Episode 576

Extended Summary

Pippa and Ben reassure Don that it’s not his fault the car is a wreck. Don is certain that the man he bought it off, his tennis partner Kevin, wouldn’t rip him off but Ben is sceptical when he learns Kevin said it was his wife’s car and hardly used. Don says Kevin will fix it but Ben doesn’t think it can be fixed. As the three of them go outside to check on it, Carly answers the phone. Ben gets Don to rev the engine and says that it’s wrecked; Kevin put on new spark plugs and tampered with the oil so it would keep going temporarily. He also thinks the exhaust is bust. Don insists he’ll get it sorted. Carly comes out and tells Ben that Marilyn wants to do something for them for the wedding. She isn’t keen, since while she likes Marilyn she does have a habit of messing things up.

At the store, Marilyn is chatting to Ailsa about the wedding and how she and Lance would be married by now if he hadn’t left when she accidentally drops a bottle of orange juice and has to go and get a mop. Alf finds his court conviction has been reported in the paper and throws it in the bin. Ailsa thinks he should tell people and says she’ll have to tell Bobby if she’s going to do Alf’s deliveries. Alf asks her to make an excuse. Marilyn comes back in with the mop and chides Alf for not rinsing it out. Meanwhile, Steven is doing the gardening when Emma comes past; both of them received a letter from Viv recently. Steven wants to see her as soon as possible but can’t practise since they don’t have a car. Emma comments on how Alf won’t let her drive his. Steven says Alf might want to use it himself and Emma almost tells him about the ban before she remembers it’s a secret and stops herself.

At the Diner, Don chats to Bobby about how his friend, Kevin Wainwright, doesn’t seem to be answering his calls and he keeps getting fobbed off by a secretary. He is still reluctant to believe Kevin cheated him. Bobby suggests she rings the office under another name to see if he answers. She makes the call, calling herself Bobby Stewart, and the receptionist puts her through; Don takes the phone from her but as soon as he speaks Kevin hangs up. Don realises he has been cheated and storms out, declaring he won’t get away with it. Ailsa tells Bobby she needs to do the deliveries, claiming Alf has a bad knee. She arrives at the store at the same time as Pippa and Carly but Carly leaves as soon as she sees Marilyn, not wanting to talk. Marilyn is serving Grant some ice cream and wraps it in the newspaper Alf threw away. She notices the report and thinks it’s another Alf Stewart, asking Pippa and Ailsa if they know him. Ailsa admits it’s Alf. Later, Jane is giving Grant a massage in her caravan. She worries people will blame her for arresting Alf, admitting she could have let him off with a warning. Grant says he has to make the same choices at school as to whether to let children off. He heads off to do some marking, arranging to meet her later for a run.

At the Diner, Ailsa talks to Pippa about how Alf felt embarrassed about his conviction. Don comes back in and says he got Kevin to give him his money back, by threatening to report him. Ailsa tells Bobby she needs to go out to do the deliveries and tells her about Alf’s ban. Bobby doesn’t think their business should suffer as a result but Ailsa mollifies her slightly by promising to do all the cooking when she comes back. When she gets to the store, she finds Alf has laid out several big boxes for her. He explains Karen Spender is having a party and placed a big order. Ailsa doesn’t have time to do it all so suggests she do the local deliveries and Alf gets Emma to do the Spender delivery. Alf isn’t keen on Emma driving his car and doesn’t think she can do the delivery on her own. Steven comes in and asks why Alf can’t do it, so Alf tells him about the ban. Steven offers to go with Emma and help her out. Alf says he can’t afford to pay both of them but Steven says he’ll do it for nothing.

Pippa and Ben are discussing her dress for the wedding when Marilyn arrives. They tell her Carly’s gone shopping for dinner. She tells them she wants to do something for them, to help her get over Lance. Ben tries to defer the decision but tells her to come back after tea when Carly’s there. After Marilyn’s gone, Pippa tells Ben that Carly will kill him. Meanwhile, Ailsa is doing the deliveries when she comes across Don broken down in the car he got for Pippa. He says he was driving it back to Kevin but Ailsa points out he’s heading towards his own house. He admits Kevin wouldn’t give him the money back, since it was a private deal. He asks her not to tell Pippa, since he doesn’t want her to know he lost money helping her.

Alf helps Steven and Emma load his car with the deliveries, giving Emma $10 for the job and pointing out Steven’s doing it for nothing. They head to the Spenders’ and start unloading the food. Steven asks Emma to let him drive, even though she’s not supposed to because she’s still on P plates. He points out there’s no-one on the road and she’ll be doing it for Viv and Emma reluctantly agrees. Grant and Jane are going for a jog and stop by his van. Grant sees Steven driving Alf’s car with Emma, in a somewhat erratic fashion, so he grabs Jane and kisses her so she won’t notice. Once they’re round the bend, an annoyed Emma tells Steven to pull over and they change places.

At the Diner, Ailsa and Bobby have got through the rush hour. Bobby apologises for not being sympathetic towards Alf. Ailsa tells her about Don not getting the money back for the car. She’s puzzled as to why he doesn’t want Pippa knowing and Bobby suggests it’s a pride thing. Meanwhile, Grant and Jane arrive back at the caravan park. Jane seems slightly stand-offish and, when Grant suggests doing something that night, tells him she’s washing her hair and goes into her caravan.

Carly tells Ben they need to sort out the seating plan for the reception. Ben suggests Marilyn could help with that. Carly still isn’t keen on her being involved but Ben convinces her to let her help. That night, Marilyn meets Pippa, Carly and Ben after tea and asks Ben when his family are arriving. Ben suggests Marilyn could help with the flower arranging but Marilyn is surprised, since she thought they’d have someone else to do that. A puzzled Carly thought she wanted to help but Marilyn explains she wanted to give them a surprise and gets Ben to help her bring a large box in. She explains it’s full of various his and hers towels, sheets and blankets that she was saving up for her and Lance. Carly thinks Marilyn should keep it for when she gets married one day but Marilyn says she’ll start afresh if that happens and wants them to have it. Carly is delighted and says it’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done for her. Marilyn looks pleased.