EPISODE 291
Written by: Bre L Drew
May 9, 2024
Last Time on Town and Country
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Despite not having signed the divorce papers, Sean is determined to be there for Louise, Tanner, and Lenny by offering to be there more for them as he decides to take the next step in their relationship.
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Daniel gave Max some tough love as a result of the heated words exchanged between him and Shauna, telling him it was up to him to mend things.
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Also, Daniel's gaslighting severed the unity of the Covington's as Tommy moved into the guesthouse with Jordan and Jeremy and Courtney continues to feel alienated by Daniel for taking over the Covington Group.
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While drinking, Shauna and Antoine admitted they were tired of being lonely and gave into a night of passion as Max called her but was left unanswered.
THE WATERFALL BAR: JACKSON APARTMENT
Oh God!
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That was Shauna Covington's first conscious thought while opening her eyes. The tequila she consumed last night now leaves an aftertaste in her mouth.
Though not hung over, it's obvious she drank more alcohol than she usually does. Her worry then increases as she wakes to find herself not in the bed, she shares with her husband but in the bed of someone else entirely.
It then comes back to her that last night she had the worst argument she had with Max regarding the state of their marriage, including his paralysis and her miscarriage, and with nowhere else to go, she came to her childhood home and then started confiding in Antoine, who is not only one of her oldest friends but her first love too. Between the drinks and emotions, they wound up here, giving each other the comfort they had long desired.
Yet the morning after, she realizes what she did, and it begins to overwhelm her, so she gets out of the full-size bed.
Her moving stirs up Antoine Hall, waking him up as he is naked underneath. He covers, though the sight of an unclothed
Shauna entices him all over again, leaving a smile like the cat who got the canary.
"Morning," he addresses her, licking his lips.
"I can't believe... I can't believe we did that," she admits while obtaining her clothes.
"Yeah, me too," he says boastfully.
Though she wouldn't deny that being physically with him again after all these years wasn't good it was the most alive she felt since it had been months since she was intimate with Max, whose injuries rendered him impotent. Nonetheless, she acknowledges that betraying her vows wasn't exactly the right move either.
"I gotta get out of here," she proclaims while storming out of the bedroom to the bathroom to shower and change, shutting the door behind her as Antoine exhales, hoping that wasn't going to be her reaction the morning after.
HOME FARM
And just like his wife said to him during their heated argument, Max Covington did spend the night alone, and all he could do was playback all the hurtful things he said to Shauna.
It also made him determined to make amends with her since he got a reality check from his father, of all people. And even though he will never forgive him for his role in his paralysis and the loss of their child, he can see how perhaps he hadn't made things easy on her and their marriage. And he is now willing to do what he can to make things better between them.
As he maneuvers himself in his electric chair towards the kitchen to get some breakfast, he sees his grandmother pouring herself a glass of sparkling water at the mini bar in the same spot where, less than twenty-four hours ago, the argument and where he threw a glass occurred, though by now the remnants of it have been removed by the housekeeper.
Deirdre Covington turns to face her eldest grandchild. "For a second, I thought I was the only one in the house."
The older woman's copper-red hair is freshly trimmed and colored, and she's wearing a cobalt blue neck-tie quarter-sleeve waist dress with black pumps.
"I hate to disappoint you, grandmother," he says with trademark sarcasm.
He hadn't interacted with her since last year, but she remained supportive of his father when it was revealed he had gaslighted his sister-in-law.
The millionaire widow observes the tiredness on her grandson's face, noticing that he hardly slept. "Rough night?"
"I had better."
Deirdre then takes a sip of the mineral water. "Well, when I drove up last night, I did notice Shauna's car wasn't there."
"I do not want to get into it right now," he rapidly replies.
The older woman sighs unsatisfyingly at not getting an answer to what is going on with her grandson's marriage.
"You know what? I'm beginning to become fed up with all this division within this family."
Since Daniel's machinations had been revealed, Tommy moved to the guest house with his wife and son, while Courtney continues to feel alienated by Daniel for taking over the company and how Max and Shauna haven't had one meal with them in months.
"I wonder, why is that?" Max quips
He proceeds to observe Deirdre in deep thought.
"I can see the wheels turning in your head. What are you up to?"
Deirdre's tone becomes resolute. "Let's just say I'm not going to let this family come undone."
LOCKHART LAKE COTTAGE
The best of 90's pop music playing on Sean Lockhart's iPhone fill the kitchen of the Lockhart Lake Cottage this morning while he, along with his former wife and their grown fraternal twin daughters, surround the table eating breakfast.
Although unbeknownst to their girls, Sean spent the night here last night. Regardless, nothing intimate happened between them, and Louise decided not to let them know as he had set the alarm on his phone early enough to awaken him. He dashed off back to his hotel room, where he showered and changed, and then came back having made breakfast. This morning, they will find out whether or not treatment for Lenny's leukemia has been successful.
Louise notices her daughter hasn't eaten much. "I know you're nervous, sweetheart, but you should at least eat a little something," she says concernfully.
Lynn Lockhart looks up from her mostly full plate. "I'm not hungry."
Since she was sick, she hadn't had much appetite, not to mention feeling rundown and even vomiting, which are all side effects of chemotherapy, though she hadn't told her parents about the latter, not wanting them to see how sick she truly was.
Sean, Louise, and Tanner all exchange worrying looks.
Before any of them can say anything, the sound of the doorbell gets all of their attention.
"I'll get it," Tanner Lockhart volunteers.
The college senior departs the table to go to the front door.
Moments later, Tanner and Elijah Barker step foot in the room, and they all greet him.
"Want some breakfast, Elijah?" Sean offers
"Now, Mr. Lockhart, have I ever turned down breakfast from this house?" the college senior pronounces.
He takes a seat next to his girlfriend, and he plants a kiss on her forehead. He could tell how appreciative she was. "You know what this reminds me of?"
"Oh yeah," Tanner chimes in.
It had been a tradition in this household since they were young; they had breakfast together every first day of school until high school.
"And without fail, Mom would force us to take a picture before we left," Lenny adds.
"I have no regrets about that," Louise indicates.
"That seems like a lifetime ago," Lenny sincerely notes.
The rest of them trade expressions, hoping the results given today would go in their favor.
CONDADO VANDERBILT HOTEL: BILTMORE OCEAN VIEW SUITE - SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO
Emma Laurent becomes captivated by the scenic morning view overlooking the balcony of her hotel suite at the Condado Vanderbilt Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico, including the stretch of beachfront.
However, the scenery wasn't the only thing on her mind, recognizing that a part of her would always love Will since he had been the first guy who wasn't out to use her because of her surname or her money. He helped inspire her to get her nightclub off the ground and related to her as they are the black sheep of their families.
Though she is self-aware of being the cause of their eventual breakup by sleeping with Jacques over a misunderstanding, she is tired of being treated terribly by him. Even if, on some level, she knows she deserves it, she doesn't have to put up with it, hence why she is a thousand miles away in paradise as a newlywed.
She soon feels another pair of arms wrapped around her, instantly knowing who it is.
"Good morning, Mrs. Laurent," Jacques Laurent greets his new wife.
The two exchanged vows in a private ceremony at the registry office last night. Since time is of the essence for Jacques due to his immigration issues, they came down here to tie the knot.
"Morning," she says.
The two in their robes stand on the balcony in silence while taking in their destination. It also makes Jacques reflect on his coming across his suspicion that his new bride might not be Patrick Covington's daughter since he put two and two together, seeing her birth year, and then the piece of information he's blackmailing her mother over her affair with Esther Saunders' father over thirty years ago.
For now, he decides to keep it to himself, not wanting to use this information until it is warranted.
"I hate we have to leave tomorrow," she confesses.
"I know," he states. "But let's make this time here count."
The petite brunette walked around to her statesman husband and smiled.
"Skinny dipping wasn't enough?"
Last night, the two got into their private pool in the nude, celebrating their union.
"Oh, it was," he winks. "But how about we go into town and do a little sightseeing? I doubt Radcliffe, Kentucky, has all of the historic architecture and culture San Juan has."
"Will shopping be included?" she chuckles.
"It depends on if you play your cards right," he teases.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" she excitedly remarks
THE WATERFALL BAR: JACKSON APARTMENT
Now dressed in the same clothes she was in the previous night, Shauna is in the living room, checking her phone to see if there were any texts or calls, she missed when she was preoccupied.
Martha didn't text or call her back, which she isn't that surprised about since Martha isn't normally punctual when it comes to that, but seeing Max call last night provides more guilt in her chest for what she did, but she also doesn't know how to approach much of anything with her husband right now either.
Not long after, footsteps get the businesswoman to turn around and see Antoine in the same white tank and sweatpants he wore last night.
"Shauna, can we talk?"
Shauna places her iPhone back into her purse and puts it on her shoulder. "Thank you for everything last night," she quickly responds. "But, uh, I need to get out of here before my grandmother gets up and starts asking why the hell am I here?"
She then notices the tequila bottle and two shot glasses are still on the antique coffee table.
He comes over to put his hands on her arms to calm her down. "I knocked on Mae's door, and she ain't there, so she probably spent the night over Gus'."
Shauna knew her grandmother had been involved with the hospital janitor but had no idea their relationship had progressed into sleepovers, which starts to make her feel hypocritical since at least Gus and her grandma are single people, unlike herself, who had a sleepover with a man who wasn't her husband.
"Look, I know you have regrets about what went down last night, but I'm not goin' tell anyone; this stays between us," he says in his usual relaxed manner.
"Antoine, like I said, I appreciate you for all you did... I also can't ignore the fact that I'm a married woman who slept with another man."
She then holds up her hand with her wedding ring on it.
Another bone of contention between the married couples is Shauna's confiding their marital issues with Antoine.
Antoine scoffs while seeing the piece of jewelry on her finger, which he would never be able to afford.
"Remember, I tried to stop you from marrying Max?"
Shauna briefly recalls Antoine showing up the day of her wedding to convince her not to go through the ceremony due to his love for her, but she ultimately went ahead with the ceremony and didn't regret it.
By now, she saunters towards the door, which makes him go after her.
"You know he doesn't deserve you," he tells her.
"Well, right now, he doesn't deserve me either."
Antoine is about to say something else, but Shauna shuts the door behind him as he can see her heels going down the stairs.
"Damn!" he swears as he also takes in the shot glasses and tequila bottle and begins cleaning up, still with Shauna on his mind.
LA CASITA DE RONES - SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO
After sightseeing throughout the historic district of Old San Juan, including the Catedral Basilica Metropolitana de San Juan Bautista and Paseo de La Princesa, the newlyweds came to La Casita de Rones, a charming restaurant in the area, to have lunch while others were too on this warm and sunny afternoon.
"I never knew there was so much to do here," Emma acknowledges while taking a bite of her caesar salad.
"And I don't think we have scratched the surface," Jacques says while drinking sangria. "Though from those bags I said you did?"
Emma looks around her with her three shopping bags near her.
"Well, at least we can check off the mall in San Juan off our list."
A smile creeps onto his lips, seeing how happy and content she is.
"And Jacques, I want you to know that I didn't marry you solely because you were facing deportation; I really do care about you."
Jacques takes her hand and kisses it tenderly. "I know, and I promise you, I will never hurt you."
As Emma is about to return to her food, she can hear her phone vibrating in her handbag, which she retrieves.
"Here goes nothing," she says before answering. "Hello, mother,"
Jacques instantly looks up, hearing his wife on the phone with the woman who initially brought him to town to seduce Emma away from her ex-con lover.
"Emma, where are you?" her mother demands.
"I'm currently out of town, mother," she tells her.
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"When will you be back?"
"Why? Did something happen?"
"No," she says. "But I wanted the family to get together; I've had enough of the division between us."
"Well, I guess it's nice to know that you consider me part of the family," she says ironically, which makes Jacques briefly think she knew the truth.
"Of course I do," Deirdre says exasperatedly. "So, when are you coming back?"
"Uh, mother, you're breaking up. Emma starts making whooshing sounds. "I'll call you later," she says while ending the call, causing Deirdre to be bewildered on the other end.
"What was that about?" Jacques queries his wife.
"My mother requests my presence for some sort of concocted family meeting," she briefs him.
"Wait until she finds out her only daughter has gotten married."
"Would I be petty enough to tell my mother I got married without her? Oh, that's right, I am."
The brunette then gets back into her salad, deciding to continue her holiday with her husband.
HOME FARM
Grateful for the much-needed silence in the kitchen, Max consumes his cup of coffee, which keeps him from falling apart.
He contemplated texting and calling Shauna to check in on her, but he didn't want to overwhelm her and possibly cause her not to come home, possibly for a second night, as he gathers, she's probably staying out at the farm, seeking advice from Martha, or staying at a suite at the Miller Inn.
After generously sipping from the caffeinated beverage, he begins feeling a weird sensation in his right leg. At first, he ignores it since it's likely a reflex of sorts, though it doesn't dissipate, so he tries to put weight on it, and he soon realizes he's on his feet, albeit wobbly, to his amazement.
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END OF EPISODE
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ON THE NEXT EPISODE OF TOWN AND COUNTRY
Lenny receives her results.
Aaliyah is the one who gets a surprise in Chicago.
Shauna gets overcome with emotion.
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