EPISODE 123
Written by : Bre L. Drew
March 15, 2021
Last Time On Town and Country
-
Out of anger, Will locks out Antoine out of the bar. In retaliation, Antoine punches Will causing heated words to be exchanged, leaving Mae to be in the middle.
-
Courtney was upset about Max receives the position of head of digital marketing.
-
Tommy is adamant about not being part of his unborn child's life.
-
Jordan has hidden her pregnancy from her parents for some time now.
THE WATERFALL BAR
With her hair in a ponytail and sweats, Mae Jackson is tidying The Waterfall before opening in a few hours. Her mind still on what took place here on Friday after Martha's performance. Antoine punching Will because he had locked him outside in the cold. She has been fully aware of the hatred between the two young men. Nonetheless, she never imagined it would ever turn violent especially in front of the customers. And despite it now being Monday Mae hadn't confronted either one.
She is spraying some cleaning solution on the countertop when Antoine Hall approaches her on the other end of the bar. He is dressed for the day in a graphic black tee with Black Excellence written on it and a pair of dark blue jeans.
“Morning,” he said
“Good Morning,” she greets him
Antoine looks down at the floor then at her. “About Friday I apologize for what went down, but I felt like I didn't have any choice.”
Mae shakes her head in protest. “There are always choices you just made a wrong one,” she says meaningfully.
“True dat,” Will Jackson vocalizes.
Mae's son comes down from the apartment upstairs. By now his face had a sizable bruise on the side of his right cheek.
“I know you ain't talking about true dat when you did wrong too,” Mae declares. “I love you both, but we can't keep living and working here where things between the two of you are jacked up.”
Antoine and Will exchange similar expressions of curiosity as to what Mae is about to tell them.
COVINGTON GROUP
With her heels clicking on the linoleum floor, Courtney Covington enters the digital marketing department of Covington Group on the twentieth floor of the Covington Tower in Downtown Radcliffe this morning. Around her were workers glued to their computers in their partially enclosed workspaces. Finally, she ends up at the end of the area where the head of the department's office is located. Finding herself coming into the office since the door was open she sees Max Covington sitting down at his desk where his nameplate states not only his name but the title of Director of Digital Marketing as well. It made her somewhat unnerved seeing it.
Purposely she clears her throat to gain his attention from his desktop computer. “You said you wanted to see me remember,” she reminds him.
“I didn't forget,” he verbalizes. “Could you close the door please?”
She silently complies.
​
Earlier at breakfast at home, Max had wanted to talk to Courtney alone at work about something he wanted to get out in the opening between them.
​
“I just saw photos of the properties on our social media channels and I must say the last person in charge hadn't updated any media since Vine was a thing.” Max converses.
“No offense Max, but I have a meeting in thirty-minutes, and then I'm leaving early to get started planning the wedding at Tricia's.”
Courtney is getting married to Steven on Christmas Eve and despite it be later in the year she had many things to do before the big day.
​
Max shoots his focus onto his sister. “Well, I won't take up much of your precious time then. I've been noticing ever since I came to work at C.G. you've been I don't know how to exactly categorize it, but you haven't been yourself.”
He wasn't lying, Courtney hadn't been joyous that her big brother got a head executive position while she had attended Wharton Business School and found herself working hard to get a lower-level executive title.
“I'm fine,” she lies
Max gives her a gaze of strong skepticism.
​
​
Pushing down the mail cart through his family's company. Tommy Covington is working down in the mailroom since he didn't have any classes at the university today, his mind is heavily on the fact his life is going to change forever because whether he wants it; he is going to have a child with someone whom he doesn't love. He is so occupied he can barely hear someone calling out to him.
Daniel Covington is standing on the other end of the cart. “At least you don't have those pods in your ears.”
“Sorry, Dad, I wasn't looking where I was going it won't happen again.”
“Hey, what about you ditch the cart we can talk in my office.”
​
Tommy follows behind his father into his expansive office suite that oversees the city's skyline. Both father and son on opposites sides of the desk.
“Something must be troubling you to be this distracted,” Daniel says
Tommy heavily exhales.
“Oh, what the hell, if I tell you promise me you won't tell anyone.”
“Is it that bad?” Daniel queries.
He shakes his head which signifies the answer. “I royally screwed up dad, remember when Tanner and I got into that bad fight in Oahu when I let it slip that Jordan and I kissed during Max's wedding.”
“Yeah, but you two made it past it,”
“Well, it's something else I'm keeping from Tanner, after our fight I — uh ending up going to Jordan's hotel room where we ended up — you get the picture we had sex and the baby she is carrying is mine's.”
Daniel's expression went from reassuring to disturbance. “Tell me you're kidding,”
​
RADCLIFFE RECEIVING HOSPITAL
Due to being pregnant, Jordan McKnight has been coming to see her OB Dr. Jamison once a month. Today was no exception as the physician informed her that she and the baby our coming along nicely. She thought whenever she became a mother she would be coming to these appointments with her husband then after they would get done they would hold hands as they envision what would they name their future child and her getting on him to finally get the nursery together. Instead of her reality which is being an unmarried eighteen-year-old being accompanied by her good friend Tricia Lockhart.
The two walk through the hallway to the corridor where the elevators are. “You sure you don't want to know whether you're having a boy or a girl?” Tricia queries.
Jordan puts strands of her long blonde hair behind her right ear. “I did at first but since there isn't a lot to be excited about this pregnancy at least it will be something to look forward to,”
The two women continue to stroll down the passageway passing other patients and members of hospital staff. Tricia decides to choose her next words carefully as she can.
“Sweetie doesn't take this wrong way, but your bump is noticeable now not to mention half of Radcliffe knowing you're pregnant when are you going to tell your parents about the baby on board?”
Jordan shakes her head then turns to her friend. “How about never?”
Even though the adult woman is aware of both of her parents' faults she is about to rebuttal when a familiar individual comes into contact with them.
Samuel Gupta is standing in front of the two women wearing a white dress shirt with gray slacks. “Long time no see, Tricia,”
“Hey, Samuel.”
​
The psychiatrist had a thing for Tricia although when she told him that she was engaged to Sean at the time. The two became close friends over time as she shared her mother's abuse at the hands of her stepfather. Jordan stands there with a smirk which acknowledges how rather good-looking he is. Tricia soon realizes neither one of them know the other properly.
“Oh, I'm sorry, Samuel Gupta this is my friend Jordan McKnight, Jordan this is Samuel,” she introduces them.
Samuel smiles as he reaches his hand out for Jordan to shake.
“Nice to meet you Jordan,”
“Same here,” It just registers to Jordan that she attends Sampson University with his sister Aaliyah whose fashion is typically trendy chic.
Samuel looks down at his Apple Watch on his wrist and winces. “I better get going, but it was great seeing you Tricia and nice meeting you Jordan,”
The ladies both give parting words as they all head to their designated destinations.
Jordan places both of her hands on her widening hips. “He's cute,”
“Really? I never noticed,” Tricia remarks sarcastically.
COVINGTON GROUP
Daniel is quite awestruck that not only his youngest son has impregnated someone. But it isn't even his girlfriend he is having a baby with.
“Does Tanner know?” Daniel questions.
“God no,”
“Is there anyone else that knows?”
“Elijah, Lynn, and Tricia all do,”
Daniel figures Lynn and Elijah won't tell Tanner due to not wanting to devastate her. Yet he isn't happy that the manager of the café the company owns does know her to be a wildcard in this situation.
“Son, you have an obligation to be there not only for Jordan but for your child too,” he advises.
“Dad, I'm not ready to be a father, I gave Jordan money to have an abortion, but she didn't have one,” Tommy informs
Daniel taps his index finger on the surface of his desk. “That's too damn bad. I did not raise you to abandon your flesh and blood because it's convenient for you.”
Quickly, Tommy gets out of the chair. “I better get back to it, dad please don't tell anyone about this I can't lose Tanner again.”
With that, he dashes out of the room. It takes some willpower for Daniel not to go over to pour himself a glass of scotch. Yet he sticks to his policy of not drinking during business hours. Instead, he grabs the phone off its cradle to dial a set of digits.
“It's me, I need you to do me a favor,”
“I very much doubt you're fine,” Max gives voice to.
Courtney had remained standing in the center of the room. “Okay, I'm not. Is that what you want to hear?
He gestures to take a seat in the slipper chair facing him which she does reluctantly.
“This is no way my personal feelings toward you because you know how much I love you. But I felt like dad gave you this position because he wants his eldest son to take over the company as he did for grandfather. “
Max leans back in his chair as he hears her. “Go on,”
Courtney moves her hand as a way to accept the challenge. “I think you're using this new job as a pit-stop due to the fact you're having some sort of creative block to your photography.”
Max hit a creative low when he couldn't get any more inspiration as his photography was becoming somewhat successful. After his showing in New York, he had a hard time getting started again. It is one of the reasons why he ended up working here. In spite of protesting about never working in the corporate world. Max chuckles sardonically.
“First my wife is hardly supportive of me working here and now my own sister,”
“It isn't like that Max,”
He gets out of the chair to the mini-bar where he grabs a miniature water bottle. “At least you were honest with me,”
Courtney can detect Max's brand of satire meaning he is masking his hurt.
“Max, I didn't mean to bring you down.”
Max takes a sip of water. “Don't you have a meeting you have to get ready for?”
The young brunette businesswoman slips out of the chair. “Can we talk later?”
“I think we said what had to be said,” Max says unpleasantly
Courtney walks to the door she turns around to see her brother going back to his desk as she saunters out of the department it comes to mind this is their first bad argument they ever had with one another.
THE WATERFALL BAR
Crossing her arms across her chest Mae at this moment knew what she had to do. “Sometimes as a parent and as a boss, you sometimes learn you have to make a decision that doesn't necessarily make you popular with other people.” she sighs exasperatedly. “Will, can I talk to you in private?” she adds
“That ain't necessary, say what you got to say to me, momma,” Will responds boldly
Mae looks directly into her son's eyes.
“I'm going to have to let you go from working here.”
It keeps everything in Antoine from celebrating in delight that he wouldn't have to manage him behind the bar anymore.
Meanwhile, it is taking a lot from Will not to deck Antoine onto the floor because once again he gets his mother's favor instead of her real son.
“Will, you've done a good job here since you been back but too many things have happened,” Mae informs him
“You still blame me for Jerome comin here and kidnappin Shauna don't you?” Will accuses.
Jerome Hawkins was Will's ex cellmate who he worked for behind bars selling drugs until a deal went bad and from then on Jerome blamed him for it and sought revenge by taking his niece for a hefty payout. However, the police and Will worked together to not only bring Shauna back safely but to arrest Jerome and his associates. Still, his family hasn't forgiven him for his role in the manner.
​
When Mae doesn't give him an answer except for a sympathetic look. He quickly heads upstairs to the apartment where he heads into his bedroom to stuff clothes and shoes into his duffle bag, his wallet, and his iPhone.
He then gets down to the bar where both his mother and Antoine stare at him with various reactions.
“Where are you going?” Mae asks concernedly.
“I'm leaving,”
Mae goes to her son. “Leaving isn't going to solve anything,”
“Momma, either I leave or Antoine and I will end up killing each other.”
“Come back!” Mae exclaims
Yet, Will gives the bar one last glance before heading outside to call a cab.
Antoine slowly gets near the woman he considers his surrogate maternal figure. “Mae, just let him go,”
Mae remains quiet fearing she has once again lost her son but this time it will be down to her. “I can't afford to lose another child, Antoine.”
MCKNIGHT RESIDENCE
After her doctor's appointment, Tricia took Jordan out to eat, and now they're inside the ranch-style house she lives with her mother and her father.
“Where are your parents anyway?” Tricia asks her considerably younger friend.
Jordan grabs a can of ginger-ale from the refrigerator in the kitchen. “Dad's at the station and surprisingly my mother is out of the house running errands.”
Tricia is apprised of Chief McKnight working pretty much all the time at the station and her mother, Thora being a recluse in the house since the death of their eldest child EJ years ago.
“You know you have to tell them. I mean soon you'll be needing maternity clothes.”
Jordan holds the can in her hand with a look of being somewhat insulted. “Thanks a lot, I can already picture my dad questioning why I'm not having a shot-gun wedding. Not to mention my mom thinking this will be a sign from my brother from heaven.”
“It's going to be all right,” Tricia says assuredly. “Hey, what about we go shopping next week to get things for you and the baby.”
“You don't have to do that,”
Tricia inches closer to her friend. “It's no problem, and gives me an excuse to do my favorite hobby, spending money.”
Jordan laughs which is the first time she can recall doing it in a while. “I appreciate how you've been to me through this,”
Tricia grips the strap to her purse. “Don't get all mushy on me, McKnight,”
The ladies embrace each other before Jordan unlocks the barrier only to find the person over the threshold stops them in their tracks. She then lets the individual come into her home for the first time.
“What are you doing here Daniel?” Tricia interrogates the millionaire businessman.
He folds his arms impatiently still in his charcoal wool topcoat “Tricia, I must discuss something of importance with Jordan alone.”
“You know that I'm pregnant with your grandchild don't you?” Jordan states strongly.
“Thank you for confirming it,” Daniel responds dryly
Tricia offers a look of consideration to her friend knowing her secret couldn't be kept for long.
​
END OF EPISODE
​
ON THE NEXT EPISODE OF TOWN AND COUNTRY
Daniel gave Jordan an ultimatum.
Will seeks shelter.
Tanner has a revelation.
Leave your thoughts here on the T&C forum
​
​