EPISODE 252
Written by: Bre L. Drew
September 4, 2023
Last Time on Town and Country
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Various reactions occurred to the intimate video of Sean and Louise shown at Jai and Louise's engagement party, as a devastated Jai let his feelings be known to not only Louise but to Sean as well, whom he punched, as well as telling Tricia about the video too, causing her to be furious at her husband.
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The altercation between Mala and Louise almost became serious before Samuel and Martha intervened.
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As Aaliyah is the culprit behind the video being shown, hoping it would reunite her parents, Lenny assumes she is behind it.
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Martha and her band had been invited to perform at the music festival in Nashville at the end of the summer.
DOWNTOWN NASHVILLE: NASHVILLE MUSIC FESTIVAL
Two vehicles, consisting of equipment and people, made the two-hour journey on I-65 from Radcliffe, Kentucky, to their destination in Nashville, Tennessee, earlier this morning. This weekend will be about hanging out together as the last hurrah before summer ends and seeing the various performances at the annual music festival, which incorporates Martha and her band on the lineup to perform on both days.
Barely having enough time to drop their belongings at their motel and do some freshening up before having to leave again since Martha and her bandmates would be performing in the afternoon in the heart of the city's downtown, where various restaurants and bars were receiving extra business while a multitude of venues for food and gift shops were several people in every corner of the area on the brightly sunny afternoon.
Lynn Lockhart, her fraternal twin sister Tanner Lockhart, and their boyfriends Elijah Barker and Presley McKnight populate the first row in front of the bandstand.
"I know we promised Aunt Martha to come to see her, but I feel bad for leaving Mom on her own like that," Tanner admits candidly.
"I do, too," Lynn says in agreement.
The sisters initially were not going to go. But their mother insisted they go as her engagement party to Jai ended, with the video of her and their father making out being showcased to everyone at the hotel ballroom, causing so many awkward and heated encounters that night.
"I know the situation is terrible all around," Presley says. "But there's nothing you can do about it but be there for your parents no matter what goes down,"
"Yeah," Elijah replies amicably. "You two deserve to have some fun, so how about we get some drinks, non-alcoholic, of course, and have a great time?"
"He's right," the reverend agrees.
While Tanner nods, Lenny can't resist taking the sneaking suspicion off her mind while casting her gaze at the bandstand.
"I mean, if the person who captured the video is here acting like nothing happened, why should we feel bad about doing so our damn selves?"
Elijah shakes his head at his girlfriend's assumption. "You don't know for sure that Aaliyah did it."
"Well, I'm just gonna have to do something about that," Lynn proclaims.
Nearby, the band and Martha Saunders pose for pictures as Lorenzo Vidal snaps them using his iPhone since he's in charge of the band's social media content, even if it is in the sweltering heat.
"1, 2 Many" by Luke Combs, featuring Brooks and Dunn, plays on the outdoor audio poles.
"Okay, one more, but this time, Martha, do something more dramatic," he instructs.
"Like this?" Martha asks while gesturing her arms like an actress from Old Hollywood as the guys behind her show their admiration.
"That's it!" Lorenzo says, while taking the photo,
"And that's a wrap!" Lorenzo calls out while Aaliyah Gupta, who had gotten a raspberry margarita from one of the stands, is wearing a black Lilly Pulitzer crop top and skirt with her purse on her shoulder.
The band dashes off as Martha gives her boyfriend's little sister a look, wondering if she is behind the video of her sister shown; since it hasn't been a secret, she wasn't keen on them getting together.
"Nice to see you too, Martha," Aaliyah says, moving her head. "It's bad enough that the ride here was virtually silent; hardly anyone is speaking to me too."
"Can you blame them?" her boyfriend tells her.
Aaliyah sighed deeply at that comment coming from her own boyfriend.
"Louise and Sean are the ones who should be getting this kind of treatment, not me."
Lorenzo wipes beads of sweat off his forehead while he places his phone in his pants pocket.
"No one is arguing that, but you humiliated not just Louise but your dad too; just imagine what he must be feelin'," Lorenzo indicates.
Aaliyah takes a drink through the straw, needing this to get through the next forty-eight hours.
WHEELER BUILDING: GYM
With intensity, Jai Gupta uses both of his gloved fists to spar on the punching bag inside the residential gym in the apartment building where he resides. He's thankful he is the only one in the room at the moment, as working out is helping him to deal with the embarrassment from the past week after finding out that the woman he thought was going to be his wife was hiding the fact she came close to having sex with her ex-husband. Yet it didn't stop their private interaction from being broadcast in front of their friends and family at their engagement party.
He keeps focused while Q-Tip's "Vivrant Thing" plays on his AirPods in his ears.
He hadn't noticed the door opening or the person entering the room until the person lightly tapped him on the shoulder, causing him to turn around to see who it was.
Mala Gupta wears a sleeveless dark blue blouse with black slacks while holding onto her purse.
"How do you know I was here?" he asks her.
"I first went up to your flat. But after a few knocks on the door, I gathered you were down here. I still remember that when you are stressed, you like to go to the gym and work out your pent-up anger healthily."
Jai tilts his head as he pulls out the buds from his ears. "Well, you wouldn't have said that night I decked Sean.
"You're joking?" She asks incredulously. However, the expression on his face doesn't alter.
She had known him for a very long time, so his being physical with someone was out of the blue for someone who is usually laidback.
"I had it out with him and jabbed him in the face. I know it's petty, but I don't feel bad about it."
Mala notices how good his biceps look through his tank top as he takes a towel from his bag to put around his neck.
Secretly, her attraction for him has been redeveloping for a while now, but she knew she couldn't act on it due to his becoming engaged to Louise.
Regardless, she is not aware of where his relationship stands with the other woman.
"Since we are being honest, after you vacated the inn when everything went to hell, I gave Louise a piece of my mind."
Jai raises an eyebrow at the mother of his children. "Don't tell me you weren't too hard on her."
"Well, I let it be known; she was completely out of line, which Louise did not take well, but before it got out of hand. Samuel and Martha stopped us."
Jai grabs his bag off the bench. "So much stuff is running through my mind."
"I'm always here for you; you know that," Mala says assuringly.
"How about we go to my apartment and order some takeaway? I can use the company."
"Lead the way."
The exes depart the room.
DOWNTOWN NASHVILLE: NASHVILLE MUSIC FESTIVAL
With a larger audience, Martha sings soulfully, while the band likewise puts their all into the various instruments, adding additional vocals on stage for their original song. "Heartbreak Paradise"
It might not be the place that you wanna come to.
But it sure beats the hell out of being with you.
We're done, and I'm heading to a paradise far away.
And once the song concludes, a wave of applause seems to give her encouragement, not even imagining five years ago that she would ever receive this reception from a crowd.
The lead singer is sporting a green halter vest and matching colored trousers, and her shoulder-length brown hair hangs. She holds the microphone in her hand, which shows the plastic Wonder Woman ring she promised her son SJ she would wear for good luck while performing as he is at home with her mother and aunt.
"Thank y'all for coming, and if you enjoyed what you saw here today, come back tomorrow because you're going to get that and even more, and again, give another round of applause to the most hardworking men in the business."
Continuous clapping and cheering from people such as Antoine Hall and Shauna Covington, who also came with them,
"Now that girl, got some pipes on her." The bar manager says to his first love and good friend next to him.
"No denying that," Shauna concurs.
Antoine turns to face her good-naturedly. "And just to think you were going to miss it,"
Shauna had reservations about leaving Max at Home Farm since he didn't want to come to the festival because of his paralysis, although she could see why he would feel that way with having to navigate in his chair through the crowd.
"Well, I'm glad I didn't. I just hate that Max is missing it, though."
Antoine manages not to roll his eyes at her husband being mentioned, even though he knows he shouldn't have this reaction.
"Are you hungry?" he asks her. "I saw a taco stand where it was packed, so you know they got some good grub, or has livin' at Home Farm made you like fancy shit like caviar and champagne?"
Shauna beams mischievously at her friend. "I see you're full of it as always; come on, let's go," she says as she playfully swats his arm.
The two then walk off, deciding to congratulate their friend later as they head to get some food.
It didn't take long for Martha to leap into her boyfriend's arms when she got off the stage. The two kissed passionately, not caring if anyone was staring at them.
"You kicked ass!" Samuel exclaims excitedly. "You're amazing; you know that, right?"
"I know," she says teasingly. "But you can say it again."
She is still in his arms for a few seconds, and while he sets her back on the ground, she spots a guy far enough in the back, who at first, she doesn't dwell on until he turns around, causing her to feel a bit uneasy. And although he sees her, the two hardly make any more contact, hoping she won't have too again.
"Are you okay?" the psychiatrist asks her concernedly. "Look like you just saw a ghost."
"Yeah, I'm fine," she finally says. "How about we go get some food? I'm starving like Marvin."
She quickly holds her lover's hand as they make their way to one of the restaurants in the area, attempting to put who she saw out of her mind.
LOCKHART LAKE COTTAGE
Louise Saunders Lockhart sits on one of the middle steps of the staircase of her residential cottage.
For the last week, she's been experiencing several emotions, mainly guilt and hurt for being unfaithful to Jai and Sean. It also didn't help matters that she had her indiscretions shown in front of her friends and family at her engagement party.
She feels ashamed that she hadn't wondered who got the video of it in the first place. Though it doesn't take much to figure out whoever it is, they hadn't wanted their union to happen, and she can only think of one person who had been that dead set against it, who also happens to be the same person who made it known how much she wanted her parents to get back together.
But despite wanting to reach out to him, she knows he needs time to calm down, and she understands she would make it worse if she had.
As she looks down at the beautiful engagement ring on her hand, a part of her believes she should take it off since it's more than likely they won't be together again. Yet she couldn't bear to take it off since it meant she failed in another relationship. This time, it's greatly on her because she had started to delve into giving into her sensations for her ex-husband, so much so that she stopped them before they had sex upstairs.
While Louise runs her hands through her long blonde hair, the text notification chime from her iPhone gets her to pick up the device on the step below.
Hope u r all right 🙂
She gives a half smile when she sees it's from Lenny, who's away with Tanner and their friends in Nashville for the weekend.
Her girls have been her rocks through this difficult time.
She quickly types in return.
I am. Have fun! ❤️
Although it wasn't exactly the truth, she wanted to reassure her that she would be fine eventually.
WHEELER BUILDING: APT #303
Jai and Mala sit beside each other on his sofa in the living room of his third-floor apartment, conversing while eating Thai food and consuming white wine while an earlier season rerun of Law and Order: SVU is on television.
"I must admit this is becoming the highlight of my week," Jai proclaims.
Mala devours some of her sweet and sour soup with prawns. "You know what? I think this is mine too."
An appreciative smile from Mala makes Jai grin even more than he has in some time.
"Thanks again for being a much-needed ear," he replies wholeheartedly. "But I bet you're sick of me going on about my life.
Mala takes a sip of wine before responding.
"It's no problem, although it isn't any of my business, but do you have plans for any type of reconciliation with Louise? I know what she did is wrong, but you love her, and we all know when that emotion is in play. Things become quite complicated."
The market owner takes a deep exhale. "You're right; a part of myself will always love her, but I think our time together is done."
"I'm sorry,"
"Oh, don't be," he says while drinking the rest of his wine from his glass. "And I will be fine. I swear I will not fall apart."
As he eats some of his rice, Mala couldn't help but stare at him, recognizing how handsome he had remained throughout all the years they had known each other, including his strong jawline and his favorite cologne, which had been reapplied since coming back from the gym after he took a shower.
Mala leans into Jai, pressing her lips against his as friction ignites. However, she pulls back, realizing she is taking advantage of the situation.
"I apologize, Jai; I do not know what came over me," she remarks in her British accent.
Jai, who looks somewhat confused at her action, licks his lips, tasting the savory and sweet flavors in her mouth.
"I can count how many times you were, let's call it, forward with me; it just caught me off guard, that's all."
"Was it too much?" she queries, knowing her feelings for him might've affected their immediacy. "We don't have to mention it again; we can chalk it up to a momentary lapse in judgment."
When she attempts to view Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni cross-examining a criminal in the interrogation room on the screen, suddenly she is held as Jai kisses her. But this time, none of them pulled away from one another.
The burst of desire overcomes them. And shortly thereafter, the two leave their Thai food on the coffee table, heading towards the bedroom.
END OF EPISODE
ON THE NEXT EPISODE OF TOWN AND COUNTRY
Jai and Mala deal with the morning after.
Louise finds herself being confronted once more.
Martha faces the person from her past.
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