Episode Report Card Niki: D | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT A Dream Deferred
By Niki | Season 1 | Episode 6 | Aired on 10.25.1999
Cut to the bookstore and a folk-say montage that's intended as a little comic relief. The gist is that Rick has the place in a state of chaos, customers are confused (customers? I thought they never had customers), and Judy is less than thrilled. The big finale? No, not the old swinging-two-by-four-in-the-face gag, although it certainly would not have been out of place. Judy gets her skirt snagged while helping Rick and tears off the bottom half of it. "We have to talk," says a pissed off, fed-up Judy to Lily in the back office.
Cut to a neon coffee cup -- oh, the irony! -- beyond which Lily and Judy sit at a sidewalk table, their hands wrapped around coffees-to-go. Judy hesitantly informs Lily that Ian the director has offered her a job, and suddenly the thought of making those crappy cable commercials is appealing. Lily questions Judy's decision, and an argument ensues. Judy basically accuses Lily of being selfish (go Judy!) and points out that everything about the bookstore and everything else, for that matter, is how Lily needs it to be. Lily, fueled by righteous indignation, bitches that she covered for Judy while Judy took a six-week vacation. Judy's first vacation in six years, as Judy points out. Oof. Good point. Changing gears, Lily smiles and shakes her head condescendingly, asking, "Are you bored?" She then goes on to accuse Judy of being a flake. Calamity Judy pouts and says that the "store's not big enough for the two of [them]." Lily disagrees. Judy insists that Lily needs support, and then levels the blow: "One thing I know about you is that you always have someone to support you." (Sing it, sista!) Lily looks stunned but still manages a stink-eye, which is no mean feat.
Apparently, Lily decides that it would be a good idea to visit Rick and check on the progress at the bookstore in her pissy, post-argument state. She walks in and surveys the damage while a saw whines off-screen. She moves toward the saw, and when Rick sees her, he proudly asks what she thinks and leans in to kiss her cheek. Lily moves past him, coldly, and then proceeds to bitch about him barging in and taking over. She tells him that she can't afford the coffee bar, and she didn't ask for it. He says that she did. She says she didn't. Rick gets indignant, and Lily wisely shuts the hell up and reflects on all the crap she just spewed. She apologizes, and then starts crying and says that she has to go home. Rick watches her silently, looking concerned.