[I realize that I skipped over Buster moving out in the afternoon and hanging out with Steve Holt that evening. Better check on Tobias and Tony Wonder too. It's still Tuesday.]


At the Gothic Castle, Tony Wonder told Steve Holt that they had to stop rehearsing because other magicians needed to use the stage now. Rollo was the opening act tonight, so his assistants needed to set stuff up and begin rehearsing at 4 o'clock.

"Okay." So Steve gathered up the doves and put them back in their cage. As they left the stage together, he told Tony that he needed to come back later to move some magic props into the storage room. (Buster had told him that the lawyer Haverstock wanted him to do that.)

Tony didn't get why Lucille's lawyer said that, but he shrugged it off. "Well, you can use the back entrance then, since that's closer to the storage room."

"Okay I'll do that. Thanks." So Steve exited the Gothic Castle and put the cage of doves back into his Camaro. Before starting the engine, he called Buster to let him know he was coming to pick him up now.

"Great!" Buster was currently hanging out at the park, waiting for his mother to get drunk and pass out at the penthouse.

Steve asked his uncle, "Did you make sure that I can leave the magic doves with Lucille Austero?"

Buster answered, "Yeah, don't worry."

"Thanks. See you soon."

"Bye, nephew!" After hanging up, Buster hurried home to the penthouse, where he found his mother conscious and smoking on the balcony again.

Lucille was irritated to see Buster. "I thought you left already."

"I'm just getting my stuff, so Steve Holt can drive me to the model home. He's going to take all his magic things to the Gothic Castle too."

"Good! I won't miss you or those birds." Lucille blew smoke at him, then called for another vodka martini from her new housekeeper Maria.

Buster went to his room, to the messy pile of stuff on his bed. He tied up the blanket into a bundle, then dragged it toward the front door.

Lucille sat down in the living room and watched him scornfully from the couch. "Enjoy your hot ham water and poached salmonella." She knew Lindsay didn't know how to cook, and she thought Tobias wouldn't cook unless he was dressed up as Mrs. Featherbottom.

"Sister will take care of me." Buster decided to wait in the hallway, and soon Steve arrived, carrying the caged doves. "Hey, nephew."

"Hey, Uncle Buster."

Buster knocked on the other door, then introduced Steve Holt to Lucille Austero, who was expecting them.

"Yes, come in." She showed Steve to the spare bedroom, while Buster stayed outside with his bundle. "Will I need to feed the doves?" she asked.

"No I already did it." Steve set down the cage and said he would come each morning to feed them and take them with him to rehearse at the Gothic Castle. "Don't worry. They're quiet and won't bother you at all."

"That's fine. If I'm not here, then my housekeeper will let you in. Hmm, maybe when I get a new foster kid, they'll like the birds too."

"Uh, sure." He shrugged. "Maybe you can come watch our magic show on Friday, Ms. Austero."

"At the Gothic Castle? Yes, maybe I will. Bye, Steve. Bye, Buster."

"Bye." Steve Holt returned to the hallway and helped Buster take his bundle to the elevator. Down in the Balboa Towers parking garage, they put the bundle into the car trunk, then returned upstairs to get the magic stuff.

Steve greeted his grandmother with, "Hi, Gangee. Thanks for letting me stay here."

Lucille put down her cigarette and sipped her drink. She was still a little suspicious of Steve, but she attempted to be friendly, due to her lawyer's advice. "Well, we can get to know each other, and I do have a spare room, finally." She directed the second part toward Buster, to spite him and make him feel jealous.

Buster didn't say anything, just hurrying to his room.

Steve followed and said to her, "I'll just get the magic stuffs now." Together they started taking the various props out of the penthouse, and they made a few trips to the Camaro until everything was gone. Some of the magic stuff fit into his car trunk, but Steve secured the rest to his rented flatbed trailer.

On their last trip, Steve stopped at the door and told Lucille that he would be late coming back tonight.

"Oh, going on another date?" she asked. Steve had gone out with Sue on Monday night.

Steve glanced at Buster, then just shrugged and mumbled, "Yeah, um... we'll probably just have dinner." Actually, Buster had asked to speak to him alone about Lupe, and he didn't want to let the secret slip.

"Fine," she said, pretending to be indifferent. "It'll be wonderful to have dinner in peace and quiet now that I'm out of jail." She glanced at Buster coldly.

Steve could sense the tension, so he nervously hurried to leave. "Okay, Gangee. Have a good time."

"I will." She watched them go, then turned on the TV. After a moment, Lucille did feel lonely, like she was being abandoned by her entire family. But she tried to convince herself that she would be fine eating dinner alone tonight because Maria would cook for her. She could have a great time by herself, just like when Buster first moved out a few years ago. So Lucille drank down her martini and turned the TV volume louder.


Meanwhile, Steve and Buster drove to the Gothic Castle and parked at the back entrance so they could move the magic props into the storage room. When they knocked on the door for someone to let them in, one of Morgana's magic assistants answered. The guy said that Buster wasn't Alliance-approved, so he couldn't use this entrance or go in the storage room.

"Oh, sorry," Steve said. "I didn't know."

The guy shrugged, knowing that Steve was new. He told him, "You can use this entrance yourself, but just make Buster stay in the car."

"Okay. Can you help me move this stuff instead?"

"I guess so." Morgana's show wouldn't start until after Rollo's show tonight, so her assistants had hours of free time to kill before getting into costume. He propped the door open and went to help Steve unload the car.

So Buster stayed in the Camaro and considered where they would have dinner tonight. Maybe they could go to the Playtime Pizza Theater to play games and have fun.

When Steve finished moving the stuff to the storage room, he rejoined Buster in the car, then drove to return the flatbed trailer to the rental place. Afterward, they went to dinner, and Buster asked for advice about how to win over Lupe. He also wanted Steve to teach him the illusion with the bouquet of silk flowers, so he could impress her.

Going to the bathroom for privacy, Steve showed his uncle the trick, but Buster had trouble doing it without getting the flowers caught on his hook. Steve worried that Buster would not be able to do it with his prosthetic hand either, but Buster remained optimistic. He said he would practice more with the bouquet at the model home tonight, but if he couldn't manage the trick by tomorrow, could Steve come help him out?

"I guess I could do it after I rehearse tomorrow. But you could always do that mariachi band thing instead, and maybe I'll just help you hold the balloons while you talk to her."

"Okay. Thanks."

So they returned to their table and had a nice dinner, discussing their recent fights with their mothers. Buster also told Steve all the things he should do to take care of Lucille, like zipping up her dresses and rubbing her feet.

"Yeah, my dad told me about that stuff too." Steve tried to encourage his uncle to feel cheerful and independent without Lucille, and they even had ice cream for dessert. After playing a few games, they left, and Steve dropped Buster off at the model home.

Tobias had returned from his date by now, though he told everybody the cover story about having a fight with Lindsay, who stayed at Sitwell's guest house. Tobias helped Buster drag his bundle upstairs to the kids' old bedroom, and he asked if Buster wanted some dinner.

Buster said he was already full, but he asked for some help practicing the magic trick. He wanted to impress Lupe and ask her out on a date.

"I thought she didn't like you?" That was what Buster told Lindsay.

Buster said, "No I think she just didn't want to get fired by Mom. But now Lupe has a new job, so I have a chance."

Tobias shrugged, since Lupe did sleep with Buster once. "Okay." He sat on the bunkbed and helped his brother-in-law practice the magic. He also suggested that Buster run lines with him for his part in Maeby's movie.

As they hung out, Tobias considered whether to come out as gay, so that he could discuss his date in Wee Britain. But Tobias was afraid that George might overhear them, so he didn't confess to Buster yet.

(Dale had actually not thought of the excursion to Wee Britain as a date. He thought of it as a friendly dinner while Tobias got comfortable with being out of the closet. To help Tobias spend more time with the local gays, Dale even invited him to go out with his other friends to a nightclub on Friday night. Tobias, oblivious that Dale thought of them as friends only, said he couldn't, both because he didn't want to be seen by paparazzi, and because he probably should go to Gob and Steve's magic show at the Gothic Castle.

"I mean, they're still my family."

Dale nodded in understanding. "Oh, but Tony Wonder's going to perform that night too! Maybe I'll convince the guys to come with me again."

"Yeah, that would be great!" Tobias thought that Dale was asking him out on a second date, and this would be a cover story to throw off the paparazzi and the Bluths. After all, no one would find it suspicious for gay guys to go to Tony Wonder's show, and Tobias could meet Dale there while pretending he was only supporting his family members.

"It's a date!" Dale said, only in the sense of a group social event.

After Tobias dropped off Dale in the staircar, Dale gave him a hug and friendly kiss on the cheek, while saying, "See you Friday."

Tobias just beamed happily and said, "Friday" as he watched Dale go into his home. He sighed, then drove back to the model home.)


After Tony left the Gothic Castle on Tuesday afternoon, he went home to finish calling the rest of the Alliance magicians to convince them to meet Gob's brother Michael on Friday. Tony did his best, but many of them still thought Michael was crazy and creepy.

It was frustrating. If only he could get Gob to help him. Maybe they could talk tomorrow and meet with the other magicians so they wouldn't be alone and Charlie wouldn't be jealous? Heck, maybe Charlie could help convince people that Michael wasn't crazy. It couldn't hurt to ask, could it?

Tony was still thinking this over when Sally Sitwell arrived for dinner. This time she brought takeout from China Garden.

Tony tried to tell her that he was tired and didn't feel like sex tonight.

Sally said, "But you didn't have a show tonight. What's wrong?"

"Um, well, I was helping Gob's son Steve rehearse with magic doves today."

"Oh! You didn't get hurt?" She knew Tony lost a testicle to a hungry dove in his pants.

"No, I'm okay. It was just... a long day." He had been nervous around the doves.

"Okay." Sally said he would feel better after they had dinner, and she went to set the table with the food.

Tony gave in and went to open a bottle of red wine. As they ate, he told her that Gob didn't come to the Gothic Castle today because he was still helping Michael at his cabin.

"Again? Gosh, that place must be a dump." She told him with a smile where the cabin was, according to her father. "Poor Michael, so close to luxurious homes and golf courses, but stuck in a rickety log cabin." She was pleased at his misfortune.

Tony felt a little sorry for Michael, though, given that Gob said that Michael wasn't crazy. He knew that Sally wouldn't believe him, though, so he just told her about rehearsing with Steve Holt instead. "The kid's nice, and he loves magic, but he says he never had time to practice seriously because he did football all through high school." (Over seven years, in fact.)

Sally said, "He sounds a lot like Gob in high school."

"I think he'll get better with time." Steve Holt was so eager to make his father proud.

"Sure. It'll be a great show. But not too great. You don't want him to outshine you." Sally was sure that Gob would probably mess up the show himself, given his history. Then she told Tony about her busy day at work. She was also excited about some mean articles about Lindsay that would be published in the newspaper tomorrow.

Tony was getting bored and trying not to show it.

Luckily, Sally's cellphone rang, and Maeby wanted to talk to her about a terrible movie she just saw with George Michael. "Uh, just a second, Maeby." Covering the phone, she quietly apologized for the interruption. "Sorry. She seems upset."

"Go ahead," Tony encouraged her.

So Sally left the table with her plate and went to the living room. She sat on the couch and returned to her call. "Okay, I'm back." Sally hadn't seen the movie either, so Maeby described iThe Royal Tenenbaums/i to her.

"Wow, that's crazy! No, I don't think Michael ever mentioned that movie to me when we were dating. But he wouldn't, if he wanted to keep me from realizing that he loved Lindsay. Ew!" Sally still shuddered at the thought that Michael had been using her as a substitute for his adopted sister.

Tony was glad that Sally was distracted with this phone call. He quietly finished his dinner and cleaned up, then went to his bedroom alone. As he undressed, he thought about meeting Gob in person tomorrow and hoped he could convince Charlie to help talk with the other magicians. After all, Charlie was Michael's old friend from college and believed he wasn't crazy.

Then Tony remembered that Gob would not agree to change his Christian magic act to be less blasphemous, even after Steve Holt tried to bring up the subject again. If Gob continued to refuse, then Friday's show might turn into a disaster. Maybe Tony could talk to Charlie about that too, and ask him to help convince Gob?

Tony sighed and got in bed, falling asleep long before Sally came to join him.

She didn't bother to wake him up to have sex because she was too upset by the movie discussion. It was creepy to remember having sex with Michael and to realize that he might have been imagining that he was having sex with his sister Lindsay. She just undressed and went to sleep beside her boyfriend.


That evening, Steve returned to the penthouse and saw his grandmother watching TV. "Hi Gangee." He said he didn't want to disturb her, but she actually invited him to sit beside her on the couch.

Maria had already gone home for the night, and Lucille wanted some company after all. "Have a nice date?"

"Yeah." Steve felt a little guilty for lying to her, but Buster was his friend after all.

After an awkward silence, Lucille finally offered, "Next time, maybe you can... you can bring your date here." She was worried that Steve would keep going out constantly, and she would often be alone at the penthouse; so perhaps if she let Steve bring a date here, then he would enjoy spending time with his grandmother.

"Really, Gangee? You don't mind?"

She shrugged. "Well, I don't think she should stay the night here. But maybe I should meet this girl and see if she's trustworthy. Won't blab to the press about the scandal, you know."

"No, she doesn't like the scandal, Gangee. Sue's great." Steve liked that his grandmother was concerned about his life; maybe she thought of him like family now. "But yeah, I'll ask her to come meet you. Maybe she'll come here after the magic show on Friday."

"Yes, that would be fine." If the whole family was going to the magic show without her, she would crave some company. So Lucille sat back and watched TV with Steve until she felt sleepy and ready to go to bed.

Steve felt pleased, not knowing that Gangee was being uncommonly nice out of insecurity. He also had no idea that Lucille might be so critical on Friday that she might drive away Sue Hsu, or even be racist about her family being from Taiwan. Steve just turned off the TV and happily went to Buster's room to sleep.