Blind

Plot
Julie and Hank reluctantly decide to let their unemployed niece Mary earn a little extra money by watching their daughter Erica for the evening. Against her better judgment, Mary later lets her friend Frankie into the house, agrees to watch her baby as well and finds herself tempted by a bottle of beer that Frankie accidentally left behind. Elsewhere, Lucy creates migraine headaches for herself by offering to take care of the twins and chaperone Ruthie's sleepover. Simon goes to great lengths to change his image; Matt pursues a girl who wants nothing to do with him and a romantic afternoon out takes an ugly turn for Eric and Annie.

Full Summary
Matt is in the library and introduces himself to a girl, Kim, who worked at the library. When she realizes that he dated Heather, she suddenly gets upset and when Matt asks her out on a date, she says no and puts her earphones back on. Matt is confused. Ruthie asks if she can have a sleepover with Sarah and Rachel. When Annie tells her no, Lucy volunteers to help out and Ruthie is excited and runs off. Annie answers the phone to Julie who needs someone to help her by babysitting for her baby. Mary walks into the kitchen and Annie asks her if she wants to help. Mary is excited since she is broke and happily volunteers but Julie is unsure if Mary can handle the responsibility but eventually agrees. When Mary gets off of the phone, she is upset at Eric and Annie but they say that they didn't say anything to Julie. Eric asks about the statement about her being broke and she just walks away. Simon is getting ready for school but can't seem to get his hair right. Mary gets a call from Frankie who asks Mary to babysit her little girl, Mercy, since her mother won't babysit. Mary says no since she is babysitting for her niece already and tells her that she won't lie to her aunt and not tell her. Ruthie is excited that her friends are coming over for a sleepover and tells Lucy that their friends are coming over the whole day and the whole night. Annie is concerned that she won't be able to handle everything but Lucy tries to tell her that she can handle everything. Simon walks out of the bathroom and asks Annie and Lucy if he looks good and when Annie says that he looks nice, he is disappointed because he is going to start 9th grade and can't look nice. Annie is excited and tells Eric that they are leaving for the day since Lucy is going to babysit and take care of the sleepover. Hank and Julie ask Mary tons of questions before leaving to go to the hospital and tell her to not have any visitors over. They explain that they are just nervous and trust her. Matt tells John about the girl at the library and wonders if Heather said something bad about him to Kim. John tells Matt that Heather would never say anything bad about him. Matt tells John that he is going out and John thinks that he is going to do something stupid. Simon talks to Jim about changing his image but doesn't know what to do to to be seen as a man instead of a little kid. Mary answers the door to Frankie and tells her that she can't come in but eventually lets her come inside. Frankie begs her to watch Mercy, her daughter, since she wants to follow Johnny to see if he is cheating on her. Mary agrees if it is only for a few hours. Eric and Annie savor their free Saturday together but they see Johnny walking with another girl. Eric explains that they were supposed to go into drug rehab each Saturday at the same time and he decides that he is going to ruin his Saturday. Ruthie and Sarah try on high heels and tell her that Rachel is going to be spending the day with them but Sarah is not happy about it. Ruthie introduces Sarah and Rachel but they instantly don't get along. The girls start yelling about how they don't know Ruthie is and Lucy tries to calm them down by offering cookies but they just keep yelling. Rachel runs off and Sarah repeats that she doesn't like kids. Simon comes downstairs with the arms cut off of a good church shirt and Lucy tells him that Annie is going to kill him. While babysitting, Mary gets a call from Hank who makes sure that everything is okay. Mary is having a hard time babysitting two toddlers. Eric and Annie arrive at the pool hall that Johnny goes into to follow him. Eric explains that he promised the court that Johnny and Frankie would go to the drug counseling. Matt explains that he went to the library and got Kim's number but not from Kim, but from a co-worker. John calls him a stalker but Matt refuses to believe that he is a stalker. Kim answers the phone and is scared to hear from him and tells him to leave her alone. Matt doesn't want to believe that she doesn't like him. Annie calls Mary and Mary accidentally slips and says "babies" instead of "baby." Annie gets suspicious but Mary lies to her. Simon is getting discouraged by not being able to use clothes and hair to change his image. Jim tells him to go to his cousin's house and he knows a way to change his image but not to tell his parents since they wouldn't like the idea. At the pool hall, Eric and Annie are still watching Johnny and the girl that he is with and they have been there so long that the waitress stops their free refills on drinks. Eric doesn't really know what to do about Johnny so he tells Annie that timing is everything. Mary has found a beer bottle in Mercy's diaper bag and contemplates drinking the beer. She finally decides that it would be wrong to waste the beer. Eric finally approaches Johnny and Johnny recognizes him and thanks him for bailing him out of jail. Eric reminds him about his drug counseling session but Johnny tells Eric that he doesn't care about the counseling. Frankie walks into the pool hall and notices Johnny with a girl but Johnny sends the girl off and Frankie confronts him about cheating on her. Johnny tries to explain it away but Frankie doesn't believe him and tells him that he ruined her life. They start yelling back and forth and when Johnny grabs Frankie's jacket, Eric tries to stop the fight but Johnny punches Eric in the face. Ruthie comes downstairs and tells Lucy that her sleepover is going terribly since her two best friends hate each other. Lucy realizes that she hasn't seen Simon for hours and is worried about where he is. Simon has done something at Jim's cousin's shop to revamp his image. Matt shows up at Kim's apartment and is greeted at the door by Kim's brother. Kim's brother tells Matt that Kim is scared of him and can't figure out why he can't leave her alone. Kim's brother asks Matt why he can't leave a blind woman alone but Matt is confused and didn't know that she was blind. Kim's brother explains that she is blind. Eric sits down with Johnny and tells him that he promised the court that he would turn his life around and needs to stop doing destructive things. Annie talks to Frankie about the abuse that she has endured from Johnny and that Frankie needs to think about her baby and herself. Johnny explains to Eric that he didn't want a baby or marriage but Eric tells him that he did want to have sex though. Both Eric and Annie talk to Johnny and Frankie about how their relationship is going and that Johnny needs to get help and Frankie needs to leave him. Matt is in the apartment and Kim explains her diagnosis of RP and how it affects her eyesight. Matt asks why she didn't want to have coffee with him and Kim tells him that she thought that he was into women with disabilities. Matt tells her that he is just into women, not just women with disabilities. Matt offers that they can be study partners but she doesn't feel comfortable studying with him. Matt asks if he can say hi to her when he sees her around the campus and she agrees. Hank and Julie are at the restaurant and get concerned that they can't get in touch with Mary since the phone is off of the hook. Sarah and Rachel fight over who will be leaving and who will be Ruthie's best friend. Lucy tries to intervene with their argument but Rachel interrupts her and tells Lucy to shut up. Lucy suggests that they both go home and give Lucy a time out and promises that Lucy will have them both over separately. Lucy yells down for Ruthie to talk to her friends. Johnny apologizes to Frankie for being mean to her and they decide that they will lie to Eric and Annie about what they are going to do so that they will leave Johnny and Frankie alone. Frankie apologizes to Eric and Annie for helping them and Eric asks if they can stay away from Mary. Annie asks if Mary has anything in common with Johnny and Frankie and hopes that she doesn't. Simon shows up at home and Lucy begins yelling at him for being gone for so long. Simon explains what he did and turns his head and shows Simon his new pierced ear. Lucy freaks out and tells him that their parents are going to kill him and her. Simon looks at reflection in the mirror as Lucy goes upstairs. Hank and Julie show up at their house and search through the entire house and find their little girl playing with the phone, another baby and the beer bottle. Julie tells Mary that she knew that they should have never left their child with Mary but Mary explains who the baby belongs to and what happened. Hank begins yelling at her about drinking the beer but Mary lies and tells her that Frankie drank the beer. Mary apologizes and tells them that it will never happen but they can't guarantee that they will never tell Eric and Annie. Mary tells them that they shouldn't worry about paying her but Hank yells at her to go home. Eric and Annie show up and Lucy comments about Eric's eye. Ruthie comes downstairs and asks about Eric's eye and that her sleepover is over because they didn't like each other. Simon walks into the kitchen and Ruthie notices his pierced ear. Ruthie tells him that he looks like a girl. Eric and Annie are not happy. John asks how his stalking went but Matt tells John that she is blind. Hank and Julie discuss whether or not they should tell Eric and Annie. Simon tries to talk Eric and Annie into keeping the earring but they won't change their mind which angers Simon. Lucy apologizes for not making sure that everyone did right. Eric explains that Simon is in charge of himself and he is not acting like a man but wants to be treated like a man. Mary is at Johnny and Frankie's house and finds out that Johnny hit her father in the face and that they lied to her parents. Mary is worried that Hank and Julie will tell on them. Johnny offers Mary some marijuana but Mary just stares at it.

Trivia

 * At the beginning of the episode, right after Julie reluctantly says "okay" to Mary baby-sitting her daughter, Mary immediately hangs up the phone without saying anything else. No "thank you," "no good-bye," nothing. It is hilarious to think that any normal human being would end a telephone conversation that way.
 * In this episode, Mary refers to her Aunt Julie as "Awnt Julie," which sounds awkward every time she says it. She never pronounced "aunt" that way before, so it's unusual that she would start now.


 * Ashley Edner's (Sarah), brother Frank appeared as a guest star in the season 6 episode, “Hot Pants” portraying the role of Frank.


 * Chyler Leigh (Frankie) and Nathan West (Johnny) end their 3 episode-arc as Mary's rebellious friends. Nathan West will make one more appearance later in the season in "One Hundred."

Quotes

 * Simon: (about his earring) But if I take it out, the hole will close up!
 * Eric: Exactly!
 * Simon: That's not fair. Why can't I keep the earring!?
 * Ruthie: Because you look like a girl!
 * Annie: You went out of the house tonight without our permission. You went to the house of someone we don't know and have never met. At that house you allowed that someone we don't know to pierce your ear.
 * Eric: Be grateful that the only thing we're doing is making you take out your earring out.
 * Simon: Fine!


 * Lucy: I'm sorry about tonight I was trying to watch everyone and I shouldn't have let Simon sneak out of the house.
 * Eric: It's not your fault you weren't in charge of Simon. Simon is in charge of Simon.


 * Lucy: Why don't you girls go outside and play, and I'll set us up a picnic lunch?
 * Rachel: I don't like eating outside. It's a bug thing.
 * Lucy: Okay......well, then, we'll have a picnic indoors.
 * Sarah: With orange soda?
 * Rachel: I don't like orange soda, and neither does Ruthie.
 * Sarah: Ruthie likes orange soda.
 * Lucy: Who wants a cookie?
 * Rachel: Ruthie's my best friend, and I think I know if she likes orange soda!
 * Sarah: She was my best friend first.
 * Rachel: But you obviously don't know her as well as I do!
 * Sarah: Yes, I do.
 * Rachel: NO, YOU DON'T!
 * Lucy: Really. Taste a cookie. They're still warm.
 * Rachel: What's Ruthie's favorite color?
 * Sarah: Purple.
 * Rachel: Blue! What does she want to be when she grows up?
 * Sarah: A vet.
 * Rachel: Queen Elizabeth! See, I told you that you didn't know her. I know her. She's my best friend!


 * Lucy: (to Sarah and Rachel) Okay, I have been listening to you two all day, and a couple of things are clear. You both like Ruthie, and you both have a different relationship with Ruthie which happens. Different people see different things in you, and they bring out different qualities, and...
 * Rachel: No offense, but if I wanted an after-school special lecture, I'd turn on my TV.
 * Lucy: (to Rachel) Okay. You.....be quiet for a second and listen to me! (to Sarah) And you! well, you like adults. And I'm an adult: a very tired adult, who's tired of having to listen to you and Rachel fight. I need a time-out, an adult time-out, which can only happen if you both go home. Now. Right away. I will call your parents and tell them whatever you want me to tell them, but please just go home! I promise that Ruthie will have you both over again…separately!


 * Frankie [to Mary while she’s babysitting]: I came all this way to beg you in person. Please watch Mercy. Please. Be my friend, and do me this one favor. I just need an hour, and your sister said your aunt and uncle would be gone all day. (pauses) I think Johnny's cheating on me. I want to follow him, catch him in the act, and I can't do that unless you watch Mercy.
 * Mary: (hesitates) One hour, right?
 * Frankie: Two hours max.
 * Mary: Please don't blow this.
 * Frankie: I won't. I won't. I'll just go get Mercy.
 * Mary: You left her in the car?
 * Frankie: I rolled the window down. Man.....you're the best friend ever. (leaves)
 * Mary: Yeah, or the stupidest friend ever.


 * Annie [to Frankie]: What are you doing?
 * Frankie: What do you mean?
 * Annie: What are you doing with that man?
 * Frankie: Look, Johnny is a great husband and father.
 * Annie: He tried to hit you. He would have hit you if my husband hadn't stepped in.
 * Frankie: But I love him, okay?
 * Annie: Do you love Mercy?
 * Frankie: Of course I love her!
 * Annie: Then why do you keep putting her at risk? If Johnny had hit you, or if someone had called the police, you and Johnny would be in jail right now. If that happened, then what would happen to Mercy?
 * Frankie: Are you actually suggesting that I leave Johnny? I can't raise a kid on my own.
 * Annie: You can't stay with a man who hits you. You can't. Mercy will grow up thinking that's what women do: they get hit. Is that what you want to teach her?


 * Annie: Great husbands don't smoke pot, cheat, hit their wives. Open your eyes, Frankie, and see who you're really married to before it's too late.


 * Johnny: None of this is my fault. I didn't want a baby. I didn't want to get married.
 * Eric: But you did want sex, right? That you did want. You just didn't want the responsibility that comes with the sex.


 * Mary [to Julie and Hank]: The beer isn't mine, it's Frankie's. Frankie drank it.
 * Hank: That's your defense? "The beer belongs to my pot-smoking friend?" How stupid do you think we are?
 * Julie: Let's just forget the fact that I'm a recovering alcoholic, and that any trace of alcohol in my house doesn't exactly make me happy. Let's assume that you're telling the truth. It's not your beer. Let's talk about how you, my underage niece, happens to have be involved with an underage friend who has beer. What's happened to you? Who are you?


 * Julie: This was a mistake. I'm never leaving Erica again, ever!
 * Mary: Please don't say that.
 * Hank: We come home, the house is a mess, the baby is a mess, there's another baby here we don't even know. You had guests over after we told you not to, and you were drinking. What is wrong with you?


 * Julie: I don't know if I believe Mary.
 * Hank: I think we should tell Eric and Annie about her--about the beer, and that she's still hanging out with Frankie.
 * Julie: I hate to get her in trouble. If this were an isolated incident......she wasn't drunk. She could be telling the truth.
 * Hank: But if she is in trouble, and we don't say anything, how are we going to feel later? That we knew she was in trouble, and we did nothing.