Chapter Five Hundred and Forty Seven
"Ready for an evening with your admirer tonight?" Charlie teased.
Ruby looked up sharply, thinking immediately of Romeo. She hadn't been able to stop thinking about him and how she had dared to his him last night, albeit only on the cheek.
"Oh, be quiet," Joey scolded her partner. "He's just a little boy."
"He's a pre-teen now, Joey," Ruby said, joining in with the joke.
"Yes, he is," Joey agreed. "He'll be crushing on some high school girl soon."
"But you'll always be his first love!" Ruby teased.
"And mine!" Charlie said affectionately, kissing the top of Joey's head.
Joey tilted her head up. Charlie her lips. Ruby made a retching noise.
"Oh, sshh, you," Charlie said, taking her seat at the coffee table.
"I just don't find it acceptable to have eat my breakfast with the pair of you all over each other!" Ruby complained.
"Just count yourself lucky," Charlie said. "Some kids don't have happy parents."
"That's very true," Ruby agreed. "But most kids don't have such happy parents. I mean, whatever guy I end up with has insanely high expectations to live up to."
She smiled again, still thinking of Romeo.
"So… anyone on the horizon?" Charlie asked as casually as possible.
Joey knew exactly where Charlie was going with the question.
"No," Ruby replied. "I'm just here. On my own. As usual."
She still couldn't stop thinking about Romeo.
Romeo was downstairs making breakfast when Indi finally emerged, looking and feeling awful. He put a cup of coffee and a glass of juice in front of her. She held back the urge to vomit. He put some toast on a plate.
"I can make you more if you think you can stomach it," he said. "You were pretty sick in the middle of the night."
She thanked him and told him that toast would be fine, feeling unwell and embarrassed. He stood over her. She felt uncomfortable, knowing that her boyfriend was unhappy with her.
"I'm sorry," she managed, taking small bites of her toast.
"What for exactly?" he asked, wondering if she even knew.
"Getting drunk and everything," she said.
She knew that alcohol wasn't a good topic for him.
"I don't care about you getting drunk," he told her. "I don't expect you to spend your whole life sober just because of my past."
She looked anxiously at him.
"Then why are you so angry with me?" she asked.
He shook his head and told her that he was going to school.
"Let yourself out when you're ready."
Claire was nervous as she walked up to Hannah's front door. Last night, she had promised Hannah and herself that she completely committed to their relationship. That meant that she had to take a step back from Ruby and she had to focus on Hannah. So today, they were going to spend the whole day together. Claire was anxious but she was also looking forward to it. She knew that nothing would ever happen between her and Ruby. And she also knew that Hannah was an amazing person who cared about her and who she cared about. She would be an idiot to throw a great relationship away for no reason.
Romeo had caught up with Xavier on the way to school, although now, he wished he hadn't. All his friend would talk about was April and how she was completely shutting him out. Apparently, they were back together but he just didn't feel like it. He was convinced she was keeping secrets.
"What kind of secrets?" Romeo asked, more to be polite that because he was interested.
"I don't know," Xavier said. "She's on her laptop all the time. She won't tell me what she's doing."
"Maybe it's private," Romeo suggested. "She's probably had a hell of a summer, being dragged out of the Bay by her Mum and all that."
Xavier shrugged and continued ranting. Romeo sighed. He was upset with Indi and the way she had behaved last night, the way she had let him down. He was also confused over the way Ruby had kissed him. It had only been on the cheek but it wasn't something she had ever done before. It had thrown him.
"What's up with you?" Xavier eventually said.
"Nothing," Romeo lied.
"Come on," Xavier nudged. "I thought it was your big date with Indi last night."
"Yeah, me too," Romeo said tightly. "Indi had other ideas."
"What does that mean?"
"It means we run in different circles now," Romeo said. "She's busy getting drunk at Uni and I'm just as school. Again."
Later that day, Charlie had dropped Joey off at work and was about to get into the car and head to work when she spotted Marilyn walking with her head down towards the beach. She recognised the sadness in her posture, different from how cheerful she usually was. Locking the car up, she followed her, wanting to make sure she was alright.
Romeo had escaped school as soon as he could. He had avoided Indi's calls all day and he didn't feel comfortable spending time with Ruby, who had acted as if nothing significant had happened the previous night and had therefore made him feel like he was overreacting. He also had no interest in listening to Xavier bleating on about April. So he found himself at the restaurant, seeking the counsel of his most trusted confidante, Joey Collins.
"How are you doing, Romeo?" Joey asked. "How's Indi feeling?"
"I doubt she's feeling great," he replied. "Me neither."
"I'm sorry, Romeo," Joey empathised. "Anything I can do?"
He shook his head.
"This is about more than just last night, isn't it?" she realised.
"I just… We're falling apart, Joey," he said. "I'd like to say I didn't see it coming but I did and I didn't have the guts to do anything about it."
Joey stepped out from behind the bar, leading her friend to a table.
"What do you mean?" she asked seriously.
Charlie sat beside Marilyn on the beach, wondering what was on her friend's mind.
"Do you know about the adoption idea?" the blonde asked.
Charlie nodded.
"Not in detail," she said. "But I gather that you and Sid are planning to adopt Nicole's baby?"
"Well, that's the theory," Marilyn said.
She suddenly looked panicked.
"Do you think it's a horrible idea?"
She was scared that Charlie, someone she admired and whose opinion mattered to her, would judge her for her intentions.
"Not at all," the police officer assured her, touching her arm. "I think that you and Sid would make great parents. Especially you, Marilyn. I know what you've been through."
Marilyn nodded, sinking gratefully against her.
"And if Nicole isn't ready to be a parent, understandably, then it could be the answer to both your prayers," Charlie said. "But you need to make sure it's what everyone wants and needs, is the only thing I would say. You know the story of Ruby and me. I'm not saying that the decisions my parents made when I was a kid and pregnant with Ruby were the wrong ones but I'm also not sure they were the right ones either. They were trying to do the right thing by me. But one of the central things I felt amongst all the pain and the stress of the situation was that my feelings about my child and who I could be to that child were being completely overlooked. So just… make sure that your love for this baby never overwhelms you and takes you over. Never forget Nicole in all of this, will you?"
"I won't," Marilyn said. "I promise."
"And it's different, of course," Charlie said, more optimistically. "Nicole is an adult. Just. And she's making an adult decision. That's not what happened in my case."
"I just want to do the right thing by everyone," Marilyn said. "By Nicole, us, the kids and of course, the baby. I just don't know how to keep everyone happy and protected."
"I knew the second Indi passed her exams and I failed that she and I would be torn apart," Romeo explained. "She'd go off to Uni and leave me behind. And that's exactly what's happening now. She's moving on into her new life and I'm just stuck here!"
"Charming!" Joey remarked.
He managed a smile when she grinned at him.
"You know what I mean," he said.
"I do," she told him. "But… you and Indi are still together, aren't you?"
"Officially we are," he replied. "Otherwise, we couldn't be further apart."
He sighed heavily when his phone rang. He cut the phone call and put his phone on the table. Joey raised an eyebrow.
"I just don't really want to talk to her right now," he said.
"And that's helping your relationship how?" Joey challenged.
"She doesn't even know how much she hurt me last night," he said.
"Have you explained it to her?" Joey asked.
"Shouldn't she know that turning up late and drunk might piss me off when I've made an effort to celebrate her first day of Uni?" Romeo asked. "When I'm doing everything I can to keep us together and all she cares about is this exciting new life without me?"
"Maybe she just got excited," Joey said. "Maybe it was just a mistake. Maybe if you just sit down and talk to her, really talk to her, you can work things out and fix things? You never know, Romeo, you might both have the same fears and anxieties. Have you even told her how worried you are about losing her?"
"No, but…"
Joey picked up his phone.
"Call her," she said. "Be honest with her. Keeping all your worries to yourself doesn't serve either of you."
It was edging towards the end of the day and Charlie was eager for her working day to end. She was sat at the reception desk when Nicole barged into the station. She looked furious.
"Did you tell Marilyn and Sid to demand a pre-nup?" the teenager yelled.
Charlie was horrified, not to mention embarrassed.
"What the hell are you doing, Charlie? Selling off my kid?"
Charlie leapt up and pulled Nicole in her office, angrier than she had been in a long time.
"Firstly, don't you dare come into my place of work and speak to me like that," she warned. "Ever."
Nicole withdrew, looking a little meek.
"Secondly, what the hell are you talking about?"
"Marilyn and Sid have asked me for some kind of legal document, signing away my baby to them!" Nicole said. "Basically, once I sign it, I can't go back on it. They don't even trust me! I wanted them to be the baby's parents because I trust them and because I want my child to have the best possible start in life. And now you've gone and…"
"I haven't done anything," Charlie said, her voice calm but still angry.
"Marilyn said she spoke to you and…"
"And I told her to make sure she always thought about you in this whole adoption thing," Charlie told her. "That she made sure that she protected you and cared for you and loved you throughout. That she didn't get so caught up in her own feelings for the baby that she forgot you. Where the hell she got the idea for some sort of legal document, I don't know. That's not what I said."
"Oh."
"Besides, you can't do that anyway, it's illegal," Charlie added. "It would be like buying the baby."
"Oh."
"So…?"
"Sorry, Charlie."
"I might need you to say that publicly," Charlie said unhappily. "I think you just labelled me as a bit of a monster out there."
"I didn't mean to," Nicole said, becoming emotional. "I just… I had the shittiest couple of days."
She burst into tears and threw herself into Charlie's arms. Charlie felt herself soften and hugged her, wondering if she was going to spend her entire day looking after ungrateful people.
Romeo sat across the table from Indi, glad that nobody else was home. His girlfriend at least looked a little more herself than she had that morning and she had been home to shower and get changed.
"Romeo, I'm sorry about last night," she said. "I'm sorry for throwing back in your face all the effort you went to. It was so rude of me."
"It's not just about that," he said. "Although it was pretty rude of you."
"What is it about?" Indi asked.
"It's about everything."
"Everything?"
"Us. Everything."
"I don't understand."
"Last night was just the first night of many to come."
"How do you even know that?" Indi asked.
"Because I knew it was going to happen before it did," Romeo told her.
"Well, I didn't," Indi said. "Romeo, it was an accident. I didn't mean…"
"To drink loads, show up late, be completely ignorant, embarrass me in front of Ruby and all our friends, pass out, throw up and then hardly remember any of it in the morning?" he snapped.
She looked hurt but he was too wound up.
"No," she eventually said. "I didn't mean to."
"You could have kept an eye on the time," he said. "You could have stopped after one or two drinks."
"And you could lighten up and have fun sometimes!" she snapped back, annoyed with the way he was having a go at her.
"Oh, so now this is because I don't drink?" he demanded.
"No!"
"Or because I didn't get into Uni?" he continued. "Yeah, well, we all knew that's what it was about from the start."
He looked away, not wanting to be upset in front of her.
"Romeo, we talked about this…" Indi tried.
"Did we?" he said, looking back at her. "Because I feel like we put a bandage on it and lied to ourselves. And actually, what I was sure would happen is what's actually happening."
"What's happening?" Indi asked. "You're throwing all your toys out the pram because I went out and made some friends and had a good time. I can't just go to my lessons and then come home to you every single night, Romeo. I need to have a life away from you as well as with you, the same as you need a life away from me. We can't be joined at the hip!"
"We're not joined at anything!" he snapped. "That's the point!"
"Of course we are!" she snapped back.
"You've left me behind just like I knew you would!"
She tried to reach for his hand but he pulled away. She sighed heavily.
"I haven't left you behind," she said.
"You forgot all about me on the first day, Indi," he told her quietly, a lump aching in his throat.
"And I've apologised," she replied. "Can't we just move on?"
"I'm sure you will."
"Romeo!" she said desperately. "I love you. I'm sorry I messed up. But please can we just forget about it and start again? I went to my first day and I got carried away. But I love you. Please? I'm sorry."
Romeo sighed and put his head in his hands.
"Please don't let one stupid mistake mess up what we have," she begged.
"Okay…" he said. "I just… I don't want you to leave me behind."
"I will never leave you behind," Indi promised.
She leaned over and kissed him. He closed his eyes. Unwanted images of Ruby kissing him on the cheek infiltrated his brain. He pushed them away and kissed Indi harder.
"I don't want to lose you," he said.
"You won't," she said. "I'm sorry."
Charlie arrived home feeling stressed. She flung herself into Joey's arms and stayed there.
"Rough day?" Joey asked, drawing away and looking worriedly into her face.
"Nicole balled me out in the middle of the station for something I didn't even do," Charlie complained.
She took her work belt off and put it on the chair. Then she flung herself on the sofa. Joey came to sit beside her.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"Had a go at me for apparently telling Sid and Marilyn to get legal documents over the adoption," Charlie said. "Which I didn't. All I said was that they should put Nicole first. Then she had a go at me. Made me look like some kind of child snatcher!"
Joey hugged her and stroked her hair.
"She obviously got the wrong end of the stick," she said.
"Well, that's the last time I offer support to Marilyn," Charlie said, still irritated.
"We both know that's not true," Joey said bluntly.
Charlie made a sulky noise and hugged her tighter.
"What time does VJ arrive?" she asked.
"In a couple of hours," Joey told her.
Charlie looked up hopefully.
"Would you like to cheer me up?"
Leah was nervous as she finished getting ready for her date. She did one last check in the mirror and then headed downstairs to take VJ over to Charlie and Joey's for a sleepover. He was almost as excited as she was.
"You look really pretty, Mum," he said.
He had quickly worked out that she was going on a date. Always wanting to have an open and honest relationship with her son she had told him that she was going out for the evening with Robertson. He had had questions but she had clarified that he was just her friend, which for now at least was the truth.
"Thank you," she said, surprised at the compliment.
She had quite the sensitive eleven year old boy.
"Are you ready to go?" she asked.
"I've literally been ready for hours!" he said dramatically. "Let's go!"
He marched out the door with his overnight bag. Laughing, she grabbed her jacket and her keys.
Charlie and Joey quickly got dressed and had been back in the lounge for ten minutes when Leah and VJ knocked on the door. Charlie was in a decidedly better mood. Joey had a talent for cheering her up. She always knew how to hit the right spot.
"Hey guys," Joey said, answering the door.
VJ hugged her shyly.
"I brought DVDs and games," he told her, walking in and hugging Charlie.
"Great!" Joey chuckled. "We thought we'd order some pizza."
"Awesome!"
"You look very nice," Charlie told Leah, who blushed.
"Are you sure?" Leah asked.
"Mum, I already told you that," VJ said, shaking his head, making the other two chuckle.
"Robert's picking me up from here," Leah said. "Is that okay?"
"Of course," Joey said. "Come and sit."
Leah obeyed, perching nervously on the chair, from which Charlie had already removed her police belt and put it safely away.
"Where are you off to tonight anyway?" Charlie asked while VJ was distracted, showing Joey the contents of his bag and all the entertainment he'd brought with him.
"He's taking me to dinner somewhere in Yabbie Creek," Leah said. "I just thought I'd let him organise it."
They were interrupted by a knock on the door. Leah froze for a moment and then opened the door. Robertson stood there smiling. Charlie tried not to grimace as she waved them off. She turned back to Joey and VJ.
"So," she said. "What are we doing first?"
Xavier had gone round to visit April. Now he was beginning to wish he hadn't. Irene had taken Lily out so he and April were home alone. He had hoped it would mean that they could finally reconnect. But at first, she had been frosty with him, the same as she had been ever since she had returned home. To start with, he'd thought it was because he had kissed Summer. But since then, he knew she was keeping secrets. Tonight, he had pushed to know exactly what was going on. Now he was beginning to regret asking.
"April, what are you even talking about?" he asked, staring at her.
"I've got the chemicals in my room," she said.
"The ones that were stolen from the school?" he asked. "The ones my Mum is hardly sleeping over because she can't find them? April, she's on the verge of calling the cops."
"Well, she may have to when I'm done," April told him, unconcerned.
"What… what are you going to do?" he asked, not sure he wanted to know the answer.
"I'm going to set them free," April said. "I'm going to make a statement."
"Like a terrorist?" he accused.
"Like a campaigner!" she snapped back.
"April, leaflets and marches are one thing," he said. "Making your voice heard. But dangerous chemicals? No. No, that's not okay. You could hurt someone. You could hurt yourself."
"I know what I'm doing, Xavier," April said. "I'm not stupid."
Xavier shook his head.
"You don't sound very smart right now," he said.
"Well, you don't have to be involved," she said. "All you have to do is keep your mouth shut."
Then she asked him to leave.
Charlie, Joey, VJ and Ruby were all snuggled up on the sofa together with a big bowl of popcorn, watching Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix when there was a knock at the door. Charlie hauled herself up and answered the door while Joey paused the film.
"Hi!" Charlie said, surprised to see Irene, Lily and a red headed woman she didn't know standing on the doorstep.
"Hello, love," Irene said. "I'm sorry to interrupt."
"Of course," Charlie said, welcoming them inside.
"Oh, this is Gypsy," Irene introduced. "Lily's Mum."
VJ heard Lily's name and peeped over the sofa, waving. He was half excited to see and half frustrated to have his time with Joey and Charlie interrupted. He had been snuggled up next to her during the film and he had been very much enjoying it.
"Hi, Gypsy," Charlie said, shaking her hand. "I'm Charlie."
Joey and Ruby both stood and introduced themselves.
"Leah said you had VJ for the night and Lily's going home tonight to live with her Mum," Irene explained. "She didn't want to go without saying goodbye."
VJ leaped off the sofa, ready to pay full attention to his friend.
"I'm sorry you're leaving," he said genuinely.
"I'm going to miss you," Lily said honestly. "But we'll keep in touch?"
"Yeah," he said, suddenly shy.
He stood close to Joey, who put her arm around him. Gypsy chuckled and told her daughter to give him a hug.
"Sorry it's just a flying visit," she said. "I've heard plenty about you both."
"Hopefully good things!" Joey joked.
"All good things!" Gypsy assured her. "Lily and I will have to come and visit."
She smiled, turning to Irene who requested that she definitely did visit.
"Ready to go?" she asked Lily who nodded and asked again that VJ would keep in touch.
He promised that he would, retreating back to Joey. They, along with Charlie and Ruby waved Irene, Lily and Gypsy off and then returned to the sofa. Charlie and Joey exchanged glances, observing VJ who looked very sad.
"So… do you think the moment might warrant some ice cream?" Charlie suggested.
VJ's eyes lit up. Charlie and Joey grinned. Ruby dashed off to get it out of the freezer, complete with four spoons.
Claire and Hannah had had a nice day. Claire felt like it had gone a long way to making things right between them. She really wanted to make things right between them.
"Thanks for walking me home," Hannah said at her door. "It was very chivalrous of you."
She grinned, making Claire blush.
"Would you like to be very un-chivalrous?"
She grinned again, rather wickedly and pulled Claire in for a kiss before fumbling for her keys, eager to let them both into her flat.
"Oh!" Charlie said, reading a message from Nicole. "An apology."
She showed Joey the message. It was indeed an apology, plus informing Charlie that she, Marilyn and Sid were going ahead with the adoption and were planning to seek legal advice from Morag to protect all of them.
"Good," Joey said.
"An apology from who?" Ruby, at the end of the couch, VJ in between them, wanted to know.
"Nobody important," Charlie said, not wanting to spread Nicole's business around.
She was pretty sure Nicole would tell her about it herself in time. Ruby looked a little grumpy and then returned her attention to the end of the movie. VJ yawned as the credits began to roll.
"Right, Mr," Joey said. "I think it's time we got you to bed. It's way too late for you to be up."
He pouted. Then he yawned again and agreed. He'd had such a lovely evening.
Next time… Alf has an announcement, Xavier and April are in big trouble and Angelo has plans for Valentine's Day…
