Like rats deserting a sinking ship

The Newmans and Chelsea scrambled to protect two innocent boys from the destructive force known as Adam. Will Chelsea resort to a court battle over the custody of Connor? Will Victor's restraining order prevent future damage to Christian? Threats, superstitions, and jinxes threatened Lola's big day in Two Scoops.

Honestly, Adam's "poor me" act was really getting old, and all the excuses for his bad acts were totally ridiculous and disgusting. Jack wasn't wrong when he pointed out that Adam was like a drowning man who was reaching for a life preserver, yet Victor had thrown him a lifeline many times in the past. After Adam rebuffed his dad's latest attempt to save him, it's no wonder that Victor grew weary of trying to help his son. Adam didn't seem to notice that the very family who should be caring for him had shunned him due to his behavior toward his two precious sons. He either hadn't noticed, or that's just the way he preferred it. I'm willing to bet it's the latter.

Really, it was like watching rats deserting a sinking ship, only the biggest rat was the one steering the ship. And the way Adam announced the truth about Christian's paternity to the lad, without any regard for his feelings, was deplorable. So, Adam was both a fink and a rat. I would almost call him a ratfink, only I think ratfinks are rather cute -- and in no way had Adam's behavior been cute. I mean, it was bad when even Victor turned against him because of his diabolical antics, and Victor was the king of diabolical. The ruler of the territory wanted to banish his subject into another land -- far, far away -- only Adam wasn't budging. Yes, Jack was right when he told Victor that a family torn apart was one of life's biggest disappointments. Jack should know.

Victor was the one behind the restraining order to stop Adam from any future visits with Christian. How could Adam think otherwise? I'm just shocked that Victor selected a legal way to take action. But after all the damage Adam caused Christian, Victor wished he had never given his son a second chance. Yes, that was harsh, but Adam deserved it. He never gave a thought about what was best for either of his sons, and he proved it even more by vowing to take everything from Victor and the Newmans. Adam should have played nice. He would have gotten so much farther if he had. But that's Adam for you -- compromise is not in his vocabulary. Adam wanted Victor to choose between Adam and the rest of the family, so Victor chose -- and his choice was not Adam.

As Victor suffered from dizzy spells, his head was also spinning from how fiendish Adam had become by using his own sons, one against the only father he had ever known. With the slate wiped clean, Victor promised Nick that he'd do anything he could to stop his younger son from destroying his grandsons' lives. Victor became Team Christian. It was nice to see Victor back in action again, only this time on the side of good instead of evil. Shoot, Victor wouldn't have a clue as to how that felt from past experience, but his love for Christian conquered all. And even if the side effects of his medication slowed him down some, Victor would never let them defeat him.

As I watched Chelsea talk to Nick about how she hoped that Adam's love for his sons would triumph over his anger against the world, I couldn't help but think how, not too long ago, she had vowed to do whatever she could to keep Connor safe and far away from Adam. But when she was on the run with her son, it wasn't from Adam, because she had believed he was dead. No, Chelsea had been afraid she would go to prison after embezzling money from her friends, which was why she had kept her distance. However, once she saw Adam blowing up Christian's life, she was determined to protect Connor, even if it meant going to court.

Only, Chelsea never thought she'd be the kind of mother who would drag her son through an ugly legal battle. She never dreamed she could even consider taking action that might end up causing Connor a lot of pain. But that's just it. "Nobody does until they do." Okay, I heard Sonny use that expression on General Hospital, and for some reason, I thought it was rather cool. But anyway, Chelsea saw how much keeping her boy from his father would hurt him. Oh, Connor made that perfectly clear -- over and over again. That kid was making demands from his mother without understanding the truth of what his father was all about, which was rather outrageous.

Honestly, Connor was acting like a brat. He was extremely rude to Nick for absolutely no reason. Connor should have been punished for that or, at the very least, reprimanded for it. But Chelsea was so busy tip-toeing around the lad that she let Connor take control. Yet, Chelsea was the lesser of two evils, by far. By telling Christian the truth about his paternity, Adam showed just how incapable he was of putting his sons' needs ahead of his own. And he was perfectly capable of wrecking Connor's life, also. Why would Adam take away from his boy the only parent who had been around during Connor's formative years to ensure that he turned out to be "an amazing kid"? No, this was not the same Adam from when they were a happy, united family -- before the explosion.

I can't be too harsh on Chelsea, though, when all she had for a role model throughout her life was her mother, Anita. That lady never met a man she didn't want to swindle. Anita believed in the self-help theory of helping herself to as many of Calvin's assets as she could get her paws on while he was still alive. Who needed a piddly little inheritance, when she had her shady dealings of five million dollars to keep her warm at night? After Chelsea tossed her out on her behind, Anita came clean and gave her the dirty money, which most assuredly needed a desperate washing. Chelsea gave some back -- after she learned she had also inherited many of Calvin's assets, including a house, cars, and the items of a storage unit. Hey, I'm curious to know what's in that storage unit.

Victoria could only get away with hiding Christian away and lying about his fake illnesses for so long. It was only a matter of time before Adam caught up with her, which he did in the park. That seemed to be one popular place, although it's rather weird that no other kid but Christian ever played there. Christian devised his own game of hide-and-seek when he crept into the bushes to get away from the grownups' shenanigans, and who could blame him? Sadly, Victoria's own game of keep-away was causing too much drama for the youngster. Christian should never have been put in the place where he had to hide to stay away from their arguments over him.

In the meantime, Adam was busy making new business deals, even as he announced to Phyllis and the world that Dark Horse was dead. He tried to pull a fast one by having Devon buy the Grand Phoenix Hotel; however, the mogul wasn't interested. I don't blame Devon for not wanting to touch that offer. He probably figured he'd be forever tied to the devil that way. Phyllis was still determined to get her claws into the Grand Phoenix and tried to worm her way into Devon's good graces, but he wasn't having any of it. Devon flatly stated that he didn't trust Phyllis. The angel on his shoulder sure was doing his job, shooing both the dark and the red demons away.

Abby nearly sabotaged herself from getting a new lounge at the posh hotel by calling Summer "a self-centered, narcissistic brat" right to Summer's mother's face. What?! I was waiting for the punchline, but Abby didn't look like she was kidding. For someone who claimed to be so smart, that was just dumb. Luckily for her, Phyllis' love for herself was even greater than her love for her daughter. Phyllis needed money, and Abby had it. Abby's big bucks would buy the hotel and would also buy Red time, until she could come up with her 20% share of the ownership stake. Abby was crafty enough to realize she'd have a better chance of working with Phyllis if they both shared the risk. It seemed Abby didn't trust Phyllis, either. That appeared to be a running theme in Genoa City.

And Ashley was another one to jump on the don't-trust-Phyllis-as-far-as-you-can-throw-her theme. Ashley was stunned that Abby was partnering up with someone who had proven to be so untrustworthy. But, like Phyllis, Abby saw the dollar signs and was ready to pounce. Oh, sure, Abby could handle Phyllis. Hopefully, she'll do a better job of it than the way she's been handling Summer. Ashley may need to move back from France just to keep her daughter safe from the fiery redhead. Those more frequent visits to Genoa City may not be enough.

Abby's version of the fight was so warped, it was ridiculous. Abby's nose was already rubbed the wrong way when Mariah decided to have a combined bachelor/bachelorette party without her permission. How dare Mariah?! Good grief, Abby could have thrown Lola another party without the guys if it bothered her that much. But Summer wasn't doing anything to Abby at the party, so Abby had to make sure that Summer knew she wasn't welcomed, even though she was invited -- by Lola -- the bride. Abby confronted "Snowflake," which created a scene, and was the one to lay her hands on Summer by pushing her. Abby was the instigator, not Summer. It's funny how Abby always left the pushing part out of her story. Summer threw a pitcher of water on her for no reason. Right.

Wow, so Jack and Ashley called their new merged company "Jabot." Really, it's not that much of a surprise. There should always be a Jabot in Genoa City, which truly was the best way to honor John Abbott. The problem has never been the company itself, only the backstabbing siblings who were running it. It's amazing that Jabot's still in existence at all with all the upheaval that's been going on lately. Billy almost had it run into the ground, and Phyllis only cared about what the family business could do for her. It's time Jack and Ashley took charge again, but they need to work as equal partners. Otherwise, it would be another reign of terror, which would never work.

Why, oh why, oh why?! Kyle, why did you have to go and say that nothing would stop you and Lola now? That is a sure sign of heartbreak and doom on any soap. And later, Kyle stated that the next time he danced would be with his wife. Oh, the end was surely near. Kyle might see Lola at the end of the aisle, but that didn't mean that the wedding ceremony would take place. Just ask Nick, who got dumped by Sharon at the altar. Kyle then tried to erase his unintended jinx by leaving, so he wouldn't see Lola before the wedding, but she couldn't bear to be away from him for that long. They had a romantic night at the wedding site, where Kyle said, "Last dance and last kiss," and Lola finished, "before a million firsts." It was so sweet and romantic. To heck with tradition.

Lola feared it was a bad omen that four people had tried to murder each other at her party, although Mariah stressed that they had only attempted to "maim each other -- slightly." And then Theo armed Summer with the ammunition to tank Kyle's attempt to put a ring on it when he told her about their checkered past in New York City. Kyle and Theo left a party one night with an underage drunk party girl, whom they found it necessary to dump at the emergency room. The girl's father was so concerned about his daughter that he was willing to accept hush money from Kyle afterwards. Ahh...daddy dearest was a guy after Adam's own heart. When Theo was ready to shout the sordid tale to the world, Summer only wanted to keep it quiet.

And the suspense kept building. Would Celeste go to Lola's wedding or wouldn't she? I was biting my nails in anticipation. Seriously, I could see why Lola would want her mother to attend, but it was Celeste's loss if she didn't. If Celeste was so immature as to stay away from her own daughter's big day, because she had perceived receiving some small slight during her visit, then good riddance. But the smooth-talking Jack, riding on his white charger, saved the day and somehow convinced Celeste to attend. And Adrian became the uninvited attendee who really didn't belong. Talk's cheap, and the words in Adrian's letter had sounded like a bunch of baloney.

So, even with Kyle's spoken jinx, Theo's threat, and all the superstitious mumbo jumbo pouring down on our beautiful couple, Kyle and Lola still somehow managed to become husband and wife. It was so amazing. I can't remember any soap couple ever getting to stay together after declaring that nothing would stop them from being together. But somehow, the two lovebirds were able to defy all odds and kiss as a married couple in the end. Kyle was truly successful in making all of Lola's wishes and dreams come true in their fairy tale wedding. It was a lovely start for them, no matter how many dark clouds hovered over the horizon.

Theo seemed to have Genoa City's motto when he stated, "Sometimes, the best scandals make the best openings." Hilary would probably have agreed with that.

When Adam sat on the bench, talking to Christian, who was hiding in the bushes, I couldn't help but notice that the bushes were just as chatty as Christian was. The fun of working with child actors.

Abby and Nate sure were in different places in their lives. It was like one was in Disneyland in California and the other was in the cornfields of Kansas. Oh, wait...that's where Victor would like to banish Adam to. Anyway, Abby was rejecting her "zero to all-in" past, which might actually have gone better with Nate's "a solid game plan kind of guy." Nate just seemed to have trouble balancing with the uncertainty of having a net underneath him.

Sharon and Rey made amends -- for old time's sake. Oh, goody-goody gumdrops.

Traci and Ashley were the best aunts when they calmed a fearful Kyle with their words of wisdom on his wedding day. Traci said, "Marriage is a living thing, and your love keeps it alive," while Ashley reminded Kyle that he would always have the support of his very flawed family. The ladies insisted that as long as Kyle chose being happy over being right, he and Lola could be each other's rocks for many years to come.

It looked like Elena would be sticking around once she got the residency position at Memorial Hospital. Well, she'd rather be independent with her own job, and it's probably good that she works anywhere else but Hamilton-Winters LLP -- for more reasons than just to keep her independence.

I just realized that Ana is gone for good. It's rather crazy that anyone associated with Devon's music company has been disappearing like the rabbit in a magician's top hat. Ana. Jett. Fen. That's been one of the most bizarre vanishing acts, since he never updates his parents about his success after he went on tour. I'm not sure Michael and Lauren have even mentioned Fen's name since he left. Tessa's fortunate that she's keeping her other options open, or she'd probably be on her way out the door, too.

Until next time, please stay tuned.Teddi

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