‘Mr. Sunshine’ Recap: Heather’s Sister

The episode opens with an outside shot of The Sunshine Center. Heather tells Ben that Crystal wants to see him and tells him that she tried to call his apartment that morning but he must have given her the wrong number again/ Ben replies that he must have written it down every single time she’s asked him for it. Ben says he will give it to her again soon. Heather leaves and Roman appears. He smiles at Heather as she leaves and tells Ben how amazing he thinks Heather is, how he’s never liked a girl as much and how he wants to ask her out on a date but is nervous to be alone with her. Ben warns Roman about going out with Heather because he could be the next guy she lights on fire. Heather reappears and asks what Ben and Roman were “whispering about.” Ben says they were talking about hard it is to find ‘The One.’” Heather gives them a suspicious look then leaves. Ben repeats the explosion gesture, looks at Roman and smiles.

Next, Ben walks into Crystal’s office followed by Alonzo. Ben turns to Crystal and asks her why she called them. Crystal is nuzzling a small dog and tells them she called them because she has chosen one of them to present her prize show dog, Riverdale Admiral Horatio Nelson Ticklefight, in the San Diego dog show that’s coming to The Sunshine Center. She says she chose Alonzo because he’s an ex-NBA star. Ben gets jealous and asks why did Crystal call him into her office. She says because she needs him to use his “delightfully small hands” to retrieve her pen that she dropped behind her console. Ben says he doesn’t have small hands. Alonzo and Crystal hold up their hands for comparison. Then, Ben relents and goes to retrieve the pen. Alonzo then tells Crystal that he’s flattered but a dog show isn’t his “thing.” Crystal pleads with Alonzo saying it’s the dog’s last chance since her vet said the dog can’t have any more plastic surgery. Alonzo agrees.. Meanwhile, Ben’s crouched behind Crystal’s console saying he got the pen.

Next, Ben and Alonzo are walking. Ben’s telling Alonzo how he reached the pen when Alice runs up to them and asks them to help her because an old high school rival Jessica, is coming to visit her. She wants Ben to say that he has an “urgent message” for her and needs her “expertise” and for Alonzo to come to dinner with them and be the “great guy” he is so she can gloat. Both Ben and Alonzo agree to help Alice.

Next, Heather is asking Ben if he would like to be set up on a date. Ben declines even though he says Heather is a great judge of character, Ben comments on the framed and signed sketch of the Unabomber on Heather’s desk, which she’s excited to have. She then tells Ben that he has a dinner meeting with pro skateboarder Tony Hawk. She says it’s because of all the letters Ben sent him about including The Sunshine Center on his tour. Ben says it pays off to bug celebrities because they can’t ignore you forever. He then tells Heather to send another muffin basket to Carrie Underwood.

Next, Ben walks into The Sunshine Center’s restaurant and tells Diane, the maître d, that he’s there to meet Tony Hawk. Diane leads Ben to a table where a young lady is sitting. The girl tells Ben that she’s Heather’s sister Stephanie and Heather tricked him. Ben starts to leave but Stephanie seems nice so he sits down. They get to talking. He tells her likes the movie Tootsie and that Dustin Hoffman is one of his favorite actors. Stephanie says she loves Tootsie and Hoffman too. Then Ben does an impression of Hoffman saying the word ‘why’.’ Stephanie laughs. Ben asks her to tell him more about herself but she says she wants to know about him. Ben says he likes, “hockey, British bands of the 80s, tennis and cartoon bears.” He then asks her what she likes and she repeats exactly the same things. Ben asks her why she just repeated what he just said. She says it just happens that they like the same things. Ben talks about liking Kelly Ripa. Stephanie says she likes Kelly Ripa too. Ben takes it back and lists the reasons why. Stephanie then takes it back for the same reasons. Then, Ben just stares at Stephanie.

Next, Crystal is coaching Alonzo before the dog show. Crystal tells Alonzo that Horatio can be a a drama queen and any small surprise move can make him react pretty dramatically. Alonzo reminds her that he’s used to pressure from being in the NBA. Crystal then pulls out a white captains-like uniform that she tells Alonzo she had fitted for him to coordinate with the dog. Alonzo tells her, “Not a chance.” Then, Alice appears all dressed up and says she took three hours to get ready to see Jessica and that she wants Jessica to “hurt.” Alonzo says he doesn’t like this vengeful side of Alice.

Next, Ben is walking toward Heather and Roman. Heather apologizes to Ben for making him think he was meeting Tony Hawk for dinner. She asks him if he had a good time and liked Stephanie. Ben says she was “agreeable.” Heather says they should go out again and Ben sarcastically says they would. Roman then suggests that they all go out on a double date. Heather agrees and Ben rushes Roman into his office. Roman begs Ben to go out on the double date and without Ben there Roman knows he’ll screw it up. Ben reluctantly agrees.

Next, Ben, Stephanie, Heather and Roman are at table in The Sunshine Center’s restaurant. Roman mentions hockey. Stephanie says how her and Ben both love hockey. Ben asks Roman if he has a story about hockey. Roman says that he played hockey but quickly takes it back. Ben says how interesting hearing that was and Stephanie repeats what Ben says. Roman grabs Ben’s butter dish. Ben quickly grabs it back. Ben then says he’s going to go to the kitchen to see why the food is taking so long. Stephanie repeats what Ben just said. He then gets up.

Next, Alonzo’s at the restaurant’s bar. Ben asks Alonzo what he’s doing there. Alonzo tells him he’s getting ready for the dog show and asks him what he’s doing there. Ben tells him why he’s there. Alonzo tells Ben that the guy that Heather lit on fire was her sister’s ex-boyfriend and that the skin from his butt is now on his face. Alonzo suggests to Ben that he should make Heather’s sister break up with HIM so Ben doesn’t become Heather’s next victim. Alonzo wishes Ben good luck and leaves the bar.

Flash to Crystal and Alonzo who’s holding Horatio as the announcer calls Alonzo’s name. Alonzo runs out onto the arena floor. He’s walking Horatio around as he tries to get the rile the audience’s attention.

Back to the restaurant and Roman’s finishing up a story about how he came to love Slinky. Heather tells Roman how much she enjoyed hearing his story. Heather then asks Roman to accompany her to the restroom so Ben and Stephanie can be alone. Roman agrees but not before thanking Ben for making the date happen. Ben then proceeds to try to make Stephanie break up with him by telling her he lives with his mother and asking to borrow money. None of this seems to turn-off Stephanie who actually lends Ben money. Heather and Roman return to the table. Roman then proposes a toast to Ben and to Ben and Stephanie as a couple. Heather then says how she hopes that Ben and Stephanie stay together forever. Out of desperation, Ben turns to Stephanie and licks her face. She licks Ben’s face in return. Ben says he’s into licking faces, Stephanie says that she is too then Ben takes it back and Stephanie takes it back. Fed up, Ben jumps up and tells Stephanie that it’s not going to work out between them. He turns to Roman and that he tried to be there for him but can’t continue. He turns to Heather saying he’s not sure how she’s going to react but that he doesn’t want any of his butt on his face. Heather calmly tells Ben that it’s okay and says why she thought he and Stephanie would be perfect for each other. Ben agrees with her reasons. Suddenly, Stephanie says she only agreed with everything Ben said to be polite. Then, she says that Tootsie “sucks” and that Ben’s impression of Dustin Hoffman saying the word ‘why’ was funny once…NOT every time. Heather interrupts saying that Stephanie agreeing with whatever a guy says makes her look “psycho” and it turns guys off. Stephanie scoffs and calls Ben a “loser.” Heather then blasts Stephanie saying how hard it was for Ben to be go on the date, what a great guy, boss and friend Ben is and how he has spent the whole date trying to make Roma comfortable. Roman’s surprised that she noticed but Heather tells him that he didn’t need Ben there for her to have a good time with him. Stephanie says that she can do better than Ben. Heather asks if she’s joking given all of “the losers” she’s gone out with. They start screaming over each other and Ben says he’s going to leave. Heather threatens to slap Stephanie. Stephanie threatens to do the same to Heather. Ben says he’s going to stay.
Back to the dog show. Alonzo’s walking Horatio around the arena floor now dressed in the white captains-like uniform. Alonzo stops, hollers and picks up Horatio.

Flash to Ben, who left the restaurant and is walking toward Alice and another girl. Alice introduces Ben to her Jessica. It takes Ben a second then Ben tells Alice that he has an “urgent message” for her. Alice asks what it is. Ben looks stumped and whispers to Alice in front of Jessica that they didn’t discuss what the urgent message would be. Alice whispers to Ben that Jessica can hear him. Ben replies, that he’s whispering.

Back to the dog show. Backstage Alonzo is pumped up from the crowd and tells Crystal how he thought he missed being in the spotlight but “it’s still alive” in him. Crystal thanks Alonzo but he says he wants to go back out and win the ‘Best in Show’ round. Crystal says that SHE wants to present him since she’s retiring him. Alonzo says that isn’t fair. Crystal asks him to give her the dog, but he won’t. They get in a tug-of-war over the dog as Alice and Jessica appear. Alice introduces Alonzo to Jessica as he is fighting Crystal for the dog. Jessica turns to Alice and makes fun of Alonzo. Meanwhile, Alonzo and Crystal are still fighting over the dog. Crystal gets ahold of him as the dog goes limp and she says that Alonzo has made Horatio “recede into his shell.” Jessica laughs saying Alice “snagged a great one.” Alice then says she doesn’t care what Jessica thinks and that she’s glad she stole Dan because he’s a “dirty face licker.” Alice walks away from Jessica who stays for a second to watch Crystal and Alonzo try to rouse Horatio but then she walks away.

Flash to Heather apologizing to Roman for ruining their first date. He tells her not to worry and that he had fun. She tells him how excited she was about going out with him and next time they should go alone,“ Roman agrees. Heather kisses him on the cheek. Ben happens by and Roman asks him if he saw what Heather did and that Ben made it happen. Ben says it was all Roman and that he was right about Heather all along. Ben then gives Heather a piece of paper with his real phone number on it. She thanks him and Ben says she earned it. Heather then asks Ben if the number is the one “to the cordless phone in the kitchen or to the old-fashioned one on the nightstand?” Ben warily replies, “The nightstand.”

Flash to the dog show where is Crystal is dragging a dead-looking Horatio around the arena floor while waving and saying, “Thank you” to the audience.

Flash to Ben and Roman watching and then looking at each other.