Whoa, take 'er easy here, pilgrim

A drunken Nick was blind to his role in his past failures in love. Will Bugatti's owner be next in line for Nick's heart by springing a trap on more than his foot? A more 'Red' Phyllis doled out her own special brand of revenge on an unsuspecting Kelly. Was the fiery lady blinding herself to the affairs of the heart, even more than Neil? See for yourself in this week's Two Scoops.

Ah yes, it's Thanksgiving -- that time of year when everyone gathers with their loved ones to celebrate and appreciate all the special people and things in their lives, as they also reflect back on the first Thanksgiving, when the pilgrims united with family and friends in feast and gratitude. Or is it the special day of the year when a person anticipates chowing down on food, while cheering on his or her favorite football team, as others cut out the coupons or ads for Black Friday's biggest sales? Oh yes, the latter sounds like my family. However, some of the Newmans', Abbotts' and Winterses' gatherings seemed to be about as errant as a Detroit Lions' quarterback Matthew Stafford pass interception, therefore, I offer my tribute to the pilgrims for Thanksgiving.

Throughout the years, the Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys have been the hosts of the Thanksgiving football games, which, of course, has absolutely nothing to do with pilgrims. I am a Lions fan.

But in sharing my shame as a Lions fan, I have to point out that Detroit hasn't performed well enough most years to deserve such a distinguished honor of hosting a major network game on such a prestigious holiday. However, I am sure the Abbotts, as probable Green Bay Packers fans, are thrilled that the Lions have not always been the best on Thanksgiving (or any other day). Genoa City is supposedly based in Wisconsin, right? I can just picture Jack wearing a cheese-head hat. Now, that would be a sight!

In The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, John Wayne said, "Whoa, take 'er easy here, pilgrim," and that's what I thought of when I saw Nick in the bear trap. The hurt and pain that Nick was feeling due to Sharon's betrayal has sent him into overdrive. He wants to take all that she loves, no matter who else may be affected. And that "who else" would, of course, be Faith.

Seriously, how can Nick possibly think that Faith would be better off without her mother? A girl her age needs her mommy around to give her the love and comfort she craves. Nothing can replace the love of a mother, and Sharon has been the best mom she knows how to be, given her bipolar disorder. Nick is punishing Sharon for something she did while she was not on her medication, even though Sharon has been on her meds for quite some time now.

Sharon has taken responsibility by taking action to become stable so that she can provide a home for her family, which at one time included Nick. I realize that Nick's heartache is behind his decisions though.

But how any reasonable person could decide that taking a young girl's mother away from her is the best thing for her is beyond me. Which would mean that Nick is the one not being so reasonable these days. As the great Mr. Wayne would say, "Step down, pilgrim. Take a look."

Nick needs to take a step back and get over his heartbreak before he continues with his custody suit. He needs to decide, in his mind, the best action -- or non-action -- to take before he rips Faith from Sharon's arms. Would doing that be in Faith's best interest or his? If Sharon was refusing to take her medication, then Nick would have a case. But his family has done far worse regarding love and support.

It almost appeared that Nick was subscribing to the Victor Newman theory of "men being men" when he made his escape to a hunter's cabin in the woods where he met a cute little doggie, who helped a drinking Nick lick his heartbroken wounds. Nick realized the pup must be a male, due to "the confused look in" his eye and declared that women were never the answer, only wood was. All right...you had to be there. It was a fireplace thing, I guess. In his drunken stupor, Nick reflected back on all of his past relationships with women that included Amy, Grace, Sharon, Phyllis, Avery, Nikki, Summer, Faith, and even Mariah. (Cassie was the lucky one and got to rest in peace.)

Nick's sloshed trip down memory lane was intended to avoid the pitfalls of another relationship, so he was determined to go it alone down the road forever. Only Summer reminded her father that he was the one who had always said to fight to find love and to be brave and have faith. Nick reflected that love bended, changed, and sometimes even broke but that it was real and that it existed, and so he wanted that for his girls. However, he declared that he only wanted "a lifetime of solitary confinement."

On that happy note, as Nick searched for the dog's owner, he stepped into a bear trap. Why do I suspect that the next lady in Nick's life will be the very damsel who set the trap and who was also the owner of the dog? (Sharon may very well become a distant memory.)

It's funny how, in Nick's intoxicated recollections, he never really saw that he had ever been at fault in any of his past relationships. Sure, in his visions, Phyllis did point out that Nick liked to cheat and enjoyed playing a game of "emotional polygamy," but it seemed to me that he never really owned that he had been to blame for any of his failures. Nick conveniently forgot that he was the one who left Sharon for Phyllis after Cassie died -- at a time when his wife had needed him the most. I would have been more impressed if Nick had acknowledged that he had been the cause of some of his failures instead of whitewashing any wrong he might have done. I guess that's a Newman trait that he inherited from dear old dad.

Once Phyllis realized that Jack was not at Jabot for his "business" meeting, she high-tailed it to the Athletic Club, where she found him with Kelly. Unfortunately, her timing was bad because Jack had not completely broken it off with Kelly yet. Not that Phyllis would have cared about that anyway. Actually, I think the lady-whose-hair-seems-to-be-a-little-more-red-now actually enjoys toying with Jack's last love.

It was kind of painful, watching Phyllis "bat" Kelly's heart around and flip it in the air, as "Red" proclaimed that she and Jack were engaged. If you didn't already know that she was aware of Jack's association with Kelly, you might actually think that Phyllis was innocently requesting that Kelly be their wedding planner. Phyllis just sounded so sincere. If Jack only knew what Phyllis actually knew, he would not appreciate Phyllis amusing herself at Kelly's expense.

Thankfully, Jack was able to finally drag Phyllis out of the club to leave Kelly heartbroken but in peace. See, Kelly, you do have something to be thankful for! It seemed that the surprises (or shocks, whichever way you wish to look at them) were still coming at Kelly when her dear brother, Ben, finally revealed that his mother had been the one who had killed their father. Kelly was stunned and outraged to learn that Maureen had let Stitch take the blame for their dad's death for all of those years. Poor Kelly has really been through the mill. It was no wonder when she cried out that Ben should do nothing but protect himself. He had lost too much already.

Another lady who agreed with that was Victoria, who suggested that since Ben had retained his medical license, he could still be admitted to the residency program. That would be a good idea except I suspect that Stitch may not be so willing to leave his new job at the Jabot lab...where Ashley will also be spending a lot of her time. I had to snicker, though, when Stitch declared that he had already lost his son, his wife, and his work, because he had tried to protect his mother, but that he refused to lose Victoria too.

So, how does Victoria rate higher than his wife...and his son?! Or did it just not matter as much to Stitch then as it does now? Was the baby that could be Billy's a higher priority to him than the family he once had? I guess I'm confused.

Okay, let's just call it a case of dear Ben growing up and finally realizing that continuing to cover up for his mother was not worth ruining his entire life over and over again. I will give that to him. So, that means he will run to his ex-wife and tell her everything immediately, right? Hasn't he already lost too many years of father and son time with his boy? Well, at least we won't have to wait too much longer to hear the paternity results for Victoria's new baby girl. Ben has indicated he would stick with Victoria, no matter who the father is, but with Ashley in the picture, also, would he stay true?

And of course, Chelsea was almost as eager as Billy to learn the identity of the new baby's daddy. Chelsea informed Victoria that she loved Billy and that she was not just using him to get over Adam. That's what she is saying now, since she doesn't know that Adam is still alive.

Adam was still having dreams about Chelsea. Sure, it was Sage's idea for Adam to essentially replace Gabriel, but it sure wasn't beyond Adam to use it to his advantage. As long as he can fool everyone -- except for the doggie, Bugatti, that is -- Adam should be able to wiggle his way back into his darling Chelsea's life and arms again. Billy who? But will Chelsea be able to accept this new version of Adam? And will she even know that it is Adam? I can't wait to see what happens next.

And speaking of Bugatti...yes, he was the very same dog that befriended Nick at the cabin. Gabriel and Sage's pup. Nick was running out of available women in Genoa City, so I guess it was time he looked elsewhere. Of course, he and Chelsea haven't yet given it a shot. Time will tell if that will happen in the future. But since Chelsea will be a little busy with both Billy and Adam in pursuit, Nick should go in another direction...into the woods.

Yes, I have a feeling that Sage was the one who set the trap in the woods, and she sure caught a prize for herself. But be warned, Sage! Victor had better accept you, or your name could be the next on his list for revenge. And since he's probably gotten bored with ruining Jack and Sharon, it won't take Victor long to set his sights on a new target. Bull's-eye!

Please, don't even get me started on Devon and Hilary. Neil would sure have a lot to be thankful for if he knew the truth -- that his loving wife and son are doing the horizontal tango in bed. (I still love that term!) It sems neither Devon nor Hilary has a conscience. If they did, they couldn't or wouldn't be doing what they are doing, since they have to know that somewhere down the line, Neil will find out and will be totally devastated. Really, Devon deserved what he got when Colin relieved him of some of his millions. My, but Devon is flying through Katherine's money pretty quickly!

But the two lovebirds wouldn't let that bothersome antagonist ruin their time alone together, and in fact, they didn't even trouble themselves to find a secure, secluded place to carry out their trysts. Shoot, Jack's office at Jabot was just as good a place as any. I mean, it was almost like Devon and Hilary were doing everything they could to ensure that Neil would catch them in that act. (And for Devon, that was probably the case.)

Phyllis actually almost did but not even that would deter these foolhardy fellows. After the much more "Red" left, Devon set the mood with dimmed lights and Hawaiian music so they could fantasize they were on a sandy beach surrounded by tropical flowers while they listened to the crash of the waves. Once they were done feeling the sun and the breeze, Hilary realized that she needed to get back to work. Wow, what a new concept! To actually do work while she was at Jabot. Jack would be so proud!

I like that Hilary has decided that she is going to pick out Devon's dream girl for the dinner date at Neil's now. Hilary will need to select someone who would not be a threat in stealing Devon's eye and heart away from her while also choosing a girl that is pretty enough to make it believable to Neil. Who to pick? Oh dear. Even I am getting into this treacherous scheming. Shame on me and shame on them for thinking of such a stupid plan. Devon and Hilary should be penalized for their deceit as much as the Lions are penalized in almost every game they play. And believe me, that's a lot!

But now, on to the festivities! First came the Winterses' Thanksgiving dinner, which welcomed in all of the family including the father of Lily's husband. Oh, yes, Colin was on hand to continue to cash in on Hilary and Devon's secret, anytime the opportunity presented itself. Colin was protecting his hidden knowledge much as Megatron would protect a completed pass like the golden goose that it was. (Even if the Detroit Lions don't always play up to their potential, the superb Calvin Johnson can normally exceed his.)

I do have to give Hilary some credit though. After Colin exclaimed how delighted he was to be part of the family and indicated that he even felt like a rich man, Hilary warned him not to make any more threats or innuendos, hoping for another payoff. From one con to another, deceit and greed do go hand in hand.

So, the Winters family had their family feast, although Lily feared that Neil was only putting on a brave face and that something was wrong with him. Did he finally suspect that there was something more between his darling wife and his "loyal" son? Could Neil have pretended not to know all along so that he wouldn't lose the support of his loved ones during his time of need? Did Neil's insecurities in dealing with being blind turn him into a desperate man?

It's just hard to believe that such a bright, intelligent man could be fooled for so long, especially since Hilary and Devon are barely trying to conceal their affair. Neil gave his thanks for his family and said he was grateful for every one of them (even Colin!) and I wonder just how much he is fooling himself. Does Neil know more than he claims?

Jack and Phyllis celebrated their first Thanksgiving since she came out of her coma, and Jack presented her with a wishbone from the prior year. This special wishbone was the one that Jack and Summer had wished on, in tandem, hoping that Phyllis would return to them. Phyllis was grateful that Jack had never given up on her, but she secretly knows that he did and that he had prepared to move on with a new love, Kelly.

It's rather surprising that Phyllis would just let this go, but she has done practically anything in the past to get and keep the man she desires. Phyllis seems to be willing to turn a blind eye (sorry, Neil!) to Jack's relationship with Kelly but she should, at the very least, be upset that he never told her the truth. And he still hasn't. Somehow, I think there is more to come on this.

Before Victoria attended her family's Thanksgiving festivities, she called Billy with her baby's "Happy Turkey Day" greeting. Victoria then told Billy that she had just talked to Reed, who asked his mom to tell Billy, "Go Lions!" That poor deluded fool!

Although Reed's loyalty to the fans endears me even more to him, I feel bad that his loyalty has been in vain. Lions fans always say, "Maybe next year," but it never happens. On the bright side, if Billy has a Bears logo to send to Reed, his football season has been filled with disappointment as well. Even quarterback Jay Cutler hasn't been able to help his team, although the season isn't over yet. It looks pretty dismal though.

Finally, the truth is spreading around about Stitch and the death of his father. I was getting really tired of listening to Abby bad-mouth Ben. And Ashley always felt that Stitch was covering for somebody else anyway. Ben and Ashley are really cute together, but his heart still belongs to Victoria. He made it clear to Ashley that he still wants a life with Victoria as the father of her new baby girl. And he was not the only one.

As much as Billy wanted to be with Chelsea, he still desired to be the baby's new daddy. A part of Billy will always be with Victoria, even as he moves on with Chelsea and they start their own traditions. I actually see a better on-screen chemistry with this Billy and Chelsea. They interact so well and are playful together. Billy and Chelsea are just fun to watch. I hope they remain together because, let's face it, adding Adam to the mix could bring a very explosive dynamic for all three.

Needless to say, Sharon was not invited or welcome at the Newman Thanksgiving dinner, but she was gracious enough to drop off Faith, who wanted to spend time with her grandparents. And she got the door slammed in her face for her efforts. Hey, that's the way to take the high road, Nikki! Really, Sharon is still Faith's mother, and Nikki could have acted more maturely. Let's hope Nikki's tacky action was as a result of her drinking. That's still no excuse for her childish behavior, but it's better than nothing, I guess.

I am so glad that Sharon has somebody at her side this time around, especially since it's the holiday season. When the writers destroyed her character several years ago, she was left completely alone with nobody to love her. It was almost like she had the plague, except, of course, then people would have been sympathetic with her. But Sharon still has Noah, Mariah, and Faith -- her children -- and that's the way it should be. She told Noah and Mariah during their Thanksgiving feast, complete with sandwiches, that she was not going to cower to Nick and that she would fight for custody of Faith. Nick should be thinking of what's best for Faith, and taking her mother from her isn't it.

Although Nick, Summer, and Noah couldn't be there, at least Nikki had Dylan and Paul with her for the holiday. Dylan said that he was proud to call Nikki and Paul his parents, so how could Nikki want anything more? But, somehow, she did as she eyed the remnants of wine at the bottom of the bottle. Victoria chose that time to make her grand entrance with the baby and showed her like a trophy so everyone could ooh and ahh.

I'm a little surprised that it was the first time that Victor and Nikki had seen the baby. Surely, the hospital isn't that far away. It's rather sad to think that Victoria's parents never visited her in the hospital, which is never a fun place to be. It's nice for a patient to have visitors to help pass the time as they are waiting to be released. I guess Ben and Billy were enough company for her.

Anyway...Victoria made a special announcement. The name of her darling baby girl was Katie...short for Katherine. Yes, Katherine Chancellor was fearless, strong, loyal, and funny and had been present in every moment, and Victoria wanted her little girl to grow up to be just like her. There could be nothing better.

Other notable (or humorous) items that happened during the weekI have to give Stitch and Billy some credit in being very civil about the whole paternity issue. They both indicated that they would be fine "however this plays out." After all the grief, it's nice to hear that each would be all right with "whoever wins the lab lottery." It's nice to see some maturity arise out of a tough situation.

Welcome back, Julianne Morris-Polaha as Amy Wilson! It's nice that the show acknowledged Amy as one of the past loves in Nick's life, even if she had only been "a friend" in Nick's eyes.

Although I enjoyed testing the waters with the onscreen chemistry between Joshua Morrow and Gina Tognoni, I am not sure that I am ready for a Nick and Phyllis II storyline. I am more invested in where Jack and Phyllis are headed right now.

Phyllis was creatively correct when she described love as being on a merry-go-round where people could just jump on or off. I would hate to think it would be that easy, but she may just be right in that sometimes it's not anyone's fault. Sometimes love just ends, and people move on.

Phyllis' description of Avery was dead-on as far as Nick was concerned. To him, Avery was all sunshine and cup cakes, which was why Nick had loved her.

I do like Summer's new, darker hair color. It suits her well, even if Mariah claimed that learning that love was a lie would have Summer crumple into "little dry specks of hairspray."

It figures that, per Mariah, the Path followers' idea of Thanksgiving was to share how thankful they were that Ian was in their lives. Oh, please!

Thursday final football score: Chicago 17, Detroit 34. Hurray for Reed, and too bad, Billy! It's just a shame that the Cowboys didn't fare as well as the Lions.

I hope you had the very best Thanksgiving and that you have much to be thankful for.

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