Meanwhile, Laurie is droning about what classes she may want to take in the fall to the superhumanly patient Doug. She's got a definite right-brain bias going on, and explains why she needs to take neither calculus nor physics in the fall because "I finished my requirements this summer. I could take nothing but PE and study hall and still go to Northwestern." Ah, the halcyon days of yore before college admissions became a brutal blood sport! Doug deftly manipulates Laurie into taking calculus by telling her, "You're brilliant and you like a challenge." And then this tedious badinage is interrupted for an important news bulletin from Liz the stoned philosophy grad: there's been a massive earthquake in Guatemala, and nobody knows whether Dave -- Doug's grad school roommate and current Peace Corps enrollee -- is alive or dead. Who's wishing they had a TV now to keep on top of current events, eh, Doug?

Over at the Miller manse -- where Doug has, I believe, watched TV before -- Trina is thanking Susan profusely for keeping some of the clams and lobsters. Susan asks why the Deckers are doing a clambake if Trina can't stand the smell, and Trina explains, "Tom's been closing out the summer with this party since he was a little boy." Hands up, all of you who imagine a small Tom with mustache already in place. Tom reminisces fondly that, "My dad used to fly puddle jumpers full of Maine lobster up and down the coast. It's a Decker family tradition." He then excuses himself to go dig a firepit on the shore of the lake, and leaves the ladies to gossip. Susan says fondly, "I'm trying to imagine Tom as a little boy." You can't do it without the mustache, can you, Susan? She continues, "He's really just a big kid anyway." Trina says, "He sure is. So! How did everything go between you and Roger at Janet's birthday?" Susan says soberly, "We're never seeing each other again. Oh! It gets better. I think Bruce is officially having an affair with Melinda from his office ... I caught him on the phone asking someone if the window was still open, and a few minutes later, he headed downtown to pick up his briefcase, and he didn't get home until after midnight." Trina says, "It could just be a misunderstanding," and Susan replies flatly, "Bruce is a terrible liar. His briefcase was sitting in our hallway the entire time." Trina looks sad for Susan and probes for what Susan plans on doing about it. She says, "Trust me -- the longer you wait, the worse this will get."