Episode #420 "Pressure Drop"

When Sean is diagnosed with stress-related high blood pressure, he immediately flips out. He thinks the whole thing is bogus. The doctor’s just trying to jack up Sean’s insurance premium with this blood pressure scam. Later, Eddie tells Sean that this problem involves him too. He’s a healthy single guy paying half the insurance premium as half owner of the Red Boot. Here’s Sean with all these issues and all these kids. Claudia tells Eddie the insurance company will let Sean take the test again next week. All will be well if Sean stays away from stress, watches his diet and gets more exercise. Eddie reminds Claudia that sex is a proven stress reliever. The kids come home from school, and Henry announces that Jimmy’s been suspended. The school’s bad girl, Nikki, offered him a cigarette. Trying to look cool, Jimmy accepted and lit up, throwing the match in a dumpster and accidentally starting a fire. Claudia tells Jimmy that there’s no way that Sean can find out about this. He has hypertension. That’s cool with Jimmy. Eddie and Sean are in the basement where Eddie is trying to teach Sean Tai Chi. Sean can’t see how moving that slowly does anything. Claudia’s upstairs giving herself highlights. She hasn’t had time to go to a salon, because she’s been so busy trying to keep Sean from getting stressed out. The next morning, she makes Jimmy pretend to go to school, so Sean won’t wonder why he’s at home. Claudia catches Brad and Lily making out on the sofa and makes them stop. She doesn’t want Sean to see them and get upset. Henry’s all set to play a prank on Sean, but Claudia stops him. It will just add stress. Claudia goes into Lily’s room and discovers that Lily and Brad have broken her bed. Claudia wants them out of the house. Even thought Sean doesn’t want Lily driving the car, Claudia gives her permission just to get rid of them. That night, Claudia’s eye is twitching because Henry tore her contact lens. A cop comes to the door with Jimmy in tow. Jimmy and Nikki were caught shoplifting. Jimmy didn’t have anything better to do, and since Nikki was suspended also, he’d been hanging out with her. The cop informs Claudia that the store manager isn’t pressing charges. Relieved, Claudia shuts the door in the cop’s face, so Sean won’t know what happened. The phone rings. It’s Lily calling from an impound lot. Lily and Brad had parked the car in a deserted spot and were making out. The car windows were fogged, and before they knew what was happening, they were being towed. She wants Claudia to come and get them. Sean comes in headed for the CD store and not knowing that their car is gone. As a distraction, Claudia takes Sean upstairs to have sex. A bedraggled Claudia arrives very late at the impound lot. She took Eddie’s electric car, but it started to die and she couldn’t find a place to re-charge the battery. Claudia quickly learns that the impound lot doesn’t take credit cards, and she doesn’t have enough cash. She goes ballistic and is determined to bust the car out. In a panic, Lily calls Sean who arrives to find Claudia in the car, completely blocked in. She’s clutching the wheel and having a complete meltdown. She tells him the whole story. She’s been trying to deal with everything that’s been happening, because she didn’t want him to get stressed out and start yelling. Sean says he’s spent the whole week trying to relax, but he has to let stuff out. He’ll eat tasteless, crappy food if Claudia will just let him yell. It’s a deal, says Claudia.