Mary and Sandra become contestants on ""Wheel of Fortune"" and wind up competing against each other.
Lester comes home from work sick, with the assumption that he has the flu. Using a bell that Sandra gives him, he drives Mary crazy with his demands for ""water"" and ""celery salt"" for his soup. She just assumes that he is being a big baby. Asking Brenda to watch Lester for a little while, Mary goes shopping and gets a pedicure and manicure (something she was not able to do earlier with Pearl and Rose). When she returns, Lester is being carried into an ambulance because he has appendicitis and needs to go to the hospital.
Mary invites Sandra and her date, an eligible Congressman, to a dinner for Brenda's teacher who is attracted to the legislator.
After Sandra sees her neighbors (a married couple) interact with each other and with their daughter, Sandra decides that she wants a husband and a child. She goes out on a series of dates which end in disaster becasue of Sandra's openness about wanting to be married and have a child.
Mary is in charge of the church's charity show, and it's like divine providence when the Temptations show up at her door.
When Sandra sees a pillow that Mary is making for Brenda, she is impressed. She tells Mary that they could go into business and make lots of money. So Mary agrees to a 50/50 deal with Sandra.
When Brenda meets a cute boy she decides to invite him to her party Saturday night. After getting permission to actually have the party, she then hears Sandra tell a story about how when she was young and wanted to get to know a boy better, she would ""mistakenly"" tell him the wrong day of the party.
Calvin's dad comes to visit D.C. He and Calvin have fun going to basketball games and going to see the Blue Angels fly. Because he and his grandma have been arguing a lot lately, Calvin makes the decision to live with his dad in Iceland, thinking it would be more fun than living in D.C.
Sandra is writing a romance novel whose characters resemble the residents of 227: Marie, Rosita, and Pearlie Mae. With Mary up against Emma Johnson for the presidency of the Ladies' Auxiliary, she becomes nervous when Emma receives a copy of Sandra's book.
Rose tries a video-dating service, but wonders if she can live up to the image Sandra creates for her.
When Mary and Rose come home from the movie theater, they see JoJo spray painting his gang tag underneath Pearl's window. Pearl hits him with her pillow, Rose grabs the spray can and accidentally sprays his shirt, and Mary grabs hims, but tries to talk sense into him.
The 227 residents are worried when Calvin's free-spending new friend offers him a chance to make 50 dollars for doing what ""sounds like a Miami Vice drug deal.""
When Ms. clark uses her feminine wiles to get Brenda a part-time job at Billy Bob's Burgers, Brenda's parents are divided: she wants Brenda to study full time, while he is delighted at her new sense of responsibility.
Sandra is very upset when she learns that her mother is coming to visit. She feels as though her mother doesn't love her because she is so different from her ""normal"" siblings and family members. Sandra changes her appearance to look ""dull"" because she thinks that is what her mother willl approve of.
Mary and Lester go to a toy store to purchase toys for kids in the hospital. When they get there, the guy lets them in even though the sign on the door says closed. The Jenkins discover that he is attempting to rob the place.
The IRS audits Mary and Lester. At a diner, Mary gets into an argument with a man whose views on women are old-fashioned and clash with Mary's views. She goes as far as to insult his mother.
When Sandra comes to show the ladies the new ring that her boyfriend gave her, Mary notices an article in the newspaper that mentions a robbery at the same jewelry store where Sandra and her beau first admired the ring. Mary suggests that Sandra contact the police.
When Lester decides to rent a hotel room for the weekend, Mary plans a cruise, and the ladies plan a surprise party for Mary and Lester's Anniversary, it's all Brenda can take to keep it a secret. She decides to tell them what the other's are planning for the weekend and they all agree to the party.
When Lester goes to watch the game at a friend's house, Mary and the ladies decide to have a girl's night out. They go to a club/bar where Pearl meets man. They hit it off.
Calvin befriends a new kid named Ron who says that his money comes from his rich uncle. He buys Calvin a new pair of shoes and offers to take Calvin and Brenda to a Stevie Wonder Concert. Mary doesn't like the way Ron is ""trying to buy friends.""
Upset when Brenda comes home from University Day wanting to attend Northwestern, Mary anticipates an empty nest by demanding that Lester give her a job at the construction site --and gets fired on her first day. Mary takes a job at a travel agency (with Sandra), where her boss finds her so invaluable that he wants her to accompany him on a trip. The boss comes on to Sandra, who then quits and tells Mary not to go on the trip. She goes anyway, and Sandra then tells Lester about their boss. He surprises Mary in Philadelphia and jumps to the worng conclusions when he finds a man's suit and bathrobe in Mary's closet. He finds out that Mary bought them for him as a surprise.
The Social Security office says that Pearl is dead, and the resulting protest lands Pearl, Mary and Rose in jail.