Stuck In The Middle With You

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Original Airdate: 01/26/98

As the episode starts we see Lucy walking down the hallway when Mary and Matt catch up to her. Asking her if she has heard the news, which she hasn't, Mary tells Lucy, against Matt's better judgement, that Jimmy and Ashley just broke up. Entering into a dream like trance, we see a black and white flashback collage of when Jimmy Moon and Lucy were dating. It comes to an end, however, when Lucy remembers Jimmy's last words to her, "Call me when you come to your senses." Reality comes rushing back to us as we see Lucy standing in the hallway, Mary and Matt at her side, with a dreamy look on her face.

Rod enters the scene with a "¿como estas?" and asks if they are on for another date. Lucy, looking to Jimmy, replies that she will have to think about it.

Lucy arrives home later than afternoon and rushes to the kitchen to tell her mom the wonderful news. Annie, however, is already on the phone with her father who, we find out, is no longer seeing Ginger, his girl friend. It seems that Charles, Annie's father, has made a few changes in his life, which Ginger was against. Ruthie comes down with an oversized box cutting in front of Lucy who is still impatiently waiting for her mother to get off the phone. Ruthie, excitedly, tells her mother all about the two lizards that she brought home from school asking if she can keep them at home. Annie replies no as she hurriedly tells Charles that she will have Matt pick him up at the airport. Lucy, not being able to hold it in any longer, tells Annie about how Jimmy broke up with Ashley and that both Jimmy and Rod wants to go out with her, all the while talking a hundred miles an hour. Annie, in a rush to get to the church to help out with a marriage counseling session, tells Lucy that she has two very exciting choices, reminds her to tell Matt to pick Grandpa up at the airport, and rushes out the door.

At the church, Eric starts off the meeting by introducing themselves and invites each of the groups to share a little something about themselves. Oddly enough they are all very quiet only answering yes to Eric's questions about events in their lives while all the while looking pretty gloom. Eric announces that things are really going really well, but somehow the expression on his face says otherwise.

Meanwhile, Lucy is on the phone at home with one of her friends trying to keep the phone lines tied up as to play "hard to reach" with Jimmy and Rod. She has yet to make up her mind as to which one she wants to go out with. All the while a very frustrated Jimmy and Rod sit at home with only the sound of the busy signal to keep them company. "No call-waiting? Primitive" Rod exclaims.

In the hallway, Matt tried to convince Mary to convince Lucy to go out with Jimmy, the better choice in his opinion. Just as Mary is about to tell Matt that neither one is right for her, Simon comes into the hallway taking bets on the race of the century. The "Jimmy/Rod race." Telling Simon that they can't bet on their sister's life, it wouldn't be right Simon decides to still take bets, not for money but instead for the satisfaction of knowing their choice is the right one. As Ruthie comes out and tells everybody that Lester (an obvious mistake by the person who named her) had eggs, Matt tells Simon that he is voting for Jimmy. We find out that Simon and Ruthie are betting on Rod.

Back at the meeting, Annie tells the group about the intergracies of marriage, the balances, and that communication is the key. All of the sudden the groups open up each one revealing major problems within the marriages. Eric declares that time is up as each of the groups leaves arguing amongst themselves.

That evening, Annie is finishing dinner while talking to Eric about why Ginger might have ran out on Charles. Matt walks into the room as Annie looks over at him and asks, "Where's Grandpa? Why aren't you at the airport?" Matt, not knowing what is going on, asks if he was supposed to be at the airport as Annie yells out Lucy's name. Lucy, to busy talking to her friends on the phone, and upside down at that, to have remembered to give Matt the message goes into a panic. Just then the doorbell rings as all of the Camden goes to answer. At the door is Grandpa and sporting a black toupee on his head. It is one of his new surprises and the Camden's are shocked.

The next morning, at breakfast, Ruthie and Simon are drilling their Grandpa about his new toupee as Simon asks Charles what Ginger thinks. When he replies that they are no longer going together Simon moves on to other lines of questioning. Annie tells them they had better go get ready for school as Simon and Ruthie consult about how to tell their mother about the lizards that they are keeping upstairs. After Simon and Ruthie are upstairs, and after some small talk about Charles' new toupee, he pops his other surprise on Annie and Eric, he wants them to have the two burial plots next to his and his wife's. Stunned, they say nothing.

At school Lucy and Rod are walking down the hallway when she finds out that Rod doesn't want her just because Jimmy does but because he has true feelings for her. As he sees Jimmy walking towards them he tells her that he could never tell her not to talk to an old boyfriend, calls her "chica changa cabasa", and leaves. Upon arriving Jimmy immediately asks her if she is dating Rod to which she answers no, and then tells her that he wishes to analyze what they want in their relationship, and then to see if their differences are a overwhelming or a barrier they can cross. Lucy says she doesn't know but it sounds good.

Meanwhile Matt is spying on Lucy when Mary catches him in the act. He states that he isn't sure that Lucy will be able to make the right choice on her own when Rod comes up behind them declaring his true love for Lucy. Matt has a little one on one (mono y mono) talk with Rod telling him he is probably to mature for Lucy. Rod, of course, takes this as a huge compliment coming from another guy. He goes on to tell Matt that Lucy is just as mature as he is and thus they are meant to be together. Matt again pleads with Mary to talk to her.

At the house Eric and Annie are discussing how unfair it is that Charles picked out their gravesites without consulting them first. The conversation is going smoothly until Annie, turning against Eric, asks if he is opposed to it because he would be in a grave spot next to her and her parents.

On the phone, Lucy debates the pros and cons of both Jimmy and Rod. Jimmy is nice and is safe, she knows who she is with him. However, Rod calls her "chica changa cabasa," and called her mature. When she finds out that "chica changa cabasa" means "my little money head" she then decides maybe Jimmy is the better choice. Mary, meanwhile is tired of having to even listen to the conversation."

At the church, one of the newly weds are in a heated argument over having to live with his mother. While another couple is having an argument over his not being comfortable over telling people she's pregnant. Another, still, is having an argument over him becoming a doctor. This goes on for several more minutes until Eric tells them to all sit down. He decides to tell them his and Annie's problems. This, however, does not sit well with Annie.

As the doorbell rings, and Simon and answers the door, it is Rod "The man of your sisters dreams." Noticing something on Simon's upper lip, he asks if it is facial hair. No, he replies, it's just peanut butter. Telling Rod that he will go get Lucy, Rod stops him and says he want to have a word with him first. Simon happily agrees and takes him upstairs to his room. Upstairs, Rod tells Simon that he feels that Simon might be more supportive of his dating Lucy than the rest of the Camden bunch. Simon tells him that he has his work cut out for him if he wants to even consider dating the minister's daughter. Rod excepts this then asks "But your mom likes me, right?" to which Simon tells him that he is a 14 year old with a mustache. What does he think?

Downstairs the doorbell rings again, this time it is Jimmy Moon at the door as Ruthie and Matt answer. Ruthie tells him that she will go get Lucy for him when Matt stops him. He wants to have a little talk with Jimmy first. He tells Jimmy that he isn't sure that Jimmy is right for his sister and that he is worried that she might break her heart again. Jimmy responds to this telling him that if they break up again that it will be Lucy's decision. And that the first time was his fault. When Lucy died her hair blond it made him uncomfortable with his own passions. Stopping Jimmy mid sentence, he tells him first off never again to use Lucy's name in the same sentence as the word passion if he wants his help. He then goes on to tell him, in that wise older brother voice, that the break up wasn't about his passions but about his lack of control over her and that the only person that he could control in this life was himself. He also tells Jimmy that he may want to consider making a change in his appearance, and something radical, if he wants to beat Rod.

Back in the bedroom, Lucy is still on the phone debating over who is better, Rod or Jimmy, when Ruthie, who is currently sitting in Mary's lap, tells Mary that she had better decide quick because both of them were here. Mary, seeing an opportunity to get even with her sister, joyfully tells Lucy that her boyfriends are here. Ruthie then goes on to tell her that Rod is in Simon's room and that Rod is in the living room with Matt. Freaked out, beyond words, Lucy screams "Oh no!" and runs out of the room, leaving the two other, giggling, sisters behind.

At the church Annie and Eric are going all out, with Annie yelling "Fine, you can get buried with your family and I will be buried with mine!" Angry with Eric, she then storms out of the room. Eric, turning to the spectators tells them that he thinks they all learned something here today.

Back at the house, and confronted by both Jimmy and Rod, Lucy tells them that she hasn't decided yet but will give them both their answer soon. The other children, and Grandpa, sit listening on the stairs. They each give their opinion on which one she should date. Matt and Grandpa choose Moon while Simon and Mary choose Rod. Swayed by the votes, Ruthie then decides to change from Moon to Rod. When everybody turns to look at her, she innocently turns and says, "What, it is going to be one of them."

Later that night, in the den, one of Eric's clients, the man from the meeting, comes to Eric for advice about them moving out of their mother's house. Eric, in a whiff of inspiration suggests that a fight is rarely ever what you are fighting about. It is usually about something else.

A knock at the door and another client from the meeting appears. She would rather talk to Annie, another woman, about the problem though. Revealing her fear that after her husband, Kevin, becomes a doctor that he will dump her. Annie asks if she has ever discussed it with her husband and she admits that she hasn't even ever discussed it with herself.

Another knock at the door this time Annie's father answers the door, and invites the husband of the third married couple into their humble household. Being that both Eric and Annie are already helping somebody else Charles decides that he can take this one. After a quick story about how special Annie is to him, the husband realizes how much he really loves his wife and soon-to-be born child and rushes home. Eric, almost colliding with the man, is impressed with how his father-in-law handled the situation. Feeling confident that he is having a lucky streak asks Eric what it is he and Annie are fighting about. He tells Eric that he and his wife never discussed it either. Before going off to bed he leaves Eric with just one more bit of advice. "Do you want to be right or do you want to be married." While Eric is still pondering this, Charles leaves to go off to bed.

Up in the bedroom, a very angry Lucy is telling both Matt and Simon that they can just stay out of her business. Simon takes this, as a grand opportunity to tell Lucy that Rod is the perfect choice for her. Matt then takes the opportunity to debate that Jimmy is better. Upon hearing this conversation Lucy learns that Simon and Matt had a bet going as to who would win Lucy's heart. Lucy, now even more furious than she was before" screams "Money? You're are placing bets on the most important decision I have ever had to make in my life? How could you?" When Matt tells her not to get so upset that it is only Monopoly money she then goes on to rave about how they have cheapened her love life with play money. Screaming in frustration she storms out of her room and right into her mother who is passing by with her own problems. Annie, asking how it is going between her and Jimmy, causes Lucy to tell her how dismayed she is that her parents weren't there to help her and that with her phone privileges taken away she couldn't possibly talk it over with Rod or Jimmy. Sensing that her daughter is upset, yet to tired to deal with anybody else's problems tonight, she leaves Lucy with one last bit of advice "If either one of them was "the guy" she wouldn't have any problem making up her mind."

After talking lizards with Ruthie, Mary comes back into their room only to be confronted with a pacing Lucy. Upon being asked who she thinks she should go out with, Mary gives the advice, dump them both, then goes on to discuss with her the advantages of not having a boyfriend. They then debate which is better, two boyfriends or none, as Lucy leaves the room. Seconds later she re-enters stating she forgot where she was going.

Back at their houses, both Rod and Jimmy prepare to make huge sacrifices for their woman. Neither one really sure they want to go through with it. Rod is preparing to cut off his mustache while Jimmy is holding a box of purple hair dye.

Eric stumps his toe while trying to enter his bedroom and lets out a big howl. Upon sitting on the bed he apologies and tells Annie that he will be buried anywhere she wants him to be. They work it out, as Annie finally and sorrowfully states that she misses her mom.

At the kitchen table the next morning Annie mentions her father's toupee. Discussing how Charles told Ginger she could take a hike if she didn't like his hair Annie asks if maybe he was trying to push Ginger away because he still loved his wife. Thinking about it for a second he finally confesses that he bought the grave sites first as to keep Ginger from marring him. When she stated that she, too, wanted to be buried with her first husband, he bought the toupee as a final touch. Now, seeing how silly it all was, he throws the toupee away. He won't be needing it any longer.

Ruthie flushes the toilet. It seems that Lester was the girl and laid eggs. Then Lizzy ate the eggs. Then Lester ate Lizzy then, herself, croaked. So they flushed her. Not to worry though, they tell their father, they said a prayer first. Eric's only response, and a face to reflect discussion "Ewww." Shugging, Simon and Ruthie walk off.

Down stairs Annie tells Eric that he was right, Charles was trying to drive Ginger away with the burial plot and the hair. She also tells Eric that they have a long long time to decide where they want to be buried. As Lucy eaves drops on the conversation she finally knows who it is she is going to pick.

Back at the church, Eric and Annie arrive to find three very happy and smiling couples. It seems they, as well as the Camden couple, have worked out their differences.

At the school neither older sibling has seen either Jimmy or Rod. When they finally do, they are shocked to see a younger looking 14-year-old Rod and a purple (purple passion) haired Jimmy Moon. Telling Jimmy that she thought she would feel differently when she came back and that she had been looking forward to this for a really really long time. However, she does not trust that Jimmy really has feelings for her especially since he just broke up with Ashley. Basically she needs some time. She also says that she thinks it an attractive quality that he was willing to take a risk by dying his hair purple. She then turns to Rod and tells him that she is not sure that he really wants her now that Jimmy isn't a threat to her anymore and wants to give him time to figure out if he really wants to go out with her. Plus, she wants more time to figure out who she is and whether or not she is ready to go with a guy. In effect, she dumps them both.

When she walks back over to Matt and Mary they tell her how proud they are of her and that she handled that like a real adult. It seems as if their little sister is really growing up.

  • synopsis provided by Matt

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