Love of Your Life (2026) Movie Script

[Sharon Van Etten sings "Seventeen"]
I know what you wanna say
I think that you're all the same
Constantly being led astray
-[Maya] Good morning.
-[Kali] Hey.
You think you know...
Shuffle forward just a little bit.
Gonna go on three.
One, two, three.
Downtown hot spot
Halfway up the street
I used to be free
I used to be 17
Follow my shadow
[over earbuds] around your corner
[knocking]
I used to be 17
Now you're just like me, down...
[knocking]
[Charlie] Yeah.
[door opens]
-Hey.
-[song stops]
Don't tell me. Maya.
Charlie. Good to meet you.
Did you text me?
Weren't you supposed to text me?
-Uh, I texted, yeah.
-You did?
Well, shit. Uh... [laughs]
Sorry. Come on in.
You can use it as a nightstand.
You can put it at the foot of your couch.
You can put books on it.
I mean, it's good for books.
I was using it for that. I...
You in sales?
[chuckles]
Um, no, I-- uh, it'd take me a while
to explain what I do.
But I-I'm working towards my PhD.
And are you a, uh, doctor or something?
That's cool.
I'm a nurse. Is this drawer decorative?
What do you mean?
-Sorry.
-That way. Sorry.
-No, you're good.
-[drawer clattering]
That's not right.
[both chuckle]
It is supposed to open.
Like drawers should.
-I'll give you 75.
-[sighs] Ah.
My gosh. I know you from somewhere.
[sighs] Have we met?
No, I don't think so.
Are you sure?
Yeah, I don't think so.
'Cause you're familiar to me
in a really specific way.
And it's...
it's great.
Okay.
Um...
[smacks lips]
Are you gonna negotiate or...?
[Charlie] Those are pretty cool
shoes you got there.
They're grippier than sneakers.
You don't have to defend them to me.
Good. Yeah, I wasn't.
Everyone wears these.
Not everyone picks that color though.
-Well, got everything you need?
-Yeah.
Want to go out with me sometime?
[chuckles]
Um...
Maybe. Yeah, I'll think ab--
uh, I'll think about it.
-[chuckles]
-Yeah, mull it over.
[chuckles] And get some outside opinions.
-I'll be here.
-[laughing]
Text me. You have my number.
Want a ride home or something?
You gonna carry that?
I got it. Y-Yeah.
-Okay.
-Okay.
-Bye. [chuckles]
-Have fun.
[gentle music playing]
I got it.
[sighs] Shit.
[cassette tape clicks]
[gentle classical music playing
over headphones]

I just can't believe you had a Walkman.
It's pretty cool.
[Maya] Yeah. I, um...
Old box of my mom's stuff.
So, um, you made this?
Kind of hypnotized me.
Yeah, it's just, uh, it's a phrase
from an old recording,
this old brass piece that I love.
A few measures, but, uh,
I spliced the tape together
so it plays like a loop.
Except it-it...
it changes a little each time.
Uh, the more you play it,
the more the tape degrades, right?
It's just-- it's iron oxide
glued to plastic.
So it dissolves, you know, it disappears,
and the music just sort of, uh...
Dies?
Yeah.
Can I keep this?
No, sorry.
[both laugh]
Yeah, of course.
Technically, you bought it, so...
What?
I want to know about you. [laughs]
What do you want to know?
Uh, your-your likes, dislikes.
What's the hardest part about your job.
What pisses you off.
What you love.
How you feel about your mom.
[Beach House sing "Wildflower"]
Everything.
Okay.
ER is chaos.
It's, um...
It's like working in a restaurant where
everyone's ordering off a different menu
and they all hate the food. [laughs]
[Charlie] Sounds relaxing. [chuckles]
[Maya] I like it though.
[Charlie] I can imagine, though,
that'd be kind of...
Yeah.
You learn to compartmentalize.
[Charlie] Uh, you know,
I like math.
Used to ask my brothers
if I could do their homework. Uh...
-So you were a nerd.
-Yeah.
-[laughs]
-It was, uh... it was bad.
[Maya] Yeah, I was.
I was really shy,
and then in, like, fourth grade,
we played truth or dare
for the first time,
and I... I did every single dare.
-I... [laughs]
-That was it.
The planets aligned. [chuckles]
-[stammers] Like...
-Oh, my God.
I-I let my...
Yeah, I... I...
[laughs]
Everyone realized that I was
secretly a little freak.
[Charlie] Truth or dare.
-[Maya] Truth.
-I had a really good dare.
[laughs]
You want to have kids one day?
Um...
I don't know. [sighs]
I always thought I did, but now I wonder
if it's kind of messed up to have kids
at the end of the world.
[Charlie] How do you know
it's the end of the world?
[Maya] I don't know. Isn't it?
[Charlie] What if it's not?
[laughter]
The sky and what's left above it
The way you want nothing of it
Baby, I'm yours
You built a city
all in your head
You know you're not losing your mind
[breathing heavily]
What's left, you make something of it
The sky and what's left above it
[song fades]
[breathing deeply]
Sorry. [chuckles]
I have, uh...
-Asthma.
-[chuckles softly]
Nurse.
[chuckles]
It's not usually an issue, but, um...
[chuckles]
Yeah, you're... you know.
Y-You should take it as a compliment.
Tastes sweet.
[whispers] You're a freak.
[chuckles]
[whispers] You're a nerd.
Yeah.
[gentle music playing]
[quiet chatter]
-Good morning.
-Hey.
Hmm. Fun night?
What is this? What is this?
What is this face?
What's what face?
You like someone.
[gasps] Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
I am... I'm shocked.
I don't know whether to puke or cry.
You better tell me everything.
I like someone.
[laughing]

[Maya] So you were six months old?
[Charlie] Yeah.
It's sweet that your parents
wanted you so much.
Yeah.
My mom said I just wouldn't
stop laughing, as a baby.
I was, like, a really happy baby.
That tracks.
[laughs]
Yeah, she's, uh, she's pretty cool.
What about you? What about your parents?
I was the product of a one-night stand.
It was a... all-inclusive resort.
Sounds like it.
[both laughing]
Sorry.
Um, yeah.
He was Scottish.
He went back to Scotland.
That was that.
He just was, like, he was gone?
I mean, I don't really know him.
I don't, uh, I don't talk to my dad.
I don't know my dad.
What about your mom?
She was 22 when she had me,
so she was, like...
I don't know,
there's definitely resentment there.
And, um, when I went to college,
she moved to Australia
with her weird boyfriend.
A different weird boyfriend
than she has now.
But you, like, see her
for, like, holidays and stuff?
No, I always did...
I did holidays with Jason.
He was always on his own, too.
We'd make Stove Top and, you know,
watch Addams Family Values
and make the best of it.
[sniffs]
It was good for me.
I learned to be independent.
[Julian Casablancas sings
"Left & Right in the Dark"]
-[lively chatter]
-[Jason] Yeah. Look, I mean...
Do you want me to help?
I mean, I-I want to help.
So just call me anytime.
I mean, I'm usually at the office
at, like, uh, 6:00 a.m., so...
[man] Uh, okay. Thanks, yeah.
I'll probably call you
a little later than that.
-Yeah. No, I--
-Release this poor person.
-Okay. Yeah.
-Charlie's here.
I want you to meet him. Come here.
[stammers] Yeah, all right. Whoa. Sorry.
-[Maya] Charlie.
-Hey.
-Hey, what's up, dude?
-Jason.
-Oh.
-Here, sorry. Can you hold this?
Hey, I'm Jason.
-Great to meet you.
-Nice to meet you, dude. Oh.
[both laugh]
-You got a firm handshake, man.
-Thank you.
-Yeah.
-Yeah, thanks. You, too.
Thanks, man. I've heard a lot about you.
-Same, dude. Yeah. Yeah.
-Oh. [chuckles]
Okay, Caf Midnight
at the basement of Towers, right?
Maya's there. She's doing her work-study.
She's got the hairnet, the gloves.
She's serving the curly fries,
the mozzarella sticks,
the-the triangle pocket thing--
What are the--
What were
the triangle pocket things called?
-The ones we loved.
-Uh, triangle pockets.
-No. Maya, the tr--
-[Maya laughing]
Okay, whatever. Forget it.
They're delicious, right?
And she would never share hers.
-[laughing]
-So, anyways, I show up there
with a bunch of the hockey guys.
They had some stupid bet about,
like, how much, uh,
what was it, like, hot sauce
that one of the goalies
-could drink or something, so--
-[Charlie] Okay.
Wh-What position did you play
on the hockey team?
No, no. I didn't play hock-- I-I-I...
A lot of the hockey guys
lived on my floor.
So I just went with them.
I was bearing witness, I guess.
I don't know. What-what was I doing there?
Anyways-- Wait, wow, you thought
I was a hockey player?
-Yeah.
-You just made my night.
-Yeah?
-Hey.
[Maya laughing]
-He thought I played D1 hockey.
-[Charlie] Yeah.
-[Jason] I love this guy.
-[laughter]
[chuckles]
I told you not to make so much.
Yeah. Yeah.
You're literally
the only person I've ever met
who likes Long Island iced tea.
That's not true.
Jason had a lot.
Okay? He had, like, I don't know, five?
He was drinking them with me.
Jason will drink anything.
-[laughing]
-Yeah, well...
-Yeah, but... I'm still--
-What'd you think of him?
He's awesome.
And we're going to Wally's
for blues night on Tuesday.
Well, be prepared that
he might flake on you, okay?
Or he might show up really late
or drunk or hungover or...
What-what? [stammers]
...ask you to pick him up in Eastie
because he's crashed
some bachelorette party.
It sounds like you're speaking
from experience. [laughs]
You know, he and I, um...
I wouldn't even call it dating.
It was like two weeks before we realized
that was absolutely not happening.
-Hey, Maya.
-Mm-hmm?
I don't care. [laughs]
I don't care.
I'm gonna get him water.
[gentle music playing]
[water running]
[Maya] You see your family all the time.
Can't I just come next time?
So you don't want to go.
I just told you, I'm exhausted.
No. No, that's not what this is.
I worked a 16-hour shift yesterday.
I... [sputters]
I did CPR on a guy twice my size.
I broke up a fight
between two drunk assholes.
-I cleaned up vomit. I got peed on.
-Okay. Okay.
I mean, does that not sound
exhausting to you?
No, I-- It does, okay?
It sounds exhausting.
Okay, so I'm sorry I don't feel like
being around a bunch of people right now.
It's not "a bunch of people."
It's my family.
It's my mother. It's my brothers.
They really want to meet you.
Maya, this mean-- Come on.
This means something to me.
Now you're just trying to guilt me.
-I'm not trying to guilt you.
-You're being a baby.
-You're being shitty.
-[scoffs]
-Good one.
-[door opens]
-Maya.
-[door slams]
[exhales slowly]
[Ride sing "Vapour Trail"]
I'll love you anyway...
[Charlie whistling a tune]
What if they don't like me?
What if I'm, um...
[inhales deeply]
...if I just don't know
how to act around them?
I'm-I'm-I'm just-- I'm not good
with other people's families.
I'm not good with families in general.
[Charlie] Can I tell you something?
I've never brought anyone home before.
Never.
That's how sure I am
that they're gonna love you.
La-la-la, la, la...
[Charlie chuckles softly]
[exhales heavily]
[seagulls squawking]
[Charlie] You good?
[Maya] Yeah.
Hey, Mom!
-[Ruth] Ker, they're here!
-[dog barking inside]
-How's it going?
-[laughs] Great.
-[Maya] Hi.
-This is, uh...
-I'm Ruth.
-So nice to meet you.
Ah, same here. Oh, my goodness.
I brought you some flowers, um,
-but I also brought you beer, so...
-Thank you.
-Better yet. [laughs]
-Okay, great.
-Do you want me to carry these or...?
-No, no, no, no.
I'm-I'm good. I'm hearty.
-Hi.
-[chuckles] Hi.
I'm Kerry. Good seeing you.
-[Maya] So nice to meet you.
-[Kerry] Welcome, welcome.
Come out back. Everybody's out back.
[laughs]
[Kerry] Even after I paid the fee,
this kid looks me
straight in the eye, he says,
"Dad, I'm not joining
because Mensa is elitist."
-[Charlie] It is.
-[Kerry] I told him, "I don't care."
I said, "You're gonna sign
on the dotted line, pal."
You know, which he did, of course.
He's always been good-natured.
-And I was ten. [laughs]
-[Kerry] Ten and good-natured.
[Colin] That was when
Charlie got obsessed with zero.
[Kerry] Oh, my God, the zero phase.
I mean, it's something
representing nothing.
-Uh, come on. That's cool.
-[Kerry chuckles]
Remember when, uh--
what were you, like, 11th grade
for that paper you had to write?
-Oh, yeah.
-[Kerry] The non-paper?
-[Ruth laughs] The non-paper.
-[Kerry] Yes.
[Ruth] He was, like, protesting
the invention of writing
replacing the oral tradition--
Yes, replace the oral tradition.
-[Ruth] Right.
-[Kerry] That's right.
[laughs] So he recorded it on...
-on tape.
-[Kerry] He spoke it.
-[Charlie] On principle...
-Yes.
-[Ruth] Yeah.
-...I think it was consistent
with the theme of the class.
Yeah, but it was creative writing.
The only thing written on it was
the letter "F," which is what he got.
-But he still, he still aced the course.
-[Ruth] Yeah.
[Kerry] That is our Charlie, right there.
Brilliant?
Passionate. [chuckles]
[Matt] Hey, you guys want burgers, dogs?
Maya?
I'll take a burger, thank you.
-[Kerry] Yeah, I'd like one.
-[Colin] Yeah, both.
-What can I do to help?
-Nothing.
-Thank you.
-You sure?
Pretty much the state of things
around here.
Just leave it.
-Okay.
-Plus, the boys do the dishes.
I realized a long time ago
that that's what sons are for.
-Yeah, that's what we're for.
-[kids laughing]
I'm building a fort!
I'm the king of the fortress.
[Ruth chuckles] Yeah, not so much.
Uh...
You know what you can do?
Uh, you can feed Wilma.
-She was really good at dinner and--
-Sure.
Yeah. Uh, the food's right there.
Around there.
Thank you.
-[Maya] Is this Charlie?
-[Ruth chuckles] Yeah.
It's the first photo we got of him
before we adopted him.
Kerry just keeps putting it in all these
different places around the house.
-So sweet.
-Yeah.
You know, he's never
brought anyone home before.
I know. He just told me that
in the car ride on the way over here.
-Oh.
-I was shocked,
because, I mean, you guys are so close.
[softly] Yeah.
Yeah. [chuckles]
Well, must be pretty special, hmm?
Let's go outside.
Come on.
[Maya] Okay.
[kids chattering playfully]
Who wants to go for a beach walk?
[lively, playful chatter]
[Wilma barks]
[gentle music playing]
[Maya] I didn't really know
this existed, but, um...
-[Maya laughs]
-[Charlie] What?
[Maya] Just... this.
But I get it now.
I love you.
I love you.
-[whooping and cheering]
-[Matt] Yeah!
[laughs]
[whooping and cheering continue]
[horn honking]
[Maya laughs]
Thank you.
[indistinct chatter]
[laughing]
[indistinct chatter continues]
-Yeah?
-Yeah, you'll like that one.
I know you mentioned it, but...
This is beautiful.
-[Charlie] Really?
-[Maya] Yeah.
[chuckles]
[reporter] I think "nasty"
is the perfect word
-to describe it.
-[thunder rumbling]
-We've seen pretty consistent rain...
-What do you think? Should we cancel?
Everybody's gonna show up
even if there's a monsoon.
Yeah. Yeah, it is my 30th birthday.
I don't need an out.
Do you?
No. I'm good.
Uh, Jason's gonna pick up my parents
from the train station.
-Does he know to be on time?
-Come on, give him some credit.
What do you think? Top button?
Done? Undone? Should I get my jacket?
Help me. [chuckles]
I think you can save the jacket.
What?
-You're perfect.
-[thunder cracks]
You kidding me?
-[laughing]
-Seriously?
[Fleetwood Mac sing "Hold Me"]
-[thunder rumbling]
-[lively chatter]
[song continues faintly over speakers]
-[lively chatter continues]
-[Charlie laughing]
-Wait, literally?
-Just six months. One... Yeah.
[Jason in distance] Charlie!
-Oh, shit.
-Go. Go, go, go.
Hey.
-Hey, dude.
-Hey, hey. What's up?
-Bro, you're so late.
-Y-Yeah, I'm sorry.
-There's a freakin' thunderstorm, but...
-[Ruth] Happy birthday. Oh.
-[Kerry] Hey, boy genius.
-[Charlie] Love you.
-Hey, Dad.
-Happy birthday.
-Sorry, guys.
-Oh, no.
It's a thousand degrees in here.
[chatter and music continue in distance]
[thunder rumbling softly]
[sighs heavily]
[shushing]
[chatter quiets]
[music stops]
[rain pattering]
[cheering]
[Maya] You told them.
[laughter]
-[Charlie] No.
-[laughter]
I spend a lot of time, uh, in my work
thinking about the...
the awe and-and wonder emotions,
-we call them, uh...
-[thunder rumbling]
What your brain chemistry does
when you marvel at really tiny things
or stand close to really big ones.
Just the things in this world that...
they just make you feel really small...
...but somehow...
just really important
at the same time. [chuckles]
It's just, you know in your soul
that whatever you're looking at,
it's just, uh...
man, it's-it's really special.
[chuckles softly]
Yeah, you just got to stand there
and take it in.
Maya, I-I, uh... [chuckles]
I-I get that feeling from you.
-Every day of my life.
-[Maya chuckles]
[chuckles] God, I'm so nervous.
[laughter]
-Charlie.
-Yes?
I never even, uh, dreamed
of romantic love.
[breathing heavily]
I know how that sounds, but...
...it wasn't something
that I thought I needed.
And then...
I met you.
And you changed everything.
You are my dream come true.
You are the dream that I didn't even know
that I ever had. [chuckles]
-[The Lumineers sing "Ophelia"]
-You
-can't see past my blindness
-[lively chatter and laughter]
[exclaims]
-Oh, Ophelia...
-[laughs]
[Charlie] I really wish
you guys could stay.
-Get home safe, okay?
-[Ruth] Yeah.
-Way to go.
-Uh...
[both laugh]
-Don't go.
-Oh.
We got you a hotel around the corner.
It was a surprise.
[chuckles]
It was a surprise.
[laughs] And I'm just...
I'm really just glad
that you got to do this
the way you wanted to.
-Love you, sweetie.
-[Charlie] Bye, Mom.
-[Ruth] Happy birthday.
-[Charlie] Yeah.
[silverware clinking on glass]
-Excuse me. [clears throat]
-Here we go.
-Here-here we go.
-[chatter quiets]
I'm, uh, I'm-I'm Jason.
I've-I've had the pleasure of knowing Maya
ever since college,
and, um, and she has been my best friend.
I mean, she's QB1.
Never flinches, always shows up,
-even if you need stitches at 3:00 a.m.
-[light laughter]
She's the only person
I've ever wanted to hang out with
until... she introduced me to Charlie.
[laughter]
How many people in here would...
would consider Charlie
one of their best friends?
[laughter]
No, I-- Me, too. Me, too.
It's-it's a dogfight, man. It is.
You know? I mean, I met someone earlier
that was from your kindergarten class
that-that still lists you
as his emergency contact.
-[Charlie] Yeah, Chris.
-Y-Yeah, Chr-- [laughs]
I don't think I've ever been listed
as emergency contact, okay?
But...
Maya wins.
And, uh, and she deserves it.
And that is the greatest compliment
that I could give either of you guys.
I mean, what-what-what
must it be like to...
to know the-the secrets of the universe
while the rest of us are just...
stumbling around?
You know?
Looking for that kind of meaning.
And you two are always so cool about it.
Congratulations, you guys.
Yeah, you know, you won the jackpot,
and I-I feel like I did, too.
[cheering and applause]
[Depeche Mode sing
"Just Can't Get Enough"]
[Charlie] Dude, "secrets of the universe"?
[chuckles]
[camera clicks]
[lively chatter]
When I'm with you, baby
I go out of my head
and I just can't get enough,
and I just can't get enough
All the things you do to me
and everything you said...
I'm married!
[laughing]
I just can't get enough
-We slip and slide as we fall in love
-[shouts]
and I just can't seem
to get enough of
[laughing]
[coughs]
Ah, it's so crazy we're married.
Did you tell Jason?
What?
Like, before?
No.
No, I promised I wouldn't.
He was really great.
Yeah, he was.
[Charlie chuckles softly]
He's got soul. [laughs]
He's got the soul of a poet.
It's great.
[both laugh]
Ah, I'm so hot.
So hot.
I got an idea.
What?
[grunts, chuckles]
-Where we going?
-Come here.
[chuckles]
-This is my idea. [laughing]
-Oh, really?
Oh, my God. What was I thinking?
This was a bad idea. [laughs]
Ah, it's great.
[both laugh]
This is the best thing we've ever done.
[exhales slowly]
The ice bath?
No, the wedding, Maya.
-[laughing]
-The wedding.
-[Bleachers sing "Blood Brothers"]
-Just to save you
then ready to go
Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh
God, please
make it all go slow
[playful chatter]
The bad beats, the radio
Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh
Blood brother
it's over soon
I'll always carry you...
Wait, wait! Not that one.
Not that one. Not that one.
[Jason] Uh, Maya.
Potato or sweet potato?
-[Maya] Sweet potato.
-[smoke alarm beeping]
Oh. [mutters]
-[exclaims]
-Uh...
-[coughs]
-Get the window.
[urgent chatter]
-It looks good.
-What?
-[Charlie laughing]
-It looks good.
-[Kali] Oh, it looks fine.
-[Charlie] Yeah, it's crispy.
[beeping stops]
I'll meet you
in forever's parking lot...
Foul. Foul.
God, please
make it all go slow
Blood brother
it's over soon
-I'll always carry you
-[song fades]
Sorry to interrupt your date.
-Mm. We don't mind a little third wheel.
-Yeah.
How'd you find us?
[Charlie and Jason laughing]
-[food sizzling]
-[quiet chatter]
You, uh... you think
this is gonna be a big thing?
[newswoman over TV] ...here in the US.
America's 15th case comes
as infections skyrocket
across mainland China and spread...
-[urgent chatter]
-[people coughing]
We'll get you another blanket, okay?
[urgent chatter and coughing continue]
[Maya] Kali, any room in the ICU?
-How's bed 19?
-No. And bad.
[woman speaking Armenian over tablet]
[Maya] Mr. Alvarez.
We're still waiting on a room, but can I
get you a warm blanket while we wait?
One of the nurses showed me the review
for your restaurant in the Globe.
It looks amazing.
I can't wait to bring my husband.
He's gonna order half the menu.
I'm gonna be right back
with your blanket, okay?
[woman speaking indistinctly over P.A.]
[woman speaking indistinctly
over speakers]
[Maya] Hey, sweetie.
[Charlie] Hey, babe. Be off in a second.
Next, I think we'll get into
the Attention Restoration Theory
using sound.
-[dog barking over speakers]
-I know that, um...
[man over speakers] Sorry,
I'll go on mute.
[woman over speakers] Can you elaborate on
the relationship between auditory stimuli
and neurodivergence?
-[Charlie] Yeah. Actually...
-[shower knob squeaks]
[Charlie] Hey.
-Thank you.
-Yeah.
[sighs] How was today?
They turned the hockey rink into a morgue.
[sighs]
Well, uh...
well, at least tomorrow you have...
-Mm-mm.
-What?
I have to go in.
They're short-staffed. Everybody's sick.
I think you need to go stay at your mom's.
No.
I'm staying here with you.
-[door opens]
-Uh, take your time.
-I'm starting dinner.
-[door closes]
[sighs]
[somber music playing]
[breathes deeply]
[kissing]
[woman] We should cross.
-[busy chatter]
-[people coughing]
[device beeping]
[Maya] Kali.
We got this.
[medical alarm beeping]
-[man over P.A.] Code blue.
-[nurse] Coding. I need paddles.
-Bed 15, Alvarez.
-[man over P.A.] Code blue.
-[nurse] Go, go, go!
-[doctor] Shock.
[electrical thump]
[doctor 2] Starting compressions.
-[defibrillator charging]
-[doctor 3] Reset.
Charge to 300.
[doctor 4] Clear.
-[doctor] Shock.
-[electrical thump]

-[glass clinks]
-[drink pours]
Hey.
[Maya sighs]
Bad one?
[sighs] That's really sweet.
[Nara Leo sings "Diz Que Vou Por A"]
When all this is over,
I just want to run away.
Can I come with you? [chuckles]
Where you want to go?
I want to go all the places
we talked about
-but we haven't actually been.
-Okay, so Japan.
You want to go there. I know that.
-Yeah.
-Where else?
-Portugal.
-Cool.
Spain.
Hold on. I'm writing this down.
[song continues quietly
with lyrics in Portuguese]
[sighs]
Uh, so Japan's on there.
What was the other-- Spain.
Portugal.
The whole I-Iberian Peninsula. [chuckles]
What else?
I've always wanted to do one of those,
um, swamp tour things.
[chuckles] You serious?
-What? [laughs]
-Okay.
"Swamp tour things." Great.
What if we really did?
I mean, what if I took leave
for a while and...
-...we traveled?
-Really?
Yeah.
Okay.
Okay, yeah.
Hell yeah.
I'll apply for a sabbatical.
So, we travel the world,
you'll wrestle some alligators
in the swamps. [chuckles]
[laughing]
And then what? What do you want to do?
Come home and...?
[both laugh]
What? I didn't say anything.
-I can hear you thinking.
-Can you?
Uh, look, I...
I want what you want.
Okay? And we're already a family.
And I love it.
But I think we'd be really good at it.
I do.
And I think we'd have a lot of fun.
[inhales sharply]
It's always scared me so much
just to even...
think about.
But with you, I can really picture it.
-Really?
-Yeah.
Which is also scary.
-[laughing]
-Yeah? [chuckles]
I mean, yeah.
[both laughing]
Yeah.
[siren wailing in distance]
I'm gonna turn the music up, okay?
Let me up.
[siren continues]
[music volume increases]
[song continues with lyrics in Portuguese]
[song ends]
[crickets chirping]
[Charlie coughing]
[clearing throat]
[Maya] I know, Ruth. I feel terrible.
Yes. I'm well aware.
-No, I'm positive, too, so I can't go in.
-[coughing]
I'll be with him.
-Don't worry. He'll be okay.
-[device beeps]
-[TV playing quietly]
-[laughing]
[Joe Exotic laughing over TV]
Now it hurts. [laughing]
[wheezing softly]
[somber music playing]
[Charlie coughing]
[coughing]
[coughs]
[inhales deeply]
[Maya] Jason dropped this off for you.
He said he made it, but it tastes
suspiciously like Boston Market.
[chuckles softly]
[laughs]
[coughing]
[whispers] Shit.

[beeps]
[beeps]
[Charlie breathing heavily]
Sweetie.
Yeah. Hey.
Your O2's not great,
and you're short of breath.
At 90, we're going in.
No, they're, uh...
[breathing heavily]
They're not gonna let you
in there with me.
We got to stay here at home.
[Maya] How bad is it over there?
[Kali over phone] Bring him in
if you absolutely have to,
but we're still short on beds.
-The hallway's overflowing.
-[coughing]
It's not good.
Sweetie, I'm gonna prop
your head up a little bit.
[coughs]
[coughs]
[sighs, coughs]
[inhales deeply]
-It's 90.
-[weakly] Huh? What?
It's 90. We're going.
Oh, no.
I'm bringing you to the hospital, sweetie.
No. [coughs]
I work at Boston General.
Can I please ride with him?
[paramedic] Then you know
we can't take you.
-You noted that he has asthma?
-We did.
Will you please tell them
to call me the second
-that he is triaged, please?
-[ambulance doors close]
Sweetheart, I'll be right there, okay?
I'm right behind you!
[siren wailing]
You have to get me in.
[Kali over phone] I will do
what I can, Maya,
but you know how strict they're being.
But don't worry. I'm on radio with them.
I'm gonna be down here when he arrives.
What's his O2 sat? He has asthma.
-He has to be first priority for a bed.
-[radio chatter over phone]
Oh. Oh, shit, Maya. He just syncopized.
I got to go.
[line beeps]
[keys jangling]
[man coughing]
Kali, I've tried everything,
and they're not letting me in.
Will you please come down here
and get me inside?
[Kali over phone] Maya, stop.
I'm putting you on FaceTime, okay?
What?
[siren wailing in distance]
-What?
-Look, we had to intubate him,
and h-he's not doing well on the tube.
-Well, do something else.
-I'm really sorry, Maya.
We're trying everything.
Whatever you need to say,
you need to say it now, okay?
[stammers] Hi.
Honey, honey, honey, honey, honey, honey.
I'm right here.
Sweetie, I'm right here with you, okay?
I'm right here.
You're okay. You're okay, okay?
Just stay strong.
You're so strong.
I'm right here. You're so strong.
You're so strong.
You're gonna be just fine.
Just stay with me.
Honey, we're gonna have babies.
We're gonna have babies.
We're gonna have a family.
We're gonna grow old together.
We're gonna do
so many wonderful things, okay?
You just stay right here with me.
-[medical alarm beeping over phone]
-[Kali] Coding.
[Maya] You just stay right here.
[Kali] Put the bed down!
[urgent chatter over phone]
[doctor] Prepare to shock.
[Maya] Kali?
-[doctor] Charging.
-Kali?
-[Kali] Come on, Charlie.
-[doctor 2] Clear.
[defibrillator charging over phone]
-[doctor] Shock.
-[electrical thump over phone]
Kali, Kali, Kali!
[doctor 2] No pulse.
[doctor] Resetting.
-Charging.
-[defibrillator charging over phone]
[Kali] Come on, Charlie. Come on.
[doctor 2] Clear.
-[doctor] Shock.
-[electrical thump over phone]
[Maya sobbing]
[coughing]
[sobbing]
[coughing, gasping]
[muttering]
-[gasping]
-[line ringing]
[hyperventilating]
[line continues ringing]
[sniffles]
[Ruth over phone] Hi, Maya.
How's he doing?
[sniffling]
[sobbing softly]
Sorry, the TV is loud.
Where's the clicker?
Kerry.
Hey. Hi.
-How's he doing?
-[gasps]
[phone vibrating]
[phone vibrating]
[car door opens and closes outside]
[dog barking in distance]
[doorbell buzzing]
[Ruth from outside] Maya!
[doorbell buzzing]
Maya, it's Ruth! Let me up!
[doorbell buzzing]
-[crying] Maya.
-[breathing heavily]
They won't let me into the hospital.
Maya, I need your help.
They won't let me into the... [sobbing]
-[doorbell buzzing]
-Maya!
[doorbell buzzing continuously]
-It's Ruth!
-[buzzing stops]
-[bird cooing]
-[wings flapping]
[tram rumbling]
[man speaking Portuguese over P.A.]
[air brakes hissing]
[pensive music playing]
[tram bell rings]

[Maya] Your surgery was Tuesday?
[man over laptop] Yes, uh,
Tuesday morning.
I tried my best to stay off of it,
but if I have to go up
and use the bathroom,
uh, I can't put any weight
down on it whatsoever.
Did you finish your round of antibiotics?
[lively chatter]
Excuse me.
Can I get another glass of wine?
[waitress speaks Portuguese]
[man] Hey, are you American?
[man 2] Us, too.
We're here for a wedding, actually.
Are you here on, like, vacation?
[Maya] No.
[man] Uh, s-so you live here?
Sort of.
Well, you should join us.
Next round's on me.
Yeah, I think about it.
Like, I know the dance,
I could do the dance now,
but whether it would--
-[vomiting]
-[groans]
-[retches]
-Are you okay?
You still want to...?
Oh, uh...
uh, yeah, I'm good.
[quiet chatter]
[Maya] What color is your mucus?
[patient over laptop] Maybe beige.
I don't know.
It's just really thick and not nice.
[Maya] I used to rehab antiques.
Um...
...like, fix things up.
[smacks lips, inhales]
[sighs] I-I don't know.
I really don't,
I don't want stuff anymore.
What about an entirely new activity?
Something you've never tried before.
And not connected to Charlie
or your past interests.
It's okay if you don't feel ready.
I mean, sometimes we need action
to come before motivation.
[group] Happy birthday to you
-Happy birthday to you
-[man laughs]
-[man] Come on.
-[man 2] Hey!
Happy birthday, dear Fbio
[man] Oh, oh! Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
[urgent chatter in English and Portuguese]
Ice, ice!
-Get them some ice.
-[man 3] Ice.
[man] We have butter here. Come on.
[man 2] Give me your hand, man.
Give me your hand.
[woman speaking Portuguese]
Please don't put butter on that burn.
[chatter stops]
Just gonna trap the heat in
and get infected.
I'm a nurse.
[Felix] What do you reckon?
-It looks good.
-Yeah?
Blistering normally.
Leave it like that for 15 minutes,
-and you'll be good.
-Fifteen minutes?
Get comfortable.
What's the little bird?
Oh, um, that's for my daughter.
It's a character from her favorite book.
She's five.
So, like, what do you... what do you do?
You... you nurse.
You work, uh, work in a hospital or...?
I used to. [sighs]
-Oh, cool.
-[smacks lips]
-That's nice.
-Million years ago.
-Yeah, yeah.
-Okay.
You're not, you're not staying?
I've got a drink to finish.
Let me get you a fresh one.
I'll take you out for a fresh drink.
In about... 13 minutes.
You don't like fresh drinks?
-What about your friends?
-They won't care.
I've been with them all day.
-I'm not really a good time.
-I am.
And you look like you need a distraction.
[ethereal music playing]
So, um, when you're not doing telehealth
and, um, rescuing people at bars...?
I wander around, and I, uh...
...I eat and I drink.
Probably too much of both.
So that's what brought you to Europe?
Solitary hedonism?
Distraction.
In your words.
We should go in here.
I don't really dance anymore.
What are you talking about?
Let's go.
[muffled dance music playing]
[dance music continues]
[singer vocalizing]
[Maya] My husband died three years ago.
[Felix] I'm so sorry.
[Maya] Thanks.
It's amazing how much you can
talk about your dead husband
and people still want to sleep with you.
I don't mean you.
-I just mean generally.
-[laughs] Oh.
I know, I know, I know. That's, um...
That's a good observation, to be fair.
-So, do you like mustard?
-Yeah.
Do you like mustard
or do you love mustard?
-I love mustard.
-We'll see.
Say when.
When. [laughing]
Oh, you really like mustard.
You really like mustard.
So, what you, um, what you gonna do
once you finished
distracting yourself traveling?
I don't know. Kill myself?
My brother killed himself.
Shit.
You didn't know, did you?
You didn't know.
[chuckles] Why you got that face on?
You're fine.
What was his name?
Leon. Lee.
Yeah, that's my guy.
And thank you for asking as well.
A lot of people, they just kind of...
You know.
-My husband was Charlie.
-Mm?
-My husband was Charlie.
-Charlie.
Leon and Charlie.
And then you get, like... I don't know.
People just say the dumbest shit, like,
"Oh, you know, he's...
...he's in a better place now, Felix."
Eh, or, like...
you know, "He's alive,
but he's alive in you now."
And I'm like, "Bro, what?"
Like, what... what does that even...
what does that even mean?
I know it, I know it's,
I know it's love and--
But, like, that's not helping me.
[chuckles]
At all.
Sometimes I wish I could just forget.
But I can't.
I remember everything.
I remember the way
that he... chewed his pens.
How he made friends everywhere we went.
He was just present and curious and...
I don't know.
I'm not special.
I just met the person
that makes everything magical
and interesting and...
I-I-I got the thing.
I got the thing that everyone wants.
You know, I... I won the lottery.
I...
[sighs]
And then...
[sighs]
Sorry. I don't know what I'm... [chuckles]
Don't be.
[atmospheric music playing]
[bells chiming in distance]
[chuckles]
Take care of that burn.
[gentle classical music playing]
[phone vibrating]
[doorbell buzzing repeatedly]
[buzzing fades]
[gentle classical music continues]
[instructing in Portuguese]
[Kiko Rodriguez sings "Hoy Te Vi Pasar"]
[teacher continues instructing
in Portuguese]
[music stops]
[instructing in Portuguese]
Meo portugus no bono.
[chuckles] Don't worry.
You just follow me.
["Hoy Te Vi Pasar" resumes playing]
[teacher instructing in Portuguese]
[song continues with lyrics in Portuguese]
[teacher continues instructing
in Portuguese]

[chuckles] Sorry.
-One, two. One, two.
-[song fades]
[man singing "Fado Novembro"
with lyrics in Portuguese]
[playing gentle guitar music]
[singing continues]
[Beatriz] I used to hate fado.
[Maya] How come?
The Salazar regime.
They took it. They use it.
So it reminded me of that time.
But these young, beautiful people,
they make it new again.
So now, uh, I think I like it.
And you, too.
So young and beautiful.
I don't feel very young.
Don't say that.
[both laugh]
I don't like you
when you say those things.
-[laughing] Please.
-[laughing]
I mean, I-I don't feel...
I don't feel very young inside.
Don't choose to be unhappy.
It's lazy, and it's harder.
-[Beatriz laughs]
-Okay.
Valentona.
Understand?
I think so.
["Fado Novembro" continues
with lyrics in Portuguese]
[lively chatter]

[keys clatter]
[moaning]
[song ends]
[Felix sighs]
I'm going to the Algarve.
It's a site visit for work.
And then I'm going back to London.
Um...
I was just wondering
if you wanted to, um...
join me at the beach before I go back.
You don't have to say anything.
Um, you know, you can,
you can come or, um,
obviously, you can not come.
[chuckles] Yeah.
But, um, yeah, I leave 12:00 tomorrow.
On the train.
Um... yeah.
Bye.
[door opens, closes]
[woman speaking Portuguese over P.A.]
[busy chatter]
[Cigarettes After Sex sing "Apocalypse"]

[seagulls squawking]
[laughs]
[Felix] Henrique. Hello, mate.
Um, it's Felix again.
Uh, we're locked out.
Give us a call back as soon as you can.
My phone's about to die.
Watching cityscapes turn to dust
Filming helicopters crashing
in the ocean from way above
Me and Leon used to do this all the time
in Brighton as kids.
Got the music in you, baby
Tell me why
Got the music in you, baby
Tell me why
You've been locked in here forever
and you just can't say goodbye
Kisses on the foreheads of the lovers
wrapped in your arms
You've been hiding them
in hollowed-out pianos
left in the dark
Got the music in you, baby
Tell me why
Got the music in you, baby
Tell me why
You've been locked in here forever
and you just can't say goodbye

Oh
When you're all alone
I will reach for you
When you're feeling low
So we've been working on this site
for the past two years.
I will be there, too
-Bom dia.
-Bom dia.

[song fades]
-[Maya] Wow.
-[Felix] Goter.
That's, um, that's what Noelle calls it.
It's a snack French kids eat after school.
What does "goter" mean?
Um, "chocolate sandwich"?
"Chocolate baguette"?
[chuckles] I don't know.
I just know that that's what she likes.
I can tell you like being a dad.
[chuckles] Yeah, I do.
Her mum and I have a...
we have a good setup.
How'd you two meet?
Um, art school.
And I was awful.
But, like, not like regular awful.
I was really, really bad.
And she was this...
ultra-gifted, talented student
who, like, went on
to open her own firm in London.
And that's where I'm at
when I'm not working away.
London boy.
Did you two ever talk about kids or...
is that not something you...?
-[sighs] We did. Yeah.
-Yeah?
Now I kind of wish that...
Yeah.
Have a piece of him left, you know?
It's funny, I used to think
it was selfish to have kids.
But...
...now I think it's some kind of hope.
Yeah.
Noelle was, um, well, she was unplanned,
so I never really had to...
like, tangle with that, but...
she is a hope.
It's true.
[atmospheric music playing]
[lively chatter and laughter]
[Grupo Folclrico De Faro
play "Alma Algarvia"]
-[whooping]
-[rhythmic clapping]
-[song fades]
-[atmospheric music continues]
[Maya] I feel like I'm living again,
but it's someone else's life.
[Felix] What does it feel like,
being this other person?
Like a fantasy.
[Felix] I have to leave tomorrow.
Noelle got a cold,
and, um, they're headed home.
I told her that I'd be home
before they got back.
So...
Of course.
You probably don't want to come to...
To London?
I mean, we could say goodbye now, but...
...I mean, obviously,
I don't want to do that.
-[Remy Bond sings "Cherry Red Balloon"]
-Cherry red balloon
[laughing]
I've run out of patience
at gasoline stations
It sounds kind of sad but true
-[laughs] Me?
-[laughs] Yeah.
Must be impressive. Oh, here we go.
-[Maya] Thank you.
-[waiter] And for you, sir.
-[Felix] Thank you so much.
-[Maya] Pretty.
Looks nice. Do you want to share that?
-Yeah.
-Okay.
[song fades]
What's up?
Um...
-Maya.
-[murmurs softly]
Maya?
[chuckles]
Hi.
Hi. I-- You're, wha--
Wow. How-how-how... how are you?
Uh, uh...
What are you doing here?
[chuckles] I... Sorry.
I-I-I've spent so long trying
to get in touch with you.
I-I--
Um, I haven't really been reachable.
Uh-huh.
Yeah, I'm-I'm here with friends.
We're here for-for work. Are you...
You-you live here now?
No.
[chuckles softly]
[chuckles] Sorry, I'm-I'm...
I-- This is...
[Felix] I'm Felix.
[Jason] Hey, man. I'm-I'm Jason.
[Felix] Jason. Nice to meet you, mate.
-[Jason] Yeah, nice to meet you.
-[Felix] Nice to meet you.
Jason is, um, my friend from Boston.
[Felix] Nice. Nice.
"Friend from Boston"?
Really?
We were, we were family, Maya.
We-we... we spent holidays together.
I mean, we-we...
We did 12 Thanksgivings toget--
I-I... I made the speech at your wedding.
[chuckles] That's a lot of Thanksgivings.
Do you want to... do you want
to come and join us?
-No.
-Uh...
I mean, you, uh, got your...
dinner to go to.
What are you, what are you...
I mean, what-what are...
What the hell? What are you...
That's all you're gonna say to me?
I don't know what you want from me.
What I want from you?
I mean, you-you-you left.
You left, Maya.
I mean, you-you didn't say goodbye.
You didn't say any--
Do you know how long we spent
looking for you,
trying to get in touch with you
to make sure
that you were okay,
that everything was-was fine?
-I didn't ask you to do that.
-I know, but--
-I think that's enough. Thank you.
-It's okay. It's okay, really.
Will you just get out of here, please?
Will you just leave me alone?
Please? Go have a drink.
Go have ten drinks. Forget about this.
Okay?
Yeah.
[somber music playing]
Um...
-What was that?
-Can we get out of here?
I put... [breath trembles]
everything I needed in two suitcases.
I took his phone, his keys
and his birth certificate,
and I put them in a Stop & Shop bag,
and I left it outside of Jason's door.
Um...
I didn't answer my phone.
I didn't even answer for his mom.
I...
[sobs softly] I don't know.
I mean... [stammers]
[sniffles]
I guess I...
I couldn't be around, um...
...just for them to hate me, you know?
And blame me and...
You know.
Tell me that I should've
st-stayed somewhere else
and kept him safe and... [sniffles]
Um...
Yeah. I mean, and then there's...
Jason and what was, like...
[sniffles]
I don't know.
I just couldn't deal with it.
I'm...
I, uh...
I called a Taskrabbit,
and I had them pack up my apartment
and put it in a storage unit,
and I went to the airport,
and I threw my phone away in a trash can,
and then I just didn't go back.
[Maya sniffles]
[Maya sighs]
It's clarifying, I guess,
to have nobody.
Um, I don't know.
[laughs]
Just... float around like
a useless piece of matter in the void.
[laughs, sniffles]
Uh...
[sighs heavily]
They say you can't run away
from your life, but you can. [sniffles]
It just makes you a monster.
[somber music continues]
Thank you.
Yeah. You're welcome.
What if we just acknowledged
that there actually is something here?
What if we took that risk?
I mean, I know he was
the love of your life, and, um...
...I-I think that's beautiful.
But who's to say you can only have one?

-[Felix speaking indistinctly]
-[kids chattering playfully]
[Felix] Hey.
Do you know who this is?
I do.
And I've seen her before.
Noelle, this is our friend Maya.
-Hi.
-Hi.
-So nice to meet you.
-Nice to meet you, too.
Papa.
[Felix] Yeah, that's a...
that's a nice one. Yeah.
So we're-we're very into signs right now,
aren't we?
Especially signs with a slash through it.
If it has a "no" or a slash,
we really like those signs.
-Really love them right now, don't we?
-Mm-hmm.
I...
I might have something
you could help me with.
I saw this sign in Madrid.
It didn't have a slash or a "no,"
but I thought it was pretty cool.
-[Noelle] What does it mean?
-I don't know.
I was thinking maybe you might know.
You seen that one before?
Never seen it before.
It's kind of existential.
-Isn't it?
-[whispering indistinctly]
Euh, en anglais, s'il te plat.
Oh, it's a secret.
[whispering indistinctly]
Um...
I don't know, babe. Maybe.
Yeah? Maybe. We'll see.
We'll go and then we'll talk about it
a little bit later.
Yeah? Shall we give that
back to Maya? Yeah?
So it don't break,
'cause phones are expensive.
-Mm-hmm.
-And...
you go and grab your scooter, yeah?
Oh.
Oh, skills.
[Dustin O'Halloran sings "New Day"]
Ah, you can ride off.
Just don't go too, too far, yeah?
What did Noelle whisper to you
at the park earlier?
Oh.
[chuckles] She, um...
She just asked me if you wanted
to come to her birthday party.
[chuckles softly]
If it's too much...
[doorbell buzzes]
Yeah, it's Mouse Trap.
The game.
-[playful chatter]
-[upbeat music playing]
Hey.
Felix! a va?
Oui. a va.
-Wow, looking sharp.
-Thank you.
And, Maya, hi.
Welcome. It's so lovely to have you.
Uh, you're so French.
-[laughs]
-Sorry.
-Yes, I-I have been told that.
-I told you.
[laughs] Sorry, I can't hide it.
-Thank you so much.
-[box rattles]
-Good job, Papa.
-[Felix] Thank you.
-I know exactly what this is.
-Yeah, I listen, don't I?
-Yeah, you did.
-See? Do you want a drink?
-Yes, please.
-Yeah? Okay.
You're probably well aware
of our particular theme.
-That cake is incredible.
-Ah, thank you.
I actually wanted to do "no smoking,"
but Felix said it was inappropriate.
[Felix] It was inappropriate.
-Absolutely, it was.
-[whispers] It was appropriate. It was.
-[woman] Anna?
-[Anna] Yeah?
[woman] Do you have any more red?
[Anna] Yes. I'll be right back.
-Okay.
-Should we say "happy birthday"?
-Yeah.
-Yeah?
Hey, hey, happy birthday.
Where's the birthday girl? Where is she?
[grunting playfully]
Happy birthday. Do you remember Maya?
-Should we say, "Hi, Maya"?
-Hi.
-Hi, Maya.
-Hi, Maya.
[playful chatter and music continue]
You okay?
Want me to go get your mom?
[Maya sighs]
[somber music playing]
[humming a tune]
Oh, thank you.
Just leave that here
or anywhere you can find a space.
-Okay.
-Thank you so much.
Of course.
[humming a tune]
I'll hold it until the marble drops out.
Ready?
[exhales]
[Felix continues talking indistinctly]
Do you ever worry that something's
gonna happen to her?
Um... [laughing]
I mean...
do you, do you love her so much
that you sometimes
-worry about, you know?
-[laughs]
No, I-I understand the question.
-Okay.
-[chuckles]
All the time.
It's... abject terror.
It's also love, I suppose.
[footsteps]
[dishes clinking]
[Felix in other room] Yeah. That's right.
What do you feel like for dinner?
We got the curry in the fridge.
Um... which you might not want twice.
Um, if not, we could pop out
a little bit later
and go to that place you like
around the corner.
I can't.
Huh?
[smacks lips]
I can't do this.
What... what do you mean?
I can't get entangled
in somebody else's life.
Not again. I'm sorry.
Um...
Uh, was it, was it the party
or... what was it?
All of it. It's all of it. It's...
You guys are a family.
Are-are you serious?
You're not.
You-- but you knew I had a...
you knew I had a daughter
and I'm co-parenting.
Like, that's... that's, like,
stuff you knew.
S-So, what-what do you, what do you want?
[stammers] Is...
Do you want, like, just me and you
and the Algarve?
-Is that--
-I-I don't--
-I don't know.
-Do you want to be alone?
[stammers]
Maya, you know, you're...
...you're so...
you're so full of crap sometimes.
Do you know that?
This-this whole story about
you avoiding human connection
when it's clear that that's...
that's actually everything you want.
I can't do this!
Okay, fine. Yeah, go.
I'm not gonna chase you.
I'll leave your shit at the door!
[cassette tape clicks]
[gentle classical music playing]
[cassette tape grinding softly]

[Ruth] Maya!
Maya, it's Ruth! Let me up!
[breathing heavily]
[Ruth from outside] Maya.

[doorbell buzzes]
[doorbell buzzing continuously]
Maya!
It's Ruth!
[dance music playing faintly]
They won't let me into the hospital, Maya.
[from outside] I need your help.
-[dance music fades]
-[gentle classical music continues]
Maya!
You need to come d-down here
and tell me what happened.
You need to come down here, Maya,
[sobbing] and tell me what happened
to my son.
Maya, look at me!
Look at my face.
[sobs, sniffles]
You coward!
Get down here.
After you got him sick!
You did this!
You did it!
[sobbing] You look at my face, you coward!
You c...
[breathing heavily]
[gentle classical music continues]
What have you done?
[sobbing] What have you done, Maya?
What have you done?
[sobbing] Charlie, oh, my God.
No.
[grief therapist] Stay with it, Maya.
I really think we're getting somewhere.
[gentle classical music ends]
-[door opens]
-[entry bell jingles]
-[quiet chatter]
-[door closes]
-Hi.
-Hi.
It's been months.
[sighs] Yeah.
I, um...
think I've, like, lost all sense of time
at this point.
[chuckles softly]
Yeah. Huh.
I got you a green tea.
-Wicked. Yeah, nice, nice.
-Want to sit down?
Thank you.
[Maya sighs]
Uh, well, how are you?
Yeah. You look well.
Thanks. I just, um...
I just got back from Tokyo, actually.
[chuckles softly]
[Maya sighs]
I'm just gonna say this. Um, I...
Uh, I really don't want to, um...
[smacks lips]
I don't want to give up on us.
Wait.
Maya, uh...
You-you, uh, you were gone
for a long time.
You know?
Um...
Oh. [laughs]
Um, Anna and I, we...
Oh. [laughs]
Yeah. Yeah. Um...
I don't know. You-you and I had...
And, um, now you sort of just...
called my phone out of the blue,
and I don't really know
what to do with that, to be fair.
-Sorry.
-I just...
I-I... wasn't ready.
Yeah. No, I-I get that.
Yeah.
[laughs]
Uh...
This is... what I get.
Maya, you've got to stop
feeling sorry for yourself.
Just because we didn't,
or we couldn't, doesn't mean that, um...
[breathes deeply]
What I'm trying to say is...
...this wasn't nothing.
And if you need to call me
in a year or two or five
just to make sure, then I will answer
and let you know that it was something.
I won't do that, but thank you. [chuckles]
-That's very nice.
-Is it? I don't know.
[both chuckle]
[lively chatter]
[Depeche Mode sing
"Just Can't Get Enough"]
When I'm with you, baby,
I go out of my head
and I just can't get enough,
and I just can't get enough
All the things you do to me
and everything you said
I just can't get enough,
I just can't get enough
We slip and slide as we fall in love
and I just can't seem
to get enough of

[jet engine whooshing]
[song fades]
[woman over P.A.] Flight 291
is now boarding.
Passengers, please proceed to gate four.
[busy chatter]
[applause]
[Maya] Wow. So many of you. [chuckles]
Bear with me.
Um, public speaking is not my usual thing,
but I really wanted to be a part
of this discussion about self-care.
-I know. Cue eye roll.
-[laughter]
But it's because I was an ED nurse
for the first few months of COVID
before I burnt out
and switched to telehealth.
Over the past six years,
we've begun to process
how that trauma affected our profession.
Not to mention the personal loss
that so many of us experienced.
But we have to take responsibility
for ourselves
in the same way that we do our patients.
And I'm here to remind you
of some of the tools
that are available for you to do it.
[automated voice] You may hang up
or press one
-for more options.
-[line beeps]
[inhales deeply]
Uh, hey. Um...
This is Maya. I...
I don't even know if this is
the right number anymore, but...
I am actually in New Orleans right now.
It's kind of crazy
to be back in the States.
I guess I was hoping
I could reconnect with you.
So... [sighs]
call me, uh, if you can.
Or, um...
Call me if you want to.
-[phone vibrating]
-Okay.
I hope you're good. Bye.
[somber music playing]
Hello?
[sighs]
[St. Paul & The Broken Bones
sing "Half the City"]
[quiet chatter]
Oh, this poor and lonely heart
[Jason] Maya. [clears throat]
It is made of pure steel
-Hi.
-Hi.
And you can't let it cry...
How are you?
I'm...
[both chuckle]
I don't even know where to start. Um...
[laughs]
I... uh, I'm gonna get some...
-Excuse me.
-[waiter] Yes?
[Maya] Is there any way
I could get some water?
[waiter] Absolutely.
[Maya] Thank you.
Actually, do you want to put in drinks?
-Can we do, like...
-[Jason] Uh...
...two dirty martinis, extra filthy,
-with all the little pickles and stuff?
-Maya, I'm...
Just, um, a sparkling water
for me, please.
-[waiter] Sure thing.
-[Jason] Yeah. Thank you.
Um...
-[Jason laughs] Yeah.
-Wow.
-[chuckles] Okay.
-That's-that's shocking, huh?
Yeah.
[both laughing]
Um, we're...
different people, I guess, now.
Are we?
I mean, look at you.
-Look at me.
-[chuckles]
You'd think that I'd spent
the last six years, um,
in a room talking to myself,
but I have not done that though.
Well, it-it hasn't been six years, but...
I'm so sorry.
I was awful.
That doesn't make it
any better, but I, um...
[smacks lips]
...I hadn't told the guy I was with
anything,
and I really didn't want him to know.
Yeah, no, I-I-I figured.
I mean, after the fact, but it was...
Yeah.
[sighs]
You were my best friend.
Um...
To leave you like that was just...
[Maya sighs]
I've spent a lot of time,
um, thinking about
how the pain made me want to run
and how... [sighs]
the running gave me... [sniffles]
all of this shame,
and I was just destructive.
I basically wanted to just obliterate
all the love in my life, I think,
so that I couldn't be hurt again.
You know? Um...
But I am in a lot of therapy now,
and I probably always will be.
Um...
[smacks lips]
But I just wanted to tell you that...
I am... totally humiliated...
...and I'm really, really sorry.
[both chuckle]
[laughs]
What?
-Are you enjoying this?
-Little bit.
-Are you loving me groveling?
-[laughs]
[laughs]
You're sick. [laughs]
-You're twisted.
-[laughs]
I guess we're, uh...
...we're still the same people.
[Jessica Pratt sings "Life Is"]
Can I buy you lunch?
Can I get you
a ridiculously overpriced steak?
Mm. You're not gonna like this.
[clears throat]
I'm a vegan now.
[laughs] Well, that's-that's...
I mean, it's these co-ops,
communal housing,
totally self-sufficient and sustainable.
It's this whole new world.
I mean, do you ever ask yourself, like,
who gets to live where, you know?
And then if we actually want to go and try
to interrogate that system,
then how do we want to live?
Life is
It's never what you think it's for...
-[laughs]
-[laughs] What?
I have a place in Luxembourg.
I've actually been there
for two years now.
I... I have a kitchen garden.
-Wow.
-I know my neighbors.
Yeah.
And the guy that you were with
when I saw you?
Uh... [sighs] that didn't work out.
But it was like a, um...
I'm glad it happened.
It was important.
It was important because of...?
-Um...
-What?
No, I...
I don't know how to talk about this
without talking about him.
Let's talk about him.
No, we don't have to. I just was...
I want to.
Trust me.
He used to be all I talked about.
Even inside of my own head.
[chuckles]
Yeah, I, uh...
I miss him.
A lot.
-Time is time and time and time again
-And what would you say...
Me, too. [sighs]
-Time is time and time
-To make your escape
-and time again
-you've captured the captor's fear
'Cause I...
[Jason] If you end up coming to Austin,
then you got to go to Diego's
and hear it for yourself.
[Maya] Was that an invitation?
Yeah.
I can't believe you go to the same place
and listen to the same band
-every Friday night.
-Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
First off, Diego's is
an institution, okay?
-Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
-And the band is absolutely--
It's just-- it's a very-- it's a routine.
Yeah, but I'm Mr. Routine now.
I mean, I love routines.
-You're Mr. Routine now?
-Yes.
I love routines,
because in all the-the just--
-[laughs] You're Mr. Routine now?
-[laughs] Yes, in the--
[Maya] Oh, God. These things.
I do not approve.
-I kind of love them.
-You love them?
-Yes.
-[laughs]
-No, no.
-Why?
'Cause you can talk to them. Watch.
[clears throat]
Excuse me. Ooh.
-[laughs]
-Excuse me, little buddy.
Um, pardon my-my friend's rudeness
over here.
I just... I wanted to know:
Do you think we're put on Earth
for a reason?
Like, is there any meaning to any of this?
[delivery robot] Humans
can find profundity
in banal experiences,
though most human lives
are an amalgamation
of random events devoid of significance.
-[Jason] Mm.
-This is just my personal feeling...
[Jason] Eh, this one must be broken.
[delivery robot] ...and in no way
reflects the views...
[Maya] It was not that bad.
[Jason] No, it-it was though.
I mean, it was basically a mullet.
I was like an-an '80s wrestler
without any muscles.
[Maya laughs]
Wow.
[Maya] Thanks so much
for coming to meet me here.
It just... means a lot.
Come on, Maya.
You called, and I got in the car.
How many times have you done that for me?
[wistful music playing]
[tour guide] Our wetlands are vital
in protecting the city against storms.
You know, people ask me,
"How long will New Orleans last?
Twenty-forty? Twenty-fifty?"
And I say, "You're asking
the wrong question."
Here's the question:
What are we doing about it?
[Maya] It's so crazy.
It's like, I know
that if you were still alive,
we'd be together, we'd have kids,
we'd have grown up together.
It's like there's
a whole other life that I...
...obviously didn't live but I, like...
...can imagine.
-[busy chatter]
-[horns honking]
-[grunts]
-[jet engine passing]
So what's it gonna take to see you again?
Another five or ten years?
Run into you in some random restaurant
in Shanghai somewhere?
I guess we'll just have to meet up
for Thanksgiving.
[jet engine passing]
-Safe flight.
-Thanks.
[vehicle door opens]
[vehicle door closes]
[vehicle departing]
[wistful music continues]
[pensive music playing]
Sorry. Excuse me.
I'm just gonna squeeze by you.
I'm...
Excuse me.
[seagulls squawking]

[vehicle door opens]
[vehicle door closes]
Well, after a hundred years,
she finally shows up.
I'm really sorry.
Want one?
[seagulls squawking in distance]
Can I ask what happened when I left?
What do you want to know?
Do you want to know how hard it was
to get his body released?
Well, you were the next of kin
and you were AWOL,
so they kept him in a refrigerated truck
for two weeks.
And then I planned his funeral.
And I didn't know
what kind of music he liked.
I didn't know
what music to play for my son.
Um, but you would've known that.
Right?
I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
And I'm sorry...
uh, for how I...
...acted that night
outside your apartment.
That was horrible. I'm sorry.
Did you ever like me?
[laughing]
Uh, I didn't...
...want to not like you.
But at first you seemed so uncomfortable
and then maybe
just a little too comfortable.
And, uh...
the wedding actually,
the wedding really threw me.
The surprise of it all.
I felt, like, sort of rejected.
[chuckles] Did you like me?
[chuckles] Never mind.
I loved you.
[sucks lips, sniffles]
[sighs] God.
[sighs, chuckles]
We're all right.
Grief is never finished.
It's never finished. [chuckles]
But neither is love.
Yeah.
I'm so stupid for...
I keep trying. [sighs]
What are you... why are you stupid?
Keep trying.
That's good.
You don't know
what you at 60 or 70 or 80...
will say about your life.
If you did the right thing.
If you made the right choices.
That's why you really have to stay in love
with your own life
while it's happening,
whatever it throws at you.
Whatever it's thrown at us.
That's what I tell my own kids.
-[front door opens]
-[Wilma barking]
[Kerry] Hi.
-[door closes]
-[keys clink]
Oh, look who it is, Wilma.
Your old buddy.
It's Maya.
[chuckles]
[pensive music playing]
[sighs]
[chuckling softly]
[sobbing softly]
[sobbing]
[sniffles]
[sobbing]
[Charlie] Do me a favor.
Just close your eyes real quick.
-[quiet chatter]
-[dishes clinking]
Please.
Trust me.
Okay.
Okay, you hear forks clinking on plates.
Hear my ice crackling in the glass.
[ice crackling softly]
-Traffic outside.
-[traffic passing]
[woman laughing]
A laugh.
Now think about all the sounds
you might not notice.
That hum of the neon lights in the window.
[billiard balls clacking]
The pool game in the back of the bar.
It's just layers of auditory information
that's creating this environment
you're in, right?
Right, and that environment
gives you a feeling,
consciously or subconsciously.
And that feeling affects
your central nervous system.
But, uh, you know all about that, so...
Yeah. I do.
What's gonna happen
when all the iron oxide powder wears off?
Notes will still be there.
But the, uh, tails will just get
shorter and shorter, and then...
...it's just gonna be white noise.
[cassette tape grinding softly]
[gentle classical music playing,
distorted]
[white noise hissing]
[distorted classical music continues]
[distorted music fading]
[white noise hissing]
[white noise continues]
-[wind blowing]
-[birds chirping]
[water sloshing]
[kids chattering playfully]
[woman laughing]
[lively chatter]
[train clacking rhythmically]
[buoy bell clanging]
-[dog barking]
-[lively chatter continues]
[geese honking]
[Fleetwood Mac sing "Seven Wonders"]

So long ago
Certain place
Certain time
You touched my hand
on the way
on the way down to Emmeline
But if our paths never cross
well, you know I'm sorry, but
if I live to see the seven wonders
I'll make a path to the rainbow's end
I'll never live
to match the beauty again
The rainbow's end
Aaron
Aaron
So it's hard to find
someone with that kind of intensity
You touched my hand
I played it cool
and you reached out your hand to me
But if our paths never cross
well, no, I'm not sorry, but
if I live to see the seven wonders
I'll make a path to the rainbow's end
I'll never live
to match the beauty again
The rainbow's end

Aaron
Aaron
So long ago
It's a certain time
It's a certain place
You touched my hand
and you smiled
All the way back,
you held out your hand
If I hope and if I pray
ooh, it might work out someday
If I live to see the seven wonders
I'll make a path to the rainbow's end
I'll never live
to match the beauty again
If I live to see the seven wonders
If I live to see
the seven wonders
I'll make a path to the rainbow's end
I'll make a path there
I'll never live
to match the beauty again
I'll never live to see
that beauty, that beauty
that same, same beauty again
If I live to see the seven wonders
If I live to see the
I'll make a path to the rainbow's end
I'll never live
to match the beauty again
Well, if I hope and I pray,
well, maybe it might
[song fades]
[wistful music playing]



[music ends]