Using a false name,
Don calls the Attorney General's "polygamy czar" and tells him his mother
was swindled by Roman's desert ranch scam, as Bill offers cues in the
background. The man asks Don to bring his mother down to the office
and file a statement. "We've been trying to get into Juniper Creek forever,"
the man says. "Maybe we could piggyback an investigation." Don tells
him he'll work on it. Bill's bookkeeper, Wendy, has
a tip of her own; she pulls Bill aside to inform him that she saw
Don with several women at an Appleby's, and after following two of
them into the women's bathroom, she's certain they're polygamists.
"It's against the Church and the law," she declares. Bill tries to
assure her Don is "not what you are saying he is," and besides, "everyone
in the Henrickson Home Plus family is
treated with respect." But Wendy isn't ready to put it aside. She
confronts Peg Embry in the Home Plus bathroom. "I've got my eye on
you," she tells her, "you can't fire me or get me fired for doing
and saying what I know is right." Peg smiles graciously. "Why would
I want to go and do something like that? You're the best little junior
bookkeeper we've ever had." After a Juniper Creek manager reviews
Alby's audit of the Home Plus books, Roman is disgusted with his son
for delivering only a digest of numbers. "He's no genius," he says
to the manager, as Alby looks on. Later, when Alby tries to apologize
and fix his error, Roman dismisses him further. "It's not your fault...
our talents lie elsewhere... You let Bill get the better of us." Overhearing
the exchange, Rhonda offers Alby a ride home. "I can't do numbers,
either," she says, sympathetically. At this Alby finally erupts. "SHUT
UP!" he screams at his father's teenaged bride-to-be. The brazen Rhonda
snaps back: "Don't you ever raise your voice to me like that again."
With Barb back to teaching and
Nicki's ongoing hostility, Margene's been feeling lonely. So when
the new neighbor Pam strikes up a friendship, she's thrilled, going
so far as to invite the woman into her house. Sick of strangers thinking
she's an unwed mother, she tells Pam that she's a widow, and that
her husband died in the Gulf War. Later, when Pam relays her sympathy
for 'the widow' to Barb, Barb confronts Margene about her lack of
discretion - they have to be extra  careful
now that there's a second store. And besides, she reminds her, the
Gulf War was 15 years ago. Nicki adds her two cents to the scolding:
"You're the weak link Margie...You can't keep a secret like me and
you are not a good liar like Barb." Barb is ultimately a little more
sympathetic; she lets Margie know she understands how isolating their
lives can be. But she tells her they "have to stick with it no matter
how lonely it can be, because there isn't anything else that can bring
these rewards."
Tortured by wet dreams and a
preoccupation with sex, Ben has decided to attend Mormon seminary
after school. "I don't feel pure," he explains to his girlfriend Brynn.
"I think there's something inside me that shouldn't be there." Brynn
assures him that thinking about sex is a good thing, and that seminary
will only brainwash him into believing there's something dirty about
his body. Besides, she's worried that he'll become "judgmental and
arrogant" like the other Mormon boys she's dated. "Don't let them
ruin you," she urges him. When she discovers a hotel soap wrapper
in her bathroom wastebasket, Nicki is beside herself. She confronts
Margie about whether she and Bill had pre-marital sex, then corners
Barb. "I'm not sure Bill wants you to know, actually," she tells her,
"Bill is dating someone...a fourth wife." Barb seems baffled by the
news - and by Nicki's certainty. But Nicki insists they confront Bill
and find out "who is bringing the sin into our house."
Joey helps Bill by digging up
the contact information for the attorney suing Roman for the land
scam. He also congratulates his older brother - he learned from Wanda
that he's planning on taking on a fourth wife. Bill is dumbstruck.
He's barely interested in taking on more than one these days. After
dinner a few days later, Bill tells Nicki he has to go in to the office.
She presses the redial button on her phone to reveal his last call:
Sarah picks up, explaining her mother just left. Watching Barb's car
head in the same direction as Bill's, Nicki starts to put the pieces
together. While Barb and Bill are at the hotel, an ominous man appears
in the back porch of Barb's house, scaring Tancy half to death. Nicki
heads outside to confront the intruder and discovers an angry Alby,
with attendants, demanding to see Bill. When Ben comes to the door,
Alby grabs him by the neck.
Nicki manages to pull him away. "I'll have Papa come down on you like
a ton of bricks!" Alby scoffs at his younger sister. "You? You were
a nothing until you married Bill... Bill took you to get a loan from
Papa. Don't you know that? You're just collateral." Barely containing
her fury, Nicki figures out a way to get even. "Take your one testicle
and fly back to your cave," she tells him, adrenaline rising. "You
ever show up here again and harass this family again, I swear to God
I'll kill you!" With witnesses present, Alby retreats. Later that
night, Nicki gathers the family around her living room to deliver
some news: she's ready to bring another soul into the family. "We've
been holding off, for this reason or that. It is time now. We've let
worldly concerns come before what we're here for. What our purpose
is." The family exchanges glances as Bill embraces Nicki. "I'm so
happy, as your husband, father to be, and member of our holy family,"
he tells her. Looking confused and suspicious, Margene offers her
congratulations. Barb recovers quickly from her shock. "I love you
Nicki," she says, smiling warmly. "I love you too, Barb. I love you
very much."
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