Chapter Three Hundred and Ninety Four
The following morning, although still half asleep, Joey sat with Charlie at the kitchen table in a bid to stage an intervention with Ruby.
"We're just really worried about you," Charlie said. "You've seemed really down and uncommunicative. And we think we've caught you drinking once or twice."
Ruby looked guilty.
"I'm okay," she insisted.
"How are we supposed to know if that's true if you don't communicate?" Joey asked gently.
Ruby sighed and nodded.
"I lied about Liam," she admitted.
"What do you mean?" Charlie fretted.
"I still have feelings for him," Ruby explained. "I didn't get over them."
Charlie and Joey nodded. They had guessed as much.
"And where does Liam stand on all of this?" Charlie asked.
Ruby debated telling them about her ill-advised kiss attempt but decided against it.
"He doesn't want to be with me," Ruby said. "Obviously."
A wave of self-loathing hit her. Liam hadn't exactly been fussy about girls in the past. He'd gone after Belle when she was battling a drug problem and Nicole even though she was much younger than him too. Then he'd fallen into bed with Martha even though she had been horrible to him. And now it looked like he was keen on that witch, Bianca. Why wasn't Ruby good enough?
"Everything's fine," she lied, plastering a smile on her face. "My pride is just a bit dented, that's all."
Charlie reached out and touched her hand.
"I'll trust you," she promised. "But please, please don't keep things from us anymore. We can't help you if you don't talk to us and let us know what's really going on."
Ruby nodded and increased her smile.
"I promise," she said, knowing it wasn't true. "I won't get lost again."
In the bait shop, Angelo was fielding yet more calls from his brother. He knew the problem wouldn't go away if he ignored it but Paulie Rosetta brought chaos with him wherever he went. He had cost Angelo a lot in the past and considering the mess he had helped himself into this year, the last thing he wanted was to invite trouble and make it worse.
He had made plans again and he wanted to stick to them. The idea was to find a replacement for himself at the bait shop and gain full time hours with Joey at the restaurant. If he could earn her trust and build himself up, who knew what he could eventually achieve? He could become her right hand man, maybe even manager material. He was desperate to prove himself to Summer Bay and all the people in it. But Paulie would ruin everything, he was sure.
"You really don't need to babysit me," Ruby said to Joey as they headed over to the restaurant together.
She had an inset day, providing her with a long weekend away from school but when she had grunted that she'd had no plans, Joey had decided to bring her to work.
"I'm not babysitting you," Joey smirked. "This is pure, unadulterated slave labour!"
Ruby giggled, relaxing for the first time in a long time.
"Thanks," she said, ready to be useful to her step-mother.
At lunch time, Charlie was eager to catch up with Liam. She found him in the Diner, grabbing a coffee and enjoying a break from lots of boring teaching meetings. It really wasn't his thing and even being in the same room as Bianca hadn't helped. She was still annoyed with his lack of surprise that her bad temper had got her thrown out of Gina's house. But he wasn't prepared to apologise.
"I just wanted to check on the Ruby situation," Charlie said, getting right to the point.
"What Ruby situation?" he asked, immediately on guard.
"She's been really depressed over everything that's gone on," Charlie told him, inviting herself to his table. "And I need to know you haven't done anything to hurt her."
He held up his hands in defence.
"I haven't hurt more than her feelings by doing the right thing and turning her down," he assured her.
"And there's nothing else I should know about?" Charlie asked.
He swallowed, wondering just how much or how little Ruby had told her mother. Did she know about the kiss? What about the drunken fall into the swimming pool? Not wanting to make things worse, he just assured her that everyone's cards were on the table and nothing untoward had happened between anybody.
"Okay then," Charlie said, standing back up. "Thank you. And please tell me if anything changes."
Evening was drawing in and Ruby had been working hard. Joey was impressed with her and hadn't been shy about telling her so.
"Well, I like to make you proud," Ruby said shyly. "I um… I was thinking of seeing if Nicole was free to hang out or something. Is it okay if I go?"
"Sure," Joey agreed, hugging her goodbye.
What she didn't know was that Ruby had taken a bottle of vodka and she intended to drink it, miserable and alone.
"Hi, Angelo!" the teenager greeted as she walked out and he walked in. "Bye Angelo!"
He waved, a little startled and eagerly approached the bar.
"Always so punctual," Joey grinned, wiping it down and glancing at the clock.
What she hoped would be the usual rush, was due in soon.
"Well, you know I love the job," Angelo said earnestly.
She laughed a little shyly at him and wondered when they had gone from being mortal enemies to him being so eager to please all the time.
"Hey, Joey?" Angelo asked.
She paused and offered him her full attention.
"If I… if I could find a replacement at the bait shop and didn't leave Alf in the lurch, do you think there might be some more hours going here?" he asked hopefully.
Charlie happily finished a rather extended shift at work and was eager to collect Joey and take her home.
"You'll be up there for a while," Alf remarked as she passed through the Surf Club.
Charlie frowned and approached the bar.
"Is something going on?" she asked worriedly.
"Nothing but your girlfriend working herself to the bone," Alf said grimly. "I don't mean to interfere and I know this is important to her but I'm worried, Charlie."
The police officer nodded and sighed heavily.
"I'm worried too," she admitted. "She insists that she has to be here from first thing in the morning to last thing at night. She's so tired but she just won't give up the reins a little bit."
"I know she's the boss and she's determined to make a success of herself but she's going to burn out and then where's she going to be?" Alf agreed.
Charlie sighed again.
"I'll try and talk to her," she decided, although she doubted it would be as easy as that.
Ruby was wasted. She knew she was going to miss her curfew and if her parents realised, she would be in a heap of trouble, especially if they found her drinking and especially after their chat that morning. But she was out of control of herself now and she couldn't change that. She stumbled to her feet the moment she spotted Liam.
"Sweetheart, it's time to go home," Charlie coaxed.
The restaurant was closed and clean but Joey was reluctant to leave.
"Okay," she said. "I just need to…"
Charlie took hold of her upper arms, forcing her to be still and make eye contact.
"It's time to go home," she said firmly.
Joey sighed.
"I'm overworking, aren't I?" she realised.
"Little bit," Charlie grinned.
Joey apologised.
"Am I pissing you off?" she asked worriedly.
Charlie chuckled and hugged her.
"You're not pissing me off," she promised. "I'm just worried about you running yourself into the ground. This place needs you to be constant but you're not going to manage that if you're going at it so intently."
Joey snuggled up to her and closed her eyes. She really was very tired.
"I think I'm being a bad girlfriend," she sighed.
"You're not being a bad girlfriend," Charlie assured her.
"But last night, you actually had to tell me that you were worried about Ruby," Joey pointed out. "Normally I just know."
"It's okay that you're busy and focussed on other stuff right now," Charlie said. "I just don't want you to crash and burn, you know?"
Joey nodded. They sat down at a table together, holding hands.
"I'm just so frightened of screwing this up, Charlie," Joey admitted.
Charlie looked confused.
"Why would you screw it up?" she wondered.
"I've never been a success at anything," Joey told her. "I start things, I don't finish them, I've never had major career plans, I… This is so important to me. I even have people like Angelo, the man who has always hated me, wanting to prove his worth and be part of this business. And people tell me all the time about how great it is that we've started the restaurant and it's doing so well and everything. I don't… I don't want to let anyone down. I don't want to be a failure."
"You're not going to be a failure, Joey," Charlie said certainly. "This is an amazing venture, you've put your heart and soul into it and it's already a success. You can keep that going but you might just have to slow down a bit."
Joey nodded glumly.
"Angelo asked if he could have more hours," she ventured. "I said if he could find a decent replacement for Alf at the bait shop so he doesn't leave him in the lurch then he can try at being full time. Maybe I could step back a little bit, give him some more responsibility. And a few of the chefs are pretty keen for any extra work they can get as well."
Charlie looked amused.
"What?" Joey wondered.
"I'm just wondering when you decided that Angelo was trustworthy!" Charlie giggled.
It made Joey laugh too.
"I have no idea," she admitted. "It's an alien concept. But to his credit, he's punctual, polite and seems really committed. This job seems to mean a lot to him. The only other things I've ever seen him passionate about are the police, you and his pity parties. Working here seems to have given him something to focus on. It's nice."
Charlie smiled. She would probably always be a little sceptical of Angelo, given their history but it was a relief not to have to keep him and her girlfriend apart for fear of bloodshed all the time.
"How about when he goes full time, I'll start stepping back?" Joey suggested. "Can you put up with my full throttle approach until then?"
"As long as he's quick," Charlie grinned.
Joey grinned back and kissed her.
"And for the record, you have made more successes than just this place," Charlie added, hauling her to her feet mid-yawn.
"I have?" Joey asked sleepily, all her energy suddenly drained.
"Well, we've been together for quite a while," Charlie reminded her. "And I like to think we're a success."
"We are," Joey agreed.
"You're a fantastic Mum to Ruby," Charlie continued. "Not to mention the daily counselling service you provide to the whole community. People think well of you because you've proved yourself, Joey. You don't have to keep trying the way you are."
Arriving home, neither Charlie nor Joey were aware that when they looked in on their daughter, she had literally only just got home herself. They also didn't know she was less asleep and more in a drunken stupor, having stolen alcohol from the restaurant and made a desperate bid to be friends with Liam again. He had awkwardly agreed and then taken her home, becoming more and more worried that the situation was going to explode in his face.
Next time… Tensions flare between Ruby, Liam and Bianca, Angelo finds a replacement at the bait shop and Watson misses Monica…
