Spreading joy and happiness and rainbows, wherever he goes

As one mother searches desperately for her son, another seeks to learn the truth about her son, while a couple looks for answers to their son's illness. And a father disowns his son -- again, this and more on Two Scoops.

The battle between Victor and Jack seems to be heating up, and this time Adam is along for the ride. Since Katherine left her shares of Chancellor Industries to Victor, he now controls the company, so he decided that was the perfect time to sabotage Newman Enterprises. If he can't have N.E., no one else can, by golly! What I don't understand is why Katherine would leave her shares to Victor. What about Cane? Did she really think that Victor would just leave Cane in charge as CEO of Chancellor, as she would have wanted?

As it turns out, Cane said to Lily that it made sense that Katherine would leave her shares of Chancellor to Victor, so that he and Jill would not tear each other apart over the company. And Cane pretty much indicated that he was willing to give up the reins at Chancellor Industries to spend more time with his family, which is probably a good thing, because after a meeting with Victor, Cane exclaimed to Lily that he had quit Chancellor Industries. Mr. Ashby wanted CEO or nothing, so he got nothing. But Cane is fine with it -- probably until all the bills start piling up!

However, Jill was hoping that her journey would eventually lead her to controlling Chancellor Industries, so she will be disappointed. She will think that leaving Victor the company was just another way that Katherine showed that she did not love Jill. She will see it as a plot against her. Jill can be just a wee bit overdramatic at times. I guess it's a good thing that Jill is on her remarkable journey. I do hope she is having a fantastic time.

But why wasn't the issue of Katherine's shares announced during the reading of the will? I know, I know...it was to create more drama, and Victor most certainly was bringing that by flinging his new company in both Adam's and Jack's faces. Victor has found a new way to carry on the feud, and Jack and Adam have become his worthy -- or rather worthless -- opponents. I know that this conflict has been going on for years, and the result always seems to be the same with no variation. Jack loses. There is no suspense when you always know who the winner will be.

Honestly, you would think that Victor would want a bigger challenge than Jack, but maybe he thinks he has that now, since Jack and Adam have joined forces. But those two will need to come up with a new strategy to have even a glimmer of hope for success. Jack's new idea is to rebuild Newman Enterprises, and that's not such a bad plan. If Jack and Adam were to rebuild N.E., then the Newman in Newman Enterprises would legitimately be Adam. The company would then be theirs rather than a successful business that they had swiped from Victor.

After Billy noted that Jack had lost a boatload of money just to hang out with Adam, Jack claimed that he had just wanted to help his friend, Adam, who had only wanted to make his father proud. Jack pointed out that both he and Billy knew just how that felt. They also realized that while John had wanted his sons to succeed, Victor had done everything he could to ensure that Adam would fail. Jack still believed that Adam wanted his father's approval, and I tend to agree with him. Adam has proven to be a very complex character, and Y&R fan Lorrie explained:

"For me, my love for Adam is much like my love for Victor back in the day. He is not a bad guy just determined and ruthless but has a good core, you just have to get past the sharp pointy parts to really enjoy them."

With constant rumors and threats of veteran actors losing their jobs on soaps, I can honestly say that Y&R would lose its rich heritage and backstory without the characters of both Victor and Adam. It's their contradictory feelings for each other that create the tension between them, and with the other characters that love them. It is true that I could not stand to even see Adam on my screen at one time, but things change, and now I agree totally with Lorrie. His ruthlessness has come through time and time again; however, especially in the last couple of years, you can also see a glimpse of his heart. And part of Adam's heart will always want Victor's love.

While Adam may want to bond with Victor, I believe he realizes that it will never happen. Shoot, if taking a bullet for the man didn't work wonders, I doubt if anything will. Adam may not be done trying to be the "Golden Boy" in his father's eyes though. I think his desire for that will always exist, even if he refuses to believe it himself. While Victor will never change, there is still hope for Adam, and his marriage to Chelsea proved it. At the time, he was "the bad boy" trying to be better, and he was for a while. Perhaps the love of his son will bring this out again.

And speaking of Adam's son, have you noticed that Adam never calls the child "Connor"? Since he and Chelsea have taken the baby to his place, Adam has called the tot "Peanut," "little guy," and "my son," but never "Connor." Once he gets the paternity test results back, and he is awarded his parental rights, changing the baby's name might be next on Adam's list. I hope this happens sooner than later, if that is Adam's intention. A child's early years are crucial for his development, and it would help if the baby were to have his own name, whatever that may be.

On the other hand, what was Jack's motive, really, for helping Adam privatize Newman Enterprises? Sure, Jack keeps insisting that he only wanted to help out his dear friend, and that may partially be true. But it's hard to believe that Jack did not think that their secret would ever come out so that he could stick it to Victor again. You know the proverb, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." Adam has stabbed Jack in the back in the past, so Adam's big contribution to Jack as a friend is that Adam is Victor's arch-nemesis. That would be a great selling point for Jack.

Although Jack had first thought that he and Adam should rebuild, Jack had a change of heart when he realized that the company would then be a constant reminder of the real father that Adam would never have. After Victor (with the notorious "mogul-glint" in his eye) made an offer to buy them out, Jack jumped on it. Adam felt that everything that was wrong in his life had to do with either Victor or Newman Enterprises, so he wanted to cut his ties with both. Jack and Adam really do need that fresh start, in my opinion. They could have a company that is all their own.

Jack later asked if Victor's motto that nothing was more important than family was all talk, since Victor seemed determined to destroy his legacy by punishing his son. Victor exclaimed that Adam had been nothing but trouble from the start and that Adam had sealed his fate once he had formed an alliance with Jack. Honestly, this is so sad! Victor claimed that he had wanted a father/son relationship but that it was Adam who had stabbed Victor in the back. Since Victor and Adam will never trust each other, will they ever be able to share a love and to bond with each other as father and son? It's unlikely, but sometimes miracles happen. And this would take a real miracle!

Victor scared me with his next move, which was to include his grandson, Noah, in all of his corporate shenanigans. Apparently, Victor doesn't have enough family members to torment already. So, just as he had held out the family company to Nick, Victoria, and Adam -- as one would dangle a carrot in front of a donkey's nose -- Victor also offered Noah a job, with promises of more to come in the future. Love him or hate him, Victor does bring the drama. He has been an essential factor on Y&R for many years, which is what has kept this soap at number one.

Noah, on the other hand, was no dummy and realized that his granddad had "something up his sleeve that's gonna rock the corporate world." That didn't mean that Noah didn't want the job though. As I said, he's no dummy. However, Nick feared that Noah would follow in Victor's footsteps after Victor showed Noah the ropes, which would supposedly, one day, lead to Noah ruling the family empire. So, Nick expressed his concern about his son to Victor, although you have to wonder why, since Victor never really seems to listen to anyone anyway.

As least Nick didn't warn Victor like Chelsea did, when she demanded that Victor stay away from her baby. What was she thinking? Everyone in Genoa City knows that you don't want to make an enemy of Victor Newman, unless you want to get in on one of his feuds. Victor doesn't take kindly to threats, warnings, demands, and even some requests. Later, Chelsea and Adam had other, more serious things to worry about, though, when Chelsea noticed that their son was burning up with a fever.

Earlier, Nikki actually had defended Chelsea and her poor past decision-making regarding the child after Victor had called Chelsea an unfit mother and two-bit con. Of course, Victor had no idea what motivated Nikki to do that. He won't be happy when he learns what she is keeping secret from him, especially since she still hasn't confided in him about her child from the past.

Y&R fans carry a wealth of information, and fan Mary shared her memories about Nikki's past:

"FYI - in 1980 Nikki and Paul both joined the New World Commune. The commune was eventually exposed as the cult that it was by Peggy Foster and Steve Williams (Paul's older brother who seems to have disappeared!)."

Thank you, Mary! So, the father of Nikki's son was the leader of the commune. Nikki learned that the boy's name was Peter, and that he drowned in a creek when he was seven years old. However, I have a feeling that dear Peter is still very much alive. And, in fact, Paul suspected that very same thing and talked to the sister of adoptive mother, Penelope Harrison. The speculation continues to grow as to what character could be Nikki's long-lost son, and the odds are still that it is Dylan. However, Y&R fan Rita declared, "To the contrary, I think Stitch is Nikki's son."

With Nikki suddenly getting all chummy with Stitch...uh, Dr. Rayburn in the hospital during an MS appointment for a possible "imminent flareup," I would say that would be a very distinct possibility. While Dr. Rayburn was suggesting a new exercise routine to Nikki, Paul talked to Penelope Harrison's sister, Pamela. Paul discovered that Penny, who was deceased, had covered up the adoption of her son because she had "won" back the love of her life by claiming her child to be his. Gee, I wonder if this baby could possibly be Nikki's son.

Pamela admitted that although she did not know much, she did know that the boy had been in the military. Ah, yes, both Dylan and Stitch come to mind. Pamela knew nothing about what happened to him but thought that she still had a picture of her nephew. Unfortunately, that proved not to be the case, but she did remember that the boy had taken the last name of "the father," which was...and then it cut to the next story! Oh no!!!! This was a cliffhanger, and now, we have to wait to find out the kid's last name? It's not right, I tell you.

And the injustice of it all continued when Paul realized that he was searching for the wrong adoptive mother but still did not reveal the child's last name. So we still don't know what it is. I couldn't help but notice that Pamela's last name is Raymond, which is similar to Stitch's last name, Rayburn. But I am sure that it's just a coincidence. Or is it? Okay, I am probably just trying to put in some suspense where there is none.

So, anyway, Nikki decided, at first, that she wanted to discontinue the search and then called Paul again to state that the search for her son was still on, just as Victor entered the room. Nikki, we need to know the truth now, even if you don't! Did Victor overhear her? I just wonder if he is ready to learn the truth.

I want to sincerely thank Y&R fan Chris for educating me more about bipolar disorder. I was unaware that there are degrees or stages of the affliction and that different people can be affected in various ways. After I had mentioned Sonny's disorder on General Hospital in my last column, Y&R fan Chris commented,

"Bipolar is a newer name for manic depression. You have highs and lows. Each high period and low period could last years, months, days or even hours. It varies severely. When you're in a high period, you are usually overly self-confident, extremely creative and jovial. People want to be in your presence. You exude positivity but it's over the top. When you hit a low period, you're usually depressed in a deep, dark state. It's very upsetting. You give up on life. You are usually suicidal. It is very hard getting through to a person on the low swing of bipolar. The ONLY thing to help you through is the right combination of meds + therapy."

So, Maurice Benard's portrayal was dead-on, which, of course, it would be, since he suffers with this illness himself. Thank you for educating me more on this very complex condition. The best education can usually be gained from someone who has actually lived through the experience, in one way or another, and soap fans are armed with so much knowledge that they can share with others. Communicating this kind of knowledge helps us all to learn about the many serious issues that soaps tend to tackle.

On that note, Sharon cried to Cassie that everything she had done had all been for nothing, because it appeared that Avery hadn't been a rebound for Nick after all. That just grinds me -- Sharon still looked terrific, once she was done shedding all of those tears. I mean, she did not have red or puffy eyes after all that sobbing and crying. If I had been crying that hard, my eyes would have been so puffy, I would have hardly been able to see. I envy women that can cry and then look as fresh as a daisy afterwards.

Once Nick returned home and found Sharon still there, he explained that he had gotten his black eye from Dylan at Katherine's park during their discussion about Avery. Nick admitted that his first mistake had been drinking, his second mistake had been provoking Dylan, and his third mistake had been not ducking. Very funny, Nicholas! He can joke, even in pain. I was glad that Nick and Dylan made amends, even if they don't see eye-to-eye. Or should I say eye-to-black-eye. Sorry about that. I couldn't resist. Dylan claimed that Avery was just a friend, but we shall see. Time will tell whether she is just a friend or something more.

Sharon saw Nick at the coffeehouse, looking at a collage Faith had made of Nick, Sharon, and Faith as a family. Nick asked Sharon not to encourage Faith because he would never think of Sharon as anything more than just friends. Later, Sharon informed Nick that Faith claimed that she would stop matchmaking, but did Sharon really talk to Faith? Somehow, I doubt if that would be part of her plan to get Nick back. As long as she is not on her "meds," Sharon will continue to see everything in an unrealistic way, and that would include her relationship with Nick.

Maybe after Sharon finally crashes and burns, she can turn to Dylan, and they can comfort each other. They were friends when Dylan first arrived in town, and I thought Sharon and Dylan were cute together. And Faith likes him too. Y&R fan Cathy agrees, "When Dylan first came to town, I pictured him being paired with Sharon. The two would be good for each other." Actually, if Avery decided, for sure, that she still loves Dylan, another triangle could be born that includes Sharon.

So, who would like to see a Sharon/Dylan triangle with Nick, rather than with Avery? That trio would have a different dynamic, and from what I have read, the two actors who play Dylan and Nick, Steve Burton and Joshua Morrow, have become very good friends. It sounds like they would enjoy being in more scenes together, and that would surely come across on the screen. However, I have a feeling that if there is going to be a triangle, it will be Nick/Avery/Dylan -- again.

Avery went to Georgia to visit Phyllis and announced that she had been late to her own wedding, so she and Nick did not marry. Avery was right when she said that Phyllis would have enjoyed that. Avery begged Phyllis to return to them because Summer had two fathers and no mother -- at a time when Summer needed her mother the most. After Avery left, Phyllis' forefinger flickered. Now, I have not heard anything about Michelle Stafford returning, so would Y&R be considering a recast? Or it's possible that Phyllis's condition will linger on indefinitely. I wonder.

While Nick faced the loss of his fiance, one of his daughters, and "a fairly good bartender," Dylan confronted his own loss and decided his best move might possibly be to leave town. After offering the sale of his flat and his coffeehouse to Stitch, Dylan visited his dad's gravesite. Dylan exclaimed that the child that he and Chelsea had named Terrance Connor McAvoy was not actually Dylan's son and that Chelsea had never loved him; she had only used him. Dylan reflected that he had thought, with Chelsea, that he could get back the life he had lost.

You have to wonder what life he meant. Would that be the life he could have had with Avery if she had not lost their baby? Avery admitted that she should have told everyone, including Nick and Dylan, the truth all along. Would that truth be that she still loves Dylan and never stopped? Dylan overheard Leslie ask Avery that very question. Of course Dylan overheard that. This is a soap, after all.

Back to Dylan at his dad's grave. Apparently, the McAvoys aren't as much into flowers as the Newmans. While piles of flowers grace Cassie's grave to even cover up the dates on the tombstone, the dates on Terrance's grave could clearly be seen. I know...it's because Cassie was a young girl at the time of her death, and Dylan's dad was a much older man. That's it. I mean, it had absolutely nothing to do with the dates themselves. Yeah, right.

When Dylan returned home, he found the card that Chelsea had left him. Of course, Chelsea wrote a lot of mushy stuff about how much she still loved him and penned that she realized she had torn his world apart because her lies had snowballed out of control. Or something like that. I did like one part of her message though. "Biology doesn't have to be destiny." You know that would be true, Chelsea, except that your lies caused so much pain. You really need to face that teeny-weeny bit of reality, Chelsea!

Carmine escaped (surprise, surprise!) and planned to attend, disguised as a police office, the Businesswoman of the Year award ceremony featuring Lauren. Another surprise guest was Fen, who had received a special pass from rehab just to attend. As a flamboyantly dressed Gloria predicted, the night proved to be one that nobody would ever forget, when, instead watching a video of Lauren's successful life, the guests were shown the clip of Lauren and Carmine in bed together, having sex. Somehow, I don't think that was the performance that won the award.

Michael screamed for them to turn the video off, and Fen ran out the room. Chaos ensued, as everyone wanted to be included in the search for Fen. As it turned out, Carmine was the successful one in the search, because he spotted Fen in the alley by the garbage container. Oh, this isn't looking good for Fen!

Carmine texted Lauren and called Michael to taunt them that he was holding Fen in the alley, and each left to find them. The next thing you know, Michael found Lauren in the alley, standing over Carmine's motionless body, with no Fen in sight. Hooray! My Carmine murder mystery is finally here! I have been saying for months that I thought a good murder mystery was on the way, because Carmine was so despicable. And now it's finally happening!

But Lauren insisted that she did not kill Carmine, as much as she would have liked to, and we know that Michael didn't do it. So, naturally, Michael and Lauren came to the conclusion that Fen must have shot Carmine. Of course, Michael had to protect his son, so he shot the gun to put his prints on it, and the cops found Michael holding the gun. This is crazy! Michael doesn't know, for sure, that Fen killed Carmine. I am sure that they were not the only ones that weren't that crazy about Carmine. Maybe someone else shot him. And that's where the mystery comes in.

But Michael was arrested for the murder of Carmine Basco, because the attorney framed himself. He also gave himself the Miranda rights and promptly confessed. That Michael is an all-purpose lawyer! Although he can't be a very good one if he is pleading guilty with only him to represent himself. Well, you know what they say about an attorney who represents himself. (If you don't, it's that he has a fool for a client.)

To offset all of the sadness and angst, soaps will sometimes offer some happy and pleasurable moments, and Billy and Victoria had some very pleasurable moments, first, with slutty phone calls, and then with her sexy surprise return home. Enjoy it, Billy, because if Victor has his way (and he usually does), the fun won't last long.

Later, for some reason, Victoria expressed to Chloe that she was grateful that she had given Billy a second chance, even though he had put her and their children at risk with his gambling. Victoria's purpose was for Chloe to give it another try with Kevin. No, please, not Chloe and Kevin together again! I guess since Chelsea refused to lie anymore to Adam and Dylan, Chloe needs someone else to torment. Poor Kevin...right when I thought that he had finally escaped her clutches.

Anyway, Billy and Victoria realized that their pregnancy project had been derailed, so they decided to get it back on track. (I did enjoy that phrasing.) And Chloe asked Kevin on a date to Lauren's award ceremony. So, all's right with the world for both couples. That is, until it's not, which will probably be sooner than later. (Run, Kevin, run!)

For some crazy reason, Neil demanded at Hilary's place that she stop hurting the people that he loved. Neil then claimed that he wanted to make amends with a memorial or scholarship in Rose's name. Hilary claimed that her mother had been her best friend, and after a nurse called to say that Rose had "expired," Hilary quit school and left the country. Hilary whined that Rose had been the only person she could count on, and Neil stressed that Rose had told him that she loved her daughter. All of this would have been all sweetness and light if Hilary had not offered Neil an orange juice shortly after he arrived -- which he accepted!

What...is Neil nuts? Did he not just hear from Cane that Hilary had drugged his champagne? Why would he think to drink anything she would hand him? Hilary has made it very clear that she intends to harm Neil and his family, so why on earth would he ever trust her? And, of course, true to form, the orange juice was spiked with liquor. Hilary yelled that she just wanted to get him drunk, like he had her mother. Neil then declared that Hilary was sick. Really, Neil? You are just now figuring that out?

Even though Neil had spit out the booze, he had still taken that one taste, which was one taste too many. After Neil and Devon jogged, he feared he would relapse. Neil voiced that even if he could understand why Hilary had done that to him, he hated that Hilary had also targeted his family -- Lily, Devon, the twins, and Moses. Oh, my gosh, I had totally forgotten about Moses! It's like he has totally vanished without a trace, since he hasn't been mentioned in many months. I wonder when he will be SORASed and then returned to Genoa City? Shoot, when he comes back, he will probably be Fen's age. I wouldn't be surprised.

Anyway, Devon thought what Hilary did was reprehensible, so he dashed off to confront Hilary, who was busy making love and plotting with Mason. Devon offered Hilary one million dollars to leave town, but of course, for Hilary, it was not about money, it was about justice, retribution, and the ability to make the Winters family squirm. Wow, so that's Hilary's idea of fun? After Hilary did not accept the money, Mason realized that Hilary had played him, and he left. So, it appears that we are not quite finished with this lingering-on-life-support storyline. What a shame.

Other notable (or humorous) items that happened during the week:

Chloe actually had the nerve to give a "duct-tape the child to your side" lecture to Chelsea after she learned that Chelsea had told Dylan the truth. Chloe's next cockamamie idea was for Chelsea to lie to the court. At least Chelsea finally had enough sense to refuse. Hasn't Chloe learned anything from their lies yet? Why is Chelsea even talking or listening to Chloe at all at this point? I honestly have no clue.

Summer is still considering moving to Los Angeles, the place of sunshine and movie stars per Jack, for a marvelous career opportunity. Jack advised Summer that she needs to make sure that she is moving forward and not just walking away. Jack offered that Summer should "make peace with this life." Jack can sure give good advice. If only he knew how to take it.

Y&R fan Timothy has a very interesting observation, "Dylan bought Crimson Lights. He is handy. Not one change was made. Remember how the coffee house was struggling when Kevin had it?" I guess the coffeehouse economy has recovered. And I recollect that Kevin said he missed the robot and was going to take it -- but the robot is still there. I guess Kevin didn't miss it all that much, after all.

As much as I don't care for the character, I loved how Hilary compared the nurse's announcement that Rose had "expired" as her mother being like a credit card or a carton of milk. I guess Rose should have come with an expiration date stamped on her forehead. I know -- tacky!

Alex and Kevin were most certainly The Odd Couple, Felix and Oscar -- as Kevin had dubbed them -- during their stakeout. Alex (Oscar the slob) offered Kevin (Felix the clean freak) words of wisdom, "If something's worth having, it's worth fighting for," and once a stalker sets "his eyes on something or someone, they won't let go." Okay, maybe the last one, not so much. However, I suggest they never get an apartment together. (My words of wisdom.)

Billy probably had the funniest line of the week, when he said to Chloe and Victoria, "Dog training...it's a lot like husband training. You have to reward good behavior." If only it were that easy, right, ladies? However, I must admit that giving your spouse a treat might work wonders now and then.

And not to be outdone, Adam again had another doozy. After Chelsea asked what Victor was doing at their apartment, Adam replied, "Doing what he always does...spreading joy and happiness and rainbows, wherever he goes." Adam can say a funny line with the absolute best delivery.

I thought it was hysterical when Lauren screamed that she wanted to kill Carmine again and then demanded that he get up. We all would have loved to see that!

Finally, did anyone else find it ironic that it was Chloe who had the line, "One mistake should not destroy a family"?

Have a great couple of weeks, and until next time, please stay tuned.

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