By: Atiya Irvin-Mitchell
Isabella (Belissa Escobedo) cleaning the bar and Steve (Pablo Castelblanco) micromanaging her cleaning. The reason is that there’s going to be a health inspection that day, and they’re all busy preparing. Isabella notes that Steve seems excited, and Takoda (Tokala Black Elk) explains that she’s observing correctly because Steve worships health inspectors. Steve explains that he respects the way they don’t fear messes or germs. Speaking of that, he wants to give the kitchen a once-over to see if it’s dirt-free, but Emmett (Rex Linn) stops him for two reasons: 1) He doesn’t like the idea of Steve looking over his shoulder. 2) He doesn’t like Hank, the health inspector.
Steve asks Bobbie (Reba McEntire) to intervene, and Bobbie is confused; she thought Emmett liked Hank because they talked about sports. Emmett says that Bobbie’s the one who likes him, and Isabella thinks that he’s jealous. This could be true because Emmett thinks Hank has a thing for Bobbie, and Bobbie says he’s being ridiculous because Hank’s coming for business and not pleasure. The discourse is paused by Gabby (Melissa Peterman) coming in and announcing that she brought the popcorn machine for Isabella’s movie night. Bobbie doesn’t want the machine to stay, though, because she doesn’t want to risk blowing the inspection. Gabby says not to worry because she cleaned the machine from top to bottom. On cue, a mouse runs out of the bottom of the machine, and Gabby says that explains the squeaking noise she kept hearing.
There’s a mouse search party happening at Happy’s Place, and everyone is pretty annoyed with Gabby. She is helping to look for the mouse, but she wonders aloud if they’re looking at this the wrong way because maybe, she says, the mouse could be a great chef. Takoda is open to it because he loves Ratatouille, but Bobbie reminds the group that this isn’t a Disney movie and that it’s a mouse, not a rat. Isabella offers to take over the mouse hunt because they need a calm, measured leader, and then the mouse runs over her foo,t and she runs away screaming.
Gabby calls Isabella a baby and Bobbie a monster for wanting to kill the mouse. She thinks everyone is overeating, but Bobbie tells her that a failing grade on their health inspection could be devastating for them. Still, Isabella says they’ve got an ace in the hole: Hank likes Bobbie. Bobbie says she can’t flirt with Hank because she’s with Emmett, but Gabby and Isabella think it might be their Hail Mary.
Emmett and Steve are talking in the kitchen, and Emmett wonders if he has been being silly. Steve says yes and reminds him that Bobbie is the most considerate person in the world and she’d never make anyone feel bad. Then Bobbie enters the kitchen, and Steve leaves to give the two of them privacy. Emmett starts apologizing to Bobbie for being insecure about Hank, and Bobbie wants to talk about Hank when the conversation is interrupted by the sound of Steve screaming. Bobbie uses that as a segue into their discussion, and she explains that she needs Emmett to be okay with her flirting with Hank a little. Her reasoning is that they need to keep Hank distracted enough not to notice the mouse and happy enough to be willing to cut them some slack should he discover the mouse. Emmett isn’t okay with it because he doesn’t like the idea of his girlfriend flirting with another man. Bobbie tries explaining that it won’t mean anything and that it’s about keeping the restaurant running, but Emmett still hates the idea.
When Bobbie leaves Gabby, Isabella, Steve, and Takoda (who were eavesdropping) ask how Emmett took the news. Then the health inspector arrives, and it’s not Hank. When Bobbie asks where Hank is, Monica (Cheri Oteri) explains that he was fired for letting some owners slide because he liked them. This resulted in him losing his pension, which Monica says was him getting off easy. While Monica is inspecting the tavern, Bobbie tries hard to flatter her, and Steve is swooning over her because he respects her efficiency. So far, Monica is okay with what she sees, but is concerned about a piece of paper that seems chewed up on the floor. Bobbie covers by saying she eats paper and chews on a napkin to sell the story.
In the kitchen, Gabby and Isabella continue looking for the mouse. They empty the trash and corner the mouse, but Isabella is still afraid, and Gabby’s willing to trap it, but she narrowly misses putting a box on it. Outside the kitchen Steve is observing Monica’s inspection, and she thinks he can’t find what she’s doing this interesting, but he explains that he has a little vacuum for his little vacuum. Then, Emmett asks Bobbie to come into the kitchen so that he can ask if Hank is still around. He didn’t get the memo, so Bobbie explains that Hank has been fired. This prompts him to go and see who his replacement was, and to everyone’s surprise, he knows Monica. She previously inspected the BBQ restaurant Emmett formerly worked at, and she and Emmett are on good enough terms to have nicknames for each other. Bobbie is less than pleased about how friendly they are, but before she can object, Gabby and Isabella call her into the office to update her on the search for the mouse.
Isabella is still terrified, and Gabby is frantically searching. Bobbie doesn’t want to leave Emmett and Monica alone together for too long and, either way, she still can’t know about the mouse. Fortunately, they trap the mouse in a box on Bobbie’s desk. They head back out to the bar, and Steve sadly informs them that Emmett and Monica are inspecting the kitchen. This worries Bobbie and she hands the box to Steve goes to check on them before the sound of Steve’s screams draws them back out to the bar again. The mouse is out of the box, and Monica knows about the mouse now.
Steve apologizes to Bobbie for literally blowing the lid off things, but Bobbie says it’s her fault for giving him the box in the first place. She explains that she let her feelings override her common sense. Isabella apologizes for snapping at Gabby, Gabby apologizes for mocking her mousephobia, and Takoda apologizes too because he just wants to be included. Monica comes out, and Bobbie wants to know how long she’ll be shutting them down for. The answer is zero days, because aside from the mouse, Monica says they’re in good shape, and she understands that it’s an old building, so sometimes these things will happen. She says to put down a few traps and she’ll follow up next week. Her being understanding makes Steve fall out of love with her and Monica heads out.
Bobbie goes to talk to Emmett, and she apologizes for acting so jealous. Emmett understands, but admits he’s been pretty unlucky in love, and he’s worried because things have a tendency to implode when it seems good, and their relationship feels nearly perfect. They apologize to each other and share a kiss. Outside the kitchen, Gabby gives Steve and Isabella a scare by pretending to see a mouse.