EPISODE 173
Written by: Bre L. Drew
February 28, 2022
Last Time On Town and Country
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Tommy accused Jordan of dishonorable intentions regarding her return to Radcliffe.
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Deirdre swore to end the relationship between Will and Emma.
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Thora deals with the fallout of the breakdown of her family.
FIRST STREET METHODIST CHURCH
Thora McKnight finds herself knocking on the door of Reverend Friendly's office at the church.
"Come in," the religious leader calls out nonchalantly.
Thora opens the door, where she sees her longtime friend sitting at his disorganized desk with a pen tucked in his ear.
"Hi, your secretary told me that I could come in," she informs him.
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"Pull up a chair," he says pleasingly.
An assortment of mismatched chairs was against the wall of the room. Pictures of members of congregations past and present were all on a board behind him.
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"You're not in the middle of something important because I can always come back," Thora says, respectively.
Joel smiles. "Even if I were, I would never miss the opportunity to speak with one of my oldest friends. "So, how are you doing?"
Thora expresses, on her face, that it wasn't positive.
"I thought with Jordan, home, your family would be on its way to reconciliation." Joel's voice
Thora does her best to stifle her anger.
"Far from that, she is living on the Covington estate with them. And Ernest and I hardly ever speak to each other. Joel, it seems like my family will never be close again."
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JOJO'S CAFE
"Hold On To Your Love" by Walk Off The Earth and Phillip Phillips play in the cafe this winter afternoon as the majority of the crowd begins to disperse back to work and school.
Meanwhile, Tricia Lockhart and Jordan McKnight sit on the couch in the lounge area, catching up.
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"You are going to be someone's mother," Jordan says, surprisingly. "I still can't believe you're pregnant."
Tricia remarks amusingly, "Well, tell that to my ever-expanding hips."
As she approaches her fifth month of pregnancy, Tricia has started to experience more physical changes, including weight gain and hand swelling. Luckily for her, she hadn't had to purchase any maternity wear yet.
"Sean took off today to get started on the nursery,"
"That's good to hear."
Despite their marital issues, the two have been getting closer to one another again, preparing for the birth of their child,
Jordan takes a drink of her black iced tea. "At least someone in this world is happy. No matter what I do, I still feel like shit."
The cafe manager nods sympathetically; she recalls that Jeremy had heart surgery only hours after his birth; Jordan looked despondent, like she was struggling with postpartum depression, and it was clear to her that she was still feeling the effects of it.
THE CHATEAU
Deirdre Covington takes a sip of her Manhattan at the bar at The Chateau. The restaurant is primarily populated, with customers settling in for lunch. The wealthy widow decided to get out of the house and have a drink and a meal by herself.
Classical music plays on the sound system.
A college-aged male server appears behind the bar, asking someone who had just arrived beside Deirdre how he could help them.
"Yes, picking up an order for Saunders," the familiar southern drawl, makes Deirdre rethink whether she should've gone elsewhere.
Esther Saunders receives notification that her order will be out soon before the server goes to the next customer.
"Oh, look who is drinking alone before 5." The petite businesswoman insults her former friend, turned enemy, who slept with her father over thirty years ago.
"You're going with Saunders? It's hard to know because you've been married so many times." Deirdre sneers.
"I'll tell you what, I'll feel better when you leave town," Esther replies. "Please tell me it is sooner rather than later."
"Well, for your information, I'm staying in Radcliffe for the foreseeable future, so I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."
Deirdre had made the decision to return to New York City, seeing that her family could use her presence.
Esther tosses her a look that suggests annoyance at the thought of the two of them being in the same town.
When the server returns with a plastic bag of take-out cartons, she takes a fifty-dollar bill out of her purse.
"Keep the change," she says.
With one last glance at Deirdre, sipping some of her beverage, Esther heads away from the bar towards the exit,
Deirdre rolls her eyes. She says to herself, "She is still a bitch."
A couple of moments pass when she feels her iPhone vibrating in her handbag, making her retrieve it.
"Hello," she answers.
Initially, she doesn't recognize the male voice on the line, but when he tells her what he is contacting her for,
Deirdre lowers her voice to be discreet.
"Thank you for returning my call; a friend of mine referred me to you. I require your service. Yes, if you can expeditiously do that, then your payment will generally reflect it."
JOJO'S CAFE
"Tommy, Daniel, and the rest of the Covington's see me as some white trash girl who put herself first by abandoning a little boy a day after he was born, which is true. I mean, I couldn't take what was happening, so I did the one thing that came to my mind, which was to leave the baby with Tommy and fly to King's Bay, Washington."
Tricia places her hand on top of Jordan's to comfort her. "First of all, you are anything but white trash, and second, don't forget, before everything that happened, you were going to leave town with your baby."
When Daniel had filed for petition of custody, Tricia with Tommy and Jordan had come up with the plan after the baby was born to get mother and son to California.
Jordan does her best to hold back her tears. "I want to be there for my little boy, but I can't,"
"All those months that you were gone. I have no excuse. I should've reached out to you to see how you were doing," Tricia concedes
Jordan moves her head. "It's okay; besides, between folding t-shirts at the boutique I was working at and trying to get my foot in the door of modeling, I wasn't in the mood much for much social interaction. I still dunno why I texted my mother, of all people."
In December, Jordan had messaged her mother that she was okay. Jordan and she haven't had a strong relationship since before the death of her eldest brother EJ. And since then, her mother had sunk into depression herself.
"I think maybe you should talk to someone about what's going on. I know you want to be part of your son's life." Tricia voices
Jordan leans back on the couch, trying to absorb what has been said in this conversation.
"Maybe you're right. I just know I can't keep living at Home Farm without feeling like I'm a failure as a mother."
"Well, when you're ready, I can see if Samuel knows anyone at the hospital who treats PPD."
Jordan picks up her tea off the table. "Thanks, Tricia. I know sometimes I can be a bit much."
A smirk appears upon the expectant mother face. "If you're a bit much. Then I must be a whole damn lot."
The two women find the humor laughing with one another.
FIRST STREET METHODIST CHURCH
Joel nods supportively. "Thora, I think the best thing you should do is to keep reaching out to her. Deep down, you have to remember that she is still a young woman dealing with motherhood. She won't admit it, but she needs you more than ever."
"Well, from your lips to God's ear," Thora says.
"I have it on for a great authority that he frequently listens." Joel winks.
His comment makes Thora slightly unwind.
"Thora, please do not take this the wrong way," Joel tells her friend and parishioner. "But have you and Ernest ever considered marriage counseling?"
This time the housewife lets out a chuckle.
"Joel, how long have you known Ernest? He would never go for that. He would rather go through life thinking our marriage is fine than acknowledge any of our issues."
The reverend is about to open his mouth further on the matter when a light tap occurs at the door.
"Yes," he answers.
The door cracks open, revealing the older woman who has been working for forty years as the church's secretary,
She whispers, "Reverend, the new pastor is here; should I let him in?"
The look on his face seems unsettled. "I completely lost track of time."
Thora stands up from her chair, zipping her coat. "I better get going,"
"Well, whatever this man's name is, he's punctual, I'll give him that." Reverend Friendly says: "Send him in, Doris."
Thora remembers Joel telling her that his boss was sending someone to join as a fellow pastor.
"Of course, the bishop wants to keep me in suspense; he hadn't told me the guy's name."
Thora unzips her purse to search for her keys.
A few seconds later, the door is open once again.
The younger male is wearing a crisp white button-down shirt and a pair of black jeans, holding onto his coat in one arm and a messenger bag in the other.
Reverend Friendly is about to speak to his new colleague when his appearance catches him off guard.
With the relief of finding her keys, she is about to depart when she looks at the young pastor in the room.
