8

Oh Pair, Au Pair

Summary for Wednesday, May 10: Doris receives a proposal, Dr. Paulette asks Stormy to take her back, Marlena gives Julie a job, Abe finds a shoelace, and Bronski makes the best of it.

In the motel lobby, Doris turns over her keys and says she’s checking out. The manager looks up the room number. He says, “Donna Stoddard right?” Doris says yes. The manager says a call came in for her last night. “Really?” she says. The caller said it wasn’t urgent so he took a message. He hands over a folded piece of paper. Doris takes the piece of paper. She looks worried.

Marlena and Julie are drinking coffee in the plaza. They sit down on a bench. Marlena says she still feels so bad for not knowing about Addie’s death. Julie tells her it’s not her fault. How would she have heard anyway? Not much goes in or out of Maison Blanche. Marlena says that’s for sure. “Well, I’m here now… with a whole backlog of appointments that need going through. I have to reign in these little vacations,” air quoting ‘vacations.’ Julie says she’s pretty free right now and offers to do some of the paperwork if that would help her out. Marlena gets an idea and smiles. “Julie, my dear. Why don’t you come work at my practice?” Julie laugh-scoffs and says that’s crazy. Marlena jumps in, excited. “Why not? I could use the help, you said yourself your schedule is open, and you have a degree in hospital administration for god’s sake!” Julie laughs and says she makes a strong case. Marlena goes on, “And we’re already a part of Anderson Manufacturing, so you wouldn’t even have to do much paperwork.” Julie thinks for second and then smiles. “You know what? I’m in!” Marlena lets out a hoot. They shake on it.

Hope sits on the bar at Doug’s Place, watching a kid’s show on a little TV Doug propped up for her. Doug is wiping down the tables and chairs. He lifts her up with one hand and wipes down the spot she was sitting in with the other. He watches the show with her for a minute then switches to Days. Roy found a landing spot near Piraeus, just by the harbor. Eric’s working on a getting a fishing boat that can take him to the Island. Roy wonders what he’ll find when he gets there. Someone knocks on the door. Doug looks suspicious and wonders who would be coming by this early. He says Hope shouldn’t be watching this and shuts off the television.

At the cabin, Bronski wears an apron and cooks oatmeal on the stove. The man is still tied to the chair. He asks Bronski how he spells his name. Bronski glares at him. He says he figured it out last night. He heard the report of the escape on the news. His name’s Bronski. Bronski drops two bowls of oatmeal on the table. He unties the man’s arms, set his gun on the table facing the man and sits. He takes a bite. Bronski says he used to spell it with a ‘y.’ Now it’s with an ‘i.’ A lot of people get it confused. And that’s half the point. He says he’s considering going back to the ‘y’ now that his name’s in the news. The man asks if he has a plan. Bronski stuffs his mouth and muffles a “Nyet.”

Caroline walks through Minos Park. From behind some shrubs she watches Snake scolding a teenager. Caroline recognizes the teenager. “Clyde?”

Back in the motel lobby, Doris is about to open the piece of paper when the manager tells her her credit card was declined. She says that’s not possible and to run it again. He says okay but the machine is pretty slow. Doris looks back down at the piece of paper and opens it. It’s from Caruso. In a vaguely threatening, vaguely encouraging tone, he writes that he knows it’s her but everything is fine. Her work is in high demand. He needs more product though ASAP. He also mentions trying to secure Doris a residency in Maine. Doris shakes her head. She’s definitely not going to Maine. She crumples up the note and shoves it in her purse so hard that she accidentally drops it. Multiple passports fall out onto the floor. Horrified, Doris looks up at the motel manager.

In Minos Park, Caroline is still hiding in the shrubs. Snake holds up a roll of cash. He asks where the rest is. Clyde says everyone at school is worried. They didn't sign up for all this. Snake says the cops have backed off since Bronski was arrested He concedes it got a bit out of hand for a moment. Clyde says, “You mean four moments.” Snake gets angry and says he wants everybody back on the street. He says that because of this mess Kiki is coming to town. Clyde isn't surprised but pretends he is. Snake is emphatic that he'd better be holding a bigger wad of cash this time next week. Caroline is scared and slinks away.

Abe and the Receptionist scour a warehouse with their flashlights. Abe bends down to look at half a yellow shoelace. The Receptionist comes over and asks if Abe found something. He's not sure. But says this shoelace doesn't look like the kind a dockworker would wear. It's too delicate. Abe tells the Receptionist to find a bag as he picks up the shoelace with his pen.

Bronksi finishes washing the dishes and dries his hands on his apron. He removes the apron and sits on the couch. The man tied to the chair tells Bronski he looks like he’s settling in. Bronski says he’s making the best of a bad situation. There's a lot of heat right now.

Dr. Paulette sits in the dark at GCC. Stormy enters and turns on the lights. He gasps when he sees Dr. Paulette. She puts her finger up to her lips and ssshhh’s him. She whispers that she didn’t have anywhere else to go. Bronski escaped. He knows where she lives and she’s not going back there. Stormy asks what Bronski has on her. She accuses Stormy of working with the police. Stormy is taken aback and tells her that’s not true. Dr. Paulette looks surprised. Bronski must have fabricated that evidence in the report he gave her. He was trying to set her up for something she had no involvement with. “The murders” Stormy says. Dr. Paulette says yes, but it's more than that. Stormy pulls up a chair and sits down. He crosses his arms. “Oh?"

Abe and the Receptionist sit on a crate. Abe says that if somebody lost a shoelace they won't go long without getting a new one. The Receptionist asks where someone would go to buy shoelaces. Abe says there aren't many options. They think. The Receptionist says Collins General Store. Abe says, "You're learning fast." And that the Collins have the best pickles.

At the station Caroline enters saying she needs to see Abe right away. She’s frantic. Roman meets her and says Abe is out. He shows her to his office and they sit and talk.

Marlena and Julie enter the practice. Marlena flings her coat on a coatrack and tells Julie that she hasn’t figured out a desk situation yet, so she should just use hers for now. Marlena says she sees patients in the back office. She goes to make some phone calls. Julie gets settled in her new desk, clearing off the surface and revealing a calendar. She notices an appointment scheduled for tomorrow: 9am Doug Williams. Julie lets out a sigh and sits back in her chair.

Doug continues to stare down the front door. He glances at Hope, then walks over and opens it. No one is there, but an ornately wrapped package with a big bow sits on the doorstep. Doug clenches his jaw. “What, no card this time?” He picks it up and walks back inside.

Doris looks back and forth between her passports and the motel manager. He’s turned the other way, banging on the credit card machine. Doris quickly scoops up the passports and puts them back into her purse. A receipt starts printing. The manager turns around and smiles. “All good, Miss Stoddard. Sorry about that.” Doris snatches the credit card and rushes out of the lobby. The motel manager gives a “what’s up with that” look.

Dr. Paulette tells Stormy that her beef with Bronski is too complicated to get into right now. He’s seriously dangerous though. Maybe if Stormy and her work together they could make more progress. Stormy wants to know why he should get involved. How can he even trust her? Dr. Paulette leans forward. “Because I can get you to the Island.” Stormy slowly absorbs the words he's wanted to hear for so long. Dr. Paulette leans back in her chair. “And honestly, that may be the only hope for either of us.”

Doug sets the package on the bar and stares at it for a minute. He tears off the bow and hands it to Hope. She starts chewing on it but Doug doesn’t seem to notice. He opens the package to reveal a deck of playing cards taped to the bottom. Doug rolls his eyes. “What is this, some kind of game?”

Abe and the Receptionist walk into Collins General Store. Abe flashes his badge and wants to know if they've sold any shoelaces lately. Probably bright yellow. The man says they don't sell many shoelaces and would remember if they did. He's the owner. The girl who often works the register should be in any minute. She'd know. Matthew enters the store, The shopkeeper says hello. Matthew says Elizabeth sent him down for some cheese. Abe pulls a large pickle from the barrel by the counter. A bell rings as Kayla comes from the back. The shopkeeper says, “There she is. That’s Kayla.” Abe shows his badge and asks if she's the girl who works the register. Kayla hesitates. The shop owner says it's okay. They just want to know if anybody's bought any shoelaces lately. Kayla asks, “Shoelaces?” Abe confirms the question with his eyes. Kayla considers it. “Why yes, a yellow pair about a week ago.” Abe says that’s great and asks if she remembers what he looked like. Kayla is slightly embarrassed. She says of course she does. He has blonde hair and is tall and athletic. She blanks on the name but says he runs cross country for Westfield. Abe says, “Looks like we've got a runner.”

At GCC, Stormy asks what they're waiting for, they should go right now. Dr. Paulette needs to know that Stormy is really ready. She says she needs to engage him in a velocity test and snaps repeatedly to each side of his head. She suddenly yells in his face and Stormy jumps back. She says his reflexes are good. She wants to check his vision and asks if there is something on the wall they can read. Stormy says he has a large pad of paper in the back. In the back office Stormy tears off the top sheet of his vision sketches and Dr Paulette proceeds to draw an eye chart. Stormy says he doesn't know what this has to do with traveling to the Island. He had his eyes checked last month. Dr. Paulette ask if he's hydrated. Stormy says he’s fine. She says he should start drinking extra water now to get ready for the trip. Stormy doubts that applies here, that being hydrated is for altitude or maybe heat. Dr. Paulette tells him some of the rules are different. Some things are the same but some are different. Stormy pops open a bubbly water and guzzles. Dr. Paulette steps back from the chart and says it's ready. She shows him where to stand and asks him to read the first line.

Abe and the Receptionist are in his car driving through the dark. Abe says he wants to get some files from work then he’ll drop the Receptionist off at his house. The Receptionist asks if it’s still exciting after all the years on the job. Abe doesn’t answer.

Dr. Paulette hangs up the phone. “We can't get out of Laredo until tomorrow.” Stormy says that's fine with him. He wouldn't mind stopping by Doug’s Place to see if the coffee has improved. He's so proud of Doug for branching out. He wonders if Doug would be mad if he stopped by The Pines to see Jerry. He asks what day it is. He's disappointed that Jerry won't be on until the day after tomorrow. He asks if they could push the trip back another day. Dr. Paulette flips out and says that Bronski could be after them right now. He could bust in any minute. Stormy says they can't get out until tomorrow so they might as well make the best of it, he's just trying to think of options. Dr. Paulette says she saw Arlene at Doug's the other night and she was fantastic. Stormy nods and says she must be new, he'll have to look for her when they get back. Dr Paulette says they seriously need to get out of there. Stormy watches his security monitors. After a few moments, he says the coast looks all clear. They leave out the back door and into the dark night.