Do you know of any man who cares about napkin designs? Even for his own wedding?
But Isabel is hoping Noah’s choices will align with hers sometime during the planning process. Keep wishing, girlfriend. He just wants to wed so he can finally have full-on sex with you.
Her words spewed prayer intentions, but her tone communicated “B!#%h, you better stay away from my man, ‘fo I pray your @$$ away.”
Sooo… Grace stops by Noah’s office at the church to chat with him. There is an exchange between the ladies that’s snippy and topped with petty sprinkles. Lets me know they only tolerate each other. They greet… Grace asks Isabel if there is school that day [My interpretation: Heifer, why you ain’t at work? Go away so I can talk to your man…who used to be my man]. Isabel then asks Grace who’s her plus one going to be at their wedding. Grace says it’ll be her daughter Sophia… Isabel asks if she has someone special because it’s going to be a romantic weekend and says “maybe you’ll meet someone on the dance floor.” With the fake drivel pulled from the dregs of the Christianese playbook, she adds, “I’ll pray for you.” What’s wrong with that? You ask. See, it wasn’t the prayer part. It was how she said it. Isabel just sounded so fake. Her words spewed prayer intentions, but her tone communicated “B!#%h, you better stay away from my man, ‘fo I pray your @$$ away.”
Grace talks to Noah about getting Uncle Mac’s computer while he’s out of town to see if there’s any information that will get them closer to proving he’s a serial child-molesting perv.
Lady May shares her plans for the wedding with Isabel… Isabel confides that she wonders if Noah still has feelings for Grace. Lady May assures her that’s not the case and says all men make women wring their hands as they second guess their decision to commit to one woman forever.
Call-outs
Triumph Church’s pastor puts Calvary Church on blast on television. Pastor Skanks is bitter because he thinks Calvary shifted public opinion regarding the police-involved shooting. Officer David Nelson was not found criminally responsible for killing Kenny Collins, a teenager. Bishop plans to mosey on over to Triumph and have a chat with Skanks.
So let’s jump back to Jacob who is trying to get back on daddy’s good side. They meet with a rep from a Christian TV network to discuss airtime for Calvary. Bishop pretty much gives the rep the shaft. When Jacob offers to follow up in a week, Bishop shut the door on those plans, solid. Airtight. He’s dead set against any television time. We find out later why that’s the case.
Grace gets notice that two men in her life will move from Memphis. Noah and Officer Nelson. Nelson tells her he’s thinking of moving to Delaware, but Grace convinces him that the move would equal running away… Which she did for 20 years, and it didn’t fix her problems. Grace tells him in order for healing to take place in Memphis he should know he’s a part of that conversation… And no one can speak for him like him.
Spilling beans
So sneaky Lady May sidles up to Noah to get the snoop report on Grace. But, of course he’s not going to rat out his old flame, even if her mom is paying for he and his new flame’s wedding. But he spills the beans anyway. He and Isabel are moving to Denver after they marry. Lady May sends Noah on his way, but the look on her face says she’s unconvinced. With that look, I’m surprised she believes Jesus is Lord.
Bishop visits Pastor Skanks… and it makes me wonder why in the world Skanks hates Calvary so much. Skanks promises to bring Calvary down… But why?
Meantime Grace is snooping through Mac’s computer and finds an address in Nashville… to an abortion clinic. She connects with Danielle while her mom is away from home, and tells her she knows about the Nashville trip.
So she spills all the beans. Danielle tells Grace about how she and her mom got twisted up with uncle Mac. Including his promises for fishing lessons… And trips to Calvary’s camp… Which is when the assaults started. Danielle promised not to tell anyone until she got knocked up by that old kook. Danielle’s wack-ass mom told her child to follow the advice of her rapist and tell police she fabricated the rape story. What kind of fool ass mother is that? Wait… The answer. A fool-ass mother.
Danielle also tells Grace that people could get in trouble… And their livelihood might be in jeopardy if she tells on Mac. Her mom got a scholarship that uncle Mac arranged through Lady Mae’s scholarship fund. And Grace, it appears, has a moment of realization. After some inquiring she finds out some of uncle Mac’s victims or their family members have received scholarships as part of the women’s auxiliary group. So he has Lady Mae wrapped up in his chicanery and she doesn’t even know it.
Flames, explosions
Fast-forward to Noah looking through old photos of grace. Guess who happens to stop by? Grace. First question she asked is Isabel here… She’s starting to seem shady. Anyway, they discuss what she’s learned about the scholarships… Then Grace has an epiphany.. realizing what Uncle Mac actually meant when he growled that she would “unravel the whole thing” if she kept digging further.
So somehow with Grace packing up her shit to go, she reveals something no one knows: Noah’s getting married… (no-duh!) And Noah says it’s probably the last time they’ll get to talk like this. Here’s where I think they’re getting too cozy. Their proximity is too close. Then they start getting all intimate and reminisce-y with their conversation. Grace says if Mac hadn’t violated Faith, she probably wouldn’t have left home… and she and Noah would still be together. Then they kiss. Then they screw. Talk about togetherness. Consenting adults, yes… But dang them screwing is bound to crush some flowers in Bishop’s garden of the Lord.
The morning, she returns to the big house. And her mother is waiting… You just have to watch the rest:
So… WHY does Lady May always go in so hard on Grace? Isn’t this supposed to be her daughter?
He stays, he goes
That morning, Officer Nelson shows up for church and lets Grace know he’s going to stay in town… until a relative of Kenny Collins walks up, pulls a gun and shoots Nelson… to death.
You know, Maybe Lady Mae is right. It seems like everything but Grace touches gets f*&^%$ up. If she had left that man alone and let him leave and go to Delaware maybe he’d still be alive. Well, he’s a fictional character, so he was never alive-alive to begin with…. but you know what I mean.