Caroline in the City

Caroline hires Richard as her new colorist, and takes Annie's advice to try getting a date by throwing fruit out her window.

Richard is mugged and robbed of his wallet and portfolio - containing Caroline' s drawings.

Richard takes his paintings out of the closet when Caroline and Annie convince a gallery owner to consider them for an exclusive show - which turns out to be for gay artists only; Annie becomes entangled in Caroline's search for a new hair dresser - and her old hairdresser (Lerner) spots her at the gallery opening party.

Three months have passed, and Caroline is thinking about advertising for a new assistant, so Charlie tries to demonstrate he would be perfect for the job and knocks Salty out the window. Sparks fly between Caroline and the vet who treats Salty, despite her fears that at 24 he is much too young for her. Meanwhile Richard, having failed as an artist in Paris (his only customer is knocked into the Seine just before buying some paintings), returns to New York and is forced to take a menial job in an ice cream parlor, where he just misses seeing Caroline on her first date with Joe, during which they helped raid an animal experimental laboratory and were arrested. (One of the participants is Shelly, still wistful about Richard, in her final appearance to date.) Caroline wakes up in bed with Joe and is unable to sneak out before he wakes and demands to see her again that evening, and on her way home she and Richard suddenly meet face to face.

Realizing Caroline never received his love letter, Richard labors to retrieve it from her friend's apartment.

Richard tries to adjust to his new apartment, where he is plagued by noisily amorous neighbors; Joe tries to adjust to the fact that Caroline plans to remain friends with Del; and Annie frantically tries to adjust her financial records when she is notified that the IRS is auditing her for 1993, a year she barely remembers. Her bad-tempered auditor is under fire for being too lenient with his clients, but when he learns she is a dancer in Cats, he strikes a deal: she'll ""never have to pay taxes again"" if she can get him an audition for the show. Enter 'producer' Del and 'director' Charlie. Meanwhile, disturbed by Joe's jealousy, Caroline makes up her mind to break a date with Del by telling him she's been called out of town.

An anxious Caroline, not aware that Julia intercepted his message, waits for Richard's response but isn't prepared for his ""Oh, why is it so difficult to say three words - I got married!"" Devastated, Caroline calls Del in the middle of the night and he rushes over - still handcuffed to his date Kristin, and must be released by an amused Annie with one of her collection of keys. Caroline impulsively throws a reception to honor the happy couple, at which she gets drunk, but things turn serious when Julia's wealthy father's chauffeur arrives and summons her to talk - and for the first time in her life Julia turns down her father's money and announces she will stay married to the man she loves.

When Richard shows up wearing a ridiculous shirt Julia forced him to wear, Caroline advises him to talk to her frankly about the compromises inherent in marriage - and Julia leaves him. Meanwhile, Charlie is upset that Del still treats him as an underling rather than a partner, and Annie tries to cope with unemployment by finishing The Grapes of Wrath - which she started in eighth grade.

Caroline's date reads more like a Shakespearean tragedy after she tells a lie to James, an attractive novelist she runs into during her book signing, and must then desperately cover for the fact that she hasn't actually read his novel; Richard tables his own remedy when Julia's job at Remo's is a disaster and he has to replace her as waiter; it's bad fortune for Annie when a fortune cookie leads Charlie to believe they share a recipe for love; and Del inadvertently becomes third party on a honeymoon.

Acting as narrator, the Elevator Lady brings us up to speed on the events at last season's close culminating in Richard and Caroline's first kiss. Desperately aroused, Caroline and Richard pause only long enough for Caroline to run to the bathroom to brush her teeth; but once there she is confronted by a vision of four men: ex-boyfriend Trevor, the first man she ever slept with, the high school coach she had a crush on, and the first little boy she ever kissed. An angry dialogue ensues, and an inflamed Richard, overhearing, strips down - only to be walked in on by an angry Annie, who accuses him of exploiting Caroline's vulnerable state. Then Caroline emerges from the bathroom naked, only to be confronted by Annie and Charlie, the latter having arrived with an urgent message from Del: Eagel Greeting Cards is going out of business. A mortified Caroline dresses and rushes to comfort Del, only to discover that he is celebrating the sale of his company to a major conglomerate, and to be pr

When Carol can no longer stand the pressure Del is putting on her to work out of her new corporate office instead of her home, a reluctant Caroline discovers that Richard has been sleeping there: his vengeful father-in-law has stripped him of apartments, possessions and credit cards, and Charley has been using Richard's old apartment as a makeshift hotel for visiting Russians. Then Richard falls afoul of the militaristic office manager Plum, who subjects him to standard employment tests, including a visit to the staff psychologist - who finds Richard's behavior a little odd.

Caroline settles into her new workplace, where she inadvertently - and immediately - ticks off office manager Plum, who banishes Caroline and Richard to the basement. Meanwhile, Annie lusts after her yoga teacher Jonathan, but learns from Angie that he is a former porn performer.