House of Payne tends to have a lot going on, but there’s usually some wisdom buried inside the funny. In this episode, Calvin learns lessons in proper communication and properly acknowledging his feelings. We start with Calvin’s ex, Miranda, revealing that she’s dating again, and eventually, she catches the interest of a promising suitor. Hold that thought.

Meanwhile, CJ is annoyed that Curtis emailed him a chain letter. He claims he’s not superstitious and won’t be forwarding that note because he doesn’t believe in bad luck. Curtis disagrees, but we know this will set off a wacky chain of events throughout the rest of the episode. Curtis’ luck seems to be up and up while CJ starts to experience a string of frustrating experiences, like a broken oven. This is all the fun stuff that goes down.

Back to Miranda. She stops by the Payne residence with her date and walks in on Calvin, Laura, Ella, and Curtis having dinner. The date went so well that she had to tell them about it and bring proof. That’s when Pierce, Miranda’s handsome date, also a doctor in French Guyana, walks in.  In other words, Pierce is the perfect specimen for showing your ex what you’re not missing. Everyone is impressed, but Calvin gets tight when he notices that even Laura looks a little too hard and makes shady comments here and there. Later on, Laura asks Calvin if he felt a way about Miranda bringing Pierce by. Calvin lies, of course,  and says he’s all good, but then accidentally calls Laura, Miranda.

Ouch. Conversation over.

At the end of the episode, Laura and Calvin come back face to face and Laura says she thinks Calvin wants his ex back. Calvin says he didn’t feel that way because his ex is with another man. He and Pierce are the same age, but Pierce seems much further along in life. He’s working a great job, traveling, and living his career goals, while Calvin is still living check to check and generally not where he wants to be. It hurts when he reveals that he’s not a good example to his son. However, Laura talks him off the ledge and their relationship crisis is averted. But Calvin allowed himself to be truthful about his feelings and move forward.