EPISODE 168
Written by: Bre L. Drew
January 24, 2022
Last Time On Town and Country
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Thora ran by an idea of a christening for Jeremy to Tommy, who initially wasn't keen on the idea.
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Sean and Tricia hadn't dealt with any of their marital issues.
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Steven wasn't pleased when he found out that Daniel had purchased him and Courtney a home.
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​At the Miller Inn, Deirdre walked in on Will and Emma together in an intimate state.
MCKNIGHT RESIDENCE
While the doorbell rings in proximity, Thora McKnight makes her way to see who is at her door. She doesn't receive many visitors as she is often alone with her husband, spending several hours working at the stationhouse as the police chief.
When she spots the person, or rather, people, at the threshold, she excitedly opens the door.
Tommy Covington is holding his son Jeremy in one hand while carrying a diaper bag and a chair carrier in the other.
"Hi, sweetie," she happily greets her grandson.
She then lets the two young men into her quiet home.
"What are you two doing here?" she asks. Knowing their arrangement is usually planned.
Tommy hands over the six-month baby, and Thora smiles from ear to ear, seeing the offspring of her daughter Jordan grow more and more every time she sees him.
"I have a last-minute group meeting for one of my classes in thirty minutes at the campus library because someone in the group didn't do their part, and we have to pick up the slack. Anyway, Lillith can watch Jeremy, but she won't be available for another hour.
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Thora smiles knowingly. "You want me to watch Jeremy until Lillith comes to take him home, am I correct?"
Tommy gives a brief nod. "Yes, I know it's last-minute, he lowers his voice. "I figured with Ernest not being here. You would be able to."
Tommy had made it clear he didn't want him around his grandson due to him kicking out his daughter, who had told him she was pregnant but didn't name the father.
"It is no problem; we are going to have a lot of fun. Aren't we sweetie?" Thora beams at her grandson, waving his plush school bus toy in his hand enthusiastically.
Tommy sees the way his son loves his grandmother by the way he looks up to her with wonderment in his eyes.
"Thora, remember when you asked me about having Jeremy christened?"
The middle-aged woman keeps holding the baby boy. "Yeah,"
In a way, she is planning to hear that he isn't going to do so.
"I think it will be a good idea," Tommy responds.
"Really?"
"I think Jeremy needs a connection to your family, and this christening can be that." Tommy says, thinking about the words Tanner gave him.
"I can set a ceremony up with Reverend Friendly — with your input, of course."
"That'll be fine," he says, with some initial hesitance.
Thora looks down at her grandson, then at Tommy. "I should've told you this a long time ago. But I think it is the right time."
Tommy tilts his head slightly. "Right time for what?"
"Before Christmas, I received a text from Jordan."
"What did the text say?" Tommy asks curiously.
Thora notices that the baby has dropped the toy and makes a mental note to pick it up later.
"She's okay, and when I tried to seek any more information, she never replied. I'm sorry for not telling you this now, but there wasn't much to go off of. "
Tommy takes one more glance at his son with his curly blonde hair.
"No, thanks for telling me,"
"We will walk you out," Thora replies gently. "And I'm sorry about not telling you about Jordan."
"Maybe this is her way of saying not to worry about her. I just wish she knew how much she was missing from her son's life." Tommy responds.
WHEELER BUILDING: APT # 424
Tricia Lockhart grabs a bottle of Lemon Perrier out of the refrigerator in the kitchenette inside the apartment she lives in on the fourth floor of the Wheeler building. She is about to head back to the bedroom when she sees her husband entering the area.
"Trish, I think it's time we get everything out in the open because we can't keep living like this until we do." Sean Lockhart expresses himself completely.
She places the bottle on the counter by the sink. "You're right."
The state of their marriage had been fragile since Sean found out she kissed Samuel.
The two proceed into the living room, where she sits on the couch and he on the bordering loveseat.
"Do you still want to be married to me?" Sean asks.
"Are you really asking me that question, Sean?" Tricia queries, in disbelief.
HOME FARM
"Have you heard anything I have said?" Deirdre Covington asks her son Daniel.
She and he are in his home office inside the mansion on Home Farm Estate.
Daniel Covington lifts his head from his paperwork. "Yes, I have, and I'm not keen on my sister being sexually involved with the guy who was inadvertently responsible for my daughter-in-law's kidnapping."
As Deirdre stands across from her son with her arms folded, she can hear the reluctance in his voice. She had filled him in on what she witnessed the other day when she found Emma and Will in their familial hotel suite post-sex.
"But?"
Daniel situates himself in his chair behind his desk. "She's not fifteen anymore. So, we cannot forbid her to see him. Besides, this is Emma we are talking about, mother; this is nothing more than a fling that will be over before it begins."
Deirdre clicks her teeth in annoyance. "You told me you had control of this family. But that is far from what I have seen. Emma is sleeping with Will Jackson. Tommy is a teen father, and Courtney is staying on that godforsaken farm instead of the home you purchased for her,
Daniel puts both of his hands together. "Meaning, what, mother?"
Deirdre takes a seat in front of her son.
"I have decided to make my stay in Radcliffe more permanent."
At first, Daniel cracks a smirk, thinking his mother is kidding, knowing she usually cannot wait to return to her homes either in Manhattan or Aspen. Yet, he slowly begins to notice that it was far from a joke.
"Daniel, I'm serious. This family is in need of tough love. And it seems you are incapable of doing so." Esther proclaims vehemently
"I don't mean to say this with any offense. But I believe you are exaggerating regarding the state of this family, mother. "
By now, the wealthy, petite widow is standing.
"Well, son, I beg to differ,"
With that, she strolls out of the room in her Christian Louboutin heels, leaving Daniel quite perplexed about her next move.
FRANKLIN FARM: MAIN HOUSE
If there is one thing Steven Sullivan can count on, it is that the women in his family will tell him the truth without any sugarcoating. So that is why he is seeking their advice regarding whether or not he and his wife should accept the cottage Daniel had given to them as their wedding present.
His mother, aunt, and he were conversing about the matter in the kitchen of the house on the farm.
"I don't blame you for turning it down. Nothing that man touches is worth sugar, honey, iced tea." Esther Saunders says, in her southern drawl.
The blonde, small-buxom older woman stands behind the counter next to her sister-in-law, while her son is across from them.
"Have you at least talked it over with Courtney before you made a definite decision?" Sarah Lynn Saunders says, in her usual sensible manner.
The newlyweds hadn't spoken on this matter. Perhaps not to anger one another.
"And I know it's a bit crowded with us in the house too, as soon as we get a place of our own. We will be out of your hair." Steven states
At the moment, the two are living in the house along with half of his family and Will too.
"You can stay as long as you want," Esther says invitingly.
Both Steven and Sarah Lynn glared at Esther.
"And Courtney too," Esther interjects.
"The most important thing is that this is a decision you make that isn't solely out of pride." Sarah Lynn communicates with her nephew.
"You sound like Daniel," who said, "Because I'm a Saunders, I have too much pride."
"God forbid," Esther chimes in.
"All I'm saying is talk to your wife. Besides, at the end of the day, the home will be yours and no one else." Sarah Lynn verbally points this out.
Esther sighs mockingly. "I hate it when you bring in common sense."
"But you appreciate it when I do," Sarah Lynn replies amusingly
Steven takes in what has been said to him, trying his best to decide where to go from here.
HOME FARM
Tommy knocks on the door of his father's office, where he finds him at his desk,
"Dad, are you busy?"
"I've got five minutes; what's up?" Daniel responds to his youngest son.
Tommy goes further into the room.
"Where is Jeremy?" Daniel asks.
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about,"
"Please don't tell me you left him in the care of Thora McKnight," Daniel guesses.
Once he doesn't see his son react, he knows that is the case.
"Are you serious?"
Tommy quickly explains why he left the baby in his maternal grandmother's care.
"I know you're technically an adult now, but I thought you were cautious about that family getting too attached to Jeremy."
"Dad, Thora, in her own way, loves Jeremy and wouldn't hurt him. And anyway, Ernest wasn't home; he's never home, so there was no chance he would see him. As I told you, Lilith is on her way to pick him up from there to bring him home. Jeremy is my son; I will be making my decisions on who will or won't be in his life, "
"Well, I can't stop you," Daniel says, somewhat defeatedly.
"I also found out from Thora that Jordan had been in contact with her before Christmas."
Daniel couldn't help but think about what his mother told him about taking charge of his family. He is the only one who knows her whereabouts, thanks to his longtime PI, Murph, hoping to God that Jordan remains in King's Bay, Washington, for the foreseeable future, not wanting her mere presence to disturb his beloved grandson's life.
"What else should I know?"
"That Thora and I are planning a christening for Jeremy at First Street. Details TBA."
Daniel sighs. "Let me know the date and time, and I promise you this family will be there."
"Thanks, Dad,"
The businessman watches as his son exits the room.
WHEELER BUILDING: APT # 424
Tricia states with every intention, "I wouldn't be here if I didn't."
"Well, you can't blame me for asking since you haven't been forthcoming with the truth."
Tricia shakes her head in doubt. "In other words, you're calling me a liar?"
"No, I'm not, but we aren't going to make it if you keep the truth from me."
"I should've been upfront with you about Samuel," Tricia admits.
Sean gets back on his feet. "Which should've never happened, by the way."
Tricia scoffs ruefully. "I did it because, after you tore into me about keeping Jordan and Tommy hooked up, I wanted to get back at you for hurting me and keeping me at arm's length. For once again turning to Louise instead of trying to work things out with me."
Sean tilts his head slightly. "I can say the same thing about you and the good doc."
Tricia gathers herself emotionally.
"Look at us, Sean. We are supposed to be at the happiest point in our lives. We should be decorating the spare bedroom into a nursery, arguing over names. But here we are arguing over the state of our marriage one year in."
Sean scratches his left forearm.
"I can't change my history with Louise, and I'm not going to cut her out of my life."
"And I'm not going to do the same with Samuel. He's been a good friend to me despite my lapse of judgment. "
Sean sighs exasperatedly.
"I have no right to tell you who you can be friends with, even if it is someone you were intimate with."
"And the girls overheard me talking about you and Samuel and being pregnant," he adds.
"Great, another thing they can hate me for,"
"This is not about them. Our issues are on us, and we need to work them out." Sean voices sensibly.
"So, how do you suggest we do that?"
Sean inches closer to her, taking her hand as he sits next to her on the couch. "By showing you that I am dedicated to you and our child."
Tricia sees a sense of reassurance in his eyes. "I'm not making any excuses, but I'm human with flaws. I want you to know that."
"I do. And I didn't mean to shut you out. I guess it was easier to do so. And I want to apologize for accusing you of the baby's paternity; it wasn't right. "
Tricia touches her stomach. "I still can't believe something is growing in there."
Sean's smile broadens. "I won't miss this journey with you."
The two of them warmly embrace one another.
MCKNIGHT RESIDENCE
Despite having spent time with Jeremy before, Thora felt good about not having Tommy or anyone else keeping an eye on her with her grandson. An hour later. Lilith, Tommy's nanny, came by to scoop him up. And as much as she didn't want him to go, she knows that this will go to show Tommy that she is fully capable of sitting for her only grandchild.
She is in the kitchen, making a tossed salad for dinner when she hears the key in the door turning.
In seconds, she sees Ernest McKnight coming through, taking off his ten-gallon hat.
"You're home early," Thora says while transferring the cut vegetables into a large bowl.
"Yeah, I decided to come home early to grab some dinner before heading back out."
It is a statement Thora has heard several times throughout the years. And each time, it means the two of them will eat in silence while his radio flashes alerts with codes she can decipher in her sleep.
Ernest passes by the mantel in the living room, where a photo of his three children is displayed. It was taken in the backyard years ago when EJ wasn't a cop whose life was cut short. Presley hadn't left home for a higher calling, and Jordan was still missing several baby teeth.
He takes a seat on the couch, glad to be off his feet in spite of the low crime that occurs in Radcliffe. stretching out his legs underneath the coffee table.
He could feel something underneath his foot. At first, he was going to ignore whatever it was, but the size and color of the item drew him to see what it was.
Thora looks up to see her husband from her current locale in the kitchen. "I decided to make some steak. I hope you don't mind."
Without opening his mouth, the police chief raises a familiar item in his hand, causing Thora to have a wave of astonishment come over her, cursing herself for forgetting to pick up the toy.
"Thora, where in the hell did this come from? Ernest asks, lifting the plush school bus in his hand.
Much as she wants to lie to him, she knows she couldn't.
"Ernest, look, I haven't told you this because I know how you reacted to the news that Jordan was pregnant. But I've been visiting with her child for a month or so and trust me when I say, he is the most precious thing in the world. "
"Is Jordan back?" Ernest asks, partially curious.
He last saw his daughter in person when he evicted her from this house for refusing to name the father of her unborn child. well as not wanting to give the baby up for adoption since he believed she was not ready to be a mother.
"No, but Jeremy, her son, is living here in Radcliffe with his father."
"Who is the boy who knocked up our daughter?" Ernest demands
Thora strolls out of the kitchen to get closer to her husband. She manages to snatch the toy bus out of his hand.
"And if I do tell you, what are you going to do, Ernest?"
Ernest puts a hand on his chin. "He got our daughter pregnant and, according to you, is raising the boy."
Thora chuckles bitterly. "Now you give a damn about the welfare of our grandchild."
Ernest seems taken aback by how much his wife is standing up to him for the first time in years.
"Tommy Covington is the father, and by the way, our grandson is named Jeremy."
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"Daniel Covington's son, well, at least our daughter got knocked up by someone from the richest family in town."
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Thora throws a look of heated anger at him. "I will never forgive you—if it means I won't be able to see our grandson Ernest, I swear to God, I won't be held accountable for my actions!"
She rapidly walks away from him to go into her daughter's bedroom, leaving him speechless.
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END OF EPISODE
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ON THE NEXT EPISODE OF TOWN AND COUNTRY
Ernest confronts Tommy.
Samuel and Martha get closer.
Steven and Courtney pay a visit to Hope Cottage.
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