Hi everyone. I'm so sorry it's been so long since I updated. I was so poorly for a good two months and in all of that I've had to move house. I'm going to update all three stories today while I'm still at my Mum's for Christmas and then I'll be in my new flat. I don't have Internet until 9th January there but as soon as I do, I will start updating regularly again. New house. New life. New year. New updates. Love, IJKS xxx
Chapter Four Hundred and Forty Six
"Tomorrow is going to be one of the best days of our whole lives," Charlie enthused.
She and Joey were up extraordinarily early, having not been able to get the day off work and so needed to get the apartment ship shape between shifts in time for Ruby's homecoming.
"It is," Joey agreed with a gentle smile.
"I mean, I didn't think my daughter getting out of a residential clinic was going to be a landmark in her life, I'll grant you but… it's part of her story and I'm proud of her for all the work she's done," Charlie said, fluffing pillows even though they would only 'need' to be done again in the morning. "It's not about the falling, it's about the way you get back up, right?"
"Exactly," Joey agreed. "And your girl is made of strong stuff."
Charlie turned to her, wrapping her arms around her waist.
"Our girl," she reminded her.
Joey grinned, stealing a kiss.
"Our girl," she agreed. "Now, let's get these thankfully short shifts done and dusted, you come and pick me up from work, we'll come home, have dinner, we'll carry on getting the apartment sorted, sleep, and then we'll drive to the city all rested in the morning and pick Ruby and Claire up and bring them home. How does that sound?"
"It sounds perfect," Charlie said. "Although the work part really isn't short enough."
"I still can't believe we're actually going to go home tomorrow," Ruby mused. "I mean, for a while there, I was genuinely worried that I might be stuck here forever."
"I still can't quite get my head around it all," Claire admitted, sitting cross legged on her bed. "It's been a long time since I had anywhere I could call home."
Ruby looked at her, studying her face.
"You are happy though?" she checked. "That you're coming to the Bay? I'm not forcing all of this on you?"
Claire smiled.
"I'm so happy," she said. "So happy and so grateful, Ruby. But you'll have to forgive me for my adjustment period."
Ruby came to sit beside her, pulling her into her arms.
"We can adjust together," she promised.
Lunch time rolled around and, feeling restless, Charlie headed over to the restaurant to visit her girlfriend.
"What's with you?" she asked Angelo, who looked very much like he had a lot on his mind.
The ex-cop sighed and leant on the bar.
"I just don't know what to do about Paulie," he said.
"Still?" Joey replied bluntly.
Her employee's brother had been a pain in the backside for far too long.
"I know," Angelo grimaced. "But what's the solution? He's in debt up to his neck. If I don't help him, he's dead. But I don't have the money to help him. We've tried various ways to help him…"
"We know," Charlie and Joey replied pointedly and in unison.
He looked down, suitably ashamed.
"Angelo, he's a gown man and he needs to start acting like it," Joey eventually said. "There needs to come a time when he needs to face up to his mistakes and stop relying on you to bail him out. Don't get me wrong, I actually do like the guy. He's funny and entertaining. But this whole situation is ridiculous. He needs help. But not from you. You're already in a difficult situation and working hard to rebuild your own life out of difficult circumstances. You can't support him as well."
Angelo sighed.
"So what am I meant to do?"
He, Charlie and Joey exchanged glances.
"I'd tell your parents," Charlie eventually piped up.
Angelo stared at her for a moment.
"Really?" he said. "You would?"
"They're the only people in a position to help him. Also, they're the only people that can actually make him man up and take responsibility for the complete mess he's made of his life. If you keep permitting him to cover up his mistakes, dating all the way back to that fire you took the blame for all those years ago, then he's never going to learn. He's never going to become a better person."
Angelo nodded thoughtfully and then looked at Joey.
"She's one thousand per cent right," his boss said.
Alf was feeling a little less heavy hearted these days now that he had opened up and let Joey, Irene and Miles in on his troubles. To know that he had the support of those that loved him, even though he had shared the shame of his past with them, meant the world. And now, on his day off, where he was taking the time to do some work on the Blaxland, he felt himself actually relaxing just a little. That was, until, a shadow fell over him.
He looked up and his heart sank when he saw Penn standing on the jetty.
"You look like you're enjoying yourself a little too much," the younger man said darkly.
"You don't frighten me, Penn," Alf said. "In fact, if you carry on the way you are, trying to intimidate me, I might just go to the police about you and send you on your way."
Penn stepped closer.
"If you even think about going to the police, I'll tell the whole town about you and my mother," Penn warned. "Then what will your precious Bay and all its morons think of you? See, they all think you're a good man, don't they, Alf? But how will they view you if they know you drove a helpless woman to suicide? That she left a young son behind? All because of you? How will they look up to you then, Alf? How will they turn to you in a crisis then? How will you ever be the hero then?"
Alf swallowed. He tried to picture Joey, sweet, kind, non-judgemental Joey but her image was lost. Not everyone in this town was like her. Not everyone would be so forgiving if they knew the truth.
"Not so brave now, are you?" Penn said. "No. Leave the cops out of this. This is between me and you."
After work, Charlie headed back to the restaurant, eager to pick Joey up and bring her home. The plan was to eat, clean, relax and have an early night before heading over to pick the girls up in the morning and neither of them could wait. It had been a long time coming for the moment that their little girl could come home.
As she entered the restaurant, she stopped abruptly to realise that she had walked in on a big row. She scooted over to the bar where Joey was leaning, her head in her hands, looking helpless.
"How could you do this to me?" Paulie yelled at Angelo.
"It's the only thing I could do!" Angelo yelled back.
"You had to rat me out to Mum and Dad?" Paulie snapped. "Really? You couldn't do anything else? Not a single thing?"
"Did you really think that we could carry on the way we were? You sleeping on my couch, hiding from debt collectors? Really? It was achieving nothing!"
"It was buying me time!"
"It was buying nothing, Paulo!" Angelo exclaimed. "Mum and Dad will pay off the debt and set you up at the restaurant at home. They'll get you back on your feet and ready to start again. They'll help you fix everything."
"And you're the golden boy, no doubt."
Angelo managed a smile.
"You know what?" he said. "For the first time since the fire I didn't start, I am."
Paulie shook his head in disgust.
"I can't believe you told them the truth about that," he sneered.
"I should have told them the truth about that from the start," he told him. "If there is one thing I've learned over the last few years, it's the lies lead nowhere good. They're poison."
Paulie scoffed.
"Now, I'm taking you back to Mum and Dad's. No arguments. You get a fresh start and so do I. And we should both be grateful."
At the bar, Charlie and Joey exchanged glances. They were certainly grateful themselves.
That night, Charlie and Joey had followed through with their plan for cleaning and organising, eager to prepare everything for their daughter's return the next day.
Before bed, feeling hot and sweaty, Charlie stepped into the shower, eager to get clean. She'd just stepped under the spray when the door to the cubicle opened. She grinned to see her girlfriend already stripped off and eager. Opening her arms, she welcomed her in, kissing her passionately. Their tongues played as Joey pressed Charlie up against the glass wall.
"This is a nice surprise," Charlie murmured.
"Well, as much as I'm desperate for Ruby to come home, it's a shame not to take advantage of our last night having the place to ourselves," Joey said with a wicked grin.
Charlie returned the look and turned them around, pressing Joey against the wall. She kissed her firmly, running her fingertips against her wet skin, teasing her more sensitive places. Joey closed her eyes and moaned as her girlfriend began to explore. She tilted her head back, enjoying the water and the sensation of Charlie's mouth and hands as she sank lower and lower.
Charlie eventually settled between Joey's legs, parting them comfortably and hooking one over her shoulder for deeper intimacy. She kissed her thighs and breathed in her scent through the steam of the shower, stroking her with her tongue and exploring the folds of her most delicate place.
Joey's breath came out harder and faster, as Charlie offered wave after wave of delight. She scrabbled for something to hold onto but found nothing and it was all she could do to keep herself upright as ecstasy quickly took over. The entire room was filled with steam as pleasure cascaded over Joey in waves.
Charlie stood up quickly as Joey collapsed helplessly in her arms.
"It's been way too long since we got hot and steamy," Charlie mumbled into Joey shoulder, her lips pressed against her wet skin.
"Mmm," Joey managed, just about able to catch her breath.
She lifted her head and gazed into her girlfriend's eyes.
"Now," she said firmly, offering a wicked grin. "My turn to play."
Next time… Ruby and Claire come home, Ruby learns that Liam has left town and Marilyn is worried about Mitzy…
