03x18 - Borrowed Time

[bunniefuu]

[gentle music]


- I hate playing hide and seek with Stuey Beckham.


- Yeah.

He's so dumb that it takes him forever to find us.

[telephone ringing] [audience laughs]


- Hello?

No, Stuey. It doesn't count unless you find us in person.

[audience laughing]

♪ Set in my ways ♪

♪ Losing track of the days ♪

♪ Only me to live for ♪

♪ Had no need to give more than I want to ♪

♪ Spending my time just holding the line ♪

♪ Never getting caught up ♪

♪ Love was never brought up ♪

♪ It's not the thing to do ♪

♪ Ooh, ooh ♪ ♪ It was you ♪

♪ Then came you ♪

♪ You made me leap without taking a look ♪

♪ Ooh, ooh ♪ ♪ It was you ♪

♪ Then came you ♪

♪ You reeled me right in line, sinker, and hook ♪

♪ Never thought forever was the best I could do ♪

♪ Then came you ♪

♪ It was you and me and you ♪

♪ Then came you ♪

♪ It was you and me and you ♪

♪ It was you and me ♪

♪ Then came you ♪

[gentle music]


- Oh, Luigi?

Yeah, buongiorno.

It's Mrs. Papadapolis again.

My order hasn't been delivered yet

and I've promised my guests

an authentic Italian home
-cooked meal.

No, I didn't say I would cook it.

[knocking at door]

Oh, nevermind.

Buena granola, or whatever.

[audience laughing]

Oh, yeah. Come on, come on.

[man speaks Italian]

Oh. [audience laughing]

Oh, you saved my life.

Giuseppe?


- Madam, Italian is a state of mind.

[audience laughing] It just so happens,

I'm an Italian trapped in a Chinese body.

[audience laughing]


- Oh, well, I'll look for my fortune in the ravioli.

[audience laughing] Thank you very much.

Keep the change.
- Grazie.


- Ciao.


- Oh.

[singing in Italian] [audience laughing]


- Now.

Da, da, da, da.

Da.

Yeah.

[Katherine humming]

[audience laughing]

Da, da, da, da, da.

[audience laughing]

[Katherine humming]

[audience laughing]


- Did Ma'am tell you what she's making for dinner?


- No, it's sort of a surprise.


- Well, sometimes she tells us and it's still a surprise.

[audience laughs]

[audience laughs]


- I want you remember two things:

I want you to be very polite to the guests,

and remember, we can always go out for a burger afterwards.


- Smells great, ma'am.

[audience laughs]

[Katherine humming]

[audience laughs]

Oh, look. Nothing looks broken.

And nothing's on fire.

Nothing's messed or anything.

What's going on?

[audience laughs]


- Katherine, I know that Rob's mother

told you not to put yourself out,

but you did make something to eat, didn't you?

[audience laughs]


- Of course I made something, you silly.

What do you think smells so good?

[Katherine chuckle] [doorbell rings]


- I'll get it.


- Hey, Webster.
- Hi, Rob.

Hi, Miss Whitaker.
- Hi, Webster.


- Hi.
- Hi.


- Mr. and Mrs. Papadapolis, this is my mom.


- Claire, nice to meet you, finally.


- Thank you.


- We've heard a lot about you.


- Hi.
- Can I take your coat?


- Oh, thank you.

Well, I've heard a lot about you too from Webster here.


- I didn't tell her anything bad,

you know, like the way shrimp makes you puff up?

[audience laughs]


- What a pal.

Well, you must excuse my appearance,

but you know I've had a very hectic afternoon

in the kitchen.

Come on.


- Oh, I know what that's like.

Cooking doesn't come easy for everyone.


- Wouldn't come easy for Katherine

if she had it delivered.

[audience laughs]

Just teasing, darling.

Claire, would you like to sit down?


- Thank you.
- Rob, Webster.


- What are we having for dinner?


- Italian.


- Shucks. I was in the mood for Chinese.


- Well, try the ravioli.

[audience laughs]

Now I thought we were gonna start off

with a little antipasto.

Ta
-da!
- Oh, that's beautiful,

darling.

You even harpooned those little anchovies

with Italian flags. [audience laughs]


- Yeah, well, you know me.

I just pick a theme and run with it.

[audience laughs]


- Oh, I just love the smell of garlic.


- Thank you.

I think the bread should be done by now.

Um...

[audience laughs] Ah, yes.

Yes, it's done.

[audience laughs]

Ah.


- You keep your bread in the drawer?


- Why not? We keep everything else in that drawer.

[audience laughs]


- It's an old family recipe.


- But Ma'am, we're not Italian.


- Italian is a state of mind.


- Oh.

[audience laughs]

Miss Whitaker, how about Chin
-again after dinner?


- Oh, come on.

This is such a wonderful dinner.

I'm sure we won't have any room for dessert.


- Mm, dinner.

[audience laughs]


- No, no, you see Chin
-again is this silly little thing

that I do that makes the boys laugh.

Please don't make me embarrass myself.

I just met these people.


- How about if we embarrass ourselves?


- Yeah, we're great at that.

[audience laughs]


- I'm so glad that you're taking Rob for the weekend.

I was gonna ask his Nana Feeney to watch him,

but she's getting on in years and,

well, she's got this liver thing.


- Oh, poor dear.

Cirrhosis?


- Oh, no, no, no.

I mean she's obsessed with the benefits of it.

She takes the powdered liver in capsules,

the liquid extract in drinks, and of course the chopped

on the crackers.
- Ooh.

I bet you Nana doesn't have a lot of company

for dinner, does she? [audience laughs]


- I don't know.

You know, finding new friends at a time like this

is such a blessing.

It's been kind of rough since the divorce,

both financially as well as emotionally.

Kevin and I didn't have the friendliest parting.

In fact, we're still battling over Rob.


- Oh, well we like Rob. He's always welcome.

So you just go to that computer seminar and have a ball.

If that's possible. Is that possible?


- I don't think so.

But I think it's gonna be worth it

if I get that promotion at work.


- [Webster and Rob] We're ready! We're ready!

Come in quick!

We're ready! We're ready!

Come in quick!

[audience laughs]


- Hello, everybody.

It's time for the
-


- [Both] Rob and Webster Show!

[audience laughs]


- Okay, everybody. I'm Mr. Chin
-again.


- No, I'm Mr. Chin
-again.


- Okay, okay. You're twin Chin
-agains.


- Yeah. Now let's do the song.


- No, boys. I think it's getting kind of late.

♪ Mary had a steamboat ♪

♪ The steamboat had a fell ♪

♪ Mary went to heaven ♪

♪ The steamboat went to ♪

Bed.

[audience laughs]

[Katherine laughs]
- Oh, that's a good idea.

Listen, tomorrow I'll do Chin
-again, but with a beard.


- Oh, yes. You'd be wonderful with your mustache.

Go on, do it now.


- Really? You want me to do it now?


- No.
- Good night, kiddo.

When I get back on Sunday I wanna hear a good report.


- You will if you talk to us. [laughs]

[gentle music]

Over, Rob.

Come in, Rob.


- All right, I'm in.

This thing still isn't working


- Maybe it would work better if we took out the soup.

[audience laughs]


- Good morning, guys. What would you like for breakfast?


- [Both] Soup.


- Soup? [audience laughs]

How would you like your homemade chicken noodle done,

scrambled or poached?

[audience laughs]

Where'd you get this twine?


- In the garlic bread drawer.

[audience laughs]


- In the junk drawer? Are you kidding?

I bet Katherine $ that this twine was in there

and she told me it wasn't.

Excuse me, I'm gonna go up and collect my five beans.


- I guess we're gonna have to scramble our own soup.

[audience laughs]

[knocking on door]

I'll get it.

Who is it?


- [Man] Hi, it's Rob's dad.


- Come in.


- Hi.


- Dad, what are you

doing here?
- Buddy, how you doing?


- Mom didn't tell me you were coming.


- Oh, hey, look.

It's okay. No problem.

I'll tell you all about it in the car, okay?


- Where are we going?


- Well, look, if you don't wanna take a ride

in my brand new car, just say so.


- Where is it? What kind is it?

Can Webster come?


- That's me, hi.
- Hi.

I'll tell you what, I only have a two seater,

so I'm gonna take Robbie around the block first,

and then I'll come back and I'll pick you up.

How about that?


- That's great. I'll go ask Ma'am and George.


- Okay.

Let's go.


- Wake up and weep.


- Mm
-mm.


- Come on, sweetheart.


- Mm.


- Get up and look at what I have here.

The old twine.

Sweetheart, look it.

Here's the twine that starts from here,

and where does it go?

All the way to this little thing here.


- How do I know you didn't put that in the drawer

after I looked?


- Oh, come on, darling.

You don't think I'm that hard up for five bucks, do you?

Come on, come on.


- Yeah, well the junk drawer's inadmissible evidence,

so it's case dismissed.

Go away.

[audience laughs]


- Ma'am, George, can I take a ride in Rob's dad's new car?


- Rob's dad's here?


- Well, he was. He took Rob for a ride.


- Well, don't you think he should have

asked our permission first?


- He only went around the block.

Besides, why would he ask permission

to go with his own father?

[somber music]

They'll be here any second, right?

I mean, how long does it take to ride around the block?


- Not three and a half hours.

I'm gonna wait five more minutes

and I'm calling the cops.


- It's not gonna do any good.

The police aren't gonna do anything unless Claire calls.

We gotta keep the phone free

and hope she calls us and tells us what she wants us to do.


- What do we need the police for?


- Because we think he's been kidnapped.


- What?

What do you mean?

He went with his own father.


- Honey, I know it's hard to understand,

but parents sometimes kidnap their own children.

Especially in a divorce situation, you know?

I mean, Rob's parents got divorced

and they were very upset.

And there must have been a lot of trouble

deciding on how much time Rob was gonna

spend with his father.


- Rob told me he spends Christmas

and three weeks every summer with his dad.


- Yeah, but I don't think his dad likes those arrangements.

I think he wants to make some of his own.


- But Rob's my best friend.

He'll bring him back, won't he?


- I don't know.


- What do you mean you don't know?

You make it sound like Rob could be gone forever.


- Unfortunately, that's a possibility.

[somber music]

[gentle music]


- It's been days.

If only he would call and let me know that Rob's okay.


- Well, we're gonna get 'em back.

Police are doing everything they can do,

and you know, with these flyers,

someone's bound to spot 'em.

Listen, I feel just as bad about it as you.

After all, it was
-


- What would you have done?

Keep your eye on him every second?

No one can do that.

Besides, who would question a little boy going off

with his own father?

I can't tell you how much it's meant

to have you and Katherine to talk to.


- Hi, everybody.


- Hi, honey.
- Hello, Katherine.


- Claire, George, I have some great news.


- [Claire] Uh
-huh?


- Yeah, I petitioned the Board of Education

to get every class in the city to distribute our flyers.

They're gonna let me know tomorrow. Isn't that great?


- Oh, Katherine. That's terrific.


- Okay, I'm back.

Now what do you need, a stamper or a sticker?


- Stamper. I've licked my tongue dry.

[audience laughs]


- Hi, guys. Any news?


- Not yet.


- Mm.

Hi, George.

Hi, Ms. Whitaker.
- Hey, Champ.


- [Claire] Hi.


- Don't worry, we'll hear something soon.

Look what I made today.


- What you got there?


- R.O.B. stands for "return our best friend."

See, everyone in our class is gonna chip in,

and we're gonna hire a private eye, just like on TV.


- Webster Long, you're quite a guy.


- Thanks.

Oh, and George, we're almost out of flyers,

and it was a great idea.

We've been putting them everywhere.


- That's great.

Well, there's plenty more where they come from.


- Oh.

I'm gonna tape Rob's picture to my collection can.


- Hey, you know, I have a good idea.

Maybe I should call Frank down at the station

and get Rob's picture on television.


- That would be a great idea.

[telephone rings]


- Hello?

Yeah, just a minute.

George, it's for you.


- Thanks, Webster.

You've been working harder than all of us put together.


- I have to.

When I lost my parents, it was because God took them,

and I couldn't do anything about it.

But I won't lose another person I love.

Not if I can help it.

[gentle music]


- And according to the team physician,

he won't be back on the roster for at least three weeks.

What a bummer for the Bulls.

Now I know you're used to the station manager

doing our editorials,

but since tonight's deals with a subject

that has just touched my family, I've asked to do it myself.

Now, I don't know how many of you out there

know that thousands of children

were stolen from their homes last year,

and many will never be heard from again.

Now believe me, this problem is not something

that only happens to the other guy.

Make sure your children know their phone number,

and they should never be afraid to call you

if they feel they're with someone they shouldn't be with.

Now my son is here tonight because, well,

because he has a special reason to speak to you.

Webster.


- Hi, this is Rob Whitaker,

my best friend in the whole world, and he's missing.

I know how hard it is when someone you love leaves

and never comes back.

It's the worst.

So please take a look at this picture,

and if you've seen him or have any information,

please, call.

Please.

[somber music]

[Claire sobs]

[gentle music]

[Katherine grunts]

[audience laughs]

[audience laughs]

Hi, Ma'am. What are you doing?


- I'm trying to stretch these suckers.

[audience laughs]

Whoever invented one size fits all

has a cruel sense of humor.

[audience laughs]

What are you doing home?

I thought you were over playing at Stuey Beckham's?


- I was. He sent me home.


- Uh
-oh, what did you guys do to his cat this time?


- Nothing.


- Oh, Webster. You don't get sent home for nothing.


- I did.

He said I wasn't fun anymore.

I can't help it, Ma'am. I miss Rob.

Why hasn't his father brought him back yet?

And why hasn't he called?


- Oh, honey, I don't know.


- Hey, you two. I have some good news.

I just talked to Frank down at the station, and get this,

he's gonna do a whole series about missing kids

on primetime news.


- That could help.

What if it doesn't?


- [sighs] Webster, we're all doing the best we can.

We just have to...

We just have to wait.


- That's the hardest part.


- Yeah, it is.

Maybe we should do something to take our minds off all this.

Why don't we clean the garage?


- I got a better idea.

You two clean out the garage,

I'll clean out the peanut butter jar.

[audience laughs]


- Well, I guess it's just you and me. Let's go.


- Oh, go on, George.

I don't wanna clean out the garage.

It's all your stuff in there.


- My stuff in there?


- Yeah.
- Come on, Katherine.

You use the garage too.


- I use the garage to park the car,

you use the garage to park everything you've ever owned.

[audience laughs]


- Because I've never been able to park

everything I've ever owned in the house.


- George, if you wanna clean the garage,

go ahead, clean the garage.

[audience laughs]


- Boy, you talk about snippy.

[audience laughs]


- I'm sorry, honey. I guess this is just getting to us all.

[gentle music]

[doorbell rings]


- Rob, you're back!

Hi, how are you doing?

It's great to see you! All right!


- Rob. Hi, honey.

Are you okay?


- Sure.

Oh, Mr. and Mrs. Papadapolis, this is my dad.


- Uh...

Say, why don't you guys go in the kitchen and have a snack?


- Yeah, come on.

That garlic bread that we put in the drawer?

It's still there, and it has green stuff

growing all over it.

[audience laughs]
- Gross.

Let's see it!

[audience laughs]


- Uh, well, whether you believe it or not,

I didn't realize the full extent of what I had done

until I saw you and your son on the television.

I looked at my son then

and I realized what I must be putting him through.

I hurt a lot of people, and I can't undo what I did.


- You're right.


- George, come on now. Please.

Mr. Whitaker's here, maybe we can just try and keep calm

and sit down and talk.


- Here it comes!
- No, I'm not talking
-


- The garlic bread that ate Chicago!


- Hey, hey, guys.

Hey.
- Hear me out, please.


- Come and sit down, Mr. Whitaker.


- Call me Kevin?


- Okay, Kevin.


- You know I, uh...

My father passed away when I was three years old.

I'm not telling you that for sympathy,

I'm just telling you that because I never knew my father.

So when Robbie was born,

I decided that we were gonna do all the usual things.

You know, I made a lot of plans for him and me, and I...

And we were gonna play football, you know,

go to the park, go fishing,

and then Claire and I got divorced.

I mean, you know what happened

when Robbie lost his first tooth?

Claire got to put it under his pillow and I got a postcard.

I am not a part of my son's life anymore, and it hurts.


- Well, I...

Kevin, I appreciate how you feel. It does hurt.

I've been working with families in similar situations,

and I can tell you you're wrong about one thing.

When your son loves you, you're a very big part of his life.

So you and Claire may have decided to end your marriage,

but you're both gonna be Rob's parents forever.


- I know you're right,

but Claire should have asked me to take Robbie that weekend,

not you, and Claire didn't.

And you know why Claire didn't?

Because every time we have a custody discussion,

we wind up yelling at each other.

We can't talk.

There's so much anger between us.


- Bringing Rob back seems to indicate

that you wanna try and work things out.

There are better ways than abducting your own son,

you know, it's illegal.


- I don't know what to say.


- Say you'll call Mom, Dad. Please.

[gentle music]


- Can I use your telephone?


- It's right over there.

And we'll give you some privacy.


- Come on, buddy. I think she'll want to talk to you too.


- What happened?

What'd he say?

What's going on?


- Shh.


- Okay, okay.

Just tell me everything's gonna be all right.


- Well, I'm not sure,

but it looks like it's headed in that direction.

[gentle music]


- You know, I'm glad you got to see your dad,

but most of all I'm glad that you're back,

not missing anymore.

You know, you should have called me,

or your mom, or somebody.


- Yeah, I know that now.

But the funny thing is I didn't even know I was missing.

Well, until we saw you guys on TV.


- You saw us? How'd I look?

[audience laughs]


- You looked okay.

But why'd you have to show that goofy looking picture of me?

[audience laughs]


- That picture wasn't goofy.


- Was too!


- Was not.


- It was too so.


- It was not even.

[audience laughs]

[upbeat music] [audience applauding]


- Webster
-


- Will be back
-


- In a moment.

[Webster laughs]

[gentle music]


- I was so angry at Kevin for what he did,

but I had to put that aside for Rob's sake.

And it turns out he did try to call me at the seminar,

but he couldn't get ahold of me.

I don't know.

It may take a while to work these things out,

but it's gonna be worth it.


- Yeah.

Did my mom tell you that we went with my dad

to see that shrink?

[audience laughs]


- Rob, Ruth Berlin is a family psychologist.

You call her a counselor or a therapist.


- But you and Dad call her a shrink.


- Not in front of Katherine.

[Katherine laughs] [audience laughs]


- Well, it doesn't matter what you call us,

as long as you call us.

Oh!

Now wouldn't that make a lovely needlepoint sampler

for the clinic?

[audience laughs]


- Rob and I decided that since

there are a lot of kids who are still missing,

we're gonna help their parents send out flyers.


- I already signed up as a volunteer.


- Well, what do you say?


- Well, I can't think of a better cause.

You can count me in.


- Oh!

In again, Mr. Chin
-again, remember?

[Katherine and Claire laughs]


- That's right, George.

You promised to show us Chin
-again with a beard.


- Yes, you did.
- That's right.


- No, I didn't.


- Come on.
- Yes, you did.


- No, I didn't.


- [Group] Yes, you did!

[upbeat music]

[orchestral music]