Before Danny disembarks on the first leg of his tour, he and Christine meet at the GCAC dining room not only for breakfast, but also so he can find out if she’ll join him on the road. Trills Lauralee Bell (Christine), “Finally, Danny and Cricket are truly back together and if you’ve been waiting 30 years for it, just know there’s no doubt that they’re a sealed deal.”
Christine makes this crystal-clear to Danny when she announces that, yes, she will free up her schedule to accompany him in his travels — and unsurprisingly, he is thrilled. As is Bell, who enthuses of the positive turn for the couple, “I’m just happy that after a lot of turmoil and confusion because of Phyllis, there’s some days [that] I hope will be more heartwarming than anything else for Danny and Cricket. Michael [Damian, Danny] and I were really excited to do it just because it felt like what fans want to see.” And hear. Notes Bell, “When [Danny and Christine] first started dating a few months ago, before their struggles with Phyllis, the show played this song called ‘Start Again’ by Hannah Bates, and the lyrics were so perfect because it was about, ‘I want to start again with you.’ On soaps, couples have had their theme songs so when you hear it, you would just know something special would happen, like a montage. So, I’m super-excited that this is the second and third time they’re using this song for our scenes. It’s a sweet reminder of just rooting for love”
Christine suggests to Danny that they celebrate their plans by skipping breakfast and getting a suite at the hotel instead. Danny leaves to book a room, leaving Christine alone — that is, until she glances up to find Phyllis standing over her. “It’s such a Phyllis thing for her to be this sudden dark cloud,” says Bell. “Before, she could be such a bummer in their lives if Danny and Christine weren’t strong enough to get through it. This time it’s different. They’re a solid couple.” In what Bell describes as another “classic Phyllis move”, Ms. Summers taunts Christine about breakfasting by herself. But Christine refuses to engage. “It may seem like, ‘Oh God, they’re right back to where they were a month ago,’ but it’s not like that at all,” Bell contends. “This time it’s different, which is curious to Phyllis.”
Indeed, Phyllis is perplexed when she fails to get a rise out of her rival. Phyllis then reveals that even though Danny is going on tour to run away from both of them, she plans to surprise him during his travels, and snarkily suggests that Christine follow her on social media to check out all of the fun that is sure to ensue. “Christine still won’t be drawn in to an argument and then she gets a text from Danny to come upstairs,” picks up Bell. “So, she tells Phyllis she has somewhere to be and leaves.”
As Phyllis ponders why Christine remained so unruffled, she notices the legal eagle heading to the front exit, then suddenly taking a sharp left up the stairs. She promptly sets off after Christine, who has rejoined Danny in a private room in which he has set up a romantic scene of candles and flowers. As the couple smooches while sharing a dance, Phyllis is right outside the door and hears their gentle laughter from within. Phyllis then must decide what to do: Be intrusive or let it go? Bell teases, “What Phyllis does just remind me of the Phyllis we all know and love because it’s just that entertaining.”
