Chelsea walks into Crimson Lights and greets Summer, who feels like she hasn’t seen her in ages. They go over Chelsea taking time off for personal stuff. She says the worst is behind her but she still doesn’t want to work at Marchetti — she’s working on something new. Summer asks for a hint but Chelsea can’t tell her right now other than it has nothing to do with fashion. They chat about how personal lives can impinge on their work and Chelsea learns Summer fired Phyllis. Work life has improved but it’s taken a toll personally. Chelsea warns her to be careful. Summer wishes her luck on her new path. As Chelsea walks off, Summer takes a call from work. Phyllis listens from the patio and learns that Diane is away from Jabot.
Phyllis pretends to be on a call as she walks into the coffee house and remarks on how crazy it is to run into Summer there. Summer points out she comes there a couple of times a day. Phyllis rambles about work/life balance and Summer snarks at her as Chelsea watches from a booth.
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At Society, Billy runs into Ashley, who invites him to sit down. He asks why she came back from Paris so quickly. He heard rumors she’s been in contact with Tucker and asks, “What’s going on there? Are you playing an angle?” She asks why she’d be doing that. Billy says, “Because he’s Tucker McCall. There’s no other reason to interact with him.” Billy thinks Ashley is the smartest person he knows, but when it comes to matters of the heart, that intelligence goes out the window. Ashley thinks that’s true of Jack reuniting with Diane and reminds Billy he advocated for giving her a second chance. Doesn’t he think Tucker deserves the same? Billy doesn’t believe McCall will ever change. Ashley doesn’t think he’s in a position to judge him. Billy gawps, “You have feelings for him again, don’t you? Have you not learned anything?!”
Ashley tells Billy to get over it and her brother remarks that Jack must not love her entanglement. Ashley snarks that Jack has no credibility thanks to moving Diane in. Billy notes she could always move out. He’s decided to let Jack makes his own decisions; who is he to judge? Ashley calls him an ass and a chauvinist for giving their brother a pass. “Your double standard is disgusting and egregious.” Billy feels she may have a point; he’s not in a place to judge anyone else’s affairs. Ashley guesses he’s having an affair already and can’t wait until he goes public with it so she can judge the hell out of it. Billy concedes that whatever she has going on with that scheming megalomaniac, it’s none of his business.
Devon opens his door to Tucker and thanks him for coming so quickly. Tucker knows it wasn’t easy for him to reach out. Devon makes it clear it’s a business discussion and confronts him about taking his offer to sell McCall to Newman first. Clearly, the notion that this is all about his son taking on his legacy was a lie. Tucker explains that at that point, Newman was prepared to take on his debt, which he wouldn’t have asked Devon to do. A beneficiary has since come in and now Devon can buy it for pennies on the dollar. Devon worries he’s trying to unload it on a “sucker”, which happens to be him. Tucker turns serious as he talks about how special his company is to him. It’s not something he’d ever just dump on someone. Devon says if he’s telling the truth, he’s still willing to consider buying it. It’s a tempting offer.
Tucker and Devon get to discussing the strengths of McCall Unlimited. Devon thinks he’s right that music and entertainment are the biggest assets. They both say, “good infrastructure” at the same time. Devon would like to take a look at what he has and see how the divisions could work together. He questions a trucking company. Tucker says one of their trucks cut him off on the highway so he bought the company and fired the driver. Devon would use the trucking company for artists when they go on tours. Tucker finds this brilliant and tells his son, “Look, we’re working well together already.”
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Tucker tells Devon he has faith they can find solid ground and suggests he buy it and hire him to work for him. “Who knows this company better than me?” Devon isn’t convinced. Tucker says he could be his advisor. Devon smirks at the idea that his father is ready to sell him the company and take a smaller role to salvage their relationship. Tucker confirms, “Absolutely.”
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At Crimson Lights, Phyllis wants to bring something by the house for Harrison and fishes to find out where Jack and Diane went on their trip. Summer wishes she’d stop using Harrison in her plots against Diane and questions if she actually bought the boy a gift. Even if she knew where Jack and Diane were, she wouldn’t tell her. “Leave her alone already!” As Summer walks out, Chelsea watches Phyllis deflate.
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At Society, Ashley can’t believe Jack asked Billy to come back to Jabot and he’s considering it — it’s always been a disaster. If he believes there’s hope for him, then he must think there’s hope for Tucker. Billy concedes that Tucker may prove him wrong, and relays that his new relationship has helped him get his priorities straight. He wants to work with his family at the company their father built. Ashley says, “It sounds like you’re taking the job.” Billy dials Jack and leaves him a voicemail saying he wants to talk about his proposal.
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At the cabin, Diane, in a silk bathrobe, calls out, “Jack?” She looks out the back door and the front. “Jack? Where are you?” She finds a note on the table saying he’s gone to find the best dinner in a 50-mile radius and a great bottle of wine.
Diane lays down on the sofa and dreams about being in her wedding dress in the cabin. Kyle arrives and says Jack is attending to last-minute details. Diane gushes about how happy she is and her son says she’s glowing. They agree it’s a dream come true. Kyle gives her a necklace from his father and helps her put it on. They’re embracing when Summer walks in and asks for a word with the bride.
Kyle leaves them and Summer tells Diane she’s become the mother to her that Phyllis could never be. Diane tells Summer to call her mom. They’re hugging when Traci arrives with champagne to taste the wedding. Summer exits and Traci pours the bubbly as the fantasy continues. Traci admires Diane’s necklace and tells her she’s going to write a novel about her and Jack’s romance — it will also be made into a movie called The Return of the Perfect Woman. They toast as Ashley walks in and intones, “Not so fast.”
As Diane’s dream goes wild, Ashley tells her she has nothing but love in her heart. She woke up and realized Diane had really changed. She’s so sorry for making her life miserable. Diane gushes, “We’re going to be sisters!” as they embrace. Ashley tells Diane she’s taught her so much about what it means to grow and change and become a better person. Diane asks Ashley to be her maid of honor and she accepts. Ashley, Diane, and Traci toast. The Abbott sisters let Diane know that her horse-drawn carriage will be arriving soon. As the fantasy continues, Traci and Ashley disappear and the necklace changes. She wonders if it’s Nikki. A knock comes at the door — she thinks it’s Jack but no one is there. When she re-enters the cabin, Jeremy Stark is waiting. In the present, Diane startles on the sofa.
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Billy finds Chelsea in her apartment working on a project and not wanting to interrupt the flow. She saw something that triggered about twenty ideas. Chelsea had been thinking about the game in too limited a way — the world is full of pain and conflict. Families don’t know how to navigate it. “The world is full of complicated human interaction.” She thinks the game can help people how to figure things out. The better the player becomes at the interpersonal stuff, the easier the game will become. She’s really excited, and grateful to Daniel, and wants to change people’s lives. Billy thinks this is great and she’ll crush it. Talk turns to his next endeavor and he reveals he’s made the decision to bring fresh new ideas to Jabot. He was at Chancellor to support Lily and this feels different. Chelsea is chuffed to see him so enthusiastic about something.
Phyllis enters the Grand Phoenix and spots Kyle at the bar. She asks if he’s texting Summer. Kyle says no. Phyllis is glad her daughter didn’t get on the phone to tell him she’s a monster. Kyle quips that she might think it, but she’d never say it. He tells Phyllis his wife just needs some time. Phyllis feels hopeless. Kyle has to get to the office and walks out. Phyllis notices he left his phone and picks it up. She spies a delivery notification to the Abbott cabin on the screen. Phyllis picks up her phone and dials.
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At the cabin, Diane answers the phone. Phyllis says nothing and Diane asks, “Jeremy, is that you?” Phyllis disconnects.
At the hotel, Phyllis texts Jeremy, “I found them.”
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Next on The Young and the Restless: Nikki makes a shocking announcement, Summer strategizes against Sally, and Billy receives unexpected news.
Such fun! Look back on soaps’ 45 best weddings of all time in the photo gallery at the end of this article.
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