Episode #206 "Older and Out"

  At the Flower Café, Hilton befriends two sixtyish guys, Chuck and Larry, who are wearing sweatshirts that say "Older and Out". He tells them that "Older and Out" sounds like his kind of organization, thinking that "Out" must mean out of the workforce. When Hilton walks away, the two guys speculate on whether or not Hilton is gay. When they overhear him bickering with Griffin about household matters, they assume they’re lovers who live together. Hilton unwittingly joins the "Older and Out" softball team as second baseman and tells Ruth he’ll be getting out three times a week with a great bunch of guys. When an unknowing Pauline develops a crush on Chuck, Hilton promises to find out if he’s available. Chuck then drops by the Flower Café again, and Pauline decides to ask him herself. When she finds out he’s gay, she tells Ruth, causing Ruth to wonder if Hilton realizes what ’s going on. Meanwhile, Hilton tells Chuck he has a "friend" who’s interested in him, and Chuck automatically assumes it is Hilton himself. He tells Hilton he might be interested in his "friend." The two men then have a discussion about their different political leanings. Hilton later tells Ruth about this, and Ruth assumes by "leanings" he means sexual preference. When Hilton says he’s actually had some of those feelings himself, Ruth is floored and tells him that would be a problem for her, Hilton tells her she’s overreacting, still thinking they’re both taking about politics. Ruth later tells Pauline she blames herself for letting the romance slip out of their lives. She tries to overcompensate with Hilton that night, and Hilton is surprised and delighted. But when he announces the next day that he’s going to a Western themed evening at Chuck’s, this puzzles and disturbs Ruth even more. Decked out like cowboys, Hilton and Griffin arrive at Chuck’s party, where Hilton finally realizes what’s going on. He and Griffin attempt to bow out gracefully, but not before Hilton tells Chuck he would still like to play on the softball team.