EPISODE 298
Written by: Bre L Drew
June 24, 2024
Last Time on Town and Country
-
Joel unexpectedly received a message over social media from someone from his past during his missionary days, causing Thora to examine her feelings for him.
-
Despite not taking the news of Jacques and Emma's elopement well, Daniel invites him to stay at Home Farm; however, his motives aren't altruistic since he is determined to keep an eye on the opportunist.
-
Shauna discovered during her heated argument with Max that he went to Courtney to persuade her to bring her back to Covington.
MCKNIGHT RESIDENCE
Thora McKnight carries a tray of two glasses and a pitcher of freshly made iced tea from the kitchen onto the coffee table of the living room of the rectory where she resides with her son.
The two-tone sound of the doorbell gets her to leave the room to obtain the door, already having a good idea who it is.
And as she opens it, her intuition proves to be correct.
Thora allows Joel Friendly to enter the Victorian manor,
"Hey, are you alright? Your call sounded urgent." the reverend in a dark blue Henley shirt and jeans says.
Thora told the reverend that she needed to see him as soon as possible, to which he said that he'd be right over.
"Sorry if I got carried away over the phone, but since you're here, can we talk?"
"Yeah, sure,"
The two friends walk into the living room, where she offers him a beverage, which he doesn't refuse.
While Thora takes the armchair, Joel sits on the couch adjacent to her.
"Look, I'm just going to come out and ask you this." Thora expresses. "The person who messaged you on Facebook the other day, is it a woman?"
But instead of a straightforward answer, Joel starts choking.
THE CHATEAU
Light piano music occupies the restaurant this morning as a handful of diners, including Jacques and Emma Laurent, are consuming brunch.
The two sit across from each other at their table while conversing whether or not they live at Home Farm as husband and wife.
While she had been by to pick up more of her belongings at the mansion, her brother had offered an invite for him to move in, even though she knew it wasn't from the goodness of Daniel's heart, sensing he and their mother were up to something to possibly rid him out of their lives since they were not happy about their elopement.
"I just thought I would bring it to your attention, but I know there is no way you would want to live under the same roof as my brother or, God forbid, my mother," she discloses.
"We should accept your brother's offer to move into Home Farm."
The Covington heiress nearly does a double take at her husband's reaction. "Come again?"
Jacques softly chuckles at his wife. "I know if your family had it their way, they would ship me back to France as soon as possible."
One of the main reasons the two eloped in Puerto Rico was that Jacques wouldn't be deported back to Europe.
"More like shipwrecked on Timbuktu, never to return," Emma adds.
"But we would have more space than we have now back at the suite, and besides, it would show them we have nothing to hide or be ashamed about, and they could see we have every intention of making our marriage work."
Jacques also considers that if Deirdre tries to pull anything, he will remind her that he's the one holding all of the cards, including her decades-long affair with Jimmy Saunders, and possibly Emma is the creation of that, of which he is aware a woman like Deirdre would never want it revealed.
"Okay, it's your funeral, then."
Emma devours her mimosa. "Though I would love to see my brother's face when he finds out you are now working at Covington."
Jacques managed to get a job at her family company, which at first surprised his wife. Though he remembers feeling lost since he had been wanting to pursue a professional opportunity,
"You see, you are already seeing the brighter side of it," Jacques proclaims in his distinct accent.
The college-aged hostess shows Will Jackson and Martha Saunders to their table.
Dressed in a blue and white floral sleeveless smocked square neck dress, the single mother peers over, seeing her dining companion's ex and current beau at another table.
Will notices his friend is looking elsewhere. But he finally sees what his friend is viewing.
He and Emma were together until Jacques managed to come in between them, resulting in her having sex with him.
"Ignore them," she tells him.
But Will decides to stroll over to Jacques and Emma while Martha dutifully follows.
The couple was finishing their meal when Will's voice suddenly caught their attention.
"I was beginin' to forget what you look like."
"Will, hi." Emma addresses her ex.
He hadn't seen her in some time, as he had been running the club single-handedly for some time now.
She also notices her nephew's wife's best friend standing near him.
"Well, there is a good reason for that," she notifies him. "Can we talk in private? It is something I need to tell you."
Jacques senses the connection between them and decides to do something about it.
"There is no need to be shy; they should both know I finally made you an honest woman."
The announcement initially makes Will shake his head, as Martha is also bewildered by it.
"Quit playin'," Will says heedlessly.
However, he spots the impressive diamond ring in Emma's hand.
COVINGTON GROUP
"I'm sure Mr. Laurent will find that office more than adequate. Just have someone from janitorial give a thorough clean a week before he starts."
Courtney Covington Sullivan speaks on her phone behind her desk in the large CEO suite located in the Covington Group on the twentieth floor of the Covington Tower in downtown Radcliffe.
She is speaking to an assistant from HR regarding the onboarding of her aunt's husband, whom she hired recently after assisting her with a demanding client.
She notices someone is trying to reach her on the second line, which gets her to conclude the conversation she's having so she can switch over.
"Hello," she answers.
She slightly exhales after hearing from Evelyn, the longtime secretary who is here to visit her.
"You can send her in; thank you, Evelyn."
As she places the phone on the receiver, Shauna Covington saunters into the office in a green draped high-low top, denim jeans, and a handbag underneath one of her arms.
Despite being sisters-in-law, the women aren't exactly close; however, Courtney decides to be considerate.
"So, how are you and my brother doing?"
Shauna tucks a strand of her neck-length, dark brown hair behind one of her ears. "We're doing much better," she tells her. "Max's doctor told him in a few weeks, he wouldn't need his cane anymore."
"That's great," Courtney says genuinely.
After a year of paralysis, Max had regained the feeling in both of his legs and had been getting around with a cane as of late.
"It is," Shauna replies. "After everything we've been through, we both are grateful to receive some good news."
​
"If you are here about my decision to bring Jacques to the company. I want to assure you that he's fully qualified for his position," Courtney remarks.
Shauna doesn't shield her bewilderment from her sister-in-law, thinking she came to her office to discuss with her Jacques Laurent of all people.
"I didn't even know he wanted to work anywhere," the interior decorator reacts. "Look, I don't know the man all that well, but from what I hear, he's a bit of a sleaze."
Courtney shakes her head, not keen on hearing this about the person who's become an acquaintance of hers. "I'd be the judge of that, and anyway, he's family now; besides, I believe he will be an asset here."
Shauna can hear the tension in Courtney's voice defending Emma's new husband.
"Well, since we're on the subject of family, I know that Max persuaded you to bring me back to Covington. And I wanna know if my services are no longer required."
MCKNIGHT RESIDENCE
"Oh my god, are you alright?" Thora asks concernedly.
She had been asking her friend if the person who contacted him on social media was a woman, which resulted in him swallowing his tea quicker than he should have.
His coughing starts to diminish, though his throat still feels clogged.
"I guess the tea went down the wrong pipe," he says while clearing his throat.
Thora waves her hands nonchalantly. "Just forget what I said to you before."
"If you must know, the person who contacted me on social media is a woman. But I want to know why you asked."
Thora ponders her true reaction.
​
Because I want more than friendship with you.
​
The barista quickly recovers.
"It seems whoever this woman is, she means more than you let on."
Joel leans himself forward while putting his hands together.
"The truth is, when we were doing relief work in Asia, we were involved at one time, but circumstances prevailed, and I hadn't heard from her since then until now."
"Are you going to reach out to her?"
She can instantly see the avoidance through his body, including his face.
"Why do I feel like I'm on the hot seat like a guest on a 90s talk show?"
"I'm sorry. I don't mean to get all in your business, Joel."
The reverend rises to his full height and then checks the time on his watch.
"I need to get going. I'm doing a premarital counseling session in about twenty-five minutes. I'll see you later."
Silently, Thora follows him to the door, where he steps out of the house.
When she shuts the door, she can't help but feel like she went beyond interrogating him instead of simply offering her friend the space to talk if he needed to.
​
COVINGTON GROUP
Courtney removes herself from the chair and walks toward the minibar to obtain a glass and a bottle of mineral water.
"Shauna, you must know that my being hesitant about you coming back here has never been done with the quality of your work. But don't forget that at the time, my brother was confined to a wheelchair for what could've been the rest of his life, and he needed someone to be there for him after everything our family was going through."
"Courtney, you make it sound like it wasn't someone in the family that wasn't responsible for the suffering because it was your father who gaslit Jordan that led to all of these sordid events."
The business executive turns around and gazes at Shauna, still seeing the pain on her face from what her father did that resulted in the loss of Max's mobility and her miscarriage.
"Look, I'm in no way trying to demean anything you all went through. I know what my father did was inexcusable, and it should have never happened."
Courtney takes a sip of water, while Shauna gives an agreeable nod.
"I'm just protective of my big brother. And I don't want him to feel neglected."
Shauna once again dwells on the sexual encounter she had with Antoine before flashing back to the present.
"And by the way, you still have your job whether or not you decide to take more time off or not," Courtney replies.
Shauna casts a thin smile of appreciation.
"I better get out of here, but good luck telling Daniel about you recruiting Jacques; I'm sure he will take that well." She sarcastically teases
The Covington daughter-in-law wanders out of the room, and Courtney remains on her feet.
"Oh, I'm going to need it," she says, thinking of her father not being fond of Jacques, let alone employing the man here even if he isn't head of the company anymore.
THE CHATEAU
Will gains enough composure to speak again.
"Y'all didn't waste any time, huh?"
"Will?" Emma intercedes.
Jacques observes the ex-con's stupefaction with their union.
He reaches over to grasp his wife's hand. "Well, when you are in love, you are in love," he boasts.
Martha rolls her eyes at that declaration.
"Well, good luck, 'cause' somethin' tells me ya'll both gonna need it." he scoffs.
And then she immediately heads away while Martha remains.
"You two deserve each other," Martha ridicules.
The bartender saunters away, leaving the newlyweds alone again.
Emma looks at her husband with vexation. "I wanted to tell him."
"He was going to find out anyway; why delay the inevitable? Oh, come on, he'll be fine. And anyway, the best man won."
Emma tries to move past her guilt, knowing she has hurt him once again, even though that was the furthest of her intentions.
​
***
Martha places her purse on the table as Will sits across from her, still obviously ticked off from the encounter.
She then obtains the menu in front of her. "Are we avoiding or venting?"
"Here, I've been bustin' my black ass runnin' the club while she goes marryin' that clown... You know what? Like I said, she ain't my problem no more."
In spite of his protest, Martha discerns that he still cares about her, even if he won't admit it.
"Let's talk bout' you. How are you and the doc doin'?"
"Well, better since all that stuff with Murray got cleared up, which I'm going to give a piece of my mind when he gets back."
"I expect nothin' less."
Martha produces an affiliative smile as Will peruses his menu, deciding to forgo any more talk of what just took place.
​
END OF EPISODE
​
ON THE NEXT EPISODE OF TOWN AND COUNTRY
Samuel and Aaliyah are elated over Jai's announcement.
Presley brings things to Joel's attention.
Tanner has a run-in with Jordan and Tommy.
​
Leave your thoughts here on the T&C forum.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​