Episode 3385

Extended Summary

Josh and Dani are still discussing the idea of moving to the city—Josh thinks he can get a job with his father’s ex-business partner and Dani can go to uni there—when Rhys asks Dani to keep an eye on the kiosk for him. He goes to the school and tells Angie that he needs to speak to her. They are interrupted by the school bell and Angie’s students filing into the classroom and Rhys agrees to come back after school.

Jesse and Hayley are preparing for the opening of the gym when Dani drops by to tell Hayley about Josh’s suggestion. She seems keen on the idea, noting she can’t live with Irene forever and wants her independence. At the Diner, Alf shows Colleen his new idea, the Word of the Day, which he has written on the blackboard: Steatopygous. When Donald enters he explains it means an excess of fat at the rear end…or, as Alf puts it, a big bum. Colleen walks off in a huff and Alf takes Donald aside to question him about his blaming him for June leaving because of the non-robbery. Donald is confused and, although Alf is jovial at first, he ends up snapping at him and threatening to sue if he goes on spreading lies.

Rhys goes back to Angie and tells her that Dylan knows about them. Angie initially insists he doesn’t but when Rhys relates the conversation she simply says she admires his detective work, not seeming bothered. Donald briefly interrupts them and when he has gone Rhys asks Angie why she’s really come back. She replies that she’s there for Dylan to meet his father: Rhys. The revelation brings back uncomfortable memories for Rhys, how the one night he should have been with Shelley, he went out with his friends and got drunk, then had a one-night stand with Angie. He apologises if he treated her badly afterwards but Angie says she doesn’t regret it. Although she wasn’t planning for the news to come out in this manner, now that it has she wants to tell Dylan but Rhys asks for time to get his head around it.

Down by the beach, Josh and Dani discuss his proposal again: Josh thinks he has done what he came to Summer Bay to do, get a taste of a different life, and it’s time to go back, and that he and Dani need to move beyond the town. Sally arrives home to find Flynn reading a letter from Dana, which includes photos of Mia.Sally is clearly affected by them, commenting on how nice it was to have a baby around the house, but covers it up.

At the surf club, everything is set for the opening, although Alf is looking for both the two Iron Men who were due to perform the opening and his scissors. Donald takes Irene aside and asks what she said to Alf but she insists he misunderstood. While Jesse gives an interview to some reporters, in which he offers his thanks to Sally and Alf for their part in setting things up, Hayley talks with Colleen, who is in two minds about joining up, wanting to get fit without losing her femininity. Angie approaches Rhys, who says Shelley is working late, and despite his saying it’s his choice to tell her, reminds him that if he doesn’t she’ll find out from someone else. Alf’s celebrity guests, Ky Hurst and Kristy Monroe, finally arrive: although they say they met him at the surf carnival the previous year, he doesn’t seem to recognise them but manages to cover.

Everyone gathers for the opening and Alf makes a speech. He momentarily seems to forget what he’s doing there but everyone assumes it’s a joke. He talks about Charlotte’s death and how all the profits from the new gym will be used to buy proper life-saving equipment. Then he seems to become maudlin, talking about how you never know what’s around the corner and rescuing kangaroos during the bush fires, before recovering and handing over to Ky and Kristy for the opening. Donald looks at him worriedly, while Sally quietly remarks to Flynn that if she didn’t know better she’d think he had been drinking. Afterwards, Alf tells Josh that he’s spoken to the committee and they’ve agreed to Josh returning to work on light duties but Josh tells him it’s too late: He doesn’t want the job.

Back at home, Flynn is talking about Alf’s odd behaviour when he notices Sally looking at the photos of Mia again. Sally asks him if he’d want to have children with her if it was possible and he doesn’t seem sure. Then she explains it is possible: some of her eggs were frozen. Flynn points out that they’d need to find a surrogate mother and there’s no certainity of success but eventually says he’d love to.

Dani finds Rhys on the back porch at the caravan park, with Shelley apparently staying over at the drop-in centre, and tells him about her and Josh’s plans to move. Rhys is thrown by the news, asking her to wait a few months because he thinks Shelley might need her around. Dani realises something is wrong and asks him to tell her but he says he needs to talk to Shelley first.