Original subtitles

Previously on Cherish the Dead. Well, Miss Luma told me that you guys are

looking at different counselors today.

Smart. Smart.

Smart. What made you think we had to come here? What's going on with you?

wrong with me?

Don't you mean us?

I'm sad.

Point it. You know, I have finally found my thing, my purpose. I just want the

way that it used to be. I miss you, gently. I want you to want this for me.

I don't want to answer to you. If I want to be out, I'm going to be out.

It wasn't supposed to go like this.

I miss your calling.

Thanks. But just because I'm good at it don't mean it's my calling.

I'm just doing this because I love Miss Luma.

And her birthday should be perfect.

Everything looks perfect.

Are you putting sugar in Miss Luna's tea?

Yeah, a little.

We sweeten her tea with honey and oranges.

Respectfully, gently.

Things have changed since you last worked here. It's been three years. Her

palate is different.

She doesn't like her tea with oranges.

She does like her tea with sugar.

Just no more sugar, okay?

How would you like it?

If I came to your job in San Francisco and said, the podcast you're producing

a terrible idea.

Well, you know better than that.

Exactly. Because that's your job.

Like her.

I'm about to go get Ms. Luma's dress and stockings, but I'll see you next. Can

you not feel about?

He's feeding our queen poison.

She likes it sweet. She gets it sweet.

Candles placed, lanterns hung.

Billy hungry.

That's completely normal when you're eating for two.

Yeah, she was eating like that when she was only eating for one.

Baby talk.

That is my cue.

I'm going to go grab my bag and then I'm out.

I'm eating my feelings away because you're leaving me.

Moving to the bay. Who's going to go to Lamar's with me? I wanted a natural

birth, but now I'm going to have to take drugs.

Which means my baby's going to have to take drugs.

All because of you.

Only you are.

You need to do two things.

What? Get a doula.

And go upstairs and check and see if Miss Luma needs help with her hair.

gonna be rolling up in here before we know it.

Anything for Miss Luma.

But you?

You're in trouble.

people up to me.

Hello? Wait, what?

Miss Luma.

Miss Luma, somebody told me you were upstairs.

I didn't hear you either.

I rose with the sun, I went to the flower market, and then I went to the

to have my birthday brows done.

Happy birthday.

I love you. I love you too, my dear.

Thanks for being here.

Not just for today.

Always.

Listen.

I need a private moment with you.

Okay.

Gently. I have to tell you that today is my birthday.

And so, I'll do what I want, how I want.

And whenever I want.

All right, Miss Luma. It is your day.

You can do anything you want. You know that. You mean you're okay with that?

Yes. All right.

Well, I miss him, Evan.

I just feel that he should be here.

And so I invited Evan.

I see.

Okay.

Look, I don't know if you know this, but he's actually in Tokyo, Ken Fulton. No,

he's not.

He's in L .A. He arrived last night.

He wanted to come.

How do you know all of this?

Just because the two of you are divorced, it does not mean that he

Being in my heart.

I know.

I never stopped praying for him.

I never stopped thinking about him.

And I don't want to feel guilty about that.

No, you don't have to.

It's okay.

You sure?

Thank you.

Here's Miss Loma.

Good girl.

Ready, Miss Loma?

to Miss Luna's birthday.

Hey,

I like your costume.

Thank you.

You look

great. I love this. Thank you.

Yes, Miss Jacqueline.

You know she can't get enough of mine.

Sugar and spice.

Ancient sensation.

Butter, rum, coconut cake. Okay, is that one cake name or that's all three of

them? Girl, you know it's just one. Stop playing and give yourself a break. I'm

going to save mine for dessert.

This is for Ben and Danita. Okay.

It looks great. Oh, my. I got everything online.

Oh, it looks like Peppa. That's what's coming.

Oh, I like those tracks.

Mm -hmm.

Shoe. Oh, Kim Todd writing.

Can't tell you nothing.

Wait a minute.

Y 'all color coordinated?

Oh, yeah. Yeah, my baby hooked us up.

Oh, you know what?

We need a picture. Oh, yeah.

This ain't going to happen every day.

Let me take one.

Hold on.

All right.

One, two, three.

Can I get another one?

Can I get one more?

Just looking at those lips.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Okay.

Hey, Ms. Lemon dress fit?

Nope. She spoke Biden her time in order to make a proper entrance.

Unquote. Wow.

That's my girl.

Nick is looking for you.

Here I come.

Wonderful.

So, Evan, there he is, fresh from

Tokyo.

Oh, man.

Oh, so good to see you, man.

You said you were visiting, bro. I got so hyped.

Thank you, man.

It's so nice to be welcomed back with all this love.

And respect.

Hey, thank you, bro. I appreciate that.

That's your gift.

Oh, man, you didn't have to do that. Come on. Definitely had to, man.

I owe you everything.

No, man, look. I didn't give you a job.

You earned it.

Started with you.

You and Jen.

You know I used to have a crush on her back in the day, right?

Yeah, I figured.

It's crazy. Crushing on her, it made me brush my teeth and keep my one pair of

jeans fresh.

Get that knowledge.

Because I always wanted to have something intellectual to talk to her

know?

Yeah. Well, the respect is mutual, all right? I mean, she thinks the world of

you. She's proud of you. I'm proud of you.

Hey, man, you're doing big things, bro. Big things.

Oh, always, brother.

I'm so proud of you.

One moment.

Excuse me, Miss Divine.

My name is Ben, and I don't mean to interrupt, but I am...

A big, big fan.

I loved you.

Oh, did you?

And what part did I play in that film?

Are you testing me right now?

Pigfoot Mary?

That was my girl. Oh, you are really a fan. Oh, I really am. Well, my pleasure

to meet you. My pleasure. Listen, is there anything I can get you while you

wait? I guess Miss Luma just needs a little bit more time.

more time my eyes she's waiting to make an appearance and i'm not mad at her

it's a lost art luma always was great at the dramatic entrance what other

kind of interest is there to make right absolutely oh absolutely i gotta say you

look fantastic oh you let go

Oh, yeah.

Oh,

and you look even better.

Well, of course, today is my day.

There will never be a celebration without the two of you.

Together.

I'm here. That's right. And vertical.

And so are you.

How are you, honey? Oh, I'm better now.

You only tell us this before electricity.

I don't tell anybody that.

And

we've

been down the road.

More than once.

Serious time. Long and winding road. Wait a minute. When your brother left

he said... 1998.

I left Quincy in charge of you.

I said, no, you mean the opposite.

I'll be in charge of Quincy.

But you have daughters that take good care of you. Oh, God, I love them. I

I know that.

Six girls. That's why I don't have no hair.

Hi, I'm Evan.

How you been?

I'm good.

Oh, you look fantastic.

Thank you. You too.

I can't believe it.

Hey.

Oh, may I?

Congratulations.

That is a lucky kid.

I'm the lucky one.

I know I'm hormonal, but I'm so mad at y 'all.

You two were supposed to grow old together and inspire the rest of us.

This baby may not have come the old -fashioned way, but I still believe in

You two gave me that hope.

Hey, it just wasn't in the cards. It's okay. It's okay. She's been super

emotional all day.

Never mind. I'm okay.

No, thanks. I already ate.

It's for Miss Luma.

I was literally just coming in to make her a plate.

Yeah. Or Philip gently thinks nobody can take care of Miss Luna the way that she

can. Well, she is really good at it. That part.

Oh, you probably got nanny cans set up so you can watch her from up north.

Can I do that?

Is it legal?

Tiddly, you crazy.

So, up north?

Yeah.

I'm moving.

I'm running a new podcast division for...

Everyday citizen media.

That's big.

Yeah.

I know I'm going to be working in San Francisco.

Got a loft in Oakland.

Damn.

Congratulations. I mean, you're moving to San Fran.

It's kind of crazy, right?

Supposedly I'm working on the 44th floor, which is going to take some

used to, but I'm already nervous about it.

Focus on the views, not the height.

That's like a plane.

I'll take that advice.

Enjoy the views.

Thank you for that.

So how are you out there? Oh. How's Tokyo?

Hey, Jet.

Just so you know, this is the hottest party I've ever been to.

Right? I am so dead right now. I mean, freaking Quincy Jones is breathing the

same air as us.

Color purple, the whiz, we are the world. The mere fact that he worked with

Allen.

Who's Duke Allen?

Blasphemy. You about to get canceled, Duke.

See ya.

I'm gonna go cut that cake.

Ooh, you know I love Loretta Devine.

Gently, can I take a picture with her? No, you can't.

She's here to celebrate her friend, no paparazzi.

Okay.

Come with me to take a picture with Loretta Devine. No.

You ain't kicking me out.

Ash.

What's up?

What's up?

What? You know what.

It's done.

Well, I gotta say, it is nice seeing him.

Hell yeah.

I know I'm hormonal, but that brother came back looking fine as hell.

You been thinking about him?

No!

You need to stop.

Get your little butt out of here.

Come on. You might think about that.

Hey, Ben.

How you been?

Left without saying goodbye.

Yeah, I know.

We just...

I didn't know what to say.

Never thought you'd leave her.

I know.

But we couldn't make it work.

God, we tried.

It was amicable, but we really did try to... No.

Don't do that.

There ain't nothing you can say to me.

Thank you all for coming out to celebrate one of the best people to walk

planet.

God got it right for Ms. Luma, didn't he, y 'all?

Yes.

Now, I know many of you would love to give a speech because Ms. Luma has

every single person in this room in some way. You're her friend, her neighbor,

student.

Her stylist.

Or she's fussed at you about something.

I could go on about Miss Luma all night, but we ain't got all night.

So I asked one of her longest and dearest friends to say it for all of us.

Mr. Quincy Jones.

I knew you were going to ask, so I wrote some words here.

To my beloved and cherished Luma Langston.

Where to begin?

She's a great friend, one of the best.

One I've shared countless memories with. One memory in particular stands out.

I took Luma out on a date once.

Just once?

Only once.

Had to be about mid -60s or something.

We went to a cool, cool spot to listen to my good friend Mary McKeever.

And that's the Kayla, her husband.

So we get in and I get her a cup of tea because I know she don't drink.

I know a lot of people, so I...

I get to talking and mingling and hanging and everything else.

And I get back and she's gone.

I try to teach people how to treat you.

Anyway, I go to the after party at Bella Fonte's house.

Who's front and center?

Loma.

You got it, baby.

I will never forget it.

Stop me in my tracks.

The way the light hit her beautiful face.

Right where it lives.

She was radiant.

Holding court with Miriam.

A house full of folks. Told my buddy Dizzy.

I said, Miriam McKeever was the empress of South African song.

And Luma Langston was the queen of the night. As you can see.

I'm never wrong.

Well, you weren't wrong that night.

Here comes the cake, y 'all.

Happy birthday.

Well,

I will.

Happy birthday to you.

Happy birthday.

I made it!

You outdid yourself tonight, kid.

Fabulous job, as always. Thank you, Barbara.

Take care of my Miss Luma for me. Always.

Best of luck in San Fran.

Night, Evan.

Night.

Thank you, little tipsy. You bet.

See, now that's how you throw a party.

Thank you for having us, Chitlin. It was fantastic.

Thank you, sir. Really was.

Thank you, sir. Yes. As well. Nice meeting you, Mr. Rivers.

Thank you so much for being here, Mr. Vine. I know I meant a lot to Ms. Vina.

It's an honor to celebrate such an incredible woman.

Girl, I laughed, I cried, and I ate good, too.

Look at the two of you. You're just cute as can be.

You make a beautiful couple.

Well, it was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Vaughn. Oh, yes.

The pleasure's all yours.

Okay,

that was unbelievable.

How many times have you watched Wayne Dex hell?

Her and Gregory Hines? Fifty times.

Probably more than that.

Would you like to have dinner tonight?

It's just some leftovers, collard greens and cornbread, some candied yams,

potato salad, fried chicken, peach cobbler, and a few slices of ham.

Yum, yum.

I would love to, but I got too much stuff to do around here. Maybe some

time. Oh, well, to be honest, I have no business eating any of that as big as I

am. My wife was a bigger woman, too. Oh.

I like a woman with some meat on her bones. Oh.

Oh.

That sigh.

Gosh.

I miss that.

Me, too.

How you been?

I'm actually good.

You know, Japan has revived something in me.

I love to hear that.

Yeah, you know, I've always wanted to see other parts of the world.

And that culture is so dynamic, so rich.

And the opportunities for technology is blazing.

That innovation blows my mind every day.

How are you?

Smooth.

It's major.

Oh, yes.

It definitely is.

Definitely.

It's a dream job.

It's a dream I never even knew to dream.

It's incredible to hear you say that.

Yeah.

When Miss Loomis' podcast took off and we got funded for multiple seasons,

people started coming my way and eventually other companies.

It was a three -way bidding war.

Damn.

I found your calling.

I guess.

I wonder if it was worth it.

Did pursuing this career break us?

I think that it was broken long before that.

That wasn't what it was about.

I wasn't on the same page as I thought I was from Joe.

I gave myself more credit.

And I deserved when it came to how I was loving you.

I was selfish.

I was, too.

In ways I didn't even know at the time.

Look at us.

Talking. Like whole adults.

I guess we had to grow up.

Yeah.

We raised each other, I think.

I think that, too.

Hey.

Things are winding down. Me and Miss Jacqueline made a lot of progress in the

kitchen. She's going to take some of that leftover food to the L .A. Mission

downtown. Ain't that much left, though. Folks ain't good.

Ooh, them chicken wings with the honey glaze. Ooh, right?

I got all the paper and stuff into the recycling bin, so y 'all want me to

taking down the decoration?

No, you can leave them up for the folks who are left.

I'll do it later.

I bet.

I'm going to head out then. Work due tomorrow.

Love y 'all. See you, brother.

My man.

Peace out.

Good seeing you, bud.

Hey, I Ubered here, so are you going to my mom's later tonight?

Uh... You need any help finishing up here?

Actually, I'll just catch you tomorrow.

I'm good.

Just gonna check on her, see if she needs anything else.

Get the rest of these folks on out of here. It's been a long day.

A long, beautiful day.

Well, I guess I'll say my goodbyes.

Yes.

Miss Luma, thank you for letting me come to your party.

I didn't let you come to my party.

You knew you had to be here, and I am so grateful.

That you remembered me. Of course.

You look great.

I'll see you soon.

God bless you.

You okay?

I missed you.

I missed you.

I'm going to miss you even more.

Look, I promise I will come by to see you before I fly out.

Um, maybe we can connect before we both leave, huh? Yeah.

Let's definitely try.

Let's go.

Anything else you need tonight?

No. I've got Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune.

So you're juggling two men, huh?

I guess that's who I am.

Happy birthday, my queen.

Thank you, my Jeopardy.

You're a blessing to me.

You scared me. I didn't know you were still here.

Oh, I was out back talking.

To who?

To him.

You're leaving me. And guess what?

Phil's going to come with me to Lamar's classes.

That sounds freaking amazing.

I'm going to clean all this tomorrow, and don't even worry about it. Yeah, I'm

going to try to put a dent in it tonight.

Thank you.

Thank you. Well, I'm going to drive Rico home.

So do you mind looking after Miss Luma while I'm gone? It won't be long. No, I

don't mind.

All right. Thank you.

I'll go grab my car.

I'm very confused.

I've never been more confused.

I call you in the morning.

Wow. Okay, girl.

Phil. Yeah?

Don't worry about rushing.

Okay. Luma's good, so y 'all take your time.

Thanks, Jet Li.

What's out for dinner?

Hi.

Hi.

I, um... I couldn't leave you.

Without it.

Mess to deal with.

Oh, yeah.

That's kind of you.

But it's manageable. You didn't have to come back.

Well, I'm here.

Can I help?

Of course.

Thank you.

How are your parents?

Oh, that's to tell you that my mom is a minister now?

Yeah.

I bet she felt like she owed God one for getting me out the picture. Oh, that's

cold.

And inaccurate, by the way.

Is it, though?

My mom didn't... None of my family wanted us to get a divorce.

I just called my dad the other day, and he's like, did you talk to Gentry yet?

Johnny's the homie.

Hold up, hold up.

Wait a minute.

There's a lot left in here.

Well, let not a drop go to waste, my dear. Sweet news right here. Sweet

of the gods.

It's $150 for a bottle.

No, we got to drink it immediately.

Dude, it's like $150.

I know. I'm splurged out for my little balloon.

Is this weird?

What?

Do divorced people do this?

I'm guessing they do, because we're here now.

How did we get here?

Maybe we didn't fight hard enough for each other.

Maybe we shouldn't have even had to fight.

It's a lot of maybes.

But no regrets.

No regrets.

We're ruling the world.