Relationships - Family

Ed and Caroline are in the process of getting divorced. Tanya, their 13-year- old daughter, is discussing her feelings about Ed's new girlfriend, Laurie. Ed met Laurie when the car she was driving skidded and crashed into Ed and Caroline's front hedge. Laurie is a divorced mother of a three-year-old and a five-year-old.

Tanya: I'm not going to spend my weekend with Laurie. I'm not going to her house.

Ed: You need to give this some time. You need to give her a chance.

Tanya: She talks with food in her mouth. She only reads romance novels. She makes me sick.

Ed: Cut her some slack, you might grow to like her.

Tanya: I will never like her. I will always hate her. The woman crashes into our yard and you fall in love with her. That's sick, Dad.

Ed: Your mother and I tried. We went for counseling. You know that. But we need to move on. I need to move on.

Tanya: Move on. But I'm not. I hate her and those two little brats. Give me a break. Who would name their kids Jana and Jimbo?

Ed: They're only little kids.

Tanya: If you marry her, I'm moving to Australia.

Ed: Tanya, Laurie and I aren't talking about marriage yet.

Tanya: It's bad enough that me and Harry and Mom have to move to a teeny apartment so you can have your own place.

Ed: You'll be in a beautiful apartment with a garden. And you'll have your own room.

Tanya: In Linden Vale? It's the hood, Dad.

Ed: Don't be ridiculous. Tanya, I love you. But I am a person too. And I deserve to be happy.

Tanya: Why do I have to worry about you? Why don't you care about me?

Ed: I do worry about you. But I don't think you're giving this a chance.

Tanya: I don't want more brothers and sisters. And I don't want to move. And I'm tired of you telling me to give things a chance. You are messing up my life.

Ed: We are doing everything we can to keep things stable for you. You'll be in the same school. You'll be with me on the weekends, you'll be able to be with your friends. Everything I do I'm thinking about you.

Tanya: I don't believe this. Stable. C'mon. Don't make it like you care so much about me. If you cared, you wouldn't leave me and Harry.

Ed: You can come live with me.

Tanya: You don't get it do you? You don't understand.

Ed: What don't I understand?

Tanya: Forget it.

Ed: Your mother and I can't be together. But that doesn't affect how I feel about you. I love you. Listen, let's go out. We'll get pizza and go ice-skating.

Tanya: With Laurie?

Ed: No alone. Harry can stay with Mom. Just the two of us

Tanya: You think you can bribe me with pizza and ice-skating? I'm not an eight-year-old. I'm not going to pretend that you're not screwing up my life.

Ed: I'm not going to ruin your life.

Tanya: You already did.

Ed: You've got no choice. You have to give this a chance. And you have to give Laurie a chance.

Tanya: I'm not gonna. I will never go to your house if she's there.

Ed: Fine. You don't have to.

Tanya: And if you marry her, consider me gone.

Ed: Tanya. Please don't make things harder than they have to be.

Tanya: Don't act like this is the Cosby Show. Everything is not gonna turn out okay just cause you want it to.