Sorry this recap took so long. I spent the weekend stretching my stomach to maximum capacity and beyond. Thanksgiving is not my friend.
Once again, we open in the kitchen of Manning Manor. Judy's bobbing around the table, laying out about twenty possible Booklovers logos. Grace, Zoe, and Jessie check out the choices while eating ice cream. The logos look like they're for a strip-joint to me. Grace pulls her spoon out of her mouth and jabs the slobbery utensil at the logo she likes, and Judy almost has heart failure at the sight of Ben & Jerry's so close to her artwork. Jessie and Zoe chime in their opinions, and Judy distractedly mutters that she really needs Lily. The front door closes, and she looks up expectantly, but it's only Eli. He saunters into the kitchen doorway, playfully saying that he wants ice cream. Jessie guards her bowl, but he moves right past her and grabs Grace's spoon. She giggles and tells him to get his own, but she really can't wait to put the spoon back in her mouth because then her spit will mix with his spit and it'll be just like they kissed. Jessie watches the exchange with an expression that would curdle whatever ice cream is left in her bowl.
"Hello!" a woman calls from the back door. Judy rushes from the dining room, hoping it's Lily. It's Tiffany, sporting a belly of beach-ball proportions. Judy's somewhat taken aback. Tiffany explains that she just came by to pick up a book of names, which is waiting for her on the counter. She picks it up and starts thumbing through it, and Judy watches her with thinly veiled horror.
From the Soliloquy Stool, Judy explains, "Seventeen years ago, I bought Lily this book. And I said, 'I know you're not having a baby yet, but I just wanted you to --' And she interrupts me and says, 'I am. I am having a baby. How did you know?'" Judy's cockles glow warm and toasty.
Back in the kitchen, Judy indignantly says, "I gave her that book!" Tiffany's fingers freeze on the page she's about to flip, and she stares at Judy like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Judy tries to recover, saying that shouldn't stop Tiffany from borrowing it, but her voice is a little hollow. Tiffany recovers gracefully, acting as though she just remembered that Jake is buying her a name book, so she doesn't actually need this one. She bubbles, "I can't believe I forgot that! I'm so pregnant!" And boy howdy, is she. She helps herself to a glass and runs some water in the sink as her brain skips tracks and she congratulates Judy on the whole Booklovers "chain." Judy modestly explains it won't actually be a chain; some guy's just paying to use the name with his own stores. She adds that, with the money, she can expand if she ever finds "the right space." Tiffany jokes, "It's too bad you can't run a bookstore out of a restaurant, because I know one you can get real cheap. And then you could have Jake run it for you!" Judy thoughtfully bites an apple and stares at Tiffany while her synapses fire. Tiffany laughs self-consciously and says, "Well, that's obviously not what you're going to do!" Judy sort of smiles and quickly nibbles on the apple to keep herself quiet. Tiffany asks where Lily is.
Speak of the devil: here she is sitting in a corporate waiting area, anxiously tapping a sheet of paper against her fist. A suit emerges and shakes a woman's hand, saying it was nice to meet her. He then calls, "Ms. Sammler?" Lily exhales loudly and stares at her lap, oblivious. Somehow, all the other applicants, as well as the interviewer, know that's her name, and they stare at her pointedly. Lily jumps up as if she's been goosed, sending the papers on her lap flying. She yanks her purse from the chair and stares down at the avalanche. She plucks one sheet of paper from the pile and stands up, lamely explaining, "It's not that I don't know my own name. I'm just not used to it. Yet. I recently got remarried, so..." The suit looks positively engrossed.
Cut to a close-up of Lily's résumé, with the name "Elizabeth Sammler" written across the top. The woman holding it lowers her hands to look at Lily, who's explaining that in the final days of her employment at PagesAlive, she was involved at basically every step of production. "Look, I'm going to be honest with you," the woman says from her big leather chair. "Oh, no," Lily says. The woman claims that she thinks Lily is "great" and that the two of them "would really click," but Lily made the mistake of admitting to her that she hadn't finished her college degree. Lily is surprised that it matters. Considering her work experience totals somewhere in the neighborhood of a year, I can't believe she thinks it doesn't. Anyway, the woman says it wouldn't really matter to her, but it would to the woman's boss. If Lily hadn't explicitly said otherwise, the woman would have let her boss assume that Lily had a degree. Lily says, "It's so ridiculous! I only needed, like, ten more credits or something." Isn't that, like, a year's worth? In that case, I've almost got a Master's degree. ["Not necessarily; at the school Niki and I attended, one class was one credit, but ten credits might only represent two courses, depending on where Lily matriculated." -- Wing Chun] The woman advises Lily to lie on her résumé in the future, since everyone else does, too. Lily protests at first, but then looks intrigued.
"Okay, why are you telling the truth at a job interview? What were you, under oath?" Judy demands. She's sitting across a booth from Lily, having coffee. She's wearing a really boss little sleeveless western shirt. Lily says that she can't lie; she's a terrible liar. Doesn't everybody say that, though? Even if someone's the best liar in the world, she won't admit it because then her cover's blown. Not that I'd know anything about that. Judy asks how many credits Lily needs, and Lily admits, "Sixteen." So she did lie during her interview. Judy says Lily always told her she needed twelve. She demands to see Lily's résumé. "Elizabeth Sammler," she reads, with a touch of condescension. Lily says she's not used to it, either. "Well, some people keep their names," Judy says, reading over the rest of the paper. Lily mocks the idea of keeping Jake's name. "No, not Jake's name. Your name. Your real name," Judy clarifies. Lily puzzles over this while Judy swings the conversation over to Tiffany waltzing into Lily's kitchen the other day. "What's my real name?" Lily asks. Yeah, I can see where that would give you trouble. Judy makes an impatient face, and Lily caves, asking what Tiffany said. "Just, something really stupid. I gotta go," Judy says, grabbing her bag. What flew up her ass? Lily says she's listening, really. Judy's not interested, though, and insists that she's late. "For what? To meet Will Gluck?" Lily asks with a teasing smile. My heart skips a beat, and so does Judy's. "Well, you've seen him since the wedding haven't you?" Lily asks on behalf of all of us. Judy flatly replies, "I thought he'd call. He didn't." She heads for the door. Lily calls after her to stay and asks about the logos. Judy pauses by the door and tries to sound tough: "Like I can't make a decision without you." She walks into the door with a determined push. It doesn't budge. She pushes on it again and it rattles stubbornly in its frame. She tries to slide nonchalantly to the door to it. As she pushes it open, she glances defensively over her shoulder to see if Lily caught her humiliation. She did, but she's too worried about her résumé to take any pleasure in it.
After commercials, we join Grace in one of her classes at school. Well, hello there, Mr. Stoltz. He's roaming around the classroom, handing back notebooks and commenting on the kids' journals. He catches Grace stifling a yawn and asks her what she thought of the journaling experience. She says she's kept journals before, so... "Oh, you have," he says, somewhat patronizingly, and asks what it was like. Grace answers, "It was fine. It was nice." Uh oh. Wrong word to use in a writing class. Stoltz swoops in on it with a biting "I'm sorry. I thought you said 'nice.'" Grace swallows the bile in her throat, already realizing her mistake. "I did," she gulps. Stoltz circles his prey, saying, "Oh, because I don't want to misquote you or anything." "I said 'nice'!" Grace snaps, just wanting him to strike and end the torture already. He sidles over to the desk to her, mocking, "Nice...nice! Let's see, whatever shall I do today?" He perches to her and does his best Pollyanna: "I know! I shall write in my boring old journal. It will be ever so nice!" Everyone laughs, and Grace forces herself to smile. Stoltz's demeanor turns serious as he paces away, stating, "'Nice' is for shrimp salads and grandmothers. I'm not interested in 'nice.'" No -- he's just interested in performing the clichéd old English-teacher response to the word. The guy's wearing a corduroy sportscoat, for Christ's sake. Stoltz looks directly at Grace, who fidgets with her pencil and fantasizes about how nice it would be to drive it into his eye.
Cut to Judy struggling under the weight of an enormous gift basket. She hefts it into Karen's office, prompting the "aw, you shouldn't have" routine. Judy insists that it's the least she can do since Karen looked over the Booklovers contracts for her. Karen scrambles to clear some space on her desk for the behemoth basket, protesting that she knows "to nothing about licensing." Judy shrugs out of her jacket and asks, "Have you proclaimed your unworthiness enough? Can we open this thing?" Karen glances at her watch halfheartedly, so she doesn't look too excited. Apparently the ass-pole has gourmet tastes, though, because she can't keep the broad smile off her face.
Cut to Karen and Judy in the midst of enjoying the goodies. Judy's telling Karen about the idea for moving the bookstore into Phil's, describing the restaurant to Karen. Karen hands Judy a cracker with pâté and reminds Judy that they had lunch there. She thinks it's a "wonderful idea." "No, it isn't. I don't know anything about running a restaurant," Judy protests, fishing. Karen tells her to hire somebody who does. After a split second, her face lights up and she adds, "Hire your ex-brother-in-law!" Judy's surprised. Karen reminds Judy that she thought he was doing a good job with Phil's before the shooting. And silently thinks about how bonkers it would make Lily. Judy guesses that it would be more awkward not to hire him, and almost seems convinced, but just has to ask one more time, "So you don't think it's a dumb idea?" Karen refills their wine glasses and insists that it's a great idea. "You're not just saying that because you're drunk?" Judy asks. Karen assumes an offended expression and declares, "I'm completely sober when I'm drunk." Naturally. It takes more than a little alcohol to dislodge an ass-pole. Judy giggles, and Karen joins in.
Cut to an old black-and-white Godzilla breathing fire on the TV at Manning Manor. Zoe, Grace, Jessie, and Eli are packed onto the couch eating popcorn. Grace complains that she hates her creative writing teacher. My heart breaks for her, because I know just how she feels. Except that -- wait a minute -- we didn't have a creative writing class at my stupid hick high school. Shut up, Grace. She doesn't, though; she whines, "He publicly humiliates me." Eli says, "I do that, and you don't hate me." He lobs a popcorn kernel at her, and she giggles. Jessie pretty much shares my opinion, and makes a show of reaching for the remote and turning up the volume. Godzilla wails in pain as Grace says, "Plus, his name is August." Eli mocks, "That isn't even a name. It's a month." Oh, whatever, Eli. As Grace blahs on, Jessie rolls her eyes and sighs, wishing that Grace would shut the hell up and stop flirting with her brother. To make matters worse, Grace initiates a little poking match with Eli, and Jessie's stuck between the two of them. If I were Jessie, I would totally use it as an excuse to "accidentally" punch Grace in the head. Jessie takes a less violent approach and shouts, "Okay, okay, okay!" She springs up from the couch and tells Zoe to come with her, since "they obviously want to be alone." "No, we don't!" Grace insists while thinking, "Hell yeah!" Zoe says they don't, and Eli also tries to convince Jessie not to go. Jessie's gone, though, and Zoe runs off after her. Alone with Eli, Grace feels way too exposed. She glances at her watch and makes an excuse to leave, saying she has to write in her journal. Eli's right behind her, saying he's got stuff to do, too. There's some tension here, people, that I'm trying hard to ignore. It could be that Eli reciprocates some of Grace's interest. Or it could be that he knows how she feels and is starting to worry that she's reading too much into his being nice to her. Please, please let it be the latter.
Meanwhile, Lily and Rick are hanging in the kitchen. Rick's finishing up the dishes in a shirt that shows his biceps to advantage while Lily flips through the name book. She tells him that she didn't recognize herself as "Elizabeth Sammler" at the job interview the other day. He saunters over to her and she quickly assures him it was "just for a minute!" "Elizabeth is kind of a weird name," he husks. They kiss. Lily groans as he breaks away and heads for the door. She promises that she'll "be right up" and starts straightening up some stuff.
Lily just about jumps out of her t-shirt as the back door opens behind her. "Oh, you scared me," she informs Judy. Judy makes a crack about how Lily doesn't mind Tiffany letting herself in. Then she gets giddy and dances up and down, saying that she has great news. Lily teasingly says, "Oh my god! You're getting married to Will Gluck." Those words should never be spoken in jest. It's, like, sacrilegious or something. Judy says that she's taking over Phil's and explains the idea for a bookstore-café. Like everyone else, Lily thinks it's a fabulous idea, and asks how Judy was inspired. Judy hesitates and looks like she's about to admit that it technically wasn't her idea, but she changes her mind and changes the subject. That's interesting, since she was all about the credit where it's due when it was Lily ripping off her idea. And ripping it off less directly, I might add. Judy says, "You need a job, and I need a partner," and waits expectantly for Lily's reaction. Lily's less than elated, remembering the problems they had working together in the past. Judy trips into a state of denial and tries to convince Lily by arguing that "if the Go-Go's can get back together...." Lily's astonished to hear that the Go-Go's are back together. She and Judy are probably the only two people who actually care. Judy says they're not only back together, but they look good. Lily thinks it's amazing, since they had such a horrible breakup. Whatever. "Lil, I can't do it without you," Judy says softly. Her eyes are all big and dewy like those kids and dogs the starving artists paint. Well, flattery will get you everywhere with Lily, who almost protests and then coyly asks, "How could that be true?" She practically bats her eyelashes. Judy insists that it's just true.
Soliloquy Lily's here to offer a little perspective. "Trouble is, I'm the older sister," she says. "And when you're the older sister, people just...count on you." Great. I just sprayed ginger ale all over my couch.
Back in the kitchen, Lily doesn't say anything, but she makes a heroic "well, since you need me" face. Judy recognizes it as an acceptance, and gives her a big hug. Rick calls out, "Lil, are you coming?" and stumbles into the kitchen just in time to catch their embrace. "Guess what?" Lily says, as we fade to commercials.
After the break, we join Lily and Rick in their bathroom, getting ready the morning. "She's talking about hiring Jake," Lily says, and watches Rick for a reaction. Rick scrapes a razor across his chin and says, "So?" Lily points out that means they'll be working together, and asks whether that bothers him. "Your ex-husband, your sister, your life," Rick answers. "Your last name," Lily prods. Rick sets down his razor and says, "Okay, you know what I think? I don't think you should do it. And not because of me; not because of Jake. But because you really don't want to." "Yes, I do!" Lily squeals. Rick insists that she doesn't, but that she's too afraid to say no and disappoint Judy. Lily insists that isn't true. "Oh, all right," Rick says nonchalantly, dusting off his reverse psychology. "Then you're doing the right thing." He resumes shaving, and Lily shoots him a sidelong glance so we know that he nailed it. Well, he may only get twelve seconds of screen time again this week, but at least he spent them displaying a backbone. And his biceps.
Down in the kitchen, Eli and the girls are getting breakfast. Zoe skims the name book and announces that her name means "the light." If Zoe's "the light," then she's the blinding glare of some asshole's high beams shooting into your skull and making you curse aloud when you're driving down a deserted country road late at night. I can't believe I ever thought this kid was cute. Eli snags the book from her and carries it over to the table as the phone rings. Grace answers, and Karen asks to speak with Jessie. She excitedly informs Jessie, "That Musketeer movie opens this weekend." Jessie's answer is less than enthusiastic, which surprises Karen, since Jessie was "dying to see it." Must be a Disney movie. Nice try, ABC. Jessie glances toward the kitchen table, where Eli and Grace are huddled over the name book. Jessie tells Karen that she "already sort of promised Eli that [she'd] see it with him." Karen says, "Oh!" and seems about to suggest they all see it together, but Jessie quickly adds, "Just him and me, you know, so..." Karen says they'll just have to find something else to see together. "I'll see you Sunday, then," she adds. Silence. "Love you, honey," she adds after a second. More silence. "Buh-bye!" she says loudly, finally pulling Jessie's attention from Eli and Grace. Jessie says a distracted goodbye and immediately clicks off the phone. She calls Eli over to her and asks whether he'd like to see the Musketeer movie. When he agrees, she throws her arms around his neck and hops up on him, saying he's "the best!" Grace carries her plate over to the sink, and Eli sets Jessie down to ask Grace a question. Jessie tries to interrupt, but Eli just goes ahead and asks Grace if she'd like to see the movie with them. Jessie's face falls. "Maybe," Grace says. "What, is it not pretentious enough for you?" Eli jokes. Grace lays a hand on his shoulder and pretends to struggle under the burden, sighing, "No, I'll go." She heads out of the kitchen with Eli hot on her heels. Jessie's bummed.
Cut to a contractors' supply yard, where Will Gluck is loading his truck when his cell phone rings. It's Judy. They stumble awkwardly through the pleasantries and Will says, "I thought you were someone else." Judy sensibly points out that she isn't. She starts to explain her reason for calling, but he interrupts to ask how she's doing and says that he meant to call her "a bunch of times, but --" "That's okay!" Judy blusters, then pauses to ask, "But...?" Will answers, "There's been a lot of stuff going on." Oh. Thanks for clearing that up. Judy decides to push on and get to the business at hand, saying that she wants to expand the bookstore. Will is genuinely thrilled to hear it. With a nervous laugh, Judy asks whether he's available to discuss it. "I'm available. Are you available?" he says. Judy savors the question for a second before sighing, "Yeah."
Cut to Jake inside Phil's, pacing around among the boxes and saying into his cell phone, "Yeah, well, congratulations...I don't 'sound' anything! How do you expect me to sound?" He glances up as Tiffany walks in, and seizes on her as an excuse to hang up, saying he has to take her to the drug store. "That's so psychic! I do need something from the drugstore," Tiffany chirps. "I hate my life!" Jake moans, rubbing his forehead. Tiffany admonishes him, "Don't say things like that in front of the baby, even if it's just in jest!" Jake sighs and says, "That was Judy. Insecure, attention-deficit-disordered Judy informing me that she's taking this place over." Tiffany's jaw drops. "She's turning Booklovers into a bookstore-café," Jake adds, and Tiffany's jaw drops even father. "Well, I'll give her this: it's a great idea," Jake mutters, a little bitterly. Tiffany swells with pride behind him. "It is?" she asks. "Yeah, well. Anyone can have one great idea," Jake smolders, wondering when the hell it's his turn. He turns, suddenly steamed, and asks, "You know what she just asked me?" "To run the café," Tiffany mumbles to her big round belly. "If I'd run the café," Jake fumes. "Over my dead body! I'm serious! I'll dig ditches first." He sees Tiffany opening her mouth to speak and cuts her off with, "Absolutely not!" She lumbers up out of her seat and says, "You know what, Jake? She needs you. Maybe this is an opportunity to achieve something!" Jake considers this for a second but scoffs, "Yeah, right." Tiffany tries a different tack, relating some lesson from the I Ching about "how you think you're being totally humiliated, but..." Seeing Jake's lack of interest, she falters, saying that it's a really good lesson, anyway. She waddles back to her seat and picks up the book she carried in. Jake asks what it is, and she tells him she bought herself a book of baby names. She looks at him and holds up the phone, waiting for him to swallow his pride.
"Jake," Soliloquy Jake reads. "Form of Jacob. The supplanter or substitute." He looks at the camera, dismayed. Yeah, it's not exactly heroic, is it?
Cut to the high school, where we see Stoltz sitting at his desk in an empty classroom, grading papers. "Mr. Dimitri? Can I just ask you something?" Grace asks, barging into the room. He nods distractedly. "Just because someone's life doesn't seem interesting to you personally --" He wheels his chair over to a filing cabinet and rifles though a dictionary. "You don't think you're interesting?" he asks absently. "No!" she says, wondering why he's such an idiot. "I'm saying you obviously don't think I'm being honest enough --" This gets his full attention, and he holds up his hand with a "Wait! Wait wait wait wait wait wait. Honest enough?" He pretends to wrestle with the concept for a second and says, "What's 'enough'?" Grace is getting frustrated and says, "I just can't believe --" "What? What can't you believe?" he asks mildly, looking over a paper. Grace says she can't believe she's the only person in the class who isn't being completely honest. He studies her for a second and then reaches over and opens one of his drawers. "Who calls you 'Gracie'?" he asks. Puzzled, Grace says her mother does, sometimes. Stoltz holds up her journal and asks why Grace is "letting her come to class. Why [is Grace] letting her write [her] journal." Grace is really lost, now. "My mother?" she asks. "No, Gracie," he clarifies. He says he's not interested in what Gracie has to say; he wants to hear from Grace. He'll live to regret those words, I'm sure. To drive home his point, he says, "Augie Meyers plays keyboards on the latest Dylan album, and he is amazing, but I am August." Grace says she just doesn't "think it's fair" that he's coming down on her, and he basically lets her know that nothing is fair, and that's what she should write about. He asks what would happen if she let herself say the thing she's most afraid to say to the person she's most afraid to say it to. "And then write about it. Only, don't clean it up. Don't make it presentable. Don't be Gracie. Be in a state of grace. Because that's what 'Grace' means. Grace is about what's sacred. And that's the truth." He holds out her journal, and she reluctantly takes it, looking like she expects to get an electric shock.
Soliloquy Grace reads, "August. Short for Augustus. Worthy of honor and respect." She stares at the page for a second, then glances at the camera with a wise little glint in her eye.
Cut to Judy at Phil's, going over the basic plan with Lily and Jake. Lily's wardrobe, by the way, has progressed from a tweenie to that of a twentysomething this week. Right now she's sporting a skin-tight tank top (thankfully, it's plain), low-rise dark-denim jeans, and a studded belt. It's a big improvement over last week, although still miles away from the Lily we knew. Anyway, as Judy tries to explain her ideas for the new place, Lily keeps interrupting her and trying to finish her sentences. Lily looks down at the clipboard in her hand and declares that they should have a fairly limited menu. Jake, in the background, overhears this nonsense and protests loudly. He strides over as Lily explains that she just thought it would be simpler. "Well, it's just not very smart," Jake guffaws. Aw, it's just like the good old days, with eyes flashing, tempers flaring, and words flying. Judy tries to break it up, but is ineffectual. Lily's cell phone rings, and she rushes off to answer it. Jake takes the opportunity to tell Judy how he thinks things should go.
Lily's surprised to find Tiffany on the other end of the call. Tiffany says she just wanted to explain about the baby book. Lily says it's okay, that Zoe told her someone sent Tiffany a book. Tiffany asks whether Lily is still looking for a job, because they're hiring at the radio station where she used to work, but Lily'd "have to get over there, like, now." Lily squints over at Judy and Jake, her future with the two of them closing in like a noose, and glances at her watch. She turns her back on Jake and Judy and asks Tiffany how to get to the station. Clicking off her phone, she grabs her jacket and says, "Okay, are we almost done here?"
Soliloquy Judy says, "It's true that in the past she had this tendency to not listen to me. Ever. Because I'm the younger sister. But that was the past. I'm different now." Just keep telling yourself that, Judy.
Back at the restaurant, Judy asks, "Why, you have to be somewhere?" Lily pulls on her jacket, saying, "Yeah, I have to dash." Jake looks at his watch and looks at her in disbelief. Judy steps toward her, suspiciously asking, "You have to 'dash'?" Since when do you say 'dash'?" Lily insists that she's said "dash." Judy disagrees and asks what's wrong, pulling Lily a conspiratorial distance from Jake. She's about to press Lily even further when Jake holds up his hand behind them and loudly announces, "Well, I don't have to dash. And I think that there's a few things we need to clear up here." Judy says a weak "sure." Lily tugs her by the elbow, pulling her close and whispering not to let Jake walk all over her. Judy doesn't like the implication that she can't take care of herself, and sends Lily on her way with "You said you had to dash, so dash." She looks uncertainly back at Jake and plasters a smile on her face.
Cut to Lily at the radio station, where she's looking at some cardboard cutout and expressing her surprise that that's what Dr. So-and-So actually looks like. The woman with her smiles and says, "Everyone says that." She asks for Lily's résumé and warns her that "he's seeing a lot of people for this." Lily mumbles that she just thought it couldn't hurt. The woman leads her through the office, explaining that the job is assistant to the program manager, Les Kresswell, and cautions that it's a "challenging position." Lily thinks that's good. The woman glances into Kresswell's empty office and tells Lily to wait there while she goes to find him. It's a much different environment than Lily was used to at PagesAlive. Let's just say there's no inflatable furniture, and I don't think being a "great older sister" is going to get her too far. And I know she didn't have a chance to change her clothes, but the only position she's dressed for is that of a college intern.
Kresswell finally sweeps into his office and takes a seat behind his desk. He's an older, rotund man, and looks as if he'd smell of stale cigars and old coffee. He glances at some of the papers on his desk before he seems to notice that Lily's standing there. He yanks off his glasses and looks at her. She starts to say something, but he cuts her off: "Okay." She doesn't understand. He makes it clear: she's got the job, and can start tomorrow. "You don't want to talk to me?" she asks uncertainly, with a lopsided smile. "We'll talk tomorrow," he answers gruffly. He stands up and walks out of his office. Lily chases after him saying, "I'm just surprised." He looks over a paper someone hands him and mutters, "Of course you're surprised. I made a decision. Most people can't do that anymore." He strides away and she follows, anxiously asking how he can hire her without interviewing her -- how does he know she's right for the job. He answers that he doesn't: "We'll find out tomorrow." Lily says she needs to think it over and then launches into the story of Judy and Booklovers, and the guy could give a shit. Lily, shut up. You just got a gift. Take it, and go home. Kresswell curmudgeons, "Look, Lila. I don't wanna know about sisters. People may have sisters, but I don't wanna know." She registers this and says, "I need to sleep on it." "Fine. Get some sleep. I'll be in touch," he says, and then steps into an office. Lily brightens, saying, "I used to listen to you. When I was young." He pauses and turns to look at her, expressionless. She adds, "You have a very comforting voice." Oh brother. Yeah, you can afford to be choosy about this job. Apparently, Kresswell doesn't like to hear he has a comforting anything, and closes the door on her without saying a word. Excellent. Crusty may be gone, but her spirit lives on. Crusty, meet Fusty.
Later that day, Lily arrives home to find Eli and Judy in the kitchen. Eli's heaping a mountain of cold pasta and meatballs onto a plate while Judy watches in awe. Judy asks where Lily went that afternoon, and Lily stammers as she tries to think of a good cover. Judy waves her hand and says, "Never mind," and then glances at Eli while trying to ask Lily something without having to come right out and say it. Eli assures her, "Don't worry, I'm leaving. I'm leaving." And he does. And he leaves everything all over the counter, too. "Did you see all that food?!" Judy whispers loudly. Lily says that teenage boys eat a lot. "Especially when they're high," Judy mutters. Lily reproaches her and says they're "just used to girls." Rolling her eyes, she adds, "It's an adjustment, believe me. The other day, I ran into him in a towel!" Judy's mind races. "Was he wet?" she asks. Lily clarifies that she was the one in the towel. Eli was in his underwear. "Oh my god!" Judy exclaims, wondering if there's any room for her to move into Manning Manor. Lily insists that it was embarrassing, but Judy just wants to know what kind of towel Lily was wearing: "Bath towel, hand towel, tea towel." Lily tells her to shut up. They're quiet for a few seconds as Lily puts away all the food containers. Judy takes a deep breath and starts, "This isn't a criticism, okay?" "Okay," Lily says carefully. Judy says that while they were with Jake that morning, Lily kept interrupting her. Insulted, Lily whines that Judy interrupts her all the time. Judy interrupts her to deny it. Who raised these people?
Soliloquy Judy wonders, "Why did I think I needed her?"
Both sisters claim they don't want to fight about it.
Soliloquy Lily wonders, "Why did I think she needed me?"
Judy says she needs to be able to tell Lily when she's being annoying, or things won't work out. Lily interrupts her to promise that she won't interrupt anymore.
Soliloquy Judy exclaims, "I don't need this!"
Lily is surprised when Judy points out that she just did interrupt.
Soliloquy Lily states, "I don't need this!"
Lily promises that she won't interrupt Judy anymore.
Soliloquy Judy tries to find the guts "to just tell her."
"Listen," Judy starts, but then chickens out. She makes like she just wanted to show Lily the Booklovers logos, and goes to grab her bag. Lily closes the fridge door with a determined, "Judy..."
Soliloquy Lily insists, "I'll just tell her."
Niki rolls her eyes and wishes one of them would just grow some balls and be honest already. Then she realizes that they've driven her to refer to herself in the third person. That's not good.
Judy stares at Lily with a suspicious glint as Lily falls silent. Judy asks what she was going to say. Lily bullshits that she was just going to suggest that Judy stay for dinner, and then afterward they could look at the logos. Judy says that's great and then goes ahead and pulls out the logos anyway, excitedly buzzing about the ones she likes best. Lily's eyes glaze as she mentally kicks her own ass for being such a wuss.
After commercials, Judy's having coffee with Karen. "So you did it, you actually did it!" Karen enthuses. Judy says she has Karen to thank for it. Karen says it's very brave of Judy to "do this on [her] own." Yeah, about that.... Judy studies her coffee cup and admits that Lily's going to be her partner. At the mention of its nemesis, the ass-pole snaps to attention, and Karen has a hard time swallowing. Judy tries to justify it, and Karen phonies along with it for a few seconds before pointing out that Judy was running Booklovers by herself. As the ass-pole works itself into a splinter, Karen grows more and more agitated and gets louder and louder, pointing out, "You conceived of this whole idea all on your own. Why would you need anyone? This is your baby!" And Eli is my baby, she adds silently. She finally gets hold of herself, takes a deep breath, and apologizes for her outburst. Karen complains, "Since Eli was arrested, I barely sleep." Judy tries to reassure her, but Karen presses on: "And now..." She stops herself to try to find the right words. "Does Lily mention him?" she demands. Judy wonders what the hell was in Karen's coffee. "I should not be asking you that," Karen passive-aggressives, and pouts, "It's just that it seems like he's always there." Judy tries to be diplomatic, suggesting that it's probably just easier for Eli to be with Lily since she's not his mother. And since she doesn't have an ass-pole making her crazy. Everyone seems to have forgotten that Rick lives there with Eli and Lily, too. Not that it's hard to do. Judy then steps in it, joking, "And let's face it. It doesn't hurt that she looks great in a towel." The minute the words are out, Judy regrets them. The ass-pole catches a whiff of impropriety. Karen squints, "What do you mean? What towel?" Oh, crap.
Cut to Phil's, where Jake, Lily, and Judy are trying to work together. It's going about as well as it did last time. When Jake mentions that he called his contractor, Lily cuts him off to protest that Judy already called Will Gluck. Judy starts to say that she did in fact call Will, but Jake condescends that it's "not some little back porch" they're working on. Hey, step off the Gluck-bashing, pal. Lily jumps to Judy's defense, and Judy meekly tries to break up the spat. Lily and Jake keep escalating their voices and their blood pressure while Judy looks incredulously from one to the other until she finally yells, "Hey! Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!" Jake actually flinches. Judy sarcastically offers to run out and get them coffee. "Oh, but that doesn't make sense, since I'm the one with the money. So why don't you [pointing at Lily] just shut up, and you [pointing at Jake] just get out." There's a stunned silence. "You want me to get out of here?" Jake finally says, incredulous. He pushes up from the table, but Lily holds out her arm and says that Judy doesn't mean it. "What? Yes I do!" Judy bristles. Jake makes it clear that if he leaves, he's not coming back. Judy's fine with that. Lily just sits and glares at Judy, agape. Once Jake leaves, she hisses, "What the hell was that all about?" Judy gathers her things and says that she doesn't want to talk about it right now. Lily snarks, "And to speak to me that way? I don't speak that way to you." She stands up and stalks out, leaving the boss lady to think about what she's done.
Cut to Eli in the kitchen at Manning Manor. This time, he's making a sandwich. He must cost a fortune to keep. Jessie's at the table, flipping through the name book. He offers her half the sandwich.
Soliloquy Jessie fondly reads that Eli "means 'the highest.'" Heh. She shoots the camera a knowing look and says, "I should tell him that." Dude, I think he knows.
Eli says, "I used the honey mustard, just like you like it." Jessie walks past him, leaving an icy breeze in her wake. He asks her what's going on. "I know, okay," she says. "You know? What do you know?" he asks mildly. Jessie grits, "Why you always have to include her." Eli reels for a second, then starts to smile at the ludicrousness of her implication. He starts to say, "Wait a minute. You actually think --" Jessie interrupts to assure him that she won't tell anyone, if that's what he's worried about, so he can "just stop acting like it's this big hush-hush secret." Eli leans in close, and with an edge in his voice says there's nothing going on. Jessie tells him to shut up. "Don't tell me to shut up. I don't talk that way to you!" he protests. Jessie's hands fly around agitatedly and she tells him that she can handle the truth.
Grace walks into the kitchen, and the conversation stops. She heads to the fridge, grabs a juice box, and almost plows right into Eli as he moves to put something away in the fridge. Jessie watches them closely, and Eli catches her. Silently, she hoists her backpack and sweeps out of the room, trailing disgust. Grace shoots Eli an inquisitive glance, and he shrugs. She opens the name book on the counter, and he asks who she's looking up. "Nobody," she answers. He grabs his plate and makes to leave, but she asks, "Where are you going?" He points upstairs and says, "Nowhere, I was just --" "Eli, are we afraid to be alone?" Grace blurts. Eli spins around to look at her, and thinks carefully before saying, "I'm not afraid to be alone with you, Grace." "I know," she says, too quickly. He says it's just that he's busy. "I know," she says again. She looks down at the counter, and he watches her, still a little taken aback. "So, what about tomorrow?" she asks, looking up at him. Pause. He says that's fine. Pause. "So, if I knocked on your door, say around this time..." Eli looks at her evenly and says, "I'd let you in." She smiles a little. He studies her and raises the corner of his mouth a little. "Okay, so I'll see you tomorrow," Grace says. Eli heads out, and Grace smiles to herself. I uncurl myself from the fetal position. Judy comes in through the back door, looks around cautiously, and asks, "Uh, is she here?" Grace points upward.
Cut to Lily's fingers on the keyboard, typing up a revised version of her résumé. The camera zooms in so we can see that she's fraudulently claiming to have graduated with a B.A. with Honors from Northwestern. Man, that pisses me off. B.A.s are cheap enough without people who don't even have them laying claim. She's also listed her position at PagesAlive as "assistant editor" rather than "editorial assistant," and describes a whole pile of work I never saw her doing, such as editing "written material" for "style, punctuation, and content" and "maintaining publication schedules." Jesus, Crusty wouldn't even listen to her ideas until the very end of last season, and even then it was only grudgingly. Lily seems to have gotten comfortable with the lying awfully quick.
Judy slips into the bedroom behind her and sees the résumé on-screen. "You're redoing your résumé?" she asks, disappointed. If by "redoing" she means "making up," then yes. Lily doesn't turn around, but says, "You said yourself that I..." Judy starts to panic and says, "I lost my temper. Is that a reason not to work for me?" Lily spins around now, repeating, "Work for you?" Judy scrambles: "With me. I meant 'with me.'" Lily won't let her off the hook and claims, "That's how you see this, Judy, not as partners." Judy protests, but Lily rudely waves her hand for silence and announces, "I can't do it." Judy starts groveling, which is just pathetic considering that she is the one with the money. The front door slams and Rick bellows, "Lil?" Lily and Judy look at each other for a second, and Lily informs Judy that yelling and freaking out like she did "is not how you get people to listen to you." The phone rings and Lily reaches for it, but Judy asks her to please not answer it right now. She continues groveling and pleads, "Lily, please don't look for another job." Lily squints at her and looks reluctant, but she's saved from answering when Rick bursts into the bedroom, breathless. "So, Karen phones me at work. She's completely freaked out about Eli seeing you in a towel that time. I mean, you must have mentioned it. I don't know how else..." Rick trails off, watching the looks fly between Lily and Judy. "I'm going to take a shower," he says, and wisely ducks into the safety of the bathroom. Judy has a little trouble meeting Lily's eyes and lamely says, "You didn't say it was a secret." Lily cries, "I didn't think I had to! And it's not a secret. It's just not something --" "What's not a secret?" Grace asks, coming into the room to hand Lily a message. Judy just stares at Grace, while Lily glares at Judy. "Never mind. I don't even want to know," Grace snots. She holds out the note to Lily and says, "Mom, some guy just called from a radio station. He said the job you interviewed for yesterday is still yours if you want it." Now it's Lily's turn to squirm. She hangs her head for a second before looking up at Judy, who's indignantly sucking her cheeks. "Gracie, don't you have to write in your journal?" Lily asks. Grace rolls her eyes and heads toward the door. She stops, turns to look squarely at Lily, and announces, "And I kind of prefer 'Grace' to 'Gracie.'" Judy shoots Lily one more wounded look, rolls her eyes, and walks out. Lily takes a deep breath, pushes herself up from the desk, and goes after Grace.
On the stairs, Judy disgustedly says, "I can't believe you went to a job interview yesterday!" Lily defends herself, saying she thought it was an "opportunity that [she] needed to explore." At the bottom of the stairs, Judy spins and spits, "You agreed to work for me, and the very day --" Lily cuts her off to point out that Judy said "for" instead of "with" again. She gripes that she agreed to "work with [Judy], not for [her]!" Judy clenches that it was no excuse to go behind her back. Lily waves her hand, lightly admits that she was wrong, and starts to imply that Judy is overreacting. Judy, steaming, says, "I offered you an amazing opportunity, and I'm being honest with you --" "No, you're not!" Lily argues that Judy can't even admit that she wants Lily to work for her and not with her. Judy can't choke out the words to respond. Lily starts to relent and says she doesn't necessarily have to take the job at the station, but Judy interrupts to tell her to take it. Then she storms out the front door, slamming it behind her. Lily sinks to the stairs, wondering how things got this complicated. I'll take "Lying and Sneaking Around" for a thousand, Alex.
After commercials, Lily's sitting at her new job, eagerly waiting for Kresswell the Curmudgeon to arrive. She calls out a perky good morning when he does, which prompts him to do a doubletake. "I hired you?" he asks. Lily reminds him that he called her house the evening. He asks her name. She reminds him, "It's Lily. Actually, it's Elizabeth, but I prefer Lily." He asks, "Skills?" She launches into what would be a wordy, convoluted bullshit session, but he thankfully cuts through it early and says, "You're a people person." She asks whether that's a bad thing. He takes a seat to her desk, saying, "Elizabeth, you know how a person sometimes gets off on the wrong foot with another person in a workplace, but then they work together and get to know each other and eventually they come to be almost like family?" Lily smiles, encouraged, and says she does. "Well, that's not going to happen here," the Curmudgeon says shortly. He steps into his office and closes the door. Lily spins around in her desk chair, registering his words, and looking determined in spite of them.
Cut to Phil's. Jake and Tiffany let Judy in, and she mutters that she just has to take a few measurements before the contractor comes. Jake swallows the bile rising in his throat as Judy disappears into the kitchen. "Jake!" Tiffany hisses. He asks what he's supposed to do. She tells him just to go and talk to Judy. He groans. Tiffany pulls a book out of her bag to read him something inspirational: "If the superior man undertakes something and tries to lead, he goes astray. But if he follows...." She looks up at Jake expectantly. Good for Tiffany. She's really learned how to maneuver Jake these past few months. Judy emerges from the kitchen and awkwardly says she needs to take the keys. "Oh, right," Tiffany says. Jake's staring off somewhere he's still a big man. Tiffany breaks the reverie so he'll hand off the keys. He can't bring himself to hand them to Judy directly, so he gives them to Tiffany instead. She tells Judy that Jake has something to say. "Don't you?" she adds, shooting him an insistent look. "Well, actually, I do, too," Judy murmurs. They're all silent for a minute until Jake steps up and admits, in fits and starts, that he "may have come on a little..." "You were wrong," Tiffany supplies. He agrees. Judy says she came on a little strong, too, and that she's sorry. "Yeah, me too," Jake says. Tiffany watches him squirm for a few seconds, frowns, and starts to get the second ball rolling by telling Judy that Jake would really appreciate the opportunity to work for her. Jake can't lift his eyes off the floor, but quietly says, "Yeah, I would." Judy doesn't respond, but just looks at him. After a second or two of silence, Jake moves forward, takes the key from Tiffany, and hands them to Judy. She seems to appreciate how much that gesture required of Jake, and she smiles and thanks him. He heads for the door while he still has a shred of pride left.
Soliloquy Tiffany's on the Stool, leafing through her name book. She reads, "Tia...Tierney..." and looks up at the camera, perturbed. "I'm not even in the book," she says. Well Tiffany is much less common than Tierney, after all.
Tiffany and Judy share a smile, and Tiffany moves to join Jake, who's waiting for her in the doorway. "This was Tiffany's idea, you know," Judy calls out. Tiffany turns, astonished that she's getting some validation at last. She smiles gratefully at Judy and turns to find Jake staring at her like she's a stranger. "No. No I didn't know that," he says, still staring. Tiffany shoots Judy another smile and heads out. Jake, stunned, follows her. Judy smiles to herself, having set her karmic balance right. Or so she thinks...
Cut to the high school, where Grace is about to seek Stoltz's approval yet again. She strides into his classroom with a big smile and announces, "I tried it. I did what you said." He whistles and packs his leather satchel. "You know, about saying what you're most afraid to say, to the person your most afraid to say it to," Grace prods. He stops whistling and says, "I said that? Huh. Good." Grace starts telling him about the situation with Eli and says he's the "most embarrassing person she could pick to write about." Stoltz says a satisfied "Good." He grabs his bag and heads for the door, pausing in the doorway to ask, "You know who I think about a lot?" Grace shrugs. "Proust. Proust and Emily Dickinson. I mean, they were so scared they never even left their rooms. You don't have to become the bravest person who ever lived. Just the bravest writer." Can I get an "oh, brother"?
Cut to Will Gluck surveying the restaurant. Judy giddily tells him that she measured everything, and hands him the list of numbers. He says there's something she should know. "There is?" she asks, her chest tightening. He tells her he finally found his daughter. Okay, that's not what Judy was expecting. She takes a moment to register this news, while Will excitedly tells her the details he's learned. His daughter lives in Florida (I thought Pasadena was in California), and he's going to move down there so that he can spend some time getting to know her. Judy fights her tears and tries to put on a brave face. He hands her the measurements, and she asks his daughter's name. She coos when he answers, "Kaylee."
Soliloquy Judy looks up Will's name in the book. She reads, "William means 'determined protector.'" She looks wistfully into the camera.
Judy forces herself to tell Will that she's really happy for him. He tells her that it all happened because of her -- that since he met her he's been forcing himself to admit the truth, like she does. Like the rest of us, Judy is surprised to hear that he thinks she does this. "Well, maybe it takes you a while sometimes," he says. "But you do. And you make what you want come true." Judy looks around at the restaurant and smiles. Will adds, "I just wish..." Judy's eyes brim, and she says, "Me too." After a few seconds, she tells him that his daughter is really lucky, and they hug.
Cut to Manning Manor, where Grace is working up the courage to climb the attic stairs. She finds Eli working on his guitar and nervously asks whether it's a good time. He puts his guitar aside and says it is. Grace surveys the loft as if she's never been up there before, and plunks herself into an old chair. It promptly groans, and she almost sinks right through it. She scrambles forward and perches on the edge of the seat, nervously asking how work is going. They make some stilted conversation about his job for a few minutes. Eli's hot. I never used to see it, but consider me one of the converted. Which is just one more reason why I'll have to strap myself into a straitjacket if he and Grace ever get together. Grace pretends to be fascinated by the prospect of getting people coffee, and then the conversation falls flat. After a few awkward beats, Grace stands up and says, "Anyway, I just though we should...because we never...um," Grace stumbles over his shoes as she makes a break for the stairs. She smiles self-consciously, straightens the shoes, and finishes, "Get a chance to talk." She reaches the stairs and blurts, "Okay, see ya," before bolting down them. Smooth operator, she isn't. Eli stares at the empty stairs for a few seconds, before sighing -- with relief, I hope -- and standing up.
Downstairs, Jessie catches Grace shutting the door to the attic. She watches her like some crazy old lady in a horror flick, and Grace slinks into her room, shutting the door behind her with relief. She replays the scene with Eli in her head, rolling her eyes and sighing. Yeah, with you on that one. Jessie looks at Eli's door for a minute before knocking.
Upstairs, Eli's got his head out the window, smoking a joint. The "drug deferral" program seems to be working. He asks who it is and tells Jessie to come up, extinguishing the dube in an ashtray on the windowsill. He asks Jessie what she wants, and she says she's just there to bother him. He sighs and with exaggerated weariness tells her to get her "big smelly feet off [his] bed." She protests that her feet aren't big and whips a pillow at him. He clutches it and comes at her, with a surprising amount of energy for someone who's just smoked up. A squealing pillow fight ensues.
Down in her room, Grace scribbles in her journal and writes something that makes her laugh out loud.
Judy's still at the restaurant, but Will's gone. She's staring at a photograph of her father that's still hanging on the wall. Lily enters and pauses in the doorway before coming all the way in. "I left a message on your cell," she says pleasantly. Judy braces for yet another argument, and works up the nerve to tell Lily that she can't work there, after all, because Judy needs to do it by herself. "I don't want to work here," Lily says easily. She says she's "working for another lunatic," and clarifies that the message she left was to ask whether Judy wanted to meet for dinner. She chides Judy to check her messages more often: "It's one of the habits of highly successful sisters." Judy quips, "We're not the Go-Go's." "No, really?" Lily answers. Judy slowly paces around and brings herself to admit that she doesn't need Lily as much anymore. Lily seems pretty okay with that. They both agree it's all right that Judy doesn't need her, and that Lily doesn't want to work for or with her. And now that they're being honest, Judy wants to know, "So, is Tiffany a replacement for me?" "Is Karen?"
Their Soliloquy Selves are side by side on a couple of stools, and Judy reads out that Elizabeth means "consecrated to God." Lily looks pleased and "mmms" like that means something to her. She takes the book and reads that Judith means, "She who shall be praised." Judy looks away and smiles bashfully.
Back at the restaurant, the sisters reassure one another that neither is replaceable. Big warm fuzzy moment. Judy looks up at Phil's picture over the bar and says, "He'd never have believed I'd be the one who'd take over this place. He'd never believe it in a million years." "True," Lily says. Judy gives her a delicate shove, then rests her head on her shoulder. We fade out as they lean on each other and stare at their dad. Awww.