Our House Season 2, Episode 8
Teri: Who’s there? I have a gun.
Zeke stumbles through the door, knocking over a table and shattering one of Betty’s vases.
Teri: Zeke! I thought you were home already! What are you doing out so late?
Zeke ignores Teri and goes to bed.
Teri (to herself): I guess I should follow his lead. It’s not like mom will know this mess happened while I was still awake.
The next morning…
Betty: What happened out here? How do my mom’s ceramics keep getting broken?
Cindy: Mitchell, did you do this?
Mitchell: What? Why would I do it?
Betty: Because you did it last time.
Mitchell: So you suppose I ran over the mailbox and parked Cindy’s car in the middle of our yard?
Cindy: What? My car is where?
Mitchell: You heard me.
Betty: Who the hell did this?
Cindy: I would prefer if you said “heck.”
Betty: Who the heck did this?
Cindy: I don’t know!
Ralph: Yes you do! Who did you give your car keys to last night?
Cindy: No one…
Ralph: Cindy!
Cindy: Fine, I gave them to Zeke.
Betty: Zeke did all this? Why?
Tammi: Think about it.
Betty: Is he lashing out at us?
Tammi: Nana…
Teri (emerging from her bedroom): He was drunk, mom!
Tammi: Oooooh. How do you know?
Teri: Have you met him?
Betty: I know, I know. I just don’t like to think about it.
Karl: I hate to say it, but we have to do something about his drinking. It’s become a real problem.
Cindy: I agree.
Karl: And that’s why you and Jerry have to take that first step.
Cindy: What? Why us?
Tammi: Because he’s your son and you’re the only ones he’d even possibly listen to.
Cindy: I really thought you’d be on my side, Tammi.
Tammi: No. Something really has to be done. Zeke is going to die if we don’t do something. He could’ve gotten into an accident last night.
Teri: I wasn’t planning on saying anything, but I was awake last night when he got home. I didn’t see that he parked the car in the yard but I saw him come in and knock over the table. It was terrifying. I never want to see it again.
Cindy: What do you expect me to do about it?
Betty: Cindy, you’re going to do something or we’re going to kick Zeke out again.
Cindy: That’s a little extreme.
Jerry: Cindy, it really isn’t.
Cindy: Jerry? You’re with them?
Jerry: Yes. For the first time maybe ever I agree with your mother. I don’t want our son to die and this will probably kill him just like it killed your uncle.
Cindy: Alright, fine. We’ll take him to church with us. He can get help there.
Teri: Going to church doesn’t fix your problems or make you a good person. It just makes you busy on Sundays.
Cindy: What else do you want me to do? He’s an adult.
Tammi: We need to get him some professional help. Taking him to church is obviously great, but he has to go to rehab or something.
Betty: She’s right, Cindy. You can’t pray alcoholism away. I know this myself. My brother was an alcoholic and he was religious and he still died from alcohol abuse.
Cindy: How about we just stage an intervention? That could help him realize he has a problem.
Betty: It’s a start. Let’s do it when he wakes up.
Two hours later…
Velma: Teri, can you come here?
Teri: What’s up? Find some new vacation destination to rub in my face?
Velma: No. Far less fun than that. Your mother…
Teri: Stop right there. I’ll be right back.
Teri runs to the kitchen, grabs a bottle of beer, and runs back to Velma’s office.
Velma: Did you really need that? Feels insensitive right now.
Teri: Oh! Yeah, it is a little. However, anything my mom does is enough to drive a person to drink so it’s fitting here.
Velma: That doesn’t change here. Look at this.
Teri reads what Velma points to on her computer screen.
Teri: What the hell did I just read?
Velma: Your mother just gave all of her Facebook friends an update on what’s going on with Zeke.
Teri: Yeah, I got that much. Unfortunately.
Velma: Why would she do this? It’s so disturbing. People from Italy and Australia don’t need to know what’s going on with Zeke. Sure, it sounds like the plot of a sitcom but it’s no joking matter.
Teri: Let’s talk to her, get her to take it off.
Velma: This was posted an hour ago. I just happened to notice it now because I logged on on a whim, I’m not usually on here.
Teri: Are you trying to convince me or yourself? I know you’re on there all the time.
Velma: Anyway, who knows how many people found it in that hour. I feel bad for Zeke.
Teri: There’s not much we can do now.
Velma: I know, I know. I think we should tell him though. He should know that there’s people out there that know about this whole ordeal.
Ten minutes later…
Betty: Karl, could you fetch me a bottle of water while you’re out in the garage?
Velma: Yeah, she’s really going to need it.
Betty: Why?
Teri: Yeah, why? That didn’t really fit Velma.
Velma: I don’t know, it sounded cool in my head.
Teri: Well it wasn’t.
Betty: Can someone please tell me what this is about?
Velma: Your Facebook post about Zeke is very disturbing.
Betty: I know.
Velma: Huh? Why did you post it then?
Betty: What he did is very disturbing, but I had to vent to my friends on the Facebook.
Velma: It’s not your place to do that! This is Zeke’s story, not yours.
Betty: I thought -
Velma: You didn’t think.
Betty: You’re being very mean right now.
Velma: I just want you to understand what you did. You didn’t have any right to talk publicly about such a private issue. The only people that should know about it are the people in this house.
Betty: I can take it down.
Velma: That would be a start.
Betty: Why are you so concerned about this, though? You’re not Zeke’s mom or anything.
Velma: Because I know how to respect boundaries and what information needs to remain a secret.
Mitchell: Ha! That’s a good one!
Velma: Whatever. I simply think we should try to be careful with Zeke right now and not go spreading the word about this. I’m not always a gossip hound.
Betty: Alright, fine. I’ll take it down.
Zeke: Take what down?
Cindy: Oh boy, this is happening. Here we go.
Zeke: What are you talking about?
Cindy: Family meeting!
In the living room…
Zeke: I just got up, do we really need to do this now? Can’t the announcement that we’re having a family game night or some shit wait until I wake up?
Jerry: It’s three o’clock.
Zeke: I’m a late sleeper.
Jerry: Either way, we’re doing this now.
Zeke: What are we doing now?
Cindy: Zeke, this is your intervention.
Zeke: That’s very funny.
Cindy: I’m serious. You have a serious drinking problem and none of us can sit by and watch it anymore. Look at what you did yesterday!
Zeke: What exactly did I do?
Betty: You smashed my vase!
Zeke: I did?
Karl: You knocked the mailbox down and drove your mom’s car into the middle of our lawn.
Danielle: You ran over my garden gnome!
Zeke: Is it better if I tell you I don’t remember any of that? Because I don’t!
Cindy: That actually makes it a lot worse! We’re scared for you.
Zeke: Scared? SO I drink a little too much sometimes, it’s not a problem.
Betty: I watched my brother die of cirrhosis of the liver. For doing exactly what you do every day! I confronted him and he said exactly what you said. I just regret that I didn’t push back at all. I have to live with that regret every day. Unfortunately, he can’t live with anything because he’s dead now. It’s the greatest regret I have. I can’t let this happen to you, too.
Tammi: Last year, when you cooked that egg that was supposed to be Steven’s -
Zeke: Where is Steven, by the way?
Tammi: Not now, Zeke. Anyway, when that happened last year, I kicked you out of the house. I though, wrongly, that that would stop this. You just went to Amelia’s and became even more of a drunk. I thought letting you move back in would stop your drinking. It didn’t. I don’t know what to do to make you better, but I’m terrified. Our parents are young but eventually there’s going to be a time that they’re gone, and I need for you to still be here so I can lean on you. I don’t think you will be at that rate. I’m honestly shocked you’re still here.
Karl: I don’t have much to say, but I just need you to know that I love you and I want what’s best for you, and what’s best is that you seek help. It’s hard to do this on your own and there’s people that can help. The cost isn’t an issue.
Teri: I know I’m usually a cool, hip aunt. That’s kinda my thing. Right now I can’t be that because you’re making that pretty difficult. I’m scared for you. I’m not a mom, and you and your sister are the closest things that I have to kids of my own. Seeing you the way I saw you last night absolutely destroyed me. I went in my room and I cried myself to sleep. Your drinking doesn’t just impact you. It hurts us all to see you waste your life away for some beer. Please, get some help. You have a problem and it’s not too late to stop.
Mitchell: Kid, I like to joke around with you all the time but I’m not joking when I saw that I’m going to need you to stop drinking. This entire house knows you have a problem and we all want you to get through this.
Velma: I’m her for you, too. Your grandmother may have posted all of this on Facebook, heck she might even be live streaming this intervention, but I’ll be here, standing at your side in this fight.
Ralph: I’m probably not the person to preach to you about how irresponsible it is to drink so much since I had a problem myself, but I’m definitely the right person to preach to you about how much it can help you to get things under control. I haven’t touched a bottle of alcohol in seven years. It was the best decision I’ve ever made. I can actually have a life now and not worry about slowly killing myself. You can turn things around too.
Cindy: See! There’s so many people in your corner.
Frank: I didn’t get to talk!
Betty: And that is the best part of this day. Back to you, Cindy!
Cindy: As I was saying, we all feel the need to protect you and help you get your life back on track. What steps do you want to take to get help?
Zeke: I don’t know. I don’t know if I really even have a problem.
Jerry: You do!
Zeke: Alright, maybe I do. I’ll get some help.
Cindy: You will? You really will?
Zeke: Where do you want me to go for help? Is there any rehab or doctors that you know of?
Cindy: Y’know, I feel like this is probably something we should’ve looked into before this. I’m just really happy that you’re going to get help.
Zeke: Now, what was this about nana posting things on Facebook about me?
Betty: Oh, nothing. I’m fine. I did nothing
Velma: Come on now…
Betty: Alright, I posted about you driving the car into the yard and smashing my vase because you were drunk.
Zeke: Nana! Why would you don that?
Betty: Because I’m a sweet old lady?
Zeke: That’s not an excuse for everything!
One week later…
Cindy: Zeke, I am so proud of you for getting help. We’re going to miss you so much. At least we’ll get to talk to you on the phone.
Zeke: I’m glad to be getting health. When you guys had that intervention, it scared me and made me realize that I need help. I think Seabrook is really going to help me. I’ll miss being at the madhouse with all of you, but I’ll be home soon enough. Now, I guess I’d better get in there and check in!
Jerry: Zeke…
Zeke: Yes dad?
Jerry: I love you. Get well. We need you healthy.
Zeke: I need that, too. See you guys soon.What did you think of the episode? Please comment your thoughts below and make sure to return next week!
