Episode Report Card Niki: A | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Booklovers
By Niki | Season 2 | Episode 2 | Aired on 10.30.2000
Cut to Judy in the alleyway with Will, asking him if he's done this kind of work before. "Well, stuff like this," he answers. He briefly outlines his plans for the patio, which consist of clearing out the junk and stripping down a very cherry piece of vintage metal lawn furniture. Wow, Judy's really lucky that kind of "junk" was just left there. Will moves excitedly from pile of "crap" to pile of "crap," explaining with a single word what he'd like to do in each area and punctuating it with a "maybe." He looks a little nervous when addressing Judy directly. "Could you be done by Friday?" Judy asks. A huge grin spreads across Will's face, which means, I think, that he can.
Meanwhile, Lily's watching Crusty through the glass wall of her office. Crusty, it seems, has traded last year's Cindy Brady pigtails for a pair of Laura Ingalls braids. Don't get me wrong. If I could create two normal looking braids on either side of my head, believe me, I would. Unfortunately, I was not blessed with great dexterity, and one side of my head always looks good while the other looks like I let a ham-fisted four-year-old have at it. ["As niki can attest, I don't let that stop me. Heh." -- Wing Chun] Anyway, Judy pops out of nowhere, surprising Lily and me. Judy, it seems, has had a brilliant idea that just couldn't wait, nor could it be communicated over a telephone line: she wants Lily to ask Crusty to come to the book club's first night. She's convinced it's exactly what Pages Alive is about. Lily makes some really feeble excuses to put off Judy. Judy asks if Lily could maybe ask Crusty tomorrow. Lily hesitates some more. Judy says she wouldn't even ask, but she just really needs this to work, and right now is when she needs publicity. Lily forces a smile, says she'll ask Crusty, and watches Judy tear away. The second Judy's back is turned, Lily's smile vanishes. What the fuck is her problem?
We return from commercials to find that Lily has invaded the Den for Men and parked herself at Rick's desk, where she's bitching aplenty about her sister, claiming, "It's just like Judy to put me in this position." Okay, I can sort of understand why Lily might feel awkward about broaching the subject with Crusty for a few reasons: (a) if she were unsure of Crusty's situation, and was worried that suggesting Crusty check out a singles' group might somehow insult her; (b) actually, I can't think of another reason. Because if she's worried that the group will stink, all she has to do is make it clear that she has no idea whether the club will be any good, but it would mean a lot to her sister if Crusty checked it out. It would actually flatter her boss, who's feeling vulnerable at the moment, to think her presence may add something to the club's success. ["Plus, if Lily already knew when Judy asked that she wouldn't feel comfortable asking Crusty to cover Booklovers, she should have just told Judy in the first place that she didn't want to pimp her store, rather than stringing Judy along. Judy would have understood that a lot better, I think." -- Wing Chun] So Lily's bitching, and Rick is looking at a newspaper. He asks why Lily doesn't just tell Judy that she doesn't want to do it. Lily implies that honesty is impossible with a sibling, but Rick insists he always tries to be honest with his brother. "Yeah, well, not speaking to him probably helps," Lily counters.