It's all about options in Los Angeles. When you're young, you have all the time in the world. Just ask Coco, who looks forward to motherhood -- in about twenty years. Or take R.J. He thinks he'll be the Forrester CEO in about the same timeframe. Nicole and Thomas need to break it to Coco and R.J. and tell them that options narrow, change, and disappear as the years go by. Sometimes, it's wise to make decisions with the future in mind instead of living for the moment.
Nicole was young, just like Coco, and had all the time in the world to give birth for another couple. Nicole even had time to do it twice -- if Zende hadn't flipped out about it. She also had all the time in the world to be single until Zende started proposing to her every hour on the hour. Until Zende got baby fever, Nicole was content with being just an auntie. But in L.A., minds are like diapers. They get changed no matter who's doing the changing.
Whether it's pressure from Zende or her true desire, Nicole now wants to be a mother, but her doctors say that her prior pregnancy has made carrying another baby an improbability for her. Vivienne reminded Nicole that Lizzy would always be Nicole's little girl. Is that knowledge enough for Nicole, or will she be the sister that giveth and the mother that taketh away?
Across town, Sally is worried if Thomas will taketh away, too. I'm just not sure why. If waking up in bed with the lover who paid her debts and got fired for her doesn't give her some relationship security, then Sally must be the most insecure woman in daytime. Thomas vowed to stand by Sally and declined every escape she offered him. Even so, Sally is quaking in her heels, worried that a meeting with his family will cause him to walk out on her and Spectra.
Will Nicole and Thomas remain true to their promises, or will they change their minds, leaving their loved ones up diaper creek without paddles?
The case of the sticky uterus
Imagine your doctor says you had a nasty case of the sticky uterus? It doesn't sound like something a shot of apple cider vinegar can clear up. Even if it could, Dr. March said that the fibroids would grow right back. Add in a pair of finicky fallopian tubes, and any egg floating around in Nicole's uterus is doomed.
Lizzy was apparently a bad tenant, kind of like Michael Keaton in Pacific Heights. Nicole rented Lizzy a perfectly good and usable space for nine months, but when Nicole wanted to rent to a new tenant, she found out that Lizzy had busted the windows, ripped out the plumbing, shredded the carpet, and infested the place with fibroids!
Lizzy gave Nicole some hella morning sickness, but what kinds of parties did she throw in there to cause all this damage? Some people like to say that when they were born, they broke the mold. But Lizzy broke hers for real. She kicked it, punched it, and probably stabbed it, too. "No, I don't want to live with Aunt Maya!" Stab!
I can believe Dr. Caspary and Dr. March a lot easier than a drunken Dr. Wolin, but I do have questions. First, how did neither doctor discover Nicole's sticky uterus when she went in for the second IVF process back in November?
Nicole was more fastidious back then and actually saw the doctor right away. She did it off-screen and took care of the paperwork without even involving Maya and Rick. We have no idea what the doctor told Nicole because the scene with her telling Maya and Rick about it started with, "That's pretty much everything the doctor said."
We don't know what doctor Nicole saw off-screen, but Dr. March was set to perform the second IVF until Nicole changed her mind. If Dr. March inspected the uterus for a new tenant in November, she needs to explain what happened to Nicole's uterus between then and now.
Next, I want to know why Nicole hasn't had a period since November, but this is the first time she says anything about it. It's just not like her. At Dr. Caspary's office, Nicole said she had missed a couple of them. She blamed it on work stress and exercising. Dr. Caspary was like, "You mean you haven't had a period since your last checkup? That's been months!"
Nicole decided Dr. Caspary might as well know that Nicole was experiencing a little abdominal pain, too. Dr. Caspary gave Nicole a look like, "And you didn't think you needed an appointment before now?" Young folks. They think they have all the time in the world -- until they don't.
Nicole never mentioned experiencing painful sex. It could be because she was a virgin and doesn't even know if it doesn't feel right. I'm no doctor, but I'm thinking sex should hurt if she's got fibrosis, amenorrhea, sticky uterus, and uncooperative fallopian tubes.
I'm not sure why Nicole's fallopian tubes have an attitude, but apparently, they want to waste time carrying eggs down to a scarred uterus. Dr. Caspary called it secondary infertility. Nicole said her fallopian tubes had better get to falloping because her husband wanted to be a father. Nicole was adamant that she'd already prayed over her uterus when Lizzy was in it. The uterus was fine, the tubes were hooked up, and she declared that she'd crank out baby after baby.
Nicole had that fighting spirit -- until she heard about the sticky uterus part. It was a further diagnosis from Dr. March, who Nicole asked for a second opinion. Vivienne was ready to get a third opinion when she saw how much it was hurting Nicole, who clung to Lizzy after the appointment.
Nicole was devastated that she couldn't have children. Vivienne said that Nicole had Lizzy, and even though Nicole had given Lizzy to Maya, Lizzy would always be Nicole's little girl. Oh, no. Talk about opening up a can of scarred fallopian tubes!
Nicole already had that blank, crazed look on her face when Charlie suggested that he and Pam take the child to the zoo. Nicole snatched the baby up in a death grip hug as soon as he said it. After Viv reminded Nicole that Lizzy was actually her child, will Nicole be able to let the child go by the time Maya and Rick get home? Or will Dollar Bill be loaning his new stepson the legal expertise of Justin Barber?
It was fifty shades of weird to watch Maya and Rick attend Bill's wedding, especially after Maya had thrown Bill's apology in his face on her wedding day. It got even stranger when Bill forced a civil conversation with them on the jet for Brooke's sake. Bill asked if it was wise to leave Lizzy with Nicole, and the offended Maya said Nicole loved Lizzy as her own.
"She is her own," Bill asserted.
Brooke gave Bill a look, but I was like, "What? He's right." See, Bill likes money, which means he deals in numbers. Numbers represent facts. That means Bill likes facts. Bill likes to call himself a stallion, but he knows he's not a horse. He also knows that Maya likes to call herself Lizzy's mother, but he knows that Nicole is really the mother. What's the point of the front among family members?
Brooke tried to make excuses for Bill, but when did it become a secret that Nicole had a baby for her transgender sister? Everybody knows it, and Maya and Nicole were posting selfies at the hospital when Nicole was about to get impregnated with the second baby.
Paternity is always a hot topic among the Forresters. Rick loves to tell Ridge that he isn't a real Forrester. This week, Ridge discussed it with Zende, who is really a Dominguez. Pam and Charlie even discussed Lizzy's paternity with her Avant grandparents.
Bill brought up an uncomfortable but real issue that Rick, Maya, and Nicole have ignored thus far, which is that Nicole might feel motherly toward Lizzy. It's an issue that they legally solved through signed agreements, but what about morally? Could Nicole's new predicament cause her to claim that blood is thicker than paperwork? Could Maya be moved to bestow upon her sister the same gift that Nicole bestowed upon Maya?
I called Maya selfish when this whole baby thing started, and she changes her mind all the time about what she really wants. First, she wanted Rick. Next, she wanted Carter. Then she wanted Rick again. She thought it was her destiny to act and sing, but then modeling was a dream come true. Next thing we know, being a mother was everything. She implored Nicole to give her another baby, but she dropped the idea just as quick as she got it after Nicole turned it down.
Could Maya switch from craving motherhood to craving her career again? It's possible, and there has to be some reason that Maya went from being unable to separate from her child to extending her stay in Paris. Due to one talk with a photographer, she and Rick might even swing by Milan if they have time! It's a big change from missing Lizzy and being worried about the game of Hot Potato with the child and her babysitters.
Maya might decide to become the aunt for her career, but during Nicole's pregnancy, Zende resented that she carried his uncle's child. Even though he's adopted, Zende might resent raising Lizzy because she is the reason he can't have his own child with Nicole. There is also the possibility that Rick might hold Nicole to the agreement, even if Maya wants to give Lizzy back.
What to do about Lizzy. It's even a problem for the babysitters back home. The child bounced from Nicole and Zende's care to R.J. and Coco's. Maya put her in Pam's lap next, and in a preview for Monday's show, Vivienne asks Maya why she chose Pam over Lizzy's grandparents. It's a good question. Maybe Maya is worried Lizzy will swallow some golf balls. Maya is lucky Pam asked Google before feeding Lizzy lemon bars. That's all I have to say about Pam's babysitting skills.
Why doesn't anyone ask Aunt Sasha to babysit? Did everyone forget she exists? Zende usually runs to Sasha when he can't get what he wants out of Nicole. I wonder if this fertility issue makes him wish that the toilet bowl pregnancy had actually been real. I wouldn't be surprised if he asked Sasha to borrow her uterus to gestate Nicole's viable eggs. Too much? Yeah, Nicole probably wouldn't be open to Zende's swimmers being in Sasha's pond again.
There is one other possibility, and it's the one that Zende is adamant about. He was a very supportive husband this week, and he pointed out that Dr. Caspary said that having children was a complete impossibility. He urged his wife to believe in their love. He said that their children were just waiting for his and Nicole's love to bring them into the world.
Zende might be right. Nicole might get her miracle baby. If so, will it be before or after the adults tear Lizzy's world apart?
The case of the sticky business ties
While Nicole grappled with her sticky uterus blues, Thomas partook in some sticky business with Sally. Being aloof will get you an unsolicited booty call if you're Thomas Forrester. If you're Saul Feinberg, aloofness gets you nothing but a bad case of freezer burn.
One of the longest days of the year finally ended Thursday, and a new one began on Friday when Thomas awakened in bed and saw Sally in his shirt, carrying coffee his way. Up to that point, it had been Brooke and Bill's wedding day, a day that started Wednesday of the previous week when Ridge made a half-assed effort to win Brooke back. The wedding day ended after Nicole told Zende what Dr. Caspary had said.
I'm assuming that means Thomas has only been fired for two storyline days. Judging by the clothes Nicole wore Monday through Friday, I determined that Ridge fired Thomas the day before Bill and Brooke's wedding, and Steffy called a meeting to rehire Thomas the day after the wedding.
It means Thomas spent a day decompressing and ignoring Sally's text messages when he knew full well she was worried about him after the way his father had busted into his loft the previous night. She resorted to showing up at his house the next evening to see if he was still breathing. If only Caroline had ignored Thomas' calls after her fight with Ridge the same way Thomas ignored Sally...
Absence makes the panties drop, and Sally handed hers over to Thomas on a silver platter. Or was it supposed to seem more romantic when she flopped on the living room bed like a dying fish? Maybe it was supposed to be. I'm just not feeling it. I'm too distracted by what a fool and enabler Thomas is to save the band of thieves who ripped off him and his family.
I'm also over Sally's insecurity. Sally is like a walking contradiction. She barks that Steffy doesn't want to make an enemy but then she rolls over like a sick puppy at the first hint of trouble. Bill says, "boo!" and she abandons her own talent. Thomas says he'll stand by her -- and proves it with a nonrefundable check -- but she still believes he'll dump her at any moment.
Thomas ignoring Sally's texts for a day didn't help, Thomas is a man of his convictions, no matter how misguided those convictions are. Sally can trust him when he says something, but his actual problem is his impulsiveness. Thomas needs to take some time to think about what he should really be doing instead of just blindly acting.
Thomas should ask himself questions like whether he should really be drunk and kissing all up on his father's ex-girlfriend. Should he really slap down a check and create a conflict of interest between him, his family business, and his newly ex-ed girlfriend who stole what amounts to millions of dollars in profits from his family? Should he really be having sex with Sally when he'd just taken a shower, but she hadn't?
Sometimes, you need to think things through. And sometimes, you gotta stop overthinking it, which is Sally's problem. Thomas gave Sally no indication that he'd abandon her. In fact, he'd done the opposite by consummating the relationship. But let the insecure Sally tell it, Thomas stood up to the judge, he stood up to Bill, he stood up to Ridge, but Thomas will bow his head and agree to leave her in a meeting with Steffy, Ridge, and Eric.
Saul couldn't care less if Thomas didn't return and hopes Thomas opens a design house in Paris. Me, too, Saul, but I also hope you make an appointment to see Taylor in Paris. You are a little too Norman Bates-ish for my taste, and I'm worried that Darlita is dumb enough to hang your secret hate board of Thomas in the Spectra lobby. You know you have one, Saul. Don't deny it
On the other hand, Shirley's gone from believing that Thomas was only out for sex to joking about Sally finally giving it to Mr. Muscles. Talking about your sex life with your grandma -- awkward!
When Sally feared Thomas would pull his support, Shirley said Sally already spent "some of that dough" on sewing machines and wondered how Sally planned to pay it back if Thomas abandoned them. What dough is Shirley talking about? Did C.J. give some of that money from Thomas' check to Sally? Did Thomas slip Sally another check when I wasn't paying attention?
And when is Sally going to pay Forrester? Until she does, I'm not interested in seeing Spectra succeed, and I sure as hell don't want to hear another word out of fair-weather Shirley about how Thomas exposed the big, bad Bill's scheme. If someone had exposed the big, bad Shirley's scheme, no one would be in the mess they're in now.
But, alas, no one exposed Shirley, and now everyone's up to Sally's booty shorts in problems. Forrester still hasn't recovered from what the Spectras pulled. Rick is putting out fires at International -- whatever that means, and Ridge resorted to recruiting Zende to a design team that Thomas had to pledge like a fraternity before he was let onto. They've got Katie, who doesn't know a diamond from a piece of coal in her butt, working on jewelry. Work must have slowed if Pam has nothing better to do than train Lizzy on the phones.
It completely escapes me how, given the state Forrester is in, Thomas doesn't see why the predicament soured his family toward Sally. Thomas also doesn't comprehend the conflict of interest he created. He is financially supporting a competitor who stole from Forrester. Choices like that are the exact reason he should never be seriously considered as the Forrester CEO.
While I'm at it, Steffy thinking that Thomas created the conflict of interest in retaliation for her being a co-CEO is the very reason she shouldn't have the job, either. But let's not pretend Steffy got the job because of her experience and intelligence. Quinn chose Steffy for that job because Quinn wanted Steffy to unify the family, or in other words, stay married to Wyatt.
Eric told Ridge that he couldn't fire Thomas because he fell in love with Sally. Ridge said it wasn't the reason, but even if it was, Eric already condoned it as an acceptable reason when he wouldn't let Ridge be CEO unless he left Katie. Or when Rick had to fake reconcile with Caroline to hold onto the position.
Neither Thomas nor Steffy has any business with the title. Rick is probably the best person to run Forrester, as long as he isn't shooting up the place or forcing people to worship Maya.
Why is Steffy self-absorbed enough to think that Thomas' love affair with Sally was just a vendetta against her? Honey, please. I'm glad you figured out that your brother is really not that into you. I also want to know why she thinks Thomas wants to hear from her, and not their father, about the mistake Ridge made in firing him. If you ask me, Thomas probably won't take his job back unless Ridge admits he made a mistake or is no longer employed at Forrester.
The latter might be a real possibility if Katie keeps circling Ridge and Quinn like a shark. If Katie exposes Ridge and Quinn, new vacancies will open up at Forrester, giving Thomas a chance to co-CEO with Steffy, run the jewelry department, or be the president of Forrester Creations.
If Eric offers Thomas a co-CEO position, I wonder if it will have Caroline strings attached. Rumor has it that the fake rumor about Caroline's return is actually real. Caroline and surely Douglas are expected to return to L.A. Will it be to drive a wedge between Sally and Thomas or to prove that Douglas is Ridge's son, after all?
Either way, it doesn't bode well for Zende, who thinks he's about to get a real shot at being a designer. It would be so wrong if Forrester rescinds Zende's job offer if Caroline and/or Thomas return to Forrester. What a double whammy for Zende to find out he can't be a father and that he won't be a designer at Forrester, either.
No, like Zende said, that world's just not that cruel -- but if it happens to be, there's probably a place for Zende with Sally's merry band of misfits.
Let us know what you think about this week from Nicole's sticky uterus to the sticky business Thomas got himself into. Will Nicole attempt to reclaim her only child before her and Zende's love can work miracles? Will compassion move Maya to give Lizzy back? Will Sally start to feel secure about Thomas before Caroline shows up?
Until we scoop again, may your Memorial Day weekend be bold and beautiful, baby!
Chanel
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