Oh, listeners, I know exactly what you're doing
right now. You pressed play faster than Claire
bolting from her sister's plodding paws. You
want answers. Did Tony and Claire do the deed?
Was there only one bed at the inn? Was there
a plot twist? A bait and switch? Do we finally
enter the spicy chapter? Oh, I live for this
part. Good morning, beautiful. Ah, good morning.
You look happy. Oh, I am. Yesterday, last night,
was memorable. I hope that's a good thing. Oh
yeah, the best thing. So, was taking me to a
sex museum part of your seduction plan this whole
time? No, the sex museum was spontaneous. The
mind -blowing sex afterward was inevitable, I
guess. I don't want this trip to end. I don't
either. It's been like fireworks. You know, I
can't believe Shannon was right about us. Oh,
I can. I was attracted to you from the moment
I saw you swiffering the ceiling. Ha. When I
first saw you working on that treehouse in the
backyard, I knew I was in trouble. I'll never
live this down. Hey. Can I tell you something?
Of course. Brian was texting me suggestions of
romantic things to do all weekend. Oh, I knew.
Shannon was texting me, fishing for information.
I could practically feel them giggling together
through my phone. Okay, well, it's my turn for
a spontaneous idea. Yeah? What if we changed
our flights and stayed another day? Really? There's
so much to do here. Do you mean here in this
bed or like New York in general? Why not both?
There's lots more we could do here. We can start
in this bed and then make our way out to the
city later. Okay. In that case, I think I could
change my flight. Hang on. Oh, sorry. This is
Dom's mom. Let me see why she keeps calling.
One sec. Hello? Rashida? Yeah, I'm kind of busy.
What? My God, what happened? Is she okay? Is
she hurt? Where is she? Oh, no. Okay, um... When's
the surgery? Okay, I will get there as soon as
I can. Oh, my God. Oh, my gosh, what happened?
Oh, shit. Dom got hit by a car walking on the
street. She's okay, but... Her hand was shattered,
and I gotta get to Nashville, like, right now.
Oh, Tony. Oh, my God. Okay, okay, everything's
gonna be fine. Let's see how quickly we can get
you on a flight out. I'll order a car to the
airport. Okay, thanks. So, he's there with her
now? Ugh. I'm sorry the trip ended that way,
Claire. Oh, poor Tony. Poor Dominique. So anyway,
I guess she has to have some kind of surgery.
You should have seen Tony's face. He looks so
terrified. I can't imagine. If something happened
to one of the kids while I was out of town, I'd
lose my shit. Well, he's kind of always out of
town since they live in different cities. He
was probably totally panicked. Have you talked
to him? How's she doing? No, not since he got
on the flight. He texted me to let me know he
was at the hospital and that she's okay, but
I don't want to bother him. He's with Dominique
and her moms. Well, I'm glad he could get there
right away. Me too. Yeah. But how did it go before
that? Brian, I'm not telling you. Oh, come on,
Claire. No, you sickos. We're not going to talk
about my escapades with Tony when his daughter
is in the hospital. Ha! I knew you were up to
something. I saw your location. Two hours in
a place called the Museum of Sex? It's a real
thing, not a euphemism. I googled it. Why would
there be a euphemism for sex called the Museum
of Sex? That makes no sense, hon. Okay, whatever.
Claire, no more avoiding. I just need to know,
did you do the deed? Define deed. That's a yes.
They did it. Yep. Top. Give me five. Absolutely
not. Come on. Don't leave me hanging. You guys
are so weird and way too involved in my sex life.
I'm leaving. Wait, wait. Come back. I still haven't
heard any more about the interview. Oh, it was
good. I already told you all there is to tell,
though. Well, did they offer you a position?
Not officially. Well, if they do, are you going
to take it? Let's just wait and see if they make
me an offer. Tony, hey. Hey. Sorry I didn't call
earlier. Oh, gosh, no, no, it's fine. You've
been tied up with Dom. How is she? She's, uh,
she's okay. Once the swelling goes down, she's
going to have to have this medical contraption
attached to her hand to set her bones while they
heal. It's called a fixator. It's pretty crazy.
Oh, my God. That sounds serious. Yeah. Yeah,
it is. It's a bad injury. I'm so sorry. I just...
I can't believe this happened to my girl. Will
she still be able to play the piano? She'll have
to have this device attached to her bones and
coming out of her hand for like four weeks. It's
not good. Is there anything I can do? I can't
imagine what. I mean, I guess you're going to
be in Nashville for a while, right? Yeah, looks
like it. Could I... Could I come see you? I could
bring you some stuff. Like, do you need more
clothes? Oh, um... I mean, I don't want to impose.
I know you're with your daughter right now. And
your ex. I don't want it to be awkward for you.
I just feel like... I couldn't ask you to come
all the way here. You didn't ask. I offered.
But it's not going to be a fun trip for you.
I wouldn't expect it to be fun. I just want to
help if I can. And I want to see you. I want
to see you too. So let me do this. You probably
only packed for one night in New York. Uh...
Okay. Yeah. Thank you. Um, I can tell you where
the key's hidden in my house. Can you pick up
some clothes for me? When can you come? Hi. Hi.
I'm so glad you're here. Are you okay? Uh, yes.
How did you do that? Do what? Your hug. I feel
like I can breathe for the first time since I
left New York. Aw. Tony, this place is adorable.
How did you find it? Oh, Rashida's friend owns
it. It's part of some gay Airbnb network. Apparently
that's a thing. Yeah, and that explains the mid
-century modern perfection. That lamp over there
screams, I make pour over coffee and I'm emotionally
available. I guess. I don't know. It's nice to
look at, but I like things a little more cozy.
More rustic. Of course you do. You need a log
cabin for your whole lumberjack aesthetic. Some
place where a bear might stop by uninvited. Well,
if the work boot fits, right? But hey, you look
pretty cute in the mid -century vibe, though.
And thank you so much for coming here and bringing
me the extra clothes. You're welcome. Gotta admit,
though, it feels really weird that you've seen
the inside of my underwear drawer so early in
our relationship. I've seen what's inside your
underwear, too. You trying to seduce me again?
But seriously, I'm normally a pretty private
person. Relatively tidy. It was fine. Pretty
much what I expected. You know, pine needles,
wood shavings, flannels, saws of various types.
You know I'm not actually a lumberjack, right?
Hmm, let me have my kink. Come on. Hey, whatever
keeps you coming back. So, um, what's next for
Dominique? Um, well, she's in her temporary cast.
The surgery is scheduled for next week. Then
it'll be a month with the contraption attached
to her arm and then another surgery to remove
it. Wow. What did they say about whether she'll
be able to play again? They're not sure yet.
The doctors say physical therapy will help, but
they can't guarantee she'll regain full mobility.
And even if she does, getting back to performing
at the same level she was at? I just don't know.
Oh, man. She must be so devastated. Yeah, she
is. I think that's the hardest part for her.
I mean, her music school is pretty prestigious.
I'm sorry. Gosh, that's a lot. I just feel so
bad that I haven't been around for her. Don't
say that. You were on a work trip. It could have
happened to anyone. You're always a phone call
away. Yeah, well, while I was out having a good
time, she got hit by a car. Even if I wasn't
on a work trip, I wouldn't have been here in
Nashville. I shouldn't be living so far away.
I feel like a shitty dad. How could you have
predicted that? You're not a shitty dad. I mean,
I get what you're feeling, but you're not. I
don't know. Should we figure out something for
dinner? Sure. I don't really feel like going
out. Sorry, I told you I wasn't going to be any
fun. I don't need you to be entertaining. We
could cook here. Point me to the nearest grocery
store and I'll go pick up some stuff. Yeah? Okay.
Thank you. Okay, let's see what you got. Ground
beef, cheese, peppers, onions. Ah, taco shells.
We're having tacos? Yeah. Do you like spicy?
I got some jalapenos, but I'm scared to chop
them without gloves. Wait, gloves? I wear contacts.
I'll never chop jalapenos without gloves again.
Okay, spicy eyeballs. Ouch. Good to know. I just
realized I haven't asked you about the New York
John. Did they make you an offer? They did. And?
And I think I'm going to give it a shot. It's
a good career opportunity for me. It's kind of
ideal for a long -term freelance contract. I
would be there for a few months, six tops. Wow.
Well, you'll be going back to New York at some
point to work on that restaurant project, right?
Uh, yeah, I guess. I haven't even thought about
that with everything that's going on here with
Dom. Um, well, congratulations. I'm happy for
you. You don't sound super happy. Sorry, it's
just my head's not in a great place right now.
I know. It's weird that I'll be leaving just
as we're, I don't know, getting together. Yeah,
but I refuse to be the guy who would ever hold
you back from something. You wouldn't be. It's
just a few months. I mean, we can keep it casual.
We don't need to... label anything. Oh, okay.
That's... Well, like you said, I'll need to go
up to work on the restaurant in Brooklyn sometime
next month and we can be tourists together again.
Yeah. Hey, Shannon. I'm back. Oh, hey, kids.
Hi, Claire. Did you bring me a souvenir? Uh,
no. This wasn't that kind of trip. And no, you
don't always get souvenirs anyway. What are you
eating? Cucumbers. Mama won't let me eat any
more chips until I eat a vegetable. I love broccoli.
It tastes like little trees. Gross. You guys,
where is your mom? In the kitchen making something
out of buffaloes. What? Hey, Claire. Come here,
taste this. That's the first thing you say to
me when I walk in the door? Not, hi, Claire,
how was Nashville? Hey, Claire, how was your
trip? It was fine. Weird. Fine. What are we listening
to, by the way? Brian's cooking jams playlist.
Buffalo chicken dip. Did you make this? Yeah.
It's one of those rip -off dip recipes, but it
took forever to make. Why bother? Just buy the
store -bought dip. I don't know. Maybe because
I care about feeding my family actual food. Less
chemicals, more nutrients. Hey, dance with me.
No, I'm good. Besides... Chemicals are delicious,
and I've spent the last decade convincing people
that powdered cheese and shelf -stable dips are
gourmet and more delicious than what you can
make at home. It's called storytelling, Shannon.
Capitalist slut. At your service. You know, speaking
of cooking and Latin jams, have you and Brian
ever had any issues with chopping jalapenos and
then, like, accidentally getting the oils on
your... Parts? Oh yeah, you can't touch your
eyes for like a whole day. That's why we have
kitchen gloves. You know this. Right. I'm talking
about other parts. Oh, wait. Did you have some
spicy times that led to spicy times in your hoo
-ha? You of all people should not be saying hoo
-ha. You got a hot tamale, a spicy clam, a peppery
po - Stop! What do you do about that? I don't
know. That's why I'm asking you. Oh, if I know.
You want to use our bidet? Splash some milk up
there? I don't know. What would be soothing?
Milk? Gross. That sounds like a terrible idea.
Claire Bear? Hey, how was your trip? What are
y 'all talking about? Nothing. My trip is okay.
I brought some stuff up for Tony. And Dom is
having this crazy surgery next week. It sounds
terrible. And what did you decide about New York?
Oh, I decided I'm going to go for it. I can't
pass up the opportunity to live in New York for
just a little while. It'll be a cool experience.
That's awesome. But what about you and Tony?
What about me and Tony? The feminist in me is
like, you go knock them dead out there in the
big city. But the romantic in me is saying, don't
run away from this relationship just as it's
getting somewhere. Shannon, it will be fine.
I can do both. Knock him dead and stay in a relationship.
Okay, you're right. I'm sorry. Oh, my God. I
can't believe my baby sister is moving to New
York. Samantha, how long have you been standing
there? Oh, I'm here for more chips. Are you moving?
Oh, gosh, I'm not moving, moving. Just temporarily
relocating. We haven't lived in different cities
since college. I'm going to miss you. Oh, I'm
going to miss you too. But I'll be back before
you know it. I will never get over the whiplash
of being around two sisters who are simultaneously
best friends and constantly bickering. You two
wear me out. The first day at a new job is the
worst. Is this the right conference room? I'm
just going to set up my laptop and grab my beverages
before the new higher onboarding meeting starts.
Shannon, why are you calling me? I'm about to
start a meeting. Well then, why did you answer?
I didn't even mean to answer. I was just trying
to connect to the conference room so I can get
trained on all these portals that I have to log
into. The screen share is the green pointy -uppy
arrow at the bottom of the Zoom screen. Dude,
I know that. I'm trying to... Oh, crap. There
are people on the big monitor in here. The meeting
has already started. Hi. Sorry, hi. I'm just
trying to get connected to the screen here. Am
I in the meeting now? No, Shannon, hang up. Hi.
Oh, do I need to let someone else into the meeting?
No, sorry. It's just my sister. Oh, oh. Now the
camera is zooming way in on my face. Please make
it stop. Oh, God. Oh, yeah, the meeting room
does that. Claire, I'm still here. You need to
hang up. No, you hang up. I'm in a meeting. Why
is it zoomed in so close to my face? I did hang
up, but it's still connected. Do you need me
to hang up? No, sorry, not you. It's my sister.
Oh, your sister works here, too? Is she logged
into the portal? You can't enter the meeting
as a guest if you're not logged into the portal.
No, sorry. She's not in this meeting. She's hanging
up now. I can still hear you. It didn't hang
up. Kill me now. Please, just kill me now. Okay,
who is sharing screen for this? Sorry, I can.
I'm just connecting to the conference room here.
And you have the KPIs for the Q2 PPC? Do what
now? I thought this was an onboarding meeting.
Oh, I think you're in the wrong room. Oh, okay.
I'm sorry. Let me figure out where I'm supposed
to be. So you don't have the KPIs for the Q2
PPC? Shannon, hang up. Oh, that covered through.
I'm supposed to be across the hall. I'm going.
I'm going now. Yeah, that was awkward. Shit.
Tony, hey. Sorry, I know I was supposed to call
you back, but my phone died. And I just made
it back to the apartment. Hey, Claire. Yeah,
I figured you were tied up in a meeting or something.
You have no idea. You know how I have no sense
of direction, right? But Manhattan is a grid.
Like, the streets are just numbered. I know,
but I couldn't remember which direction to go
to get to my subway stop, and then I swear the
map was telling me to walk in the opposite direction,
and then I went three blocks the wrong way, and
then my phone died, and I had to figure out a
different train route, and then some old man
had to help me get on the right subway line,
and I had to pee the whole time, and it was a
day. Sounds like it. But how did the job part
of the day go? Oh, it was okay. Working at a
huge international agency is much different than
I was expecting. Oh, yeah? How so? It was more,
I don't know, corporate than I thought. There
are so many different portals to log into and
things that have to be logged and tracked, but
the people I'm working with are really nice.
They're all so young, though, but so cool. Feeling
like a small -town girl in the big city? More
like feeling like an old lady next to these Gen
Z kids. They speak exclusively in memes and pop
culture references. Well, you should fit right
in then. No, but they're cool. They aren't so
jaded and burned out like some of the people
I've worked with in the past. It's kind of refreshing.
Nice. I'm glad you're settling in. Thanks. So,
how's Dom? Recovering from surgery okay? Yeah,
she's doing well. Seeing that thing sticking
out of her arm is still really creepy. But we've
been watching a bunch of old movies, listening
to music, stuff like that. Are you going stir
-crazy? Not really. It's been kind of nice having
so much time to just hang out together. That's
great. Yeah. Tomorrow I'm heading back to Atlanta
for a few days to get some work done, then coming
back out here to help out again next week. So
when do you think your project in Brooklyn will
pick back up? I'm going to see if I can put it
off until after the second surgery to get this
thing off her arm. Oh, okay. That's kind of a
long time from now. Yeah, well, you know, there's
always phone calls. You know I suck at phone
calls. If it can't be said with a gif, I'm not
saying it. All right, then we'll go old school.
Email, like it's 2002. Emails? Ew. I only write
those to, like, clients and my dentist. That's
basically emotional labor. You email your dentist?
Fine. No, I don't. But I don't want to email
you. Think of it like a letter. Didn't you ever
have a pen pal as a kid? I did. Her name was
Kathy. She lived in London and she liked horses
and glitter glue. There you go. Just pretend
I'm Kathy. Write to me. I'll believe in you.
Pal. I'm not your pal, bro. Then what are you?
We said we weren't going to label it, right?
Yeah, yeah. A situationship? I don't even know
what that is. Exactly. Well, write me an email,
okay? No glitter glue required. Okay, will do.
I gotta go order some food. Now I am starving.
Okay. Talk later? Talk later. Bye. Bye. This
is me grumbling. I'm brooding. I'm pacing. I'm
anxious. Because nowhere, nowhere in the rom
-com playbook does it say anything about a child
landing in the ER with a cyborg hand. As a mom,
I was gutted. As a narrator, I was deeply off
script. Now Claire was living in a whole different
city and she and Tony were pen pals in a situation
ship. Just when things were getting spicy in
more ways than one, not great. But I had to trust
the well -executed romantic arc. The formula
works, people. It always works, right? The rom
-com formula was created, directed, produced,
and written by Susan Cooper. Co -produced by
Micah Caldwell and co -written by Micah Caldwell,
Rozzy Shadmery, and Saithi Salipuram. Co -starring
Susan Cooper as Shannon, Micah Caldwell as Claire,
and Matt Fogarty as Tony. Joined in this episode
by an ensemble cast that includes Francisco Almenara
as Brian, Matilda Cooper as Samantha, Oliver
Clearfield as Jonathan, and Marie Burke as Claire's
co -worker. Series edited by Doug Lehman with
post -production provided by Rosebank Picture
and Sound. If this episode of the Rom -Com Formula
swept you off your feet, please like and subscribe,
leave us a review, share with your favorite hopeless
romantic, and follow us on Instagram at romcomformula
for bonus content. I am Diana Duran. Thanks for
listening.