Scout is staring at the lake from a window. "Reliving the glory?" Will asks. "Something like that. It's been a weird couple of days." Will asks if Bella ever came around. Scout says they'll leave it with "they never met." Scout gets part three of What Are Daddies For with: "For a long time, I thought my dad was perfect. And it's weird to suddenly see him as this whole different person, you know? I thought getting older would feel better than this." "It will," Will says. "I'm pretty sure." They make out passionately in the break room.
Bella's dad (the dad that's the new dad but not Scout's dad) rolls out from under the same old truck they keep fixing this episode. And every episode. Bella takes the credit card from the man at the pump. It's Scout's dad. As she goes into the station she sees the name on the card. She turns to the window and stares at him for a long time. Scout's dad doesn't seem to mind the five-minute wait for his card to be run. Bella keeps staring and squinting and staring. She walks out with his receipt. As he signs it, she keeps staring at him. He catches her staring. She smiles and looks down. "You haven't lost it, Senator Grabass," he must be thinking. He hands her the receipt and thanks her. She smiles back. He drives away as Bella's dad walks up and says, "Twenty-five Mercedes [sic]. Looks like you won, honey." Bella does not smile a winner's smile.
"Expectations," Will cuts in. I don't mind these final voice-overs anymore, as they signal the end of my hell. Bella, Scout, and Will all walk over to some flagpole thing in the center of main street as Will finishes. "They change as we change. They're born of our biggest dreams and deepest fears. Sometimes we even inherit them. Sometimes they bring us moments we don't anticipate. The ones that make you think and stop and take inventory and give you a better understanding of where you're at and where you're headed. And ultimately? Create new expectations." And ultimately? Create the longest sentence I've ever quoted. That boy's one fucking gifted writer, I tell you. He's got expectations.
Next week it's a total Ferris Bueller's Day Off rip-off from beginning to end. Without any of the good parts. But Bella's in a bikini, so that should please some of the young Americans out there.









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