By: Atiya Irvin-Mitchell
Steve (Pablo Castelblanco) is questioning the chef’s kiss gesture as a compliment. It reminds him too much of a duck exploding. This confuses Bobbie (Reba McEntire) and the duck/chef talk is momentarily paused by Isabella (Belissa Escobedo) coming in with a lot of croissants. The reason is that Pasty’s Pastries is holding a raffle for a ticket to Paris, and every croissant purchased enters you to win. Isabella has bought twenty croissants. Bobbie warns her that it’s a marketing scheme and her chances are pretty low, but Isabella doesn’t care.
The conversation is interrupted by Gabby (Melissa Peterman), who is apologizing for being late, but shares with the group that she’s also late for her period. Reminder, Gabby wants to have a baby and has decided to go the anonymous donor route. Now, she thinks she might be pregnant. Bobbie congratulates her, but is confused because she didn’t think Gabby had gotten her test results back yet. She hasn’t, Gabby says, but she’s sure. The actual tests were just about her fertility, but Gabby thinks this is proof of how fertile she is. Gabby shares that her period is never late, so she’s very sure that she’s pregnant, and she’s very excited.
She heads off to the restroom, and Isabella is excited for her. Bobbie is worried, though, and says that it might be a little soon to start decorating nurseries. She tells Steve and Isabella that sometimes Gabby can get ahead of herself, and she doesn’t want her to be disappointed, but Isabella thinks you need things to look forward to in life. With that in mind, she’s going to go buy more croissants.
Later, in the office, Emmett (Rex Linn) walks in and asks Isabella and Bobbie if Gabby’s skin has a glow. He told her yes, but wants confirmation that that was the right answer. They confirm that it was, and Bobbie says that he got off easy since Gabby asked her to feel her breasts. She still worries that she’s getting ahead of herself. Bad news from Isabella, she said that the band that she booked cancelled, but Emmett and Bobbie reminded her that it’s Tennessee; there are bands everywhere.
She leaves and bumps into Takoda (Tokala Black Elk), and she shares her music woes with him. The band was supposed to perform tonight, and she’s worried the crowd will be mad if they show up and there’s no band. Takoda shares that he’s got a band, which consists of fellow dads at his kid’s preschool, but they’re good. He says Steve has come to see them and thought they were good. With that said, Isabella books him for the show.
Elsewhere, Gabby is picking out baby names and is asking for Steve and the company’s input. She wants to pick a name that passes the playground test, meaning, there’s nothing to make fun of. Gabby also shares that she was bullied a lot as a kid. Trauma aside, Bobbie shares that she likes the middle-aged method: Don’t name the kid until they’re three or four. She tries to leave, but Gabby shares that she doesn’t think that Bobbie is excited for her. Bobbie says she’s very happy for her; she doesn’t want to see Gabby get ahead of herself and be disappointed.
But, Gabby feels very sure she’s pregnant and says that after not being pregnant her whole life she would know the difference. She just wants to enjoy every moment of this journey without Bobbie doing her “Bobbie Bummer” thing. She heads off to the restroom again and Bobbie is bothered by the Bobbie Bummer label. She asks Takoda and Steve if there’s any truth to what Gabby said, and they avoid it at first, but seem to agree.
Steve goes to talk to Isabella about Takoda’s band and warns her that they’re not a good fit for the tavern. Isabella wonders what kind of music Sunburst, the band, plays, and Steve says they play death metal. She still isn’t convinced it could be a problem, but Steve says he and Emmett saw them play at a biker bar once, and they got kicked out for being too loud. Isabella says that Takoda says they loved his band, but Steve admits that they lied. Then, after Isabella points out that music is subjective, Steve plays some of their music for Isabell, and she regrets booking Sunburst for Happy’s Place. Steve says she can’t let them play because Takoda will be devastated when the customers run screaming, just like the bikers did.
Bobbie goes to talk to Emmett about the “Bobbie Bummer” moniker and asks if he agrees. She says she doesn’t know what happened to her; her father used to tease her about her optimism. Then, Emmett says, Happy might’ve ruined that for her by dying. When Bobbie doesn’t immediately follow, Emmett reminds her that when Happy first got sick, Bobbie declared that he wouldn’t die, but ultimately he did. Emmett thinks a part of why it hurt so much when Happy died was because she expected the best, but expecting the worst doesn’t prevent pain. With that in mind, Bobbie heads out and says she’s going to go be excited for Gabby and her baby.
Isabella still hasn’t fired Takoda’s band, and when Steve inquires about what’s holding her up, she says she feels like this is a lose-lose situation. If she unbooks Sunburst, she gets to hurt the nicest man she knows. If she lets them play, the customers might run away screaming. Steve suggests she lie to him. She tries, but then Takoda tells her that her mother is coming all the way from her nursing home to see him. She pauses and then goes through excuses ranging from the stage to the budget, but Takoda has an answer for everything. The band is so excited to play, they’d play every weekend for free. Takoda worries that they’re being fired, and Isabella can’t bear to disappoint him. When he’s gone, Steve teases her for being a wuss, but Isabella feels stuck. Steve says that since the regulars love a trainwreck, in a morbid way, they might love it. Once she hears that, she says she now knows exactly what to do.
Later, to show she can be hopeful and fun, Bobbie throws Gabby a surprise baby name party. When Gabby arrives, she seems grateful but admits she’s never heard of a baby name party. Takoda says it’s probably because Bobbie made it up. They start picking names out of a coffee cup. We get Astrid from Steve, a football player from Emmett, and Gabby thanks them. The group promises to love Gabby’s baby, and she wants a picture, but before she can take the photo, she gets a phone call from her doctor. When she comes back, she says they won’t need a baby name because she isn’t pregnant.
In Bobbie’s office, she’s very upset and explains that not only is she not pregnant, but she’s also infertile. Bobbie tries to comfort her, and Gabby says she just wanted a baby so much. Bobbie holds Gabby while she cries.
An unspecified amount of time later, Bobbie goes to see Emmett. Emmett asks her how she’s doing, and Bobbie says as well as to be suspected. He explains that the doctor says she won’t be able to get pregnant. Emmett asks her how she’s doing, since “Bobbie Bummer” was right all along. But Bobbie says she doesn’t know that expecting the worst would’ve made this hurt less. Emmett says that maybe all you can do is hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. Gabby isn’t ready to talk, but Bobbie will stick around until she is.
At the event, Isabella says she reached out to Sunburts’ dozen fans on YouTube. They are all excited because they like a good trainwreck. Steve commends her on a job well done, and Emmett plans to watch to the show, but with earplugs. Takoda’s mother enjoys the show from her wheelchair.