The blame game knows no shame

Between Victor and Billy, Victoria and Victor and well...pretty much everyone and Adam, there was plenty of blame to go around. If he saves her again, will Adam's debt for his past sins against Faith finally be paid? Will Nick and Adam be able to make amends so they can grow closer as brothers? Would Victor really take full custody of Connor away from Chelsea to get what he wants? (I think we all know the answer to that one.) Will one loving couple's moving in together create a little too much togetherness? And the continuing, unhealthy saga of Sharon and Rey in Two Scoops.

Okay, let's tally up the score, shall we? Victor blames "Billy Boy Useless Abbott" (I love Vic's new nickname for Billy) for Victoria turning against him. And Victoria blames Victor for all her problems. And everyone in town blames Adam for the failure of Sharon and Rey's marriage. Does nobody in Genoa City take responsibility for their own bad acts and decisions? Maybe they should all heed the words of the wise Oprah Winfrey, who said, "You are responsible for your life. You can't keep blaming someone else for your dysfunction. Life is really about moving on." This is a lesson that we can all learn to keep us going in the right direction, nobody more so than the Newmans. Hey, if you can't rely on Oprah to give good advice, who can you rely on?

Everyone except Victor and Sharon already blamed Adam for poisoning Rey, which was total nonsense, since he never had a chance to defend himself. Rey made sure of that. But the great citizens of Genoa City also blamed Adam for Sharon's marriage to Rey crashing and burning, when the two of them did that all on their own. A lack of trust will kill a union faster than you can say Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. Well, okay, probably a lot faster than that, since that's not so easy to say. Because Rey tries to control her, Sharon feels she has to lie to him to break free of his chains. And, of course, Rey eventually finds out about her lies, which makes him attempt to place a stronger hold on her. It's just a vicious, never-ending circle.

But even Rey was no longer 100% sure that Adam had attempted to poison him, since he had never truly investigated the case. (Can we say conflict of interest, anyone?) When Sharon stressed that she knew Adam hadn't done the deed, it put just a smidge of uncertainty in Rey's mind, to where he even started to question it just a little. Believe me, his stubbornness still fought against Rey doing a fair and proper investigation, but he was unable to completely put it out of his head that Chelsea just might have been the culprit, so she could get even with Adam for his supposed infidelity with Sharon. Because it made sense, Rey couldn't totally ignore it, which really grinded him, since Rey had been all ready to lock Adam up and to throw away the key.

So, even if Rey could no longer say for certain that Adam had been the phantom poisoner, Nick didn't hesitate to tell Adam to his face that he still believed that his brother was. Unfortunately, that wasn't the sweet talk that Adam was waiting to hear from Nick to convince him to return to Genoa City to save Faith's life. Yet Nick found the right words when he reminded Adam that Sharon was waiting anxiously by Faith's hospital bed, fearing for her daughter's life. Yeah, that did the trick, and Adam was willing to risk his freedom by returning with the guarantee that Nick would keep him hidden and safe from discovery. Hmm...since Adam has already saved Faith's life before, if he returns to the rescue again, will he finally have paid the price for messing up her life when she was just a baby?

Nick was more concerned about having his brother be his daughter's kidney donor, since Adam and Faith both had the same rare blood type, than in making him pay. So, Nick and Adam were ready to dash off to save Faith from a lifetime of getting dialysis when fate in the guise of a locked door intervened. Well, of course. After all, this is a soap opera. Even though they hadn't been able to speak in a civil manner to each other in years, the brothers joined forces for the sole purpose of giving the fair young lady her life back as a normal teenage girl -- as normal as any soap teen can be, that is. Nick related that he would do anything for his daughter, just as he knew that Adam would do anything for his son. And because Adam completely understood, he was open to helping Faith once again.

Yet Adam still wasn't quite ready to return to Genoa City when he knew how people, especially Nick, felt about him. Adam wished for a pill or a magic potion that could wipe the sum of all his bad deeds completely out of everyone's minds, so that he could have a fresh start. And he mostly wanted a clean slate with Nick, because it seemed that Adam really looked up to his older brother. That was so sweet! Nick probably never could see that, because there had always been so much resentment and jealousy between the two throughout the years. When Nick indicated that the first thing Adam could do toward getting Nick's respect was to stop running from his problems, Adam grabbed a beam of lumber, which he and Nick used as a battering ram to open the locked cellar door.

Well, it would have been cool if the ceiling of the storm cellar hadn't suddenly collapsed on them, leaving both Nick and Adam lying under a pile of debris. Why do the ceiling-collapses-due-to-a-disaster always seem to involve Nick? Remember the Underground? Anyway, other than a badly hurt leg, Nick appeared to be okay; however, Adam was slow in getting up. But Adam was fine, also, which was a good thing, because he was the only one with a way out of the storm cellar. Worried over his daughter, Nick pleaded with Adam to leave him, so Adam could help Faith, but Adam refused to desert him. When Adam asked if his brother questioned his returning to rescue him, Nick claimed that he trusted his brother. That was truly very touching! It brought tears to my eyes. Really.

Yes, all Adam needed to hear was that his older brother trusted him, and he flew out as if he had sprouted a pair of gossamer wings to get aid from the fire department. Well, he couldn't, of course, go to the cops, since he was a wanted man. Nick held onto the thought that Adam really desired to change, so he told the vision of Faith that he had faith that his younger sibling would return, and when he did, the estranged brothers clasped hands. Then the tears were really pouring down my cheeks. Although I love Adam, since he has a gray character that leans toward black at times, it's great to see him evolve due to the love of his family. Adam was just like Victor, who also has grown some in that way, due to Vic's love of his troubled son. Adam and Victor have been good for each other.

Upon Nick and Adam's return, Victor suggested that they devise a plan to keep Adam hidden, while also making sure that Faith was safe. Nikki believed they could trust Nate, who agreed to be Faith's doctor and to let the cops handle any legalities concerning Adam. Even though Nick admitted to seeing a different side of Adam, he wasn't ready to let bygones be bygones just yet, while Adam told Sharon that he would be Faith's donor for Sharon, who understood him better than anyone. Rey then sniffed out Adam at Sharon's, where he found Nick. While Rey insisted that he wouldn't interfere with Faith's surgery, Adam overheard him say that he would slap the handcuffs on Adam's wrists as soon as it was done. Adam then walked down the stairs, but I'll bet that he's done running.

Earlier, in the hospital, when Faith woke up, she admitted to her mother that she had just had a nightmare where she had dropped off a cliff and was falling, falling, falling, and Faith believed it was a bad omen. Thankfully, Sharon was calm and level-headed when she stressed that Faith's bad dream was not because of bad things to come, and that's true. The nightmare was obviously a result of fear and of Faith's loss of control over her situation. Sometimes, the loss of control can make you feel like you are falling with nothing to grab onto to get control back over your life. I think we've all had that nightmare at one time or another. But Faith was fortunate that she had her family -- her mother, her father, and her diabolical uncle -- who were all trying to get that control back for her.

Rey was still trying to make it all about him when he arrived at the hospital to honor Faith with his presence. But once he found out that Adam was the Newman who could be her savior, Rey was outraged, and Sharon had to practically beg him to let Adam return to town to save her daughter's life. It was great that Faith had her loved ones and her new friend Moses to comfort her in her time of need, though. Rey then offered Sharon a ride home, and when he realized that she had known where Adam was and hadn't told him, Sharon said she was sorry for hiding the truth about his location and then apologized again for all her lies regarding Adam. I was waiting again for Rey's apology for any problems that he had caused in their marriage... but again, nothing. Surprise, surprise.

Yep, Rey has been treating Sharon the same way that he blamed Mia in his first marriage. Mia had been totally at fault, and Rey had been the poor, innocent, helpless victim. Strange, I remember Rey chasing after Sharon almost the entire time that he and Mia had been married and together in Genoa City, yet his first wife had been the one entirely to blame. Okay. Tell it any way you want, Rey, but the truth's the truth. It's just too bad that Sharon couldn't see that, or maybe she wouldn't be so quick to let him heap all the blame on her, also. However, Rey did admit that maybe, just maybe, he might have been a little hasty in calling Adam his poisoner, since he had let his personal feelings affect his judgement in the case. Ya think? Come on, Rey's "investigation" was all a joke.

So, when he found Sharon asleep on the couch, Rey decided to make his exit, leaving a note behind. Since Rey has never taken any responsibility for his share of the problems in their marriage, I was almost positive that the note would read something like, "That's okay, Sharon. I forgive you." But it only said that he felt it was time to leave, blah, blah, blah. Other than the "love" part, which I almost gagged on, I really don't remember the rest. Unfortunately, Rey wasn't gone long and returned with food and with her car, which he had retrieved from the hospital parking lot. Sharon again begged and pleaded with him to stay, but he felt he had to go. It was sickening. The more he pushes her away, the more she tries to crawl back to him. Oh, Rey has Sharon's number all right.

Wow, Chelsea has put on a little weight, hasn't she? Of course, we already know the happy news about Melissa Claire Egan's soon-to-arrive bundle of joy. Chloe returned to visit her bestie when Chelsea announced that she could no longer bear being cooped up and wanted Chloe to help her get out. Against her better judgment, which was for pretty much everything that Chloe did for Chelsea, Chloe helped her friend pretend to still be on the mend when they went to Society and happened upon Rey, who indicated that the police force would be expanding their investigation into his poisoning. While the more realistic Chloe feared that Rey would be targeting them, Chelsea glowed in her confidence that she had outwitted everyone. Hey, that chick seriously needed a reality check.

To make matters worse for the deluded dames, when they returned to the penthouse, Chelsea and Chloe found Victor awaiting their arrival. Victor quipped that a writer would probably want to pen a book about Chelsea's remarkable recovery, after he saw that her latest prop was a cane to help stage the most recent scene in her act. Then, the newly awoken tiger in Victor snarled and growled that Chelsea had better confess to her crime of poisoning Rey, or he would make sure to take full custody of Connor. She only pooh-poohed the idea. Foolish girl. She has met Victor before, right? Vic's growl is worse than his bite, and he's not one for bluffing. Victor thought he could get custody of Connor easily from an escaped criminal and a dastardly con artist. Go, Victor, go!

Chelsea then unwisely tried to outsmart Victor by trying to figure out his next move -- just like a chess game, where each had a strategy and needed to outmaneuver the other. But Victor was a master of strategic technique, and Chelsea was clearly no match, even as an ex-con. Chelsea feared that Victor had already swooped up Connor from school, but Chloe thought that was unlikely. Chelsea was even willing to confess, since she knew that Victor would eventually hunt her down, but Chloe talked her out of it, since it meant that Chloe would be charged as her accomplice. Chloe thought that Chelsea should go on the run after she had already sent Adam on the run. And Victor was ready to use Connor to force Chelsea to confess, which would free his son. So, Chelsea was right.

Sadly, when Billy heard of Faith's unfortunate plight in needing a kidney transplant from the most newsworthy person in town, he was all geared up to write another expos on Adam. And Lily promptly gave him the green light, because she thought he looked his sexiest when he was all worked up. That's as good of a reason as any, I guess. However, after he eavesdropped on Victoria's discussion with Nikki, Billy had a change of heart about writing the story. Nikki feared that any unwanted publicity about Adam would prevent him from returning to help Faith, and Victoria begged Billy to not let his media cohorts get the scoop about Adam's return. Billy agreed when Lily walked in. For once, it didn't seem as if Victoria was using that as an opportunity to win Billy back, though.

Okay, Victor still blamed Billy Boy for everything negative that had to do with Victoria. Unbelievable. So, when do her bad acts become her fault? She had no desire to own Cyaxeres until she heard that her father wanted it for Adam. Then, she decided to use the media company to try to get Billy back, even though she had never given that a single thought until he had started dating Lily. Victoria then claimed that she had only ever wanted Cyaxeres to stop Victor from using it against Billy's company, which was a really poor reason. I mean, if that were true, why didn't she just let Billy get the media company for ChancComm? That would have stopped Victor. Victoria's been petty and vindictive, like her dad, but still, she walks around with that same smirk on her face. So sad.

Billy found a mysterious note at ChancComm, sending him on his own personal treasure hunt. "Follow your heart where love is blooming. Keep it watered and pampered cause your treasure is grooming" led him to his suite, where he found his next set of clues, which sent him to Society. Billy found the pleasure of his treasure with Lily, and they danced to a slow, romantic song. It seemed that Lily and Billy both won the treasure hunt. Billy suggested that Lily move in with him, and she seemed ready, but they had better beware. Being together all day at work and all night at home might be too much togetherness, and they might get sick of being around each other. But it was better for them to find that out before they jumped into marriage, as most soap couples do these days.

Still missing her husband, Abby was delighted and then saddened by the special honeymoon package sent to her by Chance. Trying to keep her spirits up as she waited for the return of her husband and the arrival of her child, Abby went way overboard in trying to please Mariah and in making her comfortable in every way imaginable. Oh, Nina obviously thought that Abby was overdoing it, and even Mariah looked a little put off by some of Abby's efforts. Shoot, Abby was practically smothering her with attention, which made Mariah feel anything but comfortable. Sure, Abby was grateful to Mariah, but Mariah was happy to do it for her friends. She didn't need or want Abby to feel indebted to her. Abby needed to relax and help Mariah go through her pregnancy when she really needed it.

Amanda was all ready, with guns blazing, to defend Sutton Ames, a man known as only her acquaintance, to the best of her ability against the likes of Michael Baldwin, who was always up for a challenge. Michael was gracious enough to offer her a deal, even though he knew she couldn't win. Well, that was his story, anyway, since he claimed that Sutton's payments, which Richard Nealon had found, concerned Ames's campaign, building code violations, permits, and bribery. Or something like that. That part was rather dull. But since this involved Newman Enterprises, Victor was naturally curious, which was fairly interesting. In fact, Victor was just a wee bit too interested, so he surely had his reasons. Most likely, Victor had more at stake in this than anyone even knew.

When Nate saw that Devon and Amanda had become quite cozy, he wondered if Moses should be around their hanky-panky. Okay, he may not have put it quite that way, but Devon thought the 16-year-old teen was old enough to handle it. Nate then realized that he was probably a little envious of his cousin, since Devon had Amanda, and Nate had no one. Besides, not only had Amanda had two men cheat on her with Elena, Nate had lost Elena when she had her one-night stand with Devon. Man, this had been quite some square dance. Swing your partner round and round until you see which one you end up with. But Nate and Devon were on the same page with Devon's plans to honor Neil. Devon wanted Neil's loved ones to attend, including Nate and Victor.

Back on his journey down Lone Wolf Road, Jack was still very much the friend in need as he chatted with Devon about the success of the rehab done in Neil's honor and about Devon's new inspirational jazz program titled Winter's Mood. Jack was very impressed, and he was also grateful to be invited to an upcoming tribute to the very much missed Neil Winters. Then, when Jack saw that Summer was troubled, he suggested that she let Faith help plan her fall wedding, and she advised that his plus-one not be Sally. Later, Jack requested permission to throw Kyle and Summer an engagement party, and they were thrilled. Oh, yes, Jack's destiny seems to be the good guy father as well as the go-to friend of everyone in town. Aw-woooo! It sure can get lonely on Lone Wolf Road.

When Abby and Lola talked about Faith's kidney failure, the only person that Lola was concerned about at all was Rey. What?! Not Nick. Not Sharon. Not even Faith. Rey. Yes, poor, poor Rey. It was all about him.

It's still rather bizarre to see Nikki and Sharon playing nice, when they had been in so many catfights in the past. But it's nice to see, also -- and quite admirable. Plus, we had the added touch of Nikki admitting that she would pick Sharon over Phyllis any day as the lady for her son. It was obvious that Sharon was very pleased to hear it.

Didn't Sharon look like a beautiful angel in her perfect pose as she slept on the couch? It's funny how soaps always have an actress posed in just the right way while the character is sleeping to make her look dainty and elegant. Oh, no, there's no flailing of arms or slobber drooling down her mouth for our soap ladies. And it's the same for when an actress faints. She always falls to the floor in the most graceful manner, and as she lays unconscious on the floor, her position is sophisticated and refined, usually with one knee sticking up in a very ladylike manner.

Mariah was touched when Kyle asked her to be his "best person" at his wedding, even as she warned him that she'd be as big as a house by fall. But that won't matter, of course, since her heart will be just as big by then, too.

Faith was a teenage girl, and she sure showed her immaturity when she wished that she was getting a kidney from anyone else but Adam. Oh, my gosh, Faith was truly fortunate that she had a donor with her same rare blood type who was willing to do that for her. While Faith should have been grateful, she only whined about her misfortune. There are others in the world with kidney conditions who can only wish for the same misfortune that Faith had to face in getting a kidney from someone she didn't like. Hey, on The Bold and the Beautiful, a character could help to kidnap a baby and keep the child's identity a secret from her biological parents for months, but all it took was for her to donate a kidney to her aunt, and all was forgiven. It looks like Adam won't be that lucky.

Until next time, please stay tuned. And take care and please stay safe!Teddi

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