01x06 - The Arrival

[bunniefuu]

[HANK THINKING]
Hey, Dad, welcome to Railton.

Just a couple questions.

How come you didn't come to my wedding?

Or want to meet your only grandchild?

Or how could you abandon me

when I had a rope around my neck?

That's it, just those questions.

Feel free to write your
answers on a postcard

and mail it to me.

Then we can go back to
avoiding each other.

[IMPERCEPTIBLE]

[CAR ENGINE TURNS OVER]

[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]

[GRUNTS]

[SHOWER RUNNING]

I'm coming in!

- [JULIE SHOUTS] Dad! Get out!
- [GASPS]

Hm...

I almost took a shower
with our daughter.

[LILY] She came in the night.

She slept in her old room.

What's that about?

[LILY] Mm...

She didn't want to say,
she wanted to sleep.

If we turned her room into a gym,

this wouldn't happen.

Or she'd get into great shape.

- Bright side.
- Mm.

[CLEARS THROAT]

- I saw my father on Tuesday.
- What?

I was in my car. I just
wanted to get a glimpse.

There he was.

What did he say? Or
just how... did it go?

We didn't talk.

I don't want to be lied to,

and I only want to know
he's here because he's old,

unemployed, and wants
to be taken care of.

- That's understandable.
- I'm going for a run.

Great. That's... important.

Oh, it's my mom.

Oh, yeah, she's been calling me.

You too?

- Did you talk to her?
- No, I wouldn't know what to say to her.

Why haven't you answered my calls?

Because my, um, caller ID works.

You hurt your father
very badly, you know.

He played me the message you left.

Oh, he's keeping my messages.

What message?

[HANK] I left a message for my dad.

I told him he's not
welcome here in Railton.

It was a cruel thing to say.

It stung him very badly.

It was so over the line,

Henry says he's leaving
after the weekend.

He says he's going to North Carolina.

North Carolina? What's
in North Carolina?

Oh, [SNAPS FINGERS]

a graduate student that
he hasn't seduced yet.

- Gruen.
- What's that, the monster from Beowulf?

[LAUREL] His second wife.

[SIGHS]

It would be a terrible
situation for him,

living out the last of his days

in a place he has no connection to,

far from any family...

And the monster's Grendel.

[HANK] Well, you tell
him to have a nice trip,

and the monster is Grendel's mom.

Hank!

This is something that's
very important to me.

He'll leave for good

if you don't come by
and ask him to stay.

[QUIETLY] I'm not going to do that.

I'm asking you.

Hank isn't available this weekend.

He has a conference.

Is that true?

It's true I've been invited
to a conference, in Harrisburg.

Oh, you can skip that.

You have a choice to make

between your father

and an insignificant
regional conference.

It's good for guys to have a thing.

This conference is kind of our thing.

[CHUCKLES]

And the one year you decided to pull out

is the one year I'm presenting.

I was beginning to take it personally.

[HANK SIGHS] Yeah, I've had
a lot going on, you know.

Oh, sure, sure, sure.

It's just that you decided
not to come weeks ago,

like the minute you saw the program

with my name and photo
prominently displayed on it.

- I did?
- Mm-hm.

I think we have a different
definition of "prominent".

It's page three. Page three is the best.

Phew...

I got two other pages that
will knock your socks off.

[CHUCKLES]

Let's go.

I hope I don't meet
anyone from last year.

- You probably won't.
- Or the year before.

Uh, Rosencrantz and Señor
Guildenstern, please.

How many times have
you heard that today?

Beats the Nietzsche brothers.

No, it does not.

Devereaux and Conigula.

[TONY] Go right to page three?

[INHALING SHARPLY] Whoa, whoa.

I did not know Gracie
was going to be here.

Quick, hand me my fake mustache.

You've got a beard.

Right. So, my Austin Powers teeth.

- You're too kind.
- [HANK] Look at her, holding court.

Wait till they find out she's an idiot.

That Atlantic poem was a total fluke.

It was one of those
infinite monkey things?

Infinite monkey? No.

Twenty monkeys,

and they can take breaks,
and they need one typewriter.

They'll poop out that
poem in ten minutes.

- [CHUCKLES] Come on.
- No, drinks first. Come on.

[WOMAN] I can't believe

that was just your first poem
published in The Atlantic.

- Wonderful.
- And such specificity.

Do you write with a pen or a scalpel?

- [LAUGHING]
- Oh, please.

You all honor me, truly.

Honestly, I don't know what comes next.

I'm just trying to slurp the
marrow from the present moment.

- Poet laureate, : .
- [WOMAN] Dr. Grillo!

What?

Ms. DuBois, when I read your
poem in The Atlantic,

I revisited your book of sonnets.

I've added it to the syllabus
for my spring seminar.

I'm collecting selected poems

for an anthology of contemporary poets

re-imagining traditional forms.

I would love to include
a villanelle of yours.

Let's get a drink later.

I would love that. I would...

[GASPS]

I do remember you, yes.

You had a hat with a feather,

and the feather blew off

and landed in a lady's drink, right?

Uh, that was you.

I prefer to be remembered for my work...

- Well...
- ... but I'll take it.

Hank's a novelist, so it's
his job to be kind of a d*ck.

Ah.

[TONY] When do you present?

[MAN] Tomorrow afternoon.

I have a paper on Ecophilosophy
in a Post-Roe World.

- How about you, Hank?
- [IMPERCEPTIBLE]

Are you presenting?

- I don't know.
- You don't know if you're presenting?

[TONY] You were saying about Appiah's
piece in the Times last Sunday?

[MAN] Absolute rubbish.

This widower wrote in

to ask if it would be ethical
to read his deceased...

Sorry.

... and asked him
specifically not to do.

Uh, gin martini, extra olives, please.

Thank you.

- [TONY] That would be a mistake.
- What?

That woman you followed in here.

"Anna Howard, professor
of comparative literature,

University of Michigan."

However tempting, a
dalliance for a dalliance

is not an ethically-sound idea.

I shouldn't be here.

You're my biggest
fan. I'm on page three.

I'm afraid I'm going
to do something stupid.

Let me get you a drink.

After that, get a
massage, take a schvitz.

Do any stupid thing you want,

except boink her,
'cause you'd regret it.

[SIGHS]

[HANK THINKING] When am I going to learn

that hotel rooms aren't fun anymore?

I mean, when you're young,
they're full of potential,

an exotic alternative to
your own crappy bedroom,

and clean sheets, too,

but at some point,

you just start thinking

about all the losers who
stayed here before you.

Oh, that's sad.

All the losers,

hoping beyond hope

to meet someone in the
hotel bar and get laid.

- ["NEVER SATISFIED" BY RICHARD MARKS PLAYING]
- ♪ Never mind about the best of clothes ♪

♪ Better still just
try to book me I know ♪

♪ If I... ♪

[LILY] Hey!

- Do you need a hand?
- Hi, yeah.

Can you put this in the very front.

Are you finally moving your stuff out?

How many times are we
going to talk about this?

Is it such an inconvenience
for me to keep, like,

a bit of my stuff at your house?

[LILY] I thought you liked
having this conversation.

I thought that's why
you kept your things here

even though you have your
own big storage space.

Trunk.

Are you going somewhere?

Yeah, Russell and I had a fight,

so I'm going to take
you up on that offer.

What offer?

I'm going to come stay
with you in New York.

Okay, let's just, um...

Let's just back this up.

How bad a fight was this?

That's none of your business.

Julie!

- Mom.
- You are married.

You cannot just run away

from the first big fight.

[LAUGHS RUEFULLY] First big fight.

Mom, Russell literally is like...

Mom!

Russell is just...

He's pissing me off,

and this is... Honestly,
this is all Dad's fault.

How so?

Because he got him that
job, and it destroyed us.

It just destroyed us.

Like, I honestly don't
think we've had sex

more than, like, ten
times in the last month.

- [DRYLY] Oh, yeah?
- Yes,

and he's not masturbating
like he used to,

so he's totally cheating on me.

Julie.

Honey, do you... Do you really think so?

- I mean...
- Yes.

["YOU, FOREVER" BY SAM EVIAN PLAYING]

[MASSEUSE] Yeah, I'm at work.

- ♪ Keep it round... ♪
- It's a great time to talk.

♪ Hold onto it... ♪

... and they brought nothing.

Nothing.

When I go to her house,
I bring banana bread,

or a zucchini bread,

a bottle of wine, something,

and this is the third time it's happened

where she shows up empty-handed.

I just think it's disrespectful.

At this point, she should
not be invited anymore.

That's what I think!

I'm sorry.

♪ Feel the cigarette ♪

♪ Feel your mouth ♪

♪ Feel the gutter running wild ♪

♪ It's a good sound ♪

♪ Spirit locked the door ♪

♪ Left you in a proper daze ♪

♪ If you're anxious... ♪

[STEAM HISSING]

[MAN] Hank?

Hank?

Dad?

How did you...

Apparently, you have a beef with me.

And it boils down to one thing.

How could you leave us?

Me,

the way that you did.

That's a fair question.

Look, son,

there are three things

that you don't know about the situation.

In fact, three simple things,

once I tell you,

I think you'll understand completely.

In fact,

you might even be happy.

One...

[MAN IN SAUNA] Oh, it's hot in here.

Can you do the thing

to get us more steam?

["FIND ANOTHER HERO"
BY JAY RAMSEY PLAYING]

♪ Walkin' along ♪

♪ Trying his best ♪

♪ To take the same big
steps that his daddy took ♪

♪ Johnny was small ♪
♪ I was ten feet tall ♪

♪ I could write a book... ♪

[TV PLAYING INDISTINCTLY]

♪ About a father and a son
and the things we've done ♪

♪ And the way life looked... ♪

[TV PROGRAM CONTINUES INDISTINCTLY]

♪ I taught him ♪

♪ How to whistle through his teeth ♪

♪ And I taught him how to fade a hook ♪

♪ Uh-huh... ♪

[FILM NARRATOR] One of the few

species who mate for life.

♪ Find yourself another
hero, Johnny... ♪

[TURNS TV OFF]

♪ I don't want you looking up to me ♪

♪ Find yourself another hero, Johnny ♪

♪ I'm just not the daddy
that I ought to be ♪

[MUFFLED VOICES CHATTERING
FROM ANOTHER ROOM]

[VOICES CONTINUE]

[TONY] Hello?

Hank?

I hear the sounds of
a party down the hall.

Female voices.

[TONY] What time is it?

[HANK] Are you already in bed?
[CHUCKLES AWKWARDLY]

Yeah. My presentation is in the morning.

You're coming, right?

Of course.

It's hours away.

I mean, come on, I
really need a distraction.

["FREHEIT IST NICHT UMSONST"
BY UP WITH PEOPLE PLAYING]

[MAN SINGING IN GERMAN]

Ooh, what are the specials?

We have vodka and soda,

and...

Soda with vodka in it.

Oh, that's a tough choice.

I'd say soda with vodka?

I'm going to look for some
of those female voices.

Cheers.

[PEOPLE CHATTERING INDISTINCTLY]

[HANK THINKING] Hard to believe,

but these are some of the most
above-average minds in academia.

Why are they here?

Will they change the world?

Not unless being published
in an academic journal

read by people

is earth-shattering.

No, these people are in
a fierce competition.

I don't know.

A provocative thesis is one thing,

but Marjorie DeCampos
is going to be there.

- [WOMAN] From Emory?
- Yes.

They're battling to see
who can stick their heads

furthest up their own butt holes.

Ah, maybe I can help.

Make sure you have a printout.

Why?

Uh, the virus.

What virus?

- You guys don't know?
- No.

Oh. [CHUCKLES]

There's a computer virus
being spread by the hotel WiFi.

Oh, no.

Some hacker from outside
infected the whole system.

- When?
- Like an hour ago.

They've got an IT team from
Zurich is working on it,

but I lost work from
the last four years,

so... effing nightmare.

I'm so sorry.

It probably won't affect you guys

because it only activates
if you use certain programs.

- Word, or Google Docs...
- Oh, that's fine.

... or, um... [SNAPPING FINGERS]
PowerPoint, and Keynote.

Oh, my God!

- What?
- Yeesh!

- That's everything.
- I'll tell you what,

it'll destroy your
hard drive. Good luck.

My presentation is in Keynote.

Yeah, but mine is tomorrow. I have two!

I have two presentations.

[WOMAN ON TV] I have to operate
my happy family of clothing.

[WOMAN ] Because it's
a charity rummage sale.

[WOMAN ] I know!

[WOMAN ] That you helped organize!

This is the best.

This could be every night in New York.

Hm.

There's lots of stuff to
do in New York at night.

Yeah, but what's better than this?

[WOMAN ] Get out of the way.

[WOMAN ] What are you doing?

[WOMAN ] Get away from the closet.

[WOMAN ] No! Not that one! Oh!

[TRAFFIC ECHOING FROM OUTSIDE]

[SNORING]

[TRUCK BACK-UP ALERT BEEPING]

[BINS CRASHING]

[TRUCK BACK-UP ALERT BEEPING]

[CAR ENGINE REVVING]

[HANK] I see you bought your own coffee.

Smart move.

They're feeding us
battery acid over here.

Hank.

Anna.

You're one of the panelists, right?

You're the Bronte scholar?

- That's right.
- Where did you study?

Northwestern.

Grad school?

Columbia.

See, I think we have someone in common.

- Mm.
- Henry Devereaux?

Henry?

Of course.

Yeah, he was my thesis advisor.

He was a real mentor to me.

Just a mentor?

So, did you study
under him as well, or...

No, but I know you did.

I'm his son.

[SIGHS]

Do you want something from me?

Not really.

Well, that's not true.

[INHALES]

Did he ever mention

that he had a son around your age?

[ANNA] I knew you existed, yeah.

Did he express any affection,

or have any fond memories?

It's hard to remember.

How about for you?

Do you feel like he cared about you?

Do you think he's capable...

Of caring?

You should talk to him.

He's a...

He's a good man.

Is he?

[FRAN] ... poetic voice,
so readily identifiable,

her brachyology, use
of rhetorical terms,

wielding rhetorical devices,

syllepsis and apokoinou

like hatchets to her text

while she creates a syntax

for an urban landscape

she both describes and rebirths...

I think I'm going to have to
challenge you on that, Fran...

[PANELIST] Okay!

[FRAN] Oh, here we go!

Why is it that we...

[HANK THINKING] How can someone
not be self-aware enough

to know they are irrelevant?

I mean, if your gut
doesn't tell you this,

there's a lot of clues.

Just look around.

There's channels on TV,

and not a single one of
them is devoted to poetry.

And you've accomplished

the greatest achievement of your career,

and seven people showed up for

whatever this is.

At least I know I don't matter.

Oh, that one guy looks
like Javier Bardem.

[GRACIE] Blatcher is working

in a revolutionary poetic verbiage

that we see only in...

["FISH AND WHISTLE"
BY JOHN PRINE PLAYING]

♪ I've been thinking lately
about the people I meet ♪

♪ The car wash on the corner ♪

♪ And the hole in the street ♪

♪ The way my ankles hurt
with shoes on my feet ♪

♪ And I'm wondering if
I'm gonna see tomorrow ♪

♪ Father, forgive us for what we must do ♪

♪ You forgive us ♪
♪ We'll forgive you ♪

♪ We'll forgive each other
till we both turn blue ♪

♪ Then we'll whistle and
go fishing in heaven... ♪

♪ I was in the army but
I never dug a trench ♪

♪ Used to bust my knuckles
on a monkey wrench ♪

♪ I'd go to town and drink ♪

♪ Give the girls a pinch ♪

♪ But I don't think they
ever even noticed me ♪

♪ Father, forgive us
for what we must do ♪

♪ You forgive us ♪
♪ We'll forgive you ♪

♪ We'll forgive each other
till we both turn blue ♪

♪ Then we'll whistle and
go fishing in heaven... ♪

No!

Come on!

That's it, that's it!

No. No...

No, I don't want to hear it.

You shouldn't have stayed out
late every night for a month.

That's not someone
wanting to be with me.

How long does it take to put up chairs?

There's, like, chairs,

and it takes five seconds a chair.

That doesn't add up!

That's just math!

I'm just going to say something

- that you don't want to hear.
- [SIGHS]

Is it possible that he's
just actually working late?

Yeah, but it's "why is he working late?"

It's because he took a
job to be away from me,

just like you're taking
a job to be away from Dad.

That is not...

That...

That is not why I took this job.

Oh, come on, it's me.

Yes, I know who I'm talking to.

Okay, calm down.

- You guys are going through something.
- I get it.

- No, you don't.
- So you and Dad are just perfect then?

No. No, Julie, there are little things,

but they're little things,

and then when there's a bigger thing,

then we work it out.

That's what you want from me?

- Yeah.
- You want me to work it out with Russell

and stay with him, and
then in, like, years,

leave him in a cloud of denial?

[GASPS] Oh!

Oh, my God. Get in the car.

We are going to talk to Russell.

No, we're not doing that.
I want to finish the game.

[FIRMLY] Get in the car.

No!

[TILES CLATTERING]

That was super mature.

[PINBALL BELLS DINGING]

[HANK] Come on!

You got it! That's it!

[DINGING]

Aw!

[TEXT NOTIFICATION BUZZES]

A little early, no?

It was a disaster.

- What was?
- What was? My talk was.

I'm almost glad you weren't there.

It doesn't matter.

I just, I don't even
know where to start.

Can I get the same thing?

Um... [CLEARS THROAT]

start in the middle?

I missed a key paper last year.

Everything I was saying about
the neuroscience of moral judgment

was apparently made irrelevant

in the third quarter of
the Journal of Neuroscience,

which, in hindsight,

may have been a pretty good
thing for me to have been reading.

Well, let's...

Let's qualify relevance
here. Relevant to who?

I mean, how many people
showed up at this thing?

What does that matter?
It was my research.

I'm just trying to put
it in perspective, right?

It's not like you lost
a patient on the table.

[SIGHS] The whole thing
was extra embarrassing

because I couldn't access my notes.

There was a virus on the hotel WiFi.

[SNORTS WITH LAUGHTER]

I heard that was a hoax.

Oh, God...

Go on.

There's nothing to go on about.

It was a nightmare.

I can never come back here.

I think you're wallowing.

It wasn't that important
to you yesterday,

or the day before.

I think you're sinking
into your feelings...

Of course it was
important to me yesterday.

This has been my work
for the last three years.

Your work for the last
three years was getting laid

and cheating at racquetball.

I was there, I saw it. Not the sex.

Dude! If that's what you saw,

you weren't there at all.

Are we... Are we having
a real argument right now?

Because this...

This isn't supposed to matter,

this academic circle-jerk-a-thon
we come to every year.

I mean, making fun of these guys

has been one of the foundational
pastimes of our friendship.

No, it's not.

We make fun of them for their haircuts.

We don't make fun of them for caring.

I did, a little.

I see that now.

I don't get why.

You've checked out of academia.

You've checked out of writing.

You've detached yourself

from pretty much
everything you care about.

Every year, you care about less,

and you're more depressed.

I just don't see why.

There's other things
to care about than work.

I got a wife and a kid.

I know that hasn't worked
out for you. I'm sorry,

but it's damn important to me,

so...

Things didn't seem so rosy

the other night at your dinner party.

[CLEARS THROAT]

This is going to be great.

You're acting like
we're on a reality show.

[CLEARS THROAT]

My break ends in ten minutes.

Thank you for sitting down with us.

You're so welcome.

I'm always willing to sit
down and talk things through.

- [JULIE] Yeah, for ten minutes.
- I don't make the bar schedule, okay?

Mr. Travis, he makes the bar schedule.

- The point is I've never seen...
- I've told you so many times...

Take a breath!

We can't get anywhere
if we're hot-headed.

I agree.

Do you think you can use your calm-down
techniques for every situation?

Is this what you do with Dad? Because
I'm beginning to see your fight

from his point of view.

What fight? We are not having a fight.

Uh, I mean, to be honest, Mrs. D,

from the outside perspective,

it kind of seems like
something's going on.

No, absolutely not.

Then why you are kissing
other men at bars?

What?

I'll tell you about it later.

How do you know...

I'm sorry, he called me
the other day and told me

when he was in that crazy panic.

[RUSSELL] Who did you kiss?

Okay, look, your father is
experiencing mental anguish

from childhood trauma, so it
actually has nothing to do with me.

Oh, my God, that's, like, very serious.

- [RUSSELL] Is he seeing a psychiatrist?
- No.

- He definitely should be.
- Yeah.

There's this guy that
comes into the bar,

and he's a therapist,

but he sees a psychiatrist,
like, for his own problems, right?

- I can get you his card.
- No, thank you.

Can we stop comparing whatever
this is to my marriage?

- Again...
- That's so unfair.

Mrs. D, I feel like you're the one

who's kind of not seeing
things clearly here.

I support Julie, way more
than Hank supports you.

Oh, really? How so?

I would go to New York
if Julie wanted me to.

- If you asked me to, I would go.
- Really?

Yeah, of course.

- That's very nice. Thank you.
- Of course, I'd go.

So then, why are you
cheating on her, big sh*t?

- Mom!
- Whoa! I'm not.

Julie thinks otherwise.

- I'm not!
- No, I don't!

- I am so not!
- I know! I believe you!

What?

- I've told her that!
- That's the reason...

Then why aren't you
masturbating as much, huh?

- Whoa! Okay, hang on!
- Tell me that!

- Mom!
- You brought it up!

You can't say that to him!

[LILY] You brought it up at the house!

- I'm so not!
- I didn't bring that...

Why did you bring that up to her?

You're masturbating the same amount.

Why would I ever bring that up?

You are a traitor!

You need therapy, too!

For real, you need help.

You do need therapy.

[TOGETHER] Couples counseling! Yes!

You guys deserve each other.
I think this went beautifully.

Sit down, let's keep talking about that.

[LILY] We managed to do that
with eight minutes to spare!

- Good luck.
- Where are you going?

- Don't leave.
- You drove me here!

I would go to New York with you.

- Would you really?
- Yeah, of course.

[CHATTERING INDISTINCTLY]

Give me a moment.

If I'm there more than seconds,

then just say we're due somewhere.

Hank.

Thank you for briefly
stopping by my panel.

For a moment, I thought
you were there to heckle.

Heckle?

I'm sorry.

- Uh...
- What?

Well, the turnout, you know.

- I mean...
- Oh.

... it's tough when the
panelists outnumber the audience.

- We've all been there.
- No, not at all.

We ran with it,

and we turned the event into a workshop.

It was...

It was the most invigorating
conversation I've had in a long time.

I don't know if I'm
just coming into my own,

or the world is catching up to me,

but I want to wear a T-shirt

that says, "I've been...

"here

"the whole time!"

- Maybe I'd use a different meter.
- [FRAN] Yoo-hoo.

[CHUCKLES]

See you back at the playground.

Congrats on The Atlantic.

["WALKIN'" BY PATTI WHIPP PLAYING]

♪ I'm a-walking down ♪

♪ That lonely road ♪

♪ It's so windy ♪

♪ So chilly and cold ♪

So, how did it go?

Is Julie still here?

They have got issues.

I knew that, but did she go home?

She's not here, is she?

You know what?

It's their marriage, and it
has nothing to do with ours.

- Who said it did?
- Nobody,

and I just think

that I'm going to stay out of it.

I think this generation,

they don't...

They see marriage like it's this game

where you just say anything
and you do whatever you want,

and you're really super "over share-y"

about every single stupid feeling,

and all of that

is just supposed to, like,

fit together into a relationship.

I don't know what I'm saying,

except that thank God,
that's not our marriage.

Yeah, okay.

Do you know what I mean?

Yeah.

You ever feel like you're
right next to your life?

I feel like

I'm watching this guy who looks like me,

and he's doing all this stuff,

and I just want to tap him
on the shoulder and say,

"What's your problem?"

I think I want back in.

Respect.

All right, well,

you want to start with New York?

Absolutely.

Okay, great.

Um, I've asked for a four-day week.

As for the living arrangements,

I found a couple of places

that I think are pretty cute, and...

I need to see my dad.

What?

I'm sorry.

I know you were talking,
and I want to hear it,

but I think I need to see
my dad before he leaves.

Eh... I don't know.

I'm going to go.

[KNOCKING ON DOOR]

Oh.

It's good to see you.

How's retirement?

Oh, well,

it's very new for
your father, of course,

and I would say

that an academic never truly retires.

Mom, could I just talk
to Dad alone, please?

Where exactly am I supposed to go?

I'll make some tea.

How...

How is your research coming along?

No.

You tell me

what was behind your
decision to move here?

Oh.

Well, I recently retired.

The city no longer felt essential.

Okay, but why here?

I have family here.

We haven't spoken in
person in almost years.

Can we just cut the bullshit
and talk like two adults?

Would you be willing to do that?

I am willing.

Well...

I...

I'm feeling a lot of stuff right now.

[SIGHS]

I've gone over this conversation

for years in my head,

but I don't really know where to start.

Start in the middle.

I think I might begin by telling you

how hard it was for me

to grow up without a father.

What happened to him?

I'm talking about you
leaving your family.

When I left, I got a job at Columbia.

After a string of fellowships,

I had the opportunity to
stay at one institution

and focus on my research.

It was too good to pass up.

I don't give a sh*t about the job.

I know it was impressive,

but you left mom and
me for another woman.

Oh, yes. Well, that
was a difficult time...

Difficult? Was it difficult for you?

[SCOFFS] I'm not being glib here,

I actually want to know.

How exactly was it difficult for you

when you saw a child on the floor

with a rope around his neck. your son

how did that impact you?

And why was the answer to that

to cut off all contact with your son?

Oh, you're talking about Hank?

He was a stubborn child.

Strong-willed, demanding.

He won't actually speak to me now.

Did you know that?

I'm talking to you right now.

Yes, you are.

Milk, two sugars, right?

Dad, how did you get to town?

Did you come by car or train?

Either way, I arrived.

What day of the week is it?

Oh, my God, we both need a new calendar.

How do you like living in Florida?

[HENRY] It's quite pleasant
here in the winter,

but...

I'll tell you,

summertime,

the humidity is terrible for books.

[HANK] Who's the current president?

[HENRY] Can we not talk
about politics tonight?

What do you want to talk about?

[HENRY] Well, I have
a new book coming out,

and the publishers want me to tour

up and down the East Coast.

I'm awaiting approval from
the college, of course,

and we might have to delay it

until my sabbatical comes up.

I wish you luck with that.

[HENRY] Thank you.

Thank you. I hope it all works out,

but how are things going for you?