Since both her parents are off behaving like squabbling sophomores, this has left Laurie free to head back to the school after dark. Teacher Doug's stripped down to a t-shirt, cleaning up the classroom. Laurie lets herself in; she's wearing a slim little sundress. "About today ... you asked me to express myself in a true and authentic way, but the truth is, you're all I think about, and all I want to do is scream it out to anyone who will listen. And I knew that anything I said in class today beside that would come across as complete bull which, unless I misunderstood the assignment, was the exact opposite of what you wanted," Laurie blurts out. Teacher Doug gets out, "Laurie --" She plows right over him with, "But I couldn't exactly say that, could I? Not in front of the class. Your class. Because you're my teacher." Teacher Doug finally points out, "I'm not your teacher any more." All Laurie can do is say, "Hug?" Doug continues, "Summer session's over." This finally sinks in for Laurie. She asks, "So then, we can ...?" "Say whatever we want," Doug replies. Except the two of them have moved past the talking portion of the evening. This has the potential to be a hot trainwreck, but kudos to Laurie for taking charge and saying what had to be said.

Back at the gala, Susan and Melinda are freshening up their lipstick in the powder room. Melinda breaks the ice with "Which one's yours?" Susan's not catching on, so Melinda clarifies, "Which trader are you married to?" Susan cops to being Bruce's wife, and Melinda says, "He's one of the good ones." Susan's a little surprised that Bruce has women working at his brokerage, and she asks Melinda how she stands the rough-and-tumble environment of the trading floor. Melinda says, "It's what I've always wanted to do -- and a padded blazer doesn't hurt." She further explains that the padded blazer lets the men cop a feel without actually touching her. Susan's all, "Fake it?" and Melinda says casually, "I laugh, bat an eye ... it makes the men easier to manage." I sincerely hope there's an episode where Melinda and Sylvia meet, because those two will either get on like Edina and Patsy or they'll become mortal enemies on sight. Either will be wonderful to watch. Susan asks, "That doesn't make you feel ... inauthentic?" Melinda shrugs, "They make it hard for me to do my job, I make it easier. Sure, I lie a little every now and then, but I'm still being true to myself. I know exactly who I am." We cut to Susan smiling wistfully.