Tammy gets an early Christmas present this year - no more parole!
Since Tammy's been squeaky clean ever since being released from prison, her PO's recommending her for early release from parole. All that's left is to go in front of a judge and get their final ruling. And the judge says yes! Tammy and the girls celebrate at lunch, and Bonnie evens springs for salads for everyone (just the base - no proteins!). Finally, a free woman, Tammy decides to let loose a little - feeding Marjorie's cats their special occasion food (which Marjorie's not a big fan of - it gives them diarrhea!) and flirting with a customer at the bar. Only Adam's not a big fan of this second part. Apparently, Mike's a regular and Adam knows "the ink isn't dry on his divorce." He's concerned about things getting messy, but Tammy, wanting to celebrate her newfound freedom, isn't interested in heeding his advice.
Bonnie, meanwhile, is having her own problems with Adam. She finally gets the whole "to give is better than to receive," (only about 50 years late!) and buys Adam a nice leather jacket that he saw on TV. Adam says he loves it, but when he isn't wearing it every second of the day, Bonnie isn't convinced. When she visits him at AJ's and sees he's not wearing it, she's really not convinced, and she steals it for herself! Man, I thought I was a bad gift-giver...At the next AA meeting, Tammy finally vents her frustrations, and they're pretty damn hilarious. Now that she's off parole, Tammy's gone all "I fight authority." And she's not gonna let authority win! She's decided to screw the rules, including the rules of a proper AA meeting, which she clearly demonstrates when she loudly fake farts on Wendy before storming out!
At the bistro, the girls (minus Tammy) discuss Tammy's desire to metaphorically flip the bird at society. (She also flipped the bird at Jill when she offered her a ride, and then she licked her window!) They're worried. Marjorie tells the girls that getting off parole can be scary - it took her a long time to get used to having so much freedom after she got off. She advises that they just support Tammy while she figures out her new normal.
At home, Bonnie finally finds someone to wear the jacket - Gus! Although she's been wearing it all day, she's finally admitted to herself that she's burning up in it! Adam comes home, and he finally tells a still annoyed Bonnie the truth. The jacket is awesome, but he doesn't think it looks right on him. He's 62, "and a man my age should not be in that many zippers," he says. Once again, Bonnie is struck with a strange feeling - maybe giving really is better than receiving!
As Bonnie and Adam make up, Christy comes downstairs, telling them to "break it up." Marjorie called. Tammy never came home. The girls all go out to look for her but don't seem to be having any luck. Thankfully, Tammy finds them. She did indeed sleep with Mike from the bar, and it did indeed get messy. She shows up to Bonnie and Christy's house, but since they're out looking for her, she only finds Adam, who finds himself playing reluctant support to her until she can get the girls on the phone.Once she gets them on the phone, (they've now all converged back at Marjorie's house), Tammy admits that's she been having to follow rules her whole life, first being in the foster system and then being in the criminal justice system. And now that she's got freedom, she doesn't quite know how to deal with it. The girls promise to support her and Marjorie suggests a possible solution. Helping Tammy get back on track helped Bonnie with her own issues, maybe Tammy could do the same for someone else. Tammy agrees it sounds like a good idea.
A few days later, Tammy goes back to the prison and speaks to the same AA group that the girls first encountered her in. It seems that things really are coming full circle.
Random Thoughts:
-I'm gonna miss the appearances by Tammy's parole officer. She's hilarious!
-Best line goes to Bonnie when talking about buying Adam's jacket. "And you know it's classy because they had the "can't steal it wire" on it. And you know I'm classy because I didn't steal it!"
Were you surprised to see Tammy get off parole? Let me know below!
