Raining cats... and dog

A beloved darling returned! Did her ghostly presence bring comfort to her grieving father? Chloe also made a brief visit to Genoa City -- but was she alone? And the wrath of Phyllis reared its ugly reddish head when she learned the truth about Summer and Austin! To learn more, read this week's Two Scoops.

Holy Somali (cats), Batman! I believe I have discovered the answer to that age-old problem. Okay, riddle me this...what's worse than raining cats and dogs? Give up? Hailing taxi cabs! Ha, ha! Hey, Catwoman would have appreciated the humor. And maybe New Yorkers. But that was not the puzzle I was referring to. Let's try again. "I am felt but never seen. I break but never fall apart. I maybe feel lost but I am never gone. What am I?" Well, of course, any soap character would tell you that the answer is a heart.

Soap characters would know more about broken hearts than just about anyone else on the planet and that is because they make so many bad decisions on a daily basis when it comes to relationships. But I have solved the problem -- instead of jumping headfirst into another love affair, maybe the characters could just get a pet. Wouldn't that make more sense? Pets are wonderful for love, comfort, and companionship, and they are an excellent remedy for a healing heart. And our loved ones in Genoa City are desperately in need of any help they can get.

Last week, I read an article about Iris Grace, a five-year-old girl with autism, and her therapeutic Maine Coon cat, Thula. The cat helps Iris Grace relate to the world through her amazing gift of painting. Iris Grace's gift, not the cat's. This young girl painted a picture named "Raining cats," where you can actually see the image of a cat's face within the painting.

It's pretty remarkable what a loving pet can do to help us adapt in the world and to get us through the rough times. Seriously, wouldn't Sharon benefit by having a loyal and devoted pet to caress during her times of sorrow (which are many)? And Faith would love the companionship of a dog or cat. I have a funny feeling that Sharon should consider getting a pet -- soon. Tough times, they may be a-coming!

While it's true that I have only had cats during most of my adult life, due to my lifestyle, I was raised surrounded by both dogs and cats. At one point, we had a half German Shepherd/half English Sheepdog named Precious; Sonny and Tiger, two half Persian tabby cats who were brothers; and one stray grey cat we called Tina. (It was just the four pets until Tina started having litter after litter of kittens, but that's another story.) The cat, Sonny, was mine and if he had been a she, then yes, her name would have been Cher. I was a fan. Wow, talk about another kind of soap opera. But our pup, Precious, ruled the home really. We all adored her. She truly was precious.

Kelly could really use a pet right now. She has been on one emotional roller coaster! One minute, she was elated because she thought that Jack had chosen her and the next, she was absolutely miserable when she believed that Jack wanted to remain with Phyllis. And Jack sure hasn't been helping her any, but I think that's because he really doesn't know what he wants. And who can blame him? It all came out of left field for him.

But Jack needs to choose quickly...or at the very least, tell Phyllis the truth about his relationship with Kelly before Phyllis finds out another way. And you know that she will and that once she does, she will be furious that Jack wasn't honest with her. Jack wants both ladies, but he can't have both. Someone will be crushed, if he ever gets around to picking one of them.

But to give him credit, Jack did try to tell Phyllis, only to learn that she can only take the updates about the past year in small doses. They learned from the clinic that while Phyllis was in Georgia, a "brooding, tall, imposing" man had visited her. Only one person fit that description. And that very visitor happened to be at Jack's front door.

Of course, it was Victor, whose only purpose was to pat himself on the back for bringing Phyllis out of her coma and to request a favor of her in return. You know that he will pump Phyllis for information about Sharon's big secret. How ironic that Sharon was wearing a necklace adorned with a huge "V" that was the very initial of the man who was still trying to destroy her. If Victor has his way, Nick and Sharon won't be getting married at City Hall in the next week.

Yes, the almighty and powerful Victor Newman finally returned, and he presented to Mariah the much-welcomed news that Faith was, in fact, Nick's daughter. Thank goodness! We are having enough fun with the question of Summer's paternity. I still can't believe that Victor was trying to prove that the daughter that Nick so dearly loved was not his biologically.

Apparently, Victor's hatred of Sharon outshines his love for his own son and granddaughter. So, what if he had learned that Faith was not of the Newman blood? Would he have turned against her because she is Sharon's daughter? How cruel that would be! If Nick knew what his dad was trying to do, he would resent Victor...and he would still love Faith. Mariah was right when she said that Victor and Nick have nothing in common.

Then we have the indecisive Victoria who has been so unsure of what she wants that she has created more drama, angst and confusion for herself and for the men in her life by not taking the paternity test for her baby. But by not learning the truth, Victoria has pretty much kept Billy and Stitch tied to her, which was fine by dear Ben because he didn't want anyone else. But Abby just thought Stitch was a dog anyway. Sorry, I just had to say it. However, I give Billy credit for trying to move on with his life after being rejected by Victoria. I would have been a little more impressed, however, if he hadn't done so by immediately jumping into another relationship. Fan Kathy E. noted:

I'm sick of Victoria now realizing that she has pushed both men who care for her away (although Ben would come running in a heartbeat and she was a fool to drop him). I almost puked when she whined about raising the baby alone. It wasn't either of the men who decided that. Even better for Billy for letting Chelsea know she is more important and how classy of her to force Billy to go check on Victoria.

I think women get blamed more for bouncing from man to man but honestly, men are guilty of rebounding also. Well, at least Stitch realized that he was the rebound guy, and he was also wise to consider hiring an attorney to protect his rights with Victoria's baby, if it turned out to be his child. So, what did Victoria do to stop him -- she kissed him! And later, after listening to Maureen's advice to fight for what he wanted, Stitch went to Victoria's office and kissed her back. Victoria appears to still have feelings for Ben, but a touch of her love for Billy still lingers. She also wants what's best for her child, but that would be to have the father in the baby's life -- whether it is Stitch or Billy.

I guess it's not really surprising that Victoria has been unsure about the love and stability of a man in her life when her male role model has always been Victor Newman. Victoria really should have done that paternity test, just so she would know which man would remain in her child's life. Not knowing is not doing her any favors. How can she possibly prepare for her baby's future when that one major question has been left unanswered?

Victoria's not learning the truth has left her confused about her feelings for both men. However, I still believe that Stitch was covering for his mother regarding his dad's death and that he is not the monster everyone believes him to be. If Victoria got "all churned up inside" after Stitch's kiss, she was probably more in love with him than what she thought.

So, instead of worrying about Victoria's feelings for Stitch, Billy made it his mission to fixate on Chelsea's past, especially after he heard her "purring" out Adam's name while she slept. But I don't know. I think that Chelsea would be better suited for a puppy than a kitten because of Connor. Maybe she was actually "howling" out Adam's name.

Either way, Billy had better beware because we know that all this talk about Adam has been setting up his return, and I am looking forward to it. And with Adam's comeback, we would have yet another soapy triangle. Or with Victoria and Stitch, maybe that would be a pentagon. Add Ashley and Abby to the mix, and it would be a heptagon. Okay, the geometry lesson is over for today!

Wow, it's hard to believe that it has already been a year since darling Delia died. But yet, in another way, it seems like forever because so much has happened since then. Oh crud! I had forgotten that Delia's dog, Dash, had played a part in her demise. Maybe Chelsea should get a cat, after all, if Billy is to stay in her life. I'm afraid that a puppy would just be a sad reminder.

Billy, Chelsea and Connor would definitely not make a Dick, Jane, Sally, Spot, and Puff kind of family. And with only the invisible Zapato and Segundo as past examples, Dash's brief appearance had only brought sorrow into Victoria's life. Even Keely has vanished without a trace. Victoria may fear ever getting another pup again. Man, a dog just can't catch a break in this town!

Sadness and grief filled the air as everyone paid tribute to Delia at a loving dedication to her memory. Jack even shared that he and Jill had spearheaded the new idea for a children's theater for the Delia Project. That would have been a dream after Delia's own heart and something that Chloe would have approved of, if she had only known. And Chloe could have found out...since she made a brief visit to the memorial site of the hit-and-run tragedy!

Chloe expressed how much she had loved her giggly daughter, whom she also referred to as "an old soul," because she had been wiser than her years. When Kevin found Chloe at the site, she claimed that she had treated him badly because she had needed professional help. Then Chloe finally admitted what I had known all along -- that she loved Kevin but not in the way that he wanted her to.

When Chloe said that she needed to use all her energy to heal and in order to do so, she would need to cut Kevin out of her life, I cheered. To me, Chloe had always dragged the character of Kevin down and had taken any joy and fun out of him. It's even more obvious now that he has been in scenes with Mariah, who has matched him in humor. Kevin is more like himself since he and Chloe have split up.Honestly, I would not mind Chloe's return if she was kept out of Kevin's atmosphere. And I had better get used to the idea of Chloe's homecoming, anyway, since she wasn't exactly alone at the memorial site. Chloe was very much pregnant, as she had hoped, and this forecasted a return for this complex character with a child in tow. But whose child was it?

Chloe declared that she wanted to recreate Delia, using Billy's sperm, before she left town. But she also spent one last night with Kevin as her farewell to him. So, is the child Billy's or Kevin's? Even if the baby turns out to be Kevin's, is Chloe stable enough now to know the difference? So, sure, bring Chloe back with this rather intriguing tale. But please, please, please do not pair her up with Kevin again. He deserves so much more!

Kevin was worrying me some, though, after he typed the statement, "Maybe it's time I give in fully to what I've become." What in Sam Hill did he mean by that?! Some fans think that Kevin and Harding have a combustible on-screen chemistry that could develop into a budding romance. But would it work to make both characters gay? Would it be overkill to have Kevin unexpectedly come out of the closet, since Katherine's son, Phillip, returned with this exact same kind of big reveal not so long ago? Or could Kevin mean that he was ready to return to his not-so-squeaky-clean ways with possibly a new partner-in-crime, Mariah. I think the two work well together, so that might be fun to watch if it were to happen.

With the anniversary of Delia's death on everyone's mind, Victoria gave Billy a composition that Delia had written as a school assignment. One of her first passages was that "you can never have enough animals or tea parties." Oh yes, Delia loved Dash, and she never would have blamed him for what happened to her. You can probably put that directly on Adam's shoulders, although I am sure the hit-and-run was not intentional.

Delia truly was "an old soul" because she was giving advice all over the place. A ghostly Delia arrived to comfort her grieving father, and it was an especially touching scene to see them touch forehead to forehead at the hit-and-run site. I was even in tears, just typing that line and remembering.

As Victoria made peace with Kelly by letting go of her anger and blame against her and later forgave Stitch, Delia noted that if you are mad at someone, you shouldn't stay that way because you would be wasting time when you could be happy instead. Good advice! (But why do I suspect now that Victoria's baby will turn out to be Stitch's? Hmmm....) And Delia wrote that even if you are having a worse day, you could have a better day tomorrow, as Billy told Chelsea that he loved her. Watch out, Billy! Adam is still around, and I am sure he will complicate matters between the two very soon. The black calla lily was a sign!

After grieving Delia, Jack had a better, if somewhat awkward, day since he was no longer pressed to make the choice between Phyllis and Kelly, after Kelly moved out. Since Phyllis demanded to move back to her home, once she was released from the hospital, I guess it's a good thing Kelly was gone. Talk about awkward! It was bad enough when Kelly and Austin had to hide when Jack unexpectedly brought Phyllis to his house. It's rather strange, though, that Phyllis believed that Jack's life had not changed at all the entire time she was in a coma.

Why didn't Summer just tell Phyllis the truth about Austin? Phyllis is going to learn it eventually, and Summer might as well just get it over with. I mean, Phyllis blew a gasket when she heard that Summer and Austin were engaged. How do you think she will react when the entire truth about their meeting -- and marriage -- comes out? Summer wasn't just whistling Dixie when she warned Austin about the wrath of Phyllis. If Austin stays with Summer, he will see it over and over and over again. Austin had better love Summer -- a lot!

I thought that Nick and Avery's interaction in her new office building was rather sweet. It was good to hear that Avery was still Team Nick and that she believed he and Sharon belonged together. However, I don't think a certain ex-husband named Joe Clark believed that Avery belonged with Dylan. In fact, it appeared that Mr. Clark would be sticking around town for a while to prove just that, while he targeted getting ownership of Crimson Lights.

So, while this was going on, Dylan and Paul were still working with Nikki on setting a trap to snare a rat named Ian. Only Nikki feared that Ian was the one baiting the hook. And come to find out, we and Nikki have been right all along. Ian was indeed alive and well and was calling all the shots to get what he desired -- money and another chance to toy with Nikki. Nikki's way to "vanquish" the "evil mastermind," as Kevin referred to Ian, was to give in to his demands so that Dylan could be set free. But seriously, does she really think that will get Ian out of their lives forever? Ian's biggest joy seems to be the mind games he plays with Nikki. I doubt the money will chase him off.

As it turned out, that didn't matter because Paul was a jump ahead of everyone when he knew that the burner phone left in Nikki's car had been bugged and that Ian had been listening in to the cop shop talk. Good guy Paul had the undercover cops protecting Nikki's room. Nikki noted that they made a good team and appreciated that Paul did not keep her in a gilded cage. (Unlike a certain mustached man we all know.) It even sounded like Nikki was ready to put their happy little family back together: Paul, Nikki, and Dylan. Christine who?

While practically suffering a bout of claustrophobia, Dylan suddenly remembered about a trap door in the basement of Nikki's hotel that dropped down into a tunnel and demanded that Harding release him immediately so that Dylan could show him where it was. Couldn't Dylan just draw him a map? Harding seems like a bright enough guy. I think he would be able to figure it all out. But maybe he's not as bright as we thought if Harding decides to let Dylan out of jail. Dylan has jumped too fast to act before, and his release could ruin everything they have worked for. I guess it's a good thing Dylan's not a cop. He's bad enough about taking the law into his own hands as it is.

At the Athletic Club, Lily, Cane, and Neil speculated about the identity of the special lady in Devon's life, but little did they know it was Hilary! Because even as they spoke, Devon and Hilary were making love (for the final time this time, really) in her New York hotel room. I laughed when Devon cried out that he loved his father and that he wasn't looking forward to hurting him. Really? When has Devon been concerned about that ever during all this time? I have never even seen a smidgen of guilt from him.

And Devon, seriously, if you love Hilary so much, at least you could spell her name right on your phone. Hillary, really? Okay, anyway, Hilary then noted that it would kill Neil if she left her hubby for his son. And she just thought of that? You would think that would have occurred to her before her and Devon's first romp in the hay.

Only it wasn't their last time making love because Devon thought they needed one more last time to really make it count. This newest last time included a first (and last) date, complete with red roses, in their fantasy room where all your wishes could come true. Or something like that. Devon and Hilary escaped to a time and place in a dream world where they could laugh and dance...and to where there was no Neil. Unfortunately, Devon remembered that they had to return to the real world, just as Neil and Cane knocked on his door. Yeah, I would say that reality came crashing back in with a loud bang...or knock, if you prefer. Fan Maurine G. commented:

I am disliking Devon more and more. He may be closer to Hilary in age but he continues to be selfish and immature. She is more mature than he is.

Ha, that pesky Neil sure has made everything so inconvenient for poor, self-centered Devon. I guess Devon could always bump his father off. Don't laugh...it could happen. I have to give kudos to Kristoff St. John as a sighted man portraying a blind man, which can't be easy to do. Seated at a table in the Athletic Club, Neil fumbled for his iced tea, and when Cane introduced him to Joe, Neil accidentally knocked an eating utensil off the table. I have noticed that Neil never directly looks at the person he is talking to, which also takes restraint, since it would be an automatic thing for a sighted person to do. Good job, Mr. St. John!

Unfortunately, Neil's blindness was blinding him to his son's betrayal as he entered Hilary's "room with a view," unaware that Devon was lying in the hotel bed of Neil's wife. That was some view! Too bad Neil couldn't see it, although Cane could. Devon looked like he felt guilty, but if he truly felt guilty, he would desist in the madness immediately. Not only was he sleeping with his dad's wife, he was lying to Neil on top of it. The guilt should be eating him away, so much so that he shouldn't be able to eat or sleep. Hopefully, Devon's deceit is near an end, since he unknowingly left his phone in Hilary's room, plus the celebratory champagne bottle remained behind. It's time for Hilary and Devon to come clean!

Other notable (or humorous) items that happened during the week:

Kelly continues to concern me about her constant need for "liquid courage." Her reliance on martinis makes me believe that she and Jack weren't meant for each other anyway, since he is an alcoholic.Is it any wonder that Amelia Heinle won last year's supporting actress Daytime Emmy award? She can turn on the waterworks when the situation calls for it -- and it sure did this week. And she cries real tears! Bravo!

I think we all need Delia in our lives with her worldly advice. "When you are scared or sad, if you remember what makes you smile then you will smile again." I'm smiling now. I also especially liked, "Listen to the truth...even when it's hard." That's something that would never work on soaps, of course, but it's still good advice nevertheless.

It was so Phyllis to tell Summer that she intended to protect her daughter from throwing "her life away on some dreamy dude she barely" knew. Phyllis certainly knows a handsome man when she sees one, and she has shown in the past that she appreciates younger men. Maybe Summer should beware. Remember Phyllis' seduction of Kyle?

Cane was sporting a new look this week with his slicked back hair. I have always hated that look and much prefer a natural style for men. Cane's hair reminded me of the old Brylcreem commercials. "A little dab'll do ya!"

It does the heart good to see Lauren and Michael happy and in love, and Lauren was positively glowing. Unfortunately, after psychic Madame Isadora shook Michael's hand, she looked alarmed and told him to take care. Yes, my friends, doom and gloom is lurking over the horizon.

Fan Rae agreed with me about Sharon and Nick's parties and the jail scenes from a couple of weeks ago:

Kudos to the writers for stepping outside their box and writing a light-hearted and fun episode with the combined bachelor and bachelorette parties. I loved how it started off with everyone in jail and either beaten up or drunk or just lost. The show stopper was when (BLIND) Neil came to the defense of his friends and socked the troublemaker! Awesome show! They need more fun shows like this on tap, instead of dragging every storyline on for months and being extra serious.

How true! Laughter always proves to be the best medicine, especially when times are tough. Rest in peace, Delia.

Until next time, please stay tuned.

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