| At the Outback, Felicia is
in a funk. She tells Tony and Mac that she loves being a mother,
loves her girls, but sometimes she feels like she is missing
something, and then she feels guilty. Just then, as if on cue,
Tom walks in. He wonders if he is interrupting a private conservation.
She tells him, "just a philosophical one."
"Sorry," he replies, "I don't get philosophical
before noon." Tony asks him if he might have some story
to cheer her up. Smiling, "As a matter of fact, I do."
Tom then tells them, imitating Tommy's description of Simone,
Tommy and Justus' camping trip: Tommy loved it, but it
was different for the adults, Justus' ego was bruised, Simone
was glad of an excuse to come home; Tom wistfully says, "Nature
girl she's not.... and never was." Felicia smiles. Tony
changes the subject and asks Tom a personal question, wondering
if he wanted Simone back. "That was direct," Tom says.
Tony tells him he has a personal reason for asking; he wonders
if his heart is still "set on getting your wife back?"
Tom says it definitely. Tony then tells him that from a personal
experience, after a year misery, that he and Bobbie are making
progress [The previous year, whi;e their daughter Barbara Jean
was dying (her heart was transplanted into Maxie, who needed
a transplant) after the school bus accident, Bobbie was having
sex with Damian Smith, resulting in their marital problems].
Tony advices Tom to hang on, because if he really means it,
it could happen to them too. Leaving, Tom tells Felicia to "keep
smiling."
At the hospital, Tom is engrossed in an article, and literally
bumps into Felicia, who is there to visit Stone Cates who has
had a major set back. She wonders what is so interesting, she
looks at the article, and groans, "Tell me you have a comic
book in here!" He tells her that "it is actually fascinating."
With a serious expression, "Do you know who Persephone
is?" She asks if it is the sexy night nurse. He says that's
Stephanie. "How about Eurydice?" She frowns,
"Is this a shrink thing?" "A Greek thing,"
the classical myths, he tells her; he is reading on "The
mother daughter rebirth phenomenon" and he keeps getting
the two confused. She tells him she "cannot keep Maxie
and Georgie straight." He tells her it was "nice running
it to you." She tells him likewise, next time she will
wear knee pads. "Are you here, seeing anyone?" "As
a matter of fact, I am," she walks off. Tom watches,
and seems disappointed by the brush-off.
Later, Felicia is walking down the hallway, looking very sad,
apparently things are not going well for Stone. Tom is on the
phone -- it seems was waiting for her. He stops her and tells
her "I figured it out.... the Greek thing.... mythology."
Sh Preoccupied she walks on; he follows her, talking, both of
them "had trouble in the Underworld." He explains
the Eurydice myth, how she died and her husband Orpheus went
into the Underworld and almost rescued her, but lost her at
the last second. He then tells her about Persephone: She was
the goddess of fertility, Demeter's daughter; Hades loved her
and abducted her to the Underworld; while Demeter searched for
her, the earth was barren; eventually she found Persephone,
but Hades refused to let her, go because she had eaten six pomegranate
seeds, and thus was his; however, since she loved her mother
and Hades loved her, he let her return to her mother for six
months of the year, during those months everything grows and
it is summer. She smiles, "That's beautiful." He tells
her that they are called the Eleusinian mysteries. She wonders
how he became interested. He tells her he was reading an article
on the "mother/daughter dynamic.... how it relates to the
transition from adolescence to adulthood," and it had allusions
to mythology so he read up on it; he adds that Greeks told great
stories, and wrote great dramas, and "it is not surprising
that they were the first to explore the fundamentals of the
human experience. You know, why am I here; why
is this happening to me." "Do you ever wonder why
we don't have much control?", she asks sadly. She goes
on, with her daughters she preserves this idea that
she has control." She finishing her work and chores "it
seems the world is spinning perfectly on its axis." [
video 19
(2
min; 4.6 Meg)] However, when something horrible
happens, "I realize I don't have any control....
and I never did." Tom listens on intently, she continues
"And you know what the worst part of that is.... the world
continues to spin.... undaunted,and unchanged because of tragedy,
and that's a part of life I have such trouble
accepting." Tom remains silent, and emotionally affected,
then sighs. She wonders if she is being foolish, wishing "the
world wasn't so cold." He tells her it is not, what he
saw in Rwanda "tells me that terrible things happen to
people who don't deserve them. And the world does go
on. Despite their suffering, " he adds, maybe more wishful
thinking than certainly, "it has to." "Why,"
Felicia asks, appearing not so sure. He tells her, " I
don't know.... I like to think that the world exists to sustain
life. And....," emotionally, "what is life without
love? Without love we're nothing!" She likes
that. She adds, then you just ignore the "control thing"
and "love the people in your life as long as you have them?"
Tom thinks that is a good way to live, "The problem is
some of us have a little trouble giving up that control thing."
Talking about her situation with Frisco, she adds that some
people are so busy they do not let you love them. Talking about
his situation with Simone, "And some don't want to be loved."
Thinking pensively, he adds that it is all quite sad. She sadly
agrees, and walks off; he watches, equally sad.
Tom and Simone meet at Luke's for dinner. He continues to refuse
the divorce.
Another day, Justus comes to visit Simone at the hospital, he
tells her they have to get tough with Tom. She tells him "Tom
is unable or unwilling to be reasonable."
He tells he he wrote up the papers, she will charge him with
abandonment, he also is suing for her to have sole control of
Tommy, that way Tom cannot use him. He could also demand Tom
be removed from the Brownstone, due to physical intimidation;
plus retroactive child support. She thinks it is a little extreme;
Tom might change his mind. Unless she does not want a divorce,
his suggestions is the only way for Tom to get the message.
Justus goes to Tom's office. [
video 20
(1:30
min; 3.2 Meg)] He tells Tom it will be "short
and sweet," due to his behavior, Simone has taken further
actions against him. "And she sent you to do the
dirty deed!" "The good doctor is charging you with
abandonment." Tom becomes flippant, "`The good
doctor', your lover, my wife, this could get very sticky,
Councilor!" There also will be "sole custody of the
minor male." "Tommy," Tom says, again sarcastically.
"We call him, Tommy, Tom, Jr. after his father!
Couldn't this be construed undo influence by a live-in
lawyer?" Pretending to try to remember the phrase, "What
is it you sleaze-bag ambulance chasers call it.... conflict
of interest!" Justus reminds him that he can get his
own lawyer. Tom asks how much he charges, then corrects himself,
"That's right your sleeping with her!.... No charge."
He tells Tom he will also have to leave the Brownstone. Giving
him the Nazi salute, "Sieg Heil, Councilman! I can hear
those jackboots coming down the hall for me now." Justus
is not impressed with his snarky remarks, but tells him he has
no solutions. Tom tells him neither does he, he is just being
excessive. "My comedic friend, it's just the beginning!"
Tom says he needs to examine his latent hostilities. For now,
he tells Tom, he is just helping Simone get her divorce. Tom
is not scared. What he did and saw was real, as are his feelings
for Simone and Tommy; the papers are all meaningless. He tells
Tom those papers are going to free, and that will give him pleasure.
After he leaves, Tom does not look so sure about himself.
Tom runs into Simone in the hallway, he tells her how her friend
has "so many big words with so many syllables." She
tells him that he left her no choice. Tom tells her they have
so many choices, and continues to be flippant. She wants him
to be reasonable. Smirking, "Maybe I forgot how,"
and so has she. She tells him he continues to refuse the divorce,
and thinks even he thinks it is right. He says, "That is
subjective" for he does not. She cannot understand what
he will gain. "You! Us!" She begs him
to sign. He cannot believe she let Justus get his revenge through
her. She is insulted. He cannot believe she used "our son
as a pawn!" She accuses him of doing that, and it needs
to stop. In a deadly tone, "Emotional violence, outright
manipulation!"; it is ineffectual, "I will not be
kept from my son!"
Felicia is manning the Brownstone lemonade stand. Tom returns
home, but does not see her, she calls him over, telling 25 cents,
for his son's college fund. Tom wonders if it dates him to remember
it being 10 cents. Seeing he is woebegone she gives him one
free. After he drinks it, "Thanks I needed that!"
They gaze at each other. A moment later he tells her this is
the best thing all day. [
video 21
(5
sec; 270K)] He is aghast when he learns it is
not homemade, imitating W. C Fields, "A mix! Sacrilege!
In my day a mix and a gallon of water was all we needed."
He pays her anyway, and for that she gives him a refill. "It
definitely has been a two drink day!" He tells her,
"Simone's lawyer `slash' boyfriend showed up and declared
open season on me," with papers to separate him from Tommy
unless he agreed to the divorce. She does not think that sounds
like Simone. It is not he tells her. She wonders how someone
divorces a family. He does not, and does not want to know, "Am
I a selfish pig?" She tells him he has a right to fight
it, but Simone has a right to ask for it. She tells him it sucks
for both. He tells her, "I survived worse, lemonade helps.
She thinks it cannot be too hard, he only had to spend the day
in an air-conditioned office with "a bunch of neurotic
adults." He is the first person over 3 1/2 feet she has
spoken to. He then tries to drum up business, "DELICIOUS,
MOUTH PUCKERING, CHEMICALLY ENHANCED, LEMONADE!" Tom gets
an idea, taking the pitcher, he runs inside to "adulterated"
it. As she sits on the steps waiting for him, Simone comes home.
She then tells her, "Things are not good between
Tom and me." She tells Simone, "I heard a little about
it." From whom, Simone asks. Just then Tom pops up, "Vodka
Collin's anyone?" He smiles at her and she shakes her head.
He tells her it will bring out a good sweat, but it costs 25
cents. It is their son's turf, tonight they can call a truce,
let the lawyers fight it out. He tells her if she can, he can,
he waves the pitcher. "A potent brew," she tells him.
He says it reminds him of college, and thinking about it maybe
they should not send Tommy. Simone makes a toast, "Only
the hardy survive!" He cannot believe she made a
pun, she hates them. Tony joins them carrying balloons and a
birthday gift bag for his son Lucas. They get him to buy a drink.
As Lucas and Tony talk about his birthday dinner Tom longingly
gazes at Simone. A little later the gang are still drinking
and all in a good mood. This is heaven for Felicia, talking
to "three adults." Tom says he feels mature. Tony
comments on the sticky steps, and Tom goes to get the hose.
Holding the hose, "You know, there are places in the world
where water is like gold. Where people fight and die for water."
He has a sadistic expression, and aims the hose at them. Tony
uses Simone as a shield. He then looks at Felicia and sprays
her, "Dance, Little Sister, dance!" She enjoys it,
and twirls around, letting him drench her. Simone laughs, but
Tony seems not so amused. She tells him it was refreshing. "All
in the name of conservation. "Lend on, MacDuff," he
picks up the stuff from the lemonade stand and follows her to
her apartment. After they leave, Simone sits with a pensive
expression.
Insider, Felicia thinks they should do this again. "What
swell vodka or have a water fight?" He tells her that Simone
and Tony did not seem to approve. He sits on her couch as she
dries herself. She tells him she was glad to see him and Simone
being civil together. "Keep 'em off guard, that's my motto."
Brushing her hair, " must look fetching." Tom watches her
with interest, and maybe even something more. He feels a little
uncomfortable and looks away. She seems to be enjoying herself,
and then also becomes aware, and looks away. Gazing at each
other, she wonders what is wrong. Nothing to his knowledge.
Just then, Simone walks in with the money. Tom looks a little
awkward. Simone asks him to join her and Tommy for dinner. To
Felicia, "I'll see you at the next wet T-shirt contest."
She giggles, "I'll get you back!" Walking out the
door with Simone, he says, "Fair's fair." Felicia
looks a bit confused.
Another day, Simone joins Alan Quartermaine, Bobbie, and nurse
Amy Vining (Laura Spencer's sister) he is looking for his wife
Monica [she has breast cancer and snuck away to a cancer retreat
center and did not tell anyone], Tom shows up angry, holding
a file, he wants to meet her for lunch. When she refuses he
tells her they could always hash it out in front of everyone.
Amy wonders what it is about. He tells them the divorce papers
he was just served. Amy backs off, Simone tells him there is
nothing to discuss. Fuming he tells her she is wrong. A little
later Felicia seats them at a table. Lucy has been eating there
with a Madame Maia, who claims to be a psychic [what she does
not know is that Damian Smith and Katherine Bell, after their
attempts to use Tom failed, hired her to get into Lucy's good
grace's and feed her false information to manipulate her]. She
gets up and sees Tom, who continues to fluster her. She tells
him she still is shocked seeing him pop-up all the time. She
asks Simone how long it took her to get use to it. In a cold
voice, aimed at Tom, she says, "I don't believe I have!"
Noticing the chill in the air, Lucy walks off. He tells Simone,
"I got your message loud and clear. I still
can't believe you're doing this," using Tommy to get the
divorce. She does not care for his tone. He his blown away that
she allowed Justus to do it. He backed her into a corner, she
tells him, and forced her into the decision. This was the last
resort to get him to keep his promise. "Which promise `'Till
death do us part?", he asks. That happened when he took
off in February she reminds him, "Your decision!"
She agreed to him living in the Brownstone if he signed the
papers, and he knows that. He thinks "The whole set-up
is inherently unfair!" He admits to serious mistakes, but
he has also done stuff to make amends, and she has not given
him credit. "Too little; too late!"
Wild eyed and frantic, he accuses her pride getting into the
way "of ruining our marriage!" She is flabbergasted
at his gall, he is the one with the ego. "Read my lips,
Tom, I want a divorce! He continues to try and change her mind.
But she is adamant. "Why does this seem rash to
me?" "Because you came in on the end-game! You were
gone" when she was doubting things. He needs to
get with the real world and stop accusing her, "it is insulting!"
He tells her to go for it all, and the child support, "But
that's like getting blood from the stone," all the millions
he made in Africa. She tells him he can make it easy, all he
has to do is sign the original papers. He says that would be
wrong. She says then she will do whatever it takes. He threatens
her, then she will have to tell their son, "I am not going
to make it easy for you!" He knows Tommy will not be grateful,
"Not now! Not later! Not ever!" If she does
not believe him, "you have a serious case of denial!"
He storms off; she sighs in frustration!"
Simone tells Justus about Tom's defiance, who then calls Tom
for a meeting at The Outback. Felicia jokes as she seats Tom,
to describe his date so she can seat her. He chuckles, he is
meeting Justus, "I'll try to keep it down to a dull roar."
She wonders if he wants to order or wait. "I think I'll
need fortification." [Felicia asks Mac what Kevin is up
to and if he is Mac's client. He is mum. In fact, Kevin is suspicious
of Madame Maia and has hired Mac]. Justus arrives and walks
over to Tom. Felicia tells Mac to "Get out the bandages!"
Mac tells her it will be, "One of those nights." She
says things work out better if she helps. Justus wonders how
to proceed. Tom, "You tell me!" Justus tells him they
know what Simone wants. Tom retorts that he knows what Justus
wants. Justus tells him to leave him out of it. Well, "here
you are!" Justus say he is there as her lawyer and should
be talking to Tom's lawyer. "But it is just a pleasure
to deal with you myself!" "I know your type, Tom....
Your mother dotted on you." As an only child, "You
learned to manipulate women at an early age. That sly smile.
Soulful look. Calculated sincerity." [
video 22A
(1:10
min; 2.7 Meg)] Justus tells him he is not fooled,
all he wants to know is when he will sign the papers. Tom tells
him, "I don't respond well to intimidations and threats!"
Justus says he probably was not spanked as a kid. Tom tells
him no one better spank Tommy. He scuffs at how Tom diverts
the subject. "As far as I am concerned, Tommy is
the topic at hand!" He returned to be a father, and he
is aware of his parental rights. He warns him not to curtail
those rights and expect him to play along. Right on cue that
"calculated sincerity!" He tells Tom had he not been
using Tommy to manipulate Simone, he might believe him. Tom
wonders if he studied Johnny Cochran [O.J.'s lawyer, the trial
was taking place about this time], "If you don't have an
answer, go on the offensive." He thinks this a game for
Tom. Tom, "Try me!" He tells Tom not to worry he is
determined to enforce the papers against him: Remove him from
the Brownstone, give Simone permanent custody of Tommy,
and limit his visitation. "Big, tough
lawyer!" He tells him this is just not a legal move, he
thinks it is what is best for the boy, because there will come
a time when Tommy will realize this attention was just fake
and he was being used, and he will resent him for it. Tom tells
him it he who is running the number on him. This will make Tommy
miserable, and if he is miserable Simone will be miserable.
[
video 22B (1
min; 2.2 Meg)] Tom warns him to be careful, because
if that happens it will be him whom Simone will blame. Justus
accuses him of being "a major control freak." He threatens
Tom with jail for compliance if he continues in this manner.
Then Justus gets nasty, "This is not some refugée
camp in Africa where sick and desperate people
are vulnerable to your type of manipulation, Dr. Hardy!"
Slowly Tom's cocky, assuredness dissolves. Justus' remarks are
emotionally affecting him. Apparently, Justus notices the change
in his expression. "That's it! That's why you stayed over
there so long! You finally found a place where you could
*weld your petty little powers" and "gratify your
overblown ego!" Then he hits Tom with the final blow, he
asks if he likes lording over everyone or "just people
whose skin is darker than yours?!" Tom is horrified, he
cannot control it any longer and snaps, pushing aside the table,
and knocking over everything. Before anything more can happen
Mac jumps in between them. Tom has a wild look in his eyes,
"You shouldn't have said that!" Justus tells
him they will not be meeting again, and to make arrangements
with Lee Baldwin, Tom's uncle who is his lawyer. Justus apologizes
to Mac, throws out his arms smugly at Tom, and walks away. Felicia
walks over. [
video 22C
(1
min; 2.3 Meg)] Tom, muttering and still upset,
tells them he realizes that Justus was trying to irk him, "I
saw the trap coming and fell for it anyway." Felicia offers
him a drink, Tom asks for an iced tea. He apologizes for his
"juvenile display of temper. Trying to control his anger,
"I really dislike Justus Ward!" She leads him to the
bar, and tells him she thinks that it is understandable. [
video 22D
(1:10
min; 2.9 Meg)] He asks if he is wrong, he just
wants to keep his life in tact, and wants to hold out so he
can give his marriage a fighting chance, and maybe Simone will
change her mind. He tells her she probably does not want to
hear all this. Earnestly, "I do!"; she obviously has
come to care for him as a friend.
Justus calls Simone and tells her he bluffed hard about all
the threats, and that he then pushed some of his own buttons,
and that set Tom off; however, he did not tell her all he said
to Tom. Back at The Outback, he tells Felicia, "My wife,
and my child are my field of gravity.... What kept me in the
here-and-now." He continues that Simone is wrong, he did
not leave her in Africa, they both were with him all the time,
maybe even more than had he remained home. "They weren't
just pictures on a wall, they were real," always
with him. Felicia continues to listen intently, and feeling
for him. "They brought me home." Despite Justus' accusations
of manipulation, Tom seems sincere and really troubled as he
talks to her. "Did you ever, ah, wake up from a dream and
that eerie feeling that the dream is more real than reality?"
She slightly nods. "And you lie there slipping back-and-forth
between the two worlds?" He pauses for awhile, he seems
in a very dangerous emotional place. "What if you could
just go to sleep, and dream forever!" Felicia is
concerned for him. He stares at her, and seems to realize he
said too much. He tells her she better get back to work, and
he has to leave. She tries to stop him. He puts out a hand,
"Not to worry! Goodnight!, and then walks off. She is even
more concerned.
The next morning Simone is at the hospital with Tommy, she tells
Bobbie he has to stay at the hospital child care because all
her babysitting options were unavailable, and Tom was not home,
nor did he answer his calls. Bobbie says he has not been at
the hospital either, and wonders where he is. Meanwhile, at
The Outback, Felicia is setting up for the day, when Tom comes
in, his shirt is untucked and unbuttoned, and he looks as if
he had not showered or slept. He realizes she is not open, but
wonders if she has "a cup of coffee for a weary traveler."
She tells him, no problem and seats him at the bar. He tells
her that it is nice to sit. She tells him she tried to get in
touch with him; he says that he did not go home. She knows he
was upset. He rolls his eyes, at the understatement. He tells
her he had to get out last night, he had to think things through
and put a distance between him and Justus. He looks at her.
She admits that she was glad that Mac got between them; he chuckles.
He tells her one day no one will be around, and he cannot wait.
He says that Justus is arrogant, egotistical.... and she adds
involved with "your wife." He tells her he is not
just being jealous. [
video 23A
(2
min; 4.6 Meg)] "Everything I thought was
rock solid is sliding out from underneath." He keeps
getting attacked when he just wants solace. He tells her there
is "just so much mistrust and doubt" he could take,
and he reached that point, and that is why he left, for he feared
he really would turn violent. He tells her he did not want to
run into Simone so he did not return home, he wanted to prevent
himself for saying something to her in front of Tommy, and he
does not need to see them fighting. His parents were not a solution,
his mother is upset over the break-up and his father blames
him. She says she can understand. "You're in the minority!"
She wonders where he went. "I went for a walk"; he
wanted to be alone and could not trust himself to talk to anyone,
"except himself. Hell, I am a shrink! Sooo,
I went for a walk with my shrink. I walked and talked;
talked and walked; the next thing I knew, the sun was rising."
"That's some aerobic program, did it help?" It helped
"clarify a few things. And it...." trying to fight back
his emotions "it helped me boil down the whole mess into
one basic fundamental choice." [
video 23B
(1:25
min; 3.2 Meg)] He tells her that Simone wants
a divorce, him out of the place, custody of Tommy, child support,
he either gives up what he has fought for or allows them to
drag Tommy into the fight. That is "the one thing I swore
I would not do to my son!" She agrees it is tough, Tommy
is in the middle "by virtue of the situation." And
he says, that things will get worse unless someone gives in.
She tells him it is a shame he could just not erase what happened
and continue on from that point. "If only I could!"
She is surprised Simone is not trying to make it less painful.
He blames Justus, and accuses him of convincing her that he
abandoned her. She thinks Simone can see both sides. He disagrees,
by the time he returned Simone saw him as the villain. He asks
if he could make a call and then have a meeting there.
[
video 24 (2:15
min; 5 Meg)] Some time later, Tom is sitting pensively
at the bar, Simone and Justus enter. He hears them but does
not turn around. They both hesitate, and then walk to the bar.
They stop behind him, she calls to him, but still he does not
turn; surprised, "You showed up!" She says "you're
incommunicado all morning," then calls her and tells her
it is urgent they met him, "of course we showed
up!" Tom appears to try to gather courage and tell them
what he wants. Justus asks him what he wants. Tom finally turns
to them. He tells them, "I did alot of thinking in the
last twelve hours--" She wonders what about. Justus, annoyed,
wants Tom to get on with it, "I presume that this thinking
has something to do with the situation between you and Simone?"
"Very swift, Councilor!.... About me, my
wife and our son!" Simone stares at him. He continues,
"About what's best for everyone, especially the
innocent party involved." He tells them their son's
interests are primary, and "therefore I quit!"
He tells her, she wins, he surrenders, he agrees to all the
terms. Simone is stunned to silence, and does not seem happy
to she him so defeated. Even Justus is silent"Shall I say
it another way?" She shakes her head, and all she replies
is, "no." Before she can ask, he tells them his son's
needs are primary, "that's all; that's enough!" Then
he adds, "for me, anyway!" With that he walks
off. A little later, the two talk to Felicia about Tom's decision.
Felicia is glad for them. She then asks about Tom at the Brownstone;
she does not think it is smart to further separate Tommy from
his father, from personal experience she knows. She adds that
she just might be "envious of the situation." Justus
is surprised. She explains that Frisco goes and comes, she can
understand, but Maxie cannot, no matter how much they explain
it to her. In her situation, despite what was happening between
her and Frisco, she would want him there for their daughters.
Later, Simone tells him she believes in Tom's sincerity, and
thinks Felicia is right, it would be better if Tom remained.
She also thinks that they could work on some of the other demands;
they got what they wanted, the divorce, and easing up is only
just. He does not seem to agree, but does not contradict her.
|
