VIVIAN (V.O): The view is the same. After all that's happened with me and Aster. I can look out this window and know the view won't let me down. And I'm thankful for that.
ASTER: Too cold out there?
VIVIAN: It's just warmer in here.
ASTER: You're thinking too hard, I can feel it. What's going on?
VIVIAN: Nothing's going on, nothing's wrong. Which feels amazing but at the same time makes me nervous.
ASTER: Let's back up to you feeling amazing. I like the sound of that.
VIVIAN: Lets just stay like this.
GABE: Why now?
JODIE: You're looking for a reason? Do you really think my sister needs one? Did she have one when she left?
GABE: Her handwriting still gets to me.
Are we really going to give this to Viv? I mean, what are we supposed to do with this?
I'd like to tear it up with my teeth!
What?
GABE: Nothing. I like you all stirred up.
JODIE: Viv's finally adjusted. She's doing beautifully. This is just... so not fair to her!
GABE: No return address. Of course.
JODIE: Does it matter? What would you do if you knew where she was?
GABE: Nothing. Not anymore. I mean, we're okay. We're good here. I'm not going to let my ex wife muck things up.
JODIE: She's still Viv's mother.
GABE: You are more of a mother to her.
JODIE: Maybe I just understand now what it takes to be one. And the person who shows me every day how to be Viv's mother is her father.
GABE: Well, if she wants back in, she's gonna have to get past me.
JODIE: Gabe, whatever she wants, maybe it'll turn out to be something Vivian wants, too. Which could be a good thing.
VIVIAN: Okay, before you ask if I'm all OK because I seem excited, and slightly fluish, I have an announcement to make.
You know how I've been a tad miserable pretty much most of the time causing you to worry and be bored as hell by me?
Well, I'm here to tell you by way of apology for putting up with some of my darker moods that I am a changed woman now. And... I'm happy. You're looking looking at joy and happiness.
What?
Adults being quiet scare me.
Seriously. What?
GABE: There's a letter for you.
VIVIAN: OK, well, it can't be a rejection for my novel because I haven't written it yet.
And it's too early for college applications, so theoretically Stanford and Yale can't turn me down and break my heart until I've actually applied to them. So, why do you look how you look right now?
GABE: It's from your Mom.
VIVIAN: My mom? The missing one? I don't think so.
How do you know it's even her? What, did you read it?
GABE: No, of course not. We wouldn't do that.
VIVIAN: Well, she doesn't know me. She doesn't even know the person she's writing the letter to. She doesn't know what books I like or who my friends are.
She has no clue about anything that's happened to me. Or anything that matters. She has no say.
JODIE: I don't blame you for not trusting her. And you don't have to read the letter. But, she is reaching out.
VIVIAN: You reached out. We're living in your house. And, you know Aster!
My mother doesn't know Aster.
She doesn't get to weigh in now.
SOPHIE: We could just leave it there and walk out of here as if we never saw it.
VIVIAN: Totally. It's obvious it fell to the floor to free me from the decision to open it.
SOPHIE: Exactly.
It is a nice envelope though. It could have been one of those weird check envelopes from the office supply store.
VIVIAN: No, she was all about the stationary store. It was one of her things. She'd buy all this pretty paper with matching envelopes. She never used it though. It just sat in the drawer like she was saving it for something really important.
ELISABETH: Hey Viv, you dropped something.
Guess who finally got the keys to the car?
Okay, so what did I miss?
VIVIAN: Not as much as my mother who is now trying to ruin my life, again.
ELISABETH: This is from your mom? And you haven't opened it?
Maybe she's writing to explain. If this were my mom, I'd want to know.
VIVIAN: Yeah, but it's not your mom, because your mom is awesome.
And so is yours.
SOPHIE: Awesome may be a stretch.
VIVIAN: Do you not have the monthly mother and daughter night out?
SOPHIE: Regrettably yes.
VIVIAN: Right. Awesome.
ELISABETH: What if something happened to your mom and she couldn't reach out to you until now.
VIVIAN: What like she was an undercover spy being held captive and now upon her escape she decides to write me a letter to explain why it's not her fault she missed most of my life?
Because that may be the only reason I can think of not to hate her.
ELISABETH: There could be another reason and maybe it's in the letter.
VIVIAN: Man, I'm gonna need another muffin for this.
ELISABETH: I'm on it.
VIVIAN: She seems good now, right?
SOPHIE: She's going out for the school play again.
No one else stands a chance.
VIVIAN: Now there's something I never thought I'd see. Don't turn around-
Looks like the Sophie era has ended for Jonathan.
SOPHIE: Yep. Looks like everyone's over me.
VIVIAN: Sometimes it takes a lot of years to get over the superstar that is you.
SOPHIE: Hey do you remember when we were kids and we were at the playground way past dark and your mom came by to get us?
She sat across the park on the top of the slide just waiting for us to come off the swings for what seemed like forever.
VIVIAN: She liked us spending time together. She told me how special it was that we were connected and that's a rare gift to find in someone.
I had no idea what it meant other than it let me stay out way later than the other kids.
SOPHIE: See she had a little bit of awesome.
VIVIAN: No, I haven't read it. Can we talk about something else?
ASTER: This is kind of important Viv.
VIVIAN: Yes, I know. I just really want to talk to my girlfriend who loves me despite me avoiding the issue.
ASTER: If your girlfriend was there she'd have her arms around you.
VIVIAN: Why isn't she here?
ASTER: Because it's a school night, remember school?
VIVIAN: That's funny. Just as funny as Aunt Jodie clearing the dinning room table for Friday's sit down dinner.
ASTER: Wait, when did this upgrade from Chinese takeout on the couch?
VIVIAN: Don't worry, it's just a distraction from the mom letter. Hell, you might even get to spend the night.
ASTER: Score one for the mom letter.
VIVIAN: Yep. Score one for mom. Um, we'll talk later?
ASTER: Always.
VIVIAN: God damn it.
I don't need you now.
ASTER: I like this. I like playing house with you.
VIVIAN: I'd rather do it in a different room, but -- yeah.
ASTER: I can see us in every room. I can see us doing this.
VIVIAN: Can you?
ASTER: Baby, look. Whatever I did with someone else -- whatever feelings you had for someone else, it's part of us. It's part of our story.
VIVIAN: Not my favorite chapter.
ASTER: I'm not saying what happened didn't mean anything. It did.
It got me back to you.
VIVIAN: Don't do that with anyone else.
ASTER: Don't you.
VIVIAN: I believe I'm actually incapable of doing that with anyone else.
ASTER: There's always going to be stuff.
VIVIAN: I hate that there's always going to be stuff.
ASTER: We can handle it.
VIVIAN: Just -- when there's stuff, don't disappear.
ASTER: Don't doubt us.
VIVIAN: Are we good?
ASTER: We are so good.
VIVIAN V.O.: Look at us. Sitting here like this. Everyone I love. I guess this is what a family is.
The people you sit down with to talk about your day. And it's mine now. It's everything I want. Like nothing's missing.
Except when I remember the letter I'm carrying everywhere I go.
ASTER: I hate when people yell at their kids for spilling the milk. I mean, that's what kids do. Right? They spill things.
GABE: That happen a lot at your house?
ASTER: Actually, the one thing I dig about my parents is that they always let me make a mess. My mom -- sometimes she'd spill her drink, too. Just so I didn't feel bad.
VIVIAN: Cool.
JODIE: I love a raucous table.
GABE: The things I'm learning about you.
JODIE: Opinions bandied back and forth. Stimulating conversation. Rituals. I never had a good mealtime ritual.
ASTER: Well, you can have ours. The one where my parents won't let anyone up from the table until we've been thoroughly quizzed on the New York Times news of the week.
VIVIAN: Why am I jealous of that?
GABE: We used to do this thing when Viv was little. No food would touch our lips until there was a head count. Sort of like a prayer. You. Me. Us.
VIVIAN: When we were still an us.
If I remember, Mom invented the head count.
Don't you think it's kinda funny? Seriously. Making sure everyone's accounted for and then -- poof! Gone.
JODIE: So, Aster what about college? I mean, where will you apply?
VIVIAN: What she means is did Vivian read the letter. And no, I haven't read the letter yet. If anyone's wondering.
GABE: That woman is something. I mean, she's really something.
VIVIAN: It's okay, Dad. You can use the M word. I won't die. M-o-t-h-e-r. Everybody now!
ASTER: Hey...baby...come on.
VIVIAN: It's like I have a secret map or a key. If I open the letter then I open a door to a magic place. Or a terrible one I can't escape.
I'm sorry.
JODIE: It's okay, sweetie.
GABE: There's only one apology owed here.
VIVIAN: Please, don't get upset, Dad. I don't want you to be all mad.
GABE: I'll be good and mad if your mother's done anything to hurt you more than she already has.
JODIE: Viv, can I borrow Aster for awhile? We really need to catch up.
There's so much I don't know about you.
Politics! How do you feel about what's going on in the world right now? Because your generation, you're the ones. See, these are the things...
GABE: Viv, for a real long time it's been you and me. And now it's you, me and your Aunt Jodie. There doesn't have to be anyone else if you don't want there to be.
VIVIAN: But can I really do that? Just not read it?
GABE: There's no right or wrong here. You do what you need to do.
VIVIAN: Right now maybe you can go against tradition and tell me what to do.
GABE: Don't read it.
But part of you wants to. And I know that. That's why this is your decision to make and not mine.
But listen Viv, however you feel about your mom I'm good with it. No matter what she's done wrong, she did one big thing right and that's you. And you've been one helluva gift.
VIVIAN: Thanks, Dad.
GABE: Come on, let's go rescue your girlfriend.
ASTER: We haven't been down here in awhile.
You're not moving again are you?
VIVIAN: No.
It just seemed like the right place to take in bad news.
ASTER: Viv, you don't know if it's going to be bad news.
VIVIAN: It already is, just by its very existence.
ASTER: You have a mom. Good or bad she's still out there. This letter doesn't have to mean any more than that.
VIVIAN: Maybe I don't have to read it.
ASTER: What are you afraid it will say?
VIVIAN: It's not even about that anymore. I don't know how I'm going to feel about her after I read it. And that scares me.
She's my mom. But she left me. How could I let her back into my life?
ASTER: Maybe it's just an apology. No expectations.
VIVIAN: I don't want anything to change, Aster. I like the way things are. And it was really hard to get things to be the way they are now.
ASTER: You can't stop anything from changing. Things happen. You and I know this more than anyone.
But after the 5 minutes that it takes you to read that letter, no matter what it says, I'll still be here. That won't change.
ASTER: Are you sure?
VIVIAN: No. But do it anyway.
ASTER: "My sweet girl. My daughter. Or maybe dear Vivian is all I have the right to say."
"I've stumbled for days on the best way to open this letter to you. A letter that needs to tell you everything but of course makes up for nothing."
ASTER: We can get through this. In this moment, just believe in that.
Ready?
VIVIAN: For whatever comes.