by Jessica Blackwell

I guess Melissa was serious about what she said in the reunion last season about moving away from Teresa and her family. Their real estate agent has been trying to unload their house, but the 3.8 million dollar price tag is making it a difficult task. The house is Joe and Melissa's pride and joy, but everyone else might not feel the same way. They may take a loss when they sell the house, but as Joe puts it "Melissa is unhappy so they're going to go". Well, happy wife, happy life. 

Last week, Caroline said that she and Albert took an apartment because they wanted to see if they could survive in a smaller space, should they decided to downgrade once they unload Lauren at Vido's house. This week, Caroline's sister Fran made an appearance on the show...at their house where she was staying... Combine a sibling houseguest and a newly skinny, cranky Lauren, and I would be looking for another place to live too! 

Besides a crowded living space, Caroline also had to keep her word to Joe Gorga and contact Teresa so they could meet. Clearly previous complaints that she sticks her nose where it doesn't belong fell on deaf ears, because here she is, determined to do it yet again. They arranged to have a sit down at a local restaurant, and given how their last meeting went, it was sure disaster would strike. 

Right off the bat, Teresa pointedly asked Caroline if she fixed everything with her own siblings. When Caroline admitted that she hadn't, Teresa advised not to get in the middle of her situation with her brother, a fair point. Caroline said on camera that Teresa was deflecting her own issues onto her, but maybe it's the other way around. Maybe, Caroline feels powerless to fix her own relationships, so she counsels others? You know that saying, those who can't do, teach? 

Whatever the motivation, Caroline did actually get through to Teresa, which is no easy feat. Teresa agreed to let bygones be bygones and meet in the middle to repair her relationship with her brother. I think the turning point was when Caroline pointed out their their father could die without ever seeing them reconcile. That seemed to make her see the reality of the situation, and she decided to try and break the evil spell that Melissa has on Joe. 

Jacqueline and Chris are being very open about their struggles with their son Nicholas and his autism. Chris opened up to Joe Gorga about their experiences, and how it affects their relationship. He admitted they have their struggles, but they still try to find ways to make each other happy.  At a family get together, Chris told Jaqueline that he and Nicholas had a surprise for her. It turns out that he was secretly teaching Nick to say "I love you" to his mom again! When he lost speech, those were the words Jacqueline missed the most and it was amazing to see her get to hear them again. 

Last season, Kathy was struggling with the idea of Victoria going away to college, but she decided to attend a local college and stay at home. Kathy didn't think Victoria could handle a college lifestyle of sex and partying, but I think Kathy is the one who wouldn't be able to handle it. It seems that Rich's immaturity is weighing on Kathy, she admitted it gets annoying at times. Maybe that's going to be the cause of the problems that the previews eluded to. 

To see what out lovely ladies have in store for us next week, stay tuned! 

The Real Housewives of New Jersey airs Sundays at 8/9c

(Image courtesy of Bravo)