Sweet Magnolias

["Pour te dire je t'aime" by Dalida playing]

Welcome home, ma chérie .

Perhaps I got off the plane in the wrong location.

Is this Serenity or Paris?

Well, you've had a tough couple of days, so I thought you should come home to joy,

romance, and thoughts on our future honeymoon destination.

Mmm.

And I you.

Were you able to get Maddie's apartment packed up?

Hmm. Yeah.

The boxes are en route and, uh, should arrive a couple days behind us.

How's she doing?

Remarkably well, considering.

Getting fired is never easy, but

Maddie will find her way through this.

And knowing her, the next adventure will be even bigger and brighter.

I have the utmost faith.

Yeah.

Speaking of bigger and brighter,

picture this.

The newly married Mr. and Mrs. Whitley…

…snuggled together beneath the sparkling lights of the Eiffel Tower.

Oh! Sounds magical, but

may I counter?

I expect nothing less, Counselor.

Picture the newly married Mr. and Mrs. Whitley

draped across each other on the sparkling sands of

Tahiti.

I bought a fabulous two-piece swimsuit in SoHo.

Mmm. Ooh la la.

Oh. Goodness, I missed you.

Ah, you too.

Don't go away for that long again.

What have you been doing?

Dreaming about you.

Rise and shine, beautiful mother.

We are the advance troops.

Your mother and daughter are creating every breakfast dish known to man.

Yeah, we didn't know what you'd be in the mood for, so we went with everything.

Everyone feels so awful that you got--

Asked to wrap up your work at the publishing house.

We wanted you to feel welcomed home, supported, and loved.

If you wanna stay in bed all day and do absolutely nothing, we get it.

We're here for you, Mom.

You are so thoughtful,

but I am not fragile.

Getting fired did not bring me down.

In fact, it… fired me up.

But you… you love New York. You… you said it was your dream job.

But I love my dream family even more.

I am so, so happy to be home.

- - Oh! Oh!

Better check on that.

Yeah.

- - Oh.

What else can we do for you?

Mmm.

Give me a couple of those every day, and I can defeat any foe.

Careful.

I just don't want my sweet Alice to become the Queen of Hearts.

Off with their heads.

Hey, Cal? Help!

Better check on that.

Ugh.

Don't you normally like your bagel toasted?

I picked these up on the way to the airport,

so they are still fresh and perfect.

I always thought New Yorkers were pretentious about their bagels,

but there really is something different in that water.

Mm.

- Oh my gosh. - Mm-hmm.

It's the bagel, but it's also the egg, the sausage.

- It's the balance. -

My new friend Augusto, who I told you about,

he reminded me how everything needs to work together, bottom to top,

heart to plate.

- - I'm so happy you had a great trip.

Mostly.

No one liked how it ended,

but I'm grateful for the time I spent with your aunt Maddie and aunt Helen.

Plus, I got so much inspiration for my teaching kitchen.

Food looks great. Thanks, hon.

Would you mind if I take my amazing breakfast to go?

I'm meeting CeCe and Lily for graduation shoe shopping.

I can't believe our baby girl is graduating this weekend.

Ah. Isn't it incredible?

- Ronnie? -

Incredible.

Go ahead and go.

Mm.

Have fun.

- That's the goal. Thanks, Mom. -

- Ronnie. -

Don't forget our appointment later this afternoon

to look at countertops for the teaching kitchen.

I really need your opinion.

Especially since you know floor plans and construction better than I do.

Uh-huh.

Then after the countertop meeting, how about we go golfing on Mars?

Sure thing, hon.

I…

These are not the numbers we discussed, Courtney.

Yeah, I'm aware of that, but our last discussion, we said…

No, well, I…

And the verdict is?

Mm. Delicious.

What is that nutty, almost vanilla-y, flavor?

Hazelnuts.

I grind them up with the coffee beans to add a natural creaminess and sweetness.

Michael is gonna love this.

I hope so. Thank you for being my guinea pig while I perfect it.

Oh. It's been my pleasure.

Plus, all the caffeine helped me nail final exams last week.

Oh, flowers, for me? You shouldn't have.

Lucky for us both, I didn't.

This is otherwise designated,

and I promised Erik that I would drop it off between meetings.

Hey, Lily.

What is that heavenly smell wafting from your cup?

New menu item?

Oh my gosh! It totally should be on the menu, Isaac.

All the teens in town would go crazy for it.

I'll consider that. This is intended to be part of my anniversary gift for Michael.

His love language is coffee and spreadsheets.

Still not sure how to make spreadsheets romantic.

Plan a wedding.

Michael is amazing, but we're not there yet.

- Want me to grab your fiancé? - Please and thank you.

- Of course. - Oh, what a gorgeous color. So bold.

I agree. It's one of my favorites.

I think color communicates emotion so well.

The raccoons again?

Sounds like they're throwing a party for the entire neighborhood.

- - Wait, do you hear buzzing?

Chef, your presence has been requested at the bar.

Thanks.

Maybe they're inside of the Bellwether building?

Oh, there you are.

- Hi. - Mwah.

- I'll just… -

One magnificent magnolia.

Oh, indeed she is.

Thank you for taking the time to pick it up. I'll see you this evening?

If you have an extra moment, I just have a wedding question.

I know you said blue for our color scheme, but blue covers a whole lot of territory.

So are you partial to navy, cerulean, azure?

Um…

How about

I defer to my bride's excellent judgment?

That is always a wise move.

And I'm sure my future bridesmaids will have strong opinions.

Maddie's back in town.

I get to pop the question sooner than expected.

So… Mm! I should get back to work.

- I'll walk you out. - You know, no need.

But before I go, have you managed to reach your brother?

Victor and I have exchanged texts,

but our schedules haven't synced up for a proper call.

Huh. Okay. Well…

Uh.

Oh! Noreen, sorry.

I don't mean to be hanging over your desk. Just checking the class schedule.

I was just thinking how natural it feels to see you behind that desk.

Thank you, but this is yours now.

I was just filling in while you were gone.

- Now you're back and… - You're a terrific manager.

And as long as you're happy doing it, we'd love for you to continue.

The spa is thriving under your leadership.

I just took what you all built and ran with it.

But in my role as manager,

may I invite you to have a seat

so we can discuss what kind of classes you might be interested in taking, ma'am?

Hot yoga, perhaps?

Hmm. No, I need… I need something fiercer.