EPISODE 211
Written by: Bre L. Drew
November 21, 2022
Last Time on Town and Country
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Despite the paramedics' best efforts, Dylan was pronounced dead as a result of SIDS, shocking Sean and Tricia as they were forced to say goodbye to their two-month-old son.
WHEELER BUILDING: APT #424
Despite it being less than twenty-four hours ago, Sean Lockhart felt that what happened felt, in some ways, like a lifetime ago. Yesterday seemed to be a blur of happiness and newness as he and Tricia celebrated their belated wedding anniversary with their friends in their apartment.
But everything changed after dinner when Tricia discovered Dylan not breathing in his crib in his nursery, where he had been napping. The paramedics were unable to revive him. He and she said their final goodbyes to their dead baby son after learning he died of SIDS. He isn't quite sure how they put one foot in front of the other to leave the NICU, let alone get back into the apartment after being dropped off by Steven and Courtney. Now that he walks out of the bedroom, he feels like he went ten rounds with Mike Tyson.
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Yet as he goes into the kitchenette to prepare the Keurig machine for coffee, he spots Tricia sitting on the couch in the living room. He carefully approaches his wife, who is still in her pajamas, which consist of an old Alanis Morrisette concert tour t-shirt and black stretch pants, with her brown hair in a ponytail. And her eyes were red and puffy from lack of sleep and crying.
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"I can take care of the arrangements today. I know you probably aren't up to it. So, I'll take care of everything." Sean asserts confidently
Tricia turns around to face him. "No, I'm going with you," she replies lowly.
The suctioning noise of the coffee machine pierces through the apartment.
"There's no pressure," Sean says assuredly.
"Sean, we should do this together; I think Dylan would want us to make sure he is laid to rest," she tells him. "I'm going to grab a shower, okay," she remarks softly.
Sean could tell she was keeping herself busy by making her way out of the room, yet he is aware he must be strong for his wife.
LOCKHART LAKE COTTAGE
Louise Saunders Lockhart stands over the countertop holding onto her iPhone in the amply sized kitchen of the residential cottage she resides in, contemplating whether or not to call to check in on Sean. She still recalls the exact moment she saw him and Tricia going into the ambulance carrying their baby, who died. It breaks her heart for not only her ex-husband but for Tricia too. She taps the specific number in her phone while exhaling, slowly putting the phone to her ear.
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After four long rings, she gets his voicemail. At first, she is going to hang up but decides otherwise.
"Sean, it's me; uh, I wanted to see how you were doing. If you need anything, please let me know. I'll talk to you later, bye."
She hangs up the phone as Tanner Lockhart enters the room, where she is about to hug her mother.
"How are you doing?" Louise questions her daughter.
Tanner had spent the night at home, not having the energy to drive back to her dorm on campus.
"I'm doing okay," she replies humbly. "I had gotten used to the idea of having a brother. Now I can't believe he's gone."
Louise places a supportive hand on her daughter's shoulder.
"Dylan knew you loved him, and I bet he loved you too."
"That sounds like what Presley said to me," Tanner says of her older pastor boyfriend.
"Is Lenny still asleep?" Louise asks casually about her other fraternal twin daughter.
Tanner places loose strands of her long brown hair behind her ears and shakes her head. "I went to check on her, but her bed has already been made up, and the Fiat isn't in the driveway."
Louise hopes her daughter is all right, wherever she may be.
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FRANKLIN FARM
Needing to get out of the house to get some air, Lynn Lockhart ended up at her family's farm, where she is a farmhand. She's in the barn, feeding hay to the cows. Not long after, she hears footsteps penetrating behind her; she looks up to see Sarah Lynn Saunders in a black long-sleeve North Face jacket and a pair of denim blue jeans.
"I saw your car parked outside, and something told me you would be in here."
Lynn crosses her arms over her chest while the older woman approaches.
"Hey, Grandma,"
From Sarah Lynn's well-meaning expression, she could tell she knew everything.
"I'm all right," she lies.
"Lynn Felice, you may fool some, but you can never fool me." Sarah Lynn observes. "So, if you are sad or angry, please let it out."
VICTORY COTTAGE
"Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of" by U2 plays on the Bluetooth speaker in Mala Gupta's home office. She goes over the blueprint for a new project under the Covington Group umbrella behind her desk. She then takes a pencil to carefully mark a specific notation on the draft when she hears ascending footsteps coming from the staircase. She soon witnesses Samuel Gupta stopping in the doorway, holding onto his duffel bag.
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"Hey, mom," he addresses her; "I thought you would be at the office by now."
Mala uses her phone to turn down the music significantly.
"I thought I'd work from home today," she responds steadily. "So, how was the trip?"
"I didn't get to see everyone, but Chicago is still the same."
Samuel attended a psychiatric medical conference in their hometown.
The psychiatrist sees the mood on his mother's face turn more solemn.
"Okay, what's wrong?" he asks, expecting to hear her describe his work trip in more detail.
Mala exhales decisively.
"I have some bad news to share with you. Sean and Tricia's son passed away."
At first, he assumed he had misheard but later discerned that he hadn't. "I don't get it; he wasn't sick or anything the last time I saw him, he was fine."
"Tanner told Aaliyah that it is likely that his death was caused by cot death, SIDS," Mala clarifies.
"I need to call her," he says urgently.
Samuel walks away from the office, which Mala wants to call out to him but realizes wouldn't accomplish anything at this point.
Samuel puts his bag on his bedroom floor as he obtains his phone from his coat pocket.
As he is about to dial the number, he knows a simple phone call to his friend going through hell wouldn't do. So, he puts his phone back into his pocket and cries out of the room.
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HOME FARM
"I can't remember the last time most of us were all together for breakfast." Daniel Covington declares joyously to his family members, who sit around the expansive table in the dining room inside the mansion of the Home Farm Estate.
"With everything that has happened, it's as good a time as any," Courtney Covington Sullivan sincerely remarks.
She had come over this morning to inform the family of Dylan's death and was invited to stay for breakfast. She hadn't been to the house in a long time since she now lives in her new home with her husband, Steven.
"It's tragic all around," Deirdre Covington replies sympathetically.
"No one should ever lose a child, especially in that way." Max Covington comments while taking a sip of coffee.
"I know Tricia and Sean are not exactly my two favorite people, but I would never wish that on anyone," Daniel says agreeably. He then turns to his only daughter. "And please tell them that if they need anything, it's at their disposal."
Courtney bows her head in appreciation, saying she'll tell them of his offer.
Shauna Covington swallows her freshly baked croissant before changing the subject. "Has anyone seen Jordan lately?" She hadn't been down for breakfast today or dinner yesterday.
Daniel and Deirdre exchange knowing glances since he is planning to drive her crazy, so Tommy obtains sole custody of Jeremy while the young woman leaves the property for good.
"Oh, I'm sure she will pop up eventually," Daniel says cryptically.
Meanwhile, upstairs in the house, Jordan McKnight is in bed, waking from her sleep. When she slowly lifts her head, she isn't sure what time it is. Despite going to sleep earlier than usual yesterday, she still feels like she could drift off for another hour or so.
Yet, when she opens her eyes, she can see sunlight peeking through the curtains.
Jordan recalls hearing multiple voices on Halloween night telling her she wasn't good enough and wasn't a good mother. So, she started taking more sedatives to help cope with the insecurities stemming from her postpartum depression.
She is about to turn over when she hears a respectful knock on her bedroom door.
"Who is it?" she calls out cautiously.
"It's me," Tommy Covington announces.
Jordan permits him to come in, which he does.
The young man is wearing a blue long-sleeve Henley shirt and brown pants.
"I know you believe in beauty rest, but it's overkill even for you," he teases while taking a seat on the edge of her bed.
"What time is it?" she wonders aloud.
"It's past eight."
Jordan gasps while looking at the screen of her iPhone, which displays the hour. "I didn't know it was that late."
He glares quizzically at the mother of his son and occasional sex partner. "You all, right? Because this isn't like you, Jordan."
She tries to grasp what's making her act unlike herself but knows she would seem crazy if she mentioned hearing voices to him again.
"All I remember was crashing early yesterday afternoon," she finally answers.
"So, you don't know about Dylan?" Tommy queries her.
Jordan runs her hand through what she imagines to be tangled blonde hair. "What about Dylan?" Jordan questions him curiously.
Tommy places his hand on hers, which she doesn't necessarily mind.
"I don't know how to say this, but Dylan died yesterday."
Jordan is wide awake now, if she wasn't before hearing the shocking news.
"What happened?!"
Tommy delves into the infant's cause of death, which makes her sad since she had recently seen him as she and her friend had agreed to get him and Jeremy together for a play date. Now, that would never happen.
"Tricia must be devastated. I'll give her a call."
Tommy finds himself giving her a hug, which Jordan accepts willingly.
FRANKLIN FARM
By now, Lenny is moving her head in uncertainty. "It's not like I was some doting big sister to him. I only saw him twice."
Sarah Lynn listens attentively to her granddaughter, who also happens to be her namesake. "Sweetheart, you're entitled to your feelings," she replies wholeheartedly. "It doesn't make you a bad person; trust me, I should know."
Lenny believes she is referring to Grandad Peter's death and how much pain her grandmother was in when he died unexpectedly.
"Grandma, I avoided him," she begins to sob. "I saw him as a reminder that Dad left mom, and I know it sounds petty as hell. Now I wish I hadn't let that stop me from getting to know him, but now it's too late."
While crying, Sarah Lynn wraps her arms around the petite young woman as she expresses her emotions.
"Let it all out," Sarah Lynn says encouragingly. "It's going to be okay,"
HOME FARM
After showering, Jordan changed into an Alice + Olivia grassy green puffy-sleeve crop top and blue jeans for the day.
Jordan goes into her son's nursery, where she sees his nanny Lillith playing with blocks with the baby on the floor on the ABC educational rug.
"Hi," she greets the red-haired woman. "I'm going to spend the rest of the day with him, so you can take the rest of the day off."
At first, Lillith seems taken aback by that statement due to Jordan's past when it comes to mothering, but since she has recently been more involved in Jeremy's life, she doesn't have much to say. After hugging the toddler goodbye, she makes her way out of the room, leaving both mother and son together.
Jordan gives Jeremy eye contact, noticing that he looks more like a blend of herself and Tommy with blonde hair and other features as well.
She takes a seat next to him on the rug.
"What have you got there?" she asks him.
He holds a red block in his hand. "This,"
"Yeah, I see. Hey, do you want to build something?" Jordan speaks softly.
The little boy nods enthusiastically.
Before they partake in playing, she lifts her son onto her lap. "I know I don't say this a lot to you, but that's going to change. I love you no matter what."
The baby looks confused but waves the block in his hand.
While they start building a tower with the blocks, she promises herself she won't miss more of his life than she already has, knowing there isn't always tomorrow.
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WHEELER BUILDING: APT # 424
Both Sean and Tricia return home in silence.
"You hungry?" Sean asks. "I can order something."
"No, I'm not hungry."
"You gotta eat something,"
"I just got done planning my two-month-old son's funeral, so food is the last thing on my mind." Tricia says somewhat harshly
Sean hears the pent-up anger rising in her voice, which has him going into their bedroom, feeling unable to help her.
Tricia remains near the kitchenette, dwelling on the memorial service, which makes her overwhelmed. So, when she hears the tapping on the door, she at first plans to ignore it, hoping that whoever it is will go away. But at the last second, she gets to the door, where she sees Samuel standing there.
"Hi," he greets her.
He steps inside the apartment as Tricia shuts the door behind them.
"I just heard," Samuel says.
Feeling overcome with emotion, she drapes her arms around him and starts crying.
"Whatever you need, you know I'm here for you," Samuel says wholeheartedly.
After hearing his wife's sobs outside and seeing her hugging Samuel, Sean opens the bedroom door; despite their history, he knows their good friends and can't help but think she's turning to him instead of him.
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If this episode's issue affects you, here is a link for support: First Candle: Committed to ending Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
END OF EPISODE
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ON THE NEXT EPISODE OF TOWN AND COUNTRY
Friends and family gather to say goodbye to Dylan.
Ernest makes a decision.
Will discovers that Emma lied to him.
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