Secret Life: Ricky’s Gay Mom

The biggest focus of “Guess Who’s Not Coming to Dinner” was on Nora Underwood’s sexual orientation. Ricky didn’t really find out by seeing his mom with her girlfriend after all. His foster mom, Margaret, inadvertently spilled the beans when laying down the house rules after she and her husband agreed to take Nora off Ricky’s hands and let her live with them.

When Margaret comes over to talk about Nora’s imminent move, Nora doesn’t want to go and turns on the wisecracks non-stop. Nora asks “What are you planning on dragging me off to church to wash my sins of before I step into your house? Got any plans like that? Any surprises?” Margaret says Nora might be surprised to know she and her husband are Buddhists and don’t go to church. “Oh, good lord, my son was living with nudists,” Nora teases, looking mighty pleased with herself. After some more of Nora’s annoying unilateral repartee, Margaret lets her know that she’s not looking for an adult to raise, but “your son asked us if we would take you in and well, yes, we will take you in as long as you abide by the rules …”

What a loving patient woman. We would have been exasperated and said fuggedaboutit by now.

“Oh, let me guess,” Nora pipes up, “No boys in my room?”

“Girls either,” Margaret replies.

Ricky wants to know what that’s supposed to mean and Margaret tries to play it off by saying she just means no company in the bedroom. That kind of took the wind out of Nora’s sails but then Ricky lays out the rest of the “tougher” rules: no drinking, no drugs, do your own laundry, help around the house and with any other work that might need to be done. Probably all the stuff Nora was already doing in jail. And Ricky thinks Nora’s change in attitude is because of the rules. After he leaves, Nora asks Margaret how she knew about “the girlfriend.”

“I hear things,” Margaret said, and Nora shakes her head in a “wouldn’t you just know it” gesture.

Later in the butcher shop, Margaret comes to pick Nora up. Ben decides to announce his intention to marry Adrian. Nora thinks that’s very funny: “You’re going to marry his old girlfriend?” Ben says he doesn’t call Adrian Ricky’s old girlfriend, and if Adrian says yes, he will marry her. Nora congratulates him and says she may get married some day too, “if she says yes.” Margaret shoots her a “what are you doing” look and Nora blithely says: “Oh, like you weren’t going to tell him.”

They leave and Ricky wonders what “if she says yes” means. “Your mother’s a lesbian?” Ben offers.

Ben’s impending proposal was the secondary topic. He wants his dad Leo’s blessing and the blessing of Adrian’s parents before he pops the question. The bigger question is if Adrian really loves Ben. Adrian tells Grace what she feels for Ben is a mature love. She says her feelings for Ricky were just infatuation, and she knows Ben really loves me. “He’s there,” Adrian says. Grace wonders if that will be enough. “Maybe being there is everything a child needs, but I don’t know if it’s everything a woman needs.”

Ricky changed his mind about bringing John and Amy over to meet Nora, and pretends to Amy he has the flu. Nora believes it is because Margaret revealed her secret, but Ricky relents and lets Amy bring John over. He shows up when Nora is explaining to Amy how being the dysfunctional parent is even a curse when your child still loves you. Self-centered to the max! Ricky says they aren’t going to be victims anymore and Nora comes clean about the girlfriend she met in jail, giving Ricky visions of a tough butch inmate named Big Bertha. Nora quickly reassures him that her girlfriend is a public defender, then she tells her grandson if anyone ever hurts him, she will kill them and her girlfriend will get her out of jail. We should just call his mom Not Normal Nora from now on because normalcy seems a long way off at this point.

Ben gets Leo’s reluctant approval and Reuben, Adrian’s dad, is all for them getting married before the baby arrives. Her mom, Cindy, has her doubts but Ben manages to win her over too. At the taco restaurant he has rented out just for the occasion, Ben goes down on one knee and is bowled over by how quickly Adrian says yes. It was a cute moment. “I love you, Ben,” Adrian gushes then has a fleeting doubt over whether Ben really said he loved her too. He did.

Next week, Amy will propose to Ricky, or at least that’s what they’re showing in the coming attractions. We were misled into believing Nora’s girlfriend would make an appearance in this episode, but she never did.

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