Louise walks into the office of her boss, Michael.
Michael: Louise, thanks for coming in.
Louise: Mike, I don’t know what I did wrong, but it won’t happen again. I can promise you that. I need this job, my house is -
Michael: Louise, you did nothing wrong.
Louise: Oh, thank god. I’m just so used to getting reprimanded - wait, why’d you ask me here, then? Are you hitting on me? That’s not appropriate in the office, especially since I’m married.
Michael: It’s not that. I have a career opportunity for you.
Louise: Oh! Really?
Michael: Yes. As I said, you’ve been a marvelous employee. That’s why I’m excited to tell something really exciting about the future of this company.
Louise: Are we merging? Are you gonna make me lay off some other employees?
Michael: Just, give me a chance to explain.
Louise: That’s fair, I do keep cutting you off and making assumptions.
Michael: I know that you’re from Michigan, and you have a lot of knowledge about the state.
Louise: That’s definitely true. I spent, uh… we’ll just say several decades there.
Michael: The company is expanding and opening three new branches. One of them will be in Detroit. They want you to manage that new branch.
Louise: Me? I’ve never been in management before, now they suddenly want to put be in charge of my own branch?
Michael: You’ve been a valued employee for years, and I’ve always been considering you for a promotion. That’s why I recommended you, and corporate saw the merit in my argument. They prefer someone with local ties, you’re the perfect fit.
Louise: I don’t like reminding myself or anyone else of this, but I’m not young. I’m in my late sixties, are they really okay with a manager heading a new branch at retirement age?
Michael: We never discriminate against age. With experience, comes wisdom.
Louise: Do I have time to think about it?
Michael: Of course, moving across the country is a major decision to make, we don’t expect anyone to make it immediately. Take a few days, talk with your family, do what you think is right. I do want to say, though, that it comes with a major pay raise.
Louise: That is something to think about.
Michael: Just think it over, give it a fair consideration. I’d hate to lose you around here, but you would make an excellent manager.
Later that day, when Louise returns home.
Jimmy: Lou, you’re late.
Louise: I know.
Jimmy: We gotta hurry, we have dinner at Frances’s tonight.
Louise: Damn, I forgot about that.
Jimmy: We’re both basically ready to go, it’s not like we have to get dressed in anything fancy.
Louise: I know, but I need to talk to you about something.
Jimmy: Is something wrong?
Louise: No, I wouldn’t say anything’s wrong. It’s just something we need to discuss.
Jimmy: We can do it after dinner then, no?
Louise: I don’t think so.
Jimmy: You don’t think so? What’s the hurry?
Louise: It’s hard to explain.
Jimmy: I know you have your problems with Frances, but stalling to avoid the nice dinner she prepared for us isn’t cool.
Louise: It’s not that. I’m fine with Frances, I just like to get on her nerves. In fact, I was thinking just today about how I’m too hard on her and how I’d miss her if I didn’t see her so often.
Jimmy: Honey, is something wrong with you? This is how people usually talk at… you know… the end.
Louise: I’m fine, really. I do have something on my mind, and I’d love to be able to -
There’s a knock at the door.
Jimmy: I bet that’s Frances looking for us.
Louise: Of course it is, she has the worst timing.
Frances: You guys in there? Me and Lauren are waiting for you! I made chicken cordon bleu!
Jimmy: We’re on our way, Louise was running late today.
Frances: If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was trying to avoid having dinner with me!
Louise opens the door.
Louise: I would never. Now, Jimmy, let’s go.
Frances: Wow, I’m shocked. I didn’t expect you to pop out for another ten minutes.
Louise: Well, you worked so hard on dinner, I won’t keep you waiting.
Frances: Thank you! I really do appreciate it.
At Frances’s…
Lauren: Mom, you’re acting strange.
Louise: No I’m not!
Frances: No, you definitely are. You’ve been oddly nice to me, you haven’t taunted me at all. You’re just kinda quiet and reserved and you’re shuffling your rice around like a six year-old.
Louise: I know, I just… had a late lunch. I’m so stuffed, it’s made me anti-social.
Frances: That’s all?
Louise: Yep, that’s all.
Jimmy: Something happened today that she wanted to talk to me about, I think her mind is still just on that.
Louise: No, that’s not it. Nothing happened today.
Jimmy: You were desperate to tell me about something.
Lauren: Mom, are you sick?
Frances: I have access to the best medical care, we’ll get this treated.
Jimmy: Wow, you showed a shocking amount of care for Louise.
Frances: She drives me nuts, but I love her.
Louise: I’m fine, I just got a job offer in Detroit.
Jimmy: What? Why didn’t you tell me?
Louise: I tried!
Lauren: You did just say -
Jimmy: Yeah, I know. I’m just shocked about this! What job did you get offered in Detroit?
Louise: My company is expanding and they’re going to have a new branch in Detroit. I was offered a job as manager of the new branch, which comes with a huge raise. Obviously, it would require us to move back home, just as we’ve settled down here.
Lauren: No!
Jimmy: I don’t know how to feel, darling.
Louise: I don’t, either. It’s why I was hoping to discuss it in private before we had to tell anyone. But I couldn’t have everyone convinced I was dying, so here we are.
Jimmy: I knew you weren’t dying.
Frances: I was ready to do anything in my power to prevent you from dying. See how generous and compassionate I am?
Louise: So, it’s out on the table now. What does everyone think?
Jimmy: I think LA is home now, but Michigan was always home, too. I don’t want to hold you back.
Lauren: I don’t want you to leave. I’d miss you guys so much.
Frances: I’m already going through a lot of changes. But this isn’t my decision at all. It’s up to you.
Louise: Lauren, I thank you for being the only one to give me an actual answer.
Jimmy: Well, what do you think, if you’re annoyed with us for not giving clear answers?
Louise: I don’t know!
Jimmy: See!
Frances: I’ve gotten used to you guys being right down the road. It would be so odd for someone else to be living in that house.
Jimmy: Frances, I feel like we’re closer than ever.
Frances: We’ve had a lot of fun times since you guys moved here. And what a shock it was that you did move here at all. I thought you’d be in Michigan forever. You never struck me as California people.
Jimmy: We didn’t have much choice.
Frances: You have a choice now. I don’t think I should have a say in it.
Jimmy: I know how you feel. I’d miss you, too.
Lauren: I’m getting work in acting finally, I might get a pilot picked up. I can’t go home. And I don’t want to be so far away from you.
Louise: Honey, you don’t need us.
Lauren: No, but I want you close. I’d miss you so much.
Louise: We’d miss you, too. But we all need to do what’s best for ourselves.
Lauren: You really want to take the job, don’t you?
Louise: It’s a great opportunity. I’ve worked in this industry my whole life, and I’ve never had an ounce of power in any job Iv’e had. I could manage my own branch, I’d be the boss. That’s really exciting for me.
Lauren: Is power more important than me?
Louise: No, of course not! But it’s also financial security. We do well enough to stay afloat here, but the cost of living is high. We can’t retire for a long time yet. If I go home to Michigan and get a raise, maybe I can retire five years down the line and not have to worry about finances.
Lauren: So you’re leaving for a job you might leave in only a few years?
Louise: It would be about seeking a better life. I don’t want to work until I’m in my eighties.
Lauren: I could provide for you. I’m going to be a TV star!
Louise: Honey, I don’t want to rely on you.
Lauren: I don’t want to lose you!
Jimmy: You would never lose us. Ever.
Lauren: The farthest I’ve ever lived from you two in my twenty-seven years on this earth has been right now, when you live six houses down the street. Living in LA with you guys in Detroit, that would be so bizarre.
Jimmy: We can talk whenever you want. We can come visit.
Frances: You guys are leaving, aren't you?
Jimmy: I’m not set on anything. I’m just not willing to stand in Louise’s way. I know how hard she’s worked to get a promotion like this.
Frances: I’m gonna miss this.
Jimmy: Miss what?
Frances: Our dinners. Being a family.
Louise: We’ll always be a family.
Lauren: A long-distance family. You know how often long-distance relationships fail?
Jimmy: We’re blood. We’ll always be close.
Lauren: You drifted apart from aunt Frances when she moved to LA. What’s to say it won’t happen again when you move back home?
Jimmy: I regret that that happened, and I won’t let it happen again. Certainly not with you, my only child.
Louise: I haven’t made up my mind yet, guys. It’s hard for me, too. I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place. I win and lose a lot no matter what I choose.
Lauren: What do you lose if you just don’t make any drastic changes? You’re happy in your life now.
Louise: But I’ll always know the opportunity for a promotion was there for me. I might regret it if I turn it down.
Lauren: What if you move back to Michigan and regret leaving us?
Louise: We could always move back.
Jimmy: Would you really want to move cross-country again?
Louise: It’s a hypothetical, Jimmy.
Lauren: Your house would be sold.
Louise: We could always move back in with Frances!
Frances: Is Frances aware of this?
The next day…
Frances: DeAnna! I need advice!
DeAnna: Excuse me?
Frances: Don’t get me wrong, I’m as shocked as you are.
DeAnna: I’m sorry, I’m just completely taken aback by this.
Frances: I know. But I need to vent about something with someone who has no emotional attachment whatsoever.
DeAnna: I wouldn’t say I have no attachment. I certainly hate you. I’m inclined to side against you.
Frances: My sister-in-law got a job offer in Detroit, and she and my brother are probably moving back to Michigan. I don’t want them to leave, but I’m trying to be supportive.
DeAnna: Interesting.
Frances: Should I tell them how I feel or just sit back and let them leave? I don’t want to make this harder for them, but it’s been weighing on me since they told me last night.
DeAnna: Get a therapist. Tell them about it. Don’t make this any harder for them than it already is.
Frances: Are you saying that to cause me extra misery, or -
DeAnna: Believe it or not, I’m not always trying to make your life worse. In this case, I just think you’d regret trying to hold them back. Don’t make your feelings their problem.
Frances: I guess you’re right. You’re more insightful than I thought.
DeAnna: I could’ve been a therapist.
Frances: Not mine!
DeAnna: I sure wasn’t offering my services.
Frances: I gotta get to work now.
DeAnna: Hey.
Frances: What?
DeAnna: I don’t know how many more times I’m gonna see you. So, give Lauren my regards.
Frances: Will do, DeAnna.
Frances walks onto the set.
Beverly: Gosh, Frances, you look terrible!
Jane: That’s mean!
Marcia: It’s not wrong.
Frances: No, she’s got a point, absolutely. I barely slept. Not by choice, I’ve just felt so conflicted.
Marcia: Are you changing your mind?
Beverly: Hallelujah!
Frances: Has Dana still not found work for you?
Beverly: I’m beginning to doubt she was telling the truth about that.
Frances: I’ve not changed my mind. Legally, I’m not allowed to.
Marcia: Who cares about laws?
Jane: Not OJ, that’s for sure!
Marcia: It’s 2016, are you just finding out about OJ now? You keep mentioning him.
Jane: FX has a new show about him! I watched it all this weekend!
Beverly: Look, I’m just glad she realizes OJ was a real person and not a Ryan Murphy character.
Frances: Louise got a job offer in Michigan. I think she’s gonna take it, and her and Jimmy are moving back home.
Beverly: Wow!
Marcia: See? Not so easy when someone takes a new job offer that has an impact on your own life, is it?
Frances: I get the desire to gloat.
Marcia: I’m not gloating. I’m just saying, it’s quite ironic.
Jane: They can’t move! Too many things are changing! I can’t take this!
Jane runs off the set.
Beverly: I should go get here, we don’t need her getting hit by a car.
Marcia: No, let her. She could sue the studio, she’d n ever have to work another day in her life. You’re doing her a favor.
Beverly: You’re sick.
Marcia: I know.
Frances: Marcia, I’m gonna miss them.
Marcia: We’re all going through changes, Frances. We just have to accept them.
Later that day, there’s a knock on Frances’s door.
Frances: Ah, Jim. What’s up?
Jimmy: We have some news.
Frances: I’m happy for you.
Jimmy: We didn’t say anything.
Frances: I can see it in your eyes. I understand.
