Trama

As Bill debates what to do with Rhonda, another potential witness, Kathy, goes underground. Frank finds himself in a bind; a revelation from Ana tests Bill's commitment; Margene gets disturbing personal news; Wanda spills a secret about Nicki's past.—Anonymous

Frankie brushes Rhonda's hair as she tells him to stay away from the Henricksons. Frankie assures her that they are only looking out for her, but she says they are fleas and demands that he kiss her. Bill comes in and catches them in the act. Bill tries to convince Rhonda to drop the case, but she tells him the only way she'll win her civil case is if she testifies against Roman. Bill warns her, if she does, they will have no choice but to testify against her. Instead, he wants her to leave town and he found a family that will take her in. She considers it, and asks Frankie to go with her, but he stammers before agreeing. She stomps out the room.

Out at Juniper Creek, Joey and Wanda are fighting as they pack up the house. Kathy calls her sister and tells her they are going to hide out at a hotel until after the trial. She asks JoDean if Frank ever turned up but no one has heard from him. Meanwhile, Lois still has Frank tied up in her barn. He comes to and finds Lois digging a hole. He demands that she give him some water, and she turns the hose on him.

Adaleen calls Nicki at work and demans the name of the last witness. Nicki tells her they have all the files locked into one room and everyone is being watched. Meanwhile, Bill is over at Ana's house. She tries to kiss him but he's distracted. She confesses that she was seeing someone else while they were dating. She claims that he's been out of town and now that he's back, she still needs to break it off. Bill is a bit nervous.

Back at the house, Barb tells Margene she has a visitor, Ed Hemingway, her mother's old boss. At first she doesn't recognize him, but then she remembers he drove them home from a party when her mother was too drunk to drive. He tells Margene that her mother died after falling down the stairs. It had been over a week ago but they had trouble finding her, and also it was a bit of time before the body was discovered. He pulls out a box of her mother's ashes and puts them on table. Barb is near tears, but Margene is just in shock.

Sarah and Heather are hanging out at the Frankie's house. Sarah asks Heather to go to prom with her, even though she claimed she didn't want to go before. Sarah explains she doesn't want to look back and regret not going. Heather agrees to go, but says it will be impossible to get dates. Ben and Frankie agree to take them, if Ben gets the car for a week.

At the office, Nicki sneaks in the office to find the name of the witness but then Ray almost catches her. She hides under the desk.

Barb gets a call from her mother, who's calling from the car while sitting outside the house. She tells Barb her sister moved back to town, and she "accidentally" let it slip that they own a gambling company. She tells Barb to call her sister.

Sarah sings Amazing Grace while Ben plays the piano as they hold a small memorial for Margene's mom. Bill asks Margene to say something about her mother. She thinks awhile and then recalls a birthday when they watched Lawrence of Arabia while her mother got drunk. Bill asks to remember a good memory. Margene struggles and then admits that she wasn't a very good mother. She says, "I don't mean to be unfeeling but she just wasn't there for me. But you are and I'm grateful. Now let's eat."

Ana is on her date with the "other guy." She tells him that Bill wants a committed relationship but he tries to talk her out of it. He gives her a shot of whiskey and says he knows the "real" Ana and kisses her. She gives in.

Back at the house, Bill and Barb chat in the kitchen about their predicaments with Cindy and Rhonda. Barb is afraid if they Rhonda out of town, it's witness tampering but Bill says there's no other way. Sarah comes in and tells them she's going to go to the prom and also wants to have some friend over before... but with the fences up. A normal prom. They are happy to oblige.

Ana is saying goodbye to her date when Barb and Bill come around the corner and catch her kissing him. They brought her some leftover jello parfaits. Bill is pissed and they storm off.

When they get back to the house, Wanda is complaining to Nicki about being stuck in a hotel. Joey told her that the septic tank is backed up but she' not buying it. She thinks they want to put her away. Margene comes in with the phone. It's Ana. She calls Bill a hypocrite but he yells, "you cheated on me!" He gives Barb the phone but Ana hangs up on her. Margene tries to assure Bill that this guy is no competition to Bill but he's had enough. It's over!

Rhonda is upset too. She's furious that Frankie is taking Sarah to the prom. Heather reassures her that Sarah does not want to date Frankie, because in regular society, dating your relatives are frowned upon.

Back at Juniper Creek, Lois wheels a bag of cement and pours it into the hole that she had dug up. Frank tries to bribe her with some hidden assets. He claims his KFC and been quite profitable, and he will tell her the combination to the safe if she lets him go. She stuffs a sock in his mouth.

Margene cleans furiously. She's keeps looking over at her mothers ashes on the table. Now she's vacuuming. She puts the box on the mantle and sets a plant on top of it. Not good enough. She puts them in the top of the closet.

Bill and Rhonda at the bus station. He gives her the ticket to Cedar City, Iowa and tells her it's for the best. As the bus starts to load, Rhonda tells Bill that she would make a wonderful wife and can give him lots of children. He's horrified and tells her to go and make something of her life and gives her all the money in his pocket. Rhonda looks at him and says, "but the Prophet loved me. He chose me." She takes his money and reluctantly gets on the bus.

Cindy prepares for her Eagle forum meeting when Barb crashes. Cindy tries to get her to leave but Barb refuses. Cindy admits they are going to discuss some anti-gaming legislation to take to the state senate. Barb accuses her of coming after her family but Cindy says, "this is a political committee, not the 'Get Barb Henrickson Club'." She threatens to spill Barb's secrets if she doesn't leave, but Barb takes a seat. She's not going anywhere.

Back at the house, Joey has come to pick up Wanda. He's apologizing to Bill for the inconvenience when Wanda storms in and says she's not leaving. She demands to know what's going on with Kathy. Bill pulls Joey aside and tells him he just needs to pay more attention to Wanda and she's probably just upset because he took on a new wife. Bill tells them they can stay with them instead of a hotel. Joey asks Bill if he ever wonders what happened between Roman and Maggie, their sister. As far as Bill knows, Maggie killed herself. But Joey says, she was unhappy because she was married and she didn't want to be. She called Joey when he was away playing football and told him she was upset but he told her everything would be okay.

Ana brings her cooler back to Barb at the flea market. Barb scolds her for hanging up on her, but Ana tells her she was trying to break up with Matt. She's infuriated because of the double standard and she was just looking for a little security. Matt is uncomplicated. Barb tells her she understands. Ana admits she's in love with Bill but she's not sure what she's doing. She tells Barb, "I'm sorry if I hurt you most of all."

Bill pops in on Ted, Cindy's husband. Bill asks him to ask Cindy to back off on the anti-gaming thing, but Ted says Cindy has a mind of her own. Bill reminds him that they used to hit the slot machines back in the day, and asks if Ted will introduce him to to the local legislator. Ted doesn't want to get involved.

At the office, Ray Henry, the lawyer, asks Nicki to come in an help out on the case. At first, Nicki is excited but when she gets inside the room, she hears another lawyer telling the crowded room about the "joy books" a registry of young brides to be. There are several books, broken down by year. Ray gives Nicki some phone records to go through, but as she sits down at the table, she sees the board with a picture of all the witnesses. And then she sees, Kathy as the last unidentfied witness. She fakes an excuse, and tells Ray she has to leave because her mother fell down the stairs. She rushes home and confronts Wanda, but she swears she had no idea. She tells Wanda it's up to her to stop Kathy from testifying.

At Juniper Creek, Lois gets out a turkey basting bag. She opens the bag and puts it over her head, closing it tight. Just as she starts to suffocate, she takes it off. It will work just fine.

Barb's mother has called meeting betwen Barb and Bill Cindy and Ted, so they can come to a truce. Bill starts pleading his case, when Barb notices the grandfather clock in the living room. Apparently Barb had asked for it after her father died, but her mother said she wanted to keep it. She is upset that Cindy has it. Cindy snaps at Barb, tells her she can't always have what she wants and they are moving forward with the anti-gaming legislation. The meeting is over. Barb storms out and Bill goes after her. She tells Bill that her sister-wives are truer sisters to her than her sister ever was, and asks him to give Ana another chance.

Back at the house, there's a news flash revealing all the witnesses for Roman's case. Kathy's picture flashes on the screen. Everyone flips out. Wanda is afraid they will come after the family, cut their throats in the middle of the night. Bill tells Kathy that she's the only witness left and one person can't bring down Juniper Creek. Barb comes in and tells them they have to stop. The kids are here and ready to go to the prom.

Sarah and Heather come down dressed up for the dance. Barb and Bill takes pictures while Ben and Frankie pin their corsages. The kids pile into the limo and everything seems great. Just a couple of normal kids going to the prom. Frankie pulls out a flask. As they turn the corner, Rhonda is standing in the middle of the street, wearing her wedding white. She calls out for Frankie to take her instead. They scream to the driver to keep going as she chases after the car.

Back of the house, Wanda walks slowly to the pool and then free-falls. The boys come in and asks Margene if they can go swimming too, like Aunt Wanda. She looks out to see Wanda floating in the pool and screams for Bill. They pull her out just in time. After her first breath, she asks Joey, "Do you love her more than me?" Margene, Nicki, and Barb look horrified, as if they all have the same fear. Joey assures her, "no can take your place in my heart."

At the dance, Frankie is vomiting in the bathroom sink. He feels guilty about leaving Rhonda on the street. Frankie is confused about what he should be doing. Ben goes out to Sarah and tells her Frankie is too drunk to take a picture, but he'll do it with her. One of the kids makes fun of them, but they don't care. They smile for the camera.

Barb gives Wanda a Xanax. Wanda tells everyone that Nicki asked her to get Kathy not to testify. Nicki claims she did it because she thought it was too dangerous, and tells Kathy she knows it's a trumped up charge. Kathy calmly responds, "No, it's not." . She tells them when she was 14, her first husband Ron chose her out of the joy books. He was 52. She went to Roman and told him she wasn't ready for man/wife intimacy but Roman said. They were sealed and she was told she would not have to consummate the relationship until she was ready but Ron grew impatient. She went back to Roman, twice and pleaded that she wasn't ready. He told her she must be obedient--"Obedience is freedom"-- and sent her back to Ron. Finally she gave in.

Nicki is upset by the story and says she doesn't believe her and starts to leave, but Wanda calls out, "It happened to you too Nicki." Nicki denies it but Wanda tells everyone that she was forced to marry a man when she was 15 but eventually, Roman unsealed her. Nicki denies it and says this is going against the sanctity of the Principal.

She heads back to the office, and flips through the joy books. On each page, there's a picture of a young girl, along with pictures of their hands, legs, and feet. Finally, she finds her own picture, a young Nicolette Grant. She rips her picture out of the book, just as Ray enters the room and finds her. He asks what she's doing and she claims to be catching up on her work. He can tell she's upset and asks how her mother is doing. She says she'll be okay but can't hold back her emotion. She breaks down crying on his shoulder. He tells her to go home but she wants to stay busy, so he asks if she'd like to hear his opening argument for the trial. Nicki pushes aside the joy books and listens intently.

Back at Juniper Creek, Lois feeds Frank Kentucky Fried Chicken. He asks her if she's seducing him but she tells him it's his last meal. He begs her not to kill him and tries to get nostalgic. Lois says he has to do it. He'll never leave her be. She pulls out the bag and forces it over his head. He struggles and kicks but she holds tight. The phone starts to ring. She hesitates, not sure what to do, then finally runs inside. It's Bill. He wants to know what really happened with Maggie, if she really was married against her will. Lois starts to cry and Bill has his answer. It was her only way out. Lois runs back out to the barn and finds Frank alive, but still struggling to breathe.

At the prison, Adaleen brings in Rhonda to Roman. Adaleen pays off the guard to leave them alone. Rhonda asks Roman if he will hurt her but he says he still loves her. Then she asks what he'll give her not to testify, but he just laughs and says no matter where she goes, he will find her. He touches her face and says, "I can offer you more than riches."

Back at the house, Bill asks Barb if he's a good man. He's afraid he's like Roman, but Barb tells him he's a good man. She tells him to come to bed, but instead he goes to Ana. He admits he was jealous and professes his love.

Sarah and Ben sit by the water while Heather and Frankie are cuddled together in the park. Sarah thanks Ben for taking her to prom, and then confesses that she's pregnant. He's shocked and tries to ask more, but she asks him to hold his questions for now. She just wants to enjoy the moment. They sit in silence and watch the sun come up.