Hi everyone. Sorry I haven't updated for a little while. Everything has just been a bit crazy but I hope to be back on track now and I also hope you enjoy the chapter. Love, IJKS xxx
Chapter Three Hundred and Fifty Three
"I can't believe it's Friday and you still haven't told me where we're going!" Joey complained. "We're leaving tonight! How am I meant to know what to pack?"
"We'll pack together and I'll guide you," Charlie replied calmly.
Joey had spent the week like an excited kid at Christmas but rather than finding it annoying, Charlie felt more endeared to her than ever.
"Can't you just give me a hint?" Joey wondered, fluttering her eyelashes.
Ruby giggled. She was sat round the breakfast table with her parents and she too was most amused by Joey's whining.
"If I give you a hint, would you convince Charlie that I'm grown up enough to stay here by myself?" she tried.
"No!" Charlie and Joey replied in unison.
Jill left John's apartment in a state of despair. Having slept with her several times in a row, he had dumped her in favour of trying to make things work with Gina. He had even had the audacity to lecture her on the need to fix her relationship with her son. From what she had heard, he hardly had the reputation of being a good father. Her anger increased the further she walked.
At lunch time, Joey was surprised to spot Ruby marching over to her in a very bad mood. Arriving at the bait shop, she slung herself into Joey's chair and looked thunderous.
"What's up?" Joey asked.
"You need to find someone else to 'babysit' me while you're away," she said. "Because Nicole and I have officially fallen out."
Worried, Joey sat down on the floor beside her.
"What happened?" she asked, more concerned with the state of her daughter's friendship than the trip, although she would be devastated not to go after all the excitement.
She had moaned a great deal about not being let in on the secret but really, the mystery was part of the enjoyment.
"She was late for school because she was too busy doing goodness knows what with Penn," Ruby complained.
Joey pulled a face. She hadn't interacted all that much with the new guy and he did seem nice enough but she was desperately worried about her friend getting her heart broken again.
"And…?"
"And when she got to school, I kindly told her she'd missed a Maths test and she got all stroppy and took out all her frustration on me!" Ruby exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air in sheer defeat.
"Well, I'm sure she didn't mean it," Joey tried.
"Then why did she say it?" Ruby asked, sounding suddenly young and vulnerable.
Joey reached out and hugged her.
"We'll get it all sorted out," she promised. "How about you come to lunch with me and your Mum?"
Ruby's eyes immediately lit up at the suggestion.
Charlie arrived early for the lunch date with Joey and was surprised but not disappointed when her girlfriend appeared with their daughter.
"This is a pleasant surprise," she greeted.
"I fell out with Nicole and Joey took pity on me," Ruby explained.
"Oh," Charlie said, her face falling. "You'd better try and make up before tonight…"
"I know!" Ruby snapped.
Charlie frowned. Maybe she was disappointed that her daughter had crashed the party.
"She's going back to school after lunch to try and talk things through," Joey said diplomatically. "And if not, she is going to see if Irene would let her stay for the weekend instead."
Ruby nodded, still looking glum.
"Okay, good," Charlie said.
"Unless you realise I'm mature enough to look after myself for one weekend," Ruby added. "I mean, come on! It's two nights! And you're only going down the road to the stupid…"
"Ruby!" Charlie interrupted, cutting her off.
"Sorry," the teenager said quickly. "I didn't think."
"Down the road to the stupid what?" Joey asked eagerly.
"To the stupid surprise," Charlie replied.
Nicole was back to swooning. She felt bad about her fallout with Ruby and hoped to have the chance to make it up to her. They had both been looking forward to their girlie weekend slumber party and she hoped it wouldn't end up cancelled now. The fact that she had spent her lunch time making out with Penn on the beach had vastly improved her mood.
Charlie had reluctantly gone back to work, where Angelo was the epitome of depression. Ruby had gone back to school even more reluctantly. And Joey had been more than happy to go back to the bait shop. But still, she was more than happy with most things.
"Hi, boss," Joey greeted when she saw Alf approach.
Her face fell when he looked deadly serious.
"What's wrong?" she asked worriedly.
"We need to have a chat about the future," he said.
"Are you firing me?" Joey fretted.
She was relieved when he chuckled and shook his head.
"Honestly, Joey, I would have you working in any of my businesses for the rest of your life," he assured her. "I've never employed anyone better. But I'm very aware that what you really want to do is start your restaurant. So I think we need to figure out a plan of action over how to get someone to replace you. As much as that sentence sticks in my throat!"
Joey smiled bashfully.
"I wish I could do both," she admitted. "I love working here. And I love working for you."
Alf smiled back at her.
"What's going on?" Ruby demanded when she arrived at school to find Liam on the floor and Xavier and Romeo fighting.
Nothing in the scene made sense and she was relieved when Tony appeared and pulled the boys apart.
"What's going on here?" he demanded, reiterating Ruby's unanswered question.
"He's trying to ruin my damn life!" Xavier hissed.
Liam hauled himself to his feet. Ruby fought the urge to rush to his aid when she realised he had a bloody nose.
"I'm not!" Romeo insisted. "Believe it not, not everything is about you!"
Xavier attempted to launch himself at his former friend again but Tony held him back.
"How did you get hurt?" Tony asked Liam.
"Xavier elbowed me in the face," the former rock star replied bitterly.
"Well, it's your situation so you can decide what to do but I recommend detention for both of them," Tony said.
"Right," Liam nodded, suddenly feeling like a fish out of water.
He was used to being laid back and having fun with the kids. He wasn't sure where to start with discipline.
"Detention," he decided. "After school. Both of you."
"At least you haven't been suspended or anything," Charlie tried.
Angelo had appeared in her office looking like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. After everything that had happened with Hugo, the pair had formed a tentative truce and even Joey wasn't as scathing about him as she had been. They both felt at least a little bit sorry for him.
"Thank goodness for small mercies," Angelo sighed. "I just wish they'd stop dragging their heels. I'm so tired of this, Charlie. I'm so sick of having to prove I deserve this job."
"Well, prove it this once and then do everything you can not to end up in this position again," Charlie suggested.
"It's not my fault!" Angelo protested.
"I'm not saying it is," Charlie replied, although it was hard to resist pointing out that yes, rightly or wrongly, he had caused the whole situation himself. "You just have to be careful from now on to follow every rule to the letter."
Angelo nodded but didn't look thrilled.
"I guess you're right," he said with a sigh. "So, I hear you're going away for the weekend…"
"So, we can be friends again and forget all about our fight?" Nicole asked hopefully, as she and Ruby walked home from school together.
"Absolutely," Ruby promised.
Nicole had apologised profusely for snapping and now they were happily looking forward to spending the weekend together.
"Long time, no see," Joey greeted warmly when Tony appeared in the bait shop.
She had an hour until she could close up and get packing for her mystery trip with Charlie. She was beside herself with excitement.
"Yeah, sorry I haven't been in much," he replied. "I've been rushed off my feet with school and trying to set up these boxing classes."
"Oh yeah, I heard about those," Joey enthused. "Have you started yet?"
"No, not yet," Tony said. "I was wondering if I could put a flyer up in here though?"
"Sure," Joey agreed, accepting one of the pieces of paper he was holding. "Although my clientele and yours probably don't match."
The boxing classes were exclusively for females.
"I know," Tony said, watching her put the flyer on the noticeboard. "But I want to advertise anywhere I can."
"I was actually considering applying for the class myself," Joey admitted.
"Really?" Tony asked, excitedly.
"Yeah," Joey said. "I really enjoyed the self defence that Leah and I did with Elijah. I thought it might be fun. And boxing isn't something Charlie's already done either so I might be able to get her to come along too."
Tony looked elated and handed over another flyer for her own personal perusal.
"I'm here," a tired, teenage voice said.
"Good," Tony replied, turning around and spotting his nephew looking bored in the doorway. "How was detention?"
"Fine," Xavier said. "Can we just get on with this please?"
Joey looked confused, prompting Tony to explain that Xavier had been caught fighting with Romeo and nearly knocked Liam out in the process.
"And now he's condemned me to an evening of handing out flyers," Xavier complained. "So, can we just get on with this please?"
Charlie and Joey arrived home without delay in order to pack quickly and head off for their romantic weekend. Ruby was already back and also packing for her weekend with Nicole.
"Why are you packing your uniform?" Joey asked curiously, stepping up beside Charlie who had her suitcase on the bed and was diligently filling it.
Charlie merely smiled.
"You're not taking me to a work function or something, are you?" Joey worried. "You know I'm not comfortable with the posh people!"
Charlie laughed at how stricken she looked and turned around in her arms so they were facing each other.
"I'm packing my uniform for you," she informed her.
Joey continued to look confused.
"I don't know if you remember but I certainly remember that you promised some dressing up, role playing games," she said.
Joey blushed and grinned.
"And this weekend seems like the perfect time to do it," Charlie decided.
Joey leant in and kissed her.
"Should I be worried that you have a fetish for cops?" she wondered, their mouth still touching.
"No!" Charlie giggled.
"You don't secretly have a thing for Watson, do you?" Joey teased.
Charlie laughed and hugged her.
"I love her to bits but no, I do not have a thing for Watson," she promised. "It's more about you being in uniform, rather than the uniform itself."
"Good," Joey said, kissing her again. "Then I am more than happy to wear it."
Charlie grinned and turned round to continue packing.
"Don't forget the handcuffs," Joey added cheekily.
Xavier's mood had picked up just a little. During his leaflet delivery chore, he had run into April again and they'd got chatting. She had even expressed an interest in the boxing classes, causing Xavier to suggest to Tony that he could help with them. He had been training to box for a little while there. Suddenly his interest was renewed.
"Be good, okay?" Charlie said, saying goodbye to Ruby outside Miles's house.
"I'm not five!" Ruby remarked, hugging her mother goodbye.
"Call us if you need us," Joey said, also hugging Ruby.
"I won't need you," Ruby assured them. "But I look forward to hearing about all the clean aspects of your trip when you get back. Now, go! Have fun!"
She hugged them both goodbye and sent them on their way before heading towards the house to spend her weekend with Nicole.
"So, where are we going?" Joey tried, when they got back into the car.
"It's a surprise!" Charlie continued to insist.
Next time… Charlie and Joe enjoy their weekend away, Alf offers Marilyn a job and Leah and Elijah have parent related problems…
