Episode Theme song: "One Sweet Day" Mariah Carey Feat. Boyz To Men

Previously on One Day at a Time
- Trenyce forced herself to throw up after Mallory insulted her. Daisy thought it was odd when Trenyce skipped Christmas dinner but Trenyce covered
- The Calimos arrived at the church for Sofia’s funeral. Bob was un-nerved by Dominick’s arrival.
- Victoria and Vinny’s annulment papers arrived
- Helen took another memory lapsing pill, not realizing it. Meanwhile, Mallory flirted with Adam again and he enjoyed it after growing frustrated with Helen wanting to move with their lives

Scene One - St. Joseph’s Church

Bob, with Robbie and Natasha on either side of him, glares at Dominick who is walking into the church before them for Sofia’s funeral. He can’t stand the fact that Dominick is at the service even though he shouldn’t be surprised. Dominick has always prided himself on the fact that he felt like he and Sofia had this great secret love, something that Bob always felt was rubbish, mostly thanks to Sofia telling him that there was nothing there.

He turns his head and looks at his children and realizes that he can’t let Dominick get in the way of his day. He needs to be there for his children today; he needs to be there for himself today. He doesn’t know how to say goodbye to his wife and letting Dominick ruin that would be an injustice to Sofia. He sees Dominick sit in a pew and looks at his children, “I’ll be just a moment,” he whispers as they look at each other with a hint of worry. Robbie grabs Natasha’s hand and they continue to walk to the front pew, as Bob stops at Dominick. Leah, who was walking behind them, stops to make sure Bob doesn’t create a scene with Dominick.

“I’ll allow you to be here today,” Bob says in a quiet, but stern voice to Dominick. “But you better not create trouble or I’ll have you removed.”

Dominick looks up at Bob and gives him half a smile. “We all cared about Sofia. I won’t intrude on you or your family.” He means it too; the last thing Dominick wants to do is create a scene at Sofia’s funeral. He wants to mourn like everyone else.

Bob stands back up straight and looks at Dominick, who seems very genuine. For the for first time, he feels like Dominick may be telling him the truth. He looks at him as Dominick looks him back in the eye. “Very well,” Bob replies before walking down to meet Natasha and Robbie in the front pew. He turns around and looks at Dominick, he doesn’t want to create a scene and is glad Dominick feels the same way.

Leah looks at her father and smiles, “Thank you,” she says as she quickly grabs his hand, squeezes it and the proceeds to continue to push Paige’s stroller down to the front pew before she takes her seat next to Robbie.

***

Daisy and Trenyce walk in the garden of the church looking at the winter wonderland that is the garden with it still being February. Daisy stops and looks at her niece, knowing that she has been rather worried about her since Christmas time when Trenyce claimed to be too sick to have dinner. For awhile it seemed like Trenyce was on a really good path with her life; she and Chris put their differences aside to focus on raising Andrew in a good environment, she went back to school to get her fashion degree and she just seemed to be in better spirits. Now, looking at Trenyce, Daisy can’t help but wonder what’s going on with her. She can’t place it, but she knows something isn’t right with her.

“You look good,” Daisy finally tells her as Trenyce looks up at Daisy and smiles a little, observing that Trenyce has lost some weight. For the last little while, Trencye has been forcing herself to throw up in hopes of making herself look thinner. She has grown tired of the constant bullying she has been receiving at school and just longs to fit in. In some ways, hearing Daisy tell her that she’s looking good is a relief to Trenyce; something she’s doing must be working.

“You really think so?” she asks back trying not to get too excited.

“I do. Have you lost weight?”

Trenyce freezes; on one hand she has longed to hear those words come from someone’s mouth, but at the same time something about the tone in Daisy’s voice sounded alarming. She looks into her Aunt’s eyes, “I don’t think so,” she finds herself lying, in an attempt to put Daisy at ease. “Maybe a few pounds. I guess my eating schedule hasn’t exactly been perfect with school and such.”

Daisy arches her eyebrow wondering if Trenyce is being honest with her. She knows that she has a history of lying but as she thought before, Trenyce has been on a good path the last year or so. She has no reason, really, to suspect that Trencye would be covering something up, especially about losing weight. “You have been working hard lately,” she agrees with her niece. “As long as you promise me you’re okay.”

“I’m fine, I’m good,” Trenyce tells her grabbing her hand and smiling at her. Trenyce looks around the garden and church before she looks up at the bell tower. “Can I be honest with you about something?”

“Of course.”

“Being here today for Sofia’s funeral, I can’t help but think of my Mom,” Trenyce admits to Daisy, her mind thinking of Danielle. She lost her Mom years ago, but on a day like today it still feels like yesterday. “Despite everything she did, I still miss her a lot.”

“Of course you do,” Daisy replies pulling Trenyce into a hug. “You’ll never stop missing her Trenyce. And no matter what, she’s always inside of you. Never forget that.”

***

Victoria slowly walks up to the church looking around and trying to keep warm. She is still struggling with what to do with Meggan, as she knows her future is in her hands. While wrestling with that decision, she has also been haunted with memories of her past with her abusive father lately. She believes her visit to the docks a few days ago is what dredged it all up because she hasn’t thought of that part of her past for so long. As she reaches the stairs to walk up to the church, she hears someone call her name. She turns around and sees Chris walking up to her. To her surprise, she can see his upper lip is swollen.

“What happened to you?” she asks him as he reaches her and they share a quick hug, noting his lip.

Chris fumes as he thinks back to Vinny showing up at his office a few days ago, punching him for leaking the story to the Sun about Meggan’s involvement in Victoria’s hit and run thus causing Vinny to lose the election. “Your husband happened,” he informs her as they exit their hug. He hates saying the word husband to Victoria but he knows that legally she is still married to Vinny.

Victoria arches her eyebrow. “Vinny hit you? Why on earth would he do that?”

Chris finally gives her half a grin, “You know why. I was the one that leaked the story to the Sun the day of the election. This was his revenge.”

Victoria rolls her eyes at Chris, growing tired of the two men’s feud. “You two act like you’re back in high school. Can we start acting like adults please?” she snaps at him.

“Whoa, he’s the one that came after me, not the other way around,” Chris says trying to defend himself, somewhat taken aback by her response. “And this all started because you married him in Vegas. Now he thinks you’re really his wife when you and I are supposed to be together!”

“Are we? I still think you have feelings for your ex-wife. Everything you do seems to revolve around Daisy,” Victoria lays into him, still believing that the reason he leaked the story to the Sun was because he still has feelings for Daisy and he wanted her to win the election. “And I still haven’t signed the annulment papers. It’s just been one thing after another.”

Chris feels his blood boil again, since he knows that the annulment papers came in months ago, right when Victoria was first struck by the car. “You haven’t signed them? Unbelievable Victoria! You know those things have an expiry date right? They’ve probably expired by now! This is just great!”

Victoria opens her mouth to say something but her eye catches Chris and she can see how livid he is. “Just save it. You clearly want to be married to Vinny,” he yells at her turning and walking up into the church. Victoria looks back and wonders if her relationship is even worth it at this point.

***

“Can you pass me Dawn’s blanket please?” Cassie asks Shane as she straps Dawn into her stroller. Shane passes the blanket over and Cassie wraps it around the little girl, who is fast asleep despite the cold air hitting her. “Thanks. I hope she sleeps for most of the service.”

Shane looks at his wife and baby and can’t help but feel conflicted still. The last few months have gone by so quickly; from Natasha professing his love to him, to him telling Natasha that he has to be with Cassie, to Sofia dying on his wedding day to Cassie; he has no idea how or why it has all happened but his head is still spinning as is his heart. And he knows that today he really wants to be with Natasha because he knows that she’ll need all the support she can get. She was so close to Sofia, today will be the hardest day of her life. He looks over at Cassie and fakes a smile with her.

“Let’s hurry inside before she gets too cold,” he says to Cassie as he starts to push the stroller towards the front door of the church.

Cassie walks beside him and takes a deep breath. She can’t help but feel relieved; the car bomb she placed on Natasha’s car took Sofia’s life, but Sofia knew all of her secrets and was hell bent on exposing them. Cassie knows that she can’t let her secrets come out because she would lose her baby and Shane, and she refuses to let that happen. After the service today, she realizes that she is in the clear. With Sofia dead, she realizes that no one will ever learn her secrets. Nothing will ever stop me, she smiles to herself as they reach the stairs of the church, not seeing Adam and Helen walk up to the church.

“Adam, Helen, hi,” Shane greets their friends as the couple reaches the stairs at the same time as he and Cassie do. Cassie can’t help but feel apprehensive being around the Blacks. For awhile she didn’t see any harm in them being around Dawn, but knowing that Helen has been having more and more memories of the night her baby died, Cassie has realized that they shouldn’t be near their child. She hopes that Helen has been popping more of the memory loss pills because maybe then she won’t be so scared. She realizes that she can’t even ask Helen without drawing some kind of suspicions.

“It’s so nice to see you guys,” Helen smiles as she gives them both a hug before she leans down and looks into Dawn’s stroller. She feels her heart warm as she sees the girl sleeping away in the stroller. She has never been able to explain it, but she feels such a connection to Dawn. She smiles as she stands back up. “She’s as beautiful as ever.”

“We should get inside,” Cassie says quickly not able to hide her apprehension as she looks at Shane. “We’ll see you guys after the service.”

Adam and Helen watch as the parents lift the stroller up the few stairs and enter the church. Helen looks at her husband and once again feels like Cassie was brushing her off; she first felt it right after news broke that Sofia had died. She doesn’t know why Cassie is suddenly so opposed to her and Adam being near Dawn, although maybe Helen is misreading things. Still after being so close to Dawn for so long, she can’t help but feel like something is off.

“Every time I see Dawn, it makes me want to know everything that happened the night you gave birth,” Adam admits to his wife, looking at her. He recalls Helen telling him that maybe they should stop investigating the night the baby died and try to move on with their lives, something he doesn’t agree with at all. He wants to know more than anything what happened to their baby. He longs for the closure.

“I know. I haven’t had anymore memories. I don’t know what to do,” she admits to him, feeling distance growing between the two of them again, because a part of her does want to move on. It’s not that she doesn’t care, she’s just tired of dwelling on something that will never bring them their baby back.

Adam sighs and grabs her hand as they start to walk up the stairs. He shuts his eyes for a moment and thinks back to Mallory flaunting her cleavage in front of him at school the other day. He opens his eyes and shakes his head a little. He looks at his wife and gives her half a smile. I have to stop thinking of my student, he scolds himself as they enter the church, noting that it’s not the first time he’s thought of Mallory.

***

As the guests sit down in the pews of the church an eerie silence falls over the church. Father Murphy walks to the centre of the alter wearing a white robe and looks at everyone. His eyes meet the Calimo’s in the front row and he can feel his heart break for them. He has been in almost every major moment of their lives, so he too is crushed by the loss of Sofia.

“Today we are here to celebrate the life of one that has been very near and dear to everyone that is present today,” he begins to say to everyone. “Sofia Calimo was a pillar in this city; she was a loving wife, a giving mother and a wonderful supporter of the community. There wasn’t much that she wasn’t involved in. Numerous charities, including many that involved this very church; actively involved with the hospital, to name a couple. While today we do mourn her passing, we must also remember that this is the circle of life and her time on earth was a time that was filled with love, laughter and giving.”

There is a brief pause as Father Murphy walks to the side of the alter so he is standing in front of the Calimo’s. “Sofia’s daughter, Natasha, is present today and she would like to say a few words to everyone.”

Natasha slowly gets up and walks up to the front of the alter. She puts her bag on the podium and looks out at everyone. “First, thank you all for coming. It means so much to us to know and realize that you all loved and cared for my mother as much as we did. She would be so happy to see everyone here celebrating her life today,” Natasha begins as she gets water in her eyes. She is trying to be as strong as possible but knows that she will start to cry eventually. She scans the room and sees Shane sitting next to Cassie; their eyes lock and he gives her a faint nod of approval.

“This morning I was getting ready and I didn’t know what I was going to say or do up here. I didn’t write anything down because I honestly don’t know how to say goodbye to my mother. Every day of my life she’s been there for me, whether I wanted to see it or not. Every crisis I’ve gone through, she’s been there holding my hand. I don’t know how I will go on without her. I don’t know who else I will go to for advice. I wasn’t prepared to lose her yet. She always told me, ‘Natasha, you have to brace yourself for whatever life throws at you’. I suppose this is just another one of those things,” she continues, finally letting some tears out of her eyes, as she looks at the large picture of her mother.

“I’m wearing one of my mother’s necklaces today because I wanted to feel even closer to her. While I was finding it, I came across this,” she says as she holds up a book to everyone. “It’s her diary. I didn’t know she even wrote a diary, but when I found it this morning, I knew I wanted it with me today as well. To be so close to all of her thoughts and secrets. I know I can never talk to her again, but having this diary makes me think that I can be with her in some way.”

Natasha moves out from around the podium and walks to the large picture of Sofia. “I love you Mom. I always will. I hope you’re resting comfortably in heaven. And please always watch down on me, on all of us. We need you still so much. And we love you. We always will.”

Natasha lays a single rose on the base of the picture before she gets her bag and walks back down to the pew, where Robbie greets her with open arms. Natasha sobs into her brothers arms for a moment before finally sitting back down. Bob grabs her hand and smiles at her, giving his nod of approval to her speech.

***

“My Mother is still with us you know,” Robbie begins to say as he stands in front of everyone. “Every time I look around and see the goodness she has brought into this world, I can see her. This morning when I was having breakfast with my wife and daughter,” he continues as his eyes meet Leah’s in the front pew. “I was reminded of all the mornings she would make sure Natasha and I had a good breakfast before school. And the lunches she made us. Many of you probably think Natasha and I were raised by nannies and in boarding school’s, but that’s not the case at all. It was our Mother that drove me to soccer practice every day. It was our Mother that drove Natasha to ballet classes. She taught us so much but most importantly she taught us that family is the most important thing in the world. And that’s why when I look into my daughter’s face, I still see my Mother there. She may physically be gone, but she is around us still. We just have to look for it,” he continues as he places a rose on the base of the picture like Natasha did, fighting back some tears. “I love you Mom. I always will.”

As she sits in the pew listening to Robbie, Natasha slowly opens Sofia’s diary. She finds a date from this past summer. She reads it quickly and is intrigued by what it says. She continues to read, flipping through some pages quickly. She reads more and more as she can hear Bob’s voice in the background now. She looks up quickly with water in her eyes as Bob is speaking, even though she can’t really hear what he is saying because she is so focused on what she is reading.

“My wife was such a giving woman,” Bob says to everyone. “We are all here because we know that about her. We are all here because we know how much Sofia loved life and she loved the people in her life more than anything else in the world. I consider myself to be the luckiest man in the world because she agreed to marry me. And we have two beautiful children together. We spent years living our life together,” Bob continues, keeping a stoic face. He told himself he wasn’t going to cry today and he is living up to his own promise. “I don’t know what my life will look like without her, but I consider myself blessed to have had so many years with her. I love you my beauty. Always will,” he smiles at the picture as he lays a flower down at the base of the picture.

Natasha continues to read the diary as she sits in the pew, tears streaming down her face. Bob approaches the pew as Natasha stands up and turns around, as the open diary is still in her hands. She scans the room until she sees Shane and Cassie.

“Natasha, darling, are you okay?” Bob asks her as he doesn’t understand what she is doing looking at everyone.

“No, I’m not okay!” she yells as she points her finger at Cassie. “You! You killed my mother! You did this to her!”

Cassie freezes in the pew as everyone gasps and looks at her.

Next on One Day at a Time
- Natasha publically confronts Cassie
- Shane is floored by what he learns
- A car accident occurs