Episode 469

Extended Summary

Bobby answers the phone and finds it’s Al for Fisher, using the phone at the store. Fisher takes it but, when Bobby doesn’t take his hints to go out for a run, he tells Al he can’t talk now and hangs up. Celia sees Al react angrily. Fisher chastises Bobby for not giving him any privacy but she retorts that she didn’t think they had secrets.

Marilyn is relaxing in front of the TV with a facepack on when Martin and Greta come home and Greta heads to her room. Martin admits Greta overheard him talking to Matt and Adam and threatens to tell Lance about Marilyn’s face arrangement if she hits him. He heads down to the surf club and joins Adam and Andrew for a game of pool, repeatedly insisting he and Greta aren’t an item. Andrew seems to disapprove of his attitude.

Fisher refuses to talk to Bobby about Al, saying it’s his own private business. Bobby thinks Fisher should just ignore Al like she does and tells him if he goes on keeping secrets the family’s going to fall apart. She heads out for her run and Al appears round the corner, knocking on the door. Fisher tells him to go away but Al pushes past him, saying his neighbours would see them talking otherwise. Fisher suggests the police won’t believe Al but Al, helping himself to a whiskey, talks about how Fisher would fare in prison, saying people would want to take him down a peg. He tells Fisher he wants the money now, even if Fisher has to re-mortgage the house. Bobby arrives back, having got a hole in her shoe, and Al makes a hasty exit. Bobby asks Fisher what he was doing there and Fisher protests he didn’t invite him. Bobby accepts Fisher isn’t going to confide in her but tells him that Viv’s never there because it doesn’t feel like a home anymore and she’s starting to feel the same.

Carly has heated up a TV dinner for herself, Tom, Steven and Sally but, although Sally is complimentary, Steven complains that it’s still burnt. Tom suggests it might have been better if they’d eaten off plates and Carly admits there aren’t any clean ones. Tom tells her that, with him and Steven running the caravan park (and Sally having done the vacuuming), they need her to keep an eye on the house. Bobby arrives, seemingly looking for company, and accepts Carly’s offer to help her with the washing up…then sees the large pile of dirty dishes Carly has let accumulate. At the mobile home, Marilyn tells Greta that Martin’s eating at the Diner. Greta says it isn’t Martin’s fault since he never wanted to take her out. Marilyn says Martin doesn’t have girls queuing up but that just leaves Greta even more depressed, that she couldn’t get a date with the most unpopular guy in town.

Next morning, Carly is heading off to the first day of the sales while Sally tries to persuade her to get her an orange stretchy top. Tom, who is about to head out with Steven, steps in, telling Carly the laundry is full of washing and she’s put it off long enough. Once they’re alone, Sally offers to do it, saying she knows how to work the washing machine, and Carly accepts, heading out.

Ailsa runs into Fisher, carrying a large briefcase, in town and realises he’s been to the bank. She tries to persuade him that if he pays Al there’ll never be an end to it but Fisher says he’s made up his mind. He heads home and, after checking he’s alone, reluctantly starts unpacking the money.

Andrew finds Martin at the Diner and deduces he hasn’t been home. Martin admits he spent the night in the car after Marilyn locked him out. Andrew uses reverse psychology, repeating Martin’s comments about Greta so Martin defends her, and ends up convincing Martin he enjoys spending time with Greta and it was only Matt and Adam’s immature attitude that spoiled it. Martin heads home where he finds Greta has packed to return to the city. He claims that he only said what he did because he told Matt and Adam he was off girls and didn’t want them to think it hadn’t lasted, rather than because of Greta personally, and persuades her to stay. He admits he made up the story about bluebottles and agrees to go for a swim.

Carly arrives home (without having bought anything for Sally) to find all the laundry neatly folded. Sally says she couldn’t fit everything on the line so she used the dryer. The only problem is a cardigan: It’s too big for Christopher and too small for everyone else. Carly realises it’s Tom’s, an anniversary present from Pippa. It was in the basket for hand wash and has shrunk in the dryer.

Celia comes into the Diner, claiming she’s there to pick up their order. Bobby says Ailsa’s already taken it to the store. Celia tries to get a conversation about Al going but quickly leaves when Ailsa appears. Bobby explains Celia was fishing. Ailsa asks if she’s spoken to Fisher and Bobby says she has but Fisher won’t speak to her. Meanwhile, Fisher has laid all the money out on the table. He stares at it, looking torn.