Chapter Five Hundred and Eighty Nine

The following afternoon, the Surf Club was packed full of Summer Bay residents, particularly those with a vested interest in the Surf Club. Charlie and Joey were sat together; Ruby had not been allowed to attend and was instead upstairs in the restaurant with Casey, under the watchful eye of Claire. Scott had persuaded her to swap shifts with him, as he was keen not to miss a fashion show, he had also persuaded Blake that he definitely wanted to ogle Angelo in a pair of shorts.

Miles was sat between Colleen and Romeo and it was hard to decide which one was irritating him more – Colleen's incessant chattering or Romeo looking like he'd swallowed a wasp. Irene was sat with Bianca, April and Liam; Joey wondered how things had gone with April and if she was now getting the help she needed. Sid, Marilyn and Dex had all come to support Indi; Dex had come more to mock than support, which he felt was his brotherly duty.

Joey and Charlie were particularly relieved that Brax and his gang had decided not to come and watch the show. The last thing Angelo or Indi – Nicole's models for today – needed were River Boys' heckles.


Behind the scenes, Angelo was beginning to fret. This whole thing had seemed like a nice idea at the time. It had been a way to help Nicole and also, if he was being truly honest with himself, a way to spend a bit more time with her. He wasn't saying he liked her in that way exactly. She was significantly younger than him; eighteen, pregnant and in her first year of University. He was pushing thirty and not much younger than her father. He used to date her Dad's ex-girlfriend. And it was Roo who had been capturing his attention more than anyone lately. But there was something very sweet about Nicole… vulnerable. He wanted to rescue her. It was nice to be needed. She seemed to value his opinion, which was rare. She laughed at his jokes. She wanted to spend time with him. She made him feel special and that made him want to make her feel special. Wasn't that really what life and relationship were all about?


"Ladies and gentleman!" Roo said, standing on the makeshift stage and gaining everyone's attention.

The crowd offered a spontaneous round of applause. She grinned and bowed, thanking them.

"Now, this young lady, Nicole Franklin has been working ever so hard on these new uniforms for the Surf Club," she said. "I think they are amazing and I am sure you will think they are too! They're unique and wonderful and absolutely gorgeous, just like her and just like the models who'll be presenting them to you so, with no further ado, may I welcome to the stage… Angelo Rosetta!"

She stepped aside. 'Just Dance' by Lady Gage burst from the speakers while Angelo, dressed in black and pink shorts and a matching, fitted t-shirt, appeared, looking far more confident than he felt. He strutted down the runway to claps on the beat, posed at the end, as he had practised, twirled around and strutted back halfway.

"They're definitely different!" Gina remarked.

"I've never seeing Constable Risotto in such an outfit before!" Colleen remarked.

"You do know he hasn't been a policeman for years, don't you?" Miles replied.

Colleen shrugged and kept on watching. Angelo paused and then walked backstage. Then it was Indi's turn to do her thing. Romeo's breath caught when he saw his ex-girlfriend stride her way along the runway. How had he ever been so stupid as to let her go? He must have been crazy. He just wished there was something he could do to make things right. He cautiously wiped tears from his eyes, hoping nobody had noticed his grief. Around him, everyone was clapping and cheering. Indi walked to the back of the stage and extended her hand, welcoming Angelo back. The pair of them walked back up the runway together. For a sickening moment, Romeo imagined them as a couple. He couldn't bear the thought of anyone else being in a relationship with Indi apart from him. He could only imagine what she must have felt, knowing that he had slept with Ruby behind her back. It must have hurt her so much.

"Looking good, both of you!" Roo enthused.

Charlie and Joey held hands.

"They do look really good, the uniforms," Joey said. "I was really worried I was going to hate them!"

"Me too!" Charlie admitted. "But they're brilliant!"

"Are you two even looking at the same thing I am?" John barked at them. "They're bloody awful!"

"John!" Gina hissed at her partner. "Don't be so rude."

"It's not rude. They didn't design them."

"It's still rude," Gina said. "And I don't want you to be rude to Nicole when you give unsolicited feedback either. I like them too, girls."

John shook his head, unable to believe that the uniforms were such a big hit.

Angelo and Indi stepped to the back of the stage as Roo called Nicole out to face her audience. The teenager looked exceptionally nervous. Charlie and Joey both caught the look of encouragement from Angelo as she passed him.

"Um… what?" Charlie whispered quietly to Joey so John didn't hear her.

"I'll fill you in later," Joey replied.

Curious and frustrated at having to wait, Charlie forced herself to focus on the rest of the event. Nicole nervously introduced herself and explained how she came to create her designs.

"Well, I for one, think they're amazing," Joey volunteered.

There was a lot of vocal agreement from the rest of the audience.

"I don't like them," John said.

People immediately objected.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but I don't like the colours, I don't like the fit and you'll have to get Council approval…"

People began actively booing him. He looked helplessly at Gina who booed him loudly, making several people laugh He glared at her.

"They don't even look comfortable!"

"Are they comfortable, guys?" Roo asked Indi and Angelo, who confirmed that they were very comfortable.

"And you like how they look?" she asked.

They both liked the look too.

"Well, then, John, I'm not sure you have much of a leg to stand on," Roo said. "You're one of a room full of people, including the people wearing them, the people who will be wearing them, the designer and the rest of the town. Surely this has got to be a democracy?"


After the show, Charlie and Joey quickly caught up with Nicole, wanting to congratulate her before they both headed back to work. Joey was aware that she and Scott had left Claire in charge with only one other member of staff and they needed to rescue her and Charlie had taken a long lunch in order to support the teenager.

"Well done!" they both said.

Nicole hugged them both, thanking them.

"You really thought the designs were good?" she asked.

"They were amazing," Joey said certainly. "You should be very proud of yourself."

"John hated them," Nicole said doubtfully.

"Ah, John hates everything that's not his idea!" Charlie said dismissively.

"I heard that!" John hollered from nearby.

Charlie shrugged, making Nicole laugh.

"You really should be very proud of yourself," Charlie said. "Everyone – apart from John – loved everything you did. Well done."


Romeo took a deep breath and plucked up the courage to approach Indi, who was talking to Scott and Blake.

"Hi," he ventured.

She turned around slowly, in her normal clothes now.

"I just wanted to say well done," he said. "You did really well out there."

"Well, they were Nicole's designs," Indi said. "I just walked up and down a couple of times."

"Well, you walked really well," Romeo told her.

The boys backed away but not so far that they, mainly Scott, couldn't still hear their awkward conversation.

"Look, what do you want, Romeo?" Indi snapped impatiently. "Because the last time I tried to speak to you, you didn't want to know me so I have no idea why you're starting with the whole 'you walked really well' lamed-arsed shit now. I mean, that's the worst compliment in history. If you've got something to say, get on with it. If not, let me get on with my day, please."

He stared at her, broken hearted for a moment, before leaving the building.


"So… nice little turn on the catwalk there," Charlie teased, when she saw Angelo.

He blushed.

"Oh and we loved the tan!"

Nicole had persuaded him to let her cover him in spray tan the previous day when he had been trying on the outfit.

"Was I awful?" he cringed.

"No," Joey said compassionately. "You were actually great and you did the uniform justice and made Nicole look really good."

"Good," he said, relieved. "I just didn't want to stuff it up for her."

"You didn't," Charlie assured him, patting his arm.

He smiled gratefully. He searched Nicole out across the room, chatting animatedly with Marilyn. Charlie noticed again the way he looked at her.

"Well, we need to head off back to work but we'll catch you later," she said brightly, leading Joey upstairs to the restaurant.

"Hey!" Joey protested. "We had a few more minutes."

Charlie shook her head.

"No, we had a few minutes for you to tell me everything you know about Angelo and Nicole. What gives?"

They grabbed the nearest table.

"Okay, so I don't know where Angelo stands but I had teeny, tiny gossip with Roo yesterday and it turns out that Nicole and Angelo have been spending quite a bit of time together recent and Nicole has started to have some feelings for him," Joey explained. "Nothing has happened between them and she's worried that it's messy because of the age gap, especially being that his ex – being you – dated her Dad…"

Charlie visibly cringed.

"But she likes him," Joey continued. "She says he's being very kind to her, that he seems to care about her. He makes her feel safe."

Charlie smiled.

"Well, from the way he's been looking at her, I think he might well feel the same," she said. "Good luck to them."

"You don't think it's weird?" Joey asked. "I mean, she's only a year older than Ruby."

"Maybe a bit weird," Charlie said. "But she is a lot more mature than Ruby. And I didn't give birth to her. If they like each other and they respect each other…. It would be nice if Angelo met someone nice. And it would be nice if Nicole met someone nice. It would be nice if they were both happy and settled."


Out on the beach, Romeo was feeling low. He felt like his life was going nowhere. He was struggling for work; he had quit school and Indi didn't want anything to do with him. One stupid decision after another and he had destroyed his own happiness.

"Hello again," said a voice.

He looked up to find Emily approaching him. He tried really hard not to roll his eyes; he didn't want to be rude.

"I thought you were going to call me after the other day," she said, sitting down beside him.

"Sorry," he said. "I was going to, I just…"

"It's fine," she said. "How are you?"

"I'm okay," he said. "Just… struggling for work."

"I thought you worked at Buckton's and as a lifeguard here?" she said.

She had been paying very close attention to everything about him.

"I do but they're both part time and neither of the add up to full time work," he explained. "Now that I'm not at school I need to pay rent and towards the bills and everything is just suddenly very intense."

"Well, my Dad runs his own business and they're always after couriers," Emily said. "You don't need any experience or anything. I could get you an application form?"

Romeo's eyes lit up. He leant in and kissed her.


Charlie arrived at the police station to immediately be teased for slacking by Watson. Charlie just rolled her eyes and headed into her office. Watson left the reception desk and followed her, throwing herself into the chair across from her desk and putting her feet up on the next chair. Charlie cleared her throat. Watson put her feet back down.

"So, did you enjoy your little fashion show?" she asked.

"Oh, you missed a treat," Charlie said. "The opportunity to tease Angelo for strutting his stuff in pink and black little shorts."

Watson snorted.

"Now, you never told me that was on offer!" she exclaimed.

"I had no idea!" Charlie said. "Genuinely, Nic did a great job but it was impossible not to tease Angelo. It was so much fun – especially as we think he might be sweet on her."

"He's like the gift that keeps on giving, that man," Watson chuckled, shaking her head.


Romeo saw Emily out; she passed Nicole on her way, blushing as it was obvious what they had been up to.

"Again?" Nicole remarked, raising her eyebrows and dumping all her things on the table.

"So?" Romeo replied, throwing himself onto the sofa and putting his feet up.

She pushed his feet away and sat beside him.

"I'm young, free and single," he reminded her. "I can be with whoever I want."

"You can," she agreed. "I just wonder if you actually want to be with Emily or if you're just passing the time."

"She knows the score," he said, sounding more confident than he felt.


Claire wished she could switch Scott onto mute. Unfortunately, he was practically chasing her round the restaurant, describing the shape of Angelo's bottom in detail she had no interest in hearing.

"Okay!" she begged, half laughing. "Please! I really don't need any more bums and bulges!"

"Excuse me?" Joey exclaimed, walking in on the conversation at entirely the wrong moment.

Claire blushed crimson. Scott smirked at them both.

"That's what she said!" he laughed.


Romeo and Nicole had been idly watching TV together. He'd even complimented her on her show, which had both surprised and touched her. She'd received a text from Angelo, telling her how proud he was of her; she'd smiled the whole time she'd texted him back. Romeo had noticed and been curious as to who was having such an effect on her.

"Angelo…" she admitted reluctantly.

"Angelo?" he said, openly surprised.

"I know," she frowned. "It's weird."

"Hey, I'm not in a position to judge anyone's romantic life," he said. "If he makes you happy, why not?"

She thought that was this 'new' Romeo being supportive. They fell into silence again. Romeo picked up his laptop, wondering if he could have a look at the company Emily had mentioned earlier. Immediately distracted by Facebook, he saw that Emily had changed her profile picture to a photograph of them together. He clicked her profile and saw her status read as: In a relationship. Anger swept over him. Throwing the laptop down, he jumped up and shoved his feet into his shoes, charging out of the house. Nicole was utterly confused. She picked up the laptop, surprised it wasn't broken, and realised what had triggered him. A lot more slowly, with her bump to consider, she left the house too, wondering where to try first to find him.


Joey headed down the stairs in order to go through the Surf Club to get to the Diner to get some change. She never bothered to ask John for change. He was way too tight – although he didn't hesitate to ask her or Leah both. But she and Leah were always borrowing from each other and neither minded. They were happy to help each other out. School had finished and she hoped that Ruby would be behaving herself and heading home. Casey was playing pool with Xavier and a couple of girls Joey vaguely recognised, so at least she knew she wasn't misbehaving with him. She liked to think the party had given them both a big wake up call.

"Oi!"

Joey and everyone else in the Surf Club were startled by the sound of angry yelling. They turned to see Romeo charging towards the pool table.

"What the hell do you think you're playing at?" he demanded of one the girls, who looked immediately frightened.

"What… what do you mean?" she asked nervously.

"I mean, Facebook," he said, leaning his strong hands on the edge of the pool table. "What the hell are you doing suggesting that we're a couple?"

"Well, I thought…"

"You thought what, that I'm your boyfriend?" he sneered.

Joey could hardly believe the way he was speaking to her. What had he become?

"Well, it's just that we've… you know…"

"We had sex, Emily. Sex. That's it. I'm not your boyfriend; I don't even like you. I…"

"Okay, that's enough!" Joey said, stepping it before Emily burst into tears.

The other girl put her arm around her. Casey and Xavier had no idea what to do.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Joey demanded. "What gives you the right to speak to someone that way?"

She saw him deflate in front of her, like a popped balloon, his own words catching up with his conscience.

"She put it online that we were an item," he said weakly.

"And you think that gives you permission to talk to her like she's a piece of shit?" Joey asked, refusing to let him off the hook.

"No but…"

"No buts," Joey said. "The answer is just no. No."

"No," he agreed quietly, nodding his head.

"I just don't know what's happened to you, Romeo," Joey said sadly. "The way you're behaving; the way you're speaking to people; the way you're treating these young women around you – Indi, Ruby, this girl – sorry, I don't know your name."

"Emily," the girl said meekly.

"Emily," Joey repeated.

"It's just not okay," Joey said.

"I know," Romeo replied quietly.

"Well, if you know, then you know you need to shape up and change it or you are going to ruin your own life and lose every single person who cares about you," Joey warned him.

"I'm sorry," he said.

He turned back to Emily and repeated himself. She nodded but was clearly tearful. He turned and left, mortified and ashamed to pass Indi on the way out; she had seen everything.


That night, curled up in bed together, Joey still couldn't stop thinking about Romeo.

"Do you think I was too hard on him?" she fretted.

"I think you told him what he needed to hear," Charlie said. "I mean, maybe this could be a turning point for him. And you stood up for that Emily girl. The boys and her friend sounded too shocked to do anything. She needed someone to say, no, this isn't okay. You did that for her."

Joey nodded. She had brought Emily and her friend up to the restaurant and treated them to a free dessert. All girls need chocolate when their hearts are broken. She seemed to appreciate it.

"Thank you," she said, snuggling in a little closer.

Charlie kissed her, telling her that she was proud of her.


Next time… Charlie and Joey endure a very awkward dinner party at Sid and Marilyn's, Liam battles alcohol and Nicole begins to panic about giving birth…