Sorry for the lack of update yesterday. I had to go to my ME/CFS group, then lunch, then a friend had a crisis and then I travelled to my mum's house for the next few days so by the end of all that, I was exhausted! But normal service resumes from now. I hope you enjoy the chapter. Love, IJKS xxx
Chapter Three Hundred and Sixty Eight
"Shit, we're going to be late," Joey mumbled.
She sat up abruptly, with her hair standing on end and nudged Charlie who just moaned and rolled over.
"Charlie, we overslept," she hissed.
"What?" Charlie asked, half sleepy and half panicked.
She too sat up and rubbed her eyes. She focussed on the clock beside the bed. They had five minutes until they were supposed to leave.
"Shit," Charlie agreed tiredly. "Why didn't you set the alarm?"
"Why is it my responsibility?" Joey asked, hauling herself out of bed.
Charlie followed suit.
"Because the clock is on your side of the bed," she informed her.
"So?" Joey complained, unhappily forgoing a shower and putting some clothes on.
"You always set the alarm!" Charlie pointed out, rummaging in the wardrobe for a fresh uniform.
It was her first day as Senior Sergeant of the station. Being late really wasn't a good look.
"Sorry if I was distracted," Joey pouted.
It turned into a smirk. Charlie caught it and grinned, heading over to her while she did her trousers up. She pulled Joey into a kiss, happily remembering the night before. Their kiss deepened immediately and they tumbled back on the bed together.
"We really don't have time," they agreed in unison, getting up again.
"But you're in a world of trouble tonight," Charlie said wickedly.
Joey grinned at her.
"Will there be handcuffs?" she asked hopefully.
"If you're lucky," Charlie replied.
Alf headed over to the Surf Club in a state of distress. Last night, he had thought he'd got rid of that blasted doll, Mr Oddly. But sure enough, when he'd come down to breakfast, there had been, grinning inanely and covered in mud. He made Alf's skin crawl.
"Sorry I'm late!" Joey called into Marilyn's room when she finally arrived at work.
"That's a poor show," a man commented behind her.
Joey whirled around to find Angelo hovering in the doorway. They might have called a truce but Joey doubted there would ever be a day when she was pleased to see him.
"What do you want?" she asked a little more harshly than she meant.
She was still flustered from having to hurry out of the flat at breakneck speed.
"Great customer service," Angelo commented. "I'm here for Marilyn, actually."
Joey merely shrugged and started her working day. Angelo headed into the other room and asked Marilyn if she would give him a reading.
"Are you serious?" Ruby squeaked, almost jumping up and down with joy.
Liam chuckled and nodded.
"I'm serious," he assured her. "We have a proper recording session booked for our demo. And I can't wait."
Still beaming, Ruby hugged him. Liam felt a little uncomfortable but at the same time, he was as happy as she was. The time might have finally come when he could get his old career back. And with Ruby by his side, he was sure he wouldn't fall into the same traps as last time.
Angelo left Marilyn's tarot reading less than pleased. Marilyn then appeared, looking anxiously at Joey.
"That was one of the worst readings I've ever done," she said glumly.
Despite her own distrust of the former police officer, Joey was concerned.
"What happened?"
"You won't tell anyone? Well, except Charlie, obviously," Marilyn said. "I know you tell her everything."
Joey gestured for her to sit down so they could chat properly.
"His past was all about failure," Marilyn admitted. "And he got all maudlin about the police officer he killed, going to prison, letting Hugo go and losing his job and everything."
Joey nodded. Whether she liked the guy or not, she could barely imagine the amount of guilt the guy must carry around with him every day.
"And then his present was the same," Marilyn continued. "Losing his job, not having managed to get… um, a girlfriend…"
She looked down rather anxiously.
"You mean he didn't manage to get Charlie as a girlfriend," Joey said.
Marilyn nodded uncomfortably. Joey grinned.
"Don't worry," she said. "I can take it. I know he's not a threat."
Marilyn looked relieved and smiled.
"And then there was his future," she added.
"Not good?"
Marilyn sighed.
"It doesn't look like he's ever really going to achieve anything," she said unhappily. "He's going to be mediocre at work, in his love life…"
She sighed again.
"How do you give a reading like that to someone? When it's so hopeless?"
John and Gina sat opposite each other at the Diner, drinking coffee.
"So…?" he coaxed.
"I can't move in with you," Gina told him.
His face instantly fell.
"But I'd like to invite you to move in with me and Xavier," she added.
He was elated.
Before meeting Charlie for lunch, Joey headed over to the Surf Club to talk to Alf.
"What do you think of hiring Angelo to replace me at the bait shop?" she suggested, getting right to the point.
Her boss just stared at her.
"Are you insane?" he asked.
"Probably," Joey remarked. "You know he's never been my favourite person but I just thought if someone gave him a chance then maybe he'd have a bit of direction in life. Maybe if he thought someone believed in him, he'd stop messing everything up all the time."
Alf nodded thoughtfully. Rightly or wrongly, he was grateful to the corrupt cop for giving his granddaughter the chance to live her life with the man she loved, even if it wasn't the life or the man he would have chosen for her.
"That's a big maybe, Joey," he said.
"I know," Joey said. "I'm certainly not trying to force you or anything but I figured it was worth an ask. And I'm happy to train him up before I'm needed full time at the restaurant."
"I'll think about it," Alf promised.
Tony sat in the farmhouse shed, depressed and alone. Not one single person had bothered to show up for his class, not even people who had promised. Unhappily, he considered that Rachel might have been right after all. Perhaps the whole venture had always been destined for failure.
"It's just really scary!" Joey admitted over lunch with her girlfriend. "I'm spending thousands here! Thousands! I've never even had a thousand to myself and now…"
She shook her head, marvelling at how many purchases she had been making for the restaurant. The builders were now in there, turning the vacant room into the palace Joey required. It was hard to believe that her long lost dream was actually coming true. And she very much knew that she had Charlie to thank for it.
"It's pretty exciting, isn't it?" the Senior Sergeant said with a smile.
Joey nodded enthusiastically, making Charlie giggle.
"Do you think if we eat fast, we'll have time to go and check on the builders?" she asked. "I want to see what it looks like at every stage!"
Charlie chuckled and reached for her hand.
"I think we can definitely do that," she said.
"It's a kind offer but no thanks, Alf," Angelo said, attempting to sound polite.
Following Joey's suggestion, the businessman had offered Angelo a job at the bait shop, only for it to be rejected.
"It was just a suggestion," he said.
"And I'm grateful," Angelo replied. "But I was a police officer, Alf. I was a Senior Constable. I think selling bait to fishermen is a bit beneath me."
Joey was in a thoroughly good mood when she arrived back at work, having gone with Charlie to watch the progress on the restaurant. She could hardly believe that in a few weeks, she would be finishing her work with Alf and starting up her very own business. It was beyond exciting. Her face fell when she saw Tony approach, not looking very happy.
"Hey, Tony," she greeted warmly. "What's up?"
"I thought you were coming to the boxing class," he barked.
"I am," Joey said, furrowing her brow.
"Then why didn't you show up?"
"Um… because it doesn't start until six thirty tonight…?"
Tony looked confused. Joey whipped the poster off the wall and showed him. He coloured.
"I printed the wrong time," he said.
"You did?"
"I meant the lessons to be at lunch time," he told her. "And I thought nobody had bothered to show up."
Joey smiled kindly.
"Make sure you're there for six thirty tonight and Charlie and I will make sure we will be too," she said.
"Be where?" Sid wondered, appearing in the store.
"My boxing class," Tony said before explaining the situation.
"Oh yeah," Sid said. "It's at the farm, isn't it? That's a great idea."
"Do you think so?" Tony asked hopefully.
"Yeah, boxing is brilliant for fitness," the Doctor said.
"Would you please come over to dinner tonight?" Tony asked.
Sid looked confused.
"Rachel isn't supportive of the classes," Tony told him. "Maybe she'd respect the opinion of someone as medically trained as she is."
"Uh… sure," Sid said a little uncertainly.
Joey waved as the two men headed out of the shop, deep in conversation. She smiled when she saw Alf approach.
"I followed your idea to give that waste of space a job and he threw it back in my face," he told her grimly.
Joey frowned. For a moment there, she had really believed that Angelo might be appreciative of someone trying to give him a chance.
"Sorry," she said.
"It's not your fault that he's an ungrateful git," Alf said. "It was nice of you to want to give him a chance. It's just a shame that he thinks he's too good to work in a place like this."
"He thinks he's above a bait shop?" Joey asked a little angrily. "That's one deluded guy – and not just because there's nothing wrong about working in a place like this."
"Are you okay, Watson?" Charlie asked a little worriedly.
The pair were out on patrol, having had a particularly and happily quiet day so far.
"I think Monica and I are about to break up," Watson admitted.
"What?" Charlie squeaked. "Why? What's happened?"
"She's got a really good job offer in the UK," Watson said glumly. "She says she hasn't made a decision yet but what are the chances of her sticking around here just for me when she has such a good opportunity?"
"Well, hopefully because she loves you," Charlie said softly.
She squeezed her friend's hand in support.
"Hey, we're going to a new women's boxing class tonight," she said. "Would you like to join us?"
"Oi!" Joey hollered when she spotted Angelo trudging along the beach.
He grimaced but approached.
"Why on earth did you turn Alf down like that?" she snapped.
"Because I don't want to work in a bait shop!"
"Do you have any better options?" Joey demanded.
He shoved his hands in his pockets, looking sullen.
"Angelo, we're not friends," Joey told him.
He just rolled his eyes.
"You've made a lot of mistakes that have hurt a lot of people," she continued. "But right now, you have nothing. You're a mess. Alf is willing to give you a second chance… well, more like a thousandth chance. You might have thought you were the big 'I am' when you were a cop but that's gone now, Angelo. You're not a police officer and you never will be again. You're flashing on the beach and drinking into oblivion. And I might not like you all that much, but I am worried about you. I'm worried about the even dumber decisions you make when you're feeling low. Alf's given you a chance and however much you might look down on a job like this, it's pretty much your only option. So why don't you grow up and accept the help that's being offered to you?"
Angelo stared at her for several moments, not quite sure what to say.
"Okay," he said quietly. "Thanks."
Without another word, he turned and left.
"So, I don't really know how he reacted," Joey explained in the car as she, Charlie and Watson headed over to their boxing class together. "He just said 'okay, thanks' and left. It was really weird."
"Weirder than you trying to get him a job?" Charlie remarked.
"Hey, I'm a nice person!" Joey protested indignantly.
"Oh, I know," Charlie assured her, resting a hand on her girlfriend's thigh. "It's just that you don't really like him and…"
"I feel sorry for him," Joey said. "And if nobody gives him another chance then he's just going to get more depressed, cause more trouble and become more of a burden. So really, it's in everyone's interests to try and help him out."
"You know he might have left town if he had nothing left, don't you?" Watson asked, leaning forward as far as her seatbelt would allow.
"Oh crap!" Joey sighed. "We were so close! Stupid Joey!"
Charlie squeezed her leg.
"Kind Joey," she corrected. "And your compassion for the world and everything in it, even the things and people you're not keen on, is one of the many, many reasons why I love you."
Next time… Angelo reconsiders Alf's offer, Ruby argues with Charlie over Liam and there is a thief at the caravan park…
