October Road: Once Around the Block (Episode 11)

Hannah is rushing down the sidewalks of Knightsridge with Sam, Jasper and Casper in tow. She's finally runs into "Hippy Bob" who looks as though he hasn't showered in a few days, but that's besides the point. She asks Bob to watch Sam, Jasper and Casper because her babysitter fell off a step ladder and sprained her ankle and she's already late for her board certification test. Hippy Bob agrees and takes the boys to get tattoos. Fakes tattoos, of course.

Over at the Garrett household, Ronnie is playing video games and Bob is reading the newspaper. Nick is frustrated with them, and himself, that they're sitting in the house on such an unseasonably warm winter day. I don't know exactly where Knightsridge is, but I know it is in the Northeast somewhat close to NYC, and it certainly isn't warm anywhere around there. Anyway, after picking on his brother for not getting out more Bob tells Nick that maybe he's only picking on his brother because he's the one that wants to get out and get a girl. Nick denies it and tells him that he's on a "girl vacation" and needs to spend some quality time with himself. I'm sure that will happen. The show IS focused on his love life afterall.

Physical Phil, Pizza Girl and Owen, who seems to be floating from house to house now that he's not living with his wife, are just hanging out when Eddie comes in with the mail. Physical Phil has one special piece of mail and it's for his special friend "Klauss." Apparently they've all been keeping a secret from us and even from Pizza Girl. It turns out that Klauss is an old car that Phil has been working on during his years of being a shut-in and his special mail is the last part he's been waiting on to finish the car. When Pizza Girl sees the shiny red car she gets almost as excited as Phil. Could these two be a better match?

Now finished with her test, Hannah takes the boys out to dinner. As they're eating Ray's ex-wife and Jasper and Casper's mom, Christine, shows up. She is a major bitch. She tells Hannah that Jasper called her earlier in the day while they were getting their tattoo. Christine is already furious about the tattoos - TEMPORARY tattoos - but she gets totally pissed when she hears that Hannah left them with someone named hippy Bob. She storms off with the kids. Later that night Hannah is at home, she and Janet are sorting through all kinds of stuff getting ready to have a yard sale. Ray comes in and Hannah tells he and Janet the good news that she passed the board certification test which means she'll keep getting to work at the Vet. He tells her that she really doesn't even have to work, which leads to them having a small argument. Hannah takes it as an insult because Ray's ex-wife is a hand surgeon and Hannah feels like Ray doesn't think her job matters compared to his ex-wife's.

Nick and his brother, Ronnie, head to Sully's for a night out. As soon as they walk in Aubrey spots them and calls them over to her table where she's sitting with her friend, Taylor. It's clear from the start that Nick and Aubrey are going to try hook Ronnie up with Taylor, but Ronnie has eyes only for Aubrey. Ronnie hasn't been on a date in at least a year so he's a little a lot nervous. Later, Ronnie gets his chance for a minute alone with Aubrey and gets to like her even more when he discovers that she knows a lot about AC/DC. But, just as he's trying to flirt with her Nick comes back and nudges him to go talk to Taylor. Nick and Aubrey have a good talk and agree to be friends, but it's in a flirty kind of a way so you know more is to come. Meanwhile, Ronnie talks to Ikey who is also at the bar. Ikey has noticed Ronnie's attraction to Aubrey and tells Ronnie that loving the wrong gal just leads to drinking alone.

Physical Phil and Pizza Girl work on Klauss all night. After Phil gets the last part on he goes to start the car, but no luck - it won't start. He tells Pizza Girl that they've failed to which she tells him that they didn't fail, they are going to get the car started and then they're going for a ride around the block.

The next day, Hannah is in Sam's classroom, which also happens to be Jasper and Casper's room as well, for a presentation about her job. Just as she's starting to talk to the kids, the bitch Christine comes flying into the room. She supposedly thought it was her day to be there, but her day is actually next week. She apologizes and tells the teacher that she won't be able to make it the next week because she has too many surgeries, so the teacher asks Hannah if it might be possible for her to come back another day. Hannah agrees, though she is clearly not happy about it. That night Sam tells Hannah that he told Christine last week that it was going to be Hannah's presentation day at the school.

Aubrey stops by the windows store. She and Nick set up a double date for them and Taylor and Ronnie to go bowling. After Aubrey leaves Eddie gives Nick some crap about Aubrey being his rebound after Hannah. Nick tells Eddie that Aubrey isn't a rebound, she's better than rebound material. That night bowling Aubrey keeps throwing gutterballs, so Ronnie helps her out. He shows her how to relax her arm to throw the ball better. After helping Aubrey, Nick says "she's a great girl" though it's not clear whether he's talking about Aubrey or Taylor, but either way Ronnie agrees and we know he's thinking about Aubrey, not Taylor.

Hannah goes to Christine's office and confronts her about showing up and ruining her presentation at the school. Christine turns the conversation to Hannah's career working at the Vet and brings up how Hannah wanted to be in family medicine until she got pregnant. Then just as Christine is about to rush off Hannah tells her she still didn't answer her question. Christine tells her that she came along and took her place, so now and again it feels good to take her place back. Hannah is confused because Christine left Ray, not the other way around, Christine then tells her that she still wants Ray back.

After her confrontation with Christine, Hannah starts to wonder if maybe she should pursue her past dream of going into family medicine. She has Sam pull up a vocational test and the results are quite surprising. Her ideal goal based on her answers would be a prize fighter, as in a boxer. She thinks there must be a mistake, but of course there isn't. This seems out of place right now, but it becomes relevant in just a minute. She and Janet are overseeing the yard sale when guess who shows up to cause some drama? Christine. Hannah tells Ray she'll take care of it. She tells Christine that they just need to get along for the boys sake. Christine says that she thinks that would be good too, but then she makes a dig about the yard sale. She says she was certain there'd at least be a keg and a game of horseshoes. Hannah is slightly insulted, but lets it go and tells Christine to just take the twins. Christine isn't done with the insults yet though. She tells Hannah that Sam seems like a clever little boy, a good child, "especially for a bastard." Hannah punches Christine laying her out on the ground. BAM! What do you think of them apples? It turns out Hannah really could be a fighter.

Nick and Ronnie go hang out with Phil and Eddie while they work on Klauss. They tell Phil and Eddie about Ronnie being so nervous around Taylor and they all give him crap about it. What I find odd is that Phil says "poor guy" about it being a year since he was last with a girl, yet I do believe that Pizza Girl was Phil's first girlfriend while he's been a shut-in, therefore he didn't have a girlfriend for over five years. I'd say he's the "poor guy" if anyone. Nick and Ronnie get a bit of a surprise when Pizza Girl rolls out from beneath the car and she tells Phil to try starting the car. It starts.. woo-hoo! Pizza Girl gives Ronnie some advice "when in doubt rub her earlobes."

Back at the Garrett's, Owen suggests that the guys stay in for the night and play a game of Risk. Ronnie bows out as he has a date with Taylor at her house. Nick and his dad will be staying in though and agree on playing Risk, though they don't seem very excited about it. In the afternoon Nick heads to Sully's to play some darts with Aubrey. He invites her to play Risk with them. She tells him that he gets to have his cake and play darts with it too. She's still pissed about how he treated her last year. They had something going and then he just tossed her aside for Hannah. She tells him that she can't play Risk with him because none of this whole friendship thing bodes well for her.

It's nighttime now, Hannah has her hand on ice after having beat the shit out of Christine earlier in the day. As she and Ray are kissing Sam interrupts them playing the Rocky theme song. Nick, Owen and Bob are enjoying sitting around the table playing a game of Risk. Ronnie and Taylor are on the couch at her house kissing when he stops and tells her that he can't do it and he needs to go see someone. Turns out Ronnie heads to Sully's to talk to Ikey. He needs to know how to get Aubrey out of his head. We flash over to Nick who has apparently left the game of Risk and is at Aubrey's door. She lets him in and they go straight to the bed and proceed to have some great sex.

Pizza Girl goes back to Phil's house for the night. He wants to watch movies, but she wants the two of them to take Klauss for a drive around the block. After she mentions that there are still Christmas lights up he actually agrees to go. They pull out of the garage... woo-hoo... Phil has left the building! They drive around enjoying the Christmas lights for a while and then the car dies. Phil gives Pizza Girl a look of death and then we see her pushing the car all the way back to his house. Seriously, he needs to step up and act like a man or she needs to leave his ass.

The end. It feels like the show is barely progressing at all. Will we ever find out the secret that Hannah and Eddie are keeping? Will Nick ever get with Hannah again? Who is Sam's dad? Is Nick going to write another book or just run his window business in Knightsridge? So many questions and we seem to be going at turtle speed. Give me some comments, let's discuss the possibilities!