It's almost been a full month since the divorce and the Fishers are settling in nicely - until Joyce spies Mel flirting with a woman named Allison from his apartment complex. Isn't it too early to start dating again? She counsels with Katie who agrees, yet at the supermarket they both fall victim to surprise dating requests - Katie from her friend, Anthony, and Joyce from the acting manager of the store, Gary. Joyce can't believe her luck... and neither can Katie.
Meanwhile, Mel shows off his suave skills to Henry when they run into Allison in the laundry room. Henry marvels at his father's lady skills and complains about how awkward he is with Jenny, his crush from down the hall. That seals it - Mel decides it's time for the Fisher men to act and they march to Jenny's door with the intent to ask her to the carnival only to discover that Jenny's door is actually Allison's door. Well, they're the same door. Because Allison is Jenny's mom.
They retreat and negotiate a deal in private: since it's far too creepy for a father and son to date a mother and daughter, Henry gets until Sunday when the carnival leaves town to land Jenny. If unsuccessful, the green light goes to Mel and Allison. Seems fair enough, except Allison runs into Mel again and point-blank asks him to dinner. He agrees, but when Henry relays how Jenny turned him down, Mel sneaks back to Allison's apartment and cancels their date unbeknownst to Henry. This frees up father and son to hit the carnival together, which happens to be...
...the very same carnival Joyce redirects Gary to in an effort to ease their super-awkward date by crashing Katie and Anthony's. Problem is, it doesn't work. Joyce fails to censor herself and alienates Gary with a barrage of TMI anecdotes and he ditches her halfway through. On the other side of the carnival, Henry helps Mel wow spectators at the shooting gallery until Allison and Jenny happen to pass by. Mel apologizes to Allison and now she understands why he cancelled their date - Henry's just so obviously head-over-heels for Jenny. Despite the rickety start, Allison agrees to dinner in the future (while Henry continues to strike out). Moments later, a dejected Joyce stumbles upon Mel, who fibs about dating again but keeps Joyce's spirits high with a kind compliment.
When Mel and Henry return home after the carnival, Jenny shoots Henry a smile (awesome!) only to have Mel, unaware of her presence, blurt out Henry's love for her. Can't win 'em all.