A Man on the Inside (2024) s01e06 Episode Script

1
["California Stars"
by Billy Bragg and Wilco]
[tram bell dings]
I'd like to rest ♪
My heavy head tonight
On a bed of California stars ♪
I'd like to lay my weary bones tonight
On a bed ♪
Hey, boss. The Wi-Fi is down,
and 204's pull cord is out again.
Good morning, Jaylen. How are you?
- Stressed out because of the cord.
- Did you reset the system?
- Mm-hm.
- Keep an eye on Cheryl.
- I'll call IT.
- Okay.
Didi, the Wi-Fi is not working.
- We're fixing it. Keep checking.
- Mine won't turn on.
That's a deck of cards, Sam.
Derek. Hey. It's Didi.
Yeah, you guessed it.
Okay. I'll see you in ten minutes.
Hey, do you do Wi-Fi stuff too?
- Oh!
- I mean, I don't know.
Does anybody know why Wi-Fi goes out?
Isn't it just like magic?
I'm such a klutz.
Thanks, and hey, also,
uh, Father David hasn't arrived yet
and his Bible study group is waiting.
Okay, I'll call him.
No, not you. I already called you.
I'm talking to you now. Just get here.
Didi, every single day, you inspire me
so much with your toughness
and your acumen
- Beatrice, look. It's Sergio.
- [gasps]
[Beatrice] Sergio, good morning!
How are you?
Susan, you are in my office.
The resident council
has approved my new security plan.
We should go over it together.
It will take about two hours.
- How about you just give it to me?
- Fine.
[knocking at door]
You want to hear a weird one?
Why not?
We're out of salt shakers.
Like, not salt, but
The thingies. The actual shakers, yeah.
We have like ten left.
How many did we used to have?
I don't know. Fifty?
We lost 40 salt shakers?
- Yeah.
- What the hell, Dennis?
It's not my fault.
All right, I gotta deal with the Wi-Fi.
I'll order more.
Give me that one for reference.
[Dennis] Okay, but I'm gonna need
that back before lunch.
- [sighs deeply]
- [phone beeps]
[woman on phone] We're sorry.
Your call cannot be completed
[soft knocking]
[Didi] Oh. Morning.
[sighs deeply]
Room 826.
Damn it.
[solemn music]
Damn it.
[solemn music continues]
[indistinct chatter]
Morning, Cal.
Morning, Chaz.
Hey, your sweater's buttoned wrong.
Oh.
Get it together, Nieuwendyk. Thank you.
Morning.
- Morning.
- Hello.
- Where's Florence?
- [Virginia] Probably sleeping in.
She's been planning the bachelorette party
nonstop for three days.
Speaking of which,
I've been thinking for the stag party,
we either do a classy steak dinner
at John's Grill,
or take a party bus to Hooters.
[man] Heads up. Coming through.
[indistinct talk over radio]
This way.
Up ahead, on the right.
[indistinct conversation]
[solemn music]
[indistinct whispering]
[Virginia] What happened?
Is Florence gone?
I'm sorry, Ginny. I can't disclose
personal medical information.
[whimpers]
[crying]
[sniffling and crying]
[Virginia continues crying]
So sad day.
Very sad day.
Florence's celebration of life
will take place tomorrow evening.
It'll probably be a long one.
She had a lot of friends.
With Robert being transferred,
a room has opened up in memory care.
Gladys will move in tomorrow.
That leaves two open rooms
in the main tower.
Maintenance should get started
on a deep clean and turnaround.
Also, somehow, we're missing
about 40 salt shakers.
I would love a list of suspects,
starting with any deer
you've seen roaming the halls.
[laughing]
That's all for now. Thanks, everyone.
[waves crashing]
[sighs]
[inhales and exhales deeply]
[doorbell rings]
Surprise. Hi, sweetheart.
Hi. What are What are you doing here?
Is everything okay with the case?
All good. All good.
There's nothing happening today,
and I wanted to see you guys,
so I jumped on a train.
Oh, great. Well, I'm glad you're here.
- I You know, it's a crazy weekend.
- Thank you.
I have a million errands to run.
I won't bother you at all. I'm wallpaper.
Hey, are you making dinner?
'Cause I was hoping maybe Chinese,
you know?
My treat. Where are my handsome grandsons?
[laughs maniacally]
[Emily] Ah, all right.
- That all you're gonna eat?
- Bro, I had cereal.
- [Charles snorts]
- What? When?
Like 20 minutes ago.
[sighs] No, Dad. Sit, please.
The kids are gonna help me
with the dishes, right?
- Kids are gonna help me?
- If Grandpa doesn't have to, why do we?
Yeah.
- I mean, it's solid logic, bro.
- [kids chuckling]
- Thanks, Dad. Thanks. Appreciate it.
- Oh my God, bro.
[sighs]
[spoon clatters]
Uh, get it together, Nieuwendyk.
Uh, is your dad okay?
It's just weird that
he just dropped in out of nowhere, right?
I think he's fine.
His timing's impeccable.
I have about
a billion things to do tomorrow.
- Well, I can help with whatever.
- He won't care that I'm gone.
He's spending deep
and meaningful quality time
with his grandsons.
Oh my God.
- Bro.
- No!
- [Charles] I scored, man.
- [Jace] No, you scored for us.
[phone ringing]
Hold on. Shush.
I gotta take this.
- Hey. Hi.
- [Julie] Where are you?
You were supposed
to be at my office two hours ago.
Right. And I couldn't make it
because I'm in Sacramento.
What?
Look, I had to clear my head,
so I came to Emily's for the night.
- Charles, no. I told you
- Hey, Julie.
This has been a really hard week,
between Gladys fading and now Florence.
And I want to be with my family,
so that's what I'm doing.
All right. Fair enough.
Are you back tomorrow?
Yes. Back tomorrow. See you then.
[game noises]
- [Jace] Oh my God!
- Oh! Oh!
You said you were gonna pause it.
What are you doing?
[gentle music]
[Didi] 144?
That's 100 more than I need.
Fine. Whatever. I will take a full gross.
How soon can you get them to me?
- Ten weeks?
- [microwave beeps]
Okay. Yes. Fine.
I will fill out the paperwork.
- No, thank you, Jeanette.
- [phone beeping]
Hey, Rick. What's up?
Yeah. Sure.
I will head over there right now.
[microwave beeping]
[elevator music]
[sighs]
Hey, Didi. So sorry to keep you waiting.
It's been a crazy day today.
I had three meetings back to back.
Wow. Crazy.
Yeah. Okay. Let's go upstairs.
Thanks for coming down, Didi.
Do you want a coffee?
Oh, yeah. Sure.
Espresso? Macchiato? Latte?
Uh Okay. Uh, yeah, latte, please.
Great. Skim, almond, soy, oat, 2%?
I regret this now.
Whatever's easiest. Thanks.
It's all easy. I just push a button.
Okay. Dealer's choice. [laughs]
[woman laughs]
Okay. I'll get right into it.
So, Pacific View Retirement Communities
is entering into a strategic partnership
with Bynum Southwest.
[laughs] God. Do you guys
ever stop merging and acquiring
and downsizing and restructuring?
[laughs] Not really. No.
Great. They eating us,
or are we eating them?
Well, it's a strategic partnership.
They're eating us.
But it's a good thing for you
because their headquarters are
in the Bahamas,
so they're looking
for someone to run this region.
You want me to work here, in corporate?
I don't know how to do this.
Don't sell yourself short, Didi.
We all know how good you are.
This would be higher pay.
It would be better hours.
You've been on the floor for 12 years now.
Don't you want a break
from all that stress?
Thank you.
You know, here's the thing,
Rick, and I mean no disrespect.
- Corporate sucks butt.
- Mm.
The red tape is insane.
I spent four hours trying
to get you to buy salt shakers.
Okay. Well, work here
and fix that from above, right?
Be the person who makes it easier
for the managers to get the salt shakers.
Goddamn, that's good.
Mm. There's a machine on every floor.
- Hey, the salt shaker thing?
- I'm working on it.
[waves crashing]
[sighs deeply]
- [Charles] Go! Yes!
- [Jace] Oh my God!
- Yes! I scored!
- Oh my God!
- [Charles] No!
- Oh my God.
[Wyatt] Oh my God.
[Jace] What?
[Nico] Oh my God.
- Grandpa?
- [Charles crying]
What's wrong?
- You won.
- Ah.
[chuckles]
I'm just happy for my soccer car
and his little hat, that's all.
[sobbing softly]
But why are you crying?
It's just been a really hard week.
Hey, boss. You got a second?
Yeah. What's up?
Um, you know how I drive Elliott
every week to get his cigars?
I feel weird taking him now
because of his cancer diagnosis.
Okay. You can't talk about Elliott's
health issues. That's private.
He talks about it.
I get to control the clicker.
I have cancer.
Fair point.
Everybody copes
with bad news differently, right?
I mean, some people cry.
Some people don't.
Some people smoke cigars
and turn into bullies.
Elliott is a grown man.
You can't infantilize him.
I know. It seems wrong to help him buy
something that'll make his health worse.
Okay. I'll drive him today.
Thanks.
Is that all?
One more random question.
Is, like, interoffice romances
Is that like a
Where do you
Is that cool, or?
Hm. Well, officially, corporate tends
to frown on things like that.
Right.
Which is why everybody hates corporate.
Life is short. Live it up.
Oh, hey, Tabitha. Good morning.
Hi, Didi.
Go get me a juice. I have cancer.
Hey, could you do me a favor
and take that hose outside?
Okay.
Jace?
Yeah?
- Could you do it now, please?
- Yeah.
Jace?
Bro, you're obsessed with this hose.
[snickers] Move on.
Grandpa told me to tell you
that he ran out for coffee.
- Okay.
- Is he okay?
He's okay. Why do you ask?
'Cause his friend died.
What? Who?
Florence. RIP. [kisses]
Oh no. Florence died?
- Yeah, bro. Keep up.
- Wait, how do you know this?
Grandpa was crying, and we asked him why.
He wouldn't tell us.
- But we just kept asking. Then he told us.
- What are you talking about?
- Mom didn't know why Grandpa was sad.
- 'Cause Florence died?
- [kisses]
- Bro, that's chef's kiss emoji.
Or it's because C.J.'s moving to Siberia.
Singapore. Read a book.
- Shut up.
- Who the hell is C.J.?
Is he telling everyone
in this house his problems except for me?
He couldn't
because you were running errands.
Don't blame the shooter.
"Don't shoot the messenger"?
- Whatever. Shooter's gonna shoot, bro.
- [snickers] Bet.
[both chuckle]
Hey, Mom said to take the hose outside.
Oh my God.
[Charles] Such a nice visit.
Thanks for having me.
Are you sure you're okay?
Yeah.
Why do you I mean, what do you
Well, it's just the kids told me
that your friend died.
Oh, yeah.
Sad.
- Very sad.
- Mm.
Ah. The ARCO is a Chevron now. [laughs]
When did that happen?
The thing is, I guess I just wish
that when something sad happened to you
that you felt like
you could talk to me about it.
And it's not your fault that you can't.
It's us.
We get stuck in this loop
where you avoid things
and then I avoid things,
and then there's no, um
It You know, we just don't
or can't do it.
And I want us to can do it.
Well, I think you're right.
And we should definitely discuss this more
on my next visit.
Ooh, you're gonna
You missed the
You missed the turn for the train station.
You're not going back on the train.
I'm gonna drive you back to San Francisco,
and this is gonna be happening.
Both of us.
- Well [sighs]
- Each.
Hey, where's Jaylen?
He's supposed to take me
to the smoke shop.
He's out doing something.
I'm gonna take you today.
Look at this.
If I want new salt shakers,
the company makes me fill out a form
like applying for a mortgage.
Thanks, Obama.
[chuckles]
Oh no. You were serious.
All right. Well, let's hit it.
So, how are you?
- I've got cancer.
- I heard.
This is what I think.
It's like Mom was the emotional glue.
So without her,
you and I are just less connected.
Because, you know, the glue is gone.
Huh.
Or it's like we're an arch,
and Mom was the, um
What's it called? The keystone?
[laughing] You just used
an architectural term.
I did.
Oh. Want to hear an incredible story
about a 900-year-old cathedral arch
in Belgium?
Whoa. That sounds so boring.
[both laughing]
I have to find out
that your friend died from my kids?
I was already sad,
and I felt like
there's no reason to make Emily sad too.
You have a big, full life,
with your job and kids and Joel.
And the last thing
I want to be is a burden.
But, Dad, that's the thing.
Us not communicating is the burden.
Like, I feel the burden
of not being close to you.
Honestly, I never really thought
about it like that.
Wow. [clears throat]
Yeah. So, you know, when y
Um. Excuse me.
What are you doing?
I was gonna listen to Ezra Klein.
I thought we'd solved it.
We solved it, right?
We've barely just started.
How's Virginia?
She's inconsolable, and I feel
like I can't do anything to help her.
Well, all you can really do is be there
for her when she needs you.
Well, what she needs
is more time with Florence,
and I can't give that to her.
I remember when my mom died,
I thought,
"Just five more minutes."
What I wouldn't give
for five more minutes with her.
That's all any of us really wants, right?
More time with the people we love.
Ginny loved Florence, and she loves you.
God knows why, but she does.
[scoffs]
All right, I'm gonna wait in the van.
It reeks in here.
[gentle music]
So you came to my house not to talk?
Well, yes, I suppose, yes.
Yeah, see, Dad, that's a problem.
I mean, when you want
to avoid exploring your emotional life,
you seek out the company of your daughter?
I just wanted to have
a day off from the case,
from the sadness, from everything.
Why is that so hard to understand?
Julie got it.
"Julie got it"?
So you talked to your fake daughter
but won't talk to your real one?
Oh, you
A, please don't tell me
you're jealous of her,
and B, at least, she flatly states
she doesn't want to talk about this stuff.
But with you, B, sub one,
I show up at the house,
and you disappear.
You go spend three hours
trying to find a new gardening hose.
Okay, I said at the beginning
that this is my fault too.
Then why's it sound
like you're blaming me?
- I don't know. I'm sorry.
- You are.
- It sounds that way to me.
- I'm sorry.
[sighs]
Hey.
Honestly, I don't think we need to worry.
I think
I think, like, all complex,
layered, emotional problems
this will probably just work itself out.
Well, that was, uh definitely something.
Can I ask you a serious question?
How will we know when we have
the kind of relationship we want to have?
Uh, I don't know. I
I think we'll know when we see it.
Because I don't think I can ever get
to a place where I feel comfortable
burdening you
with all the sad things in my life.
But some of those sad things are mine too.
That's how people heal, Dad.
You know? They share their sadness
with their friends and people they love.
I mean, Mom died, and within a day,
you had packed up all of her stuff,
labeled it, stored it under the house,
and we have not spoken about it since.
Whatever the right way to do this is,
that ain't it.
- I should be heading home.
- No. You just drove all the way here.
Don't drive in the dark.
The bridge is crazy this time of night.
Please, just
Here, take my keys. Sleep at my place.
There's a spare toothbrush
under the sink. And if you need air,
the downstairs thermostat
is the one you use.
But remember, the sensor's
all the way up in the attic
so the whole house runs hot.
And there's a sealed bag of coffee
in the freezer.
I love you too.
[gentle music]
[Grant] Ah. Elliott, old man.
Join me for a smoke up on the patio
before we pay our communal respects?
I'll pass.
You can go if you want.
You know, I've been thinking, uh,
eh, maybe I cut back a little.
I know you wanna get rid of me,
but, uh I think
I'd like to stick around a bit longer.
[Joel] How was the big talk?
[Emily] I don't know.
Good.
Hard. I I just
I'm bad at it. You know?
Talking to him about emotional stuff.
I'm just
I'm bad at it.
Jesus, hon. No one's good at it.
It's impossible.
It's just either you're a person
who does it,
or you're a person who doesn't do it.
And you're just trying
to be a person who does it.
And that's awesome.
I love you,
and I'm so happy we're married.
Bro, who even is this?
[laughs] Uh
Bro, it's your wife, Emily.
Oh, right!
- Well, I love you too, bro.
- [Emily laughs]
[Arwan] She was a very nice lady.
She was always excited
when ChapStick had a new flavor.
[all laughing lightly]
And she always asked about my kids.
I'm gonna miss her a lot.
Thank you, Arwan.
Flo just got this chair for herself.
She said she wished everyone could try it.
So have yourself a massage
in honor of Flo.
[light laughter]
She was the best person
I ever met.
There isn't one person
in this room who didn't love her.
Even Susan, and she hates everybody.
[laughing]
Anyway, I'm all cried out.
Thank you, everyone,
for your beautiful words.
Now, is there anyone else
who wants to share any feelings
or memories of our Flo-Jo?
Florence was one
of the first friends I made here.
People think of poets
as solitary creatures,
but she was
she was so kind and convivial.
A while back,
she helped me with something,
and I couldn't bring myself to perform it.
Now seems like the right time.
"All the world's a stage, and all the men
and women, merely players."
"They have their exits and entrances,
and one man,
in his time, plays many parts."
"At first, the infant,
mewling and puking in the nurse's arms."
"Then the whining schoolboy
with his satchel
and shining morning face, creeping
like snail unwillingly to school."
"And then the lover,
sighing like furnace
with a woeful ballad
made to his mistress's eyebrow."
"Then a soldier, full of strange oaths
and bearded like the pard,
jealous in honor,
sudden and quick in quarrel."
"The sixth age shifts into the lean
and slippered pantaloon
with spectacles on nose
and pouch on side."
"Last scene of all
that ends this strange, eventful history
is second childishness
and mere oblivion,
sans teeth, sans eyes,
sans taste, sans everything."
[waves crashing]
[waves stop]
["Worship You" by Vampire Weekend]
Only in the way you want it
Only on the day you want it ♪
Only with your understanding
And every single day you want it ♪
You, you ♪
[Didi] You still there?
Don't leave until I get back.
I have a present.
$128.61.
Uh, plus this.
What is this?
Strawberry watermelon blast.
Any chance of peace you want
Any kind of place ♪
You want to live a bit of live
To get suited finer days ♪
You, you ♪
One hundred salt shakers.
Should last you a couple months, I guess.
How'd you get them so fast?
Listen, I'm sorry
I was short with you earlier.
It's been a rough couple days.
You need anything else?
Mm-hm.
In foreign soil, in foreign land ♪
Who will guide us through the end, oh ♪
[intriguing music]