"Too Close For Comfort"
Brooke and Edmund's wedding day approaches on All My Children - and so does "Maureen"
The introduction of AMC's Maureen S. Gorman - a woman who looks so much like the dearly departed Dr. Maria Santos Grey that she might actually be her -- has so far left fans with a lot of questions and not many answers. But much more information is on it's way this week, as surprises are in store for several Pine Valley residents: "Maureen" is drawn closer to Edmund, parts of David's secret history with "Maureen" come to light and someone gets a positive result on the most important test of her life.
"It's a weird situation," understates Julia Barr (Brooke) of the predicament in which her beleaguered alter ego has found herself there past few weeks: On the verge of marrying the man of her dreams, she came face to face with the spitting image of his presumed-dead wife.
What's a bride-to-be to do? This one decided to keep quiet. "Brooke doesn't have confirmation of a connection between Maureen and Maria," Barr points out, "and the woman she saw was supposedly someone else. So, in a way, if she did tell Edmund, she'd be sending him off on some wild goose chase."
Not to mention that Brooke has reason to believe that her eyes were playing self-destructive tricks on her. "There is much to support the fact that she hasn't been thinking straight," laughs the actress.
Brooke is gradually convinced that her encounter with "Maureen" was merely the result of extreme pre-wedding jitters. "It comes and goes, but for the most part, she believes that this was all her imagination," nods Barr. "She decides to ease up on herself and move forward."
But while Brooke is moving forward, "Maureen" is moving closer -- and having some very strong reactions to sights (Wildwind) and sounds (Edmund's voice) that were familiar to Maria. Indeed, since landing in Pine Valley, "Maureen" has been "living in one big d�j� vu," says her portrayer Eva LaRue Callahan. "She doesn't know what any of it means, but she feels like everywhere she turns, she's been there or heard it or seen it. So, she knows at least that she came to the right place."
The right place for what? "She's hoping to find some answers about her life," LaRue Callahan hints. And with a little encouragement from Aidan, she decided to pump Brooke for the information she seeks. Because "Maureen" is on the run, LaRue Callahan observes, "She doesn't know who she can and cannot trust, but she knows that Brooke came to see her and wasn't interested in what she'd done wrong or in throwing her in jail; she was interested in finding this woman, Maria Santos. She decided that Brooke has some information for this big puzzle she's trying to put together."
"Maureen" sets out to find Brooke, but will she have the courage to go through with her mission? And will Brooke be alone -- or with Edmund? One man, Dr. David Hayward, is only too aware of the furor that a sighting of Maria's doppelganger would cause, so he is determined to intercept "Maureen" before she is recognized by anyone who knew Maria.
What is David's role in all of this? "It's not that he's a Brooke and Edmund fan," laughs Vincent Irizarry (David). Rather, "there's stuff in his history with this woman that he doesn't want to get out." David is thwarted, though, when he tries to contact "Maureen" on her cell phone -- it's his bad luck that her purse is at the police station after being snatched last week, and Police Chief Anna Devane answers his call. He hangs up when he hears her voice, but the damage is done.
"Initially, Anna does her usually thing with David whenever he behaves strangely, which is to question him," says Finola Hughes (Anna). "But she stops herself. She says, 'You know what? This is ridiculous. We're not going to do this anymore. You're my husband and I need to just take you at word.' "So, David is off the hook for now. "But all that means," grins Hughes, "is that there will be even more tension when it comes out that he does in fact know about Maureen Gorman."
And what about Edmund, the man who will be most shocked by Ms. Gorman's existence? "He's the oblivious one, the blissfully ignorant one," chuckles his portrayer, John Callahan. "Edmund is looking forward to moving on with his life with Brooke. Unfortunately, other people feel a little bit different, as we will find out soon!"
Indeed. Brooke and Edmund's nups are scheduled for August 23, but by the end of the week, "Maureen" starts closing in on them -- and it doesn't look like David will be able to stop her. As if that's not enough, on of these women will take a pregnancy test that won't leave her feeling very positive.