Of course, the title is a nod to the place.
But more specifically,
it's a nod to the immigrant women who make America,
as told through the textiles from their country of origin.
Women… like my mother right here.
Can you tell us a bit more
about the sourcing of the materials for this piece in particular?
Yeah. We imported them from all over the world.
It's all surrounding…
You spent more time talking to that security man
than you did to Sareena and her friends.
Maurice, from Senegal. Nice man.
I'm so ashamed of your behavior.
-How long do you want? Fifty seconds? -Let's say 45.
Why are you making such a problem?
I am not. You are.
Finally I get out of this house to do something new
and meet new people, but no.
No! Instead, we come home when you want to come home
to do the same old, same old bloody, darn thing.
You didn't have to leave. You could have taken a cab home.
Here. Take it.
And tell me if it's not warm enough.
It's fine. Geez. I don't know what's gotten into you.
This is beyond ridiculous.
I'll need a fork, darling.
Happy birthday to you
May you have a long and happy life, Anu.
May the gods bless you and bless Vikas,
and give you many, many, many more years of--
Arre, Anu, are you crying?
No.
Don't be upset because you're getting old. We all are.
-Yeah. Yes! -Yes. Look at Nalini.
Used to be so beautiful, now looking so tired.
Doctor says I'm anemic.
No, it's Vik. I've really had it with him.
-Come on. -Goodness gracious.
-Manu is on these apps. -I don't know what…
He's making this sound.
No, no. I am serious this time.
Last night at her artist show, I saw my Sareena living her life so free.
And then of course, Vik made us come home early for no reason.
I serve him dinner, and it's--
it's just the same routine day in, day out, and I feel so trapped.
Yes, but what is marriage
if not an agreement for two people to be trapped together?
But did I know that?
I got married without even knowing what it would be like.
I was so young, so stupid.
We all did. That's just what was done.
What to do now but endure it?
Shall we order, then?
But, Pushpa, no, I don't wanna just endure it.
I wanna be happy, and Vik is… holding me back.
Arre, from what?
What grand old thing you think you're missing?
I'm 60 years old, and all I do is attend to his needs,
and he never attends to any of mine.
And I know it doesn't have to be this way.
You could return him.
-What? -Udaya,
what rubbish are you saying?
In America, if you don't like your husband,
simply exchange him and get a new husband.
No. This will not do.
All I'm saying is, if you're not happy, Anu, make yourself happy.
Happy, happy?
Nowadays people care too much about that.
Life isn't all about happiness.
Life is about enduring hard things.
Now can we please order some food
before I collapse from starvation?
My stomach is making gurra, gurra, gurra.
Excuse me? We're ready here.
Can I please order for everyone? It'll be quicker.
And what's the reason for your return today?
The reason?
Yes, ma'am. What's the reason for returning your husband?
Where to start?
Yeah, I guess it boils down to me looking at the next 20 years of my life,
God willing, and wanting something different.
From me. Just say it. You want something different from me.
Our options are: "does not fit," "manufacturing defect," "arrived late,"
"arrived damaged," "not suitable."
Just say "not suitable"…
anymore.
Yeah, I also have this.
Don't know if you need the-- What's it called, the husband's warranty?
Oh, yes. Thanks.
Wow. Thirty-seven years of marriage.
I know it's donezo, but still, that's quite an accomplishment,
so congrats on that.
Thank you.
So, what now from here?
Well, we'll take you, Mr. Vikas, right here into the back,
assess for pricing based on age, quality, history, relevant skills…
Okay.
Don't listen to what my wife says about my skills, because I have many skills.
I know a lot about geography, I--
Well, then we'll shine you up, do any necessary refurbishments
before putting you back out on the floor for resale purposes.
Back out onto the floor?
Right here, our husbands section.
Okay, Anu. Well, I guess this is me.
Okay. Well, thank you, Vik.
All right, well…
All right.
I'm Ibrahim. Welcome.
Hey. I'm Sal.
I'm Vikas.
Taking down one last number for your exchange,
and then you two will officially be finito.
Exchange? No, no. I don't want another husband.
I'm afraid I can only offer you an in-store exchange for a husband
or wife of same or lesser value.
But I looked it up, and the terms of agreement said--
Unfortunately,
that doesn't apply to out-of-country purchases made before 1986.
Tissue?
Thank you.
Do you wanna watch TV?
Sure. Whatever you'd like to do.
Okay. How about the news?
News is just perfect.
Officials noted that if both parties are not back
at the bargaining table by early next week,
chances are not good at reaching a resolution
before the self-imposed deadline arises.
The spokesperson for the striking hotel workers said today.
The rank and file remains optimistic that a new contract can be agreed upon…
I wanted to be a painter before I met Vik.
I think that's why I chose you.
I'm flattered. You're a rad woman, you know that?
Have you always wanted to be an artist?
No. No way.
Let's see.
I've been a day camp counselor and an ice cream scooper.
I worked at Sears in the stockroom.
I love Sears.
Then in college, I did a million things.
I was a campus tour guide. I worked a zip line in Costa Rica.
Long story.
Spent a summer fixing office chairs. Longer story.
I did some modeling.
You were a model?
Briefly.
What, like a fashion model?
Come on, Anu. You got this.
No, I don't. It's all rubbish.
It's not all rubbish.
Here, I'm gonna come see.
This is great. It's great. It's really, really great.
Yeah. The more you say "really, really great,"
the more I know it's all lies.
It is. It's an awesome first effort. It's dynamic.
Yeah, your perspective's all at play, right?
Your proportions are all happening.
-It's okay, you can relax. -I am relaxed.
Really? 'Cause your shoulders are all the way up by your ears.
It's funny, my mom's used to be like that too.
Do I remind you of your mom?
A little, but, like, not in a creepy way.
"For me, exercise is more than physical. It's therapeutic,"
Michelle Obama.
Well, I've always wanted to get in shape.
"You have to exercise or at some point, you'll just break down,"
Barack Obama, obviously. Let's go!
Come on, you can do it!
Five, six, seven, eight!
Punch, and knee. Punch, and knee.
Decide, commit, succeed.
Remember, good things come to those who wait.
-Come on! Move it! -I know.
Punch and punch!
…which is nice,
because the only place Vik ever moved was from the kitchen to the La-Z-Boy.
Raoul, are you hearing me?
Anu, don't you think that's a little too much butter on your chapati?
You should have asked me.
I could've told you which fellows were the loafers.
You see this poor bastard here, Anu?
The one in the baseball hat?
Haan. No good. Reduced his price four times.
No.
No one taken you off the shelf yet?
Just a lot of window shopping so far.
But it's been giving me time to see that I--
I need to make, you know, a couple changes here and there.
Oh, yeah?
Yeah. I've been talking a lot with Sal and Ibrahim.
Ibrahim is a family therapist by trade.
Trying to figure out where I went wrong and--
and maybe what you said when you were returning me was right.
Maybe we weren't suitable for each other anymore.
I can see now that I needed to make these, you know
adjustments, and I didn't.
I have been learning a lot about myself as well.
I finally realized I've been looking in the wrong direction for happiness.
-Really? -Yeah. I need to look within.
I need to figure out who I am.
Being alone that will make me happy.
Right, right. Maybe that is for the best.
Good luck with that.
Thank you, Vik.
I gotta go. I will--
-I'll drop in and see you next week maybe. -All right.
-Okay. -Right.
-Bye. -Okay, bye.
Vernazza.
Bocca della Verità.
Ciao bella.
Spaghetti carbonara.
Welcome to my humble, blue abode.
This is what I was talking about, the front garden.
I'm sure you've seen this just a million times.
I mean, you just look.
Hi, Anu!
Here, can you hold this for a minute?
Anu, where'd you go?
-Hi. -Are you okay?
It looked like you fell down.
Hey, I just picked up-- Wow! A steal of a deal at the store.
Actually, I've always sorta had a crush on him.
And it was such a bargain, I just couldn't pass it up, frankly.
Is it gonna be awkward?
No, come on. Not awkward at all.
Good, good.
Yeah, I didn't think so, because, yeah, you're the one who returned him.
Yeah, yeah. Just…
-Yeah. -Yeah.
You returned him.
I picked him up.
So, this front garden is just kind of a washout.
I think we oughta look at the back
because some really good things are happening in the back.
Come on in.
-Well, okay. -That's just great.
Hi, Anu.
What are you doing here?
Hi, Barbara.
I have just been doing some cleaning up at home
and wanted to drop by this box of Vik's old clothing in case he needs it.
Well, that is just so nice of you.
It's quite heavy, actually.
I can come in and put it down if you like.
Yeah. No. He won't be needing that.
-No? -No. Oh, no.
I bought Vikas all new clothes.
Vikas?
-Barbie? -Yeah?
-Everything okay? -Whoo! Looking good.
Hello, Anu.
Doesn't he look great?
Yeah, you know what?
I think that maybe we're not ready for unannounced visits quite yet.
Excuse me?
I think that we need a little more time
for everyone to get used to this new normal.
I knew you'd agree. Bye-bye.
How you hanging in there, Mom? What have you been up to?
Well, so many things, my Saru.
Let's see. Let's see.
I've been doing some gardening…
Okay, the next phrase,
"I would like a room for two."
All right.
Je voudrais une chambre pour deux.
Got it?
Je voudrais une chambre pour deux.
Good job. We're good.
…catching up on some reading…
some bird watching…
Well, just know I'm really proud of you.
Maybe we can even go on a double date sometime.
I'm trying. Slowly, slowly.
Whenever you're ready.
There's this new sushi place downtown I think you'd like.
-Oh, my God. Mom, are you okay? -I-I'll call you back.
Arre. Oh, no. Barbara, are you okay?
I'm so sorry. I didn't see you there.
How could you not see me, Anu? Don't you have a rearview mirror?
I was distracted.
You know, I'm just getting used to this driving thing,
'cause Vik used to do all the driving when we were together.
Okay. All right. Yeah.
Look, at least let me help you back into the house.
I'm sure you'd love that, wouldn't you? No, thank you. I'm fine.
No! Thanks. I'm fine.
Son of a gun! God, dang it.
Vikas! Honey, a little help.
-Anu did this. -Come on. Okay.
All right.
-Can I? Thank you. All right. -Yes. Okay, come on.
You got it?
-Yeah, just lean on me. -You've got to be kidding me.
Go to hell.
And thank you to all of our wonderful guests,
and thank you at home for watching.
-Hey, Clark. -Anu.
Just in time for Valentine's Day.
Huge closeout in our husbands aisle.
No, thank you.
Vik?
What happened?
Barbara returned me. Said married life wasn't for her.
Still wearing the jacket she gave you, looking like a hero.
I need all the help I can get, so…
No, no, don't. Don't look at my price.
No, Vik. This is too low!
I've been returned twice, so I'm, I'm "bargain basement" now.
Come, sit. Here.
Hey, want something cool to drink?
Why did you change for her?
What?
Thirty-seven years I've done everything for you, and you stopped doing…
anything.
And then you go live with Barbara, and suddenly you're Johnny Mr. Helpful.
"Look at me, cooking for Barbara, cleaning for Barbara,
brushing Barbara's graying, sh-- thinnish hair."
-So, you were-- you were spying on us? -Be quiet.
It's not like I was James Bond, shimmying up a drainpipe.
-James Bond doesn't shimmy. -You know what I mean.
When we were first married, I would fix something,
and all you could say is, "Why-- Why did you fix it like that?"
Everything I did was wrong
just because it wasn't done the way you would do it.
Nothing I did ever seemed to be good enough for you, so I,
so I stopped trying.
All these years, I thought the problem was you…
and then I spent time alone with myself.
I realized I'm not that easy either.
No. You're not.
So many ways we took each other for granted.
I'm sorry.
So, what's next? Are you--
Are you here to buy Ibrahim?
No, I'm done shopping.
So you're going to stay single, then?
I don't know.
What happened to us?
Worked so bloody hard to come to the land of plenty.
And now here we are in a store of abundance
and yet left with nothing.
No, not nothing.
We have Sareena, our unmarried daughter
who comes to visit us for a few hours every year.
If I were to buy you back, it would have to be different.
It can't go back to what we had before.
Of course.
I want an exciting life.
And I don't know what that means
and I don't know how to get it, but I know that I want it.
And I don't want you to hold me back from it.
Me too. I don-- I don't want to sit in an armchair the rest of my life.
No, I mean it, Vik. It's-- I'm not talking about just going on a cruise.
No bloody cruises. They're shit.
What is this S-word you're suddenly using?
I'm a new man.
No.
You can't buy me.
I'm "bargain basement." You deserve better.
-Get in the cart. -Why?
-Get in. -But I told you. You can't buy me.
Yeah, I am not going to buy you. I'm gonna steal you.
Value this, value that. It's all rubbish.
Come on. Get in before somebody sees us.
Okay, but what are you doing? You've never stolen anything in your life.
Yes, that's right.
But what, what if you want to return me? You don't have a receipt.
I'm not returning you.
All right, go. Go.
Go.
Go, go.