Qualities And Difficulties - Recap

Adam and Kristina try to answer Max's questions about Asperger's. They
don't handle it very well, and Kristina unsuccessfully fights tears. He
asks if they have Asperger's. Or does Haddie. No - just Max. He's the
only one. He asks to be excused and runs upstairs as Kristina sobs and
Adam tries to comfort her.

Sarah tells Camille she was up writing all night. She doesn't really
know what she's writing, she just couldn't stop. Maybe a story. Camille
volunteers to read it, and Sarah isn't ready. She'll be one of the first
to know when it's ready.

Jasmine leaves school and finds Crosby at her vehicle. She refuses to
speak to him, and drives away.

Sarah puts her envelope of work under a door, but changes her mind and
can't get it back out again. She's at the door of her ex, Mark Cyr (he
was Amber's teacher last year). When he lets himself in his apartment,
she grabs the envelope. Mark asks her about it, and she finally tells
him the truth of it. He really wants to read it, and she lets him, after
some seriously nervous bantering.

Adam and Kristina visit Dr. Pelickan and fill him in on how they handled
their talk with Max, and how it came about. Adam is angry and defensive,
while Kristina remains mute. The doctor asks about the fact that
Kristina cried. He says that crying implies that Asperger's is something
to mourn. He gives them a script to use as a blueprint to discuss the
diagnosis with Max. They're going to have a re-do of their talk with Max.

When they get home, Adam continues to be angry and combative. He doesn't
like the script, it feels like Dr. Pelickan wants them to lie to Max.
"Positive spin." Kristina tries to go over the script with him, but Adam
appears stuck in his own perceptions of Asperger's.

Sydney is having a sleepover with Jabbar, but that was before things
changed between Crosby and Jasmine. They're having their 8th
anniversary, and don't want to cancel the play date. Julia says she
doesn't want to take sides, but instantly follows with "He's my brother,
but he screwed up." They hold off on canceling.

Kristin wants to talk to Max, but it's not mutual. He reads his cereal
box as he answers in monosyllables. He doesn't look up for Adam, either.
Kristina wants to do the re-do chat, but Adam refuses to hear her out.

Crosby talks to Julia and Sarah about how to proceed with Jasmine. Sarah
tells him he's an ass, as Crosby moans about trying to fix this. Sarah
says there is nothing harder to recover from than infidelity, while
Julia thinks maybe he can fix it. She doesn't know how. Crosby loves
Jabbar and Jasmine.

Adam walks in, says "You didn't say he was going to be here" and walks
back out again. Crosby jumps out of his chair and gives chase, calling
Adam's name. He wants to apologize, but Adam keeps walking. He doesn't
care that Crosby's sorry. He's too concerned for his family.

Sarah's at work. They need a new manager, and she volunteers herself.
She asks the current manager to put in a good word for her, and he agrees.

Jasmine calls Julia to find out if the sleepover is still on. It is.
She's looking forward to having Sydney over.

Crosby arrives at his boat. Jasmine dropped all his belongings off.

Zeek and Camille arrive at Adam and Kristina's. They want to talk about
what happened with Crosby and Max. Zeek is especially concerned about
how Max is processing. He figures sooner is better than later, for Max
to find out. Adam kicks in again with the positive spinning. Camille
asks if he's spoken to Crosby, and Adam says no. They tell him he needs
to talk to his brother. Yes, he screwed up something fierce. But Crosy
is still Adam's brother. Adam proceeds to go off on his parents. They're
to blame for Crosby, they never held him accountable. He berates his
parents and storms out before they can say a word.

Jasmine is working with a class when Crosby arrives. She gives him a
moment, but he doesn't get to talk. What he did to her and their family
makes her sick. She goes back in class.

Adam and Max have a skirmish over shoes. He wants to take Max to Galaxy
Park and ride the roller coaster all day. Max says yes, but then no -
but then yes.

Sarah is interviewed for the manager position. She doesn't know any of
the right answers for the questions. She didn't know the pay is
considerably less than waitressing. She can work as many shifts as she
wants, but he doesn't think the manager position is for her.

Kristina calls Adam and finds out that he's playing hooky with Max.
She's very worried, but he won't listen to her and ends the call. He and
Max have a wonderful time as Max tells him everything he knows about
roller coasters. He's surprised to find himself impressed by Max's level
of knowledge.

Joel & Julia's 8th anniversary turns out to be of "no sugar for 8 days",
so they're going to a raw food restaurant. Jasmine says it sounds
wonderful. They're very grateful for the break. Jasmine accidentally
starts crying. Joel takes over with the kids so Julia can comfort
Jasmine. They decide to stay in with her and the kids, and Joel orders
pizza.

Adam and Max get on the "Velocerator", and he starts melting because it
needs to be repaired and will be closed for the rest of the day. He
can't believe everything changed so he could ride this, but he can't. He
runs away from Adam, screaming. Adam catches up, but he can't stop the
meltdown.

Crosby is listening to music way too loud, and a neighbor comes over to
complain. He politely asks Crosby to turn it down, but Crosby is drunk
and surprised to find the man on his boat. A shoving match ensues, and
Crosby quickly takes all his anger and hostilities out on the unexpected
visitor.

Zeek picks Crosby up, after paying his bail. He's still drunk and teary
when he tells Zeek he messed up. He really messed up. Zeek hugs him.

Adam apologizes to Kristina for taking Max to the park. He didn't want
him to feel limited. He just wanted him to forget everything for one
damn day, and they could go out and have a happy memory. He's in tears,
and Kristina reassures him. He finally sees the truth in what Kristina
has been wanting, and is even willing to use the Pelickan script.
Kristina tells him he's a great dad.

Sarah walks out her door and into Mark. She's surprised, so screams and
throws her glass of wine. He wanted to return her reading material. He
brought it personally because it's not fun talking about writing over
the phone. She figures he'll say three generic good things about her
writing, to soften her up so he can say the three soul-crushing,
specific things that will reduce her work to nothing. Gee. She just left
his work as an English teacher in a pile of ashes. She's ready. What is
his take on her writing. But she can't or won't listen to him. He
actually has to tell her to shut up, and she still keeps talking. Mark
tells her it's not a story. It's more of a play. Her characters are
fresh and the dialog is incredibly funny. He does have two criticisms.
One, her handwriting rather sucks, so get thee to a word processor. And
two, she actually has to finish it. She mists up, as she can't believe
what she's hearing. He says it's really, really good. Congratulations,
Sarah Braverman; you are a playwright. They say "see you around", but it
sounds like it will be sooner rather than later. And it is. She follows
him out to his vehicle to thank him.

Adam and Kristina have their re-do chat with Max. They explain how the
things that have happened over the past couple of years relate to
Asperger's. Adam covers the positives, and Kristina covers the
negatives, and how proud they are of how he's handled it. They handle it
much better than the first time. He leaves, and they give each other
positive affirmations.

Crosby and Jabbar play a board game on the boat. Jabbar tells him
Jasmine said he has to stay on the boat and work on it. He tells Jabbar
that's the truth. Jabbar wants to know when he'll be home, and Crosby
says he doesn't know. There's a lot of work to do.

Joel comes downstairs to tell Julia something important. He wants her to
know he's never cheated on her, and he never will.

Kristina is reading to a sleeping Max. Adam stops by and drops off a
kiss before joining her at his bedside.


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