Native Gardens 1

Tania! There you are!

Paula, you’re home early.

Should you be doing that?

It’s fine. I’m so sick of unpacking. I hate to be inside on such a beautiful day!

You should take it easy.

Gardening relaxes me. You’re the one that’s been working so hard.

I have to. This firm is so intense…so intensely…

Competitive?

— American.

American…

American.

You’re just the new girl.

No. I’m the foreign girl. And that’s different.

That’s why they want you. Because you are different.

Tania, I think I’ve done something I might regret.

Really? What?

I invited the entire firm to our house.

You did what?

And Mr. Krause, as in SMITH, KRAUSE, and WILSON, said he barely thinks you exist —

— But you told him I’m finishing my dissertation…and the baby — right?

Before I knew it, I channeled my father and invited all of them over to our house.

You didn’t!

It gets better: the party is this weekend.

Puta madre!!!

Breathe. Breathe. Remember the Lamaze…

Maldita sea. Are you crazy?! How did that happen?

Tell you what, I’m free this Saturday—

Saturday!—

He was watching me with this gleam in his eye.

This is where you NO…it doesn’t work for me or beloved pregnant wife!

I like that. You have cojones, son.

Mr. Krause actually said “cojones?”

He even did the quotation marks.

Oh God.

Which could be a good sign to becoming partner.

No! Nothing about this ballsy machista law firm party-planning is good!

That would be a first, huh?

Paula!

And you’ve taught me to never run away from a fight.

Sixty strangers here in six days? We don’t have enough furniture. Our walls are half painted. Our plaster is cracked. And I have my own research to do before the baby comes. It’s just too much. You are trying too hard.

I need to make partner —

So an impromptu party for the whole firm?

I’ll tell Mr. Krause that I can’t deliver.

Wait! So let’s be up front, confident. Show them we are do-it-yourselfers in the best way: We have the party outside.

Outside.

In this beautiful yard. With our gorgeous tree.

Tania, our yard is not beatiful.

Not yet. But it can be.

Your Native Garden.

I’ve had the design in my head since we bought the place. If we pull away some of that patched grass… get ride of those plants and that gnome and allow those there to get some light. Plant some ferns, bushes and wildflowers. Add some filtered water in the bird bath. And the oak looks so majestic. Oh my God, this could be very exciting.

But we agreed to fix the house first and then you could start thinking of the garden.

Paula, do you want your party or not?

…or at least imitate it…

Effortless looking effort.

She is the American dream — incarnate.

And maybe we can get someone to pull out that ugly sagging chainlink fence. It’s horrible.

And put up the kind of stately wood fence a law firm would appreciate.

We make sure people relax and open up. We win them over.

You are incredible. Thank you.

Don’t thank me yet. We only have six days.

Can we pull this off?

First, we need to talk to the neighbors. Frank and Virginia need to be okay with us changing the fence.

Who would fight us for changing this ugly fence?

Their English ivy is draping the fence. And believe it or not…people can get very weird about their plants…