Mom – Texas Pete and a Parking Lot Carnival

By: Gladys Luna

Bonnie (Allison Janney) shows up at a very spooky and dark neighborhood looking for a house. A woman, who we find out later that her actual name is Marta (Virginia Montero), is sitting at a corner staring intently at Bonnie who greets her but gets no response. She finally finds the house she has been looking for and knocks and on the other side Dr. Trevor (Rainn Wilson) shows up looking tired and scruffy. He lets Bonnie in and greets Marta but gets no luck at a response. Inside the house scattered boxes and other things can be seen, two basic chairs and no furniture at all. Bonnie jokes with him and asks if he has been his own lawyer at his divorce trial since he seems to have lost and left with nothing, but he replies that unfortunately the divorce case is still on course. He tries to sound and show himself optimistic before the whole situation and tells Bonnie that he has realized that happiness is not about having a lot of stuff but basically not living with a woman who hates him. He also tells her that he just got rid of his car and bought an electric scooter instead. After catching up Bonnie tells him that the reason she is there is because she is concerned since her doctor told her that she is getting shorter with age, something that Trevor considers to be perfectly normal. Bonnie says that if there’s something she feels proud and likes to brag about it is her height. All of a sudden a whistle can be heard followed by a lot of noise and Trevor explains that he lives next to a kids swimming school and he is happy to know how full of wonder they are.

Bonnie meets with most of her friends at the bistro and expresses how concerned she feels about her therapist and tells them about his current situation. Christy (Anna Faris) cannot believe that she is actually worried about someone that is not herself. Jill (Jaime Pressly) tells her that by experience as soon as she realizes that she is worried about someone who works for her she moves on and lets them go. Bonnie says that recently she has realized her empathy has been off the charts and is not okay with that. She believes that maybe she has a tumor. Wendy (Beth Hall) assures her, based on her medical experience, that she is completely healthy. Tammy (Kristen Johnston) offers herself to help Trevor and maybe install some soundproof or acoustic panels in his house. Marjorie (Mimi Kennedy) returns from her job interview and everyone, mostly Bonnie, seem to be really eager to know how it went. But she tells them that she was not hired. Bonnie assumes that is because of her age, but Marjorie says that is because she has criminal records. Jill suggests she lie about it, but the woman doesn’t think is the right thing to do. Christy says that maybe she can help her with that ,but when Marjorie begins to list all of her history the blonde knows she might be facing a challenge that might take her a lot of time to solve. Wendy says that if she is interested she might work at the hospital and transport medical waste. Even though there might be a small chance of getting an infection, she gets to keep the safety googles and the pay is good. In the end, they suggest her that maybe she should find a job delivering food.

The next day Tammy pays a visit to Trevor and tells him that she might install some acoustic panels for him that are not expensive. At the moment everything seems so quiet around, but the man tells her that is all because the kids are on their juice break and when the sugar finally kicks in it seems like a “Black Friday at Walmart.” Tammy says that the place looks kind of somber so she suggests him to hung some of his friends and family pictures. Trevor says he might need to get some first. He also tells her that after his marriage break up even his mother got on his wife’s side. He tried to make some friends at a scooter store but with no luck. It seems like the only people he is in touch with are his patients, but he is not really interested on being their friend since they are crazy. Tammy tells him that it sounds like an excuse to her and he recalls when his wife used to tell him the same and how she asked him to be more present. He sits on a chair nearby that breaks sending him directly to the floor and whine.

Tammy arrives to the AA meeting and is intercepted by Bonnie who wants to know all of the details about her meeting with Trevor, but Tammy says that she has a carpenter-client privilege that she cannot break. In the other side of the room Marjorie approaches the others and tells them that she has been hired to deliver food for a Chinese restaurant that didn’t even ask for her name and wants them to help her by ordering as much as they can so she can be rated well.

Tammy goes back to Trevor’s house and meets with Marta who greets her happily. She enters the therapist’s house only to find him on a corner in the middle of the dark. She turns the lights on and finds him smoking and with a bruised knee. She asks her if he has something to help him, but he says the pain is the only thing that lets him know he is still alive. He tells her that he went out on his scooter that unfortunately could not take the hill, so he fell and ended up being chased by a dog. Even though other guys with scooters passed by, they didn’t help him. He expresses his desire of moving to an island that is placed in the middle of an English Channel to raise tomatoes. Tammy calls Bonnie for assistance. When the woman arrives she tries to cheer him up in different ways but nothing seems to change. Tammy tries to list the good things he has in life, but he keeps finding a negative thing about them. Finally, Bonnie loses her patience and slaps him on his left cheek. He cries saying that his left ear was sore. Encouraged by Tammy, she slaps him on the other cheek.

Jill, Christy and Wendy are at Bonnie’s house waiting for Marjorie to arrive with their food order. Jill is starving and says that if her friend don’t arrive immediately she will start to lash out for no reason. Adam (William Fichtner) comes out of the kitchen and says he is cooking three cowboy ribeyes if someone wants a piece, but Christy says that they have ordered Chinese food as a way to support Marjorie. Before he returns to the kitchen Jill whispers that she is in for the ribeye. Christy calls Marjorie to make sure she is fine and the woman can be seen disoriented while trying to read a paper map. She tells them that she got lost and is now three orders behind. Christy tries to help her but with no success. Wendy expresses that Marjorie was not prepared for it and the other woman hears her from the other side of the line.

Back at Trevor’s house Bonnie is in his kitchen trying to cook something. Tammy enters and says that Trevor has gone out to get some fresh air. They try to come up with a new plan to cheer him up and is right then when they hear him scream at the kids in the pool followed by a big splash. They go to see what happened since they don’t know if he can swim. Jill, Wendy and Christy are now in the car with Marjorie trying to help her deliver her orders. Christy gives her driving directions, but Marjorie is so worried that don’t seem to listen at all.

Trevor returns to his home all wet and angry. Tammy goes to find a towel for him, but he assures her that he doesn’t have any, so she gets him paper towels instead. Bonnie tells him that he’ll meet someone new but he replies that even though he gets a new life he’ll be faced with the same old lies and assures them that men can own their mistakes while women blame them for theirs. He also asks them to stop trying to help him since there is nothing they can do for him and informs them that he is going to give up his job as a therapist since he believes there is nothing else he can gives. The women seem to be shocked and try to lift up his spirit by ordering some Chinese food and also help Marjorie, but he says that food makes him puke.

Jill is now behind the wheel and Christy gets the notification that two more orders have been added so they have to back to the restaurant. Later on the women arrive to the address and are met with Bonnie, who explains that she is trying to help Trevor while Christy says they were trying to help Marjorie. Jill believes that Bonnie is helping her therapist just so she can feel better about where she currently lives. When they enter, they see Trevor sitting there and Christy immediately thanks him for what he’s done with her mother, but Bonnie tells her that he is not in the mood for a chit chat. They are all directed to the kitchen by Tammy and only Trevor, Bonnie and Marjorie are left in the room. Marjorie gives him his ticket and he rushes to pay her with a wet bill, but she tells her she cannot accept it since the order was late so is free of charge. Marjorie says that she knew she won’t be able to handle the job since she is old, but Trevor assures that she is not. Bonnie tells him a bit about Marjorie’s story and then he is asked to be left alone with her. They talk and Trevor explains that he knows how hard it is to reboot a life, but they can do it regardless the age. He also expresses he hasn’t had a good night himself and they continue talking.

Days later Bonnie shows up at her appointment with Trevor and is surprised to see how good and different he and the place look. Outside the sound of kids is still high, but he uses his soundproof panels that Tammy installed for him canceling all the noise from outside and telling Bonnie that her friend is very good with her work. Bonnie says that he did a good job helping Marjorie since she decided to continue working delivering food. Even though she has to take Wendy with her, she is happy. Trevor says that given the current situation she just saw him in he has found a list of referrals that might help her to go on with her therapy, but Bonnie says that now that she has seen him hit rock bottom she is sure that he is the right therapist for him since he understands her and he decides to go on.