Chapter2

When Kim got home later that day, he took a shower and lay down on the couch. He was glad that Summer Bay was quiet, unlike the city. He liked the serenity, the peacefulness. It was a great place to raise a family, what with the beach and sense of community. He hoped to bring Charlie here to live one day. Things were finally going his way with Charlie and Brooke.

Since the day Brooke had brought Charlie to Summer Bay to meet his daddy, Kim had felt like he was on top of the world. Life had been going great; he was going for trips to the city to see Charlie and was talking to him on the phone most nights. Kim was really starting to feel like a Daddy. But then Brooke had turned nasty. At first it was just small things, like requesting small sums of money, supposedly for things Charlie needed like nappies and formula, and for Charlie's day care. Kim was happy to oblige, owing to the fact that Charlie was his son.

But then Brooke had started making excuses for Kim not come and see them. She would say that Charlie was sick, or that they were busy. This annoyed Kim, but he didn't say anything, he just allowed Brooke to have her time with Charlie. Then one day when he called, the operator had said that the phone number had been disconnected. When he went to the house, there was no one home and all the furniture was gone.

Kim had spent a lot of money trying to find them, eventually tracking them down at his father's home back in Summer Bay. There was an extremely big row at the house, Kim was furious with Brooke for denying him his right to see his son, and furious with his father for not telling him where they were. Kim took Brooke to court for a custody battle. He wanted regular access to Charlie without Brooke being there. He was granted regular time with him, allowed to have him every second week. Kim decided not to speak to his father again. He had hated him for so long, for his lying, his pressuring, and the ordeal with him harbouring Brooke and Charlie at his house had been the last straw for Kim.

Now Kim was going to be happy and have a great time with his son. He had two great jobs, one at the beach as a lifeguard, the other at the Diner, cooking and waiting on tables. He was going to school, not really for the education but because he knew that it would look good on his records if he ever wanted to get permanent custody of Charlie.

After relaxing on the couch for a while, Kim stood up and got himself ready to go to work at the Diner. He went downstairs and greeted Leah Patterson, Alf Stewart and Colleen Smart and Leah's little son VJ in the kitchen.

"How's Charlie?" asked Leah. She was a young mother herself and often asked how Charlie was. Kim liked her very much.

"He's great, he's starting to talk. Last week when I had him he said his first word."

"Oh that's wonderful pet! What was it?" asked nosy Colleen. Kim found Colleen annoying. She wasn't horrible or anything but she was just nosy and a gossip. He knew her heart was in the right place most of the time.

"Daddy" he announced. Actually he was really proud of Charlie. He was certain that mum would have been his first word, considering he had lived with Brooke for the whole nine months of his life.

"You best be getting your behind out there and waiting on those tables. It's getting pretty busy," said Alf.

Kim went to work clearing up tables and taking orders. The diner was busy and Kim had no time for a break. When things finally did slow down, Alf told Kim he could have a break.

Just as a Kim was heading out the door he spotted a table that hadn't been tended to. Sighing, he whipped out his notepad and a pencil and headed over.

"Welcome to the Beachside Diner, how may I-"Kim stopped midway through his sentence. It was the girl he had met at the beach that morning.

"Hi there," she greeted him. Kim saw that seductive smile again. He couldn't tell if her smile was an indication that she was trying to seduce him or if it just came naturally.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, then could have kicked himself for asking a stupid question like that. She smiled again. It comes naturally, he decided.

"Well, I gotta eat," she replied, "What are you doing here? I thought you worked at the beach, checking lost property."

Kim laughed then answered, "Actually I'm a lifeguard at the beach. I work here at night."

"Fair enough."

"Kim, I thought you were going for a break," said Leah, coming up behind him with VJ under her arm.

"Oh yeah I was, I just thought I'd get this last table first. We have a newcomer to the bay. This is..." Kim stopped, realizing he didn't know her name.

"Amy, Amy Davis."

"Hi Amy, I'm Leah Patterson and this is VJ," Leah introduced herself. Amy began playing with VJ's hand.

"Nice to meet you both," she said.

"I better get this little fella home for his nap, but I hope we'll be seeing you around. It was lovely meeting you Amy."

"You too," Amy replied. Kim was left standing there alone with Amy.

"So are you going to introduce yourself?" she asked him.

"Oh yeah sorry, I'm Kim Hyde," he responded. He extended his hand and she took it. Her's felt tiny in his large, masculine one. When they finally let go, she turned back to the menu she had been examining before he had come over.

"Oh right, what can I get you?"