If the horns fit... The devil is in the details

Chelsea returned to town to protect her precious child from his adoring father, Adam. Since she and Nick both had similar custody issues, would they join forces against a common foe? And which "devil" should Kevin fear more: Adam or Phyllis? Happy Birthday, America and Billy Abbott in Two Scoops!

Chelsea was back in town without little Connor in tow, and for some strange reason, Adam thought they could both just pick up where they had left off three years beforehand. Adam sure was delusional in thinking that Chelsea's world had come completely to a stop once everyone had believed he was dead. I mean, there was an entire chapter of Chelsea with Nick before she began a brand-new fairytale with another man far, far away from Genoa City and the Newmans. Yet Adam felt that even though the clock had already struck midnight, Chelsea could go back to being his Cinderella, complete with a glass slipper that fit her foot perfectly. It never dawned on him that he might just not get his happily ever after he had hoped for.

One major hurdle Adam had to leap to reclaim what he thought was his rightful place in Chelsea's life was her connection to Nick. Although she had always known that Christian was Adam's biological son, Nick had raised the boy as his own, even after he learned the truth about Christian's paternity. When she left town, Chelsea couldn't strip the tot from the loving arms of the only father he had even known. Chelsea knew that Nick could offer the boy the stable and nurturing home that Christian so richly deserved. Plus, Chelsea had been engaged to Nick, so she knew better than anyone that Nick was devoted to Christian and that he had a heart of gold. Chelsea regretted the way she had handled things back then and even told Nick that she had been unable to forget him.

Also, Chelsea was pretty much in the same rocky boat that Nick was in, since she was newly married to a man, Calvin, who had been raising Connor. Still, Adam insisted he wanted both Chelsea and Connor back in his life. Oh, yes, Chelsea had an uphill battle facing her if she even dared to keep her son away from Adam. As she pleaded with Adam, she pointed out to him that if he really loved Connor, Adam would leave him with the family that Connor knew and cherished, but we all knew just how well that argument worked for Nick. Adam didn't care that Christian adored Nick as his father, and he certainly didn't give two hoots about Connor being raised by a man that wasn't even related to him. Hey, at least Nick was Christian's uncle. Calvin was a nobody in Adam's eyes.

But Chelsea had needed to move on in order to survive after Adam's "death," especially since Connor had been lost and had become "quiet and withdrawn." So, even if Chelsea desired that her son have nothing at all to do with the Newmans, that would seem to be cruel to a boy who had completely adored his father. Chelsea asked for Adam to put Connor first, but she needed to do the same thing. Besides, an alive Adam (versus a deceased Adam, I guess) had parental rights to his son, even if Calvin had adopted Connor, so Chelsea would, more than likely, be unable to prevent Adam from having, at the very least, visitation rights. As long as Adam didn't use the child as a weapon against Chelsea, he should be able to see Connor, who had once cherished his daddy.

Sure, Adam might have always been Connor's hero, but Calvin was the one who had been there for the lad. Nick suggested that he and Chelsea work together to stop Adam from getting custody of the boys, and they were going to need all the weapons and ammunition they could find to defeat Adam, who has proven to be much more like his crafty father. Victor can make diabolical moves without having his conscience bother him, and Adam appeared also to have no Jiminy Cricket around to pester him. That put Nick and Chelsea at a disadvantage. Sure, Chelsea might have once been a con artist, but she never seemed to be guilt-free of her past actions. In fact, she was still bothered that she had sneaked out of town with Fenmore's money that she had appropriated in order to raise Connor.

I'm glad to have Chelsea and her portrayer, Melissa Claire Egan, back, because she brings so much drama along with the eventual return of Adam's other biological son, Connor. And it was obvious she still cared deeply for Nick. Plus, it looked promising that a new player had entered the competition, although that proved to be short-lived, since Calvin was immediately killed off. That was a shame. Calvin could have been a wild card, as well as a real long-shot, since he's not a Newman. In fact, he could have been the "dark horse" in the custody battle, since he actually sided with Adam and felt Connor's father should have custody of the boy. I got the vibe that Mr. Boudreau would have been a tough nut to crack. And Anita had dated him before Chelsea? Ewww! That vibe just turned very creepy.

When he first arrived in town, Calvin's grand tour included a stop first with Adam then with Nick. Actually, Chelsea's husband looked like someone neither guy would ever want to tangle with, which made him rather intriguing. Part of the reason Calvin was rooting for Adam to gain custody of Connor was to make room for his own child with Chelsea -- like there wasn't enough room in Chelsea's heart for both. So, why did Calvin adopt Connor? He didn't have to. Calvin could have just been Connor's stepfather. He must have gone through all the legalities to score points with Chelsea. But since Calvin wished to banish Connor to Adam's abode, which didn't sit well with Chelsea, Calvin probably had to go.

It was only a matter of time before Phyllis found out that Kevin was actually the one who had kidnapped her for his own reasons. Actually, I had wondered why Adam was keeping that a secret from her until I realized he was also holding that over Kevin's head. Well, Adam did need new leverage once he set Chloe free. Shoot, Kevin's going to be doing Adam's bidding for a long, long time. I'm not sure which devil not-so-much in disguise was worse for Kevin: Adam or Phyllis. Well, as Nick said to Phyllis, "If the horns fit..." Either way, Kevin was in a bad way.

And that's a shame because, with his technical skills in computers, Kevin could be a genuine asset to Mariah and her new company, Power Communication. However, Kevin couldn't even consider a position with her new company as a long-term option, because Chloe could face some serious prison time if she even dreamed of putting a toe inside the city's border. So, Adam was going to put the screws on Kevin to continue to have him jump at his every beck and call. Oh, well, it was still great seeing Mariah and Kevin back as friends again, and maybe she can help him get away from the bad people who were calling all the shots.

Mariah has really been proving to be a terrific friend to not only Kevin, but also to Kyle, as she tried to keep him calm about Lola's mother. I don't blame him for freaking out about his soon-to-be mother-in-law, however. Celeste sure took charge of the young couple's relationship, which probably wasn't a good indication for their future. Shoot, she moved in bag and baggage, and it appeared Celeste would remain planted at Lola's until the "I do's" were said. Yeah, the lovebirds might need to re-feather their nest after mama bird was done with it. And since Lola's mommy wanted to keep her chaste until the wedding, it was small wonder that Lola was ready to get married -- pronto! And when it came right down to it, the lie they told to cover up living together never really mattered.

But Celeste had more on her mind than her daughter's wedding plans, since she had learned of Jack Abbott in the magazines. My guess is that she will be trying to reel him in, hook, line, and sinker, when it's all said and done. And why not? He's a handsome, powerful man and was also very much available. So, Maria Santos might be paired up with Cliff Warner, after all, even if they weren't on All My Children at the same time. Interesting. If Lauren was looking at luring in the same fish as Celeste, she'd better get her bait out. And it almost sounded like she was, with her insinuation that something was going on between Michael and Phyllis. Maybe it was wishful thinking?

Hmmm...Phyllis was sure cooking up something with her plans for Adam's gathering, since she was the one compiling the guest list of all "the haters," which included Summer, who proved it by avoiding her mother at all costs. Phyllis has sure turned everyone who once loved her, totally against her. That has always been Red's biggest downfall -- not being able to see how her actions can lead to some very bad consequences. She never wants to lose, but her tactics end up losing her what she loves more than what she was actually trying to win in the first place. Would Phyllis have changed some of her strategies if she had known her daughter would side against her? Probably not. She would just figure that Summer would come around to her way of thinking eventually.

And, of course, Phyllis would have been right. Summer has never stayed mad at Phyllis for too long, and she immediately caved once her mother "mothered" her after Theo left, once he grew tired of hearing continuously about the wonders of Kyle. If Phyllis really wanted to help her daughter, she should encourage her to move on without Kyle. After all, Phyllis is one to take the bull by the horns just as she took charge of Dark Horse. Why doesn't she practice what she preaches? Phyllis should show her daughter that she was tough and tenacious, not angry and vindictive, as Jack described her. Summer needed to hear that she should be a respected woman in her own right, even if Phyllis was still working on the "respected" part, to light up the sky with her independence.

Sadly for Phyllis, Summer only wanted to be around her mother when she was feeling miserable. Really, what could Phyllis expect after making practically everything else a priority except her daughter? It was rather funny, though, when Adam didn't bother to show up to Phyllis' congratulations party to herself, and the party attendees proved to be quite scarce. Actually, it was pretty amazing that Jack, Michael, and Lauren showed up after what Red has done to them. Phyllis couldn't even say she was a fair-weather friend, when she has pretty much been treating them like dirt. Phyllis made her own bed, and she had to lie in it -- all alone with fireworks bursting all around her. That's rather ironic, considering she's always the colorful one who sparkles and blazes.

Wow, Devon spoke of Hilary to Elena and Ana, packed up Hilary's items, and suddenly, all's well that ends well -- if only all healing processes were as simple. Elena must have some magical, mystical powers to have Hilary's image so easily vanquished from Devon's mind. Bye-bye, ghost Hilary. So, everything was all hunky-dory, and Devon and Elena could go merrily skipping, hand in hand, toward the land of "sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows." I could almost hear Lesley Gore's voice singing the lyrics to that song in the background. "Dream Big, Work Hard." Hilary should almost be insulted that Devon didn't have to work too hard to get rid of her vision.

Needless to say, Devon's second first date with Elena went a bit more smoothly without Hilary around to haunt them. Oh, yes, their date was joyous and festive amid the colorful atmosphere of the carnival, and wasn't it so adorable that Devon won a tiny bear for Elena? It was all so cotton candy sweet. I'm almost getting a toothache. Then she put her prize by a photo of Devon, Neil, and Lily to seal the deal. Still, it just seemed like it was all going way too fast. But then again, Victor wasn't concerned, so why should I be?

Tessa's video was a huge online success to help with her new career, even if Devon hadn't even realized it was out. Oh, well, too bad for him. I guess he had so much money already, he didn't care if Tessa was a big hit or not. It was almost like Devon preferred to be right about Ana's lack of professional experience than have his singer be a super sensation, although Ana was willing to work with the good-looking Theo to learn the ropes. This could be just the break Kyle was looking for, if Summer's jealousy and obsession could finally shift from him to Theo.

Since his health issue, Victor has become much more considerate of others' feelings, especially his family members'. It's just all so un-Victor-like. He was even cracking jokes about the carnival being his "jam" and was willing to win his love a stuffed critter at the fair. Just who is this strange mustachioed man, anyway? It must have been contagious, because Victoria and Abby didn't even throw a tantrum when they learned that Nick knew about their dad's new experimental trial, along with the possible nasty side effects, first. The Newmans are way out of their comfort zone, acting all nice and understanding. They must feel they are living in la-la land.

The July Fourth festivities took place at the carnival, where fun and frolic could be shared by everyone, including Billy, who was also celebrating his birthday (although Victoria might want to keep the guns away from Billy anytime Adam is around). Carnivals always remind me of simpler times in the past, where kids could meet with their friends, ride the rides, eat lots of cool fair food, and try to win a prize. Where I live, a rodeo even topped off the gaiety of the night. The citizens of Genoa City all enjoyed the fair, surrounded by the red, white, and blue balloons and the theme of independence. Happy Birthday, America! And Billy Abbott!

Chelsea expressed to Christian that "you never forget the people you love most." What a grand motto for her story!

But Adam had his own saying, which he told Kevin, "I draw the lines. You cross them for me." Yep, that's Adam for you.

When Devon suggested that Elena add her own personal touches to his penthouse, to start, they should have just replaced all the photos of Hilary with ones of Elena. Hey, it would have saved them some time.

Victoria pointed out that she had earned her CEO position, while Phyllis had gotten hers by sleeping with the devil, Adam. That may be true, but which devil, Adam or Phyllis, had the bigger horns?

Cane felt that Traci should write a sequel of Flynn and Velma, and Traci was eager to get started. Well, that would be one way to keep the imaginary romance going.

Nick's message in his fortune cookie said, "An old love will come back to you." But how can that be about Chelsea, since she had already returned? That would hardly be a prediction of the future, unless "will come back to you" means in every way possible.

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