Thank you for your patience with updates. I hope you enjoy the chapter. Love, IJKS xxx
Chapter Four Hundred and Fifty Five
Charlie, Joey, Watson and Kerri were sat round a table in the window at the restaurant, looking forward to a nice meal on a Saturday night.
"So, what have you guys been up to today?" Kerri asked.
"We've been out on Alf's boat for most of the day," Joey said.
"It's her home away from home," Charlie explained.
Joey beamed.
"See?" Charlie chuckled.
"I do see," Kerri said. "I don't really have water wheels. I think I'll stay on land."
"Hmm…" Joey mused. "I'm sure I could convert you."
"She converted me," Charlie said. "I wasn't really one for boats either and now the Blaxland is one of my favourite places."
"Maybe…" Kerri considered. "Maybe."
"How about you guys?" Charlie asked. "What did you do?"
"We took Danny and VJ out to a farm for the day," Watson said. "This petting zoo kind of place. It was kind of cool actually."
"We thought the boys would be a bit old for it but they really wanted to go," Kerri said. "And we all had a good time."
Angelo was feeling extremely pleased with himself when Shandi changed her plans and instead of heading to the caravan park, decided to spend the night with him at his apartment. Today was his lucky day. Finally, after everything that had happened with Jack and then Hugo and then in his love life, first with Belle, then Charlie, then May and then his stupid crushes first on Charlie, then Joey, he finally had a girl of his own.
"So, let me get this straight," Kerri said. "This woman is claiming to be some sort of medium and she's told Ruby, who has just come out of a clinic to treat alcoholism and depression, that she's going to find love within two months?"
"That's pretty much the size of it," Charlie said.
She looked utterly disgusted.
"Why would she do that?" Watson asked. "Is she a moron?"
"Well, let's face it," Joey said. "This is a woman who, on a night out, told Marilyn that she only had a few weeks left. She's not exactly tactful."
"If she wasn't just out of hospital, I'd put her back there," Charlie said sourly.
Joey put a calmly hand on hers.
"Sorry," the police officer said. "I just… Ruby is so vulnerable. She's just out of that place and life is still so damn hard for her. She's trying so hard and that woman has just come and got her hopes up over something so fucking ridiculous. I can see the whole Liam thing or something like it starting all over again."
Tears threatened. Joey squeezed her hand.
"I just want her to be safe and well," Charlie said. "And I'm so angry with Mitzy for taking advantage of her for being naïve."
"Me too," Joey said softly. "And I don't know how to play this with Ruby. I honestly don't."
She looked at Watson and Kerri.
"Any ideas?"
On Monday morning, Dex was acting even more strangely than usual, as he arrived at school with Marilyn the goldfish. He paid people no mind, as they offered him strange looks. Since he had bought her, he felt that they hadn't bonded adequately and with school taking up so much of his day, he decided taking her with him might help speed up the bonding process. Even if it meant people made fun of him. He was used to bullies.
Having seen Shandi to the caravan park, where she had decided to book accommodation, Angelo had a real spring in his step when he arrived at work.
"Hey, stranger," Joey greeted. "How was your trip home? Did Paulie get back safely?"
"Yeah, yeah, everything went well, thanks," Angelo said brightly. "It was great seeing my family. Plus…"
He paused dramatically, waiting for her to look impatiently interested.
"Well?" she said, raising her eyebrows.
"I met someone on the way home," he announced.
"You picked up a stray?" she asked.
"She's so hot, Joey," he said, sounding like a hormonal teenager. "Her name's Shandi. She's beautiful and fun and we spent the whole weekend together. She's going to pop in later so you'll get the chance to meet her. She's amazing."
"Aw, is Angelo in love?" Joey teased.
Angelo laughed and blushed. Joey chucked a dishcloth at him.
"Sap," she joked.
By lunch time, Dex was extremely frustrated. He and Marilyn the Goldfish had not bonded at all. And many of the kids had teased him. He suspected even his friends thought he was weird. The only person who had stood up for him was Ruby, although he was trying to steer clear of her since the whole Claire incident.
Heading back to the pet shop, he walked through the door and found the shop assistant, Adrian, who had told him the fish in the first place.
"Oh, hi," she greeted with a warm smile. "Dex, isn't it?"
"Yes, that's right. Um…?"
"Adrian."
"Adrian."
"How are things going with uh… Marilyn?"
"Not good," Dex said. "I need to return her."
"Oh," Adrian said, disappointed. "Why?"
"She doesn't love me. We're struggling to form an attachment."
Joey was enduring a long, long day thanks to Angelo being in an exceptionally chipper mood. He was absolutely over the moon regarding his weekend with Shandi and kept watching the door in case she came in to see him. He was desperate for Joey to meet her so that he could show her off and introduce them. Overall, he was becoming unbearable. But she couldn't help but be a little happy for him as well.
"This town seems like a pretty nice place," Shandi remarked.
She had settled into her caravan and then spent the rest of the afternoon exploring, having then popped into Summer Bay House and got chatting to Miles, who had the afternoon off.
"It's very easy for it to feel like home," Miles said. "When I came here, I was in a very difficult place and now there's nowhere I'd rather be."
They smiled at each other.
"Well, you see the memory span of a fish is very limited," Adrian said. "They find it very hard to connect with people so you really have to work with their capabilities."
Dex frowned at Marilyn and immediately felt sorry for her. Adrian continued to find him oddly sweet.
"Charlie, you need to come to the restaurant immediately," Joey said into the phone. "There's been a murder. Well, I mean, there's going to be one. I'm just giving you a head's up."
Charlie snorted.
"Who's the victim?" she asked.
"Lovesick Angelo," Joey said.
"Oh!" Charlie exclaimed. "Who's his victim?"
"Some woman called Shandi," Joey explained. "He met her on his way back and they had sex in her van. And then in his apartment all weekend."
"Thanks for that imagery," Charlie said with a shudder.
"Hey, if I have to deal with it, so do you," Joey remarked. "He's waiting for her to show up and see him and he's driving me crazy!"
Charlie grinned.
"I knock off in a couple of hours," she said. "I'll be round as soon as I can. Promise."
Dex was in a much better mood now that he was back at school. For starters, he felt he understood Marilyn the Fish much better and could empathise with her plight Secondly, as he had been about to leave the shop, Adrian had completely shocked him by asking him out on a date. He was thrilled.
Charlie headed round to the restaurant as soon as she finished her shift and was eagerly greeted by Joey and then by Angelo, who was eager to tell her everything he possibly could about Shandi.
"Oh!" he suddenly squeaked. "There she is!"
He hurried to greet a hippy, blonde woman at the door. She had commanding features and a broad smile.
"Hi, Shandi," Angelo said. "How are you?"
"Oh, hey Angelo," she said, walking into the restaurant with Miles.
Charlie and Joey exchanged glances at the body language between Angelo and Shandi wasn't what Angelo probably expected it to be. She wasn't particularly warm towards him and he seemed eager by shy with her.
"I'm good, thanks," she said. "Could we get a table?"
"Oh, yeah," Angelo said anxiously, grabbing a couple of menus.
"Thanks, Angelo," Miles said, seemingly oblivious to any tension.
Angelo led them over to a table, observing what appeared to be flirtation between the pair. He took their drinks orders and then hurried back to the bar, looking stressed.
"Angelo…" Joey tried.
"Can you serve them?" he asked bitterly.
Joey nodded. Angelo hurried into the kitchen.
It was a couple of hours later and Charlie had remained at the restaurant, keeping Joey company for the evening. Both of them felt sorry for Angelo, who was witnessing what was obviously a date between Shandi and Miles. They doubted very much that Miles would be so cruel and he genuinely seemed obvious that anything had occurred between Angelo and Shandi previously. But Angelo was gutted to put it mildly.
"I really thought she liked me," he sighed, standing behind the bar beside Joey.
"I know," Joey said kindly.
"I guess she was just using me for a lift into town and somewhere to stay for a couple of days," he mused unhappily.
"She probably did like you," Charlie tried. "She just…"
"Likes Miles now?" Angelo challenged. "Honestly, I don't know why I ever bothered to put myself out there. It never works out for me."
He winced when Shandi leant across the table and kissed Miles.
That night, Dex lay in bed, feeling optimistic about the future. He replayed the moment that Adrian had asked him out, over and over in his head and could still hardly believe that such a pretty, interesting girl could be interested in him. Marilyn the Fish swam around in her tank.
Angelo tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep out of pure dissatisfaction with life. This morning, he was awoken with such enthusiasm for life and now it was all gone. He was devastated to have been used like that, to realise that Shandi hadn't really liked him and that she had just moved on that like that with Miles and not even cared enough to let him down gently. He thought she was a bitch.
Over at Summer Bay House, Miles and Shandi lay in bed together, still awake after making quite the night of it.
"So, you never actually told me what brought you to Summer Bay in the first place," Miles said.
"I'm here to meet my father for the first time," Shandi said.
"Oh…"
"His name's John Palmer," she said.
Miles sat up rather straighter.
"John Palmer?" he said.
"Yes," she said. "Do you know him?"
"Everyone knows John," he replied.
"Is he… nice?"
"Uh… more or less."
Charlie and Joey lay curled up in bed together, arms wrapped around each other, clothes on the floor.
"I felt so sorry for Angelo tonight," Joey mused a little sleepily. "I mean, I know he was bugging me all day and it was driving me nuts but he really liked the girl and then she just showed up with Miles like she didn't give a fuck about him. Correct. She just showed up with Miles because she didn't give a fuck about him. I mean, doesn't she have any manners?"
Charlie sighed.
"I guess it's better that he knows what she's like before he gets too invested," she said. "Even if it hurts."
"I know," Joey agreed. "I just… it's sad."
Charlie chuckled.
"What?"
"Did you ever think we'd reach the day when you and I were feeling sorry for Angelo Rosetta?" she asked.
"Nope," Joey snorted. "I did not!"
Charlie hugged her.
"It worried me though," she said.
"What? Feeling sorry for Angelo?" Joey joked.
"All this 'getting your heart broken' stuff," Charlie said.
"Because of Ruby," Joey concluded.
Neither of them had yet thought of a way to talk to their daughter properly.
"Yes," Charlie nodded.
"Me too."
"I don't want her to be broken."
"Nor do I," Joey said. "But no matter what happens. If she gets broken by a boy or broken by some stupid prediction that isn't even real, we'll be there. It won't be like what happened with Liam because it'll never get that far again. She's got us and Claire and Watson and Kerri and Dex and the rest of her friends. We all understand the risks now and she's much more open about her experiences. We won't let her fall."
Next time… Angelo confronts Miles, John gets a big shock and Charlie and Joey make a big decision…
