Episode 7310

Extended Summary

Maggie approaches Ben on the beach where he’s just had a surf. He hugs her and comments about going home and getting out of wet clothes but they’re interrupted by Marco, who observes they’re still going strong after twenty years. He suggests they all go to Salt to go over the paperwork. Ben happily agrees but Maggie declines, telling them to go ahead. Near the bait shop, Ryder finds Nikau cleaning buckets. He asks what he knows about Ari and Mackenzie. Nikau says that’s old news after Bella yelling at him that she liked him. At the caravan park house, Bella tells Roo that she walked away or possibly ran. Roo asks if the problem is that she ran away or that she told him. She says that the execution wasn’t great but Bella hasn’t had a lot of experience and that she got nervous and threw up on a guy at her age. She thinks Bella should talk to Nikau again but Bella just wants to hide until he leaves town or forgets she exists.

At the surf club, Gemma approaches John and asks to talk. John snaps at her and is unconvinced when she says she’s sorry about what happened, telling her to take her concerned friend act elsewhere. Gemma sits at a table and says her concerned friend act is staying. At the Diner, Marilyn serves Ryder and Nikau. Nikau asks if she’s okay, saying he heard her and John arguing earlier, and Marilyn brushes it off. Ryder asks Nikau why he’s so flustered given he already knew Bella liked him, and wonders if he likes her as well.

Maggie welcomes Ben home but is disconcerted to find Marco is with him. They say they decided to have the discussion over dinner instead. Maggie says there’s only enough for two so Marco leaves. Ben asks what that was about. Back at the surf club, Gemma is still sat at the same table and asking John how he’s getting on as he bustles past. She ends up inviting him to have a drink with her upstairs, getting his attention by offering to pay.

Ryder and Nikau sit down outside the Diner. Nikau denies liking Bella but Ryder says he’s not the only one thinking about things, seeing that he has several missed calls and messages from her. He asks Nikau if he should send a reply. Nikau struggles to think of something, rejecting saying that he’s flattered or that she’s cool and nice. Back at the caravan park house, Ryder joins Roo and Bella, saying he thought he should answer her calls and asking if she’s okay. Bella thinks she can’t show her face in public and recalls the look on Nikau’s face. Ryder reveals he was just with Nikau. Bella asks what he said, then changes her mind several times over whether she actually wants to know. After she slumps down on the couch, Ryder sends a text message.

Ben tells Maggie it’s obvious there’s something up. Maggie seems to be stealing herself to tell him but Ben guesses that she’s worried about the money, saying she needs to tell him if that’s the case. Ben asks her to move on from the past, saying he’s missed Marco and the rest of the family. Maggie ends up suggesting Ben and Marco have dinner there while she gets a takeaway and goes to see Roo. At Salt, Gemma offers John another drink but he just wants the bill. He isn’t interested in talking, saying he’s lost his marriage and his home because of her family and asking if she knows what it’s like to lose everything. Gemma points out she does but accepts that’s different. John, humbled, tells her about Gina’s sudden death and how it was an awful time but at least he didn’t have anyone trying to run him out of town. He suggests they got off on the wrong foot and Gemma notes none of them are bad people.

Ryder tells Bella that she has to leave the house eventually. Roo and Bella are surprised, but Ryder less so, when Nikau turns up. Roo leaves them to it and Bella also attempts to leave but Ryder stops her, saying they need to catch up. Nikau invites her for a walk and they head down the pier. Bella thinks he means to tell her that he isn’t interested and tries to make out she didn’t mean it. Nikau says he wouldn’t have taken her down there if he wasn’t interested. They slowly kiss. Bella says she wondered what that would be like and Nikau says he did too.

Ben and Marco have finished their negotiations. Marco asks about Maggie and her lack of enthusiasm. Ben says she’s just worried after they nearly lost the board shop. Marco insists there’s no risk this time and Ben will make money. Back at the caravan park house, Maggie turns up to see Roo, with Ryder giving them space. Maggie is upset about Marco still being around and says her choices are to tell Ben and lose everything or keep quiet and slowly go mad. Roo suggests it might be better once she’s signed and Marco has gone but Maggie says Marco won’t make it that easy and wonders if she deserves to be punished.

Gemma goes to see Marilyn at the Diner and tells her she just had a drink with John and he even paid. Marilyn thinks John told her to tell her but Gemma says it was her idea and she wanted to clear the air. She notes she gets angry with Mikaera for his choices and leaving them alone but she knows he loved them. She suggests it’s easy to forget the good things but John is a good man who loves Marilyn. Next morning, Ben, Marco and Maggie have breakfast; Marco stayed over after drinking too much. He says they’ll meet at the bank later. Ben has to go to the board shop first and suggests Maggie meet him there. While Ben is out of the room, Maggie begs Marco to stop things. Marco says if she signs then he’ll stay in business and she’ll keep her marriage.

John meets Marilyn on the beach. He thinks she’s asked him there to tell him something bad but she says she’s about to pick up Grace and suggests they go for a walk together. He agrees. At the surf club, Ben is closing up when Maggie appears. She asks if they can go outside to talk before saying she can’t go to the bank and can’t let him do this. She says she needs to tell him something.