Previously…
– Brent, Rosie, and Gabrielle all survived the explosion at the old Moriani home.
– Natalie accused Loretta of having been involved in Rosie and Gabrielle’s kidnapping in front of Spencer, but Loretta used her blackmail leverage over Natalie to silence her.
– Tempest suggested to Brian that Diane’s seeming jealousy over his marriage to Kelsey could have something to do with Diane’s own guilt over her own actions and the walls she has been putting up with Isaac.

“Oh, this is too much,” Paula Fisher frets, looking down at the cutting board full of freshly chopped rosemary leaves. She turns back from the kitchen counter and looks to her son-in-law, who is peeling russet potatoes for this evening’s Thanksgiving dinner.

Matt Gray glances at the cutting board. “It’s fine. I’ll use a lot of that.”

Paula sets down her knife. “I’m so used to making enormous holiday meals that I keep forgetting how many people aren’t coming this year.”

“Who cancelled now?” Sarah Fisher Gray asks as she enters the kitchen, carrying a chafing dish that she just retrieved from the attic.

“No one,” Paula says, nevertheless sounding full of despair. “I’m just so overwhelmed by how complicated this year’s plans have gotten.”

“It’s been a tough few months,” Matt comments as he returns to peeling the potatoes.

“That’s putting it mildly.” Paula uses the knife to push the finely chopped rosemary into a small glass bowl. “I understand that Travis and Rosie want to have a low-key holiday and stay at her mother‘s, but I wonder if they’d change their minds if they knew Molly and Brent weren’t coming.”

“Rosie and Gabrielle almost died in an explosion,” Sarah says. “I’m going to bet they’re not feeling up to a lot of socializing.”

Paula frowns. “I know. But part of their hesitation must be because they don’t want to have all that tension with Molly–“

“Because Molly wants to take away the little girl they’ve considered their daughter since she was, like, a week old?” Sarah asks. “I can’t imagine why they’d want to avoid that.”

“Sarah,” Paula says, exasperated. “Gabrielle is Molly and Brent’s child. It isn’t their fault that Loretta arranged that whole horrible scheme.”

“I didn’t say it was,” Sarah shoots back, a little too roughly.

“Sarah,” Matt interjects, widening his eyes at his wife. She takes the cue to back down and takes the opportunity to fit the chafing dish onto the already-crammed kitchen table.

“All I mean,” Sarah finally continues, “is that maybe it’s good that everyone goes to their own corners for one holiday. Let Travis and Rosie have this time with Gabrielle. Molly can spend the day with Brent and his family while they process everything that’s happened. This is all going to get sorted out in due time, and then everyone can start to heal.”

“I hope you’re right,” Paula says as she places the bowl back on the counter with a loud clink.

—–

“It’s a miracle,” Molly Taylor announces as she takes a step back from the refrigerator, where an aluminum roasting pan rests on the sturdiest bottom shelf. “It’s fully thawed.”

Brent Taylor, who is leaning against the opposite wall with his arms folded, nods with approval. “That is impressive. I was sure you were going to be popping an icy turkey into the oven today.”

“No way. I know my math where poultry is concerned.” She begins to scoot the pan, which contains a bit of water pooled around the wrapped turkey, out of the fridge. “Could you call someone in to help me?”

He drops his hands to his sides and hurries over. “I can do it.”

“Are you sure? If you’re not up to it yet–“

“It’s moving a pan three feet,” he assures her, and he steps in to transfer the pan from the refrigerator to the nearby countertop. “See? Done.”

“Thank you.” She offers a grateful smile. “This almost feels like a normal Thanksgiving, huh?”

“You don’t have to go to all this trouble,” Brent says. “We’d all be just as happy to order Chinese food and sit around catching up.”

“It’s Thanksgiving. Your family came all the way from California.”

“Still.” She closes the refrigerator and sighs. “Besides, keeping myself occupied with cooking will keep my mind off not having Gabrielle with us today. At least, I hope it will.”

He cocks his head and gives her one of those gazes that, all these years later, always feels like it can see right through her.

“We are going to figure this out,” he tells her. “Soon.”

“Maybe we could just go over and see her…”

“I would love that.”

“Then let’s just–“

“But we shouldn’t,” he says. “Gabrielle and Jimenez went through something really traumatic–“

“So did you!” Molly retorts. “That’s exactly why we shouldn’t waste another day without our daughter.”

“I hear you. Really. There’s nothing I’d want more today than to have all three of our kids here with us.”

“Me, too. It’s driving me crazy that the truth is out and she’s still being kept from us.”

“We can’t do anything rash,” Brent says. “Because unless Jimenez and Travis just show up at the door and hand Gabrielle over, a judge is going to have to decide who gets her.”

“That’s the most insane part!” Molly says. “We have a DNA test proving that she’s our daughter.”

“And there are legal documents saying that she’s their daughter. I know how custody cases play out, Mol. Anything we do that could make us look irrational or unfit — it’ll get used against us. And right now, Travis and Jimenez are not only her legal guardians, but Jimenez kept that little girl safe the whole time they were being held in that basement.”

Molly feels her throat tighten up at the thought of how scared Gabrielle must have been, locked in that room for days and days — let alone when the house exploded and that raging fire broke out.

“Then if I protect someone else’s child — which is the decent thing to do! — I’d be entitled to raise that child instead of his or her actual parents?” Molly asks. “This isn’t fair, Brent. It isn’t right.”

He pulls his lips together in a tight line. Before he can muster a response, Brent’s younger brother and his wife come into the kitchen.

“We’re heading out,” Josh says. “What time are we thinking for dinner?”

“The turkey will be on that table at 5,” Molly says, checking the time on the microwave. “You’re going to the airport already? I thought the nanny and the kids didn’t get in for another two hours.”

“They don’t,” Lauren replies. “But we have a stop we want to make before we pick them up.”

The familiar jingling of bells greets Jason Fisher‘s ears as he pushes open the door to Thaw Coffee & Tea. He looks around and is relieved to see that the café isn’t as busy as he feared it might be; it almost seems like a regular weekday after the morning rush has subsided. He steps into the short line at the register and peruses his phone until it is his turn to step up to the counter, where a barista he knows well is taking orders.

“Happy Thanksgiving, Jeremiah,” Jason says.

“Happy Thanksgiving!” the barista, who wears a black turtleneck underneath his ice-blue staff apron, replies cheerily. “Your usual?”

Jason nods as he pulls out his debit card.

“You’re not working today, are you?” Jeremiah asks.

“No, just stopping in for some caffeine on my way to pick up some pies to take to my mom’s later.”

“Oh, good. Sabrina going with you?”

Jason grins, although the mention of his girlfriend today triggers a brief flash of sadness within him.

“She flew home to Iowa to spend the day with her folks,” he explains.

“I figured, since she requested time off. Surprised you didn’t go with her!”

“It, uh, didn’t make sense. With my daughter and all,” Jason says, keeping his focus down on the card reader. 

“Oh, I get that. Cool, cool.” Jeremiah finishes writing Jason’s name on a cup. “We’ll have your drink up in a minute.”

“Thanks. Have a great holiday, Jeremiah.”

“You, too.”

Jason steps aside and moves to the end of the counter to await his coffee. He hates that he and Sabrina are missing out on yet another holiday together, but their relationship feels a bit stuck in the mud because of Sophie‘s resistance to accepting Sabrina as part of her father’s life. Gritting his teeth, he makes a mental resolution to help her get past that, at long last, once this holiday is over. He knows that he has been avoiding doing so for too long, probably out of fear of how it could all go wrong. He lifts his head to check on the progress of his drink and, as he does so, hears the jingling of those bells and then sees a face walk through the door — a face so out-of-context, a face he never expected to see today, that he does an actual double-take.

But she spots him immediately, and her mouth drops open with surprise and excitement.

“Kelsey?” he calls out. “What are you doing here?!”

—–

The sound of the doorbell draws Diane Bishop out of her galley kitchen, where she has just removed two eggs and a package of sugar-free bacon from the refrigerator. She shuffles to the front door and looks through the peephole — and draws in a sharp breath when she sees who is on the other side.

“I thought you left town already,” she tells Brian Hamilton, who holds a white pie box with both hands.

“You thought wrong,” he says, entering the condo without waiting for an invitation. “I said I’d be leaving town soon. Kelsey is actually driving through later today, and she’s going to pick me up so we can head up to Vancouver to see her parents.”

“That’s great,” Diane says, a little slowly, but she does manage to get the positive thought out. “Where have you been the past few days?!”

“I got a room at the Metropolitan Inn. I had some work things to check up on.” He holds out the pie box. “This is for you.”

She peers through the clear window in the top of the box. “Pecan pie. You remembered.”

“Your favorite, right? Think of it as a peace offering. I didn’t want to leave King’s Bay without making sure we’re back on solid ground.”

“We are. Our talk the other day–” She stops to close the door and then walks the pie over to the kitchen. “I get where you’re coming from. Really. I was wrong to try and go through your phone, obviously.”

“Obviously.” Brian smirks. “And I understand how it came off as weird for me not to tell you that I got married.”

“And have a baby on the way!”

“And that. I really did want to tell you in person, though. I’m sorry the delivery got all messed up.”

“It’s okay.” Letting out a sigh of relief, she wraps her arms around him. “There are, like, four people on Earth I don’t enjoy fighting with, and you’re one of them.”

Brian laughs as he hugs her back. “That’s elite company. Who are the others? Samantha…”

“Sarah, definitely. And, uh… Tim. Yeah. Tim. That’s four.”

“Your sister didn’t make the list? I’m shocked.”

Diane groans. “She took her kids to go spend Thanksgiving with our mother — or, you know. Claudia.”

“You can still call her your mother. She did raise you.”

“Debatable,” Diane says as she moves around the counter back into the kitchen. “Mimosa? Wine?”

“I suppose a mimosa couldn’t hurt before Kelsey picks me up,” he says. He watches as Diane produces a bottle of prosecco and pops the cork. “I’m really glad we’ve ironed things out. That was a stupid fight, no?”

“The stupidest. Yes. Just invite me to your next wedding, will you?”

“The plan is that I won’t have another one, but I’ll keep that in mind.”

She pours the prosecco into two wine glasses and then fetches some orange juice from the fridge. 

“How about you?” he asks. “You think there’s another wedding in your future?”

“Another wedding?” She adds a generous dose of orange juice to each glass. “Is that what we’re calling that fiasco Ryan and I had? A wedding?”

“I mean, it technically was a legal marriage…”

“Don’t remind me.” She caps the orange juice and hands Brian one of the glasses. “But no. I’m not sure that’s in the cards for me.”

“Why not?”

“Why not?!” She gestures around the condo, as if the walls somehow hold the answer to that question. “Because.”

“That’s not an answer,” he says. 

Diane picks up her oversized mimosa. “Yes, it is.”

“All I mean is…” He pauses as he searches for the right phrasing. “You deserve to be happy, Diane. You’ve made mistakes — we all have. And you’ve atoned for them.”

“Have I?”

“Yes! By being an incredible mother, and a loyal friend, and coming through for people who need you.”

“You’re going to make me throw up,” she says, hating the itchy, jumpy feeling that she gets when people say this kind of thing to her.

“Don’t do that until you’ve had at least three or four of these,” he says, indicating the drink in his hand. “But I’m serious. I want you to be happy, whatever form that takes. And if it involves a relationship with a man, don’t fight it. Allow yourself to have good things. Okay?”

She rolls her eyes. “Did I accidentally stumble into the recording of some rah-rah podcast?”

“I know you hate compliments, but I’m serious. I want all the good things for you. A lot of people do. Well, at least four of us do. So allow yourself to have them, okay?”

She screws up her face, unsure how to respond.

“Okay?” Brian repeats, holding up his glass.

“Fine, yes. Okay. Good things,” Diane says, and they touch their glasses together to seal the deal.

“I’ve missed you, Diane,” Brian says after swallowing a sip of the mimosa. “Let’s not let so much time go by until we see each other again, okay?”

“Now that’s something I’ll agree with you on. I’ve missed you, too, Brian.”

They toast again.

—–

“Married… baby on the way in a few months… what else haven’t you posted on your Facebook?” Jason asks Kelsey. They are now seated at a small, lacquered table by the front windows of Thaw, nursing beverages as they catch up.

“I went to Mars. Did I forget to post about that?” Kelsey replies with a laugh.

He winks back at her. “Wouldn’t be surprised. But seriously — I’m really happy for you. It’s great that you and Brian reconnected.”

Kelsey places a hand on her rounded stomach. “And now we only have a few more months until this little one joins us.”

“You must be so excited.”

“I am. And terrified. Part of me was thinking that I’d never become a mom, and I’d sort of made peace with that. Yet here I am.”

“You get the hang of it. Or you find your way — like you’re trapped in a dark maze and have to feel your way out. I dunno.”

She giggles. “Great. Sounds easy enough. You seem to have figured it out, though.”

“I don’t know about that. Sophie is…” He exhales loudly. “…a handful, I think is the polite way to put it?”

“She looks so much like Courtney.”

“It’s crazy. I swear, there are times I feel like I’m looking through a time warp or something,” Jason says. “Like, she has her mother’s mannerisms even though she doesn’t remember her.”

“Genetics are powerful. And so was Courtney’s personality.”

Now it is Jason’s turn to offer an amused chuckle. “That it was. It kills me that she can’t see Sophie grow up. It’s been forever, and yet… sometimes I expect her to walk back through the door. I know that’s nuts.”

“Jason.” Kelsey leans forward, placing her to-go cup of tea down on the table, and the dangling label from the tea bag sways back and forth. “She was your wife. And your first love. You don’t just pack a loss like that away in a box and shove it in the closet and forget about it.”

“I know. I do. I can’t get over that it’s been so long, you know?”

Kelsey nods somberly. “She’s always watching over you and Sophie. And so is Sandy!”

“I miss Sandy like crazy, too,” he says. “She was like another mom to me.”

“She made a huge impression on me in the short time I skated with her. And with you. I’m so happy that I ran into you, Jason.”

“Same! Would you and Brian want to come over to my mom’s for Thanksgiving dinner? There’s always room for an extra place setting or two.”

“Aww. I’d love that, but we have to get on the road so that we can make it up to Vancouver,” Kelsey says. “But it’s been so great catching up. You deserve the world, Jason.”

“So do you. Just make me a promise.”

“What kind of promise?”

“That you’ll let me know as soon as that baby is born,” he says. “Because I’m going to come visit with Sophie and bring a gift.”

“I will absolutely do that,” Kelsey says as she picks up her tea again, smiling broadly.

—–

“That was certainly worth the morning!” Loretta Ragan proclaims as she closes the front door of her son’s house behind herself. “I feel like a new woman.”

“I didn’t even know the spa was open on Thanksgiving,” Spencer Ragan says as he strolls into the foyer from the living room.

“You’d be surprised what the offer of a generous tip can do.” Loretta removes her black coat and hangs it in the nearby closet. “There’s nothing like the power of a good mud bath… and facial… and deep-tissue massage…”

“Sounds like you got the works.”

“I certainly needed it all!” Loretta closes the closet door with a flourish and turns, her nose twitching. “I don’t smell any cooking.”

“That’s because there isn’t any happening.”

“What is that lazy wife of yours doing with herself, then?” Loretta plants her hands on her hips and bellows, “Natalie!”

“She isn’t here,” Spencer says.

Loretta glowers at him in disbelief. “What do you mean?”

“She took Peter and Bree to go spend Thanksgiving with her mother,” he explains. “Something about not wanting to be around you on the holiday.”

“She took my grandson with her?”

“Yeah. Her son. They’ll be back Sunday.”

“How could she!” Loretta fumes. “That woman is really pushing it, do you know that?”

Spencer hesitates, his hand stroking the stubble on his jaw for a long moment. “Did I miss something?”

“No! I’ve never been a fan of that woman.”

“But she’s the one who pushed for you to stay here. And you’ve been co-existing or whatever for a while.”

“Well, she’s liable to wiped out of co-existence, if she doesn’t watch her step!”

“Okay,” he says. “What is going on?”

“Your vile wife took my grandson away for the holiday and didn’t even inform me! She’s lucky I don’t…” Loretta trails off and shakes her head. “Never mind.”

Spencer gawks at his mother with confusion before saying, “I ordered a pre-made dinner from that nice grocery store you like. I’m picking it up in two hours. We’ll have a great meal.”

“Wonderful. But I don’t like what Natalie has been up to.” Loretta’s purple skirt swishes as she moves toward the stairs. “And she had better watch her step. She’s been on my last nerve lately.”

“She took her kids to see their other grandmother. That’s all. Okay?”

With one final huff, Loretta makes her way up the stairs.

“What the fuck…?” Spencer mutters to himself once she is gone. His mind floats back to the accusations that Natalie made not too long ago, about Loretta being present at the house that exploded with Brent, Rosie, and Gabrielle inside it. At the time, he wrote it all off as Natalie spinning some bizarre fiction out of hatred for Loretta, but now…

“What is really going on with you, Mother?” he wonders under his breath as he hears a bedroom door slam upstairs.

END OF EPISODE 1159

Will Spencer finally stand up to Loretta?
Did you enjoy Jason and Kelsey’s reunion?
What should Molly do about Gabrielle?
Discuss it all in the comments below!

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