Lauren arrives at the Athletic Club, chatting to Gloria over the phone about how she hasn’t seen Michael all day. As soon as she realizes her

husband has reserved the entire restaurant, she gets off the line and joins him at the blackjack table he set up in the center of the room. He asks if she’s feeling lucky and deals three cards. Turning them over, they read, “Happy 20th Anniversary.”

 

 

Lauren’s moved that Michael remembered. He’s been planning this surprise for her all day. Lauren recalls when he proposed to her all those years ago. There may be no Elvis impersonator or streamers, but she gets the hint. He knows he had to go intimate and less elaborate

 

 

since she usually accuses him of using extravagance to hide his transgressions. She loves it. They join hands and he tells her he wants them to relive their best moments.Lauren and Michael laugh as they remember his proposal. She jokes that he should have pulled out all the stops with streamers again. He says the night is still young and kisses her hand. As they down champagne, she recalls the first time he

 

 

kissed her. It was in his office and he charmed her with wine and music. “It was electric,” Michael remembers. She notes Kevin complicated the timing. He assures his wife that he remains the king of romance and is determined to prove it. Michael reminds her of their spectacular moments. She swishes her wine around as they remember playing strip wordplay. “We are still as hot and heavy as we have ever been,” he teases.

 

 

Lauren resists when he tries to pull her into a kiss. Standing at the blackjack table, she declares that he’ll have to earn all her chips to get a kiss. They play and chat about their family, recalling the night she told Michael she was pregnant with Fen. It was the happiest day of his life, even if he was worried he wouldn’t be a good dad. Lauren assures him he’s been the best dad ever. He grabs all of her chips and then pulls her onto the floor to dance. They kiss.

“Hey, what is this? Casino night?” Phyllis asks as she strolls in. She soon guesses it’s their anniversary. They remind her it’s been twenty years. Michael informs her they don’t need her crashing their party. Lauren asks him to take it down a notch. She wants the three of them to reach peace for her anniversary. They are best friends and that’s unbreakable. After some flashbacks, Michael notes they have been through a lot, including good times. Phyllis congratulates them both. She’s in awe of their relationship and even a little jealous. But mainly she’s proud that she’s been part of their lives. The couple admits their lives wouldn’t be the same without her and pull her into a hug. Lauren tells her how much they love her and she exits.Michael admits he was terrified he and Phyllis would never be in a good place again. Lauren says they need each other. She prompts him to return to kissing her. He surprises her by bringing out the same cake they had when they were first married. They talk about the challenges they’ve faced. He flashes back to when he thought she was dead, but she came back, and how they fought over the affair she had when they fell apart during Fenmore’s legal troubles. They came to forgive each other. Then they had to cope with his cancer and how it could have cost them their sex life and more.

Michael doesn’t know how they made it through. Lauren says they are both stubborn and love hard. They never want to stop fighting for what they have. “Tomorrow isn’t promised… that’s why we have to focus on today,” she says. They cuddle on the couch.

Michael Plans to Whisk Lauren Away
Michael wheels in some luggage with a bow and tells her they are moving on to the next portion of the evening. He prompts her to read the card. They are taking a getaway trip to Las Vegas… and Fen and Scott will be joining them. As they count the gifts they have given each other, the lawyer says it has been a “wonderful, weird, and wacky” twenty years. Giggling, Lauren says the next twenty will be more of the same. They toast to that, even though she doubts they can be more wonderful than what they’ve already had. As they dance, Michael reminds her of how long it took him to convince her to accept his proposal. She’s always given him the push to be better, and he can’t imagine life without her. They were made for each other.