Chapter Twenty Nine
Nine Weeks Ago...
Charlie and Joey held hands in the back of the car as they headed towards Summer Bay and, more specifically, to Charlie's daughter. They'd arranged for Aden to look after the cats and take them to his house when Mel was due home. Joey did not trust her to look after her beloved animals. After Charlie had made sure Ruby was alright, the plan was to sit down with Angelo and Mel and, unfortunately, the cameras and admit the truth about what had happened during the swap. It was going to be hard but both women knew it was the right thing to do. Then, presumably, Angelo would find a new place to live and Mel would go back to her own neck of the woods. Joey planned on giving them notice so that she could sell the house as quickly as possible and get her boat, her cats and her best friend down to start a new life with Charlie and Ruby in Summer Bay. It all sounded easy on paper but both Charlie and Joey knew it was going to be extremely difficult.
Annie had gone back home, leaving Ruby to sit and wait for her mother to return. She was anxious and, already knowing that Charlie had refused to stop the swap once before, she hoped that she wouldn't be upset with her for calling it to a halt again so abruptly. But she was also not so secretly pleased that her Mum had ignored Angelo's plea and immediately agreed to Ruby's. She smiled to herself, knowing just how much they loved each other.
Aden let himself into Joey's house with the spare key Mel had never known he had. Ruby and Indie greeted him at the door but looked with immediate trepidation at the cat carrier he'd brought with him. Crouching down, he gave them some fuss but knew they were obviously wary.
Angelo sat in his hotel, feeling anxious. The producer had called to say that Charlie was on her way home and Joey was coming with her. She wanted to see Ruby first and then they, along with Mel would all sit down at the table together to talk things through. Angelo felt sick with nerves and he felt like a fool for messing up so badly. A few fun nights with Mel had hardly been worth him giving up his whole relationship. He and Charlie had been far from perfect together and he was still smarting over her lies about Ruby's conception, but he loved her and he wanted to be with her. All he could hope now was that they might be able to find a way forward. Together.
Mel enjoyed a lie in. It was hard being on her own. She hadn't really had to do very much for herself for a long time. But she'd taken the call in bed to say that Joey was coming over in the car with Charlie and that the four of them would have a discussion that afternoon. Mel couldn't help but look forward to it. Sparks were certainly going to fly. It was all quite exciting really. But she was confident that only one relationship would break. Joey was used to Mel's impulsive decisions and she loved her anyway. Charlie and Angelo might be over but she was sure that she and Joey would last forever.
Aden had packed up all the cats' things and now he was trying to put them in their carrier to take them over to his apartment until Joey told him they could make the move to the Bay. He'd managed to corner them in the spare bedroom and Indie, being the dumbest of the two of them, had gone into the box relatively easily at first. But Ruby was impossibly stubborn. And every time he got one of them in the box, the other one seemed to wriggle out. He'd had them both inside it at least five times each but now they were staking out different corners of the room and glaring. Indi had attempted to hiss but it had come out as more of a whisper. And Ruby was busy wailing and trying to make him feel sorry for her.
The driver pulled up outside Charlie's house. The police officer was surprised by how much relief flooded her to be back home. Leaning across the seat, she kissed Joey tenderly goodbye. Gazing into her eyes for a moment, she smiled lovingly and cupped her face.
"I'll let you know as soon as you can come in," she promised.
Joey nodded, kissed her one more time and watched her head inside to be with her daughter.
Next time… Ruby tells Charlie about Angelo and Mel and Charlie admits to Ruby that she has fallen in love with Joey…
