Adam's workshop. He's tossing some of his art into a trash can when Helen comes in. Adam's puzzled, naturally: "Hey...Mrs. Girardi...you're...in my shed." She smiles and says she's come to ask him a favour. She is the only person who makes his face brighten up at all ever since Joan wrecked his sculpture. Adam says, "Sure." Helen says she knows he's mad at Joan but asks him to talk to her; he says he doesn't want to. Helen: "I know, but that's why it's called a favour." He nods slightly, and she says softly, "Good." She walks out. He's standing there thinking when Joan walks in. He's caught off guard: "What, like, did your mom mean this exact second?" Joan: "Why, do you need more time to hide?" Whoa. I don't know if this is the way to start out. He walks around behind his table and sits down, saying, "Listen, I'm doing a really nice woman a favour, so...what do you want to talk about?" She cuts right to the chase: "Are you thinking about killing yourself?" He seems more surprised that that's her specific question than to have been asked at all: "I thought you were going to apologize to me, yo." She says she's apologized lots of times: "We're both bored with that." He wonders why she thought he was going to kill himself. She asks why he's not making art anymore. Adam: "Because it's...it's stupid." He gets up, gesturing vaguely at some of the various detritus lying around, adding, "I -- I used to -- used to make all these things for my mom, and...and...I don't know, when you smashed my best one, maybe it made me realize that...she can't hear me or she's not listening." Joan asks, "Adam, how do you know she's not listening if you won't hear her answer?" Adam exhales a weary little sound of exasperation and says, "I hardly ever know what you're talking about." Joan says softly that she knows about his mother's note. Adam looks at her, sniffles, and says, "Grace told you, huh?" Joan: "Yeah, Grace is in on it, and so is my mother, and so am I." She walks toward him. "It's none of my business, right? Except is is! It is, because here we are, and I am way in this. I am mad absolutely in this. So why haven't you read her note?" Adam says, his voice slightly raw, his eyes watery, "I can't." Joan, gently: "Why? Is it smudged from tears, or...written backwards...or is it..." Adam: "I'm af --" He pauses, and continues quietly, without looking at her: "I'm afraid...that it'll say that what she did was my fault." Then he looks at Joan. I'm just in agony for him. Joan's heart is obviously breaking, too. She says gently, "It seems to me that wondering what it says is worse than knowing for sure." Adam glances at her. She adds, "That's just me." She turns and walks out, but before going, she stops and says: "I am sorry for smashing your art. I didn't know what it meant. I didn't know about your mother. I hope we can still be friends. I really, really want for you to have...good ripples." She's tearful, but gives him a small, hopeful smile as she goes. He probably has no idea what that ripples remark is about, but then, he's used to that. He sits there, letting all this wash over him.