Fresh Off the Boat

Guess who's also having a baby?

What?!

Yay!

I was gonna say your cheeks were looking rounder,

but I wasn't sure.

I'm referring to my book... "A Case of a Knife to the Brain."

I finally got a publication date.

What? Yay!

You think my cheeks are rounder?

Hey, you should come to Key West with me to celebrate.

My doctor prescribed rest and relaxation,

and it might be the last time I can get away

before the baby arrives.

Rest and relaxation?

When I was pregnant with Emery,

I was working right up until my contractions

were under a minute apart.

And if you have a dinner party...

you can extend it.

With the built-in... table leaf.

Uh, oh, we'll take it!

Just please go to the hospital.

Of course you'll need chairs to go with it!

I appreciate the invite, but I'm just too busy.

I have to come up with a treatment for my follow-up book.

I have to think of talking points for the book tour.

But first, I need to solicit praise quotes for the book cover.

The publishers have already reached out

to Dean Koontz and Kenny Rogers,

but I have my sights set on the king... Stephen King.

- Wow. You do have a lot going on. - Yes.

Ah, but remember, "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."

Is that some sort of a joke?

That's a line from "The Shining."

The movie, not the book.

That's Kubrick Kubricking all over the work of a genius.

See, this is the kind of junk I need to get ahead of.

S04E19 King in the North

All right, Koontz, lay it on me.

"Jessica Huang's debut book shows a lot of promise

in this cover-to-cover mystery."

Meh.

The new restaurant sign has arrived!

Now that I've regained full ownership,

I'm putting my name out front...

"Louis Huang's Cattleman's Ranch Steakhouse."

I can't wait to see her all lit up,

especially since Emery designed it.

Sorry for all the shaky lines.

It's hard to draw at night when the occupant of the bottom bunk

shakes the bed laughing at joke books.

Well, at least your hand doesn't get stepped on

when the occupant of the top bunk

jumps down for a middle-of-the-night pee!

You're messing up my filing system!

Oh, my God.

It's a letter from Bangor, Maine!

Stephen King wrote me!

"Dear Jessica, thanks for sharing your book."

Unfortunately, I don't comment on other authors' works.

"Happy scribbling, Stephen King."

Ai-yah!

Spring dance tickets. Love is in the air.

No way. Dress up the gym however you want,

it's still extra school.

I see. Noted.

Planted in the curls.

I think it would be fun to go.

Nice to have someone to dance with other than my mom.

It's too late.

At this point, we would have to scramble to find dates.

Let's go as a group!

It's crazy that we're all single at the same time.

You've always been single. Your whole time.

I'm down to go as a group. If it's cool, cool.

If it sucks, it's still cool because we're cool.

Okay. What are we gonna wear?

We should pick a theme, like Camelot.

Or "Dusk till Dawn."

Why do you like that movie so much?

You're right.

It's just George Clooney fighting vampires.

Who would love that?

What if we wear the blue and orange tuxedos

from "Dumb and Dumber"?

And the winner is...

Nicole's idea!

Of course that's what we should wear.

- 100% - Totally.

That was Clooney?

Thanks for coming to what I hope is an...

illuminating experience.

Louis, sorry I will miss your sign party.

I decided to go on that trip with Honey after all.

Oh, thank God.

Now I can just wing it knowing you won't be yelling.

"Talk faster!" in the middle of my speech.

Everybody's bored!

Remember that, since I won't be there to tell you.

Ma, you want to go check out the new sign?

If it's not crowded, you could do wheelies in the parking lot.

What?

You're moving out?

I'm so happy you changed your mind.

And getting away from the book will be healthy for you, too.

- I promise. - Hey, can you lean back a little bit?

I'm tracking a shifty-looking Taurus in the side-view.

Oops!

Oh, you accidentally got on 95 North.

We need South for Key West.

It wasn't an accident. We're taking a quick detour to Maine.

I just got to get that quote from Stephen King first.

Uhp, you're leaning forward again.

Maine? The big hat on top of our country?

That's 11 states away!

I felt bad about Stephen King's letter

until I remembered reading that his agent screens his mail.

Stephen never even saw my manuscript.

If I can hand him a copy myself, I know he'll read it,

love it, and write a glowing quote.

Jessica, this is supposed to be my chance to get away and relax.

I packed for the beach.

Maine has beaches.

They just have more rocks and family secrets.

Look, just because it's a different destination

doesn't mean we can't still have a fun and relaxing time.

I have always wanted to see New England.

I've never seen a craggy coastline in person.

You know what? Let's go to Maine!

Yes!

Don't get mad, but I invited somebody else along.

Miss Amy Grant.

Yes.

Leave a message.

Hey, Jessica, it's me.

You're not gonna believe this. My mom wants to move out.

Call me back.

Your mother's moving out?

Aw, I can't imagine what that's like.

That's because I don't deal in hypotheticals.

I mean, I'm a realist.

In our culture, you never leave your family.

You get old, you move in with your kids,

and you sweep their driveway until you die.

She doesn't really want to move out.

She just wants to feel appreciated.

A beautiful bird like that sitting around all day alone?

Classic cry for attention.

Heck, Amy here threatens to run off with Max's karate sensei

twice a month.

It's just a little skit we do

when I forget to wash the dishes.

It's just a little skit.

Oh-ho-oh, goodness.

Evan, I'm moving out.

Grandma leaving means her room's in play,

so I'm gonna take it.

What? Why?

Remember in "An American Tail"

when Fievel the mouse leaves Ukraine for America

after hearing that there are no cats

and the streets are paved with cheese?

That's what Grandma's room means to me...

Opportunity.

We're not sharing a room anymore?

It's time, Evan.

I mean, how long did you think this was gonna last?

Uh, vetoed.

Get me the vice president!

Yes, Dr. President?

Never gets old!

Hello, First Lady Kristi Yamaguchi-Huang.

Husband, what do you feel like tonight?

A '52 Fontaine Laroche or a 1998 Red Antler Cabernet?

Well, who's coming to dinner?

Your brother, Eddie.

The Red Antler Cabernet.

You really think you're gonna marry Kristi Yamaguchi?

Well, yeah, after I play the field a little first.

I'll tell you what I'm not gonna miss...

That cocky attitude of yours.

Well, if you're so anxious to leave,

why don't you grab your things and get out of my room?

Enjoy smelling like a lady,

because Grandma's perfume is never coming out of those walls!

Welcome to Maine.

It's freezing.

I'm glad I got this sweatshirt at a rest stop.

Okay, let's go.

I heard Stephen King is a regular at the local diner.

We'll wait for him there, and I'll give him my book.

But we just got here.

Irma's on her way up to show us

which room the old ship captain haunts!

Did you see this?

The PTA issued a new dress code for the dance.

"Boys must wear jackets and ties.

Girls must wear dresses or skirts."

So, Alison and I can't wear tuxedos?

Someone must've heard about our plan and tipped off the PTA.