Episode #413 "Bakersfield"

  Cy b i l l’s mother, Virginia, has just passed away, and Cybill is trying to hide her emotions. While going through some of Vi r g i n i a’s belongings, Zoey finds an unmailed letter addressed to Jonathan Miller in Bakersfield, California. Cu r i o u s about who Jonathan is, Cybill reads the letters and finds out that her mother loved this man. Cybill thinks Virginia had an affair. Ma ryann and Ira convince Cybill that Jonathan must get the letter, and Cybill agrees – but she thinks she should take it to him in person in Bakersfield. So, Cybill, Ma ryann and Zoey drive to Bakersfield and stop at a gas station for directions. Cybill expresses that she is a little hesitant about approaching Jonathan. After all, if her mother had wanted her to know, Virginia would’ve told Cybill. But when Zoey points out that the diner Jonathan owns is just acro s s the street, Cybill cannot resist seeing him. In the diner, Cybill, Ma ryann and Zoey see Jonathan, an elderly man, serv i n g coffee at the counter. They also meet Claire, their waitress, and Jo n a t h a n’s granddaughter. Cybill tells Claire that she k n ows Jonathan, but she doesn’t want to speak with him. Then, Claire re c o g n i zes Cybill from the Viking Mist bre a t h f reshener commercials and makes her sing the high note that kills "that Viking guy." Knowing Cybill is an actress, Claire asks Cybill if she thinks she could be an actress, even though she’s not skinny. Cybill assures Claire that she is beautiful just the way she is, and she shouldn’t be bothered by those magazine pictures of emaciated women because they are not real. Claire is thrilled with Cy b i l l’s answer and gives her free cheesecake. Later, Ma ryann badgers Cybill about not giving the letter to Jonathan. Cybill has changed her mind. She doesn’t want to interf e re with her mother’s life; she just wants to say good-bye. Jonathan then comes by and tells the ladies he’s closing up. Cybill, teary - e yed, apologizes and says t h e y’ll leave. Jonathan asks Cybill for an autograph before she leaves, which allows her to approach Jonathan and ask him about Virginia Mi l l e r, her mother. Jonathan does remember Virginia from Memphis, so Cybill gives him the letter. After reading it, Jonathan explains that this letter is for his son, Jonathan Jr., not him. Shocked, Cybill thinks that her mother was having an affair with his son. Jonathan informs Cybill that they adopted Jonathan Jr. from Virginia. W h e n Virginia was sixteen, she got pregnant and there was only one thing a respectable unmarried could do. Cybill is sadden to learn that Jonathan Jr., her bro t h e r, died two years ago. Lu c k i l y, his daughter, Claire, is still around and Cybill happily welcomes her into her family. Back home, Cybill remembers her mother, with a smile and tears, as she watches home videos from T h a n k s g i v i n g .