It was raining in Erinsborough. Toadfish stood by the window in the lounge room of 30 Ramsay Street and looked solemnly outside his face stricken with concern.
"Jarrod, you can t let your neighbours judge what s happened between us and let them dictate your life forever. This is just too important for that!" said Lawrence. Toadfish closed his eyes and clenched his fist anxiously as he listened to television's Lawrence Leung speak from the couch.
"Neither of us planned for this - Jesus, neither of us could have ever seen this coming... but it's too late now. We're in too deep and we ve got to think about how we're going to make this work. We've got no choice!" As he spoke, Lawrence's hand moved to the burgeoning bump on his stomach where their child grew, his awkwardly tight polo shirt exaggerating his pregnant shape against the profile of his slim, Asian body.
Toadfish turned towards Lawrence and spoke passionately.
"Do you think that I don't know that? Do you think that I've got no idea about how hard this is going to be! We've got to figure out a way to cope with what's going to come as a result of this - just imagine what they're going to say. Karl is going to lose his mind. Susan will never speak to me again. When Stonefish finds out, he's going to kill me!" Lawrence was dumbstruck and a little bit excited by the passion of the burly man in front of him.
"And that's why we've got to do the unthinkable... leave Ramsay Street forever - leave Ramsay Street so that our child has the best chance at a life without judgement", thundered Toadfish.
Those words took a moment to sink in and Lawrence's mind was racing a million miles an hour. This was all his fault. If he had never come to Ramsay Street then Toadfish wouldn t have to face this horrible decision.
His mind drifted back to that fateful day just a few months earlier when Lawrence first came to Ramsay Street.
The taxi stopped at the entrance to Ramsay Street. Lawrence handed the driver a wad full of notes before opening the door and getting out of the taxi. He stood for a moment on the side of the street and observed those famous surroundings.
Lou Carpenter was sauntering down the path out the front of number 24 on his way to his modern Ford Falcon car parked on the street. Halfway to his car, he waved to Libby Kennedy who was making her way up the street to number 28 to drop in for an unannounced visit on Susan and Karl. Lucas Fitzgerald drove past in his rugged Holden Utility on his way to work. What Lawrence saw was so different to what he was used to. So different to the streets of Box Hill where he grew up, and he was startled to see just how different the city was just a few shorts suburbs away from where he grew up. As he struggled with the weight of his camera, he couldn't help but notice the wholesome nature of the location the friendly smile given from neighbour to neighbour the well-manicured lawns and sensible structure of the dwellings the feel of the place which made him feel welcome, even as an outsider.
Lawrence tried to put the shocking news he had received just that morning from his general practitioner behind him. He wouldn't let that bizarre revelation stop him from being a professional. He strode forwards bravely, and as he did so, he couldn't help but have his gaze drawn towards the slightly solid figure of the local solicitor struggling to push a lawnmower out front of a low-set brick dwelling. Lawrence faltered at the sight. If only he knew what was soon to transpire maybe he would have turned around and left Ramsay Street forever. Maybe that was for the best, but there was no way he could have known. There was no way anyone could have guessed about the remarkable turn of events which would shake the very foundations of Erinsborough
Lawrence was shaken from his reminiscing as Toadfish stood in front of him struggling to deal with his exasperation. "I'm not going to let you do that Jarrod", said Lawrence tenderly.
Toadfish gazed expectantly at his small Asian companion, his full attention captured by the emotion in Lawrence's voice.
"There s too much for you in Erinsborough too much for you to just walk away from just because of one mistake. We have to be brave. We can make this work. We just have to be strong and work through this the best we can and we'll do it together."
