Back at Dan's Puppet Paradise, the master manipulator walks by Nathan's room and finds his wife there. He asks if she's okay. Deb turns around and says, "He used to ask me before he put stuff up, now I don't even know what he's interested in, besides basketball." Dan smiles. "Basketball." Deb sits down on the bed. "He talks to you, Dan. How's he been doing?" Dan joins her on the bed. "He's holding up since Whitey moved him out of his position, but that's probably temporary." Deb chides her husband: "I asked you how he is, not how he's playing." Pause. "It must be confusing for him, with Lucas on the team now. Are we going to talk about that?" How did Dadzilla end up with such a sympathetic wife? And just when you think Dan's almost human, he replies, "I think that's probably temporary too." Deb: "You think or you wish?" She takes a deep breath: "I saw Karen at the game tonight. But then, I've never really spoken to her." Dan says he knows it must be hard on her, but Deb cuts in, "No, not really. I think it's harder for you and Nathan." She kind of, sort of looks a bit like Nathan; she's got dark eyes, but her dyed blonde hair doesn't really suit her -- although it does make her look more like a mom. It's strange; both Dan and Deb look a lot older then Karen. I guess being a single mom really keeps you looking young. It's all that worrying about money and survival and stuff. Or not.

Haley and Lucas walk aimlessly around the party. She says, "So, I know you're having the, like, time of your life, but can we please make like a tree and get out of here." He clomps along beside her and hides his hands in his shirtsleeves. Blah they just got there, blah wants to prove a point, blah let her know when that happens blah. I hate parties like that, where you just feel so uncomfortable and you really want to go, but the person you came with just refuses to leave. I went through many like that in university. The worst was one where I just sat on the arm of a couch for an hour and no one talked to me -- no one, no one even said hello. It was awful. In hindsight, I should have just left. Any. Way. Haley goes to the bathroom. Someone walks by Luke and says, "Hey, good game, man!" See, at least some people are talking to you, Luke; that's the first step to acceptance.