Chapter Three Hundred and Seventy Nine
Alf was startled the following morning when he arrived downstairs to see Marilyn, in her robe, seeing Sid out of the house. Ducking his head, he moved into the kitchen, out of sight and tried not to listen to them saying goodbye. Obviously their date had gone well. He just hoped now that Sid wasn't about to break his friend's heart.
"Why are you not in uniform?" Joey wondered, eyeing her girlfriend curiously.
Charlie came to join her and Ruby at the table for breakfast, immediately going for the coffee pot.
"I've got the week off work," the police officer declared.
Joey's spoon paused on its way up to her mouth. Cereal milk dripped back into her bowl.
"Since when?"
"Since my girlfriend started working herself into the ground trying to get the restaurant open in time and I think she needs some help," Charlie said.
Ruby grinned at the look of pure delight on Joey's face as she thanked her.
Disharmony had broken out between Alf, Marilyn and Miles. Mr Oddly had shown up at the foot of Miles's bed and he was not happy about it. Taking Marilyn aside, he hissed his accusations.
"Just because Joey told you to lay off Alf, it doesn't mean you have to pick on me!" he said.
"I didn't do it!" Marilyn protested.
They both looked at Alf, tying his shoes in preparation to head out to work, wondering if he might be exacting some revenge.
"See you this evening, Rubes," Charlie said, kissing her daughter's head. "And we'll only be at the restaurant if you need us or anything."
"Thanks, Charlie," Ruby said sincerely.
She was still embarrassed about last night and dreaded facing everyone at school today.
"Take care, okay," Joey said, squeezing her hand and leading Charlie towards the door.
She halted in surprise when she opened up and found Xavier there, poised to knock.
"Oh!" she said. "Hi, Xave."
"Is Ruby in?"
Both her parents turned to communicate silently as to whether she wanted them to stick around.
"It's fine," the teenager sighed.
Charlie and Joey headed out of the apartment and down the stairs, leaving Ruby alone with Xavier.
"What brings you here?" Ruby asked, trying to pretend she wasn't anxious.
"You really have to deal with this Liam thing, Ruby," he told her, getting straight to the point.
"What Liam thing?" Ruby asked, immediately cagey.
"The fact that you're in love with him," Xavier replied.
Ruby glared at him.
"I'm not in love with anyone," she lied.
Xavier shook his head and folded his arms.
"Don't you realise how obvious it is?" he asked. "Aren't you embarrassed?"
"Xavier, you're being ridiculous," Ruby snapped.
She grabbed her school bag and barged past him to the front door. He grabbed her hand and swung her back round to face him.
"You have to forget about him, Ruby," he said. "He obviously likes Bianca and even if that wasn't an issue, there are plenty of other reasons why this whole thing would be a disaster."
"I don't have feelings for Liam," Ruby lied.
"I don't believe you!"
In a bid to prove herself, she crushed her lips against his.
"Okay, so how do you want the tables?" Charlie asked.
She and Joey stood in the middle of the restaurant, trying to figure out a floor plan.
"Well, there need to be tables that take advantage of the sea views," Joey mused.
Charlie followed her as she began to set up romantic tables for two along the window, with a table for four in each corner.
"I've ordered flowers and candles," Joey explained. "And cutlery and stuff. And fancy serviettes."
Charlie grinned and hugged her. They both looked out on the horizon.
"I am so proud of you," Charlie whispered, kissing her neck.
Joey smiled and blushed, leaning back against her.
"And I'm so grateful to you," she replied.
Xavier pulled abruptly away from Ruby in shock.
"What the hell are you doing?" he demanded, wiping his mouth.
"Proving to you that I'm not interested in Liam," Ruby said, shaking a little.
"By trying to get me to cheat on my girlfriend?" Xavier snapped. "Well, excuse me but I'm not like you."
"Oh really?" Ruby snapped. "Do you remember Freya?"
He blanched at the mention of his ex-girlfriend's name. That hadn't been the proudest moment of his life.
"That was different," he said. "And it was over a year ago. I'm with April now and I'm committed to her."
Denying her a right of reply, he left.
"So, are you going to have the name of the restaurant on the menu?" Charlie wondered, putting a vase with a paper flower on each table. "Because we should probably get them done pretty soon."
Joey smirked at her.
"Nice try," she said. "The menus are designed and ordered and you will not see them until we open."
Charlie pouted over her plan being foiled so quickly. Joey crossed the room and wrapped her arms around her waist. She kissed her tenderly.
"You'll be there to watch the sign go up," she promised. "And that won't be very long now."
"How long?"
"Next week," Joey told her. "And you'll have a front row seat."
Cheered, Charlie smiled and kissed her again.
"Do you think it would be wrong to christen this place?" she mused.
Joey contemplated the very tempting idea.
"Probably," she sighed.
Charlie pouted again.
"You're no fun!" she complained.
Joey raised her eyebrows.
"Okay, you're lots of fun," Charlie conceded. "So, what's our next job?"
At school, where Ruby hadn't shown up, Xavier was torn over what had happened that morning.
"Are you okay, mate?" Tony asked, approaching his nephew in the corridor.
"Yeah," Xavier said.
Tony didn't looked convinced.
"No," Xavier admitted. "I'm not."
"Is no place sacred?" Ruby demanded, appearing in the door of the restaurant.
Charlie and Joey leapt apart from a corner booth on the far side of the room. Blushing after the interruption to their heavy make out session, they straightened their clothes and stood up.
"What are you doing here?" Charlie wondered, looking rather flushed.
"You said to come by if I needed you," Ruby told her. "I need you."
Joey took her hand and led her to a central table.
"Have you even gone to school?" Charlie wondered, also sitting down.
"No," Ruby confessed. "I couldn't face it."
Charlie frowned.
"Skipping school is never the right choice, you know," she said.
"It was today," Ruby insisted.
"What happened?" Joey wondered.
She could only assume that it at least had something to do with Xavier.
Armed with Tony's advice to tell April the truth about what had happened with Ruby, Xavier was eager for lunch time to begin. He had arranged to meet April at the Diner where he planned to confess everything but maintain, truthfully, that he had not kissed Ruby back.
Without any actual stock, Joey had resorted to getting takeaway from the Diner to eat in her new work venue.
"I still don't understand why you did it," Charlie admitted.
Ruby had come to them to tell them the whole sorry story about Xavier.
"Because I was trying to prove that I don't like Liam," Ruby replied.
"But you do like Liam," Charlie said unhelpfully.
Ruby glared at her. Joey was quick to step in.
"What she means is, why was it so important to you for Xavier not to know about Liam?" she asked.
Ruby shrugged and sighed all at the same time.
"I'm just embarrassed, I guess," she admitted sadly. "For a while there, I really thought something could work out between us. But between Xavier and the obvious attraction between Liam and Bianca, I'm just feeling like a stupid kid. I hate it. I feel so alone and so… miserable."
Charlie and Joey both hugged her.
"Everything is going to be alright," Charlie assured her daughter. "I promise."
Waiting for April at the Diner, Xavier was dismayed to spot John enter the building and make a beeline for him.
"You look like you've got the weight of the world on your shoulders," his wannabe step-dad commented.
Xavier just glared at him.
"You know, if there's anything wrong that I could help you with…" John tried.
When Xavier ignored him again, the older man turned away.
"Actually, John," Xavier said. "Could I ask your advice?"
"This place really is looking amazing," Ruby remarked.
Having poured her heart out and been reassured that she wasn't going to die as a lonely, old spinster, she had requested a tour of the restaurant.
"I'm really pleased with it," Joey admitted bashfully.
"So you should be," Charlie said. "I'm so impressed with all the work you've done."
Joey beamed at her.
"Have you got much else to do?" Ruby asked.
"She has to tell us the name of the restaurant!" Charlie said.
Joey just rolled her eyes and told her to be patient.
"I was being patient but it took too long!" Charlie complained.
Joey put her hands on her hips.
"Quoting Buffy at me isn't going to help," she said. "However, I do now want to go home and watch it."
"Count me in!" Ruby said eagerly.
Xavier and April left the Diner together, holding hands on their way back to school. Against John's suggestion of keeping quiet, Xavier had explained the whole situation. April had been a little startled but generally accepting of the situation. She was reassured that Xavier hadn't initiated anything and had pulled away quickly. And she was also relieved that he had been honest with her, believing that lies just make a bad situation worse.
"Hey!" Xavier called, spotting John up ahead.
The older man turned and approached, noting Xavier and April's joined hands.
"I just thought you should know that I'm totally coming to you for relationship advice next time," the blonde teenager said.
John looked pleased, although a little unsure.
"Yeah," Xavier said. "I'll ask your advice and do the absolute opposite."
Then he marched back to school.
Arriving home after a productive day and armed with pizza and fizzy drinks, Charlie, Joey and Ruby happily settled on the sofa to begin a marathon of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. At the end of the couch, Ruby observed the way her mother leant against Joey. She just hoped that one day, she could love and be loved the same way Charlie and Joey did.
Next time… Penn takes revenge on Charlie and Joey when they don't want his help with the restaurant…
