From: Marni Centor <marni@panix.com>


I wrote this update two weeks ago, but forgot to post it. Then my basement
flooded & knocked out the computer. I just got access to my old hard disk
again & found this "lost" update. Enjoy! 

GUIDING LIGHT TGIF UPDATE -- FRIDAY, JULY 14, 1995

HIGHLIGHTS
* Matt & Dinah come to an understanding. Maybe.
* Blake & Ross are on the outs.
* Tangie shows her hand too early.
* Lucy & AM share some insights.
* Cassie tries to take care of a feverish but clear-headed Brent.

A hot summer night in Springfield, USA...

BOARDINGHOUSE YARD: Matt, shirtless, hoses down the lawn furniture while 
Dinah sweats & kibbitzes. They agree it's too hot to sleep. Dinah comments 
that sweating is supposed to rid the body of bad stuff like anger. Matt 
asks whom she's angry at. No one, she says. She's looking forward to her 
mom's wedding. Matt finds this hard to believe. Dinah protests her 
earnestness & wants to be Van's maid of honor. Matt still believes Dinah 
only cares about herself.

MARLER HOUSE: Blake returns to an empty house. She's disappointed to find 
that Ross isn't home. She stands in front of a fan & enjoys the feeling of 
sweat evaporating from her chest. She plays back the answering machine 
messages & hears herself, begging Ross to pick up the phone if he's home. 
"That's pathetic; I wouldn't talk to you either," she comments. 

Ross enters. He's sweaty & cranky. Blake chats up a storm, trying to act 
like everything's OK. As Ross unbuttons his shirt in front of the fan, she 
apologizes for not getting the A/C fixed. She invites Ross to chime in any 
time, but he's too hot & tired. Blake deduces he's still angry & says they 
can't go to bed until they work things out. In that case, says Ross, 
"We're going to have one heck of a fight."

UNIDENTIFIED HIDING PLACE: Brent sweats & bleeds while Cassie tries to 
comfort him. She assures him that Alan will be back soon with the money & 
then they can go someplace cool. Brent warns her not to trust Alan. "He's 
a liar & he wants to get me... He wants to leave me here to die."

YACHT: Tangie stares at the button she found in Brent's room. Alan enters 
& asks what she found. She closes her fist around the button. We see a 
button missing from Alan's left sleeve. Tangie hesitates, then says she 
found a lot of blood, & medication. It seems like someone "stole Brent 
right out from underneath us." You mean, helped him get away? asks Alan 
incredulously. They're interrupted by Alan-Michael & Lucy, who don't 
understand how Brent got away. "Maybe somebody helped him," suggests 
Tangie. But why? asks AM. Good question, says Tangie. She pointedly asks 
Alan what he thinks.

Alan suggests that Brent's sister must be helping him. AM thinks she would 
be more concerned with getting him to a hospital. The phone rings, and AM 
& Lucy go to answer it. Alan asks Tangie what she knows. She feigns 
innocence. AM calls Alan to the phone -- it's Sid. Lucy offers Tangie a 
cool drink, but she brushes Lucy aside, intent on eavesdropping on Alan.

Sid sasys he's on the dock. He did what Alan asked, but he wants to know 
why. Alan agrees to come meet Sid. After Sid hangs up, Alan pretends to 
continue the conversation, talking about money earmarked for an 
"investigative force" to find Brent within 24 hours, because he's been 
threatening AM & "the woman I love." He hangs up. AM thanks his father. 
Alan excuses himself to take care of the financial arrangements. After he 
leaves, Tangie says she has to get back to the Journal, & she leaves too.

Lucy thinks there was an unusual amount of tension between Tangie & Alan. 
Tangie looked suspicious of Alan. AM thinks that's ridiculous--Tangie 
loves his dad. "She loves him, but she doesn't trust him," replies Lucy.

HIDEOUT: Brent insists on leaving & struggles out of bed. Cassie argues 
that Alan will help them, & even if he doesn't, she'll take care of them. 
She gets him  to lie down again. Brent rants about the Spauldings--Alan's 
worse than AM. Brent's sure Alan will get him unless Brent gets Alan 1st.

DOCK: Alan doesn't see the $$ & asks what kind of game Sid is playing. Sid 
says the $$ is safe at Spaulding. He won't carry "that kind of cash" 
around without knowing where it's going. Alan says Sid isn't paid to 
think. Sid feels he's entitled to know what's going on if he's going to be 
moving hundreds of thousands of $ in cash. Alan thinks he hears a noise & 
Sid asks why he's so edgy & of whom he's afraid. Alan says he's not afraid 
of anybody. Talking as though he believes someone's listening, Alan asks 
Sid back to his office, where he'll explain all. Alan leaves. After 
pausing to think, Sid follows. After Sid is out of sight, Tangie emerges & 
follows them both.

MARLER HOUSE: Blake is dying because Ross won't talk to her. Ross refuses 
to communicate. Blake knows he's angry at her for walking out on her 
mother's wedding, & also because of Dinah. Ross doesn't want to get into 
it again. "I want to know how you feel about me," insists Blake. "Oh no, 
you don't!" says Ross. He says she's like a cruel, vindictive 12-year-old. 
Blake still believes Dinah was in on the kidnapping & that's what has Ross 
so pissed. Matt corroborated Dinah's story; what more proof does Blake 
want? "How am I supposed to feel when my own wife refuses to stop 
persecuting my little girl?" Blake says Dinah is a grown woman who has 
lied & robbed & cheated her way through life. Ross yells at Blake to stop. 
"What the hell happened to the woman I married?"

REARDON YARD: Dinah thinks Matt is just like Blake--too suspicious to see 
that Dinah has changed. She points out that she's been doing her chores 
around the boardinghouse. She trills about feeling part of the "little 
community." She says it's all due to Matt, for "blackmailing" her into 
being good, "or else." Matt stares at her & it makes her uncomfortable 
because she doesn't know what he's thinking. Matt wonders what it's like 
to always be performing. He thinks she's telling him what he wants to hear 
so he'll get off her back. He wonders if she's ever had a sincere emotion 
in her life. She's having one right now: "I sincerely loathe your smug, 
self-righteous, holier-than-everyone attitude. It makes me sick, & so do 
you." Matt smiles.

SPAULDING: Alan ascertains that the cash is in the safe & tells Sid it's 
for "operational expenses." Sid says Alan's evading. Alan dismisses Sid. 
"You must want me to quit," Sid decides. Alan can't imagine what gave him 
that idea. Sid reminds Alan that he was hired because he could get things 
done & would go outside the lines for the right reasons, but he has to 
know the reasons. Alan says he can't always disclose his intentions. Sid 
doesn't give up. Alan sighs & brings Sid into AM's office, then shuts the 
door. Tangie enters the reception area from the elevator & listens in. 
Alan continues to evade. Tangie searches the desktop, possibly for a pen, 
and knocks something the floor.

Tangie heads back to the elevator, then walks into the reception area 
again, calling out, "Alan? Is that you?" Alan opens the door & is 
surprised to see her. "Are you following me?" he asks. No, she's following 
a hunch. She thinks he isn't telling her everything. She wonders if he has 
a lead on Brent. Alan admits he does, although it may not pan out. Tangie 
wants to go with him, but Alan insists on going alone. He says the money 
in the briefcase will help find Brent & asks Sid if that's an acceptable 
reason. Sid shakes his head but says yes. He goes into the office for the 
briefcase & Alan tells Tangie she shouldn't worry about him (Alan). He 
promises to call for help if he needs it. He hopes he's answered all her 
questions. Actually, she has 1 more, & it's very important.

HIDEOUT: Cassie paces & wonders why Alan hasn't come. [She's wearing high 
heels, always sensible aiding & abetting-wear.] Brent is sure that Alan 
has screwed them. Cassie worries because Brent has a fever. She says he'll 
be fine. She tells him to stay still & she'll be right back. She's going 
to get a doctor they can trust. Brent doesn't like this idea, but he's not 
in much shape to argue. Cassie says when she gets back they'll come up 
with a new plan. She leaves & Brent mumbles that he has his own plan.

REARDON YARD: Dinah continues to categorize Matt. He's uptight & judg-
mental--Bridget will vouch for that. "You're always telling her what to do 
with her life and you're always telling me what to do with mine." Matt 
says maybe it is a problem. "What should I do about it?" Loosen up, she 
suggests. Get a life. He asks if she'll help him. Sure, she says, 
imagining the seduction scene that will get her revenge on Mommy. Matt 
turns the hose on Dinah, who runs around the yard shrieking. Now that 
Matt's problem is taken care of, he tells Dinah what her problem is: The 
whole world owes her a living & if she doesn't get it, she lies & steals. 
He doesn't get it--she's intelligent, she's pretty-- "I'm good in bed," 
she adds. Matt smiles, "I'm sure you are." She goes face-to-face with him 
& asks what he's going to do about it. Matt says they're going to be a 
family, so they ought to call off the war. Dinah says she might consider a 
temporary truce, then squirts Matt with the hose.

MARLER HOUSE: Blake feels like a stepmother in a fairy tale--old, wrinkled 
& unloved. Ross has to face the fact that Dinah has some serious problems. 
"Don't we all," he comments drily. He knows Dinah has done bad things, but 
she's a good person who loves her family. "Oh really?" asks Blake. Ross 
says Blake can't recognize it because of her competitive streak. Blake 
can't bear to see Dinah break Ross's heart over & over again. She thinks 
Dinah could be a real person, if Ross would be harder on her. She main-
tains that Dinah was involved in the kidnapping. Ross invokes Matt's name 
again. "Matt Reardon wears pants, which disqualifies him from thinking 
clearly about Dinah Marler!" Ross concludes that Blake is both juvenile & 
sexists. He takes a fan & heads for the guest room. Blake throws an 
earring after him & slams out of the house.

REARDON YARD: Matt & Dinah fight over the hose, soaking each other. They 
wind up on the ground, with Matt straddling Dinah. "Gotcha!' she says 
gleefully. "Then why am I on top?" he asks. They breathe hard at each 
other for a minute, then Matt gets up & gives Dinah a hand. Dinah asks if 
Matt will tell anyone that she planned to make money in the kidnapping. 
Matt says he doesn't get off on blackmailing people, but he knows she's 
out to get him. He gets her to admit that she thinks the marriage is a 
lousy idea & that she has thought of a zillion ways to break Matt & Van 
up, including seducing Matt. "Sacrificing myself to save my mother from 
this terrible marriage." But she realizes they love each other & there's 
nothing she could due to lure him away. "Is there?" Not in a million 
years, he replies. Dinah gives up & gives Matt her blessing. "You're not 
going to cause trouble?" She says she has better things to do & won't 
stand in his way anymore.

They joke about the wet look & head inside for a towel. She says he still 
hasn't answered her question about the kidnapping. He can't see any reason 
to tell now. She says she'll sleep a lot better knowing it's all behind 
her. "Your secret's safe with me," he says, as he starts to dry her off. 
Blake peers through the window & sees this intimate-looking moment.

YACHT: Lucy admits she's never really truste Alan. AM broods. She thinks 
she's hurt his feelings, but he says he feels exactly the same, even 
though he doesn't want to. He keeps hoping his dad has changed, but "he 
burns me every time." Lucy thinks Alan really loves AM. "He has a funny 
way of showing it," says AM. He asks if Lucy thinks Alan doctored the 
books & set AM up. She demurs, but he thinks she must have an opinion. "I 
think that your father is completely with you," says Lucy. "He wants you 
to do well, but not too well. He wants you to win, just not if it means 
that he's going to lose." AM asks if Buzz does that to Lucy; she says 
fathers & daughters aren't the same as fathers & sons. Buzz just doesn't 
think any man will ever be good enough. "He's right," says AM. Lucy's not 
so sure. She thinks Alan loves his son, but can't let him to take over. 
"He doctored the books," she says flatly. AM closes his eyes. Lucy says 
she has no proof, but it's what she believes. AM walks a little bit away, 
then starts slamming things around the room. Lucy tries to calm him down, 
but he warns her to stay far away.

SPAULDING: Tangie asks Alan who's helping Brent. Alan can't tell her--it's 
only hearsay. She asks if someone's seen Brent. Not that Alan's aware of. 
"Have you seen him?" she asks. Sid returns with the briefcase. Alan's 
incensed that Tangie can ask such a question. If he'd seen Brent, he'd 
have dragged him to the police. Sid offers to go along with Alan, but Alan 
dismisses him curtly. Sid doesn't look like he plans to take much more of 
Alan's high-handedness. He says good night to Tangie & leaves. Tangie asks 
if Alan is always so rude to his lawyers. He pleads heat & stress. She 
asks what's in the briefcase & he says it's cash for the private investi-
gators. He assures her everything will become clear in the morning. Maybe 
so, Tangie says. By the way, do you have a tailor? she asks. Because 
you're missing a button. Alan looks at his sleeve. She asks if he has the 
button. He says he doesn't. "Maybe I can help you," Tangie says. She plays 
with the button behind her back.

MARLER HOUSE: Sweaty Ross comes out of the guest room in his robe, looking 
for Blake. He realizes he's driven her out of the hours. He picks up her 
earring and remembers how much she loved her 6-month anniversary gift. 
"Back then, I knew what she wanted."

BOARDINGHOUSE: Dinah is shivering & Matt tells her she ought to get out of 
her wet clothes. "I thought you'd never ask," she jokes. He smiles & tells 
her to go to bed. He heads outside, where Blake asks, "Are you out of your 
mind? I guess Dinah added another notch to her chastity belt, eh?" Matt 
says nothing happened between him & Dinah, & nothing ever will. He asks 
her what the matter is. She says she & Ross are in trouble. Matt thought 
they were so happy, but Blake says that was B.D. (Before Dinah). Matt 
thinks they'll get through it, but Blake isn't sure. The problem is, both 
she & Matt know that Dinah was out for $$ in the kidnapping, but Ross 
doesn't believe it, which means she's out to get Dinah, which means 
they're not talking, "all because I'm telling the truth." She tells Matt 
he's responsible & understands that he didn't tell the police to protect 
Vanessa. "But I only spoke up because I was positive that you would back 
me up & when you didn't, you... left me flying in the breeze, looking like 
a mean, vindictive woman." Matt hangs his head. She asks himn to tell the 
truth. He says it's not so easy--he promised Dinah (& himself) that he 
wouldn't. Blake isn't about to tell him what to do, but if he doesn't 
speak up soon, she's convinced her marriage will be over.

SPAULDING:Tangie holds out her hand & opens it, revealing the button. Alan 
tries to take it, but she closes her fist too quickly. She didn't know who 
it belonged to when she found it, but now she sees that it's a perfect 
match. Alan asks if she found it in Spaulding or on the yacht. No, she 
says. She found it when she went with the police to arrest Brent. 

BOARDINGHOUSE: Dinah, wearing a bizarre orange blouse & white shorts, 
comes downstairs & calls out to Matt. She chatters about summers in Nice 
as she grabs some wine from the fridge. She pours two glasses & says she'd 
love to take him to her favorite cafe. She goes out on the porch & finds 
Blake, who thinks it sounds lovely, "but after tonight, you might be 
traveling alone." 

MARLER HOUSE: Ross gets up to answer a knock at the door. (Doesn't anyone 
in Springfield have a doorbell?) It's Matt. He says he saw Blake & she's 
upset. He asks to come in & Ross obliges. Matt doesn't like to stick his 
nose in other people's business, but he wants to help. He has something to 
tell Ross about Dinah, but it can't leave the room. He feels to blame for 
some of Ross & Blake's problems & wants to set it straight. Ross asks what 
Matt has to say. "The truth, if you're ready to hear it."

SPAULDING: Tangie asks how Alan's button got on the floor of Brent's room. 
Alan laughs gently & says there must be millions of buttons like that & 
she's blowing the whole thing out of proportion. She thinks he's been 
lying to her all along. Alan denies this. She accuses him of manipulating 
& user her. "Tell the truth for once in your life, Alan Spaulding. When 
everybody else was looking for Brent Lawrence, you knew exactly where he 
was, didn't you?"

YACHT: Lucy won't go away because AM is not like his father. He's good, 
dependable, trustworthy & he doesn't lie. [Is he always prepared, too?] AM 
says he has done things just like his father. Lucy says he doesn't do it 
anyore & he's never lied to her. He admits this is true. Lucy thinks AM is 
a good, strong, wonderful man. "I don't deserve you," says AM, "but I'm 
glad y6ou're here." They hug. 

The phone rings. AM answers & is immediately on guard. It's Brent, calling 
from the dock. He wants to see AM right now. "Where are you?" asks AM. 
"Closer than you think," says Brent. He breathes heavily as the screen 
fades to black.


--Marni (marni@panix.com)



