Episode 7234

Extended Summary

At the garage, Ryder is hovering over Ziggy and pretending he knows what she’s doing, while asking when she’s going to start on his car. Ziggy says it was Justin that Alf made the deal with and she wouldn’t know where to start. Ryder nearly texts Justin but is convinced not to. Ziggy gets a video call from Ben and Maggie at Salt who tell her about the AFP dropping the charges. Ziggy quickly drags Ryder off to help celebrate. On the balcony at Salt, Dean explains to Mackenzie that it’ll take a while before he makes any money at the board shop, so he needs the job at Salt for an income. He does surf lessons during the day when he’ll now be at the board shop and also won’t have Ben’s help. Maggie pops out to tell them Ziggy’s there. Dean tells Mackenzie not to say anything to the Astonis. Mackenzie reminds him he has the night shift.

At the Diner, Marilyn gushes to John about how much she’s looking forward to seeing Robbo and the baby, while also worrying that Raffy isn’t getting to see her and is upset about Tori. John reminds her Raffy isn’t on her own but suggests they call her. Back at Salt, Ben, Ziggy, Maggie, Dean and Ryder drink a toast. Ryder reminds Dean he has a surf lesson in twenty minutes. Dean is somewhat worried that Ben expects to open up the board shop almost immediately, saying they need to sort out stock, clients and a lease. Ben thinks they can do that in a day and will see John about it.

Marilyn finishes a phone call with Raffy (which John makes interjections into). She admits she sounded okay and explains Brody is taking her to visit Tori. John gets a text from Ben asking to meet at theirs. Soon after, Ben, John and Marilyn enter the Palmer house, with the others congratulating Ben on being a free man. Ben explains about wanting to get the board shop back open. John says it’s a shame Alf isn’t there to talk the committee into it. Ben doesn’t think it’ll be a problem, since the space is empty, but John says there are other interested parties, although no serious offers. There’s a committee meeting that afternoon so he’ll put Ben’s case to them.

At the farm house, Maggie and Ziggy are making preparations for a special meal. Maggie warns that it won’t be as simple as flicking a switch so Ben’s okay, but Ziggy thinks getting the board shop back is a good sign. Ben arrives and notes it might not be as simple as that, explaining about his old lease being void and what John said. Ziggy doesn’t think the space is any use…“for anything other than a board shop,”she quickly adds. Meanwhile, Marilyn notices John dressed up for the meeting. He wishes Alf was there but she assures him he’ll be all right. He notices that she’s going around straightening everything and she admits she’s not sure what to do. John suggests using the alone time to meditate with crystals or even  burn incense, so long as the window’s open.

Ryder and Dean arrive back at the caravan park after their lesson. Ryder is hoping to be up to standard before the pro surfer chicks arrive but Dean isn’t sure when he can fit in another lesson. He finds Ziggy at his van; she tells him about Ben’s setback and wonders if he can come talk to him. Dean explains about his night shift and that he’s also doing one in the morning. He suggests he could leave work early if it’s quiet. Cut to Salt later that night, packed to the seams, with both a bucks and hen night in. Ryder gets a $50 tip; Mackenzie suggests he buy surf lessons with Dean but Ryder says Dean’s not sure if he can continue and muses on giving up your dream job.

Ben, Maggie and Ziggy are eating and Ziggy gets a text from Dean saying he won’t be able to come round. John arrives and accepts an offer to stay for ice cream, since Marilyn has got him on lactose-free. He says the committee has agreed to renew the lease but want an extra $100 a month rent. They agree. At Salt, Dean gets a text from Ziggy confirming they have the lease. Mackenzie tries to talk to him about the surf lessons but he shuts her down. He also turns down her and Ryder’s offer to go early now the parties have left.

Next morning, Ben, Ziggy and Maggie are doing lists of what Ben has to do, including paperwork and getting the stocks and signs out of storage. Ben is starting to panic a bit. Ziggy says Maggie will be his PA but she has to work. Ben and Maggie offer to take her to the surf club with them so she can see Dean. Ziggy heads up to Salt but Mackenzie explains she told Dean he could come in late. They discuss the amount he’s doing at the moment. Ziggy notes he sees things through, plus he needs the money.

Mackenzie goes to Dean’s caravan and tells him he’s fired: Ryder is taking over his shifts. To cover the money problem, she’s giving him a loan for the business, handing him a cheque and saying that’s what families do for each other. Dean reminds her she has to pay Rick back and she says she will when Dean pays her back. Dean thanks her and she tells him to go see Ziggy. He heads to the garage and asks how much for time alone with her. They kiss and close the door.

John and Marilyn are finishing breakfast. Marilyn is thrown to learn that John is going into the surf club to sort Ben out, since she thought they both had the day off and could go for a walk together. She sends him off, then looks at a photo of them with Jett and Raffy. At the surf club, Ben and Maggie have set up and Maggie goes to get juices. John arrives with the signs and the paperwork for the lease, commenting on the difficulty of starting a business up again from scratch. Ben looks suddenly overwhelmed and hesitates a long time before signing the lease but does sign.

Marilyn arrives at the caravan park and takes a few goes to acknowledge Ryder’s greeting. She says she’s going to see Roo but Ryder says Roo’s doing HSC marking and they discuss how hard she is to pin down these days. Ryder can tell something’s up and offers to listen. Marilyn bursts into tears and Ryder hugs her.