Chapter 75
Geoff looked at the text on his phone from Nic asking him what he wanted to do with the house. He looked out at the see in front of him, strangely landing himself in a small town that could be a mirror for Summer Bay and wanted to hurl his phone in the crashing waves.
He clicked it open and read the message again looking for something that wasn't there. Like maybe she had forgiven him and he should come home.
He typed the response that the house was hers and she must do what she wanted with it. He put an x at the end of it and then erased the whole message.
"Ok." he said to himself. "Think."
He began to retype the message.
"Will be back soon. Can we talk?" he asked bravely.
"Yes." She replied immediately.
He grinned and then tried to stop himself grinning. His phone beeped again.
"Am going away this weekend will you be back Saturday?"
He grinned and then re-read it.
"Where was she going?" he asked himself.
"Oh boy you are going nuts." He said after a moment. He slid off the front of his car and walked along the beach.
"Not sure. How long will you be gone?" he typed.
"Months." She replied and had the gull to add a smiley to it.
He groaned.
"Ok will be back Sat. Meet you at house?" he typed.
"No. At beach near surf club. 3pm." She replied. "Got plans for later so need to make it pm." She added and sent.
He opened the message and read it and a deep anger went through him.
"Plans?" he said. "Plans?" he said again.
He thought of her dating and felt so jealous that he wanted to scream. But then he reasoned she wouldn't be thinking of dating if he had the guts to put his self-doubt to one side and marry her.
"What plans?" He put and deleted it. "Will be there." He replied.
She texted him back.
"Thank you! See you Sat."
He grinned again and then remembered her plans for a Saturday night. He sat on the beach looking out at the crashing waves for a long time.
Nic looked at Ella and grinned.
"It worked." She said.
Turning back to Alf she grinned at him.
"So you can do it?" she said.
"Of course I can. Piece of cake compared to getting your Dad to lay the dance floor. I thought they were going to drink me out of beer." He said to her.
She grinned and threw her arms around his neck.
They went to the diner next and spoke to Irene and Leah.
"No problem Darl." Irene said to her. "Anything we can do to help we will."
Nic nodded.
"I need another cake form Colleen. " She said. "We ate the other one."
Ella looked at the floor and blushed.
"Well when I say we I was using the term loosely." Nic told them and grinned.
"You told me to get rid of it." Ella defended eating the whole cake in one night.
Leah chuckled.
"I meant in the bin." She said.
"I was very depressed that night." She said slowly.
"Yes but you'd already eaten two pizzas."
Ella looked down and then back up.
"Seriously I'm married to her father but you'd never guess we weren't a couple would you? She nags me."
"I do not. Well, maybe a little All right, so I do. But you need me Step-mama." Nic said grinning. "Who else would borrow all those designer clothes of yours."
"My other daughter Ruby?" She said back.
"Ella." She gasped. "You are not supposed to have favourites."
Irene laughed at them.
"Can I get you anything?" She asked them.
"Coffee." Ella said immediately.
Nic giggled.
She giggled harder when Ella glared at her.
They sat next to Leah.
"How are you doing Ella?" Leah asked.
"One minute I'm ok and then I'm sobbing my heart out." She said. "I don't think I would have got out of the house anytime soon with out this one." She said indicating Nic.
"Aw, shucks Step-mama." Nic grinned. "We've helped each other these past couple of weeks."
Ella smiled sadly.
"I know." Leah said softly giving Ella's hand a squeeze.
She grinned and looked up as Martha came in with her baby in the buggy. Nic gasped and looked at Ella.
"Come on." She said. "We'll go."
Ella shook her head unable to speak.
"Hello." Martha said to them all, picking her baby up out of the stroller.
Ella moaned and ran out before anyone could stop her.
Nic looked at Martha in disgust.
"You could have had the common decency to take the baby away to the other side of the Diner." Nic hissed at her.
Martha tried to look as though what she'd done wasn't intentional but Leah shook her head and she had the grace to blush.
They looked on in shock as Ella came back into the diner.
"What is your problem lady?" she asked her.
Martha shook her head.
"No. You have a problem with me and you just enjoyed hurting me. You have a choice. Either spit it out or I'll tell Roman and you deal with him." Ella said avoiding looking at the baby.
"He was mine." Martha said emotionally. "Until you came along."
Ella shook her head.
"You don't own people. You decided you loved Jack remember and then you went with Hugo and countess others." Ella said distinctly. "Roman is my husband and he loves me."
"I can give him a baby and you can't." Martha hissed.
Ella recoiled.
"I know that isn't his baby so shut up with your pathetic lies." She said. "You need help Martha."
Nic took hold of Ella's arm and went to lead her out.
"Hang on." Leah said. "If anyone is leaving it's Martha."
"Yes Darl." Irene added. "Martha you ain't welcome in here anymore."
Martha looked at them in turn.
"How could you take her side?" she moaned.
"Easily." Leah said. "She hasn't just tried to hurt anyone."
Martha turned the stroller and raced out of the diner.
"Better call Rachel and tell her what happened. Martha needs help." Ella said softly.
Nic guided her into a chair and put her hand under her chin and lifted Ella's head so she could see into her eyes.
"Mama." She said.
Ella burst into tears and Nic held her.
"Can you call my dad we will need a lift home." Nic asked Irene and the other woman nodded.
"I'm ok." Ella said.
"In the words of my dad when he doesn't quite believe you, Uh huh." Nic said stroking her hair as she held her.
Ella sobbed harder.
Rachel walked into the diner.
"Ella." She said softly.
"I'm ok, you need to help Martha." She said.
"We will do I need to see you for a minute." Rachel said softly.
Ella shook her head.
"Please Rachel I can't." she moaned.
"Have you told anyone?" Rachel asked.
"No." she said finally.
"What about the counsellor I suggested."
Ella groaned.
Nic handed her some tissues and Irene got her a glass of water. Leah went over and shut the diner turning the open sign to closed.
"Sorry." Ella said, "I didn't mean to have a meltdown."
"You are among Friends." Rachel said.
Ella looked at Nic.
"I shouldn't get pregnant again." She said. "Rachel told us yesterday when we went for the check up. There is too great a risk."
"Mama!" Nic exclaimed. "And you've been bottling this up?"
Ella started crying again.
Leah came over and held her.
"I've spoken to Roman. I know you think I'm meddling but he's been worried about you bottling it up. You won't even talk to him about it." Rachel said softly.
"I can't. He wanted children." Ella moaned.
"And you didn't?" Rachel asked.
Ella shook her head.
"Of course I did. But I don't matter." She moaned and flinched at the knock on the door.
Irene went over and let Roman in.
"Ella." He said walking quickly over to her.
She looked at him.
"Ella where do you get the idea that you don't matter?" Rachel asked.
Ella flinched again.
"My mother. I'm a girl and I don't matter. " She said. "Only Michael mattered."
Rachel looked at Irene who'd gasped.
"Ella." Rachel said softly.
"When I bought Michael home I tried to talk to her and then I found I was pregnant she said that was what she expected. I couldn't do anything right. And I can't. I cant have babies." She moaned. "She pushed me down the stairs trying to get me to lose it." Ella said suddenly as though she just remembered. "My dad took me to hospital but we were ok and then screamed at me that I couldn't even do that right."
Roman lifted her off the chair and took her over to the sofa. Cradling her in his arms.
"I tried to tell Daddy but he didn't believe me. I kept saying that she hated me for not being the one who'd died." She moaned and cried harder.
"El." Roman said softly. "I love you."
"She killed herself when Jennie said that I would be the one looking after the baby." Ella said quietly. "My dad found her."
Roman looked at the women.
"And I miss her." Ella said. "She hurt me so much but I miss her." she cried.
"Sounds like a …" Nic trailed off after getting a warning look from Roman.
"Ella. I need you to listen to me ok." Roman told her. "I'm devastated that we can't have a baby but it's not your fault ok. I love you and I'd rather have you than risk having a baby. I married you and babies would have been a bonus but I need you ok Ella. I'm sitting here pouring my heart out in front of everyone because you are as important to me as the air I breathe."
She raised her head and looked at him.
"Not everyone, you forgot Colleen" she told him after a long moment.
He smiled.
"I love you Ella."
"I love you too." She told him.