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Butterflies - Oct 21, 1980 Episode 3-21,   Grade A Detailed Summary by John T Burt 2001 Main Butterflies Page

    Special Scenes:
When Ben returns from the airport because of a strike he upsets Ria's plans to see Leonard off. As she struggles to get things done, Leonard calls - his flight was canceled too and he will have her all to himself. She tells him not to call and when he asks why why says she knows why but doesn't want to tell him why. With the stress building up, she hangs up and cries on the ironing board.

At the end of the show in Leonard's flat, Ria finally relaxes and admits she wants Leonard. The relaxation continues even after they are interrupted. The scene was very effective. It no longer mattered what the did or didn't do, they had accepted it.

    Summary:
Ria meets Leonard in the shed in the park. He won't talk to start with. When Ria talks about her family he gets angry. They fight about who chased who at their first meeting until they finally hug each other and calm down. He's leaving tomorrow at 6 and asks her to see him off.

Ben is going to a dental conference in Cannes tomorrow. He describes the scene as all knees and nipples. Ria says they don't hold conferences for housewives. Ben actually hugs Ria and doesn't blush when Russell comes in. They all tease Ben about sexy Cannes.

Ria walks - thinking - Ben is funny - she'll miss Leonard. When she gets home, Ben returns from the airport. There's a strike at the airport. He will have to drive with some colleagues. He is leaving at 6 and wants her to get some stuff ready. Unfortunately this means Ria cannot see Leonard off and she is unhappy. But Leonard calls - his flight was canceled too and he will have her all to himself. He says he will call her later but she says not to. With the stress building up, when he asks why she says she knows why but doesn't want to tell him why. She hangs up and cries on the ironing board.

Near 6 o'clock, everyone is yelling at Ria for their clothes. Ria cleans up the dishes by dumping them in the laundry basket muttering that paper plates and paper utensils are the answer along with the paper food. Adam has eye shadow under his eyes to make himself look older. Ben leaves and tells Ria to skip the house and do something exciting. The boys go out happy, off to meet girls. Adam does one last check to make sure Ria is OK on her own. Ria gets her special bath oils out. The phone rings but it is a disappointing wrong number.

Leonard ponders calling strategies and then calls Ria even though she asked him not to.

Ria takes the Mini to Leonard's flat. He has to coax her in out of the hall. The table is set with food donations from several neighbors. Standing in the living room, Leonard says he has waited for this, hasn't she? She quietly asks him not to go too fast because she has to think things out. As she gets nervous, she gets cold and asks for her coat because she is scared. Leonard opens the bedroom door and tells her to come to bed and get warm. She says she'll get colder if she does that and he's going too fast. Ria starts listing her drawbacks but he doesn't care. She heads for the bedroom taking her coat but Thomas phones interrupting. They recover and as he is kissing her neck he asks her if she wants to. She finally relaxes and says yes just before the door bell rings. A neighbor delivers some bread Leonard asked for and then won't leave till he goes silent and stares at her. When he returns to the living room, he doesn't see Ria. But she has relaxed and steps out of the kitchen asking how he wants his eggs.

The next morning at home Russell is whacked from his date last night and doesn't want Ria's bacon. He asks what she did. She says she bathed. He tells her she looks nice - being married with one man must be nice and good for a person. Adam comes in looking even worse than previous times. He doesn't want the bacon either!

Walking in the park, Ria remembers a call from Ben in Cannes and then a call from Leonard in the airport waiting to board. As another man tries to carry her groceries and chat her up, she sees Leonard's plane fly over and tears up.