EPISODE 60
Written by: Bre L. Drew
July 9. 2019
Last Time On Town and Country
-
The grand-reopening of Jojo's Cafe started.
-
Antoine wishes Shauna well on her engagement.
-
Lynn didn't accept Tricia being in their lives.
-
Martha reluctantly fills in to sing in front of customers when a band cancels at the last minute.
JOJO'S CAFE
What in the hell did I get myself into?
That is the question, Martha Saunders keeps asking herself. An hour and a half ago she had reluctantly agreed to sing in front of customers at the grand re-opening of Jojo's when some band canceled at the last minute due to their flight being grounded in Philly.
​
At the moment, she is doing some last-minute rehearsing in the small room that serves as the manager's office.
Other questions begin to pop in her mind.
Is this the correct chord progression?
Is it too late for me to back out from this?
​
She stares down at her yellow-brownish acoustic guitar in her hands. She had received the instrument from her parents a few days before she moved to Los Angeles nearly three years ago.
​
Lugging it around town when she had gigs at every seedy venue she performed at. When she had this in her possession, all of the fear of singing would melt away.
Steven had made the trek back to the farm to get it here for her. Also, she had him take SJ home because he was getting a bit restless.
Now holding it, the nerves were still there.
"Martha, it's me." a female voice calls out from behind the door.
"Come in!"
​
Shauna Jackson moves in stride to her best friend. She is wearing a short-sleeved purple tie-dye shirt with navy wide-leg crop pants with her purse on her person.
"Please talk me out of crawling out of that window behind us so I can make a run for it," Martha says nervously.
​
Shauna points a finger behind her. "Or you can take the easy way out by using the door."
Both women start laughing at the singer's overreaction.
"I have something important to ask you,"
"Ooh sounds important, what is it?"
"Will you be my maid of honor?"
​
Earlier this afternoon Max had asked his brother to be his Best Man. So it inspired her to at least get one thing squared away before she finds herself knee-deep in wedding planning. Besides, it isn't anyone else she would want to stand up for her on the biggest day in her life.
"Girl yes, of course, I will,"
Shauna wraps both of her arms around her best friend. "Thank you, thank you, thank you." I know that you and my grandmother aren't so eager about Max and I getting married."
When they all were over at Home Farm during the announcement of the engagement. She overheard the women not being so receptive of her being engaged to someone she has been dating for eight months.
Martha lets go of her smoothly. "We were just concerned about you. but if you're happy, then I am happy for you Shauna."
"So how do I look?" she adds.
Shauna gives her a once over, Martha looks bohemian chic in her multi-colored halter maxi dress with her frizzy blonde hair in a knot on top of her head and her two necklaces were dangling from her neck.
"Like you are about to kick ass out on that stage," Shauna says fiercely.
THE WATERFALL BAR
Customers who are mostly out of the coffeehouse demographic were inhabiting the bar over drinks and conversations filled with gossip and alcoholic beverages to boot.
Anthony Hamilton's Best Of Me is playing above through the ceiling speakers.
Situated behind the bar is Mae Jackson wrapping up a phone conversation. As she ends the call, she sees her surrogate grandson and employee Antoine Hall entering the bar. When he sees the older woman, he takes a seat in front of her.
"Did you get a chance to swing by the café?" Mae inquires casually
Antoine nods his head. "It's nice, Shauna did a good job fixing that place up."
Mae gathered that something is weighing on his mind.
She lowers her voice. "You are still in love with my granddaughter, aren't you Antoine?"
"I will always love her Mae, but I got to let her go, it ain't right for me to still be attracted to her and be with Nichelle too. he tells her. "In fact, I wished her well in her engagement with Max earlier."
Mae obtains a glass and fills it with beer from the tap to him. She knows that for a long time, the two of them had a connection stronger than friendship. So the news of her granddaughter's engagement isn't easy to handle for him.
"Drink that, "
​
Antoine does what he is told. After he consumes some of the frothy drink, he wipes his mouth. "It's cool though, Nichelle is a cool girl who doesn't expect much from me. "
He clears his throat. "Enough about my girl problems, "how you doin?"
Mae inhales and exhales before answering him.
"I just got off the phone with Will,"
"How is he?"
A few months ago, she had anticipated her only son getting out of prison on parole. Sadly, it wasn't meant to be since the parole board denied his early release. She promised herself that she would stay in contact with him once a week.
"Holding it as best as he can, I can't wait for the fall, he'll be out of the hell hole so he can pick up from where he left."
​
Antoine does his best not to show what he is thinking upon his face.
"Uh Mae, I don't know how to sugarcoat this, but you shouldn't expect Will to be the same once he comes out I mean being in prison can change someone," he says realistically
​
"I know he has made mistakes, but you didn't see how regretful he is of what he did when I went to see him he swore to me that he can change and I believe that he is serious about it."
Will has been serving a three-year sentence for illegally forging checks belonging to his late father Horace among other monetary crimes when his clothing business was going down the tubes.
"I just care that's all," Antoine replies
"I know you do, though all I have is hope and the word of my son."
Mae then marches over to two burly construction workers who want a refill on their drinks.
JOJO'S CAFE
Since Tricia has been busy working, Sean Lockhart decided to gather the boys that our dating his twin daughters. He has been meaning to talk to them regarding getting to know Tommy Covington. Although, he has known Elijah Barker since he was four years old. The knowledge of him taking Lynn's virginity is making him see him in a whole different light.
The three men are sitting at a table beside one of the large windows.
"Good to finally meet you, Mr. Lockhart, " Tommy remarks in a respectful manner.
​
Tommy finds it awkward speaking to a man whom he knows has been cheating on his girlfriend's mother. Not to mention it seems Sean is eyeing him up and down like he stole something or someone from him.
"Nice weather we're having," Elijah says attempting to change to subject.
"You two don't have to be scared it's just us guys, "
​
"We both care about your daughters, Mr. Lockhart you don't have to worry about us hurting them," Tommy says.
Guessing it is why he wanted to talk to them. Not seeing whether if they had thoughts on the Toronto Raptors winning this year.
Sean is impressed he does not have to launch into a lecture about maintaining boundaries with his girls.
"Take it from me whatever you do please be honest with my daughters,"
Sitting in the lounge area, Tanner Lockhart is watching her dad, Tommy, and Elijah talking over her shoulder. She jabs her head behind her. "How do you think that's going?" she inquires to her twin sister.
Lynn Lockhart takes some of her long strands of blonde hair behind her ears. "No one is fighting so I say nothing special,"
Lynn spots Tricia over at the counter where she hands a customer her receipt.
"I would've been out of here if it wasn't for Aunt Martha about to perform," Lynn replies
The twins along, with their respective boyfriends, came to the grand re-opening to support Courtney in spite of their father's former mistress turned girlfriend managing the cafe.
"It's obvious she isn't going anywhere so let's just deal with it," Tanner advises her.
Lynn loves her sister enormously, but sometimes she is often mystified at how her sister can be so precious when it comes to trying to turn the other cheek when it comes to being the bigger person.
"We better hope the bitch doesn't like sixteen-year-old boys," Lynn pulls part of the glazed donut before popping it in her mouth.
Due to the sudden lull in the café, both Tricia and Courtney were chatting with one another.
"How long have you known that Lynn Lockhart has been staring at you?" Courtney asks
Tricia puts both of her hands on the flat surface top. "It's been like that all day," she replies, Honestly, I don't care, she has to realize her father and I are together now."
Courtney ignores giving a response since she can't blame Lynn for still not liking the entire situation dealing with her parents' marriage ending.
​
"She's young, it can't be easy on her," she finally says. Anyway, how are you liking Radcliffe thus far?"
Tricia sighs. "It's uh -- charming, but why does everyone in this town know everybody else's business?"
Several customers today have either threatened or accused her of being a homewrecker. As well as many eye rolls or double-takes. It seems everyone knows in this town about her sleeping with Sean when he was married to Louise.
"What I learned about living here is that people have a long memory the good news is you won't be the talk of the town for long."
"Sounds like you're speaking from experience." Tricia's eyebrows perk up.
"You can definitely put it that way, "
"Care to elaborate?" Tricia requests
Courtney shrugs her shoulders, unsure whether or not she should tell her about what happened to her over the past year in Radcliffe.
​
​
A crowd of about thirty people was sitting around the tables and on the couch and chairs that our in front of the small stage.
With a microphone in her hand, Tricia comes on stage to introduce the act coming out.
​
"Hello everybody, thank you for coming out to the grand-reopening of Jojo's Cafe, I am Tricia Meyer, the manager here if you already didn't know. "So please join me in welcoming Martha Saunders to the stage."
Round of applause and cheers from the audience see Martha Saunders making her grand entrance onto the stage.
"So that's Tricia?" Shauna says to Steven over the noise.
"In the flesh," Steven Sullivan clarifies as he continues to cheer for his cousin.
Holding her guitar, she quickly throws a bitch face towards the woman who contributed to breaking up her nieces home life and for cheating with her sister's husband. Not giving a damn if she takes it personally or not.
She takes a seat on the stool where a microphone is at the forefront. Martha clears her throat, thinking that it is too late for her to back down now.
​
"I'm a bit nervous, haven't actually sung in public a long time,"
She sees Courtney sitting with Max, Shauna, and Steven at the closest table near the stage.
"So if I sound a mess, please be kind she chuckles lightly.
Also in the audience was Tommy, Elijah, and twins, as well as Sean, who was joined by Tricia who is standing up in the back of the room.
Martha grips the handle of her instrument that is now on her lap. "This song is called Foolish,"
Another round of clapping commences before Martha strums the strings softly before vocalizing. Her style of music was indie rock with influences of pop music.
​
All my life, seem all I did were made mistakes
I did wrong it wasn't right
So when I met you it seems you were worth the fight
Little did I know we were both foolish
Fo-oo-lish
​
Singing with her heart, she realizes she doesn't have the nerve in the pit of her stomach anymore. People weren't leaving out of the door like she thought they would when she open her mouth. In fact, people were liking what she had to sing about.
​
END OF EPISODE
ON THE NEXT EPISODE OF TOWN AND COUNTRY
Louise gets down to business.
Jordan sets her sights on Tommy.
Elijah looks for a job.
​
Leave your thoughts here, on the T&C forum