Greg is left in the lurch when his new job doesn’t go to plan.
Extended Summary
As Bobby irons her blouse, Greg’s trying to decide what to do for the best on the job front. She’s not keen on him going back to his old job because it brought them problems before, but she can see why he can’t dismiss it. The only suggestion she can think of is, he goes and talks to Michael first and see what the situation is likely to be in the near future. It doesn’t help when Sam comes in, asking for 20 dollars for a school trip to the zoo.
At the Stewart house, Ailsa is surprised at Luke’s reaction, as Roxy tells her what happened. The thing is, Roxy believes she did make the mistake and that Luke had every right to be angry and now Imogen is telling her to dump him. So that’s her game! Ailsa goes into the kitchen and finds Sarah hiding out. She’s still upset over seeing Tug with Michelle and tries to convince herself, she’s better off without him, but Ailsa knows different. She suggests she goes down to the beach and get some fresh air but Sarah just wants to stay put – that is, until Ailsa tells her she’s got a stack of ironing to do and surprise, surprise, she decides to go.
Tug’s moping down at the Diner and Adam tries to set him straight on getting back with Sarah but Tug says she doesn’t want to know. When Adam points out it’s his jealousy that’s causing the rift, he says that if she stopped hanging around Shane all the time, he wouldn’t have reason to be jealous, would he. Adam just laughs and tells him he’s on a real winner, with that sort of attitude. Bobby interrupts and gets Tug to help serve the customers. She then turns to Adam, to remind him that it is his turn to cook the dinner and he tries to plead poverty but she reminds him, that he’s not the only one that’s short of money. He’s surprised but Bobby tells him that right now, Greg’s over at Michael’s, trying to find out how long his job at the Boat Shed is going to last. When she tells him about the other job offer, she says it may mean leaving Michael in the lurch, because he’s has to start straight away. But at the end of the day, Greg may not have any choice! Greg feels awkward talking to Michael over at the Ross house and apologises for the bad timing but has to ask what the future holds. All Michael can say is, that there is enough work for about three weeks but after that, who knows. Pippa listens, as he tells Greg that the Sands Marina business has cleaned him out and that in a few weeks time, there may be no job. It’s not what Greg wanted to hear. Back at the Diner, Tug’s still moaning about Shane and Bobby tells him he’s playing right into Shane’s hands, at the way he’s reacting. Luke arrives and Tug snaps at him, telling him to tell Shane “to break a leg”. He goes out and Luke turns to Bobby and asks what’s his problem, to which she replies – “girl trouble”. He quips that he’s got the same problem and tells her about the ticket fiasco. When he says he’s staying out of Roxy’s way for the time being, Bobby tells him to go and sort it out, now.
Roxy and Ailsa take a walk along the beach and they talk about the rift with Luke and when Pippa suggests she rings him, she declines, saying he knows where she is and it’s up to him to make the first move. Luke goes round to the Stewart’s but Imogen is the only one there and she’s very curt with him. When he says he needs to apologise to Roxy because it’s not going to cost to have the tickets changed, she tells him in no bluntly, that Roxy doesn’t want anything more to do with him. He tells her he would prefer to hear that from Roxy herself and she shuts the front door, on him. She’s really enjoying it, as she her meddling has caused the rift.
Sarah bumps into Tug at the Surf Club, as he works to clear his debt with Alf over the tyre slashing. They make small talk before Tug leaves, leaving Alf to wonder what she saw in him, in the first place. Tug goes home and moans to Adam about how distant Sarah was with him. As Adam gets on with preparing the evening meal, with Sam helping out, he tells Tug, if he wants Sarah back, he’s got to change but as far as Tug’s concerned, he’s not changing for anyone!
Roxy goes home and tells Imogen that the missing papers weren’t at school (we know they weren’t) and she will have to tell Fisher about it but her main concern is for Shane and Tug, because it was their exams papers. Imogen then tells her about Luke calling about the cost of reprinting the tickets and that it’s not as much as he thought it would be. She then goes on to say she got the impression he expects her to foot the bill. Ailsa comes in as Roxy rants on about it and then decides it’s typical of him, in light of recent events.
Dinner over, Sam helps Adam dish out the peaches and ice-cream for afters, as Greg tells Bobby he couldn’t tell Michael about leaving him in the lurch. When Adam starts complaining about not being able to find a job that suits him, it gives Greg an idea and he goes over to speak to Michael about it. He suggests Michael could take Adam on for less money, thus freeing him to take the mechanics job but Michael has had previous dealings with Adam and is not keen on the idea. Next morning, as everyone gets ready to go the separate ways, Adam’s not even dressed and Greg furious but it seems, Michael rang earlier to say, he didn’t want him until later. When Greg warns him not to mess Michael around, Adam assures him, he’ll be on his best behaviour. After Greg goes off to work, Bobby has a chat to Tug about apologising to Sarah, that’s if, he wants her back.
Roxy is still baffled by the lost exam papers but she puts that aside, as she talks to Sarah about the possibility of Tug apologising. Ailsa comes in, to say she’s about to have a shower and would someone take the cakes out of the oven in about ten minutes. Roxy agrees to do it and Ailsa comments about not forgetting, to which Roxy says she may have forgotten where she put the missing exam papers but she won’t forget about the cakes. From the living room, Imogen is listening and she pops in, to say she’s off to post a letter. As Roxy and Sarah continue to talk about the Tug, Imogen slips the missing exams papers into Roxy’s folder on the table and leaves. Sarah has decided to finish with Tug because one minute he’s her friend and the next, he’s giving her ultimatums and she doesn’t know how to deal with it.
Alf and Tug take the groceries to the Ross house and Alf voices his surprise at Michael taking Adam on but when Michael points out the advantages, Alf sees the logic in it. With just one more delivery, which Tug says he’ll do on the way to school, Alf lets him go. When Alf tells Michael about Sarah’s decision to finish with Tug, he goes on to predict that it won’t be long before Tug goes off the rails and Sarah will be thankful she made the right choice. Tug goes over to see Sarah and she agrees to walk to school with him. Before Ailsa leaves, she checks that the cakes are okay. Imogen returns and picks on Tug, prompting him to tell Sarah he doesn’t trust that woman. She has a go at him and they go off to school. Imogen, alone in the house, goes into the kitchen and takes the cakes from the table, where Ailsa has put them, and puts them back into the oven and turns it on.
As Greg’s about to leave the Diner there’s a phone call for him and it’s bad news – the depot has closed down and as of now, he’s got no job! Roxy comes in but she doesn’t stay long and when Luke goes to say something to her, she ignores him and walks out.
It ends with Tug and Sarah walking into the school grounds and him telling her he was trying to make her jealous, when he hung out with Michelle and wants them to start over again. When he doesn’t get the right response from her he gets aggro and thinks Shane’s to blame. She turns on him and tells him it’s because of his insane jealousy, that’s causing the rift and he’s got to get over it, if he wants her back…
Avril M Harrison