Episode 7554

Extended Summary

Ryder and Chloe are relaxing on the beach. A drunken Jasmine passes by and calls to them. Ryder shows Chloe a photo Bella has posted of her and Nikau at the party. Chloe suggests pizza and cocktails at Salt and has a plan to get around not having money. At the party, Nikau joins Bella and notes it’s worse than the photo shoot but Bella says Sienna won’t let him leave so encourages him to have fun. A moment later, Sienna drags Nikau away, saying people want to meet him. Emmett tries to get Bella to join him for a dance but she says it’s not her scene. He notes Sienna can be intense, pushy and even ruthless but is good at what she does.

Tori is on the phone to Brody at Salt. She tells Christian she wishes Brody would organise the wedding but Christian knows she has a wedding spreadsheet. However, he is more focused on doing research on his phone, saying it can take years for some people to know they’ve had a near death experience, when they notice profound changes. He tries to get his attention back to the wedding, then decides to go for a walk. Nearby, Ryder finishes a conversation with a server and tells Chloe that Mackenzie left instructions not to give freebies to former employees. He then has another idea to get free food. On the beach, Christian runs into Jasmine, who has taken her shirt off and gone for a dip in the water. She encourages Christian to try it and ends up dragging him into the water fully clothed.

Ryder and Chloe arrive at the Diner, where Ryder pays Marilyn a set of compliments before saying how hard unemployment is. Marilyn notes she saw them on the beach earlier. They say they have enough money for coffee but wish they had burgers. Roo interrupts them, telling them to go home and get a sandwich. As they walk away, Ryder gets a text from Bella inviting them to the party, which includes free food and booze. At the party, Bella is watching Nikau get shown around by Sienna. Ryder and Chloe arrive, having got dressed up, and thank Bella for putting their names on the door. She points out Nikau to them and advises them not to approach him until Sienna’s finished. They go to get drinks.

At the Morgan house, Tori laughs at Christian’s comment on Jasmine dragging him into the water. Jasmine appears, thanking them for the dry clothes. Tori invites her to stay for dinner and Jasmine finds the wedding spreadsheet. Tori gets her to look after Grace while they put the food out. Later, Jasmine is telling them about her tarot card experience, saying she ran away to start with because it looked grim but Marilyn helped her realise she just needed to look at the cards in a different way. Tori is dismissive but Christian is interested, feeling she’s had a new lease of life, and Tori’s attempts to change the subject to the wedding fail.

Alf, Marilyn and Roo are having a meal at Salt. Alf is annoyed with Ryder’s behaviour even though Marilyn says she was onto him and just enjoying the compliments. Alf thinks Ryder isn’t trying hard enough to get a job and also thinks he should have tried harder to make things up to Mackenzie, although Roo admires him sticking to his principles. Marilyn thinks they should have brought him but Alf says they need to talk about him behind his back. Marilyn suggests a few nights in eating leftovers might make a difference. Meanwhile, Ryder shows Chloe and Bella a business card that the food truck gave him and takes a selfie of them. Emmett comes over and Bella introduces him to Ryder and Chloe, saying he’s had awards and exhibitions. Emmett says he gave up his artistry for the fashion industry and is hoping Bella’s enthusiasm will rub off on him. Bella identifies Allegra to Ryder and Chloe before Ryder convinces them to try shots, despite Bella having work in the morning.

Alf, Roo and Marilyn are coming down the stairs at the surf club; Alf is hoping to give Ryder a speech before he goes to bed, including getting him to work at the bait shop to cover for Nik, although Roo notes he refused when she asked him. Roo gets a photo from Ryder with the caption “Unemployment never felt so good” and she and Marilyn try to make light of it. Meanwhile, Christian asks Tori if he’s annoyed her and realises he hasn’t been thinking enough about the wedding. He says he’s got a new appreciation of life and kisses her.

Ryder and Chloe arrive back at the Parata house in a drunken mood, accompanied by a rather more sober Bella and Nikau. Nikau warns them about not waking his uncles and Chloe notes Mia is scarier. Bella and Nikau go off to bed, leaving Ryder and Chloe to ponder getting permanent invites to their parties. In the bedroom, Bella tells Nikau that she learnt a lot from Emmett. She asks him about the day and he admits he did enjoy it. Next morning, Tori gets up and finds a note from Christian saying he’s gone to watch the sunset on the beach. Christian walks down to the sea, where he strips off and runs into the water naked.

Ryder and Chloe arrive at the Diner and are greeted by Marilyn. They have been summoned by Alf, who is sat nearby with Roo. Chloe asks if it’s a family thing and Alf says she might as well stay. Ryder says they don’t really do mornings. Alf says it’s time to stop bludging while Roo tries to phrase it more diplomatically. Ryder protests that there’s not many jobs and Alf asks if they even have a plan. Chloe claims they do, they’re just waiting to get all their ducks in a row. Alf seems sceptical. Meanwhile, Tori sees Christian coming out of the water and is aghast to realises he’s naked, quickly wrapping a towel around him. She wonders what he’s doing and Christian says he’s never felt more alive.