Episode Report Card Niki: A | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Experience Is The Teacher
By Niki | Season 3 | Episode 17 | Aired on 03.31.2002
Cut to the kitchen, where we're camped out in the refrigerator. Jessie yanks open the door just long enough for us to spy, from the butter dish, the quick kiss Jessie plants on Katie's cheek. Katie turns, and they peck each other surreptitiously on the lips. They toss a couple baggies of leftovers into the fridge, and the door closes. That's right, move along. Nothing more to see here.
So we head over to the living room, where Lily, Rick, and Zoe are playing cards in front of the fire. I don't know where Jessie and Katie are, but I'm sure you'll all be happy to use your imaginations. Zoe asks if Lily's syndication means they'll be rich. Lily says that it's only a meeting, and she's about to add another self-defeating comment, but loses her concentration when she sees the crap hand she's been dealt. Rick, impatient to get the gambling rolling, tells her to "quit stalling." She plucks a card from her hand and slaps it on the table. Delighted, Rick snaps it up. Zoe prompts Lily to finish what she was saying about syndication. Lily says she's not sure she even wants to be syndicated, saying it'll mean more work. "So...what?" Zoe says, not seeing the problem. "Well, I'm overextended as it is, right?" Lily says, looking to Rick to back her up. He tears himself away from his cards with a distracted "What?" Lily repeats that she's not even sure she wants to be syndicated. "Well, yeah, it would be a lot more pressure," Rick says. Lily snaps to attention: "You think I can't handle the pressure?" she demands. Rick backpedals furiously, but doesn't really get anywhere because he's clumsy enough to add that it's just a meeting, anyway. He says Lily shouldn't worry, since nothing may happen. Lily decides darts may be more fun than cards, and proceeds to shoot a few from her eyes. "So, you're saying they won't want me?" she asks. Rick, cornered, looks from her to Zoe, and tries to think of a way out. He stammers that he didn't mean...Zoe matter-of-factly informs Lily, "They're gonna want you, Mom." Lily turns on the wattage and smiles at her daughter, thanking her for the support. Rick, having had a second to formulate his sentence, says, "I just mean, why worry about these things until they become real? And if you don't even want this, then that's all right, too." Dispirited, Lily agrees and thanks him. She looks like she's about to say something more, but Zoe interrupts by slapping her cards on the table and crowing, "Gin!" She beams at the two of them, clearly no stranger to the winner's seat.