EPISODE 201
Written by: Bre L. Drew
September 12, 2022
Last Time On Town and Country
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Despite Tommy's best efforts, Tanner rejected his attempt at a reconciliation.
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Daniel enlisted Gabriella, the family's housekeeper, to drive Jordan mad so she would be out of their lives and leave Jeremy to be raised under their roof.
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Ernest was upset over Thora's filing for divorce.
HOME FARM
Jordan McKnight strides up the staircase of Home Farm, carrying a slew of shopping bags. She had just returned from the mall in Hudson Lake, where she purchased several clothing items for herself and Jeremy.
She enters her bedroom, which makes her childhood bedroom pale in comparison. It's not only twice the size but a queen-size canopy bed and features that would envy most of her friends, whom she has hardly had contact with since they graduated high school, as they're now on their way to finishing college.
She takes the sage green slip dress out of its bag, which she holds up on her in the full-length mirror, noticing how great a fit it will be.
Momentarily, the echoes of a baby crying get her attention. She sets aside the address on top of her bed. She strolls down the hall to her son's nursery so she can check in on him.
"You must be up from your nap," she says matter-of-factly.
But when she gets to the crib, she sees that her infant son isn't there.
J&M MARKET
This afternoon, most of the aisles at J&M Market were filled with shoppers. Amongst them is Thora McKnight, who pushes her cart down the cereal aisle. She moves toward the shelf that hosts the two brands of cereal on her handwritten shopping list. As a housewife, she had been accustomed to doing the shopping for her family for over twenty years. Nonetheless, over the last few years, it has become more of a task to be checked off on some mental itinerary. Though now going through the process of divorce and being a non-paying tenant in her son's home, it seems the task is now more of a hobby to clear her head of the emotions she has been feeling as of late. While she obtains the two boxes, she goes to her cart to place them in.
Another customer finds their way down the aisle carrying a store handbasket with items in it.
Their glares meet one another, unsure of how to approach the other.
Over the speakers, Annie Lennox's "Walking On Broken Glass" plays.
"If you would've told me that a few months ago, my wife and I would be shopping for different households, I wouldn't have believed them." Ernest McKnight remarks in a displeased manner.
The police chief is wearing a long-sleeve light blue plaid shirt unbuttoned, revealing a white shirt underneath and jeans. His dark blonde hair requires a trim.
"Hi, Ernest," Thora says politely. "Since you're here, we need to talk about the next step."
​
Ernest knows what exactly his estranged wife is aiming for.
"I haven't signed the papers yet. "I need a lawyer to go over them before I sign," he says hesitantly.
The blonde woman shakes her head, knowing when her husband is lying. You might be able to pull one over on your officer, but you know you were never good at lying to me. You forget that I've known you most of my life. "
"I thought I'd known you too, but being ambushed by some damn process server with divorce papers, Thora," he says loudly,
Ernest had received the papers at home, which made him so upset that he threw a beer bottle at the wall.
Thora repositions her purse on her shoulder. "We had this talk before. You know, our marriage is over. Please sign the papers so we can live our lives."
"Maybe I want to contest this divorce," Ernest admits
Thora, who had turned around to walk away, fixes her gaze on the man she had once been madly in love with,
Unknowingly, by now, customers were able to hear the disagreement from the next set of aisles. The store owner, Jai Gupta, is also speaking with an employee who also hears,
"On what grounds?" she asks. "You don't want me back as your wife; you want me back as the woman who cleaned and cooked for you while you went off to play cops and robbers. I want to be free from you. If you ever loved me, Ernest, you would sign the goddamn papers!" She exclaims harshly
Ernest is taken aback by the forcefulness of her tone since she is usually mild-mannered.
Thora feels tears coming out of her eyes as Ernest tries to reach out to her, and she slaps his hand away.
"Excuse me, is everything all right?" Jai questions the couple in his courteous manner.
"A private discussion," Ernest says casually.
"Respectfully, I'm going to have to ask you to leave, sir," Jai tells him. "You can check out what you have."
While Ernest is about to pull out his badge, he notices Thora is wiping tears streaming down her cheeks. He decides to depart, knowing that on some level he has caused this.
"I'm so sorry." I bet you think I'm some crazy person crying in a grocery store," Thora says while sobbing.
"Do I need to call anyone?" Jai asks nicely.
Thora sways her head. "No, that's all right; I just need a minute to myself,"
"I know this isn't any of my business, but it sounds like he isn't worth it," Jai says
Somehow, he manages to make her crack a smile through the despair.
THE CLIFFE
Emma Covington boastfully grins as she just got off the phone, booking budding music prodigy DJ Fingaz for the annual Halloween party. She managed to use some of her contacts to land him. Despite being booked and busy, she somehow managed to get him to come to the nightclub.
A hard tap at the door instantly gets her attention,
"Great, now I got to tell the staff to be on the lookout for the human embodiment of Pepe Le Pew," Emma says sardonically.
Jacques Laurent steps foot inside his former lover's office in grey suit and slacks that fit his statuesque frame quite well.
​
"Please don't be like that, Chéri," he responds warmly.
​
The Covington heiress gets out of her seat and walks towards the Frenchman, whom she once thought she was going to marry until she found out he was two-timing her to save his family's shipping company.
"What the hell are you doing here, Jacques?" She asks him "Shouldn't you be on a plane back to Paris?"
"Did you receive the bouquet?" He wonders aloud
Yesterday she got pink and creme flowers sent by him, which she tossed away, not wanting anything to do with him.
"Don't change the subject," she says vehemently. "When are you leaving?"
Jacques recalls that he is here at the behest of Emma's mother, who wants him to break up her latest relationship and that the result will be her giving him money to rescue his family's business from becoming extinct.
"You know, for someone involved with someone else, you seem to wonder when I'm leaving a lot."
Emma shakes her head, knowing where he is going.
"You think I'm not over you?"
"Your words, not mine,"
Emma looks towards the doorway where Will Jackson now stands, not hiding her distaste for seeing Jacques Laurent in the room.
"No need for introductions," Will says. "And I think you need to bounce. You have no business here with my woman."
Jacques glares at the shorter man, knowing who he is.
"I don't mean any harm. I'm simply catching up with an old friend.
"Now you have, so you can go," Will remarks. "Arrivederci."
Will isn't aware that he has misidentified his native language as Italian. Jacques smirks arrogantly while taking off.
"I hope he takes the hint and leaves me in peace," Emma tells him.
​
PRESLEY MCKNIGHT RESIDENCE
Presley McKnight goes over the sermon he will be reciting for this upcoming Sunday's service. The reverend corrects a misspelled word in the passage in the chair of his living room in the Victorian home he resides in, courtesy of the church. As the speech is coming together for him, the sound of the doorbell pierces throughout the house. He puts the tablet onto the coffee table when he looks through the door's peephole. He quickly unlocks the barrier and smiles at the sight of himself standing in front of him.
"Hey," he greets her.
Tanner Lockhart enters the house wearing a black zip-pocket blouse and a pair of blue jeans, carrying her purse.
"Hey, I'm not interrupting you, am I?" His girlfriend asks modestly.
"Not at all," he replies while kissing her. "I'm just finishing up writing my sermon for Sunday's service. You're still coming, right?"
He had invited her to attend the friends and family worship service.
"That depends," she says mysteriously
Presley leads her into the living room.
"Look, I know you aren't religious, so if I'm pressuring you, then you don't have to come. I won't be upset."
​
"No, that's not it," Tanner replies. "Uh, yesterday I did something that you might not like,"
​
Presley is then filled in by Tanner about her going to meet up with Tommy, who was still hellbent on reconciling.
"Do you still want to be with him?" Presley asks curiously.
Tanner sits beside him on the couch and moves her head to convey her response.
"Absolutely not; I told him I did not want to get back together. I can handle a friendship, but anything more than that, I'm not interested. I've been hurt too many times by him."
Presley knows his sister is involved in the reason why Tanner isn't with Tommy anymore since she has slept with him, but
Tommy is the one who ignored her when she was pregnant while keeping it a secret from his new girlfriend.
"You should've told me about this," he answers straightforwardly. "I would've understood that you needed closure, Tanner,"
Tanner takes a strand of her long brown hair and tucks it behind her ear.
"I know, but even before I got to the stables, I knew I didn't feel the same way about Tommy that I used to, and now I have moved on with an incredible guy who is right for me," Tanner states it wholeheartedly
Presley finds himself wrapping his arms around her as they begin making out.
The front door is unlocked as Thora brings in bags of groceries.
"Hey, Presley, I need your help with,"
She stops herself when she sees the two together in the living room.
Presley stops as soon as he sees his mother, which makes him blush.
"Sorry for interrupting," Thora says.
She feels slightly embarrassed since this is her son's home, and she is a guest, not wanting to disrupt him under his roof.
"Hi, Mrs. McKnight," Tanner says while smoothing out her shirt.
"Hello, Tanner," she replies genuinely. "Presley, I need your help with the groceries in the car."
Without delay, the reverend comes to his mother's aid, leaving Tanner with a slight chuckle, feeling like a horny twenty-something caught by a parent, which she realizes is what happened.
As the young reverend follows his mother to her car, Thora grabs a few more bags.
"I, uh, ran into your father at the store today," she tells him,
"You, okay?"
Thora lifted her head out of the trunk to see her son, figuring this wasn't the time or the place to get into it.
"I'll tell you about it later."
MILLER INN
Guests do their best to ignore the barrel of noise coming from the lower level of the Miller Inn as construction has begun on the ballroom, courtesy of the Covington Group.
Currently, the space, which at this juncture can be best described as an earthquake that came through, demolishing a significant percentage of the room. Courtney Covington Sullivan and Max Covington both examine the progress thus far as they both wear hard hats.
At least it's finally happening. Hopefully, we will remain on schedule, "Max says observingly."
"Well, we better because I do not want to give dad any more reasons to further demote us," Courtney exchanges.
Daniel had surprised the two of them by taking back the CEO position from them when he had taken a sabbatical when Emma was in the hospital in a coma. She was upset at him again for not giving them a proper warning beforehand.
​
"Look, I get it. I'm still pissed too at the way dad went about it, but there's nothing we can do, and anyway, the company is doing great, and that's because of us." Max's voice over the racket
A small part of her knows he is right, though she wonders if her brother was the sole CEO, would he have pulled the rug under him?
While Max sees Shauna in the corner of the room, Courtney strides out to get some much-needed serenity away from all the cacophony.
"Thank you very much, bye," Shauna Covington says, ending the call through the noise.
"How can you carry on a conversation with all this damn noise?" he asks his wife, who is also wearing a hard hat.
"Those were the people from that high-end furniture store in Hudson Lake. They will deliver the tables and chairs in two weeks, "she answers. "Maybe by then, this place won't look like it does now."
Shauna is one of the interior designers on the project who is working under Mala Gupta as the chief architect.
Max crosses his fingers at his wife's statement.
"I'm sure you thought I'd forgotten, but I haven't. "Happy Anniversary, baby," Max tells her.
Shauna's eyes light up at him, grateful that he recalls their wedding anniversary.
"Happy anniversary," she recites back to him.
Three years ago, the couple were married on the yacht in front of their friends and family. And despite their trials and tribulations, their love for one another has never faded.
"If we weren't working, we would rent one of the suites," he continues to whisper into her ear, making Shauna smirk naughtily, hearing what exactly he has on his mind.
​
***
Outside the ballroom, Courtney is relieved to be away from the noise.
Jacques walks into the entrance of the inn. When he is about to cross over to the elevator, he sees a beautiful, petite woman in a pink pantsuit. Changing course, he approaches her using his trademark charismatic smile.
"Hello," he says, in his strong French accent. "Are you here on business or pleasure?"
Courtney, who by now has acknowledged the attractive man in her presence,
"Actually, I live in town, but I'm conducting business at the inn,"
"Let me guess; you're a model." He chuckles smoothly
"Not even close,"
"What is your name?"
"Courtney," the younger woman answers swiftly.
"Do you use that line on everyone?" Courtney responds curiously
"Only on you. How rude of me. Let me introduce myself. I'm Jacques Laurent. "
As he takes her hand to kiss it, the flattering expression on Courtney's face alters into more of a defensive one, which he picks up on himself.
"What is the matter?" he questions her.
She quickly snatches her hand back from him.
"I'm the niece of the woman who you were planning to use for her money and familial connections, Emma Covington, and by the way, if we run into each other, do us both a favor and pretend you don't see me."
With that, the petite woman strides back into the noisy ballroom. Even though she and her aunt aren't close, she would never entertain befriending someone who uses people for their money.
Jacques, meanwhile, makes his way to the elevators. "Can't blame a guy for trying," he says to himself,
HOME FARM
Hastily Jordan tears out of the room after she doesn't see her son, whom she heard crying moments ago. Not looking where she is going, she nearly crashes into Tommy Covington, who places his hands on her arms to steady her.
"Hey, what's going on?" he asks the mother of his son.
Jordan catches her breath. "I had heard Jeremy crying, but when I went to the nursery, he wasn't there."
Tommy lets go of her slowly.
"I don't know who you heard because Jeremy isn't here,"
Jordan doesn't shield her confusion from her face.
"Lillith took him to his swimming lesson and then they went for frozen yogurt on their way back here." Tommy reminds her. "They left about thirty minutes ago."
"It sounded so real. I heard Jeremy crying."
"Maybe you're tired or thought you heard him crying from all the time you've been spending with him. "It's bound to happen," he tries to rationalize.
Jordan knew what she had heard, but she let it go for now since she didn't want to be considered crazy.
"How are you?" she asks him, deciding to change the topic of conversation.
Tommy exhales laboriously as that question weighs on him.
"Long story short, I blew things with Tanner."
Tommy goes into the story of how his romantic gesture yesterday didn't get the results he wanted, which was for him and his ex-girlfriend to be together again.
Jordan folds her arms across her chest.
"Can't believe I'm saying this, but maybe Tanner does have a point. If she can't handle it when someone makes a mistake, maybe she doesn't have what it takes to be in a relationship. And that's one of the reasons why I believe she and my brother won't last. He'll get bored with her "Virgin Mary" routine."
"Jordan, I get what you're saying, but I think you're the last person to criticize Tanner after everything."
The young woman throws up her hands in defeat, knowing he is referring to them sleeping together, ultimately ending his relationship with Tanner.
"All right then," she replies. "But I hate to see you put yourself through all these loops for someone who can't appreciate you."
Down the hall, near a potted plant, Gabriella, the family's housekeeper, puts her ear to her phone.
"Yes, Mr. Covington, it's workin', and she doesn't expect a thing."
​
END OF EPISODE
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ON THE NEXT EPISODE OF TOWN AND COUNTRY
Sean weighs his choices.
Presley advises Ernest.
Courtney informs Emma of her encounter with Jacques.
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