Episode 108, originally published 29-Aug-98

Threw and Through

The phone rings at the main house of the Newman ranch. Nick, who is pacing around in the living room, calls out: "Miguel, can you get that?" But the phone continues to ring and so he finally answers it. "Hello?" "Oh, good," comes the voice of Neil at the other end, amidst some crackles of static. "I was afraid no one would answer," he adds. "Neil? Is that you? It's not a very good connection, should I call you back?" Nick asks. The scene cuts to show Neil standing at a pay phone. "No, listen," Neil says, "I'm looking for Vikki. Is she around?" "I think she went down to the tack room to talk to Cole. Do you want me to forward you down to there or take a message?" "Nah, that's all right. Just tell her I have to get in touch with her right away." "Sure, I'll tell her," Nick says, hanging up the phone just as Victor enters. "Who was that?" Victor asks. "Neil Winters, looking for Vikki." Victor frowns. "I just don't understand that man," he mumbles. "What's to understand?" Nick asks. "He loves my sister." "Do you know Neil Winters has resigned from Newman Enterprises?" Victor asks. "Resigned? Why?" "Well, he didn't say why. He just said it was necessary."

Jim Bradley is home with Ruth all suited up in his new guard uniform and getting ready to go out. "I don't like this," Ruth says. "What? That I have a job?" "It's not that," she explains. "I just have this strong feeling you're walking into something that one day you won't be coming home from." "Oh, that's ridiculous," he assures her. "I'll be fine." Just then there's a honking horn outside. "That must be the security chief--he's giving me a ride in," Jim explains. They kiss quickly and he rushes out the door.

"Dad, what do you think of Neil and Vikki dating?" Nick asks. "Well, I worry, you know, that maybe he is being a little forward with my daughter," Victor admits. "Have you told Vikki that?" "Of course I have." "And?" "She always wants to know why I think that," Victor says. "And what do you tell her?" "My, you are full of questions today, aren't you? Well, I used to say the situation made me uncomfortable." "Uncomfortable? Why? Because he works with Vikki or because he was black?" "I don't want to talk about it, ok?" "But why?" "Because I can't say the situation makes me uncomfortable any more." "Oh, I see. You're finally getting used to it," Nick says with an understanding nod. "No, m'boy, you do not see. The reason I can no longer say the situation makes me uncomfortable is that now that Neil no longer works for us, it would no longer be ambiguous for me to say the situation makes me uncomfortable. People would know what I meant."

Nikki enters to find Nick and Victor talking. "What are you two talking about so seriously?" she asks. "Dad was just saying how he'd like to hire Neil Winters back." "He left Newman Enterprises?" Victor nods. "Mom," Nick says, "what do YOU think about Vikki and Neil dating?" "Well," says Nikki thoughtfully, "I guess I can't say the situation makes me terribly uncomfortable..." Just then, Vikki enters and interrupts them. "There you are," she blurts out. "Have you seen Miguel?" "He wasn't here to answer the phone when it rang a minute ago," Nick says. "I think he's down at the stables cleaning up Veronica's dead body." "Oh, I heard about that on the news," Vikki says, "Mom, are you ok?" "I'm fine, honey," Nikki assures her. "But the stables are a mess, so Miguel's putting in a little overtime getting them cleaned up." "Mother, tell me you didn't really make Miguel clean up after Dad murdered his girlfriend." "Now see here," Victor chimes in, "it wasn't murder, it was self-defense." "And anyway," Nikki adds, "I'm sure whatever plans he had for the evening were cancelled anyway, so it's not like it's cramping his social life to put in a few hours getting things cleaned up in time for me to go riding later."

"Hey, look at this," Ryan says to Trisha. "It's a letter from my son." She hugs him and says, "See, I knew he'd write to you." Ryan rips it open and reads aloud:

Dear Dad,
I'm sorry I've been so mean about Trisha lately. I promise I've reformed. It was mean of me and I now regret it. My friends here at camp have convinced me she's great. In fact, I've never had so many friends. It's great. By the way, they want to know if Trisha could send more pictures. They also say they're willing to come over and help her find the top to that bathing suit. Maybe when I get back we can go fishing, just the two of us... or you can come along, too, if you want. Meanwhile, I'll be thinking about you too.
Love, Phillip

Down at the stables, Miguel has a rag and a bottle of spray cleaner and is scrubbing blood spots from the stable floor. Finally he puts them down and goes to Veronica, gently pulling the hook from her dress and pulling out a small bottle of seltzer water from his pocket to pour on the blood-soaked parts of her dress before the stain sets. Just then, Veronica blinks and Miguel, startled, drops her head onto the floor. "Ouch!" she says. Then she looks around worriedly. "Are they gone?" she asks. "Yes, they left me to clean up the mess," Miguel says. "Veronica, mi amor, you're alive!" "Of course I'm alive. Do you think Nikki's the only one around here that's smart enough to wear bulletproof clothing? Why do you think I've been fussing so much lately about what outfit you wanted me to change into? It had to hide my vest." "But the blood..." Miguel says. She looks down. "Stage blood. If I did get shot, I didn't want them to think it didn't work. I never imagined someone would try to stab me with a hook, but the vest worked just the same." Miguel doesn't know what to do, so he kisses her passionately.

Just then, the phone rings. "That's probably Neil again." "Neil called?" Vikki says excitedly. "What did he want?" "I don't know," Nick says, "Answer it. Maybe you'll find out." She picks up the phone. "Hello?" "Vikki!" says Neil. "Am I ever glad to hear your voice." "Neil, what's going on? Why is this connection so bad." "Never mind that. I need a loan." "A loan?" "Just a short term one." "Sure, how much?" "Eighty thousand dollars," he says in a matter-of-fact tone. "Eighty thousand dollars??" she repeats, not quite so calmly. "It's just until Monday." "Monday?" "Look, I'll explain everything when I see you." "Well, Neil I--" "Listen, Vik, I gotta go. I'll be in touch, ok? I love you." "Neil, I--" she repeats. But he has hung up. "What was that about eighty thousand dollars?" Nick asks. "Neil says he needs a short term loan." "How does he plan to pay back such a loan?" Victor asks. "I don't know. But Neil's a high-powered exec. I'm sure he can manage it," Victoria says. "Not any more he's not," Victor says. "You fired him?" Victoria says with alarm. "No, your father did not fire him," Nikki says. "He just quit," Victor adds. "Quit? Why would he do that?" Victoria asks. "I think he was trying to force Mom and Dad into admitting why they were uncomfortable with him and you." Victoria looks quizzically at each of them. "You're uncomfortable with him?" Victor and Nikki look at each other. "I can't really say we're uncomfortable..." Victor says. "What your father means is--" Nikki starts to say. "Never mind, Mother. I know exactly what he means. I'm going to my room." And she storms out.

As Jim Bradley and the security chief enter a room marked "Security - Do Not Enter", several other guards snap to attention and salute crisply. "Everything in order?" asks the chief as his eyes scan the various video monitors that are watching the building. "Yes, sir!" responds one of the guards. "Good," responds the commander, who then leaves. The guards remain at attention. "He's gone," Jim says. "You can relax." "No, sir," says one of the other guards. "Protocol doesn't permit it, sir," says another. Jim takes a deep breath and sighs. In a voiceover, we hear him saying "No one told me this place was going to be so darned formal." He goes to the end of the line and stands expectantly at attention with the others.

Veronica and Miguel are still kissing. Suddenly, Veronica pushes Miguel back. "Wait," she says, "I tried to murder your employer--you aren't worried about that?" Miguel blinks. "Are you kidding? Do you know how many times I've thought about doing the same thing myself? Especially when she asks me to prepare a party on short notice all the time! I'm just glad you're all right, my love." "There's just one problem," Veronica says. "What's that?" "Everyone thinks I'm dead." "That's no problem," Miguel says. "I'll just tell them I buried you. They will respect my privacy. You can come and live with me in the servants quarters." "But what about the guards? There are security people all around, or so I've been told." "Don't worry," Miguel says. "I don't think there were ever really any here. You notice they didn't call them to come rescue Nikki when they figured out what was going on. They probably just said there were security people to scare you." Veronica nods. "And you don't mind if I stay with you? Or that one day I might still murder your employer?" Miguel shakes his head. "Mi casa es tu casa," he says with a smile. "Just don't poison them." "No? Why?" "I have a reputation as a gourmet chef to uphold," Miguel explains. "Miguel, you're incredible." He blushes and says, "Now climb aboard." "Aboard? Aboard what?" "Climb into my arms," he says. "I have to carry you across the threshold to my quarters." "Oh, Miguel. You're so romantic. I don't know what I ever saw in Joshua." "I thought it was he who saw in you," Miguels notes. "Wasn't HE the gynecologist?"

"Poor Miguel," Nikki says, as she looks out the window and sees him carrying Veronica across the field. Victor follows her gaze out the window. "What do you mean, poor Miguel? The man is paid quite well." "No, I just mean having his true love get killed that way. But then, if he were up here answering the phone when he should be, maybe he wouldn't have time to be falling in love with murderous tramps and hookers like that Veronica person." "Actually, Mom," Nick observes, "Veronica was a hookEE. Dad gave her the hook. Dad was the hookER." "Nicholas Newman!" Nikki says with some alarm. "Don't you EVER speak that way about your father that way!"

It's later in the day. Vikki is in her room when the phone rings. "Hello?" "It's Neil," comes the reply. "Neil, where ARE you? At least this is a better connection. When you called earlier today, you sounded like you were calling from half way around the world." "I was. I was in Hawaii. But I'm back now--on the continent I mean. I've taken a Concorde to Connecticut." "Connecticut? What are you doing there? Dad says you quit Newman Enterprises? Why would you do such a thing?" "I did it for you," Neil says. "People were uncomfortable with you and me being together on account of we work together." "Neil, I don't think that's what they were uncomfortable about."

Jim Bradley has been standing for a while with the security guards at attention. "Is something going to happen?" he asks. "I don't understand the question, sir," says a female guard. "Why do you keep calling me `sir'?" he asks. "Because you're a senior officer, sir," she replies. Jim points to his rank insignia, which apparently indicates this is wrong. "I'm the same rank as you all," he protests. "Permission to speak freely, sir?" asks one of the male guards. "You don't need my permission for that," Jim says. "Just speak." "Well, sir," the man says, "we know what you're up to. You're in disguise, but we still know." "Disguise? What ARE you talking about?" The same woman guard speaks again: "You did an excellent job of covering, sir. But we ran the obligatory fingerprint check and that told us what we need to know. You're Commander Carl Williams from the Genoa City Police department. We assume you're here undercover to check us out." "I am who?" Jim/Carl asks, stunned by the claim. "Commander Carl Williams," she repeats. "Williams. Williams," he mutters under his breath. "It's a very familiar name, now that you mention it. My God! My memory is coming back. Uh, if you all will excuse me, I have a phone call to make."

Victoria and Neil are still on the phone. "Well, it doesn't matter if they're uncomfortable or not," Neil says to Victoria. "Soon we'll be married and--" "Married? I haven't said I would marry you. And what's this about money you need? How are you going to pay me back if you're not employed?" "What makes you think I'll need to pay you back?" Neil asks. "You said just until Monday." "Right. Well, on Monday we'll be married." "Monday? Neil, I--" "It's all set. I'm just checking out the university." "University?" "Yale. I enrolled our kids in graduate school." "Kids? Graduate school? Neil, we don't have any kids ... and graduate school is expensive. Is that what you wanted the eighty thousand dollars for?" "Relax. No. They say we don't have to pay for the tuition for several months yet. The money's for the house." "What house? Does this have something to do with Hawaii?" Neil sighs. "Well, it's probably spoiling the surprise, but I've booked rooms in Hawaii. I just got back from checking out the hotel. And no, the money has nothing to do with Hawaii--I put that on my credit card and I'll worry about that next month after we're married and I have access to your family fortune. But the eighty thousand they wouldn't let me charge. That's the downpayment on our house here in L.A." "L.A.?" "Where you're going to be running that office." "Neil, I canceled that trip months ago. I told you that." "You did? I must have forgotten. Well, you'll have to uncancel it because that's where I bought us a house." "But you don't even work for Newman Enterprises." "Right. And that's the beauty of it. It means I can just pick up and move whenever you want to move, like here to LA. So here I am. The house is bought and on Monday we'll be married. The honeymoon suite is booked. And our kids, all six of them, are enrolled in school. All that remains is for you to show up and say `I do'." There is silence on the line. "Vikki? Vikki?" The camera turns back to her room, where the phone is sitting in the trash can and Vikki is rushing down the hallway. "Mom? Dad?" she calls. "You were right. Neil's being too forward with me!"

Trisha is with Meg in their living room. "So I don't understand," she says to Meg. "Why are you home alone? I thought you'd be here with Alec." "We broke up," Meg admits. "But I thought you liked Alec," Trisha says, confused. "Yeah, well--I just couldn't deal. Alec wanted to move the relationship to the next level." "Sex," Trisha says, suddenly understanding. Megan nods. "But I wasn't ready. And I told him. I said, `I can't move to the next level. I'm just not ready for that. Not until--'" "--until things move to the next level," Trisha finishes. "Exactly. Marriage," Megan says, nodding. "And you don't think he wanted to do that?" Trisha asks. "No, I don't think so." "You don't think so? You guys didn't talk about it?" Meg sighs. "Talk? I just couldn't. I sent him home. It time for me to move to the next level." "So you could get some sleep." "Right," Meg says. "Well, thanks for taking the time to explain it, Meg. I think you've moved my understanding of the situation to the next level."

"Ruth!" Carl/Jim says into the phone. "My memory came back. I know who I used to be. I have a wife and a son in Genoa City!" Ruth is anything but happy. "That's great for you. But I told you if you took this job you wouldn't be coming back." "You're not listening," Carl says. "I said I remembered I have a wife." "So you'll be going back to her and not to me." "Are you kidding? Who said anything about going back to her? I said I remember her!"

That's all for this episode. Hope you learned something. Don't miss Episode 109!
If you missed any older episodes, see the index.

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