Episode 7541

Extended Summary

Ryder follows Chloe down the stairs: Chloe is angry that Ryder didn’t give her any warning of what Mackenzie was going to do, despite Ryder saying he refused to sack her himself. Chloe storms out and Mackenzie appears on the stairs, asking Ryder if he’s coming back to finish his shift. Alf and Roo witness this and follow them back upstairs. Mackenzie starts talking about the rosters for the day of the surf comp. Ryder wants to talk about Chloe’s firing but Mackenzie says it was business. Ryder replies that Mackenzie has already said it was personal but Mackenzie shuts the conversation down. Alf asks Ryder if everything’s all right.

Mia is repacking her bag for her first day at work, getting an amused reaction from Ari. They discuss the fact he can’t work, with Mia saying he’ll soon be back at work and hating it. Chloe arrives and says Mackenzie sacked her, and knows she lied about them being overstaffed. She wonders why this has happened now and what changed. Ari and Mia worry about the reason. Meanwhile, Leah has finished her dinner and thanks Justin but seems keen to get back to her laptop. Justin says he has dessert and they discuss him entering the surf competition, which he’s undecided about. Leah gets a text alert about another post. Justin gives her a massage and they decide to forget dessert and head to the bedroom.

Alf pays for his meal at Salt and asks Mackenzie not to let her private life affect Ryder. Dean comes up and tells Roo he’s put the list of competitors under her office door: Anyone else can come to her. He’s surprised to see Mackenzie there. Mackenzie tells Ryder to lose the attitude tomorrow and Ryder reveals that Chloe’s his girlfriend. Dean is shocked to hear that Mackenzie sacked her. He gives her a lift home and tells her he’s sorted things with Amber so wants an explanation. Mackenzie calls it self-preservation but wouldn’t have told Ryder to do it if he’d known they were together: She won’t change her mind though.

Leah has got up to get some glasses of water to take back to bed but hears an alert on her computer and sits back down in front of it. Justin appears and tries to dissuade her from doing more research before bed but Leah is engrossed, getting a story about a pensioner in Canberra who was approached by Susie after being refused a loan. Justin goes to bed alone. Next morning, Justin surfs before running into Dean and revealing he’s entering the surf comp. Ryder comes past and they try to get him to enter but he says there’s no chance of him winning with them entering. Dean goes after him and tries to defend Mackenzie but Ryder says he can’t respect her.

At the Diner, Alf has to get Leah’s attention to get a muffin. She tells Justin about the stories she’s getting, including a single mother Susie approached at her husband’s funeral. Justin tries to get her to give the information to the police but she’s keen to proceed on her own first. He tells her he’s signing up for the surf comp but only manages to hold her attention for a few seconds. At the Parata house, Ari is preparing to walk Mia in to work while Chloe is lying on the sofa feeling sorry for herself. Ryder arrives as Ari and Mia are going and Chloe agrees to talk to him. Ryder says he’s not in work until later.

Ari and Mia are approaching the surf club, with Mia accepting she’s half an hour early. They kiss goodbye, which is seen by Mackenzie from the balcony. Mia sees her and goes up to Salt. Mia says she feels sorry for what Mackenzie’s been through and meant what she said at the hopital. Mackenzie retorts that Mia broke her promise not to tell Ari. Mia accuses her of making Chloe collateral damage and tries to give her a warning but Mackenzie tells her to get out. Mia passes Dean, saying Mackenzie’s a nightmare.

Chloe wonders why Mackenzie sacked her and Ryder says Mackenzie admitted Chloe made her uncomfortable. Ari enters and says it’s personal but won’t tell them anymore other than that Mackenzie’s having a rough time. Chloe still finds it unfair. Meanwhile, Dean arrives back at the farm house with Mackenzie and chides her for banning Ari’s entire family. He thinks she should stay at home and rest but Mackenzie says that doesn’t help and she’s doing what it takes to get through things. Dean isn’t sure about her taking it out on Chloe and Mia but Mackenzie says it’s working so far.

Mia is doing a sparring exercise with a client when Ari turns up. They discuss how Chloe’s feeling and Ari wonders if he should talk to Mackenzie. Mia, without mentioning her own attempt, advises Ari to steer clear and Ari agrees that pushing Mackenzie won’t help. Meanwhile, Ryder and Chloe are on the beach. Ryder agrees that Mackenzie was out of line but Chloe is unimpressed with his behaviour, saying he should have told her so she could quit first, and accusing him of not having her back.

Justin arrives at the surf club to be greeted by Roo unpacking the T-shirts for the competition. He tells her and Alf that he’s entering. Leah arrives and has already forgotten about Justin said he was going there. She wonders where John is and Alf explains he’s gone to the butcher’s to get meat. Leah wants to involve him in her attempt to track down Susie. Roo thinks he’s not in the right head space and just wants to move on, and Justin agrees not everyone deals with things in the same way, but Leah insists the only closure will be bringing Susie to justice. Roo says she’ll pass the message on. Later, Justin is out walking when he feels pain. He sits down and takes a pill… and then immediately takes another one.

Ryder turns up at the farm house. Mackenzie notes that last she knew he and Chloe didn’t stand the sight of each other and wouldn’t have asked him to fire her if she’d known they were an item, but won’t change her mind. Ryder says it’s wrong to use her to punish Ari, as well as unfair dismissal. Mackenzie points out she’s only a casual. Ryder says in that case he quits.