On the Tuesday, August 11 episode of “Beyond the Gates”, Randy (Maurice P. Kerry) panicked over Bill’s hospitalization, Vernon (Clifton Davis) received news that led him to Joey (Jon Lindstrom), and Leslie (Tricia Mann-Grant) began to wear Hayley (Marquita Goings) down.
It Wasn’t Just A Family Affair
At Garland Memorial, Vernon took Dani (Karla Mosley) aside, worried about her outburst in which she had referred to Bill (Timon Kyle Durrett) as her husband. Dani promised to behave and insisted on staying to support Chelsea (RhonniRose Mantilla) and Naomi (Arielle Prepetit).
Hayley snuck into the hospital stairwell to call Randy, who was furious that Bill had collapsed before Hayley could get him to St. Bart’s. Randy wasn’t comforted by Hayley’s claim that she could still be a widow by morning, worried that the poison she’d been plying him with could be detectable, since she’d given Bill double and triple doses. Hayley smirked that she’d delivered a performance worthy of “a standing O” while Randy had only watched from the sidelines, then hung up on him.
Chelsea, Kat (Colby Nixon), Naomi, and Jacob (Jibre Hordges) were huddled together, with Naomi fretting that Hayley would find a way to blame them for Bill’s condition. Vernon happened to walk by as the group discussed the theory that Hayley was cheating with Randy and wanted more information. Meanwhile, at Orphey Gene’s, Joey entered and saw how frustrated Randy was; Randy lied that his mother’s boyfriend was losing money through online sports betting, but Joey barely hid his disbelief.
After Randy made an excuse to leave, Joey took a call from Vernon, who fumed that Hayley potentially fooling around with Joey’s right-hand man put him in too close a proximity to the Dupree orbit. Was Randy manipulating Hayley to get dirt on Bill? Vernon wondered. Joey cracked that he already had enough on Bill for blackmail before ending the phone call.
Catch Fire
Leslie sauntered into the hospital, saw the Dupree gaggle, and, by process of elimination, determined that something must have happened to Bill. Hayley didn’t appreciate Leslie’s presence, but when Leslie pointed out that Hayley had no support there, Hayley allowed Leslie to sit down with her. The Hamilton sisters and the Hawthornes watched as Leslie told Hayley that she could relate to being a pariah, since she and Hayley had both torpedoed the marriages of the Dupree daughters. Kat wondered if Leslie had dirt on Hayley, or if Leslie knew what had happened to Lynette, but Jacob and Naomi prevented Kat from questioning Leslie.
Nicole (Daphnée Duplaix) and Kial (Greg Vaughan) stepped into her living room, deciding they needed dinner after making love all day. But when she grabbed her phone, she saw multiple texts, calls, and voicemails from her mom, Anita (Tamara Tunie), who alerted her to Bill’s condition and described Dani’s actions as inappropriate. Kial offered to accompany Nicole to the hospital but couldn’t quite understand Dani’s pull toward Bill, since she was married to Andre. Nicole explained that Dani had married Bill at a young age and still felt vulnerable around him.
Baround Dr. Wilkes announced to everyone that Bill’s heart had stopped – not just when he had collapsed, but twice more on the operating table – and that, while he was now stable, he had required the installation of a pacemaker. With Bill out of danger, Hayley wanted everyone gone, prompting Chelsea to spit that Hayley needed to get out of their faces. Hayley yelled that Bill’s family would be happy if Bill died since it would get her out of their lives – and Dani blew up, being stopped from retaliation by the arriving Nicole.
Wake Up Everybody
Andre (Sean Freeman), who Dani had said was away on a long photo shoot, returned home early to an empty house. He got a text from Chelsea and misunderstood her report that Dani was at the hospital to mean that Dani had been hurt herself. As he hurried over, Nicole was about to take Dani for a walk to break the tension when Ashley (Jen Jacob) informed the Duprees and his extended family that Bill was awake – and wanted to see Dani. Hayley followed aggressively, but Vernon intervened.
Sitting at Bill’s bedside, Dani took his hand as he stirred. The exes shared a knowing laugh about the situation and their long relationship, then Bill offered a sincere apology for hurting Dani the way he had by cheating and leaving her. Dani’s tears flowed just as Hayley, egged on by Leslie, stomped into the room and declared Dani’s visit over.
Once alone with Bill, Hayley asked him if he remembered anything about his collapse, which he didn’t. In fact, Bill was surprised to learn that he had endured multiple cardiac arrests and needed a pacemaker. Hayley acted hurt that Bill had asked to see Dani first, but she seemed to do a one-eighty when he confessed that he’d simply wanted to clear his conscience… just in case.
Chelsea and Naomi interrupted, wanting time with their father. Bill characteristically played off his hospital stay and told his not-amused daughters that he was ready to go home. Relenting, Bill said he was bored already and didn’t even have anything to read; Naomi offered to stop by his house for some of his books but needed the security code for the front door.
Chocolate City
As many folks at the hospital held vigil for Bill, Anita commented on Nicole’s appearance with Kial, and Nicole explained that Carlton’s soft ultimatum had made it unnecessary for her to hold on to her self-imposed deadline for choosing between the two men. Anita was pleased that Nicole had picked Kial and later expressed the same to the man himself, with Kial thanking “Miss Anita” for her graciousness toward his son, Noah, who is an aspiring musician.
The Duprees finally went home, and once there, they shared their mutual concern over Dani having called Bill her current husband. Both Anita and Vernon acknowledged that Dani had grown since her divorce from Bill, but they were certain that Andre would be extremely displeased if he learned how Dani had misspoken. Elsewhere in Fairmont Crest, Andre had escorted Dani back to their house, giving Dani the wine and flowers he had brought in his hope to surprise her with an early homecoming. He decided Dani needed to relax and massaged her shoulders; Dani readily accepted the physical contact, and clothes started coming off.
