With the good baby news behind them, the crew of Flipping Out needs to get back to work. That chrome and marble nursery ain’t gonna build itself! But Jeff Lewis faces a crossroads this week when he runs into trouble with a long time contractor. And Jenni Pulos is facing a crossroads of her own, but on a more personal matter. Oh, and Chaz Dean pokes his greasy head out of his hole again to get a little more camera time micromanage Jeff and Gage Edward.
Jeff and company are still living and working from Valley Vista, the never ending construction zone. Head contractor Frank explains some details of the demo, which Jeff appreciates. Frank has been Jeff’s MVP for the past 16 years. Gage thinks Frank is slow, but Jeff appreciates his ingenuity and creativity. A smart contractor who comes through is nothing to sneeze at. But lately, Frank’s wife Angelica has been running his business. This situation is no bueno for Jeff. He’d rather deal with Frank, and Frank alone.
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Ashlyn is still withstanding her requisite workplace hazing, which Zoila Chavez has become ringleader of. She doesn’t want Ashlyn parking in her space! Gage is quick to defend the hapless Ashlyn though, noting how close to the edge she might be after her recent Glow Sharking.
Jeff, Jenni, and Vanina Alfaro head to Mary and Marty’s reno, which is still undergoing demolition. After the ridiculous chandelier removal, it’s no wonder Mary wants to stand literally in the middle of rooms while she oversees mallets being thrust into drywall. She needs to verify that sh*t is above board up in here!
In the car later, Jenni regales Vanina with stories of her recent vaginal steaming. She even has brochures! Jeff wants to know what symptoms would cause one to steam one’s whoo-ha. Jenni says she thought it might help with her infertility issues. Jeff snarks in his talking head that he assumed Jenni would want to get on that baby bus sooner, because he hasn’t really heard of 50 year olds having children. Ouch. Apparently, Jenni is ready to try anything though.
At Chaz’s, Jeff and team bring Frank – and wife Angelica – along for their weekly meeting. They discuss bids, which keep going up. Why is Frank raising the price so much? He explains water and structure issues to Chaz, whose eyes glaze over. Jeff thinks Frank should have notified Chaz of these issues immediately. Chaz agrees. Frank looks like he’d rather go do actual work than deal with this drama, but he agrees that there should be, and will be no surprises in the future.
Things take a left turn when Angelica pulls Jeff aside to discuss “scope of work” a thousand times, which she needs to have verified before Frank continues on this project. She doesn’t like Frank quoting work, then the work sometimes being farmed out to other specialty contractors.
Jeff is annoyed that he’s been pulled out of Chaz’s meeting to get barked at about scope of work this, scope of work that by the wife of a now totally mute Frank. It seems Jeff is more annoyed that Frank is not simply his personal contractor anymore, but a legit business owner and operator or whose manager (although annoying) wants some professional heads ups of her own. Chaz is not the only man who wants to make money in this town. Nor should he be.
Jeff doesn’t see it this way, however, noting that he has a lot of jobs going at a time, so sometimes work may be spread around. Angelica wants a full project commitment. Jeff thinks he’s being shaken down for more money. No one is seeing the other’s side right now. But Jeff does think Angelica’s Jedi mind trick of repeating SCOPE. OF. WORK. at him endlessly is kind of shrewd, albeit obnoxious. Jeff wonders if he’ll have to move on from using Frank if this is how Angelica is going to play? Their 16-year relationship might be at risk.
On the train later to a La Jolla client are Megan, Vanina, Gage, and Jeff. Then they cab it to the client site courtesy of a trans cabbie, who Jeff is terrified of being politically incorrect in front of. So he barely says a word en route! Zoila has been left at home to yell and scream at the guys cutting down mammoth trees outside of Valley Vista. She is doing her job admirably.
At the client site, Park One, the gang gauge how to remodel several condos (maybe four or more) for a developer to get them ready for sale. It’s a big job with a big budget, and Jeff’s got lots of ideas for the units. But can his team deliver? What is the SCOPE OF WORK here!?!?!?
Meanwhile, Jenni is transferring her hubby Jonathan’s sperm via shot-in-a-paper-bag to the doctor to get an IUI. She, poor thing, has had several miscarriages in the past and does not want to give up on her dream of having another child just yet. She does feel that she’s been blessed with one child already, though, so once all resources are exhausted, she’ll be at peace with “closing the legs forever.” Jenni, for all her faults, is a breath of fresh air on reality TV, in my opinion. She doesn’t often play the victim, seems grateful for all she has, and keeps her chin up. Good on her!
As Jenni places the sperm sample in the car seat beside her, she worries that it might be getting too much direct light. So she throws a jean jacket over it. HA! Again, I am Mc’lovin her right now.
Back at Park One, Jeff insults the lobby, and the developer – who just redid the lobby. Oops! He spouts some ideas at them anyway, hoping his design genius (which is his absolute best quality!) outsells his insults. The developer seems impressed, or at least not furious about the lobby diss. So they discuss budget. And now it’s a waiting game to see if Jeff will get the job.
They visit Krista’s house next, a remodel in La Jolla that Jeff already did. He’s moving on to the pool area next, which needs some upgrading. Some stone work has been done, so now they talk tile and teak and pillows and plants and – oh! Please let this be my next life!
Back at the fertility clinic, Jenni is carefully delivering sperm, then it’s legs up on the table to get inseminated. This is the second IUI she’s done, so she’s a pro at staying in the fetal position afterward on the table in order to get those swimmers swimming in the right direction. She wants her daughter to have a sibling, so she’s not giving up yet. She’ll know if this procedure worked soon, but is ready for any outcome.
After the doctor’s office, Jenni heads to Kelly’s Valley Village home. Kelly, pregnant with twins and a long time friend of Jeff and Jenni’s, is kind of stressing the remodel and the pregnancy. Jenni and Kelly reminisce on their lost youth, which includes stories of Zoila lying to them over the years, apparently! They discuss IUI, which Kelly did 5 times. She also did IVF, resulting in her twin pregnancy now. Jenni is inspired by Kelly’s fortitude and her success, hoping the same luck visits her.
Back at Valley Vista, the trees are being sawed down like a Costa Rican rain forest in the ’90s. Why all the tree carnage!?! Is Saruman gathering his army!?! (Sorry – LOTR geeking out!) Ashlyn, Zoila, and Silent Matt are forced to eat lunch with the screaming sound of chainsaws drowning out their very thoughts. But that’s life at Jeff’s abode.
At another lunch, Jeff, Vanina, Megan, Gage, and Krista are discussing psychics. Krista is freaked out that her psychic fell on a horse and had to cancel a recent appointment. Jeff thinks Krista is just reeling from her recent divorce, which was messy and unforeseen. Jeff feels for her, advising her to set boundaries with her ex before moving on. Megan Weaver notes that Jeff and Krista have an interesting relationship in which Jeff sort of feels like her protector. Aww. Maybe this is the side of Jeff that will rise to the surface more in fatherhood. #JeffTheSoftie
Back home, Jeff meets with Frank to discuss some Valley Vista issues. He also discusses a contract from Angelica about Chaz’s project. He feels like it’s too complicated; he wants Frank to be in charge of some jobs there, but not all. He reassures Frank that Chaz – and Jeff – would prefer to work with only Frank, but Frank’s crew of five just can’t handle the entire job. Frank seems to understand, but Angelica will likely not.
“You need to call off the dogs,” orders Jeff. Frank, though in a tough spot with his wife, actually agrees. The way he works with Jeff, well, works. And he doesn’t want to fix what’s not broken. It’s nice to see these two stick together! Here’s hoping Angelica feels the same…although I feel like she may be screen printing SCOPE OF WORK! t-shirts for their entire five-man crew at this very moment. We’ll see…
TELL US: DO YOU THINK FRANK AND JEFF CAN GET BEYOND THIS, LONG TERM? ARE YOU HOPEFUL ABOUT JENNI’S PREGNANCY PLANS?
Photo Credit: Bravo
