"Opal entertained Belinda, Alice, and Adrian at Cortlandt Manor. The purpose was for Alice to get to meet Tad and Dixie. Adrian, however, looked as though he'd rather have been anywhere but at the gathering. On several occasions he snubbed Opal's hospitality although he stopped short of actually making any blatantly negative comments. Tad and Dixie arrived albeit thirty minutes or so late. By the time they did arrive, the uneasiness in the air was growing exponentially every minute. Dixie immediately invited Alice to her wedding. Alice glanced in Adrian's direction and numbly mentioned that she'd probably be heading back home before the wedding. Tad could tell that something was amiss; his fears were confirmed when Adrian brushed off Alice's remarks about looking forward to his wedding day. Tad pulled Adrian aside and asked to speak to him in private. Opal was fearful that the two men would get into an altercation and tried to separate them with talk of eating dinner. Tad looked at his mother and told her that he and Adrian needed to talk. The four women were left in the parlor to nervously contemplate with the two brothers were up to. Tad scolded Adrian for acting like a spoiled brat. He knew that it was difficult for him to have Alice and Opal together, but he urged him to at least attempt to "put on a happy face." Adrian conceded that his behavior was slightly out of line and asked Tad had he could do to make things better. "I never thought I'd ask," Tad said with a slight smile. He asked Adrian if he'd like to be an usher at his wedding. Adrian commented that Tad was very lucky to have a woman like Dixie. Perhaps, he teased, too lucky. The two men shook hands to seal their deal after which Tad warned Adrian that he'd better not do anything to foul up his big day. Upon returning to the room, Belinda and Tad pulled their respective gentlemen suitors aside and asked for the details of their tete-a-tete. Tad informed Dixie that all went well. All Adrian needed, he said, was some advice from his "older, wiser, better looking" brother. Adrian, meanwhile, asked Belinda if she needed an escort to the wedding. Tad announced that Adrian had accepted his offer to be an usher at the wedding. Opal was overjoyed and raced to give her sons an embrace. With Adrian planning to be in attendance, Dixie once again asked Alice if she'd like to attend. Alice was still worried that she'd be imposing. Adrian, who'd been cold to the idea previously, sat next to her and told her that it would mean a lot to him if she'd go to the wedding.
Gillian looked up at Ryan with optimistic eyes. "I'm here to see if Raquel was telling the truth," said Ryan when asked if he'd dropped by to see if she'd signed the divorce papers. "She told me you only filed for a divorce to make me happy." Gillian rose from the chair as she slammed Raquel for repeating what she'd been told in confidence. Ryan perked up when he learned that Raquel might have been telling the truth. From there things went downhill. Gillian correctly determined that Ryan had stopped by the hospital because he still cared about her. Why else would he care whether or not she signed the divorce papers. That assumption caused Gillian to take a very big step forward. Tears welling in her eyes, Gillian begged Ryan to tell her to "make confetti [out of] these stupid papers." Her request was flatly denied. Ryan told Gillian that he'd like nothing more than to be able to bring a smile to her face by telling her to shred the papers. "It would be wrong," he explained using a phrase he's used in nearly every conversation that he's had with Gillian in recent weeks. He went on to say that he was unsure that he could ever make Gillian happy because he didn't have good role models in his parents. Sooner her later, he prophesized, they would hurt each other again. Gillian was devastated. Ryan had given her no hope for reconciliation. Gillian removed her wedding ring from her finger and angrily threw it on the ground.
Adam placed a phone call to Erica's house, but there was no answer. He grumbled repeatedly about Erica's need to have voice mail. In Liza's room, Liza and Jake fawned over baby Colby. Adam was still in a foul mood from not being able to reach Erica and he took that out on Jake, grousing that he should leave the baby alone so that she can get some sleep. Jake vowed that not even Adam would spoil his good mood. After Jake left, Liza gently chided Adam for giving Jake a hard time. She assured him that Jake was not going to interfere in their happiness. In fact, Liza thought that they had just about everything that they'd ever wanted. Adam agreed---but that was what bothered him. Everything was just a little too perfect. He told Liza that he's fearful that he might lose her, but he never mentioned why he was thinking about another split. Liza assured Adam that nothing would ever separate them. "This baby," she beamed, "makes us an honest to God family." Still smiling she added, "You're stuck with me, buster!" Adam brought up the topic of marriage, but the idea was quickly shelved. Liza said that she did not want to cast a shadow on Tad and Dixie's wedding. Once they were married---again---Liza promised that their wedding would not be far behind.
Liza took a stroll a little while later and found Ryan sitting in the solarium. The usually strong, silent guy she knew was on the verge of tears. Liza knew that Gillian must have done something to hurt Ryan. Ryan, however, said that he was the one who'd loused things up this time. He told Liza that he and Gillian were through and kicked himself for constantly inflicting pain of her. Liza used her relationship with Adam as an example to show Ryan that anything was possible. She urged him to try to make things work with Gillian, saying that love would turn him into a new man.
Jake found Gillian wandering the halls. He pulled her aside and told her that he'd like her to meet Colby. Gillian was a little fearful about meeting the little girl, but reluctantly agreed. Once she was in the room, she got a chance to hold the baby. Gillian's frown faded away as she gently played with Colby's tiny hands. She thanked Jake for lifting her spirits. Jake nodded and said that he felt it was his duty to make Gillian smile again. Seemingly out of nowhere, he invited her to be his guest at Tad and Dixie's wedding. Gillian had to think about it for a few minutes, but she ultimately accepted the offer.... just as Ryan happened to be walking past the doorway.
Whapping David on the head with a mirror came as a surprise---even to Erica. She trembled slightly before crouching down beside David to check for a pulse. Thankfully, David was not dead. Erica's reaction, though, was not what you'd expect. She forcefully shook the doctor's limp body and began shouting insults at him. "Wake up!" she hollered. "How could you go unconscious? I'm not through with you yet!" Erica hoped that roughing David up would give her another chance to inflict some more punishment. Again her plans took an unexpected detour. Jack's voice called out to her from downstairs. Erica looked up like a deer caught in a car's headlights. Downstairs, Jack searched the ground floor and found no sign of Erica. He was just about to place a call to the police when she wandered downstairs. Erica claimed that she'd been taking a bath. Jack, however, found that odd because it was unlike Erica to leave the door unlocked and the security system unarmed if she was in the bathtub. Erica babbled on about having a "revelation" about the car accident. Several times she mentioned that she was sure what she was going to do with her sudden enlightenment. Jack was puzzled by Erica's behavior, but he became even more suspicious when Vanessa stormed into the house. Vanessa was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. She claimed that she desperately needed some of her pills---which she believed she'd left in Erica's dressing room. Erica panicked and offered to get the pills for Vanessa, but Vanessa insisted that she'd get them herself. The dressing room, of course, was the room where Erica had clobbered Vanessa's son. Vanessa entered the room and found her pills just where she remembered leaving them. The only thing cluttering the floor was a stray bath towel. Vanessa bent over, picked up the towel, and tossed it into the laundry chute. Back downstairs, Erica told Jack that she wasn't up to anything as he'd been asserting. Erica finally did manage to get rid of her former lover, but not without going to great lengths. She forced a smile and agreed to Jack's request to be friends. Vanessa returned to the room after Jack was gone and told Erica the details of why she was so flustered. Vanessa told Erica that Janet had accused her of tipping Jerry Reeves about Erica's appearance at Sounds of Salsa. Erica paid Vanessa little mind. She listened intently as Vanessa spouted her fears that an "unstable" Janet might be playing with the numbers at Enchantment. She offered to get one of her buddies from New York to look over the books. When a phone call from Adam rang through, Erica again needed to get rid of a visitor. She forced yet another smile and told Vanessa to run along to Enchantment so that she could gather up all of the expense logs. From there, she said, Vanessa would be able to call her friend and keep an eye on Janet all at the same time. It was obvious from Erica's choice of words that she did not believe that Janet was capable of bilking the cosmetic company out of so much as a penny. Erica listened for several seconds as Adam asked her what happened after he'd left. Erica wasn't in the mood to hear Adam complained and snapped that he wasn't "the only one having a bad day." In true Erica style, Erica decided that Adam could wait to hear what she'd decided to do. She placed the phone down on the desk and muttered aloud about needing a glass of champagne. She then looked up towards the ceiling and rolled her eyes. "Oh alright, mother," she mumbled. "I won't drink. I'll have tea." It takes at least several minutes to make a cup of tea, but Adam was still yapping on the other end of the line when Erica returned. She seemed surprised that he was still on the line. Adam asked Erica if David was on his way to the hospital to spill the beans to Liza. Again Erica grew weary from Adam's demands and questions. She hung up the phone and returned to her "more pressing problems." She wandered into the laundry room and looked down at the floor. There, David was sprawled out and still unconscious."
- Soap Central
