[horns honking]
-[beeps] -[barrier opens]
[indistinct chatter]
[phone ringing]
[operatic song playing]
[imperceptible]
[Alicia] All right, baby.
All right, Mommy loves you, too.
Okay, be good for Granny. Bye-bye, baby.
Bye, bye.
So, where does Erica think you're goin'?
[Denise] She thinks I'm going to a writer's retreat.
[Alicia chuckles]
[Denise] Where does Regina think you're goin'?
[Alicia] Uh, I told her I needed a weekend to myself.
[Denise softly] Okay.
-Do you still go upstate often? -[smacks lips] Not really.
I mean, Erica's not too into the outdoors.
She's afraid a tick will bite her and give her Lyme disease.
[Alicia chuckling]
Where are we goin'? Are we going somewhere cool?
That's too many questions.
You gotta let me do my thing. It's a surprise.
Okay. Okay. You know I like surprises.
I know you do. That's what I'm doing it for you.
-Okay. -Uh-huh.
[both chuckling]
-[Denise] Keep 'em closed, all right? -[chuckles]
[Alicia] Ah…
Are we there yet?
Can I open my eyes?
[Denise] Yeah, now you can.
[Alicia] Okay.
-What? -[Denise] Mmm-hmm.
[Alicia] What? Wait a minute. [chuckling] Wait a minute.
Wait, I'm confused.
What, are we just poppin' in to say hello or somethin'?
Nah. This where we stayin'.
-They put this shit on Airbnb. -[chuckles]
Now, I am gonna warn you though,
the decor is not as Black as it once was.
-Yeah? -But it's still gonna be cool.
[Alicia] Oh, man.
Like, low-key, this is a bit weird, you know?
[Denise] It is weird.
Oh. Look at that front garden.
It hasn't changed.
Ooh, okay.
[Denise] Welcome to the past.
[Alicia] Wow.
[Denise] Look at these weird-ass fabrics.
-[Alicia chuckling] Oh, no. -Ugh.
[Alicia] Oh, no.
-What the fuck? They colonized it. -[Alicia] Oh, no.
Look at this fabric. Babe, look at this fabric.
-What the hell? -And what's that?
[Denise] Uh-uh.
Why they got a dead cat on the coffee table?
-Oh, my God, my kitchen. -I'm not drinking coffee off that.
-[Alicia] What did they do? -[Denise] Damn it.
[Alicia] Why is the table so small?
[Denise] Why they got auburn on the placemats?
[Alicia] This is mental.
[chuckles]
Look at this shit here.
Got a damn dog on a wall, wearing a mask.
Yeah. You're not gonna be happy with that either.
-Super bland. -[sighs]
But that ain't shit. Behind this door right here…
-Yeah? -Peak caucacity.
[chuckles]
-Go ahead. -[gasps]
No. No.
[Denise] It's like a Law and Order: SVU episode.
Who sleeps in here?
Shit, I hope some little kids.
[Alicia] Mmm-mmm.
They'll come alive and kill us in our sleep.
Like, this one, yeah? Got a knife, like… [clicks tongue]
-It's all right, I'm strapped. -[chuckles]
-[Denise sighs] -Mmm-mmm.
I can't. I gotta get the fuck out of here.
No, don't go and leave me here.
You know, Granny passed away.
-What? -Yeah.
-She did? -She's gone.
I loved her, man. She was like my granny.
[chuckling] I know. She loved you, too, actually.
Yeah. Damn.
She was asking after you.
Um, yeah, man. In fact, it was about a month ago, actually. Pretty recent.
Shit. I'm sorry.
[mumbles] Yeah.
It was weird 'cause when they called me to be like,
"She ain't got much time left."
Or whatever…
I got on FaceTime, obviously.
And I was like, "Hi, Granny." You know, "How you doin'?"
And you know when it's just like they're there, but they're not there.
It's like they're going through the realm, I don't know…
[Denise] Mmm-hmm.
Then she passed away about a week later.
It was really odd.
Sort of quite like…
-It's weird, I know. -Empty.
And it's hard 'cause you're so far away from them,
you don't get to grieve in the same way.
I don't know.
[breathes deeply] But… Yeah.
And what's mad…
[chuckles] It's actually sweet. I think it's really sweet.
…is that, you know how Granny had that laugh?
-That loud laugh? -Yeah.
When Lola laughs,
like really laughs, she's got the same laugh.
[Denise] Hmm.
-It's quite nice, 'cause-- -She passed it down.
Right? It's like, "Okay, she's gone,
but, you know, she's still here for me, through my baby."
-Yeah. She's still with us. -You know?
Amen.
[softly] Yeah.
I know.
She did cook up a good curry goat, man.
Hell yeah, I still remember that goat.
-That curry goat, tender. -Damn.
-Fall off the bone. Foot-rubbing good. -Did you learn how to do that?
-No, I didn't. -That's the problem. Shit.
I know. I fucked it.
-[laughing] -Now, I want some.
Granny!
[both chuckle]
-She out there. -[chuckling] Yeah.
Mmm.
And how's your new job goin'?
The new job, like, fucking sucks.
It's just… I don't know.
I hate it. I hate having to answer to people.
I hate having to…
[scoffs] I hate having to be a sheep, man.
That's what you are when you work those cubicle jobs.
Your boss is like,
"Hey, can you come a little earlier on Monday?"
-[mimicking sheep] Yeah. -[chuckling]
"Can you work this weekend?"
[mimicking sheep] Nah.
It's true, man.
It's like, the food we gotta give 'em,
that's like our checks.
Here's your check. There you go.
We're like, "Come on. 'Cause I need to eat."
Yeah, it's just… It's weird when you've seen the other side, you know?
Being successful is like being in heaven.
And… when the success goes away,
it's like somebody comin' up behind you,
tapping you on your shoulder saying,
"You gotta go to hell for a little while."
It's like, hell wouldn't be as bad if I didn't know what heaven felt like.
Right.
So, I'm in hell right now at that job.
Uh, but, you know, I got insurance.
Pays the bills.
[Alicia] What about the writing, though, you think you're gonna…
start?
[Denise] I mean, I don't know.
[chuckling] After that second book got dragged,
and people said it wasn't shit…
I don't know. I guess…
I started to think I wasn't shit.
You can't believe the good shit people say about you
and not believe the bad.
Just made me not want to… put myself out there again.
So, uh… So, yeah. Um…
I'll do the sheep thing for a while.
You know, I miss weird stuff.
Like what?
Like…
picking up candy wrappers and towels. [chuckles]
Oh, there's plenty of those on the floor at my crib right now,
-if you wanna come over and assist. -[chuckles]
We'd appreciate it.
How's your own life?
How's… [in affected voice] Erica?
[chuckles]
Why do you always say her name, like… Like, weird.
-[laughing] I don't know. -It's ridiculous.
I have to. It's my duty.
-Uh, she's good. She's good. -Yeah?
Yeah.
How's… [in affected voice] Regina?
[laughing]
You know what? She's… She's okay.
She's okay.
I don't know.
Why the people we're supposed to be have gotta be so damn boring, man?
[chuckles]
It's like, you have all these relationships,
and you meet someone.
It doesn't work out.
So then you meet someone else.
They don't have the same issues as the other person,
so you're like, "This is gonna work."
[sighs] And that doesn't quite fit.
You start to go, "Wait. Fuck!"
"What if it's me? What if I'm the problem here?"
Definitely not you.
[both chuckle]
You are not the problem.
Relationships are messy.
Just gotta… keep searchin' till you find that person
-that's willing to put up with your mess. -Mmm.
How's your mess?
-Erica's fine. -Mmm.
She is… I don't know. She is…
Boring.
[both chuckle]
-Uh, no. She's not boring. -[chuckles]
She's just not you.
[Alicia sighs]
God, are we bad people?
Oh, Jesus Christ. Don't do it.
-I know. I'm just saying… -Stop. Stop yourself.
-Okay. We've talked about this. -Hmm.
What did we say?
-We cannot talk about the "thing…" -[chuckles]
-…or else the "thing" will make us spiral. -Hmm.
No spiraling.
Say it again.
No spiraling.
[Alicia sighs]
So, I got you a little something from my store.
Oh, my goodness.
-I like the new logo. -Yeah?
Yeah. Looks good.
[softly] Check it out.
-Oh, my… What? -[chuckles]
I've been looking for this.
I know. It's first edition.
[scoffs] Of course it is. Jesus.
-Thank you, babe. -You're welcome.
Man, I gotta say, you know,
you really did it.
-I'm proud of you. -[chuckles]
Thank you.
It means a lot to hear that from you.
But, low-key…
like, when we were together, it was really hard.
You know, 'cause I was watching you, and you had all these goals,
and you're, like, achieving them.
I was looking at my life and being like,
"I don't have any of that." You know?
And I think, like, part of me resented you for that.
-Hmm. -But, you know, now I have it,
[chuckling] and I really see what it does to you.
-Yeah. -Do you know what I mean?
Like, I see what it does to people.
You know, like, there's this, um…
There's this couple, in LA, doing a similar thing to me,
but they are specializing in Black memorabilia.
-Right? -Oh, yeah. I think I heard of them.
Yeah, they're fucking shit.
Yeah, they're shit, they're shitty people.
-[laughs] -Whenever I see 'em,
they act all stush like they don't know who I am.
-Oh, shit. -[chuckles]
Look at you. Ready to be recognized.
-Okay. -[laughing]
I know! I know.
I didn't realize I could be this competitive. [laughing]
Shit. It happens to the best of us, okay?
-It's a good thing. -Yeah.
I got something for you, too.
-You do? -Yeah.
-Come on. -Mmm.
Okay.
-Not as intellectual, but, you know… -Ooh. [chuckles]
Let me see. Thank you.
-Can you hold this for me? -Yeah.
Okay. All right.
-I mean, look… -Okay. Look at her.
-We gonna get away, let's get away. -[chuckles] Let's do it properly!
Ooh!
Bathroom around the corner, if you wanna try it on.
You want me to?
It's up to you, though, you know?
-I will oblige you. I'm gonna-- -[exclaims]
-[Alicia] Listen, she is cute. -Yes.
-[Alicia] She is slinky. -She gonna be even cuter on your body.
-[laughing] Okay. -Okay? Fill it out.
[zipper zips]
[Alicia exhales] Right. Okay.
[grunts softly]
[softly] Wait a minute, wait a minute.
Denise!
You need some help?
[grunts softly] Can you come here?
Happily.
-What's going on? -I'm stuck.
Oh, shit.
[Alicia chuckling] It's so small.
-What the hell? -Are you crazy? This is tiny.
[Denise] Okay, hold on. We may have to cut this off.
-Shit. -Don't laugh. Don't laugh at me right now.
You think I've got the same body I did before I gave birth?
This is mental.
-[Denise] I don't know sizes and shit. -[sighing] Oh, my God.
I look ridiculous.
We can never talk about this ever.
[Denise] You still look really good to me, man.
Fuck all this. Let's just get naked and get it poppin'.
[Alicia chuckles]
Okay. Well, please just give him a hug from me.
Okay. Thank you. All right. Bye.
-[chuckles] -Is everything all right?
-Justin's teething. -Oh.
Yeah. So he's not the happiest camper right now,
but you know about that shit, man. God.
You know, I got a tip for you.
Um, have you ever tried chamomile granules?
I don't even know what that is.
It's, uh, heaven-sent.
-You just rub it on your baby's gums… -Mmm-hmm.
-[snaps fingers] Sorts it out. -Okay.
-Try it. -I'll deliver that message ASAP.
Yeah, do. Yeah.
How old is he now?
He just turned two.
Yeah, just had a birthday. And my mom got him a car.
-[splutters] Like, what kind of car? -Well…
-Okay. Wait, I know that sounds crazy. -It sounds crazy.
-No. My mom lives next to this family. -Right.
And their… their kid has a little motorized car.
Okay.
So, she has to be competitive about everything…
[laughing] Yeah?
…and decided she wanted to get Justin a motorized car as well.
-Right. Hmm. -So, I come home.
This little one pulls up on me in a baby Audi.
[laughing] That's… Don't. Stop.
-Okay? With tinted windows. -[snorts]
Stop it. Your mom is too much.
So he hits the button and the window comes down.
And he sticks his head out and says,
"Ma, how come you ain't got no Audi?"
-With bass in his voice. -He's too rude.
-It's like, "What? What is happening?" -He's too rude.
-Oh, gosh. Yeah, it's crazy. Um… -Jesus.
Lola's really into tractors at the minute.
-[snorts] -Oh, my God.
I don't know what happened. [splutters] I took her strawberry picking,
and at one point, we had to get in a tractor.
Look, all I know is I cannot put her jacket on
to leave her house
without watching a 30-minute BBC documentary on tractors.
-And it's fucking boring as fuck. I just… -So random.
Maybe she wants to be a farmer or something when she grows up.
It sounds like she gonna be family when she grows up.
-[laughing] Yeah. -[chuckles]
-Which is exciting. -I mean, it'd be brilliant.
Jesus.
-I cannot believe we're in our old house… -Mmm.
…trading war stories about our kids.
God, I know.
-I know. -Man.
Crazy.
I keep thinking about that first year with Justin.
-It was so hard. -Mmm.
Like, every day was like going to war.
But at least I had somebody with me to go to war with.
Yeah, yeah.
I just don't know how you did it by yourself.
Yeah.
Yeah, sometimes, neither do I, to be honest.
It was hard, it was definitely hard.
But at same time, I kinda liked doing it by myself as well. You know?
And there were really hard days and really, really hard nights, but…
[Denise sighs]
There were also moments where…
I don't know…
Crossed my mind that, like, if we were doin' it together,
that… we would laugh through it,
and then, somehow, it'd be easier. You know?
-Yeah. -But… [exhales deeply]
I'm sorry I wasn't there to make you laugh.
Mmm. It's all right.
What made you decide to wanna have kids, anyway?
When'd you stop being scared?
Uh, I don't think I ever stopped being scared. [chuckles]
-Okay. Right. -I'm still horrified.
-[chuckles] -Um… [scoffs]
I don't know. I just…
-gathered up the courage to finally jump. -Mmm. Mmm.
But if we didn't go through what we went through,
I don't know if I would've gotten there.
[softly] Yeah.
[smacks lips]
-Okay, hypothetical for you… -Okay? Mmm. Okay.
[both chuckle]
-Let's say… -Yeah?
-…we're at a party. -Mmm-hmm.
-Maxwell's playin'. -Love him.
-You don't know me. -Mmm.
I don't know you.
And I asked you out on a date.
Would you say yes?
Yeah.
I said yes then, I'd say yes now.
Yeah, but then, I was shinier.
[chuckles]
-I was about to glow up. -Mmm.
And now, I'm just like everybody else.
And what's wrong with being like everybody else?
Everything.
You know, I saw your wedding.
What? What you mean?
Yeah, it popped up on Insta stories.
-Are you serious? -Yes.
Do you know how many mutual friends we got?
-A million. All right? -[laughing] That's horrible.
It was like the whole day. I watched your whole wedding.
Oh, gosh. That's horrible. I'm so sorry.
Nah, man.
-My only question is… -Yeah?
…why was everybody so damn happy that you was marrying somebody else?
I mean, they were sweating while doing the electric slide.
Talkin' about…
♪ Finally, it happened to her ♪
♪ She found someone that's on her level ♪
-I was like, "God damn! Shit." -[laughing] Fuck.
And I loved that you used the same caterer, too.
-Oh, no. I felt so bad. -I was like, "Really?"
I felt so bad. I felt so bad about it,
but the food is so good, I couldn't.
I know the food is good.
I still dream about the damn chicken with the honey-butter.
It was so good.
Me and Erica wanted them for our wedding, but they was booked.
-[laughing] -Sheesh.
-See, that's why after that day… -Yeah?
…I got off all social media.
I was like, "Fuck this. I'm switching to the flip."
You know what? It's still crazy to… Like, good crazy,
but it's crazy to me that you did that.
I'm lookin' at Erica, man, "Bitch stole my fucking dream."
I mean, I don't know. The dream has turned into a nightmare…
Oh, yeah?
…because the flip don't do shit.
Like, I can't check the weather. I can't get directions.
-Yeah? -I can't do shit.
That's why she want me to get a smartphone.
But then, what do you do when she's not around?
Well, I had to really figure out ride-sharing
'cause that one the flip definitely don't do.
So I had to go online, and I found this company,
it's called…
[both chuckle]
It's called "GoGoGrandpa." Right?
It's a driver service for old people.
You call this number, and this man on the other end is like,
-[loudly] "Denise! Where are you?" -[laughing]
"And where are you trying to go?"
I just tell 'em where I'm at.
They pull up. I know they expecting some old woman
-from 227. -Well, yeah. Yeah.
And my Black ass smelling like weed,
and wearing retro Jordans gets in the car.
They're like, "Bitch, if you don't call a Uber…"
[both laugh]
So weird.
-[Denise] It's ridiculous. -Oh, God.
-[Alicia chuckling] -[exhales]
["Back To Life" playing over speakers]
-You knew the words, didn't you? -I did.
Hey. Uh. Hey.
♪ Back to reality ♪
♪ Back to the here and now Oh, yeah… ♪
Get low.
Oh. [laughs]
Ah. Oh, hey, uh, uh.
-[laughing] -[groans]
You need help gettin' up, babe?
[laughing]
[singing] ♪ How ever do you need me ♪
♪ How ever do you want me ♪
♪ How ever do you need me ♪
♪ How ever do you want me ♪
Hey. Hey.
♪ How ever do you want me ♪
♪ How ever do you need me ♪
Oh, shit, you gotta…
Hey. [laughing]
♪ Back to life ♪
♪ Back to the present time… ♪
Now we gotta do it.
What? Oh, wait.
I don't know how to do that one.
[laughing]
[Alicia laughing]
What you laughin' at?
You know, I just…
I love that you don't have to hide anything from me anymore.
I ain't gotta hide shit from you.
We ain't married no more. Okay?
-I will happily eat this MoonPie in bed. -Mmm-hmm.
-I got Sour Patches over here, too. -Of course you do.
Shit. You want a bite?
-Yeah, okay. Go on, then. -Yeah.
It's a good batch.
-Oh, my God. Oh, my God. -Mmm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah.
-You heat that up in the microwave? -Of course.
I know how to eat MoonPie.
[Alicia] That's nice, man.
[Denise grunts]
-[Alicia] Mmm. -[sighs]
-You know what's weird? -[exhales]
Hmm?
Since we've been doing this, I've just felt so relaxed.
Me, too.
[sighs]
It's probably 'cause we finally took our masks off.
-Hmm. -You know? Like, let our guard down.
Mmm.
It's nice.
It's temporary.
[both chuckle]
'Cause, you know…
come Monday… it's like,
"Back to our regularly scheduled programming."
Should I have fought for us?
What? No. Come here.
No. Don't… Don't think like that.
You did what was right for you,
I did what was right for me.
I just sometimes worry,
like, how long can we do this?
You know?
Do we just keep goin' until we get caught?
I don't know. I just…
Just scared it's not gonna end well.
Hey, you know what? Let's not do that.
Like, I hear you, I feel you, but let's not do that.
-[sighs] -In this moment, right?
Mmm-hmm?
We're just two bad bitches laid up in these old people's home.
Yeah?
'Round the corner from, like, 500 teddy bears. [chuckles]
And everything's wonderful.
Yeah.
Everything's wonderful.
[operatic song playing]