"The Dinner" is the seventh episode of Season 4 of Road to Avonlea and the 46th episode overall.
Summary[]
Janet and Alec King decide to spend a quiet, romantic evening of dinner and dancing at the White Sands Hotel, leaving Felicity in charge of the household. Felicity, however has plans of her own for a romantic evening – and they don’t include her siblings.
Plot[]
The story starts with Gus Pike chopping wood outside the schoolhouse. Felicity comes up and offers to help him stack the wood. It's pretty obvious she's trying to get Gus to kiss her. Before anything happens, though, Felix King and Morgan and Izzy Pettibone pop up from behind the woodpile and tease Felicity and Gus.
In the schoolhouse, Hetty King talks to Clive Pettibone. The two of them are looking over each other's story manuscripts, and Clive suggests that they have dinner at the White Sands the next day and talk about their stories.
Felicity is frustrated. She complains to Sara on the way home that she never gets any time away from her family. She's worried she'll die an old maid without ever having been kissed...or swooned! When Felicity gets home, she gets what she thinks is a brilliant idea to get some alone time with Gus Pike. She offers to babysit her siblings so her parents can have a night off at the White Sands hotel. However, she bribes all her siblings to be elsewhere that evening. Felix and the Pettibone kids decide they'll each tell their parents they're spending the evening at the other family's house. That way, they can do what they want with no supervision.
Felicity gets Sara to help her with her plan. They go to the lighthouse where Gus lives, and Felicity invites him to dinner the next day. Gus thinks it's a dinner with the whole King family.
On the evening of the dinner, Alec and Janet head off to the White Sands hotel. Felicity shoos her siblings out the door and prepares for her dinner with Gus...setting a fancy table and getting all dressed up.
Hetty gets ready for her dinner with Clive. She's nervous, although she pretends not to be. Cecily King and baby Daniel King arrive at Rose Cottage, ostensibly to keep Sara company while Hetty's away.
Gus arrives at the King farm and greets dressed-up Felicity with obvious admiration. He's a bit taken aback to find there's nobody there but him and Felicity! Both Gus and Felicity seem awkward and embarrassed around each other.
At the White Sands Hotel, Alec and Janet are having a wonderful romantic evening.
Back at the King Farm, Felicity and Gus are still acting awkward. Felicity asks Gus if he'd like more beef, but before he can respond she heaps his plate with beef, potatoes, carrots, peas, beans, and parsnips, all smothered in a generous helping of gravy. Gus tries to gently signal that she's given him plenty of food already, but Felicity doesn't notice.
At the White Sands, Hetty and Clive argue about their stories. Neither of them is willing to take the other's advice. Going into another room, they run into Alec and Janet and come to a realization: none of the King or Pettibone children are where they said they would be! They hurry back with Hetty and Clive still arguing, and run into Felix and the Pettibone kids playing in the snow.
At King Farm, Felicity keeps trying to be the perfect hostess, but she's so nervous she makes the fire too hot and then accidentally bumps Gus's elbow, spilling coffee all over his shirt. She apologizes profusely and says she can get the stain out if Gus gives her the shirt. Gus leans in to kiss Felicity, but suddenly the door bursts open and Alec and Janet appear with the rest of their children. Alec is furious and won't listen to explanations from Felicity or Gus. He sends Gus away immediately. Alec and Janet talk to Felicity about how irresponsible she's been, involving her siblings in a huge lie and being alone with a young man. Felicity keeps protesting that she and Gus just wanted to have some time alone. Alec tells her she's not to talk to Gus or even to think about him!
The next day, Felicity is miserable at school because she wants to apologize to Gus but isn't allowed to speak to him. Sara helps her write an apology letter to Gus, and Felicity tries to slip it to Gus in class by way of Sara. Clive Pettibone sees Sara trying to pass the note and makes her read it out loud, to the chagrin of all three children.
After class Felicity marches up to Gus and tells him her parents can't keep them apart. But Gus says they have to do what her father says, and he's not coming around to King Farm anymore while Mr. King is upset with him. Felicity calls him a coward, but Gus says he doesn't want to ruin his chances with her.
In the schoolroom, Clive asks Sara to bring a note home to her Aunt Hetty. She's afraid it's a reprimand for passing notes in class, but she takes it and walks to Rose Cottage with Gus. Gus is unhappy. He thinks he's not good enough for Mr. King's daughter, and he also thinks Felicity has just been pretending to like him. Sara assures him Felicity likes him, and Gus leaves in a more cheerful mood determined to set things right with Felicity.
At Rose Cottage, Sara gives Hetty the note. It's not a reprimand--it's an apology to Hetty from Clive Pettibone. Hetty rips it up, even though Olivia and Sara plead with her to forgive Clive.
That evening, Gus comes up with a plan to make up with Felicity. He gets Sara to help him write an apology letter and takes it to the King house at dark. Felicity comes to her window when Gus throws snowballs at it, and Gus is about to give her the letter when Alec comes up. He's furious. Gus tries to explain what he's trying to do, but Alec won't believe him and orders him off his property. Mortified at the whole situation, Felicity screams at her father that she hates him and she's disowning herself from the family.
Gus goes back to Rose Cottage and tells Sara and Hetty how badly the plan has backfired. He's unhappy because it seems he can't be in love with Felicity and keep his good reputation at the same time. Hetty says she'll try to help him keep both.
The next morning, Hetty goes over to the King Farm and argues with Alec. She tells him he should trust Gus and Felicity to behave properly...after all, Gus is far more of a gentleman than Alec was at that age! Alec protests, but he thinks deeply about what Hetty tells him.
That same day, Olivia invites Clive Pettibone to dinner at the Dale farm. She also invites Hetty to dinner. She doesn't tell either of them the other one is going to be there.
Felicity is still furious with her father and plans to run away from home. She packs two suitcases and makes Felix help her lug them to the lighthouse where Gus lives. When Felicity gets there, though, Gus says she's doing the wrong thing. He says he cares for her, and that's why he's going to obey her father...he's got to throw her out. Before he does, though, he kisses her.
At the Dale farm, Clive and Hetty both arrive and find that although there's dinner on the stove, there's nobody home...Olivia has tricked them into having dinner together! Hetty is furious at first, but Clive is determined to make up with her and they end up having a happy evening. Olivia has gone to the White Sands Hotel for dinner with Sara and baby Montgomery (Jasper is out of town).
Gus brings Felicity and her suitcases back to the King farm. Alec King comes to the door, and Gus greets him with an outburst of words: he wants to court Felicity with Alec's blessing. Alec finally agrees.
Cast[]
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Main cast |
Recurring cast
Guest cast
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Quotes[]
Felicity King: Living with five other people is like living in a fishbowl.
Sara Stanley: How can you swoon and kiss at the same time?
Felicity: What if I die an old maid in Avonlea without ever having been kissed? OR swooned?
Alec King: Janet, a back is like a chin! It's what defines a man...it's what makes us different from jellyfish!
Sara: Felicity, if you're too frightened to even ask him to dinner, how are you going to eat with him?
Hetty King: Calm yourselves, children! Calm yourselves!
Hetty: You certainly know how to dish it out, Clive Pettibone, but can you take it?
Janet King: It's not like Felicity to let the children get away with murder.
Gus Pike: It's all right...coffee's cooling down now...
Felicity: Sara, this is the lowest moment of my entire life.
Gus: All I'm afraid of is ruinin' my chances with you.
Sara (about Felicity): Gus, she worships the ground you walk on.
Gus: You know, I had my cap set for Felicity a long time ago. Somehow I gotta set things right.
Gus: Whoa there, Mr. King. I do like your daughter, but I assure you I have only the best intentions.
Gus: I never knew till now how hot-headed your family could be. Love seems to bring out the worst in all of us, doesn't it, Miss King? I'd almost rather not be in love if it means I have to give up my good name. I don't know which I'd choose...bein' able to share my heart with someone or bein' able to hold my head up high to my neighbors.
Hetty: You're wise for your years, you are, Gus Pike.
Hetty: If you ask me, it's a clear case of the pot calling the kettle black.
Alec: There was nothing improper about Janet's behavior. The poor girl was just madly in love with me!
Hetty: And what about Gus Pike? He's a gentleman through and through, to the very core of his being! I'll stake my reputation on it.
Felicity (to Felix): I'm running away. And you're going to help me.
Felicity: Okay, Felix, here's a tip. Don't brush your teeth with a brick.
Gus: It's just not right. We have to respect your father's wishes.
Gus (to Felicity): "You're amazin', you know that? You cooked up that hare-brained dinner scheme, defied your parents, lied to half of Avonlea, ran away from home...all so you could be alone with me. And now we're alone. And I'm about to throw ya out.
Olivia Dale: Nothing of real worth ever comes completely without pain. You know what though? You always remember the love more than the pain.
Alec: Now are you two gonna come in for some hot cider, or are you gonna freeze out here and whisper in each other's ear? Hmm. Thought as much!
Behind the scenes[]
Gallery[]
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Vidoes[]
