SPRING LAKE HOSPITAL: This quiet country hospital isn’t very big and it isn’t very busy. The small community it serves doesn’t have a large population. People in these parts mostly come here to retire or live a quiet life. Others come here to escape city life for a time, embracing the opportunity to commune with nature in this picturesque village. In fact, given the average age of the community, there are usually more deaths than births at Spring Lake Hospital in any given year. One of this year’s birth statistics is a boy who is only in town for a few days. Knots Landing is the place he will know as home. “Come on, little one. Time for din-din,” Olivia gently tells her infant son as she attempts to open her nursing gown. As she lifts him to her breast, the baby cries loudly as a nurse looks on. “Let me help you,” the nurse says. “Sometimes it takes a little while before they get the hang of it.” She cradles the baby’s head as Olivia tries again, offering nourishment to him. The baby cries again, nearly screaming. “This isn’t working,” Olivia tells the nurse anxiously. The nurse remains all business, continuing to aid her. “Let’s see if he’ll take the other breast.” As Olivia readies her other breast for feeding, the baby tries to suckle but turns away and continues to cry. “Does this normally happen with newborns?” Olivia asks. The nurse’s face remains stoic as she does her best not to fan the flames of anxiety burning in the young mother’s eyes. She nods. “It doesn’t happen very often, but it does happen. Sometimes babies will reject mother’s milk for one reason or another. He may be reacting since his immune system isn’t quite developed yet. We’ve been rather successful in the past with feeding soy formula to newborns.” Soy milk? Olivia thinks, the unpleasant thought expressing itself through the displeasure on her face. You’re going to feed my baby soy milk? I hate to see what he’ll drink when he grows up. “Why don’t you let me take him and we’ll see if we can get him started on a bottle,” the nurse suggests, her tone becoming a bit more pleasant in response to Olivia’s obvious nerves. “All right. But on the next feeding, could we do it in here? I want to get the hang of this before we check out,” Olivia says hopefully. The nurse nods reassuringly. She takes the baby from her, rocks him and calms him down. Olivia can’t help but show her disappointment at how quickly the nurse has succeeded in comforting her baby where she failed. She leans back and fights back tears as the two head back to the nursery.
I wish Harvey hadn’t gone back to the inn, she thinks, feeling lonely without her husband or baby by her side. Maybe I should give him a call. Or maybe I should give someone else a call. She reaches to the phone and picks it up, suddenly struck by inspiration. She dials and after a few moments hears it ring on the other end. “Mother?” “Olivia,” Abby responds hesitantly. “What is it?” “Were Brian and I breast-fed?” she asks impulsively. “Well, yes. Yes, you were,” Abby replies. “Did we ...?” “Did you what?” Olivia pauses for a moment. “Did either of us ever reject your milk?” Abby evades the question with one of her own. “What in the world are you talking about?” The troublesome question comes back: Did either of us ever reject … the final word resonating in Abby’s mind … reject ... reject ... reject ... To steady herself, Abby pours a glass of wine. She certainly couldn’t reject a glass of her favorite wine, even if Lucky LaBrea had provided the complimentary bottle. “Mother, did I lose you?” Olivia asks worriedly. “No,” she replies shakily. “Both of you were so hungry, you couldn’t wait to grab hold of me.” “I don’t know what’s happening with the baby,” Olivia tells her mother, her voice starting to quiver slightly. Abby closes her own eyes as she hears the concern over the line. “We need to talk …” We need to talk ... “Olivia, someone’s at the door,” Abby suddenly lies. “Can we talk about this later?” “OK, but call me back all right? I need you to tell me I’m overreacting and that this is nothing,” she says hopefully. “Bye, honey,” Abby replies, hanging up the phone without giving her the platitudes she needs.
We need to talk … Abby thinks back to earlier in the day, when she spoke those same words on her cell phone. As she walks across the room, the words continue to haunt her, even sting her, as she passes the mirror on the wall. Noticing in the reflection the wine glass in her hand, she recalls the source of the gift and is suddenly disgusted. Impulsively, Abby flings the glass to the wall, sending the mirror into several long, ugly cracks.
PREVIOUSLY, IN KNOTS LANDING:
At Olivia and Harvey’s wedding reception, Lucky made an unexpected appearance and Val finally came face-to-face with her past. When Lucky explained to Val he had been trying to protect her years ago, she retorted that she was no longer the sweet and trusting woman he had known. Abby persuaded Olivia to make a quick retreat for the safety of the baby. Although reluctant at first, Olivia agreed, and the bride and groom left discreetly. As they neared their Spring Lake destination, Olivia went into labor and gave birth to a boy with dark hair and big blue eyes.
The next day, the teens kept quiet about what had happened at the senior prom, not blowing Bobby’s cover story that he had been taking drugs to cover up for the actual culprit: Betsy. Gary confessed to Lilimae how much he was disappointed by Bobby’s behavior. Gary and Val later met with the school principal to request that Bobby graduate with his class, and it was agreed that he would receive his diploma after completing a drug treatment program and community service project.
As a hung-over Brian tried to make sense of the previous night’s events, Michael paid him a visit. Brian believed his night of passion with Betsy had actually been spent with Mandy Carlton, but Michael helped him push that aside and realize there was still hope for a reconciliation with Kate. Brian finally called Kate to apologize for his past mistakes, and she agreed to give their marriage another try. Without looking back, he headed for a flight out of town. Later, Michael was surprised when his lover, Keith, arrived with his luggage.
Lucky had a meeting on his yacht with his silent partner, revealed to be Hillary, who strongly disapproved of the 25-percent partnership Lucky had signed with Abby. He managed to put Hillary off by convincing her that Abby would only be their scapegoat and would be left with next to nothing in the end. Days after losing her unborn baby, Paige was released from the hospital. Mack and Anne made an effort to play doting parents, and Anne became suspicious when hearing the baby had Rh disease, knowing that it usually doesn’t afflict firstborns. Without going into details, Paige informed them it could occur after aborting a previous pregnancy.
When learning that Olivia’s son had needed a transfusion after Rh complications, Abby’s suspicions were also raised. Worried that Lucky—the baby’s natural great uncle—was up to something, she called a doctor friend for advice and heard a suspicious click on the line. A sweep for bugging devices came up positive on her hotel phone. She used her cell phone to place a call, informing someone they had to talk.
During a board of directors meeting at the Sumner Group, Greg announced he was stepping back from his duties and wanted to put Jack and Paige in charge to fill his shoes. Tim Murphy, in announcing his own retirement, proposed Harvey as the new chief legal counsel. Jack later suggested to Janice that she should have the position. Hillary presented to the board her idea of a joint venture of the Group with Schulman & Clark, but at Greg’s recommendation it was rejected without even being read by all board members. Hillary left the room fuming—and swearing she’d have her revenge. Back in her office, Hillary held a precious document: Bart’s birth certificate revealing him to be Greg’s natural son.
Karen was a bit upset when she found Paige’s hospital room empty, particularly when a nurse explained that Paige’s parents had come to fetch her the day before and what a lovely couple they made. Hurrying to arrive on time for Betsy’s graduation, Karen didn’t notice that among the medical staff on the ground floor was Olivia’s ex-husband, Harold Dyer. Inside Knots Landing High’s crowded auditorium, Karen, Gary and Lilimae started to worry about Val, who was a no-show, as Betsy began her salutatorian speech. The missing Val was seen on a plane headed for Miami, with Lucky at her side.
And meanwhile, in an unidentified airport, a middle-aged woman running with a baby in her arms turned and removed her sunglasses, revealing a striking resemblance to a redhead who had left Knots Landing to die alone 14 years ago.
AND NOW ... |
