From: Viv & Cy <cyam@earthlink.net>

Guiding Light Update
  Friday, March 21
     by Viv

	Reva, in a shiny white jacket, kneels by the Dutton headstone and wonders
if Annie could be her sister. Charity shows up at the cemetery. She heard
that Reva was looking for her and deduced that this was the place to look.
Reva says there is something else she has to know, and Charity is the one
to tell her.

	An outside shot of the Spaulding Enterprises building brings us to the
executive board room. Alan seems moody and contemplative. Philip is at the
desk outside on the phone to his ex-mother-in-law. He has never seen his
father this upset, and promises to call if he hears any news about Alex.
Annie arrives to thank Alan for his latest favor, but stops short when she
sees that her bud is troubled. Alan is not seeing anyone and has been in
the board room all night. Annie wants to investigate but finds that the
door is locked. Inside, Alan is talking to his lawyer. His tie is askew,
which is a good indicator of the depth of his emotion. He wants to know how
Amandas revelation could affect him legally. No answer is forthcoming, so
he slams down the phone and decides to speak to his dead father instead,
whose portrait hangs on the wall. Brandon had hurt him a great deal
throughout his childhood, and this latest blow seems to have brought back
all those feelings. He accuses Brandon of hating him, and that he in turn
passed that hate on to Amanda. He wonders if betrayal is the only legacy he
has.

	Amanda and Roger meet before the meeting. She looks business-like but
feminine in a light blue suit. Roger is concerned that his fiancee has
changed her mind and may not to go through with their plan. She concedes
that it may be better to keep the situation private. Amanda saw Alans
reaction to his fathers deception and reminds Roger that he didnt see it
because he was in the hallway with Holly. You have to give the woman
credit. Even in the midst of this great upheaval in her life, she manages
to zing the man. She tries to explain that she and Alan had their first
heart-to-heart talk yesterday. She had been waiting for him to talk to her
that way her whole life, and now shes not even his daughter. Roger is not
about to let his future slip away because of temporary sentimentality. He
points out how similar the two of them are, and how important it is to
right the wrongs done to both of them.

	Alan continues his one-way conversation. He remembers how Brandon punished
his children whenever they showed weakness. Alan wanted to prove himself to
his father, but is very disillusioned and bitter now. He wonders if his
sister could have lied to him, and recalls part of a talk they had in which
she assured him that he could trust her with anything. He is then sure that
Alex couldnt have done this to him. Annies knock interrupts his reverie.
Philip tells Annie that his father isnt likely to open the door, but Annie
thinks being a non-family member may make a difference. She pounds on the
door and calls to him, to no avail. Philip leaves for coffee, and Annie
pleads at the door to Alan to let her help him. Finally, he opens it and
she is shocked at his appearance (must be the tie).

	Matts tie just hangs around his neck as he pours tea at home. There are
no brownies in sight, darn it. Dinah bounds in all in red, fuming about the
Spauldings. He wants her to get to the point and tries to joke around, but
Dinah is out for blood. Shes banging the plans for her mothers wing
against her hand and looks as if she means business. One of Matts few
smiles since Van left disappears quickly when Dinah reminds him that this
is about her mom. The Spauldings have hired an architect who, in Dinahs
opinion, is dull and uninspired. Matt doesnt care. He feels that the
children coming to the hospital wont care what the wing looks like, and in
any case, his beloved will never see it. Dinah is disappointed that he
shows so little interest. They start arguing and are interrupted by Bill,
whose car has broken down. Matt is done with their little talk, but Dinah
isnt done until shes done (and she gets what she wants, of course).

	Annie thinks she can help Alan because she will have an objective view.
Im sure thats what she meant, but she said something like abductive."
Maybe shed like to take him away from all this. She dives right in
updating Alan on the Reva situation, but hes not even trying to pretend to
listen. She then tells him that he should eat something and rest. He
complains that she sounds like a nurse (gee, I wonder why)? and Annie
replies that she is his friend. When she says this, the tone of voice she
uses is identical to the one she used so many times with Blake. Watch out,
Alan. She speaks softly to him, encouraging him to open up to her. Alan is
vulnerable. He claims that parents can inflict terrible pain on their
children, even from the grave.

	Speaking of graves, Reva continues her chat with Charity at the cemetery.
She questions her about the Duttons, who raised Dani after her life on the
streets. Charity says they were not concerned with the childs past and
would have done anything for their daughter. She paints a pretty picture of
their life together. All Dani wanted was to have a normal life, get married
and have a couple of kids. Sounds familiar. Charity is doubtful that her
dream came true. Reva wants to know if she could possibly recognize her
former friend. Charity is sure she could,  looks at some pictures and picks
out the Dutton woman. (My cable went out for about 2 minutes here so I
didnt catch the beginning of this next part.) Reva talks to a woman
visiting a nearby grave who has lost someone and feels she should have done
more during her lifetime. Reva tells her we can only do our best. After the
woman leaves, she is stunned by the information she thinks she has, and
leaves the graveyard.

	       Alan doesnt want to listen to Annie as she talks about caring for
others. She doesnt get far when Philip knocks on the door to remind him
that the meeting is going to start shortly. Yes, Alan says, being absent
would be a sign of weakness, as he looks at the two portraits of himself
and Brandon. Annie tells Alan to be true to himself. Alan says hell be at
the meeting, and leaves to get ready. Philip thinks all of Alans lies and
manipulations have caught up with him. Annie thinks that Alan has loved too
much. She leaves and Phil goes into the board room.

	Roger tries to convince Amanda that Alan needs no one and she shouldnt be
fooled by his sincerity. He tells an old fable of a scorpion and a frog.
The frog agrees to give the scorpion a ride across the river, but makes the
scorpion promise not to sting him. He promises, but halfway across, stings
him anyway, and they both drown. The moral is that the scorpion could not
change his true nature, even though it cost him his life. This makes Amanda
think, and when Roger asks her if the plan is on, she says yes.

	Dinah has found an ally in Bill when she shows him the plans for the
hospital wing. Before Bill leaves, Matt asks him if he would consider
moving back into the house with him. Bill is surprised, but say he will
think about it. Matt also wants to make a quick exit, but Dinah is all over
him like white on rice. She really wants him to become involved in the
project. He reveals that the Spauldings approached him and he refused to
help. Dinah is hurt by this. She thought Matt felt the same way as she
about missing Vanessa. Matt flips out and yells to her that building a room
won;t bring his wife back. He kicks over a table in his anger.

	The board members are assembling and making small talk. Alan makes a
cheerful entrance, although his jacket is unbuttoned, and informs all that
Alex had an emergency to attend and will be absent. After the meeting comes
to order Roger makes a motion to freeze all Spaulding assets. Everyone in
the room is either shocked or thinks its a bad joke. Roger passes out
copies of two documents. One is Amandas birth certificate, which reveals
Brandon Spaulding to be her father. Amanda speaks to the second document,
which is a copy of Brandons will. His daughters were to split his fortune,
and since the illegitimate one in Barbados relinquished all claim to it,
the rest rightfully belongs to Amanda and Alex. The board members are
surprised, to put it mildly. This, it would seem, is over the top even for
the Spauldings.

	Matt rights the table and apologizes to his stepdaughter for the temper
tantrum. Dinah realizes that he feels the same grief as she. She wants to
be involved in the wing to keep busy instead of focusing on her loss. Matt
compliments her on the similarities of character between her and her mom.
Dinah says she only felt strong with Vanessa back in her life.

	Annie just bubbles over as she talks to Josh about H.B.s health. She
holds the cameo as she talks, and hears a car pulling up outside. Thats
her cue to lie (2 for the price of one this time) and say she has to eat
before her AA meeting. She quickly hangs up, but not before telling Josh
that she loves him. Reva arrives at the door and hesitates before knocking.

	Matt looks at the plans again and decides the two of them could rework
them together. They briefly hug and get to work.

	The board room is all abuzz and Philips attempt to end the meeting is
overruled. The motion is on the floor and has to be voted upon. When a
board member wants to wait to speak to Alex about it, Amanda says that Alex
disappeared when she realized these facts would be brought to light. Roger
explains that Alex knew about the information for a long time, but
concealed it. Alan is adamant that his sister couldnt be disloyal to him.
Then, who should walk in but the devil herself.

	Annie looks smug as she answers the door. Reva stares at the cameo, and
Annie looks as if shes just won the war.
           



