Review all of
All My Children, January 1978
Written by: Agnes Nixon
Produced by: Bud Kloss
Against both Joe and Paul Martin's advice, Ruth Martin met with Ray Gardner to tell him that she arranged to cash in an insurance policy to raise the entire $10,000 demanded as the price for signing papers clearing the way for the Martins to adopt the boy he had abandoned in a State Park years before. When Gardner learned she hadn't got the money with her, he told her that the delay had upped the ante and he wanted $15,000. In a fury, Ruth told him that she would not give him one penny; that she and Joe would spend any amount to see that he never threatened Tad again. - After Gardner terrorized Tad and little Philip in the Martin home while Kate was ill, Nick Davis learned that his employee "Ray Green" was Gardner, and fired him. - After Ruth left, Paul Martin reported that Gardner had skipped from his motel room and though Joe believed that Gardner had realized that he pushed the Martins too far with his last demand, Kate did not believe that they had seen the last of him. Ruth told Tad that his father had apparently left town and she hoped someday she and Joe could legally adopt him, with or without Gardner's permission.
David Thornton had learned that Gardner spent a night at the cabin and refused to believe Edna when she told him how it came about. When he threatened to use the information to get custody of Dottie, Edna told him that if he tried to use her kindness to a stranger against her, she would counter with testimony about his trip to the Caribbean with Christina Karras, which could easily be documented. David had to back down again.
Jeff Martin had told Chris that he was in love with her and David's high-handed attitude over Chris' attending a party given by Tara with Jeff began to get to her. David made plans to have dinner with Chris, but Edna refused to buy his story of late surgery, and he admitted he intended to be with Chris. Edna threatened to leave with Dottie if he did not come home on time after hospital hours. She told him she had saved some money from her job and was financially able to make good on her threat. When David told Chris and canceled their plans, Christina (Chris) insisted that Edna was bluffing and begged him not to give in, saying she was tired of being "understanding." David insisted he couldn't take the chance and left. Chris called Jeff and asked him to take her to dinner, admitting when she saw him that she was beginning to have doubts about any future with David.
Nancy Grant had told Christina that she was pregnant with her ex-husband Frank's child and that Carl Blair had asked her to marry him but she had turned him down. - Carl then knew about the child Nancy was carrying, and left saying that his offer stood indefinitely. Chris told Nancy she was a very lucky woman to be loved in that way and Nancy agreed, saying she might have been too hasty.
Back from her honeymoon, Caroline Grant received a bill from Dr. Clader's office for a pregnancy examination and when she went to clear it up learned that the Mrs. Grant involved was Nancy. She confronted Nancy and learned that she was four months pregnant. When Caroline asked if Frank was the father, Nancy replied that it was none of her business and finally told her the child was Carl Blair's. Nick Davis had arrived at Erica's to find her note saying that she couldn’t bear to hear him deny her love for him nor stand the idea of a future without him. He called Mona and tried to soothe her concern over her daughter's disappearance, reminding her of Erica's need to get her way, but he later received a call from police headquarters advising that Erica's wallet was found in a trash basket in a rough section of another city. Finally, Mona took a call from a Dr. Chung of the Good Samaritan Hospital in New York City, telling her that Erica had been admitted with what appeared to be pneumonia. Nick went up to New York with Mona and saw Erica who told him that she wanted him to believe that she loved him but "didn't mean for this to happen." Nick told her it helped him to see how much she meant to him and how he took her for granted. He told her, crying, that he loved her. Dr. Charles Tyler took leave from Pine Valley Hospital to be with Mona and he had to tell Nick that Erica's pneumonia was viral in origin and they could only rely on Erica's own strength to pull her through.
Before leaving Pine Valley, Dr. Tyler cornered Benny Sago to tell him that he was barred from the hospital after Charles found the vodka flask Benny had kept replenished for Phoebe. Benny told Charles that he felt sorry for Phoebe and, when Charles insisted that Benny was in a better position than even Phoebe's family to influence her for good, Benny insisted that he had tried and agreed to try harder in the future. Charles told him he appreciated that but, nevertheless, his presence was off limits until Phoebe was out of the hospital.
Brooke English, having struck out in her attempt to scare Devon Shephard away from Dan Kennicott, picked up on the relationship between Mark Dalton and Ellen Shephard and went to work, telling Mark that Erica had been hospitalized. When Mark left to phone Charles she mused that Mark might have a crush on Erica. When that remark didn’t hit home - Ellen knew that Erica was Mark's half sister, though Brooke didn’t -, Brooke speculated that the campus co-eds would be devastated since Ellen seemed to have fully engaged the "young" man's - Mark's - attention.
Dr. Chuck Tyler had had to tell his wife Donna that the latest test definitely proved that she was not pregnant. He explained that she had a tubal blockage and that her symptoms were indicative of an hysterical pregnancy. Chuck couldn’t bring himself to tell Donna that the blockage was scar tissue from the tubal ligation which Ty had ordered done along with an emergency appendectomy on Donna. He hoped the sterilization might be reversible with surgery in the future and Donna needed never know. Donna wavered between belief, accompanied by despair, and denial. She agreed to see a psychiatrist but when her first session ended and Dr. Polk prepared to see the next patient, she felt rejected and told him, and then told Chuck that she was not going back.
Donna’s best friend from her Locust Street days, Estelle LaTour, had been visiting a friend she made during the Christmas holidays, an elderly widow, Mrs. Maggie Flannagan who momentarily mistook "Stelle" for her grand-daughter, in church. With Maggie, Estelle was Maristella Clancy, light years removed from Estelle LaTour of Locust Street. Estelle treasured her visits to the elderly woman, bringing groceries and a room heater when Maggie was taken ill. She tried to cover up when Billy Clyde followed her to Maggie's building by telling him she was seeing a John who didn’t like her in her working wig, but when she could produce only six dollars after telling him it was a hundred-dollar call, she took a beating at Billy Clyde's hands. Later she averted a second beating by asking Donna for some money to cover another trip she made to see Mrs. Flannagan during "working hours." Estelle had told Mrs. Flannagan she worked as a maid for a lady in Pine Valley.
While Devon Shepherd was performing in a college production of Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing," Dan sat in the audience with Ellen Shepherd and Mark Dalton. Kate Martin and Harlan Tucker were also in Devon's cheering section, while Ray Gardner skulked around the Martin property. When it was apparent that Ruth and Joe were settled in for the evening, they decided against attending, not trusting completely in Gardner's apparent disappearance, Gardner, who had seen that Mark and Ellen were the last to leave the Tucker home without locking up, got in and helped himself to $100 from Harlan's dresser. He picked up a pair of antique opera glasses and watched as Ruth prepares for bed. The glasses enabled Ray to focus on the diamond necklace which was Joe's Christmas present to Ruth, and his mind re-echoed the thought he had after his last confrontation with Ruth; that there was more than one way to get money out of the Martins.
Edna Thornton tried to talk Donna into thinking about enjoying being Chuck's wife, saying that raising a child was no picnic and she should be happy to live it up for a while. Donna was too depressed to respond and asked Edna as a favor if she would sell the raffle tickets Donna had for the Medical Society Dance to take place that evening. Edna wasted no time letting David know that she intended to go and he would take her if he knew what was good for him.
Ellen Shepherd had convinced Mark that he should go to New York to see Erica. When Erica told him she was glad he came, he said that he would have walked to get there, and Erica asked his forgiveness. She asked him to promise to look after Mona.
Outside, Mona told Nick that Erica had lost the will to live and begged him to ask her to marry him, to give her a reason to get well. Nick was shocked, saying he couldn't deceive her, but he questioned Dr. Chung again and learning that Erica was critical, he went in and told her that he wanted them to have a life together "for better or for worse." He also tells her he needs her to get well so that they could be married.
Ray Gardner, in need of money, sold the opera glasses for $35 to the owner of the diner where he first met Edna Thornton. He dropped in on Edna, his "first pal in Pine Valley," but she sent him nicely on his way, making it clear that she was very happy with her husband and child. She mentioned the Medical Association Dinner that evening at the Country Club. Gardner then bought a ski mask and waited in the back of the Martin car as Joe called in to the hospital and Ruth headed for the parking lot to warm up the car.
Caroline Grant had told Jeff Martin that Nancy's claim that Carl Blair was the father of her expected child just didn’t ring true.
Ellen’s doubts about Mark resurfaced with Claudette Montgomery’s taunts about her own mother’s – Margo Flax - affair with a younger man. Meanwhile, Claudette grew closer to Linc.
Brooke played up to Tom Cudahy after he hired her as Erica’s temporary replacement as she was still hospitalized in New York, then set another trap for Dan.
To be continued.....
