The ‘Don’t Mind Me, I’ll Just Sit In the Dark’ Update – Thursday

In Which Claire Channels the Spirit of Ida Morgenstern

 

Claire and Ashley walk out their door and Claire immediately starts in about how great it would be to live in the Webster’s house.  Ashley tells her that they went over that last night and his mind is made up, they are not selling his dad’s house.  Claire responds by saying that if Fred was alive he’d tell him that the shop is his legacy, not the house and it’d be better to sell the house to save the shop.  (Which I can kind of believe, but Ashely says if that’s true they’ll just have to find another way of saving the shop because the house stays.

 

Sally has basically the same conversation with Kevin about moving – except when Kev says ‘No.’ Sally calls him a caveman dragging her around by the hair – sexist bastard that he is.  Afterwards, Claire and Sally meet up to compare notes and try to figure out how to change their men’s minds.  Sally says it’ll be hard because Kevin is so stubborn that he’d be a Taurus if he wasn’t already a Virgo.  (Hmmm….I don’t see Kev as a Virgo…not as tidy as your typical Virgo.  I see him more as a Cancer.).  Aaaaaaaaaaanyway,  they come to the conclusion that if Claire can change Ashley’s mind, Kev will follow.

 

Later back in the conservatory with Mr. Peacock and a candlestick,  Claire tells Ashley that it’s not only the money she’s concerned about.  Turns out she’s been having flashbacks to the fire and all the nastiness that followed and she really needs to get out of the house and make a new start.   (My god Claire, your ass is EVIL.).   She further adds that she can’t sleep at night, ‘But if you’re set on staying here, well, I guess I’ll just have to adjust.  Can I make you some tea.’.

 

Later that evening she walks into the living room and says, get this…’Freddie was a sleep the minute his head hit the pillow.   (insert sigh).  Lucky Freddie.’.  For some inexplicable reason, Ashley decides to give in and agrees to move houses.

 

Okay, I’m going to interject as a woman who’s dealt with several Jewish and Catholic moms (I know from guilt.).   I’m going to give Claire 10 points for the original ‘I can’t live in the house ‘o bad memories’ idea and follow up ‘But if you’re set on staying here.’ comment that lets Ashley know that SHE is at least willing to make sacrifices for him.  An extra  5 points for the offer to make tea – very subtle and once again reinforces the level of her commitment to him and the family.

 

She does however lose 4 points for ‘At least Freddie gets to sleep.’ for the complete lack of subtlety…really it was over the top.  I was surprised that Ashley fell for it, but he is a WASP and thereby probably has not built up the auto-immune guilt defense that one needs in these situations.  

 

So that’s 11 points for Claire….a nice showing for a relatively inexperienced Guilt  Based Manipulator.

 

Oh, on a side note, she’s buying books at the thrift shop and has a leaning towards mysteries.

 

And Ugh, Back to This.

 

Liam confronts Marcus about not telling him about the baby, but Marcus replies that it wasn’t his place too and that this is between him and Maria.   Carla catches Liam on the street and takes him back to his place where she starts in about Maria until Liam tells her that the baby was stillborn.  Carla, genuinely concerned, comforts Liam with a hug and when he says that he needs to talk to Maria offers to drive him over to Audrey’s.

 

Over at Audrey’s Liam and Maria have a chit chat and then Liam tells her that he needs to see the baby and asks her to come with him.  Maria says she’d rather not.  (Don’t even get me started on this….I know she’s grieving, but HELLO, so is your husband and you need to be by his side.  Even if you don’t want to see the baby again, you need to go with him at least to the hospital.).   So when he leaves Maria does the doe-eyed looking out the window ‘OMG, he’s going off with Carla…See, I knew he wanted to be with her.’ look from behind lace curtains.  So yeah, Carla is the one to take him to the hospital and stay with him during the visit and give him a shoulder to cry on.

 

He goes back to Audrey’s to discuss the funeral plans with Maria.  They decide on a small service family and close friends; Maria doesn’t think her parents can make it and Liam doesn’t think he can bear having his parents there.   They also decide to call the baby Paul as agreed before. 

 

Liam leaves, again without Maria, and when he goes back to the flat Carla is there …having prepared some food for him.

 

I know I’m going to get disagreements, but I think once again the writers have done a nice job of NOT make a character one dimensional.  Sure Carla is a bitch, but she’s not pure evil.  To me,  she’s acting out of true concern here, not an ulterior motive.

 

In Other News

 

Fizz is beginning to dislike  Kirk-eh’s 53 year old girlfriend.

 

Audrey tells Kirk-eh about the baby.

 

Gayle asks Audrey for Ted’s phone number.