Tag Archives: Million Dollar Listing New York

Jul23

July 22, 2021 – Portia Takes a Terrifying Risk, Delayed & Midsummer

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What I Watched Today

(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)

General Hospital

Nika gives Curtis a drink, and says he couldn’t ask for a better opening night. He says he could think of a few things. Portia walks up to him, and says, she knows he’s probably busy and it’s a bad time, since it’s his opening night and all. He says, actually, her timing couldn’t be better. She says, good. She was thinking about what he said at the pool earlier. If she was… He says, if she was interested. And here she is. She says, yeah.

Jordan asks Stella what she was thinking, telling Portia to back off Curtis. Stella says she was thinking Jordan and Curtis needed time to work out their differences, and remember how much they love each other. She gave Jordan an opportunity to fight for her man. Why didn’t she take it? Jordan says she doesn’t owe Stella an explanation. Stella says she’s right, but she owes it to herself to be honest. Why is she walking away without a fight?

Sam walks into the MetroCourt, and Olivia asks if she’s meeting someone or flying solo. Sam says she was supposed to meet Spinelli, but he just texted her, and said he had to reschedule. Gladys waves to Olivia from the bar, and Olivia says, the things she does for this place. She asks what she can do for Gladys, calling her Miss Corbin. Gladys says they’re practically family. Olivia can call her Gladys. Olivia says, Gladys, what’s your pleasure? and Gladys says, another Mai Tai. Plus the inside scoop on what Olivia’s partner Carly is willing to do for her son.  

It’s nighttime, and Brando finds Sasha by the pool. (Maybe we should start using pool for a drinking game.) She asks, what’s wrong? and he says, nothing is wrong. For the first time, everything is going to be all right.

Anna goes to the station, and see Dante. She says he knows she’s been working on finding Peter and Maxie’s baby, and he says he just got the memo. She says she and Valentin just got back from New York. They found the helicopter pilot, and he admitted to being part of Peter’s plan to take Maxie and the baby. When that fell through, he’d been ordered to airlift Peter off the roof at GH. Dante says, he claims he didn’t make the pick-up because he couldn’t land? and she says, yeah. He was denied clearance. There was an added factor. He said there was another person on the roof with Peter. Dante says, someone they know? and she says, it was a vague description; tall, dark hair, street clothes… He says, go on, and she tells him, they have to keep the information confidential. He asks why she’s working so closely with Valentin when she barely seems to trust him?

Valentin runs into the Quartermaine mansion, and asks, how’s his angel? Brook says, she’s fast asleep, and asks if he just came back. He says he came straight from the airport to see Bailey. It was a short trip, but he can’t tell her how much he missed Bailey.

At the hospital, Elizabeth tells Finn, according to Cameron, Violet wolfed down three pieces of pizza, and couldn’t stop talking about how her father taught her how to get a hit. Good job, coach. He says he refuses to take any credit for Violet’s T-ball triumph. She says, he was Violet’s main inspiration, and he says, time with Violet is the only thing that makes him forget what he has hanging over him. She says, Peter August? Let her remind him, Peter poisoned Chase, and waved the antidote right in front of Finn’s face. Finn rid this town of a monster. He says, that’s the thing. You see enough horror movies and you realize, monsters never die. They haunt you forever.

Finn walks to the elevator, and Elizabeth follows. She says, Peter’s already taken enough from him. Don’t let Peter rob him of his enjoyment of Violet. He says, Violet is his joy. She’s his reason for living. It makes him realize how painful it would be without her, but Elizabeth says, that’s not going to happen. He says, nobody gets away with murder, but she says, don’t call it murder. Peter got what he deserved. Finn says, that doesn’t justify throwing a man face first down a flight of stairs. They’re going to give him a polygraph. They’ll put him on the stand and he’ll have to admit he wanted Peter dead. She says, so did a lot of other people, but he says, they weren’t up on that roof. She says Finn pushed him in the heat of very justifiable anger. Once a jury understood the circumstances, they’d acquit him. Not that they’re going to find out. They’re going to find a way out of this.

Anna says, if she didn’t trust Dante, she wouldn’t be giving him the information. And Valentin has a vested interest in what happened to Peter, right? Dante asks if the idea is that the guy on the roof was an accomplice of Peter’s, there to help him find a way out when the helicopter couldn’t pick him up, and she says, yeah, maybe. It’s entirely possible it was someone working at the hospital, so he can understand the need for secrecy. It’s probably someone working for Cyrus, who knew the security cameras were disabled. He says, maybe someone on staff who was hand-picked by Cyrus, and she says she’s going to head to the hospital, and have a discreet conversation with Monica. He says he’ll have their people go over the footage of whatever cameras were working that night. Maybe they can find someone who matches the description. She thanks him, and says it’s good to be working with him again. He says, same. But it wasn’t long ago when she didn’t know if he was a friend or an enemy.

Gladys tells Olivia, after all she and her son did for Carly’s family, she shouldn’t even have to ask. On rainy days, she still aches from the bullet she took to bring down Cyrus. She hopes Carly and Jason don’t forget that. Sam joins them, and wonders how they can forget, when Gladys keeps reminding everyone, and Gladys says, Sam’s only connection to that family is through her ex. Hers and Brando’s are blood ties. Sam says she guesses that Jason proves sometimes water is thicker than blood, and Gladys tells Olivia to put her drinks on Carly’s tab, and walks away from the bar. Olivia thanks Sam for the assist, and says she’ll repay the favor – and she uses the term loosely – by filling her in on the latest Quartermaine drama. The way those people close ranks on an outsider is a sight to behold. Sam says, they closed ranks against Valentin? but Olivia says, different outsider.

Brook tells Valentin that she can’t believe how quickly Bailey went down tonight. She’s been so fussy the last few days. He says, she must feel more comfortable having both parents under the same roof, and Brook says, tell her about his adventure with Anna. He says, it was interesting. At least the investigation is on the right track. She says, in other words, it’s none of her business, and he says, it’s nothing personal. He and Anna… She says she knows; they’re a team. He says, a damn good team if he says so himself, and she asks what Anna says.

Jordan tells Stella, she and Portia have become friends. She has no intention of telling Portia how to feel, or asking her to back away from something or someone she really cares about. Same goes for Curtis. Their divorce is sad and painful, but she just wants what’s best for him. Stella sighs, and says she guesses she’s just old school. When you take the vow, to death do us part, she believes in those words. You don’t simply quit when going gets tough. Jordan says, marriage is a two-way street. She can’t fight for something all by herself. Like their vows said, it takes two, and Curtis is done with this marriage. Stella says Jordan never gave Curtis a chance to fight alongside her. She kept him on the outside looking in. Jordan says Stella is right. She hurt Curtis. Does Stella want her to do it again by fighting him on a divorce that was his idea? That he clearly wants? Stella wants Jordan to be honest with herself. Does she want this marriage to be over, or is she throwing in the towel because she feels guilty?

Nika tells Terry that she looks great; she loves what Terry is wearing. (Ditto.) Terry thanks her, and says she thought it felt right for a grand opening. Tika asks if she’s meeting someone, and Terry says, you never know. She sees Portia sit down with Curtis, and says, the night is young after all.

Portia tells Curtis, maybe it was a bad idea coming tonight. She likes Jordan. He says he likes Jordan too, and she says, and she likes him. He says, in his book, that’s a good thing, and she says, yes and no. He says, so she doesn’t like him? and she says she’s not often at a loss for years, but she’s tongue-tied right now. Everything she’s saying is sounding even more confusing. Yes, she likes him. She wouldn’t be there if she didn’t. He says, nothing confusing about that. He made it abundantly clear that he likes her. Now that that’s been established, is there something else she’s trying to tell him?

Portia says Curtis was honest with her at the pool today, and she heard him. She wants to be just as honest with him. He says he’d appreciate that. Honesty is the best policy, so they say. He wonders where his manners are. She came to the opening of his club, and he didn’t even offer her a drink. What would she like? It’s on the house. She says, actually she’d like a clear head. She wants to get this right. (I think, she must be a lightweight.) He says, this? and she says she was telling Terry that she hasn’t really dated seriously since her divorce. He says he’s not going to trot out the it’s like riding a bike metaphor. He’s pretty sure it will come back to her naturally. She says she doesn’t want him to think she’s a prude, or super old-fashioned. She’s a doctor; she’s seen everything. But she’s had two epic back-to-back failures with Taggert, and then with him. So it’s easy for her to be a little gun-shy, or oversimplify, thinking that things are going to be easy and uncomplicated because they knew each other from back in the day. How much of that is nostalgia? How much of that is actually real? She’s saying this all wrong, isn’t she? He says, no. He wouldn’t say she’s saying it wrong, but maybe talking in circles. It seems like she’s saying everything but what she came there to say. She tells him that he’s right. She had this all down perfect in her head on the way there, but now that she’s seeing him face-to-face, she can’t get a coherent word out. She thinks this is her cue to leave, and starts to get up, but Curtis grabs her hand. He says, wait. Don’t go.

Stella says she knows her stubborn opposition to Jordan and Curtis as a couple made things even harder. She still carries that guilt, and every Sunday, prays for forgiveness. Jordan says she forgave Stella a long time ago, and Stella says, that’s very kind of her, but she wasn’t praying to Jordan. Jordan says, her mistake, and Stella says, the only mistake is if Jordan lets the man she still obviously loves walk out of her life without fighting for him. If she feels there’s anything left unsaid, she needs to go to Curtis and say it. Jordan says, it’s too late, but Stella asks if she’s even signed the divorce papers yet. Jordan says, no, and Stella says, why not?

Brando says when he came to find Sasha, he had no idea how romantic they make the pool look at night. It does look beautiful; the lights are dimmed, but the pool is lit up, and has those balls floating in it that light up. He says, it’s almost as if he planned it, and she says, planned what? He says, you, me, the baby, us. He knows that she doesn’t want to raise a baby in a world operated by people like Cyrus. She says, Carly and Jason are part of that life, and she knows it’s complicated, since Sonny was his cousin. He says, yes. They will always be his family, but that doesn’t mean he has to live in their world. He doesn’t want that for their baby either. She asks what he’s saying, and tells her that he’s saying, sometimes you have to make choices in life, and he’s made his.

Sam says, Olivia is telling her that Austin – the country doctor who happened to be in the woods to deliver Maxie’s baby – is a long lost Quartermaine? Olivia says, how random is that? Sam doesn’t think it’s random at all. When she and Dante went to that house in the woods where the fake nurse took Maxie, it turned out that Austin not only owns that property, he rents it out. He totally claimed his innocence, and she knew there was something fishy about that guy. So if he was coming out as a Quartermaine, she’s sure he was more than happy to get all this inside information on people from Port Charles. Olivia says, whatever this Austin guy is trying to pull, she knows Michael and Ned can ride that ship. She just hopes they can do it without too many fireworks. Had enough of those on the 4th, eh? Sam flashes back to Dante kissing her, and Sam says, Dante told her about that? Olivia says, told her about what?

Anna says, when Dante first came back to Port Charles, she was really worried that he was still struggling with PTSD. He says he was, so she had every right to feel that way. He was doubting himself, and when Jordan asked him to come back to work, he said, no, because he didn’t know. He didn’t know if he was in control of his mind, or if Kirk was… Anyway, he’s continued to see Doc, who’s making sure he stays on track. Anna says, it takes guts to do that; to admit you have an issue, and work to overcome it. He says he hopes to, and flashes back to Sam talking him down when he tried to kill Peter. He says, Sam talked him down from the ledge, and he’d like to repay her by finding Peter and bringing him in. Anna says she’s heading over to the hospital, to see what she can find out about this accomplice. If she hits paydirt, she’ll let him know.

Jordan tells Stella, she’s in charge of a police department, and they’re in the middle of an ongoing investigation. Stella says, all in need of Jordan’s attention, she agrees. But is Jordan really expecting her to believe, in the middle of her very busy workday, she can’t find time to sign a few papers? Or in her heart of hearts, is she really hoping if she puts it off long enough, Curtis will change his mind? That he’ll declare he never stopped loving her, and rip up the divorce papers right in front of her?

Curtis tells Portia, he’s sorry. He shouldn’t have pressured her. She agrees, and he says, it’s a classic case of him thinking that if he wants something, everyone else must want it too. He gets it. They had something in the past that was bound to end, so they should keep it where it belongs – in the past. That’s what she wants, right? She says, let her ask him. Does he want to leave them in the past?

Brando says Sasha has to remember who he is. He’s a military guy who owns a garage, so words and feelings aren’t his strong suit. It took her being strong, and knowing what was a deal breaker for her, to give him perspective on what he truly wanted. That isn’t working for Corinthos Coffee (I see we’re still saying that), and all the life that comes with it. She asks if he’s sure, and he says, maybe he doesn’t have everything figured out just yet, but he does know this much. He chooses her. Her and their baby. Their family. That’s what he wants, and he hopes she wants that too. She thinks that he doesn’t give himself enough credit. Those were some pretty nice words. They kiss, and Gladys intrudes walks in.

Sam says Olivia was talking about the 4th of July fireworks. Of course (🍷). Olivia asks what Sam thought she was talking about, and what’s it got to do with Dante? Dante appears, and says, Sam told his mother? Olivia asks if someone would please explain what they’re talking about, and Dante says, yes, of course (🍷). Him, Sam, Finn, and Elizabeth were on the pier waiting for the fireworks to start on July 4th, and he was giving someone a lecture – he points to Sam behind his palm – on what a public disturbance was. So it led to kind of a fiery exchange where Sam almost fell in the water. Sam says she did fall in the water, and he says, she did. Then he tried to pull her out, and they both fell in. Olivia says, both of them? and Dante says, it was funny. Olivia says she doesn’t know what to make of this whole story, but she has a restaurant to run. She slaps Dante on the shoulder, and leaves. Dante says, oh, man, and Sam puts her head on the bar, telling him, please don’t say anything. He tells her not to worry. The last thing he wants is his mother knowing about his private life. She asks, what’s that supposed to mean? Is he embarrassed that he kissed her?

Valentin tells Brook that he and Anna have a long, strange, complicated history. They trained as spies at the WSB years and years ago, and through a series of unfortunate circumstances, they wound up on opposing sides. She says, sounds painful, and he says, it was. But they found their way back to each other, and trust each other. Not completely by any stretch of the imagination, but they do work well together. She asks, what changed? and he says, Peter changed things. For their own individual reasons, they gave him the benefit of the doubt. They protected him, and shielded him when they shouldn’t have, and they’re working together now to find him and mitigate the damage. They work well together as a team. She asks if he’s sure that’s all they are, a team, and he says, his personal feelings for Anna aside, what’s important is, that they find Peter, and hopefully, Maxie’s baby.

Anna goes to the reception desk at the hospital, and asks Elizabeth if Monica is still there. Elizabeth says, she’s gone for the day, and asks if she can help Anna with something. Anna says, maybe. Does she have access to all the hospital records on the computer? Elizabeth says, that depends, and Anna says she’s not looking for any personal medical records. She’s looking for a list of staff who were there the night Peter disappeared.

Curtis says, the reason he and Portia are stumbling around, and making things more complicated than they need to be, is because they’re trying to figure out what the other wants. They should just speak for themselves. She says that’s what she’s trying to do, but it keeps coming out wrong. He asks, how it can be wrong if they’re being honest with each other? and she says, okay, here goes. She told him that she thinks he’s still on the rebound, but even if he’s not, and he’s ready like he says he is, what if they’re just trying to rewrite history, or make up for mistakes in the past? It’s been almost twenty years since they met. She needs to know they’re not just trying to pick up where they left off. He asks if that’s how she feels – he moves closer to her – because he doesn’t. She says she’s been thinking herself in circles since that kiss, and the only thing she knows for sure is that she couldn’t forgive herself if she didn’t at least try.

Jordan tells Stella, Curtis was the one who wanted the divorce. She agreed because she didn’t think it was fair that he was stuck in a marriage he didn’t believe was working. Stella says she knows Jordan agreed to the divorce for his sake, but does Curtis know she wanted to stay and fight? Jordan says she tried, but at that point, they were both too hurt to talk it out anymore. Stella asks if Jordan doesn’t owe it to Curtis, or at least to herself, to start the discussion and see where it goes. Do it now. Tonight.

Dante tells Sam that he’s not embarrassed. She, on the other hand, ran away from him outside Charlie’s, and she’s been kind of avoiding him ever since. So if anyone is embarrassed, he assumes it’s her. She says, first of all, she did not run away from him; she’s not five years old. And secondly, she’s not embarrassed. If she was embarrassed, why wouldn’t she keep it to herself? He says she didn’t keep it to herself? She told somebody? Who did she tell? She says, Maxie, and he puts his hand to his head, saying, oh, man. You told Maxie? She says she didn’t say a name. She just said, some guy. He says, now he’s just some guy? and she says, he can’t have it both ways. Wait. Did he tell anyone they kissed? He says he may have told someone in passing, and she says, in passing. So is she just an afterthought? Olivia watches them.

Brando says, so is it a yes? and Sasha says, yes. Gladys galumphs over, and says, what a nice surprise. She came down for some night air, and lucky her, she found Brando. He says, the very definition of lucky, and Sasha says, it’s a beautiful night, isn’t it? Gladys says, it would be nicer if the lady who owns this place were a little more generous with her family, and Brando asks, what’s Carly done now? Gladys says, nothing. That’s her point. She was just telling Olivia, Carly should be down on her knees, begging Brando to take the top spot in the family business. Brando says, let him be perfectly clear. If Carly or Jason offer him a job, he’s turning it down.

Elizabeth says she can help Anna with that. Remind her again of the date Peter disappeared. (Nice move.) Anna says she’ll text Elizabeth the date and the approximate time he was last seen, and Elizabeth says she’ll get right on it, and get Anna that list. Finn wheels Chase to the elevator, and Anna goes over to them. She says, Chase is still in the chair. When is he getting back to the job, and stop letting everyone else pick up the slack? He thanks her, and she says, for what? He says, for being one of the few people who isn’t treating him with kid gloves. He may be in this chair, but he’s still a cop. She says, he is, and the elevator comes. He asks her to excuse him; he’s headed home. She says he’s a happily married man, and he says, and damn proud of it, as he wheels himself into the elevator. Elizabeth presses the button for him, and he tells Finn, we’re good, right? Finn says they’re good, and the doors close. Anna asks Finn, how’s he doing really? and Finn says, making progress. Not as fast as he’d like, but progress nonetheless. Elizabeth says, Anna is also making progress, and tells Anna that she’ll get her that list. She leaves, and Finn asks what that was about, and Anna gestures for him to walk with her. She says, her search for Peter has led her back to GH.

Nika asks if Terry is sure she doesn’t want another drink, and Terry looks over at Curtis and Portia. She says, no. She thinks her work there is done. She leaves, smiling at Portia as she walks past. Curtis says, there are no guarantees, and Portia says, taking this risk does terrify her, but what’s the alternative? He says, playing it safe? and she says, that’s not him. He says, it’s not her either, or else she wouldn’t have come there. So when do they take this leap of faith? He says, there’s no time like the present, and kisses her. Just as Jordan walks in.

Dante says Sam isn’t an afterthought, and she says, then what is she? He says, she’s her; she’s Sam. She says, that’s so kind of him. She’s Sam, that rhymes with spam, which is so flattering. He says he doesn’t think of her that way. She says she sees, and he asks what she’s saying. Is that how she thinks of him? She says, no. He’s him; he’s Dante. He says, when he said it, it wasn’t cool. Double standard, he guesses. She says she doesn’t owe him an explanation, and he says he doesn’t owe her one either, so they’re even. Olivia comes out, and says she doesn’t know what’s going on between them, but it doesn’t look good to have a couple arguing at the bar. So whatever they’ve got to say to each other, say it in private.

Gladys tells Brando, she’s all for playing hard to get. It’s a good negotiating strategy. He says, listen to him. He’s not negotiating. He’s not holding out for more money, or a better job. He’s just not interested in working for the Corinthos Organization. She says, why not? and he says he got a better offer, and looks at Sasha. Gladys says, she sees. It’s not that she wants it for herself, but as a mother, she wants what’s best for her son. He deserves more. He earned it. He thanks her, but asks her to look at it from his point-of-view, and realize that the life she’s proposing isn’t the life he wants. Everything that he wants is right there. He takes Sasha’s hands.

Valentin tells Brook, if Peter has the baby, they can return it to Maxie, or at least narrow down the search. She says, Maxie will get her baby back; she can promise him that. He asks, why so intense? What did he just say? She says she’s just thinking. He’s been so great. He’s an unbelievable, conscientious baby daddy, but right now, she could use a friend. Chase, who’s wheeled himself in, says, the lady ordered a friend. Would she like a side of fries with that? Brook says, side of fries, always, and Valentin says he’ll leave them alone, and leaves. Brook hugs Chase, and he asks what Valentin said that upset her. She says, nothing. They just actually had a nice moment. He says, then what is it? and she asks if he’s ever gone into something with the best of intentions, and later discover it was just way too hard to follow through with. He says, hello? His fake affair with Sasha? She says, of course (🍷) he understands, and he says he’s not going anywhere. Talk to him. What’s wrong?

 Finn says, what about Peter? and Anna says she and Valentin just got back from New York. They got a lead that might pan out or might not lead to Peter and the baby. Finn asks, what if Peter doesn’t have Maxie’s baby? What if she’s somewhere safe? That would be some consolation, wouldn’t it? Anna says, yeah, but she doesn’t think it would fill the emptiness in Maxie’s heart. Sometimes she thinks she would have done everyone a favor if she’d just put a bullet in Peter’s head before all this happened. He says she doesn’t mean that, and she says, doesn’t she? He says she’d have to live with what she’d done.

Jordan gets the hell out of The Savoy, and Curtis tells Portia that he guesses this is the start of… something. She says, a new beginning, but… He says he knows. They’ll take it slow, and see where it goes. She thanks him, says goodnight, and they kiss one more time. Outside of the club, Jordan cries.

Gladys says she needs another Mai Tai, and tells Brando, be an angel, holding the glass out to him. Sasha says, while he’s there, she’d love a lemonade. He goes to the bar, and Sasha tells Gladys not to worry. Brando will never regret his decision. Gladys says, isn’t that a coincidence? She made that same promise to herself, and she always keeps her promises.

Dante tells Olivia, sorry, but they weren’t fighting. Sam says they were just agreeing to disagree. Olivia tells her, if she says so, and leaves. Dante says, she doesn’t miss a thing, and Sam says, nothing to see here, right? One little kiss means next to nothing. He says, right. It was just one of those sort of one-off things, right? Olivia continues to watch them.

Brook tells Chase, it’s been an emotional day, but nothing for him to worry about. How’s physical therapy? He says, not so bad, and she says she knows him well enough to know his private code. When he says, not so bad, that actually means something’s changed for the better. Is she right? He says, let’s just say, he broke a sweat today. She says, okay. Keep being all cryptic on her, but it’s good to see him smile again.

Finn says, there’s something Anna needs to… when Elizabeth comes over and says, here’s the list Anna asked for, and hands her some papers. Anna thanks her, and Elizabeth asks Finn if everything is okay. He says it is, and excuses himself to check on a patient. He leaves, and Elizabeth says she also has to check on a patient. Anna is definitely thinking something is up, when her phone rings. Valentin asks if she’s made any progress in the search for Peter’s accomplice, and she says they’ve got this the wrong way around. He says, how so? and she says they’re not looking for Peter’s ally. They’re looking for his enemy.

Tomorrow, Shawn has news, Valentin asks Anna to tell him about her new theory, Elizabeth suggests to Finn that Jason is the only solution to their problem, and Jason says he wouldn’t be there if it wasn’t for Carly.

🤹‍♀️ Excuses, Excuses…

Due to life (making a long story short), I ended up running late, so Million Dollar Listing New York is postponed until tomorrow because, sleep. Hint: apartments are expensive, yet deals are made. The millions spent is so unfathomable to me, but even more so when they dicker about $50K. Or patio furniture. Until we meet for the Friday free-for-all, stay safe, stay composed, and stay not walking away from who or what you love without a fight.

Jul16

July 15, 2021 – Who Knew the MetroCourt Had a Pool, Moving In To Sell, For Only $15 Million & Cool

Posted on by
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What I Watched Today

(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)

General Hospital

Curtis and Portia run into each other, making a move for the same lounge chair at the MetroCourt pool. (New set!)

New York City. Valentin brings coffee over to the table where he and Anna are sitting in a bar/restaurant. He tells her that he managed to locate the source of the singalong in the back room. Apparently there’s a woman leading them in a chorus of Danny Boy; she’s the owner. Anna is messing with her phone, but says, if there were any other circumstances, she’d join in. He says, no she wouldn’t, and she says he’s right. He asks if she’s heard from her aviation contact, and she says, she just got off the phone with her. Anna thinks David Hopkins is their key to finding Peter, and if the flight route is correct, he’s on his way to New York Methodist. Valentin points across the street, and says, that New York Methodist? That’s convenient.

In the New York Methodist emergency room, Phyllis says, this is ridiculous, but Lenny says his chest pains didn’t warrant a visit to the ER. (Good luck with that in NYC. Maybe they’ll see him in a month.) Sonny says Lenny has come a long way. He might as well see the doctor. The doctor comes out, and says they must be the Caulfields, but Sonny says he’s just a family friend. Phyllis thanks the doctor for seeing them, and says her husband is in a great deal of pain. The doctor says they’ll run some tests, and Lenny goes with her. Phyllis and Sonny hug.

Spinelli plays with the umbrella from his drink at the MetroCourt bar, when Jason approaches. Spinelli tells him, gracious greetings, and Jason asks if everything is okay. Spinelli says, the answer depends on which lens you’re looking through. He and Ellie are over.

Gladys and Brando go to the pool, and as Gladys sits in a lounge chair, she says she has to give it to the Widow Corinthos; she knows how to put on a scene. This place is hopping. It’s the perfect spot to show off her new look.  She takes her sun hat off, shaking her hair out, and we see she’s got highlights now. She says, risking her life to see that justice is served has given her a whole new perspective. He says, is that so? and she says she almost died. She has to embrace life after such a harrowing ordeal. Brighten things up a little; invest in herself. He says her hair does look good, and she says, Silas said it took ten years off her looks. She says fifteen, easy. He laughs and says, as long as she likes it. She sees a waiter, and asks how Brando thinks the bloody Mary’s work. On the house, like at the casino? He asks if this looks like a casino. If you want a drink, you pay for it. She says, too bad. She hopes she’s not cramping his style, and he asks what she means. She says he’s a young, good-looking guy. There are plenty of eligible young ladies here. He says he’s not trying to pick anyone up, and she says, so he and Sasha are a thing. It sounded like Sasha wasn’t too clear on where he stood with her, or his baby.

At the MetroCourt restaurant, Maxie thanks Sasha for doing this for her, especially on such short notice, and on her day off. Sasha says, of course (🍷). She was going to check out the pool anyway. What’s up? Maxie hands her some papers, and says, it’s research and press information that she’ll need to make another pitch to Labella. Sasha says she thought getting their products on the shelves was Maxie’s area of expertise, and Maxie says, it is. She’s taking a step back. Sasha says, from Deception? and Maxie says, from everything, but definitely from work. She talked to Lucy; she knows Maxie is taking a leave of absence. Sasha asks, for how long? and Maxie says, just for a few weeks. The kidnapping has been traumatizing – Sasha says, of course (🍷) it has – and being in Port Charles is making it worse. Sasha says she’s so sorry. She’s sure having a pregnant co-worker isn’t helping, but Maxie says, no. This doesn’t have anything to do with Sasha at all.

Brook comes into Nina’s apartment, wheeling Bailey in the carriage, and says, at ease, Yuri. She tells him that he can wait in the hallway, and Nina asks if he wants a bottle of water or something. Brook says, he’d prefer flat, and Nina goes to get it. Brook tells Yuri that it’s a secure building with vigilant doormen, so he can stand guard, but no accosting anyone. Nina comes back with the water, and he tells her (I assume) thank you in his native language. Nina says she doesn’t know what that was, but she’s got him. She closes the door, and Brook apologizes for the entourage. Nina says, Valentin? and Brook says, how’d she guess? Nina says she got there quickly, and Brook says there was some major drama at the house – what else is new? – so that was incentive to get there, but she also wants to prove herself to Nina and Deception. Nina thanks her for that, but says, this has nothing to do with work. Brook asks what it’s about, and Nina says she knows Brook’s secret.

Portia says she guesses she and Curtis had the same idea, and he says, he and TJ just wanted to get some sun. She says, it’s a perfect day for it, and tells him, enjoy. She starts to pick up her bag, and he asks what she’s doing. She says she thinks she’ll find somewhere else to sit. He says she was there first; they’ll find someplace else. She says, no, she will. TJ joins them and says, hello, and she says, hi, TJ. Wait. Dr. Ashford is what she should say, right? Congratulations. They’re all very proud of him. He thanks her, and says, he gives it a week before she and the senior staff are complaining about him like they do the other interns. She says she highly doubts it, and TJ asks if Curtis wants to swim. Curtis says he’ll be there in a minute, and TJ goes in the pool. Portia asks if it’s going to be awkward between them.

Nina says, Bailey’s not Brook’s, and Brook starts to protest, but Nina says, she belongs to Maxie and Peter. Brook asks how she found out, and Nina says, how does she think? Maxie. She’s losing her mind, understandably so. She needed someone to confide in. Brook says, she gets that, but she and Maxie agreed it was necessary to protect Louise from Peter. She must have told Nina that. Nina says she did, and Brook says, she didn’t believe Maxie? Nina says she did – she does believe her, that she’s trying to protect her daughter. The person she can’t figure out is Brook.

Maxie asks how Sasha’s pregnancy is going, and Sasha says, overwhelming. Maxie says, that’s pregnancy in a nutshell, especially when it’s your first time, and Sasha says, it’s a lot to take on alone. Maxie says, but she’s not alone. She has Brando to help out, right?

Brando tells Gladys, he has no reason to think Sasha doesn’t want him to be a part of her life, or the baby’s. Gladys smiles, and he says he doesn’t know; they haven’t talked about it. She says, exactly. Maybe Sasha is worried about him being a good provider. Brando says, the 1950s called. They want their sexism back. Sasha has her own company, and doesn’t need him to provide for anything. She says, so that’s it? He made his donation, now hit the road? He laughs, and says, my God, and she tells him, she’s just saying. Maybe it’s time for him to worry about his own career. He says, the garage is doing fine, but she says, fine isn’t good enough. Carly walks in, and Gladys says, now the <air quotes> Corinthos Coffee Company <end air quotes>, that’s where the money is. And there’s been a shake-up in management lately, to put it mildly. Brando needs to strike while the iron is hot. With Sonny gone, this is his time.

Spinelli tells Jason, he didn’t realize he and Ellie’s relationship was moving in a direction she’s not comfortable with. She said if she wanted to find a different life, she needed to act now. She’s not wrong. Jason says, no. She’s got to do what’s right for her, and Spinelli has to do what’s right for him. He doesn’t have to choose Jason and the business over Ellie. He can always walk away. Spinelli says, no, he can’t.

Portia says she meant every word she said the other day, and Curtis says, every word? She says, being together with him while he’s on the rebound… He says she’s not a rebound, and she says, it’s not worth the risk of losing him as a friend. She misses the way it used to be, just hanging out and having fun. He says he misses that too, and she suggests they just rewind. Go back to the way things were before she kissed him. He asks if she really thinks it’s that simple, and she says, probably not, but it’s worth a try. Tell TJ that she’ll speak with him later. She leaves, and Curtis watches her.

Spinelli says he misses Ellie, but the bulk of their relationship was during Jason’s absence. The person he was without Jason could fit into Ellie’s world perfectly; he let her take the lead. Jason says Spinelli can still be that person, but Spinelli says he doesn’t want to be. He likes working for Jason. It’s where he’s comfortable. It’s where he thrives. He wants to use his substantial skills, and wants to play for big stakes, take chances. He realized that, and it forced him to face the facts. Ellie’s life and career goals don’t match up with his anymore. Jason asks if Spinelli is okay with that, and Spinelli says he desperately wants her to stay, but that would be selfish. Holding on when he knows it’s wrong would be the wrong thing. Telling her that he’ll change when he knows he won’t. Jason says, to start a new life that he doesn’t believe in, and Spinelli says he knows he’s doing the right thing. Jason says, that doesn’t make it any easier, does it? and Spinelli says, no, it doesn’t. Jason pats him on the shoulder.

Carly tells Brando and Gladys, welcome, and Gladys asks if Carly’s ears were burning, or is she in the habit of sneaking up on all her guests? Carly asks if they’re enjoying themselves, and Gladys says, yes, but not as much as Carly is. She heard about Carly’s engagement to Jason, and Brando tells Carly, congratulations. He’s really happy for them. She thanks him, and Gladys says she’s sure her dearly departed cousin would agree. Carly suggests Brando get his mother a drink, and tell the bartender the tab is on her for the rest of the afternoon. Gladys says, so generous, and Brando leaves. Gladys says, Carly is finally deciding to treat them like family, and Carly says, Gladys is a lot of things, but family isn’t one of them.

Sasha says, Maxie is right; Brando definitely wants to be involved with the baby. Maxie says, but she doesn’t want him to be. Or maybe she doesn’t want to raise the baby at all. Sasha says, she does. It’s not exactly the timetable she envisioned, but she’s always wanted to be a mom. Maxie asks, what’s the problem? and Sasha says, it’s not a problem per se, it’s just that Brando’s such a great guy. He’s so excited about the pregnancy, and them being a family… Maxie says, but? and Sasha says, but he has close ties to Carly and Jason, and that whole life. It makes her a little nervous.

Phyllis tells Sonny, she’s trying so hard not to be one of those people asking constant questions while the doctors are still trying to figure things out. He says, she sees it all the time at the clinic, and she says she does, but she never realized until now how hard it is to just wait. Sonny says he’s glad they got in some sightseeing, and she says, her too. She and Lenny haven’t been to New York in so long, it brought back a lot of memories. She sits, and says, what about him? Does he think he’s ever been there before? He says, it did seem familiar for a second, but he thinks it’s just from TV and the movies. She says, so that’s where his mind was this morning. She noticed he was distracted. She figured he was thinking about his call with Nina the other day.

Brook tells Nina, she admits in the beginning it was all a manipulation. She wanted to redeem herself from the whole ELQ debacle. Nina says, in her father’s eyes, and Brook says, and in her own. When she initially reached out to Maxie with her proposal – Nina says, interesting word choice – Brook wanted to help her, but It was also serendipity. Maxie needed someone to hide a baby at the exact moment Brook needed a baby. It was a win-win, and it was at that time she learned what a psycho Peter really is. So that’s what it became for her, a way to protect this precious little girl, because Peter is way more dangerous than Nina knows. Nina says, Brook doesn’t have to tell her that, and Brook says she got so wrapped up in the Louise aspect, the whole stock thing just fell by the wayside. She had to play it out, since that was the original premise. Nina says, and if she lost interest, Valentin would get suspicious and might figure it out, and Brook says, exactly. Nina says this is where the plan loses her, because Valentin is nothing if not a great father. It’s his Achille’s heel. It’s where he goes from cold and calculating, to a goofy pile of mush. Brook says, true, and Nina says, so she also knows there would be no one in the world more willing to protect that baby from Peter than Valentin. So why not tell Valentin the truth?

Anna tells Valentin that she thinks they should wait for confirmation before they head over to the hospital. The longer they’re hanging out there, the more suspicious they appear. Valentin agrees, and says he can think of worse places to hang out. He asks if she knows what this place reminds him of. That pub in Dublin… She says, Mulligan’s, and he says, they were there celebrating their first field assignment from the Academy. Remember that? She says, vaguely, and he says, this from a women who remembered the name in two seconds flat. She says she doesn’t enjoy thinking about that time in her life, and frankly, neither should he. He asks if it’s their troubled past that’s got her in such a mood, but she says she’s not in a mood. This isn’t a mood. Yes, because what else would it be about? He says, us. Here and now.

Jason says Spinelli probably figured this out already, but he and Carly are… Spinelli says, getting married to present a united front to the outside world? Surprising, but at the same time, not surprising. Jason and Carly are soulmates. Perhaps not romantically, but in every other sense of the word. They support and love each other like no one else can. So it might be for optics, but he for one can imagine a more perfect union. He clinks his glass against Jason’s.

Brando sees TJ getting out of the pool, and says, what’s up? Cool spot, huh? TJ says he envisions himself spending a lot of time there. Brando tells him, have a good one, and starts to walk away, but TJ says, congratulations on the baby. He doesn’t think he said it when Brando told them Sasha was pregnant. Brando says TJ doesn’t have to do that, and TJ says, do what? Brando says, be the bigger person. TJ was the first real friend he had in this town, and he screwed it up by not telling him the truth. TJ says, Brando did, but he’s been thinking a lot lately about lost time, and was reminded that holding grudges doesn’t do them much good. So, seriously, best of luck to him. Brando says, thanks, and they bro shake.

Carly says she appreciates Glady’s assistance in ridding this town of Cyrus, but that is the end of their professional relationship. Gladys says, but it shouldn’t be for her son. Brando deserves a bigger piece of the pie. Carly says, what’s funny is, if there’s one thing that makes Jason not want Brando to be a part of the business, it’s because he’s attached to Gladys. Gladys says, it’s his birthright. He’s the only real Corinthos left. Or at least the only one old enough to want a piece of this. Joey Novak walks in, and Carly says, this conversation’s over. Gladys says, because Carly says so, and Carly says, yeah, pretty much. She walks over to Joey, and asks what he’s doing there.

Sasha tells Maxie, don’t get her wrong. She really likes the Corinthos family. When she was dating Michael, she got to know them pretty well, and she knows they’d put the safety of their loved ones above all else. Maxie says she can vouch for that, and Sasha says, but at the end of the day, there’s only so much they can do. She doesn’t want to raise her child like that. When every time they leave the house, she holds her breath, praying they make it home. Maxie says, FYI, she’s always going to feel that way as a mom. Mob life or no mob life. Sasha says, great, and Maxie says, of course (🍷) she completely understands. Sasha asks what she should do, and Maxie says she thinks Sasha needs to be realistic about Brando’s involvement in all of this. Like, how committed does he seem to this alleged organized crime thing? Sasha says, Brando only went to work for Cyrus as a favor to Sonny and Jason, and Maxie says she figured that. Brando seems like a really nice guy, and Cyrus definitely doesn’t. Sasha says she can’t really complain, since working for Cyrus put Brando in a position to save her life. Maxie says, fortunately, Cyrus was shipped off to federal prison where he belongs, and she knows from experience that Jason would never force someone to work for him who doesn’t want to. Brando’s kind of free to be the man he wants to be.

Sonny tells Phyllis that he talked to Nina, and it was nice, but it was kind of hard keeping this from her. She needs to know what’s going on with Lenny. Phyllis says, and she should, and she’s going to tell Nina once they have more information. Does he want anything from the vending machine? He says he’s good; he doesn’t want anything. She says, her neither, but she wants to get up and walk around. She tells him, don’t let Nina slip through the cracks. He’ll regret it if he does. She leaves.

Nina says, to keep Valentin believing, and loving, this baby as if it was his own child, it’s not fair. Brook says she doesn’t disagree necessarily, but it’s Maxie’s daughter; it’s her call. Nina says she knows, and she wouldn’t go against that. It just makes her sad. Brook says, all she can hope, is that when Valentin finds out, no matter how angry and disappointed he is, that he understands why she and Maxie felt the ends justified the means. Nina says, he will understand. The only thing up for debate is Valentin’s broken heart. He’s not going to stop protecting that baby. He’ll fight for that baby, and he will play his role to the hilt. They both know that. Come on. Brook says, okay, so what about Charlotte?

Valentin says, he and Anna aren’t children. He doesn’t know why they can’t discuss this like adults. She says because she’s way over it. He says he likes her. He has feelings for her, and she has feelings for him. She tells him, if he says so, and he tells her, he does say so, and so would she if she’d stop fighting it. She says, it was a kiss, a fleeting kiss, and he says, which had been building for years. There was nothing fleeting about that kiss. He’s felt this way about her his entire adult life. This is real. He can see it’s scaring her. She asks if she looks scared, and he says, no, but something’s happening here, and he’d like her to admit that. Her phone dings, and she looks at it. She says, Hopkins has returned to the hospital. It’s go time.

TJ joins Curtis on the chairs, and asks where Portia is. Curtis says, she found another spot. She said she’d see TJ around the hospital. TJ says he was hoping to get in good with her, but Curtis thinks he’s in good already. TJ asks if Curtis is ever going to talk to him about this. He knows there’s something going on between them. Curtis says maybe TJ should have spent more time being a P.I. instead of being a doctor. TJ says Curtis raced to Portia’s place when he thought she was in trouble, and Portia didn’t leave his bedside at GH. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon. Curtis says, one day, TJ could be one, and leans back in his chair.

Joey says, Mrs. Corinthos. He holds out his hand, and says, Joey Novak. She ignores his hand, and says, nice to meet him. What is he doing at her hotel? From a distance, Gladys and Brando watch. Joey says he thought Carly should know, her fiancé isn’t as secure as he thinks he is. She says, is that so? and he says, the Novaks are in a position to make things very unpleasant for her family, so please, give Jason this message. Jason got the jump on him once, but he’s not afraid of him. She says, it sounds like he wants to speak to her fiancé himself. Why don’t they call him down there? Brando walks up, and says, Mr. Novak. Brando’s heard a lot about him. It’s good to see him in Port Charles. Joey asks who Brando is, and Brando holds out his hand, saying, Brando Corbin. Sonny Corinthos is his cousin; was his cousin. Joey shakes his hand, and Brando says, if he can ever be of any assistance to Joey, his garage is over on Third Street. Any Novak vehicles in Port Charles, consider them taken care of.

Spinelli sees Maxie, and she says she’s glad she ran into him. She has a favor to ask him. Actually, he probably won’t think of it as a favor; he’ll want to say yes. She and James are going out of town for a few weeks. He asks where she’s going, and she says, to visit her family in Texas. Anna said she’d be as much in the loop there as here. Spinelli says, if anything comes up with Baby Louise, she’ll be the first to know. And the favor? She says she doesn’t want to intrude on their custody arrangement, but would he and Ellie be okay keeping Georgie while she and James are gone? He tells her that he’s not sure that would be the best idea.

Brook tells Nina to really think about it. If they tell Valentin the truth, she doesn’t think he’ll tell Charlotte? There’s no way he would allow her to continue falling in love with her little sister. Nina says, that’s already happening, but Brook says, except he doesn’t know, and Valentin is complicated. Like Nina said, he’s a really great father, and nothing’s more important to him than Charlotte. Nina says, and now Bailey, and Brook says, so why would they put him in that position? He either has to lie to Charlotte – which she’s not sure he would – or tell her the truth. Then they’re burdening this young girl… No, they can carry this. When this all comes crashing down, Valentin loses out big. And Brook hates that. So tell her. If Nina had to pick one person who she knew could handle this devastating loss, that she knew was strong enough to survive this, who would she pick? Nina says, Valentin.

The doctor comes out, and asks Sonny if Phyllis is there, but he says she stepped away. He’ll get her. The doctor says, that’s all right. Lenny has given her permission to bring him in on the conversation. Why doesn’t he follow her? She’ll let the staff know where to tell Phyllis to find them. Sonny goes into the examining room, just as Anna and Valentin walk into the waiting room.

TJ says, if Curtis doesn’t want to talk about this because of his mom, he gets it, but he’s not a kid. Curtis says, no, he’s not a kid, and TJ says, mom is mom. He’ll always want her to be happy, but Curtis is his family too. Curtis says the vibe TJ is picking up on between him and Portia was a slow burn, and it happened after he and TJ’s mother were separated. It doesn’t matter now, because he and Portia have decided to just be friends. TJ says, because it’s what Curtis thinks he should do, or because it’s what he wants to do? Maybe he should clear that up.

Sonny asks Lenny if they shouldn’t wait for Phyllis, but Lenny says, Dr. Kishore doesn’t want him to lose his place in line for a scan. They have to move quickly. Sonny says, sounds serious, but the doctor says, despite Lenny’s chest pains, there’s no immediate danger. She did see something in one of the tests that she wants to follow up on. It could be nothing. Sonny says they’re still going to do a scan, right? and Lenny tells Sonny, explain to Phyllis, so she doesn’t worry too much. Sonny tells Lenny to get checked out, and Dr. Kishore says, that’s the plan. She tells Sonny that he can wait there, but Sonny says he’s going to look for Phyllis. Lenny goes with the doctor, and in the hallway, Sonny sees a cap just like Mike’s smart cap, lying on the floor. He picks it up, and remembers telling Mike that he forgave him a long time ago, and wants him to go in peace and love. He goes back in the examining room, and ponders the cap.

Joey says he likes Brando’s attitude. Carly’s fiancé could learn a thing or two from this guy. Carly tells him, have a nice day, Mr. Novak, and Joey leaves. Gladys says she hopes Carly is properly grateful, and Brando says, mom. Gladys says, look what her boy did for Carly. Imagine the embarrassment if there had been a whole mob kerfuffle in Carly’s fancy pool and spa, which is supposedly separate from all of that.

Spinelli says, they’re separating, and Maxie says, no. He says, unfortunately yes, and she says she’s so sorry. He says it’s just that he doesn’t think it’s the best idea for Georgie to see Ellie right now. If Maxie doesn’t mind taking her to Texas, he’s sure she’d enjoy it. Maxie says, so will she. Ellie’s really leaving? Does Maxie need to talk some sense into her? Is she going crazy? Spinelli says, no, she’s made the right decision. She’s not comfortable sharing her life with someone who has dangerous associates. After Maxie’s experience with Peter, he’s sure she can relate.

Anna tells Valentin, she’s going to throw her badge around, and see if she can get anyone to tell them where David Hopkins is. Why doesn’t Valentin stay there in case he passes through? Valentin says he’s on it. Anna leaves, and Valentin walks over to where Sonny and Phyllis had been sitting. He literally runs into Phyllis, and she drops the sodas she’s carrying.

Curtis goes finds Portia, and asks if he can have a seat. She says, sure, and asks, what’s up? He says, as friends, he thinks they should get everything out in the open. She says, okay, and he says if she wants to explore this between them, he’d really like that, but if she doesn’t feel it’s a good idea for her, he gets that too. He still thinks she’s holding back because of his Aunt Stella and not because of herself. She asks, is that all? and he says, all right. He’s going to head off to the nightclub. She says, that’s right. Tonight is the official opening. He says, yeah. It’s a big night for him, but it could be a big night for them. If she changes her mind, she knows where to find him. Geez, you’d think he’d invite her as a friend.

Gladys says she’s proud of Brando, but he says, it’s no big deal. She says, it is. If he keeps stepping up like that, he’ll be Jason’s righthand man before he knows it. Sasha walks in and overhears. Gladys leaves, and Sasha makes a soap face like, I don’t know about this guy.

At the bar, Carly tells Jason that he just missed Joey Novak at the pool. Good times. He asks if there was a problem, and she says, there almost was. She was ready to go off on the guy, and Brando stepped in. She has to say, as much as she would hate to give Gladys what she wanted, Brando could be a real asset. He says he’ll keep it in mind, but in the meantime, don’t let Joey Novak provoke her. That’s what he wants. She says, that kid is a hothead, and he says, unlike her. Just take a deep breath. She says he’s right. She doesn’t want to escalate things. They’re trying to calm the waters; she gets it. He says that’s what they’re hoping their marriage will do.

Brook says so she and Nina are on the same page, for Maxie’s sake. Nina says, for Maxie’s sake, she won’t tell Valentin what she knows. Brook thanks her, and Brook’s phone rings. Brook says she has to take it, and asks Nina to watch Bailey/Louise for a second, jetting into the next room, and answering, ELQ, what’s up? Nina says hi to the baby, and tells her that she’s awfully cute. Look at her, all loved and cared for. Safe. That’s all that really matters, isn’t it? With all the secrets she’s keeping, who is she to judge?

Valentin hands Phyllis the soda cans, and apologizes, but Phyllis says she wasn’t looking where she was going. He says he hopes she wasn’t planning on opening them anytime soon, and she says, good tip. He asks if she’s waiting on word about someone, and she nods, saying, it’s not her best event. Him? He says, the same. He doesn’t think it’s anybody’s best event. She hands him one of the cans and says, it seems her friend has disappeared. He says he collided with her, the least he can do is keep her company until her friend shows up. They sit, and she thanks him, introducing herself. Phyllis Caulfield.

Sonny looks at the cap some more, while Anna is walking by in the hallway. Sonny turns the handle of the door to leave. Anna hears, and stops, looking at the door.

Tomorrow, Maxie says, this should be interesting; Dante tells Chase, it’s just like old times; Austin says Monica isn’t telling him what to do; and Sonny says, it’s bad, isn’t it?

Million Dollar Listing New York

Fredrik was back in NYC, and danced in the rain, which was the weather throughout the entire episode. In his interview, he said every cell in his body alive. He could hear the rumbling of the subway, and smell the garbage. He was home, and it was amazing. I actually understood this. When I would come back to NYC after visiting my homeland of Ohio, I’d be like, ahh, the smell of the subway stop, a combination of urine and garbage. He also had a lot of business to catch up on. He met developer Cliff at the 10th Street penthouse, which still wasn’t sold, along with the 8th floor apartment. To refresh your memory, the penthouse was nearly 5000 square feet, had a lot of marble, herringbone floors, 10 foot ceilings, 5 bedrooms and 5 baths, more marble, and 8 terraces. All this came at the asking price of $15 million. The 8th floor apartment was 1600 square feet, 3 bedrooms and 3 baths, and a 725 square foot terrace, for the asking price of $6.5 million. Fredrik said these were crazy times, but thought they could get it done if Cliff gave him an extension on the listing. Cliff seemed hesitant, saying Fredrik hadn’t sold it in a year. Fredrik told Cliff to remove 7 months because of the pandemic, which seemed fair. Cliff said Fredrik had been doing well by him until he went to L.A., and Fredrik explained that he wanted to find buyers for NYC in L.A., and vice versa. Cliff said, at this point, he wasn’t looking at how much he was going to make, but how much he was losing. He wondered why he should keep Fredrik, and if he should bring in new blood. Fredrik said he’d build a social media campaign. While Instagram used to be a fun guilty pleasure, now it was a catalyst for real estate sales. In his interview, Fredrik thought it would drum up interest, and took a selfie with Cliff, telling people to swipe up to see the listing. He immediately had 9000 clicks on the listing, and Cliff agreed to the extension, provided Fredrik move in, live there, and promote the hell out of it. I didn’t believe for one second this wasn’t set up ahead of time.

Steve was working on selling Artemis Farm, which was more of undertaking that he’d thought. He had Dorinda Medley on board, telling us that she wasn’t just the Queen of the Berkshires, she’d been a successful realtor. She had a true knowledge of upstate New York, and knew her stuff. He spoke with Dorinda on the phone, and she thought the farm was absolutely incredible, having different components that could be used for different purposes. Steve said he’d thought the buyer he was looking for would want something that hadn’t been listed. That hadn’t worked, so in a pivot move, he’d decided to list it. Dorinda said it was hard to describe, and she thought people really needed to see it. Steve said it was about the experience, and in his interview, he said he couldn’t overstate the value of one celebrity mention when it came to real estate. He promised to find a cool neighbor for Dorinda.

Tyler took his OCD client Andrea to meet agent Talia in a new building in the East Village, where Tyler said developers were investing. It was a 3 bedroom, 3.5 bath ground floor duplex, with Miele appliances, quartz counters, and 18 foot ceilings. In Tyler’s interview, he said the apartment had what Andrea was looking for; nobody had lived in it before, it was private, and had outdoor space. She also worked at NYU, which wasn’t far. Andrea wasn’t thrilled with a humongous window that made her feel like she was on display. I guess no one had told her about those things called shades and curtains. Tyler asked what was up with her not wanting a previously used apartment, and she said she was freaked out knowing there was residue in the corners from humans. They decided to check out the penthouse, also for sale, and Talia pointed out that dealing with the doors was totally touchless, and you used your phone. Of course my mind immediately went to, what if power went out, and there were zombies, and… The penthouse was 1880 square feet, 3 bedrooms and 3 baths, 16 foot ceilings, and views of both the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building. There was also a private roof deck, but the stairs to it were part of the buildings staircase, so therefore public. I didn’t blame Andrea for being concerned people would disregard the roof being private. She told Talia that made it feel less like it was part of the apartment. She also wasn’t sure that she wanted to be that far east.   

Steve wanted to get a celebrity to the farm, and thought his kid was a star, so he took the family there by helicopter. No surprise, Baby Rose was very cute with the animals. He said upstate was hotter than ever, and he called his broker contacts to invite them to an open house. A farmer’s market was set up for the brokers to enjoy, as well as support the local community. As Steve joined them, the helicopter took off, bringing Rose and her mom back home. Noticed by the guests, Steve said that someone had come to see the farm that morning, but he couldn’t say who it was. In Steve’s interview, he told us, nothing said buzz like a high-profile flyover. I had to admit to being impressed by his cleverness. He said I was all about seducing brokers with the local lifestyle, and picked up the tab for their market purchases. KJ arrived, and in her interview, she said her clients were interested in luxury properties. They had places in Manhattan, but wanted a place outside the city as well, and wanted a turnkey property that was move-in ready. They didn’t want to do massive renovations. She admitted to not being a large animal person, and seemed hesitant of the horses. In KJ’s interview, she said her grandfather had horses, and she’d tried riding a couple of times, but fell off. It wasn’t her thing. In Steve’s interview, he said he was about as comfortable on a farm as he was reading Ryan’s blog. He showed the brokers the main house, a 6000 square foot 1900s colonial, with 6 bedrooms and 5 baths, 5 fireplaces, and a closet literally bigger than my first apartment. In KJ’s interview, she said she wasn’t sure she agreed with Steve’s assessment that it was country chic. It was very country, but not so chic. In Steve’s interview, he said it wasn’t about bringing the city to the country. It was about escaping the city. KJ wasn’t getting it. KJ said Steve wasn’t going to get $4.2 million for it.

Fredrik said living in the space he was selling was weird. He didn’t like showing his own bathroom or clothes, but instead of having an open house for 30 brokers, by using social media, he was reaching 30 million people. In doing a private showing, he said everyone saw something different in the pattern of a marble fireplace. He saw a huge commission The broker did point out Fredrik’s unmade bed, which is a big no-no, and I was surprised at him. Even Fredrik thought the asking price was high, but worried that if it was lowered, buyers would come in really low. It was the big question in real estate; to lower or not. Tyler brought Andrea to see the 8th floor apartment, and in Tyler’s interview, he said he thought it was overpriced, and worth $4.5 to $5 million in today’s market. The last time he’d gone to Fredrik’s open house, he hadn’t been the friendliest to Tyler’s buyer. In the grand scheme of things, it was water under the bridge, but he hoped Fredrik was nicer this time. In Fredrik’s interview, he said everyone was a tiny bit of a germaphobe right now, but it wouldn’t be easy avoiding germs. He loved NYC, but germs were kind of a part of it. Tyler said Andrea’s budget was $5 million, and in his interview, Fredrik said, that was like 40% off. There was no covid discount of 40%. Anything below $5 million was a lowball. Fredrik mentioned the amount of sales he was doing to Tyler, and in his interview, Tyler said, the more bragging some did, the more insecure they were, and Fredrik was shining a light on that. I dunno. The numbers are the numbers. They squabbled over what was worth what, while Andrea took a walk around the terrace. In Tyler’s interview, he said he thought Fredrik’s pricing proved he’d spent so much time in L.A., he didn’t understand how affected NYC had been by covid. He’d lost his perspective and his damn mind if he thought he was getting $6.5 million.

Steve told us that his driver Will was more than just a driver and an agent. He had a lot of side hustles, and it was a little known fact that he was in Dorinda’s cooking show on YouTube. Steve wasn’t sure how he ended up there, but thought it was because he was friends with Greg, who was also in the show. We saw a clip of Dorinda cooking, and two guys wearing aprons with no shirts did some test tasting. Broker Rich called Steve while he was in the car. Rich had come to Steve’s open house for the farm, and had given Steve a lot of positive input. We saw a clip, where Rich said it was like a Norman Rockwell painting. Even though the event was a massive success, Steve had yet to receive an offer, and he was getting concerned. Rich said he had clients who were interested, but not completely sold on living in the woods. They wanted to know if the seller would rent. They were offering $12,500 a month, with 6 months upfront. In Steve’s interview, he said it wasn’t what he was hoping for; he’d been hoping Rich would bring him a great offer. It was upsetting since he’d put so much work into it, and wanted to do right by Cornelia. He told Rich that he’d have to present it to his client, but they were on the market to sell. Don’t hold his breath. Rich said they did have something else lined up, and rentals were in demand, so he needed an answer quickly. Steve called Cornelia in Texas, and said she’d be getting $75K upfront. She asked what if someone wanted to buy it, and he said they’d break the lease. He also thought $15K a month was more reasonable. Cornelia liked the idea of having some immediate money, and also being able to show it to people. Maybe the renters would have friends who were interested. Steve said they’d put a clause in the contract to be able to show the house. He called Rich back, and said a little more money would make it work for his client, but the tenants would also have to vacate for a showing. Rich asked if 24-hour notice was cool, and Steve said that was acceptable. In his interview, he said it was risky, but he had zero offers. Cornelia would get $90K up front, and Steve would get a $6750 commission. He’d put money in Cornelia’s pocket, and he was going to get it sold.

Fredrik met with team member Keith about East 10th Street, and flashed back to Kelly Bensimon taking a pass on the property. Keith had a client that was interested in renting with an option to buy at $22 million, and Fredrick said Kelly not coming through was a bummer, but he was optimistic the seller would consider rentals. The asking price for the property was $28 million, which would be breaking a record, but dropping it to $24 million would still do it. Fredrik asked who the decision maker was, and Keith said, the wife. Fredrik asked what she was like, and Keith said she had a strong personality, and liked the arts, gardening, and cooking. In Fredrik’s interview, he said people thought real estate was easy. The listing had been lingering for 18 months, which meant he’d had it pre and post-covid. It was stressful, but he’d gotten into real estate to set records. Taking over the process, Fredrik made the call. The wife argued the price, but Fredrik said it was no financial risk; it was an option. She asked how many options he had, and he reminded her that the owner didn’t want to rent, and this was out of the goodness of his heart. But the option would be in place, even if they decided months from now, when real estate prices were going up. She said she’d talk to her husband, and Fredrik deliberately walked by subway grates, saying, he couldn’t hear, so call him back. He said Keith wasn’t kidding; the woman was on fire. She was a power mama. Keith got a text, and said it was tough to understand, but Fredrik did something right. They’d agreed to an option of $24 million. In his interview, Fredrik said it felt amazing being back in NYC. He’d just finished the biggest deal ever. It felt good. He and Keith went out for Italian food.

Next time, Ryan plays tour guide for international clients, Kelly wants to work with Fredrik. KJ’s clients are insulted about an offer, and Ryan gets fired. Maybe.  

🌆 Living Where You Work…

The $15 million penthouse.

https://www.eonline.com/news/1287846/see-fredrik-eklund-move-into-a-stunning-s15-million-penthouse-on-mdlny

🛣 Hitting the Road…

See you tomorrow for rounding out the week with soap, tea, and whatever wise words I can dig up. Until then, stay safe, stay changing lanes – both literally and figuratively – with caution, and stay investing in yourself. Brighten things up a little.

Jul9

July 8, 2021 – Molly Sets Up Judge Carson, Spencer Switch, Bi-Coastal Hustler & Blues

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What I Watched Today

(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)

General Hospital

On the phone in her office, Jordan tells someone that she and the PCPD appreciate their assistance. Good luck. There’s a knock at the door. Curtis comes in, and she asks if everything is okay. He says he just heard from his lawyer. Has she decided to fight the divorce?

At Charlie’s, TJ asks Molly to tell him again that she knows what she’s doing. She says she does, and he gives her a kiss for luck. She leaves, and runs into Stella outside. Stella asks if Molly isn’t joining her and TJ, but Molly says she has a really important appointment, but next time. Stella goes inside, and asks TJ, what’s up with Molly that she’s not joining them? He says, she’s a born crusader. If she thinks there’s a way to help someone, she’ll step up.

Ava joins Portia at another table, and asks how their girl is. Has she recovered from her scare at the gallery? Portia says, Trina’s no victim, so in the end she was more angry than scared that her big entrance to her graduation party turned into a scene from a horror movie. Once she got herself cleaned up, she had a terrific time. Portia doesn’t know where she gets it, and Ava says she thinks she’s looking at her.

Trina is reading in the park, when Victor/Spencer comes along. He asks if she’s reading anything good, and she says a book about mask-wearing feminists calling out misogyny in the art world since 1895, and he says, sounds enthralling. She says, they’re badass, unlike him who ghosted her on the 4th when he went in search for a bottle of water. He hands her a bottled water, and says, better late than never.

Nikolas approaches Martin at the MetroCourt, and asks if Martin got his message. Martin says he did. He was going to get back to Nikolas later today. Nikolas sits, and says, since they’re both there, does Martin have a minute? Martin says, a minute? Have a seat. What’s on his mind? Nikolas says, divorce.

Alexis babbles about the weather to a guard inside a prison office. She says, it smells good after it rains, doesn’t he think? The guard looks up from his book, and says, what? She says, never mind. She’ll just keep talking to herself. Shawn walks in, and says, or she can talk to him. She asks what he’s doing there; he’s going to get them in trouble. The guard opens the gate, and Shawn says, Henry is going to look away while he accidentally runs into her while she’s doing her daily exercise. They go into the other room, and Henry says Shawn owes him. They sit, and Alexis says she doesn’t want Shawn jeopardizing himself for her. He says he’ll be fine, but she says, nobody’s fine in here. She rubs her wrist, and he asks if it’s bothering her. She says her osteoporosis is acting up, and he asks if she’s taking anything for it. She can request medication that helps her stay healthy. She says she’s so grateful for working in the library, she didn’t want to request any special favors. She could ask Diane to help her with it, but she has no idea when she’s going to have a conversation with anyone on the outside again. He asks if solitary is getting to her.

TJ tells Stella, even though Molly wanted Alexis to take responsibility, she’s worried about Alexis being behind bars. She says, it’s hard on the whole family when a family member is in prison, especially during personal milestones, and TJ says, like graduating law school. She says, and graduating med school. He says she knows he’s been keeping in touch with Shawn. He and Molly saw Shawn the other night, and she says, that’s nice. He says, no offense, but when she says nice that way, she means anything but. It’s her right to feel how she feels, and he’ll always consider   dad his father, but Shawn is too. She says, Shawn is his birth father, and it’s natural for TJ to want a relationship with him. TJ thanks her for understanding, and she says, of course (🍷). She asks how his mother is.

Jordan says, Curtis is there about the divorce papers? and he says if she has a problem with the terms, they can talk about it, although he thought they were extremely fair. She says she doesn’t have a problem with the terms. They agreed to be amicable, and she thought that’s what they were doing. He says so did he, then his lawyer told him she hasn’t delivered the signed papers, even though he gave them to her weeks ago. He has to ask, what’s the problem? She says she’s had a lot going on. The initial investigation into Franco Baldwin’s death; Peter August attempted a kidnapping, then escaped; Chase was poisoned and nearly died; there’s been an uptick in overdoses because of Cyrus, who also took the mayor hostage and shot Curtis; Jason Morgan escaped from GH, where he was shot; and she had to deescalate a situation with Cameron Webber where he could have been shot. Oh, right, then her son graduated from medical school. He says he doesn’t mean to downplay her formidable list, but how long does it take to sign some papers and stick them in an envelope?

Trina takes the water from Spencer, says, thanks a bunch, and goes back to reading. He says she’s not giving him an inch, is she? She asks why she should. He must think he’s cute or something. He says he’s been told he has a certain charm, and she goes back to her book. He asks if she’s going to ignore him now, but she says she’s trying to read. He says she took his peace offering, and she asks what more he expects. He says, forgiveness maybe. He apologized. She says, no. He gave her a bottle of water on a hot day, and he says, okay, he’s sorry. He apologizes for disappearing on the 4th. Something came up. She says, it’s no big deal. After all, they barely know each other. He gets next to her on her blanket, and says, let’s change that.

Martin says he was wondering if he’d hear from Nikolas. He got a confusing call from Scotty last week. Was he right? Nikolas and Ava are getting a divorce? Nikolas says, despite his best efforts, yes, and Martin says he’s sorry to hear that. He hasn’t known either of them long, but it seemed they were a good match. Nikolas says, they were a perfect match. They’re being stalked, and Ava is terrified. She doesn’t want to put her young daughter Avery in danger. Martin says, that’s understandable, but why get a divorce? Nikolas says, this maniac wants them apart, threatening them with twisted gifts. He has Ava scared to the point where she’s convinced if they give him what he wants, he’ll leave them alone. Martin says he heard about the gallery break-in the other night. He has to admit, fake blood in the sprinkler system is a rather grisly way to get your point across, and Nikolas says it seems to be escalating. He asks what the police said. Is the new lead enough to catch him?

Molly approaches Judge Carson, and says she’s sorry to keep her waiting, but the judge says Molly isn’t late. She’s notoriously early. Molly sits and thanks the judge for meeting with her, and Carson says she’s glad Molly decided to take her up on her offer. She’s always happy to mentor promising new talent. Molly says she hopes the time prove  beneficial to both of them.

Jordan tells Curtis, it’s just one of those things. She thinks about signing the papers, and finds herself in the middle of another crisis. When she remembers to sign them, she’s already home, and the papers are at the office, and she promises herself that she’s going to sign them the next day. He says he gets it, but she also has a habit of using work to avoid personal issues. He thinks their marriage is about as personal as it gets. She tells him that she can’t say he’s wrong. She’s put off signing the papers for too long. The fact is, the two of them need to move along to whatever comes next. Maybe he already has.

Portia tells Ava, since the hostage situation, she’s been watching Trina closely for cracks, but there never seem to be any. She threw herself into her graduation, she’s focused on PCU in the fall, and she’s eighteen now. It’s not like Portia can be a helicopter mom, even though she wants to. Ava says she’s not surprised Trina is moving on; she’s so tough. Ava understands Portia’s instinct to hover. She hasn’t gotten over the terror she felt, seeing Trina standing there, covered in what looked like blood. It was such a nightmare. She had this moment of disconnect. She was telling herself that what she was seeing couldn’t possibly be real. She had that same feeling when she saw Kiki… and that of course (🍷) was real. She can’t tell Portia how relieved she was when the blood turned out to be fake. Portia says, her too, and Ava says she couldn’t bear to lose Trina. She hopes she’s not overstepping, and Portia says they’re past all that. It takes a village, right? She’s glad Ava is looking out for Trina. The college reference letter Ava wrote was so lovely, and she appreciates Ava continually encouraging Trina in her passion for art. Ava says, she’s so talented though. She has a great eye, great sensibility… Portia says, Trina told her the gallery is closed now? Was there really that much damage? Ava says, the paintings can’t be saved. She has insurance of course (🍷), but so much beautiful artwork gone. Portia says, that’s so terrible. She can’t even believe Ava is being stalked. What kind of person would want to cause that much pain?

Trina asks where they begin, and Spencer says, she likes art. Who’s her favorite artist? Other than guerilla feminists. She says, there’s too many to list. Before this book, she was reading Vermeer and studio method influences on twentieth century art, and of course (🍷) there’s David Driskell and Ray Reardon. He says, very well-rounded, and Trina says she loves art and art history. She’s majoring in fine arts. He says, at PCU, and she says, and at the Jerome Gallery. He says, where she got the… and she says thanks for reminding her. She’d almost forgotten. He says, sorry, and she says, what about him? What’s his deal? He says, kind of a large question, and she says she’s never seen him around before last week. Did he just move here? He says he has a place on Pierpont; it’s a studio. She asks if he lives by himself, and he says, we’re all we have in the end. She says, deep, and he says, so, PCU, fine arts; he sees she’s digging in. She says, they have a great art history program. Does he have a problem with art? He says, not at all. He likes art. The Museum de Some-French-word-I-don’t-catch in France is one of his favorite places of all time. Who’s her favorite impressionist?

Shawn says, solitary is tough, even for the strongest of personalities, and Alexis says, it’s ironic. She used to fantasize about having a place to go to where she could just have peace and quiet. Then when Julian and the girls are gone, and she’s all alone in the house, does he know what she did with that peace and quiet? She drank so she could make the time go by faster, because silence is not peaceful; it’s oppressive. And there are no windows. She starts to panic, and says there are no windows in her cell; none. Does he know Star Wars, when they’re in the trash compactor, and the walls keep closing in, and in, and in, on them. That’s a movie, so the walls were actually closing in on them, but she’s in her cell and the walls are stable, solid, bare, but she thinks they’re moving. She starts to cry and hyperventilate, and he tells her, calm down. Look at him. Focus on him.

Judge Carson asks if Molly is sure she doesn’t want a cocktail. Pinot? Molly says she’d better not. She still has work to do, and she really doesn’t drink much. Carson says, because of her mother? It’s probably prudent. Looks like they’re keeping Molly busy at the DA’s office. Molly says, yes, and she has so much to learn. Any free time she has, she’s going over old case files, researching precedents… Carson says, that’s industrious. She must be familiar with the County Clerk’s office by now. Molly says she is, and some of Carson’s old cases too. Carson says she guesses over the years she’s had a few cases that were precedent setting, and Molly tells her, she’d say so. As well as stretching the parameters of some of her felony cases. Carson says, stretching? and Molly says, in certain cases, Carson gave out maximum sentences, even when the defendant showed remorse. Carson says, the operative word being, shown. Some defendants are excellent actors, particularly during sentencing. It’s her job to protect the community. Molly says, especially when the defendants are Black?

Martin says he thought Nikolas heard. They found a footprint from the perpetrator. It’s a very unique footprint. They’re confident they can match the boot treads. Nikolas says he hadn’t heard. How did Martin find out? Martin says Nikolas isn’t the only person who has his sources, and Nikolas says, this changes everything. He has to go. Martin asks if he’s going to call about his divorce, and Nikolas says, there’s not going to be a divorce.

Trina tells Spencer that she’s not only about art. Her mom is a doctor, and she used to read her mom’s medical books. Spencer says, it sounds like a fascinating childhood, and she says, it was colorful. What does his mom do? Does she work, or is she a society mom? He asks why she’d think that, and she says she had him pegged as a trust fund kid; a studio on Pierpont. He says his mom died when he was little, and she says she’s sorry. She didn’t mean to be insensitive. He says, it’s a perfectly normal question. He hates that the answer always stops the conversation cold. He never really had a mom growing up, so he doesn’t know what he’s missing, right?

Shawn tells Alexis to focus on him, and asks if she can breathe with him. In for four, out for four. Got it? Let’s try it. They breathe together, and Alexis calms down. She says she thought she was having a heart attack, and he says he’s had panic attacks himself; they’re not fun. She says, it was scary, and he says she’s not alone. Try to remember that. She says she always admired that about him, and he says, breathing or counting? She says, he’s stable, and he makes people feel safe. He made her feel safe, even when she knew he was working for Sonny. He says they do go way back, and he’s glad she trusts him. She says she does, and wants him to tell her what’s going on. He says he knows her, and he doesn’t want her to freak out. She suggests he just tell her what’s going on, and he says he told Molly that Alexis’s stay in solitary might be thanks to Judge Carson, and she says, what?

Carson tells Molly, that’s a loaded statement. One could even call it an allegation. She should exercise more restraint in commenting on things about which she knows nothing. Perhaps she was mistaken in thinking Molly showed promise. Molly says she’s sorry… Actually she’s not sorry. It’s all there in the record. On comparable charges Carson routinely gave non-white defendants longer prison time than their white counterparts. That is not justice. Carson says, young lady, I’ll remind you that you’re speaking to a judge, and Molly says, a judge that exerted pressure to keep her mother in solitary because her mother is on to her. Carson says perhaps she should let the DA’s office know the disrespect she’s shown a prominent judge; they’ll see it as a liability. Molly laughs, and says she’s not afraid of Carson. And she has no respect for a judge who can’t or won’t act impartially. She’s trashing the very system she’s sworn to uphold, and Molly and her mother are going to stop her. Martin comes by, and says, excuse him. Is there a problem?

TJ tells Stella that his mom is doing well. Busy, as always. Stella says she’s so glad Jordan got that devil Cyrus Renault, and put him behind bars once and for all. He says, everyone is sleeping better now that Renault’s locked up, and she says, Jordan and Curtis make quite a team. Are they talking? He says, they talk. Why does she ask? She says, any talk of reconciling? but he says he doesn’t know. He doesn’t think it’s very likely since they just got divorced. She says, you never can tell. There’s always hope.

Curtis says, Jordan thinks he moved on? and she says she knows from Portia’s statement that he called her the night Cyrus took Portia and Trina hostage. Thank God he did. If he hadn’t reached out, that night might have had a very different ending. It also pointed to maybe a connection between him and Portia. He says, it’s true. Over the past few months, he and Portia have been spending a lot of time together. That’s why he called her that night. They kissed, and honestly, it just brought up a bunch of questions. Jordan says, he’s single, Portia’s single, so… He says she didn’t know about it? and she asks how she’d know. He says he saw her talking to Portia at Trina’s party, and she says, they talk all the time. Why would he assume they were talking about him? He says, because Portia’s been sending him mixed signals, and he thinks it’s because someone warned her away from him. She says, and he thinks that someone is her?

Ava promises Portia that she can keep Trina safe, especially now that she’s doing what that maniac wants, and getting a divorce. Portia hates that Ava is paying such a high price, but she does understand. When Cyrus had his gun trained on Trina, she was prepared to do anything to keep her safe. Ava should focus on keeping herself safe too. Nikolas walks in, and says he apologizes, but he has to speak with Ava. Portia says she has to get going, and leaves. Nikolas asks if Ava minds if he sits down. She says, only if he’s brought divorce papers, and he says, the PCPD has a lead on the stalker. It’s only a matter of time before he gets caught. She says she’s not having this discussion with him again. She can’t keep living like this. She sent Avery to live with Carly. At least there, she knows Avery is safe, but she doesn’t want to be separated from her child. She doesn’t want to look over her shoulder, afraid of what might happen next. Nikolas says, that’s no way to live, so – he takes her hands – run away with him.

Jordan says, for the record, if she had a problem with Curtis seeing Portia, she wouldn’t have gone to Portia. She’d say it to his face. He says, duly noted, and she says, not that who he sees is any of her business at this point. Now if he’ll excuse her, she has to get back to work, but don’t worry. She’ll sign the papers, and get them over to his lawyer asap. An officer comes in with a file Jordan requested and apologizes for interrupting. Jordan says she didn’t; they’re done here. Curtis leaves, and Jordan looks at their wedding photo, then puts it upside down in a desk drawer.

Spencer asks what Trina does for fun around there, other than read art books. She says she likes the beach. Has he been there? He says, she calls that a beach? and she asks if they have another name for sand meeting water where he comes from. He says, la plage, and she says, a beach by any other name is still a beach. He says she seems fond of hers; maybe they should go sometime. She says, formidablé, and his phone dings. She reaches for it, and he shouts, stop! startling her.

Alexis says, Shawn told Molly that she’s in solitary and Judge Carson is involved? Her baby daughter. He told her that Alexis is being persecuted while she’s incarcerated; is he insane? Dammit! Henry hears, and says, settle down. Alexis pulls Shawn to the other side of the room, and says he knows how Molly is, as determined as she is naïve. She thinks justice triumphs, and she will go charging into this fight, and it will ruin her law career before it even gets started.

Molly tells Martin, there’s a problem, but he says he was speaking to the judge. He asks if Carson is all right, calling her Naomi, and she says she’s fine. She shouldn’t have lost her temper, but this girl is making outrageous accusations. Molly says, the facts are plain as day if you look in the right places. Case in point, Shawn Butler is serving a 20 year sentence for attempted murder, while Judge Carson has given white defendants minimal prison time for the same charge. Martin says, young lady, that is no way to talk to her honor, and Carson says she’ll defend her record any day. A more seasoned lawyer would know that each case has to be evaluated on its individual merit. Looking at a bunch of sentences means nothing. She asks Martin why she’s even having this conversation. This girl hasn’t even passed the bar yet. Martin says Molly is obviously impetuous like her mother. He believes the case she’s looking at is her husband’s father. Molly says, domestic partner, and that is not the point. Carson says she thinks they’re done here. Just know that the DA’s office and the Bar Association will be made to understand Molly’s slanderous attacks on her reputation. Martin says, if he were Molly, he’d leave while he still had a job, and Molly says, gladly. Just so he knows, everything she said is true, and she’s going to prove it. She walks out.

Ava says, after everything she’s shared with Nikolas – her fear that this maniac might target Avery to get to her – does he think running away is going to change anything? He says they can take Avery and disappear. She always wanted a yacht, right? He’ll get a luxury cruiser, and they can sail for a month or so, until they get to Cassadine Island. They can wait there until the stalker gets caught. She says, and if he’s not? and he says, then Avery grows up on a Mediterranean island. She says he’d walk away from Windymere, after everything he did to get it back. He’d leave Laura. He says he’ll find a way to keep in touch with his mother, and can’t worry about the rest. He can’t lose her. He’ll keep telling her until she believes him that he’ll do anything to save this marriage, even if it means losing everything.

Trina says she was going to give Spencer her number, and he apologizes for being abrupt. He says, it’s locked, and unlocks it, handing it back to her. She puts her number in, and says she sent herself a text so she has his too. Is that cool? He says, formidablé. Portia calls Trina’s name, and comes out into the clearing. Trina says she didn’t realize it was so late, and Portia asks if she’s ready for dinner. She tells Spencer that she’s Trina’s mom Portia, and he says, how do you do? He’s Victor. Trina says she should have introduced them, and Portia asks if he’d like to join them for dinner… unless he’s expected at home. Trina says, mom, and Spencer thanks her for the invitation, but he has to get going. It was a pleasure meeting her. He tells Trina that he’ll see her later, and leaves. Portia says, so… Victor, huh? and Trina rolls her eyes.

Ava gets up, and tells Nikolas that she appreciates the gesture. She starts to leave, and he follows her, saying, it’s not a gesture. They can do this. They can take Avery and disappear. She says, running away won’t work. She can’t take Avery away from everything she’s ever known. She just lost her uncle, and her father, and her grandfather recently; all of whom she loved. She can’t take Avery away from her brothers and sisters. It’s just much too much disruption. He asks if it’s out of the question to fight for their marriage, and she says, it’s out of the questions to put Avery at risk just so they can be together. He might be willing to risk it. He might be able to dismiss the stuffed bear as some kind of prank, but she knows that if the stalker got that close to Avery once, he can do it again. She can not and will not take that risk. If he loves her, he’ll help her. He won’t fight her on the divorce, and he’ll agree to it to help expedite it. He says it seems he doesn’t have a choice. He’ll have Martin get the ball rolling on the divorce. They’ll file the paperwork, fill it with lots of boilerplate, negotiate everything from the division of property to a financial settlement. He’s sure Martin and Scotty can find plenty of ways to stall for time.

TJ tells Stella, he loves Jordan and Curtis, and hopes they work things out, but he’s pretty sure that ship has sailed. They’re both committed to moving on. She says, with other people? and he says not that he knows of, but it’s bound to happen at some point. He thinks she needs to accept that his mom and Curtis are over. She tells him, life takes many new twists and turns. Hasn’t he ever heard that saying, it ain’t over til it’s over? He asks what she did.

Carson tells Martin that she contributed to the African American associations and charities. She even had a Black roommate one semester in college. How dare this girl accuse her of bias or question her commitment to the law? He says, it’s outrageous. He can only surmise that Molly is prone to her mother’s unique instability. She says, so it would seem, and he says, seem? He’s known the judge for 20 years, and they travel in the same circles. He’s always known her to do what’s right. If Molly could look at this situation calmly, she’d see that the law isn’t only what’s written in the penal code. It has to adapt to social mores, lend itself to… interpretation. She says, absolutely. She has to evaluate each defendant not only on the basis of their past record, but how they were brought up, and what they’re future is likely to be. Some people only respond to incarceration, and that’s just the sad truth. He says he knows exactly what she means.

Shawn says he only told Molly because she’s already involved. She’s the one who brought Alexis the records. He wanted to warn her to stay away from Judge Carson. Alexis asks if he thinks Molly took is warning and is going to listen to anything he said, and he says he told her to take it to Diane and let her handle it. Alexis says, she’s not going to let it go. She’s not going to tell Diane; she’s going to keep it from Diane. She’s going to go in there, and try to rectify it herself, and Alexis can’t even go to her and try to talk some sense into her. Alexis starts to get wound up again, and says she has to get out of there. She has to get out of solitary.

Trina says, Victor is just a guy she knows. Don’t give him the third degree. Portia says she doesn’t know what Trina is talking about, and Trina says, all those questions about his family; she scared him off. Portia says all she did was invite him to dinner, and Trina says, then she asked if he was expected at home. Could she be more obvious? Portia asks if Trina is interested in this guy. He sure seemed interested in her. Trina says, he did? She means, he’s okay. He seems nice. Portia says, and hot, and Trina says, mom! Portia says she’s not blind. Where’d Trina meet him? Trina says, he works at The Savoy. If Curtis trusts Victor enough to hire him, then Portia can trust him too. Portia says, oh really? So this boyfriend’s for hire now? Trina says, my God, and Portia says she’s teasing. She can’t help but be interested in any boy who puts a smile on Trina’s face.

Spencer went to the cemetery, and looked at Mike’s gravestone.

Ava tells Nikolas, no stalling, no dragging things out. Do not fight her on this. He says he’s not, but she says he’s certainly not cooperating. What is it going to take? Something tragic to happen? She’d never be able to forgive herself, and she certainly wouldn’t be able to forgive him. He says, all right. He’ll tell Martin to make a quick divorce. Don’t worry. She says she won’t, once this is done. He touches her arm, and says he’s only doing this because he loves her. She says she knows. She loves him too. She leaves.

Curtis goes into Charlie’s and asks Stella what she’s been up to. She says she was just with TJ, and they were talking about how Curtis and Jordan still have some unfinished business. He says he wasn’t aware TJ knew about his and Jordan’s business or their divorce, and she says, that’s just it. After everything he and Jordan have overcome to be together, and she includes herself in that, they can’t just quit on each other. Given the time, they can work it out. He asks what she means by given the time, and she says, only that he and Jordan are together, and she’d say that to anyone. He says he has the feeling she already did.

Alexis says, this is partly Shawn’s fault. He knows he shouldn’t have told Molly. He says, because keeping things from Molly always works out so well. She hadn’t been able to reach Alexis. She was going to find out. He wanted Molly to watch her back so she didn’t rush into anything blindly. Molly might be idealistic, and even naïve, but she’s still smart. Smart enough to avoid trouble like Judge Carson, now that she knows about her. Alexis hopes he’s right. She has to believe that because she really has no other choice. He tells her, remember, Molly’s got people to lean on, and at this moment, she needs Alexis to work on herself. Focus on getting out of solitary. Can she do that? She says she doesn’t know, and he says, if she gets anxious, close her eyes, focus on her breathing, and stay in the moment, one breath to the next. She says she’ll do her best, and Henry says it’s time for them to go back to their cells.

There’s a knock on Jordan’s office door, and she says, come in. It’s Martin, and she asks if he has something for her. He says, only a recording of a very incriminating conversation with Judge Carson. We see Molly and TJ are in the office, and Molly says, the dishonorable Judge Carson is going down.

Tomorrow, Curtis asks where Stella gets off telling Portia something like that, Jordan asks what Molly wants her to do, Maxie asks what someone is doing in Port Charles, and Carly is going to let Jason break the happy news.

🗯 What I Should Have Said…

A teeny bit late, but saying goodbye to the old, and welcoming the new. Spencer is all Rico Suave now.

As General Hospital Unveils Its New Spencer, Nicolas Bechtel Takes a Bow: Hey, ‘It’s Been a Great Run’

https://www.digitaljournal.com/entertainment/nicholas-alexander-chavez-is-cast-as-the-new-spencer-cassadine-on-general-hospital/article

Million Dollar Listing New York

We learned KJ had moved to Rye when she was 11, and had her first listing there. NYC had been hit hard with covid, and people were moving to places like Rye. She didn’t usually sell outside NYC, but thought it was a unique opportunity to use her skills in another market, plus, it was her home town. She joined agent Kim at the property, where they met with owners Ravi and Lisa. KJ said she wasn’t used to so much green, and she didn’t mean money. The house was 5700 square feet, with 20 foot ceilings, 5 bedrooms, 5.5 baths, and ¾ of an acre. The kitchen was massive, with Miele appliances, and the primary bathroom had a jacuzzi and heated floors, but the coolest thing was a secret passage from the upstairs into a bedroom above the garage. In KJ’s interview, she said one of her greatest strengths was her honesty with sellers. They needed to hear from an expert what modifications had to be made for the property to sell. She told the couple what she thought needed to be updated, and believed $3.8 million was the highest they could go (her potential commission being $114K). The owners agreed, but hoped for a bidding war.

Fredrik was driving his convertible Bentley in L.A., but said he was in constant communication with his team in NYC. The 10th Avenue property was a test to see if the bi-coastal thing would work. If you remember, Fredrik participated in the showings as a robot – i.e. an iPad on a stick – and he said the showings were a massive success. He got two offers, one of $6 million and another just under that. He thought any offers were an accomplishment considering the market. He grooved to the stereo in his car, saying, since nightclubs were closed, the car was the new dance floor. He drove to Palm Springs to visit property owner John, and the temperature was 116 F. I will never, ever live in Palm Springs. He’d sold John the apartment in 2009, but John was retiring with his partner, and Fredrik wanted to do his best for him. He explained that NYC wasn’t doing too well, plus it was an election year, and no matter what, the uncertainty affected the market. There was also the pandemic, and around 40,000 apartments available. If he wanted to sell now, Fredrik thought they should entertain the offers. They’d asked $6.95 million, and John said he was disappointed. He’d hired Fredrik because he was supposed to be the best, but it looked like he’d be losing money. Fredrik called the two brokers involved, and the best he could do was get the $6 million as a firm offer. John decided to wait it out. BTW, Fredrik and Derek’s twins certainly grew.

Ryan was involved with developer Avi’s 138 unit, humongous building in Brooklyn. In Ryan’s interview, he said it was going to be the most luxurious new development project Brooklyn had ever seen. Avi was tough, but Ryan said he was nothing if not persistent. He’d sent Avi a tree because he wanted to grow the relationship, along with a video marketing the building as if they were already hired. He told us, play it like you’ve got the money in your pocket. It worked, because Ryan got the building. He had a lively discussion with driver Yuriy about how many floors it was, Ryan explaining it was 21 floors, and Yuriy insisting it was 155. Ryan said Yuriy had to work on his Russian counting. The building façade was now entirely up, and inside, the rooms had been formed. Ryan had been worried the project would stop after non-essential workers had been non-working for four months. His potential commission was a heart-stopping $9 million, but dropped to $0 when Avi told him to put it on hold; they were possible doing rentals. He told Ryan the election was bringing nerve to market, and covid was still very real. They had decisions to make, and might have to pivot. Where was Brooklyn going to be in a year? Ryan was sure the market would bounce back, but Avi wasn’t budging.

KJ set up a picnic for potential buyers and brokers, so they could wait in the backyard comfortably, while waiting for their private tours. She said when she was growing up, she didn’t know what her career path would be, just that it would be fabulous. We saw a lot of old photos.  

Fredrik said having twins and a big-ass career was a lot. He had one phone for the East Coast, and another for the West Coast. He approached Derek about possibly having more kids, but Derek thought life was going by too fast as it was, and they hardly had time together. In Fredrik’s interview, he said he understood, but didn’t want to look back and think coulda, shoulda, woulda. We flashed back over their journey to parenthood, and Fredrik told Derek, he’d finally found some friends on his level with the twins. Derek said he just didn’t want their life to get too complicated, and Fredrik said if Derek wanted simple, Derek shouldn’t have married him.

The owners had taken KJ’s advice, and she said the small changes would make a big difference. The picnic was set up, and it was adorable, with round blankets that had picnic baskets in the center. KJ said there was no comparison to the space you got there to what you’d get in the city. It was lush, private, and large, and what New Yorkers wanted to move to. Kim entertained in the backyard, while KJ did the showings. KJ’s mom, with the unfortunate name of Karen, came along with some buyers as their interior designer. In KJ’s interview, she said her mom had been in the business for 38 years. Tyler brought a couple who were his clients, and in her interview, KJ said before the pandemic, she and Tyler weren’t the best of friends. We flashed back to that, and KJ said that during quarantine, Tyler had FaceTimed her and apologized. We saw a clip of their conversation, and in Tyler’s interview, he said it had been his ego talking.

KJ said her mother had a lot of opinions, but she just let her talk during showings because it was usually going in the right direction. Sometimes she even paid her mom commission. She thought it was a great event. It had showcased the property well, everyone had a good time, and they had perfect weather. She’d gotten incredible feedback, and hoped for an offer.

Fredrik said the $6 million wasn’t the best offer, but in this market, it was. John rethought things, and decided it was the best they were going to get in the near future. It took him like ten minutes to spit it out. Fredrik’s commission was $180K, and he was thrilled with his first deal in NYC from L.A. It made him a true bi-coastal hustler, and his rap name was Six Percent.

Next time, Steve has a farmers market at Artemis Farm, a client is unhappy with Fredrik, and a germophobe doesn’t want to live where someone has lived before. Shades of Teresa from RHONJ.

🐎 Happy Trails To You…

It’s that time again, the end of another work week, or five sunrises and sunsets for those who are in non-work mode. Tea time tomorrow, Friday soap, and whatever quotes I’ve picked up. For right now, stay safe, stay extraordinary, and stay calling out the dishonorable.

Jun25

June 24, 2021 – Another Setback For Chase, KJ Gets a Win In an Uncertain Market, Ryan Finally Moves In & Houses

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What I Watched Today

(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)

General Hospital

Nina puts flowers on Nelle’s grave, and says, hello, daughter of mine. It’s been a long time since she visited and she’s so sorry. She just needed a little breather from this town and these people. From life, she guesses, but never from Nelle. She hopes that much is clear. Clear hasn’t been her forte these past few months. She doesn’t know what she’s doing anymore. She flashes back to dancing with Sonny at the Tan-O, and says, she’s been on this mission to find herself for months, and instead, she found someone else. Michael rudely interrupts her.

Willow goes to Chase’s room, and sees Chase and Finn looking grim. She asks, what’s wrong? and Chase says, it’s his legs. He can’t walk. She says she doesn’t understand, and Finn says Chase’s legs had atrophied from being in bed these post few weeks. She says, that’s to be expected, right? and he says, yes, but the toxin may have caused some nerve damage. Coupled with the atrophy, Chase is unable to move his legs. She asks what this means, and Chase says, right now, he can’t feel anything below his waist. Willow asks if Chase is paralyzed.

Alexis tells Shawn, she’s worried if they go public with what they’ve learned, there could be retaliation. He says if Carson wants to come at him, bring it, but she says, it’s not just them, but their loved ones on the outside. They just need to be prepared. He says they’re talking about a bunch of state employees, and bureaucratic red tape; how serious of a break does she think this could be?

A woman comes by Molly and TJ’s table at Kelly’s, and stops. She asks if Molly is Alexis’s daughter, and Molly says the woman is the judge who presided over her mother’s case. Judge… The woman says, Carson, and Molly introduces TJ, her partner and an intern at General Hospital. Carson says, impressive. Nice to meet him. She understands Molly is going to be working as an ADA at Robert’s office. She guesses they’ll be bumping into each other more often.

The hospital employees gather in the breakroom, and Elizabeth sees Terry. She says, it’s been forever, and Terry says, it’s been two days. Elizabeth tells her, like she said, forever. Oncology must be keeping Terry busy. Terry says there’s a position open there, and they’ve been pressuring her to make it official. Elizabeth says, that’s fantastic… isn’t it? Terry says, normally yes. She loves it in Port Charles, but the hospital’s future is still in question. And face it, she doesn’t exactly get along with the Chief of Staff. Elizabeth says she’s not exactly alone, although does Elizabeth have a story for her. Portia joins them, and Elizabeth tells her a meeting was called with all the department heads; it’s got to be about Cyrus’s replacement. Portia asks if they have any idea who it is, and they both say, no. Terry tells Portia that she has an idea of who might, when Laura walks in.

Britt asks if Jason remembers what a good time is, and he says, vaguely. She says, top down, the wind in her hair… and he says, it’s a convertible? She says, obviously. Maybe she’ll take him for a ride if he’s not too scared. He says, speed doesn’t scare him, and she says, even with her behind the wheel? He tells her, he said she was an awful driver; he never said she wasn’t safe. She says she’s definitely unsafe, and they almost kiss, when annoying Carly walks in, and says she and Jason have to talk about the Novak situation. She looks at them a moment, and says she’ll be at the MetroCourt. She’ll take care of it. She starts to walk out, but Jason says, wait. Is it important? Is it time sensitive? Carly looks at Britt, and Britt says, message received. This is clearly not something they can talk about in front of her.

Chase asks Finn if he doesn’t have that meeting, but Finn says he can skip it. Chase gives him a look, and Finn says, but he shouldn’t. He tells Chase to text if he needs him. He leaves, and Willow sits next to Chase’s bed. She says, talk to her, and he says, the nerve damage should repair itself over time. she says, so it’s not permanent, and he says, hopefully not, but time is of the essence apparently. She asks what that means, and he says if he has any shot of walking again, he has to relearn how to do it in the next few months.

Finn walks down the hall, and flashes back to his argument with Peter on the roof, and Peter launching the antidote over the side. He remembers throwing Peter down the stairs, and Elizabeth confirming Peter was dead. He gets in the elevator, hearing Gregory say that he’s the only one who can save Chase’s life.

Michael tells Nina that he’s sorry to interrupt – hint: if you think you’ll be sorry, don’t interrupt – but he saw her in the parking lot when he came in. She says, he’s here to visit… and he says, his dad. She thanks him for the visit with Wiley, and says she had a really good time. He says, Wiley did too, and she says she was surprised at his sudden about-face. He says they’d talked about it, and she says she knows, but she also spoke with Jax, and knows he’s been an advocate of her having more access to Wiley. But exactly how hard did Jax push Michael?

Carly tells Jason, there’s a time element in play, yes, and Britt says, it just so happens that she has a meeting at the hospital, so they’re in luck. But for future reference, she’d rather be told, you can’t hear this, than be talked around. She thanks Jason for the boxing lesson, and says she’ll let him know when the car comes in. She leaves, and Carly says, for future reference?

Elizabeth says she’s going to talk to Laura. Heading for Laura, she nearly collides with Finn. She says she didn’t think he was coming there, and he says, neither did he. Terry says they would have saved him a spot, and he thanks her, but says he’s more comfortable in the back of the room. No one will call on him there. There’s obviously a subtext going on, and he tells Elizabeth that he’ll see her around. When he’s gone, Terry asks Elizabeth, what was that all about? and Elizabeth says, Finn’s brother is still recovering… Terry says, everyone at the hospital knows what’s going on with that. She means, what’s going on between Elizabeth and Dr. Finn?

Portia, who’s beat Elizabeth to Laura, asks if Laura has any intel on who will be Cyrus’s replacement, and Laura says she does. Her mother gave her the scoop. Portia asks if she’s popping champagne or updating her resumé, and Laura tells her, let’s just say, it’s going to be interesting.

TJ asks Carson if she wants to sit, but she says she’s just grabbing some coffee. She asks if Molly took the bar in February, but Molly says she’s scheduled for July. She just finished law school. TJ says, talk about impressive. A job with the DA before she even graduated. If Molly won’t brag about it, he will. Carson says she commends Molly for taking a job at the DA’s office even after her mother was sent to prison. No one would have blamed her if she’d lost faith in the system.

Shawn tells Alexis, they’re not talking about gun-toting mobsters, and she says, they’re talking about people in power. He says, who want to stay in power, and she says, by any means necessary. There was an incident she heard of where a judge was being called into question by a defense attorney. The next thing you know, the defense attorney’s family is being harassed by local authorities, friends and family were denied permits, and that’s the least of it. So she thinks they should just alert Molly and TJ to all of this. What does he think? Quiet route or loud route? He says, neither. They just let his whole thing drop. If there’s any chance someone could get to TJ, they don’t do anything at all. She says please tell her he’s joking, and he asks if he looks like he’s joking. Even if they backchannel this, they can’t keep Carson from finding out. She’s well-respected and well-connected, right? Alexis says, right, but… He says, why give TJ another reason to be harassed? He can maintain in there. He only has a few years left on his sentence. She says, a sentence he shouldn’t be serving, for a crime he didn’t commit, and he asks if she thinks it’s the first time this happened to someone who looks like him. No. And it won’t be the last.

Carson says she’ll leave TJ and Molly to their coffee; it was nice to meet them. She tells TJ, good luck at the hospital, and Molly, good luck with the bar. If Molly ever has any questions or needs any pointers on case law, look her up. She’ll be happy to help. Molly thanks her, and says, it’s very generous.  Carson goes to the counter, and TJ says, wow. A judge offering to take Molly under her wing; it’s awesome. Molly says, is it?

Elizabeth says, it was really intense helping Finn save Chase, and Terry says, intense how? Elizabeth says, they had disagreements, and Finn requested she be taken off the case… Terry says, that obviously didn’t last long, and Elizabeth says, no, and they ended up making a pretty good team. Terry says, that kind of experience must have really bonded them, and Elizabeth flashes back to Finn touching her face. She says, yeah, you could say that, and looks across the room at Finn, who’s obliviously drinking his coffee.

Willow says, it’s like one setback after another, and Chase says, easy. He’s the one who should be worrying, not her, and he’s not. Because he’s got this. He’s going to walk again. For her.

Michael says, Jax definitely advocated for Nina seeing Wiley, but there were other factors that went into that decision. The main one being, he and Willow chose to trust her. Trust that she’d follow the guidelines and the rules when it came to Wiley. The reason he approached her is that they need to talk about Nelle. He knows they did a little, but there’s more to say. She says, of course (🍷). By all means. He says she knows what Nelle did to him, Willow, Wiley, his mom, and Brook; the list goes on. How Nina chooses to feel about Nelle, and make sense of the things she did, that’s up to Nina to figure out in her own time, but he can’t have her putting any of that on Wiley. Nina asks if she can be so bold as to ask him to do the same.

Carly says she doesn’t want to pry into Jason’s personal business, and he says, great; he appreciates that. (Like he’s going to get off that easy.) He gets out of the ring, and she says this isn’t her first rodeo. She gets it. He saved Britt’s life, he got shot, Britt saved his life… He says she saved his life, and she says he knows what she means; she’s not blind. Something’s going on. He says they’ve been over this, but if she needs to hear it again, yes. Something is going on with him and Britt, and it has nothing to do with her. Carly suddenly turns into her true form, a fire-breathing dragon, and burns the gym to a crisp. Not really. She says she’s sorry, but she disagrees. Anything that affects him, affects her.

TJ says, Carson is nice, isn’t she? and Molly says, yeah. She meant what she said. It was extremely generous of her to offer her guidance. He asks what the problem is, and she says, it feels kind of weird, considering she’s the judge who sentenced her mom. She knows her mom pled guilty, and she should consider herself lucky her mom got only three years… He says, it was a lenient sentence, and she says, still, her mother is in prison because of Judge Carson. Isn’t that a conflict of interest?

Shawn says, a man of color falsely convicted for a crime against a white woman. This isn’t new. Alexis says, which is why she wants to help, and he asks if she can single-handedly fix centuries of institutional racism. She says, no, but she can try, and he asks where all this righteous indignation was before she was in there with him, and before it affected someone she knew? He’s telling her to back off because he doesn’t think the risk is worth it for his son, or her daughter by the way, but she refuses. Does she even care what he wants? Or is this just all a savior complex? She says, that’s not what this is. She can help him. She’s a lawyer, for God’s sake. He says she’s not. She’s an inmate, just like him.

Nina says she’s hoping Michael and Willow will extend her the same courtesy, and not speak ill of Nelle to Wiley, and he says, Wiley doesn’t need to know who Nelle is. She says, eventually, he will, and Michael says she’s right. They’re preparing for that. It’s going to be a long and careful process to do it in a way that Wiley understands who his biological mother was, a troubled woman who did some terrible things, and not take it on himself. They’ve actually been meeting with Doc. He helped them find a child psychologist, someone they have lined up. The goal is to do this in the best, gentlest way possible, so it’s not some horrible secret that devastates Wiley when it comes out, and he won’t carry the burden of what Nelle did. Nina says she doesn’t want that for him either. She just hopes one day, at some point, she gets a chance to tell Wiley who she thought Nelle could have been. He says, when Wiley is 22 years old (kind of random, but okay), and his psychiatrist tells him it’s okay, he’ll be fine with that. Right now, Wiley is too young to understand anything other than Willow is his mom and he loves her. That’s where he is, and that’s where he’s going to stay until they collectively decide otherwise. She says she agrees 100%. She’s not there to rock the boat; just the opposite. He’s glad they’re on the same page. He tells her, take care, and leaves. Nina turns back to Nelle’s grave.

Chase asks if Willow remembers the rock climbing wall they never got to, and she says, the rock climbing wall he was going to drag her to, kicking and screaming? He says, they’re going as soon as he’s back on his feet. When Finn gets out of that meeting, he’ll have Finn set up physical therapy sessions. It’s going to take a while, so he wants to get started right away. She says he’s still recovering from the nerve damage. He needs to be careful of pushing himself too hard too fast. He says he’s going to push himself just right. Anything to get near his goal. She says, rock climbing? and he says, marrying her again, in the Quartermaine rose garden, with a ceremony and reception, in front of all the people who care about them. And he’s not going to be wheeling himself down the aisle. No way. They’re going to be walking hand in hand.

Carly says, whether or not it was the right move to force Jason to escape, she did it because they’re in this together. She knows they’ve always been in this together, but since Sonny died, things are different. Is she wrong? He says, no, and she says, and this isn’t a normal business. Hell, it’s not even a business; it’s a family, and everything that means. The protection, the planning, the danger. She had no idea how hard that was, but they’re in this together. So can he see how concerning it might be when he comes back from being on the run with Britt… He says he came back because she called him for help, which is exactly what she should have done. He said he would handle it, and he handled it. She says, he did. He came in guns a-blazing on the pier, and saved them like always. Except this time, he’s connected to someone she barely knows, and she really seems important to him. Is she? He says, yes, she is.

Britt dashes into the breakroom, and Terry tells Elizabeth, she made it. For a second, she thought maybe they would be the ones who got to write her up. Elizabeth says, believe her, she has a laundry list of complaints about Britt, but Britt believed in Jason when Elizabeth didn’t. She stood by Jake’s father when Elizabeth didn’t. So what is she supposed to do with that? Terry says she thinks it’s impressive the way Britt stood by Jason, but Elizabeth can be grateful to Britt and still not like the way she runs the hospital. Two things can be true. A woman comes in, and tells them, good morning. She knows they’re all curious about what was decided by the Board this morning. The revelations about Mr. Renault were troubling, to say the least, and they took swift action in removing him and finding a replacement that will make this Board, this hospital, and this city proud. A potential candidate was suggested by none other than Lesley Webber, and it’s with great pride that she shares this candidate was elected unanimously. Someone who has a long tenured history with the hospital, who they know will embrace this role with gusto, not to mention professionalism and competency. Please welcome their new Chairperson of the Hospital Board, Monica Quartermaine. Everyone applauds, and Monica takes a little bow.

Laura tells Monica, congratulations; no one is more deserving. Monica thanks Laura, and thanks all of them for the warm reception. She can’t tell them how honored she is to be back working at General Hospital. She’s missed walking around these halls so much in the last few months. She wants them to know, as Chairperson, she’ll remain as dedicated and devoted as ever. She’ll spend every day proving to them that she’s worthy of taking General Hospital into the future by also honoring its past. Everyone applauds again. Only Britt doesn’t look thrilled.

Carly says, Britt is important to Jason how? What does that mean? He says, it means he can’t tell her any more than yes, and she says, she just went over all the reasons they need to be a team, and he says, they are a team. She says she needs to know what’s going on, and he says she asked if Britt was important to him, and he told her yes. He can’t tell her why or how; it’s something he can’t talk about. She says she gets privacy, and they can have all the privacy they want. She just needs to know what she’s dealing with here. She looks like she might cry, and Jason says, nothing is going to change between them. Like she said, they’re a team. No matter what, it’s going to stay that way. Good Lord. Carly is acting like a jealous high schooler.

Molly asks TJ something I can’t hear about taking the job with Robert, and he says she knows where he stands on that. She asks him to go through it with her again, and he says, first and foremost, he supports her, but does he think it will be hard changing the system from within? Yeah. She says, it has to be possible, right? and he says if anyone can do it, it’s her. She says, and his mother. She walks that line every day. He says, she tries to. Remember when he was accused of shoplifting? She says, wrongly accused, and he says, his mom had to navigate being both a mother and the Commissioner, and she’d be the first to tell Molly, she didn’t succeed at either. It wasn’t her cross to bear. Molly says, when you put yourself on the front lines, it ends up that way.

Alexis says she’s sorry, and Shawn says he is too. She says sometimes she gets so caught up in the rightness and wrongness of something, she forgets there are actual people involved. It’s a blind spot, and not the first time someone has pointed it out, but she’ll try to make it the last. And he’s right. In there, she’s not a lawyer. He apologizes for saying that, but she says, it’s true. As the person advising him, she has to respect his wishes. If he wants to hit the pause button for a while, they will. Two guards come in, and Guard #1 tells Shawn to get back to his cell. Shawn says he has permission to be there for a few more hours, but the guard says, not anymore. His library privileges have been revoked. Alexis asks, why? and the guard tells Shawn, say goodbye to Ms. Davis. They’re not going to be seeing each other much anymore.

Monica says she’s 100% committed to bringing General Hospital back to its former glory. Part of that is reversing some of the questionable decisions her predecessor made, so effective immediately, Bobbie and Epiphany are returning to their positions. There’s more applause, and Laura asks if Monica told Bobbie and Epiphany the good news. Monica says she did, and Bobbie has already gotten her clipboard out of storage. They all laugh, and Monica says, Epiphany accepted graciously, but she’s not about to cut her Cabo vacation short. She’ll be joining them when she gets back. That’s about it. Everybody get back to work. People congratulate Monica as they leave, and Finn says he really missed Monica. She says she missed him too. Now go tend to his brother. He says, yes, ma’am, and leaves. Portia says she knows she and Monica didn’t overlap for very long, but she’s heard nothing but wonderful things about Monica’s leadership. Laura says, they’re all in excellent hands. Monica is the best at what she does. Monica says now she’s on the business side, so watch their budget overruns. Britt says she guesses it’s time to face facts, and Monica asks, what facts are those? Britt says she was the one who replaced Monica when she was fired. She sacked Epiphany, per Cyrus’s request. Payback’s a bitch, right? She guesses Monica is going to replace her as Chief of Staff. Everyone gives each other soap looks.

Nina tells Nelle’s headstone, even though it stings, and she didn’t love everything Michael said, she does believe Michael is right. She’s so thankful. The way she’s been acting lately, not a lot of people would have given her a second chance, but he did. If feels good that Wiley has a father that is so devoted to him. Wiley feels loved and cared for and safe. This really delicate place of trust that they’re in, is going to be blown to hell if Michael ever finds out she knew Sonny was alive, and didn’t tell anyone for months. She doesn’t know what she’s going to do. She isn’t going to be able to see her grandson, who is the only piece she has left of Nelle, ever again.

Jason tells Carly, the situation with Britt is a reality. He’s not going to lie about it. He’s not going to say there might not be an overlap, and when Carly calls because she needs his help, he might not be with Britt. She says he’s allowed to have relationships, and he says he doesn’t know what this is; where it’s going or if it’s going. She says, but it’s something, and he says, yeah. It’s personal with Britt and it’s personal with him. She says, and he can’t talk to her about it, and he says he’s not trying to shut her out. He just can’t go there, but she knows him. He’ll honor his commitment to her, always. Nothing’s going to change on his end. He can’t speak for her… She says, what? How can he say that to her? Honestly, if she doesn’t calm down, she’s going to have a heart attack.

Willow tells Chase not to do it for her. He should focus on getting better for himself. He says, can’t it be both? She’s everything to him. Finn walks in, and says he really needs to work on his timing. Actually, there’s a meeting he can go to… Willow says, he has work to do. Chase is all his. She starts to leave, and Chase says he loves her. She says she loves him too, but hesitates for so long and makes so many faces, I’m surprised Chase doesn’t ask if she’s sick. Michael comes out of the elevator while she’s hyperventilating in the hallway, and she runs to him. He holds her, and she cries.

Molly guesses her assumption that she could just swoop in and make the justice system fair for everyone was a little naïve, but TJ says she won’t know until she tries. She thanks him for being her biggest champion, and he says, always. She says she’s his too; he knows that, right? He says, if this mug doesn’t say it all, he doesn’t know what does, and they kiss.

Shawn says he was granted permission to use the library weeks ago, and hasn’t had an incident since. Guard #1 says he doesn’t have to tell Shawn, but the orders came from the warden himself. Alexis asks, on what grounds were Shawn’s privileges revoked? and the guard says, the same as they were granted, at the discretion of the warden. Alexis tells Shawn that he needs a lawyer. She’ll get him one by the end of the day. Guard #1 gets close to Alexis and tells her that she’s walking a fine line. Shawn puts his hand on the guard, and the guard pushes him back. Alexis tries to intervene, and Guard #2 pulls her away. Alexis falls to the floor, as Shawn struggles to go to her.

Nina says, Sonny has embraced his life in Nixon Falls. She kneels down by Nelle’s grave, and says, she didn’t really know him well when he was in Port Charles, but you could tell that he was tortured. He was burdened by his power, and haunted by all these tragedies. But the Mike she knows doesn’t have any of those things. She knows from Carly and Michael’s perspective, what she’s doing is wrong, but when she looks in Mike’s eyes, he doesn’t have any of that pain. He’s happy, so maybe she’s not wrong. It’s not because she feels drawn to Sonny, or she likes this version better. It’s because this man has been through hell, and now all that is washed away. And he’s happy. He’s truly happy. She puts her hand on the gravestone and says, that’s something she never had a chance to give to Nelle.

Guard #1 tells a random guard to take Shawn to his cell, while Guard #2 helps Alexis up. Guard #1 tells Alexis that she just instigated an altercation with a guard from the Department of Corrections in New York. He hopes she enjoys solitary confinement. Guard #2 takes her away.

Britt tells Monica, don’t worry. She won’t hold it against her. Monica says she hasn’t made any decision about the Chief of Staff, but assures Britt that when she does, there won’t be any prejudice involved. It’s a personal decision, and her ability to get along with that person is paramount. Terry says, if the matter isn’t settled, consider her as well. She’s sorry, but she’d like to throw her hat in the ring for Chief of Staff. It annoys me that she felt the need to apologize. As women, we often feel the need to apologize when we shouldn’t.

Finn is surprised Chase’s spirits are high. He just got a pretty serious diagnosis. Chase says he’s staying strong for Willow. He can beat this. He has to.

Willow tells Michael, Chase said their wedding is the thing that will get him through this; that he’s going to walk for her. How is she supposed to tell Chase the truth about her and Michael now?

A building blows up on the pier. It looks pretty impressive.

Carly says nothing will ever change for her when it comes to Jason. She’s just tired of being the selfish one all the time. Hint #2: stop being selfish then. He asks what she’s talking about, and she says, people are always saying she’s the one who makes impossible demands on him; asking him to do everything. He asks why she cares about what the rest of the world thinks. She’s loved him, she’s supported him, she’s fought for him. She’s been there for him since the day they met, and they both know, it goes both ways. Yes, he does a lot for her, but he wouldn’t be standing there with the life that he has if it wasn’t for her. They’re both up against it right now for a lot of reasons, but they look weak, and if they don’t deal with it, it’s game over. So they’re going to deal with it because they’re in this together. She nods, saying, she really needed to hear that, and he hugs her. His phone rings, and he says,  yeah?… When?… He heaves the huge sigh he’s now become famous for, and says, he’ll let them know the next steps. Carly asks, what happened? and he says, the docks have been hit. Somebody is making a move against them.

Tomorrow, Valentin asks what Anna’s instincts tell her about Austin, Lucy tells someone they’ve got to leave, Sasha doesn’t know how she’s going to tell Nina that she’s pregnant, Nina doesn’t know where home is anymore, and Brick tells Carly and Jason, they’re running out of time to push back.

Million Dollar Listing New York

Tyler said he was busier than ever. He was meeting the owners of a 3000 square foot, 4 bedroom, 3.5 bath apartment in Morningside Hts., located between parks and near Columbia, on 110th Street in Harlem. (I used to go to a great pizza place up there. Good times…) Tyler had convinced the owners into sinking $30K on staging before he started showing the apartment, and prayed they loved the results. He told owner Jeannine that it was no longer a family home, but a product. He explained the concentration was on neutral colors, and low key furniture, so potential buyers would take in the amount of space. Jeannine said it no longer looked like a home where kids had been throwing footballs around. In Tyler’s interview, he said he could tell there was going to be an emotional connection to the lives that had been lived there, but he wanted to get it marketed because of the upcoming election. He said, whichever way it went, a pause would be put on real estate. Whether or not people came back to NYC would depend on how the virus was being handled. He was selling both memories and somebody else’s future.

KJ met with fitness instructor/guru Megan Roup at a park. They’d connected virtually, but it was the first time they were meeting in person. She told Megan about the 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment on 14th Street that she was trying to sell. Seller and friend, Stephanie was moving to Miami, and not happy with how long it was taking. Since brokers weren’t having events in the conventional way, KJ thought she’d have a workout event in the outside space of the apartment, which had more square footage than the inside. Since it was a walk-up, the attendees could warm up by taking the stairs. Megan would teach a class, then KJ would take groups to see the apartment. We learned that KJ had been the National Champion in race walking, and she did a demonstration.  

Ryan said since he’d opened his brokerage, things were going really well, but before he built a new sales force, he had a handful of listings to take care of from Nest Seekers. He met team member Talia at the 84th Street property to brainstorm about promoting it. Talia said people were coming back to NYC, and in Ryan’s interview, he said the city was slowly picking up. They discussed the neighborhood, and Ryan said one of the things he loved about NYC was that it was the most culturally and racially diverse city in the world. Talia said it was upsetting seeing what was happening in the world, but she felt a silver lining. It was opening up opportunities for people to talk about injustice. It was nice to see people coming together, and becoming more educated. They talked about real estate terms no longer used, like master bedroom. She said change was happening, and in his interview, Ryan said he couldn’t experience what Talia did, but he could listen, hear, and help as much as possible. Talia said the problem with showing the apartment was that people didn’t want to travel there, with public transport still being iffy. Ryan said since they weren’t spending money on events, they could put it into transportation.   

KJ set up with the workout/showing with her assistant, putting out tons of juices, water, and eco-friendly glass straws, and completely opening the NanaWall. In KJ’s interview, she said it took some thinking outside the box, but she knew people were missing in-person exercise classes. So she’d invited brokers to work out with a celebrity fitness guru. Her hope was, they’d be so sore, they’d remember the apartment.

Tyler was having a brokers showing for the apartment on 110th Street, and told Kemba to play up the fact it was near three major parks, one of them being Central Park. People were looking for outdoor space. He’d invited Alana, an intuitive psychic, to do an entrepreneur workshop, at Jeannine’s suggestion, and his life coach Vivace, who would coach female entrepreneurs and businesswomen to feel inspired about future. He felt people were losing confidence, and they could be socially distant while getting affirmation and career advice. In Tyler’s interview, he said, usually, it was about the agents getting excited about the property, but this one would be all about the agents. He told the brokers that the apartment was his anti-suburb listing, for people who wanted space, but didn’t want to leave the city. In his interview, he said it was hard to be an agent right now, and it felt good to have an event that empowered other agents. They had to keep their heads in the game. The pandemic wasn’t going to last forever.

Steve talked to Cornelia Guest, owner of the 456-acre Artemis Farm. He told her people were interested in having their own space, but being within driving distance of the city. He thought upstate New York was a hidden gem, more discreet than the Hamptons. He thought a price tag of $3.995 million felt good, and she said she trusted him, and knew he had her best interest at heart. Steve said he loved the city, his life there, and his job, but selling upstate was a damn good way to spend a Saturday. The farm felt like a country manor; modern, but not too modern. It was the perfect combination of shabby and chic. Before he went full throttle, he wanted to do pre-showings with people he thought could help get it sold. His secret weapon was Dorinda Medley (Real Housewives of New York City), who was Berkshires royalty. Bluestone Manor was famous, and he thought she was the perfect person to spread the word. Among others, he’d also invited publicist Greg, who was also a marketing guru, hoping that this showing would get a lot of people interested. He kept property manager Tim on hand to answer any questions, and in Steve’s interview, he said, a good broker knows where their expertise ends and someone else’s begins. The land was protected so that no one could build on it, but the upside was, no taxes had to be paid on it, and it could be rented out for events. Steve said one event could pay for the mortgage.  It really is a gorgeous, magical property, and if I had a spare $5 million, I’d buy it in a heartbeat. Dorinda said it would be a safe purchase in the long term, and Steve suggested selling Bluestone Manor for her. Dorinda said he might as well sell her soul; she was Queen of the Manor. Steve said the best way to show a large property was to show how much fun you could have with the space, and took his guests all around the place in an ATV. When they left, he wanted them to tell their friends what a joyride the property was.  

In Ryan’s interview, he told us that he was now the most followed real estate company in world. For the showing on 84th Street, he got what he called his covid-19mobile, a Lamborghini SUV with all the trimmings, including Plexiglas between the passengers, air filters, and Yuri in a Hazmat suit. He said a mixture of people were coming for the showings; some had reached out to him, some were his personal clientele, and there were even people he’d talked to on the street. He decided he could talk to them about the neighborhood, and 5200 square foot, 5 bedroom, 5.5 bath property, during the drive. He presented Yuri as fully protected and sanitized, and in his interview, he said, from crisis comes opportunity. This is why he’s so successful.

Once again I laughed at KJ trying to work and take care of her kids, who were like, mommy! mommy! mommy! She said she had a fabulous nanny, who was also student, and there was no back up childcare right now. KJ admitted she was not a WFH person, but her team had stepped up, and were doing showings at 14th Street, and doing a great job. Stephanie was in the process of moving, and putting pressure on her. The asking price was $2.625 million, and KJ got an offer of $2.3 million. In her interview, she said the covid discount seemed to go from 10-15% to 30%. There was nothing worse than getting a seller to drop aggressively, then getting a lowball bid. Stephanie was surprisingly understanding, saying, given the times, it wasn’t horrible. Everyone agreed $2.375 was a pretty fair number, but the buyer wanted to some of the furniture thrown in for that price. Stephanie said that hadn’t even been in the conversation, and when KJ could get her to budge by reminding her that she wouldn’t have to move it, KJ offered to lower her commission by $10K for the furniture gap. It was deal, but I didn’t cry for KJ, whose commission was still $61,250. In KJ’s interview, she said it felt like a win considering the uncertainty in the market.

Next time, Fredrik deals with an unhappy seller, KJ looks at property in her home town, and Ryan takes on the most luxurious development project in Brooklyn.  

Ryan’s Renovation

At the end of the last episode, Ryan and Emelia faced another delay, and it would be another three months before they could move in. They weren’t going to be in by Christmas as planned, and were a million dollars over budget. The goal was now Greek Easter.

In March, they had the completion reveal. It had been almost two years, and Ryan said it had been like Build-A-Bear. He and Emelia met with the interior designers. In April, they moved in some personal items, but were starting fresh with the design team working at the house. Emelia said it was exciting to be packing, but bittersweet. Ryan said their Soho apartment had seemed extravagant when they moved in. It was hard to believe how far they’d come. When they met, he’d just started in the business, and Emelia had just gotten out of law school. We flashed back to their wedding, and he said they’d expanded in all ways. They even had a tiny human they made together, and had outgrown the home that seemed perfect for them. The movers came, and Ryan had to go to work, leaving Emelia and her mom to deal with Zena. When move-in day arrived, Ryan said he couldn’t believe they were actually moving into the house, and that it was done and furnished. He wasn’t ready. He told Emelia, after everything they’d been through, he thought this moment would never come. The designers met them at the door.

Emelia thought their styles had been married well – hers being moody and dark, and his light and airy. Ryan said it was completely insane. They’d designed it on paper, and now it was real. We saw some before and after photos, and the whole place was beyond fabulous. Ryan said they’d do the landscaping when Emelia was in Greece during the summer. Emelia’s mom liked her downstairs suite, but said it was too far; the issue being the reception of the baby monitor. I suddenly wondered why they didn’t get a TV monitor like you’d have for your front door. I’m sure it’s expensive, but they just spent a skabillion dollars, so what’s a couple hundred more? Ryan said the closet was 250 square feet, the same as his first apartment. Emelia said she felt very blessed, but humbling as it was, she was proud that after so many years, they were there.  

In an amusing moment, Ryan showed Zena Andy Cohen’s picture on his phone. She wasn’t impressed. Zena was deposited with Emelia’s brother Stratos, while Ryan had a virtual meeting with his team. A bunch of family members came over for champagne and tons of food. Ryan thanked them for coming and breaking the house in, and said they were welcome forever. We flashed back over the renovation, and Emelia said, in spite of the ups and downs, it was worth it. It feels like home. Ryan said he never thought he’d say it, but all their hard work paid off. Alone on the terrace, they toasted to a happy Easter, Ryan adding, and to never doing it again. Emelia said, except maybe in Greece.

I really enjoyed this show. I like Ryan and Emelia. They seem like genuinely nice people, who worked hard to get where they are, and deserve what they’ve worked for. Although I’m sure Ryan isn’t going to slow down any.

🕍 Renovation Of a Lifetime…

There aren’t many after photos, but take it from me, it’s one amazing house. With a lot of stairs. I thought the elevator installation was very wise.  

https://www.bravotv.com/million-dollar-listing-new-york/style-living/see-inside-ryan-serhants-new-brooklyn-townhouse

https://heavy.com/entertainment/bravo/ryan-serhant-brooklyn-house-renovation-home/

https://people.com/home/see-ryan-serhants-expensive-renovation-in-sneak-peek-of-the-million-dollar-listing-spin-off/

🦘 G’Night, Mate…

Oh wow, it’s not daylight out yet. Join me tomorrow for soap, tea, and many a quote. Until then, stay safe, stay ignoring the haters, and stay finding opportunity in crisis.

Jun18

June 17, 2021 – Obrecht Pays a Visit To Jason, a Sale At the Ansonia, Ryan Takes a Leap, Because It’s Juneteenth & Jive

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What I Watched Today

(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)

General Hospital

Elizabeth goes up to the roof, and looks around for Anna. She thinks she sees Peter.

At the hospital, Josslyn limps over to Trina, who says, out with it. What’s the prognosis for her ankle? Josslyn says, not good, and Trina says she thought it would be healed by now. Josslyn says, her too, but look at her x-rays. Just kidding. She got the all-clear. She jumps up and down, as much as she can still wearing a boot. She says she can start training for the PCU volleyball team. Trina says Josslyn is so evil, and Josslyn says sorry she faked Trina out. As soon as the nurse comes with her PT referral, they can go. Trina says, more PT? and Josslyn says, to strengthen her ankle. Trina asks if Josslyn is faking her out again, but Josslyn says she really needs the referral. She wasn’t pranking Trina to be mean. She was just excited to get some good news. Trina says Josslyn is overdue for it; they both are. Josslyn can’t believe Cyrus took Trina and her mom hostage. Talk about someone truly evil. Trina says, he’s in police custody now. It’s finally over, and they have so much to celebrate. They high-five.

Laura accompanies Jordan to her office, and says she’s glad they decided to relocate. Their conversation is best held privately. Jordan says, there is no conversation to have. She hands Laura an envelope, and says, here’s her resignation as Commissioner of the PCPD. All Laura has to do is accept it. Laura says, with all due respect, this is about something much bigger.

Finn does lab stuff in his lab, and Gregory asks what he’s doing there. Portia told them that Chase might not survive another day. These could be his last hours. Finn looks in his microscope, and Gregory asks why Finn and Chase aren’t spending them together.

Phantom Peter walks toward Elizabeth, then disappears. Elizabeth keeps walking, and finds Anna pulling at the elevator door. Anna asks how Elizabeth knew she was up there, and Elizabeth says Britt told her that Anna was looking for Peter and might be there. She asks if Anna found anything, but Anna says, just this old elevator; it’s not working. She has the feeling it might be the key to how Peter got out of the hospital undetected.

Britt stands at her office door, and flashes back to Jason saving her from Cyrus’s men. Obrecht comes up behind her, and says, in or out? Choose one. She can’t abide indecision. Britt says, hello, mother, and Obrecht asks if they’re staying or going. Britt says she was lost in thought, and Obrecht says, about? Britt says, how she almost died when Cyrus’s men trapped her there, and Obrecht says, fortunately, she had a savior. Britt smiles.

Carly tells Jason, when she saw him and Britt at the MetroCourt, she’s not going to say there were sparks, but there was definitely a connection. He says she’s right.

Obrecht says, thrilling as it must have been to have Jason save her, Britt was terrorized in this office. No doubt the memories linger, to say nothing of her current circumstances. How is she feeling? Britt says they don’t have to talk about Huntington’s every single time they see each other, do they? She cherishes every moment it’s not on her mind. Obrecht says, of course (🍷). She suggests Britt enter her office with some kind of weapon. Go for the legs first. Britt says she doesn’t need to be armed to go into her own office. Cyrus just left the hospital in police custody. The threat is over. Obrecht tells her, don’t be naïve. Cyrus may no longer be a threat, but Henrik definitely is. She wants Britt to be on her guard at all times in case he returns. Next time, Jason might not be on hand to save her.

Jason tells Carly, Britt saved his life; he’s grateful to her. Can they just leave it at that? She says she understands he and Britt were fugitives, and they were in heightened circumstances. She knows how things go. His phone rings, and he says he needs to take it. He answers and says, how big a problem?

Laura tells Jordan, after all this time, Port Charles has finally triumphed over Cyrus Renault. They put him in a Federal penitentiary, in the Midwest, where he has no contacts. His organization has been smashed, his people have scattered everywhere. He has no power. None. This is a major win, for Jordan and the PCPD. To resign now would be to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, and not just for Jordan, but for the whole department. Jordan says, Cyrus left a trail of devastation. Lulu is still in a coma. Laura says Jordan suffered too, and Jordan says, the list of people harmed by Cyrus goes on and on. There would be no list if it wasn’t for her and Taggert. Laura thinks Jordan is oversimplifying it a bit, and Jordan says, falsifying evidence against Cyrus laid the groundwork for his release from prison. They gave him an opening, and he terrorized the citizens of Port Charles, and for that, she’ll never forgive herself. As mayor, Laura shouldn’t forgive her either.

Elizabeth gestures toward the warning: out of order sign, and tells Anna, everyone has forgotten about this old elevator. Anna says, it was originally constructed for Helena Cassadine to have access to this secret lab beneath the hospital. Recently, Olivia Jerome used it in her demented attempt to resurrect the dead. Elizabeth says, using Griffin Monroe, and Anna says, as if you could bring anyone back. Elizabeth says she knows how much Anna grieves for Duke, and Anna says, as Elizabeth does for Franco, dead at Peter’s hand. Now Chase’s life is at stake because of Peter. Elizabeth says, it’s been painful watching Chase’s family come to terms with what’s happening, and Finn is going crazy trying to figure out a way to save him. Anna says she saw Finn earlier; he’s devastated. Elizabeth says she knows how much Anna cares for Finn. Instead of being up there, maybe they should go back and offer their support and help.

Gregory tells Finn, he went by Chase’s room. Chase has drifted off to sleep, and Jackie and Willow are planning the wedding. He slipped away to find Finn. Jackie said he took off like a shot, after some strange encounter with Cyrus. Finn says, Cyrus was on his way to prison, and made a point of speaking to them. Finn goes to the whiteboard and writes some chemistry formulas. Gregory asks if what Cyrus said is more important than spending time with Chase in what could be his final hours. Finn just found out he’s Chase’s father. Why wouldn’t he want to spend as much time as possible with him? Finn says he thinks he can save Chase’s life, and Gregory says, Finn told them he’d run out of options. Finn says, he thought he was, until the run-in with Cyrus. He thinks he knows why his treatment didn’t work. Gregory says, the Trojan horse where Finn combined the DNA of both parents, and Finn says he used his own DNA, not Gregory’s. Gregory says he doesn’t understand, and Finn says he doesn’t think Chase is his son. He thinks Chase is Gregory’s son. YES!

Trina tells Josslyn, her mom just texted. Cyrus is headed for some penitentiary in the Midwest. Josslyn says she hopes he rots there, and Trina tells her, what you said. Josslyn says her mom has been in overdrive, trying to keep the family safe and hold Sonny’s business together. Now that Cyrus is gone, and Jason has been cleared, hopefully, things will get easier. Trina says Josslyn always told them Jason was innocent, and Josslyn says, because he was. That’s what made it so incredibly frustrating to deal with Cameron. He wanted someone to blame, and chose Jason. Nothing she said could get through to him. Not the fact that Jason is Jake’s father, and would never hurt him by killing Franco; not the fact that Jason’s a professional, and would never do it in such a stupid way; not even the fact that Jason once saved Cameron’s life. Trina says glad to see Josslyn and Cameron have resolved their issues, and Josslyn says, in all fairness, Cameron realized he was wrong and apologized. It’s just that she feels she doesn’t know him as well as she thought she did, or at least as well as she used to. Trina says she knows Josslyn saw Cameron’s post saying he was accepted at PCU, and Josslyn says she congratulated him, and told him that she was excited for all three of them going to college together. Trina says it would be great if she actually meant it, and Josslyn says she does. The nurse comes out with Josslyn’s PT referral, and Josslyn asks if Trina is ready to go. Trina says Josslyn can’t just brush it off. She and Cameron need to deal with their issues. They can’t start college with the two of them being weird. Josslyn promises she’ll figure it out; just not right now. They have more important things to do.   

Jason tells Carly, the shipment that was expected last night never made it, and she asks, what happened to the driver? He says they haven’t heard from the driver since he crossed from New York into New Jersey. He’s going to talk to Brick, and they’ll figure this out. She says if he needs anything from her, let her know. She apologizes for making him feel uncomfortable, but he says, she didn’t.  

Britt tells Obrecht, Peter might be a lot of things, but he’s not stupid. There’s no way he’d set foot in the hospital again. Obrecht says Britt’s imagination is failing if she believes that treacherous worm can’t find a way to get back there undetected, or that he wouldn’t target Britt if he did. She’d feel better if she knew that Jason was truly committed to Britt’s safety. Britt says, mother, please, and Obrecht says, don’t mother her. She knows how these things work. The same thing happened with her and Scotty. They shared a moment of passion as they worked through their intense grief over Franco’s death. They fell into bed together, but ever since, who knows where they stand? He doesn’t seem to be in any hurry to convey deeper emotions. It’s the eternal paradox. If a woman shows strength, the world assumes she has no feelings. How wrong they are. She and Britt are the same; they’re lovers. They both love with all their hearts… Britt tells her, stop. Whatever is going on with Obrecht and Scotty has nothing to do with her and Jason. Obrecht says, so there is a her and Jason? Does that mean he’ll be on hand to protect her from Peter? Britt says she’s not worried, but Obrecht says she is. Clearly, further action is required. Britt asks what that means, and Obrecht says, never mind. Just keep watching her back.

Anna tells Elizabeth, go back to Chase, and give him whatever support he needs. Elizabeth says, what about Anna? but Anna says she has to figure out how Peter got out of the hospital, and that might possibly lead her to where he is right now. Elizabeth says she knows why Anna is driving herself so hard, but the only person responsible for Peter’s crimes is Peter. She was unfair to blame Anna, and asks Anna to please stop blaming herself. It does no good to come up with wild scenarios that won’t lead her any closer to Peter. The elevator isn’t even working; Peter couldn’t have used it. Anna says she was pretty sure it wasn’t functioning, but she does feel helpless, and looking for Peter helps her feel less so. Does Elizabeth understand? Elizabeth knows the hospital better than she does; stairwells, corridors, shortcuts. Is there another way into the lab that’s in the subbasement? Elizabeth remembers helping Finn put Peter’s body in the cooler, and closing the lid. Elizabeth says, no. The subbasement was sealed off and the lab is inaccessible. Anna says she’ll just have to find a way to access it.

Gregory says the DNA showed he’s not Chase’s father; Finn is. Those tests don’t lie. Finn says, the science part doesn’t lie, but the human element can be easily corrupted. At the time of the first test, he had a vague suspicion that somehow the test could be tampered with, so he sent it out to another lab, to someone he could trust. They confirmed the test was accurate, that Chase was his son. Now it seems that Cyrus got to them somehow, along with whoever else he has on his payroll in the hospital. Gregory asks, why? Did Chase investigate Cyrus? Finn says he doesn’t think so, and Gregory asks if Cyrus has a problem with Finn. Finn says, who doesn’t? They weren’t exactly cordial, but he thinks Cyrus’s problem is with Jackie. She published that unflattering interview with his mother. It made Cyrus angry. The next thing they knew, there was that article in The Invader that Chase was really his son, not Gregory’s. Gregory says, so Finn thinks Cyrus tampered with the DNA results, then planted the story to retaliate? Finn nods, and Gregory says, it’s a compelling theory, but it’s just a guess. (Like this hasn’t been a guessing game all along.) It doesn’t prove anything. How does Finn know he’s not wasting his time when he could be with Chase?

Finn says he’s not sure of anything anymore, and goes back to the whiteboard. He says he wondered why Cyrus would go out of his way to say something to him while he’s being carted off to prison. That’s when it hit him. He was so certain he’d found a cure for Chase, and he was right. The idea of using Chase’s parents’ DNA to create a Trojan horse that would fool his body into accepting the cure was right on. But he used Jackie and his DNA, it failed, but what if the theory’s right, and instead of using his own DNA, he should have used Gregory’s because he’s really Chase’s father? Gregory says, it’s an intriguing idea, but what happens if Finn is wrong? Finn asks if Gregory just thinks he’s chasing a dream, and he’s just desperate to save Chase’s life. Maybe Gregory is right. Maybe he’s choosing this path at the eleventh hour because he can’t accept Chase is dying. He guesses he doesn’t blame Gregory, and Gregory says he may have his doubts, but no matter what the tests say, Chase belongs to both of them. If there’s a chance we can save his life, no matter how far-fetched, let’s do it.

Laura says she’s well-aware of the lines that were crossed by Jordan and her DEA partners to put Cyrus in prison. She doesn’t condone lying, but she does understand the rationale. Jordan was fighting Cyrus with the only means available to her. Jordan appreciates that, but says, what Laura doesn’t know is that she and Taggert made a deal with the Feds to testify in exchange for immunity, so their actions will be a matter of public record. Laura says, their actions put Cyrus in prison for years, and saved lives. Jordan says, they broke the law to do it, and now the whole world will know it. So under those circumstances, she can’t remain an effective Police Commissioner. Laura says why doesn’t Jordan let her be the judge of that?

On the phone at Pozzulo’s, Jason says, all they know is the shipment and the driver disappeared someplace in Jersey. They’ll talk more when he gets there. Jason heaves a huge sigh, which he’s become an expert at, when Obrecht walks in. She says, good day, Mr. Morgan. Does he have a moment? He asks what he can do for her, and she says she wants to thank him. Both for saving Britt’s life, and calling to tell her where Britt was hiding. It was an important and informative visit. He says she’s welcome, and she says, grateful as she is, she wants to discuss another matter. Something more in his normal purview. She closes the door, and asks when he’s going to rid the world of Peter August.

Carly sees Britt at the reception desk, and Britt asks what she can do for Carly. Carly says she’s just there to drop off a form. Josslyn needs medical clearance to play volleyball at PCU. She lowers her voice, and says she wants to thank Britt again. She’ll always be grateful to Britt for saving Jason’s life. Britt says, Carly had a hand in it too; Carly gave him her blood. That night at the safe house, Britt saw just how tight Carly and Jason are. She imagines Carly must be wondering how close she and Jason are. Is she right?

Elizabeth tells Anna, there’s no way to get to the subbasement; it’s been sealed off. Anna says, that wouldn’t stop Peter. If he knew there was a secret area of the hospital, he’d find a way in. Elizabeth says, huge leap, and Anna says she has to do something. She has to find Peter or Chase is going to die. Elizabeth says, she wants Chase to live more than she can say. She feels incredibly guilty about Chase’s condition. Anna asks why she feels guilty? She had nothing to do with Chase being poisoned. Elizabeth says she was working the day Peter escaped. She just wishes she could have done something to stop him. Anna says Elizabeth bears no responsibility. She can’t say the same thing about herself. She’s an investigator. This is her job, and she keeps coming up against a brick wall as to why there’s no recording of Peter leaving the hospital. Elizabeth says she understands Anna’s need to keep searching, but she’s not going to find anything underneath GH. Anna says, the stairwells were one of the areas the cameras were turned off; of course (🍷) Peter came up this way. Elizabeth says, they have patients flying in and out on the helipad. Did Anna ever think of that? Maybe that’s how Peter got out. Anna says she did think about that being a way Peter got out. It is more likely than an abandoned elevator. Maybe Elizabeth is right.

Finn tells Gregory that he put a rush on the DNA test. He asked a tech he knows personally to handle it. Plus, he sent a back-up sample to a guy he can trust, a guy from his Doctors Beyond Borders days. Someone Cyrus could never get to. Gregory asks how long the original samples will take, and Finn says, it could take a little time. Gregory says, time is the one thing they don’t have. He asks if Finn still has a sample from Jackie, and Finn says he does. Gregory suggests Finn make a new serum, from Jackie’s DNA and his, and give it to Chase. Finn says he can make the serum, but he can’t give it to Chase until they get the DNA results back. If he’s wrong, it will probably kill Chase on the spot. Gregory says, what if Chase dies while they’re waiting for the DNA results?

Jordan thought she should give Laura her resignation, especially to avoid putting her in the uncomfortable position of firing her. She, more than anyone, has to bear the brunt of Cyrus’s wrath. Laura says she admires Jordan’s willingness to own up to her mistakes, but she has to ask herself, does this serve the greater good? Jordan asks if Laura wouldn’t be undermining her own integrity by keeping her in office.

Josslyn and Trina go to visit the moss bowl, and Trina says Josslyn was right about them having something more important to do. She totally forgot these would be coming today. They put their graduation caps and gowns on the kitchen island, so they can soak up some of the awesomeness of the moss bowl, and Josslyn says, here’s to graduation and going to college. Trina asks if she’s over Southern Coastal. Is she ready for the PCU experience? Josslyn says, completely. It really helps that her ankle is healed, and she can start training with the volleyball team this summer. What about Trina? Trina says she can’t wait to go to PCU. She wants to do everything; all the college stuff, the football games, the student activities. She also wants to study. She wants to make sure to be in the running for a bunch of scholarships to study art history in Europe. Josslyn says, driven much? and Trina says, yes she is. Or is Josslyn telling her that she’s not going to help her team get a national ranking? Josslyn says, of course (🍷) she will, and Trina says she thinks they should make a pact. These caps and gowns, their graduation; they have a chance to wipe the slate clean of all the bad stuff that’s happened this year. Time to start over. They dive into their future starting today. Josslyn says, starting today.

Carly says, after seeing Britt and Jason at the MetroCourt, she got the idea that there was more between the two of them than just being fugitives together. Britt says she’s willing to bet good money Jason didn’t tell Carly that, and Carly says, he didn’t have to. Britt wonders if Carly is telling her this because it’s going to be a problem for her, but Carly says, no. She thinks it’s going to be a problem for Britt.

Jason tells Obrecht that he has people out looking for Peter right now, and Obrecht says, people who might be working outside the boundaries of the law? He just looks at her, and she says she’s familiar with the code of silence among certain organizations, but in case Britt didn’t tell him, Peter has threatened her. He says he knows; he was there. She asks, is that how he and Britt first connected, over Peter? She’s glad he’s searching for that deceitful worm, and it will delight her beyond measure if Jason is the one who finds him. She’s sure Jason will make his elimination short and sweet, not the torturous end he deserves, but he’ll be gone. Finally. Blessedly. Now what are his intentions regarding her Britta?

Jordan tells Laura that when her actions become a matter of public record, the people of Port Charles will lose trust in her. Laura says she has a different take on this. The people of Port Charles will see the pain and devastation Cyrus has caused. The fact that Jordan wants to own up to her mistakes, is proof of her integrity, and the mistakes she’s made, she’s made with the best of intentions. Who among them hasn’t done the same thing? She’d be surprised if the people of Port Charles didn’t empathize with Jordan. Jordan says she still can’t understand how Laura can stand by her after everything Jordan kept from her. Laura says, Jordan kept a lot of secrets from a lot of people, and paid dearly for that. Jordan says, true. It cost her marriage to Curtis. Laura says, Jordan made sacrifices – big ones. The way she sees it, Jordan is a woman with a conscience and a moral compass the size of the entire city of Port Charles. How would she replace Jordan? Jordan asks if Laura really thinks the people of Port Charles will forgive her, and Laura says, she thinks they’ll stand behind Jordan with the same enthusiasm that she does. So for her, and the people of Port Charles who need her, stay.

Anna tells Elizabeth, she called her connection at the FAA. There were no helicopters taking off and landing from there the day Peter went missing, but there was one helicopter that made an unauthorized approach. Elizabeth asks if Anna thinks it was coming for Peter, and Anna says, it seems so. Elizabeth says, find the pilot and make him tell her where he took Peter, but Anna says, he never landed. The FAA tried to contact the pilot, but he never answered. Elizabeth says, there must be some way to identify the helicopter, and Anna says the markers were scrambled, which probably means it was coming to pick up Peter. Otherwise, why would it come to the roof? But Peter never got on the helicopter because it didn’t land. Elizabeth asks where that leaves Anna, and Anna says they’ll have to do an investigation of the helicopter. Elizabeth follows Anna back across the roof.

Finn says, they’re damned if they wait for the test results, and damned if they don’t. he’s making the formula now, and it will be ready for Chase when the DNA tests come back. Gregory says Finn is doing his best, and Finn says Gregory is the last person he wanted to tell about this, and the last person he wanted involved. he didn’t want to get Gregory’s hopes up in case he was wrong. He’s sorry if he caused Gregory any more pain. Gregory says, despite the pain he felt from the first DNA test results, he never stopped feeling like Chase’s father. Once he had time to process it, he was relieved that Chase had both of them; two fathers to look out for him. In the end, maybe there’s nothing they can do to save Chase, but they’re going to fight to the finish together.

Carly tells Britt, she gets it. When Britt and Jason were on the run, senses were heightened, and they were surrounded by danger and fear. It makes sense that they would connect. Britt asks if Carly’s point is that it’s over now, and Carly says, circumstances have changed. Britt says, some things have, and some things haven’t. She’s usually pretty good at pushing people away, but Jason stuck with her, and they’ve been completely honest about who they are with each other.

Jason says he has work to get to, and tells Obrecht she can let herself out. She says, he’s no doubt aware of her part in Robin Scorpio’s abduction. She thought perhaps he was thinking of it when he called to tell her where to find her daughter. Was she wrong? He says, Britt needed somebody. It wasn’t good for her to be alone. Britt doesn’t trust a lot of people in her life, and since Brad is in Pentenville, he had no choice but to call her. She says, that’s just it. He did have a choice. He put Britt’s needs above his negative opinion of her. She thinks that’s rather noble. He says, thank you. Are they done now? She says she hopes not, and sits down. She tells him, they’re the only two people who know that Britt carries the genetic marker for Huntington’s Disease. Who know that any day, her restless, brilliant, beautiful daughter will be felled by a horrible disease for which there is no cure. One that kills it’s victims as slowly and as painfully as the most sadistic enemy. She cries, and says she can’t allow Britt to see her fear. It would make it so much worse for her. But her heart is breaking for her daughter.

Jordan says if she doesn’t resign as Commissioner, she needs Laura to do something for her. Laura says, name it, and Jordan says, monitor the temperature of Port Charles. When the truth about her comes out, if there’s even a whiff of distrust among the citizens, she’ll resign. Laura says, so if she agrees to Jordan’s terms, Jordan will stay. Jordan takes the resignation out of Laura’s hand, and says, she’s staying, but not necessarily for the greater good, as Laura suggested, but for Laura. Because of Laura’s faith in her. They hug.

Trina and Josslyn are wearing their caps and gowns, and Trina says she can’t believe they’re going to be graduating soon. Josslyn says she knows. They should practice their commencement walk. They can’t just walk normally; it’s a march. Um… I don’t remember practicing this. Is this a thing now? Josslyn tells Trina to practice first, and Trina goes to the other side of the room. Josslyn puts Pomp and Circumstance on her phone, and Trina walks. Trina says she feels like such a dork. She doesn’t understand why they have to walk in alphabetical order. She, Josslyn, and Cameron should get their diplomas together.

Britt says Carly is right. Her and Jason’s situation was unusual. When they were on the road, it wasn’t real life; not Port Charles life. Carly is glad Britt understands. She wouldn’t want Britt to be disappointed, in case she was expecting more. Britt says she didn’t really know what to expect when she came back to town, but she looks forward to whatever happens next. She smiles and walks away, and Carly doesn’t look happy. Britt walks around the corner, and doesn’t look too happy either.

Obrecht apologizes for breaking down. Jason gives her some water, and she says it’s not like her at all, but she has no other outlet to talk about Britt’s illness and her fears, except with him. He says he understands; Britt trusted them both. She says, when the time comes, and her Britta falls ill, she’ll be there for her, and remain strong for her, but until then, they must fight to give her a good and safe life, which means keeping Peter out of it. She trusts that if and when he does find Peter, Jason will kill him. And no, she doesn’t need him to confirm it. She’s done her best to give Anna the same intestinal fortitude, but she can’t trust Anna to eliminate Peter if she does find him. Anna might waive at the crucial moment; he won’t. She finds that thought very comforting.

Gregory wonders where the DNA results are, and Finn says, waiting is always the hardest part. Gregory says, it’s sadly ironic. Before this, they’d agreed it didn’t matter which one of them fathered Chase. He had the pleasure of raising him, and Finn has been the most influential person in Chase’s life since he got to Port Charles. Finn says, in the beginning, he was determined not to like Chase, and wouldn’t let himself get close to him. Being around him brought up a lot of painful memories; of Finn’s mom, of what he’d done to Gregory. He hated himself, but that kid has a funny way of wearing you down, and now he can’t imagine his life without Chase. Gregory says he convinced himself the DNA results didn’t matter, but now they have to find out the truth. Finn says, it’s a matter of life or death whether Chase is his son or his brother, and Gregory says, so they wait. Finn says, there’s nothing else they can do.

Walking across the roof, Anna says she knows Elizabeth doesn’t think her efforts will lead to anything, but she has to keep trying. Elizabeth says, nobody wants Peter punished more than her, for what he’s done to Franco and what he’s done to Chase. Anna says, that man is the worst of his father. Faison believed to exact revenge, you had to go after loved ones. That’s exactly what he did to her. He went after Finn, and got Chase, to get to her. Elizabeth says she really hopes Anna finds the peace she needs, and Anna says she hopes they both do. Anna goes back inside, and Elizabeth goes back to the elevator door.

Tomorrow, Anna tells Valentin that she thinks she has a lead on Peter, Finn tells Elizabeth that he knows why his cure didn’t work, Violet visits Chase, and Brick says they just ended a war with Cyrus.

Million Dollar Listing New York

Tyler’s assistant Kemba called him, and told him that his client Whitney suddenly didn’t want to show her anyone her apartment. She needed someone to calm her down. In Tyler’s interview, he said Whitney was his most eccentric client, and he knew it would be an emotional sale. They’d agreed on private showings, but now she didn’t want to show it. He called Whitney, who said she didn’t want anyone to come inside. He told her that they had to strike while the iron was hot, but she said she was more concerned about herself. In his interview, he said he had few buyers these days, and the ones who would be willing to spend 4.5 million would need to see it.

Ryan was opening Serhant Brokerage, and said he had the only brokerage with an in house film studio. The building was a six-story townhouse in Tribeca. He said his whole thing had always been expansion, and I was reminded of his first tagline, which was something like, expansion always in all ways. He said when everyone else was pulling back, that was when to push forward, and everything going forward was unknown. He made a video to introduce his new company to the masses. The Wall Street Journal was going to be doing a write-up, and he thought he might dress up like a superhero.

Tyler insisted on seeing Whitney, who was in the midst of packing, and said she wanted her last moments with her house. It was her sanctuary, and covid ruined it. I desperately tried to figure out how things were ruined with her spending time there when it was her sanctuary. I never did. Tyler told her that he understood that she didn’t want to sell, but everything in life was temporary. In Tyler’s interview, he said he knew it would be emotional, but she didn’t want to move. Whitney said she felt like she was giving up. It had taken her a long time to like New York, and it was her home. Tyler said she had a New York moment, and now was going to have a Florida moment. Life was like a pie, and she was having her Florida slice. She said it was the end of era, and she wanted her 48 hours to do things like see Central Park and eat lasagna. He said it sounded like the things she wanted to do were happening outside of her apartment.

Steve was doing private showings of the renovated apartment at the Ansonia. Seller Ehud had allowed him $100K to bring it back to life, and he’d done the floors, revamped the walls, put in new light fixtures, and staged it. He was looking for brokers who loved old school charm and had an affinity for the Ansonia. A broker brought her client’s interior designer, Nannette Brown, with her, which Steve thought was a good sign. Nannette said Steve had done a great job, which was even more encouraging. In his interview, he said it was 2600 square feet, and they were marketing it as a 4 bedroom, 3 bath. Ehud was looking for $3.5 million, and Steve was looking for the right buyer to appreciate the pre-war quirks and details that you didn’t find anymore. Bringing along an interior designer wasn’t cheap, and he could tell Nannette was passionate about the building, and would protect the history and charm.

Fredrik was in Los Angeles, but still involved in selling his friend’s 10th Avenue, 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath apartment with a private terrace. The seller was breathing down his neck, and he wondered how he was going to sell it if he wasn’t there. He couldn’t just fly to NYC because of having to quarantine. He was training his team member Ellis to show energy and passion, but to be included, he rigged up an iPad on a stick with wheels where he’d be there via video chat. In his interview, he said everyone with pets was now looking for private outdoor space. A potential buyer showed up with an alpaca named Bolero, but unfortunately, it couldn’t navigate stairs, and wouldn’t be able to get to the terrace. I can’t imagine the guy didn’t check on this beforehand, so I’m guessing they just wanted the alpaca on the show. It was very cute.

KJ came by for one of Fredrik’s showings. She’d never met Fredrik in person, and met the iPad Fredrik instead. She had a client who was in the Bahamas, and looking for a place. In her interview, she said she loved the spirit of embracing technology, but wasn’t sure Fredrik’s iPad on a stick was real estate ready. It was like having toddler who was learning to walk. His stick did careen into the walls a few times. Her overall impression was that the apartment was staged well, and the Chelsea views were nice, but the buyer would have to do updates. She felt it was overpriced at $6.995 million. She said she didn’t think Fredrik grasped the effects of the shutdown, especially in Chelsea. He didn’t get the impact. She told him that there was a ton of inventory in West Chelsea, and he’d have trouble finding a buyer for something tired. In Fredrik’s interview, he said he liked feisty women, but thought KJ was too negative. She told him to give her a call if the price went down, but he had the feeling he was going to get an offer real soon.

Tyler finally convinced Whitney to allow her apartment to be seen. Since brokers and buyers weren’t coming to see things like they used to, Tyler made up a marketing video for Instagram. It was a unique property, and he had to attract a unique buyer. In his interview, he said he always loved informercials – but wait, there’s more! He was constantly trying to convince his mom to buy him abdominal equipment from them, and had quite a collection. He gave his video an infomercial theme, and it was a big success. He’d gotten some private showings out of it, one with a Tony nominated choreographer (for Tootsie) and his partner. Tyler said covid had changed everything; people wanted space and fresh air. Fresh air was having a moment. It was a tough time with a tough market, so he was working the act now, this deal won’t last angle.  

The broker who‘d brought Nannette also brought Steve an offer. He’d had three offers, all around the $3 million mark. He explained to Ehud, because they were all around the same amount, it was an indication of where the market value was. Ehud agreed to $3.15 million, not penny less. The broker put Nannette on the phone to gripe about the work that needed to be done, which Steve said was a strategy move. Nannette said she thought the buyer would have to put one to one and a half million dollars into it, and the broker tried to wheedle the price down some more because of covid. In Steve’s interview, he said he was starting to hear covid discount a lot. The other two buyers with offers hadn’t gotten back to Steve, which he thought wasn’t a good sign. When the broker came back with a counter of $3.125, Steve encouraged Ehud to take it, and the deal was made. Steve’s commission would be $93,750, but he said it wasn’t about the money. He loved the history of the building. Right. That’s why he does this for free.  

Ryan had to tell his new staff not to leak the video, because if it came out before the Wall Street Journal article , they wouldn’t want to print the article. He wanted to leave Nest Seekers the right way. The company had been good to him, and he wanted to close everything out at the same time he was starting his own thing. He got a text that the article was coming out early, and texted his team to launch the video asap. He said he’d spent 12 years clawing his way up the ranks, and he was finally his own boss with his own company… and zero agents. He said it was the happiest moment in his professional life, but the scariest. It was on his shoulders if he failed. In their interviews, Steve thought the new brokerage was a good idea; Tyler was impressed; KJ had purchased Ryan’s book, saying, he was good at what he did; and Fredrik thought he was crazy.  

Still to come, New York is back and so is Fredrik; a $15 million and a $29.5 million property; yoga; a pink dog; and a hockey game.

Ryan’s Renovation

Although offered $15 million for the Boerum Hill, Brooklyn townhouse, Ryan decided to keep renovating. Ryan found out that a priest was coming to bless the house, and Ryan said it was different, but he was glad to be a part of the tradition, especially since he’d converted to Greek Orthodox. Father-in-law Leon told Ryan it was also a Greek tradition to paint the nursery in a new house, and in Emelia’s interview, she said it really wasn’t a tradition, but don’t tell Ryan. Leon and Ryan painted together, and Ryan asked Leon’s advice on how to handle emotional Greek women. Leon told him to just nod his head. In Ryan’s interview, he said just because he was pretty, didn’t mean he wasn’t capable. They crushed the nursery. Except it turned out to be the wrong room. Father Evagoras came to bless the house, Emelia explaining that it was to ward off evil and keep bad spirits away. It also brought fortune to the home, and she thought it was a beautiful tradition to carry on. Ryan said the priest came with a power soaker, and he needed a holy mop for cleaning up holy water. By now it was day 542 of the renovation.

Emelia’s mom decided, in addition to her basement suite with a private entrance, she needed a room next to the baby as well. She was concerned about the monitor not working as well so far away. They tested it, and sure enough, she was right about the reception, so they just gave her the whole house. Just kidding, but Ryan is totally outnumbered here.     

It was October 2020, and during a family dinner, construction manager David called with the bad news that they weren’t getting in by Christmas. This was also a pita since they had a renter for their Soho apartment to the tune of $15K a month who wanted to be in before the holidays. David said things were taking longer to be signed off on, and even if construction was complete, the permits or whatever wouldn’t be. In Ryan’s interview, he said it sucked that they wouldn’t be out in time for the renter to move in, or be in the house by Christmas. Although I don’t know why they didn’t find temporary accommodations. He knew at the end of the day, they’d look back, and all would be fine. It had been three years since they’d bought the house to build memories in, and he wanted to get his family into their new home as soon as possible.

Next time, the finale – Ryan and family celebrate Christmas, there’s another delay, and the goal becomes Greek Easter.

🎉 Cause For Celebration…

Juneteenth is bustin’ out all over.

https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/biden-signs-juneteenth-bill/index.html

🩰 Tiptoeing Out…

Tea for tomorrow, a quote or ten, and the usual soap. Until then stay safe, stay humble, and stay never believing you’ve run out of options.

Jun12

June 11, 2021 – Nina Reunites With Wiley, Million Dollar Pandemic, Ryan Makes a Decision, Nine Whole Quotes & Train

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WhatI Watched Today

(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)

General Hospital

Valentin shows Bailey/Louise the stars, and explains their names. He tells her that Polaris is also called the NorthStar. In olden times when sailors were lost, they’d use it to chart a course home. He says he’ll always be her NorthStar. If she loses her way, find him. He’ll get her home.

Elizabeth is in the chapel, when Anna comes in. Anna asks, what’s wrong? Is it Chase?

Chase says he thought Finn was going to tell him that he was cured, and Finn says he wishes he could. It didn’t work. Chase says, Finn was so certain, and Finn says, by combining Jackie’s DNA with his, Chase’s body should have accepted the cure, and for a second, it worked. Chase says he did feel better, and Finn says, all the signs said it was right, and it should have worked, but he’d be lying if he didn’t say it was their best shot.

Maxie flashes back giving Louise to Brook, and telling Louise she’ll be close by, making sure Louise is okay, and she loves her very much. There’s a knock at her room door. Spinelli announces, it’s him, the father of her oldest child, and she says, for second, she thought it was Peter. He says he’s so sorry about Louise. He should have been there in Maxie’s hour of need. She tells him, that there’s nothing for him to feel guilty about. He’s there now. He says, no one will rest until her child is found.

Valentin sees Brook, and asks how long she’s been standing there. She says, not long Mr. NorthStar. He says he meant every word. It’s a beautiful night for stargazing. She should stay out, and pick a star for her and their daughter. Just not the NorthStar. That one is his. He tells her that he’s going to put Bailey down, and goes inside, speaking French to the baby. He sees Nina.

Willow steps away from Michael, and says she’s sorry. If someone saw them… He says, they’d see the truth; them comforting each other. What happened to Chase isn’t fair. While he’s suffering they can’t tell him they’re together. All they can do is just be kind to him and each other. She says he has an amazing way of putting things in perspective. It’s one of the 2001 reasons why she loves him. He says, 2001? Why not a million? She says Wiley asked her to could to a million the other day, but when she got to 38, he got bored and told her to stop. He says, that’s their son. He has the attention span of… a three-year-old. A three-year-old who’s about to see his other grandma. She says she hates that Jax did that to him… to them, but she doesn’t hate Nina seeing Wiley. He says, neither does he. Jax trashed a large part of his childhood to make it happen. He’s angry, and sad, but he can’t say anything because his hands are tied, just like Jax wanted.

Jax’s doorbell rings, and he opens the door to Carly. She asks what he did to make Michael change his mind about Nina.

Willow asks when Nina said she was coming, but Michael says, she didn’t give an ETA. He got the feeling she had to take care of some things before she left the town where she’s staying. She says, it will give them time to prepare Wiley. She just hopes Nina is ready for this, and that she’ll see Wiley for the sweet, intelligent, curious little boy he is, and not project her grief over Nelle on him. Michael thinks Nina learned her lesson. He’s more worried about his mom. He couldn’t think of one reasonable explanation as to why he suddenly allowed Nina access to Wiley. If his mom finds out Jax is blackmailing him, all hell will break loose.

Jax asks if he can get Carly anything, but she just wants him to answer her question. He says he had a reasonable conversation with Michael about allowing Nina back into Wiley’s life. She says, so reasonable, that after months of Michael keeping Nina at a distance, he suddenly changed his mind? He asks why she’s so upset. He gave her a heads up about his intentions. Does she still want to punish Nina for telling Wiley that Nelle was his birth mother? She asks if he really thinks Nina isn’t going to make the same mistake again. She’s sure Nina promised him and Michael that she wouldn’t make the same mistake, but she wanted to save Nelle. She believes Nelle could have been a different person, and wants Wiley to believe that. She wants to tell Wiley a fairy tale, that’s only going to hurt him worse when he grows up and finds out the truth. Jax guesses he has more faith in Nina that Carly does, and Carly says, that’s because he still wants to win Nina back.

Valentin says, you’re back, and Nina says she’s looking for Michael. A man with an Eastern European accent told her to wait there. Valentin says, that’s Yuri, Brook’s bodyguard. She says, and Brook needs a bodyguard because… He says, because he insisted, and she says, Brook’s safety is a priority to him because… Brook comes in, and says Bailey’s not a star; she’s an entire constellation. She tells Nina hi and asks when she came back. Valentin says, Nina is confused. He and Charlotte live there now. He introduces Bailey Lois, and says she’s his daughter with Brook.

Maxie tells Spinelli, one of the last things Peter said to her was that he’d find Louise. If he does, he’ll disappear with her. Spinelli says, it’s true Peter has the resources to stay at large a very long time. He’s sure Peter’s father taught him well. She says he’s not making her feel better, and he says, of course (🍷); apologies. He says she told him that she had a plan to keep Louise safe; what went wrong? How did a deranged nurse steal her? She says her plan blew apart before she left the apartment. Most of it did anyway. He asks what she means.

Anna says she was going to say some prayers for Chase herself, and when she saw Elizabeth there, she thought the worst happened, but Elizabeth says, not yet. Finn found a cure, and they were so confident it was the right formula. Anna says, it didn’t work? and Elizabeth says, now he seems so lost, like he’s out of options. Anna says, they do have options. Peter. Anna leaves, and Elizabeth says, forgive me. Please forgive me and Finn.

Finn says he gave Chase some epinephrine as a pick-me-up, and Chase says, but it’s temporary, since Finn has given up on finding a cure. Finn asks, who said he was giving up? He’s going to keep going until he finds a cure. Chase says, and if Finn can’t do it, how long does he have left?

Finn says he never encountered Chase’s condition before. He’s checked with every specialist he knows, and they’ve never seen it either, so they’re flying a little blind. Chase says, so what does he have? Months? Weeks? Days? Finn says he wishes he had the answer, but he doesn’t know. Chase says, in his line of work, he stared down death, a lot, but he always knew he could defend himself. He had weapons, crisis intervention training, and back-up. This time, he has nothing. Finn says, that’s not true; Chase has him, for what it’s worth (🍷). Chase says, it’s worth a lot. Finn should probably tell mom and dad. Finn asks if Chase is sure that’s what he wants, and Chase says, they have to know. Finn goes out, and talks to them, as Chase watches through the window from his bed. They seem understandably upset.

Willow says she came close to telling Chase that she and Michael are in love. Now that he’s had another setback, she’s glad she didn’t. Michael says he guesses what happens next depends on Nina. If she’s good with Wiley, follows the guidelines, and there’s no mention of Nelle, she can be allowed to continue to see him. Jax gets his way, but if he feels Nina is detrimental in any way… Willow says, then of course (🍷) they can’t allow it. If Jax goes running to Chase to retaliate, she can’t even begin to imagine how it will devastate Chase. Michael puts his hand over hers.

Jax says Carly knows what it’s like to grow up under difficult circumstances; to feel unloved, and like you have no control over your life. Instead of focusing on the differences between her and Nina, why doesn’t she acknowledge the similarities? She asks if this is about her and Nina, or him and Nina. He used her grandson to lure Nina back to Port Charles, when Nina made it clear she didn’t want to come back. He says, that doesn’t mean he stopped caring about Nina or doesn’t want to see her happy.  Why can’t she be a part of her grandson’s life? Carly says, because it’s unhealthy for Wiley, but he says, Michael doesn’t seem to think so. Not anymore. She says, emphasis on not anymore? Something changed for Michael. Someone or something pushed him to change his mind, and she’s going to find out what it is.

Spinelli says Maxie suffered the tortures of the damned. Drugged by an imposter nurse who took her to a hidden place to steal her child, but yet she says part of her plan worked. How? She says, it’s not important. He went through hell too. He was Cyrus’s hostage; Cyrus could have killed him. He says he should have left, but he lingered, and Cyrus scooped him up, and threatened to… let’s just say dire harm, in order to force Carly into a hostage situation. Had Jason not come out of hiding to save him, he might not be sitting there talking to her. Georgie would be fatherless. Maxie says, but she’s not. He’s alive and well. Jason’s a good friend. He says he should have been a good friend to Maxie. He should have worked harder to get her to divulge her plan to keep Louise safe from Peter. Had he helped, maybe there would have been a different outcome. She says, if he’d gotten involved, he could have been hurt, or worse. Can they just call it even, and move forward. She wants to see Georgie and James. He says they’re eagerly awaiting her return, and she asks what he’s said to them about their little sister. Has he told them she’s not coming home?

Nina says, so Brook and Valentin are parents together. How? Valentin says, the usual way, and Nina says, so they’re in a relationship, but Brook says, God no. It was one night. A great night, no regrets whatsoever. They actually saw her at the MetroCourt the next morning. Remember? Nina says, actually, she does, and Valentin says, Brook left town abruptly without telling him about the ensuing development, and Bailey Lois came to him as a complete surprise, as she is to Nina. Nina says she’s sure he’ll be an amazing father to Bailey. Congratulations. Brook says Valentin has moved in – temporarily – so if she’s come to say, all is forgiven, he’s free and available. Valentin says Nina is there to see Michael. Nina says, he agreed to let her visit with Wiley. Brook offers to look for Michael, and leaves. Valentin says, Brook is a lot of things, but subtle isn’t one of them. He’s glad Michael is willing to let her back into Wiley’s life. She says she’s happy for him, and he says he wishes she could have been theirs.

Elizabeth asks if Finn wants some company, and sits next to him. She says she knows how it feels when your children are suffering, and he asks if this is the Finn you have to be strong speech. She says she wants him to know that he’s not alone, but she thinks he knows that. He asks, then why is it so damn hard?

Jackie asks if Chase needs another blanket, but he says he’s good. Finn gave him a shot of something. She doesn’t have to worry about him. She says, great. Now she’ll have time for her Sunday crossword. He says, so funny, he forgot to laugh (which makes me laugh), and Gregory tells him that he used to say that when he was little, every time Gregory would make a history joke. Chase says, that James Buchanan one was real funny. He almost expected them to take it as a joke when he said he wanted to be a cop, but they didn’t. They pretended not to be disappointed that he didn’t want to go to law school; they supported him. Gregory says they weren’t disappointed, and Jackie says they were proud of his decision. Gregory tells Chase, don’t ever think for one second that they wanted him to be anything other than who he is today, and Jackie says, every time he would call and tell them that he’d put another bad guy away, she and Gregory would high-five each other. Chase laughs, then coughs, and says he wishes he could have seen that. He says, too bad this particular bad guy is putting him away. Jackie hugs him, and Gregory makes it a three-way hug.

Michael tells Willow, Brook texted that Nina’s already at the house. He guesses she couldn’t wait. He should go, so they can go over the ground rules before Nina sees Wiley. He’s sorry they can’t be there together. She says, he’ll do fine, and thanks him for understanding why she needs to stay there. He tells her, if there’s any change, let him know, and she says, of course (🍷). Good luck with Nina. He says, her too. He loves her. She says, I love you too, and he leaves.

Jax tells Carly that Michael said he and Willow talked, and they decided to allow Nina to see Wiley. She says, maybe, but she knows her son. When he told her that he’d reached out to Nina about letting her see Wiley, she could tell he wasn’t telling her the whole story. She asks what he said to Michael, and he says he was simply being honest. She says, about what? and he says, the importance of Nina being in Wiley’s life. Why shouldn’t she be a grandmother to him? She says, those are very careful words, and she’s sure they’re true. She’s also sure they’re not the whole truth. What isn’t he telling her?

Valentin tells Nina that he’s sorry. That was… She looks great. Getting away really agreed with her. She says, it did, and asks how Charlotte is doing. How’s she doing with her new baby sister? He says, she’s been slow to warm up to Bailey Lois, but he thinks it has more to do with the current living situation. Nina says she can’t say she’s surprised. It must be… awkward living there. She’s sure Charlotte will warm up to her baby sister. She has this big, beautiful heart. Valentin hopes so, and Nina says she’d like to see Charlotte while she’s back. He says, she’s not staying? and she says she doesn’t know. She wants to see Wiley and spend time with him, but she’s not sure she can leave behind what she left in Nixon Falls. He asks, what is that exactly? and she says, someone she never expected to find. Well, that’s an understatement. He asks if there’s any chance for a reconciliation with Jax, and she says, no. Brook comes back, and says she texted Michael. He’ll be there soon. He wants to meet Nina outside the gatehouse, so Brook will take her. Valentin asks if he’ll see Nina again, and she suggests they just arrange a time for her to see Charlotte. She leaves with Brook, and Valentin tells Bailey Lois/Louise that he just made a fool of himself. Nina’s moved on. She’s found something in that little town that helped her to heal. He should be happy for her, and he is. Bailey helped him to heal, her and her sister both. He wasn’t much of a man before he was a father. He doesn’t know what he was, but he was broken, and she helped him heal. She’s a gift from the universe that he didn’t deserve. He’s a lucky man. Too lucky to ask for more. He’ll let her in on a little secret. He looks toward the door, and says, he does want more. Anna comes in, and says the guard told her that he was in there. Is that guy from Belarus? He says, that’s Yuri, and she has good ears. She says she does, and she knows who this beautiful creature is. She walks to the crib, and says she was so involved with finding Maxie’s daughter, she forgot his had put in an appearance. He says he can hardly believe Bailey Lois is his.

Spinelli tells Maxie, they haven’t told Georgie and James anything. They weren’t sure what Maxie wanted them to say. She says she’s not sure either. She’s glad he and Ellie didn’t say anything. It’s her job to explain; to make it okay for them. He says, if she’s ready, he’ll take her home.

Carly says she was hoping she was overreacting, but the longer this conversation goes on, where he dances around giving her a straight answer, the more she’s convinced that he twisted Michael’s arm, and forced him to let Nina see Wiley. He asks if she really thinks so little of Michael, that she thinks he’d have to be forced to do the right thing, and she says he’s evading. There’s something he doesn’t want her to know, and there’s something Michael doesn’t want her to know. Why is that? The only thing she can think of, is that Michael is staying true to form. He’s always been the fixer. He’s always been the one who wanted to preserve the family, and Jax has known Michael since he was a little boy, so he knows this. Michael would never want to fight, and he’d never want to put Josslyn in the middle, and not only does Jax know this, he’s counting on it.

At the gatehouse, Nina asks Brook how Maxie is. Did she have her baby? Brook says, she did, and Nina says she can’t wait to see them. Michael arrives and apologizes for keeping her waiting. They didn’t know she was arriving in Port Charles so soon. She says a friend in Nixon Falls insisted she come tonight. He knew how much she wanted to see Wiley. Brook says she has to get back to Bailey; enjoy her stay. Brook leaves, and Michael says they need to go over some ground rules. She says, of course (🍷). She understands, and promises not to mention Nelle. He thanks her, and says he and Willow managed to straighten things out with Wiley, and Wiley knows Willow is his mother, but he can’t have Willow hurt like that again. She says she completely understands, and she’s grateful for him giving her a second chance with Wiley. She promises she’s not going to mess it up this time. So can she go in to see her grandson?

Valentin asks Anna if they’ve gotten any closer to finding Maxie’s baby, and she says, unfortunately, no. There’s an APB out on the nurse who took her. They’re trying to establish her real ID. They’re also looking for Peter, who teleported himself out of the hospital, without a trace. He asks, what about Chase? and she says, Finn thought he had a breakthrough in finding a cure, but it didn’t work out. Chase’s condition is really deteriorating. He says, so if she doesn’t find Peter and this antidote… She says she doesn’t think Chase is going to last much longer. Unfortunately. He says he should have killed Peter, and she says, hindsight is 20/20. Let’s look at the facts. Peter was last seen at GH, but there’s no record of him leaving. But there are so many people who come in and out on the hospital on a daily basis, he could have disguised himself. He asks, what about Peter’s car? and she says, his car is still there in the hospital parking garage. He says, the garage is a labyrinth. Peter could be hiding somewhere.

Willow goes to Chase’s room, and says, sorry; she’s interrupting. Chase says she could never interrupt, and she asks how he is, and he says he’s always happy to see her. He needs to speak with her, and Jackie says she and Gregory will be right outside. They leave, and Chase tells Willow, Finn has no idea why the cure didn’t work, or what there is left to try. She asks what that means. What’s going to happen to him? He says, what happens to him depends on her. The toxin has narrowed his world and his focus. Seeing her there, every day, every night; she didn’t run, as so many others would have. She stuck by his side. She showed him love in all the ways that count. He hopes she knows how much he loves her. Will she marry him?

Maxie tells Georgie, who’s practically a teenager now, that James is down for the count. She played with her little brother so much, he’s exhausted. Georgie says she made something for Maxie, and they sit on the couch. Maxie unrolls a drawing of a family that says, Welcome To Our Family, Louise! She says, it’s beautiful, and Georgie asks if she can see her baby sister, but Maxie says, not yet. When Louise was born, a friend of hers was with them, and she instantly fell in love with Louise. She doesn’t have any children of her own, and she’s usually very sad and lonely, but being around Louise made her happy, and Maxie knew it would make her very, very happy if she could just take care of Louise for a little bit. Georgie asks if Louise will ever come home, and Maxie says, of course (🍷) she will. They’ll have a party with balloons and cake. Georgie says, but when?

Valentin says, Peter could be anywhere, using an alias, prepared for any eventuality. Anna is just concerned that he disposed of any antidote before he ran. She says Valentin knows how vindictive he is. He’ll want her to blame herself. He says, the only one to blame for Peter’s actions is Peter. He can’t be saved, he can’t be redeemed, he has to be stopped. It’s the only way they can save those they love. Brook stands in the doorway, and Anna says, little Bailey. Valentin says he’s head over heels in love, and Anna says, it looks good on him. He says he wants to help with the search. They’ll need more than lucky guesses to save Chase’s life. Brook says, save Chase’s life? What’s going on now?

Chase is sorry he can’t get down on one knee. He doesn’t even have a ring. So if she wants to turn down his less than romantic proposal, feel free. This isn’t how he remotely planned it. He started to plan it before he and Sasha hatched that brilliant idea for her and Michael to get custody of Wiley. He was going to ask her to marry him. Instead, he pushed her away. She says, she and Michael did get custody, but he says he still broke her heart. Now he’s being totally unfair, asking her to marry him, but Finn said he doesn’t know how long Chase has. Like they say in the movies, my days are numbered. She tells him not to joke, and he says, but they are. And he wants them to be filled with her as his wife. He knows he sprung a lot on her just now, so if she wants to run from the room, feel free. She says she doesn’t want to run from the room. She’d be honored to be his wife. She hugs him.

Michael brings Wiley to Nina, who says she doesn’t know if he remembers her, but she’s his Grandma Nina. She brings out a box, and says, look. She brought him something. It’s a toy truck, and Michael says his dad used to get him toy trucks when he was Wiley’s age. She says a friend told her that she should get something for Wiley, and the toy truck just called to her. Michael says he’ll be upstairs if she needs him, and she thanks him again for letting her visit with Wiley. She promises not to mention… well, he knows. He thanks her and leaves. Nina tells Wiley she missed him so much.

Jax asks what he could possibly have on Michael? Michael is above reproach. Carly says, just because Michael has a good heart, doesn’t mean he doesn’t have any secrets. She sits next to Jax on the couch, and says, what could he possibly have on her son? He says, when you can’t find anything, maybe, just maybe, that’s your answer. She says, Michael knows that if he lets Nina back into Wiley’s life, that could cause problems for him and Willow, not to mention Wiley. When she finds out what’s going on between him and Michael, if it’s what she thinks, he’s going to regret it. She walks out, and Jax thinks about that.

Nina says Wiley is the sweetest, most precious thing that’s come into her life in a long time. Wiley plays with the truck, and she says she ran into his grandpa, and she really cares about him. And he’s happy… and he’s free. She tried to do the right thing; she tried to tell his grandma Carly, but she was so mean to Nina on the phone. She can be that way sometimes. She even said that she was going to get the judge to keep Nina away from him, but here they are. She’s free to visit him. Her grandson. Like it should be. Wiley looks at her like he actually knows what’s going on, and she says she just doesn’t know what to do. She asks if Wiley thinks she should tell Grandma Carly that Grandpa Sonny is alive.

Maxie tells Georgie, she doesn’t know exactly when, but Louise will come home. She and James will have their little sister to play with. She asks Georgie to hang the drawing in Louise’s room, so it’s the first thing she sees when she comes home. She leaves, and Spinelli tells Maxie that Georgie believes her. She believes Louise is coming home. Maxie says, Louise is coming home. Peter will be caught. Louise will come home. She has to believe that. She can’t give up hope. He says she doesn’t have to. He promises they’ll find a way to bring Louise home.

Brook says, that’s awful, and Valentin says he’s sorry. He knows she and Chase are close. Anna says, excuse her. She promised Maxie that she’d keep searching for Peter. Valentin says, and Louise. Brook goes over to the crib, and Anna says, Maxie doesn’t believe she’s going to be safe until he’s arrested. Brook looks at the baby, and Valentin tells Anna to take care of herself. She tells him to look after his family. Anna leaves, and Brook asks if Valentin and Anna are a thing now. He says they have a long, fraught history; they’re friends. Brook says, friends? Is that what they’re calling it? He asks what she calls the thing between her and Chase. Oh come on. After the surprise obsession of Cyrus’s for Sasha, now Brook and Chase have something between them? I never got that vibe.

Elizabeth finds Finn, and tells him that Jackie and Gregory are going to see Chase. Does he want to join them, or stay there for a while? He says he’s not ready to surrender Chase to this toxin. Elizabeth sits down next to him, and says he’s done everything humanly possible to save Chase. He says he doesn’t want to stop, but he’s all out of options.

Chase says Gregory and Jackie are just in time. Jackie says, for what? and he says he just asked Willow to marry him, and she said yes. Gregory says, that’s wonderful news, and Jackie says, congratulations, hugging Willow.

Michael calls Jax, and says, Nina’s at the gatehouse. She’s with Wiley. Satisfied? Jax says, thank you, but Michael says don’t thank him. Just keep his end of the bargain. Nobody can know about him and Willow.

Nina walks around, holding Wiley, and says, when she had to leave Port Charles, and had to leave him, she was so empty. But now that she has him in her arms, she’s filled with happiness. She loves him so much, and she always will. From now on, Grandma Nina is going to spend lots and lots of time with him. Carly stands in the doorway, and shakes her head.

Shawn says maybe TJ should rethink coming to see him; Alexis says, of course (🍷) she’s trying to stir things up; Chase says he knows what Finn is doing, and he’s asking him to stop; and Michael asks if Carly is going to let Jason run the business.

Million Dollar Listing New York

The show began with production being shut down on March 20, 2020. The brokers did their own filming, and Steve said everything was cool at his place. I thought, for now. He, Louisa, and baby Rose had gotten covid pre-lockdown, and decided to stick around where the best hospitals were, just in case. Ryan was in Dublin, New Hampshire at his parents’ place, which also had a guesthouse that he was using for an office and a gym. Must be nice. KJ was at her grandfather’s home in Massachusetts, and Tyler was in East Hampton. Fredrik was kind of digging being stuck in L.A., since he and Derek had never had time together uninterrupted, and with no nannies. Ryan said the contracts they’d had pre-pandemic were on hold. They were waiting to see what happened, finding the silver lining, and planning the future as best they could.  

KJ said business was not booming, and she was trying to resuscitate deals. I laughed about her having to take care of her own kids, and one of them screeching while she was trying to Zoom. Ryan didn’t know what day it was anymore. Now it was just, day. Ryan filmed with baby Zena in a playpen near him, and he said he put the baby in quarantine every now and then. He was social distancing from her. The Serhant team had a Zoom meeting, and Ryan said they had to plan and prepare for life not going back to normal soon. It didn’t stop him from doing an $11.6 million deal, where he snagged a $368K commission though.

Fredrik said, in L.A., business was slowing down. They were working harder, but in a different way. It was tough for him to see NYC on television, and not be able to be there. By the beginning of the summer, Steve felt that real estate was coming back, and they were navigating a new normal. There had been a migration. Tyler had a daily meeting with his team, and they’d been video marketing properties. He thought it had the potential to make them more efficient. KJ was doing virtual tours as well.

June 21 2020. We saw the headline, Governor Cuomo to NYC: It’s on! Tyler went back to the city, his first stop to look at friend Whitney’s apartment, as she wanted to sell. The building had been designed by one of his favorites, Thomas Juul-Hansen, and Tyler said that when Whitney had described her apartment décor as bold, she meant BOLD. He called it granny chic, and it was busy, but I liked it. At 1500 square feet, it had 3 bedrooms and 3.5 baths. The first chandelier we saw, a colorful piece designed by St. Louis for Hermes, cost $24,400. The interior design as a whole had cost half a million. Can you imagine? I can’t. There was a lot of busy wallpaper, one of my favorites having an old-fashioned hot air balloon pattern. That one was in the powder room. There was also one of my all-time favorite patterns, palm leaves. Tyler pointed out that the same pattern had been used for Blanche’s wallpaper and bedspread in The Golden Girls, so I’m not sure what that says about me. There was a private elevator going right into the apartment, as well as a custom kitchen. Tyler told us that it was a buyer’s market, and people wanted covid discounts. Sellers were taking hits. Whitney had invested a total of $5.4 million in the apartment, and Tyler got what sellers were going through. They had a lot of money tied into apartment values, but they were nowhere near where they’d been. He thought if she wanted to sell it as is, the most likely scenario was that it was someone’s dream apartment. The aesthetic wasn’t for everybody, but a lot of people loved Riverside Drive. He thought her best bet was to ask $4.96 million. He told us that it was an emotional thing to sell, and part of his job was making people feel okay during a difficult process.

Tyler said the pandemic had made finances different, work situations different, and people’s personal lives different. Steve said things would change, but NYC wasn’t going anywhere. Ryan said covid had changed the rules, and now they were getting back to work. It was weird because he hadn’t been there in so long. His driver Yuri had gone on vacation, and he wondered who went on vacation in the middle of a pandemic? Apparently, Yuri. His pool of 80 buyers was gone, but he thought it was time to give team member Holly the listing for an $8 million townhouse. He told her a lot of people thought it was too east (whatever that means, unless it’s a transportation issue), so she had to play up the benefits of the location. Before quarantine, the seller had the townhouse built, but made the decision to sell. He had Holly role play, selling him the townhouse, which was 5100 square feet, and had 20 foot ceilings. It also contained custom kitchen cabinetry, a sub-zero refrigerator, custom closets, and an upstairs patio. Ryan thought Holly clearly knew the house, and was ready to go. She could handle any potential buyer. Her potential commission would be $240K.

KJ’s a friend Stephanie, who lived on 14th Street, wanted to see, and KJ felt she needed to reduce the price of her apartment to under $2.7 million. KJ said she’d originally told Stephanie the price was too low, but now the market had changed. KJ showed us how she used a visualization technique, imagining what you wanted as if it happened, and putting it out in the universe. She called Stephanie, and said the asking price was too close to $3 million. She knew it wasn’t what Stephanie wanted to hear, but she had to do something drastic if she wanted to sell. Stephanie agreed to $2.625, but said she wasn’t cutting any more than that. KJ told us that short-term price reductions were now a staple. A lot of people had left the city, and there was a ton of inventory. Her potential commission was $78 and change. Her manifesting worked. I still don’t have my millions though, and I’ve been putting that out there for a while.

Steve headed for Cornelia Guest’s farm in upstate New York. She’d always wanted to rescue animals, and fell in love with the property. It was two hours north of NYC, and Steve said upstate was hotter than ever in lockdown. He’d been in business mode, and gotten licensing in other states, reaching out to people who wanted to get out of the city, and have more outdoor space. At present, the asking price was $2.9 million, although it had once been listed at $4.2 million, and sat on the market for a year. Cornelia said no one knew about it, and Steve thought it hadn’t been marketed properly. There hadn’t even been showings. Steve literally ran out of gas just before he got there, but managed to get to a gas station on fumes. The farm had a private drive, and Steve said there was nothing better than a long approach to a house. Yeah, unless you’re a trick-or-treater. He met with property manager Tim, and told Tim that the property was incredible. Tim said it was 456 acres, with 35 rescue animals. Steve began giving some of the pigs the other brokers’ names. They took a buggy around property, and Tim showed Steve the 900 square foot guest cottage, a watering hole, 2 miles of stream. He said it was half the size of Central Park. Here’s a clue; Central Park is big. The main house was 6000 square feet, and had been rebuilt in 1990, although some of the original detail had been retained. It had 7 bedrooms, and 5 baths, and an antique garland stove, which apparently is hard to come by. Steve said, it wouldn’t be fun without a challenge. The bathrooms were meh, the floors weren’t done, and the upstairs was unfinished upstairs. He knew Cornelia had been let down in the past by brokers, and he wanted to perform to her expectations.

Fredrik said he couldn’t go to NYC because he couldn’t be away from his kids for a month because of quarantine. He had no idea when he’d be back, and had to rely on his team. Video chatting with team member Ellis, Fredrik asked Ellis to show him a friend’s 5th Avenue apartment as if he was a buyer. It was 3500 square feet, with an open floor plan, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, and a private terrace. Ellis was not that great, and Fredrik told him, to show real emotion, and not act like a car salesman. It also had a private outdoor shower. Why? Who knows? Fredrik said he wanted to be part of the showing. They needed the full Fredrik experience.

Ryan told Zena it was busy time, and to give him his phone. He was getting calls from everybody taking their fingers off the pause button. We went down Memory Lane with the fabulous West 17th Street townhouse; the pool party open house, and the canceled private showings. A buyer made an offer at $15 million, and Ryan said the sellers did the smart thing, and agreed. The house was worth more than that, but who knew what the future market would bring? Ryan was proud that he’s sold it completely virtually in middle of pandemic. He called Jeff, who owned the adjoining apartments, and we revisited Ryan’s self-proclaimed epic The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe open house, and the balloon clad empty apartment next door. He said when lockdown hit, everyone went away. He told Jeff that a buyer had fallen in love with the empty apartment, and was offering $5.525. Another couple wanted to rent the first apartment for $15k a month, and Ryan suggested renting it to them for a couple of years, and then selling it to them when the market was better. Jeff said he’d agree to an $18K a month minimum. Ryan said he’d get back to Jeff, and wondered why Zena always said goodbye after the person had hung up.   

Ryan said life was pretty great, but every year he had to do more. So he was going to start his own brokerage.

Next time, a Fredrik robot and a llama, KJ virtually meets Fredrik, Whitney decides she wants to sell her apartment without showing it, and Ryan’s biggest risk in his career

Ryan’s Renovation

August 2020. Ryan talked about lockdown, and going to his parents’ house in the middle of Nowhere, New Hampshire. In May, they came back to NYC, but Emelia went to Greece with her family for the summer. They were allowed to travel there since they were citizens. It was one month to completion, after they’d restarted construction as soon as it was safe in June. They’d made a lot of progress; the elevator was in, and the plumbing and electric had been installed. Ryan had spent $80k during quarantine just to keep things current and not loose workers, so he thought saving a cool $220K on postponed roof terrace and landscaping work was the best bet. Hopefully, Emelia would be fine with it because he was doing it anyway. He called Emelia in Greece, and said, not only had they spent a bundle, the timeline had been extended to December. They also needed to extend a staircase to make it stroller friendly, but Emelia’s dad Leonidas took a virtual look, and said he’d do it gratis. Yes, that’s his line of work. He’s not a fisherman or something.

Ryan got a call from fellow broker Brad, saying he had a client who was interested in buying Ryan’s townhouse. He thought Ryan could get $15 million, and they’d bought it at $7.6 million, (I think) also putting in about $2 million in renovation. Ryan said the husband side of him knew Emelia would be pissed, but the broker side was tempted. Ryan was nervous to agree to a showing, but did it anyway. He said maybe the buyer would hate the house, and they could pretend the whole thing never happened. Leonidas, or as Ryan called him, King Leonidas, was at the townhouse when Ryan got back. Ryan said his opinion meant a lot, and the first thing he said was, the living room was too small. In their interview, Ryan told Emelia that her father was scary, and she told him, don’t mess with the Greeks.

Ryan got a call from Brad, saying the buyer thought the townhouse felt like home, and was offering $15 million. Ryan asked when they wanted to close, and then wondered why he said that. Emelia got back with Zena, and everyone gathered to see the olive tree Ryan had planted in lieu of landscaping. Ryan didn’t know what to do about the offer, but decided they’d literally planted roots, so let’s keep renovating.

Next time, a house blessing, painting, and another delay.

🗿 Quotes of the Week

Maybe this world is another planet’s hell. – Aldous Huxley

When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world. – John Muir

Intelligence plus character-that is the goal of true education. – Martin Luther King Jr.

The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history. – George Orwell

A mathematical formula for happiness: Reality divided by Expectations. There were two ways to be happy: improve your reality or lower your expectations. – Jodi Picoult (I vote for lowering expectations.)

The border to eternity is never ahead of us. It runs parallel to life and can be crossed over at any moment by old and young. – Reinhard Bonnke

No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn. – Hal Borland

We can’t have our delivery drivers or people out there in the community attacking people, punching people in the face. – Sheriff Ray Kelly, Castro Valley, CA

You’re an only child and still not his favorite. – Rita (Lana Parilla), Why Women Kill

😵 Ending a Stellar Week…

Sorry, no tea tonight, but I promise you a potful next time we meet. My dog finally got a vet appointment for Sunday. It’s been hell getting appointments since the pandemic started. I fell behind, and then AOL did… something, and my email is a pita. No matter. When next we meet, I’ll have recharged. I hope anyway. Until then, stay safe, stay enjoying whatever your view is, and stay not being just a star, but an entire constellation.

Jun11

June 10, 2021 – Carly Does Martin a Favor, Beverly Hills Goes Boating, A Different Take & Standing

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What I Watched Today

(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)

General Hospital

Chase asks if Michael is ready for softball season, and Michael asks if he means when Aurora shuts out the PCPD in the open. Chase says Michael is very wrong. When he takes the mound and throws his famous slider, Michael will be embarrassed to call himself a player. Finn suggests they not get ahead of themselves. Chase will be recovering for a while. Chase says Finn doesn’t want him to leave. He feels fine. He already feels the antidote working. His nose starts to bleed, and he asks if this is a side effect Finn didn’t tell him about. He suddenly has a seizure, and Elizabeth rushes everyone out and closes the door. They all watch through the window.

Brando is pushing Gladys in a wheelchair, and she says if she’d known he was going to take such good care of he, she would have gotten shot sooner. Brando tells her, be honest. She loves the attention she’s getting from the media. Heroic woman survives shootout; names real killer of Franco Baldwin. She says don’t forget, she also confirmed Cyrus coerced her into making a false statement. Brando says he knows, claiming Jason disposed of the murder weapon. He thinks at this point the entire world knows, but there is an upside. She says, all those lovely gift baskets from the media outlets who want to interview her. He tells her, he was going to say, now that they’re both free of Cyrus, they can finally think about the future. Sasha approaches them, and says she took a chance they’d be there.

Laura is in the chapel, when Martin comes in. He says, forgive him. He’d hoped to catch her at the Board meeting, but one of the nurses told him that she was headed in this direction. She says if he’s curious what the Board decided to do about Cyrus, they’ll make an official statement tomorrow. He says, considering his brother is under arrest for a veritable laundry list of offenses, he assumes Cyrus will be replaced as Chairman of the Board. What’s amazing to him is, he almost feels sorry for Cyrus. Cyrus always had big dreams. She says, built on lies and extortion, and he says, Cyrus actually thought he could take the place of Sonny Corinthos. She says, interesting how Sonny prevailed, even in death.

At the Tan-O, Lenny and Phyllis walk in. Lenny says, business is picking up, and Phyllis tells Sonny, they ran into the Chief of Police at the market, and crime is down. Sonny says, now that Elijah was arrested, Nixon Falls is back to normal. Phyllis asks if Nina is coming by for a drink later, but Sonny says, she got a call from her grandson’s father, and he’s going to let Nina be part of the child’s life. Phyllis says, wonderful. She can’t wait to hug Nina. Sonny says, the hug will have to wait. She’s on her way back to Port Charles right now.

Handcuffed to a hospital bed, Cyrus asks where his lawyer is. He has the right to see him. Carly walks in, and he says, Mrs. Corinthos. You went to  law school when I wasn’t looking? The guard closes the door, and Carly says she didn’t go law school. If she did, she certainly wouldn’t represent him. He says then she can’t be there, and she says, yet here she is. And there he is, arrested and handcuffed to the bed. Sure is funny how things work out.

Cyrus asks Carly, how much did she pay the cop to let her in? but she says she doesn’t have to pay for favors. He says, the Corinthos name commands so much respect, and she says, too bad he didn’t realize that months ago. He could have saved himself a lot of time and trouble. Maybe even avoided his present circumstances. He says, a temporary setback, and she says, Peter is on the run, and he’s not showing up to rescue Cyrus. Cyrus asks why he’d care about the publisher of The Invader. Has he done something Cyrus should know about? She says, like kidnap Gladys, and take her to a warehouse, where Cyrus ordered her son to kill her? Cyrus laughs, and tells Carly, keep thinking that while he’s temporarily in Pentenville, building his network of associates. His lawyers are working to have the charges thrown out. Carly says his lawyers are going to have bad news for him. He’s not going to Pentenville, but he’ll wish he was.

Sonny tells Phyllis and Lenny, Nina said she was going to come back, but he doesn’t know. Once she gets to Port Charles, and sees her grandson, she might change her mind. Phyllis tells him, don’t be a pessimist. Nina loves it there, and she has the article about Nixon Falls to finish, He asks what Phyllis thinks she’ll want more, to finish the article or spending time with her grandson? Phyllis says she got the idea there was more tying Nina to Nixon falls than the article. After what happened with Eli, Nina and Sonny are closer than ever. Sonny says they had a good talk, and Phyllis says, and…? He says, she got a call from her grandson’s father and left. Phyllis says, so that’s it? They said goodbye, no regrets? He says, actually, he gave Nina some of his special sauce so she wouldn’t forget him. Lenny says, he left Nina with tomato sauce? Get on the next flight to Port Charles and surprise Nina.

Brando steps away with Sasha, and asks if she’s okay, and she says, all good. She just had a check-up, and the baby is fine. He says, that’s great news. Of course (🍷) he’s glad to see her, but he thought she was transferring her care to Mercy. She says, that was before Cyrus was arrested. She doesn’t feel like she’s got to look over her shoulder every time she stops into GH. She tells Gladys it’s good to see her, and Gladys says she’s told she’s making a good recovery… thanks to her son’s love and care. He laughs, and she tells him, don’t be modest. He saved her life. She would have died for sure without him. Sasha says she doesn’t see him doing any less, but she owes a debt to Gladys. She was the one responsible for Cyrus’s arrest, and freed her and Brando to figure out their future.

Laura tells Martin, it’s been a very long day. She wants to go home to her husband. He says, of course (🍷). He’s sorry  for Cyrus. He’s been saying that his whole life. He’s relieved and grateful that she’s emerged from her hostage ordeal, and has a family to return home to. Laura says, not all of her family; not her daughter. He says he’s sure Laura suffers her absence every single day. He knows what that’s like. She asks if he wants something, and he says, fair play. Cyrus refuses to tell him where he’s hidden their mother. He knows it’s a big ask, but perhaps she could visit her brother and ask where he’s keeping her. She asks what makes him think Cyrus would tell her? and he says, unlike him, she has something to bargain with – his sister’s love.

Elizabeth says Chase’s blood pressure is dropping, and Finn yells for an IV push. Elizabeth puts something in the IV. Outside, Gregory arrives, and asks Jackie if there’s been any change, but she tells him, no. Michael tells Willow that Finn and Elizabeth are the best. If anyone can get the seizures under control, they can. She says she doesn’t understand why Chase had a seizure in the first place. Finn was convinced he had a cure. Finn comes out.

Finn says, Chase’s seizure has stopped, and his breathing and blood pressure are stable. Gregory asks, how long will he remain stable? and Finn says, it could be a couple of hours, maybe longer. It’s hard to know for sure. Jackie says she doesn’t understand. She thought he found a cure; what happened? Finn says, he believed combining her DNA with his would work. A Trojan horse to trick his body into accepting it. It should have worked. Willow asks, what about the short term treatment? and he says, unfortunately, it’s not available. He sent Chase’s bloodwork to the lab. They’re good and fast, and maybe they’ll find something he missed. Gregory says, so there’s reason to hope? and Finn says, there’s hope. Jackie says she has to see her son, and goes in. Willow tells Michael, she really thought it was almost over, and Chase would be okay. He says, there’s still a chance, and she says she has to keep believing. She won’t give up, and neither will Chase.

Laura says Martin overestimates her influence on Cyrus. She tried to talk him down when he was holding her as a hostage. She couldn’t get anywhere, and believes if it had gone on any longer, Cyrus would have killed her. Martin says, he would have killed anyone else a lot sooner. The only one who has any influence over Cyrus besides Laura is his mother. She’s his motivation for everything; for wanting to succeed, trying to be the king of the world. Laura understands that. She was able to engage with him, and keep him talking long enough to avoid tragedy. Just maybe, she can get him talking again, and they can avoid another. She says she knows she can get Cyrus to listen to her, but she doesn’t believe for a minute he’ll tell her where their mother is. He says, all right then; he’ll leave her to it. Reflection and her husband. Safe home. She tells him, wait. What’s the worst Cyrus can do? Say no? He says, God bless her for trying.

Gladys says she’s always happy to help, but she’s tired. Can Brando take her back to her room? Sasha says she needs to pick up some pre-natal vitamins downstairs, and Brando says he’ll go with her, if she doesn’t mind waiting while he wheels his mother back to her room. She says she doesn’t, and says, Ms. Corbin, it’s nice to see you again. Gladys tells Sasha to call her Gladys, now that Sasha and her son share a child. She’s sure a staff person can get her back, and tells Brando to go with Sasha. He says he’s not going to let her fend for herself, and asks a passing orderly to take Gladys back. He tells her not to eat all the chocolate out of the gift baskets.   

Carly asks if Cyrus remembers the boat that blew up. There were class A drugs found floating in the water; all surviving the explosion. He asks what that has to do with him, and she says, the DEA traced the boat back to one of his shell corporations. Not only is drug enforcement sniffing around his businesses, so are the Feds. He says, let him guess. The DA is ceding jurisdiction to the Feds, and she says, he’ll be facing Federal racketeering charges, in addition to multiple counts of kidnapping and attempted murder, etc., etc. Pentenville will feel like a spa compared to the maximum security prison they’re going to send him to. She starts to leave, and he says, perhaps she’ll be joining him there, since he intends to tell law enforcement that her family was sheltering an illegal immigrant from Turkey, giving him false identification as Sonny’s cousin and an American citizen. And she made Josslyn an accomplice. She tells him, don’t dare mention her daughter’s name, and he wonders if they have mother/daughter prison cells. He’ll mention her name and Josslyn’s, and of course (🍷) Dev’s, or she can capitalize on all the respect the Corinthos name commands and intervene for him for the US Attorney.

Sonny says, he was thinking of going with Nina, but he’d just get in the way, and Lenny tells him, suit himself. Lenny takes out his phone, and says, just a reminder of what he’s missing. He sends Sonny a picture of him and Nina, and Phyllis says she doesn’t think they’ve seen the last of Nina. She’ll get her fill of pattycake and choo-choo trains, and think about Nixon Falls and everything and everyone she misses. Suddenly, Lenny keels over.   

Phyllis asks if Lenny can hear her. She checks him out, and asks if he hurt himself when he fell. He says he doesn’t think so, and she and Sonny get him up. Sonny says he’s calling 9-1-1, but Lenny says, over his dead body. He just got a little dizzy. Phyllis says, maybe he’s dehydrated, and asks Sonny to get him some water. She’s getting the blood pressure monitor. Lenny says he’s fine, but she says, it’s either that or the clinic; his choice. Sonny gives Lenny a bottle of water, and says, tell him what’s going on. Lenny tells him, he said he was fine, and Sonny says he knows what Lenny told him, and what he didn’t tell Phyllis. How bad is it?

Carly says she should have realized Cyrus would stoop this low. And she did. When she brokered the deal with the Feds to grant Gladys immunity, she also got immunity for her family. He says she’s bluffing, but she says, Diane has the agreement on file. The US Attorney agreed not to investigate Dev’s legal status and ID, so Cyrus’s threats are as empty as he is. Have a nice time on the inside. He says he and his attorneys will figure a way out of this, but she won’t find it so east to fill Sonny’s shoes. She says, no one can, and no one ever will. He says, not even her? and she says she knows better than to even try. He says so she’ll be running Sonny’s territory her way, and she says she has many resources, starting with Jason. She has to say, it was smart of him to team with Peter, and frame Jason for Franco’s murder. Although it had no chance of succeeding long term; he had to know that. He doubts Gladys would have made a convincing witness, which was why he was hopeful Jason would never make it to trial. She says because he wanted Jason dead in Pentenville, and when that didn’t work, he tried to kill Jason at GH and failed. Jason is free, and he’s competent, and Sonny’s territory is secure, and it’s going to stay that way. He says, under other circumstances, he’d tell her to watch her back. It would be a cakewalk for Jason to eliminate her, and take Sonny’s businesses for himself. She says that just shows how much he doesn’t know about her and Jason. He says, either Jason devoid of ambition, or completely in her thrall. Either way, it puts her in the driver’s seat. He senses she enjoys the power, but be careful what she wishes for. The deeper you wade into this business, the harder it is to get out.

Sasha says she had a real wake-up call when she saw this, and shows Brando the ultrasound. She says, meet your son or daughter, and he says, he made this? She tells him not to be so greedy; it takes two to tango. He says he’ll never forget that particular tango, and she says, now that Cyrus no longer has a hold on them, what’s next? He says now they have time to figure out a lot of things, including this. He holds up the sono picture.   

Laura tells Martin it’s better if she talks to Cyrus alone. She sees Carly coming out of Cyrus’s room, and says she’d like a word with Mr. Renault. Carly asks if she doesn’t mean the prisoner, and Laura says, actually, she means her brother. She goes in, and Cyrus says he’s glad she doesn’t hold a grudge. She tells him, who says she doesn’t?

Carly asks Martin if there’s any reason Laura would want to visit Cyrus after he held her hostage. He say she’s doing it for him; more precisely for his mother. Thankfully, Jason is free, but his mother is still in captivity. Even though it’s gilded, it’s still a cage. Carly says, the dynamics have changed. She may be able to help him get his mother back.

Jackie and Gregory stand by Chase’s bed. Jackie says, he looks so peaceful; you’d never know. Gregory strokes Chase’s hair.   

Michael gets something from the vending machine for Willow, and she asks if everything is okay. He says he was going to tell her earlier, but Nina is on her way back to Port Charles to visit Wiley. Willow says they agreed to give her another chance, but she thought he’d let her know. He says, Jax insisted that he call Nina tonight and extend the invitation, and she says she knows he’s been advocating for Nina, and of course (🍷) he’s Josslyn’s dad and part of the family, but isn’t he overstepping? Michael says, Jax blackmailed him, and she says, what? He says, Jax saw them together that night in the gatehouse. She says, together together? and he tells her, Jax said Chase doesn’t need to know if he agreed to let Nina back into Wiley’s life. She says, she’s so sorry. If things had been different, Jax wouldn’t have had a chance to make good on his threat. He asks, what things? and she says she almost told Chase.

Finn looks at some journals and in his microscope. Elizabeth looks at him through the window, and comes into his office. She says, nothing? He says he checked the formula a thousand times. In theory he thought he’d done it right; it was perfect. In practice, it failed. He didn’t fail just any patient; he failed his son. If that wasn’t bad enough, he killed the one person who had the antidote. He swipes the papers off his desk, and walks to the door. She asks where he’s going, and he says he’s turning himself in to the police.

Laura tells Cyrus, she’s there to speak for someone who can’t speak for herself. Someone he claims to care about more than any other. He says, tell Marty not to worry; their mother is getting the best of care. She deserves nothing less. Laura says, she deserves to be able to see Martin. She could be living in the lap of luxury, but it wouldn’t matter if she couldn’t see her own son. He says, ah, yes. The golden child who could do no wrong, unlike him. She asks him to put aside his anger for a moment, and think only of his mother. Who’s going to take care of her when he’s in prison? The people he hired are going to abandon her, and him, when they stop getting paid. If he’s the only one who knows where she is, she’s likely to be alone, and suffer, or worse. He says he won’t let that happen, if she can use her influence as mayor to get his sentence reduced. She laughs.

Brando tells Sasha, it’s okay. Cyrus isn’t lurking around. He’s three floors down, guarded 24/7, a prisoner in his own hospital. She says she thinks it’s going to take her a while to get used to the fact that he’s no longer part of their lives. He says he gets it. He got so used to being under Cyrus’s thumb, ignoring what he cares about, not showing weaknesses. It’s going to take him a minute to relearn how to live. She says they talked about dating, like going to a movie, going out to dinner. He says, catching a baseball game, and she says, it all sounds so normal. She’s not even sure she can do normal anymore, and he says, if it makes her feel any better, making a baby before you even go on a first date isn’t really normal. She guesses they never did anything in the correct order, and asks if that makes them messed up. He says he doesn’t think so. They did something exactly right. They look at the sono picture and smile at each other. Gladys opens the door to her room a crack, and sees them hug. She doesn’t look happy.

Sonny says whatever Lenny tells him, he won’t repeat to Phyllis, but she already told him that Lenny went to a clinic. Three weeks ago. Lenny says, he was having chest pains. He told Phyllis it was heartburn, but she knows he has a bad ticker, and insisted his doctor check him out. The doctor showed him a picture of his heart, and it’s not pretty. Sonny says, Phyllis doesn’t know? Lenny shakes his head, and Sonny says, she has to know. They’ll have to make decisions… Lenny says, Phyllis isn’t going to know, and Mike/Sonny is going to keep his mouth shut. It’s his life, and his decision. Sonny says, Phyllis is a nurse; she can handle it. Lenny isn’t worried about Phyllis, and Sonny knows what he’s worried about. He’s scared. Lenny says, he’s talking to a Marine. Marines aren’t scared of anything. Sonny says, except your feelings. Does Lenny think it was easy to tell Nina how much he cared about her? The don’t even know each other, but Lenny and Phyllis have been together for a lifetime. She’s got a right to know. She won’t love him any less. Phyllis comes out with the blood pressure monitor and says, let’s do this.

Willow tells Michael that Chase had his room fixed up to look like Nantucket. His family has a house there, and they’d made plans to visit a long time ago. Chase was so sweet. He wanted to do something nice for her, and she realized the longer this goes on, the worse Chase is going to be hurt. She couldn’t lie to him anymore. But before she could tell him, Finn rushed in saying he’d discovered the cure. Michael says, a cure that doesn’t work, and Willow says, she thinks now is a bad time to tell him. It has to wait until he’s better, and he has to hear the truth from her, not Jax. Carly comes by, and asks, what about Jax? (One of those true soap moments.)

Elizabeth says Finn is making a mistake, and he says, it won’t be the first time. She says, if he decides to go to the police, tell them whatever he wants, but not when Chase’s life depends on him. He asks if she heard what he said. He took his best shot, and failed. Maybe his theory was flawed, or maybe it’s karma, payback for pushing Peter down a flight of stairs. Elizabeth says, he’s a scientist; he knows better. He says science hasn’t been very good to him, and she says, science saved him from Blackwood’s, and it will save Chase. He has no right to lose faith. Not now. Not ever. Finn’s phone dings, and he says, the lab results are in.

Phyllis asks what she missed, and Sonny says, ask Lenny. He’s sticking to bartending. She looks at the results, and Lenny says, not good? She says she thinks he knows that already. After all these years, if he doesn’t talk to her, she doesn’t know what they have. Certainly not a marriage. He says he loves her, and she has no idea how scared he is of losing her.

Carly asks why they were talking about Jax, and Michael says, Nina is on her way back in Port Charles to see Wiley. Carly asks if it’s permanent, and he says they’re going to talk about boundaries first, and he’s going to make it clear that she can’t mention Nelle. Willow says, assuming Nina can abide by the rules, they thought it would be good for Wiley to have both his grandmas doting over him. Carly asks what that has to do with Jax.

Laura says Cyrus just can’t help himself. He loves to manipulate people. He can’t wait to exploit those vulnerabilities. She hates to disappoint him, but she has no influence she can use on his behalf. He says, and even if she did, she’d never help him, and she says, he didn’t ask her for help. He tried to extort it from her. Her phone rings, and she laughs, and says, Martin. Martin asks if she’s gotten anywhere with their brother, and she says, what does he think? Martin asks if she’d mind putting Cyrus on. There’s someone there who’d like to speak with him. She hands Cyrus the phone, and says, it’s for you. Cyrus says, Martin, there’s nothing you can say that will make me change… Mother?

Brando and Sasha go to Gladys’s room, and she asks if Sasha got what she needed. Sasha says she did. She approaches Gladys bed, handing her the sono picture, and says, she and Brando thought Gladys would like to see this. Gladys looks at it, and says, my grandchild. Brando says they can’t tell if it’s a boy or girl yet, but Gladys says, it doesn’t matter. She sees a family resemblance. Brando says, she can’t tell anything from that, but she says he’s wrong. This little person is going to need all the love they can get. They’re going to need her as much as he does.

Michael tells Carly, Jax made the request. He still cares for Nina, and he’s convinced that it would be good for both Nina and Wiley to be in contact. Carly asks what Michael thinks. Jax is extremely biased. Do they think it would be good for Wiley? Willow and Michael suddenly jet. Carly sighs because the attention isn’t on her anymore.

Finn has come out, and Gregory asks if he figured out what went wrong, but Finn says, not yet. Jackie asks if the lab results are in, and Finn says, the toxin is still in Chase’s system. For reasons he can’t explain, it’s making the symptoms more intense. Willow says, there must be something he can do, and Elizabeth says, Finn just needs more time. Finn says he needs to check on Chase.

Sonny watches Phyllis and Lenny through the window. Lenny says he didn’t want to worry Phyllis, and they hug. Sonny looks at the photo of him and Nina on his phone.  

Carly tells Willow and Michael, how awful for Chase’s family. She wouldn’t wish it on her worst enemy. (I’m not so sure about that.) Michael says, no one should have to go through what they’re going through, and they hug. Carly says she has to go, and tells Michael, he has no idea how much she loves him. He says he loves her too, and not to worry about Nina. He won’t let her pull another stunt like she did last time. She says she’s not worried, says goodbye to Willow, and leaves.

Gladys thanks Sasha for sharing the picture, and Sasha thanks Gladys for sharing her son with her. She says she should go, and Brando says he’ll call her later. She leaves, and Brando says, so, grandma… He’ll frame a copy of the ultrasound for her to take to Bridgeport. She says she’s been meaning to talk to him about that. There’s nothing for her back there. There’s so much more here, which is why she’s moving in with him until they find a larger place, and she can take care of him and her grandchild.

On the phone, Cyrus says, no. That’s not true. He wants what’s best… Mother? Are you there? He gives the phone back to Laura, and she says, Martin found their mother, and will take charge of her care. He says, with Carly’s help, he’s sure, and she says, kind of poetic, isn’t it? Carly is going to return his mother to the brother who will care for her. He says, she’s defending Carly, and she says she understands Carly. Carly wants to do anything she can to stop him from hurting anyone else. He says he doesn’t want another lecture. Please just go. He needs to call his lawyer. She says, before he does, she’d like him to reflect, even if it’s just for a moment. With his intelligence and determination, he could have built roads, fed the poor. He could have done so much good in the world, they would have built a statue to honor him. Instead, he chose to be selfish and cruel, and it’s left him alone and feeling unloved. He has no one to blame but himself. He says, if that’s true, the next time they meet, he has nothing to lose. She says, if there is a next time, she’ll be ready, and leaves.

Finn sits next to Chase’s bed, and says, why didn’t it work? He looks up, and says, where did he go wrong? Chase opens his eyes, and asks how long he’s been out. Finn says, a while. He was in the lab. Chase says, and?… Finn is out of tricks? He’s going to die, isn’t he? Finn takes Chase’s hand.

Tomorrow, Michael tells Willow, what happens next depends on Nina; Finn says he gave it his best shot; and Carly says, Jax not only knows, but he’s counting on it.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

As usual, Erika came to breakfast in dark glasses. Indoors. Garcelle said she though Sutton was going through a lot, but Erika said she couldn’t be taking it out on other people. In LisaR’s interview, she says she thought Sutton was harmless. She let her emotions take over, but there was something underlying that she wasn’t dealing with. It was making her have these moments. LisaR told everyone that they’d probably be going on the boat later, and Garcelle wanted to check out the town. Kyle said it was all too much, so she was just going to hang out. Crystal said she wanted to go with Garcelle, and LisaR went to check on Sutton. Sutton said she was a little angry and upset. She thought something was going on – which there was – but she didn’t know what it was. We flashed back to the Bottoms Up prank, and Sutton says her paranoia kicked in. She kept using a roller on her face, as a self-soother, and told LisaR that she was sick of crying, but LisaR said if she had to cry, cry. Sutton said Kyle told her that she was too sensitive, but Crystal called her irrational, ridiculous, too sensitive, defensive, crazy, and paranoid. LisaR said she could make her own list, and we flashed back to the many names she’s been called.

Garcelle and Crystal went for coffee, and Crystal said she had mixed feelings about Sutton. Garcelle said she heard they’d had a talk, and asked what that was about. We flashed back to the I-don’t-see-color conversation and Crystal said Sutton came at her hard, but Sutton probably thought Crystal. It spiraled into we’re all equal. Garcelle said, if something was bothering Sutton that she wasn’t talking about, at some point, it had to come to a head. She told Crystal to just continue being her. Crystal suggested Garcelle sage her, or sage the house, but Garcelle said it was the first time she hadn’t traveled with sage. I hate when that happens.

They went to the boat, and LisaR was carrying a tote bag said RINNA on it in big letters. I thought, why? Does she forget her name? More likely, she wants to make sure everyone notices her. We flashed back to other boat rides, which weren’t exactly happy times. Erika yapped about how dedicated Tom was to being a lawyer, and how much he loved it. And how she loved him for loving it. Ugh. A seagull came around, and I kid you not, these women freaked out like it was a rabid bat. The seagull took no mind, and landed on the boat’s railing, while the women cowered on the other side of the boat, except for Kathy, who is like a ditsy Snow White. In Sutton’s interview, she said she felt nervous. She’d come there with her tail between her legs, and needed to have a conversation with Crystal and move on with the day. Taking her roller with her, she asked to speak to Crystal. She told Crystal that being called ridiculous didn’t make her feel great. She felt Crystal was abrupt to her, and thought Crystal was upset with her. Crystal said Sutton claimed she’d kicked her to get her to stop talking. Which she had. Meanwhile, at the front of the boat, the rest of the women gazed at the house from Godfather 2.

Crystal said Sutton had turned on her, and showed herself to be untrustworthy, but gave no examples. She also said Sutton’s reactions were erratic. In Crystal’s interview, she said Sutton was erratic, unbalanced, unreasonable, and emotional. She told Sutton that she couldn’t deal with crazy, and Sutton asked Crystal not to call her crazy, and used her self-soother. Crystal said that was all Sutton had shown her. She didn’t know the others well, but they’d been open and sweet. Honestly, I wanted to like Crystal, but I’m starting to think she’s crazy. Crystal freaked about Sutton (who’d knocked first) coming into her room to bring her coat, when she was nakey. I have to add that Sutton went in coat first, so it was clear why she was there. Some might say that’s an overreaction. I’d never tell someone how to feel, but why doesn’t she afford Sutton the same courtesy she would like, and stop stomping all over Sutton’s feelings. Yeah, she’s a little odd. So? Crystal is starting to come off as a mean girl with Sutton as the target. No surprise on this show. Sutton told Crystal that she was shy, and it took her a while to warm up to someone and trust them. She wanted to get to know Crystal better. She’d been a nervous wreck, and was going to leave. In Sutton’s interview, she said, until she’d gone to Tahoe, she hadn’t realized what an emotional task it was to sell her house. She told Crystal, at first she thought she was okay, but leaving the house was harder than she was pretending. She apologized if she was projecting. In her interview, a-hole Crystal said moving out wasn’t an excuse to attack her and act like a crazy person. Is it me??? When did this happen? She told Sutton that she was happy move forward, adding liar to her resumé. This is just sad, and I feel bad for Sutton who is trying too hard, since this Regina George wannabe isn’t really worth it.

Fresh baked goods were awaiting them back at the lodge, Dorit and Kyle played bocci ball, and everyone got dressed up, sort of, for dinner. Sutton wore another dress I loved, with sparkly embellishments, along with her ginormous, expensive furry slippers. Garcelle kept calling Dorit Door-it, and Dorit refused to respond. The women sat by the fireplace and had cocktails, when Garcelle asked for a show of hands on who’d had their nose done. In Erika’s interview, she seemed to get offended at that question, which puzzled me. Erika and Kathy both admitted to having their noses done, but Dorit said she used contouring makeup. A photo from 1995 made us question that. Crystal sent a text to Garcelle saying she was losing her sh*t, and not coming to dinner. And she’s calling Sutton crazy. Okay. Sutton apologized to everyone, saying she hadn’t been herself. The move had taken a toll on her, and she was exhausted. Feeling left out triggered her, but they didn’t deserve her behavior. In Dorit’s interview, she said it was better to confront things, and move past them. She’s a regular Confucius. Sutton said she’d had a meditative day, and was ready to enjoy everyone’s company. LisaR said she’d had a rough past year with people saying she was a bad friend. She then told a story about Harry having a drink with a friend who raped a girl later in the evening. He’d been a close friend of Harry’s, and went to jail. All of his friends wanted him to visit, support the friend, and show him they loved him, but Harry couldn’t do it. Garcelle asked what the point of the story was, and – wait for it – LisaR said she couldn’t blindly support Denise last season. In Garcelle’s interview, she said, Harry did the right thing, but you couldn’t compare the two situations on any level. Sometimes it’s okay to say nothing. As usual, Garcelle and I share a brain. LisaR said she’d done things that didn’t look good, but in a lot of ways she took a bullet. Garcelle said it was more like LisaR became the ringleader, and we flashed back to Denise being sucker punched figuratively, because they are going to milk that storyline until this show finally goes off the air. Which isn’t soon enough. LisaR agreed that she hadn’t tried to reach Denise in the right way. She’d wanted Denise to be transparent and vulnerable, so she could use those vulnerabilities against Denise. That’s where it went south. Garcelle said LisaR pushed it. 

Erika said nothing ever seemed like what it was in life, and you didn’t know anything about anyone. Another great philosopher. They went to the game room, and played ping pong, foosball, and pool. LisaR jumped in the pool, and wanted the others to join her, but had no takers. Garcelle said she was wearing a velvet jumpsuit, but have fun. Sutton said she’d brought her bathing suit, and joined LisaR. LisaR wanted channel her inner Esther Williams, and she and Sutton came up with a synchronized swimming routine. Sutton announced they had a performance to show the women, and everyone was amused. Kyle stopped by Crystal’s room, and Crystal told her about Sutton startling her, saying she dopped to the ground. Sutton had said she didn’t know what was going on there, but here was her coat. She was just too tired to deal with it at dinner. Kyle said Sutton and Crystal had talked on the boat, and asked if Crystal mentioned it, but Crystal said it was so triggering and important that she hadn’t thought about it. In Kyle’s interview, she wondered, if it was so upsetting, why hadn’t Crystal said anything before they went on the boat, or on the boat, or after the boat? I’ll tell her why. This chick is trying to start sh*t, and picked on the weak one.  

The next morning, they packed to leave, and Sutton stopped by Crystal’s room, which I’m sure she saw as an attack. Even worse, Sutton suggested they end on a good note. Crystal hadn’t come to dinner, and Sutton thought it might be because of her. Crystal said that was part of it, and repeated what she’d told Kyle. Sutton said she hadn’t meant anything by her comment, but Crystal said she felt that boundaries had been crossed. She felt violated; it was creepy and weird. Let’s go through that list again, of Crystal’s complaints about Sutton: irrational, ridiculous, too sensitive, defensive, crazy, and paranoid. Check, but as applied to Crystal. Sutton said it was awkward, but she wasn’t being judgmental. In Sutton’s interview, she said there was nothing creepy and weird, unless you were raised in a women’s prison. Sutton said she was trying to make the situation better, and wanted to get to know Crystal. Why is a mystery. They hugged it out, even though Sutton is an admitted non-hugger.  

Four days later, it was election morning, and everyone received a text from Erika saying she considered them close friends, and she had filed for divorce. Because you always keep that info from your close friends until just before it hits the papers. That’s one way to be transparent. Not one of them had any idea it was coming.

Because I watched the 11:30 pm show, there was no preview. Maybe that’s a good thing. I’m not so sure I want to know.

👓 Another Way To Look At It…

I really enjoyed this recap that hit the nail on the head in a concise manner. Unlike my own rambling, and dedication to dialogue.

https://ew.com/tv/recaps/the-real-housewives-of-beverly-hills-season-11-episode-4/

⚾️ Catching Up…

Since I’ve had a lot going on this week, I’m a beat behind, but we’ll catch up with Million Dollar Listing New York tomorrow, because dammit, I’m getting more than five hours sleep tonight. No matter how many hours you get, stay safe, stay scrupulous, and stay looking in the mirror first, before casting an avalanche of stones.

Jun5

June 4, 2021 – A Standoff Ends, Busy, In Jersey, Fiesta, Cut Short, Blocked, Logging Off, Tiffany Talks, Landlord LuAnn, Real Homes, New Addition, More GoT, Furbabies, New Shows, Missing, 2×7 Quotes & Out

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What I Watched Today

(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)

General Hospital

For the first time this week, Peter does not lie at the bottom the stairs, blood pooling around his head.

Maxie gets out of bed, and puts on a robe. She looks out her room window and sees Brook with Louise. Brook holds Louise up so Maxie can see her, and Maxie comes out of her room. Valentin comes along, and says, that’s… Brook says, their little girl. He says, my daughter, and she says, yeah. Maxie watches.

Britt comes down the stairs of the lighthouse in the dark, holding a bat or a paddle or something. The front door opens, but as she’s about to swing, she sees Obrecht. She says, mom, and Obrecht says, hello, liebchen.

Olivia finds Jax in the living room. He apologizes for the late visit, and says he was trying to get ahold of Michael. He heard shots had been fired at the docks, and hoped Michael wasn’t caught up in all that. She says, Michael is fine. Willow just called to check in. Their plan was to come in late, grab Wiley, and go to the gatehouse. Good thing that kid sleeps like a log. He says, good to hear, and asks how Wiley is. She says, that kid is great. She swears, he learns something new every day. Jax says, and Nina is missing all of it.

On the phone at the jail, Carly tells Michael that she’s with Jason. She’s trying to get Diane to work her magic, and get the DA’s office to formally drop the charges. Michael says, it should be pretty straightforward, now that Gladys has recanted her statement, and said it was Peter she saw, not Jason. She says she hopes so, and he says he’s just glad she’s okay, and Jason doesn’t have to run anymore. She says, her too, and he asks if there’s any word on Cyrus. She says, not yet, but it’s only a matter of time before Jordan finds him.

Jordan wants the SWAT team to go in, but Doc asks her to let him try calling once more. She asks if he thinks he can get through to Cyrus, and he says, it’s worth a shot. Laura hasn’t used the code word yet. She must still think she can make some headway. Jordan tells him, okay; one more try.

The phone rings, and Laura tells Cyrus, he’s the one who’s in control. He can decide to let everyone walk away from this completely unharmed, like he decided to let Portia and Trina go. He says, that damn ringing, and goes over to the phone. She says, just pick it up; tell them what he wants.

Curtis asks Trina where her mother is, and Trina says, she’s giving her statement to the police. He says, then he’s going to need Trina’s help.

Valentin asks if the baby is all right, and Brook says, she’s safe and sound. Maxie turns away, and Valentin asks, what happened? Brook says she was on her way to Bensonhurst when her water broke. He says, in the car? and she says, yes. Does she need to go into detail?

Finn sees Maxie, and she collapses in his arms.

Britt asks why Obrecht broke in, and Obrecht says she didn’t know if Britt was sleeping. She didn’t want to wake her. Britt says, giving her a heart attack is so much better, and Obrecht says her Britta is made of stronger stuff. Britt says she could have hurt Obrecht, and Obrecht says, she’s made of stronger stuff. Britt says, it’s good to see her, and Obrecht says, it’s good to see Britt too. She seems well for someone on the run. Britt says, they were so careful with covering their tracks; how did Obrecht find her? Obrecht says, Mr. Morgan called her.

Jason asks how Michael is, and Carly says, it’s been an eventful night. She wonders what’s taking the DA’s office so long, and he says, it’s not exactly regular business hours. She says she doesn’t care. He shouldn’t have been there to begin with; she wants him out. He says, okay, he’s going to get out, and she says, not soon enough. It’s been insane without him, and she’s so sorry she made him run. He says they’ve been over this, and she says, in her defense, he would have gotten away clean if he hadn’t gone back in to get Britt. He says he had to, and she says she knows. She finally gets what he means. When a plan’s in motion, it can twist in unexpected ways. She’s sorry she pushed him to escape. He says, it’s okay, and she promises never to put him in that position again. He gives her a look, and she says she’ll try not to put him in that position again. How’s that? He says he’ll take it.

Valentin says Brook gave birth in some hotel with a random doula? Why didn’t she call him? She says she did, but he says he means sooner, when she went into labor. She says she was a little busy, and he says she’s lucky. Things could have gone very poorly. She says, they didn’t, and he says, thank God. She asks if he wants to hold the baby, and he says, very much. He sits, and she puts the baby in his arms. She says, Bailey, it’s your daddy, and he says, Bailey? She says, Bailey Lois Quartermaine, and he says, hello, Bailey; nice to meet you. He tells Brook, she’s beautiful, and Brook says, she knows. He says, she’s tiny and she’s perfect.

With Maxie back in bed, Finn says she’s had blood loss from childbirth, and needs to replenish her fluids. Elizabeth says she knows how impossible it must feel, waiting for word on Louise. Willow appears, and says, waiting for word? What happened? Maxie says, her daughter is gone, and Elizabeth says, the nurse Peter hired kidnapped Maxie, induced labor, and ran off with her baby. Willow says she’s sure they’ll find her, and Elizabeth says, they have to. Maxie says she just wants the baby as far away from Peter as possible.

Jordan says, it’s not working, but Doc tells her, just wait. Cyrus finally answers, and Doc thanks him for picking up. He asks if Laura is all right, and Cyrus says, she’s fine, for now. If he wants her to stay that way, they’ll clear the road and get him that car. Doc says they can work on that, and Cyrus yells, stop stalling, and do it! Just remember, whatever happens to him, happens to Laura too. They go down together. I have to mention, Cyrus looks a lot more haggard today, even though it’s really only a few minutes later from yesterday.

Taggert asks what exactly is Curtis talking about, but Trina tells him, it’s okay. She wants to help if she can. Curtis says he needs to know the layout of the house. Are they any other ways to get in besides the front and back doors? A cellar door maybe? She says he can climb in through her bedroom window; it’s closed, but not locked. He says he needs to know exactly where that is.

A SWAT guy tells Jordan, it’s her call. What does she want them to do? She says, they’ll give Cyrus what he wants.

Carly asks if Jason has talked to Britt. He sits on his cot, and Carly says she’s sure Britt would like to know he’s okay. She’s never been a fan of Britt’s. Britt’s done a lot of horrible things to a lot of people, but people said the same thing about her. He says, Britt saved his life, and she says she knows. What she’s trying to tell him is, her opinion of Britt has definitely changed.

Britt says, Jason called Obrecht? Why? Obrecht says, he wasn’t exactly chatty. He just said she was safe, and gave her an address where she could find Britt. Britt smiles, and says, huh, and Obrecht says, now’s the time to share. Give her all the juicy details. They sit, and Britt says, all that matters is, Jason saved her life… and she saved his. Obrecht smiles, and Britt says, what? Obrecht says, nothing, but Britt says, don’t nothing her; say it. Obrecht says, after wasting her time with men like Nikolas and Patrick Drake, Britt finally met her match.

Olivia hands Jax a drink, and says, it occurred to her that with Sonny gone, and Jason busy with other things, Carly might have stepped into the family business. She wonders if she’d do that, but doesn’t know, since she’s never been in that position. He says he only cares about his daughter’s safety, so whatever Carly is doing, he hopes it’s over sooner rather than later.

Michael heads for Maxie’s room, and Willow tells Maxie that she’s safe there. Elizabeth says Maxie doesn’t have to worry about Peter, but Maxie says she doesn’t know that. Elizabeth says, the police are looking for him; he’s not going to come back here. Finn flashes back to arguing with Peter, and Peter throwing the antidote off the roof. Maxie wishes Peter had just disappeared… forever.

Brook tells the baby that she passed her check-up with flying colors; good work, baby girl. Valentin says she should be checked also, and she says she will, but not tonight. It’s late and she’s tired. He says, tomorrow, and she agrees. He says, how about they get their daughter home? As they walk, they come face-to-face with Austin.

Cyrus asks if Laura thinks he’s an idiot, but she says, no. He asks if she thinks he believes for one moment they’re going to give him what he wants. They’re just stringing him along until they can get a sniper to take him out. That’s not happening. She asks him to listen to her, for just a minute. He says it’s her fault really. All he wanted was to be her brother, and to bask in one ounce of the love she has for everyone else. She says, he wants her love, does he? He says, yes, and she says, then earn it, damn you. She would have helped him if he’d been just the tiniest bit sorry for what he did; if he was just the tiniest bit willing to let someone help him, but no. He wants to bond with her, while he charges the rest of the damn world. He says, so it’s all on him, and she says, it doesn’t have to be. Not yet. He still has time. He can still redeem himself. Turn himself in.

Curtis slips into Trina’s bedroom window, and checks his gun. Laura tells Cyrus, turn himself in. If he does that, she will stand beside him. He says, little sister, it’s far too late.

Valentin asks if Brook is all right, and she flashes back to seeing Austin unconscious in the woods. She says she just got a little startled. Sorry. Austin says, no worries. Congratulations. Brook says, what? and Austin says he can’t see his or her face, but he’s sure the baby is just beautiful. Valentin thanks him, and Austin says he’s looking for room 401; any ideas? Valentin points him in the right direction, and Austin sees a sign that says, Pediatrics: Michael Corinthos Center for Pediatric Head Injuries/Neonatal Intensive Care.

Michael tells Maxie that he’s sorry, and the Quartermaines will help in any way they can. She thanks him, and Willow says, they’ll leave so she can rest. In the hallway, Michael says, Maxie must be losing her mind, and Willow says she almost feels guilty going home to Wiley. He asks if she’s still taking Wiley to the gatehouse, and she says not if Michael thinks they’ll wake him. Michael says, Wiley slept through a fire alarm when Cook started a grease fire, and she says, good point. (Wiley isn’t my kid, is he? I slept through a hurricane.) He says, home? and she says, home. They get in the elevator.

Elizabeth tells Maxie that she needs to get some sleep. Maxie says, and let her guard down? What if Peter comes back? Elizabeth says she told Maxie, it’s not going to happen, and Maxie asks how she knows that. Finn says he does. Peter’s not going to bother her again. He can’t.

Britt says Obrecht is being ridiculous, and Obrecht says, is she? Britt says, Jason isn’t her match; they’re not anything. Obrecht says, just two people on the run together, and Britt says, exactly. Obrecht asks if she had sex with him, and Britt says, mom. Obrecht says, did she? Britt says of course (🍷) she didn’t, covering her smile, and Obrecht says she knew it. And? Britt says, and it was amazing. It doesn’t mean anything. She knows how these situations are; everything’s heightened, people are drawn to each other when they normally wouldn’t be. Obrecht says, right. Men like that are brute instruments. Good in the sack, as they say, but no one to plan a future with. Britt says, actually – Obrecht says, she’s wrong? – Jason did something for her that was, in a way, just as important as saving her life. He helped her face something that she’d been running from for years. Obrecht asks, what is that? and Britt says she lied.

Jason asks, what happened at the meeting with the Five Families microwaveable pasta meals? and she says she told him; they backed her. He says, that’s it? and she asks if he thinks she screwed up somehow. He says, no, she did great. She kept the family safe while he was gone. He would expect nothing less. She puts her hand over his and says, he’s always the one who believes in her, and he says, he always will.

Cyrus says Laura has no idea what she’s asking. She wants him to go back to prison with no Jordan to pressure, no blackmail to use – Curtis is now in the hallway, seeing if he can get a clear shot – just spend the rest of his days rotting in that hellhole. Ten years was an infinity. He can’t go back; he’s never going back. He paces, and groans, and says, what a life. Whether she admits it or not, they’re just wild creatures who can’t be contained. As Curtis sneaks around behind Cyrus, Laura asks what he means. What is he going to do? Laura sees Curtis and gasps, and Cyrus grabs her. He tells Curtis, drop the gun, or she dies. Curtis says, take it easy, Cyrus, and puts his gun on the floor. Cyrus shoots him, and Curtis drops. Cyrus walks over to him and says, that’s enough out of him. In the meantime, Jordan comes through the front door, and shoots Cyrus.

Willow pours some wine for Michael and herself, and he asks if she’s okay. With Maxie and all, it couldn’t have been easy for her. She says, her? Maxie is the one who lost her little girl. He says he didn’t know if it brought up any memories, and she says, seeing Maxie alone in that hospital bed, she remembers that feeling; the emptiness, the ache. First, when she gave her baby up, and later, learning that he had died. Michael takes her hand, and she says, sorry. He asks, why? and she says she doesn’t know. She hugs him, and says she’s just happy he’s there with her. He says, him too.

Britt says, when she told Obrecht that she’d been screened for Huntington’s, and that she didn’t have it, that was a lie. She didn’t do the test. She chickened out. Obrecht says, the truth is, it’s Britt’s decision whether she wants to know or not. She should never have pressured her. Britt says, for years now, it’s been in the back of her mind, wondering, did she have it or didn’t she have it? Then it moved to the front of her mind, and eventually, it began taking over her life. Every ache, every pain, wondering, is this it? Is this the beginning of the end? She wound up telling Jason that she might have it, and he was amazing. He didn’t try to tell her what to do, or jump in with advice on how she should run her life. Obrecht says, he listened, and Britt says, he even talked a little too. Obrecht laughs, and asks what he said. Britt says, if it suffocates you, instead of frees you, then you should find out, and she knew in that instant, she needed to know. Obrecht says, she got the test? and Britt says she did. She has the genetic marker for Huntington’s. Obrecht takes her hand.

A guard comes in and unlocks Jason’s cell. Carly says, the charges were dropped? and he says, Jason is free to go. Carly runs in the cell, and hugs Jason, saying, let’s get you out of here, and get you home. On their way out, Carly’s phone dings, and she says, oh my God. They have to go to the hospital. She’ll explain to him on the way. She jets, and Jason heaves such a huge sigh, I literally lol, and he follows her.

Finn tells Maxie, there’s something she needs to know, when Austin knocks on the door, and comes in. He says, sorry to interrupt, but he just wanted to check on the patient. Miss Maxie, how are you? Maxie says, fine, and tells him to come in. She tells Finn and Elizabeth, this is the man who delivered Louise. Can they believe she managed to find a doctor in the middle of the woods? Elizabeth says, only you, Maxie, and Finn says, it’s nice to meet you, Doctor…? and Austin says, he’s off-duty, so just Austin. Elizabeth asks if Finn has time for a consult, and they leave. Okay, I’ll just say it. I guess we’re just ignoring the fact that Austin looks exactly like Todd Franco. Maxie asks how Austin’s head is doing, and he says it’s still on his shoulders. She says, that’s a plus, and he agrees. He says he’s sorry he didn’t come to sooner. He might have been able to help her out with that nurse. If he’d done that, she’d have her baby in her arms right now.

Valentin opens the door for Brook to go into the mansion, and Olivia squeals, Brook had the baby? Nobody told her. Valentin says, things move quickly; it’s hard to keep up. Olivia runs over to Brook and the baby, and says, oh my goodness. Brook says, Bailey, meet your grandmother, Olivia, and Olivia says, she is a literal angel. Olivia asks, what happened? Is Brook okay? Brook asks if they can go in the living room; she needs to sit down. Olivia says, anything Brook needs, just say the word, and helps her to the living room. Jax tells Valentin, congratulations, and Valentin thanks him. Jax says Valentin has a daughter. He’s a lucky man. He holds out his hand, and they shake.

Laura tells Jordan, come in, and Jordan runs to Curtis, asking for something to stop the blood. Laura finds some gauze, and Jordan yells for someone to get Portia. Doc runs in, and hugs Laura, saying, thank God. She says she’s fine; help Curtis. Doc checks Curtis’s pulse, and says it’s thready. Laura tells Curtis, hang in there, and glares at Cyrus, who’s sitting up against a chair, and I’m wondering why someone hasn’t hauled him off yet.

Taggert goes over to Trina and Portia, who asks, what happened? He says, Cyrus is down, and Portia says, it’s over. She hugs Trina, and an officer comes out. He tells Portia that she’s needed inside, and she goes with him.

Jordan tells Curtis, stay with her, and Doc says, his pulse is weaker. Portia runs in, and Laura tells her that Curtis has been shot. While Portia tends to Curtis, Doc takes Laura over to the side, and asks if she’s all right. She says she’s fine, thanks to Curtis. Portia looks at Curtis’s wound, and asks Jordan to help her roll him over, so she can see if the bullet came out the other side. She takes a look, and they move him back the way he was, and Portia tells Jordan, keep pressure on the wound. Jordan says, save him, please, and tells Curtis to open his eyes. Don’t you dare give up on me.

Olivia asks if she can hold Bailey/Louise, and Brook gives her the baby. Olivia says she has to get it in now, because Ned isn’t going to want to let go of her. Brook says, actually, her dad doesn’t know she had the baby, and Olivia says, what?

Obrecht says, this is her fault. Her obsession with Cesar is what led to this. Britt says, no, but Obrecht says, she knows she wasn’t always the best mutter, far from it, especially when Britt was young. But the older Britt got, the prouder Obrecht was of her. So smart, so strong, so capable. Britt has become everything Obrecht asked of her. And the fact that she has this horrible disease, is because Obrecht chose that wretched man to be Britt’s father. Britt says, wow, and Obrecht says she bets Britt never thought of it that way. Britt admits she hadn’t, because it wasn’t Obrecht’s fault. The wow is because this is the first time she’s heard she’s everything Obrecht wanted in a daughter. Obrecht isn’t just saying that because Britt is sick? Obrecht tells Britt, she’s saying it because it’s the truth.

Finn and Elizabeth go to his office, and she says he was going to tell Maxie that Peter was dead, wasn’t he? He says, they can’t leave Maxie terrified that Peter is going to come back, when they both know he won’t. She says, and then what? He gets arrested, and Chase dies because he can’t work on a cure. He says he doesn’t think Maxie would go to the police, but she asks how he knows that. He guesses if Maxie was willing to keep their secret, it would make her an accomplice to murder. He hates seeing her scared and in pain, and Elizabeth agrees it’s awful, but the truth is, telling Maxie about Peter won’t bring back Maxie’s daughter.

Olivia is surprised Brook hasn’t told her father; he’s going to be over the moon. Brook says, it’s been a long day. She’s feeling a bit overwhelmed. Olivia says, that’s totally normal. She’s going to be feeling that way for the next couple of days, or weeks, or even months. When it happens, rely on her family. Brook promises she will, and Jax says he’s really leaving now. Olivia says she’ll walk him out, and starts to give the baby to Brook, but Valentin wants to hold her. Olivia hesitates, and he says, it’s okay. He’s held a baby before. Olivia gives him the baby, and goes with Jax. Valentin says, just wait until Bailey meets her sister. She’s going to fall in love with her like he did.

Michael tells Willow, most people would have closed down. After losing a child, they would have locked up their hearts so they couldn’t be hurt again. But she opened hers to Wiley because she has so much love to give, and he’s so grateful. She says Wiley is the best thing that ever happened to her. One of the best things. He asks if he’s on the list, and she says she’ll check. He is the list. They kiss, and quickly move to getting busy.

At the hospital, Jordan paces, while Taggert sits with Trina. Portia comes out, and says they’re prepping Curtis for surgery. It could be a lengthy procedure. Trina says, but he’s going to be okay, right? Portia says, they don’t know, but they’re doing everything they possibly can. Taggert says, and Cyrus? and Portia says, clean shot through the leg. He’s been admitted, but he’ll survive. Jordan says she has to go. She has to deal with the fallout of what happened. Keep her posted. Portia says, of course (🍷), and Jordan leaves. Portia hugs Trina, and Jason comes in with Carly. Taggert says, welcome home, and Jason asks, what happened with Cyrus? Taggert says, Jordan got him in the leg. Unfortunately, he’s going to survive. Trina says, Curtis might not, and Carly says, Curtis? Portia says, Curtis snuck in, trying to get Laura out before the SWAT team was necessary. Laura and Doc join them, and Laura says, Curtis saved her life.

Elizabeth tells Finn that they need to get to work on a cure, and he says he’s been working. Non-stop. He’s no closer to figuring this out, and they’re running out of time. She says, no, and he says, no, the clock’s not ticking? She says, of course (🍷) the clock’s ticking, but he’s got this. She has faith in him. She wouldn’t have come up with this crazy plan if she didn’t. He says he’s sorry he got her involved in this, but she says she’s not. Peter doesn’t get to take another life. You won’t let him.

Austin says he’ll let Maxie get some rest, and she thanks him for helping her. She’s never going to forget him. He says, that sounds like a goodbye. Is it a goodbye? She says she thought he’d be heading back to Pawtuck, and he says he will, but he wanted to be involved in the search party. He did help bring Louise into this world, and feels vaguely responsible, so he’ll be in touch. He knows those woods like the back of his hand. They’re going to find Louise. He leaves, and Maxie says, that’s what she’s afraid of.

Brook says, this is about as far away from plan as you can get, but of all the guys in the world to be this baby’s father, she’s really glad it’s him. He says, she is? and she says, yeah. The ELQ stock aside, she can tell Valentin really loves her. He says, who wouldn’t? and she says, he’s committed, and he’ll make sure nobody hurts her; that’s all that matters. He says Brook wouldn’t let anyone hurt the baby either. He knows that about her. She says, they’re in this together? and he says, all the way. They’re going to do right by their daughter. They’re going to make Bailey Lois everything, for always. She says, they’re going to give her a really great life, and he asks Bailey/Louise if she hears that. She stirs, and he says, that’s right. I’m talking to you. Aww!

Britt’s phone rings, and she says, Jason? He says, it’s him. She asks if everything is okay, and he says, the charges were dropped. Most importantly, the cops got Cyrus. (I feel the need to point out, ly words are adverbs, so importantly is a word that makes no sense, and it annoys me. It should just be most important. Grammar class over.) She says that’s great, and he is says, it is. Did her mom get there? She says her mom did, and thanks him for that. He says he didn’t want her to be alone, and she asks if there’s any word on Peter. Has he been arrested? He says, not yet, but Cyrus is neutralized, so it’s safe for her to come back home. She says she’ll see him soon, and tells Obrecht, that was Jason. Obrecht says, so she gathered, and Britt says, he’s been exonerated, and Cyrus is in police custody. Obrecht says, so Britt is free to go back to her life, and Britt says, whatever that looks like now. Obrecht says she’s so sorry, but Britt says, at least she knows what she’s dealing with. Obrecht says Britt also has her. She loves Britt so much. Britt says she loves Obrecht too, and they hug.

Carly goes to Cyrus’s guarded room, and looks at him through the window. He sees her, and she smiles. Jordan arrives with Taggert, and tells Carly, Cyrus is in police custody. He’s not going anywhere. Carly says, good, and leaves. Jordan looks through the room window, and Taggert says, she did good today. It took a lot longer than they thought, and cost more than they imagined, but she did good. They finally nailed the bastard.

Portia gives Trina some water, and Doc asks if Laura is sure she doesn’t want to get checked out. She says she’s sure. She’s fine, physically anyway. He says he could hear it in Cyrus’s voice. He knows what someone sounds like when they’re about to crack. She almost died tonight. By God, she is brave. She thanks him, and they exchange I love yous, touching foreheads. He says, do him a favor. Don’t ever do that again. She says she’ll try. She can’t promise though. They hug.

We see a trail of clothing leading to Willow and Michael getting super busy, since they have to make up for lost time. She literally jumps onto him while they’re standing, and in the most awkward move ever, he places her on the bed. Someone watches through the window. Ew.

On Monday, Carly asks why Jax is pushing the issue, Trina tells Curtis that he needs to live, Phyllis asks Nina what’s going on between her and Mike, and Brook wonders where Bailey is.

💍 That Was Fast…

The ink isn’t even dry on the divorce papers, but hey, YOLO.

The rumors:

https://people.com/tv/porsha-williams-fiance-simon-guobadia-claims-estranged-wife-falynn-cheated/

The reactions:

https://www.etonline.com/nene-leakes-and-more-bravo-celebs-react-to-porsha-williams-engagement-to-her-rhoa-co-stars-ex

The birthday party:

https://people.com/tv/porsha-williams-shares-photos-from-fiances-birthday-party/

🙈 Jersey Drama…

Ugh. This guy. He looks like he belongs in The Sopranos. As an underling.

https://pagesix.com/2021/05/28/former-rhonj-cast-member-daniel-provenzano-to-pay-222k-to-ex/

Dina isn’t having it.

https://people.com/tv/dina-manzo-slams-nephew-albie-manzo-for-trying-to-make-a-profit-on-his-podcast-over-family-drama-shocking/

🍹 Down In Mexico…

Teresa proves there’s life after Juicy Joe and jail.

https://pagesix.com/2021/05/25/teresa-giudice-and-luis-ruelas-pack-on-pda-on-mexico-vacation/

✂️ Cut and Run…

God forbid Heather should be held accountable for her words.

https://people.com/tv/rhony-alum-heather-thomson-why-she-cut-show-return-short-leah-mcsweeney-drama/

https://pagesix.com/2021/05/25/luann-de-lesseps-on-heather-thomsons-rhony-return/

🚫 So This Is a Bad Thing…?

Carole probably did Leah a favor by blocking her.

Carole Radziwill Blocks Leah McSweeney On Instagram; Leah Slams Carole For Former Friendship With Jeffrey Epstein Associate Ghislaine Maxwell

💬 Taking a Break…

I can’t say as I blame her. While I think Eboni might have been a tad sensitive, LuAnn is an a-hole if she thinks education is based on how many languages you know.

‘RHONY’: Eboni K. Williams Taking Time off Social Media After Luann De Lesseps Feud

🕵🏾‍♀️ Deep Dive…

Dr. Moon – no, not that Dr. Moon, Tiffany – examines racism in the pandemic.

https://www.health.com/mind-body/health-diversity-inclusion/dr-tiffany-moon-celebrity-deep-dive

🏖 Your Summer Sewn Up…

I probably couldn’t afford to rent her garage.

https://guestofaguest.com/hamptons/real-estate/luann-de-lesseps-is-renting-out-her-charming-sag-harbor-home-for-the-summer

🏰 Wifely Real Estate…

I’d need roller skates to live in these houses. Although first, I’d need to learn to roller skate. I’m pretty sad on those things.

https://nypost.com/2021/05/25/the-10-most-expensive-homes-owned-by-the-real-housewives/

🏙 Bringing It To the Table…

It’s too bad I don’t really like her very much.

https://pagesix.com/2021/05/22/million-dollar-listing-star-kirsten-jordan-on-why-she-was-cast/

👑 More Games…

A possible House Martell prequel.

https://ew.com/tv/game-of-thrones-princess-nymeria-prequel-writer/

🐕 Furkids Are Family Too…

Every month is National Pet Month around here.

https://www.essence.com/lifestyle/celebrities-with-pets/

📺 Enjoy the Show…

Looks like there are some good ones.

https://www.essence.com/entertainment/14-summer-tv-shows-we-cant-wait-to-watch/

👀 Have You Seen Him…?

Please check out this photo of missing actor and playwright Andy Neiman.

https://www.insideedition.com/andy-cohen-asks-for-help-in-finding-childhood-friend-missing-for-2-weeks-67422

📰 Quotes of the Week

Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world. – Albert Einstein

The mind is like a car battery; it recharges by running. – Bill Watterson

If you’re gonna be two-faced at least make one of them pretty. – Marilyn Monroe

The point is not to pay back kindness but to pass it on. – Julia Alvarez

One log won’t burn. – Dr. Phil

Animals are such agreeable friends; they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms. – George Eliot

You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist. – Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

You are never strong enough that you don’t need help. – Cesar Chavez

More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness. – Charlie Chaplin

Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less. – Rick Warren

Love isn’t a state of perfect caring. It is an active noun like ‘struggle.‘ – Fred Rogers

If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need. – Cicero

If you are going through hell, keep going. – Winston S. Churchill

Man may have discovered fire, but women discovered how to play with it. – Candace Bushnell

🛣 Hitting the Road…

As we head into another weekend, hoping you’re closer to being able to call it a weekend. Unless you’ve made the decision not to label days anymore. Whatever works. The Dead are back on Sunday, but until then, stay safe, stay paying it forward, and stay knowing that when a plan’s in motion, it can twist in unexpected ways.  

Jun4

June 3, 2021 – Laura Negotiates With Cyrus, Covid Hits the Listings, Renovation Is Hard & Brooklyn

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What I Watched Today

(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)

General Hospital

Peter tumbles down the stairs, and lies at the bottom on the landing. Blood pools around his head. Someone runs down behind him, and stands on the steps. We see the fake passports for Peter and Maxie on the floor next to him. A hospital employee runs up the other stairs, and checks the pulse in his neck.

Earlier. On the hospital roof, Peter looks at the fake passports. He looks up, and we see a helicopter. His phone rings, and he says, yeah… It’s too late? For what he’s paying them, they should be where he wants, when he wants… He doesn’t care. Hurry. He has to get the hell out of there. Finn says, he’s not going anywhere, and Peter tells Finn, stay out of his way. His daughter’s out there. Finn says, and his son is dying downstairs. Give him what he needs to save his son.

Valentin comes into the hospital, and asks if Elizabeth has seen Anna. Elizabeth says Anna is in Maxie’s room on the 4th floor. Valentin asks if Maxie had her baby, but Elizabeth says she hasn’t seen Maxie’s baby. He asks if Maxie is all right, and she says, physically, Maxie is fine, no thanks to him. He says, I beg your pardon? and she says, he looked the other way, so did Anna. They both knew what Peter was capable of, yet he and Anna still unleashed him on the rest of them.

Anna asks Maxie if something happened to her baby. Maxie says, thanks to Peter, her daughter is gone.

Brook tells Louise, she’s happy now. Look at them. Louise is only a few hours old, and already in her first hotel room. A 9.3 guest rating; she could do worse. She’s really real. She always knew Louise was real, but she seems so much more impressive now that she’s there. They’ve got a long road ahead of them.

Willow answers the gatehouse door to Michael, who says he wanted to see how she was doing. She says she tried to rest, but she still feels guilty. Michael comes inside, and she says, tonight, when Chase sent them home, all she could think about is how she wanted to be with Michael.

On the phone, Laura says, Cyrus is looking to keep a hostage. Here’s her offer. Let Portia and Trina go, and take her instead. Cyrus says, he’ll trade Trina for her, but the good doctor stays. Laura says, he releases both of them, and then she comes in. That’s her offer; think it over.

Outside, Doc asks Laura if she was bluffing, but she says she meant every word. He says she can’t turn herself over to that man. He’ll kill her. She says she knows he’s concerned, and he says he was called there to negotiate a hostage situation. He can’t do his job effectively if his wife is offering herself up as one of the hostages. She says it makes sense because she has a connection to Cyrus, and he says, that appears to be severed. She says, not completely. If she can use that connection, he’ll let Trina and Portia go free. He says, or they let the police do their job. Or let him do his, and negotiate, which is better than risking the mayor’s life. Jordan says she agrees; it’s too risky. She can’t let Laura go in there. Laura says, with all due respect, Jordan can’t stop her either.

Anna asks what Maxie is telling her, when Mac comes in. He tells Maxie that he’s sorry. He’s going to do everything he can to protect her, and get his new granddaughter back. She says she knows he will. She didn’t have a chance to check Peter’s confession before she sent it; did it go through okay? He says, clear as a bell, and she asks if it’s enough to lock Peter up. He says she’s amazing. He doesn’t know where she found the wherewithal to get Peter to confess, not to mention the presence of mind to record it. She says she did what she had to do. Just promise her that he’s not going to get away with it this time. Mac says he thinks they’ve got Peter. Besides the confession, Gladys Corbin named him as Franco’s killer. They’ve got an APB out, and they’re doing a floor by floor search of the entire hospital. He’s on his way to security right now to check the footage. Is she going to be okay? She says, as okay as she can be under the circumstances. He asks if Anna will stay with Maxie, and Anna says, of course (🍷). Maxie says, please just find Peter, and Mac leaves. Anna asks how Maxie got Peter to confess, and Maxie says she hired a nurse to help with her pregnancy. Unfortunately, Peter replaced that nurse with an imposter to kidnap her and induce labor. The imposter double-crossed him, and took off with their child. Anna says, that’s awful, but is Maxie sure it wasn’t another trick? Is she sure this woman didn’t hand off the baby to Peter? Maxie says, trust her. Peter has no idea where their daughter is.

Brook tells Louise, this part is a little tricky. They can’t just walk into the Q mansion. That would be chaos, not to mention the lecture she’d get from Valentin, which from his perspective will be completely justified. Valentin is going to take one look at Louise, and fall madly in love with her. He’s going to give Brook back the ELQ stock. That is what we call collateral benefits. The most important thing is, he’s going to take care of Louise like nobody’s business. He’s going to protect her. First things first, they have to get her home, which means she has to call someone she trusts enough to lie to.

Valentin says Elizabeth is right about everything she just said. He gave Peter far too much leash. She’s suffered enormously, and he’s truly, truly sorry. She says, apparently, Gladys Corbin just told the police it was Peter who killed Franco, not Jason. Any thoughts on that? He says just that he’s sorry, but he has to find Anna to warn her, because Peter is far more dangerous when he’s cornered. She says she’s sure she is, excuses herself, and jets.

Peter says he’s sorry Chase is unwell, and Finn says, Peter poisoned him. He knows Peter tried to poison him, and the toxin got delivered to Chase instead. Peter says Finn has been reading too many spy novels, but Finn says they’re talking about his son’s life. Peter’s been holding the antidote over Anna’s head so she’ll fall into line, threatening to withhold it if she doesn’t do what Peter says. Peter says it does sound like something Anna would make up, and that Finn would believe. Peter’s phone dings, and he sees a text from the helicopter pilot, saying, I can’t land. He starts to walk away, but Finn grabs his arm, and says, if he wants to play games with Anna and the WSB, go ahead. He’s not going to let Chase die. Peter says, if Chase dies, blame Anna.

Portia tells Cyrus to keep her; just let Trina go. Trina says, no. She’s not leaving Portia alone with that psycho. Cyrus tells them, shut up, and Portia tells him to point the gun away from her daughter. He tells her that she has no say in who comes or goes. She has no say in anything. Understood? Portia says, fine, and Cyrus goes to the window to look out. Portia says, if Trina gets the chance, she wants her to run. Trina says, no, but Portia says, just do it, okay?

Taggert launches himself toward the house, and two officers grab him. Jordan tells them to stand down, and tells Taggert to stand down too. Taggert says, that son of a bitch has Trina and Portia in there. Curtis says, Taggert isn’t going to help anything, and Taggert pushes past the police tape, but Curtis tells him to listen to Jordan.

Inside, Cyrus wonders, what’s going on out there? He grabs Trina, and Portia screams at him to get his hands off her daughter. Everyone outside hears her.

Peter tells Finn, Anna deceived and betrayed them both, and Finn let her. He’s not going to do that. Doesn’t Finn see? There have to be consequences. Finn says, not for Chase; he has nothing to do with this. Peter says, Finn is right. It should have been him in the hospital fighting for his life. What can he say? He missed. (Okay, I have to admit, I laugh.) Finn says, this isn’t about Anna anymore, but Peter says, on the contrary. It’s absolutely about Anna. The rules were very clear. She was only to get the antidote if she didn’t disclose his involvement. She broke the rules. Finn says, she broke the rules to save Chase’s life, but Peter says, no, to save his life with this – he shows Finn a vial – she had to follow the rules. Now if Finn is done wasting his time… He starts to walk away, and Finn asks where he thinks he’s going. Peter says he’s going to find his daughter, and launches the vial over the side of the roof. Finn says, no! and Peter says, consequences. He didn’t sentence Chase to death; Anna did. Peter walks away, and after a beat, Finn follows him.

The phone rings and Cyrus tells Portia to answer it. Portia tells Jordan to get her people back, and Jordan asks if she and Trina are all right. Portia says they’re fine, and Cyrus says, fine for now, unless Taggert decides to play hero. Jordan says, don’t worry. Marcus understands what’s at stake. Cyrus says, good. Now get his sister back on the phone. She’s the only one who appears to understand the situation. Jordan says, the mayor has stepped away to deal with the press, and Cyrus says, get her back now. He tells Portia, hang up.

Jordan tells Taggert, another move like that, and she’ll have him locked up. Does he understand her? If he wants to stay, stay out of her way. Wait. She tells the officers to get Taggert away from the area. If he tries to rush the house again, cuff him to a squad car. They lead Taggert away, and Curtis tells Jordan that he’s going to check on Laura. A SWAT guy tells Jordan that everything is in place. They have the house surrounded, and will breach at her signal. Curtis tells Jordan that Doc insisted Laura wear a bulletproof vest, and Jordan says, there’s no talking her out of this, is there? Curtis says she could cuff Laura to a squad car with Taggert, and she says, fine. If Laura insists on going in there, they need to use her relationship with Cyrus to their advantage.

Michael tells Willow that he feels bad for Chase, but he’s not going to feel bad for loving her. She says she loves him too, but they agreed this wouldn’t be a good idea. He says he changed his mind. They did their best for Chase, but being together tonight isn’t going to hurt him. They’re about to kiss, when Michael’s phone rings, and he ignores it, but Willow says, what if it’s the hospital? He answers, and says, what’s up?… Oh my God, what?   

Finn follows Peter. As Peter opens the door, Finn grabs him, and throws him down the stairs. And I mean throws. Peter lies at the bottom of the stairs on the landing, blood pooling around his head, the fake passports next to him on the floor. Elizabeth runs up the stairs. She checks the pulse in Peter’s neck, and asks if he can hear her. Finn comes down the stairs, and says, is he…?  

Laura tells Doc that her daughter is lying in a hospital, and may never open her eyes again because of that man. She couldn’t live with herself if she let that happen to another child, or to another mother. She’s sorry if that’s not what he wanted her to say, and he says, it isn’t, but that’s who she is. Right now, he hates that he loves that about her. She thanks him for understanding, and thanks him for loving her. He says, his pleasure… always. Jordan joins them, and says, Cyrus agreed to the trade. Laura says, both Trina and Portia are coming out in exchange for her, and Jordan says she wants to stress that Laura doesn’t have to go through with this. She has a SWAT team in place. Laura says she knows that, but thinks they can all agree, this is the best way forward. When Portia and Trina come out, and she goes in, she wants Jordan to take whatever action she believes is most effective. Jordan says she won’t let Laura go in unprepared.

Portia says, Cyrus is bleeding. It’s an infection waiting to happen. Let her change his bandage. Can Trina get her some fresh gauze? Cyrus asks why Portia can’t get it, and she says it’s easier to work on him if he’s not holding a human shield. He lets go of Trina, and Portia says she has gauze in her bag. Portia tells Cyrus to sit down, and he says he’s watching Trina. He tells Portia, he always wanted to have a kid, but she says, children require sacrifice. Parents need to think about them first; what’s best for them, not you. He asks what she’s implying, and she says she’s not surprised he doesn’t have any.  

Anna says she’s so sorry, and Maxie asks, why? It’s not her fault. Anna says, it sickens her; the thought of Maxie’s baby out there with some stranger. Maxie cries, and says she just keeps thinking, it’s just good she’s not with Peter. Anna says, that much is true, and Maxie says, she’s realized, the only thing worse than being Peter’s enemy, is being loved by him.

Brook makes up the bed, and asks if Louise is lonely. All that time she spent cuddled up inside her mama. She can’t imagine how much her mama is missing her right now. She never thought she’d say this – she never got along with Louise’s mama – but she’s one strong lady. So strong in fact, and she loves Louise so much, she gave Louise to her. Just for now, until her daddy goes up the river. Can she say penitentiary? Not yet? Don’t worry, she’ll get the hang of it. In the meantime, her job is to keep Louise safe, which is exactly what she’s going to do.

Jordan says she’ll be monitoring Laura the entire time she’s inside, and Laura says, great, but Jordan is going to give her time, right? She wants time to talk Cyrus down, and get him to turn himself in. Jordan asks if Laura believes that’s a possibility, and Laura says, possible, yes, but likely? No, but she has to try. Jordan says her priority is to get Laura out alive. She’ll give Laura time, but not much. And they need a signal. Just a word. Something that won’t make Cyrus suspicious. When they hear it, she’ll signal the SWAT team to breach. Laura says, how about his mother’s name, Florence? and Jordan says, okay, that works. Curtis says, please just don’t say it by accident, and Laura says she’ll be very careful. Doc says, please do. Jordan says, let’s do this, and Doc hugs Laura, saying, be careful, be careful, be careful.

The phone rings, and Portia hands it to Cyrus, who says, Laura? Doc says it’s him, and Cyrus says, his erstwhile brother-in-law. Thanks for reaching out, but he’s not interested in Doc’s services. Doc says he’s not calling as a psychiatrist or a negotiator. He’s calling as Laura’s husband. Cyrus asks if Doc talked Laura out of coming in, or is he going to try and talk Cyrus out of trading Portia and Trina’s lives for his sister’s? Doc says he was unable to persuade Laura not to come in, so he asked Jordan to let him talk them through the exchange. Given they each have as much to lose. Cyrus laughs, and says, they both know that’s not true, but Doc guesses that’s a matter of perspective. Either way, Cyrus needs to get ready. Laura is approaching the house. Cyrus asks how he knows he’s not going to be shot the moment he opens the door, and Doc says, because his wife will be directly in front of Cyrus. Cyrus motions Portia and Train to go to the door, and Portia opens it. Cyrus puts Trina in front of him.   

Elizabeth tells Finn that she’s sorry. She’s not getting anything; no pulse, no breath. He’s gone. Finn sits on the stairs, his head in his hands, and says, oh no. He hurries to Peter, and checks Peter’s wrist, saying, come on. He sits back down, and says he killed the one person who can save Chase’s life.

Mac sees Anna outside Maxie’s room, and asks, how is she? Anna says she’s all right, but she wanted some time alone. Mac heads for Maxie’s room, and Valentin comes out of the elevator.

Maxie asks if Mac found Peter, and Mac says, not yet. They’re still searching.

Valentin says, Maxie had her baby? and Anna says, she did, but something happened. Her baby is missing. 

Finn says, the police are looking for Peter. They have to tell someone. Elizabeth asks, why? and Finn says, because they have to? She says, Peter hurt a lot of people. He killed Franco; he deserves to rot. He says, they can’t leave him, but she says, they’ll find him soon. They’re probably looking right now, so they have to go. Finn says he can’t, and she asks, why not? He says he did this. He threw Peter down the stairs, and killed him. Peter threw the antidote off the roof, and he lost it. She says if he tells the police what happened, there will be an investigation. He’ll lose precious time he needs to save Chase. Worse, he could go to prison, and Violet will lose another parent. He says, they can’t leave Peter there, and she picks up the passports. She says, these are passports with fake names. Maxie is Jennifer Brady. Does he think Maxie knows about this? Does he think Maxie consented to this? Peter was planning on taking Maxie someplace against her will. She won’t let Finn go to prison for killing a man who deserved to die. Finn says, the antidote is gone. Peter said, if Chase dies, it’s Anna’s fault, but it turns out, it’s going to be his. She says, it’s Peter’s fault, and no one else’s. He poisoned Chase and withheld treatment. Finn is Chase’s best chance for survival, but he can’t save Chase from behind bars. Finn says, they can’t leave him there.

There’s a knock at Brook’s door, and she tells Louise, it’s show time, sweetie. Michael comes in with Willow, and she says she didn’t know he was bringing a plus-one. He says he got the call when he was at the gatehouse, and Brook says, the more, the merrier. She can’t believe she thought she could drive herself home. She can barely be on her feet. Willow says, of course (🍷). She just had a baby; she’s beautiful. Brook says, she is. Ten fingers and ten toes. She’s really here. Michael asks, what happened? He thought she was visiting a friend. Brook says, that was the plan. While she was driving, she started getting contractions. Before she knew it, her water broke. She called her friend Cecilia, who, thank God, knew a doula in the area. After that, things were moving like a speeding train. She came there, then the doula came, then the baby came, then housekeeping came to change the sheets because… well, they get it. Anyway, mommy and baby are there safe and sound. Willow says, it must have been terrifying, and Brook says, it was something. Willow goes over to Louise, and tells Michael, look at her, and Michael says, hey you. Does she have a name? Brook says, Bailey. Baily Lois Quartermaine. He says, BLQ II, and Brook says, it has a nice ring to it, doncha think? Willow says, it’s perfect. Welcome to the world. She knows Bailey’s mama is so glad she’s there. Brook says, she sure is. She just wants to get her baby home, safe and sound. Michael says, that’s what they’ll do after they stop at GH, but Brook says, they’re fine. Michael says he’ll take her home once she and the baby have been looked at.  

Laura tells Cyrus, she’s there; he can let them go. Portia says, let Trina go first, but Laura tells Portia that Trina will be right behind her. Go now. Portia walks out, and Laura tells Trina, it’s okay. They’re going to switch places. She’s going to step between Trina and Cyrus, and when she does, Cyrus will let her go, and she’s going to run to her parents. Do it on three. One…  She moves toward Cyrus. Two… She steps in between them. Three… run. Trina takes off, and runs to Portia, who holds her. Laura goes inside, and Cyrus says, welcome. Laura says she’s glad she’s there, and he says, if she’s truly there as his sister, she’ll treat him as her brother, not a criminal. She says, okay. Tell her how to do that. He says, take off the vest.  

Laura removes the vest, and says, okay, vest off. She’s here as his sister. Cyrus says, she was the one who was so eager to join him. He’s guessing she has a particular conversation in mind. She says she does. She’s here because of his mother. She’s such a sweet woman. She knows this isn’t what his mother would have wanted for him. He laughs, and says, this is her plea? The woman who can barely tolerate being in the same room with him wouldn’t want this?

Jordan tells Doc, time to call in; make Cyrus believe they’re worried. He says, as if they’re not, and calls. Cyrus’s phone rings, and Laura says, he’s not going to answer? He says, they can wait. He’d rather hear more of her theories about his mother, who she’s met once. Laura says she just knows a mother’s love. She doesn’t think it’s in his mother’s nature to cut him out of her heart completely. He says, not everyone is her. The world is filled with terrible mothers. She says, if his mother’s so terrible, why does he care what she thinks? and he yells, because she’s his mother. She’s not terrible, she just disapproves of his choices. Laura says she thinks if his mother didn’t care at all, this… He says, this wouldn’t bother her? Okay, they have time to kill. Say he believes her. How would she suggest he go about opening his mother’s heart? She says, be the person his mother wants him to be, longs for him to be. Somewhere deep down inside is the little child she lost. Bring him back.

Curtis says, Laura is good, and Doc says, she is. Jordan asks if Doc thinks it will work, and he says, they’ll know soon enough.

Trina says Taggert came to get her; he wasn’t going to let Cyrus hurt her. Taggert says, not in a million years, and hugs her. Portia tells Curtis, she keeps seeing Cyrus holding the gun on Trina. She should have let him bleed out on her rug. Then she feels bad for thinking that, and she can’t stop shaking. Curtis says he gets that, and she says she thought he might. He says, the drama takes a long time to process. If she wants to talk, he wants her to know he’s here for her. Taggert thanks Curtis for talking him down; Portia and Trina mean the world to him. Curtis says, trust him. He gets it.

Cyrus tells Laura that she’s more his sister than she knows, and she says, how’s that? He says, she instinctively knows how to find a person’s weakness, then surgically drill down, and turn it into an asset. She won’t admit it, but she’s cruel. What else would drive her to wound him so? She says he’s so used to fighting with people, he can’t tell when someone is trying to help him. She doesn’t want to wound him. She cries, and says, she’s trying to save his life.

Anna tells Valentin, Maxie got Peter to confess to hiring the nurse who ultimately stole Maxie’s baby. Valentin suspects they’ve underestimated Maxie, and Anna says, she is a brave woman, but she’s in so much shock right now. She’s relieved the baby isn’t with Peter, but the potential outcome of the situation hasn’t gotten to her yet. She doesn’t know when it will.

On the phone, Mac says, search the whole building. He tells Maxie, sorry, and she says, they didn’t find Peter? He says, not yet, but when they do, Peter will give them the kidnapper’s real name.   

Anna tells Valentin that she has to find Finn.

Finn tells Elizabeth he’s not sure about this, but she says, the police know Peter is on the run. All they have to do is let them think he got away. No one will ever know he’s dead. Finn looks down, and sees Anna at the reception desk. He comes down with Elizabeth, and Anna says, it’s about Peter. He had Maxie’s baby kidnapped. The woman that he hired to kidnap Maxie and deliver her baby, double-crossed him and took off with the child. He didn’t show up there with the antidote either. Elizabeth asks if they have any idea where he is, and Anna says, he disappeared, which is what she suspected he’d do. She tells Finn that she’s sorry, and Elizabeth says, it was a mistake to depend on Peter. The best thing for Chase, is to find an actual cure, and that’s what they’re going to do. Anna says, for what it’s worth (🍷), they have her word. As long as Peter is out there, she won’t stop looking for him.

Willow brings Brook into the hospital with the baby, and Brook says, Michael didn’t have to drop them off and park the car. She’s perfectly fine to sit there by herself. She sits down, and Willow says, it’s just an excuse to be around the baby. Brook says she can’t blame Willow for that. Willow leaves to find someone to help, and Maxie puts on her robe. She goes to the window, and Brook holds Louise up, so Maxie can see her.

Doc says he doesn’t like this. They need to get Cyrus back on the line. Curtis says, with Doc calling every few minutes, Cyrus won’t know that they can hear him. He’ll think he has the upper hand. Doc says, he does have the upper hand. His tone is starting to shift; he’s becoming more unstable. Jordan says they need to go in, and Curtis says, with anyone else, maybe. Doc says, but not with his wife? Curtis says he realizes he doesn’t know Laura the way Doc does, but he and Laura have been in some dangerous situations. She’s always cool. If it gets too dangerous, she’ll use the code word.

Laura tells Cyrus, help her save his life. Answer the phone, and tell them she’s okay. He asks why they’d trust him, and she says because he let Trina and Portia go; that’s good. It bought him time, but that time is running out. He says, if that’s true, it won’t end well for her, and she says, the only way it will end well, is if they both walk out together. He says, then what? He goes to prison, and she walks away. She steps back into her life; the life she had before he entered it. He’ll be back in Pentenville, and Martin, maybe she’ll accept him or maybe she’ll reject him completely. He doesn’t really care. She asks, then why bring him up? and he says, no matter what she thinks, Martin is his family; like his mother, and like her, and family matters to him. He cries, and she says, then let her save his life. He says, incarceration is not a life. He won’t throw away everything he’s achieved, everything he’s built, just so she can have him locked back up in solitary. He won’t be an afterthought or a bad memory.

Jordan tells her team to get in position, and wait for her signal.

Cyrus tells Laura, it’s simple. Either he walks out a free man, or neither one of them is getting out alive.

Tomorrow, Finn says Peter won’t bother Maxie again, Valentin meets (not) his baby, Cyrus says whatever happens to him happens to Laura too, and Carly asks Jason if he thinks she screwed up something.

Million Dollar Listing New York

Ryan was looking at a property in Brooklyn from developer Avi Fisher, who he’s had an ongoing business relationship with for a while now. Ryan said it was the most luxurious project in Brooklyn, and with 138 units, his potential commission was $8 million. Altogether, the property was 22,000 square feet, and 300 feet high. After showing Ryan the automatic valet garage – which was impressive, but I wondered what you did when you wanted your car back – Ari took Ryan to the 13th floor penthouse. I’d thought buildings pretended not to have 13th floors, but I guess builders aren’t superstitious anymore. In Ryan’s interview, he said, everything people went to Manhattan for, was now in Brooklyn. Their next stop was the rooftop deck, that had 360° views, which were fantastic. Ari said they’d bought the air rights, and in his interview, Ryan said this was done to keep views unobstructed, and they’d probably spent millions just on air. While Ryan thought this was a sure partnership, Ari said he wanted Ryan’s opinion, but at the end of the day, the company would do what was right for them.

With assistant Kemba and team member Josh helping him, Tyler had the open house for the 2nd floor apartment that was across from a police and fire station. It had been on the market for a year with no nibbles, when Tyler took over. Owner Robert had taken Tyler’s advice and, in addition to dropping the price to $2.1 million, spent $70 in staging. In Tyler’s interview, he said if he couldn’t get it sold, he was going to look like an a-hole. Being on the 2nd floor alone made it challenging, so Tyler rolled with the police/fire station issue by hiring gorgeous male models dressed as cops and firefighters. He said it captured the idea of safety and being prepared, but was mostly for distraction. He was bringing the outside, inside. He’d been hearing more about covid, and people were getting anxious, which was making him anxious. A broker called the models a walking calendar shoot, and Tyler decided that celebrating the UES and firemen had been a good idea. He’d also pointed out the soundproof, $10K each, windows. KJ showed up, and in his interview, Tyler said he felt uncomfortable. The last time she’d come to one of his opens, she took the opportunity to steal his business. KJ said she was selling another apartment on the 3rd floor, and wanted to get the vibe.  

March 14, 2020. KJ said covid was starting to be on everyone’s mind. She met with her friend Stephanie, one of her European jet-set group, at Stephanie’s apartment. Stephanie said the apartment had been a passion project, but it was time to move; they needed more room. Stephanie had added a floor onto the building, bought the roof and air rights, and constructed a 1300 square foot penthouse. The penthouse had a glass NanaWall, a folding glass door that took up the entire wall, and led out to a sky terrace. The master closet was humongous, with sliding shelves, and clothes hanging behind clothes. KJ thought it was modern, but European. There were odd angles because of some rules about airflow from the Department of Buildings, since no one wanted a penthouse to blow off the roof. Stephanie wanted $3 million, but KJ said $2.895 million would get more people in the door. Not that Stephanie still wouldn’t make a huge profit.  

Steve wanted to get more listings in the building where he lived. His end goal was to make the SoHo apartment his family’s forever home. His open for the Baxter Street apartment – the one that touched four different neighborhoods – had been packed and insane, but Steve was worried covid was going to affect his sales. A broker called saying the apartment was great, but the lobby was lacking, and Steve explained it was going to be renovated. I was surprised that he hadn’t made that clear to everyone who went to the open, since it was an obvious issue. He told the broker that he’d send renderings, and in his interview, he said he felt like he’d cracked the code. He also felt that if it didn’t get sold now, it wasn’t going to happen.

March 16, 2020. Ryan met with broker Barbara to show the gigantic townhouse ,but her client had canceled. In Ryan’s interview, he said, the NBA had canceled, Tom Hanks had covid, and restaurants were closing. Some people claimed the virus would hit them hard, but some people said it was just the flu. He wanted to be cautious, but didn’t want to stop life. He showed Barbara around the 11,000 square foot, 5 bedroom, 12 bath mansion townhouse, with a 2000 square foot master bedroom, housing a 6 foot in diameter soaking tub. While I’m at it, there was a two-story open chef’s (whatever that means) kitchen, and an enclosed dining terrace that had walls of piping where an ivy system (as Ryan put it) could be grown. There was a fitness center, an endless pool, a sauna, and steam room. Barbara said her clients would want to see it for themselves, and Ryan said he’d be happy to get them hazmat suits. After she left, Ryan called the office, but found out from assistant Jordan that the other two showings had canceled. Jordan said people were canceling by minute, and thought Ryan should go home and be with his family like everyone else. They could figure out the rest later.

March 17, 2020. Tyler got three offers on the 2nd floor apartment; one for $2 million, one for the asking price of $2.150 million, and one for $2.175 million, all cash. He’d met with broker Danielle who said her client was a single mom who wasn’t going to be interested in getting into a bidding war, ending Tyler’s fantasy about that. They discussed how unbelievable it would be for NYC to shut down, and Tyler said he couldn’t see it. In Tyler’s interview, he said, when you told a broker that you had other bidders in a down market, they thought you were playing a game. His gut told him to go with the all cash offer and wrap it up, especially with the virus looming. He called Robert, who agreed to go with it, and Tyler could smell his commission of $65,250. He told Danielle it was a deal, but she said her buyer had just called, and got cold feet after speaking to her finance guy, who said she shouldn’t go over asking price. Tyler said it would have been nice to know before he called the owner, and Danielle said, these things happened, and she was just kidding. They had a deal. In his interview, Tyler said, how dare she take his gay ass on an emotional roller coaster ride?

March 18, 2020. KJ said the virus had started to hit home. She had one kid whose school had closed. That meant it was a big deal. She headed for an apartment building on West 95th Street, which she said was an affordable luxury building. You could get a 2 bedroom for the same price as a 1 bedroom condo, and she was taking the smaller properties because she wanted a more diverse portfolio. She’d been helping to refresh and sell apartments in the 200 unit building since 2017. She met with the seller’s team, who seemed pretty antsy about sanitizing and social distancing before it was even fashionable. KJ checked out the 949 square foot apartment, and in her interview, she said that she loved being involved in the staging part of the process. If the apartment wasn’t big, they needed to stage to maximize space. Sometimes developers took her staging advice, and sometimes not, but they’d been agreeable in the past. The seller said KJ had sold 13 out of 22 apartments, and they had 13 they needed to move quickly. KJ suggested a price of $1.595 million, with her potential commission being $490K and change. She found out that her other kid’s school had been suspended for two weeks, then Stefano texted, saying the market was cleaned out. As KJ jetted from the building, a producer asked what the text was about, and she told them it was the school, leaving out the market part. She seemed close to tears, and said she just wanted to be home, and be with her kids. She thought this was going to affect everything deeply. Boy, we didn’t know the half of it then. What was interesting was, it was like I was feeling it as they were experiencing it. It was kind of weird.

March 19, 2020. Steve spoke to David, the owner of Baxter Street, and said he was hoping for more showings, and to bring David an offer soon. David said he was now working from home, and thinking of taking the apartment off the market. He had a reappreciation for the environment now, and couldn’t see living somewhere else. Steve asked if there was no way David would reconsider, but David said he couldn’t; no way. In Steve’s interview, he said it was his first client to have their work affected. He didn’t know if it was an overreaction, but he had to be sensitive to what was going on. He told David, as a broker, he should give David a bunch of reasons why he should sell it, but he was sympathetic to the situation.

March 20, 2020. Fredrik called his office in NYC, and said he was coming out, but his assistant Ellis said that offices were shutting down. They were no longer allowed in the office building. He thought Fredrik should stay in L.A. with Derek and the kids. Besides, flights were being canceled. They were worried about people backing out of deals because people were leaving NYC. In Fredrik’s interview, he said it was impossible to shut down NYC. He had 80 agents in 5 markets. This was something he’d seen in movies, but it usually involved vampires or zombies. He told Ellis to keep checking on flights.

3 hours later. Ryan said, non-essential businesses were being told to shut down. NYC was falling apart. There were stay-at-home orders for non-essential workers. WTF was going on? Things they’d thought wouldn’t happen, were happening. Shutting down NYC was impossible. Things happened in the world that were bad, but this was new. It wasn’t something that happened in the USA. He called Jordan, and said to tell the team to do what they wanted. He thought maybe they should take the listings off-market temporarily.

Next time, brokers in quarantine, phase-two reopening, and applauding essential workers.

🏰 They slid right into Ryan’s Renovation, where Ryan had gotten an 8000 square foot townhouse in Brooklyn for $7.6 million. He said, it was fine as is, but they didn’t want fine, and his small renovation turned into a full gut of the house. They started with September 2019, day 143 of the renovation. Construction manager David had taken a two-family house, and made it into one, putting in a staircase. They’d also made provision for Emelia’s mom Despina. In her interview, Emilia said that Ryan couldn’t live without her mom, but her mom came with her dad, her sister, her brother, and their people. You didn’t just get one; you got more. No surprise, the property was beautiful, and I was especially taken with the 26’ closet. That’s longer than my living room. Emilia said she and Ryan had different decorating styles. She tended to go for super moody. Ryan said he didn’t really have a particular choice, but he knew what sold, and buyers liked it bright.  

Ryan moaned about the budget, saying there was always something wrong. He’d thought the renovation would run around $1.5 million, but they kept coming across roadblocks, like needing a steel beam reinforcement if they wanted to put in an elevator. He’d been off by $1.1 million, plus their June completion date had already been moved to August.

Ryan’s mom came to visit for Zena’s first birthday party. Emilia said there were going to be 65 people, and in Ryan’s interview, he said his family wasn’t super flashy or loud; not like the Greeks. They were conservative, and if they could have kept the same car for the rest of their lives, they would. He appropriated that quality in business, which made him cost effective and efficient, but he only had one life. He said the house was a never-ending renovation that might kill him.

I’m not sure what to say about Zena’s birthday party. I don’t think I’ve been to an adult party that elaborate, except for a wedding. Although I’ve never seen a ballpit at a wedding, let alone a white and gold one. The cake actually looked like a wedding cake, with a gold cherub playing a harp on top. You can’t tell me that was for a one-year-old who probably would have preferred something like SpongeBob. Ryan found out about another unexpected expense, and said, if one more bad thing happened, he was going to lose it.

Next time, Ryan is nervous to show the townhouse to Emilia’s dad, a house blessing, and Ryan is tempted with a $12 million offer.

👋 Hello, I Must Be Going…

Saving the tea for tomorrow, but tonight, stay safe, stay unbreakable, and stay not throwing elaborate parties for one year olds. They won’t remember it, so at least admit it’s for you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0uvKk4S7CY
May28

May 27, 2021 – Carly Meets Cyrus At the Pier, He’s Back, Road Trip To Pine Valley, KJ Breaks a Townhouse Streak & Beatles Garden

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What I Watched Today

(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)

General Hospital

Peter lies at the bottom of the stair landing, blood pooling around his head, and his and Maxie’s new passports beside him. Someone sees him (it looks like one of the hospital staff), and runs down the stairs.

Four hours earlier. On the phone, Peter tells Chloe to check in with him as soon as she gets to the house. He wants to make sure they’re on schedule for Louise’s birth. He checks out the new fake passports for him and Maxie.

Chloe comes at Maxie with a syringe, and Maxie raises the fireplace poker, saying, you’ll never get my baby, bitch! She whacks Chloe in the knee, and Chloe drops to the floor. Maxie runs outside, screaming for help.

Sam is at the baseball field when Dante shows up. She says, first the PCPD. Now he joins the softball league. She’d say that’s a pretty major comeback. He sees she has a bottle of water, and asks if she has another one of those. She puts her foot on the cooler and says, team rules. She takes a sip, and says, it is refreshing though. He puts down his equipment, and says he’s been watching her out there. She says, scouting out the competition? and he says, maybe a little bit. She really takes her pre-season training seriously. He’s never seen anyone practice sliding as much as she does. Or was she just tripping over herself?

Britt says she never pegged Jason as the love ‘em and leave ‘em type. He says, that’s not… She says, that was fun; bye, and he says he’s not leaving. She asks if he didn’t say he had to go back to Port Charles, but he says, just for a few days to figure things out. She says, two days, two weeks, he’s still leaving, and he takes her hand. He says he just needs her to trust him and stay there. He promises he’s coming back for her. She kisses him.

At the hospital, Carly gets a call from Unknown. It’s Cyrus, who says she has something he wants, and as it turns out, he has something she wants even more. We see he has Spinelli, and she says she has no idea what he’s talking about. He says by all means, let him explain, and tells Spinelli, say hello. He holds the phone up to Spinelli, who tells Carly not to worry about him; he’ll be fine. She says, Spinelli? and Cyrus says, her friend speaks the truth. He’ll be fine… as long as she hands over Gladys.

Sam tells Dante, she’s sorry. A lazy, tragically confident PCPD would have no idea what it’s like to be a committed player. He says, commitment? Is that what she calls that slide? She says, head first, baby. Practice hard, play hard. He asks if that’s the Aurora model, and she says, it should be, but just so he knows, they do intend to win this year. He laughs, and she asks, what’s so funny? He says it’s just that they kind of suck. They’ve been in the basement ever since they came into the league. She says, there’s a first time for everything, and you know what they say about the underdog? It gives you the mental advantage. He asks if she knows what would give them the actual advantage. Someone on their team who knows how to hit.

Jason tells Britt, it doesn’t have to be there. He can have Spinelli fly her to the island. She says, so the options are Puerto Rico or Canada. She’ll stay in Canada. He says, so she’ll stay? and she says, for now, but let’s be clear. She’s not some package he can deposit somewhere, or a damsel in distress just waiting for his orders. He says he’s not ordering her to do anything, and she says, really? He says he’s asking her to stay there until he can make it safe. Please. Just give him a chance to make this right. She says, make what right? and he says he’s the one who got her involved in this whole Cyrus investigation. He opened the door, and she was there. He knows she took him up on the chance – she says, really – but he still feels responsible. She says, truth? She would like to think that she would have figured out Cyrus was using the hospital on her own, and she would have made the choice to work against him, not turning a blind eye. And maybe she would have, but what she knows is, when Jason showed her who Cyrus really was, when he opened that door, she walked through. Not because he forced her, but because she wanted to. He says he gets that, and she says, okay. And she gets that he was a professional rescuer, but that’s not how she operates. Sitting around while the big strong man fixes things. And not to mention, sexual performance notwithstanding, he’s not fully healed. On top of that, he’s the fugitive. Maybe she should be the one going back to Port Charles. He says he’s a fugitive running from the law; she’s running from Cyrus. She says, Cyrus wants him dead, and he says, no question, but that’s not why those guys were in her office that night. They were there to kill her, sent by Cyrus, in his own hospital. Does she know how risky that is? That’s how bad he wanted her gone. So please, stay there, stay safe. Give him enough time to end this.

Carly tells Cyrus, Gladys is a woman, not a library book. She’s not sure if she can even get access to Gladys. He says, for her friend’s sake, she’d better figure it out. Pier 55, one hour; her, not one of her minions. She’d better not keep him waiting. He hangs up, and Carly says, son of a bitch. Nikolas and Ava, who have been just standing around watching all this time, walk over to her. Nikolas asks, what happened? and Ava says, that didn’t sound good. Carly says she can’t talk about this right now, and Ava says, let her guess; Cyrus. He has some kind of leverage on Carly. Most likely holding someone for ransom? It’s written all over Carly’s face, and it’s how the man does business. They have a couple of very important interests in common – keeping Avery safe, and stopping Cyrus. They can do this together. Let her help. Carly says, Cyrus has Spinelli. He wants Gladys in exchange, and she has one hour. Nikolas says, Gladys is in surgery, and Carly says she knows. Ava says, what she needs is a stand-in for Gladys. Carly asks if she has any ideas, and Ava says, her.

Peter peruses the passports.

Maxie stumbles through the woods, and tells Louise that she has to find a road… or any semblance of human life actually. Where are they? Just stay put until she can find someone to help them. She leans on a rock, and says, or better yet, a hospital. She has contraction, and says, Louise can’t be born yet.

Britt asks what Jason means by, it’s on him. Getting leverage over Cyrus, or getting Cyrus arrested? He says, he’s going to end it. She’s a good doctor, right? That’s what she does? She says she tries, and he says, this is what he does. Not as often as people think, but he’s capable, and it’s time. She thinks he’s underselling himself, and he motions for her to sit with him. He says, when Sonny first gave him a job, he was grateful, not just for the work, but to have someone treat him like a competent human being. He figured out pretty fast how well he could use a gun, and it was a skill he could develop. Sonny needed an enforcer, somebody he could trust. She says, he needed somebody to do a job, and Jason did it well. Jason says he never questioned if it was the right choice to make; he just made it. But now the choice is, when and how to use that skill, and when the circumstances call for it. This is one of them. She asks if he’s proud of that skill. He doesn’t say anything, and she puts her hand on his knee. He says, no, but he’s grateful for it. He’s able to use it to protect the people he loves. She says it’s given him a lot of grief. Don’t worry. There’s more where that comes from. An endless amount actually. She sees now that people make a lot of assumptions about what he does, and how he lives his life. They think he doesn’t feel, but she thinks he does. He takes her hand.

Nikolas tells Ava, this is insane. She’s not standing in for Gladys. She says, the only way to stop Cyrus, is to stop him, and he asks what that even means. She says, look at the situation. He’s taking hostages. He tried to kill somebody, and he failed. So this man, who hasn’t made a single mistake until now, is spiraling out. He’s getting sloppy. He’s leaving himself open. This is their chance. Nikolas says, no, and she says, all she has to do is fool him long enough for Carly’s people to make their move; isn’t that right? Carly says, that’s right, and Nikolas says he doesn’t care how vulnerable she thinks Cyrus is, this isn’t happening. Carly says, if Ava is serious about this, she can set it up so Ava isn’t in any danger. Nikolas asks if this is some kind of a joke. Carly isn’t a mob boss. She’s a widow, and she’s making it up as she goes along. They think Cyrus is spiraling? How did he get his hands on Spinelli or Gladys in the first place? Because Carly is out of control. He tells Ava, come on, but Ava  says she’s not going anywhere. She loved him, and she supported him when he did what he thought he needed to do with Cyrus’s mother, even if she didn’t agree with it. Now it’s his turn to support her. He says, excuse him if he’s not going to stick around and watch this, and walks out. Carly says Ava doesn’t have to do this, and Ava says she knows. Carly says she needs some time to iron out some details. She asks if Ava knows Sonny’s guy Trent, and Ava says she does. Carly tells her to meet him at the hospital entrance. Ava starts to leave, and Carly says, thank you. Ava says what Carly doesn’t seem to understand is, she wants this bastard taken down just as much as Carly does. She leaves, and Carly gets on her phone. She tells Brick to stop whatever he’s doing, and assemble a team right now.

Chloe struggles to get up, grabs the poker, the syringe, and her phone, and limps out of the house. I’d limp on into hiding if I were her.

There’s a knock at Peter’s door, and he opens it to find Valentin, looking grim. He says, what do you want? and Valentin asks if Peter doesn’t have his hands full, toying with Chase. Why does he have to torment an innocent pregnant woman on top of it?

Maxie cries out, wondering why she has to have her children in the great outdoors. First James, now Louise. Can’t Louise wait a hot minute to discover nature? She has to be born there? She has another contraction, and says, okay, okay. She hears her. Louise is ready to be born. This is happening, but trust her, it’s better than what Louise’s father had planned.

Carly says, great. Brick understands her instructions?… She’ll let him know when everything’s in place. She looks at her phone, and her hand hovers above the screen.

Sam says Dante seems to know an awful lot about a softball league he hasn’t played in for years. He says he missed it, and she asks if he doesn’t want to get out there. He asks if she’s making fun of him, and she says he’s cute. He says she means tough, but she tells him that she said cute. He says he can’t wait to play them. He really hopes she tries to steal third base. He’s going to tag her so hard, she won’t know what hit her, but she will know because it’s going to be this glove. She says, he’s playing third base? but he says, no; shortstop. She says she plays shortstop. Maybe she can actually give him a few pointers. He says, that would be great, and she says, gotcha. She would never do that. He’s her enemy. He says he was just humoring her, and she says he’s so full of himself. He says he should be. He literally has thousands of hours of baseball under his belt. From stickball to little league, to JV, to varsity. She says, ooh, wow. Is there a bomber jacket? He says she knows his mom has it. Not to mention the lifetime he’s spent watching minor league and major league baseball. He can literally rate and rank any player within ten minutes of watching them. She asks how he rates her.

Jason asks if Britt understands now why she has to stay there, and she says, she sees that’s how she stays safe, but what’s the point? He asks what that even means, and she says, she fully accepts the fact that Cyrus is trying to kill her, and could kill her, if she goes back to Port Charles before he ends this. But if they’re honest, Cyrus would be doing her a favor. Jason says, no, and she says, he would. She has a death sentence; not just any death sentence. The most horrible, agonizing, horrific death a person could possibly experience. So Cyrus shooting her, or drugging he, or whatever he plans to do, would be a picnic in comparison. He asks if she really believes that, and she says she does. She finally gets what it means to live like you’re dying. When she thinks about all the fries she didn’t eat, or the wine she didn’t drink… all the chances she didn’t take. She’s not fearless like he is. The idea of being in pain or uncomfortable, no thank you. And death was the scariest of all, but she’s not afraid of it anymore. Now that she knows what’s coming, it makes everything – and she means everything – that’s coming look better. He says, what if between now and then is thirty years? and she says, it could be six months. He says, all that time, she could have lived. She wipes away tears, and he says, it’s her life. It’s her choice, but for what it’s worth (🍷) he’d still like to get to know her six months from now. She says she’d like to get to know him too. His phone rings, and he says, Carly. Carly asks how healthy he is, and he says, what happened?

Valentin tells Peter, Brook is being watched, and Peter expects him to believe he’s not responsible? Peter asks what use he’d have for Brook and her child? and Valentin says Peter finds use for a lot of random people. Detective Chase for instance. Peter asks how Chase is feeling, and Valentin asks if Peter thinks he has him over a barrel because he’s toying with Chase’s life. Peter says, doesn’t he? and Valentin says, to a point. If Chase dies, Anna will be devastated, and he doesn’t want to see that. But if Peter starts messing with his daughter or her mother, he’ll kill Peter. Peter says, killing Chase in the process, and Valentin says, so be it. Peter asks if Valentin thinks he’s an idiot. He knows Valentin could end him. Anna’s wracked with guilt, but he knows Valentin. The rest of the world be damned, what he wants is his children. Valentin says, damn right, and Peter says, there are two things he knows for certain. One, he’s still breathing because of Valentin’s sentimental attachment to Anna, and two, making trouble with Valentin would be a death sentence. So if someone is following Brook, it’s not him.

Maxie says, this is all going to work out. She’s going to get Louise born, and figure out what to do next. So whatever that is, she’s going to do everything in her power to protect Louise. She puts her robe on the ground in front of a rock, and gets down on it, leaning against the rock. She says, this is good actually. They say that the third baby comes faster than the first two, right? It’s just you and me. Let’s do this. A light shines in her face, and says, no.

Carly tells Jason, put Britt on the phone. He hesitates, and she says, put Britt on the phone or she’s hanging up. Jason hands Britt the phone, and Carly asks, how’s Jason? And before Britt asks, this is life or death. She’s begging Britt to tell her the truth. Britt says, he’s remarkably healed. Carly asks if she’s sure, and Britt says, his wound is clean and closing. She wouldn’t recommend lifting anything heavy, or getting into a boxing ring, but he’s not in danger of bleeding out anymore. Carly says, okay, and asks Britt to put Jason back on the phone. Britt hands the phone to Jason, who asks, what’s going on? Carly says, Cyrus has Spinelli, and Jason asks what Cyrus wants. Carly says, he wants Gladys. She was going to exonerate Jason, and Cyrus grabbed her. There was a gunfight, and Gladys was hit. He asks if Carly is okay, and she says she is, but Gladys is in the hospital. She couldn’t give Gladys to Cyrus if she wanted to. He says, that’s fine. All that matters is that she agree to an exchange. She says, it’s not like Cyrus gave her much choice. She’s supposed to meet him on Pier 55 in less than an hour. He says they can work with that; have Trent handle the trade. She says they can’t do that. Cyrus made it clear he only wants to deal with her. Jason says she has to make it clear that she won’t give Gladys to Cyrus until she sees Spinelli for herself. She says she’s got it, and he asks if she has somebody who can be the decoy. She says it’s all set, and he tells her, don’t get too close. Whatever happens with Cyrus or Spinelli, don’t get within fifteen feet. She says, okay. Brick’s on another line; she has to go. They hang up, and Britt says she hopes Jason knows she lied for him. Everything she told Carly was a load of crap. One punch to his stomach, or anything else, and he’s definitely bleeding out. He says he won’t get punched in the stomach, and she shakes her head and smiles. He says he has to go. She says she knows, and he kisses her goodbye, and leaves. She goes to the door, and watches.

Dante says Sam is actually pretty good. She has good mobility, she’s quick. She could use some accuracy help, and her hitting is a little weak. She says, weak? She hit every single one of those balls tonight. He says, exactly, and she asks what he means. He says her pitcher is either throwing her easy pitches because he knows she’s the boss, or he’s a bad pitcher. Either way, she’s going to get smoked out there because her stance is all wrong. She picks up a bat, and says, show her. He says, no way; she’s the enemy. She says, pleeease. Show me. Please? He gets behind her, and tells her to bend her knees more. Sit, sit, sit. Arms up. Put her hands back by her shoulder. All right. He touches her chin, making her look at him, and says, the most important part is, don’t take her eyes off the pitcher. How’s that feel? She says, good, and he says, good. Forget everything he just said. She might actually start hitting the ball now, and they’ll get out of the basement. She says they’re headed to the finals, and he says he’ll believe it when he sees it. She says, keep your eyes peeled, Falconari, and hands him back the bat. She leaves, and he says he will.

Maxie squints, and sees it’s… Roger Howarth! Finally! She says, thank God he’s not Peter. He says, thank God she’s not a bear, and she says, there are bears out here? He says, tons of them. They love themselves some blueberries. He was coming around the bend the other day, and saw the most beautiful mama bear, and she had these adorable three baby cubs, and he ran the fastest mile he’s ever run. She tells him, you don’t say, and he says, so who’s Peter? She has another contraction, and asks if he wants to call 9-1-1, or call someone, anyone; she doesn’t care who. He says, cell service is a little spotty out there. So how long has it been between contractions? She says she’s not really sure, and he says, okay. Her choice. He can wander around and try to find some spotty cell service, or he can deliver her baby for her. She says, oh yeah? He happens to be a doctor? He says he is, and she says, seriously? He says he happens to be a doctor, and she says, he’s not some crazy mountain man nutjob? He says, you’re the one having a baby in the forest, ma’am, and she says, he makes a good point, and don’t call her ma’am again. He says, noted, and holds out his hand, saying, Austin. She shakes his hand, and says, Maxie. He says, nice to meet you, Miss Maxie. Is she ready to have this baby? She says, not even a little bit.

Peter says Valentin has always been good at prioritizing, and Valentin says, thank you. Peter says, top of Valentin’s list, Charlotte and the baby. Then Brook, because she’s carrying said baby, and Anna and Nina, women he supposedly loves. But at the end of the day, they all get sacrificed… for the children. He knows that about Valentin. That’s why he would never go near Charlotte, or the baby, and therefore, Brook. Valentin says, strange. For the first time in months, he feels Peter is telling him the truth. Peter says he is. Now if Valentin is through threatening his life, there’s the door. Valentin says, not yet. Anna’s left town for the funeral of an old friend. Peter says, that’s bold, and Valentin says he knows, but if she hadn’t gone, it would have raised eyebrows. In the meantime, he’s watching over Chase, and there’s something he wants from Peter. He’d like a dose of the antidote on hand. Peter asks why he’d do that, and Valentin says, Chase is staying at the Quartermaine mansion. As it happens, he and Charlotte are also staying at the Quartermaine mansion. Should Chase fall ill, he would like a dose of the antidote on hand, ready to be administered. Or would Peter prefer Chase dead? Peter says, and as Valentin so aptly pointed out, lose his upper hand.

Cyrus waits at the pier, when Carly arrives with her bodyguards. He asks, where’s Gladys? and she says, not before she sees Spinelli. He gives a sidelong glance, and two of his guys come in, one on either side of a bound and gagged Spinelli. Cyrus says, and now? She says, Gladys wasn’t feeling very cooperative. Outside, Trent gets out of a limo, and walks around to the other side, where Ava is sitting in the back seat.

Carly tells Cyrus, Gladys is locked up in the car, and Cyrus looks at one of his guys, who leaves. Cyrus says Carly should be grateful he’s taking Gladys off her hands. She is a piece of work. Carly says, before the exchange takes place, she has an alternative she’d like to discuss. He says, oh? and she says, there’s another way they can resolve this. He smiles.

Peter says he doesn’t have the antidote on him, but he’ll have a vial prepared for Valentin. Valentin says, good; he’ll go. He heads for the door, when Peter says, there is one thing he still admires about Valentin. Valentin says, what’s that? and Peter says, that he’s a good father for Charlotte. He’s somehow managed to make himself a better man for her. Probably only for her, because in every other facet of life, Valentin is an awful person. (Pot, meet kettle.) Valentin asks if Peter has a point, and Peter says, his point is, Valentin showed him that it’s possible. And he intends to do the same with his child. Be a better man – for her. Don’t get in his way. Valentin says, good luck with that, which we all know means, all the luck in the world won’t help you. Peter may find it’s more difficult than he thinks. We see Valentin was carrying a weapon as he closes the door.

Maxie has another contraction, and Roger Howarth Todd Franco Austin says, the contractions are coming more quickly now, and Maxie says, and monumentally more painful. He says, it’s no big deal. She just has to breathe. She says, easy for him to say. He sits cross legged and tells her, in through the nose and out through the nose. She breathes with him, and says she bets he wonders why she’s out there. He says, not at all. It’s his job to keep her calm and focused. He asks if she has other children, and she says, this is her third. He says, so a little medical history. The other deliveries were easy? and she says, it depends on what you consider easy. He asks how far along she is, and she says, full term. Her doctor actually recommended she induce. She’s been doing pre-natal yoga, and taking her folic acid religiously. He says, folic acid, awesome! This is all great news. She says, except for the giving birth in the woods with a stranger part. He says, that’s the best part. It’s going to be a great story she can tell her little… Does she know what she’s having? She says, a girl; Louise. A contraction comes, and he claps his hands, and says, they’re going to bring baby Louise into the world. Is she ready? He says, on the E of three, he wants her to bear down. Can she do that? She nods, and he says, one.. two… three. She bears down, and yells.

Carly tells Cyrus, look around. The wheels are coming off his bus. He says, is that right? and she says, yeah. He barely managed to grab Gladys, the police know she was abducted now, and there was a shooting at a warehouse. Everyone knows he’s losing control, and about to be exposed for the criminal that he is. He says, and she has a solution he gathers. She says, cut your losses, and disappear. It’s his best bet. Hand over Spinelli, and walk away. It’s not like he doesn’t have the money and the resources, and he’ll get no pushback from her. Just a clear path to the exit. He’s a smart man; take the out.

Ava tells Trent, something’s wrong. This is taking too long. He needs to move his people into position. He says he doesn’t work for her. They go when Carly says they go.

Cyrus says Carly is very good, very persuasive. She even threw a compliment in there. But if anyone’s out of their depth there, it’s her. He’ll hand it to her husband and Jason. They commanded a great deal of loyalty. The men they worked with continue to follow her orders, but that won’t last. The horrible botch she made of this will show them that she’s no leader at all. So he’s offering her this out of the goodness of his heart. Get her friend and retreat, because if she comes at him again, he will show… no… mercy. Or he could keep Spinelli, and send her a couple of his fingers. She tells one of her bodyguards, get Gladys. Outside, Trent tells Ava, show time, and opens the car door. Ava puts on her humongous black sunglasses.

One of Cyrus’s guys shoves Spinelli front and center. Another comes in and tosses Nikolas to the floor, saying, he found Nikolas lining up a shot. Cyrus grabs Spinelli, and takes out his gun. Carly says, don’t.

Peter picks up his overnight bag, and says he will get the happiness he was denied his entire life, and he will give his daughter everything he never had. He takes a gift box out of his bag; the soap opera wrapping, where you can just take the top off, and not mess it up. He takes out a silver rattle, and I notice that his manicure is better than mine. In his mind, Maxie hands him an infant, and says, say hello to your daddy, sweetheart. He takes the bundle of joy, and Maxie says, isn’t she beautiful? He says, just like her mommy. Out of his daydream, he puts the rattle back in the box, and puts the top on it. He puts it in his bag, and zips the bag up.

Valentin leaves a message for Anna to call him back when she gets the chance. He has a sneaking suspicion Peter is about to make a run for it.

Austin holds the baby wrapped in a blanket, and tells Maxie, she’s here. She’s here and she’s beautiful. Maxie asks if he can hold her up so she can see her. He looks concerned, and takes a towel out of his bag. Maxie says, Austin? What’s wrong? Why isn’t she crying?

Dante’s phone rings, and he says, Falconari… Tell the Commissioner, he’s on his way.

Britt sits on the hearth with the fire going, and thinks about getting busy with Jason.

Carly says, no, and Cyrus asks if this is her big plan. Setting up an ambush with this fool. She says she has no idea why Nikolas is there, but they had a deal. Cyrus says, she blew the deal. Now he and her friend are leaving. Carly will be seeing Spinelli in pieces.

Tomorrow, Maxie asks if Peter sent Austin after them, Chase hears Michael and Willow talking, Sasha says that train has left the station, and Jason tells Cyrus to let Spinelli go, or he’ll drop him.

🎭 New Old Face…

This has been a stellar week on GH for me.

Revealed: Roger Howarth’s New General Hospital Character — and New Love Interest?

🏞 Children Reuniting…

E!’s new show, Reunion Road Trip, reunites some of the All My Children cast on June 10th.

https://daytimeconfidential.com/2021/05/06/watch-all-my-children-stars-to-reunite-on-e-s-reunion-road-trip

https://www.soapoperanetwork.com/2021/05/reunion-road-trip-all-my-children-a-different-world-scrubs-queer-eye-for-the-straight-guy

Million Dollar Listing New York

We started off with some NYC trivia, and Ryan explaining that the first Duane Reade, a drug store chain that’s a staple in NYC, was between Duane and Reed Streets in what is now Tribeca. Ryan was looking at an apartment in the area, and met with owner Jeff, who was also a developer and investor. He’d renovated the humongous 4000 square foot space to move his family into, but after 24 years in their Upper East Side apartment, his wife decided she loved living in that neighborhood. Now he wanted Ryan to sell it. Built in 1855, it had been a wreck of offices, and Jeff created a 4 bedroom, 4 and a half bath apartment, with nearly 10 foot high windows imported from Switzerland. He’d exposed the original detail and original steel columns, and put in luxury appliances along with dual islands in the kitchen. The master bedroom was 17 feet, and had a 14 foot closet. He’d also put in an indoor/outdoor space called a loggia, and yet another shower that could probably fit a dozen people. But wait, there was more. Jeff said he had a secret to show Ryan. In Ryan’s interview, he said he’d seen weird things in Tribeca, like a seller who had a pet kangaroo, also on Duane Street, but this topped them all. Jeff took Ryan through a door  to another apartment that he wanted Ryan to sell. It was also 4000 square feet, making a total of 8000 square feet between two buildings. It was similar in design, but not exactly the same. In his interview, Ryan said the building spanned the entire block, and each apartment had its own lobby and elevator. One apartment was furnished, and ready to go for photos and videos. Ryan explained to Jeff that they should only put the furnished one on the market; he didn’t want to compete with himself. If he listed both, he’d cannibalize his buyer base, and potential buyers and brokers would wonder if something was wrong with the property. He said he was going to surprise buyers the same way Jeff had surprised him. Jeff was thinking along the lines of $12 million for both, but Ryan said Tribeca had changed. In his interview, he said, a couple of years ago, you couldn’t buy in Tribeca for under $2000 a square foot, but now it was closer to $1000, because of excess inventory. Jeff agreed to Ryan’s suggestions; keeping the unfurnished apartment off-market, and lowering the price. The potential commission for Ryan was $165K, and he said it was Jackpot Tuesday. In his interview, he said it was as if he was on a date with a beautiful girl, and she surprised him with a friend. He then asked the producers to cut that part, since his wife would be watching.

Steve headed to look for a property at the Ansonia, which had once been a hotel. I knew this building, since I had a friend who used to live there. It was one of the tiniest apartments ever, but it was absolutely charming, with a round window. Steve gave a little history to his driver, saying there had once been a swingers bar in the basement, and at one time, the Continental Baths had been there. Music buffs might recall that Bette Midler got her start there, along with Barry Manilow, who played back-up for her. Steve said when that was gone, the swinger’s club Plato’s Retreat moved in. I have some vague recollection of reading about it closing down. Steve said the Ansonia was legendary, and went on to talk about other renowned buildings like the Chelsea and the Dakota. He asked the driver if he knew what famous person had died in front of the Dakota, but the driver didn’t know it was John Lennon, and then had no idea John Lennon was one of The Beatles. When Steve asked him, he said Led Zeppelin. I not only felt old, I wanted to cry over the lack of this dude’s knowledge. When I was a kid, I knew who people like Bessie Smith and Frank Sinatra were. The seller Ehud took Steve on a tour of the apartment, and Steve said it was like walking through an old film. I loved this apartment so much. It was 2600 square feet, 4 bedrooms, and 3 baths, with 12-foot ceilings, and some round rooms; Steve said it was classic architecture. There were antique fixtures and herringbone floors, and a round room even had a curved door, which Steve had never seen before. In Steve’s interview, he said, with charm came quirks. The layout was funky, the galley kitchen was dark and small, and the previous owner had taken the dishwasher. Ehud said he did investments for the family who bought it. They’d acquired it during a bankruptcy for $3.8 million, and were selling at $3.5 million. We also found out that Babe Ruth had lived in the building, and Single, White Female had been filmed there. Steve told Ehud that the apartment needed sprucing up enough for a buyer to believe they could take it from there. He thought if they spent smartly, the family could actually make some money. Ehud agreed that what they’d done so far wasn’t working, but balked at Steve’s estimation of $200K. He asked if Steve could get it done for $100K, and Steve said it would be tight, but he’d make some calls. He was looking at a potential commission of $105K.

In those little filler scenes, they included an amusing clip of Ryan trying to get his voice-activated trash can to open. I could have done it manually a dozen times by the time it finally worked. 

KJ was doing a relaunch of the Greenwich Street townhouse, and said all the work was paying off. Team member Zach had an interested client, and KJ was giving her a private showing. KJ’s client was husband Stefano, and in her interview, she said because Zach was on her team, she was able to get inside info about Rachel, the potential buyer. The asking price was $8.25 million, and Rachel loved the townhouse. It checked most of her boxes, but her problem was timing. Zach was selling their existing apartment, and she didn’t want to do a short term rental. She asked if they could rent there in the interim, and Zach asked KJ if they could be creative. My husband and I actually did that when we sold our apartment in Queens, and moved to a house. There was a gap between closings, and our buyer let us rent from her for that time. In KJ’s interview, she said it wasn’t an ideal scenario to present to Stefano. If Rachel changed her mind, there would be wear and tear on the apartment. Rachel asked what if they gave her a big deposit, and KJ said they could figure it out.

Steve began the renovation on the Ansonia apartment, and got estimates on removing wallpaper ($5000) and staining the floors ($2500). In his interview, he said it was always the extras that got you when you renovated, but in this case, it was better to go over budget than over time.

Ryan had armoire put in between the apartments on Duane and Reade Streets. In Ryan’s interview, he said the apartments were like Narnia, and he’d never been this excited in his entire life. His ideas were genius, but the way might not be easy. He had some workers take the back off a wardrobe, and put it in between, which he explained was some kind of fire escape hallway. He put on a lion costume, citing The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe for his theme. In his interview, he said, of course he was dressing up. He had to give the people what they wanted, or it would be like salsa without chips. He was fully aware that he looked ridiculous, but also fully aware that his company sold more real estate than anyone else. He was selling enthusiasm. He welcomed the brokers and potential buyers to The Ryan, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and a look at a classic, but modern Tribeca loft. It was a lion of a deal. Everyone was extremely impressed with the property, and after the tour, Ryan said he had a surprise. He told them to growl like lions in order to see the surprise, and when they did, he told them to follow him to a fantastical land. He took everyone through the wardrobe into the empty apartment, where he’d let loose 1000 balloons of various colors that clung to the ceiling. The effect was pretty fantastical. He told them it was a different apartment that was for sale, but not on the market yet. In his interview, he noted that a lot of people were taking pictures. They’d put them on social media, and sharable content would turn into clients. If this didn’t work, he’d just spent more money on balloons than anyone ever had ($6000), and got hot and sweaty for nothing.

KJ knew that at the price point of the townhouse, buyers were super picky. Rachel had to sell her current home, but live somewhere in the meantime. KJ and Zach had a private meeting, and she told him that $100K would be enough to cover rent and any touch-up costs if necessary. Zach said Rachel should be good with the $100, but wanted to make an offer of $7.5 million. KJ said they’d already come down in price by a million, and Stefano would flip on her, by which I assumed she meant get angry, but Zach said it was an offer in hand. In her interview, KJ said that the market at that price point was saturated, and it had taken two years to find a buyer. She called Stefano, who was okay with the rental and $100K, but balked at the offer, KJ told him to think of it as an opening bid, and to come back at $8.1 million. KJ presented to Zach the fact that Rachel would have a hard time getting another seller to agree to a rental. They’d also be taking out the staging, and bottom line, Rachel loved it. Zach spoke with Rachel, and told KJ that her best and final was $7.950 million. Zach told KJ that they couldn’t get to $8 million in their minds, and he didn’t think that was going to change. KJ told Stefano that with the $100K, they were basically getting 8, and Stefano said, lock them up. In KJ’s interview, she said the apartment had been on the market for two years, and she closed it. Her commission would be $268K. She’d taken a break to have kids, but now that her youngest was 2½, she was unstoppable.  

Next time, a tree grows in property in Brooklyn, KJ looks at an apartment that spans an entire floor, and the pandemic begins; offices begin to shut down, and everything is canceled.    

💃🏽 Dancing In the Supermoonlight…

The long weekend is coming up, or an actual excuse for eating forbidden special food, and drinking, depending on how you look at it. Regardless of your viewpoint, stay safe, stay remembering what Memorial Day is really about, and stay knowing the basics. Like who The Beatles are.