From: Marni Centor <marni@panix.com>


GUIDING LIGHT "THURSDAY ON FRIDAY" UPDATE -- THURSDAY, SEPT. 21, 1995

Highlights:
* AM has ants in his pants around Lucy.
* Marion forms an alliance with Alex.
* Nick gets two yesses from Susan.
* Dinah plans her wedding & invites Van & Matt.

SPAULDING ENTERPRISES: AM gives Lucy instructions, but seems distracted. 
Lucy asks if there's anything else. AM wants to put his arms around her. 
"Sorry, that's not in the job description," she reminds him. He can't 
think about anything else. She suggests they go into his office. "Oh, I 
love a girl who knows how to solve a problem!" exclaims AM in his best 
WC Fields voice. 

Out in the reception area, Marion suggests they enjoy it while they can, 
as it won't last much longer. (S)he sits at Lucy's desk. Alex emerges 
from the elvator & grabs Marion from behind. "Who the hell are you & 
what are you doing in confidential records?!" Marion demands, "Take your 
hands off me!"

PENTHOUSE: Dinah & Marcus make last-minute plans for their wedding. No 
time for a cake; Marcus suggests 3 tiers of caviar with a bride & groom 
on top. Dinah wants the judge there at 8 p.m. so they can be married at 
8:20 & she'll be a full-fledged heiress by 8:30. She rushes to the door, 
leaving Marcus to handle the other details. Don't forget the marriage 
license, he reminds her. She returns, face fallen. "Oh no," she says.

MATT'S ROOM: Vanessa wonders whether there's a chance for her & Matt. "I 
can't keep playing these games with Dinah," Matt replies, shaking his 
head. Van thinks it won't be necessary; everything will be over soon. 
Matt's heard that before. Van says it's different now because of Holly's 
talk with Dinah. Van professes her love & need for Matt & asks him if 
they can please start again.

Matt refuses to get sucked into Dinah's tornado again. Van can't walk 
away & watch her ruin her life. Matt says Van can't let Dinah take over 
their life. Van asks what she's supposed to do--forget about her 
responsibilities to her daughter? "You're supposed to marry me at the 
end of next week. But with Dinah around, that ain't gonna happen, is it? 
So why don't we just forget about it." says Matt. Van doesn't understand 
why Matt sees everything in black & white. She asks whether he still 
loves her. "I'll probably go to my grave loving you," he admits. Van 
says they will work their difficulties out. What if Dinah actually 
marries Rog? asks Matt. Will she follow them on their honeymoon & hire 
PIs & try to break them up? Van thinks that's ridiculous, & Matt agrees, 
but says it's just like what Van has been doing since Dinah & Rog got 
involved. Why should he believe that anything will be any different?

PENTHOUSE: It seems Dinah forgot the license. Marriage hadn't been on 
her to-do list for today. Marcus offers to forge one, but Dinah says it 
has to be legit or she won't get her inheritance. Marcus says they can 
put it off til Monday, but Dinah insists on doing it today. "If I am not 
filthy rich by midnight, I am going to have a nervous breakdown!" she 
yells, with much foot-stamping & arm-waving. Marcus calms her down so 
they can figure out what to do. Dinah employs creative visualization & 
gets an idea. She phones Judge Carroll & to confirm his arrival time at 
the country club. She inquires about his son, whose keys she took once 
to prevent him from driving home drunk. The judge is properly 
appreciative & offers Dinah World Series tickets. Dinah couldn't 
possibly take them, but there is one small favor the judge could do.... 
"Damn, she's done it again," says Marcus, applauding quietly.

SPAULDING: Alex yells for security. AM & Lucy come out to reception to 
see what the ruckus is. Marion apologizes profusely while Alex rants. 
Nick & Susan joins the crowd. AM introduces Marion to Alex. Alex thinks 
she looks vaguely familiar & wonders if they've met before. Possibly 
when she applied for the job, says Marion. Nick thinks Alex owes Marion 
an apology. Marion demurs, saying it was her fault. Alex apologizes & 
the floor show is over. Alex & AM retire to his office. Lucy takes 
Marion off to the ladies room to freshen up. Nick has 2 questions for 
Susan & he wants her to say yes to both.

In AM's office, Alex tells AM she wants him to find his father. AM has 
no interest. Alex says they need his proxy for an upcoming vote & no one 
knows where he is. He could be dead. "Well if he is, then he's shaking 
hands with Brent Lawrence in hell," says AM. 

In the ladies room, Lucy fixes her face & asks Marion if she's OK. 
Marion says it's degrading when people make accusations without really 
knowing you. Lucy says Alex did apologize. "It's not enough, Lucy. False 
accusations have consequences... terrible, lasting consequences." Lucy 
says Marion mustn't take it personally--Alex yells at everyone. Plus, 
Alex has been through a lot & the company is all she has. She's a lonely 
woman. Marion knows what that's like. Lucy says that's over now that 
Marion has so many new friends. Marion says she's almost forgotten what 
it's like to be close to someone. "You can count on me," says Lucy. 
Marion thinks that's the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to her. Lucy 
brushes her hair while Marion tells her how special she is & how much 
Lucy has changed her life. "You have no idea & I will never forget."

Nick asks Susan to dinner at the country club. She says yes to question 
#1. Nick says she can say no to #2 if she wants. He's been asked to do a 
follow-up on his first HIV story & his editor wants him to track 1 
person living with the virus. Susan thinks it's a great idea, but gets 
that he wants it to be her. "You want to follow me around & watch what I 
do & completely invade my privacy." Nick says he would give her an alias 
& protect her anonymity. "Can you promise that?" she asks. Nick says, in 
all truth, he can't, because someone could figure it out, but he thinks 
it's worth it. He thinks it's important to show people that there's a 
living, breathing person behind every statistic. AM pokes his head out & 
asks to see Susan. She tells Nick she'll think about it & get back to 
him, then joins AM. Nick says he'll pick her up at 8.

Alex asks Nick if he has a date. It's been known to happen, he quips. 
Alex thinks Susan is very pretty. Nick asks about Alex's trip, heading 
her off before she can take the subject of Susan any further. Alex says 
next time he can be less obvious when he wants to change the subject. 
Alex thinks Susan looks so well.... Nick excuses himself. Marion enters 
& Alex apologizes again & says she's heard wonderful things about 
Marion's work. Alex has some accounting issues she'd like to discuss & 
invites Marion to dinner at the country club. Marion accepts.

MATT'S ROOM: Van admits she hasn't handled things well, but from now on, 
things will be different. Matt doesn't want their happiness to depend on 
Dinah. They have to get their priorities straight. "She's killing you, 
Vanessa. She's killing us." Dinah shows up, all cheerful & happy to have 
found Matt & Van together. Dinah says she's planning the "big event" for 
tonight. Van asks if the engagement party is still on. "Sort of," says 
Dinah. "But isn't it interesting that you intuitively knew that 
something had changed?" Dinah says the party is on, but it won't be an 
engagement party after all. Van is glad to hear that. "It's going to be 
a wedding, reception to follow, & I hope to see you there," says Dinah. 
Van looks concerned, but holds her tongue.

SPAULDING: Alex apologizes to Marion yet again. She explains that the 
satellite negotiations are very delicate & there can't be any leaks. 
Marion knows that security is now AM's top priority. Alex is concerned 
about Susan--how she is brand-new, yet seems to have complete access. 
Marion says Susan is a real role model & a model employee. Alex leaves. 
Susan & AM emerge from his office. Susan says she can't stay late for 
once because she has plans with Nick. AM says maybe he & Lucy will see 
them later at the country club. 

Lucy tells AM that he's making it very hard for her to work when he by 
following her around & making her think about him. He finds a bunch of 
photos of them in her desk & teases her about them. She says he'll be 
late for his 4:15 meeting, but he says he cancelled it. He can't think 
about it. He's been trying to find the right time, place & moment. For 
what? asks Lucy. It can wait until tonight, says AM. He kisses her.

MATT'S ROOM: Dinah thinks the best way to get married is without all the 
fuss. Van says Dinah hasn't thought it through. Dinah says she has 
indeed thought it through & expects to be married by 8:20, so she 
expects a cashier's check for the full amount by 8:30. She hopes Van 
won't have any trouble living up to her end of the trust agreement, 
because it would be so tedious to have to drag lawyers into it. "Dinah, 
stop it! You cannot do this," pleads Van. Dinah wonders whether she 
should keep her name or change it. Van says Dinah can't marry Rog; he 
will totally destroy her. "Who I marry is none of your business," says 
Dinah coldly. Van says Rog will take Dinah's self-esteem, her happiness, 
& every cent she has, then leave her cold. Dinah says she won't let that 
happen. The wedding is her idea. Van asks whether Holly's experience 
means nothing to Dinah. Dinah wonders how Van knew about their chat. 
"Here we go again," comments Matt. He wonders what happened to their 
future. He walks out of the room & Van follows him. He says Dinah's sole 
purpose in life is to make Van miserable. Van's only defense is to cut 
Dinah out of her life. He begs Van to let Dinah go, or she will never 
have her life back. Van walks away.

Dinah asks Matt if everything's OK. Matt hopes he's around when Dinah 
get what's coming to her. That would be a small fortune, says Dinah. She 
asks Matt to be best man at the wedding. Matt declines; he doesn't want 
to be there when she marries Rog. She says Rog won't be there; he's out 
of town. Matt's curiousity is piqued. "Did I say I was going to marry 
Roger?" She changed her mind. She's marrying Marcus, her best friend. 
Matt looks pleased. 

Matt deduces that Holly "got to" Dinah, but Dinah claims to have blown 
Holly off completely. She made her own list of reasons why she should or 
shouldn't spend the rest of her life with Rog. Although the positive 
stuff "goes on for pages," she realized that his true love is business & 
she will never be number 1 with him. Matt wonders why Dinah let her mom 
continue to think she was marrying Rog. Dinah points out that she never 
mentioned Rog's name. But Matt knows Dinah deliberately set out to 
"torture" Van by not saying it *wasn't* Rog. Why? "Don't you think she 
deserves it?" responds Dinha.

LEWIS HOUSE: Henry tells the arriving Van that her latest oil maneuvers 
have paid off handsomely. "Money, money, money... Is that all we care 
about?" Van thinks if it wasn't for money, she might not have lost her 
daughter to "that awful man" & she might not be about to lose Matt. 
Tearfully Van wonders how she got everything so wrong.

SPAULDING: Nick is waiting for Susan when she exits AM's office. Her 
press release passed muster with only minor changes. Nick asks whether 
Susan will agree to be the focus of his articles. She thinks it's a 
great idea & part of her really wants to do it, but another part is 
worried about her dignity. While they talk, Marion slips behind them & 
sits at Lucy's desk. (S)he seems interested in the conversation as (s)he 
slides open a desk drawer, then closes it again, then slips out the same 
way (s)he came. Susan is worried about becoming a "poster child." What 
will come of it? Nick says it's important to keep the subject in the 
public's mind. Susan is convinced & agrees to do it. Nick leaves to tell 
Fletch. His parting comment is that he really admires her too. Susan 
wonders, "`Too...' I wonder what the rest of it is." She exits.

AM & Lucy lock up & get ready to leave. He asks her what day it is & she 
says it's the 21st. He wants to remember it, because the perfect day 
could turn into a perfect night. [Maybe it's me, but he's acting an 
awful lot like a guy who's about to propose marriage...] They exit via 
the elevator & Marion returns. (S)he pries open the desk drawer with a 
letter opener & pulls out one of Lucy's photos & a set of keys, then 
drops them in his/her purse.

LEWIS HOUSE: Henry tries to comfort Van. He reads to her, "When faced 
with a dilemma, practice not doing, and everything will fall into 
place." Van wonders if Henry thinks she's done too much. Well, he says, 
she's tried everything imaginable & still gotten no result. Van doesn't 
know if she's strong enough to just stand back & do nothing. Henry says 
Van will have to turn over the trust fund money & asks if she's taken 
care of it yet. She tells him she just found out that the engagement 
party has turned into a wedding. Henry tells her to call Ross right 
away. "Darling, you cannot protect her any longer."

MATT'S ROOM: Matt says Van doesn't deserve anything Dinah has done to 
her. Dinah would prefer to be spared the sermon; Van will learn the 
truth soon enough. Van has been playing all kinds of dirty pool to break 
up her relationship with Rog, including Holly's pathetic attempt to 
portray herself as Little Red Riding Hood to Rog's Big Bad Wolf. Matt 
wonders why he's the only one Dinah told the truth to. She says she 
thinks of his as her friend in some strange way & she really feels like 
he's always trying to help her even when he hates her. Which is why she 
wants him to be best man. Matt figures it's not a ploy to get back at 
Van, so he agrees. Dinah seems genuinely pleased & gives him a big hug.

LEWIS HOUSE: Van arranges flowers in a vase on the hall table. She 
inhales the fragrance of one as she looks into the mirror above the 
table. For some reason, this conjures up flashback memories of making 
love with Matt in their hideaway near 5th St & his subsequent proposal. 
Suddenly, she sticks the flower into the vase & runs out of the room. 

COUNTRY CLUB PATIO: Marion can't decide what to order. Alex suggests 
they have dinner 1st, then get down to business. Nick enters with Susan 
& spots Alex. He takes Alex aside & accuses her of following him. Alex 
says Nick is getting paranoid. Nick finds it too coincidental that she's 
there the same night he & Susan are there, but gives up the fight just 
as AM & Lucy enter. The Gang of Four reunite & Lucy invites Nick & Susan 
to join her & AM. AM tries to protest, but everyone else thinks it's a 
great idea, so he backs down.

Marion thinks Alex must be very proud of her handsome, loyal son. Alex 
says loyal isn't his strong suit. Marion mentions that (s)he overheard 
Nick asking Susan to be the subject of a series of articles. Alex thinks 
that will be very interesting. 

Nick & Susan head for the dance floor, leaving AM & Lucy alone. Lucy 
thinks AM is upset & brooding. "You'd be brooding too if the entire 
balance of your life was hanging on a single word." What word? Lucy 
wonders. "No," replies AM. Lucy reminds him that no one ever says no to 
him. She could certainly never say no to him. So whatever it is, he 
should go ahead & ask. "Will you marry me?"

PENTHOUSE: "Honey, I'm home!" calls Rog, as he enters the dark, empty 
apartment. He wonders where Dinah is.

COUNTRY CLUB: Dinah enters from the balcony, wearing a slinky, shimmery, 
silver gow, long white gloves & a fluffy silver & white hairband. Marcus 
applauds & compliments her in French (I think) & suggests reconsidering 
the platonic part of their marriage. Matt smiles at the friends. Dinah 
worries if she looks OK. Matt asks her what's wrong & says she's "all 
tweaked out." She claims to be the happiest she's ever been, and minutes 
away from everything she ever wanted. She's just concerned because she 
can't find the judge. Matt & Marcus go to check the bathroom.

Van enters & Dinah asks if she brought the check. Van says she will get 
the check as soon as she starts her new life. Dinah wonders if Van plans 
to lecture her some more, but Van says there will be no more of that. 
Dinah doesn't believe her old dog of a mom can learn a new trick. Van 
says she has to, for her own sake. She knows she's completely powerless 
when it comes to Dinah, so "from now on, I'm setting you free." Dinah is 
a grown woman & must make her own choices. Van won't try to change her 
anymore. Dinah thinks that's very mature & sensible. "Do you know I 
almost ruined my own life trying to control yours? I almost lost Matt 
because I was trying to hold on so hard to you. I'm going to set you 
free. You're free to make your own choices, your own mistakes, whatever 
you wish. I just hope that you will hae the hppiest life you can 
possibly have." During this speech, Matt enters (but Van doesn't see 
him) & hears everything she has to say. When Van turns around & sees 
him, they smile at each other.

--Marni (marni@panix.com)



