"You are incredibly biased," Dawson replies. He gets up to turn off the light, then continues. "You know what? I had such a distinct and clear vision for this movie. I mean, I saw every moment. I heard every word of dialogue. I guess I just failed to translate that vision onto film ... to bring it to life," He looks at his mother unhappily. "What about all the visions that I have for the future? What if I can't bring those to life either?"
Gale always knows the right thing to say. "Sweetheart, the trick is to stay tenacious," she soothes. "Not to let any minor -- and in this case, very minor -- setback derail your vision." "I supposed I could re-edit it," Dawson agrees half-heartedly. "There you go. Your movie may not be Citizen Kane, but it's no Bride of Chucky, either," Gale smiles. Dawson's ego is still bruised, though. "The way my film teacher described it, you'd think it was the worst, most expendable, piece of junk ever captured on film."
"Ah, honey, that is just one person's opinion," Gale counters (hmph ... spoken like a true mother). She is about to leave, when the mention of Dawson's film teacher jogs her memory of something else. "Speaking of teachers at your school, how's your father enjoying his new profession?" Gale questions her son, hoping to find out a small nugget of information, a bit of detail ... anything, really.
"He likes it, I think," Dawson says. "I mean, it's weird to see him in the teacher's lounge ... consorting with the enemy," he finishes contemptuously. "You really miss him, don't you?" Dawson finally asks gently. "Yeah," Gale sighs, drifting into a long silence. "Lately, more than ever." "Well, if you know what you want, maybe you should take some of your own advice," Dawson offers sagely with a small smile. "Maybe," Gale smiles back, leaving her son's room.
The next morning, Joey's father is handily demonstrating the culinary skills he picked up whilst in prison, much to Joey's amazement. "Morning Joey," Her father smiles broadly at her as she enters the kitchen. "Hope you're hungry, I think I might have overdone it here." "Dad ..." she begins, wide-eyed. "I am so glad to be home," Mr. Potter tells his youngest child. "I never thought making breakfast for my two daughters would make me so happy."
"I thought, for sure, that I would wake up this morning and discover that last night was just a dream," Joey confesses quietly. Her father smiles at her again. "It's all over, Joey. I'm not going anywhere ever again." Just then Bessie walks in, and after greeting her father, remarks on their sudden good fortune. "I was thinking with the catering and expanding our hours, our finances are going to be straightened out in no time."
She spots Joey then and tells her good morning, while Mr. Potter explains what Bessie is talking about. "Your sister and I were up this morning scheming up ways to turn up a profit with the restaurant." Bessie clarifies further. "Remember my friend Pam? She's getting married this Saturday at the Athenium and the caterer fell through and ..." "... Icehouse to the rescue," Mr. Potter finishes.
Bessie asks her sister if she could ask a few of her friends to work as servers for the wedding. "Sure ..." Joey nods, trying to take it all in, as Mr. Potter plays doting granddad and snatches Alex out of Bessie's arms for a cuddle. "Come here," he coos to the baby and walks out of the room with him. As soon as he leaves, Bessie turns to her sister happily. "Isn't this exciting? I mean, we're finally on our way to getting out of debt!" Joey's not so convinced, though. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" she asks Bessie. "I mean, we're not an upscale catering service. We grill cheeseburgers!"
Their father reenters the room, Alex in tow, just in time to hear Bessie tell Joey not to worry, and that his help, they'll be fine. Mr. Potter smiles. "We're the Potters. We're quick studies and we always land on our feet, right?" Joey looks worried. "Joey, I'm the father," he continues. "It's my job to do the worrying. Your days of worrying are over." He pauses for a moment, looking tenderly at his youngest daughter. "I missed you so much," he says softly.
Joey embraces him tightly, closing her eyes and whispering that she missed him, too. "We're a family again," Mr. Potter says with tears in his eyes. "Everything's going to be better. You'll see." Bessie smiles and nods. "You'll see," their father repeats. You can tell by the look on Joey's face that she wants to believe him ... how she desperately wants to believe him ... but she still can't quite chase away that nagging cloud of doubt that hangs over her.
Later, at school, Joey reiterates the conversation she had with her family with Jack. "Since when do we cater weddings?" he asks, puzzled. "Since my father got paroled and took over the restaurant," she replies bluntly, and a little too quickly for his liking. Jack looks at her oddly, waiting for her to explain. "Yeah, I know," Joey babbles. "Yeah, I walked home last night ... and ... uh ... found him standing on the porch."
Jack doesn't quite know how to react to this, so he waits and watches Joey's face for some kind of clue. "You must be thrilled," he smiles gently. "Yeah!" Joey responds, again, in an overly-enthusiastic, hyperactive tone. "I mean ... it's ... uh, just a little weird ... like I've been broadsided by a bus -- a happy bus -- but I'm just reeling from the shock, I guess ..."
"Sure. Of course," Jack nods, but he knows there's more to it than that. When Joey pulls an Andie and speaks at warp speed in fragmented, non-sensical sentences, he knows something is up. "Something's wrong ...." he begins, waiting for her to pick up where he leaves off. Joey's face speaks for her. She walks over to a nearby bench.
"Jack ... I don't know," she sighs, plopping down. "Last night I was lying in bed. I couldn't sleep, I was shaking." She thinks a moment before confessing she has a pit in her stomach the size of a grenade. "I've seen my dad one time in three years. I mean, we can't just pick up where we left off. This whole catering plan is just compounding my anxiety. I mean, all the blue-bloods of Capeside are going to be at this wedding. I mean, this isn't the most low profile setting for my father to re-emerge into society."
To his credit, Jack plays a decent armchair psychologist. "Yeah," he nods. "Maybe you need to tell your father that this catering plan is ill-conceived ... too much, too soon, you know? And I think that you need to deal with this reunion with your father on a personal level before you do it in public."
Joey's not too keen on Dr. McPhee's advice, though. "You should have seen Bessie's face this morning," she tells him. "She was so excited. I don't want to rain on their parade." "Well, don't worry," Jack smiles, drawing in close to her. "I'll be there." She smiles back at him, gratefully.
Inside the hallowed halls of higher education, Pacey and Dawson are moseying along to class, discussing Creek Daze. "I think I'm going to go back and re-edit the ending because I'm thinking maybe I just put the pieces together wrong, you know?" Dawson tells his best friend. Pacey, not being versed in the language of Hollywood, merely shrugs and nods. Before he can continue to tell (read: bore) Pacey with more details of how he plans to structure the reediting process, however, Dawson stops short. He's spied his father and one Ms. Nicole Kennedy, film critic in the strongest sense of the word, having a friendly tete-a-tete in the staff room.
"You know, it's bad enough that my parents are separated and my mother is heartbroken, should I really have to be subjected to this?" he asks bitterly. "Well," Pacey begins, trying to be tactful, "she does have certain assets, Dawson." "Pacey!" Dawson rebuffs sharply. "I'm sorry, bro!" Pacey apologizes, "but --" His dissertation on appreciating the teacher's finer points (he speaks from some experience, remember) is halted when Jack approaches the pair and interrupts.
"Hey guys," Jack says by way of greeting. "Did Joey talk to you yet?" "About what?" Dawson asks, curious. "Well," Jack answers, "the Icehouse is catering a wedding on Saturday and we need some extra hands." He raises his eyebrows at them, waiting for a response, but getting none. "It'd pay $60 for the day," he pleads.
"Sold!" Pacey says enthusiastically. "For $60, I'd carry your ass!" "Well," Jack laughs uneasily, "that won't be necessary." Dawson's got more pressing concerns on his mind than Jack's butt, though. "The Icehouse is catering weddings now?" he asks, confused. "Yeah," Jack nods. "Mr. Potter's brainchild." "Mr. Potter?" Dawson echoes, now completely befuddled. "Mmm-hmm. You ..." Jack stops suddenly, realizing Dawson doesn't know what he does. "Oh. Joey's dad got paroled yesterday." Dawson is stunned. "Really?" "Yeah," Jack says, uncomfortable that he is the one telling Dawson this news. "He's back home." Just then Jack is (literally) saved by the bell, and awkwardly departs as Dawson stands there, trying to comprehend what he's just been told.
Two people who are going to be late for their next period's class are Jen and Abby, who bump into each other in the bathroom. Abby is putting on something that resembles a dead ostrich over her ensemble when Jen enters and approaches her. "I figured I'd find you in here, Abby. Could I, um, talk to you for a second?" "Funny," Abby replies disdainfully. "I've been under the misconception that we weren't speaking. After Dawson's movie wrapped, I figured you had no use for me." "You know, you're right," Jen sighs. "Never mind. See you later." She turns abruptly and leaves the bathroom.
Sensing she may have chased away the only friend she's ever known, Abby follows her out and down the hall. "No! Jen, wait!" When she catches up to her, Abby waits for Jen to continue. "Abby, I woke up this morning ... so frustrated. Like, all I wanted to do was climb the walls or, or light the place on fire." Abby starts laughing, very familiar with the sentiment. "No, it's not funny," Jen chides her. "I am so serious. I am so tense ... and I am so ... just bored. And I feel like I'm going berserk. I feel like I'm going berserk here."
Abby giggles, a mixture of condescension, mischief and sympathy. "Well, Jen, there was once this scientific experiment where they put this rat in this small box without any of its ... rat toys, or sawdust, or stimulation. Well, eventually, the rat started gnawing off his own feet." Jen chuckles. "You are that rat. Capeside's the box. Need I say more?"
Jen sighs. "I mean, I've tried changing my image. And if no one here's going to accept me, what's the point in living this pristine and tedious existence, you know? And then, thinking back on all the fun times I've had this year ... I've had them with you." Abby laughs that same laugh again. "I think that's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me." Jen smiles at her. "So, then, what do rats do for fun on the weekend?" "Oh, I don't know," Abby replies breezily. "But, you know us rats. We can always sniff out something." The two exchange a smile and head into class, late.
Fast forward a few hours to the end of the school day, where Pacey is trying to convince Andie to play server with him at the wedding on Saturday. "Sixty bucks for you, 60 bucks for me equals 120 dollars," he tells her as they head out of school and across the campus. "Do you have an abacus in your pocket or did you just add that in your head?" Andie replies sarcastically. Pacey tries a different technique. "What I was thinking is a trip to New York, dinner, catch a show, then a nice romantic carriage ride through the park, what do you say?" "On $120?" Andie hoots. "What decade do you think we're living in?"
"All right, not the Big Apple," Pacey agrees. "But how about a nice romantic evening here in Capeside?" Andie doesn't like that idea much, either. "I hate weddings," she grumbles. "Bridesmaids in hideous dresses ... people getting all gooey ... it's too sentimental for me." (ditto babe ... ditto ...) Pacey laughs at her. "Too sentimental for you? A girl who just yesterday was brought to tears by a Nike commercial," he observes.
"Well, I draw the line at weddings," Andie fumes. "The whole institution of marriage is an antiquated concept. I think that if a couple wants to stay together, they should do so by choice. I mean, all those sweeping vows and public ceremony -- it just sets people up to fail miserably!" Pacey tells her that he knows she has "issues" where the subject is concerned, but she's never been to a wedding with him before. "You come with me on Saturday," he offers. "If, by the end of the night, you're not convinced that they are the most beautiful ritual that mankind has ever created, I'll let you keep the money. All of it. Yours and mine."
That does it. "Hmmm ... I have been itching to buy a new pair of Nikes that I just recently saw advertised," she ponders aloud (as I ponder silently how much the people at Nike paid for that oh-so-not-subtle product placement!). Pacey cackles. "Andie McPhee, your days as a wedding cynic are numbered." Andie smirks at her boyfriend (and future husband?). "Yeah, we'll see about that one." Pacey and Andie clink their water bottles together, as if to celebrate and cement their deal.
Speaking of water, somebody might want to give Joey a glass. She coughs and splutters as she samples her father's culinary expertise at the Icehouse. "I think ... that you may have overdone it on the horseradish," she suggests. "It did clear my sinuses though." Mr. Potter eyes his next victim as Dawson enters the restaurant. "Dawson Leery," he greets him with a smile, then says in a low voice to his daughter, "I thought for sure that when I came back you two would be an item, what happened?"
"Long story," Joey mutters. Mr. Potter shakes Dawson's hand. "You're a sight for sore eyes," he smiles. "Thank you," Dawson replies. "Congratulations. Welcome back!" "Thank you," Mr. Potter answers. "You're looking good." Dawson thanks him a second time (so polite, these Capesiders!). "You kids are all grown up, it's amazing," Mr. Potter notes. "But, let's catch up later. I have a horseradish issue to deal with," he smiles. "Ah," Dawson smiles. "We're catering a wedding," Joey explains. "I know," Dawson nods. "I told Jack I could help out," he says pointedly, inferring that Jack told him about it and not Joey.
Mr. Potter asks Dawson to tell his parents hello, to which Dawson replies Mr. Potter can tell them himself, because they're going to be at the wedding on Saturday. Mr. Potter seems pleased with this and leaves. After he is out of earshot, Dawson turns to Joey wearing an expression of surprise on his face. "Wow! So your dad's back? How long have you known?" "Total surprise," Joey remarks, slightly dazed. "That's got to be a lot to deal with," Dawson nods sympathetically. "How are you doing?"
"I'm okay," Joey sighs, but it's more than obvious she isn't. She can't even look him in the eye. "I'm okay." "Okay?" Dawson prompts. Joey looks at him hesitantly. "I mean, I was kind of on an emotional overload this morning, but ... uh ... I ran into Jack and with his typically intuitive insight, he was able to calm me down." Dawson smiles briefly, trying to be enthusiastic, but not entirely succeeding. "Great!" "I was looking for you," she begins apologetically, "but then I had to cut school early to come here to help out."
An uncomfortable silence settles in. "Taste this," Joey urges, trying to fill the void. She thrusts a plate of smoked salmon and horseradish at him. "We're serving it at the wedding." As Joey extends a forkful of food to Dawson, two women are talking over lunch at a nearby table. "And he did to their mother?" the first woman says indignantly. "He cheated on her while the poor woman was dying of cancer! I don't think he should ever be allowed back into Capeside. I mean, he's a drug dealer!" "Shhh! Keep your voice down!" her dining companion hisses.
Joey stand there, mortified, as Dawson tries to smooth over the obvious pain the women's' words have caused. "Well, that's Capeside for you," he sighs. Joey is too humiliated and embarrassed to acknowledge his comment with an answer, though. In typical Joey fashion, she changes the subject, speaking at rapid-fire speed. "You know, I gotta get back into the kitchen, but thank you for helping out this weekend!" She walks as quickly as she speaks back to the kitchen. "Joey!" Dawson calls after her. "Joey!"
On the day of the wedding, Joey assembles her friends -- neatly dressed in black trousers, white shirts and black ties -- and delegates their tasks for the evening. "Pacey and Andie, I need you to take care of the wedding cake and arrange the tables." They nod. "Jack and Dawson, if you guys could take care of the champagne and the appetizers." They, too, nod. "And if there are any catastrophes, you can come to me. I'll either be in the kitchen or out on the floor."
Just then, Bessie enters. Joey tells her sister the guests are already starting to arrive. "We're going to survive this, right?" she asks anxiously. "Of course we will!" Bessie scolds. "Just relax, and breathe." "I don't have time to breathe," Joey mutters and dashes off, Dawson in tow.
"Joey!" he calls after her. "About those women at the Icehouse --" "What about them, Dawson?" she interrupts. "They're just a bunch of Capeside's ignoramuses. What do they know? I mean, it's bound to happen when your father's an infamous philanderer and drug dealer."
Dawson doesn't buy her glib response. "Are you okay, though?" he questions. "I'm worried about you." She doesn't appreciate his concern, though; she has more important issues to concern herself with. "I'm fine, Dawson! I'm fine," Joey snaps. "Honestly, I don't care about those idiotic women! There are 100 people out there waiting to eat, and at this point, getting them fed is the only thing on my mind!"
She runs off again, as Dawson watches her and sighs. He begins serving champagne to the assembled guests (Um, hello? Isn't it slightly, oh, I don't know ... illegal to serve alcohol in the U.S. if you're only 16 years old?!), one of whom is his own mother.
"Hey, Dawson," Gale beams at her son. "Have you seen your father?" "No, I haven't," he answers. "Well, you were right that I should take some of my own advice," Gale tells him. "I've decided that this has gone on long enough. I'm going to get your father back." Dawson is clearly thrilled with this idea. "Well, you look beautiful," he smiles.
Gale thanks him and kisses him on the cheek. Just then, Dawson happens to glance over towards the entrance, where none other than Mitch Leery himself has appeared, one Nicole Kennedy on his arm. Dawson looks back over at his mother, who has also noticed the couple's entrance. Accidentally, he knocks over the last glass of champagne he is carrying, and starts to clean up the mess.
Andie and Pacey, meanwhile, are babysitting the wedding cake. "Isn't this romantic, sweetheart?" Pacey smiles, genuinely happy. "I mean, can't you just feel the anticipatory excitement in the air? Two young lovers about to be united in the bonds of holy matrimony ... I'm getting goosebumps, how about you?"
Andie, however, is as inversely unenthused as Pacey is excited. "Yeah, don't push me," she mutters. "I've got a cake knife in my hand, Pacey." He laughs. "Okay, let's just finish this thing off and we can get out there and watch the ceremony." "I'm not watching the ceremony," she insists. "Sure, you are," Pacey grins. "You can watch it from my lap." "Yeah, right, in your dreams," Andie snorts.
"You know, I wish I had money like these people," Pacey notes. "When someone in my family gets married, you end up wearing polyester, they serve fish sticks for appetizers, and the whole thing winds up in a drunken brawl." (Hmph, apparently Pacey and I share the same relatives ...) "That's why I like to make moments like this perfect. Beautiful location, best champagne, and every penny in place."
Andie's still nonplussed. "It may look perfect, but scratch beneath the surface and you will find estrangement, despair, and dysfunction. I mean, at least your family's imperfection reflects reality. My family, we look perfect, but on the inside we're falling apart." "You're just a regular Pollyanna today, aren't ya?" Pacey teases her, amused. "Go easy on the sunshine, sister."
"All right, Pacey, I told you I didn't want to come to this wedding!" Andie says angrily. "I told you it would only put me in a bad mood, and you forced me to come. So you know what? Now you're going to have to deal with the consequences --" As she speaks in her usual animated fashion, her hands fly all over the place, accidentally knocking the top layer of the cake to the floor where it falls apart into an inedible mess of cake crumbs and smeared icing. "Aaaaah!" Andie cries. Of course, Joey enters the room just in time to see this. She closes her eyes and sighs.
Going into a storage room, Dawson finds a surprise -- the bride, Bessie's friend Pam, who is sitting in a chair, on the verge of tears. "Are you okay?" he asks, full of concern. "I think I'm having a heart attack," she says miserably. "Do ... do you want me to get somebody?" Dawson gulps. "No! Don't get anybody!" Pam answers quickly, walking to the other side of the room. "Just help me get this window open."
Dawson is floored. "Wh-what are you trying to do?" She stops trying to jimmy the window and turns to him, speaking hesitantly. "Can you keep a secret?" "Yeah," he nods slowly. "I'm not going through with this. I can't get married," the bride blurts. (huh, if that's the case, it won't be a secret for much longer now, will it?)
"Wh-why not?" he stammers, wide-eyed. Just then, the bride bursts into tears. "I want to die ... oh, please, just let me die ..." "What's the matter? Don't you love him?" Dawson asks gently. "I don't know, that's the thing," Pam wails. "What if I marry him and it's the biggest mistake of my life?" (Jesus, what is it with people? Don't they think of these things BEFORE they agree to get married? I have little sympathy for situations like this, except for the jilted party ...) "I-I don't know what to say," Dawson says, staring at her awkwardly and wishing he never got out of bed that morning. Poor thing. On top of Joey and his parents, this is the last thing he needs right now.
Another person who probably wishes she never got out of bed that morning is Abby (more on that later). She's in Jen's bedroom, where the two of them are dancing around the room, planning for their Big Night Out. "Jennifer!" Grams calls from the hall. "Would you please turn that down!" "Sorry, Grams!" Jen giggles, lowering the volume on the stereo. "Jennifer!" Abby mocks. "Would you please turn that down!" They laugh.
"I'm bored," Abby announces, so Jen asks her what she wants to do. "I'm determined to have a blast no matter what," Jen insists. "I don't know," Abby shrugs. "I think we're in desperate need of the 3 B's: booze ... boys ..." She stops and begins again, trying to think of the third B. "Booze ... boys ..."
Jen giggles. "Well, that's only two B's," Abby laughs. "So what are Dawson and those other lame excuses for teenagers doing tonight?" "The Icehouse is catering this wedding at the Athenium," Jen informs her. "Everybody's there. Guess nobody thought to invite me. I guess I'm not really part of the 'inner circle,'" Jen says, with a touch of self-pity.
Abby's eyes light up. "The Athenium? Free champagne, older guys in tuxedos ... me likes." "One problem, Abby," Jen interjects. "Lack of invitation?" Abby dismisses the notion as absurd. "Well, an invitation has never stopped me before. I say we get really dressed up, and crash that wedding. We'll show Dawson and his little clique a wedding they'll never forget." They start giggling again.
Turns out, Dawson and his little clique are already having a wedding they'll never forget. In the area where the ceremony is to be held, the guests are looking anxiously at their watches and whispering about the absentee bride. Meanwhile, Dawson is still with said bride, who is still crying.
"Okay," he exhales deeply. "I don't want to put any pressure on you but the ceremony is about to start ... you've really got to make a decision." A voice calls from outside the room. "Hey Dawson!" Dawson turns to Pam. "Hold on, I'll handle this."
He steps outside the door to find Jack looking at him expectantly. "Were you in there long enough?" Jack asks. "Well, we've got a little problem," Dawson admits. "The bride wants to jump out the window." "Where is she?" Jack demands. "She's in there," Dawson answers, slightly panicked. "She's hysterical. We might have to cancel the wedding."
"Let me talk to her," Jack insists. "I really don't think you could do any good right now," Dawson insists right back. "Where is she?" Jack asks a second time. Dawson opens the door, revealing an empty seat where the bride should have been. "She was right there," he says, dumbstruck. Their eyes travel to a closed door inside the room.
Joey, meanwhile, is the kitchen, stressed out to the max, when Bessie walks in. "Where's Dad?" Joey barks. "Why?" Bessie asks. "What's happening?" "This wedding is rapidly becoming a disaster," Joey fumes. "Jack and Dawson disappeared, Pacey and Andie just ruined the cake, and the food isn't even ready yet!"
"Joey, just calm down," her sister soothes. "Everything's going to be okay." "No!" Joey says, agitated. "Dawson's right! I mean, Bessie, we have enough to deal with now that Dad's back without taking on this wedding! We were so blinded by all of a sudden paying back our debts that we overlooked the now painfully obvious reality that we have no idea what we're doing!"
"It's not that bad!" Bessie insists. "Everything's under control. We're just experiencing a few glitches. "A few glitches?" Joey replies jumpily. "Bessie, we're going to ruin this wedding and humiliate ourselves, again, in front of all of Capeside! It's the story of our lives." "No!" Bessie shakes her head. "It's not over yet. We can do this. I don't think we should get Dad all worked up about it."
"Why not?" Joey snaps. "This was his bright idea in the first place! He tore our family apart and he thinks he can just put it back together in a day! Well, he can't!" At that moment Bessie, who is facing Joey, sees their father standing behind Joey. He's obviously overheard the entire conversation, and is devastated by it. Bessie's face falls, and she leaves the room, as Joey turns around slowly, eyes closed, hoping to not see who she knows she is going to, anyway.
Back in the ballroom, the guests are now growing restless waiting for the ceremony to begin. Dawson and Jack are propped up against the bathroom, trying to reason with the bride to come out. (Poor Jack, this is just practice for what lies ahead with his sister in a couple of weeks) "If you don't open up the door, I'm going to have to get your mother," he tells the door sternly. Dawson stares at him. "It was worth a try," Jack mutters.
Just then, the door opens. "Hey!" Jack smiles at Pam. "How you doing?" "I'm going to be sick," she announces. "Are you having second thoughts?" Jack wants to know. She sighs. "I keep thinking ... what if Alan isn't my soul mate? What if my soul mate is still out there, and I just haven't met him yet, and now I'm giving up my one chance for perfect love?"
(Okay, first of all, this is a very lame plot device, it's tired and overdone and entirely predictable. Shame on the writers! And secondly, I have a personal grudge against any sort of storyline that has to do with weddings being cancelled at the last minute ... the bride is a selfish cow to think of such matters as soul mates now, of all times. And moreover, she's looking for something which we all know doesn't exist anyway, as my friend Jack is about to point out ...)
"You could spend your whole life looking for perfect love, and I promise you, you'll never find it," Jack tells her matter-of-factly. Pam starts bawling again. "No!" Jack corrects himself, realizing the way in which his last statement came across. "It's-it's ... because love isn't perfect! Everyone's flawed. Including you. Including Alan. But Alan loves you, and that love is real. Are you sure you want to walk away from something that's real? For a dream that may not even exist?"
The bride smiles at Jack, who smiles back at her. "Come on," he says gently. "You're just suffering from an acute case of wedding day jitters. It wouldn't be a wedding without them. It's a tradition! It's like throwing the bouquet or taking off the garter. Besides, I bet when you start to walk down that aisle, and you look into Alan's eyes, all your fears are just going to dissolve away."
Appropriately enough, the next shot is of Pam doing just that. Mitch glances over at Gale, thinking of their past, as Dawson glances over at Joey, thinking of their future. Joey looks at him and smiles.
At the reception, the bride approaches Dawson and Jack, who are on server duty. "I don't even know you, but you saved my life," Pam tells Jack, kissing him on the cheek. "Thank you. I'm so happy."
After she leaves, Dawson turns to him. "Okay, I talk to her for 20 minutes and she wants to jump out of a window ... you come in, and in two minutes, you save her marriage. How do you do that?" "Well, I train with this Indian shaman who lives up in the woods," Jack grins. "I don't know. I guess I just happen to say the right things."
Dawson reflects on this a moment. "There's a time where she used to come to me," he says softly. "Joey?" Jack asks (No, Jack, the bride ...) "Yeah," Dawson nods. "Whenever she had bad news or something she wanted to talk about, she would climb through my window and we'd talk for hours and hours." He looks at Jack with a sad little smile. "Now she goes to you."
It's Jack's turn for momentary reflection now. "Dawson, I don't think you should draw any conclusions about your relationship with Joey based on something so circumstantial," he notes. "I may be friends with her ... but you're her soul mate."
"You just told the bride you don't believe in soul mates," Dawson replies, confused. "I don't believe in perfect love," Jack corrects. "But I do believe that there are people whose lives are inextricably intertwined ... who have a bond that lasts forever, that can never be broken. And she needs you now, man. You're the only one that knows her whole history. You're the only one that knows what she's going through."
Dawson is strangely comforted but relieved to have found an ally in the oddest of places. "I know," he tells Jack. "And I keep on reaching out to her, but between her pride ... and this wedding, it's ... I can't connect," he confesses. "Maybe what she needs is for you to force a connection," Jack suggests. (I'm beginning to think that Jack should consider a career as a therapist -- first Joey, then the bride, now Dawson, he's three for three this episode!)
Elsewhere in the room, Andie is keeping guard on a door to a back room. "Oh my God!" she whispers loudly. "Hurry up, they're coming!" Inside the room, Pacey is readily demonstrating why a career as Julia Child's successor isn't in the cards for him. "How's it look?" he asks with a flourish, "it" being the somewhat botched reconstruction job of the top layer of wedding cake.
"What have you done?!" Andie wails. "That looks worse!" "Well, I don't know! I'm not a pastry chef, all right?" he sighs. At that exact moment, the door swings open and the bride enters the room. "Oh my God, Pacey!" Andie moans.
"Hi!" Pam announces cheerily, as Andie jumps in front of the cake. "Hi!" Andie replies, equally cheerily. "Is the cake back here?" the bride asks. "I want to see it." "No!" Andie replies quickly. "It's ... it's ... it's very bad luck for the bride to see her wedding cake on an empty stomach!" "Really?" the bride queries, puzzled. "What will happen?" "She'll get fat!" Andie blurts. Pam's face falls. "Oh." "... They say," Andie finishes lamely.
"I've only heard that the top layer of the cake represents the marriage," the bride tells her. Andie's eyes grow as wide as the cake itself as Pam continues. "We're supposed to put it in the freezer for good luck and eat it on our first anniversary," she tells Andie and Pacey, getting misty-eyed. "Awww," Andie smiles plastically as the bride leaves.
Andie closes the door firmly behind her. "Did you hear that?" she says hysterically to Pacey. "That's an omen! If their marriage breaks up it will be our fault!" "Our fault?" he echoes. "I think you mean your fault. It was your wild miscalculations that sent this baby flying in the first place!"
"Oh God, when she comes in to cut the cake she's going to be horrified!" Andie wails, getting more and more bent out of shape. "I should not have come! Not only have I wrecked their wedding, but I've put a curse on their marriage!" "Andie, would you settle down?" Pacey shakes his head. "Weren't you the one that was just yelling about anti-symbolism anyhow?" "Yeah," she admits, pouting, "but her wedding day is supposed to be perfect! I mean, look at that cake! And the little itsy bitsy groom is covered in frosting ..."
"I knew it," Pacey narrows his eyes at her suspiciously. "I'm not working on this cake for one more minute until you admit to me that you're a closet romantic." "I am not," Andie insists indignantly. "I already told you, it's a bogus, sentimental convention." Without a word, Pacey holds the door open, revealing the groom in the ballroom, merely a few feet away.
"Oh my God, the groom! Pacey!" Andie hisses. "Come on!" she begs, agitated. Silently, Pacey shakes his head and raises his eyebrows at her, waiting. "Okay! I admit it, you're right!" Andie exhales. "I'm a sucker for taffeta! The sight of the little flower girl makes me weepy! I'm a wedding fanatic! There! Are you happy?" Still mute, Pacey smiles at her and walks back over to the cake. "Hurry up!" she urges.
In the kitchen, Mr. Potter puts the finishing touches on a few plates just as Joey enters. "Hi, Dad," she begins gingerly. "Hey," he smiles. "I think we're pretty much caught up here. The Potters will find a way." "It looks amazing," she comments with a smile, hoping to smooth over some of those feathers she ruffled earlier on.
"When you spend three months alone in a prison cell, it can make you monstrously self-absorbed," her father says. "I never even considered how my presence here would adversely affect you." "I'm really stressed out," Joey begins. "I didn't mean any of those things --" "Well, whether you did or didn't, you were completely right," he tells her sadly. "You two have been so strong. You've done so well, and here comes your criminal father, coming back to Capeside to bring you more shame and scandal."
"You can't expect to come back and have everything be back to normal again," Joey sighs. "Things have changed, and I think we need to deal with this as a family before we invite in the malicious scrutiny of total strangers." "I'm the father," he says dejectedly. "I'm the one who's supposed to be protecting you against all the harsh realities of the world, and here you are protecting me. Yet again, I'm failing in my parental duties." "Please don't say that," Joey tells him tearfully. He looks at her sadly and then leaves, under the guise of checking on the smoked salmon.
Gale is another sad parent. Sipping a glass of champagne, she asks Dawson who the woman with his father is. "That would be my film teacher at school," Dawson replies, tight-lipped. "The notorious one who told me that my film was insipid." "How long has he been seeing her?" Gale questions. "I don't know," Dawson answers miserably. As if on cue (well, actually, it was, this is a television show, after all ...), Mitch and Nicole head over to them.
"Hello, Gale," Mitch begins. "This is Nicole." Gale shoots daggers at The Other Woman, as Mitch introduces his son. "And, of course, you know Dawson." Dawson gives Nicole a watery smile. "Well, it was a lovely wedding, wasn't it?" Nicole asks, sticking to Mitch like gum on the sole of a shoe. "Honey, if you'll excuse me," Gale addresses her son. "I'm going to go find my seat." She leaves without as much as a backward glance.
Dawson watches her a moment, then turns to his father. "Dad, can I talk to you for a second?" He pulls his father several feet away from Nicole. "Dawson, I know this is awkward for you," Mitch begins. "Truthfully, I didn't know you were going to be here." "That's not the point, dad," Dawson says bitterly. "You knew that mom was going to be here."
"Nicole is a colleague," Mitch says, trying to justify himself. "She's smart and she's funny and I enjoy spending time with her, and if your mother has a problem with that she's going to have to deal with it. I have to live my life." Mitch's voice has gotten gradually louder during his little speech, and he's attracted the attention of several other guests by its conclusion. Embarrassed, he stops and addresses Dawson more quietly. "I'm sorry. The last thing I want to do is put you in the middle." Dawson isn't about to give him an inch, though. "Well," he tells him, "That's exactly what you're doing by dating teachers from my school."
In the meantime, Capeside's Most (Un)Wanted have crashed the wedding. Abby and Jen are standing to one side of the ballroom, scoping it out in vain for eligible prospects. "Abby, there are no cute guys here," Jen pouts. "It's totally the middle-age set."
"I think you need a father figure, Jen," Abby laughs. "Somebody who has more sexual experience than you, if that's possible." "Oh, shut up!" Jen laughs back. "I'm just kidding," Abby replies (not). "I'm sure that they're all married," Jen smiles. "Well," Abby smiles back mischievously, "Maybe it's time to graduate from nymphet to homewrecker." They both laugh. "Cheers," Abby says with a wicked gleam in her eye. "Cheers," Jen replies, and they click their champagne glasses together in a toast.
Just then, Andie spots them and hurries over. Before she can open her mouth to scold them for gatecrashing, however, Abby butts in with one of her usual caustic comments. "Oh, look. Love the outfit, Andie. You look like a little penguin."
"What are you guys doing here?" Andie demands. "Raising hell," Abby answers with a condescending smile. "What are you doing here?" Andie ignores her question. "Okay, look, I don't think it's a very good idea for you guys to be here, okay? This is a romantic occasion, please don't ruin it!"
"Oh, well, we'll just keep you company then," Abby smiles again. "Look," Andie explains, "We're in the middle of handling a crisis here. We don't need this kind of distraction." She begins ushering the pair of them towards the exit. "Are you kicking us out?" Abby asks, flabbergasted.
"Yes!" Andie snaps, exasperated. "This is not a tailgate party, it's a wedding! It's invitation only and your being here is going to get us all in trouble, so please just leave." "Jeez," Abby smirks patronizingly. "You might want to try upping the dosage on those mood stabilizers!"
Andie pushes them a little towards the door. "The exit is that way." Finally Jen pipes up. "Listen Abby, why don't we just go on down to the boardwalk and we'll come back after dinner when everyone's a little more toasted and not so uptight?"
Abby likes this idea, but as they leave, she snatches a bottle of champagne out of a nearby chiller. Turning back to Andie, she dangles the bottle in the air. "For the road ... buh-bye!" Abby sneers, as Andie storms off in a huff back to Pacey.
Dawson, meanwhile, is looking for a place to place some cups and inadvertently comes across Joey, alone in a room out back. He asks her what's wrong, and gets a "nothing" for his troubles. "Joey, you've been crying. Don't tell me nothing's wrong. I know you," he says firmly. "Dawson, it's just been a really hectic day ... I'm fine," she sighs. He stares at her intently, and she meets his gaze defiantly, trying to prove to herself as much as to him that she really is fine, but she can't do it.
Staring down at the ground, she confides in Dawson. "I'm just really scared," she whispers. "I just get him back and what if he hurts me again? I can't keep getting my heart broken by him." "Joey --" Dawson begins, trying to comfort her. "I can't ..." she trails off, too scared and frustrated and exhausted to continue.
Taking a page out of Jack's book, Dawson decides to play armchair psychologist. "I think in the back of your mind, you've always felt that as soon as your father got back, everything would be fine. Life would be perfect. I think your father probably felt the same way, too -- as soon as he got back he could just clean up every mess, right every wrong, but ... he can't. You two are both suffering under the burden of such impossibly high expectations right now, and all this hurt and pain and anger that you're feeling isn't going to just disappear ... and that's okay."
She looks up at him uncertainly. "Joey," he continues. "For these past three years you have been so unbelievably strong. I mean, you've let the petty gossips and judgements of this town roll right off you. Don't let them get to you now. Now's the time to dig in your heels and show them that you have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. And ... you're not alone in this. You have a father now. You have a family again. And you will always have ... me." "Thank you," she whispers, looking like she's about to cry all over again. Dawson hugs her tightly.
Cut to Joey entering the kitchen, tray in hand, where her father is still busily preparing food. "Hey!" he smiles. "How'd it go out there?" "Well, no one's complained of botulism yet," Joey smiles back. "I think it went well." Father and daughter settle into an uncomfortable silence, each busily going about his or her tasks.
Finally, Joey breaks the quiet. "Dad, do you remember Melissa Barry? She always wore her hair on top of her head and a ponytail?" "Yeah," he nods. "She was a friend of yours." "Yeah," Joey nods back. "The day you were arrested, I was at school, in the bathroom, in one of the stalls, and I overheard her talking about you. About how you were a drug dealer, and how we lived in a crack house. And she was laughing, and I remember I was so upset, I ran home and I cried for hours, and Dawson came over and cheered me up. The next day I went to school and I walked up to her, and I looked her straight in the eye, and I smiled and I walked away like nothing ever happened."
"Joey, I'm sorry --" her father begins sadly, but she interrupts him. "No, that's not my point. People are always going to talk. I'm tough, and I'll always walk with my head held high and they can't crush me. And I know that you've been through a lot. You've made your mistakes, but ... you're my dad. And I'm proud of you." Her voice breaks, but Joey struggles to continue. "The thing is, protecting your strength from the outside world is one thing ... please don't pretend with me and I promise I won't pretend with you." She stops again, trying to collect herself. "But ... um ... I just wanted to say ... I love you and I'm really glad that you're home."
They embrace, as a single tear falls down her father's cheek. "Come on," Joey smiles. "I want to show my dad off to all of Capeside." He hesitates, though, remembering her earlier words. "I think you were right before," her father says sadly. "When it comes to the outside world, I think we should take things slow." "But I don't care about the outside world!" Joey exclaims. "I care about you. There's a celebration going on and we have so much to celebrate. Come with me," she pleads. But he won't. "I'm not ready, Joey. Not yet." He walks away from her then, leaving her staring down at the ground unhappily.
Pacey and Andie have managed to perform a culinary miracle, having successfully reassembled the top layer of the cake. "Ah!" Pacey says, pleased with himself. "So, how's it look?" "It ... it looks great!" Andie beams. "Thank you!" She flings herself into his arms for a hug, almost knocking the cake over again in the process. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Pacey cautions. "Oh, yeah," Andie says sheepishly. "We should probably get this on top now." As she lifts the cake, Pacey takes it from her hands. "Andie, why don't I take care of that for you?"
Just as he finishes placing the little plastic bride and groom on top of the cake, the real things walk up. "May I ... may I see the cake now?" the bride asks. Andie moves aside, revealing the piece de resistance. "Oh, it's beautiful," Pam beams, and kisses her new husband.
Several moments later, the newlyweds are popping pieces of freshly-cut cake into each other's mouths as Pacey and Andie look on. "You must just be disgusted right now with all this sentimental bogus symbolism," Pacey teases. "Shut up, Pacey," Andie smiles.
Speaking of those who are disgusted with the bogus sentimentality of weddings, Abby and Jen are teetering drunkenly along the pier, swigging out of their now half-empty bottle of champagne. "Do you ever think that you'll get married?" Jen asks as they climb a flight of wooden stairs to an upper dock.
"Married?" Abby hoots. "To some beer-swigging, football-watching bonehead?" Jen laughs. "Living in some cookie cutter house with two snot-nose little brats ... driving the car pool baby," Jen adds. They reach their destination and sit at the dock's edge, overlooking the water from about 30 feet in the air. "Grocery shopping," Abby continues. "Climbing the walls," Jen offers. "Popping Valium," Abby nods. "Suburban nightmare," Jen laughs.
"You know, I don't think I'll ever be happy," Abby notes. "Wherever I am, I'll always want to be somewhere else. Whatever I have, I'll always want something different." "I hear ya!" Jen pipes up. "I just don't want to be a cliche," Abby says (ironic, considering what's about to happen ...). "Or a whore," Jen giggles.
Abby laughs, snatching the champagne from Jen. "Let me have a drink!" "Amen!" Jen giggles again. Abby tilts her head back to guzzle from the bottle, but because of her inebriated state, wobbles a bit and falls over. She hits her head against a pole, which Jen finds very amusing.
"Don't laugh! That hurt, you bitch!" Abby tries to stand, but instead teeters back and forth drunkenly. She loses her balance and falls again ... only this time, it isn't the wooden pier she hits, it's the cold, dark water some two storeys below. All of a sudden, Jen sobers up. "Abby? Abby! Oh my God! Abby! Abby? Abby!" Without a second thought, Jen plunges in after her.
A world away at the wedding, assorted guests are dancing . Pacey asks Andie for the pleasure of a dance, and they make their way to the dance floor. (since when are the servers allowed to dance at a wedding reception? I've been to about two dozen weddings, and not once has the waitress or bartender gone out and shook their groove thang on the dance floor ...) "I guess weddings aren't that bad," Andie admits. "See?" Pacey crows triumphantly. "I win. I knew you'd come around."
Andie smiles at him. "I think that when we get married ... we should do it in Venice." Pacey gives her a strange look as she continues. "It's the city of romance. What do you think?" "I think," Pacey says cautiously, "By the time we're married that city will have already sunk into the sea." "We'll see," Andie replies, returning a strange look right back at him.
Pacey and Andie are sharing the dance floor with Capeside's newest couple, Mitch and Nicole. Gale, who is sitting by herself, watches her husband dance with another woman, and looks sad. Dawson just happens to look at Gale looking at them, and goes over to her. "Mom? Will you dance with me?" he asks with a smile. She beams at him and they head out to the dance floor. As they are circling round, Dawson decides to give his mother some words of advice. "You know, a very wise person told me that knowing what you want is half the battle. The trick is to stay tenacious and never let a minor setback derail your vision." Gale smiles at her son. "Thank you, honey."
Joey and Jack are standing near the dance floor, watching the couples go round and round. "Well, you did it," Jack congratulates Joey. "The wedding was a success." "I'm just glad it's over," she confesses. "I mean, no money in the world is worth this kind of stress." Jack is about to agree with her, when he sees something -- or someone, more like -- over her shoulder in the distance. "Joey," he nods in the general direction of the kitchen door.
She turns to look behind her, and spots her father emerging from the kitchen dressed in a tux. "Daddy," she beams, walking over to him. He pulls out a single red rose and offers it to her, then asks her for a dance. (Okay, stop right there. First of all -- cheesy!! Second of all, like I said before -- what is with the servers all taking to the dance floor? And third, where the hell'd he get the tux from so fast? The man's been in prison the past three years!)
Dawson glances over and sees Joey and her father dancing, and his face lights up, as does Bessie's, who is looking on from the kitchen door. Several shots of the various couples dancing follow, winding up right back where we started -- with Joey and her father. "I think there's someone else who wants to dance with you," he tells his daughter. Joey gives him a confused look. Mr. Potter looks over towards Dawson and his mother. "Dad?" Joey asks uncertainly. "Hello, Mike," Gale smiles at him. "Welcome home." "Thank you," Mr. Potter replies. "Would you like to dance?" "I would love to," she replies, leaving Dawson.
Mr. Potter leaves Joey, too (how conveeeeeeenient (as my friend The Church Lady used to say!)), and she and Dawson look at each other, wondering what to do next. Finally, they start dancing as Joey lets out a deep sigh. "Hey," she says. "Hey," Dawson replies. "So ... thank you," Joey tells him. "For what?" he smiles. "For being my friend ... for understanding me better than anyone ... and for putting up with me for the last 16 years." Joey looks into Dawson's eyes. "I love you," she says softly. "I love you, too," he whispers, and they kiss, while their parents look on, smiling.
(Hold it right there, again. Bing, bang, boom, just like that they're kissing again?! Nuh-huh. No way. Too rushed, too obvious and too completely unbelievable. Why now? Why here? (other than the obvious reason that there are only a few episodes left in the season and they had to get back together again now in order to break up again in a couple of weeks) No apology to Dawson for the irrational, moody and selfish way she's behaved? No explanation why she suddenly feels so drawn to him again now, after all these months? A simple 'I love you,' that's supposed to do the trick? Nope. Sorry, this whole thing just did not work for me one little bit. It had catalyst-for-season-finale-cliffhanger written all over it. Again, the writers should be charged with careless use of a pen ...)
The camera suddenly cuts from the happy and joyous tone of the wedding to the bleak and sombre scene down by the docks. It's late at night, freezing cold and there are sirens and lights flashing everywhere. A pair of ambulance attendants zip up the top part of Abby Morgan's bluish-purple and bloated face in a body bag, while Jen stands adjacently, all alone and in shock. (What, no one thought to bring her to the hospital to see if she was suffering from hypothermia? The police didn't bother to take her statement? No one called her next of kin -- she was just left there? Gee, thats' realistic) Wrapped in a brown blanket and shaking, she sobs softly into the night as the ambulance slowly drives away.
Fade to black ...