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Guest Character Profiles > Victor Armstrong Frank Wilson

Victor Armstrong 1985
Children: Margaret

An old friend of Helen Daniels, Victor Armstrong called her out of the blue one day, asking if they could meet up. That evening, he came for dinner with Helen and her family, the Robinsons, meeting three of her grandchildren, Julie, Paul and Scott. Victor gave the impression that he was quite wealthy these days, and spoke about his time in the military, much to the amusement of Paul and Scott, who saw him as very old-fashioned. The following morning, Helen admitted to her grandsons that she would probably have married Victor, had he not been called into service. Meanwhile, Victor went to the nearby Pacific Bank, where Julie worked, and she was surprised to learn that he was almost penniless, and she was even more intrigued when Helen met with Victor again that day and he presented her with an expensive necklace.

Later that day, Victor called by at the Robinson house again, having arranged to meet Helen, but found Julie. In her usual unsubtle fashion, she questioned him on his finances, and when he showed her a pair of earrings that he'd bought for Helen, Julie wondered out loud if he could afford them. Once Julie had gone and Helen had arrived, Victor decided to be honest with her, admitting that he was actually broke and had been staying in a $10 motel, pretending to be wealthy so she wouldn't think he was a failure. Helen called him a silly old fool, and listened as he explained that he'd suddenly realised that he was growing old and had hoped that seeing Helen again would spark some of the passion back into his life. He told her that he was estranged from his daughter Margaret, who was now married to a man named Philip, with two children of her own, Bobby and Mandy. He told Helen how he'd disapproved of hippy Philip and they hadn't spoken since she left home - and he'd turned down an invitation to their wedding.

Realising how unhappy and lonely Victor had become, Helen decided to attempt a reconciliation, and after going through the phone book, she finally succeeded in finding Margaret. Unfortunately, Margaret wasn't willing to come and see her father, as touched as she was to learn that he carried a photograph of her in his wallet. She explained that, if he really wanted to see her, he could call her or come and visit - Helen gave Margaret her address, but Margaret still said that she wouldn't come. Helen then decided that she'd have to try and talk Victor into visiting his daughter instead, but was surprised when Margaret turned up on the doorstep later that day, explaining that Philip talked her into coming. When Victor arrived a little later, he didn't immediately recognise Margaret, after 14 years apart, but was delighted when he realised who she was, and further delighted to meet his two grandchildren. As Victor saw that both Margaret and Philip had grown up and changed a lot, and were no longer the hippies he remembered, he realised that his pride had been stopping him from being with his family for too long, and when Philip asked Victor to come and live with them, he was happy to accept.

Tenure
0053, 0054

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