Episode 7346

Extended Summary

Nikau is lying on the sofa at home. Hearing someone arrive back, he hopes it’s Gemma but it’s Tane, who assumes Gemma is at work. At the motel, Gemma pulls back from the kiss with Ben, telling him she’s not ready. Ben says it feels strange to him too but convinces her to stay and talk, asking about Mikaere. Gemma says he was the sort of guy she was warned to stay away from but she fell in love with him and had Nikau when she was young. She notes it introduced her to a world she wasn’t ready for, since he wasn’t exactly a fine upstanding citizen, and that she often thought about taking Nikau and leaving him but didn’t want to be without him…like she is now. Ben holds her and comforts her, offering to drive her home. Gemma asks to stay like this for a bit.

First thing next morning, Ari and Tane are trying to get breakfast when Nikau announces that Gemma didn’t come home and he thinks she was with Ben, who’s always hanging off her. Tane isn’t clear on who Ben is, and Ari explaining he runs the board shop doesn’t seem to help. Nikau storms off to find them and Ari sends Tane with him. At the motel, Ben and Gemma awaken curled up on the bed together. Gemma realises she’s going to be in trouble. Ben offers to drive her home but she says she can’t turn up with him after being out all night. She thanks him before leaving.

Ryder is waiting outside Evan’s van with a now cold cup of coffee and asks him if he’s given any more thought to the gig. Evan says he has, but he’s not played a live gig in a long time and is pretty much retired. Ryder says he doesn’t care if Evan embarrasses him and it’s an important assignment. Evan agrees to practise a couple of songs. Ryder goes over to Alf and Roo and explains about making up an assignment to get Evan to do a gig. Neither are convinced of the wisdom of it but Ryder says it’s about making memories. Later, Evan is singing outside his van but starts coughing badly. Roo comes over and offers him some water. Evan notes pushing it hurts his lungs and thinks his options are making a mess of the gig or letting Ryder down. Roo suggests telling Ryder the truth but Evan doesn’t want to do that. Roo agrees to talk to Ryder.

Ziggy is showering outside the surf club. Justin tells her the board shop’s closed. Ziggy says Dean’s visiting Karen so Ben was meant to open it. She tells him to remind Ben if he sees him. Nikau and Tane overhear part of the chat and Nikau takes it as confirmation that Gemma and Ben are together. Tane convinces him to go to Salt to see if Gemma’s there and get breakfast. Meanwhile, Ari is at home when Gemma arrives back. He tells her Nikau is out looking for and is angry and worried. He adds Nikau thinks she was with Ben and her reaction confirms it, although she says it’s not what he thinks. Ari accepts it’s none of his business but is worried about Nikau.

Ziggy is keeping an eye on the board shop as Ben arrives, claiming to have overslept after working on board designs. After Ziggy has gone, Nikau and Tane appear and Nikau demands to know if Ben was with his mother. Ben refuses to answer and Tane steers Nikau away. Justin wryly asks Ben if they’re friends of his. Back at the house, Gemma tells Ari that she didn’t plan anything but Ben invited her back to his motel and she wanted to go. She says they just talked and fell asleep. Ari asks if they’re a thing and Gemma says maybe. Nikau and Tane arrive at that moment and Nikau angrily berates Gemma for moving on when Mikaere’s barely in the ground. Gemma tells him to get out until he’s learned respect. Ari takes Nikau away, leaving Tane to look after Gemma.

Outside the surf club, Roo is telling Alf about Evan’s condition and thinks they need to talk Ryder out of the gig. They see Ryder, who is bubbling over with ideas. Both of them suggest Evan might not be well enough to perform but Ryder says whatever he comes up with will be fine. He says he doesn’t want to put pressure on Evan but seeing him doing the thing he loves will give him something to remember him by. Later, Roo finds Evan in his van, still coughing from the after-effects. She says the gig means more to Ryder than she thought and he’s not going to be talked out of it. Evan is doubtful but Roo says he’ll either have to tell Ryder the truth or find a way to do the gig.

Ari and Nikau walk on the beach. Ari says Gemma told him nothing happened. Nikau thinks she was disrespecting his father’s memory. Ari says he can’t expect her to mourn Mikaere for the rest of her life: He’d want her to be happy and would knock Nikau’s block off for talking to her the way she did. They hug. At the house, Gemma asks if she was hard on Nikau and Tane points out he was worried she didn’t come home. She accepts she should have called but needs to work out what’s going on with Ben. Ari and Nikau arrive back and Nikau apologises for what he said but asks about Ben. Gemma says she doesn’t know what to say. Nikau tells her to work it out.

Roo and Evan meet up with Ryder on the beach. Evan says he’ll do the gig but it will have to be a short one. Ryder happily agrees and says he’ll let him know the details. Both Roo and Evan remain concerned. Meanwhile, Gemma tells Ari and Tane that she’s going to do some errands before work. After she’s gone, Tane notes he’s been thinking about Mikaere and how good he and Gemma were together. Ari agrees but says they need to look out for Gemma and Nikau now.

Gemma goes to Ben’s motel room. He tells her about his run-in with Nikau and having to lie to Ziggy, noting their children want things to stay the same. He offers her a drink but Gemma says they need to talk about what last night meant. Outside the bait shop, Ryder asks Nikau for help brainstorming ideas, saying he was right about making memories with his father. Nikau bitterly notes Ryder’s the only one that cares about Nikau’s father’s memory. Ryder leaves, bemused, and Ziggy comes down from the Diner flat. Nikau tells her to give a message to Ben: Stay away from his mother.