Parenthood Episode 3.14 It is What it is

Crosby and Lily hang out at The Luncheonette, jamming the blues. Crosby wants to see Lily perform. It turns out she's playing in a string quartet concert at Golden Gate Park on Sunday. Crosby has Jabbar that day - could he come, too? This is fine with Lily; she'll just get more tickets. Having fun soon gives way to a tender first kiss... just as Jasmine shows up to drop off Jabbar. She's completely thrown - more than she thought she would be. Drew returns home from school to find Sarah in the kitchen, trying to write a new play. Sarah's hoping to engage with Drew, but he's on his way to Amy's, as usual. Oh, and Amy's parents are taking him to visit the University of California at Davis on Saturday. Sarah's surprised; she had no idea Drew was interested in this particular college. When she offers to set up a tour, Drew claims it's no big deal and slouches off to Amy's.

Kristina's making pancakes for dinner when Haddie bounces into the kitchen, pretending something's wrong... But the truth is, she got accepted to Cornell, early admission! Max comes running to dump water on Haddie's flames, and Adam's wheels immediately start turning - how are they going to afford this? Camille waits in the hallway while Zeek undergoes a physical exam. Afterwards, the couple convenes in Dr. Walsh's office for the results, which show that Zeek has a condition known as atrial fibrillation. It's an abnormal heart rhythm, which is common in men Zeek's age. While it's not immediately life-threatening, it could lead to all kinds of scary stuff, so for now, Zeek's going to have to change up his diet and exercise program, take blood thinners and beta blockers, and submit to routine monitoring. If the condition gets more serious, they'll discuss surgical options.

Kristina wakes up at the crack of dawn to find Adam wide awake, staring at baby Nora. He can't sleep, because the price of tuition at Cornell - around $60,000 a year - is keeping him awake. He's been calculating based on what he was making at his old job, when they could have managed $7,000 a year. And it's not just tuition - there will be plane tickets, a winter wardrobe, books... Later that morning, Joel finds Julia up early, building a crib. When Zoe calls, Julia shuts Joel into the bedroom, not wanting to stress Zoe out with the site of the crib. Julia also has news; she signed them up for a birthing class, which will start this week. Zoe doesn't want to do it, but the hospital where she's giving birth requires it.

Bob Little is a little trepidatious about a fundraising event Kristina set up at wealthy Bob Wormely's house on Sunday. Spying Amber, he turns on the charm, extracting Kristina's promise that Amber will be there as well. Camille has wasted no time picking up Zeek's new medication, along with a pill box that will allow her to sort medication by days of the week and a whole lot of literature. Withdrawn, Zeek asks her not to tell the kids about his condition.

Crosby drops Jabbar off at Jasmine's. When he awkwardly brings up Lily, Jasmine mentions she saw them kissing the other night. Luckily, Jabbar didn't see anything. Jasmine knows Crosby's going to have hookups, but... Crosby apologizes, claiming it won't happen again. And for the record, Lily isn't just a hookup. In fact, she's playing a concert this weekend, and Crosby would like to take Jabbar. When Jasmine realizes Crosby's talking about the Debussy series, she mentions that she was planning to get tickets for herself and Joe. Crosby sheepishly offers to ask Lily for tickets, promising Jasmine he won't feel odd about it at all. Sarah stops by Amy's house to drop off Drew's phone and thank Amy's parents, Terri and Paul, for taking Drew to UC Davis. Drew's not happy to see Sarah and even less happy when she starts bonding with Terri and Paul. It's not long before they extend an invitation to join the UC Davis expedition to Sarah, who accepts, much to Drew's chagrin.

Haddie's online, checking out Cornell and getting pumped up when her parents knock on her bedroom door. First of all, they want to congratulate her on getting into her dream school. But they want to talk to her about keeping her options open. Haddie's face falls as Adam explains that this year, losing his job, going into a new business, Nora, and Max's continuing expenses - which go on and on forever - have depleted their savings. Haddie claims she understands, but clearly, all the oxygen has left the room.

The next day, both Camille and Sarah are shocked when Zeek pulls into the driveway with a new used Airstream. Sarah's even more surprised to learn that Camille had no idea that Zeek was going to execute such a purchase. She skedaddles to let her parents work it out, and Camille declines to say a word. Meanwhile, Julia is building more nursery furniture when Zoe stops in to check out the new bedroom. Julia explains that she's been keeping her activities under wraps because she doesn't want to be insensitive. Adam finds Crosby in the booth, listening to Lily's music. Crosby admits he's into Lily, but there's a wrinkle. Not only did Jasmine see them kiss, but he's going to Lily's concert with Jasmine, Dr. Joe and Jabbar. Weird, right? Adam laughs. That's not weird; that's stupid.

Kristina finds Haddie staring at her laptop, unhappily checking out alternatives to Cornell. Kristina sits down. She knows how unfair this is; finances shouldn't be an issue. Haddie claims finances aren't what's unfair about the situation. After some prodding by Kristina, Haddie admits this feels like just one more time she's going to have to sacrifice what she wants because of Max and his needs. She can't go to Cornell because of Max - and this is fine - but Kristina can't ask her not be upset about it. Meanwhile, Sarah, Drew, Amy, Terri and Paul are walking the UC Davis campus. While Terri and Paul reminisce about good old times, Drew's doing his best to avoid his mom, who's surprised to see her son holding hands with a girl for the first time. She's even more surprised to learn from Terri and Paul that Drew's thinking about majoring in biology.

Amber stops by Bob's office with a list of everyone attending the Wormely fundraiser, along with their pertinent information. Bob gives her kudos; this is the single-most important document in the campaign because in order to do good things with no money, you have to seduce the country clubbers. Amber's surprised to learn that she and Bob have something in common: they both worked at country clubs. Furthermore, Bob's dad is an assistant manager at a family restaurant; he's no Ivy Leaguer. The way he got to where he is now has been a matter of working his ass off. Meanwhile, there's another awkward moment underway at Julia's. Zoe wants to give Julia a watch to give to the baby. It belonged to Zoe's grandfather, who was really good to her. It would mean a lot.

During a few minutes alone with Drew, Sarah asks about his interest in biology, letting him know it feels weird he didn't tell her. Drew tries to pass it off as no big deal, so Sarah asks him to keep her in the loop. That night before bed, Kristina levels with Adam. They have to send Haddie to Cornell; she doesn't care what they have to do. Haddie has worked so hard; it's her dream, and it's not fair. Adam maintains there are plenty of great schools close by - Haddie could get out of school with no debt. Cornell doesn't make good sense. Kristina acquiesces. If this is the decision they're making, they have to tell Haddie, now. Zeek checks in with Sarah after the UC Davis trip. Sarah admits Drew doesn't care what she thinks; he's pulling away from her, and she didn't see it coming. Zeek assures Sarah that she did her job well. She worked hard to give Drew the tools to build a life for himself, and that's just what he's doing. Now's the time to savor any of Drew's time she can get because pretty soon he'll be gone.

Crosby, Lily, Jasmine, Dr. Joe and Jabbar meet up in the park before the concert. Lily makes a great impression on everyone: she complements Jasmine's outfit and tells Jabbar about the music he's about to hear. Some people think classical music is boring; but Jabbar should watch her, and she'll give him a signal when the good part is coming up. Both Crosby and Jabbar are blown away by Lily's performance, and Jasmine is clearly jealous. Did she make the right decision, letting Crosby go? Meanwhile, the Wormely affair is in full swing, and both Bob and Kristina are working the room, with Amber providing backup. Unfortunately, Bob Wormley is too drunk to introduce Bob, so Kristina steps in, charging Amber with keeping Wormely out of the limelight. Bob is totally impressed to learn that handling drunk guys is totally in Amber's wheelhouse.

Adam knocks on Haddie's bedroom door, fully intending to deliver bad news. He steels himself, but in the moment, he can't bring himself to smash her dreams. He tells Haddie that he and Kristina talked it over, and they want to do what's best... so they'll do whatever it takes to get her to Cornell. The next day, Julia and Zoe attend birthing class. The instructor, Mrs. Chopra, makes no bones. Childbirth is terribly painful, but the greatest joy a woman will ever feel is holding her baby for the first time. Zoe fights off emotion, but finally she can't take it anymore and runs out of the classroom. Julia finds her sobbing the hallway. It hurts more than Zoe thought it would.

The fundraiser has been a great success. Afterwards, Kristina leaves Amber to finish up, but not before congratulating her for saving the night. Meanwhile, Zeek takes Camille outside to christen the Airstream, complete with a bottle of champagne. Really, he wants to explain his erratic behavior. He knows she's worried, but it's hard for him to talk about it. Camille assures him that it's okay to talk to her about anything, and it's okay to be scared. Zeek's not alone, and they have to keep his situation in perspective. Ultimately, no one knows what's going to happen to them. Zeek agrees, which is why he bought the Airstream. From now on, he's going to live life to the fullest, doing all the things he's always wanted to do. Remember when Camille wanted to paint all the missions in California? Well, now they can do it.

While waiting for his car from the valet, Bob thanks Amber for doing such a great job on the fundraiser. If he goes on to become president of the United States, she can say that she kept his first campaign alive. Bob shakes Amber's hand, not letting go... does she want to get a bite to eat? Amber's clearly full of conflicting emotions, but she backs off and declines the offer.