EPISODE 192
Written by: Bre L. Drew
July 11, 2022
Last Time On Town and Country
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Thora took off her wedding ring, declaring that her marriage to Ernest was over.
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Jordan wasn't happy to hear Presley is now dating Tanner.
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Deirdre spent hours by Emma's bedside when she was in a coma, willing her to wake up.
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Max and Courtney decided to work together as co-CEOs to prove to Daniel that they're both capable of running the company without his influence.
PRESLEY MCKNIGHT RESIDENCE
Already dressed for the day, Presley McKnight is in the kitchen of the Queen Anne Victorian home he resides in, provided by the church where he is the associate pastor.
"All right, I'll meet you there," he says over the phone; he soon ends the call when he sees his mother walking into the room wearing the same clothes she had on yesterday.
"Morning," Thora McKnight responds like she hadn't gotten much sleep.
"Morning, I made coffee," he greets his mother with the mug of the steamy liquid.
She accepts the coffee. "Thank you; I don't think I could stomach anything else right now."
Yesterday Thora told Ernest that she couldn't put up being in a loveless marriage anymore, which he didn't take well, so she walked out on him.
"I take it you didn't sleep too good," Presley presumes
"That would be an understatement. I mostly tossed and turned thinking of what led me to unhappiness with your father."
Presley takes a sip of his coffee. "Well, you know you can stay here as long as you want,"
"I appreciate it; I just never thought I would be at this phase of my life having to start over,"
A few more minutes pass before the doorbell rings.
"Who can that be?" Presley asks
He goes out to the foyer, where he opens the door to find his father standing on the opposite side,
"I know your mother is here. I see her car parked in the driveway next to yours."
"And when she wants to see you. I'm sure she'll be in touch,"
The police chief sticks both hands into his pants pockets like he had been expecting a lukewarm reception. "Presley, I get you're trying to protect your mother, but this matter only concerns her and me."
Presley shook his head in disbelief while the commotion brought Thora out of the kitchen to stand behind her son.
"It's all right, Presley,"
As he stands between his parents, Presley reluctantly decides to let his father in while he watches his parents stand around. "Uh, I have to go meet a parishioner."
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Thora nods calmly. "I'll be fine,"
The young reverend stares at his father, hoping he won't do anything to cause her more heartache while he steps out of the house.
Back inside, she and Ernest go into the living room.
"What do you want?" Thora queries her soon-to-be ex-husband.
"I'll tell you what I don't want, a divorce," he retorts.
MILLER INN: CONFERENCE ROOM
"We strongly believe that this estimate of the ballroom renovation is set at a fairly reasonable rate." Max Covington voices the information at the table inside the conference room of the Miller Inn.
He and his sister were in the middle of a meeting as co-CEOs with the hotel's general manager regarding the bid for the Covington Group to complete the construction of the inn's ballroom.
The bespectacled white forty-something with dark-roasted brown hair, wearing a burnt orange button-down shirt and a navy-blue tie with an ink pen tucked behind his left ear, gleamed at the document in hand.
"Is this the best you could do?" he asks bluntly. "The other company offered at least half of this."
Both Covington siblings exchange looks at the manager's unrestrained commentary.
"Mr. Hyde, let us not overlook how long the ballroom has not been used for numerous months," Courtney Covington Sullivan says. "And I know it is probably costing this hotel half of what we are quoting here," she adds.
She could see him slightly contemplating her while still not completely giving in.
"We have a more than capable crew and our best design team, and I assure you that the redevelopment will be completed expeditiously." Max says, assuredly.
"I will run it by my boss and see what he has to say, and I will be in contact," the hotel manager says with finality.
The meeting concludes with each shaking his hand and making their way out of the conference room into the lobby of the inn.
"On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate our chances of getting the bid?" Max queries
Courtney gazes at her brother while heading out of the inn into the hot summer morning. "I say we should not be waiting by the phone."
ESTHER SAUNDERS STABLES
Louise Saunders Lockhart confesses to her daughter, "I can't even remember the last time I rode." Tanner Lockhart, her daughter, and she enter the business office of her aunt's stables.
"I have to say, mom, I wouldn't have known it" The young woman remarks reassuringly while taking a seat at the desk where she will start work in fifteen minutes.
Louise places her hands on her hips, giving Tanner a warm smile. "I take that as a compliment from the champ equestrian."
While growing up, Tanner competed in and even placed first and second in several equestrian competitions. But when she became a teenager, she decided to put her focus on the violin. Yet, in the last year or so, she has been riding more, which she has found a renewed appreciation for.
"I know we live under the same roof, but with work and our personal lives, I want to check-in and see how you are doing." Louise says as she takes a seat opposite of her.
"Everything is going fine, and it feels good to say that because it's been a long time for me to say it and mean it," Tanner replies.
"Does it have to do with a certain guy?" Louise smiles.
Tanner returns an embarrassing smile. "Mom!"
"Don't mom me. I still remember being twenty and having deep feelings that you don't understand for anyone. "
Tanner couldn't help but admit that her mother did have a point in what she said.
WHEELER BUILDING: APT # 424
"Sean, I'm fine," Tricia Lockhart verbally signifies.
The soon-to-be mother is speaking to her husband on the phone in the living room of the fourth-floor apartment where they reside. Since her due date is nearing, he's called her multiple times a day from work to check up on her.
An unexpected knock on the door transpires, causing her to answer it.
She is surprised yet delighted to see Antoine Hall standing in a burgundy poker card tee and a pair of black jeans.
"I have to go; Antoine is here. I'll see you later. I love you too. Bye."
She places her phone on top of the credenza.
"Long time no see," she tells her friend. "Don't just stand there; come in,"
The bar manager enters the apartment as she closes the door behind them.
"Sorry I haven't been around lately, but work has been crazy," he explains to her. "Wow!" he exclaims.
Tricia obtains two bottles of Lemon Perrier mineral water from the refrigerator, of which he gives one to him. "What?"
"Please take no offense, but you're huge," he says expressively.
"Oh wow, I would hit you right now if it wasn't true," she retorts.
Antoine takes a sip of his water. "Nah! I'm just messin' with you. You look good."
"You're full of it," Tricia replies. "But I accept your praise anyway."
Antoine leans back on the countertop of the kitchenette. "Are we good, Trish?"
Tricia puts the cap back on the bottle. "Yeah, why?"
Antoine puts his hands together. "About what happened on Halloween with Cici,"
On Halloween night, Antoine's now ex-girlfriend, Cici, told Sean that she had seen Tricia and Samuel kiss in the bar, which created more tension in their marriage.
Tricia shakes her head incredulously. "You should know me by now." If we weren't tight, your ass wouldn't have set foot in this apartment."
Antoine moves his head to display that she does have a point.
"I think it's safe to say Sean and I have moved past my momentary lapse in judgment. And we're finally in a good place for the first time in I don't know how long."
"Good to hear," he replies straightforwardly. "I hope one day I'm in a good place with someone I care about."
Tricia pats her friend's back, comforting him. "If I can be, then I know you can be."
THE CHATEAU
The male host escorts Deirdre and Emma Covington to their table. He gives them their menus and informs them that their waiter will be over soon to take their orders, then he dashes off.
Classical music plays softly in the background, creating more of a fine-dining atmosphere.
"I know it is not the cuisine at the Regency in New York, but I thought you would want a change of scenery," the wealthy widow tells her daughter, who sits across from her.
Emma looks up from her menu at her mother.
"After not having any solid food in several weeks, nourishment from just about anywhere would be fine with me,"
Emma had recently been released from the hospital after spending several weeks in a coma due to a brain injury she sustained in a fatal collision caused by an overworked semi-truck driver who passed away from his injuries. Nonetheless, she was unable to stop Will's car she was driving due to him having too much to drink that night.
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"Mother, what is this about?"
"What are you speaking of, dear?" she says in her refined, polished voice, albeit with a hint of her southern drawl.
"The last time we went out for breakfast was when you told me Dad was sick, so is there anything I should know before I order crepes?"
Quietly, Deirdre ponders.
What am I supposed to tell my daughter? I despise the ex-con you are currently shackled with, so I paid a criminal to tamper with his vehicle, which caused you to lie in a coma with doctors believing you wouldn't make a full recovery.
"I know this coming from me might not mean much, but when you were in the hospital, I had a lot of time to think. I thought of all the years we weren't close, and I know the majority of that was on me. Deirdre comments sincerely. "And I want us to work on being closer if it's possible."
Emma takes a sip of the water the waiter gives them to start before they order. "It's not going to happen overnight, mother,"
Deirdre reasonably nods at her daughter's response, knowing that in the past she would've ignored or said a colorful remark.
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"But I guess if there are a pair of Manolo Blahnik's in size 6, then it'll be a start."
Deirdre gives a lighthearted smile, putting what she did behind her, knowing no good will come out of it if exposed.
ESTHER SAUNDERS STABLES
"Oh, mom, things with Presley are still new," Tanner responds to her mother.
"I understand completely," she empathizes. "It's not easy moving on with someone else."
"Was it like that when you moved on with Jai after Dad?"
Louise grins at her daughter's deep, thought-provoking question.
"It was, you think you're going to share your life with someone else. But life doesn't always go the way you imagine. " Louise advises. "And I've got to tell you, I haven't been this happy in a long time since Jai came into my life. the most important thing is that it is great to have someone in your life. Remember it is also important to find out who you are without a man too."
Tanner soaks in what she has been told by her mother.
"We've got to do this more often,"
Louise stands up from the chair. "I will love that. Well, I need get to the farm."
She goes to embrace her daughter. She then exits out of the office to the parking lot.
Meanwhile, inside the office, Tanner grabs her iPhone in front of her on the desk. Rapidly, she fires out a text to Presley.
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Ready for our second date.
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JOJO'S CAFE
The early morning crowd inside the establishment is thinning out.
Matt Duke's "Spilt Milk" is on the sound system,
The song's folksy soft rock melody gives the coffeehouse a relaxing ambiance during another hot summer day.
In reality, Presley lied to both of his parents about meeting a parishioner. The person he is meeting is coming through the door at this moment.
Jordan McKnight saunters her way over to the table in an azure blue open-back sundress holding onto her purse.
"Sorry I couldn't get into more over the phone, but mom came in,"
His youngest sister takes a seat across from him,
"Well, this gives us reason to see each other because I have a bone to pick with you," she remarks candidly. "Why didn't you tell me you were seeing Tanner?"
"Who told you?"
"The woman who claims to be our mother, of all the girls in this town, you chose to date the purest one."
"Lay off her; she's going through a lot right now,"
Jordan raises her eyebrow in skepticism that conveys, "Really?"
"First of all," he retorts. "I didn't tell you about Tanner because I knew you would react like this. Second, I wanted to tell you in person that mom left dad."
"Repeat that, again,"
"Mom left Dad yesterday, and she is at my house. She is divorcing him, Jordan."
Jordan never thought about the day her mother would leave her father, let alone contemplate ending their marriage.
"I don't know what to say," she finally responds. "Then again, I would've left Dad years ago if I was her."
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"We both got to be there for her. This woman has been dependent on him for years. And it's going to be a while before she gets back on her feet."
"In other words," Jordan places a strand of her long blonde hair behind her ear. "You want me to be nice to mom?"
"Support her okay, talk to her, and give a little encouragement." He tells her "I know it's been rough between you two, but she needs us to help her get through this."
"I'll do what I can," Jordan relents. "You're really dating Tanner?"
PRESLEY MCKNIGHT RESIDENCE
The McKnight matriarch scoffs at her husband's declaration.
"And you want me to come home and pretend this little act of rebellion on my part didn't happen and go back to the way we've been for years. No touch, no intimacy, nothing that could sustain us."
Ernest glances at her with a bit of shame, knowing what she is saying does have a colonel of truth.
"You don't know how hard this is for me to watch you walk out on me yesterday. I get it. I take you for granted. I know I haven't been the husband of the year. But there's more to marriage than romance. It's a partnership of two people committed to sticking it out in good and bad times."
Thora directs her gaze at him. "Yeah, well, the bad times, you've come up light,"
"So, what do you want then?" Ernest sighs laboriously.
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Thora picks up a photo on the mantel of her three children when they were younger, in the backyard of their house during an Easter Egg hunt. While Jordan had pigtails, EJ and Presley proudly held their baskets full of eggs. She remembers taking the picture all those years ago when things were simpler.
She hands him the photo. "Could you go back in time?"
Ernest interprets the photograph with a sorrowful smirk on his face. "If I could, I would do it in a heartbeat."
Tears streamed down her cheek. "Are you going to be home later today?"
"No, I have to be at the station all day. Why?"
"I don't want you there when I'm picking up my things. Since I will be living here for the foreseeable future,"
Ernest lowers his head, somewhat disappointed at her response. "Well, uh, I better get going,"
She follows him to the door. "So, I guess we're truly separated then," he says reluctantly.
"Ernest, it's for the best," Thora says vehemently.
He walks out of the door, which she shuts. It is then, when she elicits a moan, tears flood from her eyes.
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END OF EPISODE
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ON THE NEXT EPISODE OF TOWN AND COUNTRY
Tommy confronts Presley.
Antoine fights his feelings.
Emma gets back into the swing of things.
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