Chapter Two Hundred and Forty Eight
Tony had settled in well at the bait shop so far. Opening up for the day, he was pleased when Joey appeared, running a little late but armed with a coffee for both of them and her usual, warm smile.
"Thanks," Tony said, accepting his beverage.
"No problem," Joey replied. "Listen, I heard some news while I was at the Diner that you might be interested in."
"Oh?"
"There's a position opening at the school for a new P.E. teacher," Joey explained. "I heard Gina talking to Leah about it when I was ordering our drinks. Rachel mentioned that you're qualified so I thought you might want to consider going for it."
Tony considered his options. He'd loved teaching the first time around but he was nervous about going back to it. And especially with his sister as his boss. They weren't famed for getting on terrible well when it came to working together. He explained as much to Joey.
"Tony, ignoring all the upset that went on earlier in the week, do you really want to live out the rest of your days in a bait shop?" Joey asked seriously.
He was surprised by how firm and businesslike she sounded.
"I guess not," he admitted.
"And do you like the idea of teaching again?" she asked.
"Yes," he said quietly.
"Then what have you got to lose by applying?"
He smirked at her, questioning whether she hated working with him that much that she felt the need to get rid of him. Laughing, she told him not to be silly.
"I love working with you already," she said. "But I don't think people should waste opportunities when they land right in front of them. I'm so guilty of not believing in myself enough that I've wasted a lot of time. I've never really felt strong enough to go after what I want. It's only been through Charlie that I've gone back to college and I'm actually looking at the prospect of owning my own restaurant one day. So, if I'm not wasting chances, then neither should you! So there. Joey Collins has spoken!"
She grinned at him triumphantly.
The evening rolled around and Charlie arrived back from work to find Joey busily cooking in the kitchen. After the success of their dinner with Rachel and Tony, both Charlie and Joey were a little more enthusiastic about Angelo's visit. Ruby was spending the evening with Xavier and Romeo on the promise that she would be back by her curfew of ten o'clock. VJ was spending the night at a friend's house and Leah had arranged to spend the evening with Martha. A lot had happened for both women in recent weeks and they had agreed that they were due for a girlie gossip.
"Hey, sweetheart," Charlie said, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend and pressing her lips tenderly on her shoulder.
Joey smiled.
"Something smells good," Charlie said.
"Taste?" Joey half offered and half requested.
It was a new recipe and she was a little nervous about it, especially considering that Angelo wasn't likely to be the easiest judge. Charlie was convinced that he was lonely and reaching out for friendship but Joey remained sceptical. He always seemed to be up to something.
"Mmm!" Charlie enthused when Joey offered her a small spoon of her traditional family bouillabaisse with a twist.
At college, she was experimenting with spices and it had occurred to her that the dish Ruby had fallen in love with a year ago might work with an extra kick.
"Delicious," Charlie confirmed. "You're a cookery genius."
Joey laughed, denying the compliment bashfully.
"I'm going to go and get showered, okay?" Charlie said. "Is there anything you need me to do?"
"Nope," Joey assured her. "Just go get ready. I've got everything under control."
Kissing Joey's cheek, Charlie dashed towards their bedroom.
Angelo checked his reflection in the mirror. He'd put on black jeans and a while shirt and was surprised to feel nervous about the evening ahead. He was always pleased to spend time with Charlie and it really had been a while since they'd done anything socially together. Joey was always likely to be a thorn in his side but for now, he was reminding himself to feel sorry for her. The poor woman thought that she was part of love's young dream. She had no idea that her perfect partner was being unfaithful to her and had been for months at the very least. He believed he had handled things the wrong way with Charlie so far. Mostly, he had been in shock. As much as he didn't like her and Joey as a couple, he had genuinely believed that they were solid. But now, he was determined to prove that their romance was a lie. Joey would be heartbroken and he was sure that Charlie would also be pretty upset when her affair was exposed. So long as he was careful not to label himself as the person who revealed the truth, he was sure that in Charlie's time of need, she would easily fall back into his arms. Now he just had to make that happen.
"You're not going to be mean and put extra chillies in Angelo's dish, are you?" Charlie asked with mock suspicion.
Joey laughed but it caught in her throat when she saw her girlfriend. Dressed casually in jeans and a pretty top, she was striking. Joey wondered if she would ever stop falling in love with her over and over again.
"You look beautiful," she said earnestly.
Charlie blushed.
"It's nothing special, I..."
Joey moved forward and hugged her, pressing their lips tenderly together.
"You're always special," she affirmed. "And providing you dressed up for me and not him..."
Charlie laughed without dignity.
"As if!" she remarked. "You're the only person I want to look at me like... the way you're looking right now."
Joey blushed, realising just how much lust had been obvious.
"We could always cancel tonight?" she suggested cheekily. "Have a party of our own?"
Charlie chuckled, kissing her one more time.
"I think it might be a bit short notice," she said. "But we'll have our own party afterwards, have no fear."
Tony and Gina sat together at the dinner table. Rachel had abandoned them to join Martha and Leah on their girlie night in, leaving the siblings to somewhat awkwardly discuss the idea of Tony applying for the job at the school.
"I'm worried about us working together," Gina admitted.
"Me too," Tony replied. "But maybe if we're aware and committed to making sure it's not a disaster..."
"Maybe," Gina said. "I mean, there's no harm in trying, is there?"
Half an hour later, Charlie, Joey and Angelo were all seated round the dinner table. Joey and Angelo had both opted for wine but Charlie had opted out. For starters, if Joey and Angelo were going to fail to get along then she wanted to be clear headed enough to mediate.
"So, how's life at the bait shop?" Angelo asked politely, trying to make conversation with the woman who didn't like him.
"It's really good," Joey enthused. "Although I don't think Tony's going to be sticking around."
"How come?" Charlie asked.
"Well, there's a job opening at the school and he seemed pretty interested when I mentioned it to him, so I think he might go for it," Joey explained.
"Why did you mention it to him?" Angelo asked, amused. "I doubt Alf will thank you for it!"
"I want him to be happy," Joey said dismissively. "And if teaching's going to do that, nobody should tie him to the bait shop for their own purposes. I will miss him if he goes, though. I like working with him."
"You certainly seem to be shooting through colleagues," Angelo pointed out.
Joey shrugged, silently telling herself not to be offended.
"How's life at Yabbie Creek Police Station anyway?" she asked, directing her question at Angelo.
She got a full report from Charlie every day.
"It's good," Angelo said. "I like being a Senior Constable. Now I can see why Charlie was always so proud of it."
He smiled. Charlie managed to smile back.
"So, you're sharing an office with Watson now?" Joey asked.
"Yeah," Angelo said. "It's really nice actually. She's good company."
Joey and Charlie smiled at each other.
"We love her," Joey enthused. "She rocks."
The trio were tucking into their desserts when the phone rang.
"Hold that thought," Joey said, abandoning her lemon meringue pie.
"Did Joey actually make this herself?" Angelo asked.
"Yep," Charlie said. "It's good, hey?"
"It's awesome!" he enthused. "I can understand your desire for her to run a restaurant now. She's a fantastic cook."
Charlie nudged him, smiling playfully.
"You know, you could always tell her that yourself if..."
"Charlie, we have to go the city," Joey said very seriously, approaching the table again.
"Why?" Charlie asked worriedly. "What's wrong? Is it Dad?"
"He fell down the stairs," Joey said. "Morag's at the hospital with him but he's been asking for you."
Nodding, Charlie leapt to her feet, ready to run out the door.
"Charlie, wait," Joey said, touching her arm. "You pack some stuff for me, you and Rubes. I'll call her and find out where she is so we can pick her up on the way. And I'll try to clean up at the same time!"
She laughed, trying to make light of it but Ross had quickly become a father to her and she was desperately worried. Charlie nodded and dashed off to their room. Joey apologised politely to Angelo as she dialled Ruby's number and hurriedly tried to clear the plate away. Angelo followed her in the kitchen.
"Why don't you just leave all this?" he suggested, sensing her panic.
"I can't leave it all for Leah to do," Joey said, clearing the table and getting clumsy.
Ruby picked up her call and they arranged to meet in ten minutes at the Surf Club car park.
"Joey, let me do this, okay?" Angelo suggested. "I'll have everything tidy before Leah gets home and then you, Charlie and Ruby can just focus on Ross."
Joey looked a little sceptical but in an emergency, she really didn't have all that much choice. Thanking him, she hurried to update Charlie on the situation.
Five minutes later, certain they had forgotten a tonne of things but desperate to get to Ross as soon as possible, Charlie and Joey charged out of the house. Angelo watched them go and then obediently began to do the dishes. He rummaged around in cupboards to find appropriate containers for leftovers and aside from its abrupt end, thought the evening had gone well. He was also pleased that Joey had trusted him enough to let him stay in the house unattended. Rummaging around in cupboards again for tea towels, suddenly an idea struck him.
"Is he going to be okay?" Ruby asked worriedly from the backseat.
"We don't have any details yet," Charlie said. "We just have to wait and see, I'm afraid."
Ruby sighed heavily and sank back in her chair. Joey reached behind her and squeezed Ruby's hand, trying to do what she could to reassure her.
"There's no point panicking until we know what's going on," she said gently. "Let's just get there and make sure that whatever we're facing, we do everything necessary to be strong for Ross."
Charlie nodded. She wiped her eyes hurriedly and focussed on the road, thanking Joey for always being there to look after them when it felt like the world was falling apart.
Having cleared the table and cleaned up the kitchen, Angelo embarked on his plan. Checking out the window that nobody was heading back towards the house, he headed towards Charlie and Joey's bedroom. His heart pounded at the risk he was taking. He was just starting to get along with Joey and he didn't want to ruin it just yet. But having not found anything incriminating on Charlie's phone or laptop, the temptation to snoop around further was too much for him.
Letting himself into their less than tidy bedroom, after Charlie had run around like a mad woman throwing clothes into bags. Hurriedly, he began to rummage through drawers, not entirely sure of what he might find. Seizing a diary in one of the bedside drawers, he was disappointed to learn it belonged to Joey who seemed to write nothing more than how happy she was with her life.
Approaching the dresser, he pulled open the top drawer and found a camera. Turning it on, his eyes widened as he flicked through some rather explicit shots of an extremely scantily clad Charlie Buckton. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he leered over them in some detail. She really was stunning. And even if she was about to get her heart broken, at least Joey would always appreciate what she had.
Reluctantly turning the camera off, Angelo put it back and continued to hunt through the room as tidily as he could. After fifteen minutes, having still found nothing to prove Charlie's affair, he left, locking up the house behind him as promised and posting the keys back through the door. He still, however, remained utterly convinced that Charlie was seeing someone behind Joey's back. And he was determined to bring that to light.
Next time... Ruby struggles to cope with Ross and Charlie and Ross have a heart to heart...
