When a "Rey" of sunshine can't shine on what's buried beneath the filthy secrets

Tessa eagerly handed over the flash drive of the garage footage to Mariah. But was the raven-haired girl capable of digging up a body and stashing it away for future financial opportunities? And did Sharon have a "Rey" of hope with her interest in a married man? It's a case of the disappearing body in Two Scoops.

Hey, I was right about the blackmailer being Tessa, although I hadn't deduced that she had found on the Dark Horse computer the film footage of the four ladies carrying J.T.'s body in a rolled-up rug to a vehicle in the garage. Oh, well, you can't win them all. You sure can't say that Tessa doesn't take advantage of every opportunity that comes her way, although Mariah had every right to be upset. Actually, Tessa could have solidly cemented herself in with the upper-class society by hooking her horse to Mariah's cart, since the lovely redhead was gaining new connections as the new hostess of GC Buzz. But by blackmailing Mariah's mother, Tessa lost her best chance for respectability.

And Mariah was devastated that Tessa dared to do anything to hurt Sharon, which was understandable, although it was rather bizarre that Mariah didn't even bat an eye that Tessa had lied to Noah about her feelings so she could make the right connections in Genoa City for fame and fortune. Obviously, the sibling bond between Mariah and Noah is not as strong as each would like to believe. Apparently, Tessa could hurt Noah as much as she wanted; however, she clearly crossed the line with Mariah when she blackmailed Sharon.

Sharon claimed all along that she had kept silent to Mariah about the consequences of that fateful night in order to protect her, just as any loving mother would do for her precious daughter. But what happened to that motherly need to shield her daughter once Mariah learned the truth? Sharon seemed ready to throw her daughter to the wolves by sending Mariah back into Tessa's den of destruction in order to find the film footage as well as J.T.'s body. The protection of Sharon's child just switched to self-preservation. Would Tessa really dig up a dead body and hold it somewhere in storage just for future leverage over the four women? I would hope not, but with Tessa, you never know. However, if it wasn't Tessa who moved the body, who did? Could Victor have finally found J.T. and moved the body to protect his family? Maybe that was the real reason for Victor's sudden trip.

But Mariah was truly a trooper and was able to worm the flash drive of the video footage away from Tessa. Did she believe that was the only copy of the footage, though? Mariah was learning that she couldn't trust Tessa as far as she could throw her, but she appeared to still be holding out hope for her. I mean, how would Mariah ever know for sure that Tessa actually gave all the money to charity? The redhead would have to take the raven-haired girl's word for it, and Tessa's word wasn't worth a plugged nickel.

Shoot, the second Mariah's rear hit the door, Tessa was sewing the money inside a stuffed bear as well as what looked like another flash drive, too. If she had given the bear to charity, Tessa technically would have kept her word, even though the charity wouldn't benefit, not knowing that the money was hidden inside. But Tessa mailed a box containing the bear to herself, telling Mariah the gift was from her sister, Crystal. Tessa is such a liar, and she was so sickening as she described the overjoyed look on their faces when she gave the money to the eight different charities. Tessa didn't show one iota of guilt on her face, and, in fact, she had a sly smile when she pulled the bear out of the box. Truly sickening.

Still, Mariah was true to her word, and she moved back in with Tessa. Why, Mariah? Why do you believe one single word coming out of Tessa's mouth? Mariah really was "a big, wide-open bleeding heart" and was way too trusting, and I hope that she has only decided to complete her mission by trying to discover what happened to J.T.'s body. That would seem to be a mission impossible, only with a destroyed flash drive in the place of a self-destructing tape. Victoria sure pounded the sucker into smithereens, just as Tessa had shattered Mariah's trust in her into a million pieces.

I was stunned to hear Rey admit to Sharon that he still loved Mia and wanted to make his marriage work, which would surely be no "Rey" of sunshine for Sharon in the future. Sharon seemed pleased that Rey considered her a friend, but I'm not sure that will be enough for her. Even after she saw Rey's wife for herself, Sharon almost made Mia feel she was out of place to be at Rey's apartment. No, Sharon and Mia would never be friends, and Sharon acknowledged that when she asked Rey, "on a scale of one to I'd like to scratch her eyes out," about Mia's hate for Sharon. Oh, no, Sharon and Mia wouldn't become bosom buddies anytime soon, and Sharon probably liked it a lot better when Rey's wife was nonexistent in Genoa City and in Sharon's mind.

Okay, so if a man is married but you never see his wife, does that make it okay for a woman to entertain the idea of having a relationship with him? That's what I have been wondering since Sharon and Rey started flirting around, before Mia ever hit town. Sharon was letting herself get attached to Rey, even though she knew he was already someone else's man, because his wife was not around. Out of sight, out of mind, I guess. But apparently, the lack of her physical presence in Genoa City made it okay for Sharon and Rey to be together, or at least, that's how it appeared.

Once Mia arrived in town, the writers began painting her the deepest shade of black so that everyone within the sound of her voice could hear her baas. "Baa, baa, black sheep," and she's been doing plenty of that, especially to Sharon in the most venomous way. And seriously, that's the only way the Sharon and Rey pairing could possibly work. Mia would be the Evil Queen next to Sharon's pure as the driven Snow White, which should supposedly justify Rey wanting to be with Sharon. That would be all fine and dandy, except Sharon knew from the get-go that Rey was married, and she knew nothing of his wife's good or bad qualities then. There's nothing to justify that. Rey should have been hands-off for Sharon with no "Rey" of hope once she heard the word "married."

Of course, Mia had cheated on Rey with his own brother, Arturo. Of course. But as dastardly as Mia can be, she was right that Rey was partially to blame for any problems in their marriage by never being around for her. And he should have been forewarned, too, since Mia had first been Arturo's girl, but that could very well have been part of his attraction to her. Arturo wanted her first, so Rey had to have her. It probably became a competition between two brothers, and Rey came out the winner. Or did he? Honestly, Abby shouldn't feel too threatened by Mia at all.

I still think Billy and Sharon would be a fun pair to watch, since they both held a grudge against their exes and were members of the Broken Hearts Society. Just think how romantic it would be if they started out dating as friends to spite Phyllis and Nick and then fell in love. That would be so sweet. Really, Billy and Sharon should just "go for the gusto" and have some fun together. Remember the old Schlitz Beer commercials? I haven't thought of that in ages, but somehow it fits here.

However, if Jack is right, Phyllis hadn't yet gotten past her love for Billy's many charms, no matter what she said to Nick. How could Nick even consider moving in with Phyllis so soon after his breakup from Sharon? It's absurd. Even in his visions, he could still picture being with Sharon. His fling with Phyllis was obviously a rebound thing, which was fine as long as he could see it for what it was. Just because he was lonely and had a new fancy-dancy house didn't mean another woman needed to move right in. What kind of message would that send to his kids?

Apparently, that didn't matter to Nick, since he was pushing Phyllis as Christian's new mommy only weeks after Sharon had been fulfilling that role. That kid has to be so confused, but he's probably getting used to it. He's had so many mothers now, he probably considers it part of his normal life. Sharon had been the one closest to Christian (including the Sully years) during most of his development, though. It would be cruel of Nick to have Phyllis play Christian's new mom when she has a history of flip-flopping partners whenever she gets bored. I feel for the little guy. Thank goodness for Monique. The sitter was probably the one constant female in Christian's life.

Besides, Phyllis' time was being used to find new ways to continue to cover up the Fearsome Foursome's dirty little secrets. If the four ladies were taking every measure to prevent Nick from discovering the truth, Phyllis should have considered that living apart from Nick would be at the top of her list of things to do. But Phyllis was callous and self-centered to the core, so this didn't show as even a blip of warning on her radar that she should keep Nick at arm's length. No, Phyllis had only hesitated to move in with Nick because of Billy, even though she finally realized that she and Billy had never had a healthy dynamic together. Sheesh, it sure took Phyllis long enough to figure that out, even if they were just words she said to convince herself it was over between them. Nick may regret his rash decision to rush her into his home.

While Cane was handling losing Lily in his normal, day-to-day life in his way, Devon was handling his grief over Hilary in a possibly self-destructive manner. The holidays are the absolutely worst time for anyone to deal with sorrow and loss, because they tend to accentuate the person's loneliness. Devon was attempting to ignore the loneliness by not being alone, which usually doesn't work. Sometimes, one can feel more alone in a crowded room than in being by oneself. Devon admitted to Nate that he was afraid of not being able to picture Hilary or to hear the sound of her voice one day. Devon was obviously going to have a tough time dealing with his feelings during the holiday season, and he could only do what he could to survive it.

Our loved ones squared off and picked families to celebrate Thanksgiving with, with newbies entering the fray. Kerry took the spot normally held by Ashley, who was, not surprisingly a no-show, although Ashley did make sure to cause a bit of a ruckus during her absence. Ashley made sure to share her holiday cheer with Jack by sending him a press release regarding the launch of her new company, My Beauty. It sounded like Ashley was a wee bit miffed with Jack still. While Jack was ready to forgive and forget and let bygones be bygones, apparently Ashley was not.

Billy chose to bow out as Victoria's guest for the Newman Thanksgiving gathering, thinking Victor would be there, because "Thanksgiving and violence is not a good mix." However, Victor remained in Singapore for business, so the Newmans were an unusually quiet bunch. Luckily, Nick showed up with a disgruntled Faith and a clueless Christian to spread time with Nikki and Victoria; however, his mother and sister were not pleased to hear that Phyllis had already moved in with Nick. Finally, someone else with a lick of sense. Really, what was the hurry? Phyllis practically sprang from Jack's bed to Billy's to Nick's, all within the blink of an eye. Nick had Phyllis move in for his sake, not for his kids'. Faith acted like it was no big deal, and it won't take long for Christian to have that kind of attitude, as well. It seemed that Nick's love really was no big deal.

I don't know about anyone else, but I am more than ready for the big showdown between Victoria and Tessa. It's about time Victoria took a stand against the woman who was messing with their lives. Tessa may have been able to snow Mariah, Sharon, and Nikki, but Victoria needs to let her know that she has a good pair of goggles and can clearly see Tessa for the deceitful person that she is. Let the duel begin.

I couldn't help but notice that the only ones calling Nick and Phyllis a power couple were Nick and Phyllis. It just doesn't seem like the title has as much impact if it is self-proclaimed.

Who else first thought that when Victoria brought out a hammer to "tenderize the meat," she was referring to J.T.'s body?

As much as I don't care for her, I appreciated the comment that Tessa made about all the cards mailed to Hell, Michigan, without a return address. I've been to Hell (and back) and even bought a T-shirt there. My husband and I had a few drinks and a meal in Hell. It's small, but it was a fun little place to visit, although I would just as soon stay away from its namesake.

Bravo to Sharon for continuing her tradition of feeding the homeless on Thanksgiving. Although the extra pairs of helping hands from Rey and his family were nice, Sharon probably would have preferred to have less drama -- and Mia -- at Crimson Lights.

Until next time, please stay tuned -- and keep on buzzing.Teddi

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