when they're married and have children.

You act like you need me to say yes,

but you already made a decision.

And that was that.

And now look at him, a promotion.

Not for leveraging or subverting.

Not for disrupting.

Just for being devoted

to what he did and being good at it.

"See, Rachel," he wanted to tell her,

"Success can build. You don't

have to lunge for it, like an animal."

Mona. Hi. I'm so sorry. I really thought

she would be back by now.

You didn't happen to make dinner,

did you?

- I'm gonna go be with my son.

- Okay. Thanks for everything.

I really do appreciate it. Okay.

Hey, kids. I'm back.

I'm gonna make some dinner, okay?

But he was annoyed. Lord

knows Rachel came home late all the time

and didn't get that

kind of attitude from Mona.

- Is Mom here?

- Hey.

We're supposed to be there by dinner.

I'm supposed to have dinner with Lexi.

Yes. Sorry, honey. Mom's delayed.

She should be back by tonight,

tomorrow at the latest.

God, why is it so hot in here?

No. She promised me

dinner in the Hamptons.

Yeah, well, Mom's delayed, okay?

She's always delayed.

God. Is the air-conditioning on?

Did it break or something?

I'm gonna find a recipe.

You don't worry.

Last year, she had to go to Italy

because she was on tour with Alejandra,

and this year she promised

we'd have a whole week together.

You know what? You're not wrong.

You deserve a summer.

Everybody is getting together

without me.

Don't you understand that?

You know, guys,

I had some great news today.

Oh, sweet Jesus.

- Squeeze more.

- Harder!

- That's so hot!

- My p*ssy is so wet.

- No, nope, nope. Stop.

- Are you hard yet?

Okay.

Oh, my God.

Toby briefly entertained

the idea that it was Mona.

That in her anger, she sat down

and treated herself

to a big old afternoon of Internet p*rn.

But the theory fell apart

when he realized

that Mona probably knew

how to spell "vag*na."

Kids? Kids?

Is Mom here?

Let me have a word with Solly.

I didn't do it.

Solly.

I don't know why those things came up,

they just came up.

All right.

Here, it's okay.

Come, sit down for a minute.

Listen, there's nothing to be ashamed of

or afraid of.

Are you curious about girls?

I just wanted to know

what it looks like underneath.

Yeah, no, I understand.

Should I maybe get,

get you a book for kids,

- like maybe with the pictures or

- No!

- No?

- I don't wanna see it ever again.

Yeah, no, that makes perfect sense,

of course not.

- Of course not. Okay. It's okay, buddy.

- It's not okay. I hate it.

I know. I know. Listen, um

I just want you to know that

that's not really what it's like, okay?

That's like someone's fantasy

of what people might want.

That's not what it's really like

for two people to have sex, okay?

- Don't say that word!

- Yeah, okay. I won't say it. I won't.

Is that Mom?

- Don't tell her.

- No, no, I won't. I won't.

It was Rachel. He was sure of it.

Some beam of nuclear energy

had reached her

and activated her remaining shreds

of maternal instinct.

Just thinking about you, stud.

Poison emoji, finger g*n emoji,

hang ten emoji.

It's the hospital.

Growing up was disgusting.

Literally. It was filled with all

these horrible moments of revulsion.

You okay, buddy?

I'm gonna watch Karate Kid. Can I go?

Of course. Yeah, of course.

My nine-year-old watched p*rn

on the computer

for hours in front of you today.

We will no longer

be requiring your services.

Good luck to you.

Holy sh*t!

What had he done?

Toby spent all night in vain

trying to figure out

how to take back his text to Mona.

Holy sh*t.

He'd fired the most stable presence

his children had in their lives.

No, I know, Simone. Can you please

just tell me when she's getting back?

Okay. Well, she went

to Everglade, right?

Well, can you tell me how long it goes?

Can you tell me that? No. Stop that.

Stop it. No, not you, sorry.

Yeah, I know. No, can you tell me,

if she's still there?

Can you tell me anything? No? Okay.

Great. Yeah, I know.

Can we just wait at home for Mommy

to take us to the Hamptons?

I wish. I just don't know

when she's getting back yet.

Why would you wanna leave here?

You know, it's weird.

Everybody wants to leave the city

when it gets hot.

But that's actually a mistake.

Nothing beats summer in the city.

Everything gets so green.

Everyone gathers.

It smells like garbage.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

You used to love coming in with me.

Yeah, when I was a baby.

I know. I'll make it up to you, okay?

Can we go to the park?

We can find the churros guys.

You know what? That sounds like fun and

I'm sure Mom will be back by tonight.

You said that last night.

I know. Be good.

The time will go by fast, okay?

But it didn't.

How it broke his heart.

How Toby had always loved summer.

Hello. It is a beautiful day

here at Everglade,

an exclusive wellness retreat located in

the splendor of the Catskill Mountains.

This is Sage,

how can I help facilitate your inquiry?

Yeah, sorry. Hi. Sorry to interrupt,

but I'm at my job.

Can you please tell me

if Rachel Fleishman is still checked in?

- I'm so sorry. I can't

- Yeah.

talk about a guest's status.

No, I just need to know if she's there.

Sorry, I'm her husband,

I just have a message to get to her.

Can you pass on a message for her?

I'm sorry, sir.

I can't reveal the status of our guests.

I don't need to know her status,

just if she's there.

- I'm sorry, sir.

- I'm sorry. Yeah.

- I can't reveal the status

- Okay.

- of our guests.

- All right, I'm sorry to disturb you.

Okay.

Hey, just please. I'm not mad.

I'm a real person.

I exist even when you can't see me.

Can I get an ETA, Rachel?

Division head.

You must be so proud, Janice.

It'll be a challenge, I know.

I think of all the things

I'll have to do

- now that I'm not seeing patients.

- Like fundraising.

Don't knock fundraising, you and I

don't have jobs without it.

I don't know. I think

I would just miss my patients.

Advancing sometimes means

missing a thing you loved.

I think I'm gonna

love this, too, though.

Hey, aren't those your kids?

Paging Dr. Wong. Dr. Wong.

Uh, I have an endoscopy.

His kids deserved

a better summer than this.

They all deserved better than this.

Hey, do you have a second?

I need a personal day or two.

Well, two. Two.

Everything all right?

Yeah, well, Rachel,

she's on an extended trip,

it couldn't be avoided,

and my babysitter is on vacation.

Holy sh*t. He'd fired Mona.

It's not ideal. I told David Cooper

he was getting the best.

Yes, and I will be right in

if I'm needed.

I will check in on the hour.

I gave Mr. Cooper my cell.

The fellows know he's a priority.

All right, two days. But you check in.

Okay. Thank you.

- Anyone here wanna go to the Hamptons?

- Yes, yes!

Okay. Are you kids ready?

Does Mom even know you have her car?

Yeah, I said, "Are you ready?"

All right.

Are you gonna get your own car?

Can you even afford one?

What Yes, I can afford a car.

You do understand I'm a doctor

and not like a homeless person, right?

- Dad.

- What?

You can't say homeless person.

- Hey, Dad?

- Mmm-hmm?

What's the block universe?

Oh, um

It's a theory.

It's this idea that, like,

all of life is happening

at the same time.

Like, all points of existence are,

I don't know, occurring simultaneously.

Just try to breathe through it, okay?

Oh, bub, I'm sorry.

Does he have to throw up?

- My stomach hurts.

- I know.

So, it means that like

like your past and present

and future.

- Wash the spider out

- Spider out.

are all happening, like, all at once.

Round and round, round and round

Round and round

The wheels on the bus go

round and round all

I spy with my little eye,

something that's blue.

Big part of my life. Have a weekend

to myself or even just a car ride.

Jesus, me having to sit here

with my hands in my lap,

to do some public display of not working

for your satisfaction.

Look, if I got this done,

I could finally relax,

just not on your schedule.

Suddenly, it's my schedule

that's the problem.

Okay, got it. Sorry.

I didn't know you what you meant.

- All at once? That's so busy.

- Mmm-hmm.

I mean, you only have to worry

about you right now though.

What if I'm sitting on myself

from the last time we were here?

Yeah, you know,

it's just a theory, okay?

It was best not to

think about the block universe.

Toby didn't wanna think about

any theory of life

in which the thing you were dealing with

wasn't absolute reality.

He couldn't bear the scope of regret

and missed chances

and alternate choices.

He didn't wanna

think about possibility anymore.

Possibility was a trap.

Does anybody wanna get some food?

You know what else is a trap?

The Hamptons.

You know, kids, it's nice that

you have a house in the Hamptons, okay?

It actually is really nice that you can

get used to this,

but it's also important

to think about economic disparity.

It's important that privileged kids

like you think a little bit about that,

you know. I mean, look at these houses.

You think inside these houses

are people that have been rewarded

for their great acts of kindness

and good works?

No, no, no.

Inside these houses are pirates.

- Pirates?

- Yeah. I mean, a kind of pirate,

the kind of pirate that takes and takes

even though he has enough, you know?

Listen, you guys are gonna grow up

and do great things in your life,

but you have to understand

there's such a thing as, as enough.

- Okay.

- Whatever, Dad.

Okay.

Look at that sunset.

It's so pretty, isn't it?

You know, we have to remember sunsets

are also problematic, you know,

because they're only for the wealthy.

In cities, there are tall buildings,

so you can't see it.

Gotta come to a place like this

just to catch a glimpse

of what should be one of the true

free pleasures in life, you know?

- Okay. Great. Can I just have the keys?

- Yeah.

He hated this place.

- I get the big room.

- No, you don't. You had it last time.

- I want it.

- It's my turn.

No, it's not.

Absolutely hated it.

Hated its beautiful views,

hated waking up to the salt air,

hated the bed that cradled him

like it was his mother.

Something, something economic disparity,

something, something

wealth distribution.

- Good night, Sol.

- Good night, Dad.

But however much he didn't like

the house when it was his,

boy, did he extra not like it

now that it wasn't.

He was last there in winter.

They'd come out

for the Leffer's anniversary party.

He'd been asking

for a divorce for months by then.

And each time he brought it up,

she'd get crazy.

But it was quiet there the way

it never was in the summer

and something had changed in her.

I think we should get a divorce.

Right then, he was filled

with an aching love for her

that he hadn't experienced in some time.

It's gonna be okay.

Well done. I got to go.

Okay. Bye.

Okay, well, call me

when you wanna be picked up, okay?

How can I? I have no phone.

All right. I'm sure you'll find a way.

There you go.

This will barely buy me water.

- All right. Here's 20.

- Okay. Bye.

Have a good time.

Bye, Hannah.

- Hey, Lexi.

- Hey, Hannah.

Hi.

Wait, Hannah.

This is really a cool song.

Who is she talking to?

I don't know, Sol.

Hot enough for you?

Nice to see you, Roxanne.

Roxanne Hertz spoke

in a Groucho Marx voice

when she was saying

anything uncomfortable or critical,

or even mildly controversial.

Can you believe he is the nominee?

It's hilarious.

Well, at least she'll win, right?

Well, I don't know that she'll win.

I don't like her that much,

but at least with him,

we can keep our money, you know?

Also, her voice. Drives Rich crazy.

Anyway, I was thinking that I could pick

the girls up and take them to dinner.

Yeah. You know what, Hannah would

probably prefer that

to having dinner with me. So

- Oh, Solly.

- Yeah?

Solly, do you wanna go play with Max?

He's in the car.

Uh

- Do you want to, buddy?

- Of course he does.

- Does he?

- Yeah.

Okay.

- I'll pick you up for dinner, okay?

- Okay.

Oh, let them stay.

Hannah can call you when we're done.

Actually, you know what? Do you mind?

She doesn't have a phone yet.

- Still?

- Yeah.

Toby, get that girl a phone.

Oh, you are looking so well, Toby.

You know, I keep meaning to tell you,

we are your friend, too.

And, yeah I'm idling.

Okay. Got to go.

Toby was unsettled by the fact

that Roxanne Hertz didn't blink

when she saw that Toby was the one

with the kids and not Rachel.

Bye. Bye, Toby!

Had she heard from Rachel?

Did she know something he didn't?

I'm beginning to think like maybe

I'm the only who doesn't know, right?

- Well, did she say anything?

- Arm circle.

No, no, that's just it.

That's what's so weird.

No, I think she probably just

assumed there was a good reason,

like she did the math.

The woman who said this to me

was not the smartest person.

On six, seven, eight.

Okay. I have to go. But if this were

a story, I would follow the money.

What does that mean?

Is that something people really say?

I mean, you had

bank accounts together, right?

So just see where she's spending

her money, right?

Okay. I have to go, Toby.

- Okay. Okay. Bye.

- All right. Bye.

Hello?

Hello?

Who is that?

Uh Um

This is my house. Who, who are you?

Mrs. Fleishman didn't mention a visitor.

Sorry. I'm sorry, who are you?

I look in on the place.

Oh.

No, it's fine. I'm her husband,

I promise. This is all fine.

- Okay.

- Yeah. Okay.

I'll come back?

Yeah. We'll be out by

the weekend. Thanks.

Great.

Okay. Thank you.

Fine. He would follow the money.

Three months before,

he'd divested of their shared accounts,

handing them over to Rachel.

The mediator told her to change

their shared passwords,

that it was an important part

of moving on.

Toby couldn't believe

she'd actually done it.

Sweet Jesus. Is the sun broken?

His phone passcode

was still their anniversary

and her password was what?

Something he couldn't even

begin to imagine.

Copy that. Over.

That's him.

And with that, it was time to

leave the house, into which he was,

he was learning,

technically breaking and entering.

Sorry. Yeah. Okay.

Bye, Toby.

Bye. Thank you for having them.

- Bye.

- Bye, Fleishmans.

Thanks a lot.

They were about to take us out

to dinner. It's so unfair.

Yeah, I have a patient I need to see.

Get in the car. Come on.

He didn't belong here.

She had moved on.

And he was still using the pool like

a houseguest who wouldn't go home.

Well, g*dd*mn, if Rachel can move on,

so could he.

Who wants to go to EJ's?

Breakfast for dinner!

All right.

I have to do one errand first.

Toby was going to take control.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Oh, boy. I can see it. I can see it.

It was halfway up your throat.

I'm trying to drink.

On the wind of this triumph,

he decided to solve his bigger problem.

Hey, Hannah.

How psyched are you for camp?

Boy, am I jealous. You know,

I met all of my best friends at camp.

You know Seth? He and I met at camp.

Do you think we can make this have

a six-foot diameter, or is that too big?

Yeah, six feet.

Yeah, it might be a little too big,

especially in this tiny apartment.

You know, that's where

I first learned about astronomy

because they have these,

like, amazing telescopes at camp.

Yeah, they don't have all those

city lights to obstruct the stars.

Actually, you, you might like that.

Nope. Remember, I'm not a camp kid.

Yeah, he's not a camp kid, Rachel.

Who is? You're a camp kid

because your parents send you to camp.

All his friends started last year.

No, he doesn't have any friends.

That's because he doesn't go to camp.

- Well

- If he doesn't go now,

he'll be too freaked out to go later.

Wait. He wanted to go to that,

that ice skating camp

in Queens, remember?

Who's he gonna meet

at an ice skating camp?

I don't know. Not everybody goes to camp

for, like,

networking opportunities, Rachel.

Why doesn't he wanna do something

more appropriate, like tennis?

Wait. Is that it? You're really just,

like, concerned about his masculinity?

No, can't we cultivate

something more practical?

Like, he's not gonna grow up

to be an ice skater.

And we should be concerned

that he doesn't wanna leave home.

Why are you, like, so eager

to get rid of them?

Didn't, like, didn't we want them?

They're gonna be gone soon enough.

No, I'm not paying for ice skating camp.

Okay. There it is.

Honesty, finally. It's your money.

What? No. That's not what I said at all.

It went on like that.

He tore through her for her lack

of participation in the kids' lives.

She went straight for his masculinity

like it was an artery.

that's how you're thinking?

Thank you. I knew you'd find a way

to turn it back to me.

No, actually,

I'm just asking a question, Toby.

It's an honest question.

Can I get Instagram? Everyone has it.

No, we've answered this before.

No social media until you're 13.

- Everyone.

- You don't even have a phone.

It's not good for kids and anxiety.

Your brain is still developing.

Your dad and I will talk about it.

Excuse me.

We've already talked about it, okay?

How about my anxiety that everybody

is always on it and leaving me out?

- She has a point.

- Yeah?

You're an animal.

Toby wasn't always proud of everything

that went down

at the end of his marriage.

But he was now beginning to see camp

for what it was.

Not a w*apon in his cold w*r

with Rachel, but a solution.

Hey. Sol, I need to talk to you, buddy.

- Am I in trouble?

- No, no, of course not. No.

Um, I just

I need you to think about going to camp.

But I'm not a camp kid. We, we

Yeah, yeah.

The thing is, Mom is away for a while

and I have to work, okay?

That's just, like, what's going on.

Your options are sitting

in the conference room at the hospital

or spending time at aftercare at the Y,

and I just

I just want a better summer for you. I

mean, you deserve a better summer.

What about if I hate it?

Well, then, I'll come pick you up,

but I don't think you're gonna hate it.

What about my project?

Look, your project,

we'll have plenty of time

to do your project

when you get back home.

Can I think about it?

I think what I'm saying is that, um,

you're going, but you're gonna be fine.

I would not put you anywhere

that is bad or dangerous, okay?

Come here, buddy.

He sent the kids to bed

and kept the date he'd had with Nahid,

the woman he had been communicating

with on his app for several weeks.

According to Seth, the hotter it gets

before you real-life meet a woman

from a dating app,

the more it predicts

you'll never actually meet.

The human confines of shame

can't withstand it.

And surely, it had gotten hot

with Nahid. And weird.

Okay. I'm a super but the payment

I demand for changing a light bulb

is for you to go down on me

until I'm done,

but now, my kids

are b*ating down the door

and I scream, "I'm coming. I'm coming!"

You're a fighter pilot

who is too horny to fight

so you have me sit on your cock

while you fight Russian bogeys.

I'm a space alien dressed

as a window washer

who is doing your windows when you say

I can't come in unless

I write your name on the window,

but I don't have a writing implement

except for my space penis.

As a scientist, Toby could not dismiss

the possibility that Nahid

was too good to be true.

Whoa!

But scientists must always

see their experiments through,

no matter how much the forecast calls

for spectacular failure.

Hi.

Hi.

Yeah. Thanks.

Toby always loved summer.

Hey, what's going on?

Did something happen?

Is Mom dead?

Oh, my God. Of course not.

Why? Why? What, what happened?

I tried to call her.

Yeah. Well, maybe

she doesn't have your number.

I texted her and I said it's Hannah.

Yeah, you know what?

I spoke to her a little while ago.

I think she's just really busy and

maybe, maybe she's just asleep now.

Come here, kiddo. It's okay.

It's okay, sweetheart.

You know, she'd be here right now

if she didn't hate you so much.

- See you later, champ.

- See you soon.

And then, it was a few days later,

and it occurred to Toby

that he was doing

exactly what Rachel would've done.

He was throwing money at the problem.

He was buying summer.

- Okay. Let's go.

- Wait, wait. No, no.

Wait a second. Wait a second.

Hey, I want you to know

that in the block universe,

you have been at camp,

having the most amazing summer

for all of time, okay?

- This is so stupid.

- And I want you

to know that also in the block universe,

you are already back at home with me

telling me about

your amazing adventures, okay?

I love you, Dad.

- Okay, chipmunks! Time to load up.

- I love you, too.

Okay. Listen, you let them know

if you need anything, okay?

I will think about you nonstop.

Hey, you stay.

I know you think you hate me,

but I also know that you don't.

I'm gonna miss you so much, okay?

They were gone now. Everyone was gone.

It was too much for him,

it was too awful.

But also, they were gone.

And they're off. You guys around?

He could have a second to think now.

He could pull himself together

and start to try to remember

what kind of life he was trying to build

before this all happened.

He could stop vamping

for his kids for a minute

and perhaps join the throngs of people

who met in twos and threes

with their friends in the park,

and drank rosé out of cans.

He was finally going to try a Negroni.

He was going to try

to have his summer, too.

Is it called a ladies' night?

No, it's not called a ladies' night,

it's called moms' night.

Yeah, like, moms' away.

I don't even know.

Why even have a moms' night, you

know? Why do we need a moms' night out?

- Isn't the actual problem

- Hey.

- Hey.

- Hey. Hi.

the existence of a moms' night out?

Like, how do we bear

to admit that we're in a cage?

We need to be liberated,

prowl the streets,

drinking Aperol spritzes

in our blouse and tops. God.

- You know the secret is?

- What's the secret?

The secret is nobody wants to be there.

We just wanna be left alone.

You know, like, "We wanna be left alone.

We don't need some organized activity."

"Just let me watch TV by myself."

But those women need to be

let out of the cage.

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

Maybe I'm just different than they are.

They need to prowl the streets

with their Aperol spritz.

You know what I mean?

Am I, like, speaking some unspoken truth

that we all share or am I really

just very different from them?

It's pretty intense.

It's a shame,

the thing that happens to women.

What's going on with you?

Oh, sorry.

I was so looking forward to coming here

and then

I just sent my kids off to camp

because I don't wanna tell them

that their mother

has decided that she needs yoga

more than she wants to be a mother.

Sorry, I'm distracted. Sorry.

Is she still gone?

Yeah. I mean, look, she does this, okay?

But, I'm starting to think that

it hasn't really

gone on this long, you know?

She normally, like, delights

in sending me eyeroll emojis

whenever I complain.

But this is, like, a whole new level,

just going dark.

Have you gone to the office

or the yoga place?

Have you called the yoga place

or her assistant?

I mean, I would march right in there.

I don't wanna have to call her

assistant, okay?

I want her to be normal.

And yes, I called

the assistant and of course

I called the yoga place, too.

Yeah. I got nothing.

Well

I think when you stop having sex

with somebody, all bets are off.

Well, actually,

we were still having sex.

- My man.

- What?

- My man.

- No, it's not like a

- My man.

- It's not like a happy thing.

- My man.

- Okay. Yeah.

It was weird. I would drop the kids off

and she would say

that she needs to talk to me

about something privately,

so we'd go into our bedroom

or her bedroom, I guess. I don't know.

And she wouldn't even

turn the lights on.

We would just, like, start.

- And then what happened?

- Don't.

You know how it works, right?

Yeah. And then, I don't know.

It was over and she would roll over

and pretend to fall asleep,

and I would just quietly leave.

It's weird. I don't mind it.

It's like a hundred little goodbyes.

I'm sorry. You know,

I thought it would be over

and I wouldn't think about her anymore,

but, like, my brain keeps

remembering everything, like,

trying to determine

if I could've seen this coming.

I literally

can't stop thinking about her.

You're not worried about her?

No, I mean, she does this.

- She does?

- Yeah, she does this,

like an extra three days

on a business trip where we wake up

and she's not there

and she works all day,

and we only see her the next morning.

Like, a million times, really.

A million times.

That, I actually do understand. I

used to really like being on a story

and, you know, staying an extra day.

Yeah, but now it's longer

than just an extra day or two.

Yeah. I've never heard of this

before. And I would always call, like

Right. You're a normal,

you know, person.

Thank you.

What if something had happened to you?

Well, yeah, exactly.

What if something has happened to her?

No. She's

What?

- Nothing. She

- What is it?

A few years back,

she went to some work thing.

She got home really late, like, at

3:00 a.m. And I had called her, okay?

And she didn't answer, as usual,

because that's just what she did

and I wasn't worried about her.

She never checked in

when she was running late.

I was always a second thought,

and this is while we were married.

Anyway, she stumbles in

and she's not drunk or anything,

and she, like, passes out on the couch,

and I realized, I mean,

she had been roofied.

- What?

- Yeah.

- No.

- Yeah.

No, I mean, no,

nothing had happened to her.

No, I think some employee of hers saw

that she was, like, a little out of it

and brought her home immediately. But

I keep remembering this,

like, terrible tiny moment

and I'm actually kind of like

ashamed to admit it but

But after I knew that she was safe, once

I knew that nothing worse had happened,

I felt like, just briefly,

like just for,

like, one second, though,

like, relieved,

you know, that she hadn't just

forgotten to, to call me, you know?

She hadn't just forgotten

that I existed.

She didn't forget to call home,

she couldn't.

You know, what a relief that this wasn't

just another time

where she was treating me like sh*t,

you know?

- Wow.

- Yeah. I mean, I'm not proud of this,

you know, but I keep thinking about it.

Yeah, but I mean, she does this, right?

I mean, she does this.

Unless what if something

happened to her?

Yeah. But no, nothing happened to

her. No, nothing happened to her. No.

Are you okay, Toby? Yeah?

Yeah, I'm fine. sh*t. Sorry. Sorry.

f*ck. Yeah, Dr. Fleishman.

Toby, I'm sorry to bother you,

but we, we have a 22-year-old

in fulminant liver failure.

- Yeah.

- We can't figure it out.

Okay. No, I'll be

sh*t, I'll be right in.

Sorry, I got to go. My fellows need me.

I have a young patient.

- Are you sure you're okay?

- Yeah, yeah.

Sorry, I just I got to go.

- Heads up! Sorry.

- Watch where you're going.

Suddenly, he saw danger everywhere.

Suddenly, he couldn't conceive

of the version of the person

he was even 10 minutes ago,

who hadn't thought to ask hard questions

about his ex-wife's disappearance.

He'd been so busy taking a tour

of the block universe of his marriage

that he'd forgotten to stay in the now,

where there was an emergency.

He wasn't okay, he was worried.

He suddenly felt very foolish for

not having thought through the fact

that yes, she was a terrible person,

but bad things

happen to terrible people, too.

- Hello.

- I'm so embarrassed.

It's an overdose.

We hadn't gotten back the acidity

Wait, wait. Sorry,

do you still need me to come in?

No, no, we're fine. I'm so sorry to

disturb you. I'm really embarrassed.

Okay. No. it's, it's okay.

Probably nothing was wrong,

probably she was fine

and just being

her normal inconsiderate self.

He needed to pull himself together.

He needed some citrus.

He needed some produce.

This was what summer wrought

heat and terror and rotting fruit.

Honestly, f*ck summer.

Summer was marketing, summer was a scam.

Simone. Yes, Simone.

Hi, it's Toby. I'm sorry.

Yeah, where, where is Rachel?

Okay. No, I know she has the week off.

Yeah, but you must have spoken to her.

Okay. Okay. No, that's fine.

I will try her there.

Hello. Will you look at that?

Two Fleishman sightings in one day.

I love a husband doing food shopping

in the middle of the day.

Toby, are you still into yoga?

Sam's getting into yoga.

Wait. Todd is gonna try it. He swears.

Well, he says after our Rome trip.

Did Hannah tell you we're going to Rome?

I swear. She and Lexi

Sorry, wait. Two Fleishman sightings.

The kids just went to camp.

We just saw Rachel.

What?

She was napping in the park.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

It was the craziest thing.

She was just lying there napping.

Miriam said something,

and then Cyndi talked for either

an hour more or a minute more.

But Toby didn't hear anything after that

because his blood froze,

and his inner ear started to bleed,

and his brain turned to putty,

and began to leak out his nose.

And he knew right then he would never

understand another thing ever again.