EPISODE 290
Written by: Bre L Drew
May 8, 2024
Last Time on Town and Country
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After the intense argument between Max and Shauna, Max began taking out his frustration on Daniel.
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Jai and Mala both gave sound advice to Samuel, while the psychiatrist began to suspect his motives as Murray and Martha got reacquainted.
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As Lenny nervously awaits her results, Sean promised that no matter what happened, the family would be there for her, which Louise agreed with.
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With nowhere else left to go, Shauna ended up at her grandmother's apartment, with Antoine there, willing to listen.
HOME FARM
Despite wanting the housekeeper to immediately remove the shards of glass on the floor in the expansive living room of the mansion where he and some of his family reside on their estate, Daniel Covington is fully aware it isn't a good time, as his eldest son is once again taking out his anger on him.
"Maxmillian, I know there is no point in denying it; I know I'm largely responsible for the problems you and Shauna are having."
"And here I thought I would never live to see the day you take responsibility for anything you have done." Max Covington says sardonically
Daniel had gaslit Jordan into believing she was losing her mind so she would be considered an unfit mother, which would result in Tommy receiving full custody of their son Jeremy; however, it also caused Jordan to take off with the little boy on the same night, Max and Shauna were heading to the cabin for a getaway, though Jordan lost Jeremy and was standing deliriously in the middle of the road. Max swerved his car into the ditch, which made him unable to walk, and eventually, Shauna miscarried their baby.
"I have also noticed throughout the years that we share a lot of commonalities."
That admission makes Max use the lever on his motorized chair to remove himself from his father.
"Did you get in the bourbon in your office upstairs while planning world dominance?" Max remarks sarcastically.
"I'm serious," Daniel interjects. "We are both headstrong and stubborn as hell, and we also do not like feeling we do not have any control over our lives."
Max remains quiet, as he would not verbally agree or disagree with his father's observations.
"Next, are you going to tell me why those are the reasons why my wife took off?"
"I didn't say it," he notes. "You did."
THE WATERFALL BAR: JACKSON APARTMENT
From the moment Shauna Covington was thirteen, she aspired to achieve what her mother Cassie did by seeking a way out of these four walls of the humble apartment above her grandparents' bar, where she lived most of her life.
Although, unlike her mother, she wouldn't use wealthy men to fund her lifestyle like she did or neglect her child to do so, she would use her intelligence and creativity, which stemmed from devotedly reading various architectural magazines and seeing how the other half lived.
However, she learned something else that wasn't on those magazine pages: that the other half's exterior didn't match their picturesque interior and that sometimes a better zip code didn't mean happiness or security, which she has come to learn.
Presently, Shauna is sitting on the sofa in the living room of that humble apartment, needing to be somewhere distant from everything relating to that estate after having the most intense argument she ever had with her husband.
Antoine Hall comes out of the kitchenette with a bottle of tequila and two shot glasses in his hands.
He then sets the glasses on the antique coffee table and pours the liquid into each of them, passing one to her.
"Tequila?" she asks with hesitation.
"Drink up," he tells her.
She braces herself while consuming the potent liquor and then coughs a bit, feeling the temporary warmth of it going down her throat.
"Sorry to dump all of my problems on you," she says.
"I don't mind," he casually remarks. "I'm the one who should be sorry."
"What do you have to apologize for?"
"If I hadn't rolled up to your office, you and Max wouldn't have gotten into it."
Shauna sighs deeply while still holding onto the empty glass in her hand.
By now, Antoine has taken a sip of tequila.
"You know, before today, I could count on one hand all the times Max and I got into it, usually after a day or two; we would be all right, but I don't think we are coming back from this one anytime soon."
"What went down?"
"Let's just say all of what he's been holding back is finally out in the open about his deep-seated inadequacy as a man, somehow thinking I blame him for the accident, which is further from the truth," she discloses. "And then he confessed that he went behind my back to persuade Courtney to bring me back to Covington, and I dunno, it seemed he took pleasure in hurting me."
"And what you say back?"
"I told him that I'm tired of how he was letting his condition make him bitter and that he could spend the night alone," she apprises him. "I don't have anywhere else to go." Well, that's a lie. I can always drive out to the farm to bunk with Martha. Or get a suite at The Miller Inn, which I should do because' I refuse to go back to that house tonight."
"You know drinkin' and gettin' behind the wheel isn't a good idea," Antoine advises.
Shauna grabs the bottle off the table and pours more tequila into her shot glass.
"Well, I guess I can always sleep in my old room," she suspires
She then scoffs while Antoine takes another sip of liquor.
"What?" he asks.
"Since I was, I don't know how old I've wanted to escape from here, and now it's the place I've come back to. My life is a shitshow," she says while tossing back the tequila.
LOCKHART LAKE COTTAGE
About forty-five minutes ago, laughter and conversation took place outside on the patio of the lake cottage as the Saunders-Lockhart clan had a small impromptu barbecue. However, remnants of that are now recollections and leftovers in the refrigerator.
Louise Saunders Lockhart is washing dishes in the kitchen inside the cottage while Sean Lockhart steps back inside from taking the trash out. He walks up from behind her as she is also drying dishes and putting them on the rack beside her.
The farm manager reaches out and begins massaging her shoulders.
"That feels good," she admits over the running water.
"You're tense," he informs her.
"Well, no surprise there,"
Having to run the farm while wondering if Lenny's chemo is actually helping to destroy the cancerous cells in her body is a lot for the late fortysomething woman.
Realizing she's done with the washing, she turns the faucet off as Sean moves some of her golden blonde hair out of the way and kisses the nape of her neck.
"Sean, I know what you are doing."
"Good," he says in between smooching.
Despite feeling aroused, she pulls away, causing Sean to huff in impatience.
"What if Lenny or Tanner walked in?"
Sean places his hands on his hips. "Well, I very much doubt it since Lenny went to bed early and Tanner is in her room, probably texting Presley. And anyway, it's not like we hadn't been intimate out of wedlock before."
Louise turns to him with a serious countenance. "You know, darn well, why we haven't, Sean."
Legally, Sean is still married to Tricia, and even though his current wife had an affair when he was initially married to Louise, she didn't want the same thing happening in reverse, even though they had gotten close to doing it last summer.
"Look, I will get around to signing them. It's just hard for me to do so."
"Is it because you still have unresolved feelings for her, we need to have another conversation altogether."
"It's not that," he remarks. "I will always love and care about Tricia. We've been through a lot, including losing our son, who was way too young, but when I sign, it's like I admitted I failed another marriage," he finally acknowledges.
Noticing the emotions on his face, she decides to tread more lightly than before with him.
"Sean, if we're going to consider getting back together, then you need to cut those strings in your marriage to Tricia altogether because it's not healthy being in limbo for all of us," she says to him. "Look, I'm not trying to tell you what to do or anything like that, but we all deserve a fresh start and to move on with our lives, including Tricia."
He nods empathically, recognizing his own fault in the breakdown of his marriage.
"I think I know how we can move into new territory without crossing the line."
"And what's that?"
"I want to spend the night."
VICTORY COTTAGE
"It's never done, is it?" Jai Gupta chants.
He and Mala Gupta were on the couch in the living room of the cottage, where she and their adult children reside.
"What is never done?"
"Parenting," the grocery store owner reveals. "Between Aaliyah's single-mindedness and Samuel's issues with Martha and her ex. I'm glad we were at least able to get through to them. Well, we tried anyway."
"Tell me about it," she responds in agreement. "But it also proves we still make a great team," she adds.
Silence falls over them a bit before Mala can get his attention again.
"What is your intention for our relationship moving forward?"
"I love you," he starts. "But I think you know what the next step should be, but I'm not going to pressure you into it, so for now, we take it as it comes, like you want, okay?"
Mala tucks a strand of her dark brown hair behind one of her ears. "Well, when it does come, I don't want what happened to us to transpire again. Because we are way too damn old for all of that again."
The two had been married for years until they separated and eventually divorced, despite being involved and, in Jai's case, engaged. But they have come to find out that no one else understands them like them, which resulted in them getting back together.
He takes her hand and gazes at her reassuringly. "We've both hurt each other in the past, but Mala, I think all this time getting to know each other again has taught us we're for keeps. Now, what's on the agenda for the rest of the night?
The architect gets up from the couch and smiles coquettishly at him.
It doesn't take long for him to follow behind her to express their affection for one another upstairs in her bedroom.
LOCKHART LAKE COTTAGE
"Are you out of your mind?"
Those were the words coming out of Louise's mouth when she heard her ex-husband suggest that he spend the night.
"Get your head out of the gutter, Lou," he teases. "I'm talking about a platonic sleepover, and in the morning, I get up and leave, go back to my hotel room, change, and come back and make breakfast before we go to the hospital, and the girls would never know."
Louise walks around the kitchen, mulling his idea over.
"I don't know," she eventually emits.
"I know what I did all those years ago hurt not only you but our daughters, and I will always be sorry for it, but let me try to make it up for it and be here with all of you now."
"All right," she says lowly. "But remember, this is platonic, and the only thing that will happen upstairs in our bed will be sleeping," she states.
A humorous expression creeps onto him. "You said our bed?"
Louise realizes her error and shakes her head. "You know what I mean," she remarks good-naturedly.
"Yeah, I do," he answers sensibly. "And Louise, we're going to get through all of this," he reassures her.
Tomorrow morning, they will find out whether or not the chemotherapy is destroying enough of the cancer, as she is fighting leukemia.
"I hope so," she says while he embraces her.
HOME FARM
"Have you been studying psychology now during your unemployment?" Max asks mockingly.
Last year, Daniel was voted out as CEO of the company by the board due to his actions coming to light courtesy of Jordan herself.
Daniel places his hand in his pants pockets, unfazed by his son's frequent use of sarcasm. "Be a wiseass all you want, but instead of trying to mend things with your wife, who has been putting her own life on hold to help you get through the biggest hurdle in your marriage, you're here going back and forth with me instead."
"I refuse to take any advice from the man who took everything from me."
Daniel places his hand in his pants pockets, unfazed somewhat by his son's frequent use of sarcasm. "Be a wiseass all you want, but instead of trying to mend things with your wife, who has been putting her own life on hold to help you get through the biggest hurdle in your marriage, you're here going back and forth with me instead."
"First Antoine tells me I'm not man enough for Shauna, and now you are telling me I'm a selfish asshole."
Daniel sets his jaw, contemplating his response. "I regret my actions that led you to lose your child and for you to be in that chair, but that doesn't give you a free pass to act like an entitled jerk, which you have been doing for months. That young man who first came here six years ago and wanted to make a name for himself wouldn't even recognize this shell of a man he has become."
Max came to Radcliffe after working months on a cruise ship, wanting to gain independence after his mother, Keri, passed away.
With that, he moves toward the kitchen to tell the housekeeper that their services are needed. While Max sits there pondering for a few seconds before reaching for his phone from one of the compartments on his electric chair, he is pondering his next move.
THE WATERFALL BAR: JACKSON APARTMENT
Shauna sets the glass on the coffee table and lays her head against the sofa while Antoine gazes upon the girl he has loved since they were teenagers.
"Guess the grass ain't always greener on the other side, huh?" he vocalizes
"Antoine, have you ever looked at your life and asked how the hell you got to this point?"
"Yeah, sometimes," he readily answers. "I've been spendin' more nights alone than I'm used to."
"I know what's that like," she denotes.
Antoine pours himself another shot. "Seems like we both had some lonely nights."
He had known from conversations with her that she hadn't been satisfied in her marriage or as a person since the accident.
"But if you were my woman, you would never feel alone."
Shauna can hear the sincerity in his voice and decides to change the subject as she starts to notice his muscular arms, which seem to have gotten more noticeable.
Thanks for listening to me go on and on. I know the last thing you want to hear is my problems."
The bar manager licks his lips towards her. "There ain't nothin' I won't do for you, Shauna."
Shauna looks down at her wedding ring on her finger. "Do you mean that?"
"Yeah," Antoine nods.
Shauna moves into kissing him, which he starts to reciprocate, but he pulls back."
"You sure you wanna do this?" he says, trying to catch his breath.
Shauna looks at the bottle and then glances at him with measurable desire. "I don't want to be alone tonight," she says candidly.
It doesn't take long for the bartender to stand up to his full height and reach out her hand, which she takes as he leads them to his bedroom.
Meanwhile, inside Shauna's purse, which is on the armchair beside the couch, her iPhone vibrates from inside as Max tries to get in touch with her, but he gets her voicemail, and he ends the call, knowing what he needs to tell her shouldn't be left on there.
In his bedroom, they're both removing articles of clothing from each other while sensually making out, falling onto his bed as their limbs and mouths intertwine in symmetry, fulfilling their needs of not being alone for one night.
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END OF EPISODE
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ON THE NEXT EPISODE OF TOWN AND COUNTRY
Shauna and Antoine assess the morning after.
Deirdre sets out to reconstitute the Covington's.
Max is in for a shock.
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