Episode 7145

Extended Summary

John and Marilyn are walking near the beach. Marilyn is frustrated that John is going back to work already and tries to get him to leave it to Alf and Ryder. John says he’ll just do the orders, the books and check on the other businesses. Marilyn says that’s everything. John still wants to get back to Jett but promises Marilyn that he’s learned his lesson and won’t get overtired again. Outside the surf club, Willow finds Colby and tells him Bella’s spending all her time on the new laptop. Colby isn’t really listening and tells her kissed Mac. Willow protests that you’re not meant to go there with your best mate’s sister and that she only encouraged him over Mackenzie when they didn’t know who she was. John appears and insists on talking to Willow now. Willow tells Colby they’ll talk later.

At the farm house, Maggie reiterates her suggestion to Ben about using the factory. Ben says he checked out the numbers and it won’t work. Maggie suggests he checked them out assuming they wouldn’t but Ben snaps at her to leave if she’s got nothing else to add. Maggie does and Ziggy notes that’s the second time in two days Ben’s talked to her like that. She tries to get him to come for a surf with her but he refuses. When she comes back, Ben is doing a board inside the house; she reminds him what he said about the fumes but he says once won’t hurt (although he gives her a mask and suggests she and Maggie stay somewhere else for a few days). He has also brought in a power heater to speed up the curing. Ziggy offers to help move the boards but Ben refuses and, distracted, knocks over one of the boards and damages it. With Ben increasingly frustrated, Ziggy ends up leaving.

John is telling Willow that the rent is due but Willow says she doesn’t do the books and she can only pass it on to Robbo. She grabs Colby for their chat. Ryder calls out offering complimentary crisps with a large juice and John is annoyed. Ryder explains they’re about to go out of date; John says he should reduce them but Ryder says buying a large drink will cost more. John still isn’t keen on Ryder making decisions. Roo comes in and Ryder tells her he can make more money working less hours if he takes the job with Mackenzie, as long as he gets his RSA. Roo isn’t sure still. In the gym, Colby assures Willow the kiss was all it was: Dean barely knows Mackenzie but she didn’t appreciate his wedding ring. Willow suggests it’s a sign his marriage is over and he needs to move on.

Willow joins Colby on the beach and suggests the kiss wasn’t about Mackenzie but about him needing to announce that he’s single. Colby says he isn’t. Willow asks if he’s expecting Chelsea to come back or wants her to. Colby says he’d love things to go back to how they were but knows Chelsea will only ever see him as the man that killed Ross. Meanwhile, Ziggy finds Maggie on the wharf and admits she left the house the same way she did. Ziggy is worried about Ben, saying he’s only acting the way he is because he’s scared he’ll fail. Maggie says he’s pushed her away so can try on his own for a while.

Ryder approaches John in the office at the surf club, saying they’re out of change; he sorted it himself when John was away but he’s making a point of consulting him now. John doesn’t appreciate it and Ryder says he has other options. John calls Jett but learns he doesn’t need him to come down. At the Diner, Maggie and Ziggy are ordering lunch off Marilyn. Ziggy asks for three salad rolls to go, intending they should take one for Ben. Maggie refuses so Ziggy asks for two to go and Maggie can eat hers there. Marilyn reflects that she nearly lost John because she backed down over him driving when he pushed back. Maggie says they’ll have all three to go.

Maggie and Ziggy arrive home to find Ben slumped defeated on the couch. Ziggy leaves him and Maggie to talk. Ben lets Maggie turn off the heater: He knew it wouldn’t speed up the curing but tried anyway. He says the job is impossible: He’s no money, owes Dean, will have to return the deposit and will go bankrupt. Worst, he thinks he’s let her down. Maggie says she’s proud of him for trying. She also suggests the factory again: There might not be any profit but it’ll save the business. Later, Maggie and Ziggy wait as Ben finishes on the phone. He says that the factory has agreed to store the boards he’s finished and make the others to his design. What’s more, it costs less than he thought, so there’ll be a tiny profit. He wants to get the boards and blanks ready for transport but Ziggy insists on a surf first.

Colby goes out into the water on his surfboard. He takes off his wedding ring and flings it into the sea. At the surf club, Roo tells Ryder she doesn’t want him to take the Salt job. Ryder reminds her it’s less hours but Roo says that the hours at Salt are less suitable for studying and he’s made a commitment to John. Ryder says John treats him badly and Roo didn’t want him working there last week. Roo says he’ll thank her when he passes his HSC.

John arrives at the Diner. Marilyn starts a speech about not letting him go to the city but John confirms he’s not going. Jett moved the appointment to the morning and got himself there; it seems he’s more independent now which John acknowledges is what they wanted. He wonders if Jett’s only pretending because of the car accident but Marilyn thinks it was going that way anyway. John says Marilyn was the better parent but Marilyn says John has been a loving father. Down on the beach, Ben and Ziggy exit the surf and Ben hugs Maggie without towelling off. He says his new relaxed feel is evidence men should listen to their wives. Ziggy thinks it also applies to daughters: She convinced him to go for a surf and stopped Maggie sulking in the Diner.

Willow meets Colby on the Diner flat balcony. He shows her he got rid of the ring. Willow continues to assert that Mackenzie is off limits, despite Colby thinking he and Dean are stronger than some code. Willow decides to set him up a Smouldr profile. At the surf club, John checks Ryder’s on top of things, then says he’s not going to be spending as much time with Jett, so he’ll be running the juice bar again and Ryder will go back to his old hours. He reminds Ryder he said he had other options. Ryder looks up how to get a Responsible Service of Alcohol qualification on his phone.

Left alone, Colby rings Mackenzie and asks her to meet him for a drink, saying he wants to talk about last night.