There is nothing better than a good love story

Heartache was flowing all through Genoa City as several had to deal with their own kind of losses. Will Mariah convince Tessa to replace her beloved "Bowie" with another baby? Will Jack be able to finally move on from Phyllis to find a brand-new love? Will Victoria suffered another broken heart? Get ready for a love story Genoa City style in Two Scoops.

Wow, Camryn Grimes showed just why she's a multiple Daytime Emmy Award winner as Mariah explained why she had to move out of the Chancellor mansion and as she said her goodbyes to everyone, especially young Dominic. She had me in tears! Ms. Grimes is such a powerful actress, and she has a great storyline, which could reward her with another nomination to hopefully be followed by another win. Mariah's heart was breaking as she left the babe, however she knew that it was for the best to let him go, so he could truly become Abby's baby. While her heart felt that she was the mom of her beloved "Bowie," Mariah's head told her that he was biologically and legally Abby's child, so she needed the time and the space to get her heart and her head in the same place.

Even if she wasn't Dominic's mother in blood, since she had carried the baby during her captivity and had kept him safe during the entire ordeal, in her heart, Mariah felt as if she was. After all, isn't that what a mother should do for her child? But kudos to Mariah for knowing that by giving herself time to process all her conflicting feelings, Abby would also have the chance to truly bond with her son. In a sense, Mariah had to lose Bowie so that she could keep him in her life. And even if Abby regretted not having her happy extended family then, it could still happen once Mariah adjusted to being a familial, not a maternal, member of this group. It truly was best for everyone, even if it was difficult for Mariah and Abby at the time. Complex families can indeed create some complicated situations.

However, Mariah later decided that she and Tessa should immediately have a baby, which she claimed would help her through her funk. But she clearly was not mentally ready to have another baby, plus carrying and delivering Dominic must have taken a toll on her physically. As Tessa kept telling her, there really was no hurry for them to have a baby together. Adding a small branch to the family tree takes time and preparation, and Mariah and Tessa had just moved into a hotel room, which wasn't the best place to raise a child (not even the Grand Phoenix). Plus, Tessa still spent time away, touring for her career, so adding a baby to the mix could only create problems for the couple. Mariah first needed to work out her emotions over losing Bowie before replacing one baby with another.

Sharon's a counselor. Maybe Mariah should turn to her mother for advice. In a way, Mariah reminded me of when Chloe decided that she needed to have another baby with Billy to replace her precious Delia. The difference, however, was that Delia was a little girl, not an infant, and Chloe had waited awhile before she had set her sperm-stealing plan in motion. (The plan had succeeded and failed at the same time, since she did have little Bella, but thankfully, Kevin was the father.) Mariah had just delivered little Dominic, though, which had caused a major upheaval with her maternal feelings and emotions. So, while Mariah had been on the right track to get away from everyone tied to those feelings, she swerved way off track by her new idea of having a baby immediately.

Even though Devon was Dominic's godfather, he grieved not being able to act as Dominic's biological daddy. It had been easy for Devon and Mariah to grant Abby her biggest wish without any repercussions until the gift had become a reality. No longer was being a sperm donor and a surrogate just a bunch of words listed in a legal document. Even before the baby was born, Mariah had formed a deep bond with Dominic, while Devon had become closely connected to him when he had delivered his own biological child. So, while Mariah has removed herself from their extended family for the time being, Devon still had the chance to do his godfatherly duty by helping Abby raise Dominic until Chance's return. That was one offer that he couldn't refuse.

However, the longer that Chance is away, the more likely that Devon will become a little too close to the baby, since they already had that tie between them to begin with. It would be so tempting for him to get comfortable acting as the father to a boy who was and was not his son, which could cause some pain and confusion upon Chance's return. And Devon seemed to realize this when he came up with his own solution to distract him from not being able to claim Dominic as his son by asking Amanda to move in with him. Shoot, it hadn't been all that long since Elena had packed her bags and left. I guess the other side of Devon's bed never has a chance to get too cold.

With Devon's support, Amanda rejoiced that she could open her own private family practice with her sister at her side as they represented their mother in Sutton's case. Nate had already advised her about Naya's medical condition, so at least she had the comfort to know that her mom's heart issue was non-life threatening and treatable. Imani was concerned about her mother, also, but Amanda told her that she had already taken care of the details for Naya's treatment. It was strange that it took Amanda so long to tell her sister her joyous news of moving in with Devon. Usually, when a lady has exciting news to share, she can't help but to immediately blurt it out. But Imani had to overhear Amanda mention it on the phone to Devon. You'd think Amanda would have been more thrilled.

Connor felt his own kind of loss when he learned from his adored father that his parents would no longer be together. To give the kid some credit, Connor did apologize to Sharon for his bad behavior before when he had blamed her for his parents' breakup. Good for Adam for having Connor tell Sharon that he was sorry! Teaching a child to show respect to his elders can go a long way toward him living a happy and successful life. And, of course, Rey walked in while Adam was at Crimson Lights with Connor and for once didn't throw a hissy fit. Yet, after seeing Sharon's reaction to Sally when she saw how close the fiery redhead had gotten to Adam's son, maybe he should have. Leave it to Rey. He's angry when he has no reason to be and isn't when he does.

It could have been Christmas with all the green and red flowing around: green from Sharon's obvious envy and jealousy and red from Sally's flamboyant hair and from all the red flags that should have been smacking Rey right in the face. Sharon likes to act cool as a cucumber whenever Adam is around; however if another female flirts and gets close to him, the claws seem to come out. For once, Rey should have been concerned that Sharon was a little too upset about Sally being around Adam instead of agreeing with her that the feisty filly might be after his money. It's amusing that everyone in town seems to know everything there is to know about Sally when these so-called experts don't really know her at all. Sally has been very vocal that she wants to make her own fortune.

While Chelsea clearly still desired to have her family back, she was grateful that Sally had been able to calm her son after he had run away from his father, although she was angry with Adam for telling Connor that his parents were splitting up when she wasn't there. Hey, it never takes long for Chelsea to find a reason to be mad at Adam, anyway. And, of course, Chloe had only bad things to say to her bestie about her new boss. Chloe's grudge will never go away, although it's quite understandable, since Adam's unintentional actions had led to the death of her beloved daughter, while his intentional actions had covered up the tragic deed. So, as Chloe cautioned Sally for the umpteenth time about staying far away from Adam, Sally was shocked to learn that she had the "mom gene."

If her family has their way, Victoria will be feeling the loss of her new love before she even hits the aisle on her wedding day. Ashland told her of his supposed past, although you knew there had to be more skeletons in his closet than he would ever admit, and the lawyer Gaines proved that. The blackmailer insisted that if Ashland paid him three million dollars, he would keep mum and take Ashland's secret to his grave -- or to Ashland's grave, since it looked like he was not long for this world, anyway. Man, Gaines must have some juicy stuff, since it was so hush-hush and was from Ashland's distant past, back when Ashland was just past his teens, as Billy claimed. I mean, that was from a long time ago. Those skeletons must be completely covered with dust and cobwebs.

Just think of all the dumb things that you did as a teen or even as a person in your twenties. Everyone makes mistakes, and hopefully, we learn from those mistakes to become wiser as we grow older. I sure wouldn't want anyone poking around in my far distant past to dig up any stupid things that I had done, yet I'm fortunate that no one would have a need to blackmail me, anyway. I hope. So, how fair is it for Billy, Nick, and Victor to judge Ashland for something questionable from way back when? Especially Victor. His past hasn't exactly been squeaky clean, which is why he's always been so fascinating. But that would depend on what the dirt was. Murder? Yeah, if Ashland had killed his elder mentor for her fortune, that would be good to know. Okay, keep digging, guys.

And Billy continued to do just that as he followed the man that Lily learned was Jessie Gaines around as he discovered online that the stranger was from New Jersey, which was where Locke's radio stations were located. Phyllis even joined their little group of unofficial investigators, as Nick feared that anything they discovered would only hurt his sister. But with Phyllis on the trail, Ashland was doomed. You know that Phyllis always gets her man. Since Ashland was only able to secure part of the money that Gaines demanded, the truth about how the mogul had acquired Camila's stations was bound to surface sooner rather than later. I guess a down payment of two and a half million dollars doesn't buy much these days. Gaines's lips were ready to blab, and Billy was ready to listen.

While Phyllis searched online for any information about Ashland's past and came up with nothing, Billy grilled Gaines on the mogul's true identity. It's funny how soap characters always set out to ruin a loved one's happiness with the excuse of protecting the person, but that doesn't make the pain of the heartache hurt any less. Shoot, Billy only offered Gaines one hundred thousand, which was peanuts compared to what he could get from Ashland; however, Gaines counter-offered with five hundred thousand. Was jealousy Billy's motive in searching for dirt on Ashland, so he could stop the wedding? Was he envious of his ex's happiness or was he still in love with her? Or did Billy want to have his cake and eat it, too, with Lily and Victoria? He didn't want her, but no one else could have her.

Nick considered that Ashland Locke was a real person, whose identity had been legally established, and that maybe Victoria's guy had paid the true Ashland off to assume his identity and his life. Phyllis discovered that Ashland was 20 years old when he started working at the station, so she found three men the same age at the company who were deceased. Good sleuthing! So, out of love and respect, Nick wanted his sister to know the truth. How touching. Nick was determined to return from New Jersey with the answers to blow up his sister's life; however, Victor looked to beat him to the punch by honoring Mr. Gaines with a visit. Abby had asked to hear the tale of Ashland and Victoria because "there is nothing better than a good love story." She might be wise to look elsewhere.

Shortly after declaring to Jack that she loved him and that he would always have a place in her heart, Phyllis accepted a ride on his jet on Nick's behalf to travel to Milan for Summer and Kyle's wedding. It's too bad that Nick didn't overhear Phyllis say those sweet words to her ex on the plane. That would be one triangle worth revisiting. Phyllis seriously needs to move on from her vendetta against Sally, and what better way than for her to be torn between two lovers. (Yes, I remember that 70s song by Mary MacGregor.) It's been awhile since we've had someone cheat. Elena was the last, I believe. And Nick, Phyllis, and Jack are one threesome that represents Y&R's soapy history. It'd be fun to stir things up, and having Jack and Nick duel over Red again could be very entertaining.

Nick looked so disappointed when Phyllis expressed that instead of being the assistant coach on Christian's football team, she would rather attend all the games and bring snacks. And Phyllis was rather stunned that Nick had even considered that she would be willing to do that, anyway. While Nick and Phyllis have always been hot in the sack, they don't really have many outside interests in common. Nick may just take Phyllis up on her suggestion to spend father/son time in other activities such as sports with Christian, which could lead the way to an eventual triangle if a bored Phyllis were to turn her desires to Jack again. After all, the heart wants what the heart wants, although Phyllis sometimes has trouble distinguishing exactly which of the two men's hearts her heart wants.

Alas, this triangle didn't look to be a possibility when Jack admitted to Nick that he had told Phyllis that he would always love her, yet Nick didn't bat an eye at his confession. In a much-deserved Jack-centric episode, Nick said that anyone could see that his former stepfather and still good friend continued to carry a torch for his Red. However, Nick didn't feel threatened by it because he knew that Jack was a stand-up guy and wouldn't do anything to mess up Nick's relationship with Phyllis. He just regretted that he hadn't done the same for Jack. But maybe the confession will finally free Jack to pursue a romance with another beauty who isn't like Phyllis at all. Jack has been alone way too long, and it's time that he finally has another shot at a love he can call his own.

The problem with Sally was that she was enough like Phyllis to draw him to her, but she wasn't Phyllis, so he had to end it with her. It could never have worked between them because Sally wasn't his Red. Yes, Jack has always been in love with love and has been the eternal optimist when it comes to the affairs of the heart. It's sad that he's been alone for so long. Heartbreak was more than just a bump in the road for his future romantic endeavors; it had detoured his pursuit of love and happiness. In his interview on Soap Central, Peter Bergman believed that Jack was destined to be an island with no romance in his future, but I hope that's not the case. Jack has the biggest heart in the world, and he should share it with some lucky lady in the very near future.

Back when I was in school, I remember the three R's as being reading, writing, and 'rithmitic, so my learning experience for the day was from Tessa, who stated that her three R's were rest, relax, and restore. For Mariah, those were the three R's that mattered at that time, as she sought to process her mental state regarding "Bowie."

Wow, it must be nice to be able to jump from one jet that traveled to Milan, Italy, for one wedding to catch a flight on another to Tuscany to attend another wedding. Ahh...the lifestyles of the rich and famous. (RIP, Robin Leach.)

It must be even nicer to have no problem accepting that your fianc can spend "bundles of cash" for your wedding present. But, of course, this was from the same guy who had a famous artist paint his lovely lady's portrait to hang on her office wall. Show-off!

Not to be outdone, Victor gave Victoria the grant to his villa and land in Tuscany as a wedding gift. Hey, I want to be a member of that family, even with all the drama -- please!

Phyllis may be great with her investigative skills, but she really needs to work on her undercover social skills, since Victoria could see right through her when she was so sweetie-sweetie to her, so she could get information. Hey, anyone could have seen through her ploy, since her nice girl act was so totally unlike Phyllis.

Until next time, please stay tuned.

Teddi

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