After the contentious custody battle, Frank & Mary go on with their lives as usual. But it isn't until an eventful night at Ferg's that Frank starts to wonder if maybe his life might be missing something. Now that his niece has a normal life, maybe...
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Frank was beginning to feel like a failure. He had took the plunge and sent his resume out to a handful of colleges and universities but hadn't heard back from a single one. Not only had his new job search proved fruitless, but he hadn't come up with a special way to propose to Joey since his baby shower idea blew up in his face. The only thing that had kept him from brink of depression was Joey and the kids. Seeing their faces was exactly want Frank needed to feel whole and hopeful after a long day of self loathing.
It seemed that every day that went by without hearing back from local colleges and universities wore on him more and more and, even though he tried to hide it from her, Joey could sense his disappointment as clear as day. So much so, that Joey knew that she had to do something to help the poor guy out of his funk. But unlike Frank, Joey actually had an idea on how to surprise him and get his mind off things.
"Ma, what are you up to this weekend?" Joey asked one Tuesday afternoon as she helped her mother unload her dishwasher while Amelia slept in her baby swing. "Is there anyway that you could take the kids for a night?"
"My calendar is clear, sweetheart." Jessie smiled to herself. "I kinda had a feeling that you'd ask."
"You've noticed it too, huh?" Joey sadly sighed. "I really want to take Frank out and cheer him up. Maybe I'll take him to Ferg's and get his mind off of this teaching thing."
"Frank? Aren't you going to your highschool reunion this weekend?" Jessie asked as Frank came home from work and set out to find his kids who were scattered around the house. "I saw the invite in with all the junk mail. I thought that's why you needed a babysitter."
"Hey, babe." Frank called out into the kitchen as he bugged Sam with a bear hug while the little boy was trying to watch his cartoons. "Hey Jess, where's the baby? Nevermind, found her. Look who's awake, huh." Frank chuckled as he took Amelia out of her baby swing and went to find Mary in her bedroom.
"No way. You couldn't pay me to go to that thing, ma" Joey scoffed as she closed the dishwasher and started dinner. "It was in my junk mail for a reason."
"What was in the junk mail?" Frank asked as he walked into the kitchen carrying the baby and making funny faces at her to try and make her smile. "Happy girl, aren't cha. Did you miss me?"
"Joey's high school reunion invitation." Jessie answered him and laughed at Joey as she frantically motioned for her to stop telling Frank about it. "Apparently, my daughter is too cool for school."
Joey groaned at her mother's attempt at humour and kissed Frank's cheek and asked him how his day was. But no matter how many times Frank told her that he had a good day, Joey didn't believe him. Not hearing back from any colleges or universities was really taking its toll on him and she hated seeing the disappointment behind his eyes.
But before Joey could comfort him, Alice suddenly let herself into the house, carrying a huge box of donuts, and plopped down on at the kitchen table and begun to stuff her face while everyone else looked at each other in amusement.
