EPISODE 188
Written by: Bre L. Drew
June 13, 2022
Last Time On Town and Country
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After weeks in her coma, Emma awakes with Deirdre and Will by her side.
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Esther discovered that she and Emma both have the same blood type, questioning Emma's paternity.
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Jordan had been bonding with Jeremy while going to therapy to treat her postpartum depression.
RADCLIFFE RECEIVING HOSPITAL
Despite only being awake for ten minutes after weeks of being incapacitated, Emma Covington officially had enough of her stay in this hospital after weeks of being here. Currently, Dr. Kettering is thoroughly examining her as her mother and Will Jackson stand five feet away, both looking attentively at her.
Dr. Kettering checks her pupils with the penlight. After finishing her examination, she sticks the light into one of the pockets of her white lab coat. "Physically, everything is on track,"
"What about mentally?" Deirdre Covington queries "I know sometimes people coming out of comas can have memory loss."
"2022, Joe Biden is still the president, and Beyonce or Rihanna haven't released a new album yet; how am I doing?" Emma says confidently
Will chuckles as she has indicated to herself that she is back.
RADCLIFFE ANIMAL CLINIC AND SHELTER
While entering the local animal clinic, Esther Saunders sets her sunglasses on top of her forehead. She made the venture into town for a purpose regarding the possibility of her father being Emma Covington's biological father. There were no pets or owners in the waiting room as she made her way to the front desk, where she recognized the forty-something white female receptionist and informed her that she was here to see her son, Dr. Sullivan.
Seconds later, Steven Sullivan comes out to the front, where he sees his mother. "Hey, mom, what do I owe for this visit?"
Esther gives her only son a quick embrace. "There is something I need to tell you that will affect all of us."
Steven displays a look of concern at his mother due to her ominous tone.
"Sure, uh, we can talk in the breakroom,"
Mother and son enter the small breakroom at the back of the clinic, where he closes the door.
"Mom, what is this about?"
Esther takes her black carryall purse off her shoulder where she removes a sheet of paper detailing her late father's blood type, she had found in the attic earlier today.
"Can you tell me that is it possible that your grandfather with his blood type could've fathered someone with A+ blood?"
THE WATERFALL BAR
"Sing A Song" by Earth, Wind & Fire is currently playing on the sound system throughout the establishment as customers slowly pile in after work.
"Is that singer Martha Saunders I see?" Shauna Covington excitedly greets her best friend when she steps through her family's bar.
The bartender manages to spread a smile across her face from behind the bar. "No pictures, no pictures," she jokes.
Shauna takes a seat across from her at the bar. "In all seriousness, girl, the song and the video are good."
"Thanks, even; if it doesn't turn out to be much, at least I can say I made one of my dreams come true."
Lorenzo had shot her video on the farm with her band, and with her input as well as the band's, he edited the video together and uploaded it on the band's social media and their YouTube channel.
"Fifteen thousand views in a week would say otherwise,"
"I'm taking it all in stride. Anyway, how are you?" Martha changes the point of conversation.
"Before I do that, I'm going to need a drink," Shauna replies.
J&M MARKET
Shoppers populate the local grocery store while k.d. lang's "Constant Craving" plays above them on the speakers. Among them is Louise Saunders Lockhart, who grabbed her usual brand of ice cream from the freezer. When she looks up, she sees her ex-husband's current wife pushing her half-full cart in a purple knit sleeveless maternity dress that displays her expanding stomach nearing her due date while her hair hangs past her shoulders. Tricia also gazes casually at her husband's former wife.
"Guess the lovers of Sean Lockhart past and present have the same taste in desert," Tricia says.
"Hi, Tricia," How are you?"
Tricia is somewhat taken back by her civility since the women aren't friendly.
"I'm doing all right for someone almost in their ninth month of pregnancy."
Louise folds her arms over her chest. "Well, take my word for it; you will come to appreciate it because, before you know it, you're barely getting two hours of sleep between changing diapers." Then it goes by fast, and when you blink, they're adults. "
Tricia puts both hands on her enlarged hips. "I'm sure I will get to that point one day."
The two let the silence come in between them as Tricia obtained the carton of mint chocolate chip ice cream from the freezer.
"You know, I think this might be the longest we have ever gone without an insult," Tricia says, observingly. "You aren't taking it easy on me because I'm in the family way?" she smiles.
Louise shakes her head at that statement, quickly thinking that could change knowing Tricia's previous track record when it comes to her personality.
"Like I told Sean, I wish you two nothing but joy with your baby."
"Really?"
"Yes, I do. I mean, it's not easy to see you pregnant with Sean's baby because, honestly, I always thought I would have that honor, but I realize we're both moving on with our lives."
Tricia stays quiet for a few seconds as Louise pushes her basket away.
"Take it easy," Louise responds while heading toward the checkout line.
COVINGTON GROUP
"Please have Rodney send those blueprints to me so I can give final approval. Thank you very much," Mala Gupta places the phone back on the receiver on her desk in her office at the Covington Group on the twentieth floor of the Covington Tower.
A faint knock on the door gets her attention when she sees Daniel Covington in the doorway.
"I must say, for someone on a sabbatical, you're always around," Mala says jokingly.
Daniel had taken time from the day-to-day operations as CEO, leaving his eldest two children in charge of the company that his late father founded fifty years ago.
Daniel goes closer to her with an affable smile. "You do know that, technically, I'm still your boss."
"How are things going?" she asks concernedly.
Daniel takes a seat across from Mala. He launches into what occurred between himself and his children. She passes him a glass of scotch. Then she goes back to sitting behind her desk with her own drink, which she made using the mini bar in the room.
"I can see how you're in a tight spot, but Daniel, what the hell were you thinking?"
Daniel had told her about Courtney not taking it well that he wanted Max and her to run the business, believing it was because of her obligations of being a woman getting in the way, which he told her was further from the truth, yet she didn't see it that way.
"I don't know Mala; it's just now Courtney is barely speaking to me."
Mala takes a sip of her beverage. "The last thing a woman in any corporate field wants to hear is that their father, who is her boss, no less, tells her she must share the spotlight with someone else, especially their own brother, who has less experience than she does."
Daniel takes a drink of his scotch. "I want my children to work side by side running the company like my father wanted me to work with him. What's so wrong with that?"
Mala is about to reply when Daniel's phone rings, which he answers.
"Hello, mom, what? "That's amazing; oh my god, I'm on my way," he ends the call.
"What's up?" Mala asks in her British accent.
That was my mother. Emma is out of her coma and is doing well.
Mala's expression on her face turns more joyous. "Oh my god, that is amazing. Give them all my love, "
"I will," he says while exiting the office.
​
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THE WATERFALL BAR
Martha had heard Shauna's current status in her marriage while managing to get down a line of thirsty customers.
"It seems like a lot of pressure on Max either way, and it's tough to feel like you're between your father and sister," she says.
"All I can do is support him, but I don't want him caught up in this mess between Daniel and Courtney. Speaking of relationships, how are you and Samuel doing?"
Shauna takes a drink from her cocktail.
Martha blushes a bit. "I can't complain. I don't want to jinx things, but this is the happiest I've been with someone of the opposite sex in I don't know how long."
For some time now, Martha has been dating the handsome psychiatrist.
Shauna decides to keep the thought of her friend having feelings for her uncle as something in the past but is aware not to bring it up right now. She then feels her iPhone ringing in her purse, which she answers. "Hey babe, yeah, we were just talking about you... What?... That's great. I'm on my way! "
Martha pulls a pint of beer for a burly white male construction worker.
"What's going on?"
Shauna gets down from the bar stool. "That was Max. Emma had woken up from her coma,"
"Wow!"
Even though Martha isn't particularly friendly with the Covington heiress, she never wanted anything terrible to happen to her.
"I'll call you later," Shauna says while making her way out of the bar.
RADCLIFFE RECEIVING HOSPITAL
"Oh, please don't look at me like I came back from the dead. I'm not going anywhere, even if it means staying in the hospital for a few more days. " Emma tells her good friend and occasional lover who is at her bedside.
"I see you're back to barking orders," Will remarks, satisfied.
He could see the color returning to her skin as well as the gradual movement in her limbs too.
Emma tucks strands of her hair behind both ears, deciding she needs to get to the salon as soon as possible for color and trim.
"Knowing my mother, I'm betting she is not only calling the rest of the family about my miraculous recovery but probably the Chronicle and the New York Times," she says sardonically.
He forms a hesitant expression on his face towards her. "You might not believe me, but Deirdre hadn't left the hospital since you slipped into a coma."
Emma initially shows her disbelief at this, since her relationship with her is far from perfect. "My mother? The woman who once missed one of my field hockey games in high school all because she thought planning a charity gala for heart disease was more important?"
He elicits a small laugh. "I can't believe it myself."
"Anyway, so how is my club doing?" Emma changes the subject to her business.
She intertwines her fingers into his, which makes their friendship seem stronger.
​
***
Deirdre strolls toward her room, grateful she wouldn't have to entertain the thought of sending her only daughter to any long-term care facility at the behest of her incompetent doctors, who gave up on her.
She peeks inside the room, seeing Emma and Will laughing over what she perceives as something trivial.
It is bad enough he is partly the reason she is in the hospital in the first place, as well as herself, for paying someone to cut his brake line so he would be critically injured or worse, hoping her daughter would see sense to not be connected to a convicted felon. She didn't know what her next plan was, but she was more determined than ever to get Will Jackson out of their lives for good.
COVINGTON GROUP
Tommy Covington pushes the mail cart in the hall of the Covington Tower in downtown Radcliffe. He is halfway through delivering today's mail to the executives when he happens to see his son's mother in a floral print off-the-shoulder crop top and a pair of blue jeans with one arm draped with a diaper bag and the other holding their eleventh month-old son Jeremy.
He puts the cart off to the side to acknowledge them both.
"Hey, is there something wrong?" Tommy asks.
"No, we were just on our way to meet my brother for lunch, and we thought we would pay Daddy a visit, didn't we?" Jordan says.
Jeremy shows a toothy grin. "Hi," he says enthusiastically.
"Hi, little guy," Tommy reaches for her son, whom he proudly holds.
Tommy still can't believe how much Jordan has gotten closer to their son after almost a year of avoiding him, mainly as a result of her depression after giving birth.
Jordan beamed at Tommy, remembering she had something to tell him. "I forgot to tell you that Jeremy has learned two new words: potty and hungry,"
"Valuable words to me," Tommy says good-naturedly.
Daniel comes out of Mala's office, where he witnesses Tommy, baby Jeremy, and Jordan. To a stranger, they seemed like a sweet young family, but he knew better. He knows that Jordan has the attention span of a gnat when it comes to mothering.
He soon approaches them with a respectful smile.
"Hi, Dad," Tommy greets his father. They decided to come by to see me for a few minutes. I hope you don't mind. "
He soon finds his pinky being grasped by his grandson.
Daniel waves his hand dismissively. "No problem at all; we should get to the hospital; your aunt is awake."
"That's great," Tommy says excitedly.
Jordan maintains her hold on her son. "That's good news,"
"It is," Daniel says dryly.
"I've got to put the cart back into the mailroom and I'll meet you downstairs," he tells his father.
When he is away from them, Daniel pivots his head toward the mother of his eldest grandchild.
"You can drop the act because you are not fooling my son anymore."
She looked taken aback at that accusation. "I don't know what you are talking about, Daniel." But I think this isn't a conversation to have in front of your young grandson. "
He stares at her without apprehension. "You might've formed a connection with the boy, but we both know when you get restless you will abandon your son again."
"I'm not going anywhere. I'm not going to leave my son again. Besides, I'm in therapy seeking help for my postpartum depression. And anyway, don't think I forgot; you convinced me to leave in the first place. " She strongly scoffs.
Daniel recalls visiting her in the hospital shortly after Jeremy's operation to fix the hole in his heart. He had convinced her she wouldn't be a good mother, believing his family could take care of the baby without her.
"That may be true, but you were the one who left,"
With that, he caresses his grandson's face. She proceeds to head down the hallway to the elevator bank, leaving him standing there.
"I will not stand by and let you use my grandson," Daniel vows to himself.
RADCLIFFE ANIMAL CLINIC AND SHELTER
Steven and Esther were now sitting at the table in the center of the room after she told him about the possibility of his wife's aunt possibly being his aunt because of an affair Deirdre Covington had with his grandfather over thirty years ago. Not to mention, she and Emma are both our A+.
"Am I the first person you've talked about this too?" Steven questions
"Yeah, you are," Esther says lowly.
"You knew about this all this time and just now felt compelled to say something?" Steven asks her.
Esther shakes her head, unable to deny her wrongdoing. I've had my suspicions for years, but when Deirdre and Emma returned to town, I confronted Dee with my suspicions, but she denied it, stating she had gotten a DNA test that proved Patrick was Emma's father."
"Oh my god... the letter I found in the attic two years ago; that was from Deirdre, wasn't it?" Steven queries his mother.
"It's from her, all right," Esther sighs heavily. "I wanted to keep this to myself, but I need your help with this. I thought with you being a doctor, you would be able to help me out."
"I'm a veterinarian, a physician for mammals mostly on four legs."
"According to all the checks I've written for four years of undergrad and vet school, you have years of medical knowledge,"
Steven gazes at the sheet of paper detailing his grandfather's blood type. "Yes, it's possible, but A+ is the second most common blood type in the country." And without knowing Deirdre's blood type, I can't give you much information."
"Dammit!" Esther swears to herself. "Steven," Esther says firmly. "I need you to keep this between us for now."
Steven is aware that what his mother means is that he can't say anything to his wife, which he isn't keen on since his marriage is vulnerable at the moment,
He nods hesitantly.
Esther gets out of the chair and looks at her son. "Hey, what's the matter, darling?"
"Courtney and I had a disagreement the other day... we'll work it out," he says, as he is trying to convince himself rather than her.
"Make sure you do because I've been in a few marriages where disagreements that go unresolved are recipes for disaster," Esther advises.
Esther says goodbye to her son as she is accompanied by her son back to the front of the clinic. She gets into her Jaguar, somewhat unsatisfied with not knowing if Emma is her half-sister, God forbid outright.
Her iPhone rings, which she answers, not really in the mood for conversation, "Hello,"
"Hey, Mom, it's me. You said that you and Emma are both A+, right?"
"Yeah," she says in a tone that suggests she wants to know what her son is referring to.
"There might be a way to determine if you and Emma are related." Steven continues while Esther listens intently over the phone.
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END OF EPISODE
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ON THE NEXT EPISODE OF TOWN AND COUNTRY
Presley and Tanner go on their date.
Steven seeks forgiveness from Courtney.
Daniel is determined to get Jordan out of Tommy and Jeremy's life.
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