Family Frenemies V
Previously: Aahana took Elliot and Aisha on a desert adventure before she passed away. Then Elliot proposed to his girlfriend Madeline mere moments after she became a young adult and Aisha celebrated her birthday with no one but herself and a new pen pal from Littlehaven.
Phoebe isn't the only one whose heart has been entirely crushed by Aahana's death. The kids are feeling it, too, and have chosen to funnel their grief into art. Here's Elliot miserably reflecting on what I can only assume is a devastating self-portrait.
Aisha's attempt is a little less sophisticated but no less depressing. I'm going to go cry in a corner now.
Aisha: Ugh, why can't this stupid stuffed dog give me the same comfort now as it did when I was a kid?!? Everything is way too complicated these days!
You know she's down in the dumps when not even one of her favorite activities, baking, can cheer her up.
Aisha: These are supposed to be minty mocha flavored, but all I taste is sadness.
Madeline tries to cheer Elliot up with a romantic dinner date, but as soon as they sit down, it already looks like a bad idea.
Madeline: Come on, baby, how could you possibly say no to all of this?!?
Elliot: I don't want to, but one of my moms is dead! Romance seems so frivolous in the face of mortality!
After a few sips of wine, though, she finally gets him to loosen up a bit.
By the time he's finished his very odd-looking food, he's loosened up a lot.
Enough to play a very (drunkenly) impassioned piano serenade for Madeline, even!
They end the night all smiles and unable to keep their hands away from one another, so I'll consider that a success.
Singles Night, you say? Well, I just happen to know one very single lady who definitely needs a night out...
Aisha: I get it. It's me. I'm the singlest person to ever single. Now pour me a drink and shut up about it.
Aisha: Hello there, pretty lady! *internally* Wait, do I like pretty ladies? I could totally like pretty ladies, right?
Not this one, certainly! I can't even fathom the idea of a cat lover and a dog lover sharing a household. It would be madness. Madness, I tell you!
I have to say, though, the other prospects aren't very promising. I'm sure they're lovely people, but Aisha's not really clicking with anybody... although it does look like she might be about to get into a heated argument about the best type of pet to have with Miss Dog Lover over there.
Before she loses her dignity, she makes a beeline for her BFF, Allie. If they're still single by the end of the night, at least they'll have each other's shoulder to cry on.
I love Allie because she reminds me of Jane. That kooky but strangely sophisticated style? That air of perpetual detachment and aloofness? She is far too good for this world, and she knows it.
Anyway, to no one's surprise, Aisha did not find a boyfriend or a girlfriend on this particular night. She did find a sick stray cat who she hoped to befriend and get cured, but he wasn't feeling it. Your loss, kitty. Guess you'll just keep wandering around with strangely glowing feet and nose forever.
Aw, fuck, this guy again. Can't he rain misery and strife over someone else's household for a change?
Turns out he was there for Heidi, which is sad since she didn't even get to enjoy her new adopted household for long before kicking the bucket but also a bit of a relief.
I'll excuse the strangely exuberant looks on Phoebe and Elliot's faces because I think they're just too elated by the fact that Phoebe's still got a bit more time left to fully process Heidi's death. Also, she was more Aisha's cat than anybody else's, and, luckily, she wasn't there to witness it firsthand.
That doesn't mean she's any less sad about it, though. Aisha, I know you've got reason to hang your head and all, but you might want to look up. There's a cute blue-haired guy ahead, and he's staring right at you!
Aisha: Listen, no offense, dude, but I'm really not in the mood for your flattery right now. My cat just died!
Townie: Oh my, really? That's awful. I never like to hear about a dead cat!
Okay, Shawn... We can definitely work with this. I almost feel like he must have been projected straight out of Aisha's head to be the dictionary definition of her type. Are we sure he's not a hallucination?
He also gets props for willingly sticking around and comforting her while she cries endless tears into her food rather than running for the hills like almost any other guy would.
You might have seen in the background of a previous shot that Elliot's making his first attempt at hawking his, uh, very interesting art on the street. I wonder if he'll drum up any interested buyers...
The only person he seems to attract is this clearly insane man wearing gym shorts, striped tights, and a wrestling mask in the middle of winter. He doesn't even want to buy anything, either. He just keeps trying to chat up a clearly uncomfortable Elliot. How rude!
Well, I guess I have to eat my words. This guy hung around all night, and the patrons are suddenly flocking to Elliot's paintings like flies. They might think that guy in the mask is some kind of up-and-coming outsider artist whose strangely childlike works will soon be the talk of the town, but as long as they're buying, the reason why hardly matters!
Some random guy invited Elliot out to guys' night, so I guess this is sort of like a bachelor party?
Literally, I've never seen this guy before in my life. How does he know Elliot? Does he know Elliot, or is Elliot just going along with it for shits and giggles? Wait... Is this Wrestling Mask Guy? This can't be Wrestling Mask Guy... right?
Anyway, whoever he is, Elliot's really grateful to him for bringing him to the bar for a good old-fashioned guys' night out.
Pink-Haired Dude: Whaaaaaaaat?!?!? Since when do they let girls tend guys' night out. We all know you're out of your depth here, honey! Now step out from behind that bar and give me some loving!
I'm glad to see Elliot is just as uncomfortable with this display of blatant sexism as I am.
Bartender: Every fucking time, I swear to God. I don't know why I keep thinking it'll be different!
Instead of engaging with the misogynist, Elliot decided to begin a rousing foosball tournament with some hopefully non-sexist new friends.
He lost, which was really disappointing.
Elliot: I know I only met you an hour ago, but how could you let me down like this?!?
Anyway, he forgot all about losing when he returned home to find Madeline waiting for him... in his mom's bed, of course, because it just wouldn't be woohoo without something to make it awkward.
Meanwhile, his sister is enjoying much more wholesome pursuits, such as building snow pals while she waits around to meet more sick stray cats she can rescue!
Like this one! Look how adorable they are together! Maybe cats have been her one true love all along! Who needs a man, am I right?!?
Oh, wait, I forgot I had Elliot put in a good word for his sister with one of his vaguely attractive new friends. Maybe she'll give dating another shot, after all!
Then again, considering how she nearly throws up in her mouth every time she interrupts two people mid-flirtation, I'm not quite sure she's capable of going on an actual date herself.
What a Puritan our little Aisha is.
Aisha: Come on! You know it's disgusting! Do you want to see two people swapping spit where you eat? I didn't think so!
These two are physically inseparable these days, though I do wish they would stop having their little trysts in Phoebe's room (particularly when she's napping mere feet away) and take it somewhere slightly more private. Oh God, I'm starting to sound like Aisha now.
Phoebe: Well, that's certainly a sight to wake up to! Actually, I'm not even sure I'm awake right now. I must be having an awful nightmare.
I guess there are still some kinks to work out here. Madeline was fully satisfied, while Elliot thinks he did a terrible job. At least this is a nice change from men always thinking they're sex gods when they're actually anything but. I appreciate Elliot's honesty, and I'm sure they'll be on the same page soon.
Phoebe isn't the only one whose heart has been entirely crushed by Aahana's death. The kids are feeling it, too, and have chosen to funnel their grief into art. Here's Elliot miserably reflecting on what I can only assume is a devastating self-portrait.
Aisha's attempt is a little less sophisticated but no less depressing. I'm going to go cry in a corner now.
Aisha: Ugh, why can't this stupid stuffed dog give me the same comfort now as it did when I was a kid?!? Everything is way too complicated these days!
You know she's down in the dumps when not even one of her favorite activities, baking, can cheer her up.
Aisha: These are supposed to be minty mocha flavored, but all I taste is sadness.
Madeline tries to cheer Elliot up with a romantic dinner date, but as soon as they sit down, it already looks like a bad idea.
Madeline: Come on, baby, how could you possibly say no to all of this?!?
Elliot: I don't want to, but one of my moms is dead! Romance seems so frivolous in the face of mortality!
After a few sips of wine, though, she finally gets him to loosen up a bit.
By the time he's finished his very odd-looking food, he's loosened up a lot.
Enough to play a very (drunkenly) impassioned piano serenade for Madeline, even!
They end the night all smiles and unable to keep their hands away from one another, so I'll consider that a success.
Singles Night, you say? Well, I just happen to know one very single lady who definitely needs a night out...
Aisha: I get it. It's me. I'm the singlest person to ever single. Now pour me a drink and shut up about it.
Aisha: Hello there, pretty lady! *internally* Wait, do I like pretty ladies? I could totally like pretty ladies, right?
Not this one, certainly! I can't even fathom the idea of a cat lover and a dog lover sharing a household. It would be madness. Madness, I tell you!
I have to say, though, the other prospects aren't very promising. I'm sure they're lovely people, but Aisha's not really clicking with anybody... although it does look like she might be about to get into a heated argument about the best type of pet to have with Miss Dog Lover over there.
Before she loses her dignity, she makes a beeline for her BFF, Allie. If they're still single by the end of the night, at least they'll have each other's shoulder to cry on.
I love Allie because she reminds me of Jane. That kooky but strangely sophisticated style? That air of perpetual detachment and aloofness? She is far too good for this world, and she knows it.
Anyway, to no one's surprise, Aisha did not find a boyfriend or a girlfriend on this particular night. She did find a sick stray cat who she hoped to befriend and get cured, but he wasn't feeling it. Your loss, kitty. Guess you'll just keep wandering around with strangely glowing feet and nose forever.
Aw, fuck, this guy again. Can't he rain misery and strife over someone else's household for a change?
Turns out he was there for Heidi, which is sad since she didn't even get to enjoy her new adopted household for long before kicking the bucket but also a bit of a relief.
I'll excuse the strangely exuberant looks on Phoebe and Elliot's faces because I think they're just too elated by the fact that Phoebe's still got a bit more time left to fully process Heidi's death. Also, she was more Aisha's cat than anybody else's, and, luckily, she wasn't there to witness it firsthand.
That doesn't mean she's any less sad about it, though. Aisha, I know you've got reason to hang your head and all, but you might want to look up. There's a cute blue-haired guy ahead, and he's staring right at you!
Aisha: Listen, no offense, dude, but I'm really not in the mood for your flattery right now. My cat just died!
Townie: Oh my, really? That's awful. I never like to hear about a dead cat!
Okay, Shawn... We can definitely work with this. I almost feel like he must have been projected straight out of Aisha's head to be the dictionary definition of her type. Are we sure he's not a hallucination?
He also gets props for willingly sticking around and comforting her while she cries endless tears into her food rather than running for the hills like almost any other guy would.
You might have seen in the background of a previous shot that Elliot's making his first attempt at hawking his, uh, very interesting art on the street. I wonder if he'll drum up any interested buyers...
The only person he seems to attract is this clearly insane man wearing gym shorts, striped tights, and a wrestling mask in the middle of winter. He doesn't even want to buy anything, either. He just keeps trying to chat up a clearly uncomfortable Elliot. How rude!
Well, I guess I have to eat my words. This guy hung around all night, and the patrons are suddenly flocking to Elliot's paintings like flies. They might think that guy in the mask is some kind of up-and-coming outsider artist whose strangely childlike works will soon be the talk of the town, but as long as they're buying, the reason why hardly matters!
Some random guy invited Elliot out to guys' night, so I guess this is sort of like a bachelor party?
Literally, I've never seen this guy before in my life. How does he know Elliot? Does he know Elliot, or is Elliot just going along with it for shits and giggles? Wait... Is this Wrestling Mask Guy? This can't be Wrestling Mask Guy... right?
Anyway, whoever he is, Elliot's really grateful to him for bringing him to the bar for a good old-fashioned guys' night out.
Pink-Haired Dude: Whaaaaaaaat?!?!? Since when do they let girls tend guys' night out. We all know you're out of your depth here, honey! Now step out from behind that bar and give me some loving!
I'm glad to see Elliot is just as uncomfortable with this display of blatant sexism as I am.
Bartender: Every fucking time, I swear to God. I don't know why I keep thinking it'll be different!
Instead of engaging with the misogynist, Elliot decided to begin a rousing foosball tournament with some hopefully non-sexist new friends.
He lost, which was really disappointing.
Elliot: I know I only met you an hour ago, but how could you let me down like this?!?
Anyway, he forgot all about losing when he returned home to find Madeline waiting for him... in his mom's bed, of course, because it just wouldn't be woohoo without something to make it awkward.
Meanwhile, his sister is enjoying much more wholesome pursuits, such as building snow pals while she waits around to meet more sick stray cats she can rescue!
Like this one! Look how adorable they are together! Maybe cats have been her one true love all along! Who needs a man, am I right?!?
Oh, wait, I forgot I had Elliot put in a good word for his sister with one of his vaguely attractive new friends. Maybe she'll give dating another shot, after all!
Then again, considering how she nearly throws up in her mouth every time she interrupts two people mid-flirtation, I'm not quite sure she's capable of going on an actual date herself.
What a Puritan our little Aisha is.
Aisha: Come on! You know it's disgusting! Do you want to see two people swapping spit where you eat? I didn't think so!
These two are physically inseparable these days, though I do wish they would stop having their little trysts in Phoebe's room (particularly when she's napping mere feet away) and take it somewhere slightly more private. Oh God, I'm starting to sound like Aisha now.
Phoebe: Well, that's certainly a sight to wake up to! Actually, I'm not even sure I'm awake right now. I must be having an awful nightmare.
I guess there are still some kinks to work out here. Madeline was fully satisfied, while Elliot thinks he did a terrible job. At least this is a nice change from men always thinking they're sex gods when they're actually anything but. I appreciate Elliot's honesty, and I'm sure they'll be on the same page soon.