Auntie FreezeIntroIt was early Friday morning, and Ben was trying to calm a crying Ruth. Tucker was rapidly losing patience and Emma was pouting with her fingers in her ears. "Emma take your fingers out of your ears." Ben admonished. "Use your palms to cover them instead." Ben then returned to his younger daughter. "There, there it's going to be all right," as he carried her around the couch.
"Why is this happening?" Tucker whined.
"Look man, Riley needs her sleep. She's got a lot of work and since Ruth is being weened, it's only reasonable that I take care of her sometimes." Just then there was a horrible shriek.
"Well that plan worked out wonderfully." Tucker muttered. Just then a nearly hysterical Riley burst into the apartment. "Ben! I can't find Ruth anywhere!" She dashed across the room looking frantically when she noticed Ruth in Ben's arms. "Ruth, I'm so sorry! I can't find you anywhere and your idiot father has no idea of how serious the situation is."
Ben paused. "Think for a minute. It'll come to you."
Intro Music Act I
"I know," Riley almost whimpered. "But I had to stay up until two in the morning doing legal work. Everything has become so much more rushed after Ross died."
"That is so...weird. I mean I joked all the time about how old he was, but I was just being a jealous jerk. That he should die so suddenly is strange."
It occurred to Riley that it was indeed very strange, and the thought of it alarmed her, when Ruth interrupted her with her cries, and the thought went away. "OK, Ben I'll babysit the kids tonight while you're at the bar." She went back to her apartment and placed Ruth in her crib. "Please, please, please be an angel and don't cry for the next five minutes." She gathered her bills and other correspondence. She noticed one envelope in particular.
"This is odd. This is from Tucker's mother. It's postmarked the day she died. She must have mailed it right before she went to the hospital. It must have been here for months." She opened the envelope and found a card with a brief message. "You are stronger than you think." Riley pondered the message.
Ben was getting the bar ready for opening, when Bonnie came up to him. "It was good that you had that wake for Ross a couple of days ago."
"Uh huh."
"You know, Mrs. Goodman is going to give birth any day now. Her child needs a father."
"Uh oh."
"Come on Ben. If some woman is going to be Emma's stepmother, it's only fair that you be a stepfather as well. You were the last man to sleep with her before her husband. How do you know it's not your child?"
"Because it doesn't take fourteen months to have a baby!"
"Ugh! Your brother would be so much easier to manipulate." As it happens Danny and Angel Crystal Bernard appeared in the bar. "Today's the day! Today you will return to life."
"Wow! What time?"
"It happens...late this evening! In the bar. But time will pass very quickly for you. It'll be no more than fifteen to twenty minutes tops!"
"Great! You said my friends and family would be doing something. Do you know what?"
"No I don't."
"How do I come back to life?"
"I don't know yet."
"How do I start my life again if I've been dead for more than four months?"
"That's a good question. And I don't know the answer."
"Uh, not to be rude. But aren't angels supposed to know more? Isn't there a word-omnippletent?"
"It's omnipotent. You have to understand the afterlife is run on a strict need to know basis."
"Will I remember anything from this?"
"Ah here is something I can tell you. You're not supposed to remember anything. But if you concentrate very hard, you may be able to remember one special thing."
Later that day Ben returned to his apartment after picking Emma up from preschool. "All right Emma. It's your birthday in a few days. I do actually remember it. What do you want?'
"I want a mommy! I want Riley to be my mommy!"
Ben took a deep breath and knelt down to look Emma in the eye. "I'm sorry kiddo. But I can't give you that. And you can't tell anyone else that you want that."
"But don't you want to marry Riley?"
"More than anything. But if you tell Riley this, she'll think I put you up to this, and she'll get angry at me for playing a trick on her. Just be patient." Just then Riley came in with Ruth. "Hi Riley! I was just talking to Emma about her birthday. And I was thinking Emma should have more books."
"That's a great idea Ben. And there's a whole lot of Caldecott Medal books she could look at. Maybe this year she can learn to read..." Just then Bonnie barged in. "Well Ben, you may not be able to appreciate your brother. But I am here to tell you that I am the bigger person and I am going to reconcile with my sister tonight at the bar!"
"There must be a catch." Riley pointed out.
"Yeah, there's some angle. What could it be?" Ben mused.
"Now I remember!" Riley said in glee. "Mrs. Wheeler, you told me yourself that your maternal uncle died last week."
"That's right! Great Uncle Maurice was born a decade before Nana and he amassed a small fortune as a bureaucrat."
"And he must have split his money between you and your sister because your mother is such a horrible person."
"But he must have required you to resolve all your outstanding differences, so that's why you're meeting her tonight!"
"Man we are on fire tonight." And Ben and Riley slapped their hands in triumph.
"Well regardless, you should try and help me Ben." Bonnie said.
"I am not helping you. I have a bar to run." Ben replied as he walked off to the elevator.
Bonnie followed. "So what you're saying is that Tucker can aid me."
"No! Why would you think I said that?"
About ten years earlierIf Victoria Roberta Lyle Manafort had been asked which TV character she most resembled, she would have replied without a doubt Lorelai Gilmore. Not only was she a dead ringer for Lauren Graham, but she was a strong, confident assertive woman with a special relationship with her own daughter. The only way she did not resemble Ms. Gilmore was that she had her only child at a reasonable age, in her late twenties, after being married to her handsome doctor husband for a respectable amount of time. To those less enthused with her, (and her sister Bonnie Wheeler, younger by two years, was foremost among her detractors) Vickie Manafort most resembled Cordelia Chase. Not only was she a dead ringer for Charisma Carpenter, but she was snobbish, rude, selfish and had spent her entire life coasting on her good fortune. So Bonnie was not in a good mood when the Manaforts turned up one evening at her New Jersey home. Riley was visiting as usual, while Danny welcomed his aunt.
"Hi, Aunt Shirley! It's go good to see you!"
"Yes. Likewise." Danny didn't see his aunt wincing, or overhear her when she whispered to her sister, "Why does he call me Shirley?"
"Oh, a few years ago we were arguing, and I said 'Surely you can understand me.' And that's why he thinks it's your name."
"Can't you correct him?"
"Meh, I've got better things to do." Just then Dr. Peter Manafort entered. He was tall, clean-shaven, very handsome and about eight years older than his wife. "Bonnie, you look as beautiful as always. If I wasn't married..." Victoria flinched.
"Where's Regina?" Bonnie asked.
"She's with my mother." Manafort replied. "It's just that the local hospital needs my assistance, and where better to spend the next couple of days than at my in-laws?"
Meanwhile Ben was facing those rare times when he not only had to do his homework, but had to be good at it. He was looking at his grade ten trigonometry text. "Can I help? I'd love to help!" Riley declared.
"Knock yourself out."
"So what's the problem?"
"I actually know the basic principles of trigonometry. But I keep mixing up tans, cosines and sines."
"I think I can help you with that." Just then Danny walked by.
"How's your math homework coming along?" Ben asked. "Oh wait; you have a date with Jessica Feltshank."
"Actually I'm feeling a bit under the weather."
"That's odd. You had yet another perfect game today."
"Yeah, I think it's one of those 24 hour bugs. Or 12 hour bugs. Whatever." He walked away, and once out of sight smiled a big grin. "Oh I am so going to get laid tonight!"
The present at the barTucker was just walking in when Ben warned him. "Dude! Avoid my mother! She's meeting her sister and she's got something planned to muck up your life!"
"Not a problem. I have a hot date with Vanessa and we'll be blowing this place." Tucker paused. "Your aunt is the one who makes your mother really uncomfortable. Watching this could be fun. Do you have a photo of her?" Ben showed one on his phone. "Who's that girl she's with?"
"That's her daughter and my cousin Regina."
"Wow! She's actually hot! Why didn't you tell me about her before?"
"Dude! That's my cousin! And she just turned eighteen like a month ago. Oh crap! There's her mother."
Tucker walked away only to bump into Bonnie, who quickly motioned him to a table while Victoria talked to her nephew. "I've got an important message from Vanessa."
"But we're about to leave on a hot date."
"Actually she says she's cancelling."
"What!? Why!?"
"Well it's probably because I told you are that you were going to be delayed because of venereal disease testing." Tucker was shocked. "Relax. I'll call her back in an hour after you've helped me. I'll tell her it was an April Fool's Day joke."
"It's the middle of August!"
"Look, my relations with Vicky are awkward, but once you hear me you'll realize that none of it was my fault."
Ten years or so in the past.Dr. Manafort smiled at his wife. "Why don't you sit down my dear? I have to go to the washroom." Victoria wasn't too happy. She would have been even less happy had she realized that her husband did not go to the bathroom, but outdoors. On one side there was the Wheeler treehouse. Manafort was on the other side. He took out his cell phone. "The old ball and chain doesn't suspect a thing. She thinks I came here to do medical work and not to hook up with you. In fact, if you can arrange it, I could be with you tonight."
Bonnie Wheeler was proud of many things in her life. One of those things was she had managed to quit smoking, which at this time she had almost succeeded in doing. She had just snuck out to take her first cigarette in three days. Dr. Manafort didn't hear her when he hung up his phone.
"That son of a bitch!" she whispered, dropping her cigarette.
Act 2 The present at the bar
"Happy to see you as always Aunt Victoria." Ben replied.
"Clearly it gets worse with every generation. As Mom says, the rotten apple doesn't fall far from the rotten tree. The man who meets Emma is going to face a world of pain."
Ben was so angry he crushed the glass he was drying. With considerable restraint, he managed to clean it up. "Perhaps if you actually met Emma, you'd reconsider your opinions."
Meanwhile Bonnie had explained her side of the story to Tucker. "You know Mrs. Wheeler I actually can believe that. I've known your sons long enough that this half-baked plan is exactly what you would try."
"Then you realize I would never be the person try to steal my sister's husband!"
"Oh you would totally be that person! I mean there's your best friend's husband. Your current husband's father. My own father!"
Just then Danny appeared with Angel Crystal Bernard. "So we're at the bar again! And I'll be alive soon! Wow, there's Aunt Shirley! Everybody's here! Except Riley."
"Don't worry. She'll be in your arms when you're alive."
"I can't wait to see her."
About ten years earlier"I SO hope Riley doesn't see me. Or Ben. Or Mom. I'm so glad Dad isn't here." Danny was in the hall and he got some condoms from his secret hiding place under the potted plants. "This is going to be great!"
"Danny?" Victoria asked.
"Aunt Shirley! You're probably wondering what I'm doing with these condoms!"
"I can guess."
"Well it has nothing to do with sleeping with my girlfriend's sister!"
Victoria sighed. "You're really bad at this lying thing, aren't you?'
Danny dashed away. He carefully avoided Dr. Manafort coming back in the house, but didn't notice his mother bumping into Manafort. "I'm sorry, so clumsy of me." As they separated Bonnie smiled to herself as she pocketed Manafort's phone. "You are so going down."
Danny was in his bedroom and about to sneak out the window. "Danny? I thought you were sick." Ben wondered.
"Ben! Aren't you supposed to be studying?"
"We're taking a break. Hey is that Josie Feltshank in our treehouse?"
"Omigod! You can't tell anyone about this!"
"Aren't you dating her sister?"
"I never said we were exclusive!"
"Well, it's good that Jessica knows that."
"Please Ben! Don't tell anyone. Especially Riley!"
"Why Riley in particular?"
"No reason. But please don't tell her. Or anyone else."
"Don't worry, I got your back. Bros before hos. Rather literally in this case."
"Ben! You shouldn't refer to women like that!"
"You're very self-righteous for someone about to cheat on his girlfriend."
"Gee thanks!"
"Danny, that wasn't a compli-, oh never mind."
The present at the bar"You could use a compliment bartender."
Ben looked up and noticed a very attractive brunette looking, arguably leering, at him. He could not help but stare at her breasts since not only were they fairly large, but her sleeveless ensemble strongly emphasized her cleavage. He quickly returned to the glass he was drying.
"I was bet twenty dollars that I could get your phone number."
"Sucks that you have to shell out money on a Friday evening."
"I think you'll change your mind when we wake up the next morning."
"I'm taken."
"Well so am I. But that doesn't mean we can't fool around for one night."
"Not interested."
"I don't think you fully appreciate what I can do for you. Do you have any maraschino cherries?"
"There are three cocktails that serve them. If you want any you'll have to pay."
The brunette bristled, but was not deterred. "Could I borrow that deck of cards that you have other there for a few seconds?"
As it happened Danny was looking elsewhere. "I wonder what Mom and Aunt Shirley are talking about."
Tucker winced as the two sisters by him argued. "Still the irresponsible slut you've always been." Victoria said icily.
"Look, I know we haven't been on the best of terms, but we can be better than this." Bonnie replied.
"We? I am not the guilty party here. I am the good sister who has tried to put the past behind us, and then you come along and stab me in the back!"
"Aside from that one time with your husband..."
"One time?! One Time?!"
"...what have I done recently to hurt you?"
"Bonnie, you just don't get it. It's not about me! Mom told me about how you broke your heart and made your children hate her."
"Mom, as usual, is not being accurate."
"Oh right. You've never told your sons about your first husband."
"Well I...OK, that's actually true."
"What?" Tucker gasped. "What happened?"
"Tucker shut up."
"Mom also told me that you don't know for sure who the father of either your two children are."
Bonnie was shocked. "That is a complete and total lie."
"So you say. Well your words mean nothing Bonnie. I will always choose mother over you." Just then Victoria's phone rang. "It's Regina. You know the one child of us who is actually good and intelligent and not an idiot. And isn't trying to take their sibling's true love behind their backs." Victoria walked away to talk to her daughter in private.
About ten years earlier"Has anyone seen where my phone went to?" Dr. Manafort asked.
He was walking near Bonnie and her husband's bedroom, when he heard Bonnie whisper from inside it. "Close the door behind you."
He did and Bonnie smiled at him. "I overheard your planned rendezvous, and I thought, why go to all that trouble, when you can have it with me." Manafort smiled broadly, but his eyes showed a certain cunning.
Meanwhile Riley had taken a pop from the kitchen. Then she reconsidered, and got some cheese as well. Then she reconsidered again, and looked deep inside in the fridge. "Could this be cake?" A closer look revealed it was a spinach casserole. "Close enough." She took a plate, and also added an orange and a chocolate bar. As she walked back to where Ben was studying Victoria waylaid her.
"You're the nitwit who's in love with the lazy nephew."
"What? That is so…what?"
"Why does everyone think they can lie to me?"
"Mrs. Manafort. Can I ask you a personal question? Not that I'm remotely interested in Ben. But do you think Ben would notice me if I lost weight?"
"I would think boys a lot more interesting than my slacker nephew would notice you if you did. Actually, since you're the closest person here to an objective observer..."
Two minutes later Victoria was still commiserating "...OK, so we're not the best of sisters, and haven't been ever since Bonnie got pregnant with Danny... I was in college at the time and Bonnie was always angry at me for taking Mom's side. But she doesn't tell you the other side, that for the previous three years Mom always supported Bonnie. Do you know how awkward it is to have your mother point out that your kid sister's boobs are already larger than yours? And so when Mom told me that I was the good daughter, you don't know what it meant to be finally appreciated. You'd understand, your mother shamelessly prefers your little sister to you..." But actually Riley didn't understand because she had tactfully, stealthily and successfully sneaked away from Victoria.
The present at the bar"...I've already told you that I wasn't trying to seduce Peter. The idea was to catch him with his pants down and show him for the dirtbag he was. How was I supposed to know that he would try to seduce me and I would be especially vulnerable because my husband was gay? Look if I had to be totally honest, the problem was that I had a bit of a crush on him. I mean he was rich, handsome, and all right I envied Victoria for her success. Do you understand Tucker?"
"Actually I've spent the last two minutes getting some drinks. Here's yours."
Looking at them from a distance Danny was curious. "Wow! I haven't had a drink in months. You don't think wanting one would prevent me from coming back to life?"
"Absolutely not," Angel Crystal Bernard reassured him.
Meanwhile the brunette was smiling very smugly at Ben."Well what do you think?"
"I have to agree. Your trick with the cards is considerably more sexy that what that girl did with the cherry stem on Twin Peaks."
"So are you interested?"
"Not remotely." Ben paused. "This is a bar. We sell drinks, not the bartender." The brunette was very irritated and left in a huff. Just outside it she said. "Here's your twenty bucks. That guy is gayer than a warehouse full of fruitcakes."
"Thank you," Riley replied, as she pocketed the money.
Act 3
About ten years earlier
"OK, let's see if those tips helped." Ben checked his textbook to see if he had the right answer. "What do you know? I got it right!"
"I knew you could do it!" Riley beamed. "All you needed was to make an effort." She paused. "In fact, there's nothing you can't do if you really try hard enough."
"Uh-huh," said Ben as he looked at the next problem. He didn't notice that Riley was staring at him with ardent concentration. Suddenly she lunged at him across the table to kiss him at the exact moment that the phone rang and Ben turned away to answer it. "Jessica Feltshank! What a surprise!"
At that moment Bonnie realized that her plan to expose her brother-in-law's womanizing was going wrong. The first sign was when he made a flirtatious pass at her, and she no longer had his phone. 'You took your phone back."
"Why wouldn't I? It's my phone."
"Yes, of course. It certainly wasn't because I was hoping to use it to record you."
Manafort twirled Bonnie around and when she stopped spinning she grasped that he had removed her skirt. "Uh-oh. Umm, this is getting out of hand."
"Bonnie, I know you overheard my liaison. I know you're trying to expose me. I also know that your husband isn't satisfying you." Then Manafort kissed her below her shoulder, the kind Ray Wheeler hadn't tried to give her for a decade. Bonnie gasped in pleasure.
The present at the bar
"So Tucker, you've got some clever trick to make up with Vicky." Bonnie pleaded.
"Actually Mrs. Wheeler, I do." Tucker answered. "You apologize. You admit you envied your sister for her marriage. You admit you were wrong."
"That's lame. I mean Riley or even Ben could have told me to do that. Why did I let you help me if that's all you were going to say?"
"You didn't let me help you. You forced me to help you by lying to my girlfriend about venereal disease."
"No I didn't. I lied to you about calling her."
"What?!"
"At least I think I did. I mean I was waiting here for some time and I had a few drinks. But I'm 80% sure that I did not tell Vanessa you may have syphilis."
Danny was watching from a distance, when Angel Crystal Bernard tapped him on the shoulder. "Danny it's time."
"Now now? As in this very instant?"
"Close your eyes Danny. And when you open them again, you will be fully alive. In the flesh to live out your earthly life to its normal span."
Danny closed his eyes, and as he did so he faded away. Angel Crystal Bernard smiled. "My work here is done."
Ben was still working at the bar, when he felt a tap on his shoulder.
"Riley! What are you doing here? Who's watching our children?"
"Calm down. Mrs. Gorsky is looking after them for a few minutes."
"Mrs. Gorsky who's lived in the apartment to the right of mine for the entire time I've been there and who I've otherwise never mentioned?"
"The same. Ben we need to talk. There's been...a certain ambiguity in our relationship. There's a certain…vagueness. We think we have very clear boundaries and responsibilities in how we interact and raise Ruth. It's something we need to be clearer about. Did I mention there was a certain ambiguity in our relationship? I think there needs to be, how should I put it, a synergy in our conduct. It's a matter of considerable complexity..."
An observer might have wondered how long Riley was going to talk like this. Some might have thought she was stuck in a loop. But that's not what Ben thought. "This isn't a trick! This isn't a trap! You're not here to tell me you're leaving and giving me nothing but an address to send child support checks to. You're in love with me. No, you love me!" And immediately he reached out and embraced her. Riley was surprised, but soon returned his kiss and embraced him back. After a minute they came up for air.
"Yes, I do love you." And she smiled.
Ben sat down on a bar stool. "All right. Let me think. We should go on a date. Next week is Emma's birthday, so we have to be there for that. You're still playing classical music for Ruth, and there's all sorts of places in the city where you can see them. The local library has all sorts of events which we can take both Ruth and Emma to. Actually, I have been looking for movies you might actually like. Films that don't have explosions. There's this retrospective in a week or two: what do you think of Barbara Stanwyck?"
Riley nodded. "Those are all good ideas Ben. But what I was thinking is that we return home." She took a breath. "And have sex."
Ben was startled. "Yes. Uh-huh. Yes that's an extremely good idea. Yes it is." And they embraced each other again. A few seconds later, Riley stuck her hand into one of Ben's pockets and took out his wallet.
"You know that you actually make more money than me."
"Just checking to make sure we have what we need for tonight." Riley smiled. But as it wasn't there, she became angry. "Seriously?! SERIOUSLY?! After two unplanned pregnancies!?"
"Riley, I'm sorry! I got some condoms months ago for Elle, but then I threw them out a couple of weeks ago when they expired. And that was kind of depressing, and I thought, well not only could it take months for you to get over Danny, but I'll have at least a week's notice before anything actually happens."
Riley sighed. "No, you do have a point. Does the ladies' washroom condom dispenser work?"
"Hey first thing I learned about running a bar. Make sure the bathrooms are absolutely perfect."
"All right. I'm going to get some condoms. And I will meet you at your apartment."
About ten years earlier
Victoria was having a drink and looked out a window. "Why do the boys still have a treehouse?" But then she realized what Danny and Josie Feltshank were doing and spit out her wine.
Meanwhile Ben was still talking on the phone to Jessica Feltshank. "No, Danny is sick. I think it's something he ate. No, I haven't seen your sister here. No, I have no idea why you would think she was here." Unfortunately for Ben, Victoria caught the tail end of that conversation. "What is the matter with you? Both of you boys are lying to some innocent young girl. Your mother would be ashamed of you!" And she yanked him by the ear while Riley picked herself up from the floor.
Just then Bonnie broke herself off from Peter Manafort. "No! This is wrong!" She looked at herself. "Oh. You found a way to unbutton my shirt. But you are not getting away with this! I'm going to tell Vicky about your womanizing the next time I see her!" Just then Victoria made a cursory knock on the door, but then opened it before Bonnie could do anything. Still dragging Ben with her, she declared, "Your sons are behaving outrageously! This son here..." and then she saw Bonnie and her husband.
"Vicky, this isn't what it looks like," Bonnie pleaded. Just then, Manafort's pants dropped to the floor.
The present at the bar
Tucker had gotten Bonnie and Victoria to sit down again. "How was Regina?" Bonnie asked.
"She's fine. She's going to Princeton in the fall. And it's actually very considerate of her to call her mother on a Friday evening. Her boring old mother. Who nobody likes. Who nobody cares for..." and just then Victoria started crying.
"Hey, what's wrong?" And Bonnie reached out to console her.
"We had an argument! She doesn't love me anymore! The one person who I thought truly loved me looks down at me! And it's all my fault. Regina likes Fred Astaire. And I'm just pretending to like old movies so I'll seem witty and sophisticated. I'm a phony!" And she resumed crying.
"I think this is larger than just a minor disagreement." Tucker noted.
"Look, me and Ben have fights all the time. And I'd be so pissed if he hooked up with Riley again. But we know that we love each other."
Victoria shook her head. "Look. I'm nearly 50..."
"But..but..but..." Bonnie interrupted. "Don't put it that way. Say you're 46 and two years."
"...who's going to marry me? Peter's remarried to someone younger than Ben. Who's going to look twice at me?"
"Don't be silly Vicky. Plenty of men would like you. I'm sure Bob Perrin would marry you, once he divorces that harridan Jennifer."
"Mrs. Wheeler!" Tucker interrupted. "What about my Dad?"
"What about him?"
"Well he's rich, he's handsome, he's single, and most important, he's not currently married to Riley's Mom! Wouldn't he be a much better choice?"
"Really? I don't think he and Vicky have that much in common."
"They have the exact same profession!"
Just then Bonnie's phone rang. It was Brad, and all three could see him. "Hi Bon-Bon! The meeting in Westchester ran late, but I'm just about to take the train back to the city. See you in a couple of hours."
"Can't wait to see you!" And Bonnie hung up.
"Your husband's very handsome," Victoria noted.
"He is indeed."
"I hope you're very happy."
"Well, thanks Vicky. I...I..." Bonnie struggled to find the words. "What I'm trying to say is...is..." But just then more than forty years of slights and condescending behavior returned to her memory. "...I beat you! Yes, I win, you lose!" to a shocked Vicky and Tucker.
Coda
Riley was outside carrying half a dozen condoms and was trying to find a way to put them in her purse. Then she realized she didn't have to. Why should she care what other people thought? She was going to have sex with the man she loved. She noticed Ben a block or so ahead, having foisted his duties for the rest of the evening on someone else. They smiled at each other, and Riley was about to rush up to meet him. But out of the corner of her eye she noticed Victoria leaving the bar, crying and very distraught. She was so distraught she didn't bother to notice the traffic as she jaywalked across the street. She certainly didn't see the large truck that was bearing down on her.
"Mrs. Manafort!" But Victoria didn't notice either her or the honked horn. Acting from pure instinct, Riley dashed into the street and successfully pushed Ben's aunt out of harm's way. Victoria found herself, started but safe, on the opposite street.
Riley wasn't so lucky...
TV Guide Preview 6.17 "Tear Diary"Excerpts from Riley's diary are read, showing her alternating feelings for Danny and Ben. Bonnie gives Emma a very special birthday gift. Ben becomes very interested in the result of a charity hockey game.
TV Guide Preview 6.18 "One Down, Two to Go."
Bonnie finds herself having a meeting with Riley's boss. Tucker has a plan to get ahead in the entertainment business and impress Vanessa, and it involves Danny. Ben has a desperate plan to get Riley back.