01x12 - Not A Fairytale Yet

[bunniefuu]

[LIGHT MUSIC]

I loved that guy for five years.

Threw my life away for him.

Moved to another country for him.

Learned how to play pickleball for him.

But now I I just

don't know what I feel.

Well, I know what I feel.

I feel anger with a smattering of rage.

And I feel a dampness

coming from the backseat.

Tilly just spilled

her juice this morning.

Why am I here?

You're here to support your friend.

I thought being a friend meant

going to the movies together,

not going on stakeouts.

See? You're learning.

Now get in there and find out

what Phillip is doing in Pasadena.

How am I gonna find that out?

Pretend that you're a customer.

Ask about pastries,

and just, uh, you know, make small talk.

What if he asks me for my name?

You make one up.

This is a bad plan.

I I don't know how

to do this kind of stuff.

I I'm not sure what

to do with my body.

Well, you take your body,

and you just put it in the line.

Oh, I hate this.

[CAR DOOR OPENS, CLOSES]

Don't you find it odd that.

Phillip's just suddenly in Pasadena?

You know, didn't say he was coming.

Nothing about this pop-up

on his social media.

Nah, he can be so unpredictable.

He's the guy that'll show up anywhere.

Except when I lost the baby

and wanted to go to couples therapy.

Yep, there it is, that

smattering of rage,

just bubbling up again.

Okay. Edward's in there.

Wow.

He really doesn't know

what to do with his body.

Can I just I can't see.

♪

Yeah, that's weird.

I've never seen someone run like that

that wasn't an eighth grader

with a roll-y backpack.

♪

[PANTING]

- Well?

- I gotta say

uh, Phillip's a total ten.

Did you ask him what

he's doing in Pasadena?

I did. He said it beats Antarctica.

Oh, my God, that is

not an answer, Edward.

He's very charming with his accent.

♪

Uh-oh, he's looking at us.

- Go!

- Buckle up, buckle up.

Go, go, go! Punch it!

I'll punch it when everyone is safe!

Everybody safe?

[UPBEAT MUSIC]

♪

Again, I am so sorry for your loss,

and thank you so much

for taking the time

to talk to me about Janice.

I have never written about

such a dedicated and tireless worker.

Okay, bye.

So this is what ploppin' down on a couch

in the middle of the day feels like!

[LAUGHING] Oh!

I wish I had done more of this

before I kicked the bucket.

Sounds like being a mail lady

in a little town kept you busy.

- Oh, yeah.

- Did you ever take a day off?

Not once in 43 years.

One time, I delivered mail

in a snowstorm while

passing a kidney stone.

- Ooh.

- Oh, while I'm here,

I wanna do all the

things I never got to do.

- Oh.

- Like, can you get me

in front of one of those TikToks?

Hey, seeing that you're

kind of permanently retired,

can you help me not get junk mail?

Do you feel like Bed

Bath & Beyond coupons

are junk mail?

- Of course not.

- Oh, well, then

- don't mess with the system.

- [NOTIFICATION CHIMES]

Oh, God.

♪

He texted me.

- Get out.

- Who did?

He saw us in the car,

and he wants to talk.

No way.

Who does?

So he froze you out for months

when you needed him the most,

and now he just saunters in

and wants to, like, hit old

town Pasadena or something?

Is this that cable

guy that never showed?

Sharp journalistic mind on this one.

[WHISPERING] It's Phillip.

Audible gasp.

You should go talk to him.

He has a message, and

messages need to be delivered.

And speaking of delivery,

can we get a pizza up in here?

I wanna see what that

stuffed crust looks like.

I think I should see him.

I mean, not just for him,

but for me, right?

It might give me closure.

Okay, but I'm going with you,

for moral support and so I

can glare at him from the car.

Thank you. I'll tell him

we'll stop by after work.

- Great.

- ♪

Oh, good, you're leaving.

Now I don't have to have

that awkward conversation

where I ask you to go.

Thanks for sparing my feelings, Lexi.

- You're so welcome.

- She has got big "do not bend" energy.

Team, we have some very

important business to discuss.

- What is it?

- There was a nine-car pileup on the 5.

- Oh.

- But put a pin in that.

Who's ready to plan a

little girl's birthday?

Hey!

Tilly is so excited for her and

Kendall's princess birthday party.

Kendall is too.

Except she doesn't want

it to be a princess party.

She wants it to be a work party!

- Yay!

- A five-year-old work party?

She woke up this morning and

saw Mama in her business blazer

and said, "I wanna be just like you."

I mean, who am I to tell her no?

We can have it here at the office,

and Kendall requested that

you be the tiny journalists'

- editor of fun.

- Great.

I mean, what else do I have

to do on a Saturday afternoon?

Certainly not wait around

for same-day "Wicked" tickets.

Yeah, I don't know, Lexi.

You know, Tilly is

really, really excited

about having a princess birthday party.

You know, she wants to

wear her princess dress

and decorate the crowns

and drink her tea.

She can still be a princess.

We can decorate half of the

office for the princesses

and half of it for the baby bosses.

Okay. All right.

I guess I can just stay late

and figure out how to

turn half the newsroom

into a princess castle.

Excelente!

Oh, and um, someone should

really look into that nine-car pileup.

If you are busy decorating,

how are you going to

chaperone Nell and Phillip?

- Balls.

- [RINGTONE PLAYING]

- Hello.

- Nell is going to meet Phillip after work,

and she cannot go alone.

- Who is this?

- It's Sam.

Is this your phone voice?

Yes, I guess so.

It's different.

You need to go to support her.

I should go support her

because I'm her best friend,

but it is impossible

to be a best friend,

a style editor, a mother,

and apparently now a party planner.

Having it all is a myth.

- I know, right?

- I'm gonna go with Nell.

Not only because she's my friend,

but because your phone

voice is very convincing.

Thank you?

[SOFT SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

♪

[BELL RINGING]

♪

Sorry, we're closed.

Just wanted to see if

I can grab a bombolone.

Nell.

Hi.

Hi.

You look great.

So do you.

So do we do we hug?

Do we shake hands?

Do we just wave?

We hug?

So how's it going?

She's inside.

- I'm looking right at her.

- Ooh, how does she look?

Good.

I'm surprised she didn't

dress up more, though.

Is she happy?

Is she sad?

Hard to tell.

She's smiling.

What kind of smile?

Like, a "I'm so happy I

came to see Phillip" smile?

Or "I want to smack

his pretty face" smile?

- I don't know. She's smiling.

- Edward!

So what brings you to Pasadena?

Beats Antarctica.

That is not as clever of

an answer as you think it is.

A friend asked me to come help him

do a pop-up, and I owed him one.

And I'm actually really glad I did,

because it's given me the chance

to do something I've

wanted to do for a while.

Apologize.

Whoa.

When we went through our hard time,

I shut down,

'cause I was afraid.

I I didn't know how

to handle my emotions,

so I pretended like I didn't have any,

which only made you feel terrible.

And I didn't give you the

support that you needed

or that you deserved,

and Nell, I'm truly sorry.

Wow. Thank you.

I think I really needed to hear that.

You also need to eat this bombolone.

Wait. Hold on.

It looks like he's giving her a pastry.

Fluffy. I'm jealous.

Thank you for that information, Edward.

I'm really glad I came.

Yeah, I think I needed that closure.

And I was hoping

you have something to say to me.

Um, these pastries are really soggy.

That's not true.

I know, they're perfect,

but that's all I have to say to you.

I apologized to you, Nell.

Yes, for good reason. You owed me one.

- And you owe me one.

- For what, Phillip?

For how you left.

That's the reason why you came here.

- [SCOFFS]

- Of course. Oh, I should've known.

You should've just gone

on up to Antarctica.

Or down. Which one has the penguins?

I'm a chef. I don't know

the geography of penguins!

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

- Goodbye, Phillip.

- ♪

♪

How'd it go?

Exactly how I should've

known it was gonna go.

Did you know that you

forget to bring me a pastry?

♪

I can come back later.

I can't believe that

he asked for an apology.

I know.

So, um, like, how did

you leave Phillip, anyway?

You know, did you have to

sort through everything?

Like, "Hey, you take the toaster,

and I'll take the vodka."

Kind of.

It was, uh, actually

opening night of his

restaurant in London.

Damn, he must've been so angry

when you told him you weren't gonna go.

Uh, I didn't tell him.

Yeah, he was already there,

and I was supposed to meet him,

but instead, I just left.

To, like, a hotel?

- To Pasadena.

- Damn.

What did he say when you called him?

- I never called him.

- Text him?

- No.

- WhatsApp?

I never spoke to him until today.

Oh.

What? Is that bad?

I mean, it's a pretty drastic way

to end a five-year relationship

right before the wedding.

- It is.

- Yeah.

[SOFT MUSIC]

It's a good thing I

never saw reality TV,

or I would've been one

of those postal carriers

that just dumps the mail

in the river every day

so I could stay home and watch.

[TV TURNS OFF]

I can't believe you went back

- and bought pastries.

- I had to.

The smell was in my sweater,

and it was haunting me.

The man ruined my life, Edward.

You have to be able to separate

the man from the bombolone, Nell.

Well, then go and eat them in your room,

or I'm gonna walk all over

our rugs in my street shoes.

- You don't have to be venomous.

- Thank you.

Mmm.

So?

Should I just sit here and say nothing

when I think you need to hear something?

I just don't think that delivering

mail applies to my situation.

Oh, I'm gonna return

that comment to sender.

I'm sorry.

What do I need to hear?

Let me tell you a little story.

When I was in high school,

I stole a boy who went

to a dance with my sister.

Whoa, Janice!

That's why you love reality TV.

You are nasty.

Well, we fell in love.

We got married. We had a family.

We were together for 42 years.

But my sister never forgave me.

Never talked to me again.

But every year on her birthday,

I'd write her and tell

her that I loved her

and that I missed her.

Did you have to pay for postage?

You know what? Never mind. Go on. Yeah.

I never got a reply until this year.

My sister finally reached out.

Did you deliver her letter to yourself?

Look, dumbbell, I said

what needed to be said

to the people in my life.

If you still have a message for Phillip,

you have to send it.

Not just for him, but for you.

So to get my closure,

I need to tell Phillip

I'm sorry for how I left.

Yes. You also need to press play,

because I have to

watch all of Hulu today.

[LIGHT MUSIC]

Here we go.

Hi.

Hi, Kendall. You ready to go to work?

I'm just looking for an

excuse to fire someone.

- Oh, wow.

- She's joking.

In our family, we don't

let the children fire anyone

until they're at least seven.

- Can I put someone on notice?

- Of course, sweetie.

- It is your birthday.

- [ELEVATOR DINGS]

- Hi.

- Hi!

Welcome to the rat race, ladies.

Loving the business casual.

Yes, but there are

lots of princess dresses

and princess crowns

for anybody that wants to

be a little princess today.

There's also tiny

briefcases, coffee cups,

and a real-life editor, Dennis.

Okay, journalists,

who wants to join me

in the conference room

for the tiny editors meeting?

ALL: Yeah!

Great, we can go over the tiny numbers

for this year's tiny fiscal year budget.

Well, doesn't that sound like fun?

ALL: Yeah!

♪

[SIGHS]

Don't worry, Tilly, okay?

I'm sure some of the girls

are gonna want to do princess stuff.

Plus, I've been to Dennis's meetings.

He can't hold a room.

Okay, first order of business.

My husband, Ben, and I

are having a child soon,

and I don't really know how

to communicate with your kind.

So if I need to speak slower

or if you need me to

make my voice higher,

then I can. Just just let me know.

I guess I'll just tell

you what an editor does.

Uh, so an editor, we manage deadlines.

We check sources.

We worry about layoffs.

I know it's boring.

It's not the most interesting

way to spend a Saturday.

Usually, this editor is at brunch

getting turnt off some mimosas

and slurring his egg order.

[LAUGHTER]

- This girl gets it.

- I like your jacket.

Thank you. It's The RealReal.

Shh. Don't tell anybody.

[LAUGHTER]

What do you think of my new frames?

They make your eyes pop.

Okay, we have some taste in the room.

We make a good hang.

We do make a good hang.

All right, who's got the hot goss?

My mommy went to the hospital,

and now her nose is small.

Viola, this isn't tea.

This is double espresso.

[LAUGHTER]

Here we go.

One last message.

I helped deliver them all.

Wedding invitations, sympathy cards,

- love letters, paychecks.

- Mm.

All the highs and lows

that make a full life.

Also, a lot of sex toys.

Oh.

Supposed to be plain packaging,

but you know what's in there. [CHUCKLES]

Okay, this is good.

I'm gonna get this off my chest.

[SOFT MUSIC]

Okay.

♪

Wait, what?

♪

Oh, no. It's gone.

♪

You were right, Janice.

It doesn't feel good to

leave something unsaid.

I guess we'll never have

the happy ending you

had with your sister.

"Happy ending"?

I didn't say that.

Uh, yeah.

You said that your sister reached out.

Oh, yeah, she reached out,

and she was still mad as hell.

Even after all those years,

she still didn't forgive me.

You've never seen such

an angry Easter card.

She drew a middle finger on the bunny.

Then what was the point of that story?

That I knew I did everything I could.

- Mm.

- Someday, some way,

tell Phillip how you feel.

It may not be the

perfect moment of closure

you're hoping for,

but maybe it's just

the way this story ends.

[SOFT MUSIC]

- Hey. Oh, hey.

- I'm so sorry I'm late.

- How's your little princess?

- Well, it's not her ideal party,

but she is making the best of it.

Wh what what?

Yeah, it turns out, the princess

part of the party is a bust.

Little girls want to

work and have careers.

They don't want to wear

pretty dresses and eat cupcakes

and hang around a castle all day.

I swear, I took women's

studies in college.

No, no goddaughter of mine

is gonna be denied the perfect birthday.

I'll fix this.

Okay.

- Hey, hey.

- Mm mm?

I need to fill you in on

the latest office gossip.

So turns out,

all the girls would

love to be princesses,

but they do whatever Kendall wants,

because she has a real pony,

and she brings a box

of Gushers to school

every morning, and she

shares with everyone.

How is my daughter supposed

to compete with a rich kid?

I mean, all Tilly has is

yard racoons and carrots.

Yeah, but that's not all.

The way that Kendall

got everyone to agree

to not be princesses

is she told them that

Tilly puts poop on her face.

- She does what?

- Yeah.

My daughter does not do that.

Uh, but don't tell the

girls you heard it from me.

- Lexi.

- Kendall is demanding more sugar for her coffee.

She's all hopped up and,

frankly, kind of angry.

We need to talk right now.

Is it time for the goody bags?

I put a cute little

paycheck in every one.

It wasn't fair for you to

change this party last-minute.

Do you know the girls aren't

actually even having fun?

They're afraid of Kendall,

and she bribes them with candy.

And she's mean to Tilly.

What? Sam, I'm sorry.

Look, I don't want to judge you

for how you're raising your daughter,

but it's not okay to just give her

every single thing she wants.

It's not good for her.

What are what's happening?

I'm crying.

Oh, my God, I've never

seen you do that before.

[SIGHS]

You're right.

I spoil her.

I give her everything she wants

so she'll be a happy little girl,

because I wasn't.

So buy Kendall Gushers

and ponies and ski chalets.

And then yesterday, when she told me

she wanted to be just like

me, it made me feel like

maybe I am doing

something right, you know?

- But

- Oh, Lexi.

But if she's being mean to Tilly

and buying her friends,

then I guess I have failed.

You didn't fail.

You know, you're just a mom.

Sometimes we get it right,

and sometimes we throw our kids

weird office/princess birthday parties

that will definitely confuse them

when they enter the workforce.

[CHUCKLES]

Thank you.

I will talk to Kendall.

Now, let's see about putting some crowns

on these caffeinated five-year-olds

before they start asking

about their benefits package.

[SOFT MUSIC]

♪

[GASPS] Oh, hello.

[GASPS]

I'm a princess, and I'm looking

for more princesses

so that we can do all the

princess things together.

[LAUGHING] Hi.

Hey.

You look so pretty!

Did you come with the prince?

We don't need a prince.

Nell.

♪

Hey.

Um

I thought you left town.

Yeah, I was going to,

but then I realized if I did,

I'd just be acting like the old me,

shutting off, ignoring my feelings,

so I came back.

I'm really glad that you did,

because I wanted to get the chance

to say I'm sorry too.

- It's it's okay. You don't have to

- No.

I know the way that I

left was really hurtful,

and honestly,

I meant it to be.

I thought it was gonna make

me feel better, but it didn't.

I owed you this apology,

and I'm glad I got to deliver it.

Yes!

Still helping to deliver

messages in the afterlife.

Are you a real prince?

Um, well, I may not be a very good one.

You see, once upon a time,

my princess was held prisoner,

and I couldn't rescue her.

Well, he was only human.

♪

And he didn't have magic, after all,

and eventually,

the princess learned

how to rescue herself.

But the story doesn't end there.

You see, as time passed,

the prince tried to

get over the princess.

He joined a gym, he went to Marrakech,

and with the help of

his royal advisor

his therapist

he realized he had to take

an honest look at himself.

♪

Oh.

The prince is doing the work.

Yes, he is.

Every Tuesday at 4:00.

Oh.

But the prince's heart still ached,

because he felt he had failed her,

and so he set off across the ocean

to see her again.

But he didn't know her feelings for him,

so he disguised himself

as a simple baker

coming to her village to sell his cakes.

♪

But you came to help your friend.

Nell, I can sell bomboloni in England.

I came for you.

ALL: Ooh.

- Mm, I forgot how hot he is.

- He sucks.

Yes, of course. I mean,

I forgot how sucks he is.

Maybe if I stay a while,

we could keep talking.

♪

Yeah, I I'd like that.

♪

I wanna be a princess!

Come on, girls.

There's more dresses in the castle.

- Oh, go!

- Oh, goodness.

- Go, go!

- I'm being kidnapped.

ALL: Go, go, go!

Help me.

Hi, baby.

[WHISPERING INDISTINCTLY]

- Oh.

- What'd she say?

She said, "This is the best party ever,

- and we're out of toner."

- Right.

So I can put that order in.

[SIGHS] Thank you, Janice.

You're welcome.

And however the story ends,

- that prince is handsome.

- [BOTH CHUCKLING]

Not as handsome as that

tall drink of Yoo-hoo

you call your roommate, but still.

- Ahh!

- [CHILDREN SHOUTING]

I'm telling you, if they made

princess dresses with pockets

[SCOFFS] I'd wear one to work every day.

Me too, just as long as those pockets

are big enough for one of these.

- Mm.

- Okay.

I will say, this party

has been a success.

- Mm.

- Except for the Phillip stuff.

We're just talking.

Don't worry.

He's not gonna steal me away again.

Oh, I know. I had

Edward seize your passport.

[LAUGHS SOFTLY]

- Well, I learned a lot today.

- Mm.

I know now that I don't

want my daughter to be weird,

so I've informed her

I will be putting her

ski chalet on the market.

You two are really good

and very different moms.

- [CHUCKLES]

- [SIGHS]

I think Dennis is

gonna be a good dad too.

[CHILDREN SHOUTING]

Ahh!

Five bucks he throws up again.

- Oh, for sure.

- Oh, absolutely.

Oh.

- [RETCHING]

- [CHILDREN SHRIEKING]

- I'm okay.

- Bingo.

Wow. So quick.

[ELECTRICITY BUZZING]

[PINS CLATTERING]

[ELECTRICITY BUZZING]