EPISODE 254
Written by: Bre L. Drew
September 18, 2023
Last Time on Town and Country
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Things went down in Nashville at the music festival as Lenny discovered Aaliyah was the one who played the intimate video of Sean and Louise at Louise and Jai's engagement party, with them almost coming to blows.
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Meanwhile, the mysterious person Martha saw was her ex and SJ's absentee father, Murray Hirsch. Despite him asking about his son, she told him to stay away from them.
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The revelation of Daniel gaslighting Jordan caused him to be voted out as CEO of the Covington Group, including most of his family.
LOCKHART LAKE COTTAGE
FRANKLIN FARM: MAIN HOUSE
Chad Kroeger's unmistakably gravelly voice fills the 2007 Dodge Caravan; "Rockstar" by Nickelback is on the stereo, and the van is being driven by the drummer of Martha Saunders's band. Also inside the vehicle are Tanner and Lenny Lockhart, Elijah Barker, Aaliyah and Samuel Gupta, and Martha.
Presley and Lorenzo had already been dropped off at their respective locations.
They made it back to Radcliffe after making the two-and-a-half-hour drive from Nashville, where the band performed this past weekend at the music festival. Yet, it did not stop the drama from following them in various ways.
The van soon pulls in front of the residential cottage where the twins reside.
Lenny unbuckles her seatbelt as Elijah, who sits next to her, kisses her.
"I will call you later," he says to her. "See you, Tanner," he adds.
Tanner waves to her friend.
Meanwhile, Aaliyah, sitting in front of her, tries to give her a remorseful look. While on their weekend getaway, it came out that she was the one who played the video of her parents making out at the engagement party. Since then, Aaliyah has been receiving more silent treatment.
"Bye, you two," Martha says to her nieces.
"Bye," the twins said in unison.
"Say something, anything, Tanner," Aaliyah pleads.
But instead, she climbs out of the van and slides the door back, illustrating how pissed she is at the person she once considered her best friend.
The van soon disappears back to the main route.
They walk toward the door with their luggage, and Lenny uses her key to let them in.
Once inside, they start to feel more loose without the awkwardness they were experiencing on the road back to town.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm glad to be home," Lynn expresses with relief.
"You and me both," Tanner says, running her hands through her long brown hair. "I should've seen it all along; from day one, Aaliyah had been against Mom and Jai getting together. You were able to see it, but I didn't; maybe I didn't want to."
"Tan, don't be too hard on yourself," Lenny states. "It's Aaliyah who is in the wrong. She hasn't apologized for what she did. And I don't think she is going to either."
The sounds of footsteps make the twins notice Louise Saunders Lockhart coming down the stairs.
"I thought I heard you two; welcome back!" the older blonde woman greets her daughters by scooping them into an embrace.
A few seconds pass when they let go of one another.
"Are you guys hungry? I'm going to make some pancakes?" Louise notified them. "And then you can tell me what happened on the trip," she insists.
The fraternal twins exchange looks of apprehension.
Several miles away in town on the still brightly hot summer morning, SJ Saunders is intently coloring on drawing paper with his crayons at the kitchen table inside the main house on Franklin Farm. While Sarah Lynn Saunders watches her youngest grandchild nursing her second cup of coffee.
The front door unlocks itself, causing the widow to go to the kitchen door to peek to see who it is, although instinctually, she knows who it is, and when it's confirmed, she turns to SJ.
"SJ, guess what? Your mommy is home," she announces.
A sheer surge of happiness appears on the almost-five-year-old boy's face.
Instantly, he grabs the picture and runs out of the kitchen into the living room, where his mother and her boyfriend are.
When he's in close proximity, Martha scoops him up in her arms, even though he's gotten a little too old to be held. She's glad to be home and even more to see her son after the weekend she's had,
"I missed you, mommy," the young boy announces.
"I missed you too, bug," she responds.
Sarah Lynn followed into the room. "Hey you two! Glad to see you guys made it back in one piece."
"Oh, you can say that again," Martha responded heavily.
The little boy remembers that his mother's boyfriend is also in the room.
"Hey, Samuel," SJ greets the doctor.
"Hey, little man, how are you?" Samuel addresses his girlfriend's son.
"Good," SJ answers while the two exchange a hot five.
The psychiatrist turns to his lover. "Well, I better get out. Aaliyah's in the car waiting on me."
Samuel had left his car there over the weekend as the van dropped them off here, and Aaliyah wanted to wait in his car and avoid people at the moment,
"I will call you later."
The man and woman give a light kiss since SJ is still in her arms.
"See you later, Sarah Lynn," he said to her.
"It's always nice seeing you too," said the Saunders matriarch as he left the house.
"Mommy, I drew you a picture, but I'm not done."
"I'm sure I'm going to love it," Martha tells him. "Hey, can you do me a huge favor?"
"I guess."
"Can you go back into the kitchen to finish it while I talk to Grandma about something? But I promise when I'm done, we can hang out here for the rest of the day? How about that?"
"Okay," he says more excitedly.
She then puts him down as he is back on his feet, heading to the kitchen.
"I see he's still full of boundless energy," Martha noted.
"That he is," Sarah Lynn says agreeably. "How was Nashville? How did the performance go?"
Martha emits a long, deep breath. "I will tell you all about that later, but while I was in Nashville, you'll never believe who I saw."
Sarah Lynn gestures for her daughter to proceed to tell her.
Martha leans in closer to her mother so she won't be overheard. "Murray,"
At first, Sarah Lynn is about to ask why the name sounds familiar, but in second, the recollection of it causes her to be shocked.
"Murray? You mean SJ's father?"
HOME FARM
With a cup of coffee in his hand, Daniel Covington shuffles out of the kitchen inside the mansion on the Home Farm estate. Routinely, at this time, he would've been at the office. However, the result of his actions came to light courtesy of Jordan, herself at the company's board meeting, which caused him to be cast out of the CEO chair and in his place is his daughter Courtney, about whom he has mixed emotions. Although, a Covington is heading the business, her abstinence from voting contributed to his current unemployment.
Not to mention that most of his family is giving him the cold shoulder except his mother but hopes eventually they will find a way to see he didn't mean to cause them any harm, yet that's what he did.
While taking a vigorous sip of the hot beverage, the grand sound of the doorbell got his attention. He is about to call for Gabriella to tend the door when he instantly recalls that the longtime family housekeeper and co-conspirator had gone to do errands.
He sets aside his drink on the coffee table while heading to the door.
He instantly regrets being forthcoming enough to answer the door when he spots Ernest McKnight behind the threshold.
"What can I do for you, Chief?" he asks the law enforcement officer.
"You know damn well why I am here, Daniel," Ernest retorts while he enters the house.
The police chief wears a long-sleeved navy-blue shirt and dark denim jeans.
Daniel shuts the door behind him and then encounters Jordan's father.
"Did you think that because, legally, you can't be charged for what you did? I still won't read you the riot act for what you did to my daughter, Daniel?"
THE CLIFFE
Jotting down the exact number of vodka bottles on the paperwork on the clipboard, Will Jackson is behind the bar of The
Cliffe, which is empty due to it not being open for business until later in the day.
Going over a few more things mentally, the clicking of heels makes him look up to see Emma Covington sauntering in.
"Are my eyes deceiving me or are you here before noon?" the bar manager teases his lover.
The club owner is wearing a red satin sleeveless cowl-neck top, black leather pants, and pumps while holding onto her designer purse.
"Very funny, she replies good-naturedly. "I can also say the same about you."
Will writes something down on the sheet.
"Well, I thought I would get ahead of some things."
By the tone of his voice, something more is hindering him, which makes Emma say what is on her mind while she takes a seat at the bar.
"All right, what is going on?"
He sighs, realizing she has known him way too well in the last few years to know something is bothering him.
"You know that my momma is back out there datin'," he tells her.
"And?"
"This man she went out with' claimed he forgot his wallet, which my momma had to come out of her pocket to pay for dinner. I knew somethin' wasn't right about him."
He was told by his mother about her dinner with Gus, her first date in many years since his father's death. But he had given her reservations about her moving on, and it seemed he was right to have him.
The petite businesswoman crosses her arms over her chest.
"Feeling protective of my parents has never been a concern of mine, so maybe I'm out of turn on what is about to come out of my mouth, but I think Mae can decide whether or not this guy is worthy of her."
Will places the clipboard off to the side on the countertop, unsure how to take that advice.
"I feel like I gotta be like that; she's been through a lot with my pops dyin' and me going away. I feel like I owe it to her to be here for her now."
"I know I don't know her all that well, but from what I've seen, Mae Jackson is stronger than you give credit for."
Still skeptical of Gus's place in her life, Will changes the subject.
"Since we're talkin' about family, how's yours doin'?"
Emma smooths her hair, which consists of a high ponytail, with her hands.
"Everyone with sense in my family has been avoiding Daniel like the bubonic plague. However, his losing his spot at Covington does give me delight. But I know my brother is going to come back twice as hard to get his position back, and he will do anything or use anyone to do so."
During the company's annual board meeting, it was revealed that he gaslit Jordan into believing she was going insane, causing the board members, including herself, to vote him out as head of the company.
"Seems like Succession ain't got nothin' on y'all,"
Emma chuckles lightly. "That is why I've booked a massage at the spa at the Miller Inn this afternoon because all of this tension is not doing my body well."
Will licks his lips at her. "If you wanted someone to rub on you to get the knots out, a brotha could do it for you."
Emma raises her eyebrows with humor. "Don't quit your day job,"
FRANKLIN FARM: MAIN HOUSE
Now, mother and daughter sit adjacently from one another in the living room, as Martha has filled Sarah Lynn with memories of the interaction she had with her one-time fling.
"Mom, I thought I would never see that man again, but, of course, with my luck, I did, and not only that, he actually asked about SJ. I mean, can you believe that?"
Sarah Lynn, who is sitting in the green wingback chair, nods attentively.
​
"Talk about the unexpected, but maybe just maybe Murray does want to know about SJ. I mean, he is his son after all."
Martha doesn't shield her surprise at her mother's response, since five years ago, when she was pregnant, her mother was the supportive one, while her late father was the one who was hesitant about her being a single mother without a man in her life to help.
"I don't believe it. After five years of ignoring SJ, you think he cares all of a sudden?"
​
"I'm not on anyone's side," Sarah Lynn says defensively. "But it's been years, and as you told me, it sounds like he's gotten his life together, and perhaps he's seeing the error of abandoning SJ. Martha, it's ultimately your decision.
"Damn right, it's my decision, and Murray Hirsch will never get to know my son and then break his heart."
​
Martha gets off the couch and grabs the handle of her suitcase near the stairs.
"All I'm telling you is to put SJ's well-being ahead of whatever you're feeling." Sarah Lynn advises.
"What do you think I've been doing for the last four and a half years? I'm going to take this to my room and spend time with my little boy."
As Martha heads up the stairs, Sarah Lynn leans back in her chair.
LOCKHART LAKE COTTAGE
The Saunders-Lockhart women are having breakfast at the kitchen counter bar, conversing about what went down in Nashville.
"I still can't believe that she purposely ruined your engagement party, all because she wanted her parents back together." Tanner relays
"And don't forget she has it out for mom," Lynn contributes.
Louise takes a bite of her flapjack, forming an expression that suggests she should take offense to that statement.
"What occurred with your father and me does fall partly on me, so I will take that responsibility for what happened."
Over the weekend, the farmer got some adequate time to think about how she should proceed after the video of her nearly naked making out with her ex-husband, seen in front of her friends and family at what was supposed to be an event honoring she and her fiancé moving forward together.
Tanner takes a sip of her orange juice, reluctantly bringing this question up, but does so anyway. "So, Mom, where do things stand between you and Jai?"
Louise puts a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. "I've decided to give him all the space he needs for now, but one way or the other, we're going to have to talk; but our time together is likely over, and I'm going to have to take the blame for it."
"That's very mature of you," Tanner vocalizes.
"Yeah, what she said," Lenny agrees while using a napkin to wipe her mouth.
"And I think this weekend also helped me make a decision too," Tanner says meaningfully, causing Lenny and Louise to take her seriously.
"I know that this is my senior year at Sampson, and I already know the deposit for the dorm I'm supposed to share with Aaliyah is already paid for, but I want to live here this year and commute instead."
"Are you sure?" Louise asks. "I know what Aaliyah did was dubious, but I don't want you to fall out with her because of what your father and I did."
Tanner sets her fork on top of her plate.
"Mom, I don't think I can share the same space with someone who deliberately went out of her way to embarrass you because she didn't make her fantasy come true with her parents. And it will give me time to be here with you two before I start vet school next year anyway."
Tanner is adamant about attending veterinary medicine school after graduating from college.
"Well, this is unexpected, but if this is what you want, it's fine with me, and it's still time to get the deposit back. Besides, it will be great to have you around here full-time for one more year."
Louise gets up and warmly wraps her arms around her brunette daughter.
There is so much on her mind, including Sean being out of town and her relationship in question with Jai, yet Louise is holding onto what is most important to her and those in this room.
HOME FARM
Daniel retrieves his coffee while Ernest continues to confront him over gaslighting Jordan.
"Say what you've got to say," Daniel says nonchalantly.
"Men like you make me sick. You use your power and influence to get what you want, which eventually screws up everyone else in your way." Ernest expresses himself wholeheartedly.
Also, in his scheme, he blackmailed Jordan's psychiatrist, Dr. Pierre Toussaint, who initially was treating her for postpartum depression, into helping him drive her out of her mind by giving her an overdose of sedatives, which caused her to do that.
"I don't need a lecture, especially from you," Daniel tells him. "You're hardly father of the year yourself, so you can lose the Father Knows Best act."
For years, Ernest's relationship with his living children hasn't been solid, which falls on him with his disapproval of Presley's vocation and Jordan becoming pregnant at nineteen.
He places a hand on his hip while maintaining his focus on him.
"Yeah, sure, things with my kids aren't the best, and I admit that's my fault," he confesses. "But at least I can say I'm not indirectly responsible for taking the life of an unethical doctor and endangering the lives of my children."
Daniel takes another sip of his coffee before responding, knowing he is referring to Max and Shauna, who suffered the loss of their unborn child, and Max's use of his mobility due to Jordan being out in the middle of the road to get away from the horror she had suffered because of Daniel.
"Whatever I did was for Jeremy; that boy deserved to grow up without a mother who loses it every time things become too much for her."
"Bullshit!" Ernest scoffs in disbelief at the mere mention of their shared grandson.
"It wasn't bullshit when you came to me because you couldn't afford to put Jordan at Stonecrest."
Ernest exhales roughly at how smug Daniel's coming off right now in this moment.
"Which brings me to why I also dropped by," he nods. The cop takes a folded slip of paper from his pocket, which he hands to Daniel, who gives it regard as he unfolds it.
"I may not be CEO anymore, but I assure you it will never come to the point where I need a handout," Daniel mocks.
Daniel tries to resist showing anger towards Daniel's aloofness.
"That is me paying you back since Thora and I didn't have the full amount to cover Jordan's seventy-two-hour hold at Stonecrest."
"You don't have to do this."
"I couldn't go on living without owing you anything," he responds.
"Where did you get the money?" Daniel queries. "I doubt that a police chief in this neck of the woods can come up with this total easily."
Ernest scoffs at his conceit.
"I sold my house."
Ernest finally accepted an offer on the sale of the ranch-style house where he resided with his family for many years until his divorce from Thora.
Daniel holds onto the check as Ernest moves to the door, which Daniel follows behind.
"As I said earlier, you're lucky that somehow you aren't going to prison. But it would've warmed the cockles of my heart to see you get what you deserve."
Quickly, Daniel closes the barrier by refusing to hear any more of the man's assertions.
Daniel shortly hears movement from the grand staircase. He notices they belong to Tommy Covington but once he reaches the bottom of the stairs, his youngest offspring is carrying two duffle bags in each hand.
"Is this the rest of your... wife's belongings?" He manages to stop himself from insulting the young woman in his presence.
"No, these aren't, they are mine. I'm moving out," Tommy informs his father, which results in Daniel becoming speechless.
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END OF EPISODE
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ON THE NEXT EPISODE OF TOWN AND COUNTRY
Daniel tries to reason with Tommy.
Emma has an unforgettable experience.
Samuel attempts to get Aaliyah to think about her actions.
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