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In the 20th century...
...if you wanted to know your neighbors, you moved to the suburbs.
If you wanted to become an addict, you moved to New York.
Now everything's upside down. The junkies are in the burbs...
...and the building next door is a fucking kickball league.
It was art against commerce, and commerce won.
The kids think the only place to find art is in a gallery...
...and the only place to find romance is confessing your love in the rain...
...like in the movies. But it's messier than that.
Well, there's always mess.
It's safe here now, but there's still urban decay.
It's just migrated into the dinner parties of the Upper West Side.
The best lack all conviction...
...while the worst are filled with passionate intensity.
Yeats said that, but so did Lou Reed...
...quoting him live at The Bottom Line.
Lou Reed's gone, and so is The Bottom Line.
It's probably a SoulCycle...
...the only soul the city has left.
Everyone's pretending it's all okay...
...but that's a lie.
Something's missing, and we all feel it.
Including Thomas Webb.
He thought he had the answer and her name was Mimi.
1976. The city was dirty, crime-ridden and broke.
It was the center of the creative universe.
New York's lost its soul. The most vibrant neighborhood at the moment is Philadelphia.
- I like that. - Yeah?
- Yeah. Where'd you lift that from? - I didn't. It's mine.
Well, it's good.
So, will you come with me tonight?
No. Your mom's last dinner party made me feel invisible.
I know, but we were invisible together.
If you don't like it, then you don't go.
I have to go. My mother's unstable. Throwing dinner parties is how she medicates.
Yeah, so what about the lithium and Xanax? Not to mention the nicotine and Shiraz.
Semantics.
I have to tell you something.
- Yeah? - Yeah.
I...
...might be going to Zagreb.
- Where? - Zagreb. It's in Croatia.
So, Helmut Graph, he runs a workshop there...
...and I found out that I can transfer my credits to NYU.
That's, um...
That's...
...terrible.
Why?
No, why is that terrible?
Because you're the only thing in my life that I'm settled on.
Thomas, what do you think is happening?
Between me and you, what do you think this is?
August 8.
- August 8. I think August 8 was real. - It was amazing.
But it was just one night.
I mean, Nick was playing L.A.
I was vulnerable. We were both on Molly.
I thought I was a pirate.
And it was just one night.
- Well, I'm crazy about you. - I'm crazy about you, but...
- But don't say "as friends." - Why? Why is that so bad?
Because pretty girls like to recruit their rejections and then call them friends.
Wow.
For Mimi, Thomas was like the new New York...
...no danger, no deliverance.
It made him nurturing and too boring to fall in love with.
Mimi thought Thomas was a boy without mystery.
Thomas agreed.
But all that was about to change.
Anything worth opening?
Just bills and junk.
W.F.
W.F. Gerald. I just moved into 2-B.
Thomas Webb.
Why so troubled, Thomas?
- Excuse me? - I know that color of stress.
It's much brighter than job issues, more subdued than possible disease.
- Ah. - Sorry, I'm being rude.
No, I mean...
- ...I'm having a bad day. - Oh.
What's her name?
- It's Mimi. - Ah, Mimi.
Derived from Williamina. It means "resolute protector."
There you go.
What, uh...
...what is it that you like about this Mimi?
You a psychiatrist?
- No. - You ask psychiatrist questions.
Maybe I can help. Maybe I can help you get Mimi to sleep with you.
How do you know she hasn't already?
It's nice meeting you.
Yeah.
Well, why don't you let a new neighbor help you out, hmm?
What do you like about Mimi?
I'm in 2-B!
Where did you meet her?
There's this bookstore called The Pale Fire.
- Yeah. - It's named after John...
...John Shade's 999-line poem.
Nabokov.
Right. Well... they sell rare vintage books in there, and I'm into that...
...just reading off the beaten path, and Mimi works there.
She gave me the greatest recommendations.
You know? She's putting herself through NYU's writing program.
- She reads a book a week. She's... - Polishing her brain.
Huh.
Beautiful?
Incredibly beautiful.
Like she's direct from God, you know?
Not second generation, if that makes sense.
Complete sense.
You know, we get each other.
Problem was...
...is that she has this boyfriend.
Nick, and he's in that band, Fahrenheit 185.
The exact temperature it takes to cook heroin.
Properly.
Eh, let's see what we got.
Yeah.
Anyway, so, Nick goes on tour.
Mimi's now available, and we're hanging out more, and...
...we end up spending...
...a magical night together.
- Mm. - August 8.
And then...
...nothing.
All goes platonic.
How old is Mimi?
She's 22. She just turned 22.
She's young, you know?
She's at an age where defense mechanisms are very strong.
Despite her outer veneer, she's ruled by fear.
Like so many of us at that time, you know.
What you need to do, mm, just make her...
...afraid of something more than being with you in that way.
Which is?
Mm, not being with you.
But how? How am I supposed to do that?
Mm... let life take over.
Uh, find a window, then pounce.
That's it? That's your sage neighborly advice?
- Can I have my money back? - Thomas.
- Is it Thomas or Tom? - It's Thomas.
- Not Tommy? No? - No, never, never.
Ah, Thomas.
You're not giving life enough credit. The unpredictable forces of humanity.
My life is not unpredictable. My life is conventional.
- My life is boring. - No. It's as random as it is deliberate.
You know, as funny as it is tragic.
Yours is no exception. I gotta piss.
Dinner parties were Judith's safety blanket.
A tableful of artists took her mind off herself.
The swirl of distraction, seating plans...
...gossip, food, anything to keep away the dread.
They were the perfect antidote to her childhood dinners.
The silences, the drunken outbursts.
Artists came to New York from all over, and she always took them in...
...clinging to the illusion of an open, happy family.
Do you miss getting mugged on Central Park West while walking your dog?
- Exactly. - No, but I do miss the 2nd Avenue Deli.
- Uh-huh. - I miss the Lenox Lounge.
I mean, do you know what are in those iconic places now?
Urban Outfitters, a Starbucks.
There's a John Varvatos where CBGB's used to be.
New York's lost its soul.
What was that, Thomas?
Well, I was just agreeing with David that New York has lost its soul.
Ever since he returned from three months in Peru...
- ...he's decided to hate where he's from. - No, it's true.
New York's most vibrant neighborhood at the moment is Philadelphia.
That's very funny, Thomas.
So, uh, Ethan, I heard that you've commissioned Nick Bilton...
...to write the biography on Evan Douriff.
Our mandate at Kenta is very simple...
...bios on any haircut under 40 as long as they're still within their 15 minutes.
Self-help, political rants. Nobody reads fiction anymore.
And once a writer. So cynical, Ethan Webb.
I know.
If I were a writer, we'd be having this conversation in a two-bedroom in Bushwick.
- That's true. - Bushwick is expensive now.
- Yeah, exactly. - I'm serious. I'm really serious.
Most novelists these days, they don't earn enough money to support themselves.
No matter how talented they are.
That's why if Thomas came to me with a desire to be a writer...
...well... I'd talk him out of it.
So, you're still tutoring, right?
- Yeah. Just for some extra cash. - He could be a Spanish teacher.
- Yes, he could. - I don't know if I could.
If he went back to college for a year. For some reason, he refuses to do it.
He lives on the Lower East Side without any direction.
The only thing missing is an opium habit.
What about doing a smartphone application?
This man moved in across the hall from me.
I don't know what he does or who he is, but, he seems familiar to me.
- He's my new friend. Yeah. - Aw.
- He asked about you. - Me? He knows me?
What's my father doing here?
Who's he with?
I don't know.
She's beautiful.
Do you have any idea what this is gonna do to my mother?
This doesn't mean your father loves you any less.
- Sorry. That was bad. - That was.
I know, like dispensing therapy from an after-school special.
He doesn't care about me to begin with, I know that.
This...
...this is about my mother.
Yeah, but... it's their problem.
- You have your own problems. - Like what?
- Uh... - Actually, don't.
Don't answer that. Not now.
Thomas.
Look at me.
Look, your parents...
...their world is nothing like ours.
I mean, maybe it's their generation or...
...I don't know... this island.
But you're kind.
And you're real.
Don't do that.
I mean, look, you're young...
...and your defense mechanisms are strong. But I think that you want this.
- I really do. - I think that you're confused right now.
No, Mimi, I'm angry right now.
I'm angry.
Did you see that woman? Did you see how beautiful she was?
I could never get a woman like that.
But my father, with his publishing house and his good looks and his cheating...
- ...fucking hair. - Wow.
So, what, you're gonna use your father's affair...
...as a confirmation of your own inadequacies?
No, Mimi.
I have you for that.
So, you call my office, you say you want to have lunch.
You never want to have lunch. I figured you had a big surprise.
- Maybe you've figured out your life. - No. Definitely haven't figured out my life.
- Bruce. Thank you for the tickets. - I wanted to speak to you about...
- Of course. Any time. - Oh, she enjoyed the show.
It was good, wasn't it? Great. Say hi to Judith.
I will, indeed. All right.
I want you to move from the Lower East Side.
Why do you insist on living in the farthest corner of Manhattan away from us?
I think it's intentional.
I think it's almost... hurtful.
Look...
...I'm not asking for me. I'm asking for your mother.
She wants you closer to home.
How is Mom?
Better.
I guess.
- Can't get her to quit smoking. - Well, she's fragile.
Anything, even the smallest thing, could...
...create another... incident.
I'll pay the difference in rent. Hmm?
- Will you think about it? - Dad...
Also, I set up an appointment with a career counselor for you.
- My office will e-mail you the info. - Dad, I know you're... I know...
You know I'm what, Thomas?
I know you're just trying to help.
Don't blow it off, okay? I had to call in a favor for her to see you.
- Alright. - She actually has a waiting list.
Are you gonna confront your father?
No. Trouble talking to him.
Why?
I don't think he likes me that much.
What, uh...
...what exactly is wrong with your mother?
I don't know. She's depressed, bipolar.
She's a depressive bipolar.
She came from a broken home, so...
...whenever anything threatens our perfect family, she completely unravels.
I can't tell her. She'll be destroyed.
Why don't you furnish this place, hmm?
I live in Brooklyn.
- You have two apartments? - I'm rich.
I'm a fucking duke.
Or maybe he's... been faithful all these years.
Maybe she came on to him. I've seen her. She's irresistible. I mean...
Uh, stop.
- What do you want? - I want my father to stop seeing this woman.
No, no, no. No, in life.
In your life.
You want more money? You want more respect?
You know? What is it that you want?
Think about it. Really think about it.
- I want to be better. - Better?
- Mm. - Than what?
Than them.
In the '80s, Ethan was intoxicated by literary New York.
But when he accepted that he lacked the talent to create a fictional family...
...he thought at least he could create a real one.
Young Thomas loved to write. Ethan ignored this...
...wary of nurturing a life of rejections and evictions...
...and Thomas learned to keep his stories to himself.
The intensity of Judith's bond with her son...
...left Ethan feeling like a stranger in his own home.
He sought refuge in work, until publishing began its slow decline.
Then... came Johanna.
You know, private detectives get paid by the hour.
To just... just wait.
To do exactly what we're doing right now. I mean, what is the difficulty in a stakeout?
- I really got to go to class. - No, just wait, all right?
He'll be out in a minute.
I have to see if he's gonna meet her again.
Please, just wait.
Okay.
Oh, my God, that's her.
The other woman.
- I'll call you later. - Wait, are we waiting for your dad?
I'll call you later.
What is it, exactly, that you want to accomplish?
I want to meet her.
And tell her to stop seeing my father. She could kill my mother.
Well, so do it.
I haven't built up the courage yet.
Mm.
- So you stalk her, huh? - I shouldn't be dealing with this at all.
I should be on a beach...
...with Mimi...
...naked...
...in Croatia.
- We should be together together. - "Should" is a dangerous word.
I'm serious, man. If it wasn't for my mother, I wouldn't be here.
I don't buy it.
You don't buy what?
I don't buy that this is just about your mother's health.
You want something more here.
Something more what?
Provocative.
Excuse me.
- Excuse me. - Yes.
- You don't know who I am. - Yes, I do.
- You do? - You're the boy who follows me.
- Yeah, well, I have a good reason. - You're also Ethan's son.
He keeps a picture of you on his desk.
Are you hungry, Thomas?
Following someone in this city has got to be very difficult.
It's so easy to be anonymous here.
Why didn't you say anything when I was following you?
- Why didn't you say anything? - Because I didn't know what I was gonna do.
- And do you now? - Yes.
Is it good?
- Johanna. - Johanna?
Yeah, I'm Johanna.
Okay, Johanna, how long you been fucking my father?
Is that kind of vulgarity entirely necessary here?
What kind of vulgarity would you prefer?
A little bit over a year.
Why are you even seeing him? He's married.
He is married.
- Do you work with him? - Sometimes.
I'm a freelance editor, so I work for all the houses.
Do you love him?
- Define love, Thomas. - Do you think that you're gonna marry him?
Is that the plan? You think you're gonna steal him away from my mother?
How do you know your mother isn't giving him to me?
What's that supposed to mean?
I mean that people do things all the time without realizing.
Your mother may be giving me Ethan without comprehending it.
I mean, you're doing something right now without realizing it.
Yeah? And what am I doing?
- You're trying to make love to me. - I'm trying to make love to you?
I'm trying to make love to you?
You just don't realize it.
Andy Warhol was a close, personal friend, and he gave us that piece as a gift.
And now this goddamn committee is going to take all that away.
Mom, it doesn't really matter.
These people, these non-entities in Chelsea, they're trying to steal my past.
- They're trying to erase my memories. - Mom.
We're gonna find the photo.
Look at this mess.
I need a cigarette.
But your father has declared I'm no longer allowed to smoke in the house, so...
All right, well, I'll stay here and keep searching.
Thomas, I want to smoke and talk to you at the same time.
- It makes the cigarette better. - Okay.
Thank you.
It's just this perpetual cycle of expectations and disappointments.
You know? The farthest distance in the world...
...is between how it is and how you thought it was gonna be.
Don't forget that.
I won't.
You're my light, Thomas.
You know?
I don't know what I'd do without you.
It's this Klonopin.
- Makes me so fucking emotional. - You're fine.
I want you to stop seeing my father.
- Hello, Thomas. - Look, you're a very beautiful woman.
You can get any man you want in this city.
Could I get you?
What?
You said I can get any man in this city. So I'm asking, could I get you?
Which actually begs another question, really. Are you a man?
My mother's in a fragile state. This affair could put her over the top.
- How am I responsible for your mother? - Because you're fucking my father.
- Crudeness doesn't make one a man. - Stop seeing him.
- Nor do demands. - I'm not trying to be a man.
I'm not trying to make love to you. I'm trying to save my mother.
You're getting closer.
Johanna wasn't raised by writers. She was raised by bankers.
But the lingua franca of both is fiction.
When Ethan floated the idea of leaving his wife, she assumed it was just talk.
But to her surprise, his suggestion unbalanced her.
Instead of feeling flattered, she felt suddenly needy.
Thomas's attention was the perfect remedy to her rattled confidence.
Those visions of Johanna.
She's not like anyone I've ever met.
She said I was trying to make love to her.
Oh. Were you?
No, I want her to stop seeing my father.
Isn't that between you and your father?
Why would you want to make contact with her?
She's an outsider to what seems to me to be a family issue.
Eat that.
- Huh? - It's good.
- What was it? - You don't want to know.
So what are you saying, that...
- ...I like dealing with her? - Uh-huh. That's precisely what I'm saying.
- And that I want to make love to her. - Would you like to make love to her?
No.
What kind of a question is that? It's sick.
- How is that sick? - It's sick.
- She's a beautiful woman. - So?
- Her name is Johanna. - She's sleeping with my father.
- Would you like to make love to Johanna? - Will you give me some credit, please?
- This conversation's perverse. - Answer the question. Stop drowning yourself...
...in what you think is moral. You want to fuck Johanna.
Yes.
- I would. - And you said your life was boring.
I couldn't have handled today without you.
You know, I got hit on three times coming from the bathroom.
And I'm pretty sure they were all married.
- Then it's a good thing my father isn't here. - That's not funny.
- Oh, no. - Groom's coming.
- It's my ninja. It's my motherfucking ninja. - Howard. Congratulations.
- Thanks, man. - Hey, this is Mimi. Howard.
- Nice to meet you. - Congrats.
I've been running through Riverside Park every day, nine miles...
...murdering sobriety. I've seen a lot of your mother lately, actually.
- My mother? - Yeah, yeah. I don't know.
She's, uh, always on the same bench reading a book. That's Irwin. Irwin!
You guys got to meet Irwin Sanders. He's buying the Knicks.
Howard. How does it feel to be married?
Well, sex already sucks. Kidding. Kind of.
Condé Nast took me back, actually so, maybe I could get an interview at some point?
Maybe.
Howard, this is my friend, Johanna.
- Hi. Congratulations. - Nice to meet you. This is Thomas.
- Hi. - Johanna.
- Mimi. - Hi.
You're being really obvious.
I'm not dating Irwin.
It's none of your business. I don't have to explain myself to you, but nonetheless...
...he's a very good friend.
- Where's your girlfriend? - She's not.
She's just a friend.
Oh, you shouldn't let her do that to you.
He's 30 years older than you. He's a billionaire.
- I'm not stupid. - You are quite stupid, Thomas.
And you've got no idea how the world works.
Actually, he's not a billionaire anymore, because Nancy got half of everything.
- Doesn't really matter. - No, it doesn't.
You look nice.
- What? - You look very nice. In a suit.
I don't really think you're stupid. Just...
...confused and... young.
Irwin's probably looking for you.
- I'm sure he paid for the whole night. - Oh, fuck you, really.
- Hey. - So, first of all... hooker comments?
- I know. I'm sorry. - You actually resorted to hooker comments?
I'm sorry. I apologize.
Second of all, Irwin's gay. Okay? He loves men.
In fact, he loves one man in particular, a man named Billy Arnaldi...
...who happens to be an incredible art dealer and one of my closest friends.
So Irwin doesn't want to come out, for business reasons, which is his prerogative...
...and I come to events like this with him. I'm not a glorified hooker.
He's not a sugar daddy. I'm his beard.
You really don't know how the world works.
You're an innocent, Thomas. You're a child.
- I know some things. - Oh, yeah?
- Mm. - Like what?
How it went down.
You and my dad, I know.
- Do you? - Mm.
Okay, Thomas, Mr. Ace Sleuth...
...I want to hear it.
You noticed that he liked to come in early.
Really early, like, what, 7:00 in the morning?
So you started coming in then, too. You isolate and contain.
Told him it was because you don't sleep well...
...that the bad dreams, they shake you awake before daylight.
In the mornings, you put on music in your office.
Brahms one day, Biggie Smalls the next, because, you know...
...you can't be put into a box, you attack all the senses.
You went a little aggressive on your signature scent...
...strong on the vanilla.
You mentioned a boyfriend, then complained of a bad date.
You confuse him, make him wonder. The sex.
Ooh, the sex. The sex surprised you both.
He was just walking you home after dinner.
I mean, Jesus, you're not the other woman, he's not a cheating husband.
"No, this isn't something that we did, that is something that happened to us."
But what? Could it be love?
Nobody wants to acknowledge that so soon in the game, but the stars are crossed...
...and people are gonna get hurt and...
"We've done a bad, bad thing, Ethan," so, fuck, it must be, right?
All of it was just bullshit, calculated and manipulated...
...from that first lie about your bad dreams. 'Cause I'm...
...I'm pretty sure...
...that you sleep like a baby.
You are quite the storytell...
- Where have you been? - Bathroom. Drank too much.
I have to interrupt now, because, uh...
...I have to go home.
I'm Uncle Buster.
- Let's get out of here. - I'm Casey's father's brother.
- They haven't even cut the cake. - Fuck the cake. Let's go.
- What? - Come on.
- Walter's not here because... - You smell like vanilla.
...he's doing two to five.
It's no secret. As you all know...
...two to five for doing the right thing...
...for believing in the poetry of the Constitution.
I have only a few thoughts.
Drama.
The dramatics of marital romance...
...staying together.
Like the gypsy told me the poems...
...written in life lines are never guaranteed.
They get busted up.
Tomorrow begins new poetry.
Another romance that will explode...
...from time to time.
Poetry of married people like the aurora borealis.
Strewn like stars in the sky...
...and the drama of your lives begins.
Chapter after chapter.
Stories.
Books.
Revolutions, as I know, will come.
I've seen many. Lived through them.
They play in the least expected places...
...so get ready.
Casey understands Howard. Howard... knows Casey.
No.
No, not yet.
There's always mystery.
You both know that. You both know it isn't perfect.
Excitement...
...trust and struggle...
...and the unknown privacies...
...that keep us together.
Glue of struggle.
I raise my glass.
The fragile glass we stomped on and shattered...
...and will forever be putting back together...
...like the puzzles we first worked as children...
...learning to be patient...
...searching for what fits...
So many puzzles.
So many books in this room.
And I talk too much.
Let's dance.
So I have to go to this career counselor.
Uh, my father set up the appointment.
Why don't you go into journalism? You ran the high school newspaper.
No, that doesn't interest me anymore.
And you won that advertising prize in college. You could do that.
- How do you know all this about me, huh? - I know everything. Everything about you.
Okay, um, yearbook committee. President of the debate club.
Arts editor of the high school newspaper. Second single on the tennis team.
- Very impressive, Thomas. - Huh.
Your father has all your awards on his desk.
- It's so awful. - Oh, that's awkward.
Fuck the career counselor.
All right, here's something you don't know. That nobody knows.
Okay.
I wanted to write.
- Huh. - Hmm.
I used to write all these things when I was younger.
A bunch of letters from my dog to, like, the mailman and the vet.
And eventually I...
...came up with a collection of essays called...
"...Mary Jane vs. Everything."
Which I was incredibly proud of.
And, you know, I show 'em to my dad.
What did Ethan say?
"Serviceable."
- Ouch. - Yeah. "Serviceable."
That was his exact word.
Nothing special, just serviceable.
He seemed pretty angry after reading them, though.
- Well, I want to read them. - You do?
- Yeah. - You can't.
- Why not? - 'Cause I threw 'em out.
Oh, that's so sad.
- That's so sad and lonely. - Mm.
That's good.
Really?
Yeah. What word did your father use?
- "Serviceable." - I disagree.
I think you've got talent.
But your father's a publisher and I'm just some...
...strange neighbor, so you're gonna go with serviceable, huh?
- Johanna wanted to read 'em. - Oh, right.
- But I don't know if I could... - Those visions of Johanna.
I think about her...
...all the time.
Maybe it's love.
Uh...
...love is hard to determine.
People think they're in love, and it's something completely different.
You know, infatuation...
...the righting of childhood wrongs...
...you know, companionship. Um...
- Have you ever been in love? - Yeah. Once.
Who was she?
Oh.
She was this woman I knew.
She was taken by someone else, a dear friend.
We had a profound connection, but she was his girl. It was a mess.
- So what did you do? - Oh, I left the scene of the crime.
You ran away?
Uh, well, at the time, I called it an adventure.
But hindsight turned it into something else...
...which is what hindsight inevitably does.
Yeah, I ran away. I'm gonna take this.
- Leave you with your heart on. - With my hard-on?
Heart. Your heart on.
You know what, maybe, in hindsight, I'll feel guilty about Johanna...
...but right now I don't.
It's not cut or dry.
Congratulations, Thomas.
Your world is becoming contextual.
Who the fuck are you?
Hey, Dad.
What's up?
Sit down.
Is everything all right?
- Is Mom okay? - Sit down, Thomas.
Is there anything you want to tell me?
No. No, nothing.
Mm-hmm. Anything I should know?
No.
Thomas...
...you blew off the career counselor.
Hmm? I told you how hard it was to get that appointment...
...and then you just don't show up? Whoosh. Gone.
Right. Um...
- I should've called. I'm sorry. - You should've called. I'm sorry.
I'm sorry, too.
Come work here.
Hmm? Work here.
You like to read. I've been conflicted about giving you a job here...
...nepotism and all that bullshit, but screw it.
You can start under the junior editors, you know, learn something.
- No, thank you. - Why not? I mean, what's wrong...
- ...with learning the publishing business? - Nothing. It's fine. It's just it's...
...serviceable.
W.F.?
I just want to get my essays back.
Hey.
- Thomas. - I was in your apartment.
You're Julian Stellars.
Mm, my nom de plume.
You've had 12 books published.
You don't have much mass appeal, but you don't seem to mind.
Hard to find a picture of you anywhere.
You're an alcoholic who spends most afternoons drinking in the Brooklyn Inn.
And you're probably the only person that I've met that's actually...
...actually been to an opium den.
- And I've been Googled. - Mm-hmm.
I didn't read it.
Your new manuscript.
Well, Thomas, I appreciate that.
So, um...
...when you said I had talent...
It was a professional opinion.
I don't know, man. I...
You've experienced the world. I just live here in New York.
- New York is the world. - I haven't done much with my life.
You've had sex with your father's mistress.
I'd say that's something.
Am I the only living boy in New York?
You are.
Hey, I was outside your apartment. You're not there.
I brought the essays. I wanted to show you.
Did you sleep with her?
With who?
Johanna?
Why would you ask that?
They left the wedding as quickly as we did.
I may be oblivious, but I'm not stupid.
- Why do you care? - I just do.
- Why? - Thomas.
- Are you jealous? - No.
- You sure? - Thomas.
- I think you're jealous. - Did you sleep with her?
She's my father's mistress.
You think that I would do that?
No.
Thank you.
You're sweet.
You're not like them.
- Like who? - This city.
I want you to stop seeing him.
Come on, I'm putting my foot down.
You don't get to tell me what to do. I don't care if your foot's down or up.
- Why? 'Cause you don't care about anything? - What?
You obviously don't care about anything at all.
Oh, so I'm a nihilist now, am I?
I don't know anything about you.
Where'd you grow up?
Brooklyn, Thomas. That's why I have this accent.
Did you play sports?
No.
When did you first have sex?
Oh, my God, we're gonna talk about my childhood now?
Yeah. I want to know you.
Where'd you grow up?
I grew up in London.
Which part?
Belsize Park.
And then Kilburn.
Why the move?
Because Kilburn's so much more real.
What'd your dad do?
He put a gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger.
I'm sorry.
I didn't know.
Why do you sleep with me?
- Because I like you. - What do you like about me?
Your innocence.
Were you ever innocent?
- I forgot. - Come on. Tell me.
I want to know about when you were innocent.
- Why? - Because I like the idea of it.
If you want someone so pure, why are you with me?
Because I care about you.
Do you care about me?
I don't care about anyone, remember?
But the truth was she cared about them both.
And that's when she knew this mess would only get worse.
She had to make a clean break, starting with Ethan.
What she didn't anticipate was...
...he'd surrendered too much of his past to give up on his future.
They're all moving to, uh, Los Angeles.
New York, we're becoming...
Do you think he's in love with her?
This has to stop.
You and your father, you suffer from the same disease.
Johanna.
"Visions of Johanna conquer my mind."
Why are you writing about me?
That's what I do.
I write about people I know and then give it a thin veil.
But why me?
Look, I...
...I got the apartment to get out of the house...
...and write a completely different story.
It just... it didn't come across, you know?
- And mine did. - Um...
And like everything good, it happened by accident.
I met you. Now I got 118 pages.
My father's publishing house, they're throwing an anniversary party tomorrow.
You should come.
No.
You've heard all about these people, but you never met 'em.
Be good for the book.
- Huh. - Find a window. Pounce.
Pounce.
I broke up with Nick.
Did you?
You're supposed to be more excited than that.
Hey.
Thanks for coming.
- It's a great party. - Yeah. It always is.
Look. That's my mother and Mimi.
She's beautiful.
Mm. I told you she was.
I was talking about your mother.
Huh.
- It's amazing. - It is amazing, but I think you...
Uh, sorry. I want you to come meet someone.
- Oh! Who are we meeting? - We're meeting my new friend.
- Your new friend. All right, I'll be back. - Sorry. See you later.
- He was just here. - He was?
Oh, well, I'll meet him later.
- Come on. He was just here. - Oh, there's Diana.
"I have looked down upon the city from high windows.
"It is then that the great buildings...
"...lose reality and take on their magical powers.
"Squares and squares of flame set and cut into the ether.
Here's our poetry..."
"For we have pulled down the stars to our will."
- "To our will." - Ezra Pound.
Johanna, I'm assuming.
- We haven't met, have we? - No, but I know you very well.
And I know that you're having your fun...
...and that he's young and easy.
But you'll have me to deal with if he scars.
I don't like strange conversations...
...so I'm gonna walk away now.
I'll be back in a second.
Hey.
What?
I really think we should stop seeing each other.
- Thomas. - What?
It looks bad. Come on.
I was ending it with your father as well.
And not because I didn't care for him. I actually really do.
I care for him very much.
But, Thomas, the thing is he proposed.
- What? - And I said yes.
- No. No. No, no. - Please, I don't want this to be disruptive.
- Disruptive? He's not gonna leave her. - Stop, stop, stop.
- I'm not gonna let that happen. - No, this is the best thing for everybody.
- For who? - For everybody.
Judith's gonna be so much better off.
She won't be suffering anymore under the weight of a dead marriage.
He's going through a cri... he's just going through a fucking crisis, that's all this is.
This doesn't have to be this difficult. Please, everybody can win here.
God made a mistake when he made you beautiful.
- God's mistake is marrying your father. - Not yet she isn't.
Look, can I just ask you one thing?
If any of this comes out, who do you think's gonna get hurt?
It's not me. It's not Ethan.
We both know how to land on our feet. And it's not you. You're so young.
There's one person...
...one person who will be destroyed, and we both know who that is.
What do you think's gonna happen? You think you can get married...
...you think you can have the obligatory second family and live happily ever after...
- ...in your dream world? - Well, obviously that can't happen.
What is that supposed to mean?
Wait, what is that supposed to mean? What is it supposed to mean?
Stop it.
- Stop it, Thomas. Come on. - I'm gonna tell him everything.
- I'm gonna tell him. Don't... - Thomas.
Thomas!
Thomas, what are you doing?
It's raining.
Um...
...okay.
I...
...I broke up with Nick...
...because I got into Croatia.
And I want you to come with me.
I slept with Johanna.
No. You're not like that.
- And I thought that I was in love with her. - Mm-mm.
You're good.
No, Mimi, I'm not good.
Mimi!
I'm sorry.
You are just like them.
They won, Thomas.
God, they've fucking bankrupted you.
- Hey. - Thomas! Did you spend last night here?
Yeah.
Well, that was the best party that Kenta has thrown in years.
Everybody was drunk... and not just our alcoholic friends, but everybody.
Why did you spend the night?
I don't know. I just... wanted to come home.
Are you upset?
Tell me about it.
What?
Is it about a girl?
And I'm your mother, so...
Things have gotten messy, and...
...I want to bail.
But I can't.
Well, then you know.
The only way out... is through.
Right?
Where's Dad?
He left early.
He said he had to go to the office and get some files.
He seems to have gotten over what a...
Thomas?
- Dad? - Thomas. Huh.
We need to talk. There are some things...
- ...that you don't know that... - Thomas, don't. Don't.
...that you need to know.
Johanna.
- You two know each other? - Yeah.
What?
Well, Ethan, the thing is, is that...
...he followed me.
You followed her?
That's not all I did.
I'm sorry, I...
...I don't understand.
We slept together.
And not just once.
What?
You slick little shit, you!
- I did right by you! You have no idea! - No, relax! Relax!
You have no idea!
Oh.
I deserve you.
I'm sorry.
We're all sorry, Thomas.
I really do love him.
And he did right by you.
More than you know.
Good-bye, Thomas.
Did you finish it?
I did.
Tell me about it.
Tell me about "The Only Living Boy in New York."
Uh, well...
It's about three people... artists...
...and great friends.
One of them is a beautiful young girl.
The other two...
...one artist has talent, the other doesn't.
You know, no matter how hard he tries, and no matter how badly he wants it...
...he just...
...well, he wasn't kissed by God in that way.
But he has the girl.
Yes. And they're married...
...and they plan to start a family.
Only they have a little problem.
He's infertile.
And they ask their talented friend for help?
Yeah, you have a knack for a story, Thomas.
I get it from my father.
Uh-huh.
So...
...so, they're artists, and they don't want to use in vitro...
...so they go with a cheap bottle of Cabernet...
...and, uh, some Quaaludes and a Simon & Garfunkel record...
- ...and the three of them decide... - And the husband's okay with that?
Well, they want to use somebody that they know...
...somebody that they love.
Well, and, of course, the artist with the talent...
...he's, uh, he's flattered, and, of course, he agrees.
And, uh, he and the...
...the beautiful girl...
...they...
...uh, they walk the city streets that night...
...for hours. They're both so damn nervous.
And they end up at Washington Square Park...
...where they dance...
...uh...
...to no music.
And the rest comes easy.
- And does he love her? - Yeah, he... he does.
In that moment, he realizes he does.
Uh, so it turns out that...
...that the beautiful girl...
...she gives birth to a wonderful son and...
...her husband gives up art...
...becomes a very successful art dealer.
And the other artist?
He watches the boy grow from afar, huh?
Sees his own talent alive in this child.
He so desperately wants to connect with his son...
...and tell him everything.
And nurture his talent, you know?
But, of course, he never does make contact.
Until...
Until he decides to make it all his next book.
It's okay.
Mom.
Thomas.
What did he tell you?
Everything.
You here looking for razors?
Empty pill bottles?
Sit down.
What do you know, Thomas?
I know...
...I know why you carry so much guilt.
I know that I...
...already forgive you.
I know you're in love with someone you haven't seen in over 25 years.
And you go to Riverside Park every day to read his books.
I know. I know, and it's okay.
- Who told you? - He did. Julian. W.F.
Whatever you want to call him.
Is he dying?
He's not dying.
- No? - Don't worry, he's not dying.
He's fine. He's just... I don't know, he's tired.
Think he's lonely.
It was my idea not to tell you, not Ethan's.
- You have to know that. - Okay. You were trying to protect me.
Yes, and...
...and I knew that if you found out, he would come back into my life...
- ...and then everything would go to shit. - Everything went to shit on its own, so...
Yeah, I guess.
Is he old?
He's messy.
Yeah, he always was.
An unmade bed of a man.
"An unmade bed of a man."
- I like that. - You should.
Your father wrote it.
We're closed.
I'm sorry, I thought I locked the door.
- Hey. - Hey.
I'll be quick.
- I know what book I want. - Sure.
Hmm.
What'd you think?
Serviceable.
You're lying to make me feel good.
Character that surprised me the most was the father.
Which one?
The one that didn't run away.
- Whatever happened to Mimi? - She's still in Croatia.
She got a fellowship. I don't think she's coming back.
- Did you hear back from Viking? - Yeah, it was a pass.
I'm sorry.
You want me to make a few phone calls?
No.
I want to start something new. I... have an idea.
Well, that's good.
You still speaking to Johanna?
No.
- You lying to me? - Yeah.
- How's your mother? - She's good. She quit smoking.
Started writing for ARTnews again.
- That's good. - Yeah. She has a date tonight.
Oh, good for her.
Truly.
"The best lack all conviction...
...while the worst are full of passionate intensity."
Yeats said that, but so did Lou Reed.
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