From: Marni Centor <marni@panix.com>

GUIDING LIGHT TGIF UPDATE -- FRIDAY, MARCH 24, 1995

HIGHLIGHTS
* Leo plays Devil's advocate with Rog.
* Holly makes a deduction about Fletch's disappearance.
* Lucy & AM get things straight. Or do they?
* Dinah accueses Matt of badmouthing her to Vanessa.
* Buzz tries the bleeding-heart approach with Tangie
* Josh saves Annie from a fate worse than solitude

A chilly spring evening in Springfield, USA...

SAUNA: Rog hangs in a towel & Leo joins him, wearing a towel & carrying 
his briefcase. Today, Leo is heavily bearded & mustached. The heat in the 
sauna is a bit much for him. Rog tells his flunky to suck it up if he 
wants to earn the big bucks. He joyfully informs Leo that Fletch is 
winging his way to Portugal on a wild goose chase. Leo asks what's up 
with Holly. "Holly who?" asks Rog with mock indifference. Leo doesn't get 
it -- why else are they going to all this trouble. Rog explains his 
thinking to his pedestrian-minded lawyer: Holly is probably at this very 
moment wondering where he is & why he hasn't called. "She may not know it 
yet, but Holly misses me," Rog says, displaying his monumental ego. 
[Thing is, though, history being what it is, he may very well be right!]

DINER: Holly enters with a box of clothing for the Fifth St. clothing 
drive. She hands the box to Buzz & is greeted by Tangie, who sounds 
honestly pleased to see Holly. She says everyone at the Journal misses 
Holly & asks how she's been. "Busy," says Holly. It seems the clothes in 
the box were Rog's. "I'm getting rid of the trash," Holly explains.

YACHT: AM invites Lucy to stay for dinner so they can talk & clear things 
up. She seems reluctant, but asks what's on the menu. Rack of lamb & 
asparagus. Lucy agrees to stay. AM takes her coat & pulls out a chair for 
her. He's glad she came; he was feeling very lonely.

BOARDINGHOUSE: Matt sings "Oh Susanna" while he showers. Jet enters with 
a towel & jokes that she now knows why he got kicked out of the choir. 
"It wasn't because of my voice," Matt informs her. He switches to The 
Bridget Reardon Boardinghouse Blues ("I'm taking a shower; it's public 
news..." :-) ) Out in the hallway, Dinah asks for Matt. When Jet says 
he's showering, Dinah just barges right in & announces that they have to 
talk. [Ever hear of locking, Matt?] Matt thinks it's Jet, returning to 
chat some more & tells her he'll be out in a minute. "Well, I can't wait 
that long, & I'm not your sister," Dinah replies imperiously.

YACHT: AM pours the Cabernet & toasts to clear heads. Lucy suggests that 
AM speak first; since he came to the diner, he must have had something to 
say to her. He says he was worried because she called in sick. "I'm 
better," she says. He admits that he blew the whole thing with Lucy & 
Brent out of proportion & that the memo he dictated was out of line. He 
was worried that Lucy was planning to quit. She's thought about it. 
"Please don't. You know how much I... value you." Lucy picks up on the 
hesitation & questions AM's choice of words. AM starts talking faster, as 
if it will make his words sound truer, rattling on about what a good 
worker Lucy is & how he would hate to lose her because he acted like a 
jerk after seeing her in Brent's arms.... Lucy stops him: "This isn't why 
I'm here. This has nothing to do with Brent. This is about us."

DINER: Buzz thinks the suit will fit Mr. Lee, the dry cleaner. Tangie 
wonders if Holly should be giving away Rog's clothes; Holly notes that he 
left them in the guest closet, so they're hers to do with as she pleases. 
She inquires about the state of things at the Journal; T says they're 
"functioning." She gives Buzz her "article" to read & he is insulted 
because it's only 8 lines. She says it will go on the front page if they 
can fit it, but it's a big news day. They argue about whether 
international & national news are more important than a fund-raiser for 
5th St. Frank uselessly tries to referee. Nick enters & Buzz jumps on the 
"real" reporter. Nick refuses to get involved & Buzz finally gives up. 
Tangie explains the situation to Nick. Buzz screams in frustration & re-
enters from the kitchen. Everyone worries that he's hurt himself as he 
goes for the first-aid kit one-handed [I'm guessing the other one is a 
bloody stump], but he says he's OK. Tangie leans over his shoulder. 
"Deenie, I said I'm OK!" Buzz says testily. "I'm not Deenie," replies 
Tangie. It seems Buzz has cut himself pretty badly & T insists on taking 
him to the hospital for stitches. He agrees & they leave together.

Holly asks Nick about things at the Journal. Nick tells her about 
Fletch's jaunt to Portugal. Holly is outraged that she quit so he could 
work unmolested & now he's off on a trip.

BOARDINGHOUSE: Matt doesn't want to chat with Dinah, but she's willing to 
wait for him to finish his shower. She has a seat on the toilet & lights 
up a smoke. Matt pokes his head out of the shower & asks her to hand him 
a towel. "What towel?" she asks. "Maybe now you'll listen to me." She 
points her cigarette at him & accuses Matt of coming between them. Matt 
exits the shower, sans modesty, & informs Dinah that he has no intention 
of talking to Dinah about her mom, then grabs a towel & exits. Dinah 
checks Matt out with a practiced eye & seems to approve of the view.

CEDARS: Annie says good-bye to a little girl & her mom while Josh waits 
out by the desk. He invites Annie on a movie date & she seems receptive. 
Buzz & Tangie arrive & Annie leads him away while he insists that it's 
just a scratch & he's a veteran, for god's sake. This leaves Tangie & 
Josh face-to-face. Josh wonders what's going on between T & B. "Oh, 
please, I'm not that desperate," says Tangie.

DINER: Deenie, dressed in a fuzzy white sweater, looks out the door & 
worries about Carroll being late. Eleni insists that Carroll is crazy 
about Nadine & she should stop worrying. Nick tells Holly that Fletch is 
in Portugal on business. Then he gets an emergency call from Stu at the 
Journal. Holly joins Ben & Bill in a booth & asks Ben how everything is. 
Ben purposely misunderstands her & says his food is fine. When she 
presses about Fletch, Ben asks skeptically, "Do you really want to know?" 
Holly does. "Nothing's been OK since you showed up at the ice shack." 
Holly apologizes for confusing Ben. He says she's the confused one. "He 
doesn't love you. He doesn't want anything to do with you." Holly says 
it's complicated, but she cares about Fletch & doesn't want to hurt him. 
"What about Roger Thorpe?" asks Ben. "You dumped him yet?"

SAUNA: Rog lays back on a bench & says the idea of getting Fletch out of 
town is to remind Holly how much she loves him without any "distrac-
tions." Rog says Blake's birthday is coming up & he will allow himself to 
be persuaded to celebrate in the same room as Holly. Leo gets it -- Rog 
is going to play the family card & remind Holly of all the happy times 
they had together as a family. "By the way, Rog, did you & Holly ever 
have any happy times together?" Zing. The sarcasm is lost on Rog. Leo 
hopes the plan works, for Rog's sake. "It's got to," replies Rog.

[During the commercial break, Wendy Moniz pushes a baby carriage & tells 
us that the Centrum people have thought of everything.]

YACHT: AM asks for clarification on Lucy's statement that the problem was 
between the two of them. She reminds him of their agreement to put their 
past behind them when she took the job, but says they haven't really done 
that. AM doesn't get it. He thought they were doing fine, except for 
"that thing with Brent." Lucy says the "thing" was a kiss, & it brought 
up all kinds of past feelings that they've never gotten through. AM says 
he knows he needs to let go of her, he'll apologize to Brent, & it will 
never happen again. Lucy doesn't think he can promise this, because he's 
just like his dad in this way: if he wants something & can't have it, 
he'll make sure no one else can have it either. "That's exactly what I 
said to Eleni," says AM. He realizes that Lucy must have been 
eavesdropping at the diner. "Why didn't you come out & face me?" he asks.

CEDARS: Tangie says there is no love lost between her & Buzz & she's 
sworn off of men in general. Josh hopes it doesn't have anything to do 
with him. She assures him that she's made worse mistakes in her life & 
asks how he's doing. He says he swore off women after her, but maybe he's 
met somebody now. Annie pushes Buzz out of the treatment room with a 
balloon & a voice dripping in sarcasm "for being such a good patient." 
Tangie is less than thrilled to see Buzz alive & well & they reprise 
their argument over the article on their way out.

Annie apologizes to Josh because they've missed the beginning of the 
movie. He suggests dinner instead. Annie's not sure she can stay awake 
after 15 hours on her feet. Josh offers a foot massage, but settles for 
driving her home. Annie goes to change her clothes. 

BOARDINGHOUSE: Dinah bangs on Matt's door & says she won't go away, so he 
might as well let her in. Bridget says it's pretty obvious he doesn't 
want to see her. "Why don't you get another date? My 2-year-old acts like 
you!" "Who are you? A housemother?" asks Dinah with a sneer. They start 
to face off, but Matt opens the door & yanks Dinah inside. Dinah accuses 
Matt of "squealing" to Van about what she said about coming to town to 
get $$ from her folks. Dinah is convinced that Matt is behind Van's 
change of heart, since her dad would never do such a thing. Matt says Van 
is smart & doesn't need advice from anyone. "If she's so smart, what's 
she doing with you?" No response. "By the way, how much are you getting 
out of her?" prods Dinah.

Dinah dares Matt to hit her, but he refuses the bait. He avers that, 
although he would have liked to tell Van about Dinah's greedy motives, he 
stays out of her business. Besides, he figured he didn't have to say 
anything to Van because sooner or later, Dinah would self-destruct. And 
apparently, she has. Dinah says she's here to stay, right in the middle 
of Van's life "and you're nothing more than history. A one-line footnote 
in my perfect mother's not-so-perfect past." She stalks out.

DINER: Holly tells Ben that she & Roger are splitsville & she'll prove it 
to Fletch when he gets back. Nick arrives & asks what's up. Bill reports 
that it's "better than a movie. Any minute, Holly's gonna offer Ben 
money." Nick takes a playful swipe at Bill. Holly says that boys will be 
boys & gets up to leave. 

Buzz returns & Nadine rushes over to see if he's OK. Meanwhile, Carroll 
enters. Buzz insists that all is fine, so Nadine decides to leave on her 
date. Tangie wants to leave too, but Buzz wants to continue the argument. 
He asks Nick to back him up. He thinks it's good news that the high 
society is helping the poor folks. Holly butts in to say that the next 
edition can only run the mention, but perhaps Tangie can find an angle & 
turn it into a cover story for a later edition. This works for everyone.

YACHT: Lucy admits that she overheard AM at the diner & stayed hidden 
because she wasn't ready to face AM. AM thinks a toast to friends is in 
order. Lucy agrees. She looks around & decides AM has come a long way 
since the houseboat. It's a little hard to believe. AM says it's hard to 
believe himself. Lucy thinks AM has worked hard to earn what he has. This 
means a lot to him. Lucy asks what's next. AM says he'll try to hold on 
to what he has. Lucy says he always wants more, or has that changed? AM's 
not sure. Lucy says AM has taught her to fight for what she wants. But 
there's more to life than just business. AM agrees, but seems reluctant 
to meet her eyes. "Do you want a wife, children... some day?" Lucy asks.

AM contemplates Lucy's question as they sit across the table in silence. 
Lucy plays with her glass & takes a sip of wine. AM just watches her. She 
apologizes & says she had no right to ask that question. AM says it's OK, 
he just wants to be sure of his answer. "You deserve to have an answer." 
He is quiet for another moment, then says solemnly, "Lucy, I don't think 
I'll ever get married again." He points out that he doesn't have a good 
track record: 3 times divorced & "not even 30" [for those of you who are 
keeping track]. Each breakup has been more devastating than the last. 
"Marriage & I just don't fit." 

Lucy says people can change. AM thinks Lucy is very innocent. Lucy thinks 
she's become "quite sophisticated." AM thinks Lucy is special & 
intriguing, a mix of everything good, worldly & innocent at the same 
time. He knows he hurt her, but he "could not take advantage of all that. 
Look, at least I didn't marry you. I don't want to destroy that dream 
too." Lucy blinks back tears & decides it's time to go. AM asks if he'll 
see her at the office tomorrow. She says yes & leaves. AM looks like he's 
lost something precious.

SAUNA: Leo complains that he's about to pass out from the heat while Rog 
soaks it up comfortably. [An implication here? Roger Thorpe as Devil 
Incarnate?] Rog gives Leo leave to leave. Leo just wants to get one thing 
straight: Rog is *not* trying to make Holly jealous. "Only as a last 
resort," replies Rog. Leo thinks Rog should consider the possibility that 
Holly just might be over him this time. Rog raises his head & pierces Leo 
with his laser-beam eyes. Leo realizes it was a stupid suggestion; how 
could Holly ever be over Rog? Rog relaxes again & reminds Leo to take his 
briefcase. Leo stumbles out & Rog shakes his head indulgently.

DINER: Nick says it's time to take the boys to the Lewises. Buzz asks 
Nadine to write up Nick's check. Carroll is helping her on with her 
jacket & she glares at Buzz. Holly wants to know why Fletch went to 
Portugal. She's concerned. Nick says it's none of her business & advises 
her to leave Fletch alone. "You're nothing but trouble." 

ANNIE'S HALLWAY: Annie digs for her keys while Josh watches with a smile. 
She gets the door open & thanks Josh for the ride. He tries to extend the 
chit-chat, then says, "I guess I'd better go."

	A: No, ah, you want to go?
	J: Do you want me to go?

Annie's feelings are mixed. She doesn't want him to say good-night, but 
doesn't think she'll be very good company. Josh says it's OK. He asks her 
to consider a date on Saturday -- dinner, maybe dancing. Annie thinks 
this sounds serious. Josh says he is indeed getting serious. He leans in 
for a short, but sweet, good-night kiss. Annie reluctantly lets herself 
into her apartment & closes the door. Josh reluctantly watches her, then 
sighs, shakes his head with wonder, and leaves. As he's walking down the 
hall, a horrible scream emerges from behind Annie's door. Josh rushes 
back, filled with concern. "Annie?!"

Josh rushes into the apartment. Annie is standing on a comfy chair, 
pointing with terror at the corner. A mouse ran across her foot. Josh is 
both relieved and amused. He says the mouse is likely much more scared of 
her than she of it. He psyches out the mouse, figures he's just hungry, 
etc., then jumps as if startled by the poor thing. Annie jumps too. Just 
a cruel joke; Josh was playing with her. He can't understand how a nurse, 
who deals with blood & guts & gore all day, can be scared by a little 
mouse. He starts to leave, but Annie is scared to be alone. He says he'll 
help her find the mouse.

BOARDINGHOUSE: Matt joins Jet with snacks & they settle down to a 
friendly game of Battleship, bantering about Matt's chilly encounter with 
Dinah. Lucy passes by the open door & they invite her in & offer to make 
her laugh. She tells them about her dinner with AM on the yacht. They 
joke in upper-crust voices about the fancy food. "All we have is 
popcorn," Matt says. How white trash of us," Jet mocks. Lucy finally 
smiles. She says she finally got clear about AM. There's absolutely, 
positively going to be nothing besides a work relationship. "Are you 
relieved?" asks Jet. Lucy realizes that she is. Now she can get on with 
her life. Maybe there's someone out there for her. Maybe it's Brent, 
suggest the Reardons. Maybe it is, Lucy agrees. The past is behind her. 
"On to the future!" Lucy says good-night.

YACHT: AM sits alone with his glass of wine. Andrew (crew member) 
inquires whether he can get anything for AM. AM shakes his head. "There's 
nothing you can get for me." AM stares out at the water with glassy eyes.

DINER: Carroll suggests a trip to the Roadhouse. Buzz cancels their 
plans. He says they all need to sit down & figure out how they're going 
to make a story for Tangie. Buzz tells Tangie that he knows she's going 
to write a nice article because he can see that she's not all ice. Ben 
comments to Bill that his dad is right, women are trouble.

Holly wants to know why Nick thinks she's trouble for Fletch. How does he 
know it's not the other way around? She left her job for Fletch. Nick 
says all Holly's actions are just a reaction to Roger. The shot switches 
to Rog, alone in the sauna, as Nick's continues in voice-over. "Everybody 
knows that you & Roger are just going to get back together sooner or 
later, so what's the point?" Holly says Nick should stay out of it. "This 
is between me and [Fletch], nobody else." Nick is doubtful. He leaves 
with the boys. Holly thinks aloud that it makes no sense for Fletch to 
leave town, unless... "Roger." She says it with knowing finality.

SAUNA: Rog stares into the steam. It billows around his face as the 
screen fades to black. [Nothing like a little club over the head with the 
imagery, is there? ;-)]

--Marni (marni@panix.com)




