CHAPTER SIX
"Good morning love," Alf said as he walked into the kitchen the next morning. Martha was sitting on the couch flicking through the TV channels.
"Morning," Martha said softly, not even bothering to look up at him.
Martha had been up since the crack of dawn. She'd hardly slept a wink and had cried most of the night. She'd gotten up early, hoping to clean herself up a bit before her grandad saw her. But a hot shower and a little bit of make-up had done nothing to make her look or feel better. She had dark circles under her eyes, and they still looked a bit puffy from the hours of crying. Nobody needed to tell her that she looked like crap; she already knew.
"How about some bacon and eggs for breakfast," Alf suggested in a cheerful voice.
Martha shook her head. "No thanks. I'm not hungry. I'll have something a bit later," she replied.
"Since when do you pass up bacon and eggs?" Alf chuckled.
"Since now. I told you I'm not hungry. So stop nagging at me," Martha snapped at him.
"Hey, I was just asking. There is no need to bite my head off," Alf said.
Martha felt bad about snapping at her grandad. He didn't deserve it. Just because she felt like crap, didn't mean she could make everyone else feel like crap.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it," she apologised, and got up from her spot on the couch and walked towards her grandad.
"You're upset about something. What's wrong?" he looked at her curiously.
"Nothing's wrong. I'm fine. You know how I can be in the mornings," Martha said to him.
Alf sighed. "You should know by now that I can tell when something's wrong," Alf started, and pointed to a chair; indicating for Martha to sit down. "And besides, I heard you crying during the night. So I know something is wrong," he continued.
"It's Jack," Martha told him.
"Did the two of you have a fight?" he asked. Alf hoped they hadn't. Jack made Martha happy, and he didn't want to see his granddaughter in pain.
Martha shook her head. "No. But something did happen last night," she began. Martha then proceeded to tell her grandad what had happened the night before with Megan. She saw the shocked look on his face, and she knew that he was sad for her.
"I'm so sorry love. But I'm sure everything will be okay. I know that Jack loves you; he would never do anything to ruin what the two of you have together," he reassured her.
"I know. But I can't help but worry. Megan clearly still has feelings for Jack. What if he leaves me for her?" she started crying again.
Alf scooped Martha up in a hug, trying to comfort her. "Jack is not going to leave you. Like I said; he loves you. The two of you will be able to work through this," he said, giving her a kiss on the fore head.
"I hope so," Martha sniffed.
Martha wondered if she should tell her grandad about her own problems. Would he understand and be supportive, or would he completely flip out? She decided against telling him. As much as she wanted to tell him; she couldn't. She wasn't ready to yet.
"Knock knock. Coming in," a voice yelled through the door. Martha recognized the voice as Ric's. She pulled away from her grandad and looked towards the door.
"Hey Ric," she smiled at him when he entered.
"Good Morning," Ric said cheerfully.
"You're in a good mood this morning. It wouldn't have anything to do with the lovely Belle would it?" Martha teased her cousin.
"It might," Ric laughed.
"Hey, why don't you give her a call and see if she wants to come to Yabbie Creek with us today," Martha suggested.
"Really?" Ric asked, trying not to sound too excited.
Martha smiled. "Yeah, of course. I'd like to get to know her a bit better," she told him.
"Okay. Thanks," Ric smiled and pulled his phone out of his pocket.
Martha turned around to look at her grandad. "That was nice of you to invite Belle," Alf commented.
Martha shrugged. "She's Ric's girlfriend, and she seems like a nice girl. I'd like to spend some time with her," she told him.
Alf walked back into the kitchen. "Hey, if you're not up for your shift tonight, I can get someone to fill in," Alf suggested.
"No, I can do it," she shook her head. "I'm totally fine. I promise," she exclaimed.
"You ready to go? Belle said she would love to come," Ric said in a happy voice. "I told her we would pick her up on the way," he kept on.
"Yep, I'm ready. Let's go," Martha said, picking up her car keys and handbag.
"Make sure you have something to eat," Alf called to Martha, as they walked to the door.
Ric and Martha looked at each other and laughed. "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day," they said together in deep voices, trying to imitate their grandad.
"You cheeky mongrels," Alf chuckled.
Martha and Ric walked to the car in silence. Martha pulled her phone out of her pocket and switched it on. There were 10 missed calls on there from Jack. They were all from last night. She wondered if she should call him. She still didn't know what she was supposed to say, so decided against it. She switched her phone back off and chucked it back into her bag.
Martha looked at Ric and realised he was watching her. "What?" she asked.
"You feeling okay?" he questioned her.
Martha nodded. "Yeah. Why?" she asked.
"You just look a bit peaky," Ric replied.
"I didn't sleep much last night. That's all," Martha tried to convince him. "Don't worry about me," she smiled at him.
"You sure you're feeling okay?" Ric asked again.
"Yes Ric. I'm totally fine," she told him again.
I'm totally not fine, Martha thought to herself.
Jack practically leapt up the stairs towards Martha's apartment. He'd thought about her all night, and he wanted to stop in and see her before he headed off to work.
He knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer; hoping that it was Martha. He was let down though when Alf answered.
"Hey Mate. Come in," Alf smiled.
Jack walked into the apartment. "Good Morning. Is Martha up yet?" he asked as he closed the door behind him.
"Ah Yeah, but you just missed her. She's already left," Alf told him and sat back down at the table; drinking a coffee.
"What? Where did she go?" Jack asked, sounding confused.
"She's gone with Ric and young Belle to Yabbie Creek," Alf replied. "She didn't tell you?" Alf then asked.
Jack shook his head. "No she didn't. I really wanted to see her before I went to work," Jack said.
"Sorry mate. But you're 10 minutes too late," Alf exclaimed, taking a bite of some toast.
"Did she seem okay to you before she left?" Jack wanted to know.
"She was a bit upset. But who can blame her?" Alf said.
Martha had obviously told him about Megan and Grace. "So she told you then?" Jack stated.
Alf nodded. "She was upset and needed someone to talk too".
"I'm really worried about her," Jack said, sitting down at the table across from Alf. "I tried calling her about a dozen times last night, but she turned her phone off," Jack told him.
Alf sighed. "Look mate, she's in shock at the moment. Just give her some time to get used to it," he spoke to Jack.
Jack stayed and chatted to Alf for about ten minutes. He learned that Alf had been in his position a couple times before; long lost children were a very common thing to Alf Stewart. Alf even joked that it was about time that another one showed up.
On his way to his car he tried calling Martha again. It was still switched off. I guess I'll just have to wait until later to see her, he thought to himself.