EPISODE 362
Written by: Bre L Drew
October 8, 2025
Last Time on Town and Country
-
Jacques and Aaliyah have been bonding when Jes unexpectedly walks in on them before inviting Aaliyah to lunch.
-
Mala disapproves of Samuel’s pursuit of a relationship with Jes.
-
Tricia enlists Samuel to counsel Jolene about her history of domestic abuse, though Jolene resists opening up.
-
Since her breakup with Samuel, Martha has grown closer to Will.
-
Emma’s sudden arrival in Jacques’ office catches him off guard.
JOJO'S CAFE
Barenaked
And I just can't take it
I'm getting jaded
​
“BareNaked” by Jennifer Love Hewitt plays on Jojo's Café system, infusing the lunch crowd with early-2000s nostalgia. Jes Choudhury and Aaliyah Gupta sit across from one another at a table near the large window overlooking Main Street, where people wander up and down the sidewalk on this unusually warm afternoon.
It doesn’t take long for Aaliyah to wonder why her lifelong family friend invited her to lunch, especially since they aren’t close—even though they live under the same roof.
“Okay, we have our food and drinks, so do you mind telling me why you wanted to have lunch with me?” the young assistant asks.
Jes takes a sip of her strawberry acai lemonade before responding. “Well, you held off longer than I thought you would,” Jes remarks, impressed. “Honestly, I thought it was about time we caught up. It feels like some unknown discord has developed between us.”
Despite excelling academically, it was never enough for her mother, who disapproved of Aaliyah’s pursuit of a fashion career. In contrast, Samuel not only thrived in school but went on to become a doctor, while the daughter of her parents’ closest friends became a successful attorney. Meanwhile, Aaliyah—who graduated at the top of her class—still struggled to find a job without the interference from her.
When she stays silent, Jes presses on. “I know it isn’t really my business, but when I came to see you, I saw you and Jacques getting close.”
Instantly, Aaliyah knows what she’s getting at. She rolls her eyes at the intrusion.
“Jes, I don’t know what you think you saw, but Jacques is my boss. We were just teasing each other about something trivial—snacks from a vending machine. Nothing more.”
Still, Aaliyah can’t deny that she’s developed a small spark of feeling for the older, handsome man—though she’d never admit it.
Jes replies evenly, “I know that. But from what I saw… it wouldn’t take much for things to head that way.”
Frustrated, Aaliyah pushes her chair back. “I’m leaving.”
She stands, then pauses with a grimace. “Damn it.”
Jes arches a brow. “What is it?”
“I rode with you. My car is still at Covington.”
Jes sighs, calm as ever. “Aaliyah…”
Trying to ease the tension, Jes softens her tone. “I knew someone once… a lot like you.”
“Oh, here we go.”
“And she thought she could handle anything and any guy that came her way, too.”
Aaliyah exhales, clearly not in the mood, but doesn’t interrupt.
​
WHEELER BUILDING: APT #424
Once Samuel Gupta steps off the elevator onto the fourth floor of the Wheeler Building near downtown Radcliffe, he heads straight to his destination. The conversation he had earlier with his mother—her disapproval of him pursuing Jes—lingers in his mind, but he pushes it aside as he knocks on the door.
Tricia Lockhart greets him on the other side.
He’d agreed to help the mother of one of his closest friends, though he warned Tricia he would eventually recommend someone with more experience handling trauma from years of abuse.
He enters as the café manager shuts the door behind them.
“You alright?” she asks.
“Why do you say that?”
Tricia gives him a knowing look. “I’ve known you too long not to know that look.”
“Just had an interesting conversation with my mother, that’s all,” he says, gesturing it off with a hand wave.
“Well, I know that all too well. Which is why you’re here,” she adds, leading him into the living room.
There sits her mother, Jolene, in a royal blue long-sleeved shirt and fleece pants, her brown hair tied in a ponytail. She’s still in her yoga phase, Tricia had warned. She’s the spitting image of her daughter—just twenty years older.
Tricia introduces them. Jolene eyes him with amusement. “Well, aren’t you a fine-looking man? Are you seeing anyone?”
“Oh God,” Tricia groans. “Samuel’s here to shrink you, not to talk about his love life.”
Samuel chuckles politely. “I don’t use that specific word, but I’m here just to talk.”
Tricia shoots him a look that displays. I told you she was unconventional. “Well, Mother, I’ll leave you in the good hands of the person I trust the most,” Tricia says.
“Patricia, he isn’t Allstate,” Jolene quips.
Samuel laughs under his breath while Tricia rolls her eyes, annoyed both at the joke and the use of her full name.
Samuel raises a hand as Tricia grabs her purse and keys, heading out.
Once they’re alone, he sits beside Jolene. “I’ll stay as long as you want me to. But it might do you some good to open up to someone.”
Jolene exhales. “What do you want me to say?”
The recent memory of facing her estranged husband, who had tried to persuade her to come home, still lingered. It was something she hadn’t told her daughter, knowing she’d fly off the handle. She clung to the faint hope that he might have boarded a plane back to Bakersfield, though deep down she knew what kind of man he was, and how unlikely that was.
“That’s up to you,” Samuel replies gently. “But if you don’t face it, it’ll keep affecting you—whether you want it to or not.”
COVINGTON GROUP
Despite having lunch right in front of him at his desk on the twentieth floor of the Covington Group headquarters in downtown Radcliffe, Jacques Laurent is promptly catching up on work as the Miami land deal nears completion. When he hears someone enter his office, he assumes it’s Aaliyah returning, and he teases her about her dependence on vending machine snacks. But it isn’t his assistant—it’s his wife, the last person he expects, given the fraught state of their marriage.
“What are you doing here?” he asks abruptly.
Emma Covington Laurent stands across the office in a sleeveless, satin blue dandelion print dress paired with silver heels, her clutch bag in hand.
“Nice to see you too, époux,” she replies, using the French word for spouse in reference to his homeland. Her tone carries both curiosity and irritation. “I’m still waiting on an explanation about those vending machine snacks.”
The suave executive rises and walks over to her. “I thought you were one of my colleagues trying to argue the merits of junk food,” Jacques says lightly, avoiding further dialogue about Aaliyah, with whom he has been bonding more lately. “So, what brings you all the way here?”
Emma’s gaze remains unwavering. “Believe it or not, I thought it was about time we got some things straightened out. Don’t you?”
FRANKLIN FARM
Will Jackson stacks square bales of hay in the storage barn on Franklin Farm. He wears a sleeveless shirt, his arms dusted with hay and glistening with sweat. Each lift of a bale shows his strength and ease with the task—a small way of paying it forward to Sarah Lynn, who had welcomed him years ago when he felt ostracized by his kin. The distant mooing from the barn and the earthy, grassy scent set the atmosphere.
In the archway, Martha Saunders quietly observes him, silently admiring the good-looking man at work.
“You’re becoming an old pro on the homestead,” she calls out.
Will sets down the bale, chuckling as he steps closer to the woman he’s started to develop feelings for again, remembering how they’d danced at her niece’s wedding months ago.
“You can call me an ole country boy,” he teases. “So, how you doin’?”
“Just enjoying my day off from the bar. You?”
He tilts his head toward the bales. “Figured I’d finish this before headin’ to the club later. How’s that little man of yours?”
Martha smiles at the mention of her seven-year-old son, SJ.
“He’s good. And honestly, I’m grateful I’ve still got years before he’s a teenager.”
Will gives her a double-take at the randomness of the comment.
“Oh,” she says quickly, realizing how it sounded. “My cousin Evan—Steven’s son—is in town. And let’s just say, teens these days are a whole different puzzle.”
“True dat,” Will replies with a grin. “But deep down, they’re not that different from how we were. That night we were at The Cliffe, three of ’em got in. Good thing one of the bartenders spotted a fake ID before they bought a beer.”
Martha’s eyes widen, half amused, half shocked. “You know, I think I might’ve seen them,” she says.
Will smirks. “Bet you did.
Their laughter fades into a quiet beat. Will wipes his hands on his jeans, then looks at her earnestly.
“Look, I’ve been enjoyin’ spendin’ time with you, Martha,” he says. “I was thinkin’… maybe we could go out again?”
Martha momentarily freezes, taken aback. It had been a long time since she’d even considered dating. For years, she and Samuel were together—until she ended things, believing motherhood had to come first after her ex, her son’s father, made it clear he wanted her but not the responsibilities of being a dad. Now, with Samuel seemingly moving on, Martha wonders if it’s finally time she does the same—with someone she once had feelings for too.
She meets Will’s eyes, softening. “I’m game,” she replies, genuinely.
JOJO'S CAFE
The intense rhythm of Finger Eleven’s “Paralyzer” pulse through Jojo’s Café, giving the lunch crowd a burst of restless energy. In the lounge area, Tricia occupies her usual spot on the leather couch. An iPad rests on her lap as she does some light bookkeeping, mostly to keep herself busy. She knows the café has its own accountant—one of the rare advantages Daniel insisted upon when the Covington Group purchased the place years ago—but running numbers helps her concentrate on something else. Though relieved, she just has to submit the information for it to be their problem.
Her concentration doesn’t last. The familiar buzz of her ringtone cuts through the music. She glances at her phone, relieved for the distraction. When she sees Samuel’s name on the screen, she answers on the third ring.
“Hey,” she greets softly.
On the other end, Samuel steps off the elevator of his apartment building, iPhone pressed to his ear. “Hey. I just wanted to update you on what happened.”
“And that would be?” Tricia asks, trying to brace herself.
Samuel shrugs as he walks down the hall toward his apartment. “Normally, I wouldn’t share what goes on between what we talked about—doctor-patient confidentiality and all that. But I think it’s safe to say your mother isn’t ready to open up.”
Tricia’s face falls. She says nothing at first, shaking her head slightly. She knew this would happen, but a small part of her had still hoped for something different.
Samuel continues, voice heavy with concern. “The abuse Jolene’s endured all these years… It’s made it that much harder for her to break down her defenses.”
Tricia exhales, searching for the right response.
“I’m sorry,” Samuel says genuinely.
“Hey, don’t blame yourself,” Tricia replies. “My mother can be one tough broad when she wants to be… I’ll talk to you later, bye.”
She ends the call and sets the phone down on the table in front of her. The frustration she’s been holding in boils over.
“Shit!” The word comes out louder than she intends.
“What’s going on?” a familiar voice asks.
Tricia turns and sees Sean Lockhart standing nearby. He’s dressed casually in a dark short-sleeve crew neck t-shirt that shows off his sculpted chest and a pair of jeans.
“Oh, nothing much,” Tricia lies quickly, rising from the couch to give her ex-husband a polite hug. It’s platonic, but the moment they part, Sean’s eyes tell her he can see right through her.
“How have you been?” she asks.
“Not bad,” he replies easily. Then his tone shifts. “But I want to know how you are—and I want the truth.”
Tricia sighs, exasperated. She hates how he can still read her so well, even after their divorce. Reluctantly, she tells him about the latest with her mother, though he already knows most of it.
Sean listens, then offers gently, “From my experience, at the end of the day, the only person who can get themselves out of a situation like that is you. Maybe your mom will realize that in her own time.”
Tricia crosses her arms. “Well, after thirty-some-odd years, anything’s possible, huh?” she says with a trace of sarcasm.
“Has Wade been in touch with her lately?” Sean asks.
“Not recently—and thank God for that. Because if I saw that mother—” She cuts herself off, shaking her head. “Let’s just say I’d take him out.”
Sean doesn’t comment. He can tell she means it, but it isn’t his place to address it anymore.
“Anyway,” Tricia says, changing the subject, “what brings you all the way out here in the middle of the day?”
Before he can reply, his phone vibrates. He answers immediately. “I was expecting your call,” he says into the receiver.
“Well, you always call to make sure I don’t forget what to bring back. Years of knowing you, Louise.” He chuckles softly.
The mention of Sean’s first wife—and current partner—hits Tricia harder than she wants to admit. His undying love for
Louise was one of the many cracks that destroyed their marriage. Even now, she feels a small, unwelcome pang in her chest. She misses what they once had, and sometimes, what could have been.
After finishing the call with a few lighthearted remarks, Sean pockets his phone. “Sorry about that.”
Tricia tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, masking her thoughts with a practiced smile. “It’s no problem. What do you need?”
“Two coffees,” he says. “One blueberry muffin, one banana nut muffin.”
“I’m assuming it’s to go right?” Tricia teases.
“Very funny,” Sean smirks.
Tricia can’t help but smile back as she heads toward the counter, calling one of the baristas to start his order.
Jes sits with Aaliyah at their table, the hum of conversation around them blending with the café playlist in the background.
“So, can I proceed with the story?”
Aaliyah takes a sip of her iced tea, answering with a hint of snark. “Your story, your words.”
“It was some years back. One of my dearest friends from law school landed a coveted position at one of the country’s top firms—a million-to-one shot, especially for someone from her background. At first, it was just work. But soon, she found herself unexpectedly growing closer to her boss.
What started as a simple friendship began to shift into something else.”
Aaliyah raises a brow, interjecting: “Let me guess… your friend and her boss did more than have a casual work dinner?”
Jes brushes a strand of dark hair off her shoulder, smirking slightly. “It started that way. But those dinners grew longer… and they’d sneak away whenever they could just to be alone.”
A flicker of recognition crosses Aaliyah’s face as the story begins to feel uncomfortably familiar.
“So, what happened to your friend?” she asks cautiously.
Jes reflects, as if unearthing a memory, she’d tucked away. “Turns out, her boss was married. At first, she downplayed it, thinking they could somehow overcome it, like it was just another obstacle. But over time, she realized it wasn’t so simple. The affair ended up costing her more than her career—it cost her a piece of herself.”
Aaliyah takes another slow sip of iced tea. “So where are they now—your friend and this guy?”
Jes replies cryptically, “The friend and I haven’t talked in a while… but last I heard, she’s somewhere down South.”
She takes a bite of her chicken wrap.
Aaliyah shakes her head softly. “It’s safe to say Jacques and I haven’t crossed that line.”
Jes nods, steady. “That’s good. Just try to keep it that way.”
COVINGTON GROUP
Briefly, the spouses stand across from one another, neither sure who should speak first. Emma had come to Jacques’s office to try to repair things, on the advice of her sister-in-law, with whom she had been confiding about her marital woes.
“You go first,” Emma says softly.
Jacques clears his throat, trying to sound composed and sincere.
“If it seems I haven’t been supportive of you, or of what you’ve gone through lately, let me be clear—that was never my intention. I want to be there for you, but sometimes… sometimes you make that difficult.”
The revelation of Emma’s true paternity had driven a wedge between them. It came to light when her great-niece needed a bone marrow donor, and Emma overheard Esther and her mother talking. Emma had confided in Jacques—only to learn he had already known. That betrayal still lingered, taking its toll on their once-passionate marriage.
“How so?” Emma presses.
Jacques glares, noticing the pain she’s trying to mask.
“Sorry, go ahead,” she adds quickly, almost apologetic.
“There are times when you push me away when I want to get close,” Jacques says. “And I don’t just mean physically.”
Emma steps back, pacing, her hand running through her hair. She exhales, then turns back to him. “I don’t mean to sound like a broken record, but this hasn’t been simple for me either,” she admits. “It feels like you want me to put everything I know now behind me and move on. But I can’t do that—not yet. When I struggle, I need your understanding. It may not be on your timeline, but… can you at least try to meet me halfway?”
“I will try,” Jacques replies. His tone softens. “But I miss how we were together,” he adds, his meaning unmistakable.
Emma holds his gaze. “I’m not ready for that yet. When I am, you’ll know. Can you give me a little more time?”
Though Jacques wants to push back, he swallows his protest. To avoid another clash, he nods in reluctant agreement.
“All right,” he concedes.
They share a quiet, introspective hug. Both know that if their marriage is to survive, it will take effort and patience. Still, an unspoken truth hovers between them: regrets and temptations with other people may not be fully behind them.
​
END OF EPISODE
​
ON THE NEXT EPISODE OF TOWN AND COUNTRY
Tommy surprises Tanner.
Jolene is startled
Thora has an encounter.
​
Leave your thoughts here on the T&C forum
​