We open with Grace, Wannabe, and Eli walking down the sidewalk. Each of them is clutching a giant lollipop -- you know, the kind no one ever buys, but television always uses to signify "young" and "fun." And that's what they're going for here, I assume. Grace and Wannabe briefly link arms and skip along, Wannabe laughing like the developmentally challenged simian that she is. Grace tries really hard to be as lighthearted, but she's too smart to totally pull it off; it seems a little forced, somehow. Grace voice-overs: "I mean, I know why it started. It started because we both wanted to spend time with Carla. So now we're all kind of friends." Wannabe twirls and grunts like a baboon, which is her approach to laughter. I have no idea why any of this is so funny. Then again, I have more than eight brain cells. Anyway, Wannabe twirls her way onto the street, much to the horror of Eli and Grace, and much to the soaring hope of your bitter recapper. "Splat!" I yell, wishing as hard as I can. But alas, the television gods are not smiling upon me, and two cars screech to a safe stop just short of knocking the little asshole out of her stupid Jordaches. Yeah, the same ones she's been wearing in practically every freaking episode since we first encountered her. I know she's supposed to be broke, and it's a nice authentic touch on wardrobe's part, but enough already. We know she owns at least two other bottoms -- mix 'em up a little. Wannabe brandishes her giant lollipop at the cars as if it's a stop sign, and moronically giggles her way to the opposite sidewalk with nary a scratch. Goddammit.
We see the merry band in a card shop, where Eli zooms in on a rack of mushy cards, Grace zeroes in on a rack of seriously bad, outdated sunglasses (they're not even cool in an ironic way), and Wannabe focuses her attention on stuffing her seventies ski jacket with all the candy it'll hold. Grace notices this bit of petty larceny in the sunglass rack's mirror as she tries on a pair of horrifyingly owlish, pink-framed shades. And Wannabe isn't even sneaky about her theft, either. She just stands there, smirking and stuffing cello-wrapped cupcakes or some crap down the front of her coat. The wrappers crinkle so loudly I can't believe no one is noticing. Grace turns around, and suddenly, Wannabe is right behind her. Grace is understandably uncomfortable and wants to skeedaddle.
Out on the sidewalk, the three enjoy the spoils of Wannabe's criminal pursuits. Well, she and Eli do. Grace declines the hot goods. Wannabe affectionately comments that Eli eats just like a little boy. At least he closes his mouth to chew, Monkey Girl, which is more than anyone can say for you. Wannabe holds an unwrapped Hostess cupcake and asks Grace whether she's started "that Edgar Allen Poe thing." Grace says she has, and that Wannabe can read it. "Bless you, my child," Wannabe says, patting Grace's head with the cupcake. She takes a big bite of the confection, then realizes she already has gum in her mouth, thereby confirming that she is, inarguably, dumber than ass. And then she caps it by voiding the contents of her gob into the cupcake wrapper. And Eli will still, inexplicably, want to put his tongue in that mouth. "Where's the trash?" Wannabe asks. I think everyone knows the answer to that one, don't we? She hops off the bench and tosses her wrapper in the general direction of the garbage can. Grace mocks her for stealing but being morally opposed to littering. Wannabe makes some irritating free-spirit remark and starts to stroll away. Grace retrieves her wrapper, which fell way short of the can, and tosses it in.
Wannabe offers Grace a "snack cake." "I'm not eating stolen snack cakes," Grace declares. Eli likes the way that sounds and says that "stolen snack cakes" sounds like it should be the name of something, "like a song or something." Ah, the poet stirs. Wannabe tries the "what would you do if you were starving" approach, but Grace hangs tough. Wannabe tempts Grace one more time by letting her know it's the last cake. Eli makes a move for Wannabe, unzipping her jacket suggestively to see if she's lying. Wannabe assures him, "The cupboard is bare." Just like that last nerve of mine she keeps tap-dancing all over. Wannabe suggests that the snack cake company is "probably" destroying the rain forest. Grace wants to know what she means, but Wannabe's too busy getting busy with Eli to answer her. Grace, literally caught between the two slobbering boobs, shrinks back against the bench and looks miserable.
"Hey! Hey listen, don't kill me," we hear Lily say. She's on the phone at her office, talking to Rick at his. He notes that that's a nice greeting and asks what she means. She repeats her plea, adding that she forgot about dinner. From Rick's bewildered reaction, it's clear that he did too. Lily reminds him: apparently all of them were supposed to have dinner together, kids included. True to form, Lily admonishes, "I can't believe you forgot this." Lily says that she's too swamped to do dinner because she's helping Graham with something (remember him? D.B. Sweeney's character from "Scribbling Rivalry"), and Rick is surprised to hear it. She explains that Crusty has "sort of loaned [her] out" to Graham. "You're a favor, now?" Rick chuckles, but you can hear the jealousy in his voice. Lily has to go. Suddenly, she's really important at PagesAlive.com, and she rushes off the phone. Rick is left hanging and bewildered. Isn't he always, though?
Jessie, meanwhile, is hugging her knees and staring blankly at Dr. Wise-ass, who reaches for a glass of water on his side table and then swallows it very loudly. His throat sounds drown out the ticking of the clock. Jessie continues to stare.
Her Soliloquy Self interjects disgustedly: "Just the way he sips his water. He swallows and you can hear it. Then he wipes his mouth and --" Jessie is too overcome to go on. She shakes her head, as if trying to shake the image right out of it. She adds, "Just that look on his face like he's so open-minded."
Back in the office, Dr. Swallow finishes gulping his water, sets the glass down carefully, and looks at Jessie. She says, "You're wearing house slippers!" and doesn't sound impressed. "Yep," he answers, levelly, and cocks his head. The clock tick tick ticks, heightening the sense of discomfort. The phone rings. Dr. Wiseacre doesn't move an inch, even after Jessie asks if he has to get it. He just shakes his head and continues looking at her. She's not getting off the hook. "So what now?" Jessie finally asks. "'Cause I have, like, nothing to talk about." She waves her hands for emphasis. Dr. Immobile just looks at her. Jessie squirms. "I mean, I know you think I do," she says, "but I really don't." Dr. Impassive raises his eyebrows a touch. "I've been eating," Jessie volunteers. "Like, a lot more." The clock ticks. The eyebrows waver. "Don't you believe me?" Jessie asks. "Why wouldn't I believe you?" he immediately counters. Jessie looks like she's biting back a response, and looks away instead.
The juvenile delinquents invade Rick's place, laughing hysterically again. Carla tosses her jacket on the floor, and Grace complains as she picks up after her. Grace suddenly seems to register where she is -- The Boyfriend's house. She stares, mystified, and takes it all in. Wannabe grunts (laughs, whatever) from the top of the stairs and beckons Grace to follow her.
Lily, meanwhile, races to grab the ringing phone on her desk. It's Rick, apologizing. Lily draws a blank. He reminds her about dinner and offers to reschedule for the following night: dinner at his place, "offspring included." "That did it," she answers, by way of forgiving him.
Wannabe throws open the door to Jessie's room, and Grace follows her inside. Wannabe flops on the bed like a pro and begins pawing at Jessie's stuffed animals. I have no idea why Grace is following Wannabe into this room; I'm waiting for her to protest over the obvious invasion of Jessie's privacy, but oddly, she doesn't. "Don't you wish this was your room?" Wannabe asks, clutching a unicorn. "No," Grace says defensively, "Why?" Wannabe says, "It's just a really...innocent room." Well, it was until you rubbed your skanky ass all over the bed. Wannabe loses interest in the unicorn and moves on to snooping in Jessie's bedside table. "Carla, we shouldn't invade her privacy," Grace finally protests, albeit weakly and while spraying some of Jessie's perfume. Eli finally comes on the scene and tells them to go to his room. He grabs Wannabe by the hand and starts leading her away. She turns to Grace and says mockingly, "Eli thinks we're in looooove." Oh, shut up, ass. He echoes my sentiments, but he's kidding, as is demonstrated by the dose of tickles he lays on Wannabe. Grace looks suitably mortified. Wannabe tosses Eli onto the bed and says with faux anger, "No means no!" Oh ha ha. Rape jokes are really funny, aren't they? Sweet fancy Moses, I hate this character. If that was the writers' intention -- congratulations! Mission accomplished and then some. Eli offers Grace a drink, which she immediately accepts (I could use one myself -- make it a double) then immediately declines, probably because she's too self-conscious about the whole thing. Wannabe spots a training bra hanging from a peg on the back of Jessie's door and pulls it out for everyone to see. "Look! It's like miniature!" she says, with false wonder, somehow overlooking the fact that she's not exactly sporting a full rack herself. Then her ADD really kicks in, and she loses interest in the tiny bra, flings it at Eli, and spots a pot of glitter on Jessie's dresser. She excitedly offers to "do Eli's cheeks." I hope she's referring to his face, but one can never be sure with this skeeze. Uncomfortable, Eli asks if they can "leave this room, please?" "Hey, your little sister's sexy -- deal with it," Wannabe tosses out. Grace is stupefied. "You really think Jessie is sexy?" she asks. Wannabe indicates a photo on the dresser and tells Grace to check out "that face, that body." Can I just interject and point out how twisted it is (and I'm sure this is a point the writers are intentionally making) that a pubescent girl with an eating disorder is considered a model of sexiness, rather than poor health? Oh, and Wannabe's an idiot. That is all. Eli and Wannabe stand in the doorway, giggling and feeding each other (they really are nauseating), and Grace hangs back, taking a closer look at Jessie's picture. She glances from it to their little mating display and pipes up that she'd like a drink after all. No one cares.
Grace heads downstairs, where she dejectedly throws her bag onto the floor near the kitchen. She moves to the fridge, takes a breath, and then opens it, staring inside. Then she's running up the stairs again, but when she hears Monkey Girl's baboon laughter, she stops at the landing and turns back, rolling her eyes. Looks like she just can't get comfortable in her skin. Sighing, she flops on the stairs and props her feet on the wall. Then, conscious of her footprints, she immediately moves them and dusts at the paint job. Nice contrast to Wannabe, isn't it? She notices a photo on the ledge behind her, and grabs it for a closer look. Then Wannabe's annoying laughter breaks the silence again, causing Grace to roll her eyes and return the picture to its spot.
Cut to Grace hesitating outside the closed door to Eli's room, where she cocks an ear and listens to Eli and Wannabe having what sounds like a nice time. She smiles faintly and raises her hand to knock, but then she realizes she's actually hearing the giggly sounds of sweet, sweet monkey love. Her smile disappears fast, her hand drops away from the door, and she runs with the terror she should. Instead of fleeing the scene entirely, though, she heads to Jessie's room, where she plops down on the side of the bed and restlessly drums her fingers. Man, I remember being in Grace's shoes. I had a friend in public school who, actually, was a lot like Wannabe and who developed a little faster than everyone else, and I'd have to wait for her to finish making out with the pre-pubescent flavor-of-the-week or tag along with her dopey little boyfriends, and feel like a complete freak and like the only person ever who didn't have a boyfriend. And there's really no point to that except to say, been there and it sucks. Not as bad as having the reputation my friend acquired in short order, though, so there you go. Anyway, Grace continues contrasting with Wannabe, brushing off the shoe prints on Jessie's bed and smoothing out the wrinkles, then hanging up the tossed-aside training bra. She moves to the dresser again, taking another look at Jessie's picture. She glances from it to her reflection in the mirror beyond, and doesn't look satisfied with what she sees. She grabs the pot of glitter and begins unscrewing the top, never taking her eyes from her reflection. Just as she's about to dip her finger in the goo, Wannabe's voice grates through the silence, asking where Grace is. Flustered, Grace closes up the glitter and calls, "Be right there!" She replaces the glitter on the edge of the dresser, and the camera zooms in for a close-up as Grace leaves the room. After a second, an arm juts back into the frame to snatch the glitter off the dresser, and we head into commercials. Which gives us just enough time to ponder -- the hell? Grace stealing? ["And was it Grace?" -- Wing Chun] And then -- Dharma & Greg ripping off the whole Once and Again black-and-white confessional thing? What the --?
And then we're back. Grace and Wannabe are in English class -- Grace studiously copying notes from the board, and Wannabe yawning broadly, like something featured on The Crocodile Hunter. She's slouched in her seat and bears more than a striking resemblance to Joey Ramone. My apologies, of course, to Mr. Ramone. Spencer is seated across the aisle and a few desks ahead of Grace, and he's turned around staring at her. The teacher turns from the board and asks what the kids can tell him about Edgar Allen Poe. They blurt out a few biographical details -- the kind of thing English teachers hate hearing about writers. The teacher tries to get at some kind of literary commentary. Wannabe carefully concentrates on unwrapping a stick of gum. The teacher throws out some bait: Poe had a literary theory, didn't he? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Finally, Spencer blurts, "Unity of effect." The teacher turns to make a note of this on the board, and Wannabe leans forward to ask whether they can go to Grace's house after school. She also chomps her gum directly in Grace's ear. Grace nods her head. The teacher turns from the board, seeking an explanation of the theory. Again, he is met with silence. He corners Wannabe. She continues slouching and tries to act like she's not a deer in headlights. After a few awkward seconds, the bell rings. The teacher instructs everyone to read "The Tell-Tale Heart," and then tells Wannabe that he needs to speak with her on Friday, after class. She gives him a mock military response, and it looks as though he likes her about as much as the rest of us do. Wannabe turns her attention to Grace and resumes her train of thought -- the one connected to her request to go to Grace's. "I mean, boys are definitely needed, but sometimes you just need a break from them, y'know?" Soliloquy Grace busts in to screw up her face and scornfully answer, "No!" To Wannabe, she says, "Yeah." Rolling her eyes, Wannabe leans in and complains, "Sometimes I am just not in the mood for a boy." Grace concurs, but not convincingly. Grace stops to retrieve a gum wrapper tossed by Wannabe. The English teacher observes, shaking his head. Dude, we know.
Lily arrives home to find Zoe waiting for her. "Thank god you're finally home," she whispers urgently. "Carla's here!" Zoe creeps down the stairs, adding, "There's something wrong with her!" I'm reminded of those horror movies, when one person knows what's really going on, but they're young so know one pays them any attention. Lily pooh-poohs Zoe's opinion. Zoe parades her evidence: Wannabe "chews black gum," and as we've been seeing throughout the episode, she just tosses the wrappers in the vicinity of a garbage can but doesn't actually make sure they go in. Lily lays a reassuring hand on Zoe's head, and looks toward the kitchen where, she knows, the beast is lurking.
Speaking of the beast, she's perched on the counter, thumbing through files that Lily's brought home from work. Carla asks, "What happens here at dinner? Does somebody, like, make it?" Clearly, fishing for an invite. Grace answers that, with Lily working full-time, dinner's usually an afterthought. Lily overhears as she enters, and says that Grace is exaggerating. She greets Wannabe while gently removing the file from her hands. Wow, that's restraint. I probably would've smacked the nosy little wank with it. Grace shows off for Wannabe by making fun of Lily, imitating her "shocked" reaction every night when she realizes it's dinnertime. Wannabe grunts her approval. Lily says they're avoiding that problem tonight, since they've been invited to Rick's for dinner. Wannabe glances at Grace and widens her eyes. Grace looks at Lily, then back at Wannabe and nods her head like, "No problem." Lily's blathering away about how nice it will all be, and mentions that Grace will finally get to see where Rick lives. "So you've never seen where Rick lives?" Wannabe sarcastically asks Grace. She and Grace make faces at each other. Lily asks whether there's somewhere Wannabe would like them to drop her. I volunteer a list of fifty, starting with "on her head" and ending with "the dumpster behind Seaman Jack's Fish House." Grace protests by whining, "Mo-om!" and looking completely mortified. She asks to speak privately with Lily, and proceeds to nag Lily about bringing Wannabe to Rick's. Lily, protecting the appetites of all involved, won't budge, insisting that "it's just [their] two families," and promising that Wannabe can eat with them another time. She finally loses patience with Grace and orders her to put her shoes on. Heading back to the kitchen, she overhears Wannabe on the phone with someone, sounding impatient. Lily hides on the other side of the door and continues listening as Wannabe lies to the person on the other end -- stepfather? Mother's boyfriend? Whatever. It's clear from her end of the conversation that they're not exactly close, and she doesn't want to tell him too much. She says she had dinner at a friend's and then asks to speak to her mother, without any luck. Frustrated, she whips a gum wrapper on the floor. Lily sees this, and has to check her impulse to immediately pick it up. On a side note, I thought Wannabe said she lived with her father? Then again, I tune out half of the crap she spouts, so I could have misunderstood her.
We cut to Rick's dining room, where everyone's gathered around the table eating pizza. Lily's in the foreground, tossing a salad in the kitchen. Rick creeps in to mumble that "this isn't as nightmarish as usual." Lily makes a crack about Monopoly, then adds that she'd like everyone to go to an actual restaurant for her birthday. Panicked, Rick asks when her birthday is. She tells him "the end of the month," and he's visibly relieved. Lily notices and laughs at him, saying he shouldn't look "stricken -- [she's] not expecting anything." Right. "Much," she adds. Well, at least she's honest. She carries the salad into the dining room just as Jessie emerges, asking Rick whether she may be excused to start her homework. Rick is surprised that she wants to leave already, and she assures him that she had "two gigantic pieces of pizza." "You did?" he asks, sounding dubious. She insists that she did, and good-naturedly tells him to do the math with the slices; Rick lets her off the hook. He asks if she likes that pizza "better than Angelo's." Jessie falters for a second, and then says it's much better. She grabs her knapsack and invites Grace to come to her room. Grace looks panicked and says she will once she's done.
Cut to Eli sitting on his bed, punishing his guitar. Grace knocks, and then shyly enters his room, hanging in the doorway. She listens to him play, and picks up a magazine sitting on his stereo. Flipping through it, she finds a mushy card tucked inside. It's addressed to Wannabe and says, "Your kisses leave me breathless." They leave me breathless, too, but it's more from fighting down the nausea. Anyway, Grace looks disgusted, puts the magazine down, and then looks bored.
Downstairs, Rick and Lily are alone, and he's starting to count the pizza slices. He asks how many Lily had. "Seven or eight," she deadpans. He looks at her. "Two," she says, her tone implying that she thinks it's a stupid question. Either that, or she's offended that Rick would think, even for a second, that she's capable of eating seven or eight slices. Yeah, that's more likely.
Zoe timidly knocks on Jessie's door and waits for the okay to enter. Grace certainly has her well trained. Zoe spots the same picture Grace studied earlier, and says, "You look nice in this picture." "No, I don't," Jessie says, embarrassed. Then Zoe does that little-kid I-have-no-shame thing, and asks, "Do you have anything you don't want? 'Cause I'll take it." She lays a bracelet against her arm. Jessie gets up to inspect her dresser for potential cast-offs, and realizes that her glitter is missing. Zoe has no idea why Jessie is getting so upset. Jessie wordlessly leaves the room and barges into Eli's, where Grace is still maintaining her bored posture, and Eli is still brutalizing his guitar. "Who's been in my room?" Jessie demands. "What?" Eli asks, feigning ignorance. With a catch in her voice, Jessie informs him that something's missing from her room. "Don't give me that innocent look, Eli. I know you bring your girlfriends here when Dad's not around." Eli shushes her, and then moves to close the door. Grace tries to leave, but Eli tells her not to. Then he turns to Jessie, offended, and informs her that it's "'girlfriend,' not 'girlfriends.'" He's about to say more, but Jessie cuts him off, telling him just to admit that someone's been in her room. He admits it, but insists that no one took anything. He looks to Grace to back him up. She stammers and looks completely guilty, but manages to agree with Eli. Eli says, "Don't tell dad." Jessie is exasperated. She says she wouldn't tell Rick: she's "not stupid." Jessie, getting more worked up, goes on to say that she had "a brand-new thing of glitter and...it's gone." Grace casts her eyes to the floor. "And, it better be back in my room by tomorrow," Jessie threatens. There's a light knock on the door. It's Lily and Rick, looking for Grace. Lily says it's time to go, but once she and Rick realize there's been a behind-closed-doors conference, they want to know what's going on. "Nothing," Jessie says, and, turning to look pointedly at Eli, adds, "Just something I can't find." Grace casts her eyes to the floor again. Dude, I'm inviting her to my poker game. Jessie leaves, and everyone is still for a few moments. Grace pushes past Lily and mutters that she'll be in the car.
Cut to Lily in Jessie's room, trying to be helpful. Jessie's not really in the mood, but she plays along as Lily tries to get her to retrace her steps. Lily asks where Jessie last saw the thing in question. Jessie points to the corner of her dresser. Lily is stumped and out of helpful advice. Rick comes in, followed by Zoe, and asks, "So, did we find it?" "How can we find it?" Zoe asks. "We don't even know what we're looking for." Jessie says that it's "just something [she] needs for school," and turns away from them, looking guilty. Rick asks whether Jessie could've left this "whatever it is" at Karen's place. He offers to drive her over to look for it, and is a little disappointed, I think, when she takes him up on it. Jessie leaves, and Zoe races after her. Rick wonders why Jessie won't tell them what the missing thing is, and Lily guesses that it's "probably some feminine-hygiene thing." He hugs her and murmurs in her ear, "I think time -- just you and me. On your birthday." She smiles in agreement. Rick leaves, and something on the floor near the bed catches Lily Sherlock Holmes's eye. It's a gum wrapper, the same kind that she picked up after Wannabe in her kitchen. Sherlock studies it carefully, the wheels turning. Why, it's elementary!
Karen is surprised by Jessie's and Rick's arrival, and springs up from her seat at the dining-room table to shove some papers hurriedly into her briefcase. "That was quick!" she says, flustered. Jessie, I guess, heads straight to her room, because only Rick enters the kitchen with Karen. Karen asks what is missing, and then starts rambling on about how it must be genetic: she just bought something, put it down somewhere, and now she has no idea where it went. Rick keeps looking from her to the briefcase, somehow sensing there's something in it he should see.
Karen hops on the Soliloquy Stool to elaborate on the item she misplaced. Why, it too was a pot of glitter! She's very embarrassed as she explains that it was "that glittery stuff you put on your face and...other...areas." She figures she accidentally threw it away. Nuh uh!
Back in the kitchen, Rick asks how Jessie seemed after therapy. Karen shrugs and answers, "Same as she always seems." He looks at her more closely, and she glances up from the tea towel she's folding, almost as though she's checking his reaction to her behavior.
Back on the Stool, Karen says she thinks she subconsciously wanted to get rid of the glitter because it's "not appropriate -- too young for [her]." I think Karen thinks too much.
Rick informs Karen that Jessie's making progress: she ate two pieces of pizza at dinner. "Pizza?" Karen echoes, dismayed. Rick wants to know what's wrong with pizza, and she hems and haws that there's nothing wrong with it as long as Jessie ate something, and Rick actually saw her. "Yeah, I did," he lies, way too defensively. Jessie comes in and Karen asks if she found "it." Jessie says she didn't, but, spotting the hamper of laundry Karen's folding, asks if Karen has her cloud pajamas. Karen says they're in the dryer, but Jessie claims she already checked there. Karen trots her off to check again. Alone with the briefcase and an overwhelming case of the nosies, Rick makes for the briefcase. He makes a few faces before he opens it, which I guess indicates his wrestling with the moral dilemma. It doesn't take long for him to kick the moral dilemma's ass and dive into the briefcase. He discovers a confidential brief prepared by a private investigator tailing Miles Drentell. He glances at the first page, which doesn't really say much of anything, other than that Miles is the subject being investigated, and then hears Karen very loudly say, "You're welcome." Nice of her to warn him of her approach. Rick stuffs the brief back into the case just in the nick of time, and somehow Karen fails to notice his hovering over her briefcase, looking guilty. She goes back to folding towels, and by way of giving him the bum's rush, announces that she has "some reading to do, so..." She looks at him with a guilty expression. Well, it seems like four out of five cast members agree: "guilty" is the look of choice this evening. Rick stares back at her, seething. She misinterprets the look, and begins stammering an apology for not appreciating the pizza. Midway through her sentence, Rick hold up a finger and says, "I have to go." "Well, go then," Karen mutters to his back, looking bewildered.
Grace, meanwhile, is just sitting down to examine her pilfered booty a little more closely. Just as she's unscrewing the top from the glitter, Lily knocks softly and immediately pushes open Grace's door. Grace overreacts to the invasion. "I can't just ask you one question?" Lily asks mildly. Grace makes a "whatever" gesture and huffily throws herself onto her chair, her back to Lily. Lily approaches, asking whether Wannabe's been spending a lot of time at Rick's, because she doesn't think Rick wants Eli and his friends treating the apartment "like a hangout." "Oh, please don't say 'hangout,' Mother," Grace gripes with distaste. "Please don't say 'Mother'," Lily fires back. Lily then lays out the evidence: she saw gum wrappers in Jessie's garbage can. Grace cuts her off, "I can't believe you're saying this! That is the most unfair, prejudiced --" Lily rolls her eyes and insists that she's not accusing Wannabe of anything. "Yes, you are!" Grace storms. "And even if Carla has been hanging out over there, it doesn't mean she took anything!" Zoe opens Grace's door a crack and stands in the doorway, listening. Lily spots something on the desk, over Grace's shoulder. "What's that?" she asks. The Strings of Guilty Conscience swell. We get a close-up of the glitter, just so we're all clear on what Lily's referring to. The Strings of Guilty Conscience crescendo into the Strains of Imminently Busted. But ha! They got us. Because Lily's not staring at the glitter at all. She's staring at the garnet necklace -- hers -- that's sitting to it. Grace visibly exhales and apologizes for having it.
Zoe creeps into the room, drawn by the lure of the evil glitter pot. It must be evil; it's the only explanation I can come up with for all the trouble it's causing. Zoe's little hand slowly stretches out toward the evil thing, getting closer, and close...and WHOMP! Grace slaps at Zoe's hand and barks at her not to touch her things, and to leave her room immediately. Zoe looks as if Grace just hoofed her in the slats, and backs slowly toward the door. "Is that glitter?" Lily asks, suddenly captivated by its twinkling evil presence. She reaches for it, asking whether she may see. She rolls the pot over in her fingers, seduced by it, and muses, "It's the good kind." Grace feels the cold knife of guilt plunge into her heart yet one more time. "Do you think..." Lily asks quietly, still staring at the glitter, "do you think Carla could've taken something out of Jessie's room?" Grace looks at her for a second, and then concedes, "It's...possible." Grace glances at the glitter, gives her head a shake, and quickly changes her mind, saying, "No. No, it's not possible." Grace takes the glitter from Lily and puts it back on her desk. The doorbell rings. "What?!" Lily asks, checking her watch. "Rick's here!" Zoe bellows from downstairs.
"Okay, so what exactly did it say?" Lily asks as she leads Rick into the kitchen. "What did it say? Are ya kidding me?" Rick retorts, all worked up. "I'm just trying to understand..." Lily says softly. Rick, agitated, starts spouting off about how "they" hired a private investigator with "surveillance" and "transcripts" and "lists of where he's been and who he's been with. I mean, I'm in there! My name. Me!" Lily looks stunned. I'm a little surprised myself, since we saw the same page he did, and it didn't say much of anything. Rick visibly exhales, then starts rifling through the cupboards. Opening and slamming the cupboard doors, he rants on about Karen and how far she's taking things, and what the investigators could turn up. Lily jumps at the noise. "Did I not see some scotch around here at some point?" Rick finally mutters. "Oh, not in there; that's where I hide chocolate," Lily says, in a pitch to relate to Everywoman. I'm not buying it. She moves to another cupboard, but can't find the hooch. Then she remembers that her mom drank it at Thanksgiving. Rick rubs his forehead and asks, a little shirtily, "What about this don't you understand?" "So, was it lying there?" Lily asks, unwittingly stumbling on Rick's underhanded activity. Rick takes the Fifth. "Did she show it to you?" she asks incredulously. Rick, once again, takes the Fifth, as the camera zooms in on his sneaky little face, and his eyes get all shifty. The phone rings.
"Telephone," Zoe says, tapping on Grace's door. Grace, seated in front of her mirror, is frustrated because she just can't get a moment alone with her stupid filched glitter. She tells Zoe to come in. "It's Spencer Lewicki," Zoe solemnly says, passing Grace the phone. Zoe spots the glitter and asks whether she may try some. Is anyone else getting sick of that damn glitter? Like I wasn't sick of that cheesy crap a year ago already, now I have to type "glitter glitter glitter" a bazillion times in the course of one frigging recap? Grace says, "I'll call you back," into the phone, clicks it off, and growls, "Get. Out." Zoe looks wounded yet again, and stares up at Grace with big brown pleading eyes (which reminds me, I was supposed to look into sponsoring a kid overseas), but Grace isn't paying any attention. She's too busy stowing the glitter (argh!) in her backpack. Zoe takes note.
"You actually opened her briefcase and --" Lily incredulously says. Rick interrupts to protest, "Look, I am the one being invaded here, not Karen." (Those of you who are four, like me, think about that statement for just a second. Can I get an "ewwww"?) Lily asks how he can say that. "How can you treat her like the injured party when he's being spied on?" Rick challenges. Nice apples and oranges logic there, boy-o. A look of dawning realization spreads over Rick's face, and he takes a few paces, saying, "I have to tell Miles. I have to. I mean, he has to know." Lily is trailing him, still muttering that she can't believe Rick went into Karen's briefcase (you and the rest of America). The two stop speaking at once. Rick opens another cupboard, asking, "Is there nothing to drink in this entire house?" There's probably some mouthwash and cough syrup upstairs, lushy. Man, he's making me a little uncomfortable, here. Not that I'm some kind of Prohibition queen or anything, but that kind of desperation reeks of a problem to me. Lily takes pause, looks troubled, and changes the subject back to whether Rick is going to tell Miles. Rick says he has to: "I mean, what am I gonna tell him -- that I deliberately withheld this kind of knowledge?" "Tell him that Karen told you," Lily suggests. Except that that would compromise Karen's professional integrity, as Rick points out. Lily struggles to find another suggestion, then abandons the search, saying, "I'm not much good at things like this." Rick wonders how he's going to face Miles "knowing that he's..." And then he adds, "I wish I didn't know this. I shouldn't know this!" Well, you should have thought about that before rifling through your ex-wife's briefcase, shouldn't you? I'd say Rick kinda got what he deserved. After blankly staring ahead for a few seconds, Rick collects himself and says that he'd better go. "Why, because there's nothing to drink?" Lily quips. Laugh now, honey, because I have a feeling that joke won't be funny for very long. Rick looks offended and stares at her wordlessly. She makes it clear that she was kidding. He gets a bit of a grip, finally, and mutters, "Still." He moves to leave, but Lily stops him, saying she thinks she may know who stole the thing out of Jessie's room. Whoa, jump to conclusions much? It's one thing to speculate there, Matlock, but it's another to accuse someone, especially when everything you've got is circumstantial. Then again, it's Wannabe, so why do I care?
"I don't believe this!" Eli storms, striding away from Rick, who's hot on his tail. "Have you and Carla been spending time in this apartment: yes or no?" Rick demands. Cornered, Eli breaks and confesses that they have. "But that doesn't mean she took anything!" he adds. Rick says he never accused her. Eli stresses again that he shouldn't be there when Rick's not home, "that's fine, [he's] admitting to that, but when [Rick accuses] someone [Eli] cares about of stealing! Especially when it's --" Eli continues. Rick tries to interrupt, but Eli won't let him. "No!" he cries (and he really does sound like he's about to bawl), "I know her! You don't even know her. You have got to stop thinking the worst of people, Dad. It's not fair." Well, he's a little righteously indignant for someone who partook of the pilfered snack cakes. It's not like he's defending a known saint here. Eli blows out of the room, leaving Rick to sit and look wounded.
Spencer Lewicki's phone is ringing. It's Grace returning his call. "Hey! What's up?" she asks. "So...uh...what is unity of effect?" Spencer asks. "It's when...you know," Grace answers. Yes, he does, and is feigning ignorance as an excuse to talk to her. He answers his own question, trying to sound like he doesn't know what he's talking about. "Is it like when all the incidents kind of contribute...to the effect...of the story? Even seemingly insignificant ones?" Grace nods her head, and tears well up in her eyes. "Pretty much," she says wetly.
Soliloquy Grace pops in, saying, "Here's the question: what kind of person would sit in somebody else's room waiting for two people to finish...enjoying themselves? What kind of person would do that?" The kind who's unfortunate enough to hang out with a bag of trash and her love-struck boy toy, that's who.
"Listen, Spencer, I can't really talk," Grace chokes into the phone. He wants to know why. "Because there's something wrong with me," she answers. "There's stuff wrong with everybody," Spencer says. "What if I'm just going to be alone for the rest of my life?" Grace asks. Spencer answers that he believes there is someone out there for everyone: "It's what keeps me going." Grace can't fight off the tears anymore, and manages, "I gotta go. I'll see you at school." She clicks off the phone, buries her face on the bed, and bawls.
We return from commercials to find Lily racing to grab the phone. "Come on, girls! Chop chop!" she bellows as she picks it up. "'Chop chop'?" Rick questions. "Yeah, it's Russian," she says. What? Whatever. Lily's lighthearted remarks usually leave me scratching my head, so why should this one be any different? Grace appears, and reminds Lily that they "have three whole minutes" before they have to go. Eli broods and pouts past a scruffy, bed-headed Rick. Rick asks to speak to Grace for a second. Lily tries to hand off the phone, but Grace acts like Lily just wiped her ass with it. Lily can't figure out why Grace is acting strange and avoiding the phone, and persists. "Why does he want to talk to me?" Grace whispers loudly. Lily tells Grace to ask Rick, and hands her the phone. Grace takes it, closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, and says hello. She's braced. Then she's totally thrown when Rick asks if she'll go shopping with him the day. "'Shopping'?" she repeats. Rick reminds her that Lily's birthday is coming up, and he'd like her to help him pick out something, plus it would give them a "chance to talk...about things." Grace's internal organs rearrange themselves. She blurts that she has to talk to her English teacher after school. Rick doesn't mind; he'll wait for her. He asks to speak to Lily again. Looking like she's been sentenced to execution, Grace slowly slides the phone from her ear and holds it out behind her. Rick asks whether there's "any chance" Lily could pick up Jessie from her counseling session on Friday. Because that's just what the kid needs after spending an hour twitching under Dr. Wise-ass's unflinching stare and feeling like an exposed nerve. They get onto the subject of the night, and both apologize. Although, why Lily is sorry, I'm not exactly sure. Maybe she's sorry she couldn't supply the fuel for his bender? Anyway, she assures him that, even if Miles is being investigated, Rick has nothing to worry about. Lily notices Grace staring out the kitchen window, transfixed. She snaps her out of her reverie and gestures toward the door. Then she turns her attention back to Rick, saying, "You didn't do anything wrong. Right?" "Yeah," Rick says, but he doesn't sound convinced.
Cut to the interior of a dark red lounge, where a guy in a suit is perched at the bar. The camera follows his gaze to the table nearest him, where Rick is seated with Miles, examining menus. Rick glances up and catches the guy staring. Paranoia is engaged. The guy turns away and sips his wine, and the camera pans back to include Miles in the frame. He starts droning nasally about his lunch recommendations, suggesting the "fresh and tender chunks...of...lamb." Thank god he finished the sentence as he did. Or not, actually, because the thought of eating super-cute little Easter animals turns my stomach. Rick continues staring at the starer. "So, tell me about Karen," Miles says, definitely loud enough for the starer to hear. "Is she corruptible?" "What are you talking about?" Rick whispers, giving Miles the "cheese it" look. Miles clarifies, "Is she all work and no play? I'm looking for something that we can..." A blonde in a suit strolls past, taking Miles's attention with her. "...use against her," Miles concludes once the blonde is gone. He asks whether Karen is still in love with Rick. Rick asks him to lower his voice. Miles thoughtfully chews on his appetizer, and then conspiratorially leans in to whisper, "Should we, perhaps, meet time in a parking garage, and use code names?" Dropping his voice even further, he adds, "Order me the lamb," and then heads off to the men's room. Rick guiltily glances at the starer a few times.
"You fancy me mad?" Grace's English teacher reads, pacing around the classroom. He continues reading from "The Tell-Tale Heart" as he wanders up and down the rows. Wannabe chews her nails while Grace looks like she's got a giant thorn under her ass. The teacher wraps it up and asks for comments. Wannabe stretches up her arm and volunteers, with a big dumb grin, "Wasn't Edgar Allen Poe a drug addict?" And to think, I once entertained the thought of teaching high-school English. I'd be dead by now, if I had. The teacher remarks that Poe's drug use has never been conclusively confirmed. The teacher continues talking, but Wannabe interrupts with her little conspiracy theory: "'Cause they don't want you to think you can take drugs and still be a successful writer." Spencer points out that Poe was hardly successful: he died destitute. The teacher decides that the best course of action is to ignore these two, and tries to engage the class again by asking why the character hears the heart beating: "What's [Poe] doing there?" Spencer continues his rant about Poe's lack of success. "Why does he hear it, over and over again?" the teacher asks. "Why does it get louder?" Grace shifts and looks like the thorn's getting bigger. Wannabe pipes up, "With certain drugs, your hearing gets superhuman. Like you can hear colors." Yeah, I bet that's exactly what Poe was going for. Shut up, you illiterate ass. Spencer announces that that part disappointed him, and suggests that maybe if the guy's heart had exploded.... The hapless teacher keeps trying to get any kind of intelligent answer out of the group, asking, "What is Poe exploring here? Why does the beating get louder and louder until it becomes almost unbearable?" Spencer suggests, "'Cause he's...he's crazy!" "Is he? Is he crazy?" the teacher prods, "or is it something else? What dark emotion could Poe be attempting?" The camera swirls around Grace, and the background drums get louder. "Guilt!" she yells, startling everyone in the class. Geez, even I knew that, and I haven't even read the damn story. I just saw the diorama episode of The Simpsons. Of course, Grace isn't yelling out of impatience; she's yelling because she feels guilty, see? Everyone turns to stare at her, but the teacher just looks thrilled that someone finally contributed a useful idea. The bell rings, and Wannabe says, "Guilt. Right, I shoulda thoughta that." Yes, but then that would've required thinking, now wouldn't it? ["No one can answer that it's an emblem of guilt, and this is AP English? Sad, sad." -- Wing Chun] "So, are we going to Eli's?" Grace asks, still a little rattled by her outburst. Wannabe says that Grace doesn't have to, but Grace quickly says that she doesn't mind. Ah, returning to the scene of the crime. Doesn't she know that's how most criminals get caught? Well, the dumb ones and the ones who secretly want to get caught, anyway.
Cut to Rick's kitchen, where Wannabe's looking into a cupboard. She barks her stupid baboon laugh, and tells Eli that she found where his dad keeps the liquor. Which naturally leads one to wonder, why didn't Rick just go home the other night if he wanted a drink so badly? And while we're on questions, why are they at Rick's again, when it was made pretty clear that Rick doesn't want Eli taking his friends there alone? Eli's immediately on edge, moving to the cupboard and closing the door, saying, "Hey, don't!" Wannabe sounds genuinely surprised as she answers, "Eli! I wasn't gonna drink it! I was looking for the chocolate syrup." Ah, to have a teenage metabolism again.
Grace, meanwhile, has made her way upstairs and snuck into Jessie's room. She hauls her knapsack onto the bed and reaches into the front pocket for the glitter. Nothing. She panics, and rummages through the pocket more urgently. Nothing. She moves on to the main part of the bag, sliding her hand all around it, her face picture of terror.
"Look," Eli says, hands jammed in his pockets, "we're going to have to stop coming here, probably." Wannabe wants to know why. Eli decides it's better not to get into it. Wannabe successfully sniffs out the chocolate syrup.
Grace, meanwhile, is making a huge tactical error. Granted, she's freaking out, but it's still a really dumb move. She throws her bag onto the floor and dumps everything out of it. What if Jessie comes home? What if Eli and Wannabe come upstairs? How do you explain it? Well, it's pretty obvious that the glitter isn't there, anyway.
Wannabe's busy constructing some chocolate milk. Eli dances around her as she moves between the fridge and the counter, and nervously says, "Uh, you know that thing you said to Grace the other day?" Wannabe doesn't. "About me thinking we're in love," Eli says, then asks, "Would it be so...impossible?" "It is impossible," Wannabe says matter-of-factly, without missing a beat or spilling a drop of the milk she's pouring. "On my part," she continues, holding the syrup bottle upside-down over her glass. "You're just not the type I fall in love with and get all obsessed with. And that's a good thing. You don't wanna see me when I fall in love. I get, like, insane." Eli looks crushed. Wannabe stares at her glass of syrup and milk and complains that the chocolate is just sitting on the bottom. That's because you've got to stir it, genius. I know she's supposed to come from a rough background and all, but surely someone's shown her how to make chocolate milk before. Eli looks like he's catching his breath. "So stir it," he says flatly, gesturing toward a drawer.
Now that he knows she doesn't and can't love him, I guess he figures he may as well risk alienating her by bringing up the Great Glitter Heist. Instead of asking whether she knows anything about it, he does exactly what he accused Rick of doing: he asks her, point-blank, where the glitter is. She stirs the milk, asking what he means. "You probably didn't think she'd care, but --" Eli says. She stops stirring and looks at him. "What are you talking about?" she demands. "Look, it's not a big deal. Just put it back, okay?" he says. "You think I'd steal?" she asks, blown away. "I've seen you steal," he answers. "From the store, not from someone's little sister," she says, truly insulted. I actually almost feel a twinge of something like sympathy for Wannabe, but then I remind myself that she worked pretty hard at creating the image everyone has of her. And I quash that little drop of Wannabe-sympathy back down into the deepest darkest part of my soul, where I know it won't bother me ever again. Eli starts in with the insinuations again, and Wannabe whines that she doesn't "even wear glitter! Glitter is just so over. People's mothers wear glitter." Well, mine doesn't, thank god. Wannabe storms away, getting in the parting shot, "You don't know me at all." Eli tries to stop her and win her back by protesting, "Your milk!" She tells him to drink it himself.
Wannabe swings open the door to Jessie's room and finds Grace on the floor wrestling everything back into her bag. Wow, that took Grace a really long time, didn't it? Wannabe asks what she's doing. "I'm looking for a pencil," Grace lies. Wannabe suggests the desk. Grace is all "why didn't I think of that?" and opens a desk drawer, only to discover two pieces of uneaten pizza in it. She acts like they're two severed fingers. "No pencils," she declares, slamming the drawer. Wannabe is leaning in the doorway, arms crossed, and not fooled for a second. "Just put it back, okay?" she says, glowering. Grace is stunned. She plays dumb. Wannabe makes it clear: "Her stupid, ridiculous glitter. Because I'm the one getting blamed for it." "I didn't take anyone's glitter," Grace shrills. "Then why are you getting so upset?" Wannabe asks. Grace searches for an answer, and fumbles out some bogus story about being offended that her own friend would think she stole it. Wannabe emphatically says that she doesn't care, "only now Eli thinks [she] took it, so would [Grace] just please --" "Well, now, why are you assuming? Maybe it's just lost." "Anyone would be jealous," Wannabe coaxes. "I would be jealous. So if you did it because you were sick of watching us kiss or whatever, I forgive you." Wow, simultaneously so big, and so small. She's hit a sore spot, though, and Grace defensively insists that Wannabe's making "no sense." Wannabe takes a few steps toward Grace and threatens, "If you're trying to break us up, you better watch it. I mean it." I think your little speech in the kitchen took care of that, dearie. Grace swallows visibly. "Well, guess what? I'm not scared of you," Grace totally lies. Eli finds them in Jessie's room and order both of them to get out. "You do not want to be my enemy," Wannabe promises. Grace says that maybe everyone else is scared of Wannabe, but Grace isn't. I don't believe her. She shoves past Eli and Wannabe moves to follow her, but Eli puts out his arm to block the door. Wannabe blows past him anyway.
After commercials, we're in the Manning kitchen, where Lily's urging Grace to hurry up and eat or they'll be late. Grace mentions that Rick wanted to meet with her after school to "discuss something." Lily says she knows, and she thinks it's great. Grace says that her English teacher wants to speak with her, though, and asks whether Lily can just call Rick and blow him off. "Rick is doing this because he wants to have a relationship with you," Lily says. For a second, it looks like Grace's breakfast may make a second appearance. "Mom, please don't say that," she begs. Lily says it's fine if Grace can't make it, but that she has to be the one to call Rick.
Rick enters the same Middle Eastern restaurant where he lunched with Miles earlier, and moves to the bar. "Sorry I'm late," Miles says, coming up behind him. He startles Rick. "Go ahead and ask me," Miles says. "Ask you what?" Rick says. "Aren't you wondering why I insisted on dining in the same place two days in a row?" "Not really," Rick admits. "I see her every time I come here," Miles says. He's referring to the same blonde who caught his eye the last time. She reminds me of Kirstie Alley, for whatever that's worth. Miles adds that he also spotted her behind him at the bank's drive-through last week. He seems to think it's all a matter of fate, but Rick appears to have other ideas. He asks what kind of car she drives, and Miles describes it for him. "Table's ready. Come on, chop chop," Miles says. Rick looks like he got stuck with a pin. "'Chop chop'?" he echoes, remembering Lily's use of the term. What's the big deal here? Has he never heard the term before? It's not like it's uncommon or anything. Or, maybe it means that there's a conspiracy between Lily and Miles. Or maybe Lily's the one who's been tailing Miles. Or maybe Rick needs to cut down on the caffeine. Miles mentions that he's on a schedule because he has an appointment for which he can't be late. He hedges when Rick asks where he's going, basically saying that Rick doesn't need to know. Rick stares at Miles, and then glances over his shoulder and catches Kirstie staring at them. He stammers that he thinks he left his wallet in his car, and heads out to the parking lot. He begins surveying the vehicles, looking for the one that matches Miles's description. When he finds it, he scooches down, glances around, and starts letting the air out of the tires. His cell phone rings, nearly sending him into cardiac convulsions. It's Grace, calling from a pay phone at school. She doesn't say anything, though, and hangs up after a few seconds. Rick seems to take it as a sign that he should knock off the vandalism, and he pulls his coat around himself, glances shiftily around, and heads back toward the restaurant.
A bell rings, and we find ourselves in a classroom, where Grace is seated behind a really rough-looking Heidi. No, wait -- that's just Wannabe with pigtails. She's slouching as usual, and glowering at the surface of her desk while Grace tries to get her attention. Wannabe just turns her head and ignores Grace. The English teacher asks Grace to excuse him and Wannabe. The teacher doesn't even wait for Grace to get out of the room before he starts saying that Wannabe's paper "bears a striking resemblance to --" Grace turns and cuts him off, "She didn't steal my ideas." The teacher starts to protest, but Grace says it's not fair and asks how the teacher knows Grace didn't steal Wannabe's ideas. The teacher asks her to leave. She turns to go, and Wannabe's out of her seat, asking if she can just tell Grace something. "Look, I'm crazy! I was just mad at Eli," Wannabe says. Grace starts to apologize herself, but Wannabe won't even hear it, saying that Grace would never steal and she's "just really sorry." Grace gets all choked up, says, "Me too," and they hug. The teacher says, "Say goodnight, Gracie." Grace takes the hint and leaves them alone.
"So you just sit here and decide why people do things?" Jessie asks Dr. Wise-ass. "It's pathetic, isn't it?" he responds. She smiles and says she just doesn't think there's always a reason for everything. She asks why someone can't just do something "out of the blue, without having some big reason." "Why, what'd you do?" he asks shrewdly. "Nothing," she replies. He raises his eyebrows. Jessie folds her arms and says, "It's dumb." She finally relents and tells him about the glitter that Karen bought, and admits, with some serious difficulty, that she "sort of...borrowed it." "You stole it," Dr. Wise-ass translates. There's no getting one past him, is there? Jessie denies it. She starts getting teary. He asks why she stole it, and the tears really come on. She says she doesn't know, and adds that he's the one who always has a reason. Jessie takes a minute to get herself under control and says that Karen "never even used to wear makeup. Why would she need glitter? Maybe she wants to get somebody's attention." She's bitter about it. Jessie starts getting weepy again and says, "But that's stupid. Why does she want it now? Now she wants attention. Now she wants to be beautiful. For Leo. Why did she have to wait so long?" Dr. Wise-ass says that's a good question, and offers Jessie a tissue. He asks if she's going to give the glitter back. Jessie smiles sadly and says she can't -- she can't find it. And now she just feels really guilty about it.
Rick and Grace walk down a sidewalk discussing Lily's bath needs. They pause to look in a store window. We're on the inside looking out at them, so we can see their faces. "Look, Grace, there's something else I need to ask you, and I guess you probably know what it has to do with." Grace's face freezes. "It involves Jessie," Rick continues, "and maybe I shouldn't even get into it...." Grace, just wanting to get it over with, tells him it's okay. "Well, she claims that she's been eating more," Rick says, and Grace's eyes widen. He falters, and she glances at him. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't even...." he says. Grace assures him that it's okay, and begins walking again. Rick says that, the other night, when they were eating pizza, Jessie told him that she had two pieces. "Oh, yeah," Grace says. Rick asks if that means Grace saw Jessie eating. Grace stammers and tries to be evasive. Rick apologizes for putting her on the spot, then muses, "It could be worse. I mean she could be hiding food. You know, sometimes, people just behave in ways that you can't --" "You can't explain," Grace interrupts. Rick agrees, "Exactly! You know, you're going along and suddenly you just find yourself doing something and you don't want to do it --" "But you can't not do it," says Grace. "And it's crazy. Because it doesn't seem like something you'd do; it doesn't seem like you," continues Rick. "But you don't want to be you. That's why you're doing it," Grace says, as if it's a breakthrough. Rick looks at her like she's a mystic, and Grace gets a little self-conscious. "Probably," she adds, to throw him off the scent. He keeps looking at her and finally says, "Your mother...your mother is very important to me." Grace says she knows. Rick says maybe it's not the right thing to say, but Grace assures him that she doesn't mind. The pause a moment, and then Rick offers her his arm and says, "Come on, let's go find some bath oil."
"Hi!" Zoe chirps from inside the Explorer. She's calling out to Zoe, who's standing outside the therapist's office, looking around for her ride. Lily gives Jessie a big warm hello, and then her cell phone rings, leaving Jessie and Zoe to talk in the back seat. Zoe reaches over into the cargo area and rifles through her backpack, triumphantly pulling out -- wait for it -- the glitter. Jessie asks where she found it. Zoe shushes her, saying she'd give it to Jessie but she stole it from Grace. Zoe says that maybe Jessie could borrow it sometime though. Jessie's wheels are turning, and I have to give her credit -- she doesn't say anything other than, "Thanks."
Later, at Manning Manor, Grace and Rick return from shopping. Jessie's doing homework at the kitchen table, and Lily thinks to ask whether she ever found the thing she was missing. Grace carefully moves out of everyone's line of sight. "Uh, as a matter of fact, I did," Jessie says. Lily's happy to hear it; Grace, not so much. Lily asks where it was, and Grace slowly turns to look at Jessie. Jessie knowingly smiles at her and says, "It was right there the whole time." Grace turns back around, flooded with relief and actually beginning to smile. Jessie says goodbye to Lily, and then pauses at the door to give Grace a very confident "goodbye." Grace sounds a little unsure when she returns it. Rick and Jessie leave, and she continues registering what just happened, smiling to herself and looking a little dazed.
Upstairs, Zoe's little hand slides the bathroom door closed. The camera pans from it, across the wall to the mirror, where Zoe's reflection is solemnly looking back at her. She looks down, unscrews the pot of glitter, and carefully dips in her finger. She swipes a broad stroke across one cheekbone and then the other. I have no idea what this is supposed to signify (yet another person this episode trying to be someone new?) because I'm too busy having flashbacks to that creepy red-lipstick scene in Wild At Heart. And now, I'm going to go have a cup of tea and try to forget about it.