Chapter Four Hundred and Eighty Six

Alf and Roo left the restaurant, calling goodbye to Joey, Angelo and Claire as they left.

"So, how about a wander around the Bay?" Alf suggested.

"A wander down memory lane?" Roo asked.

"Why not?" Alf said. "Show you how things have changed? Remind you of things you remember?"

Roo smiled.

"Why not?" she agreed.

They walked down the stairs and entered the Surf Club. It looked different and yet somehow the same. She had so many memories here. Of friendship and love. Of heartbreak. It was surreal being back here. But in a way, it was nice to be home.

They passed an older woman on the stairs.

"Irene!" Alf said.

Roo thought the name was familiar.

"Irene, this is my daughter, Roo," he introduced. "Roo, this is one of my best friends, Irene."

"Roo Stewart," Irene said. "Wow. I am so pleased to meet you. Honestly, love, Alf has told me so much about you over the years."

"Well, only the good bits are true," Roo said nervously.

"Oh, he raves about you," Irene said.

Alf looked so proud to introduce his daughter.

"Listen, I'd better get on," Irene said. "But I'd love to catch up properly. Get to know you. I bet everyone will! The Amazing Roo Stewart! Who'd have thought it!"

Roo wasn't sure whether to be touched or irritated.

"Is Joey up there, love?" Irene asked.

"Yeah, yeah," Alf said. "Working her socks off as usual."

Roo opted for irritation. Forget the Amazing Roo. It seemed like Summer Bay hailed this Joey woman as some kind of goddess.


Charlie was back in her office, getting her head down and on with paperwork. It was boring. But at least she was out of Robertson's way. The biggest negative of being back on the Penn Graham case was that she would have to work closely with him again. For the past week or so, she had actually not had that much to do with him. And it had been delightful.


"I have missed this beach," Roo remarked, as she and her father stood on the sand together.

Roo took a deep breath and gazed out to sea.

"There's nothing like it," Alf agreed.

"I've travelled the world and stood on a lot of shores but genuinely, there is nothing like this beach," Roo said. "I've missed it."

"And I've missed you," Alf admitted sadly.

She looked at his face, taking in just how much he had aged. But he seemed peaceful. Happy. Which was remarkable considering he was a suspect in a murder investigation. Perhaps that was the face of an innocent man, confident that the law would do the right thing.

"I've missed you too," she said.

It was the truth. It was only her demons that had been keeping her away.

"How long will you be here for?" he asked.

"A couple of weeks or so," she said.

"And what's brought you back?" he wanted to know. "It's such a surprise to see you here, the place you've avoided for so long."

"I just wanted to see you," she said.

"And is… everything okay?"

"What do you mean?"

"With you? You're not in any trouble or anything?"
He couldn't help but worry.

"What? No. I'm fine. I'm great," she insisted. "Everything is going really well. The business is doing fine. I'm in a happy relationship. I'm in a really good place in my life right now."

"Good," Alf said, although he wasn't entirely sure he believed her.

It just seemed odd that for twenty years, his daughter had proclaimed to hate Summer Bay and everything in it and now, when she was in such a great place in her life, she had come back. Apparently not wanting anything. Apparently not needing anything. Apparently just to see him. Normally, when she wanted to see him, she just invited him to see her. Why not this time? Why such an odd, out of character move?


"How can I help you?" Joey asked.

"I wondered if you had any work going?" Irene asked.

Joey looked confused. Irene was the co-owner of the Diner after all.

"Oh, not for me, obviously," Irene chuckled. "For Will. You know, my foster son. Well, he's all grown up now, of course. I don't know if you know him at all?"

"Not very well," Joey said. "But Alf speaks highly of him."

"Well, he's looking to set down roots here again," Irene said. "He's enrolling his daughter, Lily at the school today and he's got some work with Alf down at the bait shop but it's not really enough of an income. We don't really have anything at the Diner. I was wondering if you had anything going here at all?"

"I'm pretty much at my quota of bar and waiting staff," Joey said. "Same in the kitchen."

"Nothing else at all?" Irene asked hopefully.

"I mean… I might be able to find something manual," Joey said. "Cleaning. Helping with taking in deliveries."

Irene looked excited.

"But," Joey said quickly. "I'm not promising. I'd really have to look properly to see if I could squeeze him in. And it would only be very part time. Just a few hours a week. I wouldn't even consider if it if it weren't you asking, Irene."

"Thank you, Joey," Irene said, squeezing her hand across the counter. "I really appreciate it."


Alf took Roo to the Diner. He secretly hoped that Colleen might not be there. He knew Roo would have to see her at some point and he knew his sister meant well but she wasn't exactly the queen of tact. It was clearly difficult for Roo to return to the Bay. He didn't want to scare her off on her first day. But alas, there Colleen was, behind the counter.

"Roo Stewart!" she crowed as soon as they walked through the door. "As I live and breathe! What on earth are you doing back here?"

"I have no idea," Alf heard Roo mutter to herself.

His heart sank a little.


Charlie picked up the phone to Joey on the first ring.

"Hey," she said. "How's your day going?"

"Yeah, not too bad," Joey said. "Bit random, Alf's daughter showing up, hey?"

"Yeah, Morag always said that Roo would never come home," Charlie told her. "She said that she was always very negative about the Bay and had bad memories here. You know, with giving Martha up and everything. I wonder why she's back."

"Well, I guess time will tell," Joey mused, twirling her pen around on the desk. "I hope it's nothing that will hurt Alf though."

"Yeah, me too," Charlie agreed. "He's got enough on his plate right now. Still, maybe it's good timing. Maybe having a few days or weeks or whatever with Roo will give him something really great to focus on. Help him ignore stupid Robertson."

She kept her voice a little quieter for the last couple of words, making Joey laugh.

"So, what's up?" Charlie asked, knowing her girlfriend was calling for a reason.

"What do you think of employing Will Smith for a few hours a week?" Joey asked. "For some cleaning, maybe bringing in the deliveries from the van each morning? Just maybe five hours or something? I've worked out we could probably stretch to that."

"Why the interest in him?" Charlie asked, some anxiety in her voice.

She remained suspicious of him after his interview the other day.

"No particular interest in him," Joey said. "Irene practically got on her knees and begged. She said he's trying to start afresh here with his daughter. He's enrolling her at school and he's been doing part time work at the bait shop but that's not enough to sustain him so she's trying to find him some more hours somewhere. I think she's just trying to help him get started. Give him a bit of a push. I guess I just feel a bit inclined to help out."

"Well, if you think it's affordable…"

"It is," Joey said. "We're doing pretty well these days, Sergeant Buckton."

They both smiled down the phoned.

"I can only offer a few hours," Joey said. "Pretty much because there's not much for him to do. But I want to be neighbourly."

"Okay, sure," Charlie said. "But… keep an eye on him, okay?"

"Okay…?"

"I just… there's something off about him," Charlie said.

"Is there?"

"I don't know what it is," Charlie admitted. "It might even be nothing but I just… keep an eye on him. Please?"

"I will," Joey promised.

"And don't mention my suspicions to anyone either."

"Goes without saying."

"Love you."

"Love you."

They hung up.


After Colleen had fussed over Roo and been particularly tactless, Alf had finally managed to get himself and his daughter to a table. She had been introduced to Leah, a pretty young woman who now owned the Diner that had once belonged to her late stepmother.

"This place really does look different," she remarked, looking around.

"It's had quite a few makeovers over the years," Alf replied.

"Here are your coffees," Colleen said, bringing them over. "Oh, you must be so happy to see Roo again. Whoever would have thought she would come back here?"

Roo mentally bailed out of the conversation, happily distracted by her phone. She frowned when she saw Tim's name on the screen. She turned the phone off and removed the back. Careful that her father was still in reluctant conversation with Colleen, she slipped the SIM out of the phone and dipped it in her coffee cup. Then she slipped it into her pocked. Now Tim could never reach her again.


"Good news!" Irene announced, arriving home where Will was finishing lunch with Lily.

This afternoon, he was taking her to Summer Bay High to enrol. This was going to be their new start at last.

"What?" Will asked cheerfully.

"I've managed to get you a few hours working at Bucktons'," she told him.

"Really?"

"Yes," she said. "It's just a few hours. Cleaning and bringing in some deliveries but it's a start."

He looked a little disappointed.

"Joey will be a good boss," Irene said, determined to be positive. "Plus you'll be working with Alf. And Angelo too. He's around your age. He might be a good mate for you, someone to knock around with, have a beer with, you know. It might be a good way to develop a bit of a social life. Alf always says they have a lot of fun working there together. And if you start with a few hours doing that, Joey might well be up for considering you if she gets any vacancies for waiting staff or bar staff. You never know."

"Yeah, I guess," Will said, not sure whether he wanted the job or not.

"Will, if you're going to make a life for yourself and Lily here then working part time in the bait shop really isn't enough to keep you," Irene said, reading his mind. "You need more of an income than that to give Lily everything she needs and this job at the restaurant is at least a start."

"Yeah," Will said. "I guess I was just hoping for something a bit better."

"It's a start," Irene said. "The first rung on the ladder. So, I'd suggest after you go the school, you pop into the restaurant and thank her for the offer."

"Yes Ma'am," he grinned, saluting her.


"So, you live in Pippa's old house now," Roo said, wanting to get her head around everything. "With Sally's twin brother?"

Alf chuckled.

"Yes, it's a bit of a house share," he said. "I live there and so does Miles. And Marilyn, remember her?"

"Marilyn Chambers? The dizzy blonde?"

"Well, she's not so dizzy anymore," he said. "Well, maybe just a little. Yes, she lives with us. She's in a relationship with a great guy called Sid. He's a Doctor at the local hospital. He has two teenage kids, Dex and Indi."

"Wow," Roo said. "She really does date up, doesn't she?"

"That's not very nice, Roo."

"Sorry, Dad," Roo said sarcastically.

"Anyway," Alf said. "We've got two kids living with us, Romeo and Nicole. They're both just about to finish high school. They've just done their exams. Romeo is in a relationship with Indi, Sid's daughter. He's a good kid. He was in foster care. He had a very turbulent upbringing. He's one of the best surfers you'll ever see in your life. Nicole came here to live with her father. He was an active member of our community. He was sent to prison for something he did when he was in the army. So she came to live with us at his request. She's off to University next year and she's got a promising career in fashion and design ahead of her."

Roo smiled.

"You speak very affectionately of your kids," she said.

"I love them very much."

"You always did adore all those kids you took in," she remarked. "Tug, Curtis, Blake, all of them. I was always jealous hearing about them. Even the way I heard you talking about Martha, my own daughter. You and I… we just struggled to connect, didn't we?"

Alf sighed heavily.

"Maybe we can now," he hoped.


Charlie looked up when there was a knock at the door. She was relieved when it was Watson and not Robertson.

"Coffee for the Star Sergeant," she teased.

"You've got to cut that out," Charlie said, accepting the drink.

"Why?" Watson said. "It's fun."

"I am not the Star Sergeant," Charlie protested. "Especially not as far as Robertson is concerned."

"That's the best bit about it," Watson said. "Robertson is so hacked off that Nick Parrish has gone over his head. He thinks so much more highly of you than of him. It's such a win!"

Charlie laughed and sipped her drink.

"I just don't want the team to turn against me," she said.

"The team are rooting for you, don't worry," Watson said. "And I'm at the head of the cheerleading squad."


Will felt proud as he took Lily to Summer Bay High to enrol her. They had had their meeting with Gina, the Principal and his daughter was all set to start her classes. The place still felt the same as when he had attended. He had got up to so much mischief amid these walls. He had fallen in love with Gypsy here. This place held so many memories and Lily would make her own here too.

"Hi, Will," said a voice, breaking him out of his thoughts. "Lily. What are you guys doing here?"

"I'm going to start Summer Bay High," Lily told her.

"Oh wow, that's great," April said. "Well, I'll be here to look out for you. Don't worry."

Lily was grateful. Now she just hoped that her Dad would stay stable enough that their world wouldn't fall apart all over again.


It was early evening and Alf and Roo returned to the restaurant for dinner. Alf hadn't stopped raving about the food there, with them only having had a brief brunch so far. He wanted to treat his daughter to a proper meal.

Roo took a step back and listened to the jovial banter between Alf and Joey as she found them a table. She tried and failed not be jealous at the obvious love they shared. She knew it was unreasonable to expect the same affection to be there between them when they hardly ever saw each other; when so much had been said and done. Most of the damage had been her fault, she knew. But she wished she had the same relationship with her Dad that this Joey had. Things seemed so easy between them.

"Oh, I've taken Will on for a few hours a week, by the way," Joey mentioned before she left them to it.

"Have you?" Alf asked.

"Yeah, Irene said he was looking to pick up some extra hours," Joey explained. "I found him a few shifts doing some cleaning and stuff."

"Oh, thanks, Joey," Alf said, knowing she'd done it as a favour. "I appreciate it. He'll work hard."

"No worries," Joey said. "Give Claire a wave when you're ready to order."

"Saint Joey," Roo mumbled.

"What was that?" Alf asked.

"Nothing," Roo said.

"Do you have a problem?"

"Nope."

"If you do, I'd rather you said."

"Just, who is this girl that the whole town is in love with?" Roo asked.

"Someone that bends over backwards for everyone," Alf replied without needing to think.

"And is that why you've given up working for yourself to work for her?" Roo asked. "I mean, who would ever have thought Alf Stewart would do that?"

"I didn't give up working for myself to work for Joey," Alf said. "I gave up working for myself and then I started working for her. And I really enjoy it. So I'd ask you not to show up here after twenty years and start judging me and how I live."

"Fine," Roo said, picking up her menu. "I just… I don't get what the big deal about her is."

"Maybe you should try and get to know her," Alf suggested.

"Maybe I should," Roo agreed.


Outside on the beach, Bianca met up with Vittorio. She hadn't been able to sleep all night and she had been distracted all day. But she knew she had to sort things out between herself and her fiancé once and for all. She cared for Vittorio a great deal but she couldn't marry him. She didn't want to end things between them but she couldn't rush into things either. And now, she had to tell him exactly what was on her heart.

Standing on the beach, holding his hands, she was just about to open her mouth and say everything she intended when there was a loud rumble behind them.

They both turned and saw a motorbike pull up. Bianca stared, open mouthed as none other than Liam Murphy pulled his helmet off. Behind him, a girl climbed off the back of the bike and pulled her own helmet off. She was gorgeous. She leant in and kissed Liam.


Next time… Liam introduces his new girlfriend, Vittorio feels possessive of Bianca and Joey frets that Roo doesn't like her…