EPISODE 158
Written by : Bre L. Drew
November 15, 2021
Last Time On Town and Country
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Elijah was taken to the hospital after getting behind the wheel drunk and crashing into an utility pole. He was later charged with a DWI. ​
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While celebrating the opening night of their new nightclub, "The Cliffe," Will and Emma found themselves having sex.
RADCLIFFE RECEIVING HOSPITAL
Brynn Barker, alongside her husband, Nathaniel Barker, arrives on the second-floor of Radcliffe Receiving Hospital via the elevator. They move halfway down the corridor where they reach the room where their son Elijah is recovering from crashing into a utility pole while drinking behind the wheel last night on Halloween.
Something, however, neither of them has become accustomed to is the male police officer who is white and in his early thirties, sitting in a chair with his back to the wall, gazing up at the two of them. To Brynn, it felt like the look was expressing, "How on earth could you let this happen to your son?"
Elijah had been placed under arrest by Ernest McKnight for committing a DWI. This morning he'll be going to court to receive his sentence.
Nathaniel promptly informs the officer that they are there to see their son. The two are then permitted inside the room, where they see Elijah lying in his bed, still in his hospital gown with his breakfast tray half-cleared of food.
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"Hi," he says, both to his parents.
"Morning, son," Nathaniel greets him.
The college professor is currently wearing a dark suit for court.
"Well, it definitely smells like a hospital in here," Brynn criticizes while she places a garment bag on the handle of the bathroom door. The high school principal is wearing a respectable black belted v-neck dress and heels.
Both Nathaniel and Elijah exchange glances at Brynn's particular claim.
Brynn looks down at the watch on her wrist. "Well, let's not waste any time. I'll help you get dressed so we can get to court so we can get enough time with our lawyer. "
"Mom, I can get dressed by myself." Elijah protests. "One of my legs is broken. But I still have two arms that I'm able to use. "
"Elijah," Nathaniel says, warningly. Like he does when he goes over the line.
"Elijah, you don't know how disappointed we are in you. Your actions may have caused you to lose everything you have worked for. " Brynn says intensely
Nathaniel, who feels torn between his wife and son, begins to help his son get ready as Brynn walks toward a corner to fold her arms, feeling helpless.
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FRANKLIN FARM : MAIN HOUSE
"Well, Louise, please let me know what the verdict is when you can,"
Sarah Lynn Saunders speaks into the phone. "And tell Brynn, Nathaniel, and Elijah they're in my prayers -- talk to you later, buh bye."
As she ends the call, Martha Saunders strolls into the kitchen of the family home on Franklin Farm.
"Mom, have you ever had one of those moments when you forgot something and you suddenly just realize that you don't have it."
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Sarah Lynn nods empathetically. "Was it anything important?"
"Yeah, my clutch, I didn't even know I didn't have it until we got home last night from the hospital."
As soon as they got word about Elijah's condition, she, Steven, Shauna, Max, and Courtney went to the hospital to check in on everyone there; she had realized her purse wasn't in her possession. And despite looking everywhere, she still can't find it.
"It's usually the last place where you had it," Sarah Lynn says wisely.
The Saunders matriarch tastes her coffee. "Other than that, how was your night?"
Martha places one hand on one of her hips while putting the other on the countertop. "Okay, I ran into Emma, which wasn't fun, but other than that, it wasn't bad. I'm just glad Elijah isn't badly hurt as he could've been or worse."
"Me too," Sarah Lynn agrees. "Have you seen Will this morning? I figured he was probably sleeping in, but he promised Esther he would fix that fence near the pasture by now, but I knocked on his door but didn't answer."
"I'm pretty sure he is still asleep. I'm sure running a nightclub is exhausting work, especially when you're involved with the owner," Martha says facetiously.
Sarah Lynn could detect the trace of bitterness in her youngest daughter's voice, knowing how disheartened she was when she found out Will was seeing Emma.
"I think I know where I left my bag," Martha suddenly announces.
RADCLIFFE-HUDSON DISTRICT COURTHOUSE
Inside the designated courtroom of the Radcliffe-Hudson District Courthouse in downtown Radcliffe, Louise Saunders Lockhart is sitting in the gallery beside her twin daughters, Lynn and Tanner Lockhart. While Tommy Covington, Aaliyah Gupta, and Lorenzo Vidal were sitting in rear of them,
They all came to show support for Elijah, who is going to be arraigned for his DWI that occurred last night in a matter of minutes. In front of them all, they could see Elijah, his parents, and his lawyer having a conversation.
Louise could tell by her daughter's face that she was worried about her boyfriend.
Maternally, she grabs her daughter's hand as she used to when the pediatrician was ready to give her vaccines.
"Everything will work out, sweetheart," she advises.
Lynn heavily sighs, unsure of her mother's words. "It's like I want to kill him and be there for him all at the same time," she admits.
"I get it," Louise replies.
The din of footsteps approaching them makes them see Sean Lockhart is also here.
The farm manager is in a suit and tie, a far cry from the casual attire he works in.
Lenny gets out of her chair to be embraced by her father. Despite the two of them not exactly being close as of late, she was glad to see him here today.
"It's going to be okay," he tells her.
The two of them let go as he smiles at Tanner.
"Hi, Dad," she remarks.
"Hey, Pretty Princess," he answers.
"We thought you weren't going to come. I know I left you the message kind of late, "Louise says.
It doesn't matter; I want to be here, even though I believe what Elijah did was stupid and could've cost him his life. There was no way I wouldn't be here for my girls."
Louise could tell something else entirely was on her ex-husband's mind, like he was trying to keep his spirits up, something she had been familiar with since they were married.
She notifies the girls that they will be right back as she leads Sean out of the enclosed space and into the hall.
"What's going on?" Louise asks.
"Nothing is going on,"
Louise throws him a look of disbelief.
"All right, it's gotta do with me and Tricia," he replies. "Sorry, I bet you don't wanna know another issue in my marriage."
Louise waves her hand dismissively. "What is going on now?"
Sean delves into the latest difficulty in his marriage as he finds out his wife kissed not only another man, but the man who is also her good friend, who is also the son of the man Louise is currently seeing.
"Well, I'm not surprised to hear that about Tricia, but I thought Samuel would have better sense. Louise vocalizes
"I was going to wring Samuel's neck; then I realized it wasn't worth it. Is there something about me that I can't make a marriage work? " Sean asserts solemnly
"It takes two to make a marriage work,"
"I don't know what to do," Sean shares.
Louise moves closer to him to hug her former spouse. "Be honest with yourself with whatever you decide."
"Your honor, we ask that you grant Elijah Barker the lightest sentence possible. In light of his transgressions, this young man is an honor student at Sampson University, where he is also a member of the student senate. He comes from an upstanding family. We hope you take all of this into account when you make your ruling. "
This morning, Elijah's attorney, Cheryl Phillips, apprises the judge, who is presiding over the proceeding this morning.
Judge Miles Wilder, who is a sixty-something-year-old white man, clears his throat.
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"I have heard arguments from both the city prosecutor and the defense, but now it is my turn," he says in his southern drawl.
"Mr. Barker, what you did was not only foolish but very serious; you could've not only killed yourself but others as well. I truly hope you understand the full consequences of drinking and driving. "
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"I do, your honor," Elijah answers.
The judge writes something down in his records before lifting his head back towards the defendant.
Brynn and Nathaniel are sitting behind Elijah, holding hands, unsure of their only son's fate.
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"Usually, this is where I would ask you to stand." Judge Wilder continues. But due to your injuries, you may remain seated. It troubles me to see a young person who seems to be on the road to great things get into this kind of trouble--it's clear to me something is amiss with someone intoxicated at the wheel of their car crashing into a pole going sixty-five miles per hour. "
Elijah gulps, hoping he won't be serving any jail time. But he begins to realize that what he did is very serious and shouldn't have been shrugged off as he did before.
"I have taken into account that this is your first offense, so that is why the court will be suspending your license for six months and imposing a five-hundred-dollar fine. After those six months are over, the misdemeanor will be expunged from your record. And one more thing, Mr. Barker, I suggest you seek help with your drinking sooner rather than later. "
The judge gets out of the chair as the clerk informs him that the case is over as Elijah takes in the words that were said to him.
As his parents are thanking their good friend Cheryl for representing him at the last minute, he makes his way on crutches to the gallery, where his friends take turns hugging him.
"I knew you weren't going to go jail," Tommy replies.
"Which we are glad about," Tanner chimes in,
"Yeah, man, all you need to do now is recover," Lorenzo remarks.
Aaliyah puts a loose strand of her long hair behind her ear. "I hope you know how thankful you should be. It could've been a lot worse. "
Elijah looks at his girlfriend, whom he knows his actions have caused her emotional pain. She walks towards him, putting both her arms around him.
"Can you forgive me?" he asks.
Lynn lets go of him as she remains focused on him.
"I can in time, but you need to get yourself together because the next time I want to see you in a room like this is when you're a lawyer and not facing any more charges because of your drinking."
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As his friends leave the courtroom to tend to the rest of their day, Elijah, along with Lynn, who is holding his hand, comes over to Brynn and Nathaniel.
"Let's go home," Brynn says, having enough of this place for a lifetime.
"Mom, Dad, I need help," Elijah admits.
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THE CLIFFE
When Emma Covington lifts her head off the sturdy chest of Will Jackson, she instantly recalls that not only did she have a glass of champagne with the manager of her new nightclub, but they ended up on the couch where they had sex on Halloween night.
Carefully peeling herself off the couch, she can locate her phone near her purse on the desk. Seeing the time and date on the screen of the phone, she realizes they both slept here all night.
Putting on her witch's costume from last night, she jostles her business associate to wake up, which he does.
"What time is it?" Will asks in a groggy voice.
"To wake the hell up, it's morning; we slept here all night,"
Will sits up on the couch where he briefly closes his eyes, then opens them again.
He says arrogantly, "Usually when I sleep with a woman, they usually blush."
Emma tosses his clothes from last night at him. "Yeah, because I tend to boast about my sexual encounters that happen on three-thousand-dollar couches in my office."
"I see you ain't complaining," he winks.
When Will gets his clothes on, the two of them exit the office.
"I need to go home, shower, and get out of this ridiculous costume," Emma says.
The two come down the staircase, nearly towards the door, when they see both Martha and Steven entering the establishment. It doesn't take long for the two cousins to discover that the two of them slept over since they're wearing the same garments they had on last night.
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"What are you two doing here?" Will state
Martha turns to her cousin before turning back to the guy she still has feelings for. She replies awkwardly, "I think I left my purse here, so I had Steven give me a ride here to look for it." So I see you two wasted no time celebrating opening night, huh?"
"You know what they say about all work and no play?" Emma says flippantly.
"Then again, you're adults and together, as I'm frequently reminded of," Martha responds. "And by the way, when you get back out to the farm, Aunt Esther wanted you to fix that fence. "
"Martha, I didn't mean for you to see this." Will tries to explain.
Martha shakes her head. "It's okay, I understand you loud and clear."
"Let's look for your bag," Steven insists.
The two head further into the nightclub as Emma and Will move out to the parking lot on the partially cloudy fall day.
"Who knew it had to take us really sleeping with each other for the hillbilly girl to lose all respect for you?" she tells him.
END OF EPISODE
ON THE NEXT EPISODE OF TOWN AND COUNTRY
Elijah checks himself into rehab.
Tricia feels unwell.
Tommy has an awkward run-in.
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