Actions speak louder than words

Do what I say, not what I do, is what a puffed up with petulance Victor seems to be saying regarding who might be the brain behind Colleen's board seat bravado.

Do what I say, not what I do, is what a puffed up with petulance Victor seems to be saying regarding who might be the brain behind Colleen's board seat bravado. I find his anger quite amusing considering he has proven he is no better than the man he condemns. So Jack is using Colleen as another way to get to Victor? Isn't Victor doing exactly the same thing by hiding himself behind Jill's swishing skirts until he deems it time for Jack to take another humiliating tumble? In his quest to bring Jack to his knees, it appears Victor will ride roughshod over whomever he needs too in order to get what he wants. Just look at the way he uncaringly stomped Ashley's career aspirations to dust beneath his boots.

Not that Ashley seems to have given a second thought to being booted from the CEO seat before she even got a chance to warm it with her bottom. On the contrary, rather than feeling even the tiniest flicker of suspicion that Victor might be the man behind the mask, like a little robot pre-programmed and pointed in Jack's direction, Ashley has toddled off to do her lover's dirty work, to interrogate her brother about his involvement in bolstering Colleen's newfound courage. Funny, though I listened closely, I didn't hear her 20-questioning Victor about his part in Jill's recent Jabot takeover. For that matter, why isn't she asking herself a couple of questions. Like why one might want to hide behind someone else. There is always a reason, usually one having to do with deception, why a partner might want to remain not only silent, but completely invisible as well. That stinging speech she delivered to Jack? Well, she might as well have taped it and played it verbatim for Victor because everything she said applied as much to her lover as it did her brother.

Speaking of speech, I have to admit I was on my feet screaming with pure unadulterated delight when Colleen reached out, grabbed Ashley by her bobbing head, and put her neatly in her place, so neatly in fact, I found myself applauding till my palms were red and stinging. Even though Ashley's right, that Victor could, and probably will if he gets hungry enough, chew Colleen up and spit her out without so much as a burp of indigestion, I still loved the way Colleen angrily spewed many of the words a lot of us fans were thinking about Ashley. She did plan to just stand there, with that smitten smile on her insipid face, nodding in agreement, while Victor snatched away both Brad's board seat and his daughter. And even though Ashley let the words roar in one deaf ear and right out the other without any of them making a discernible dent in her towering mound of Victor-worship (like she does whenever anyone says anything negative about her beloved), I still thoroughly enjoyed hearing them and watching the dumfounded look on her face.

Another fine example of a man who wants people to do what he says, rather than mimic what he does, is, of course, Cane. Why, if it's best for a child to be with its parent (as he's repeatedly preached ad nauseum since the day this baby daddy drama began) is that not the case now that he knows Billy, not he, is Delia's proud papa? Despite his bonding with the babe through Chloe's barely protruding tummy, he is not Delia's daddy. And, given Cane's intense hatred of both Chloe and Billy, he is the last man who should be playing parent. Just what does he plan to tell the poor little girl when she's old enough to inquire about her parents? Well, Delia, your Mommy's a liar and your Daddy's scum? What a way to make the girl feel good about herself. Get that man to a Children in the Middle class right away. And just for the record, despite his stepping up to somebody else's plate, I'm not convinced Cane is such an exemplary example of grown-up-ness. Not with his propensity to deal with his enemies by pummeling them with his fists.

While I understand Cane's disgust with the behavior of Billy and Chloe, like fan Carolyn below, I too have already had it up to here with his supercilious, self-righteousness. Who is he to point a shaking digit of derision at Billy for his drunkenness? Isn't irresponsible over-imbibing what got his condescending carcass in this whole mess to begin with? Just as his love of strong drink roped him into a fake marriage with Amber. And another thing I dislike about Cane. The fact that he's the undisputed king of the sucker punches. Why fight fair when a sucker punch can end the fight before your opponent knows he's about to be in one. Along with that Children in the Middle class, Cane also might want to consider signing up for a course in anger management.

Despite my best effort not to do so, I actually felt a tiny twinge of pity on Chloe's behalf when she was near tearfully admitting Billy would never stay. But don't worry, I regained my sanity almost immediately and quickly squashed the momentary feeling of empathy beneath my slipper. Much like fan Bajangirl below, my problem with Chloe has everything do with the malice with which she went about this whole pregnancy thing. Love of Cane or Delia having not a single thing to do with it, she dished out months of cutting comments, intentionally piercing Lily's soft skin with the blade of her sharp tongue for the sole purpose of seeing how much blood she could draw. She wound up with exactly what she schemed for, Cane as a father for her wee one. And for all the dirt she dealt to others to ensure she got what she wanted, it would almost be worth watching Cane and Lily waltz away with her little girl.

Speaking of Delia, Jack certainly did a complete 180 when it comes to her, didn't he? She's an Abbott, he lectured Billy and should be raised as one. Well, those words of advice are considerably different than the ones he directed at his brother some months ago. She was just as much an Abbott to be then as she is now, yet I don't recall his counsel being nearly as family conscious.

As much as Amber has often gotten on my last nerve, I have to admit right now I'm loving both her and Kevin for being all about Katherine. Perhaps bored with their on the edges bit parts in the whole Marge/Kay miniseries, Kevin and Amber's significant others do not seem nearly as enthralled with this play. Which, unfortunately, does not bode well for their respective relationships' future. For Daniel and Jana, it seems to matter little to them whether Kay is kidnapped, dead or has just run away from home. For Daniel, it's all about his art. And though Jana is still presumably enjoying zipping around town on the scooter bought with Kay's left behind money, all she seems interested in doing these days is providing a supportive shoulder for Daniel and his dashed dreams of dispensing art. But Kevin and Amber, strictly out of their caring for Kay, seemingly have resolved to put their own lives on hold until she's safely home. Whatever one might say about the combined dirt swept up and pushed under Kevin and Amber's rugs, they are the two I'd vote most likely to remain right there in the trenches with their friends, come heck or high waters.

Unfortunately, this teaming together in the name of Kay is probably destined to result in some unfortunate repercussions. After all this is a soap. So somewhere down the road, I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see the two wind up in that special soap opera position. You know, the one where their arms and legs somehow end up entangled together, in a betraying sort of way, of course. Leaving Jana and Daniel to retaliate in lovemaking kind.

Wow, Sharon's like a snowball rolling downhill, picking up everything in its path! It's only just begun but already I think I might enjoy this unraveling Sharon storyline. It's something different than the usual sleep with a man scenario, although that part wasn't left out. But for a change, it's just a small part of the problem instead of its whole. Who knew she'd exhibited this type of behavior before? We never knew very much about the details of Doris' accident, only that Sharon considered herself to be at fault for it. But this is the first I remember hearing about previous bouts of momentary brain blackouts and unexplained episodes of kleptomania. I'm looking forward to watching this one play out. The way Sharon's going, if someone doesn't do an intervention, a hysterically screaming Sharon could very easily wind up being carted away by the men with the white coat with sedating needles hidden in their pockets.

Speaking of going crazy, am I? Because I distinctly remember Gloria confessing before witnesses to the face cream tampering. Yet, during her day in court, the Judge said there was no basis for finding her guilty of product tampering. Did I somehow miss the moment the confession was tossed out? But, be that as it may, it's all over now. Gloria has been set free, absolved of product tampering and of the death of Emma Gibson that, as it turned out, didn't have a thing to do with the burning cream. For those fans, myself included, who longed for justice for the Jezebel's many crimes against Genoa Citians, I guess her brief stint in Genoa City lockup is all the penalty she's going to get. I guess it's better than no payback at all. And now, it's on to the next adventure starring Gloria. For the moment, it doesn't appear it's likely to involve Jeffrey, who has apparently turned his back on her and returned to the woman he once nudged aside to make room for Gloria. But, really, what did Gloria expect when she sold her stock to the devil in custom made clothing? Without that stock, there's no Jabot ledge left for Jeffrey to stand on, which makes Jill his only hope for Jabot survival. Jill might be having a big belly laugh at Gloria's expense now, but she might want to stop giggling and start guarding her back. Because I doubt it will take Gloria long to use her knowledge of who is really running Jabot to her advantage.

Proving there is at least a little steel beneath that soft exterior, Karen has come out with all pistons firing against the man who so recently pledged to love, honor and cherish her. Carefully covering the hole she'd dug, she led Neil like a little lamb right into her trap and watched him fall in, flailing his hooves and proclaiming his innocence of any wrongdoing. But Karen, having personally witnessed his close encounter of the kissing kind with Tyra the interloper, cut him off and left him sputtering with surprise and speechlessness, and basically told him to get his leaping libido in order or she's leaving him hanging out on the line. He seemed to take her seriously, but with Neil, it's hard to say which woman's arms he's going to gravitate into. I know Karen wants to be a Mommy in the worst way, but perhaps she ought to consider cutting her losses by severing all ties with her flip flopping man while she can still get out with most of her heart intact. There are a lot of children out there in dire need of a loving mother, foster or otherwise, and she doesn't need Neil to make her dreams of motherhood come true.

Esther has proven she's gullible as all get out when it comes to matters of amour, but the mother lion in her certainly came roaring out when Jill tried to verbally trash her little Kate. Esther was like a freight train Jill didn't see coming and when she did it was too late to get out of the way. I was quite proud of Esther for her quick defense of her lying daughter. Too bad she wasn't that firm or furious with Roger. Which brings me to my favorite moment of the week when Kay and Esther came face to face and Esther realized her beloved Mrs. C was still alive. I had to snatch a Puff to dab at my watery eyes at their reunion. Not that it appears anyone is going home anytime too soon. Obviously, there are still a few more twists and turns in this storyline, but I hope that dim glow I see represents light at the far end of the tunnel of this one, because I am so ready for Kay to return to her life and start toppling certain nonbelievers from their lofty pedestals.

It was a great week, with much more excitement to come. I can't wait to see what happens next! While we wait, enjoy what your fellow fans had to say about the week's ups and downs.

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Grace - When will Jack and Victor fight each other face to face? I am getting so tired of them always hiding behind others to do their dirty work. I hate that poor Adam is in jail while Jack is free and Victor is doing nothing about it. They really dropped the ball with Adam and I hope they get him out of jail and Victor can somehow redeem himself with Adam. Nick and Victoria never tried to be a brother to him and I am so sick of them acting like unless they came from Nikki they are not worthy to be claimed as Victor's kids or their siblings. I am glad Colleen is taking over Brad's seat, I am really liking this new and improved Colleen and how she is handling Victor. It's about time someone took him down a peg or two. I am a huge Victor fan and will side with him over Jack, who also needs to be taken down, but I am enjoying Colleen sticking it to Victor and calling him out on how he treated Brad. I am so happy Chloe's lie is up, this has been dragged on long enough, but Lily got on my nerves. Why didn't she tell Cane as soon as she saw him? I hope after Chloe has her baby she gives her a proper beat down for what she put them through like her Mom would have.

Dee - Why does everyone keep hoping various villains will get their just desserts? Has Phyllis paid for burning up Sasha or attempting to kill Paul and Chris? Has Jack paid for forging the diary, and setting up Adam who now rots in jail while Smilin' Jack is back at Jabot? Will Chloe pay for all the horrible deeds she's done? Will Gloria be let off the hook? Of course! This is life in Genoa City folks, and people are villains for a while, but end up getting off scot free - no matter what they've done! Coming up, the sweetening up of that rat Chloe. Arrrggghhh!

Patti - I really think it's time for Nick and Sharon to get back together; they really belong to each other! Cane and Lily would be another excellent story with them having custody of the new little one.

Colleen - Wow, Adam whines better than most women. The only one who whines better than him is doodle-head Amber. I'm really liking Colleen and loved it when she let Ashley have it. I was never a Brad fan, but his daughter is doing him proud. Victoria is, hands down, one of the most beautiful women on daytime TV. She puts all the other Y&R women to shame.

S. Moore - I'm so sick of the storyline with Nick and Phyllis. I'm tired of hearing how Nick wants to be there for his daughter. He didn't have any problem leaving Sharon and his son when he cheated with Phyllis. And spare me all of the love scenes with the two of them! Phyllis has got to be at least ten years older than Nick! Does anyone in Y&R ever marry the right person? Why would a man want to claim the child of his brother especially if the woman tricked him into marrying her by claiming the baby was his? It makes no sense!

Carolyn - I so dislike Cane now. I get that he's upset that he is not the bio dad of Delia, but the only two people Cane should be mad at are Chloe and himself. Cane was the idiot that took the fact that he could not be ruled out as Delia's father as proof positive that he was the daddy! There was nothing conclusive about the test and Cane did not pursue the truth! I don't feel sorry for Cane and I am sick of him using his fists to prove he is a better man than Billy, when the truth of the matter is, Cane is no better than Billy! Poor Delia, with a mother like Chloe, grandmothers like Jill and Esther, and a wannabe daddy like Cane, what's the poor girl gonna do? What's up with Sharon the Kleptomaniac? So her nervous breakdown has turned her into a thief? Ironically, now Eden is going to pay for Sharon's sins. Speaking of Eden, is it just me, or is Eden annoying ... period? I thought I didn't like her because of the previous actress that portrayed her, but now I realize that I just don't like Eden at all! Phyllis is more pathetic than usual, trying to hold onto a cheating loser like Nick! Sharon sure thought her goodies would make Nick run back to her, not! Nick wants his cake and the icing as well and for now, he's got both! I feel no sympathy for Sharon! Jack using Colleen to get back at Victor is typical of cowardly Jackrabbit Abbott! Funny how Colleen going up against Victor by claiming daddy dearest's board seat has some wiping her slate clean, when just a few months ago she was seen as a first class skank for getting involved with her best friend's ex and going for the job her best friend used to have! I wanted Ashley to get the board seat so this faux family she's created with herself, Victor and Abby could end! I can't wait until Ashley gets burned! Lastly, I'm ready for the kidnapped Katherine SL to end! I want Katherine revealed to the Genoa City world so she can reclaim her life and toss Jill out on her tush! C'mon writers, let's move this SL along already!

LaToya - You pegged everything I was trying to explain to my boyfriend about the husband/wife stepson/daughter swapping that goes on in GC! It gave us both migraines, but I was so happy to read your column about it!

Gail - I am so sick of Victor and Jack, why do these two continue to hide behind other people? I am enjoying the stronger Colleen, but I am getting bored with Jack and Victor fighting with each other. Why does Victor want Adam to rot in jail, yet all Jack gets is having to work for Billy? That is so unfair, but I guess if you want to get away with anything, be on a soap. Chloe played with lives and she gets away, Phyllis has literally gotten away with murder. I don't mind any of that, but it would be nice to see people pay for their actions once in a while. I was glad to see Cane still loves Lily. I hope they get back together and move on and start their own family. Why would Cane want to be stuck for the next 18 years with Chloe anyway? I hope there is more in store for her, because she has not even come close to getting what she deserves.

Bajangirl - I was glad to see Karen confront Neil about what she saw at the apartment. After all, this is the woman who walked away when she realized Neil wasn't over Dru, and she let him know she is willing to do that again. I only wish the writers would be more consistent with other characterizations. Like Cane. Cane married Chloe because he felt a baby should have both its parents. Now that he's learned the child isn't his he doesn't want the real father around and he's willing to take Delia away from her mother. Although I want this story of Cane seeking custody to end soon, it's not because I have any sympathy for Chloe, in fact I laughed my tail off at the panicked look on her face after Cane threatened to take the baby away. I am sick of her and to a certain extent Billy saying they're sorry and then acting like that's enough to undo the damage they've done. And no matter how much the writers try to cram it down my throat, Chloe did not go after Cane to get a father for her baby. She was stalking him before. She wasn't pregnant when she faked illness so she could be with Cane; she wasn't pregnant when she stayed at Restless Style and called on Cane to pick her up; she wasn't pregnant when she tricked Cane into taking her home from the party at the Abbotts. Even after she got pregnant and decided to use Cane as the father, she went out of her way to hurt Lily by declaring her pregnancy at Crimson Lights and showing up at Indigo and making Devon serve her. Now suddenly because she has a baby every one has to coddle her and forgive her? I absolutely hate these revisions to Chloe's character which are designed to make me feel she wasn't so bad and she wasn't doing anything but trying to protect her baby because this is a woman who continued to lie to a doctor about how far along she was after she had a potential crisis with the baby? What if that information had been critical to the baby's welfare? Honestly, had Chloe died in that cabin, I wouldn't have cared. Better her than Brad.

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