Which we now join, already in progress. Tony is describing his relationship with Gloria as being "like leather and lace…a burning ring of fire." It's worth mentioning that they cut to Melfi, dressed, yes, all in black, on that last part. She sums up his feelings as: "Amour fou, as the French call it. Crazy love. All consuming." This week's StTM (Start-to-Title-Mention) = 261. I'll use that to determine the plus/minus component of the grade. For comparison purposes, that's not quite as good as "Another Toothpick," but it is surprisingly superior to both "Employee of the Month" and "Proshai, Livushka." I'll reveal the final grade when we hit the robe scene later on. You know, in case you didn't see it back there on page one. I guess I'm still getting used to the new layout and all. I do love the design (especially our little fish logo. Hee!), but I'm still having some trouble making the orange adjustment. Maybe I should see a shrink about that. Speaking of which, Melfi points out that not many people can push Tony's buttons like Gloria does, and the big guy suddenly gets defensive. "I know you think I'm like a hard, cold captain-of-industry-type," he asserts, "but that's not all there is." He seeks her professional opinion of Gloria, asking "Is she a full-blown loop-de-loo, or what?" Heh. Dr. Melfi refuses to discuss another patient, and oh by the way, she also refuses to accept any money from Tony this month, because he overpaid her a few episodes back. When she brings the topic back to Gloria, Tony sighs, "She never wants any money either." Despite last week's episode-ending breakthrough, Melfi fails to point out that perhaps Tony gets his compulsive need to buy people's love from Livia as well. In fact, Tony claims to like the fact that Gloria is "independent-minded." "Independent-minded," of course, also means "doesn't call my house drunk all the time like Irina." Tony expands on that last point by explaining that Gloria has "made her own way in the world," and that she "knows a lot about a lot of shit. Buddhism, and the movies." Heh. I knew I liked Gloria for a reason. I'm exactly the same way. See, whenever I find myself stuck, I always know I can just fall back on a good hockey or movie reference to get the crowd back on my side (Scott Niedermeyer? Dead!). And there's also always alliteration. Oh, and don't forget the Rule of Threes. Anyway, Tony continues to enthuse about Gloria and her "dark, black eyes," eventually comparing her to "a Spanish princess in one of those paintings. You know, a goyim." Bwa ha ha ha ha! That's probably funnier for me than a lot of the rest of you, as it was one of my grandmother's favorite words, but still, ha! Yiddish puns will always get me back on your side. Tony silently pictures Gloria for a moment, and then he and Melfi share the following repartee: