EPISODE 359
Written by: Bre L Drew
September 16, 2025
Last Time on Town and Country
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Emma struggles with her troubled marriage to Jacques while also witnessing Will move on with Martha and forming a bond with Sarah Lynn after learning her biological connection to the Saunders family.
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Tricia brought Jolene back to Radcliffe from Bakersfield, helping her escape Wade’s abuse.
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Outside Jojo’s, a rebellious Evan clashes with Skye while vaping.
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Wade, determined, declares he’s coming for Jolene.
FRANKLIN FARM: MAIN HOUSE
The routine liveliness of Franklin Farm fills the main house this morning, the pace slightly rushed as Martha Saunders comes downstairs in a colorful, sleeveless dress.
She calls up the stairs, “SJ! We’re leaving in five!”
“Okay!” the boy’s voice echoes back from his bedroom.
Martha is dropping him off at baseball practice, as he’s been getting more serious about the sport this season.
She bends down to pet Otis, their nearly three-year-old black-and-white border collie, as he trots up the stairs.
Just as Martha reaches the bottom step, the doorbell rings, breaking the morning rhythm.
“It’s open!” she calls out casually.
Emma Covington Laurent enters, slightly hesitant, dressed in a navy-blue flutter-sleeve top with white pants. Her wavy hair is freshly styled, and she clutches her bag tightly.
The air shifts as Martha notices her.
“If you’re here for Will, he just left,” Martha says, referring to the man who not only lives here but is becoming her boyfriend—and who also shares a past with Emma.
“Actually…” the Covington heiress begins.
Before she can finish, Sarah Lynn Saunders steps out from the kitchen, having overheard.
“She’s here to see me.”
“All righty then,” the bartender murmurs.
Martha doesn’t bother hiding her reaction to the closeness her mother has developed with Emma, ever since it came out that Emma is the product of her late grandfather’s affair with Deirdre Covington.
Footsteps pound the stairs as SJ Saunders jogs down in his baseball uniform and cap. He pauses when he sees Emma, clearly aware by now of the biological tie.
“Hi,” the seven-year-old says politely.
“Hi,” Emma replies warmly to her great-nephew.
He looks between his mother and grandmother, trying to piece it together. “So, you’re my Aunt Esther’s and my Grandad Peter’s sister… but you’re not old like them.”
The three women can’t help but laugh at the innocent observation.
Emma smiles at him. “Don’t worry. It’s confusing for everybody.”
From the side, Martha adds wryly as she grabs her purse and keys, “You have no idea.”
SJ slings his bag over his shoulder, and together he and Martha head for the door, saying goodbye to both ladies, though
Martha is silent towards the aunt she now has.
The door closes behind them, leaving Emma and Sarah Lynn alone as their conversation is set to begin.
WHEELER BUILDING: APT #424
Tricia Lockhart steps out of her bedroom in her fourth-floor apartment near downtown Radcliffe, wearing a sleeveless purple cowl-neck satin top with dark gray pants, her purse slung over her shoulder. The sound of the flat-screen TV from the small living room catches her attention, drawing her eyes to Jolene Wood. Her mother, dressed in workout attire, attempts to mimic a yoga pose from the screen on a mat.
“What are you doing?” blurts the younger woman.
Jolene glances at her briefly, then pauses the TV and rises from the floor, wincing as sore muscles protest. She wipes sweat from her forehead. “I figured I’d give yoga a shot, but these old joints aren’t what they used to be.”
Though most of the injuries from her violent husband, Wade have healed, some pain still lingers. She distracts herself with exercise to keep from dwelling on years of abuse.
Tricia folds her arms. “I know you probably don’t want to hear this, but after everything you’ve gone through, you need to talk to someone—a professional.”
Jolene waves her off with a dismissive smile. “What I need right now is a shower, not you telling me what I should do again.”
Despite convincing her mother to come to Radcliffe from the West Coast, Tricia knows Jolene still wants to carry on as if nothing happened. But Tricia can’t forget the truth—her mother was hospitalized because of Wade’s abuse.
“Mom, can you at least—”
Before she can finish, the older woman disappears into the spare bedroom she’s been staying in. The door shuts firmly behind her.
Tricia closes her eyes, then opens them again with frustration. She hates that she couldn’t convince her mother to get the help she so clearly needs. Snatching her keys off the counter, she heads for the door, stepping into the hallway and toward the elevator on her way.
JOJO'S CAFE
Your place or my place, it doesn't matter to me
Your lips, my tongue, they're intertwined
You want us locked in, and I'll give you my sympathy
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The alternative pop sounds of HAIM's “All Over Me” filter through Jojo's Café on this late summer morning, the air conditioner likely getting its last weeks of use as the morning rush takes off. Skye Park, the newest barista, promptly cleans tables in her trademark gothic attire—today a black short-sleeve keyhole top with dark trousers. Her neck-length hair is pulled into a simple ponytail.
A few seconds later, the door swings open, and in walks Gemma Grier, her usual fashionable and vibrant self, alongside her boyfriend Micah Kelley, laid-back as ever. The two head straight to their friend.
“So, do regulars get free food and drinks here?” the blonde teenager asks.
Skye pauses her work, smiling teasingly as she sets the damp towel on the table. “Not if they keep bringing up our misadventure from the other night.”
The three had managed to sneak into The Cliffe with the fake IDs that Gemma’s cousin had made for them. But their night ended early when Micah, trying to buy a beer with his, got caught.
Gemma plants her hands on her hips. “Oh, come on, babe. Just admit before our mishap, you were starting to have a good time.”
“Maybe I did, okay?” Skye concedes. She had worried about it afterward, feeling guilty for lying to her newfound father—a man of the cloth. Still, it was something he never had to know.
“A time was had, for sure,” Micah adds.
Overhearing, Evan Sullivan strolls over with a smirk. “Didn’t think you were the club type, Skye.”
Annoyance creeps onto the barista’s face. It’s the same guy she saw vaping outside the café the other day, and now he’s eavesdropping on her personal conversation too.
Skye rolls her eyes. “Didn’t think you were the lurking type. Guess we’re both full of surprises.”
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FRANKLIN FARM: MAIN HOUSE
The aroma of freshly brewed coffee fills the kitchen as Sarah Lynn sets two cups on the table—one for herself and one for her considerably younger sister-in-law. She had expected Emma to show up; the torn look on Emma’s face made it clear she needed someone to confide in, and Sarah Lynn had years of experience reading those kinds of expressions.
“Thanks. I needed this… and someone to commiserate to,” Emma says softly, her hand curling around the warm mug as steam curls upward.
Sarah Lynn takes a seat across from her. “I’m not trying to talk out of turn, and I do value our talks… but have you ever thought about opening up to your mother?”
Emma laughs, though it comes out sharp and sardonic.
“I can’t. Not with her. Honestly, not ever. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the Covingtons aren’t exactly known for sharing their emotions openly.”
Her eyes drift, reflecting on years of distance. Growing up, it was always her mother and Daniel against the world. With her, there was only absence—while the man she once thought was her father buried himself in business, ignoring them all. The parallels with Jacques strike her bitterly now.
“Well, now you do,” Sarah Lynn says gently. “You have a family you can be open with.”
Emma shrugs, unconvinced. “Other than Lenny and Louise… maybe SJ, if I bribe him with a Happy Meal. Martha won’t speak to me, and Esther treats me like I’m radioactive.”
Sarah Lynn meets her eyes, calm and steady. “Don’t forget—you have me in your corner too.”
Emma looks at her, surprised by the warmth, still unused to receiving it.
She shifts in her chair, lowering her voice. “My marriage has seen better days.”
Sarah Lynn nods, unsurprised. She takes another sip of coffee. “What’s going on now?”
“Lack of communication. Misunderstandings. And intimacy—or the lack of it.”
“I understand,” Sarah Lynn says softly. “More than you think.”
Her own memories of rocky times with her late husband flicker in the pause.
Emma exhales, defeated. “Sometimes I wonder if it’s even worth it anymore.”
Sarah Lynn answers with quiet honesty. “I know how that feels. But you still need to talk to him, whether or not it changes anything.”
Emma lifts her cup, takes a thoughtful sip, and lets the words settle between them.
JOJO'S CAFE
It doesn’t take long for Skye to fire off her next comeback at the young man she previously clashed with.
“Hey, don’t you have to go blow on a cancer pen?”
Evan flashes a crooked smile. “Oh, I think she’s trying to tell me to make myself scarce.”
“You do get it after all?” Skye says dryly.
By now, Gemma has taken an interest in the teenager she hasn’t seen before.
“Rude much,” she chides Skye, then turns to Evan. “Hi, I’m Gemma Grier,” she introduces herself boldly.
Micah joins in, licking his lips before also introducing himself. Evan nods politely.
“So, you're new to town?” the second-string football player asks conversationally.
“Well, not exactly. I just moved from Orlando to live with my dad and his wife,” Evan explains in detail.
Gemma maneuvers herself to keep his attention, which Skye notices immediately. “Well, if you ever need a tour guide to show you around, I’m always available.”
“Yeah, sounds good,” Evan replies. “Well, I'd better get out of here before Skye calls the National Guard to throw me out.”
“Good call,” Skye says with a smirk.
“See you around,” Micah calls after him.
“And Evan—my offer still stands anytime,” Gemma adds confidently. Evan tilts his head before exiting the café.
“I can’t stand him,” Skye mutters.
Gemma grips her purse strap. “He’s not that bad.”
That remark makes both Skye and Micah glance at her in disbelief.
“What?” Gemma asks, quickly changing the subject.
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People stroll down Main Street on this sunlit late-summer morning—some doing back-to-school shopping, others rushing off to work—while Evan lingers outside the café, taking relief from his vape.
Not long after, Martha saunters onto the sidewalk wearing sunglasses, having parked her truck at the other end of the street. She decides to grab a drink to kill time before picking up SJ from practice.
She raises the glasses onto her forehead and notices him and doesn’t waste a moment acknowledging him.
“Evan, hey.”
At first, the young man doesn’t react, but once his vision lands on her, he quickly tries to hide his vape pen. It’s too late—she catches it, raising an eyebrow.
“Martha, it’s been a long time,” he says to his family member.
Other than the occasional social media post and FaceTime on holidays, he hasn’t seen much of his father’s side of the family—except his grandmother—in years.
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​​​“Yeah, it sure has,” she notes. “And how long has that been going on?” she asks, referring to the vape.
Evan chuckles, trying to play it off, but Martha isn’t buying it.
“I think I have it in the budget to splurge for one more,” Martha says, hinting at treating him inside.
As Evan begins to refute—which she sees coming a mile away—she interjects.
“Oh, don’t let me be the hard-ass relative,” Martha remarks. “Come on.”
Without much choice, Evan follows his first cousin once removed back into the café.
WHEELER BUILDING: APT #424
After a much-needed shower and a change out of her sweaty yoga gear, Jolene steps out of the bathroom toward the galley kitchen. A knock at the door pulls her in a different direction. She assumes it’s either a package delivery or Tricia forgetting something and not wanting to use her key.
Those assumptions dissolve the moment she opens the door. Standing in the doorway is the last person she wants to see—Wade. A chillingly familiar foreboding wash over her.
The silence breaks as Wade smirks. “Cat got your tongue, baby?” he remarks in his usual cadence.
Her instincts kick in. Jolene tries to slam the door, but Wade jams his foot against it and shoves his way inside. Realizing she won’t be able to get him out anytime soon, she reluctantly shuts the door behind him, locking them inside together.
She squares her shoulders, doing her best to stand her ground. “What are you doing here?”
Wade steps closer, eyes narrowing as he reads the fear beneath her fragile courage. He knows it’s mostly a façade, but presses forward anyway.
“You know why I’m here,” he says low and firm. “I’m here to bring you home.”
Jolene’s expression hardens, fear and defiance crashing together as the tension between them spikes.
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END OF EPISODE
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ON THE NEXT EPISODE Of TOWN AND COUNTRY
Wade makes a plea.
Jordan attracts attention.
Tricia seeks assistance.
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