Chapter Three Hundred and Ninety One

Ruby woke up with quite the hangover the next morning, having sneaked behind the bar and stolen a bottle of vodka when everyone had been watching Liam perform. She thought it might have helped her get through the night but it had failed to medicate her pain. Still, she knew it wouldn't be the last time she tried it.


Bianca arrived back home, having stormed out to the gym. A card and a box of her favourite chocolates had been sent to her by her ex, Vittorio. Firstly, she had no idea how he had found her address. And secondly, she had been working so hard to get over him, the gift stirred up her old feelings and confused her. She paused when she spotted Xavier and April tucking into the chocolates.

"What the hell are you doing?" she snapped.

"Uh… we thought you didn't want them," April mumbled, wiping her mouth.

"I don't," Bianca said, snatching the chocolates away. "But I told you to bin them, not eat them yourself."

She promptly dumped them in the bin.


Having been rather exhausted the night before, Charlie and Joey hadn't cleaned up to the full extent they had to. So, rising early and still on rather a high, the couple headed over to the restaurant to get started. Tonight really was the real thing and they were determined it would be perfect.

"Hey, guys," Liam said, appearing as if from nowhere. "Can I have a word?"

"Sure," Joey said, putting the broom she had been using to sweep the floor with, down. "What's up?"

"I can't perform tonight," he admitted.

Joey looked immediately horrified.

"Why?" she asked quietly.

Charlie stepped up behind her, wondering what was going on.

"Liam can't perform tonight," Joey said anxiously.

"How come?" Charlie asked.

"I um… I have to go away for a few days," he lied. "I'm sorry."


Leah found herself back in the storage cupboard, overwhelmed with tears. Her body shuddered as wept and all she wanted to do was go home and sleep. But she felt that she should plough on and work and not let the loss of Elijah get the better of her. But it was so difficult to cope without him.


Shortly after Liam had apologised again, Tony replaced him in the doorway to the restaurant.

"You're not cancelling on me too, are you?" Joey asked unhappily.

He looked confused, not understanding what she meant.

"Don't worry," she said, waving a dismissive hand. "What's up?"

"You didn't happen to find a watch here, didn't you?"

"Yes, we did!" Charlie hollered.

She had come across it on the floor just as he had been asking.

"Thanks," Tony said, accepting it when Charlie brought it over.

"Bit girlie for you, isn't it?" the police officer joked.

Tony laughed and assured her that it was Rachel's. Charlie and Joey picked up on the unhappiness in his voice when he said his wife's name.

"Is everything okay?" Charlie asked, not wanting to be nosy but wanting to be kind.

Tony sighed and took a seat at the nearest table, twirling the watch in his hands. The women came to sit with him.

"I guess you've heard about her job offer?" he asked.

They both nodded.

"She wants to take it," he said. "And I don't think I'm even a factor."

"I'm sure you are," Joey said kindly. "She's not just going to walk out on you."

"I think she might," he revealed. "She's desperate to go and I… I want to stay here. I want to be able to visit my son's grave every week. I don't want to leave this place. It's my home."


Bianca stormed back home for the second time that day. She had been out and about again, trying to clear her thoughts but had only run into more frustrations. Firstly, Liam wasn't answering her calls and to top it off, she'd overhead John bitching about her to Alf.

"Is everything okay?" Gina asked, startled at her lodger's untimely arrival.

"You really could do better than John, you know," the blonde remarked before heading into her room.

Gina's own irritation grew.


No sooner had Tony left, Leah had appeared looking very drained. Charlie and Joey had both sat with her for a little while, before phoning Miles to look after her. They wanted to be good friends but they also had more to do before the opening and time was ticking away.

"I thought it was the bait shop," Joey mused, wiping down surfaces. "But they've followed me!"

Charlie chuckled and caught her up in a hug.

"Of course they followed you," she said. "You're the Summer Bay Agony Aunt!"


Tony and Rachel sat opposite each other at the dining table. On Charlie and Joey's advice, Tony had expressed his feelings about moving away and the reasons for not wanting to do it.

"I understand," Rachel said when he was finished. "But… I still want to go."

Tony sighed heavily and rested his face in his palms, wondering how they were ever going to stay together.


The evening hit faster than Charlie or Joey had anticipated but fortunately, everything had got done. Now, the whole room was buzzing and rapidly filling up. Joey had gone through the menu with a fine tooth comb when it came to her kitchen staff but she was torn between hosting and wanting to offer practical help.

"Jo, you're needed," Charlie called, poking her head around the door.

"But…"

"They're chefs, Joey," Charlie told her, reaching for her hand. "You don't need to cook every single thing."

Joey pouted but nodded and entered the main area of the restaurant where Angelo, Indi and her other waiting and bar staff worked to serve all their customers.

"Oh my…" Joey exclaimed when she spotted the newest arrivals – Ross, Morag, Brett, Amber and Aden had all arrived to support her opening night.

She glanced at Charlie.

"The secret phone calls," she realised.

Charlie grinned and nodded, watching her girlfriend rush up to them as politely as possible.


As instructed, Romeo arrived at Bucktons' to see Indi. He looked around, wondering what table she might be at before spotting her in uniform, serving behind the bar. Grinning, he hurried up to her.

"So, this is the big surprise, is it?" he asked, leaning on the bar.

"Yep," Indi said proudly. "What do you think?"

"I think you wear the uniform particularly nicely," he smirked.

She blushed and smirked back, happy to have got his attention at last.


"I'm so happy you're here," Joey said earnestly to Ross and Morag.

Ross patted her gently on the arm.

"Of course we're here, darling," he told her. "We're a family. We know how important this is."

Joey blushed and smiled shyly, leaning against Charlie who found her particularly adorable.

"And this is your brother?" Morag asked when Brett approached the group with Amber.

"Yes," Joey said happily. "This is Brett and his girlfriend, Amber."

"Fiancée, actually," Brett corrected.

Joey's mouth hung open for a minute before she hugged them both. Charlie waited patiently for her turn to congratulate them too.

"We haven't set a date yet," Amber said. "But we expect you to do the catering! The food here is absolutely delicious."

Joey offered yet another bashful smile.


Nicole froze when she saw Aden a few feet away. Although it shouldn't have been a shock, she hadn't even considered that he'd be back in the Bay tonight.

"Who's that?" Penn asked, nudging her.

"That's Aden," she said.

"The Aden?"

Nicole nodded, not entirely sure how to approach him. The decision was made for her when her ex-boyfriend turned around and spotted them. He waved shyly, took a deep breath and approached.


At the end of a long but wonderful night, Charlie and Joey, along with Ruby and Aden, were glad to get home. The girls had offered their friend the sofa for the night, happy to hear that he was planning to stay for a few days.

"What's with that guy though?" he asked as they arrived at the apartment. "Pencil?"

Ruby snorted with laughter and looked strangely giddy.

"Are you okay, Rubes?" Charlie asked worriedly.

Her daughter just didn't seem like herself at the moment.

"Fine," Ruby assured her. "Goodnight."

She headed off to her room, leaving her parents and Aden concerned.

"Do you think she's been drinking?" Charlie ventured, looking at Ruby's closed bedroom door.

"Maybe," Joey conceded. "But I can't think how. Nobody would have served her at the restaurant."

Charlie frowned, sighed and yawned all at the same time. Deciding that she was too tired to fight with her daughter, which is what it would likely escalate into but would deal with everything in the morning, she said goodnight and headed to her room. Joey fussed around with bedding and set Aden up on the couch.

"I'm really proud of you, you know," he said, catching hold of both her hands.

"Thank you," Joey replied. "And thank you for making such an effort to be here."

"I wouldn't have missed it for the world."


Next time… Charlie and Joey bask in the glow of their success, Joey helps Romeo when he hits another snag with Indi, and Nicole and Aden face each other…