Do you ever wonder why spiders don't get caught in their own webs?
Ginny, life is a game.
And if you're not playing, chances are you're the one getting played.
If life is a game, it's always been Georgia's rules.
-Hey, kid. -Mm.
I have to brush my teeth.
Ah.
-Let me smell. -No, get off.
-Nah. Come on. Let me smell. -Ew, that's gross.
What? No.
-What is wrong with you? -Nothing's wrong with me.
Shh. Don't wake my mom up.
-I told you.
It's not that bad. Come here.
I like waking up here with you.
-Because you're obsessed with me? -Oh, that's right, I am.
Don't make me go today.
Okay, don't go.
I have to go.
It's the first day back since everything. Since everyone hates me.
I don't hate you.
-No? -No.
-Okay. -Oh God.
-Oh my God. -Stay.
-You have to.
Oh God.
Seriously, it's 6:00. Your mom would kill me.
Yeah.
Is that it?
What?
School.
Back seeing everyone.
Is that the only thing that's bothering you?
Yeah.
-Yeah, okay, tiny person. Time to go. Yep.
I also have my first therapy session today.
Good. Get that head fixed.
Ginny, you up? School.
Georgia treats people like little game pieces
and moves us all around.
You getting up?
She said it was me and her against the world,
but that wasn't true, was it?
Turns out I was a pawn too.
Don't you look like a frat boy about to do the walk of shame back to his dorm.
Yeah, you know me. PIKA, baby.
Hey, listen, I gotta go back to my house and suit up before work, so…
What if…
you could suit up here?
Why, Miss Georgia Miller, did you make space for me in your closet?
I did indeed, Mr. Mayor.
Ooh, call me that again.
-I really, really love my closet. -Mm-hmm.
Uh-huh.
I thought it was time for you to move in. Set up shop, Mr. Mayor.
What?
You think it's really a good idea right now for Ginny and Austin?
Do I think having a positive paternal figure that I'm engaged to
move into the house is a good idea? Yeah, I do.
I'm just saying, I do still have my place.
-We don't have to rush them. -Paul, we're getting married.
You're not living somewhere else. They'll be fine.
Besides, this isn't the big "move-in" move-in.
This is a mini move-in.
Mini move-in?
You spend most nights here. It's a practical decision.
Mm. Okay, so… so then it's a… it's a purely practical mini move-in?
-Exactly. -Mm.
Bring a few things over, hang some stuff up.
Not those weird pockety cargo pants. I plan on burning those.
They're not going anywhere.
Then later, we can sit them down and make the big move-in announcement.
Prepare for them to runaway again, or burn the house down,
or attempt more grand theft auto.
-And we will do this together? As a team.
Mm.
You better fill that closet space before I change my damn mind.
Got that charcoal toothpaste you like.
I still don't understand why anyone would elect cover their teeth with charcoal,
but I guess, hey,
-whatever TikTok says.
-And I got the fancy shea butter.
Cost me 40 bucks, which is a full scam.
So you're just not gonna talk to me again, or…
I asked Paul to move in.
Congratulations.
Thanks. Thank-- Mm-hmm.
So I'm just a little confused.
Was that the purely practical mini move-in that we weren't going to announce?
Or was that the big "move-in" move-in that we were gonna sit them down
and announce together as a team?
Okay.
Well, this is-- This is really great, you know?
Usually a breakfast-on-the-go kind of guy, but, you know, sitting here together--
I usually get eggs and coffee, and then--
-But this… this is-- -It's just waffles.
Yes, they are, but they are delicious.
Yeah, waffles are awesome.
Uh, Mom, I need a note for school.
Mm. What should we say?
-Alligator bite? -Mom.
FBI consultation emergency?
Mom!
I said you had the flu.
This is good parenting.
Accio blueberries.
-Ginny, you need one? -No.
-Accio syrup. -You don't want a note?
No.
You're just gonna stroll in after a week with an air of mystique
and zero explanation?
Like Cher?
-Just let me write ya a note. -No, I'm fine.
Bye, Austin. Bye, Paul.
Bye, sweetheart! You have a good day too!
Mom, don't waste waffles.
It's best to stay out of it.
Hey, Austin, can we talk real quick first?
I was sick with the flu last week.
No. Well, yeah, just like that.
But I wanna talk about Paul.
What do you think about him? We like him, right?
-I like when we play soccer. -I like that too.
Mom, I'm not stupid.
I know what's coming. Paul's moving in.
Well… yeah.
-Like when we moved in with Kenny. -No. No, not like Kenny.
Kenny didn't play soccer.
-I like it here. -I like it here too.
If you break up, we'll just move again.
That's not gonna happen.
Paul makes me really happy.
And he makes you happy too, right?
Okay, Mom, Paul can move in.
Well, thank you.
-Mom? -Mm-hmm.
Why didn't you mail my letters to Dad?
Um…
I'm really sorry.
Can you forgive me?
Ginny is mad though.
Yeah, but it's not 'cause of that.
Just say sorry.
-Use your words. -Okay, that's enough out of you.
Get in there.
Cough a little, make it convincing.
Okay, you guys. Have a good day, okay? Bye, sweetie.
Hey, how… how is Cynthia?
-Cynthia is a mess.
The hospice nurse is there now, so it won't be long.
Oh God, Tom's so young.
I know. Poor Zach.
Do you need a pencil?
Guys, I'm gonna throw up and explode, and then die,
and then be resurrected as a zombie, and then die again.
Winter musical auditions are today.
Oh. Oh, I didn't ask.
Time of death, 8:15.
The Wellsbury Tribune reviewed Sing Sing! as a Chicago rip-off.
Sorry. You know what? What they actually said
is that they walked into it expecting it to be like a complete rip-off of Chicago.
It wasn't like Chicago, and they were like,
"What the hell? This isn't anything like Chicago."
"I love Chicago. I would have liked it if I wasn't expecting Chicago."
They were the ones who said it was gonna be like Chicago.
Dude, it's not that deep. You were great.
-Really? -Yes, I've said that.
Yes, but, like, "great" isn't helpful. It's very generic.
-What specifically was great? -You shined, you dazzled.
-Your butt looked good. -It did look good. Mmm.
So, what's the winter musical?
Oh, it's awesome. No one can accuse us of being a rip-off.
It's this period piece set in Regency England.
It's about these noble, wealthy families debuting their daughters for marriage.
-It's called Wellington. -Wellington?
-Like Beef Wellington? -No.
Oh, hey there, break-up-hair.
Yeah. What are we talking about?
Chicago is not at all like Sing Sing! and anyone who thinks so is an imbecile.
Yeah. Your ass looked good in that though.
-Right? That's what I'm saying. -Don't objectify her.
No, no, objectify me, please. Helps me feel better.
I'll objectify you.
Not you.
Ah, yuck.
Nobody say anything.
Hey, Ginny. It's nice to see you.
Shut up, Press.
Hunter, look at me. Laugh. Laugh right now.
Oh my God, you guys are brutal.
-Hey, girl. Where you been? -Um, I was at my dad's place in Boston.
Oh, nice. We're late. We'll talk later, okay?
-See you, Ginny. -Bye.
-Do you wanna talk about it? -Nope.
Oh, it came!
-Isn't that something? -That's a word for it.
-Where did this come from? -The Internet.
Oh, it screams the Internet.
You send 'em a photo, they turn it into a painting.
-A massive painting. -Well, I figure why go small?
My first official move as mayoress.
Mayoress?
Oh, you're not kidding.
You know mayoress is not a thing? Where did you come up with that?
I googled "wife of the mayor." It said Lady Mayoress.
In what, old-time England, like Downton Abbey?
I like it.
Yeah. I see you moved your desk closer to Paul's office.
Eh, just made sense.
Oh no, no, none of this makes any sense.
Nick, do you have a problem?
You know my problem.
You put all of us in jeopardy. You shouldn't be here.
-Nick, don't.
Ready for the staff meeting?
Right behind ya.
"Right behind ya."
I wanna show Wellsbury
we're moving forward with the plan that got me reelected,
but we can't do everything at once, so we need to prioritize.
Well, historical preservation is an issue that's important to everyone.
Mm, yes, I completely agree.
Speaking of historical preservation, uh, what happened to the painting of Town Hall
commissioned in 1890 that used to hang in the office
before that stunning Internet family portrait took its spot?
Or we could add flowers to the bike path.
-This is your political strategy? -Mm-hmm.
-Flowers to the bike path? -Yeah.
-Mm. -Okay. What's going on here?
I don't know. Ask the mayoress.
The mayor… mayoress?
-Oh, is that… is that a thing? -It's fun.
It's so fun.
-We're having so much fun. -It's a thing. I am.
A bit more fun would be pointing out that as a political science major from Cornell,
I might have some insight as to what initiatives deserve priority.
Okay, Cornell. All right.
Great, so you two huddle
while I'm at my interview for the Neighborhood Club.
The Neighborhood Club?
Yeah, why would you wanna join that thing? It's a club for nothing.
-It's for tennis and social events. -It's for members of the neighborhood.
I am a proud member of the neighborhood, ergo, I should be in the club.
Well, "ergo."
Well, it would be kinda nice to be able to use the space for town events
without having to go through a member like Cynthia.
There is a three-to-four-year waitlist.
Next on the list gets in when someone moves away or dies.
I have been on that list for, what day is it? Three years.
Yeah, but I'm the mayoress.
-Okay. -Oops.
Do you wanna talk about it?
Nope.
Miss Miller, a word.
-How was your Thanksgiving? -It was good.
-You missed a lot of school. -I had the flu.
Do you have a note from home?
Well, you'll have to make up the work.
Hunter, you're a good student who always comes to class.
I'm sure you take excellent, fastidious notes.
-Not really. They're kind of messy. -I doubt that.
Could you lend Ginny your notes from the last couple of weeks, please?
Uh, you… you don't have to do that.
It's fine.
Hunter, remember when that amazing, sexy model
reached out to you on Instagram? That was really cool, huh?
This is lovely.
Isn't it?
Our biannual books and bagels brunch.
-It's a fun one.
So that's the great thing. Any member can reserve the space.
Do you play tennis, Georgia?
Oh, yeah, big on tennis.
We have three clay courts,
and we're trying to get a permit to add a pickleball court, but--
Maybe I can look into that.
There's also a two-lane candlepin bowling alley.
-Do your kids like bowling? -More than anything.
You and Paul make such a gorgeous couple. When's the wedding?
-Soon, actually. February. -That's three months from now.
-With good news, I never like to wait. -A winter wedding? That's beautiful.
Didn't the Brocks have a winter wedding at the Mount?
-Yes. -Isn't that at Edith Wharton Society?
Yeah. And then with the ice sculpture.
-Yes. -Beautiful.
But then Jerry, right?
-That was terrible. -He was wasted.
He was a disaster.
-Yeah, his son is just-- -Sorry.
-Yeah. -No, it's okay.
-Would you like to look around? -Yeah.
-Here, we love all things Wellsbury. -Mm-hmm.
It's all on loan from the Wellsbury Historical Society,
and we just rotate it out the end of each month.
This is our newest addition.
-Wow. -I know.
It's the second series of Emily Dickinson's Poems.
We have it on loan from the Dickinson estate for all of November.
-Exciting.
So, who are you thinking of for your sponsor?
Sponsor?
Well, you need a current member to campaign for your candidacy.
Do you know of any current members?
Georgia?
Cynthia.
What are you doing here?
Look, I know we got off on the wrong foot, but when my husband Kenny died…
Tom is not dead.
…I remember how alone I felt.
I can't imagine what you must be going through.
I saw Bev drop off Zach today.
As much as we've had our differences in the past,
I wanted to check in on you, and bring food.
I brought brownies and…
Fine.
I gotta go. I'm really late.
I just don't understand why you can't read the lines.
Fine. "My dear Josephine--"
Oh, thank God. You can take over. I'm late. I gotta get to dance.
You're amazing. You're killing it, slaying it. You got this.
Bye.
Do you mind?
Auditions are today, and I just wanna be off book.
Sure.
You think because I'm wearing three petticoats, bloomers, and a corset,
I couldn't outrun you, dear duke?
Or are you merely afraid the sun would taint my porcelain skin?
Uh…
I'll have you know, I used to outrun my brothers, and I can outrun you.
Uh…
"My dear Josephine, I have insulted you. By my honor, I did not mean to."
Your honor has proven a mightily questionable thing.
I've heard the stories.
"Oh, you have? And did you like them?"
I beg your pardon. You forget yourself.
I am Josephine Margot Wellington.
"You're the one who brought up your bloomers."
"And you, Josephine Margot Wellington, are blushing."
And then I burst into song.
-Are you kidding me?
You're so good.
Thank you.
But I am so not getting cast as Josephine.
What? Why?
"My porcelain skin?"
It's not great. Can't you change the line?
There's this other character. She's, like, comedic relief.
Lady Blair.
She's this ugly, evil, old witch who lives across the street.
If they cast me as Lady Blair, I swear to Jesus…
Um…
Who are you texting?
Marcus.
Marcus Baker?
Oh my God, are you guys dating?
We're talking.
But he slept over the last three nights.
Oh, okay.
It's not like that, it's just sleeping.
You are so cute and red right now.
He taints my porcelain skin.
-Girl, bye.
Hey, Bracia. Ginny.
Hi.
What you doing?
Uh, I'm helping Bracia. She's auditioning for the play.
Oh, nice.
Cool. See you later.
-What the hell was that? Oh my God, that was Bryon.
Who's Bryon?
Don't call him Bryon in case he hears you.
We need a code name.
Call him ERB.
-ERB? -For "Escape Room Bryon."
We went to an escape room once together when we were in the eighth grade.
Well, how did ERB know my name?
He knows everyone's name
because he is literally the sweetest man, and he's super popular,
and I can't believe you told him I was doing the play.
-What? You are doing the play. -I know, but it's like the play. Ew.
Dad?
"Dad?" Uh, okay.
-Okay. No, don't do that. -What?
Don't look at my dad like you just looked at ERB.
-Hey. -Hey.
Uh, this is Bracia.
Nice to meet you, Bracia.
Hi, Mr. Miller.
So, you good to go?
Um…
You know, I can go by myself.
I know, Gummy Bear, just humor me.
Ugh.
In my next life, I want ugly parents.
My mama always said what whiskey will not cure,
there's no cure for.
She ever try Valium?
She tried everything.
-How are you doing?
I remember what it's like, the gut punch.
Feeling alone, overwhelmed.
And going through it with kids.
You still gotta take care of them, and you can barely take care of yourself.
No one can quite understand what that feels like.
I haven't had a shower in days.
Lost count.
-I wasn't gonna say anything, but-- -Oh, shut up.
Just…
the littlest things are so much, you know?
Like… all the paperwork.
So much paperwork, and the financials,
-and I'm just so worried about Zach. -Mm-hmm.
You know? He's gonna go through his whole life with no dad.
I know.
And he's so sad.
He loves his dad, and I don't know what to do to help him.
We'd eat our kids' pain in a second if we could.
Not that they'd ever appreciate it.
And I'm going to be a single mother now.
I can't imagine that.
I've been married to Tom since we were 28.
I--
I don't wanna not be married to Tom.
Oh.
What are you doing here?
I want you to sponsor me for the Neighborhood Club.
Oh, wow. You're a bitch.
When I lost Kenny, I had to deal with all this.
And his ex-wife contested the will, we just bought the house and had no money.
I was really scared. Like, petrified.
Yeah, I still wouldn't have done what you did. You stole money.
You should be fired.
When Austin's dad went to prison,
all I could think about was how was Austin gonna be okay growing up without a dad?
It was so lonely.
And moving here, being a part of something…
I've never had stability, ever,
and I wanted that really badly.
Cynthia, I'm not a fool. I know we're not friends,
but I don't wanna be enemies.
I wanna help you. I know what it's like.
And it couldn't hurt to have the mayor's wife owe you a favor,
or a few favors.
I'm a good person to have on your side.
You don't have to feel so alone right now.
Pour me another shot.
Do I just talk?
Yep, you just talk.
Where do I start?
Wherever you'd like. This is a safe space just for you.
Why don't you start by telling me about your childhood?
Um…
I grew up with a single mom.
We were really poor.
We even had to sleep in the car a few times.
Was that hard for you?
My mom, she, um…
she's good at, like, hiding stuff,
so it never really seemed bad.
Mm.
She even called it car camping,
and we'd eat marshmallows straight from the bag.
And it just kind of became normal, because we were always moving.
-We moved a lot. -What was it like, moving so much?
Um, I don't know, shitty.
-Am I allowed to say shitty? -You can say shitty.
Yeah, it was shitty.
I remember when I was like 11 or 12,
I met this girl, Mackenzie,
and she invited me over to her house for a birthday party.
And I'd never been to a party before,
but I never lived somewhere long enough to make friends.
So I was super nervous.
I remember I changed my outfit like four times.
How did it go?
I never went.
My mom moved us that night.
How did it feel when she did that?
Bad.
Shitty.
Super shitty.
We're gonna talk a lot about what you think and what you feel,
because that's gonna influence what you do.
Your dad said you've been self-harming.
You haven't mentioned that yet.
Let's talk about it.
Shit.
Yeah, um, okay. Yeah, just here we go, I guess.
-We don't have to. -No.
No, it makes sense. It's why I'm here.
It's just weird to be in a room, sitting on a couch,
talking to you about this.
When was the first time you self-harmed?
I was 12 when I first did it.
Do you remember how you felt in that moment?
I remember this…
insane, pent-up energy
and the urge to just hurt.
I'd had that urge before, but I had never done anything.
But I… I knew where my mom kept a lighter,
and I took it.
And I knew I shouldn't. Like, I knew it was bad.
And I've never wanted to, like, kill myself or anything.
It's not like that. I just--
I just…
I… I had the urge to do it, and…
and I did it.
And as soon as I did it,
I just kind of knew that I'd be doing it again.
And… I felt ashamed.
And I still feel ashamed, so, yeah.
Sometimes when we're stressed, we use unhealthy behaviors to cope
instead of healthy ones.
And that's what I want us to work on.
Do you remember what was happening in your life at that moment?
Um…
I guess, actually, it was that move,
after MacKenzie's party.
What were you feeling?
Like I had no control.
-Hey. Hey.
-You got my email? Yeah.
What does it mean?
Well, it means she was married before Kenny to an Anthony Green,
but, uh, he disappeared.
Jesus, this woman.
Well, call the police.
She killed Kenny. She probably killed this Anthony guy too.
She should be in jail.
Well, we can't get her for murdering your ex-husband.
All right? We don't have any evidence.
And we can't get her on Anthony Green. Well, we don't even have a body.
Do you think there's a chance he's alive?
No. No, I don't think so.
I think Kenny and Anthony
have the grave misfortune of marrying Georgia Miller.
Holy shit.
I knew she was bad. I just knew it.
I told Kenny. I warned him.
Oh my God.
Amber Lynn, I need to know if you want me to continue.
Now, we can't get her on Kenny, but this Anthony Green,
he might be worth looking into.
I want you to find everything.
All right.
So is there anything that you want to divulge, share, tell me about?
Dad, you don't get to know what happens in therapy, you just get to pay for it.
I'm not asking you to tell me what you talked about,
but did you like your therapist? Is she nice?
Yeah, she's nice.
I'm glad.
Hey there, hi there, ho there.
Where have you two been?
Go easy on her.
Would be nice to be looped in.
What are those?
-Paul's vintage Fenway chairs. -What are they doing here?
I don't wanna talk about it.
So what were you doing with your dad all afternoon?
I don't wanna talk about it.
-Great. Let's eat. -I'm not hungry.
-But I cooked. Salmon. -I don't want it.
-If you don't eat this, you don't eat. -Fine.
And how was your day? Tell me something good.
Tiffany Griffin got a nosebleed in class,
so we didn't finish math.
Zach still giving you any problems?
No. He seemed really sad today.
Zach's father is very sick.
Oh.
Is he gonna die?
Yeah.
Ginny's still mad.
Yes.
You don't wanna eat, don't eat.
I threw it away.
-All of it? -You want food? Get a job.
-I have a job, so I have food. -I have a job.
You sure about that?
One doesn't leave their job for two weeks
and return to find that they still have it.
You'd know that if you ever worked for anything in your life.
Mmm.
I hope you saved a bagel for Austin.
What are you still doing here?
Kenny left her, married me, and left me his money.
Amber Lynn needs to get over it.
I know you're just doing your job, but she's paying you to harass me.
-I should go to the police.
So tell the police.
Nick was saying somethin' very concerning about some money missing?
-Don't bring Nick into this. Seriously. -Mm.
You can follow me around with a magnifying glass and a boner,
but leave Nick out of it.
Or I'll tell him who you really are.
We both know you're not gonna do that.
Last thing you want's for this perfect little image
you've cultivated of yourself to get sullied.
For everyone to see you as…
…the ugly criminal you are.
Oh, and don't you worry.
I am leaving town. I'm going to New Orleans for a few days.
You used to live there, right?
With your first husband, Anthony Green?
Hey there, little lady.
Hey there, big fat guy.
Hey, kid.
I didn't mean to. I really didn't mean to.
Was the guy a bee?
I don't--
-Not really, no. -Kid, listen.
For your own sanity, he was a bee, okay?
Now, say it with me.
He was a bee.
-He was a bee. -And what do we do with bees?
Excuse me?
Nick, do you have something to say? 'Cause I'm loaded for bear today.
I know what you did.
No money was missing, so--
Do not play that with me.
Several checks were not entered,
and there was a convenient deposit that morning.
How would Paul react
if he knew his fiancée had embezzled from this office?
If it gets out, it will ruin his career, and it is my job to protect him.
So you have become a liability.
You shouldn't be here.
I want you gone.
Why are you smiling?
So tell Paul.
-What's stopping you? -What?
You haven't said anything to Paul yet. Why?
'Cause you know that if I go down, we all go down.
-Is that a threat? -A fact.
You tell Paul, you rob him of plausible deniability.
Only legal recourse he has.
How do you even know legal recourse? Who is teaching you these words?
Oh. But it's more than that.
You're right, it is your job to protect Paul,
but you didn't.
I'm your direct report, Nick.
If I'm playing fast and loose with the books right under your nose…
…what does that say about you?
Sorry I am late, folks. That lunch meeting ran so long.
Oh.
What… What are those doing in my office?
I thought they look better here.
Okay.
I know. I heard.
Oh, those are my two favorite colors.
What?
Sophie.
-Hey. -Hey, Max.
How are you doing?
Yeah, I'm… I'm good. Really great.
Okay, good.
-You look amazing, as per usual.
Can't you just, like, develop horrific cystic acne
and do your ex a solid?
Okay, bye, Max.
Bye, Sophie.
Why am I like this?
Excuse me.
The evil witch. That's perfect.
-Ginny! Oh my God! -What?
Oh my God!
-Oh my God! -What?
-I'm Josephine. -Oh my God, Bracia, that's amazing.
-I can't believe I got it! -Are you serious?
Bracia, look at you, my Josephine.
Um…
-Thanks. -I'm the duke.
What?
How?
I auditioned yesterday.
Hey, Ginny.
See you at rehearsals, milady.
-ERB's the duke. -Shit.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
It won't happen again, Joe. I promise.
-All right, all good. -Really?
No.
You left me stranded Thanksgiving weekend, busiest time of the year.
-You don't call, no heads-up. -I know, I took advantage of you.
Damn right, you did.
I was going through a lot.
-We all are. -Please don't fire me, Joe.
This job is, like, the only thing in my life that's my own.
It's legit all I have.
Ginny, this is my life. This all matters to me.
Okay? You can't just show up here on a whim--
-I think I broke the coffee thing. -Espresso machine.
Can you take it out of my check?
-It's $4,000. -Please don't take it out of my check.
-Can you take table nine's order? -Yep.
-Hey. -Hey.
Oh yes.
Don't try that pouting with me. Don't pout.
At least pretend to respect me.
You know? I'm trying to run a business here.
-Yes, sir. I respect you very much. -Oh sure.
Thank you for coming.
You've been on all our minds.
Thanks, Dena.
I just wanted to say a few words about Georgia Miller
as her sponsor.
I grew up in this neighborhood.
This place has housed many, many of my family's birthdays,
holiday parties, tennis games,
bowling nights…
Many life events in these walls,
with Tom.
It's a special place
for my family and our memories.
Which is why I cannot support Georgia Miller's membership.
She's new to town, and maybe one day, she might earn her place here,
but Georgia Miller doesn't share the values of this neighborhood.
She keeps guns in her house.
She never graduated high school.
Her son violently stabbed Zach in the hand with a pencil.
Now, you all know me, you know that I'm not one to judge,
but Georgia Miller is uneducated, unethical,
and I cannot in good conscience endorse her.
Well, then it's decided.
We will not be extending an invitation to Georgia Miller at this time.
It's a good call.
We're sitting over here.
-Can I? -Yeah, sure.
Hey, I need you two to close tonight.
-Why? -What do you mean "why"?
Oh my God. Do you have a date?
-That's none of your business. -You totally do. You have a date.
-What? I date.
Okay? I have a life.
Okay, but is Joe hot?
Oh, he's like a dorky older brother.
Yeah, total dorky older brother vibes.
Joe, you look nice.
Thank you.
-Hey. -Hey.
Hey.
Padma. I didn't know that you worked here.
Ginny, hi.
Okay, I don't know how,
but I do know whatever's happening here is your fault, Marcus.
Mom…
Okay, ladies, you gotta give him a little shit, okay?
-You gotta gang up on him. -Okay, I'll be in the car.
I'd love an espresso.
Yeah, the machine's down.
Well, look who's home.
Yeah?
Where were ya?
Or am I not allowed to know where you go and what you do?
I was at work.
I didn't get into the Neighborhood Club.
Are you happy?
Am I happy?
No, Mom, I'm not happy.
I died of starvation, go away.
It's not Mom. It's just-- It's me, Paul.
Um…
Can we talk?
-Sure. -I just-- I--
You know what, can I sit?
Make yourself at home.
In fact, move in.
That's funny. Um, about that.
I guess I should start by saying I am very sorry
with how the moving-in news came out.
That was not what we had planned.
Yeah. Mom did it her way.
Welcome to the family.
I know there's some stuff going on between you and your mom,
and I want you to know I'm not about to try and get in the middle of that.
Austin warned me not to, and I am going to listen to him.
But as far as… as you and I go,
I want you to know that I respect that you have a great dad that you can turn to,
and I have zero interest in trying to step on that
in any way, shape, or form.
But with Austin,
you know, with his dad--
I mean, taking credit cards out in his name, I mean, I just--
What credit cards?
Yeah, I-- Your mom told me about that whole thing,
and I just have to say I'm so sorry that you had to go through that.
But Austin, he needs us, and I just--
I want to be there for him in that way.
And I wanna be there for you too, but I know that you're a young woman,
so it's up to you
however much you want or need, or don't want me, uh, to be.
Ginny?
Yeah. Thanks, Paul.
Um, I kind of have to finish my homework.
Okay. Well, uh, thanks for the chat.
Um, I'll just-- Right there.
-And I will-- Okay.
Hey.
Why didn't you come over last night?
I fell asleep.
Is that it?
Yeah.
Why… Why didn't you invite me over to Red?
-When? -Yesterday.
Or today. Whenever.
You can just come over.
No, I can't.
Why not?
I don't know. This is dumb.
-What's going on with you? -Nothing, I'm fine.
-Don't look at me like that. -Like what?
All accusatory, like you don't believe I'm fine.
I don't believe that you're fine.
But I'm not gonna push if you don't wanna tell me.
I came over here so that I wouldn't hurt myself.
Okay, well, I'm glad you did.
I'm really stressed,
and I'm supposed to recognize when I'm stressed, so…
I--
Tell me a joke. I don't wanna think about anything serious.
Do you know that if you clean a vacuum cleaner,
you become a vacuum cleaner?
-Is that-- Is that me? -Uh, no.
Wait, when did you do this?
-Uh, when you were at your dad's. -Why?
'Cause I missed you.
Ah.
You are obsessed with me.
Yes, I am. I absolutely am obsessed with you.
I don't understand.
Why does everything have to be so terrible all the time, forever?
It's the free will theory on a theological spectrum.
And on the basis of Buddhism, we suffer so we know happiness.
Also, people are dicks.
Here.
-There. -There?
Yeah.
Like that?
A little higher.
Yeah.
Faster.
I thought it looked better here.
Touché.
At some point, you get tired of being played with.
What are you so smiley about?
Ginny is making me breakfast.
Oh, she is?
I'm tired of having no control over my life,
of being kept in the dark, treated like a pawn.
Checkmate, Mom.