REFLECTIONS BY JILL for January 30, 2007

The Jessica runs to her mother with the confusing news that she kissed Nash and didn’t quite mind doing it. At first Viki wondered if it was Tess coming back out, but it didn’t take her long to realize that Jessica really has feelings for Nash. Even though Viki reminded Jessica that she made a commitment to Antonio and Jamie and she knows that Jessica does love Antonio, she knows that trouble is on the way because who knows better than Viki that you just can’t keep feelings from surfacing, whether you like it or not?

And then there’s Natalie. I don’t know what to say about her this week. I think Viki gave her the best advice when she reminded her that John is a grown man and that she has to let him make his own decisions. That was great advice, but once Natalie realized that she needed to do something to fix what happened with John, was it too late? I can list so many things wrong with both Natalie’s and John’s behavior that I don’t know where to start. Okay, I’ll start with Natalie. She needs to back off and take Viki’s advice but she just can’t stop herself from doing stupid, controlling things where John is concerned. She had no business going to see Marty and telling her to stay away from John. If John wants to be rid of Marty, he should tell her to butt out of his life. And even after her talk with Viki, Natalie still tried to take control by calling Gray, John’s physical therapist to make sure John refilled his prescription for his pain medication. Even I could have smacked her for that.

And what about John? I want to give him a good smack, too. Yes, Natalie has been treating him like a baby since he “came back to life.” But he’s also a bit over the top with the “leave me the hell alone” bit. Neither Natalie nor John knows how to find a happy medium where they can peacefully co-exist and it is ruining their relationship. And John needs to get over himself. So, Natalie put his pain meds in his soup. Get over it; it’s not like she tried to kill him. I felt terrible for Natalie when she came to John’s door in the hopes of making peace and she had to hear John telling Marty that he doesn’t know if he can trust her any more. If he does feel that way, he had no business telling it to Marty. I could see if he confided something like that in Michael, but not Marty. If John wants to tell someone that he feels he wants to change but doesn’t know if he can be the man he wants to be for Natalie, he should be telling Natalie. And why does John feel the need to keep his progress from Natalie? Why doesn’t he want her to know he’s doing so much better and is almost ready to go back to work? For someone who is feeling better and almost ready to get back to his life, John is being one miserable pain. Yes, I said it and I mean it. Sure, he loves Natalie in his own way and knows that he wants to be the man that she wants and deserves, but it’s time for him to start working on being that man and getting out of his own miserable head, just like it’s time for Natalie to be his partner and not his nurse or mother. What is going to happen to these two people? I thought Michael’s comments were right on the money when he warned John not to hurt Natalie because she loves him and has given him so much. I knew she wouldn’t stay away for long, but I didn’t applaud Natalie when John told her things weren’t working out and someone should move out and she told him if she leaves she’s not coming back.

I was glad that Michael was smart enough to realize that Rex was hiding something about Tommy and forced Rex to tell him the truth. Now Michael has the worst dilemma. Does he lie to Marcie to save her from the heartbreak of losing the son she loves, or does he do what he thinks is the right thing and let Todd know that his son is right under his nose? And to top it all off, Michael has Rex trying to convince him to live with a lie.

Were you shocked when Blair told Dorian that she and Todd were through and Dorian told her it wasn’t a good idea? I was shocked, that’s for sure. But once in a while Dorian comes up with some pearls of wisdom (hardly ever) and she did the right thing by reminded Blair that Todd was the one who brought her back and in spite of everything, he loves her so much. And Dorian did have a moment of insight when she admitted that her meddling in Kelly’s and Adriana’s lives caused her a lot of heartache.

Then, on the other hand, we have the real Dorian that can’t stay hidden for long. Now we have her teaming up with Lindsay again. You know this can only mean trouble for the people in Llanview. Oh boy. Dorian is going to help break up Paige and Bo for Lindsay and Lindsay is going to help break up Viki and Clint for Dorian. This is a disaster waiting to happen.