Chapter One Hundred and Fifty Eight

On Monday morning, just as Joey, Aden and Geoff were casting off, John Palmer approached them.

"Hello there," he said brightly. "I was wondering if I could have a minute of your time."

"We're kind of busy," Joey said, shoving her hands in her pockets.

She wasn't exactly a fan and the political battle he was having with Martha wasn't helping him.

"I won't be long," John assured her.

Joey nodded and hopped off board. Aden and Geoff followed.

"Well, as you know, I'm running for the local council," John explained. "And I was hoping for your vote in the upcoming election."

"We're all Martha fans, I'm afraid," Joey said.

"That's a shame," John said.

Joey and Aden merely shrugged.

"You know she wants to give that boyfriend of hers the monopoly on the marina," John told them.

"I don't think it's quite like that," Joey said.

She had encouraged Martha and helped her out with her campaign. She didn't expect to be screwed over when she was elected.

"Well, you know that whoever is elected will have control over which boats get to run from here, don't you?" John said, folding his arms. "If it's me, you might not want to get on the wrong side."

Aden eyed him suspiciously.

"Are you threatening us?" he asked.

"I'm merely making a suggestion. If you don't vote for me and I get in anyway, which I will... there might be repercussions."


Charlie had reluctantly agreed to send Ruby to school. Now, she was sitting at work, clockwatching instead of working. She just couldn't stop worrying about her daughter. They were all still trying to get a handle on her condition and she didn't think any of them fully understood the impact diabetes would have on her life. All she could think about was the heart stopping moment that she had seen her baby girl flat out on the floor. She'd thought she was dead. She had been more terrified than she could admit to even Joey. And she was terrified of it happening again.


At lunch time, as expected, Ruby received a phone call from Charlie. She assured her that she was perfectly fine and there was nothing to worry about. She also lied and told her that she'd told Gina and the rest of the teachers what was happening but she hadn't. She felt like a freak and really didn't relish the idea of drawing so much attention to herself. She cast a sad glance in Xavier's direction. He was at his locker, organising his books. School was weird now. Nicole was finishing her exams and getting ready to leave, Annie and Jai were in Japan and she and Xavier were estranged. Geoff was her closest friend but he didn't go to school now either. She felt very much alone.


Joey, Aden and Geoff headed off the trawler together at the end of the day. They were still discussing John's visit from that morning.

"He can't know who voted for whom though, can he?" Joey asked. "It's anonymous, right?"

"Sort of," Aden said. "As far as I'm aware, you put your name on the ballot thingy but nothing is officially recorded or announced – just the numbers for each candidate."

Joey pulled a face and felt conflicted. She very much wanted to vote for Martha and she would feel terrible if she didn't. But also, she didn't want to lose her job. Working on a trawler was her dream and being the skipper was the most exciting thing she'd ever done in her professional life. She knew her boys and she loved them. She didn't even know if she could work on another team. She hadn't been happy in her last job. Working on Irene's trawler with Geoff and Aden was a dream and she knew she would be heartbroken if it was taken away from her.

"What are we meant to do?" she wondered.

"I have no idea," Aden admitted. "I mean, I like Martha. I want to vote for her. But I need my job. I love my job."

"Me too," Joey sighed.

Geoff nodded his agreement, feeling just as much in conflict as the others.


That evening, Charlie, Joey, Ruby, Geoff, Leah and VJ all sat round to dinner together. Leah had cooked for everyone and Joey always enjoyed the night off. Charlie wasn't much of a whizz in the kitchen and although cooking was something Joey enjoyed, it had been a long, hard day and she wasn't inclined to make it any longer.

"How was your day, Rubes?" Geoff asked. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good."

"Oh, is this meal okay?" Leah worried.

"It's fine."

"As long as she's careful with dessert," Charlie said.

"Yeah, she's got to be careful with her sugar intake. I was reading..." Geoff began.

"I can speak for myself!" Ruby snapped.

Charlie and Geoff both apologised.

"Sorry," Ruby sighed. "I just... you guys have to stop fussing over me. I know what I'm doing."

"Do you?" Geoff asked. "I mean, you know as little about diabetes as we do."

"What's diabetes?" VJ asked.

"It's an illness," Leah told him.

"Is Ruby sick?"

"Yes," Geoff said.

"I'm not sick!" Ruby insisted. "I just have to change my lifestyle. I wish you guys would just trust me to get on with this."

"We just want to help you," Joey said gently.

"I don't want anyone's help," Ruby sighed.

Charlie kept her head down. It felt like she was constantly messing everything up and she couldn't bear it. Joey held her hand under the table.

"Anyway," Leah said, trying to diffuse the tension. "How about everyone else? Did everyone have a good day?"

"Not so much," Joey said.

Charlie looked worried. Joey and Geoff then explained the election predicament.

"That's not fair!" Leah protested.

"Tell me about it," Joey remarked glumly.

"He's not allowed to check who voted for whom though," Charlie said confidently. "He'd be breaking the law if he did that."

"He'll be more careful than to make it obvious," Joey said. "I really don't think he's a good guy."

"Let's just hope Martha wins then," Geoff said. "Maybe we should just vote for her anyway."

"Well, I'll definitely be voting for her," Leah said.

"Me too," Charlie said.

Joey and Geoff continued to look unhappy and indecisive.


That night, Ruby said a prolonged goodnight to Geoff outside the door, silencing him with kisses every time he tried to talk about her condition. Fortunately, he was easily distracted but she knew that her new diagnosis was never far from his mind. She was devastated and terrified that being diabetic was going to destroy her relationship before it even started.


"Charlie, stop fretting," Joey said.

They were in their bedroom, getting ready to go to sleep but Charlie seemed down and distracted.

"I'm just worried about Ruby," Charlie said.

"I know," Joey replied shrugging out of her trousers.

Charlie sighed heavily and sank onto the edge of the mattress. Joey moved to straddle her lap, wearing only underwear and black sleeveless top. She ran her hands through Charlie's hair, succeeding at least in making her smile. Leaning down, she kissed her.

"Do you think I could possible distract you from your troubles?" she asked with a smirk.

Charlie giggled, enjoying the cleavage at her eye level. She ran her hands up and down Joey's spine.

"I think you definitely could," she said.

Joey pulled her top off and Charlie immediately reached round to undo her bra and release her breasts from their captivity. The sight of Joey in such undress always left her breathless.

"You definitely, definitely could," she said, pulling Joey back onto the bed with her.


Next time... election day arrives, Aden and Joey reveal their votes to each other and Ruby and Geoff continue to struggle to communicate...