"The Break Up" opens with JJ questioning how much Thelma really loves her boyfriend Larry Walters (Carl Franklin, introduced in "Love in the Ghetto"), since the two seem to have nothing in common. As a garage mechanic he often discusses his work days fixing carburetors or radiators. When young Michael admits he's already been in love three times this year, the experienced JJ dismisses it as puppy love: "I may get 'em when they're puppies, but you get 'em when they're dogs!" Larry's news of becoming co-owner of his uncle's garage in California leaves the Evans family shaken, as they expect he'll ask Thelma to go with him. Thelma realizes that she and Larry may be together, yet are headed in opposite directions. Their final dinner features an expensive menu displaying live Maine lobster: "maybe we should order a dead one!"