Previously…
– Tori struggled to piece her life back together after Zane was sentenced to prison time for kidnapping and torturing her.
– Brent pressured Natalie to testify that she had seen Loretta at the house where Rosie and Gabrielle were held captive, but Loretta continued to blackmail Natalie into silence.
– Tim and Claire admitted their renewed feelings for one another and slept together.

Tori Gray stands at the end of the counter inside Cassie’s Coffee House. Despite the fact that it is late in the evening, there is a considerable line at the register, and the handful of baristas behind the bar scurry around with a focus and efficiency that scares Tori a little bit. The patrons filling the coffee house appear to be a blend of King’s Bay University students and artsy folks in their 20s and 30s. Although the stage in the back of the space is set up with a microphone and speakers, there is no one performing; rather, a quietly intense Rufus Du Sol song plays over the sound system.

“Are you waiting for a drink?” one of the baristas, a young Black woman with straight, ombre hair sticking out from beneath her black cap, asks as she leans over the counter.

“Oh, no. I’m waiting for the manager. Kayley, I think” Tori says, holding up the sheet of paper in her hand as if it will explain her presence. “About the opening that was advertised.”

“Ah. Okay. I’ll see if I can find her,” the barista says, but then she goes right back to filling orders. Tori finds herself scanning the busy area behind the bar for someone who might be Kayley, although none of the nametags seem to bear that name.

She is trying her best to exude patience, rather than frustration, when she glances over and sees Landon Esco entering the coffee house. He snakes around the line at the register to approach her.

“Please tell me you’re not here for the Open Mic Night,” Tori tells him.

Landon laughs. “Nah. Just picking up some joe before I pick up some Joes. Or Joannes. Or Jo-thems. I dunno.”

“Is that Landon for ‘I’m in the middle of an Uber shift’?”

“Ding! You win!” He pushes up the already-rolled sleeves of his plaid shirt. “How about you? Wild night out of the house?”

“I’m trying to hand in a job application,” she explains. “I thought coming later might give me a better chance of actually speaking to a manager, but…”

“But this place is mobbed,” he finishes for her.

“Exactly. But I’m waiting and being patient, because that’s what you’d want in an employee, right?” She forces an overly broad grin.

“Totally. Have you thought of asking your Uncle Jason for a job at the coffee shop he, like, owns?”

“Yes. Obviously. But Thaw is smaller, and he mentioned that they’re pretty full-up on staff, and…” Tori sighs with exhaustion. “I kind of wanted to cover my bases and do my due diligence before I just ask another family member for a job, you know?”

“Worried about being called a nepo baby?”

“You know how people hate when their baristas got an unfair leg up to get their job,” she says with a chuckle. “I don’t know. It just feels like I should be able to do something on my own.”

Landon cocks his head, and his thick, dark brown hair flops to one side. “You do plenty on your own.”

“I mean, sure… I shower on my own. I go to bed alone. Unless melatonin counts as company.”

“You help out with your brother–“

“Yeah, because he’s my brother and I might as well help my mom and dad where I can, considering I’ve been squatting with them and my grandma for months now,” she says wearily.

“You’re recovering from a crazy ordeal,” Landon says softly. “Are you still going to therapy? How’s that going? Unless you don’t want to talk about it–“

“No, it’s fine. Therapy’s good. It’s helping me move past everything that Zane did. And one of my next assignments from my therapist is to work toward getting a job…” She glances at the chaos behind the counter, where there is still no sign of the mysterious Kayley. “…which, funny enough, might drive me right back into therapy.”

“Why don’t you join me on the friendly roads?” Landon asks.

“You mean driving for Uber?”

“Yeah! I remember we talked about it once, a long time ago.”

Tori nods, recalling the conversation. She envisions herself in her car, with a stranger or strangers locked in there with her.

“If you’re interested,” Landon says, “I can show you the ropes–“

“No,” she blurts out.

“It’s really chill–“

“I said no! Driving for Uber is not a life plan, okay, Landon?”

She spits out the words before she even realizes what she is doing, driven by a hot ball of rage burning inside her chest all of a sudden. Landon stares back at her, wide-eyed, his bottom lip quivering ever-so-slightly.

“Oh my god! That’s amazing!” Claire Fisher exclaims in rapture.

“I told you,” Tim Fisher replies, his voice tinged with a hint of wicked amusement. “But you’d better keep it down or people are going to get jealous.”

Claire laughs as she finishes chewing her bite of the hamachi crudo appetizer. The pair sit at a table in the center of the Windmills dining room. A small candle burns a soothing flame atop their white tablecloth-covered table, and a crystal-accented chandelier glitters overhead.

“How have I never ordered this before?” Claire wonders.

“Because you always get the squash blossoms,” Tim reminds her. “Which, by the way, I also ordered while I was waiting for you.”

She smiles across the table at him. “You know, I was feeling really bad that I was five minutes late… but now I’m thinking it worked out perfectly.”

“As long as I get to spend the evening with you, everything has worked out fine.” He reaches across the table and takes her hand in his. “Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?”

Claire giggles self-consciously. “You did, but I’m okay hearing it again.”

Tim beams back at her. “Can you believe we’re doing this again?”

She shakes her head in disbelief as they stare at one another. After another moment, however, the spell is broken when a voice cuts right through the center of their table:

“Would anyone care to explain what’s going on here?”

Both Tim and Claire swivel their heads to see Paula Fisher standing only a few feet away, in a pink blazer with a ruffled white blouse underneath.

“Mom,” Tim says, reflexively pulling back his hand. “What are you doing here?”

“I was having dinner with the planning committee for the next Port Treigh fundraiser,” Paula says as she comes nearer to their table. “I was on my way out when I glanced over and saw the two of you looking quite cozy.”

“Hi, Paula,” Claire says awkwardly.

“Hi, Claire.” Paula fixes her attention back on her son. “Is this… what it looks like it is?”

Tim nods his head. “Yes. Claire and I are dating again. We’ve decided to, well, explore our relationship again.”

“Well, that’s… that’s quite the surprise,” Paula says.

Claire studies her former mother-in-law, attempting to read her reaction to the news. All she can make out right now is shock.

“It took us by surprise, too,” Tim says coolly. “But Mom… is this going to be an issue for you? Claire and I being back together?”

—–

An episode of Succession plays on the oversized flat-screen television mounted on the family room wall. Natalie Bishop rests on the deep, oatmeal-colored Restoration Hardware sectional, her gaze fixed upon the drama on the TV — that is, until real-life drama barges into the room.

“Resting on your laurels on my son‘s dime, I see,” Loretta Ragan comments.

Natalie turns her head to see her flame-haired mother-in-law standing at the entrance to the room with her hands on her hips. She wears a flowing caftan in an orange-and-black mod-style print.

“Am I not allowed to relax ever?” Natalie shoots back. “You know, most people watch TV or listen to a podcast to unwind, rather than plotting terrorist events.”

“Are you familiar with that old saying about television being the opiate of the masses?”

“An opiate doesn’t sound so bad when I’m dealing with you,” Natalie mutters.

“Excuse me. What was that?”

“Nothing, Mother-in-Law Dearest.” Natalie reaches for the Apple TV remote and pauses the program. “But I can finish this later. I need to go pick up Peter now.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Loretta says.

“He’s a first-grader. He kind of depends on Spencer and me for rides.”

“What I mean is, Peter won’t be requiring your services any longer.”

Natalie looks at Loretta and sees the evil gleam in the woman’s green eyes.

“What are you talking about?” Natalie demands.

“You no longer need to concern yourself with Peter. I have things under control.”

Panic shoots through Natalie’s body. “Where is my son? What have you done with him?”

“I warned you what would happen if you went shooting off your mouth to Brent Taylor and his squad of Keystone Cops,” Loretta coos wickedly. “Peter is mine now, Natalie.”

Natalie races toward her mother-in-law. “Tell me where he is!”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

Natalie thrusts out her arms, intending to shake Loretta, but the older woman simply gives her a final, icy look before evaporating into thin air.

“Loretta?” Natalie cries out. “Loretta! What did you do to Peter?” But there is only silence. “Loretta!”

—–

With a start, Natalie jolts awake on the sectional. Succession is still playing on the TV, although when she pauses it, she can tell that she has missed several minutes of the episode. Her head feels foggy with sleep, but her heart is thudding with terror.

She looks around the room and is somewhat relieved not to see a sign of Loretta anywhere.

Grabbing her phone off the coffee table, Natalie scrambles to her feet.

“You’d better not hurt him,” she says under her breath as she darts out of the room.

—–

Landon stands slack-jawed by the pick-up counter inside Cassie’s Coffee House.

“I didn’t mean that,” Tori says. Her cheeks and neck feel warm, her hands clammy.

“It sure sounded like you did.”

“I didn’t.”

“Evan! Order up for Evan!” a barista shouts from just behind the counter. On cue, someone who is apparently Evan — a young man who appears to be roughly college-aged, sporting a flat-brimmed Seahawks cap — shoves his way right between Tori and Landon to grab the beverage. Tori is almost grateful for the brief intrusion.

“What I meant,” she says to Landon, swallowing hard as Evan removes himself, “is that I can’t be in a car like that.”

“As an Uber driver? Because that’s–“

“No.” She folds her arms tightly across her body. “After what happened with Zane — I couldn’t get out of that car–“

Landon’s mouth falls open. “Oh. Oh my god. Yeah.”

“I couldn’t have strangers getting in and out of my car. You never know who they are or what they might do.” She shudders. “I’d be on-edge the whole time.”

“I get that.”

She exhales loudly and says, “I guess I’m not as far along in therapy as I thought I was. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply–“

“It’s okay,” Landon tells her. “I get where you’re coming from.”

“That wasn’t some judgment about how you earn a living. At least you do earn a living.” She looks at the application in her hand as her annoyance boils over. “Where is this Kayley person?!”

“I’m right here,” a blonde woman about 30 years of age, wearing the same black cap as the other employees, says from the side of the counter. “What can I do for you?”

Landon starts to snicker but quickly turns away, burying his face in his shoulder. Tori stands up straighter.

“I was hoping to turn in this application,” she says to Kayley. “I saw online that you’re hiring–“

“Oh. We actually hired someone this morning. Sorry.”

“Oh.” Tori’s arms drop to her side, the application flapping against her leg. “Well, thanks.”

“No problem,” Kayley says before disappearing into the back again. With disbelief, Tori watches her go.

“Sorry about that,” Landon says.

Tori crumples up the application and drops it into the recycling station beside the nearby condiment bar. “What a waste of time.”

“Not necessarily…”

“I still don’t have a job, do I?”

“No,” Landon says, “but if you play your cards right, you could have some ice cream.”

“Huh?”

“Perk of being an Uber driver: I can just turn off the app whenever I want,” he says. “Come on. I’m buying.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Tori says.

“What’s the point of spending all that time working if you can’t treat a friend when she needs it?”

“Okay. Ice cream does kind of sound good…”

“Kind of? You need this more than I realized,” he declares. He places a hand on Tori’s back and nudges her toward the exit. The touch sends a shiver of — well, of something up and down her spine, through the nerve endings in her arms and legs.

It’s been way too long since anyone touched you like that, she tells herself.

“What are you thinking flavor-wise?” she asks, hurrying ahead to get the door. “I bet you get the really weird flavors…”

“Weird? Me?” Landon asks with mock horror as they step out of the coffee house. “Never!”

—–

Paula’s hand reaches across her body to grip the strap of her black leather purse. Her fingers curl tensely around it.

“Mom?” Tim prompts her. He and Claire remain seated at their table in the main dining room of Windmills.

“No. No, of course not,” Paula answers. “There’s no issue.”

“That’s great,” Claire says.

Paula nods stiffly and then seems to be evaluating the couple again. “It’s been so long, that’s all,” she finally says.

Tim lifts his eyebrows in tandem. “It has.”

“And you’re sure–?”

“Yes, we’re sure,” Tim says. “I know I am, at least. I shouldn’t speak for Claire.”

Paula turns her head toward Claire, her lips pursed slightly in what Tim knows his mother would call “concern” but usually comes across more like “judgment.”

“Of course I’m sure,” Claire says.

Tim smiles at her before addressing Paula again: “I know you two have had your differences, going all the way back to…”

“To Ryan?” Claire offers.

“I know you had some difficult decisions to make after we found out Tim was alive,” Paula says. “I would never hold that against you.”

Tim waits before saying, “But…”

“But… we haven’t always seen eye-to-eye. I’ll admit that,” Paula continues. “You know I had concerns when you found out about Travis and Spencer having been switched and kept that from us.”

“I’ve apologized for that,” Claire says, a little bite appearing in her voice, “and I know I made some poor choices back then. But it’s been a long time, Paula. I’d like to think I’ve atoned for that–“

“And you took up with Brent so soon after his split from Molly.”

Claire groans. “Brent and Molly’s marriage was over a long time before he and I began anything. Molly was in a relationship with Philip by then!”

“Yes,” Paula says uncertainly. “Well…”

“Claire did not break up Molly and Brent’s marriage,” Tim cuts in.

“And clearly I was no obstacle when they decided they wanted to be together again,” Claire says wryly.

Paula frowns.

“I would love to put the past behind us fully,” Claire tells Paula. “Tim and I — we might have been together this whole time if Nick Moriani and Loretta hadn’t taken him away from us. Maybe what we’re doing now is getting back on the course we should have been on this whole time.”

“And we’d love your support,” Tim adds. “If you can’t offer that–“

“I can,” Paula says. “I will. This family doesn’t need any more divides.”

Claire and Tim stare back at her in silence for several seconds before both say, slightly out of union, “Thank you.”

“I’ll let you enjoy your dinner,” Paula says. She places a hand on Tim’s shoulder. “I love you, dear.”

“Love you, too, Mom.”

With a quick wave, Paula moves away from their table and navigates her way out of the dining room and toward the exit.

“That actually went better than I thought it might,” Claire says.

“I’m sorry she had to give you a hard time,” Tim replies. “You know how she can be. Protective.”

“Very protective.” Claire sighs. “At least we’ve ripped off that band-aid. Now how about we enjoy our dinner?”

Tim stretches his arm over the table, again taking her hand. “I’d love nothing more.”

—–

“Thank you for checking,” Natalie says into her iPhone as she stands at the open refrigerator. “It must have been a mix-up with my mother-in-law. She can get a little confused sometimes.”

She ends the call and pulls a sparkling water from the fridge. After checking the entire house and confirming that Loretta is nowhere to be found, Natalie called Peter’s school to make sure that he is still there. Although the call has served to reassure her, at least for the time being, that nightmare keeps replaying on a loop in her mind.

“I have to get her off my back before she has the chance to do anything else,” she says aloud. “And before Brent forces me to testify.”

She closes the refrigerator roughly and leans against the stainless steel door as she pops open her can. She thinks back to the holidays, when she tailed Tim in hopes of finding the safehouse where Sonja Kahele is staying — and eventually figuring out exactly where the nurse and her child are.

“Maybe it’s time we have a little chat, Sonja,” Natalie says before taking a sip of the bubbly water, her face hardening with determination.

END OF EPISODE 1182

Will Paula truly accept Claire being back with Tim?
Can Landon help Tori with her job prospects?
What part will Sonja play in Natalie’s plan?
Talk about it all in the comments below!

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