Our house is a very, very, very fine house

When I was a teenager many moons ago in the 70s, I tuned in to General Hospital for the first time. I saw a girl about my age named Laura.

Dear readers, please forgive me, I'm about to get nostalgic.

When I was a teenager many moons ago in the 70s, I tuned in to General Hospital for the first time. I saw a girl about my age named Laura. I was mesmerized by her. She was in love with a handsome young law student named Scotty, but her life was complicated and filled with confusion and heartache. She spent lots of afternoons between 3:00 and 4:00 p.m. EST, crying in her living room. Mascara ran down her face in big, sad, black streaks. I cried with her.

Laura's house burned down this week. And I cried again.

The Joneses/Scorpios moved in when the Webers moved out, and that house was the scene of many happy times, many heartbreaking times for several of Port Charles' finest families.

I'm so sorry to see it go. If there was a "Laura's Old House" Museum, I would pay money to go walk around its walls. But, it's most likely in a heap outside of ABC being sold for kindling to L.A. residents who don't really need fireplaces but have them anyway.

Maybe I'm being cynical when I assume it's a move to cut back on sets. Maybe it's a plot-enhancing decision that will force Mac to move in with Alexis because all the good apartments have been taken over by the mob. Maybe Habitat for Humanity will come and rebuild it in honor of Georgie's volunteer spirit. Maybe no one but me is sad to see it go. Even so, I had to mention it. Goodbye, old friend.

In a delightfully soapy twist of fate, crazy Lisa actually did NOT start the fire. For once, she legitimately just happened to be driving by at the exact moment necessary to save Emma and Robin from the blaze. Every day and every accusation, Robin looks crazier. Is that how Lisa had it planned, or is reality just working in favor of Lisa's evil master scheme? Let's face it, the stuffed animal didn't jump in that beaker and boil itself, so Lisa did do SOME crazy things. But the line between what Lisa has really done and what is just Robin's ever-growing paranoia is becoming blurred to everyone in Lisa and Robin's orbit.

Something is going to blow soon and I think it will be Robin. I've heard conflicting rumors, so I'll tell you both of them and you can pick the one you like best. On one hand, I have heard that Lisa will be murdered by the end of the year, and Robin will be the number one suspect. On the other hand, I have heard that Brianna Brown was put on contract through the end of 2011, which would indicate that she's not going to die.

In truth, I'd rather see Lisa redeemed than killed off. I know she's crazy, but I like her. She has a certain vulnerability that resonates with me even when she's doing awful things. She seems to be a person who started out decently but snapped, which can be fixed. Robin, on the other hand is a self-righteous and unpleasant person, and I don't think that can be fixed.

One previously icy lady who has transformed before our eyes is Claire Walsh. When she first came to town, I wanted to slap her every day. Not because she was doing anything wrong, but because I was emotionally invested in making sure no one discovered the whole "Michael took an axe handle to Claudia's head" thing, and Claire was working to uncover the truth.

Claire came to Port Charles on a mission to take Sonny down and was willing to overturn any stone to get to the truth. She persistently dug until she found it. But after getting to know Sonny, and in spite of many warnings from most of the town -- she opened her heart to the object of her investigation. Somewhere along the line, in the midst of all the games, Claire developed genuine feelings for Sonny and is putting her career on the line to secure his freedom.

But readers, let me ask you -- will Sonny value that sacrifice? Claire loved him sacrificially and willingly gave up her reputation, her livelihood, adjusted her belief system to make room for him -- tossed away everything she has spent her lifetime building -- but I'm not sure that Sonny grasps what it's cost Claire to love him.

Why? Because he's still got it bad for Brenda. When Brenda first came back on the canvas, I was 100% in Brenda and Sonny's camp, but the writers mucked their reunion up so much that now I'm not confident that Brenda and Sonny can get back together. If it's true that Brenda slept with Sonny's son and had a baby as the previews imply -- is there any possible way Sonny will be able to overcome that his grandson is also his stepson? That's *so* B&B!

The other possibility is that Brenda was pregnant with the Balkan's grandson instead, and Dante just helped her put the baby up for adoption. Or, as Dan mentioned on last Friday's Soap Central Live, "the baby" might not be a baby at all, but a code word for a magnificent diamond! This is, after all, a soap.

Poor Brenda. In a few short months, she has gone from glamorous supermodel helping at-risk kids to being prisoner in Jason's penthouse. Oh wait, she leaves whenever she wants and mostly without her bodyguards even though a maniac is trying to kidnap/kill her. Brenda's life has been going downhill, but she hasn't hit bottom yet.

Bottom, I suppose, will be delivered by none other than Carly Jacks. Carly has gotten her hands on Brenda's secret past with Dante, and I think we all know Carly will hold that piece of juicy gossip until dropping it will do the most amount of damage.

Carly's insecurities run so deep that she has to squash anyone she views as competition. She uses the "I'm just trying to protect Jason" or "I only want to protect Michael" excuse, but in truth -- she wants all the Brenda worshippers to see that Brenda is flawed and human just like Carly. I wish the writers would give her more scenes where she wasn't angry and shrieking all her lines. I wish Carly had a friend again. I liked her better when she and Olivia were friends and she had someone to talk to about all her Carly angst. It made her more human and less grating. Now she comes off as a giant black hole of need. Blech.

Last week I told you I was digging Lucky and Siobhan and that feeling has only grown stronger. Siobhan's new gig at Jake's feels like a good fit. That job is brilliant because it opens her character up to interact with the good people of Port Charles in a natural way -- everyone in town drinks at Jake's. I thoroughly enjoyed her encounter with Maxie, who went stomping over to Lucky's to tattle on Siobhan, only to find out Lucky was really dating her. Ha!

I see enormous romantic potential for Lucky and Siobhan, although I have heard rumors that Elizabeth is going to go on the attack when she realizes there is someone else in the running for Lucky's affection. Hey, Elizabeth, you have the winning card in your hand -- Lucky's baby. Do you really trust a paternity test that Helena had her fingers on?

This week, Brenda noticed the forlorn look in Spinelli's eyes and encouraged him to try to win Maxie back. I hope that happens. While I like Dr. Matt -- that pairing has fallen flat and doesn't have the pizzazz and magic that Spinelli and Maxie had. It makes no sense on paper; Maxie is a beautiful blonde fashionista and Spinelli is a computer nerd with some serious social issues and yet -- they are perfect together. I hated when their love ended, and I'm hoping for a nice Spixie reconciliation for Christmas.

Maybe they can non-honeymoon in Viva Las Vegas! That seems to be the place...the train stopped at Dysfunction Junction and picked up Luke, Tracy, Ethan, and Maya for a weekend spin to Vegas in which the objective was to get Luke and Tracy to the altar. But throw in massive amounts of liquor and a jokester minister for the proceedings and voila! Meet Mr. and Mrs. Ethan Lovett! Comical stuff, and I get the feeling all parties involved had a blast filming it. Even so, I want so much better for Luke.

This week on Twitter, a discussion was posted asking people what they think could "fix" what ails GH. I said I'd like to see Claire Labine back on board, that I'd like less bloodshed and more romance, and of course, Luke and Laura. One of my followers called me on that last one and said "Laura deserved better than the drunken selfish lout that Luke has become." Or something along those lines, and I couldn't really argue with her. Tracy, on the other hand, has always been selfish, so I guess those two are a better match until the next incarnation of our favorite characters.

Readers, if you're keeping a secret from someone you love -- they're going to find out. Carly gleefully outed Dante and Brenda's previous connection, but Dante stopped short of telling her the whole story. If he had been honest with her when he got busted and said he'd kept the secret to protect Brenda, I think Lulu could have forgiven him. But now that he's lied more to cover up the first lie, when the truth comes out, will she ever be able to trust him again?

I don't know Dante's rationale for keeping this secret from Lulu. Lulu is a Spencer and wouldn't blink to know Dante had been part of covering up a crime for a friend. Heck, Lulu might not even care that Dante slept with Brenda years ago. But she will care that he lied to her, and I predict some difficult times ahead for the two of them. And that Carly will gloat.

Trust is a delicate thing, and once it's broken, it's very hard to rebuild. Lulu and Dante have been through a lot together, but I wonder if they can withstand lies of omission with such possibly lifelong consequences?

Even our steadfast couple, Sam and Jason, are struggling with their current reality; harboring a fugitive in your apartment puts a damper on your romance.

What will happen tomorrow, dear readers? Will the PCPD cave in and give Sonny his own office in the interrogation room? Will Ronnie notice next time that Sonny is arrested that the other cops let him keep his expensive Italian suit and giant ring instead of putting on the traditional orange jumpsuit? Will Kate Howard ever make an appearance at Jason's to meet the highly sought-after fashion model (and a fellow ex of Sonny's) Brenda Barrett? Will Julia show up in town to visit her sister now that Brenda name-dropped her? Will anyone find remnants of evidence that Rick Weber and Scott Baldwin hid in the Scorpio attic years ago to protect Laura, when digging through the fire remains? Will Maxie's puppy's bones be up there, too?