Present:

Rene falls for the reporter assigned to do a story on her for the ""Birmingham Daily"" while turning down both Garrett and Graham; Colliar gets a job as a car salesman after he discovers that his back injury means that he can't do manual labor any longer; M.E. and Colliar sue their litigious and cantankerous neighbor after she has Scout impounded for knocking her down while trying to protect Davis and Kelly when she attacked them with a rake.

Past:

During the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis, M.E. becomes very frightened that Birmingham will be bombed and stays close to home, leading Rene to question whether they're still friends. Grandma Otis invites the girls over for a slumber party.

Rene represents a lesbian couple who are forbidden to marry on public property. M.E. suspects that Colliar is having an affair.

Past: Rene and M.E. learn about sex.

Rene's stalker is still around and she has to get a restraining order. M.E. and Colliar are beginning their own construction business.

Past: Rene and M.E. sneak out to a carnival and stumble upon a Klan rally.

Rene is sued for malpractice by a former client and his wife; so she hires Joe Lozano, an attractive attorney to whom she rents office space, to defend her. However, Rene learns that the way Joe wins cases isn't all that ethical....M.E.'s daughter, Kelly, dyes her hair black and hangs goth paraphernalia in her room. While M.E. struggles to accept Kelly's new lifestyle, Kelly insists that being into goth has nothing to do with contemplating suicide. M.E. also worries that Kelly doesn't want to go to college.

Past: After attending a service at a Baptist church with Rene, M.E. decides to convert from Catholicism, which makes her mother furious.

Present:

M.E. is distressed when Davis joins the football team; Rene is conflicted when she represents a client who confesses to a murder he committed in self defense 34 years earlier; M.E. helps Davis's parentless friend find a new home.

Past:

M.E. and Rene discover that they share ownership of Port Dixie with a homeless woman who claims to be a Hungarian princess, and argue; Rene is skeptical about her stories, but M.E. is enthralled by every word.

Rene defends a young man charged with vehicular manslaughter: He hit a pregnant woman and she lost her baby. The case becomes more complicated when Rene discovers that the woman was on her way to get an abortion when the accident occurred. This issue stirs an emotional and personal debate between Rene and M.E. M.E. must decide whether to attend a school play starring her daughter, Kelly, or an important writing seminar that she has already paid for. Rene moves into her new house without Bill and must tell her mother that the wedding has been postponed.

Past: A popular friend of M.E.'s sister takes M.E. under her wing. However, the girl insists that M.E. give up her friendship with Rene.

Present:

M.E. disagrees with Colliar's teaching Davis about guns and taking him on a hunting trip; Rene represents a teacher removed from teaching for practicing Wicca outside the classroom.

Past:

Rene wants to change her look for her first day in middle school and faces opposition from Sara; M.E. is less than thrilled when Catherine buys her a bra.

Present:

Rene represents Bill after he is involved in a controversial shooting. Joe starts an aggressive campaign to market M.E.'s book.

Past:

M.E. suspects that Colliar is cheating on her with Rene.