Babies, business, and bamboozlers

Spring has sprung, and with it the Genoa City air is permeated with the sweet smell of baby powder, the bold scent of business, or another odor altogether as smooth talkers attempt to entice vulnerable women into their sticky webs. Join us for this week's scratch-and-sniff edition of Two Scoops!

When Victoria learned a few years ago that she was unlikely to ever have another child, she fell into such a deep, inconsolable depression, her doting Billy resorted to buying a baby just to make her smile again. Unfortunately, her joy ended the heartbreaking moment little Lucy was snatched away and returned to her biological parents. Call me crazy, but I could have sworn adoption was the sole way Victoria could be a mother again.

Of course, I should have known better after watching in disbelief as first Phyllis, and then Ashley, managed to become pregnant, despite being advised by Genoa City doctors that such a future feat would be impossible. But, this is, after all, a soap, where anything is possible given the right situation or new writers. In this particular case, however, I'm grateful for re-writes and do-overs. After a miscarriage; the tortuous journey to bring Reed into the world, only to lose him to ex-husband, J.T.; a second miscarriage; and finally, the loss of Lucy, I always felt Victoria deserved another little wee one of her own. But, who knew she had so many options of conception available to her?

Although Victoria had already decided making babies was more important than making business deals, she was nonetheless clearly dismayed to learn Adam had at long last won his father's love and approval with his split-second decision to leap into the path of the bullet meant for Victor.

Victoria was incensed that Victor had decided to welcome Adam, both into the family as well as at Newman Enterprises, but I was thrilled with this turn of events. I have long been tired of the unrelenting animosity between these two powerful men and am more than ready for some congeniality and competition. Unfortunately, given their strong personalities and ability to rub each other the wrong way, I won't be surprised if their new relationship soon falls by the wayside. It probably won't be long before Adam fails to reach some impossibly high goal Victor has set. Victor isn't likely to be happy playing second fiddle to Adam. And after successfully running the company Victoria and Nick turned their backs on, will Adam now be content to receive, rather than issue, orders?

Chelsea isn't even sporting a baby bump, yet I'm already tired of her pregnancy. Are we really going to be subjected to nine months or more of her see-sawing between telling Adam the truth or pinning the baby daddy ribbon on Dylan? I also have a problem with her thinking that Adam would take the baby away from her. Adam has offered her the house and any amount of money she wanted, and he has bent over backwards to give her anything else she requested. He's a businessman. I just can't see him taking the tot from her just to turn his or her care over to a paid nanny. Adam has never said or done anything that hinted that he thought Chelsea would be a bad mother. Of course, if she tried to pin the paternity on Dylan, Adam would probably try to do exactly what she fears.

When Chloe isn't giving bad baby advice to Chelsea, she and Kevin continue to make bad decisions of their own. Perhaps these two are meant to provide a little comic relief on the Genoa City stage with their antics; however, I'm not at all amused. After all Kay has done for both of them, it's totally unbelievable that they would steal from her! And to make their behavior even more despicable, the thought of stealing from their friends and loved ones to benefit themselves actually brings out the amorous in this twisted pair. Greg Rikaart is an awesome actor, with the talent to make you cry with his portrayal of Kevin. He deserves much better than this rather disappointing drivel.

Ahh, Lauren is heading for a great big fall. Poor Michael. Will he really be the last to know, or does the knowledge of Lauren's cuckolding lie somewhere within his mind? Whichever the case, it's likely only a matter of time before he is forced to face the truth. Lauren is doing an exceptionally bad job of hiding her affair. And Carmine has already taken a step or two across the stalker line.

Thankfully, as much as Michael desperately wants to save his marriage, the days of begging for mercy seem to be over. Despite Lauren's conciliatory words, Michael refused to jump through her hoop when she suggested they get away from it all. He rightly pointed out distance and a hotel bed wasn't likely to make her heart grow fonder when she can barely stand to lie beside him in their very own bedroom.

Carmine isn't the only Genoa Citian bamboozler who absolutely refuses to take no for an answer. Like Carmine, Summer has become quite the little stalker chick. When baring half her body in Jack's office didn't accomplish her goal of getting Kyle's attention, she took off everything and climbed into his bed. Still not seeming to take Summer completely seriously, Kyle lied about an involvement with some mystery woman. That admission didn't even slow Summer down. She is determined to land Kyle, whether he wants her or not, and it doesn't matter what Phyllis, Jack, or Nick has to say about it.

Although I'm not convinced Avery and Nick will actually make it to a wedding, for now she has accepted Nick's proposal and devastated Dylan. Talk about a tangled family tree if these two tie the knot. Avery's niece and nephew will become her stepchildren, Nick's ex-wife will become his sister-in-law, and if Avery and Nick have children, the sisters' children can be both siblings and cousins. It's enough to make my head hurt.

Tyler and his belligerence are making me reach for the Tylenol as well. Gus admitted he was a lousy father and husband, but imperfect marriage or not, he wasn't the one having the affair. Belinda put her trust in the wrong man, and she paid for that mistake with her life. Speaking of that murder, is Wheeler's arrest going to actually be the end of the story? The fact that he was having an affair with Belinda might be enough to explain the presence of his DNA. But he might not be able to explain away his part in the hit man's hire.

Of course, Wheeler hadn't even made it to the police station to be arraigned for the latest crime before Victor was turning his attention to someone else. He and Jack were deliciously successful in tricking Wheeler into giving his DNA by way of that coffee cup, but Victor's loathing for Jack was only put on hold while they tended to that mutually beneficial matter. Now that Wheeler is presumably on his way to receiving his just reward for his crimes, Victor has thrown down the gauntlet, vowing to crush Jack for taking Newman Enterprises. I couldn't help but giggle a little when Victor told Jack, "If you think Marcus is going to have it rough, fasten your seatbelt, old boy." Oh well, let the corporate games begin. Given Jack and Adam's improved relationship, things should be interesting as Adam tries to successfully straddle the line between Jack and Victor.

By the way, I like Gus. A no-nonsense man who accepts and admits his shortcomings. I just hope the twelve years he served really has changed his character. If he turns out to be a bamboozler, or returns to his old habits, I would hate to have to listen to Tyler utter the dreaded words, "I told you so."

But back on Tyler's case. This time for his dogged pursuit of Lily. Cane might have jumped to the wrong conclusion about that hug between his wife and Tyler, but he's right about both Lily and Tyler. Lily is being nave, and Tyler is pretending he's only interested in friendship. They are supposed to be business colleagues, but more often than not, they stray deep into the realm of intensely personal matters. Tyler has not been one bit shy about making his attraction to Lily crystal clear. He flirts, he leers, and he makes inappropriately personal observations about her looks or attire. And now he has kissed her. I can't help but wonder whether Lily will tell Cane about that?

Poor Noah. With Adriana no longer a part of Genoa City society, it looks like the adorable young man will be flying solo again. And since he seems to be related to just about every single woman in town, it may be a long, barren spell for him.

So, Kay has been diagnosed with a brain tumor. It's a relief to know what has been causing Kay's memory lapses, and though I have enjoyed Cane being her confidant, I wish she'd trust Jill enough to tell her the truth. Sadly, I read on Twitter that Jeanne Cooper isn't doing very well. She has played Mrs. C. well and wonderfully for many years. I have enjoyed her tremendously and hope to do so for many more years to come. She and her family are in my prayers. So, another wonderful week is at an end, and the show just keeps getting better and better. Hope you are all enjoying it, too, and as always, please continue to share your opinions with us. We love them, and your comments could pop up in a future column! You can also post your comments here on this page, and don't forget about our 24/7 feedback line. Some of our readers were featured on last week's Soap Central Live!

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