Gone with the 130mph wind

Billy's relationship with Phyllis has always been a whirlwind, while with Victoria, he always seems to stand on more solid ground. But will the former Red's passion flame out, also, once she learns of Billy's corporate deceit? And big black clouds continue to form over Cane and Lily's marriage. All this and more in Two Scoops.

Hi, everyone. I'm back! A certain humongous blast of wind and rain named Harvey forced me to take a small break after the hurricane smashed directly into the small community where I live. It left damage, destruction, and devastation in its path as it went along its merry way. It will take years for my town to recover, and some of my friends have lost everything after Harvey's powerful winds wiped out years of cherished memories. Everyone I know was safe, but we all mourn with those who lost loved ones in this and other devastating storms . It will take a long time to rebuild, but we know that our community will come back stronger than ever. Thank you all for your good thoughts and prayers.

I truly hope that soaps never try to tackle having a hurricane hit, because they could never do it justice. There aren't enough words to describe the havoc it creates on a small town and community and leaves in its wake. Even your imagination couldn't prepare you for the reality of the wreckage. It was just bizarre to drive down the streets and see some buildings completely demolished, while others still stood, perfectly intact. It almost seemed like the raging winds did a pick and choose of which small businesses to completely destroy. There were ruined furniture and soiled clothes lying in piles, up and down on the curbs of the roads. The husband of friends who had lost their home videotaped a line of the junk that had once been their furnishings with a sign posted next to it that read "garage sale." But the love was showing, also, as friends, neighbors, and even acquaintances joined in to help each other out. That's the kind of spirit that will keep the community going.

If the soaps attempted a hurricane storyline, the recovery from the devastation would probably take one week, tops, and then all would be back to normal, which couldn't be farther from the truth. Our home suffered roof damage, and our bedroom needs to be totally redone, and that alone will take a couple of months. We still aren't living at home. However, my husband and I are very fortunate that our contents are fine, when we have seen that so many others have lost so much. We are not whining, but we do miss being home.

But you know what? Harvey and Hilary remind me somewhat of each other. Hilary can be full of hot air, and Harvey contained deadly winds, but they both hammered through, no matter what the consequences. Yes, Hilary has always been a force to be reckoned with, but even she would have been no challenge for a category 4 hurricane. A force of nature will trump a force to be reckoned with each and every time. I couldn't help but notice that her friendship with Juliet has pretty much fizzled, probably since Cane's baby mama is no longer a tool Hilary can use for revenge. Actually, Hilary treats Juliet more like a nuisance now than anything else. I had to laugh at that.

Juliet sure seems desperate to get Cane, no matter what price she has to pay. The guy has no job or future prospects, thanks to Juliet, but she won't let that deter her. And Cane believes he's lost everything, so he's turning to the only person who will give him the time of day, who happens to be the very person who put him in that position to begin with. Well, besides Cane himself, of course. It's just not safe to drink and drive or to drive and text or to drink and hit the sack with a corporate consultant in a foreign country. I hope Cane has learned this very valuable lesson.

Hilary's hot air just continued to blow when she insisted to Devon that she had a full life and that she was happy. Devon was right. That will never be enough for her. Nothing will. At least, Hilary seemed to finally realize that she had made a huge mistake by helping Juliet ruin Cane's life, even if her intention had been to mess with Lily. Hilary's scheme backfired when Jordan chose Lily over Hilary and when Devon was not pleased with Hilary's part in it all. Hilary sure was short-sighted by not seeing that coming. So, in a way, even though Lily lost so much, she still won out over Hilary, and we all know how much Hilary hates to lose. Devon was right in that it's all a game to Hilary, and she always likes to come out the winner.

At one time, Juliet appeared to be a pretty savvy professional and independent woman who was in charge of her life. Now, she just seems pathetic. I have never understood ladies who let men change them. Most men won't let women totally change the way they are. And it's not like Cane is asking her to become someone completely different.

Juliet has become so needy, it's actually sickening to watch. She doesn't even care that no one in Genoa City likes her or wants her there, except for possibly Cane, but that's only because she's dangling a baby over his head. Even Juliet's new BFF, Hilary, now acts like Juliet is an annoying little gnat she would like to swat out of existence. Hilary's cheers to Cane are still echoing in my head: banish Juliet back to Japan. Rah, rah, rah! Juliet has no friends, but that no longer matters to her, as long as she can keep Cane eternally by her side. It's pitiful and deplorable at the same time.

However, Juliet's new "poor, helpless me" trait seems to be the complete opposite of the creature that is lurking within. The more we see Juliet, the more it looks like her intention all along was to ensnare Cane in her trap. She saw a nice, good-looking, confident, and successful family man that she wanted for her own. It didn't matter that he was already happily married with kids. Just get rid of the wife, and problem solved. And that part of her plot worked, because Lily's love for Cane may just be "Gone with the Wind." Oh, well, at least it wasn't blown away by 130 miles per hour winds.

Juliet used a kind of Stockholm syndrome on Cane by taking away from him everything that he had cherished, which left him alone and begging for any crumb of empathy and caring he could get from anyone -- even from the person who caused him the pain in the first place. How sad! Anyway, Juliet was bound and determined to win Cane as her happily-ever-after husband with children of their own. However, the "happily" part may be a little tricky, unless the loss of his family leads him straight to her loving but cloying arms. So, just who is more desperate: Juliet or Cane?

But just as it looked like Lily was going to open the door a crack for Cane to let in a little sunshine and to catch a glimpse of a rainbow after the storm, she slammed it back shut right in his face. Yes, Lily still loved Cane, but he had seriously hurt her, so she couldn't forgive him. There would be no recovery for the damage caused to their marriage, and Cane only had liquor and Juliet to console him. The poor guy has really sunk to the bottom, just about as far as he could go. Lily believed Cane's baby with Juliet would be a constant reminder that she couldn't live with. The man Lily loved was gone, and she wanted a clean break. That's a shame because Cane and Lily's love and marriage have persevered through some tough times, and I am hoping they can still work through this.

It was so bizarre to watch Hilary cheering for their marriage after she was the one to help it crash and burn. You could almost picture her carrying pompoms. Of course, everything Hilary does is self-serving, so you know she was only doing it to show Devon that she truly has changed. And if she was successful, she could also lord it over Jordan and tell him, "I told you so." Ooh, I am sure that Hilary would love to rub Lily's choosing Cane over Jordan in Jordan's face, since he was the one who had dumped Hilary. Take that, Jordan. Touch! But alas, it appeared that Hilary's unscrupulous tactics of rooting for Cane weren't going to work this time, since Michael sought out Cane to inform him of Lily's decision to get a divorce.

I am actually a little intrigued with the Jabot/Brash & Sassy/Fenmore's storyline, as long as they don't drag it out for too long. And as long as Phyllis eventually learns that Billy is the culprit peeking into Jabot's confidential and very secret documents on her computer. Billy and Victoria are getting closer and closer to each other all the time. But then again, to me, Billy turned a little too quickly back to Phyllis once Victoria kept from him the ridiculous secret about the part Victor played as Chloe's accomplice (or should I say as the one pulling Chloe's strings). Billy and Phyllis' reunion was almost a whirlwind. And Phyllis does not sound like someone who has gotten completely over her ex-husband, either. She has seemed just a little too interested in Jack's newly found love (again) with Nikki.

Victor needs to decide just whose side he's on in all of this. He is fully supporting Victoria one minute and threatening to take Billy down again in the next. Even if Victor sides with Victoria so that his daughter can have the man of her dreams again, it will just be a matter of time before he is controlling and manipulating her again to rid her of "Billy Boy." And no one could possibly believe that Nikki would keep her romance with Jack a secret from Victor for too long. Even if their love had nothing to do with him, Victor would never believe that. The Mustache would instantly think of Jack's pursuit of Nikki as another personal grudge against him. Victor may pretend not to care, but it looks like there may be yet another round of the Newman/Abbott vendetta ahead.

Well, of course, Victor handed his daughter the key, the aging cream, on a silver platter to guarantee a secure future for Brash & Sassy. How else would he be able to keep her under his thumb? She may not see it coming now, but Victor will surely expect a favor from Victoria in return, in one way or another, somewhere down the line. Billy had every reason to be wary. At least he can remember Victor's past diabolical deeds, even if Victoria has totally wiped them from her mind. It's rather strange that Billy's feet are on the ground in that area, more than Victoria's. Billy would also be wise to stay off of Phyllis' computer, though, with Ravi on the case of the insider information leak. It's just a matter of time before Ravi catches up with him. And he will.

In the meantime, since Jack has been aware that there was a security breach going on from within, I don't get why he didn't plant some false information in order to try to flush the scoundrel out. The light bulb finally clicked on in his head to concoct a fake project, but Jack should have done that ages ago, once he learned of the breach. It's not the least bit surprising that Ashley or Phyllis refused to believe that Billy was behind it all, but still, you have to wonder why. Billy has been known to be underhanded at times. That's just his nature, and he most certainly has a grudge against Jack.

And I can't believe that it took Victoria so long to figure out that Phyllis might want Brash & Sassy to fail, since the business -- and Victoria -- have taken up so much of her honey's time. But seriously, what does Phyllis expect Billy to do? Lie around in bed, eating bonbons all day? That doesn't sound much like a career aspiration.

Wow, Dina is beginning to sound a lot like Victor in claiming to do whatever is necessary to protect her children -- only with Victor, of course, it's more about his next manipulative and strategic move than about the safety of his kids. Just ask Nick. So, it was okay for Graham to send Victor the pictures of Jack and Nikki smooching, because Dina felt that her son should be nowhere near the ex-stripper? Jack's a big boy now, and he's been on his own for quite some time. Shouldn't that be his decision, even if it is a bad one?

Dina was supposedly grateful to be back in her son's life, so she should just sit back and let him make his own choices and mistakes. It's a little late now, trying to mother him by keeping any apparent predators away. Actually, if Dina really wanted to protect Jack, she should be trying to keep Victor and Jack as far away from each other as possible. It just seems to me that sending Victor the pictures was figuratively waving a red cape in front of a bull, which was practically instigating another confrontation between the two.

Now that Graham has brought up all this talk about John Abbott, you have to wonder what his connection is to John. Could he be a long-lost son? That may be why he had a sudden interest in Dina, since she was John's ex-wife. Ashley has been accusing Graham of everything under the sun, with no proof at all. But I guess she wouldn't even consider that her baby brother, Billy, would be sabotaging their deceased father's company.

I am hoping that Graham is not the bad guy Ashley thinks he is, although I do like seeing the layers being developed in his character. A "gray" type of character is always much more fun to watch than someone who is just "black" or "white." That's why I really liked Justin Hartley's Adam Newman. You couldn't find a deeper shade of gray than in Adam.

Or since Dina has been so secretive about the identity of Ashley's father, could Graham also be a child of the same daddy? That would explain his sudden interest in Ashley, since it has never appeared to be of a romantic nature. And that could also be the reason why he had wanted to get close to Dina in the first place -- to learn the truth about his father. But why would it take a couple of years to gather that information, unless his intention was to encourage Dina to get back into her children's lives again. Access to Jack would also grant them access to Ashley, which would be a step toward his goal. It would be rather interesting if Graham and Ashley learned they are siblings.

Shoot, the more I learn about Graham, the more fascinated I become. So, Myrna appears to be calling all the shots of revenge against Dina and possibly the Abbotts. It's not as if the Abbotts didn't already have enough haters as it is. (Looking at you, Victor.) And Dina was not all that sweet and innocent in the past. Did she have an affair with Myrna's man back in the old days, and that destroyed Myrna's family?

But why did Graham and Myrna both care so much about Dina's claim that John Abbott was not Ashley's father? Apparently, a past country club employee, Brent, is very much involved in this all, but how? Could Brent possibly be Graham's and maybe even Ashley's daddy? Or could Dina be wrong and could it be that John was Ashley's biological father, after all? But no matter how it rolls, Ashley was wrong. Graham was never interested in Dina's money, only in getting vengeance on a person Myrna had convinced him was their enemy.

Mariah, Mariah, Mariah, I know you are going to ruin your good thing with Devon. You are practically writing it in big, bold letters across the sky. If you announce to the world that you are in love with Tessa, not only will you lose Devon, but you will break your brother's heart. Noah has already been stabbed in the aorta by his past girlfriends, but that cut would probably be the deepest of all, since his sister would also be involved.

As much as I love Kevin, he really gave Mariah some bad advice about spilling all of her feelings to Tessa. There's such a thing as protecting your own heart, too, you know. There's nothing worse than being rejected, which was a strong possibility since Tessa was already with Noah. And did Mariah really want to chance hurting her brother again? Hasn't the poor guy been through enough?

However, Tessa stopped Mariah from speaking out, whether it was done intentionally or unintentionally. It's seems likely that, deep down, Tessa knows how Mariah feels and doesn't want their relationship to be anything more than as sort of a family member and dear friend. But you know that Mariah will spill her guts eventually, which will, in turn, blow up Noah's whole world. And even if Tessa does reciprocate Mariah's feelings, she may still want the cushy life she has as Noah's girlfriend and the fantastic business relationship she has with Devon. A shocking confession like that could shake the very foundation of Tessa's growing bond with her boss. Tessa has always made it perfectly clear that her singing career comes first, and she probably wouldn't even let a strong physical attraction to Mariah dissuade her from her one true love, which is music.

Whether it was out of friendship or love, Mariah actually came up with a good strategy to partner up with Tessa to try to find Crystal. With Tessa at her most vulnerable, the closeness that is bound to happen from their adventure may sway Tessa to admit that she has feelings for Mariah, too. For the first time, Tessa has a real friend, but would she confuse gratitude for Mariah's help for something more? However by rescuing the girls, Mariah may believe she is also saving her own heart.

I like that Sharon is involved in a storyline and that she has a new guy, Scott. However, the story of Tessa and her sister, Crystal, and the whole sex trafficking thing is just not hitting it out of the ballpark with me. But it gives Sharon airtime, so I'll watch and hope for the best. I have always liked Sharon, no matter what the writers have tried to do to her character in the past.

Anyway, Scott was still in hot pursuit of the truth about the sex trafficking ring, and Abby was oblivious to the fact that her new guy, Zack, was smack-dab in the middle of it all. Of course, she will find out eventually, and when she does, will Scott offer Abby more than just comfort and support? That's the most I can muster out of this storyline so far. Hey, wait a minute...Alice saw Mariah and thought she was Cassie. All right, now we're talking.

It was rather fun watching Mariah impersonate Cassie's ghost again in an effort to get Alice to reveal the truth of Crystal's location. And Sharon went along for the ride. I also enjoyed seeing the past clips of Camryn Grimes as Cassie, when she was just a darling little girl. Ms. Grimes was so young then. I tend to forget how long she has been connected to Y&R, even taking into account the break in between the time she played Cassie and her current role as Mariah. It was so smart to bring Mariah into the equation and into Sharon's life. But you have to wonder what Cassie would be like now if the writers had let her live. But, anyway, Mariah's stunt worked, and Alice gave her the requested information about Tessa's sister. Oh, well...the haunting was fun while it lasted.

Even though there wasn't much story about it this week, I am still pretty baffled by this. Victor interfered in Adam's life and made him pay the price of jail time for what Victor perceived as some kind of disloyalty to him, and now Adam is dead. Victor disowned Adam so many times, it was like watching them go through a revolving door. And now, Victor is doing the exact same thing to Nick, the son he had always thought of as the good one. Nikki was never happy with the way Victor treated Adam, so she can't be pleased that he's treating Nick in the same manner, like dirt. To me, the punishment is way too harsh to suit the crime. Nick was only trying to protect his mother's health by attempting to get her concert canceled. How can anyone fault him for that? I still just don't get this whole thing.

Until next time, please stay tuned.Teddi

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