EPISODE 174
Written by: Bre L. Drew
March 7, 2022
Last Time On Town and Country
Thora was stunned to see her estranged son, Presley, for the first time in years.
Tanner was still wrestling with her feelings regarding Tommy.
Jordan is dealing with postpartum depression.
Deirdre has made her sentiments known about Emma continuing a romantic relationship with Will.
FIRST STREET METHODIST CHURCH
Thora McKnight had always known that church was a special place. But she hadn't anticipated how much more special it was until today, when she was nearly on her way out after having a counseling session with her good friend, Reverend Friendly. Out of the blue, her son Presley came into the office. As it turns out, he was starting his new position as associate pastor of the church. After years of wanting her family back together, it seemed that perhaps God had heard her prayers after all.
Reverend Friendly comes from his desk to shake the young man's hand.
"It is so good to see you, Presley," he replies. Joel locks eyes on his lifelong friend, then onto the young man. "I have some things I need to take care of, but you two can use my office to talk. And I can't wait for us to work together, "
"I'm looking forward to that, sir," Presley says, respectably.
With that, the reverend vacates the office, leaving the estranged mother and son in the same room for the first time in years.
Thora takes in the presence of her son. So much has changed for him physically. It seemed like he had grown a few more inches as well as his blonde hair, but it seemed like it had been recently trimmed. She recalls the last time she saw him was after he finished seminary a few years ago, when she and Ernest made the trip to Missouri. But she also remembers the tenseness between the three of them as Ernest disapproved of his son's career, wanting him to go into law enforcement. Presley had told him he wasn't going to end up dead like EJ. And since then, they have hardly received any communication from him, albeit texts and calls every once in a while.
Thora throws her arms around her son, showcasing her happiness to see him.
"I'm so glad you're here, sweetheart."
Presley releases himself from his mother's grasp. "Sorry, I didn't tell you about everything. I was going to drop by the house to tell you."
"Don't worry about it," Thora says meaningfully. "Do you need anywhere to stay for the time being because your room at home is still available?"
Presley shifts somewhat uncomfortably.
"What's wrong?" Thora says, puzzledly.
He puts his hands into both pockets of his slacks.
"I don't think me, and dad could live under the same roof, I'm staying in the rectory house, but thanks anyway for the offer, mom,"
Thora does her best not to seem crestfallen.
"Then you at least have to come by the house for a home-cooked meal."
"When I get up to speed with things around here, I will definitely take you up on dinner" Presley remarks. He then looks down at his watch on his wrist and then back to his mother. "I better not hold up Reverend Friendly much longer. I'll see you later, mom."
"Take care, okay, and please don't be a stranger," Thora tells her son.
She then makes her departure, feeling rejected by her son once again, though she realizes she does have a chance to make things right.
MCKNIGHT RESIDENCE
One of the few highlights of returning home for Jordan McKnight is getting back behind the wheel of her Miata. In the months she had been living in King's Bay, she mostly had to depend on Uber or Lyft to get around the metropolitan area. Although it didn't stop her from feeling nervous in the pit of her stomach while making the uneasy drive to a very familiar place.
She pulls the vehicle into the driveway of the ranch-style home she grew up in.
The sight of her father's patrol jeep also in the driveway makes her groan. She hoped no one would be home for her to get the rest of her things.
It takes a few more moments before the young woman gets enough courage to get out of her car and make the journey towards home. Using her key, which surprisingly still works, she thought her father would've changed the locks by now. Then again, that would require him to actually spend more than a few hours at a time here rather than at the police station or elsewhere.
She steps inside the house. The usual floral scent brings back familiarity to her.
With no sight of the chief, she opens the door to her bedroom, where she finds it the same as she left it a year ago. Her cross-country trophies were still on the shelves on the wall, while the rest of her things were untouched.
With no time to waste, she goes to round up her belongings. She goes to the closet. But when she turns her head, she sees her father staring intensely back at her.
"I thought I heard someone here," he says.
Jordan faces her father, trying her best to push out her last memory in this house of her leaving pregnant and alone.
"I'm just getting the rest of my things. I won't be here much longer."
He folds his arms and gazes at her, then down at the ground before moving his head up again.
"I thought you would have a closet full of new designer clothes since you're living with the Covingtons," he mocks.
"Well, you would be wrong. Look, they aren't perfect, but it beats the hell out of living here with you, "Jordan says vehemently." It's no wonder why Presley left; it's the one thing the both of us have in common."
She could detect that her father hadn't expected that reaction from her.
Ernest steps further into her room.
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"Jordan, believe it or not, I do care about you and my grandson. But imagine if you were in my place. What would you have done?"
She shakes her head at what was said to her.
"I would support my child no matter what and not throw them out because they made a mistake. You love and support them, but you and mom lost sight of that when EJ died."
EJ was Jordan's eldest brother who lost his life years ago as a cop in the line of duty.
A fragment of sadness overcomes his demeanor when Ernest departs the room, as Jordan slams the door back before gathering what she can.
HOME FARM
"I got it, Gabriella!" Tommy Covington exclaims while he jogs down the grand staircase of the estate on Home Farm.
He figures it is Jeremy's nanny, Lilith, returning for something she probably forgot when she dropped him off about twenty minutes ago.
When he opens the door, instead of the red-headed woman he is expecting to see, it is his ex-girlfriend, who has a look of hesitancy on her face, wearing a grey-ivory plaid coat, and her brown hair is in a ponytail.
"Hey," he says charismatically.
"Hi, are you busy? Because if you are, then I can come back another day." Tanner Lockhart reacts.
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"Jordan isn't here," Tommy says.
He knows the two aren't close due to their sordid history.
Most of the apprehension eases off her when she enters the mansion.
"I wanted to come to see how you were doing since Jordan came back to town."
Despite their breakup, Tanner still cared about her ex-boyfriend as a friend.
Tommy exhales exasperatedly.
"This might sound weird, but even though the mother of my child is not only back but living under this roof because I let her because she had nowhere else to go. It still seems like I'm still the primary parent to Jeremy."
"What are you talking about?" Tanner inquires curiously.
Tommy's face grows more serious.
"Since she has been back, Jordan has shown zero interest in Jeremy whatsoever."
Tanner is about to respond when she hears the infant crying from the second floor.
Tommy gestures for Tanner to follow him upstairs to check in on his son.
JOJO'S CAFE
Lorenzo Vidal is at the coffee bar putting a selection of sugar and cream into the beverage. Usually, he isn't one for coffee, but after working non-stop at the store, he needed something caffeinated to get him through the rest of the day, waiting for Aaliyah to arrive from a group meeting for one of her classes.
"Fast Car" by Tracy Chapman plays through the speakers on the 80's station on SiriusXM.
He uses a stirrer to mix his coffee. He then sees Martha Saunders approaching him with three drinks in a cardboard cupholder.
"Hey, Lorenzo," she says in a friendly manner.
"Hey," he responds. "How are you doing?"
The two have met only a handful of times; he mostly knows her as the aunt of two of his closest friends.
"I'm doing good. Actually, I'm glad I ran into you; there is something I've been meaning to run by you."
Lorenzo gets taken aback a bit since he doesn't know what she could want with him.
"Is this about using my employee discount for you at J & M?" he jokes.
Martha laughs at the comment, shaking her head. "I keep that in mind. No, uh, the band and I are finally making a video for one of the singles I wrote."
"That's great. Congratulations," he tells her.
Martha waves one of her hands dismissively, as if it isn't a big deal.
"Thanks; anyway, Samuel told me you might be interested in shooting our video. You think you want to do it?"
Lorenzo takes a sip of the coffee. "You sure? I mean, I haven't done anything professionally,"
"Well, we haven't either. At this stage, we're essentially No Doubt before "Don't Speak." Martha states. "But we all have to start somewhere. So, what do you say?"
For a brief moment, he tries to talk himself into rejecting the offer, thinking perhaps it's a pity thing. But at this time, no one else was
"Yeah, I do it,"
Martha smiles widely. "Good, shoot, I better get these coffees back to the Waterfall for Mae and Antoine. But I'll let you know more when we get a concept of what we want to do."
"Alright, thanks," he says to her.
He watches as the singer exits the cafe.
Lorenzo walks over to the table in a more positive mood.
WHEELER BUILDING: APT # 424
Tricia Lockhart enters the fourth-floor apartment she resides in. The fumes of paint and the sounds of Luke Bryan get her attention. It also signifies that Sean is still hard at work on the nursery for their baby.
She makes her way towards the spare bedroom, where she finds him still in his old black t-shirt and a pair of faded jeans, rolling sapphire blue pigment onto the corner of the wall.
Tricia turns down the volume of the music playing on his iPhone.
Sean Lockhart pivots his head toward his pregnant wife. "Hey, you need anything?"
"I should be asking you that," she replies to him.
"No, I'm almost done here,"
Tricia looks around the room. "I still can't believe we got permission to paint these walls from the landlord."
Sean grins. "I believe it had something to do with you,"
His wife chuckles. "Well, he needed to hear from someone that these drab ass walls needed paint. Besides, it would be more affordable for him for us to do it than to have to wait around for overpriced painters."
Staring at his wife with the utmost concentration, he's glad they're in a better place than before.
"What?" she asks, noticing his sight hadn't left her.
"You look amazing,"
Tricia expresses her disagreement with her face. "Oh, really?"
Her husband puts down the brush on the plastic covering the floor.
He then puts his arm around her waist. "Yeah, I do,"
"What has gotten into you?" She queries. Are all these fumes getting to you?" Tricia asks sarcastically.
He shakes his head.
"I'm just happy. We're in a good spot for, I don't know how long, and we're having a baby. I'm just grateful, that's all."
Tricia sighs lightly. "Today, I met up with Jordan at the cafe, and it made me realize what I had and how I screwed it up."
Sean reflects on his wife kissing Samuel Gupta as well as keeping the truth that Tommy had impregnated Jordan behind Tanner's back.
"Look, Trish, I got no place to judge you. Like we agreed, we're going to move forward."
The two kiss passionately until Sean pulls away.
"What?" she says, curiously.
"I don't want to get paint all over you,"
Tricia raises one of her eyebrows. "I think we could both use a shower."
Sean catches her drift and proceeds with her out of the room towards the bathroom, where they don't waste time getting undressed.
THE CLIFFE
At her desk inside her sizable office at The Cliffe, Emma Covington finds herself staring at the document with the latest profits of the nightclub that her accountant prepared.
A knock on the door gets her undivided attention.
"Yes," she responds.
Deirdre Covington appears in the doorway in a silver fox fur coat, holding onto her satin clutch bag; "One of your bartenders told me you were up here; you aren't preoccupied, are you?"
Emma sets aside the paper on the desk.
"No, come on in, Mother,"
The wealthy, petite widow saunters towards her daughter. "I wanted to stop by to see if you were interested in having lunch together,"
Emma leans back into her chair at that request.
"You came all the way here to ask about us having lunch instead of calling me? What's really going on, mother?"
"Can I seek the company of my daughter?" She replies. "When was the last time we had lunch, just the two of us?"
Honestly, Emma couldn't come up with an answer since the two haven't been close enough to have mother-daughter lunch dates.
"I guess we can celebrate the success of The Cliffe; according to my accountant, we're officially in the black. And some of that is down to Will."
Deirdre does her best not to roll her eyes at the mere mention of that ex-conman whom her daughter is unfortunately tied to professionally and personally.
"Well, come on, let's go; you can tell me everything when we get to that French restaurant in Hudson Lake that is divine and beats the common fare at The Chateau."
Emma can feel herself caving in at her mother's invitation.
"Sure, why the hell not,"
The businesswoman grabs her coat and purse off the sofa.
Deirdre can hear her iPhone vibrating in her purse. She quickly takes it out of her bag; she recognizes the number on the receiving end.
"Hello," she answers.
She hears the familiar male voice on the other line.
She mouths out to her daughter that she'll be out in a second.
As she walks out of the office, Emma wonders what her call is about, thinking it's probably something to do with her high-society friends in New York City planning some event that costs twenty thousand a table.
Deirdre speaks again when the space is clear.
"I want it done on the date I gave you—yes, you will get your money."
She ends the call rather hastily. "I guarantee one thing: Will Jackson will be out of your life, Emma. I've seen to it."
HOME FARM
Tommy tries his best to comfort his son while crying as he holds him in his arms, yet he is still wailing.
And more and more, he looks more like him with his blonde hair and round nose, though he can see Jordan's green eyes gazing back at him.
Tommy informs Tanner, who is standing nearby, "He's fussy; he hasn't been like this in, I don't know how long."
"Dirty diaper? Fever?" Tanner questions him. "Rash?"
"No to all three; I don't know what's wrong."
"Maybe he feels the tension going on between you and Jordan," Tanner replies perceptively. "I mean, based on what you said, he knows he doesn't have a physical connection to this woman he knows is biologically connected to,"
A smile creeps upon the young father's face. "Seems you've been paying attention in all of your biology classes, Dr. Lockhart."
Tanner's eyes widen at the compliment given to her by him.
The baby is still crying as his cheeks become flushed.
Tommy then forms an idea.
"How about you try to get him to calm down? Besides, I hear you're going to need the practice, big sis. " Tommy left her notes.
"Oh, you heard that Lenny and I are going to be big sisters at nineteen," Tanner says sarcastically. "Why the heck not,"
Her stepmother, Tricia, is currently expecting her first baby with their father this summer.
Carefully, he places the infant into her arms.
At first, Tanner feels strange withholding the product of Tommy's infidelity. But she feels less of that when the baby looks at her with wonder.
"Hi, there, it's okay," she tells him softly. "You're so handsome."
His cries become less intense while she rocks him in her arms. Tommy walks over to her, impressed with her for getting him to settle down.
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Jordan parks her convertible in front of the mansion. She picks up her purse off the passenger seat. She had managed to pull most of her things that had any value, such as clothes, pictures, and awards she had won during her years as an athlete.
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She uses her key to gain entrance into the manor. By luck, she sees Gabriella coming towards her from the kitchen.
"Hi, Gabriella, can you get my things from the trunk I picked up from my parents' house?"
The housekeeper stands there, not wanting to comprehend what is being said, but ultimately, she nods along to her request, perhaps taking pity or recalling that it's part of the job description.
"The trunk is open—thank you," Jordan says, somewhat respectfully.
"Right away," Gabriella says.
When she goes out of the house, Gabriella begins speaking Spanish, which Jordan can't understand.
Jordan heads upstairs when she is about to go to her room. She hears muffled voices from down the corridor; she roams down the hall until she spots that it is coming from Jeremy's nursery. The scene of her baby son being held by her former friend while Tommy is next to her makes them seem like they're a perfect little family.
Tanner lifts her head from Jeremy's face to see Jordan staring in the doorway.
The brunette young woman shares a glance with Tommy. She picks up the baby and hands it back to him.
"I better get going," Tanner says, not wanting to cause a disruption.
"Oh, don't let me interrupt you," Jordan says sarcastically.
A part of her wonders why Tanner is even here, given that the last time she saw him, she had broken up with him.
"She was just helping me get Jere settled," Tommy says cautiously.
"I see you later, Tommy," Tanner says, then gives a friendly wave to the baby as she makes her way out of the room, not missing the irritated countenance that was thrown at her by Jordan.
"I had a day from hell, and the last thing I needed to see was her." Jordan declares it verbally.
"Maybe your son can make it less hellish," Tommy says honestly.
Somehow, she accepts the baby in her arms.
"Support his head," Tommy coaches her.
"I know," she says, a little louder than she should.
A feeling overcomes her while holding her son for the first time in almost a year. He is a lot heavier than he was when she last had him.
However, the baby starts to get fussy, which causes Jordan's fear to get the best of her, causing her to give him to Tommy.
"What is going on with you?" Tommy demands, "Babies cry all the time. You're his mother; you have to get used to it."
"I'm trying, but every time I get close to him, he knows I've been a terrible mother."
Tommy's retort changes to be more understanding. "It's okay. I'll take care of him. Get yourself together," he tells her, somewhat reassuringly.
Jordan takes off from the nursery.
She puts her back against the wall, doing her best to fight the tears that desperately need to come out.
Able to move a few feet away, she grabs her iPhone from her purse to make a call.
"Tricia, it's me; please tell me you were able to get those names of the doctors because I can't remain a stranger to the baby anymore. Please call me back."
Jordan ends the call hoping someone can help her overcome her issues involving her son.
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END OF EPISODE
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ON THE NEXT EPISODE OF TOWN AND COUNTRY
A tragedy occurs.
Thora and Ernest argue over the state of their marriage.
Steven makes a decision on his future.
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