Chapter Four Hundred and Eighty Eight
The farm was a nice place to be at the moment. Sid and Marilyn were getting along very well with the latter practically living there, although not actually living there. Since Sid had asked her to move in, they hadn't managed to cement plans or tell the children about it. But they were very happy and the house was very harmonious, at least between the couple. Indi was stressed out of her head with exams and Dex was as odd as ever.
Today was Will's first day in his new job and it already wasn't going brilliantly. He had broken three glasses, dropped a rather expensive bottle of wine and spilled a whole bucket of bleach when he was mopping the floor. The truth was - he didn't want this job. Irene was making him do it and he understood why. He needed it and it was important to work hard and make a success of it. But he had a lot on his mind and he was finding it hard to concentrate. He was just relieved that this Joey girl was being patient with him. Even after the wine. She hadn't even threatened to dock his wages.
Liam took a deep breath and knocked on Gina's office door.
"Enter."
He took another breath and opened the door.
"Hi, Gina," he said
The Principal put her pen down and looked at him, unimpressed.
"Long time, no see," she said.
"Yeah," he said anxiously, running his hand through his hair.
A nervous habit.
"Look, I uh… I know this is the longest shot in the world but… I don't suppose there's any room for me back on the teaching staff is there?" he asked, deciding to get straight to the point.
"Sit."
"What are you looking so pleased about?" Joey asked.
Angelo had been smirking all morning and she was finding it unnerving. They might be friends now but she had learnt the hard way that it was never a good thing when Angelo Rosetta was up to something.
"I'm just feeling pleased that I'm no longer the most useless person you know," he replied, nodding to Will who was just finishing up his shift as their new cleaner.
"Don't be mean," Joey said. "Firstly, you're not useless and secondly, neither is he. He's just… struggling. Maybe rather than gloating, you could be his friend."
Angelo pulled a face.
"Come on," Joey tried to persuade him. "Irene said that he's upturned his whole life. He's not really got any mates here."
"For good reason," Angelo said. "He cheated on his wife. Then he came to town and just took Shandi from Miles…"
"Oh, okay, that's it, is it?" Joey said, raising her eyebrows. "It's because you're still upset about Shandi dumping you?"
"No," Angelo lied.
He still couldn't believe that Shandi had preferred floppy Miles to him. And then dumped Will for both of them. But it wasn't about Shandi.
"Just think about it," Joey tried. "Remember when you came back here after being… away. You were pretty light on mates and it was a pretty lonely time for you. Maybe it would be nice to befriend someone who's struggling as well."
Angelo sighed, disliking the fact that she might be right.
"Maybe," he conceded. "And thanks, by the way."
"For what?"
"For saying I'm not useless."
Liam was both surprised and thrilled to walk out of Gina's office with his job at the school reinstated. He could hardly believe that she was willing to give him another chance after walking out with no notice. His boss was no fool and not a woman to be messed with. Sometimes she hid her compassionate side but today, it had come out in full bloom and he could not be more grateful.
He stopped short when he ran straight into Bianca, about to head into her next lesson.
"What are you doing here?" she asked awkwardly.
"I've just been for a meeting with Gina," he explained.
"What for?"
He could hear the anxiety in her voice. She was not happy he was home.
"She's given me my job back," he said with more confidence than he felt. "Looks like we're going to be working together again."
He smiled.
"Back where it all began!"
He left her looking flustered and exited the building with a smile on his face.
"I'm sorry but I just don't think it's acceptable!" Charlie snapped.
"Are you going to go and speak to Nick Parrish about me?" Robertson almost goaded her.
He had dragged her down to the Diner for a coffee and a brainstorming session about the case. While they'd been there, Indi and Romeo had turned up on a study period for their exams. Robertson had called Romeo over, almost for fun, picking on him about his relationship with Alf, trying to get him on the back foot, trip over himself, make him slip up and give himself away.
It wasn't professional and Charlie was sick of it. And now she was telling him so. It wasn't okay to talk to people the way he did, to work through this investigation like some kind of performance, trying to trick and manipulate people, especially kids, make them fall into traps. It wasn't ethical.
"Leave Nick out of this," Charlie said. "This is about you and your ethics, Robertson. You need to shape up. You need to stop this. You need to run a straight forward investigation."
"Look, Charlie, this is the way I work…"
"No!" Charlie said. "You need to run a straight forward investigation because if you don't, when you catch your killer, whoever it might be, half your evidence it's going to count for shit."
She stormed out.
"Is that me finished for the day, Joey?" Will checked.
"Yep, that's fine," Joey said. "See you at the end of the week?"
"Yeah, that's cool," Will said. "And um… I'm sorry by the way about all the stuff ups."
Joey waved them away dismissively.
"Hey, Will," Angelo said. "I'm taking my break now if you wanted to get a drink downstairs?"
Will looked up, surprised but accepted gratefully. It would be nice to have a friend. Joey smiled to herself, glad that Angelo had listened to her.
Ruby walked out of school with Xavier and April, having arranged to have lunch with Claire like she often did. She spent most of her time with Claire these days. They had become inseparable.
"Join us if you like," she suggested.
"Yeah, that would be nice," April agreed before Xavier could have any say in the matter.
She looked at her boyfriend, who seemed preoccupied.
"Wouldn't it, Xavier?" she said.
He didn't reply.
"Xavier?" April nudged.
"What? Oh! Yeah, nice. Thanks."
"What's up with you?" Ruby asked curiously.
"Mum gave Liam his job back today," he said.
"So what?" Ruby asked. "That's a good thing, isn't it? He's a good teacher."
"Yeah, we all know what you think of Liam Murphy," Xavier said unkindly.
April elbowed him. He apologised but in his heart, it was insincere. He felt bad for how damaged Ruby had ended up over the whole Liam thing and that she had ended up in a clinic and everything but everyone seemed to have forgotten that he had been hurt too in all of that. One minute, Ruby had loved him and they had been in a happy relationship. The next, it was all over because she was obsessed with some fallen rock star. So his empathy for her when it came to Liam was a little thin on the ground.
"Anyway, what is the big deal?" April asked, trying to redirect the conversation.
"Well, if she's going soft on Liam then maybe she'll be willing to hear John out now? Do you think? Maybe now's the time for him to act?"
"Maybe," April said. "I mean, hopefully."
Sid and Marilyn had had a lovely morning together. The kids had been out at school all day so they'd had the place to themselves.
"So, you think we should tell the children once Indi's exams are done?" Sid asked.
They had talked about it quite a lot and they both agreed that was the best thing to do regarding moving in together.
"Yes, I think that's best," Marilyn said. "I just don't think Indi needs any more upheaval until she's finished her studies."
"But can you wait until then?"
"Oh, I'd move in with you right now if I could but we have to put the children first," Marilyn said. "And we can only do it if they agree, of course."
He hugged her.
"I do love you, you know," he said.
She blushed and kissed him.
"I love you too," she said. "And I love this trust and closeness we have now."
His face fell just a little, thinking back to Mitzy's prediction, the one that had meant so much to Marilyn.
"What is it?" Marilyn asked, placing her palm gently on his face.
He took a deep breath. He had to tell her.
Bianca went to the restaurant on her break and was relieved when Joey was on shift.
"Liam's got his job back at the school!" she announced dramatically.
"How dare he?" Joey said with mock drama in return.
Bianca glared at her and ordered an orange juice, slumping onto a stool.
"Why is he even back here, Joey?" she asked.
"He lives here? It's his home?"
"He's been quite happy away from here all this time," Bianca pointed out.
"How do you know?"
"Well, he looked quite happy with his tongue rammed down that girl's throat!"
She downed her drink as if it was a shot and ordered another.
"And now he's back, living under my nose, working alongside me," she complained. "Oh, this sucks!"
"Because you're still in love with him?" Joey asked.
"Oh, just pour me another drink."
Joey raised her eyebrows.
"Please and thank you," Bianca corrected herself.
Marilyn had excused herself and gone for a walk. Sid had been quite emotional as he told her Mitzy hadn't lied after all about her prediction, that her end date did indeed still stand. He had been wrestling with it all this time, wanting to give her the peace that Mitzy had wanted. But the more trust that had developed between them, the more honesty and openness, the more he felt like a liar.
She was glad he had told her the truth, although it now burdened her with a weight she had been happily free of for some months now. She thought back to the time he had taken her out to the forest to cleanse her of the pain of losing Mitzy. She understood more clearly why he had done that now and in a way, it meant even more than it had done at the time.
But she was hurt too. She was hurt that he had lied, despite how earnest the reasons. And she was distraught that she once more had a ticking time bomb inside her. The days were counting down again to the day she would die. The game was back on and it was Sid who had reset the clock. All the feelings she had been able to put away were now raw and back on the table and she had to reconcile them all over again and she didn't know if she could do it.
Walking along the beach, she spotted Charlie up ahead, sat on the sand and not looking very happy. Politely, she made her presence known and she asked if she could sit with her.
"Of course," Charlie said. "How are you today, Marilyn?"
"Oh, I've been better," Marilyn admitted. "How are you?"
"A little frustrated so I've come to the beach to find inner peace," Charlie told her.
"Have you found it yet?"
"Mmm… I'm not sure yet."
"What's been frustrating you?"
"You've met my colleague, Detective Robertson?"
Marilyn laughed.
"Yeah, enough said."
She turned and looked at Marilyn's sad face.
"What's ruined your day?" she asked.
"You know I was told I was dying and then I got a reprieve?" Marilyn said.
"Yes," Charlie said. "Your friend wasn't telling the truth, if I remember."
"She was, it turned out," Marilyn sighed. "She made Sid tell me she was lying. But he told me the truth today. My end date still stands strong. And there isn't long left."
Charlie sighed heavily and put her arm around Marilyn.
"I'm sorry, Marilyn."
She wasn't sure if she really believed in all that stuff but she knew Marilyn believed it and that was all that mattered.
"I just don't know if I can get my head around all of this stuff again," Marilyn said. "I don't know if I can say goodbye when I've already relaxed into not needing to."
Angelo was surprised to find himself actually quite enjoying Will's company. He was still a bit distracted, like he had been at work, but he was chatty and quite fun to be around. Perhaps Joey was right. Perhaps they could be friends. Who was he kidding? Joey was annoyingly right about these things.
Across the room, Claire, Ruby and April were eating snacks which were supposed to be lunch and drinking smoothies. They were also planning on gelatos for dessert.
"So, what is Xavier doing?" Claire asked, having not been privy to the conversation on the way over.
"He's desperate to get his Mum and John back together," April explained.
"He's weirdly obsessed," Ruby said a little sourly.
He had been rude to her about Liam so any compassion she had had for him had gone out the window.
"Not obsessed," April corrected her. "I think John just provided quite a lot of stability for a while there. And it meant a lot to him to see Gina happy as well. So he's upset to see them broken up. Not everyone gets the happy every after that your family has."
Ruby wanted to react but Claire tapped her leg under the table. Ruby relaxed and sipped her drink instead. She knew April was right anyway. If Charlie and Joey were to break up, she would react in exactly the same way. She would do whatever it took to get them back together. So despite her irritation with him, she understood how he felt.
"I get that," Claire said. "Everyone wants a family. I know they're not related to me in anyway but Kerri and Watson have been so amazing to me. I feel so safe with them and Danny now."
Ruby felt bad. Sometimes she knew she was insensitive to her friend's situation.
"And I get it too," April said. "My Mum isn't even in the country. All I have is Bianca and she's about as stable as trampoline. I mean, who knows what the hell she's going to do next? She's marrying Vittorio and she doesn't even care that he cheated on her or that it's a massive mistake or that I can't stand him. The whole thing is ridiculous. And Liam is back now. I don't know why she isn't changing her mind."
Ruby and Claire kept quiet about what they knew. They didn't want to make the situation worse.
"No luck," Xavier announced, approaching their table.
He threw himself down in a chair and grumpily explained that he had spoken to both Gina and John and neither of them was prepared to try and make a go of things.
"It seems to me that Sid went with what Mitzy asked him to do because he loved you and he wanted to set you free from the prediction," Charlie said. "But he's told you the truth now for the same reason. He can't spend this time with you now while he's lying to you. If the prediction is true, he knows there are things you need to do, things you need to reconcile and make peace with before the time comes, if it does. There's always hope that it might not. But if it does, he can't spend this time with a lie between you. I know it hurts but it sounds like everything he's done is all because he loves you and he wants to do right by you."
Marilyn nodded and sighed heavily.
"I think he really does," she agreed. "I feel happy and sad all at the same time."
Charlie put her arm around her as they gazed out at the sea together.
Will arrived home from his shift at the restaurant and his drink with Angelo to find Irene eagerly waiting for him.
"Well?" she asked. "How did it go?"
"It was a disaster," he admitted. "I broke things. I dropped things. I generally messed everything up."
Irene's face fell.
"But your mate is a bit of a saint so she didn't fire me," he said. "So hopefully I'll do better on my next shift."
Irene forced a smile.
"And that guy, Angelo took me out for a pity drink afterwards so hopefully I'm starting to make some friends."
Sid jumped up when Marilyn returned to the farm. He had been anxious all afternoon about how things were going to turn out between himself and his girlfriend. Things had been going so well between them. He just hoped he hadn't ruined them now by telling her the truth.
"Hi," he said nervously.
"Hi," she replied.
"Marilyn, listen…"
"No, please," she interrupted. "Please, let me speak."
"Okay," he accepted.
He sat down. She stood in front of him.
"What you said has really hit me hard. It's essentially a death sentence, one I thought I had escaped."
He held his face in his hands. She crouched down and took her hands in his.
"But I do appreciate you being honest with me," she told him. "And I do understand the burden you've been carrying with you since Mitzy died and the way you've been trying to protect me. And I thank you for that."
He looked hopeful.
"So I would like to enjoy the time I have left with the man I love," she said. "The man I believe loves me. And I would still like to move in here when we're ready to tell the children."
Sid smiled and kissed her.
"That's what I want too," he said. "And I do. I do love you. Very, very much."
"Right, you're knocking off now and coming home with me," Charlie ordered, waltzing into the restaurant.
"I am?" said Joey, surprised.
"Yep," Charlie said, walking behind the bar and practically dragging her out.
Joey laughed and hugged her.
"What's up with you?"
"I just had a really tiring day," Charlie said, pulling her into her arms and kissing her. "I want to go home. I want a glass of wine. Maybe a bubble bath. Just a nice evening with you. Please?"
Joey kissed her.
"Let me grab my stuff," she said. "Angelo, you're in charge for the night."
"Do I get a pay rise?" he joked.
"Nice try!"
Charlie waited while Joey headed into her office and grabbed her bag. She reappeared within moments and they walked out of the restaurant together.
"So, tell me about your day," Joey said curiously.
"Well, I had a row with Robertson and walked out," Charlie said.
"Really?" Joey said, shocked.
"Yep," Charlie said unhappily.
"What happened?"
"Oh, it's just his attitude. The way he's investigating this case. The way he speaks to people," Charlie said. "Especially the kids. He keeps tricking people. It's not right. And I finally lost it today. I told him exactly what I thought of him. He argued. Then I left."
"Oh, Charlie," Joey said, putting her arm around her as they walked to the car. "Well done for standing up to him. He's a bully and he needs to be told."
"Thank you," Charlie said, unlocking the car.
They both climbed in.
"Well, then I bumped into Marilyn on the beach," Charlie told her.
"Is she okay?"
"No," Charlie sighed. "You know this prediction thing?"
"Uh huh."
"Well, it's back in play. Apparently Mitzy got Sid to lie to Marilyn about it not being real," Charlie explained. "So she has this end date ticking away again. Sid had to tell her because he didn't want to keep lying. Honestly, Joey, I just feel so sorry for her. I mean, I don't know if it's true or not. Who does? But she believes in it and that's all that counts really."
Joey sighed heavily and reached out to hold Charlie's hand.
"Poor Marilyn," she said.
"Yeah, poor Marilyn."
That night, when she knew Xavier had gone to bed, Gina sent John a text to invite him over. She felt bad about it but she was too scared to let her son know that actually, last week, she and John had actually decided to make a go of things. If even Xavier knew, in fact, if especially he knew, there would be too much pressure on them to make their relationship work. She just wanted to take things slowly. She just wanted to get things right this time.
Next time… The police are suspicious of Roo, Leah's friends prepare for her return and Roo meets Hugo's family…
