Going Down the Dusty Road Again
AS THE WORLD TURNS’ Dusty is back, and he and Emily pick up right where they left off: in a very dramatic place. Kelley Menighan Hensley (Emily) is thrilled.
Soap Opera Weekly: So what’s it like working with Grayson McCouch (Dusty) again? Was it just like riding a bike?
Kelley Menighan Hensley: Oh, yeah. I mean, honestly, I think it was the week he left that I was starting to say, “How do we get him back?” He’s a special guy; he brings a special thing to the plate. We just love working together. We have a great rapport. We have a great deal of admiration for each other, and it goes a long way.
Weekly: There’s so much drama tied up in Dusty’s return. So many characters are affected. Lily, Holden, Emily…
Hensley: There’s a lot of resentment. I mean, it’s, “Do I choke you or do I kiss you?” Emily’s like, “How could you have done what you did?” But then when you hear what it was [that motivated Dusty], clearly you forgive the guy. It’s sort of unforgivable [to fake your death], but this is what we do in daytime!
Weekly: Are Em and Dusty going to finally get it together or just stay friends?
Hensley: It’s like this common joke they have with each other, because they refer to each other as friends, and they are friends; they have a very deep friendship. Certainly deeper than most. But I think they are both so afraid of taking that leap — which clearly, nine months ago, Dusty wasn’t. He was chasing her like a puppy dog. And Emily has always said, “I was unattainable, and that’s why you chased me. You wanted me because I wasn’t available: I was with Chris; I kept pushing you away.” He pulled Emily up from the streets when she was doing her hustling and he needed to save her, and that’s when those two truly fell for each other. She doesn’t need saving now. She’s not a wounded bird now. So it’s a tough place to be. Whether they are willing to take that leap and say, “Let’s be more than friends and tell the world,” that’s a whole other story.
Weekly: Plus, Dusty has all this stuff going on with searching for Johnny and Lucy, and being held captive.
Hensley: I don’t know what his agenda is, other than that his focus is finding his son and dealing with that. Everything else is out of reach for him. He’s not emotionally prepared to have anything in his life until he fills this other void that he’s been left with — first his wife died, then there’s his son that he can’t seem to find. He’s a lost soul.
Weekly: So he needs to adjust before taking up seriously with Emily again.
Hensley: Yeah, you’ve gotta give him a break. Emily doesn’t give him much, but he needs a little break.
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