Wash, rinse, and repeat... over and over and over again

Can Victor and Nikki really be considered the couple with a grand love saga after his past of deceit and manipulation? Or would other couples such as Cane and Lily or Nick and Chelsea deserve that honor? Lies sure took Scott and Sharon out of the running. It's time to serve up some baloney with relish in Two Scoops.

Over the decades, our beloved soaps have left us in suspense during the most dramatic of times and have sometimes filled us with anticipation over what's to come next. But really, when it comes down to it, does anyone in any of our daily serials ever learn from the experience or try to change to become a better person? Maybe this is the real mystery that needs to be solved. A soap character just never seems to learn from his or her mistakes, but then again, just think how boring soaps would become if they all suddenly did. So, our beloved soap family members just keep repeating the same bad choices over and over and over again -- which could be the biggest tragedy of them all.

Victoria apparently was on the same foolish path that she had traveled before when she stripped off her clothes and those of her ex-husband for some wild sex. Hadn't she already belted out the South Pacific show tune "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair" before, when she and J.T. divorced and he moved far, far away, taking their child, Reed, with him? It's like she scrubbed out the sadness of when she was so despondent over not having her son near her clear out of her head. Billy was out of the picture, so there was plenty of room for J.T. to move in, which he did with a vengeance -- and with no clothes on. All was forgiven, as Victoria tried to wash and rinse her mistake-filled past with him down the drain. But there promised to be a repeat of the cleansing, since more misery with J.T. was bound to soil her future, especially after we saw the guy sneak into the Chancellor mansion on a "slow crawl of shame" to avoid Cane and Billy.

I used to laugh at the shampoo bottles that instructed the user to lather, rinse, and repeat the product. Of course, the makers wanted the buyer to repeat the washing, since that would use up the product much faster, which would prompt the person to buy even more. It was such a sneaky strategy. You have to wonder just how many people actually repeated the process just because the bottle said to. And Victoria should have done just that when it came to affairs of the heart.

She didn't learn her lesson the first time, and it will cost her in the long run. Maybe she can find another Rodgers and Hammerstein ditty she can bellow when J.T. breaks her heart again. I know...how about "In My Own Little Corner," where she just might want to hide? I actually have the Cinderella classic movie starring Lesley Ann Warren and Stuart Damon (before his General Hospital days) that features that song. It might be just the ticket for Victoria, since she's never really had much of a problem with having "a cool and confident kind of air" anyway.

Honestly, the only thing I remember about when Victoria and J.T. were married was that they were extremely boring together. I cheered when they split up because I got tired of them putting me to sleep. And, yes, I am well aware that Amelia Heinle and Thad Luckinbill are married in real life. The Hellstrom marriage was just a case of reality versus the soap world, where their on-screen chemistry didn't quite match the actual thing. Billy Miller's Billy Abbott was the character that brought Amelia's Victoria to life and made her smile and shine. Of course, it's possible that Ms. Heinle and Mr. Luckinbill are trying to strengthen the bonds of their marriage through the characters of Victoria and J.T. Now that would have the makings of a real-life soap opera.

Victor and Nikki agreed that Victoria and J.T.'s sexing it up together was "a colossal mistake," but mainly because J.T. was still married. I couldn't help but notice that Victoria could be very holier-than-thou when it came to the Newman employees' work ethics, but she had a little trouble acting professionally in the office whenever J.T. was around. Practice what you preach, Ms. Newman. Her children seemed to sink lower and lower on Victoria's list of priorities. J.T. is not Johnny and Katie's dad, but she didn't hesitate to have crazy sex with him in their home. Just because she used to be married to him doesn't mean she should be parading him in front of her kids. But I guess there's really no danger of that, since the youngsters are never around the house anyway.

But come on...I mean, I saw it coming a mile away, but that didn't make it any less shocking when Victoria handed the keys of her house to J.T. She never even hesitated. Didn't she consider how his moving in might affect her still very young and impressionable kids? Johnny and Katie can't know J.T. all that well, since he lived out of state for so many years. But that didn't matter. Once Victoria decided what she wanted, she was going to get it.

Heck, since Johnny and Katie are Newmans, having a stable home life was already a long shot for the youngsters -- and Billy sure didn't have the resources to provide that for them either. Maybe the kids will get lucky and be shipped off to boarding school. That seems to be the Newman way, and it may be the only hope they will have.

Reed seems to be the only child Victoria can remember having now that J.T. has returned to town. However, Reed wasn't quite as fortunate in his love life, since Mattie seemed determined to suds the troubled teen right out of her locks. Honestly, they were dull together, anyway. Reed resembles his parents in that way. However, that sends Mattie back to being a kind of know-it-all, Miss Goody-two-shoes, somewhat judgmental, brainy twit. Yes, for a very intelligent lady, she can be rather a dunce.

Why wouldn't Mattie support her mother and father reuniting if they truly love each other? That rather baffles me. Shouldn't she be more frightened that Lily might fall for some villainous cad, as Abby had for Zach? Or that Cane might get with someone as selfish and self-centered as Hilary? (Hey, it almost looked like, for a hot minute, that could be a possibility, thanks to Sam, didn't it?) If Lily and Cane can work their way back to each other, she should be cheering them on and hoping for the best. After all, there are no guarantees in life.

And Reed was getting the "punishment" he deserved, if you call raking out the stables at the Newman ranch a punishment. I get that Nikki and Victor were trying to use tough love to make Reed pay for his driving under the influence. Even though he wasn't raised around them, Reed sure seemed to have picked up the attitude that Newmans didn't have to pay for their crimes and were always above the law. He got that from his dear old grandpa.

That's one thing you can never accuse Victor of doing -- leading by example. The Mustache's motto seems to be do as I say, not as I do. And Nikki has never learned from her mistakes, since she just keeps marrying the man over and over and over. She should have washed, rinsed, and repeated as many times as necessary to remove Victor from her hair and her life forever. But if she has finally accepted Victor for who he is and has quit trying to change him, maybe Nikki can finally be happy with him throughout all eternity. Maybe.

Sharon sure seemed to be putting her family at risk in her attempt to get Scott, once and for all, out of her roots. She didn't even consider that she might be putting Faith and Mariah into danger by inviting someone she didn't even know to move into her house. You'd think Nikki would have thought Sharon was a little batty and had gone off her meds, but Sharon actually and finally received Nikki's approval. Still, Sharon should have considered her family's safety. Despite what Nikki believed, Kathy was not an angel. In fact, for someone who didn't want charity, Kathy sure didn't have any problems accepting it from either Sharon or Nikki. Those two had better hope word doesn't get out about their generosity, or the Kathys all over the world will be knocking on their doors. I mean, it's crazy that this was all being done only because her name was Katherine.

But strangely, Nick agreed with Sharon's impulsive decision and even wished he could help. Nikki and Nick instantly agreed to buy the apartment building that Kathy and her family had been tossed out of, so they could fix it up. Honestly, being a landlord is one job I would never undertake. The headaches just wouldn't be worth it. You can't control the actions of others, who may not respect your property as you do. And as Victor pointed out, Nick and Nikki will have to do repairs at a moment's notice whenever something goes wrong. If they don't, they could very well get a reputation as slumlords. Heaven forbid if they are too busy with their own drama to fix someone else's. A single instance of a slow response time could ruin their supposedly impeccable reputations.

If the Abbotts had their way, Graham would be one man shampooed out of this world and right into kingdom come. For someone who didn't trust Graham as far as she could throw him, Ashley had no qualms about reaching into the mini fridge and grabbing the hypodermic needle as Graham requested. She wasn't even the least bit suspicious. Shoot, she should have made him get his "medicine" himself. It only took me a split second to realize he only wanted her fingerprints on the syringe. Graham proved to be quite the villain.

Graham didn't even think twice about killing Dina, although it was a nice touch for him to give her a kiss on the forehead before he tried to inject the chemical into the frail woman's body. But seriously, what was Jack thinking when he announced beforehand that Graham would lose control over Dina in two days and then declared, "You played your last card, pal. Game over." That was like waving a red cape in front of a bull. Graham had no choice but to accelerate his plan to ensure that Dina had a nice, peaceful, and permanent sleep. I guess his plot didn't include Dina fighting back, though. Oh, yes, Graham definitely missed the mark.

Okay, Graham accidentally stuck himself in the arm with a syringe that had Ashley's prints all over it. Even though Dina took credit for doing the deed, I thought it would have been a surprise if Ashley wasn't accused of murdering Graham, and Paul didn't let me down. As Graham lay in the hospital on life support, Dina sure was quick to pull the plug on Graham, since he had, after all, tried to kill her. I guess if I were her, that would have peeved me off a little too.

Please, let's not revisit the whole Mariah/Tessa infatuation. Once was really enough (or too much). But Mariah continued to wear her heart on her sleeve whenever she was around Tessa, which was pretty pathetic. It's crazy how Noah can't see it. Mariah practically flaunted it in front of his face. But Tessa's true love, music, still ruled over her every move and seemed to call all the shots. The dark-haired beauty was so desperate to get that "bona fide commercial hit," she even stole Mariah's journal to get over her writer's block. I can't imagine that Mariah would not consider it a violation of her most private thoughts.

Mariah should demand credit for Tessa's new song, since she's the one who wrote most of it. Hey, maybe songwriting could be Mariah's new career. I watched Mariah's face to see her reaction when Tessa introduced the new quality song with "her" golden, poignant lyrics on Hilary's show. A ton of mixed emotions, especially anger, shown on Mariah's face upon hearing her very own words being sung to her in Tessa's voice. Mariah looked like she wanted to take the "killer hook" of Tessa's song and drive it right into her heart.

Oh, well, at least the mystery of what happened to her journal was solved. Mariah can take comfort in that fact. But finally, Mariah saw the real Tessa, not the version Mariah had created in her mind. Tessa had always been very clear that her love of music and her next hit record would triumph over anything else. Noah and Mariah had both been enticed by an illusion because their Tessa had never really existed.

Lily seemed to be in no hurry to wash away the memories of her life with Cane, even after she went to Paris. On the contrary, the romantic city only reminded her of Cane, and she couldn't get him out of her mind. And Cane's grand gesture placed him right across the hall from Lily's room in Paris, but they just couldn't seem to connect. It's a relief to see a couple who still loves each other after so many years together, when couples, more often than not these days, seem to crash and burn. However, fans know that two happily in love spouses can be back-burnered quickly if no other storyline can keep them front and center. Lily and Cane have been pretty fortunate that they have had enough other drama and angst to keep them on-screen throughout the years. That's rather a strange thing to be thankful for, when you think about it.

Well, as Cane found out, talk is cheap, especially when you are in Paris. Actions speak louder than words, and Lily made sure that Cane heard her feelings, loud and clear, through her kisses. While her words offered caution, her smooch showed she was ready to jump in with both feet. Really, Lily and Cane were in the City of Love, and they couldn't talk about anything else but Mattie's fear of being hurt? No wonder Lily had to use her lips to put a halt to that conversation. Mattie's a big girl, and she can learn to deal with...what? Her parents, who still love each other, possibly reuniting and trying to reconstruct a solid foundation for the future of their family? Wow, what a tough way to go. How would the poor girl handle such a tragic fate?

I enjoyed watching the past scenes of Cane and Lily and of how their romance has evolved throughout the years. I have loved them together from the get-go, which is probably why I had such an extreme dislike for Chloe. I thought then and still think now that Lily and Cane are very sweet together. So far, they have triumphed through the hardships, especially when Lily battled cancer. And it was nice to be reminded that Cane had always touched her heart deeply. As we reflected back onto their good times and bad, I snickered to myself that we wouldn't see any scenes of when the twins were pre-teens. We couldn't really see something that didn't exist. It's sad that SORAS can often prevent some of the most cherished moments that a couple would normally share together.

However, once Lily and Cane returned home, the honeymoon phase seemed to be over for Lily as reality set in. Sam, another woman's baby, would be living in her house for Lily to raise. It was so easy for her speak the words in Paris that Sam was an innocent baby who deserved nothing but love and happiness. But Lily needs to find it in her heart to truly accept him, and I think the time will come. She was obviously afraid to be around the babe, but she shouldn't be. If she can truly forgive Cane, she should be able to let her love overcome her fears. She could be a terrific mother to Sam if she only let herself. As everyone kept saying, Sam is so adorable and lovable. Just ask Hilary.

While Cane and Lily were in Paris, Hilary decided to check in on little Sam at the Chancellor mansion. It's funny that while Esther was the one who sneezed, Hilary was the one who sounded terribly sick. And I saw that while Esther carried him at the house, we never saw Hilary touch him once. That was a relief! There are some things that you can't cover up, and unfortunately, illness is one of them. But the show must go on, and Hilary was a trooper. Even if Hilary wasn't supposed to be sick, it was obvious that Mishael Morgan was. Hopefully, Ms. Morgan will be completely healthy when it comes time for Hilary to get her baby by whatever method she chooses.

Didn't Mariah still look sweet with Devon? As Kevin already knew and Devon was finding out, Mariah can be a very good friend.

Scott must have made the big bucks at Newman Enterprises, since he was able to jump on a plane to Paris for no other reason than to apologize to Abby. Well, at least it wasn't a total waste of time and money, since he was able to wrestle Hashtag away from Victor, thanks to Abby. But couldn't Scott have saved himself the money and have had Abby call her dad while she was still in Genoa City? Oh, well, he probably needed the getaway anyway.

Until next time, please stay tuned.Teddi

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