Hi everyone. Sorry for the long absence. I hit my head a couple of weeks ago and got concussion, which has developed into Post Concussion Syndrome, which I'm still trying to get a handle on. But I just haven't been myself or been well enough to do very much these last few weeks, not least because I keep forgetting everything all the time! But I really hope to get back to regular updating now. So I hope you enjoy the chapter. And I hope this is the right story to update! Love, IJKS xxx

Chapter Four Hundred and Twenty Two

Xavier was a little perplexed to bump into his girlfriend at Bucktons' the following afternoon. He was then horrified to realise that they were both applying for the same job.

"Oh, um… should I not apply?" he wondered.

"Of course you should apply," April encouraged. "We should both apply."

"But we'd be going against each other," Xavier said. "Isn't that kind of awkward?"

"Are you applying or what?" Angelo asked impatiently from the other side of the bar.

April and Xavier exchanged glances.

"Let's do it," April decided.

"Let the best… um, person win," Xavier agreed.

They both handed in their applications and then headed off to school.

Angelo took the forms, responses to the advertisement Joey had put up for a new waiter to fill a recent gap, into Joey's office, where she was working on the accounts – her least favourite part of the job.

"Two more applications – April Scott and Xavier Austin," Angelo announced. "April is probably credible but anyone with Austin in their surname…"

"Anyone?" Joey remarked. "You can't write off the whole family. I mean, how awesome is Gina?"

"Okay, I'll give you Gina but Xavier?" Angelo said sourly. "He's a moron."

"I was about to ask you to sit in on the interviews but…"

She grinned at the way his eyes lit up.

"I'll be impartial," he promised.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

She'd talked her plan through with Charlie that morning and both had agreed that asking Angelo to be part of the interview process was a nice idea. Joey wanted to make him feel better about himself and she hoped it would be a good way of helping him impress Paulie and make him look a bit more important. She wanted to give his self-esteem a boost if she could.


At school, VJ was in a state of silent panic and didn't know what to do. When he'd come home from school the previous day, he'd found his letters from Elijah in a slightly different order. And there could only be one reason for that. His mother had found the letters and opted not to tell him that she knew he'd been in touch with Elijah. Now he didn't know what to do or say. The moment the bell rang for lunch, he phoned Miles.


On their lunch time patrol, Charlie decided to be brave. She glanced at Watson, beside her in the patrol car and cleared her throat quietly.

"I don't think it's too late, you know," she said.

"What do you mean?" Watson asked.

"For you and Kerri," Charlie said.

Watson sighed and looked out of the window.

"I mean, you got along so well last night," Charlie ventured.

"As friends," Watson pointed out. "As a consolation prize."

She sighed again, chewing the nail on her index finger.

"No," Charlie insisted. "I really think I saw a spark there. And I think if you made some sort of big gesture… now, before she gets in too deep with Brax then maybe…"

"Maybe I'll get shot down and humiliated?" Watson said sourly.

"Maybe," Charlie conceded. "But wouldn't it be nice to try?"

Watson sighed, aware that she had lost her chance before because she had held back and not been confident. But she had a proper reason this time – Kerri wasn't single. She was dating Brax, who wasn't exactly famed for losing girlfriends. He was normally the one who discarded them.

"And I'd suggest you do it before she gets too involved with him," Charlie added. "You don't want to lose her for good."


Miles hung up the phone from VJ, feeling guilty. He'd been feeling guilty for a while now, painfully aware of the secrets that they and Elijah had been keeping from Leah. He had been trying to do the right thing, help an upset little boy process his feelings about the breakup of the first family he'd known in a long time. But was it ever right to allow a son to keep secrets from his mother? And what were they meant to do now that it looked like Leah had happened upon the letters? It looked like everything was about to go very, very wrong.


"Well, thank you very much, April," Joey said sincerely. "We'll give you a call this evening to let you know the outcome."

She stood up and showed the interviewee to the door.

"You did really well," she whispered, aware that the teenager was still nervous.

The truth was, she felt sorry for Xavier, who was coming in next. He would have to be fantastic to beat her. Although anxious, April had been confident and showed that she would be very capable. She was intelligent and had experience. Joey already liked her and thought she would be a great addition to the team. She could tell that Angelo had been impressed too.

"Thank you," April said.

Joey saw her off and then welcomed Xavier into her office. Her daughter's ex-boyfriend looked nervous as he entered the room.

"Hi, Xavier," Joey greeted, gesturing for him to sit down. "How are you?"

"Nervous," he admitted. "I've never had a job before."

"Not a great start," Angelo remarked.

Xavier looked crestfallen.

"That's fine," Joey assured him. "Everyone has to start somewhere."

Xavier exhaled, trying desperately to relax a bit.


Miles was nervous after he finished work when Leah asked to see him, terrified that she had worked out that he was the one who had helped VJ communicate with Elijah. With her son at soccer practice, the friends met up for a coffee.

"I found letters between Elijah and VJ under VJ's bed," the Diner owner blurted out.

Miles winced, unsure of how to respond. He didn't want to lie to her but he was nervous about telling the truth as well.

"They've been communicating for weeks, if not months," Leah continued anxiously. "I don't even know how."

"Have you… spoken to him about it?" Miles asked, knowing fully well that she hadn't.

"No," Leah said. "I panicked and put the letters back where I found them."

"Are you going to speak to him?"

"I don't know," Leah said. "I just… someone must be helping him."

"What do you mean?" Miles asked, even more anxious. "Helping him?"

"He's ten," Leah said. "He wouldn't have the first clue over how to write to someone in Africa. Someone must be facilitating this. I just don't know who."

"Me," Miles confessed.

Leah just stared at him.


Joey and Angelo were still sat in Joey's office, debating who should get the waiting job, although really it wasn't that hard a choice. April had been fantastic while Xavier had been clumsy at best. He had said all the wrong things, had no experience and generally, the interview had been a nightmare for all concerned.

"Why are you even debating this?" Angelo asked, half amused and half incredulous. "He was useless. At least his criminal brother had a brain."

"Maybe we shouldn't talk about his criminal brother," Joey suggested with a smirk.

Angelo grinned and nodded.

"He was useless though, you have to admit," he said.

"He was so nervous…" Joey said.

"And had no experience," Angelo pointed out. "He openly admitted that he doesn't even carry his breakfast to the table at home!"

Joey chuckled.

"April was pretty damn impressive," she recalled.

"She was," Angelo agreed.

"Are we unanimous?" Joey asked.

"I think we are," he said.

They shook on it.


"I'm so sorry," Miles apologised hurriedly. "I never meant to hurt you and VJ certainly didn't. I was just trying to help him process everything. He misses Elijah so much and…"

"It's okay," Leah sighed. "I… I'm hurt."

Miles sighed heavily and hung his head.

"But I can't really be angry," Leah added. "He needed closure as much as I do. I just wish he'd felt able to turn to me about it…"

Miles reached out and held her hand.

"He was worried about hurting you by bringing it all up," he said. "He thought if he left you out of it then he could deal with his own pain and you didn't need to know. That's why we kept it a secret. I know I shouldn't have but we were honestly trying to do right by you, Leah."

She put her hand on top of his.

"I understand," she said. "And I understand the urge to write to him. I can't even tell you how many letters I've written and not sent."


Charlie arrived at the restaurant just in time to see April almost skipping from the building.

"Somebody's happy," she remarked, approaching Joey and kissing her 'hello'.

"She got the waitress job," Joey explained.

Charlie smiled.

"That's great," she said.

"Yeah, Angelo and I agreed that she was a wonderful candidate," Joey enthused, leading the way through to her office so she could grab her stuff to go home with. "I feel bad for Xavier though."

"Xavier?"

"He applied too and he was… not good."

"Poor kid," Charlie said. "I'm sure you were gentle in letting him down though."

"I tried my best," Joey said. "He was really disappointed though. I hope it doesn't make it awkward for him and April."


Xavier deliberately stopped off at the first shop he and April walked past that sold flowers. He bought a small bouquet with his meagre funds and presented them to his girlfriend, congratulating her on getting the job at Bucktons'.

"Congratulations," he said.

He was gutted for himself but proud of her and knew she deserved it. The best person had most definitely won.


Next time… Joey has a surprise for Charlie, Dex tries to help Ruby and Angelo is weighed down by Paulie's debt problems…