Hola, damas y caballeros. Bienvenidos. I'm Chuy.
Can I get you all started with some margaritas?
Oh, God yes. Margarita me.
16 ounces or 24?
You know what? It's been one of those weeks at work.
I'll take a 24.
(laughs) Ooh, me, too.
Turn up.
Just make mine skinny.
Um, I'll have a Coke and the car keys.
Hey, guys, this round's on me.
Daphne is officially enrolled in day care,
and that means that Marty's paternity leave is finally over.
(Gemma laughs)
Aw. I think it's sweet
how you miss working with your baby boy.
(scoffs) What I miss is leaving at 3:00.
(chuckles)
Well, good for you, Calvin, but, you know,
we have reason to celebrate, too. Ooh.
Our little amigo Grovercito
got an A on his Spanish paper.
What? Congrats! All right now. CALVIN: Okay, Grover.
Okay, four margaritas, and a skinny for the gentleman.
Ah, gracias.
Uh, can I interest you all in some appetizers?
Oh, yeah. Yes. Yeah.
Oh, you know what? Grover,
why don't you use some of that grade-A Spanish
to order us some starters?
Ah, yes. Yeah.
Okay, I can do that. (clears throat)
Hola, Chuy.
Whoa! (others cheer)
He's fluent. He's fluent.
Right. (laughs)
Quiero nachos en biblioteca
y chaqueta de naranja.
Okay. Uh, you ordered nachos
in a library with an orange jacket.
I don't think so.
(laughs)
He-He's just getting warmed up, right? Yeah.
Tal vez quieras guacamole?
Um, zapatos con queso.
And that'll be for the whole table.
Grover, y-you just ordered cheese shoes for the table.
You know, I'm-I'm just good with anything.
Um, I've got to go use el pollo.
Even I know the boy just said he's going to use the chicken.
Yeah.
♪ Welcome to the block, welcome to the neighborhood ♪
♪ Welcome to the hood. ♪
♪ ♪
I can't. I can't do it.
I can't send Daphne
to a place like this.
Look at these Yelp reviews for Miss Sandra's Day Care.
Uh...
Didn't you pick this place because of the reviews?
Yes, yes, but-but look at this.
All five stars?
(laughs) There's no way that's legit.
No, no, you see,
the place you want is one that has four and a half stars.
Marty, you had her enrolled
in the place with four and a half stars
and you cancelled it because it wasn't good enough.
No, no, no, that's 'cause I visited it, Dad.
That place had monkey bars. Monkey bars.
What's wrong with monkey bars?
Nothing, if you like dislocated baby shoulders.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, we're back at square one.
Monday is out. Okay, uh, Marty,
you've cancelled on five different places.
This could go on forever.
No day care's gonna be good enough.
It's just such a leap of faith, Dad.
Leaving my baby with strangers.
You know, I agree, Marty.
Who could leave this precious, little angel?
Oh, look at those little boogie woogies in your nosey wosey.
You know...
you guys make a good point.
And I just wish there was somebody that Daphne knew
who could spend time with her her during the day and...
feed her, play games with her
and read her a book. Hey...
Take her to the zoo, clean that little nosey wosey.
(both laugh)
You know what? I have got a crazy idea.
Oh, really?
Why don't I watch Daphne?
(stammers)
Now, that is crazy right there. I mean...
Even though I can't think of a better idea,
that's the thing about it.
I can't think of anything.
Mom, Mom, that would be so great.
Yeah. But-but your job. What will you tell Gemma?
Ain't nobody thinking about no damn Gemma.
I'm sorry, I just get very passionate
when I'm talking about my family.
I mean, it wouldn't be forever.
She's just so little right now.
Yes, she is.
See you at work Monday, son.
Hey, hey, hey, hey. Hey Malcolm.
Somebody's in a good mood.
Who, me? Uh, it ain't no big deal, Mama.
I'm just a published author.
Oh, that's nice.
Oh, somebody spit up.
(laughs)
Yeah, I just, uh,
I wrote a story in my creative writing class... Here's a wipe.
Thank you.
Anyway, as I was saying,
the-the professor, she liked it so much, she suggested
I submit it to the USC literary quarterly, The Trojan Horse.
Do you have the unscented ones? I hate these.
The Trojan Horse, I said, and they published it.
You know, I remember the last time
you was in The Trojan Horse.
You'd hit that walk-off against Oregon State.
MALCOLM: Oh, no.
No, that was the Daily Trojan, Pop.
You know, I knew it was the Trojan something like...
No, no, that was a school newspaper, Pop.
This is creative writing. TINA: Shh.
(whispering): You're too loud. She might cry.
(stammers) Man, I'm just saying,
I'm finally starting to get some recognition.
Oh, my God. Thank you, Marty.
Did y'all go to that new Mexican restaurant without me? Oh, yeah.
(chuckles) It was fantastic. We gonna go back there Thursday.
Oh. MALCOLM: Yeah, anyway, I'm just
gonna, uh, leave a copy here.
Y'all could read it if you want to, or don't.
It's considered to be very prestigious.
But no big deal.
You know? Ain't a big deal.
Oh, wait! Yes?
Did y'all try the mole enchiladas? Oh...
TINA: Oh, yeah.
My God, it was so good. Bomb. The mole enchiladas.
When Grover got that A in Spanish, I was so excited.
But then when he tried to speak it...
Let me guess-- no bueno?
I just have to ask, you didn't give him that A because...
you know, I'm your boss?
(chuckles) No. I mean, that paper was perfect,
but speaking the language... yikes.
His accent is so bad it actually offends me,
and I'm Filipino.
I wish you'd told me my son was struggling.
Well, I wish you'd approved me to teach summer school last year
so I wouldn't have had to drive Uber for two months.
I'd keep that Uber account if I were you.
Hey.
Oh, hey, Tina. What's up?
Well, I have got some great news.
I'm gonna be spending more time with my grandbaby.
Oh, good.
Mm-hmm. We talking weekends?
No. Weekdays.
Weekday nights?
No.
I'm running out of day parts here.
(sighs) Okay. I'm so sorry, Gemma,
but I'm gonna have to take a little sabbatical
so Marty can get back to work.
No, but, Tina, you know I don't have anyone to replace you.
I know, but it-it just made more sense
that, you know, I watch Daphne.
And Calvin, you know,
he made all of these really great points.
And now Calvin gets Marty back full-time?
Yup. Win-win.
(laughs)
You do see how that's not a win for me.
That's why I only did two wins.
Look, thank you for understanding, Gemma. Of course.
Mm, you're the best. Oh.
(groans) (laughs)
Have a good day.
(laughs)
Well played, Calvin Butler.
Well played.
Tina is one of my best teachers.
Ugh! Calvin can be so self-centered.
It's not my fault Marty had a baby,
and now he doesn't want the baby in day care,
so Calvin tricked Tina into watching the baby.
Nobody is thinking about me.
Okay. Gemma.
Just take a deep breath, okay?
You and I are going to...
If you say meditate, you are a dead man.
I'm sorry. It has just been a really tough day.
You know last night wasn't a fluke?
Grover can't speak Spanish in class, either.
Oh, no?
Maybe he freezes under pressure.
Do you think he has anxiety issues? Does he need therapy?
Okay, okay. Gemma, let's not jump to...
Is it because of the time he walked in on us?
I told him we were wrestling,
but I don't know if he bought it.
Gemma, pl...
Please, stop.
(sighs)
I think there may be a different answer here.
Uh, Grover...
may have done well on his homework because...
I helped him with it.
You did? Mm-hmm.
How much help? Just a little.
I-I tweaked the beginning
and the end and...
Well, you know, the middle was just sitting there.
Dave!
I... Look, I'm-I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to.
It's just that Grover doesn't have that killer instinct,
and he's got to keep his grades up
if he wants to get into a good high school.
So you did the work?
Well, I mean, he chimed in with stuff like, "Are you done?"
And... "Can I go?" Ugh.
My intentions were good. Dave,
we have to let Grover sink or swim on his own.
Ooh... he's gonna sink.
Like a rock.
Let's get it.
Hey, Pop. What's going on?
Hey, what up, Malcolm? (clears throat)
Hey, uh... (clears throat) I'm just asking,
you know, no big deal, but
did you happen to
check out my piece in the T.H.?
Trojan Horse, Pop.
Oh, oh, oh, oh, yes.
Blown away.
Wh... Blown away, man.
Really? Yeah.
Okay, well, um... (chuckles) Well, which part blew you away?
You know, it was the, um...
the-the part about the cracks
in the sidewalk being scars... Being scars.
of a lost generation. Lost generation.
Amazing. (laughs)
Yup.
That was the third sentence in the prologue.
A-And I was blown away.
I mean, I was blown away.
I had to take a break after that.
So you could watch the Laker game.
Oh, come on, I mean, you get it. Yeah.
And... Well, now, look, here's the thing.
If the rest of it is anything like that "scars" stuff,
I smell a Grammy.
Grammys are for music, Pop.
I mean, they give 'em out for audiobooks.
(knocking)
It's open.
Hey.
Oh, hey, Gemma. What's up?
Nothing, I just got the sudden urge
to snuggle that sweet little baby of yours. May I?
Oh, please. Enjoy.
Ooh!
(gasps) Hi! Oh!
She is getting so big. Oh.
It goes so fast, doesn't it?
You blink and they're off to college. (chuckles)
Yeah. That'd be more like a coma than a blink, but yeah.
Aw. Don't let a minute of this pass you by, because...
(fusses) Oh. Oh.
I shouldn't have said that. I just realized
you're about to go back to work full-time.
Yeah, but my mom's gonna be taking care of Daphne.
I know! And that's great.
At least someone will be there to savor all the golden moments,
the ones you'll be missing.
Oh.
Like the first time she sees a butterfly.
Oh, or takes her first steps.
Oh, or eats her first ice cream cone
where she gets that little blob of vanilla on her nose
and it just drips and drips.
Well, yeah, but some of those moments will happen
over the weekend... Probably not.
But hey, what are you gonna do?
Your boss needs you back at work.
Okay, my dad is not my boss. We are equal partners.
Oh, that's right, I forgot.
Probably 'cause of the way he bosses you around.
♪ ♪
Oh, hey, buddy.
Working on your español?
Uh, my what?
Your Spanish.
Oh, yeah. Yep, killing it.
(chuckles) Great.
'Cause you know, I...
will not be helping you anymore.
Okay. I don't need it.
Okay, good.
Are you sure about that answer?
Oh, the...
the word for "door" isn't "Dorito," is it?
No.
Okay, buddy, listen, I...
I'm not gonna help you, I'm just gonna erase
the things that need to be redone.
All right. You, uh...
What are you doing?
I'm not writing Spanish, I'm just erasing it.
Grover, can you give us a minute?
Yeah, no problem.
Uh, Dad, take all the time you need.
Dave, what is going on?
You have to let our son make his own mistakes.
I know.
Dave! I'm done! I'm done.
Hey, man, we need to talk.
Man-to-man.
Boss-to-boss.
If-if that's okay with you, Daddy.
What's on your mind?
Look, man, I am co-owner of the Fusebox,
and I decide when it's time for me
to return to work full time, and now is not that time.
What are you talking about, Marty?
Your paternity leave is over.
Yeah, but there's still so many milestones I'd miss.
Like, what if I miss her first words?
(laughs) First words are overrated.
Your first words was "doo-doo."
Wait, Mama said my first word was "rocket."
How would I know? I was at work.
Look...
where is all this coming from, Marty?
Gemma came over and made me realize
how precious this time is.
Gemma came over?
Yeah, she really opened my eyes, Dad.
She did, did she?
Well, how helpful.
Okay. All right. Yeah.
Thank you for getting it, man. Okay.
All right. Thanks, Daddy. All right.
Well played, Gemma Johnson.
Well played.
Oh, hey, Malcolm. Whoa!
What you doing?
Dave, why are you just sitting
in your car like that?
Uh, just making sure that Grover fails Spanish.
Okay, well, I'm-a leave you to that, then. Well...
Were you putting a book in my library?
No, no, it's not a book, exactly.
It's a, uh, a literary journal.
Oh, yeah. The Trojan Horse.
I didn't know a new issue was out.
Well, it is. Hot off the presses.
There's a bookmark in it.
Is there? Uh, let me get that
up out of there. Well, hold on, hold on.
"A Rock in a Soft Place" by...
by Malcolm L. Butler.
Whoa.
Eh, I just thought some of our neighbors
might get a kick out of it, you know?
I-It's not that big a deal.
Not a big dea... Malcolm, this is huge.
Your family must be so proud of you.
Oh, they are. Yeah, yeah, my pops
has already gotten through most of the first paragraph.
Which is a paragraph more than my mama has read.
(chuckles): Hold on. What?
Malcolm, this is unacceptable.
I, for one, am honored
to have the opportunity to gaze into your soul.
Thank you?
♪ ♪
Gemma.
Calvin!
What are you doing?
Thought we should talk.
You know, clear the air.
(coughs)
Fine.
Start talking.
Look, I understand you got a situation at your school.
And I feel for you.
But you're messing with my business.
Well, the school is my business.
And if I have to play dirty to keep my best music teacher,
well, then, I'm gonna do
what I got to do.
You playing with fire, Gemma.
(laughs): Oh, oh.
If you think you can bully me, you got the wrong Johnson.
(overlapping chatter)
Hey, guys. What's up?
Nothing, I'm just getting your girl Gemma straight here.
Oh, really, Calvin?
We're really doing this, right here, right now?
Oh, right here and right now. Of course... Right here at this moment?
Okay, okay. Wait. Wait. Oh, wait, wait.
Wait-wait a minute!
What is going on here?
Gemma convinced Marty to stay on paternity leave
just so she could keep you at her school.
She manipulated him. Uh, me?
You manipulated Tina.
You used Daphne as bait just so you could get her
to quit her job and babysit,
just so you could have Marty back
at your silly little Fusebox.
Did you just call the Fusebox silly?
Did I stutter?
Okay, okay. No, no, no. Did I?
Did I stutter? Get-get, get your girl. Get your girl.
GEMMA: Yeah. Go ahead. Hold on, wait-wait a minute.
Wait a minute, now let me get this straight.
You two have been acting like selfish little brats
who only care about what benefits you?
(scoffs) Well, he was.
Okay, listen, I only care about one thing.
The school. Yes, the Fusebox. I...
Daphne.
Y... Of course. Yes. Yeah, right. Duh.
Yeah, okay. Yes, no. That makes... that makes a lot of sense.
And the best thing for her is to spend as much time
as possible with the people who love her the most.
Her parents.
Baby, you know I agree with you.
Okay. But Marty and Courtney
both have full-time jobs.
I mean, what do you expect them to do,
bring the baby to the Fusebox?
(laughs)
Calvin.
No.
Calvin. No, no, no, no, no...
Calvin.
Oh, damn.
(crying)
Yeah, I missed you, too, Daphne.
Is that my wallet? Give me my wallet.
Marty.
Where is Ms. Yvette?
(mouths) You not on the phone.
You get in here.
Okay. They throwing sippy cups.
Get in here.
I have margaritas. Ooh.
Ah, yes, Chuy, mi amigo.
(glass tapping)
If I may, a toast to my son Grover,
for earning a gentleman's C
on his Spanish paper.
A paper he wrote sin ayuda. Mm.
And without any help.
That's what I just said, but anyhoo...
(chuckles) Uh, to you, I raise a blended
strawberry mango margarita. TINA: All right.
Now to Grover and Dave.
I'm proud of you both.
Gracias, mi amor.
I mean, he d-he does love you.
I... It's progress. Drink up.
Hey. MARTY: Hey.
W... And that is not all.
I would be remiss if I did not point out
that I am not the only parent at this table whose son
has something to be proud of.
Oh, Dave, please don't. No, no, no.
M-Malcolm, Mal,
Mal-Mal-Mal-Malcolm... O-Okay. (stammers)
...has written a story that will make you laugh, think
and cry. Aw.
Okay, let's sit on down. No, no, no.
No, Mal-Malcolm, this is an accomplishment,
and it should be celebrated by the people
who love you the most.
And if you're embarrassed to toot your own horn,
I have a few amigos who will do it for you.
Guillermo, Esteban, Nestor, Jaime!
(mariachi music playing) (whoops)
Oh, come on, Dave,
why do you have to embarrass the man like that?
You know he doesn't want to make a big deal out of this.
Yeah. Actually, Mama, Pop,
I-I think I kind of do.
Look, if I'm being honest, I-I just...
Okay, hey, can y'all give us one second, please?
Thank you. Gracias, muchachos.
Love the hats. Yeah. Uh...
look, I know you guys just see me as an athlete, and
if I'm being honest, I was embarrassed
to put myself out there like this, but getting published
makes me think I can be a writer.
I know I'm grown, but I still want y'all to be proud of me.
Son. So, Mama,
Pop,
my sweet brother Marty,
read the damn 11 pages! CALVIN: Okay.
All right, all right.
And you-and you know I started it already.
I mean, that-that first paragraph-- wow.
Wow.
Malcolm, we are so proud of you.
Dave? Come on, hand over the book.
Ah, I brought copies for everyone.
Oh! CALVIN: Aw.
Guillermo! ¡Otra canción!
(band starts playing) Oh.
Captioning sponsored by CBS
and TOYOTA.
Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH access.wgbh.org