-I think showering at the gym... -[overlapping chatter]
Okay, I want-- I want-- I-- I want-- I want--
Th-Thank-- Thank you all...
Thank-- Thank you all for coming. I wanna thank-- thank--
Hello! I wanna thank you all for coming.
And I'm sure I am not the only one who is concerned...
about Anna's decision.
Of course we're concerned.
Seriously, where are we supposed to find a two-bedroom for under 1,200?
Have you tried Fresno?
That's why I wanted us all to come together.
And do what, Mary Ann? We've all talked to Anna.
She's made up her mind.
But...
this is our Anna.
This is our Barbary Lane.
I dunno about your Barbary Lane,
but our Barbary Lane is falling apart.
No wonder Anna wanted to sell.
Remember last year we thought we had bed bugs?
There's definitely a rat in the walls.
It's not a rat, it's a mouse. I saw it last night.
It basically cha-cha'd across the kitchen.
Ugh! Even the mice in this town are gay.
The mice aren't the problem.
-[all] It's the plumbing. -Right?
-[all talking] -Okay. All right.
If we could all maybe... Could we just talk one at a time?
Hello? Hello! Hello! Hi.
If we could just try to keep this orderly.
So... Uh... Here. Here.
Whoever holds this...
this thing has the floor.
Is that a dildo?
It's not a... It's not a dildo.
I'll start.
So, as I see it,
there are-- are three possibilities for Anna's decision,
all of which are difficult to contemplate.
Is it possible...
that Anna's in financial trouble?
No way, honey.
Oops, here. Gimme.
So, the guy who does the books for Plant Parenthood,
has for years... Carmine.
Old queen, little handsy.
He does Anna's taxes, too, but he's not what I would call discreet.
So, if Anna was in dire straits, he would definitely have told Brian.
-He's got a thing for Brian. -It's true. He's... He's handsy.
-All right. Well, then, maybe it's-- -Here.
Well, is it possible...
that Anna could be ill?
-Maybe she's dying? -Oh, God, she's not dying.
-Give her the dildo. -It's not a dil--
I take Anna to all of her doctors' appointments.
Yeah, she might be 90, but she's in kick-ass shape. End of story.
Ooh, can I have the dildo?
All right, not to be like, "Drugs are bad,"
but she does smoke a shit-ton of pot.
Yes! Yes!
Thank you, Ani. Here, may I?
So, that-- that brings me to the-- the third possibility.
Is it possible that Anna is losing her faculties?
Yeah, I-- I wasn't finished.
-Oh, sorry. -Yeah.
So, at first I thought maybe Anna was high when she told us.
But then I thought maybe I was high.
-Which I was. -Super high.
Yeah, so then I talked to her later, and Anna wasn't tripping.
She said she just wanted, like, a new adventure.
Probably like Costa Rica or...
Oaxaca.
No-- No one else finds this strange?
I mean, this is all just peachy?
Look, I know this sucks. It fucking blows.
But Shawna's right.
It's her building and her life.
And she's made up her mind.
Anna gave us a beautiful place for a long time.
We all knew it had to end someday.
Maybe she's doing us a favor.
Some of us needed a change anyway.
Agreed.
[Mary Ann] This-- This just makes me very sad...
that you're all willing to just give up.
More like we're willing to accept reality?
[Mary Ann] Uh--
Really?
[sighs]
[DeDe] Are you one of Mary Ann's?
Oh.
Sorry, yeah.
Hi.
From Barbary Lane?
A Barbarian.
And which one are you?
Margot. Hi.
-You must be DeDe. -How's it going in there?
-This looks more fun. -Pull up a chair if you like.
Did you bring a swimsuit?
[Shawna] How old is this cabbage?
[Anna] Stop fussing!
Come sit with me.
I don't wanna sit. I'm mad at you.
I'm shocked.
Shocked to hear that.
Come!
Tell me about it.
Why are you selling?
Really.
How many times can we have this conversation?
I told you.
Downsizing, simplicity, blah, blah, blah.
I think it's fucking bullshit.
Is that why you were all conspiring against me this morning?
Did you think I wouldn't notice everyone was gone?
Mary Ann thinks you're losing your marbles.
Does she, now?
And what do you think?
I think you're stubborn as fuck.
But so am I, so...
Darling...
if you truly love me,
you'll honor my wishes.
This is my decision.
I need you to respect it.
-[knocking at door] -Hm.
Oh, my.
Is it noon already?
Fair hummingbird, it is I, the gentle knight Theseus.
Hey, Shakespeare.
-We haven't officially met. -Forgive me.
Sam Garland. How do you do?
I do just fine. Thank you.
I so enjoy these afternoons reading for your Annie.
Did he just call you Annie?
Shawna was just leaving.
Well, we're not done,
me and you, with our conversation.
Shall we?
[sighs]
Hi, you've reached Robert Watson. Please leave a message.
Robert, hi, it's your wife.
Well, at least for a little while longer. Ha, ha.
Um...
I got the papers.
And I'm sorry I haven't gotten around to signing them yet. It's just...
things have been...
been a little eventful around here.
I'm at a loss, Robert, I...
I thought I could fix the situation with Shawna,
and now I find I'm complicit in this terrible lie.
And it makes me feel... just insane.
I don't know. I-- I don't know what to do.
I think about coming home.
And then...
sometimes I feel like I am home.
And now all of that might go away. I don't know.
I... I don't know.
I check the weather every morning in Connecticut.
Out of habit.
I guess it's raining there today.
It's not raining here.
[female voice] Voicemail limit reached. Goodbye.
[sighs]
[Sam] "The truth must dazzle gradually.
Or every man be blind -"
I thought you loved Emily Dickinson.
Oh.
Uh...
I'm sorry.
How are you feeling? Give us the truth.
Oh, Sam.
I don't know where to begin.
I fear for my children.
What will they do without this place?
They'll land on their feet,
learn to walk on their own, as children should.
If only they could understand
why I have to do this.
You must have your reasons.
Hey, I'm taking laundry.
Oh, hey, man.
-What's up? Uh, Michael's out. -Oh, he has a life outside of you?
Mm. Insane, right?
Uh, no, he's hanging out with that dude, uh, Harrison. You know that guy.
Michael's hanging out with Harrison?
Wait, are you fucking serious?
-Uh... -You know what? This is his problem.
He just forgives everybody all the time.
I mean, how do you go hang out with someone who dumped you
because they couldn't deal with the fact that you're HIV positive?
I mean, they were practically married. It's so fucked up.
Yeah, yeah.
He didn't tell you any of this?
Hm.
Ben... I'm so sorry.
-No... -Fuck me. I...
-I do this sometimes. I-- -No, no, it's cool.
It's cool.
Are you sure?
Yeah.
I'll... leave.
So, uh, this is all gonna be a cedar deck.
Gonna do, um, built-in seating on this side,
stone fire pit over there.
[woman] Eight feet.
-Wow. -Yeah, I think it'll be nice.
-No, I meant her. -This look like eight feet to you?
Best foreman I've ever had.
But, uh... trust me, you don't wanna get on Debra's bad side.
[Debra] You're wasting my time.
-Cheers. -Cheers.
-Thanks for coming. -[Debra] Get out of my face.
So, this is, like, a super tacky question.
Hmm, now we're talkin'.
Where'd all your money come from?
That's not so tacky.
I'm old money.
At least, I feel like old money.
Honestly, it's a miracle there's any left. My husband would have squandered it.
What happened to him?
He died.
When I was pregnant.
Oh, shit.
Car crash.
Fuck. I'm so sorry.
It was for the best.
The kids weren't his anyway.
But that's a whole other story.
What happened after he died?
Well,
then I was with a woman for a while.
And another woman.
Wait, you're queer?
Thirty years in San Francisco,
I still have no idea what that word means.
It's like the price of oil. Changes every day.
You prefer just plain old "dyke"?
Honey, at this point, you'd have to pry it open with a crowbar,
so who cares what you call me?
[Mary Ann] Hi, gals.
Oh, looks like fun. Mind if I join?
Oh, wow, you are naked.
Wow. I'm just gonna... I'm gonna turn the jets back on.
And...
There we go.
Holy shit.
You renovated this yourself?
No, I mean, I had some help.
But, yeah, you know, pretty much.
Okay, well, your line of work looks a little more lucrative
than selling orchids to hipsters.
You still have the shop?
It's still there. Same place.
Holy shit, Michael.
Keeping a business going in this town with these prices?
Yeah, well, it's always touch and go, but...
I make do.
Yeah, I'd, uh...
I'd say you do more than make do.
I did meet your very hot, very young boyfriend.
He's 28.
[sighs] Twenty-eight!
Sometimes it's like we're from different countries.
-Different planets. -Totally.
I mean, for one thing, they have none of our hangups.
Of course not.
-They found all new ones. -[chuckles]
Wow.
So, do you, um... you want the full tour?
Hm?
-Lead on. -All right.
I can't believe Anna's selling Barbary Lane.
-Yeah, join the club. -Jeez.
I mean, I get it, the place must be worth a fortune now.
Any idea who she's selling it to?
Nobody knows. She's being very coy about the whole thing.
Yeah. Sounds like the Anna I remember.
[chuckles]
And the master.
Wow! I mean, this room still needs some work.
[chuckles]
Phew!
God, that is stunning.
Oh, thank you.
Yeah, I'm kind of proud of this one.
Wait, you made this?
Mm.
-[laughs] -Wasn't the first thing I ever made,
-but it was the first thing I made... -Wow.
...that I wanted to keep.
-[laughing] Yeah! -[chuckles]
-This is really beautiful. -Thank you.
-Sorry, I shouldn't have, uh... -That's... That's okay. [laughs]
You, too?
Karma.
Look, Michael, I... [sighs]
...never properly apologized for the way I left.
Oh, I got your letter.
You should hear it in person.
I've done a lot of work on myself since then.
And, um...
for what it's worth...
I was selfish...
and cowardly.
And...
I'm sorry, Michael.
When you said the full tour, you weren't kidding.
[Harrison chuckles]
[sighs]
[clears throat]
[both chuckle]
Well, I'm really glad...
really glad I got to see you.
Yeah, you, too.
Mmm.
Hey, super last-minute, but I'm having some friends over tonight.
Um... It's low-key. It's drinks, dinner.
-Just us girls. -[chuckles]
You should come.
And bring Ben, of course.
Uh... [laughs]
Maybe.
[chuckles]
[sighs]
"I will not call anyone 'Nellie' or 'Butch' unless that is his name."
"I will not assume women who like me are fag hags."
[chuckling] Oh.
Michael.
[Michael] Hi, Anna. Love that top on you.
[footsteps]
[door opens]
Hello?
Hey, babe.
How'd it go with Harrison?
Who cares about Harrison?
What... Uh...
What is... What is happening?
This is happening.
[Ben laughs]
Dad, you home?
[Brian] In here, kiddo.
What are you doing?
I'm, uh...
mopping the floor, why?
I've literally never seen you do that.
I've mopped the floor.
Wait, is this a... is this a pre-date clean?
Are you having a woman over tonight?
Not one of those blondes from Tinder. Please tell me.
All right.
Not that it's any of your business,
but I'm hosting a little game night here tonight.
-With Wren. -Wren from, like, down the hall, Wren?
It's a double date.
Oh, my God, that's awesome.
She's great! I thought you were in the friend zone.
Maybe we're rezoning.
-Don't fuck it up. -Oh, wow.
Thank you for your continued support, daughter of mine.
I also, uh...
Well, just so you hear this from me. It's not that it's...
Not that it's a big deal, but I had a drink with Mary Ann a few days ago.
And?
And I think she's having some kind of a mid-life crisis.
She's full of regrets.
It's probably why she wanted to become
Barbary Lane's Joan of Arc all of a sudden.
So, I should cancel the "Burn Mary Ann at the stake" party I was planning?
You're not mad?
I'm not mad.
You-- You know, you should have drinks with whoever you want.
All right.
Do you mind?
No, so long as you fold what's in the dryer.
Not touching any underwear.
Deal.
Mary Ann said she was full of regrets?
That's the thing. It's like, yeah, I'm single now, but...
I still want a kid.
You wanna have a kid, have a kid.
Yeah, but on my own,
just sounds kind of exhausting.
[DeDe] That's just what life is, isn't it?
It's exhausting.
Your life doesn't look that rough.
Oh, darling, if I were poor, I'd just be dead.
-Let-- Let me ask you. -[both giggling]
Um... You're Shawna's friend, you know her.
She's gonna hate me for the rest of her life,
no matter what I do?
I mean...
I'm not her spokesperson, but, like...
She's busy. She doesn't have time to hate you.
She's always doing shit for other people,
taking care of Anna.
She loves Anna more than anything.
She loves Anna.
Yeah, they're, like, best friends.
I gotta go.
[both chuckle]
I, um... I should probably go, too.
So soon? Why not stay for supper?
Oh.
See, if I stay for dinner, I might never leave.
So, I should go.
Another time, then.
[laughing]
Okay! Okay, it's official.
These showers were not built for sex.
Yeah, well, then I ain't built for showers.
Hey, be nice.
This apartment's been good to me.
-It's got character. -[laughs]
Well, maybe the next one can have water pressure.
Oh!
[shower stops running]
So, what's the plan for tonight?
Everything okay?
Yeah.
Um...
I was wondering, would you, uh... wanna go to this...
dinner thing that Harrison's throwing tonight?
Just small.
Some of his friends.
Could be fun.
Sure.
Yeah.
Sounds good.
Cool.
["Color of Anyhow" playing]
♪ Look into my eyes ♪
♪ The color of anyhow... ♪
[Jake] Look at you.
Isn't this decadent?
Just need a handsome man to feed me grapes. [chuckles]
How about burritos?
Not quite as Dionysian.
But I could be persuaded.
Wasn't Saturday burritos
your tradition with Margot?
You know we...
How do you feel?
Really fucking sad.
That sounds about right.
I cheated on her.
I thought I could keep everything the same.
It started to feel like I can only be honest with myself or her,
but not both.
I'm pretty sure she already knows, but...
I should tell her, right?
I should be honest.
She deserves to know the truth.
One thing I've learned...
is sometimes the truth is a burden you have to carry alone.
Okay, this is harassment.
The law says we have 14 days to comply,
and that raggedy carpet in the green room will be addressed.
-Oh, no, I'm not-- -[Shawna] It's okay.
She's not the health inspector.
She's... Mary Ann.
Ohhhh!
How do you do?
-Ida. -Yes, honey?
Go.
Ugh.
I know you're busy.
I was just-- I was hoping...
we could talk, just you and me, about Anna.
Well, like you said, I'm busy.
Of course. Look, whatever you might think about me,
and-- and I get it, you don't like me, but...
is it possible, even just a little bit,
that you could share my concern about what's happening to Barbary Lane?
Do you want a drink?
That'd be lovely.
-What do you like? -Scotch.
-Neat? -Yeah.
Hey.
Oh! You made it.
[laughter inside]
Hey. Come on in.
[Harrison laughs]
Hey, guys,
this is Michael and his boyfriend, Ben.
Guys, this is Stan, Ken, Paul, Dan, and...
Where'd they go?
The Chrises... The Chrises are around here somewhere.
-Ah, there they are. Right on cue. -The Chrises.
Be nice. Hey.
Oh, my God.
-Michael Tolliver. Are-- Are you serious? -Hi.
Do you remember me? I'm... I'm Chris Bauer.
-Chris! -Yes!
-Holy shit, of course! -[laughing]
-Wow! Oh, my God. -Oh, my God. Babe. Babe, this is...
He and I, a million years ago. Do you remember?
We used to go to this place...
Oh, The EndUp.
-Yes, yes, and you... -[all] Ohh!
And you did that dance.
He did this dance in his underwear--
-That was somebody else. -No, it was you. And you won.
Oh, really?
I bet he still looks as good in his underwear as he did then, am I right?
-Oh! -[chuckling]
[Harrison] Ah, let's eat. Yeah? Shall we?
Move into the dining room? All right.
-Get you guys a drink? -Sure, yeah.
-Okay. -Hey...
[clears throat]
Why do I feel like we need a safe word?
["Alive" playing]
♪ Walked in as strangers ♪
♪ But maybe we're not ♪
[doorbell rings]
♪ You looked at me ♪
♪ And I had a thought ♪
-I... -I'm gonna kiss you now.
♪ That I knew you before ♪
♪ Sat down, we talked ♪
♪Till they kicked us out ♪
♪ You started a fire ♪
♪ That didn't burn out ♪
[laughter]
-[Harrison] What about Peru? -Oh. Oh, my God!
-[Harrison] Right? -We-- We are going there next month.
Machu Picchu, Cusco, Lima--
-Are you doing the... What's it called? -The Inca Trail.
[Chris] Yes, and Sacred Valley.
That sounds amazing.
Can you believe this one has never been to Peru?
-Isn't it crazy? -[laughter]
The best thing about Machu Picchu, the Sherpas.
-Oh, my God, yeah. -It's their beautiful, beautiful calves.
When you're on the trail, you just stare at those gorgeous legs.
You will not fall off the cliff.
I thought the Sherpas carried you up the mountain.
Well, if that were an upgrade, this one would definitely take it.
-Oh, yeah. -Just be like, "Pedro, Jorge, whatever,
-I need to be carried." -[Stan] Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!
Remember last year when Ken and I were in Mexico City with Steve and Phil?
And their weird friend. What was his name?
I know who you're talking about.
He told us about this club down there,
so we're out walking around this totally sketchy part of Mexico City.
I mean, it's really late, and we finally think we found it.
You have to ring a doorbell.
Right. And we go in and...
Oh, my God!
It's full of trannies!
-Oh! -[laughter]
To the rafters.
It's a tranny club, a Mexican tranny club.
-So of course they let you in. -[laughter]
I don't think that we use that word.
[laughter stops]
Sorry?
Uh...
[sighs]
-Um... -[indistinct whispering]
"Tranny."
It's offensive, and... and...
using it to insult each other, that's-- that's really offensive, so...
Does anyone want more wine?
-Please. -Yeah.
-Please. -Please.
[Chris 2] I'm sorry.
-I just don't really appreciate... -[Chris] Babe...
-...that we have to be policed. -At a fucking gay dinner party.
Thank you. Exactly.
Is this a Bordeaux?
A bunch of fags bullshitting around a table.
Probably doesn't like the word "fag" either.
Weren't we just talking about Machu Picchu?
We were. Back to that, just for a minute.
I mean, look, you can call yourself whatever you want, man,
but I just think it's important we call other people what they want to be called.
-That's the least that we can do. -Babe, I think we get it.
[Harrison] Why don't we do dessert in the other room?
-Let's go. -[Dan] Can I ask you something?
Why is your generation
obsessed with labels?
Obsessed.
Because...
what you call someone is important.
It's about... It's about dignity. It's about visibility.
Okay,
[Ben] I think we owe that to people. Uh-- Uh--
Especially when you're coming from a place of privilege.
Uh--
So you look at me and you see what?
A rich white man?
Is that what you mean? Is that my privilege?
-Yeah. Yes. You are. -Guys, guys, I don't think--
Let me tell you something about dignity and visibility.
How old are you?
I'm 28.
-[Dan] He's 28. -Okay.
Any so-called privilege
that we happen to enjoy at this moment
was won.
Okay?
And by that, I mean clawed, tooth and nail,
from a society that didn't give two shits if we lived or died,
and, indeed, did not care when all our friends started to die.
When I was 28, I wasn't going to fucking dinner parties.
I was going to funerals.
Three or four a week. All of us were.
I understand that. I do.
Oh, you do, really?
Why?
Because you saw Angels in America? Fuck that.
You have no idea.
This world that you get to live in,
with your safe spaces and your intersectionalities--
-And gay marriage. -Fucking without condoms.
[Chris 2] All of it.
This entitlement you now have
to dignity and visibility
as a gay person...
Do you even know where that came from?
Do you know who built that world?
Do you know the cost of that progress?
No, of course not.
Because it would be more than your generation could ever bear to comprehend.
So, if a bunch of old queens wanna sit around a table and use the word tranny...
I will not be told off by someone who wasn't fucking there.
[sighs]
Um...
Excuse me.
[door opens and closes]
-Ben-- -No, you don't get to talk to me.
Not when they're saying that shit, Michael.
Racist, transphobic bullshit, and you just sit there.
-You don't get to talk to me now. -I'm sorry--
No, no!
[sighs]
"A society that doesn't care whether we live or die."
Really?
Really? You're gonna say that to me, a black man?
Like I don't know how that feels?
-I didn't know what to do. -How about defending me?
How-- How about not leaving me totally alone
after-- after inviting me to the fucking gay version of Get Out?
And... you know what the worst part is, is that you don't even like them.
And I know that. You sit there,
and you pretend like Harrison is your friend, while he is the one that--
He...
Fuck.
-He's the one that what? -Forget it.
No, no, I wanna know.
Shawna told me what happened.
Oh, so that's why you went through my shit?
-What? -When I wasn't there?
Okay...
[sighs]
Is that why you invited me here tonight?
To... to... to hang out with your ex-boyfriend and his toxic friends
was, what... what, punishment or... what?
[car pulls up]
[man] Hey, bro.
You Ben?
Yeah.
Well, aren't you gonna go?
Hey, sorry, man. I gotta cancel.
Dude, that's not cool.
You gotta be the change you wanna see.
[car drives away]
♪ I beep my past ♪
♪ Still my blood beats blue ♪
♪ Break down, break down, down ♪
♪ Break down ♪
-♪ Gonna break down ♪ -♪ Break down ♪
♪ Ooh ♪
♪ Gonna break down, break down ♪
♪ I'm trying not to break down ♪
-♪ Break down ♪ -♪ Yeah, ooh ♪
♪ You're holding on too tight now ♪
-♪ Gonna break down ♪ -♪ Woo-hoo ♪
♪ Yeah ♪
-[applause] -♪ I'm holding on too tight ♪
♪ And I fear the pain ♪
♪ No, no, no, I can't ignore ♪
♪ Something way down deep in my core ♪
♪ Is starting to ♪
♪ Break ♪
♪ I didn't mean to hurt you, baby ♪
♪ No, no, no, no, no, no ♪
♪ I just wanna be your man ♪
[song fades]
[pop music plays]
You all right, Mary Ann? Not your cup of tea?
I just... I don't understand.
How exactly is that feminist?
[Ida] Well, first of all, honey,
this is a co-op, so everyone who works here is an owner.
And that's very commendable. But what--
-You killed it, Lay. -Thanks.
Sorry. Mary Ann, Layla. Layla, Mary Ann.
Hello.
You know, Mary Ann here's not sure that what you do is feminist.
I...
Uh... No, it's just...
You-- You were-- You were lovely, really.
It's... No, I was just saying that in terms of the feminism of my day,
-that this was-- -Oh!
So, you're, like, old school.
Well, I'm not a suffragette, but yes.
Yes.
My generation was trying to liberate women from objectification, not, you know...
-encourage it. -[chuckles] Right.
But, see, I don't feel objectified.
I own my body. I'm... I'm making a choice.
[Ida] Exactly.
See, everything we do here is about empowerment.
Taking control.
Hm.
So you're telling me
the most feminist thing I could do right now
is go up on that stage and take my clothes off?
In a queer feminist burlesque co-op? Fuck, yeah, it is.
What's the second most feminist thing I could do?
-[cheering and applause] -Ida!
All right, ladies and gentle queers.
We have a...
[laughs]
We have a very special surprise for you today.
Please welcome to the Body Politic stage for the very first time...
What's your stage name, honey?
Lady Turd Johnson.
[laughter]
All right, here it comes.
Um... Singing one of our all-time favorites,
Lady Turd Johnson.
All right!
["Come to My Window" playing]
♪ I would dial the numbers Just to listen to your breath ♪
♪ And I would stand inside my hell And hold the hand of Death ♪
♪ I would-- You don't know how far I'd go ♪
♪ To do-- seize this precious... ♪
Aaah!
♪ You don't know how much I'd give ♪
♪ Or how much I can take ♪
♪ Just to reach you ♪
♪ Come to my window ♪
♪ Crawl inside Wait by the light of the moon ♪
♪ Come to my window ♪
♪ I'll be home soon ♪
-Woo, woo! -All right!
[murmurs of approval]
[all] ♪ Come to my window ♪
♪ Crawl inside Wait by the light of the moon ♪
♪ Come to my window ♪
♪ I'll be home soon ♪
-Yeah! -[cheering]
[cheering and applause continue]
-Bye, babies. -[women] Bye!
Sorry we kicked your ass.
Get home safe, though.
[woman] Bye! We love you!
Oh, my God!
-That was so much fun. -[chuckles]
We kicked their butts. We destroyed them.
-I guess we're a good team. -Right, it was almost too easy.
Know what Reg said when you went to the bathroom?
-Mm-mm. -She was like,
"You just said y'all were friends with benefits.
You didn't say nothing about having a spades partner."
Hm!
What? What's happening right now?
-Nothing. It's nothing. -Brian.
Please don't give me the emotional labor
of trying to figure out what's in your mind.
I can see it on your face. Is it heartburn? What's going on?
At-- At the risk of being a total idiot,
and if I'm completely honest, I thought that this was a date.
Well, since we're being honest and everything,
I saw you coming back from the store yesterday with that mop,
and I was like, "Oh, Lord,
the man done caught feelings."
Look, I know we've just been friends, and that is... that's cool.
And I don't wanna screw that up.
But...
Fuck.
I like you.
I like you, too.
I do. I... [sighs]
I really like you.
We have a lot of fun and it's, like, super easy. But...
to be honest, I am really not trying to rush into anything right now.
Hm.
But I am totally down to see where this goes.
-Yeah? -Yes!
Do you wanna stay over?
Well, yeah, you mopped your motherfucking floors.
-Yes! -[chuckles]
Taking my shoes off and everything, honey.
Mm!
[cable car bell ringing]
[Michael sighs]
Can I ask you something?
Those things that Chris said...
Is that how you feel?
That I will never be able to understand what you went through?
[distant siren wailing]
How am I supposed to understand if you hide it from me?
I don't know.
It's like...
part of me doesn't want you to know all that...
sad shit from my past.
I guess I just... I wanted to believe that we could start fresh.
[sighs]
Honestly, I try not to think about it, all that...
You know, all the friends I lost.
People I loved.
[sighs]
But more than that, the...
the sense of freedom, of fun.
The feeling that the future was ours,
you know, because that's... that's what really got taken from us.
And I think that's where the rage comes from.
Because we were so young.
[sobbing]
And we felt invincible.
But we weren't.
[sighs] I'm sorry I didn't stick up for you back there.
I'm... I'm sorry that I even took you there in the first place. I--
I was upset.
And I didn't know how to talk about it, so I just did this fucked-up thing.
I shouldn't have gone through your stuff.
I'm sorry, too.
I just freaked out. I--
You hadn't told me about Harrison, and-- and...
I thought you were hiding something from me.
I didn't know how to tell you.
I wanna know all of you, Michael.
All the parts of you, the sad parts, the messy parts.
And I want you to know me, and...
you're not gonna scare me away.
[footsteps]
Hi.
I, um...
I was wondering if we could talk?
No, thanks.
[door closes]
Can you believe...
-I can't fucking believe it. -No.
I-- I sang Melissa Etheridge...
-You sang Melissa Etheridge. -In...
In a feminist burlesque co-op.
Yes, and you crushed it.
-You fucking crushed it. -Oh, I dunno.
-No, you did. -Did I?
Yes, you crushed it.
I did.
You're a lucky woman, Shawna.
You know, you've created a beautiful life for yourself.
You're surrounded by...
these interesting, fascinating people you love and who love you.
That's amazing.
Yeah, I mean, I don't know what's fascinating about it, but...
Hah! Well...
you know, fish, they sometimes don't know they're...
swimming?
No, that's not right. Anyway, you know what I mean. Trust me.
This is...
[chuckles]
-San Francisco. -[chuckles]
-At least, what's left of it. -Mm.
You know...
when I-- when I first got off the bus years ago,
and I mean literally off the bus,
this whitebread girl from Ohio,
I had the strangest feeling that I'd come home.
I mean, and don't get me wrong.
I mean, this city, it-- it scared the shit out of me.
And I know that everyone who laid eyes on me
gave me about five minutes
before the... before the gays and the... and the queens would...
send me right back to Cleveland, but...
Oh, God!
Oh! How I must have looked to them!
[laughs]
But...
on the... on the inside...
On the inside, I was different.
I mean, I-- I knew that...
you know, I-- it didn't match...
how I looked on the outside.
Well, shit, Mary Ann.
Maybe you're queer after all, huh?
Did anyone ever tell you how I came to live at Barbary Lane in the first place?
I... I read an ad in the classifieds.
And you know what it said? It said...
"You'll know if it's right for you."
Now, who-- who writes an ad like that?
-Anna. -Anna.
Mm-hmm.
She knew.
She... She was the one person
who instantly knew that I belonged here.
It didn't matter what I looked like, or...
how green I was.
Okay, look, I... I don't want this to be like some sort of, like, a big thing...
but I do think you're right about Anna.
It's fucking weird.
Something's going on and I don't know what to do.
You do.
I knew it!
Aah! I... I knew you felt the same way I did.
-It's so weird! -It's so weird.
-And she won't talk to me about it. -Me either.
I just get this...
Oh, like, "Respect my wishes" sort of fucking bullshit.
Exactly.
And... Look, I get it. I get that she's 90, but she has never...
She has never said anything to me about wanting to leave, ever.
What could have changed?
Well, there's only one thing that I can think of.
And I-- I mean, I want to be clear.
Seriously, I don't have any evidence to suggest that it's sketchy or...
Mm-hmm. What is it?
Well, there's this guy, Sam.
Sam?
He just started showing up a week ago, like, right before she decided to sell.
Really?
And she says he comes to read to her, you know,
like he volunteers for some sort of, like, uh...
like, a senior reading thing.
What is that?
-Like, some kind of charity? -Well, that's what he says.
But get this.
He calls her Annie.
He calls her Annie?
Right?
Shawna, you know what this is?
This is a lead.
Really?
This could be something, and... and we're gonna get to the bottom of this.
Wait, wait, wait. Now?
Yeah, right-- right now.
[vomits]
[coughing]
Maybe not right now.
[water running]
Can I show you something?
Mm.
So...
when I was snooping...
I know.
I know, I know, I know.
But...
I found this.
What is it?
Michael Tolliver's Dirty Thirty for the New Year.
-Let me see-- Agh! -Whoa!
-This is so embarrassing. Gimme. -No, it isn't. Just wait. Just wait.
-I wanna read something. -Ugh.
Come on.
So...
You wrote 30 resolutions that year. That is a lot.
-See? I can be ambitious. -[chuckles]
So, I will skip to number 28.
"I will meet somebody nice, away from a bar,
or the tubs...
or a roller skate rink..."
[chuckling]
"And I will fall hopelessly but conventionally in love."
Number 29.
"But I won't say 'I love you' before he does."
I love you, Michael Tolliver.
I love you, Ben Marshall.
["In the Fog" playing]
♪ When the hour ♪
♪ Is late ♪
♪ And all is lost ♪
♪ To find ♪
♪ Nothing more ♪
♪ Than a song ♪
♪ Can find its way ♪
♪ Out tonight ♪
♪ To find you... ♪
My boy is home.
Mm!
♪ I see mist ♪
♪ Like ghosts ♪
♪ Move along ♪
♪ These country roads ♪
♪ They part their ways ♪
♪ For me ♪
♪ As I search ♪
♪ For my love ♪
♪ For you ♪
♪ Go now ♪
♪ And tell my song ♪
♪ To find you ♪
♪ Find you ♪
♪ Go now ♪
♪ And tell my song ♪
[song fades into instrumental theme]