Plot

Kenny comes back to work at his towing company, but he's taking a lot of pain pills to help him through the day; after helping out with the towing business, Maxine doesn't want to go back to being just a stay-at-home mom; Faith, the Joseph sisters' wayward cousin, is back in Chicago and in very hot water.—Alarmanwp

Soul Food - Season 2, Episode 6 "Come Back for the Comeback"

This episode opens with Maxine walking with Kenny into the bay of Chadway Towing, then helping him up the stairs to the office, as we listen to Ahmad's voice-over, "Big Mama used to say that for everything there is a time and a season. Today, it's time for my dad to get back to the thing he does best - running Chadway Towing. Which means it's also time for my mom to get back to what she does best - taking care of Chadways." As they enter the office, Maxine is telling Kenny about an incentive plan for repeat customers that she and Lila came up with; but Kenny's not feeling it. Instead he is extremely happy to be back at work. Maxine obviously wants to stay, but Kenny assures her that he will be fine, he'll call her if he needs anything. After exchanging a few words, Maxine straightens up the couch and then leaves. Kenny watches her, puzzling over how reluctant she seemed to leave.

The next scene opens at the Funk Box, Lem's favorite strip joint. Lem is applauding a pretty new dancer as Dione, Bird's old schoolmate and a dancer at the club approaches and says, Hey. Lem greets her without looking up. As she turns and walks away, Lem calls after her, "Where you goin' - to call my wife?" (This is a reference to the episode Who Do You Know? (2001), when Dione called Bird to inform her that her husband and his "friend" - who happened to be Kenny - were there and acting like "they live here." An embarassing scene ensued when Bird and Maxine arrived) Dione says, "I'm out of that, OK?" Lem is skeptical. Then he hears the name of the sexy new dancer he's been checking out - Faith Hunter. He looks at her more closely, realizes it is his wife's cousin, Faith, and hastily leaves.

Next scene, apparently a few days later, and Kenny and Lem are watching basketball over at Lem and Bird's, while the 3 sisters are at the dining room table talking. Bird asks Teri if she's heard from Damon. She replies she doesn't want to hear from Damon. As Maxine chides her, there is a knock at the door. Bird answers it. An FBI and an IRS agent are at the door, asking if she has heard from Faith Hunter. As Lem comes to the door, Bird tells them that Faith moved to New York over a year ago and that she hasn't heard from her since. The agents inform them that any assistance they give Faith might be against the law. Lem thanks them and quickly sends them on their way. Bird tells her sisters what just happened at the door. Teri says, "Whatever it is, they'd be doing us all a favor if they locked her up." Maxine chastises Teri, reminding her that Faith is family, "and you always gotta' deal with family." Teri replies, "I wonder how much you'd be dealing with Faith if she'd slept with your husband," which nearly causes Kenny to choke on his slice of pie. (This is a reference to Soul Food (1997) the movie, when Teri discovered that Faith was sleeping with her husband, Miles, which led to a nasty scene in the kitchen involving Faith, Teri, her sisters, and a very large butcher knife!) Lem then spills that he knows Faith is back in town and dancing at the Funk Box, a place that Bird is very surprised to hear Lem actually went back to. Bird and Maxine decide to go down to the Box and warn Faith about the trouble she is in. Teri refuses to go with them.

When the 2 sisters approach Faith (Lisa Branch) at the strip club, she is surprised to see them, and a little ashamed for them to know that she is dancing again. The sisters tell her they are not there to judge her, but to let her know the FBI and the IRS are looking for her; then they ask her what is going on. Faith tells them the story: that she met this investment banker, they moved in together, they were supposed to get married, she wakes up one day to find he's gone. The FBI is questioning her about his dealings, which she knows nothing about; so they label her as "uncooperative" and report her to the IRS, which audits her. Apparently her boyfriend opened bank accounts in her name, which prompts the Feds to freeze her bank account and sieze her assets. She doesn't know what she is going to do, since her attorney is doing very little to help her. She then asks if they can ask Teri to help her.

In the next scene, Bird is visiting Teri in her new office. After telling Teri how proud she is of her big sister, Bird asks if she could do her a favor and look at Faith's case. Teri asks Bird how she could ask her to help Faith, to which Bird replies, "Because you are the only one I know who can." Teri continues to object, saying Faith needs more help than she can offer. Bird reminds Teri that Faith has apologized repeatedly for what she did to her, and she eventually forgave Miles. "Can you spare a little forgiveness for your own flesh and blood?" Teri tries to change the subject, so Bird asks her just to look at the case, just to make sure her current attorney isn't screwing up. She leaves the file, asking Teri to just think about it.

That night at home Teri looks at the case and is appalled by what she finds. Obviously, Faith's current lawyer is not handling the case properly. Try as she might, she can't put the case out of her mind, so she calls Faith to tell her that her attorney is blowing it and she needs to get another one, but not her. Faith then apologizes to her again, "Teri, please, I'm sorry..." Teri cuts her off, "That's all you'll ever be, Faith - 'Sorry'. 'Sorry' for takin' Mama's hard-earned money; 'Sorry' for using anybody and everybody to get what you want..." Faith interrupts, "...And sorry that you won't give me the chance to prove that I deserve your trust." Teri says Faith is lucky that she is still the same girl that her Mama raised - one that knows that her Mama wouldn't want her to turn her back on Faith because she loved her so much. So Teri reluctantly agrees to help her.

Next morning we see Damon on the neighborhood basketball court, when his brother, Anthony (played by Cirroc Lofton of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993) fame), stops by for a visit with a friend, Lionel Andrews (played by Boris Kodjoe's real-life brother Patrick Kodjoe). Damon immediately recognizes the name as that of highly sought-after college basketball star about to turn pro. Lionel tells Damon that he has heard that he is into sports management, and that he is interested in hearing what he has to say. Damon says he's still building. After Lionel takes the ball and heads to the basket, Damon asks Anthony why he told his friend about him when he's "not set yet." AC tells Damon that he still needs his first client, and he "better be set now!" They rough-house a little and go shoot hoops with Lionel.

Meanwhile, at Teri's new law firm, Gloria (Kathryn Winslow), Teri's assistant when she was with Greene-Norris, introduces herself to Chris as Teri's new assistant. Teri is glad to see her, and hustles her into her office right away to get started.

Meanwhile, at Chadway Towing, Kenny is hunched over the engine of one of his trucks, trying to loosen a bolt, when his wrench slips, causing him to cry out in pain from his still-healing back. Al, one of Kenny's drivers, hears him and hustles over to see if he's alright. Kenny says he's fine as he reaches into his pocket for his pain pills. As Kenny takes several pills, Al asks, "Are you s'posed to take that many at once?" "Are you my mother?" Kenny sarcastically asks. Al backs off, while Kenny reaches into his engine again.

Later that morning, Teri sits in her office when Laurence Freeman (Kyle Rivers), one of the partners of her new law firm, pops in to ask if she's interested in joining himself and some of the other partners for lunch. Teri says she'll have to take a raincheck. Laurence comments that he wouldn't want to be in her shoes dealing with her "pro-bono family drama" case, up against the ruthless Bob Wayne, in front of "just plain rude" Judge Bolan. Teri asks if he could give her a "quick 'n dirty" on criminal court rules. He replies, "I'm good with 'quick 'n dirty.' After lunch." Then he leaves.

The next scene is a pre-trial discovery meeting between attorneys, and Teri gets her first chance to size up her opposition - Bob Wayne (Christopher B. Duncan from The Jamie Foxx Show (1996) in a decidedly more Alpha Male-type role). He comes in slinging folders, claiming to have Faith cold on income tax evasion, accessory to bank fraud, accessory to money laundering, and "just for giggles," obstruction of justice. His demeanor and multiple case folders are obviously designed to intimidate Faith, but Teri is unimpressed. Bob insists that if Faith helps them apprehend her boyfriend, Drew Coleman, he'll consider reducing some of the charges. Teri says she's only interested if he drops all of the charges. Bob insists that Faith will do some time. Teri says put it in writing and they'll consider it. Bob suggests that Teri may be out of her depth and she should take the deal; after all, "this isn't labor law." Teri is unbowed: "See you in court," she says as she and Faith walk out.

Meanwhile, over at Damon's apartment, he and AC are playing chess, when Anthony asks the $64,000 question, "So, are you gonna' let it go, or are you gonna' get your girl back?" Damon's response is when is he gonna' get out of his business. Anthony suggests that he obviously misses her, to which Damon replies, "I don't miss nuthin'!" Anthony then declares that he's busted: "When you start using bad grammar to make your point, that's when you're lying!" Damon chuckles as he acknowledges that his little brother has a point. "Anyway," Damon changes the subject, using Anthony's voice, "I guess I owe you a finder's fee when I sign your boy." Then Damon thanks AC for "steppin' to me about draggin' my feet." Anthony reminds Damon that Big Brother has stepped to him many times about "bullshittin'." He then goes to get Lionel's number.

Later that evening, in the Chadway master bedroom, Kenny and Maxine are turning in for the night. Kenny turns out the light, not noticing that Maxine is still sitting up and wide awake, a sure sign of trouble. "Kenny, I want to keep working." Kenny's closed eyes spring open as Max continues, "I think we should give Lila at least a couple of week's pay - more if we can afford it - and I'll take her place." Kenny asks her what she is talking about - how is she going to do that when Teri's back at work. "Who's gonna' take care of the kids?" "So, you'd rather have Lila in the office?" she asks. "Yes. You're needed here," he replies, then turns over, ending the conversation. But the look on Maxine's face tells us that he has not heard the last of this subject.

The next scene opens in the courtroom as Faith's trial begins, with Bob Wayne questioning IRS agent Daniels on the stand about the investigation into Faith's finances. He points out that she only made $42,000 the previous year, yet paid off over $24,000 in credit card debt all at once...later we hear from FBI agent Verner as he describes items that were allegedly shredded by Faith, including bills of sale for fur coats and a Porsche, and statements for an off-shore bank account - all in Faith's name. On cross examination, Teri asks if anything found was income that wasn't reported, to which the agent answered "No, but there were..." Teri cuts him off, "'No' is sufficient." At this point the judge intervenes to allow the agent to elaborate about cash deposits that were also made to the account. When Teri points out that these deposits could have been made by anyone, the prosecution objects that that calls for speculation and the judge sustains the objection. Teri then asks if the reconstructed documents indicate in any way that Faith knows where Drew Coleman is. Bob Wayne again objects; and the judge again sustains the objection. At this point, Teri gets her first glimpse of a deck that might be stacked against her. The prosecution then rests, Teri moves for a dimissal, and the judge in routine fashion denies that motion and adjourns for the day. It's now clear to everyone that Teri is up against it.

Later that evening, at Bird and Lem's, Lem is brushing his teeth and Bird brings up something that's been bothering her - the fact that Lem was back at the Funk Box, and he wouldn't have even told her if he hadn't been trying to help Faith. She asks him the next time he wants to play single just to remember her and let her know where he is, just as a common courtesy. In reply, Lem brings up that she wasn't very courteous when she purchased her sports car without letting him know and over his objections. Bird asks him if he is still tripping over that, to which Lem replies, "I'm not trippin' - I'm just accepting that we have different ideas about what's important." With that Bird announces that she' going to Teri's to cheer her up. Lem says, "Yea, you do that," to which Bird walks out.

Over at Teri's, she is preparing a microwavable dinner when there is a knock at the door. It's her 2 sisters, bringing her some real food. Bird mentions how when they were younger, their Mama would feed them catfish the night before a test: "She'd say it was brain food..." They laugh, but Teri admits that she is getting her ass handed to her in this case. Then she recounts all of the traumas over the past year: The divorce, Mama's death, not making partner, the accident, leaving Greene Norris... "All that stuff with Damon," Bird chimes in. T gives her a look, "I didn't say anything about Damon." Bird continues, "Well, you should. There's a lot on you, T. No wonder you havin' panic attacks..." OOPS! Bird let the cat out of the bag, because Teri has not told Maxine that she had panic attacks. She says she kept the panic attacks from Max so she wouldn't overreact and think that she was doing too much for Maxine's family when they really needed her. Teri assures Max that she is not still having them. Bird helps put things into perspective by assuring Teri that she is the toughest, smartest lawyer she knows, able to kick anyone's ass. "And we oughta know," Maxine chimes in. "You kick ours all the time!" Bird agrees. All T can do is laugh.

Meanwhile, Damon is at the Funk Box showing Lionel a "good time". And Lionel is impressed. "That is the most perfect ass I've ever seen!" he says as Dione walks by. "That's the third time you've said that, tonight!" Damon tells him. They toast, then Damon tells Lionel that he has 2 tickets to a Nika concert if he wants them. Then, in an ultimate baller moment, he summons Dione over and arranges a "private session" with her for his would-be client. "You the Man!" Lionel says as he is led away by the hand. Damon raises his glass, positive that his first client is in the bag.

It's the next morning at the Chadway home, and Maxine yells up to Kelly and Ahmad to hurry up or they will be late for school. They finally down, and Max notices that Ahmad is wearing the same pants as he wore the day before. He says the other pair fell on the floor and got really wrinkled. His mom says she hopes he's not wearing the same dirty underwear from the other day as well. "Yeah, I know, in case I get into an accident," Ahmad replies. Then he launches into his version of an old Bill Cosby comedy routine by noting that when most people get into an accident they end up "crapping" themselves, anyway. Why wear clean underwear when they're gonna get messed up? "You're nasty," little sister Kelly exclaims. Their mother agrees, then sends them on their way.

As she watches them leave, she catches a glimpse of a picture on the refrigerator door of her, posing alongside "Mighty Maxine", the heavy towing truck Kenny bought a few months ago which he named after her. The picture was probably taken while she was helping out at Chadway Towing. As she thinks about the good old days when she was working, the phone rings. She answers the phone without thinking, "Chadway Towing, Maxine speaking." "Oh, really," Bird's voice on the other end asks. The two exchange pleasantries, then Bird comments that she must be glad to be back with the kids and taking a break from the 9 to 5. "Oh, yeah...now I'm back to my 24/7." The 2 make a date for lunch. Maxine pauses for a moment and then thanks Bird. Apparently, she really needed to get out of the house. "Don't thank me - 'cause you're payin'," Bird tells her big sister.

A little later, over at Teri's someone is insistantly knocking at her door. She opens to a somewhat freaked-out Faith. "It's almost noon," she says testily. "Why are you sleeping in?" Then she accuses Teri of trying to blow the case so she will go to prison. Teri sits her down. "Have I ever not been responsible?" she asks her. Then she assures Faith that she has always done her best for family, and she is not about to change because of her. Faith then admits she's nervous. Teri says she nervous too, but she has a closing argument to prepare so she'll have to deal with being nervous some other time. Then she shows Faith the door.

Still later, at a fancy French restaurant, Damon is preparing Lionel for his sales pitch. He assures him that if he signs with him, he'll give him 110% of his attention all the time so that he can focus on playing his game. Lionel says it's good to see a brother in sports management, and that he'll give what he's saying some thought.

The next scene is in court, and Bob Wayne is delivering his closing arguments to the jury.

"She's a criminal. Guilty of accessory to bank fraud, accessory to money laundering, obstruction of justice, and income tax evasion. Aren't we all supposed to pay our taxes and follow the law? Faith Hunter thinks she's different, and only you can let her know that she's not. You do that with a verdict of 'guilty'. Thank you."

Teri's closing argument takes a different approach. "Um, I have a confession to make," She says as she approaches the jury box. "I'm afraid of the IRS!" Amid some chuckles, she continues:

"Dracula, Wolfman - never even made me wince. Jason - um - Freddy Kruger...nothin'. But the IRS? Well, they're scary. And Faith Hunter shares that fear. But she's no criminal. And the prosecution knows that. They haven't presented a shred of evidence that isn't circumstantial because there is none. Let me tell you what I know about Faith Hunter: Her mother died when Faith was 8 years old. Her father tried for about a year to raise her, but then he couldn't deal with bringing-up a little girl. So she bounced from house to house for the next 10 years. So, maybe it was the past that made her so happy to find a Drew Coleman - somebody she thought would just take care of her. And take care of her he did - he put bank accounts, cars, jewelry, furs - all in her name. And then he disappeared. And the government can't find Drew Coleman, and so they've turned on Faith Hunter. Ladies and gentlemen, 'the power to tax includes the power to destroy.' - The first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court said that in 1819, and it is just as true now. Don't let the government destroy this woman's life with no more than inuendo and inference. The only thing Faith Hunter is guilty of, ladies and gentlemen, is falling in love with the wrong man. And being afraid of the IRS. But then again, who isn't? Thank you,"

In the next scene, Damon is driving along in his ride listening to the radio. He switches the station just in time to hear the announcer report that Lionel Andrews has just signed up for representation with a Seatle- based sports management company. Damon can't believe his ears. The reporter continues that Lionel has apparently been in closed door negotiations with this group for about 6 weeks, and he finally made his decision today. Damon is not happy.

Back in Teri's office, Gloria announces that Bob Wayne is there to see Teri. Before Teri can say, "send him in," Bob is already in. He announces that they just caught Drew Coleman, and if Faith testifies, he'll drop the evasion and the accessory charges. He says he'll just ask for 18 months on the remaining obstruction of justice charges. When Teri asks about the unreported income deficiencies, Bob claims he has no control over what the IRS will do about that. Teri politely thanks him for stopping by. "With good behavior she's out in 9 months," Bob cautions, "but if you roll the dice she could be looking at 20 years - maybe 40." When Teri suggests that she might get none, he flat-out tells her that her closing was good but not that good. Teri says she'll present the offer. Bob says the offer comes off the table at 9 am tomorrow.

Later, at the Chadway residence, Maxine is helping Kenny with his physical therapy. She asks Kenny if he remembered to get new tires for one of the trucks. When he says he did, She asks how much they cost. When Kenny assures her that he has it covered, Max expresses concerns as to whether he got the best deal. You can almost feel the muscles in Kenny's back tightening as he reminds his wife that he ran the business for 10 years, Max hits him with an "I-know-but..." Kenny then gets hit with a spasm of pain. As he turns over to lie flat for a moment until the pain subsides, Max asks if he isn't pushing himself too hard. Kenny tells her that making him out to be worse off than he is isn't going to get her back into the office. She asks him if he could at least give her a little credit for keeping things afloat. He reminds her that he has acknowledged many times that they would not have made it if she hadn't stepped up. "But I'm back now, OK?" As he give her a kiss she tells him no, it's not OK, then leaves the room. After she leaves, he begins looking for his bottle of pain pills. They are not in his pants pocket. Then he remembers they are in his coat pocket. he grabs the bottle, but it is empty. He is very disappointed.

At the Funk Box, Teri is presenting Faith with Bob Wayne's deal. She doesn't like it. She wonders why she should do jail time if she didn't do anything wrong. Teri asks her if she is sure - this will be her last chance to make a deal before the verdict. Faith adamently says no deal.

Next morning on the neighborhood ball court, Damon and Anthony run into Lionel. Damon congratulates Lionel on signing his deal, but he says he thought they were going to talk. "We did talk," Lionel says, "but you didn't have a whole lot to say." Then he shows Damon the basketball and tells him this is his whole life. He says if he wants to support himself after the pros he needs a management company with a track record, connections, and a whole gang of lawyers and accountants lookin' out for him. When Damon protests that he has connections, Lionel says connections at the "tittie bar" are not what he has in mind. Damon protests that he was only trying to show him a good time - it doesn't mean he's not about business. Lionel concludes that he doesn't really know what Damon is about. When Lionel leaves, Anthony lets Damon have it. He's says Damon didn't come correct. He thought Damon would advise Lionel about investment strategies and compliance rules. Instead, he assumed that since Lionel was a ball player, all he wanted to do was party. "Business is business," concludes AC, "and you didn't handle yours."

The next scene takes us to the courthouse, where the jury in Faith's case has returned with a verdict: Not Guilty on all charges except obstruction of justice, specifically the shredding of evidence, which is the lesser of possible charges. They also find that the paying off of her credit card debt was with unreported income, and the IRS is to work out a payment plan with her to clear up the tax debt from that income. The judge sentenced Faith to 6 months probation on the obstruction charge, to include 3 months of community service. Just like that, it's over. After her sisters congratulate Teri on her victory, Faith asks to speak to her alone. She hugs Teri, but Teri obviously doesn't share in the warm feelings, as she doesn't return the hug. Faith assures Teri that she will pay her back every penny for representing her. Teri says she knows, meaning she's heard it all before. "I know you don't believe me..." Faith starts. Teri finishes, "I know, 'this time is different.' I know." Faith quietly leaves as her cynical cousin gathers her papers from the defense table.

In the next scene, we see Kenny and Lem walking into the bay at Chadway Towing. Kenny is complaining to Lem that his doctor won't refill his prescription for the pain medication even though he is obviously still in pain. Lem suggests that that might be a good thing. This way he'll know when he is better. But Kenny is not trying to hear that. He is sure his back is never gonna' be the same again. Then Kenny asks Lem if he knows somebody who can hook him up. Lem gives Kenny that I-can't-believe-you-askin'-me-to-do-this look, to which Kenny says it's only for a few days. Lem insists he doesn't know anyone. Kenny then tells him that he can barely get to work because of the pain. "Then go home and take more time off until you feel better," Lem suggests. "And have my wife take care of me again?" Kenny replies. "I can't do it...What am I supposed to do? Sit at home and wait for Maxine to walk through the door from work every day? I know you know how this feels." Lem does know. He says he'll see what he can do. But he's not comfortable with it at all.

Later when Kenny arrives home for lunch, he finds a note that his wife has left for him on the front door:

"I took the girls to the Park. I know you said you were coming home for lunch, but I really needed to get out of the house. There's chicken and broccoli in foil on the top shelf of the 'fridge.

"Since I have this pencil in my hand, I may as well say a couple of other things. First, I love you with all that I am. Second, there's nothing more important to me than my family; I think you know that. Third, I'm not sure I can just be a full-time homemaker anymore. I need more. Hopefully, we can make room for whatever that turns out to be, Kenny. Guess I better let you digest that idea for a while. I won't bring it up again until you do, but please know that I am serious. - Maxine"

Kenny puts the note aside on the kitchen table and turns to the fridge. Then he stops, turns and picks the note up again, reading it with a slightly troubled look on his face.

Fade to black and closing credits.