EPISODE 33
Written by: Bre L. Drew
Last Time On Town and Country
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Lynn was caught by Brynn Barker attempting to leave off school premises.
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Courtney called Shauna a opportunist which made Max upset.
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Sean was given divorce papers by Louise who admitted that they need to find their own happiness away from each other.
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Martha decided to put her singing career on hold.
RADCLIFFE HIGH SCHOOL
Entering into the three-story building, Sean Lockhart is walking beside his wife who is conveying a look of solemn. Perhaps it has to do with being called down here by the school principal to deal with Lynn skipping that neither of them knew about. Or does it involve her giving him divorce papers finally realizing that their marriage is beyond repair?
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The two of them are led by the overly-nosy school secretary who stands by the door extra thirty-seconds before Brynn tells her to close the door. The two of them sit on each side of their daughter who looks like she wants to be anywhere but here which is why they all our here at this moment.
"What's going on Kiddo?" Sean asks genuinely
Lynn wants to blurt out this is her first time seeing him since he decided not to come home for Thanksgiving deciding he would rather spend it with Uncle Johnny and his friends than his own family.
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Brynn Barker glances down at Lynn's record than back to the three of them on the other side of her. "Louise, Sean, I hate that we have to see each other under these circumstances, but I know the two of you would want to be informed that not only I caught Lynn attempting to leave this property within school hours. Her teachers have reported that she has been truant in most of their classes.
Louise shakes her head. " That doesn't make any sense." she then gives a parental stare to her daughter.
" Yeah Lynn, why have you been skipping? this isn't like you." Sean says partly disappointed and partly concerned.
" Because I haven't felt like being here." Lynn says lowly
Sean knows Brynn has probably heard this before seeing how composed she looks with her hands together waiting until she can speak to them again.
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" It does not matter if you don't like being here, you are here to learn. " Louise says.
"Also I am a bit worried, not just as an educator, but as the mother of one of her good friends, her grades are slipping, and if she keeps on missing valuable instructional time she will have to be enrolled in Summer School. And I strongly believe that is not the outcome we all want." Brynn announces diplomatically.
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" What do we about it, so that doesn't happen, Brynn?" Sean asks
Brynn clears her throat "Lynn has to be willing to put in some work, she can't miss any more classes and has to maintain a C average in order to avoid summer school. "
Lynn can feel all of the adults awaiting an answer out of her.
" I won't miss any more classes, " Lynn answers flatly
As Brynn informs them of about how she will tell Lynn's teachers about giving her extra work in order to catch her up. Louise and Sean are both silently adamant that they will not let their personal issues affect their parenting.
FRANKLIN FARM: MAIN HOUSE
The smell of acetone in the air in Martha's bedroom is being contributed by Shauna Jackson finishing up polishing her toenails.
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" All done, you like? " Shauna asks.
She then lifts Martha's foot to show her the end result.
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Martha smiles. " I do, this plum color makes my feet actually look smaller, thanks Shauna, I would've done all of this myself, but I haven't been able to see my feet in a while now. "She then puts a hand on her protruding eighth-month pregnant belly.
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Shauna puts the bottle of nail polish in her purse. She turns around to face Martha sitting on her queen size mattress.
" There is something I have to tell you."
" What? "
Shauna lie next to her best friend on the bed like she has done many times in their youth.
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" Daniel Covington offered me a job at his company. " Shauna says teetering on excitement.
"Careful Shauna, you know the name is like saying, Lord Voldemort, in this house right. " she chuckles
Shauna knows that the rivalry between the Saunders and the Covington families can be akin to the Hatfield's and the McCoy's.
"Anyway he wants me to be on the design team I actually told him that I thought he was hiring me because I am seeing his son. " Shauna says
" You didn't?"
"Oh I did, he told me he liked what I did with Home Farm so he is giving me a chance which I can't screw up. "
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Martha turns over to face her best friend.
"You've been an awesome decorator since we were little girls remember you would arrange furniture in our dollhouses. "
"All I know is that I have worked my ass off for years and I'm not going to stop until I reach the top. " Shauna says assuredly.
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COVINGTON GROUP
With one earbud in his right ear, Tommy Covington is listening to an X Ambassadors song.
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He is pushing a mail cart on the seventeenth floor of the company barring his last name. His punishment from getting kicked out of his exclusive prep school, his father has him working after school. Then he has to wait on his father to get done with work which usually can take forever. Tommy is ready to get his driver's license but that would require him to get in enough time behind the wheel.
Living in New York City all of his life no one his age knows how to drive either their families has a chauffeur or if they're brave enough to take the subway. Though he needs to learn and every time he brings it up to Daniel he makes it sound so matter of fact.
Moving the cart down he sees his older sister Courtney in a brown short-sleeve Fendi logo grid dress stepping off the elevator carrying a plastic food container.
Courtney looks ahead of her and a half smile appears on her face as he approaches her.
"Hey, I haven't seen you in forever," Tommy says
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Courtney taps one of her feet. " You're old enough now to know why I had to move out Tommy. "
Tommy nods his head knowing how controlling their father can be when it comes to getting what he wants.
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Courtney invites him into her office so they can both take a much-needed break.
He watches Courtney adding olive oil on her garden salad she purchased from the market on the floor of the lobby. She hardly ever does salad dressing since she is always taking the healthier option.
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"Max and I had a disagreement earlie." Courtney says out of the blue reaching for the response to land somewhere.
"Over what? "
"I basically called his new girlfriend a gold-digger. " she retorts
FRANKLIN FARM: MAIN HOUSE
Leaving school with both of her parents, Lynn noticed how the two of them were quiet on their way back over to the farm. She follows behind them when Louise opens the side door they all enter into the kitchen in which her grandmother keeps clean and organized in spite of farmhands, and family going in and out of the house constantly.
Louise folds her arms across her chest. " I hope you don't think just because you said you were not going to skip anymore means you are off the hook. "
" Your mother's right, not going to school isn't the answer. " Sean defends her.
Lynn takes a seat at the table. " So am I grounded? "
No car until your grades improve, Tanner will be taking you to and from school, and on the days when she has orchestra practice you'll be taking the bus home, " Louise informs her.
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Lynn groans at her predicament with no car.
"Your mother is being more than fair," Sean tells her.
" You know what's not fair you not coming home for Thanksgiving to be with your family, it also means you shouldn't be sleeping with other women. " Lynn utters suddenly.
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"Sweetheart - uh can we talk about this later please, " Louise says with a hint of embarrassment.
" Why are we pretending that this family is normal? " she then charges out of the room leaving behind Sean and Louise.
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" I don't think that it is right time to tell the girls were getting divorced. " Sean says
" I wish I knew when is exactly the right time. " Louise wonders aloud
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******
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After seeing Shauna out about twenty minutes ago, Martha retreated back into her bedroom to lie down on her bed checking her Twitter feed on her iPhone.
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Then a sudden headline and underneath the caption a familiarity to the image of a twenty-something woman happens to catch her eye.
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Jada Langford signed to Republic Records
She knew Jada well from her years of living in Los Angeles. Recalling how her perky breasts, perfect blonde hair, and ocean blue eyes often got prime spots singing in nightclubs all over town. Martha equates Jada's vocal talent to an alley cat.
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Even though Martha decided to put music on the backburner for the sake of upcoming motherhood. It makes her kind of resentful that she gets a recording contract, whilst, Martha faces a future living out in the middle of nowhere on the farm without a stitch of creativity left in her.
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Hearing a pound outside of the door, she looks up to see her niece Lynn standing outside who looks like she has the weight of the world on her shoulders.
" Hey, Aunt Marty can I talk to you? " Lynn asks hesitantly
Martha puts her phone on the nightstand. " Of course you can what's up? "
Lenny sits next to her aunt on the bed then reveals everything from how she first found out that her dad was cheating on her mother, to getting drunk and confronting him about it then it was the cause of her missing so many classes that she has to go to summer school if she doesn't stop.
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"I'm not sure if you came to the right place for advice, typically I am the one who is on the other end of it, so I'm just going to say that your parents love you regardless of what happens with them. "
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Lynn has a feature of unbelievability to her aunt's claim.
Martha re-positions herself on the bed to get comfortable which is difficult since she is further along now in her pregnancy.
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" I get it school isn't for everyone, and in a year or so you won't have to worry about Radcliffe High, you don't want to risk putting yourself through more of it if you keep skipping, and please don't be afraid to ask for help," Martha advises her.
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Lynn seems somewhat upbeat she then turns her head to see Louise standing outside the door not sure if she should come in or will it be trespassing.
" Looks like I need to get started on some Spanish homework. thanks, Aunt Martha. " Lynn says
She hugs her aunt and then gets off the bed leaving the bedroom passing her mother.
" She doesn't ---? " Louise says cutting herself off.
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"No, she doesn't know about you already knowing that Sean has been sleeping with another woman." I don't have the heart to tell her, and it's not my business." Martha answers
" Is she all right? " Louise asks thoroughly
"She is a Saunders woman, she'll bounce back. " Martha replies strongly
The two sisters have never been close, yet she adores her nieces and can't see them getting hurt even further so she can have some fifteen-minute victory over her perfect older sister.
Louise nods which Martha perceives as a non-verbal thank you. She then takes off back downstairs to go check on her daughter.
COVINGTON GROUP
" You didn't call her that to Max's face, did you? " Tommy asks incredulously.
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Courtney tosses her now empty salad container into the trash can.
" No, no, no, I wouldn't do that I am just looking out for our brother, you know how hard he falls for all of the girls he starts dating. I'm sparing him the pain before she finds out that he has a $30 Million dollar trust fund."
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When their grandfather passed away, he bequeathed his three grandchildren thirty-million dollars each. In addition to leaving enough money for trusts of any unborn grandchildren and great-grandchildren until the next century.
" I met Shauna when I first got to Radcliffe, she seems chill, I don't think she cares about all of that. "
Courtney grips onto the arms rest of her chair. " She lives above a bar with her grandmother and friend from high school even the guest house seems luxurious to her. "
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Tommy cannot believe his sister acting like a snob for no damn reason.
" Courtney, you know you sound like dad right now. "
"How? "
" You go on being protective of Max, like how Dad is being towards you Court. " Tommy says
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Courtney's entire facial expression changes from being content to more of her realization of Tommy's claim having merit.
" Damn it I do sound like daddy. "
"You do, but I hear there is a treatment for it. " Tommy says as he rises from the chair.
The two say their goodbyes to one another whilst Tommy continues to push the mail cart into the hallway. He gets out his phone deciding to blow off his job for a little while longer. His fingers hit out a message.
Hey!
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About ten seconds later a message from Lynn appears.
Hey, bad news got caught about 2 leave skool by Barker parents pissed, sorta grounded
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So I guess asking you to teach me how to drive is a no?
He hears the familiar chime when a text comes through.
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Dunno how to drive? You city boys lmao Can't drive again till my grades go up.
He waits for a few minutes in between delivering postage to the executives. Then as he is about to head to the elevator. Tommy looks at his screen to see another message from her.
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I know someone else that can help you out
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Tommy curiously comes back with.
K
END OF EPISODE
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ON THE NEXT EPISODE OF TOWN AND COUNTRY
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The Saunders family gather for their annual tree trimming celebration.
Peter and Daniel have words.
And Much More!
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