Chasing Life

April: Previously on Chasing Life...

- Will you marry me? - You can always think about it some more.

- Mom. - Fine. I am totally supportive of you

and your whirlwind marriage.

We're gonna have to make another sacrifice.

You're making me leave Charton?

I can't really say no to April these days.

- (Cell phone buzzes) - And there's the person I can't say no to.

- Who's that? - My ex.

- We have a match. - Finally.

I found dad's unpublished manuscript.

Our dad... Is the worst.

- Is that dad's book? - Yeah.

April's voice: Our nation's president wasn't the only man

partaking in some nefarious activities.

I hope they impeach him.

Now, Rose, that is no way to talk about our president.

April's voice: I can't imagine what she'd think of me if she knew the truth.

Trying to make up for the fact that you're going

to be gone on your fishing trip for so long?

- April's voice: Precisely. - Of course not.

Remind me again why you're going to be gone for two whole weeks?

April's voice: I drew a blank on the excuse I'd told this time.

With so many lies, it was harder to keep track of the reality.

I had three jobs:

Keeping my obligation down south compliant,

making sure my family in Rhode Island remained oblivious,

- and... - Hey, Carson,

turn on the TV!

- (Gunshot) - (Grunts)

Nancy, Rose, Ellen, stay down!

- Whatever you do, don't get up. - Dad, what's going on?

- So, what do you think? - Well, from what I've read so far,

it is a book about man with two families,

because he's a spy fighting communists

at the tail end of the cold war.

Both families are just like us.

April, there are parts of this book

that are ripped directly from my childhood,

like when the character goes to visit his "obligation down south,"

he brings her an old record...

Exactly as he used to do for me.

- Timothy Carson is our dad. - Okay, okay,

maybe there are some similarities,

but... last time I checked, nobody got shot in my house.

And the first line of the book is

"this is a story about how I lived my life and planned my death."

Dad died in a car accident. How does Timothy Carson die?

The book stops mid-sentence. It's not finished.

Natalie, maybe you're misunderstanding some of...

So now you're questioning my reading comprehension?

No.

I just think that you might be trying

to turn this into something that it isn't.

There's no way our dad is this character. It's just fiction.

We all suffered from dad's lie,

and you definitely got the worst of it,

but I think he was just trying his best to make everyone happy.

Okay, yeah, that's what I thought...

Before this book.

But now that I've read it,

I've learned all the manipulative stuff

he had to do to try to cover his tracks for two decades...

The secret credit cards, the paying off both families

with money and gifts to make sure we stayed oblivious.

Just... keep reading.

April: So, you'll start at the altar,

then the bridesmaids will come down with the groomsmen,

and then I'll come down.

Wait. Who... who's walking you down the aisle?

Oh. I don't know. Maybe my mom...

Or Uncle George.

Let's sidebar that.

I get there, and then the awakening passage is read.

Okay, we can't have a reading from that book at our wedding.

Kate Chopin’s words are beautiful

"The voice of the sea speaks to the soul"?

Yeah, well, her main character ends up killing herself

in that scene. No way.

Okay, well, we can't have

Savage Garden lyrics read at our wedding either.

What do you have against Savage Garden?

You're trying to be ironic, and irony doesn't work

with a traditional wedding ceremony.

Okay, we have a problem, because I don't want

this thing to be a snoozefest.

The ceremony's gotta be... (Snaps fingers)

-Short and sweet. -My vows aren't even gonna be short and sweet.

- We're writing our own vows? - (Door closes)

- Are you... - Hey, guys.

- Everything okay? - Mm-hmm.

I don't know! Why don't you ask

Mr. Chica Cherry Cola over here.

Okay, I am sorry that Savage Garden

was the seminal band of my youth.

Clearly you guys are under a lot of wedding stress.

You're curating the ceremony, arranging the seating charts,

not to mention figuring out what you're gonna wear.

Hey, at least I got my tux already.

- She still doesn't have a dress. - Oh my god!

- (Whispers) You don't. - Whenever I have

an engaged couple come in to see me...

Mom, it's okay. You don't have to shrink us.

No, no, I'm just... I wanna provide you guys

with some tools to help you communicate better.

It's important to learn how to deal with the smaller issues

before the bigger ones come along.

That way you're prepared.

There's a questionnaire

that was created by some psychologists

to help gain a better understanding of your partner.

It's called "the experimental generation

of interpersonal closeness."

You two haven't been together that long.

I'm sure there's some things

you could still learn about one another.

- (Both laughing) - But now I have so many options,

I could wear practically anything.

Yeah, upside to public school.

- It's stressing me out. - You will be fine.

Yeah, school is school.

Whatever.

I'm glad that we're having fun tonight, though.

Me too.

Margo! What a coincidence!

Juliet, what are you doing here?

I am pub hopping.

Alone?

Well, who else am I gonna go with since we broke up?

- Wait, this is your ex? - Brenna, meet Juliet.

You... have such a youthful glow.

No bags under your eyes. La Mer?

Estee Lauder? La Prairie?

Um, Aveeno, I think.

Juliet is thirsty. Garcon?

Juliet has had enough. I am going to take her drunk ass home.

-But it's a cute drunk ass, right? -(Chuckles nervously)

Are we still on for that Nicole Holofcener movie marathon at the Brattle?

Ooh.

Good. I promise it will be less distracting.

- Okay, you're good. Yes. - Mmm. Mmm!

- The best fries. - Yeah. Come on.

April's voice: As the weeks went by,

so did the grieving for grandma Ida.

The Narragansett sun peeked through the blinds,

casting an apricot glow around the room

as I got ready for my next trip.

-Hey, sweetie. -April's voice: As I went to hide my .45,

I remembered... That secret was out.

Why are you bringing a Hollies record with you on your trip?

A secretary at Langley likes British rock from the '60s,

so I thought it'd be nice. (Chuckles)

April's voice: The record was for Lisa,

her half-sister she doesn't know about.

It was a material object to make her feel loved.

Perhaps fretting over my fabrications was the least of my problems,

since everyone around me was just so easy to deceive.

So, dad...

Ever since we found out about you being in the C.I.A.,

I told you, honey, the family's safe.

What happened the other day was just an isolated thing. It just...

No, it's not about that.

A C.I.A. agent is incredibly noble work,

especially in today's world,

and I want to do it.

I wanna follow in your footsteps and become a spy.

I've even done some research.

April's voice: I couldn't believe my daughter's audacity.

Had I inflated her id so tremendously,

she thought she had what it took to be me?

Rose... I just don't think you have it in you

to do the job that I do, sweetie.

April's voice: Rose's despair was palpable.

Maybe I was too harsh.

There are other jobs within the organization

that you might be right for,

perhaps an analyst.

It's a desk job, but you'd get to use that bright brain of yours.

April's voice: I could see the wheels in Rose's head beginning to turn,

like a train leaving the station,

bye, sweetie.

April's voice: It was obvious, in that moment,

Rose was imagining her life as a C.I.A. Analyst.

Not her dream,

but a job.

-Oh. -Now you see what I'm dealing with?

You know what they say about a guy with a giant pet snake?

- He's a loser. - Oh, well, they're all losers.

-Who are all losers? -Oh, the men I've met on this dating app.

The other night I had a date with a guy who was a Paul Revere living statue.

He came straight from work. Think about that.

Are you sure it's not a big deal that Graham's coming to the wedding?

What? No! (Laughs)

I know you said you're okay that Dominic's bringing Mrs. plus-one, but...

Hey, I am totally fine with it, okay?

That being said, it wouldn't hurt to have a hot guy...

Preferably one who's not a serial killer...

On my arm to show that warby-Parker bespectacled pescatarian

that I have moved on.

Sara: I knew there was a reason I saved this all these years!