From: Marni Centor <marni@panix.com>

GUIDING LIGHT UPDATE -- THURSDAY, MAY 29, 1997

          EVERYONE LOVES A SURPRISE--OR DO THEY?

Highlights:
* Fran surprises Annie by growing a backbone.
* Matt & Van surprise each other with their uncanny connections.
* Dinah & Hart surprise us all by not fighting.
* Levy surprises Frank with a temporary suspension.
* Rusty surprises Reva with good news about Fran.
* Frank & Eleni invite a surprise guest to Buzz's party.
* Annie's surprise sweeps Alan off his feet.

SPAULDING MANSION: Alan wanders around his study thoughtfully and 
reemmbers kissing Annie. 

LEWIS HOUSE: Annie returns home & seems out of sorts. She dials the 
phone. Alan answers. She tells him they need to talk about what happened 
earlier. She says she'll come over. She grabs her purse & heads for the 
door, but the phone rings again. It's Fran. Annie is very relieved to 
hear that Fran got her file from the doctor's office. She says she can't 
meet with Fran right now, but gets upset at something Fran says to her. 
She rushes out of the house.

DINER: The Coopers have closed the diner for Buzz's birthday party. It's 
all decorated with balloons and a banner. Buzz is antsy because Jenna & 
Coop haven't shown up yet. He wants to go check on them, but Frank tries 
to convince him to calm down. Jenna & Coop arrive & Buzz is relieved & 
happy to see them. Buzz takes Coop from Jenna & she gives Buzz a big 
kiss. "Happy birthday, Buzz," she says. "I left Jeffrey."

SWITZERLAND: Vanessa walks out on the terrace with her walker. She looks 
up at the sky & thinks that she's looking at the same stars Robert 
described. She bemoans the long time it's been since she felt a man's 
touch. Michael shows up & says hi.

REARDON HOUSE: Bill, Matt, Dinah and Hart are chowing down on Chinese 
food. Dinah wants to hear all about Matt's date. Matt says it was 
wonderful & magical. They went for a ride in his convertible. Dinah says 
Matt doesn't have a convertible. Matt explains he's not talking about 
his date with Sondra. He tells her he had an on-line date with Tess & 
next time they're going to do it in person.

Dinah still thinks it's nuts that Matt is dating someone via computer. 
Bill is trying to track down Tess's location. Matt says Dinah was the 
one who encouraged him to start living again. Dinah thinks it's not 
healthy for Matt to be looking for someone like her on the computer. Van 
would want Matt to get on with his life. Bill listens to this with 
interest, but doesn't comment. "If Vanessa were alive, we wouldn't be 
having this conversation," replies Matt.

SWITZERLAND: Michael says he saw Van's light on, so he stopped in to 
share some good news. He asks about her date with CyberBob. She 
encourages him to tell his good news instead. First, he pulls out a 
bottle of champagne. She says he'll have to drink alone; she doesn't 
think she should drink with her medication. Michael says he spoke to her 
doctor & it's OK. He goes to get them some glasses.

REARDON HOUSE: Dinah says there are better ways to meet women than the 
computer. Everyone else jokes about bars, supermarkets & laundramats. 
Dinah still thinks Matt should live in the real world. Matt says he had 
a nice time with Sondra, but a better time with Tess. It's hard for him 
to explain, but he & Tess have a connection. He feels like he's known 
her for years. "People like that don't come along very often," he adds.

DINER: Moving into the kitchen, Buzz & Jenna continue kissing. He asks 
if Jeffrey threatened her. Of course, she says, but she stood up to him. 
Buzz wonders if it's safe for her to be there with him. Jenna thinks 
they won't have any more problems with Jeffrey. She recaps her brutal 
dismissal of Jeffrey & says he was stunned. Buzz wants to believe her, 
but doesn't think Jeffrey will let her go that easily. He thinks they 
should continue with their plan. Jenna shuts him up with a kiss. She 
doesn't want to talk about Jeffrey anymore. Buzz says he doesn't have 
anything left to wish for. Jenna offers to give him something & they 
kiss some more.

In the dining area, Griffin chastises Reva for going off on her own 
instead of coming to him. She agrees, but says all she really wants is 
her family back. She looks at the happy Cooper clan & says, "Good for 
you, Buzz." 

REARDON HOUSE: Bill leaves to meet Lauren in the library. Hart asks 
Dinah what the big deal would be for Matt & Tess to continue to meet? 
Hart can imagine what it must be like for Matt to have lost the woman he 
loved. He remembers how he felt when he thought he had lost Dinah. He 
was a wreck. He wore the sweater she gave him for 37 days, even though 
he hated it. He demolished the chicken coop & then rebuilt the whole 
thing & put shutters on it & painted it red. Dinah realizes he did it 
all for her, because she used to nag him about it, but he used to say 
that not everything on the farm had to look pretty. She thinks Hart is 
very sweet & kisses him. 

DINER: Everyone is having fun. Buzz tells Reva it means a lot that she 
would come to his party with everything going on in her life. She tells 
Jenna she's got a good guy & she should take care of him. Buzz asks how 
she's doing & she says it's tough. Jenna knows what it's like to feel 
all alone with no one on your side. At least Reva has Griffin fighting 
for her, notes Buzz.

Marcus & J slide on in & Dahlia joins them. Marcus says he got a call 
from Sugar Hill (a "he"). Sugar wants to hear Marcus play. Griffin 
congratulates him & Marcus wishes his dad good luck with the trial. He 
asks if it would be OK for him to sit in & watch. Griffin says that 
would be wonderful.

Billy arrives & Reva fills him in on what happened with Fran. Reva 
believes Fran is her only chance.

SPAULDING MANSION: Annie arrives & she's very distraught. Alan thinks 
she wants to talk about the kiss, but she can't think about that now. 
Her life is falling apart. Fran told her that she ran into Reva in the 
doctor's office & now Fran's making all kinds of threats. She won't give 
Annie the files unless Annie gives her more money. But Annie doesn't 
have any money. She begs Alan for help & promises to pay him back. Alan 
tells her to stop & calm down. He understands. Annie thinks that means 
he's going to help her, but he says they have to talk.

Alan doesn't want Annie to do anything foolish & get hurt again. He 
kissed her to make a point. He knows that she hasn't been kissed like 
that in a long time. Annie says they have to talk about Fran. Alan asks 
if Annie promised Fran anything. No, says Annie, but Fran is threatening 
to expose her. Annie doesn't know what Fran will do if she doesn't get 
the money. Alan says Fran doesn't know either. He says he'll call Fran & 
scare her. Annie doesn't think that will work.

Alan asks when Annie is going to realize that Josh isn't worth all of 
this. Annie says she can't live without Josh. She begs Alan to help her 
& swears she would do the same for him. Alan asks if Annie has Fran's 
address. She does & wants to go there right now. Alan wants to take care 
of it alone, but Annie convinces him to take her along.

DINER: Levy arrives & asks to talk with Frank in the kitchen. He's not 
happy with the way Frank handled Reva at the doctor's office. He says 
Frank is too close to this case & he suspends Frank "for a few days" 
until he can get his perspective back.

Reva misses Shayne when she looks at Coop. She thinks things are working 
out really well for Jenna & Buzz. She asks if it was difficult for Jenna 
to end her marriage. Jenna says leaving was easy; it was living with 
Jeffrey that was like being in prison. She apologizes to Reva for her 
thoughtless reference to prison, but Reva's not upset. Jenna adds that 
she knows what it's like to be in Reva's shoes. Buzz says no one is 
going to prison.

Buzz calls J over to take a photo of him with Reva, Jenna & Coop. Then 
he calls for musci. He & Jenna start dancing with Coop as Reva watches 
dismally.

SWITZERLAND: Michael says Van's doctor wants her to cut back on the 
experimental drugs because she's been doing so well. She's delighted & 
excited to be able to have some champagne. Michael toasts to a speedy 
recovery for Vanessa. Van feels like she's dreaming. Two months ago she 
couldn't move her arm, or feel a thing. And now she's drinking champagne 
with a very nice young man. She feels drunk already. Michael promises 
not to take advantage of her. Van cries because she's so happy.

REARDON HOUSE: Dinah & Hart stare at the computer. Hart says Matt really 
likes the woman he met, so what's wrong with that. Dinah is worried that 
Matt is falling in love with her. Matt asks what would be so bad about 
that? Dinah asks if he is. Not yet, he says. He has to get to know her 
more, meet her. He hasn't felt this kind of connection since Vanessa. 
The phone rings & Matt goes to answer it.

Hart says he knows how Matt feels, because it's how he feels about 
Dinah. He kisses her & says they are better now because even if they 
argue, they listen to each other. Dinah asks if Hart really did all 
those crazy things he told her about before. Yes, he says, but the 
craziest thing he did was to almost let her get away. She says she would 
never forgive him if he did that. Hart says they have to let Matt live 
his own life. She just wants to go home with him, her real, live man. 
They say good-bye to Matt & head out.

Matt goes to the PC & vows to find Tess. He thinks Vanessa would 
approve.

DINER: Eleni asks Frank what's wrong. He denies that anything is wrong. 
Eleni can see right through him. He admits that he was suspended for 
letting Reva off the hook.

Griffin has to leave & wants Reva to come with him. She says she wants 
to stay until they cut the cake. Her cell-phone rings & she talks to 
Rusty. He says the kids are fine & that he has tracked down Fran's 
address. She's elated & starts to leave. Billy asks what's up & she just 
says that she got good news for Rusty. She runs out the door.

Dahlia tells Buzz that she & Marcus have a present for him to listen to. 
Marcus starts playing his sax & Dahlia sings "Our Love is Here to Stay." 
Frank dims the lights as Buzz & Jenna dance. The music continues as we 
cut to...

REARDON HOUSE: Matt wanders around shirtless with a glass of red wine. 
He stares at the computer.

SWITZERLAND: Van sits on her bed & caresses her laptop. The song ends.

CYBERLAND: Van sips her champagne & smiles when she sees Robert's 
message asking if she's there. Matt just had a feeling she might be on-
line tonight. She says she finds whenever he's thinking about her, she's 
thinking about him. Matt asks if she's ever felt that kind of connection 
before. Once, she answers. They tell each other that they're feeling 
great & enjoying the beautiful night. Matt wishes she were there to join 
him. She tells him she's having her first drink in a long time. Matt 
asks if she's ready for another date. She says she is.

DINER: In the kitchen, Eleni tries to cheer Frank up. She thinks it will 
be nice to have him around for a few days. They kiss deeply, then decide 
they had better go back to the party. 

Buzz starts pouring "Stavros' special blend" for everyone. Frank makes a 
speech about how he & Eleni wanted to surprise Buzz, even though they 
know they could never outdo the King of Surprises. He recalls the steaks 
that Buzz provided at their wedding, and Harley's surprise wedding. Buzz 
says Harley always loved surprises. 

"Well, how about you dad? How do you like a surprise?" asks Harley. Buzz 
turns around & envelops her in a hug. Frank, Eleni, Marina, Jenna & Coop 
all join in a group hug.

FRAN'S HIDEOUT: Alan & Annie enter through an open door. The room is 
deserted. Annie calls out to Fran, but gets no answer. She starts to 
check the rooms, but Alan finds a note. Annie reads it: "You've made my 
life hell long enough. Now you worry for a little while & find out what 
it's like. P.S., the price I quoted is too low. I'll get back to you 
with interest."

Annie wants to go after Fran right away. She thinks Fran is on her way 
to Josh. They have to get to her before it's too late. Alan says it's 
too late. Josh doesn't love her & never will. Annie gets hysterical & 
yells at Alan that he's lying & Josh loves her. She turns around 
swinging & whacks Alan behind the ear with a glass vase. Alan goes down 
amid the sound of broken glass as the screen fades to black.


--Marni (marni@panix.com)



