Chapter Five Hundred and Fifty Six
Charlie and Joey were out on the beach, getting some fresh, morning air. They strolled across the sand, hand in hand, the waves lapping at their feet.
"So, we're getting close to being able to open the restaurant soon," Charlie ventured.
Joey nodded.
"Do you think you'll be ready?"
Joey chewed her lip.
"I'm hoping it'll be the push I need to put myself back together," she said thoughtfully. "I've been feeling pretty lost without the place."
Charlie squeezed her hand.
"Well, I really hope it'll help," she said. "What do you think about doing a special relaunch?"
"Only if all River Boys are excluded," Joey said.
"No River Boys," Charlie said. "Check."
She smiled lovingly at her girlfriend before leaning in and kissing her. They were interrupted by a wolf whistle. Charlie bristled, ready to stand up to any gang members who had been particularly interested in her love life. It was starting to annoy her and she felt undermined in her job.
"Look at you two, all loved up."
Charlie smiled when she realised it was just Liam teasing them. He was sat strumming his guitar, Bianca drinking coffee beside him. Charlie and Joey approached them.
"Everyone's up very early this morning," Charlie remarked.
"Yeah," Bianca said grumpily. "Aren't we?"
Joey chuckled.
"I mean, come on," Bianca complained. "It's a Saturday."
"Your man is serenading you on a beautiful beach," Charlie pointed out. "It's not all bad, is it?"
"Well, he's not so much serenading me as song writing," Bianca said. "It's not exactly the same."
"I've been singing to you!" Liam protested.
Bianca didn't look very impressed. Charlie and Joey left them to it and carried on up the beach and into the Diner. They found Marilyn sat on her own. Charlie hesitated. She was still a little hurt over Marilyn getting her into trouble with Nicole. Joey nudged her forward.
"Oh, hello girls," Marilyn said, inviting them to join her. "How are you? How's your wrist, Joey?"
"It's healing," Joey said. "I'm okay."
She shrugged. Charlie put her arm around her, feeling protective.
"And how's the restaurant going?" Marilyn asked. "Sid and I really miss going up there."
"We miss it too," Charlie said. "But we're almost done with the refit. Just a few days now."
"We'll be ready to open soon?"
They looked up to find Angelo standing beside them.
"Yep," Charlie confirmed. "We're almost done."
He sat down without an invitation.
"I'm so relieved," he said. "I've been so worried about the damage they did to the place."
Charlie could sense that he was nervous. He had been hanging back away from them since Valentine's Night and everything had kicked off at the restaurant. They had assured him that they didn't hold him responsible. He couldn't have known what would happen. And it was impossible for anyone to control people like the River Boys. There were police officers there and it had all still kicked off. What was Angelo supposed to have done?
"We'll call you when we know exactly what the plan is," Joey said.
"Thanks," Angelo said. "My diary's clear so whatever you need."
They thanked him. Marilyn looked anxiously at her phone.
"Are you waiting for someone?" Charlie asked, noting her concern.
"Sort of," Marilyn admitted. "Nicole is due back today. We still have some big decisions to make. You know… about the baby."
Charlie nodded sympathetically. Joey held her hand under the table.
"I'm just really nervous about seeing her," Marilyn admitted.
In the Diner kitchen, Leah was struggling to concentrate. Elijah was due back today and she didn't know what to do about it. Should she go and see him? Should she wait and give him space? Miles was not being a lot of help and she felt like she was missing a piece of information. Every time she spoke to Miles, he was coy and weird and it was starting to irritate her.
"Help!"
She rushed out of the kitchen at the familiar sound of her colleague, Colleen. She watched Charlie jump up from her seat.
"Sergeant Buckton!" Colleen said breathlessly. "Those men! They've set alight to the bins!"
Charlie touched Joey's hand, checking that she was okay to be left. Joey nodded and remained in her seat. Charlie rushed outside. Angelo followed her, as did John, who had been enjoying breakfast with Gina. Charlie wasn't especially grateful for the support.
Leah came to sit with Joey and Marilyn.
"How's your wrist?" she asked Joey.
"It's okay," Joey said. "How are you? Isn't Elijah due home today?"
"Yeah," Leah sighed.
"Oh!" Marilyn said. "Are you going to meet him?"
"I don't know," Leah said. "I feel like he's not telling me something."
"Well, can't Miles help you out?" Joey asked. "He's best mates with him."
"You'd think so," Leah said sourly. "He's being as useful as a chocolate teapot! He won't guide me in any way. He just keeps saying, wait to talk to Elijah yourself."
"Screw that!" Joey said. "If you need answers, go and get them!"
Leah laughed, grateful for her friend's bluntness.
"You know what?" she said. "You're right. I will. Thanks, Jo."
"Even when you're not behind the bar, you're still so good at fixing people's lives, Joey," Marilyn remarked.
Joey smiled quietly to herself. The comment had done more for her confidence than she would ever be able to tell her friend.
Outside, John had put out the fire and Charlie had sent the rabble of six River Boys away, warning them to stop causing trouble in the area and distress to people in the community. They had insisted it was just an accident and they had meant no harm, which she knew was rubbish but what could she prove.
"Is there a problem, Sergeant?"
She turned to see Brax stood there, his chest bare apart from a half open checked shirt. She wondered if these lads had ever been taught to dress themselves.
"Your boys just set fire to a bin," she said.
"Well, I'm sure it was an accident," he said lazily.
"Yeah," she said. "Right."
Angelo and John hovered nearby.
"Are you even on duty?" he asked, looking her up and down.
She suddenly felt uncomfortable in a figure hugging black vest top and blue denim cut-offs.
"I'm a cop," she said. "I'm always on duty. Keep your boys in line."
She returned to the Diner. Angelo and John followed her.
"Is everything okay out there?" Joey asked when Charlie returned to the table.
"Yeah, it's fine," Charlie assured her.
Colleen hovered anxiously. Charlie reiterated that everything was fine. The fire was out and she had sent the River Boys on their way.
"Yes, until next time," Colleen said unhappily. "Honestly, Sergeant Buckton, what are you going to do about those men? They're taking over our town!"
"What do you expect me to do about them?" Charlie asked desperately. "I'm doing my best. I can't stop them existing."
"That Brax seemed pretty interested in you," Angelo said unhelpfully.
Charlie glared at him.
"What do you mean?" Joey asked worriedly.
"He's just a prick," Charlie told her.
Colleen turned pink. Charlie apologised.
"I just mean that he's the leader of their gang and I'm the local Sergeant," she explained. "He wants to make it clear that he isn't scared of me."
"You're okay though?" Joey asked. "He isn't intimidating you?"
Charlie put her arm around her and kissed her temple.
"I can handle Darryl Braxton," she assured her. "He's just trying to throw his weight around. He's nothing."
Joey leant against her. Her heart was racing. She just hoped she could control it. She didn't want to embarrass herself in front of her partner and her friends.
"Well, I for one think something needs to be done about this gang," John put in.
"And as a police force, we are doing our best," Charlie said. "As a resident, I don't want them here any more than you guys do. Look what they've done to our business. Look how they treat our beautiful Bay. It's not right and it's not fair. But I have to treat them within the confines of the law. I can't just ban them from the area, as much as I'd like to. That's not how it works. All I can do is respond to their individual behaviours. And this isn't new, either. I've been battling with them over in Mangrove River and Yabbie Creek for years. They've just never spilled over here before."
"Then why are they here now?" Colleen asked.
"I honestly don't know," Charlie admitted.
"We know you're doing your best, Charlie," Leah said. "Nobody means to give you a hard time."
"And I'm sorry about the restaurant," Angelo added.
"Hey, that wasn't your fault," Joey said quickly.
"I was in charge that night," Angelo said.
"We were there too," Charlie said. "There were two cops there, including myself and things got so out of control so quickly. There was nothing you could have done, Angelo. Don't blame yourself."
"I thought you were mad at me," he admitted.
"Don't be silly," Joey said softly.
"Just… we haven't really spoken since…"
"I haven't really spoken to anyone," Joey said quietly.
She cleared her throat self consciously.
"I haven't been feeling great," she said. "You know, with my wrist and everything."
"And I've been so busy," Charlie added. "With work and everything. But we're really sorry we made you feel like that. We didn't mean it."
Angelo thanked them, genuinely relieved that everything was okay between them.
It was late afternoon and Charlie had been called into work. She hadn't wanted to go. She and Joey were supposed to be spending the day together. But Joey had assured her that she understood. There was a lot going on at the moment and the police force was under an intense amount of pressure.
At home, Joey was trying to keep busy. She froze when there was a knock at the door. Hesitantly, she opened up. She let out a relieved breath when she saw Nicole on the other side of the door.
"Hey," the blonde greeted. "I haven't seen you in forever and I wondered if you wanted to hang out."
Joey smiled.
"I would love to hang out," she said, welcoming her inside. "How are you doing? Did you have a good time with your Mum?"
Nicole shrugged and pulled a face.
"It was… well, my Mum," she said.
She heaved herself onto the sofa. Joey made drinks and came to join her.
"Have you um… seen Marilyn?" she asked.
Nicole looked awkward.
"Yeah," she said.
She felt guilty. She had come to see Joey because she needed help. She felt stuck in a horrible situation and Joey was always the person she turned to for advice.
"I just… I want her and Sid to have the baby," she ventured. "But legally, it's complicated."
Joey nodded, waiting for her to continue.
"And now I don't know what to do about Uni," Nicole added.
"What do you mean?" Joey asked.
"I just… I don't feel like I'm settling there," Nicole admitted. "I don't feel like I fit in. Indi already has loads of mates and she's doing really well on her course. I feel like a fish out of water. Nobody else in the whole University is in my position."
"Well, what's wrong with being unique?" Joey asked.
Nicole smiled. Joey always managed to give her a good perspective on life.
"What about the baby though, Joey?" Nicole asked. "All I want is for the baby to be happy and have good parents who'll love it. I want Marilyn to be its mother. She'll be such a good Mum. But the whole thing feels so complicated."
"Nic, if that's really what you want then just make it clear," Joey said. "You can sort out the details later. You just have to make sure that it's really what you want."
She left it there, not wanting to get into a difficult situation about whether Nicole actually wanted to keep the baby or not.
"It is," Nicole said. "I just want to be normal."
Joey smiled sadly. She sighed. Nicole noticed.
"Jo, are you okay?" she asked.
"I'm fine," Joey said.
She was surprised by tears stinging her eyes. She willed them not to spill.
"Joey?" Nicole said, shifting closer.
"I'm fine, honestly," Joey insisted.
She wiped her eyes quickly. Nicole held her friend's good hand.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm okay," Joey lied.
Nicole persisted.
"I just… I've been struggling a bit since the restaurant got trashed," Joey said.
"Yeah, I heard about Valentine's," Nicole said. "It sounds awful. And you got hurt. I'm sorry."
"It just shook me up a bit," Joey said. "But I'm okay."
"I'm sorry," Nicole said. "Coming here and waffling on about my issues when you're suffering so much."
Joey wiped her eyes, begging Nicole not to apologise.
"You've got a lot going on, Nic," she said. "I never want you to feel like you can't turn to me."
"I know but sometimes you need people to turn to," Nicole said.
"I have Charlie," Joey said. "And Ruby. I just… Normally I can shake these things off. But I just… I don't really know what's wrong with me. I feel so anxious all the time. It's like I can't breathe."
Nicole reached out and hugged her, wishing there was something she could do to make her feel better.
"Do you want to stay for dinner, Ruby?" Miles asked.
Ruby and Romeo had been studying at Summer Bay House for most of the day, having been paired up for a project.
"Oh, don't worry," Ruby said.
She was aware that Miles was expecting Elijah back from Africa that evening. He had been cooking for most of the day, although it seemed like a hell of a lot of food for one person.
"I don't want to impose," she added.
"You wouldn't be," Romeo said. "Would she, Miles?"
"Not at all," Miles said. "There's plenty of food."
"Well, okay then," Ruby accepted. "As long as you're really sure."
"Of course," Miles said. "You guys have been hard at it all day. I'm seriously impressed. You deserve a reward."
Ruby and Romeo looked pleased with themselves.
"Is Indi coming?" Ruby asked Romeo.
"I haven't invited her," he admitted. "I mean, well, she's probably busy with Uni work."
They had talked the previous day and promised to make more of an effort but still things felt strained between them.
"Knock, knock!"
Leah appeared in the doorway.
"Is Miles here?" she asked, saying hello to the kids.
They pointed her in the direction of the kitchen.
"I need to talk to you about Elijah," Leah said, getting right to the point.
Romeo and Ruby couldn't help but listen in.
"Well, he's due here in about an hour," Miles said, glancing at his watch.
"That's not what I'm asking," Leah said. "Well, it kind of is what I'm asking. I don't know what to do, Miles. Do I greet him? Do I stay away from him? And what is it that you're not telling me?"
"Nothing!" Miles lied.
She called him out on it.
"Leah, you need to discuss it with him, not me!" Miles said.
"You're supposed to be my friend," Leah said. "Why won't you just help me out a bit?"
"Look, just give him a chance to arrive and then talk to him," Miles said.
"Um… he's arrived…" Romeo said awkwardly.
Leah and Miles approached the front door. Elijah stood there alongside a beautiful woman with black hair and a nervous smile. She held a young boy, around VJ's age close to her.
"Hi, Leah," Elijah said.
"Hi…" she replied.
Charlie and Joey were sat at home not watching TV when Ruby arrived home. They sprang apart and righted their clothes. Ruby rolled her eyes and told them that they were inappropriate parents, which only made them laugh.
"How was your study day?" Charlie asked when Ruby threw herself into a chair.
"It was fine," Ruby said. "But dinner was seriously interesting."
Charlie and Joey waited, eager for gossip.
"Elijah came home from his trip," Ruby said. "But he wasn't alone. Apparently, he now has a wife called Grace and she has a son called Thabo."
"You're kidding?" Charlie said.
"Leah did say she thought he and Miles were keeping something from her," Joey said.
"A pretty big something as it turns out," Ruby said.
"She's going to be really upset," Joey worried.
"Oh, she was!" Ruby remarked.
"What do you mean?" Charlie asked.
"Well, Leah came to speak to Miles and then Elijah just walked in with Grace and Thabo," Ruby explained. "It was one of the most awkward moments I've ever witnessed in my life. Then we all sat down to dinner. I mean, at least the food was good."
She shook her head in disbelief.
"Poor Leah," Joey said.
"Grace is really nice though," Ruby added. "She is absolutely stunning. Like, so beautiful. Which probably doesn't help Leah right now. But she's really nice. And Thabo is lovely. He's not very well either. They were talking about Sid coming over to see him in the morning and start him on some treatment."
Charlie and Joey exchanged glances, both instantly reaching the same cynical conclusion.
"What?" Ruby asked.
"Nothing," Charlie said.
"I hate it when you talk telepathically," their daughter complained. "It is one of the most annoying things you do. That and having sex all over the house. And having sex in your room really loudly when I'm trying to sleep. And…"
"Okay, we get it!" Charlie interrupted. "We're irritating! You're not perfect either, you know!"
"Yes I am!" Ruby smirked.
That night, in their tent, Bianca couldn't sleep. She was feeling overwhelmingly irritated. She had done it to herself really. She only had herself to blame. She had been rummaging through Liam's songs and found a love song entitled 'Melinda'. Now, she felt jealous. She felt jealous and bitter. Liam had never written a song called 'Bianca'. He wasn't writing songs about her. Why not? Didn't he love her enough?
At the farm, Marilyn couldn't sleep for a different reason. Finally, things were settled with Nicole. She had returned from her trip and told them once and for all that she definitely wanted to go ahead with the adoption. She wanted to find a way to legalise it and turn it into a surrogacy. She wanted to make things right. She wanted Marilyn to be the mother of her child. Marilyn couldn't find the words to tell the world how happy she was.
Leah also couldn't sleep. Dinner had been more than awkward. She had gone home as soon as possible but she had only been home for a few minutes when Elijah had knocked on the door. He had apologised for his deceit and burst out that he and Grace had only married so that he could bring her and Thabo over to Australia so that Thabo could receive the medical care that he needed. Then he had kissed her. Then she had thrown him out.
"So… do you feel like irritating our daughter?" Charlie whispered in the dark.
Joey grinned. She snuggled closer, finding Charlie's lips in the dark.
Next time… Joey admits to her panic attacks, Colleen runs into some trouble and Brax attempts to make his mark on Summer Bay…
