04x05 - Storybook Love

[bunniefuu]

Previously on "This Is Us"

You want your husband back?

Yes.

Well, then we should get him back.

I think it's time we got out of this place, you know?

Get into a home.

And start a new chapter.

Hey, Mom, it's Kevin.

I got married, uh, to Sophie, yeah.

Got married to Sophie.

Babe?

I can't find it.

Hey, what about this?

Will this do?

We can't have our first dinner in our first house on terrycloth.

Found it.

See?

This is perfect.

It's gonna look so good on our table - Where's our table?

- Finding table.

- Hey.

- Morning.

How'd you sleep?

Weird.

I kept waking up and forgetting where I was.

Me, too.

I mean, we only moved in a month ago.

I feel like it's gonna take some time for it to feel like home.

Can you grab me that other chair?

Please, Bug?

Do you really think a fancy dinner is gonna make it less bizarre that Kevin got married five years after puberty?

He doesn't even understand how a checking account works.

Kate, we've talked about this.

What's done is done.

Now we just have to support them.

I actually think it'll be fun to have something to celebrate.

Randall's bringing his new girlfriend, Miguel's gonna bring some fancy bottle of wine And a sleeping bag.

What?

He's here all the time.

He also talked the Realtor down and fixed the gutters.

So I think that at least deserves a dinner invitation.

I'm off to work.

Hey, how is work, by the way?

You seem to really be liking it.

Yeah, it's okay.

A little boring.

Hey, does anyone actually work here?

- Go.

- I know, I'm gonna go.

Hello.

Yeah.

Coming.

Baby, slow down.

I have to go over my science presentation, proof my English essay, and review my Spanish vocab before school.

All right, well, what's Spanish for "chew"?

- Masticar.

- Then do that.

Good morning, my breakfast beauties.

Who's ready to own this day?

Hey, you were out early this morning.

- I didn't even see you.

- I did.

That's right.

'Cause we're early birds.

Getting that worm.

Ten miles.

Best time.

No big deal.

Ten miles?

What are you, training for a marathon?

I just felt good and I kept going.

Hey, Dej.

Cereal?

One-third Corn Flakes, two-thirds Cheerios, just like you like it.

You think cereal is gonna make me forget you treat me like a child who can't make her own decisions about who to date?

That was the plan.

Okay.

You're gonna need a better plan, man.

Yeah.

Hey, Kate.

Okay, you have to tell me what the baby gift is.

I don't.

It'll ruin the surprise.

Oh, is it a pony?

Huh, Randall?

I'd love a pony.

Or a, or a hot tub.

For a baby?

Look, I don't know.

The Pearson men are known for their grand gestures.

It could be literally anything.

- Yeah.

- In the meantime, listen, I got to go.

I'm off to the g*n show.

All right.

Love you.

Bye, Randall.

It's not a pony or a hot tub.

But it is from me and Kevin.

He made me promise I'd tell you that.

Even though it was my idea, and I did everything while he did nothing.

So you call me first when it gets there.

Okay.

Hey, um I'm worried about Kev.

I mean, he bought a trailer?

In Pennsylvania?

Quiet's nice, huh?

It was.

So what was it like growing up with my dad?

Hmm?

Tell me a story about his childhood.

He liked ice cream.

Yeah.

That's a good story.

That's-that's a great story.

Uh, I'm gonna expand on that a bit.

I remember when I was a kid, my dad used to come home, sometimes he'd bring these, uh, these cartons of ice cream.

You know, the, the ones with the cardboard sides that you'd fold down, leaving just a brick of ice cream?

Anyway, he'd, um - Right there?

- Right there.

He'd cut it like it was a cake.

Big old cut, oh!

God, I really loved that.

Nothing.

Okay, great.

Mm.

You, uh, you looking forward - to the hockey game today?

- Yeah, I was.

- Yeah.

- But then I remembered I don't really want to go, so Listen, they're honoring vets at tonight's game.

They're inviting Cassidy down on the ice, it's a whole thing.

Plus I might have told her I'd help her win her husband back.

You have strange relationships with people.

Might be the nicest thing you ever said to me.

Councilman.

Ah there's the man that stood me up for drinks.

Thank you for meeting me.

I'm really sorry about the other night.

I hate missing a good Scotch and a healthy debate on gentrification.

Well, it didn't sit too well with a few councilmen that you obviously had better things to do, but we consoled ourselves with steaks at Del Frisco's afterward.

Yeah Ah, excuse me, this is my daughter's school.

Hello.

Yes.

So, did you talk to my wife?

She didn't?

Okay.

Um, I will be right there.

Councilman, I'm so sorry, I have to go.

Um my daughter had a panic att*ck.

Okay.

Two of the legs are now officially attached.

We just have to find the others.

Where is the big pot?

I can't make lasagna without the big pot.

Oh, baby, that's a problem, because I-I'm starving.

And I think, I think I might have forgotten to pack the big pot.

How about an hors d'oeuvre to tide you over, good sir?

- Thanks.

- Hmm?

Bon appétit.

Aw.

I hope the salmon's not chewy.

- No, it's good.

- Uh, it's okay if you don't like salmon, you know, or are allergic.

I totally forgot to ask about dietary restrictions.

Uh, I-I like salmon.

What do you think, guys?

Should I, uh, open the wine and let it breathe before Kev and Sophie get here?

Yeah.

I'll open the wine and let it breathe.

I forgot the dill garnish.

Hold on.

Ah, yes.

Because a garnish will make it less crazy that Kevin got married.

- Kate, come on.

- It's true.

I keep a list of things to fix around the house 'cause my mom needs help now that she's alone.

Oh, actually, she's not alone.

I'm here all the time.

All right, I got the garnish.

Oh, that reminds me.

I brought a housewarming present.

What?

Tonight.

Um, there's a story behind it.

Don't worry.

It's What, d-does everybody hate hot sauce, - or ?

- No, no, no.

Um It's just that, uh Jack used to put hot sauce on everything.

Uh, my dad loved hot sauce, too.

So much so that he brought a bottle of it wherever he went.

Um, as a gift, but it wasn't actually a gift.

He just wanted to make sure he always had hot sauce.

Um, yeah, he put it on-on eggs and put it on burgers.

Um, one time, he even put it on Froyo.

Yeah, after he d*ed, I started bringing it as a gift, too.

- Well, thank you.

- Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Oh, that must be them.

Hey.

This is weird, right?

- Hi, Mom.

- Look at you guys.

Let's try to be supportive for Mom.

There they are.

Oh, my goodness!

Come on in.

Come in.

Uh, wife, would you like to enter?

Yes, husband.

Okay.

This is how we enter buildings now.

- Okay.

- Yeah.

Now, that's weird.

Thank you.

You want to talk about it?

- 'Cause I know a thing or two about - Please, no.

You know, it's okay.

Happens to me, too.

Sometimes it just comes out of nowhere.

Like when I have a lot of stuff going on in my life.

I won't even know that I'm feeling that way, and then it just catches up to me all of a sudden.

Hey, baby.

I left the studio right away.

- Are you okay?

- Yeah, she's okay.

The nurse said she had a little trouble breathing and a rapid heart rate.

Probably brought on by some anxiety.

Is that what's going on?

Huh?

- Feeling a little anxious?

- I don't know.

- I guess.

- It makes sense.

There's a lot happening.

New school, friends.

You put a lot of pressure on yourself with your grades.

- I think you get that from me.

- S-Stop.

Stop saying I'm like you.

I don't want to be anything like you.

Hey, don't you, uh, don't you have one of those Vietnam baseball hats you could wear or something?

You know?

You know, it's not like it's a-a concert we all went to, Kevin.

No, no, it's, it's I'm just saying, like, it would be nice if other people could recognize you for your service.

You know what I mean?

That's sort of what this whole thing is all about.

- You know what would be nice?

- What's that?

If I could just drink, like, ten beers in a row, you know, just to get through this.

Relax.

I'm kidding.

I prefer whiskey.

- You made it.

- Hey!

Hey, congrats on the whole, uh, you know, your whole thing.

- Oh.

I guess.

- Yeah.

Um, Matty's dad's coming to the ceremony, so Oh, okay.

Shut up.

He's just being a good dad.

He's bringing his son - to see people clap for his mom.

- Mom!

- Hey.

- Kevin!

- What's up, buddy?

- Hi, bud.

What do you say?

Get me up high.

There it is.

Nice vertical.

- Hi.

- Hey.

Thanks for coming.

Dad!

Dad, this is Kevin.

Isn't he cool - like I said he was?

- Nah, come on.

You know what?

You buy a kid one Kit Kat.

Good to meet you, Ryan.

Ah, glad to finally meet the adult man that my nine-year-old son keeps saying is one of his best friends.

- Okay.

Come on.

- Okay.

You really do have the strangest relationships with people.

I couldn't find the fourth table leg, so we're just gonna have to eat on the strong corner.

Babe, you're already cooking three babies in your belly, okay?

You don't have to do this.

It's our first night in our new home, and I want everything to be just right.

- Okay.

- Here.

- Start on your salad.

- Huh.

Hey, Kev.

You recognize the salad recipe?

It's Emeril Lagasse.

- Who?

- Emeril Lagasse, you know, the chef that goes "Bam".

We watched him together all last year.

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Bam.

- Yeah.

This is him.

- Yeah, totally.

Awesome.

So how come you guys got married?

Mm.

It was a sign.

- Mm-hmm.

- Mm.

Tell them.

So, I'm walking down the street in New York.

- Mm-hmm.

- Beautiful day.

I'm thinking about how lucky I am to be with Sophie, and I look up and I happen to be in front of a theater playing The Princess Bride.

- Oh.

- Our favorite movie.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

Yeah.

Oh, so, then, that was the sign No, not all of it.

No, no, no.

Um, across the street, there's a church that starts ringing its bells and, like, two seconds later, - a street vendor walks up selling - Rings.

- Bracelets, but definitely jewelry.

- Yes.

Yeah.

Um, and, yeah.

In that moment, I just realized that, um, I couldn't wait another second to start our lives together.

So And how could I say no to that?

Aw.

You want to see the wedding photos?

Yes.

Please.

Of course.

I picked up the camera at a Duane Reade on the way to the courthouse.

Uh - Oh, Polaroids.

- Ooh, I want to see.

We did a lot of 'em.

Oh, I'll pass them around.

- I'll get it.

- Wow.

Hey.

Hi.

What are you doing here?

Well, I didn't want you to have to go through tonight alone.

So, just got your address off your application and I, uh, picked your neighbor's daisies and, uh, here I am, so Oh.

That's so romantic.

- Yeah.

- And a little creepy.

That's me, just all together.

Hey, Bug?

Who is it?

You sure you want to do this?

Bug?

Oh, absolutely.

Yeah.

- Okay.

Come on.

- Definitely.

Everyone, um, this is my friend from work.

- Hi.

- Hi.

Oh, I'm Marc.

I'm Kate's boyfriend.

Uh yeah.

You, uh, you and Cassidy go to a lot of games?

She must be fun at the hockey games, huh?

- I've never been.

I hate hockey.

- Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

Hockey sucks.

Just awful.

I'm out of here.

What do you mean?

You're not the ceremony hasn't even started yet.

Uncle Nicky.

Hey.

- I don't feel good here, Kevin.

- Pardon me.

Hey.

Where are you, where are you gonna go?

You gonna go to a bar?

No, I just need to be somewhere else.

- Well, let me go with you.

- No, alone.

I'm fine.

Please.

Randall, you have to call me back and tell me when this present is getting here.

Okay?

I'm trapped in my house with a tiny sleeping baby and a dog who has to pee.

There's just no way that this grand gesture is going to be worth it.

Call me back.

Bye.

It's here?

Oh, my gosh.

Okay.

Hi.

Are you my present?

I have no idea what you're talking about.

- Oh - No, I came to see the baby.

Okay.

- Very cool.

- So, your favorite band is called Modest Mouse?

- Mm-hmm.

- Now, wait a minute, is-is that a band or a shy cartoon character?

No, it's actually from - a Virginia Woolf short story.

- Uh, yeah.

And, um, and so, like, the lead singer, uh, like, he got started by recording just, like, these crazy experimental songs with a distortion pedal on his answering machine and stuff like that, so, you know - Uh-huh.

Very cool.

- it's pretty cool.

- So cool.

- Yeah.

So, what do you guys think of Marc?

Oh, he seems like he's really into obscure music facts.

That's kind of his job.

Kevin?

Uh, yeah, he's too old for you.

- Definitely too old for you.

- Uh, he's 23.

Dad was six years older than Mom.

How do you guys not like him?

Okay?

He was nothing but nice to you.

- I personally don't have a problem - I don't know, it's just a feeling.

Like that time Grandma wanted us to try escargot.

You know, we didn't need to try it to know we didn't like it.

Marc is escargot.

- What do you guys think about Beth?

- She's great.

- Yeah?

Cool.

- No, actually, she's perfect.

She even has a beauty mark on her eye.

Didn't know that was a thing until now, but it's adorable.

- Unlike Marc.

- Kate, come on.

You want me to lie?

I love Marc.

- He's my new favorite.

- You no, no.

You know, I don't even care about that, Kevin.

You got married without telling me.

Okay?

- I'm supposed to be your person.

- You know what?

- It was spontaneous.

- I'm with Kate here.

- Polaroids?

- Hey.

What's going on in here?

Kate's freaking out.

No, Kev, I'm not freaking out.

I'm just, I'm not gonna sit here and pretend that your ridiculous marriage is real.

Man, so, who are you, again?

I don't know, Kate, what are we supposed to do?

- Stay here and be sad all the time?

- Hey, bro, come on.

- What?

We're being honest, right?

- Guys, stop.

You are so selfish!

- Enough.

Enough!

- We should have been at your wedding, Kevin.

It is our first night as a family together in our new house, and I have spent weeks getting this place together so that it would be perfect.

Because this is where we move forward.

This is where we sit around a table with napkins and placemats and laugh and celebrate and eat Cornish game hens.

And so help me, God, that is what we are gonna do: move forward.

And it doesn't matter that I didn't have the right size pan and that the hens are all squished together and they're burnt on the top and raw on the bottom.

It doesn't even matter that Kevin doesn't remember Emeril, or that I have four whole Polaroids of your wedding.

So pull yourselves together, pretend you like burnt raw food, get your whiny little asses back out in those seats, and enjoy my damn dinner.

Babe.

Oh, no, no, no.

Wait for it, wait for it.

You're a genius.

Yeah.

I know.

Here.

I can help.

There we go.

Look how nice that is.

Huh?

What's that smell?

Did you clean the oven out?

I thought that you did.

What?

- Oh, God.

- Oh.

Okay.

Jack.

Oh, man.

Wow, baby.

Still looks good.

Okay?

Can we get sick from this?

So good.

Ladies and gentlemen, please stand as we honor Bradford County's Heroes of the Game.

Please give a round of applause for U. S.

Air Force Second Lieutenant Alan Ellis.

And U. S.

Marine Corps Staff Sergeant Cassidy Sharp.

Yeah!

And finally, let's show our support for U. S.

Navy Chief Petty Officer Jon Gutierrez.

Hey, can you tell Cassidy I had to take off?

She can bring Matty home whenever.

We thank you for your service and dedication to our nation's freedom.

Yeah, she's been in her room for an hour.

We got to go talk to her.

Let me see if grilled cheese can get her to talk.

You know, she loves my grilled cheese.

You okay?

Yeah.

I'm fine.

Growing up, I never shared genetic traits with anyone I knew.

And when you and I had kids, I couldn't wait to see what they got from me.

Would they have cute ears, be able to roll their tongues?

Having anxiety and panic att*cks is the thing about myself that I like the least, and I passed it on to her.

I hate that I gave this to her.

What did the doctors say?

They want to keep him another night.

Um, see how he adjusts to the medication.

This must have been building for a while.

He feels things getting away from him, and then he works really hard to rein 'em in.

Like more time at the office, more time at the gym.

And then he just pushes himself harder and further and I should have saw the signs.

I had a tell when I was young.

Really?

You had anxiety, too?

Back then they didn't have a name for it.

They said I was "fragile" and "sensitive".

But when it was happening to me, I thought I was gonna die.

My mother would help me through it, though.

She'd fill a glass with seltzer water and tell me the inside of my mind was like the bubbles bouncing around, trying to get out.

And we'd watch together until those bubbles settled.

Eventually, I would settle, too.

Beth, out of all the things I could have passed down, I hate to think that it was that.

Babe, come on, it's gonna be perfect, it's gonna be perfect.

- All right?

- Mm.

All right?

You know, I think the smoke gave it a nice hickory flavor.

- Hickory lasagna.

- Hickory lasagna.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Hey, are, uh are you okay?

Am I trying too hard?

Are we are we unfixable?

Maybe this loss is just Too big.

You know?

Uh, you know, those those sound like questions that can only be answered by the wine that I brought.

No.

I've barely had a drink in ten years.

Well, lucky for you, over the course of the many, many boring dates that I've been on, I have learned a lot about wine.

Okay, fine.

Okay.

Uh, this is a bottle of Brunello di Montalcino.

They call it the King of Italian wines.

It's a hundred percent Sangiovese grapes grown only around the Tuscan town of Montalcino.

- Montalcino.

- Montalcino.

Very good.

Now, the region is so small that they can't produce a top vintage every year.

The ripening season has to be perfect.

And there's nothing they can do if the weather won't cooperate.

Maybe this year is too hot.

This year's too cold.

They, uh they have to be patient.

They have to wait out the bad years believing that there is a better year coming.

And it always is.

Thank you.

- Now give me that wine.

- Okay.

Thanks for the ride.

- Yeah.

- I thought we'd be having dinner together afterwards as a family.

I'm so stupid.

You can't just wish a marriage into working out.

The truth is, I don't think there's much to save.

Forget love.

I don't even think he likes me.

Hey.

Come with me.

Mom, I don't want - to talk about

- Come on.

Hey.

- Hmm?

- I need you downstairs.

- Can it wait for just a s ?

- Nope.

You two don't like this thing you have in common.

And I get that.

It's scary.

But it also made three of my most favorite people in the world who they are.

William would also get anxious about things.

He was sensitive and artistic and caring.

But there's a fine line between caring and worrying, and sometimes that line gets blurry.

From the moment I met your father, he was obsessed with making everything okay for everybody else.

And that took some getting used to, but I loved him for it.

'Cause it meant he cared deeply.

Now, there's some things you get from your dad that you're gonna have to navigate around, but there are some gifts, too.

You give everything your all.

You're an amazing sister and daughter and friend and student.

Now, look, we're gonna get whatever this is under control, okay?

Believe that.

But I will not have you talking ill about three of my most favorite people in the world.

No way, no how.

Are you hearing me?

And if it ever gets to be too much Mm-mm.

Just take a minute and wait for the bubbles to settle.

William.

Um last week Ashley wanted to know if I thought DeShaun was hot.

I should have just come out then, like I'd planned to, but instead, I said yes.

And now it's gonna be a whole thing.

That's a lot.

But we can figure it out.

Thanks.

So, the night your father and I moved into our house, I made a fancy dinner, too.

And, of course, I ended up burning the lasagna.

So we had to open the window to let all the smoke out of the kitchen.

And just as we were sitting down to eat, a bird flies in through the window.

Oh.

- Okay.

- Whoa!

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Now, the important detail of this story is that your dad was - terrified of birds, terrified.

- Terrified.

Yeah, he was.

So he runs out of the room

- Hey, Jack?

- and he runs back in with a tennis racket and a pillow case, and he goes Don't worry, I'll catch it.

He must have freaked the bird out, because then the bird starts diving at him and chasing him around the room.

And your father made the most ridiculous squealing sound I've ever heard.

So he's trying to get away from the bird and protect me, I guess, with the tennis racket

- Wait, where did it go?

Where did it go?

- Right there.

Look, look, look.

Jack And somehow we knock over the lasagna.

Bec?

And we just started laughing.

And that's when it became the perfect night.

When we just let it be what it was.

We need to be able to think about him and not only be sad.

We need to be able to talk about the hot sauce.

Right?

He was perfect the way that dinner was perfect.

He made us so happy.

And that's all I want for you guys, is just for you to be happy.

Then, let's have a toast.

- Please.

- To happiness.

- To happiness.

- To happiness.

Oh, and to Kevin and Sophie.

Yes.

- Congratulations.

- Congratulations.

To Kevin and Sophie, cheers to that.

Salud.

All right, this meal was disgusting.

I admit it.

- Who's still hungry?

- Me.

- Me.

- Me.

Me, too.

I am tru You can keep the change.

Thank you.

Pizza - I'll get his, uh, stuff.

- Thank you.

You got it.

- Hey.

- Hey.

Here you go.

- Thanks.

- Yeah.

You know, your wife was, uh, she was being honored tonight for her service at that hockey game.

Man, she was excited when she found out you were showing up.

If you were gonna stand there and stare at your phone all day, why'd you bother coming?

Okay.

That's good stuff, man.

I met her when I was 15.

I smashed into her in the hallway As I was walking into biology class.

And I knew, I knew before her books even hit the floor, I had just met my favorite person.

That, uh, that ceremony that you're talking about honored the thing that broke my favorite person in the world.

I was staring at my phone because otherwise I would have started openly weeping in front of my son, and that's not what he needs from me right now.

I'm sorry, man.

I-I I didn't know.

Stay the hell away from my wife.

He's out.

I'll be back for him on Thursday.

Yeah.

What?

He still likes you.

It's all right.

I'm sober.

Okay.

I'm not a storyteller.

And I don't like people.

I-I don't even like you very much, and, uh, you're the closest person I've been to in the last 20 years.

You know, your father wasn't the, uh, first person to do this.

Uh, he learned that trick from his father, uh, your grandfather.

That man was a bastard, but every now and then he could be kind of fun.

Yeah.

What he'd do was he would fold down the sides of the carton hmm so that it looked like a, like a big cake.

And then he'd then get a Kn*fe and just wave it over the ice cream.

And he'd, he'd ask, uh, "How-how good a boy were you today?

Were you kind of good?

Or were you real good?" And depending on the answer, that was how big a slice you got.

So How good were you today, Kevin?

Um I think I annoyed my uncle today.

Other than that, I think I was pretty good.

Well, then, you get a pretty good slice of ice cream.

I've been very good.

Uh, I need to give you your wedding gift.

- I hope it's an air popper.

- Oh.

I-I hope it's cash.

- Kevin.

- Excuse me.

- Oh.

- No, it is a song.

For the newlyweds.

From a little movie called The Princess Bride.

- Ooh.

- Mm-hmm.

Come, my love, I'll tell you a tale Of a boy and girl And their love story And how he loved her Oh, so much And all the charms she did possess Now, this did happen - Just careful.

- Is that our old piano?

Things were not so complex The Pearson men nail another grand gesture.

She walked When he looked in her eyes He became obsessed - My love is like a storybook story - That's middle C.

Yeah, that's your home base.

You know where that is, you can go anywhere.

Yeah.

My love is like A storybook story It's as real as the feelings I feel It's as real as the feelings I feel - I found a therapist for Tess.

- Good.

I think that'll be really helpful for her.

And I found one for you, too.

I don't need a therapist.

I'm good.

Best I've been in years.

But you've been working crazy hours and running ten miles a day and constantly bouncing that knee.

You know, you don't have to wait for it all to come crashing down to get help.

Glad to know you think I'm gonna crash.

You know, when you had your first breakdown, you thought that was gonna be the only one.

All these years of just managing it and making lists, babe We have resources now and people who are trained to deal with this kind of stuff.

I appreciate your concern.

- But I'm fine.

- Okay, I am worried that we are just one big emotional thing from this Beth, I'm fine.

My love is like a storybook story But it's as real as the feelings I feel My love is like a storybook story It's as real as the feelings I feel It's as real as the feelings I feel What's wrong, Bug?

What?

I was trying so hard to hold it together that year after your father d*ed.

And I wanted to believe so badly that you kids were happy.

I'm so sorry I didn't see what was happening.

I didn't see it, either.