I guess I had a picture of what success would be like.
Only the closer I get, the picture keeps changing.
And now I see how it isolates you,
how it makes your heart race,
how it keeps you up at night.
Success is a near-death experience.
And we who are about to die...
I'm kidding.
I think it's good. All right.
So, uh, Ralph, what's the lead time on rebar?
- Three weeks. - Uh-huh.
- He's coming back. - Yes, he is.
- Two to three weeks for rebar. - Right.
One last item.
A copy of the site plan that I might see?
David has that, miles. He's in the...
- He's in the trailer. - Is he?
Isn't the advantage of a partnership that one can be in one location
while one's partner is someplace else?
Now he wants his site plan.
Hey, have you seen today's paper?
No, let me guess, yet another article
on how inhumane we are to change the skyline
and actually do our jobs.
Well, I went so far as to read it.
You know that building, the youth shelter called A Better Place?
It was apparently the first studio of none other than mr. Frank Lloyd wright.
Uh-huh. That's what karen's gonna use to shut us down.
My site plan? Tempus fugit.
Sorry, miles, we were just discussing Frank Lloyd wright.
A fascinating bit of trivia, if you believe what you read.
It doesn't concern you at all that the building we're about to...
Ralph, have you seen my turtle yet?
I have not seen your turtle, sir.
It's Tibetan. 16th century.
- My niece gave it to me. - Nice niece.
Turtles, of course, were thought to bestow longevity
and to be indestructible.
We're all prone to a certain amount of fear,
but to spread fear deliberately,
it's like coughing without covering one's mouth.
You are not frightened by what they print in the paper,
are you, Rick?
He's worked so hard. I should get him something nice
for Valentine's day.
- But what? - I'm lonely enough.
I don't need an entire day to remind me of my loneliness.
- Hey, Lily. - Oh, my gosh! David!
- Hi, how are you? - Wait. David? Rick's david?
- I'm my own david. Thank you. - This is christie Parker, my...
- Oh, hi. - We've met.
No, we haven't.
We talked at Booklovers. I didn't realize...
- you met? - We did?
- Yeah, we did. - No, I would remember.
Well, obviously, you don't.
The bagels. I'll get them.
- Excuse me. - Uh-huh.
- You know, you're right. - I know I'm right.
I remember you now. I found you annoying.
I am annoying. I found you pretentious.
- Can I have your number? - Absolutely.
Here.
Never call.
That's the plan.
See you, Lily.
- I don't know. - Really?
- Oh, my goodness. - Hi, mom.
- We're making valentines. - Valentines.
No being thrilled or we'll stop.
You put newspaper down and everything.
Oh, I need the scissors.
- Who is yours for, Grace? - Mom, please.
- The good scissors. - We shouldn't be the ones doing this.
Valentine's day is for men to admit how much they want us.
- That's quite a theory. - It's a fact.
Valentine's day should be about worship.
Like bow down and worship at my feet
'cause you know you want to.
Pass the doilies.
Zoe.
- Isn't Rick's last name Sammler? - Yeah. Why?
- Rick's in the paper? Where? - What's Atlantor?
That's the name of the corporation...
Isn't he mowing down an entire neighborhood?
- No, that's not exactly... - wait, what's A Better Place?
I know someone who stayed there. Her grandmother threw her out
- for being a lesbian. - I'm going to make a valentine.
The whole building was falling apart,
and then people from the neighborhood pitched in and completely...
my friend would've been a prostitute or killed herself if it wasn't for them.
She said they care, they'll even give people clean needles...
- why would you want needles? - Sweetie, it has to do with...
Oh, right for heroin.
And they're tearing it down just to build Rick's building?
Grace, it's not Rick's fault.
Whose fault is it?
Well, I guess you have to look at it like that,
since you're involved with him.
Continued on page 27.
Where's page 27?
Grace. Grace! Mom!
I'm glad we got these printed in time for the demonstration.
- Thanks again for everything. - No problem.
I'll pick the rest of the stuff up tomorrow.
- Okay, bye. - Bye.
- Bye, sweetheart. - Bye. Hey.
Thank you so much for picking her up.
I kind of got busy.
Yeah, I can see.
Uh, do you have Rosenfeld's last bill?
Oh, yeah. Now, now, where did I leave that?
Mom, is there going to be another one of those meetings here?
Uh-huh. Tomorrow night.
It's hard to study when there's, like, 20 people in the house. It's loud.
Sweetie, you want to spend tomorrow night at my place?
Is that okay, mom?
Well, you'd have to pick her up at my office.
Would that be...
It's not a problem for me, if you...
No, no, I have no problem with that.
- Bye, daddy. - Okay, sweetie.
I know it's here somewhere. I just saw it.
Look, I, uh...
wait a second. I'm getting paged.
- Valentine's day. - Excuse me?
I was just, uh, thinking out loud.
Well, I have to get back to the office,
so I'll pick her up at your office tomorrow at 6:00?
Oh, wait, um...
Listen, um, since you have them tomorrow,
would you like to have Valentine's day to yourself?
Yeah.
I mean, yeah, yeah, I would.
Um, thanks.
When we first started out, I was...
I was taller than him back then.
- I was a wreck. Just a total... - No, he wasn't. No, he wasn't.
Yeah, I was. Are you kidding? I lived in fear.
No, not really.
Well, yeah, I guess you did.
I'd look over at david, and he was always...
He never seemed to notice how close we were,
you know, this close to total abject failure.
I knew we'd succeed.
And I thought, well, he must know.
He must know something.
I knew it because...
...I knew him.
What did you get her last year?
- A cricket. - Oh, right. That was brilliant.
Exactly, but I can't keep showering her with insects.
- Now that was one of my best ideas. - The cricket was my idea.
Who explained their significance?
You. You didn't tell me to get her one.
Of course not. It's a ridiculous gift.
They're doing this cheap. You know that?
- I'll speak to Ralph. - No, you won't.
You haven't even read this article. I don't see how you can just ignore...
Rick Sammler
and david casalee?
- Present. - Cassilli.
Your cleaning woman left the door open.
You're being served. The hearing is set for the 14th.
Oh, we didn't get you anything.
It's an injunction to cease and desist all work
from the court.
Happy Valentine's day.
The good news is we got the injunction.
The bad news is we're building our house on sand.
I guess I do kind of like bananas.
Have you seen those miniature bananas?
Those are so adorable.
Arguing on the basis of landmark status? No, let's face it.
- They're called dwarf bananas. - I love all small fruit.
How many landmark buildings have you seen razed to the ground?
Uh, Lloyd, I'll have to call you back.
- Hi. - Let's go.
Oh, I, um, I found Rosenfeld's bill.
Hold on a second.
Honey, I have to get back to the office,
so we need to get out of here
quick as we can.
- Is that everything? - Mm-hmm.
Rick, wait.
She can just stick that bill in the mail.
Bye, mommy.
Anyone home?
- Hey. - Hey, Jessie.
- Hey. - Hey.
I don't think dad would want people here when he's not around.
- You sure he wants you here? - We're here for research.
- Carla. - What? You are.
- Who is that? - Just this person. He's not staying.
What do you mean, research?
Grace is writing an expose on A Better Place.
- What? - It's being torn down
by money-hungry white males. You have to help her.
- I may not even do it. - Hey, I was saving that.
Oh, sorry.
- You think our father is money-hungry? - I don't know about it.
I always forget how brainwashed you are.
Why is he brainwashed?
You'll go to a mall, but white males shouldn't build them?
- Why are you here? - It's a multiphase development.
- Who do you think created civilization? - You?
Males. Men.
- Hi. - Hi.
- Eli, you've got to form an opinion. - Progress isn't evil.
- He doesn't. - You call that progress?
Yes! Tearing old buildings down to build new ones is how every city
that ever existed has been formed.
I mean, everything we depend on. Expressways and hospitals,
wrigley Field.
They're there because men tore something down and built them.
- So this is your dad's place? - Yeah.
Could everybody just leave for a second?
I need to talk to Grace.
You know I'm right, right?
Ooh. I can't believe you.
Look, you're entitled to your own opinion about this.
- Obviously, it's personal... - Oh, yeah. Yeah, that's right,
but in terms of Valentine's day,
um, there are these earrings that I know she really wants,
but I've also written her a song, and...
what do you think? Earrings or the song?
A song.
- Yeah, that's what I thought. - Hey, Eli, you know what?
- We should go there. - Really?
- To A Better Place. - Yeah.
No, Eli, I'm serious. You have got to face the truth.
- Down. - I'm serious!
Are you serious? He didn't even mention it?
Not one word.
Because yesterday, we ran into him,
and this morning, I saw them sitting together talking.
- He didn't mention it. - Well, that is very odd.
Well, it has been an odd...
we got served last night.
- What do you mean? Served what? - Not served in a restaurant. Served.
Oh. Oh, you mean...
As in an injunction. As in...
- As in karen shutting us down. - Oh, my God.
Anybody? Atlantor, o-r or e-r?
Yeah, there's going to be a hearing.
Everything is just a big mess. It's all...
- I have to call you back. - Yeah, me too.
- See you tonight. - Okay, bye.
Could you scroll down a bit, just for a minute?
- I'm not done proofing it. - I just need to check something.
This is running tonight, so...
- This runs tonight? - It's part of our Valentine issue.
She calls it Divorced Couples From Hell.
Lily!
Step in here for a minute.
Lily, I purposely didn't mention it to you
to protect you, so that you could look him in the eye
and swear you knew nothing about this.
I mean, come on, Lily, a divorced couple duking it out in public?
Who doesn't want to read about it? I'm going to get into it.
I think the other two couples from hell came off a lot worse.
Okay, Lily, what's upsetting you more here,
that I depict your boyfriend as having one of the more acrimonious divorces,
or that paragraph about his terrible reputation?
Terrible reputation? For what?
Oh, you didn't read it all the way through.
Oh, Lily, don't look so devastated. I hate when you look devastated.
Sorry.
You're doing it again.
Sorry.
Look, so he's a Type A. So what?
It's just the type of piece that it is.
The person comes off like this total nightmare,
like this one-dimensional, one-sided...
It's because you're presenting the one side.
Then why not present more sides?
You're kidding, right?
Girls, dinner!
So I brought a copy home in case you want to read it.
I mean, I think you should read it.
- Now? - No, not now. Soon.
Grace, honey, we're about to eat. Could you put that away, please?
I wanted to ask Rick some questions.
- For her article. - What article?
I'm writing an article about A Better Place.
Well, of course you are. Who isn't?
What's the sudden interest?
- So now you don't want me to care? - Of course I want you to.
Lil, no, it's okay.
If she has questions that she wants to ask, it's fine.
I just thought, all of a sudden...
- It's not like I have anything to hide. - I know.
So, Grace, what is it you want to know?
- Okay, first of all... - what's that?
Nothing.
It can't really be nothing. Nothing's nothing.
- Zoe, would you eat, please? - So, what was your reaction?
When you read in the paper about A Better Place
and how much it means to people, did you feel anything?
I didn't read that article.
- You didn't? - You didn't?
Let me...
Let me see if I can, um...
you see, there are aspects of city building, of building a city,
that you may not fully understand.
How you can't build without tearing something down?
Well, yeah, as a matter of fact, because I guarantee you
that anything that you truly admire about a city, any city...
I'm sure they had to tear something down to build the Empire State Building,
and you wouldn't want to not have the Empire State Building, would you?
Why not?
So, what else do you want to ask?
Nothing. That was it.
- That was it? - Gracie...
you asked me to put my notebook away, so I'm putting it away.
- Fine. - Fine.
Fine.
- Hi, dad. - Hey, Jess.
Yeah. Oh, that sounds great.
Okay. Bye.
- Who was that? - Carla.
What's your day look like today, dad?
What does my day look like?
Yeah. Are you going to be at the site
a lot today, or what?
Well, I have a meeting with a lawyer.
- A lawyer? - It's for the hearing.
Oh. Right.
You know that I admire your mother and what she's doing, right?
Because what she's doing is...
...is very admirable.
Yeah, we know.
You do?
Sure.
Jess?
Good luck tomorrow.
The point is, this is a positive thing for the community.
- Revitalizing a blighted urban area. - Precisely.
We're willing to relocate these people. What more can we do, right?
What is that, anyway?
- A bronze turtle. - 16th century.
It's Tibetan.
Miles' niece gave it to him, didn't she, miles?
- That's an alloy, isn't it? - Am I the only one here
who thinks we have a serious problem?
As opposed to the make-believe kind?
I am reminded of that marvelous story
about Bertrand Russell.
Ah, yes. That story.
Russell was lecturing on astronomy,
describing how the Earth orbits the sun and so on,
and when the lecture was over, an old woman stood up and said,
"This is all poppycock.
The world is a flat plate supported on the back of a giant turtle."
And Russell said, "Aha, madame,
but what is the turtle standing on?"
And the old woman said, "Very clever, young man,
but it's turtles
all the way down."
I love that story.
People refuse to accept reality.
They form their foolish, irrational opinions
and stick to them.
This development will be built.
There will be huffing and puffing,
but in the end, nothing will be blown down,
and people will move on
to some other bedtime story.
There are turtles all the way down, gentlemen,
and there's no convincing anyone otherwise.
The question is,
what are you willing to do?
To fight this injunction?
For greatness.
- I'm gonna drop out of sight. - What?
I'm running some compaction tests, so...
So go later.
I'm going now.
So, uh, thanks for the pep talk
and the turtle anecdote.
David, can't this...
Apparently it couldn't...
...wait.
It's just what you do for each other.
You tell the truth. That's why you...
- That's why you have a partner. - Exactly.
So that there's someone there. That's the reason.
- Someone to remind you... - who you are. Who you really are.
Exactly, because sometimes...
you forget.
- Come on, Grace. - There he is.
No more Atlantor! No more Atlantor!
This doesn't seem that bad.
I mean, so he's insanely ambitious. So what?
He comes off like he has no conscience.
Who cares how he comes off? You know he has one,
somewhere, probably.
So, you don't trust him?
Do you? That's what matters.
So, what are you two doing for Valentine's day?
Nothing, probably.
He's been really busy.
I made him a valentine.
Of course, I kind of left it blank.
I just couldn't figure out what to...
you know, it's not that I don't trust him,
it's just...
Okay, I don't trust him.
I can't 'cause every time I think I can,
something happens or I'll hear about something
that makes me wonder.
I don't trust myself to know whether to trust him or not.
Let's face it, I trusted Jake.
Hey, well, thank you so much.
You're very welcome. Thank you for coming.
Oh, wait. One last thing. Will you wear this, please?
- Sure. - Thank you.
All right.
Oh, how am I going to go in there?
I've got nothing. They're going to eat me alive.
I spoke with the A Better Place folk.
- They're in shock. - I know.
That sweet girl Shawna, she just kept repeating to herself,
"How can this be? We were supposed to buy the building.
They'd agreed."
This yogurt has a weird texture.
Wait, what did you just say? They agreed?
Yeah. She said that...
They had an agreement,
an oral agreement to purchase the building?
Well, who else knew?
Everyone. Everyone knew.
What? Good or bad?
No, good, good. Very good.
Start from the beginning.
So are you pissed at me for dragging you down here?
Sort of.
I thought it would be more fun.
So have you lost all respect for your father?
No. I have respect for my father, okay?
If I were an architect, and someone offered me tons of money
to design something to take the place of all this,
I'd do it in a heartbeat.
Hell, I'd do it for no money.
- I'm sure you would too. - Come on.
Let's get out of here.
Grace!
Come on, we're going.
I don't want to.
Grace, come on.
Carla, it's okay. Just go.
It's okay.
Come on, come on.
People united will never be defeated.
- Get out of here! - Coward!
Look, we are both under pressure, david,
but to just leave like that...
Go back to the office, okay?
I didn't appreciate you leaving the meeting.
- You didn't appreciate it? - I didn't.
You think I care at this point whether you appreciate something?
- What is this, david? - This isn't anything.
No, this is me being as clear as I know how to be with you.
- Oh, this is you making a point? - Yes.
You're taking a stand. How courageous.
- Shut up! - No, how gutsy of you.
Stand up for the homeless kids we're offering a bigger and better home.
We know bigger is better, right?
And stand up for Frank Lloyd wright, who's dead!
No, I'm standing up for myself.
I quit.
Right now? Today?
- Yes. That's it, Rick. It's over. - Without any warning? Without any...
Unless you count everything I've tried to say for the last month, yeah.
- Why today? Why now? - I don't know.
Maybe it was wilton talking about urban blight.
Maybe it was that last turtle anecdote
that pushed me over the edge. I don't know.
I've had enough, that's all.
I don't believe in what we're doing.
I don't believe we should be doing it, and to paraphrase E.E. cummings,
"There is just some excrement I will not eat."
So, is that why you sold me out to christie?
Huh? You figured, hey, I'm out of here.
I might as well trash him in print. That'll end it.
Actually, no.
I mainly did that to hurt you.
'Cause that's...
That's a part of this equation you don't seem to get.
How disappointed I am in you.
David.
- Don't talk to me now, please. - I...
I can't do this alone.
Rick, you've been doing it alone.
No more Atlantor! No more Atlantor!
Grace?
Grace, what are you doing here?
What am I doing here?
Does your mom know you're here?
Not exactly.
Well, I just...
I'll give you a ride home. You want a ride home?
I'm going to take the bus.
Well, no, look...
Hello?
Where are you?
Lily, do you know where Grace is?
- She's at her friend carla's. - No! No, she's not.
She's right here in front of me, protesting!
What? She's protesting against...
me! She's protesting against me!
Now you're shouting. Could you please not...
No, I'm not. I just...
I offered her a ride home, and...
- could I just talk to her, please? - Grace!
Grace! Grace!
You can't order me around. You're not my father.
- I realize that. - Leave her alone!
Yeah! Back off, man!
Your mother wants to talk to you.
Hello?
Jerk!
I have to turn my soup down.
You realize what this is?
No, what is it?
It's the perfect way for her to get at me.
You know, it's more than that, actually.
What do you mean?
She has strong feelings about this, obviously.
Obviously, and why do you think she has such strong feelings?
She had a right to be there, that's all I'm saying.
You didn't know where she was. She didn't tell you the truth.
That's between her and me.
I've just destroyed this carrot.
Can I get you something, some cheese or something?
Well, maybe you should go.
Rick, good luck tomorrow.
Therefore, your Honor, the plea, carries no weight.
The building has not been proved to merit landmark status.
As for the so-called verbal contract for ownership,
it is completely invalid and cannot be considered by this court.
Counsel for A Better Place.
Your Honor.
We are a city that has always embraced change,
perhaps too fervently,
for we are in constant danger of losing our precious ties to the past.
The property located at 1148...
your Honor, this was a done deal.
These people had a contract, and it would be unconscionable
to allow this defendant to profit by representing otherwise.
It is within the scope and purview of this court
to render true justice, and I urge you to do so, and I thank you.
Fine. Recess, 15 minutes.
All rise.
Take this.
For luck.
While I am flattered by ms. Sammler's belief
in the power of the court,
the reality is, my powers do not extend that far.
A case has been made that this is a building of historical significance.
Our determination is that it is not.
As for the putative contract for ownership,
the court is not a mind reader.
I cannot enforce an unwritten contract.
This case is dismissed.
All rise.
Congratulations.
You are going to make a mark.
Congratulations, Rick. We're on our way.
Thanks, miles.
- Hi. - Hi, sweetie.
Oh, they're all in the conference room, so...
congratulations.
Why?
Oh.
- Your mom give you that? - Oh, you know, mom would never...
I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked.
I just thought I should put it on, you know,
just in case it made her feel better.
I mean, you have somebody, you know?
She doesn't.
I thought somebody should be on her side.
Sweetie, Saj is leaving if you want...
So, uh, if you want him to drive you home.
- Okay. - Okay.
- Love you. - You too.
- Bye, daddy. - Bye, pumpkinhead.
Got everything?
Bye!
- I could have driven her home. - Rick, why are you here?
- Please don't look at me like that. - Like what?
Rick, I don't need your sympathy, or to hear how sorry you are.
You got lucky, that's all.
It isn't over.
I am here
because you were excellent in there today.
And, well, I just wanted to say that.
Has everyone been told?
Yeah. I told them this afternoon.
You want to hear something funny?
Funnier than this?
Lily thought you were interested in christie.
I am, actually.
- Oh? - Yeah.
Good.
David, um...
we should never have gotten married in the first place.
- Except we fell in love. - Yeah, and the sex was great.
What can I say to make you change your mind?
Nothing.
We left out the other reason why you need a partner.
Oh, right.
So there's someone to blame when things go wrong.
Exactly.
Hello?
Are you hungry? I could scramble something.
Oh, God! I have something for you too.
Oh, no. This isn't, uh...
I didn't quite finish it, but...
This is...
This is just supposed to bring good luck.
It's bronze, 16th century.
This is what I really wanted to, um...
we can pretend it's still Valentine's day, can't we,
even though it's, what, 12:30?
- It's 20 after 2:00. - Ah.
Rick, is this...
Are you...
Open it.
I bought it this afternoon, after, uh...
It's beautiful.
You can bring it back if it doesn't fit or just...
Rick, it's beautiful.
- ...Choose another one. - I would never choose another one.
Good.
This is where you throw your arms around me.
Yeah, I know.
Um...
I mean, I wish I could just...
There's a part of me that just, um...
what about this whole problem with Grace?
What problem?
You see, I think Grace has a problem with me,
- which is why this is exactly... - How is getting married...
which is why this is what we all need.
Okay. We do?
Yes, to show that I am really here, and that you and I are really...
- But we haven't even figured out... - Lil, this is how we figure it out.
And after this is settled, Grace won't have this problem anymore.
Wait, what problem?
The problem of not respecting me, of not accepting that I am...
- you're what? - That I am important in your life.
Lil, my God, why are you making this so hard?
Rick, what happened at the hearing?
Nothing. We won.
David, uh, quit.
Rick, please don't ask me to marry you like this.
- In a kitchen? - I'm serious.
And I'm not serious?
I want you to want to marry me
because you want to spend your life with me,
not because you're scared to be alone.
I'm not scared to be alone.
I am alone.
Rick.
Oh, Rick, I love you.
This just seems...
...soon to me.
I'm not scared of it at all.
I'm used to it.
There was no Saint Valentine.
It's all made up.
Rick...
...your turtle.
Is it really 16th century?
So I'm told.
And it brings you good luck?
Not tonight.
It must have cost a lot.
Too much.
Vinny came back. He pulled a gun on Jake.
I want to see Giancarlo now!
- He's not here. - Where is he?
What did you say?
We have breaking news of a hostage situation...
- Is my daughter in there? - It's gonna be okay.
Stand by to breach, enter and secure.
What's happening?
Everyone get on the floor now!