We see an equestrian practice arena. Two teenage girls are guiding horses in
complicated moves around the arena.
One of the girls says she didn't get in. The other replies she's not going
either if they both can't go. But that's ridiculous the first says, she'd be
throwing away an awesome opportunity. The rejected girl talks about all the
friends the other girl will make. They're best friends - this could rock
their friendship.
Inside the stables. Leslie, the first girl, asks Judith, the second girl, to
send her postcards. Judith is devastated. Leslie starts taking off her shirt
to change out of her riding clothes. The two girls hug, saying they'll miss
each other. Judith starts to kiss Leslie's neck. Leslie pushes her off.
Judith looks shocked at what she's done. It just happened, she couldn't stop
herself. Leslie runs away, saying people have all kinds of feelings, it
doesn't mean they're supposed to act on them. Judith looks broken.
<titles>
Bette and Tina arrive at the door of couples therapy. Bette tries to back
out, she really doesn't want to do this. Tina stands her ground, saying that
if they hate it they can always just leave. Bette leans over and whispers to
the baby that she's only doing it for him. Tina sighs and they walk through
the door together.
The couples therapy is being run by Dan Foxworthy, the same shrink the girls
have had so much luck with so far. They join a group of four other couples
and one single woman. It seems really uncomfortable.
Jenny bursts through the door of her studio (Tim obviously let her stay more
than one night) and her old college roommate Annette is standing there. They
hug enthusiastically. Apparently Annette has sold out to a corporate
existence and become a real estate broker. But hey, she thinks it's cool to
do something stupid and make a lot of money, then you can do whatever you
want later. She sarcastically says she loves Jenny's apartment. It's really
a glorified toolshed.
Back to couples therapy. Dan starts a sentence and the participants have to
finish it. For Tina he asks “Sometimes I keep myself passive when…” Tina
says when she lets Bette make all their financial decisions. She tries to
explain and elaborate but Dan cuts her off. Bette is looking less and less
enthusiastic by the minute.
Jenny wonders why she can't just have trust fund or something so she can sit
at her desk and write all day. That'd be great, but as Annette says, people
with trust funds aren't tortured enough to write. She asks if Jenny and Tim
are still having sex or if they had lots of break-up sex, or angry sex.
Jenny begs for them to not talk about Tim. Annette is happy with that – she
had her fill of Tim back in college when it was hard to sleep in their room
because Jenny and Tim were having sex ten feet away. Eww. She imitates Tim's
little grunts of pleasure and Jenny puts her hands over her ears. She
doesn't want to say anything bad about Tim. She does admit that it's
definitely over between them.
Dan's next question for the group is "My greatest fear about being a parent
is?" and each participant is put in the hot seat. Each of the participants
replies. Bette chooses to pass. Tina answers the question as "we", a bad
habit she's fallen into. She says they don't have many fears, but their
greatest fear is probably that Melvin won't accept their child. As they're
about to move on Bette interjects and says her greatest fear about parenting
is that she won't be a good enough provider. Dan says that’s great, and as
they move on they'll find it easier to say what they really mean to say.
Bette looks stung.
Annette pulls out a bottle of wine but they need to go into Tim's house to
find a corkscrew. Tim is away recruiting so they can snoop through the house
to their heart’s content. Annette ponders if Tim is really away on a
recruiting trip or if he's maybe in some love nest with another woman?
Jenny's reaction puzzles her. Is there another woman involved? Jenny replies
that there sort of is.
Dan Foxworthy now has all the participants on the floor in a circle, their
heads towards the middle. They're still talking fears about child raising.
Oscar talks about the troubles he's having with his adopted foster child.
Tina thinks taking that on is admirable and that she and Bette had
considered adopting. When asked why they didn’t Bette responds that some kid
out of the Midwest who knows nothing about dykes isn't about to choose them
as the adopted parents of her baby. Yolanda (a militant black, feminist
group member) says that process only happens if you're set on adopting a
white baby.
Someone else asks what's wrong with wanting to adopt a white baby if you're
white? Yolanda points out that Bette is black, so why doesn't she sound as
proud of being black as she does of being gay? Bette being black is news to
some people.
Bette lays it on the line and tells the group she and Tina chose an African
American donor because it was important to Bette to have a child that
reflects who they are. Yolanda’s theory is that before you can reflect who
you are you have to be who you are. This is really starting to get up
Bette's nose. She just manages to say that Yolanda knows nothing about her
or what she's gone through in life when Dan calls the session to a close. He
switches on the lights and they all stretch out and pack up. They suddenly
all go from intense therapy mode to street mode.
Oscar talks to Tina and tells her not to let Yolanda get to her too much.
Yolanda's way of figuring people out is to confront them, which is probably
what she’s trying with Bette. In a couple of weeks he promises they’ll
actually start looking forward to the sessions. Tina objects saying they
both thought it was interesting. Here she goes, doing that whole "we" thing
again. He calls her on it, and she corrects herself. Bette just walks out -
she looks a lot more angry than interested.
Jenny admits that she was the one who cheated. Annette starts grilling her
on the guy - was he rich? Good looking? Smart? Funny? Jenny admits it was
with a woman and that Marina is really hot. Annette is proud, that's the one
thing she hasn't done sexually. She asks what Jenny will call her in the
story, but Jenny says she didn't do it to get something to write about. (So
much for Bette’s theory) Marina won't be a character in her story. She did
it because she couldn't help herself. Annette suddenly gets it. Marina broke
Jenny's heart. She was in love.
Dana has an advance copy of her ad in The Advocate. She's showing everyone
at The Planet. Everyone claps. Instead of proud she just looks really
scared. Marina asks Dana to sign a copy for her and Francesca. Shane has
only just remembered Francesca is coming back - she suggests that Marina
bring her to TWAT, the night her flatmates are organising. Alice jokes and
says Dana should sign the magazine as “Dana Fairbanks - professional
lesbian”. Dana isn't amused. They rag her out - the ad is going wide next
week, she'd better get used to it. Marina thinks she won't be able to keep
the girls away, that her parents must be so proud. Alice hits on the source
of Dana's discomfort. She hasn't come out to her parents yet. Shane rightly
observes that if she doesn't do it quickly Subaru are going to do it for
her.
Dana's quiet and on the verge of tears. Alice suggests they go and tell her
mother today. But uh uh, her mother is getting an award from her women's
group today. It’s not just any group either - she's getting an award from
the Orange County Republican Women's Coalition. Shane can't help laughing.
Dana runs away, defeated. Alice follows her out wanting to know what’s
wrong. Dana can't believe how screwed her life is. She fucked up with Lara,
now everyone is laughing at her for something that is so incredibly hard for
her to do.
Alice feels like an asshole, but she has a cunning plan. She'll go with Dana
to the awards ceremony and they'll tell Dana's mother before the awards.
There's no way her parents would make a scene in front of all those people.
It's the perfect time. Dana looks sceptical but she doesn’t really have a
choice. Cute little Alice promises she can look Republican. Cue collective
lesbian sniggers.
At home the next morning Bette is ranting about Yolanda and how she knows
nothing about her personally or her race politics. Tina is looking Yolanda
up on the internet. Apparently she's a writer who has published poetry and
books on feminist and racial politics. Tina chuckles, they could have some
fun with her. Bette questions the "we" in Tina's statement. This is becoming
a trend. Bette says it was her life Yolanda was attacking, there's no way
Tina could be as upset as she was, no way Tina could even understand how it
feels. She storms off to work.
Annette asks the fatal question - was Jenny always a lesbian? Jenny never
said she was a lesbian in college. Annette wonders if it was something that
just hit her out of the blue because she personally can't imagine sleeping
with a woman. She's a confirmed penis lover. Jenny thinks she’s bisexual.
That produces the standard rolling of the eyes from the straight girl.
Annette proclaims that she has to get a look at Marina and judge for herself
if she's worth Jenny's anguish. Jenny is horrified. No stalking. Bad, bad
idea. Francesca is coming home today so Jenny showing up everywhere Marina
is would be too obvious. Annette is stunned. Marina has a girlfriend? Does
this story get any better? Jenny stands her ground and admits she would have
done everything the same as she did it the first time, even if she had known
Marina had a girlfriend. Which is about as much backbone as we’ve seen in
Jenny so far.
Annette insists. She wants to see Marina and Jenny needs to stake out the
competition. If she's really in love, how can she take this sitting down?
At The Planet Kit is striking a business deal. Apparently Slim Daddy is
offering Kit $1000 for the rights to sample a song she wrote in the eighties
on his new single and Kit is going to be part of the video. Bette wanders in
at that moment and raises questions about the contract, whether it’s enough
money, if Kit will get a percentage of royalties? She thinks Kit should have
a lawyer check it out. The record exec says it's pretty much a
non-negotiable deal. Kit signs the papers on the spot and tells Bette to
butt out of her affairs.
Bette gets to the point. She says she talked to David yesterday and that he
said he came to meet Kit. He walked in, saw Kit sitting at the bar having a
drink and he left. Bette must have been in the bathroom when he came. Kit's
beside herself. Bette was there, she knows Kit wasn't drinking. Kit wants to
know why Bette can't just congratulate her for the song deal and
congratulate her for getting through something as stressful as the David
incident without a drink. Bette doesn't answer.
Clive is rummaging around in someone's bag at The Planet, looking guilty. He
snags a wallet and checks it for money, taking all the notes. He's sprung by
Shane as he puts the bag back under the chair. He tries to cover by saying
he was looking for a cigarette but he knows perfectly well that none of them
smoke. Shane doesn’t believe a word but he shrugs it off. Shane just watches
him go.
Bette is leaving the CAC for a lunch. James stops her and says there's a
phone call that he thinks she should take. It's a protestor saying that God
will punish her for putting up the blasphemous filth in the museum. She
hangs up. It's the fifth call today. She tells them to keep a record of the
calls. It's just one more thing to worry about.
Jenny opens her car door as a cyclist speeds past, knocking him clean off
his bike. He struggles to get up, swearing off his head off. She apologises
profusely. He swears more. Annette swears back. It's a swearing standoff.
The woman we now know is Francesca comes along and intervenes, sweet talking
the cyclist into calming down. Finally he gets back on his bike and heads
off. Annette thanks Francesca for her help. Francesca is gracious and just
tells Jenny to be careful as she saunters off. Jenny just looks frozen on
the spot.
Alice and Dana go over the strategy as they arrive at Sharon Fairbanks’s
awards ceremony. They'll exchange pleasantries then just blurt it out before
the awards. Alice is betting that Dana's mother will keep it together for
the sake of appearances. (Love Dana's new Subaru SUV!)
They get inside and Dana's mother is exuberant. She hugs Dana and Alice,
goes through the motions and drags them into the reception for lunch. As
they're walking through the door Howie, Dana's brother, flashes Dana a copy
of the ad he's been hiding in his hands. Dana snatches it off him and
panics. Well, now we know at least one person in Dana's family knows.
Annette and Jenny spy on Marina at The Planet through one of the glass
windows. Annette waits for Marina to turn around then she's totally bowled
over. Marina surpasses gorgeous and moves right on to goddess. She's
stunned. Jenny had sex with that woman? She asks if Jenny went down on
Marina, and do girls still look pretty when you're eating them out because
guys look so dorky when you're giving them head. That was information I
think we all needed. Francesca passes by their table and gives them a hello
again. She's self-assured, confidant and already seems like a complete bitch
we want to take down. Francesca walks over and hugs Marina. Finally Jenny
makes the connection. She knows what the enemy really looks like.
At the Fairbanks table Dana is so uncomfortable she looks like she’s sitting
on something prickly. Alice is discreetly sharing her wine with
sixteen-year-old Howie. One of the women giving out the award is singing
Sharon’s praises. Everyone keeps stopping by the table to give their
congratulations - there's just no time to swing their coming out plan into
action. The whole table gets up to go to the buffet and get their food.
Alice gives her the signal. This is the moment. Dana tries to start, she
says there's something she wants to talk to them about. Howie interrupts
like a pain in the ass brother and asks if Dana has a boyfriend. She throws
him a withering look.
Suddenly a woman from the gathering comes up with an open magazine and asks
Dana to sign the ad for her son. It's a copy of the Advocate. Dana rushes to
sign it and give back the magazine before her parents can really get a good
look at it. They all ask what it was. Dana explains it was her Subaru ad.
Alice unhelpfully jumps in and says Dana didn't want to talk about it
because she didn't want to steal her mother's thunder. They all ohh and ahh.
Then Sharon asks, what does "get out and stay out" mean?
Dana stumbles over her own tongue. Out...doorsy. Yeah, it means for women
like her who are outdoors a lot, playing tennis! She excuses herself and she
and Alice hightail it to the bathroom. Dana and Alice speculate whether or
not her parents don't get it or are just in some monumental state of denial.
Either way, they're really proud right now so it's the perfect moment to
come out. Alice asks if Dana wants to practice. She sticks her hands up in
the air like hand puppets and tries to get Dana to practice coming out to
them. Dana thinks she's retarded and walks out.
Back outside the awards are in full swing. Sharon goes up on the stage as
the camera flashes across blown up pictures of the Fairbanks family. We see
a picture of Sharon when she was young in full riding regalia. She's the
teenaged girl from the prologue who tried to kiss her best friend! Despite
the fact the names have changed. Wasn’t she called Judith in the prologue?
Alice and Dana reconvene on the rooftop garden to talk strategy. Alice
suggests they might need to abort. She smells someone smoking pot. Howie
comes up bearing the pot, yelling out "what up lesbos?". He’s a cute, funny
asshole. Alice takes the smoke off him gratefully. Howie announces to Dana
that he'll still visit when their parents disown her. She gives him a rueful
laugh and takes a hit off the joint. (Hello, professional tennis player
taking drugs? Bad idea.)
Jenny and Annette's spying has reached new levels of wrong. Annette has the
binoculars out. She sees Francesca giving Marina an expensive watch and
she's impressed. Jenny is taking swigs off a hip flask, probably something
she needed to do to get up the guts for this little spy mission. She's
feeling totally intimidated by Francesca (She does drive a vintage Mercedes
convertible. YUM!) Annette concocts a plan. Jenny is younger, hotter and
there's a reason Marina came looking for her in the first place. Francesca
is obviously just buying Marina's affections. The trick will be to make
Marina jealous. They'll doll up and put in an appearance at TWAT, the night.
Alice and Howie are stumbling out of the awards lunch, obviously loaded.
They see Dana sitting in the bar with her parents. She's just done it. She's
come out. Her mother stands up looking horrified. Dana's crying, wanting a
chance to explain. Her father says he thinks she's said enough already.
Dana's parents turn their backs on her, grab her brother and stalk out. Dana
tries to catch up to them outside but they're already in their car. She goes
to her mother's window. Sharon delivers the exact same line that was
delivered to her as a young girl, that we all have feelings for our
girlfriends, it doesn't mean we have to act on them. Her parents wind up
their windows and drive away. Alice hugs Dana and leads her back inside.
She's broken.
Shane drives along at night and spots Clive. Her flatmates have kicked him
out for stealing. They fight. Shane tells Clive not to blame her for the
shit he's into, he was the one who stole from them and sold their stuff for
drug money. What happens to him is all on his head. He screwed up for the
last time. She feels sorry for him but there's nothing she can do.
Clive makes her feel guilty and Shane gives him some cash to stay in a hotel
for a couple of days. Clive guilt trips her more, saying if it wasn't for
him she never would have met Harry and never would have gotten the rich
clients she has now. She says thank you setting her up, but tells him he's a
selfish prick. Finally he asks if she's holding. At first she says no, but
then gives up the last of her stash to him too.
Annette is on the loo in Tim's bathroom when Tim walks in on her. She tells
him she's sorry for everything that's gone on, it must have been really hard
on him. Despite it seeming completely out of place she asks him for a
favour. Even though he's hurting, she asks him to take care of Jenny. It
seems he still loves Jenny enough to do that.
There's a petition being handed out in front of the CAC to try and stop the
exhibit. Bette walks past on her way into the building and is stopped by a
protester. He tries to tell her how sick the art is. Bette wonders how he
can ask people to sign a petition opposing art that he’s obviously never
seen. The kid realises he's outmatched and runs away. Bette shoos the rest
of them off private property.
TWAT the night is a dismal failure. There's no one there. Annette and Jenny
arrive, looking pretty hot. Alice, Shane and Dana are there, putting
fluorescent tube things around their heads and arms. It all looks very badly
organised. Dana is telling Shane the story of her coming out to her parents
asking what the hell does her mother mean with the not acting on feelings
line? Shane wisely speculates that at one point Sharon must have fallen in
love with one of her friends and got her heart broken. Got it in one Shane.
Dana just looks appalled at the thought.
Alice asks if its true that Shane is cutting Cherie Jaffe's hair on Friday?
Shane admits this is true. Apparently Cherie is the coolest person in LA who
doesn't have a job. Trust Alice to know. This is the make or break moment
for Shane's career. Shane knows it, but doesn't look like she’s letting it
intimidate her.
Back in couples therapy Bette is getting another dose of vitriol from Ms
Black America. She is obviously not in any mood to take crap from this woman
and refuses to let Tina say anything in her defence. She asks why Yolanda is
giving her so much grief to come out as a black woman when all the while
she's been happy for the group to believe she's straight? Some of the group
look surprised by this. Bette has a hold of Yolanda's book where she
identifies herself as lesbian last among a pile of adjectives. What exactly
is so wrong about Bette walking through the world however she likes, with
not announcing herself as black or white? Yolanda screams a bit more about
Bette being afraid of her identity. Finally the group breaks in and cuts
Yolanda off for being harsh.
Bette says Yolanda does not know how she's gone through the world. Yolanda
reveals herself as a judgemental, confrontational bitch, and Bette is having
none of it. But deep down, Yolanda's comments cut Bette to the core. Yolanda
just keeps on raving, showing her anger issues.
TWAT the night is still dead. Marina and Francesca aren't there, Jenny's
about to give up. Just then they do arrive and they join Shane, Dana and
Alice at their table. (Marina's comforting hug and kiss for Dana is so
sweet.) Annette and Jenny are getting seriously loaded. Annette tells Jenny
to flaunt it because Jenny might not be rich but she does tramp better than
anyone. Is that meant to be a compliment?
Alice and Dana wonder loudly who the chick with Jenny is. No one has ever
seen her before. Annette meanwhile tries to convince Jenny to at least fake
that she's having a good time. Jenny musters up all her dignity and pretends
to laugh. Annette tries to contrive to get Jenny over near Francesca so
Marina can see them both up close and compare and contrast.
Marina does get up and go to the bathroom, which Annette thinks is the
signal to follow, but Francesca screws up the plan by coming over to say
hello to them. She thinks it's time they met formally since they've been
running into each other all day. They start a round of loaded small talk.
Francesca invites Jenny over for dinner sometime. She seems to know all
about Jenny and Marina. The looks that pass between them are pure
politeness, but they are duelling nonetheless. Then Francesca drops the
immortal "she's told me a lot about you" line. Even Jenny can't mistake that
kind of hint.
Dan Foxworthy finally has control of his group and is leading them in a nice
session of silence. They look like they need it. We hear something from
everyone's thoughts. Some are bored, some are floating elsewhere. Instead of
silence though Tina feels the need to fill the gap with apologetic banter,
like she can't stand being there sitting alone with her own thoughts. She
says it's hard to be honest because people don't want to hear the truth.
Tina is encouraging everyone to say what they feel, and deep down no one is
saying how they feel. Of course, if she heard Bette's thoughts she would be
scared, as Bette wonders to herself if she's simply panicking, or if she is
falling out of love.
Marina and Francesca walk out of the club hand in hand. Jenny looks on as
they leave, her face still betraying her lust for Marina.
<fade to black>
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