Episode 8529

Extended Summary

Justin is surfing, while on the beach, Theo is taking a surf class. Lacey joins him and Theo makes a joke about her being president of the student council. However, Lacey refuses to talk about the suitcase. Justin appears and tells Theo about Leah buying Irene out of the Diner, although he’s vague about the reasons. Lacey says it must be great to be able to just sell up and move on. Theo tells Justin about Lacey’s family home being sold.

At the Diner, Alf and Harper chat about how things are with Irene. Marilyn calls over that Harper will meet someone and fall in love. Alf protests that they weren’t talking about that. He gets a text saying Cohen’s been discharged from hospital. Since Harper doesn’t have anything else to do except stare at a wall, Alf invites her to come and see him.

At the caravan park house, Cohen looks through his bag and tells Roo he thinks he left something at the hospital. Alf and Harper turn up; Harper calls it a surprise visit and has to admit she didn’t find anything in Queanbeyan. Cohen takes his bag upstairs and Roo asks Harper about a reference to adopt Cohen. Alf has now come round to the idea. Harper says she thought the idea was to look for Cohen’s family. Roo says he needs a home now.

Dana meets up with Sonny outside the surf club. Sonny hasn’t managed to book anywhere for them so Dana says they’ll just have a staycation. Sonny wonders about her behaviour earlier, saying it seemed like Irene’s more than a landlady to her. Dana admits that Irene’s important to her.

Justin catches up to David in a park area and asks about his car, which David said at dinner was giving him trouble. He offers to look at it for him and they briefly chat about the house sale. David goes over to chat to Theo, who says that Lacey started off sharing happy memories about the suitcase but then just shoved it in a cupboard. Lacey sees them talking and angrily gives Theo his class list.

Roo comes back from checking on Cohen. Harper is surprised that Roo’s jumped straight to adoption. Roo is convinced it’ll give him a stable environment but admits she hasn’t spoken to Cohen yet and was hoping for some advice. Harper says they can’t start the paperwork without his agreement. Alf is convinced he’ll say yes but Harper says it’s not always that simple.

In the surf club, Lacey is saying that Theo should have her back and not talk to David. Dana and Sonny come in and Lacey asks Dana if she should expect loyalty from her boyfriend, saying her father’s in her business and Theo’s being friendly towards him. After ascertaining Lacey has a father who wants to be in her life, Dana says Lacey’s the one with the problem, for not appreciating what she’s got.

Shortly after, Sonny and Dana are on the balcony at Salt. Sonny wonders about what she said about Irene earlier. Dana says her parents were drug addicts and alcoholics and probably still are, noting the police took her home from school because nobody ever picked her up, water bottles were filled with anything but water and there was an OD one Christmas. She tells Sonny not to feel sorry for her, since it messed her up for a bit but she’s over it. Sonny says he can understand why Irene’s important. Dana admits she’s the closest thing she’s ever had to what she imagines a real mother would be like.

Harper suggests to Alf and Roo that kids don’t always react well to being adopted, saying they see it as being taken away from their mother. Alf protests Cohen’s already been taken away from his mother. Roo worries about telling Cohen, him liking the idea and being rejected. Marilyn turns up with some shopping for dinner and Harper excuses herself, telling Roo to be prepared for everything.

At Salt, Justin joins David at the bar. He asks if he’s planning to buy somewhere else now he’s sold the house, then suggests blowing the money on an 18-month cruise. David drily notes it’d be the perfect way to honour his late wife, before commenting on the difficulty of getting his daughters together to discuss it. Justin shows him a photo of himself with Ava, noting she’s eighteen now and you do what’s best for them.

Theo and Lacey are closing up the board shop. David arrives, asking to talk. Lacey says he can say whatever he wants to in front of Theo, since he probably already has. David asks for her bank details and Theo says he definitely hasn’t heard that one. David says he wants to give her a share of the house sale. Lacey says she’s not interested in his bribe. Theo asks how much it is and David says $100,000. Lacey ends up walking out. Theo follows her, saying she could use the money and was living in a backpacker’s not long ago. Lacey says she swore not to take anything else from David. Theo suggests it’s from her mum as well.

Cohen finishes eating and Marilyn explains it was a vegetarian shepherd’s pie. Cohen says it might be his new favourite food. Alf wonders if he’s another veggo and Cohen says he’s thinking about it. Alf suggests they go fishing tomorrow. Cohen realises he left the fishing magazine at hospital but Alf says nothing can beat the real thing. Roo looks on, pleased.

At the Diner, Dana and Sonny meet with Harper, who has brought Dana’s toothbrush (Sonny refused to let her use his). Dana admits she was overzealous with Irene. Harper is surprised to realise Dana has told Sonny about their parents. Sonny says he’s realised he had it easy and they’re both impressive. Harper goes to meet Tane and Archie, and Dana goes to brush her teeth. Sonny rings his mum, saying he’s just calling to say hi.

Next morning, David gives Justin his car keys outside the surf club, saying it finally gave out. He adds that a patrol car will pick him up for work. Lacey and Theo approach. Lacey sends Theo inside before asking David if they can talk. Up on the Salt balcony, Lacey wonders if Jo is getting a share as well. David says she’ll get the same as her, which Lacey considers being rewarded for what she did and refuses to accept. David says he’s trying to fix things but she has to meet him halfway. He asks if there’s anything he can do for her.

Marilyn and Roo follow Alf and Cohen as they walk to the beach with fishing rods. Marilyn takes a photo of the pair. Roo asks to have a talk with Cohen, taking him aside. Later, sitting on a park bench, Roo asks Cohen if he’s happy there. Cohen says he nearly doesn’t miss the tent, but a house is better when it rains. Roo asks how he feels about staying permanently and her adopting him. Cohen says if that happened, he wouldn’t go back to his mum even if she changed her mind, and asks if Roo wants his mum to stop being his mum.