Episode 45, originally published 03-Jun-97

Prying Eyes

Grace is going through the classifieds and Tony is pacing around the room talking to her about the Cassie Problem. Apparently, Cassie is bored with this and has gone to sleep early. (Or is the malnutrition of eating only cookies and donuts finally catching up with her and is she unable to make it through the day without frequent naps?) Suddenly, Grace stands up and says "Tony, I can't take this any more, I'm going out to look for work. Watch the kid!" Tony calls after her, "Wait! I'm not going to--" but she has timed it so that her exit happens at a point in his pacing where he's farthest from the door and she's well ahead of him in leaving. Realizing he can't just leave Cassie alone, he stops and sighs. "Damn!" he says as he closes the door behind Grace. "I have things to do, too, Grace," he says in a conversational tone apparently for the audience's benefit.

Sharon is sitting around in her living room with Mary Williams, who is teaching her to knit. Sharon has knitted two objects of varying shapes and sizes that we vaguely recognize as booties. She holds one up for Mary to look at. "How's this?" she says with her teeth gritted as if prepared to be scolded. "That's--that's a very good try, Sharon. Keep at it--you'll get better." As she says this, she knits an entire new bootie perfectly and throws it onto what we now realize is a mountain of booties that Mary must have knitted just in this session. "You may not be knitting them very quickly, but at least you have a little one who can use them!" Mary laments. "If only Christine would..." "Now, Mary, you promised you'd help me with my knitting--" "If only you'd help me stop harping on how my daughter-in-law is breaking her poor grandmother's heart. Thank you, Sharon." Sharon smiles agreeably as we hear a knock at the door.

"Tony! Oh, and Cassie! Come in, come in!" Sharon says. "This is Mary Williams, from the local church," Sharon says. "She's helping me learn to knit." "Oh, I would love to learn how to knit!" Cassie says, running over to see. "Could you teach me?" "Why certainly!" Mary says, quickly sizing the young girl up for a sweater. "Can I fix you some lemonade?" Sharon asks Tony. "No, actually, I can't stay," Tony says in a kind of hushed tone that indicates he needs to talk to Sharon alone. She looks to Cassie and Mary, who seem busy with each other, and nods to Tony to move back to the porch. "What's up, Tony?" she asks. As he starts to back outside, Nikki is coming along the path but sees the two of them and decides to take up a post behind one of those big bushes that hid Tony so well at the Memorial Day party.

"You want me to watch Cassie for a little while? You know that's no problem, Tony. Why the long face?" Sharon asks. "Well, I need to ask something a little more of you than that." Sharon looks surprised but doesn't say anything. "It's about Grace and, well, you know she's having trouble supporting Cassie and she's been avoiding approaching you about this, but..." "Doesn't she have that job at Jabot that Nick got her?" "Well, she left it when she went out of town and--" "Oh, right, and since then Nick's gone so probably no one has been excited about holding it open for her." "Something like that, I guess," Tony says. "But, Sharon, it's more than that. Grace is in no position to be raising a kid and--well, I don't know how to tell you this so I'm just going to say it: it's your kid, Sharon."

Grace is at Crimson Lights. "Just coffee, thanks," she tells Jay. "Not a double chino with everything?" he asks, dismayed at the sudden loss of business. "Nope, money's getting way too tight for that, I'm afraid. Thanks for asking, though." "Money problems, huh? I may have just the thing for you," he says with a grin. "Really?" she says, perking up. "What? I'm desperate, Jay--I'll do just about anything." "Well, I know this escort service," Jay starts to say. Grace gives him a double-take. "Ew. You think I'd be a prostitute?" "Well, it's not quite like that--it's just going out with guys and spending time with them--you don't have to do anything you don't want. And it pays big bucks. Really big bucks." Grace looks like she's considering it.

"She's MY little girl?" Sharon repeats back to Tony incredulously. "You mean you're just abandoning her?" "No, no, I mean she's yours. You remember you had to give up your child a few years ago and--" Sharon goes into shock that Tony knows this. "Tony, I can't believe you're doing this to me!" Sharon says. "If you want me to take Cassie to watch her, you don't have to make up a big story about her. That's a very personal story you're referring to and I don't appreciate your trying to guilt trip me with that as leverage." "It's no joke, Sharon. I wish it were. When you were going to lose your child, Grace went on this quest to find your little girl--and she did. But then your child didn't die and--" "And what--and she felt two kids was too good for me? She wanted to keep one for herself?" "No, Sharon, it was nothing like that--once Noah survived, she thought you wouldn't want the other one." "She what?? Tony, that is the outright stupidest thing I have ever heard in my life. Tell me Grace didn't really say that." "She's said it every day for weeks, Sharon." Sharon looks like she's about to flip out. "Look, Sharon, can we talk about this some more later--I really have to run." Sharon looks back in and sees Cassie, who is now dressed in a matching sweater and hat that Mary has knitted for her. "Ok, Tony, to be continued. But bring Grace, ok?--I want to have a little chat with her..."

Nikki walks up after Tony leaves. Sharon doesn't notice her at first, and almost jumps when she does. "Nikki!" she says, slightly startled. "I'm afraid I overheard what Tony was saying to you there," Nikki says. "You don't really believe that story, do you?" "Why shouldn't I?" Sharon says. "Well, don't you think it's just a little too convenient--your friend finds herself taking care of a relative's child. Unable to shoulder the responsibility, she looks around for someone to take over the responsibility--someone financially set, so that she doesn't have to live up to her end of a family bargain, and so her child can grow up to be a Newman princess...?" "Well, Nikki, I don't know--I mean--I guess we could go get a maternity test done." Nikki frowns, as if months of joy in rejecting the kid on the basis of nothing more than speculation has been stolen from her. "Yes, I suppose. Of course, a good mother wouldn't need that kind of testing--a good mother would just know." "You're right, Nikki. The child is mine. I just know." Nikki breathes a sigh of relief that we aren't going to go the reliable way. "Well, suit yourself," Nikki says. "But you're making a mistake!" she says in her usual happily meddling way as she heads back to the main house.

Later that evening, Trish is meeting Ryan at Crimson Lights. "I had a new idea," Trish says to him. "How about if we just be pals?" "`Pals'?" he says, not hot on the idea of any relationship that doesn't involve frequent pawing. "Yeah, `pals'," she confirms. "And I suppose you think if we kiss it won't mean anything?" "That's right," she says. "Wanna see?" Before he can answer, she leans over to the next table where Nick is apparently waiting for Sharon and looking impatiently at his watch. "Can I borrow your lips?" she says to Nick. "Yeah, sure," says Nick. "But you have to give them right back because my wife is due here any minute," Nick says. Trish plants a big kiss on Nick. "Thanks," she says to him. "Any time," Nick says, in a cross between dumbfounded and obliging. Ryan rolls his eyes. "Didn't mean anything," she says. "Not convinced?" she asks mischievously. Kurt walks in the door and Trish grabs him and pulls him over her lap kissing him. Out of nowhere, Ashley appears and says, "That doesn't mean anything--he'll kiss anyone. You have to kiss him three more times to even be out in front." Trish looks perplexed at Ashley and pushes Kurt back toward her. "Well, you get the idea," Trish says. "Ok," says Ryan. "Pals it is. I want one of those non-committal kisses." "I'd ask for at least two," Ashley says, turning back from the next table. "Otherwise, you're still behind..."

Victor is on the phone and has asked Diane for dinner but she's sounding iffy. "It's a very important dinner I've set up--I need you to meet some of the others at Newman Enterprises to talk about the new building--you can't let me down now," he says. Reluctantly, she agrees. "Ahright, then. I'll pick you up at your office in just a few minutes--be ready, ahright?" As he hangs up, Keith Dennison enters. "Victor? You called?" "Keith--I want you to join me for dinner, ahright? I have a few things I need to discuss with you." "But I already told Jill, I--" "Well, cancel it, ok? This is important. I'll handle all the arrangements. Don't worry."

Kurt, disgusted by all of this, has regained his composure and moved to a table in the back of the room by himself. Apparently it was not Ashley he's here to meet. Vinnie [see episode 26] sits down. "Kurt the K!" Vinnie says. "Hello, Vinnie." "I've heard you've started to put the old knife back into action," Vinnie says. Kurt nods agreeably. "Looks like it's all coming into place." "So what's the scam, Kurt?" "Scam?" "Kurt, Kurt, this is Vinnie you're talking to." Kurt laughs. "I thought I might fool you into thinking I've gone straight--everyone in town seems to be falling over backward to believe I have," Kurt says smiling. "So what's the angle with the new med clinic?" Vinnie asks. "Lots of poorly documented people down in that part of town--I'm working with almost no equipment, but I can charge real money back to the government and--you'll love what the margin's going to be. But I need someone with some connections to process some of the money and documents going in and out." "Kurt! Say no more, Vin's here and it's as good as done. I'll check in with ya later--right now, I've got other business to do, ya know?"

As Kurt nods and gets up to leave, Vinnie moves outside and finds Grace waiting nervously but dressed very fancily. Jay introduces them and ducks quickly out. "You look great, doll. Just relax--it'll be great. Strictly on the up and up, ya know what I mean. You're gonna do fine. Oh look, here's the party now." A limousine drives up and the door opens. Inside are Victor, Diane, and Keith. Grace enters and nervously takes her place next to Keith. Victor recognizes her too late. "Well, this is going to be an interesting evening, now isn't it," he says to Grace. "Yes it is," says Grace recognizing Diane as Jack's fiancee. "A very interesting evening."

"I dunno, Kurt," Vinnie protests over his cell phone. "It used to be just the two of us--we know each other, we trust each other--like family, capiche?. I feel uneasy we're scamming Medicare and Medicaid and we got someone doing books that could--you know, spill the beans." "Vinnie, she's blind, for God's sake" "Blind? You mean like she can't see what's written on the papers?" "That's right. And what was I to do? She volunteered and--" "No, suddenly I'm warming to this. This is perfect," Vinnie says. "You did right. Who's gonna question a blind woman. It's a great cover. And what she don't know can't hurt her, right? Kinda gives new meaning to the old phrase ``robbing 'em blind,'' don't ya think?" Vinnie asks chuckling.

As Grace is getting into the limo for Victor's little party, Ryan and Trish are just walking out of Crimson Lights together. Through the early evening gloom, Ryan can see clearly into the vehicle even though Keith cannot see out. "Will you look at that," Ryan says to Trish, pointing at the limo. Trish's jaw drops. "That looks like my father," she says. "Who's that woman he's with--it doesn't look like Jill," Trish says. "No," Ryan says, "it does not. It looks like Grace Turner, that research assistant we had in marketing for a while." "What do you suppose it means?" Trish says. Ryan is ahead of her, waving down a passing taxi, and she almost thinks he wasn't paying attention until he finally turns back to her and says, "It means that your dad suddenly has a lot more reason to be our friend and--" "And what?" she says with a twinkle in her eye. He nudges her into the waiting cab and slides in after her. "Driver, could you take me and my ex-pal here to the Genoa City Hotel, please?" The driver nods and says "Sure thing. Just sit back and enjoy the ride." "Oh, I plan to," Ryan says. "I definitely plan to."

That's all for this episode. Hope you learned something. Don't miss Episode 46!
If you missed any older episodes, see the index.

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