"The nighttime sky provided a picturesque evening, like diamonds shimmering a black velvet background. Marian and Stuart laid on a blanket looking up at the heavens. Marian thanked Stuart for making her feel young again. Stuart walked Marian over to a telescope that had been set up and asked her to peer at the stars. Marian looked through the eyepiece and saw Mayor Tutwiller flossing his teeth! After a little realignment, Marian was able to see a pink star "winking" at her. Stuart smiled warmly and told Marian that he'd purchased naming rights to the star---and named it after her.
Gillian raced to the door and let Ryan inside. She prattled on about how something terrible had happened, unaware that Ryan already knew full well what she was talking about. As he turned to face her, Gillian caught sight of his gashed lip. "Your beautiful face! What happened?" Gillian gasped. "Mateo happened," Ryan replied painfully. Ryan sat down on the sofa while Gillian headed to the kitchen to fetch some ice water and a towel. When she returned, she shamefully confessed that she'd been the one who'd tipped Mateo off to Ryan and Hayley's kiss. She explained that she'd been innocently engaged in conversation with Becca when Mateo walked in and heard her referring to a kiss between Ryan and her best friend. Ryan assumed that Mateo had put two and two together. Gillian shook her head and said that Mateo had actually thought that she was talking about Raquel. She told how she'd frantically placed calls around town trying to find him to warn him, but that those calls and her calls to Raquel went unanswered. "I appreciate you trying to warn me," Ryan smiled tenderly. He let Gillian off the hook slightly by telling her that it was his mouth that had caused the trouble---not hers. Gillian said that she wishes she could turn back the clock so that she could have stepped on a nail at the beach and gotten "jock law" before seeing the kiss. Ryan said that it's better that Mateo knows the truth. Speaking freely and not fearing any painful backlash, Gillian asked Ryan for the real reason behind the kiss. Ryan shrugged and stated that he wasn't "seeing clearly" that night. "I was hungry for comfort," he said. "We grabbed the moment." Gillian nodded slightly. "So you used each other." The tone of Gillian's voice showed that she had a deeper understanding of what Ryan was feeling. She said that she felt the same way when she slept with David Hayward. She said that when they were first married she felt as though she and Ryan spoke in different languages. Rya chuckled and mused that they do speak in different languages. "Every night I hoped you'd crawl under the covers with me," she said agonizingly. "The bed was too big and too empty without you." Ryan's face fell. He took Gillian's hands and apologized for having hurt her. He said that until now he had no idea how much she hurt. Ryan buried his head in Gillian's lap and Gillian wrapped her arms around him.
Vanessa waited in the bar area of The Valley Inn before her dinner date with Palmer. She looked curiously at a toothpick before savagely stabbing it into an olive. Donald Steele sauntered up from behind and asked Vanessa why she was so angry. Vanessa was startled to see the writer and asked him when he'd been released from Oak Haven. Donald sneered at Vanessa and told her that he was not amused by her fake concern. Donald told Vanessa that he was in need of some cash. Vanessa smiled politely and reached into her wallet for ten dollars. That was not going to be nearly enough as Donald was looking for money more in the neighborhood of ten thousand dollars. He said that the amount was equal to fifty percent of the advance they'd been given by the publisher planning to print their hatchet job on Erica. Vanessa winced slightly and claimed that she'd had to send back every last penny of the advance because the book was not going to go print. Donald wondered how Vanessa was getting by with no money. "The kindness of strangers," she replied. Almost on cue, Palmer walked up to the table and demanded to know "what possible business... a lowly worm [could have] with Miss Bennett." To Vanessa's surprise, Donald informed Palmer that he was trying to elicit scandalous information about Erica for a new book. He went on to say that Vanessa refused to be a part of a project that would tarnish her good friend's name. Instead, he said that he might use what little he knows to defame both Vanessa and Erica. The headline he suggested was "Society matron and glamour queen shacked up in love nest." Palmer took Vanessa by the hand and escorted her out of the room. After the pair was safely seated in the dining room, Vanessa warned her that people are often judged by the company they keep. Palmer referred to himself as a "surrogate father" to Erica and vowed to take down anyone who even thought of harming Erica. A waiter approached the table and informed Vanessa that an urgent call was waiting for her at the front desk. Vanessa cursed the technology that allowed her to be located. "I hate technology, but I love its pioneers," she gushed sweetly. In the lobby, Vanessa learned that there was no phone call to pick up. Donald strolled up behind Vanessa and crudely remarked that she'd found a "gravy train" pretty fast. Seeing that Vanessa might have her hand in Palmer's wallet, he ordered her to get his money. When asked what would happen if she refused, Donald snarled that he'd make public the pictures Vanessa had stolen from David's office, pictures that showed the scars that were present underneath Erica's bandages. Donald said that he was feeling generous and gave Vanessa twelve hours to come up with the cash. A panicked Vanessa returned to the table and finished her meal. Afterwards, Palmer asked Vanessa to join him for a nightcap. She replied that she'd already had her one drink limit and said that the bar was too crowded anyway. Palmer smiled slightly and asked Vanessa if she'd like to join him in his suite because he was certain that they would not be bothered there.
"I feel like I've lost my soul," Hayley replied softly. She was enraged that Mateo thought lightly of her battle to remain sober. Mateo pointedly asked Hayley if she would have ever told him about the kiss. "Probably not," she replied honestly. She said that she was sorry that Mateo found out about the kiss, but Mateo said that Hayley was only sorry that she got caught. "I made a mistake!" she yelled. "It was better than picking up a bottle." Mateo wasn't so sure. In her time of need, Hayley said that she felt as thought she had "no courage, no wisdom [and] no serenity." Things got very heated when Hayley asserted that Mateo's actions were driving her to drink. Hayley said that a part of her had been happy to see Raquel get squashed under the scaffolding. It wasn't so much a stunning revelation---Hayley's feelings for Raquel have been known for months---as it was a release of pent-up frustration. As for Max, Hayley said that she often wants to "dropkick him into the next county of put him over [her] knee and whack the daylights out of him." Mateo couldn't believe his ears. He had no idea that Hayley hated his son that much. Hayley shook her hear and, her voice cracking, said that she hated herself not Max. Hayley said that kissing Ryan was the only thing she could have done to keep from drowning her sorrows in a bottle of vodka. Listening to Hayley words carefully, Mateo came to the conclusion that while he makes Hayley want to drink, it's Ryan that keeps her sober. This was what Hayley had said, but apparently it wasn't what she meant. "I just kissed him," Hayley responded to the insinuation that she and Ryan had had sex. "It was a test and I passed. Why can't you be happy for me?" Mateo demanded to know why Hayley had turned to Ryan instead of him. He claimed that he always has time for her. Hayley shook her head and muttered that once again Mateo was looming over his son and former wife. That, of course, prompted Mateo to ask Hayley if she wanted him to abandon his son. In their angered states, both overreacted to the other's words. Mateo slowly walked towards Hayley and carefully stroked her hair. Suddenly he grabbed her head and pressed it into his. He forcefully kissed Hayley before pulling away and asking her if that was the way Ryan had kissed her. "You wanted it, didn't you?" Hayley's face turned green. "Go to hell," she snarled. "I wanted you. The only man I've ever wanted is you." She then blasted Mateo's need to be the perfect father as an attempt to live up to his father's saintly image. Hayley asked if there was some way that they could put the kiss behind them and "take what [they] have left and move on." Mateo shook his head. "You made your choice. You and Ryan can go down together," he replied coldly. Mateo turned and walked away. Hayley broke down in tears. Time passed before Hayley left the seclusion of the back room. When she entered the bar, Mateo was still cashing out the register. Again Hayley asked Mateo if they could work things out. Mateo responded by placing two shot glasses on the bar. He then filled one with vodka. He raised the glass into the air in a half-toast before chugging the alcohol. Next, he filled the other and nudged it in Hayley's direction. Hayley shook her head and turned her back to Mateo. Mateo told Hayley that he thinks it would be best if she didn't come around the club any more because it might be hard for her to keep from taking a drink. He then icily informed Hayley that he wanted to buy out her half ownership in the club. Hayley reminded Hayley that the club was their dream. That dream, said Mateo, was dead. "Now get out and don't come back," he growled. Hayley bowed her head and walked out of the club."
- Soap Central
