Episode 7376

Extended Summary

Willow is near the surf club, sending the latest in a long line of unanswered texts to Jasmine. She sees Amber and enthusiastically goes to greet her. Dean and Ziggy appear and say John’s with Marilyn. Dean asks Amber what happened with Colby but she doesn’t want to talk about it and only gives Willow a cursory greeting. The others head into the surf club. Willow comments that Amber killed three guinea pigs and a turtle and is now looking after John Palmer. Dean goes to check on Colby. Willow tells Ziggy that she and Amber were really close once but Amber and her family just disappeared one day without saying goodbye. She notes it seems to be a pattern with her and her friends.

Dean has joined Colby at the Diner flat. He tells him not to let what Amber said get to him but Colby is feeling guilty, recalling that Jai was just a kid and realising the effect it would have had on his family. He feels he should make it up to Amber but Dean thinks he’s best just leaving it. He notes he and Willow only forgave Colby because they’re family and Amber dislikes him as well. Meanwhile, Amber arrives back at the Palmer house. Marilyn is there with John but Amber wants to get on with the exercises and both she and John brush off Marilyn’s suggestion that he’s too tired, with Amber sending Marilyn back to work. John senses Amber’s chat with Colby wasn’t exactly cathartic. Amber admits it’s Willow she’s thinking about.

Marilyn arrives back at the Diner and tells Leah that John and Amber seem to be getting on. She notes change can be difficult. Leah points out that this was what Marilyn wanted, freedom to make choices with her life. Back at the Palmer house, Amber directs John in exercises while complaining that everyone she’s been avoiding for five years is in Summer Bay. She admits she’s worried how Willow will react to her and Dean but John thinks she won’t mind and encourages Amber to talk to her. He asks if she’s seen his phone and suggests he may have left it at the gym. He says all the details of his medications are on it and Amber reluctantly agrees to go and get it.

Colby and Dean rejoin Ziggy and Willow at the surf club. Willow chats with Colby about Amber turning up and also Jasmine being gone. Ziggy suggests Jasmine removed herself from a bad situation but Willow calls it running away. Amber appears and is annoyed to see them all with Colby. She says Willow was the one person she missed and she needn’t have bothered. She heads into the gym and is bewildered when Willow follows her and reveals she’s the manager. Amber asks about the phone, which no-one has seen. Willow tries to explain why they’ve forgiven Colby but Amber thinks they’ve all forgotten about Jai and says they were obviously never friends.

Colby, Dean and Ziggy all convince Willow that following Amber when she’s angry is a bad idea. Willow thinks all her friendships are cursed and Colby thinks Willow and Dean are copping it because of him. Amber arrives back at the Palmer house, where John is looking at his phone which he says he found. Amber realises he sent her to the gym because he knew Willow worked there. John tries claiming the stroke affected his short-term memory. He tells Amber she’s in the wrong place if she wants people to leave her alone.

Dean is in a testy mood as he tries to organise the board shop. Ziggy realises it’s because of Amber and convinces him to go talk to her. At the Palmer house, Amber is putting John through his exercises when Dean arrives. Amber sends John outside on his stick. She makes it clear to Dean that she’s not happy being friends with him while he hangs out with Colby, who she reminds him left him for dead. Dean says when he was in jail he thought about ways to make Colby pay, but moved on and trusts him again. Amber says she’ll never move on. Dean suggests living in the past isn’t working out for her.

Ziggy brings Willow a chocolate milkshake at the gym. Willow continues to lament her failed friendships and says she doesn’t want what happened with Amber to happen with Jasmine. She goes to deal with a trainer called in sick as Dean arrives and admits things didn’t go well with Amber. At the Diner, Marilyn tries to offer to stay back. Leah suspects she doesn’t want to go home and is finding the change of John not needing her any more scary. Marilyn admits she doesn’t know what happens next.

John chides Amber for using her phone while on shift but she replies that she needs to check in with her real life. John admits he set her up to talk to Willow, saying he was hoping to get two old friends back together. Marilyn arrives and Amber leaves. Marilyn says she’ll start dinner but John says Amber has already got a roast and vegetables in the oven and done the washing. Marilyn awkwardly notes there’s nothing left for her to do. Meanwhile, Amber bumps into Colby near the surf club and is disgusted to see him in uniform. He insists that he helps people but she says it’s just a costume. Colby says she has every right to hate him but Dean and Willow don’t deserve it.

Amber heads into the gym and tells Willow she needs a drink or twenty. Willow is worried about ending up wearing them but Amber says she’s changed her mind about that and wants a night out like they used to have. At the Diner flat, Dean is channel-hopping without success. Ziggy suggests he calls Willow and asks if she wants a drink, even though neither of them want to go anywhere. Ziggy wonders if Dean misses the old days. Dean says things were fun before the accident but they’re better now.

Willow arrives at Salt and Amber beckons her over to the bar: She has two “cement mixers” which she had to tell the barman how to make. Amber quickly knocks back hers and Willow reluctantly does the same. Amber orders two more, saying they have a lot to catch up on.