What I Watched Today

(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)

General Hospital

I almost made it on time, but here’s what you need to know. Chase ran into Michael in the gym locker room, and Michael accused him of playing God. Trina told Portia that Cyrus claimed her father was still alive, and she wondered if it was true. Laura was in Florence’s room, when the door handle started to move. She hid in the bathroom, and Martin came in. Jordan called Curtis, wondering when he’d be back, and said she couldn’t talk to him on the phone. He told her what he and Laura had done, and said he was concerned there might be trouble. Meanwhile, Sonny and Jason were on their way to Secaucus. And here we are.

A guy sees Julian, slumped on the bench at the bus station, and startles him. Julian grabs his arm, and asks what time it is. The guy says let go of him, and Julian apologizes, saying he’s trying catch the bus to Montreal at 11:03. The guy says, it’s ten after. He thinks Julian missed his bus.

Portia doesn’t know what makes her more furious; Cyrus speaking to Trina in the first place, or giving her false hope. They saw her dad’s injuries. They were there when he died. Trina says her dad asked her to get him some candy, and she was only gone a few minutes. She wasn’t in the room when he – quote – died. Portia says she got to say goodbye, but Trina says she knows there are drugs that can simulate death. Portia asks her to stop and listen to herself. Someone had to administer those drugs, and plan to transport him somewhere. She knows the staff; they’re good people. She doesn’t believe they’d join a conspiracy to inflict as much pain as possible, especially on Trina. Trina says, they might, if they thought they were doing the right thing, and Portia asks if Trina really thinks her dad would do this; cause her to suffer like this? Trina asks why Portia can’t believe he’s possibly alive, and Portia says, because there are so many reasons not to believe it. Think about it. Why lie? What good would it do him? Trina says just because she doesn’t know the reason, doesn’t mean there isn’t one. Portia says she does know Cyrus, and he’s not a man to be trusted. Since he set foot in this town, he’s been one thing – a liar – and he’s about to get what’s coming to him.   

Back at the station, Mac says Taggert needs to tell him who helped him fake his death. Taggert says he did it by himself, and Mac says, that’s BS, and Taggert knows it. He wants answers. Taggert says he has one word – lawyer.

Jordan tells Curtis, if he needs assistance, she can make a call, but he says, give Laura time to work her magic. She says, what if Laura can’t handle it? and he says he gave Laura a burner phone. One text or call, and he’ll be there. Does Jordan need something? She says she always needs him, but it can wait. He gets a text from Laura saying she’s trapped in Florence’s bathroom.

Martin says, hello, mama. It’s been far too long since his last visit. He’s sorry, but once a week is all he can manage to travel to Vermont, especially in winter. That doesn’t make him much of a son. Lord knows, after what she’s been through, she deserves better. He brushes her hair back from her face, and says he brought her something to celebrate her birthday. He hopes she appreciates how hard it was dealing with Yankee bakers who looked cross-eyed at him when he asked for hummingbird cake. They kept trying to sell him something gluten free. He wishes he had an Old Fashioned to go with it, but tap water will have to do. Laura comes out of the bathroom, and says she hopes there’s enough for three.

In the car, Jason says Julian is at the bus station, unless he’s on the bus. His ticket would be in the system. Sonny wonders if he was desperate enough to buy one with a credit card. There are surveillance cameras at the station, and if they can track Julian, Cyrus can do the same thing. Jason says Brick gave them a good head start, and Sonny hopes so. Cyrus isn’t going to let this go. He knows Julian ties him to the bomb at The Floating Rib.   

Julian insists the guy’s watch is fast. He only closed his eyes for a minute. The guy says, the Montreal bus is gone, but Julian can catch one in the morning at 10. Julian says he can’t wait. He needs to get out of town tonight. When does the next bus leave? The guy says the only one left is the one he’s on, but it’s usually sold out. We see a dude with a gun watching Julian from behind a column. Julian says he’ll buy the guy’s ticket. How much does he want? $200? $300? The guy says, the ticket costs $84, and it’s going to Roanoke. Julian doesn’t care. How much does he want? The guy says Julian doesn’t look good. Has he seen a doctor recently? Julian says he’s got to put distance between him and New York.

Chase asks if this is how it’s going to be. It’s not a civil conversation. Michael says it sounds like Chase wants to get off the hook, and be forgiven, but Chase says he just wants to talk it through. Michael says, when Sasha came up with this idiotic plan, Chase had plenty of opportunity to include them, but didn’t say anything. When Nelle was no longer a threat, he still said nothing. Chase says he couldn’t tell Michael at the beginning. The plan only worked if they didn’t know the truth. Michael and Willow got married because they put Wiley first, and that’s what the judge saw. Nelle’s had a phony marriage to Julian, and everybody knew they were faking, but Michael and Willow weren’t. They both love Wiley, and it came through. Michael says that didn’t give Chase a free pass, and Chase says it wasn’t a normal custody case; they weren’t fighting over which daycare to put Wiley in. Did he honestly think Wiley would still be safe if he hadn’t married Willow? Michael says he doesn’t know, but neither does Chase.  Chase says, whether Michael wants to admit it or not, there would have been nothing worse than watching Nelle walk away with his son. Michael asks if Chase wants him to say thanks for managing his life, and Chase says, no. He just wants a shot at getting his friend back.

Martin asks Laura what on earth she’s doing in his mother’s bathroom, and she says they’ll get to that. What’s in a hummingbird cake? He says, banana and pineapple, with cream cheese frosting. Why is he answering her when she’s an uninvited guest? She says she heard him say he was going to get water from the bathroom, and thought it was less likely to give him a heart attack if she just came out. He thanks her for thinking of his health. As an attorney, he also appreciates an artful dodge. What exactly is she doing there? Did she just wander in by mistake? Is she a patient, and if so, are her constituents aware of what brought her there? Curtis walks in, and says Martin is going to need to forget he saw Laura. Only a few people know she’s there, and that’s how it’s going to stay.   

Jason asks how Sonny wants to do this, and Sonny says, in a perfect world, they’d go up to Julian, escort him to the car, and take him back to Port Charles. Jason says they know there are security cameras, so maybe he should go in alone, in case Julian does something stupid. Sonny says, that’s why he pays Diane a fortune for retainer. If something goes wrong, she sorts it out. Jason asks, what if Julian runs again? and Sonny says, they’ll stop him.

On the phone, Jordan leaves a message for Carly, saying Carly did her a favor, and she’s returning it. Something happened that forced Taggert’s hand, and he’s in police custody. Carly needs to pass the information along to whoever helped him. Mac may have no choice but to follow-up, and they might want to seek legal representation just in case. Mac comes out, and tells Jordan, Taggert isn’t talking and he’s lawyering up. Portia comes in with Trina, and tells Jordan, Cyrus accosted her daughter after she told him multiple times to stay away. Mac asks if she was hurt, and Trian says, no, but Portia says they both know Cyrus had Trina’s father killed. Now Trina is convinced he’s still alive and they didn’t bury him, that they mourned and grieved for months for nothing. Jordan says she’ll speak to Cyrus, but Portia says she needs to do more than speak. One way or another, he’s been harassing her and her daughter for month. He needs to regret even thinking about her family. Jordan wholeheartedly agrees, but says, now is not the right time. Portia says, when? Taggert comes out, and says, after the reunion. Trina says, dad?

Trina asks if it’s really him, and Taggert says, hey, kiddo. Look at her. Does she ever stop growing? Trina flies into his arms, crying. Portia looks at Jordan.

Curtis says, this day gets stranger and stranger. He’s sorry he didn’t get back sooner, but there’s trouble back in Port Charles, and he had to dodge the night nurses. Laura says, it’s okay, and Martin says she hasn’t explained why she’s there. She tells him, it’s imperative that she speak to his mother, and he says, it couldn’t wait until regular visiting hours? As she can see, his mother is indisposed. She says, maybe he could answer some questions, and he says he could try, as long as she answers some of his. She says, sounds fair, and tells Curtis to go back to Port Charles. Jordan needs her husband, and she’s sure she’ll be just fine. Curtis asks how she can be sure, and Laura says, because of the way Martin talks to his mother.

Michael tells Chase, he wants his friend back too. Assuming Chase ever actually was a friend. If he’s being honest, he hasn’t had many close friendships, but he thought honesty was key. Chase says he’s sorry he hurt them, and it got rough for Sasha, but he’s not sorry that Michael got full custody. Everything worked out fine. Michael says, according to Chase. Sasha survived her OD, he got full custody of Wiley, and Chase got to play martyr, sacrificing his relationship with Willow. But a sacrifice doesn’t count if you’re planning on taking back the thing you gave up. Chase asks if the real reason Michael is angry is Willow.

Trina says she knew it. She told Josslyn and Cameron that she felt in her heart he was alive. Taggert says, and here he is. She says she missed him so much, and he says he missed her too. They hug again.

The guy asks if Julian is sick, but Julian says, no; he won’t catch anything. He has three kids, and if he doesn’t leave, he may never see them again. The guy says if Julian is in trouble, he can call 9-1-1, but Julian says the cops can’t help him, but he can. He can wait for next bus, right? Julian definitely can’t. How about it? $100 cash. The gunman comes out, and walks to a spot behind them, and the guy says, deal. Julian thanks him, and he says he hopes Julian gets the help he needs. The guy leaves, and Julian gets up. He limps away, and comes face to face with Jason. He turns around, and Sonny is there.

Julian says Sonny isn’t going to start shooting in a bus terminal, and Sonny says they know he planted the bomb. Don’t think he’s making a run for it. The gunman texts Cyrus that Jason and Sonny are there, and the reply is: ☠️ ☠️ ☠️ $$$. Sonny tells Julian not to do anything stupid, and the gunman shoots. 

Mac tells Jordan that Taggert’s family seemed startled, but they were in the interrogation room sorting things out. He thinks maybe the two of them need to discuss some things too. She says she needed a breath of fresh air, and ran into Trina sitting on the bench dedicated to the fallen heroes, thinking about her dad. Mac says, and by coincidence, Taggert was there too, but Jordan says, it was no coincidence. He was keeping an eye on Trina. Mac says, he can’t say he blames Taggert. If he knew Trina was a target, but it was a bad idea. He wonders why Jordan doesn’t seem as phased as he is that a dead man has risen from the grave.

Trina says she can’t believe Taggert is there. She has to pinch herself to make sure she’s not dreaming. He says, it’s as real as it gets, and she says she can’t wait to tell Josslyn and Cameron that she was right, but how did Cyrus know he was alive? Why… He says, stop. He doesn’t want that man’s name coming out of her mouth. She asks how it happened. How is he here? They were told he died; they saw him. He says people tried to hurt him by hurting her. He was putting her safety in jeopardy, and her mom’s. Portia says, so he decided not to be around, and chose to fake his death? He says the only thing that matters is keeping her safe. Does Trina understand? She says she understands, but doesn’t understand why he couldn’t tell her.  

Laura asks if Martin’s mother is always… benumbed. He says, more often than not. She’s been in a declining state for a long time. Laura asks if his presence isn’t disturbing her, and he says, no more so than Laura prowling around. The staff gives her something at night to help her sleep more peacefully. He was hoping to get there tonight before it was administered, but he was delayed. He can see it’s Laura’s first visit. She says she came looking for his mother, but didn’t know she’d declined. He says, don’t get him wrong. His mama is a tough old bird; tenacious, and also weary and lonely. Laura says, maybe he should visit more often, but he says his mother is pining for his father, who passed away years ago. She says, Gordon Grey, and he says, let’s see… The particulars of hummingbird cake and private family matters. He thinks he’s indulged her inquiries long enough. Why is she skulking around his mother? She says, it’s not his mother she has a relationship with, but his father. Or should she say their father? Martin asks if she’s inferring they’re related in some way, and she says she’s his half-sister.   

Michael tells Chase, it’s about all of them. Chase and Sasha made decisions about their lives. Chase says, it was always for Wiley, and Michael says, that may be right. They all know how vindictive Nelle was, and desperate times call for desperate measures, but there’s also a cost. Sasha turned to drugs to numb the pain, and nearly died. He and Willow didn’t just pretend to be married; they shared those vows and their lives for months, and their feelings deepened. Their marriage became more real than they’d intended, and how Chase is saying call it off? Just kidding. Chase has been devoted the entire time. Call a reset and go back the way they were. Is that what Chase wants to say? Chase says he gets it; he screwed up. But he’s admitted it and apologized. What does Michael want him to do? Say he’ll never see Willow again? Michael says, talk is an empty gesture. He has no intention of taking away Chase’s choices like Chase did to them. Chase says, if there’s nothing he can do to repair the friendship, say the word. Michael tells him, stop. Take a breath. Chase does, and Michael puts his hand on Chase’s shoulder, then kicks him in the nuts. Chase doubles over, and Michael says, it would have been worse if he hadn’t taken a breath.

Martin says Laura is his half-sister? and she says it’s a readjustment for her too. She thinks she’ll be adjusting for a long time to come. She takes it from his reaction that Gordon never mentioned her existence. He says his parents were never ones to dwell on the past. She says she doesn’t think Gordon dwelled on her at all, but he doesn’t seem all that surprised. He says he’s staggered that the mayor is his half-sister, but in a general sense, it’s not entirely unexpected. His father was never overly concerned about obeying his wedding vows. He had a wandering eye, and it did horrible things to his mother’s self-esteem. She says, they never got a divorce? and he says, ‘til death do us part. His mother took it seriously. Laura guesses she’s a production of his dad’s wandering eye. She’d heard many years ago that Gordon died, and assumed his mom dead. He says she spread rumors of her own demise. She had a flair for the dramatic. Apparently, Laura is no stranger to that either. He caught her lurking in his mother’s room. What exactly is her plan? Why the sudden, random track down of her father and his wife? What could she possibly want with his mother?

Julian ducks behind some lockers, while Sonny and Jason have a shootout with Cyrus’s dude. Julian tries to jet, and Sonny tells Jason that he’s going after him. Jason continues to shoot.   

Mac says, the way he sees it, word is going to spread in the justice department. Taggert is safer in a jail cell. Jordan says Mac will have to charge him, and Mac says, with what? Pretending to be dead to save lives?

Trina asks if that’s why Taggert sent her to get candy. So he had time to fake his own death and convince people to help him, and go into hiding? He says he knows she suffered, but it had to be a secret from everyone. She says, even her? and he says, if he let her in on it, she would have had to pretend her whole life. Pretend to be sad and in mourning around her mom and friends at school; everywhere. Cyrus had people watching her, so her grief had to be real for her own safety. She tells him, so what saying is he didn’t trust her enough to tell her the truth? He says, of course (🍷) he trusts her, but some things are too big to ask. Trina says she, her Aunt Gia, and her mom stood around the casket in Texas, and watched it go into the ground. She learned to live without a father, and felt guilty about going to the vending machine, and not being there when he supposedly died. She felt awful that she’d abandoned him in his last moments. Now he’s telling her it was all part of his plan. He says, it wasn’t supposed to be like that. He hated it. Trina starts to leave, and Taggert follows, but Portia stops him. She tells him, leave Trina alone or she’ll make him wish he’d stayed dead.

Chase says, at first, he thought Michael was going to kiss him godfather style. Michael says, only when he’s betrayed in business. Is Chase going to live? Chase says, yeah, but he probably won’t be singing the guy’s part at the Nurses Ball next year. Michael says, it was a bush league thing, and Chase says, what Michael did, or what he did? Michael says, what Chase did, and a little bit him. Chase says, but it doesn’t make them even, does it? and Michael says, no, it doesn’t. There are too many unanswered questions and mixed feelings, but it’s a start. He throws Chase a bag of ice, and says, it will help.  

Taggert tells Portia she needs to look after their daughter, and keep her safe. She says he doesn’t need to tell her about her job. She’s been taking care of Trina all of Trina’s life, while he was playing hero. She’ll continue when he takes on his new role as prisoner. He asks Trina if she’s all right, and she says, not really. Portia suggests they go home and talk it through. Taggert tells Trina, wait. He loves her. Trina and Portia leave, and Jordan tells Taggert that she and Mac agree, the safest place for Taggert is in a cell in Port Charles. He says, fine, and goes with Mac. Curtis walks in, and says, Taggert? Mac says he’ll let Curtis’s wife fill him in, and Jordan and Curtis look at each other.

Jason and Cyrus’s dude continue shooting at each other. Jason moves closer and closer, ducking behind things, until he’s behind the guy. Dude turns around, and Jason shoots him. He falls, and Jason checks his pulse, then looks around.

Julian opens a gate, leading to a footbridge. He leans on the railing, and Sonny comes up behind him. Sonny says, no more running, Julian. It ends right now.

Martin asks why Laura sought out their mother now? She says she was curious about Florence’s connection to Cyrus, the Chairman of GH, and drug trafficker. Martin says, alleged, and she says, up until a month ago, Florence was in a private home that was heavily guarded. Now she’s there, where it’s heavily guarded. She guesses both were paid for by Cyrus, which kind of leads her to wonder whether his mother is Cyrus’s prisoner. Martin asks if it strikes her as a prison, and she says, trust her. Prisons come in all shapes and sizes. Martin says he can promise she isn’t being held against her will. Laura wishes she could say she was relieved, but then, what’s the connection? Why was Cyrus paying for her care?

Cyrus walks in with a bouquet of flowers, and says, because she’s his mother too.  

Tomorrow, Laura says Cyrus knew all along, Curtis asks if Jordan knew about Taggert being alive, and Sonny tells Julian that it’s his big chance to live.

🎥 Nice handheld camera work during the shootout.

Southern Charm

Craig paid a visit to Austen, and Austen told Craig about going to the store to buy his own beer. He thought it was cool, and we saw a clip of him bragging to the cashier, who seemed less than impressed. In his interview, he said he’s been working on canning his beer since covid started. It was a long process, and he didn’t know why Madison refused to see the strides he’d made. He was disappointed she’d given up. Craig told Austen that Taylor wasn’t happy with Shep, and told him not to talk to her. We flashed back to her telling Craig that she wasn’t a happy camper.  

Shep called Taylor, saying he heard she was covid free. He asked if she was upset with him, and she told him that she’d had to take a step back; she wasn’t in the right headspace. Why is this hippy-dippy word so popular suddenly? Whenever I hear it, I feel like I should put on a fringed vest and love beads. She said Shep had been insensitive. It was kind of scary, and she’d felt he palmed her off on Craig. Shep said in her last text to him, she called him trash, and told him to f*** off, but he thought maybe he was handling things wrong. In his interview, he said he’d been single a long-ass time, and was selfish. It was an adjustment. He told Taylor that he thought it would be better when they saw each other in person. 

Austen told Craig he was happy that he was in quarantine because of the drama, and Madison had gone to sh*t. Madison went to Patricia’s mansion house, where they socially distanced on the porch while Michael served wonderful drinks and snacks. Madison wondered if her embellished headband was too much, but Patricia told her you can never be over-educated or overdressed according to Oscar Wilde. It was her mantra. Madison guessed she was the only person Patricia had seen outside of her own household, and Patricia said that was only because Michael couldn’t do a blowout. Leva called, and said she was in the process of opening the restaurants again, and Patricia asked her to come over. She and Madison were having cocktails and sitting ten feet away from one another. Leva said she was on her way. Madison told Patricia that she’d put her foot down, and ended it for good with Austen. Patricia wondered why it was different this time, and Madison said she’d expected Austen to be an adult and a provider, but she didn’t see him wanting to do that in any capacity. In her interview, she said she wasn’t going to look like this forever. She was in her prime, and thought Austen should waste someone else’s time. Patricia said it was like As the World Turns Charleston.

Austen told Craig the beer thing had taken a while, but Madison gave him no credit. Craig said that was because she didn’t like Austen anymore, but still had control over him. Austen was doing things for her, not himself. Austen said it was always confusing. When he’d start to think it over, she’d send him a text. Craig said he was Madison’s fallback, and if he didn’t do a hard stop, it would be impossible to move on, but Austen said he couldn’t quit Madison.

Leva joined Patricia and Madison, and said between virus breakouts and protests, she’d opened and closed the restaurants so many times. Every time someone tested positive, the staff had to be tested again, quarantined, and everything sanitized. In her interview, she said when they’d opened he restaurants, the last thing she was thinking was global pandemic. The past few months had been a sh*t show. Michael brought out extra crispy (no doubt homemade) potato chips and caviar. Patricia said it was déclassé to have caviar on blinis; it was eaten on chips now. Leva talked about the monkey emoji, and said Kathryn had been reaching out to her; she wanted to get together. She believed Kathryn was probably thinking she’d be the most offended, which she found offensive. She was tired of Kathryn’s baby voice saying she didn’t know any better, and said Kathryn wasn’t a kitten stuck in a tree.

Kathryn joined Craig and Austen, and Craig asked if Kathryn had talked to any of the group. She told him that she’d had a FaceTime call with Leva, and thought it went well. She felt like it was difficult not to tell her side, but they knew she wasn’t that way. In Kathryn’s interview, she said in her thought process, monkeys had nothing to do with Black people, but apparently, it didn’t sit well, and that was the main thing. She told Craig and Austen that Leva had said she needed to reach out to her girlfriends or she’d end up alone, but she had reached out. Her last message to Danni was asking if Danni was ever going to respond. She’d gone to Danni’s house, and Danni had flipped on her. We flashed back to that visit, and Kathryn said they’d never had an issue. She had no idea there was a problem. Craig wondered if Kathryn had been distancing herself, and Kathryn said, when people didn’t need you anymore, they quickly flipped.

Leva said she didn’t support cancel culture, but Kathryn needed to read a book, and focus on herself – educationally, not in a narcissistic capacity. Madison said she wasn’t closing the door, but Patricia said they’d protected Kathryn for the last few years, and walked on eggshells because of her sobriety. Then came the lies about Cameron – we flashed back to Kathryn saying she heard Jason was having an affair – and the emoji business. That was it for her. In Patricia’s interview, she said she didn’t want to talk about Kathryn or with her. She wanted nothing to do with it. She’d had her fill. She said Kathryn should be put in Siberia, but she was still protected by the guys, and Leva said Kathryn had apologized and said she wanted to do better. They’d see how it goes. It could be a bomb, or Kathryn could be a rising phoenix, but it was on her.

Whitney thought Patricia’s house was getting to be Grey Gardens, with the dogs making poopy on the carpet. I’ll say it again, dog poop is the great equalizer. They will poop on your carpet no matter how much money you have. Patricia said Whitney was semi-housetrained. He told her that Craig and Austen had tested negative, and it was a positive thing, then laughed at his own joke. Patricia said, initially, she was going to have a fancy gourmet dinner for the guys, and had talked to a French chef. Now, with the pandemic, she didn’t want people in the house. Both she and Michael were 200 years old, and they were being careful. Instead of the dinner, she’d decided to keep it casual, and have a low country crab feast by the pool.

In John’s interview, he said his ex was coming for a visit, and he told the boys to act like they had rules. In their agreement, Heidi had the first six weeks of summer, and could visit for 5 days when it was his six weeks, and she stayed with them. He told the boys that their mom was going to be rolling up any minute, and they were acting like crackheads. When Heidi got there, the first thing she did was ask John if he let them scream like that, and in his interview, a producer asked John who was the more strict parent. He said, their mom, 1000%. They tell him when bedtime is. Since they have a limited time, he’s lenient to a fault. Heidi asks the boys if they have any rules, and they tell her, no. In John’s interview, he says they’ve been co-parenting for four years, and it’s been quite a journey. Heidi is one of his best friends, which was weird for him to say. He wished they had a normal upbringing with two parents. Heidi told him not to be too hard on himself. He was doing fine.

Taylor went to Shep’s house, and he apologized. He said he’d talked to his therapist, and she was on Taylor’s side. She said his points might be valid, but he couldn’t state them that way. In Shep’s interview, he said he’d been callous about them being apart, and had trivialized Taylor’s needs and wants. He has to understand, not everyone responds to the same stimuli, and her emotions are valid, He cared for her a lot, and had to change his tune and try to be sensitive, as well as reasonable. Taylor told him, welcome to adulthood. In his interview, he said he knew he’d be a dumbass if he screwed it up. He loves her. They cuddled, and she told him she was going to want three days’ worth.

Michael and Patricia covered the outside table with newspapers, and Patricia said it was down home and low country. Michael said he thought the boys would appreciate low country, and she hopes they were totally safe. Still, she wanted them as far away from her as possible.

Austen called Craig, and asked if they were getting hammered today. Austen said he hadn’t seen John since he’d been inappropriate regarding Madison, and we flashed back to John talking about how hot Madison is in front of Austen. Shep told John that Austen had heard the chatter about him hitting baseballs with Madison and her son. She was calling it a break-up, and John should bang her and drive the final nail in the coffin. John said he only talked a good game.   

Shep and John showed up to Patricia’s wearing masks, and when they saw masked bartender Maddie, Shep said it was life in the time of covid. John and Whitney elbow bumped, and Whitney said he thought Shep would have a muffin top, but he was looking svelte. Craig picked Austen up in a golf cart, and told Austen that Patricia wasn’t for him being with Madison. Craig said he loved Patricia, but she was nasty. Austen said she was old, with not much to do, and she was bored AF. They walked in bearing Austen’s beer, and everyone seemed happy to see each other. In Austen’s interview, he said he and John were a work in progress, but he’d  thought they were good. F*** him. Shep said he’d had Michael withdrawal. Patricia came out, and told them to keep away. She said it was a nice place to quarantine, and went to the bar. She asked for whatever beer wasn’t Austen’s and poured it into a glass so no one knew what she was drinking. She told they guys they could drink and jump in the pool, but she didn’t want anyone in the house, since it was sterile. They could pee in the bushes or pee in the pool. She didn’t care; go crazy. Craig said Patricia hadn’t had any entertainment in a while, and now they were the entertainment. She said they were the only people she knew who caught the virus. Austen brought up the playdate with Madison and son, and told John it was guy code. If he wanted to continue a friendship with Austen, Madison was off-limits romantically speaking. John admitted he’d been out of line with what he’d said, and was glad Austen had checked him, They bro hugged, but in John’s interview, he said he thought guy code was stupid. We’re not going to date again, but she’s mine. Shep asked where Austen and Madison stood, and Austen said they’d amicably parted ways. Patricia said she talked to Madison all the time, and she wanted to be friends. What was his issue? Craig said Madison was able to be just friends, but Austen was still in love with her, and not capable of that. John said it sounded like bitches night, and suggested they get in the pool. 

John told Shep that he’d been talking to Madison, and Craig said it was time for her to let Austen go. Austen told Patricia that he and Madison had broken up, and Patricia admitted she never thought they were a match. He wasn’t ready to be a stepdad and settle down, and she didn’t see it changing. Austen said he understood her perception, but Madison had chosen to follow her heart. You couldn’t tell someone not do that. Patricia said she did it. She didn’t think love trumped all, and you had to take other things into consideration. He said he wished he was ten years older, and had the means to provide for Madison, and Patricia said she’d found timing was everything in life. In Austen’s interview, he said he knew he was good enough for Madison, but he felt badly. He wondered if Patricia had ever been in love, or had it always been about the money. She told him that she was practical, and when she saw something didn’t work, she said something.

Madison met Craig at a lake, and they sat by the water. She told Craig that Austen was her best friend, but Craig said whenever she texted Austen, it reignited the flame. She wasn’t in love anymore, but Austen still was. He asked if she was in love with Austen, and she said that was a hard one. Craig said it wasn’t, and if she couldn’t say it, she definitely wasn’t in love. She said she wanted it to be Austen, but it wasn’t him. Craig said, if she cared about Austen, the nicest thing she could do, was walk away. Cut him out of her life. It was the only way it was going to work. Unfortunately, she had to walk away.

Next time, Kathryn is discussed among the women, Madison has a formal dinner on the beach, Kathryn asks if Danni still wants to be friends, and Madison and Austen have a shouting match.

✈️ Time To Jet…

Due to many interruptions today, I’m running very late, or way early, whichever side of the clock you look at it on. Tea time tomorrow, but for now, stay safe, stay literate, and stay not sleeping through your bus departure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wXYlgBEXdY