http://santabarbara-online.com/GeneriqueDebutUS.rm

(EXT shot: the beach, then panning to the exterior of Mason & Julia's home)

---Mason is stunned to see Pamela standing in the doorway before him. She greets him warmly, with a kiss on the cheek & a hug. Mason is unresponsive at first, but his emotions get the best of him and he embraces his mother.

"Mother, what on earth are you doing here?"

"If I haven't been misinformed, I believe there is a wedding today...."

Mason interrupts her, telling her she can't possibly want to go to the wedding. Plus, he questions whether she's been invited, which of course she hasn't.

"An oversight, I'm sure. I highly doubt that Ted would have imagined in his wildest dreams that I'd travel all this way from London for his & Lily's special day. But.....I missed my son so much and the thoughts of being with him at this celebration, watching him walk down the aisle all dressed up..... I couldn't resist. Not to mention my granddaughter, who I'm dying to see. Where are Julia & Samantha anyway?"

Mason explains that they are at Eden's getting ready for the wedding; Pamela jumps on this and suggest they go over and see them. Mason tells her they'll be doing no such thing until she explains the real reason she's in town. Pamela is insulted by what her son is suggesting. He then reminds of her of the last time she crashed a Capwell celebration and the resulting chaos. She's further hurt when Mason tells her in no uncertain terms that she will not be spoiling his brother's day. Pamela continues to insist that she's not there to spoil anything or cause any sort of trouble. She emphatically states that she is there strictly for her son & not to hurt CC or Sophia.

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions, Mother. Whether you're setting out to cause a commotion or not is immaterial. The fact is that if you show up at that church, UNINVITED, that is exactly what is going to happen. I'll tell you something Mother, I'm not going to let that happen. If I have to sit here with you through the entire ceremony, watching you like a three year old, then that's exactly what I'll do."

Pamela softens, seeing the desperation in her son's eyes. She apologizes for just showing up without calling, and decides it would be best for her to cut her trip short and return to London. Mason tells her that he's onto the motherly guilt trip she's laying on him but obviously he doesn't want her to just leave. He explains that he wants to spend time with her & wants her to be able to see Julia and Samantha. Pamela says that's all she wants too.

"Alright mother. The wedding is in a couple of hours. Between the wedding & the reception, there will be some time that we can come home & spend some time with you. I need to be able to trust you......Promise me......Forget that- Swear to me on my life that you will not under any circumstances show up at that church."

"Mason, darling, I swear on your life you won't be seeing me at that church......."

Mason interrupts, "Or at Eden's....."

"Or at Eden's. Now go to your brother's wedding and stand up for him. Make me proud."

With that, Mason gives her a kiss & embrace good-bye, and heads toward the door. As he's leaving, he shoots her a look.....

"I know a son's guilt trip when I see it. I WON'T BE THERE! Now go"

Mason smiles at her and she smiles back. He leaves, at which point a devious look takes over Pamela's face.

"Now the reception, dear, is a whole other ballgame....."

---Over at the Blake house, Lily is unable to contain her excitement in front of Gina. Though she thought she'd be nervous, as she has been for weeks, Lily tells her mother she's surprisingly calm and ready to marry Ted. Gina beams and tells Lily that if Lily's happy, she's happy. Just then, Keith arrives. Gina points out how svelte he looks in his tux. He inquires as to why she isn't dressed yet as well. She explains that there were some last-minute alterations that had to be made on her gown, so she's picking it up now. Keith tells her to go ahead & he'll stay with Lily. Lily insists that they both go- she doesn't want to chance anything going wrong on her wedding day. They agree and head out, but not before Gina kisses her daughter good-bye, still beaming.

(EXT shot: the Capwell house)

---Ted walks down the Capwell staircase as Sophia looks on from below. She remarks on how handsome and grown up her baby looks in his tux on his wedding day. Ted reminds her that he's no longer her 'baby', which Sophia retorts he will always be. She tells him how proud she is of him and how thrilled she is in his choosing someone of Lily's character as his wife. She says she looks forward to welcoming her to the family today.

"Will we be rolling out the Welcome Wagon for Gina as well?" CC says, surprising them as he's descending from the staircase approaching.

When Ted & Sophia begin to get defensive, CC assures them that he's only kidding and is very proud of his son. CC begins talking about Warren's article again, but Sophia cuts him off immediately, reminding him of his promise to not discuss business for the entire day. Rosa then enters.

"Oh Rosa, you look beautiful"

"Thank you Sophia. I'm honored that you invited me Ted"

"Of course, Rosa" he responds, "we wouldn't have it without you."

"Well I appreciate that very much Ted. You know I look at you today and I remember a young boy many years ago, thrilled playing with his new train set"

"As if it were yesterday" Sophia chimes in.

CC interruptingly says, "You know, where in the HELL is Mason? He was supposed to be here almost an hour ago- He hasn't even called. He's Ted's best man for crying out loud, can he never be relied on for anything?"

"My ears must have been ringing" Mason says as he enters the front door.

"Son, where in the hell have you been? It's your brother's damn wedding day for God's sakes and all he...."

Sophia loudly interrupts "ENOUGH! CC Capwell, for one day, you are going to behave yourself or so help me....... Mason, you look very handsome"

"Thank you, Sophia"

CC frets that they had better get going, but Mason tells them to go ahead- that he'd like some time alone with Ted before they head to the church. When CC protests, Sophia literally shuts his mouth & she and Rosa escort him out the door. After they leave, Mason informs Ted that Pamela is in town. Ted goes ballistic, saying that she'd better not show up & ruin the day. Ted realizes his disrespect toward Mason's mother and apologizes. He tells Mason that in a perfect world, he'd be more than happy to have Pamela at the wedding, but since they live within the Capwell world, it just wouldn't work. Mason agrees and assures him that Pamela will not be an issue- he's handled it. When Ted asks where she is, Mason informs him she's at his house. Ted asks Mason how he can be so sure that she won't crash the ceremony and Mason tells him that he made her swear on his life that she wouldn't show up & cause trouble. He says that he lied & told her there would be time between the ceremony and the reception that he would be able to spend with her. About more pressing matters, Mason asks Ted how he's feeling about the day. Ted claims to be elated and not nervous at all, but Mason can tell that is not the case. He questions whether Ted is sure he wants to marry her.

"Of course I do Mason. Lily is perfect- she's my best friend, and the perfect person to spend the rest of my life with. She's my companion. I love her"

"Ahh, but are you IN love with her? That, Theodore, is the question"

"Of course I am. Would I be marrying her otherwise?"

Mason shoots him a look and Ted stares right back at his brother. He then notices the time & suggests they get going, since he doesn't want to be late for his own wedding.

---Gina & Keith arrive at the bridal boutique and encounter Robin, the dutiful employee. When Gina asks for her gown, Robin stumbles, saying there's been a bit of a mishap and unfortunately, the gown is ruined. Gina INSISTS that she get it and Robin comes back with the gown, which is a blinding shade of fuscia (sp?). Gina is enraged when Robin asks if she'd like to keep the dress as is.

"You're joking, right? This is my daughter's wedding we're talking about here- you think I'm going to show up looking like Glenda the Good Witch"

"Oh Ms Blake, it's not THAT bad, I think it would be quite becoming on you"

"BECOMING? I'll show you BECOMING you twit..." Gina lunges at her and Keith holds her back. Gina struggles to go after the poor clerk, who is visibly shaken.

"I wish there were something more I could do?"

"Oh you're going to do something more Rhonda."

"It's Robin"

"I don't care what your name is, all I care about is you marching your perky little behind out here and sift through these rags, and help me find something appropriate"

As she's saying it, a gorgeous blue gown catches her eye. When Gina asks about it, Robin tells her that it was to be the mother of the groom's dress, but didn't fit properly. Gina presses it against her, noticing it would fit quite nicely on her frame. She wonders aloud how on earth Sophia could ever think she could pull off a dress like that and Keith agrees. Robin tries to get a word in edgewise, but Gina goes on about how it would just kill Sophia for Gina to show up looking like a million bucks in the dress Sophia was originally going to wear. She & Keith relish the thought & he informs the clerk they'll take it. Robin again protests, insisting it's the mother of the groom's dress.....

"WAS her dress" Gina corrects "but as you said, poor, frumpy Sophia just couldn't manage to squeeze herself into this. Lucky for me, it will fit my body like a glove,"

Before Robin can say anything else, Gina & Keith are out the door, with the dress.

---Lily looks at herself in the mirror, dressed in her wedding gown. "Mrs Ted Capwell" she says to herself, "I like the ring of that." Just then, she hears the roar of a motorcycle in the driveway. She walks to the door and is floored to see Rafe Castillo standing there, helmet in hand. Tears well in Rafe's eyes, as he takes in Lily dressed in her wedding gown. He explains that he saw the wedding announcement and couldn't let her go through with it. He didn't want to come in & ruin her life, but he wouldn't have been able to live with himself if he didn't see her, at least try to get through to her while he still had the chance. Lily reminds him that he's married now with a child & they have no future together. Rafe tells him of Lisa's deception and Lily tells him how horrible that is what Lisa did to him. Rafe says that had Lisa never come into their lives, he'd be married to Lily right now.

"But she did Rafe. Lisa did happen. The child didn't turn out to be yours, I understand that. But it doesn't change the fact that you slept with her in the first place"

Rafe agrees and tells her she can't possibly understand the guilt he's felt for years. He says that he was still so ashamed and humiliated and couldn't face Lily, but the love he had for her never went a day. He tells her that he hasn't been able to be with a woman, any woman, because in his heart, he knew he'd always be cheating with Lily. He tells her he'll do anything to have her back, walk on firey coals, let her hit him repeatedly so she can hurt him much like he hurt her. Lily, with tears in her eyes, tells him that she's also loved him still for all this time and that he'll always have a piece of her heart. Rafe takes that to mean that she's going to call off the wedding and picks her up, twirls her around, and passionately kisses her. She tries not to at first, but her emotions take over & Lily kisses him back. She stops herself though and tells Rafe he's not understanding her. She tells him that it's too late for them, that any chance they had to be together he blew years ago. She informs him that Ted is her future and that she loves him.

"I'm marrying Ted today Rafe and that's all there is to it."

"I can't believe you've given up on us. I won't believe it"

"Well you're going to have to accept it Rafe. You can't just show up here on your motorcycle after not hearing from you for years & expect me to just welcome you back into my life and to hell with everyone and everything else. It doesn't work that way"

Lily tearfully tells him that she's made her choice, and she made up her mind long ago.

"I don't believe you love him. Not the way you loved me"

Lily concurs that her relationship with Ted is different from her relationship with Rafe. Ted stabilizes her, he makes her feel safe. She doesn't worry about him betraying her or knocking up a woman that she detests. With tears in her eyes, she tells Rafe to leave & asks him not to show up the wedding, telling him that no matter what he does to disrupt it, it's going to happen.

"Okay, Lily, I'll go.... for now. But don't think I'm giving up. Not by a longshot"

He takes off on his motorcycle as Gina & Keith are pulling up. They see Lily is crying, her makeup smeared. Gina asked what on earth was going on & Lily tells her Rafe was there. When Gina starts getting on to Lily about Rafe, going on about what he did to her & the nerve he had showing up there, Lily asks her to stop. She tells her that he's gone, that it's over for them for good. She's marrying Ted Capwell today and nothing is going to stop her. They walk inside and Lily catches a glimpse of herself in the mirror....

"Oh mom, I'm a mess. I can't walk into that church looking like this, my eyes are red now & swollen, and I absolutely don't want Ted or his family thinking I've been crying like a basket case.

"Not to worry Lily. Your mom still has few tricks left in her. Let's go upstairs & get you & I fixed up, shall we?"

Lily takes her arm, and they head out. Keith gives Gina a wink & she responds. They exit, and Keith, now alone says, "Oh you're going to be a Capwell after today Lily. And you, your mother, and I are going to take the Capwells for all they're worth" He smirks and bursts into gleeful laughter.

THE END.........for today.............

SNEAK PEAK AT TOMORROW- for those of you who have been following each day, I want to warn you that tomorrow is going to be BIG! Of course there's the wedding, but more importantly........... A MAJOR CHARACTER, so far unannounced, will be returning to the canvas. I'll tell you this - the town of Santa Barbara will NEVER BE THE SAME!!!!!!

Oh, and it will be posted much earlier in the day. Again, Sorry about this one being so late