From: Marni Centor <marni@panix.com>

GUIDING LIGHT UPDATE -- THURSDAY, FEB. 1, 1996

                     PARENTS VS. CHILDREN DAY
                               -or-
                     WHO'S LIFE IS IT, ANYWAY?

Highlights:
* Vivian annoys Gilly by encouraging Griffin to leave Springfield.
* Hart & Dinah engage in mutual payback against Rog.
* A desperate Roger spits on Blake & Holly, & begs Marcus's forgiveness.
* Nola clips J's wings.
* Bridget makes up her mind about Hart.

Dinnertime in Springfield, USA...

SPRINGFIELD INN: The Grants arrive for dinner together & Charles grins 
because he has a secret. As they sit, Vivian notices a 5th chair. 
Charles says it's for their mystery guest of honor. On cue, Griffin 
Williams arrives. Gilly is delighted to see him. He tells her she looks 
stunning. Viv contains her concern & greets her former lover pleasantly 
as her blissfully ignorant husband looks on.

MARLER HOUSE: Roger calls to Dinah, but she isn't there. Fletch says she 
finally saw the truth, but Rog insists that he loves his wife with all 
his heart & they will not destroy his marriage with their dirty tricks. 
Ross opines that Rog has already destroyed his marriage all by himself. 

JESSUP FARM: Hart & Dinah kiss passionately. When they come up for air, 
Hart looks at Dinah questioningly, then goes back for more. When they 
come up for air a 2nd time, Hart just stares at Dinah. "What?" she asks. 
Hart turns & leaves the room. "Hart, wait!" calls Dinah, following him.

Dinah decides that Hart's just playing the same game he was playing when 
he kissed her in the motel room. How dare he pretend to care when she's 
just found out her husband never loved her. "Why don't you just spit on 
the last shred of feeling I have?" Hart says she's got it wrong.

MARLER HOUSE: Ross laughs gently & Rog is annoyed that they're all 
finding his plight so amusing. "Dad, no one is enjoying this," says 
Blake. "I wouldn't say that," replies Ross. Rog says they had no 
business interfering in his life. Fletch says it became their business 
when Rog set Marcus up. Holly accuses Rog of using & manipulating Dinah. 
Rog accuses Holly of being scared.

SPRINGFIELD INN: Griff regales the Grants with tales of voter registra-
tion drives in the South. Viv listens quietly, but is forced to join in 
when Griff asks her how many pairs of shoes she wore out (2). Gilly asks 
Griff if he was ever frightened. Viv tries to brush it off, saying it 
was so long ago, but Griff is in his element & keeps going. David notes 
that Viv never talks about those days. She says she doesn't believe in 
talking about the past. Gilly thinks it's important, but Viv says it's 
important not to romanticize it, or it does a disservice to the people 
involved. Gilly thinks the people who fought deserve the respect they 
earned. "To keep it, they've got to keep earning it," says Viv.

David offers a toast to Marcus's freedom & Viv seconds it with a wish 
for Griffin's success in his next venture, wherever it might take him. 
Gilly thinks Springfield will be a lot less interesting when he leaves. 
Charles announces his ulterior motive for inviting Griff to dinner. He's 
going to make Griff an offer to stay in town. Vivian chokes on her wine. 
She didn't know about this. Griff can hardly wait to hear the offer.

BOARDINGHOUSE: Nola gripes to Marcus about her son's irresponsible 
habits. First, he drove cross-country without car insurance. Then, after 
she told him he had to earn the insurance money by doing chores, he went 
off in the car anyway. She's going to teach him a lesson, she vows, 
holding up a brand new Club (that's an anti-theft device that locks onto 
the steering wheel of a car, for those of you who don't live in car-
theft prone areas). Nola predicts that when J returns, he will have an 
old, used excuse, something about a sick neighbor. He learned this from 
his father, she adds bitterly.

Nola hears J coming. Jet enters & wants the scoop, but Nola reminds her 
of their deal to mind their own sons. Nola asks them to stall J & says 
she'll be right back. She runs out via Company. J enters & looks around 
warily for Nola. Marcus thinks she went out. J asks whether she 
mentioned anything about his car being gone. Marcus waffles. J wonders 
how mad Nola was. Nola re-enters through the front door, prompting 
Marcus & Jet to do a simultaneous about-face & retreat into the kitchen.

J turns on the charm & says he can explain. He was putting sand on the 
sidewalk when he heard a kid wailing from next door. The kid was burning 
up with fever & his parents weren't there. He left a note for the 
parents & took the kid to the hospital. Nola interrupts to point out 
that 2 gay men live next door. No kids. J thinks about this. [If I were 
Nola, I would have pointed out that the hospital is right across the 
street & doesn't require a car trip.] "Maybe it was their nephew," 
suggests Jet. Nola gives her the evil eye & Jet goes to collect her 
laundry. J insists he didn't go over the speed limit. Nola tells him he 
needs to make his own mistakes. J begs her not to lecture him. "No just 
a new story. And maybe get the facts straight next time," smiles Nola. J 
says she's right & he will be very careful from now on. He says he has 
things to do & heads out, first telling Nola he loves her.

"One, two..." counts Nola. "Oh, my car!" screams J from outside. 
"Three," finishes Nola. "The joys of parenthood," she comments to 
Marcus, who smiles & gives her a round of silent applause.

MARLER HOUSE: Rog says this isn't about him & Dinah, but about all of 
them striking out because their own lives are in the toilet. He points 
to Blake & Ross's infertility problems & Holly & Fletch's problematic 
baby. "You are a vile & evil man," spits Holly. Ross shows Rog the door. 
Rog calls them all self-serving hypocrites & insists that they won't 
succeed because Dinah loves him. Then he slams out. Ross sighs & Blake 
is on the verge of tears.

JESSUP FARM: Hart says he wasn't laughing at Dinah at all. Dinah guesses 
that it's a reconnaissance mission then. Hart's going to report back to 
Rog. Well, Hart can tell him that it's over. Rog set up her best friend 
& lied to her about it. She's never going back to him. Hart can take 
that to Rog & collect his fee. Hart tries to set her straight. He wants 
nothing to do with Rog. Dinah demands to know why he kissed her then. He 
doesn't want to talk about it, but she badgers him until he yells, "I 
did it `cause I love you!" Dinah is taken aback.

BOARDINGHOUSE: Jet reminisces as she goes through the clothes in her 
closet. Nola enters & Jet notes that she's not cleaning out her closet, 
she's cleaning out her life. She wants some advice from Nola, but she 
doesn't want to hear about her whole life story--can Nola oblige? Yes, 
says Nola. Jet wants help with her clothes because she's too busy being 
a mother & landlord to care about how she looks. Jet shows Nola a 
sweater. Nola frowns & says it's too drab, but it might look nice with a 
black leather skirt... Jet cuts her off--she wants quick answers, not 
soliloquies. Nola asks what's really up. Jet says her clothes are like 
her life. She has a big pile of maybe, a bigger pile of no, & not many 
yeses. It's about Hart, & Nola was right all along. "I want him."

JESSUP FARM: Dinah thinks Hart is joking, but he's sincere. "What have I 
ever done to make you love me?" she asks. "This is great," she adds 
sarcastically. Hart's not exactly thrilled either. Does she think he 
likes being in love with his dad's wife? Dinah thinks it's just some 
twisted payback to Rog. "This isn't love; it's revenge," she decides, 
which makes a lot more sense to her. Hart says it started that way, but 
now it's real. He didn't show up today to make this declaration. But he 
saw how miserable she was & that her heart was breaking & he couldn't 
stay away. "Now that you know, do you think it's such a bad thing?"

SPRINGFIELD INN: Charles tells Griff that the university wants to offer 
him a fellowship to teach political science for the semester. Griff is 
stunned. Viv looks miserable. Gilly & David are very excited & encourage 
him to take the offer. David might even sign up for the class. Charles 
nudges Viv to get her take on David going back to school, but she is 
lost in her misery. "Help us convince Griffin to stay," urges Charles. 

Viv thinks they should let him make up his own mind & not bully him into 
a decision. Gilly thinks it will be good for Griff to spend time with 
Marcus the way he wanted. Viv thinks maybe Springfield is too small & 
out-of-the-way for a man of Griff's talents. Gilly sees that her mom is 
trying to dissuade Griff from taking the offer. "It sounds like an 
intriguing proposition, Vivian," says Griff. He tells Charles he needs 
to think about it & will give his answer in the morning. He excuses 
himself, saying he has an early meeting in the AM. Gilly hopes she will 
talk to Griff tomorrow & he promises to call her. Exit Griffin.

Gilly, David & Charles all ponder the excitement of having Griffin 
Williams spend the semester in Springfield. Viv says she isn't feeling 
well & gets up from the table. Charles offers to take her home, but she 
doesn't want to spoil their dessert & exits alone.

BOARDINGHOUSE: J & Marcus curl some dumbbells while J complains about 
Nola. Marcus thinks Nola is pretty cool & that J doesn't appreciate what 
he's got. Marcus points out the nasty consequences of getting into an 
accident if he doesn't have insurance. J says Nola could foot the bill. 
His folks have plenty of money--why does he have to "learn the value of 
a dollar"?

Rog arrives, looking miserable & wanting to see Marcus. Marcus, for his 
part, wants no part of Rog & his bogus excuses. "Get the hell out," he 
demands. Rog says he was wrong & is there to beg Marcus's forgiveness. 

MARLER HOUSE: Blake urges Holly not to let Rog get to her. Holly, of 
course, sees some truth in what Rog said, but Fletch insists that it had 
nothing to do with why they showed Dinah the truth. "What if it does?" 
worries Holly. Blake says they can't listen to anything Rog says. Ross 
says that Rog's only skill is to find people's worst fears & then move 
in for the kill. Holly realizes the truth in this, but it still gets to 
her. Fletch urges her to fight it. He hugs her & says he loves her & 
promises that Rog will never hurt them. They decide to call it a night. 
Blake hugs Holly & tells her to stay strong. Fletch & Holly head out.

Ross tells Blake she was wonderful with her mom. Blake says her dad is 
evil & hurtful & she'll never forgive or forget the hateful things he 
said. She wants to fix it so he'll never say anything like that to them 
again. She knows what Ross said about not getting pregnant right now & 
she knows why, but it just so happens that she's at her most fertile 
right now & she really wants to try. Ross says it's not the best time 
right now. Blake says pretty please & hugs Ross desperately.

BOARDINGHOUSE: Rog asks J to leave them alone. J books. Rog wants to 
make up for what happened, but Marcus says it's not possible unless they 
can arrange for Rog to be hunted down for what he didn't do. Rog wants 
to help Marcus get back on his feet & offers him a job at WSPR. "I know 
money isn't everything," starts Rog, "But it's as much as anyone ever 
gets from you," finishes Marcus. Rog admits to setting Marcus up & 
tipping off the cops. He wishes he could undo it. Marcus thinks Dinah 
put Rog up to this apology, & wonders what she's holding over his head. 
Twin beds for the rest of their lives, maybe? Rog says Dinah doesn't 
know he's there. "So why the hell are you here?" asks Marcus.

Rog says when he realized that Marcus wasn't going to stop trying to 
break up his marriage, he went into "defense mode." He reacted from his 
gut & made a huge mistake. He wants to put it all behind them. Marcus 
wants to know the real reason Rog is there, since he doesn't love Dinah. 
Rog insists that he does. Marcus knows that Rog hates him & wouldn't 
come crawling to him without a damn good reason. Rog says he didn't 
understand how much Marcus & Dinah meant to each other because he never 
had a friend like that. He realizes now that if Dinah is going to be a 
part of his life then Marcus will be a part of it too. He says he's 
learned his lesson. Marcus finds this all very interesting. He realizes 
that Rog's apology comes not from remorse, but from fear.

JESSUP FARM: Dinah thinks it's not good that Hart is in love with her. 
They barely know each other, they don't have anything in common & she 
hasn't done anything to lead him on. She doesn't feel anything at all 
for him & he's not her type. "I don't do men my own age," she notes. 
"There's always a first," suggests Hart. Dinah says she doesn't even 
really like him. Hart says maybe he's just a masochist. For some reason, 
Dinah finds this very funny. This gets Hart laughing too. They wonder 
what worse things could happen. She might have to go back to the circus 
& tame lions or juggle, or juggle lions. "That, I'd like to see," says 
Hart. Dinah says he's already seen all there is to see. Hart gets 
serious again. He hates his father for bringing him back to town & says 
he's going to leave town. Dinah asks him not to go.

BOARDINGHOUSE: Jet asks if they can talk about Hart without Nola giving 
her advice. Yes, promises Nola. Jet knows that Hart doesn't love her & 
never has. He only slept with her because she got him drunk. Everyone 
says that for her to get together with him would be the worst thing she 
could do. But... "You want to be with him," says Nola. Jet says that 
when Hart walks into a room, she starts feeling goofy. And when she sees 
him with Peter, she thinks, why not try to be a family? "Because you're 
in love with him," says Nola wisely. Nola knows what it feels like to 
want a man in your life & think that it might not happen. Jet doesn't 
want to get hurt. No one does, says Nola. 

Jet says Nola can offer advice now. Nola says Jet needs to feel that she 
is beautiful, intelligent & lovable & that Hart would be very lucky to 
have her. She shouldn't sell herself short, & she should keep her eyes 
open. "He's not seeing anybody, is he?" Not that Jet knows. "Well, there 
you go," says Nola. "I don't know why. I'll just always have this thing 
for him," says Jet hopefully. [Hah! How often does one actually get to 
use the word "hopefully" correctly?!]

JESSUP FARM: Dinah doesn't think Hart should go to the extreme of 
leaving town. He doesn't want to make them both miserable. She says 
they're adults & they can talk it through. He doesn't have to leave. "I 
know that I don't want to," he says, turning on the charm & moving in on 
her again. Dinah thinks they should each go off to their own corner & 
think about this for a while. He plays with her blouse & asks if she 
really wants him to go. She removes his jacket & says he should go right 
now. They shouldn't be talking about these kind of feelings in a 
bedroom. He wonders whose feelings they're talking about now. She gets 
closer & says they can't even think about it. "There are rules about 
this kind of thing." Hart says to forget the rules. "Admit it. You want 
me too. Tell me that you don't." Dinah smiles.

SPRINGFIELD INN: Gilly & Charles are alone now & she's glad to have the 
chance to talk to him privately. She needs his help with her mom. Viv is 
interfering in Gilly's life again. Charles says Viv means well. Gilly 
says she can think for herself. Why can't Viv back off? Charles asks if 
this is about someone in particular. Gilly admits that it's Griffin. 
Charles is surprised, but looks interested. Gilly defends herself 
against the imagined disapproval & says Viv is climbing the walls 
because she knew a woman who got hurt by him & is worried that Gilly 
will get hurt. Charles thinks this explains Viv's earlier behavior. 
Gilly thinks Viv is trying to get Griff out of town to get him away from 
her. And she doesn't want to hear that Viv has her best interests at 
heart. Charles sees nothing wrong with Viv trying to warn Gilly about a 
man who has probably broken his fair share of hearts. Gilly says Viv 
made dinner very uncomfortable. Everyone was begging Griff to stay & Viv 
was practically packing his suitcase. Charles says Viv has a hard time 
showing other people what's really inside her.

GRIFFIN'S HOTEL ROOM: Griffin is surprised when he finds Vivian at his 
door. She thinks it's strange to hear him call her Vivian, when he 
always used to call her by the African name he gave her. "Kucha," he 
remembers. She wonders if he's going to invite her in.

Griff says he had a lovely time at dinner. Viv says it was torture for 
her. He tells her she can drop the guilt--it was a long time ago. She 
says from the moment she saw him again, it was just like it was way back 
when. Yeah, you were as angry as the day I left, he recalls. Viv smiles 
& says it wasn't anger; it was... This is very difficult for her. She 
asks him to leave, for the sake of her marriage. "It can only end 
badly." He says he would never do anything to hurt her. She's not sure 
he can keep that promise. He's got too many important things to do to 
get mired in this little town. She says good-bye & adds, "I'll always 
treasure what we had." She leaves. Outside the door, she steels herself, 
as if she to get back to her real self after the playacting she just did 
to save her daughter's soul.

MARLER HOUSE: Ross tells Blake not to let her father do this to her. She 
says they'll never get pregnant if they stop trying. Ross says the 
reason they stopped trying for awhile is because they were too 
desperate. They mustn't let Rog make them desperate again. He loves her 
& wants to make love with her tonight. With birth control. "I want this 
to be about us again, not about getting pregnant." Blake says she's 
tired & she's going to bed. Ross looks sad.

BOARDINGHOUSE: Marcus says Rog stinks of fear. Rog admits that it's 
true. He's afraid of losing Dinah. She's the only one who understands 
him. If anything, he's guilty of loving her too much. Marcus thinks this 
is utter crap & tells Rog to get out. He refuses to forgive or forget 
what Rog has done to him. "And I hope that goes triple for Dinah."

JESSUP FARM: Hart kisses Dinah's neck as he helps her remove her vest. 
"Tell me that you want what I want right now." She says they can't. He 
says he doesn't want it if she doesn't, but he goes on kissing her. "I'm 
telling you yes," she says. But she doesn't have... Hart says he does & 
promises she'll be safe with him. He picks her up & carries her to the 
bed, her shirt half off. Freeze frame on their tender kiss as the screen 
fades to black.


--Marni (marni@panix.com)



