For luckdog because you are a wonderful friend. And I promise to email you back soon! Love, IJKS xxx
Chapter Three Hundred and Seventy Seven
Thursday evening rolled around and Joey was thrilled to be standing in the middle of her perfectly renovated restaurant. Now, all she had to do was decorate it, put her menu into action and hire some staff. She clutched Charlie's hand as she looked around, hardly able to take it all in. This had seemed like such a far off dream. She could hardly believe that it was now a reality.
"I'm really proud of you, love," Alf said.
Joey turned to face him, unable to stop smiling. She surprised them both by launching into a hug.
The following morning was due to be Joey's very last day at the bait shop. She was excited about the restaurant but she was sad to be leaving her job. For some people, working in a bait shop might not be the best job in the world but she loved it. She loved the work, she loved her boss and she loved her customers. She had also grown very fond of Marilyn since she'd set up shop next door. At this rate, she thought she might even miss Angelo.
Charlie took Watson out on patrol. Monica had been gone for several days and she was missing her like crazy.
"Maybe I should have gone with her," Watson sighed from the passenger seat of the car.
"Did you want to?" Charlie asked.
As much as she couldn't bear the thought of her friend and colleague moving to the other side of the world, if it was what Watson needed to do to be happy then she knew she had to support her.
"I miss her so much," Watson ventured. "But no… I don't want to move to a different country. I like it here. It's my home. It's where my family, my friends and my job are. I just wish that Monica was still here too."
Charlie reached out and squeezed her friend's hand.
"It sounds like you've done the right thing," she said. "But unfortunately, the right thing never seems to be the easy thing."
"And the counselling service begins," Angelo remarked when he spotted Nicole approaching the bait shop. "Please help me, Joey, font of all wisdom!"
He shook his head in sheer disbelief.
"I can't help being a genius!" Joey joked.
Angelo rolled his eyes as Joey stepped outside to greet Nicole.
"What's up?" she asked.
"I think you're right about Penn seeing other girls," the blonde teenager blurted out. "And I know I said things are just casual for us but they're not. I really care about him, Joey. How am I meant to figure out if he cares about me too?"
Elijah sighed with relief when he finished his talk at VJ's school. He had spent so long planning it that it felt strange to be delivering it at long last. Any nerves he had had about not being up to scratch had been lifted pretty quickly as VJ and the rest of classmates offered their rapt attention to his stories from his missionary work.
"Do you want to come and see it?" Joey asked.
She was surprised by her own question almost as much as by Angelo's agreement.
"Since when are you interested in my restaurant?" she wondered, packing up for lunch time.
"Since I discovered that you aren't as evil as I thought you were," he replied evenly.
She eyed him curiously.
"Has hell frozen over or are we able to tolerate each other?" she wondered.
"Hell must have because I'm not even tolerating you anymore," he said. "I think I might… like you."
Joey snorted at his disgust and shook her head.
"I might even be bordering on liking you too," she admitted. "But let's not analyse it too much. We might be spinning earth off its axis here."
"Yeah," Angelo chuckled.
Joey then led the way out of the bait shop and towards the restaurant to show him the work that had been done before she went to have lunch with Charlie.
"So, you're pleased with how it went?" Leah asked.
"Just a little bit!" Elijah replied.
He couldn't seem to stop smiling. Moving from behind the counter at the Diner, she hugged him.
"I'm proud of you," she said.
Elijah continued to beam. Leah kept a smile on her own face, all the while her fear that he would soon get bored with life in Summer Bay, nagged at the back of her mind.
Charlie and Watson arrived at the Diner and looked somewhat perplexed at the sight of Joey and Angelo sitting together.
"What's going on?" Charlie asked curiously.
"We're attempting to be… friends is too strong a word," Joey said. "Acquaintances?"
Angelo nodded his agreement.
"I think I might faint," Charlie said, sitting in a chair next to her girlfriend.
"Then I'll need to give you mouth to mouth," Joey decided, kissing her.
Watson was surprised to see that Angelo didn't even pull a face.
"So, we're all friends again?" she asked, taking a seat.
"Acquaintances," Angelo and Joey both said.
"Should I be feeling threatened?" Charlie wondered. "It's usually you and me that say the same thing at the same time."
"I can assure you that I'm not about to run off with Angelo," Joey said, squeezing her hand.
"And I've made a halfway through the New Year resolution not to try and steal either of you from the other," Angelo put in. "I'm a changed man. I swear."
Charlie eyed him curiously, not entirely sure whether to believe him or not. She wanted to. She wanted to forget all the upset he had caused over the last year and be his friend again. But she wasn't convinced it was possible.
"Alf has invited us for drinks at the Surf Club after work," Joey informed her girlfriend. "Because it's my last day and everything."
She frowned at the thought of leaving the bait shop, even though she was going to something very exciting.
"I'll be there," Charlie promised.
"Watson?" Joey asked.
"Oh, you don't need me there…" the Senior Constable said, her currently low self-esteem taking over.
"But I want you there," Joey said. "You're my friend."
She smiled. Watson smiled back.
Nicole, Romeo and Miles stopped by the bait shop on their lunch break to see Marilyn.
"You did really well this morning!" the teacher enthused.
Marilyn had hidden Mr Oddly in the shower to freak Alf out a little bit more.
"We should probably give him a break sometime soon," Romeo suggested.
"Nah!" Miles grinned. "It's too much fun!"
"What's too much fun?" Joey wondered, appearing in the doorway.
The foursome looked rather guilty. Joey eyed them suspiciously.
"We've been messing with Alf," Miles admitted, suddenly not finding it funny anymore.
"With the doll?" Joey asked, frowning.
They reluctantly admitted it.
"Then I suggest you put a stop to it," Joey told them firmly. "I know you think it's hilarious but he's really stressed by it. It's not fair."
Without another word, she resumed her work.
"Do you think I'll ever find someone to love for good, Charlie?" Watson asked.
They were patrolling Mangrove River, having broken up a gang fight. Whenever they were called out to deal with the River Boys, they generally patrolled to make sure another fight didn't break out.
"I know you will," Charlie replied.
"But what if you only get one person to love?" Watson asked. "What if Monica was the person I was meant to be with and I just threw it away?"
Charlie sighed and pulled the car over to the curb. She looked Watson directly in the eye.
"You did what was right for you," she said sincerely. "Everyone has their own path to take. It would be nice if we could all stay with the people we wanted on the journey but sometimes it's not possible. Nobody knows what will happen in the future. Maybe Monica will come back, maybe you'll head over to the UK or maybe you'll meet someone new. And maybe she'll be the woman you're meant to be with forever."
Watson managed a smile, comforted by her friend's words.
"But whatever happens, you'll always have Joey and I," Charlie added, pulling back out when the road was clear. "You're stuck with us for life, I'm afraid."
"I can live with that," Watson decided.
After school, Romeo went straight out to go surfing. He now felt a little guilty for the way he and the rest of the house had been messing with Alf. And he was hoping that the game would stop now that Joey had told them all off. Finishing with the waves, he headed back up to the beach. He was startled to find Mr Oddly under his towel.
"Ready to go?" Joey asked, poking her head around Marilyn's door.
It was the end of the day and she was sad to be saying goodbye to a job that she loved.
"Am I still invited?" Marilyn asked quietly.
Confused, Joey stepped further into the room.
"Of course you are," she said. "Why wouldn't you be invited?"
"Because you think I'm horrible for the trick on Mr Stewart," Marilyn replied.
Joey chuckled.
"I don't think you're horrible," she assured her. "I just think it's enough now and you guys should all leave him alone."
"We will," Marilyn promised.
"So, are you ready to go?" Joey asked. "Because there is a big glass of wine at the Surf Club with my name on it!"
Grinning, Marilyn stood up to leave.
Fifteen minutes later, Joey, Charlie, Alf, Marilyn, Angelo and Watson were all seated around a table at the Surf Club, ready to celebrate the end of one career and the beginning of another.
"You really didn't have to go to so much trouble," Joey said, as Alf popped a champagne cork and poured out glasses for all.
"You deserve it," he assured her.
Joey blushed a little and took Charlie's hand, feeling rather shy.
"I can't believe it's all happened so quickly," she said. "One minute I had months to wait until I could get everything ready and the next, well, here we are."
Charlie kissed her cheek.
"We're proud of you," she said.
"So, what's the name of the restaurant?" Angelo wondered.
"It's still a secret," Joey said. "I've ordered the name in funky lights and it will be fitted next week. Then we can all find out together."
"I still think I deserve to know first," Charlie complained, pouting a little.
"Nope," Joey said, kissing her quickly on the lips. "It's a surprise."
That evening, Alf and Marilyn arrived home to find Romeo, Nicole and Miles arguing about Mr Oddly. Romeo immediately turned on Marilyn. Feeling smug with his own revenge, Alf headed up to bed.
Shedding their clothes quickly, Charlie and Joey kissed passionately. Charlie lay Joey back on the bed, kissing her way down her body. Joey closed her eyes, moaning as she enjoyed every sensation Charlie offered. Life really was good.
Next time… Charlie and Joey begin to set up the restaurant, April introduces Bianca to new boyfriend, Xavier but she's more interested in Liam and Veronica interrupts Sid and Marilyn's date…
