Episode 8026

Extended Summary

Mali is finishing up a class on the beach. John appears and says Mali was meant to finish a quarter of an hour ago. Mali says he needs to take the boards back to hose them down. To hurry things up, John puts them in his buggy. He drags Mali up to the surf club and shows him the now finished refit, a rather upmarket wood-panelled design with a seating area. Mali is impressed as is Tane. John gets Tane to take a photo of him and Mali (but mostly him). As John continues to take selfies of himself, Tane asks Mali if he’s seen Kahu.

Mackenzie and Kahu arrive back at her place. Kahu comments it’s a big place and Mackenzie offers to show him her room. At the coffee cart, Marilyn expresses concern at Kirby being threatened with legal action and thinks they should take the posts down. However, Kirby insists that the posts aren’t defamatory and it’s just a scare tactic, saying they should stand their ground.

Mackenzie and Kahu come back from the bedroom and he comments he wasn’t expecting this when she offered to help him. He gets a text and says it’s Tane looking for him. Mackenzie asks him to keep what happened to himself. Kahu asks for her number but Mackenzie wants to keep it as a one-off. At the surf club, Felicity appears and tells Tane she’s on board with him giving Kahu a second chance. She indicates for him to kiss her on the cheek, then moves her head to get a lingering kiss on the lips. John asks her opinion of the redesign and she is impressed. John is disappointed at the lack of customers. Felicity says Mackenzie was talking to Kahu earlier but isn’t upstairs now. John comments that he saw them leave together.

Outside, Mali sees Kahu and Mackenzie arriving back together. Kahu cuddles up to her despite knowing it’s meant to be a one-time thing. Mali tells Kahu that Tane’s looking for him, then asks Mackenzie what’s going on. She says nothing. Up in Salt, Tane tries to convince Felicity that Kahu wouldn’t do the wrong thing with Mackenzie. Mackenzie arrives back and Felicity tries to ask her where she’s been. She just says she’s been on a break.

Downstairs, John tries to entice customers over to the juice bar without much success. He asks Mali if he got the photo of them and is going to post it on his socials. Mali says he hasn’t had time and wonders if John’s posted it on the surf club socials. He asks if John plans to take advantage of Manta Ray Boards’ success. John initially denies it, before asking if it would hurt. Tane collars Kahu and warns him not to mess Mackenzie about. John and Mali look on.

At the Diner, Marilyn shows Kirby that she’s also got a text from Stunning Organics threatening legal action. Kirby continues to dismiss it as a scare tactic. Marilyn says she’s already in trouble and wants to show her something, but they’re interrupted by Alf coming in for a cup of tea. Marilyn says they’ll talk later.

John continues to big up the redesign to Mali. Mali is too tired to properly engage and admits he’s sticking around to keep an eye on Mackenzie. Up in Salt, Mackenzie is serving Kahu a drink. Tane tries to convince Felicity that Kahu will stay away from her but Felicity thinks their body language suggests otherwise. Kahu talks to Mackenzie about the “country mansion” she lives in, also asking about the restaurant and her fancy car. Mackenzie says she used to drive a porsche. Later, Felicity approaches Mackenzie on the balcony, Mackenzie tries to make out she’s there to collect glasses and rejects Felicity’s attempts to express concern.

Downstairs, John serves some customers and thanks Mali for posting the photo. Mali leaves and John admires the bar again, only for the light on the sign to go out. Tane and Felicity come downstairs as John bangs his head trying to fix the electrics. Tane takes over. Upstairs, Mackenzie is amused as she realises Kahu thinks she’s well off. She explains that the house is rented from extended family with a housemate, she’s struggled to keep the restaurant afloat and needed Felicity to bail her out, and her car is owned by the bank.

Marilyn leads Kirby to the beach house, explaining about looking after it for Irene. She shows her that there’s fifteen boxes inside and more coming every week. She says she doesn’t want anyone to know, doesn’t know how to stop them and is already in debt. Back at the surf club, John is telling Felicity a navy story, leaving her relieved when Tane gets the light back on. Kahu comes down and Tane and Felicity tell him that Mackenzie’s boyfriend just died and she’s like family with being involved with Ari. Kahu says he’ll back off and asks Felicity about her investment, which she says was from her inheritance.

Mackenzie arrives home. Mali tries to question her about her day, saying he’s worried about her and Kahu, but Mackenzie says it’s none of his business and ends up storming off to bed. Next morning, Kirby is leaving home when a man asks her name and hands her an envelope, saying she’s been served: It’s a letter declaring intention to sue. At the coffee cart, she compares notes with Marilyn, who has been given the same letter. Marilyn again wants to take the posts down but Kirby doesn’t want them to win. She says they need more people in order to win it.

Mackenzie approaches the surf club and finds Mali setting up outside. She tries to clear the air about last night. Mali says his comments came from a good place which Mackenzie accepts. Kahu turns up and Mali leaves them to it. Mackenzie suggests they could take the morning off work. Kahu reminds her she said it was a one-time thing and says he keeps being reminded she’s going through tough times so they should just be friends.