Episode Report Card Niki: A | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT The Second Time Around
By Niki | Season 2 | Episode 22 | Aired on 05.01.2001
Grace is busy in her room, trying on her bridesmaid's dress and admiring the view in her mirror. She scoots over to the bed to grab her pile of regular clothes, and pulls Eli's hoodie from the pile, smiling to herself as she hugs it.
"What do you mean -- your mom's not coming to the rehearsal, or to the uh --?" Rick asks, as Lily continues flying around the living room. Lily relays the nonsense about storm warnings and then says, "That reminds me, your brother called. He asked me to recommend some lower-priced hotels because your mother couldn't afford the Wyndham." Rick gripes, "Well, of course they can't afford the Wyndham. Why would they stay at the Wyndham?" How much do you think the Chicago Wyndham slid these guys? Eli impatiently interrupts to ask whether they can get on with things. Lily says that she booked Rick's mother at the Wyndham. Rick protests that his mother can't afford it. Lily argues that she assumed they would pay for it. Rick says that he just assumed his mother would stay with them. "There's not enough room, Dad," Eli says. "There's almost no room for us," Zoe adds. Eli asks again if they can "do this." Rick snaps, "Hey! Show a little courtesy why don't you?" Lily reminds him that they're talking about his mother, and she thought he'd want his mother to stay somewhere nice. Then she reaches over and turns the knife in his chest three or four times. Rick, frustrated, asks if they can "just start this thing." He turns and bellows upstairs for Grace. "Why are you yelling at her? She didn't do anything," Eli protests. He offers to go get Grace. "Can I speak to you?" Lily quietly asks Rick, her voice strained with the effort of keeping it light.
Eli pops open the door to Grace's room, but he doesn't find her in there. He does, however, spot the letter from Wannabe enticingly spread on the dresser.
In the kitchen, Rick and Lily are having their "discussion." They yatter back and forth and over one another, Rick complaining that Lily's just been assuming everything, and Lily trying to defend herself by saying she just did what she thought he wanted. They're quiet for a minute, until Rick softly admits that it's not what he wants. He walks over to the fridge while Lily appears to deflate against the door frame. Rick opens the freezer and asks, "Why is there a hand mirror in the freezer?" Lily takes it, explaining that it's Zoe's. Rick turns his attention back to the freezer and pulls out a bottle of something clear. Apparently the moment calls for something a little stronger than his typical brewskie. "I thought you wanted a big wedding," he says. Lily says she thought he did. And then they get drunk and laugh about what a couple of asses they've been. Oh, wait -- only Rick gets drunk. He pours himself a healthy belt of vodka as Lily asks, "You know what's been lost in all of this? The reason." Phil steps in and grabs the mirror off the counter, as Rick agrees with Lily. She says she thought he needed it. He says that even if he did, he can't afford it. She admits that she can't either. The day before the wedding. They go back and forth a little more, going over their reasons for going overboard, until Rick wonders, "What are we doing? Why are we doing this?" Lily shakes her head and shrugs. "Your mom is not even coming," Rick says. "My brother's coming, and I don't even want to see him. We can't even rehearse this thing without some kind of fight breaking out. It's like we're --" "Idiots," Lily supplies. "Idiots! Exactly," Rick says. He looks at her sadly, but Lily can't lift her eyes to his. She mists up, laughing ruefully, and says, "I mean, if we can't even get though this!" She looks expectantly at Rick, waiting for him to reassure her. He just looks back. Neither of them says anything. He gulps vodka. In the background, Phil wafts up to the top of the cupboards and hides Zoe's mirror up there as the fairy dust tinkles in the background. He turns to look at the two lost souls in the doorway.