EPISODE 196
Written by: Bre L. Drew
August 8, 2022
Last Time on Town and Country
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Jordan discovered divorce papers sent by her mother to her father.
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The gang decided to spend the night at The Cliffe to support Lorenzo on his first night working at the club.
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Will and Emma, our officially together as a couple,
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Sean and Tricia were happy when their son Dylan was born.
HOME FARM
Jordan McKnight sits on one of the steps of the curved staircase inside the main house on the Home Farm estate this evening. Thoughts of her parents' impending divorce consumed her mind so much that she hadn't heard her name called repeatedly.
"Jordan, you hear me? Tommy Covington clarifies. "I said, are you all, right?"
The father of her son is wearing a short-sleeved Burberry pale blue map-print shirt and slim straight jeans. Not to mention his trademark cologne, which he often splashes on himself.
"Wow, look at you," Jordan somewhat complements.
The young man takes a seat next to her.
"But you didn't answer my question," he says. "I can tell something is up."
Jordan sighs humbly. It's official; my parents' marriage is over. My mother had divorce papers sent to my father. I saw them while I was at the house picking up the rest of my mother's things today. "
"I bet Ernest did not take that well."
"I walked in on him sweeping up shards of glass from a beer bottle. Something tells me he did that after he got those papers."
Tommy could see the distress upon her face, which isn't a usual emotion on the usually vibrant young woman he had known since high school.
"Don't get me wrong. I'm glad my mom realizes she doesn't need my dad for the first time in forever, but it seems the last constant from my childhood other than Presley is gone."
"Look, I know what I'm about to say to you isn't going to take away what you are feeling," he replies considerately. "But do you want to go out tonight? All of us are going out to The Cliffe to hang out and support Lorenzo on his first night on the job."
Jordan doesn't take long to show hesitance. "You said, everyone?"
"Yeah, me, Elijah, Lynn, Aaliyah, Tanner, and your brother,"
She could hear the disdain in Tommy's voice when he mentioned her brother who is currently seeing Tanner who used to be his former girlfriend, he still has unresolved feelings. Jordan herself isn't keen on her brother dating her former friend who she believes is wrong for her older brother.
Jordan rises onto her feet. "Be ready in twenty minutes," she announces, ascending to her bedroom.
WHEELER BUILDING
Sean Lockhart enters the apartment building where he resides with food from Henry's BBQ. Since Tricia had the baby, he hasn't had much free time to grocery shop, so they have mostly been living on takeout.
As he moves forward in the lobby, he hears footsteps behind him. He turns around to see his ex-wife behind him with her long wavy blonde hair layered in an indigo blue tie-waist halter top, white pants, and a purse draped on her arm.
"We've got to stop running into each other like this," Sean says jokingly.
This isn't the first time Sean has run into his former wife and employer in the building, courtesy of her boyfriend, Jai Gupta, living a floor below him.
Louise smiles genially. "You make it sound like it's a bad thing,"
"It's never a bad thing to see you," he says cordially.
"Congratulations again on the baby; he's beautiful from the pictures the girls showed me," she says.
Sean couldn't help but smile when the topic of conversation was his youngest child.
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"Dylan is amazing, but I forgot how sleep deprived I was after the first week or so after he was born."
Louise nods in agreement.
"Remember when Tanner and Lenny both had colic?" Louise asks. "I don't think we got more than three hours of sleep at a time."
"And then, in the blink of an eye," Sean counters.
"They're adults," Louise adds.
She crosses her arms over her chest.
"Funny enough, "I wouldn't trade those years for anything," she confesses.
"Me neither," he winks.
"How is Tricia adjusting to motherhood?" Louise changes the subject.
"Do you really want to know?"
Louise smirks.
"She might not exactly be my favorite person, but this is a huge transition for her."
"Actually, she's getting the hang of it, which I know might surprise you."
"Why?" she queries with a hint of humor.
"You're forgetting." "I know you too well, Louise; you think she's self-absorbed and full of herself, but her becoming a mother agrees with her," he informs her.
Louise proceeds to push the arrow on the panel of the elevator. For your sake and the baby's sake I'm glad to hear it, "
"I should get this up to Tricia," he says, motioning to the bag of food in his hand.
The two get onto the elevator when it opens. In a way, Louise is glad to see her former spouse happy, though it does bring a sense of frustration that he is dedicated to being a family man to his new family but couldn't remain faithful to his old one when they were married.
THE CLIFFE
Emma Covington stands by the window of her office that overlooks the center of the club downstairs. And to her joy, she is impressed by the turnout tonight as people seem to be having a good time, which means a successful business.
Momentarily, she feels someone's firm arms wrapping around her waist.
"That look can only mean one thing," Will Jackson whispers into his lover's ear.
He places a kiss on her cheek. "How does it feel to be back here when the sun is down?"
It had been a few weeks since Emma had left the hospital after recovering from the coma, she was in which was sustained in a collision involving Will and the driver of the semi-truck who died. Nonetheless, she still finds it peculiar that the brakes in her lover's car weren't working despite being recently sold.
Emma glances up at him and smirks at everything below her.
"Fucking incredible," she verbally depicts.
"Peru" by Fireboy DML featuring Ed Sheeran is currently being played by the deejay.
On the floor amongst the crowd dancing are Tanner Lockhart and her twin sister Lynn, with their boyfriends, Presley McKnight and Elijah Barker. and Aaliyah Gupta, whose boyfriend is working here tonight. Somehow, the usual reserved young woman got talked into dancing by her new beau.
Once the song is over, the group decides to move back to the booth where they occupy.
"I'm tired," Tanner remarks. "I can't remember the last time I danced like that."
"Well, I'm impressed by Presley's rhythm I didn't know a pastor could move like that," Aaliyah chuckles.
"What can I say, I'm a man of many talents," the reverend jokes.
Tanner found herself smiling with relief that, despite Presley's being a slightly older professional, he had managed to get along with her friends.
"Speaking of men with many talents," Aaliyah says. "It was a massive crowd at Jojo's yesterday, and not only did Elijah help out, but he got the line down by half."
"I didn't know you got your job back at the cafe," Tanner says to her oldest friend.
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"Joanie had asked me to help out since they were short-staffed," Elijah says casually.
Tanner could've sworn she saw her fraternal twin sister roll her eyes while Elijah was speaking to them. She decides to let it go for now and bring it up to her when they're alone.
"I could've sworn I told Emma to put y'all in the VIP," Lorenzo Vidal jokes as he approaches his friends and girlfriend.
"It's your first day. So, I wouldn't push it with her, "Lenny tells him."
"How is it going?" Aaliyah asks her boyfriend
Lorenzo puts his hands at his sides.
"Not bad, I just did something for the club's Tik Tok. So be on the lookout for that, "
"I didn't know The Cliffe had a Tik Tok," Presley observes.
"They do now," Lorenzo responds. "Anyone up for drinks? They're on the house. One perk I do have."
With each giving their drink request, Lorenzo, Aaliyah, Lynn, and Elijah go to the bar to obtain them, leaving the newest couple together.
"Glad to see you're having a good time," Presley points out.
"Yeah, me too," she says over the noise.
He is about to kiss her when they spot Tommy and Jordan entering the establishment in a red sequin mini dress, strappy heels, and a small designer bag dangling from her shoulder.
"You've got to be kidding me," Tanner replies dryly.
WHEELER BUILDING: APT # 424
Sean steps inside the fourth-floor apartment, where he passes the kitchenette into the living room, where he finds his wife, Tricia Lockhart, sitting on the couch, cradling their newborn son, Dylan, in her arms.
He stands there for a moment, taking in the picture-perfect scene.
She suddenly turns to see her husband, which makes her smirk.
"Hey," he says cheerfully.
"Hey!" she says softly.
She is wearing a magenta purple t-shirt and black leggings. Her hair is in a suitable ponytail, and she has no makeup. A far cry from the usual glamorous appearance, though it didn't matter to him because she still has some residual glow from her pregnancy.
Sean holds up the plastic bag containing their meal from Henry's. "I've got dinner,"
"Thanks, I'll get it in a minute," Tricia replies. "Dylan had a bit of a hard time falling asleep tonight, but I managed to somehow get him to close his eyes."
Sean sits next to his wife on the couch, where he notices an episode of Shark Tank is on the flat-screen television. The volume is low, but it doesn't stop him from noticing the man's pitch isn't well received by the sharks.
With careful precision, the new mother places the boy with brown hair and beautiful brown eyes into his bassinet in front of them.
Sean puts his arm around his wife. "Between the visits from the girls, Courtney, and Antoine, it's good to have some time for ourselves."
Tricia rests her head against his chest. "Tell me about it," she laughs.
"I wouldn't have it any other way," Sean proclaims.
He decides not to tell his wife about running into Louise earlier, knowing any subject revolving around his ex-wife would get her worked up, and she didn't need that, especially right now after having their son.
"This might sound corny, coming from me, but I didn't know it was possible to love another human being as much as I do with him. And I promise you we will protect him better than what my mother did for me."
Tricia grew up witnessing her mother, Jolene, being mentally and physically abused by her stepfather, Wade. It had been one of the reasons she had reservations about having children. Nonetheless, it appears that motherhood has come naturally to her.
"We will," he promises her. "Now, are you hungry?"
Tricia queries suggestively, "For food or the thing we have to wait for a few more weeks for," she suggests.
Sean kisses the top of his wife's forehead as they focus on the TV.
THE CLIFFE
Lorenzo, Aaliyah, Elijah, and Lynn were waiting at the bar for their drinks. They spot Tommy and Jordan approaching Tanner and Presley.
"You think we should go over there?" Aaliyah asks unsurely.
"Don't think we should interfere until we have to," Elijah advises.
Lynn takes a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. "I'm with Aaliyah. Anyone stuck with Jordan deserves rescue, except for Tommy."
"Something tells me Tanner can handle herself," Lorenzo says encouragingly.
The twenty-something white male bartender named J.T. gives them their assorted beverages.
When Elijah obtains his glass of cola, he can see his girlfriend giving him an observance.
"Lenny, you don't have to keep doing that," he tells her.
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"What?" she asks.
He turns to her with his drink.
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"I'm worried if I'm taking on too much, which I'm not okay with. And even if I was, I'm not going to start drinking again. "
For nearly a year, Elijah has not had a drop of alcohol as he is in recovery from his alcoholism.
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"I don't mean to, but when I saw you helping out at Jojo's the other day and with school starting back, I don't want you to be tempted, that's all."
"Well, I have my parents and now my sponsor at A.A. to keep me in line." I don't need you to do that for me, okay, "
He takes off, leaving Lenny to think over what occurred between her and her boyfriend.
"Hey, you two, I brought Jordan along. I hope you all don't mind," Tommy tells them.
"It's good to see you, sis," he says, somewhat pleasantly. "How is Jeremy?" the reverend asks of his nephew.
"He's great as always; Shauna is watching him tonight," Jordan informs us. A malevolent grin spreads across her face when she makes eye contact with her former best friend. "Hi, Tanner,"
Despite wanting to be civil, Tanner couldn't be at this moment. "Jordan," she says uninterestingly.
Most of the crowd in the bar is getting pumped as the chorus to Beyonce's "Break My Soul" plays.
"Oh, Tan, don't be like that. I know there is conflict between us, but we also have a fair share in common. I mean, you're seeing my brother for some reason, and I have a child with your ex. I think that technically makes us more alike than different, don't you think?"
"You're pathetic, you know that." Tanner remarks abruptly. "And if we're the same, then you must need your eyes examined."
"Jordan," Presley chastises, "You had your fun, okay?"
Tommy sees that his coming to Jordan was getting to Tanner, which in a way he doesn't want her hurt since he still holds hope that they will get back together, but also it makes her realize he is moving on in a way that could be a wakeup call to her.
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"She doesn't mean any offense," Tommy says.
Tanner gives her ex a look to signify their opposition. "Yeah, right,"
By now, Emma makes her presence known to them after witnessing the back and forth. "What is going on here?"
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"Nothing but a little misunderstanding," Tommy tells his aunt.
"Tommy, I think you and Jordan should go somewhere else," Presley says more harshly.
"I hope you pray enough for patience because she isn't giving up her virtue, if you know what I mean."
Tanner begins to blush with anger and embarrassment at the fact that her being a virgin was disclosed in such a public place despite the noise occupying the atmosphere.
"That was uncalled for," Presley states strongly, "If this is what I think this is about, you know, you can talk to me."
She knows he is referring to their parents' divorce, and she had told him about the incident with their father earlier. He knew then that she was more shaken up than she let on over the phone.
"Come on, Tommy; I will direct you and your baby mama to the VIP section." Emma leads
Tommy and Jordan follow her as Tanner sighs with relief that they're gone.
"I'm sorry about that," Presley apologizes. "If I'd known about Jordan coming tonight, we would've gone anywhere else but here."
Tanner shakes her head. "That's all right, I guess it's one of the downfalls of living in such a small town..." "Uh, if you don't mind, I don't feel well and I want to go home."
"Let's get you home," Presley says confidently.
The two make their way out of the nightclub.
Some time passes as Emma saunters by the bar, still impressed by the number of club-goers this evening.
"Good night, isn't it, J.T." She says this matter-of-factly.
"It is," he reacts while giving a customer back their credit card. "I forgot to tell you that someone was asking for you about ten minutes ago."
"Who?"
He shrugs at her question. "I sent them up to your office to wait on you, and by the way, not bad on the eyes."
When she is about to seek out more information, a wave of customers gets her attention.
She proceeds and saunters up the staircase. She walks into her office, ready to make small talk with the person and show them around.
But nothing could have prepared her for the wealthy businesswoman in front of her.
"It's been a long time, Emma,"
"What in the hell are you doing here?" she queries bluntly.
​
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"Now, is there any way to treat the man you were going to marry?" Jacques Laurent greets her in his usual charismatic manner.
The French shipping heir is wearing a navy-blue Tom Ford plaid lapel suit. The top button of his black shirt was unbuttoned, revealing his usual style of dressy casual.
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Noticing the door is ajar, Will steps into the room, unbeknownst to what is playing out in his lover's office.
"Can I help you with something, man?" he asks the male stranger.
Jacques shakes his head. "That won't be necessary." I'm staying at the Miller Inn, Suite 330. I hope to see you. "
He strolls out of the room.
Will gestures towards the door with his finger.
"Is that who I think it is?"
Emma nods to confirm his suspicion.
"Unfortunately, it is my good-for-nothing ex-fiancé is back in town."
Moments ago, her happiness was apparent, but now her recent emotions have seemed to overtake her joy courtesy of the sight of that man whom she once considered the love of her life, who ended up using her for her money.
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END OF EPISODE
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ON THE NEXT EPISODE OF TOWN AND COUNTRY
Dr. Toussaint offers Jordan absolution.
Presley confronts Ernest.
Emma deals with Jacques being in town.
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