The Ring Thing (2017)

1
[clattering]
[squeaking]
[girl] Mom, what is
happening with the piles?
[mom chuckles]
Don't be criticizing
my piles, OK?
You should have seen it
a few days ago.
OK, I won't
criticize your piles.
This is good,
these are good piles.
OK.
-Is it all gonna fit?
-Yes.
I've thrown away a lot of stuff.
OK.
So what am I supposed
to do with this?
That's all your crap.
If you want it,
take it, and if not,
we're throwing it away.
OK.
All my crap, understood.
That's pure me crap.
[laughing]
Sarah tantrum face.
You still make that face.
Oh, you were really a fat baby.
Look at that.
Look at all those chins.
[laughing]
What's this?
That's John's wedding ring.
I don't know what
that's doing in there.
You can throw that away.
-Ahoy.
-What?
Matey.
[laughing]
-Oh, hi.
-Hey.
-How are you?
-I'm happy to see you.
How are you?
Happy to see you.
-How was your day?
-It was good.
-There was a lot of dust.
-Look at you, animal.
Look at how much sand
you just brought on.
[laughing] Sorry, just want to
make a castle later, you know?
-Dust, lots of dust.
-Lots of dust.
Lots of boxes.
-Lots of treasures.
-Ooh.
But, ooh, Susan's gonna
give us her cuisine art thing.
-Cuisinart?
-Yes.
[laughing]
She says hi. And she's giving us
stuff for the kitchen, so...
-OK, cool.
-You know I don't
-go in there.
-Cuisine art.
That makes more sense,
you asshole.
Oh, you keep me young.
-Would you like wine?
-Yes, please.
Hey, hey, lookie, lookie.
Cool, right?
What do you think?
[laughing]
[sighing]
I mean it's my
dad's ring, so, it's...
I mean, I found it today.
And it's kind of weird and cool.
Mm-hmm.
-What is happening right now?
-What's happening right now?
[both chuckle]
Oh, did you just think
that I was proposing to you?
-Shut the front door.
-No.
-Sarah Watson.
-Kristen.
What? What just went
through your head?
Do you know who I am?
I don't know, Sarah,
we're at a beautiful beach.
-Uh-huh.
-I brought wine.
We've got cheese.
-You did this to me.
-And you pulled it out.
It was a set up.
-I'm sorry.
-You're right, I framed you.
I'm so sorry, come here.
-No.
-Come here,
little pookie monster.
What's a pookie monster?
You, you are a pookie monster.
Hey.
-[Sarah] I'm the worst.
-[Kristen] Yes.
[Sarah] But this has
already been established.
I hate you and I love you.
I love you and I love you.
[both laughing]
Cool.
[sighing]
You think the water's cold?
Yep.
[Sarah] Do you want
to walk in it, anyway?
[Kristen] Sure.
[Sarah] What do you think?
How did you make that happen,
and when did you
make that happen?
[Kristen] Alchemy.
Ah, I didn't know
you were practicing.
-Wanna try it?
-Mm-hmm.
-Mm-hmm. Yeah.
-It's good?
-Oh, my.
-Oh, my goodness.
Happy anniversary,
my two favorite people.
You shouldn't have.
Thank you, that's beautiful.
Well, do you want to
blow out the three
and I'll hit the zero?
-Sure.
-All right, you ready?
-Sounds like a plan.
-One, two, three.
[laughing]
-Well done. I remember.
-[man] You remember.
-[woman] Look at that.
-[man] Wow.
-Yes, yes, yes, yes.
-[woman] Ruining my cake.
...hold it?
We're going to take a picture.
-Oh, with the three.
-[woman] Yeah.
[man] Yeah, there you go.
Happy three years to you.
[woman] Go. One, two, three.
-I think it's bursting.
-Did you get it?
-I think so. One more because--
-[man] It happens.
-So work. How's it going?
-[Kristen] It's work.
-[woman]
That doesn't sound good.
-I mean...
We got people coming and going
and it's a lot of
extra stress for me,
-but it's OK.
-[woman] I know, but everything
that's worthwhile,
work while you're stressed,
-you know?
-It takes a little...
-...monkeying.
-[woman] I know.
-It's fine.
-[woman]
I wish you sounded happier.
I should get a knife
and cut this sucker up.
Are you the same...
Are you the same person
I was talking to before?
[man on phone indistinct]
OK, well, can I please
be connected with them?
Ahh...
An individual plan?
No, I'm a freelance worker.
I've been on the phone
for like an hour,
do I really have to
go through this again?
I can call back tomorrow,
but I'm supposed to go
to the doctor tomorrow.
No, I'm not going to pay out
of pocket, that's ridiculous.
[sighing]
-What is this?
-It is risotto.
-Smells so good.
-Want some?
Mm-hmm.
[laughing]
-Mm. Mm-hmm.
-Good?
-It needs something.
-I don't know.
-Tastes good to me.
-Lemon zest.
Yeah.
Oh, I have a meeting at
eight tomorrow morning.
-Can you move the car?
-Uh... Yep.
Not gonna go to the doctor,
so, that's cool.
-Sarah.
-Kristen.
-You need to
go to the doctor.
-I don't have health insurance.
-There's no point.
-There's a point,
and it's keeping you healthy.
-It just makes me...
-I know, I know, I know.
But I'll pay it.
-Please just go.
-We could do
so many other things
with that money.
It's not urgent,
so I'm just gonna sort it out
-and then--
-Yeah, but it'll get urgent.
It's god damn health
insurance, man.
You should just be on mine
and make it easy.
If we could be
domestic partners,
then you could
probably get on it.
Oh. Yeah.
-Yeah. How do we do that?
-I don't know.
It may be more complicated
than that, I don't know.
-Let me talk to HR.
-OK.
-But.
-Yeah, and you know,
I could look into that
tomorrow, too, if you wanted.
Oh, my God,
that would be amazing.
That would be.
We need you covered.
[phone buzzing]
Thanks for joining
us here at the Spoon,
Halloween edition.
Don't forget to subscribe below.
And join us next week,
when we take a
little field trip.
We're going fishing,
before we make fried fish tacos.
So grab your flippers,
let's reel in that catch,
-and happy haunting, spirits.
-[man] And cut.
Very nice, everyone.
-OK.
-Good luck with your...
[shutter clicks]
-[woman] Kristen.
-Yeah.
-Stepping out.
-[woman] So, remember Julie
I used to work with?
-Uh, yeah, crazy Julie?
-Crazy Julie.
She called me last night.
She heard about
the new EP we have.
-Uh-huh.
-She worked with him
about six months ago
at Food Park.
Apparently, he's a sports guy.
Never worked with food.
He came in, fired everybody.
-Went in a completely
new direction.
-Apparently, he's a real ass.
[Kristen] He's gonna be no
different than the last guy
we had six months ago
and the guy before that,
it's fine, OK?
It was so simple when it
was just you and me, you know?
Well, it's their call.
It's a little extra stress,
but we'll get by, don't worry.
-OK.
-I'm listening.
[Sarah] I loved it.
We are almost out of here, baby.
-[man] Let's go.
-Somehow we dropped
a frame at like minute three,
but we just fix that,
-then we're good.
-OK.
Oh, OK, OK.
[clears throat]
They didn't care about
the music in the end?
-No they really liked it.
-Really?
-Yeah, they were laughing.
-Yes, yes.
-OK. Can I export?
-Yep.
Sweet. A few minutes.
Not bad, Miss Sarah.
-Dream team.
-Doing good, Gary.
Mm-hmm.
You went to P Town, right?
-How was it?
-Magical.
-And then I fucked it up.
-What do you mean?
-As per usual.
-Oh, God, what'd you do?
-What did you do?
-I found my dad's
wedding ring at my mom's.
-Uh-huh.
-And I took it,
and I put it in my pocket.
And then I walked to the beach,
where Kristen was
with a bottle of
champagne at sunset,
it was beautiful,
and I pulled the ring
-out of my pocket...
-What?
...and handed it to her
without saying anything.
What? Yes, yes,
you're getting married!
No, no, no, no,
that's not the...
I just wasn't thinking about it,
but she totally took...
she did just what you did.
-And, now it's awkward.
-So you're not getting married?
-No.
-OK, good,
because I thought you said
you never wanted to get married.
-I think I did say that.
-I was just trying
to seem excited,
but I'm actually really not.
[laughing]
Don't do it.
Don't do it.
-Gary.
-Otherwise you're gonna
have to deal with the bullshit
I'm going through right now.
-Yeah, what's happening?
-Do you want to see it?
It's real, it's like
actually official.
I hired a lawyer and I think
I finally am getting...
-getting through this.
-Oh, my God, Gary.
-I know.
-Let me see.
This, my friend, is how you
get divorced in New York City.
[Sarah] Doesn't it only take
one piece of paper
to get married?
[Gary] Yeah, right? This is
my confession of the day.
I found on YouTube,
this web series that's like
-how to get divorced.
-Whoa.
I know, I know.
I thought about making my own,
with gay marriage
comes gay divorce.
Yes, you should
totally do that.
[Gary] Like one episode,
I would get my tattoo removed.
-Uh-huh.
-Which is like actually
a really good idea.
And then you could bring me in
as like a special guest
to talk about how not to
get married in the first place.
Because you're so good at it.
Like, here's a ring,
let's not get married.
Want like whiskey
on the rocks.
-Two of them.
-First round's on me, OK?
Sure.
[Kristen]
You've arrived just in time.
-Have I?
-Mm-hmm.
What's my prize?
-Tart.
-Mm...
Mm, mm-hmm.
-You OK?
-Mm-hmm.
Stupidly didn't
sleep last night.
-Yeah, I could tell.
-I'm sorry.
I'm wondering if maybe
we should talk about P Town.
Yeah, OK.
Let's talk about it.
[Sarah]
It was part of the reason
I wasn't sleeping last night.
[KristeOh, God.
[chuckles]
-OK.
-I don't know.
-I just want to talk about it.
-Yeah, let's do it.
What do you want to say?
Do you know who I am?
-No, who are you?
-Hi, my name is Sarah Watson.
-It's lovely to meet you.
-Lovely to meet you, too.
Since we just met, I don't think
this proposal is a good idea.
-[Kristen]
I was ready to say yes.
-[Sarah] Yeah, you were.
[Kristen] I was.
Are you?
I don't know.
I want to be with you forever.
Yeah, I want to
be with you forever.
Great.
[laughing]
-That makes me happy.
-Me, too.
Uh, it just...
My family kind of fucked me up
on the whole marriage thing.
It just feels like
a whole big thing
that I don't really understand.
OK.
-I have a twig in my mouth.
-A twig?
Mm-hmm.
[laughing]
-Da-dum.
-Oh, that's garnish, Sarah.
-That was rosemary garnish.
-Sorry.
-Um...
-What am I gonna do with you?
Shouldn't marry it.
[blows raspberry]
-That's your reasoning?
-[sighs] I don't know.
I was talking to Gary today.
-Ooh...
-Yeah, and...
You know...
he's going through...
-a rough patch, obviously.
-Yeah.
Um...
But we thought, maybe,
maybe we should do
a doc or something.
I mean about marriage,
not just...
-Divorce.
-Yeah.
I mean,
it's topical right now.
Mm-hmm, that's true.
I think you should do it.
I think you should
talk to people.
-Uh-huh.
-And then I think you
should figure out
why it is that you
have so much confusion
around this specific topic.
You make it sound really easy.
Well...
From my point of view, it is.
But I know that it's more
complicated than that.
-Do it.
-Yeah?
Yeah.
I'll think about it.
[tape rewinding]
I think it was also...
-[Sarah] Could you repeat that?
-OK, sorry.
What was my question again?
Did you think that marriage
was something, something--
Oh, yes. I always thought
I would get married.
-Um, I think it was just--
-What is this for?
You know, we were
talking about marriage
and exploring all that,
so the opportunity
presented itself and I seized.
...all of our friends that
pretty much marriage was what--
OK.
So?
It's not what we talked about.
What did we talk about?
I thought we were
talking about gay marriage.
These are, like, the straightest
people I've ever seen.
Nothing against that,
of course, but...
Right, right, right.
I thought we talked about,
you know,
embracing our community
and discovering, like,
-how people are dealing with...
-Yeah, yeah, I guess I think--
...this marriage epidemic.
-[chuckles] Epidemic?
-It's sickly.
Yeah, I guess, I thought
that was a part of it,
but I was thinking broader,
but...
You're totally right,
it's better if it's
more specific.
If I were you, I would dedicate
some time to this.
Would you do it with me?
Um...
Well, maybe it'll help.
Yeah.
I was kind of thinking...
along the same lines.
For both of us.
That's a serious camera.
Give it to me,
I'll set it on the table.
-Good point,
I should probably...
-Put it on silent.
Actually, turn it off.
So, this can go in your pocket
or wherever is
comfortable for you.
What are we
signing away to now?
[laughing]
[Sarah] Our permission
to photograph your...
-Likeness.
-[Sarah] Faces.
OK.
[Gary] All right. Say, we're
ready when you are, Sarah.
[Sarah] OK, cool.
Um, so, thank you guys.
-Of course.
-Thank you. Yeah.
[Sarah] A couple things.
If you could use my question
in your answer,
in the event that, you know,
my voice is not in the film.
So if I say, "Erin,
what color is your shirt?"
You can say,
"My shirt is blue and white."
Instead of just,
"Blue and white."
-Got it.
-That's a hard one to remember.
[Sarah] I'll remind you.
If you forget, I might ask you
to say it again
with a question, so I'll just
say, "Could you rephrase
that for me?"
Sure.
[Sarah] And, yeah,
this will be fun, I hope.
But... if anything, like, starts
to make you uncomfortable,
you're totally allowed to say,
"I don't want to
talk about that."
[laughing]
If we start to make
you uncomfortable
just let us know,
then we'll tone back.
[door opens]
Hello.
[door closes]
Hello.
-What you got there?
-Fruits of my labor.
[Sarah] You labored so
hard for those fruits.
Yeah, tell me about it.
[light music
plays in background]
Hey...
[groans]
Just new EP.
I just don't know what's gonna
happen... to the show.
-Stressful.
-Mm-hmm.
Chug the wine.
Put on the clothes.
Shut up, come here.
[sighing]
[Sarah] It's going to be OK.
That is warm.
-Ooh. Sounds expensive.
-Oh, it was.
-Yeah?
-OK, open it.
Just what I've always wanted.
-I know you like ties.
-Come here. Yes I do.
You can't borrow it
for at least a week.
-OK.
-OK.
I won't touch it.
Except right now.
As I take it off of you.
[rock music]
What the fuck is lady like?
Lady like
Do what the...
just like you
[lyrics continue indistinct]
On my knees
Or on all fours
From underneath
Hear me roar
What the fuck is lady like?
I think this one got bigger.
No.
Yes.
You should get it looked at.
I can't.
You can.
An envelope?
-Mm-hmm.
-Circle and ticket inside.
Of sorts.
[gasps]
Cool.
-Uh...
-This is...
[laughing]
What?
This is big, OK?
I just need you to
acknowledge this is a thing.
I know.
I know it's a thing.
It's also, literally,
saving my life.
Agreed.
So?
Round two,
hot domestic partner sex?
[laughing]
I don't... would you
have been ready
to get married at that point?
I don't know that I was
ready to get married
when you proposed,
so no, I was not.
I was not ready to
get married at the point
when we did
the domestic partnership.
So, I mean, I think the,
for me, at least,
maybe from your perspective,
the advantage of not having
had the legal rights to do this,
allowed me to sort of
dip my toe in the water
and say, "OK, the water's
not so bad," with each step.
Domestic partnership,
to me, just always seemed
so clinical a term, you know?
That, it's not
exactly a loving word.
If you weren't a gay couple,
you could get a
domestic partnership.
You could be married or
have a domestic partnership.
You had choices.
We didn't have any choices.
We fought for any inkling
of recognition and protection.
And so, when they say, "Here's
your domestic partnership.
It's the same as marriage,
don't you want this?"
It's an insult. It's almost
like a business transaction,
whereas marriage has such
a resonance of love
and event that brings people
together to celebrate.
I don't feel any
pressure to get married.
Like at all, I don't think.
-Do you?
-No, I don't really feel any...
Yeah, I don't feel
any pressure to get married
now that it's legal.
But I know for some people it
really... it's really important
to them, and...
We're also
just not that old yet.
-It's true.
-It's true.
No one's asking us yet.
I feel like
the pressure will mount
the longer we're together
and the older we get.
If I knew a couple
in their early 30s
who had been together
for like 12 years,
I mean, I'd ask, like,
"What's up?"
[Kristen] I just wanted
to introduce myself
and talk a little bit about
my role here on the show.
Thus far, I've been with
the show about five, six years.
-[man] Five years, right?
-Yep.
Um... and in that time,
we have really worked
at identifying
who our consumer is.
And trying to steer our show,
design our show
for that consumer.
Well, it looks like
the first two years
you guys did really well.
-Yep.
-There's been a steady
decline since then.
Yeah, well, there's been
a little bit of saturation
in the market,
but we have a lot of
really interesting things
coming up on the schedule.
-A lot of new ideas that--
-Listen, Kristen, um...
-I have a budget to meet.
-Sure.
I have deadlines.
I think that the
best thing to do
-is to clean house, start over.
-Sure.
Pick up the pieces,
you know what I mean?
Yeah, of course, I...
we've had new teams in the past
and... usually it causes a
little bit of a hiccup--
Well, hopefully
this is the last time.
-Sure.
-I'm sure you're
a great producer, Kristen,
and we've really had
a great run here,
but I think
I have to let you go.
Oh.
OK. Is Nina aware
that this is happening?
I mean.... I've been with
the show since it started.
No, I think that
you could tell her.
Um... if that's difficult,
maybe have her schedule
a meeting with me.
[muffled speaking]
[maLiving a life of joy
doesn't mean that there aren't
horribly depressing days.
And so, we try to sit down
and talk out the sadness.
The communication is key
because it helps you get
back out of the sadness
and back into the joy.
[tape rewinding]
-Does that make sense?
-[man 2] It makes sense.
-[man 1] OK.
-[man 2] And breakfast.
-[man 1] Breakfast.
-[man 2] We always have
breakfast together.
That's just part of the joy.
So I get up, once we're
done cuddling, I get up,
-and I make breakfast.
-[man 1] And then good luck.
And the dance breaks.
The dance breaks
are very important.
-Mandatory dance breaks.
-Yes, regular.
[Sarah]
So the secret to being together
successfully for 30 years is:
communication, cuddling,
breakfast, and dancing.
And the other secret to
being together for 30 years,
I mean, I attribute it to the
fact that Steven won't leave.
[laughing]
You wrote that a few days ago.
[laughing]
-I love them.
-[tape rewinding]
[man 1] Thirty years together,
and the biggest
fights we've had
are based on who's going to
get the bigger piece of cake.
Because we always, literally,
over breakfast,
he will portion out the food
and I will give him the plate
with more food on it.
And he says,
"No, no, no, that's for you.
You take the one
with more food."
And I think that's one of
the reasons we have succeeded.
Because our instinct
is always going outward.
Are you leaving?
Um... yeah.
I'm gonna go.
I don't...
I don't feel that well.
Uh...
I don't think
I can listen to
another Prince Charming
tell his Prince Charming
-how much he loves him.
-OK.
Um...
[Gary]
Have you even once considered
talking to...
someone who's divorced?
Mm-hmm.
Have you set up an interview?
No.
OK.
I just let you out.
So I wrote a piece for
Cosmo about my divorce,
and it came on the heels
of some other media
about my divorce and the media
was a little hyperbolic,
it was like, "I was one
of the first gay people
to get divorced in New York."
I don't know if that's true.
It might, I mean, I guess,
probably, first-ish, but,
um, so tCosmo piece came
on the heels of a lot
of other media, and I felt like,
as I felt in a lot of other
situations in my life,
like I was alone.
I knew the article should
be about the facts,
what happened, and then
how I dealt with it,
because I didn't
deal with it well,
because I did have
another suicidal crisis,
and I did live 10 blocks away
from the George Washington
Bridge,
and I did have to
work through all of that,
and work through the feelings
of getting a divorce,
and then the logistics
of getting a divorce,
and knowing that the legal
system might not have been
prepared to deal with
gay divorces yet.
I kind of hate when
people say like divorce turns
your world upside down.
I think that's very vague.
It's more like it puts
the world in a blender.
Because nothing, it's like,
nothing that you used to
think makes sense
makes sense anymore,
and that's not to me
upside down, that's more like
everything changes,
everything changes.
Like, you're breaking up,
it sucks for both people,
there just happens to be
a legal document around it.
And I think when you
commit to somebody,
like in front of your peers
and like there is
an embarrassing part of it,
where it's like,
what's so wrong with me
that I can't, like, accept her
and love her for
exactly who she is?
Like, what's wrong with, that's
more than self-preservation,
like, what kept me in
our relationship was,
"What's wrong with me
that I can't love this woman
for exactly who she is?"
[Sarah]
Would you get married again?
I don't know if I would
get married again.
-Yeah.
-[Sarah] Why not?
Um...
[Sarah] Are you excited
to be a free woman?
You know you can
do whatever you want.
It's going to be fine, you know.
-Mm-hmm.
-Mm-hmm.
-It will be.
-Yeah. Yep.
Opportunities, right?
It's totally gonna be fine.
Sorry.
[laughing]
A little scary.
This will be fine, too.
-Promise.
-OK.
When was the last time
I cooked for you?
-I don't know.
-If you could do anything,
what would it be?
Not have this
conversation right now.
[Sarah] Okie dokie.
Fuck, are you
fucking kidding me?
Sarah!
Sarah!
Sarah...
[beeping]
-Sarah! Wake up!
-What?
There's gas everywhere.
Get outside.
Come here.
Get outside right now.
Quickly.
God, what the fuck?
The fucking alarm,
what is wrong with you?
You leave the fucking
oven on all night?
The pilot went out.
We could have fucking died!
What is wrong with you?!
Always. Always, it's me.
I always have to fucking
be the one to pick us up
and keep us from fucking dying!
Are you kidding me?
We're OK.
No one died.
Thank you for waking up
and saving us, but it's fine.
Hey.
We're not OK.
I lost my job today, Sarah.
-I know.
-My job.
But you're gonna
get another one.
Not another.
It's not that easy, you don't
understand how big this is.
How much our livelihood
depends on this.
How much of me depends on that.
-OK.
-I can't.
OK.
-[crying] I need you to meet me.
-I'm right here.
You've just got to
tell me what to do.
Because you're right,
I don't know all the stuff
that you do.
-But I can't help--
-I just need a partner.
I want to do that for you,
I want to be your partner.
I can take more work.
I can do that.
You've been holding us up,
but I can go out there
and I can take more jobs,
it's not a big deal.
I'm drowning.
-I'm drowning.
-I'm not gonna let you drown.
I'm not gonna let that happen.
-We can figure this out.
-It just is.
[maI think of being
married as, it's a verb.
It's not...
it's not an adjective.
It's something that you
continually do every day.
You wake up, hopefully,
next to the person
that you're married to,
roll over, and say,
"Do I want to do
this again today?"
And hopefully the answer is yes.
And if it's not yes,
then you say to the person,
"Hey, I'm having these doubts."
[Sarah] Can I just see
that transition again?
OK.
I know I've asked, like,
six times, but...
I'd like to believe
that as an officiant
who's planning a wedding
ceremony with a couple,
I bring the fear.
I like to inject
a little bit of uncertainty
into the room
because I think the 12 weeks
leading up to a wedding
as being the time where
they can be tested by
the people in their lives,
and especially somebody that
they probably don't know
very well, like me,
kind of just asking, like,
"Why do you want to do this?"
Every time they see me.
My main fear
in same gender marriage
is that in a way, we are sort of
whitewashing who we are
because a lot of our weddings
look a lot like
the weddings that
people are used to,
and I kind of want to
turn during a wedding
and be like, "Oh, and also,
we fuck each other in the ass."
You know?
[applauding]
Hey, everybody.
Uh, thank you so much
for being here.
Especially late notice.
This is awesome,
super helpful for us.
We were up all night.
And this is totally rough.
But we want to
get your thoughts
and see if our
ideas are working.
So Gary's gonna
pass out a questionnaire.
If you could fill
that out after.
And I tucked in my shirt,
so this is serious.
-[all laughing]
-And I think we're good.
Let's do this.
-Baby, could you get the lights?
-[Kristen] Mm-hmm.
[orchestral music]
So I guess my thoughts
about marriage
from when I was younger
were shaped by growing up
in a family where the marriage
wasn't really that successful,
in general.
My parents separated when I
was one or two, and that's
my--
[man Mine was seven, so we
both had divorced families.
Yeah, I think, I mean, yeah,
what does that say
to a young person?
It was twofold. One, coming
from a home where the marriage
wasn't necessarily a shining
example, a perfect definition
of marriage, it was more the
working definition of marriage
and the obligation
of marriage and kids,
on top of knowing that I was
gay, I never thought about it.
It was just something
I always was resolved
that would never happen.
Yeah, I don't know
where it came from.
I don't know where
the ideas came from,
but for me it was always...
I wasn't like other girls
in the sense that
I wasn't dreaming up
what my wedding would look
like when I was little,
but as I started to get older,
I very much had that idea
of I want one person.
I want a lifetime partner.
I want that...
I want that Notebook shit.
[laughing]
-Can I cuss?
-[Sara] Yes.
If you're a bird, I'm a bird.
That's what I wanted.
[man] Let's just say,
marriage is queer,
in and of itself.
Why would we commit
ourselves to being monogamous
or truly committed,
emotionally, to another
person?
And I think once
we sort of say, like,
"This whole thing is sort of
queer and weird to begin
with,"
then I think it opens up tons
of windows and doors
to lots of possibilities
for what a marriage can be.
[woman] I think vows
are really fucked up
because they're really rigid,
and it's like a promise to
someone that you're gonna be
the same way and do
the same thing for,
for forever.
Contractually obligating
yourself in a relationship,
meaning like the legal
definition of marriage is
basically a contract, right?
And then when you
want to get a divorce,
it's breaking a contract.
Um... that's really expensive.
Prohibitively expensive to,
perhaps, low income people.
A lot of people
spend a lot of time, perhaps,
in relationships
that aren't right for them
because they're married
and can't afford a divorce.
[woman] I think that's a huge
conversation to have
because the reality is
that 50 percent of
people don't make it.
Fifty percent
of couples don't make it.
[woman 2]
It's just one of those things
that we don't want to believe
can happen to us.
[chattering]
[Kristen] This always happens.
It's the middle.
It's messy.
Every time, you push through it,
and you have
something incredible.
Just push through it, OK?
I just want to
figure it out by now.
No shortcuts.
You can do it.
I have faith in you.
You have Ibuprofen?
[pill bottle shaking]
This is a sty.
I thought you were gonna
turn this in.
[sighing]
Can you do it tomorrow,
because I need coverage
by the first.
I don't think I can.
What?
[sighing]
Sarah, I love you.
I really love you.
And I want to take care of
you.
And I want you to be
healthy and happy.
[Sarah] So?
I want this to be bigger than
a doctor's appointment and, I...
[Sarah groans]
This is bigger
than a doctor's appointment.
-Is it?
-Yes.
Really, because it looks
like you're avoiding something.
Domestic partnership
is the easy way out, Sarah.
This is just so that
I can have health insurance.
This has nothing to do
with this other conversation.
It does, OK, it does.
It has everything to do with it.
If that happens, I'm never
gonna get anything else.
I am trying, OK?
I am spending all of my time
trying to figure this out.
You sent me on this journey
and I'm trying to go on it,
but I don't get where
the pressure is.
I want you to want
to go on this journey.
I do, I'm doing it.
I am literally putting it up
in the middle of our living room
and working on it.
I stayed up all night
last night working on it
and I don't understand
what you want from me.
That is abstract.
-This is us.
-This is real.
These are real people.
And marriage is fucked up
and complicated
and messy and gross
and this is what it is.
If you don't like
the look of that,
then I don't know what to do.
You see what you want to see.
I just want to be with you
and not feel like
you're basing this relationship
on whether or not
I'm going to give you a ring.
You mean so much
more to me than that.
I'm not holding you hostage.
[Sarah] From a
psychological perspective,
why does getting married
feel like something
we should be striving for?
Well, first of all,
I don't think everybody
strives for marriage,
but there are people
who love to put on a big show.
Marriage ceremonies,
big parties, are announcements
to the wider world,
to the wider community,
to both sides of the family,
that something is
taking place and that
two people are being joined
in a very public way.
For some gay people,
this is a very big deal
because it used to be that
those relationships were secret.
Nobody knew about
those relationships.
So, for some people,
being able to be openly gay,
have a big wedding,
is very important.
-But again, not everybody.
-[Sarah] Do you think that
long-term relationships
are inherently problematic?
Hm.
[laughing]
-I'm sorry.
-[Sarah] It's OK.
-[tape rewinding]
-Is that every long-term
relationship is a successful
series of divorces
and remarriages.
So that the couple,
who they are,
many years into the
relationship, are not the same
as they were when
they first started out.
And unless they can
negotiate those separations
and realignments
of the relationship,
the relationships don't work.
Life became very rote,
you know,
like coming home, watching TV.
Even the same thing for dinner
kind of night after night,
you know, so that there's
no seeing each other anew,
you know, or planning things.
It was just, I would say,
taking each other for granted
-was the best way--
-It's like frustrated
by patterns.
I think, like, you know,
I think people
get into patterns,
and I don't like patterns,
but I think
sometimes it's like,
you're not only frustrated
with your relationship,
but you're frustrated
with yourself.
I was stagnant in my life.
I wasn't happy with anything
what I was doing, you know.
It was very hard to find work.
So I think that a lot of
times, just life is
leading the relationship,
like things in life
start to just
weigh on the relationship.
Kind of got into like
a boring kind of,
we were like, wow,
this is like not good.
You working from
home all week?
Mm-hmm.
-You have any interviews today?
-Tomorrow.
[man] If you're in a
long-term relationship,
you're going to see the person,
warts and all.
You're going to see their good
sides and you're going to see
their bad sides.
At beginning, everybody's
showing each other
their good sides,
but when you start
moving in together,
when you're together
for a long time,
you see things you don't like.
And learning to live
with parts of the other person
that you don't like is a
challenge in every relationship.
[clearing throat]
Sarah.
[man]
Those little things that you,
maybe they're quirks
or they're things,
I would say this; when you're
in love with somebody,
you love their faults.
And when you're falling
out of love with somebody
or you're not into them,
it literally is
the opposite feeling.
Those faults are magnified
and you're like... [groans]
Hey.
Hey.
Why are you here again?
Why are you here?
I have to go to work.
I have to go to bed.
OK.
-I love you.
-I love you.
[Kristen] When do they
take out the stitches?
[Sarah]
That was like two weeks ago.
[Kristen]
Well, they left one behind.
We have to get this out,
otherwise it's not gonna heal.
All right,
let me get my tweezers.
All right, here we go.
[Sarah] Ow, fuck.
This one's my favorite.
-Yeah?
-Mm-hmm.
You think they're gonna
take that one away, too?
No.
-It's safe.
-Really?
How do you know?
-I'll keep an eye on it.
-OK.
Ooh, ow. Mm-mm.
-No?
-Mm-mm.
It's gotta come out.
I think, if you just leave it,
isn't it just gonna
do its thing and--
No, it's not healing
because it's in there,
so either I'm gonna take it out,
or a doctor's gonna take it out.
-But it's gotta come out.
-We wouldn't be
in this situation if
I just had health insurance.
Oh, you want to have
that conversation?
-Do you?
-I'm tugging.
-Ow.
-Sarah, it's been a month,
where are you, what's going on
in that head of yours?
Uh... I don't.
-Oh my God.
-You got it all
since our last conversation?
-I don't know, Kristen--
-Just give me something
to go on
because otherwise I'm gonna--
-Ow, fuck.
-Sarah, you cannot wiggle...
-Jesus Christ.
-...while I'm pulling
something out of you.
-It hurts.
-I know it does.
-Please just grit your teeth.
-[grunts]
[SaraI don't know where I am
in relation to you.
[overlapping dialogue]
I don't want to get married!
Got it.
[man]
We just weren't that couple.
Nobody suspected us ever
of getting divorced.
Like everybody looked
at us and said,
"Oh, you're perfect."
And... but they didn't
really know, you know,
no one ever knows
what happens behind closed doors
and nothing terrible,
nothing bad happened,
we just were
slowly drifting apart.
I thought, "Oh, I could
never get divorced."
I genuinely thought
we would never get divorced.
Didn't even cross my...
I thought,
because both of our parents
were divorced, so I thought,
"Oh, we broke the spell."
We were married longer than
both of our parents were.
So I thought
we broke the spell.
I thought we broke the curse
and clearly we didn't, so...
I don't understand
what these words mean.
-What is PNL management?
-Things I did.
-Just...
-OK.
-[soft chuckle]
-Is the layout OK?
-Yeah.
-OK.
I mean, it's impressive,
I just... don't recognize you.
[chuckle]
What?
Yeah, I mean, it's like.
Do you want to
keep doing this stuff?
[chuckle] It's what
pays the bills, baby.
-[Sarah] Looks good.
-[Kristen] OK, sending it.
[woman]
You came from The Spoon.
[Kristen] Mm-hmm.
[woman]
Now you're at the rival.
[laughing]
Yeah, well.
I was wiThe Spoon
for quite a long time,
I was with them
for almost six years.
-And--
-So why did you leave?
What are you looking for?
[Kristen] I was looking to go
in another direction.
Hmm. Like what?
What do you want?
What would you love
to bring to this show?
[Kristen] Your show seems
so steady and so, um...
I've been loving
your content lately.
Oh, great, great.
What do you love?
-Um...
-What would you like to add?
-What do you think we need?
-Well, I think--
If I could create your
dream job, what would it be?
Um...
Stream of consciousness,
I'll take anything.
I've never been asked that
in an interview before, so...
Impress me,
why do I want to hire you?
[laughing]
It's an interview,
it's an interview.
I...
-Well...
-What do you want?
[chattering on TV]
I had to deal with my ego
in a new way in your 30s.
You have like a... in your 30s
you have a self-perception.
I had a self-perception
that I was very diplomatic,
that I was very even keeled
that I knew how to
communicate.
And then this
transition came upon me
where I felt like my identity
was gutted.
It really bares you
out on the table.
And I could feel
the film of it like on me,
like, "Oh, you're not
being yourself."
And it was really
strange to feel that way
for a number of months.
[SaraWhat was it that allowed
you to come out of that?
[womaI think what
allowed me to come out of that
sort of hardened period
was just an acceptance
that things take time.
A sort of, like, lesson of
trusting the process.
That processes
are actually slow.
Confronting my own impatience
was really important.
And actually just being OK
with things as they are
and not having to push
for a certain outcome,
not having to aggressively
be proactive about
something and stimulated.
Mimi?
-Ah! Hey.
-Hey.
-Ah!
-How are you?
-I'm good.
-It's so good to see you.
It's good to see you, too.
-How you been?
-I'm good. I need you.
-Come, come, come.
-OK, where are we going?
-Yes, take a look.
-Whoa.
-Take a look. Look at the sign.
-Do these open?
-Yes, it opens up.
-Cool.
-[Mimi] Can you imagine?
It's gonna be great.
-That's awesome.
-See?
-Oh, my God.
-See this? Welcome to 348 Quiet.
-This is amazing.
-Yes, you like?
-Yes.
OK, so the dining room
is over there.
-The bar is right there.
-Look at all this brick,
-these rafters.
-I know. I'm going rustic.
-So that was the show kitchen.
-Yeah.
-This is the real kitchen.
-Oh, yeah.
Where the ugly stuff happens.
Yeah, I figure about
four people can fit back here.
This oven was a bitch
to get in here.
It's giant
and pretty well worn.
-Yes, it's yours.
-But they did it and it's mine.
-Can I see your menu?
-What menu?
You don't have one yet?
You're not impressed.
Not that I'm not impressed,
there's a lot here.
OK, what do you like?
-[chuckles] Oh, God...
-OK... No, no, no, no.
I, OK... I've never started
a restaurant before.
But...
-Right.
-There's an arugula salad
at every motherfucking
restaurant on the street.
-Yeah, OK.
-You need two?
-No... all right.
-No, no you don't.
When you go to a restaurant,
what do you want to eat?
-Comfort food.
-Comfort food?
-Yeah.
-OK, what does that mean?
-You know, lasagna.
-OK.
When do you open?
Next week.
Oh, I don't like it when you
look at me like that.
-Next week, Mimi?
-Yes, yes, yes...
Come on.
-I know, it's bad.
-Time's a wasting.
All right, let's... we're gonna
do some menu tests right now.
-OK.
-We have a whole kitchen.
-Right... Right now?
-Right this very instant.
-Really?
-Yep.
-Tell me what to do.
-All right, really?
We're gonna... OK.
All right.
All right, uh...
Let's make pasta.
-Pasta.
-Pasta, yeah.
-All right, OK.
-Tell me what to do, chef.
It's your kitchen.
So, we're gonna need flour.
-Mm-hmm.
-Eggs, and some salt.
-Where can I find--
-The salt is over there
in the corner.
Let's get some cheese.
-OK, I like this, I like this.
-Let's raise the stakes
a little.
I'm gonna call in
some taste testers.
-Help us make some decisions.
-I like.
[woman] To me, it was always
very strange that the right
to marry
trumped the urgency
of something, like,
anti-discrimination bills,
you know?
It's still legal to deny
a trans person housing.
It's still legal to fire
someone for being trans.
It's still illegal
in some states for
LGBT parents to adopt.
It's so strange to me that
there wasn't more urgency
in taking care of those things
before we were, like...
[tape rewinding]
[arguing outside]
[knocking]
Yeah, yeah.
I'm sorry I'm late.
-That's OK.
-It's not my fault.
-It's cool.
-Yeah. Thank you.
-What's going on?
-Um, new interview.
-With the marriage counselor.
-Yeah, it was so good.
-Really?
-Yeah, he was so interesting.
He's kind of, well, you'll see.
-OK.
-Yeah.
I want to watch
and then talk about it, OK?
[ma...series of
divorces and remarriages.
-Good lighting.
-Thank you.
[man] ...crisis when there is
a breakdown in communication.
If one of the members
of the couples is...
been thinking about
getting married,
and the other one has never been
thinking about getting married,
but it's been a private
internal conversation,
it would be a surprise
to the other person
and the person who--
-[phone vibrating]
-Goddamn it.
-I have to, this is Mark.
-OK.
[Gary] Hi, Mark, thank you
for calling me back.
-Yes.
-[man] May have the expectation
of the other person.
All right, OK, so we did
variations on mac and cheese.
-Yum.
-So, on our way down,
we have a take on queso.
So it's like nacho queso,
almost, but applied
to mac and cheese.
Over here, we have a
butternut squash mac and cheese.
-[Sarah] Smells amazing.
-Fried sage and thyme.
And down here we have
horse radish, cheddar,
with bacon,
so it's like a
Pennsylvania Dutch exploration.
Don't mind us as we
stare at you while you eat.
Mimi's really looking for
this, like, comfort food vibe,
something that makes you
feel warm, you know?
Come home after a long day,
what do you want to eat?
[Mimi] Only one can go
on the menu, all right?
So which one is it
that you like?
[man] The sage, like,
blows me out of the water.
-[Mimi] Really?
-[man 2] I'm a sucker
for butternut squash.
-[Mimi] Really?
-[man 2] Soft in the middle.
It's like the perfect
combination of textures.
[Mimi] You guys. You guys.
This one right here,
she made this, her idea.
-Thank you so much.
-[Mimi] We have a dish.
-They're applauding you.
-[overlapping conversations]
I'm not bothered by
the applause for her,
I'm not, I'm not, this is good.
-All right.
-[Kristen] The more you say it,
the more I believe you.
[man] Kristen's mac and cheese
on the menu, all right?
All right, let's not
get too crazy, guys, OK.
[Gary] I like this direction.
Thank you.
Mm-hmm. OK. Bye.
[exhales] You ready?
Let's get this done.
Why did you turn it off?
I think I'm good.
-You're good, we just got here.
-[chuckles]
I thought we were
working on the counselor.
Yeah, I did it, I think.
-Without me?
-You were busy.
You're going through
a lot right now.
-[Gary] Say it.
-And I get that.
[Gary]
What am I going through?
-You're getting divorced.
-Thank you.
I think that's the first time
you've actually said that.
That's it, right?
You don't need anything
else from me today?
I think you should go home
and take care of your stuff.
You're being a shitty friend.
It's like you don't want to know
what I feel anymore.
I...
am losing...
...the closest thing
I've had to me
and... I don't know
what's gonna happen.
[Sarah] I'm really sorry.
But I just feel like
every time you come in here,
I'm picking at a wound
if I'm bringing it up.
You know, I don't want to
make it worse, I don't...
[sighs]
I don't know what to do.
Why don't you
fucking embrace it?
-Like this?
-Yes.
[GarYou're gonna hate me,
but I think, more and more,
this is becoming about you.
And I think....
[laughing]
[Gary] Sarah's buying tickets.
She doesn't know I have
the camera out, but...
Oh yeah, here she comes.
Hey, lady. I got it out,
I figured we could
just start here.
All righty, then.
-[Gary] You got tickets?
-I do.
Cool, where are we going?
We're gonna go upstate
to see my mom.
-Nice.
-Yeah.
Uh, why are we going
to see my mom?
Well, she's probably
gonna feed us. Which is great.
But we're also gonna ask her
some uncomfortable questions
about her marriage
and her divorce.
[Gary] Yeah, let's start
with asking you
some uncomfortable questions.
-Oh, great.
-[Gary laughs]
Why am I so afraid of marriage?
Is it because
my parents got divorced? Maybe.
Am I afraid of
ending up like them? Probably.
So we're gonna go
talk to my mom,
see if maybe
she has some answers.
-Mm-hmm.
-Maybe I'll
learn something or not.
[Gary] You could always
just give her back the ring
and be done with it.
[laughing] Maybe, no, seriously,
maybe it's like got
bad juju on it
and we should just
toss it back to her.
-The basement.
-Got to put a ring
on that finger, huh?
I don't know.
Well, you've been in
love for a while, right?
-Would you say you're in love?
-Yes, of course, I'm in love.
[Gary]
Will you say that again?
[laughing]
I am in love
with Kristen Jennings.
[Gary] Yes, that's how
I want to hear it.
And she wants me to marry her.
-Hm...
-So...
-So?
-I have to figure it out.
[muffled music playing]
-Hi there.
-Hi.
What's going on?
I want to be a chef.
-OK.
-Um, so...
The other night at Mimi's,
um, I,
when we were working,
got into a rhythm
and then the next day
I talked to her about it
and I was like, felt like
I made some big choices
and I was able to
keep up, you know?
She was saying that, you know,
it's her restaurant,
she can do what she wants,
but she can make
room for me on the line,
and, you know,
just because I'm really green
and she could get my skills
up to snuff,
and I know how
to do basic stuff.
I... my bouschenel is
better than hers, trust me.
But, you know,
like get me there,
and then there'd be
room for me to move up
and she said I could
possibly start on Wednesday.
-Next Wednesday.
-Next Wednesday.
I was scared to tell you.
-Why?
-I don't know.
It was just a lot,
I needed it to be like tied up.
-OK.
-Before I did.
You know I don't need things
to be tied up, right?
I know.
-But...
-This is what you want to do?
-Feedback.
-This is what you want to do?
-I mean, yeah.
-Yeah?
I... it's been a rough month.
-And--
-It's OK.
It's not.
But... I was really happy.
And I felt like
I was making something.
I was working towards
something that I cared about.
It was one night
and I was already was...
-I really want to try.
-Yeah.
[maTo a certain degree,
it's about growth,
it's about understanding
that each of you will grow
on your own paths,
and if you allow yourselves
to grow on your own paths,
you can grow together.
It's not about making sure
you grow at the same level
or speed that I do.
Um, and I think that's a
big part of what has kept us
in our relationship,
is we're different people
than we were 15 years ago.
-[tape rewinding]
-[Sarah]
I want to go back, quickly,
to your ideas of marriage
when you were growing up.
When I was a kid,
I never imagined myself
being married, actually.
I had lots of fantasies about
the careers that I would have.
And never imagined myself
with a family.
[Sarah]
So what changed for you?
I met John.
We were in love.
It was fast and furious
and consuming.
You know, I got pregnant,
and we were really caught up
in the magic of what
we could be together.
-Yes, more please.
-No, it's too big.
-I want to see it.
-They ordered the whole,
they ordered the wrong size.
-What?
-Like...
Let me see.
[laughing]
Why are you making that face?
I can't do this,
what am I doing?
Yes, you can.
Come here.
It's not so bad.
-It's a little silly.
-Yeah, you think?
But no one is gonna care
once you're lighting things
on fire.
You know that I'll be
committed for arson.
You know what I mean.
So, I know that you got
married for love and passion
and all those reasons,
but I never saw any of that.
All I remember, really,
was fighting and then distance.
What were the fights about?
The fights were about him
not doing what I thought
we'd agreed on.
-The deal that
we had made, um...
-What was the deal?
He was gonna pursue music.
He wanted to be a musician
and I was gonna
support the family
so he could do that.
And I would come home and he
hadn't really done anything.
And maybe he was working it
on his own time,
but I think that kind
of uncovered for us
some aspects in one another
that we didn't know
and we started to grow apart.
You're being very diplomatic.
[woman scoffs]
Um... what do you
want me to say,
that we, like,
we hated each other
and wanted to hurt each other,
it wasn't like that.
You can talk about
it in retrospect, sure,
there's distance, but at the
time, what did it feel like?
It felt like all of a sudden
I didn't fully know this person
and realized that possibly
he wasn't my partner for life.
I had great respect
for him in many ways,
but the more I knew of him,
the less I could
see myself with him
for my whole life.
-Do you regret marrying John?
-Absolutely not.
It was a step in my life
that contributes to who I am.
And what I know about myself.
And I don't think I would have
learned some of those things
any other way.
He was who he was.
And I reacted to that
in good ways and in bad ways,
and that's part of the fabric
of who I am.
And those years
are important to me.
You've always talked about John
as the guy that walked away.
Did you...
how could you reconcile that?
He...
I see him as having
walked away from you...
more than me.
He and I decided that
we couldn't stay married,
that it wasn't right
for either of us.
I never told him
to disappear from our lives.
And I don't forgive him
for disappearing from your life.
I was hurt for you about that.
[slow tempo music playing]
[lyric indistinct]
[man] I want your
stomachs tight, engaged.
Chest up, grab that red knob
and turn it up.
Make it a little bit
harder for you,
a little bit more fun.
So the supplier just had,
like, a crazy cherry crop,
I guess, but sent us so many
extra cherries last week,
and so we started
pickling them all.
And we did kimchi sour cherries.
-What?
-Right?
It sounds insane,
but it was so good.
And Damon like tossed them
into the ferro salad yesterday.
Oh, my God,
it has to go on the menu.
Christina lost
her mind about it.
I really want to meet
all these people.
Yeah, Damon, I don't know,
he has really good ideas.
I'm into it.
You should come.
It's been crazy
since the review, but we can
always make room for you, girl.
-Oh, thanks.
-You got it.
I'm gonna go buy more classes,
because we're out.
OK, thanks. Is it possible
to not do a nine AM package?
Um... I think the next one
is at 12,
which is too late
for you, right?
Nine AM so early.
I know, but then we can go have
breakfast and see each other.
-See each other, huh?
-Mm-hmm.
-OK.
-I'll be back.
[Gary] Hold on just a second.
All right. Rolling.
Talk to me, girl.
Where are you going?
Uh, we're going to
my dad's house.
[Gary] Your dad's house, huh?
When was the last time
you saw your dad?
Mm, like, 10 years ago.
[Gary] Damn. That's a long time.
[car honking]
Jesus Christ, Gary,
do we have to do this right now?
Just get this shit out of my....
[Gary]
We're going the right road.
Calm the fuck down.
-Are you nervous?
-Maybe.
I need my soup,
Jared, where's my soup?
-Yes, chef.
-Two, two soups.
[Jared] Two soups.
Should I start in on the salmon?
No, no, no,
then we need three asparagus,
one suanee...
two for suanee, please.
-[Jared] Got it.
-I need that pan
screened and hot
before you put it in, OK?
-Gotcha.
-We're gonna finish
with the green garlic.
-Green garlic today.
-[Mimi] It's crazy out there.
-Yes it is, chef.
-How's it going?
-Going great, thank you.
-[indistinct]
-Wonderful.
-How's the soup?
Soup's great,
would you like a taste?
-Yes.
-Great, behind you.
Behind.
Behind. Here.
OK. A little cinnamon,
a little nutmeg.
-Cinnamon. Nutmeg, yes, chef.
-Behind.
Behind
Toss that for me, please.
-Gotcha, chef.
-And then Jared,
I need a burger, rare,
kortato, please.
-Got it. No queso.
-No queso. No queso.
[Gary] He lives here alone?
[Sarah] Mm-hmm.
-Here we are.
-Here we are.
-Um...
-Shall we go?
Is it OK if I go first?
Oh, you don't want me
to come in right now?
I want you, I need you there,
but not right now.
Yeah, yeah, yeah,
take your time
-and I'll just chill here.
-OK.
[Gary] Oh, my God,
she's a wreck.
This is Sarah meeting her dad
for the first time in 10 years,
and she looks like she's gonna
shit her pants.
[guitar strumming]
[Gary]
He's home, OK, here we go.
[indistinct conversation]
[Gary] Damn, Daddy, you're tall.
What's wrong?
Oh, no.
All right.
This is gonna be good.
Oh. Oh, God.
This is cool. So...
We'll bring in equipment
and set up.
-Shouldn't take very long.
-OK, OK, good.
OK.
-Good.
-OK.
[Gary] Oh, God,
what's wrong, Sarah?
Oh, my God, fuck.
[Jared] I'm glad it's
so easy to make, too.
-[laughing]
-Sixty covers in two hours,
is that some sort
of record for you?
For me?
Yes, but, you know what,
we got through it.
Yeah, thanks for leading me
through the weeds.
Any time, baby.
And the special,
it's damn good.
You liked it?
I think hazelnuts and capers,
they have to be together.
-There's something about it...
-Right?
-[Jared]
Hey, I'm gonna grab a smoke.
-Yeah. I'll meet you out there.
[Jared] How you doing, chef?
-Hey, Jared.
-[Kristen] Hi, chef.
-Hello.
-How are you?
-I'm good.
-Yeah?
-Nice job tonight.
-Thank you.
-Very good.
-Appreciate it.
I'm proud of you, look at you.
-Thank you.
-Look at you,
you're, like, bad ass sous chef
-in three months.
-Bad ass?
All right, I'll take it.
Yeah, yes,
I'm really proud of you.
-Thank you.
-Thank you.
Couldn't have done
it without you.
I thought about
a vacation last night.
-I said--
-You earned one.
If I go on vacation,
I would trust you.
To just run the place.
-Thank you, chef.
-If I go on vacation.
If you go on...
and that's a big if, but...
-Yeah, yeah.
-Thank you.
But thank you.
You're doing awesome.
-Appreciate it.
-You're great, you're awesome.
Superstar!
All right, so I'm just
gonna clip this to your shirt,
if that's OK.
-OK.
-You comfortable?
Yeah, yeah.
It's OK.
Um, so I'll just ask questions,
but if you could use
the question in your answer,
so if I'm like, "John,
what color is your shirt?"
-You say, "My shirt is gray."
-My shirt is...
-Rather than just, gray.
-Gray.
-OK.
-OK, you good?
-[clears throat]
-[Sarah] Cool.
-Do I look at you?
-[Sarah] You look at me, yeah.
-OK.
-[Sarah] Um, so, hi.
-Hi.
-[Sarah] John, um...
Why did you decide
to get married?
I decided to get married
because we fell in love.
OK.
And how long were you married?
-[John] Three years.
-What happened?
Uh, well, what happened
was we, you know,
sort of grew apart a little bit.
What were you learning
about each other
that made you grow apart?
Well, the big thing
was my interest in music
kind of increased
and I wanted to, you know,
really do that for my career
and that was hard.
[Sarah]
Did music make you happy?
Yeah, it really did.
And I was a little
obsessed with it.
And I wasn't, you know,
to be fair to her,
I wasn't when we first,
you know, knew each other.
It was, it just became
a stronger drive.
[Sarah] Do you feel like
your interest in music
and your obsession,
as you called it,
-did that draw you
away from her?
-Yeah.
Could you use
the question for me?
Yeah, my obsession with music
drew me away from her.
I wouldn't call it
an obsession,
I think she called it one,
but I mean,
looking back, you know,
it was just driving me
and I think if she had
been supportive of it,
it would have been different.
[clattering]
Fuck.
-Sorry, sorry.
-It's OK.
-Hi.
-Hi.
How was your day?
Good, long.
How was your day?
Which one?
You smell like cigarettes.
That's all in
your imagination.
Just don't stay up
too late, OK?
I have to go to class.
Okie dokie.
[upbeat techno music]
[man] Fight for it!
Fight for it! Fight for it!
Seven.
Six.
Five.
So...
You got...
You got divorced.
You both agreed on it.
Was it hard for you to leave?
[laughs] No.
It was oddly not.
I think we were both, you know--
-What wasn't hard?
-To leave.
It wasn't that hard to leave
because I think we were
both like... [exhales]
And then I know
I felt a release and a relief.
[Sarah] Was it hard
to leave your kid?
Yeah.
Could you repeat that for me?
[John] Yeah, it was hard
to leave you.
What was hard about it?
[John] Um...
This feels awkward.
-You OK?
-Yeah.
-Can we keep going?
-Yeah.
-Are you sure?
-Yeah, yeah.
-No, I'm fine.
-OK.
Sorry this is intense.
It's OK.
It's OK, it's my fault.
Sarah, can you check his mic,
-I'm getting a rustle.
-Yeah.
Just put this down a little bit.
I just want you to know
that you were...
Yeah...
-It's OK.
-No, it was just hard to...
to leave
because of you and so...
[Gary] I think
that should be good, yeah.
-It sounds better.
-Are you OK?
-[John] Yeah.
-Keep going?
-Yeah, yeah.
-OK.
-Uh, it sounds good, Gary?
-Yeah, perfect.
OK, so you...
you got to know each other
and that meant that...
you weren't necessarily
right for one another.
What kind of things did
you learn about yourself,
or did you learn about her,
that made the relationship
break apart?
-Beat my high score.
-You did?
-Yes.
-I'm so proud.
And... they were doing
two-for-one special,
so I got us ten more classes.
-[yawns] Oh, no.
-Oh, no?
-Hey, Sarah.
-Yes.
-I can't do a nine AM class.
-What?
-Why?
-I get home too late.
I'm home at like 4:30
and I don't
fall asleep 'til five.
I can't wake up
at eight to spin.
But you don't like
any of the other classes.
Does Raven teach
any other time?
Mm-mm.
Only like weekdays
in the middle of the day.
I liked having a thing with you.
Sorry, girl.
So no more?
Hi.
-Would you take this?
-Mm-hmm.
Thank you.
Why are you doing this?
-What the documentary?
-Yeah.
Um...
-Remember that?
-Yes, oh, my God.
-Where'd you find this?
-Mom's house.
So, that brought up
this whole marriage thing
with Kristen.
Yeah...
She really wants to get married.
And how do you feel?
I really want her to be happy.
And I love her so much.
But...
I don't know, what if...?
What if I screw it up?
I think it's really good
that we came here.
Waiting for Sarah
to finish talking with John.
I think we got what we needed.
We'll see if she's happy but...
I'm gonna ask her...
if she's found...
a conclusion. Oh.
[John] I'm really
glad I got married.
-Really?
-Yes.
We were very much in love,
and things changed later,
but for, you know,
it was good... while it lasted,
as they say.
You came.
-Would you do it again?
-Yes.
-Can I keep it?
-Yes.
Thank you.
[sighing]
I should probably go help Gary.
OK.
-It was nice to see you.
-Good to see you, too.
-I'll see ya?
-Yeah. Yeah.
OK.
-Bye.
-Bye.
-Hello? Hey.
-[Mimi] Hey.
Hey, the investors
came through.
I got the money.
I'm opening in Seattle.
-That's awesome,
that's great, congrats.
-Yes! Yes!
OK, all right, so.
I need you to go to Seattle.
-To do what?
-It's yours.
The menu. The hiring.
I want you to be the head
chef.
-What?
-OK, listen.
I know it's big, all right?
But I was thinking about this,
you understand me,
you get what I'm trying to do,
I need you to go.
Oh, my God,
I thought you were joking.
No, no, I'm not gonna
joke about that.
Mimi, I don't know
how to do that.
I know you can do this.
-Oh, my God.
-It's farm to table,
you pick up the menu...
[Kristen]
It would be my restaurant.
I would have, it's like tiny,
it's like 15 seats,
but I would design my own menu
and there's actually a budget.
I could have a wine cellar
and I could train
all my own staff
-and pick everything and--
-OK, wait, wait, wait.
Could you just...
Go back a little bit.
Mimi's opening
another restaurant?
Yeah, it was sort
of up in the air,
we didn't know if funding
would come through,
but she got it,
and it's in Seattle.
They really want her
to expand to the west coast,
and...
but she has to be here, so...
-In Seattle.
-In Seattle.
I mean...
Want to... Want to come on
an adventure with me?
Coffee, fog, grunge.
-You're like there already.
-I mean, I want to talk
with you about it,
but, yes,
it's like fucking huge.
Yeah, um...
[Sarah]
I think I'm so proud of you.
You're amazing.
You're... on your way.
Um...
Why do you seem so sad?
Because I don't remember
the last time, like,
had a real conversation
about anything.
What, what, what's happening?
I mean...
You are doing all
of these amazing things
and you're happy
and that makes me happy.
But I don't really know
what our relationship is anymore
because I never see you.
I know.
I think this could be an
opportunity for us to
make space for each other.
I could actually
delegate a little.
You know, Mimi's home
by 11 every night, by the way.
I don't feel like I'm a part
of this new person that you are,
and maybe that's just
what it is,
-but--
-You're my partner.
How?
What?
[knocking]
-Got ya a present.
-My God, you're a lunatic.
Get in here.
-You're the best.
-You deserve it.
Let's do this.
Yeah.
-So?
-So.
How do you feel?
That's it, right?
-Got a lot.
-Yeah.
-You're gonna have to edit it.
-I can do my job.
-Mm. I know.
-So you're done
asking questions?
I'm never gonna ask
another question in my life.
Good. Because I have
a question for you.
Just one, you promised, so...
You ready?
Sarah...
I would like to know...
and please answer in
full sentence so we know
-what the question was.
-[laughing]
Now that you have finished
your investigation on marriage,
what are you gonna do?
[Sarah] I would do it.
If I felt like we were OK.
So, I'm just saying I want
to fix us before I say yes.
[Kristen] I want to work
through this with you.
But I also was just given
this incredible opportunity
that I want to chase,
and you've always chased things,
and I've never...
I've been chained to a desk
my whole fucking life.
I've just been doing things
I had to do.
-I know, but--
-I feel like it's my turn.
This isn't gonna work
if one of us isn't happy.
If one of us is just
following the other around,
that's not what
a marriage is about,
so we have to fix
what we're doing here together
before we make a big decision
like this.
You're right.
I feel like...
I've been the unhappy one
for a while.
And that wasn't fair.
But just because
you were unhappy,
doesn't mean
that now I should...
No.
No, you're right, but...
I worked through it, for us.
I want to work
through this for us.
Here first.
[Kristen] I don't know
what you want from me.
I feel like
I'm finally happy.
So maybe your happiness
just doesn't include me,
you know?
[crying]
Your self was more important
than your marriage.
Yes.
And I think that there
is someone out there
I can really fully be myself
with and be married to.
I'm not choosing
to never be married.
Im choosing to be myself,
fully, for the first
time, maybe ever.
-OK.
-OK.
I'll be back.
[dog barking]
-Oh my God.
-What, what?
-[gasps] Sarah!
-Here, I'll take your picture.
Come here.
-Come here, my little star.
-One, two.
Oh, you look good. Three.
Don't sound so surprised.
-Get in here.
-One, two, three.
I came to a point
where there were plenty
of reasons to stay,
and there were
plenty of reasons to leave.
And I couldn't
figure it out in my mind.
If I leave, wow, you know,
I may leave my heart behind.
I thought it could go
either way, you know,
I could sort of continue
my life without her,
wherever that will lead,
or do I want to be
with that again or not?
Can I let go of that
or is there more there?
Sarah, come on,
they're waiting for you.
-Oh, yes.
-We have a screening.
Goddamn it, Gary.
-That's the greatest love.
-Yeah.
I love you enough to have you
go wherever you need to go.
[door creaks open]
-[Kristen] Hi, chef.
-Hey.
I need an answer.
You need it now?
Are you going to Seattle?
I thought about it.
My answer...
is...
My main fear about
same gender marriage
and all of the progress
that we've made
is that we think that it's over.
That we think that LGBTQ
equality has been won
and that A, everybody is
happy that we got this,
and B, that there aren't
more battles to be fought.
And so, while we are
baking wedding cakes
and planning weddings
and kind of getting ready
to meet the person
that we're gonna spend
the rest of our lives with,
and have it celebrated
by society,
we're ignoring tons of people
who actually are
fighting for their lives
instead of trying to figure out
how they're gonna
plan their wedding.
And I think we have to hold
both of those things in tension.