A Teacher
TuesdaysA Teacher Quotes
Claire: Oh wow, Eric, hi.
Eric: Hi.
Claire: How are you?
Eric: I’m OK. Uh, I should probably get going.
Wyatt: You doing OK? Thanks for organizing this whole thing.
Claire: It was a team effort. Seventy-five, how does it feel?
Wyatt: I feel mighty happy to have my family all together like this. Claire, I’m proud of you.
Eric: I am sorry about what happened senior year.
Alison: Oh jeezus.
Eric: Oh, come on.
Alison: What?
Eric: I’m just… I’m being serious.
Alison: But that was like a whole lifetime ago. Yeah.
Eric: Yeah.
Claire: Now being a mother, knowing I did that, I cannot understand it myself. It’s taken me so long to figure out how to live with that. Every day I think about what I should have done differently. I just want you to be OK.
Eric: You’re kidding, right? You called me here today because you’re sick of feeling guilty. I’ve seen you. I’ve seen your photos, your perfect family, your big house.
Claire: My life is not perfect. Yeah, sure, I got lucky. I found a husband for reasons I will never understand doesn’t judge me the way other people do, but like I can’t get a job. I can’t go to PTA meetings. The way other parents look at me. It’s a google search away. I am one click away from ruin. It’s hell.
Eric: You’re still making this about you.
Claire: No, wait, Eric, please.
Eric: I will never be just one click away from this, Claire. I have to live with this forever. So do you.
Eric: Why did you text me?
Claire: I have been… I’ve been wanting to for years. I feel like such a coward. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought about reaching out to apologize, and I know that I should have, but I just wanted both of us to move on. And I was so happy you were able to go to UT and move forward with your life. I just didn’t want to pull you back.
Eric: I didn’t move forward with my life. Our relationship fucking destroyed me.
Claire: I’m so sorry. My marriage wasn’t working, and so I blew it up because it was the only way I knew how to end it. That’s not an excuse. You were the victim of that, and I shouldn’t have let it happen. I violated my role as an educator, and I should have never betrayed those boundaries. I should have… I should have stopped you. I shouldn’t have let you kiss me. I should have… I should have just turned you down.
Eric: Is that what you think happened?
Claire: You came into the classroom and kissed me, but I should have ended it.
Eric: You agreed to tutor me. You took me to UT. You insisted I call you Claire. You took me away from that dance, and you told me to get into the backseat of the car.
Claire: I never wanted you to do anything you didn’t want to do.
Eric: You’re in denial. Do you realize how long it took me to realize I wasn’t responsible? That you were the one creating those moments. Do you know how long I hated myself because I thought that I hurt you? I lost years, Claire. I saw my brother the other day. He’s 17 now. Same age I was. He looks so fucking young. I was just a kid, Claire.
Claire: I know. I know.
Eric: So you’re married now? You have a kid?
Claire: Well, two actually.
Eric: You guys live in Houston? I googled you.
Claire: I’ve googled you too.
Sandra: Hey.
Eric: What’s up?
Sandra: You OK?
Eric: Yeah, totally. I’m just tired from the drive. It’s good to be home.
Guy: I don’t think I can hit you any harder without hurting you.
Claire: Just do it. Come on.
Guy: Are you OK? Oh my god, I am so…
Claire: Why’d you stop? Come on.
Guy: No, no, no, I’m not.
Claire: Come on. That was great. Keep doing it.
Guy: You’re fucking bleeding.
Claire: I’m fine.
Guy: I don’t think I can do this. I’m really sorry. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. Are you OK? No, like actually, are you OK?
Claire: You seem good.
Matt: I am. A little rough there for a while, but things are pretty great now. We’re recording an album.
Claire: Wow, cool.
Matt: Gone to some pretty cool cities for work. Dating, and yeah. I don’t know. As happy as I can be, I guess.
Claire: That’s good to hear.
Matt: It’s OK. You don’t have to pretend you’ve been worried about how I am.
Claire: I have been.
Matt: You never would have done what you did if you gave a shit about me.
Claire: I made a mistake, and I…
Matt: A mistake? Is that what you’re calling it? Wow, OK. I don’t know how I ever loved you.
Claire: Matt, I am so sorry.
Matt: Oh fuck. I’m so mad, I’m just so mad at you. Can you go, please? Can you go?
Eric: They couldn’t have just left you.
Chloe: Yeah, they could have.
Eric: Shit.
Chloe: And they did. I can’t fucking believe this.
Eric: That’s messed up.
Chloe: No shit. Fuck it.
Eric: Yeah, fuck it.
Eric: You all right?
Chloe: I’m not gonna hook up with you. I’m… you’re way too young, and I just got out of a long-term thing. Five years. It’s been really hard.
Eric: Yeah.
Chloe: Yeah, my friends know it has. They just don’t want to hear about it. They just want to fix me, as if sex could fix me. I can’t really… I can’t really talk to them about it. I can’t really talk to anybody about it. No one understands. I don’t know, I just feel so confused. When we first were together, I was so madly in love with him. I felt sick. But he put me through the wringer, and now that I’m out of it, I can see how unhappy I was. I don’t want to feel this way anymore.
Wyatt: I’ve been thinking. Have you given any consideration to going back to Al-Anon? It used to help you. I remember before.
Claire: Well, that was to help deal with you, dad.
Wyatt: Oh, I just know I value.
Claire: Dad, I’m fine. Just stop.
