EPISODE 175
Written by: Bre L. Drew
March 14, 2022
Last Time On Town and Country
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Will admitted he had fallen for Emma, while Deirdre planned to get him out of her life for good.
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Thora had gotten reacquainted with her estranged son Presley, who isn't keen on reconnecting with Ernest.
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Steven and Courtney still disagreed over whether or not to move into Hope Cottage.
FRANKLIN FARM: MAIN HOUSE
"Lookin' good, so I do say so myself."
Will Jackson says to himself, staring at himself in the mirror inside the bedroom he lives in at the main house on Franklin Farm, which he is currently staying in.
The club manager is impressed by his overall appearance, consisting of a navy-blue corduroy blazer, an ivory turtleneck, and a pair of dark blue jeans.
The resonance of the doorbell ringing gets him out of the room, down the stairs to the front door. When he opens it, he finds the person he had been expecting standing in the doorway, which makes him smile from ear to ear.
"Hey," he addresses her.
"Hi," the wealthy heiress responds.
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Emma Covington saunters inside the two-story house, taking off her white fur coat, which Will places on the rack beside the door. She is wearing a green stitched-waist satin midi dress and heels, clutching onto her purse. She then sees the bottle of wine and two glasses on the coffee table with a plate of cheeses, wheat crackers, and grapes.
Will had invited her to come over to the house since it was empty as everyone else had gone out for the evening, giving him the freedom to do so without any interruption.
"Is this for us?" Emma queries teasingly.
By now, Will is used to Emma's mockery, detecting that she is impressed somewhat.
"I know it's not those fancy restaurants you're used to in Paris, but I think you might like it."
Will takes a seat on the couch. "It is. I thought it was about time we got to enjoy each other's company without the loud ass music and people in the way. "
Emma sits beside him with an intriguing smirk while he pours the two of them glasses of red wine.
"What are we toasting to?" she asks.
Will gives her a glass while he concentrates on her. "The success of The Cliffe—and us."
The Covington heiress sneers. "Will, we are simply business associates and friends who occasionally scratch each other's itch."
Will takes a vigorous sip, knowing she is talking about their sexual relationship.
"I thought by now we were over this hurdle,"
As she is about to protest, his lips land on hers, and they kiss passionately. Soon, their bodies become intertwined with each other.
HOME FARM
From the grand staircase inside the estate on Home Farm, Deirdre Covington descends into the living room. Strolling towards the bar in the living room, she is about to fix herself a drink when the chime from her iPhone gets her attention.
The wealthy widow glares at her phone at the text message she has just received.
THANKS FOR THE PAYDAY!
The woman reflects on how she contacted a guy one of her friends referred her to, who has no problems handling situations outside her control. Hers had to do with that ex-con Will Jackson being removed from her daughter's life.
Deirdre sends a reply back.
LOSE THIS NUMBER, OR YOUR PAYDAY WON'T LAST!
Deirdre had set up with her accountant to send the guy payment an hour ago when he called her to tell her he had done what was asked,
"It doesn't matter what happens to you, as long as my daughter is free from you."
The sound of footsteps startles her, which quickly makes her continue to fix her beverage as if nothing had happened.
"Hello, mom," Daniel Covington greets his mother. "Having a nightcap?"
"Something like that, want one?"
"Sure, I don't see why not,"
Deirdre fixes him the same amount of scotch as she is having.
She gives him his glass. "Where is everyone this evening?"
"Max is still at the office, Shauna is having dinner with Mae, and Tommy is visiting Lorenzo at the guest house. Jeremy is upstairs asleep, looked in on by Lillith, and, of course, Jordan moved the rest of her belongings in but took off not long after that. "
Tommy had let Jordan move into the house after being gone for seven months, leaving the baby in his primary custody.
"Well, I hope you are paying the nanny extra. The girl's been back for two minutes, and she hasn't shown any interest in that precious baby; Daniel, this is what I'm talking about; when are you going to take action?"
Daniel takes a sip of the drink.
His mother had been on him to take care of the situation regarding Jordan not having a place here, nor in the life of the son, she abandoned for months.
"Mom, let me handle this; things like this usually work themselves out."
"What on earth are you talking about?"
Daniel takes another sip of the liquid.
"Jordan is an unfit mother who deserted her child for seven months. I mean, a few more months of her not bonding with the child would definitely guarantee Tommy gets full custody while Jordan is lucky to get supervised visits."
"But what if Jordan becomes "Mother of the year?" Deirdre's inquiries. "What then?"
Daniel doesn't have much hesitation on his face.
"Let's not jump the gun just yet, okay," he states. "But I seriously doubt Jordan McKnight will become Carol Brady anytime soon."
MCKNIGHT RESIDENCE
Both Ernest and Thora McKnight find themselves eating dinner in silence across from one another at the table in their dining room at home.
Ernest takes a hearty sip from his beer bottle.
"Okay, how long are you going to shut me out, Thora?"
Thora puts a forkful of mashed potatoes into her mouth, ignoring him on purpose.
Ernest takes a napkin to wipe his mouth.
"Come on, you, giving me the silent treatment isn't right, you know it."
Thora shoots a look of outrage at her husband.
"You know what isn't right? Both of our children do not want anything to do with us," she replies.
Thora had informed him that their son Presley was now back in town, taking over the associate pastor position at the church. Ernest, however, wasn't keen on hearing anything more about the son, who left home without much contact years later.
The police chief says bluntly, "They're both adults and have lives of their own; besides, it is time we put ourselves first."
"The other day, when I talked to Joel, he asked me, would you ever consider going to see someone to help fix our marriage?" Thora confesses.
"No way in hell am I going to see some quack to tell me what's wrong in our marriage," Ernest replies hastily. "The problem in our marriage is that you aren't satisfied."
"And your problem is that you refuse to take damn responsibility for any part of our family's downfall."
The housewife gets out of her chair, getting upset at him even more. She soon leaves the room, unable to take any more from him.
RADCLIFFE ANIMAL CLINIC AND SHELTER
"Make sure that goes in the box," Steven Sullivan informs the clinic's receptionist, Trudy, of the paperwork he had just completed on a male golden retriever for an emergency he treated.
"Sure thing, Doc," the forty-something female receptionist says from behind the desk.
Tonight, the veterinarian is working at the clinic due to its being short-staffed.
Steven is about to go into the back of the clinic when he sees a familiar face entering the clinic.
"Hi, I thought you could use this," Courtney Covington Sullivan says.
She holds up a plastic takeout bag from Henry's BBQ.
Steven genuinely smiles at his wife.
He follows her into the small breakroom, where there is a table and a few chairs, along with a microwave, refrigerator, and coffee maker.
"You didn't have to do this," Steven says to her. He then realizes this is her reaching out to him. "Thanks, I haven't found much time to eat."
Courtney selects the chair next to him at the table.
Steven knew that the two of them mostly avoided talking about Hope Cottage. He knew that he wasn't keen on moving anywhere near where her father had purchased.
Courtney takes a bite of the French fries she placed barbecue sauce on.
"I think we need to talk because we can't pretend this isn't between us, Steven,"
​
FRANKLIN FARM: MAIN HOUSE
Will and Emma are in the middle of making out when Emma's phone starts ringing.
She tries to pull away to answer, but Will doesn't want to let her go."
Emma examines the call screen on her phone.
"It's the club,"
Reluctantly, he lets go of her while she answers it.
Will pours himself another glass of wine and drinks it.
"Yes, what? Yeah, he's here, we are on our way, "
"What's up?" he asks her.
She ends the call.
"That was Ty; tonight, of all nights, a fight breaks out at the club. We need to go down there right now. "
Will gets off the couch while Emma walks over to obtain her coat.
"I'll drive," he insists.
"I don't know about that. I mean, you had a few more sips of wine than I did. I'll do the driving. "
Will is about to oppose, though, and he realizes time is of the essence.
"Take my car,"
Emma sighs laboriously at the thought of driving a used Impala. Yet she accepts the keys from him while they venture to the car, where she gets behind the wheel.
She maneuvers the vehicle onto the road in the poorly lit rural area.
"This town needs to invest in lighting immediately," Emma says
"You'll get used to it," Will replies casually.
In the opposite lane, a red and white semi-truck is driven by a white male motorist who is dosing in and out at the wheel but mostly keeps his eyes on the road until they become too overwhelmed to focus.
The semi-truck drifts into the median.
Emma sees the truck across from her, which makes her press her foot onto the brake. However, the car doesn't come to a stop.
"Put your foot on the brake," Will tells her.
"It's not working," Emma cries.
Emma puts her foot on the device one more time; nonetheless, the car keeps moving forward.
"Use the horn!" Will shouts. "Do it!"
Emma does what she is told, but it doesn't give the driver attention.
Emma swerves the vehicle out of the way towards the field. However, the semi-truck collides into the sedan, leaving all three parties unconscious and trapped without any way to escape.
MCKNIGHT RESIDENCE
After finishing his dinner, Ernest removed the dishes from the table and went into the kitchen, where he proceeded to wash them. He then heads to the bedroom, where he sees the door is closed.
He carefully knocks on the door, knowing his wife is on the other side.
Not hearing any response, he strolls into the bedroom, where he sees Thora lying in bed with her face streaming with tears.
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"Thora, what is it I can do to make you feel less emotional?"
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She lifts her head to give him her full attention.
"We can't keep going the way things are now, Ernest,"
When the cordless phone rings, Ernest groans, trying to think of something else to say.
Closer to the phone, Thora grabs the device from the receiver on the nightstand.
"Hello," she answers. She glances at her husband while she takes the phone from her ear. "It's Kensington, which says it's urgent,"
The officer takes the phone from her, still feeling the tension between them.
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"Chief McKnight," he replies in his professional, authoritative voice. "My God, is anyone hurt?" I'm on my way,"
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"What is it?" she asks, mostly out of curiosity.
"Car Collision, possible fatalities,"
Ernest grabs his badge and weapon holster from the dresser.
He leaves him out of the bedroom, with his marriage still in peril.
RADCLIFFE ANIMAL CLINIC AND SHELTER
Steven grabs his foam carton out of the bag containing his favorite entree from the barbecue restaurant.
"Me being resistant to moving into the cottage doesn't have anything to do with because I don't like the place or anything because I did like it," he replies honestly.
"Then what is the problem?" Courtney asks with perplexity.
Steven exhales while trying to find the exact words.
"You know, since we got together, your father has been trying to find ways for us to stick it to me, and my family, the farm, all that stuff with Lorraine, and now he comes in and buys us this house, which to me translates as "Look what I did that you haven't yet, which is to give my only daughter her dream home."
Courtney quickly wipes her hands with a paper napkin before putting them into her husband's hands.
"No one, not even my father, can tear us apart, Steven and it doesn't matter where we live, because the most important thing is that we're together."
Steven clutches his wife's hands tenderly.
"Then the other night, when we talked about how the farm has always been home, it made me realize that it is time we make our own memories in our own home."
"Are you saying?"
"If you want, let's move in,"
Courtney's face forms her wide grin while she throws her arms around her husband.
"I love you," she tells him.
"I love you too," he repeats.
HOME FARM
Daniel walks over to the bar to fix himself another drink.
"Another?" he asks his mother.
"No, I'm fine, thank you," Deirdre says, somewhat nonchalantly.
After Daniel fixes himself another drink, he takes a seat in the chair adjacent to his mother. He suddenly notices his mother looking somewhat restless about something or someone before he is about to inquire more about it. When the din of the doorbell gets their concentration,
"I wonder who that could be at this time of night." Daniel remarks, getting out of the chair and toward the door.
Meanwhile, Deirdre remains still, anticipating this has to do with Will. She takes a strong sip of her scotch while Daniel lets in whoever is on the other side of the barrier.
"This is my mother, Deirdre Covington," Daniel introduces the two police officers, one white woman with her dark blonde hair in a ponytail and one tall black man, both wearing uniforms.
The black police officer clears his throat. "Mr. Covington, Chief McKnight wanted us to drop by here to personally inform you that your sister Emma and a male passenger were in a head-on collision involving a semi-truck out on Route 80."
Deirdre covers her mouth in shock.
"They, along with the driver of the truck, were rushed to Radcliffe Receiving. We will escort you there. "
"What is my daughter's condition?" Deirdre asks, finally finding her voice after being stunned; at the fact that somehow Emma was injured along with Will, who was the only one who was supposed to be involved.
"We don't know, Ma'am— they'll be able to help you more at the hospital. "The female cop briefs them.
Daniel gives his mother a look of reassurance as they prepare to head over to the hospital.
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END OF EPISODE
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ON THE NEXT EPISODE OF TOWN AND COUNTRY
Friends and Family hear word on Will and Emma's conditions.
Presley tries to get through to Jordan.
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