Okay, we all know that Harrison knows who his new daddy is, since he yells out "Daddy" every time he sees Kyle. But does the child even know who his mommy is? Or, since Ashland is Harrison's "father," would Tara be his "mother"? We may never know the answers to those questions, since the three-year-old never calls Tara anything at all. It's rather eerie that it seems the only word Harrison seems to know is "daddy." (And he eventually said, "Where?" And another time, the kid was playing like...well, a normal kid, when he made booming sound effects as he crashed his toys into each other. Then, the boy with the face of an angel didn't seem quite so angelic.) You know the old saying: Children should be seen but not heard, and Harrison has truly taken that proverb to heart.
After her grand entrance at Kyle's engagement party with his son, the only time that Tara is seen with the child is when she's trying to push him off on Kyle for them to spend more time together. And it's not so much that Tara has been attempting to arrange family gatherings for just the three of them, which would make sense if she were trying to ensnare Kyle into her new family dynamic. No, each time Tara has mentioned that Kyle should go somewhere fun with Harrison, somehow Summer manages to get included in the festivities. If Tara truly wanted Kyle as her very own, her scheme sure seems to be backfiring, since all Kyle's plans with the tot have, so far, included Summer but not Tara, who never seems to mind.
It's almost like Kyle has been trying to replace Tara with Summer. Since Harrison never seems to acknowledge Tara as his mother or mommy or mama or whatever, he probably would never notice, anyway. Mommy who? Shoot, she'd be forgotten in no time at all. Hey, judging by the dirty looks that she constantly shoots at Tara, Summer would be thrilled to have Tara vanish like a puff of smoke into thin air, even though Summer didn't appear to have any desire to be Harrison's new mommy. She just saw Tara as a threat to her secure future with Kyle., and she wanted her gone. It's about time she shifted her nastiness from Sally to Tara, since Tara had always been the real threat to her happiness, although Summer tends to be happiest when she's miserable.
If Ashland was truly being honest with Victoria, I give him a lot of credit for putting Harrison first by not wanting to alarm the boy, whom he had always thought of and had loved as his son, with his health issues. Ashland claimed he had dropped the custody case because of his declining health, which was very admirable, and said he only wanted the best for his son, which was to be with two loving parents and to be merrily surrounded by two such esteemed families as the Abbotts and the Newmans. Ah, that last part sounds much more like Ashland. But this genuinely would be a grand gesture on his part for Harrison -- if it was true. Or was Ashland's ulterior motive to get sympathy from Victoria, who could spread the word around about his health, so he could get what he really wanted -- his son?
Ashland claimed that he only had six months left to live unless the doctors could find a treatment to prolong his life. If he was faking this diagnosis, new treatments could be "discovered" every day to keep the mogul practically living forever. But if Ashland was faking his illness as a strategy to hang onto his son, he'd better talk to Sally first about how well pretending to be knocking on death's door worked for her. Not very, which was how she ended up in Genoa City. I guess that would make Ashland and Sally the true kindred spirits. Or maybe he got the idea from her. Well, if that's the case, Ashland should have paid more attention to the part where her scheme failed.
But then again, maybe Ashland's strategy was of more of a romantic nature to lure Victoria into his loving arms -- and lips. Although he decided to make every moment count, Ashland wanted some of those moments to count with Victoria; however, she thought that they should proceed more carefully. It was a little strange that a man who had just found out that his remaining days on earth were numbered still only had one thing on his mind. But because Victoria had used the word, "proceed," Ashland still had hope.
For what? A future with her? If so, that shouldn't be longer than six months, tops. So, while Victoria was able to fend him off, her interest in Ashland appeared to be more in business than in romance, as she tried to dig up everything there was to know about Locke Communications.
Ashland announced to Tara and Kyle that he only had six months to live and cautioned his soon-to-be-ex that she would get nothing in his will, so she shouldn't even bother trying to knock him off before the divorce was final. However, Ashland insisted that he truly loved Harrison and made sure that his son was well provided for. Ashland said that he had no time to play mind games and that he did not want their pity or sympathy. Tara believed that he was on the up and up, but Ashland had made them promise to keep his ill health hush-hush, which seemed suspicious. It didn't really matter, since Kyle told Summer the big news immediately after vowing that his lips were sealed. Ashland later called Victoria for a lunch date to give her an update on his divorce, and she was quite flirtatious.
At least Victoria didn't have to worry about having another woman replace her as the mother of her children, even as Katie and Johnny asked Billy if he and Lily were married, since they were living together. Of course, they didn't ask if she would be their new mommy, because they already had a mommy. But they sure did like Lily -- and so did Billy. They're really good for each other, especially since they have both lived through heartache before and aren't so ready to go through it again. Yet, once he learned of Victoria's companion on her trip to New York City, Billy found the shoe on the other foot when he questioned her about her choice of escort, especially regarding their children's welfare, but his concern fit as much for Ashland as hers had for Lily. He should have known better.
Ashland has certainly brought a new dynamic to our loved ones in Genoa City. Victor had no qualms about Ashland's interest in Victoria, since his name wasn't Billy Boy Abbott, and Billy considered dropping his vendetta against Adam to target Ashland and his divorce proceedings in his next exposé. Sadly, even though Ashland has shaken things up, that may not last long -- only six months if what Ashland claimed was true. However, Victoria's parents didn't know that, since Ashland had also sworn her to secrecy about his health. It's sounding more and more like some scam that will somehow bite Tara in the patootie down the road -- and probably before the six months are out. In the meantime, Victor and Nikki seemed happy as larks to dine with their daughter's new beau.
Still, Nikki was a little concerned over Ashland's marital status, but Victoria only wanted her mother to butt out. I love Ashland's new motto of "ending the marriage with civility is the best revenge." I totally agree. To really get back at your ex, just show him how happy you are without him. It worked for me.
Victoria just wanted to change the subject off of Ashland's upcoming divorce, and once they did, they had an enjoyable evening. And afterwards, Ashland gave Victoria a very nice offer to accompany him upstairs, where they had a better understanding of where they stood. Victoria hoped for the best while also wanting to help Ashland prepare for the worst, which was to merge Newman Enterprises with Locke Communications. Aha! I knew there was a method to her madness.
Apparently, Sally didn't learn from her past mistakes, since she ran back to Los Angeles (okay, she probably caught a flight there) for the sole purpose of talking to Eric Forrester. (Hello, John McCook!) Isn't it crazy how easy it is for the people in Genoa City to zip off somewhere far west for a quick jaunt and a brief chat and then return home in lickety-split time, even without a private jet? The last time I checked my map, California and Wisconsin are quite a distance away from each other. If Sally was to talk reasonably with anyone in L.A., Eric would be the one, since he truly was fair and, as she said, has always been willing to give someone a second chance. It wasn't clear where this negotiation would get Sally, though, since Summer would never accept that job offer -- willingly.
Actually, Summer's scheme to lure Sally to Milan by using that same prestigious position was idiotic to begin with, because if that Italian company was under the Forrester Creations umbrella, none of the Forresters would ever have made the job offer to Sally, anyway. Summer had tried to dangle an imaginary carrot under the redhead's nose, and it was no wonder that Sally wouldn't bite on it. Something else that doesn't make sense has been Jack's comments and reactions to Sally. This is a guy who has put up with everything that Phyllis has thrown at him and has always come through like a trouper, because he is kind and understanding. But it's almost like Jack's been reduced to Kyle and Summer's level in being nasty and cruel by trying to chase Sally out of town, which isn't like him at all.
Anyway, after giving it some consideration, Eric was on board with offering Summer the position in Italy; however, Sally asked for Eric to give her a little time to set things up before he made the offer, which should have been a major red flag. The next step to Sally's scheme was to have Summer overhear a phony phone conversation where the redhead had supposedly been turned down for the job due to some bad word of mouth about her shenanigans in Los Angeles. However, miraculously, the ghost phone caller had heard so many glorious things about Summer and her position with JCV and could only speak highly of her. Yeppee, Sally was the loser again, while Summer's colors continued to shine brightly. For the next part of the set-up, Sally contacted Tara, who could also benefit.
Although Tara acted a little reluctant at first, she was more than willing to go along with Sally's plan if that meant that Summer was to leave the country. And the beauty of Sally's scheme was that Summer would do just that out of her love for Kyle and due to the growing bond with his son. Oh, dear, if Sally's plan works, and Summer leaves town, Harrison will be left with practically no mommies. Well, at least he would still have his two daddies and also his nanny, who seemed to be the biggest female role model in his young life. But yeah, Tara spelled it out very clearly that Summer was to accept this chance of a lifetime and that she would leave without Kyle. Since his priorities had shifted toward being a daddy, he would resent Summer if she ever came between him and his son.
Tara then said that she would make sure that Kyle would never see Harrison again if Summer didn't accept the prestigious position in Italy. Whoa! And here, everyone thought Tara was the sweet, innocent victim to Ashland's manipulative ways. Summer saw that Tara only wanted to replace the dying Ashland with the young, vital Kyle. And Summer was outraged that Tara would threaten to take away the only father that Harrison would have left after Ashland died, but Tara had learned a lot from the ruthless Ashland Locke. Summer was ready to blab all to the Abbotts until she saw how happy Kyle was in the park with Harrison. So, when she received the call concerning the job offer, Summer was willing to hear all about it. But you know that something will stop her from accepting it.
Chelsea had some weird plan if Rey's visits to her in the mental facility were a major factor in its success. Her joke to Rey that Adam was the cause of her instability showed that she still had a long way to go in her recovery. Even the detective could see that her real anger was directed at Sharon, not Adam, although she tried to cover it up. However, Rey still appeared to be investigating Chelsea's sanity -- or lack of it, although a court had already determined her sentence, so that was a done deal. The only other reason for Rey to question Chelsea's doctor was to prove that Chloe had been her accomplice. For Chloe's sake, maybe Rey will forget about it during his romantic getaway with Sharon. I sure hope they have a long table for those intimate candlelight dinners with his family.
Adam stopped by Crimson Lights because he had a sudden craving for coffee; however, his craving was probably more for Sharon. No matter how many demands Rey makes, Sharon will never be able to break free from her bond with Adam -- and she obviously has no desire to do so. They still made goo-goo eyes at each other, as Adam whispered sweet little nothings in her ear with his glowing comments about Noah's potential in their new company. Why, it was enough to make a girl swoon. Sharon always seems so relaxed and happy whenever she's around Adam, while she appears to be guarded when she's around Rey, who tends to find fault with so many of her decisions. When Adam wished for her to be happy, Sharon wished for him to be at peace. Interesting.
Although he knew of Amanda's connection to Sutton, Victor had no interest in discussing the nice, sunny day, since he claimed there had been no shady business transactions at Newman Enterprises that would have led to Richard's death. However, Amanda still wished to research the truth about her father's final days and later told Naya that she quit as Sutton's attorney, since she believed that her grandfather still kept family secrets from her. Devon applauded Amanda's determination to learn the truth as she contacted Denise, the original private detective on the case, to dig up more facts. Oh, please, we all knew that her family would try to reel her back into their cover-up of the past. First, Imani stomped her foot and demanded that Amanda remain as Sutton's attorney and then Naya threatened her.
Wow, what a coinky-dink. No sooner was Elena offered her dream job in Baltimore, which would take her out of Genoa City and out of Nate's life, when suddenly, out of the blue, she had to save Nate from a nasty allergic reaction to crab cakes, which meant that she would have to stay in town. After all, if she wasn't around to protect Nate from all his hidden allergies (and from himself), who would? It's just rather weird that he would want to have crab cakes when he'd never had them before, which he obviously hadn't, since he didn't know that he was allergic to them. Or maybe I'm just overthinking this. But come on, we all knew that Elena wasn't going anywhere, anyway.
Abby read that a Las Vegas sting operation had resulted in the deaths of several people, including one undercover operative, but Chance then called to ease her mind. Fortunately, Chance had realized that Abby would be lonely and would miss him at times, so he left his favorite sweatshirt with Devon to give her when she felt at her lowest. Abby was to wear Chance's warm and cozy shirt, so she could feel his arms wrapped around her. It was the perfect gift, and it was so very touching. What a special guy! And Abby learned that their baby was, too, when Mariah let it slip that she was carrying a boy. Oops! Of course, all this talk of Chance was gearing up for his reentrance back into town, and, in fact, I'm sure the shadow in the room where Abby slept was Chance with a brand-new face.
It didn't take Abby long to discover that what may be relaxing to one person may not be so relaxing to another, when Nina introduced her to the world of cross stitch. When I was young, my grandmother, mother, and sisters all enjoyed crocheting, but that was just never my thing. I didn't enjoy it at all, just as Abby learned for her and cross stitching.
Billy made the right choice when he called the drawing contest for the best spot on the refrigerator a tie. That kept him from playing favorites with his two kids and avoided having one of them being labeled as a loser.
I tend to forget that a love triangle of Amanda, Billy, and Lily came close to developing until Billy reminded me about what a great defense attorney Amanda was. Yeah, if she leaves ChancComm, Billy and Lily will miss her.
So, Phyllis knew all about women like Tara just like she knew everything there was to know about Sally, even before she had even met them, huh? Phyllis really needs to stop putting her own personal traits onto any new woman who arrives in town. Not everyone can be as deceiving and spiteful as Phyllis is (although it appears that Tara may just give her a good run for her money.)
Until next time, please stay tuned. And take care and please stay safe!
Teddi
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