Episode 7135

Extended Summary

Ben is on the phone at the farm house, trying to arrange to rent a warehouse the following week. He eventually gives in and tells Maggie there’s nothing available within 30km and he might have to move nearer the city, which will be more expensive. Maggie tells him he can’t, since they haven’t really got enough money for materials and rentals as it is. They conclude they have to turn down the job; Ben thinks Dean will be gutted but they have to do what’s best for the business. At the Diner, Irene tells a distracted Marilyn that Leah’s gone to the city to visit family so she said they’d cover. Marilyn admits she gave John a serve and wonders if she’s being selfish since he is trying to help Jett. Irene says his motivation might be noble but that doesn’t excuse his behaviour. John enters, hearing the tail end, and asks if his ears are burning; Irene makes herself scarce. John accepts he’s been avoiding responsibility and says he’s going to stay and sort things out: He’s told Jett he won’t be back until tomorrow. Marilyn seems disappointed he’s not staying longer and asks if he’ll be able to sort everything in that time. John says he’ll have to.

Bella reads a piece of paper, then screws it up and throws it away. She tries to write notes but immediately scribbles what she writes out, tries to type but deletes it all, and ends up slumped defeated on the sofa. Roo arrives to see how she’s getting on. Bella says she can’t do it but Roo doesn’t want to give up on her. She asks to see what Bella’s done. Bella gestures to the screen: All that’s written on it is “This sucks”. Roo suggests going through the assignment sheet and Bella awkwardly hands over the balled-up paper. Outside the bait shop, Ryder shows Alf an image of the car he’s planning to buy: He’s going to save up money from extra shifts at the juice bar. Alf is impressed but says he’ll need more driving lessons first. John approaches and Ryder tells him he’s up for any extra shifts when John does the roster. John suggests to Alf that he comes back at weekends and does the surf club admin from the city during the week. Alf agrees to give it a try but warns him if it doesn’t work he’ll be replaced.

Ben and Maggie arrive at Salt; Ben isn’t looking forward to breaking the news to Dean. When Dean joins them, Ben tells him they have to turn the job down because they can’t afford the start-up. Dean wonders if they could get a deposit. Ben says even if they got 10% upfront, they’d still be $10-15,000 short. Dean seems to accept this but then heads back to his caravan. He gets the bag of money and starts counting it out.

Dean goes to see Ben with a bag containing $20,000, saying he can use it for the start up. Ben is bewildered and wonders where the money came from. Dean says that doesn’t matter, all that matters is they can do the order. Ben says he can’t take the money. Dean is annoyed and walks out, telling him to forget it. Later, near the beach, he tells Willow he’s going to quit his job, saying he can’t work with Ben if Ben doesn’t trust him. Willow says it’s not a case of Ben trusting him, pointing out how suspicious him turning up with a bag of money looks. She asks him when was the last time a girl’s parents actually wanted him around and Dean admits no-one ever has apart from her dad. He agrees not to throw it away.

Bella tells Roo she can’t write from the perspective of one of the characters when she knows nothing about Germany. Roo says she’s being too literal and needs to find a way to relate to the characters. She says they grew up in a police state where their every action was controlled and then had to deal with that later on. She asks what Bella’s life with Ross was like. Bella says it wasn’t like that but Roo says even if it wasn’t there might be some similarities. Later, Roo reads over what Bella’s written. Bella thinks it’s bad but Roo says it’s a very good first draft and she only has some small notes. She offers to take a break before going over the notes but Bella wants to keep going.

Irene gets a text from Olivia and tells Marilyn she’s having her first fashion show in London and wants her to go. However, she feels she can’t because of Bella. Marilyn suggests talking to Colby about it. Ryder comes in looking for John, saying he hasn’t been paid for his overtime. Irene tells Marilyn that she makes mistakes with wages sometimes as well but Marilyn sees it as a sign of how his head’s all over the place. Ryder finds John at the Palmer house but he is concentrating on paperwork. He initially dismisses Ryder’s claim as impossible, then suggests Ryder didn’t log his hours correctly. Ryder says he did and suggests John looked at the wrong week; he wants John to go and check but John says he’s too busy. Ryder gives up, angrily telling John not to come to him for help in future.

Ben and Maggie are discussing the money Dean offered. Maggie wonders if it’s from something criminal. Dean arrives and, after checking Ben has told Maggie, apologises for snapping earlier, saying he was just disappointed because Ben gave him a chance. Ben apologises but Dean understands, although he swears the money is legit and wants Ben to take it. Maggie tells Ben it’s his choice. Ben agrees but tells Dean he’ll pay him back when they get the final payment. Meanwhile, Roo looks over Bella’s work and says the assignment’s ready to be handed in. Bella is pleased. Roo tells Bella she’s always there to help her but Bella says she has no-one at home. Roo suggests she uses one of the student study forums. Bella is confused so Roo does an online search to show her, saying if she’s studying then someone else will be too.

Irene tells Willow about the fashion show and her concerns about Bella, wondering if Colby would be all right to look after her. Ryder comes in and tells Alf and Marilyn about John refusing to pay the extra wages. Alf is annoyed and decides to go talk to him. He and Ryder find John outside but John immediately says he got someone to check the books at the surf club and found Ryder was right: The money will be in his account tomorrow. After Ryder has gone, Alf suggests John needs to sort out something else. John says he’s done everything at the surf club but Alf says he also left Marilyn in the lurch.

Marilyn arrives home to find John has set up a candlelit dinner with her favourite takeaway. He says he’s spent the day sorting everything else out so the evening is for her. Marilyn is still worried about him driving so much but John says it’s fine. Meanwhile, Bella closes her laptop as Irene and Willow return home, saying she finished the assignment and is on one of the study forums. After they’ve gone to bed, she opens the laptop: She is actually in a private conversation with someone called Tommy and tells him she was interrupted. He asks if it was her parents and she says her parents are dead and she lives with an old lady and her brother’s friend. Tommy commiserates and she says it is what it is. Tommy says he’s there if she needs someone to talk to.