We open in the kitchen of Manning Manor, where Lily is frantically smoothing her shirt and asking Zoe, "Is this blouse okay?" Zoe looks up from her cereal bowl and assures Lily that it's pretty. Lily strains to see herself in the glass of the cupboards and frets, "I look like his mother!" She amends, "Not like his mother, but..." A mother? Fat chance. Grace breezes past, asking, "Whose mother?" Lily reminds Grace that it's Family Day at Aaron's group home, and that she wants to look..."Sane?" Grace supplies. Lily tsks and rummages in her purse, getting a faraway look.
Soliloquy Lily says, "When you go there, you feel just how much work it must be to be...insane, I guess."
Lily grabs her things and searches for her keys. Zoe hands them to her, and Lily asks how she always knows where the keys are. Lily gives Zoe a kiss, and Grace bounds toward the fridge, reminding Lily to take the cookies they made for Aaron. She asks Lily to give Aaron a kiss for her, and Zoe seconds the motion. Lily blows out the door, and Zoe presses up to Grace at the counter, bubbling, "Guess what?" Grace idly flips through the mail and acts bored, telling Zoe not to make her beg. Zoe says that Jessie found pictures of Aaron in the attic, from when he was in high school. Zoe says he was "always with all these girls. And he was cute. Like, deeply cute."
Fade to the two of them on Zoe's bed, sifting through a box of old black-and-white photos. "Look at that! He's juggling!" Zoe exclaims, passing a picture to Grace. She asks whether Grace knew that Aaron could juggle. "I didn't know he could do anything," Grace murmurs with a trace of awe.
The photograph of Aaron fades into the real Aaron, sprawled in an armchair and listening to the visiting family members introduce themselves. Shelley, the group-home worker, turns her attention to a patient named Miriam, and asks how she's doing. Miriam is played by Ally Sheedy. A few posters have commented that she looks reminiscent of her Breakfast Club character, before the makeover. Looking at her streaky, cakey, blacked-out eyes, I'd say not only did the makeover not take, but she hasn't bothered washing off a single layer of the makeup she's applied since. She's not exactly on a first-name basis with Mr. Sassoon, either. Miriam's father, Mr. Miller, answers for her, saying that she's doing really well. He starts talking about Miriam's dead mother, but it's hard to hear what he's saying, because Miriam starts talking over him. It's hard to tell what she's saying, too, but I think we're meant to assume it doesn't make much sense. The camera pans over to Aaron, who's now sitting up, fully attentive, and hanging on Miriam's every word. He clearly adores her. Lily glances from Aaron to Miriam and looks vexed. Miriam and her father trail off just as Miriam says, "And it is true that he is my only child." Mr. Miller places a hand on her knee as a signal to stop, but Miriam keeps on talking, saying, "So you go Daddy...go Daddy Lion...Rowr! Rrrrowrrr!" With an edge to his voice, Mr. Miller commands her to stop. Lily folds her arms across her chest and shifts uncomfortably. Aaron shrinks into his chair. Miriam stares fiercely at her father but finally relents, her face softening into a smile. "Oh yeah, you're right. You're right, Herbie," she says softly. She whispers "okay" to herself repeatedly. Across the room, Aaron suddenly has a sucker. He pops it out of his mouth and waves to Miriam with it.
Cut to Lily and Shelley walking down the hallway together. Shelley says that an independent-living situation has opened up, and that she has to recommend someone for it. "So, you're recommending Aaron?" Lily asks uncertainly. Shelley says that she believes Aaron is ready to try it -- with help -- and assures Lily that "the place is close" and that she'll check in on him regularly. She adds that Lily and Judy can stop by whenever they want, too. Shelley leaves Lily at the door to Aaron's room, urging her to think about it. Lily looks doubtful.
Inside, Lily finds Aaron sitting on his bed, fiddling with clocks that Miriam gave him for his birthday. "Miriam says that if you're going to live independently, you need clocks," he informs her. "Do you agree?" he asks. Lily hesitates and then says that she guesses so. She clears a sweater off the chair to Aaron's bed, and he grabs the sweater protectively, admonishing her that it's Miriam's. Lily apologizes as Aaron holds the sweater to his face and takes a big sniff. He declares that Miriam is "a wise woman." Lily lies that she can see that. Aaron says, "Miriam is a name in the Bible." Lily says she thinks she knew that. Aaron quotes, "'Where she walked, fields burst into bloom.'" Lily remembers the woman's stringy hair and unwashed face and silently doubts that it applies in this case. Testing, she says she's never heard him mention Miriam before. Aaron retrieves something from his dresser drawer, shuts it decisively, and decides to change the subject, telling Lily matter-of-factly that Miriam is in a movie. Lily plays along: "She is?" "Mmm-hmm. Casablanca. We watch it every night after meds. Just me and her." Aaron lies back on his bed, staring at the ceiling and dreaming aloud: "When I get my own place, I'm going to play golf, grill chicken, and have dogs. Miriam says the sky's the limit." Lily tries to keep the pity out of her face as she listens. Aaron bolts up and leans forward urgently to ask, "What does that mean?" Lily says she guesses it means that the possibilities are limitless. Aaron leans back and glances at the window beside his bed, saying that "the sky is a phenomenon." Lily agrees, her voice steeped in sadness. Aaron reaches into his shirt pocket and mutters that Miriam said he should write things down. He produces a sheet of creased notebook paper and holds it out for Lily's inspection. "Aaron's list of dreams..." Lily reads, scanning the page. "Long list," she says, looking up at him with a small smile. Aaron tells her that he loves Miriam. He folds up his list and returns it to his pocket, saying that he only wants to live independently if he can live with Miriam. Lily rubs her forehead wearily, and Aaron drops his head to stare at the floor, sensing that he's disappointed her somehow. She asks whether he's talked to Shelley about it. Aaron avoids her eyes and the question. "Aaron?" Lily prods. When he finally looks up, he says, "'Where she walks, fields burst into bloom.'" He looks at Lily beseechingly. Well, there's not much to say to that, so Lily tells him that the girls made him some cookies. His reaction is pure glee. Lily's smile fades as soon as Aaron's distracted by the Tupperware.
Cut to the kitchen at Manning Manor, where Lily's making dinner and Judy's hanging around. Lily asks whether she knows Miriam. Judy says, "I think she is so beautiful. Go, Aaron!" Lily whines, "Why didn't you warn me? He says that he loves her!" Judy gushes that it's great. "Judy," Lily tsks. "What?" Judy asks, sensing a battle. Lily tightly says to skip it. Judy insists that she just go ahead and say it, and half-jokes, "I already judge you." Lily frets that Aaron doesn't know what he loves, and that Miriam doesn't even look like she can take care of herself, let alone Aaron, and that Aaron's going to need a lot of help if he's going to live on his own. "Yeah, isn't that where we come in?" Judy asks, refusing to see the obstacle.
Later, in the bathroom, Lily's kneeling in front of Rick so he can put in her eye drops. He casts an imaginary spell as the drops fall, saying that when she awakens the morning, she'll fall in love with the first person she sees. Obviously, he's hoping she looks at him before the mirror this time. Lily asks whether it bothers him that she has "a crazy brother." Easily, he says, "It doesn't bother me that you have a crazy sister." Lily drapes herself over an exercise ball and moans that Aaron claims to love "this girl." She complains about the list Miriam has Aaron writing, saying he'll never get to do most of the things on it. Rick makes a little joke, but Lily's not in a laughing mood. Sighing, she sits up and says it's bad for Aaron to get "unbalanced." "So, love is bad," Rick muses, pondering the dollop of toothpaste on his brush as if it contains life's answers in addition to dentifrice. Lily mutters that Aaron is the most sensitive person she's ever met, and that he has "no sense of proportion" when he falls in love. Rick scoots over and wraps his arms around her from behind, murmuring that he has no sense of proportion when it comes to her. Rick manages to kiss Lily and hold the toothbrush in his mouth at the same time. No mean feat, that.
Cut to Zoe giving herself a pedicure. The doorbell chimes in the background, and Lily calls for someone to answer the door. Zoe bellows that she's doing her nails, so Lily yells for Grace. Grace throws open the door and experiences a moment of sheer terror, convinced that she's about to be the victim of a home invasion. Miriam stands on the threshold, a Big Gulp in one hand, a cigarette in the other, and enough charcoal on her eyes to charbroil a side of beef. Miriam exhales a huge cloud of toxic shit in Grace's face and then asks, "Mind if I smoke?" Grace scrinches up her face and says, "Excuse me?" Miriam stammers, "It's polite to ask, right? It's good manners?" Grace is at an utter loss for words. She's saved when Aaron comes bounding up, also clutching a Big Gulp, and explains that he took the long way. Relieved that there's an explanation for this woman's presence that doesn't involve Grace's being chopped up and stored in freezer bags, Grace smiles and welcomes them inside.
Once inside, Aaron makes the introductions, mentioning that Miriam is his better half. As Miriam extinguishes her butt in her Big Gulp, Aaron leans in and whispers to Grace, "Can you tell me what that means?" Before Grace can answer, Zoe appears on the stairs. Zoe gets one look at Miriam and thinks twice, but Grace introduces them, so Zoe descends. Miriam belts out an enthusiastic "Hey Zoe!" while Grace explains to Aaron that she's not sure what the expression means, although she thinks it means men are the worse half. Overhearing this gem of wisdom, Miriam exclaims with glee and laughs knowingly. Lily, aroused by the ruckus, appears at the top of the stairs. "Aaron?" she asks, surprised. Aaron tells her that he and Miriam "came to mix on a social level." Lily asks whether the people at the group home know where they are. Miriam widens her eyes, cracking the black crust, and lies that they do. Aaron quickly follows her lead. Miriam steps forward and hands Lily a huge plastic bag, saying, "Have candy, Lily." Lily thanks her and then asks how the two of them got there. Miriam explains that they "took the bus -- [they] get free bus-riding lessons -- and sometimes [she's] Rosa Parks, except [she] doesn't let it get around, and the driver was Ralph Kramden today, and that [she] was Alice, his wife --" Aaron hugs himself and fidgets, sensing the discomfort of the others in the foyer. He places a hand on Miriam's shoulder to quiet her. "Okay," Lily says, forcing a smile. She offers to take their coats.
Time passes, and we cut to the bunch of them in the living room, where Aaron and Miriam are snuggling on the couch. Lily carries in a tray of tea and asks Grace to grab the cups. Setting down the tray on the coffee table, she exclaims in dismay, "What are these doing here? Grace?" The camera cuts to a handful (no pun intended) of Playgirls. Miriam pipes up that they're a "hostess gift." Zoe peeks over Lily's shoulder and looks as if she's been goosed. She runs from the magazines. As Lily stares disbelievingly at the porn, Miriam says matter-of-factly, "There's some great studs in there. Yeah, some of them were my husbands and some were my wives and..." She trails off, seeing the displeasure on Lily's face. She tries again: "And you have a very nice house and garden. Sorry." She buries her face in Aaron's shoulder. Lily assures her that it's okay. Grace returns with the cups, and Miriam chimes in importantly, "Oh, [Aaron] likes mostly milk and just a little bit of tea." Lily's hackles raise. She says she knows. "I want to be with Miriam, Lily," Aaron blurts. Lily gently says she knows; he already told her. "We ran away," he announces. Lily didn't see that one coming. Aaron rambles that the board-and-care wouldn't let them be together, and that he has to be with Miriam. "I have to have shoe trees," he adds. I can relate to that. He continues, "And vacuum cleaners and coffee cups and --" Lily cuts him off with a firm "Aaron!" Miriam glances up at him and whispers that he should get out his list. Lily watches sadly as he unfolds the well-worn page.
Later, Lily, Rick, and Judy are huddled in the kitchen, debating how to handle the unexpected visit. Judy suggests calling Shelley. Rick asks if "they're even allowed to leave" the home. Judy's voice shoots up an octave as she reminds them that the home isn't a prison. Lily yanks open the fridge, muttering that she doesn't know why the whole thing is freaking her out so much. Oh, I can think of a reason or two. Rick rubs her back. Lily straightens up and snaps, "I had a pound and a half of shrimp in here. Where is it?"
Cut, not surprisingly, to Miriam, stuffing her face with said crustaceans. She takes a bite of one and drops it back in the bowl with the rest. Gross. The camera pans back and we see that she's seated with Aaron, Grace, and Zoe in the living room. Grace asks how they met, and Aaron says they were on the same meds. "And we started talking," Miriam slurps around a mouthful of shrimp. "And her teeth were musical notes," Aaron says, reveling in the sight of her inhaling the shrimp. "Baby! You never said that before," Miriam squeals, abandoning the shrimp to inhale Aaron instead. She straddles him and they make sucky noises. This is starting to remind me of a David Lynch movie. Grace and Zoe fight the urge to run screaming from the room. Or maybe that's just me.
Lily gets Shelley on the phone and asks what they should do. Shelley, ever unruffled, confirms that it's not a problem for Aaron to be there. Miriam, however, isn't authorized to stay anywhere but at the home. Lily covers the mouthpiece and relays the info to Judy, trying to keep the relief out of her voice. This gives Shelley just enough time to reconsider: "I don't know. Maybe running away was enough trauma for one day. Let her stay the night. I'll cover for you. It's not illegal." Lily's heart sinks, and she questions, "It isn't?" Shelley laughs and says that the home isn't a prison. Someone off-screen calls for her, and with that, Lily's left to deal with Miriam. Judy asks what Shelley said. "I guess they're both staying," Lily manages to choke out.
Cut to the entire herd assembled around a spread of take-out in the dining room. Lily announces that Miriam and Aaron can spend the night, and Rick pipes up that Jessie is at her mom's for the night, so they can have her room. I swear, Zoe heaves a visible sigh of relief that Miriam's greasy head won't be rolling around all over her pillow cases. For some reason, Lily thinks it prudent to mention that Miriam will have to return to the home in the morning. Aaron's visibly upset by the news. Judy jumps in to explain gently that Miriam doesn't have her father's permission to live away from the home. Aaron protests that she doesn't need permission: "She voted in the last election." Miriam shares that she voted for Ralph Nader. Rick absorbs this info with pursed lips, as if that tidbit alone confirms that Miriam is not sane. I'll just keep my political views to myself.
From the kitchen, Zoe calls for Lily. Lily rushes in and panics at the sight of a pot smoking on the burner. She flings it off the heat with a yelp, and then races to the sink to run water over her hand. Miriam flutters close behind her, wringing her hands and urgently repeating that she's sorry. She says, "I was making tea. I'm good at tea." Lily, fighting to remain calm, asks why she didn't put any water in the pot, then. Miriam blurts that other people's houses scare her. Lily murmurs that it's okay; they're all fine. "We're all fine," Miriam repeats, trying to calm herself. Aaron clings to her shoulder. Rick tries to lighten the mood by asking who wants ice cream after dinner. Everybody jumps on it, and Judy asks, "Now, where were we?" Lily brings the conversation screeching back to Miriam and the home. Aaron cries out at the mention of taking Miriam back to the board-and-care. Whispering, he asks Judy and Lily why Miriam has to go back. They whisper that Shelley said so. "I'm not going back," Miriam barks. Gently, Lily says she thinks that's for Miriam's dad to decide. Miriam shrieks that she didn't vote for him. She practically bares her teeth, and Lily looks taken aback at the sight. I guess it's a safe bet that Miriam probably doesn't brush all that often. Aaron murmurs that he doesn't understand. Lily starts trying to explain it to him, but he gets agitated, waving his fists and winding up for an episode. He heads for the wall and slumps down against it, rambling that they need their own "kitchen with walls and windows and stuff like that." Judy crouches in front of him and tries to reassure him that he will have all of those things. He grabs his head and starts to cry, saying, "I don't understand why they want me to be alone when I am already." Judy's about to reach out and comfort him, but Aaron lashes out, screaming, "I don't understand!" and kicking over a chair. Lily watches sadly.
Soliloquy Lily perches on a chair and tells us about the younger Aaron, and how he went to clown school when he was eighteen. "He was an amazing juggler," she shares.
We cut to Soliloquy Aaron, effortlessly juggling three pins.
Soliloquy Lily voice-overs that while he was at school he met a girl named Jaimie Davenport, who trained horses at the circus door.
In the kitchen, Judy and Lily watch helplessly as Miriam cradles a huddled Aaron in her arms, trying to comfort him.
Soliloquy Lily continues: "One night he called to say that he wasn't going back to school in the fall. He was going to marry Jaimie Davenport and join the circus."
Miriam whispers for Aaron to get out his list. Snuffling, he obliges and runs his fingers over the soothing words.
Later, Aaron's lying on the couch with his head in Miriam's lap, blissfully calm. In the kitchen, Judy and Lily are talking as Lily wipes up the sink. "What do you mean, they remind you of you and Sam?" Lily asks, no doubt worrying that she's now got two unstable siblings on her hands. Judy smiles and says dreamily, "You know, when it's working with someone, and you start to get your own list of dreams." Right, like Janine getting full custody of Jamian, and Sam actually becoming a grown-up? Lily flings the sponge in the sink with a dismissive flick of the wrist and declares that it's not the same at all. Judy asks why. Because Aaron's dreams are actually possible compared to Judy's? Lily says that Judy has no idea what happens to Aaron when he gets attached to someone. Judy asks what she means. Lily catches herself and tells Judy to forget it. She lowers her voice and says that she just doesn't want to see him hurt. Judy points out that he already is hurt, and that this is the first time he's been able to want things, and that she thinks Miriam "is helping him get there." Judy gives voice to what we've all been thinking, admitting, "Okay, maybe she could use a bit more shampoo, a little less makeup." She adds that she thinks they should "thank god" for Miriam nonetheless. Lily doesn't look so sure.
Later, Lily ventures hesitantly into the attic, where she finds Miriam seated on the floor, pulling things out of a shoe. Don't ask me. Lily asks if Miriam has everything she needs, and offers her extra blankets. "You don't like me," Miriam says without looking up. "What do you mean? I like you very much," Lily lies, taking a seat in the nearest chair and sounding concerned. Miriam insists that she doesn't and adds, "I'm not very likable." She bares her teeth in a semblance of a smile.
"I, of course, had already imagined the girl that Aaron would marry. I even had a name for her: Caroline." Lily smiles at the fantasy, saying that Aaron and Caroline would "meet at Oberlin and travel to Europe and read Steppenwolf to each other in trains."
Lily leans forward and chides, "Oh, Miriam, how can you say that? I know Aaron likes you a whole lot." Miriam's eyes leap to Lily, wanting so badly to believe her. "You think so?" she asks. Lily assures her that it's true, and Miriam grimaces self-consciously.
Soliloquy Lily continues to contrast Miriam against her fantasy, saying that Caroline would be a pediatrician, and every year she and Lily go to New York together for three days to "see some shows."
Miriam tells Lily that Aaron is going to get a job. Lily cocks her head as if she didn't hear right. Miriam explains that they need money, because she needs some real pearls, and she doesn't believe that wives should...Lily butts in to make sure she heard correctly: Aaron is really getting a job? "Lesbians work, but not wives," Miriam replies. Lily surveys her for a second and realizes that the hope of having an actual conversation is gone. Miriam informs her that "Leno is a lesbian" and she and Aaron are going to be guests on his show. Lily runs her hands through her hair to keep from throttling Miriam.
"They marry in Paris, Aaron and Caroline," Soliloquy Lily smiles. "On one of those boats, on the Seine, with the lights...what are they called?"
Lily and Miriam are interrupted by Aaron, who pauses at the top of the stairs and surveys them apprehensively. Lily turns and asks if he has everything he needs. He mumbles that he does. "You sure?" Lily asks. Aaron steps toward Miriam, saying with relish, "Yes. Miriam has substantial breasts." He leans over to give her a kiss, while Lily looks on uncomfortably. Realizing that she's not really needed, she says good night and heads downstairs. She takes her time, watching as Miriam slaps an ill-fitting, curly blonde wig on her head and primps for Aaron. He sighs appreciatively and reaches for her hand.
Lily crawls into bed to Rick, wearing for the third time this season the t-shirt my boyfriend made. And, yes, I do have to point it out every time it's on. "Rick I'm going to say something terrible," she warns him. Rick plumps his pillow and licks his chops: "Great, I've been waiting." Lily hisses, "Zoe's right: [Miriam] smells!" Rick points out that Aaron smells a little, too. "Oh, much, much less!" Lily insists. She frets that Aaron wants to marry Miriam, and she doubts that Miriam can take care of him. She notes that Miriam almost burned down the kitchen. Rick sighs and makes lip-smacking sleepy sounds and murmurs that Lily almost burned down the kitchen, too. Although I do enjoy it when Rick shows a little gumption, in this case, he's wrong. It was Tiffany who almost burned down the kitchen, not Lily. Lily doesn't point this out, but defends herself by whining that it was Thanksgiving. Apparently, there's a fire-starting amnesty on turkey day, or something. Lily keeps working herself up more and more, rambling on that they'll have to take care of Aaron, and then her mom and Rick's mom, because eventually they won't be able to take care of themselves either. Rick silences her with a kiss and the weary observation that she's "spiraling." Rick clicks off the light and they say good night. This doesn't stop Lily from chattering on, of course, saying she wishes her father were still alive, although he wouldn't know what to do, either. "Another illusion shattered," she sighs. She snuggles in against Rick's back and asks if he knows what those boats, on the Seine, with the lights are called. Rick doesn't answer because he's already asleep. Man, I wish I could do that.
Cut to Grace's room, where she's flat on her back in bed, clutching the blankets to her chin. She stares at the ceiling, horrified by the sounds emanating from it: the squeaking of bed springs punctuated by groans, moans, cries, and gasps. Manning Manor hasn't seen this much action in ages. "Mom?" Zoe calls out, jolting Lily awake. Groggily, she asks what the problem is. Zoe opens the bedroom door and asks, "Can you hear them?" You'd have to be living in the county not to. Lily throws off the covers and strides into the hall, warning Zoe to stay there. She glances in disbelief up the stairs and mutters, "This can't be happening." She resolutely shuts the door to the stairs, takes Zoe by the hand, and leads the traumatized girl back to bed.
The morning, Lily and Aaron are seated in the kitchen. She watches him eat and asks how he likes the eggs. He smiles and murmurs that breakfast is an important meal. They reminisce about the breakfasts their grandmother used to make. Lily smiles at the memory, then grows somber. She leans forward and touches Aaron's arm, softly saying that she needs to tell him something, and she needs for him to try very hard to listen and not get upset. Aaron looks away noncomittally. Lily says that Miriam needs to back to the home today. Aaron looks around without meeting her eyes, absently patting his chest and asking if she has a pencil. He finds one and says that Miriam thinks he should write things down. He adds another item to his list of dreams. Grace barrels in and hovers behind them, asking, "Mom?" Lily tells her to give them a second. Aaron announces that he's adding eggs to his list, that he's going to have dozens of eggs. Lily tries to steer him back to the subject at hand, saying that everyone agreed Miriam could go with them to look at Aaron's new apartment, but then she has to go home. Grace rolls her eyes. Aaron soaks it in for a few seconds, then says that sometimes things confuse him, and he doesn't understand this. Judy comes in the back door, and Aaron, visibly upset, tells her that Miriam has to go home. "Oh, sweetie," Judy sighs. Aaron stands up and says he'd like to go upstairs, "if that's okay." "Of course, sweetie," Judy says. Yeah, he has a name, Judy.
Grace waits until Aaron is gone, then levels Lily with, "So, you're kicking her out?" Lily, exasperated, says that she isn't kicking Miriam out; Miriam can't stay there because it's illegal. (Didn't Shelley say that it isn't, though?) "What a relief," Judy snides. Easy for her to say when it's not her apartment that'll need fumigating once Miriam's gone. Lily snaps at Judy to stop it and asks what Lily's supposed to say. Judy suggests, "That you'd be much happier if he never saw her again." Grace tries to butt in with her opinion, but Lily's too pissed at Judy to let her. She grits that she can't believe Judy thinks that. Grace just keeps yammering, saying that she thinks Aaron and Miriam's "love is really touching and beautiful, and [Lily] should support it with all [her] heart." Lily sarcastically says that she'll think about it, or better yet, they should make a list: "Number one: how do they go to the store? Number two: how do they cook without burning the house down? How do they do laundry? Would they do laundry? And -- god forbid -- what if she gets pregnant, or one of them gets sick?" Judy lets her finish and says that there are answers to every one of those problems. Lily impatiently says that relationships are hard enough "when people have normal damage." Grace, with all her life experience, speaks up again, saying, "So what if they have problems?" She adds that she thinks if anyone would understand that, it would be Lily. Lily looks from one to the other and snaps, "Oh, great. So now I'm Cruella DeVil!" Judy self-righteously mutters that she's going to go see how Aaron is. "Well, why don't you do that? Because clearly I don't care!" Lily snarks. Judy spins and starts to glower. Lily bitterly suggests that they take Aaron and the gang to the apartment without her; she has a lot to do at home. She busies herself at the sink, ending the conversation.
Cut to Aaron's new apartment, which is empty and full of dust motes. He enters, and a fluffy gray cat scrambles out an open window with a screech. Aaron rushes into the space, excited that a cat was there. He turns from the window and hooks a thumb toward it, whispering in awe, "That was a cat." Rick smiles and says, "Definitely." Aaron excitedly surveys the new digs and leads the group -- Rick, Miriam, Judy, Grace, and Zoe -- into the room.
Lily, meanwhile, is sitting in her bedroom, flipping through a box of old photos.
Aaron races around the kitchen, showing off his cupboards.
Soliloquy Lily remembers, "When my father heard Aaron wasn't going back to school, I remember him screaming, 'I don't care who the f--- she is, you're not getting married at nineteen years old!"
Aaron shows off the interior of his brown fridge, and immediately chokes on whatever ungodly smell bursts out of it. Rick laughs while everyone gags and exclaims over the stench.
Soliloquy Lily continues: "So, my father went down to Florida and just brought Aaron back. I don't even know how. I guess that's when he started to change."
The cat returns to Aaron's window, but can't get in. Aaron rushes over to look at it, and the startled cat disappears. Aaron instantly forgets the cat, transfixed as he is by the sun pouring in the window. He spreads his arms and lets the patch of light wash over him, closing his eyes and soaking it in. "And this is my sunlight," he breathes, delirious.
Lily stares at a high-school picture of Aaron with some girl. Soliloquy Lily voice-overs, "We didn't know that he was writing [Jaimie] five times a day and calling her all hours of the night and not going to class." The camera cuts to her, and she stares at us, unflinching. "I guess we should have known," she says.
The gang is helping Aaron get settled in. Rick lifts an old, dead plant off the top of the fridge and says, "Well, I gotta say, this seems like a great place, Aaron." Aaron beams and practically dances on the spot. Miriam hands Aaron a clock, and he rushes to a living-room wall, anxious to hang it with Miriam's help. Grace offers to give him a bunch of old dishes and cups and things the Manning-Sammlers aren't using, and Judy says she has a bunch of stuff, too. They turn to see what Aaron thinks of the offer, but he's on another wavelength. "Places need two people," he declares, clutching Miriam. He's got everyone's attention. "One person is a room, but two are a home." He waits a beat then asks, "Right?" Rick, touched, immediately agrees. Aaron jumps, remembering something. He fishes his page out of his pocket and asks Miriam to read it. She rhymes off, "Mailbox...doorbell...cat sounds...somebody calling out 'Supper!'...ice trays..." while Aaron giddily says "check" after each item.
Fade over to Lily opening her front door. Miriam's father is waiting on the stoop. He reminds her who he is, and she invites him inside.
Cut to Mr. Miller and Lily sitting down to tea in the living room. Mr. Miller asks her what Aaron was like before he became ill. She falters and laughs self-consciously at how long ago it seems. She says that Aaron was "wonderful." "Mmm-hmm," Mr. Miller says, sipping his tea. "Was he?" Lily says that Aaron always seemed like a hero to her, and that she envied his "depth of emotion." Mr. Miller reminisces that people used to stop him and his wife in church to tell them they had a beautiful daughter. "Of course, we knew something was wrong by the time she was three," he adds. He rhymes off the list of characters he's represented to Miriam over the years, including the Lion King, Rocky, and Robin Hood. "Well, that's not bad company," Lily smiles. Mr. Miller cuts to it, asking if she thinks Aaron is capable of living on his own. Lily looks thoughtful for a second, not wanting to voice what she really feels. Finally, she mutters that he's been on some good medication lately. Mr. Miller blurts that he doesn't think Miriam is capable. Lily asks how he can be sure, and he tells her about what happened when Miriam was on her own once: "I'm a retired cop, and I know every street in Chicago, and it took me two months to find her. And she'd been raped, shot up with drugs, beaten." Lily murmurs in dismay. Mr. Miller says that Aaron may be ready for independent living, but that Miriam is not: "She's the most important thing in the world to me, and she will never be ready to live on her own."
Time passes, and Lily and Mr. Miller fade into the kitchen. Mr. Miller is seated at the counter while Lily gets dinner ready. Judy, Aaron, Miriam, and the rest pile through the back door, and Mr. Miller stands. Miriam cowers into the fridge at the sight of him. He fetches her gloves and says he brought them for her, since it's so cold. He tries to hand them to her, but she just stares at him. Aaron shrinks behind her, nervously shifting from one foot to the other. Lily breaks the tension by making a round of introductions. Mr. Miller holds out the gloves again, telling Miriam to put them on. She says she doesn't want them and starts rambling, "Alligator, carburetor, masturbater..." Her father says her name impatiently. "Herb," she shoots back immediately, challenging. He says he brought her meds, and she screams, "No! I don't want my medication! I want Aaron!" She clutches a reluctant Aaron, who seems to want nothing more than to disappear into the wall. The two of them wedge themselves behind the fridge, and Mr. Miller, embarrassed, apologizes for the scene. Miriam starts shrieking repeatedly for Aaron to "tell them." Somewhat mechanically, he utters, "One person is just a room..." Mr. Miller doesn't have time for this kind of nonsense and demands, "What do you mean?" Aaron doesn't know how to answer him. Mr. Miller advances toward the couple, asking Aaron what he means. Judy tries to intervene. Mr. Miller cuts through the namby-pamby: "He wants to live with my daughter. Can I ask him how he plans to do it?" Judy doesn't know how to respond to the mean man. Mr. Miller starts to rhyme off all the responsibilities life with Miriam would entail. Judy finally finds her voice and tells him not to talk to Aaron that way. Mr. Miller looks pained as he delivers the reality check: "That's the problem. People will." Miriam whines and screeches from the space behind the fridge, still clinging to Aaron. Judy says, "Lily, please. Aaron needs Mr. Miller to leave." She barely glances at the man in question and says she's sorry.
Mr. Miller, defeated, turns toward Lily and says he knows she loves Aaron very much, but he also knows she knows where he's coming from. "Mrs. Sammler?" he prods. Reluctantly, Lily says she doesn't know anything anymore. "Sure you do," Mr. Miller says. He insists that Aaron deserves an honest answer: "Do you believe that this could ever work?" Hating herself for it, Lily shakes her head a fraction and whispers, almost inaudibly, "No." She mouths to Judy that she's sorry. Miriam is still groaning, "Oh, my Aaron," over and over again from behind the fridge. Judy tries to assure her that everything is okay. "No!" Miriam screams, bursting from behind the fridge. She tears through the kitchen and out of sight, shouting, "I want Aaron! I want my life!" A door slams off-screen. Aaron starts sobbing, and Judy tries to soothe him. Mr. Miller offers to call Shelley, but Lily thinks they should try to resolve things on their own first. Aaron starts pounding his head against the wall. Mr. Miller asks Lily if she minds him going upstairs to get Miriam. "Yes! I mind!" Judy snaps, as if he were talking to her. Mr. Miller sighs and wearily says he'll just wait in the car, then. He says he'll call Shelley if Miriam doesn't come down in an hour. Judy can't wait to shut the door behind him, while Lily just stares off, feeling wretched. Aaron has one more outburst and then manages to get himself under control. Lily softly tells him that she's sorry. Aaron addresses himself to Judy and says that he should go and check on Miriam. She agrees emphatically.
Lily turns around to find Grace glowering at her. Zoe wisely disappears. "I can't believe you," Grace grits, her voice oozing disgust. Rick mutters for Grace to give Lily a break. Yeah, that's going to happen. Although, kudos to him for saying it. Grace snarks, "You think everyone has to be just like you to be happy. Well you don't seem so happy to me, Mom!" Gee, I wonder why, sweetness. Grace storms out of there, fueled by self-righteous rage. Lily rolls her eyes, as if there's nothing she can do about that little attack. Now Lily gets it from Judy, who angrily demands to know why Lily gets to decide Aaron's life. Lily points out that Miriam is Mr. Miller's daughter. Judy wants to know why Lily's so set against Aaron having "one little moment of happiness." Lily chokes out that "there is no happiness. It's going to make things worse, not better!" Rick clears his throat and softly says that he doesn't see how they can decide that for Aaron. She spanks him back into submission with a "what do you know about any of this?" Lily tells Judy to fill Rick in on Aaron's history with Jaimie Davenport. Judy waves her arms dismissively, saying it was twenty years ago, and so what if Aaron got upset that she broke up with him. Lily smirks ruefully at the countertop and mutters, "'Upset' doesn't exactly describe it." Rick asks what she means. Lily hesitates then finally admits, "I found [Aaron]. He wasn't answering our phone calls, so I went up to Madison, and I found him in his room. He hadn't eaten and he hadn't slept and there was blood in his room everywhere. Old blood, because he had been cutting himself a little at a time for two weeks. And he was practically dead." Stunned, Judy asks why Lily never told her. Choking up, Lily says that their father made her promise never to tell anybody. "You think I don't want Aaron to be happy, Judy? I would give anything for Aaron to have one day -- one minute! -- of happiness," Lily cries. Damn, she made me tear up.
Later, Lily's in her bedroom, mulling things over. She slides back the curtain to see whether Mr. Miller is continuing his vigil in the car. He is.
Soliloquy Lily continues telling us about the beginning of Aaron's problems: "My dad drove up and he brought Aaron home and put him in a hospital. And he's been there, more or less, ever since."
We flash to Soliloquy Aaron, very much focused and in control, tossing the juggling pins expertly around his body.
Judy, in her coat and scarf, pokes her head in Lily's room to tell her that Aaron's packing. Subdued, she adds that she's three hours late at Booklovers, so she's going to head out, too. Lily nods. "I still think you're wrong," Judy says, adding that she can't believe Lily didn't trust her enough to tell her about Aaron's self-destructive incident. Lily sighs heavily and says that it wasn't about trust, "it was about fear." She apologizes. The corners of Judy's mouth tug themselves into something resembling a smile, and she slowly turns to leave.
Cut to Grace finding Aaron sitting on her bed. He pops up when he sees her and nervously explains that he had to use her bathroom. She tells him it's okay and asks if she can come in. He relaxes and says, "It's your room." She smiles and says she's glad he remembers. She steps marginally into the room, leaning against the door frame. Aaron takes a seat on the bed again. Grace asks if she can sit with him, and he jumps slightly. "I know you like to be asked, so..." she adds. "I do, thank you," he answers, scooching over a little to make room for her. He pats the bed to himself. "I liked your place. It'll be fun to visit you --" Grace ventures. Aaron abruptly holds up a hand, telling her, "No." He makes a shushing gesture and shakes his head. Grace, a little taken aback, asks what he means.
Rick creeps up the staircase and overhears the two of them. He pauses to listen, looking thoughtful.
Aaron tells Grace that he's going to go back to the group home: "I can't leave something that I've never had, which is something of my own." He crosses his arms over his heart and tears up. "You mean someone," Grace says, her eyes misting. "I mean her," Aaron says, his voice gravely. "I know," Grace says. He looks up from his hands, hardly daring to believe that she might understand, and studies her eyes. "I know," Grace says slowly. His eyes soften gratefully. Tentatively, she reaches out and places her hand lightly on his shoulder. He pats her fingers with his own.
On the stairs, Rick swallows the lump in his throat. He finds Lily in the bedroom, checks outside for Mr. Miller, and observes that he's still there. He settles on the bed near Lily and suggests that they talk to Miriam. Lily's a million miles away. Rick tries to draw her out, saying that the first time he met Aaron was at Phil's funeral, when the two of them ended up alone in the kitchen. "He was so nice," Rick says. Lily finally joins him in conversation, agreeing that Aaron is "incredibly nice." Rick says he remembers thinking, "This is the loneliest person I have ever seen." Lily hangs her head. He continues, "I could have been that lonely, but I got lucky." Lily tries to make Rick understand: "Rick, he's never going to be lucky. Don't you see? Everyone in this house -- you, Judy, Grace -- you're lost in your own romantic fantasy. This woman can't love him because she can't see him. And that's not her fault; I understand that. But it's just the way it is." Rick rests his chin on her shoulder and sighs, "I don't know, Lil. Sometimes I think romantic fantasy is all we have." She looks off and shakes her head slightly. Rubbing her eyes, she resolutely says that she "has to get this going" and heads out of the room.
Soliloquy Lily says that after she and her father left Aaron at the hospital, they went out for dinner. Over deep-dish pizza, Phil laid it out: when he was gone, it would fall to Lily to take care of Aaron. Lily laughed at the notion that he'd ever be gone.
Cut to Lily heading downstairs in dim light. She peers over the railing and sees Aaron and Miriam cradled together on the couch. She creeps down the stairs, and Aaron stirs. He hops off the couch and, staring at the floor, shuffles past her, saying he forgot his suitcase. "It's okay, Aaron," she says. "I know," he answers defensively, refusing to look at her. Alone with Miriam, Lily settles on the back of the couch. Miriam softly says that she's ready to go; she doesn't want to keep her father waiting. Any longer than the two hours he's already waited, I guess. Lily tries to explain her position: she can't go against what Miriam's father wants. Miriam says she knows. She says that Lily's life makes her nervous because there's so many people in the house: "Too many people to worry about." She smiles shyly and admits, "I worry too much about one person." Lily asks if she means herself. Miriam clarifies that she means Aaron. Lily surveys her sadly and says that she worries about Aaron, too: "That he won't get the things he wants." Miriam clues in that Lily's referring to the list, and matter-of-factly says, "Oh, he's never going to get those things. Not most of them, anyway." She looks up at Lily and explains, "Aaron looks at things, and they say, 'You'll never have me.' They turn away. But I don't turn away. In my eyes he sees...'maybe.' And that's what I am: his maybe. His maybe." "Maybe," Lily repeats, trying it out. Miriam says that Aaron should go to his apartment on his own, not back to the home. She asks Lily to tell him that, because she tried to convince him, but Lily is the only one he listens to. Lily looks at her with fresh eyes, and fondly says, "You really love him, don't you?" Miriam closes her eyes, overwhelmed by the emotion, and breathes, "He's my list of dreams..." She opens her eyes and looks up at Lily earnestly.
Cut to Lily moving dreamlike across the front yard toward Mr. Miller's car. She taps on the window and asks to sit with him for a minute. She sighs and looks at him, trying to choose her words. "Well?" he finally asks. "Aaron's assaulted by his feelings. It's almost as if his own emotions are toxic to him, somehow," she begins. "God knows, he's very emotional about your daughter." Mr. Miller chuckles ruefully, and agrees. Lily says that's why she's been trying to stop them "from plunging into something they couldn't handle." Lily says that if Aaron gets his heart broken again, it could kill him, literally. "So, we're in agreement, then," Mr. Miller says. Lily breaks it to them that they're not. She says she's finally realized that Aaron is never going to get better, "so there's nothing to protect since he suffers so much already." She wonders, then, if he shouldn't be allowed to have something "beautiful, even if it's only temporary." Mr. Miller reiterates that he's a cop, and that part of his job is accepting people for who they are. He states his conviction that Miriam cannot handle things on her own. Lily gently disagrees, saying that she was just watching them on the sofa, and she realized, "All I've been asking myself is 'Are they gonna hurt each other? Are they gonna get robbed and killed or who knows what?' But it never occurred to me to ask if she loves him. I never thought they were capable of it. She really, really loves him, Mr. Miller." He registers her words, but says that for thirty-five years, all he's dealt with are phone calls saying Miriam had injured herself, or that her medication had to be changed, and he just doesn't know how to hope anymore. Lily says she understands where he's coming from, but points out that it's not really about them "anymore." "Let 'em move in together and be a disaster?" he asks dubiously. "Yeah. Or just less of a disaster. Or maybe, god willing, just a big mess," she says. Mr. Miller warns Lily that Miriam will "drive [Aaron] insane." Lily chuckles and says Phil would have said something like that. She tells him about the restaurant Phil had, and Mr. Miller says, "We loved Phil's." Well, that settles it, then. Lily reaches out her hand and invites him inside. "All right," he says, and the twangs of Donovan's "Catch the Wind" kick up.
The song carries us to Soliloquy Lily, who earnestly looks into the camera, wanting to say something. She can't yet.
The tune carries us over to Aaron's apartment, where he carries Miriam over the threshold, with everyone following behind. There's a montage of them moving in a pile of stuff.
Soliloquy Lily's ready to talk now: "So Aaron and Caroline would get married in Paris, and I would meet this French artist who lived in a loft..."
More moving in.
"...And at night we'd go out on those boat with the lights -- oh, those damn boats! What are they called?" Soliloquy Lily thinks hard for a second then proclaims triumphantly, "Bateaux mouches!"
More moving in, accompanied by much laughter.
"Oh, well," Soliloquy Lily says, staring earnestly into the camera and letting go of her dream. "Whatever..."
The move finished, everyone's settled around a table, toasting the new place with plastic cups. Fade to Aaron and Miriam, alone at the table, sharing tea by candlelight. They clink cups just as the song winds down and Donovan sings, "We'll try and catch the wind...."