Hi everyone and Happy New Year! I'm so sorry I haven't updated for so long. Everything just went a bit crazy with recovering from my operation and then moving house, then Christmas and everything. But I do endeavour, assuming anybody wants to keep reading, to update properly from now on! I hope you are all well and that you had a great Christmas and New Year. I hope you can still remember this story and that you enjoy the chapter. Love, IJKS xxx
Chapter Four Hundred and Fifty Seven
Joey fell back onto the bed, hot, sweaty and breathless. Charlie moved to lie above her, kissing her passionately. She ran her hands through her hair, grinning wickedly.
"At least we got there in the end," she whispered.
"Oh, we got there!" Joey grinned, pulling Charlie closer and kissing her harder.
She hooked her legs around Charlie's hips, pulling her down so their bodies pressed together. Charlie moaned and kissed her neck, shivering as Joey ran her hands up and down her back.
"Do you think we have time for another round before we have to go out for dinner?" she murmured against her skin.
"Oh, there's always time," Joey said, moving so that Charlie was on her back.
She sat back so that she could admire Charlie's undressed body.
"You are so beautiful," she smiled.
Leaning forward, she kissed her way down and then back up to her lips.
"Sometimes I wonder what I ever did to deserve you," she said. "And then I think, nah, I don't care. I've got you and I'm keeping ya!"
They giggled, kissing again, wrapping their arms around each other. Joey ran the tip of her tongue along Charlie's collar bone.
"Now, I'm thinking… toys…" she mused.
It had been quite the afternoon. John hadn't managed to propose. Gina had had to go back to work and John had ended up spending the rest of his day with the daughter he had never known he'd had. And his head was spinning over how to process the information. Everything was completely confusing.
But now, he, Gina, Xavier and April were booked to have dinner at Bucktons'. What Gina didn't know was that it was to celebrate their engagement. Except of course, he hadn't yet asked her to marry him and now he didn't really know what to do.
Angelo was still rather grumpy about Miles and Shandi and he knew he had been irritating Alf and even Claire, who was the most mild mannered person he had ever met. But he just hated the fact that he had finally managed to get a girl and then she had ditched him for someone who, in his humble opinion, was nowhere near as good looking as him. Or as charming. Or as funny. He had no idea what she was thinking.
He looked up as Charlie and Joey walked into the restaurant, both of them looking a little flustered, like they were in a hurry. Well, he supposed they were a bit late. Ruby had been sitting at a table for the last five minutes.
"Hey," they greeted, waving at him and heading towards their daughter's table.
"Hey, Rubes," Charlie said.
He watched them exchange pleasantries and sit down. Then he headed over and offered them menus and drinks.
"I hope John's okay," April said, as she and Xavier walked through the Surf Club and towards the stairs.
Her boyfriend had received a text from his step-dad earlier in the day to say that something had come up, meaning that he hadn't been able to propose.
"Yeah, me too," Xavier said. "I mean, he's been so desperate to do it. What could have gone wrong?"
They walked through the restaurant doors and were greeted by Claire. April greeted her colleague warmly and they were led to a table where John and Gina were waiting for them. Both of them looked very serious. The teenagers were worried.
Across the room, Charlie awkwardly explained that their Landlady was selling their flat and they had to move house but that all was not lost as, with her permission, they were going to put an offer in on Tony and Rachel's house.
"What, like buying a place?" Ruby asked.
"Yes," Joey said. "We think it's time to put down roots and get a place of our own where we can be more of a family."
"One of you will be getting down on one knee next!" Ruby teased.
Xavier stared at John, a mix of shock and anger.
"What do you mean, you have a thirty year old daughter?" he demanded.
"Her name is Shandi and…"
"I don't care what her damn name is!" the teenager snapped.
"Xavier…" Gina warned.
"No," Xavier said. "How on earth do you just have kid and not even know they exist?"
John sighed. He already felt bad about it. He didn't need to be attacked too.
"Her mother never told me," he said. "The whole thing has been a big shock."
"And attacking John for something that isn't his fault, isn't helping," Gina said. "Especially in the wake of his heart attack."
Xavier paused and then sat back in his chair, mumbling and apology.
"So, how do you feel about the move?" Charlie asked her daughter.
"Well, I'll be sad to leave the apartment," Ruby admitted honestly. "Especially with Claire, Kerri and Danny next door. I love it there. But obviously we have to move so that isn't a choice. And Tony and Rachel's place is nice. Plus I love the idea of you two owning your own place together. I love us being a family and that'll be a special part of it."
Joey and Charlie smiled at each other and at Ruby.
"I'm just sad that our special picnic didn't go to plan," Gina said. "But perhaps we can do it another day."
John and Xavier exchanged glances. Gina caught them.
"What?" she asked. "What did I say?"
"Nothing," the boys said in unison.
"No, come on," she said. "What am I missing here?"
"I uh… Well, the reason I took you for the picnic was because… well…"
He looked around. It wasn't quite the way he had wanted to propose but he suddenly decided it didn't matter. Life was too short to waste time. He stood and then got down on one knee.
"Gina, I love you so much," he said. "Will… will you marry me?"
He offered out the ring in its box.
"I really feel good about life right now," Ruby said. "You guys are so strong and so together and that'll be extra cemented by buying a house together. And I'm feeling really confident about finding my own happiness after Mitzy made that prediction."
Charlie and Joey tried not to let it show on their faces that they were both deeply troubled by the faith that Ruby had put in the prediction Marilyn's friend had made for her.
"And… oh, look!"
All three of them turned to see John on one knee, proposing to Gina. Most of the restaurant were also watching. Delight turned to horror when Gina stood up in embarrassment.
"No, John," she said, upset.
John frowned and got to his feet. Xavier and April looked more than a little awkward.
"Why… why not?" John asked in a small voice.
"Because you're only asking me because of your heart attack," Gina said. "It's not because you love me and want to marry me. It's because the heart attack scared you. And I don't want to be some panic bride."
She stormed out of the restaurant, passing Shandi and Miles on her way. John sank into a chair.
"That was awkward," Ruby remarked, back at their table.
"That would put you off proposing for life," Charlie said.
Joey pouted. Charlie kissed her. Ruby silently wondered when one of them would take the plunge.
"Shandi, I really don't think we should eat here," Miles said anxiously, as Claire led them to a table.
"Relax," Shandi said, taking her seat.
He had told her about Angelo kicking off at him earlier in the day and she had dismissed the barman's complaints out of hand. She'd explained that they'd had a bit of harmless fun with no commitment and that if he'd been a girl and she'd been a guy, nobody would have batted an eyelid about her moving on and finding someone better. Her choice of the word 'better' had helped somewhat.
However, having spotted John at a table with Xavier and April, had only increased Miles's anxiety. He did not want to be on the receiving end of some sort of surprise fatherly chat – or worse – when John worked out that Miles was dating his daughter. If he even was dating her. It had only been a couple of days. She could easily ditch him in favour of someone better, just as she had done with Angelo. Who knew?
"Seriously," Shandi said, reading the panic on his face. "Chill. I'm going to bathroom. Don't have a panic attack while I'm gone."
She got up and left. Miles leant across to the next table, where Charlie and Joey were having their dinner.
"I didn't realise John was going to be here while I was on a date with his daughter," he hissed.
"His daughter?" Ruby exclaimed.
"Long story," Charlie said.
"Shandi is the long lost daughter John didn't know he had," Joey told her.
"Okay, not actually that long," Charlie corrected herself.
Joey and Ruby grinned.
"What do I do?" Miles asked. "Do I approach John or…?"
"To be honest, I think John has enough problems right now," Charlie said. "He probably won't even know you're here."
"Why? What's wrong with him?"
"He…"
Shandi reappeared.
"Hi," she said, looking Charlie and Joey both up and down.
They both felt a little flustered.
"I don't think we've met," she said.
"I'm Joey," Joey said. "This is my partner, Charlie."
Shandi shook both their hands, gazing a little suggestively into their eyes.
"And I'm their daughter, Ruby," Ruby said loudly.
"Hey, there," Shandi grinned, breaking the odd spell she had cast.
At the bar, Angelo glowered at all of them.
"I'm really sorry it didn't go how you wanted it to," Xavier said. "How we all wanted it to. I mean, I wanted her to say yes as well, John."
He sighed, feeling awful for the man he thought of as a Dad.
"It wasn't because of the heart attack," John said. "I mean, maybe it was prompted by that in a way but it was out of love. Because it made me realise that I can't live without her. That I need her in my life."
"I know," Xavier said.
John sighed heavily.
Angelo approached awkwardly with the bill.
"Hey, um… not to make your night worse or anything but you do know that Miles is on a date with Shandi, don't you? Right under your nose? They've been at it for days," he said, loud enough for Shandi and Miles – and Charlie and Joey – to hear.
Both tables were angry with him. Miles was immediately fearful of repercussions. John just looked at him.
"Miles is a good man," he said tiredly. "And Shandi is an adult."
He paid the bill and walked out.
Next time… Romance is in the air for some Summer Bay couples, Claire is concerned for Ruby and Charlie and Joey apply for a mortgage…
