"Business formal and wedding formal are not the same," Glycerine tries to explain her client's errors.
She's finally at level 10 in her career, but these yokels cannot appreciate fashion.
Life is great. Myles isn't sure why he's feeling so restless, why he feels like life is slipping away.
He rolls a mid life crisis wish to get a tattoo. There's a tattoo parlor right next to the salon where his wife is working, and as he sneaks inside he thinks about her, wondering if he should be asking her for her opinion before he makes changes to his body. What if she's not attracted to men with tattoos?
He chooses a simple design for his wrist. It's a smiling crescent moon. The selection was impulsive and meaningless, but tats are hella cool, right?
Immediately after getting inked he drops in on his wife to tell her about the experience.
Happily, she agrees tats are hella cool.
Her customers could have done without the interruption, though.
Another afternoon spent doing silly things with Mike.
Tilde thought she never had what her sister had. That instant connection, the infatuation that blossomed into love and lasting marriage. What Tilde discovers as she dates Mike Midden is that infatuation was not the key that unlocked the other achievements. As the saying goes: relationships are built, not found.
Glycerine and Myles worked up to what they have, by daring to give their time and energy, and Tilde will have to do the same.
Mike already had one miserable failure of a romance. That resulted in little Darrick here.
Darrick resents being told to play with Spencer while his father is off rolling in the hay with Tilde.
Spencer, however, is delighted to have company. "The other girls in class are calling you my boyfriend now. Is that going to be gross if your dad and my aunt get married? Will we be cousins?"
"I'm NOT your boyfriend, and your aunt is stupid."
Darrick's disposition softens a bit when he's introduced to Spencer's video game collection.
Despite the boy's frequent verbal abuse, and his refusal to speak to her at school, Spencer treats him kindly and hopes for the best. She has had trouble making friends.
Her classmates play lots of pranks on her, and call her gullible and stupid and ugly. Perhaps she can convince Darrick to stop joining them.
A roll in the hay.
Darrick "Da Rick" may be her stepson someday, so Tilde does her best to
be a polite, positive person around the child. Though it's more than a
bit challenging when he says things like "my mother says your brother is disgusting and bad luck because two men shouldn't kiss".
"My brother is just a normal person, Ricky. He's not bad luck. I think there should be more people in the world who love each other, not less."
"And his mom apparently said I tried to change Mike, because I suggested the makeover?" Tilde vents to her sister.
"Well, you did," Glycerine points out.
"It was an act of love! Don't you know he gets more tips now that he wears pants?"
Glycerine beams proudly. "I am the absolute greatest."
Awwws.
Awwwws.
A loving family keeps Spencer from feeling too isolated, but being rejected by one's classmates takes a psychological toll. Spencer is polite, excitable, and eager to please... desperate for acceptance, and ever hopeful it will come.
She loves music. Her dream is to become a country music singer. She receives a guitar as an early birthday gift the day before her teen age-up.
She goes to bed that night dreaming of a big birthday party the next day. Everyone will be there. She'll be beautiful and popular, and high school will be a brand new start.
She invited her whole class to her birthday party... but none of them show up.
Spencer ages up to teen with minimal fanfare.
"Thanks for the support, Uncle J... but you can stop cheering."
