EPISODE 280
Written by: Bre L. Drew
March 11, 2024
Last Time on Town and Country
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Feeling unrest with her life due to the accident that caused her to lose her baby and render her husband paralyzed from the waist down, Shauna went to Covington to speak with Courtney about getting her job back; however, her sister-in-law told her that her place is taking care of Max instead.
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Lynn told Sean, Louise, and Tanner about her forthcoming prognosis, causing the Lockharts to come together for her.
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Shauna gives Jordan marriage advice, as the younger woman is determined to make her marriage work despite Tommy's unresolved feelings for Tanner, who is involved with her brother Presley.
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Presley suggested Thora volunteer at the church to fill a void in her life.
HOME FARM
Even though she's conscious, Shauna Covington has yet to unopen her eyes as she lies in bed in the room she shares with her husband in the mansion on his family's estate. The rudimentary routine of her life has become is why she wishes to retreat into at least fifteen more minutes of inactivity.
However, a familiar voice creeps into her conscience.
"Are you up?"
"Mm-hmm," she murmurs.
"Are you going to turn around?"
She makes the shift in their king-sized bed, though she finds him with a grin on his face, a far cry from the exhaustive or angered expression he has had since Max's paralysis nearly a year ago.
"You all right?" she asks.
Shauna isn't exactly sure what to make of her husband's alternate mood since it's been some time since he's been this outwardly jovial.
"I haven't felt like this in a long time, baby," he whispers in her ear.
Before Shauna can realize what is happening, his soft lips work their way up her arm as he holds her in his arms, creating astonishment since their sex life has been non-existent due to him being impotent, so she hopes he isn't setting himself up for disappointment again.
"You know we don't have to do this," she whispers to him, though the feel of his mouth on her awakens something inside of her.
"Let's just say I'm back," he tells her daringly.
The next thing she knows, they begin making out rather heatedly as she lays down while he bends down as she prepares to sense his presence even more, closing her eyes to savor the moment.
However, when she opens them, she takes in everything in the bedroom, including her husband's motorized chair in the corner, indicating that she had only been dreaming, making her instantly regret waking up.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Max asks her. "You were moaning in your sleep, you all right?"
The joy on his face is replaced more with concern.
She faces him, taking in the pajamas they both are wearing; in her fantasy, they are virtually naked.
"Just an intense dream, that's all," she says breathlessly.
RADCLIFFE RECEIVING HOSPITAL
For the third time this month, Lynn Lockhart finds herself in the hospital, but this time, the nerves in her stomach are more constant than those other previous times. But unlike those visits, she isn't alone. Not only is her boyfriend Elijah Barker beside her, but both of her parents, Sean Lockhart and Louise Saunders Lockhart, are with her.
The four depart off the elevator on the floor where her doctor's office is, and in a moment, they will find out whether or not Lenny's life will forever change if the results indicate she has cancer, which is the reason why she had a bone marrow exam done. A few days ago, a nurse from Dr. Grier's office informed her to come in to receive them.
They sit in the relatively empty waiting room with a flat-screen television mounted on the wall, playing a local morning panel show.
"Anybody want anything to eat or drink?" Sean surveys
Louise and Elijah shake their heads.
"I don't think I could keep anything down right now," Lenny comments.
Elijah senses the anxiety, wishing his girlfriend wasn't going through this.
They sit in the relatively empty waiting room with a flat-screen television mounted on the wall, playing a local morning panel show.
"I'm sure Tanner could've rescheduled her test with all things considered," Louise points out.
Tanner had wanted to come, but today she has a physiology exam, which Lenny insisted she go and take since her being here wouldn't change whatever turns up in the biopsy.
"Anybody want anything to eat or drink?" Sean surveys
Louise and Elijah shake their heads.
"I don't think I can keep anything down right now anyway," Lenny comments.
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Sean and Louise share looks of apprehension about what lies ahead.
About thirty seconds pass when a female nurse announces Lynn's full name aloud.
"You ready?" Sean asks while standing up and gazing at his daughter, seeing the fear in her eyes.
"I guess I have no choice," Lenny says matter-of-factly.
Elijah holds onto his girlfriend's hand supportively while they walk towards the back of the room where the office is, as Sean and Louise follow behind in silence.
SAMPSON UNIVERSITY
All of her life, Tanner Lockhart has thrived in classrooms. Teachers always told her parents during conferences that she was often the bright spot of the day with her academic prowess, never afraid to help students who struggled with various subjects.
But today, Tanner's mind wasn't processing what was in front of her. Initially, she would've gone through getting a make-up date since she knows her place is to be with her twin sister and the rest of their family when she receives the results of the bone marrow exam. But Lenny insisted on going on with her day as normal, which she knows is a way to protect her if the outcome isn't positive.
While nearly done completing her physiology test along with fifty more students in the lecture hall on the west side of campus, she realizes she skipped some questions on her scantron.
Yet, with everything going on, she doesn't feel driven to go back and answer them.
The college senior looks at the wall clock and onto her test.
Never doing so in her life, she gets up, leaving questions unanswered, meaning her grade won't be what she anticipated, although her final grade won't be affected since she already has an A.
With her backpack and jacket on, she marches up the steps toward the door while the white female thirtysomething TA is at the desk, keeping somewhat of a close eye while grading tests from another class.
Feeling a blend of relief and regret, Tanner escapes out of the building and heads outside, welcoming the change of scenery.
HOME FARM: GUEST HOUSE
With his messenger bag in tow, Tommy Covington journeys downstairs to the two-story guest house on his family's estate, where he resides with his wife and toddler son.
He is on his way to campus, where his corporate finance class starts in about forty minutes.
As he moves toward the living room, he sees Jeremy Covington playing with a Batman action figure, pretending to save an array of stuffed animals held hostage by the Joker on the floor.
"Hey buddy, Daddy's leaving, but I'll see you later. I love you, champ," he tells him.
The adorable two-year-old blonde little boy with a cherubic face looks up at him. "Bye,"
By now, Jordan Covington has entered the room from the kitchen, where she was tidying up.
"Hey, can I run something by you before you leave?" she says importantly.
Tommy nods his head as they get closer to the door.
"What's up?" he casually asks his wife.
The permanent brunette now takes a strand of her hair and tucks it behind one of her ears. "You aren't busy tonight, are you?"
"Nothing out of the ordinary. Why? You need me to watch Jeremy. Why do you go out?"
However, as soon as he says it, he regrets it since Jordan is nothing but dedicated to their son after coming to terms with what his father did to her by using her mental health against her.
"Well, I was hoping we could have dinner just the two of us, and that way, we can catch up as husband and wife, while Jeremy gets to spend the night with my mother."
Jordan had received advice from Shauna regarding marriage, as she wants to make it work with him even though she is well aware of his feelings toward Tanner. Still, she's involved with her brother.
Tommy is about to refute the meal between them but starts to recall that one of the reasons he's still in the marriage is to make Jordan feel secure.
"Sure, why not?" he says.
His confirmation exhibits a countenance of excitement on her face.
"All right then, dinner it is, have a good day," Jordan notes.
The two gazes upon each other briefly before Tommy walks out of the house to his Tesla parked on the property.
Meanwhile, back inside the house, Jordan goes over to her little boy playing as she sits by him on the sofa in the living room.
"Everything is coming together, and I promise you, sweetie, that mommy and daddy will be together in every sense of the word."
Jeremy nods at her while playing, oblivious to his mother's overall plan.
HOME FARM
Now both dressed for the day, Shauna couldn't shake that sensual dream; it felt vivid to her, although she knew she needed to let it go and accept reality.
Coming out of the bathroom, Max uses the lever to get around the room to where his wife stands by the mirror wearing an olive-green short puff-sleeve faux-leather top and light blue jeans with her dark brown hair hanging at her shoulders.
Silently, he takes in his wife's beauty, which instantly fills him with disapproval since he can't physically express his adoration for her due to the injuries he sustained in the accident. There is nothing more he wants to do than make up for the lack of physical intimacy in their lives lately.
Although he also sees the look of perhaps restlessness on her face, he wonders if she's feeling the same thing.
"I'm sorry," he apologizes.
"For what?" Shauna genuinely asks.
"I think it's obvious we're both suffering from the effects of me being in this damn chair."
Shauna goes over to her husband and sits on the edge of the made-up bed.
"If you're getting at what I think you're getting at, like I said before, there is no pressure," she says.
"Then what's wrong? He asks her. "Because I know you too well for you to say that it's not."
"It's not that; I had wanted to go back to work at Covington—well, part-time. I even went to Courtney to talk about it with her, but she turned me down, stating my place is with you, and in a way, she does have a point."
"She told you that?" Max asks curiously.
"Yeah, she did," Shauna replies. "But if Courtney wasn't running the company and your father was still there, there would be no way in hell I would consider working for him again, not after what he did to Jordan and him being responsible for the loss of our child."
Daniel's gaslighting of their sister-in-law caused Max to swerve off the road to avoid a mentally unstable Jordan, rendering Max paralyzed and Shauna miscarrying their unborn child.
Max caresses his wife's face, which makes her gaze into his eyes.
"It will all work out, I promise," he declares.
Shauna touches his hand before standing up and exiting the room.
Soon, he retrieves his iPhone from the nightstand, which he uses to make a call.
"Hey, are you busy right now? I need to talk to you, so I'm coming to you." Max responds uncomplicatedly.
FIRST STREET METHODIST CHURCH
The multipurpose room inside First Street Methodist Church is the base of the sanctuary's preparation for the annual clothing drive. Congregation members lend a hand in getting things organized for the upcoming event.
The Bluetooth speaker on the table near the door plays the Bach-inspired piano intro of Amy Grant's seminal hit "Sing Your Praise to the Lord."
Presley and Thora McKnight enter the room, as both have decided to volunteer.
The associate pastor and his mother go over to Reverend Joel Friendly; his boss is in a black thermal Henley shirt and denim jeans.
"Hey, you two, thanks for coming." The man of the cloth addresses them both.
"It looks like you could use more of the calvary," Thora says observably.
Joel turns to see the lack of helpers and then gives focus back to them.
"Yeah, I was hoping for more of a turnout, but so far, so good with things starting to get done."
"Well, whatever you need, put us to work," Presley remarks.
The reverend crosses his arms onto his athletic chest. "Presley, we need more boxes, so can you go to the basement to get them? While your mother and I can catch up over sorting through those bags," he nudges his head over to the corner where about five garbage bags full of clothes stand.
While out of the room, Presley takes his iPhone from his jacket pocket. He knew Lynn was getting her results from her biopsy. He asks God for a good outcome, also wanting to check in with his girlfriend, knowing the waiting is just as hard on her.
He quickly taps out a text while in the hallway.
I am thinking and praying for the best for all of you. I'm here if you need me. Love You
Presley sends it to her while proceeding to his destination.
​
***
"Sounds like things are going great for you," Joel states.
The two are organizing things by shirts and pants.
"Oh, I can't complain," she replies straightforwardly. "Since me and Ernest split, it's been good to get to know myself again; I don't sound like one of those self-help devotees, do I?"
The handsome, silver-haired man shakes his head with a wry smile.
"Absolutely not, Thora; you're taking charge of your life. And it looks good on you, by the way."
The cafe barista couldn't help but beam while folding a pair of gently used khaki pants.
"By the way, thanks for the check you gave; it's going to really help some of the less fortunate in the community." The reverend remarks appreciatively to his childhood friend.
Thora places a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear.
"Well, after Ernest gave me half of the money from the sale of the house and all of the support you gave me through the divorce, the least I could do was pay it back."
"Well, to new beginnings," Joel says.
"To new beginnings," Thora repeats.
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RADCLIFFE RECEIVING HOSPITAL
Lenny, Elijah, Sean, and Louise are all in Dr. Heidi Grier's office as the petite blonde physician behind her desk just arrived.
The doctor has her electronic tablet in front of her with the results.
"The exam indicates what I had suspected when I did my initial physical and CBC on you, Lynn, and unfortunately, it's not the news we wanted." Dr. Grier says compassionately.
Having had Lenny and her sister as patients since they were infants makes telling her this harder to announce to the physician.
"So, I have cancer?" Lenny asks unexpectedly.
Sean and Louise try to maintain calm, though the announcement of one of their children having a deathly illness shocks them to their core.
"You have a form of leukemia called acute myeloid leukemia, or AML," the doctor continues. "It's when the bone marrow makes too many immature white blood cells, which can't do their job to fight infections, which also explains your symptoms, including the fatigue and anemia."
Elijah doesn't know what to say, as he somehow started to believe it was something entirely different. He wants to reassure her, but he knows nothing that leaves his mouth would bring any comfort to Lynn in this moment.
"Will radiation or chemotherapy be able to treat this, Heidi?" Louise asks in the same professional manner she does when handling farm business.
"An oncologist will be recommending her course of treatment; however, I'm fairly sure they will go with chemotherapy since this form can also be rapid. And if the chemo doesn't work, there are other options, but for now, let's not think about the what if's just yet okay?" Dr. Grier says upliftingly
As medical jargon is said, Lenny can't seem to comprehend what it all means as she maintains a hold on Elijah's hand, doing her best not to show any sadness, even though that's all she wants to do.
SAMPSON UNIVERSITY
Surprisingly, Tanner hasn't left school, not feeling compelled to drive anywhere while behind the wheel of the Fiat parked on the west side of campus in the student lot on this partly cloudy late morning.
She skims over the text she received from Presley, hoping that her boyfriend's prayers and the rest of the family's positivity work.
Ten more seconds come and go before the ringtone on her phone quickly makes her gaze at the screen, seeing "Mom" on it. She doesn't hesitate to answer it.
"Mom, hi," she answers unsurely.
"Where are you?" Louise asks caringly.
"Parked on campus," she replies while looking towards the few students going to their vehicles.
Tanner could hear her mother drawing breath, like she was debating something.
"I was going to wait until you came home, but..." Louise stops herself before continuing. "It's not good news," she reveals.
Tanner feels like the earth is suddenly motionless around her. Despite anticipating it, he thinks that it was anything else but that.
"Cancer?" Tanner asks without any other thought.
"Leukemia," Louise states. "Tan, when you're up to it, come home."
"I will," Tanner says, fighting tears.
"Be careful; I love you, sweetie."
"I love you too, Mom, and tell Lenny I'll be there soon."
The call ends while Tanner feels tears coming down her face.
A firm knock on the window catches her off guard, and while she is about to confront the person in frustration, she spots the individual as she rolls down the window.
"Hey, I saw you in here crying; are you all right?" Tommy Covington asks his ex-girlfriend.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she says while wiping water from her face.
Tommy stands there, knowing from all the years he has known her that she is not, so he immediately goes over to the passenger side and opens the door, getting inside and surprising her.
"I told you I'm fine!" she exclaims.
"Tell me what's going on, Tanner," he says softly.
Even though she knows her information doesn't need to be shared, she needs someone at that moment to confide in about this since, at the moment, carrying it is too heavy for her, and she's not the one going through this battle.
"I just got off the phone with my mother; the results of Lenny's biopsy confirm it's leukemia."
Tommy himself tries to process the news of his ex's twin sister being ill, reminding him of his late mother, who too was diagnosed with breast cancer.
"I'm so sorry," he tells her.
It doesn't take long for her to fall into his arms while he grasps her in a friendly enough way while continuing to cry.
​
END OF EPISODE
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ON THE NEXT EPISODE OF TOWN AND COUNTRY
Deirdre revels in Jacques's misfortune.
Max makes a deal.
Antoine flirts with Shauna.
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