Maybe It’s Because She’s Scared of the Truth Essay 18

Republisher’s Note: Republishing another one of the essays from the Rustle of the Sheets website. This one doesn’t seem to fit with a particular episode, but is in the timeline sometime right after the “Angel of Mine” dance.

From The Rustle of the Sheets

Essay #18

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“Maybe It’s Because She’s Scared of the Truth”By HollyJo — posted on the Mannyac Board.

Michelle has always been a bit afraid of the truth, even though she always demands it from those around her, she herself has a hard time facing it, and that’s because she’s basically scared of it.

I don’t know how to explain it, but here goes my effort of doing just that.

Michelle doesn’t respond well to change. I think it goes back to her mother’s death (although I’ve always thought she was a bit like that, I noticed it became a major part of her character after her mother’s death). Michelle developed this idea in her head of how life is or rather how it should be. Her father should be with a certain woman (after her mother’s death, she always thought Ed should be with Holly and went to great lengths to see that it happened. It didn’t work, but that’s what she wanted), Rick and Abby should be together and never fight. Meta should always be there for her.

And love … well … love should be this safe and ever-after happy thing … always there … always supportive … and never changing, evolving or growing. Another words … she believed in the final sentence of fairy tales … “and they lived happily ever after.” To her, that was what love was, she never looked past that to see if the prince and princess in the fairytale fought, had troubles, grew apart, etc. To her, once love was established, that was basically it … and it should remain there with no changes. And any deviance from this picture she had her mind, she refused to acknowledge, because she was scared of what that would mean.

Currently, the truth that she is scared of is her increasing feelings for Danny. While he can be sweet, loving, and protective (all very much princely attributes), he’s also has a wicked temper, a horrible mother, a strict code of loyalty and he has this sexuality and raw passion that seeps from every pore of his body. These things don’t fit into her idea of a fairytale prince. Jesse’s tame passion and gentle manner do fit those deeply enseeded beliefs.

So here she is … confused about her feelings, refusing to face them, because to her, they aren’t what she’s always pictured. Danny isn’t a fairytale. At times he can be a nightmare. But those feelings are there, and they aren’t going any where, no matter how hard she tries to ignore them, excuse them or get rid of them. It’s making her look at love and passion in a whole new light … and this represents change. Change in her outlook in life and love.

And as I pointed out … Michelle is terrified of change.

HollyJo

 

Complete Character Guide of Guiding Light 1982

The author was apparently crazy about…..ellipses. I pulled them and added…..commas instead. I also moved the actor’s name from the end of each character description to just after the character’s name and removed the phrase “played by” for each one.

“Who’s Who in Springfield: Complete Character Guide of Guiding Light!” Daytime TV Presents General Hospital, One Life to Live, Guiding Light, and All My Children. No 7 1982 pp. 54-55

Bertha Bauer (Charita Bauer): Mother of Mike Bauer and Dr. Ed Bauer, step-mother of Hillary Bauer, great-grandmother of Alan-Michael

Mike Bauer (Don Stewart): Father of Hope Spaulding, brother of Ed Bauer, half-brother of Hillary, son of Bert, grandfather of Alan-Michael, lawyer

Dr. Ed Bauer (Peter Simon): Brother of Mike Bauer, half-brother of Hillary, Bert’s son, uncle of Hope, great-uncle of Alan-Michael, chief of staff at Cedars Hospital

Hillary Bauer (Marsha Clark): Half-sister of Mike and Ed Bauer, daughter of the late Bill Bauer and Simone Moray, nurse at Cedars Hosptial, living with Derek Colby.

Dr. Sara McIntyre (Millette Alexander): Adoptive mother of Tim Werner, wife of Adam Thorpe, sex therapist at Cedars Hospital

Tim Werner (Nigel Reed): Adopted son of Dr. Sara McIntyre attends Springfield University

Nola Reardon (Lisa Brown): Mother of Kelly Louise [Ed. note: later renamed Anatasia], sister of Tony and Maureen, works for Quint McCord as sort of a housekeeper, daughter of Bea, has strong desires for Kelly Nelson

Tony Reardon (Gregory Beecroft): Son of Bea, brother of Nola and Maureen, involved Katie Parker, manager of Wired for Sound [Ed. Note: a popular disco in Springfield where they’d have guest star musicians perform sometimes]

Maureen Reardon (Ellen Dolan): Daughter of Bea, sister of Tony and Nola, working at Cedars Hospital [Ed. Note: She would later marry Ed and she would become Michelle’s mother.]

Bea Reardon (Lee Lawson): Mother of Tony, Nola, and Maureen, manages Reardon Boarding House, involved with Henry Chamberlain [Ed. Note: Henry was Vanessa’s father.)

Alan Spaulding (Chris Bernau): Father of Amanda Wexler McFarren [Ed. note: She would later go by Amanda Spaulding.] and Alan-Michael, adoptive father of Phillip Spaulding, married to Hope, ex-husband to Jackie Marler and Elizabeth Spaulding, owner of Spaulding Enterprises, spent time in jail because of conspiracy charges (Ed. note: Roger Thorpe blackmailed him into helping Roger get out of the country after he was ready to be convicted of martial rape of Holly.)

Hope Bauer Spaulding (Elvera Roussel): Mother of Alan-Michael, wife of Alan Spaulding, daughter of Mike Bauer, niece of Dr. Ed Bauer, granddaughter of Bert Bauer

Dr. Justin Marler (Tom O’Rourke): Husband of Jackie Marler, brother of Ross and Lanie, natural father of Phillip Spaulding, ex-husband of Elizabeth Spaulding, heart specialist

Jackie Marler (Carrie Mowery): Wife of Justin Marler, mother of Phillip Spaulding, ex-wife of Alan Spaulding, runs a gift shop near Cedars

Carrie Marler (Jane Elliot): Newly married to Ross Marler, has a son Todd, acquitted of murdering Diane Ballard and Joe Bradley, schizophrenic, an architect

Ross Marler (Jerry verDorn): Husband of Carrie, brother of Justin and Lainie, former lover of Vanessa Chamberlain [Ed. Note: Vanessa was originally created as a love interest for Ross. We will later on find out they have a daughter Dinah from that time.]

Trish Lewis (Rebecca Hollen): Wife of Andy, sister of Josh, co-owner of Wired for Sound with Vanessa Chamberlain

Josh Lewis (Robert Newman): Brother of Trish, manages the career for Floyd Parker, Currently blackmailing Leslie Ann Monroe [Ed. Note: At the time Floyd Parker had become an overnight rock star, sadly it won’t last long.]

Leslie Ann Monroe (Carolyn Ann Clark): Involved with Floyd Parker, former prostitute, now a nurse at Cedars Hospital, being blackmailed by Josh Lewis who know about her secret past [Ed. Note: Leslie was an idiot, Floyd was really in love with her, he’d have done anything for her, instead she dumped him and got mixed up with Warren Andrews, who loved her after his own way, but also almost drove her to suicide and was directly, if not intentionally, responsible for her death.]

Katie Parker (Denise Pence): sister of Floyd, nurse at Cedars Hospital, dating Tony Reardon

Quint McCord (Michael Tylo): Rich, mysterious business man, lives in a mansion with Mrs. Renfield and Nola Reardon [Ed. Note: We will soon discover that Quint’s dad was really Henry Chamberlain and he eventually takes his last name. Even though he’s normally credited as Michael, I changed it because this particular article credited him as Mike Tylo.]

Mrs. Renfield (Beulah Garrick): Employee of Quint McCord

Jennifer Richards (Geraldine Court): Mother of Amanda McFarren through her relationship with Alan Spaulding, mother of Morgan Nelson, mother-in-law of Kelly Nelson, formerly Jane Marie Stafford, sister of Chet, daughter of Logan Stafford

Amanda McFarren (Kathleen Cullen): Illegitimate daughter of Jennifer Richards and Alan Spaulding, half-sister of Morgan Nelson, acting head of Spaulding Enterprises, ex-wife of Ben McFarren

Morgan Nelson (Jennifer Cooke): Daughter of Jennifer Richards, married to Kelly Nelson, beginning a modeling career, half-sister of Amanda McFarren

Kelly Nelson (John Weslety Shipp): Husband of Morgan Nelson, intern at Cedars Hospital, son-in-law of Jennifer Richards [Ed. Note: A pretty important bit they skipped was he is also Ed Bauer’s godson which is part of what brought him to town to begin with.]

Eve McFarren (Janet Grey): Sister of Rita Stapleton, former wife of Ben McFarren, runs a gift shop near Cedars Hospital with Jackie Marler

Henry Chamberlain (William Roerick): Father of Vanessa Chamberlain, stockholder of Spaulding Enterprises, dating Bea Reardon, businessman

Vanessa Chamberlain (Maeve Kinkead): Daughter of Henry Chamberlain, once in love with Ross Marler, co-owern of Wired for Sound, wants to control Spaulding Enterprises, involved with Mark Evans

Mark Evans (Mark Pinter): Employee at Spaulding Enterprises, involved with Vanessa Chamberlain

Derek Colby (Harley Venton): Living with Hillary Bauer, lawyer

 

What’s Happening on Guiding Light!

Here’s a snapshot of what’s happening in Springfield in 1982.

“What’s Happening On Guiding Light!” Daytime TV Presents General Hospital, One Life to Live, Guiding Light, and All My Children. No 7 1982 pp. 56-57

At home in Springfield, Ross fought to save Carrie from a guilty verdict for the murder of Diane. But haunted by her past and filled with overwhelming guilt Carrie did not want to be saved. However, Ross, consumed with love, pushed on in his defense, and just when all looked hopeless, Carrie broke down on a witness stand. She revealed why she had remained silent so long, “To protect my little boy.” Carrie sadly spoke of how Diane had caused her husband, Todd, to commit suicide. And she recalled how she had to give up her son, promising to never see him again. But she made the adoptive parents vow: “To name him Todd, after his father, so he would not be forgotten.” The jury returned a verdict of “not guilty.”

After much pleading, Ross was rewarded when Carrie consented to marry him. Although Carrie wondered if she had a right to marry him. Her past remained a dark secret, even to her. Carrie prepared for the wedding, and frequently saw Sara to try and recall her hidden past. Just before the wedding, mysteriously, Carrie’s dress is slashed to ribbons. She told Ross, and he suspected Vanessa.

Back in Springfield, Amanda’s bitterness towards her father, especially towards her husband, Ben, was fading. Vanessa’s new beau, Mark, who had come to work at Spaulding Enterprises, found Amanda charming and became her friend. He convinced her to forgive Ross, which she did. In fact, Amanda attended his wedding, and dreamed that perhaps someday, she would find such happiness, too.

Carrie begged Ross to tell her about the honeymoon plans, but Ross insisted on keeping them a surprise and what a surprise! On arriving in picturesque Seattle, Carrie was still in the dark. But at lunch Carrie found out Ross’s secret. While they dined, in walked a family of three – a mother, a father, and a little boy. Carrie felt a curious tug a her heart when she saw them and told Ross about her feelings. Ross tolder her the little boy was her son, Todd. Carrie cried with gratitutde. “Why did you arrange  this?” she asked Ross. He said, “You told me the one thing you wanted most was to know your son was happy.” And so, Ross had given Carrie the most wonderful wedding gift of all. And when the family left, the mother gave Carrie a picture of her son – a momento she would treasure forever.

Vanessa tried to discover who had been given Alan’s stock proxy. She was elated to find out that “daddy” had it. She hoped she could control, Spaulding Enterprises, through her father. But Henry was slipping away from Vanessa’s vise-like control. He was dating Bea, and finding he could live his life without Vanessa’s contstant meddling.

A sexy photo of Morgan made the cover of a national nurse’s magazine. But Kelly had made a vow never to be jealous again, and to the surprise of everyone, he kept it… but for how long?

Nola lived a life of mystery in Quint’s lusurious mansion. And her imagination went wild. She watched old movies and then fantasized about Kelly and Quint. There was Nola as Ingrid Berman in Casablanca. Quint was Bogart, saying “Here’s looking at you, kid.” And Kelly was the underground resistance, taking her away with him to freedom. Then Nola was Cathy and Quint was Healthcliff in her Wuthering Heights fantasty.

Meanwhile, Floyd, frustrated in his affections towards Nola, fell in love with a new girl, Leslie Ann. However, poor Leslie had a dangerous secret. She was once a hooker. And Josh Lewis blackmailed her, threatening to tell all.

Nola was confused. At times she thought she could love Quint, but he was too mysterious and frightening. And then there was Kelly. She wanted to still win him. But he had refused to be her child’s godfather, and this had made her cry bitter tears. So, Nola turned to Quint for comfort. And she tried to destroy Mrs. Renfield’s hold on him. As ususal Nola was plotting and planning and manipulating everyone’s life. She refused Floyd’s offer of child support. And she let Quint think that Kelly was the real father of her little girl. What would she pull next?

So Long Springfield

The announcement that Guiding Light had been cancelled was met with a howl of anguish across the land which was met by a series of cast reunions across the country allowing fans to visit with their favorite actors. Sadly these events were clustered along the coasts and I didn’t get to one, but I’ve been told that a good time was had by all. I’ve also been told they were money makers enough so that new dates were added several times until they did a cruise which lost money and so was the end. (That’s second hand so it might not be true, but anyway they’re weren’t anymore after the cruise.) To be fair themed cruises are the “developing land on your own” of the entertainment field. It’s very hard to make money on them. You need a super large group of people to pay back both the expenses and the paychecks of the special guests before you can make money and frankly there are cruise people and non-cruise people. Either you do them a lot and think they’re great or have never done one before and are fairly wary. No matter how much you like something to take a special guest cruise when you haven’t done that before takes an extra jump of faith a lot of people aren’t willing to take – presumably from the number of them I know of that failed to make minimums. (I sadly blame this for the lack of a similar goodbye tour for As the World Turns.)

In honor of the anniversary of the end of Guiding Light I’m sharing some of the things from the souvenir booklet they put out. The one I have (sadly second hand since I didn’t get to go) is from Pittsburgh, but I’m guessing that except for the ads they are the same or at least very similar.

Here is the text of the welcome letter from Michael S. Gold, President of Celebrity Events Group, LLC that put on the So Long Springfield events:

How does the world say goodbye to the extraordinary people who have touched so many lives the last 72 years? I refer, of course, to the remarkable actors of Guiding Light. These incredible people have entered our lives during the last seven decades and become unforgettable. They are more than actors, they are part of our lives, they are our friends.

Guiding Light is more than just a television show that has made history. It has made relationship stronger between mothers, daughters, granddaughters, and great-granddaughters. Each weekday, it connected mothers’-in-law, husbands, and wives, sisters and co-workers. It has united the gay community and caused women to become more vigilant about their breast health. It has changed the way we think about so many things.

The fact is, the world wasn’t ready to say goodbye to the cast OR the show. We are here today not only to say farewell, but instead to celebrate all that Guiding Light was to each and every one of us. Every person in this room is here to catch their last glimpse, send good wishes to the cast, or hear a last song. The number of ans that wanted to attend this event far surpassed the capacity of this room. Incredibly we have attendees from 32 states and Canada represented here today. Guiding Light is a true phenomenon.

No, the world isn’t ready to extinguish the flame that brightened their everyday lives. There will be much laughter, there will be many tears and there will be lasting memories made here today. I hope, of course, that these memories will be with you “always.”

• MSG

Robansuefarm is the handle of one of Manny and Guiding Light‘s biggest fans following in her family’s footsteps of Guiding Light fandom since 1939. This blog is an effort to make it easy to find Guiding Light and especially Manny online. Check back here for her blog, find fanfic previews and fake WSPR newscasts on her YouTube, find podcasts that look back to old shows and audios of her fanfics on Blog Talk Radio, and finally follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

Guiding Light Head Writer July 2018 – Soap Opera Magazine

Author’s Note: This is a little different type of fanfic. I can’t write every day for the soap so I have to kind of draw ellipses in between the Bauer BBQ stories. This one is mostly touching on things we’re really not going to see, but I want people to know are going on. Maybe we’ll get to see some of it, but not much.

Q: So you’ve been headwriter of Guiding Light for just over a year now. Do you feel about where Springfield is today?

A: I’m feeling that Springfield is in really good shape. I’ve been having viewers writing me, online, in person tell me that Springfield feels like home again and that’s been one of my major goals.

Q: Have you had any specific overall goals?

A: Probably the largest problem that I’ve been facing is that there has been a big gap in ages. Frankly it isn’t a problem just on Guiding Light, but soap operas have gotten into trouble. They have been pretending that generations don’t exist. All of them have been written like there are babies, kids for a short while, teenagers, MAYBE a one or two young 20s, and then everyone else except maybe 1 person is in the same generation. That’s no way to create a community. Doing that cuts out so many story possibilities. It also hurts family relationships and honestly one of the things viewers want from soaps (even those who have their own close families) is a close connected family and community and that means they want generations. Soaps used to excel at that, but they’ve lost their way. I’ve been working on clearing the decks, but I hope our upcoming stories this next year will bring in some characters, long and short term, that will fill in that age gap so we don’t have to pretend people who’ve been on the show for decades would be dating comparative children.

Q: You’ve also been bringing back classic characters from different eras. You had a couple of big returns at the BBQ.

A: Yes, probably from a NAME perspective our big get was James Earl Jones. Jim Frazier sadly wasn’t a long-term character, but he was played by BOTH James Earl Jones AND Billy Dee Williams. I think that he was played with that much talent says a lot about the power and influence of the character. Sadly I don’t think we’d get either one for much of a run, but Mr. Jones said he was very appreciate of the dealing with the Korean War trauma in the script. We just had him for the two episodes, but we’re hoping on having him come back for another couple of episodes later this year. I think if we can work with him on time and he likes the script he’ll be back. I mean someone of that authority you have to give them something with meat on it to tempt them to come.

Q: But I’d say from a character perspective you had a couple of returns that might have more everyday impact.

A: I’d agree. Mr. Jones is Christmas, but we’ve got a couple of people returning who will impact the show more day to day. The one I’m most excited about is Hope Bauer. I really don’t understand why they never brought Hope back before. I understand that it was a power play to get rid of her in the first place, but it’s a key role. How do you bring back Alan-Michael for years on multiple occasions and then never bring back Hope even for a short run? She’s got all these family connections that remain unexplored, decades worth of what was she doing, is she sober now, and all sorts of stuff to play with.

We’ve also brought back Eleni. I think that’s very important for Frank. Once Eleni left the canvas they just never really found another firm foothold for Frank other than basic cop, Buzz’s son, and Manny’s friend. The character was so much more multi-dimensional than that and Eleni was what brought that out the most, so if Frank’s going to be a very viable character we need to deal with Eleni since she was just sort of dropped. It never felt like their story got a real end. Is that what we’re going to see now or will this be the start of a new story? We’ll just have to wait and see. I also think Eleni’s return is timely because Eleni was an illegal alien. It wasn’t really on anybody’s radar back then other than an excuse for green card marriages and Eleni was the one who found the most connection in Springfield. She’s going to be an excellent person for helping us explore a topic that’s so front and center today.

Q: Will we be seeing more favorites return?

A: I really love how Days has been bringing back favorites for arcs rather than trying to keep as large a cast all the time. I’m trying that model so you can expect to see other people and new characters with a familial connection to people that once lived in town, but they might be brought in and out as needed. Let’s face it to keep a character you need a certain amount of money, air time, and storyline and even if you had endless money, the time and story limits how many people we can have on at once. But if there is a gap someone you know can fill as opposed to bringing on a complete stranger. I want it to be said that Springfield really felt like Springfield during my time here.

Q: We’ve been having some questions from readers about your Manny story. It seemed like you started the vasectomy story and just dropped it. What happened there?

A: Well, it started out I was going to do a quick little problem at the Bauer BBQ storyline for them. I like to do that because when you’re hosting a big event there’s always tension that brings up stuff. I figured Danny would last a day and then cave at the end of the day, but when I really started to write it there was more depth there. This touches on religion and of all the foundation stones Danny was raised with that’s the only one left so it’s a big deal to move against it. So there’s that and that there’s a lot of old think that this is a mark against his virility and that attacks how Danny thinks of himself as a person. There’s more there than I thought there’d be. But I already had lots of storyline lined up for this fall so we kind of hit pause on this story, but we’ll get back to it.

Q: It seems like something went off the rails with Ed and Holly, too, any hints, there?

A: Ed and Holly have been one of our most stable couples dropping in and out of the story for years, but they’ve just been traveling parallel. They’ve never remarried, but let’s face it our legal system is set up to work best for married people, legal rights, inheritance, power of attorney, etc. so as they are getting older that reality starts to come into clearer focus. There are legal reasons to get married and legal reasons to not get married as you get older. Ed is taking getting married as an obvious move and has taken it for granted that Holly will just marry him because he’s asked. So on one side we have the fact that Holly really only wants marriage if it’s a romance, she’s not interested in doing the sane, rational thing. She doesn’t want marriage like a business deal. However, if Ed gives her romance how will she react when she gets them? And if they do look at the cold business analysis is getting married where will the money/legal right of it land?

Q: You mentioned illegal immigration so far, are you doing any other storylines based on current events?

A: Yes, and this fits in very well with what I was saying about using people with a connection. The story of the sexual abuse scandal with the University of Michigan and the USA Gymnastics is one that really isn’t completely being told. You have to really dig to find out what Larry Nausar did and how he got away with it. It wasn’t just that he intimidated them into silence, his victims came forward and were not believed. How did that happen? We happen to have a top gymnast who was going for the Olympics in the Bauer family tree (cousin Lacey Bauer – look for her at the Bauer BBQ A-M parachuted into). Now Lacey really wasn’t an impactful character. She probably impacted Cameron the most and most fans responses to that are probably – Cameron who? So it isn’t that she had a big connection here, but she WAS established as a top gymnast. Since we’ve seen her she got close to her dream and failed. She saw her daughter as her second chance at gold so that impacted her experience with it. Things happened to her daughter. How did that happen? The culture that allowed it has been thrown into stark relief if people look, but the same attitudes can play out against other sports and even some arts. We’re going to really dig into that.

I’m also going to do a three part #MeToo story. There is a long tradition of it being hard for targets of this kind of behavior or even assault to be believed, BUT every story can’t be true just because of human nature so we’re going to do one story where it’s crystal clear something happened and it’s going to be very hard for the victim to be believed and prove it. There is also going to be a story where someone is going to make a false accusation for reasons of their own, but what I’m most excited about is the third story. One of the storylines that I’ve always been sorriest they dropped was when Ben Harris on As the World Turns was arrested for basically matching a description of someone wanted based on his race. From how it was originally presented we didn’t know if the cop was deliberately targeting him and assaulting him because Ben was black or if he was legitimately following a lead. However, instead of playing it out they blinked and instead turned Teague into an evil despicable person who eventually kidnapped and almost killed Jack and Carly. Real life is almost always grayer than that. In the last couple of years there was an article in Indian Country about a native student who got into a conflict with a Jewish professor who had family members lost in the Holocaust over what constituted a genocide. You could just hear both sides of the article reading about it and they both 100% believed they were right and had facts on their side. Each believed they were not only right, but righteous. That’s the kind of situation I want to set up where each side quite reasonably has their own interpretation that there isn’t malice in either one. Which one really has the right of it? Can they both be right? We’re going to really explore that too.

Q: So far your tenure has been very successful. Ratings are up in all demographics. Are you feeling confident about what comes next?

A: There are t-shirts fans designed you can get online that say “I want to live in Springfield.” I think people do. Soap operas, especially the former Proctor and Gamble soaps, create a home. These people are your family and when you get home you want to feel you’re home. I hope everyone feels like they’re home again.

Bauer BBQ 2018 Episode 2 Part 7 by Robansuefarm

Author’s Note: We finish with the 2018 Bauer BBQ. I hope you’ve all had fun at the BBQ. Watch for some continuing stories and if you have an idea for Bauer BBQ 2019 let me know.

Scene 28

There have been instances all during the BBQ where Cyrus and Marina almost connected, but in deference to Shayne and Mel’s feelings (see the food fight at Towers last year) one or the other had broken off and gone the other way. Now Cyrus and Marina came from opposite directions, discovering their cars are parked almost right next to each other. Seeing each other Marina and Cyrus froze. Marina turned around to leave and then she stopped and turned back around. “No, this is ridiculous.”

“What is ridiculous?”

“Us, pretending that each other doesn’t exist to keep Shane and Mel happy. I mean who are we fooling?”

Cyrus laughed as Marina turned around so they faced each other. “It is a little silly, isn’t it?”

“I mean it isn’t like we weren’t friends before either of us got involved.”

“I know right. God, it feels a lot better talking to you than acting like you were infectious or something. We always were a good team and working on the PTA committee just confirmed that. The fact WE have a connection doesn’t mean anything bad about our marriages.”

“Exactly! I mean just because we were once involved and thought we were in love…Shayne thought he was in love with Dinah like months before we got together, I thought I was in love with Mallet, Mel thought she was in love with Rick. You thought you were in love with Harley for awhile. It doesn’t mean anything now.”

Cyrus and Marina had been moving closer to each other as they talked. Cyrus added, “I mean just because we had crazy chemistry.”

“Just because we had a lot of fun and trusted each other.”

“Just because we were super exciting…and things have been very stable in our marriages…”

“Solid…”

“Dependable…”

“Boring.” They quickly close the final distance between them in a very carnal kiss.

Scene 29

Kevin came into the kitchen, still holding Jude’s phone. Rick was doing some clean up and refilling. He looked up as Kevin came in. “Hey, Buddy, what’s up?”

Kevin snorted. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know how you are?”

“I’m not sure I know WHO I AM. Let alone anybody else.”

Rick looked puzzled. “What’s wrong, Kevin? Hey, isn’t that Jude’s phone?”

Kevin looked down at his hand as if he’d never seen it before. Until then he’d forgotten it was still in his hand. “I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?” He held out Jude’s phone, still showing the Springfield Journal article to Rick. He quickly read the headline and then his eyes flew to Kevin. “Why don’t you tell me, DAD?”

Scene 30

Frank stood looking at Blake talking across the yard. He sighed and as he turned away he knocked into a table on the edge of the eating area. The bowl of oranges that we saw on the island during prep is now on the table. Frank’s collusion knocks over the bowl of oranges. Several rolled off the table and he bends over to pick them up. One rolls farther than the others by the gate and into the foot of the woman who had just come through it. The camera slowly pans up to her face. “Oranges, Frankie? This seems a little familiar.”

“Eleni!” he breathed.

Scene 31

The scene opens with a close up of one of the empty bottles of wine in the straw. With a clink the second empty bottle joined it. Jude and Clarissa sat there. Silent.

Clarissa spoke first, “Well, that was a bust. I don’t feel any better, do you?”

Jude started laughing. “No, I don’t, not a bit.”

Clarissa looked at him strangely for about a minute. Then she laughed slowly and then more and more and pretty soon they were both laughing until tears came from their eyes. They both calmed for a minute and then they looked at each other and then started busting up again.

Jude finally gasped out. “I guess this was a great idea after all.”

“This was the perfect location. You were so clever to think of it. You’re so clever and nice. Your dad is an idiot to take you for granted.”

“And Robbie is an idiot for not picking you over Sarah. You’re smart, kind, pretty. He’s an idiot.”

Clarissa reached over and touched Jude’s face. Jude said, “A real idiot” and moved in and kissed her. It was a major kiss. They broke apart panting, staring in each other’s eyes. Then they came together with Jude easing Clarissa down onto the tarp.

End of Episode

So what happened next? Stay tuned! Same Light Time, Same Light Channel!

Robansuefarm is the handle of one of Manny and Guiding Light‘s biggest fans following in her family’s footsteps of Guiding Light fandom since 1939. This blog is an effort to make it easy to find Guiding Light and especially Manny online. Check back here for her blog, find fanfic previews and fake WSPR newscasts on her YouTube, find podcasts that look back to old shows and audios of her fanfics on Blog Talk Radio, and finally follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

Bauer BBQ 2018 Episode 2 Part 6 by Robansuefarm

Author’s Note: We continue with the second day of Bauer BBQ.

Scene 26

Ed collected Holly, took her hand and lead her over to the tree in the side yard. Holly looked nonplussed. “What’s the big deal, Ed? We’ve been traveling by ourselves for months. Now we’re back with friends and family what do you have to tell me in private now?” Holly looked over to where Blake had walked away from Frank. “I’m worried about Blake.”

“Holly, give me your hands. This is important. I’ve been thinking about it for a long time. You asked me before what I had to do and I didn’t deliberately meet Jim at the cemetery, I was going there to talk to Maureen.”

“You don’t think I mind that you want to talk to Maureen, do you? She was the love of your life, I know that. I don’t begrudge you missing her or even talking to her. Ed, I understand. I might have been insecure in my life, but not enough that I’m jealous of a dead woman.”

“No, no, I just wanted to tell you, before I did this I had to talk to Maureen and feel like I had her blessing.”

“Blessing for what? Us? You’ve left it a bit late. We’ve been traveling together for years”

“For the next step. Holly, like you said Maureen is the love of my life and no matter all the crap I put her through I was hers. I hate like hell to admit it, but despite all the God awful things Roger did to you, I think Roger is the love of yours, but they’re both gone now. These last nine years have been so great, traveling around the world, I couldn’t have a better partner.”

A smile played around Holly’s lips. “Yes, God help me, Roger was the love of my life, but these last 9 years, they’ve been some of the best in my life. Footloose and fancy free, seeing all the places you always read about all around the world, coming back to play with the grandkids and then dumping them back on their parents whenever we want. I’m so glad you came after me that day and I’m even gladder I went with you. But why do you have to tell me this now?”

“Because, Holly, we’re getting older now. It’s been one thing for us to just travel around 10 years ago, but I think it’s time we faced facts. From a legal perspective it’s just easier, so much less paperwork. We’ve always loved each other, even when we weren’t IN love with each other. That’s why we’ve fallen back together so many times. Holly, these last 9 years, I never even thought – I never cheated on you and I can’t say that about anybody else even Maureen. So what do you say, Holly, will you marry me?”

“No…. just no, Ed.” Holly walked off leaving Ed goggling after her.

Scene 27

Frank came up behind Alan-Michael who had calmed down enough to be enjoying a plate of food at one of the tables that surrounded the pool.

“Hey. I’ve been looking for you.” Frank took the chair next to A-M and turned it sideways and then sat down on it with his arms crossed on the chair back.

“Did you get some of Michelle’s pie yet? She gets better every year. I defy anyone to tell this from Grandma Bert’s.”

“No, I haven’t been hungry today. I’ve been worrying over some stuff.”

“Yeah, what’s that?”

“Blake asked me not to tell you something, but I think she’s wrong.”

“That sounds like Blake. Forth-coming isn’t a word I’d associate with her. What is it today? She steal my car or something?” Alan-Michael laughed.

Frank didn’t join in.

“God, she didn’t, did she? I was just joking.”

Frank shook his head. “It’s something a bit more serious. I know we haven’t always thought the most of each other over the years, but we’re both fathers and I think we need to stick to together.”

Alan-Michael abandoned his food. “Molly? This is about Molly? What does Blake know about Molly?”

“She just found out today – as far as I can tell – but I think you need to know. I know you think you broke up Jason and Molly last summer, but apparently, they just went underground. They’re still dating.”

Alan-Michael froze for a minute then he was up and gone, “Molly!”

Frank sighed, “Well that didn’t go well.”

Robansuefarm is the handle of one of Manny and Guiding Light‘s biggest fans following in her family’s footsteps of Guiding Light fandom since 1939. This blog is an effort to make it easy to find Guiding Light and especially Manny online. Check back here for her blog, find fanfic previews and fake WSPR newscasts on her YouTube, find podcasts that look back to old shows and audios of her fanfics on Blog Talk Radio, and finally follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

Bauer BBQ 2018 Episode 2 Part 5 by Robansuefarm

Author’s Note: We continue with the second day of Bauer BBQ.

Scene 23

Jude and Clarissa get settled in the stable

“The Spaulding Stables? This is your big idea. What if somebody wants to ride or the grooms come back or something?”

“Shhh! Listen….Hear the quiet? No horses. Phillip sends them out for a week every year to a trainer. She puts them through their paces and makes sure they aren’t developing bad habits and he gives the staff this week off. Anyone who has any business with the horses knows that.”

“How come you know about it?”

“Phillip and Dad used to ride in high school. They’ve gotten more into again since Phillip came back. They took Zach and Robbie and me riding and we made a secret fort up in the haymow. Come on.”

Jude grabbed a tarp out of the tack room and spread it out on the fresh bedding in one of the stalls. “My lady.”

“Thank you kind sir.” She took Jude’s hand and sat down. “Damn, I didn’t grab a corkscrew.”

“No problem.” Jude climbed up the ladder until his head was hidden. There is a noise of wood creaking open. He jumped down. “Here you go.”

“Oh, Swiss Army knife. Are you a Boy Scout or something?”

Jude came and joined her on the tarp. “No, actually it’s…”

“Robbie’s?”

“Yea.”

“Give it to me. I need a drink.” She took the knife opened up the corkscrew, opened it up, and took a swig. “You sure your Dad won’t come looking for you?”

Jude’s face darkened. “It would probably be days before he even notices I’m gone. My turn, give me the corkscrew.” He took it as Clarissa handed it over and opened and drank from his bottle in turn.

Scene 24

Frank came up to Blake as she sat by the pool. “What’s going on, Blake? You’ve been avoiding me all day and been testy when you do talk to me.”

“I have NOT been testy….OK maybe I have.” Blake give a big sigh. “I’m sorry, Frank, I’m just frustrated.”

“Not with me I hope,” Frank said with one of his cock-eyed grins.

Blake looked at him speculatively. “No, not with you specifically. I know things were bad for you when you were a young man, but did you ever see your life ending up like this, how we are?”

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

“You know I didn’t have the best examples in my Mom and Dad or Mom and Ed or Mom and my step-dad Dietrich Lindsey in Switzerland, but that didn’t stop me. I really believed in happy ever after, but Frank I don’t think happily ever after looks like this.”

“Doesn’t look like two people who are friends and connect well in bed? Doesn’t look like two people who have worked together to raise their kids?”

“We’ve helped each other, but honestly Frank we haven’t been living our lives together, we’ve been living them parallel. We were both just so lonely for so long. We needed each other and we’ve always been good friends. We gave each other help and stability, but Frank….Frank close your eyes.”

“What?”

“Just close your eyes, alright?”

“They’re closed, now what?”

“Love. – What did you picture when I said that? I’d bet money it wasn’t me. And it wouldn’t be you for me either. We’re trying to force this thing between us to be something it just isn’t.”

“Come on, it isn’t like we’ve really tried…. we’re not married or anything. Maybe we should get married.”

“God, Frank we’ve been together almost 10 years if we were going to fall in love and get married or even convince ourselves we should get married we’d have done it long ago. I think we need to admit what this is between us and it’s friends with benefits and that’s just not working for me anymore.”

“Please Blake, what are you saying you want to break up? Over nothing?”

“Yes, Frank I think we need to give each other some space. I’m not mad, I hope I’m always one of your best friends, but this between us? It’s just not enough for a lifetime and I think it’s time we admit it….I think you better move out.” Blake stood up and walked off, leaving Frank gaping.

Scene 25

Danny was standing talking to Phillip and Michelle came up behind him and wrapped her arms around him. Danny realized it was Michelle and smiled. “Hey, you,” he said.

“Hey,” Michelle replied, moving around to Danny’s side keeping her arms around him. “Beth was looking for you over by the grill.”

“I better see what she wants. Catch you later.”

Danny looked down at his wife. “Someone seems to have had an attitude adjustment toward me. Did you decide your done with this vasectomy nonsense?”

“It’s not nonsense…but I think maybe we should put it aside for awhile.”

“Why?”

“I was talking to Kat about her and Paul. They are in a bad place because they aren’t seeing a way to compromise. I remember being in that bad place. I don’t ever want to be there again.”

“Look at me, Missy.” Danny turned Michelle to face her and put his arms around her neck, but keeping her at enough of a distance so they could see each other’s faces. “We’re NEVER going there again. It doesn’t matter what we disagree about. We’ve learned our lesson….” He leaned in for a quick kiss.

“It isn’t just that. Kat and I were talking about Bridget when she lived here and it made me realize what year it is…”

Danny’s hold on Michelle tightened convulsively.

“You already realized it…”

“It’s not a big deal,” Danny’s eyes shifted away from Michelle not being able to lie looking at her.

“It is. 20 years ago right now your brother was still alive.”

“20 years ago right now we hadn’t met. I’d rather think of us getting together than…”

“Hey, I thought we through all this years ago. Look at me.” Michelle reached up and took Danny’s chin and held it making sure he looked at her. ”You don’t have to hide what you feel for Mick…not from me. I know I can’t help you with this, not like I want to not after….but at least you don’t have to hide from me. I understand the Mick you knew years before he got on drugs wasn’t the same man I knew. You have every right to miss him, to hate what happened to him….to not have to hide that pain from your wife. I’m not asking that. I’d never ask that. I LOVE you, Danny. All of you. We’ll face this anniversary the way we’ve faced everything else life threw at us – together.”

Robansuefarm is the handle of one of Manny and Guiding Light‘s biggest fans following in her family’s footsteps of Guiding Light fandom since 1939. This blog is an effort to make it easy to find Guiding Light and especially Manny online. Check back here for her blog, find fanfic previews and fake WSPR newscasts on her YouTube, find podcasts that look back to old shows and audios of her fanfics on Blog Talk Radio, and finally follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

Bauer BBQ 2018 Episode 2 Part 4 by Robansuefarm

Author’s Note: We continue with the second day of Bauer BBQ.

Scene 20

Alan-Michael came into the garage where Danny and Michelle were still kissing. “Oh, sorry you guys.” Danny and Michelle broke apart. “Have you seen Molly anywhere?”

Michelle answered, “Um, she was here a little while ago. I’ll go help you look.” Avoiding looking at Alan-Michael headed on out the door. Alan-Michael turned to follow her, but Danny stopped him.

“Alan-Michael, can we talk for a minute?”

“I’ll feel better after I find Molly.”

“We saw Molly like 5 minutes ago and she was fine. Please?” Danny gestured toward a stool.

Alan-Michael lifted up his hands and walked over and sat down.

“What is it?”

“I wanted to talk to you about Hope, your mother, not my daughter.”

Alan-Michael briefly chuckled. “What about her?”

“I’ve been thinking about her and my mother.”

Alan-Michael flared to his feet, “Carmen? You’re comparing MY mother to Carmen?”

Danny held up his hand consolingly. “When I met Michelle, I thought I knew my mother. I thought I understood how she thought, why she did things. I would have bet anything I understood her. In fact, in a way I did bet Michelle’s life.” Danny shook his head in bemusement. “Was I ever wrong…and that’s why I was thinking about your mother.”

“I don’t follow.”

“Did you ever wonder how Michelle and I got Spaulding stock?”

“What’s that got to do with…I just assumed Phillip gave you a particularly generous signing bonus.”

“No, I didn’t get it from Phillip…we got it from Alan. You missed the formal reading of the will. Alan left me and Michelle the stock and a letter. You can read it if you want. He confirmed something Phillip had told me. Alan saw Michelle and me as having his and Hope’s second chance. He wrote how much he loved Hope. I believe him. He said with her he was the man he’d always wanted to be. He said that was the happiest he’d ever been in his entire life… and he destroyed it. He said he respected me and wanted me in his business because I’d been able to do what he hadn’t, to break the patterns I’d been programed with, to step up and be the man Michelle needed me to be, that I needed me to be. He hadn’t been able to do that. When they finally broke up for good, he let her go because he saw how he’d practically destroyed her and he realized that if he saw her again he’d try to get her back because he couldn’t not do that and she couldn’t resist coming and then he’d hurt her again and again. The only thing he could to make up for the fact that he wasn’t strong enough to be who she needed him to be was to be strong enough to let her go and not hurt her again and again and again. That much he COULD do, so he did. I imagine he said something similar to your mother in the letter he left her. I don’t think your mother is in as bad a place as you think. I don’t think she’s living with a delusion about your father, I think she’s living with his ghost.”

Alan-Michael snorted. “A ghost? Like in Casper the Friendly…”

“No, not a physical ghost, but she must have spent her life thinking that man she loved was an illusion, to find out that she had been right that he’d been there all along, that he treasured her just as much and that he’d stayed away to spare her because he was too weak to be what she needed…I think it must have made her see everything differently. It isn’t that she’s delusional about your father, it’s that in her mind she’s living with the part of the man he was that she loved. I know you’re worried about her and it may not be the healthiest thing, but now I’m older if I did lose Michelle I can’t say I wouldn’t be in exactly the same place thinking of her all the time, talking to her as if she was there when no one else was. You’d probably be the same if you lost Lucy. I know you’ve been acting like you think your mother is crazy and it is probably good to have her here with family again and we’ll do our best to give her other interests around here, but I don’t think your mother IS crazy. I think you’ve been as wrong about your mother as I was about mine. I think your mother is acting like she is because after a long time she realized she was sane all along. Just think about it, OK?” Danny slapped Alan-Michael on the should and left him sitting there pondering.

Scene 21

Kat was sitting on a lounge chair by the pool watching the festivities her boys playing and talking with the other kids when Jim came up and sat down beside her. While they are talking we can see Blake catching up with Jason in the background, talking with him a little bit and then he threw up his hands and walked away with Blake looking worriedly after him. This is all in pantomime and is only at the beginning of the scene. Focus tightens on Kat and Jim after they finish, but the interplay was always in the background with no sound or long focus shots on them.

“Well, Kat I’m certainly glad you invited me to come here for the Fourth of July. Yes, sir. It’s been great to see all the old haunts and to see Ed again. A lot of the faces I knew were gone, but it’s brought back a lot of memories being back here. It’s been great to be here with the boys, too.”

“I’m glad, Jim.”

“I can’t help, but notice that Paul isn’t here.”

“No, he isn’t.” Kat looked away to the middle distance.

“Don’t you think this has gone far enough? You and Paul – you’re magic together and what are you fighting about really?”

Kat turned back to Jim getting upset. “Respect. If Paul had gotten a dream job offer no one would have thought anything about him assuming I’d just come along. So when I’ve got the dream job why can’t he come here?”

Jim interrupted, “But you had a perfectly good job…”

“It’s not just a job, it’s a chance to make a real difference to make sure people have a voice not just in Springfield, but WSPR covers at least a third of the state. This means a lot to a lot of people. Paul needs to understand. He can get a job here. Look around.” Kat gestured around. “Here’s the management of every business in town. I could get him a job somewhere, a good job. Why is it asking too much for him to move here? Springfield is a great place to live.”

“A man’s got his pride, Kat, maybe he doesn’t want a job you got for him.”

“And I don’t have pride? So I’d be expected to take the job he found me if the situation was reversed? Paul is in the wrong, Jim, and he has to realize it.”

Scene 22

Blake was still adjugated and pacing around. Holly came up behind her. “What do you think you’re doing? What’s going on with Frank?”

“What do you mean, Mom?”

“I mean I’ve been watching you and Frank all day. You’ve done nothing, but snipe at him all day.”

“Oh, Mom. I know Frank and I have been good for each other. We’ve been – stable.”

“Stable doesn’t mean bad.”

“No, it isn’t bad – stability has been good for me and Frank, the boys, Clarissa, and Frankie, but more and more it just feels like we’ve been marking time. We’re still just friends with benefits. We’re not life partners. I’m not Frankie’s mother, I’m Auntie Blake. I don’t want Frank to father my kids. We’ve talked about it sometimes, but we’re not married for a reason, Mom.”

Holly exhaled.

“Don’t Mom. Don’t start. I know what love is. Frank knows what love is. This isn’t it and I’m getting tired of playing house, of pretending what this is.”

Holly took a sip of her drink. “It doesn’t seem like Frank is having a problem with it.”

“Ohhh. That’s what Frank does. He’s like the Energizer Bunny. He never gives up. He just keeps pushing and pushing and he’s sure we’ll get there. Even when there’s no hope for it. Look at how long it took him to figure out Natalia was pregnant? I mean how obvious was that? But did he get it? Did he get how perfect Natalia and Olivia were for each other? No, he just kept pushing and pushing. He’s never going to admit things aren’t perfect between us. He’ll just keep slogging along…. Don’t worry, Mom, I’m not going to do anything sudden. But things aren’t right with Frank…they’re just not right. Stable, it’s just not enough.”

Blake walked away and Holly looked worried.

Robansuefarm is the handle of one of Manny and Guiding Light‘s biggest fans following in her family’s footsteps of Guiding Light fandom since 1939. This blog is an effort to make it easy to find Guiding Light and especially Manny online. Check back here for her blog, find fanfic previews and fake WSPR newscasts on her YouTube, find podcasts that look back to old shows and audios of her fanfics on Blog Talk Radio, and finally follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

Bauer BBQ 2018 Episode 2 Part 3 by Robansuefarm

Author’s Note: We continue with the second day of Bauer BBQ.

Scene 18

Molly and Jason were smiling at each other across the backyard off and on all afternoon. Seeing Danny and Ray leave the garage Jason caught Molly’s eye and gestured with his head towards the garage and then headed over to the garage himself. A minute later Molly followed. She stepped through the door into garage and at first she didn’t see anyone. “Jason?” The door partially opened again.

From out of nowhere an arm reached out and grabbed her. Molly gave a sharp intake of breath and then let out a sigh of relief. “Jason,” she smiled, melting into his arms for a kiss.

He led her over to some garbage cans with lids on the far side of the room and sat her down. “Today has been sheer torture, seeing you all day and not being able to tell everyone you’re mine.”

“You know why we can’t. Daddy would freak. He’s still upset about that business with Tom last year. Plus Grandma Hope moving here and still being so obsessed with Grandpa Alan. I don’t want to give him another thing to be upset about. He practically freaked last year when we weren’t doing anything, that would be NOTHING to how he’s going to respond to the news we’re serious.”

Jason reached down and kissed Molly. “You worry too much.”

We see a shot of Blake listening outside. The door opened the rest of the way and in charged Blake. “And you don’t worry enough. What do you think you’re doing? Alan-Michael will go through the roof. Don’t you remember him last year? He was getting ready to knock you out and you both say Jason had barely touched you. He went spare how many times until you broke up….” Molly and Jason looked at Blake and then at each other. “Ohhh, you didn’t break up, did you? You started sneaking around, didn’t you? Of course you did. You’re my son, aren’t you? I really must not have been paying you enough attention if I didn’t see it.”

Michelle came in the door. “Blake, will you keep it down! There’s already too many people in here, we don’t need anymore.”

“You don’t understand, Michelle. These two lovebirds didn’t break up after all…Wait a second. Why aren’t you asking any questions? You’re always full of questions. Did you know about this? And you didn’t tell me? We’re friends, almost step-sisters. You didn’t think I need to know about this?”

“Calm down, Blake.” Danny had followed them inside. He came up behind Michelle and his hands naturally fell on Michelle’s shoulders. “Michelle and I didn’t tell you because they needed a little space so we just gave them some.”

“What do you mean, gave them space?” Blake asked suspiciously.

“We’ve finally gotten the lighthouse with decent security. Locks, keypads, security cameras, the works.”

“So I gave Molly and Jason the code. So they’d have a place to meet where Alan-Michael wouldn’t find out.”

Frank stuck his head in the door, “Have you seen…oh, Blake, here’s where you disappeared to.” Frank gave an accessing scan of the crowd. “What’s going on here?” He came on in.

Blake responded, “Oh nothing, I just found out my son has been lying to me and Michelle and Danny here helped him do it.”

“Surely they’d have a reason?” Frank said wondering if he was right and thinking about the days when helping Michelle started him on the path to trouble way too many times.

“Yes, we did, Frank. Now Blake you KNOW that telling a couple they can’t be together is about the best way to make sure they STAY together. You and me against the world is pretty heady stuff. When you belong together it’s great. Don’t tell me you and Ross wouldn’t have gotten together so quickly if you hadn’t been supposed to say away from each other. But it can push you together when you don’t belong together. I was ready to run away and marry Jesse and what a disaster that would have been. I’d never have found, Danny.” The horror she felt at the thought was evident in Michelle’s voice. Danny pulled her back against him more firmly and squeezed her arms, likewise thinking how awful that would have been.

Blake asked, “So you just gave them a place to have sex?”

“No,” Danny cut in. “We didn’t. Like I said – enough was enough and the lighthouse is completely covered, concealed cameras, the works. Monitored cameras and I told Jason that if I caught them doing anything then I’d show it to you.” Danny smirked. “Nothing cools ardor faster than thinking your mom would see you doing it. They talked, made out a little, but they weren’t sleeping together at least not anywhere inside or outside the lighthouse.”

Michelle added, “Molly is my little cousin. I’m not going to put her in a bad situation, but they had to talk if they were going to figure out whether they were a you and Ross or a me and Jesse.”

“Well, that’s reasonable I guess.” Blake replied slightly mollified.

“No, it isn’t reasonable at all. You’ve been lying to Alan-Michael. Look you know I have had issues with him over the years, but except for that strange year when he and Dylan both broke up with their wives, came to town and acted like they were completely different younger people…”

“Yea, that was really weird.” All the adults shook their heads over that weirdness.

“…except for that year, Alan-Michael has been a good husband to Lucy and a great father to Molly. He deserves to hear the truth. Jason, you should have told him.”

Blake turned on him, “How about Molly? Alan-Michael is HER father not Jason’s. I’ve got this, Frank. Back off!….Jason, let’s find some place we can talk without the audience. And Frank, it is NOT your place to say anything. I’m Jason’s parent, I’ll handle it.”

The others headed out leaving the door open. Michelle turned around in Danny’s arms. “Thank you. You’re always there when I need you.”

Danny reached down and kissed Michelle, “And I always will be, whenever you need me, all my life.”

Michelle quoted one of their favorite movies. “[Even] Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while.” Danny kissed her and deepened the kiss. (See Note)

Scene 19

Jude had run around the house to the front door to come in so no one would see him and he could go upstairs to room and not have to see anyone. When he came into the Bauer living room he found Clarissa rummaging around in the bar. “You just back off, Jude Bauer. What I do is MY business NOT yours! Don’t you say a word!”

“What are you talking about? What are you doing?”

“I’ve had enough. I’m sick of this party. I’m sick of seeing Robbie and Sarah slobbering over each other. I’m sick of people looking at me like they’re feeling sorry for me. I’ve had it with people in general. Whenever all these adults have a problem they break out the wine, well, I’m all for trying it.” Clarissa pointed at Jude. “Don’t you DARE try to stop me or go tell!!!”

“Can I talk now?”

Clarissa blew out her breath. “Sure.”

“Grab a second bottle. That sounds like the best plan I’ve heard all day and I know the perfect place no one will find us. Come on!” Clarissa grabbed the second bottle and carrying both she followed Jude over to the front door and out.

NOTE: The movie quoted above is The Princess Bride. If you haven’t seen go do it right now, I’ll wait.

Robansuefarm is the handle of one of Manny and Guiding Light‘s biggest fans following in her family’s footsteps of Guiding Light fandom since 1939. This blog is an effort to make it easy to find Guiding Light and especially Manny online. Check back here for her blog, find fanfic previews and fake WSPR newscasts on her YouTube, find podcasts that look back to old shows and audios of her fanfics on Blog Talk Radio, and finally follow her on Twitter and Facebook.